A method for catalytically cleaning an exhaust gas, including receiving the exhaust gas in an inlet channel, blocking the exhaust gas in the inlet channel, diffusing the exhaust gas through a porous substantially fibrous nonwoven wall of the inlet channel, reacting the exhaust gas with at least one catalyst material to at least partially remove nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide therefrom, the at least one catalyst material being disposed on the porous wall, trapping particulate matter in the porous substantially fibrous nonwoven wall, receiving the diffused exhaust gas into an outlet channel, and transitioning the exhaust gas from the outlet channel to the atmosphere.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to a catalytic device for reducing the pollution content of an exhaust gas.
2. Description of Related Art
Exhaust systems perform several functions for a modern engine. For example, the exhaust system is expected to manage heat, reduce pollutants, control noise, and sometimes filter particulate matter. Generally, these individual functions are performed by separate and distinct components. Take, for example, the exhaust system of a typical gasoline engine. The engine exhaust system may use a set of heat exchangers or external baffles to capture and dissipate heat. A separate muffler may be coupled to the exhaust outlet to control noise, while a catalytic converter assembly may be placed in the exhaust path to reduce non-particulate pollutants. Although today particulates are not generally the pollutants focused upon in the gasoline engine, it is likely that more restrictive regulations may soon apply.
An exhaust system for a modern gasoline engine is nearly universally required to remove or eliminate some of the non-particulate pollutants from the exhaust gas stream, and therefore might employ a known emissions control device, such as three-way catalytic converter. Such a three-way converter uses chemical oxidation and reduction processes to remove non-particulate pollutants from the exhaust gas stream. The known catalytic (or metal) converter holds a catalytic material that, when sufficiently heated, reacts with exhaust gases to lower the chemical potential to react non-particulate pollutants into non-pollutants. More particularly, the known converter uses a flow-through design where exhaust gases enter one end of the converter, flow through open parallel channels, come into contact with a catalyst for converting some of the pollutants in the exhaust gas stream into non-pollutants before ultimately flowing out into the atmosphere. As the exhaust gas flows through the channels, laminar flows are created which cause the exhaust gases to flow down the channel and, due to concentration gradient and mass-transfer effects, come into contact with the catalyst residing on the channel walls. The channel walls have the catalytic material disposed on their surfaces, and as the hot exhaust gas contacts the channel walls, the walls are heated to elevate the catalytic material to the a threshold temperature above which the catalyzed reactions readily occur. This is colloquially known as the 'light-off' temperature. Likewise, the time it takes for the light-off temperature to be reached is known as the 'light-off' period. Then, as the exhaust gas continues to flow, the catalytic material interacts with the pollutants in the exhaust gas to facilitate the conversion thereof into non-polluting emissions. About 50% of the pollution generated from and emitted by modern engines equipped with catalytic converters occurs during this light-off period when the converter is essentially non-operational. In certain vehicle applications, such as stop and go traffic and short trips in cities, the overall usefulness of the catalytic converter to reduce pollution is mitigated since the converter spends a significant amount of time at temperature below catalyst light-off or relating to low conversion efficiencies.
The action of moving the exhaust gas through open channels and transporting the pollutants to the channel walls occurs via a gaseous diffusion mechanism. Once the catalyst has reached its activation temperature, the reaction rate is dependant on the rate of mass transfer from the bulk of the gas stream (center of the laminar gas flow) to the walls. As the catalyzed pollutant-eliminating reactions occur at the wall-gas interface (where the catalyst is typically located), a concentration gradient of pollutants is generated in the exhaust gas stream. A boundary layer develops and, being the slowest process under such conditions, mass-transfer principles dictate the overall rate of the reaction. Since bulk diffusion is a relatively slow process, the number of open channels is typically increased to compensate, and increase the overall reaction rate. The effect is essentially to reduce the distance that the gas molecules have to travel to diffuse from the bulk into the boundary layer. Additionally, the relatively limiting bulk diffusion step may be compensated for by making the converter in a honeycomb design or by otherwise increasing the effective catalytic surface area. By simultaneously reducing the size of the open channels and increasing the number of channels, the bulk diffusion rate may effectively be increased and the efficiency of the converter improved. However, making such a "closed-cell" honeycomb design results in a decrease in the thickness, and thus the strength, of the cell walls and an increase in the backpressure to the engine. Thus, the converter is made more fragile while the fuel economy of the vehicle is simultaneously decreased. Accordingly, there are practical limits on the minimum size of the open channels that restrict the ability to significantly improve the bulk transfer rate of traditional monolithic honeycomb converters past a certain point.
Thus, due to the inefficiency of the bulk transfer process the converter is typically made quite large and is therefore heavy, bulky and relatively slow to heat to the threshold catalytic operating temperature. Typically, several catalytic converters may be arranged in a sequential order to improve overall emission control.
Known three-way gasoline catalytic converters do not filter particulate matter. Recent studies have shown that particulates from a gasoline ICE (internal combustion engine) may be both dangerous to health and generated at quantities roughly equal to post-DPF (diesel particulate filter) PM (particulate matter) emission levels. As PM emissions standards are tightened, both diesel and gasoline engines will have to be further modified to reduce PM emissions. Some European agencies are already considering the regulation of gasoline PM emissions.
Most, if not all, catalytic systems do not efficiently or effectively operate until a threshold operational temperature is reached. During this "light-off" period, substantial amounts of particulate and non-particulate pollution are emitted into the atmosphere. Accordingly, it is often desirable to place a catalytic device as close as possible to the engine manifold, where exhaust gasses are hottest and thus light-off time is shortest. In this way, the catalyst may more quickly extract sufficient heat from the engine exhaust gasses to reach its operational temperature. However, materials, design and/or safety constraints may limit placement of the catalytic converter to a position spaced away from the manifold. When the catalytic converters are spaced away from the manifold, light off time is increased, and additional pollutants are thus exhausted into the atmosphere.
The most popular design for catalytic converters is currently the monolithic honeycomb wherein the monolithic material is cordierite and silicon carbide. In order to be increasingly effective, the cell density of the cordierite monolithic honeycomb design has been increased by making the individual channel walls thinner and increasing the number of channels per unit area. However, the strength of the walls (and, thus, the monolithic converter) decreases with decreasing wall thickness while the backpressure increases (and engine efficiency and mileage correspondingly decreases) with increasing cell density; thus, a practical limit for increasing converter efficiency exists and is defined by a minimal monolith strength and a maximum allowable backpressure provided by the unit. Another approach to addressing increasingly stringent emission standards is to utilize known three-way gasoline catalytic converters arranged in multiple stages to obtain reasonable emission control of multiple pollutants. However, this approach also adds to cost, weight, fuel penalty and engineering complexity. Thus, in an increasingly stringent emissions regulatory environment, there is a need to find an effective way to reduce harmful emissions from a typical ICE.
Thus, air pollution standards, particularly in regard to vehicle exhaust gasses, are coming under increased pressure from governments and environmental organizations. The consequence of continued emissions is well recognized, and additional regulations are being added while existing regulations are being more aggressively enforced. However, reduced emissions and more stringent emission regulations may have a short-term negative impact on the overall economy, as additional monies must be spent to meet higher standards. Indeed, governments have been relatively slow to adapt tighter regulations, citing competitive and economic consequences. Accordingly, a more cost effective and effective catalytic device may ease the transition to a cleaner world, without substantial detrimental economic effects. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a cost effective catalytic device for removing both particulate pollutant matter and non-particulate pollutants from an exhaust stream that is capable of easy installation on vehicles, small engines, and in industrial exhaust stacks. It would also be desirable for such a device to be able to catalyze chemically important reactions that may not be considered as pollution control, such as chemical synthesis, bioreactor reactions, gas synthesis etc. The present invention addresses this need.

Refractory exhaust filtering method and apparatus


Disclosed are sweetened consumables and methods of forming said sweetened consumables that comprise certain sweeteners and at least one sweetness enhancer in a concentration near its sweetness detection threshold. The sweeteners include sucrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, xylose, arabinose, rhamnose, erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, inositol, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, neotame, sucralose, saccharine, or combinations thereof. The sweetness enhancer is selected from naringin dihydrochalcone, mogroside V, swingle extract, rubusoside, rubus extract, rebaudioside, and stevioside.

The sweetness enhancers used herein are known as natural and artificial sweeteners, however, they are used herein in a much lower concentration near their sweetness detection threshold.
These sweetness enhancers include Naringin dihydrochalcone (NarDHC), mogroside V or swingle extract comprising mogroside V, rubusoside or rubus extract comprising rubusoside, stevioside, and rebaudioside A.
Naringin dihydrochalcone has been used as a sweetener in concentrations well above its sweetness detection level. It has also been used in combination with stevioside to reduce the off-note of stevioside (JP10276712).
Swingle (also known as Lou Han Gou (LHG)) contains various naturally-derived terpene glycosides, in particular various mogrosides including mogroside IV, mogroside V, siamenoside I, and 11-oxo mogroside V. A swingle/LHG juice based sweetening system that provides a reduced sweet or unpleasant aftertaste is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,965 and WO 94/18855 by Fischer et al.
Rubus extract contains rubusoside and is used at a concentration well above its sweetness detection level as a sweetener and in combination with sugars. Sweetener compositions of various terpene glycosides including mogrosides and rubusoside at 0.1% to 10% by weight (1,000 ppm-100,000 ppm) are disclosed in US20020132037.
The sweet terpene glycoside stevioside and rebaudioside A have been used in mixtures with sugars including sucrose at above sweetness detection threshold (Schiffman et al., Chem. Senses 2000, 131-140, Schiffman et al., Brain Res. Bull., 1995, 105-120, Schiffman et al., Food Qual. And Pref. 2006 (internet pre-publication)).
Applicant has found that certain known sweeteners, namely mogroside V/swingle extract, rubusoside/rubus extract, and naringin dihydrochalcone (NarDHC), are sweetness enhancers and can be used in a low concentration near their sweetness detection threshold in combination with certain sweeteners, including certain artificial sweeteners, including in particular the sugars sucrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup (containing fructose and glucose), xylose, arabinose, and rhamnose, the sugar alcohols erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and inositol, and the artificial sweeteners AceK, aspartame, neotame, sucralose, and saccharine, to enhance the sweetness of said sweeteners.
None of these sweetness enhancers has been previously used near its sweetness detection threshold, alone or in combination, to enhance the sweetness of the above-mentioned sweeteners.

Sweetened consumables comprising mogroside V and stevioside as sweetness enhancers and method of enhancing sweetness of consumables


In some embodiments, a clock generator is provided that provides a generator clock. The clock generator comprises a first clock source to provide a first clock and a second clock source to provide a second clock whose frequency at least indirectly tracks a supply to a clock distribution network. The clock generator selectably provides as the generator clock the first clock when the second clock leads the first clock and the second clock when it lags behind the first clock. Other embodiments are claimed and disclosed herein.

In modern integrated circuits (ICs) such as microprocessors, it is getting ever more difficult to constrain power supply noise due to among other things circuit switching. For example clock gating is a popular approach to control average power consumption. Unfortunately, however, when large sections of a device are switched on or off, a large current change may be incurred thereby provoking a response (e.g., voltage droop) in the power supply network. While circuits driven by clock distribution networks become less capable of operating at higher frequencies during such droops, clock generators such as phase locked loop (PLL) frequency generators may be designed to continue operating at their target frequencies. To redress this incongruity, some traditional solutions involve operating the clock generator at an overall reduced target frequency so that clock driven circuits can suitably operate during such droops. A novel approach may be desired.


Process for enhancing the natural bile acid binding capacity of edible pulp material by either heating an aqueous slurry of the pulp material to at least 40.degree. C. and/or sequentially reacting pulp with a first reactant, such as sodium hydroxide, for activating the pendant hydroxyl groups on the polysaccharide components of the pulp material, a second reactant, such as chloroacetic acid, for carboxylating the activated pendant groups on the polysaccharides, and a third reactant, such as calcium hydroxide, for providing calcium ions which can ionically bond to the carboxylated pendant groups.

Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. Based upon statistics gathered by the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is believed to be responsible for more than one million deaths each year in the United States. These statistics also indicate that more than five million Americans suffer from some type of diagnosed symptomatic cardiovascular disease while an even larger number are believed to be suffering from an undiagnosed cardiovascular related disease.
Multiple factors are believed to contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease including cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. In addition, researchers in the field have concluded from various genetic, pathological, epidemiological and intervention studies that a causal relationship exists between serum cholesterol levels and the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
Accordingly, any program designed to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease should include steps to reduce serum cholesterol levels.

Process for enhancing the hypocholesterolemic effect of edible pulp and the product obtained thereby


An integrated circuit includes a first circuit. The first circuit includes a first transistor having a first dopant type. The first circuit further includes a first cascode transistor having the first dopant type, wherein the first cascode transistor connected in series with the first transistor. The first circuit further includes a second transistor having a second dopant type opposite to the first dopant type, wherein the second transistor is connected in series with the first transistor. The first circuit includes a second cascode transistor having the second dopant type, wherein the second cascode transistor is connected in series with the second transistor. The integrated circuit further includes a first bias circuit configured to adjust a threshold voltage of at least one of the first cascode transistor or the second cascode transistor.

The semiconductor industry has experienced continual rapid growth due to continuous improvements in the integration density of various electronic components (i.e., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.). For the most part, this improvement in integration density has come from repeated reductions in minimum feature size, allowing for the integration of more components into a given area. The scale down of features of integrated circuits has been implemented in various applications, e.g., digital circuits, analog circuits, and mixed-signal circuits.

Integrated circuits having cascode transistor

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A nut for turning onto a threaded stud and having a smooth bore extending from an inwardly-tapering conical lead-in area, the nut being characterized in that in the lead-in area a stripping zone is formed by a plurality of parallel tubular cavities of smaller diameter than the bore of the nut, in that the cavities are spaced apart and arranged symmetrically about the axis of the bore of the nut, in that the axis of each tubular cavity is spaced from the axis of the bore of the nut by a distance smaller than the sum of the radii of the tubular cavity and of the bore and greater than the radius of the bore, in that the intersections of the walls of each tubular cavity with the wall of the bore of the nut form cutting edges, and in that the respectively adjacent tubular cavities are linked to one another via cavities provided therebetween so that a coating stripped from the threaded stud as the nut is turned onto the stud can be accommodated in this cavity.. Preferably, the nut has three tubular cavities which are linked together by three linking cavities.

The invention relates to a plastics nut for turning onto a threaded stud, particularly a weld stud, and having a smooth bore extending from an inwardly-tapering conical lead-in area.
Plastics nuts such as collar nuts or cap nuts are known which may be turned onto a threaded stud and are provided with a smooth internal bore extending from an inwardly-tapering conical lead-in portion. When such a nut is turned onto a threaded stud, a thread is formed in the bore of the nut. Such a collar nut is described in German Patent specification DE 28 02 465. This discloses a collar nut which is further provided with axial grooves in order to displace any material cut away by the formation of the thread in the bore of the nut and occasional paint residues left on the thread of the stud.
The stud may, however, be subjected to more than occasional residues so that it is heavily coated with paint or other surface treatment agents. For example, motor car bodies are treated to inhibit rust (undersealing) usually after the threaded studs have been welded to the untreated vehicle body. Many problems arise if a plastics nut is screwed onto a threaded stud coated wholly or partly with paint or underseal material. The thread formed in the bore of the nut may be imperfect and an increased torque must be applied to the nut in order to form the internal thread.
The quantity of the underseal coat inevitably varies from stud to stud so that the torque required to tighten each nut varies and this is not a welcome requirement on an assembly line, particularly an automated assembly line. Furthermore, the torque required may exceed a pre-set torque limit so that screwing is terminated before the nut is screwed fully home and the nut may not abut the component to be secured by the screw. Additionally, imperfect thread formation in the bore of the nut may affect the friction values between the nut and the threaded stud in an unacceptable way.
A collar nut to overcome these problems is described in our German Gebrauchsmuster G84 175 583 wherein a component is provided with a bore and can be turned onto a threaded stud sprayed with a tough coating. The bore is provided with a smooth inner wall and with a substantially conical lead-in area, sharp-edged projections being provided within the lead-in area for removing the coating when being screwed on, these projections being directed toward the axis of the weld stud and extending radially generally up to the diameter of the bore.
The invention relates to a stripping nut for turning onto a threaded stud which has a simplified design making manufacture easier and cheaper whilst achieving the effectiveness of the nut described above.


A locking device, for locking a heat sink (30) to a socket (10) on which an electronic component (20) is mounted, includes a pair of clips (60) each having a handle (62) and a ring (66). The handle includes a pair of first tabs (68) at one end thereof. A pivot (64) is connected between the first tabs and received in a slot (40) defined in an outmost fin of the heat sink. The handle further includes a pair of second tabs (72). The ring includes an opening end and a closed end for engaging with the socket. The opening end includes a pair of pivot portions extending through the second tabs. The handles are pivotable about the corresponding outmost fins between first positions at which the closed end of the rings are engaged with the socket and second positions at which the closed end are disengaged from the socket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a locking device, and particularly to a locking device for conveniently locking a heat sink to an electronic device.
2. Related Art
As computer technology continues to advance, electronic components such as central processing units (CPUs) of computers are being made to provide faster operational speeds and greater functional capabilities. When a CPU operates at high speed in a computer enclosure, its temperature can increase greatly. It is desirable to dissipate the generated heat quickly, for example by using a heat sink attached to the CPU in the enclosure. This allows the CPU and other electronic components in the enclosure to function within their normal operating temperature ranges, thereby assuring the quality of data management, storage and transfer. Oftentimes, a clip is required for mounting the heat sink to the CPU.
A wide variety of heat dissipating devices and clips are available in the prior art. For example, Taiwan Patent Application No. 90201183 discloses a kind of conventional clip for locking a heat sink to a socket on which a CPU is mounted. The clip comprises a spring pressing portion extending through a wide channel of the heat sink and a pair of legs depending from opposite ends of the pressing portion. Each leg defines a locking opening which can engage with a corresponding retaining block of the socket by using a tool to operating on the leg. However, it is complicated to use the tool. Furthermore, the wide channel takes up space that would otherwise be utilized to provide more fins for the heat sink. In effect, the clip reduces a heat dissipating area of the heat sink, and reduces the heat dissipating capability of the heat sink. Moreover, the spring pressing portion of the clip in the heat sink will baffle air flow from a fan mounted on the heat sink, thereby reducing the heat dissipating efficiency of the heat sink.


Light-emitting composition and devices including the same, the composition including a fluorescent light-emitting material and a polymer having a conjugating repeat unit and a non-conjugating repeat unit in a backbone of the polymer, and in which the conjugating repeat unit provides at least one conjugation path between repeat units linked to it; the non-conjugating repeat unit reduces conjugation of the polymer as compared to a polymer in which the non-conjugating repeat unit is absent; and a triplet excited state energy level of the light-emitting material is higher than a triplet excited state energy level of the non-conjugating repeat unit.

Electronic devices comprising active organic materials are attracting increasing attention for use in devices such as organic light emitting diodes, organic photoresponsive devices (in particular organic photovoltaic devices and organic photosensors), organic transistors and memory array devices. Devices comprising organic materials offer benefits such as low weight, low power consumption and flexibility. Moreover, use of soluble organic materials allows use of solution processing in device manufacture, for example inkjet printing or spin-coating.
With reference to FIG. 1, an organic light-emitting device (OLED) may comprise a substrate 1 carrying an anode 2, a cathode 4 and an organic light-emitting layer 3 between the anode and cathode comprising a light-emitting material.
In operation, holes are injected into the device through the anode 2 and electrons are injected through the cathode 4 during operation of the device. Holes and electrons combine in the light-emitting layer to form an exciton that releases its energy as light. The colour of light emitted from the device depends, at least in part, on the HOMO-LUMO bandgap (that is, the highest occupied molecular orbital—lowest unoccupied molecular orbital bandgap) of the light emitting material.
Suitable light-emitting materials include small molecule, polymeric and dendrimeric materials. Suitable light-emitting polymers for use in layer 3 include conjugated polymers (that is, polymers in which adjacent repeat units in the polymer backbone are conjugated together) for example poly(arylene vinylenes) such as poly(p-phenylene vinylenes) and polyarylenes such as polyfluorenes.
Alternatively or additionally, the light emitting layer may comprise a semiconducting host material and a light-emitting dopant wherein energy is transferred from the host material to the light-emitting dopant. For example, J. Appl. Phys. 65, 3610, 1989 discloses a host material doped with a fluorescent light-emitting dopant (that is, a light-emitting material in which light is emitted via decay of a singlet exciton) and Appl. Phys. Lett., 2000, 77, 904 discloses a host material doped with a phosphorescent light emitting dopant (that is, a light-emitting material in which light is emitted via decay of a triplet exciton). In order to function effectively as a host it is necessary for the relevant excited state energy level of the host material to be higher than that of the luminescent dopant that the host is to be used with (for example, the singlet excited state energy level S1 for a fluorescent emitter and the triplet excited state energy level T1 for a phosphorescent emitter).
Use of a conjugated polymer, either as a light-emitting material or as a host material, may offer numerous advantageous properties such as polymer solubility, enabling the material to be deposited by solution coating or printing techniques such as spin-coating or inkjet printing, and high conductivity.
However, conjugation between adjacent repeat units of a conjugated polymer has the effect of lowering the excited state energy levels of the polymer as compared to the excited state energy levels of the monomers from which those repeat units are derived; for example, conjugating a plurality of fluorene units together creates a conjugated chain with a lower excited state energy level than that of the isolated repeat units. Accordingly, the presence of extended conjugation along the backbone of a polymer may limit the colour of emission that is achievable with that polymer, in particular at the short wavelength (blue) end of the visible spectrum, and/or the range of light-emitting dopants that the polymer can function as a host for.
WO 2005/013386 discloses an organic light-emitting device comprising a host polymer material and a luminescent metal complex wherein the polymer material may comprise partially or fully non-conjugated repeat units.
WO 02/066537 discloses conjugated polymers comprising repeat units that are twisted out of the plane of the polymer backbone in order to reduce stacking between polymer chains and decrease conjugation of the polymer.
WO 02/26856 discloses polymers comprising repeat units of formula (I):
wherein X is such that there is a torsion angle of at least 5° between the bond a-b and the bond c-d about the bond b-d.
Separately, it has been postulated that the presence of triplet excitons, which may have relatively long-lived triplet excited states, can be detrimental to OLED lifetime as a result of triplet-triplet or triplet-singlet interactions (OLED lifetime as used herein means the length of time taken for the luminance of the OLED at constant current to fall by 50% from an initial luminance value).
US 2007/145886 discloses an OLED comprising a triplet-quenching material to prevent or reduce triplet-triplet or triplet-singlet interactions.

Polymer and organic light-emitting device


Provided is a fuel cell system capable of preventing a drop of power stemming from the water residence at an electrode portion or the shortage of water content in an electrolyte membrane. The system is equipped with an air pressure regulating valve for adjusting the pressure of air to be supplied to a fuel cell stack and a hydrogen pressure regulating valve for adjusting the pressure of hydrogen. In this system, the pressure difference between the air pressure and the hydrogen pressure is controlled through the regulating valves so that a minimum hydrogen pressure becomes higher than a maximum air pressure, or so that a minimum air pressure becomes higher than a maximum hydrogen pressure.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell made to generate electric energy through electrochemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen, and effectively applicable to generators for movable bodies such as vehicles and ships, portable generators, or home-service generators.
2) Description of the Related Art
In a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack made to generate electric energy through electrochemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen, lack of the water content of a solid electrolyte membrane or film causes a drop of the electric conductivity of the electrolyte to increase the resistance of the electrolyte, which leads to a decrease in cell power.
In addition, in a case in which excessive water exists on electrode portions of a fuel electrode or an air electrode, the inhibition of the electrochemical reaction at the electrode surfaces occurs to decrease the cell power.
In particular, in the case of the fuel cell system, for the purpose of enhancing the fuel utilization factor, in most cases, the hydrogen unused in a fuel cell is re-supplied, or the outlet side of a fuel passage is closed to prevent the emission of hydrogen. On the other hand, in the system operation, the outlet side of an air passage is generally placed into an open condition. Accordingly, water diffuses from the air electrode side through the electrolyte membrane to the fuel electrode side, and the diffused water tends to accumulate so that the water may exist excessively on the fuel electrode side.
Although the water accumulation or residence around the fuel electrode is preventable in a manner such that the fuel electrode or a valve, or the like, provided in the fuel passage is opened to purge the water therefrom and, hence, a drop of the power is avoidable, hydrogen is emitted into the atmosphere during the purging, which causes lowering the fuel efficiency and the safety.
From these points of view, there is a need to prevent the water residence at the electrode portions while properly maintaining the water content of the electrolyte membrane.
Meanwhile, Japanese Laid-Open No. HEI 11-191423 discloses a fuel cell system in which the water supply quantity to an oxidizer gas and a fuel gas is controlled in accordance with a property of a fuel cell to adjust the water content of an electrolyte membrane. There is a problem which arises with the system disclosed in the foregoing document, which is designed to merely control the water supply quantity to the oxidizer gas and the fuel gas, however, in that difficulty is encountered in preventing the water from becoming excessive at the electrode portions while maintaining a proper water content of the electrolyte membrane, or in that difficulty is experienced in humidifying the electrolyte membrane quickly.


In an approach to dynamic network management based on user, device, application, and predicted network characteristics, one or more computer processors identify one or more network interfaces. The one or more computer processors determine one or more network performance parameters and capabilities of the identified network interfaces. The one or more computer processors determine a highest ranked network connection based on the determined network performance parameters and capabilities of the identified network interfaces. The one or more computer processors generate one or more network templates based on the determined highest ranked network connection and associated network performance parameters. The one or more computer processors apply the one or more generated network templates to a plurality of entities and devices.

The present invention relates generally to the field of network management and more particularly to dynamically selecting an optimal network.
Network traffic measurement is the process of measuring the amount and type of traffic on a particular network. Network performance is measured using either active or passive techniques. Various software tools are available to measure network traffic. Some tools measure traffic by sniffing packets and others use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or other local agents to measure bandwidth utilization on individual machines, servers, nodes, and routers. Inline network traffic measurement tools generally 'sit' between the local area network (LAN) and the exit point of the LAN, generally the wide area network (WAN) or Internet router. In most cases the tool would operate as a bridge on the network so that the tool is undetectable by users.
Ping is a computer network administration software utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Ping tools are available for virtually all operating systems that have networking capability, including most embedded network administration software. Ping measures the round-trip (e.g., end-to-end) time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer that are echoed back to the source. Ping operates by sending Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packets to the target host and waiting for an ICMP echo reply. The program reports errors, packet loss, and a statistical summary of the results, typically including the minimum, maximum, the mean round-trip times, and standard deviation of the mean.

Dynamic network management based on user, device, application, and network characteristics

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for forming a semiconductor device is described. An opening is formed in a first dielectric layer, exposing an active region of the transistor, and an atomic layer deposited (ALD) TaN barrier is conformably formed in the opening, at a thickness less than 20 Å. A copper layer is formed over the atomic layer deposited (ALD) TaN barrier to fill the opening.

The present invention relates to semiconductors, and in particular to a semiconductor device with a copper contact or interconnect having TaN barrier at minimal thickness and fabrications thereof.
Electrically conductive lines providing, for example, signal transfer are essential in electronic devices as well as semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) devices. Electrically conductive lines on different levels are connected by electrically conductive plugs in required position, providing a predetermined function.
Recently, fabrication using copper has been introduced to solve problems such as RC delay caused by feature size reduction responding to demands for increased integrity. Moreover, copper shows better heat conductivity, providing better electromigration (EM) resistance than conventional aluminum. Copper fabrication compatible with low-k dielectric material has become a popular interconnect process.
Nevertherless, one disadvantage of the copper fabrication is diffusion of copper to adjacent dielectric material, affecting reliability of the IC device. A metal barrier layer comprising material such as tantalum (Ta) or tantalum nitride (TaN) is thus provided for diffusion suppression. However, the tantalum (Ta) or tantalum nitride (TaN) barrier is normally formed by PVD such as sputtering at a thickness exceeding 100 Å.
Due to the critical dimension (CD) reduction of semiconductor devices, copper contacts, such as copper contact plugs are required in the front-end fabrication to electrically contact the active regions formed on a semiconductor substrate or a gate electrode of a transistor. Hence, thinner and more reliable diffusion barriers are needed to prevent undesired copper diffusion.

Method for forming a semiconductor device

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A central shaft for a gyratory crusher, which includes a crushing head on which a first crushing shell is mounted; a frame on which a second crushing shell is mounted, which second crushing shell defines, together with the first crushing shell, a crushing gap; and a driving device, which is arranged to rotate an eccentric about said central shaft and thereby to cause the crushing head to execute a gyratory movement for crushing of material that is introduced in the crushing gap. The central shaft has a cavity in which are accommodated an anti-reverse and a torque limiter, the anti-reverse and the torque limiter being adapted for connection to said crushing head for restricting spinning.

A gyratory crusher of the kind stated above can be used for crushing, for example, ore and rock material into smaller size. A problem associated with gyratory crushers of this kind is that during an interruption in the supply of feed material to the crusher the crushing head will start to rotate, after only a short while, at the same high speed as the eccentric, which is generally referred to as spinning. If the crushing head is spinning when feed material is again introduced into the gyratory crusher, there is a risk that material will be ejected from the crusher and/or that the crushing shells will be damaged. Another problem is that the service life of the crusher bearings can be shortened should spinning of the crushing head occur frequently.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,255 discloses a gyratory crusher. The head of the crusher is provided with a one-way clutch to inhibit spinning and a friction torque limiting clutch to protect the one-way clutch against excessive loads.
There is sometimes a need for a gyratory crusher of lower height, since a tall crusher takes up more space and its feed opening for the input of material to be crushed is located higher up than in a crusher of low height.


When a search index is generated, it includes entries tagged with the readability of documents referenced by the search index. A determination of the readability is made if a document is not yet associated with a preexisting entry in the search index and is being added, by analyzing the document to produce a readability indicator. For example, the readability indicator can correspond to a grade level identifier, thereby enabling search index to be searchable by grade level, age, or age range. A grade level-based search request received from a user can be submitted to search this search index for documents limited to a specific grade or age readability. The search results that are returned are thus filtered in regard to the readability indicator associated with the documents in the search index.

In recent years, search engines have become a ubiquitous and indispensable tool for millions of people. Typically, a search provider generates a searchable index of documents for use by the search engine. Different search providers utilize different technologies to develop their search indexes, and therefore, search results can vary widely between search providers. Generally, a user of a search engine enters a word or string of words or a phrase as a basis of a search for documents within the search index provided by the search provider. Some search engines provide a score of the relevance of the search result based on an applied filter generated from the search term or terms. In order to provide advanced functionality, some search engines allow a user to use other criteria to further narrow the search results. For example, a user can choose to restrict search results to a specific language, or to documents from certain domains, and documents of certain types (e.g., images).
For many applications, a conventional search system of the type described above is acceptable. However, results of such searches can be inappropriate for particular age groups. For example, a young child searching the Internet for information for an assignment on a grade school subject will usually not find a Doctoral dissertation returned by the search to be very useful, because the child's vocabulary and understanding of material of that complexity is too limited. Presently, limiting search results that are provided to those appropriate for the age or knowledge of the searcher is sometimes attempted using a run time solution that filters results based on an analysis of documents; however, the filtering is performed contemporaneous with the processing of the search, and this solution is quite slow and often unreliable.
Recently, searching tools originally developed for identifying web pages over the Internet have also found application in other areas of data management, such as document management on desktop computers. With each successive machine generation, the personal computer, as used both in the home and in the workplace, is being required to manage increasingly greater amounts of information. Therefore, tools for organizing, cataloging, and locating particular files and information are of particular interest. Accordingly, advances in search technology that have efficient search capabilities, yet can return results based upon document readability appropriate to the searcher, are of particular interest for educational, business, and home use.

Filtering search results by grade level readability


In one embodiment, a personal flotation device that can be worn by a user includes an inflation system including an inflatable bladder, a gas-generating component configured to generate gas using a chemical reaction and inject the generated gas into the bladder to inflate it, and an actuator configured to activate the gas-generating component; a sensor configured to sense one or more physiological parameters of the user; and an inflation control system configured to receive physiological parameter data from the sensor, to determine whether or not the user is experiencing a medical event that places the user at risk of drowning, and, if the user is experiencing such a medical event, to signal the actuator to activate the gas-generating component so as to provide floatation to the user.

Swimming and water sports are very popular activities. Many people are unable to participate in these activities, however, due to medical conditions, such as epilepsy and other neurological conditions, which put them at risk of drowning. While such individuals could wear conventional flotation devices, such as foam vests or inflated vests or arm cuffs, such devices interfere with water activities. For example, such devices are typically cumbersome and hinder body motion, and further make swimming difficult, particularly under water. While inflatable vests, such as those that use carbon dioxide cartridges, are available on the market, they must be manually activated to inflate. Unfortunately, the user may not be able to activate the vest when the user is experiencing a medical emergency, such as a seizure.
From the above discussion, it can be appreciated that it would be desirable to have a personal flotation device that can provide buoyancy to an individual experiencing a medical event, such as a seizure, which does not interfere with normal water activity in which the individual is participating and which does not require the individual to activate.

Gas-inflatable personal flotation devices


To enhance emission efficiency and color rendering, a light emitting device includes: at least one light source; at least one first emitting section having at least one sort of luminescent material that can emit light including a wavelength component that is longer than the light emitted from light source when excited by the light emitted from light source; at least one second emitting section having at least one sort of luminescent material that can emit light including a wavelength component that is longer than the light emitted from first emitting section when excited by the light emitted from light source and first emitting section; wherein light emitting device includes at least one light shielding unit that protects at least a of the light emitted from first emitting section from entering second emitting section.

Devices such as cold cathode tube and the like have previously been used as light source for a lighting system or a liquid crystal display backlight. Recently, pseudo-white light sources have been developed as an alternative light source, which is a combination of a light source emitting blue light and materials emitting yellow light as a result of absorbing blue light. In this pseudo-white light source, an InGaN base light-emitting diode is used as light source emitting blue light and cerium-activated yttrium aluminate is used as a material emitting yellow light, for example.
However, color spectrum generated by pseudo-white light sources is essentially deficient in green light component and red light component and, therefore, these pseudo-white light sources were poor in their color rendering and color reproduction property. In order to solve this problem, proposals have been made to improve the light rendering property and light reproduction property of these pseudo-white light sources. These proposals include modification of yttrium aluminate complex so that it emits yellowish green light, or further addition of such substances as to absorb blue light and emit red light to the yttrium aluminate complex so as to supplement red light component of the pseudo-white light source.
In many cases, however, red luminescent materials absorb not only blue light but also green light or yellow light whose wavelength is longer than blue light but shorter than red light. As such substances can be cited europium activated alkali earth metal sulfides, europium activated alkali earth metal and silicon nitrides, and europium activated alkali earth metal and silicon oxynitrides. These substances usually absorb light of 400 nm to 580 nm wavelength efficiently and emit orange to red light with peak wavelength of 580 nm to 680 nm.
Orange to red luminescent materials, typified by the above-mentioned ones, absorb shorter wavelength, green to yellow light. Therefore, combined use of orange to red luminescent materials and green to yellow luminescent materials results in partial absorption of green to yellow light component by orange to red luminescent materials, and this causes a marked decrease in luminous flux of light emitting device.
At present, attempts are being made to prevent the loss of luminous flux caused by absorption of short wavelength light by luminescent materials emitting long wavelength light. Patent Document 1 is one of such examples. In this patent, a light emitting device comprises two kinds of materials (here called, "material A" and "material B"), which absorb light from a light source and emit light of different wavelength. It is so arranged that, when the material A (which corresponds to a material emitting orange to red light) absorbs a part of the light emitted from the material B (which corresponds to a material emitting green to yellow light), the improvement in color rendering and the prevention of luminous flux loss can be achieved by locating the material A closer to the light source than the material B is.
In addition, display devices have previously been used which visualize clearly images formed on the image formation unit by irradiating light (backlight) directed against the image formation unit, with some images formed thereon, from behind. Display devices of this kind include: liquid crystal display using a liquid crystal unit as image formation unit, indoors indicator (emergency exit lamp, traffic signal and the like) with its sign (image formation unit) illuminated with light originated inside.
These display devices usually comprise a backlight unit which radiates light from behind against the image formation unit. Fluorescence lamp and cold cathode tube have previously been used as this kind of backlight unit.
The problem is, fluorescent lamps and cold cathode tubes, used as backlight unit, are difficult to reduce in size of the backlight unit and, besides, their lifetime is rather short.
Another concern is that these devices contain mercury in them, which may exert an undesirable effect on the environment, making their use even more difficult.
In recent years, a proposal has been made to design, as backlight unit, a light emitting device which makes use of a light source and fluorescent materials capable of absorbing light from the light source and emitting fluorescence. For example, the art as mentioned above, which utilizes pseudo-white light source as backlight unit using light-emitting diode of InGaN system and cerium-activated yttrium aluminate as light source and luminescent materials, respectively.
Another proposal is to use a light emitting device proposed in Patent Document 1 as backlight.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-71726

Light emitting device, lighting system, backlight unit for display device, and display device


A vibrometer system for determining the vibration spectrum of an object under examination. The vibrometer includes a bundle of optical fibers arranged in an array, wherein a majority of the fibers in the array are arranged to receive light reflected from the object under examination and a minority of the fibers in the array are arranged to transmit light to illuminate the object under examination, wherein the light reflected from the object under test by received by the majority of fibers was transmitted by the minority of fibers; a plurality of light amplifiers and detectors for amplifying and detecting the received light; and a coherent detector responsive to the detected light and to the transmitted light for providing an output signal representative of the vibration spectrum of the object under examination.

The purpose of this invention is to realize a means by which one can remotely detect the vibrations of an object using non-contacting techniques involving a laser beam and an optical detection apparatus. One advantage of this invention is that one can measure very small vibrations, on the order of fractions of an optical wavelength in amplitude, over a frequency range on the order of Hz to MHz or more. Another advantage is that this system enables remote sensing to be realized using eye-safe wavelength beams (1.5 μm). Yet another advantage is that this invention enables one to detect vibrations from non-specular objects (e.g., surfaces with roughness features on the order of optical wavelengths) that reflect an incident optical beam into a diffuse set of angles, resulting in a highly speckled pattern of small spots. Still yet another advantage of this invention is that the receiver possesses a set of high-gain, low-noise optical amplifiers as a front-end means to amplify the diffusely scattered beam that enters the receiver, thereby improving the shot-noise-limited sensitivity by two orders of magnitude relative to a conventional multi-speckle compensated vibrometer.
This invention has potential use for remote sensing of vibrating objects without the need for physically contacting the surface under test. This vibrometer can be used for remote sensing of threats (e.g., a UAV can interrogate objects down on the ground such as tanks, minefields, etc.; or, a ground-based platform, say, with a DEW, can interrogate incoming threats to assess its functionality and operational state). In addition, this vibrometer can be used to interrogate objects on the ground (from an airborne location) to ascertain the nature of the materials that comprise the object in question, and, hence classify the object in terms of its functionality (in this case, a second laser, in conjunction with the device disclosed herein, can be employed to excite photo-acoustic modes in the material under interrogation). In addition, one use such an invention for real-time, manufacturing in situ process control, as well as in-service inspection of materials (structures, welds, bonds, etc.) and life-cycle evaluation of smart materials, the latter case referred to as health monitoring of infrastructures via "inspection on demand".
The prior art includes single-speckle vibrometers as well as multi-speckle, compensated vibrometers. In the former case, a laser beam impinges on the object under test, and the receiver is designed to receive a single speckle, which is then directed into a coherent detector (either a homodyne or heterodyne system). This system can be shot-noise limited in sensitivity, but, its overall performance is reduced by ≈30 dB over multi-speckle receivers, since it is only capable of processing a single speckle. The present invention enables one to process many speckles, thereby enhancing the performance of the system. In the latter case, there exist a variety of multi-speckle vibrometer devices, such as self-referencing receivers (using a Fabry-Perot resonator as a multi-speckle FM discriminator), as well as single-speckle vibrometers with adaptive optical front-end devices (such as 2-wave mixers, SLMs, photo-emf sensors, etc.). In these cases, multiple speckles can be processed, but, at the expense in terms of sensitivity (the Fabry-Perot), noise and throughput (in the case of 2-wave mixers), and sensitivity in excess of the shot-noise limit (the photo-emf devices). The present invention enables one to realize shot-noise limited sensitivity, with improved performance beyond existing systems (owing to the front-end low-noise amplifiers), with wavefront-compensation capability. The enhancements derive from the fact that the low-noise front-end fiber amplifiers also provide for adaptive optical compensation of wavefront distortions.
One aspect of the prior art involves single-speckle vibrometers. As such, the extension from a single-speckle receiver to one with multi-speckle processing is not an obvious extrapolation. Therefore, it is our contention that this invention is indeed, novel, and, therefore, is not obvious to those skilled in the art. In terms of the prior art in multi-speckle vibrometers, the front-end devices are either totally passive in nature (such as the self-referencing Fabry-Perot resonators) or, at best, active in the sense that a collection of multiple speckles are processed via beam cleanup or real-time holography. In none of these multispeckle-based vibrometers is the notion of front-end amplification discussed or implied, rather the prior art here focuses on methods to deal with the highly diffuse and speckled incident beam, without further active processing. The present invention goes beyond the prior art, in that it not only provides a way of processing a highly speckled incident beam, but, also, at the same time (and, also, inherent in the same process as a matter of fact), this invention adds low-noise gain for enhanced shot-noise limited sensitivity by approximately 20 dB (fiber amplifiers can provide small signal gains at ≈40 dB without parasitics).


A method for manufacturing a contact plug is provided. The method includes providing a silicon substrate having at least one opening. A titanium layer is conformably formed in the opening. A first barrier layer is conformably formed on the titanium layer in the opening. A rapid thermal process is performed on the titanium layer and the first barrier layer. After performing the rapid thermal process, a second barrier layer is conformably formed on the first barrier layer in the opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing technique for an integrated circuit device, and more particularly, to a contact plug and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Trench metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) are common semiconductor power devices which can withstand high voltage and exhibit low turn-on resistance and high turn-on current. In contrast to planer semiconductor power devices, trench MOSFETs need to form one or more contact plugs in a silicon substrate so as to electrically connect to exterior components. A method for manufacturing the contact plug includes depositing a titanium layer and a titanium nitride layer in an opening so as to prevent conductive materials in the opening from diffusing outward and to provide the conductive materials in the opening with improved adhesion. Next, a rapid thermal process (RTP) is performed such that the titanium layer reacts with the silicon substrate to form a titanium silicide layer, thereby reducing the contact resistance of the contact plug. Next, a conductive layer is deposited to fill in the opening, and the manufacturing process is complete.
In such a method for manufacturing the contact plug, however, during the RTP, the titanium nitride layer is jostled by the titanium layer thereunder due to the different formation rates of the titanium silicide layer at the sidewall and bottom of the opening. Hence, the titanium nitride layer at the bottom corner of the opening may be torn apart and experience cracking. The conductive materials in the opening may thus diffuse outward via the cracks, resulting in leakage paths of the transistors and thereby increasing leakage current. Moreover, if the method utilizes gases containing fluorine (for example, WF6), fluorine ions may also pass through the cracks and react with the silicon substrate, thereby resulting in Si loss near the bottom corner of the contact plug.
Therefore, a novel contact plug and a method for manufacturing the same are desired to solve or mitigate the aforementioned problems.

Contact plug and method for manufacturing the same

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation


A turbine rotor blade for use in a gas turbine engine, the rotor blade including a squealer pocket on the blade tip to provide a seal between the blade tip and the outer shroud of the engine. A row of film cooling holes extend along the pressure side wall and the suction side wall of the blade near the tip and discharge film cooling air up and over the blade tip. Associated with each of the film cooling holes is a notch formed on the edge of the tip rail in which each notch is located above a film cooling hole and functions to collect and accelerate the cooling air discharged from the film cooling hole up and into the blade tip. The notches reduce the effective thickness of the blade tip in order to reduce the heat load, and increase the effective convection surface area for the cooling air flow. The notches also function to maintain the film layer of cooling air over the blade tip longer than in the prior art without the notches.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fluid reaction surfaces, and more specifically to a turbine blade with tip cooling.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In a gas turbine engine, especially an industrial gas turbine engine, the turbine section includes a plurality of stages of turbine rotor blades with blade tips that from a gap with an outer shroud of the engine in which the hot gas flow passing through the turbine can leak past. The blade tip gap leakage not only reduces the efficiency of the turbine by not impacting all of the gas flow onto the turbine rotor blades, but can cause thermal damage to the blade tips and result in shortened life for the blades.
In a high temperature turbine blade tip section, the heat load is a function of the blade tip leakage flow. A high leakage flow will induce a high heat load onto the blade tip section. Thus, blade tip section sealing and cooling must be addressed as a single problem. In the prior art, a turbine blade tip includes a squealer tip rail that extends around the perimeter of the airfoil flush with the airfoil wall and forms an inner squealer pocket. The main purpose of using a squealer tip in a blade design is to reduce the blade tip leakage and also to provide the rubbing capability for the blade.
In the prior art, blade tip cooling is accomplished by drilling holes into the upper extremes of the serpentine coolant passages from both the pressure and suction surfaces near the blade tip edge and the top surface of the squealer cavity. In general, film cooling holes are located along the airfoil pressure side and suction side tip sections and from the leading edge to the trailing edge to provide edge cooling for the blade squealer tip. In addition, convective cooling holes are also located along the tip rail at the inner portion of the squealer pocket to provide for additional cooling for the squealer tip rail. Since the blade tip region is subject to severe secondary flow field, a large quantity of film cooling holes and cooling flow is required in order for adequate cooling of the blade tip periphery.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art rotor blade squealer tip cooling design with the secondary hot gas flow migration around the blade tip section. The squealer tip pocket is formed by the pressure side and the suction side walls and the pocket floor. Film cooling holes are shown on the pressure side wall just beneath the squealer tip edge. Cooling holes are shown on the pocket floor to discharge cooling air from the internal cooling air passage and into the squealer pocket. The airflow over the blade tip flows in a vortex pattern as indicated by the arrows. FIGS. 2 and 3 shows the pressure side film cooling hole arrangement and shape of each film cooling hole opening. FIGS. 4 and 5 shows the suction side film cooling hole arrangement and shape of each film cooling hole opening.
The blade squealer tip rail is subject to heating from three exposed sides which are heat load form the airfoil hot gas side surface of the tip rail, heat load from the top portion of the tip rail, and heat load from the back side of the tip rail. Cooling of the squealer tip rail by means of discharge row of film cooling holes along the blade pressure side and suction side peripheral and conduction through the base region of the squealer tip becomes insufficient. This is primarily due to the combination of squealer pocket geometry and the interaction of hot gas secondary flow mixing. The effectiveness induced by the pressure film cooling and the tip section convective cooling holes becomes very limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,678 B1 issued to Bunker on Dec. 17, 2002 and entitled FILM COOLED BLADE TIP discloses a turbine rotor blade with a tip having multi-channel cooling grooves (#50 in the Bunker patent) arranged along the tip edge on the pressure side wall of the blade and discharge cooling air from an internal cooling channel of the blade. These cooling holes and channels do not collect and accelerate the cooling air as in the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a turbine rotor blade with film cooling holes for the blade tip edge periphery that greatly reduces the airfoil tip edge metal temperature and therefore reduces the cooling flow requirement and improve turbine efficiency.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a turbine rotor blade with film cooling holes for the blade tip edge periphery that will provide for a film of cooling air to pass over the blade tip.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a turbine rotor blade with notches on the pressure side tip edge that will retain the cooling air longer in the notches.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a turbine rotor blade with increased tip section cooling side convection wedded surface area.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a turbine rotor blade with a blade tip with reduced hot side convective area.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a turbine rotor blade with a blade tip that will reduce the effective leakage flow effective area which reduces leakage flow and thus lowers the heat load onto the blade tip.

Turbine blade with blade tip cooling notches


A drive apparatus for a zoom lens barrel having at least two movable lens groups, one of which is used also as a focusing lens group, comprising a pair of lens frames which respectively hold the two movable lens groups, a pair of driven pins which are integrally provided on the lens frames, a drive cam plate which is provided with a pair of cam surfaces which engage with the corresponding driven pins and which is rotatable about an axis, a drive mechanism which includes a motor for driving the drive cam plate, and a detection mechanism which detects the angular position of the drive cam plate. One of the cam surfaces that corresponds to the movable lens group, other than the focusing lens group, is defined by a stepped cam surface having discrete sections which are adapted to set the focal length discretely, so that no movement of the movable lens group takes place in the range of the angular position of the drive cam plate corresponding to the discrete sections. The other cam surface that corresponds to the movable lens group that functions not only as the zooming lens group but also as the focusing lens group is defined by a continuous cam surface which is adapted to move the movable lens group continuously when the drive cam plate is rotated in accordance with the object distance. The stop position of the drive cam plate during the zooming operation and the angular position of the drive cam plate during the focusing operation is controlled by the detection mechanism of the angular position of the drive cam plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive apparatus for a zoom lens barrel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A zoom lens includes at least two movable lens groups which are moved in predetermined directions upon zooming. In many zoom lenses, one of the two lens groups functions as a focusing lens group. In a conventional or classical drive mechanism which has been used particularly for a single lens reflex camera in which no focal shift during zooming is accepted, the movable zoom lens groups are moved along tracks defined by cam grooves formed on a cam ring so as not to cause the focal shift. The position of the focusing lens group, one of the two movable lens groups is controlled in accordance with the object distance upon focusing.
In another type of known drive mechanism for compact cameras or digital cameras in which it is necessary to correctly focus on an object at the time of shutter releasing, the movable zoom lens groups are moved upon zooming while permitting the focal shift, and thereafter the movable lens groups are moved to a focal position in accordance with set focal length data and set object distance data upon the shutter releasing.
In the conventional drive apparatuses, separate drive motors for the zooming operation and the focusing operation or for the two movable lens groups must be used. Moreover, it is necessary to provide a position detecting mechanism of the movable lens groups.


The rotary dial apparatus of the present disclosure includes: a housing; a dial being rotatably held relative to the housing; a magnet rotating in accordance with rotation of the dial; and a magnetic sensor disposed in the housing and detecting rotation of the magnet. The magnet and the magnetic sensor are disposed in different regions from each other with a wall being interposed between the magnet and the magnetic sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a rotary dial apparatus that can be disposed in an electronic device such as a digital camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
Patent Literature 1 discloses an operation member that allows the user to set an arbitrary number of pulses generated by a rotary encoder per rotation of a knob, and to instruct execution of any process such as reproduction of a selected music piece. The operation member is integrally disposed with the knob.

Rotary dial apparatus, imaging apparatus-use body and imaging apparatus

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


Detergent compositions, essentially free of peroxygen or chlorine bleach compounds, containing a surfactant, builder, enzyme and from about 0.001% to about 5% by weight polyethyleneimine (PEI) or salts thereof are disclosed. These compositions provide enhanced removal of organic stains, particularly on polyphenolic stains such as morello juice (cherry juice), blueberry juice, red wine, tea and coffee. Improvement was also demonstrated on certain non-polyphenolic stains such as grass.

Recently, in some geographical areas, there has been a growing concern regarding the use of phosphorus-containing compounds in laundry detergent compositions because of some evidence that links such compounds to the eutrophication of lakes and streams. While it is not clear whether or not this link is really significant, some governmental bodies have begun to restrict the phosphorus content of detergent compositions, necessitating the formulation of laundry detergents containing chelants less effective than the conventionally-used phosphonates or polyphosphonates. These requirements have complicated the formulation of effective and appropriately priced laundry detergent compositions. It would, therefore, be highly desirable to be able to formulate detergent compositions substantially free of peroxygen or chlorine bleach compounds which contain reduced levels of phosphorous-containing components, but still exhibit excellent cleaning and stain removal performance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel detergent compositions which exhibit improved stain and soil removal characteristics.
It is another object of the present invention to provide novel laundry detergent compositions substantially free of peroxygen or chlorine bleach compounds which still exhibit excellent cleaning and stain removal performance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide novel laundry detergent compositions substantially free of peroxygen or chlorine bleach compounds which exhibit excellent cleansing and stain removal performance, particularly under harsh water conditions.
It is a final object of the present invention to provide novel laundry detergent compositions which contain PEI's, as nil-phosphorous chelants.
These and other objects of the invention will be more readily apparent in the description that follows.
The use of PEI sequestrants in various compositions are generally disclosed in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,033,746 to Moyle et al. discloses compositions comprising PEI for use in coating, oil/latex paint and cellulosic applications. The compositions are said to have improved antimicrobial properties by combining halophenol compounds with PEI.
WO 94/27621 to Mandeville discloses a method of reducing iron absorption from the gastrointestinal tract by orally administering a therapeutic amount of PEI.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,060 to Vassileff discloses sequestering compositions for industrial applications comprising polycarboxylate polymers and PEI which have excellent sequestering properties for metals.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,213 to Gerstein discloses a method for solubilizing heavy metal salts of 1-hydroxy-2-pyridinethione in cosmetic formulations where PEI functions as a solubilizing agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,198 to Lang discloses wave set retention shampoo compositions containing PEI. The compositions are said to precipitate on the hair fiber when diluted with water in the course of usage. Upon drying, PEI improves the wave retention of the hair as well as improving hair manageability. No builders or enzymes are present in such compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,422 to Hewitt and U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,398 to Hewitt disclose aqueous and aqueous alcoholic scalp rinses containing solubilized PEI. It is said that PEI is effective against Pityrosporum ovale, the fungus believed to be associated with dandruff and therefore PEI serves as an anti-dandruff agent. No builders or enzymes would be present in such compositions.
British Patent No. 1,524,966 (to Reckitt and Colman Products) and British Patent No. 1,559,823 (to Reckitt and Colman Products) disclose anti-dandruff shampoo compositions comprising PEI as a conditioning agent for hair and as an antimicrobial agent. Again, no detergency builders or enzymes would be present in such compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,581 to Rizvi et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,965 to Janchitraponvej et al. disclose conditioning shampoo compositions containing PEI. It is said that protonated PEI's with cationic polyquaternium 32 provide improved stability and conditioning benefits. No detergency builders or enzymes would be present in such compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,778 to Dickson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,259,512 to Dickson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,271,307 to Dickson et al. disclose processes for preparing PEI's and derivatives thereof. It is suggested that PEI's can be broadly used in various applications such as oil well treatment, asphalt applications, textile applications and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,984 to Hull discloses a rinse free cleaner composition for hands, upholstery and carpet containing PEI.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,306 to Ulrich, U.S. Pat. No. 2,208,095 to Esselmann, U.S. Pat. No. 2,553,696 to Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,839 to Crowther and U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,687 to Teumac et al. disclose methods of preparing various PEI's.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,952 to Booth discloses detergent and fabric softener compositions containing alkylated and alkanoylated PEI's as antistatic agents. The alkylated or alkanoylated polyethyleneimines disclosed by Booth differ structurally from the polyethyleneimines and polyethyleneimine salts (or mixtures) of the invention which are not derivatized.
Furthermore, there are numerous patents that describe various alkoxylated derivatives of PEI (similar to those described by Booth) which are also structurally very different and are otherwise unrelated to the present invention. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,792,372, 4,171,278, 4,341,716, 4,597,898, 4,561,991, 4,664,848, 4,689,167 and 4,891,160.
Finally, perhaps the most relevant references that do disclose the use of polyethyleneimines in detergent compositions are as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,686 to Parran, for example, discloses detergent compositions containing certain PEI's which serve to enhance deposition and retention of particulate substances an surfaces washed with such compositions. There is no teaching or suggestion that polyethyleneimines be used in compositions substantially free of enzymes.
AU Patent No. 17813/95 (to Procter & Gamble) and JP 08,053,698 (to Procter & Gamble) disclose detergent compositions containing 0.01% to 10% PEI substantially free of tertiary amino groups having a specific molecular weight of 100-600 as a polymeric chlorine scavenger. The compositions are said to minimize fading of fabric colors sensitive to chlorine which may be present in the composition or in the wash or rinse water. The compositions optionally contain peroxygen or chlorine bleaching agents.
Once again compositions of the subject invention are free of peroxygen or chlorine bleach compounds, include builders and enzymes, and provide excellent cleansing and stain removal characteristics without bleaching action, even under harsh wash water conditions.
Accordingly, none of the above patents or applications disclose the improved compositions of the present invention or recognize the unique fabric stain removal properties of PEI or PEI salts (or mixtures thereof) in the context of laundry detergent compositions substantially free of bleach.

Detergent compositions containing polyethyleneimines for enhanced stain removal


Twisted leaf shaped ceiling fan blades for low, medium and high speed operation of less than approximately 250 rpm. The novel blades twisted blades can be configured for 52″, 54″, 56″, 60″ and 64″ diameter fans, and have less blades (3 for example) than conventional flat type bladed fans having 4, 5 blades and have greater air flow and less power draw results than the conventional flat 54 inch fans. Any of the novel twisted blades of 48″, 52″, 54″, 56″, 60″ and 64″ can be run at reduced speeds, drawing less Watts than conventional fans and still perform better with more air flow and less problems than conventional flat type conventional leaf shaped blades.

Circulating air by using aesthetically pleasing design fan blades has been done for many years. Leaf shaped flat type blades have become popular in recent years. See for example, U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. D387,156 to Johnson; U.S. Pat. No. D443,352 and U.S. Pat. No. D454,636 to Lantz; U.S. Pat. No. D485,345 and U.S. Pat. No. D510,992 to Bucher; U.S. Pat. No. D491,657 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,890,155 to Cartwright; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,624 to Tsai. Another popular blade style over the years is a flat planar rectangular blade that can have a slight tilt, as shown for example in U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. Des. 355,027 to Young and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 382,636 to Yang. These patents while moving air are not concerned with maximizing optimum downward airflow.
Furthermore, many of the flat ceiling fan blades have problems such as poor performance at high speeds, wobbling, and excessive noise that is noticeable to persons in the vicinity of the fan blades.
Also, the older design prior art leaf shaped ceiling fan blades are more prone to wobble and noise as the lift produced is non-uniform across the length of the blades.
Aircraft, marine and automobile engine propeller type blades have been altered over the years to shapes other than flat rectangular. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,903,823 to Lougheed; U.S. Pat. No. 1,942,688 to Davis; U.S. Pat. No. 2,283,956 to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 2,345,047 to Houghton; U.S. Pat. No. 2,450,440 to Mills; U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,057 to Hayashi; U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,675 to Gallot et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,598 to Okada; U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,434 to Thibert; U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,985 to Rothman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,633 to Hickey; U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,698 to Gornstein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,313 to Vorus; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,979 to Fradenburgh et al.; Australian Patent 19,987 to Eather. However, these patents are describing devices that are generally used for high speed water, aircraft, and automobile applications where the propellers are run at high revolutions per minute(rpm) generally in excess of 500 rpm. None of these propellers are designed for optimum airflow at low speeds of less than approximately 200 rpm which is the desired speeds used in overhead ceiling fan systems.
Some alternative blade shapes have been proposed for other types of fans. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,506,937 to Miller; U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,925 to Wosik; U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,460 to Volk; U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,349 to Wang; Great Britain Patent 676,406 to Spencer; and PCT Application No. WO 92/07192.
Miller '937 requires that their blades have root "lips 26" FIG. 1 that overlap one another, and would not be practical or useable for three or more fan blade operation for a ceiling fan. Wosik '925 describes "fan blades . . . particularly adapted to fan blades on top of cooling towers such for example as are used in oil refineries and in other industries . . . ", column 1, lines 1-5, and does not describe any use for ceiling fan applications. The Volk '460 patent by claiming to be "aerodynamically designed" requires one curved piece to be attached at one end to a conventional planar rectangular blade. Using two pieces for each blade adds extreme costs in both the manufacturing and assembly of the ceiling itself. Furthermore, the grooved connection point in the Volk devices would appear to be susceptible to separating and causing a hazard to anyone or any property beneath the ceiling fan itself. Such an added device also has necessarily less than optimal aerodynamic properties.
Tilted type design blades have also been proposed over the years. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. D451,997 to Schwartz.
However, none of the prior art modifies design shaped blades to optimize twist angles to optimize energy consumption and airflow, and reduce wobble and noise problems
Thus, the need exists for better performing leaf shaped ceiling fan blades over the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

High efficiency twisted leaf blade ceiling fan

University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


A surgical access system includes a connector including an arm, a coupling element, a rod, and a ridged slider. The arm includes first and second notched sections disposed in opposed lateral sides thereof. The coupling element includes a body section defining an opening therethrough, and opposed tabs protruding therefrom that are configured to receive the second notched section therebetween such that the arm is pivotably coupled to the coupling element. The rod includes a shaft having a plurality of angled grooves defined partially along a length thereof. The rod extends through the opening of the coupling element and the first notched section of the arm. The ridged slider includes a first surface having a plurality of ridges extending along a partial length thereof. The ridged slider extends through the coupling element with the plurality of ridges operably engaged with the plurality of angled grooves of the rod.

The human spine includes thirty-three vertebrae. The vertebrae interlock with one another to form a spinal column. Each vertebra has a cylindrical bony body (vertebral body), two pedicles extending from the vertebral body, a lamina extending from the pedicles, two wing-like projections extending from the pedicles, a spinous process extending from the lamina, a pars interarticularis, two superior facets extending from the pedicles, and two inferior facets extending from the lamina. The vertebrae are separated and cushioned by thin pads of tough, resilient fiber known as intervertebral discs. Intervertebral discs provide flexibility to the spine and act as shock absorbers during activity. A small opening (foramen) located between each vertebra allows passage of nerves. When the vertebrae are properly aligned, the nerves pass through without a problem. However, when the vertebrae are misaligned or a constriction is formed in the spinal canal, the nerves get compressed and may cause back pain, leg pain, or other neurological disorders.
Disease, the effects of aging, or physical trauma resulting in damage to the spine has been treated in many instances by fixation or stabilization of the effected vertebra. A wide variety of spinal fixation apparatuses have been employed in surgical procedures for correcting spinal injuries and the effects of spinal diseases.
Disorders of the spine that may cause misalignment of the vertebrae or constriction of the spinal canal include spinal injuries, infections, tumor formation, herniation of the intervertebral discs (i.e., slippage or protrusion), arthritic disorders, and scoliosis. In these pathologic circumstances, surgery may be tried to either decompress the neural elements and/or fuse adjacent vertebral segments. Decompression may involve laminectomy, discectomy, or corpectomy. Laminectomy involves the removal of part of the lamina, i.e., the bony roof of the spinal canal. Discectomy involves removal of the intervertebral discs. Corpectomy involves removal of the vertebral body as well as the adjacent intervertebral discs.
The time-honored method of addressing the issues of neural irritation and instability resulting from severe disc damage has largely focused on removal of the damaged disc and fusing the adjacent vertebral elements together. Removal of the disc relieves the mechanical and chemical irritation of neural elements, while osseous union (bone knitting) solves the problem of instability.
After a partial or complete discectomy, the normally occupied space between adjacent vertebral bodies is subject to collapse and/or misalignment due to the absence of all or a part of the intervertebral disc. In such situations, the physician may insert one or more prosthetic spacers between the affected vertebrae to maintain normal disc spacing and/or the normal amount of lordosis in the affected region.
Typically, a prosthetic implant is inserted between the adjacent vertebrae and may include pathways that permit bone growth between the adjacent vertebrae until they are fused together. As is typical, the intervertebral spaces are accessed either anteriorly or posteriorly. It would be desirable to access the intervertebral spaces via an approach that provides greater access to the surgical area while applying the least amount of stress to the surrounding tissue.
Additionally, one of the challenges during surgery is to ensure that the vertebral bodies can maintain parallel distraction so as not to move the spine out of alignment.
Therefore, a need exists for systems and/or devices used in spinal surgery that provides greater access and visualization of a surgical area while applying the least amount of stress to the surrounding tissue and/or maintains alignment and spacing of the vertebral bodies and rigid attachment to the vertebral bodies.

Orthopedic surgical system including surgical access systems, distraction systems, and methods of using same


A pressure regulating valve includes a body having an outer surface, the interior of the body defining an inlet chamber adapted to receive a fluid at a process pressure, and an outlet chamber. The body includes at least one inlet passage communicating with the inlet chamber and the outer surface, and at least one outlet passage communicating with the outer surface and the outlet chamber. A reference housing is adapted to be disposed in fluid communication with a fluid at a predetermined reference pressure. An annular membrane is disposed between the body and the reference housing, so as to circumscribe the inlet and outlet passages. The membrane is arranged such that, when the reference pressure is higher than the process pressure the membrane engages at least one outlet passage, and when the process pressure is higher than the reference pressure, the membrane is not engaged with the outlet passage.

There is a need for a precise pressure regulating device which can control fluid pressures at very low levels, for example in the range of body cavity or arterial or venous pressures. Further, it would be useful if such a regulator could be controlled automatically through a remote pressure signal. Further, there is a need for such a regulator to be hygienic and made from medically compatible and approved materials. All components of such a device which come into contact with bodily fluids should further be either disposable or autoclavable. There is also need for a small disposable precision regulator that can be used to control critical fluid flows such as medicine, bile, plasma, saline solution and blood, internally and externally; locally and over a broad region of a patient's body.

Tube configured pressure regulating valve


A hot wire chemical vapor deposition apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber, a substrate support member located in the vacuum chamber, a filament assembly support member located in the vacuum chamber, a precursor gas inlet located in the vacuum chamber and a device for providing a clean portion of at least one filament inside the vacuum chamber without breaking vacuum.

The present invention relates generally to the field of chemical vapor deposition, and specifically, to hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD).
The HWCVD process typically entails decomposition of a precursor gas on the surface of a metal catalyst filament whereby product(s) of the decomposition reaction are deposited on a substrate. However, with continued use, filaments (e.g. tungsten filaments) typically degrade and change surface chemistry. For example, precursor species, such as silane, can react with the tungsten filament surface to form a layer of tungsten silicide and/or amorphous silicon thereon. Consequently, the deposition conditions can also change since the surface chemistry of the filaments is altered. In order to maintain a more constant reaction condition during a deposition run or during successive depositions, it would be beneficial to deal with this issue.

Robust filament assembly for a hot-wire chemical vapor deposition system


According to one aspect and example, a method is provided for handling write protected storage devices. The method includes generating a read signal from a portion of a magnetic storage medium and determining if a modulation pattern is present in the read signal, the modulation pattern associated with an identification mark comprising a pattern of indicia associated with a recording layer of the magnetic storage medium. The identification mark indicates that the storage medium is a write protected storage device (e.g., a write-once-read-many “WORM” storage device or the like). If the storage medium is write protected, a media drive is restricted from write operations to the storage medium according to the particular write protected scheme, e.g., WORM, write append only, or the like.

1. Field of the Invention
Various examples described herein relate generally to magnetic storage devices and systems, and more particularly to methods and systems for write protected or archival magnetic storage devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic storage devices remain a viable solution for the storage and retrieval of large amounts of data. The use of half-inch magnetic tape cartridges, e.g., such as digital linear tape ("DLT") or linear tape open ("LTO") formats, is well known in the art. Generally, a magnetic storage tape is streamed by a magnetic data transducer head and data is recorded along multiple closely spaced tracks on the tape. The tape may be similarly streamed by the transducer head to read back the stored data. Magnetic storage devices are generally read/write capable and may be erased and written over many times during their lifetime.
In some instances users desire to store data in a non rewritable manner, e.g., such that the data is recorded to the storage device and further writing to the storage device is prevented. This format is typically referred to as a Write Once Read Many (or "WORM") format. Typically, WORM formatted storage devices allow a single write operation and are thereafter a read-only storage device. For example, after data is written to the storage medium of the device, the data cannot be erased, modified, or overwritten by the drive. Optical storage devices such as compact discs are more frequently utilized as WORM media because they generally store information in a permanent form by creating non-removable pits in the media surface.
WORM storage devices are often desirable for protection against accidental or intentional modifications of the data. In other cases, WORM storage devices may be used to satisfy certain regulatory agencies, e.g., relating to financial or medical data storage uses. Accordingly, WORM storage devices are often referred to as "archival" storage devices, where the intent is that the stored data remain secure and unaltered.
Traditionally, data preservation problems have been addressed by providing physical switches, locks, slides, or the like that prevent a drive from recording to a storage medium after the switch has been moved to a WORM mode. For example, a drive may record information to the storage device with the switch in a first position allowing the drive to write to the storage device. Moving the switch to a second write protected position makes the storage device "read-only," e.g., where a suitable drive recognizes the write protected position and is prevented from writing to the storage device. Standard magnetic tape cartridges, such as DLT cartridges, include a record switch that when in a proper position prevents a DLT drive from writing to the storage tape and thereby allows a DLT tape to become read only. The record slide switch, however, may be intentionally or inadvertently reversed to make the storage device writeable once again. Once the storage device is writeable, data stored thereon can be easily lost or altered if the system overwrites new data over the previously stored data.
Archival storage functions are often satisfied with special cartridges (distinct from standard read/write cartridges) that are compatible with distinct tape drives. For example, a cartridge may include certain characteristics such as size, surface features, cartridge leader features, data format, and the like to be recognized by the drive as a WORM device. Such systems are generally undesirable because of the additional cost of using separate cartridges and/or drives to perform write protected or archival functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,082 describes a write-once-only media consisting of a watermark that is magnetically recorded on the storage medium at the factory, with a portion of the mark detectable by the system and a portion of the mark detectable by returning to an inspection station for verification. In such a system, however, the storage medium can be bulk erased, including the magnetically recorded watermark, thereby removing the stored data and the indication that the medium is intended as a write protected device, e.g., a WORM device.

Write protected magnetic storage media and associated methods


A system and method are provided for accelerating data transfer between networked databases. First provided are a plurality of databases coupled by a network. At least one laser unit is coupled to each database. In operation, such laser units are capable of communicating data between the databases via free space by way of a laser beam. This allows data communication at a rate faster than that which the network is capable.

In the recent past, there has been a vast increase in the amounts of data transferred over networks. One of the primary reasons for such increased communication of data is the presence of larger, new and improved networks with the ability to transfer data at high transmission rates. One example of a network where data is being communication at an ever increasing rate is the Internet.
The Internet and other wide area networks commonly include a plurality of databases, or servers, which are connected by way of a system of communication lines. Such communication lines are traditionally constructed from a metallic, fiber optic, or likewise material to afford "hard-line" communication. In operation, users often access one of the servers in order to communicate data to another one of the servers which may be accessed by another user.
With the increasing popularity of the Internet, there has been a significant rise in demand for access to servers. This demand, in turn, has prompted the construction of large warehouses of servers which are connected to servers outside the building structure by way of the Internet, and connected to the remaining servers via a local area network (LAN) such as an Ethernet.
Prior art FIG. 1 illustrates a warehouse 100 with a plurality of interconnected servers 102. Communication between the servers 102 within the warehouse 100 is supported by a local area network 104, i.e. Ethernet, and a router 106. Such router 106 directs data received from one of the servers 102 to another one of the servers 102 by way of either the Internet 108 or the local area network 104.
The router 106 is often incapable of instantly directing data to a server 102 upon the receipt thereof. This results in an unacceptable latency, or a delay, during data trafficking between the networked servers. This delay has in the past been dwarfed by the delay associated with data transfer between a client computer of a user and a server. Such connections to the servers, however, are exhibiting faster and faster data transfer rates. This trend is rendering the delay between the network servers to be a significant "bottleneck."
There is thus a need for a system and method for providing an alternate data communication medium among networked databases that is capable of alleviating such delay, especially among networked databases in a single building structure.

High-speed data transfer in a networked server environment via laser communication