A spindle and hub assembly for a vehicle wheel is constructed so that, in the event of a failure of the bearing arrangement rotatably supporting the hub on the spindle, separation of the hub from the spindle will not immediately occur but will be prevented for a period of time sufficient for the operator of the vehicle to safely continue to advance the vehicle to a location where corrective action may be taken. An annulus supported on the spindle is secured to the spindle by a nut separate from the annulus, and the annulus has an outside diameter large enough such that a shoulder located within the opening in the hub through which the spindle extends is capable of engaging the annulus in the absence of the bearing arrangement, thereby preventing the hub from separating from the spindle.

Spindle and hub assemblies, wherein the hub is rotatably mounted on the spindle and a tire of some type is mounted on the hub, are used in connection with the transportation of a variety of vehicles. For example, such assemblies are used on trailers and, in some instances, with the front wheels of motor vehicles, including trucks and automobiles. The hubs, typically, are supported on the spindles by bearing arrangements whereby the hubs may freely rotate on the spindles. A usual type of bearing arrangement that is applied comprises roller bearings that are circumferentially spaced about the spindle and are held in place between the raceways of a circular inner race that circumferentially engages the spindle and a circular outer race that circumferentially engages an inside diameter of the hub. A retaining nut and washer are commonly used to retain the hubs on the spindles. The spindles may simply comprise the ends of unitary axles or the spindles may be constructed separately for attachment to an axle. Additionally, the spindles may simply be secured to the vehicle directly without the use of an axle.
The particular constructions for rotatably mounting and retaining the hubs on the spindles are varied. It may be possible that a hub will separate from an associated spindle in the event of a failure of the bearing arrangement that rotatably supports the hub on the spindle. A spindle and hub assembly that would allow the hub to remain on the spindle for a period of time while the vehicle continues to proceed along a roadway, notwithstanding a failure of the bearing arrangement, may have some beneficial aspects.

Continental Conveyor & Equipment Company


A method and apparatus for determining failure of a test component. The apparatus, according to a selected method, is able to determine the embrittlement potential of a selected procedure for a selected material. The apparatus is able to determine the embrittlement potential in a substantially quick and non-human fallible manner.

Metal components generally include various selected amounts of ductility, strength, internal stresses, and other generally known physical characteristics. These characteristics may be measured using various techniques, such as stress testing and embrittlement testing to determine and measure the various physical characteristics of the metal. Also, various standards have been determined, such that testing results can be compared to other metal components.
Various processes, which are performed on the metal, may change the physical characteristics and require re-testing or determining of whether the processes have altered the known characteristics. For example, a particular metal or metal alloy component may be chosen depending upon its known physical characteristics. Nevertheless, these known physical characteristics can be altered by processing the metal, such as painting, heating, cleaning, and other various prostheses that use various chemicals.
One form of degradation or activity that may alter the physical characteristics of a metal is hydrogen embrittlement. Generally, hydrogen embrittlement occurs when hydrogen ions are able to migrate into the crystal structure of the metal and alter it. For example, water or other chemical species may break down into ionic components, thus releasing ionic hydrogen. The ionic hydrogen may enter the metal and collect therein or destroy bonds of the various metallic ions. The collection of the hydrogen ions or the degradation of the metallic bonds alters the physical characteristics of the metal or metal alloy. Therefore, the physical characteristics may be substantially changed, thus no longer providing a material of known physical characteristics.
Therefore, it is desirable to determine whether a particular chemical process alters or has altered a metal component. For example, hydrogen embrittlement may make a metal less ductile and therefore able to endure less stress before cracking and reducing the strength of the metal. Therefore, it may be desirable to determine before a component is formed of a particular material whether that material is subject to hydrogen embrittlement because of a certain chemical process to be applied to the material.
Generally, hydrogen embrittlement may be determined by testing an unprocessed metal test blank and testing a processed metal blank or test component. One example is ASTM F-519, which determines embrittling potential of a selected process. Using the ASTM standard, both a chemically treated or processed and non-chemically treated or unprocessed metal specimen is tested to determine whether a significant difference between the component, which has been processed and the component, which has not been processed. The system, however, generally requires an extended period of time and at least 200 hours for the test to be completed. Several days must be dedicated before the determination of embrittlement potential of a selected process. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a process that is generally quicker and cheaper than such an extensive test.
Another standard is the European Standard EN2831, as described in Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steels-Test by Slow Bending, USEN 2831:1933, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a standard and test for determining embrittlement of metal components. Generally, in the European Standard EN2831, a metal component is tested without being processed and another component is tested after being processed. The components are bent, generally manually, to induce cracking of the component. A visual determination is made to determine the failure of the component and the propagation of a crack. After a crack appears the angle the component has reached is hand measured to determine a bend angle. If the bend angle between the processed and unprocessed component is substantially different, then where the processed component includes a smaller bend angle, then the process is determined to embrittle the metal. The difference in the bend angle can be used to determine a selected embrittlement potential. Nevertheless, such a standard is generally subjective to human perception and error of both the crack and the measured angle. Nevertheless, such a bending test can be used to determine a selected hydrogen embrittlement potential.

Method and apparatus for determining hydrogen embrittlement


An embodiment apparatus for preventing a sliding door from swaying includes a rail on a vehicle body, an arm bracket attached to a door panel of a door, a slider slidable in a front-rear direction on the rail, a first arm having first and second sides hingedly coupled to the arm bracket and to a first side of the slider, respectively, a second arm having first and second sides hingedly coupled to the arm bracket and to a second side of the slider, respectively, and a latch part on the slider for adjusting rotations of the first and second arms, wherein the first and second arms push the door outward while being spread and deployed during a first stage operation, and the slider slides on the rail to fully open the door during a second stage operation.

In general, a vehicle has an occupant compartment having a predetermined size in which a driver or an accompanied occupant may be seated, and occupant compartment opening/closing doors are installed on a vehicle body to open or close the occupant compartment.
Sliding type occupant compartment opening/closing doors include a front sliding door installed at a front side in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle and a rear sliding door installed at a rear side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The front sliding door and the rear sliding door are typically installed to be moved along rails mounted on a vehicle body or the doors.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a vehicle body of a vehicle having a door opened or closed in a sliding manner in the related art. The door in the related art, which operates in a sliding manner to open or close an occupant compartment, includes an upper rail 10 configured to support an upper portion of a door 1, when the door 1 slides, in order to ensure a forward/rearward sliding operation of the door 1 coupled to a vehicle body 2, a center rail 20 configured to support a central portion of the door 1 when the door 1 slides, and a lower rail 30 configured to support a lower portion of the door 1 when the door 1 slides.
However, because the rails 10, 20, and 30 for sliding the door 1 and components related to the rails 10, 20, and 30 are installed on the vehicle body, there is concern that a weight of the vehicle and the number of components of the vehicle are increased and a degree of design freedom of the vehicle deteriorates.
Therefore, a 2-rail type door apparatus for a vehicle, in which only center and lower rails support the door so that the door is slidable, has been developed to solve the above-mentioned problems in the related art. As an example of the technology, Korean Patent No. 10-1584536 discloses a sliding door apparatus for a vehicle.
The publicly known technology shows a configuration in which a door rail (center rail) is mounted on a sliding door, and a vehicle body rail is mounted on a vehicle body, such that a center slider coupled to the door rail and a lower slider coupled to the vehicle body rail are moved to open or close the sliding door.
Referring to FIG. 1, the sliding structure in the related art has two support points at which the sliding door is supported, and the two support points include a contact point A between the vehicle body rail and the lower slider and a contact point B between the center rail and the center slider. However, as illustrated in FIG. 2, there is a problem in that the door 1 sways in a direction indicated by the arrow illustrated in FIG. 2 with respect to an imaginary axis X that connects the two contact points. There is concern that the sway of the door 1 may cause gaps between the door and a door frame when the door is opened or closed, and the sway of the door 1 may degrade marketability of the vehicle.

Four-bar linkage apparatus for preventing sliding door for vehicle from swaying


A wire management arrangement is provided in a work surface arrangement to route cabling through the work surfaces. The wire management system includes two end grommet assemblies at the opposite ends of each work surface which permit the horizontal and vertical passage of cabling therethrough, and secondary grommets which permit the passage of cabling vertically therethrough. Each of the end grommet assemblies includes a housing that defines a vertical passage which extends through the work surface and a horizontal passage which is in communication with the vertical passage and extends through an end edge of the work surface so as to open into an adjacent work surface. A top cover and end cover are pivotally connected to the housing to respectively cover the vertical and horizontal passages.

Commonly, open office areas are divided into individual workstations by space-dividing upright wall panels, desk arrangements or combinations thereof. To accommodate office equipment such as computers, telephones and the like in these workstation areas, electrical and telecommunications cabling is laid throughout the office area to the individual workstations. The cabling is then connected to the office equipment which typically is supported on a work surface that is spaced above the floor. The work surface may be part of the desk or supported from the wall panels.
When providing cabling to the workstations, it is known to route the cabling through the furniture components such as longitudinally between serially-connected wall panels or from one desk to an adjacent desk. Often the cabling is routed throughout the office near floor level or worksurface level such as through raceways formed along the wall panels which hide and protect the cabling. Also, it is known to route the cabling underneath a floor while conventional electrical and telecommunications outlets are provided in the floor itself. However, since office equipment can be and often is supported both above and below the worksurfaces, grommets have been used to route cabling between floor level and the top of the work surface through passages formed in the work surface.
Accordingly, numerous grommets have been provided which define openings in work surfaces through which cabling passes. It is also known to provide grommets in a vertical wall of the furniture component such as a side wall of a desk for the passage of cabling horizontally therethrough.
Grommets typically include a ring-like housing which seats within an opening formed in the horizontal work surface or the vertical wall and defines a relatively large open passage therethrough. Grommets also include caps or covers which seat within the housing to enclose most of the unused area of the opening, and have notches or cut-outs through which the cabling passes.
While many grommets mount in the horizontal work surface, grommets in adjacent end walls of two adjacent desks can be provided directly next to each other to allow the passage of cabling therebetween. It is also known to provide a grommet which allows for the passage of cabling both vertically through the work surface and horizontally through the side wall.
Examples of grommet arrangements having vertical and horizontal passages are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,323,291, 4,884,513, 5,130,494 and 5,429,431, as well as U.K. Patent Application GB 2 130 877.
However, a need is believed to exist for an improved grommet assembly which readily accommodates cabling passing horizontally and vertically therethrough.
Accordingly, the inventive wire management arrangement includes end grommet assemblies which are mountable to the opposite ends of a furniture component such as a desk. The work surface of the desk is formed with openings cut out from the opposite edges thereof which receive the end grommet assemblies therein.
The end grommet includes a housing that defines a hollow interior which opens vertically to define a vertical passage. The housing, however, is open at the edge of the work surface to define a horizontal passage therethrough which is in communication with the vertical passage. Cabling can be passed vertically through the grommet housing and also horizontally out of the open end thereof. When the open ends of two grommet assemblies are positioned adjacent to each other such as when two desks are joined together, a continuous horizontal passage is provided therebetween.
While the vertical and horizontal passages formed by the grommet housing are relatively large to provide for the ready placement of cabling therein, most of this open area is enclosed by openable covers. Accordingly, the end grommet assembly includes a pivotable top cap which generally covers the vertical passage, and a pivotable end cap which generally covers the horizontal passage. The top and end caps can be pivoted upwardly to lay cabling therethrough and also can be closed once laying of the cabling is completed. The top cap includes a pair of notches or openings which allow for the passage of cabling vertically therethrough when the top cap is closed. The end cap also includes at least one notch or opening which opens horizontally to allow for the horizontal passage of cabling.
Thus, the grommet assembly only requires three component parts, namely the top cap, end cap and grommet housing. While the top and end caps are pivotally secured to the grommet housing, the top and end caps also are readily removable by a user to further ease the laying of the cabling. In particular, when the end and top caps are pivoted to substantially vertical open positions, the end and top caps can be slid into and out of engagement with the grommet housing. However, when the end and top caps are in the respective closed positions, removal of these top and end caps is prevented.
If additional vertical passages are required in a desk arrangement, secondary grommet assemblies can also be provided which each define a vertical passage and include a pivotable top cap.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.


A magnetic separator for separating magnetizable particles from a fluid is described. The separator is of the type comprising a separating chamber having an inlet and an outlet with means for establishing an axial magnetic field within the chamber. Two or matrix elements are positioned side-by-side axially along the chamber. Fluid separation means is provided for dividing a stream of fluid containing magnetizable particles supplied to the inlet of the chamber into two or more portions and directions each portion axially through a respective matrix element and thence to the outlet. For a given slurry feed amount, a greater matrix element area is provided. The matrix elements may be in the form of spaced annuli, the fluid portions being fed radially between adjacent first and second elements, axially through both elements and then radially between each element and an element adjacent thereto.

One form of magnetic separation device which functions by magnetic particle entrapment is generally referred to as a High Gradient Magnetic Separator or HGMS. An HGMS comprises a canister containing a liquid permeable packing of magnetizable material between the canister inlet and outlet. The packing material may be paramagnetic or ferromagnetic and may be in particulate or filamentary form, for example, it may comprise wire wool, wire mesh, knitted mesh or steel balls. The packing may be in the form of a single block which essentially fills the canister or it may be other forms, for example, concentric cylinders or rectangular plates. The term "matrix" is generally employed to refer to the packing and this is used, in the case where the packing is divided into a number of elements, by some in the industry to refer to the individual elements and by others to refer to the totality of the packing. The term will be employed herein in the latter way.
The canister is surrounded by a magnet which serves to magnetize the matrix contained therein, the magnet generally being arranged to provide a magnetic field in the direction of the canister axis. With the matrix magnetized, a slurry of fine mineral ore or clay in water is fed into the inlet of the canister. As the slurry passes through the canister the magnetizable particles in the slurry are magnetized and captured on the matrix. Eventually, the matrix becomes substantially completely filled with magnetizable particles and the rate of capture decreases so that the quantity of magnetizable particles in the treated slurry leaving the outlet of the canister reaches an unacceptably high level. The slurry feed is then stopped and the canister rinsed with water to remove all non-magnetic material from the matrix. The magnetic field is reduced to zero and the matrix is scoured with high-speed wash water to remove the magnetizable particles therefrom.
The processing capacity of an HGMS is proportional to the product of the surface areas of the matrix to which the slurry is fed and the velocity of the slurry through the matrix. It is also dependent on the depth of the matrix since the greater this is, the more chance that a magnetizable particle will be trapped. However increasing the length beyond the limit required to ensure satisfactory performance, that is, to give a reasonable chance of particle capture, does not enhance the capacity of the separator. An increase in slurry velocity will increase capacity but will also cause a corresponding decrease in the possibility of capture of a magnetizable particle. Thus, the velocity can only be increased to a certain limit since, beyond this, the quality of product will suffer.
Accordingly, efforts to increase capacity have been centred on designing HGMS with large matrix surface areas. This has led to the employment of a single element matrix of large diameter with a relatively short axial length located within a correspondingly shaped magnet. With electromagnets, pole pieces are arranged at each end of the canister around the inlet and outlet thereto to concentrate the flow of magnetic flux longitudinally through the matrix. The limiting factor on the size of matrix elements which can be used for such arrangement is the maximum depth of the magnetic field which it is possible to achieve.
A problem with the arrangement described above is that it cannot be employed efficiently with the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,503. In that process, two canisters are provided, alternatively movable into a magnetised zone. While one of the canister is in this zone, the other is being rinsed and washed. This process is very economical and practical since it allows almost continuous treatment of feed slurry, the feed being stopped only when the canisters are actually being moved. For best results with an HGMS, a super-conducting magnet is employed and this is indicated to be preferred for the process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,503. It is the use of a super-conducting magnet and the need for canisters which can be moved into and out of a magnetic field which prevents a short, large diameter matrix being employed efficiently in the process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,503. There are two reasons why this is so as follows.
Firstly, a uniform field is required for good results and this can only be obtained with the short, large diameter magnet, which is necessary to use with a short, large diameter matrix, by employing iron pole pieces. However, the use of such iron pole pieces means that the canisters cannot be readily moved into and out of the magnetic coil which is an essential feature of the operation of the process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,503. Secondly, super-conducting magnetic design favours a coil whose length is about twice its diameter, this arrangement providing a laterally uniform magnetic field without the need for pole pieces. This form of super-conducting magnetic provides a higher field than is achievable with a shorter magnet with iron pole pieces since, in the latter case, a limit is set by the fact that iron saturates at a magnetic flux equivalent to approximately 2 Tesla whereas in the former case a uniform field is readily achievable with magnetic fluxes equivalent to about 5 Tesla. However, of course, this form of super-conducting magnet dictates that the matrix is also of a length twice its diameter, i.e., the complete opposite to the desired matrix aspect ratio discussed above.
In order to increase effective surface area, within the constraints provided by the use of super-conductive magnet and the need for the canisters to be removable from the magnetic, U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,503 proposes employing a matrix in the form of a tube, the slurry being fed into the centre of the tube and then radially outwards therethrough. Other suggestions for maximising the matrix surface area are, for example, to provide multiple thin cross-section matrix elements arranged parallel to the axis of the canister in the form of two rectangular sections, a series of concentric tubes or as an array of rectangular sections. However, all these arrangements suffer from the deficiency that the flow of the slurry through the matrix is transverse to the axis of the canister and hence to the direction of the magnetic field. It is known that the effectiveness of the capture of magnetizable particles is less when the slurry is fed through the matrix transverse to the magnetic field than when it is fed parallel thereto.
GB 1388779 describes a separator with plural matrix elements stacked in a chamber and feed means for feeding fluid through the elements in a direction parallel to the magnetic field within the chamber. The feed means comprises a separate supply pipe for each matrix element which feeds a flow control member positioned above the element. Each flow control member includes a distribution network having a central chamber and plural radial passages for feeding the element therebelow and a collection network of similar form for receipt of slurry from the element thereabove. The arrangement is relatively complicated and vulnerable to failure by blockage of the radial passages.
It is an object of the invention to provide a magnetic separator which is simple in form but achieves equal if not better results than known separators.


An interrupt power supply control unit 5 monitors interrupts 11, 21, 31 issued from function blocks 1, 2, 3, and also, a power supply control instruction 41 issued from a CPU 4. When either an interrupt or an instruction is issued, the interrupt power supply control unit 5 performs a power supply control operation in accordance with a content of an interrupt power supply control table 50. In the power supply control operation, ON/OFF-control operations of power supply switches 12, 22, 32, 42 are carried out, and also, control signals 581 and 582 are outputted to power supply cutoff solving elements 81 and 82. When electric power of the power supply is supplied to a necessary function block in accordance with the power supply control operation, the interrupt power supply control unit 5 initiates the relevant function block in accordance with the content of the interrupt power supply control table 50.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a semiconductor integrated circuit and an electric power supply controlling method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor manufacturing processes have become handling very fine patterns, leak currents cannot be neglected, while these leak currents flow during waiting statuses where circuits are not operated. The leak currents may constitute one of factors for increasing power consumption of the semiconductor circuits. In order to reduce these leak currents, cutting off power supplies is the most effective method.
A patent publication 1 has described a semiconductor integrated circuit which performs a power supply cutting off operation. The semiconductor integrated circuit described in the patent publication 1 has 2 power supply modes, namely, an operation mode and a standby mode. A power supply domain has been subdivided into a main circuit and a standby circuit. The main circuit contains a CPU to which electric power of the power supply is supplied during only the operation mode. The electric power of the power supply is continuously supplied to the standby circuit. When the standby circuit receives a transfer instruction for transferring the operation mode of the system to the standby mode from the CPU, the standby circuit turns OFF the power supply of the main circuit so as to transfer the system to the standby mode. When an interrupt is issued, the standby circuit holds a factor of the interrupt, and turns ON the power supply of the main circuit. The CPU specifies the interrupt factor held in the standby circuit, and performs a process operation corresponding to this specified interrupt factor.
Also, a semiconductor integrated circuit described in a patent publication 2 contains a power supply domain similar to that of the patent publication 1, and also, does not have such a power supply cutting off circuit, but has a substrate bias control circuit. When the operation mode is transferred to the standby mode, the substrate bias control circuit controls a substrate bias voltage of the main circuit to a high threshold voltage. On the other hand, when the operation mode is recovered from the standby mode, the substrate bias control circuit commences the operation after the high threshold voltage is returned to a zero bias voltage. As previously described, as the method for reducing the leak currents, the substrate bias voltage control operation is carried out, while the power supply cutting off operation is not performed, so that the semiconductor integrated circuit may be recovered to the operation mode in a high speed from the standby mode.    Patent Publication 1: Japanese Patent No. 3724472    Patent Publication 2: JP-A-2004-96073
However, in the above-described electric power supply controlling methods for the semiconductor integrated circuits, when the operation mode is transferred to the standby mode and also the operation mode is recovered from the standby mode, the control operations by the CPU intervene. As a result, the power supply domain containing the CPU must be necessarily required to be brought into the power supply ON status during the operation mode. Although a mode control operation and an interrupt process operation executed between the standby mode and the operation mode do not always require the process operations by the CPU, since the control operations by the CPU intervene, the power supply of the power supply domain (CPU domain) containing the CPU could not be turned OFF during the operation mode. In a system LSI, since such a portion occupied by a CPU domain is large, this occupied area cannot be neglected. As a result, it is very effective to reduce power consumption of the CPU domain.

Semiconductor integrated circuit and electric power supply controlling method thereof


A P2P printing system and method is disclosed. The printing comprising a system computer readable storage medium, storing instructions that, when executed, cause a printing device to perform a method. The method comprising establishing communications between one or more other printing devices, each printing device capable of sharing files with the other printing devices via a P2P file sharing network.

Traditionally, some printing systems include the transfer of a print file from a computer device, such as a personal computer or server, to a printer through a network or other connection between the computing device and the printer. Other printing systems utilize a Multi-Functional Device (MFD). The MFD includes the scanning of a document and printing of a document all within a stand alone unit. In addition to operating as a stand alone printing system, some MFDs can communicate with a server or other computer to receive print files and print these print files.
The server or computer associated with the traditional printing system described above, can store a print file associated with a scanned document or application program such as word. To print a document associated with the print file, requires a user to interface with the server or computer via a terminal or other device. The print file is transferred to a printer and a document is printed. To print this same document at another future time, the user must repeat these steps and the computer or server will transfer the print file to the printer for printing. Other variations of this printing system include a multiple printer network where a specific printer can be selected by the user for printing.


Methods and systems for embodiments of a 9T memory cell, memory devices which utilize such 9T memory cells and the creation of embodiments of such memory devices are disclosed. More specifically, an embodiment of a 9T memory cell may comprise a 6T memory cell portion and a 3T read port. Additionally, in one embodiment, a memory which utilizes 9T memory cells may be made by from a grid comprising columns and rows of transistors formed according to a layout for 6T memory cells.

In recent years, there has been an insatiable desire for faster computer processing data throughputs because cutting-edge computer applications are becoming more and more complex, placing ever increasing demands on microprocessing systems. The microprocessors in these systems may have very rapid cycle times and be capable of manipulating a great amount of data very quickly. Part and parcel with the increased demand for data throughputs and high power microprocessors is an ever increasing demand for memory to be utilized with these microprocessor devices.
Commensurate with the demand for ever more complicated processing devices and the associated desire for more memory is the desire to have these computing devices (and associated memory) in smaller packages. The competing requirements of increased complexity and smaller form factor may, however, give rise to a number of problems. In particular, with respect to the memory of these devices certain problems may be exacerbated by the reduction in size of the memory (other things being equal). For example, with respect to semiconductor memory, such as static random access memory, as the size of the device (transistor size, distance between transistors, area per given number of transistors, or another measure of size altogether) becomes smaller the instability of the memory may likewise increase, leading to greater number of memory errors and impacting the performance of the memory and hence the device with such memory is utilized.
Thus, a need exists for systems and methods for memories with both increased stability and desirable form factors.

Method and system for semiconductor memory

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.


Upper layer 3 routing in conjunction with self-healing lower layer networks is more informed by the addition of reachability costs determined in the lower layer. Maintenance changes on the self-healing network are monitored. A change causes revision of reachability costs. The revised costs are communicated by lower layer logic to upper layer logic.

The present invention relates to layer 3 routing in conjunction with operation over self-healing networks. A self-healing network as defined herein is a lower layer routing protocol which can hide a broken link in the network from the upper layers, routing the communication without interruption.
When used in conjunction with conventional networks, a layer 3 routing entity tends to determine the least costly path between any two layer 3 routing entities in the network according to a routing protocol, such as RIP, OSPF (RFC 2328). Layer 3 routing entities are connected to one another by a link. There are many examples of links, but a frame relay DLCI, ATM VCC, Ethernet LAN are but a few. Layer 3 routing entities maintain knowledge of their immediate neighbors to whom they are linked. Point-topoint links (such as a frame relay DLCI) will always set up routing adjacencies. While broadcast links (such as Ethernet) may or may not set up routing adjacencies, they will always set up neighbor adjacencies. (Neighbors are a subset of routing adjacencies.) When a point-to-point link fails, the routing entities readjust their adjacency lists. Routing adjacencies to entities that are not neighbors may need to be recomputed to get around the failed link. When the link is reestablished, the routing entities must perform a complex sequence of handshaking to set up routing adjacency again. This process is compute and bandwidth intensive.
Self-healing networks such as SONET rings hide most of the link failures from the routing entities. This is performed, in the case of SONET rings, by sending the traffic between the two routing entities around the ring in the opposite direction. Activity between the routing entities is thereby maintained and a broken link is not seen. In particular, a link flap in which a link is repeatedly opened and closed is hidden from the upper layer routing logic. The costly recomputation and resynchronization of the layer 3 routing entities is thereby avoided. However, this may lead to inefficient transport of data because the broken link is hidden from the layer 3 router. A break in the SONET ring between two routing entities that are relatively close will result in data traffic between the two entities being sent around the long side of the ring. If those two entities were joined by a second route, it may have been possible to redirect traffic through the second route instead of taking the long path around the first SONET ring. However, the layer 3 router is unaware of the break in the SONET ring and takes the long path around the first ring instead of the shorter path on the second route.
In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, reachability costs are determined by a self-healing lower layer network and communicated to upper layer routing logic. Maintenance changes in the self-healing network are monitored. Thus, a break in a link is recognized. When a maintenance change occurs, reachability costs are revised. The reachability costs provide a relative measure of the burden in getting from one point to another on the self-healing network. The revised cost data is communicated to the upper layer logic. In an embodiment of the invention, reachability costs can be a measure of the number of routers which are traversed from one point to another through the active portions of the ring. Program code for performing the method of an embodiment of the invention may be incorporated into add drop multiplexor functionality for use on a self-healing network.
A self-healing lower layer network of an embodiment of the invention connects a plurality of routers in a ring configuration. Reachability costs are determined by messages sent over the self-healing lower layer network that contain an originator identifier and a node counter data field. The node counter date field is changed by one increment at each router through which the message passes. By reading the originator identifier and node counter data field at each router, each router learns the number of routers between the originator and itself. This number is used to determine the reachability cost. The cost is recorded. A least cost reachability cost for a route is communicated by lower layer logic to upper layer logic. A maintenance change due to a link failure may result in revising the least cost reachability cost by replacing a cost for routing in one direction about the ring with a cost for running in an opposite direction about the ring with a cost for running in an opposite direction about the ring.
In accordance with the method of embodiments of the invention, lower overall network utilization can be achieved. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the following description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings.

Layer 3 routing in self-healing networks


An optical communication device, and related method, are provided for reducing ripple in WDM systems. In particular, the optical communication device includes a dynamic gain equalization (DGE) circuit is coupled to an optical communication path carrying the WDM optical signals. The DGE circuit adjusts the powers associated with each channel on a channel-by-channel basis so that the WDM optical signal has a desired power spectrum. The DGE is controlled in response to sense signals generated by an optical performance monitoring (OPM) circuit located downstream from the DGE or substantially co-located with the DGE. The OPM monitors the WDM spectrum for optical signal power variations and outputs the sense signal when the variations fall outside a given tolerance. Typically, one DGE is associated with a group of concatenated amplifiers so that multiple DGEs are provided in a system having many groups of such amplifiers. Likewise, multiple OPMs are provided in such systems, each corresponding to a respective DGE, so that ripple can be reduced and desired WDM optical signal powers can be achieved in the WDM system.

Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has been explored as an approach for increasing the capacity of fiber optic networks. In a WDM system, plural optical signals or channels are carried over a single optical fiber with each channel being assigned a particular wavelength. Such systems typically include a plurality of receivers, each detecting a respective channel by effectively filtering out the remaining channels.
Optical signals or channels in a WDM system are frequently transmitted over silica based optical fibers, which typically have relatively low loss at wavelengths within a range of 1525 nm to 1580 nm. WDM optical signal channels at wavelengths within this low loss "window" can be transmitted over distances of approximately 50–100 km without significant attenuation. For distances beyond 100 km, however, optical amplifiers are required to compensate for optical fiber loss.
Optical amplifiers have been developed which include an optical fiber doped with erbium. The erbium-doped fiber is "pumped" with light at a selected wavelength, e.g., 980 nm, to provide amplification or gain at wavelengths within the low loss window of the optical fiber. However, erbium doped fiber amplifiers do not uniformly amplify light within the spectral region of 1525 to 1580 nm. For example, an optical channel at a wavelength of 1540 nm, for example, is typically amplified 4 dB more than an optical channel at a wavelength of 1555 nm. While such a large variation in gain can be tolerated for a system with only one optical amplifier, it cannot be tolerated for a system with plural optical amplifiers or numerous, narrowly-spaced optical channels. In which case, much of the pump power supplies energy for amplifying light at the high gain wavelengths rather than amplifying the low gain wavelengths. As a result, low gain wavelengths suffer excessive noise accumulation after propagating through several amplifiers.
Accordingly, optical amplifiers providing substantially uniform spectral gain have been developed. In particular, optical amplifiers including an optical filter provided between first and second stages of erbium doped fiber are known to provide gain flatness. In these amplifiers, the first stage is operated in a high gain mode and supplies a low noise signal to the second stage, while the second stage is operated in a high power mode. Although the second stage introduces more noise than the first, the overall noise output by the amplifier is low due to the low noise signal of the first stage. The optical filter selectively attenuates the high gain wavelengths, while passing the low gain wavelengths, so that the gain is substantially equal for each wavelength output from the second stage.
These gain-flattening amplifiers are typically designed to receive optical signals at a particular power level. In the event the total power level of all optical signals input to the amplifier differs from the desired input level, the amplifier can no longer amplify each wavelength with substantially the same amount of gain. Accordingly, the conventional gain-flattened amplifiers discussed above are unable to receive input optical signals over a wide range of power levels while maintaining substantially uniform gain at each wavelength.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,959, incorporated by reference herein, discloses use of a variable optical attenuator provided between first and second stages of an optical amplifier to offset deviations in optical input power away from an optimal input power for which the amplifier is designed. Without the variable optical attenuator, the amplifier can suffer from "tilt", in which amplifier output power increase or decreases from one optical signal to the next such that power spectrum of the WDM signal has a uniform slope. By appropriately adjusting the variable optical attenuator, a substantially uniform spectral output can be achieved, or if desired a predetermined tilt can be achieved.
In so-called ultra-long haul WDM systems, relatively large numbers of optical amplifiers are provided between transmitters and receivers. Often twenty concatenated optical amplifiers are provided, spaced 50–100 km apart, to extend propagation distances 1000–3000 km. In such systems, however, a "ripple" phenomenon can occur in which slight power variations among the WDM signals are amplified as the signals pass through successive amplifiers. These power variations can stem from an unequal loss spectrum caused by badly mated connectors and tight fiber bends. At the receive end, the ripple can be relatively large such that low gain wavelengths can incur excessive noise accumulation. Conventional techniques discussed above are often ineffective in eliminating ripple.
Moreover, numerous transmission, as well as dispersion compensating, optical fibers, are currently available, each having its own loss spectrum. Accordingly, it is difficult to design an optical amplifier so that it will have a uniform output spectrum for every fiber type.

Optical communication system having dynamic gain equalization


Web pages retrieved by a browser core are translated into user interface component definitions and page information. The definitions and page information are transmitted to a user device which recomposes the definitions and page information into a format for presentation to a user on a user device. Transmitting the definitions and page information includes translation of the definitions and page information into a format appropriate for both the particular communications media on which the information is transmitted, and the device to which the information is transmitted. The device includes a browser client which performs the recomposition. The browser client also receives user input, and may respond by altering the information locally at the user device, and sending information related to the user selection back to the browser core for further processing. The browser core also tracks user sessions, thus allowing a user to access the network from several devices, and capture session information for each access from each device. This allows users to switch devices, and start a new session at the point where a previous session ended.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to accessing a network, and in particular to apparatus and methods for accessing of a network using a variety of types of apparatus, such as a set top box for a television or a computer. The present invention also captures session information in a centralized location during accessing, thus allowing a user integrated access to the network across multiple sessions.
B. Description of the Prior Art
The Internet, and in particular the World Wide Web, is changing many aspects of technology. Each day there is more content and different types of content being made available on the Web. There is also a constant development of technologies to either retrieve content from the Web or provide or push content onto the Web. There are, however, many types of content retrieving and pushing devices. This creates constraints on the operations which may be carried out by Web users.
Numerous technical approaches have been proposed for solving this problem. For example, several television manufacturers are planning to integrate Internet access directly into the television; and computer manufactures are looking to integrate television capabilities directly into the home computer. But even these attempts at integration fail to provide a simple and elegant solution for providing Internet access. These attempts require purchase of new Internet-ready devices in which several different, expensive, components are integrated together into one unit.
Some points of access, such as a set top box (STB) or telephone screenphone, might be managed directly by one entity. Others points of access, such as a Web session initiated in a work environment or from a hotel room might be managed by a totally different entity.
Adding to the problem of multiple points of access is the proliferation of Web access technologies. Each access device has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, a computer is most suitable for viewing Web sites with a high text content. Web sites with a high motion video or sound content, however, are best visited from an entertainment console. A Web site that provides telephone directory services might be best visited from a screen phone.
It thus would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods which allow more flexible ways of accessing networks, particularly the Web.

Methods and apparatus for integrating services for accessing the world wide web


The present disclosure discloses a self-check chip of a leakage protector. The self-check chip includes a power-on reset circuit, used for resetting the self-check chip after being powered-on; a reference voltage module, used for providing a reference voltage for a comparator module; a bias circuit, used for providing direct-current bias for the reference voltage module, the comparator module and a ring oscillator; the comparator module, used for monitoring an open-circuit condition of a trip coil and the change of a thyristor anode voltage and generating a power frequency clock; the ring oscillator, used for providing a clock for a counting module and a digital processing module; the counting module, used for generating a self-check signal, a leakage trigger signal, a PHASE pin detection signal and a reset signal of the counting module and the digital processing module; a trip enabling signal generation module; and the digital processing module.

With increasing popularity of electrical appliances and diversification and complexity of power grid loads, countries and society have paid more and more attention to electrical safety. Leakage protectors have become indispensable auxiliary appliances in production and life. However, due to operation of the leakage protectors with faults, users lose protection from electric shocks and electric fires. Since regular checks of the existing leakage protectors require manual operation, power supplies are interrupted during the operation, and more than 90% of users do not perform periodic trip self-checks so that the risk of abnormal operation of the leakage protectors cannot be ignored.


A water insoluble micronutrient fertilizer, methods of producing, and methods of using the same are provided. The fertilizer may comprise at least one first micronutrient selected from the group consisting of chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc; a polyphosphate; and optionally at least one second micronutrient selected from the group consisting of boron, chlorine, iodine, molybdenum or selenium. The fertilizer compounds are preferably water insoluble, dilute acid soluble, and free-flowing powders.

Micronutrients are generally thought to be essential building blocks for plants and animals. Such micronutrients may include boron, chlorine, chromium, cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Micronutrient plant fertilization, alone or in combination with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash fertilization, generally results in better crop yields and more nutritious food.
Prior micronutrient fertilizers include sulfate salts of the micronutrients, such as zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate and cuprous sulfate or chelates such as zinc EDTA, iron EDTA and copper EDTA. These water-soluble compounds, however, can be leached out of the soil and contaminate water bodies. Other water soluble micronutrient fertilizers have been impregnated with an organic polymer membrane. The nutrients may be released into a solution by diffusion. Still further micronutrient fertilizers have been produced having relatively low micronutrients.
Iron and manganese fertilizers are widely used in many parts of the world particularly in soils of high pH, such as the black soils. They are also widely used in horticultural and cash crops to improve yields and quality of produce. The compounds most popularly used for correcting deficiencies of iron and manganese in crops are ferrous sulphate and manganous sulphate (J. J. Mortvedt, P. M. Giordano & W. L. Lindsay, 1972, Micronutrients in Agriculture, Soil Sci. Soc. Am., Madison). Chelated forms of these micronutrients, e.g., iron-EDTA, and manganese—EDTA compounds are also in use as liquid sprays (V. Saucheli, 1967, Chemistry and technology of fertilizers, Reinhold, N.Y.; G. H. Collins, 1955, Commercial fertilizers, Mc-Graw Hill, New York).
There are, however, several drawbacks in the use of such soluble compounds as fertilizers, e.g., leaching losses, chemical transformation losses, ground water contamination, etc. This results in excess dosages which are often several times the actual crop uptake, leading to poor fertilize-use efficiency. Moreover, such wastages also affect the economics, thereby discouraging their widespread usage.
In an attempt to overcome these shortcomings, slow-release fertilizers incorporating micronutrients have been prepared. One such type is the fertilizer based on phosphate glasses known as frits. Frits are prepared by fusing sodium, potassium or ammonium dihydrogen phosphates together with micronutrient salts at temperatures between 800° and 1400° C. and then rapidly quenching the melt to produce a glass (G. J. Roberts 1973, Am. Ceram. Soc. Bull. Vol 52, p 383; ibid, idem, Vol 54, p 1069; Austrian Patent No 326160 of 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,591 of 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,536 of 1974).
The major disadvantage of the phosphate glass frits is that the availability of the nutrients is by slow hydrolysis of the glass and is highly dependent on the soil (pH, moisture content, temperature, etc.,) and on the crop (rate of growth, physiological factors, variety, etc). Consequently, where nutrient release by hydrolysis does not match plant uptake, the fertilizer is not effective. Moreover, the high temperatures involved in the synthesis of frits together with the corrosive conditions make these materials fairly expensive and unsuitable for general use.
Another type of phosphate based water insoluble fertilizer is the metaphosphate. Metaphosphates of calcium and potassium together with micronutrients have been proposed (S I Volfkovich, 1972, J Appl. Chem. (USSR) Vol 45, p 2479). A Russian patent (SU 1270148 of 1986) describes the production of mixed metaphosphates based fertilizers produced at 500-880° C. Drawbacks in the use of metaphosphates as fertilizers are similar to those with the frits. Metaphosphates may be more insoluble and hydrolyse even slower, producing compounds with very poor nutrient availability. Metaphosphates of the heavy metals are extremely insoluble and of little use as fertilizers.
An additional type of slow-release fertilizer has been produced in which the micronutrient ions are in a chemical form wherein they are insoluble but also plant available. These belong to the bio-release types of slow-release fertilizers. The processes for producing such phosphate based zinc and copper fertilizers are described in two Indian patents (Nos 172800 of 1990 and 177205 of 1991). The chemistry of zinc and copper phosphate polymerisation and the chemical nature of these fertilizers have also been described (S K Ray, C Varadachari & K Ghosh, 1993, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. Vol. 32, p. 1218; S K Ray, C Varadachari & K Ghosh, 1997, J. Agric. Food Chem., vol. 45, p. 1447). A patent (C. Varadachari, Indian Patent Application No. 10/CAL/99) describes the processes for production of slow-release fertilizers and describes methods for assessing limits of polymerisation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Micronutrient fertilizers and methods of making and using the same


A process of manufacturing a well closure apparatus and using it downhole by releasing components contained within the apparatus. The well closure apparatus is an internal bidirectional tubing plug that is adapted for insertion into a tubing string for sealing the tubing string internally while running the tubing into a fluid filled well. The tubing plug is comprised of a body having an inner surface with a recess or passage extending through the body from one end to the other. The recess holds petals and a keystone petal that are held within the recess by a cork and the cork is held in place by a nut. At depth, the tubing is filled with well fluid, the tubing plug is released at a predetermined hydraulic pressure, and the pieces of the releasing components are pumped to the bottom of the well or are circulated out of the well.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to closure means for well conduits. More particularly, it relates to temporary plugs that are removable without mechanical intervention from the surface above the well. More specifically this invention relates to running new or used tubing, known as a work string, into a well filled with drilling mud or water, well fluids, behind a drill bit and drill collars, a packer or open ended as fast and as safely as possible and at the same time directing the displaced well fluid to a pit or tank while preventing the well fluid from entering the tubing, through a bit, a packer, or open ended.
It is also desirable to prevent displaced well fluids from being displaced out the surface open end of the tubing into the atmosphere. The displaced well fluids will take the path of least resistance to the atmosphere. If the displaced well fluids are allowed to enter the tubing well fluids will "spray" out the surface open end of the tubing coating the rig, rig crew, stripping rubber, blow out preventers, wellhead, and ground and generally impair safe working conditions. It is also possible to contaminate the ground or create a fire or chemical hazard as some well fluids contain hazardous chemicals and compounds.
In general practice the tubing is lowered very slowly into a well to allow the well fluids to drain from the tubing/annulus casing valve, and slow enough to prevent well fluids from spraying out the open end of the tubing. This method of running a tubing string very slowly is costly to well operators due to the additional rig time. It is desirable to run the tubing as fast as possible, in a safe manner, to reduce the well operators cost.
One problem is controlling the well fluids from being displaced from the tubing/casing annulus while the tubing is being lowered into the well. This is accomplished by using a "stripping rubber", as known in the art. The stripping rubber effectively seals the tubing/casing annulus diverting all displaced well fluids up the tubing and out the casing valve at the same time. The casing valve is generally placed on a kill-choke/spool below the blow out preventers. The casing valve is generally opened to a flow line ending at a flow back tank, frac tank, and or an earth pit. The flow lines that are directed to a flow back tank generally have sufficient restriction in them to not be able handle all of the displaced well fluids through the casing valve which causes more of the displaced well fluids to be directed into the tubing and out the end of it at the surface.
The second problem is that if the well operator chooses to run a stripping rubber and a drill pipe float valve above the bit, essentially a check valve, all displaced well fluids will be diverted to the casing valve and to a tank or pit. But using a drill pipe float valve causes another problem.
The third problem is that when using a drill pipe float valve and stripping rubber circulation of the well fluid may only occur down the tubing and up the tubing/casing annulus. There are situations where this setup may limit the control of the well by not allowing well fluids to be circulated down the tubing/casing annulus and up the tubing.
A fourth problem is that when using a drill pipe float valve with a stripping rubber and drilling out any obstructions in a well such as DV tools (known as stage cementing tools in the art), DV rubbers, primary cementing rubbers and any excess cement left in the well, a high circulation rate is necessary to carry all drilled and washed debris up the tubing/casing annulus through the casing valve, flow line, and to a wash tank. If the casing valve or flow line become plugged circulation up the tubing/casing will be lost. If circulation is lost the annulus debris in the annulus will fall down hole around the tubing "sticking" the tubing. To remove the tubing a "fishing" job is required that is very expensive and for this reason this set up is not used by prudent operators.
A fifth problem is created when using a wire line (also known as "slick line" in the art) retrievable "blanking plug" as known in the art. One way to prevent well fluids from entering the tubing is to run a wire line retrievable blanking plug, in a tubing nipple, at or above the bottom end of the tubing. A retrievable blanking plug seals off fluid flow in both directions of the tubing. With a blanking plug in place while running the tubing, in conjunction with a stripping rubber, all displaced fluids are diverted through a casing valve. While picking up a new or used work string and running it into the well, mill scale, rust, dirt, tubing dope, and all manner of debris fall down the tubing and land on top of the blanking plug.
Once the tubing is at depth the tubing is filled with fluid to equalize differential pressure across the retrievable blanking plug so that it may be removed from the tubing. This is accomplished by running a wireline blanking plug retrieval tool and equalizing prong (in some cases) to release the retrievable blanking plugs latching members from a tubing sub known as a nipple. However, in most cases the tubing debris, a mentioned above, have fallen down and covered the retrievable blanking plug such that the retrievable tool and equalizing prong cannot engage the blanking plug to equalize, release, and pull it from the tubing to the surface. At this time the debris must be washed off the retrievable blanking plug before it is pulled from the tubing. This may be accomplished by using coiled tubing and or snubbing operations or other methods, as known in the art which incur additional cost and time. Sometimes the fluid laden tubing must be pulled from the well. Experience has shown that using a retrievable blanking plug is not a cost effective way to prevent well fluids from entering a tubing string.
A sixth problem occurs when running a "pump-out-plug" as known in the art. The pumped-out portion of the pump-out-plug has an outside diameter greater than the internal diameter of the tubing and therefore it may not be circulated out of the well up the tubing. Further, the pumped-out portion of the pump-out-plugs outside diameter is generally of a dimension that prevents is from being circulated from the well up the tubing/casing annulus. Additionally the pumped-out portion of a pump-out-plug is generally made from a metal, generally aluminum, which will fall on top of any cased-hole tools below the pump-out-plug and prevent them from being pulled from the well at a later date as the pumped-out portion may become wedged between the casing internal surface and the outer surface of the cased-hole tools (known as retrievable packers, retrievable bridge plugs, and others) as know in the art. Therefore, in general, pump-out-plugs are only run in a well at the bottom end of a tubing string, sometimes below a retrievable packer, and the pumped-out portion of the pump-out-plug falls into the rat hole at the bottom of the well. Pump-out-plugs are not compatible and with a drill bit.
A seventh problem occurs when running a "rupture disk" as known in the art. A rupture disk is run above the bit and drill collars in the tubing in a tubing nipple or a J-J (the small internal area in a tubing collar between the two pin ends of tubing) to prevent well fluid from entering the tubing when it is run into a well full of well fluid. When it is time to establish circulation the tubing is filled with fluid and pressure applied on top of the rupture disk rupturing it and establishing circulation in the well. The debris left in the J-J or tubing nipple of the rupture disk are protrusions into the internal diameter of the tubing string. These protrusions may hang debris circulated up the tubing and plug it off causing the operator to pull the work string. Many times surface intervention may be required to pierce the rupture disk to facilitate it to rupture. Experience has shown that the use of a rupture disk is fraught with potential problems and unnecessary economic expense.
An eight problem occurs when lowering tubing into a well containing drilling mud with lost circulation material (cotton seed hulls, walnut chunks, cellophane particles, and others) in it. Experience has shown that the lost circulation material, when entering the bit, may plug it off, or the tubing above the bit. This situation reminds us that in this situation it is generally a good idea to run some type of tubing plugging apparatus.
Therefore, the primary object of this invention is to prevent well fluids from entering the tubing as it is lowered into a well full of fluid.
A second object of this invention is to remove the plugging apparatus with well fluids leaving no debris in the tubing.
A third object of this invention is to remove the plugging apparatus without surface intervention.
A fourth object of this invention is to be able to establish circulation at any time allowing the operator full control of the well.
A fifth object of this invention is to allow the well operator, when pumping out the plugging apparatus, to monitor the tubing pressure at the surface, to identify when the internal bidirectional tubing plug has released, by observing a pressure build up and fall off, and then establish that the well is circulating.
A sixth object of this invention is to leave the internal diameter of the tubing constant when the plugging apparatus is removed.
A seventh object of this invention is to blank off the tubing with very small parts that may be circulated through a workover bit, up the tubing/casing annulus, or through the workover bit up the tubing to the surface.
An eight object of this invention is to manufacture the small parts of this plugging apparatus of a material recognized as biodegradable.
A ninth object of this invention is to manufacture the internal parts of this plugging apparatus of a material that is sufficient for the pressures and temperatures encountered in most well conditions.
A tenth object of this invention is to manufacture the parts of this plugging apparatus from a material that is easily drillable.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,812, Newton, 1939, teaches us that wireline plugs run in casing or tubing require surface intervention to run or retrieve a check valve or blanking plug, and most generally a prong or rod to equalize and release the in place device then pull it to the surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,856,003, J. V. Fredd, 1958, teaches us that wireline plugs run in casing or tubing require surface intervention to run or retrieve a check valve or blanking plug, and most generally a prong or rod to equalize and release the in place device then pull it to the surface a different way.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,773 B1, Albers, 2002, and the U.S. Documents Cited dated through September 1998, refer to wireline retrievable devices require surface intervention.
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as a discussion that such prior art is known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.


Provided are assays useful for detecting and monitoring autophagy and phospholipidosis, including the progression of lysosomal storage diseases. Drugs and treatments for lysosomal storage diseases can be monitored for effectiveness in lysosomal storage disease conditions. Drug candidates and suspected toxic agents can also be screened for toxicity to cells, tissues and organs. Also provided are methods for distinguishing between phospholipidosis activators and autophagy pathway perturbation agents.

Cell-based assays are increasingly gaining in popularity in the pharmaceutical industry due to their high physiological relevance. Additional advantages include their ability to predict compound usefulness, evaluate molecular interactions, identify toxicity, distinguish cell type-specific drug effects, and determine drug penetration. Cell-based assays are relevant throughout the drug discovery pipeline, because they are capable of providing data from target characterization and validation to lead identification (primary and secondary screening) to terminal stages of toxicology. Current industry trends of performing drug screening with cell context demand easily monitored, non-invasive reporters. This fundamental approach increases efficiency, reduces costs, and results in shorter time to market for new drugs. In order to fail compounds early, information-rich data for accurate early-stage decision making is required. Such data may be derived by screening compounds in context, that is, by screening in relevant living systems, rather than with classical biochemical assays. These screening systems often incorporate sophisticated imaging platforms, such as high-content screening (HCS) workstations. The industrialization of fluorescent microscopy has led to the development of these high-throughput imaging platforms capable of HCS. When coupled with fluorescent reporter technology, HCS has provided information-rich drug screens, as well as access to novel types of drug targets.
While suitable for analysis of cell surfaces and permeabilized cells, fluorescently-labeled antibodies have few practical applications for intracellular imaging in living cells, due to their inherent inability to penetrate to their targets, which has given rise to development of cell-permeable small molecule organic fluorochromes. Certain ones of these fluorochromes naturally sequester inside-specific organelles, based upon biophysical or biochemical properties favoring that distribution. Acceptable small molecule organic probes for cell imaging and analysis need to be minimally perturbing, versatile, stable, easy-to-use, and easy to detect using non-invasive imaging equipment. A problem with the classical organic probes from a histological standpoint is that many of them require cofactors or, by requiring fixation or staining, report only on the static condition of a dead cell. The required additional steps may be time consuming and expensive and, in the case of fixing and staining, may lack biological relevance. In the context of the analyses described above, an organic probe must be able to report upon events in living cells and in real time. Simplicity is of key importance, especially in the context of drug screening.
While various organic fluorochromes have been developed in the past for live cell analysis, typically they were devised using unperturbed cells. Thus, such organic fluorochromes statically report upon organelle spatial position within cells without the ability to monitor dynamic changes. For instance, several U.S. patent documents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,338,854, 5,459,268, 5,686,261, 5,869,689, 6,004,536, 6,140,500 and 6,291,203 B1, as well as US Patent Applications 2005/0054006 and 2007/0111251 A1, (foregoing patents and patent applications incorporated herein by reference) disclose organic fluorochromes which are described as useful for visualizing membranes, mitochondria, nuclei and/or acidic organelles. Additional examples of various fluorochromes and their application in biological imaging may be found in the published literature (see, for example, Pagano et al, 1989; Pagano et al, 1991; Deng et al, 1995; Poot et al, 1996; Diwu et al, 1999; Rutledge et al, 2000; Lee et al, 2003; Bassøe et al, 2003; Rosania et al, 2003, Li et al 2007; Boldyrev et al, 2007; Nadrigny et al, 2007). These dyes have been created using a number of fluorophores, most commonly dipyrrometheneboron difluoride (BODIPY), cyanine, carbocyanine, styryl and diaminoxanthene core structures. Typical emission maxima for these organic fluorophores span from 430 to 620 nm. Many of these dyes display certain suboptimal properties, such as a propensity to photo-bleach, metachromasy and even a tendency to photo-convert to different emission maxima upon brief exposure to broad-band illumination.
JC-1 dye is notable in its ability to monitor the dynamics of mitochondrial membrane potential changes and consequently the energetic state of cells (Smiley et al, 1991). Unfortunately, with respect to lysosomes and lysosome-like vesticles (autophagosomes, autophagolysosomes), there has been a notable lack of probes that have the ability to track organelle dynamics arising from drug treatment or intracellular membrane trafficking anomalies.
Spectral Problems Associated With Previously Devised Organic Fluorochromes for Analysis of Lysosomes
Fluorescence co-localization imaging is a powerful method for exploring the targeting of molecules to intracellular compartments and for screening of their associations and interactions. In these kinds of experiments, distinct fluorochromes and/or fluorescent proteins of interest are imaged as spectrally separated detection channels. The fluorescence intensity in each channel is ideally dominated by spatial and concentration information derived from one fluorophore only. Many commercially available organic fluorophores for subcellular analysis are disadvantaged in displaying suboptimal properties relating to these types of applications.
Lysotracker Red DND-99 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) contains a BODIPY fluorophore in the form of a conjugated multi-pyrrole ring structure and also contains a weakly basic amine that causes the fluorochrome to accumulate selectively in acidic compartments, exhibiting red fluorescence upon appropriate illumination (excitation: 577 nm, emission: 590 nm) (Freundt et al, 2007). Lysotracker Red is structurally related to Lysotracker Green but the former has an additional pyrrole ring in conjugation with the primary structure, which produces a longer wavelength emission. Lysotracker Red has commonly been used in multi-color imaging studies as a lysosomal marker to determine intracellular localization of GFP-tagged proteins by fluorescence or confocal microscopy. Excitation of the red-emitting molecule with broad-band illumination induces molecular changes, however, thus rendering its photochemical properties similar to those of Lysotracker Green. The similarities between the spectra of Lysotracker Green and converted Lysotracker Red suggest that the third pyrrole ring is taken out of conjugation during the photo-conversion process, leading to a shorter wavelength dye emission. Thus, Lysotracker Red staining for epifluorescence or confocal microscopy, in conjunction with visualization of GFP or FITC, leads to spurious results due to photo-conversion of the fluorophore (Freundt et al, 2007).
Acridine orange (Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, Mo. and other sources) has also been used extensively as a fluorescent probe of lysosomes and other acidic subcellular compartments. Acridine orange's metachromasy results, however, in the concomitant emission of green and red fluorescence from stained cells and tissue (Nadrigny et al, 2007). Evanescent-field imaging with spectral fluorescence detection, as well as fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy demonstrate that green fluorescent acridine orange monomers inevitably coexist with red fluorescing acridine orange dimers in labeled cells. The green monomer emission spectrally overlaps with that of GFP and produces a false apparent co-localization on dual-color images. Due to its complicated photochemistry and interaction with cellular constituents, acridine orange is a particularly problematic label for multi-color fluorescence imaging, both for dual-band and spectral detection. Extreme caution is required, therefore, when deriving quantitative co-localization information from images of GFP-tagged proteins in cells co-labeled with acridine orange.
Cationic amphiphilic drug tracers have been disclosed. See, for example, acridine-propranolol disclosed in Dickens et al., J Mol Cell Cardiol 34:129-137 (2002); Bondok et al., J. Anat. 160:161-174 (1988); and Cornett et al., J. Histochem. And Cytochem. 28:462-464 (1980); and mitoxantrone disclosed in Vibet et al., Drug Metabolism and Disposition 35:822-828 (2007); each incorporated by reference.
Problems Associated With Previously Described Fluorochromes Targeted to Lysosomes and Lysosome-Like Bodies
The accumulation of cationic amphiphilic drugs, toxic agents and other basic compounds inside acidic subcellular organelles is referred to as lysosomotropism. While many drugs require the presence of a cationic moiety for intrinsic bioactivity, their accumulation into subcellular organelles can also lead to undesirable tissue distribution, alkalinization of lysosomes, phospholipidosis and aberrant pharmacokinetic disposition (Ikeda et al, 2008). Over fifty cationic amphiphilic drugs, including antibiotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and antimalarial and antiarrhythmic agents are known to trigger phospholipidosis, which is typified by the excessive intracellular accumulation of phospholipids within lysosomes as lamellar bodies (Anderson and Borlak, 2006). Some commonly prescribed drugs known to perturb lysosomes by inducing phospholipidosis include propranolol, triparanol, chlorpromazine, chloroquine, fluoxetine, clindamycin and ketoconazole.
The origins of drug-induced lamellar bodies remain unresolved, though they appear to be generated by autophagic or heterophagic processes (Anderson and Borlak, 2006). Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain drug-induced phospholipidosis including the formation of drug-phospholipid complexes that are resistant to degradation by lysosomal phospholipases, direct inhibition of phospholipases themselves, and inhibition of intracellular pathways regulating phospholipid metabolism.
Only one instance can be found wherein a cationic amphiphilic fluorophore has been employed for monitoring drug-induced phospholipidosis (Lemieux et al, 2004). Lysotracker Red DND-99 (Invitrogen) was used to stain lysosomes and inhibition or displacement of the accumulated dye by test agents was subsequently monitored by fluorescence microscopy. Thus, the drug-induced vacuoles were not explicitly stained using the fluorescent probe, but rather an absence of signal was used as an indirect indication that the vacuoles were formed.
Numerous other in vitro methods for detecting phospholipidosis using different cell types including primary hepatocytes, peripheral blood monocytes and various cells lines, in combination with electron microscopy, flow cytometry, fluorescent microscopy or spectrofluorometry have previously been described (Ulrich et al, 1991; Cramer and Ulrich, 1994; Kasahara et al, 2006; Ikeda et al 2008; Gum et al, 2001; Lemieux et al 2004; Fujimura et al 2007; Tomizawa et al, 2006; Natalie et al, 2009; Nioi et al, 2008; Nioi et al, 2007; Bhandari et al, 2008; Morelli et al, 2006; Casartelli et al, 2003). Due to their inherent low throughput, however, many of these in vitro methods are not ideal for routine compound screening during early stage drug development. For example, electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry are generally considered low throughput platforms for routine drug screening purposes, especially when contrasted with fluorescence-based multi-well microplate assays. Additionally, some of the above cited assays depend upon difficult to procure cells. For instance, the preparation of primary hepatocytes or peripheral blood monocytes is too laborious for routine drug screening assay programs.
Many of the previously described cell-based methods require a relatively long period of treatment with the test agent before phospholipidosis can be detected (24-72 h). Additionally, the vast majority of the assays are based upon fluorescently labeled phospholipid analogs, such as NBD-PE, NBD-PC and Lipid-Tox reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.), which require co-incubation of the analog with the drug during the extended incubation period. Distinct types of phospholipids appear to accumulate differently during phospholipidosis, however, and no explicit comparison of the performance of the different fluorescent lipid analogs has been performed to date (Diez-Blanco et al., 1987). The methods also depend upon permeabilization and fixation of the cells prior to analysis, which adds considerably to the overhead associated with the workfklow. What is needed is a fluorescent probe that faithfully highlights increases in vacuolar number and volume associated with exposure of cells and/or tissues to xenobiotic compounds.

Autophagy and phospholipidosis pathway assays


A door locking device is provided for positionally constraining an outwardly opening door against a stop of a cooperating door frame. The door locking device includes a door engaging member attached to the free-end of the door (i.e., the unhinged-end of the door), a threaded shaft having a first end pivotably mounted to the door engaging member and a second end opposite the first end for manual pivotal movement between an unlocked position (i.e., a position wherein the threaded shaft forms an acute angle with respect to the door) and an locked position (i.e., a position wherein the threaded shaft forms an obtuse angle with respect to the door), a wedge member slidably mounted on the threaded shaft, and a retaining nut disposed on the threaded shaft for axial movement thereon. In use, the door is positionally constrained against the stop of the door frame by closing the door, by moving the threaded shaft into the locked position, and by advancing the retaining nut along the threaded shaft until the retaining nut and the wedge member achieve a securing position (i.e., a position wherein the wedge member is immovably wedged between the retaining nut and the stop of the door frame). In order to bias the threaded shaft in the locked and unlocked positions, respectively, the door locking device may further include a cam member disposed on the first end of the threaded shaft and a spring member attached to the door engaging member for cooperative engagement with the cam member.

In order to provide convenient access to a structure (e.g., a building), doors are frequently installed into the walls thereof. Many doors also have a cooperating door frame with a stop which prevents the door from swinging past the plane of the door frame (i.e., the plane of the wall). For example, if the door is located inboard of the stop, the door will open inwardly (i.e., toward the interior of the structure), but not outwardly (i.e., toward the exterior of the structure). If the door is located outboard of the stop, however, it will open outwardly, but not inwardly. Such outwardly swinging doors are commonly referred to as "exit only doors." Of course, if no stop is provided, the door will open both inwardly and outwardly.
At construction sites, movie theaters, and the like, it is often necessary to positionally constrain (or lock) an exit only door from the inside so that unauthorized entry from the outside is prevented. Although attempts have been made to accomplish this feat, these attempts have proven deficient in many respects. For instance, the door lock devices used at most movie theaters are cumbersome, complicated, and expensive. Such door lock devices also have many parts which makes them difficult to assemble, disassemble, and repair. Moreover, it is often times desirable to provide such door lock devices without padlocks, key operated locking mechanisms, or the like so that the door may be quickly opened from the inside for emergency egress.


An improved field emission display device fabrication method which adopts both a silicon wafer direct bonding method and a mold method so as to fabricate an improved field emission display device, which includes the steps of a first step which forms a tip array by a molding method; and a second step which bonds the tip array to a second semiconductor substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field emission display device fabrication method, and particularly to an improved field emission display device fabrication method of fabricating an improved field emission display device in a silicon wafer direct bonding method and a mold method.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Generally, a field emission display device fabrication method is classified into a metal tip vacuum evaporation method of C. A. Spindt which is directed to using a pin hole mask and a silicon tip method of H. F. Gray, which is directed to forming layers by a silicon etching.
In addition, the field emission display device fabrication method is classified into a method of using a metal tip and a method of using a silicon tip in accordance with the tip material used so as to fabricate the field emission display device. In this case, each has its inherent disadvantage.
That is, the method of using a metal tip as a field emission display device material has an advantage in that it has good physical and chemical durabilities as well as has a relatively high field emitting current density; however, it is somehow difficult to precisely control fabrication conditions such as a precise diameter at one end of the tip and the height of the tip. In addition, the method of using a silicon tip as a field emission display device material has an advantage in that it can prevent a thermal mismatch because the tip and the substrate are made of the same material when forming a tip on a silicon substrate, the fabrication steps thereof are compatible to the existing VLSI steps, and desired configurations of the product can be achieved more easily; however, in this case, the physical and chemical durabilities of the product are weak compared with using a metal material, and it is difficult to achieve a desired field emitting current level.
In 1981, H. F. Gray et, al. introduced a mold technique so as to more easily fabricate a tip having a good uniformity and a geometrical characteristic. In addition, in 1990, M. Sokolich et al disclosed an improved field emission display device fabrication method of emitting an electron field at a lower current level of about 10V.
In addition, 1993 and 1994, M. Nakamoto et al. (Revue "Le Vide, les Couches Minces"--Supplement au N.sup.o 271-Mars-Pvril 1994, pp.41-44) introduced a transfer mold technique which is characterized to forming a field emission display device on a glass substrate, while performing a thin film deposition process and a photo etching process at the same time after transferring a tip array formed by the above-mentioned technique on a glass substrate.
Referring to FIGS. 1A through 1E, the above-mentioned conventional field emission display device fabrication methods will now be explained.
To begin with, the method of M. Sokolich et. al., (IEDM(International Electron Devices Meeting) Technical Digest, pp.159-162 (1990)) is directed to depositing an insulating layer on a silicon wafer 1, and patterning by a photo etching process so as to form an insulation film pattern 2 as shown in FIG. 1A.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1B, a region of a silicon wafer of the insulation film pattern 2 is etched using a KOH aqueous solution in an orientation dependent etching method so as to form a pyramid-shaped hole 3 having a very sharp top.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1C, a tip 4 is formed, and the silicon wafer 1 and the insulation film pattern 2 are removed to expose a tip 4 which is made of only the tip material.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1D, a gate insulation film 5 and a gate electrode 6 are deposited on the tip 4 in order, and etched by a photo-etching process so as to form a field emission display device.
Next, the method of M. Nakamoto et. al. will now be explained. The method thereof has the same processes as the processes shown in FIGS. 1A through 1C. That is, the method of M. Nakamoto et al. is directed to transferring a tip from a silicon substrate to a glass substrate by bonding a top region of the tip 4 and a glass substrate 7 by an electrostatic thermal bonding method.
Here, the electrostatic thermal bonding method denotes bonding two materials using a high electron field formed on a boundary by applying a proper heat and a direct current voltage thereto after making a conjunction between a metal or a semiconductor and a glass.
Thereafter, the mold silicon substrate 1 is removed by a moisture etching, the gate insulation film 5 and the gate electrode 6 are formed on the tip 4 and patterned by a photo-etching process to form a field emission display device.
Next, the field emission display device fabricated in the method of M. Sokolich et al. is directed to using the substrate as a tip material formed by the deposition. In addition, the transfer mold technique is directed to forming a field emission display device on a glass substrate, thus achieving a more stable operation and a recommended standard environment.
As described above, when fabricating a field emission display device in the silicon mold method, it is possible to achieve the above-mentioned desired advantages.
That is, by varying the regional surface to be etched, it is possible to select a desired bottom surface of the tip, the height thereof, and in addition, various kinds of geometrical configurations can be obtained. Moreover, a reproducible field emission display array can be obtained, and a wide range of the tip material is available.

Field emission display device fabrication method

Korea Institute of Science and Technology


Multi-directional ultrasonic transducers useful for small downhole applications where two or more separate or larger transducers are too large. The transducer includes a backing material having two or more piezoelectric elements attached thereto. The piezoelectric elements are attached to the backing such that each elements transmit ultrasounds in different directions. An encapsulating material surrounds both the piezoelectric elements and the backing. Since the piezoelectric elements share the same backing and the same encapsulation, the form factor of the multi-directional transducer is greatly reduced in comparison to conventional transducer designs.

Ultrasonic transducers have wide application in nondestructive testing of wellbore downhole environments. For example, ultrasonic transducers have been used in downhole imaging for casing thickness measurement, cement evaluation for cased holes, and formation evaluation for open holes. In such applications, the transducer rotates along the downhole axis, in order to scan over the circumference of the downhole wall. In some applications, transducers are mounted back-to-back on one rotating head, thus enabling scanning of the wellbore. The dual back-to-back design may double the efficiency or provide redundancy in case one of the transducers fails during measurement operations.
However, for wellbores having small diameters, the rotating head may be too small to house two or more transducers. Since two or more conventional transducers may be longer than 3 inches when mounted back-to-back and the wellbore may be less than 3.5 inches, the transducers are simply too large for applications of smaller wellbores. Therefore, the use of multiple transducers, and their accompanying efficiencies and redundancies, is not available.

Multi-directional ultrasonic transducer for downhole measurements


A system for processing a substrate with plasma. In the system, a substrate holder includes an energy application member for energizing an exposure face other than a substrate placement portion. The energy application member energizes the exposure face by an induced current when high-frequency electromagnetic wave power is applied, by heat generated upon energization, or by ion bombardment when a high-frequency electric field is applied. Perfluorocarbon 14 gas and oxygen gas introduced by a gas introduction mechanism form plasma by a power supply mechanism for etching and removing a thin film deposited on the exposure face. At this time, the etching is accelerated by energy given by the energy application member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for processing a substrate with plasma and in particular to a plasma processing system such as a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system or a plasma etching system.
2. Description of the Related Art
To manufacture a semiconductor integrated circuit, a liquid crystal display or the like, plasma is used to apply predetermined processing to the surface of a substrate. FIG. 11 is an illustration showing a schematic configuration of a conventional plasma processing system used for such processing.
The plasma processing system shown in FIG. 11 consists mainly of a vacuum vessel 1 provided with an exhaust channel 11, a gas introduction mechanism 2 for introducing a predetermined gas into the vacuum vessel 1, a power supply mechanism 3 for energizing the introduced gas for forming plasma, and a substrate holder 4 for placing a substrate in a position where the substrate is to be processed with the formed plasma.
The system in FIG. 11 carries a substrate 40 into the vacuum vessel 1 through a gate valve (not shown) and places the substrate 40 on the substrate holder 4. After evacuating air in the vacuum vessel 1 through the exhaust channel 11, the system introduces a predetermined gas by the gas introduction mechanism 2. Next, the system applies energy of high-frequency electromagnetic wave power and the like, to the gas in the vacuum vessel 1 by the power supply mechanism 3 for forming plasma. Then, the system applies predetermined processing to the surface of the substrate 40 with the formed plasma. For example, if mono-silane gas and oxygen gas are introduced by the gas introduction mechanism 2, the plasma causes a decomposition reaction and the like, and PECVD processing can be performed for depositing a silicon oxide thin film on the surface of the substrate 40.
When the processing for the substrate 40 is repeated a considerable number of times in the conventional plasma processing system, a phenomenon appears in which a thin film is also deposited on the surface of the portion exposed to the plasma in the surface of the substrate holder 4 (which will be hereinafter referred to as exposure face in the specification), and the inner face of the vacuum vessel 1. For a film depositing system such as a PECVD system, the deposited film is often the same as the thin film deposited on the substrate. For a plasma etching system, etched material may adhere and grow into a thin film.
If such a thin film reaches a considerable film thickness, it peels off due to the internal stress of the thin film. The peeled thin film causes fine powder drifting in the vacuum vessel to occur. If the fine powder adheres to the substrate 40, it causes a surface blemish to occur, degrading the commodity value of the thin film deposited on the surface of the substrate or causing a serious circuit failure to occur.
To suppress such deposited film peeling, a plasma cleaning technique is generally used for etching and removing the deposited film before peeling. This technique is executed during intervals between substrate processing steps. In the technique, for example, mixed gas of perfluorocarbon 14 gas (CF.sub.4):oxygen gas=80:20 or so is introduced into the vacuum vessel 1 by the gas introduction mechanism 2, the power supply mechanism 3 is operated for forming plasma of the mixed gas, and the deposited film is etched by radical CFx (x=1, 2, or 3), CFx ions (x=1, 2, or 3), radical fluorine, or fluorine ions generated in the plasma. That is, fluorine radicals or ions react with the deposited thin film to yield volatile substance, which is then discharged through the exhaust channel 11, thereby removing the thin film.
However, even if such plasma cleaning as described above is executed, it is difficult for the configuration of the conventional plasma processing system to etch and remove the thin film deposited on the exposure face of the substrate holder; even if the plasma cleaning is executed for a predetermined time, a thin film often remains on that portion. If an attempt is made to completely remove the thin film on the exposure face, the plasma cleaning must be executed for a long time. The fact that it takes a long time in such operation performed during intervals between substrate processing steps will cause the system availability to lower.