A semiconductor integrated circuit of the present invention comprises a memory cell array and sense amplifiers connected to memory cells in the memory cell array through read lines and having a pattern width greater than the pattern width of the memory cells. The sense amplifiers are arranged in a matrix.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved layout of a semiconductor integrated circuit such as a programmable logic array (PLA), and more particularly, to an arrangement of sense amplifiers each having a pattern width greater than that of a memory cell in a memory cell array.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional PLA has a structure, for example, as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, numerals in0 to in2 denote input signals, 41 a control input buffer, and an AND array section (User programable AND array). The AND array section can program the presence/absence of connection between its input and output lines. Numerals SA10 to SA15 denote sense amplifiers having input terminals connected to the output lines of the AND array section. Symbol OR denotes an OR array section (User programable OR array). The OR array section can program the presence/absence of connection between its input lines (output lines of sense amplifiers SA10 to SA15) and its output lines. Numerals SA20 to SA23 denote sense amplifiers having input terminals connected to the output lines of the OR array section.
The programming devices employed in the AND array section and OR array section are, for example, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs) or electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs).
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit in which EEPROM cells 50 are used as programming devices in the AND array section. Each output line (product terms) of the AND array section is connected to a sense amplifier SAi (i=0 . . . 5) having a CMOS (complementary insulated gate type) structure.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit in which EEPROM cells 50 are used as programming devices in the OR array section. Each output line (product terms) of the OR array section is connected to a CMOS sense amplifier SA2i (i=0 . . . 3).
In FIGS. 2 and 3, the EEPROM cell 50 is constructed such that a floating gate type memory cell transistor 51 and a memory cell selection MOS transistor 52 are connected in series. One end of the memory cell transistor 51 is connected to a read line RLi or RLi'. A control gate of the memory cell transistor 51 is connected to a control gate line CG. One end of the memory cell section transistor 52 is connected to a write line WLi or WLi'. In the AND array section, a gate of each memory cell selection transistor 52 is connected to one of complementary output lines RG0, RG0 to RG2, RG2 of the control input buffer 41. In the OR array section, the gate of each memory cell selection transistor 52 is connected to one of outputs 0 to 5 of sense amplifiers SA10 to SA15.
Each of the CMOS sense amplifiers SA1i and SA2i, when they have static structures as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises seven P-channel transistors TP and four N-channel transistors TN. In addition, complementary pre-charge signals PR, PR are used as control signals.
Normally, each memory cell 50 is fabricated with a minimum design standard. By contrast, the sense amplifier SA1i (SA2i) cannot be manufactured with a minimum design standard. The reason is that the sense amplifiers SA1i and SA2i must sense a slight change in the state of the read line RLi connected to memory cell 50 and also quickly amplify and transmit the signal of the read line RLi. Furthermore, the sense amplifier SA1i (SA2i) requires 11 transistors in relation to the two transistors 51 and 52 of memory cell 50. Thus, the pattern width of the sense amplifier SA1i (SA2i) is considerably greater than that of the memory cell 50.
In the conventional PLA, however, the sense amplifiers SA1i (SA2i) connected to corresponding output lines are arranged in a line. The pattern of the PLA shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 4. As can be understood from FIG. 4, the total width of the sense amplifiers on the output side of the AND array section is greater than the total width of the AND array width and control input buffer. Similarly, the total width of the sense amplifiers on the output side of the OR array section is greater than the total width of the OR array section.
In addition, a wiring region 70 must be provided to connect the memory cells 50 and the sense amplifiers SA1i and SA2i. The wiring region 70 becomes larger, as the ratio of the total width of the sense amplifiers to that of the memory cells increases and as the number of output lines increases. The increase in wiring region 70 results in an increase in die size of the PLA integrated circuit. Further, the read lines RLi and RLi' connected to the memory cells 50 become longer. As a result, the load capacitance and resistance of read lines RLi and RLi' increase and the read-out operation speed cannot be increased.


An improved double-lensed viewing system having a first lens or shield formed of shatterproof glass or plastic and mounted at an angle of at least 05.degree. from the vertical, together with a second lens or shield formed of partially opaque material mounted in optical alignment with the first lens or shield and extending parallel to the vertical.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to viewing systems and is particularly directed to improved viewing systems for welding helmets, goggles and the like which eliminate reflections, multiple images and the like.
2. Prior Art
It is well known in the welding art that some means must be provided to protect the welder's eyes against the brilliance of the welding arc and against sparks and other debris which may be thrown off during the welding operation and which can cause damage or blindness. Many types of qoggles and helmets have been proposed heretofore for providing such protection. However, many of the prior art qoggles and helmets have employed double-lensed devices having a first lens or shield formed of shatterproof glass or plastic and a second lens or shield formed of partially opaque material to reduce the intensity of light incident on the weldere's eyes. Unfortunately, light passing through such double-lensed devices often produces reflections or multiple images which are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the real object and which are always distracting and confusing to the welder. Thus, none of the prior art double-lensed viewing systems have been entirely satisfactory.


A fly-fishing reel which has succeeded in overcoming such disadvantages of conventional ones that because a reel is attached to a rod through a rod connector having a constant thickness in the longitudinal direction, the center of gravity of the reel at which the reel weight is applied to the rod coincides with the center of the rod connector and is relatively away from a grip portion of the rod rearward, and hence the weight balance is not satisfactory in operation of swinging the rod to fly a fishing line. The inventive reel comprises a holder provided with a pair of flanges for guiding a rotating member, at least one line guide provided between the pair of flanges, a joint base provided between the pair of flanges and located below the line guide, and a rod connector having a joining flat portion which is inclined and joined to a recessed flat portion of the joint base. The center of gravity of the reel is shifted toward the side of a grip portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fly-fishing reel, and more particularly to a novel improvement of the reel wherein a rod connector is mounted on a rod to provide a rod attachment surface inclined relative to the rod surface, the attachment surface is joined to a recessed flat portion on the reel side with good fittingness therebetween, and at least one line guide is provided in a predetermined angular position to avoid contact between the guide and a fishing line when the line is flied.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, fly-fishing reels have been generally constructed such that, though not shown, the reel is directly attached using fasteners to a rod connector in the form of a flat plate which is mounted on the root side of a rod.
In such a conventional fly-fishing reel, because the reel is located rearward of a grip portion of the rod and is directly attached to the rod through a rod connector having a constant thickness relative to the rod surface in the longitudinal direction, the center of gravity of the reel coincides with the center of the rod connector in the longitudinal direction and is not adjustable. Thus, a heavy weight of the reel is applied to the rod at a position relatively away from the grip portion rearward, and hence the weight balance has not been satisfactory in operation of swinging the rod to fly a fishing line.
Further, the conventional fly fishing reel has a plurality of, typically three, line guides bridging between a pair of flanges or a holder which is a main component of the reel. The three line guides are arranged with angular intervals of 90.degree., and one of them is located at an uppermost position relative to the rod. Therefore, when the fishing line is let to fly out from the reel in the flying operation, the line contacts the line guide at the uppermost position, imposing resistance on the line flying out.


In a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), a method of switching from a current common channel to a dedicated channel for a UE. The method comprises estimating the round trip delay for data packets travelling between the UE and a peer node with which the UE is communicating. The product of the estimated round trip delay and the bandwidth of the common channel or the dedicated channel is determined and a threshold defined on the basis of that product. A switch from the common channel to a dedicated channel is initiated when the fill level of the RLC buffer(s) in the UTRAN for the UE reaches or exceeds said threshold.

The European Telecommunications Standardisation Institute (ETSI) is currently in the process of standardising a new set of protocols for mobile telecommunications systems. The set of protocols is known collectively as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).
FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a UMTS network 1 which comprises a core network 2 and a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) 3. The UTRAN 3 comprises a number of Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) 4, each of which is coupled to a set of neighbouring Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) 5. BTSs are sometimes referred to as Node Bs. Each Node B 5 is responsible for a given geographical cell and the controlling RNC 4 is responsible for routing user and signalling data between that Node B 5 and the core network 2. All of the RNCs are coupled to one another. A general outline of the UTRAN 3 is given in Technical Specification TS 25.401 V3.2.0 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. FIG. 1 also illustrates a mobile terminal or User Equipment (UE) 6, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 7 and a GPRS Gateway Support Node (GGSN) 8. The SGSN 7 and the GGSN 8 provide packet switched data services to the UE 6 via the UTRAN (with the GGSN being coupled to the Internet).
User data received at an RNC from the UTRAN core network is stored at a Radio Link Control (RLC) entity in one or more RLC buffers. User data generated at a UE is stored in RLC buffers of a peer RLC entity at the UE. User data (extracted from the RLC buffers) and signalling data is carried between an RNC and a UE using Radio Access Bearers (RABs). Typically, a UE is allocated one or more Radio Access Bearers (RABs) each of which is capable of carrying a flow of user or signalling data. RABs are mapped onto respective logical channels. At the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, a set of logical channels is mapped in turn onto a transport channel, of which there are three types:                a common transport channel which is shared by many different mobile terminals and which may extend in either the uplink or the downlink direction (one type of common channel is a Forward Access CHannel (FACH));        a "dedicated" transport channel (DCH) which is allocated to a single mobile terminal—DCHs are allocated in pairs of uplink and downlink channels; and        a downlink shared channel (DSCH) which is mapped to a small number of mobile terminals.
Several transport channels are in turn mapped at the physical layer onto one or more physical channels (e.g. S-CCPCH or DPCH) for transmission over the air interface between a Node B and a UE.
FIG. 2 illustrates certain of the layers present at a UE, a Node B, and an RNC of a UMTS network. In particular, FIG. 2 illustrates that the MAC layer, present at the RNC and the UE, is split into a MAC-c layer and a MAC-d layer. UTRAN provides UEs with an "always on" connection. During periods of low activity, when perhaps only signalling information (or low level data transfer) is being exchanged between the UE and the network, the UE is allocated a common channel. However, following an increase in data volume, the network may decide to switch the connection from a common channel to a dedicated channel (and a downlink shared channel). For example, a decision may be made to switch from a FACH/RACH channel to a DCH. The decision to switch is made by the Radio Resource Manager (RRM) entity of the RNC.
It is envisaged that UMTS networks will to a large extent be used for carrying data traffic (and using the services of a SGSN and a GGSN). Most current applications which make use of packet switched data services use the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) in conjunction with Internet Protocol (IP)-TCP is used to provide a (connection-oriented) reliable service over the unreliable IP service. It can therefore be expected that the majority of data communications across a UMTS network will use TCP/IP.
When a TCP connection between peer hosts is initiated, TCP starts transmitting data at a relatively low rate. The transmission rate is slowly increased in order to avoid causing an overflow at routers of the IP network (which would result in the loss of packets and the need to resend these lost packets). The rate at which data can be transmitted is defined by two variables, cwnd and ssthresh.
The variable cwnd defines the number of data packets which the TCP sender can transmit before acknowledgement messages have been received from the TCP receiver for the previously sent block of cwnd data packets. As each acknowledgement is received for segments of that last block, a segment of the new block is sent. At the beginning of a communication, cwnd is set at a low value (e.g. 1 segment=512 bytes) and the system is in a "slow start" mode. Following receipt of the first acknowledgement from the receiver, cwnd is increased in size by 1 segment (to 2 segments). This is repeated following each acknowledgement for a packet (or for a small number of packets), resulting in an exponential opening of the congestion window. The variable ssthresh is initially set to some fixed level (e.g. 65535 bytes), and the slow start mode continues until cwnd>ssthresh. Thereafter, a "congestion avoidance" mode is entered during which cwnd is increased by just 1/cwnd each time a successful transmission acknowledgement is received. The variable cwnd has an upper limit defined either by the sender or by an advertisement message sent from the receiver.
If congestion occurs, indicated by a timeout (of a controlling timer at the sender) or by receipt of duplicate acknowledgements by the sender, ssthresh is set to one half of the previous value of cwnd. In the event that congestion was indicated by a timeout, cwnd is set to 1 whilst, in the event that congestion was indicated by a duplicate acknowledgement, cwnd remains unchanged. Thus, the slow start mode is continued until such time as the transmission rate (defined by cwnd) reaches half the rate which last caused congestion to occur. Thereafter, the congestion avoidance mode is entered.
Further background information on TCP/IP can be obtained from Stevens, "TCP/IP Illustrated", Vol. 1.

Controlling channel switching in a UMTS network


Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus comprising prefetch information storage circuitry and prefetch training circuitry. The prefetch training circuitry comprises a plurality of entries, and is configured to: allocate a given entry to a given data address region; receive access information indicative of data accesses within the given data address region; based on said access information, train prefetch information associated with the given data address region, the prefetch information being indicative of a pattern of said data accesses within the given data address region; and responsive to an eviction condition being met after an elapsed period, since said allocation of the given entry, has exceeded a threshold, perform an eviction comprising transferring the prefetch information associated with the given data address region to the prefetch information storage circuitry.

The present technique relates to the field of prefetching. Prefetching is the process of fetching information (for example data, or processing instructions) into a storage such as a cache, before that information is requested or required for processing operations. This can improve the throughput of processing operations, by reducing or removing the bottleneck associated with retrieving such information. For example, when data is requested (for example by a fetch unit of a processing pipeline), retrieving that data from memory can be relatively time-consuming. However, if that data has been prefetched into a rapidly-accessible storage such as a cache, the time to retrieve the data is reduced.
Because prefetching occurs prior to the information actually being requested or required for processing, it is based on predictions of what information (such as data or instructions) will be required for processing operations in the future. The effectiveness of prefetching thus depends on the accuracy of this prediction: an inaccurate prefetcher, which prefetches information that will not be required for processing, would consume resources without improving processing performance.
There is therefore a desire for improved prefetcher prediction performance.

Methods and apparatus for training prefetch information


A system and method for determining the internal temperature of a fuel cell stack during stack start-up so as to start a cooling fluid flow before the internal temperature of the stack rises above a temperature that might damage the fuel cells within the stack. The system and method include determining an initial temperature from either an ambient temperature sensor or a sensor in the cooling fluid manifold in the stack, measuring the voltage of the stack and the current from the stack, and from these values determining the waste heat from the stack to determine its temperature. If hydrogen is sent to the cathode side of the stack during the start-up, then the system and method also include determining the flow rate of the hydrogen.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for controlling coolant circulation to a fuel cell stack at cold start-up and, more particularly, to a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack, where the system employs a control scheme for circulating a cooling fluid through the fuel cell stack at the proper time during a cold start-up so as to prevent the fuel cells from being damaged by excessive temperatures.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Hydrogen is a very attractive fuel because it is clean and can be used to efficiently produce electricity in a fuel cell. The automotive industry expends significant resources in the development of hydrogen fuel cells as a source of power for vehicles. Such vehicles would be more efficient and generate fewer emissions than today's vehicles employing internal combustion engines.
A hydrogen fuel cell is an electro-chemical device that includes an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween. The anode receives hydrogen gas and the cathode receives oxygen or air. The hydrogen gas is dissociated in the anode to generate free protons and electrons. The protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode. The protons react with the oxygen and the electrons in the cathode to generate water. The electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte, and thus are directed through a load to perform work before being sent to the cathode. The work acts to operate the vehicle.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are a popular fuel cell for vehicles. The PEMFC generally includes a solid-polymer-electrolyte proton-conducting membrane, such as a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. The anode and cathode typically include finely divided catalytic particles, usually platinum (Pt), supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer. The catalytic mixture is deposited on opposing sides of the membrane. The combination of the anode catalytic mixture, the cathode catalytic mixture and the membrane define a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). MEAs are relatively expensive to manufacture and require certain conditions for effective operation. These conditions include proper water management, humidification and temperature control, and control of catalyst poisoning constituents, such as carbon monoxide (CO).
Several fuel cells are typically combined in a fuel cell stack to generate the desired power. The fuel cell stack receives a cathode input gas, typically a flow of air forced through the stack by a compressor. Not all of the oxygen is consumed by the stack and some of the air is output as a cathode exhaust gas that may include water as a stack by-product. The fuel cell stack also receives an anode hydrogen input gas that flows into the anode side of the stack.
The fuel cell stack includes a series of flow field plates or bipolar plates positioned between the MEAs in the stack. The bipolar plates include an anode side and a cathode side for adjacent fuel cells in the stack. Anode gas flow channels are provided on the anode side of the bipolar plates that allow the anode gas to flow to the anode side of each MEA. Cathode gas flow channels are provided on the cathode side of the bipolar plates that allow the cathode gas to flow to the cathode side of each MEA. The bipolar plates are made of a conductive material, such as stainless steel, so that they conduct the electricity generated by the fuel cells from one cell to the next cell as well as out of the stack.
It is necessary that a fuel cell operate at an optimum relative humidity and temperature to provide efficient stack operation and durability. A typical stack operating temperature for an automotive fuel cell stack is between 60°-80° C. Excessive stack temperatures above the optimum temperature may damage fuel cell components, reducing the lifetime of the fuel cells. Also, stack temperatures below the optimum temperature reduces the stack performance. Therefore, fuel cell systems employ thermal sub-systems that direct a cooling fluid through flow channels within the fuel cell stack to control its temperature.
At vehicle start-up, the fuel cell stack is typically well below its optimum operating temperature, especially in low temperature environments. It is desirable to raise the temperature of the fuel cell stack to its operating temperature as quickly as possible to increase the stack performance, which could take a minute or longer. In order to allow the fuel cell stack to reach its operating temperature quickly, the cooling fluid is not flowed through the stack for a certain period of time after start-up to allow the stack to rapidly heat up as a result of the waste heat generated by the electro-chemical process. Also, various operations are known in the art to increase the temperature of the fuel cell stack more quickly at stack start-up, such as bleeding hydrogen into the cathode side of the fuel cells to provide combustion that can be used to heat the stack. Further, if a cold coolant flow is allowed to circulate before the stack is warm enough, the performance of the stack may suffer and cells may fail as a result of the cold coolant.
It is important to prevent the MEAs from overheating and sustaining degradation during the start-up process. It is known in the art to measure the temperature of the cathode exhaust from the cathode side of the fuel cell stack during fuel cell start-up to determine the fuel stack temperature in order to start the cooling fluid flow at the proper time. Typically, when the cathode output temperature reaches 25°-40° C., the coolant pump is started to circulate the coolant flow through the stack. However, it has been discovered that when the cathode exhaust temperature is in this temperature range, the temperature of some portions of the MEAs within the fuel cells can exceed 100° C. It is believed that continued and repetitive exposure of the MEAs to these high temperatures can result in material degradation and durability failures, such as pinholes in the MEA.

Method to begin coolant circulation to prevent MEA overheating during cold start


A sheet processing apparatus which makes it possible to carry out optimal bundling, such as bookbinding, according to sheet thickness, thereby enhancing the operability of the apparatus. A sensor LED control section 114 detects the thickness of a bundle of sheets to be processed. A post-processing control section 115 calculates a thickness of each sheet based on the thickness of the bundle of sheets detected by the sensor LED control section 114. The post-processing control section 115 changes the upper limit of the number of sheets that can be processed as a bundle based on the calculated thickness of each sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, such as an image forming apparatus provided with a LBP (laser beam printer) or a copying machine, which is capable of recording images on sheets, such as paper sheets, using the electrophotographic printing method, and a bookbinding device as an application device of the copying machine, such as a finisher, a sorter, or a stacker, a method of controlling the sheet processing apparatus, a control program for implementing the control method, and a storage medium storing the control program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional bookbinding devices, the number of sheets that can be stapled e.g. by a sorter or a finisher which is capable of performing stapling processing varies depending on the sheet size and the sheet thickness.
In the case of a so-called plain sheet having a predetermined thickness e.g. of 0.1 mm, the maximum number of A4-size sheets that can be stapled as a bundle is 50, whereas that of A3-size sheets that can be stapled as a bundle is only 40.
In the case of a so-called thick paper sheet being thicker than a plain sheet and having a thickness e.g. of 0.2 mm, the maximum number of A4-size sheets that can be stapled as a bundle is 30, whereas that of A3-size sheets that can be stapled as a bundle is only 20.
Thus, the number of sheets that can be bundled varies depending on the sheet type, and the maximum processable number of sheets is determined based on the size and thickness of the sheet.
Information on sheet thicknesses is entered by the user or registered in advance as fixed values in the apparatus. Some bookbinding apparatuses measure the thickness of each sheet when the sheet is fed.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications (Kokai) Nos. H07-165363 and H08-301504 disclose a mechanism that detects the thickness of a bundle of sheets. According to the mechanism disclosed in the former publication, the thickness of a sheet bundle in one processing section is detected, and when the thickness of the sheet bundle reaches a predetermined value, subsequent sheets are received and aligned in another processing section, and discharged out of an apparatus including the mechanism without being bound. According to the mechanism disclosed in the latter publication, based on a result of detection by detection means for detecting the thickness of a sheet bundle stored in a tray, sheets to be guided into a sheet tray are temporarily stored at a predetermined position.
Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications (Kokai) Nos. H10-007314 and No. 2000-318918 disclose an apparatus that detects the thickness of a bundle of sheets and controls the position of a guide for sandwiching the bundle and carrying out processing thereafter, and an apparatus that performs stapling processing by selectively using a plurality of stapling devices, respectively.
Furthermore, there has been-proposed a tape-binding device e.g. in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-181236, in which several types of binding tapes different in width are selectively supplied to a tape heating device according to the thickness of a sandwiched sheet bundle.
In the above described prior art in which the upper limit of the number of sheets to be bundled or that of the thickness of the sheet bundle is set according to the sheet type (sheet thickness). However, in the case of the upper limits being specified based on weight, the limit of sheet thickness cannot be determined accurately due to difference between the measure of weight and that of sheet thickness, and hence limit values have to be set with an allowance for the upper limit of the number of sheets to be bundled or that of sheet bundle thickness.
For this reason, to enable a predetermined number of e.g. A4-size plain sheets of any type to be bundled insofar as they are categorized as A4-size plain sheets, the number of A4-size plain sheets that can be bundled is limited to 50 even when up to 100 of them can be bundled in actuality. Thus, even plain sheets of a size that can actually be processed as a bundle of up to 100 sheets are categorized into a group having an upper limit of 50 sheets for bundling.
Similarly, even an apparatus which is capable of detecting sheet thickness on a sheet-by-sheet basis, stores not information on the thickness of each sheet, but only information on categories of sheet types, such as plain sheet, thick paper, and so forth. Therefore, the upper limits of the number or thickness of sheets of types in a category, which can be processed as a bundle, are determined to be within an upper limit thereof set for the category.
In recent years, the type of sheets for use in an image forming apparatus has become diversified, which causes diversity in sheet thickness within each category. In response to this tendency, measures are being taken e.g. to increase the number of categories.
However, even if the number of types to be set is sufficiently increased, bundling is executed based on preset upper limits of the number of sheets and sheet bundle thickness. Therefore, assuming that sheets smaller in thickness than an assumed sheet thickness are to be bundled, even after sheets are stored in a predetermined number corresponding to the upper limit for bundling, there still remains room for increasing the number of sheets that can be bundled. On the other hand, assuming that sheets larger in thickness than an assumed sheet thickness are to be bundled, when sheets are stored for bundling in a number corresponding to the upper limit, the thickness of a bundle of the sheets exceeds the maximum allowable thickness, which can cause degradation of finishing due to occurrence of wrinkling, faulty binding, or the like.
As far as detection of sheet thickness is concerned, a sheet is heated and pressed for fixing while passing through a fixing device, and therefore the thickness of a sheet is smaller when the sheet has passed through the fixing device than that detected before passing through the fixing device. This is because heat from the fixing device evaporates water contained in the sheet, and pressure applied to the sheet compresses or flattens spaces within the sheet. Further, since a sheet bundle is pressed and sandwiched for bundling, and the sheet bundle is further pressed for bonding spaces between a plurality of sheets to be bundled are eliminated, whereby the thickness of the sheet bundle changes.
That is, in conventional bundling, it is general that sheet thickness detected before fixing is used in bundling which should be carried out after measurement of the thickness of a sheet bundle.
Therefore, in view of finishing of bookbinding, it is preferred that the thickness of a sheet bundle is measured after fixing and during bundling.

Sheet processing apparatus, method of controlling the sheet processing apparatus, control program for implementing the method, and storage medium storing the control program


A method is provided for consumer referral of products to retailers. A manufacturer database is maintained having manufacturer entries including the manufacturer's identification, retailers stocking any of the manufacturer's products, and the manufacturer's products stocked by the retailer. A consumer database with consumer entries is maintained for registered consumers. Products in the manufacturer database are displayed on the public network. A consumer viewing the displayed products on the public network can select a product to refer to a retailer. If the retailer does not stock the referred product or a set number of consumers in the consumer database other than the referring consumer have not already referred the referred product to the referred retailer, then the referred product and the referred retailer are entered into the consumer entry in the consumer database. If the consumer referral results in a sale to the retailer, then the manufacturer rewards the consumer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for consumers to refer products to retailers benefiting the manufacturer, the retailer, and the consumer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A problem faced by many medium and small businesses is how to penetrate retail markets with their products. There are many barriers to placing a product onto a retailer's shelf. Retailers often have limited shelf space, and in warehouse type stores such as Costco and Walmart, there are stringent controls and procedures for the manufacturer to meet in order to place the product. This coupled with the standardization of products in the warehouse type stores such as Costco and Walmart, effectively keeps many interesting and deserving products off the market or relegated to niche markets and niche advertising.
Another obstacle for the medium and small businesses is the lack of resources for marketing their products. The internet has helped many to sell their products and provided a much needed outlet for manufacturer's products. When equal access to internet search engine results are provided then it is possible to find a manufacturer's product. However, with the advent of fairly universal search engines such as Google, search engine results or their display order can be sold to the highest bidder, effectively relegating the medium and small businesses to a lower rung on the retail ladder.
To market a product directly to retailers the obstacles are even higher. How to approach retailers and how to present a product to a retailer so that the retailer will carry the product requires that the manufacturer understand the retailers and meet with them to ever accomplish a sale. The manufacturer must comply with all the retailer's procedures, which for a large multi-state or international retailer may be a manual that is two inches thick. This is enough to discourage many entrepreneurs. Another obstacle is that often a manufacturer may have only one or two products to market to a retailer. This puts the small manufacturer at a disadvantage compared to manufacturers with a whole line of products to sell to the retailer. The reason for this is that the effort for both the retailer and the manufacturer is essentially the same whether the retailer is dealing with a small manufacturer with one or two products, or whether the retailer is dealing with a manufacturer with a line of products. When the retailer is dealing with the larger manufacturer, the retailer can audit the processes and quality of the manufacturer, effectively covering the whole product line. The retailer can also perform audits of a smaller manufacturer, but since fewer products are covered, then effective cost of the audit is higher.
It is possible for the manufacturer to market directly to the retailer; however, for the manufacturer to effectively contact thousands of retailers it would not only be expensive it would be very time consuming. Many products have a limited effective retail life, because design and fashion dictates may change rapidly in some fields. This makes it imperative to market the product quickly and effectively while it is "hot". How to accomplish this without spending vast sums, which may not be recoverable, is a quandary for a small and medium manufacturer. Mailing the retailer product information is one relatively inexpensive method; however, a typical retailer is bombarded with such mailers and they are largely ignored. The manufacturer could send email at a fraction of the cost to the retailer; however, that is almost certain to routed to the "spam" bin.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method for providing manufacturers with cost effective method to penetrate retail markets with their products.

Method for consumer referral of products to retailers


An electrostatic chuck includes a base having a first through hole extending through the base. An electrostatic chuck attraction plate is bonded to the base. An attraction electrode is incorporated in the electrostatic chuck attraction plate to generates electrostatic charge and electrostatically attract an attraction subject. A recess is formed in the electrostatic chuck attraction plate in alignment with the first through hole. The recess partially exposes the attraction electrode. An adhesive layer is formed between the electrostatic chuck attraction plate and the base. The adhesive layer covers an inner surface of the recess. A tubular insulator is arranged in the recess. The tubular insulator includes a second through hole. A power supply terminal is arranged in the first through hole and the second through hole. The power supply terminal includes a distal portion electrically connected to the attraction electrode.

Film deposition systems (e.g., chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems and physical vapor deposition (PVD) systems) and plasma etching systems, which are used in the manufacturing processes of semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits (ICs) and large scale integration (LSI) circuits, each include a stage for accurately holding a substrate (e.g., silicon wafer) in a vacuum processing chamber. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-344613 describes an example of an electrostatic chuck, which is used as such a stage.
The electrostatic chuck includes an electrostatic chuck (ESC) attraction plate that electrostatically holds a substrate (silicon wafer). The electrostatic chuck performs temperature control to maintain the substrate held by the chuck at a controlled temperature. The electrostatic chuck may be a Coulomb electrostatic chuck or a Johnsen-Rahbek electrostatic chuck. The Coulomb electrostatic chuck generates attraction force that is highly responsive to the applied voltage. However, the Coulomb electrostatic chuck requires the application of high voltage. Further, the Coulomb electrostatic chuck cannot generate sufficient attraction force when the contact area is small between the ESC attraction plate and the substrate. The Johnsen-Rahbek electrostatic chuck generates sufficient attraction force even when the contact area between the ESC attraction plate and the substrate is small. However, the Johnsen-Rahbek electrostatic chuck requires current to be supplied to the substrate.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a referential example of an electrostatic chuck 80. The electrostatic chuck 80 includes a base 81 and an ESC attraction plate 83 bonded to the base 81 by an adhesive layer 82. The base 81 may be formed from, for example, aluminum. The adhesive layer 82 may be formed from, for example, silicone resin.
The base 81 supports the ESC attraction plate 83. The base 81 incorporates a heater 84. The heater 84, which generates heat when supplied with voltage, maintains the ESC attraction plate 83 at a controlled temperature with the adhesive layer 82.
The ESC attraction plate 83 incorporates an electrode 85. The electrode 85 is a thin-film electrostatic electrode. The electrode 85 is connected via a power supply unit 86 to a direct current (DC) power supply 87, which is arranged outside the electrostatic chuck 80.
FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged view of the power supply unit 86 illustrated in FIG. 7. The power supply unit 86 includes a power supply terminal 86A. A distal portion 86B of the power supply terminal 86A is electrically connected to the electrode 85 and is in contact with a lower surface of a wiring layer 85A, which is bonded to the adhesive layer 82. The electrode 85 is electrically connected to the DC power supply 87 (refer to FIG. 7) via the wiring layer 85A and the power supply terminal 86A. In the example of FIG. 8, an elastic member 86C, which is coupled to a basal portion of the power supply terminal 86A, presses the power supply terminal 86A against the lower surface of the wiring layer 85A.
The electrostatic chuck 80 includes a tubular insulator 88. The insulator 88 functions to insulate the power supply terminal 86A from the aluminum base 81. However, as indicated by the thick double-headed arrow in FIG. 8, the distal portion 86B of the power supply terminal 86A is insulated from the base 81 solely by the silicone resin adhesive layer 82. Any voids in the adhesive layer 82 or any insufficient formation of the adhesive layer 82 around the distal portion 86B of the power supply terminal 86A may result in insufficient electric insulation of the adhesive layer 82. This may cause discharge between the distal portion 86B and the base 81.


The invention provides a human formin binding protein (FBPhu) and polynucleotides which identify and encode FBPhu. The invention also provides expression vectors, host cells, agonists, antibodies and antagonists. The invention also provides methods for treating disorders associated with expression of FBPhu.

Mutations in the mouse limb deformity (ld) locus disrupt embryonic pattern formation. This disruption leads to reduction and fusion of the distal bones and digits of all limbs and to variable incidence of renal aplasia. The ld locus contains evolutionarily conserved coding sequences which are transcribed in adult and embryonic tissues as a group of low abundance messenger RNAs created by alternative splicing and differential polyadenylation. Woychik, R. P. et al. (1990; Nature 346:850-853) deduced the structure of several novel proteins, termed formins, from the long open reading frames encoded by the ld transcripts. The presence of these RNA transcripts in a variety of tissues suggests that the formins play an essential role not only in limb and renal development but in the development of several organ systems (Woychik, et al., supra).
Formins are nuclear phosphoproteins which contain proline-rich sequences similar to Src homology 3 (SH3)-binding domains. The SH3 region is a small protein domain present in a large group of proteins, including cytoskeletal elements and signaling proteins. It is believed that SH3 domains serve as modules that mediate protein-protein associations and regulate cytoplasmic signaling. A fusion protein containing 28 amino acids from the proline-rich region of formin bound in vitro to the SH3 domains of the c-Src proto-oncogene (Ren, R. et al. (1993) Science 259:1157-1161). Ren et al. suggest that formins may function in development by interacting through their proline-rich sequences with SH3-containing proteins.
Chan, D. C. et al. (1996; EMBO J. 15:1045-1054) proposed that proteins which interact with formin via SH3-binding may play critical roles in development. They therefore used a proline-rich formin polypeptide to screen mouse limb bud expression libraries for proteins which interact with formin. Two groups of formin binding proteins (FBPs) were found: one group of FBPs contained SEH3 domains, and the second group of FBPs contained one or two copies of a newly characterized protein interaction domain, the WW domain.
The WW domain (also known as rsp5 or WWP) was originally identified as a short conserved region in a number of unrelated proteins, including dystrophin, the gene associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Bork, P. et al. (1994) Trends Biochem. Sci. 19:531-533). The domain, which spans about 35 residues, is repeated up to 4 times in some proteins. The WW domain binds to certain proline-rich motifs and thus resembles the SH3 domain. The name WW or WWP derives from the presence of four conserved aromatic residues, generally tryptophans, and a conserved proline. It has been shown to interact with proline-rich domains typical of proteins involved in signal transduction processes (Bork, supra).
Chan et al. (supra) observed that the WW domain of certain FBPs can compete with the SH3 domain of Ab1 kinase for binding to the same proline-rich ligand. In view of their affinity for proline-rich SH3-binding ligands, Chan et al. suggested that WW domain-containing proteins may regulate the action of SH3 domain-containing proteins (such as the Src kinases) by modulating the interaction with SH3-binding ligands. Subsequently, Uetz, P. et al. (1996; J. Biol. Chem 271:33525-33530) demonstrated that chicken and mouse formins interact directly with Src family kinases c-Src and c-Fyn in vivo. This interaction was shown to occur through the formin proline-rich domain and the Src SH3 domain. Uetz et al. (supra) proposed that the molecular interaction of formins with Src family kinases links the formin molecules to the embryonic signaling cascades which are disrupted in ld mutant limb buds.
The discovery of a new human formin binding protein and the polynucleotides encoding it satisfies a need in the art by providing new compositions which are useful in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancers and developmental and immune system disorders.


A method and system for measuring satisfaction for a smart building is disclosed. A method includes detecting a presence of a user at the smart building; monitoring actions of the user in the smart building with respect to each of a plurality of aspects; receiving feedback via a human machine interface from the user regarding one or more of the plurality of aspects; and building the profile for the user based on the actions and feedback; wherein: monitoring actions comprises using one or more sensors to detect movement of the user through the smart building; receiving feedback includes determining a satisfaction level of the user with respect to thermal comfort; and adjusting the one or more of the plurality of aspects based on the profile.

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of electronics. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method and system for measuring satisfaction in smart buildings.
Today's technology has enabled the integration of new technologies into buildings that provide a variety of benefits. For example, power consumption can be reduced through the use of smart technology, as discussed in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/644,836, titled "Predicting the Impact of Flexible Energy Demand on Thermal Comfort." Smart building technology can provide for the optimization of energy usage as well as improving usability for tenants, owners, employees, and other users of a building. One method of providing energy savings and usability improvements is through the use of user profiles.

Satisfaction measurement for smart buildings


A golf club structure includes a shaft having a first end portion and a second end portion, an alignment apparatus including a prism pivotally mounted on the first end portion of the shaft, and a first alignment line formed on the prism, and a head fixedly mounted on the second end portion of the shaft and including a top face and a bottom face, and a second alignment line formed on the top face of the head and aligning with the first alignment line.

Usually, prior to striking a ball, a golfer has to determine the most suitable trajectory of the ball by aligning the shaft of the golf club with the ball on the ground and the flagstick in the hole. However, this method is very approximate and thus does not lead to the desired accurate and consistent results.
Additionally, each of a conventional set of clubs is designed for a specific purpose and accordingly, a golfer has to carry around a great many different clubs in anticipation of meeting a special circumstance requiring use of a particular club. Such a wide range of clubs is expensive and inconvenient to carry.
In addition, the conventional golf club is formed with a head functioning as a batting head, a putter or a sand wedge only such that the golfer has to carry many golf clubs suitable for different functions, thereby greatly limiting the versatility of the golf club.
Moreover, the conventional golf club is suitable for right handed or left handed users only and cannot provide an ambi-dexterous function.
Further, the head of the conventional golf club cannot match the center of gravity of the golf ball when the ball is not disposed in a level state, e.g., when it is placed on an uneven patch of grass, thereby greatly affecting the travel direction of the golf ball when being struck.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantage of the conventional golf club.


Techniques for routing items addressed to an unstructured address are described. One embodiment includes receiving an order for delivery of a first package, the order specifying a first address that does not comply with a defined address format. The first address is processed using one or more hybrid machine learning algorithms to determine a Normalized Delivery Location (NDL) associated with the first address. A sorting zone that encompasses the NDL is determined. The sorting zones correspond to a predefined geographic region. Embodiments facilitate transport of the first package to a physical shipping location within the predefined geographic region.

The present invention relates to natural language text processing, and more specifically, to techniques for processing natural language text data specifying a delivery address to generate a normalized address to facilitate sortation and routing of delivery items.
In locations where addresses are not well defined and/or geocodes are not readily available, it is challenging to provide delivery services, particularly at scale. For instance, in locations where street names are not well defined, addresses may be defined relative to a known landmark, e.g., the address may be described as "behind a particular landmark" or "within a particular business park." While such a description may be adequate for someone familiar with the area, this sort of relative description is not particularly useful for implementing large scale delivery services, which typically rely on well-defined addresses and geocodes to ensure efficient and reliable deliveries.

Normalizing addresses to facilitate sortation and routing solution using natural language text processing


A medical cooling device and a method for operating the same are provided.

Medical cooling of parts of the human body for reducing the body core temperature for hypothermia treatment is a useful tool to reduce adverse impacts on the same under certain conditions. For example, medical cooling may be used for cooling the brain of patient suffering from a stroke. By reducing the temperature of the brain the risk of tissue damage is reduced for those parts of the brain lacking an adequate oxygen supply during the stroke. Another application of medical cooling is to cool the scalp for patients going through chemo therapy, to avoid undesirable hair loss.
In animal models of stroke, target temperatures of between 24° C. and 34° C. are most efficacious for reducing infarct size. However, even a brain temperature of 35° C. reduces the infarct volume by 30%. Cooling to levels of 32° to 34° C. generally requires sedation, mechanical ventilation and admission to an intensive care unit. Owing to the limited availability of intensive care beds in most countries, treatment of even a minority of acute stroke patients to those levels is therefore precluded by substantial practical and logistical problems. Temperature reductions to 35.5° C. or 35.0° C. have been shown to be feasible and safe in awake patients with acute ischemic stroke by surface cooling, in combination with for example pethidine to prevent shivering. Some studies of patients with severe traumatic brain injuries indicate that temperatures of 35 to 35.5° C. seem to be the optimal temperature at which to treat patients with severe traumatic brain injuries.
A more versatile medical cooling device and method further improving the medical cooling process of reducing the body core temperature would be advantageous.

Device and method for reducing the body core temperature of a patient for hypothermia treatment by cooling at least two body parts of the patient


Provided is an organic light emitting device, including: a lower electrode; an upper electrode and a substrate having an electrode pad portion, in which when an angle formed by a slant in section of a film end in a region between the lower electrode and the electrode pad portion and a surface of the substrate is given as θ1, Formula (1) and Formula (2) are satisfied; and when an angle formed by a slant in section of a film end in at least a part of other regions than the region between the lower electrode and the electrode pad portion and the surface of the substrate is given as θ3, Formula (3) and Formula (4) are satisfied.tan(θ1)=d1/d2  (1)tan(θ1)<0.2  (2)tan(θ3)=d3/d4  (3)tan(θ3)≧0.2  (4)

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic light emitting devices are devices in which a plurality of organic light emitting elements are arranged in lines or in a matrix on a base material or a substrate. Organic light emitting devices can be used for multicolor display when organic light emitting elements are arranged so that one pixel (a set of sub-pixels) is formed from a combination of organic light emitting elements each emitting light of a different color, for example, a combination of one red-light emitting element, one green-light emitting element, and one blue-light emitting element.
Organic light emitting elements that form an organic light emitting device each include a pair of electrodes and an organic emission layer interposed between the pair of electrodes. The color of light emitted by an organic light emitting element varies depending on what material is selected as a light emitting material contained in the organic emission layer.
Vacuum vapor deposition using a metal mask is widely employed as a method of forming an organic compound layer and an upper electrode, which is formed on the organic compound layer. However, vacuum vapor deposition using a metal mask is low in the precision of the alignment of the metal mask with a substrate where a film is formed, and in the precision of film forming for reasons including the thermal expansion of the metal mask, and is accordingly unsuitable for the manufacture of a high-definition display device. In addition, portions of the organic compound layer and other films that are formed in regions at the edges of the metal mask decrease gently in thickness from around a set film thickness to 0, which means that the regions are non-effective regions and a waste in layout.
A method of selectively forming, with high precision, an organic compound layer by photolithography without using a high-definition metal mask is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,585. Specifically, the method includes forming an organic compound layer, an upper electrode layer, and a protective layer on the entire substrate, and subsequently patterning the organic compound layer, the upper electrode layer, and the protective layer at once into a desired shape. The described method also includes performing separate patterning on the combination of "the organic compound layer, the upper electrode layer, and the protective layer" in regions that corresponds to three colors, R, G, and B, as needed.
However, ends of a film that is patterned by the method of U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,585, namely, photolithography, to be turned into the organic compound layer are exposed to the external environment. With the ends of the film to be turned into the organic compound layer exposed to the external environment, the very organic compound layer, which does not have gas barrier properties, deteriorates due to water and oxygen seeping from the exposed ends. Another problem of U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,585, which includes patterning the organic compound layer and the upper electrode layer but does not disclose how to form connection between an upper electrode and a feeding pad portion formed on the substrate side, is a possibility of failure to establish electrical connection to organic light emitting elements that form a device.


A method for preparing 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene comprising (a) providing a starting composition comprising at least one compound having a structure selected from Formulae I, II and III:CX2═CCl—CH2X  (Formula I)CX3—CCl═CH2  (Formula II)CX3—CHCl—CH2X  (Formula III)                wherein X is independently selected from F, Cl, Br, and I, provided that at least one X is not fluorine;(b) contacting said starting composition with a first fluorinating agent to produce a first intermediate composition comprising 2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene and a first chlorine-containing byproduct; (c) contacting said first intermediate composition with a second fluorinating agent to produce a second intermediate composition comprising 2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoropropane and a second chlorine-containing byproduct; and (d) catalytically dehydrochlorinating at least a portion of said 2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoropropane to produce a reaction product comprising 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene.

(1) Field of Invention
This invention relates to novel methods for preparing fluorinated organic compounds, and more particularly to methods of producing fluorinated olefins.
(2) Description of Related Art
Hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), such as tetrafluoropropenes (including 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (HFO-1234yf)), are known to be effective refrigerants, fire extinguishants, heat transfer media, propellants, foaming agents, blowing agents, gaseous dielectrics, sterilant carriers, polymerization media, particulate removal fluids, carrier fluids, buffing abrasive agents, displacement drying agents and power cycle working fluids. Unlike chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), both of which potentially damage the Earth's ozone layer, HFOs do not contain chlorine and, thus, pose no threat to the ozone layer. In addition, HFO-1234yf is a low global warming compound with low toxicity and hence can meet increasingly stringent requirements for refrigerants in mobile air conditioning.
Several methods of preparing HFOs are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,874 (Ihara et al) describes a method of making fluorine containing olefins by contacting hydrogen gas with fluorinated alcohols. Although this appears to be a relatively high-yield process, commercial scale handling of hydrogen gas at high temperature is hazardous. Also, the cost of commercially producing hydrogen gas, such as building an on-site hydrogen plant, is economically costly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,840 (Marquis) describes a method of making fluorine containing olefins by pyrolysis of methyl chloride and tetrafluoroethylene or chlorodifluoromethane. This process is a relatively low yield process and a very large percentage of the organic starting material is converted to unwanted and/or unimportant byproducts, including a sizeable amount of carbon black which tends to deactivate the catalyst used in the process.
The preparation of HFO-1234yf from trifluoroacetylacetone and sulfur tetrafluoride has been described (See Banks, et al., Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, Vol. 82, Iss. 2, p. 171-174 (1997)). Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,594 (Krespan) discloses a process wherein tetrafluoroethylene is reacted with another fluorinated ethylene in the liquid phase to produce a polyfluoroolefin product.
However, there remains a need for an economic means of producing hydrofluoroolefins, such as HFO-1234yf. The present invention satisfies this need among others.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrated process to produce 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene


The present invention provides methods of synthesizing molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and carbon-containing molybdenum disulfide (MoS2-xCx) catalysts that exhibit improved catalytic activity for hydrotreating reactions involving hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation, and hydrogenation. The present invention also concerns the resulting catalysts. Furthermore, the invention concerns the promotion of these catalysts with Co, Ni, Fe, and/or Ru sulfides to create catalysts with greater activity, for hydrotreating reactions, than conventional catalysts such as cobalt molybdate on alumina support.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to catalysts. In particular, the present invention relates to methods and compositions concerning molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and carbon-containing molybdenum disulfide (MoS2-xCx) catalysts with novel nanostructures that exhibit improved catalytic activity for hydrotreating reactions involving hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation, and hydrogenation.
2. Description of Related Art
Hydrotreating processes are well known to the petroleum refining industry. These processes involve treating various hydrocarbon feeds with hydrogen in the presence of catalysts to lower the molecular weight of the hydrocarbons or to remove or to suitably alter the unwanted components. Hydrotreating may be applied to a variety of feedstock such as solvents, distillate feeds (light, middle, heavy), residual feeds, and fuels. In the treatment of catalytic cracking feedstock, the cracking quality of the feedstock is improved by the hydrogenation. For example, carbon yield may be reduced in order to increase gasoline yield.
When hydrotreating is used to remove unwanted compounds (e.g., sulfur, nitrogen, aromatics), unsaturated hydrocarbons are hydrogenated, and the saturated sulfur and nitrogen are removed. In the hydro-desulfurization of relatively heavy feedstock, emphasis is on the removal of sulfur from the feedstock, which is usually converted into lower molecular weight or lower boiling point components. In the hydrodesulfurization of heavier feedstock, or residues, the sulfur compounds are hydrogenated and cracked. Carbon-sulfur bonds are broken, and the sulfur for the most part is converted to hydrogen sulfide which can be removed as a gas from the process. Similarly, hydrodenitrogenation involves hydrogenating and cracking heavier feedstock or residues in order to remove nitrogen. Carbon-nitrogen bonds are broken, and the nitrogen is converted to ammonia and evolved from the process. In the hydrodenitrogenation of relatively heavy feedstock emphasis is on the removal of nitrogen from the feedstock, which is also converted to lower molecular weight or lower boiling point components.
The dwindling supplies of high grade petroleum feedstock necessitates the increased production and processing of transportation fuels from lower grade, heavy petroleum feedstock and synthetic liquid hydrocarbons derived from hydrocarbon-containing, or precursor hydrocarbon-containing solids. The refiners' feedstock sources as a result thereof continue to change, particularly as the worldwide supplies of petroleum diminish. The newer feedstock often contain higher amounts of nitrogen, sulfur, and other materials. Nonetheless, whatever the difficulties, it remains a necessity to effectively hydrotreating the new low quality feedstock often to a greater extent than was previously required due to more stringent regulations. In addition, these low-grade feeds with their high concentrations of sulfur, nitrogen, and aromatics cause activity suppression and an all too rapid deactivation of currently known catalysts. Coke formation is increased, which thus requires more cracking in order to achieve increased gas production.
Accordingly, considerably more upgrading is required to obtain usable products from these sources. Such upgrading generally necessitates hydrotreating the various hydrocarbon fractions, or whole crudes, and includes reactions such as hydrogenating to saturate olefins and aromatics, hydrodesulfurizing to remove sulfur compounds, hydrodenitrogenating to remove nitrogen, and conversion of high boiling compounds to lower boiling compounds.
Conventional hydrotreating catalysts include molybdenum disulfides (MoS2) promoted with nickel or cobalt, and they may be unsupported or supported (e.g., on alumina). The Co and Ni act as promoters for increasing hydro-treatment activity. In the following paragraphs, some conventional catalyst solutions of this general type are presented.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,554 to Naumann et al. ("Naumann") teaches that cobalt and nickel promoted molybdenum disulfide catalysts with relatively high surface areas may be obtained through thermal decomposition of various ammonium thiomolybdate salts such as an ammonium salt of a molybdenum-sulfur cluster anion or an ammonium thiomolybdate salt having the formula (NH4)2 [MoOxS4-x], where x is 2. The decomposition of these thiosalts is carried out with sulfur-containing organic compounds in a hydrocarbon solution, pressurized with hydrogen at temperatures of about 300–800° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,847 to Chianelli et al. discloses a carbon-containing MoS2 catalyst. The carbon-containing molybdenum sulfide catalysts are obtained by contacting one or more catalyst precursors selected from (a) ammonium thiomolybdate or thiotungstate salts, (b) ammonium molybdate or tungstate salts, (c) substituted ammonium thiomolybdate or thiotungstate salts, (d) substituted ammonium molybdate or tungstate salts, and mixtures thereof, with sulfur, hydrogen and a hydrocarbon at a temperature broadly ranging from about 150 to 600° C. This produces catalysts that have the general formula MS2-zCz′ wherein 0.01≦z≦0.5 and 0.01≦z′≦3.0. These catalysts have surface areas of up to about 350–400 m2/gm. They can be promoted with one or more promoter metals such as cobalt. Such promotion produces catalysts having hydrorefining activity that is greater than that of prior cobalt molybdate on alumina hydrorefining catalysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,747 to Seiver et al. teaches a similar MoS2 catalyst. Seiver discloses supported carbon-containing molybdenum and tungsten sulfide hydrotreating catalysts, both promoted and unpromoted species, having high activity, selectivity, and stability especially in conducting hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation reactions. In accordance therewith, a supported carbon-containing molybdenum sulfide and tungsten sulfide hydrotreating catalyst is formed by compositing a preselected quantity of a porous, refractory inorganic oxide with a complex salt characterized by the formula Bx[MOyS4-y], where B is an organo or hydrocarbyl substituted diammonium ion, an organo or hydrocarbyl substituted ammonium ion or quaternary ammonium ion, or an ionic form of a cyclic amine containing one or more basic N atoms, x is 1 where B is an organo or hydrocarbyl substituted diammonium ion, or 2 where B is an organo or hydrocarbyl substituted ammonium or quaternary ammonium ion or an ionic form of a cyclic amine containing one or more basic N atoms, M is molybdenum or tungsten, and y is 0, or a fraction or whole number ranging up to 3. A solution of the salt, or admixture of salts, is incorporated with a preselected quantity of a porous, refractory inorganic oxide support such as a particulate mass of the support. The salt-containing support is then dried to remove all or a portion of the solvent from the support, and the dried particulate salt-containing support is then heated in the presence of hydrogen, hydrocarbon, and sulfur or a sulfur-bearing compound to the decomposition temperature of the salt, or salts, to form the catalyst.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,528,089 and 4,650,563 also disclose carbon-containing molybdenum sulfide catalysts. The catalysts are formed by heating one or more precursor salts in the presence of sulfur and under oxygen-free conditions. The salts contain a thiometallate anion of Mo, W, or a mixture thereof and a cation that includes one or more promoter metals. The promoter metals are chelated by at least one neutral, nitrogen-containing polydentate ligand, with the promoter metal being Ni, Co, Zn, Cu or a mixture thereof. The precursor salts have the general formula, ML (MoyW1-yS4) where M is one or more divalent promoter metals such as Ni, Co, Zn, Cu or a mixture thereof. Y is any value ranging from 0 to 1, and L is one or more, neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands with at least one being a chelating polydentate ligand. Ideally, M is Co, Ni, or a mixture thereof, and the ligand, L, has a denticity of six and is either three bidentate or two tridentate chelating ligands. It is claimed that these catalysts have hydrotreating or hydrorefining activities substantially greater than those of catalysts derived from conventional hydrotreating catalyst precursors such as cobalt molybdate on alumina, even though their surface areas are not as high.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,581,125 and 4,514,517 disclose molybdenum disulfide catalysts that can be obtained by heating one or more carbon-containing, bis (tetrathiometallate) catalyst precursor salts selected from (NR4)2[M(WS4)2] or (NR4)x [M(MoS4)2] groups in a non-oxidizing atmosphere in the presence of sulfur and hydrogen at a temperature above about 150° C. for a time sufficient to form the catalyst. The (NR4) is a carbon-containing, substituted ammonium cation and R is either: (a) an alkyl group, aryl group, or mixture thereof, or (b) a mixture of (a) with hydrogen. Promoter metal, M, is covalently bound in the anion and is Ni, Co, or Fe. X is 2 if M is Ni, and x is 3 if M is Co or Fe. It is taught that the catalyst should ideally be formed in the presence of a hydrocarbon.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,326 discloses a catalyst formed by treating molybdenum sulfide- or tungsten sulfide-containing materials supported with an organometallic complex containing a transition metal promoter such as Co, Fe, and Ni. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,677 teaches a catalyst formed from an amorphous sulfide of iron and a metal selected from Mo, W, and mixtures thereof, along with a metal sulfide of at least one metal that has Co, Ni, Mn, Zn, Cu or a mixture thereof. The resulting catalyst is an amorphous sulfide of a mixture of iron with molybdenum and/or tungsten and, optionally, a mixture of the amorphous sulfide with a metal sulfide of one or more additional metals such as Ni, Co, Mn, Zn, and Cu.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,737 discloses chalcogenides that are superior catalysts for the treatment of hydrocarbons. They have the general formula, MXy where M is ruthenium, osmium, rhodium, or iridium, X is sulfur, selenium, tellurium, or a mixture thereof, and y is a number ranging from about 0.1 to about 3. The catalysts are prepared through a low temperature, nonaqueous precipitation technique.
Song et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,693, teaches a method for preparing MoS2 catalysts by decomposing ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (ATTM) precursors dissolved in a solution of relatively high boiling point solvent (n-tridecane, boiling point=234° C.) and added H2O under H2 pressure at 350–400° C. The reference teaches that the MoS2 produced from ATTM and H2O at 350–400° C. has higher surface areas (286–335 m2/g) than those from ATTM without water, which have surface areas of 54–70 m2/g. Song teaches that the surface area of MoS2 prepared at 375° C. from ATTM and water is 342 m2/g, which is about three times that of MoS2 from ATTM without water (70 m2/g). It was also recognized that while water is effective for generating highly active catalyst, it actually impairs the catalytic conversion process itself. Therefore, the reference teaches that the water should be removed after ATTM decomposition to yield a more active MoS2 catalyst.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,760 discusses the production of unsupported molybdenum-containing catalysts; however, the method employed is different and the result catalyst is different.
In addition to these discoveries, several researchers have identified some general principles relating to the decomposition of ATM into molybdenum disulfide. For example, the decomposition of ammonium and amine thiosalts for creating molybdenum catalysts has been reported by Alonso et al., 1998a; Alonso et al., 1998b. These references teach that the decomposition of ATM (ammoniumthiomolybdate) at relatively low temperatures (e.g., 623 K) and high pressure (e.g., 3.1 MPa) hydrogen environment can produce a very disordered MoS2 structure with large surface areas and higher catalytic activity. Also, for non-mechanically pressed decomposition, the surface area and catalytic activity will increase with increase of bulkiness in the alkyl radical. In addition, it was confirmed that in situ decomposition results in more active catalysts than ex situ decomposition. Similarly, in Brito et al., (1995), it was reported that the overall thermal decomposition of ammonium thiomolybdate (ATM) to molybdenum disulfide in inert atmospheres generally occurs over a wide temperature range of 120–820° C. Initially, molybdenum trisulfide is formed between 120 and 260° C., and then MoS2 forms in the remaining range of between 300 to 820° C. While most of the reaction will occur in the range from 300 to 500° C., temperatures exceeding 800° C. are required to remove the remaining sulfer and achieve stoichiometric MoS2. However, hydrogen can be used to accelerate the decomposition of MoS3 to MoS2. In the presence of hydrogen, stoichiometric MoS2 can be formed at temperatures lower than 450° C.
Catalysts exist for the hydrotreating processes. However, a need exists for more efficient catalysts such as those provided by the present invention.
The processes and catalysts presented herein are very useful for hydrotreating reactions involving hydrosulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation and hydrogenation. These catalysts are useful in oil refining and production of petrochemical compounds.
The catalysts may be compacted and provided in a pellet form. This form may reduce the adsorption of water in the active catalyst.

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System

Centro de Investigacion en Materiales Avanzados, S.C.


A monocular telescope in which the beam path is so laid out that the casing may be flat in the direction of view, and the optical axis of the beam path in the casing describes a somewhat rectangular route, and in which the telescope has a view finder beam path intesecting with the telescope beam path in the users eye.

This invention relates to a monocular telescope with a view finder in which the telescope and the view finder have a common sighting direction.
In the case of great magnification, the field of view of such a telescope is small, so that it is difficult to sight a particular object.


A ladder stabilizing device is adapted for attachment to a ladder and to a fixed structure for holding the ladder in a stable condition on a supporting surface adjacent to the structure. The ladder includes a base, a pair of laterally spaced side rails, and a plurality of vertically spaced and laterally extending rungs connected to the side rails. The ladder stabilizing device includes an elongate ladder locking member with a pair of spaced-apart locking grips for being releasibly locked in laterally spaced relation onto one of the rungs of the ladder. An elongate attachment member is rigidly coupled at its first end with the ladder locking member. The opposite second end of the attachment member is adapted for being secured to the fixed structure. A releasable fastener is located at the second end of the attachment member for releasibly attaching the stabilizing device to the fixed structure. The fastener and locking grips cooperate to resist pivoting movement of the ladder about either of the side rails and to maintain the base of the ladder in a fixed and stable position on the supporting surface.

This invention relates to a ladder stabilizing device used for holding a ladder, such as a conventional extension ladder or straight ladder, in a stable condition on the ground adjacent to a fixed structure, such as a vertical utility pole. The invention acts to resist pivoting movement of the ladder about either of its side rails and sideways shifting of the ladder, and to maintain the base of the ladder in a preset position relative to the fixed structure.
In maintaining and repairing overhead cable lines, workers commonly use a tall extension ladder or straight ladder to access the lines. Because of the instability of the ladder against the utility pole, a second worker is generally required on ground at the base of the ladder to secure the ladder in position as the first worker climbs to the overhead cable lines. The risk of the ladder shifting from its position against the pole and the worker on the ladder falling and being injured greatly increases in the absence of this second worker. The second worker must be attentive and sufficiently strong to stabilize the ladder if necessary in order to avoid an accident and possible injury.
The present invention obviates the need for a second worker at the base of the ladder by providing a ladder stabilizing device which quickly and easily attaches to a rung of the ladder and to the utility pole. The invention effectively stabilizes the ladder during use by preventing twisting, pivoting movement about a side rail, and sideways shifting of the ladder.


A multi-view auto-stereoscopic display is provided. The multi-view auto-stereoscopic display includes a light source, a first lenticular lens, a display module, and a second lenticular lens. The light source sequentially provides a plurality of light according to a plurality of timings in a cycle. The first lenticular lens is disposed in front of the light source and respectively directs the light from the light source to travel in a plurality of directions. The display module is disposed in front of the first lenticular lens and transforms the light from the first lenticular lens into a plurality of pixel light. The second lenticular lens is disposed in front of the display module and respectively directs the pixel light toward a plurality of views.

In the human body, the positions of the left eye and the right eye are different, and the observed images of the left eye and the right eye have a slight difference, this is the fundamental cause of stereopsis. Auto-stereoscopic televisions use the vision characteristic of the eyes to generate stereopsis.
The conventional method to generate stereopsis in technology uses a spatial multiplexing method, that is, pixels on the screen are divided into different groups by dispersing of the lens to form a plurality of views when light emitting from the pixels converges in the viewing distance. The two eyes of a human observer will observe images in different views, and this will result in the generation of stereopsis.
There are different ways to design an auto-stereoscopic television. However, when the pixels are divided into different views, the resolution may be reduced as well. At the most simple design, the number of views is inversely proportional to the resolution. For example, if the number of views is nine, the resolution drops to ninth. Reducing the decreasing rate of the resolution when the number of the views increases enhances the display effect of an auto-stereoscopic television.


An approach for recommending an activity during travel. The approach includes receiving a request for a travel destination and a desired arrival time. Furthermore, the approach determines a route to the travel destination and retrieves external data based on the route. Based on the retrieved data and the route, the approach calculates and outputs an initial activity list. And the approach measures vehicle dynamics based on one or more motion sensors and updates and outputs the activity list based on the vehicle dynamics.

The present invention relates generally to the field of transportation, and more particularly to accommodating activities for passengers during travel.
Currently, the active driver is considered as a reference for the development of driving dynamics. However, with the ongoing development of autonomous vehicles, at automation level three according to VDI (Vehicle Driving Institute), the active driver becomes an inattentive passenger. New measurements are needed to be perform on the inattentive passenger, who is not able to anticipate movement of the vehicle, as the passenger did not initiate the maneuver (i.e., a driver solely controls the vehicle). Moreover, the inattentive passengers need to be studied since the passengers may be pursuing other activities during driving. To detect corresponding differences in the vibration behavior experienced by the passenger, a wide variety of positions on the passenger's body needs to be measured. For example, motion sickness occurs when there is a mismatch of the seen (by the passenger) compared to the perceived body movement in the vestibular organ of the passenger. This effect (motion sickness) is particularly stronger when the passenger is reading while being driven. The eyes of the passenger look at the quite stable image of the book, but the body experiences acceleration from the ride.
Depending on the level of attention and the possible new activities of the passengers in an autonomous car, such as reading, sleeping, or working, the requirements for the driving dynamics of vehicles will change as well. So far, different attempts have been made to set these requirements as acceleration limits for the vehicle body derived from studies with conventional cars. In a new approach, acceleration requirements could be derived for the passenger instead of the vehicle body. Thus, in the near future, the vehicle processor may not only control the driving dynamics with respect to the vehicle itself, but also with respect to the activities of the passengers.

Activity recommendation based on a real-time mapping between activity characteristics and autonomous vehicle dynamics

International Business Machines Corporation


When the key operation area is pressed, a decision is made about whether the key is pre-registered a single button dialing telephone number or not (step 3). In case a decision is made that a single button dialing telephone number is pre-registered to the key in step 3, the timer starts when the key is pressed (step 6). In case the key is held down for the predetermined period (T1), an operation to instruct single button dialing via a so-called hold-down operation is assumed, thus causing the single button dialing telephone number pre-registered to the key held down to appear on the display (step 8). When a predetermined period (T2) has elapsed with the key held down (step 9), an operation to instruct a call origination to the telephone number on the display is assumed and a call is originated then conversation starts depending on the answer of the distant party (step 10). Keys on the cover can be used to operate keys on the body.

The present invention relates to portable telephone apparatus such as a cellular phone and a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) terminal having the single button dialing feature.
For conventional portable telephone apparatus such as a portable telephone set and a PHS terminal, the user registers distant party telephone numbers in the electronic directory of the built-in storage in advance, and originates a call by retrieving a desired distant party telephone number by scroll-key.
Recently, portable telephone apparatus such as a portable telephone sets and a PHS terminal has spread among a wide range of users. For children in lower grades of an elementary school, it is convenient via portable telephone terminal to be able to easily make contact with a small number of specific distant parties, for example between children and their guardians, between children and their school or between children and nearby relatives such as their grandparents. For elderly people also, it is convenient via portable telephone terminal to be able to easily make contact with a small number of specific distant parties.

Portable telephone apparatus and control method thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Aerosols that include ceragenin compounds (i.e., ceragenin-containing aerosols), methods for delivering such aerosols, and devices for delivering such aerosols. Ceragenins can be used to kill a broad range of microbes (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, bacterial spores, fungal spores, and the like), yet they are thought to be completely non-toxic to humans and other higher eukaryotes. Aerosols can penetrate into the nooks and crannies of a space and kill microbes that may lurk in a space. In addition, ceragenins have a extended mode of action, which allows them to continue killing microbes in a space for an extended period of time.

Eliminating and diminishing harmful microbes (e.g., bacteria, fungi, and viruses and bacterial and fungal spores) is a major concern. In a household, hospital, or food preparation facility setting, for example, harmful microbes may reside on a variety of surfaces and in the air. Such microbes may cause illness, irritation, or exacerbate allergies. Various products are available to reduce or eliminate such microbes.
In the environment, products such as liquid or spray disinfectants may be used to reduce or eliminate harmful microbes. Liquid disinfectants are typically mixed with water and used to clean surfaces such as bathroom/kitchen counters, kitchen sink areas, food preparation areas, walls and baseboards, and the like. These liquid disinfectants and methods of surface cleaning may be effective in reducing microbial contamination. For example, liquid disinfectants can be effective in reducing microbial contamination by simple cleaning action or through the use of anti-microbial agents. However, such compositions are only effective in the areas directly contacted by the composition. In addition, many anti-microbial compounds are associated with the development of resistance, particularly among bacteria.
When harmful microbes cause infection in a body (e.g., a human or animal body), antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and the like are generally prescribed. For example, antibiotics such as penicillin and penicillin derivatives may be used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. However, it is often necessary to administer antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and the like systemically even though the site of infection may be localized. In addition, as with anti-microbials used for environmental decontamination, many antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and the like are associated with the development of resistance.

Aerosols incorporating ceragenin compounds and methods of use thereof


A photographic film is connected with a leader by engagement with an engaging piece provided on the leader. The film is then conveyed by being pulled by the leader since engaging holes in the film are engageable with engaging pieces provided on a leader. The engaging holes are formed at a leading end portion of a photographic film. Portions of the photographic film around the engaging holes are reinforced by adhering a reinforcement piece to the leading end portion of the photographic film, thereby preventing the photographic film from being torn at the engaging holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an undeveloped photographic film which is to be developed by a film developing apparatus of a leader-convey type.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, when a photographic film is developed by an automatic film developing apparatus of the leader-convey type, the undeveloped photographic film is connected with a flexible leader and is conveyed after the leader along a film conveyance path of a developing device.
The leader and the photographic film are generally connected by adhering a splice tape thereto. However, this requires a splice gauge in order to connect the photographic film in a specified position of the leader. Further, when the photographic film is separated by cutting after development, the splice tape remains on the leader making it necessary to peel the splice tape back from the leader so that the leader can be reused. Thus, this type of connection is very cumbersome.
Further, this connection is not economical because the splice tape cannot be reused.
In order to solve such a problem, a film connecting construction of a film-hook type in which an engaging piece is provided on a leader and an engaging hole is formed at the leading end of a photographic film has been proposed. In this construction the engaging piece is engaged with the engaging hole.
In the automatic film developing apparatus of a leader-convey type, the film is pulled by the leader that is conveyed before it. Accordingly, a resistance produced during the movement of the film acts on the connecting portion with the leader. In the film connecting construction of a film-hook type, a pulling force acts on the engaging hole formed at the leading end of the film. Accordingly, if the film is caught during the conveyance, the film may be torn at the engaging hole. Particularly, since a 135 film taken up into a cartridge is thinner than an APS film, it is likely to be torn if the film catches in the processing.


An infrared cut filter includes: a transparent dielectric substrate; an infrared reflecting layer formed on one surface of the transparent dielectric substrate and configured to reflect infrared light; and an infrared absorbing layer formed on the other surface of the transparent dielectric substrate and configured to absorb infrared light. The infrared absorbing layer is formed by encapsulating infrared absorbing pigment in a matrix containing silica, formed by a sol-gel method, as a main component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an infrared cut filter and an imaging apparatus in which an infrared cut filter is used.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semiconductor solid-state imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) is built in imaging apparatus such as digital cameras. The sensitivity of these solid-state imaging devices extends from a visible spectrum range to an infrared spectrum range. For this reason, an infrared cut filter for shielding infrared light is provided between an imaging lens system and a solid-state imaging device in the imaging apparatus. The infrared cut filter enables calibrating the sensitivity of the solid-state imaging device to approximate the spectral sensitivity of human beings.
Infrared cut filters used in the related art include those manufactured by forming an infrared reflecting layer including a dielectric multilayer film on a resin substrate (see, for example, patent document 1).
[patent document 1] JP2005-338395
However, an infrared reflecting layer including a dielectric multilayer has incident angle dependence in which infrared shielding property varies depending on the incident angle. Therefore, the central part of an image capturing light transmitted through the infrared reflecting layer may look different in color from the periphery thereof.
Also, an infrared cut filter is required to have high abrasion resistance and environmental resistance because it is provided in front of a solid-state imaging device.

Infrared cut filter and imaging apparatus


A cell library stores a plurality of standard layout cells. A functional integrated circuit design is received, and a plurality of the standard layout cells are selected from the cell library based on the received functional integrated circuit design. A first standard layout cell from the cell library that is selected based on the received functional integrated circuit design includes a buffer circuit having an input terminal, an output terminal, a first voltage terminal and a second voltage terminal, and an antenna protection circuit connected between the input terminal and the second voltage terminal.

Integrated circuits typically include thousands of components having complex interrelationships. These circuits are generally designed using highly automated processes known as electronic design automation (EDA). EDA begins from a functional specification provided in a hardware description language (HDL) and continues through the specification of a circuit design including the specification of elementary circuit components called cells, the physical arrangement of the cells, and the wiring that interconnects the cells. The cells implement logic or other electronic functions using a particular integrated circuit technology.
EDA can be divided into a series of stages such as synthesis, placement, routing, etc. Each of these steps can involve selecting cells from a library of cells. Typically, a very large number of different circuit designs using various cell combinations can meet a functional specification for a circuit.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.