An integrated storage arrangement for a vehicle having a cargo bed with a load floor positioned external to a passenger cab of the vehicle is provided. The storage arrangement includes an access opening positioned in the load floor of the cargo bed. A storage recess is positioned in relation to and accessible through the access opening. The storage recess includes a drain assembly and a container retention mechanism. A panel is moveably attached to the load floor of the cargo bed and is arranged to cover the access opening such that in a closed position, the cover is positioned substantially parallel to and flush with the cargo bed load floor.

Generally, it is known to provide a cargo bed with a floor for a vehicle such as a pick-up truck. The cargo bed is typically rectangular in shape and has sides that in combination with the floor define a cargo carrying area. It is also generally known in the art to provide an external toolbox storage unit for the pick-up truck cargo bed. Such tool box storage units usually span the width of the pick-up truck bed and have a depth greater or equal to the depth of the sides of the cargo bed.
One disadvantage of the above toolbox storage unit is that it does not allow use of the full length of the pick-up truck bed. Another disadvantage is that the toolbox storage unit is not integrated with the truck bed and is also exposed to environmental elements. Yet another disadvantage of conventional toolbox storage units is that they are externally mounted to the bed and are therefore generally not removable nor portable.
Thus there is a need for a vehicle storage arrangement that overcomes the aforementioned and other disadvantages.


The present disclosure relates to a razor having a coupling structure of a razor blade cartridge and a handle, including a razor blade cartridge including at least one razor blade, a blade housing in which the at least one razor blade is accommodated, a cartridge frame coupled to the blade housing and configured to secure the at least one razor blade to the blade housing; and a handle coupled to a rear of the razor blade cartridge, wherein a first hook is formed at a rear of the blade housing; a second hook is formed at a rear of the cartridge frame; and the handle is configured to be engaged with the first hook and the second hook such that the handle is coupled to the rear of the razor blade cartridge.

Generally, a razor cartridge has a razor blade seated thereon and is provided together with a guard or the like so that the razor blade safely comes into contact with the skin. The cartridge razor includes a razor blade cartridge configured to suitably determine a degree to which the razor blade protrudes, and a handle coupled to the razor blade cartridge and provided to be hand-held and controlled by a user.
For the combination of the razor blade cartridge and the handle, a coupling portion at the rear of the razor blade cartridge is generally configured to include hooks, which are engaged with locking portions formed at both side surfaces of the end of the handle. Alternatively, the rear surface of the cartridge and the end of the handle are generally fixed to each other using thermal compression or adhesive.
However, the above-mentioned fixing structure of the handle cannot firmly hold the razor handle and the razor blade cartridge when the razor is dropped on the floor during use of the razor, or strongly shaken in order to wash the razor. This is because, assuming that the cross-section of the razor handle is a square with four edges, even though two edges are fixed by a holder of the razor blade cartridge, the other two edges are not fixed.
Further, the razor is mostly sold with a cap covering a razor blade portion of the razor blade cartridge in order to prevent inadvertent cutting by the razor blade during transport or storage before use for shaving and to protect the razor blade from external factors. The cap is provided primarily to cover all or only part of the razor blade exposing surface of the razor blade cartridge. The operation of covering the razor with the cap can be performed safely only by pressing the cap to correspond to the razor blade exposing surface. However, in order to remove the cap, a force should be exerted in a direction of separating the razor blade cartridge from the razor handle. In this case, since the cap is fixed to the razor blade cartridge, when detaching the cap from the razor blade cartridge, the razor blade cartridge may also be detached from the razor handle, which is problematic.
One aspect of the present disclosure provides a coupling structure of a razor blade cartridge and a handle, which is capable of stably holding the handle.
It should be noted that objects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other unmentioned objects of the present disclosure will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following descriptions.


A foundation shock eliminator includes an upper block, a lower stationary base, an interconnecting assembly and an energy damping coating. The lower stationary base is mounted under the upper block. The interconnecting assembly is mounted between the upper block and the lower stationary base and includes an upper track, a lower track and a track joint. The upper and the lower tracks are respectively attached to the upper block and the lower stationary base and are arranged in a cross. The track joint is slidably mounted between the tracks. The energy damping coating mounted in the foundation shock eliminator absorbs shock energy. Consequently, the upper block will move relative to the lower stationary base to counterbalance the most horizontal shock effects and cooperates with the energy damping coating absorbing the shock energy in both horizontal and vertical directions so that reduction of shock is efficient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foundation shock eliminator, and more particularly to a foundation shock eliminator that will dissipate and absorb efficiently both vertical and horizontal shocks to a structure or a machine.
2. Description of Related Art
Vibration control and shock reduction are fundamental concerns in the construction of structures, machines and industrial manufacturing instruments. This can concern vibration and shocks from seismic events or even low intensity events such as subway trains passing below structures. Although the subway train shocks are relatively predictable in their direction, intensity and even timing, the same is not true for earthquakes that can vary enormously, thereby providing particular difficulty to civil engineers. Diminishing the effect of shocks on objects is achieved primarily by isolating the shocks or absorbing the shocks.
Shocks, such as seismic shocks or low intensity shocks will influence adversely qualities of high precision electronic products during the fabrication of the electronic products. Therefore, reduction of the effects of shock transmitted to the high precision manufacturing machines in electronic industries is always an important concern.
A conventional foundation shock eliminator in accordance with prior art is generally mounted between the rigid foundation and structures or the floor and machines. The conventional foundation shock eliminator is made of steel and comprises an upper block, a lower stationary base and a roller.
The upper block and the lower stationary base may be rectangular, square, round or polygonal and have respectively concave inner surfaces. The lower stationary base is fastened to the rigid foundation such as ground or the floor by fasteners such as bolts. The upper block supports the bottom of the structure or machines, is supported by the roller and is movable relative to the lower stationary base. The concave inner surfaces of the upper block and the lower stationary base face each other.
The roller can be a rolling ball and is mounted between the two concave inner surfaces, whereby the ball rolls on the concave inner surface of the lower stationary base and supports the concave inner surface of the upper block.
Consequently, the conventional foundation shock eliminator will reduce the effect of shocks, such as from earthquakes, transmitted to the structures or machines when the ground or floor undergoes shocks with the relative movements of the upper block.
However, the conventional foundation shock eliminator cannot completely diminish the effect of shocks transmitted via the ground or the floor enough to keep the structures from collapsing or the machines from being influenced adversely by the shocks. Since the roller of the conventional foundation shock eliminator only reduces the horizontal component of shocks and does nothing to reduce the vertical component of shocks, the applications and usage of the conventional foundation shock eliminators are restricted.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an improved foundation shock eliminator to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


An electrical connector (100) includes an insulative housing (1) having a base portion (11), and a pair of extending portions (114) extending backwardly from the base portion and spaced apart from each other along a transverse direction to form a receiving space (1143) therebetween, each extending portion defining a first slot (1142) communicating with the receiving space and a first block (1144) located at an inner side of the first slot; a plurality of electrical contacts (2) retained in the insulative housing and passing through the receiving space; and a spacer (6) attached to the insulative housing for retaining the electrical contacts, the spacer having a pair of second slots (65) for receiving the first blocks and a pair of second blocks (66) located at outer sides of the corresponding second slots (65) for being retained in the first slots (1142).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having an improved spacer for retaining electrical contacts.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors present as a medium being widely used in computers and other electronic devices for electrically connecting the electronic device with each other to transmit signals. A common electrical connector usually includes an insulative housing, a plurality of contacts retained in the insulative housing for transmitting signals, a metal shell covering the insulative housing for shielding the electrical connector from being disturbed, a spacer coupled to the insulative housing for retaining the contacts. The insulative housing has a pair of extending portions with a receiving space formed therebetween for receiving the contacts and the spacer. When the spacer is assembled to the insulative housing, the spacer has a pair of projections latched with the extending portions or received in a pair of slots formed in the extending portions so as to be retained in the insulative housing.
However, when the spacer has been assembled to the extending portions, the spacer usually could not be retained in the insulative housing firmly and may have a loose fit with the insulative housing or even drop out from the insulative housing.
Hence, an improved electrical connector with an improved grounding means is desired to overcome the above problems.

Electrical connector with an improved spacer


A method of allocating user plane nodes to a connection being established across a packet core network is described. The method comprises maintaining at a Domain Name System (DNS) server one or more DNS resource records for each available user plane node in the packet core network, wherein the one or more DNS resource records comprises a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for each area identity, each area identity represents a group of user plane nodes, associated with a user plane node in the packet core network; processing a connection establishment request originating from a user equipment (UE) to a core network node within the packet core network; sending a DNS query to a DNS server, the query containing at least one criterion for selecting a user plane node; receiving the query at the DNS server and, on the basis of the or each criterion, identifying one or more DNS resource records satisfying the criteria/criterion, and returning the identified DNS resource record(s) to said core network node; and receiving the DNS resource record(s) at the core network node, and using the fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) representing each area identity associated with a user plane node in the packet core network that are contained in the or each DNS resource record(s) when allocating a user plane node to said connection. A core network node arranged to allocate user plane nodes to a connection being established across a packet core network, and an apparatus configured to operate as a Domain Name System (DNS) server are also described.

The standard Gateway selection process in 3GPP networks is described in 3GPP technical specification [3GPP TS 29.303 V8.2.0 (2009-06), Domain Name System Procedures; Stage 3 (Release 8)].
A bearer for a PDN connection spans a number of user plane nodes from the User Equipment (UE), via the eNodeB (eNB), the Security Gateway (SeGW) at the border of the operator network, the Serving Gateway (SGW) to the PDN Gateway (PGW). In many cases the path of the traffic over the PDN connection continues from the PGW to an Autonomous System Border Router (ASBR), i.e. one of the operator's border routers constituting a peering point with other carriers, and further into the Internet. The Mobility Management Entity (MME) is a pure control plane node which, among other tasks, is involved in PDN connection establishments.
When a PDN connection is established, or its path is altered, some or all of the traversed nodes need to be (re)selected. Different selection mechanisms are used for different nodes:                The eNB is selected by the User Equipment (UE), governed by radio conditions and guiding parameters in the system information broadcast in the cells. (An exception is inter-eNB handover, where the source eNB, aided by measurement data from the UE, selects the target cell, and thus target eNB, for the handover.)        The SeGW selection is simply a consequence of the eNB selection, since the SeGW that the eNB is connected to has to be used.        The SGW is selected by the MME.                    The SGW is selected for the default bearer at network Attach. A UE can only have a single SGW allocated at a time, so the same SGW is used also for subsequent bearers, irrespective of Access Point Name (APN).            The allocated SGW can be changed due to mobility, e.g. at handover or Tracking Area Update (TAU), in order to optimize the route or because the old SGW does not serve the new eNB. A SGW may serve a limited part of the PLMN's area (i.e. a limited fraction of the eNBs in the PLMN), denoted SGW Service Area (SA). SGW relocation due to fault situations is also possible.                        The PGW is selected by the MME.                    The PGW is selected for the default bearer for a certain APN. A UE can only have a single PGW allocated at a time for a certain APN, so the same PGW is used also for subsequent bearers for the same APN.            A PGW is allocated to the UE for each APN the UE chooses to use for communication (i.e. to establish a bearer for). Hence, a UE can be allocated multiple PGWs, one for each APN.            An allocated PGW is not changed—it remains the same irrespective of mobility for as long as the UE remains attached to the network (for each APN). Hence, each PGW must serve the entire PLMN.                        The ASBR is selected through routing information and policies in the transport network layer and may hence in essence be seen as a consequence of the PGW selection. An exception is a roaming scenario where the operators of the visited and home PLMNs have established a mutual peering arrangement using a dedicated ASBR. In this scenario the ASBR is essentially a consequence of the PLMNs involved. If the two PLMNs have multiple dedicated ASBRs for mutual peering, then the choice among these ASBRs may be a consequence of the PGW selection. SGW/PGW selection takes place in the network whenever a SGW and/or a PGW needs to be allocated to a UE, either to serve a new PDN connection or to replace a previously allocated SGW. There are three cases in which SGW/PGW selection is triggered:        Attach (which includes establishment of an initial PDN connection and default bearer towards an APN). In this selection case both SGW and PGW are selected.        SGW relocation. In this selection case only the SGW is selected, while the PGW(s) remain(s) fixed.        Additional PDN connection establishment. In this selection case only a PGW is selected, while the already allocated SGW is reused.
According to present applicable 3GPP specification [3GPP TS 29.303 V8.2.0 (2009-06), Domain Name System Procedures; Stage 3 (Release 8); and 3GPP TS 23.003 v9.0.0, "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals; Numbering, addressing and identification (Release 9)", September 2009] the mechanisms that the MME can leverage to enable appropriate selections of SGWs/PGWs are based on the Straightforward Name Authority Pointer (S-NAPTR) DNS application (specified in [L. Daigle & A. Newton, "Domain-Based Application Service Location Using SRV RRs and the Dynamic Delegation Discovery Service (DDDS)", RFC 3958, January 2005]). S-NAPTR uses NAPTR and SRV resource records (RRs), but with certain restrictions in the flexibility of what is allowed in the NAPTR RRs. The following (Table 1) is a generic description of a NAPTR RR obeying the S-NAPTR restrictions:
TABLE 1An example NAPTR Resource Record with the restrictions stipulated byS-NAPTR. The flags are restricted to the "a", "s" or "" (no flag) flags and theregexp field is unused (i.e. it is empty). The values of the order and pref fields aremerely examples.S-NAPTR Resource Record DataCommentexample.comFQDN to matchtheFQDN in thequery.Data describedRR classRRin the comment(Internet)typeOrderPrefFlagscolumnINNAPTR10010"a"/"s"/""Example-Service:protocolservice:example-protocol""Regexpreplacement-Replacementexample.com
In this context S-NAPTR is utilized to indicate SGWs/PGWs which match the present selection case, e.g. in terms of supported APN, supported mobility protocol, support of the current location (Tracking Area) and/or topological closeness. This information is stored in NAPTR resource records (RRs) in the DNS server(s):                TAI→SGW mapping: The TAI is encoded in the field matching the FQDN in the query in the form of two labels for the TAC (one for the low byte, tac-lb<TAC low byte>, and one for the high byte, tac-hb<TAC high byte>) to the left of the label "tac" in an FQDN ending with epc.mnc<MNC>.mcc<MCC>.3gppnetwork.org (which thus includes the PLMN ID which complements the TAC into a TAI). An example could be tac-lb231.tac-hb14.tac.epc.mnc2.mcc46.3gppnetwork.org. Note that an FQDN is built up by multiple labels separated by dots (e.g. foo.example.com). The "< >" characters are often used to indicate a generic FQDN or label format, in which the expression within the brackets is supposed to be replaced by some real value/expression in order to form a specific (usable) FQDN/label. Using this notation, a generic expression for a three-label FQDN could be <label1>.<label2>.<top-domain-label>.        Supported mobility protocol→SGW/PGW mapping: The supported mobility protocol may be encoded in the service field.        Supported APN→PGW mapping: The APN is encoded in the field matching the FQDN in the query in the form of multiple labels, the rightmost of which should be "apn", in an FQDN ending with epc.mnc<MNC>.mcc<MCC>.3gppnetwork.org (e.g. internet.apn . . . epc.mnc2.mcc46.3gppnetwork.org or, generically, <apn-label-1>.[ . . . <apn-label-n>] . . . epc.mnc<MNC>.mcc<MCC>.3gppnetwork.org).        Topological closeness: The topological information may be encoded in the FQDNs in the replacement field in the form of multiple labels constituting the "node name". By comparing the node names of two different GWs (typically a SGW and a PGW) the MME may infer the relative topological closeness of the nodes from the number of consecutive identical labels (starting with the rightmost node name label)—the more identical labels, the closer the two nodes. Appending the label "topon" as the leftmost label indicates that topologically significant information has been encoded in the node name labels. A node name is canonical in the sense that it should be the same for all interfaces of a node (in case the node is multi-homed). Multiple (non-equivalent) interfaces of the same node, allocated for different services or connected to different networks, are distinguished by the first label to the left of the node name.
To let all of the above information impact the SGW/PGW selection, multiple NAPTR RRs have to be retrieved, corresponding to multiple DNS queries. However, the DNS mechanisms contain optimizations that drastically reduce the number of DNS queries required in practice. DNS servers send "additional section" information in their replies, which attempt to foresee and preclude subsequent requests, and in addition, DNS clients cache received DNS replies (although no longer than the lifetime indicated in the reply), which eliminates the majority of the queries.
Nevertheless, even though most of the DNS queries are avoided, a series of FQDNs (corresponding to potential queries) are involved in the procedure from the FQDN in the initial query to the FQDN in the finally returned A/AAAA resource record. The structure of the initial (input) FQDN and final (output) are specified by 3GPP, but the (arbitrary number of) intermediate FQDNs are left entirely to each operator to use in any way they assess beneficial, e.g. to encode other SGW/PGW properties which may be useful in the SGW/PGW selection process.


The present invention relates to a method for controlling pitch and stickies deposit in a pulp and papermaking process using crosslinked cationic polymers made by controlled addition of a water soluble radical initiator at reaction temperature with agitation for chain extension and crosslinking.

The present invention is directed to the use of a high molecular weight (MW), crosslinked, water-soluble cationic polymer for controlling and preventing deposition of pitch and stickies in papermaking.
Cationic polymers have been used extensively in paper making as flocculants for improving retention and drainage and as coagulants or fixatives to control anionic trash and deposition of pitch and stickies. Among the most important and extensively used cationic polymers for deposit control are the quaternary ammonium polymers of diallyldialkyl ammonium compounds. It has been shown that the higher the molecular weight (MW) of the resulting cationic polymer, the more effective the polymer is as a flocculating agent. Normally a linear polymer of diallydimethyl ammonium choloride (DADMAC) is prepared. Polymerization using an azo initiator and/or with added inorganic salts (U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,744, U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,408, U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,580) has been used to achieve high MW. Use of crosslinking or branching agents in polymerization is another way to produce high MW cationic polymers. Polymerization with crosslinking agents can give high MW as well as structured polymers. A highly branched polyDADMAC can have better efficacy than a linear one of similar MW in certain types of applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,544,318 teaches that branched polyDADMAC is more effective than a linear polyDADMAC for electroconductive paper because the branched polymer imparts superior barrier properties to the electroconductive paper substrate, preventing solvent from diffusing into the paper.
Copending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/639,105 discloses crosslinked polyDADMAC by a Post-polymerization crosslinking reaction using water soluble radical initiators.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,037 shows that cationic polymers obtained by inverse (water-in-oil) emulsion polymerization with crosslinking and branching agents have surprisingly high effectiveness as flocculants and for the treatment of activated sewage sludge. The inventors used polyolefinic unsaturated compounds, such as tri and tetra-allyl ammonium salts, methylenebisacrylamide, as the crosslinking agents. They found that only ineffective products were obtained from solution polymerization containing a crosslinking agent.
European Pat. No. 0264710B1 claims that highly branched water-soluble polyDADMAC made from solution polymerization works better as a flocculant or defoaming agent for breaking oil-in-water emulsions. The patent teaches the art of making highly branched polyDADMAC. These branched polyDADMAC are made by adding 0.1 to 3.0 mole % of crosslinking comonomer such as methyltriallyl ammonium chloride (MTAAC) or triallylamine hydrochloride (TAAHCl) during progressive polymerization of DADMAC after monomer conversion has achieved at least 25% to 90%. A completely gelled product is obtained when the MTAA is added all at once in the beginning.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,079 discloses the use of copolymers of DADAMC and N-methylolacrylamide capable of post crosslinking as acid thickening agents in oil well drilling and fracturing for stimulating well production.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,445 discloses that branched DADMAC polymers are useful as acid thickeners in oil well drilling and fracturing operations. The branched DADMAC polymers are prepared by inverse emulsion polymerization of DADMAC with a crosslinker monomer such as triallylmethylammonium chloride.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,886 discloses the use of crosslinked DADMAC polymers as coagulants in suspensions of inorganic solids for mineral refuse slurry. The preferred high molecular weight crosslinked polyDADMAC for the application is prepared by copolymerization of DADMAC with acrylamide and triallylamine.
In studying interaction of cationic polyelectrolytes with counter anions, Ghimici et al (Journal of Polymer Science: Part B, Vol. 35, page 2571, 1997) found that the cationic polyelectrolyte sample with more branching or crosslinking had stronger binding with anionic counter ions. It is alleged that branching of the polycations creates regions with higher numbers of charged groups even at high dilution and consequently an increased number of counter ions is associated to them.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,382 uses a multifunctional (triallylamine) to make high molecular weight cross-linked poly-DADMAC, which can be used for pitch control in papermaking.
Pitch and stickies are interfering substances in the wet end of papermaking which can affect both the machine runnability and paper quality. The term "pitch" used here refers to colloidal dispersion of wood-derived hydrophobic particles released from the fibers during pulping process and is also called wood pitch. Wood pitch includes fatty acids, resin acids, their insoluble salts, and esters of fatty acids with glycerol, sterols, and other fats and waxes. Pitch deposit problems are seasonal because pitch composition varies by season and type of wood. The hydrophobic components of pitch, particularly triglycerides, are considered the major factors determining whether the presence of such pitch will lead to deposit problem. Deposit-forming pitch always contains a significantly high amount of triglycerides. The term "stickies" used here refers to sticky materials and interfering substances which arise from components of recycled fibers, such as adhesives and coatings. Stickies can come from coated broke, recycled waste paper for board making and de-inked pulp (DIP). The stickies from coated broke are sometimes called white pitch. Deposition of pitch and stickies often lead to defects in finished product and paper machine downtime causing lost profit for the mill. These problems become more significant when paper mills "close up" their process water systems for conservation and environmental reasons. Unless the pitch and stickies are continuously removed from the system in a controlled manner, these interfering substances will accumulate and eventually lead to deposit and runnability problems.
Seasonal pitch and stickies from recycled coated papers and de-inked waste paper cause major runnability problems resulting in lost production and hence lost profit for the mill. Pitch from wood is seasonal. Stickies from coated broke, recycled waste paper for board making and de-inked fiber occurs when these furnishes are being used. Technology in place today is based on fixation of the pitch or stickies to the fiber before they have a chance to agglomerate, or to coat the pitch or stickies with a polymer that makes them non-tacky and therefore unable to agglomerate.
Three chemical methods are commonly used by paper mills to control pitch and stickies deposit:                1) detackification        2) stabilization        3) fixation
These methods are, however, not commonly used together since they may conflict with each other.
In detackification, a chemical is used to build a boundary layer of water around the pitch and stickies to decrease depositability. Detackification can be achieved by addition of pitch adsorbents such as talc and bentonite. However, pitch adsorbents such talc can end up contributing to pitch depositability if talc/pitch particles are not retained in the paper sheet surfactants, and water-soluble polymers.
In stabilization, surfactants and dispersants are used to chemically enhance colloidal stability and allow pitch and stickies to pass through the process without agglomerating or depositing. Cationic polymers are normally used as fixatives to control pitch and stickies through fixation. Nonionic polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol and copolymers such as polyacrylamide-vinyl acetate ( PCT Application WO 0188264) have been developed and used for stickies control through detackification. Hydrophobically modified anionic polymers such as a copolymer of styrene and maleic anhydride (U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,160) have been used for pitch deposit control through, most likely, the pitch stabilization mechanism.
In fixation, polymers are used to fix pitch and stickies to the fiber and remove them from the white water system. The interfering substances in papermaking systems are usually anionic in nature and are sometimes referred to as anionic trash or cationic demand. Anionic trash consists of colloidal (pitch and stickies) and dissolved materials that adversely affect the paper making in a variety of ways through deposit formation or interference with chemical additives. Removal of anionic trash by reducing cationic demand with a cationic polymer is a way of deposit control through fixation. The advantage of using cationic polymeric coagulants for pitch and stickies control is that the pitch and stickies are removed from the system in the form of microscopic particles dispersed among the fibers in the finished paper product.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,252 discloses a method for controlling pitch deposit using enzyme (lipase) with DADMAC polymers. A Filtrate turbidity test is used to evaluate performance for pitch control.
European Application No. 464993 discloses use of an amphoteric copolymer of DADMAC and acrylic acid salts for controlling natural pitch deposition. The polymers are not claimed for deposit control of stickies in recycle pulps and white pitch in coated broke. A filtrate turbidity test is one of the test methods used to evaluate the performance for pitch deposit control.
PCT Application No. WO 00034581 teaches that amphoteric terpolymers of DADMAC, acrylamide and acrylic acid can be used for treating coated broke to control white pitch. A filtrate turbidity test is used to determine performance of the polymers for white pitch deposit control.
European Application No. 058622 teaches a method for reducing or preventing the deposition of wood pitch during the papermaking process with an emulsion copolymer of DADMAC, DADEAC, acrylamide and acrylic acid. The DADMAC polymers used are not crosslinked.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,982 teaches use of DADMAC homopolymers and copolymers for coated broke treatment to control white pitch. The DADMAC polymers used are not crosslinked. The patent shows that crosslinked polyepiamines have better performance than a linear polyamine to give more turbidity reduction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,100 teaches the use of blends of dispersion polymers and coagulants for coated broke treatment. Turbidity reduction testing is used to determine activity efficiency of the polymers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,392 teaches the use of crosslinked DADMAC polymers for controlling anionic trash and pitch deposition in pulp containing broke. Pulp filtrate turbidity test is used to evaluate polymer performance in pitch deposition control. Improved efficiencies of solution crosslinked or branched polyDADMACs over conventional linear polyDADMAC are demonstrated. The crosslinked or branched polyDADMACs used are prepared using a polyolefinic crosslinking monomer such as triallylamine hydrochloride and methylene bisacrylamide.
European Application No. 600592 discloses a method to make low molecular weight crosslinked polyacrylate by post treatment with a radical initiator. The starting acrylate polymer solution is heated to a reaction temperature of 90° C. The desired amount of radical initiator is then added over a relatively short time period (15 to 30 minutes). The reaction temperature is maintained for an additional time, usually less than 2 hours, to use up the initiator added for crosslinking. The extent of crosslinking and MW increase is mainly controlled by reaction temperature, pH, the amount of initiator added, and the reaction time after the addition of the initiator. Initiator feed time is not used to control extent of crosslinking. The patent is related to making low MW crosslinked polyacrylates for dertergent and cleaning applications.
Crosslinking between the strong electrolyte polymeric radicals can be limited due to electrostatic repulsion. Ma and Zhu (Colloid Polym. Sci, 277:115-122 (1999) have demonstrated that polyDADMAC cannot undergo radical crosslinking by irradiation because the cationic charges repel each other. On the other hand, nonionic polyacrylamide can be readily crosslinked by irradiation. The difficulty of crosslinking polyDADMAC by organic peroxides was reported by Gu et al (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Volume 74, page 1412, (1999). Treating polyDADAMC with a dialkylperoxide in melt (140 to 180° C.) only led to degradation of the polymer as being evident by a decrease in intrinsic viscosity.

Use of water-soluble crosslinked cationic polymers for controlling deposition of pitch and stickies in papermaking

Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Ltd.


A method for operating a marine seismic survey system includes deploying from a seismic vessel at least two lead-in cables each functionally coupled at one end thereof proximate a respective paravane. The lead-in cables have at least one spreader cable functionally coupled between the paravanes. Strain is measured at least one position along each lead in cable; and a length of each cable is adjusted such that the measured strains are substantially equal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of marine seismic survey systems. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for determining strain in lead-in cables used with marine seismic survey systems and methods for using strain measurements from such cables.
2. Background Art
Marine seismic surveying systems are used to acquire seismic data from Earth formations below the bottom of a body of water, such as a lake or the ocean. Marine seismic surveying systems typically include a seismic vessel having onboard navigation, seismic energy source control, and data recording equipment. The seismic vessel is typically configured to tow one or more streamers through the water. At selected times, the seismic energy source control equipment causes one or more seismic energy sources (which may be towed in the water by the seismic vessel or by another vessel) to actuate. Signals produced by various sensors on the one or more streamers are ultimately conducted to the recording equipment, where a record with respect to time is made of the signals produced by each sensor (or groups of such sensors). The recorded signals are later interpreted to infer the structure and composition of the Earth formations below the bottom of the body of water.
The one or more streamers are in the most general sense long cables that have seismic sensors disposed at spaced apart positions along the length of the cable. A typical streamer can extend behind the seismic vessel for several kilometers. Because of the great length of the typical streamer, movement in the water produces a great deal of drag (friction). More recently, marine seismic acquisition systems have been designed that include a plurality of such streamers towed by the seismic vessel in parallel. The streamers are towed by the vessel using towing devices, including cables called "lead-in" cables, and associated equipment that maintain the streamers at selected lateral distances from each other as they are towed through the water.
In combination, the drag produced by the plurality of streamers is quite large, causing the lead-in cables and related towing equipment to undergo considerable stress during survey operations. It is important, for purposes of maintaining the selected lateral distance between the streamers and to reduce the possibility of excessively stressing any one or more of the cables in the towing equipment, among other purposes, to properly distribute the strain on the various lead-in cables. Accordingly there is needed a system for measuring strain in the lead-in cable in order that the strain may be properly distributed among the various lead-in cables.

Fiber optic strain gauge and cable strain monitoring system for marine seismic acquisition systems


A hydraulic pump system includes a pump control system operable to reduce electric current required at the start of the pump and reduce starting torque for the pump. The pump control system can include a gap between a spring seat and a valve spool such that the valve spool need not overcome a biasing force from a swash plate when the swash plate changes from its maximum displacement position to its neutral position.

Hydraulic systems are used to transfer energy using hydraulic pressure and flow. A typical hydraulic system includes one or more hydraulic pumps for converting energy/power from a power source (e.g., an electric motor, a combustion engine, etc.) into hydraulic pressure and flow used to provide useful work at a load, such as an actuator or other devices. A hydraulic pump typically includes a rotor defining cylinders and pistons reciprocating within the cylinders. An input shaft is coupled to the rotor and supplies torque for rotating the rotor. As the rotor rotates about a central axis of the input shaft, the pistons reciprocate within the cylinders of the rotor, causing hydraulic fluid to be drawn into an input port of the pump and discharged from an output port of the pump. In a variable displacement pump, the volume of fluid discharged by the pump for each rotation of the rotor (i.e., the displacement volume of the pump) can be varied to match hydraulic pressure and flow demands corresponding to the load. Typically, the displacement volume of a pump is varied by varying the stroke length of the pistons within their respective cylinders.
One example of the variable displacement pump is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,658 titled ADJUSTING DEVICE OF A SWASHPLATE PISTON ENGINE. In the disclosure, an adjusting device is provided for adjusting a swash plate of an axial piston engine with a swash plate construction. The adjusting device includes a control valve inserted into a bore of a pump housing and an actuator defining a control force for a valve piston of the control valve. The actuator can include a solenoid. As the control force exerted by the actuator on the valve piston increases or decreases, a new equilibrium point results between the control force exerted by the actuator and a counter force exerted by a readjusting spring.


A method is provided of operating a mass spectrometer having first and second rod sets, which can be a focusing set of rods and an analysis rod set, the second rod set being downstream from the first rod set at an outlet of a spectrometer. Ions are directed into the first rod set and an RF voltage applied to the two rod sets, the RF voltage can be the same or different for the two rod sets. A low level DC voltage is applied to the first rod set sufficient to reduce a continuum background ion signal, thereby to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the spectrometer.

Quadrupole mass spectrometers have proven to be general purpose mass analyzers. These devices are four rod structures and, when operated in a resolving mode, the rods are usually about 20 cm in length and require extreme mechanical precision in terms of fabrication and alignment. When operated in resolving mode quadrupole mass spectrometers have both RF and DC voltages applied to them, and are pumped to a relatively high vacuum (e.g. 10.sup.-5 Torr). Values of these voltages vary with the frequency and mass range of operation, but can be on the order of 1600 volts (peak-to-peak) RF for operation at 1 MHz and .+-.272 volts DC for a rod array inscribed radius r.sub.0 of 0.415 cm and a mass range of 600 Daltons. The high degrees of mechanical and electrical sophistication required means that the costs of these mass spectrometers are high.
There has accordingly been a long standing need for a simpler, less expensive mass spectrometer. While costs have been reduced, quadrupole and other rod mass spectrometers (e.g. octopoles and hexapoles) have continued to remain extremely expensive and to require very close tolerances and high vacuum pumping equipment, as well as costly power supplies.
Attempts have been made to simplify the design and operation of quadrupole mass spectrometers, and one proposal is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,075. This patent teaches that a quadrupole mass spectrometer can provide mass resolution in the absence of applied resolving DC voltages. This so called RF-only mode of operation has several advantages over conventional RF/DC operational modes. Conventional RF/DC quadrupole rod mass spectrometers supply mass resolution based on the intrinsic stability or instability of given ions within the rod structure in the combination of the time varying RF and the time independent DC fields. In contrast to the more common RF/DC quadrupole mass analyzers, mass resolution for an RF-only instrument is thought to occur when ions that are only marginally stable with a particular applied RF voltage gain excess axial kinetic energy in the exit fringing field of the rod structure. A large part of the phenomena leading to mass resolution of an RF-only mass analyzer occurs at the exit of the rod array, so the length limitations characteristic of RF/DC resolving quadrupoles no longer apply and mechanical tolerances for rod roundness and straightness are considerably relaxed. Finally, there is no need for a high precision high voltage DC power supply in the RF-only mode of operation. Taken together the inherent advantages of RF-only operation suggest the opportunity for a much smaller and less costly mass analyzer than conventional RF/DC quadrupoles. Although the potential of such a device is significant, problems arise, such as sample dependent background from high velocity ions and clusters. The current invention describes a method for elimination of these background species.
Another proposal is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,640, which describes a method for background reduction for RF-only quadrupole mass analyzers. This invention teaches that a centrally located attractively biased disk of the appropriate size located after the analyzing quadrupole reduces high velocity and higher mass species. However, in practice this also reduces analyte ion intensity offsetting much of the expected gains in the signal-to-noise ratio.

Method of operating a mass spectrometer including a low level resolving DC input to improve signal to noise ratio


An elevator machine and control system includes a drive shaft with a motor and brake. A rope, usually a steel cable or belt, is attached at one end to an elevator car and at the other end to a counterweight. The rope is reeved around a traction sheave connected to the drive shaft. At least one torque sensor is integrated into the machine""s drive shaft between the brake and the traction sheave. A controller operates the motor based in part upon a feedback signal received from the torque sensor. Depending on the location of the brake vis a vis the motor and traction sheave, either one sensor or two sensors are required to produce a feedback signal which is indicative of a load in the elevator car.

This invention relates to the field of elevator and escalator control, and in particular, to the use of an integrated shaft sensor for load measurement and torque control.
In an elevator system, one reason loadweighing is done is so that the elevator motor/machine can apply some torque before it lifts the brake that is holding an elevator car stationary at a floor where it is stopped. If the right amount of torque is applied based on the load, i.e., the number of people in the car, then the car remains motionless at the floor when the brake is lifted. If the correct amount of torque is not applied, the car lifts up or drops down a bit when the brake is lifted and before the motion control system takes control of operations. That lift up or drop down is known as rollback, and passengers do not like it at all. Other uses for loadweighing information include improved motion control of the car and making operating decisions such as, for example, anti-nuisance, overload, etc.
Loadweighing is conventionally done with sensors under the elevator car floor, but they are difficult to install, adjust, and maintain, and of course involve the added burden of putting in wires for the sensors, bringing the signals from the car up to the control system, etc. Platform systems suffer from inaccuracies due to friction in floor movement or imperfect distribution of the load.
Another way to do loadweighing is to put a sensor in the hitch, i.e., the place where the steel cables attach to the car. Hitch cells require top of car access for installation and service, and suffer inaccuracies from measuring small weight changes to the total car weight. Machine beam sensor systems have similar problems. This make the small change on top of a large weight problem worse, as the counterweight is now also being weighed.
Briefly stated, an elevator machine and control system includes a drive shaft with a motor and brake. A rope, usually a steel cable or belt, is attached at one end to an elevator car and at the other end to a counterweight. The rope is reeved around a traction sheave connected to the drive shaft. At least one torque sensor is integrated into the machine""s drive shaft between the brake and the traction sheave. A controller operates the motor based in part upon a feedback signal received from the torque sensor. Depending on the location of the brake vis a vis the motor and traction sheave, either one sensor or two sensors are required to produce a feedback signal which is indicative of a load in the elevator car.
According to an embodiment of the invention, an elevator machine and control system includes a drive shaft; a motor operatively connected to the drive shaft, wherein the motor turns the drive shaft; a brake operatively connected to the drive shaft, wherein the brake stops the drive shaft from turning; a traction sheave operatively connected to the drive shaft, wherein turning the drive shaft turns the traction sheave; a rope reeved over the traction sheave; at least one torque sensor integrated into the drive shaft; and a controller for controlling the motor, wherein the controller receives a feedback signal from the at least one torque sensor.
According to an embodiment of the invention, an elevator machine and control system includes a drive shaft; a motor operatively connected to the drive shaft, wherein the motor turns the drive shaft; a brake operatively connected to the drive shaft, wherein the brake stops the drive shaft from turning; a traction sheave operatively connected to the drive shaft, wherein turning the drive shaft turns the traction sheave; a rope reeved over the traction sheave; wherein the rope is connected to an elevator car and a counterweight; at least one torque sensor integrated into the drive shaft between the brake and the traction sheave; and a controller for controlling the motor, wherein the controller receives a feedback signal from the at least one torque sensor.

Integrated shaft sensor for load measurement and torque control in elevators and escalators


A pipeline assembly for transporting a fluid such as oil, gas and water along a fluid path extending in the pipeline has a pressure control device incorporated therein. The pressure control device regulates the pressure of the fluid downstream the pressure control device to a predetermined pressure which is independent of, and less than, the pressure prevailing in the pipeline upstream of the pressure control device.

The prior art includes a pressure control device arranged to be mounted to a pipeline which pipe line is arranged for transporting a fluid along a fluid flow path extending in the pipeline, wherein the pressure control device is arranged for regulating the pressure of the fluid downstream the pressure control device to a predetermined pressure which is independent of and less than the pressure prevailing in the pipeline upstream of the pressure control device. The prior art also includes an assembly including a pipeline for transporting a fluid such as oil, gas and water along a fluid flow path, in combination with a pressure control device therein for regulating the pressure of the fluid downstream of the pressure control device to a predetermined pressure which is independent of, and less than, the pressure prevailing in the pipeline upstream of the pressure control device. The prior art also includes methods for regulating a pressure of a fluid which is transported along a fluid flow path extending through the pipeline, the method comprising the step of incorporating a pressure control device in the pipeline for regulating the pressure of the fluid downstream the pressure control device to a predetermined pressure which is independent of, and less than, the pressure prevailing in the pipeline upstream of the pressure control device.
Such prior art assemblies, methods and pressure control devices are well known. In the pipeline several kinds of fluids may be transported such as oil, gas, water and other kinds of fluids. A draw back of the known assembly and methods is that they are relatively expensive due to the relatively high costs for the pressure control device. Also the pressure control devices which are used in combination with pipelines for the transport of amongst others oil, gas and water are not very accurate and reliable. Especially for the transport of oil, gas and water the trouble free life time of the pressure control device should be relatively long.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An apparatus for enabling the on-chip analysis of the voltage and/or current transition behaviour of one or more embedded nets of an integrated circuit independently of the fabrication process. The said apparatus comprises a Reference Step Generator (RSG) for providing programmable reference voltages or currents, a Step Delay Generator (SDG) for providing programmable delays, a Comparator (C) that receives the output of the reference step generator on one input, the output from the node under test at the second input, and a latch enable signal from the step delay generator, and provides a latched digital output in response to the comparison, and a controller that co-ordinates the operation of the reference step generator, Step Delay Generator and Latching Comparator to provide a transient response measurement.

The testing of integrated circuits presents many challenges owing to the extremely small dimensions of the circuit elements and the nets connecting them. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that several of the internal nets and nodes of the circuit are embedded in inner layers of the interconnect. The transient response of internal circuit nets is an important parameter in analyzing the transient behaviour of the circuit. The measurement of the transient response requires the measurement of the voltage at the selected node at various instants of time in response to a step change in applied voltage at a selected point in the circuit.
At present, the voltage at any embedded net is probed using:                An ebeam machine. This method suffers from the following limitations:        Absolute Voltage Measurement is not possible        Nets need to propogate until Top metal.        Cannot be used for a large number of nets owing to excessive m/c setup time and manual effort requirements.        Tapping the node to a pad and then probing with an oscilloscope. This method also suffers from the following limitations:        Probing the internal node and bringing it to the pad is costly as it changes the inherent charateristic of the net and disturbs its electrical behaviour.        It is often not possible to bring the net outside due to either layout density or pad limitations.        This technique needs extra pads/Machine setup.
A methodology is therefore needed to probe embedded nets. Such a methodology would be immensely useful in designing/testing/debugging/characterization of a time dependent design. Such methodology will also be helpful in providing a correlation between simulation and Silicon, which will aid model development.

On-chip analysis and computation of transition behavior of embedded nets in integrated circuits


Novel tools and techniques are provided for illuminating a portable space, which, in some cases, is based on passive infrared (“PIR”) detection. In some embodiments, a first device might detect presence of at least a portion of a user's body (e.g., a hand or face of the user, etc.). Based at least in part on detection of the presence of the at least a portion of the user's body, a second device might illuminate an interior space of a bag or other portable enclosure. In some cases, the first and second devices might be the same device, while, in other cases, the first and second devices might be separate yet communicatively coupled to each other (such as via wireless or wired connection). In some embodiments, the first device might include a passive infrared sensor or the like, while the second device might include light emitting diodes or the like.

When searching through one's bag or other portable enclosure (e.g., backpack, handbag, purse, gym bag, etc.), especially in low-light conditions, it is extremely difficult to see the item(s) that one is looking for. Inevitably, one has to empty the bag or other portable enclosure in order to locate the item(s).
Although sensor activated lights (such as passive infrared ("PIR")-triggered lighting systems) exist for drawers, cupboards, pantries, home security systems, indoor house lamps, outdoor activated lights for the home, and the like, such systems are typically for static structures or enclosures, and thus are either bulky and/or ill-suited for portable enclosures or the like.
Hence, there is a need for more robust and scalable solutions for illuminating a portable space (such as within a portable enclosure or the like).

Compact low energy short range passive infrared (PIR) sensor with LEDs for bags


A flying head slider of a hard disk driver is moved by an actuator between a loading and an unloading position, a motor for rotating a disk is driven at nominal velocity when data is recorded on the disk by a magnetic head supported by the flying head slider and the motor is driven at a velocity faster than the nominal velocity when the flying head slider is moved from the loading position to the unloading position or from the unloading position to the loading position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hard disk driver apparatus, and more specifically to a hard disk driver apparatus including a flying head slider which is movable between a loading position and an unloading position facilitated by air flow generated from rotation of a record medium.
2. Description of the Background Art
As is well known in the art, a hard disk driver apparatus employs a flying head slider loading system of a contact start/stop type. In this apparatus, a magnetic head-mounted on a flying head slider is in contact with a surface of a disk when the disk is stopped, while being kept away from the disk when the disk is started to rotate due to air flow generated by rotation of the disk. Although the conventional hard disk driver apparatus of this type has a simple structure, there is a disadvantage in that the disk and the slider are eventually damaged due to contact of the disk with the slider upon loading and/or unloading. In addition, it is necessary to provide a slider landing zone on the disk, which serves for loading and unloading of the slider. The zone should be a non-record track on which no data is present.
In order to eliminate such disadvantages, another apparatus of a non-contact slider loading type is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model laid-open publication No. 61-145380. A flying head slider of the disclosed apparatus is placed in its unloading position where the slider is spaced apart from the disk, when the disk is stopped. On the other hand, when the disk begins to rotate, the slider is lowered to reach its loading position where the slider is close to the disk. In such an apparatus, the slider usually does not contact the disk so that both the slider and the disk are subject to less damage in comparison with the contact start/stop type.
Recently, electromagnetic waves having a shorter wave length than previously utilized have been used for increasing the storage capacity of the disk. For this purpose, the distance between the slider and the disk in the loading position is smaller. However, since the slider is supported by a gimbal arm which is elastically deformable, the slider vibrates upon moving from the unloading position to the loading position. In the worst case, it is likely that the slider may undesirably contact the disk, resulting in damage to either the slider or the disk.

Hard disk driver including a flying head slider


Embodiments of the present invention provide a random number generating apparatus, including a first level sampling module and a second level sampling module. The first level sampling module includes a first oscillator, a second oscillator and a first sampler capable of sampling the first oscillating signal with the second oscillating signal to generate a first output signal. The second level sampling module includes a voltage-controlled oscillator capable of generating a voltage-controlled oscillating signal by using the first output signal as a control voltage, a third oscillator capable of generating a third oscillating signal, and a second sampler, capable of sampling the third oscillating signal with the voltage-controlled oscillating signal and generating random numbers. The first level oscillator sampling provides a random control voltage for the second level oscillator sampling, therefore improving the randomicity of the second level oscillator sampling as well as the random number generating rate.

In the existing data interaction process, the security of data is achieved by encrypting the data to be transmitted at a transmitting end and decrypting the data at a receiving end. Almost all encryption system relies on the unpredictability and unrepeatability of keys, and numbers featuring the unpredictability and unrepeatability of keys are generated by a Random Number Generator (RNG).
The existing RNG technologies mainly include noise amplifying technology, analog unsteady state technology and oscillator sampling technology. According to the noise amplifying technology, random numbers are generated by amplifying noises, such as thermal noises or flicker noises; according to the analog unsteady state technology, random numbers are generated by converting unsteady analog signals with an Analog-Digital Converter (ADC). Both technologies are complicated and require high cost in design.
According to the oscillator sampling technology, two oscillators of different frequencies sample each other to generate random numbers, which requires fewer devices, smaller size on chips and lower cost. FIG. 1 shows a common oscillator sampling based random number generating circuit, including Noise Source 11, Amplifier (AMP) 12, Low Frequency Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (L-Freq KVCO) 13, High Frequency Oscillator (H-Freq Osc) 14 and D-type Flip-flop (DFF) 15.
Noise Source 11 is used for generating thermal noises or flicker noises, which are amplified by AMP 12 to create a frequency control voltage applied to L-Freq KVCO 13. The frequency of L-Freq KVCO 13 keeps on changing at random under the control voltage. The output of L-Freq KVCO 13 serves as a clock input of Flip-flop 15 while the output of H-Freq Osc 14 serves as the data input of Flip-flop 15. The output of L-Freq KVCO 13 samples the output of H-Freq Osc 14 to obtain random numbers.
However, limited by Noise Source 11, the random number generating rate of the above circuit is far lower than 1 Mbps and cannot meet the demand of a system which transmits data in a higher rate at present.

Apparatus and method for generating random number and data interaction system thereof


A system, method and computer program product for consolidation of backups, wherein each backup includes data and a backup map with offsets that point to data of current and/or previous backups, including selecting a plurality of backups to be consolidated; combining the offsets in the backup maps of the selected backups into a single set of offsets; consolidating the selected backups to a new backup that contains the latest data from the selected backups, the latest data determined based on the offsets in the single set; updating the offsets in the single set to point to the data in the new backup; and storing the updated offsets in the new backup as part of a backup map of the new backup. The selected backups comprise one initial full backup and at least one backup. In the combining step, the addresses from the backup maps of first backup of the selected sequence of backups up to the last created backup is checked. The selected backups are organized into a tree.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to consolidation of backups.
2. Background Art
Conventional methodology for updating archived data using incremental backups typically uses an initial backup, such as a backup of data from a data storage device, and some incremental backups. The initial backup stores initial data, i.e., data that was backed up during the first data archiving. Incremental backups store only data that changed on the storage device since the previous incremental backup. Every incremental backup can be represented by a file, so as time goes by, and with frequent archiving, there are numerous such files that need to be stored on the disk, and the disk storage space occupied by such files increases constantly. In most cases, a lot of old restoration points are not needed, e.g., a critical time for a local machine, server, etc., has passed, and the data chunk at this point in time is no longer needed. However deleting some backup files is often not possible, because all data backed up within it will be lost, and restoration of the next backup cannot be performed, since the next backup can consist of links to the data stored in the previous backup(s). Thus, the entire subsequent series of the backups can be corrupted, and data cannot be restored in those cases.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a more efficient method of backup consolidation.

System and method for consolidation of backups


A semiconductor device includes a SOI substrate including a silicon substrate, an oxide layer on the silicon substrate, and a silicon layer on the oxide layer; a source region and a drain region formed in the silicon layer; and an acceptor-doped layer formed between the oxide layer and the silicon substrate, the acceptor-doped layer being doped with acceptors.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a semiconductor device having a silicon substrate and receiving as input a radio frequency signal.
2. Background Art
Conventionally, semiconductor devices adapted to radio frequency (RF) signals having frequencies above 500 MHz are often based on compound semiconductors such as GaAs (gallium arsenide) or InP (indium phosphide). The reason is that these compound semiconductors have higher electron mobility than silicon, being advantageous to high-speed operation, and that semi-insulating substrates can be easily obtained from these compound semiconductors, allowing reduction of parasitic capacitance.
However, compound semiconductors have a higher material cost than silicon and have difficulty in increasing the wafer diameter. Hence there is a problem of a correspondingly high process cost in manufacturing semiconductor devices from compound semiconductors. On the other hand, recently, semi-insulating substrates having a specific resistance of 1 kQcm or more have been made available also in the form of silicon substrates. Furthermore, a current-gain cutoff frequency of 10 GHz or more has been realized also in semiconductor devices based on silicon substrates. Thus use of silicon substrates is gradually increasing also in semiconductor devices for radio frequency application. With regard to semiconductor devices for radio frequency application, there is disclosed a technique for increasing the operating speed of a semiconductor device by forming a thick insulating film on a silicon substrate and forming circuits and interconnects on the insulating film, thereby reducing parasitic capacitance between the circuits/interconnects and the silicon substrate (see, e.g., C. Tinella, et al., "0.13 μm CMOS SOI SP6T antenna switch for multi-standard handsets", 2006 Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, Dig. pp. 58-61, 2006).
However, a semiconductor device including a radio frequency circuit on a silicon substrate has a problem of the increase of harmonics, particularly second harmonics, of RF signals.


Disclosed is a method for safe distribution of encryption keys including a known public and secret private keys in establishing a secure link between computer users resided at separate location whom have no previous secure communications. The secure communication link occasionally and anonymously interrogates the key distribution center for the certificate pertaining to the computer users in ensuring the validity and integrity of the information stored in the center which is not tampered by any unauthorized persons. The interactively interrogating of the key distribution center is conducted via a trusted and verified certificate decision making process which encompasses the acknowledging to user who receives a valid certificate, accepting an encrypted message, key distributed center's answer to the correct up-to-date certificate, decrypting the key distributed answer via the public key, and matching the answer's identification. As the result of the muli-steps process exchanged among users via key distributed center and other secure devices, the secure link can be established between the computer users in allowing data to be transferred from one computer location to another computer location in providing a very high reliability and confidentiality of users' data connectivity.

This invention relates to safe public communication systems, and more particularly to such systems which include means for secure distribution of the encryption key and the communication parameters.
Heretofore, various devices and methods were devised for secure voice and/or data communication for public use, using analog or digital encryption means. Common to the various encryption methods is the use of an encryption key, which provides a higher level of protection together with flexibility and standardization. Public key encryption, by using separate encryption and decryption keys, offers better protection for encrypted messages. A public key cryptographic system and method was disclosed in Merkle-Hellman U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,582; the RSA (Rivest- Shamir- Adleman) encryption system and method was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,829.
With the proliferation of encryption machines in commerce and for private use, a situation arises wherein a user desires to establish a secure communication link with another user having an encryption machine. The user poses a problem: How to exchange the encryption keys in a secure way, to establish the secure link. If the key is compromised, then the whole communication is compromised, and the encryption is useless. This is a vicious circle, since a secure link is required to transmit the key to begin with; but, since the other party doesn't have yet the key, the secure link can't be used to transmit the key itself.
Furthermore, data communication systems face the dangers of eavesdropping and impersonation, with the associated risks of the key being intercepted or a false key being transmitted by an impersonator. Accordingly, means are required for secure key distribution, this being an essential requirement for the widespread use of encryption machines, that is for establishing a secure link between parties which had no previous secure communications therebetween.
The security of the encryption process depends on the security of the encryption key, which depends on the security of the key distribution means; therefore, special means are required to provide a higher level of protection for the key distribution means itself.
A directory of public keys could be used, but a fixed list cannot cope with the fast changing situation in this area, with new users joining continuously, users changing address and users changing keys for better protection.
Various attempts at solving the key dissemination problem were devised, for example PGP maintains a public server containing a list of public keys. PGP server accepts and maintains a file with a collection of identification packages (KeyID). Each identification package includes the name and details of a key holder, together with his/her public key, which are signed (authenticated) by a third party which encrypts the package with his/her private key.
Another party desiring to communicate with such a key holder searches for an identification package signed by someone known/ accepted by them, thus "ensuring" that is the true key, which truly belongs to the person as claimed; the third party is "known/accepted" in the sense that the caller believes that its encryption key pair are as claimed and are not compromised. Since any single third party may be unknown to the other party, said key holder submits a plurality of identification packages to the PGP server, each signed by a different third party; another party looking for a reliable encryption key has to desiring to communicate with search all the packages belonging to that key holder, until he finds one signed by a third party known to him.
Thus, the PGP server maintains a file with a collection of identification packages for a multitude of users, and with a plurality of packages for each user. Thus it may be difficult to keep this vast quantity of information to disseminate it to users.
Another key dissemination method is employed by VeriSign, which distributes digital "certificates" valid for a long time period, for example 5 years. A certificate includes the name and additional information for a user, together with the public key for that user and the expiry date of the certificate, all encrypted with the private key of the issuing authority. Another certificate is issued to that first issuing authority by a higher second authority, and so on. This is a hierarchical authorization structure, with a user bringing signatures from persons/entities at several levels, until a level high enough is reached which is also part of the hierarchy of the calling party.
A great effort is put into ensuring the identity of a user before issuing a certificate, and in keeping the certificates; however, a certificate once issued may be compromised during its long lifetime, in which case it is difficult to replace. The center has no control over the use of an issued certificate while the certificate is still valid, during the long period as set at issue time; only the "black list" at the center may give a warning to that effect, but that can only prevent communications. A reliable key has yet to be exchanged between the parties, which is difficult in this case.
RSA Data Security Inc. offers another system including a center which issues certificates, that is digital documents containing the name and details for a user, together with his/her public key and an expiration date, all encrypted with the private key of the center. The expiration date is a weak link for this system since, as the key approaches its expiry date, the chance of its being compromised increases, and more verification requests will be placed with the center.
If a key is compromised, it is practically impossible to remove it from the server; PGP and RSA only keep a second list (the black list) of disabled or canceled keys, but this is a cumbersome and inefficient method.
If the private key of the RSA or other similar centers is compromised, this results in a "catastrophe", since anyone can impersonate other users.
Another user of public key encryption is the PC Fax program package offered by Microsoft for the transmission of FAX messages. The FAX may be encrypted using a password or a digital key. Again, they face the same problem of reliable key dissemination. Microsoft advises to exchange diskettes containing the key, clearly a difficult to use method. A public key can be exchanged by communication means, and again there is the problem of identifying the other party- how one is to know that the answering party is truly the person it claims to be. Caller identification is a problem encountered in various situations in the modern period of widespread use of global communications and information exchange.


The invention relates to a wound dressing comprising a microbial-derived cellulose for treatment of specific types of chronic wounds, including pressure sores, venous and diabetic ulcers. The wound dressing is capable of donating liquid to dry substrates is also capable of absorbing exudating wounds.

There are a wide variety of materials used to fabricate wound dressings, which are used to treat a host of surgical and non-surgical lesions, such as burns and abrasions. The dressings range from simple gauze-type dressings to animal derived protein-type dressings such as collagen dressings, the composition of the particular dressing depends on the type of wound to be treated. Each of these dressings has advantages depending upon the type of application. For example, gauze-type dressings are sufficient and highly economical for simple abrasions and surgical incisions.
On the other hand, in cases of chronic wounds, polymer-based dressings are found to be more effective. By definition, chronic wounds are wounds that fail to proceed through the normal repair process and are typically manifestations of an underlying problem such as diabetes, venous disease or impaired circulation (Lazarus, G. S. et al., Definitions and Guidelines for Assessment of Wounds and Evaluation of Healing, Arch. Dermatology, vol. 130, pages 489-493, 1994). Thus, chronic wounds can be broadly categorized as pressure sores (decubitus), venous and diabetic ulcers depending on the underlying problem. Depending on the cause, various types of wound management treatments and materials are used to address the underlying problem and promote wound healing. Advanced polymeric materials with the capability of maintaining moist wound environment have been shown to be more effective than gauze in treating these difficult to heal chronic wounds.
Within the context of polymer-based dressings, various types of polymeric materials have been used in the treatment of skin disorders. Generally, they can be broken down into two major classes, namely synthetic and naturally derived polymeric materials.
Synthetic materials include polyurethanes, polyvinylpyrolidone (PVP), polyethyleneoxide (PEO), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). These materials may be used in combination with other synthetic or natural polymers to fabricate wound dressings with specific properties such as moisture retention and high fluid absorption. Both of these properties, generally not found in gauze-type dressings, promote healing by protecting chronic wounds from infection and maintaining moisture levels in the wound. Huang discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,691 a three dimensional crosslinked polyurethane hydrogel wound dressing, which is absorptive, contours to a wound site and maintains the wound in a moist state to promote healing.
Meyer-Ingold et. al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,334, wound coverings for the removal of interfering factors, such as antigens, free radicals, ions, proteins, peptides, lipids and free fatty acids, in the wound fluid of chronic wounds. These wound coverings are chemically modified with "trapper molecules", such as antibodies, chelators, enzyme inhibitors, enzymes, enzyme mimics, peptides and other proteins, are polyurethane or plant-derived cellulose.
Similarly, naturally derived polymers or biopolymers, such as collagen and alginates, have also been used as wound dressings which exploit the desirable characteristics of the polymers, such as high absorption capacity of alginate or the biocompatible nature of collagen. Each of these dressings has associated particular advantages depending on the type of wound and amount of exudate it generates. However, these dressings also have disadvantages, which include higher cost, wound adherence, limited exudate absorption and residue deposition on a wound site.
Hydrocolloid dressings absorb wound exudate and provide a moist wound-healing environment, but also have the undesirable characteristic of residue deposition on a wound site. Additionally, unlike the microbial-derived cellulose dressing described herein, hydrocolloid dressings lack a moisture-donating feature necessary for dry chronic wounds with limited exudate. Also, hydrocolloids are known to adhere to the wound bed and can cause reinjury upon removal. Hydrocolloids have a tendency to break down in the wound bed possibly interfering with the wound healing process.
As an alternate material, microbial-derived cellulose possesses inherent characteristics which allow for effective promotion of wound healing without some of the inherent disadvantages associated with current wound dressings. In this regard, microbial-derived cellulose possesses the following physical properties that distinguish it from plant-derived cellulose such as extreme hydrophilicity and unique multi-layered three dimensional laminar structures which provide its moisture handling ability. Microbial cellulose is highly hydrophilic with a water-holding capacity ranging from 60 to 700 times its own weight as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,128. Microbial cellulose also demonstrates excellent wet strength and does not breakdown under compression. Lastly, because of its laminar multi-layered structure, microbial cellulose can be processed to produce a film with novel fluid handling ability. By adjusting the cellulose to liquid ratio, processed microbial cellulose is capable of both donating fluid or absorbing liquid depending on the surface the film is made to come in contact with.
Because of its superior characteristics, use of microbial cellulose in the medical industry has been previously investigated. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,588,400, 4,655,758 and 4,788,146 to Ring et al. disclose the possible use of microbial-derived cellulose in liquid-loaded medical pads. The patents to Ring et al focus on using statically produced microbial cellulose pads loaded with various liquids and medicaments. Various types of liquids that can be contained in the microbial cellulose pad were detailed as well as the production and cleaning method to produce the starting cellulose material. Also described in these patents are examples which detailed methods of fabrication of various pads wherein the method involves a series of pressing and soaking steps to adjust the physical properties, mainly with respect to the liquid to cellulose ratio to yield a desired product. As an example, these patents illustrate a highly hydrated pad (80 to 1 fluid to cellulose ratio) which is able to provide a cooling capability which is ideal for burn applications. In particular, the '146 patent describes the use of such liquid loaded pads as wet dressings for use as an ulcer dressing capable of providing moisture to the wound over an extended period of time. The same '146 patent also mentions that the wet dressings described in the examples also have the additional ability to absorb large quantities of fluid from the wound site when the dressing is applied in a less than saturated condition. However, the wound dressings of Ring et al. fail to mention a singular dressing having both the ability to be a source of moisture for chronic wounds as well as the ability to absorb fluid. The Ring et al. patents also fail to describe the effective liquid to cellulose ratio to fabricate a dressing having the dual fluid handing capability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,049 to Farah et al. discloses the use of statically produced dehydrated microbial cellulose as an artificial skin graft, a separating membrane or artificial leather. The '049 patent recites the use of a cellulose film formed by Acetobacter xylinum that is dehydrated while it is stretched. Although the '049 patent described potential use of their invention as an artificial skin for treatment of wounds or injury, there is no suggestion that the material could be used for chronic wounds. Furthermore, the dried film of Farah has no moisture donation capability and minimal absorption capacity.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,213 by Wan et al. discloses methods of preparing microbial cellulose films using raw material produced in a stirred-tank bioreactor, instead of the static method. The '213 patent further describes the use of such cellulose material dissolved in solvents to fabricate membranes that can be use as wound dressings. Because of its dry nature of the resulting film, the cast material lacks any moisture donating ability and limited fluid absorption capacity. Also, the resulting cellulose membrane does not possess the three dimensional multi-layered structure found only in statically grown microbial cellulose as previously described.
Although the above patents recognize the potential use of microbial cellulose in medical applications, the prior art has failed to provide a method of developing a wound dressing which demonstrates effective wound healing, moisture management capability and adequate biocompatibility. Accordingly, an effective wound dressing comprising microbial cellulose for treatment of chronic wounds, which is highly biocompatible, is desirable. Furthermore, a wound dressing with high moisture donation and absorption capabilities is also particularly desirable for optimal wound healing. This dual moisture handling ability of the dressing of the present invention is capable of maintaining a moist wound environment necessary for healing chronic wounds. Also, the high moisture donation ability is particularly useful for treating dry necrotic tissue and promoting autolytic debridement which is desirable for any wound closure to be possible. Additionally, the ability of the wound dressing of the present invention in assisting autologous healing by promoting granulation and allowing epithelial cells to migrate exhibits the distinct ability of the wound dressing in effecting wound closure. Finally, the wound dressing of the present invention is preferred over the non-adherent gauze dressings because it results in cleaner wounds while reducing the amount of pain the patient feels during the treatment of the wound to no pain or mild pain.
Thus, the present inventors have developed a wound dressing which possesses this novel fluid handling capability of absorption and donation. This fluid handling capability is an end result of the processing microbial cellulose to the contain the proper cellulose content for the intended purpose. The resulting wound dressing can donate fluid if the wound surface is dry and found to be particularly useful for dry chronic wounds covered with dry necrotic tissue or eschar. The same dressing is also capable of absorbing fluid away from the exuding wound bed. Additionally, the microbial cellulose wound dressing described in this invention will not degrade and leave a residue in the wound site, unlike hydrocolloid dressings. Removal of the microbial cellulose dressing from the wound does not damage tissue because it does not adhere to the wound surface.
The present invention also envisages microbial cellulose sheets which can be directly synthesized in virtually any shape or size. Fermentation processes yield an extremely thin and pliable form, which is remarkably strong, yet, gas and liquid permeable. The shape will remain intact even when subjected to extreme environmental conditions such as autoclaving or gamma sterilization.
Finally, the present invention covers a microbial-derived wound dressing that reduces the patient's pain to none or mild during the patient's treatment of the wound. Additionally, the wound dressing of the present invention is able to decrease the median days necessary to attain 50% or more wound coverage as well as decrease the median number of days to attain 75% or more granulation on the treated wound. In both the 50% coverage and 75% granulation cases the survival analysis, it is still important to note that the median number of days required to attain 50% or more of the wound covered was lower for the experimental group (57 days) than the control group (85 days) just as the median number of days to attain 75% or more granulation was lower for the experimental group (43 days) than the control group (71 days). Further, the present invention provides a preferred wound dressing because it results in a cleaner wound and because the dressing increases the autolytic debridement of the wound over that of the non-adherent gauze dressings.

Microbial cellulose wound dressing for treating chronic wounds


Sheets of recording paper are stacked and put on a push-up plate, and the uppermost recording paper is moved by pickup rollers and is separated by separation pawls. The separated recording paper is further moved by the pickup rollers so as to be carried out to the conveyance path between an upper guide and a lower guide. Notches are provided in those regions of the lower guide which correspond to the corner parts of the recording paper. Owing to the notches, the corner parts of the recording paper deformed by the separation pawls do not come into touch with the lower guide, so that the bending and jamming of the recording paper can be prevented from occurring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper feeding apparatus which holds sheet-like recording media, and which successively feeds the recording media to an image forming section, and an image forming apparatus which includes the paper feeding apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, printer or facsimile apparatus, when sheet-like recording media for printing images thereon, such as paper or OHP film, are used in large quantities, a paper feeding apparatus is employed which holds the plurality of recording media beforehand so as to feed them in succession.
The paper feeding apparatus comprises an apparatus body and a recording paper case. The recording paper case is detachable from the apparatus body in order to replenish the recording paper.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic views showing the conveyance mechanism of a paper feeding apparatus 100. FIG. 7A is a plan view, while FIG. 7B is a side sectional view. The paper feeding apparatus 100 comprises an apparatus body 101, and a recording paper case 102. The apparatus body 101 has pickup rollers 103, an upper guide 104, a lower guide 105, a conveyance roller 106, and a pinch roller 107. The recording paper case 102 has separation pawls 108, a push-up plate 109, and a spring 110. Incidentally, only components relevant to the conveyance mechanism in the paper feeding apparatus 100 are shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Besides, the upper guide 104, the conveyance roller 106, and the pinch roller 107 are omitted from FIG. 7A in order to facilitate understanding of the shape of the lower guide 105. Sheets of recording paper 200 are put on the push-up plate 109 included in the recording paper case 102, and the push-up plate 109 is pushed upwards by the spring 110. Owing to the upward push of the push-up plate 109, the corner parts of the uppermost recording paper 201 are pushed against the separation pawls 108.
In feeding the recording paper, the pickup rollers 103 included in the apparatus body 101 are rotated to carry out the uppermost recording paper 201 in a conveyance direction indicated by an arrow B. On this occasion, a frictional force acts between the uppermost recording paper 201 and the second uppermost recording paper, so that the second uppermost recording paper is about to move in the same direction as that of the uppermost recording paper. However, the movement is hampered by the separation pawls 108, and only the uppermost recording paper 201 is separated and carried to a guide section. A conveyance path is changed to be upward by the upper guide 104 and the lower guide 105. The recording paper 201, carried out by the rotations of the pickup rollers 103, is bent along the conveyance path, and the front end edge thereof reaches the conveyance roller 106 and the pinch roller 107. The conveyance roller 106 and the pinch roller 107 hold the front end part of the recording paper 201 therebetween, and carry out this recording paper to the conveyance path leading to an image forming section.
The reduction of an installation area is required of the image forming apparatus as the desire of users, and reduction in the size of the apparatus is a requisite for incarnating the desire. Accordingly, the conveyance path needs to be shortened to the utmost in a horizontal direction, and it must be abruptly changed as shown in FIG. 7B. Even when the path change is abrupt, recording paper is easily caused to follow up the path change in a case where guides exist before and behind the change part of the path, and where the recording paper moves along the path of comparatively small cross section. However, in a case as in the paper feeding apparatus 100 where the recording paper is conveyed from that peripheral space of the recording paper case 102 in which the movement of the recording paper is not constrained, to the path which is surrounded with the upper guide 104 and the lower guide 105, and where the path change is abrupt, drawbacks such as the bending and jamming of the recording paper occur at the change part of the path. When the corner parts of the front end of the recording paper touch the lower guide 105, the movement of the front end part of the recording paper is sometimes hampered by load resistance such as a frictional force which the recording paper receives from the lower guide 105. On this occasion, the rear part of the recording paper is further carried out by the pickup rollers 103, so that the corner parts of the front end of the recording paper are bent. Moreover, when the bent parts hitch on the guide or any other part to make the recording paper immobile, the paper jamming takes place.
According to a paper feeding apparatus stated in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication JP-U 1-75050 (1989), an upper guide plate is shaped into a trapezoid whose upside is this side as viewed in a paper feed direction, and whose downside is the opposite side. Thus, recording paper is conveyed while its corner parts curled upwards are being broadened, so that the occurrence of the bending, jamming, etc. of the recording paper is relieved.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing a state where the recording paper 200 is separated by the separation pawls 108. Although the middle part of the uppermost recording paper 201 is moved in the conveyance direction by the rotations of the pickup rollers 103, each corner part 201a of the recording paper has its movement limited by the separation pawl 108 and is flexed as shown in FIG. 8A. When the middle part of the recording paper 201 is further moved in the conveyance direction, the corner part 201a thereof is released from the separation pawl 108. The corner part 201a, however, remains flexed to continue a state where it is deformed downwards as shown in FIG. 8B. The corner part 201a deformed in this manner is more susceptible to the load resistance of the guide and to undergo the drawback. With the lapse of time, the corner part 201a is about to resume the original state where it is not deformed. However, when the conveyance speed of the recording paper 201 is raised in order to heighten the processing speed of the image forming apparatus, the deformed corner part 201a comes into touch with the lower guide 105 before resuming the original state, and the problem of the prior art, namely, the drawback of the paper jamming ascribable to the bending of the front end part of the recording paper becomes liable to occur. Besides, the paper feeding apparatus stated in JP-UM-A-1-75050 cannot attain the advantage in the case where the path has changed abruptly, or in the case where the corner part has been deformed downwards as in the deformation ascribable to the pawl separation.

Paper feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same