A cache memory includes a data array, a directory of contents of the data array that specifies coherence state information, and snoop logic that processes operations snooped from a system fabric by reference to the data array and the directory. The snoop logic, responsive to snooping on the system fabric a request of a flush/clean memory access operation of one of a plurality of processor cores that specifies a target address, services the request and thereafter enters a referee mode. While in the referee mode, the snoop logic protects a memory block identified by the target address against conflicting memory access requests by the plurality of processor cores such that no other coherence participant is permitted to assume coherence ownership of the memory block.

The present invention relates generally to data processing and, in particular, to a cache snooping mode that extends coherence protection for flush/clean memory access requests that update system memory.
A conventional multiprocessor (MP) computer system, such as a server computer system, includes multiple processing units all coupled to a system interconnect, which typically comprises one or more address, data and control buses. Coupled to the system interconnect is a system memory, which represents the lowest level of shared memory in the multiprocessor computer system and which generally is accessible for read and write access by all processing units. In order to reduce access latency to instructions and data residing in the system memory, each processing unit is typically further supported by a respective multi-level cache hierarchy, the lower level(s) of which may be shared by one or more processor cores.
Cache memories are commonly utilized to temporarily buffer memory blocks that are likely to be accessed by a processor in order to speed up processing by reducing access latency introduced by having to load needed data and instructions from system memory. In some MP systems, the cache hierarchy includes at least two levels. The level-one (L1) or upper-level cache is usually a private cache associated with a particular processor core and cannot be accessed by other cores in the MP system. Typically, in response to a memory access instruction such as a load or store instruction, the processor core first accesses the directory of the upper-level cache. If the requested memory block is not found in the upper-level cache, the processor core then access lower-level caches (e.g., level-two (L2) or level-three (L3) caches) for the requested memory block. The lowest-level cache (e.g., L2 or L3) can be shared by multiple processor cores.
Because multiple processor cores may request write access to a same cache line of data and because modified cache lines are not immediately synchronized with system memory, the cache hierarchies of multiprocessor computer systems typically implement a cache coherency protocol to ensure at least a minimum level of coherence among the various processor cores' "views" of the contents of system memory. In particular, cache coherency requires, at a minimum, that after a hardware thread accesses a copy of a memory block and subsequently accesses an updated copy of the memory block, the hardware thread cannot again access the old copy of the memory block.
Some MP systems support flush and clean operations, which cause a modified cache line associated with a target address of the flush or clean operation to be copied from a unique cache hierarchy containing the cache line in a coherence state indicating write authority (herein, sometimes referred to as an "HPC" state), if present, back to system memory. For a clean operation, the target cache line is also transitioned to an unmodified HPC coherence state. For a flush operation, a target cache line in an HPC state, whether modified or not, if present, is transitioned to an invalid coherence state. Flush operations additionally require any other copy or copies of the target cache line in a non-HPC state to be invalidated in all of the cache hierarchies of the MP system. This invalidation may not be complete when the cache holding the target cache line in the HPC state, if present, has completed its processing.
In MP systems that maintain coherency through a snoop-based coherence protocol, a flush or clean operation is generally broadcast on the system interconnect of the MP system and receives a Retry coherence response as long as the cache holding the target cache line in an HPC state has not completed processing of the flush or clean operation. Thus, the coherence participant that initiates the flush or clean operation may be required to reissue the flush or clean operation multiple times before the cache holding the target cache line in an HPC state, if present, has completed its processing of the flush or clean operation. When the cache that was holding the target cache line in the HPC state has completed processing of the flush or clean operation and if no new copy of the target cache line in an HPC state has yet been created (in a modified HPC state for a clean operation and in either a modified or unmodified HPC state for a flush operation), a subsequent issuance of the clean operation will receive a coherence response indicating success, and a subsequent issuance of the flush operation will receive either a coherence response indicating success (if no cached copy of the line then exists) or a coherence response transferring responsibility to invalidate any remaining non-HPC cached copies of the target cache line to the initiating coherence participant. In either of these cases for flush operations, the flush operation the operation can be considered as having "succeeded" in the sense that the flush operation has either fully finished or will finish once the remaining non-HPC copy or copies of the target cache line have been invalidated by the initiating coherence participant (e.g., through the issuance of kill operations). However, if prior to the subsequent issuance of the clean or flush operation another coherence participant creates a new copy of the target cache line in a relevant HPC state (i.e., in a modified HPC state for a clean operation and in either a modified or unmodified HPC state for a flush operation), the subsequent re-issuance of the flush or clean operation will be retried again, and the new copy of the target cache line in the HPC state will have to be processed, thus delaying successful completion of the flush or clean operation. This delay can be further exacerbated by continued creation of new HPC copies of the target cache line of the flush or clean operation.

Cache snooping mode extending coherence protection for certain requests

International Business Machines Corporation


A plastic gasket having a main body and an integrally formed sealing bead surrounding a service opening. The sealing bead is vertically moveable relative to the gasket body and has a first segment which projects above the main body and a second segment which is in line with the first segment and which is spaced inwardly of the main body. Integral reduced thickness cantilever sections join the sealing beads to the main body and cooperate with the beads to provide restorative energy under loading.

The present invention relates to molded gaskets, and especially to high temperature-resistant molded plastic gaskets for use in connection with automotive engines and in other environments where similar severe service conditions are encountered.
A wide variety of gaskets have been suggested in the prior art for automotive and other uses. Some such gaskets have been molded of high temperature plastics and have used sealing beads to enhance their sealing characteristics. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,969 a molded, fiber filled plastic gasket has sealing beads which are integrally formed with the gasket body. Sealing beads of the types there illustrated are not necessarily the most effective in some gasketing environments, and especially in those in which the flanges to be sealed have substantial warpage, or where substantial variations in the spacing between the flanges to be sealed may occur because of the positioning of the bolts or studs clamping the flanges to each other or for other reasons.
It would be desirable to provide improved gaskets for sealing joints, such as joints in automotive engines, and in particular to provide molded plastic gaskets having improved, integrally formed beads which function to seal without requiring excessively high clamping loads, which are adapted for use in a wide variety of environments, which are adapted for use with imprecise sealing flanges, and which will accommodate to substantial variations in applied clamping loads.

Molded plastic gasket having an improved sealing bead


A gas jet cooling device in a continuous annealing furnace is equipped with: windboxes disposed in a cooling chamber on both sides of a steel strip, blowing a cooling gas toward the strip through nozzles to cool it; and a means of cooling the gas introduced from the cooling chamber and then supplying the cooled gas to the windboxes, wherein the distance between the tips of the nozzles and the strip is not more than ten times the diameter of the nozzles; and the length of each of the windboxes in the strip traveling direction is not more than two thirds of the width of the strip. The gas jet cooling device can cool the strip rapidly and uniformly even when the distance between the strip and the front face of each windbox is shorter and the size of a cooling chamber is smaller than the conventional ones.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention belongs to the technological field relating to a gas jet cooling device, especially to a gas jet cooling device for a steel strip in a continuous annealing furnace.
2. Description of the Related Art
JP-A No. 116724/1987 describes a gas jet cooling device for a steel strip in a continuous annealing furnace. The gas jet cooling device for a steel strip in a continuous annealing furnace described in the document is, with the aim of preventing the flow rate of a gas blown onto a steel strip from attenuating, configured so that: the distance a between the steel strip and the tips of nozzles may not be more than 70 mm and the length b of the nozzles protruding from the front face of a windbox may not be less than (100−a) mm; thereby the gas after blown onto the steel strip may be discharged into the free space in the furnace (the space excluding the space between the steel strip and the tip faces of the nozzles in the furnace); and resultantly the gas after blown onto the steel strip may less disturb the flow of the gas blown through other nozzles. Note that, the windbox is described under the term "cooling gas chamber" in the document.
Since the gas jet cooling device for a steel strip in a continuous annealing furnace described in JP-A No. 116724/1987 is configured so that the distance a between the steel strip and the tips of nozzles may not be more than 70 mm and the length b of the nozzles protruding from the front face of a windbox may not be less than (100−a) mm as stated above, the distance between the steel strip and the front face of a windbox is not less than 100 mm, thus the distance between opposing windboxes interposing the steel strip in between is not less than 200 mm, and the cooling chamber must be large accordingly. Note that, the cooling chamber is described under the term "furnace chamber" in the document.
When the size of a cooling chamber increases, the mass of an insulator per unit cooling length of the cooling chamber also increases, thus the thermal capacity thereof increases, and thereby the responsiveness (the thermal inertia) of the temperature in the cooling chamber lowers. As a result, when the steel strips the intended mechanical properties of which are different from each other are continuously processed and thus the cooling conditions are different between the preceding steel strip and the succeeding steel strip, the controllability of the intended cooling end temperature of each steel strip lowers and moreover the mechanical properties of each product can hardly be secured. Further, another arising problem is that it causes the construction cost of a cooling chamber to increase.


Techniques are presented to stitch existing virtual private networks (VPNs), such as MPLS based VPNs, with virtual private clouds (VPCs) in public cloud data centers. The stitching architecture can be realized by configuring a virtual routing application (VRA) in the VPCs and configuring virtual routing applications and a virtual routing application controller in the existing VPN. For VPCs in public clouds that do not have a VRA, traffic can be default routed to VPCs with a VRA.

The benefits of the cloud-based applications and services are numerous, including fueling mobility and access to applications anytime, anywhere, and on any device, making collaboration more efficient and easier to manage.
With the advent of widely available third party cloud data centers in diverse geographic locations and the advancement of tools for monitoring and predicting application behaviors, it is technically feasible for enterprises to instantiate applications and workloads in locations that are geographically closest to their end users. This property aids in improving end-to-end latency and overall user experience. Conversely, an enterprise may wish to shutdown applications and workloads that are too far from their end users (therefore removing the networking connection to those deleted applications and workloads). In addition, an enterprise may wish to take advantage of more and more business applications offered by third party private cloud data centers, such as SAP HANA, Oracle Cloud, Salesforce Cloud, etc.
However, given the nature of how most Enterprise VPN networks are built, many of which are Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) based, enterprises have to do some heavy lifting (e.g. upgrading their existing customer-provided equipment (CPEs), make new purchase agreement with data center providers, etc.) to utilize these cloud-based resources in a flexible and scalable manner.

Stitching enterprise virtual private networks (VPNs) with cloud virtual private clouds (VPCs)


A seatbelt alarm device for a vehicle includes a seat sensor, a seatbelt sensor, a judgment circuit, an alarm unit, and a child seat sensor. The seat sensor detects a mass on a seat of the vehicle. The seatbelt sensor detects whether a seatbelt of the seat is engaged with a seatbelt buckle. The judgment circuit generates a demand for a seatbelt-wear alarm upon determining that a mass sits on the seat and the seatbelt is not engaged according to detection signals of the seat sensor and the seatbelt sensor, respectively. The alarm unit generates the seatbelt-wear alarm. The child seat sensor detects a child seat mounted on the seat. The judgment circuit restricts operation of the alarm unit when the judgment circuit determines that the child seat is mounted to the seat according to a detection signal of the child seat sensor.

Generally, a seatbelt alarm device is mounted in a vehicle for determining whether or not a seatbelt is worn and generating a seatbelt-wear alarm when it is determined that the seatbelt is not worn.
In one known seatbelt alarm device described in JP-1999-70855A, a seat sensor is provided to detect whether or not a passenger sits on a seat and then generates a corresponding signal. Furthermore, a seatbelt sensor is provided to detect whether or not a seatbelt of the seat is worn and then generates a corresponding signal. When it is determined that a passenger sits on the seat without wearing the seatbelt according to the sitting signal and the seatbelt signal, the seatbelt alarm device generates a seatbelt-wear alarm for inducing the passenger to wear the seatbelt. This seatbelt alarm device can be suitably used for seats in a vehicle.
For a seat on which a child seat is mounted with the seatbelt, the seat sensor will detect the weight of the child seat and generate a corresponding sitting signal. Furthermore, the seatbelt sensor will detect that the seatbelt is worn and generate a corresponding seatbelt signal. Thus, the above-described seatbelt alarm device determines if the seatbelt of the seat is worn irrespective of whether a child sits in the child seat or not.
However, in the case where the child seat is mounted on the seat with fasteners or the like as opposed to the seatbelt, the seat sensor will detect the weight of the child seat and generate the sitting signal and the seatbelt sensor will detect that the seatbelt is not being worn. Accordingly, the seatbelt alarm device falsely determines that a passenger sits on the seat without wearing the seatbelt, thereby generating an incorrect seatbelt-wear alarm.
Therefore, the vehicle may be provided with a switch near a driver so that the driver can manually cancel the seatbelt-wear alarm when the child seat is mounted to the seat. However, this method may require frequent operation of the switch by the driver, which may become impractical or inconvenient.


An exhaust-pipe structure for a saddle-ride type vehicle includes expansion paths each having a capacity appropriate for the output capacity of a corresponding cylinder. A front exhaust pipe and a rear exhaust pipe extend from a front cylinder and a rear cylinder constituting a V-type engine, respectively. A silencer is connected to rear end portions of the front and rear exhaust pipes. As expansion chambers, the silencer is provided with a lower first chamber led from the front cylinder and an upper first chamber led from the rear cylinder. A protruding space protruding from the lower first chamber is formed so that the capacity of the lower first chamber led from the front cylinder is larger than the capacity of the upper first chamber led from the rear cylinder.

The following exhaust pipe structure for motorcycle is known. In the exhaust pipe structure, exhaust pipes extend from respective cylinders of a multicylinder engine, and a single silencer is placed at downstream ends of these exhaust pipes. The silencer is divided into expansion paths which are independent of one another and are equal in number to the number of the cylinders in the multicylinder engine. (For example, see Japanese Patent No. 3196953, FIGS. 6 and 7).
In FIG. 6 of Japanese Patent No. 3196953, a muffler (hereinafter, the muffler is referred to as the "silencer," of a motorcycle has three independent expansion paths led from the respective cylinders. By partitions provided to radially extend in a tubular member, each of these three expansion paths is divided into three expansion chambers: a first expansion chamber, a second expansion chamber, and a third expansion chamber. The first expansion chamber and the second expansion chamber communicate with each other by a pipe, and the second expansion chamber and the third expansion chamber communicate with each other by a pipe.
In FIG. 7 of Japanese Patent No. 3196953, the silencer is divided into the three independent expansion paths by partition plates extending axially in the tubular member. The exhaust pipes extending from the cylinders are led to these three expansion paths, respectively. The three expansion paths provided in the tubular member have almost the same capacity. Note that the capacity is a volume that a container can hold.

Exhaust pipe structure for saddle-ride type vehicle


A latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device of the type which provides a permanent and official fingerprint document. The device includes a flexible transparent latent fingerprint lifting sheet having one adhesive surface and a flat opaque somewhat thicker, less flexible sheet defining a perimeter frame and a removable central area which defines a protective cover, the perimeter frame being substantially similar in size and shape to that of, and adhered in generally coextensive fashion on one surface thereof against the adhesive side of the fingerprint lifting sheet. When the transparent fingerprint lifting sheet, with the perimeter frame adhesively attached thereto, is separated from the protective cover, an imaged latent fingerprint may be lifted and recorded on the adhesive surface. The latent fingerprint thereafter is protectively sandwiched for viewing through the transparent sheet when the protective cover is adhesively reattached to the adhesive surface to form a permanent fingerprint document. A preferred aspect of this invention is derived from the reversing of the protective cover which carries printed indicia on an obverse surface thereof.

1. Scope of Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of taking and recording fingerprints, and more particularly to a device for the lifting and recordation of latent fingerprints into a permanent document for later official use.
2. Prior Art
A The lifting of latent fingerprints is traditionally done in its most economical fashion by using a length of one-sided adhesive transparent packing tape. A length of such tape is s imply applied directly over the latent print once it has bee n identified and powder treated or imaged for enhanced viewability by then simply pressing the adhesive surface of the tape segment directly atop the fingerprint and thereafter simply removing the tape carrying with it the fingerprint image attached thereto.
The lifted latent fingerprint is then typically adhesively attached to a stiff opaque card and labeled appropriately. However, the end product, which may be depended upon for use at trial and the like, has a generally unprofessional and inconsistent appearance and, for the truly professional law enforcement agents, further mounting and preparation into a more formal document for such use is desirable.
A device for lifting and processing latent fingerprints has been invented by Frame and is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,293. This device is directed to applying fingerprint lifting tape to imaged residues via an arcuate base member with a handle means for providing a rocking motion to the arcuate base member while it carries a releasably attachable length of lifting tape applied to the outside of the arcuate member.
Mason, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,600 teaches another kit for making sets of transparent fingerprints utilizing a differential adhesion concept, the device including a backing adhesive sheet, a centrally positioned transparent adhesive print strip and a protective cover.
Another fingerprint recording device has been invented by Reardon as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,426 teaching a protected area for the recording and preservation of a latent fingerprint attached over a portion of an identifying card and providing for the removal of the fingerprint for further forensic and verification processes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,188, Koch discloses a fingerprinting system and method for taking and developing fingerprints in a formal setting wherein the subjects"" fingers are cleansed of dirt and chemicals. The fingerprint is recorded on a layer of adhesive adhered to a sheet of transparent material which is then developed by making a copy of the sensitized surface by back reflecting radiant energy.
A method of taking limb impressions is disclosed by Brenner in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,680 wherein the impression of a limb such as a foot or hand may be prepared for mail order or catalog sales for shoes and gloves and shoe inserts without the need for direct sizing.
An unpatented device shown in current catalogs such as those distributed by Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories, ODV Fingerprinting and Crime Scene Catalogue, Lightning Powder Company, Inc., and Ace Fingerprint Equipment Laboratories, Inc., as a latent fingerprint device is generally characterized as having a transparent fingerprint lifter hingedly attached along one common margin to an underlying rigid opaque panel, the fingerprint, once taken onto the adhesive surface of either the opaque panel or the transparent sheet, being preserved after the two are resandwiched back together. Although listed in the above-referenced catalogs, this unpatented device has clearly not made its presence well known in the marketplace as applicant, who has been associated with law enforcement for nearly three decades, has never encountered this device in the field of crime investigation.
The following prior art patents are also known:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,607,946 to Crosskey
U.S. Pat. No. 2,006,744 to Pierce
U.S. Pat. No. 2,007,589 to Williams
U.S. Pat. No. 2,048,879 to Moran
U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,287 to Rudie
U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,240 to Miller et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,164 to Orlando et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,884 to Jordan et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,570 to Estrada
The present invention provides an economical to manufacture and easily useable latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device which not only facilitates the easy lifting of a latent fingerprint, but also provides an immediately available permanent recordation document of the latent print which is professional in appearance for use in both legal and financial verification settings.
This invention is directed to a latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device of the type which provides a permanent and official fingerprint document. The device includes a flexible transparent latent fingerprint lifting sheet having one adhesive surface thereof and a flat opaque less flexible two-part sheet defining a perimeter frame and a removable central area which defines a protective cover. The frame is substantially similar in size and shape to that of, and adhered in generally coextensive fashion on, an obverse surface thereof against the adhesive side of the fingerprint-lifting sheet. When the cover is separated from the transparent fingerprint-lifting sheet, with the frame still adhesively attached thereto, a fingerprint may be lifted onto the exposed adhesive surface. After an imaged latent fingerprint is lifted, the latent fingerprint is protectively sandwiched for viewing through the transparent sheet by reattaching the unmarked reverse side of the cover to the adhesive surface to form a permanent fingerprint document, the obverse surface of the cover having a printed area for entering information related to each latent fingerprint taken.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device formed as a unit which may be easily temporarily separable for lifting a latent fingerprint and then recombined into a single professional document recording the fingerprint for later professional, legal and financial use as required.
It is another object of this invention to provide a latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device having the provision for proper recordation of all associated information related to the fingerprint which is permanently viewably displayed on the device.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device which will as easily useable and adoptable by law enforcement as a more simple and economical means than that currently in use for lifting latent fingerprints, but which lack any substantial aspects of permanency and professional display of critical evidence for later legal use.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device which prevents the crime scene investigator from inadvertently touching the sticky surface of the tape and prevents the tape from wrinkling and sticking to itself.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Latent fingerprint lifting and recordation device

Pro-Lift Fingerprint Collection System, Inc.


A steam re-compression vacuum dryer includes a vacuum tank for accommodating waste; a first steam duct for removing steam from the vacuum tank; a steam compressor for compressing steam removed from the vacuum tank via the first steam duct and for producing a vacuum pressure in the vacuum tank; a steam condenser disposed in and/or thermally coupled to the vacuum tank; a non-condensing gas exhausting device for automatically exhausting non-condensing gas from the steam condenser; and a condensation water exhausting device for automatically exhausting condensation water from the steam condenser. If desired, a gas heater can be provided on the first steam duct to heat gas withdrawn from the tank through this duct. This gas heater may use steam discharged from the steam compressor as a heat source. The steam condensing device can be disposed in the vacuum tank, or it can be integral with an outer surface of the vacuum tank (e.g., the tank wall may have a double wall construction).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to steam re-compression vacuum dryers used for dehydrating and drying water-containing wastes, such as rubbish, waste fish, mud, etc. and also used for concentrating liquid wastes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a steam re-compression vacuum dryer, which comprises a vacuum tank for accommodating a waste, a compressing means for compressing steam from the vacuum tank, a steam condensing means thermally coupled thereto, and exhausting means for exhausting condensation water and non-condensing gas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wastes containing great amounts of water, such as organic wastes and mud, which could not heretofore have been burned and are readily spoiled, require a great deal of labor for their disposal. In addition, liquid wastes produced as a result of plating, photography, etc., are discharged in the ocean because their disposal is difficult. However, there is a trend for prohibiting such discharging in our country and also internationally.
Combustible wastes with even great water contents, however, can be burned with a slight amount of combustion promoter when their water content is reduced by evaporation. In addition, self-burning wastes can be used as a source of energy. Organic wastes can be readily converted into composts. Liquid wastes permit transportation cost reduction and are capable of recovering resources.
The evaporation of water content, however, requires application of heat corresponding to the high latent heat of water evaporation (2,257 kJ/kg at 100.degree. C.), thus requiring enormous heat energy.
Heretofore, techniques of drying water-containing wastes by vacuum evacuation have been used. In these techniques, a gas-tight vessel accommodating a waste is evacuated using a vacuum pump and, at the same time, heated with hot water or steam from a boiler, thus evaporating the water content. Steam being generated in this way is condensed by cooling water from a cooling tower and drained by using a water sealed vacuum pump.
By causing pressure reduction to below the atmospheric pressure, the boiling point of water is reduced from 100.degree. C. Therefore, the waste can be quickly dried while preventing a bad smell dispersion. In addition, wastes containing combustible materials such as alcohols can be safely dried.
However, the latent heat of the water evaporation is not reduced by evacuation. Rather, a boiling point reduction slightly increases the latent heat of evaporation (for instance to 2,383 kJ/kg at 50.degree. C.). Therefore, the heat energy required for drying cannot be reduced by evacuation.
As techniques for reducing heat energy required for evaporation, those of multiple stage flashing and steam re-compression are well known in the art. In either case, steam generated by evaporation is compressed and condensed (i.e., liquified) in a heat exchanger, and the latent heat of condensation generated at this time is used to evaporate water. Theoretically, these processes permit high energy efficiency to be obtained.
Particularly, since the steam re-compression process uses a relatively simple construction and permits efficient operation by electric power, it is used for concentrating liquid wastes. As the equipment, however, a large scale apparatus (of several 10 kW or above) is mainly used, which uses a centrifugal compressor. In addition, auxiliary devices such as a vacuum pump for air extraction and a draining pump are necessary, thus, complicating the equipment and increasing the cost thereof.
In applications, the process is used mostly for concentrating liquid wastes.
As a further technique, a vacuum evaporator, which is based on the principle of the heat pump and satisfactory in energy efficiency, is used in practice. In this case, a gas-tight vessel accommodating a waste is evacuated by using a water ejector or a vacuum pump, latent heat of condensation of steam is absorbed (with a refrigerant absorber) by using a heat pump based on such coolant as "HCFC-22" (chlorofluoro hydrocarbon), and latent heat of evaporation is given to the water (with the refrigerant condenser).
An advantage of this technique is that existing refrigerant (heat pump) parts can be used. However, it is possible that the lubricating oil will thermally be decomposed. Therefore, the cooling temperature cannot be made so high (only up to 60.degree. C. to 70.degree. C.). In addition, a heat exchanger between water and coolant is necessary, and the estimated coefficient of performance (which is the quotient of division of applied heat by electric input) is 3 to 5. The steam re-compression process permits a high heating temperature to be obtained and also permits a coefficient of performance of 10 or above to be readily obtained.
An object of the invention is to provide a steam re-compression vacuum dryer, which is based on the principle of steam re-compression, is small in size, is convenient to handle and is highly efficient in energy efficiency.

Steam recompression type vacuum drying apparatus


A polarization multiplexed receiver includes a polarization separator and optical mixing, detecting and analog-to-digital components. The polarization separator receives polarization multiplexed optical signals containing a first data stream and a second data stream, and operate upon the polarization multiplexed optical signals to separate, in an optical domain, the first data stream and the second data stream to generate a first optical output having the first data stream and a second optical output having the second data stream. The optical mixing, detecting and analog-to-digital converting components receive the first and second optical outputs from the polarization separator, extract, in a digital domain, the first data stream from the first optical output of the polarization separator, and extract, in the digital domain, the second data stream from the second optical output of the polarization separator.

In computer networking, existing transmitters for transmitting optical data may use 100 Gigabits per second transmission (100 G). 100 G typically involves a polarization multiplexed signal, where two independent data streams are polarization multiplexed at the optical transmitter. Existing 100 G polarization multiplexed systems use digital signal processing to separate the two data streams in the digital domain.

Identifying data streams in polarization multiplexed transmission


A computer system and method for generating a hardware description language source code file with embedded microcode segments for describing control logic of a complex digital system. A macro file is defined, comprising source code written in the hardware description language and a macro name associated with a segment of the source microcode in the macro file. A skeleton file is defined, comprising source code written in the hardware description language and including a reference to the macro name. The skeleton file is combined with the segment of the source microcode from the macro file at the reference to the macro name using a preprocessor to form a final source code file. Preferably, each microcode segment is encapsulated between a pair of comment statements expressed in the hardware description language. The comment statements identify macro names that are used for specifying a location within a hardware description language source code file at which the encapsulated microcode statement will be instantiated. This protocol enables the designer to preserve the attributes of the microcode while using the advantages of a hardware description language programming framework.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This invention relates generally to complex digital system design and more particularly to building a hardware description language representation of control logic for a complex digital system.
The behavior of electronic digital circuitry is dictated by control logic. The control logic in a simple digital system, such as a counter, can be mathematically defined and is relatively straightforward to design. Conversely, the control logic in a complex digital system, such as a microprocessor, must express a multitude of finite logic states and the amount of information conveyed is often too extensive for a human designer to comfortably comprehend. Consequently, computer-assisted design tools are often used to assist with the control logic design for complex digital systems and can also be used to simulate and test the intended behavior of the digital circuitry prior to actual synthesis into an integrated circuit.
One method of control logic design involves expressing the control logic as microcode which is burned or programmed into a read-only memory device, a gate array, a programmable logic device or similar logic block. During use of such a device, an address is input to the microcoded logic block which outputs the contents stored at that address, or a function of those contents, as control signals. Due to its similarity to a traditional computer program, microcode is easy to define and maintain. However, microcode is difficult to simulate and test using the computer-assisted design tools and is hard to synthesize into compact and fast logic blocks.
Another method of control logic design involves describing the control logic in a hardware description language, such as the Very High Speed Integrated Circuits Hardware Description Language (VHDL). With this design method, the structure and behavior of the circuit are specified in a source code file written in a hardware description language. The control logic can then be simulated and tested using the appropriate software packages and can be automatically synthesized into an electronic circuit. However, large control blocks, such as for microprocessor control, require a lengthy source code file and often contain a large amount of repeated code. The size of the source code file and the degree of code repetition make it difficult to maintain and develop complex digital systems using this method.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus and method for facilitating control logic design for a complex digital system using a hardware description language representation while avoiding the creation of a single monolithic hardware description language source code file containing repetitious segments of microcode.

Computer system and method for building a hardware description language representation of control logic for a complex digital system


A novel solar inverter circuit is used to connect a solar photovoltaic (PV) array with an alternating current (AC) voltage source to convert direct current (DC) power from the PV array to AC power. The solar inverter circuit employs the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of the PV or solar cell, and an H-Bridge circuit with gate controller. The gate controller synchronizes the H-bridge with the AC voltage source. The PV array and the solar inverter circuit can plug directly into a residential AC plug and provides electrical power as a supplementary AC supply. Electrical energy required by the home appliances is supplied by the municipal AC line and solar energy concurrently. Advantages of the solar inverter circuit of the present invention include the flexibility of using the solar inverter circuit with any number of solar cell panels through the implementation of an impedance transformer, and the implementation of an additional, optional output for DC battery charging.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to power converters and more particularly, to a solar inverter circuit that: (i) converts direct current (DC) power from a solar photovoltaic array to a counterflowing alternating current (AC) power in response to a reference AC power source, and (ii) generates additional AC power to supplement the reference AC power source.
2. Background of the Related Art
Conversion of direct current (DC) power from solar cells to alternating current (AC) power required in residential AC lines usually employs a large number of batteries for storing DC electrical energy from solar cells during day-time. The batteries serve as a DC voltage source. The DC voltage source is then converted to simulate sinusoidal ac voltage by a number of methods. One such method uses an asynchronous sine-wave generator or a digital technique to mimic an AC voltage having a plurality of DC levels. To couple such converted AC voltage to the residential AC line, the phase, frequency and amplitude of the converted AC voltage must be the same as that in the residential AC line. If these parameters are not synchronized, serious problems to the municipal electrical supply, and/or to the converted solar source would result.

Apparatus and method for providing supplemental alternating current from a solar cell array


An apparatus detects an object using an optoelectronic apparatus. Light beams generated by a light source are scattered back and/or reflected by an object and are detected by a receiver arrangement in accordance with the triangulation principle. An object detection signal is output by an evaluation unit and the light beams in the receiver arrangement act via an optical receiver system and a microlens array on a pixel array comprising photodetectors. A macropixel has a plurality of subpixels associated with each microlens. The evaluation unit comprises a unit for determining the received signal distribution over the subpixels. Methods for operating the apparatus are also provided.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
The functional principle of a triangulation light sensor is based on the fact that light beams transmitted by a light source are scattered back onto a receiver by an object which has moved into its beam path, with the angle at which the light beams scattered back are incident on the receiver being a measure for the distance between the light sensor and the object. A triangulation light sensor with a circuit output generates an object determination signal when an object is located within a predetermined scanning range. A spacing-measuring triangulation light sensor can measure the distance between the light sensor and an object and deliver an output signal proportional to the distance.
The light source, which can additionally be provided with an optical transmitter system, emits an ideally parallel bundle of rays which generates a light spot when incident onto the surface of an object which is scattered back by the object. This light spot is imaged into a receiver plane via an optical receiver system arranged laterally offset to the light source, with the imaging as a rule taking place in a blurred manner since the receiver plane is usually not in the image plane. The beams scattered back by the object pass through the optical receiver system at different angles in dependence on the distance of the object from the optical receiver system and are thus also incident onto different lateral positions in the receiver plane. The spacing of the object from the light sensor can be determined from the spacing of the light spot imaged onto the receiver from a reference point by means of triangulation with knowledge of the spacing between the optical receiver system and the receiver plane as well as of the location and direction of the bundle of rays transmitted by the light source.
With an ideal triangulation light sensor, the optical receiver system is formed by an infinitely small aperture since a detection of the spacing independently of interference influences is only thereby ensured. With a real triangulation light sensor, an optical receiver system is used with an aperture whose minimal size is predetermined by the limited sensitivity of the receiver and by the signal-to-noise ratio of the total system.
With a real light sensor of this type, however, the measurement result can be falsified if only a portion of the optical receiver system is illuminated in an asymmetric manner. This can occur, for example, in that the light pencil transmitted by the light source is incident on a contrast border present in the surface of the object, with the contrast border separating regions with very high backscattering capability and regions with very low backscattering capability from one another. The measured light spot focus is thereby displaced in an unwanted manner with respect to the anticipated light spot focus in the receiver plane.
Furthermore, only objects with ideally scattering surfaces can be detected really reliably by triangulation light sensors, i.e. the object should scatter back an incident light beam uniformly diffusely at a specific spatial angle. Real surfaces are, however, rarely exclusively light scattering; as a rule, at least some of the incident light is reflected.
A light beam reflected by the object as a rule only partly illuminates the optical receiver system in contrast to a light beam scattered back. If the reflected bundle of rays is not incident on the optical receiver system in the region of the optical axis, a light spot is generated by the reflected beams whose position differs from the position of the beams scattered back. Since the reflected beams as a rule have a higher intensity than the beams scattered back, a false detection can occur in dependence on the angle of the object surface to the transmission direction of the light beams transmitted by the light source.

Optoelectronic apparatus and a method for its operation


A filter system providing an improved connection device providing quicker and easier removal and installation of filters and increased reliability of the filters due to the improved connection device.

This invention relates generally to filters and particularly to filter systems for use in purifying fluids used in power generation plants. Fluids are used as coolants and to generate steam from the heat of the power generating reaction taking place in the power plant. Water is commonly used as a fluid in such power generation plants. Generally, to optimize the efficiency and performance of the application utilizing the water or other fluid, it should be purified, and filtering is a common means of purification.
Purification is typically completed in a system such as a large filter vessel containing multiple filters. This stage of purification is important, because any minerals or other impurities present in the water can foul the power plant by bonding to metal or concrete surfaces, reducing the efficiency of the plant and eventually causing damage that may require repair. Accordingly, the removal of impurities can directly affect the efficiency of the plant, and can assist in avoiding down time due to repair or cleaning. For example, if the water will be used to cool a reactor and generate electricity as it is passed through a steam driven turbine, it is important to remove any impurities within the water to prevent them from fouling the system and decreasing its efficiency. Minerals within the water may bond with the water conduit as it is subjected to heat, thus restricting the flow of water.
A typical purification system involves a large filter or demineralizer comprising a multitude of individual filters through which the coolant is passed. Previous methods of incorporating individual filters into a purification system have failed to address the problem of individual filters becoming detached from their connections within the purification system, thus allowing impurities to enter the power plant, and eventually causing the power plant to be shut down pending the reconnection of the filters. These filters are often connected with hook and guide rods which require a great deal of force to latch the spring loaded hook and guide rod and align a pin with a cam surface, locking the filter in place. The hook and guide rod design presently used is susceptible to malfunction due to incomplete engagement between the pin and the cam surface, differences in the spring strength and length, and the force of the fluid passing through the filter.
Maintaining the filters within a purification system is also important to the continued efficient operation of a power plant. Typical maintenance involves reconnecting filters which have become disconnected or have been forced from their connection by the pressure of the fluid passing through them, and requires the purification system to be temporarily shut down during reconnection. Because of the proximity of each filter within the purification system, it is difficult and time consuming to reconnect presently used filters.
In addition to the importance of quickly and easily connecting the filters, and of maintaining that connection, it is important to be able to recover used filters by backwashing fluid through them to remove the impurities that have been filtered out. After continued use, the filter will become filled with particles, and the filter will become unable to purify fluid. To prolong the life of the individual filters and delay their replacement, the flow of fluid within the purification system can be reversed to backwash the filters and remove the debris collected by the filters. However, by reversing the flow of fluid through the purification system, the filters are subjected to a force directed in the opposite direction of the force of filtering. This reverse force can negatively affect the individual filters, forcing them from their connections and requiring the system to be shut down until the filters are reconnected.
Individual filters can also be treated to attract ions that may not be captured by the physical structure of the filter. Backwashing is also important to remove filter treatments saturated with attracted impurities.
For the reasons described above, the presently used filters are susceptible to a variety of malfunctions due to becoming disconnected during backwashing, installation error, and defects or variations in the connecting mechanism. Accordingly, there is an unmet need for a more reliable means of attaching and securing a filter cartridge within a filter system, so that the filter cartridge will not be affected by increased pressure or the reversal of fluid flow associated with backwashing or cleaning of the purification system. In addition, due to the number of filters within a purification system, there is an unmet need for an improved coupling mechanism providing an easy and efficient means of attaching or removing a filter from the system, thus providing a means of reducing downtime in the apparatus utilizing the present filter system. Finally, there is a need for a filter system incorporating an improved filter element having improved filtration capacity due to the improved coupling mechanism.

Filter apparatus with coupling and latch mechanism


Via redundancy insertion is described. A via layout is analyzed by identifying each via, and for each via, identifying a location therefore in the layout, whether the via is redundant and a layout configuration for the via. Each via is classified into a bin of similar layout configurations. For each bin of redundant vias, possible via replacement candidates are determined from a database of possible replacement vias, and the candidates are ranked according to rule-based, recommendation-based and/or model-based criteria. For each via in each bin having a replacement(s), an optimal replacement is identified from among the ranked candidates taken in ranked order that first satisfies another criteria, such as not violating an applicable design rule. The layout is then updated with the optimal replacement.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to semiconductor layout design. More particularly, the present invention relates to pattern-based via redundancy insertion.
2. Background Information
With the ever decreasing size of semiconductors, wiring and wiring design becomes more and more complex, and manufacturing yields become increasingly challenging. To electrically connect various layers and/or devices (e.g., between transistors), vias are strategically placed. As one skilled in the art will know, the term VIA means Vertical Interconnect Access between wiring layers in semiconductor devices. VIAs are also sometimes referred to as "cuts." Due to the importance of VIAs, and typical yield reductions as sizes decrease, it has become necessary to build in redundant VIAs, in case a given one becomes a casualty to the complex semiconductor manufacturing process. The process of designing redundant VIAs is known as Via Redundancy Insertion (VRI).
VRI is done both at the design phase, as well as post-design prior to manufacturing, and is typically driven by the analysis of design rules surrounding a given via in an existing layout. The analysis is performed with computer assistance, including, for example, Design Rule Check (DRC) engines. VIAs initially not redundant may be replaced with redundant VIAs by analysis of replacement candidates using one or more DRC engines. As the number of design rules increases with each reduction in size, the computations that must be performed by the DRC engines itself becomes a factor in VRI.
Therefore, a need continues to exist for improved VRI techniques.


An audio input/output device which executes an input/output operation of audio data is provided on its output side with a plurality of output channels. Audio data is divided into a plurality of sectioned data, each of which forms an event. A control track is stored, in which event identifying index data are disposed in the order of reproduction of the events and channel identifying index data for designating one of the output channels are assigned to respective events. A desired output channel is selected from the plurality of output channels in accordance with the channel identifying index data and audio signals involved in the relevant events are supplied to the selected output channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital recorder which is capable of recording, reproducing and/or editing an audio signal using digital techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a method of recording, reproducing and editing an audio signal, a magnetic recording and reproducing technique is employed in which an analog audio signal is recorded on a magnetic tape, and the recorded signal is reproduced and edited. Since this prior art involves a recording and reproducing process for a signal in an analog form, deterioration in sound quality is inevitable. In particular, the deterioration will be prominent when once-recorded audio signal is dubbed.
Further, use of the magnetic tape as a recording medium raises problems such that it takes much time to reach a target editing point on the magnetic tape, and editing requires that the target recording portion of the magnetic tape be physically cut and pasted or be copied on somewhere else before the editing is actually executed.
The problem of deterioration in sound quality can be overcome by employing a technical means that codes a signal into a digital form and records on a magnetic tape. However, there still remains a shortcoming concerning location of a starting point for edition and freedom of edition due to the use of a sequential-access type recording medium.
Recently, there has been proposed a solution to the conventional problems which uses a hard disk or a magneto-optical disk as a memory medium. For instance, refer to U.S. Ser. No. 07/690,710 filed on Apr. 24, 1991, inventor: Nobuo IIZUKA; U.S. Ser. No. 07/752,876 filed on Aug. 30, 1991, inventor: Atsushi MIYAKE; U.S. Ser. No. 07/795,983 filed on Nov. 22, 1991, inventor: Nobuo IIZUKA; and U.S. Ser. No. 07/807,053 filed on Dec. 12, 1991, inventor: Nobuo IIZUKA.
In reproducing audio data stored on an external memory medium such as hard disk or magneto-optical disk, one part of an audio signal is stored on one track of the external memory medium. In case that the one part should include a continuous soundless portion (a continuous silent portion), such technical solution has been proposed for efficient use of the track that another part is stored on the track where the soundless portion was stored.
When a plurality of different parts of audio signals are stored on one and the same track and only required parts are reproduced from among a plurality of the previously recorded parts of audio signals, a user is required to operate a mixing machine for muting and erasing parts other than the required parts of the audio signals. However, the operation of the mixing machine for muting and erasing the above parts needs troublesome work, and further it is difficult for reproducing only the required parts to execute this muting operation precisely on time. In addition, if a computer provided in the mixing machine or connected thereto is employed for controlling the mixing machine, various control signals shall be supplied from a digital recorder to the mixing machine, which will invite complex control operation and will be obstacles to a small sized apparatus.

Digital recorder for reproducing only required parts of audio signals wherein a plurality of parts of audio signals are stored on a same track of a recording medium


This invention relates to a process for preparing a soya based foodstuff suitable as a taste alike replacement and substitute for meat based produce. The process includes the steps of providing a partially prepared soya based foodstuff, of predetermined mass and volume, having a solid constituent and a fluid constituent respectively at a predetermined mass and volume ratio, the solid constituent including soya concentrate at a predetermined percentage dehydration; and sealing the foodstuff in a container of predetermined volume thus enabling the solid constituent to absorb the fluid constituent at least partially, allowing the solid constituent to expand in the container volume to a predetermined degree in accordance with the percentage dehydration and the container volume so that the solid constituent is compressed to a predetermined and required extent. A corresponding process for packaging a soya based foodstuff suitable as a taste alike replacement and substitute for meat based produce as well as a corresponding soya based foodstuff are also provided.

This invention relates to a process for preparing and packaging soya based foodstuffs. More particularly but not exclusively, the invention relates to a process suitable for the preparation and the packaging of soya based foodstuffs such as taste alike replacements and/or substitutes for meat based produce and to the prepared and packaged foodstuffs.
The use of raw and/or processed soya concentrate in the preparation of taste-alike proteinaceous substitutes for meat based produce, or so called meat analogues, is well known. A disadvantage, however, of these soya based foodstuffs presently available is that the foodstuffs to date only have had limited acceptance, due to various factors including texture and/or taste unacceptability, flavour fatigue, crumbling and/or disintegration of formed portions such as patties, meatballs, stew chunks and the like as well as inconsistency of such processed meat substitutes for corned-hash, meat loaves and sausages.
For the purposes of this invention the term "soya based foodstuffs" must be interpreted to mean foodstuffs using "raw soya concentrate" and/or "processed soya concentrate" as basis. Further, the term "raw soya concentrate" must be interpreted to mean textured soya concentrate "TSC", textured vegetable protein "TVP" or soya isolate, commonly available from crushed soya beans which have been defatted and de-husked, or any combination of two or more thereof. Similarly, the term "processed soya concentrate" must be interpreted to mean raw soya concentrate wherein substantially all the undesirable soluble carbohydrates and proteinaceous inhibitors have been removed from the concentrate. The undesirable soluble carbohydrates typically will include raffinose, stachyose and verbascose, while undesirable proteinaceous inhibitors will include anti-tryptic factors such as Kunitz factors and Bowman-Birk factors.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a process suitable for the preparation and packaging of soya based foodstuffs such as taste alike replacements and/or substitutes for meat based produce aimed at overcoming or at least minimising the above disadvantages as well as to provide such packaged foodstuffs.

Process for the preparation and the packaging of soya based foodstuff


Described herein are multi-specific binding agents that bind A33 and 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid. Also provided herein are methods of using multi-specific binding agents or compositions thereof for the detection, prevention, and/or therapeutic treatment of diseases characterized by expression of the A33 glycoprotein antigen, in particular, colorectal cancer.

Antibody-based therapeutics offer significant promise, particularly in the treatment of cancer. A variety of formats, including monoclonal, murine, chimeric, humanized, human, full-length, Fab, pegylated, radiolabeled, drug-conjugated, multi-specific, etc. are being developed. Of the more than 30 therapeutic antibody agents that have received marketing approval in the United States or Europe (see e.g., Reichert, mAbs 4:3, 413, May/June 2012, incorporated herein by reference), two bispecific antibodies (Catumaxomab and Blinatumomab) made using different technologies have been approved for use in humans. Still, development of particular effective antibody agents remains a challenge.

Multi-specific antibodies with affinity for human A33 antigen and DOTA metal complex and uses thereof


Apparatuses and methods are provided in which a CE protocol communication session is established, at a first provider edge network device (PE), for customer equipment device (CE) multi-homed to the first PE and one or more second PEs. The first PE is an owner of the CE protocol communication session. The first PE signals to the one or more second PEs an ownership message indicating that the first PE is the owner of the CE protocol communication session. The ownership message includes parameters that enable one or more second PEs to install in their respective forwarding tables a redirect policy to instruct the respective PE to forward packets of this session to the first PE via an overlay segment. The first PE receives the packets of the session via the overlay segment based on the ownership message.

More and more digital services are becoming available to consumers. To provide these services, businesses store their digital data in computing environments such as datacenters. Because of vast amounts of information that needs to be supported by the datacenters, data centers may become virtualized to accommodate the increasing amounts of data and increasing demands on the computational resources required to provide the digital services.
A virtualized datacenter may include several geographically remote locations that are connected to one another via communication networks. A virtualized datacenter may include customer equipment or customer edge (CE) devices, such as servers, virtualized servers, virtual machines (VMs) running on the servers and/or physical appliances, connected to provider edge (PE) network devices to obtain access to a core network. The PE network devices are network elements such as routers, switches, gateways, etc. The PE network devices support the transport of traffic data to network devices which transport data across public network or networks to other PE network devices and eventually to other CE devices, such as another location of the virtualized data center. Many types of networks are available to transport data such as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Additionally, many overlay networks now exist to support virtualization of digital services. Overlay networks may include virtual LANs (VLANs), virtual private networks (VPNs) and virtual extensible LANs (VXLANs), for example. Many protocols exist to support the transport of data between the CE devices and the PE network devices across various types of networks.

Optimizations for PE-CE protocol session handling in a multi-homed topology


A self-ligating orthodontic bracket. The self-ligating orthodontic bracket comprises a bracket body and a movable closure member, and the bracket body includes a first body portion, a second body portion and an archwire slot therebetween, running through the bracket body. The movable closure member is engaged with the second body portion and movable relative thereto between an opened position and a closed position; the first body portion and/or the movable closure member include, at the inward end thereof, a tool receptacle having a receptacle top and a receptacle bottom, and the tool receptacle is adjacent to the archwire slot, the archwire slot and the first body portion co-form a first side surface, while the archwire slot and the second body portion co-form a second side surface, the tool receptacle includes a smooth surface that slopes downwardly to the first side surface.

Orthodontic appliances are commonly used to correct misaligned teeth. Orthodontic bracket is a principal component of orthodontic appliances. An orthodontist or an assistant engages an archwire into a slot of each bracket. The brackets are used to affixed to the patient's teeth, and the archwire applies corrective forces to coerce the teeth to move into correct positions by the brackets.
Most of the present self-ligating brackets include a bracket body and a ligating slide, wherein the ligating slide is engaged with bracket body and movable relative thereto between an opened position in which the archwire is insertable into the archwire slot, and a closed position in which the ligating slide retains the archwire in the archwire slot.
In order to open the archwire slot on the bracket body, the bracket body includes a tool receptacle configured to receive the tip of a tool that facilitates opening the ligating slide. The tool receptacle of the brackets on the market are all in a rectangular parallelepiped shape adapting for the tip of the miniature flathead tool. In operation, the tip of the tool is inserted into the tool receptacle and rotated in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. During the rotation of the tool, the tool bears against the ligating slide, so that the ligating slide moves in the gingival direction relative to the bracket body toward the opened position. However, there are two problems in the operation of opening the archwire slot on the bracket body. In one aspect, the tool should be a specified tool with a flathead, thus a usage of the specified tools may cause inconvenience to orthodontists. In another aspect, during the rotation of the tool, a static friction force is formed between the self-ligating bracket and the patient's tooth, which would reduce the bond reliability between the bracket and the tooth, resulting in prolonging the orthodontic treatment. What's even worse is that, the self-ligating bracket may be easily dropped off, causing medical malpractice.

Self-ligating orthodontic bracket and opening method thereof


In a surface acoustic wave element according to an embodiment of this invention, raised electrodes 20 formed on thin film electrodes 18 are provided with throughholes 31. Additionally, bumps 26 arranged on the raised electrodes 20 reach the thin film electrode 18 by going through an oxide film 18a of the thin film electrodes 18 after part of the bumps enters the throughholes 31 of the raised electrodes 20. By doing this, conduction is achieved between the thin film electrodes 18 and the bumps 26 formed on a piezoelectric monocrystal substrate 28. Thus, a solid oxide film 18a is formed on the surface of the thin film electrodes 18 formed from monocrystal aluminum, but part of the bumps 26 which enters the throughholes 31 of the raised electrodes 20 goes through this oxide film 18a, so conduction between the thin film electrode 18 and the bump 26 is achieved with higher accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surface acoustic wave elements, surface acoustic wave devices, surface acoustic wave duplexers, and to methods of manufacturing surface acoustic wave elements.
2. Related Background Technology
Recently, instead of a filter using dielectrics and a resonator, there are more cases in which a surface acoustic wave filter and a surface acoustic wave resonator, which are types of surface acoustic wave devices, are used for a high frequency circuit of a mobile communication device, such as a portable telephone, a cordless telephone, and the like. This is because the dimension of the surface acoustic wave filter is smaller than that of a dielectric filter, and one in the same size have advantage in the electrical characteristics.
This type of surface acoustic wave device is mainly provided with a piezoelectric substrate, a comb electrode (Inter Digital Transducer, hereafter referred to as "IDT") obtained by forming an electrode film laminated on the piezoelectric substrate, and a package that accommodates the piezoelectric substrate and the IDT. Lithium niobate (LiNbO3), lithium tantalate (LiTaO3), quartz, or the like is used as a material of the piezoelectric substrate. In particular, when an RF band filter is manufactured, there are many cases in which lithium niobate and lithium tantalate having high electro-mechanical coupling coefficients are used. Lithium niobate has a large electro-mechanical coupling coefficient, so a substrate with a 64°-rotated Y-cut is used. In addition, lithium tantalate has a high electro-mechanical coupling coefficient and a relatively small temperature coefficient of frequency, so a substrate with a 34–44°-rotated Y-cut is used. Furthermore, in many cases, aluminum with a characteristic of low density and low electrical resistivity is used for a material of an electrode film.
As described above, there are many cases in which a surface acoustic wave device is used for a portable telephone or the like in an RF band (800 MHz–2 GHz). Additionally, for example, when a surface acoustic wave device is used in a 1 GHz band, and large repeated stresses, which are proportional to the frequency during operation, are added to the IDT on the piezoelectric substrate, there was a problem that life duration (lifetime) of the surface acoustic wave device is shortened because migration of aluminum atoms due to the repeated stresses is generated, and defects such as hillocks (protrusions), voids (depletions), and the like are generated in the IDT. That is, electrical durability of the IDT (i.e., the electrode film) becomes an extremely important factor for the lifetime of the device. In addition, a deterioration phenomenon of the IDT significantly appears due to the increase in applied voltage in addition to the shift to high frequency operation. Furthermore, in terms of designing the device, as the frequency increases, the electrode film must be made thinner, and the electrode width must be made narrower. As a result, this type of deterioration phenomenon increases.
Meanwhile, with respect to a duplexer that occupies a large space in a high frequency circuit of a portable phone, it is proposed that a conventional dielectric duplexer should be changed to a small surface acoustic wave duplexer. However, this surface acoustic wave duplexer is an extremely small component, and there was a problem of electrical durability against a large electric power applied particularly to the sending side of the duplexer. Furthermore, as an IDT formation area of the surface acoustic wave device is designed to be large, it is possible to increase the electrical durability by reducing an effective electric power density. However, in this case, there is a problem that the device cannot be made smaller than a certain size.
Due to the above-mentioned reasons, improvement of the electrical durability of the IDT of surface acoustic wave devices, i.e., the electrical durability of the electrode film formed on the piezoelectric substrate is strongly demanded.
It is well known that the diffusion of aluminum at crystal grain boundaries is faster than inside the crystal grains. It is considered that controlling the diffusion at the grain boundary has priority. Therefore, it has been considered that the above-mentioned migration of the aluminum atoms due to repeated stress mainly occurs at crystal grain boundaries. This has conventionally been addressed. Because of this, it has been predicted that electrical durability can be significantly improved by reducing or removing crystal grain boundaries of, or, more preferably, monocrystallizing, an aluminum electrode film.
Therefore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 55-49014 discloses a technology in which an electrode film is substantially made to be monocrystalline. An object of such technology is to improve a performance capability of a surface acoustic wave device regardless of a substance constituting a material of the device.
In addition, Japanese Patent Publication 2545983 discloses a technology which applies, as an electrode film of the surface acoustic wave device, an aluminum film of monocrystal or in which the crystal direction is oriented in a constant direction. In this publication, a Y-cut quartz substrate in the range from 25°-rotated Y-cut to 39°-rotated Y-cut is used as a piezoelectric substrate and is deposited at a high speed (film formation speed: 4 nm/seconds) and at a low temperature (substrate temperature: 80° C.), and thereby an orientation film (311) is obtained. This film is an epitaxial film which is similar to monocrystal.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 6-132777 discloses a technology related to an aluminum monocrystal electrode film different from the one disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-Open Application 55-49014. This reference discloses that an aluminum monocrystal film can be obtained if a film is formed at an extremely low speed. More specifically, formation of an aluminum monocrystal film on an LST cut quartz substrate according to a vacuum deposition method, formation of an aluminum monocrystal film on a 128°-rotated Y-cut lithium niobate substrate according to the vacuum deposition method, and formation of an aluminum monocrystal film on a 112°-rotated X-cut lithium tantalate substrate according to the vacuum deposition method are possible.
International Publication No. WO 00/74235 discloses that a 38–44°-rotated Y-cut lithium tantalate monocrystal substrate is used as a piezoelectric substrate, an interdigital-type electrode includes a titanium base metal film and an aluminum film formed thereon, and the aluminum film becomes a monocrystal film due to the effect of the titanium base metal film. Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2003-101372 discloses a surface acoustic wave device provided with a piezoelectric substrate formed of lithium tantalate or lithium niobate 33°±9°-rotated Y-cut, one of a titanium nitride buffer layer, a multi-layer buffer layer in which titanium nitride and titanium metal are laminated, and an inclined composition buffer layer where the composition changes gradually from titanium nitride and titanium metal, laminated on the substrate, and a monocrystal aluminum laminated on the buffer layer.

Surface acoustic wave element, surface acoustic wave device, surface acoustic wave duplexer, and method of manufacturing surface acoustic wave element


A memory cell power supply circuit for each column includes a first PMOS transistor and a second PMOS transistor connected together in series between a first power supply and a second power supply. A connection point between the first and second PMOS transistors is output as a memory cell power supply. A control signal which is based on a column select signal and a write control signal is input to a gate terminal of the first PMOS transistor. A signal which is an inverted version of the signal input to the gate terminal of the first PMOS transistor is input to a gate terminal of the second PMOS transistor.

The present disclosure relates to techniques of controlling a power supply voltage for a memory cell in semiconductor storage devices, such as static random access memory (SRAM) etc.
Advances in miniaturization of semiconductor devices in recent years have been accompanied by an increase in variations in characteristics of transistors included in semiconductor storage devices. The power supply voltage in semiconductor storage devices has been increasingly reduced.
In the background art, the memory cell power supply voltage may be decreased on the row-by-row basis in order to reduce the leakage current of a memory cell. Specifically, a high power supply voltage for memory cells in non-selected rows may be controlled to a voltage value lower than the VDD level (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-73165).
Alternatively, in the background art, the memory cell power supply voltage may be decreased on the column-by-column basis in order to increase the write margin of a memory cell while ensuring a sufficient margin for static noise. Specifically, a high power supply voltage for memory cells in a selected column during data write operation may be controlled to a voltage value lower than the VDD level (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 2006-85786 and 2007-12214).
Alternatively, in the background art, a low power supply voltage for memory cells in a selected column during data write operation may be controlled to a voltage value higher than the VSS level (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-234126).
In the technique of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-85786 supra, no means is provided for supplying charge to the memory cell power supply after the memory cell power supply is decreased during write operation. As a result, the memory cell power supply voltage gradually decreases due to a leakage current. Therefore, during write operation, the memory cell power supply becomes lower than the retention voltage of a memory cell, leading to a problem that data stored or held in memory cells other than those to be written which are connected to the memory cell power supply is destroyed.
In the technique of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-12214 supra, a voltage lower than the power supply voltage is generated by voltage division performed using two p-type MOS (PMOS) transistors which are connected together in series between the power supply and the ground. However, during write operation, both of the two PMOS transistors are on, and therefore, a through current flows from the power supply to the ground through the memory cell power supply generating portion, resulting in an increase in power consumption.


The present invention provides a process for preparing a low molecular weight olefin (co)polymer having a narrow molecular weight distribution with high productivity, by polymerizing or copolymerizing an olefin in the presence of an olefin polymerization catalyst comprising (A) a specific Group 4 transition metal compound, and (B) at least one compound selected from the group consisting of (B-1) an organometallic compound, (B-2) an organoaluminum compound, (B-3) an organoaluminum oxy-compound, and (B-4) a compound which reacts with the Group 4 transition metal compound (A) to form an ion pair; and compounds useful in that process.

An olefin low molecular weight polymer such as a polyethylene wax is used in applications such as a pigment dispersant, a resin processing aid, a printing ink additive, a paint additive, a rubber processing aid and a fiber treating agent. In addition, an olefin low molecular weight polymer is also used in a releasing agent for toner. Recently, from a viewpoint of energy saving, a low temperature fixing toner is sought, and an appearance of a wax having better release characteristics at a low temperature, that is, a wax having a lower melting point with the same composition and the same molecular weight is desired.
As a process for preparing such an olefin low molecular weight polymer, conventionally, a titanium catalyst has been usually used industrially. However, although the catalyst has an advantage that, in case of using the catalyst system, the yield of the low molecular weight polymer per unit amount of the catalyst is high, and the productivity is high, it also has a technical challenge that it is necessary to maintain a high hydrogen partial pressure in the gaseous phase in the polymerization system and, as a result, a large amount of alkanes as side products are produced.
Furthermore, the molecular weight distribution of the resulting low molecular weight polymer is wide and, in particular, since the low molecular weight polymer having a molecular weight of 1000 or smaller is greatly sticky, it is difficult to use it in the aforementioned applications without removing the low-molecular weight fraction.
As a method for solving these challenges, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 210905/1984 proposes a process for preparing a low molecular weight polymer using a vanadium catalyst. This publication describes that a low molecular weight polymer having a narrow molecular weight distribution can be prepared under a low hydrogen partial pressure, as compared with that prepared using a titanium catalyst. However, the molecular weight distribution is not necessarily sufficient. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. JP-A No. 78462/1985 proposes a process for preparing an ethylene wax, comprising the step of polymerizing ethylene or copolymerizing ethylene with an α-olefin, in the presence of a metallocene catalyst comprising (A) a compound of a transition metal selected from the group consisting of Group 4 elements, Group 5 elements and Group 6 elements of the periodic table and (B) an aluminoxane. According to this process, an ethylene wax having a narrow molecular weight distribution can be prepared, but a process for preparing an ethylene wax having further excellent productivity is desired.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 203410/1989 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 49129/1994 describe preparation of an ethylene wax using a metallocene catalyst comprising a metallocene and an aluminoxane. However, in these methods, the productivity is not necessarily sufficient. When a polymerizing temperature is raised, it becomes easy to remove the polymerization heat, and the productivity can be improved, but there is a challenge that a yield of a low molecular weight polymer per unit weight of a catalyst is lowered.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 239414/1996 has already proposed a process for preparing an ethylene wax, comprising the step of (co)polymerizing ethylene in the presence of an olefin polymerization catalyst comprising (A) a Group 4B transition metal compound containing a ligand having a cyclopentadienyl skeleton, (B) a compound which reacts with the (A) to form an ion pair, and (C) an organoaluminum compound. According to this process, an ethylene wax having a narrow molecular weight distribution can be prepared at high production efficiency, but a process for preparing an ethylene wax further excellent in the productivity and the quality is desired.

Process for preparing low molecular weight olefin (CO)polymer and polymerization catalyst used therefor


A molding apparatus that blow molds a polymeric container having a glasslike appearance and having a shape exhibiting superior stability against toppling. The container includes a base defined by a chime and a bottom having a central push-up region. A plurality of support feet surrounds and protrudes downwardly from the bottom, each of the support feet having a substantially flat contact surface and having a radially outermost point corresponding with a vent of the apparatus at a point wherein the bottom merges with the chime.

This invention relates generally to a one piece plastic beverage container with a footed base structure; and particularly, a container of this type molded with a reduced amount of plastic material while providing optimized material flow in the formation of each foot. These containers are usually, although not exclusively, made from a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester material using a blow molding process that biaxially orients and sets the molecular structure.
A major difficulty in manufacturing such a container is controlling and minimizing the distortion of material flowing to form the footed base structure that can result from the pressure created under normal molding conditions. Such distortion can lead to poor container stability, such as that created by a "rocker bottom", where distortion in the formation of the base creates a structure such that the supporting feet cannot simultaneously contact the supporting surface. In this case, the container may be unstable and "rock" when placed on a flat surface. Thus, in the case of a footed base, it is important that one manufactures the contact lower surface of each foot properly and that surface remains properly positioned and angled. The present invention enables the consistent manufacture of such a stable footed container; a container having a substantially oval cross-sectional configuration or a substantially kidney shaped cross-sectional configuration. These cross-sectional configurations are often found in containers used by the liquor beverage industry, containers that industry often refers as a hip or pocket flask.
A continuing need exists from an improved molded plastic container and a base therefore that exhibits outstanding stability and offers the consumer the aesthetic appeal of appearing to be "glasslike" in profile. That is, the container having a profile similar to a previously made glass container. Common molding conditions and the difficulties of flowing PET materials into angularly disposed molds have dictated, until now, that the base structures of PET containers be substantially curved surfaces and therefore, such PET containers have had a decidedly non "glasslike" profile appearance. The present invention provides a PET container with a largely straight-sided base structure with subtle curved surfaces, thereby providing a container having a more "glasslike" profile appearance.

Apparatus for molding a beverage container with optimized base


A shunt includes a tubular body having first and second legs at a proximal end and a third leg at a distal end. A fluid distensible balloon and cooperating insufflation conduit are carried on the tubular body. The first leg of the tubular body includes a longitudinal slit for receiving the second leg whereby the first and second legs may be positioned substantially coaxial so as to allow easier introduction of the shunt into the blood vessel of a patient. Similarly, the second leg having a longitudinally slit for receiving a portion of the cooperating insufflation conduit and also holding it in a coaxial position. A leader tube with a blunt atraumatic tip is received over the proximal end of the tubular body to further aid in the introduction of the shunt.

Shunts of various designs have been utilized in the medical field as a way of temporarily by-passing an anatomical structure or structures during a surgical procedure while still maintaining blood flow. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,824 to Gamponia discloses a substantially Y-shaped shunt including two entry limbs or branches and a single discharge limb. Each limb carries an inflatable collar adapted to hold each limb of the shunt in position in a blood vessel during use.
One shortcoming shared by branched shunts such as disclosed in the Gamponia patent is the difficulty the branching presents when introducing the shunt into or through an anatomic structure of the patient. Specifically, the branching makes it difficult as one or more of the branches or legs often interfere with the introduction process by inadvertently engaging one or more adjacent anatomical structures. To date, no effective solution has been provided addressing this problem.

The University of Kentucky Research Foundation


An apparatus for the closure of containers may include at least one closure head for applying the closures. The at least one closure head is situated in a clean room sealed off by a medium. The apparatus including a movement device arranged at least in part in the clean room. The movement device is configured to produce a rotational movement of the closure head about a longitudinal axis of the movement device and a translational movement of the closure head along the longitudinal axis of the movement device. The movement device is contacted at least locally by the medium for sealing off the clean room from a non-clean room.

A container treatment plant known generally from the prior art has for example a portion for heating the containers, a portion for inflating and stretching the containers, a portion for sterilizing the containers and a portion for closing the containers.
In this case the portion or the plant for closing the containers comprises for example at least one apparatus for closing the containers which has at least one closure head for applying the closure caps to the containers, a movement device for transferring a rotational and a translational movement of a motor to the closure head and a clean room in which the containers are moved during the procedure.
A closure head for an automatic lid application machine is described for example in EP 1 905 728 B1, which has a support, a turning shaft and a lid-gripping element. The support has mounted on it a rotatable turning shaft which is surrounded by a sleeve which forms a chamber which is sealed off around the turning shaft and which is filled with a disinfection agent, the sleeve being stationary with respect to the support. The chamber is closed by two mechanical seals which in each case have a stationary part and a turning part. The sleeve itself extends through an opening in an upper stationary plate and has on its external periphery a bellows, the upper end of which is mounted on the stationary plate and the lower end of which is mounted on the sleeve. In addition, the chamber is connected to an inlet opening and an outlet opening for the disinfection agent, the openings being situated above the stationary plate and thus in the non-sterile area. In this case sealing the non-sterile area off from a sterile area by means of an hydraulic seal is carried out only by way of the sleeve, which must additionally have a seal in the region of the plate which it passes through. Accordingly, sealing systems provided in addition to a hydraulic seal are required.
DE 10 2008 034 389 A1 describes inter alia a closure machine for the closure of bottles, which has a functional element which has a wall separating a sterile room from a non-sterile room and with an hydraulic seal which permits a relative movement of the functional element with respect to the wall. The closure machine thus comprises a rotor which is capable of being driven and on the periphery of which is arranged an annular sterile room which surrounds the vertical axis of the machine concentrically and which is formed inside a casing and is demarcated from the non-sterile room by a plurality of walls.
In this case some walls are provided on the rotor, which rotate with the latter and other walls are provided on a machine frame, which do not rotate with the rotor. A hydraulic seal is arranged between these walls. The closure stations arranged in the periphery of the rotor have a closure tool which has a drive arranged outside the sterile room and a spindle which is arranged in part outside the sterile room and extends through the hydraulic seal or the siphon seal as far as the sterile room. This hydraulic seal has a highly complex design outside the first wall regions.
In addition, DE 10 2008 056 242 A1 describes a closure apparatus for containers, which has a closure head for applying the closures to the containers, which closure head is arranged inside a sterile room and performs a translational and a rotational movement. These reciprocating and rotational movements are transmitted to the closure head by a movement device which is arranged in part outside the sterile room and which produces the movement itself or is moved by a drive element arranged outside the sterile room. The sterile room is bounded by a first wall and has an annular channel into which the first wall projects. This annular channel is movable with respect to the first wall and is filled with a liquid and thus forms a so-called surge chamber together with the first wall.
This surge chamber seals the non-sterile area off from the sterile area. The movement device extends through this surge chamber from the non-sterile area into the sterile room. To this end a cylindrical body through which the movement device extends is arranged in the annular channel and is connected to it in a fixed manner. In addition, the movement device has a cylindrical body which is arranged on it and the peripheral wall of which projects into the liquid independently of the position of the movement element. In order to seal the clean room off from the non-clean room, this apparatus accordingly requires bodies which are designed in a complicated manner and which are arranged one in the other in such a way that sealing by means of a surge chamber can take place even in the case of a translational or rotational movement of the movement device.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to make available an apparatus for the closure of containers, which despite a simple structural design permits an adequate sealing of the clean room off from the non-clean room even during the movement of the movement device in the rotational and the translational directions and, as a result, is economical to produce and simple to assemble and maintain.

Apparatus for the closure of containers with clean room