Generally, and in one form of the invention, an integrated circuit comprising a bipolar transistor and a field effect transistor, wherein a channel of the field effect transistor and a base of the bipolar transistor are formed from a base epitaxial layer 16, and whereby field effect and bipolar transistors are formed within a common material structure is disclosed. In another form of the invention, an integrated circuit comprising a substrate 10, an epitaxial subcollector layer 12, an epitaxial collector layer 14, an epitaxial base layer 16, an epitaxial emitter layer 18, a bipolar transistor formed with an emitter electrical contact 20, 28, 35 to the emitter layer 18, a base contact 34 to the base layer 16, and a collector contact 42 to the subcollector layer 12, and a field effect transistor formed with a first gate contact 20, 30, 39 to the emitter layer 18, a first source contact 36 to the base layer 16, and a first drain contact 37 to the base layer 16, is disclosed.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with monolithic circuits with integrated heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) and junction field effect transistors (JFETs), as an example.
Heretofore, in this field, efforts to combine bipolar and field effect transistor technologies have been undertaken because of the attractive combination of the high power of bipolar and the low power switching and logic made possible with field effect devices together on a monolithic chip. These past attempts have met with limited success primarily because the field effect devices had to be designed to be accomodated within a process and material structure better suited for bipolar transistors. Additionally, the additional process steps required to include field effect devices increased the complexity of the process and contributed to poor producibility and yield. Solutions that overcome the limitations of these past methods would be desirable.

Method for producing integrated quasi-complementary bipolar transistors and field effect transistors


A shaft sealing precluding fluid from moving in a direction longitudinally of the shaft. At the same time the shaft sealing allows a motion of the shaft in axial direction, an inclination of the shaft, and may also allow a rotary motion of the shaft relative to its sealing means. The sealing means is a rolling diaphragm including a clamping flange on one end of the rolling wall thereof. The other end of the rolling diaphragm is provided with a cylindrical elastomeric member having a projection conforming substantially with the shape of a portion of reduced diameter of the shaft and engaging under pressure said portion of reduced diameter. The rolling diaphragm includes an elastomeric ply and a fabric reinforcement of the ply. The fabric reinforcement is removed from a region of the aforementioned projection of said rolling diaphragm to provide an interface between said portion of reduced diameter of, or cavity in, said shaft and said projection where the radially inward pressure of said projection is not limited by the presence of said fabric reinforcement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A sealed shaft according to the present invention includes a shaft having a coaxial annular portion of reduced diameter bounded by two portions of relatively large diameter and a rolling diaphragm having a rolling wall and attachment means to either end of said rolling wall. One of said attachment means includes a clamping flange for the radially outer end of said rolling diaphragm and the other of said attachment means for the radially inner end of said rolling diaphragm includes a substantially cylindrical member of an elastomeric substance, e.g. natural or synthetic rubber, arranged in coaxial relation to said shaft and surrounding said shaft and having an annular projection conforming substantially to the shape of said portion or reduced diameter of said shaft engaging said portion of reduced diameter of said shaft and exerting a radially inward pressure on said portion of reduced diameter or cavity of said shaft.
The rolling diaphragm includes an elastomeric ply and a fabric reinforcement thereof. The fabric reinforcement is removed, or trimmed off, from the region of the projection of the rolling diaphragm entering into the portion of reduced diameter, or into the cavity, of said shaft. The lack of a fabric reinforcement at this particular point allows a larger radially inward pressure of the projection of the rolling diaphragm than would be possible if the fabric reinforcement were not trimmed off at this particular point.


This invention relates to a rotary member for fixing having an elastic layer; an off-set preventive layer as the rotary member surface layer; and an intermediate layer having silicone varnish provided between the elastic layer and the off-set preventive layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rotary member and a fixing device for fixing an unfixed image, particularly to a rotary member having a heat source for heating the rotary member, a rotary member for fixing which fixes an unfixed image onto a recording material by heat and pressure, and a fixing device using it.
2. Related Background Art
In the prior art, for fixing an unfixed image, a rotary member such as belt or roller, etc. has been widely practiced. Particularly, hot roller fixing which fixes an unfixed image by heat and pressure at the nip portion formed between rollers by permitting a carrier having an unfixed image between a pair of fixing rollers as the rotary member for fixing has been the main stream, partially because of simplicity of the device.
Further, for such demands to increase the layer thickness of the unfixed image and the fixing speed during fixing by such fixing rollers, a fixing device provided with elasticity has been proposed.
However, with the fixing rollers of the fixing device as described above, there has been utilized in the prior art silicone rubber, particularly silicone rubber such as TRV, LTV, etc. or those in which an inorganic agent such as red iron oxide is mixed for the purpose of satisfying both elasticity and mold releasability necessary for fixing. However, in the rubber by use of a crosslinking agent such as RTV silicone rubber or LTV silicone rubber, recrosslinking proceeds by heating to make the rubber brittle, or decompose it by thermal oxidation. Also the rubber is swelled with the silicone oil coated as the mold release agent, whereby the outer diameter as the fixing roller partially changes and there is a a problem that deleterious influence is exerted on the fixed image.
In other words, in such fixing roller, as the material satisfying elasticity and mold releasability necessary for fixing and also having sufficient printing resistance, there is no single material, but generally a constitution of plural layers is made by providing a fluorine resin or a silicone resin on a rubber (silicone rubber), thereby endowing the respective layers with functions necessary for fixing.
However, one having as fluorine resin formed as the upper layer suffers from elongation of the fluorine resin by swelling of the roller core metal and the lower layer rubber by heating, and by repetition of this, fine wrinkles will be generated on the roller surface. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 62-255081 or No. 58-11976, when a silicone resin film is formed by coating a silicone varnish on a rubbery elastomer, the hardness of the film is high, and further the elongation of the varnish is generally low as 50% or lower, whereby marked elongation and shrinkage of the lower layer rubber cannot be followed, with the result that not only cracks are generated but there was also possibility of occurrence of peeling.


The present invention includes a system and method for translating potential malware devices into safe program code. The potential malware is translated from any one of a number of different types of source languages, including, but not limited to, native CPU program code, platform independent .NET byte code, scripting program code, and the like. Then the translated program code is compiled into program code that may be understood and executed by the native CPU. Before and/or during execution, the present invention causes a scanner to search for potential malware stored in memory. If malware is not detected, the computing device causes the CPU to execute the translated program code. However, execution and/or analysis of potential malware may be interrupted if computer memory that stores potential malware is altered during execution. In this instance, the potential malware now stored in memory is translated into safe program code before being executed.

As more and more computers and other computing devices are interconnected through various networks, such as the Internet, computer security has become increasingly more important, particularly from invasions or attacks delivered over a network or over an information stream. As those skilled in the art will recognize, these attacks come in many different forms, including, but certainly not limited to, computer viruses, computer worms, system component replacements, denial of service attacks, even misuse/abuse of legitimate computer system features—all of which exploit one or more computer system vulnerabilities for illegitimate purposes. While those skilled in the art will realize that the various computer attacks are technically distinct from one another, for purposes of the present invention and for simplicity in description, all malicious computer programs will be generally referred to hereinafter as computer malware, or more simply, malware.
When a computing device is attacked or "infected" by computer malware, the adverse results are varied, including disabling system devices; erasing or corrupting firmware, applications, or data files; transmitting potentially sensitive data to another location on the network; shutting down the computing device; or causing the computing device to crash. Yet another pernicious aspect of many, though not all, computer malware is that an infected computing device is used to infect other systems.
A traditional defense against computer malware, and particularly computer viruses and worms, is antivirus software. Generally described, antivirus software scans incoming data, looking for identifiable patterns associated with known computer malware. Also, increasingly, antivirus software is utilizing heuristic techniques that compare incoming data with characteristics of known malware. In any event, upon detecting a computer malware, the antivirus software may respond by removing the computer malware from the infected data, quarantining the data, or deleting the infected incoming data. Unfortunately, antivirus software typically works with known, identifiable computer malware. Frequently, this is done by matching patterns within the data to what is referred to as a "signature" of the malware. One of the core deficiencies in this malware detection model is that an unknown computer malware may propagate unchecked in a network until antivirus software on a computing device is updated to identify and respond to the malware.
As antivirus software has become more sophisticated and efficient at recognizing thousands of known computer malware, so too have the computer malware become more sophisticated. For example, malicious computer users now encrypt malware to obscure the malware signature behind unrecognizable patterns. For example, a polymorphic malware consists of a malware decryption routine and an encrypted malware "payload." When, a user executes an infected program, the malware decryption routine gains control of the computing device, and decrypts the previously encrypted malware payload. Then the decryption routine transfers control of the computing device to the decrypted malware payload. Each time a new target is infected, the malware replicates both the decryption routine and the malware payload. Typically, the encryption key used to encrypt the malware payload is changed when the malware is replicated. As a result, the encrypted malware has no identifiable pattern or "signature" by which the malware may be recognized by antivirus software.
When oligomorphic malware was created, antivirus software developers recognized that the decryption routine remained constant between versions of the malware. The antivirus software developers exploited this weakness by scanning not just for malware signatures, but also for specific decryption routines known to be associated with malware. In response, malicious computer users developed more sophisticated malware designed to prevent the decryption routine from being identified (hereinafter all types of malware that use techniques designed to hide a malware signature will be referred to as "obscured malware").
FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram illustrating one type of obscured malware known as polymorphic malware 100 that may be used to distribute a "payload." As illustrated in FIG. 1, the polymorphic malware 100 attaches to a host program 102 and, in this instance, is illustrated as a virus 104 that includes an encryption engine 106, a polymorphic file infector 108, and a decryption routine 110. The polymorphic malware 100 encrypts a segment of the virus 104 to prevent an identifiable signature from being identified. However, the virus 104 also includes an encryption engine 106 that generates randomized encryption routines each time virus 104 propagates. When the virus 104 is launched, the polymorphic file infector 108 identifies a new target and replicates the virus 104 in computer memory. At this point, the encryption engine 106 randomly generates a new encryption routine that has little or no similarity to previously developed encryption routines. Then an encrypted copy of the virus 104 is appended to the identified target. As a result, the virus 104 is encrypted and routines used for encryption and decryption vary between infections. Without a fixed malware signature or fixed encryption routine, conventional antivirus software is unable to detect the polymorphic malware 100 as a signature is not identifiable.
In light of the above-identified problems, it would be beneficial to computer users to have software that proactively protects a computer against malware such as obscured malware.

Proactive computer malware protection through dynamic translation


A valve having a plurality of movable, coaxially arranged annular plates is characterized by the use of fiber reinforced plate members having a thickness of greater than 0.2 inches and, in a preferred embodiment, a thickness to width ratio in excess of 0.5. A valve in accordance with the present invention is also characterized by the ratio of the number of biasing springs associated with each plate to the mean diameter of the plate being greater than 1.2 per inch.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improving the performance and reliability of valves of the type which employ a plurality of movable, coaxially arranged annular plates. More specifically, this invention is directed to plate valves of the type particularly well suited for use as one-way flow control devices at the intakes to and discharges from reciprocating compressors. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Check or one-way flow control valves employing annular plates as the moving elements or valve members are well known in the art. A plate valve characterized by significantly enhanced efficiency, when compared to prior art devices of similar character, is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 837,408 which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Another example of a prior art plate valve of the type to which the present invention is directed may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,500. Plate valves are employed in both the inlets to and discharge lines from reciprocating compressors. In a typical reciprocating type compressor installation, there may be from two to twenty valves per cylinder and thus a single compressor may have in excess of one hundred valves associated therewith. A failure of any one valve will disable the entire compressor. Accordingly, reliability is a prime consideration in the design of a plate valve.
The typical prior art plate valve has a seat member and a guard member which cooperate to define the valve housing. The seat member is provided with a plurality of arcuately shaped passages therethrough and these passages are arranged in concentric circles to thereby effectively define a plurality of annular passages which communicate with the valve chamber or chambers. The guard member, which is shaped to form the valve chamber, is also provided with passages which effectively define a plurality of concentric ports or passages. The passages in the guard member are radially staggered with respect to the passages in the seat member. The guard member is also provided with recesses which receive biasing springs. The annular plates or valve members are located in the valve chamber intermediate the seat and guard members and have a flat surface with a width exceeding the width of the inwardly disposed ends of the passages in the seat member. Posts, typically extending from the guard member, constrain the annular plates to movement only toward and away from the inwardly disposed ends of the passages in the seat member which they cover in the closed position. The annular valve plates are resiliently biased, by means of the aforementioned springs located in the recesses in the guard member, against the seat whereby the valve will normally be closed. When the forces on the plates resulting from the applied pressure exceed the spring bias, the plates will move away from the seat and fluid will flow through the valve. In view of the radial offset of the passages in the seat member with respect to those in the guard member, fluid flowing through the valve will undergo a change in direction. The valve of co-pending application Ser. No. 837,408 constitutes a significant step forward in the art by virtue of enhancing valve efficiency be minimizing pressure losses. Those unique characteristics of the valve of application Ser. No. 837,408 which contribute to the minimizing of pressure losses are employed in the valve of the present invention and thus the disclosure of application Ser. No. 837,408 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
For the reasons briefly discussed above, there is a long standing desire in the art to further enhance the reliability of a plate valve, including the valve of aforementioned application Ser. No. 837,408, without sacrificing overall system efficiency by increasing the pressure losses which may be attributed to the valve. Further, it has also been desired to reduce manufacturing costs, and particularly expensive machine steps, without adversely affecting either pressure drop or valve reliability.


A magnetic card handling apparatus has a rotatable capstan and a magnetic head spaced apart a distance exceeding the thickness of a magnetic card on appropriate sides of a card running groove until the presence of a magnetic card therebetween is detected. The distance between the capstan and the magnetic head is thereupon decreased whereby the magnetic card is pinched between the magnetic head and the capstan and is driven past the magnetic head for recording/or reproduction of signals. Separate card running grooves with associated reproduce and record heads and separate card detecting apparatus may be provided for reproduction and recording to permit dubbing signals reproduced from one magnetic card onto another magnetic card.

This invention relates to a magnetic card handling apparatus, and more particularly, to a magnetic card handling apparatus in which a magnetic card, inserted in a card running groove, is pinched between a capstan and a magnetic head, and driven by the capstan, to run the magnetic card in the card running groove for reproducing audio signals therefrom or for recording audio signals thereon.
A card recorder using a magnetic card may be used as a language teaching aid or for other purposes. A magnetic card consists of a cardboard card which has a magnetic tape attached parallel to an edge thereof on which words or phrases of a language being studied or other material may be recorded. Pictures, letters and other illustrative material representing the recorded content may be printed on the magnetic card. One type of magnetic card is called a "master card" from which pre-recorded audio signals may be reproduced by inserting it into a card running groove in the card recorder adapted for reproduction of audio signals. Another type of magnetic card is called a "slave card" having a blank magnetic tape on which desired audio signals may be recorded by a user. The slave card is preferably unprinted to provide a surface upon which pictures and letters may be marked by the user.
In conventional magnetic card recorders, a magnetic card is pinched between a rubber-coated capstan and a magnetic head located apart a fixed distance slightly less than the thickness of the magnetic card in the card running groove. The magnetic card is preferably inserted sideways between the capstan and the magnetic head, but it may be forced downward therebetween, whereby a corner, edge or the surface of the magnetic head may be damaged. When the magnetic card is properly inserted, it is difficult to establish a predetermined start position for the magnetic card. When recording of the magnetic card is attempted before the magnetic head reaches the beginning of the magnetic tape, some matter may be lost before the magnetic tape reaches the record head. When recording does not begin at the beginning of the magnetic tape, a length of unrecorded magnetic tape has passed uselessly beyond the record head before recording begins. It is also difficult to maintain the starting point of the magnetic tape constant for reproduction. Thus, the beginning of the recorded content may be missed.


A semiconductor memory device includes a first semiconductor well of a first conductivity type in a memory cell region and a contact region of a substrate, a second semiconductor well of a second conductivity type in the first semiconductor well in the contact region, a plurality of electrode films stacked on the first semiconductor well and spaced from one another in a first direction, the plurality of electrode films extending in a second direction within the memory cell region into the contact region, a first semiconductor pillar extending in the second direction through the plurality of electrode films in the memory cell region, a second semiconductor pillar extending in the second direction through at least one electrode film in the contact region, a charge storage film between the first semiconductor pillar and each electrode film, an insulating film between the second semiconductor pillar and the at least one electrode film.

In existing stacked semiconductor memory devices, memory cells are integrated in a three-dimensional manner. In such a stacked semiconductor memory device, referred to as a stacked body, electrode films and insulating films are alternately stacked on a semiconductor substrate, and semiconductor pillars penetrate through the stacked body. Memory cell transistors are formed at intersections between the electrode films and the semiconductor pillars. There is a need for ensuring reliability of memory cell transistors in such stacked semiconductor memory devices.


An apparatus and process for cooling and muffling one or more pieces of exhaust emitting industrial equipment, such as a pair of vacuum pumps, is herein disclosed. The apparatus comprises a water cooling tank, an automatic water level control means for automatically maintaining the water in the tank to between a predetermined maximum and minimum level, and a thermostatically controlled refrigeration coil concentrically disposed within the tank for maintaining the temperature of the tank water to between a pre-selected range. The tank includes one or more muffling units substantially submerged in the water within the tank and pneumatically connected to the exhaust ports of the industrial equipment for muffling the exhaust noise of the equipment. The gases expelled from the industrial equipment pass through a plurality of small apertures in the submerged portions of the muffler units and create a plurality of small bubbles which effectively agitate the tank water around the refrigeration coil, thereby equilibrating the temperature of the water and eliminating the need for a separate agitation pump.

This invention relates to an apparatus and process for cooling and muffling one or more pieces of exhaust emitting industrial equipment, such as a pair of vacuum pumps.
Many types of industrial equipment, such as vacuum pumps and air compressors, work more efficiently if some means is provided for removing the heat generated by gaseous compression and friction. Because water has the capacity to absorb relatively large quantities of heat, a number of water cooling and circulating devices for cooling industrial equipment have been developed in the prior art. Basically, such water cooling devices comprise a tank or reservoir for holding a supply of water and a refrigeration unit for cooling the water to within a desired temperature range. Water in the reservoir is circulated through or around the equipment to be cooled, which may be an air compressor, vacuum pump, or plastic molding machine, and circulated back into the reservoir, where it is again cooled down by the refrigeration unit. Examples of such cooling devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,590,061, 3,365,904, 4,060,997, and 4,144,718. Such devices may include some form of automatic liquid level control for maintaining the water level in a reservoir tank to within a predetermined range. Examples of such automatic liquid level controls may be found in previously mentioned Pat. Nos. 2,590,061, 4,060,997 and 4,144,718. Moreover, such cooling devices may also include some sort of thermostatic control arrangement for maintaining the temperature of the water in the reservoir tank to within a desired temperature range. Such thermostatic controls are exemplified by the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,060,997 and 4,144,718.
However, none of the previously mentioned prior art equipment cooling devices is without shortcomings. For example, the water in the cooling unit disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,590,061 patent must be continuously circulated around the refrigerating tank of the unit by means of a separate circulation pump in order to insure that the temperature of the water in the tank is uniform, and that the reading taken by the single thermostatic probe at the bottom of the tank is truly representative of the average water temperature of the tank. Similarly, the equipment cooler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,718 likewise utilizes a separate pump for agitating the water in the circulating water supply system. Even inventions as recent as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,997 also suggests the use of a separate pump to circulate the water through the reservoir and heat exchanger in order to equilibrate the temperature thereof. Thus, each of these patents either discloses or suggests the use of a separate, expensive, energy consuming pump to agitate water in the system to equilibrate the temperature thereof so that the thermostat system will work properly. Additionally, the thermostatic control disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,997 patent is undesirably complicated, being controlled by the composite electronic signal of two separate temperature probes, one of which is located on the return side of the water circulation path, the other of which is located on the supply side of this path.
The shortcomings associated with prior art cooling devices illustrate the need for a simple, inexpensive and efficient equipment cooling device which is capable of cheaply and thoroughly agitating its water supply to a uniform temperature throughout so that a simple, inexpensive thermostatic system which senses the temperature of the water at only one particular area may be employed to accurately maintain the water temperature to between a desired temperature range.
Also known in the prior art are muffling units for muffling the exhaust noises associated with various types of industrial equipment. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,439 illustrates a muffling unit for a portable air compressor comprising a soundproofed and air cooled shell which envelopes the compressor. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,842 discloses a dampening or muffling unit for a vacuum pump comprising a cavity filled with a cellular material having inefficient vibration transmission characteristics.
However, none of these references effectively converts the energy present in the hot exhaust gases into useful work.
Such prior art references clearly illustrate the need for a more efficient muffling unit which both efficiently muffles the irritating exhaust noises emanating from industrial equipment such as air pumps and compressors, and efficiently converts the energy present in the hot exhaust gases into useful work.

Apparatus and process for cooling and muffling industrial equipment


An internal address determining device for a semiconductor memory device has a refresh counter storing refresh addresses and an expanded nibble counter storing nibble addresses. External row and column addresses and a strobe signal are input to an input section. The device also has first and second multiplexers, first and second latch circuits for latching output from the first and second multiplexers, respectively, and a timing circuit for controlling operation timing of the first and second multiplexers by generating one of an external row address signal select signal, an external column address select signal, a refresh address select signal, and a nibble address select signal. In response to one of those control signals, one of the multiplexers selects and outputs a corresponding address signal.

The present invention relates to an internal address determining device for a semiconductor memory device, which internal address determining device can reduce the time required for determining the internal address.
In general semiconductor memory devices, internal addresses for memory access are determined based on externally provided address signals or address signals preliminarily stored in an address counter. In FIGS. 4 and 5 are shown a circuit diagram and timing chart for an internal address determining device in a conventional semiconductor memory device. The internal address determining device shown in FIG. 4 enables operations called CAS BEFORE RAS REFRESH mode and EXPANDED NIBBLE mode operations, for example, except for a normal mode operation.
The CAS BEFORE RAS REFRESH mode is a refresh mode in which a column address strobe (CAS) signal falls down before a row address strobe (RAS) signal does and when the row address strobe signal falls down, a refresh operation starts. Generally in a refresh mode, only row addresses are required to be provided. In the CAS BEFORE RAS REFRESH mode, the row addresses are automatically or internally provided from an internal counter. The internal counter is incremented by one each time a refresh row address is read therefrom, and therefore there is no need to provide refresh row addresses from the outside.
The EXPANDED NIBBLE mode is a mode for enabling a high speed access by inputting column address strobe signal as a clock pulse while keeping a row address strobe signal active. In this mode, a certain external column address following a certain external row address is initially input in response to a first clock pulse of the column address strobe signal. However, column addresses subsequent to the certain column address are read from an internal counter sequentially in response to subsequent clock pulses while the row address strobe signal is active. Therefore, once a first address is determined, there is no need to input column addresses from the outside from the second clock pulse of the column address strobe signal on.
In the conventional internal address determining device, an input section 101 has an inverter 108 and a NAND gate 107. To the NAND gate 107 are input a row address strobe signal RAS and an external address signal .phi.106 which consists of an external row address and an external column address. The external address signal .phi.106 in the input section 101 is passed by a transfer gate 106 when the transfer gate 106 receives a control signal .phi.101 generated by a timing circuit 104 for controlling the external address signal input timing. The external address signal .phi.106 having passed the transfer gate 106 is transferred to a multiplexer 103 after once latched by a first latch circuit 102. In response to an address select signal (described later) corresponding to a selected operation mode, the multiplexer 103 selects the external address signal .phi.106 or a refresh address signal .phi.107 stored in a refresh counter (not shown) or an expanded nibble address signal .phi.108 stored in an expanded nibble counter (not shown). Specifically, if the normal mode operation is selected, the multiplexer 103 selects and outputs the external address signal .phi.106 once latched by the first latch circuit 102, if the CAS BEFORE RAS REFRESH mode operation is selected, the multiplexer 103 selects and outputs the refresh address signal .phi.107 generated from the refresh counter (not shown), and if the EXPANDED NIBBLE mode operation is selected, the multiplexer 103 selects and outputs the nibble address signal .phi.108 generated from the nibble counter (not shown) although the first address is determined based on an external address. Output from the multiplexer 103 is latched and output as an internal address by a second latch circuit 105.
FIG. 5 shows the timing at which the above internal address determining device for a semiconductor memory device operates. Note that in FIG. 5 the solid line indicates operation timing during the normal mode operation, the dotted line indicates operation timing during CAS BEFORE RAS REFRESH mode and the dot-dash line indicates operation timing during the EXPANDED NIBBLE mode.
The control signal .phi.101 generated by the timing circuit 104 is applied to the transfer gate 106, which then transfers the external address signal .phi.106 from the input section 101 to the first latch circuit 102, as described above.
The multiplexer 103 is provided with an external address select signal .phi.102 of a high level during the normal mode operation, a refresh address select signal .phi.103 of a high level during the CAS BEFORE RAS REFRESH mode operation, and an expanded nibble address select signal .phi.104 of a high level during the EXPANDED NIBBLE MODE. The multiplexer 103 then selects and outputs the external row and column address signals .phi.106 transferred from the first latch circuit 102, or refresh address signal .phi.107 read from the refresh counter, or expanded nibble signal .phi.108 read from the expanded nibble counter, in accordance with a selected operation mode or address select signal of high level.
The second latch circuit 105 then latches the multiplexed address signal output from the multiplexer 103.
As described above, in the conventional internal address determining device, the external address signal .phi.106 is latched by the first latch circuit 102 after the external address signal .phi.106 is input into the input section 101, then the latched external address signal .phi.106, refresh address signal .phi.107, or expanded nibble address signal .phi.108 is selected by the multiplexer 103, and the selected address signal is again latched by the second latch circuit 105. Therefore, much time is required for an internal address to be finally determined.

Internal address determining device for semiconductor memory devices


A system for seismic data acquisition has been invented having, in certain aspects, one or multiple distributed data acquisition subsystems that are independent of energy source controller and/or of navigation system operation. Thus the distributed acquisition system(s) do not require a complicated and burdensome interface to the energy source controller or navigation systems. The seismic data acquisition system supplies a continuous flow of data which is buffered within a centralized data repository for short term storage until required by non-real-time processes. A seismic data acquisition method has been invented that replaces conventional closely coupled interaction between seismic acquisition systems and the energy source controller and the navigation systems by utilizing GPS time stamps on both the data as well as cycling events of the energy source controller and/or navigation systems to insure precise association of seismic data with cycling events. By continuously acquiring data with no interruption in the acquired data flow, association with energy source or navigation events may be accomplished at a latter point in time and not in the real-time operation of the acquisition subsystem.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to seismic data acquisition and recording systems and methods; in one aspect, to such systems and methods for recording in a useful and meaningful way all the seismic data related to one or more seismic events, in one aspect without regard to, or synchronization with a navigation system and/or energy source control system; and, in one aspect, to such systems and methods in which acquired data is associated with seismic events at some point in time after the data is acquired.
2. Description of Related Art
In a variety of prior art seismic data systems, only a selected portion of generated seismic signals are recorded. As shown in FIG. 1 a prior art seismic system S is tightly coupled to the actions of a navigation system N and an energy source controller E. The seismic system S includes a data acquisition subsystem A which interfaces with apparatus on seismic cables C and which is slaved to the action of systems N and E. A recording subsystem R is in turn slaved to the data acquisition subsystem A.
The navigation system N receives time and positioning information from a Global Positioning System ("GPS") G. This information indicates the location of the navigation system N. In existing systems the seismic system S and the energy source controller E may be located on separate vessels. Components of the system N and/or of the System G may be distributed over several vessels. These systems provide for the exact positioning of all vessels involved in a seismic survey and, therefore, the physical location of interrelated systems S and E.
In these prior art systems, the navigation system N acts as a master controller of subsystem E and subsystem A, i.e., the system E and subsystem A are, in this sense, dependent on and not independent of the master controller navigation system N. Also, the subsystem E and subsystem A are co-dependent, i.e., they send signals, information, and commands to each other and, in certain instances, do not act without them.
In a typical operation of the system of FIG. 1, the master controller navigation system N, constantly receiving time and position signals from the GPS system G, sends a "start" command to the acquisition subsystem A and, substantially simultaneously, a "start" command to the energy source controller subsystem E. Based on known location, these "start" commands are sent prior to the arrival at a known desired firing point of the system and of the energy source. This pre-firing location (at which initial "start" commands are issued) is chosen so that the E and A subsystems have time to accomplish certain tasks and complete firing of the energy sources at the desired known firing point.
The acquisition subsystem A upon ascertaining that it is ready to acquire and record data, indicates its ability to start an acquisition cycle by issuing a "Fire" command to the energy source controller system E after a fixed delay from the receipt of the "start" command from the navigation system N. The fixed delay is referred to as an Acquisition Synchronization Time and is typically 200 milliseconds. After the system E receives the "Fire" command from subsystem A, the source controller system E sequences its energy sources (typically air guns) in such a manner that the peak power of the array of energy sources is at a maximum at a fixed point in time following the receipt of the Fire command. At this point in time (referred to as TO or Time Break) the energy source controller E issued a Time Break command to the acquisition subsystem A. The time interval from the receipt of the Fire command and issuing of the Time Break command is referred to as Gun Synchronization Time and is typically 128 milliseconds. The subsystem A then begins to acquire data generated by the firing of the seismic energy sources for a fixed period of time (typically 6-8 seconds) referred to as the Acquisition Time. At the completion of the Acquisition Time the acquisition subsystem A will typically inhibit the acceptance of any other start commands from the navigation system N while it logs status and initializes acquisition system components for the next acquisition cycle. This time, which is referred to as the Acquisition System Overhead, typically lasts for approximately 500 milliseconds. During this time the acquisition subsystem A is acquiring and logging status concerning the performance of the acquisition subsystem, synchronizing configuration changes with the multiple CPU's that are contained within the acquisition subsystem and distributing parameters to these various CPU's that will control the actions of the acquisition subsystem A during the next acquisition cycle. Optionally the acquisition subsystem A will start the recording subsystem R process that transfers the acquired seismic data to long term storage on magnetic tape. The acquisition subsystem A does not typically wait for the completion of the recording phase before it is once again able to accept system starts from the navigation system.
If a new start command is issued to the acquisition subsystem A at any point in time during the Acquisition Time or during the Acquisition System Overhead Time the acquisition subsystem will ignore the start command and the next acquisition cycle will not be started. Since this can be a very serious problem, typical operating procedures dictate that the speed of the shooting vessel be adjusted to guarantee that the time interval between consecutive start commands from navigation system N be greater than the sum of the Acquisition Synchronization Time, Gun Synchronization Time, Acquisition Time, and the Acquisition System Overhead has elapsed.
The time interval between consecutive start commands from navigation system N is a function of the speed of the vessel between the fixed locations at which the acquisition subsystem A must be cycled. These fixed locations are known as Shotpoints. The speed of the vessel through the water is, in turn, a function of the vessel propulsion as well as numerous environmental elements that cannot be controlled. These include wind speed and direction, ocean current, and wave action. In order to compensate for these variables a Cycle Delay Time is introduced after the end of the Acquisition Time to insure that the next Start command from the navigation system N is not issued prior to the completion of both the Acquisition Time and the Acquisition System Overhead Time. This Cycle Delay must be greater than the Acquisition System Overhead and allow for the effect on vessel speed caused by environmental elements. Typical values for the Cycle delay are 1.25 seconds.
As shown in FIG. 2 the System Dead Time is the sum of the Cycle Delay, Acquisition Synchronization Time, and Gun Synchronization Time and is typically greater than 1.5 seconds. The productivity of prior art seismic systems is severely reduced by the need to support the System Dead Time interval. For an Acquisition Cycle Time of 6 seconds the effect of the additional 1.5 seconds of dead time reduces production by approximately 25%. Assuming 12.5 Meter Shotpoint intervals the boat speed in this case must be reduced from 4 knots to 3.24 knots to compensate for the System Dead Time. At this speed the cable may become uncontrollable forcing the survey to be done in two passes over the same area with the first pass collecting every other Shotpoint and the second pass collecting the Shotpoints skipped in the first pass. In this case the effect of the System Dead Time reduces production by 50%.
For the interdependent system N, E and subsystems A to work correctly their operations must be temporally synchronized since the systems are interrelated and co-dependent; i.e. they operate and function together in real-time and must do so to be effective in order to implement the temporal synchronization, delays are introduced in the system operation that adversely affect production. During these delay/synchronization periods seismic data is being generated (e.g. by reflections and refractions of a generated acoustic wave field from an earth layer) but must be discarded due to the synchronization delays inherent in the closely coupled system formed by systems N, E, and subsystem A.
There has long been a need for seismic data methods and systems that have reduced or no deadtime, i.e., a system in which most or all generated data is recorded and is, therefore, potentially useful. There has long been a need for seismic data methods and systems in which real-time system/subsystem synchronization are not required.


A digital pictorial book system for searching for and providing a user with an explanation of an object captured by an image capturing module includes an image capturing module for capturing an image; a main object selecting module for selecting a main object out of the image; a feature extracting module for extracting a feature of the main object; an explanation searching module for searching for the explanation of the main object in a plurality of image databases, which store explanations of the objects corresponded to a plurality of different kinds of features of the objects by using the feature extracted by the feature extracting module; and a distinguishing feature selecting module for selecting a distinguishing feature, of which an overlap of certainty distributions is the smallest for each object and each kind of the feature out of the different kinds of features stored in the image database corresponded to the plurality of objects in case the explanations of the plurality of objects are searched out by the explanation searching module, in order to narrow down the candidates even in case that a plurality of candidates is searched out in the image databases.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital pictorial book system, a pictorial book searching method, and a machine readable medium storing thereon a pictorial book searching program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a digital pictorial book system, a pictorial book searching method, and a machine readable medium storing thereon a pictorial book searching program for searching for and providing a user with an explanation of an object of which an image is captured.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a digital pictorial book system is known which extracts a feature of an object from an image of the object captured by using a digital camera, searches for and provides a user with information on the object in an image database on the basis of the extracted feature (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1998-254901).
According to the conventional digital pictorial book system, for example, a candidate of a name of the object is searched out in an image database by comparing a digitized image of the object with a digitized image of each category stored in the image database.
In case the captured image is compared with the image stored in the image database, the search result is largely dependent on the difference in the image capturing condition. Therefore, the conventional digital pictorial book system tries to provide a user with convenience by making it easy to get the search result by increasing ambiguity of comparison. In this case, however, there is not known an efficient method for narrowing down the candidates when various candidates are searched out according to the conventional digital pictorial book system.

Digital pictorial book system, a pictorial book searching method, and a machine readable medium storing thereon a pictorial book searching program


A seedling planter consisting of a portable frame on which is mounted a horizontally rotatable, vertically movable index plate carrying a vertically movable, normally lowered scraper blade, a telescopic seedling drop tube, an auger, an auger hydraulic motor and a gear box coupling the motor to the auger. A carousel tray containing seedlings is rotatably mounted on the frame over the index plate, being rotatable stepwise by a pawl on the end of the piston rod of a retraction-extension hydraulic cylinder mounted on the frame. A programming circuit operates solenoid valves activating respective hydraulic cylinders to perform a cycle consisting of first retracting the index plate, causing scraping of the ground, then elevating the scraper blade, then lowering the index plate and operating the auger so as to dig a hole, then raising and extending the index plate to bring the drop tube over the hole and to cause the carousel tray to rotate one step to bring a seedling over the hole and open a water valve to deliver a quantity of water under pressure over the seedling to drive it through the drop tube into the hole, then extending a packing blade to pack soil around the seedling, and then resetting the parts to starting positions.

Ordinarily, considerable human labor is required for the planting of nursery stock, such as tree or shrub seedlings, particularly on slopes or other irregular terrain. In planting the seedlings, it is first necessary to transport them to the planting site, clear the immediate planting area, dig a hole to proper depth for each plant, place the seedling in the hole, suitably moisten the plant, and then pack the soil around the plant root system to insure proper nourishment and growth of the seedling.
Various mechanical aids and planting devices have been proposed, but these devices have not been satisfactory mainly because they are not self-contained and because they cannot perform all the necessary steps in proper sequence and in a reasonably short time without considerable human supervision and labor. Also, in most cases the prior devices involve a considerable amount of individual handling of the seedlings in performing one or more of the required planting steps. Furthermore, use of the prior proposed planting machines is not practical on irregular terrain or on slopes.
A preliminary search of the prior art revealed the following prior U.S. patents of interest:
Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,809
Guigas, U.S. Pat. No. 2,749,855
Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,239
Huang, U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,252
Roths, U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,158
Dri et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,751
Braun, U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,135
Westerhoven, U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,137

Machine for planting containerized tree and shrub seedlings

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


A transition piece aft frame assembly is provided, and includes a transition piece aft frame and a heat shield. The transition piece aft frame has an aft face. At least a portion of the aft face is exposed to an exhaust gas stream. The heat shield is connected to the transition piece aft frame. The heat shield is oriented to generally deflect the exhaust gas stream away from the aft face of the transition piece aft frame.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a heat shield for a transition piece aft frame assembly.
Gas turbines generally include a compressor, a combustor, one or more fuel nozzles, and a turbine. Air enters the gas turbine through an air intake and is compressed by the compressor. The compressed air is then mixed with fuel supplied by the fuel nozzles. The air-fuel mixture is supplied to the combustor at a specified ratio for combustion. The combustion generates pressurized exhaust gases, which drive blades of the turbine.
The combustor includes a transition piece for confining and directing flow of combustion products from the combustor to a first stage nozzle. The transition piece includes a forward end and an aft end. Located between the aft end of the transition piece and the first stage nozzle is a transition piece aft frame. Exhaust gas flows through the transition piece at relatively high temperatures, therefore cracking due to thermal stresses and oxidation may occur in the transition piece aft frame along the inner and outer rails. To reduce the temperature of the transition piece aft frame, cooling holes or apertures may be provided in the transition piece aft frame. There are also various types of seal designs that are currently available to substantially prevent leaking of cooling air provided by the cooling apertures. However, there is no feature currently available to substantially prevent exhaust gases from reaching the transition piece aft frame in the region where cracking and oxidation may occur.

Transition piece aft frame assembly having a heat shield


An automation system that does not require any of the source node devices transmitting packets of information to have knowledge of the recipients of those packets. The automation system comprises sensor nodes and actor nodes. The sensor nodes transmit information via a wireless network based on conditions that are sensed by the sensors, such as a button being pushed, motion being detected, or the current ambient light level. The actor nodes detect the information that is transmitted over the wireless network and control their device functions, such as lighting and climate control, based on the information detected. In particular, the actor nodes monitor the network for packets that contain information that is relevant to each node, such as one or more sensor node source addresses previously configured to be of interest to each actor node and which are used in the decision-making that is performed by each actor node.

"Commercial building automation," or "commercial automation," refers to the use of computer and information technology to control commercial building systems, such as lighting, HVAC, audio-visual, smoke detection, security, and shading, among others. Using specialized hardware, building devices can be monitored and controlled automatically. Although commercial automation has been available at some level of sophistication for some time, it steadily becomes more practical, both from a technological and cost perspective. This is due in part to the rapid advancement of information technology.
A sophisticated commercial automation system might include sensors (e.g., of temperature, of light, of motion, etc.), controllers (e.g., a general-purpose personal computer, a dedicated automation controller, etc.), and actuators (e.g., motorized valves, switches, etc.). The system might also include a human-machine interface device that enables an occupant of the building to interact with the system. The interface can be a specialized terminal or an application ("app") running on a smartphone or tablet computer. The various system devices communicate over dedicated wiring, or over a wired network, or wirelessly, using one or more protocols.
FIG. 1 depicts building automation system 100 in the prior art. System 100 comprises: sensor nodes 101-1 through 101-G, wherein G is a positive integer; actor nodes 102-1 through 102-H, wherein H is a positive integer; and controller 110. The aforementioned elements are logically interconnected as shown, and are interconnected either wirelessly or via wired connections.
Sensor nodes 101-1 through 101-G include one or more of: motion sensors, temperature sensors, light sensors, and air quality sensors. Actor nodes 102-1 through 102-H are building devices that include one or more of: lamps, possibly with adjustable brightness and/or color; window blinds that can be opened and closed; and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems. Using such sensor and actor nodes, building automation system 100 is capable of triggering and acting on certain conditions as a function of sensor readings, such as turning on lights when motion is detected or when ambient light is low, controlling HVAC systems in response to temperature variations, and so forth. Controller 110 coordinates and executes the actions to be taken by one or more of the actor nodes, based on i) the input signals received from one or more of the sensor nodes and ii) one or more memorized states.

System and method for decision-making based on source addresses


A method of and apparatus for continuously hot rolling steel slabs. Separate pieces of steel slabs are continuously fed from a slab yard and delivered to a carriage which is adapted to move reciprocatingly along the line of path of the steel slab pieces. The carriage carries a welder which can move transversely of the path of the slab pieces, and also clamp devices for clamping preceding and succeeding slabs to fix them to the carriage, as means for keeping the preceding and succeeding slab pieces in abutting condition. As a steel strip including a plurality of slab pieces welded together is moved at a predetermined rolling speed into a rolling mill, the carriage moves substantially at the same speed to keep the succeeding slab in abutment with the trailing end of the last slab piece of the steel strip, to permit the welder to weld these slab pieces at their abutting end. This welding is performed only over a part of the cross-sectional area of these slab pieces. The steel slabs are thus welded together into continuous form, delivered to the rolling mill and rolled by the latter. This system ensures a higher yield of products and permits a full continuous hot rolling of the steel slabs.

The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for rolling, by means of a full continuous hot strip mill or a planetary mill, a steel slab extracted from a heating furnace. In this specification, this steel slab will be referred to simply as "slab", hereinafter.
In the conventional hot strip mill, as well as in the planetary mill, the length of the slab is limited from 6 to 13 m, due to the size of the furnace and for the convenience sake in transportation and handling.
As a result of rolling of this slab by a hot strip mill, a so-called "fish tail" is formed at the trailing end of the slab after the coarse rolling. Therefore, usually, it is necessary to shear the leading and trailing ends of the slab by means of a crop shear disposed at the upstream side of the finishing rolling mill, before the finish rolling. The "fish tail" is also observed in the strip after a rolling by a planetary mill. The "fish tail" inconveniently causes a reduction in the yield of the material.
In the hot strip mill, when a succeeding slab is introduced into the finishing rolling mill after the preceding slab has passed the finishing rolling mill, the strip is inconveniently floated by the force of air as it passes the hot runner table, if the speed of the strip is high. It is, therefore, necessary to reduce the rolling speed down to the level of 60% of ordinary maximum rolling speed, in this transient period. The ordinary maximum rolling speed may be recovered only after the leading end of the new strip has reached a down coiler to permit the application of tension to the strip.
In case of the planetary strip mill, a small gap exists between the preceding and succeeding slabs, although the slabs are fed continuously. Therefore, as this gap passes the rolling mill, vibration and noise which is 1.5 to 2.0 times as high as those in the ordinary rolling are generated to shorten the life of the machine parts of the mill. In some cases, the slabs are ejected from the planetary mill with their trailing ends unrolled and still having a large thickness. If this slab having a large thickness is introduced into the subsequent finishing or planishing mill, an extraordinarily high rolling load will be caused in the latter. To avoid this, conventionally, it has been necessary to quickly open the rolls of the planishing mill by means of hydraulic cylinders, when the thick trailing end of the slab passes the planishing mill. This also results in a reduction of yield, because of the off-gauge of the thickness immediately before and after the trailing end of the slab having large thickness.
To sum up, the conventional rolling techniques involve the following problems.
(1) Fish tails are formed in the end of the rolled slab, due to the presence of free or unrestrained leading and trailing ends of the slab during rolling.
(2) In the hot strip mill, while the leading end of a slab is positioned between the finishing mill and the down coiler and, hence, unrestricted, the slab will be inconveniently floated by air if the rolling speed is high. Therefore, it is necessary that the rolling has to be made at a reduced speed until the leading end is caught by the down coiler.
(3) In the planetary mill, the rolling is rendered unstable at the gap between the preceding and succeeding slabs, to cause a vibration and noise.
In the field of rod rolling, although not directly related to the rolling of slabs, a method called "endless rolling" has been proposed and actually used. This method is to continuously roll the rod materials which have been welded previously in series, into continuous rod material. Typical examples of this method are disclosed in the Synopsis of 93rd symposium of Steel Association of Japan, held on 4th to 6th April, 1977 (Vol. 63, No. 4, 1977), and also in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 135863/1978. In these known techniques, successive materials are welded over the entire areas of their abutting surfaces.
This known endless rolling method does not suggest at all the continuous rolling of slabs of the invention, because the application of welding of successive rod materials over the entire abutting surfaces to the rolling of slabs is quite inappropriate and disadvantageous in view of the rolling speed and the feeding speed of slabs, particularly in relation to the capacity of the welder.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 112459/76 discloses an endless rolling method in which the slabs are superposed and welded at their opposing ends. The length of the overlap of the slabs is a half or more of the slab width. It is considered that this endless welding of slabs will affect the rolls of the rolling mill more adversely than the existing rolling method, although it may be effective in eliminating the formation of the fish tail. Also, this continuous rolling of slabs can provide only a small yield of the product and, therefore, has only little practical utility as a method of continuous rolling of slabs.

Method of and apparatus for continuously rolling steel slabs


A slide member having a highly lubricative and highly abrasion-resistant plating layer formed on the sliding surface thereof. The plating layer contains fine particles of graphite selected from flake graphite, vein graphite and/or amorphous graphite in its metallic matrix. The plating layer has a hardness of not less than 550 in terms of Hv and is produced by using a plating solution containing naphthalene sulfanate of formalin condensate as surface active agent. The matrix is preferable to be a Ni--P type metallic matrix and the dispersed fine particles of graphite are preferable having a size of 0.1 to 20 .mu.m and are contained by 0.1 to 10 wt % relative to the matrix.

Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 53-83938 describes a plating layer of metal comprising a nickel-phosphor matrix and lubricative fine particles dispersed in the matrix. It also describes sericite and graphite as examples of lubricative fine particles. However, it does not describe any process for producing a plating solution which contains dispersed fine graphite particles.
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 7-102383 describes a nonelectrolytic plating layer of Ni--P metal containing dispersed fine particles. It also describes polytetrafluoroethylene, graphite and molybdenum disulphide as examples of dispersed fine particles. However, it does not describe any practical process for producing the plating solution which contains dispersed fine graphite particles.
Generally, fine particles of graphite are in a form of soot, that simply floats on the surface of a solution and would not be dispersed in the plating solution. While not described in Japanese Patent Applications as explained above, fine particles of graphite can be dispersed into plating solution by using a surface active agent. However, according to the knowledge of the present inventors, plating solution containing usual surface active agent generates a big internal stress in the plating layer, and arises the resultant problem of interlayer exfoliation of the plating layer.
The inventors of the present invention had filed a patent application in Japan on a novel process of forming a Ni plating layer on Sep. 3,1997. According to this prior invention of the present inventors, special composite paticles in which Ni particles are placed on a surface of the graphite particle are previously produced. The special composite particle are added to the plating solution containing Ni, instead of adding usual graphite particles.
With this process, a plating solution containing dispersed fine particles of graphite can be obtained without using a surface active agent. These special composite particles can easily become suspended and dispersed in the plating solution containing Ni, since Ni particles are placed on the surface of the graphite particle. Thus the central particles of graphite are dispersed well into the plating solution by way of the surface particles of Ni without using any surface active agent. The plating layer is free from the problem of interlayer exfoliation.
The plating layer formed by using the solution containing special composite particles is highly lubricative due to the dispersed fine graphite particles. However, it is insufficient in its abrasion-resistant property.
FIG. 1 is a graph made by the present inventors obtained by experiments in which each solution has an identical Ni--P content. According to the findings of the present inventors, the Ni--P plating layer formed by using the solution containing special composite particles softens the matrix and increases the abrasion of the plating layer compared with a Ni--P plating layer formed by using a solution containing dispersed fine particle of BN. In other words, when special composite particles are used, the matrix of the plating layer apt to contain less P so that its final P content remains low to make it difficult to produce a sufficiently hard matrix.
As described above, without special means, fine particles of graphite can hardly be dispersed into a plating solution. They may be dispersed well into a plating solution by using an ordinary surface active agent,then there arises a problem of interlayer exfoliation. On the other hand, they may be dispersed well into a plating solution without using a surface active agent when a plating solution contains special composite particles, then there arises a problem of poorly abrasion-resistant matrix.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a sliding member having a plating layer that contains dispersed fine particles of graphite but free from the problem of interlayer separation and the plating layer is sufficiently abrasion-resistant.


A device may obtain text to be processed to infer type classifications associated with terms in the text. The type classifications may indicate types of values that the terms are intended to represent. The device may infer type classifications corresponding to terms in the text by performing a type classification technique. The type classification technique may include a name-based analysis, a context-based analysis a synonym-based analysis, or a valued-based analysis. These analyses may compare information, associated with the terms in the text, to type indicators that indicate the type classifications. The device may provide information that identifies a type relationship between a particular type classification and a particular term based on inferring the one or more type classifications.

Text documents may be processed to classify terms in the text according to a type classification. A type classification may specify values that the term is capable of representing, such as integer values, string values, or the like. Classifying terms in text, such as a requirements document, may be useful for facilitating system design and development.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Inferring type classifications from natural language text


A coupling for coupling first and second shafts is described. The coupling comprises an annular unit including a plurality of annular metal plates which are put on one another, a first group of bolt bores formed through the annular unit, a second group of bolt bores formed through the annular unit, a first group of bolts and nuts which are incorporated with the first group of bolt bores to fix the annular metal plates, a second group of bolts and nuts which are incorporated with the second group of bolt bores to fix the annular metal plates, a first yoke which connects the first shaft to the first group of bolts and nuts, and a second yoke which connects the second shaft to the second group of bolts and nuts. A stopper structure is further provided by which every mutually contacting portions of the annular metal plates are suppressed from making a relative displacement therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to couplings, such as a coupling employed in a propeller shaft and the like for motor vehicles, and more particularly to the couplings of a type that can effectively absorb an axial vibration under operation thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Hitherto, various couplings for coupling two shafts have been proposed and put into practical use. One of them is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model First Provisional Publication 60-189620 (the xe2x80x9c""620 publicationxe2x80x9d), which employs a plurality of generally annular metal plates intimately put on one another to constitute a vibration absorbing unit. However, some known couplings, including the coupling of the ""620 publication, have failed to exhibit satisfactory vibration absorbing performance due to their inherent constructions. In fact, the coupling of the ""620 publication, the united annular metal plates tend to cause undesirable relative displacement between mutually contacting portions thereof, particularly when a predetermined force is applied thereto when assembling the coupling.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coupling for coupling two shafts, which is free of the above-mentioned shortcoming of the known couplings.
According to the present invention, there is provided a coupling for coupling two shafts, which can exhibit satisfactory vibration absorbing performance irrespective of its simple construction.
According to the present invention, there is provided a coupling for coupling first and second shafts, which comprises an annular unit including a plurality of annular metal plates which are put on one another; a first group of bolt bores formed through the annular unit; a second group of bolt bores formed through the annular unit; a first group of bolts and nuts which are incorporated with the first group of bolt bores to fix the annular metal plates; a second group of bolts and nuts which are incorporated with the second group of bolt bores to fix the annular metal plates; a first yoke which connects the first shaft to the first group of bolts and nuts; a second yoke which connects the second shaft to the second group of bolts and nuts; and a stopper structure by which mutually contacting portions of the annular metal plates are suppressed from making a relative displacement therebetween.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A method and apparatus for transferring data from a first memory location to a second memory location in a computer system. A load instruction is executed, and, in response, data is transferred from a first memory location to a second memory location during a single bus transaction. During the same bus transaction, a request is made to invalidate a copy of the data that is stored in a third memory location if the load instruction indicates to do so.

A processor is commonly considered to be the "brains" of a computer system. To increase the processing power of a computer system, some systems contain more than one processor. These computer systems are referred to as multiprocessor computer systems. The processors in these systems typically share memory so that two or more processors have access to the same data in a particular memory address space. Even in computer systems that contain only a single processor, the processor may share memory with a peripheral device, such as a bus master, that also has access to the memory. Sharing memory in this manner necessitates a memory coherence protocol to ensure that all of the devices with access to the shared memory have the same view of the data in memory. For example, once one device updates a particular data value, the other devices must be able to access the updated data value for their own use.
Suppose a first processor in a multiprocessor system loads a data value from an address in a shared memory location, such as a shared cache, into the first processor's own dedicated memory, such as a local cache, during a first bus transaction. If a second processor in the system loads the same data value from the address in the shared memory location into its own local cache, each processor will have a copy of the same data value stored in its local cache.
Initially, the data values are brought into the local caches of each of the two processors in a shared state. This means that there is an indicator corresponding to the data value, such as one or more flag bits in the cache line containing the data value, that indicates to the processor that another device in the computer system may contain a cached copy of the same data value.
Assume that the second processor uses the data value as an operand in various lines of program code, but does not modify the data value. Meanwhile, the first processor modifies the data value by, for example, performing a mathematical operation on the data value. The first processor then stores the modified data value in the same address as the original data value. Once the data value is modified by the first processor, the second processor must no longer continue to use the older, invalid data stored in the second processor's local cache or else the results of the second processor's operations may be erroneous.
To prevent the second processor from using the older copy of the data value, the data value in the second processor's local cache is invalidated. Invalidation of the data value is requested during a separate bus transaction by the first processor before the first processor modifies its copy of the data value. This request causes the second processor to invalidate its copy of the data value by, for example, setting one or more indicator bits in the cache line containing the data value.
After the first processor requests invalidation of other copies of the data value, the state of the data value stored in the first processor's local cache is changed from a shared state to an exclusive state. This means that the indicator corresponding to the data value, such as one or more flag bits in the cache line containing the data value, is changed to indicate that no other device in the computer system contains a (valid) copy of the same data value.
Once the data value in the first processor transitions from a shared state to an exclusive state, the first processor is free to modify the data value. This new, updated data value is stored in the original address in the shared memory location of the computer system. When the second processor next needs the data value, the second processor will re-access the new, updated data value from the shared memory location and pull this updated data value back into the second processor's local cache in a shared state.
One problem with the above-described cache coherency protocol is that the first processor must wait for a relatively long time before the first processor can modify or otherwise update the data value and store the updated data value in the original address location. The first processor must first bring the data value into its local cache in the shared state during a first bus transaction, then broadcast a request to invalidate other copies of the data value during a second bus transaction, and then transition the data value to the exclusive state before updating the data value.

Method and apparatus for transferring data in a computer system


In a distributed client-server system a client is connected to an arbitrary server using a communication module common to a plurality of servers and it uses data, etc. of each server by switching over its connection. At this time basically there is no need for communication and the replication of data between the servers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network computing system for updating and adding data in a distributed client-server system through a network, and its method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conventional information system it was common to process a single huge database on a transaction by transaction basis. However, today, with the development of a computing system and networking, it has become necessary to construct an information system in which data is frequently updated and added among widely distributed systems. With the fusion between a LAN (Local Area Network) and a global network, data processing in a form of network computing centering around network is also being realized.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram of the conventional client-server system. The system in FIG. 1A comprises clients 1, application servers 5 (application servers A, B and C) and a database 6. The application servers A, B and C share the database 6 among them, and are provided with a server A exclusive communication module 2, a server B exclusive communication module 3 and a server C exclusive communication module 4 respectively, in order to communicate with the clients 1.
A client 1 is provided with one of the server A exclusive communication module 2, the server B exclusive communication module 3, and the server C exclusive communication module 4, and updates the database 6, etc. connected to a specific application server 5 having a corresponding communication module.
Furthermore, with the recent huge increase in size of the database 6 and the decentralization of systems, the database 6 has been distributed as shown in FIG. 1B. In the system of FIG. 1B, each of the application servers A, B and C manages an individual database 6. Also in this system, the clients 1 are connected only to specific application servers 5 using one of the server A exclusive communication module 2, the server B exclusive communication module 3, and the server C exclusive communication module 4.
For this reason, when a client 1 accesses the data in the database 6 of a server 5 different from the application server 5 of the connected party, replication of data is made between the relevant databases 6, or a remote procedure call (RPC) is made between the application servers 5. In the case of the replication, data is copied between different databases 6, and in the case of an RPC, a function call is made and the necessary data are exchanged between the application servers 5.
What is common to the systems shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is that a client 1 is designed to be connected with a specific application server 5 by using communication modules 2, 3 and 4.
On the Internet, which has recently become popular, a world wide web (WWW) has been developed and is widely used as a means for sourcing information. The characteristics of a WWW are that any client (WWW browser) can be connected to any server (WWW server) by a common protocol called hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). A WWW is provided with a hyperlink function for embedding a link to a hypertext markup language (HTML) document in a server, in a HTML document in another server. Here, a HTML document corresponds to a file sent from a server to a client.
FIG. 1C is a flowchart showing the operation of a client and a server on a WWW. When the client starts operating and the user clicks a link on the screen (step S1), the client is connected to the corresponding server using the HTTP (step S2).
Thus, the corresponding HTML document is sent from the server to the client (step S3), and the connection with the server is cut (step S4) and the data of the HTML document is displayed on the screen (step S5). When the user clicks a displayed link on the screen again, the operation of steps S1 to S5 is repeated.
However, the conventional information system described above has the following problems.
In such a conventional client-server system as shown in FIGS. 1A or 1B, since a client 1 can be connected with a specific server 5 only, the function of other servers 5 distributed on the network cannot be directly used.
For this reason the server 5 of the connected party of the client 1 has to be connected with another server 5 and has to ask for a necessary process, which generates many transactions between the servers 5. When replication is needed between databases 6, too, this process becomes complicated in the same way.
In this way, since the control of the processes between servers 5 and databases 6 becomes complicated, it is impossible to construct such a large-scale distributed system that allows servers 5 and databases 6 to be spread all over the world, such as in a WWW.
The conventional WWW also has a problem that it is provided with only a simple function of sending an HTML document on a client's request. Particularly, since its session is cut after every transmission of one page in HTTP, the communicating state (connecting state) cannot be held. Accordingly, it is difficult to develop a client-server system for performing a real interaction only with the basic functions of a WWW.
Furthermore, since in a WWW the creation/modification of a page and link is left to each individual, the entire configuration of a WWW cannot be determined. For example, it has the following problems.
1. It is difficult to create the entity data (object) of a new page on an arbitrary distributed server.
2. In registering a new object the link from an existing object cannot be updated/managed.
3. When deleting an object, a destination of a link is often lost (dead link).
4. Although a program such as a WWW robot is developed as a means for retrieving information desired by a user, a search using a keyword must be performed for all objects, because there is no linking configuration between the objects.

Client-led network computing system and its method


Particle size is increased and particle size range can be decreased, i.e., narrower particle size distribution can be obtained for Ziegler transition metal halide catalysts by working the catalysts with very small quantities of a fibrillatable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powder in order to trap, i.e., entangle the catalyst in a web of PTFE submicroscopic fibers.

I. Problem to Which Invention is Directed
Polymerization catalysts, especially olefin polymerization catalysts (Ziegler transition metal halide) generally are of a wide particle size distribution which particles generally include a great many fines. It has been found that the catalyst particles provide "templates" for the formation of polymer particles; the catalyst particles themselves must be the same shape as the desired final polymer powder shape, desirably with a relatively narrow particle size distribution. Conventional high molecular weight polymer powders made with usual Ziegler catalysts generally include polymer fines. The polymer fines cause the polymer powder to be very difficult to handle. A technique that would increase the size of the catalyst particles and substantially eliminates catalyst fines would be highly desirable. In order to obtain larger powder particles, e.g., greater than about 75 microns, the catalyst particles themselves should possess a mean particle diameter of at least 10, preferably at least 20 and most preferably at least 35 microns.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
The stereospecific polymerization of alpha-olefins such as propylene is well known in the art. Polypropylene resin has become a well established plastic in the world market. Polypropylene powder sales are also increasing rapidly and, at the present time, are increasing more rapidly than sales of polypropylene pellets. The popularity of the polypropylene powder derives, at least in part, from the rapidly expanding use of filled grades of polypropylene, particularly glass- or talc-filled grades. Additionally, energy savings accrued by the polypropylene manufacturer by eliminating the extrusion step required in pelletizing are significant.
Most customers demand that polypropylene powder provide all of the resin quality normally obtainable in pelletized products and, in addition, that the powder possess the qualities of good flowability, low fines content, and no "clods", i.e., large aggregates of particles. A reasonably high bulk density is also desirable.
The particle size distribution of Ziegler catalysts can be made narrower by controlled growth of catalyst particles. Polyolefin particle size distribution can be made narrower by agglomeration and compaction of polymer particles. Adhesive binders have been used in this latter technique; however, adhesives do not function well in Ziegler catalyst compaction since they poison the active sites of the catalyst.
No prior art is known to the inventor that embodies the concept disclosed here for eliminating Ziegler transition metal halide catalyst fines. Although a Harshaw publication entitled "Harshaw's Dustless Process" describes a similar technique of eliminating dust from inert powders, Harshaw has no contemplation for using the process to obtain catalyst particle agglomerates of increased particle size which can be employed as polymerization catalysts for the direct production of large size particle polymers.
Harshaw Chemical Company has also issued U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,838,092 and 3,838,064 which disclose and claim the generalized concept of using fibrillatable polytetrafluoroethylene as an agglomeration technique for dusting control. But, the art has no concept or contemplation of utilizing these techniques to overcome the rather special and unique problem of Ziegler transition metal halide catalyst particle as outlined in the present application.

Ziegler transition metal halide catalysts and method therefor


A system for disabling a stolen motor vehicle including a control device and a trigger device. The stolen motor vehicle has a master cylinder housing brake fluid and coupled to brakes by brake lines. The control device controls the flow of brake fluid between the master cylinder and the brakes, initially allowing bidirectional flow of brake fluid. The trigger device triggers the control device to restrict the flow of brake fluid to one direction in response to initiation of the system, tilting of the stolen motor vehicle forward at an angle with respect to ground equal to or greater than a preset angle, and application of the brakes. The trigger device includes a first switch, an operator switch, a motion activated switch, and a brake switch. The first switch is coupled in series between the control device and ground and is initially open. The first switch is operable to activate the control device to restrict the flow of brake fluid to one direction when closed. The operator switch, the motion activated switch, and the brake switch are all initially open and are connected in series between a power source and the first switch. The operator switch, the motion activated switch, and the brake switch close the first switch when they are all closed. The control device includes a solenoid device which is coupled to the power source and has a first position which permits bidirectional flow between the master cylinder and the brakes and a second position which only permits one-way flow to the front brakes. The solenoid device is initially in the first position and is triggered to move to the second position when the first switch closes.

Motor vehicle theft has and continues to be a problem for automobile and truck owners. Frequently, motor vehicles which are stolen are seriously damaged, stripped of parts, or resold. The chances of a successful recovery of a stolen motor vehicle diminish dramatically from the time of the theft.
Recently, car jacking has added yet another dimension to the problem of motor vehicle theft. In a car jacking, the thief forcibly removes the driver and any passengers from a motor vehicle and then drives away. Often the typical reaction for a driver and any passenger is to resist the thief's attempts. However, this reaction can prove to be deadly, because the thief will usually fight back injuring or killing the driver and any passengers.
Existing motor vehicle security systems do not adequately address the unique problem of car jackings. These systems do not take into account the safety of the driver and any passengers safety in a car jacking while still providing a means for a quick recovering of the stolen motor vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,492 to Vinokur and U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,207 to Havenhill, et al. disclose security systems which are only designed to prevent the theft of a parked motor vehicle. These systems are of little, if any, use in car jackings. Others, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,933 to Cort, U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,776, to Jeter, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,878 to Smith disclose security systems which are activated by timers or by the first press of the brake pedal. The timers can expire and the brake pedal can be pressed before the thief has driven any distance from the point of the crime. As a result, the thief can still get out of the motor vehicle and take out his frustrations on the driver and any passengers.
Accordingly, there is a need for a motor vehicle security system which provides the driver and passengers an opportunity to escape safely while still allowing for the quick recovery of the stolen motor vehicle.


There is provided a shaped product made of a fiber-reinforced composite material including reinforcing fibers having an average length of 5 mm or more and 100 mm or less and a thermoplastic resin, in which a volume fraction of reinforcing fibers (Vf=100×volume of reinforcing fibers/(volume of reinforcing fibers+volume of thermoplastic resin)) is 5 to 80%, grains are formed on a surface of the shaped product, and a ratio of a reinforcing fiber bundle (A) including the reinforcing fibers of a critical number of single fiber or more, the critical number defined by Formula (1), to the total amount of the reinforcing fibers is 20 Vol % or more and 99 Vol % or less:Critical number of single fiber=600/D  (1)

In recent years, there is an increasing need for lightening weight in various fields such as electrical and electronic equipments, automobiles, medical equipments, aircrafts, building materials, and general industrial parts, and housings or parts thereof need to be lightweight and to have high rigidity. As the housings or parts having a thin thickness and high rigidity, there have been used a shaped product in which a rolled plate of an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy is pressed, a shaped product obtained using a dicasting molding, a shaped product obtained by injection-molding a fiber-reinforced composite material filled with glass fibers or carbon fibers, or a shaped product obtained by integrally injection-molding a fiber-reinforced composite material plate with a thermoplastic resin.
The aluminum alloy or the magnesium alloy has excellent strength or rigidity, but since there is a limitation of shape formability, it is difficult to mold a complicate shape therewith only. Further, there is a problem in that a metal member (particularly, a magnesium alloy) has low corrosion resistance, and there is a problem in that a surface is corroded by moisture in the atmosphere or moisture or salts contained in sweat of a user to cause bad appearance of the member.
Patent Document 1 suggests a method for manufacturing a housing, including a coating step of coating the entire member made of a magnesium alloy with a resin layer, and a molding step of integrally molding the member and such a resin part. In this method, it is possible to form a complicate shape and give corrosion resistance, but a process is complicated. Further, although an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy, and a resin have specific strength higher than iron, but specific strength thereof is lower than a fiber-reinforced composite material to be described below. Therefore, there is a limitation in achieving lightening weight.
Since the fiber-reinforced composite material has specific strength, excellent specific rigidity, and excellent corrosion resistance, the fiber-reinforced composite material has been used in a wide field for the purpose described above. In particular, the shaped product made of the fiber-reinforced composite material filled with the glass fibers or the carbon fibers has been widely used due to high flexibility in shape and high productivity. However, since a length of the fiber included in a shaped article is shortish, the shaped product has still a problem in use requiring high strength or rigidity.
Meanwhile, due to excellent specific strength and specific rigidity, the fiber-reinforced composite material reinforced by using a continuous fiber has been primarily used in use requiring high strength or rigidity. However, since the aforementioned fiber-reinforced composite material is low flexibility in shape in comparison to a resin, or a fiber-reinforced composite material through injection-molding, it is difficult to mold a complicate shape with a simple substance. Furthermore, there is a problem in that since the fiber-reinforced composite material is manufactured by layering the reinforcing fibers in a woven fabric form in multiple layers, productivity is low. Patent Document 2 suggests a composite shaped product obtained by joining a resin member to an outer edge of a plate-shaped member made from a sheet including a reinforcing fiber, particularly, a continuous fiber. Accordingly, it is possible to implement a shaped product having a complicate shape. However, since the shaped product is manufactured through multiple processes, productivity may be not high. In addition, the fiber-reinforced composite material using the continuous fiber is typically obtained by heating and pressurizing, for two hours or more, a material, which is called a prepreg obtained by previously impregnating a thermosetting resin into a reinforcing fiber base material.
There has been recently suggested a RTM molding method in which after a reinforcing fiber base material into which a resin is not impregnated is set in a mold, a thermosetting resin is allowed to flow in the mold, and in this method, a molding time is remarkably reduced. However, even in the RTM molding method, since it takes a time of 10 minutes or more to mold one part, productivity is not improved.
For this reason, there has been noticed a fiber-reinforced composite material manufactured using a thermoplastic resin as a matrix instead of the conventional thermosetting resin (for example, Patent Document 3). However, the fiber-reinforced composite material manufactured using the thermoplastic resin as a matrix is now being studied and developed, and a technology for obtaining a shaped product having an excellent surface appearance and a quality endurable to practical use by molding the fiber-reinforced composite material has not been sufficiently established.

Shaped product made of fiber-reinforced composite material and having excellent surface appearance

Abstract: (wherein D is an average fiber diameter (μm) of single reinforcing fiber).


Described herein are techniques for providing information regarding brands of items offered for acquisition by an offering service. The items may comprise tangible or intangible goods, products (e.g., electronics, sporting goods, digital music, etc.), services, or the like. A brand, meanwhile, may refer to a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that distinguishes a designer, maker, manufacturer, seller or the like from other entities.

As electronic devices become a greater part of daily life, the amount of transactions conducted electronically continues to rise. For instance, users now regularly shop for digital and physical items from their desktop computers and, more and more, from their mobile electronic devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, etc.). As the amount of electronic transactions continues to increase, enhancing the experience of users engaging in these transactions remains a priority.

Providing brand information via an offering service