A component for the transmission of light of high energy density with a wavelength between 250 nm and 400 nm is made of synthetic, high-purity fused vitreous silica having a hydroxyl ion content in the range between 50 ppm and 1200 ppm and an under-stoichiometric content of oxygen for the achievement of a minimal transmission variation in the transmission of the light.

The invention relates to a component for the transmission of light of high energy density with a wavelength between 250 nm and 400 nm, made of synthetic, high-purity fused vitreous silica, with a light input area having a light entry surface, a light output area having a light exit surface, and a light transmission portion disposed between the light input area and the light output area, and to the use of the component.
Such components are used for the transmission of ultraviolet light of high energy density, especially for the transmission of the light of excimer lasers, for the processing of materials, or in the medical field for the treatment of vascular diseases, or in ophthalmology. The use of such components for the transmission of laser radiation int he ultraviolet spectral range is limited, however, by what is known as "photodegradation." This refers to the reduction of transmission due to the attenuation induced by the high-energy radiation. This effect of "photodegradation," which is all the more pronounced the greater the energy density of the light to be transmitted is, has been observed also at the excimer laser wavelengths of 351 nm (Xf), 308 nm (XeCl) and 248 nm (KrF). In addition to plainly visible macroscopic defects, such as fusion of the surface, spalling or cracking, the reduction of transmission can be caused by microscopic faults in the glass structure.
In the paper written by Rod S. Taylor et al., "Dependence of the damage and transmission properties of fused silica fibers on the excimer laser wavelength," published in Applied Optics, Vol. 27, No. 15 (1988), the radiation resistance of components is studied in regard to the transmission of certain excimer laser radiation in the wavelength range of 193 nm to 351 nm. The components tested are fibers of undoped, synthetic fused vitreous silica with a hydroxyl ion content between 325 ppm and 1200 ppm. It is shown that, with the exception of the 351 nm excimer laser wavelength, the transmission of the fibers diminishes with increasing time of operation, but some time after irradiation by the high-energy laser light, a partial recovery of the transmission is to be observed. Furthermore, in this article, in a direct comparison of the changes in the transmission of fused silica fibers with a hydroxyl ion content of 400 ppm in comparison with those with 1200 ppm, it was found that, at the same wavelength and the same energy of the radiation transmitted by the fibers, the fibers with a hydroxyl ion content of 400 ppm underwent the least alteration of their transmission.
An article by C. Whitehurst et al., "Ultraviolet pulse transmission in optical fibers," Journal of Modern Optics, 1988, vol. 35, No. 3, 371-385, describes components which consist of a fused vitreous silica containing up to 1500 ppm of hydroxyl ions, and having a "destruction threshold" that tends toward the higher energy densities in comparison to pure, "dry" vitreous silica. In this article is described also the formation of components from fused vitreous silica containing hydroxyl ions, having a light input section with a light entry surface, a light output section with a light exit surface, and a light transmission section disposed between the light input section and the light output section, in which the light input section is in the form of a cone tapering in the direction in which the light enters.
From the paper, "Defects and Stress Phenomena in Optical Fibers," by H. Nishikawa et al., Proc. OFC, 1989, Paper THII, measurements of the absorption of optical fibers have become known, in which the fibers are characterized by their content of oxygen ions, the method of their manufacture, their chlorine ion content and their hydroxyl ion content. On the fibers with an under-stoichiometric content of oxygen an absorption was measured at 245 nm, and this absorption band is associated with a kind of defect intrinsically present on account of the under-stoichiometric oxygen content of the glass structure, namely so-called "oxygen vacancies." Similar measurements have also been published by R. Tohmon et al. in the paper, "Correlation of the 5.0- and 7.6-eV absorption bands in SiO.sub.2 with oxygen vacancy," Physical Review B, Vol. 39 (1989), No. 2. On the basis of measurements and corresponding calculations it is shown that the absorption bands at 5.0 eV (245 nm) observed in different high-purity fused silicas are to be attributed to oxygen vacancies and other oxygen-deficit defects. The fused silicas used for the measurements are also characterized by the nature of their manufacture and by their contents of chlorine ions and hydroxyl ions.
In connection with high-energy radiation in the wavelength range between 250 nm and 400 nm the known components of fused silica show a decrease of transmission from the start of the light input. Starting out from an initial value, the transmission of the components diminishes down to a "plateau" after which it changes only slightly even through fairly long operation. It has been found that these changes of the transmission from its initial level to the "plateau" definitely increase as the energy density of the radiation being transmitted increases. For a great number of applications, however, great changes in transmission during the use of the component are not tolerable. Since it is precisely the maximum transmittable energy density that is the deciding parameter for most applications, the usefulness of the known components is greatly restricted by the effect of this "photodegradation."

Component for the transmission of high-energy light, and the application of the component


A foam-generating kit contains a non-aerosol container with a foam-generating dispenser and a high surfactant microemulsion or protomicroemulsion composition having at least 20 wt % of a surfactant system and 0.5 wt % glycerol.

Compositions containing high levels of surfactant, such as concentrated dish washing compositions, hand soap compositions, shampoo compositions, laundry compositions, scrubbing compositions, etc. are well known and have typically provided in a liquid, a gel or a paste. While liquids and pastes may be useful in a variety of situations, such physical forms are no longer considered new and exciting. Also, while it is desirable to provide new and interesting physical forms, the use of the above compositions has typically been limited to application or pre-application of such liquids, gels and pastes into a substrate, and then the additional step of direct application to the desired surface.
While it is known to employ a foam-generating dispenser to make low-surfactant level compositions foam (i.e., body washes containing >12% surfactant), this approach has not to date succeeded for high surfactant microemulsion or protoemulsion compositions, as there is typically a direct correlation between increased surfactant levels and increased viscosity. Specifically, the rheology of high surfactant microemulsion or protoemulsion compositions makes it difficult to achieve acceptable foam without extremely turbulent and violent flow characteristics. As such turbulent flow characteristics often require excessive physical exertion or a highly-pressurized container, the practical result is that formulators are often required to lower the viscosity of their products so as to match the limitations of the foam-generating dispensers currently on the market. Therefore, this approach imparts an artificial, physical constraint upon formulators' freedom to achieve the best performing and/or lowest cost composition if foam-generation is desired.
Because of these physical constraints, solvent systems for such compositions may utilize solvents such as water, ethanol or propylene glycol to achieve the foam-generation desired. Glycerol is a polar compound known to have a relatively higher viscosity than water or ethanol or propylene glycol. It is derived from natural materials such as triglycerides and provides a non-petroleum derived materials useful in microemulsion and protoemulsions having high surfactant levels. Use of glycerol and/or propylene glycol in oil-in-water microemulsions is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,180 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,228 as an optional solubilizing agent.
Accordingly, the need exists for a foam-generating dispenser which is able to produce foam from a high surfactant microemulsion or protoemulsion composition and to provide improved cleaning of surfaces such as dishes. The need further exists for a foam-generating dispenser which may produce such foam, without the need for excessive physical exertion, and/or the need to use an aerosol propellant with the use of a petroleum-derived solvent, such as glycerol.

Foam-generating kit containing a foam-generating dispenser and a composition containing a high level of surfactant


The sheet conveyance apparatus includes a controller which controls a moving unit. The moving unit moves a sheet conveyance unit for conveying a sheet toward a direction intersecting with a sheet conveyance direction. The controller performs the control such that a moving speed of a shift moving unit is reduced when a shift amount of the sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus main body is small. Therefore, generation of a noise and vibration can be suppressed to save electric power consumption. When the shift amount of the sheet is large, the moving speed of the shift moving unit can be increased to shorten an operation time necessary to the movement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and a multi function peripheral, a sheet conveyance apparatus which conveys an image-formed sheet (recording medium), and a sheet processing apparatus which performs processing to the sheet. Particularly the invention relates to the sheet processing apparatus, in which noises and vibration are suppressed, electric power consumption is saved, and productivity is improved by variably controlling a shift moving speed in a horizontal direction according to a shift amount when the sheets are automatically sorted.
2. Description of the Related Art
The sheet processing apparatus included in an image forming apparatus main body performs various kinds of processing. For example, the sheet processing apparatus bundles the plural image-formed sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus main body in each set, and the sheet processing apparatus performs saddle stitch processing to the bundled sheets. The sheet processing apparatus includes a sheet discharge tray which is moved in the horizontal direction parallel to a short side of the sheet while a sheet position is repeatedly shifted. In the sheet discharge tray (hereinafter referred to as shift movement), and the sheets or the processed sheet bundles are automatically sorted while stacked at the positions alternately offset in the horizontal direction.
However, when the shift movement of a large member such as the sheet discharge tray is alternately performed in the horizontal direction, the sheet processing apparatus is enlarged only by placing a drive mechanism of the sheet discharge tray, and the electric power consumption is also increased.
In order to solve the above problem, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S61-033459 proposes the following sheet sorting device. In the sheet sorting device proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S61-033459, a sheet-discharge rotating roller is rotated and the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge tray by rotating frictional force of the sheet-discharge rotating roller, or the sheet bundle to which the saddle stitch processing or the like is performed in the sheet processing apparatus is discharged to the sheet discharge tray. In discharging the sheet, the shift movement is alternately performed in the horizontal direction by moving the rotating roller along with a rotating shaft in the direction of a rotating axial line, i.e., in the direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction. Therefore, the sheets or the sheet bundles are stacked on the sheet discharge tray while alternately offset in the horizontal direction.
When the rotating rollers are moved along with the rotating shafts in the axial line direction, it is necessary that the rotating rollers differ from each other in the shift amount according to a size of the sheet. However, in the conventional sheet sorting device, the speeds of the rotating rollers for discharging the sheet are set at a constant value by averaging the speeds at which the rotating rollers are moved along with the rotating shafts to alternately perform the shift movement in the horizontal direction of the rotating axial line. Therefore, there is the following problem to be solved.
In the rotating roller in which the necessary shift movement is small, the electric power consumption cannot be expected. This is because the rotating roller is set at a speed suitable for the large shift amount, even if the operating sound or the vibration of a drive mechanism can be suppressed by reducing the shift speed.
In the rotating roller in which the necessary shift movement is large, the productivity improvement cannot be expected. This is because the rotating roller is set at a speed suitable for the small shift amount, although an operating time can be shortened by increasing shift speed as much as possible to complete the shift.

Sheet conveyance apparatus, sheet processing apparatus, and image forming apparatus


An apparatus includes an integrated circuit that includes a processing core and a direct memory access (DMA) engine. The DMA engine is adapted to process descriptors to control DMA communications. The descriptors contain data indicating communication endpoints that are associated with the DMA communications. The DMA engine is adapted to use other data contained in at least one of the descriptors to control branching of descriptor execution among multiple execution paths.

One way to communicate data between a system memory and a peripheral component of a computer system is for a central processing unit (CPU) to serve as an intermediary for the communication. For example, to transfer data from the system memory to the peripheral component, the CPU may perform the transfer by initiating the appropriate read operations to retrieve the data from the system memory and initiating the appropriate write operations to store the retrieved data in the memory of the peripheral component. For purposes of reducing CPU overhead, the computer system may employ direct memory access (DMA) in which a DMA engine of the peripheral component directly accesses the system memory to transfer the data. The CPU typically programs the DMA engine to set up the parameters for the transfer, such as the source and destination addresses and the number of bytes to transfer.

System and method for regulating direct memory access descriptor among multiple execution paths by using a link to define order of executions


The present invention provides an O-Ring mounted in a square shaped chamber in a housing. The O-Ring contains a groove adapted to move the O-Ring inner bore toward the center of the shaft in response to a pressurized fluid. The chamber is fed by a liquid or a gas. Internal pressure in the housing created primarily by rotation of the shaft, or by a pump from an outside source, feeds fluid to the chamber through openings in the housing, thereby expanding the O-Ring to lightly contact the shaft. This is a major benefit over conventional O-Rings, seals and prior art that enables the O-Ring to provide minimum drag and maximum sealing of internal lubricants for bearing operation. Another major benefit of this self-adjusting O-Ring is that it automatically compensates for wear, increasing its service life to many times that of conventional O-Rings.

O-Rings having elastic qualities have been known for many years as seals for bearings. Examples of such rings are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,035 to Boyd, dated Aug. 16, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,415 to Thompson, dated Jul. 17, 1973; U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,563 to De Puydt et al., dated Jul. 11, 1967; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,109,680 to Neveling, Sr., dated Mar. 1, 1938.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,106 to Wheelock, dated Aug. 13, 1974, discloses an elastomeric ring with a pressure sensitive lip seal 14.
A problem with the prior art is that their seals are limited in performance and do not allow for misalignment of shafts. Also when the surface of these rings wear , from contact with the shaft, sealing pressure is lost. The seal is no longer maintained and the O-Ring must be replaced.

Self-adjusting O-ring seal product to retain internal bearing lubricants and pneumatic pressures


A razor is provided, including a handle to be gripped by a user, a power generation unit disposed in the handle and configured to provide rotational power, a drive transmission unit coupled to the power generation unit and configured to be rotated by the rotational power, a cartridge including a blade housing on which one or more blades are seated, and a drive receiving unit formed at one side of the cartridge and configured to be in contact with the drive transmission unit to cause the blade housing to perform a linear movement in response to rotation of the drive transmission unit, wherein the cartridge is coupled to the handle such that the cartridge is pivotable about a pivot axis perpendicular to a rotational axis of the power generation unit, and wherein the pivot axis intersects the drive transmission unit.

A razor generally includes a handle that can be grasped by the user, and a cartridge capable of cutting the body hair.
Related art includes a razor capable of providing a vibration force to the razor cartridge in the upward and downward for providing compression/distension motion for cutting the body/facial hairs. However, the prior art lacks razor configurations which provide pivoting of the cartridge or linear movement in the direction of the body/facial hairs being cut, and thus have reduced cutting efficiency and provide reduced shaving comfort. The problems of the related art are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned problems can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art.
The present disclosure seeks to provide a razor, in particular, a razor including therein a blade housing with blades for body/facial hair cutting installed in such a way to allow an automatic linear movement in the direction of the body/facial hairs being cut, thereby increasing the cutting efficiency, and to allow pivoting of the cartridge, thereby enhancing the user's shaving comfort.


A differential amplifier with surge protection is described. The differential amplifier includes a first output driver device, a second output driver device, a first replica device, a second replica device, a current comparator, and a clamp circuit. The first replica device is configured to be a replica of the first output driver device. The second replica device is configured to be a replica of the second output driver device. The current comparator is configured to generate a threshold current, and to compare the threshold current to a first current through the first replica device and a second current through the second replica device. The clamp circuit is configured to limit a third current through the first output driver device and a fourth current through the second output driver device if the current comparator determines that the threshold current is greater than the first current or the second current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surge protection for amplifiers.
2. Background Art
An amplifier is a device used for increasing the power and/or amplitude of a signal. Different types of amplifiers exist, with each amplifier type defined as an amplifier "class." Example amplifier classes include class A, which is a more linear, less complex, and less power efficient class of amplifier, and classes A/B, B, C, D, etc., which are less linear and more complex than class A amplifiers, but are more power efficient. Such amplifiers may be used many types of applications.
Line drivers, power amplifiers and further amplifier circuits often drive very high power signals onto very low ohmic loads, such as antennas, phone lines, cables, and other such media. Due to the high power nature of these circuits, amplifier classes other than class A (e.g., class A/B, B, C, D, etc.) may be desirable to achieve high power efficiency. For class A differential amplifiers, the maximum load current is limited by a fixed current source. For higher class amplifiers, output current values are governed by the resistive load and the signal amplitude level.
In many wired applications, the signal lines driven by these amplifiers can be disconnected or connected at will by a user or technician independent of whether the amplifier is transmitting. As a result, a potential exists that the signal line will be accidentally shorted, causing a momentary surge in current. This shorting may cause permanent damage to the amplifier integrated circuit chip due to a resulting large power dissipation by the amplifier, or device breakdown. Even in line driver applications, where many implementations utilize line impedance back-match resistors, an accidental short may still result in dissipation of twice the line power, and may potentially damage the amplifier integrated circuit chip. Thus, ways for avoiding damage to amplifiers due to such shorting are desired.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Closed loop surge protection technique for differential amplifiers


An electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a fixer for heating a printing paper while feeding the same; a cooling device for cooling the fixer; a paper transport device for supplying the printing paper to the fixer; and a controller for receiving a print command including a specification of printing conditions and controlling the fixer, the cooling device, and the paper transport device, wherein the controller includes: a device that controls the fixer to change the velocity that the fixer feeds the printing paper during a printing job according to the printing conditions, and a device that controls the cooling device to change the cooling performance of the cooling device during the printing job according to the velocity of the fixer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a method of cooling control thereof.
2. Related Art
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a part which generates a large amount of heat such as a fixer, and a cooling device (typically, a cooling fan) for cooling the same. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 3-81783 (for example, from the 9th line in a lower right column in p. 5 to the 14th line in an upper left column in p. 6) discloses control of a cooling fan in the image forming apparatus and, in particular, a control method intended to reduce a noise of the cooling fan especially during stand-by. According to this method in the related art, the cooling fan is operated at a constant velocity at a high number of revolutions during an image forming operation, is operated at a constant velocity at a low number of revolutions immediately after the termination of the image forming operation while the temperature is high, and is operated intermittently at a low number of revolutions when the temperature during waiting is not high.
In view of reduction of power consumption due to driving of the cooling fan, the control method of the cooling fan according to the related art is not yet satisfactory.

Image forming apparatus and method of cooling control thereof


The present invention relates to a vehicle door which is mounted via a hinge (14) to an upper edge portion of a door opening portion (12) that is formed on a vehicle body and which is pivotable in an up-down direction and which includes a door body (15) formed of metal, a decorative member (18) that is attached to a vehicle outer side of a lower portion of the door body (15), an outer plate portion (30) which is mounted on the decorative member (18) and disposed to be spaced apart from a vehicle outer side surface of the door body (15) and which has a predetermined width in the up-down direction and extends over a substantially overall width in a door width direction, a bottom plate portion (31) which is mounted on the decorative member (18) and extends from a lower end of the outer plate portion (30) to a vehicle inner side so as to be directed to a position lower than a lower end of the door body (15), and a protruding plate portion (32) which is provided on the decorative member (18) and protrudes upward from a position close to a vehicle inner side tip of the bottom plate portion (31), the protruding plate portion having an upper end extending further upward than the lower end of the door body (15) and being continuously formed in a direction from a position close to a first end portion to a position close to a second end portion of the outer plate portion (30) in the door width direction, the protruding plate portion being in contact with the vehicle outer side surface of a lower end portion of the door body (15).

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vehicle door.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-285690, filed on Dec. 27, 2011.
2. Background Art
A door having a structure in which a garnish (a decorative member) is mounted on an outer side of a metal-based door body has been known as a vehicle door, such as a tail gate.
A tail gate has been disclosed in, for example, PTL1. In this tail gate, an outer plate portion which extends, in an up-down direction, on a vehicle outer side of a door body and which forms a design surface and a lower end extension plate portion which extends, substantially horizontally in an in-out direction of a vehicle interior, from a lower end edge portion of the outer plate portion are provided on a lower garnish which is mounted on a lower portion of the door body. Furthermore, attachment seat portions are provided on a part of the lower end extension plate portion, and a frame unit of the door body, which is constituted by a steel plate material, is clipped onto the attachment seat portions and comes into contact therewith.


A fuel level measuring system for a liquid fuel tank may utilize a primary sender gage assembly employing at least a primary sender gage, a primary sender arm, and a primary sender float. The system may further utilize a secondary sender gage assembly employing at least a secondary sender gage, a secondary sender arm, and a secondary sender float. A dash indicator may display a fuel level of fuel within the fuel tank based upon resistances from the sender gages. The primary sender float and the secondary sender gage are contained within a single unit that is buoyant in liquid fuel. The fuel tank may have a top dome portion and a bottom dome portion that the secondary sender float is capable of occupying while the sender gages transmit a signal corresponding to fuel levels in the tank.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. Most modern vehicles, such as automobiles, are equipped with fuel tanks to carry on-board liquid fuel for use in an on-board internal combustion engine, which is used to power the vehicle. Because the liquid fuel in the tank is depleted with use of the internal combustion engine, most fuel tanks are equipped with an in-tank sender gage to indicate the level of fuel to a driver at all times. While most gages are satisfactory for their given applications, many fuel tanks on cars today are made from plastic and to a lesser extent steel, and are molded to fit into very tight spaces, such as around the car body, frame or other components. Because of the varying geometry of modern fuel tanks, traditional fuel gages do not provide accurate readings for all or most levels of fuel within the modern tanks.
FIG. 7 depicts a prior art arrangement of a fuel sender gage 100 arranged on a side of a fuel pump module reservoir 102. The fuel sender gage 100 has a fuel sender arm 104 with one end of the fuel sender arm 104 attached to the fuel sender 100 and a second end of the fuel sender arm attached to a float 106. In the existing art, float 106 is able to travel between bottom 108 of fuel tank 110 to a maximum position noted by float 106, when fuel sender arm 104 moves a maximum position noted as angle Tmax. Float 106 remains within base rectangular structure 112, or non-domed area 112, of the fuel tank 110 and does not move into dome area 118 of fuel tank 110. Even when the fuel tank 110 is filled, and fuel occupies area 114 of the fuel tank 110, the position noted by float 106 remains unchanged. Thus, fuel sender gage 100 does not register a change in fuel level until fuel level 116, which occupies dome area 118, decreases to fuel level 120 or lower. The inability to measure a fuel level beyond fuel level 120 is a limitation of the current art.

Multi-joint fuel level sender gage assembly


A group code which is a code indicating a user group, an identification code which is a unique code assigned to each group, and image formation frequency data which is data indicating a frequency of image forming operations by each group are stored in a storage unit, related to each other. After receiving an identification code from an input unit, an identification code judging unit judges whether the received identification code matches any identification code stored in the storage unit. If an identification code judging unit judges that the received identification code matches a stored identification code, a calculating unit calculates the frequency of image forming operations performed after the identification code is received, and the image formation frequency data of the group in the storage unit corresponding to the received identification code is rewritten according to the frequency of image forming operations calculated by the calculating unit.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine or a printer, and a monitor system which can monitor the frequency of image formation performed by different groups of users.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Copying machines are often shared by sections in an organization such as a firm. In such case, the number of copies made by each section which uses the copying machines is monitored for budget control and other purposes.
Conventionally, to monitor the number of copies made by each section, section numbers which indicate each section, and secret identification codes which are allocated to each section (hereinafter called "IDs") are registered beforehand After a user inputs the ID of his/her section, the user is permitted to make copies, with the number of copies made by the user's section being counted.
For this purpose, a memory in a conventional copying machine is provided with a section monitor storage unit for storing the number of copies made by each section and a section monitor table for storing IDs which are allocated to each section. For instance, the section monitor storage unit may have 100 storage areas, each section number may correspond with the address numbers (001-100) in the storage unit, and the number of copies made by a section indicated by an address number may be stored in the corresponding address area. On the other hand, in the section monitor table, IDs which are assigned to each section and the address numbers which correspond with each section in the section monitor storage unit are recorded, with the IDs and the address numbers being related to each other.
In such a copying machine, a user who wishes to make copies inputs the ID of his/her section and is permitted to make copies only when the ID is registered in the section monitor table. An address corresponding with the ID is read from the section monitor table and the number of copies made by the user after receiving permission is added to the number stored in the storage area of the read address number.
With the copying monitor method described above, users are permitted to make copies after a certain ID is inputted. The number of copies is stored in a storage area of an address number that matches a section number which corresponds with the ID in the section monitor storage unit. As a result, the number of copies made by each section can be easily monitored.
In the monitoring method described above, memory addresses are described as corresponding with section numbers. This means that in a large firm with 1000 or more sections, it is necessary to provide as many storage areas in the section monitor storage unit and in the section monitor table as there are sections in the entire firm.
However, it seems unrealistic that a specific copying machine would be used by 100 or more sections even if the total number of sections in the firm is 1000, because each section or each group of sections will usually have its own copying machine. If each copying machine is provided with storage areas for 1000 sections regardless of such reality, a large amount of memory will go to waste. Also, should the number of sections happen to exceed 1000, the memory will need to be expanded to register the excess sections. These things are problematic.
To avoid such problems, the storage area of each copying machine may be given 100 address numbers, with sections which are likely to use the copying machine being listed and the section numbers being assigned in each copying machine separately. The number of copies corresponding with each section may be recorded in an address number in accordance with a section number assigned in each copying machine.
By doing so, however, the same address number of each copying machine is assigned to different sections. For instance, the address number 001 of the copying machine A may be assigned to the general affairs department and the address number 001 of the copying machine B may be assigned to the accounts department. This can cause confusion when the number of copies made by each section is totaled for all of the copying machines.
In the case where the number of copies made by each section is monitored by a host computer which is wired up to the plurality of copying machines, it is necessary to register the address numbers in each copy machine for each section, making the totaling process extremely complex.

Image forming apparatus having a function for monitoring the number of formed images


A method and apparatus for induction sealing of a packaging material which includes a layer of aluminum foil. The apparatus includes an inductor with two parallel slightly spaced apart conductors which are disposed in an electrically insulated carrier portion. The conductors are connected to one another and to a high frequency current source by two transverse conductors. The transverse conductors are placed in the upper surface of the inductor and coincide with the outer defining lines of a flat-laid tube of packaging material.

It has long been known in the packaging industry to employ packaging materials comprising core layers of, for example, paper or paperboard and outer layers of thermoplastic, which outer layers may be sealed to one another by fusion after heating and compression, so as obtain tight and durable sealing joints or seams.
According to one method of production of single-use disposable packages which has been put to large scale use, a web of packaging material is formed into a tube in that the longitudinal edges of the web are united to one another in an overlap joint and the web edges are sealed to one another. The thus formed tube can then be filled with the intended contents, such as, for example, liquid or pumpable foods, whereafter the filled tube is divided into individual packaging containers by transverse sealing of the tube along narrow zones which are applied in uniform spaced apart relationship from one another. Thereafter, the closed tube sections are separated from the rest of the tube, for the formation of individual packaging containers.
The sealing of the packaging material will be considerably facilitated if the packaging material includes a layer of metal foil, preferably aluminium foil, which also constitutes the barrier layer of the packaging material and protects the enclosed product. By inducing, in the aluminium layer of the packaging material, electric currents with the aid of a so-called inductor or coil which basically consists of an electric conductor formed into the desired configuration and forming one or more coil turns which are connected to a current source which supplies the coil with high frequency alternating current. Frequencies of 500 kHz and 1.8 MHz are generally employed.
When a high frequency current is passed through the coil or inductor, a high frequency magnetic field occurs around the coil or inductor and, if the coil is placed adjacent a material which includes a metal layer, induction currents are induced in this metal layer which give rise to a heat generation in those parts where the current is led. The heat generated in the metal foil layer is readily conducted over to adjacent layers of thermoplastic such as, for example, polyethylene, which are thereby caused to soften or melt. If the material layers in which heat is generated are compressed against another similar material layer with a thermoplastic coating, the thermoplastic coatings will, in the region of the heating, fuse together for the formation of a tight and durable seal joint.
In order to concentrate the magnetic field and obtain narrow heating zones, it is appropriate to dispose the inductor as close to the metal layer as possible, i.e. the inductor should be pressed against the material which is to be sealed. In order further to improve the sealing joint, the inductor may be designed so that the surface of the inductor facing towards the packaging material is provided, along a part of its surface, with a projecting ridge in order further to amplify the sealing pressure. An inductor according to the above description is disclosed in, for example, Swedish Patent Specification SE-451 974.
One problem inherent in all inductors of the above-outlined type is, however, the difficulty in obtaining a uniform seal transversely across the entire surface which is constituted by the flat-laid packaging material tube so that both the central zone of the transverse seal and the edge zone will have a tight and durable seal. When the induced current reaches the edge of the packaging material web, there is nothing to conduct the current further, with the result that, when the current approaches the packaging material edge, it deflects gradually off to the opposite side where the current is counter-directed. There will thus be a lower current density and thereby lower power output density furthest out towards the edge of the packaging material. Previously, this has been compensated for by increasing the power output so that it is sufficient also to seal right out to the outermost edge of the packaging material.
For packed products of a liquid nature, such as, for instance water, juice or milk, a power output increase to compensate for reduced power output density at the edge of the material web functions quite satisfactorily, but for thick or viscous products such as, for example, tomato puree or paste and the like, it has proved extremely difficult to obtain a tight and uniform seal joint transversely across the entire packaging material tube, since it is not possible to raise the power output limitlessly. An excessive high power output will negatively affect the central region of the packaging material tube, in that the thermoplastic is converted in plastic droplets, so-called plastic spray, which may affect the tightness and quality of the finished package.

Apparatus and a method for induction sealing


A large-aperture telephoto lens system includes a positive first lens group, a negative second lens group, and a positive third lens group, in that order from the object side, wherein the second lens group serves as a focusing lens group which is moved during focusing on an object at infinity to an object at a finite distance,                wherein the following conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied:−4<f/f2<−3  (1), and1.3<f/f3<2.3  (2),wherein f designates the focal length of the entire large-aperture telephoto lens system, f2 designates the focal length of the second lens group, and f3 designates the focal length of the third lens group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a large-aperture telephoto lens system, and in particular, relates to an internal focusing large-aperture telephoto lens system which is suitable for use in an electronic still camera, in which a miniature solid-state image sensor is installed.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, an internal focusing telephoto lens system has been proposed with the objective of facilitating the focusing process and reducing the burden on the autofocus drive mechanism. In an internal focusing telephoto lens system, compared to a totally-telescoping lens system, it is possible to reduce movement distance of a focusing lens group that moves in the optical axis direction during a focusing operation and to reduce the weight of the focusing lens group. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H08-122629 (Patent Literature 1), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H09-159911 (Patent Literature 2), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-107616 (Patent Literature 3), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-145584 (Patent Literature 4) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-186609 (Patent Literature 5), internal focusing telephoto lens systems are disclosed which are configured of a positive first lens group, a negative second lens group and a positive third lens group, in that order from the object side, in which the second lens group is moved in the optical axis direction upon a focusing on an object at infinity through to an object at a finite distance.
On the other hand, miniature electronic still cameras, in which an image sensor that is sufficiently smaller than a conventional 35 mm or APS frame size, have been developed. In recent years, high specifications, especially in regard to a larger aperture diameter, have been in demand in the optical system used in such miniature electronic still cameras. Increasing the aperture diameter of an optical system is equivalent to increasing the effective aperture diameter of the lens groups, through which the axial light bundle passes. However, if the diameter and the weight of the focusing lens group increase, the burden on the autofocus drive mechanism increases. Furthermore, it also becomes difficult to attain a high imaging quality.
Such a telephoto lens system used in a miniature electronic still camera can be achieved by scaling down the optical system of a large-aperture telephoto lens system that is suitable for a convention large-sized image sensor such as those disclosed in Patent Literature 1 through 5. However, merely scaling down the optical system still results in the effective diameter of the focusing lens group being too big for use as a lens group for use in the above-described miniature camera. Whereas, if attempts are made to reduce the lens diameters in order to reduce the burden on the autofocus drive mechanism, it becomes difficult to achieve a high imaging quality.
In each of the telephoto lens systems disclosed in Patent Literature 1 through 5, since the optical-power balance is set inappropriately in each lens group of the optical system, the movement amount of the focusing lens group during focusing is large, the effective aperture diameter of the focusing lens group is large and the weight of the focusing lens group is large, thereby increasing the burden on the autofocus drive mechanism, and correction of various aberrations, such as spherical aberration, that occur during a focusing operation becomes difficult, so that the optical quality deteriorates.
Furthermore, in the internal focusing telephoto lens systems disclosed in Patent Literature 1 through 5, since the spherical aberration correction and coma correction in the first lens group, which has a strong positive refractive power, are inappropriate, a high imaging quality cannot be achieved and the aperture diameter cannot be suitably enlarged.


Transaction storm detection includes receiving a series of transactions in a data stream for an authenticated network session. A detection engine determines whether the transactions form a transaction storm. In response to determining that the transactions are a transaction storm, metrics associated with the transaction storm are presented. One or more actions may be specified to be applied in a subsequently detected transaction storm.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter generally relate to the field of transactional computer systems, and, more particularly, to controlling transaction storms on transactional computer systems.
It is common for database applications, enterprise messaging and collaboration applications to have streams sending units of work (i.e., transactions) to various types of services resident on servers. It is possible that services can be overwhelmed by the load caused by high numbers of transactions, which can cause and have caused catastrophic failure. In hosting these solutions in Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings, sessions and streams can persist and the sources of potentially destructive load increase in number. Servers, even clustered servers, typically have hard, finite resources and when the available resources are inequitably consumed, normal production throughput is endangered. Service outages can be quite costly to a business. For example, in a typical SaaS business where up time is linked directly to revenue, the cost of such outages can be high. During these outages, software support and on-premise administrative personnel can struggle to determine where the offending stream is originating and then attempt to determine both tactical and strategic approaches to alleviate it. The proliferation of third-party middleware and custom solutions creates variations of configurations that can make it difficult to describe or contain the flow of transactions such that resources are equitably consumed.

Session-based server transaction storm controls

International Business Machines Corporation


Embodiments of the present invention provide an inspection method for detecting a physical defect of a magnetic disk with high sensitivity without increasing the length of inspection time. In a magnetic disk drive according to one embodiment, the assembling of which has been completed, by reading inspection data written to a magnetic disk, a defect of the magnetic disk is detected in a state in which a read error occurs. Redundant bits of an ECC are added to the inspection data. If a head corresponding to a recording surface to be inspected has superior read performance, an ECC 2 is applied. If the head in question has inferior read performance, an ECC 4 is applied. Accordingly, as compared with a case where a single ECC is applied, the defect detectivity is further improved without increasing the length of inspection time.

The present invention relates to an inspection method for inspecting a magnetic disk placed in a magnetic disk drive, and more particularly to an inspection method for detecting a physical defect occurring on a magnetic layer of a magnetic disk with high sensitivity without increasing the length of inspection time.
A magnetic disk used for a magnetic disk drive is produced by laminating a magnetic layer on a glass substrate using the thin-film formation technology such as sputtering. Because the glass substrate itself has some unevenness on its surface, or because conditions in a sputtering process sometimes change, a defect specific to a recording medium may occur on a surface of the magnetic layer. The magnetic disk drive has an error correction code (hereinafter referred to as ECC) by which if a bit pattern of data which has been read from the magnetic disk is abnormal, this abnormal condition is detected to correct the read data. Therefore, even if the magnetic disk includes a minute defect, if the number of error bits included in the data to be corrected by the ECC is within a range of the error-correction capability of the ECC, practically no problem is produced.
However, if such a minute defect is left unhandled, the size of the physical defect increases, and consequently there arises a possibility that the number of error bits will increase. In particular, if the magnetic disk is exposed under high-temperature environment for a long time, the defective area further expands. Therefore, in the manufacturing stage of the magnetic disk drive, it is desirable to detect even a minute defect with high sensitivity, and to handle the defect in advance so that the defective part is not used. On the other hand, because it takes a long time to detect a defect, if a magnetic disk drive is produced by means of mass production, pursuing only the improvement in the defect detectivity is not allowed from a viewpoint of the quantity of production or yields. In addition, it is necessary to consider use efficiency of test equipment prepared by a large investment.
A Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-145634) discloses a technology relating to defect detection of an optical recording medium, which enables the defect detection in which the error correction capability of an actually used read/write device is taken into consideration, and which can improve yields at the time of manufacturing disks. Moreover, a Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-351228) discloses a surface defect test method for testing a magnetic disk medium in which even if there is dispersion in read core widths of an inspection head, there is no dispersion in the sensitivity to a defect on the medium. Further, a Patent Document 3 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,213) discloses a technology for determining the redundancy of an ECC in response to the probability distribution of errors for each zone, which is obtained in a manufacturing test stage.

Surface analysis test with mixed ECC symbol

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A microcontroller for securing data. The microcontroller may be included within a system. The microcontroller reads first and second data from first and second storages, respectively. The microcontroller compares the read first and second data. The microcontroller permits execution of a command based on a result of the comparison.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system including a microcontroller and methods thereof and a microcontroller and methods thereof, and more particularly to a system including a microcontroller for securing data and methods thereof, and a microcontroller for securing data and methods thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional memory cards may include storage and a controller for controlling the storage. Memory cards including a flash memory may be referred to as flash cards. Because memory cards may be capable of storing a higher amount of data (e.g., hundreds of megabytes of data), they may be employed within electronic devices (e.g., digital cameras, camcorders, game machines, etc.). Examples of memory card classes may include multimedia cards (MMC), secure digital (SD) cards, compact flash cards, memory sticks, etc. The various classes of memory cards may include different performance characteristics (e.g., operating speed, memory size, etc.). Data stored on memory cards may not be secure. Data in external storage may include a higher level of security. However, data may not be secure during a data operation of a memory card (e.g., a write operation in the external storage).
Conventional smart cards may be fabricated as flat, rectangular pieces of plastic (e.g., resembling credit cards in size, shape, and thickness) and may include an integrated circuit (IC) chip. The IC chip may include a microprocessor, a card operating system, a security module, and/or a memory. Smart cards may include a lower risk of data loss and a higher level of security as compared to magnetic stripe cards. Newer smart cards may require a higher capacity of external data storage (e.g., hundreds of megabytes) because embedded memory may include a lower capacity (e.g., one megabyte or less).
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional smart card system 105. As shown, the smart card system 100 may include a microcontroller 100 and an external storage 170. The microcontroller 100 may include a random access memory (RAM) 120, a read-only memory (ROM) 130, an internal storage 140, a central processing unit (CPU) 150, a host interface 110 communicating with a host (not shown), and an external interface 160 communicating with the external storage 170, each of which may be connected to a system bus 180. The CPU 150 may read data from the external storage 170 in response to a command from the host.
The CPU 150 may also write data to the external storage 170 in response to a command from the host.
The external storage 170 may be vulnerable to a malicious user (e.g., a hacker). For example, if a user uses the smart card system 100 after a hacker modifies the external storage 170, the data stored in the external storage 170 may not be intended for the user.

System, microcontroller and methods thereof


Fabrics and methods of making such fabrics whereby no evident pile structure is present in raised pattern areas on the face of the fabric. The construction of the fabric is nonetheless such that the yarns forming the raised pattern areas are more susceptible to napping as compared to the yarns forming the recessed ground regions of the fabric. This fabric construction of selected yarns will thus permit preferential napping of the pattern areas to be achieved (e.g., using conventional napping wires) while the adjacent ground regions of the fabric remain substantially unnapped. Subsequent shearing of the napped pattern areas thereby results in a velvet-like hand being achieved.

The present invention relates generally to velvet-like fabrics and methods of making the same. In preferred forms, the present invention is embodied in woven fabrics having velvet-like patterns on the fabric face, and to methods of making such fabrics. In especially preferred forms, the present invention is embodied in velvet-like Jacquard fabrics and methods of making the same.
Historically, the term xe2x80x9cvelvetxe2x80x9d has long referred to a plush woven fabric of distinctive appearance and hand. However, the comparative low productivity inherent in the weaving of such a fabric has caused market erosion of the traditional velvet product in many end uses, e.g., as upholstery fabrics, by tufted and knitted products that are similar in appearance and hand. The tufted and knitted products have come to be called xe2x80x9cvelvetxe2x80x9d as well.
It has previously been known to form a woven-type xe2x80x9cvelvetxe2x80x9d upholstery fabric on a fine-gauge, loop tufting or knitting machine. After tufting or knitting, the material is subsequently sheared to give the desired appearance and hand. The prior art tufted and knitted velvet fabrics tend, however, to have occasional unsheared loops which diminish the luxurious appearance of the finished product when used in applications traditionally reserved for the more expensive woven velvets. Machinery exists, however, which enable the loop to be cut on the knitting or tufting machine which eliminates such uncut loops. While eliminating the uncut loops, the resulting knitting and tufted fabrics still do not have the luxurious appearance available in the more expensive woven velvet fabrics.
It is also well known in this art to employ Jacquard weaving techniques to produce surface-patterned fabrics which may be used in a variety of end-use applications. In this regard, Jacquard weaving has in the past typically utilized a highly versatile pattern mechanism (e.g., electronically controlled pattern systems or the more traditional series of punch cards) to permit the production of large, intricate designs which control the individual action of the warp threads for the passage of each pick.
While cut pile Jacquard fabrics are known, it was necessary during the weaving process to form raised loops or piles which are then subsequently cut by conventional pile-cutting knives. However, forming loops or piles in Jacquard fabrics reduces significantly the productivity of the loom.
It would therefore be desirable if woven fabrics, particularly Jacquard fabrics, could be produced efficiently that have a velvet-like pattern on the fabric""s face. It is towards fulfilling such a need that the present invention is directed.
Broadly, the present invention relates to fabrics and methods of making such fabrics whereby no evident pile structure is present in raised pattern areas on the face of the fabric. The construction of the fabric is nonetheless such that the yarns forming the raised pattern areas are more susceptible to napping as compared to the yarns forming the recessed ground regions of the fabric. This fabric construction of selected yarns will thus permit preferential napping of the pattern areas to be achieved (e.g., using conventional napping wires) while the adjacent ground regions of the fabric remain substantially unnapped. Subsequent shearing of the napped pattern areas thereby results in a velvet-like hand being achieved.
Further aspects and advantages of this invention will become more clear after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.

Velvet-like jacquard fabrics and processes for making the same


The present disclosure relates to a herbal compound extract to moderate diabetes with liver necrosis and fibrosis and applications thereof wherein a herbal compound consists of 10 to 20 units rhizome of Dendrobium nobile Lindl, 6 to 12 units fruiting body of Antrodia camphorata, 12 to 20 units root of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey, 10 to 30 units root of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch, 15 to 30 units rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., 6 to 12 units all of Pheretima asperfillm (E. Perrier), 10 to 30 units root of Pueraria mirifica, 8 to 15 units fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill and 6 to 8 units rhizome of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch and the herbal compound extract is able to moderate symptoms comprising hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, abnormal liver function about liver necrosis and fibrosis due to the diabetes.

Statistically, 60%˜80% and 22%˜34% patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) also suffer from the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and progressive liver fibrosis, respectively. In 2005, Scott L. Friedman, the leading expert on liver fibrosis in the United States, argued a viewpoint of "liver fibrosis and even liver cirrhosis being reversible".
NAFLD, which is a metabolic stress-induced liver disease, which is closely relates to insulin resistance and genetics, is attributed to some risk hazards, for example, high fat and high sucrose diet (HFSD), insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and others including obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and T2DM.
For a patient who has fallen chronic liver disease about necrosis or liver fibrosis is invasible but reversible and draws more attentions, in contrast to liver cirrhosis that is irreversible. In the progress of liver fibrosis, extracellular matrix, which consist of collagenous fibers, dominantly are synthesized, but are increasingly and modestly degraded and deposited in the liver excessively from which dynamic disequilibrium between syntheses and degradations of extracellular matrix is observed.
The biochemical abnormality during liver fibrosis has much to do with impaired metabolism of hepatic cells. In a patient with poor liver function, some index are high: AST; ALT; GGT; Alb; reactive oxygen species (ROS; tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-6 (IL-6) (inflammatory factor index); transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1); fibrinogen (Fbg); IV-Collagen and fibronectin (FN); Smad2, Smad3, pSmad2, pSmad3 and alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). On the other hand, some index are low: MMP1, MMP2 and MMP9.
When excessive free radicals of liver tissues are produced by HFSD, hepatic stellate cells activated by a great number of ROS cause hepatocellular injuries and triggering liver fibrosis. For an injured liver, inflammatory factors including TNF-α and IL-6 that are released by activated Kupffer cells, resulting in inflammatory cell infiltration and cytotoxicity.
Activating hepatic stellate cells directly or indirectly, TGF-β1, as the strongest pro-fibrogenic, factor prompts hepatic cells to synthesize extracellular matrix but inhibits decompositions of extracellular matrix. TGF-β1 activated extracellularly and binding TβRII is able to activate serine or serine-threonine kinase in a receptor's intracellular domain. TβRI and TβRII, both of which constitute the heteropolymers inside the receptor, further activate intracellular kinase of TβRI, phosphorylating Smad2 as well as Smad3, and binding Smad4. While shifted to a nucleus, Smad2, Smad3 and Smad4 proteins can complete transmembrane signal transduction, affect relative genetic transcription and cause syntheses of extracellular matrix by hepatic cells.
The hepatic stellate cells activated in an injured liver induces protein expressions and phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3, both of which are further transferred to a nucleus for completion of transmembrane signal transduction and aggravation of α-SMA that exacerbates accumulated fibrinogen, IV-Collagen and fibronectin.
For syntheses of extracellular matrix in the pathological process of liver fibrosis, hepatic stellate cells as target cells of various cell factors display changes in cell proliferations/activations and take part in syntheses and depositions of extracellular matrix under regulations of complex cellular signal transductions. Hepatic stellate cells, which play a dominant role in the progress of liver fibrosis, are the main sources of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that exert co-regulated actions to prompt protein expressions of MMP1, MMP2 and MMP9, but inhibit productions of Type-I, III and IV collagens.
In order to evaluate liver fibrosis, the pathologic changes are displayed on the collagenous fiber structures with hyaline degenerations that are deposited around the interlobular artery/vein and the bile duct and exacerbate hepatocyte swelling, ballooning degenerations, spotty necrosis, unclear boundaries among hepatic cells, narrower hepatic sinusoid, microangiopathy particularly around the central vein, accumulations of collagenous fibers in connective tissues and diabetes with liver fibrosis.
Diabetes with liver necrosis and fibrosis has been drawing more attentions. In this regard, the issues relating to the hepatic stellate cells which play a key role in the progress of diabetes with liver necrosis and fibrosis still deserve to be studied because therapies, medications and/or food formulas with fewer side effects are needed. Accordingly, providing a nontoxic herbal compound extract with fewer side effects for moderating diabetes with liver necrosis and fibrosis is the subject for research by persons skilled in the art.

Herbal compound extract to moderate diabetes with liver necrosis and fibrosis and use thereof


A data storage device with deterministic caching and retention capabilities to effect file level data transfers with a host device. The data storage device includes a data recording medium on which user data are stored and a data transducing head which accesses the stored data, an operating system kernel module having a virtual file system, and a deterministic caching module. A file level request issued by the host device is processed by the virtual file system and passed to the deterministic caching module which converts the file level request into a number of block oriented access commands to access a selected number of data sectors on the medium associated with the file level request. A sort priority is assigned to each access command in relation to at least one identified characteristic of the file level request. The access commands are executed in relation to the assigned sort priorities.

Block data storage devices store and/or retrieve digital data in the form of blocks which are individually addressable by a host device. Exemplary block data storage devices include hard disc drives, optical disc recorders and players, and magnetic digital tape recorders and players.
Such devices typically comprise a hardware/firmware based interface circuit having a buffer (first memory location), a communication channel and a recordable medium (second memory location). The user memory space of the second memory location is divided into a number of addressable blocks which are assigned host-level addresses (sometimes referred to as logical block addresses or LBAs).
Each LBA typically has a corresponding physical block address (PBA) used by servo control circuitry to align a data transducing head with the appropriate portion of the medium to access the desired LBA.
To write data to the medium, the host device issues a write command comprising the user data to be stored by the storage device along with a list of LBAs to which the user data are to be stored. The storage device temporarily stores the user data in the first memory location, schedules movement of the data transducing head to the appropriate location(s) over the medium, and then uses write channel portions of the communication channel to apply the appropriate encoding and conditioning of the data to write the data to the selected LBAs.
To subsequently read the data from the storage device, the host device issues a read command identifying the LBAs from which data are to be retrieved. The storage device schedules movement of the data transducing head to the appropriate location(s) over the medium, and then uses read channel portions of the communication channel to decode readback data which are placed into the first memory location (buffer) for subsequent transfer back to the host device.
A typical data storage device is configured to concurrently handle multiple pending access (read and write) commands from the host device. The commands are arranged into a command queue and a sort strategy is used to identify a sequence of execution of the pending access commands in hopes of optimizing the rate at which data are transferred between the host device and the data storage device.
A typical sort strategy involves calculating the elapsed time that would be required to move the appropriate data transducing head to the appropriate physical address of the medium in order to service each command. Generally, the access command that can be serviced in the shortest access time is selected from among the command queue as the next command to be executed.
In data storage devices that use rotatable media (discs), the time required for a particular data block to rotate around and reach the head (latency) is an important factor when selecting the execution order, as delays in waiting for the disc to rotate a selected data block around to the data transducing head can significantly decrease the resulting transfer rate.
One way that block data storage devices attempt to reduce the effects of such latency delays involves reading additional, nonrequested data into the buffer while the device waits for the requested data block to reach the head. If the host subsequently requests such data in the future, the data request can be satisfied immediately from the buffer (sometimes referred to as a "cache hit"). Cache hits tend to significantly improve data transfer performance and are therefore highly desirable.
While block data storage devices have been found operable in that such devices accommodate a wide variety of interfaces and host operating systems, a fundamental disadvantage with such devices is the lack of information that such devices have with respect to specific block level requests. A host device typically operates to distill a number of pending file requests (for both user data from user applications and operating system data required for use by the operating system) into an almost random appearing sequence of read and write commands for different blocks of data (LBAs) at different locations within the device memory.
A block data storage device generally has no mechanism to detect and distinguish the specific content of a particular access command, and hence is generally in the dark with regard to which commands should be accessed first, whether additional, nearby data to particular accessed data should be also placed into the buffer and which buffered data should be retained and for how long.
While some data transfer protocols (such as SCSI 3) do allow the host device to specify some measure of priority with a particular access command, such decisions are made at the host level, leaving the device to decide which commands to perform at each priority level and still not addressing the fundamental issues of retention and nonrequested data retrieval for particular commands.
Hence, while block data device manufacturers take great pains to try to develop complex command scheduling and retention policies in an attempt to guess at what data the host may require in the near future, in reality such efforts often provide little if any benefit during actual operation. In some cases such policies have actually been found to be counterproductive and even reduce overall data transfer rates during real world use.
Accordingly, there is a need for improvements in the art to provide effective and efficient data transfer operations with a data storage device that overcomes these and other limitations of existing block data transfer mechanisms.

Data storage device with deterministic caching and retention capabilities to effect file level data transfers over a network


A computer readable medium, method, and device for generating eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schema fragments for use in validating an XML message in a particular wire format is disclosed. The method uses as its input a custom XML schema based message model containing logical model extensions or wire format specific rendering options. The output of the method is an XML schema that includes XML schema fragments. The output schema complies with an accepted XML schema standard recognized by a standard schema validator. At run time, the output XML schema, along with the standard schema validator, may be used at a node which does not understand the custom message model to validate incoming XML messages. Depending upon the manner of generating of the XML schema fragments, the resultant validation may be strict or lax.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schemas, and more particularly to XML messaging schemas which contain logical model extensions and wire format specific rendering options.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, use of the eXtensible Markup Language has become increasingly prevalent in business. This trend is largely attributable to the flexibility of XML as a mechanism for defining the structure and content of data. XML allows users to define schemas comprising a set of ASCII-based elements and attributes in a structural relationship to define a non-programming language specific data type (i.e. a data type that is defined without use of particular programming language). The elements and attributes defined in an XML schema may then be used as "tags" or labels in one or more XML instance documents (i.e. XML documents conforming to an XML schema and containing actual data) which may instantiate earlier defined data types. When XML instance documents are forwarded to other users or enterprises, the XML schema may be used by the recipient to "understand" the instance document. Sharing of data across divergent operating systems and platforms is thus supported.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has provided a recommendation for XML schemas, known as "XML Schema 1.0", which has become a de facto standard in the industry. This recommendation (alternatively referred to herein as the "W3C recommendation") is attached hereto as Appendix I. Since its original publication, various errata have been identified in the W3C recommendation. The latter document is attached hereto as Appendix II. Subsequent references to the XML Schema 1.0 recommendation or XML Schema 1.0 standard appearing hereinafter may be understood to incorporate corrections to the errata canvassed in the latter document.
There has also recently been a phenomenal increase in Business-to-Business ("B2B") transactions in which transaction data is encoded in XML.
A problem that has been encountered in respect of B2B transactions is the use by different enterprises of different wire formats for messages. As is known in the art, a wire format describes how data is encoded "on the wire" when it is sent from one system to another. Assuming that a business enterprise has N partners, if each partner employs a different wire format, the enterprise will be required to encode/decode the same logical data into/from N different wire formats. The encoding/decoding problem becomes onerous as the number N of wire formats becomes large.
To address the above problem, message brokers have been developed. As is known in the art, a message broker is an intermediary program which converts messages from the wire format of a sender to the wire format of a receiver. The IBM® WebSphere® Business Integration Message Broker software is one example of a message broker. IBM and WebSphere are registered trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation.
To support efficient conversion of messages from one wire format to another, some message brokers such as the WebSphere® Business Integration Message Broker utilize a message model having two components: a logical model and a physical model. The logical model, which may be an XML schema for example, describes the logical structure of a set of messages for a particular application, e.g., banking, insurance, or travel, in a platform and programming language neutral manner. The physical model defines the manner in which the messages are represented in alternative wire formats. Such a message model is described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/703,037, filed Nov. 6, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference hereinto.
As indicated in the above referenced application, message models of the type described above can define logical model extensions which are not supported in the standard XML schema 1.0 standard.
One example of a logical model extension is a composition kind attribute which extends the standard composition types of XML schemas (choice, sequence, and all) with the enumeration "unorderedSet". The "unorderedSet" enumeration is similar to "sequence" (which requires all elements of a message to appear in sequence) except that elements within the set may occur in any order.
In another example of a logical model extension, a content kind attribute which comprises three enumerations representing alternative types of constraints of a message's elements that may be applicable to a message received on the wire can be defined, as follows:                1. "closed"—Default enumeration indicating that a message bit stream is to match the definition of the message in the logical model exactly (as implicitly defined in the XML Schema recommendation);        2. "openDefined"—indicates that a message bit stream can contain any elements which have been defined in the current message set; and        3. "open"—the message bit stream can contain any elements, even those that have been defined in different message sets or not defined in any message set. For clarity, the term "message set" is described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/703,037, incorporated by reference above.
Another benefit of the message model described above is that it can be used to define physical, wire format specific rendering options. For example, the XMLInclusionRep construct can be used to specify the manner in which a logical XML schema element (either a local element or referenced global element) should be rendered when transmitted in a particular wire format (e.g., render element X as an attribute in messages of wire format Y). Using this construct it is possible to specify that the same logical XML schema element should be rendered differently for each of a number of wire formats.
In a network of systems executing the same message broker software, instance documents containing such logical model extensions and/or such wire format specific rendering options can be exchanged and validated without difficulty, since the message models used to create messages are commonly understood. However, in a heterogeneous environment, some business enterprises may not be executing the same message broker software as a partner defining the non-standard constructs. Such business enterprises will be unable to validate messages sent by its partner as the non-standard constructs will not be understood.
What is needed is a solution which addresses at least some of the above noted difficulties.

Representing logical model extensions and wire format specific rendering options in XML messaging schemas


A system for reducing the calibration time of a Power Amplifier (PA) (202) is provided. The system includes a memory module (304) that is integrated in the PA. The memory module is configured to store one or more calibration parameters of the PA.

Electronic devices employ RF architectures for communication. RF architectures comprise a Power Amplifier (PA) that can be used to amplify the signal during communication. The operation of a PA is a major contributor to current drain in a battery and heat dissipation, which occur in electronic devices. High battery drain results in reduced talk time and battery life. To increase the life of a battery, its size could be increased, in order to store more electrical power. This, in turn, would affect the overall size and weight of the handset and the comfort involved in using the electronic device.
Different techniques are conventionally employed to minimize the drain of the PA, which enhance the efficiency of the electronic device. These techniques add complexity to the electronic device. They also result in increased factory testing time and the calibration time of electronic devices. The characteristics of the PA are compensated for operating the electronic device. This is especially true in the case of electronic devices that operate on spread spectrum and polar modulation. Compensation entails the availability of detailed calibration parameters for different components in the electronic device, such as the PA. The calibration parameters are obtained by extensive testing of the components; and they are stored in calibration tables. The PA manufacturer often measures these calibration parameters. However, they are re-measured during the manufacturing of the electronic devices, since the calibration parameters are not available to the manufacturer of the electronic device. Therefore, re-measurement of the calibration parameters results in an increase in the time taken to manufacture the electronic devices.
The preparation of calibration tables enables the PA and other components in an electronic device to meet operational specifications, but results in a very long testing period. This long testing time requires a full test period for second sourcing the PA, which results in inflexibility and difficulty in choosing a different vendor to source the PA. The large variation between each vendor's designs makes it difficult to second source a PA of a given RF architecture design.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mechanism that allows a PA to store calibration parameters within the PA.

System for reducing calibration time of a power amplifier


In a hot melt adhesive applicator of a slot die type or other type having an air supply to an adhesive service block through solenoids controlling the ON-OFF of the pneumatic adhesive applicator valves, one or more air valves are directly mounted to the service block through an intervening air supply manifold base plate positioned atop an insulation plate to significantly decrease the air path length and decrease the response time of the air valve. The insulation element may be mounted within an elongate recess formed in the top surface of the service block. The insulation element may be formed with cutouts to reduce the mass of the insulation element and to provide better air insulation exposure between the bottom surface of the valve base manifold and the bottom of the recess exposed by the cutouts.

The present invention relates generally to hot melt adhesive applicators and, more particularly, to hot melt adhesive applicators of a slot die type.
Hot melt adhesive applicators typically have an air supply provided from a source to a pneumatic adhesive applicator valve located on a service block from which hot melt adhesive under pressure is dispensed. As depicted in FIG. 4, the adhesive applicator valves are operated by external solenoids 24 that control the ON-OFF positions of the pneumatic adhesive applicator valves and thus the ON-OFF dispensing of adhesive. The external solenoids 24 are typically spaced a considerable distance away from the adhesive service block 19 by means of long air tubes 26 and 28 that are used to avoid exposure to the heat generated by the service block which is typically heated to temperatures in a preferred range of 375-450xc2x0 F. Accordingly, and disadvantageously, the air supply path both from the external solenoids 24, through the air tubes, 26, 28 and then to and through air passages within the service block 19 and finally to the adhesive applicator valves 34, can become so long as to create a time delay that undesirably delays operation by increasing the response time of the applicator valves, causing inconsistencies in the discharge and pattern of adhesive dispensed. This is due to the time needed for the air to fill the entire air path to a pressure suitable for operating the adhesive valves.
It is accordingly one object of the invention to minimize the response time for air to be supplied from the external solenoids to the adhesive applicator valves.
Another object is to improve the reliability in use of hot melt adhesive applicators.
As is common in such applicators, the hot melt adhesive is discharged under pressure through a discharge opening, such as a slot, formed in a die block mounted to the service block. The die block utilizes a separate heat source from that of the service block to allow for better control over the adhesive distribution process or pattern. However, since the die block is mounted directly to the service block, it is difficult to maintain the integrity of the separate heat zones and this also adversely effects control of the adhesive process/pattern.
Accordingly, still another object is to maintain the integrity of the separate heat zones of the service block and die block to allow for better control of the adhesive process/pattern.
A hot melt adhesive applicator, in accordance with the present invention, comprises an adhesive service block having at least one adhesive applicator or dispenser valve module attached thereto for controlling the supply of adhesives under pressure. A service block heater is connected to heat the service block and the adhesive therein. At least one solenoid operated air valve is operatively connected to the service block assembly for supplying air from a source through appropriate air passages to operate the adhesive applicator valves between open and closed positions to control the flow of adhesive from the service block and into a die block assembly connected to the service block. The die block assembly includes at least one discharge opening of desired shape, such as a slot in the case of a slot die type applicator, from which the adhesive is discharged under pressure.
In accordance with the present invention, contrary to existing applicators, the air valve assembly is mounted directly to the service block as opposed to remotely through air tubes. This direct mounting arrangement eliminates the intermediary of any air supply tubes and minimizes the response time for the air to react and fill the air line chamber that communicates with the adhesive service block and ultimately with the applicator valve. This advantageously decreases the response time of the applicator valve operation.
The air valve assembly is preferably mounted to a valve base manifold, preferably by attachment to an upper surface thereof. An insulation element extends between the manifold and the service block to shield the air valve from excessive heat generated by the service block during operation. Both the valve base manifold and the valve insulator element are formed with air passageways that permit communication between the air valves and the air line chamber formed in the service block.
More specifically, the insulation element has upper and lower surfaces in which the upper surface is in direct contact with a lower surface of the valve base manifold and the lower surface of the insulator is in direct contact with an upper surface of the service block assembly. In this manner, the air flow path between the outlet of the air valve and inlet opening(s) in the air line chamber formed in the service block is defined solely by the thickness of the valve base manifold and the insulation element.
In accordance with a unique feature of the preferred embodiment, the upper surface of the service block assembly is formed with a recess in which is received the insulation element. This recess operates to shorten the air flow path as measured between the air valve outlet and an air inlet opening formed in the upper surface of the air line chamber within the recess. In this preferred embodiment, the insulation element has a thickness equal to the depth of the recess.
In accordance with another unique feature of the preferred embodiment, the insulation element is preferably formed with one or more cutouts or notches that extend the full height of the insulation element in order to reduce the surface area contact between the heated service block and the air valve block. In other words, air acts as an insulator between the service block and air in the cutout area or openings defined between the opposing surfaces of the respective blocks.
In accordance with another feature of this invention, a separate thermal insulation element is positioned between the bottom service of the adhesive service block and the upper surface of the die block. Suitable air passageways are provided through this insulation element to enable hot melt adhesive to be discharged from the service block to the die block assembly. The feature of a separate insulation element between these blocks allows for better control of the process/adhesive pattern by maintaining the integrity of the separate heat zones for the service block and the die block.
The die block is further formed with an internal elongate groove in communication with the air passageways through which hot melt adhesive is applied to a point of application. Preferably, the hot melt groove is polished to allow for a sharper adhesive shut off.
Another feature of this invention involves the use of pins in predetermined adjacent locations along the hot melt groove that are adapted to engage openings formed in a clamp that is clamped a to cover the hot melt groove. The feature of providing location pins between the clamp and groove allows for a rapid reattachment of the clamp to the die block assembly following clamp removal for better access and cleaning of the hot melt groove.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as a restrictive.


A process for selectively stripping a coating from a component of a turbomachine, and particularly a coating having a ceramic matrix that contains metallic particles dispersed therein that render the coating more difficult to remove from the component after the component has been subjected to elevated temperatures during operation of the turbomachine. The process generally includes immersing the component in an aqueous solution containing ferric chloride, nitric acid, and phosphoric acid, for a duration sufficient to attack the metallic particles in the coating. The component is then removed from the aqueous solution and its surface rinsed of the aqueous solution. The immersing and removing steps are then sequentially repeated a sufficient number of times to sufficiently attack the metallic particles to enable the coating to be mechanically removed from the component.

This invention relates to methods of chemically removing ceramic-based coatings from surfaces of components, such as components exposed to the hot gas path of gas turbine engines and other turbomachinery. More particularly, this invention is directed to a method of chemically stripping a metal particle-containing ceramic coating from such components with an acidic stripping solution containing ferric chloride, nitric acid, and phosphoric acid.
The operating environment within a gas turbine engine is both thermally and chemically hostile. Significant advances in high temperature strength, creep resistance, and fatigue resistance have been achieved through the formulation of iron, nickel and cobalt-based superalloys. Nonetheless, components in the hot gas path of a gas turbine engine are often protected by one or more coatings that provide thermal and/or environmental protection. Common examples include metallic environmental coating used alone or in combination with a ceramic thermal barrier coating (TBC), which in the latter case the environmental coating is termed a bond coat for the TBC. Components protected by environmental coatings and TBC systems exhibit greater durability as well as afford the opportunity to improve efficiency by increasing the operating temperature of a gas turbine.
Metal oxides, and particularly zirconia (ZrO2) partially or fully stabilized by yttria (Y2O3), magnesia (MgO), ceria (CeO2), calcia (CaO), and/or one or more other oxides, have been widely employed as TBC materials. TBC's are typically deposited by flame spraying, air plasma spraying (APS), low pressure plasma spraying (LPPS), or a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique such as electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD), which yields a strain-tolerant columnar grain structure. TBC adhesion typically requires the use of a bond coat, for example, a diffusion coating such as a diffusion aluminide or platinum aluminide, or an overcoat alloy such as MCrAlX alloys (where M is iron, cobalt and/or nickel, and X is an active element such as yttrium or a rare earth or reactive element) or an aluminide intermetallic (e.g., beta-phase and gamma-phase nickel aluminides). The aluminum content of these bond coat materials provides for the growth of an alumina (Al2O3) scale that protects the underlying substrate from oxidation and hot corrosion and promotes chemical bonding of the TBC.
The need to remove and replace a TBC typically arises as a result of erosion or impact damage to the TBC during engine operation, or to repair certain features such as the tip length of a turbine blade. Removal of a TBC may also be necessitated during component manufacturing to address post-coating problems such as defects in the coating, handling damage, and the need to repeat noncoating-related manufacturing operations which require removal of the ceramic, e.g., electrical-discharge machining (EDM) operations. Current state-of-the-art methods for repairing components protected by TBC often result in removal of the entire TBC system, i.e., both the ceramic TBC and the bond coat, after which the bond coat and TBC must be redeposited. One such method is to use abrasives in procedures such as grit blasting, vapor honing and glass bead peening, each of which is a slow, labor-intensive process that erodes the TBC and bond coat. As such, significant efforts have been to develop nonabrasive processes for removing TBC. Examples include autoclaving processes at elevated temperatures and pressures using caustic compounds such as hydroxides, fluoride ion cleaning, and high temperature treatments with chloride. However, each of these techniques generally has the disadvantage of being slow, which significantly limits throughput and results in relatively long turnaround times. A more rapid technique for removing TBC is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,054 to Reeves et al. as employing a halogen-containing powder or gas, preferably ammonium fluoride (NH4F). Still other treatments include the use of aqueous solutions containing an acid fluoride salt, such as ammonium bifluoride (NH4HF2) or sodium bifluoride (NaHF2), as disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,238,743, 6,379,749 and 6,758,985.
While the above treatments represent significant advancements in TBC removal, variations in composition can render certain coatings more difficult to remove than others. Examples include ceramic coatings having compositions tailored to provide a barrier to hot corrosion for components whose substrate compositions and/or operating environments render the components particularly susceptible to hot corrosion. Such is the case with certain hot section rotating hardware, including mid seals, blade retainers, and high pressure turbine (HPT) disks of high-performance gas turbine engines. Various corrosion barrier coating materials have been proposed for such applications, including those noted and discussed in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005/0138805 and 2006/0127694, whose contents regarding coating compositions and coating processes are incorporated herein by reference. As an example, both of these publications described corrosion barrier coating materials comprising binder systems that may contain phosphates and/or chromates, with the latter publication (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,314,674 to Hazel et al.) disclosing a corrosion barrier coating that may comprise a phosphate-chromate binder containing zirconium oxide (zirconia; ZrO2) and metallic particles, such as an MCrAlX composition, where M is preferably nickel or nickel and cobalt, and X is preferably yttrium or a rare earth or reactive metal. This metal particle-containing ceramic coating can be deposited by spraying a slurry directly on a substrate surface to be protected, and then curing the phosphate-chromate binder at an elevated temperature. An optional and generally nonfunctional ceramic or glassy top coat can be deposited over the hot corrosion barrier coating to achieve a generally cosmetic effect. The composition of this metal particle-containing ceramic coating is tailored to provide a protective barrier to hot corrosion and have a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) approximately matching that of the underlying superalloy substrate to promote its spallation resistance.
Acceptable methods for removing coatings from critical rotating hardware can be limited to the use of 500 mesh alumina as a grit blasting media. While these methods have been found capable of removing the above-noted metal particle-containing ceramic coating prior to engine service, for example, if post-coating repairs are needed, they have not been successful at removing this coating if the coated parts are being returned after engine service. Though not wishing to be held to any particular theory, oxidation products and dirt that is converted to a glass-like substance at the high temperatures within the hot gas path of a turbine engine are believed to make removal of the coating difficult. As such, further treatment methods and solutions are needed to remove this coating material.

Method of selectively stripping an engine-run ceramic coating


A device may receive a first alert from a first technology layer of an information technology system. The first alert may be associated with an occurrence of a first event within the first technology layer. The device may receive a second alert from a second, different technology layer of the information technology system. The second alert may be associated with an occurrence of a second event within the second technology layer. The device may determine that the first alert is related to the second alert. The device may generate, based on the first alert being related to the second alert, a third alert that includes information associated with the first alert and information associated with the second alert. The device may provide the third alert to at least one of the first technology layer or the second technology layer.

An organization may include an information technology (IT) system for providing a service, such as, for example, a web site, to its customers. The IT system may include numerous servers, databases, network routers, web servers, load balancers, etc., located in multiple data centers, which serve to provide the web site. The performance of the web site may determine customer satisfaction and may empower the organization to provide customers with additional services thereby increasing the importance of minimizing the amount of time required to resolve issues occurring within the IT system.

Random event capturing mechanism for application systems