There is provided a system for debugging a computer program comprising computer readable program code. The system comprises, debugging data indicating an execution of the computer program, first and second user devices, configured to display a first and second graphical user interface respectively, each graphical user interface comprising data indicative of an execution of a debugger processing the debugging data. The first and second graphical user interfaces are each configured to display data indicative of a temporal position of the execution of the computer program associated with the other one of said graphical user interfaces, and display data indicative of a position within the computer readable program code associated with the other one of said graphical user interfaces.

When writing computer programs it is sometimes the case that errors, or 'bugs', are included in the program. Sometimes this is due to typographical errors in writing source code (e.g. omitting a character or substituting one character for another), sometimes due to implementing incorrect functionality (e.g. causing a loop to terminate at one when it ought to terminate at zero) and sometimes due to errors in other programs upon which an author of the program is relying, for example a library routine or even the compiler itself.
A debugger can assist users in identifying and removing bugs from a program. Prior art debuggers tend to focus upon inserting so-called breakpoints into a program and running a program forwards in time, stopping at one or more of the breakpoints in order to examine the state of the program (content of processor registers, content of memory) at that breakpoint in the hope of catching an error before it causes the program to crash. Crashing can take many forms, generally summarised as the program not running as intended, for example a segmentation fault, an unhandled exception or an infinite loop (where a program stops responding to user input and executes the same routines indefinitely). An example of such a prior art debugger is GDB, the GNU Project Debugger.
Some debuggers can work backwards as well as forwards. For example, in WO2007/045920, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, techniques are described which allow a program, more particularly the program code of a program, to effectively be run backwards. This is helpful as it allows an error to be traced backwards from the moment it caused the program to crash until the error first appeared.
There remains a need to provide an improved system and method for debugging.


An electrical lead has a first set of terminals (14) at one end of the lead and a second set of terminals (15) at the other end of the lead. A connector circuit (11,12) respectively connects the terminals (14) to the terminals (15). This circuit (11,12) is adjustable so as to change the connection paths between the first and second sets of terminals (14,15). The connector circuit (11,12) is surrounded by a security enclosure which comprises flexible sheet means of electrically insulating material carrying an array of lines of electrically security conductors. Monitoring means are connected to the security conductors to detect a change in an electrical characteristic thereof resulting from damage to the security enclosure. The invention can be used in a financial terminal, and provides security against a fraudulent attack on the lead intended to gain access to confidential information, such as a personal identification number, transmitted over the lead.

The present invention relates to an electrical lead having connecting terminals at each end of the lead. An electrical lead in accordance with the invention is of particular advantage in securely interconnecting a membrane keyboard to the keyboard scanning circuits of a financial terminal.
In a financial terminal, consideration must be given to the detection and prevention of attempted access to confidential information transmitted over the electrical lead between a membrane keyboard and a physically secure area in which keyboard scanning electronic circuits are located. Such lead is normally regarded as one of the weakest points for an attack and is difficult to protect. An attack on such lead would normally be made by the attachment of taps to conductors of the lead or by passively monitoring the lead by the use of current probes in order to gain information such as personal identification numbers (PINs).

Electrical lead and financial terminal including the lead


A structure for supporting, via an engine mount, a transversal engine having a crankshaft laid horizontally at a right angle to a vehicle longitudinal axis, on a vehicle body, is disclosed. The engine mount includes at least one inclined hydro mount in which a working fluid is enclosed and a maximum damping generating axis is inclined a predetermined angle with respect to a vertical line. The inclined hydro mount is disposed inwardly of a total width in a power plant which includes the transversal engine and a transmission.

Conventionally, as an engine mount for supporting an engine of a motor vehicle, there has been known a structure in which a liquid is sealingly enclosed, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Kokoku (Post-Exam) Publication No. SHO-63-61533.
The conventional engine mount will be discussed below with reference to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 hereof.
In FIG. 17, reference numeral 101 denotes an upper plate, reference numeral 102 denotes a lower plate, reference numeral 103 denotes a bolt for connecting the upper plate 101 to the engine, reference numeral 104 denotes a bearing body fixed to a vehicle body frame, reference numerals 105 and 106 denote a rubber elastic body, reference symbol R1 denotes an upper liquid chamber, reference symbol R2 denotes a lower liquid chamber, and reference numeral 107 denotes an orifice doubling as a passage connecting the upper and lower liquid chambers R1 and R2. In the manner mentioned above, a mount structure provided with both of the rubber elastic bodies 105 and 106 and the liquid chambers R1 and R2 is called as a hydro mount.
When fixing the bearing body 104 and applying a vibration in a vertical direction to the upper plate 101 via the bolt 103, the liquid stored in the upper liquid chamber R1 moves to the lower liquid chamber R2 through the orifice 107, or the liquid in the lower liquid chamber R2 moves to the upper liquid chamber R1. At this time, a vibration energy applied to the liquid is attenuated through the orifice 107. The rubber elastic bodies 105 and 106 also serve as an elastic body so as to attenuate a part of the vibration energy.
Accordingly, the vibration energy caused by the vertical vibration is attenuated by the liquid and the rubber elastic body. This is a basic operation of the hydro mount.
In FIG. 18, reference symbol R3 denotes a left liquid chamber, reference symbol R4 denotes a right liquid chamber, reference numeral 108 denotes an outer ring, and reference numeral 109 denotes a communication pore formed in the rubber elastic body 105 in such a manner as to extend along an inner surface of the outer ring 108.
When fixing the bearing body 104 and applying a vibration in a lateral direction to the upper plate 101 via the bolt 103, the liquid stored in the left liquid chamber R3 moves to the right liquid chamber R4 through the transfer pore 109, or the liquid in the right liquid chamber R4 moves to the left liquid chamber R3. At this time, a vibration energy applied to the liquid is attenuated through the transfer pore 109. The rubber elastic bodies 105 and 106 also serve as an elastic body so as to attenuate a part of the vibration energy.
Since the hydro mount described in Publication No. SHO-63-61533 mentioned above attenuates not only the vertical vibration but also the lateral vibration, it is preferable for the engine mount. However, in order to form the left and right liquid chambers R3 and R4, and the transfer pore 109, a high degree of manufacturing technique is required. Further, since a shape is as a whole complex, an outer diameter is increased and a size is increased as a whole, in order to arrange the left and right liquid chambers R3 and R4 having a fixed volume.
In addition, since the transfer pore 109 is long, it is considered that a cross sectional area changes due to deterioration of rubber generated by a long term use or the like. When the cross sectional area changes, a throttling characteristic changes. Accordingly, the hydro mount of Publication No. SHO-63-61533 has a drawback in terms of durability.

Support structure for transversal engine


The present invention provides a wall mounting device and a wall mounting method for liquid crystal display. The wall mounting device includes a cross frame, brackets for supporting a bottom of a liquid crystal display, and connection sections connecting the cross frame and the brackets. The cross frame forms through holes corresponding to the mounting pegs of the liquid crystal display. To assemble, the bottom of the liquid crystal display is positioned on the brackets and the mounting pegs and the through holes are connected to each other so as to couple the liquid crystal display and the wall mounting device together. The wall mounting device for liquid crystal display of that uses brackets to reduce the number of mounting pegs used in the liquid crystal display so as effectively lower down the cost and enable the use of a thinner back frame for the liquid crystal display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of liquid crystal display, and in particular to a wall mounting device and a wall mounting method for liquid crystal display.
2. The Related Arts
Due to various advantages of being light and thin, consuming less power, and generating low radiation, liquid crystal displays have been widely used in a variety of fields. Conventionally, a liquid crystal display is retained in position by a base placed on a desktop. To reduce the amount of space occupied by a liquid crystal display and to achieve the purposes of aesthetics and decoration, a wall mounting device is provided to the liquid crystal display to allow the liquid crystal display to be directly mounted to a wall.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the structure of an existing design of liquid crystal display, a wall mounting structure is often composed of mounting pegs 200 that are riveted to a back frame 100 of a liquid crystal display. The mounting pegs 200 form internal threading, whereby through engagement made between bolts and the internal threading, wall mounting can be achieved. However, to enable the mounting pegs 200 to bear the weight of an entire set of television, the requirements for riveting operation, the thickness of the back frame 100, and design of the mounting pegs 200 must be greatly upgraded and this makes the design complicated.

Wall mounting device and wall mounting method for liquid crystal display

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


A clamping device for a key duplicating machine includes two pairs of fixed jaws and movable jaws arranged on a base, and can be relatively moved to each other along two horizontal parallel upper and lower guide rods. The fixed and movable jaws are provided with several vertical semicylindrical notches of different radii on the confronting sides thereof in order to form several vertical approximate cylindrical clamping holes for clamping cylindrical keys of different diameters when the movable jaws are moved toward the fixed jaws. An upright biasing device is provided on the base beneath a horizontal portion of the fixed and movable jaw. The biasing device includes a pivotable location stopper arranged on the fixed jaw and has a horizontal plate portion arranged in a pre-determined level position. The biasing device further includes an upright cylinder and a compression spring received in the cylinder for upward biasing of a cylindrical key blank or an original key to be clamped against the horizontal plate portion.

The present invention relates to a clamping device for a key duplicating machine for clamping a cylindrical key or a flat key.
Conventional clamping devices for key duplicating machines can only be used to clamp a specific type of key, e.g., a flat key or a cylindrical key.
However, there are several types of keys sold in the market, e.g. flat keys, cylindrical keys, or semi-cylinder keys. Each key has to be duplicated by a key duplicating machine having a specific type of the clamping device. Hence, it is necessary for the lock-smith to have several key duplicating machines with several types of the clamping devices to carry out duplication of different kinds of keys. This will result in an increase of the key duplicating cost.
The present invention aims at eliminating the above disadvantages and provides a clamping device for key duplicating machine for clamping a cylindrical key or a flat key.
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the clamping device for key duplicating machine comprises two pairs of fixed jaws and movable jaws arranged on a base, and can be relatively moved to each other along two horizontal parallel upper and lower guide rods; the fixed and movable jaws being provided with several vertical semicylindrical notches of different radii on the confronting sides thereof in order to form several vertical approximate cylindrical clamping holes for clamping cylindrical keys of different diameters when the movable jaws are moved toward the fixed jaws; an upright biasing means provided on the base beneath a horizontal portion of the fixed and movable jaws, including a pivotable location stopper arranged on the fixed jaws and having a horizontal plate portion arranged in a pre-determined level position; an upright cylinder; and a compression spring received in the cylinder for upward biasing a cylindrical key blank or original key to be clamped against the horizontal plate portion.
Further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Clamping device for key duplicating machine

No. 10, Alley 14, Lane 74, Pa Ta Road, Section 3


To provide an inorganic polarizing plate which, when used in structures having different used wavelength bands, can reduce reflectance by using a common structure, making it possible to achieve a predetermined light extinction ratio. The inorganic polarizing plate has a substrate that is transparent to light in a used bandwidth, a reflective layer that is composed of grids that are formed on one surface of the substrate with a pitch that is smaller than a wavelength of light in the used bandwidth, a dielectric layer that is stacked on the reflective layer, and an absorbing layer containing FeSi fine particles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polarizing element, and in particular concerns an inorganic polarizing plate that is superior in durability with a superior transmitting characteristic over a wide range of wavelengths of light.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is indispensably required for a transmission type liquid crystal display apparatus to provide a polarizing plate on the surface of a liquid crystal panel from its image forming principle. The function of the polarizing plate is to absorb one of orthogonal polarized light components (so-called P-polarized light wave and S-polarized light wave) and also to transmit the other component. As the polarizing plate of this type, a dichroic polarizing plate formed by allowing a conventional film to contain an iodine-based polymeric organic substance and a dye-based polymeric organic substance has been widely used.
In recent years, the liquid crystal display apparatus has been expanded in its applications and has been highly functionalized. Accordingly, higher reliability and durability have been required for individual devices constituting the liquid crystal display apparatus. For example, in the case of a liquid crystal display apparatus using a light source with a large light quantum, such as, for example, a transmission-type liquid crystal projector, the polarizing plate is subjected to strong radiation. Therefore, the polarizing plate to be used therein needs to have superior heat resistance. However, since the above-mentioned film-based polarizing plate is an organic substance, it is inherently limited in increasing these characteristics.
In view of these problems, as the inorganic polarizing plate having superior heat resistance, various kinds of inorganic polarizing plates, such as a polarizing plate formed by dispersing silver fine particles in glass in an island pattern, a polarizing plate in which silver fine particles are deposited in glass, a polarizing plate using aluminum fine particles, and the like, have been proposed.
Moreover, a wire grid-type polarizing plate has been proposed in which metal thin wires are formed on a substrate with a pitch smaller than a wavelength of light within the used bandwidth so that a polarized light component that is in parallel with the metal thin wires is reflected, with an orthogonal polarized light component being transmitted, so that a predetermined polarizing characteristic is obtained, or a wire grid-type polarizing element has been proposed in which a dielectric layer and an inorganic fine particle layer are formed on a metal lattice so as to have three layers in total so that by cancelling light reflected from the metal lattice by the use of interference effect, a wire grid that is in general a reflection type is used as an absorption type, has been proposed (Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,033).
By the way, in the inorganic polarizing plate in which inorganic fine particles or an inorganic fine particle layer is formed, since its extinction ratio differs depending on the materials for the inorganic fine particles, in the inorganic polarizing plate, it is necessary to take into consideration to select inorganic fine particles that can provide a desired extinction ratio and to appropriately set the film thickness thereof, in order to reduce and optimize the reflectance in accordance with the bandwidth of light to be used.
An object of the present invention is to provide an inorganic polarizing plate that can reduce a reflectance by using a common structure even in the case when the wavelength bandwidth to be used is different, and to achieve a desired extinction ratio.

Inorganic polarizing plate containing FeSi fine particles


A siding installation hanger has a elastic cord storing mid-section from which opposite extending legs having backturned end portions extend. The backturned end portions have gripping edges which in response to tension in the elastic cord, easily and removably grip the protruding longitudinal lip on siding strips which interlock. The upper end section of the hanger strap releasably retains the rope and may include hook-like slotted portions for that purpose. The hanger strap is retained in a upright vertical position in support of horizontal siding strips. Loose wraps are wound around the elastic cord storage section of the hanger member to ensure that the elastic cord is always the proper length to tensively hold successive siding strips at any vertical location along the wall surface to be sided. The device is quickly and easily adjusted and quickly and easily removed. A method employing the device for installing siding is included.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improved apparatus and method for supporting successive siding strips as they are being installed along a vertical wall surface.
2. Background of the Prior Art
External wall surfaces of buildings, both commercial and residential, are often sided with prefabricated siding strips most frequently made of metal or plastic. The siding strips are prefabricated with edges that interlock. Usually, the bottom longitudinal edge is underturned and the top longitudinal edge is folded to produce an overhanging longitudinal edge into which the underturned edge of the adjacent piece is interlocked and which hides any connection between the two pieces. The extreme top edge of the strip is nailed or stapled to the wall before the lower edge of the next higher piece is interlocked into the upper edge to cover the seam between the pieces.
Installation is from the bottom up and the successive siding strips are placed in horizontal orientation along the wall surface. Although a solid wall surface is produced when the individual siding strips are fastened to the wall and interlocked, the individual strips themselves are relatively narrow in width in comparison with their length. They are lengthy thin strips that are difficult to handle. It is not unusual to have some that may be 65 to 75 feet long and only about a foot wide. These rather lengthy narrow siding strips are very difficult for one or even two men to install upon a wall surface. Each strip must be supported in its horizontal position, with its seam fully interlocked, while a fastener is started into the wall through the siding strip to hold it in position. If the piece slips while it is being fastened, a defect is created and the succeeding strips may be out of level. Damage may occur.
It is highly desirable to provide an apparatus for supporting each sequential horizontal siding strip in position, with its lower edge in interlocked contact with the upper edge of the previous strip in order to provide a sure, quick and cheaper installation with a smaller crew and with fewer defects due to faulty installation procedure. Such a device must be adjustable in order to accommodate siding strips at a plurality of elevations as the strips are laid up along the wall surface. Such a device should be quickly and easily engageable and disengageable with a given siding strip without clamps, screws, suction cups or other mechanical apparatus. Significant labor saving has important consequences in fostering economic construction.

Adjustable siding installation hanger assembly

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A search middleware may be used to receive search requests regarding a software incident associated with a software application. The search requests may be populated with attribute values determined based on context data associated with the software application and collected in association with the software incident. The search requests may be dispatched to a subset of a plurality of solution repositories, even if the solution repositories have different interfaces and/or search technologies. The resulting solution documents retrieved from the solution repositories may be compiled for presentation on a solution search interface.

Organizations and businesses depend on software deployed throughout their computing infrastructures to perform tasks relevant to their respective fields. As these entities begin using more enterprise software solutions, enterprise-wide software support becomes a necessary corollary to the software itself, as technical issues and performance errors may inevitably arise during the software's normal operations. For example, a customer may experience technical errors affecting the operations of the current software. In some support solutions, the customer may be required to submit or report the error through a manual process. Upon receiving the error report or notice, the support provider may manually analyze the error, diagnose the problem, and determine the proper solution. Once found, the support provider may relay the solution to the customer, who may then attempt to implement the steps of the provided solution. In some of these situations, such as those involving a customer support phone hotline, the customer generally needs a rudimentary level of knowledge regarding the software to ensure that the dialog between the technical consultant and the customer is clear enough to allow for a successful resolution to the issue.
In other support solutions, a searchable knowledge base may be provided. Thus, when an error occurs, the customer may manually search a listing of provided solution documentation for common errors that may occur within the software application. For more robust software applications, the related knowledge base may include multiple levels of solutions, requiring significant time and effort by customers or support experts to find, and then decipher, the correct solution. Even after locating a suitable solution, implementing the steps may be too difficult for customers without advanced knowledge of or access to the application. In some situations, the support provider may offer a help desk where customers may submit a ticket describing an error. The ticket may be reviewed by an employee of the solution provider, who then analyzes the error and attempts to provide solutions.
The set of current support solutions normally require both customers and support providers to manually generate potential solutions. Thus, customer support requires time- and resource-consuming actions. Some errors may occur frequently, giving the support provider the experience necessary to quickly solve the customer's error. Other errors, however, may occur much less frequently, thus prompting the support provider or the customer to spend larger amounts of time searching for relevant solutions.


An acquisition color specifying section works within a computer system to process graded color. The number of individual gradation levels which may be acquired in color gradation or density gradation is limited by the computer system. To address this limitation, the acquisition color specifying section specifies graded colors to be acquired without modification or substitution in a case where the number of available colors of the color table of a system is equal to or larger than the number of graded colors to be originally acquired. In a case where the number of available colors of the color table is less than the number of graded colors to be originally acquired, a blank is present in the color table. In this case, the acquisition color specifying section specifies graded colors of a number corresponding to the blank of the color table such that the graded colors will be uniformly distributed in a gradation range to be acquired. An acquisition process controlling section acquires specified graded colors and registers the graded colors into a color table of a color table storing section. An allocation processing section then allocates acquired graded colors which are most approximately equal to the originally requested graded colors when the number of graded colors registered in the color table is less than a required number of representation colors.

The present invention relates to image processing of image data represented by gradation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a graded color acquisition method and apparatus for acquiring gradation information of individual gradation levels in a color gradation or a density gradation (i.e. a so-called "grey scale" in the case of black and white representation).
A density gradation is, for example, a set of color data items and gradation information related to the set of color data items, and is hereinafter generally referred to as "graded color."
Recently, computer systems are becoming widely used in multimedia applications to produce various images, such as video created by television systems (TV), CG images created by computer graphic systems (CG), and medical images created by medical image systems. These images are often treated by image processing programs. Unlike character images and simple color coding images, the above images contain gradation components such as neutral colors or light, and shades for representing gradation by density or color. In such gradation, as the number of gradation levels of the gradation components increases, the number of graded colors become larger and the gradation distribution of graded colors become more uniform. In other words, as the number and distribution of graded colors increases, a gradation representation which is closer to a natural gradation representation can be obtained.
In the application of image processing, that is, during execution of an image processing program, the number of colors which can be treated by a system such as an operating system is smaller than the number of colors which can be represented by hardware. Furthermore, in many cases, the number of colors which can be actually treated by the image processing program is smaller than the number of colors which can be treated by the entire system. Moreover, graded color is generally obtained by mixing color information items in a complicated mixing ratio.
For this reason, and in order to make it possible to easily and stably treat graded color in an image processing program, the graded color is conventionally acquired by the program from the system at the start of the program.
Further, with the spread of multi-window systems and multi-task systems, an image processing program is often operated while another image processing program is being operated. In such a case, since the respective image processing programs individually acquire the graded colors, the number of remaining colors which can be later acquired from the system becomes small and in some cases a new image processing program can not acquire a necessary number of graded colors. In such a case, generally, error processing is effective to prevent the image processing program from being started.
For example, in a multi-task system, an image processing program (program <A>) may require the arrangement of uniform graded colors, as in the case of a grey scale representation using shades of black and white. If another program (program <B>) using a large number of colors is also being operated in the background, most colors which can be treated by the system are used by the program <B> and the remaining number of colors which can be treated becomes small. At this time, if the remaining number of colors is smaller than the number of colors necessary for successful operation of the program <A>, graded colors of a number required by the program <A> cannot be acquired, thereby making it impossible to start program <A>.
In a conventional image processing program, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, graded colors with a density gradation (i.e. a typical grey scale) having color numbers 1 to 9 may be obtained by mixing "black" and "white" according to a corresponding ratio. Then, the process of sequentially acquiring graded colors from the color 1 (i.e. "black") to the color 9 (i.e. "white") is effective.
Therefore, when the first half of the graded colors (for example, graded colors having colors 1 to 4) are acquired, it becomes impossible to acquire succeeding colors. Further, if an attempt is made to forcibly represent the image, the image as a whole becomes dark since no density gradation near the white portion is present. This make it impossible to correctly recognize the image. In such a case, the program recognizes the problem and is not started. That is, in the conventional image processing program, i.e. in a case where all necessary graded colors cannot be completely acquired, the program itself is not started.
The conventional graded color acquisition process is explained in detail with reference to FIG. 2. When a conventional graded color acquisition process is started, it is first determined whether a blank (i.e. a space) is present in the color table of the system (step S1). If a blank is present in the color table, the graded color acquisition process is sequentially effected from the color 1 as described above (step S2). Each time color acquisition is effected, a determination is then made whether all necessary colors have been acquired (step S3). If all colors have not been acquired, the process returns to step S1.
Thus, color acquisition is effected if a blank is present in the color table and continues until step S3 determines that all necessary colors have been acquired. If it is determined in step S3 that the acquisition of all colors is completed, the process is terminated.
Since it becomes impossible to ensure that a required number of colors for obtaining an adequate color distribution can be acquired if it is determined in step S1 that a blank is present in the color table, an error process is effected, starting of the program is interrupted (step S4), and the process is ended.
Further, in a case where colors are already acquired and used in program <B>, colors are selected which are "approximately" equal to the graded colors to be used in program <A> from the acquired colors. Then, the selected colors are used. However, with this method, the image represented in program <A> cannot be correctly recognized if a distribution of colors acquired by program <B> is non-uniform.
By way of example, an attempt may be made to acquire color 4 and succeeding color numbers by approximation to colors already acquired in program B, as shown in FIG. 3. However, in a state in which colors of color number 1 to color number 3 are acquired by use of the above color acquisition method, the color number of an acquired color which is nearest to color 4 is 2.5, as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, an inversion of colors used for actual representation occurs between the intended color 3 and the intended color 4 because the color 2.5 was substituted for color 4. Further, the entire color interval becomes non-uniform due to the acquisition of colors 4 to 9 by approximation.
The inversion of the array (i.e. order) of colors and the non-uniformity of the color interval will not develop into a serious problem when displaying characters or the like. However, in a case of a video image such as a TV image photographed by a camera, the non-uniformity of the color interval makes the gradation appear unnatural. For example, the non-uniformity may cause a display of solarization, an irregular concentration of colors, and a degradation of image quality. Therefore, correct recognition of an intended image cannot be expected. In practice, since color of a more irregular distribution may be approximated in some cases, the original image itself cannot even be recognized.
Therefore, even if colors are acquired by approximation, display of a proper image cannot be obtained. Further, in a case where a sufficiently large blank is not present in the color table and all required colors cannot be acquired, it is a common practice to not start the program. As described above, in the conventional image processing program, the process of sequentially acquiring graded colors of a necessary density gradation in an order of color numbers is first effected. For this reason, if an acquisition of remaining colors becomes impossible before all necessary graded colors are acquired, an adequate representation becomes impossible. Further, when colors acquired and used by program <B> are present, and if colors approximately equal to the graded colors required by program <A> are selected from the acquired colors and used as approximate colors, the inversion of the array of colors and the non-uniformity of colors intervals make the gradation appear unnatural. Moreover, image quality is degraded and it is often impossible to correctly recognize an original image. This effect is often produced in a video image, such as a TV image photographed by a camera. Therefore, a proper image cannot be obtained even if the colors are acquired by approximation.
Thus, in most conventional programs, the program itself is not started in a case where a sufficiently large blank is not present in the color table and all of the required colors cannot be acquired.

Graded color acquisition method and apparatus in image processing


The present invention provides for bioavailable oral dosage forms containing esters of 17-hydroxyprogesterone as well as related methods. The oral dosage forms can be formulated for pregnancy support and can include a therapeutically effective amount of an ester of 17-hydroxyprogesterone and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. In another embodiment, a pharmaceutically acceptable oral dosage form for pregnancy support is provided. The pharmaceutically acceptable oral dosage can include a therapeutically effective amount of an ester of 17-hydroxyprogesterone and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The oral dosage form can, when measured using a USP Type-II dissolution apparatus in 900 mL of deionized water with 0.5 (w/v) of sodium lauryl sulfate at 50 RPM at 37° C., release at least 20 wt % of the dose of the ester of 17-hydroxyprogesterone after 60 minutes, or in the alternative release at least 20 wt % more after 60 minutes than an equivalently dosed oral dosage form without the carrier.

17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone (alternatively hereinafter referred to as 17-hydroxyprogesterone or "17HP") is a C-21 endogenous steroid hormone produced during the syntheses of glucocorticoids and sex steroids. Like progesterone, 17HP is a natural progestagen. It has been isolated from both adrenal glands and corpora lutea. Esters of 17HP are reported to have progestogenic effects and hence, can be used for indications related to pregnancy support as well as non-pregnancy support in both pre- and post-menopausal women. It is reported that 17HP, without esterification, has no progestational activity. However, the synthetic esters of 17HP such 17-hydroxyprogesterone acetate or 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (also referred hereafter as 17 hydroxyprogesterone caproate or 17 HPC) have been shown to exhibit marked progestational activity when administered intramuscularly in animal experiments. 17-Hydroxyprogesterone caproate is a commonly used progestin available for intramuscular injection to prevent Preterm Birth (alternatively hereinafter referred to as "PTB"). This synthetic caproate ester is reportedly inactive when given by mouth but works as a long-acting progestin when administered intramuscularly. The metabolism of 17HP and the metabolism of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in the human female are not yet fully established. Data from humans and animals indicate that intramuscularly administered 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate has more potent progestational effect on endometrium and is longer lasting than progesterone (alternatively hereinafter referred to as "P"). This may be due to more avid binding of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate to the progesterone receptors (alternatively referred to hereinafter as "PR") and placental glucocorticoid receptors (alternatively referred to hereinafter as "GR") that could prevent an increase of placental corticotropin releasing hormone which is associated with onset of labor. 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate is reportedly effective in providing luteal support in patients undergoing IVF-Embryo Transfer Cycles.
PTB is medically defined as delivery from 20 to 36 weeks of gestation. According to the 2009 Center for Disease Control Report, PTB occurs in about 12.3% of births in the US alone translating to about half a million PTBs annually. Spontaneous PTB accounts for approximately 70-80% of PTB. Of all the pregnancies in the US, one out of every eight live-born infants is born preterm representing an increase of >18% since 1990. Late pre-term birth between 35-36 weeks of gestation contributes to more than half of all PTBs. PTB is the primary cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Mortality risk is three fold higher at 35-36 weeks and morbidities such as respiratory distress requiring oxygen, temperature instability, hypoglycemia, jaundice, attention deficit disorders, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, etc. are quite common. PTB related time and costs in intensive care are a major health, social and economic issue with an average cost of PTB delivery amounting to up to 10× that of normal delivery.
Major risk factors implicated in PTB are as follows: History of previous spontaneous PTB (past obstetrics history), cervical length (<2.5 cm at mid pregnancy), presence of fetal fibronectin in vaginal secretions; multiple gestation, low maternal Body Mass Index (BMI), maternal race; maternal age (<17 and >35 years), and smoking. The prior history of at least one PTB is a good indicator of future occurrence potential with 17-50% recurrence potential and 28-70% recurrence potential with two previous PTBs. Benefits of prolonging pregnancy to full term with therapeutic intervention include improved child survival as a function of gestational age, and reduced neonatal hospital stay.
Intramuscular injection of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate is available for reducing the risk of PTB in women with singleton pregnancy and history of single spontaneous PTB. The injection marketed as Makena® (250 mg 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in 1 mL) mandates regular visits to the doctor's office, as the typical treatment cycle consists of 16-20 weeks of injection repeated every week. This therapy regimen could result increasing the patient's distress and/or anxiety in addition to increasing the repeated travel risks for the patient and fetus. The injection therapy's interferences with the personal and family activities and disruption in professional life are also a major disadvantage.
In addition, adverse events associated with injection of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (e.g. Makena®) at once weekly intervals (every 7 days) the injection site reactions (˜45%) such as urticaria, pruritis, swelling, nodule formation and pain at the site of injection have been reported as significant.
Esters of hydroxy progesterone such as acetate, caproate, undecanoate are more lipophilic than hydroxy progesterone. The active substance (17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate) in Makena® is known to be extremely insoluble in water (<20 ng/mL), and very lipophilic with ClogP of about 5.7. Moreover, 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate has the potential to be metabolized in the presence of fetal and adult hepatocytes and is a substrate for cytochrome inactivation such as CYP3A4 which is overly expressed in pregnant women (˜40% upregulation). Due to its extremely low water solubility and a potential to be susceptible for first pass hepatic inactivation oral delivery of long chain esters of 17HP has remained a challenge. It is reported that there is no oral activity with 17 hydroxyprogesterone caproate, an ester of 17 HP, (Saxton D J et. al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2004, 2:80; Greene M F, NJEM 348:2453-2455). This could be likely due to very poor or no oral bioavailability of 17 HPC. Although much desired, to date the development of an orally active composition of long chain ester of hydroxyl progesterone remains a significant unmet need. In addition, development of dosage forms that enable administration of lesser number of dosage units per dose and/or at reduced frequency per day is most often desirable.

17-hydroxyprogesterone ester-containing oral compositions and related methods


A drivetrain assembly comprises a bottom bracket shell defining a front axis, a dropout defining a rear axis, a chainstay member attached to the dropout and the bottom bracket shell, a front sprocket and a rear sprocket, and a chain or belt including a bottom section extending from a first contact point between the chain or belt and the front sprocket to a second contact point between the chain or belt and the rear sprocket. The chainstay member fixes the dropout relative to the bottom bracket shell, such that a chainstay length is non-variable, and such that the chain or belt has a predetermined tension defined by a midpoint of the bottom section being vertically displaceable only by a maximum vertical extent within a predetermined range upon application of a predetermined load at the midpoint of the bottom section.

An improperly tensioned bicycle chain can pose significant safety risks. This can be particularly problematic in single-speed bicycles, which typically lack a derailleur. Incorrect chain tension can increase the risk of chain derailment, which can in turn lead to loss of control of the vehicle.
Conventional methods of tensioning the chain on a single-speed bicycle typically involve either a mechanism allowing for variable length between the respective axes of the front and rear sprockets (i.e., a variable chainstay length, using for example a horizontal or sliding dropout, or an eccentric bottom bracket), or an accessory tensioner with variable position applying a force directly on the chain. These conventional tensioning mechanisms heavily rely on the user's ability to properly set the chain tension, and are thus susceptible to leading to incorrect tensioning. Conventional tensioning mechanisms also add to the number of components of the bicycle, thus leading to increased complexity, cost, and risk of mechanical failure.

Tensioner-free drivetrain assembly, bicycle, and method of manufacturing same


A non-volatile memory includes a plurality of physical blocks of storage each including a respective plurality of cells, where each of the plurality of cells is individually capable of storing multiple bits of data. A controller assigns physical blocks among the plurality of physical blocks to a first pool containing physical blocks operating in a first (e.g., QLC) mode for storing a greater number of bits per cell and assigns other physical blocks among the plurality of physical blocks to a second pool containing physical blocks operating in a second (e.g., SLC) mode for storing a lesser number of bits per cell. The controller transfers physical blocks between the first pool and the second pool based on at least bit error rates measured for the transferred physical blocks.

This disclosure relates to data processing and data storage, and more specifically, to a non-volatile memory system in which blocks are capable of operating in multiple block modes providing differing per-cell bit storage capacities. Still more particularly, the disclosure relates to wear-aware conversion of blocks of physical storage in a non-volatile memory system between differing block modes.
NAND flash memory is an electrically programmable and erasable non-volatile memory technology that stores one or more bits of data per memory cell as a charge on the floating gate of a transistor or a similar charge trap structure. The amount of charge on the floating gate modulates the threshold voltage of the transistor. By applying a proper read voltage and measuring the amount of current, the programmed threshold voltage of the memory cell can be determined, and thus the stored information can be detected. In a typical implementation, a NAND flash memory array is organized in blocks (also referred to as "erase blocks") of physical memory, each of which includes multiple physical pages each in turn containing a multiplicity of memory cells. By virtue of the arrangement of the word and bit lines utilized to access the memory cells, flash memory arrays have generally been programmed on a page basis, but erased on a block basis.
Flash storage technology has seen an impressive growth in bit storage density over the past decade, driven by the objective of decreasing the price per gigabyte of flash storage. One of the key drivers of this trend is the steady increase in the number of bits stored per flash cell. For example, the number of bits that can be stored per flash cell has steadily increased from one (Single Level Cell (SLC)) to two (Multi-Level Cell (MLC)) to three (Three Level Cell (TLC)) and, most recently, to four (Quad Level Cell (QLC)). The increased number of bits that can be stored per flash cell comes at the cost of decreased endurance and performance as the number of bits per cell increases.
Enterprise-class flash controllers employ a variety of techniques to ameliorate the endurance and performance limitations of new generations of the NAND flash memory. For example, flash controllers may employ one or more flash management techniques, including implementing advanced error correction codes, adjusting voltage levels to reduce bit error rate, reducing internal garbage collection overhead by segregating data based on write heat, managing blocks based on block (i.e., health binning), and performing health-aware wear leveling and data placement. Despite the longevity and performance gains contributed by these advanced flash management techniques, as bit density continues to grow, the existing flash management techniques alone cannot guarantee an acceptable device lifetime (e.g., a 7-year or better warranty for enterprise class SSDs under a heavy write workload). For example, QLC NAND flash technology provides a 33% increase in storage density compared to TLC NAND flash technology, but has a rated useful life several times less than TLC NAND flash (e.g., only a few thousands program/erase (P/E) cycles per block).
One promising avenue for increasing device endurance is to take advantage of the ability of NAND flash memory to operate in multiple modes. For example, some TLC NAND flash memory supports an SLC mode in which certain selected blocks store only a single bit per cell, thus increasing performance and endurance for the selected blocks at the expense of storage density. Blocks configured in the SLC mode can sustain one to two orders of magnitude more P/E cycles, but provide only a third of the storage capacity of blocks configured in the TLC mode. In such systems, frequently written data can be stored in the SLC blocks, while infrequently written data can be stored on blocks operating in the native TLC mode.
Existing flash controllers that support multiple operating modes often employ a tiered architecture in which incoming user writes are first stored in the blocks of a lower storage density tier (e.g., a SLC tier). When storage in the lower storage density tier is exhausted (or reaches some other threshold fill level), the flash controller initiates a destaging process that frees space in the lower storage density tier by moving data from the lower storage density tier to a higher storage density tier (e.g., a TLC tier), preferably starting with the data least likely to be overwritten in the future. The flash controller then manages data residing in the higher storage density tier in the conventional manner, for example, by periodically relocating valid data from blocks selected for garbage collection, erasing the garbage-collected blocks, and thereafter again writing the erased blocks with data destaged from the lower storage density tier. In general, in conventional tiered storage architectures of this type, blocks are statically assigned to either the lower density storage tier or the higher storage density tier.

Wear-aware block mode conversion in non-volatile memory

International Business Machines Corporation


A zipper less removable window system having removable windows for use with a foldable, stowable roof for a vehicle. A plurality of attachment devices of the zipper less removable window system connect the windows to the foldable, stowable roof and to the vehicle without the use of zippers. The operator zipper effort caused by traditional windows is thereby eliminated and misalignment issues present with traditional zippered windows is eliminated or reduced. The stress placed on the portions of the windows connectable to the foldable roof during installation and removal, including around curved portions of the removable window, is eliminated or reduced.

Foldable stowable roof tops are commonly used in sport-utility vehicles for recreational purposes. The foldable roof is typically moved between a stowed position, and a deployed position. When in the deployed position, the foldable roof protects the occupants of the vehicle from various weather conditions. The foldable roof also includes various sections which are made of a clear material to essentially function as a window, allowing the occupant of the vehicle to see outside of the vehicle. It is also sometimes desirable to open these clear window sections when weather conditions are favorable, but the occupant(s) of the vehicle may not desire to change the foldable roof to the stowed position.
Because these window sections are also foldable and/or removable, typical window crank devices and electric motors used for opening and closing a window made of glass (which is rigid and not foldable) are not suitable for use with a foldable roof. Therefore, other methods of opening the foldable window have been developed.
One of these methods is a zipper which is typically one continuous zipper that surrounds all sides of the window but one. The one side of the window which is not surrounded by the zipper is the foldable side, allowing the window to be folded from the closed to the open position. One of the drawbacks to this type of design is that typical zippers are designed for connecting two sheets of material along a substantially straight surface. These zippers are difficult to align and misalignment results in higher zipper effort. In addition, both sides of the zipper are in the same plane and the difference between the radius of the outer window connected to the zipper and the radius of the foldable roof connected to the zipper is typically the width of the zipper. This makes the zipper difficult to use around the corners of the window because there is an imbalanced amount of stress placed on the portion of the zipper connected to the window and the portion of the zipper connected to the foldable roof. Another one of the drawbacks is that the window is not removable, which necessitates clear, foldable, window sections that must be folded and secured out of the way taking up space within the vehicle and can create noise from vibrating in the wind when the vehicle is moving.
Another of these methods for opening the window is employing a removable window. Current soft windows are attached to the soft top via zippers. These prove to be quite cumbersome to use. It is difficult to align the zipper end into the box end of the corresponding zipper on the soft top. Secondly, the zipper can be difficult to close and/or open as the efforts can be quite high due to zipper misalignment between the soft top and window assembly. This is caused by manufacturing issues and/or tolerances such as in alignment during the sewing process that is used to attach the zippers to the soft top and windows. Misalignment can cause the zipper teeth to skip thereby making the zipping motion efforts high. Any variation of the zipper alignment can result in higher zipper efforts around at least the upper rear corner where the curved portion of the window is connectable to the roof resulting in installation difficulty of the window. Another issue from zipper teeth skipping and/or misalignment of zipper halfs is that this can cause the window to not be closed all the way resulting in gaps where water and air can enter the vehicle.
Accordingly, there exists a need for removable windows including zipper less attachments which are suitable for providing a selective connection between a foldable roof and the removable windows having various straight and curved areas.

Zipper less removable windows for a folding SUV soft top


The present invention relates to a novel ice nucleation active Xanthomonas strain and a bacterial ice nucleator comprising the ice nucleation active microorganism which can be applied for food processing and artificial snow making. The present inventors have screened ice nucleation active microorganisms from leaves of crops and plants, and investigated their ice-nucleation activities. As a result, the inventors discovered that a novel microorganism belonging to Xanthomonas campestris has a superior ice-nucleation activity than those of the conventional ice nucleation active microorganisms. Accordingly, the ice nucleation active microorganism of the invention can be used as a potent bacterial ice nucleator for food processing and artificial snow making.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel ice nucleation active microorganism, more specifically, to a novel ice nucleation active Xanthomonas strain and a bacterial ice nucleator comprising the ice nucleation active microorganism which can be applied for food processing and artificial snow making.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Microbial ice nucleation(the initiation of the crystallization of liquid water into solid ice) has been studied since the early 1970's, and it has been discovered that frost and cold-weather injuries in plants are caused by microorganism, not by climate effect(see: Schnell and Vali, Nature, 246(23):21-33(1973)). Also, studies on ice nucleation protein("INP") have followed, since the discovery that the damage is originated from the INP of ice nucleation active microorganism. Thus, it has been found that the INP has an ice-nucleation activity, and microorganisms producing the protein are ephiphytic microorganisms living on the surface of plant leaves.
Bacterial ice-nucleation activity have been researched, chiefly concentrated on the prevention of frost injury to the agricultural crops and its potential application in various technical areas. As a result, microbial strains competing with the ice nucleation active microorganisms or mutants losing the ice-nucleation activity have been developed to prevent frost injury caused by the ice nucleation active microorganisms(see: Lindemann and Suslow, Phytopathol., 77:882-886(1987)). In the application of the ice nucleation active microorganism, it has been widely used as an inducer for artificial snow making.
Though it has been known that water freezes at 0.degree. C., the probability that pure water will nucleate homogenously at 0.degree. C. is, in fact, zero. As tiny droplets of pure water(less than 1 .mu.m in diameter) are decreased in temperature, the probability approaches 1 at -41.degree. C. A temperature of -41.degree. C. is usually accented as the limit to which water can be super-cooled. However, the freezing of water is catalyzed at -2.degree. C. to -4.degree. C. in the presence of INP, since the INP elevates the freezing point of water. In general, several ice nucleation active bacteria are able to catalyze ice formation at temperature as warm as -2.degree. C. That is, though the freezing of water requires super-cooling condition at -41.degree. C., in the presence of INP, super-cooling condition at -2.degree. C. to -4.degree. C. is required, which results in the saving of energy.
The effect of energy saving enables the ice nucleation active microorganism to be industrially applied as a freeze-inducer for preserving food products. Accordingly, the ice nucleation active microorganism can contribute to the preservation of frozen foods, the production of ices, the prevention of loss, the improvement of quality and the saving of energy. Also, the ice nucleation active microorganism can be applied to the freeze-concentration of liquid food and the production of frozen food. In addition, the ice nucleation active microorganism can induce artificial rain during a drought as a stimulant of the artificial rain, and is presently tested for field. In conclusion, it is expected that the ice nucleation active microorganism can be applied to all industrial areas associated with ice nucleation active process.
Particularly, the application of bacterial ice nucleator reduces freezing times and improves the quality of frozen foods, which suggests that there may be profound potential for quality improvement in food industry. Application of ice nucleation active microorganism in food industry has following advantages: First, energy required for freezing of food products is remarkably saved, since freezing occurs at -5.degree. C. or more employing ice nucleation active microorganism while the conventional freeze-concentration or freeze-drying processes require a cooling temperature of -20 to -30.degree. C. Since the freeze-concentration requires much energy for cooling, it has not practically been used regardless of its distinguished merits. However, the use of ice nucleation active microorganism permits wide use of freeze-concentration or freeze-drying due to the effect of energy saving. Secondly, the use of ice nucleation active microorganism in food processing leads to development of goods having a new property. For example, ice nucleation active microorganisms encapsulated in alginate gel, are used for freeze-drying of soy sauce and soybean paste, which makes possible energy saving caused by rapid freezing and easy grinding caused by porous dried structure. Also, through freeze-texturing of egg albumin, etc. employing ice nucleation active microorganism, texture of specific flake shape can be obtained, which has a distinction over the texture conventionally obtained by freeze-texturing. Furthermore, it has been reported that gel made of egg albumin which is freeze-concentrated by the aid of ice nucleation active microorganism has good properties of matter in light of foam formation and stability (see: Michiko, W. et al., J. food Eng., 22:453-473 (1994); Keiko, K. et al., Biol. Biotech. Biochem., 57(5):750-752(1993)).
Besides, studies on the production of foods of high quality by a combined use of ice nucleation active microorganism and ultra-high pressure processing, have been actively carried out. For example, freeze-concentrated milk whose protein components are not denaturated by heat treatment, by employing ice nucleation active microorganism, have been found to form specified gel during pressurization although gelling agent is not added therein. Since the gel thus formed has good color, good brightness and fresh cream-flavor, a dessert of high quality have been made of the gel(see: Rikimaru, H. et al., Agri. Biol. Chem., 53(11) :2935-2939(1989)). Also, strawberry jam having good natural flavor and containing much vitamin C can be produced, compared to the conventional strawberry jam made by heat treatment, when strawberry paste was freeze-concentrated using ice nucleation active microorganism and then pressurized(see: Michiko, W. et al., Agri. Biol. Chem., 55(8):2175-2176(1991)).
On the other hand, ice nucleation active microorganisms have been applied, primarily concentrated on the bacterial strains of Pseudomonas and Erwinia species, in the technical areas covering freeze-drying process, commercially important ice or snow making, and food processing employing the said microorganisms. However, the use of ice nucleation active microorganism belonging to Pseudomonas or Erwinia species can not guarantee safety of food products, and ice-nucleation activity of the said microorganisms has to be improved so that they can be applied as bacterial ice nucleator for food processing.
Accordingly, there are strong reasons for exploring and developing alternative ice nucleation active microorganism, to solve the problems of conventional strains in light of ice-nucleation activity and safety of this particular material in the commercial freezing of food products.


A bevel gear transmission for a marine outboard drive having hydraulically actuated clutches for selectively coupling oppositely rotating bevel gears to a shaft to affect either forward or reverse drive. The bevel gears are each supported on the shaft by thrust bearings and are on the outer sides of the bevel gears and are urged into engagement with the thrust bearings by coil compression springs that also act to release the respective clutches. As a result of this arrangement, a constant lash is maintained between the bevel gears regardless of whether they are transmitting a driving thrust or not.

This invention relates to a power transmission system of a marine propulsion unit and more particularly to an improved bevel gear transmission for such units.
It is well known to employ bevel gear transmission in marine outboard drives for transferring drive between two perpendicularly disposed shafts. Frequently, these drives include a reversing transmission that is comprised of a driving bevel gear on a first shaft and a pair of counter rotating driven bevel gears that are journalled on a second shaft and which may be selectively coupled for rotation therewith through a clutching mechanism. With respect to the counter rotating bevel gears, it has been the practice to position them axially upon the second shaft by means of a thrust bearing on one side and a thrust washer on the opposite side. However, such arrangements necessitate the use of a clearance in the system and this means that the bevel gears are not axially fixed upon their respective shaft. That is, the bevel gears may move axially along the shaft upon which they are rotatably journalled due to the clearances between the thrust bearing, thrust washer and the gear itself. Such arrangement are, of course, not completely satisfactory.
In the first instance, when the driven bevel gear is not clutched for rotation with the shaft it can move axially relative to the shaft under the action of the driving forces exerted on it by the intermeshing bevel gear. This axially movement of the bevel gear can give rise to noise. Furthermore, when the clutch is engaged, because the axially position of the bevel gear may move, additional noise, wear and possible other problems can result.
It is, therefore, a principal object to this invention to provide an improved power transmission system for a marine propulsion unit embodying bevel gears.
It is a further object to this invention to provide a bevel gear transmission for a marine outboard drive wherein the driven bevel gear is axially fixed relative to the shaft upon which it rotates under all conditions.
It is a further object to this invention to provide an improved arrangement for taking the lash out of the gear position of a bevel gear transmission.
In the type of transmission already described, it is common practice to employ a multiple disc clutch for clutching the counter rotating bevel gears to the shaft for establing a driving relation with the shaft. In my aforenoted co-pending application, this mechanism includes a hydraulic actuating piston for actuating the clutch. In addition, a spring is employed for releasing the clutch and moving the piston to its retracted position.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, a clutch return spring is employed for also acting on the bevel gear associated with the clutch for holding the bevel gear against a thrust bearing so as to provide axial location for the bevel gear under all conditions.

Thrust bearings and bevel gears arrangement of marine propulsion unit


Methods for reducing the surface roughness of semiconductor wafers through a combination of rough polishing and thermally annealing the wafer.

This invention relates to the processing of silicon wafers and, more particularly, to processes for reducing the surface roughness of silicon wafers by a combination of polishing and thermal annealing of the wafers.
Nearly all microelectronic devices are built upon silicon substrates or semiconductor "chips". Device manufacturers produce the substrates by cutting the chips from silicon wafers. Silicon wafer suppliers most commonly prepare the wafers by slicing them from single crystal silicon ingots prepared by the Czochralski method. The Czochralski method involves drawing single crystal silicon from melted polycrystalline silicon by pulling a seed crystal brought into contact with the molten polycrystalline silicon.
In order to produce increasingly complex semiconductor devices, device manufacturers require smoother wafers. Many applications require "Grade 1" wafers. Grade 1 wafers typically possess a surface roughness of less than 1.5 Å as measured with a scan size of about 1 μm×about 1 μm and less than about 100 localized light scatterers above a size of about 65 nm per wafer.
Surface roughness is often measured by an atomic force microscope. An atomic force microscope operates by measuring the attraction or repulsion between a probe and the sample and correlating it to a distance. Surface roughness is often expressed as a statistical parameter, typically the arithmetic mean (Ra) or root mean square (RMS or Rq) average of the height deviations from the mean line. As used herein, surface roughness is expressed as the root mean square (RMS) unless indicated otherwise. The significance of the surface roughness measurement varies with the scan size of the atomic force microscope. Scan sizes of about 1 μm×about 1 μm or less generally correspond to shorter wavelength roughness while scan sizes of about 10 μm×about 10 μm or more generally correspond to longer wavelength roughness.
To achieve Grade 1 surface roughness specifications many silicon wafer manufacturers "rough" polish the wafer and then perform a "finish" polish (synonymously "mirror" polish) on the wafer. As can be seen from the lines referenced as "Rough" in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 2, a rough polish reduces the surface roughness of the wafer as measured with scan sizes of about 1 μm×about 1 μm to about 100 μm×about 100 μm to as low as about 1.5 Å and, more typically, to as low as about 1.9 Å. At shorter wavelengths a rough polish might reduce the surface roughness to less than about 2 Å as measured by scan sizes of about 0.1 μm×about 0.1 μm to about 1 μm×about 1 μm. Rough polishing uses a more potent chemistry as compared to finish polishing and results in removal of about 1 μm to about 20 μm and, more typically, from about 5 μm to about 15 μm of material from the surface of the wafer.
As can be seen from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a finish polish reduces the surface roughness of the wafer from the level obtained by rough polishing to about 1.7 Å to about 1.0 Å as measured by scan sizes of about 1 μm×about 1 μm to about 30 μm×about 30 μm. Finish polishes use a more dilute chemistry than rough polishes and remove only about 0.5 μm or less of material from the surface layer.
Finish polishing is generally costly and requires much processing time. A need exists for methods which reduce or eliminate finish polishing but which result in wafers with satisfactory short and long wavelength surface roughness.


A printer server is connected to a plurality of terminals. The printer server includes a terminal status detecting unit that receives a piece of operation information ‘key’ indicating that a operation has been performed from each terminal, measures an elapsed time since each piece of operation information ‘key’ was received by referring to a timer, and sets a non-operational status ‘status’ for each terminal according to the length of the elapsed time, a priority determining unit that determines a priority level from the non-operational status ‘status’, and a print job processing unit that has print job processing performed by, when a plurality of print jobs are waiting to be processed, giving preference to print jobs transmitted from terminals with higher priority levels.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printer controller that receives print jobs transmitted from a plurality of terminals, and has a printer perform print processing, an image forming apparatus that receives print jobs transmitted from a plurality of terminals and performs print processing, and a terminal that transmits print jobs to the print controller.
2. Related Art
Recently, the advance of office automation (OA) has led to a situation in many companies where each employee is allocated a terminal such as a personal computer in which word processing or document/image processing software is installed, and documents and illustrations are created. These terminals are connected to a printer server via LAN (local area network), the printer server being a printer controller that instructs a printer to perform print processing. The printer is shared by all terminals, and prints out the printed sheets for created documents and the like. Here, information required for print processing is referred to as a 'print job', and one or more printed sheets that have been printed and emitted by the printer as a 'printed document'.
The printer server temporarily stores a print job transmitted via the LAN from the terminals, reads the print job from the memory and has print processing performed. However, while the print job is still being processed, other print jobs may be transmitted one after the other from a plurality of other terminals, and so a plurality of print jobs may be stored in the memory. In other words, a plurality of print jobs may be waiting to be printed. In this case, once printing of the print job in progress is completed, a conventional printer system would print the print jobs stored in the memory in order from the print job that was the first to be received.
However, depending on how a terminal is currently being operated, print jobs which are not particularly urgent may be mixed in among the print jobs stored in the memory. Take one example. An operator A issues instructions to print a number of print jobs via a terminal A, and then continue to operate the terminal A in order, for example, to produce another print job. Since the operator A does not soon go to collect the printed document, it is likely that print processing for these print jobs is not very urgent. At the same time, an operator B issues an instruction to print a print job via a terminal B, and then soon goes to collect the printed document, suggesting that print processing for this print job is urgent. However, when a conventional technique in which print processing is performed on print jobs in the order in which they arrive at the printer server is used, the print job from the terminal B may arrive at the printer server when the number of print jobs with little urgency from the terminal A are being printed. In other words, even if the operator B hurries to the printer to go and collect the printed document, they may have to wait for the printed documents for the operator A, who is not in much of a hurry, to be output.
Furthermore, the content and progress of the document creation operations for each terminal varies according to the operator involved, and consequently a variety of print waiting conditions are generated. Take a situation in which operator A makes a print instruction for a print job once it has been completed, and once a plurality of print jobs have been completed, goes to collect the corresponding printed documents from the printer at the same time, while operator B makes a print operation for an urgent print job while the print instructions made by operator A are being performed. In this case, the print job for operator B is stored in the printer server memory after the first half of the print jobs for operator A have been stored, and then the second half of the print jobs for operator A are stored.
In such a case, even if the operator B hurries to the printer to collect the printed document, a conventional printer server like the one described above forces the operator B to wait for the first half of the print jobs for operator A, who is still creating the remaining half of their print jobs (in other words operator A is not in such a hurry to get the printed documents), to be printed.

Printer controller that has a printer perform print processing on print jobs transmitted from a plurality of terminals, an image forming apparatus for performing print processing on the plurality of print jobs, and a terminal that transmits print jobs to the printer controller