A new latch mechanism for a vehicle glove box doors, or other locking requirements, wherein the door is to be held in flush position relative to an adjoining panel surface, said latch mechanism comprising, an injection molded plastic body, an injection molded plastic handle, an injection molded lock member or actuator member, with the previous parts being spring biased into their appropriate positions during operation of the latch mechanism, and with the actuator member being of sufficient width to provide a strong retaining force for the latch mechanism upon the event of a vehicle crash impact and also acting to provide a wide contact locking surface to thereby assist in preventing flex distortions between said door and panel surface.

This invention broadly relates to a new latch mechanism. More particularly the invention relates to a novel and improved latch mechanism which possesses advantages in safety, economics of production, and excellent operational features.
Over the last several years, in the art of glove box latching mechanisms, there has been a need for a technically advanced latching mechanism which possesses good safety characteristics, and which would also be economical to produce and possess excellent operative features. Previous latch mechanisms of this general type have been unsatisfactory in that the prior mechanisms were expensive to produce, and also they did not function properly to assist in preventing distortions from occurring when the glove box door was placed in its closed position relative to a housing surface which received the door. Such distortions would occur through flexing and/or movement of the curved housing surface relative to the door. While attempts have been made in the past to solve such problems, previous latching mechanisms were either too costly, did not operate satisfactorily, and/or were ineffective in assisting the mating surfaces to be properly aligned.
The state of the art is indicated by the following cited references, U.S. Pat. Nos. Pelcin No. 2,600,483; Colonna No. 2,642,300; Balogh No. 2,871,048; Doerrfeld No. 3,782,141, Hieronymi et al. No. 4,420,954; and Sato et al. No. 4,480,404.
Accordingly a primary object of the invention is to provide a new latch mechanism which is economical to produce and which possesses improved safety and operational features.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel glove box latch mechanism possessing a centrally located actuator member, which depresses to lock or unlock the mechanism, and which also includes a wide locking feature to provide advantages in both safety and operational usage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new glove box latch mechanism which functions to assist in preventing distortions between the glove box door and a housing surface which receives the door when the latch mechanism is in a closed locked position.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Latch mechanism for vehicle glove boxes or the like


An adapter equipped with a wire winding and holding apparatus comprises a circuit laying section to hold a conversion circuit, a wire holding section to define a holding space and a wire winder movably held in the holding space. The wire winder includes two conducting wire ends which are extensible and retractable and electrically connected to each other. One of the conducting wire ends is electrically connected to the conversion circuit. Two positioning arms are extended from the same side of the adapter to define the holding space. The wire winder is guided by the two positioning arms and movably pulled out or retracted in the holding space to be anchored. The two positioning arms have respectively an extended laying space communicating with the circuit laying space.

These days information products are widely used in the society. Adapters are commonly adopted to mate various electronic products to provide stable electric power. The conventional adapter includes an input end and an output end, such as one disclosed in R.O.C. patent No. 529822 entitled "Adapter equipped with a power indication light" The adapter is made at a size and shape to make carrying easier to be sold or carried with electronic products. It also has a power cord at one end that can be bundled to facilitate storing. However, wire storage often is a problem on the general adapter. To resolve the problem of wire storage, R.O.C. patent No. M350899 entitled "Adapter equipped with unit winding" proposes a structure in which a wire winder (winding disc, helical spring or the like) is provided between an upper cover and a lower cover of the adapter in addition to circuit elements to retract the conducting wire of the adapter. While the adapter with the wire winder thus formed can keep the exterior neat and tidy, and also provide wire winding function, the interior space is limited and a cooling space is needed. The wire winder hinders air circulation inside and cooling capability of the adapter suffers. Moreover, the adapter with greater power contains more voluminous circuit elements and requires larger insulation space. Hence having a built-in wire winder in a large power adapter is not advisable.
In order to free the wire winder from occupying the interior space of the adapter, other techniques installing the wire winder outside the adapter have been proposed. For instance, R.O.C. patent No. M299946 entitled "Concealable and extensible adapter plug structure" discloses an adapter containing a concealable and extensible plug, and also including a wire winder to wind a conducting wire at another end of the adapter. Although the wire winder is located outside the adapter without occupying the interior space needed for cooling and holding circuit elements, there is no holding place to hold and fix the wire winder. The wire winder is dangling and entangling outside the adapter and creates a lot of annoyance and trouble to users. Hence there are still rooms for improvement.

Adapter equipped with a wire winding and holding apparatus


The invention includes a memory device supported by a semiconductor substrate and comprising in ascending order from the substrate: a floating gate, a dielectric material, a layer consisting essentially of tungsten nitride, a first mass consisting essentially of tungsten, and a second mass consisting essentially of one or more nitride compounds. The invention includes a memory device having a floating gate and a dielectric material over the floating gate. The device has a mass consisting essentially of tungsten over the dielectric material, with the mass having a pair of opposing sidewalls. A pair of sidewall spacers are along the opposing sidewalls of the mass. The sidewall spacers comprise a first layer consisting essentially of one or more nitride compounds and a second layer different from the first layer. The invention includes methods of making memory devices.

Programmable memory devices have numerous applications in modern semiconductor structures. Among the devices which can be particularly useful are EPROM and EEPROM devices, which can store information in read-only format and yet enable the information stored therein to be erased by subjecting the memory devices to appropriate energy. The energy utilized to erase EPROM devices is typically ultraviolet (UV) radiation, whereas the energy utilized to erase EEPROM devices is electrical energy. A flash device is typically an EEPROM device, with the term "flash" indicating that the device can be erased within a time of less than or equal to 2 seconds.
It is desired to develop improved methods for forming programmable read-only memory devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Programmable memory devices supported by semiconductor substrates


A machine having a drive that directly or indirectly excites vibrations in the machine over a frequency range when the drive is connected to the power supply. A sensor detects a time-dependent signal that is characteristic of the excited vibrations. The time-dependent signal is transmitted to a control device that analyzes the frequency of the time-dependent signal and relates the frequency analysis to the excitation that produces the excitation and uses this relationship to determine a state of at least one element of the machine. The control device outputs a message to an operator of the machine on the basis of the state that is determined. Preferably, the control device applies an interference variable that has at least one frequency inside the frequency range to the drive so as to excite vibrations. The interference variable may be a sinusoidal interference variable whose frequency passes through the frequency range, or a pseudobinary interference variable whose spectrum covers the frequency range. If the drive is an electrical three-phase drive, asymmetrical energization may be used.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for operating a machine that detects a state of an element of the machine for controlling operation of the machine.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Machines in which a controller connects a drive to a power supply via at least one actuator and receives a time-dependent signal from a sensor in the machine are generally known. Typical examples of such machines are drilling machines, lathes, circular saws and band saws as well as other machines. In many cases, the drive is a rotating drive. In some cases, however, the drive may be in the form of a linear drive.
Machines generally have many individual components. Some of the components are rigid, while others are movable but are usually not moved and yet others are moved in the normal state. Examples of rigid components are the basic body of the machine and the lining of the machine. One example of a component which is rarely moved is a covering shroud which is used to cover a machining area of the machine. Movable parts are, for example, shafts, bearings and spindles. The individual components of the machine are subject to wear and other changes over time. Some of these changes are harmless, some are critical, and some require immediate intervention in the operating sequence in order to avoid consequential damage.
It is known practice to provide sensors in order to monitor critical components. For example, temperature sensors are arranged in the vicinity of rolling bearings in order to be able to detect rolling bearing damage as early as possible. The use of acceleration sensors, distance sensors or pressure sensors is also known. The sensor signals determined by the sensor used, in particular the temporal change in said signals, and predefined limit values make it possible, in many cases, to draw conclusions on the state of rolling bearings or other components of the machine.
The procedure in the prior art has various disadvantages. For example, the sensors used and, in particular, the evaluation circuits used are often expensive. Furthermore, it is often difficult to integrate the sensors and the evaluation circuits in the machine or in the electrical drive. Furthermore, the sensors are often susceptible to interference. It is often also difficult to transmit signals. Furthermore, in many cases, a single signal does not suffice to clearly and reliably describe the system state. Furthermore, the practice of coupling external sensor signals or signals from evaluation circuits into a numerical controller or into a converter is associated with a considerable amount of effort in many cases and is also undesirable for technical reasons attributable to the system. Furthermore, interference and other process influences during operation often prevent the detected signals from being clearly evaluated. Finally, meaningful and convincing limit values for determining wear states cannot always be determined reliably since the individual components of the machine interact with one another.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to address prior art problems and to obviate other prior art shortcomings and to determine the state of rolling bearings and other components of the machine in a cost-effective, simple and clear manner.

Operating method for a machine which is driven using a drive, with state identification by means of frequency analysis


A serial fan of the present invention includes a first fan and a second fan, each of which includes a housing and an impeller disposed in the housing. The housings respectively include a plurality of connecting elements, and there are several air-guiding recesses defined on the connecting elements of the first fan or the second fan, which can guide air to smoothly flow out from the housing so as to increase airflow and air pressure and reduce noise.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a serial fan, and in particular to a serial fan providing at least one connecting element formed with a plurality of air-guiding recesses.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of two serial fans R assembled in series. The assembled fans R comprise a first fan 1 and a second fan 3 which have the same structure. The first fan 1 comprises a housing 10 and an impeller 11 disposed in the housing 10, and the second fan 3 comprises a housing 30 and an impeller 31 disposed in the housing 30. The housing 10 of the first fan 1 comprises a frame 101, a seat 102 disposed in the frame 101, and a plurality of ribs 103 disposed between the frame 101 and the seat 102. The housing 30 of the second fan 3 comprises a frame 301, a seat 302 disposed in the frame 301, and a plurality of ribs 303 disposed between the frame 301 to the seat 302. The configuration of the assembled fans R can increase airflow efficiency.
When the air sequentially travels through the impeller 11 and the ribs 103 of the first fan 1 and the ribs 303 and the impeller 31 of the second fan 3, however, the wind shear and noise are relatively increased.

Serial fan with toothed-type connecting elements


An electrolytic copper plating bath used for via-filling plating of blind via-holes formed on a substrate, containing a water-soluble copper salt, sulfuric acid, chloride ions, and a leveler as an additive, wherein the leveler is either one or both of a quaternary polyvinylimidazolium compound represented by the following formula (1) and a copolymer, represented by the following formula (2), of vinylpyrrolidone and a quaternary vinylimidazolium compound:

The present invention relates to an electrolytic copper plating bath and a plating process therewith which show excellent filling properties in plating of a substrate having blind via-holes with small diameter and high aspect ratio and which are suitable also for performing via-filling plating and through-hole plating simultaneously for a substrate having both blind via-holes and through-holes.
With the progress of reduction in size of electronic component parts and attendant on the demand for enhanced degrees of integration, the packaging has also been shifting from the peripheral terminal mounting and area terminal mounting toward the three-dimensional mounting. Therefore, in relation to semiconductor chips and interposers, researches of conduction or junction by through-electrodes have been under toward practical use thereof. In the case of the through-electrodes, like in the cases of via-filling for printed circuit boards and copper Damascene process, there is a demand for filling the blind via-holes with a copper plating film by copper electroplating. Besides, in the case of the printed circuit boards, a process for performing via-filling plating and through-hole plating simultaneously has come to be needed.
In a copper sulfate plating bath used for the via-filling plating process, there are used, as additives, a plating accelerator called a brightener which is a sulfur-containing organic substance, and plating suppressors called a carrier which is a polyether compound and a leveler which is a nitrogen-containing compound. In general, the brighteners are comparatively higher in diffusion rate, whereas the carriers and levelers are comparatively lower in diffusion rate. Hitherto, there has been adopted a technique in which a leveler showing a particularly low diffusion rate is used in a copper sulfate plating bath for via-filling, whereby deposition of the plating on the substrate surface side of blind via-holes (the side surface upper end portions of blind via-holes) is suppressed, and the inside of the blind via-holes is filled with the plating.
In such via-filling plating for substrates or boards, the blind via-holes to be filled up have had a large diameter of 50 μm or more and a low aspect ratio of 1 or less; thus, the blind via-holes have been comparatively flat in shape. Attendant on the progress of the degree of integration, however, the blind via-holes to be filled up have come to have a smaller diameter and a higher aspect ratio. Particularly, the blind via-holes for the purpose of forming through-electrodes have a small diameter of several micrometers to several tens of micrometers and a depth of about 100 μm; thus, there is a demand for filling up the blind via-hole with a high aspect ratio by a via-filling plating process. Incidentally, in a copper Damascene process, the absolute value of hole depth has been about 1 μm, though the aspect ratio has been high.
In the cases where the blind via-holes have a smaller aperture diameter or a large depth, the potential difference between the substrate surface side and a bottom portion of the blind via-hole is large, so that the current distribution in the inside of the blind via-hole would be worsened. Therefore, where there is no effect of additive, deposition near the surface is more vigorous than deposition in the bottom portion, so that a cavity is generated, and the blind via-holes cannot be filled up with the copper plating film. In addition, as to the difference in concentration gradient generated by diffusion of the plating solution, i.e., the thickness of the diffusion layer, the difference thereof between the vicinity of the surface and the bottom portion of the blind via-hole is large, with the result of large thickness at the blind via-hole bottom, in the cases where the blind via-holes have a small aperture diameter or a large width. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram for illustrating the potential and diffusion layer conditions in via-filling.
The via-filling is performed the difference in diffusion rate between the leveler and the brightener. The leveler is lower than the brightener in diffusion rate, so that the leveler is supplied to the substrate surface and the blind via-hole surface side where the diffusion layer is thinner, thereby suppressing the plating. On the other hand, the supply of the leveler cannot catch up with the supply of the brightener on the blind via-hole bottom side where the diffusion layer is thicker, so that the plating-accelerating effect predominates there. As a result, the plating film preferentially grows starting from the blind via-hole bottom side, whereby the blind via-holes are filled up.
However, in the case of filling up a blind via-hole having a high aspect ratio, the use of a leveler (e.g., Janus green or the like) effective for via-filling plating in the cases of blind via-holes having a low aspect ratio according to the conventional art results in that, since the diffusion rate of the leveler is too low, even a slight thickening of the diffusion layer (toward that on the blind via-hole bottom side) on the substrate surface side of the blind via-holes causes the leveler supply to be insufficient, and a sufficient plating suppression cannot be obtained. Therefore, on the blind via-hole substrate surface side where the potential is higher and the copper ion supply is greater as compared with the blind via-hole bottom side, the plating film grows faster than at the blind via-hole bottom portion, resulting in the formation of a cavity in the vicinity of the blind via-hole bottom portion.
Besides, where simultaneous plating of blind via-holes and through-holes is conducted in a plating solution using a leveler with a low diffusion rate, the blind via-holes can be filled up, but, in the through-hole, the plating suppression of the leveler is concentrated on the through-hole corner area where the diffusion layer is thinnest, with the result of formation of a thinner plating film in this area. This condition, as it is, is accompanied by a considerably bad reliability of conduction; to cope with this problem, therefore, further time and steps would be required, i.e., the plating process may take a longer time, or a treatment for making the substrate conductive may be needed.

Electrolytic copper plating bath and plating process therewith

Abstract: where R1 and R2 are each an alkyl group, m is an integer of not less than 2, and p and q are each an integer of not less than 1, and a copper electroplating method for via-filling plating of blind via-holes formed on a substrate by use of the electrolytic copper plating bath.


An electrode configured for use in a direct current electrical stimulation system, which includes a control circuit configured to provide a stimulating current, includes a main body and a plurality of pin members. The main body is electrically coupled to the control circuit to receive the stimulating current therefrom and includes a base wall and a surrounding wall cooperating with the base wall to define a receiving space for receiving an electrically conductive liquid. The pin members extend from the main body, are in fluid communication with the receiving space, and permit delivery of the electrically conductive liquid to a subject when the pin members are placed in direct contact with the subject.

Conventional acupuncture treatment utilizes various sizes of needles to act on various acupuncture/stimulation points (or acupoints) for stimulating to enhance self healing, blood circulation and metabolism of the patient. However, the conventional acupuncture treatment is invasive and may not be acceptable for some patients.
Another conventional treatment for stimulating the acupuncture points is to utilize moxa, which is to be burnt proximate to the patient's skin at positions corresponding to the acupuncture points, to stimulate the acupuncture points by way of thermal energy (also known as moxibustion). Although such conventional treatment is non-invasive, it may cause burn injuries to the patients (such as blisters) when the burnt moxa is not properly handled.
Recently, scientists have proposed to stimulate the acupuncture points utilizing electrical currents. Chinese patent application publication No. CN203075468U discloses a conventional electrode that can be used in a direct current electrical stimulation system to enhance drug absorbing efficiency. The conventional electrode includes an electrode layer and a hydro-gel adhesive layer disposed to contact directly the patient's skin for enhancing the transmission of a stimulating current to the stimulating points of the patient. However, the hydro-gel adhesive layer may be peeled off from the electrode layer, resulting in poor adhesion of the conventional electrode to the patient's skin.
US patent application publication No. 20130204315 discloses a conventional transcranial direct current electrical stimulation system, which comprises an electrode set including a conventional electrode to provide electrical current stimulation to patients. The conventional electrode includes a sponge portion configured to be secured to the subject/patient's head during the direct current stimulation process, and a stimulating portion inserted or positioned behind the sponge portion. However, such conventional electrode may need to be soaked in conductive liquid manually in advance to perform the direct current electrical stimulation treatment, thereby resulting in some inconvenience.


The present disclosure relates to a method, a device, and a computer program product for model updating. The method includes: acquiring a first image set and first annotation information, wherein the first annotation information indicates whether a corresponding image in the first image set includes a target object; updating a first version of an object verification model using the first image set and the first annotation information to obtain a second version, wherein the first version of the object verification model has been deployed to determine whether an input image includes the target object; determining the accuracy of the second version of the object verification model; and updating, if it is determined that the accuracy is lower than a preset accuracy threshold, the second version of the object verification model using a second image set and second annotation information to obtain a third version of the object verification model.

Currently, personal security has become an important issue that needs to be considered in various applications. Biological information recognition systems for object verification (for example, based on faces, voices, fingerprints, irises, etc.) have always been a technical focus. Image-based object verification, such as face verification, is one of the most popular techniques. The capturing of images requires no contact, is not invasive, and has no interference, so it is less objectionable and highly user-friendly. In addition, since image capture devices (for example, cameras) have been widely deployed in various terminal devices, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices, compared with other verification systems that require additional devices such as fingerprint sensors and iris sensors, verification systems based on image information do not require additional information capture devices. In recent years, with the development of AI technologies, object verification systems based on machine learning models have also been developed, which can improve the efficiency and accuracy of object verification.

Method, device, and computer program product for model updating


Specific alloys, in particular Ni-based alloys, that can be biaxially textured, with a well-developed, single component texture are disclosed. These alloys have a significantly reduced Curie point, which is very desirable from the point of view of superconductivity applications. The biaxially textured alloy substrates also possess greatly enhanced mechanical properties (yield strength, ultimate tensile strength) which are essential for most applications, in particular, superconductors. A method is disclosed for producing complex multicomponent alloys which have the ideal physical properties for specific applications, such as lattice parameter, degree of magnetism and mechanical strength, and which cannot be fabricated in textured form. In addition, a method for making ultra thin biaxially textured substrates with complex compositions is disclosed.

Since the discovery of high oxide superconducting materials having critical temperatures that exceed the temperature of liquid nitrogen, there has been a concerted effort to utilize these materials for various applications. Although many applications are aimed at replacing conventional superconductors in wires and electronic devices, new applications using bulk materials also have been proposed. These applications include, for example, use in energy storage devices such as flywheels, use in current leads for superconducting magnets, and in magnetic bearings, bulk magnets, and magnetic resonance imaging machines (MRI).
For applications such as those noted in the proceeding paragraph, high temperature superconducting materials with large critical current density (J.sub.c) are required. One such high temperature superconducting material is a composite oxide of RE, Ba and Cu.sub.1 (ReBCO) and in particular, REBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.x (wherein RE represents at least one of the following rare earth elements: Y, La, Sm, Nd, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, or Lu).
Current materials research aimed at fabricating high temperature superconducting ceramics in conductor configurations for bulk, practical applications, is largely focused on powder-in-tube methods. Such methods have proven quite successful for the Bi--(Pb)--Sr--Ca--Cu--O (BSCCO) family of superconductors due to their unique mica-like mechanical deformation characteristics. In high magnetic fields, however, this family of superconductors is generally limited to applications below 30.degree. K. In the ReBCO Tl--(Pb, Bi)--Sr--(Ba)--Ca--Cu--O and Hg--(Pb)--Sr--(Ba)--Ca--Cu--O families of superconductors, some of the compounds have much higher intrinsic limits and can be used at higher temperatures.
It has been demonstrated that these superconductors possess high critical current densities (J.sub.c) at high temperatures when fabricated as single crystals or in essentially single-crystal form as epitaxial films on single crystal substrates such as SrTiO.sub.3 and LaAlO.sub.3. These superconductors have so far been intractable to conventional ceramics and materials processing techniques to form long lengths of conductor with a J.sub.c comparable to epitaxial films. This is primarily because of the "weak-link" effect.
It has been demonstrated that with ReBCO, biaxial texture is necessary to obtain high transport critical current densities. High J.sub.c 's have been reported in polycrystalline ReBCO in thin films deposited in special substrates on which a biaxially textured non-superconducting oxide buffer layer is first deposited using ion-beam assisted deposition (IBAD) techniques. However, IBAD is a slow, expensive process, and difficult to scale up for production of lengths adequate for many applications.
High J.sub.c 's have also been reported in polycrystalline ReBCO melt-processed bulk material which contains primarily small angle grain boundaries. Melt processing is also considered too slow for production of practical lengths.
Thin-film materials having perovskite-like structures are important in superconductivity, ferroelectrics, and electro-optics. Many applications using these materials require, or would be significantly improved by single crystal, c-axis oriented perovskite-like films grown on single-crystal or highly aligned metal or metal-coated substrates. For instance, Y--Ba.sub.2 --Cu.sub.3 --O.sub.-- (YBCO) is an important superconducting material for the development of superconducting current leads, transmission lines, motor and magnetic windings, and other electrical conductor applications. When cooled below their transition temperature, superconducting materials have no electrical resistance and carry electrical current without heating up.
One technique for fabricating a superconducting wire or tape is to deposit a YBCO film on a metallic substrate. Superconducting YBCO has been deposited on polycrystalline metals in which the YBCO is c-axis oriented, but not aligned in-plane. To carry high electrical currents and remain superconducting, however, the YBCO films must be biaxially textured, preferably c-axis oriented, with effectively no large-angle grain boundaries, since such grain boundaries are detrimental to the current-carrying capability of the material. YBCO films deposited on polycrystalline metal substrates do not generally meet this criterion.
Many electronic, magnetic, or superconductor device applications require control of the grain boundary character of the device materials. For example, grain boundary character is very important in high temperature superconductors. The effects of grain boundary characteristics on current transmission have been clearly demonstrated for certain materials, for example, the material known as Y123. See Dimos, et al. (1988) Phys. Rev. Lett. 61:219; and Dimos, et al. (1990) Phys. Rev. Lett. 41:4038.
For clean, stoichiometric boundaries, the grain boundary critical current (J.sub.c (gb)) appears to be determined primarily by grain boundary misorientation. The dependence of J.sub.c (gb) on misorientation angle for Y123 has been determined by Dimos et al., supra, for grain boundary types which can be formed in epitaxial films on bicrystal substrates. These include [001] tilt, [100] tilt, and [100] twist boundaries. In each case, however, high angle boundaries were found to be weak-linked.
Recently, the Dimos work has been extended to artificially fabricated [001] tilt bicrystals in Tl.sub.2 Ba2CaCu.sub.2 O.sub.8 (A. H. Cardona, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 62 (4), 411, 1993)), Ndl.sub.85 Ce.sub.0 15 CuO.sub.4, Tl.sub.2 Ba.sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x (M. Kawasaki, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 62 (4), 417 (1993)), and TlBa.sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.2 O.sub.x (T. Nabatame, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 65 (6), 776 (1994)). In each of these cases, it was found that, as in the case of Y123,J.sub.c depends strongly on grain boundary misorientation angle. Although no measurements have been made on the material known as Bi-2223, data on current transmission across artificially fabricated grain boundaries in the material termed Bi-2212 indicate that most large angle [001] tilt (M. Kawasaki, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 62 (4), 417 (1993)) and twist boundaries are weak links, with the exception of some coincident site lattice (CSL) related boundaries (N. Tomita, et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 29 (1990) L30; N. Tomita, et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 31, L942 (1992); J. L. Wang, et al., Physica C, 230, 189 (1994)). It is likely that the variation in J.sub.c with grain boundary misorientation in materials Bi-2212 and Bi-2223 is similar to that observed in the well characterized cases of Y123 and Tl-based superconductors.
Hence, in order to fabricate high temperature superconductors with very critical current densities, it will be necessary to biaxially align all the grains. This has been shown to result in significant improvement in the superconducting properties of YBCO films (Y. lijima, et al., Appl. Phys., 74, 1905 (1993); R. P. Reade et. al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 61, 2231 (1992); X. D. Wu, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 65, 1961 (1994).
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/419,583, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,377, which is incorporated by reference herein, we disclosed biaxially textured articles which comprise a rolled and annealed metal surface having a face-centered cubic (FCC), body centered cubic (BCC) or hexagonal close-packed (HCP) crystalline structure and a biaxially textured layer of an electronic device on a surface thereof. For example Cu with a sharp cube texture was obtained by deforming Cu by large amounts (90%) followed by recrystallization. However, this was possible only in high purity Cu, Ni or Al. Even small amounts of impurity elements (e.g., 0.0025% P, 0.3% Sb, 0.18% Cd, 047% As, 1% Sn, 0.5% Be, or the like) can severely suppress the formation of the cube texture.
When a polycrystalline material is subjected to the rolling process, plastic flow causes reorientation of the lattice of individual grains of the polycrystalline material and tends to develop a texture or preferred orientation of the lattice in the grains. The progress of reorientation is gradual; the orientation change proceeds as plastic flow continues, until a texture is reached that is stable against indefinite continued flow of a given type. The nature of the stable deformation texture and the manner in which it is approached is characteristic of the material and of the nature of the flow throughout the deformation process (i.e., the magnitude of the three principal strains at all points within the specimen and at successive times during the process). The texture development is strongly influenced by temperature, particularly if the temperature of deformation is high enough for recrystallization to take place. Other effects of temperature include variation of the stacking fault energy and hence the operative deformation mechanisms. In general, plastic strains near the surface of a rolled specimen may differ from those in the interior and may produce textures that vary with depth below the surface. Hence specific rolling procedures, which are described herein below, are used to ensure reasonably consistent textures through the thickness of the work piece.
While forward rolling alone may result in homogeneous texture through the thickness of the sheet, we have found that reverse rolling (rolling direction is reversed after each pass) produces much better results in most materials. In most of what is described below, reverse rolling is preferred over forward rolling. The rolling speed and reduction per pass are also important parameters. While rolling speed may be important in the texture development, its effect is not dominating. In general, higher rolling speeds are desirable for economical purposes. Reduction per pass during rolling is also important for texture development. Generally, less than 30% reduction per pass is desirable, although in some cases higher reductions per pass may also be required. The lubrication employed during rolling is also an important variable. Depending on the texture desired, either no lubricant or some lubricant like light mineral oil, heavy mineral oil, kerosene, etc. are employed to ensure homogeneous texture development. Grain size of the starting material and prior heat treatments and deformation history is also important in determining the texture development. In general, prior to rolling, a fine grain size is desired and the initial heat treatments and deformations are designed to give a random texture in the starting material.
The development of an annealing texture involves several fundamental mechanisms. An annealing texture may develop from recovery without recrystallization (in which case it would be expected to duplicate the texture present before annealing), from primary recrystallization, or from grain growth subsequent to recrystallization. Grain size distribution can remain normal throughout the process, or a few grains may grow very large while the rest remain approximately unchanged until devoured by the large ones. The latter type of grain growth, referred to as "secondary recrystallization" or "discontinuous", is generally considered to be abnormal.
It is known that the critical current density through a grain boundary may be reduced significantly for misorientation angles greater than 5.degree.-10.degree.. It is thus desirable to obtain superconducting deposits in which the number of grain boundaries with misorientation angles greater than 5.degree.-10.degree. is minimized. For conductors in which the superconducting deposit is epitaxial with an underlying metallic or oxide buffer layer or substrate, it is desirable to minimize the number of grain boundaries with misorientations greater than 5.degree.-10.degree.. This is accomplished if the texture of the substrate is so sharp that grain orientations vary by no more than 5.degree.-10.degree.. Useful superconducting layers may be obtained using substrates with larger spread in grain orientation, but the better the substrate texture, the better the properties of the superconductor deposit are expected to be.
In a cube texture, the cube plane, (100), lies parallel to the plane of the sheet and a cube edge, [001], is parallel to the rolling direction, i.e. {100}<001>. This texture resembles a single crystal with subgrains, but may contain a minor amount of material in twin relation to the principal orientation. A fully developed cube texture, as described herein, has been developed with biaxial alignment with x-ray diffraction peak width of 8-30.degree. full width at half maximum.
A method to produce biaxially textured substrates has been proposed to produce a sharp cube texture on FCC metals like copper (Cu) or nickel (Ni). In this process, the metal is first thermomechanically textured, followed by epitaxial growth of additional metal or ceramic layers. Epitaxial YBCO films grown on such substrates resulted in high critical current J.sub.c. However, the nature of the substrate was inadequate for being useful in many applications such as superconductors.
The preferred substrate used in the prior process comprised high purity Ni. Since Ni is ferromagnetic, the substrate as a whole is magnetic, which can cause significant problems in practical applications involving superconductors. In addition, the thermal expansion of the Ni substrate used in the process dominates that of most ceramic layers desired for practical applications. This mismatch can result in cracking which can limit its usefulness. Closer matching of the lattice parameter of the Ni and the ceramic layer material can prevent cracking and other stress related defects, as well as effects (e.g. delamination), in the ceramic films. However, this would require modification of the lattice parameter to be closer to that of the ceramic layers. Lastly, annealed, well textured, high purity Ni is very weak. For most applications involving superconducting tapes or wires, the conductor should be able withstand certain Lorentz forces during operation. Significant improvements in strain tolerance, handleability and strength of the textured substrates are required.
Thus, there is a need to provide new biaxially textured substrates for use in many applications, such as superconductors, and methods of making such substrates.
For further background information, refer to the following publications:
1. K. Sato, et al., "High-J.sub.c Silver-Sheathed Bi-Based Superconducting Wires", JEFE Transactions on Magnetics, 27 (1991) 1231. PA1 2. K. Heine, et al., "High-Field Critical Current Densities in Bl.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.1 Cu.sub.2 O.sub.8 +x/Ag Wires", Applied Physics Letters, 55 (1991) 2441. PA1 3. R. Flukiger, et al., "High Critical Current Densities in Bi(2223)/Ag Tapes", Superconductor Science & Technology, 5 (1992) S61. PA1 4. D. Dijkkamp, et al., "Preparation of Y--Ba--Cu Oxide Superconducting Thin Films Using Pulsed Laser Evaporation from High Te Bulk Material", Applied Physics Letters, 51, 619 (1987). PA1 5. S. Mahajan, et al., "Effects of Target and Template Layer on the Properties of Highly Crystalline Superconducting a-Axis Films of YBa.sub.2 --Cu.sub.3 --O.sub.7 by DC-Sputtering", Physica C., 213, 445 (1993). PA1 6. A. Inam, et al., "A-axis Oriented Epitaxial YBa.sub.2 --Cu.sub.3 --O.sub.7 --PrBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 Heterostructures", Applied Physics Letters, 57, 2484 (1990). PA1 7. R. E. Russo, et al., "Metal Buffer Layers and Y--Ba--Cu--O Thin Films on Pt and Stainless Steel Using Pulsed Laser Deposition", Journal of Applied Physics, 68, 1354 (1990). PA1 8. E. Narumi, et al., "Superconducting YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.-- Films on Metallic Substrates Using In Situ Laser Deposition", Applied Physics Letters, 56, 2684 (1990). PA1 9. J. D. Budai, et al. "In-Plane Epitaxial Alignment of YBa2--Cu.sub.3 --O.sub.7 Films Grown on Silver Crystals and Buffer Layers", Applied Physics Letters, 62, 1836 (1993). PA1 10. T. J. Doi, et al., "A New Type of Superconducting Wire; Biaxially Oriented Tl1(Ba.sub.0.8 S.sub.r0.2).sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 on [100]<100> Texture Silver Tape", Proceedings of 7th International Symposium on Superconductivity, Fukuoka, Japan, Nov. 8-11, 1994. PA1 11. D. Forbes, Executive Editor "Hitachi Reports 1-meter Tl-1 223 Tape Made by Spray Pyrolysis", Superconductor Week, Vol. 9, No. 8, Mar. 6, 1995. PA1 12. Recrystallization Grain Growth and Textures, Papers presented at a seminar of the American Society for Metals, Oct. 16 and 17, 1965, American Society for Metals, Metals Park, Ohio. PA1 13. A. Goyal et al., "High Critical Current Density Superconducting Tapes by Epitaxial of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 Ox Thick Films on Biaxially Textured Metal Substrates", Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, 1795 (1996). PA1 14. D. P. Norton et al., "Epitaxial YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x on Biaxially Textured Biaxially Textured (001) Ni: An Approach to High Critical Current Density Superconducting Tape", Science, 274, 755 (1996). PA1 15. M. Paranthaman et al., "Growth of Biaxially Textured Buffered Layers on Rolled Ni Substrates by Electron Beam Evaporation" Physica C., 275, 266(1997).

Method of forming biaxially textured alloy substrates and devices thereon

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation


A salt-splitting liquid (SSL) and a process that uses the SSL to “split” (alkyl)ammonium 3-hydroxypropionate salts into ammonia (or amines) and 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) that minimizes increases in viscosity and condensation reactions of the 3-HP. Converting (alkyl)ammonium 3-hydroxypropionate in an aqueous mixture to 3-HP includes admixing a polar aprotic organic solvent and an azeotroping solvent with the aqueous mixture. The azeotroping solvent forms an azeotrope mixture with water of the aqueous mixture. The SSL is heated to convert the (alkyl)ammonium 3-hydroxypropionate to 3-HP and ammonia, where heating produces a vapor phase containing at least water, ammonia and the azeotroping solvent. At least a portion of the water and the ammonia is removed from the vapor phase during the heating, and at least a portion of the azeotroping solvent is returned from the vapor phase back to SSL to maintain the azeotrope mixture with the water.

The process of producing 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) involves fermenting sugar(s) at or near neutral pH. Keeping the fermentation at or near neutral pH, however, leads to formation of a salt of 3-HP, most commonly an (alkyl)ammonium 3-hydroxypropionate. Examples of such salts of 3-HP include ammonium 3-hydroxypropionate (A3HP), along with those having a mono-, di-, or tri-alkyl ammonium cation, for example a methyl-, a dimethyl-, or a trimethyl ammonium cation. In order to arrive at the 3-HP, the A3HP salt from the fermentation process needs to be "split" into ammonia and 3-HP. Once split, the ammonia is recycled and the 3-HP is converted to a more useful product, e.g. acrylic acid.
There are, however, problems in "splitting" the A3HP salt into ammonia and 3-HP. For example, in one approach to "splitting" the A3HP salt an aqueous solution of A3HP is heated at either atmospheric or reduced pressure in a process called "thermal salt-splitting" (TSS). TSS removes water from the aqueous solution, which is undesirable for two reasons: 1) the viscosity of the resulting solution increases to the point where it is very difficult to handle, and 2) the resulting 3-HP product can undergo condensation reactions both with itself (to form, e.g., oligomeric esters) and with other acids and amines present in the mixture, such as acetic and glutamic acids. These condensation reactions complicate both the subsequent dehydration reaction and the separation processes. Reactions with amines to form amides are especially undesirable as it is difficult to convert these products to acrylic acid.
There is a need, therefor, in the art for a salt-splitting liquid and a process that uses the salt-splitting liquid to "split" the A3HP salt into ammonia and 3-HP that minimizes any increase in the viscosity and the condensation reactions of the 3-HP. There is a need, therefor, in the art for a process that minimizes any increase in the viscosity and the condensation reactions of the 3-HP.

Thermal salt-splitting of (alkyl)ammonium 3-hydroxypropionate


A Gd5Ge2Si2 refrigerant compound is doped or alloyed with an effective amount of silicide-forming metal element such that the magnetic hysteresis losses in the doped Gd5Ge2Si2 compound are substantially reduced in comparison to the hysteresis losses of the undoped Gd5Ge2Si2 compound. The hysteresis losses can be nearly eliminated by doping the Gd5Ge2Si2 compound with iron, cobalt, manganese, copper, or gallium. The effective refrigeration capacities of the doped Gd5Ge2Si2 compound are significantly higher than for the undoped Gd5Ge2Si2 compound.

Magnetic refrigeration is, in principle, a much more efficient technology than conventional vapor compression refrigeration technology as it is a reversible process and, moreover, it does not use environmentally unfriendly ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants (CFCs). Magnetic refrigeration depends on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), utilizing the entropy of magnetic spin alignment for the transfer of heat between reservoirs.
Since the late nineties, the use of a Gd5Ge2Si2 compound in near-room temperature magnetic refrigeration applications has attracted attention owing to its potential as a suitable refrigerant material for near room temperature magnetic refrigeration. A large magnetocaloric effect in the Gd5Ge2Si2 compound in the 270-300 K temperature range has been reported by Gschneidner, Pecharsky and their coworkers in the following published references: Pecharsky, V. K. & Gschneidner, K. A., Jr., "The Giant Magnetocaloric Effect in Gd5(Ge2Si2)", Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4494-4497 (1997); Pecharsky, A. O., Gschneidner, K. A., Jr., "The Giant Magnetocaloric Effect of Optimally Prepared Gd5Si2Ge2", J. Appl. Phys. 93, 4722-4728 (2003), and Pecharsky, V. K. & Gschneidner, K. A., Jr., "The Giant Magnetocaloric Effect in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 Materials for Magnetic Refrigeration", Advances in Cryogenic Engineering, 43, edited by P. Kittel, Plenum Press, New York, 1729-1736 (1998).
The aforementioned references disclosed that the large magnetocaloric effect observed in the Gd5Ge2Si2 compound, in the 270-320 K temperature range, is the result of a magnetic field-induced crystallographic phase change from the high-temperature paramagnetic monoclinic phase to the low-temperature ferromagnetic orthorhombic phase. Unfortunately, large hysteresis losses were also observed in the Gd5Ge2Si2 magnetic refrigerant compound in the 270-320 K temperature range. These large hysteretic losses occurred at the same temperature range where the compound exhibits a pronounced magnetocaloric effect, referred as "The giant magnetocaloric effect".
Choe, W. et al, and other researchers have proposed that the large magnetocaloric effect is the result of a field-induced crystallographic phase change from the high temperature paramagnetic monoclinic phase to the low-temperature ferromagnetic orthorhombic phase (see Choe, W. et al, "Making and Breaking Covalent Bonds across the Magnetic Transition in the Giant Magnetocaloric Material Gd5(Si2Ge2)", Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 4617-4620 (2000); Pecharsky, V. K. & Gschneidner, K. A., Jr., "Phase relationship and crystallography in pseudobinary system Gd5Si4—Gd5Ge4", J. Alloys and Comp. 260, 98-106 (1997); and Pecharsky, V. K., Pecharsky, A. O., and Gschneidner, K. A., Jr., "Uncovering the structure-property relationships in R5(SixGe4-x) intermetallic phases", J. Alloys and Comp. 344, 362-368 (2002)).
Other studies by Pecharsky et al and by other researchers have also observed the magnetocaloric effect of the Gd5Ge2Si2 magnetic refrigerant compound and the hysteresis losses behavior (See Pecharsky, V. K. & Gschneidner, K. A., Jr., "Tunable magnetic regenerator alloys with a giant magnetocaloric effect for magnetic refrigeration from ˜20 to ˜290 K", Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 3299-3301 (1997); Levin, E. M., Pecharsky, V. K., and Gschneidner, K. A., Jr., "Unusual magnetic behavior in G5(Si1.5Ge2.5) and Gd5(Si2Ge2)", Phys. Rev. B 62, R14625-R14628 (2000); Giguere, A. et al., "Direct Measurement of the 'Giant' Adiabatic Temperature Change in Gd5Si2Ge2", Phys. Rev. Left. 83, 2262-2265 (1999)).
There is a need to greatly reduce or eliminate the large hysteresis losses in the Gd5Ge2Si2 compound so that the potential of the compound as an efficient and attractive refrigerant material for near-room temperature magnetic refrigeration can be fully realized.
The embodiments disclosed herein therefore directly address the shortcomings of present Gd5Ge2Si2 magnetic refrigerant compounds, providing an alloy that is suitable for near-room temperature magnetic refrigeration applications.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology


An integrated semiconductor circuit includes a substrate having a surface of a first semiconductor material, at least one separating material formed on the surface and defining a through hole, and a guide region formed in the hole. The guide region comprises at least one second semiconductor material. The guide region comprises at least a first region and a second region having a larger cross-section than the first region. The first region contacts the surface of the substrate over a small contact region. Methods of making the integrated semiconductor circuit are also disclosed.

Silicon is one semiconductor material that has desirable electronic properties for use in electronic devices. However, silicon, like other elemental semiconductor materials, has poor light conversion properties, making it generally less desirable for use in optoelectronic or photonic applications. In contrast, certain compound semiconductor materials, can efficiently convert electrical energy to light energy, making such materials desirable for optoelectronics and photonics applications, but are difficult to use for complex and inexpensive electronics. There are also certain compound semiconductor materials that are used to modulate light with an electrical signal. In addition, there are elemental semiconductor materials in addition to silicon, as well as compound semiconductor materials, that can be used to detect light. Accordingly, in light of the respective advantages provided by different semiconductor materials, it would be desirable to be able to fabricate an integrated semiconductor circuit including different semiconductor materials and which exhibits desirable properties of the different semiconductor materials in a single integrated semiconductor circuit.

Integrated semiconductor circuits and methods of making integrated semiconductor circuits

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An off the road tire comprising a carcass, a tread located radially outward of the carcass, the tread having a plurality of lugs, the lugs extending radially outward from an inner tread and being located between first and second lateral tread edges, a first row of lugs extending from the tread lateral edge axially inwards toward the centerplane, a second row of lugs extending from the opposite tread lateral edge and axially inwards toward the centerplane and wherein the lugs of the first and second rows are separated by a plurality of shoulder grooves, a third row of lugs located between the first and second row of lugs, wherein all of the lugs in each row are aligned circumferentially, wherein the lugs in the third row have two or more ends formed by grooves.

In very large tires having a diameter of 50 inches or more, tire operating conditions can be severe because of the extreme tire loading and off-road conditions. Furthermore, the speed of the vehicles may be high, which can result in excessive heat build up in the tire. Thus it is desired to have an improved tire which is a cooler running tire.


In an example embodiment, actions taken on a web site using one device initiate a workflow on a different device. A main process, including a series of steps, is executed on one user device. When a particular step in the main process is reached, a secondary process is then initiated on another device, such as a mobile device.

With the dawn of mobile devices, users of web pages can sometimes encounter challenges with entering information when the user has both a traditional computer (e.g., laptop computer, desktop computer) and a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer). In one example, a user may be entering an auction listing on a web site using a desktop computer, and the web site may ask the user to upload a photo of the item being sold. The user may utilize their mobile device to take the photo, but needs to transfer the photo to the desktop computer (e.g., plugging it in and synchronizing it, or mailing the photo to himself and opening it on the desktop computer). Only then can the user complete the listing session by uploading the photo. In another example, a user may begin a listing session on one device and then get interrupted and want to finish it on another device. For example, the user may begin entering the listing information on a desktop computer at home but then get called in to work and want to finish the listing on a work computer, or on a smartphone.


The invention includes compositions and methods of generating a chimpanzee-derived adenovirus AdC6 or AdC7 vector vaccine comprising a deletion of E1, a deletion of E3 ORF3, ORF4, ORF5, ORF6, and ORF7 and a sequence encoding HIV protein gp140, gp160 or Gag, methods of treating and/or preventing or immunizing against HIV and methods of inducing an effector T cell, memory T cell and B cell immune response in a mammal administered the composition produced thereby. Furthermore, the invention encompasses a pharmaceutical composition for vaccinating a mammal as well as a protein expression system.

Vaccination is widely recognized as the most effective method of preventing or ameliorating morbidity from infectious diseases. However, traditional methods of vaccine development using inactivation or attenuation of viruses have failed for some of the most deadly human pathogens, necessitating new approaches. Progresses in research have enabled the genetic manipulation of viruses allowing their attenuation as well as incorporation of other foreign sequences. Viral vectors have been studied as potential tools to deliver vaccines as they present advantages over traditional vaccines in that they stimulate a broad range of immune responses including antibody (B cell), T helper cell-(CD4+ T cell), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte- (CTL, CD8+ T cell) mediated immunity. These viral vector vaccines could be used against various infectious and malignant diseases (Small and Hildegund, Curr Opin Virol. 2011, Oct. 1; 1(4): 241-245).
Adenoviruses (Ad) vectors are commonly used as vaccine carriers because of their ability to induce insert-specific CD8+ T cell responses, they have broad tropism, high transduction efficiency and relatively pose no to low risks. However, vaccination is less effective in the presence of neutralizing antibodies (nAb) and pre-existing Ad-specific immunity represents a major obstacle for Ad-based vaccines as it decreases gene transfer efficacy and increases vector-mediated toxicity Until now, most Ad vectors are based on human serotype 5 (AdHu5). This virus is endemic in most human populations, and neutralizing antibodies specific to AdHu5 can be detected in up to 40-90% of humans. Seroprevalence of other known human Ads also fluctuate globally with the occurrence of natural infection.
To avoid the potential limitations imposed by preexisting immunity, vectors based on rare human Ad serotypes and Ad from other species are being explored. For instance, vectors based on alternative Ad serotypes are in development, including AdHu26, 35, 48, and the chimpanzee-derived AdC6, C7, and C68. Neutralizing titers to these various rare Ad serotypes are typically low in humans, with seroprevalence to AdC6 and AdC7 less than 5% of adults in the United States and less than 10% seropositive in equatorial Africa, the natural habitat for chimpanzees. However clinical proof of safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of these alternates Ad vectors remain lacking. Certain Adenovirus vectors are disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/190,787.
Clearly, there is a need in the art for methods of producing more efficient adenovirus vector vaccine systems that circumvent the host's pre-existing immunity, support gene expression of large foreign inserts, while inducing a potent immune response and being stable and safe for the host. The present invention fulfills this need.

Compositions and methods of replication deficient adenoviral vectors for vaccine applications

The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology


The invention is a reusable travel apron intended for use while seated in a vehicle, the travel apron providing a liquid and stain resistant cover for the passenger, the apron having a front liquid absorbing layer laminated to a liquid resisting layer, the apron having an absorbent sponge-filled outer periphery, a plurality of debris-catching pockets and fold-out pockets for containment of drinks, food items or travel accessories for children.

None
1. Field of Invention
The invention is a reusable travel apron intended for use while seated in a vehicle, the travel apron providing a liquid and stain resistant cover for the passenger, the apron having a front liquid absorbing layer laminated to a liquid resisting layer, the apron having an absorbent sponge-filled outer periphery, a plurality of debris-catching pockets and fold-out pockets for containment of drinks, food items or travel accessories for children.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following United States patents were discovered and are disclosed within this application for utility patent. All relate to aprons and bibs associated with travel.
Several design patents include travel bibs with what appears to be a variety of placed pockets, such patents including U.S. Pat. No. D 305,377 to Labatto, U.S. Pat. No. D 311,445 to Dawahare, U.S. Pat. No. D 307,070 to Wymer and U.S. Pat. No. D 436,430 to Merrifield. U.S. Pat. No. D 387,723 to Holmes indicates a contoured auto bib. U.S. Pat. No. D 415,334 to Nakamoto indicates a commuter bib with weights on a bottom periphery.
A bib with adhesive tabs is indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,763 to Blackshear, the bib having a central liquid catch pocket oriented between the legs of the wearer, the pocket including a reinforced wire to hold the pocket in a shape. An body bib is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,820 to Yeilding, the device having leg segments attaching to the wearer or to the bar of a safety seat or stroller, the bib having a pocket for containing items. Disposable bibs are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,968 to Crockett (contained in a rolled dispenser) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,490 to Woodward (contained in a rolled dispenser, doubling as a garbage bag, a being dispensed with a cleansing wipe sheet).
A reusable bib with a material-receiving pocket is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,288 to Mack, while a bib is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,164,369 to Woolever which has retracting pleated pockets or xe2x80x9ccrumb-catchersxe2x80x9d across the front of the bib.
None of the above patents disclose the present invention, which is distinguished by its contoured configuration of components covering the entire seated form of the wearer, its laminated absorbent and resistant layers, the accessory pockets, and the heavy extra-absorbing outer periphery which has a sponge-filled inner cavity to absorb more than a casual drip or slight spill, with the device being rewashable for multiple reuse.
The primary objective of the invention is to provide a reusable contoured apron for wear by a traveler to prevent the soiling of clothing while traveling.
A second objective of the invention is to provide the device with a laminated layer of fabrics, the outer fabric being absorbent and the underlying fabric being impervious to liquid, with an extra-absorbent outer periphery having a weighted sponge-filled absorbent rim.
A third objective of the invention is to provide expanding pockets for insertion of drink cups, drawing items, food or other items the user might place in such pockets.
Another objective of the invention would be to provide the device with a simple means of applying the device to a seated user with considerations as to the limited space inside a vehicle. In this sense, a neck loop may be provided with an elastic gather, allowing the neck loop to be placed over the head of the wearer and removed without concern over a fastening system or a need for two-handed application.


The present invention relates to a novel acyclic chiral derivatives of Hibiscus acid of formula I,

This invention relates to novel acyclic chiral derivatives of hibiscus acid and the process of preparing the same.
Hibiscus acid, [(+)-Hydroxycitric acid lactone or (2S,3R)-Tetrahydro-3-hydroxy-5-oxo-2,3-furandicarboxylic acid], can be isolated from the leaves/fruit calyxes of Hibiscus sabdariffa or from the leaves of Hibiscus furcatus, and Hibiscus cannabinus. However the non-availability of Hibiscus acid in the market, in the optically pure form, has resulted in the limited use of Hibiscus acid or its derivatives in the broad area of organic synthesis and pharmaceutical front. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/365,300, the large scale manufacture of Hibiscus acid in the optically pure crystalline form has been described.
During the past two decades there has been a great deal of interest in finding cheap and potential chiral derivatives from chiral pool to accomplish synthetic pathways with a high degree of asymmetric induction.
The object of the present invention is to synthesize novel acyclic chiral derivatives of Hibiscus acid which are found to be important building blocks in organic synthesis and are extensively used for the preparation of optically active ligands and biologically active products.
To achieve the said objective this invention provides a novel acyclic chiral compound of Hibiscus acid of formula I,
wherein:
R1=R5=lower aryl or alkyl ester or substituted aryl or alkyl alcohol
R3=substituted aryl or alkyl ester or substituted aryl alcohol
R2=R4=hydroxyl or
In the above formula I:
R1 and R5 is selected from xe2x80x94COOCH3, xe2x80x94COOC2H5, xe2x80x94COOCH(CH3)2, xe2x80x94C(Ph)2OH, xe2x80x94C(4-MePh)2OH, xe2x80x94C(1-Naphth)2OH
R2 and R4 is OH or
R3 is selected from xe2x80x94CH2COOCH3, xe2x80x94CH2COOC2H5, xe2x80x94CH2COOCH(CH3)2, xe2x80x94CH2C(Ph)2OH, xe2x80x94CH2C(4-MePh)2OH, xe2x80x94CH2C(1-Naphth)2OH
to form various chiral derivatives, namely, chiral triesters, chiral ketals, chiral alcohols.
Chiral Triester Derivatives
Iaxe2x80x94R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOCH3, R2=R4=xe2x80x94OH and R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOCH3
Ibxe2x80x94R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOC2H5, R2=R4=xe2x80x94OH R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOC2H5
Icxe2x80x94R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOCH(CH3)2, R2=R432 xe2x80x94OH and R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOCH(CH3)2
Chiral Ketal Derivatives
Idxe2x80x94
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOCH3, R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOCH3
Iexe2x80x94
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOC2H5 and R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOC2H5
Chiral Alcohol Derivatives(diols)
Ifxe2x80x94
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94C(Ph)2OH and R3=xe2x80x94CH2CPh)2OH
Igxe2x80x94
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94C(4-MePh)2OH and R3=xe2x80x94CH2C(4-MePh)2OH
Ihxe2x80x94
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94C(1-Naphth)2OH and R3=xe2x80x94CH2C(1-Naphth)2OH
Compound of formula Ia is trimethyl(1S,2R)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylate
Compound of formula Ib is Triethyl(1S,2R)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylate.
Compound of formula Ic is Tri isopropyl(1S,2R)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylate.
Compound of formula Id is dimethyl(4S,5R)-2,2-dimethyl-4-(2-oxo-2-methoxyethyl)-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-dicarboxylate (Id)
Compound of formula Ie is diethyl(4S,5R)-2,2-dimethyl-4-(2-oxo-2-ethoxyethyl)-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-dicarboxylate (Ie)
Compound of formula If is (4S,5R)-4-(2-hydroxy-2,2-diphenylethyl)-2,2-dimethyl-alpha,alpha,alphaxe2x80x2,alphaxe2x80x2-tetraphenyl-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-dimethanol (If).
The present invention further includes a process for preparing the acyclic chiral triester of formulae Ia-Ic comprising
refluxing hibiscus acid with appropriate alcohol in presence of an inorganic catalyst for 6-12 hours,
adjusting the pH of the reaction mixture to neutral using aqueous alkali solution,
concentrating the said reaction-mixture by evaporation,
extracting the said concentrate with an organic solvent,
concentrating the said extract to yield the said product.
The said appropriate alcohols are selected from methanol, ethanol and isopropanol.
The said catalyst is conc. HCl and said organic solvent is chloroform.
The present invention also includes a process for preparing the acyclic chiral triester of formulae If-Ih comprising:
adding solution of chiral acetal/ketal in an organic solvent to a solution of appropriate grignard reagent(ArMgX) in an organic solvent,
refluxing the mixture for 10-20 hours,
adding the inorganic salt solution to the chilled reaction mixture,
collecting the organic phase and extracting the aqueous layer further with a suitable organic acid,
drying the organic extract using a suitable salt,
evaporating the said extract,
subjecting the residue to chromatography.
The organic solvent is tetra hydro furan (THF).
The said appropriate grignard reagent is phenyl Mg bromide, methylphenyl Mg bromide, naphthyl Mg bromide.
The said inorganic salt is ammonium chloride.
The said organic solvent used for extraction is ether.
The said salt used for drying the extract is sodium sulphate.
The chromatography employed for purification is column chromatography. The gel used for chromatography is silica gel. The eluant used for chromatography is hexane chloroform mixture.
Summary of the chiral derivatives of Hibiscus acid is given below in scheme I:
1*/8
Ia: R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOCH3; R2=R4=xe2x80x94OH; R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOCH3
Ib: R1=R3=xe2x80x94COOC2H5; R2=R=xe2x80x94OH; R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOCH5
Ic: R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOCH(CH3)2; R2=R4=xe2x80x94OH; R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOCH(CH3)2
Id:
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOCH3; R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOCH3
Ie:
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94COOC2H5; R3=xe2x80x94CH2COOC2H5
If:
xe2x80x83R1R5=xe2x80x94C(Ph)2OH; R3=xe2x80x94CH2C(Ph)2OH
Ig:
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94C(4MePh)2OH; R3=xe2x80x94CH2C(4-MePh)2OH
Ih:
xe2x80x83R1=R5=xe2x80x94C(1-Naphth)2OH; R3=xe2x80x94CH2C(1-Naphth)2OH
Standard procedures are followed for the preparation of various chiral ketals of the type Id and Ie.
The invention will now be described with reference to the foregoing examples:

Acyclic chiral derivatives of hibiscus acid and the process of preparing the same

Abstract: wherein:

Abstract: R2=R4=hydroxyl or

Abstract: and a process for preparing the same.

Department of Science and Technology, Technology Bhavan


A transport device for objects comprises a frame with a series of carriers that run mutually parallel and are pivotally coupled to an endless drivable moving track so as to enable displacement in a direction of displacement. At least some of the carriers comprise pusher shoes with guiding construction that are shiftable along the relevant carriers transversely of the direction of displacement using guide means arranged on the frame. The guiding construction comprises a guide pin with a guide body arranged thereon, wherein the guide pin comprises at least two portions of differing diameter, that the guide means comprise a guide channel in which the guide pin can engage, and that the depth of the guide channel progresses such that, at first engagement, the portion of the guide pin with the largest diameter engages in the guide channel, and with further engagement a portion with a smaller diameter.

Such a device is known from the Netherlands patent NL 1020825. The known device is frequently applied for the transport of objects, wherein objects resting on the moving track can be discharged laterally of the moving track at desired locations by shifting in a determined direction along the carriers a number of pusher shoes which push the relevant object from the moving track transversely of the direction of displacement. In this manner the objects can for instance be pushed away laterally onto another moving track, whereby the objects, for instance parcel post, can be sorted.
The increasing quantity of objects for sorting has resulted in a need to further increase the capacity of the known device so that more objects can be sorted per unit of time. With the known device the maximum attainable throughput speed has practically already been achieved. At a typical throughput speed of about 3 m per second the design length of a moving track is generally limited to about 150 m, since it would break at greater lengths. This means that a plurality of moving tracks generally have to be placed in series, wherein objects have to be transferred from a first moving track to a second moving track. The high throughput speed creates problems at these transfer locations, wherein objects are no longer transferred smoothly and possibly change position, thereby reducing the predictability. The objects are then no longer located at the preset position on the second moving track, whereby the sorting process is disrupted.


A screen protector is provided with tactile aids for vision-impaired users. The screen protector can be placed on the display screen of a computing device to enhance the out-of-box experience for vision-impaired users and/or guide the user during subsequent use of the device. For example, the screen protector can be configured to be tactilely-informative about how to activate accessibility features of the device and/or how to proceed with initial set-up and configuration of the device. The screen protector may include, for example, braille instructions for activating the accessibility mode and/or a raised or embossed tactile aid that identifies the location of a UI control feature that can be engaged to initiate the accessibility mode or other desired function. Once the user has engaged the accessibility mode, the user may receive verbal instructions and cues going forward so as to allow the user to successfully use the device.

Electronic computing devices such as tablets, e-readers, mobile phones, smart phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are commonly used to provide a user with both consumable and non-consumable content. Examples of consumable content include e-books, webpages, images, videos and maps; examples of non-consumable content include menus, settings, icons, control buttons and scroll bars. Such electronic devices typically include a user interface that allows a user to interact with the device, its applications and its content. For example, the user interface may include a touch screen display and/or one or more displayed labels that correspond to hardware controls associated with the device. A touchscreen display may or may not be backlit, and may be implemented for instance with a light-emitting diode (LED) screen or an electrophoretic display.

Accessibility aids for users of electronic devices


The current disclosure relates to a system and method for auditing application parameters in a communication network. In particular, the method includes retrieving a set of golden parameter master lists from an auditing database, where each golden parameter master list corresponds to an application of the telecommunications network, and where each golden parameter master list comprises a set of parameter values for the respective application. The method also includes selecting a list of one or more applications for auditing, and for each application in the list: selecting a corresponding golden parameter master list from the set of golden parameter master lists and comparing each of the parameter values of the golden parameter master list to a corresponding set of parameter values of the application to generate a set of discrepancies.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Telephony communication networks have become an integral facet of modern society. These communication networks provide and facilitate the infrastructural backbone for a wide variety of communication platforms and information delivery systems. For example, telephony communication networks enable and support voice calls, video chatting, text messaging, e-mailing, media streaming, and other forms of information exchange. Accordingly, telephony communication networks allow people, regardless of physical location, to have access to information and communicate with others.
Typically, telephony communication networks employ a variety of servers running in various applications servers (AS's) to carry out functions of the network. For example, TAS (Telephony application servers) may deliver multimedia telephony (MMTEL) service to any clients of the network connected via Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE etc. Further, the telephony communication network may employ different types of application servers throughout the network. As changes are made to the network, the applications of one or more TASs must be updated to implement the change. If the applications are updated incorrectly, the error may affect the functionality of the entire telephony communication network.

Systems and methods of auditing server parameters in a telephony network


Disclosed is a transmission power control method for comparing the error rate of receive data and a target error rate in an apparatus on the receiving side, controlling target SIR (performing outer-loop control) and controlling transmission power on the transmitting side in such a manner that measured SIR will agree with the target SIR. In outer-loop control, it is determined whether an interval is an interval in which data is being transmitted and (1) in an interval in which data is being transmitted, the target SIR is controlled upon comparing the error rate of receive data after decoding and the target error rate, and (2) in an interval in which data is not being transmitted, the target SIR is controlled upon measuring error rate of a demodulated pilot or of a synchronous word and comparing the measured error rate of the pilot and a target error rate of the pilot.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling transmission power in CDMA mobile communications. More particularly, the invention relates to a transmission power control method and apparatus for comparing the error rate of receive data and a target error rate on the receiving side, controlling a target SIR and causing the transmitting side to control transmission power in such a manner that measured SIR will agree with the target SIR.
In order to distinguish a channel by a spreading code in W-CDMA mobile communications, multiple channels can share a single frequency band. In an actual mobile communications environment, however, a receive signal is susceptible to interference from its own channel and from other channels owing to delayed waves ascribable to multipath fading and radio waves from other cells, and this interference has an adverse influence upon channel separation. Further, the amount of interference sustained by a receive signal varies with time owing to momentary fluctuations in reception power ascribable to multipath fading and changes in the number of users communicating simultaneously. In an environment in which a receive signal is susceptible to noise that varies with time in this fashion, it is difficult for the quality of a receive signal in a mobile station linked to a base station to be maintained at a desired quality in a stable manner.
Inner-Loop Transmission Power Control
In order to follow up a change in number of interfering users and a momentary fluctuation caused by multipath fading, inner-loop transmission power control is carried out. In such control, the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) is measured on the receiving side and the measured value is compared with a target SIR, whereby control is exercised in such a manner that the SIR on the receiving side will approach the target SIR.
FIG. 10 is a system block diagram for describing inner-loop transmission power control according to the prior art. Here only one channel of the system is illustrated. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of processing in inner-loop transmission power control according to the prior art.
A spread-spectrum modulator 1a of a base station 1 spread-spectrum modulates transmit data using a spreading code conforming to a specified channel. The spread-spectrum modulated signal is subjected to processing such as orthogonal modulation and frequency conversion and the resultant signal is input to a power amplifier 1b, which amplifies this signal and transmits the amplified signal toward a mobile station 2 from an antenna. A despreading unit 2a in the receiver of the mobile station applies despread processing to the receive signal and a demodulator 2b demodulates the receive data (step 101). A SIR measurement unit 2c measures the power ratio between the receive signal and an interference signal and a comparator 2d compares target SIR and measured SIR (step 102). If the measured SIR is greater than the target SIR, a TPC (Transmission Power Control) bit generator 2f creates a command that lowers the transmission power by TPC bits (step 103). If the measured SIR is less than the target SIR, on the other hand, the TPC bit generator 2f creates a command that raises the transmission power by the TPC bits (step 104). The target SIR is a SIR value necessary to obtain, e.g., 10−3 (error occurrence at a rate of once every 1000 times). This value is input to the comparator 2d from a target-SIR setting unit 2e. A spread-spectrum modulator 2g spread-spectrum modulates the transmit data and TPC bits. After spread-spectrum modulation, the mobile station 2 subjects the signal to processing such as a DA conversion, orthogonal modulation, frequency conversion and power amplification and transmits the resultant signal toward the base station 1 from an antenna. A despreading unit is on the side of the base station applies despread processing to the signal received from the mobile station 2, and a demodulator 1d demodulates the receive data and TPC bits and controls the transmission power of the base station 1 in accordance with a command specified by the TPC bits (step 105).
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an uplink frame structure standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (referred to as "3GPP" below). There is a DPDCH data channel (Dedicated Physical Data Channel) on which only transmit data is transmitted, and a DPCCH control channel (Dedicated Physical Control Channel) on which control data such as a pilot and TPC bit information is multiplexed. After each of these is spread by an orthogonal code, they are mapped onto real and imaginary axes and multiplexed. One frame of the uplink has a duration of 10 ms and is composed of 15 slots (slot #0 to slot #14). The DPDCH data channel is mapped to an orthogonal I channel of QPSK modulation, and the DPCCH control channel is mapped to an orthogonal Q channel of QPSK modulation. Each slot of the DPDCH data channel (I channel) consists of Ndata bits, and the Ndata varies in accordance with the symbol rate. Each slot of the DPCCH control channel (Q channel) that transmits the control data consists of ten bits, has a symbol rate of 15 ksps and transmits a pilot PILOT, transmission power control data TPC, a transport format combination indicator TFCI and feedback information FBI.
The TFCI is a parameter which, when the encoded data of each transport channel TrCH is multiplexed and transmitted on the transmitting side, indicates how the encoded data of each transport channel TrCH was multiplexed in such a manner that the data can be demultiplexed correctly on the receiving side. The TFCI of ten bits is subjected to encoding processing, made a 32-bit TFCI code word and transmitted.
Outer-Loop Transmission Power Control
Owing to changes in traveling velocity during communication and changes in the propagation environment ascribable to travel, the SIR that is necessary to obtain a desired quality (the block error rate, or BLER) is not constant. In order to deal with these changes, the block error rate BLER is observed and control is exercised so as to increase the target SIR if the observed value of BLER is inferior to the target BLER and decrease the target SIR if the observed value of BLER is superior to the target BLER. Control that thus changes the target SIR adaptively in order to achieve the desired quality is well known as outer-loop transmission power control (outer-loop TPC).
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a transmission power control apparatus on the receiving side, the apparatus including an outer-loop control section. Components identical with those shown in FIG. 10 are designated by like reference characters. FIG. 14 is a processing flowchart of outer-loop control. As shown in FIG. 13, the apparatus includes a radio unit 21, a modem unit 22 and a codec unit 23.
A signal that has been transmitted from the base station 1 is received by the radio unit 21 and is demodulated by the demodulator 2b of the modem unit 22, after which the demodulated signal is decoded by an error-correction decoder 2h of the codec unit 23 (step 201). A receive BLER measurement unit (e.g., a CRC detector) 2j performs CRC error detection for every transport block TrBk and inputs the result (measured BLER) of error detection of each transport block TrBk to a target-SIR controller 2k (step 202).
Since the system specifies target block error rate (BLER) by transport channel (TrCH), the target-SIR controller 2k compares the input measured BLER and the target BLER (step 203), exercises control of the target SIR in such a manner that the target SIR is increased a prescribed amount (step 204) if the measured BLER is greater than the target BLER and decreased a prescribed amount (step 205) if the measured BLER is less than the target BLER. The update period and amount of update of the target SIR change depending upon the target quality specified. By virtue of the control described above, the target SIR is regulated as indicated intervals A, B in FIG. 15.
The outer-loop control set forth above is for a case where the transmitting side is transmitting data on the DPDCH (FIG. 12). However, in a case where data is not being transmitted, the codec unit 23 cannot measure the BLER of the receive data. As a consequence, outer-loop control is not carried out and the target SIR is held constant, as indicated at C in FIG. 15. It is required that the constant value of target SIR be set to a value that will make it possible to maintain synchronism between the transmitting side and the receiving side. This is because the mobile station will stop transmitting unless the synchronism between the transmitting side and the receiving side can be maintained.
Since AMR data and UDI (Unrestricted DIgital) data is continuous data, data always exists on the transport channel (TrCH). However, owing to bursty transmission, there are times when a packet does and does not have TrCH data.
Other Outer-Loop Control Scheme
Besides control for adjusting the target SIR using the block error rate (BLER) after error correction and decoding as described above, there is also a proposed technique (International Laid-Open No. WO97/50197) for estimating BLER from the error rate of the pilot signal and updating the target SIR.
Conventionally, a case (receive data non-existent) where only maintenance of communication synchronism by a pilot signal is being performed by the modem unit 22 (FIG. 13) and a case (receive data exists) where communication of control data and user data by the codec unit 23 is being performed are not distinguished from each other. Consequently, there is no data decoded by the codec unit 23 and, in the interval where synchronism of communication is merely being maintained by the pilot signal, the target SIR cannot be controlled and becomes a constant value (C in FIG. 15). In this interval, however, it is required that enough power for enabling maintenance of synchronism be generated irrespective of the target SIR. As a result, the prior art is such that in an interval in which data is not being transmitted, the difference between the target SIR of a constant value and the smallest SIR necessary to maintain synchronism by the pilot signal becomes excessive power.
Further, with control that updates the target SIR by a pilot signal as disclosed in Patent Reference 1, the target SIR can be updated even when communication is taking place solely on DPCCH, i.e., even when there is no receive data. According to the prior art, however, control is exercised without giving any consideration whatsoever to the SIR value needed to maintain synchronism. As a consequence, the difference between the target SIR and the smallest SIR needed to maintain synchronism by the pilot signal becomes excessive power. Further, according to the prior art, the pilot error rate is measured without executing decoding processing and therefore a problem which arises is that the measured error rate contains an error. This means that control of transmission power cannot be carried out.

Transmission power control method and apparatus


A system and method for forwarding fault information in an optical network is disclosed. Responsive to a fault being detected at a node, the fault information is forwarded to the destination node in the form of a loss-of-signal condition by turning off laser transmitters used to propagate the signal towards its destination. Thus, a node or other network element not capable of generating an alarm signal consistent with an established alarm signaling protocol, such as a SONET alarm indication signal (AIS) or an SDH multiplexer section alarm indication signal MS-AIS, may still forward the fault condition to a downstream element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fault detection and restoration in a unidirectional path switched ring network.
2. Description of Background Art
Unidirectional path switched ring (UPSR) optical networks are of interest for telecommunications. Referring to FIG. 1, in a conventional UPSR network 100, a plurality of optical add drop multiplexer (ADM) nodes are coupled into a ring topology by a plurality of working fibers 110 and protection fibers 115. In a UPSR network traffic added at a source node is simultaneously sent on both the working and protection fibers to a destination node (also sometimes known as the "receiving node"). The two versions of the traffic are sent along opposite ring directions, e.g., in FIG. 1 traffic between nodes A and node B may be sent clockwise on the working fibers or counterclockwise on the protection fibers. The destination node selects the better version of the signal, which is coupled to the tributary network. Commonly, the default rule is that the working path signal is coupled to the tributary network unless a loss of signal or signal degradation is detected from the working path signal received by the destination node.
Some standard protocols permit alarm signals to be used to propagate fault information. For example, the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) and synchronous optical network (SONET) standards include alarm signal protocols. SONET, for example, includes an alarm indication signal (AIS), such as an alarm indication signal line (AIS-L), generated to replace a normal traffic signal when the traffic contains a defect condition, such as a loss of signal (LOS), loss of frame (LOF), or other form of degradation. The AIS notifies downstream devices of an upstream defect condition. This is particularly useful if signal degradation occurs at a tributary interface where the signal enters a source node. Similarly, SDH includes alarm signal protocols, such as a multiplexer section alarm indication signal MS-AIS.
However, some types of services do not have standard alarm signal protocols comparable to the AIS or MS-AIS. These include, for example, Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and Clear Channel, for which there are no corresponding alarm signal protocol such as an AIS for forwarding fault information. Consequently, network performance may be deleteriously affected.
What is desired is a new system and method for forwarding fault information in an optical network.
The figures depict a preferred embodiment of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One of skill in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods disclosed herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the claimed invention.