Systems and methods for predictive QoS resource allocation in a wireless communication system are disclosed. An access network can detect a communication directed to an access terminal requiring QoS resources, send a page to an access terminal and allocate the QoS resources prior to receipt of the connection request from the access terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to communications in a wireless telecommunication system and, more particularly to session establishment for applications that have quality of service (QoS) requirements.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks) and a third-generation (3G) high speed data/Internet-capable wireless service. There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including Cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDMA, and newer hybrid digital communication systems using both TDMA and CDMA technologies.
The method for providing CDMA mobile communications was standardized in the United States by the Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronic Industries Association in TIA/EIA/IS-95-A entitled "Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System," referred to herein as IS-95. Combined AMPS & CDMA systems are described in TIA/EIA Standard IS-98. Other communications systems are described in the IMT-2000/UM, or International Mobile Telecommunications System 2000/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, standards covering what are referred to as wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA2000 (such as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO standards, for example) or TD-SCDMA.
In wireless communication systems, mobile stations, handsets, or access terminals (AT) receive signals from fixed position base stations (also referred to as cell sites or cells) that support communication links or service within particular geographic regions adjacent to or surrounding the base stations. Base stations provide entry points to an access network (AN)/radio access network (RAN), which is generally a packet data network using standard Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) based protocols that support methods for differentiating traffic based on Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. Therefore, the base stations generally interact with ATs through an over the air interface and with the AN through Internet Protocol (IP) network data packets.
In wireless telecommunication systems, Push-to-talk (PTT) capabilities are becoming popular with service sectors and consumers. PTT can support a "dispatch" voice service that operates over standard commercial wireless infrastructures, such as CDMA, FDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc. In a dispatch model, communication between endpoints (ATs) occurs within virtual groups, wherein the voice of one "talker" is transmitted to one or more "listeners." A single instance of this type of communication is commonly referred to as a dispatch call, or simply a PTT call. A PTT call is an instantiation of a group, which defines the characteristics of a call. A group in essence is defined by a member list and associated information, such as group name or group identification.
As mobile communications have increased, Quality of Service (QoS) has become important to provide differentiation of traffic and increased service level capability. However, there are many different standards to describe Quality of Service requirements on different parts of the networks. For instance, a 1xEV-DO Rev. A network is configured for QoS as described in 3GPP2 X.S0011-004-C Version 2.0 cdma2000 Wireless IP Network Standard: Quality of Service and Header Reduction Specification. However, the same network describes configurations of QoS for data transmitted over the air interface between any AT and the AN in the 3GPP2 C.S0024-A Version 2.0 cdma2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification. The same network also differentiates intra-AT and inter-AT QoS, since Intra-AT QoS provides differentiation of data streams belonging to the same user, while inter-AT QoS provides differentiation of packets belonging to different users. Therefore there is a need for an end-to-end QoS between the AT and AN for PTT communications.

Predictive QoS resource allocation for rapid session establishment


In some embodiments, a system and method for mapping the logical chip selects to a physical chip select. A chip select remapping unit receives logical chip select associated with a dual in-line memory module. The chip select remapping unit converts the logical chip select vector through a redirection table that maps the logical memory ranks to available physical memory ranks.

Current Memory Controller Hubs (MCHs) may be capable of supporting two memory channels, each of which may have up to four memory devices. The memory devices used in current computer systems may be memory modules packages, such as dual in line memory modules (DIMMs) or in the case of older computer systems the memory modules may be dynamic random access memories (DRAMS). Within each memory channel, a memory controller may populate the DIMMs in a specified order using a linear memory map. The memory control starts populating the memory modules starting with the memory module in the DIMM socket physically located farthest from the MCH on the channel. For example, if the DIMM sockets are numbered from 0 to 3, with the DIMM#3 being farthest from the MCH, the memory module in the DIMM#3 is populated first. Once the memory module in DIMM#3 is fully populated, then the next DIMM, DIMM#2, will be populated next, and so on. This places the load on the DIMMs as far from the MCH as possible. Because current memory controllers use memory addresses that are relative to a linear memory map and the physical memory arrangement of the DIMM is also linear, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the memory map and the physical memory arrangement.

Logical to physical address mapping of chip selects


A media can comprise: a reflective layer, an oxygen penetrable UV coating, and a reactive layer disposed between the UV coating and the reflective layer. The reactive layer can comprise a reactive material that oxidizes with exposure to oxygen.

Optical, magnetic and magneto-optic media are primary sources of high performance storage technology which enables high storage capacity coupled with a reasonable price per megabyte of storage. Use of optical media has become widespread in audio, video, and computer data applications in such formats as compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) including multi-layer structures like DVD-5, DVD-9, and multi-sided formats such as DVD-10, and DVD-18, magneto-optical disk (MO), and other write-once and re-writable formats such as CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, and the like, hereinafter collectively "data storage media". In these formats, data are encoded onto a substrate into a digital data series. In pre-recorded media, such as CD, the data are typically pits and grooves formed on the surface of a plastic substrate through a method such as injection molding, stamping or the like.
In recordable media, the data are encoded by laser, which illuminates an active data layer that undergoes a phase change, thus producing a series of highly-reflecting or non-reflective regions making up the data stream. In these formats, a laser beam first travels through a plastic substrate before reaching the data layer. At the data layer, the beam is either reflected or not, in accordance with the encoded data. The laser light then travels back through the plastic and into an optical detector system where the data are interpreted.
In some applications, it is desirable to have a limited life for an optical disc. For example, sample computer programs are provided to potential customers in order to entice them to purchase the software. The programs are intended to be used for a limited period of time. Additionally, music and movies are currently rented for a limited time period. In each of these applications and others, when that time has expired, the disc must be returned. A need exists for machine-readable optical discs that do not need to be returned at the end of a rental period. Limited-play discs provide a solution to this problem.
Limited play discs have been produced in various fashions. One method comprised forming a disc where the reflective layer is protected with a porous layer such that the reflective layer becomes oxidized over a pre-determined period of time. Once the reflective layer attains a certain level of oxidation, the disc is no longer readable. The problem with this and other limited play techniques is that these techniques are defeatable.
If the method for providing limited play to optical discs can be easily defeated by a customer or a cottage industry, discs would no longer be "limited-play". In the case of a coating or material rendering an optical disc unplayable, for example, facile removal or modification of that coating and/or material could provide a disc with unlimited playability.
There is a great desire on the part of movie studios to protect their intellectual property. Commercialization of limited-play data storage media that can be easily defeated to afford data storage media with unlimited playability would present an unacceptable risk of losing intellectual property.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Media and method for limiting access to data thereon


A carburetor for feeding separate lean and rich channels of an engine intake duct includes a body having a mixing passage with an air intake side and an engine outlet side. A throttle shutter is rotatable about an axis transverse the mixing passage, and a partition is located within the mixing passage upstream of the throttle shutter. The downstream edge of the partition is adjacent the throttle shutter axis whereby in use of the carburetor the partition defines an extension of the lean and rich channels upstream of the throttle shutter, the partition thus providing substantial isolation between the lean and rich channels for all rotational positions of the throttle shutter. In a preferred embodiment a choke shutter is located upstream of the throttle shutter and is rotatable about a further axis transverse the mixing passage, the upstream edge of the partition being adjacent to the axis of the choke shutter.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,991 describes in FIGS. 4 to 6 thereof a carburetor for a two-stroke engine in which the outlet side of the fuel-air mixing passage is connected to separate relatively lean and rich fuel channels of an engine intake duct. However, except when the throttle shutter is fully open, FIG. 6, the channel separation does not extend upstream into the carburetor itself. It is difficult to calibrate a carburetor that feeds two such channels if they are allowed to communicate with each other in the carburetor during idle and intermediate throttle shutter positions of the carburetor.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a carburetor for feeding separate lean and rich channels of an engine intake duct, the carburetor comprising a body having a mixing passage with an air intake side and an engine outlet side, a throttle shutter rotatable about an axis transverse the mixing passage, and a partition located within the mixing passage upstream of the throttle shutter, the downstream edge of the partition being adjacent the throttle shutter axis whereby in use of the carburetor the partition defines an extension of the lean and rich channels upstream of the throttle shutter, the partition providing substantial isolation between the lean and rich channels for all rotational positions of the throttle shutter.
Preferably the carburetor further includes a choke shutter located upstream of the throttle shutter and rotatable about a further axis transverse the mixing passage, the upstream edge of the partition being adjacent to the axis of the choke shutter.
The invention provides a more effective separation of the lean and rich fuel channels for all throttle shutter positions and therefore reduces the number of variables when calibrating the carburetor.


A holder apparatus includes a semi-cylindrical housing mounting respective first and second semi-cylindrical doors relative thereto. The housing includes first and second side walls, with each respective side wall including a respective slot medially and orthogonally intersecting the side wall, with each side wall having a door pivotally mounted thereto, with the door of a semi-cylindrical configuration and the door having a leg received within an associated slot. Each door includes a hinge, the hinge having a hinge axle having a projection projecting below a respective door, with each axle having a lug projecting below a respective door for mounting upon a grooved support plate to maintain the door in respective open and closed configuration relative to the semi-cylindrical housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to quick access dip net holder structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved dip net quick access holder apparatus to selectively maintain the organization in a cylindrical or open cylindrical configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various spring-loaded holder structure has been utilized in the prior art for securing various components, such as indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,577 to Brucher utilizing a scraper blade holder spring-loaded mounted to a scraper blade shaft structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,230 to Zasio sets forth work holder structure with spring-loaded work holding means mounted thereon.
The prior art has heretofore failed to provide for a dip net holder arrangement as set forth by the instant invention addressing both the problems of ease of use as well as effectiveness in construction to maintain a dip net holder arranged for mounting to an interior wall of a boat for positioning dip nets in a secure position and permitting quick removal of the dip net relative to the holder structure for use and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


Sports footwear with a vamp, and a lower support part including a sole unit, the lower support part having a lower portion or treading sole for contacting the ground and an intersole overlying the treading sole, wherein within said support part there is present at least a first insert containing elements which deform elastically when subjected to pressure and which are enclosed within an air-containing sealed casing positioned corresponding with the heel region of the sole unit. A further insert is positioned corresponding with the metatarsal region of the foot and also includes a casing containing elements deformable when subjected to pressure. The deformable elements positioned in the insert corresponding with the heel region have a different response to pressure-stressing than the elements present in the insert corresponding with the metatarsal region of the foot.

Sports footwear, in particular for sports such as running, basketball, tennis, volleyball, walking etc. comprises a sole unit associated with a vamp and is divisible substantially into two well defined parts, namely a lower part or treading sole making contact with the ground and generally of rubber or similar material, and an upper part or intersole overlying the lower part. The intersole is usually formed of expanded elastomers or mixtures thereof, such as ethylvinylacetate or polyurethane.
For many years it has been required that sports footwear of the aforesaid type be able to return to the user at least a part of the impact force which the user generates on the ground during his movement, so as to facilitate lifting of the foot and make this movement easier.
Besides the aforesaid characteristic, a particular requirement of such footwear is, inter alia, to optimize the position of the user's foot at the moment of contact with the ground in order to prevent deformation of the bone structure of the user's limb. To this must be added the requirement of facilitating the natural sequence of pronation and supination movements by the user.
Various types of sports footwear are known which attempt to satisfy the aforesaid requirements. From U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,060 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,896, sports footwear are known of the type comprising a vamp, a lower support part for said vamp, and a sole unit provided in this lower part. Inside the sole unit, within at least that part thereof positioned in correspondence with the user's heel, there is provided an insert comprising an airtight casing containing a plurality of elastically deformable elements substantially spaced apart in a uniform manner. These elements have substantially the same height and are barrel-shaped. A modification of this arrangement uses an insert of the aforesaid type also positioned in that part of the sole unit corresponding to the metatarsal regions of the user's foot. The elastically deformable elements are connected together by arms lying substantially in a horizontal plane and connected to the largest cross-section region of said elements.
Further footwear is known, forming the subject of a different patent in the name of the present applicant, comprising a sole unit of the aforesaid type provided with at least one insert having elastically deformable elements inserted into an airtight casing. These elements have different heights to give the casing upper surface facing the user's foot a concave shape, in order to provide optimum stability to the user's foot during movement.
In these arrangements and in others known in the state of the art, the deformable elements of the various inserts (or those provided within the sole unit) possess homogeneous mechanical characteristics. In other words, these elements all provide substantially the same elastic response to their stressing by the user's foot during his movement along the ground.
Other arrangements are known comprising a sole unit in which inserts are provided comprising a casing containing air or one or more fluids in general. These arrangements enable the response of the various parts of the insert to be differentiated according to their stressing during the movement of the user and enable different damping characteristics to be obtained for the impact force generated by the user on the ground. These arrangements are, however, very costly and often do not achieve optimum differential response to stressing.

Sports footwear incorporating a plurality of inserts with different elastic response to stressing by the user's foot


Total consumed calories are indicated in an upper portion of a display. A life activity intensity of each of the past seven days and an average life activity intensity over the same period are indicated by a bar graph in a lower portion of the display. The life activity intensity is classified into rank I (light), rank II (medium), and rank III (a little heavy). A total exercise amount (i.e., total consumed calories) and a life activity intensity are calculated and automatically displayed at the end of a day.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise amount measuring device for measuring an exercise amount (energy expenditure) of a living body (human body) by using an acceleration sensor or the like and displaying the measured exercise amount.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the above type of exercise amount measuring device generally consists of an acceleration sensor for detecting the body movement of a human body, an exercise amount calculation means for calculating an exercise amount of the human body based on a signal produced by the acceleration sensor, and a display section for displaying the calculated exercise amount. FIG. 33 shows an example of a display form of the display section of such an exercise amount measuring device (Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. Hei. 5-36166). The display section has a function of displaying a weight and a stride of a subject person, a function of displaying a calculated exercise amount or total consumed calories, and other functions.
However, the conventional exercise amount measuring device measures only the amount of exercise taken (i.e., consumed calories) and simply displays, on the display section, a numerical value of the exercise amount or the total consumed calories. Therefore, it is difficult for a subject person to judge whether his exercise was appropriate. In addition, he is not informed of the amount of exercise to take further.
Further, in the above conventional exercise amount measuring device, only the consumed calories of an exercise are calculated and displayed and the calculation method is changed only based on whether the walking (or running) pace is higher than a certain value. Therefore, a user is not informed of total consumed calories of one day, nor are consumed calories calculated and displayed when he performs an exercise in a standing or sitting state.
Further, since the above conventional exercise amount measuring device simply measures and displays consumed calories of an exercise, a user is not informed of the amount of exercise (consumption calories) necessary to consume calories of ingested food, nor can he recognize a degree and length of exercise he should perform for that purpose.

Exercise amount measuring device capable of displaying the amount of exercise to be performed further


A light fixture includes a lamp assembly having a housing containing a plurality of light sources. The light fixture further includes a lamp holder having a substantially flat body, a flange extending in a substantially diagonal orientation out of the plane of said substantially flat body, and a pair of side attaching members. The light fixture further includes a skirt having a face plate and a pair of stop members extending substantially perpendicular to the face plate.

Light fixtures mounted on retaining walls or under steps, decks or railings are known in the art. Building codes and restrictions on the amount of reveal (i.e., overhang or protrusion) limit the types and designs of light fixtures that may be placed in these areas. With many of these fixtures, removal and replacement of the bulbs can be difficult, requiring that the bulb covers or the fixtures themselves be removed so that the bulbs can be accessed. The process of removing the bulbs presents a risk of burns or electrical shocks. Water drainage or condensation may penetrate the bulb cover, thereby damaging the electrical components, increasing the risk of electrical shocks or failure of the lamp. Further, many of the known light fixtures are configured to direct light downwards, thereby providing only narrow fields of illumination. Such fixtures may produce shadows or hot spots of intense light, which can be aesthetically displeasing.


A system and method for reducing latency in memory systems is provided. A copy way is established in a set of a set associative cache, which is physically closer to a requesting entity than other memory positions. Likely to be accessed data is copied to the copy way for subsequent access. In this way, subsequent accesses of the most likely data have their access time reduced due to the physical proximity of the data being close to the requesting entity. Methods herein further provide ranking and rearranging blocks in the cache based on coupled local and global least recently used (LRU) algorithms to reduce latency time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to memory allocation, and more particularly to a system and method for placement of stored memory elements to reduce latency in computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advances in computer technology often result in increased sensitivity to particular performance characteristics. For example, with each generation in processor technology, the transit time of a signal in flight on a wire (e.g. an RC time constant) increases with respect to the switching time of a transistor. Considering that a wire serves as a communication pathway and transistors form logic gates, reductions in communication latency may have more of an impact on processor performance than those directed toward increasing pure computational capacity.
As such line or wire latency plays a major role in the speed and responsiveness of not only processors but also any circuit including high-speed memory systems.
Therefore, a need exists for reducing an average transit time (latency) of signals in flight. A further need exists for a system and method for allocating memory locations to reduce time in flight in memory storage systems.

Location-based placement algorithms for set associative cache memory

International Business Machines Corporation


A front-loading dishwasher includes at least one basket movable out of the machine toward the front. At least one spray arm is rotatably disposed below the basket, has spray nozzles aimed at the basket and is supported on a fluid supply line that extends from one wall of the machine and is connected to a recirculating pump. A portion of the fluid supply line protruding approximately horizontally into a tub in the region of the bottom of the basket ends in a 90.degree. elbow with an outlet stub pointing downward. The spray arm rests with two wall portions located at different horizontal levels on bearing points of the elbow, which creates a simple spray arm support, in which bearing friction is substantially avoided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a spray arm support in front-loading dishwashers including at least one basket movable out of the machine at the front and including at least one spray arm rotatably disposed below the basket, having spray nozzles aimed at the basket and being supported on a fluid supply line extending from one wall of the machine and connected to a recirculating pump, a portion of the fluid supply line protruding approximately horizontally into a tub in the region of a bottom of the basket ends in a 90.degree. elbow with an outlet stub pointing downward.
A dishwasher with a spray arm support of the type referred to at the outset is known from German Patent DE 37 02 828.
However, in that kind of downward-hanging configuration of a spray arm, due to the static and dynamic pressure of the dishwashing fluid involved and due to the weight of the spray arm and the dishwashing fluid located in the spray arm, increased bearing friction is generated, which prevents both the startup and the rotation of the spray arm, thus making for less effective dishwashing. It can also cause damage to the bearing points and can either hinder rotation or even completely block the spray arm.

Spray arm support for front-loading dishwashers


An apparatus for working a glass plate includes: a transporting device for bending a glass plate in a concave shape in a cross-sectional view in a transporting direction and transporting the glass plate from a cutting section to a bend-breaking section; a cutting device for forming cut lines on the glass plate in the cutting section; and a bend-breaking device for bend-breaking the glass plate in the bend-breaking section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for working a glass plate which is used in an automobile, a general building, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional glass-plate working apparatus is so arranged that a glass plate is held by being sucked under a vacuum by a vacuum suction unit, the sucked glass plate is raised by an air cylinder unit, and the raised glass plate is moved in a transporting direction by a moving means, so as to carry in and out the glass plate to and from a working section.
However, in a case where the glass plate is transported by the above-described glass-plate working apparatus, since the area where the glass plate is sucked and held by the vacuum suction unit is a limited area, deflection can occur in the glass plate due to its own weight, so that there is a possibility that cracking occurs in the glass plate when, for example, the glass plate is raised or lowered.

Method of and apparatus for working a glass plate


An apparatus and method that uses at least six digital cameras to capture images of the foot, can reconstruct the 3D model of the foot rapidly. Users can only wear elastic socks, which have specially coded multicolored stripes or spots, and stands on the transparent plate of a platform. First from two parallel cameras under the transparent plate, the 3D contour about the sole of the foot can be computed and reconstructed through stereosis algorithm. Similarly, from the other four cameras at least around the upper part of the foot, four or more curved surfaces are combined to reconstruct 3D contour of the upper portion of the foot. Combining the bottom contours and upper contours of the foot the complete 3D foot model can be obtained.

There are some apparatuses used to measure the foot dimension. The Yeti™ 3D Foot Scanner as shown in FIG. 1, sold by the Vorum research corporation in U.S.A. There are eight high resolution cameras and four laser projectors used to define the foot dimensions. The advantage of the apparatus is it can rapidly get the foot measurements within four seconds and the tolerance is within 0.5 mm. The disadvantage of the apparatus is too expensive and it's suitable for research lab to use. Because the hardware and the software of the apparatus cost more than one hundred thousand US$ dollars, it's not suitable for retail sales or shops or mail order to be used to help consumers finding the suitable shoes.
Therefore, the present invention is directed to disclose a new low-cost apparatus of 3-D foot contour measurement to satisfy the consumer with finding suitable shoes in the retail sales or shops or via mail order.

Apparatus and method for rapidly measuring 3-dimensional foot sizes from multi-images


The present invention provides compounds of general formula I:

Chemoattractant cytokines or chemokines are a family of proinflammatory mediators that promote recruitment and activation of multiple lineages of leukocytes, such as T lymphocytes. Chemokines can be released by many kinds of tissue cells after activation. Release of chemokines at sites of inflammation mediates the ongoing migration of effector cells during chronic inflammation. The chemokines are related in primary structure and contain four conserved cysteines, which form disulfide bonds. The chemokine family includes the C—X—C chemokines (α-chemokines), and the C—C chemokines (β-chemokines), in which the first two conserved cysteines are separated by an intervening residue, or are adjacent, respectively (Baggiolini, M. and Dahinden, C. A., Immunology Today, 15:127-133 (1994)).
Chemokines exert their biological activity by binding to specific G-protein receptors, which then transduce signals important for the development and trafficking of specific leukocyte subsets (Baggiolini, et. al., Nature 15:365 (1994)). A number of chemokine receptors have been characterized and each are differentially expressed among leukocyte populations. Significantly, each chemokine binds specifically to a single receptor or to a small group of receptors. Thus, the recruitment and activation of specific classes of leukocytes or lymphocytes can be modulated by agents that selectively act at one chemokine receptor and/or block the activity of a specific chemokine. Agents which selectively block the activity of a specific chemokine or chemokine receptor are therefore useful in treating inflammatory diseases caused by aberrant activation of leukocytes or lymphocytes which express those chemokine receptors (or are activated by the chemokine) and minimally affect immune system cells which express other chemokine receptors.
CCR8 is a chemokine receptor (see WO 99/065561) whose expression is primarily restricted to Th2 cells (Zingoni et al., J. Immunol. 161:547 (1998) and D'Ambrosio et al., J. Immunol. 161:5111 (1998)). I-309 is a ligand for CCR8 and has shown to be chemotactic for Th2 cells in vitro (D'Ambrosio et al., J. Immunol. 161:5111 (1998). CCR8 is also involved in eosinophil recruitment (see WO 99/065561). Thus, antagonists for CCR8 are useful in treating disorders mediated by Th2 and eosinophil cells, e.g., asthma.

Aryl sulfonamides useful as inhibitors of chemokine receptor activity

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein R1, X, Z, R2, X1, Ar, n, R3 and R4 are defined generally and in subsets herein. Compounds of the invention are inhibitors of CCR8 and accordingly are useful for the treatment of a variety of inflammatory and allergic disorders.


The method, system and computer program product for discovering a direction of flow through at least a portion of the components represented in the sheets of a drawing set includes providing an electronic representation of the sheets of the drawing set, automatically reviewing at least one sheet of the drawing set, including automatically recognizing at least one flow-related reference depicted in the sheets of the drawing set, determining a direction of flow through at least a portion of the components based upon at least one flow-related reference, and creating flow information associated with the electronic representation of the sheets of the drawing set that includes the direction of flow through at least a portion of the components. The electronic representation of the direction of flow through the portion of the components also may be viewed.

Schematic diagrams include multiple components to illustrate the subject matter of the particular diagram. The subject matter of the schematic drawings may be varied and may include hydraulics, HVAC, electrical and/or any other type system. The schematic drawings described herein may be electrical wiring diagrams for illustration, but not limitation. For example, in the aircraft industry, electrical wiring diagrams are used to illustrate all of the conductive paths among the various elements of the aircraft. Thus, the term component used herein refers to any type of element included in the particular schematic diagram to illustrate the desired subject matter. In electrical wiring diagrams, for instance, components include modules, line replaceable units, plugs, switches, buses, power sources, grounds, wires, connectors, etc.
Typically, the schematic diagrams are embodied in set of multiple hard copy sheets that each include a relatively small portion of the overall schematic diagram. Thus, each sheet in a set includes references to other sheets where the portion of the schematic diagram is continued. These references are typically called "off-sheet references." The hard copy sheet sets are very time-consuming and difficult for users, such as maintenance personnel, to use, particularly when they need to reference more than one component, because they must manually locate one of the components in the sheets and then trace the connection to the other component through sometimes multiple sheets. In addition, many times a component is illustrated on multiple sheets, such as when the component is included in more than one conductive path. Thus, a user must first locate the sheet that includes the desired conductive path associated with the component.
Due to the difficulties involved in manually locating and tracing various components and conductive paths in schematic diagrams that are embodied in sets of multiple hard copy sheets, techniques have been developed for creating electronic schematic diagrams that are much easier and less time-consuming to utilize. For example, the electronic schematic diagrams contain automatic links among the various sheets, such that a user may easily see all of the conductive paths associated with a particular element and may easily navigate through the schematic. Examples of the technologies that create the electronic schematic diagrams and the associated features of the electronic diagrams are discussed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,731, entitled "Intelligent Wiring Diagram System," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/971,283, entitled "Method, Computer Program Product, and System for Performing Automated Linking Between Sheets of a Drawing Set," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/971,155, entitled "Method, Computer Program Product, and System for Creating and Viewing an Intelligent Graphics File Including Parts Information," and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/971,149, entitled, "Method, Computer Program Product, and System for Performing Automated Text Recognition and Text Search Within a Graphic File." The contents of each of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In many electronic schematic diagrams, it is desirable to illustrate the direction of flow through at least a portion of the components. In the example of an electronic wiring diagram, if the user is going to work on a particular component, the user may wish to know the direction of current flow though the component, such as which direction from the component the power source is located and which direction from the component the ground is located. Thus, if a user is going to work on a blown fuse or circuit breaker, the user must determine the direction from which the fuse or circuit breaker is powered. To determine the direction of flow, the user must manually trace through the elements that connect to the component at issue to determine which direction from the component the ground is located and/or which direction the power source is located. Because current flows from the source to the ground, the user knows the direction of flow through the component once the user determines which side of the component is connected to the power source and/or which side of the component is connected to the ground. Although the example of electronic wiring diagrams is used above, this situation also applies to other types of diagrams, such as hydraulics diagrams to determine the direction of fluid flow through a component, such as a valve. Thus, in any type of diagram the direction of flow may be determined by locating the flow source and/or the flow termination relative to the component(s) at issue.
Manually tracing through the elements that connect to a component typically involves accessing multiple pages of a drawing set illustrating the components of a system. The user must then study the drawings to determine how the various sheets of the drawings relate to one another. Once the user find the component at issue in the drawings, then the user must trace the elements that connect to the component through the multiple pages of the drawing set until the user finds the flow source, such as the power source, and/or flow termination, such as a ground.
Typically, the multiple pages of the drawing set are in hard copy form, such as in manuals, such that the user must physically sift through the pages of the drawings to trace the elements. Alternatively, the multiple pages of the drawing set may be electronically represented, such that the user must repeatedly "pan" and "zoom" to trace the elements through the pages. Each of these techniques is tedious, time-consuming, error-prone and can require a great deal of expertise. As such, there is a need for a technique that is capable of automatically and efficiently discovering and presenting the flow through one or more components represented in a drawing set.

Method, system and computer program product for automated discovery and presentation of the direction of flow through components represented in a drawing set


Illustrative embodiments of controlled pivot impact tools are disclosed. In at least one illustrative embodiment, an impact tool may comprise a hammer configured to rotate about a first axis and to pivot about a second axis different from the first axis, where the hammer includes a cam groove formed in an outer surface of the hammer, an actuator coupled to the cam groove of the hammer and configured to pivot the hammer about the second axis between a disengaged position and an engaged position based on a position of the actuator along the cam groove, and an anvil configured to rotate about the first axis in response to being impacted by the hammer when the hammer is in the engaged position.

An impact tool (e.g., an impact wrench) may be used to install and remove fasteners. An impact tool generally includes a motor coupled to an impact mechanism. The impact mechanism converts torque provided by the motor into a series of powerful rotary blows directed from one or more hammers to an anvil that is integrally formed with (or otherwise coupled to) an output shaft of the impact tool. In typical impact mechanisms, the timing of these rotary blows is mechanically dependent on the size and shape of the hammer(s) and anvil, the rotational speed of the hammer(s), and other mechanical characteristics of the impact mechanism.


A sensor arrangement (1) comprising at least one measuring coil (2), at least one voltage source (3) for the measuring coil (2), and an evaluation unit (4) with means for detecting, processing, and evaluating measured signals. This sensor arrangement (1) is used to measure distances and thicknesses substantially independently of the material involved, without the user having to know the physicomathematical relations between the influencing quantities and the measured values. In order to evaluate the measured signals, the evaluation unit (4) of the sensor arrangement comprises a neural network (5) with an input layer, at least one hidden layer, an output layer, and connection weights for the individual layers. The connection weights are determined and stored in a learning phase by measurements taken on a plurality of different suitable learning objects with known actual values.

Such sensor arrangements, for example with eddy-current sensors having a measuring coil, have been used for years for a large variety of measurements, such as, for example, for measuring the distance to an object, for measuring the thickness of a coating layer on an object, for measuring the conductivity and magnetic. permeability of a target, or for examining the homogeneity, and for detecting damage in the structure of the target surface. Normally, measurements with the known sensor arrangements require an extensive knowledge of physical relations between quantity being determined, the measured value, and possible disturbance variables. This knowledge must often be converted to measuring and evaluation electronics that are specially adapted to the measuring problem. Some measurements cannot be carried out at all, since different influence variables superpose, so that no clear statement of the measurements is obtained. When measuring the thickness of a conductive layer on a likewise conductive carrier with a known sensor arrangement, measuring errors will occur, for example, despite an adaptation to the particular target material. This applies, for example, to the existence of local inhomogeneities, magnetization, conductivity, effective permeability, temperature gradients, etc. When using known sensor arrangements of the state of the art, it will be necessary to find again for each measuring problem the mathematical relations between influence variables and measured values. The mathematical relations are in part complex and extremely nonlinear, so that this procedure, if possible at all, will take an enormous amount of time.
The complexity of the mathematical relations between influence variables and measured values is to be demonstrated by the example of the noncontacting distance measurement by the eddy-current principle. The impedance of a coil (real part and imaginary part) varies upon approaching an electrically and/or magnetically conductive object. Thus, by measuring the impedance of a measuring coil, it is possible to determine the distance between the coil and the object being measured. In the object being measured, a current is induced, which counteracts the excitation of the coil. This reaction is again dependent on the electric conductivity and on the magnetic behavior of the measuring object, namely the material parameters. Same are again temperature-dependent. Furthermore, the impedance values are frequency-dependent, and nonlinearly related to the measuring distance. Reliable results of the measurement may be obtained only when all these influence variables are considered.

Sensor arrangement including a neural network and detection method using same


A multi-source passive energy power generation system that includes use of solar radiation to drive an air compressor and compressed air is then delivered to a power wheel positioned within a fluid tank. The air pressure is delivered to air chambers mounted upon tubular spokes of the power wheel and buoyancy force is used to drive rotation of the power wheel within the fluid tank. In some embodiments weights are added to translate along the tubular spokes under the guidance of cam surfaces to a rotational force to the power wheel from the force of gravity.

This invention relates to a system for generating power from multiple sources of natural energy. More specifically, the invention uses naturally occurring passive sources of energy such as solar radiation, gravity and buoyancy to create useable power.
In the past fossil fuel sources have been a primary source of usable energy. In this coal, oil and natural gas have been used in power plant installations to heat water which is converted into steam that drives massive turbines which in turn rotate generators to produce electricity. Fossil fuel sources, however, have certain disadvantages as a natural resource that is not without limit as well as producing environmental contaminates and concerns. Moreover significant reserves of fossil fuels exist outside of the territorial United States making reliable supply at reasonable costs problematic and subject to spikes based on geophysical, political and financial speculation considerations. Such uncertainty places economic development in the hands of sources and resources that may not be reliable or trustworthy.
Alternative sources of energy are available such as direct solar power, wind power, ocean current and tide machines. Each of these mono-sources of energy and power have their own advantages and disadvantages such as construction costs, efficiency, generation location, etc.
Although nuclear power generation has been proven to be reliable in most situations in instances of hundred year natural disasters, or just plain negligent human management of facilities, unforeseen events may produce unanticipated catastrophic consequences that can endanger human existence in significant regions of the earth for generations. Moreover safe and reliable management of spent fuel rods with long half-lives creates issues of their own complexity.
It would be highly desirable to provide a system and method of power generation for use in a wide variety of applications that would be reliable, not dependent on fossil or nuclear fuels and have an enhance efficiency in operation. Moreover utilization of universally available, reliable, multiple sources of passive energy such as solar, buoyancy and gravity to produce power would be desirable.
The problems suggested in the preceding are not intended to be exhaustive but rather are among many which may tend to reduce the effectiveness, reliability and safety of power generation systems known in the past. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those presented above should be sufficient to demonstrate that power generation systems and methods appearing in the past will admit to worthwhile improvement.

Multi-source passive energy power generation


Methods to manufacture volume transmission diffraction grating (quasi-Bragg gratings) and volume transmission diffraction gratings made by those methods.

This invention relates generally to volume transmission diffraction grating (quasi-Bragg gratings).
A number of devices, such as hyperspectral imagers, use high efficiency and broad spectral bandwidth transmission diffraction gratings and the performance of the device is dependent on the use of use high efficiency and broad spectral bandwidth transmission diffraction gratings.
There is a need for methods to manufacture volume transmission diffraction grating (quasi-Bragg gratings) and for volume transmission diffraction gratings made by those methods.


An image is processed to encode a digital watermark, with different regions thereof processed using different levels of watermark intensity. In an image comprised of elements of differing sizes (e.g., halftone shapes of different sizes, or lines of different width), the different regions can be defined by reference to the sizes of elements contained therein. Regions characterized by relatively small elements can be watermarked at a relatively low intensity. Regions characterized by relatively large elements can be watermarked at a relatively high intensity. A variety of other features are also discussed.

The technology for watermarking digital images is well developed. The intensity of the watermark determines both if the watermark will create visual artifacts and how easily the watermark will be to detect after an image has been printed, copied or otherwise transformed. When inserting a digital watermark into an image, it is desirable to utilize a high intensity watermark signal, that is, to change the intensity of the pixels in the image as much as possible so that it will be easy to detect and read the watermark. However, if the intensity of the watermark signal is too high, the watermark may create visual artifacts in the image, that is, the watermark signal may be visually evident.
Many watermarking technique are "perceptually adaptive". Perceptually adaptive watermarking techniques take into account the characteristics of an image in an effort to make a watermark relatively easy to detect and to avoid causing visually apparent artifacts in the watermarked image.
A perceptually adaptive watermarking technique is for example shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,763 entitled "Image Steganography System Featuring Perceptually Adaptive and Globally Scalable Signal Embedding"by Geoffrey B. Rhoads. Certain commercially available image editing programs (such as the image edition program marketed by Adobe Corporation under the trademark "Adobe Photoshop") can watermark digital images using perceptually adaptive techniques.
The technology detailed herein concerns watermarking an image using the highest practical watermark intensity that can be used without creating visual artifacts. An image is divided into areas. Each area only contains portions of the image where it is appropriate to use a watermark signal having the same energy level.
Some images consist of a series of lines. Such images are often used as the background image on security documents or currency. If an image consists of a series of lines, the technology described herein can be applied by dividing the image into areas where the lines that form the image are within a certain range of widths. An appropriate watermark intensity is then determined for each such area and a watermark of this intensity is applied to the image. Watermarks can be applied to such images using the line width modulation techniques shown in co-pending U.S. applications Ser. No. 09/074,034, filed May 6, 1998 which corresponds PCT/US99/08252, and Ser. No. 09/127,503, filed Jul. 31, 1998 which corresponds to PCT/US99/14532.
If an image is a grayscale image, areas having the same tonal value or tonal density are determined directly, or the image is transformed into a line art image and areas with the same size binary valued areas (lines, dots, squares, etc.) are selected by filtering the image.
After the image has been divided areas which have a line width or tonal density value that is within a certain range of values, an appropriate watermark energy level is assigned to each area. The image is watermarked by changing the value of each bit or pixel in the image by an amount determined by both the value in a payload tile and the intensity value associated with the area in which the bit or pixel lies.
The described technology is applicable to watermarking techniques which change the value of a binary parameter in areas of an image (for example, by modulating the width of lines in a line image) or to watermarking techniques which change the value of a multi-valued parameter in areas of the image (for example, by changing the luminance value of the pixels in an image).

Watermarking different areas of digital images with different intensities


A semiconductor package includes a substrate, a first chip, a nonconductive adhesive, a second chip and a plurality of supporting balls. The first chip has an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to the upper surface, and the lower surface is mounted on the substrate. The nonconductive adhesive is disposed on the upper surface of the first chip. The second chip has an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to the upper surface, wherein the lower surface is mounted on the upper surface of the first chip by means of the nonconductive adhesive, and the adherent area between the nonconductive adhesive and the second chip is larger than 90% of the area of the lower surface of the second chip. The supporting balls are disposed in the nonconductive adhesive for supporting the second chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a semiconductor package, and more particularly to a semiconductor package including two stacked chips, a non-conductive adhesive disposed between the stacked chips, and supporting balls for defining the necessary space of bonding wires, wherein the adherent area between the non-conductive adhesive and the upper chip is larger than 90% of the area of lower surface of the upper chip, thereby reducing the concentration of stress after an encapsulating process, and further avoiding the chip crack and increasing the yield of the semiconductor package.
2. Description of the Related Art
With ever increasing demands for miniaturization and high operating speeds, a multi-chip module is increasingly attractive in a variety of electronics. The multi-chip module is a module or package capable of supporting more than one chip on a single semiconductor package. For example, a multi-chip memory package includes several memory chips on a commonly shared substrate, which provides size advantages, and increases the storage capacity of the package. Furthermore, a multi-chip package has high operational speed and can decrease the interconnection distance between IC chips, thereby reducing signal delays and access times. In addition, a multi-chip package has an integrally operational function, because it can combine chips having different functions, such as memory chip, logic chip, microprocessor, etc. in a single semiconductor package.
Recently, as described below, two chips were stacked using a mainly conventional semiconductor package. According to the first conventional semiconductor package 2, the first conventional semiconductor package 2 includes a substrate 10, a lower chip 20, a dummy chip 30 and an upper chip 40. Referring to FIG. 1, the lower chip 20 is mounted on the substrate 10 by means of an adhesive 22, and two edges of the upper surface 28 of the lower chip 20 are provided with a plurality of aluminum pads 24, which are electrically connected to a plurality of pads 12 of the substrate 10 through a plurality of first bonding wires 26. Referring to FIG. 2, the dummy chip 30 is mounted on the lower chip 20 by means of an adhesive 32, and defines the necessary space of the first bonding wires 26 such as above a height (H) of 5 mils. Referring to FIG. 3, the upper chip 40 is mounted on the dummy chip 30 by means of an adhesive 42, and the upper surface 48 of the upper chip 40 are provided with a plurality of aluminum pads 44, which are electrically connected to the pads 12 of the substrate 10 through a plurality of second bonding wires 46, such that the two chips 20, 40 are stacked on the substrate 10. However, the first conventional semiconductor package 2 requires a higher manufacturing cost and longer packaging time. Furthermore, there is a mismatch between the expansion coefficients of the dummy chip and the adhesive, and thus the stress of an interface between the dummy chip and the adhesive is increased after an encapsulating process, which can result in chip crack, thus reducing the yield of semiconductor package. The yield of the semiconductor package 2 generally ranges between 30% and 40%.
Furthermore, the second conventional semiconductor package 50 is substantially similar to the first conventional semiconductor package 2. The second conventional semiconductor package 50 includes a substrate 60, a lower chip 70 and an upper chip 90. Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of aluminum pads 74 are only disposed on the same edge of the upper surface 78 of the lower chip 70. Referring to FIG. 5, the lower chip 70 is mounted on the substrate 60 by means of an adhesive 72, and the aluminum pads 74 of the lower chip 70 are electrically connected to a plurality of pads 62 of the substrate 60 through a plurality of first bonding wires 76. Then, the upper chip 90 is mounted on the lower chip 70 by means of an adhesive 92, and is stacked on the lower chip 70 by using a step-stacked manner. Finally, the upper surface 98 of the upper chip 90 are provided with a plurality of aluminum pads 94, which are electrically connected to the pads 62 of the substrate 60 through a plurality of second bonding wires 96, such that the two chips 70, 90 are stacked on the substrate 60. However, chips formed by this step-stack manner have to be specially designed and are distinctly different from the common chips; therefore, they may not be easy to acquire, and their cost may be increased. Furthermore, a package includes at least two stacked chips so by using this step-stacked manner, each additional chip must be reduced in size, thus the cost of the chip is increased.
In addition, Taiwan Patent Publication Number 442,876, entitled "Multi-chip Package", discloses a stacked structure of a semiconductor package. The semiconductor package includes a chip carrier, a plurality of conductive bumps, a plurality of bonding wires, a plurality of chips (e.g. a lower chip and an upper chip) and an adhesive layer. The lower chip is disposed on the chip carrier. The conductive bumps are disposed on the lower chip. The upper chip is disposed on the lower chip by means of the adhesive layer, and each conductive bump has a cylindrical protrusion for supporting the upper chip. However, the adhesive layer is not a conductive adhesive layer, and the cylindrical protrusion is made of a conductive material, such that the adhesive layer cannot fully isolate the upper chip from the lower chip. Furthermore, the cylindrical protrusion possibly damages the surface of the upper chip.
In addition, Taiwan Patent Publication Number 510,573, entitled "Multi-chip Stacked In A Semiconductor Package", discloses a stacked structure of a semiconductor package. The semiconductor package includes an encapsulant, a plurality of chips, a chip carrier, a plurality of metal traces and a glass fiber epoxy resin layer. The chips are encapsulated in the encapsulant, and each chip has an upper surface, a low surface and a plurality of bonding pads formed on the upper surface. The chip carrier, such as a substrate or a leadframe, is used for mounting the stacked chips. The metal traces are encapsulated in the encapsulant for electrically connecting the bonding pads of the chip to the chip carrier. The glass fiber epoxy resin layer is located between the two chips for mounting two stacked chips. However, the glass fiber epoxy resin layer is made of soft material, and thus the glass fiber epoxy resin layer cannot fully define the necessary space of the bonding wires (i.e. metal traces), such as above a height of 5 mils.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a semiconductor package capable of solving the above-mentioned problem.

Orient Semiconductor Electronics, Limited


A CAM integrated circuit has a stage-implemented CAM cell which operationally separates CAM read operations into distinct stages, including look-up, prioritization and encoding, that execute independently. The staged implementation is achieved by placing registers between operational logic blocks in the CAM cell. The integrated circuit prioritizes inputs received simultaneously on dual input buses to avoid contention.

In their most basic feature, CAM cells perform associative comparisons on data Associative comparisons are conducted by sending data units to a CAM cell and comparing them for matches with data entries stored in memory locations in a CAM array within the CAM cell. The CAM cell then returns indices associated with matching memory locations.
CAM cells have become increasingly important with the popularization of network computing. Since CAM cells operate independent of processors, CAM cells can be advantageously implemented to enable forwarding and filtering decisions to be made on data packets at near wire-speed. The overall latency of communication in data communication networks is thereby substantially reduced.
Although known CAM cells have advantageously reduced data transfer delay in data communication networks, their performance has yet to be optimized. Such CAM cells have suffered from long access times due to the number of operations they perform. A typical CAM cell "read" operation has three distinct component parts: look-up, prioritization and encoding. In conventional CAM cells, contention has been avoided within the CAM cell by waiting for all three component parts to be completed on a particular data unit before the next-in-line data unit is treated. This "one at a time" configuration has limited the throughput of such CAM cells, resulting in undesirable delays in data transfer and even potential loss of data due to sustained collisions or contention of data packets awaiting access to the CAM cell resources.
A further problem associated with known CAM cells has been the absence of schemes to successfully regulate access to the CAM cell in a dual input bus environment. It is often efficient in LAN computing to have multiple nodes share a single CAM cell. When a CAM cell is shared, there is a need for CAM ASIC designs which successfully regulate access to the CAM cell in order to prevent sustained collisions, contention and possible packet loss.
Accordingly, a significant need has arisen in today's high performance data communication networks for CAM cells with greater throughput. A need has also developed for a dual input bus CAM ASIC design which efficiently regulates access to an associated CAM cell.

Integrated circuit with stage-implemented content-addressable memory cell


A lapping device for lapping an injection molding cylinder seat is provided having a housing that supports a gear system. A drive shaft having a lapping disk secured to one end thereof is mounted for rotation within the housing offset from the central axis thereof. The drive shaft and thus the lapping disk is driven about the central axis by the gearing system.

In the manufacture of plastic injection molded products, plastic in a liquid form is transferred to a mold through an injection cylinder. The liquid plastic is typically advanced through the cylinder by an injection screw and is transferred to the mold through a nozzle tip connected to the end of the cylinder.
The end surface of the cylinder forms a sealing seat with the nozzle tip. In order to prevent the liquid plastic from leaking between the interface of the cylinder and the nozzle tip, the cylinder seat must be precisely flat. Over time the cylinder seat may become worn resulting in an unreliable seal. Once the cylinder seat becomes worn, it may be necessary to resurface it. In high production output operations, it is very expensive to shut down the system in order to resurface or recondition the cylinder seat. Typically, the injection cylinder must be disassembled and then transferred to another facility capable of resurfacing the injection cylinder seat. Additional costs usually arise by having to transport the injection cylinder to and from the other facility.
Lapping devices are known in the art for finish-grinding a surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,144 discloses a lapping device for a safety relief valve. This device comprises a plurality of grinding disks driven by a planetary gear system. Each disk rotates about its own axis and all of the disks are driven about a common central axis to lap the safety relief valve. The grinding face of each disk is in constant engagement with entire width of the surface of the valve seat during the grinding process. This is detrimental because it causes the edges of the valve seat to become rounded which creates a less effective seal.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,941,918; 2,984,054; 2,649,669; and 1,634,745 all disclose various lapping devices and grinding machines. However, all of these devices are complicated in operation and are expensive to manufacture. Additionally, these devices are limited in their application to only one type and size of valve or other workpiece and are not capable of precision grinding a seal face of various sizes of injection molding cylinders.


A water-dispersible polyisocyanate composition comprises a hydrophobic polyisocyanate (A) and a vinyl polymer (B) having a nonionic group and an isocyanate group, in which the hydrophobic polyisocyanate (A) can be dispersed in a water-based medium by the vinyl polymer (B) having a nonionic group and an isocyanate group. The water-dispersible polyisocyanate composition is produced by reacting a hydrophobic polyisocyanate with a vinyl polymer (b) having a nonionic group and an active hydrogen group-containing group capable of reacting with an isocyanate group at a molar ratio of the isocyanate group to the active hydrogen group-containing group of 3 to 350.

Recently, because of environmental problems, it has been strongly desired to reduce the amount of volatile organic solvents used. To meet this demand, trials have been performed in which organic solvent-based compositions containing a polyisocyanate were replaced by water-based compositions. For example, Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. Sho 55-7472 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,696 (corresponding to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 5-222150) describe polyisocyanate compositions wherein a portion of the polyisocyanate is modified with a polyoxyalkylene glycol whose one terminal is blocked with an alkoxy group. When these compositions are dispersed in water, there arises a problem that the reaction between isocyanate groups in the polyisocyanate and water is liable to occur and isocyanate groups are rapidly consumed by this reaction. A curable composition comprising such a polyisocyanate composition and a water-based resin having an active hydrogen group-containing group has a short pot life and also has drawbacks that a cured material obtained form such a curable composition is inferior in hardness and water resistance.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 7-113005 describes a polyisocyanate composition having an improved water dispersibility, which is obtained by modifying a portion of isocyanate groups in the polyisocyanate with a polyoxyalkylene glycol whose one terminal is blocked with an alkoxy group, and an aliphatic compound having a hydroxyl group or a fatty acid ester. A dispersion obtained by dispersing this polyisocyanate composition in water has a slightly improved stability of isocyanate groups to water, but has insufficient dispersibility in water and poor workability. Also a curable composition comprising the polyisocyanate composition and a water-based resin having an active hydrogen group-containing group has a short pot life and the resulting cured material is also inferior in hardness and water resistance.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 9-71720 describes a polyisocyanate composition obtained by adding an ionic emulsifier to a polyisocyanate obtained by modifying a portion of isocyanate groups with a polyoxyalkylene glycol whose one terminal is blocked with an alkoxy group. In such a composition, the water dispersibility and stability of isocyanate groups to water are slightly improved but are not satisfactory. Since a composition comprising the polyisocyanate composition and a water-based resin having an active hydrogen group-containing group contains an ionic emulsifier, the resulting cured material is inferior in hardness and water resistance.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 1-168716 discloses a method of dispersing a polyisocyanate using a dispersant having no isocyanate group obtained by reacting a polyisocyanate with a polyoxyalkylene glycol whose one terminal is blocked with an alkoxy group, a higher alcohol having 8 or more carbon atoms, a fatty acid ester having an active hydrogen group-containing group wherein fatty acid has 8 or more carbon atoms, and a polyoxypropylene monoalkyl ether.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 9-104814 discloses a polyisocyanate composition comprising a polyisocyanate and a dispersant having no isocyanate group, which is obtained by reacting a polyisocyanate with a polyoxyalkylene glycol whose one terminal is blocked with an alkoxy group and an aliphatic compound having an active hydrogen group-containing group such as a higher alcohol. When the composition obtained by the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 1-168716 or the composition disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 9-104814 is dispersed in water, the stability of isocyanate groups to water is comparatively good. However, since the composition comprising the polyisocyanate composition and the water-based resin having an active hydrogen group-containing group has poor compatibility because it contains a dispersant having no isocyanate group, there are drawbacks that the resulting cured material is inferior in appearance, hardness and water resistance.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 6-239957 describes a polyisocyanate composition comprising a polyisocyanate, a portion of which is modified with a polyoxyethylene glycol whose one terminal is blocked with an alkoxy group, and an acrylic polymer having an isocyanate group. Such a composition has problems that the stability of isocyanate groups to water is insufficient and a curable composition made of a water-based resin and the polyisocyanate composition has a short pot life and the resulting cured material is inferior in water resistance.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-191743 discloses a polyisocyanate composition obtained by modifying with an ionic surfactant containing an active hydrogen and a nonionic surfactant containing an active hydrogen. Such a composition has sufficient water dispersibility, but is insufficient in stability of isocyanate groups to water. Also, a curable composition comprising such a composition and a water-based resin having an active hydrogen group-containing group has a short pot life and has a drawback that the cured material is inferior in hardness and water resistance.

Water-dispersible polyisocyanate composition, production thereof, and water-based curable composition and application thereof


A fisherman's chair system comprising a chair having a seat in a generally horizontal orientation, a back coupled therebetween and with generally horizontal arms above opposite edges of the seat with four downwardly extending legs. A rod holder is provided with a generally cylindrical forward extent constituting a majority of the length of the holder with a rear end formed with an upwardly extending enlarged tube for receiving the handle of a fishing rod. A threaded rod clamp is secured to the forward end of the holder to secure the handle of the fishing rod therein. A rod extends upwardly from the upper surface of one of the arms with a hinge and adjustment knob secured to the upper end of the rod and the lower surface of the holder for allowing the selective angular positioning of the holder with respect to its supporting arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved fisherman's chair system and, more particularly, pertains to a fisherman's chair system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of chairs of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, chairs of known designs and configurations heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of increasing the efficiency and comfort of fisherman through known methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
The prior art discloses a large number of chairs of known designs and configurations. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,291 to Lamb et al. discloses a combined chair and backpack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,064 to MacLean discloses a combination backpack and chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,197 to Springmann discloses a collapsible sports chair.
International Application Patent Number PCT/US96/10842 to Jay discloses a convertible chair with armrests which converts to a backpack.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,686 to Griffith discloses a convertible pack and chair.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 341,261 to Decklover et al. discloses a fishing and outdoor chair.
In this respect, the fisherman's chair system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of a fisherman's chair system.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved fisherman's chair system which can be used for a fisherman's chair system. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A method of monitoring instant messaging usage can include identifying an instant messaging session between a plurality of participants, selecting a participant in the instant messaging session, identifying at least one attribute of the instant messaging session, and identifying at least one attribute of the selected participant. The method further can include determining an instant messaging usage metric for the selected participant according to the at least one attribute of the instant messaging session and the at least one attribute of the selected participant and outputting the instant messaging usage metric of the selected participant.

Instant messaging (IM) has become a ubiquitous presence in home, work, and government settings. Although IM applications have existed since the early 1970's, the wider acceptance of IM occurred in the 1990's as Internet service providers began packaging these tools as a part of their service. As the popularity of IM grew, many online networks and websites began to add IM, without charge, as a feature to develop a larger customer base. The ability to have real time communications via the same vehicle used for work and entertainment activities, led to IM applications being accepted as preferred means of communication.
Initially a text based method of communication which allowed users to exchange messages in real time via a chat window, IM has expanded in form. Presently, IM applications allow the exchange of Web site universal resource locators (URLs), data file sharing, photograph and video file sharing, as well as real time voice and video (e.g. Web-cam) sessions. The immediacy of IM, the ability to save a log of text exchanges during the IM session, and the status of IM as a free medium, have led to IM being as commonplace as the telephone, electronic mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing.
The expansion of IM use as a communications medium and the increased number of real time applications available under the IM format or family, have led to IM applications consuming larger quantities of bandwidth and computing resources.


A glow in the dark firework device and a method for making same is disclosed. The firework device (10) includes a body (12) having an outer body surface (14), and a glow in the dark fuse (18) passing from the inner body surface (7) of body (12) to the outer body surface (14) of body (12) of firework device (10). Fuse (18) is comprised of a fuse body (16), and a plurality of threads (20,22,26-45) having an ignitable substance (25) dispersed among the plurality of threads (20,22,26-45). The outer fuse surface (9) of fuse (18) has a phosphorescent solution (52) applied thereto.

Gross firework sales in the United States are estimated at approximately $350 million dollars each year. This figure represents several billion individual firework items and several thousand firework displays. Every year, people are injured while setting off fireworks, particularly around the 4th of July holiday. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that there have been approximately 7,350 fireworks-related injuries per year and usually one or two deaths associated with fireworks.
One main reason for such injuries is the fact that fireworks are used in the evening when it is dark outside. It is often difficult for users to locate the fuse of the firework device. Tile inability to properly locate the fuse may also cause the user to light the fuse improperly, such as too close to the firework device. As a result, the user may not have sufficient time to walk away from the shooting firework device and may cause him or her serious bodily injury. As a result, there continues to be a long-felt need for a firework which avoids these pitfalls and which is thus safer to use.
Glow in the dark devices are not new. U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,327 discloses a welt cord which is either saturated in luminescent paint or embedded with a luminescent material. Depending on the type of luminescent material used, the cord glows either after having been excited by a light source or while being excited by light of a suitable wavelength. U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,271 discloses a phosphorescent rope comprising a plurality of strands of fibers and a plurality of phosphorescent filaments wound through and along the strands of fiber. Each of the filaments is made up of a pair of thin, narrow strips of plastic bonded together and a layer of phosphorescent material sandwiched between the plastic strips. U.S. Pat. No. 2,382,355 discloses a rope that is either coated with a luminous material or that has luminous material incorporated in the material from which the rope is made. U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,813 discloses a floatable, water repellant/resistant rope that may be coated with a luminescent material to increase its ability to be seen in the dark.
None of these patents, however, disclose, teach or suggest a glow in the dark fuse or a firework device having a glow in the dark fuse. Not only are there structural differences between the fuse of the present invention and the above-mentioned cords and ropes, but the luminous material must be applied in a unique and different manner so as not to degrade or impede the performance of the fuse and the firework device. Moreover, existing firework devices do not currently have any mechanisms to aid users to accurately locate the fuse in the dark. In light of the unsafe nature of these existing firework devices, there is a need for a firework device having a fuse which can be easily detected in the dark.

Glow in the dark fuse and method for making same


A method for producing a magnetic tape and method for improving a winding form of the magnetic tape are provided. These methods comprises a stage for winding a magnetic tape around a tape reel; and a stage for thermally treating the magnetic tape wound around the tape reel under preset thermal treatment conditions to impart the magnetic tape to winding habit. In the winding state, the magnetic tape is wound around a tape reel whose hub circumference is formed into a tapered state in the stage for winding a magnetic tape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a magnetic tape. More specifically, the present invention relates to improvement of disorder of a wound form of a magnetic tape wound around a tape reel. The present invention further relates to a magnetic tape whose wound form is improved, and to a method for improving a wound form of a magnetic tape. The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Application No 2004-38337, filed on Feb. 16, 2004 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional, audio tapes, video cassette tapes, memory tapes, video tapes for broadcasting and other tapes are utilized as recording media in various fields. Also, as shown in FIG. 14, a magnetic tape cartridge has been well-known as recording media having a large capacity, in which a magnetic tape MT wound around a single tape reel 10A is stored (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.11-265560).
All of the magnetic tapes used in these recording media are typically utilized in the state that they are wound around a tape reel 10 (or 10A) as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and FIG. 14. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one example of a recording medium utilizing a tape reel 10, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing one example of a tape reel 10, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7 taken along a line A-A, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a magnetic tape cartridge in which one tape reel is stored.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, a tape reel 10 is composed of a cylindrical hub 11, a pair of disk-shaped flanges 12 and 13 (upper flange 12 and lower flange 13) fixed onto the hub 11 in a facing manner parallel to a lower end 11a and an upper end 11b of the hub 11, and the tape reel 10 winds the magnetic tape MT around an outer circumference 11c of the hub 11. At a time of winding or feeding the magnetic tape MT, the upper flange 12 and the lower flange 13 regulate positional variation of the magnetic tape MT in its width direction through an inner surface 12a of the upper flange 12 and an inner surface 13a of the lower flange 13 to serve the function of stabilizing the driving of the magnetic tape MT.
A distance between the upper flange 12 and the lower flange 13 is set to be slightly wider than the width of the magnetic tape MT in order to prevent either of tape edges E1 and E2 from being damaged due to collision with either of the inner surface 12a of the upper flange 12 and the inner surface 13a of the lower flange 13 at a time of winding or feeding the magnetic tape MT. For example, in FIG. 8, the magnetic tape MT is wound around the hub 11 in the state that the tape edge E1 is in contact with the inner surface 12a of the upper flange 12 and, thus, clearance is provided between the tape edge E2 of the magnetic tape MT and the inner surface 13a of the lower flange 13.
In the case where the clearance is provided between the tape edge E2 of the magnetic tape MT and the inner surface 13a of the lower flange 13 as shown in FIG. 8, in some cases, parts of the magnetic tape MT would be projecting from the tape edge E2 into the clearance, whereby so-called "disordered winding" would occur in which the tape edge E2 becomes uneven as shown in FIG. 9.
If disordered winding occurs, the position of the magnetic tape MT in the width direction of the magnetic tape is varied, driving the magnetic tape MT in an unstable manner. This would bring about servo tracking abnormality or such, making it difficult to maintain good recording/reproducing characteristics of the magnetic tape.
If disordered winding occurs, the tape edges E1 and E2 are easily damaged during the course of transfer, posing a problem in terms of quality control. In particular, in the case of video tape, which records sound data in the vicinity of the tape edge E1 or E2, a problem would occur in that sound cannot be surely outputted at the time of reproduction.
Particularly, in the magnetic tape cartridge 1A (see FIG. 14 for the magnetic tape cartridge) composed of magnetic tape MT wound around the tape reel 10 (see FIG. 8) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-265560, according to increasing of the capacity and density, the thickness of the magnetic tape becomes much thinner, and the surface of the magnetic tape becomes much more flattened.
This leads to the situation where disordered winding occurs much more frequently at the time of driving the magnetic tape by means of a drive. Also, at the time of the production, disorder of the magnetic tape when the tape is wound around a winder (not shown) tends to occur more often.
Various causes can be considered for disorder of wound tape, one of which is the fact that when the magnetic tape MT is wound around the hub, the magnetic tape MT is slid in the width direction due to the air entering between the magnetic tape.
Particularly, it has been experimentally known that in a production stage for producing the magnetic tape cartridge 10 shown in FIG. 10, which comprises the tape reel 10A as a constituting part, if the speed for winding the magnetic tape 10A is set at a high level (for example, 10 to 20 m/s) in order to enhance the productivity, the occurrence of disordered winding significantly increases.
Other factors for causing disordered winding, which can be considered, are (1) the magnetic tape MT is irregularly curved in the width direction; (2) tension distribution loaded to the magnetic tape MT is biased, (3) due to the magnetic tape being stored in a state of disordered winding, the winding form of the magnetic tape is deformed or such.
As shown in FIG. 15A, it has hitherto been known that when the magnetic tape MT is wound around a hub 110 of a tape reel 100, a rotating endless belt 200, which is made of an elastic material such as rubber supported by rotating rollers 210, 220, and 230, is pushed onto the surface of the magnetic tape MT to allow the air entering in spaces of the magnetic tape MT for escaping therefrom whereby the disordered winding of the magnetic tape is decreased. Also, as shown in FIG. 15B, it has also been known that a touch roll 300 made of an elastic material such as rubber is used instead of the endless belt 200.
In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-313283 discloses that as shown in FIG. 16A, a magnet 190 comprising concentrically divided inner region 191 and outer region 192 where in both regions 191 and 192, end surfaces facing to the end line of the tape are hetero poles, and the magnetic tape MT is wound while attracting it to a flange of a tape reel 130 by a magnetic force "i" possessed by the magnet 190, to thereby change the winding form for the better. The invention disclosed therein exhibits excellent effects in terms of changing the winding form of the magnetic tape at the time of the production for the better.
However, while the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-313283 can change the winding form of the magnetic tape at the time of the production for the better, i.e., can prevent the disordered winding at the time of the production, disordered winding still occurs after the magnetic tape has been purchased and used by a user.
On the other hand, according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 9-138945, a tapered winding surface 91 is formed on a winding shaft 90 where the shaft diameter of one end (long winding shaft 90a) is different from that of the other end (short winding shaft 90b) (See FIG. 16B), the magnetic tape MT is wound around the winding shaft 90, the magnetic tape MT, which is in the wound state, is left standing over a prescribed period of time whereby the magnetic tape falls into the habit of winding. According to the invention disclosed therein, the product excels in terms of capability of preventing the magnetic tape from disordered winding even after the product has been distributed to a user.
However, in the conventional methods shown in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B, since abrasion powder occurs due to direct contact of the endless belt 200 or the touch roll 300 with the magnetic tape MT, the contact with the magnetic tape MT is preferably reduced as little as possible.
In the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 1-313283-138945 shown in FIG. 16A, the problem remains that the technique is not applicable, if the thickness of the magnetic tape MT becomes thinner.
In the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 9-138945 shown in FIG. 16B, a long period is required for the magnetic tape MT to assume a winding habit, which is not preferred in terms of productivity.
The present invention has been made in light of the situation mentioned above, and an object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide techniques in which a prescribed winding habit is imparted to the magnetic tape at the time of production, whereby the disordered winding is prevented during the course of the production and shipping the product, and which makes it difficult to generate disordered winding after the product is used by a user (such as a method for producing a magnetic tape, a magnetic tape itself, and a method for improving the winding form of the magnetic tape)

Method for producing magnetic tape in which a prescribed winding habit is imparted to the magnetic tape


A receiving part for coupling a rod to a bone anchoring element includes a receiving part body including a head receiving portion having an open end and a first exterior surface portion, the head receiving portion being flexible to allow introduction and clamping of a head of a bone anchoring element, and a locking ring having a first interior surface portion configured to engage the first exterior surface portion of the head receiving portion in a first contact region to lock an angular position of the head, wherein the first interior surface portion is spaced apart from an end of the locking ring, and wherein one of the first exterior surface portion or the first interior surface portion includes a cylindrical surface, and the other one of the first exterior surface portion or the first interior surface portion includes another cylindrical surface or a ring-shaped bulge portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a receiving part for receiving a rod for coupling the rod to a bone anchoring element and a bone anchoring device with such a receiving part. The head of the bone anchoring element can be locked in the receiving part by compression of a head receiving portion by means of a locking ring, which laterally surrounds the head receiving portion. The head receiving portion has an exterior surface portion and the locking ring has an interior surface portion that engages the exterior surface portion in a contact region to clamp the head. At least one of the exterior and the interior surface portion may be cylindrical and the other one may be either cylindrical or a ring-shaped bulge. The bone anchoring device can be realized, for example, in the form of a polyaxial bone screw, allowing for pivotal movement of the head and a locking of the head in a desired angular position.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,285 describes a polyaxial colletted locking mechanism for use with an orthopaedic apparatus, which includes a screw having a curvate head and a coupling element. The coupling element has a tapered and colletted portion having an interior chamber, in which the curvate head is initially polyaxially disposed. A locking collar is disposed around a tapered and colletted portion, such that translation thereof in the direction of the expanding taper causes the interior volume to contract onto the curvate head and lock it therein. The interior surface of the locking collar also includes a taper.
WO 2007/038350 A2 describes an apparatus for connecting a bone anchor to a support rod that includes a connector body and a cap. The connector body has a channel to receive and locate the support rod relative to the bone anchor. A sleeve fits over a socket portion of the connector body to lock the bone anchor in the socket. The connector body has a lower section with an exterior surface which is at least part-spherical. The sleeve has a conical inner surface, which is slideable over the outer surface of the lower section of the socket to compress the socket to lock the bone anchor relative to the connector body.

Receiving part for receiving a rod for coupling the rod to a bone anchoring element and bone anchoring device with such a receiving part


A system for non-uniformity pattern identification. A storage device stores multiple theoretical patterns and measurements. Each measurement corresponds to a region on a wafer. The processing unit acquires the theoretical patterns and the measurements on at least two wafers, calculates pattern scores for the respective theoretical patterns of each wafer according to the measurements, and groups at least two of the theoretical patterns into at least one factor according to the pattern scores to identify one or more non-uniformity patterns for the wafers. Each pattern score represents the extent of similarity between one of the theoretical patterns and the measurements in one of the wafers.

The present invention relates to semiconductor manufacturing technology, and more particularly, to a method and system of non-uniformity pattern identification.
A conventional semiconductor factory typically includes the requisite fabrication tools necessary to process semiconductor wafers for a particular purpose, such as photolithography, chemical-mechanical polishing, or chemical vapor deposition. During manufacture, the semiconductor wafer passes through a series of process steps, which are performed by various fabrication tools. For example, in the production of an integrated semiconductor product, the semiconductor wafer passes through up to 600 process steps. The costs for such automated production are influenced to a great extent by the question as to how well and efficiently the manufacturing process can be monitored or controlled, so that the ratio of defect-free products to the overall number of products manufactured (i.e., yield ratio) achieves as great a value as possible. The individual process steps, however, are subject to fluctuations and irregularities, which in the worst case may mean, for example, the defect of a number of chips or the entire wafer. Therefore, each individual process step must be carried out as stably as possible in order to ensure an acceptable yield after the completed processing of a wafer. The fluctuations, irregularities and instability of a process step will cause so-called non-uniformity patterns, reducing yield. There may be various types of with-in-wafer (WIW) non-uniformity patterns of particular data, e.g., in-line process manufacturing parameters, wafer acceptance test (WAT) parameters, circuit probing (CP) test parameters and the like, subject to various fabrication issues. In the past, simple calculation algorithms, such as range value, and standard deviation, with predetermined thresholds have been used to determine whether a wafer suffers from WIW non-uniformity. Identification of WIW non-uniformity patterns, however, is done by human effort. The labor-intensive nature of WIW non-uniformity pattern identification using conventional means severely hinders efficiency. Therefore, a need exists for a system and method of non-uniformity pattern identification, to not only improve efficiency, but also provide a more effective and reliable result.

Non-uniformity pattern identification systems and methods thereof

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A cooling device, which is includable to an image forming apparatus, includes a conveyor, a cooler, and at least one roller. The conveyor conveys a recording medium with a first roller and a second roller each of which is in a loop. The cooler is disposed within the loop of the second belt and cools the recording medium discharged from a fixing device. The at least one roller is a roller within the loop of the first belt and between a first end roller disposed at an end of the first belt facing a plane of a conveyance path. Alternatively, the at least one roller is multiple rollers within the loop of the first belt and contacts an inner circumferential surface of the first belt against the cooler and an upstream roller of the multiple rollers has a smallest pressing force of the multiple rollers.

Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a cooling device and an image forming apparatus incorporating the cooling device.
Related Art
Cooling devices include a cooler to absorb heat of a recording medium passing through a fixing device and cool the recording medium with the cooler while holding and conveying the recording medium between belts.

Cooling device and image forming apparatus incorporating the cooling device