A leveling valve for the automatic stabilization of the chassis height of a vehicle, especially of a motor vehicle with pneumatic shock absorption, having a valve housing (1) with a spring-loaded double valve body (11), an inlet seat (16) for the double valve body (11), and a hollow valve plunger (25) carrying an outlet seat (26) for the double valve body (1), being movable in the axial direction, and being assigned to a gasket (22) disposed in a groove (21), which may be axially readjusted for the purpose of adjusting the locking position in relation to a supporting element (30) resting on a cam (43) of a shaft (48) that runs transversally to the central axis (2) of the valve plunger (25) and is torsion-proof. The position of the supporting element (30) in relation to the housing (1) may be changed by means of an actuating lever (45) disposed outside of the housing, swiveling and acting on the shaft (38). The housing ( 1) is made of synthetic material and possesses an axially continuous bore hole (3) with a smallest section disposed in the central area and with adjacent stepped sections increasing towards both ends. Further essential structural elements, e.g. the shaft (38) and/or the valve plunger (25) and/or the supporting element (30) etc. consist of synthetic material. The shaft (38) is received in the housing (1) at both sides of the central axis (2) of the valve plunger (25).

A leveling valve of this kind is known from DE-PS 33 33 888. In a valve housing, a spring-loaded double valve body is provided, possessing an inlet valve with an inlet seat for a conduit leading to one or several pneumatic bellows. A hollow valve plunger which is supported in a movable way a with its upper end forms an outlet seat assigned to the double valve body acts jointly with the double valve body. The valve plunger is supported by means of a supporting element at a shaft accommodated at the valve housing in a rotating way, that is at a cam formed at this shaft. The shaft may be rotated by means of an actuating lever at the outside of the valve housing so that in this way a rotating motion of the shaft is transformed into an axial motion of the valve plunger. In order to adjust a locking position between inlet valve and outlet valve the valve plunger is supported in a rotating way in relation to the supporting element in a thread linking both parts with on another, the supporting member in turn being guided in the valve housing in a torsion-proof and axially movable manner. A gasket for the sealing of the conduit leading to the pneumatic bellows is assigned to the valve plunger, which is disposed in an only radially open groove in a special inset. The individual parts of the leveling valve are mostly designed as metal parts and are manufactured in an accordingly precise manner, usually by means of a machining process. The bearing of the rotatable shaft is located on one side of a central axis constituted by the valve plunger, the double valve body and the supporting element. This bearing is bedded in a sprue spigot in the valve housing made of metal, causing the valve housing to be designed in the necessary costly manner.
In DE-OS 2451349 a leveling valve is shown whose shaft that can be rotated by means of the actuating lever is received in a continuous bore hole in the valve housing, the bearing being disposed symmetrically to the central axis of the valve plunger. In this way, the support of the supporting element and thus of the valve plunger on the cam of the shaft is improved. Between the double valve body and the cam of the shaft, the valve plunger and the support element are provided both of which may be screwed onto one another by means of threads in order to secure a membrane that serves the purpose of sealing the conduit leading to the pneumatic bellows. However, it cannot be used for adjusting a locking position. In the case of this leveling device some structural elements are already made of synthetic material, e.g. the valve body and the supporting element. It is nothing special to produce valve bodies out of synthetic material or an elastomer, in order to exploit the flexibility of this material in connection with valve seats. The good sliding characteristics of synthetic material bring about a reduction of the friction between supporting element and shaft or cam by means of the supporting element. A design fundamentally different from the design made of metal aiming at designing as many essential structural elements of a leveling valve as synthetic material parts cannot be recognized.
All known leveling valves possess a number of structural elements which to a large degree consist of metal and require careful processing in regard to tolerances in order to achieve the desired operating safety. As a rule, the valve housing which is also made of metal, is designed in several parts in order to enable or simplify the assembly of the leveling valve. The bedding of the rotatable shaft disposed on one side of the central axis of the leveling valve formed by the valve plunger must be arranged with the necessary care so that the take-up of forces of a spring holding the supporting element in contact with the cam of the shaft is rendered possible. In addition, such a leveling valve must be of a certain size, on the one hand, in order to offer the required sections for the ventilation of the pneumatic bellows; on the other hand, one seeks to offer this kind of leveling valves as inexpensively as possible.


In one embodiment, a computer accessible medium stores a plurality of instructions including instructions which, when executed: track dependencies among a plurality of assets; and responsive to an identification of an asset for potential recovery (the “selected asset”), identify an asset dependency set corresponding to the selected asset. The asset dependency set comprises at least a subset of the plurality of assets, wherein each asset in the subset has a dependency with the selected asset. In some embodiments, one or more of the following may be provided: tracking asset dependencies and presenting the asset dependency set to the user; pruning the asset dependency set to a recovery set identifying the asset dependency set; generating the recovery order (optionally optimized); initiating the recovery according to the recovery order; performing recovery steps; generating the recovery plan and/or executing recovery plans.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of protection and recovery of computer system data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data protection for computer systems is an important part of ensuring that the information generated on a computer system and/or stored on the computer system is not lost due to the occurrence of a hardware failure, a software failure, user error, or other environmental event (e.g. power outage, natural disaster, intentionally-caused disaster, accidental disaster, etc.). Generally, events that the data protection scheme is designed to protect against are referred to herein as disaster events. The data protection scheme attempts to make redundant copies of the data and locate those copies such that the data is safe from the disaster events and such that the data can be restored to the computer system or to another computer system rapidly enough to be acceptable given the nature of the data, its importance to the creator of the data, etc.
While restoration of the data after a disaster event is part of recovery, restoration alone may not be enough to ensure recovery. Generally, recovery refers to actually bringing back into operation the applications and other software/functionality that were in operation on a computer system or systems prior to the disaster event. Generally, the application software, the underlying operating system software, and data/configuration files for the application and operating system must be restored to a logically consistent state to permit recovery. The number of components that need to be restored in consistent state may be large, and dependencies of components on each other may not be clear at the time of recovery. Which components need to be restored prior to others may also not be clear. For example, if an operating system driver is to be recovered, then the applications running on that operating system may need to be restarted. However, if the driver was corrupted due to a hardware failure, the hardware may need to be replaced and a more complex recovery involving restoring, reconfiguring, and restarting the applications on the new hardware may be needed.
Recovery is frequently performed under significant time pressure. The pressure, and the complexity of properly recovering, may frequently lead to mistakes on the part of the individuals responsible for performing the recovery (e.g. information technology (IT) professionals, also referred to as administrators). The recovery time may be lengthened significantly. Particularly, which components require recovery and in which order the components are to be recovered may be a source of error. In many cases, it is only the experience of the administrators in similar previous recoveries that indicates the recovery process for a current recovery. A less experienced administrator may be less likely to rapidly perform a correct recovery.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Using asset dependencies to identify the recovery set and optionally automate and/or optimize the recovery


Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for free-breathing cine DENSE MRI using self-navigation. In one embodiment, a method includes acquiring magnetic resonance data for an area of interest of a subject, wherein the acquiring comprises performing sampling with phase-cycled, cine displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) during free-breathing of the subject; identifying, from the acquired magnetic resonance data, a plurality of phase-cycling data pairs corresponding to matched respiratory phases of the free-breathing of the subject; reconstructing, from the plurality of phase-cycling data pairs, a plurality of intermediate self-navigation images; performing motion correction by estimating, from the plurality of intermediate self-navigation images, the respiratory position associated with the plurality of phase-cycling data pairs; and reconstructing a plurality of motion-corrected cine DENSE images of the area of interest of the subject.

Myocardial strain imaging is increasingly used for the assessment of cardiac function ([1-4]). Cine Displacement Encoding with Stimulated Echoes (DENSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ([5, 6]) is an established myocardial strain imaging technique with high accuracy and rapid data analysis. However, current DENSE protocols require breath-holding, which limits its use in patients who cannot hold their breath, such as pediatric patients and heart failure patients. DENSE MRI uses segmented data acquisition where data are acquired over multiple heartbeats and respiratory motion among the acquisitions of different segments induces artifacts such as blurriness in the images ([7]).
For DENSE imaging in particular, suppression of the artifact-generating echo due to T1 relaxation is vital, which, with breath-holding, is generally achieved by subtraction of complementary phase-cycled datasets ([5, 8]). However, with free-breathing, cancellation of this echo is compromised when phase-cycled datasets are acquired at different respiratory positions. Poor suppression of the T1 relaxation echo due to respiration can result in severe striping artifacts in images. Therefore, breath-holding (BH) is conventionally used to manage these artifacts. BH is rapid and efficient, but not always feasible, especially for many heart failure patients and pediatric patients.
Previously, a diaphragm navigator (dNAV) method has been applied to enable free-breathing (FB) cine DENSE acquisitions ([9]) but with greatly decreased efficiency (˜30%) and variable image quality ([9, 10]). Additionally, the conventional dNAV method requires extra setup of the dNAVs. Another approach is to extract respiratory motion information from the imaging data itself, termed self-navigation. Self-navigation is advantageous compared to dNAV because it extracts motion from acquired image data and often directly estimates motion of the heart due to respiration. Self-navigation can also be combined with rigid motion correction in the k-space domain to improve efficiency. One self-navigation method enables reconstruction of lower-resolution intermediate images (iNAVs) and estimation of respiratory motion using image registration ([11-15]). This strategy is especially suitable for non-Cartesian sampling trajectories that have greater sampling densities near the center of k-space.
In addition to self-navigation, there are other strategies that can enhance the performance of free-breathing imaging. Localized signal generation ([16]) can reduce the field of view (FOV) and therefore reduce motion artifacts generated from unwanted tissues. ([17]) With a smaller FOV, the motion of heart can be represented with a simpler model such as an affine motion.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the various aspects of the disclosed technology as described below are presented.

Systems and methods for free-breathing cine DENSE MRI using self-navigation

University of Virginia Patent Foundation


A method for manufacturing a metal plug. The method includes the steps of providing a substrate having an insulation layer thereon, and then forming an opening in the insulation layer. Next, a conformal barrier layer is formed over the insulation layer and the sidewalls of the opening, and then metal is deposited to fill the opening and cover the barrier layer. Thereafter, the metallic layer above the barrier layer is etched back so that a metal plug is formed inside the opening. Finally, a chemical-mechanical polishing operation is carried out using the insulation layer as a polishing stop. A low polishing speed is used in the polishing operation so that a highly planar metal plug surface is obtained.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a metal plug.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a metal plug is formed by first etching an insulation layer to form an opening and then forming a conformal barrier layer over the insulation layer and the sidewalls of the opening. Next, metal is deposited to fill the opening and cover the barrier layer. Finally, that portion of the metallic layer above the barrier layer is removed so that a metal plug is formed inside the opening.
There are several methods to remove the metallic material above the insulation layer. For example, one method of forming a tungsten plug is to etch back a portion of the tungsten layer using fluoride-containing plasma. However, due to the high reactivity of fluoride plasma, the upper surface of the tungsten plug may cave in a little. Therefore, a difference in height of up to about 1000 .ANG. between the tungsten plug surface and its neighboring barrier layer is possible.
A second method is to polish the barrier layer using a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) operation after the tungsten layer is etched back so that the degree of concavity on the upper surface of the tungsten plug is reduced. However, the barrier layer of a tungsten plug is usually a titanium nitride layer while the insulation layer is normally a silicon oxide layer. Since titanium nitride and silicon oxide are materials having similar polishing rates in a CMP operation, a portion of the oxide insulation layer on each side of the tungsten plug will also be removed after the titanium nitride barrier layer is removed. In other words, the tungsten plug will protrude above the oxide insulation layer after the polishing operation, and often can be as high as 1500 .ANG.. Because of the concavity of plug surface and its protrusion above the insulation layer, only a rough surface can be formed. Subsequently, when a photolithographic operation is carried out to pattern out conductive lines, light will likely be defocused since the surface is rough. Consequently, shapes and positions of those conductive lines will be somewhat affected and product quality will be compromised.
An alternative method is to polish the tungsten layer using CMP at the very start, and then perform a CMP touch-up operation at a slower polishing speed thereafter. This method is able to obtain a highly planar tungsten plug surface with a maximum variation within a range of about 200 .ANG. to 300 .ANG.. However, the cost can be as high as US$ 35 per silicon wafer.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need to provide a method of manufacturing a metal plug that can lower the cost of production.


A swivel apparatus for the transfer of at least one pressurized process fluid, comprising a central stem (2) on which there are placed a number of ring elements (3-6) comprising at least one outlet ring (3) having a number of outlets (10) communicating through an annulus (14) with an associated course (12 resp. 13) in the stem (2), and a number of supporting rings (5, 6) which are stationarily arranged on the stem (2). Between the stem (2) and the outlet ring (3) there is arranged a distance ring (4) which is stationary relative to the stem, and on each side of the outlet ring there is arranged a supporting ring (5 resp. 6) which is stationary relative to the stem and which is axially supported both by the distance ring (4) and an axial bearing (17) arranged at a radial distance therefrom between the supporting ring (5 resp. 6) and the outlet ring (3). A dynamic sealing means (21) between the outlet ring (3) and each supporting ring (5 resp. 6) is arranged in the radial region between the distance ring (4) and the axial bearing (17) in question.

The invention relates to a swivel apparatus for the transfer of at least one pressurized process fluid, comprising a central stem on which there are placed a number of ring elements comprising at least one outlet ring having a number of outlets communicating through an annulus with an associated course in the stem, and a number of supporting rings of which at least one is stationarily arranged on the stem, dynamic sealing means for sealing against the annulus being arranged between mutually movable ring elements, and bearing means for mutual support for the ring elements.
A swivel apparatus of the above mentioned type is shown and described in the non-prepublished Norwegian patent application No. 981379. This swivel apparatus comprises a number of annulus elements of which each consists of a so-called intermediate ring and an outer outlet ring defining between them an annulus for fluid transfer. The intermediate ring is stationarily arranged on the stem, and on each side thereof there is arranged a bearing ring which is provided with a bearing for support in relation to the intermediate ring. Further, between the intermediate ring and each bearing ring there are arranged axial, dynamic seals which are integrated in the bearing rings. Between the stem and the intermediate ring there are arranged radial static seals, and radial static seals are also arranged between each of the bearing rings and the outlet ring, for sealing against fluid from the annulus. The latter static seals are located at a relatively large distance from the stem, because of the fact that the intermediate ring must have a radial extension which is sufficient for accommodating both the bearing means and said dynamic seals. The bearing rings in which the dynamic seals are integrated, here are fixed or supported at only one place, and deformations in the sealing zones in some fault situations will be a limiting factor.
As regards the radial static seals, it has turned out that deformations and expansions, because of temperature gradients and because of internal pressures in the area around the seals, is a substantial factor putting operational limitations on the swivel.
It is a general object of the invention to provide a swivel structure making it possible to extend the operational limits for the swivel with respect to rate of flow, pressure and temperature, and which also implies a simpler construction and assembling, and therewith reduced manufacturing costs.
Another object of the invention is to provide a swivel structure wherein some of the previously used, critical seals are removed, and wherein the ring elements in the region in which the dynamic seals operate, are better fixed or supported, something which implies that the seals operate under more optimal conditions.
A further object is to provide a swivel structure which is suitable for building of multi-course swivels having quite independent courses, and which also enables that the production through some courses in such a swivel can be maintained during replacement or service of the other swivel courses.
For achieving the above-mentioned objects there is provided a swivel apparatus of the introductorily stated type which, according to the invention, is characterized in that, between the stem and the outlet ring, there is arranged a distance ring which is stationary relative to the stem, and that, on each side of the outlet ring, there is arranged a supporting ring which is stationary relative to the stem and which is axially supported both by the distance ring and an axial bearing arranged at a radial distance therefrom between the supporting ring and the outlet ring, a dynamic sealing means between the outlet ring and each adjacent supporting ring being arranged in the region between the distance ring and the axial bearing in question.
In an advantageous embodiment of the swivel apparatus, the distance ring comprises a plurality of radial holes communicating with an annulus-forming peripheral groove in the stem, and with a ring groove in the adjacent end surface of the outlet ring. Further, the outlet ring at its outer end preferably is provided with a pair of axially oppositely directed ring flanges bordering respective ones of the supporting rings, a radial bearing being arranged between an inner surface of each ring flange and an adjacent surface portion of the supporting ring in question.
As will be seen, the ring elements around the dynamic seals in the present structure are supported at two places, viz. both in the distance rings and the axial bearings, and this will imply substantially smaller deformations, something which is one of the most important presuppositions for securing an operationally safe sealing and swivel system.
In the swivel apparatus according to the invention, the individual ring elements have been changed with respect to design and function, as compared to the known swivel structure described above. The stated sealing arrangement with axial and radial bearings sees to it that the relative movements and frictional conditions are controlled. Because of the configuration of the outlet rings, in addition to the fact that there are no statical radial seals in connection therewith, the outlet rings can be dimensioned for large rates of flow in combination with high pressures and a high temperature gradient.
As a result of the fact that only the outlet rings are rotatable in relation to the centre stem, whereas the remaining ring elements are stationarily arranged on the stem, the fluid courses in the present swivel structure will be independent of each other. Thus, one may operate with independent courses in the swivel, something which implies that one can make use of only the number of courses for which there is a need at any time. The unused courses or spare courses may be pressure relieved and without rotation during operation of the remaining courses, so that one avoids unnecessary wear of parts having a limited working life. This is a substantial advantage in relation to the prior art.


A method triggers the transmission of a flow control packet between a receiving device and a sending device on the basis of space available to receive data in a buffer associated with the receiving device. The method increases throughput in a system that requires a flow control packet every predetermined number of clock cycles.

In communication networks, the process of adjusting the flow of data, which is commonly transmitted as data packets, from one network device or node to another is referred to as flow control. Flow control is necessary to ensure that the receiving device can handle all of the incoming data, especially when the sending device is capable of sending data faster than the receiving device can use it.
In most networks, when there is a transfer of data between two devices operating at different speeds, a buffer is used to temporarily store the incoming data until the receiving device is ready to process it. Buffers have limited storage capacity and, consequently, flow control mechanisms are employed to prevent incoming data packets from being lost or dropped due to a lack of free space in the buffer.
A common flow control mechanism (or protocol) used for asynchronous communication in a network is called XON/XOFF. In accordance with this protocol, the receiving device sends a data packet containing an XOFF message to the sending device when the receiver's buffer is full. Such a data packet is called a flow control packet. A flow control packet is limited to a small number of bits and only contains enough information to describe the state of data flow. The sending device then discontinues the transmission of data. After a predetermined period of time, if the receiving device is ready to receive more data, it transmits a flow control packet containing an XON message to the sending device and data transmission is resumed.

Method for triggering flow control packets


Performing an ejection testing method for nozzles in accordance with the present invention makes it possible to determine whether a plurality of nozzles contain inoperative nozzles incapable of ejecting ink drops, thus allowing the presence or absence of such inoperative nozzles to be confirmed without receiving test data for each of the nozzles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for detecting the ejection of ink drops by a printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an ink-jet printer, ink drops are ejected from a plurality of nozzles to print images. The print head of an ink-jet printer is provided with a plurality of nozzles, some of which are occasionally plugged and rendered incapable of ejecting ink drops. This is caused by an increase in ink viscosity, the entry of gas bubbles, or other factors. Such inability to eject ink drops produces images with missing dots and has an adverse effect on image quality. The ejection of ink drops should therefore be monitored before or during printing.
Detection methods based on the use of light have been proposed as a means of monitoring the ejection of ink drops. Such detection methods allow the operation of each nozzle to be confirmed by moving the print head in order to dispose the nozzles at specific positions, and causing each nozzle to eject ink drops to block light from a detection device.
However, this testing operation requires that detection data be acquired and processed for each nozzle. The resulting drawback is that considerable time is required to acquire and process such detection data.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to detect inoperative nozzles without acquiring detection data for each nozzle.
In order to attain the above and the other objects of the present invention, there is provided a method for testing ejections of ink drops with a print head including a nozzle row having a plurality of nozzles. The testing method comprises the steps of: generating a light beam concurrently intersecting a plurality of paths of ink drops ejected from N target nozzles for the testing, N being an integer of 2 or more; providing the N target nozzles with drive signals to eject ink drops; generating detection pulses in response to blockage of the light beam by the ejected ink drops; and detecting presence or absence of inoperable nozzle incapable of ejecting ink drops by analyzing the detection pulses.
In the printing method of the present invention, the presence of the inoperative nozzle can be detected without acquiring detection data for each nozzle. Because each of the plurality of nozzles is detected and it is determined whether the each plurality of nozzles contain inoperative nozzles.
In the printing method of the present invention, the testing method further comprising the steps of updating the target nozzles by moving at least one of the print head and the light beam; and repeating the above mentioned steps until the testing is performed on all the plurality of nozzles.
In a preferred method of the present invention, the step (d) includes the step of determining presence or absence of the inoperative nozzle among the N target nozzles if a value of a detection pulse is less than a predetermined first threshold value.
This configuration can be readily adapted to a printing device because the presence or absence of inoperative nozzles among the target nozzles can be established by comparing detection pulses with a predetermined threshold value.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the step (b) includes the step of setting a constant frequency for the drive signals; and the step (d) includes the steps of generating a nozzle detection signal by filtering out a component of the constant frequency from the detection pulses; and determining presence or absence of the inoperative nozzle among the N target nozzles if a value of the nozzle detection signal is less than a predetermined second threshold value.
This arrangement makes it possible to establish the presence or absence of inoperative nozzles with greater accuracy because only signals generated in accordance with the ejection of ink drops can be extracted.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the testing method further comprises the step of cleaning a nozzle row including the detected inoperative nozzle
This arrangement makes it possible to reduce the consumption of ink during nozzle cleaning because the missing of dots (the presence of inoperative nozzles) can be prevented by cleaning only part of the plurality of nozzles provided to the print head.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, sequentially providing each of the N target nozzles with the drive signals one by one if the inoperative nozzle is detected among the N target nozzles; generating detection pulses in response to blockage of the light beam by the ink drops ejected from each of the N target nozzles; and identifying the inoperative nozzle in response to the detection pulses.
This arrangement makes it possible to identify the inoperative nozzles among other nozzles, allowing printing to be continued by, supplementing the inoperative nozzles with other nozzles when missing dots are detected during printing, for example.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the step (b) includes the steps of setting N types of mutually different frequencies for the drive signals; and providing each of the N target nozzles with each of the N types of mutually different frequencies, respectively; and the step (d) includes the steps of filtering out N components of the N types of mutually different frequencies from the detection pulses generating nozzle detection signals as chronological data for each of the N components; and identifying the inoperative nozzle among the N target nozzles by comparing an order of the nozzle detection signals in the chronological data.
This arrangement makes it possible to identify inoperative nozzles without repeating detection of each tested nozzle for the presence of inoperative nozzles.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the N types of ejection frequencies are set such that any multiples of the N types of mutually different frequencies is different from any of the N types of mutually different frequencies.
This arrangement makes it possible to avoid situations in which the frequency of a nozzle detection signal coincides with the higher harmonic of the nozzle detection signal for a nozzle belonging to a different nozzle group. This allows inoperative nozzles to be detected with higher accuracy by suppressing higher-harmonic noise.
The present invention can be realized in various forms such as a method and apparatus for printing, a method and apparatus for producing print data for a printing unit, and a computer program product implementing the above scheme.
These and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with the accompanying drawings.


System, method and program product for detecting a malicious SQL query in a parameter value field of a request. The parameter value field is searched for query operands, characters and/or symbols and combinations of query operands, characters and/or symbols indicative of malicious SQL injection. A respective score assigned to each of the query operands, characters and/or symbols or combinations of query operands, characters and/or symbols found in the parameter value field is added to yield a total score for at least two of the query operands, characters and/or symbols or combinations of query operands, characters and/or symbols found in the parameter value field. Responsive to the total score exceeding a threshold, the request is blocked.

Relational data bases and other file systems may use Structured Query Language ("SQL") to phrase queries to access the relational data base. For example, in a relational data base, data items can be organized into rows and columns with indexes for each row and column. An SQL query can indicate a search for data items that satisfy a single criteria or a combination of search criteria, such as matching a specified index for a row AND matching another specified index for a column. For example, rows of a table can represent records and columns of the table can represent fields or attributes of the records. Also, data in one table identified by the row and column indexes of the one table can be used to index into another table to collect additional information.
The following is an example of a SQL query: SELECT TOP 1 name_FROM sysobjects WHERE xtype='U'. "WHERE" is a query operand and "name" is data. This SQL query retrieves the first value found in the column "name" from the table "sysobjects" where the value of the column "xtype" is equal to "U". The following are examples of known query operands used with data or parameter values to search an SQL data base: AND, NAND, OR, NOR, EXCLUSIVE OR, WHERE, UNION and LIKE. A SQL query can also include characters and symbols such as the following used with data or parameter values to search an SQL data base: =, >, <, #, ″, @, /* and */.
Some web applications are vulnerable to an attack known as SQL injection. In this type of attack, hackers inject SQL queries into parameter/data values of requests made to the web application such as parameter values for GET and POST requests. Vulnerable applications may not detect the SQL query in the parameter values included in the request, may incorporate the parameter values as a SQL query and send the SQL query to a SQL database for processing. The resultant SQL query can be malicious and damage the database or cause an unwarranted search into a SQL database and post sensitive data for the hacker.
It is known to maintain a list of common types of SQL queries that may be injected into parameter value fields of a request to a web application, and compare all parameter values in the request against the list to determine if they match. The following is an example of a malicious type of SQL query represented in the list (in regex format): SELECT.* FROM.* (WHERE)?, EXEC xp.* or 1=1. If a parameter value in a request to the application matches an entry in the list, then the parameter value is presumed to be malicious and discarded. One problem with such a scanning system is the large number of entries in the list, and the time required to compare each new query to the entries in the list. Another problem is that the list may inadvertently omit one or more malicious types of SQL queries.
An object of the present invention is to detect attempts at SQL injection.
Another object of the present invention is to simplify the detection of SQL injection and minimize false positives and false negatives/evasions.

System, method and program product for detecting SQL queries injected into data fields of requests made to applications

International Business Machines Corporation


A device for mass transfer between fluids through a diaphragm unit comprising a pair of diaphragms with a diaphragm support therebetween, in which the diaphragm unit is a pleated package supported in a case, with the pleats and support defining a plurality of separate flow paths, and the diaphragm unit is shaped in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pleats with a zig zag or sine-wave shape, so that a compound zig zag or sine-wave shape results for the unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for mass transfer between fluids with interposition of a diaphragm unit consisting of two diaphragms and an intermediary diaphragm support, which diaphragm unit is pleated to a folded package and placed in a box-like enveloping case with inlets and outlets for the fluids, in such a manner that the pleats and the enclosed diaphragm support form several separate parallel flow paths, in which structure the pleats are open in the direction of distribution channels which are arranged rectangularly to the longitudinal pleat edges of the folding package in the case and serve as inlets and outlets for the fluids conveyed in the pleats.
2. Prior Art
Such a device is known e.g. for carrying out an ultrafiltration, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,012 and German Utility Model Pat. No. 1,477,779. Furthermore, a dialyzer for the treatment of blood with pleat structure is known (U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,265 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,252) wherein a diaphragm together with a diaphragm support are jointly pleated in the form of a grid system to a folding package. In this case, the two separate flow paths serve to convey the dialysate and the blood.
In filtration units for the treatment of blood, it is also basically known to use in flat diaphragms of hose-like or plate-like shape a fabric as the diaphragm support (U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,441 and German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,653,875).
Furthermore, in dialyzers of coil structure or plate structure, it is known to use stamped foils of plastic material as the diaphragm support (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,747,904, corresponding to U.S. Application Ser. No. 742,359 now U.S. Pat. 4,115,273, Winstead; U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,813; U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,523; U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,540; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,730). The bilaterally arranged stampings form a multiplicity of punctiform or linear supports for the diaphragm and are furthermore arranged in a structure that favors the fluid flow of the fluids to be treated in the proper direction.
The invention relates also to a further development of the patent rights of the applicant according to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 6,384 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,422 and German Utility Model Patent Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,013,105.
Such pleat dialyzers are well suited for industrial manufacture since they are produced from endless material, namely of the diaphragm and the diaphragm support, by parallel pleating, and in this manner relatively small devices, i.e. filter elements, can be made.
Such filter elements should ideally absorb a relatively small blood volume, they should permit a uniform distribution of the blood flow over the diaphragm, they should offer the smallest possible resistance to flow on the blood side, present a high dialyzing efficiency, a good ultrafiltration rate, a compact structure, and their cost of manufacture should be low.
The latter fact is particularly important since these filter elements, after having been used once, are thrown away for safety reasons when they are, according to their purpose, employed as an artificial kidney.
The known filter elements manufactured according to the pleating principle need improvement insofar as the blood distribution from the side into the pleat depth and the further conveyance of the blood in the longitudinal direction, i.e. parallel to the pleats, is still too uneven and therefore no uniform blood film thickness over the entire area of the diaphragm can be achieved. Besides, in the case of employment of a simple fabric in binding cloth or of a non-interwoven network, the resistance to flow resulting therefrom is still too great.

Device for the mass transfer between fluids


A hearing instrument in accordance with the invention comprises an in-the-ear-canal component to be worn at least partially in the ear of a user. When the hearing instrument is worn, a remaining volume between the in-the-ear-canal component and the user's eardrum is defined. The hearing instrument includes at least one first microphone operable to convert an acoustic input signal incident on the hearing instrument into an electrical input signal, signal processing means operable to convert the electrical input signal into an electrical output signal on a signal path, and an electrical-to-acoustic converter (a receiver or a plurality of receivers with potentially different frequency characteristics). Between the remaining volume and surrounding atmosphere, a duct (such as a vent) is defined. A second receiver is in operative communication with the duct, i.e. an output directly opens out into the duct or to a sound conductor opening out into the duct. The hearing instrument further comprises a second microphone in operative communication with said duct and operable to record an error signal in said duct.

State of the art hearing instruments are usually either behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing instruments, in-the-ear (ITE) hearing instruments, in-the-canal (ITC) hearing devices or completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing instruments. ITE, and especially ITC and CIC hearing instruments are less visible than BTE hearing instruments and are therefore preferred by many users. However, in these devices the space in the ear canal has to be used efficiently, and the ear canal essentially has to be closed by the device so as to minimize acoustic feedback due to the proximity of the sound outlet of the receiver and the sound inlet of the microphone. This plugging of the ear canal may cause undesirable effects, known as occlusion effect which has an impact on the perception of the wearer's own voice and on the wearing comfort. The occlusion effect may also occur when BTE hearing instruments are used, since also BTE hearing instruments comprise a piece ("earpiece") placed in the ear canal, which is used for holding sound conduction tube(s) and/or other elements.
In this text, the term "earpiece" or "in-the-ear-canal component" is used to denote any device or device part of a hearing instrument that is meant to be placed at least partially in the ear canal of the user. It may for example be a ITE, ITC, or CIC hearing instrument. It may as an alternative be an earpiece (or otoplastic) of a hearing instrument which also comprises an outside-the-ear-canal component, for example a behind-the-ear component of a BTE. In the case of a BTE with an open fitting, the in-the-ear-canal component may merely be a fixation means for at least one sound tube. Concerning different types of in-the-ear-canal components and ways to connect them to a possible outside-the-ear-canal component, it is referred to the European patent application publication EP 1 681 904, the teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In order to reduce the occlusion effect, in-the-ear-canal components comprising a "vent"—a duct through the in-the-ear-canal component—are used. Hearing instruments with large vents are especially popular, since the open fitting is perceived as very comfortable by the user. One of the reasons for this is that the occlusion effect is greatly reduced, and the own voice is perceived more naturally. However, large vents also have disadvantages.    a. Strong direct sound through the vent, which may not be controlled by the hearing instrument and which, due to delay differences, may interfere with the sound produced by the hearing instrument receiver.    b. Especially in ITE, ITC, and CIC hearing instruments, enhanced tendency for feedback, since the sound produced by the hearing instruments gets through the vent back to the microphone without substantial attenuation.    c. Reduced space: The space used up by the vent diminishes the design degrees of freedom, for example concerning the placement of a receiver in the instrument.
There are several proposals for dealing with sound conduction through ducts. The active control in ducts was proposed, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,906, to reduce noise carried through heating and ventilating ducts in factories and the like. Such systems rely on a first microphone placed along the duct which detects a noise signal, and a loudspeaker arranged downstream of the microphone that produces a compensation signal. In more advanced embodiments, there may be a second microphone for detecting a remaining signal to be minimized. Such active control systems, however, are as such not suitable for hearing instruments, since in hearing instruments the sound conduction tube is extremely short, and in hearing instruments sound conduction not only in one but in both directions is an issue.
Active direct sound compensation systems aim at the canceling of direct sound transmitted towards the eardrum, especially as active ear protection devices. Such active direct sound compensation systems have been described in the publications EP 1 499 159, U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,799, U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,258, and WO 2005/052911. EP 1 499 159, U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,799, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,258 describe combinations of a microphone with a loudspeaker that rely on the principle of evaluating, from the microphone signal, an inverse noise and radiating the inverse noise by the loudspeaker downstream of the microphone. WO 2005/052911 discloses a further example of such a feed forward noise canceller, which is suitable for attenuating sound signals bypassing the hearing instrument in situations where an auxiliary signal is received, for example through a wireless or wired connection, such as a telecoil. The wanted signal is fed to a receiver from an electrical input—such as a telecoil—whereas the signal of a microphone is fed to a noise cancellation part, which supplies a canceling signal to a receiver in the ear canal. An error microphone is used for adjusting the attenuating signal.
There are known disadvantages of such approaches. Firstly, no receiver is available with sufficient power for providing the compensation signal (inverse noise). Secondly, in practice it is difficult to separate between the wanted signal and the disturbing signal to be reduced. Thirdly, the electro-acoustic transfer function in the excitation path (often mentioned as error path) is unfavorable with respect to the needed compensation filter. Finally, these approaches do not provide a solution to the problem of enhanced feedback due to there being a vent.
A further category of active systems for hearing instruments, therefore, deals with hearing instruments with no vent or only a small vent and with an active reduction of the occlusion effect. The disclosures of WO 2004/021740 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,937,738 are examples of such systems.
Yet a further category of systems deals with an active canceling of feedback through a vent. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,090 a microphone signal in the vent is used to improve the feedback tendency by way of suitable subtraction from the input signal. The vent microphone features the advantage that the unknown feedback path from the receiver to the vent microphone is taken into account. The remaining path from the vent microphone to the input microphone, however, is hard to estimate with sufficient accuracy, since the sound radiation from the vent to the concha scatters strongly from individual to individual. Thus, in practice, the estimation is difficult. Therefore, one may as well estimate the whole feedback path from the receiver to the input microphone. This is done in modern feedback cancellers. Such feedback cancellers, however, today have reached their limits in terms of impact and artifacts.
The European patent publication EP 1 499 159 describes, next to the above-mentioned cancellation of direct sound by means of a microphone and a receiver also the canceling of sound from the opposite direction. To this end, the sound is recorded by the microphone in the vent and is, via a compensation device, radiated at a different position in the vent. This disclosure thus relies on the same principle as above-described, and entails the same disadvantages. It features the additional disadvantage that two microphones have to be placed adjacent the vent.

Hearing instrument, and a method of operating a hearing instrument


Preparation of 2,5,6-trihydroxy-3-hexenoic acid and 2,5-dihydroxy-3-pentenoic acid and esters thereof from C6 and C5 sugars in the presence of a Lewis Acid material, wherein the yield of the 2,5,6-trihydroxy-3-hexenoic acid or 2,5-dihydroxy-3-pentenoic acid or esters thereof exceeds 15%.

Carbohydrates represent the largest fraction of biomass, and various strategies for their efficient use as a feedstock for the preparation of commercial chemicals are being established. Biomass is of particular interest due to its potential as supplementing, and ultimately replacing petroleum as a feedstock for such purposes. Carbohydrates obtainable from biomass comprise C6 and C5 sugars and are of particular industrial interest as they are a potential source of highly functionalised short chain carbon compounds. This is of particular importance for highly functionalised short chain carbon compounds that are commercially unavailable, such as 2,5,6-trihydroxy-3-hexenoic acid and 2,5-dihydroxy-3-pentenoic acid and esters thereof. A general way to denominate these compounds is alpha-hydroxy-beta-ene-acids and esters thereof. The general molecular structure of such compounds isR′—HC═CH—CHOH—COOR  (I)Where R′ and R represent —H, -alkyl or hydroxyalkyl groups.
Currently, 2,5,6-trihydroxy-3-hexenoic acid and 2,5-dihydroxy-3-pentenoic acid are prepared by alkaline degradation of cellulose: Svensk Papperstidning (1974) 16, p 593-602 and J. Appl. Polymer Sci. (1978) 22, pp 615-623; and mannan: Acta Chem Scan. (1980) 40, pp 9-14. However, the product compositions of these reactions comprise numerous compounds, and therefore the products obtained are in low yields (5 mg per g of product). Additionally, the methods proposed are not industrially feasible due to the variety of reaction products produced in the process.
It is known that sugar compositions comprising C6 and/or C5 sugars may be substrates in the preparation of methyl lactate in the presence of Sn-BEA. EP 2 184 270 B1 and Science (2010) 328, pp 602-605 report yields of methyl lactate of 64%, 43% and 44% at 160° C. in methanol from sucrose, glucose and fructose, respectively. Numerous by-products are, however, observed in connection with this reaction, and the major by-product reported is methyl vinylglycolate (3-11%).
It has been suggested that small amounts of compounds similar to saccharinic acids, including a noticeable amount of highly polar products may be produced during the disclosed reaction. It has been postulated that these highly polar products are methyl esters of C6 saccharinic acids. Such C6 saccharinic acids are described in Carbohydrate Res. (1996) 280, pp 47-57. However, this reference is silent with regard to the identity, the amount in percentage yield and the number of compounds that are components of the highly polar products.
Green Chem. (2012) 14, pp 702-706 discloses similar reaction conditions to Science (2010) 328, pp 602-605, wherein the temperature of the reaction is varied. The combined yields of identified products and unconverted sugars are at least 51%.
ChemSusChem (2015) 8, pp 613-617 discloses an increase in methyl lactate yield (from 20-25% to 66-71%) obtained from sugars in the presence of a heterogeneous stannosilicate catalyst when an alkali ion is added to the reaction process.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a Lewis acid based catalytic processes for the preparation of highly functionalized C6 and C5 compounds. Additionally, it is desirable to provide highly functionalized C6 and C5 compounds in high yields by way of industrially applicable, direct, selective processes.


The present invention is directed to oil-soluble lubricating oil viscosity index improver/dispersant additives comprising Mannich Base condensates of a grafted ethylene copolymer, an optionally alkyl-substituted N-hydroxyaryl compound, an aldehyde, and a monosecondary amine, whereby oil solutions, particularly oil concentrates, of said additives which are characterized by minimal viscosity change over an extended period of time. These additives comprise a copolymer of ethylene with one or more C.sub.3 to C.sub.28 alpha-olefins, preferably propylene, which have been grafted with acid moieties, e.g. maleic anhydride, preferably using a free radical initiator in a solvent such as a lubricating oil, which is then either (a) reacted with an N-hydroxyaryl amine and then condensed with an aldehyde and a monosecondary amine to form the Mannich Base viscosity index improver/dispersant material, or (b) reacted with a preformed Mannich Base condensate of an N-hydroxyaryl amine, aldehyde and the monosecondary amine. The invention also relates to process for preparing the preceding products and their use in oil compositions.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,808 relates to lubricating oil additives prepared by reacting alkenyl succinic anhydride with the Mannich condensation product prepared by condensing alkyl substituted phenol, formaldehyde and polyalkylene polyamine.
U.S. Patent relates to dispersant- V.I. improver additives prepared by Mannich Base condensation of oxidized ethylene-propylene copolymer with formaldehyde and primary or secondary amines of the general formula: H.sub.2 N(CH.sub.2).sub.y NH.sub.2 (y=3 to 10) and polyalkylene polyamines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,562 relates to modified Mannich reaction products produced by reacting an oxidized ethylene-propylene copolymer with formaldehyde and primary or secondary amines of the general formula: H.sub.2 N(CH.sub.2).sub.y NH.sub.2 (y=3 to 10) and polyalkylene polyamines in the presence of 0.01 to 25 wt % of an oil-soluble phenol of the formula: ##STR1## where R is alkyl of OH, Cl, or Br substituted hydrocarbyl, and y=1 to 5.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,553 relates to dispersant/viscosity index improvers prepared by a Mannich Base condensation of an an oxidized ethylene-propylene copolymer with formaldehyde and primary or secondary amines of the general formula: H.sub.2 N(CH.sub.2).sub.y NH.sub.2 (y=3 to 10) and polyalkylene polyamines in the presence of an oil-soluble sulfonic acid as catalyst for the reaction. The sulfonic acids have the general formula: ##STR2## where R is alkyl or OH, Cl, or Br substituted hydrocarbyl, and n=1 to 5. The patent teaches that the sulfonic acid must be added to the oxidized ethylene-propylene copolymer after addition of the amine to avoid rapid decomposition of the acid and darkening of the oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,402 relates to phenols which are alkylated with high molecular weight ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers. The alkylated phenols can be converted into ashless dispersants by the Mannich Base reaction with formaldehyde and a polyamine, Bis-aminopropyl piperizine (a diprimary amine) is the only polyamine specified.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,950 discloses a method of preparing Mannich base derivatives of hydroxyaryl succinimides of the formula: ##STR3## wherein R is hydrocarbyl of 25 to 200 carbon atoms, R' is H, alkyl or halogen, "n" is 2 or 3, "m" has a value of 1 to 5, Y is H or a methylene hydroxyaryl succinimide radical, "x" has a value of 1 to 2 when Y is H and a value of 1 when Y is a methylene hydroxyaryl succinimide radical. The above succinimides are formed in a stepwise reaction, e.g., by reacting a polyalkenyl succinic anhydride with an aminophenol, to produce an intermediate N-(hydroxyaryl) hydrocarbyl succinimide, which is then reacted with an alkylene diamine and an aldehyde (e.g., formaldehyde) in a Mannich base reaction to produce the described succinimides. The described succinimides may be added to a base oil of lubricating viscosity to form lubricant concentrates and lubricating oil formulations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,104, incorporated herein by reference, discloses polymeric viscosity index (V.I.) improver-dispersant additives for petroleum oils, particularly lubricating oils, comprising a copolymer of ethylene with one or more C.sub.3 to C.sub.28 alpha-olefins, preferably propylene, which have been grafted with acid moieties, e.g. maleic anhydride, preferably using a free radical initiator in a solvent, preferably lubricating oil, and then reacted with a mixture of a carboxylic acid component, preferably an alkyl succinic anhydride, and a polyamine having two or more primary amine groups. Or the grafted polymer may be reacted with said acid component prereacted with said polyamine to form salts, amides, imides, etc. and then reacted with said grafted olefin polymer. These reactions can permit the incorporation of varnish inhibition and dispersancy into the ethylene copolymer while inhibiting cross-linking or gelling.
While these additives are very useful oil compositions, particularly concentrates, thereof tend to exhibit increased viscosity over an extended period of time. Therefore, there exists a need for additives whose oil solutions, particularly oil concentrates, exhibit less viscosity change over an extended period of time.
The source of the viscosity increase over an extended period of time of oil solutions of these additives appears to be, at least in part, due to the chain extension of the polymer. Several solutions to this problem are described in the prior art. One solution is to use the polyamines and then to react the remaining unreacted primary amino groups with acid anhydrides of either C.sub.1 -C.sub.30 monocarboxylic acid, preferably acetic anhydride, or unsubstituted or C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 hydrocarbyl substituted dicarboxylic acid anhydrides of U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,185; or the sulfonic acids of U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,181. These materials act as polyamine group end-capping or inactivating agents to inhibit or limit chain extension. That is to say, the reaction product of the graft copolymer of the ethylenically unsaturated dicarboxylic acid material and polyamine is post-treated with these acid materials to inhibit chain extension and viscosity increase of the imide grafted ethylene copolymer.
While the end-capping or amine inactivating agents disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,137,185 and 4,144,181 are generally quite useful, their utilization results in some problems under certain conditions. Thus, for example, reacting a monocarboxylic acid anhydride, e.g., acetic anhydride, with the polyamine yields an acid byproduct, e.g., acetic acid. This acid is deleterious to engine operation, causing corrosion, and generally needs to be removed from the oil solution of the V.I. improver-dispersant. Furthermore, the use of the unsubstituted or lower hydrocarbyl substituted dicarboxylic acid anhydrides of U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,185 generally does not remedy, and may sometimes even contribute to, the formation of haze in oil solutions of the imide grafted ethylene copolymer. This is due to the fact that when using free radical initiators with mineral oil as the grafting medium a proportion of the oil molecules in turn become grafted with the ethylenically unsaturated moiety, e.g., maleic anhydride, and upon subsequent reaction with the amine these grafted oil particles tend to become insoluble and to form haze. Upon the addition of the hydrocarbyl substituted dicarboxylic acid anhydrides to this oil solution to inactivate the unreacted primary amine groups of the imide grafted ethylene copolymer, a certain proportion of the anhydride reacts with the free amine groups of the grafted oil particles. Since the prior art anhydrides are either unsubstituted or lower hydrocarbyl substituted they do not facilitate the solubilization of these insoluble grafted oil particles.
The use of the sulfonic acids of U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,181 may also result in the formation of undesirable acid by-products, e.g., hydrogen sulfide.
Furthermore, these prior art end-capping or primary amine inactivating agents do not, in all instances, provide a sufficient degree of viscosity stability for some applications to oil solutions of the additives of this invention.

Ethylene alpha-olefin Mannich Base viscosity index improver/dispersant additives derived from amino phenols and monosecondary amines


The present spools are shaped as flared cylinders. In one embodiment, the spools have a minimum circumference at a center, and maximum circumferences at outer portions thereof. In another embodiment, the spools flare from a maximum diameter adjacent a first side wall to a minimum diameter adjacent a second side wall. In another embodiment, the spools taper from large diameters adjacent first and second side walls to a minimum diameter at a point between the side walls, wherein the point is offset from a midpoint between the side walls. In another embodiment, the spools are subdivided by at least one partition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to window coverings. More particularly, the present spools for horizontal blinds provide an apparatus for winding up multiple lift cords inside a head rail using only one pull cord, wherein the spools reduce the likelihood of the lift cords becoming tangled.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional horizontal blinds comprise a plurality of horizontal slats that are raised, lowered and/or rotated to adjust a level of light entering a room through a window or door. The slats are supported from a head rail by ladders. Generally, the blind assembly includes at least two ladders, and may include more ladders depending upon the length or weight of the slats.
Each ladder is typically constructed of a strong fibrous material such as nylon, and comprises a pair of vertically extending uprights supporting a plurality of evenly spaced rungs. An upper end of each upright is secured to a tilting mechanism within the head rail. Lower ends of each upright are secured to a bottom rail. Each rung supports a slat.
The tilting mechanism may comprise an elongate rod having a length substantially equal to a length of the head rail. The rod includes a plurality of attached drums, one drum corresponding to each ladder. Upper ends of the ladder uprights are secured to the drums. A wand or cord descending from the head rail controls rotation of the rod. The drums rotate with the rod, and the ladder uprights follow the rotation of the drums. As the drums rotate in a first direction, the ladder uprights on one side of the slats rise, and the ladder uprights on the opposite side of the slats fall, thus tilting the slats in a first tilt direction. As the drums rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction, the slats tilt in a second tilt direction.
Lifting cords descend from the head rail and are attached at their lower ends to the bottom rail. Generally, a position of each lifting cord along the length of the slats corresponds to a position of a ladder. The lifting cords may be threaded through loops on the ladder uprights, descending along front and back edges of each slat. Alternatively, the lifting cords may pass through apertures in the center of each slat.
The upper end of each lifting cord passes over a pulley within the head rail and attaches to a spool. Preferably, each lifting cord has a unique spool to prevent entanglement of the lifting cords. Generally, each spool includes a portion for winding up a pull cord. The pull cord is connected at its upper end to the spool. The pull cords pass along the head rail to an opening in a lower surface of the head rail. All pull cords pass through this opening and hang freely from the head rail. Free ends of each pull cord are usually secured to one another.
A downward force on the pull cords rotates the spools, unwinding the pull cords from the spools and winding up the lifting cords onto the spools. As the lifting cords wind up, they raise the bottom rail, which in turn raises each successive slat. When the pull cords are released, gravity pulls the bottom rail downward, winding up the pull cords onto the spools, unwinding the lifting cords from the spools, and lowering the bottom rail and slats. A brake positioned within the head rail engages the pull cords at a user's direction. The brake enables the user to selectively control a height of the bottom rail.
Multiple pull cords hanging from the head rail present a strangulation hazard to children. When the blinds are raised, the pull cords descend and often hang such that their lower ends are close to the floor. These dangling cords are attractive to children, and children frequently play with the cords. Unfortunately, these children also frequently become entangled in the cords. Sometimes the cords wrap around a child's neck, the child's airway becomes constricted, and the child dies.
Horizontal blinds having only one pull cord are much safer for children. Although the single dangling pull cord is still an attractive plaything to children, the single cord is much less likely to become wrapped around a child's neck and cause strangulation. Therefore, recent horizontal blind designs include only one pull cord. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,715 to Biro et al. discloses a Venetian blind assembly 10 including a number of conventional horizontal slats 12. A mechanism within a housing 14 extending across the top of the assembly raises and tilts the slats. Specifically, a pair of lifting cords 16 extend downward from the housing. Each lifting cord extends through a slot 18 in each slat, and through a hole 20 in a bottom rail 22, to a knot 24 at its distal end. The proximal end of each lifting cord extends around a lower surface of a spool 26, into a cord receiving hole 28 through part of a section 30 of the spool. In this way, the lifting cords 16 are simultaneously wound or unwound on the spool with rotation of the spool.
The spool rotates in response to motion of a pull cord 32, which extends from the lower surface of the spool opposite the direction in which the lifting cords extend. Thus, pulling the pull cord downward causes the pull cord to be unwound from the spool as the lifting cords are wound onto the spool. As the lifting cords wind onto the spool, the bottom rail rises. Similarly, releasing the pull cord causes the bottom rail to descend under the influence of gravity. As the bottom rail descends, the pull cord winds onto the spool and the lifting cords unwind from the spool. A conventional braking mechanism 34 releasably engages the pull cord, enabling the bottom rail to be suspended at any point in its vertical travel.
Means are also provided for guiding up to four lifting cords into and out of four sections of the spool. To prevent tangling of the lifting cords with one another, each section winds up only one lifting cord. Thus, the sections are separated from one another, and from a section 64, on which the pull cord is wound, by intervening flanges 66. A guiding structure 68 provides five channels 70 to direct the passage of the lifting cords through a flange 72 of a spool bracket 62. Each channel 70, being in a proximate relationship with an associated spool section, aligns a lifting cord with the section on which it is wound. Feeding each lifting cord centrally onto a spool section eliminates a tendency of the cord to build up windings along a flange.
The lifting cords of the Venetian blind assembly of Biro tend to bunch up on the lifting cord spool. The cords do not wind up in a predictable manner, but rather wind up in a random haphazard way. As a result, each cord tends to become tangled with itself. When the cords become tangled, they prevent the bottom rail from raising and lowering smoothly. To untangle the cords, a user must disassemble the head rail, which is a time consuming process.
The configuration of Biro also limits the capacity of each lifting cord spool section to accept lifting cords. As the width of each section increases, so does its capacity to accept lifting cords. However, the lifting cord spool sections of Biro are all mounted side-by-side and coaxially on a single spool. Thus, the maximum width of each section, and each section's lifting cord capacity is limited by the front-to-back width of the housing.
Therefore, new spools for horizontal blinds that reduce any tendency of the lifting cords to become tangled, and that increase the lifting cord capacity of the spools, would be of great benefit to users of horizontal blinds.


A finishing wire with a ball nose tip is used to secure an implantable device such as a cardiac pacing lead during implantation procedures. The finishing wire includes a proximal shaft, and a ball-nosed distal end. The ball-nosed distal end of the finishing wire is sized to interface with an implantable device having a narrowed distal tip. The length of the finishing wire is greater than the length of the implantable device.

Implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs) are well known and effective devices for treating patients with cardiac rhythmic dysfunction. The ICD has a pulse generator and an electrical lead with an electrode at the tip. The ICD implantation procedure generally takes about two hours and is relatively low risk, as it rarely requires open heart surgery. Usually, one to two lead wires are placed through a large vein in the chest and threaded down to the inside of the heart. The lead wires are then connected to the pulse generator, which is placed in a pocket under the skin of the patient.
The details of the implantation procedure vary depending of the condition and anatomy of the patient, but typically a guiding catheter is introduced through a major blood vessel such as the cephalic vein. The catheter is then moved through the vasculature to locate an access vessel of interest in the heart, such as the coronary sinus ostium. The catheter can either be navigated on its own through the venous pathway to the ostium or be slid over a previously inserted guide wire. After the coronary sinus ostium has been located by the guiding catheter, an ICD lead can be inserted through the catheter into the coronary sinus or one of its branches.
There is a need for a technique of temporarily securing a newly implanted lead during the time in which a guiding apparatus used in the implantation procedure is removed, such that implantation time and patient trauma are reduced. The present invention fulfills this and other needs, and addresses other deficiencies of prior art implementations and techniques.

Method of using finishing wire with large ball-nose tip


A process for producing a 4-acetoxyazetidinone represented by formula (I): ##STR1## wherein Z represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, or a protected or unprotected hydroxyethyl group; and W represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, or a group of --COOR.sup.1, wherein R.sup.1 represents a lower alkyl group, is disclosed, which comprises reacting an azetidinone represented by formula (II): ##STR2## wherein Z is as defined above; and Y represents a hydrogen atom, carboxyl group, a lower alkyl group, or a group of --COOR.sup.1, wherein R.sup.1 represents a lower alkyl group, with acetic acid and an oxidizing agent in the presence of, as a catalyst, an anhydrous or hydrous osmium compound represented by OsX.sub.3, wherein X represents a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, or an iodine atom.

Since penem antibiotics represented by thienamycin have a broad antibacterial spectrum, they are being watched with keen interest as medicines.
Various processes for producing penem antibiotics have been proposed in, for example, Kametani, Heterocycles, 17, pp. 463-506 (1982) and Shibuya, Yuki Gosei Kauaku, 41, p. 62 (1983). Of these, the processes in which the desired antibiotics are synthesized via 4-acetoxyazetidinone derivatives represented by formula (I) as intermediates are advantageous in that various penem antibiotics can be produced because compounds (I) can react with a variety of nucleophilic agents.
Conventionally known methods for producing 4-acetoxy-azetidinone derivatives (I) include oxidation of a 4-carboxy-azetidinone with lead tetraacetate [Tetrahedron Letters, 23, p. 2293 (1982)], electrolytic oxidation of a 4-carboxyazetidinone [Tetrahedron Letters, 29, p. 1409 (1988)], oxidation of a 4-acetylazetidinone with m-chloroperbenzoic acid (JP-A-61-50964) (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"}, and treatment of a 4-silyloxy-azetidinone derivative with acetic anhydride (European Patent 247,378).
In the above methods, in order to introduce an acetoxy group at the 4-position of the azetidinone, an azetidinone derivative having a specific substituent group at the 4-position thereof should first be synthesized, and an acetoxy group should be then introduced by converting this substituent group. However, these methods are defective in that not only the production of such an azetidinone derivative having a specific substituent group at the 4-position thereof is troublesome, but the conversion of the substituent group at the 4-position into an acetoxy group is difficult. For these reasons, the above methods have been unavoidably disadvantageous as an industrial method.
As an expedient for eliminating the above-described drawbacks, it has been proposed to introduce an acetoxy group into an azetidinone at the 4-position thereof by use of a ruthenium compound (JP-A-2-231471). However, in industrialization of this method, further improvements in catalytic activity have been desired.

Acetyloxylation process for producing 4-acetoxyazetidinones with osmium catalyst


Techniques for reducing an electrical stress in a acceleration/deceleration system are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as an acceleration/deceleration system. The acceleration/deceleration system may comprise an acceleration column including a plurality of electrodes having apertures through which a charged particle beam may pass. The acceleration/deceleration system may also comprise a plurality of voltage grading components respectively electrically coupled to the plurality of electrodes. The acceleration/deceleration system may further comprise a plurality of insulated conductors disposed proximate the plurality of voltage grading components to modify an electrical field about the plurality of voltage grading components.

Ion implantation is a process of depositing chemical species into a substrate by direct bombardment of the substrate with energized ions. In semiconductor manufacturing, ion implanters are used primarily for doping processes that alter the type and level of conductivity of target materials. A precise doping profile in an integrated circuit (IC) substrate and its thin-film structure is often crucial for proper IC performance. To achieve a desired doping profile, one or more ion species may be implanted in different doses and at different energy levels.
To form devices on a semiconductor wafer, it is usually necessary to implant impurities at different depths of the semiconductor wafer. The energy of impurities in an ion beam directed toward the semiconductor wafer is determinative of the depth to which the impurities penetrate into the semiconductor wafer. As devices are reduced in size and their operating speeds are increased, it has become desirable to use very low energy ion beams to form, for example, shallow transistor junctions in the semiconductor wafer.
At the same time, high energy ion implantation may help minimize production costs because high energy ion implantation does not require some conventional processes, such as, but not limited to, the masking of a semiconductor wafer, to be performed. Also, semiconductor devices manufactured through the use of high energy ion implantation may exhibit relatively low levels of junction leakage and improved latch-up characteristics. Thus, the production yield may be high with respect to an ion implantation process carried out by high energy ion implantation. Therefore, high energy ion implantation may be beneficial for implanting ions in at least one or more semiconductor device manufacturing processes.
FIG. 1 depicts a prior art ion implanter system 100. The ion implanter system 100 may comprise an ion source 102 and a complex series of components through which an ion beam 10 passes. The series of components may include, for example, an extraction manipulator 104, a filter magnet 106, an acceleration or deceleration column 108, an analyzer magnet 110, a rotating mass slit 112, a scanner 114, and a corrector magnet 116. The ion source 102, the extraction manipulator 104, and the filter magnet 106 may be housed in a terminal 118. Much like a series of optical lenses that manipulate a light beam, the ion implanter components can filter and focus the ion beam 10 before steering it towards an end station 120. The ion implanter components that can filter and focus the ion beam 10 may be referred to as optical elements, or beam optics.
The acceleration or deceleration column 108 is a critical component to the ion implanter system 100. As the range of required energy levels for the ion beam 10 may be wide (e.g., from about 1 kV to above 600 kV), the acceleration or deceleration column 108 may be required to accelerate or decelerate ions using a wide voltage spectrum (e.g., from about 1 kV to above 600 kV).
Conventionally, a resistive divider may be used to gradually accelerate (divide the acceleration potential) or decelerate (divide the deceleration potential) the ion beam 10 along the column 108. That is, one or more resistors may be electrically connected between adjacent electrodes along the column 108. A plurality of resistors may thus form a chain of resistors. Each electrode of the column 108 may be electrically connected to certain electrical contacts along the resistor chain. Thus, the acceleration or deceleration voltage may be distributed by the resistors. The distribution of voltage along the column 108 may be referred to as grading. As the operational voltage spectrum gets wider and the voltage increases, there may be concerns with the conventional resistive divider.
For example, the conventional resistive divider may use switches to select a different resistor chain with lower resistance for low energy acceleration and deceleration. The switches may be activated electrically and may be referred to as electrical switches. The electrical switches may be activated by relays, for example. The switches may also be powered by pressurized fluid and may be referred to as hydraulic/pneumatic switches. The hydraulic/pneumatic switches may be activated by pressurized media in a conduit made of dielectrical material (e.g., polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) air lines). However, due to a difference in dielectric constant of the conduit and surrounding air, the conduit may be subjected to high electrical stress and may cause high voltage instability of the column 108. To avoid this from happening, proper shielding and insulation of the resistive divider may be needed to ensure the proper function of the column 108.
Also, each resistor component and/or switch in the conventional resistive divider may be required to be protected against high electric field stress when the conventional resistive divider is operating in a wide range of voltages for ion implantation. For example, in a high energy mode, a high acceleration voltage (e.g., above 650 kV) may be graded over the resistor chain. Conductive materials of the resistors, such as lead or ferrule connections, may need shielding due to high electric field stress. Such shielding has previously been achieved by placing the resistor chain in a pressurized vessel that may be filled with a high dielectric strength material (e.g., SF6 gas) Also, the conventional resistive divider may arc at lower than desired voltages from airline holes. Additionally, service of the resistor chain is not easy in such a configuration as the pressurized vessel needs to be drained, which may be slow and labor intensive.
In view of the foregoing, it may be understood that there are significant problems and shortcomings associated with current technologies for controlling an accelerated or decelerated charged particle beam for ion implanters.

Techniques for reducing an electrical stress in an acceleration/deceleraion system

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.


A process for creating a lost wax tree, including the steps of assembling a wax tree having a wax pattern and a wax runner, using automated equipment to flex either the wax tree or the wax pattern to bring disconnected sections into proximity, heating at least one of the disconnected sections, contacting the disconnected sections and then moving the sections slightly away from one another. A process for casting a part including the steps of creating a lost wax tree and where the wax tree is later covered with a mold material and the wax tree is removed to create a mold, the mold is then used to cast a part similar to the wax pattern. A lost wax tree having a wax tree with a wax pattern and a wax runner, automated equipment for flexing, a heating element, and automated equipment for manipulating disconnected sections.

A casting may be created by the lost wax process, in which a wax pattern is formed by injection molding. One or more wax patterns are then attached to a runner, creating a wax tree assembly. A ceramic or other mold material is then spread over the wax tree assembly to create a shell, which acts as a mold. The shell is then heated to remove the wax. A molten material such as a metal is then poured into the ceramic shell and allowed to harden. The ceramic is then broken away and the castings removed from the runner.
The lost wax process is highly labor intensive even though wax pattern production, ceramic buildup and metal pouring have been successfully automated; the assembly of wax trees must be accomplished largely by hand. This is particularly true where wax tree assemblies are large and complex, involving a large number of parts. Large and complex wax patterns also require skilled and artistic wax tree assemblers.
The complexity of wax trees has made it desirable to create wax runners out of more than one piece of wax. It may also be necessary to move different pieces of the wax runner or the wax pattern in order to create a more accurate final casting.
Accordingly, a process for connecting different pieces of a wax runner together to form a single wax tree is desirable. A process of adapting a wax runner or wax pattern from a first position to a second position in creating a lost wax tree is also desirable.

System for assembly wax trees using flexible branch


Regulation systems and methods use a first regulator and a tracking second regulator. The first regulator receives a reference voltage and generates a first voltage output based upon the reference voltage, which is coupled as a back-bias voltage to a first load region within the integrated circuit. The first regulator also receives a sampled version of the first voltage output as feedback. A second regulator receives the first sampled voltage output and generates a second voltage output. The second regulator also receives a sampled version of the second voltage output as feedback. During operation, the second voltage output tracks (e.g., by a symmetry ratio) the first voltage output and is coupled as a back-bias voltage to a second load region within the integrated circuit. Further, switched-capacitor operation can be implemented, and clock frequency can be adjusted based upon the first sampled voltage output to reduce power consumption.

Many current electronic products rely upon low power or battery powered operation of one or more integrated circuits (ICs). These integrated circuits can be used in a wide variety of low-power/battery-operated applications including, for example, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology solutions, multi-core microcontrollers, or other low-power/battery-operated applications. Typically, some processing cores are high performance with high-power operation requirements, and other cores are lower performance with low-power operation requirements or very low-power operation requirements. SOI technologies provide dedicated device options for each case. High-performance cores are implemented with LVT (low threshold voltage) devices, and low-power cores are implemented using RVT (regular threshold voltage) devices.
For both LVT devices and RVT devices, back-biasing (BB) techniques are used to adjust the trade-off between performance and power for the RVT cores or the LVT cores. This trade-off is adjusted based upon whether a particular core is operating in a high-performance mode or in a low-power mode. RVT devices support a wide range of reverse back-biasing (RBB) voltages that allow power consumption to be significantly decreased at a given performance cost. LVT devices support a wide range of forward back-biasing (FBB) voltages that allow performance to be increased at a given power cost. In both cases, BB voltage levels may be set beyond the supply rails for the IC. As such, negative voltage charge pumps (NCPs) are employed to move BB voltage levels below the low-voltage supply rail voltage, and positive voltage charge pumps (PCPs) are employed to move BB voltage levels above the high-voltage supply rail voltage.
Prior BB solutions, however, suffer from various problems including the need for external capacitors. The need for external capacitors, for example, leads to an increase of system cost due to additional discrete components and package pins required to implement the external capacitors. Further, two different and dedicated circuit solutions are typically implemented, one to bias the RVT cores and another to bias the LVT cores. In addition, logic processing must typically be stopped during back-bias level transitions because different well voltages for the RVT cores and LVT cores are not sufficiently symmetrical during such transitions. As such, this stoppage in logic processing is required to support logic activity without the risk of timing violations. This stopping and restarting of logic processing, however, leads to increased power consumption and processing delays.

Back-biasing regulation system and method for integrated circuits


Provided is a semiconductor device fabrication apparatus comprising:                a filter which contains a polar crystal, and filters pure water or a liquid containing pure water as a solvent; and        a working section which has a pressing mechanism configured to apply a pressure to said filter, and supplies the filtered pure water or the filtered liquid containing pure water as a solvent to a surface of an object to be polished or cleaned, thereby performing a polishing process or cleaning process.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device fabrication method and apparatus.
In the field of recent semiconductor device fabrication, the development of micropatterned, high-density, multilayered interconnections is rapidly advancing as the LSI performance improves. Accordingly, the technique is rapidly improving in each fabrication process.
For example, in a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) process used in the formation of metal damascene interconnections, high cleaning is necessary in cleaning during or after polishing. This is so because even a slight amount of impurity has a large influence on the yield as micropatterning progresses.
As described above, it is important to increase the level of cleanliness in each process, and advance to the subsequent process without leaving any impurity or residue produced in the preceding process behind.
The cleaning process, however, is complicated because too much importance is attached to the performance and effect of, e.g., a slurry and liquid chemical.
Accordingly, the sizes of attached apparatuses increase, and there is no inexpensive, effective cleaning member which can be easily attached.
For example, patent reference 1 describes the overall arrangement of a CMP apparatus. This apparatus is characterized by cleaning a substrate by supplying ionic water. However, a practical arrangement of this ionic water supply apparatus is as disclosed in FIG. 2 of patent reference 2. That is, the increase in size of the apparatus is unavoidable.    Patent reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-294524    Patent reference 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-358111
As described above, no conventional apparatus can achieve high cleanliness with a compact, simple arrangement.

Semiconductor device fabrication method and apparatus


Described herein are various methods of generating and using a digital signature, such as a polymorphic digital signature. One or more methods of creating a digital signature permit strings of characters, which may be simple or complex, to uniquely identify large numbers of people, things, and actions. Different people, things, and actions can use the same set of characters to identify themselves and yet still be uniquely identified.

The present invention relates generally to digital security. The present invention relates specifically to a method of creating secure digital signatures.
The process of data verification has been utilized since the days of telegraphs. As new processes have been developed to provide data and user authentication, so have processes continually developed to undermine those efforts. Many of the current methods to generate a unique signature are relatively easy to crack because the range of possible signatures is small enough to permit hacking via a rainbow table, or cumbersome to implement and use.

Polymorphic digital security and methods of use thereof


An article-carrying rack with a lockable mount for securing the rack to a vehicle is described. The lockable mount includes a first half and a second half connected to the first half for movement relative thereto between an opened and a closed position. A lock-carrying member is mounted on the first half and includes a first and second end. A lock is mounted adjacent the first end of the lock-carrying member and is movable along the lock-carrying member for varying the distance between the lock and the first half. The lock-carrying member may be locked to restrict such movement. The lock-carrying member also includes an engagement member mounted adjacent the second end for selectively engaging the first and second halves when the second half is in the closed position and confining the second half in such position when the lock is locked.

This invention relates generally to article-carrying racks, more particularly it concerns an article-carrying rack with a lockable mount which allows the rack and mount to be locked in place on a vehicle, whether articles are carried thereon or not.
Article-carrying racks are well known and come in many shapes and sizes for carrying a variety of articles. Certain types of article-carrying racks are mountable on vehicles, such as cars or trucks, for carrying articles such as bicycles. Some racks are convertible for carrying other types of articles such as luggage, giving such racks added utility for the owners.
Some of the racks which are useful for carrying bicycles require the front wheel of the bicycle to be removed so that the front forks may be clamped to a skewer which is, in turn, fixed on a frame. One problem with racks of this type, and more generally, article-carrying racks, is that when the articles are removed, e.g., bicycle, luggage, etc., the rack may be easily removed from the vehicle if it is not locked in place. Of those racks which may be locked in place on a vehicle, many may be easily removed with a screw driver, wrench, or specialized tool such as an Allen wrench or the like. Some racks may have even more specialized tools for use in applying or removing the rack, but, if someone other than the owner has a similar tool, such rack may be easily and needlessly removed.
With the above problems in mind it is a general object of the invention to provide an article-carrying rack which may be mounted on a vehicle and locked into place regardless of whether articles are carried thereon.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an article-carrying rack with a lockable mount for use on a vehicle which may be locked into place on the vehicle without the use of any tools, and remain locked in place whether or not articles are carried thereon or not.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a lockable fork mount for use with a vehicle-mounted, bicycle-carrying rack which meets any or all of the objects discussed herein.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rack with a lockable mount which meets the above objects, is easy to manufacture, and durable enough to withstand the uses to which it may be put.
The invention achieves these and other objects in the form of an article-carrying rack with a lockable mount for securing the rack to an external bar on a vehicle. The mount includes a first half and a second half which is connected to the first half for movement relative thereto between an opened and a closed position. When the second half is in the closed position it is engaged by the first half for securing the halves around the external bar. A lock-carrying member includes a first and second end and is mounted on the first half. A lock is mounted adjacent the first end and is movable along the lock-carrying member for varying the distance between the member and the first half. The lock-carrying member may be locked to restrict such movement. The lock-carrying member also includes an engagement member mounted adjacent the second end for selectively engaging the first and second halves when the halves are in the closed position, and confining the halves in such position when the lock is locked.
These and additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood after a consideration of the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.

Article-carrying rack with lockable mount