A computer implemented system for a dynamic screen generation and navigation engine is provided. The system includes a set of screen templates, a screen data document, and a screen manager. The screen data document includes screen data for at least one screen template of the set of screen templates. The screen manager includes a generator engine and a navigator engine. In response to user input, the generator engine obtains screen data from the screen data document, obtains a screen template from the set of screen templates based on the obtained screen data, combines the obtained screen data with the obtained screen template to generate a screen, and displays the generated screen. The navigator engine obtains a user selection for the generated screen, references the screen data corresponding to the obtained user selection to determine a next screen to generate, and prompts the generator engine to generate the next screen based on the referenced screen data.

Software developers commonly use an integrated development environment (IDE) to develop software with a graphical user interface. The IDE may enable developers to create screens for display by the software, and may enable developers to write software code to specify actions for the software to take in response to user inputs. However, developing screens in this manner is tedious and time-consuming, particularly for applications having dynamic interfaces. The software developer has to know a programming language, such as JAVA, to write code to generate screens and to enable a software user to navigate between the screens. To modify the appearance of a screen or to change navigation between screens, the software developer must change software code and then recompile the changed code.

Dynamic screen generation and navigation engine


A multifunction, compact machining center has a work spindle which can rotate at high speed, or controlled by a C axis servo driver, and a frame-shaped tool magazine, which is composed of a standing part and a rotatable part. Arranged on the standing part are enough internal and external turning tools to complete all turning processes on one workpiece. Driven tools are held on the rotatable part to do drilling, boring, milling, gear hobbing, grinding, lapping etc. on the same workpiece at arbitrary angles. Additionally, work units for quenching, laser machining, gear shaping, bevel gear cutting, measuring, loading and unloading can also be employed on the tool magazine. By means of movements of the tool magazine relative to the work spindle in the plane perpendicular to the Z axis, each cutting tool or working unit can be put into the working area of the workpiece sequentially so as to complete all machining, measuring, loading and unloading. This invention replaces several machining centers or an FMS, and advantageously, this compact machining center avoids accuracy loss and waste of time caused by repeated clamping.

British patent application GB2212753 suggested adding a power transmission train in the tool turret of an NC lathe to drive driven tools of the turret so as to complete turning , drilling, and milling once a workpiece is clamped.
In fact, limited by the diameter of the turret and the workpiece, except for turning tools, very few driven tools can be held on the turret. So only a few and simple drilling and milling operations can be performed after turning.
Second, the tool exchange accuracy of a turret depends on high precision of the turret and the tools. This means higher manufacturing cost, and consuming more time in tool adjustment.
Moreover, all driven tools are located in a center plane through the workpiece axis, so it is impossible to drill holes or mill faces offset from the center plane of the workpiece, like milling a gear using a disc cutter.
German patent application DE3702424A suggested adding a Y axis guide pair and servo driver to make the turret movable in a direction perpendicular to both the Z axis and the X axis, so that the driven tools held on the turret can machine holes or faces offset from the center plane of the workpiece, including a spline shaft or small spur gear.
The disadvantages of this suggestion are: A) due to an additional moving freedom in the Y axis direction, the position accuracy and cutting rigidity between the cutting tool and the workpiece will be lower and the manufacturing cost will higher than with an ordinary turret lathe; B) inability to machine oblique hole, face or mill helical gears or hob gears; and C) limited by turret size, very few driven tools can be employed to perform few and simple drilling or milling.
Japan patent application JP406226510A disclosed a variable angle driven tool attachment which can attach to the turret of a NC lathe, and comprises a body attached to a turret, a driven tool head supporting a driven arbor rotatably mounted on the body, and a transmitting chain transmitting power from a power supply shaft in the turret to the driven arbor. By changing the angle of the driven tool head, the driven tool can drill or mill the workpiece in arbitrary angles in the center plane of the workpiece. This enables an ordinary turning center to machine oblique holes, faces and spherical surfaces.
The disadvantages of this invention are: A) The narrow space in the variable angle driven tool attachment limits the transmitting power, and the size of the driven arbor, so that only small holes or faces can be machined at low efficiency; B) it is not reasonable to attach several such attachments to a turret, so it is difficult to machine an oblique step screw hole; C) not able to machine holes or faces offset from the center plane of the workpiece, not able to mill or hob gears; and D) limited by turret size, very few driven tools can be employed to perform few and simple drilling or milling.
UK patent application GB2215251A published a two work spindle machine tool for machining both ends of a rotationally symmetrical workpiece. This machine tool comprise a first headstock supporting a first work spindle and movable in the Z axis direction, a second headstock supporting a second work spindle and movable in the X axis direction transversely to the Z axis, a drum turret serving the first work spindle indexably supported on a slide movable in the X axis direction; and a star turret serving the second work spindle indexably supported on a slide movable in both the Z axis and the Y axis directions; 5 guide pairs and servo drivers moving and locating the two headstocks and two turrets, 3 index servo drivers to index the two turrets and the second work spindle. In this machine tool, one end of a workpiece clamped on the first work spindle can be turned by turning tools carried on the drum turret, then the workpiece can be clamped automatically by the second work spindle, and the other end of the workpiece is machined by turning tools and driven tools carried on the star turret. By controlling the movement and rotation of the star turret, the driven tools can move to arbitrary positions and angles, so that the oblique holes and faces on workpieces can be machined. When a workpiece clamped on the second work spindle is machined, another workpiece clamped on the first work spindle can be machined at the same time, so that the production of this machine tool is higher.
The disadvantages of this invention are: A) 5-6 precision guide pairs and 8-10 precision servo drivers are employed to realize the two end machining functions, which makes this machine tool cost very high and complicated; B) limited by the turret space, very few driven tools can be employed to perform few and simple drilling or milling.
U.S. Pat. No. 3710466 suggested a NC lathe, the planiform or cylindrical tool magazine of which is arranged a plurality of axial or radial turning tools, the headstock of which holds a rotatable work spindle that can move along the work spindle axis and at least one direction perpendicular to the work spindle axes, by means of the relative movements between the work spindle and the tool magazine in a plane or a cylindrical surface perpendicular to the Z axis, the workpiece can be positioned into the cutting plane of each selected tool sequentially, so as to increase the available tools and complete total turning process of a Complex workpiece.
The disadvantages of this design are: A) the moving freedom of the work spindle in the direction perpendicular to the work spindle axis will decrease the radial rigidity of the work spindle, in which case, the spindle driven system and the unbalance force of the workpiece will cause considerable vibration, and decrease the radial turning accuracy, and limit the spindle power and speed; B) even though driven tools can be arranged on the cylindrical tool magazine indexable in definite angle increments, these driven tools can not be used in arbitrary angles to machine holes, surfaces and gears, and if rotate the cylindrical tool magazine to arbitrary angles, the position accuracy and the rigidity of the turning tools held on the same cylindrical tool magazine will decrease.
In fact, a practical machine component needs a variety of further machining after turning and simple drilling or milling to complete, such as drilling, boring, tapping for oblique holes, milling, hobbing, shaping, planing, shaving, lapping for gears splines, internal gears, spur or spiral bevel gears, hardening, grinding for external or internal cylindrical or tapers or for large or oblique planes or curved surfaces, grinding for spur gears, helical gears, splines, spur or spiral bevel gears, and broaching for internal splines or shaped holes.
According to the above described prior art and conventional technology, a complex practical workpiece can only be partially completed on one turning center or machining center, and then is carried by robots and auto delivering means to subsequent machining centers until it is finished.
It is very difficult and complicated and will cause accuracy loss for different workpieces to relocate and reclamp automatically on the next machining center, and sometimes it is impossible if no special fixture for this workpiece has been prepared. The automatization of this task is still a big, difficult object of present machinery engineering.

Compact machining center for multifunction


Body air outlets of an air-conditioning-apparatus indoor unit each has a substantially trapezoidal shape in plan view and are each defined by a body-air-outlet outer side wall, a body-air-outlet inner side wall, and a pair of body-air-outlet end walls. The body-air-outlet outer side wall is provided with a deflection guide at each of long-side ends thereof. The body-air-outlet end walls are each provided with a sloping guide. The deflection guide has a deflection-guide upper surface that gradually projects toward the body-air-outlet inner side wall in a direction toward a body open face (toward a downstream side) and in a direction toward the central part of the body air outlet. The sloping guide has a sloping-guide upper surface that gradually projects toward the central part of the body air outlet as the sloping guide extends closer to the body open face (toward the downstream side).

Known indoor units included in ceiling-concealed air-conditioning apparatuses each include a housing embedded in the ceiling and having a square sectional shape, a fan and an air inlet provided in a central part of the housing, and a heat exchanger surrounding the fan. Hence, room air that is taken in substantially upward by the fan is redirected in the fan in such a manner as to flow substantially horizontally toward the periphery. Subsequently, the air is redirected downward after flowing through the heat exchanger, and is blown from air outlets into the room.
In the above case, the airflow is guided and redirected by the inner surface of the housing. Because of the inertia of the airflow, the airflow is not completely redirected, but the speed of the airflow increases in an area near the inner surface of the housing (in an area far from the fan), making the distribution of airflow speed at the air outlets nonuniform.
Accordingly, uniform-airflow-speed means (means that makes the distribution of airflow speed at an air outlet uniform) is disclosed (see Patent Literature 1, for example), in which a deflection guide having a triangular prism shape is provided on the inner surface of the housing; an air-passage wall portion is provided by making a recess in a portion of a wall provided below a heat exchanger and that faces the deflection guide so that the sectional area of the air passage becomes substantially uniform; and an enlarged air passage portion is provided immediately after a downstream end of the deflection guide.


A keyhole button used as a supplement of a keyhole portion formed on a cranium is constituted to have a brim portion having front and back surfaces, and a shaft portion integrally provided on the back surface of the brim portion. The front surface of the brim portion is convexed in a first direction, and concaved in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.

The present invention relates to a keyhole button used as replenishment for a keyhole portion of a cranium formed when trepanation of the frontal or temporal bone is performed in the field of cranial nerve surgery. More particularly, the present invention relates to a keyhole button, which is superior in the adaptability to an organism, and in the stability, and does not disfigure the appearance of face after the operation is performed.
Conventionally, many craniotomy operations and closing operations have been performed in the field of cranial nerve surgery. Generally, a craniotomy operation includes following steps:
incising a head skin and exposing a cranium;
making some fossae on a cranium by a drill in accordance with a size and a region of the portion to be trepanned;
cutting between the fossae by a line saw;
taking out a bone flap; and
dissecting an internal dura mater.
In this operation, a portion at which a fossa is firstly made by drilling is located near the temple, and is called a xe2x80x9ckeyhole.xe2x80x9d
The shape of the keyhole portion varies depending on the shape of the bone of individual patient and/or a doctor who performs the operation. Accordingly, it has been difficult to make a standard product of a bone substitute (which is referred to as a keyhole button). Conventionally, when the craniotomy has been performed, resin is filled into the keyhole portion as the supplemental member. However, there is a problem in adaptability to an organism and fever thereof. Recently, the keyhole buttons made of calcium phosphate compound, which has bio-compatibility, or adaptability to an organism, are used in some cases. However, such keyhole buttons have a stability problem and/or an appearance problem since the keyhole button does not match the shape around the keyhole portion.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved keyhole button, which has high adaptability to an organism and stability, and further, with which the appearance of the face after the operation is performed is not disfigured.
For the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a keyhole button used as a supplement of a keyhole portion formed on a cranium. The keyhole button is constituted to have a brim portion having front and back surfaces, and a shaft portion integrally provided on the back surface of said brim portion. The front surface of the brim portion is convexed in a first direction, and concaved in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. Thus, the keyhole button functions as an excellent bone supplement in view of the adaptability to an organism, stability, and an appearance after the operation.
Preferably, the shaft portion is substantially cylindrical.
Further, the brim portion has a rounded-rectangular shape having longer axis and shorter axis, the longer axis extending in said first direction, the shorter axis extending in said second direction. Furthermore, the center of said shaft portion is shifted from the center of said brim portion in said first direction.
Still optionally, a peripheral portion on said front surface of said brim portion is beveled.
It is preferable that the keyhole button is made of porous calcium phosphate compound. In this case, it is preferable that the porosity of said keyhole button is 55% or less.
Further optionally, the keyhole button is formed of porous sinter material. Since the keyhole button is formed of the porous material, the brim portion can be shaped relatively easily by sintering, the thickness of the brim portion can be made relatively small.


A network device checkout system is accessed by another program that powers off unused systems. The checkout system keeps track of the usage of various systems on a network so that only the systems that need to remain on for productivity will consume power, with systems in a check-in state being powered off. Records of system usage are stored in an associated database. Systems that are no longer being utilized are powered off.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a computer implemented method, a data processing system, and a computer program product for enabling and disabling network hardware. More specifically, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method, a data processing system, and a computer program product for remotely enabling and disabling network hardware based on a hardware reservation process a usage history of the network hardware.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a large computing environment, electrical power is consumed in great quantities. Systems are left on and unused, sometimes for extended time periods. Electricity is used to keep the computers powered on, and to power the heat pumps and air conditioning units that must constantly run to compensate for the huge amount of heat that is put out by the abundance of computers. This results in a huge cost to the organization operating the computing environment.
While manually powering-off systems may be a practical solution to this problem, often times it is not the most optimal or cost-effective solution. With the popularity of working from remote locations, systems often need to be made available for remote access from anywhere by a person at any time of day. Thus, in many computer laboratories, thousands of physical systems and virtual systems stay powered on for use a variable times, even though the systems may be idle for extended time periods. An effective management of system power usage that still allows for remote access to the computer systems would result in monetary savings that would otherwise not be possible.

Method and system for enabling and disabling hardware based on reservations and usage history

International Business Machines Corporation


A first marking and a second marking, indicating a connection form, are provided on a covering sheath at a connection position of a first wire serving as a main wire. Therefore, an operation is carried out at a region between the first marking and the second marking of the first wire according to an operation form indicated by the second marking. Therefore, the predetermined form of operation can be carried out at the predetermined position of the first wire.

In a conventional ordinary method of connecting a branch wire to a main wire, first, a distal end 100a of the branch wire 100 is exposed, and a cut 102 is formed in a sheath 101a at a connecting region of the main wire 101 as shown in FIG. 11(A).
Then, as shown in FIG. 11(B), the sheath 101a of the main wire 101 is shifted a distance of about 20 mm to about 30 mm, thereby exposing a connecting portion 103, and the distal end 100a of the branch wire 100 is connected to the connecting portion 103 by soldering or press-clamping.
In this case, the position in which the cut 102 is to be formed in the main wire 101 need to be determined by measuring the length each time this operation is effected, and this is cumbersome.
Therefore, it has now been brought into practice to provide a mark on the wire connecting region (see, for example, JP-A-2002-109976 (Pages 3 and 4, FIG. 2)).
For example, in the case of connecting another wire by press-contacting to a desired wire among a plurality of wires packed into a bundle, a marking, indicative of the wire to be subjected to the press-contacting and also of a press-contacting position, is provided on the press-contacting portion or its vicinity, and the above another wire is connected by press-contacting to this wire.
By doing so, an error in selecting the wire to be connected can be prevented, and also the connection can be effected at the predetermined position, so that the efficiency of the operation can be improved.
In the above-mentioned technique, however, merely the connecting region at the wire is indicated, and therefore a connection form and others such as an operation form can not be indicated, and each time the operation is carried out, the operation need to be effected while confirming a manual, and this is cumbersome.

Electric wire, electric wire connection method and wire harness


An apparatus for testing seal of a fuel vapor treating device that collects fuel vapor generated in a fuel tank and treats the vapor without releasing it into the atmosphere. The treating device is provided with a canister that collects the fuel vapor through a vapor line. A vapor control valve connected to the canister adjusts the flow of fuel vapor directed toward the canister from the tank. A pressure sensor is provide to detect the pressure in the tank. An electronic control unit (ECU) controls the purge control valve and the three-way valve. The ECU counts the number of deviations of the detected pressure when the detected pressure is within a predetermined range. The ECU determines whether the seal is normal or malfunctioning based on the detected pressure when the counted value is smaller than a predetermined value.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for collecting and treating vaporized fuel in a fuel tank without releasing the fuel vapor into the atmosphere. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a testing apparatus for testing a fuel vapor treating device.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A fuel vapor treating device, typically mounted on a vehicle, collects and treats vaporized fuel in a fuel tank without releasing the fuel vapor into the atmosphere. As shown in FIG. 14, a typical apparatus has a canister 73 that draws in and collects fuel vaporized in a fuel tank 71 through a vapor line 72. The canister 73 is filled with an adsorbent 74 comprised of activated carbon or the like. A purge line 75, extending from the canister 73, is connected to an intake passage 77 of an engine 76. The canister 73 first adsorbs the vaporized fuel drawn in through the vapor line 72. The canister 73 collects fuel and discharges only the residual gas, from which fuel components (particularly hydrocarbon, HC) have pen extracted, into the atmosphere through a hole 78. The fuel collected in the canister 73 is purged into the intake passage 77 by way of the purge line 75 during operation of the engine 76. A purge control valve 79, provided in the purge line 75, adjust the flow rate of the fuel conveyed through the purge line 75 in accordance with the requirements of the engine 76.
In this typical treating device, damage or disconnection of the vapor line 72 may lead to a degradation in the airtightness, or sealing, of the treating device. This may result in insufficient treatment of the vaporized fuel.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 6-108930 describes an apparatus that tests for malfunctions such as those described above. As shown in FIG. 15, a testing apparatus used for fuel vapor treating devices includes a fuel tank 81, a canister 82, a vapor line 83, and ex purge line 84. The purge line 84 connects the canister 8Z to an intake passage 80. A purge vacuum switching valve (VSV), or purge control valve 85, is selectively opened by an electronic control unit (ECU) 86 when the engine 76 is running. A vapor control valve 87, which is a check valve and is provided in the vapor line 83, controls the flow of vaporized fuel directed toward the canister 82 from the fuel tank 81. A difference in pressure between the fuel tank 81 side and the canister 82 side of the vapor control valve 87 opens the valve 87 and causes the vaporized fuel to flow therethrough. Opening of the valve 87 allows fuel vapor to flow into the canister 82 from the tank 81. Another control valve 90 is provided in a passageway that bypasses the vapor control valve 67 and is controlled by the ECU 86. When the control valve 90 is opened with the vapor control valve 87 in a closed state, the valve 90 allows fuel vapor to flow into the canister 82 from the tank 01. The testing apparatus includes a pressure sensor 88, which separately detects the interior pressure in the tank side of the vapor control valve 87 and the canister side of the vapor control valve 87. That is, a three-way valve 89, connected to the pressure sensor 88, including a port connected to the vapor line 83 at the side of the tank 81 and another port connected to the vapor line 83 at the side of the canister 82. The pressure sensor 88 selectively detects the tank pressure and canister pressure when the ECU 86 switches the side which the three-way valve 89 is connected to in accordance with its requirements. The ECU 86 separately tests the sealed state of the tank side and the sealed state of the canister side based on the detected value of the tank pressure and the canister pressure.
The principle for performing testing of the sealing in the tank side will now be described. When fuel vaporizes in the tank 81 with the control valve 90 in a closed state, the tank side pressure exceeds a predetermined reference value. Holes such as punctures in the vapor line 83 would inhibit the tank side pressure from exceeding the predetermined reference value. Therefore, it is possible to test the tank side sealing by having the ECU 86 judge whether the tank side pressure, detected by the pressure sensor 88, exceeds the reference value.
When the vehicle is moving, the running state of the vehicle or the condition of the road surface causes the fuel in the tank to surge back and forth, or sway. The swaying and splashing of the fuel in the tank 81 changes the interior pressure in the tank side (the tank side pressure). Frequent swaying of feel fluctuate the tank side pressure as illustrated by a continuous line L1 in FIG. 16(a). Although occasional pressure fluctuations are negligible, frequent fluctuations as illustrated by line L1 in FIG. 16(a) result in inaccurate testing of the sealing in the tank side.
Recently, a testing apparatus that discontinues testing of the sealing in the tank side when there is frequent fuel swaying in the tank has been proposed. The apparatus is provided with a counter for indicating how often the fuel in the tank surges and the amplitude of the surges. The counter has a counter value that is incremented in accordance with the absolute value of change in the tank pressure. When the counter value reaches a predetermined value, the occurrence of fuel surges is judged to be so frequent that the sealing of the tank side cannot be accurately tested. In this case, the ongoing testing is discontinued.
When fuel in a tank surges frequently and causes the tank pressure to fluctuate, for example, as illustrated by the continuous line L1 in FIG. 16(a), the counter value increases as illustrated by a continuous line C1 in FIG. 16(b) in accordance with the pressure fluctuations. If the counter value exceeds a predetermined value CT, the surges are judged to be too frequent.
If there is a malfunction related with the sealing of the fuel tank or the vapor line, the tank pressure will be substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure. In this case, frequent surges cause only insignificant pressure fluctuations such As the ones illustrated by a dashed line L2 in FIG. 16(a). However, the counter value increases in accordance with the pressure fluctuations (surges of the fuel in the tank) as illustrated by a dashed line C2.
In addition to fuel surges in the tank as described above, the fuel is violently swayed by rapid acceleration, rapid deceleration and bumpy road conditions. If there is no malfunction related with the sealing, the violent swaying of the fuel temporarily and quickly raises the tank pressure. Such a change in the tank pressure is illustrated by a broken line L3 in FIG. 16(a). When the fuel tank is exposed to wind or rain, the temperature of the fuel drops. This quickly lowers the tank pressure.
With no malfunction related with the sealing, abrupt pressure changes in the fuel tank as described above cause the counter value to unpredictably and rapidly increase as illustrated by a broken line C3. When the counter value exceeds the predetermined value CT, the testing of the sealing in the tank side is discontinued. In other words, the testing is stopped before detecting that there is no malfunction related with the sealing of the tank side. Therefore, the normality of the sealing in the tank side is not detected.

Testing apparatus for fuel vapor treating device


The disclosure is directed to a method of reading a portion of a non-volatile computer memory including reading a first portion of a redundant memory area of a data sector of the non-volatile computer memory. The first portion of the redundant memory area includes data associated with the data sector. The first portion of the redundant memory area includes a cyclic redundancy check code.

Increasingly, consumers are demanding portable devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDA's), MP3 players, portable memory systems, advanced cell phone systems, and cameras. Traditional non-volatile memory storage systems, such as floppy disks, hard drives, and optical drives, are generally unsuitable for use in portable devices because they suffer from mechanical failures, excess weight, large size and high energy consumption. As a result, manufacturers of portable devices are turning to solid-state memory systems, such as flash memory and electrically erasable, programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).
Accessing and storing data on solid-state memory devices, such as flash memory, utilizes virtualized addressing. Solid-state memory devices tend to wear with use and, as such, sectors within a solid-state memory device may lose the capacity to store error free data. To reduce the problem of solid-state memory wear, microcontrollers generally balance usage between sectors of the memory. For example, when data is provided to a flash memory device it may be stored in a first sector and when the data is updated the microcontroller may store the data in a second sector, reducing wear on the first sector. As a result, the physical location of a block of data may change. To facilitate this balancing and to address changing physical addresses, microcontrollers generally create a table that is used to convert location based addresses used by computational systems to the virtual addresses used within the flash memory devices. In this manner, a system may address a set of data using the same location based address while a microcontroller may store that information in changing sectors of the flash memory or at different addresses within the flash memory depending upon the balancing protocols. When a sector turns bad within the flash memory device, the microcontroller may create a mapping of bad data sectors to prevent storage of data in such bad data sectors.
The cataloging of bad sectors and creation of sector maps is typically performed by reading a data sector and checking for particular code values in the system data. Generally, an ECC associated with all of the data of a data sector is included in a data sector for use in correcting and checking for noise in the data. For example, an ECC is calculated based on data when the data is stored and is stored with the data. When the data is accessed, a new ECC is calculated from the data and compared to the ECC stored with the data. If there is a difference between the new ECC and the stored ECC, the data is likely corrupted and the sector may be bad. In many examples, ECCs may be used to correct the data before transmission to subsequent memory systems or processors.
Such error detection, error correction, and cataloging of bad data blocks is of increased importance for multi-level cell flash. Multi-level cell (MLC) flash has a greater storage density than traditional single level cell flash. However, multi-level cell flash typically has higher error rates and may wear faster. As such, error correction and sector cataloging are increasingly useful for non-volatile solid-state memory devices.
However, the process of reading the data, calculating ECCs and correcting corrupted data is a lengthy process. As such, performing tasks, such as mapping data sectors, consumes system resources. In one example, mapping tasks may reduce performance of connected memory buses. As such, there is a need for an improved system and method for reading non-volatile memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method of reading non-volatile computer memory


Microsphere beads are mixed with a surface barrier solid, liquid or mixture of such a liquid with a solid effective to prevent agglomeration and surface bonding of the microspheres; by the control of the application of heat and balancing temperature and active mixing, removal of water from and expansion of the microsphere is achieved. Microsphere densities of as low as 0.005 to less than 0.015 g/cm3 are realized. The surface barrier solid, liquid or mixture of such a liquid with a solid in the present invention is any one of a wide diversity of materials which meet the requirements of the intended function, i.e., to prevent the agglomeration of the microspheres during the process. Suitable materials include, by way of example, fillers, pigments, plasticizers, diluents, extenders, monomers and oligomers and the like.

The present invention relates to low density expanded thermally clad thermoplastic microspheres, preferably microspheres having a density of less than 0.015 g/cm3 and a process for making the same. The thermal cladding is a barrier coat which can be applied as a liquid, solid, or combination of liquids and solids.
Microspheres are heat expandable thermoplastic polymeric hollow spheres containing a thermally activatable expanding agent, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,972, issued to Donald S. Morehouse. In the Morehouse patent, the microspheres are made in an aqueous system by the limited coalescence process under pressure, and the resulting product is a "wet-cake" of the unexpanded microsphere beads wetting agents and water. The wet-cake is typically about 40 to 75 weight percent solids, and because of the wetting agents employed in the formation of the beads, the surface will be wet. Many important uses of the microspheres require the removal of the water. Other teachings concerning such materials and uses are found in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,864,181, 4,006,273, and 4,044,176.
It is common to expand the beads before use, such as, for example, in the production of syntactic foams in a wide variety of polymer matrices. In unexpanded form, the dry microsphere beads typically have a displacement density of about 1.1 g/cm3. Dry, expanded microspheres typically have a density by displacement generally in the range 0.06 g/cm3 to 0.02 g/cm3, and, preferably, are free-flowing. In the blending of these materials into a polymer binder system as a constituent in syntactic foam formulations, the exceptional ultra low density characteristic has led to drastic changes in the ways in which the weight and volume relationships of such materials are considered. As a general rule of thumb, the addition of one percent by weight of the expanded microspheres will represent the substitution of about twenty percent or more by volume of the host polymer in typical systems.
The characteristics of the microspheres have precluded many approaches to their drying and expansion. Severe agglomeration and adherence of the materials to warm surfaces of equipment have eliminated most approaches to such procedure from serious consideration. Wet expansion in steam is of limited use when an aqueous system is not wanted, and the spray drying procedure is so expensive and the product so prone to excessive, and extremely difficult dusting problems, along with substantial agglomeration and limited expansion of the beads.
The techniques in the prior art for the production of expanded microspheres produced from wet-cake are limited in at least one of two aspects: either the product remains wet, or the expanded beads are produced in dry form with substantial amounts of agglomeration and a limited degree of expansion; The "acceptable" levels of agglomeration achieved in such procedures are in the range of about 3 to 10% of the product.
Pre-expanded, dry, low density microspheres can produced by spray drying, as is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,799, but the spray drying procedure has several disadvantages, such as a dedicated spray drying facility is required, representing a very substantial capital investment, and very considerable operating expenses, particularly for skilled labor and utilities costs in heating the drying fluid, and the product is produced entrained in a heated, moving fluid stream, and the requirements of collection, recovery and handling are considerable. Experience has shown that the spray drying technique is suited for developing expanded densities no less than about 0.032 to about 0.040 g/cm3 and typically about 0.036 g/cm3. Attempts at lower densities result in unacceptable levels of agglomeration, greater than about 10% of the product, and equally unacceptable product losses attributable to over-expansion, with attendant disruption of the bead structure.
An acceptable process of making microspheres is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,943, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, which discloses a process wherein wet-cake mixed with a processing aid, dried and expanded in an integral operation. In the process, a processing aid is adhered to and embedded in the surface of the microspheres by thermal bonding, wherein the surface of the microspheres is heated to a temperature above the glass transition temperature, Tg, so that the polymer material behaved as a hot melt adhesive to bind the processing aid. The product is within the limits heretofore considered "acceptable", with agglomeration levels in the range of 3 to 10%.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,752, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, a technique for drying and expanding thermoplastic microspheres is disclosed, but that the teaching considers the expansion to be at the limit of expandability at a density of 0.015 g/cm3.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,656, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, relates to a further development in the drying and expansion operation, wherein the surface barrier coating is, in whole or in material part, a liquid material at drying temperatures. This disclosure also considers a density of 0.015 g/cm3 to be a lower limit on density.
It has been thought for some time in the art that the limits of expansion of thermoplastic microspheres had been reached at densities of about 0.015 g/cm3. Since the uses of such materials is most often directed to incorporation into formulations for the purpose of displacing mass, the lower the density of the microspheres, the more desirable and cost effective their use becomes. It has been common for those in the art to theorize that expansion of microspheres to lower densities was not possible because the wall thickness of the microspheres would be so reduced that the spherical hollow structure of the microsphere beads would shrink and "implode" as the blowing agent within the cellular structure cooled after expansion, or that the walls would be disrupted and break as such distention required for lower densities. Those of ordinary skill in the art have not made hollow thermoplastic microspheres at densities of less than 0.015 g/cm3, and have not supposed that such a feat is possible.

Ultra low density thermally clad microspheres and method of making same


Provided is a measurement circuit that measures a signal under measurement input thereto, comprising a level comparing section that outputs a logic value according to a comparison result between a signal level of the signal under measurement and a set threshold level; a logic comparing section that acquires the logic value output by the level comparing section at a comparison timing input thereto; and a timing adjusting section that adjusts relative phases of a signal output by the level comparing section and the comparison timing, based on the expected value pattern of the signal under measurement and the threshold level.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a measurement circuit and a test apparatus.
2. Related Art
In a test apparatus for testing a device under test, a comparator is used to convert an output signal from the device under test into a digital signal by comparing the level of the output signal to a reference level, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-99894
The logic value output by the comparator changes when the magnitude relationship between the level of the input signal and the reference level changes. The response time, from when this magnitude relationship between the input signal level and the reference level changes until when the logic value output by the comparator changes, depends on the overdrive amount, which is the amount by which the input signal level exceeds the reference level.
More specifically, a greater overdrive amount results in the comparator having a faster response time. Therefore, the response time of the comparator changes according to the signal level input thereto, and so the signal input to the comparator cannot always be accurately converted into a digital signal.
One idea for solving this problem involves decreasing the absolute value of the response time variation by improving the gain of the comparator to obtain an even faster response time for the comparator. However, the response time variation cannot be reduced to zero. Therefore, problems can occur when inputting a high-frequency signal into the comparator, for example. Furthermore, there is a limit to how fast the response time can become as a result of improving the comparator capability.


Methods to reduce the write time for forming mask patterns having angled and non-angled features using electron beam lithography are disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, non-angled features of the mask pattern are formed by exposure to an electron beam. The orientation of the substrate and a path of the generally rectangular-shaped shot from the electron beam may be relatively altered such that the substrate is exposed to the electron beam to form the angled features as if they were non-angled features. In another exemplary embodiment, the electron beam lithography system determines whether it is necessary to relatively alter the orientation of the substrate and a path of the generally rectangular-shaped shot from the electron beam to form the angled features based on the number of angled features and the time required for relatively altering the orientation. Electron beam lithography systems employing a rotatable stage, rotatable apertures, or both, are disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the processing of substrates such as semiconductor wafers using electron beam lithography. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods for forming a mask pattern on a resist using electron beam lithography such that write time is reduced.
2. State of the Art
Semiconductor devices including integrated circuitry, such as memory dice, are mass produced by fabricating hundreds or even thousands of circuit patterns on a single semiconductor wafer or other bulk semiconductor substrate using lithographic processing in combination with various other processes. In order to increase the number of memory cells on semiconductor memory devices for a given surface area, it is important to accurately control the resolution of the images produced during lithography. These images are used to define structural features on a semiconductor substrate in fabricating the integrated circuitry of such semiconductor memory devices.
Photolithography is a process in which a pattern is delineated in a layer of material, such as a photoresist, sensitive to photons. In photolithography, an object containing a pattern (e.g., reticle or mask) is exposed to incident light. The image from the reticle or mask is projected onto a photoresist that covers a semiconductor wafer or other substrate. The photolithographic process typically involves exposing and developing the photoresist multiple times. At a given step, the photoresist is selectively exposed to photons and then developed to remove one of either the exposed or unexposed portions of photoresist, depending on whether a positive or negative photoresist is employed. Complex patterns typically require multiple exposure and development steps.
Currently, conventional photolithography using light is only capable of producing structural features of about 100 nm in minimum dimension. This inadequacy limits the ability of a manufacturer to produce extremely small structural features for integrated circuits through conventional photolithography processes. A capability to further reduce the dimensions of structural feature size is particularly important to the fabrication of semiconductor memory devices to enable an increase in the number of memory cells on such semiconductor memory devices of a given size.
In order to produce structural features smaller than the capability of photolithography, electron beam lithography (EBL) has been developed. EBL produces a desired pattern on a resist by irradiating a resist sensitive to electrons with an appropriate amount of electrons on specific portions of the resist. In a typical variable-shaped vector scan EBL process, the electron beam emitter is positioned over only specific sites of the resist and the resist is exposed to a shaped beam of electrons, called a shot. Positioning is accomplished by a combination of movement of the substrate stage in the X-Y direction in the plane of the substrate, and/or movement of the electron beam. Thus, the pattern data used by the EBL system must be provided with information that includes both the dose of electrons and the position of each site on the resist to be exposed for each shot.
The typical variable-shaped vector scan EBL process decomposes a pattern into rectangular-shaped or 45° angle triangular-shaped "primitives." The rectangles are aligned along the X-Y axes in the plane of the substrate defining the vector scan. The 45° angle triangular-shaped primitives are only capable of exposing features positioned at a 45° angle without using an excessive number of shots. The electron beam from the EBL system is capable of exposing a primitive in a single shot. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, for a typical vector scan, a substantial portion of the pattern is made up of triangles approximated by various sizes of rectangles, while only a small portion of the pattern is made up of true rectangles. Because the write time is proportional to the number of shots, this use of small rectangles to approximate triangles requires a great number of shots and takes up to 90% of the exposure time. Furthermore, it results in loss of fidelity of the mask pattern produced on the resist as shown by the stepped edges in the triangular regions in FIGS. 1A and 1B.
Due to the long exposure times that are inherent in using small rectangles to approximate triangles, cell projected EBL may be used. In cell projected EBL, a variable-shaped electron beam, typically having the shape of the desired cell pattern or the shapes at various angles, is used to produce these non-rectangular shapes. The variable shape is produced by passing the electron beam through an aperture having the desired shape. When a variable-shaped beam is used, the pattern data used by the EBL system includes the dose of electrons, location, size, and shape for each shot. Although cell projected EBL reduces the write time required to expose a pattern, the total throughput is still undesirably too long. Also, it is difficult to prepare enough non-rectangular-shaped apertures to accommodate the multitude of patterns an integrated circuit designer may desire to use. Furthermore, using multiple apertures of varying shapes causes difficulties in the beam alignment and calibration of the EBL system. Examples of apparatus and methods for variable-shaped EBL are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,573,516 to Kawakami; U.S. Pat. No. 6,455,863 to Babin, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,106 to Boegli, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,410 to Matsuki, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,598 to Shibayama, et al.; each of the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference for all that they disclose.
The problem with write time is exacerbated by the new generation of integrated circuit designs that use "angled line" features, as shown by FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the exposed regions 202 (dark) are the resist regions that have been exposed to the shots of an electron beam from an EBL system. The exposed regions 202 are made up of individual shots of primitive rectangles 206, which form the angled features on the resist. The exposed regions 202, otherwise known as the angled line features, are formed by using multiple stepped, or partially offset, rectangular shots. The exposed regions 202 exhibit a loss of fidelity as shown by the stepped edges 208 that form the angled features. The loss of fidelity in the mask pattern is an artifact of the processing because the exposed region 202 would, ideally, exhibit smooth linear edges as represented by the design data for the integrated circuit layout. The lighter regions are the unexposed regions of resist 204. In order to increase the number of memory cells on semiconductor memory devices for a given surface area, integrated circuit designers lay out the features at a certain angle to maximize the use of the substrate surface area. However, this angled line layout makes it more expensive to generate the pattern on the resist because of the numerous non-rectangular shapes that must be used to form the pattern, resulting in undesirably long write times and the great number of rectangular shots from the electron beam required to form the angled features.
Accordingly, a need exists to develop a method for generating angled features on resist using electron beam lithography wherein the write time is reduced compared to conventional EBL methods. Another need exists for a method to modify conventional EBL systems such that the method may be implemented by modification of a semiconductor manufacturer's existing equipment.

Methods for improving angled line feature accuracy and throughput using electron beam lithography and electron beam lithography system


A spinning block for the melt spinning of polymers, consisting of a melt channel, a coupling which is attached to the spinning bar and a nozzle block casing with a filter element and a spinning nozzle plate. A connector for detachably securing said nozzle block casing to the coupling consists of at least two bolts which are positioned symmetrically and perpendicularly to the axis of spinning, which bolts engage cooperating grooves, of a particular configuration, also positioned symmetrically and concentrically to the spinning axis. The bolts can be fixed to the casing or to the coupling. The grooves are provided in the coupling or the casing to complement the location of the bolts. By rotation of the nozzle block casing with respect to the coupling around the spinning axis, the parts are locked together. Simultaneously, as the bolts slide in the grooves, the melt channel is sealed at the connecting surfaces between the coupling and the nozzle block casing, by means of bushing seals which are expanded, in a pressure-tight manner as the casing and coupling are drawn together.

The invention relates to a spinning block for the melt spinning of polymers, consisting of a melt channel, a coupling which is attached to the spinning bar, and a nozzle block casing containing a filter element and a spinning nozzle plate. More particularly, it relates to a detachable connecting mechanism for locking the nozzle block casing to the coupling and simultaneously sealing the melt channel at the interface between the casing and the coupling.
The assembly and the disassembly of the nozzle block should proceed as simply and as rapidly as possible, so that during regular cleaning, particularly of the spinning nozzles, the polymer waste and the down times of the apparatus are kept as low as possible. In addition, the attachment of the nozzle block, even after repeated mounting, must ensure a secure sealing of the melt channel which is subjected to high spinning melt pressures of 350 bar and more.


A solution for comparing topologies is provided. In an embodiment of the invention, a set of differences between the nodes and/or connectors of two or more topologies is obtained. Each difference can comprise a missing node/connector and/or a difference in an item/relationship attribute. A user interface is generated that displays one or more of the differences by displaying a subset of each topology that corresponds to the difference. In an embodiment of the invention, a user interface for comparing topologies is provided that displays each subset in a unique display area and enables a user to select the difference(s) and/or limit the difference(s) that can be selected based on the type of difference.

A topology can include many nodes and many connectors that define various relationships between the nodes. A problem with using a topology is that the number of nodes and connectors can increase rapidly. To this extent, displaying a topology may be a problem when the topology includes too many nodes and connectors than what is capable of being displayed in a user interface. One solution reduces the topology so that it can be displayed in its entirety within the user interface. However, for larger topologies, this solution can result in a very small rendering of the nodes/connectors, making their selection and/or viewing difficult. Another solution renders the nodes/connectors at an acceptable size, while enabling the user to scroll to different areas of the topology. However, since only a limited portion of the topology may be visible, the user may lose the ability to readily gain an understanding of the context of the displayed portion.
Frequently, a user desires to compare two or more topologies. In particular, the user may desire to identify any nodes/connectors that are different and/or missing between two topologies. To assist in the comparison, one solution displays the topologies side by side. However, this solution requires the user to visually scan both topologies in their entirety and mentally determine any differences. This process is both time consuming and error prone. For example, the user may inadvertently overlook a difference between the topologies. Further, one or more aspects of the topologies can make the determination difficult. For example, the topologies may render corresponding nodes in different locations. Another solution superimposes the two topologies on one another. Various fonts, adornments, and/or saturations can be used to assist the user in distinguishing differences between the topologies. However, this solution remains time consuming and subject to the user overlooking one or more differences.
The illustrative aspects of the present invention are designed to solve the problems herein described and/or other problems not discussed.

International Busniness Machines Corporation


The present invention generally provides sulfide scavenger solutions and processes that have high sulfide scavenging capacity, provide a reduction or elimination of solids formation and avoid the use of chemicals that pose environmental concerns. The invention utilizes a dialdehyde, preferably ethanedial, for the purpose of reacting with amines, amine carbonates, or other derivatives of amines that are liberated when certain scavenger solutions react with sulfides, including hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans. The scavenger solutions that have been discovered to liberate amines are those formed by a reaction between an amine and an aldehyde.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hydrogen sulfide scavengers and methods of making and using the scavengers. More particularly, the invention relates to the increasing the capacity of a scavenger to remove sulfides from gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon streams, aqueous systems or mixture thereof.
2. Background of the Related Art
Hydrocarbons are typically found as gases or liquids located in geological formations beneath the earth's surface. These hydrocarbons may be produced by drilling a well into the formations. Gaseous hydrocarbons, typically referred to as natural gas, are frequently found to contain water, carbon dioxide and sulfides, such as hydrogen sulfides and mercaptans. Natural gas containing sulfides is referred to as being "raw" or "sour," due to its strong malodorous smell. However, the concentration of sulfides in natural gas will vary from formation to formation and perhaps over time. For example, the methane content of natural gas will typically vary between 45 and 96 percent and the hydrogen sulfide content will typically vary between 0.1 and 150,000 parts per million (ppm).
For many applications, it is desirable to remove some or substantially all the sulfides from the gas. For example, since hydrogen sulfide in the presence of water is corrosive to steel, it is desirable to removed substantially all of the hydrogen sulfide from natural gas before its use and preferably before transporting the gas or processing the gas in oil field equipment, pipelines and refineries. As a result, many pipeline specifications limit the amount of hydrogen sulfide to less than 0.25 grains per 100 cubic feet of gas. Accordingly, removal of hydrogen sulfide from hydrocarbons, such as natural gas, crude oil and refined oil products, is an important concern. Further, because of the large quantities of hydrocarbon materials that contain sulfides, it is important to have a means of removal that does not harm the environment and is economically efficient.
This removal is conventionally accomplished using gas processing plants which are typically located in the field and vary in size from small units located at each wellhead to larger, centrally located plants servicing multiple wells. These plants may be nothing more than a single bubble column or a multi-stage process involving continuously regenerable reagents.
These gas processing plants are typically provided with a solution containing a sulfide scavenging component which contacts the natural gas stream and reacts with the sulfides contained in the gas. Scavenging components, otherwise known as scavengers, that have been used to date have included formaldehyde, sodium nitrite, triazines and imines. However, certain of these scavengers have proven unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. For example, formaldehyde has been found to be carcinogenic and requires careful handling and expensive disposal.
In recent years, the most widely used scavengers have been the triazines, particularly those formed by the reaction of formaldehyde and monoethanolamine. The popularity of this triazine scavenger is primarily due to its good scavenging capacity and low cost. However, triazine solutions may contain free formaldehyde if the triazine forming reaction is performed with excess formaldehyde. Furthermore, the reaction of triazines with the sulfides will lead to the formation of solids if the triazine solution is used to exhaustion. These solids represent a significant disposal problem and must be carefully cleaned from the scavenging process vessels.
Despite the predominant use of triazine scavengers, there remains a need for a sulfide scavenger solutions and processes that operate efficiently and effectively. It would be desirable if the scavenger solution and process reduced or eliminated solids formation and eliminated the use of toxic chemicals.

Regeneration of hydrogen sulfide scavengers


The invention provides a method and apparatus for generating a precise and stable voltage at a high speed. More specifically, there is provided a D/A converter constructed using capacitors having capacitance values which are properly deviated from binary-weighted (2n) capacitance values. This D/A converter has the feature that even if the ratios among a plurality of actual capacitances having weighted values are different from the designed values to an extreme degree, the capacitance value of the jth capacitor is always greater than the sum of the capacitance values of the first through (j-1)th capacitors. This ensures that an unwanted reverse change in the output signal of the D/A converter is prevented from occurring. Furthermore, this technique of the invention can be accomplished without having to use an additional circuit such as a compensation circuit, and therefore this technique is easy and inexpensive.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a voltage generating apparatus, and more particularly to a D/A converter, a method of designing a D/A converter, a method of precharging signal lines, a circuit for precharging signal lines, and a liquid crystal panel substrate and liquid crystal display device using the above component(s) and method(s).


A gravity-assisted water saving system, and method of use, utilized for collecting condensate from air conditioning and other condensate-producing systems, sanitizing it, and then diverting it for constructive use. It has a chamber with an inclined bottom surface, a removable basket for containing tablets used for sanitizing swimming pool water or bleach tablets used for laundry sanitizing purposes, a double P-trap assembly on its water inlet side that prevents sanitizing vapors from entering the air conditioning system to which it is connected, a removable cap sealing its top opening to prevent escape of sanitizing vapors into the atmosphere, and an optional mounting bracket for enhanced stabilization against a stationary object. Inflow tubing connected to the chamber permits ready attachment of the present invention to an air conditioning condensate discharge pipe, while a discharge tube in an inferior position transports reclaimed water to its location of subsequent use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to recovery devices for water extracted from the atmosphere, specifically to a gravity-assisted water saver system, and a method for its use, that can be connected so as to collect the condensate from an air conditioning system, as well as other condensate producing systems, sanitize it with vapors released from dissolvable tablets, such as but not limited to the chlorination tablets used for treating swimming pool water or bleach tablets used for laundering purposes, and then divert it for constructive use in many applications without the condensate coming into direct contact with the sanitizing treatment tablets used with the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Air conditioning condensate is generally an unutilized resource. The condensate extracted from air cooled by automobile air conditioning systems drips continuously in small quantities onto the pavement or parking surface beneath the associated vehicle, whereafter it evaporates into the atmosphere. Similarly, the slow drip of water extracted from the air cooled by residential air conditioning systems, and other devices using air for other similar cooling, is typically directed to an outside location, where it is allowed to fall onto the ground under a discharge pipe for eventual evaporation. However, a significant amount of condensate is produced over time, particularly by residential air conditioning systems. With the use of reclaimed water becoming more urgently needed and commonly accepted for an ever increasing variety of non-potable and potable uses, as a result of the burgeoning populations and escalated depletion of potable water reserves worldwide, it would be useful to find an efficient and cost-effective means by which to reclaim air conditioning condensate and divert it to a useful purpose, such as toilet flushing, pressure washing, other cleaning purposes, and replacement of swimming pool water that is continuously being lost to evaporation and needs to be maintained above a minimum level that assures proper pump operation in associated filtration systems.
One reason for a prior lack of interest in the recovery of air conditioning condensate is that by the time it is discharged from the air conditioning system, it is generally laden with algae, bacteria, viruses, and/or other disease causing agents. Also, chlorinators commonly used for other purposes, such as those employed for the treatment of swimming pool water, were generally too large, too overpowering for the comparatively small amount of condensate that would require chlorination, and/or too expensive to allow easy adaptation for air conditioning condensate reclamation. However, since most homes in warm climates have air conditioning systems as well as swimming pools, and further since potable water is often used to replace the continual amount of swimming pool water lost to evaporation, a chlorinating system that could appropriately sanitize air conditioning condensate for its use as replacement water for swimming pools would preserve significant amounts of potable water over time, and provide a benefit to the public, particularly where less groundwater depletion would be involved. For homes having air conditioning systems but not a pool, air conditioning condensate could be reclaimed for cleaning use, flushing toilets, or any other gray water use that may arise. The present invention provides such a system, which has safety and manufacturing advantages over previous systems made for the same purpose by the inventor herein.

Dual P-trap and valve condensate collection and treatment system


Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided herein for payments through point of sale systems. A system comprises a plurality of in-store POS systems, a user accounts database, and a merchant payment system configured to communicate with a plurality of user devices and a plurality of digital wallet provider systems. The merchant payment system comprises a control circuit configured to associate a user account with a plurality of digital wallet accounts in the user accounts database, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital wallet accounts is associated with two or more payment methods, receive a transaction request from a user device associated with the user account, select a digital wallet provider from the plurality of digital wallet accounts associated with the user account, and send a payment authorization request to a digital wallet provider system associated with the digital wallet provider for payment authorization.

Conventionally, point of sale (POS) systems are set up to accept cash and bank card payments. Several new forms of payment methods have been developed recently. POS systems typically require hardware and/or software upgrades to accept these new forms of payment.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.


A removable flush cap designed for use with an irrigation tube coupling or fitting, to facilitate post-installation flushing of dirt and grit from an irrigation system. The flush cap is particularly designed for use with a tube coupling of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,747 B2, having a plurality of retainer collets each with multiple lock fingers oriented for push-in locked reception of a tube end in engagement with a compliant seal. The flush cap includes a generally cylindrical barrel for sealed slide-fit engagement with the compliant seal within one of the retainer collets, and a recessed groove for snap-fit locked reception of the collet lock fingers. The flush cap further includes a plurality of cams for engaging and releasing the collet lock fingers from the cap groove, upon cap rotation, to permit slide-out cap removal from the retainer collet.

This invention relates generally to improvements in fluid connectors or couplings of the type used, for example, to interconnect lengths of flexible plastic tubing in a low flow or drip irrigation system or the like. More particularly, this invention relates to a relatively simple flush cap for removable mounting onto an irrigation tube coupling or fitting, wherein the flush cap is adapted for quick and easy removal to permit and facilitate post-installation flushing of undesirable debris such as dirt and grit from an irrigation system.
Drip irrigation systems are well known in the art, wherein a plurality of relatively low flow irrigation devices, emission devices or heads are mounted at selected locations along a length of relatively lightweight, flexible plastic tubing. In such irrigation systems, the tubing is connected to a source or supply of water under suitable pressure for flow to each irrigation head through which the water is dispensed at a low flow rate, typically in a drip fashion, to predetermined sites such as specific plants or vegetation adjacent each irrigation head. To facilitate arrangement of the tubing and associated irrigation heads in the desired configuration, a plurality of tubing connectors or couplings are commonly provided to interconnect lengths of the tubing, wherein such couplings may comprise in-line connectors, elbow fittings, tee fittings, and the like.
In irrigation systems of this general type, the flexible plastic tubing may be provided in different standard diametric sizes, for example, such as 16 mm, 17 mm, and 18 mm outer diameters. In the past, the associated tubing connectors have been designed for dedicated use with a single tubing size, whereby it has been necessary for manufacturers to produce tubing connectors in different sizes for use with different tubing. Moreover, for initial system installation and/or subsequent modification as may be required due to maturing vegetation and/or planting alternations, the customer has been required to obtain and use tubing connectors of the correct size. Unfortunately, tubing connectors of an incorrect size are often used, resulting in faulty connections that leak and waste water, or otherwise deliver irrigation water to undesired locations throughout the irrigation system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,747 B2, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses an improved irrigation tube coupling or fitting adapted for quick and easy, substantially leak-free interconnection of flexible plastic tubing in an irrigation system, wherein the tubing has a diametric size selected from a range of different standard tubing sizes. However, in this improved tube coupling as well as in prior tube couplings or fittings designed for use with a single tubing size, at least some particulate debris such as dirt and grit can be ingested within an irrigation system including multiple couplings and multiple lengths of irrigation tubing, particularly at the time of initial system installation. Such dirt and grit can be subsequently carried by water under pressure supplied to the irrigation system to the irrigation emission devices where it can become lodged within and clog relatively small outflow ports formed in the irrigation emission devices.
The present invention is specifically directed to an relatively simple and easily manipulated flush cap for removable mounting onto at least one and preferably each of a plurality of tube couplings within an irrigation system, wherein each flush cap is easily removable, e.g., at the conclusion of initial system installation or subsequently on a periodic or as-needed basis, to open a relatively large flow passage for flushing of particulate debris from the system, followed by quick and easy re-mounting of the flush cap in a sealed manner onto the associated tube coupling for resumed normal system operation.

Removable flush cap for a multi-diameter tube coupling


A method of allocating communication resources among nodes in a network is provided. Communication among the nodes uses a time division multiple access protocol that includes a plurality of time slots. After identifying and synchronizing with a first communication node, a search algorithm is executed. The search algorithm allocates one or more time slot of the plurality of time slots to communicate control information with the identified first communication node and allocates the remaining time slots of the plurality of time slots to identification of a second communication node. Upon identification of and synchronization with the second communication node, a merged network is formed. Execution of the search algorithm continues until a desired confidence level is achieved. The confidence level estimates the likelihood that another communication node capable of communication with the network has not been identified. A communication algorithm utilizing otherwise wasted time slots is executed if the desired confidence level is achieved.

The radio spectrum is a finite resource expected to accommodate ever increasing numbers of communication nodes whether in a commercial environment or in a military environment. Tactical military and commercial applications require self-organizing, wireless networks that can operate in dynamic environments and provide peer-to-peer communications. For multiplexed communication systems, the communication system typically consists of many communication nodes that require active service over a single communication channel. As a result, a variety of multiple access schemes have been devised that allow multiple users to share the same communication channel. For example, communication systems have been developed to provide communication between many communication nodes for brief intervals of time using the same communication channel. Such a multiple access scheme is known as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) protocol. A communication system that employs TDMA is referred to herein as a TDMA system or a TDMA network.
A TDMA communication system can be used in conjunction with other types of multiple access systems including frequency division multiple access and code division multiple access systems. For example, frequency hopping using a frequency synthesizer to "hop" the signal from one frequency to the next can be used in a TDMA communication system to improve performance characteristics including providing a low probability of intercept and reducing the effects of co-channel interference, multi-path, and fading. The communication nodes are synchronized to follow a frequency hopping code thereby ensuring that the communication nodes are on the same frequency at the same time. The hopping pattern may be assigned to each node in its identification code. As a result, it is difficult for a communication node that does not know the frequency hopping code to synchronize with the other communication nodes.
An advantageous characteristic of a TDMA system is the ability of neighboring nodes to transmit without interference. In a TDMA system, each carrier frequency is divided into repeating frames. The frames are subdivided into a plurality of time slots. A communication node within the TDMA system is assigned one or more time slots for transmitting and/or for receiving a communication signal. Each communication node is assigned particular time slots in a continuum of recurrent frames for transmission of its bursts and for reception of the bursts of other nodes. The time slots are designed to be non-overlapping when the various nodes' signals arrive at the receiver, and thus, include a time delay for a signal propagation time. A base radio may manage all of its assigned communication nodes by keeping the nodes synchronized and allowing each node to communicate at a known, or deterministic, time. Alternatively, the communication nodes may use a self-organizing system to allocate time slots and to maintain synchronization with each other. For example, the Unifying Slot Assignment Protocol (USAP), which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,868, provides a protocol for maintaining such a self-organizing communication system.
Mobile, multi-hop, broadcast packet radio networks provide rapid and convenient deployment, self organization, mobility, and survivability. In this type of network, a transmission from one node is broadcast to all nodes in its "neighborhood". With the growth in the number of communication nodes, the need to quickly form and/or merge formed networks as nodes move into a neighborhood has increased. Ultra-high frequency (UHF) systems generally have a neighborhood defined by nodes within line of sight of the transmitting node. For illustration, FIG. 1 depicts an overlapping neighborhood system 10 that includes a first neighborhood 18, a second neighborhood 20, and a third neighborhood 22. The first neighborhood 21 includes nodes 1-5 and f that are within line of sight of node 3. The second neighborhood 22 includes nodes 2, 3, 5, a, c, d, and f that are within line of sight of node f. The third neighborhood 23 includes nodes a, b, c, d, e, f, and g that are within line of sight of node c. A node in the first neighborhood 21 can communicate with a node in the third neighborhood 23 using multiple "hops" from a node in the second neighborhood 22. All of the nodes in the overlapping neighborhood system 10 or even within a neighborhood may not be in communication with each other. For example, two networks encompass the communication nodes of system 10. A first network 12 includes nodes 1-5 that are in communication with each other, and a second network 14 includes nodes a, b, c, d, e, f, and g that are in communication with each other. Multiple hops may be required, for example, to provide communication between node f and node e. The second neighborhood 20, however, includes nodes 2, 3, and 5 that are not currently in communication with node f as indicated by the broken lines. The ability to first form the networks 12 and 14 and then to merge network 12 with network 14 in a time and a power efficient manner is an important function of a TDMA system.
To avoid interference between the transmissions from different communication nodes, a TDMA system requires good clock synchronization between the communication nodes. Timing acquisition is a process for synchronizing the receiver's clock with the transmitter's clock so that the receiver can determine the boundary between two transmitted symbols. In general, timing acquisition is performed by sending a preamble before information bits in a TDMA frame. Additionally, each communication signal transmitted in a time slot includes a predefined synchronization word. The synchronization word must be matched in order to validate the communication that follows. If no match is achieved, the information can not be processed from the communication signal. By identifying the location of the synchronization word in a received signal, a node maintains synchronization with the other nodes in the network. This scheme requires a reasonably accurate clock timing recovery before frame synchronization (or any form of communication) can take place. Any false or missed detection of the synchronization pattern results in a loss of the information in the data frame. This poses a particular problem in a TDMA system operating in a dynamic environment in which nodes move in and out of neighborhoods because the new node must synchronize with the TDMA system before communication between the new node and the TDMA system can be accomplished.
For example, to establish synchronization with a new node in a neighborhood comprising an active network such as the node f relative to network 12, a frame synchronization pattern is periodically inserted into the data stream by a transmitter within the first network 12. In an example protocol, once every few seconds a network synchronization time slot is allocated to transmit the frame synchronization pattern. A communication node within the first network 12 may pseudo randomly transmit the network synchronization information. The remaining communication nodes in the first network 12 listen. The node f may similarly transmit synchronization information for the second network 14. Based on statistical theory, the first network 12 and the second network 14 can be merged within an expected time delay assuming that both the first network 12 and the second network 14 are using the same TDMA protocol, for example, based on one of the nodes a, c, d, or f receiving the network synchronization information from a node (for example, nodes 2, 3, or 5) included in the first network 12 or a node included in the first network 12 receiving the synchronization information from one of the nodes a, c, d, or f.
After a communication node is powered on, the node uses 100% of its receiver time to search for other nodes with which to form an ad hoc network. The communication node is also transmitting a status message in a pseudo random manner for reception by other nodes that may be listening. With some time delay, the communication node finds another node's status transmission or vice versa, and the two nodes form a "sub-network". Information begins to flow between the two communication nodes using most of the available communication resources in order to maintain network efficiency. Currently, only a small percentage of the communication resources are reserved to allow each node to "look around" and identify other nodes within the neighborhood that may be transmitting a status message. As a result, such a search-and-make-a-network algorithm forms many sub-networks. The initial sub-network may form relatively quickly, but the statistical opportunities to locate and to communicate with other nodes or sub-networks drops significantly based on the reduction in allocated resources resulting in significant time delays before other nodes or sub-networks in the same neighborhood join the sub-network or form a common network.
A common and accurate representation of time is assumed in determining the likelihood of successful synchronization and the expected time delay associated with forming a network such as the first network 12 and with merging, for example, the first network 12 with the second network 14. If, however, the clock of the second network 14 is not synchronized with sufficient accuracy to the clock of the first network 12, significant time delays (possibly on the order of hours or even days) can result before synchronization between the first network 12 and the second network 14 is completed. Significant delays may result due to clock inaccuracies of as little as 100 μs. What is needed, therefore, is a system and a method that improve the formation of a network that includes the communication nodes within a neighborhood. What is further needed is a system and a method that improve the merging of formed networks into a single network. What is further needed is a system and a method that reduce the waste of communication resources.

System and method for net formation and merging in ad hoc networks


A waveguide pathway and a phased-array device utilizing the waveguide pathway are provided. The waveguide pathway comprises a two-dimensional array of homogeneous unit cells. Each unit cell includes a branch point leading to two waveguide branches. Each waveguide branch passes through a positive phase shift element and a negative phase shift element, in series, and with each waveguide branch passing through the two phase shift elements in opposite order relative to the other waveguide branch. Each unit cell additionally includes a convergence point where the two waveguide branches converge. The wavepath grid and the phased-array device are capable of producing output channels with linear, asymmetrical phase distribution but with symmetrical power distribution without employing amplifiers. The phased-array device can be tuned with single-channel or dual-channel control.

Phased-array devices operate by splitting a coherent wave source (e.g. electromagnetic or acoustic) into multiple individual sub-beams, shifting the wave phase of the individual sub-beams, and then emitting the sub-beams in close, wavelength-scale, physical proximity relative to one another. This arrangement allows, through control of the relative phases of the individual sub-beams, the generation of engineered wavefronts. Such spatial phase control enables attributes such as solid-state beam steering and engineered depth projection.
Electromagnetic phased-array devices are well known for microwave systems and are becoming increasingly so for optical (infrared, visible, and ultraviolet) systems. A difficulty with conventional phased-array design is that there is typically an asymmetrical (e.g. linear) output power distribution proportional to the linear phase distribution of the output channels.
This asymmetrical power distribution can interfere with device functions, such as beam steering, which require accurate control of both phase and amplitude. In microwave systems, asymmetric power output can be mitigated by assigning a separate amplifier to each microwave channel. Such an approach can be difficult to unfeasible for optical systems, however.

Unit cell based wavepath grid architecture applicable and to phased-array devices and enabling symmetrical output power distribution and single channel control

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A ball grid array semiconductor package includes an insulative base material; circuitry metallizations formed on a first surface of the material, each metallization having a grid pad electrode; and a semiconductor chip mounted on the first surface and electrically connected to the circuitry metallizations. The base material is opened from a second surface of the base material at a location under each grid pad electrode; and each opening confines a portion of a solder ball which is in melt-fixed connection to a back side of each grid electrode.

Grid array packaging has become an outstanding technique of connecting semiconductor chips with a printed circuit board. This technology, known as a ball grid array (BGA) or chip size package (CSP), is designed to make connection with a printed circuit board (PCB) often called a "mother board" containing grid pads, and by placing solder balls or solder paste on these pads. This technology is described in the book "Ball Grid Array Technology" edited by John H. Lau and published by McGraw Hill in 1995. In the ball grid array package 20 schematically shown in FIG. 9 (and essentially in FIG. 1.37 of such book), circuits 4, 4 (metallizations) are formed on both sides of a substrate or base material A such as an insulative PCB. A semiconductor chip 6 is mounted on the first surface 1 of the substrate, and pad electrodes 5 are formed in a grid on a second surface 2 of the substrate. The electrical connections between the circuits 4 on first surface 1 and the semiconductor chip 6 mounted on that first surface are made by wire bonds 11, and the electrical connections between the circuits 4 (metallizations) on the first surface 1 and the circuits 4 (metallizations) on the opposite second surface 2 of the substrate are usually made by a copper plating 13 of through-holes 12 located on the edges of a ball grid array 15. The semiconductor chip 6 is encapsulated molded by a molding resin 7.
The conventional BGA structure shown in FIG. 9 has the following problems. Firstly, since all electrical pads and area grid array pads, are routed out to the external edges, routing becomes extremely difficult when the semiconductor chip has a high density and a high pin count. Secondly, to insulate the circuits routing to the external edges and prevent flow of solder in the reflow soldering process, a solder resist process has had to be used to isolate the grid pads This process is relatively expensive. Thirdly, since the pad electrodes are planar, the solder ball or solder paste had small shear strength, and the solder balls were liable to delaminate. Fourthly, since the grid array package used a substrate from solid laminates such as a glass-epoxy laminate, reel-to-reel operation was impossible, and the mounting cost was expensive. To solve the first problem, a method of forming via-holes from the first surface to the second surface, and plating the internal surface of the via-holes (e.g. Japanese Open Patent, 7-74281) was developed. In this technology, the first problem is solved because the pad electrode is directly connected electrically to the circuit on the first surface.
The conventional ball grid array packages and their manufacturing methods required traces routing to the external edges from each pad electrode making grid rows on the substrate. The conventional package had difficulty in routing to the external edges and, to insulate routing traces and to prevent flowing of solder balls during reflow soldering, solder resist was required, which made it very expensive. The solder ball had a flat structure, and had a small solder ball shear strength, and easily delaminated.
Another conventional technology, in which via holes are formed and connected by plating between the first layer on which the semiconductor chip is mounted and the internal via holes, has advantages of not routing to the external edges, but on the other hand, it was difficult to form pad electrodes on the second surface, which required solder mask surrounding the pads.
Technologies using a laser for the formation of printed circuit boards are used mainly to perforate via holes. The laser used here is either an excimer laser, a YAO laser, or an impact laser which is an improved carbon dioxide laser. The application of an excimer laser to the manufacturing printed circuit boards are described in Japanese Open Patent 5-136650, 5-152744, and 5-152748, and the application of impact laser to the manufacturing of printed circuit boards is described in "A Large Format Modified TEA CO2 Laser Based Process for Cost Effective Via Generation" (1994 International Conference on Multichip Modules, Apr. 13-15, 1994). Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,984 (FIGS. 5-8), where via holes are formed through a sheet (12) with gold bumps being found on the same side of the sheet for connecting both a chip and for connecting the sheet to a substrate.


A hollow golf club shaft including a plurality of diverging and converging substantially frustoconical sections. The sections have respective predetermined substantially constant wall thicknesses.

Young U.S. Pat. No. 2,040,540 discloses a metal shaft formed of sheet metal tubing which is tapered toward both ends, with the upper tapered section comprising the grip and covered by leather.
Lemmon U.S. Pat. No. 2,086,275 discloses both a wood shaft and a steel shaft, each of which includes three tapered sections, with one tapered section being the grip section, and the thickness of the walls of the tubular shafts causing a variation in the exact points of beginning and end of the three sections of the shaft, and the degree of the taper of the sections.
Barnhart U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,880 discloses a hollow metallic tube with no straight sections, and several of the sections having varying wall thicknesses.
Vickery U.S. Pat. No. 2,230,429 discloses a tubular metallic shaft having three cylindrical sections with adjacent sections joined at abruptly changing diameters.
Tennent et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,872 discloses a shaft formed of composite of polymers reinforced internally by fibers, and having a "modified hourglass" shape, with an intermediate cylindrical section being the base rod itself of from 6 to 12 inches in length.
Feche et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,299 discloses three shaft embodiments, each made of a composite material and each including a tapered grip section connected at the small diameter end thereof by a short connecting portion to a larger diameter upper end of (1) a downwardly diverging full shaft length section (first embodiment), (2) a cylindrical section (second embodiment), and (3) a downwardly converging section (third embodiment).
French publication nos. 2,670,120 and 2,670,121 disclose tapered shafts of composite material including bulging and contracting cylindrical sections. Publication 2,670,121 further discloses a bi-cone form.
Graman USA Inc. discloses a golf club including a graphite shaft with a, so-called, Triple Flexpoint System (TFS.TM.) having sections with variable tapered outer surfaces and constant tapered inner surfaces.
Paragon Sports discloses a golf club including a graphite shaft with two kickpoints (DKS), as the result of three progressively decreasing cylindrical sections.


A switching center of the invention includes a service access exchange and a control point which are interconnected by an interconnection multiplex link. The exchange is connected to base station controllers via first multiplex links and to the public switched telephone network by second multiplex links which also convey signalling relating to a permanent file, relating to a temporary file, and relating to other switching centers. The exchange sets up semipermanent links between the interconnection multiplex link connecting it to the control point and both the first multiplex links for the purpose of interchanging signalling, and to the second multiplex links for interchanging signalling with the permanent and temporary files and with other switching centers.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to connecting mobile subscribers in a cellular radiotelephone network to the public switched telephone network.
2. Description of the Related Art
An article by G. Soderholm, J. Widmark, and E. Ornulf entitled "Ericsson Cellular Mobile Telephone Systems" published in Ericsson Review, No. B 1987, pp. 42 to 49, describes a connection system for mobile subscribers in which radio links are provided by allocating a frequency to a subscriber for the duration of a call.
In this system, function specific both to managing the mobile subscribers and to telephone switching (voice and data) are integrated in the same unit.
An article by P. Duplessis and F. Maillard, entitled "Le systeme cellulaire numerique paneuropeen de radiotelephonie avec les mobiles" (the Pan-Eueropean Digital Cellular System for Radiotelephony with Mobiles) published in Commutation et Transmission, No. 2, 1988, pp. 5 to 14, describes a mobile subscriber connection system in which radio links are provided using the time division multiple access (DTMA) method. In this system, management functions relating to the mobility of mobile subscribers and functions specific to communication are processed in the same unit.
In both of these systems, the same exchange handles both switching functions ad processing functions specific to the mobility of the subscribers. This integration suffers from several drawbacks:
it requires special exchanges to be used;
the exchange requires very considerable processing capacity which is highly sensitive to subscriber mobility and to the topology of the cellular network;
the processing power required for signalling is very largely related to aspects of subscriber mobility, without any bearing on switching functions; and
two applications are mixed up in a single physical system which gives rise to difficulties in the management, maintenance, and updating of each of the applications.
The object of the invention is to avoid the drawbacks of known systems.

Switching center for radiomobile application