A banknote handling machine according to the present invention efficiently utilizes stacking units so as to efficiently process banknotes by returning odd banknotes of a first predetermined type in every transaction whereas keeping odd banknotes of a second predetermined type in a stacking unit, and performing subsequent transaction when banknote processing including depositing, taking-in, recognizing, sorting/stacking, and bundling of banknotes and confirming the deposit amount for one transaction is sequentially performed for a plurality of transactions.

A banknote handling machine for arranging collected banknotes by bundling per predetermined number is used in a financial institution such as a bank. In such a banknote handling machine, when, for example, banknotes of a plurality of denominations including fit/unfit notes are deposited, the banknotes are taken in one by one and recognized to be sorted by denomination and fitness and then, are stacked in corresponding stacking units. When the number of banknotes stacked in the stacking unit reaches a predetermined number (for example, 100), this batch of banknotes is transported to bundling means by a batch transport unit, then is bundled with a bundling material such as a paper tape to be finally dispensed. Odd banknotes, whose number does not reach the predetermined number, stacked in the stacking unit may be transported to an odd banknote return port to be returned (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-107029).
When bundling banknotes per 100 sheets while confirming deposit amount per transaction is performed continuously for a plurality of transactions, by using the above-described conventional banknote handling machine, a process for the subsequent transaction is performed with odd banknotes left in the banknote handling machine, or such odd banknotes are all returned each time a transaction is ended. Here, the banknote processing in one transaction includes, for example, depositing, taking-in, recognizing, sorting, stacking, bundling and confirming the deposit amount with respect to the banknotes of the plurality of denominations including fit/unfit notes, as described above.
In the case where all of the odd banknotes are left, the types of the banknotes having the smaller number to be processed could keep occupying the stacking units, thereby making it impossible to efficiently use the stacking units. Moreover, in the case where all of the odd banknotes are returned each time banknote processing for one transaction is ended, a predetermined type of banknotes contained in a plurality of transactions cannot be efficiently bundled.
As described above, the conventional banknote handling machine has had a problem that a series of banknote processing cannot be efficiently performed.


The novel means by which an efficiency of ovum collection can be easily determined in bovine at gene level is disclosed. The present inventors performed the genomic linkage analysis using bovine populations with high and low efficiency of ovum collection and to identify GRIA1 gene, which encodes an ion channel protein, as a factor deeply related to an efficiency of ovum collection. Bovines having a mutation (e.g. the amino acid substitution of aa306) in GRIA1 produce significantly fewer ova on superovulatory treatment than those not having the mutation. Therefore, the efficiency of ovum collection can be determined based on the existence of a mutation in GRIA1 gene.

It is important to obtain many descendants of the individual having an excellent property in proceeding a breeding of bovine animals. In conventional breeding methods, bovines are typically subjected to a superovulatory treatment to obtain a lot of ova. However, due to the individual differences, the average number of the ova collected by single superovulatory treatment widely varies between 0 to 50.
How many ova a bovine can produce upon a superovulatory treatment is of hereditary nature. If any genetic markers, for example, polymorphism correlated with the above-mentioned individual difference can be identified, the bovines with a high efficiency of ovum collection can be rapidly identified, which accelerates breeding of bovines. However, since no genomic information concerning efficiency of ovum collection has been clarified, breeders must control the efficiency of ovum collection mainly based on how to treat and care the bovines.

Method of determining efficiency of ovum collection in bovine

National Livestock Breeding Center, Incorporated Administrative Agency


A garbage collection (GC) system reducing CPU time required for GC without stopping all Application Program threads for an excessive amount of time. The GC system frees memory areas corresponding to objects that are no longer required in an execution procedure of an object-oriented program including a plurality of threads. The GC system includes a selection unit operable to select the threads, an examination unit operable to examine the selected thread by (i) stopping execution of the thread, (ii) finding an object that is accessible from the thread via an object pointer, (iii) managing the found object as a non-freeing target, and (iv) resuming execution of the thread. The GC system also includes a detection unit operable to manage an object identified by the processing target object pointer, as a non-freeing target, and a freeing unit operable to free memory areas corresponding to objects other than the objects that are non-freeing targets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to garbage collection (GC) in a memory used by an application program (AP).
2. Background of the Related Art
In some conventional object oriented programming languages, freeing of memory area corresponding to objects (also called "object instance") that are no longer required after being used by an AP is the responsibility of the execution environment. Employing such a method relieves the creator of the AP from being concerned with allocation and freeing of memory area. One example of an object oriented programming language is Java. Note that Java is a trademark of the Sun Microsystems Inc., of the USA.
An AP written using such a language is run on an execution environment that includes a garbage collection (GC) mechanism that automatically frees the memory area corresponding to objects that are no longer required.
When an AP is being executed, the GC configuration detects that a memory area corresponding to a dynamically-allocated object is not being referenced from anywhere, and frees the memory area so that the memory area is in a reusable state.
In a multithreaded AP, each thread corresponds to a stack area, and, in an operation process, stores data in the stack area, refers to stored data, and generates an object. Ordinarily when an object is generated, a pointer for the object (hereinafter called an "object pointer") is stored in the stack area. The object pointer is data indicating the location of the object in the memory. The object is accessed from the thread by referring to the object pointer. Furthermore, ordinarily, an object pointer to another object is also stored in the object.
All objects that are being referenced by the AP at a particular point in time can be reached either directly from an object pointer included in one of the stack areas corresponding to the threads, or via the object pointers in one or more objects.
In response to this, the GC mechanism essentially determines that a memory area corresponding to an object that is no longer reachable from an object pointer in a stack at a particular point in time is no longer required, and frees the memory area.
One conventional GC method is mark-and-sweep. The mark-and-sweep method marks all objects that can be reached from an object pointer, then scans all objects, and frees memory area corresponding to objects that are not marked.
When this mark-and-sweep GC is performed during the execution of a multithreaded AP, priority may be given to prompt performance of GC. To do so, marking of all objects that can be reached from an object pointer in the stack corresponding to each thread is performed after simply stopping all threads. Then the stop on all the threads is released, and objects that are not marked are freed. However, the following problem occurs in such a case.
Specifically, there is a possibility that all the threads of the AP will be stopped for a relatively long time. During this time, the computer does not react to user operations or the like, and, as one example, the display contents on the display of the computer may remain the same. This causes confusion for the user.
One method for solving this problem is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3027845. This method proposes GC using mark-and-sweep that is executed without stopping a multithreaded AP at all.
With this method, first processing is performed for marking all objects that can be reached from an object that is a root node and all objects that can be reached from object pointers in the stack area for each thread. Second processing is then performed, when an object pointer to an object has moved due to an operation of a thread of an AP (hereinafter called an, "AP thread") during the first processing, and is for stacking data expressing that object in a mark stack area, and when the marking processing is complete, further marking all objects that can be reached from the mark stack. Finally, memory areas corresponding to unmarked objects are freed.
However, with this method that marks without stopping the AP, there is a possibility that, since data in the stack area changes due to AP thread operation, part of the processing for marking objects that can be reached from the object pointer in the stack area will be wasteful.
Take, for example, the following case. While a thread for garbage collecting is executing processing (here, called "processing A") for detecting an object pointer (here, called "object pointer A") in one stack area of the AP and marking objects that are reachable from the object pointer A, the AP thread corresponding to the stack area copies the object pointer A or the one or more object pointers in the objects, and newly stores the copied object pointer A or object pointers in a stack area. Here, the thread that performs GC will, after ending the processing A, either perform processing that duplicates the processing A in part, or perform check processing to prevent duplicate processing. Either processing will be wasteful. This wasteful processing leads to an unnecessary increase in the CPU time required from start to completion of GC, and consequently lowers the usage efficiency of the CPU.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A linear technology radio for use in satellite communication is provided. The linear technology radio includes: a pre-amplifier to amplify a Local Oscillator (LO) reference signal; an intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier to amplify an IF signal; a frequency multiplier to multiply the LO reference signal; and a mixer to mix the amplified LO reference signal and the amplified IF signal to generate a Radio Frequency (RF) signal, wherein a frequency band of the IF signal is fixed, a frequency band of the LO reference signal is variable, and a highest frequency of the LO reference signal frequency band is less than a lowest frequency of the IF signal frequency band.

Prior Technologies use a variable Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal frequencies, and a fixed Local Oscillator (LO) reference signal frequency. The variable IF signal requires a lot of available bandwidth on the Inter-Facility Link (IFL) between the Indoor Unit and Outdoor Radio.
FIG. 1A illustrates a frequency plan used by a prior art VSAT terminal communicating over two inter-facility link (IFL) cables between a modem and radio equipment using linear radio technology. The IFL may transmit signals over a spectrum 112 using a first of the two IFL cables from an indoor modem to an outdoor unit, where the signals include a DC power 100 signal, a low frequency Local Oscillator (LO) reference signal 104 at 10 MHz and an IF reference signal 106 ranging from 950 MHz to 1950 MHz. Usually, the outdoor unit receives signals at higher frequencies from a satellite (around 20 GHz), and down-converts them to L-Band signals 110 in a frequency range of 950 MHz to 2150 MHz. As the IF reference signal 106 utilizes a broad/wide frequency spectrum that overlaps with the received signals 110 from the ODU to the IDU, the first IFL cable cannot be used to transmit signals from the outdoor unit to the indoor modem without significant manipulation of either the IF reference signal 106 or the received signals 110. The prior art VSAT product uses the second of the two IFL cables to send the down-converted received signal to the IDU from the ODU because the frequency overlap of the IF reference signal 106 from the indoor modem and the received signals 110 from the outdoor unit would interfere with one another on a single IFL.
FIG. 1B illustrates a frequency plan used by a prior art VSAT terminal communicating over a single inter-facility link (IFL) from a modem to radio equipment using linear radio technology. The IFL may transmit signals from an indoor modem to an outdoor unit, where the signals include a DC power 100′ signal, a low frequency Local Oscillator (LO) reference signal 104′ at 10 MHz and an IF reference signal 106′ ranging from 2200 MHz to 3000 MHz. Usually, the outdoor unit receives signals at higher frequencies from a satellite (around 20 GHz), and down-converts them to L-Band signals 110′ in a frequency range of 950 MHz to 2150 MHz. With this prior art implementation, a guard band 120′ between the RX signal 110′ (950 to 2150 MHz) and the TX IF 106′ (2200 to 3000 MHz) is very small, i.e., about 50 MHz, and makes the multiplexor design to separate the frequencies in both the IDU and ODU very difficult. Also, the TX IF 106′ (2200 to 3000 MHz) suffers a lot more attenuation over a long cable as compared to signals at or below 2 GHz. Additionally, calibrating signal losses TX IF 106′ (2200 to 3000 MHz) during installation is time consuming and more prone to error than a fixed signal, for example, a 2 GHz signal.
Some companies have developed VSAT products having only a single IFL between a VSAT system modem and outdoor radio equipment. However, the outdoor radio equipment includes expensive custom conversion chips to perform double frequency conversions in order to avoid frequency overlap of transmit and receive signals on the single IFL.

Fixed intermediate frequency signal with tuned low frequency local oscillator reference for linear transmitter


This invention relates to a process for the production of an alcohol, the process comprising (a) reacting an olefin and water in the presence of a catalyst under conditions sufficient to form a crude alcohol stream comprising alcohol, and a dialkyl ether; (b) separating at least a portion of the crude alcohol stream into an alcohol-containing stream and a dialkyl ether stream; (c) contacting at least a portion of the dialkyl ether stream with an ether decomposition catalyst, the ether decomposition catalyst comprising a mixed metal oxide having the following composition XmYnZpOq where X is at least one metal selected from Group 4 of the Periodic Table of Elements, Y is at least one metal selected from Group 3 (including the Lanthanides and Actinides) and Group 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements and Z is at least one metal selected from Groups 7, 8, and 11 of the Periodic Table of Elements; m, n, p, and q are the atomic ratios of their respective components and, when m is 1, n is from about 0.01 to about 0.75, p is from 0 to about 0.1, and q is the number of oxygen atoms necessary to satisfy the valence of the other components, to form a crude dialkyl ether decomposition stream comprising alcohol and olefin; (d) recovering at least a portion of the olefin from the crude dialkyl ether decomposition stream; and (e) recycling at least a portion of the olefin recovered in step (d) to step (a).

The conversion of ethers to the corresponding alkenes and alcohols, preferably alkanols, i.e., aliphatic alcohols, is an important reaction in a number of commercial processes. Thus, for example, this reaction is used to remove ethers, such as isopropyl ether, produced as the by-products of olefin hydration processes, such as the hydration of propylene to produce isopropanol.
Various catalysts have been proposed for the decomposition of ethers, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,691,073; 4,254,290; 4,320,232; 4,521,638; 4,398,051; 4,357,147. "Production D'Isobutene de Haute Pureté par Décomposition du MTBE" by P. B. Meunier et al. in Revue de L'Institut Francais du Petrole, vol. 46, No. 3, May 1991, pages 361 to 387, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,254,785, 5,177,301, 5,117,920 and Japanese Published Patent Application No. JP-A-06072904.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,945 describes discloses a process for producing isopropanol comprising (a) contacting water and a feedstock comprising propylene with a catalyst comprising an acid ion exchange resin in a first reaction zone under hydration conditions to produce a first stream; (b) dividing the first stream into a second stream comprising water and isopropanol and a third stream comprising diisopropyl ether; (c) contacting the third stream with a reversion catalyst in a second reaction zone under reversion conditions to produce a fourth stream; (d) separating propylene from the fourth stream; (e) recycling the propylene to step (a); and (f) recovering isopropanol from the second stream. The reversion reaction uses a silica alumina cogel catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,147 describes a process for producing an oxygenated fuel blending composition comprising (a) contacting water and a feedstock comprising propylene with a catalyst comprising an acid ion exchange resin in a first reaction zone under hydration conditions to produce a first stream; (b) dividing the first stream into a second stream comprising water and isopropanol and a third stream comprising diisopropyl ether; (c) contacting the third stream with a reversion catalyst in a second reaction zone under reversion conditions to produce a fourth stream; (d) separating propylene from the fourth stream; (e) oligomerizing the propylene; and (f) recovering isopropanol from the second stream and blending it with a gasoline blending hydrocarbon stream. The reversion reaction uses a silica alumina cogel catalyst.
Strategies to minimize the production of isopropyl ether (IPE) in processes for the manufacture of isopropanol include 1) running a low propylene conversion process, 2) recycling the IPE back to the reaction zone, 3) decomposing the IPE to propylene using acid catalyst, or 4) hydrolyzing the IPE to isopropyl alcohol (IPA).
However, low conversion processes create large recycle streams requiring large reactors, large amounts of catalyst, and fractionation of reactor effluent to create a highly concentrated propane stream for purging. If dilute propylene is used then a purification step is required for the propylene return stream.
Recycling the IPE back to the hydration unit is feasible because the reaction of IPE to IPA and/or propylene can be equilibrium controlled and is reversible in the hydration zone. Recycling IPE permits recovery of IPA and/or propylene from the IPE, but it does not eliminate the formation of IPE. In some cases it is not possible to recycle all of the IPE back into the feed and therefore other dispositions for the IPE must be found. Additionally, recycling IPE to the front end decreases the capacity of the unit by the amount of IPE recycled.
Thermal decomposition of ethers typically occurs at elevated temperature (typically >350° C.) and generates significant thermal side reactions that create impurities that must be removed before recycling. The recycled impurities quickly build up to unmanageable levels if the propylene is not purified.
The hydrolysis of IPE to produce IPA typically occurs at higher pressure, in the presence of an acidic catalyst, and requires significant amounts of water in the feed, which results in a need for large equipment and large water removal capability. The hydrolysis step can become hydraulically limiting if the water/IPA stream is returned to an existing unit.
Unpublished International Application No. PCT/US2004/041546 discloses a process for selectively converting a dialkyl ether to the corresponding alkene and alkanol, the process comprising contacting a feed containing at least one dialkyl ether with a catalyst comprising an acidic mixed metal oxide having the following composition:XmYnZpOqwhere X is at least one metal selected from Group 4 of the Periodic Table of Elements, Y is at least one metal selected from Group 3 (including the Lanthanides and Actinides) and Group 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements and Z is at least one metal selected from Groups 7, 8, and 11 of the Periodic Table of Elements; m, n, p and q are the atomic ratios of their respective components and, when m is 1, n is from 0.01 to 0.75, p is from 0 to 0.1, and q is the number of oxygen atoms necessary to satisfy the valence of the other components. The mixed oxides preferably contain sulfur, typically present in an amount of up to 5 wt %, such as up to 1 wt %, of the final mixed oxide composition. The mixed oxides can prepared by impregnation or by co-precipitation from a liquid mixture containing a source of Group 4 metal ions and a source of Group 3 and/or Group 6 metal ions. These catalysts exhibit both high selectivity and long catalyst lifetime when used as ether decomposition catalysts.
The ether decomposition process integrated into a commercial alcohol process, for example IPA, of the present invention enables high selectivity in the conversion of propylene to IPA and provides high purity propylene in the recycle stream.

Process for alcohol production by selective ether decomposition


A method for manufacturing a faucet including a base and a spout includes providing a first faucet portion defining a first edge extending a distance between the base and the spout, providing a second faucet portion defining a second edge extending the distance, welding, by a laser welding apparatus, the first edge of the first faucet portion to the second edge of the second faucet portion to form a welded joint extending along the distance, and grinding the welded joint to form a faucet body.

The present application relates generally to a faucet and a method of assembling a faucet. In particular, this application relates to a method of constructing a faucet body using a laser welding process.
Faucet assemblies may include a faucet body, handles, valve cartridges, and a waterway. Faucet bodies may define the waterway and be configured to be coupled to the handles and valve cartridges. Conventional faucet bodies may be manufactured by, among other ways, forming the faucet body around a core (i.e., in a cast or mold) using a casting process.
Generally, the minimum wall thickness that can be achieved when manufacturing the faucet body via a conventional casting process is between 2.5 mm and 3.5 mm while the minimum thickness necessary to achieve a required structural strength of the faucet body is less than that. As such, conventional faucet body manufacturing processes lead to the utilization of more material than necessary.
Additionally, the conventional casting processes for faucet bodies leads to the introduction of foreign particles and other impurities into a finished faucet body. Such impurities typical manifest themselves after the entire die casting process is completed and the surface is subjected to a finishing process, resulting in the rejection of a large number of parts post fabrication.


A recombinant restriction endonuclease from Anabaena variabilis is provided, as well as the isolated gene which encodes it and methods for the production of the recombinant AvaI restriction endonuclease. An isolated gene encoding a modification methylase from A. variabilis is also provided.

The present invention relates to the cloning and production of recombinant restriction endonuclease of AvaI.
Type II restriction endonucleases are a class of enzymes that occur naturally in bacteria. When they are purified away from other bacterial components, restriction endonucleases can be used in the laboratory to cleave DNA molecules into small fragments for generating recombinant DNA molecules.
Restriction endonucleases act by recognizing and binding to particular sequences of nucleotides along the DNA molecule. Once bound, they cleave the molecule within, to one side of, or to both sides of the recognition sequence. Different restriction endonucleases have affinity for different recognition sequences. Over two hundred and twenty restriction endonucleases with unique specificities have been identified among the many thousand of bacterial species that have been examined (Roberts and Macelis, Nucl. Acids Res. 26:338-350, (1998)).
Restriction endonucleases are named according to the bacteria from which they are derived. Thus, the species Deinococcus radiophilus for example, produces three different restriction endonucleases, named DraI, DraII and DraIII. These enzymes recognize and cleave the sequences 5'TTTAAA3', 5'PuGGNCCPy3' and 5'CACNNNGTG3' respectively. Escherichia coli RY13, on the other hand, produces only one enzyme, EcoRI, which recognizes the sequence 5'GAATTC3'.
A second component of bacterial restriction-modification (R-M) systems are the methylases. These enzymes provide the means by which bacteria are able to protect their own DNA and distinguish it from foreign DNA. Modification methylases recognize and bind to the same recognition sequence as the corresponding restriction endonuclease, but instead of cleaving the DNA, they chemically modify one particular nucleotide within the sequence by the addition of a methyl group (e.g., C5 methyl cytosine, N4 methyl cytosine, or N6 methyl adenine). Following methylation, the recognition sequence is no longer cleaved by the cognate restriction endonuclease. The DNA of a bacterial cell is fully modified and it is therefore completely insensitive to the presence of the endogenous restriction endonuclease. It is only unmodified, and therefore identifiably foreign DNA, that is sensitive to restriction endonuclease recognition and cleavage.
With the advent of recombinant DNA technology, it is possible to clone genes and overproduce the enzymes they encode in large quantities. The key to isolating clones of restriction endonuclease genes is to develop a simple and reliable method to identify such clones within complex `libraries`, i.e. populations of clones derived by `shotgun` procedures, when they occur at frequencies as low as 10.sup.-3 to 10.sup.-4. Preferably, the method should be selective, such that the unwanted majority of clones are destroyed while the desirable rare clones survive.
Type II restriction-modification systems are cloned by a number of methods. The first cloned systems used bacteriophage infection as a means of selecting restriction endonuclease clones (EcoRII: Kosykh et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 178:717-719 (1980); HhaII: Mann et al., Gene 3:97-112 (1978); PstI: Walder et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 78:1503-1507 (1981)). Since the presence of restriction-modification systems in bacteria enable them to resist infection by bacteriophages, cells that carry cloned restriction-modification genes can, in principle, be selectively isolated as survivors from libraries that have been exposed to bacteriophages. However, it has been found that cloned restriction-modification genes do not always manifest sufficient phage resistance to confer selective survival.
Another cloning approach involves transferring systems initially characterized as plasmid-borne into E. coli cloning plasmids (EcoRV: Bougueleret et al., Nucl. Acids. Res. 12:3659-3676, (1984); PaeR7: Gingeras and Brooks, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80:402-406 (1983); Theriault and Roy, Gene 19:355-359 (1982); PvuII: Blumenthal et al., J. Bacteriol. 164:501-509, (1985)).
A third approach, and one that has been used to clone the majority of R-M systems, is by selection for an active methylase gene (U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,333 and BsuRI: Kiss et al., Nucl. Acids. Res. 13:6403-6421 (1985)). Since R and M genes are organized in close proximity to each other, both genes can often be cloned simultaneously. This selection does not always yield a complete restriction system however, but instead yields only the methylase gene (BspRI: Szomolanyi et al., Gene 10:219-225, (1980); BcnI: Janulaitis et al., Gene 20:197-204 (1982); BsuRI: Kiss and Baldauf, Gene 21:111-119 (1983); and MspI: Walder et al., J. Biol. Chem. 258:1235-1241, (1983)).
A more recent method, the "endo-blue method", has been described for direct cloning of restriction endonuclease genes in E. coli based on the indicator strain of E. coli containing the dinD::lacZ fusion (Fomenkov et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,535); Fomenkov et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 22:2399-2403 (1994)). This method utilizes the E. coli SOS response following DNA damages caused by restriction endonucleases or non-specific nucleases. A number of thermostable nuclease genes (Tth111I, BsoBI, Tf nuclease) have been cloned by this method (U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,535).
Such recombinant enzymes are substantially pure and free of contaminants normally found in AvaI preparations made by conventional techniques from the native strain, such as that disclosed by Murray, et al., (Murray, et al., Biochem. J., 159:317-322 (1976)).
Because purified restriction endonucleases, and to a lesser extent, modification methylases, are useful tools for creating and analyzing DNA molecules in the laboratory, there is a commercial incentive to create bacterial strains through recombinant DNA techniques that produce these enzymes in large quantities. Such overexpression strains improve enzyme yield and simplify the task of enzyme purification.
It would, therefore, be desirable to purify AvaI restriction endonuclease to homogeneity, for use in medical diagnostic applications such as cancer gene mutation detection and pathogen detection by DNA amplification. It would further be desirable to develop a reproducible AvaI restriction enzyme purification procedure so as to meet the FDA purity standard required for the use of AvaI in such a diagnostic detection kit.

Method for cloning and producing the AvaI restriction endonuclease in E. coli and purification of the recombinant AvaI restriction endonuclease


A hydrogen gas station is disclosed comprising, a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-rich reformed gas through reforming reaction of an organic compound, a gas supply port configured to communicate with a gas supply pipe to supply the reformed gas to a plurality of fuel cells, and a gas recovery port configured to communicate with a gas recovery pipe to receive an off gas containing hydrogen unconsumed from the fuel cells, the hydrogen gas station being configured to consume the off gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydrogen gas station, a fuel cell system, and a hydrogen gas rate accounting device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fuel cell system comprising a hydrogen gas station configured to generate a hydrogen-rich reformed gas through reforming reaction of an organic compound, and a plurality of fuel cells configured to consume the reformed gas to generate electric power.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fuel cell configured to generate electric power and heat from hydrogen as a fuel is capable of converting fuel energy into effective electric energy and heat energy with high conversion efficiency. For this reason, a fuel cell system is capable of inhibiting the amount of emission of carbon dioxide because of the high conversion efficiency, and is therefore expected to reduce the carbon dioxide which may be a cause of global warming.
In actuality, however, infrastructures of the supply system of hydrogen used as the fuel for the fuel cell are not adequately equipped. The fuel cell is typically equipped with a reformer capable of generating hydrogen from a feed gas supplied from the existing infrastructure, such as a city gas (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. Hei. 07-57756 (first prior art)).
In addition, for the purpose of stable and efficient supply of hydrogen, a technology has been developed, in which a feed gas capable of being easily separated into hydrogen is equipped as an infrastructure, and the separated feed gas is recovered and re-used (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2002-274801 (second prior art)).
Further, as a system for supplying hydrogen to areas, there has been proposed a hydrogen supply system including a reformer, hydrogen consumption equipment and hydrogen storage means which are networked. In this system, hydrogen can be supplied to the hydrogen consumption equipment sufficiently and efficiently (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2002-372199 (third prior art)).
Assuming that the fuel cell system of the first prior art is employed as, for example, a home fuel cell system, the operation of the reformer equipped in the fuel cell is controlled to generate hydrogen in varying amount according to constantly varying amount of electric power or heat which the fuel cell is required to generate.
Typically, the reforming reaction (endothermic reaction) for generating hydrogen in the reformer is carried out at a high temperature of approximately 700° C. The change of operating conditions (e.g., temperature) of the reformer depending on the constant variation in the amount of hydrogen required causes a substantial heat loss, thereby resulting in reduction of hydrogen generation efficiency in the reformer. For example, if the temperature of the reformer is lowered to a room temperature and then increased up to 700° C., such a temperature increasing operation may cause substantial start energy loss and time loss.
In other words, the fuel cell system of the first prior art is undesirable to the home fuel cell system which is required to constantly vary the amount of electric power, because of difficulty in improving energy utilization efficiency of the reformer equipped in the fuel cell system.
In contrast to the fuel cell system of the first prior art, due to the use of the feed gas capable of being easily separated into hydrogen, the hydrogen storage and supply system of the second prior art is capable of dealing with a load fluctuation in electric power at home, although it is necessary to recover the feed gas from which hydrogen has been removed.
In the hydrogen supply system of the third prior art, the reformer, a number of hydrogen consumption equipment (e.g., fuel cells), and the hydrogen storage means are interconnected and networked to allow hydrogen communication. In this system, the variation in demands for hydrogen among this hydrogen consumption equipment can be mutually offset, and the demands for hydrogen are equalized in the entire fuel cell system. As a result, the amounts of gases supplied to this hydrogen consumption equipment are equalized. So, the hydrogen supply system of the third prior art is expected to resolve a problem of reduction of the hydrogen generation efficiency which may take place in the fuel cell system of the first prior art by keeping the operating conditions of the reformer.
By the way, part of hydrogen supplied to an anode of the fuel cell through a fuel gas inlet of the fuel cell is not consumed in the anode and is exhausted as an off gas from a fuel gas outlet of the fuel cell together with steam or carbon dioxide. The exhausted off gas has predetermined heat energy and is hence useful as a heat source. The efficient use of the off gas has been desired for the purpose of improvement of energy efficiency of the entire fuel cell system.
However, the efficient use of the off gas exhausted from the anode of the fuel cell and its recovery method are not achieved in the hydrogen supply system of the third prior art.
In addition, in the fuel cell system of the second prior art, recovery of the off gas using hydrogen absorbing alloy is suggested, but the efficient use of the off gas is not achieved as in the hydrogen supply system of the third prior art.

Hydrogen gas station, fuel cell system, and hydrogen gas rate accounting device


An improved system for transferring heat, utilizing diols, specifically 1,3-propanediol (PDO). The system reduces the energy consumption, maintenance costs, corrosion, toxicity, and the risk of fire associated with such heat-dependent processes. Unlike traditional hydrocarbon heating fluids, diols do not require draining and replacement if a purifier is installed in the system. Business methods are also disclosed.

This invention relates to heat-transfer systems. More particularly, it relates to providing a system for improved heat transfer in processes requiring the input of thermal energy.
Typically, hydrocarbon fluids have been used for transferring heat in high-temperature-dependent processes. Unfortunately, such hydrocarbon fluids are typically not biodegradable and are deemed environmentally hazardous. Also, among other problems, they have relatively low thermal conductivity and thus may demand excessive amounts of energy. In addition, they are highly flammable and not water-miscible so that traditional water sprinkler systems fail to suppress fires involving such hydrocarbon fluids.
Industrial entities utilizing endothermic processes consume large amounts of energy in order to supply heat during the endothermic processes. Hydrocarbon heat-transfer fluids used to transfer such heat typically break down over time and therefore are continuously filtered as well as being completely replaced every, say, 7 to 8 years. Furthermore, particulate waste byproduct is created, resulting in further cleaning and toxic-waste type disposal costs. Additionally, as hydrocarbon heat-transfer fluids are extremely flammable, fires involving hydrocarbon heat-transfer fluids have resulted in tremendous property damage, economic loss, injuries and death.
With respect to such flammability, ignition of these hydrocarbon heat-transfer fluids has been established as a primary cause in many industrial fires. For example, in 1989, a leak at a plastics manufacturing plant in Pasadena, Tex., caused a fire that killed 22 and injured 80. Similarly, in 1991, the oil from a conveyor belt at a food products plant in Hamlet, N.C., caused a fire that killed 24 and injured 56. To date, the efforts that have been made worldwide to minimize the risk of fire involving machines using hydrocarbon heat-transfer fluids in thermally-dependent processes have not solved this problem.
Therefore, a need exists for a system that dramatically reduces the risk of industrial fires. Furthermore, a need exists for a system offering reduced energy consumption and maintenance costs, as well as lower toxicity and longer useful life.

Dupont Tale + Lyle Bio Products Company, LLC


An exhaust gas catalyst especially for small two-stroke gasoline engines comprises a platinum group metal deposited on a refractory metal honeycomb support and is provided with a diffusion barrier coating which reduces conversion without reducing light-off temperatures. Prolonged catalyst life is shown when exposed to misfire conditions.

This application is the U.S. national-phase application of PCT International Application No. PCT/GB99/00419.
The present invention concerns improvements in automotive catalysts, and more especially it concerns improvements in catalysts suitable for motorcycle engines and like engines.
In many parts of the world, major automotive atmospheric pollution is caused by motor cycle engines, used either for motorcycles as such, which term is intended to include scooters and mopeds, or as engines for small people-or goods-carriers, such as three-wheelers. The most challenging problem is to deal with exhaust emissions from two-stroke engines. Such engines are generally tuned to run lean for fuel economy but the exhaust gases contain high amounts of unburnt hydrocarbons. Such engines are prone to mis-firing, especially if not very well maintained. Conventional automotive catalytic convertors have been found to be unable to deal with the very high levels of hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, and tend to burn out or melt as catalytic oxidation generates temperatures well in excess of 1000xc2x0 C. sometimes approaching 2000xc2x0 C. In fact, no catalyst substrate is capable of withstanding such temperatures. There is therefore a great demand for a solution to this problem.
It appears that there have been suggestions to provide certain top or xe2x80x9coverxe2x80x9d coatings on conventional catalytic convertors to act as a reactant layer or diffusion barrier to prevent poisoning of the catalytic convertor or to prevent the reaction of sulphur-containing fuel components in diesel fuels. We do not believe that the present invention has previously been conceived.
The present invention provides the combination of an emission control system and a two-stroke gasoline engine, said system comprising a refractory metal honeycomb substrate, a platinum-based catalyst distributed on the substrate, and a refractory diffusion barrier coating on said catalyst capable of reducing HC oxidation. Desirably, the diffusion barrier is a simple coating of a material such as alumina, although other materials which are refractory under typical operating conditions whilst retaining diffusion barrier properties, may be used. Natural or synthetic zeolites are particularly to be considered.
The invention further provides a method of controlling emissions from two-stroke gasoline engines, comprising passing the emissions over a catalytic convertor, characterised in that the catalytic convertor comprises a refractory metal honeycomb substrate, a platinum-based catalyst distributed on the substrate and a refractory diffusion barrier on said catalyst, capable of reducing peak HC oxidation.
The diffusion barrier must not, of course, act as a complete barrier to hydrocarbons, although it may be desirable to use molecular sieve materials which are capable of preventing access of large molecules, such as from lubricating oil, to the catalyst layer. It is well known in automotive catalyst manufacture to use a washcoat comprising a slurry of fine alumina particles deposited onto the substrate, in order to extend the effective surface area available for deposit of the catalytic layer. Essentially similar technology may be used to apply the diffusion barrier according to the present invention. Using an alumina washcoat formulation, suitable barrier thicknesses may be expressed in loading terms as from about 0.5 g/in3 to about 1.2 g/m3 of catalyst volume for a conventional metal honeycomb support.
The catalyst is suitably platinum-based, for example containing 40-60 g Pt/ft3 of catalyst volume. Other components or promoters, such as rhodium or other precious or base metals, may be incorporated into the catalyst Suitable metal substrates are commercially available and may be that known as Fecralloy. Desirably, it has 200 or lower, eg 100 or lower cells per sq in (31 cell/cm2 or 15.5 cells/cm2). Desirably, the substrate is provided with a washcoat layer of alumina, which may contain other components such as ceria or zirconia-stabilised ceria
In general, it is envisaged that the catalyst will be located within the silencer box, and is desirably spaced from the box by an insulating air space to ensure that surface temperatures do not become excessive or dangerous.
The present invention provides, therefore, a catalyst system that prevents peaks of excess HC reaching the catalyst, yet retains the required light-off performance. An alternative approach, of reducing precious metal loading on the catalyst, would reduce sensitivity to overload conditions but would increase light-off temperature so that the catalyst would not operate well when cold, upon start-up and when combined with the generally low exhaust gas temperatures from two-stroke engines, the catalyst may not be able to sustain operating temperatures above light-off. Desirably, the catalyst of the present invention, incorporating the diffusion barrier is effective to convert about 30 wt % to about 45 wt % of hydrocarbons at a catalyst inlet temperature of about 320xc2x0 C. and under typical space velocities.
A further advantage resulting from the present invention is that the diffusion barrier in its preferred embodiments prevents or slows the poisoning of the catalyst surface caused by engine oil components, eg phosphorus, or arising from poor quality fuel, but these are advantages and not the primary purpose of the invention.
The present invention is illustrated by comparing the performance of a conventional exhaust gas catalyst carrying 40 g/ft3 of a precious metal mixture of Pt/Rh in a 18:1 wt ratio, on a 100 cells/sq in Fecralloy metal substrate. The catalyst is 33mm diameter and 75.4 mm length and is mounted in the silencer of a 125 cc two-stroke motorcycle engine, the catalyst being surrounded by a 15 mm air jacket. The catalyst was assessed over the Indian Drive Cycle test, and demonstrated 60% conversion of hydrocarbons. Road tests showed that the catalysts were becoming hot enough to melt the metal substrate (Fecralloy has an upper temperature limit of 1250xc2x0 C.). We assessed that this was because mis-fires during road running were causing large quantities of unburnt hydrocarbons to reach the catalyst and the exotherm was causing rapid heating of the catalyst Mathematical modelling of this system indicates that even under perfect running, the metal monolith temperature quickly attained the upper temperature limit of 1250xc2x0 C. but did not exceed it, at 60% conversion. Under a mis-fire condition, if 60% conversions were still attained, monolith temperatures reached in excess of 1900xc2x0 C. within a second or two.
Further samples of catalyst were prepared by depositing differing quantities of standard washcoat alumina onto the identical catalyst, and firing at 500xc2x0 C. A coating of 0.5 g/in3 of alumina reduces hydrocarbon conversions from 60% to about 40%. Modelling indicates that the maximum temperature under mis-fire conditions is reduced by 400xc2x0 C. A thicker coating, of 1.2 g/in3 alumina, lowers the maximum conversion to 28% and lowers the maximum temperature to below the substrate upper temperature limit

Method of controlling emissions in exhaust gases from a two-stroke gasoline engine


A client computer with a scanner capable of scanning objects for a code. The client computer scans the object of interest and translates the code into a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that specifies both a server computer and the location within the server of information that is relevant to the object. The client computer transmits the URL to the server computer, receives the information related to the object from the server computer, and communicates the information to the customer.

Consumers often feel a great need for information about products and services that are offered for sale. This could include a need for such things as price, size, weight, expiration date, nutritional information, instructions for use, product applications, warranty, warnings, rating by independent testing organizations, product demonstrations or samples, service information, and background, biographical or historical information about the creator, service provider, manufacturer, or seller.
While some of the desired information may be easily attached to the relevant product or easy to supply as part of the service, consumers can still have an unfilled need for accurate, up to date, relevant, and appropriate information because:
1. Space may be limited on the product package or display; PA1 2. The information may be changing rapidly, and obsolete information might be useless, misleading, or even dangerous; PA1 3. All information may not be appropriate for all viewers; and PA1 4. There may even be too much information, and viewers need assistance in sorting through the available information to find the information that is relevant to their needs. For example, there is an enormous amount of information available on the Internet, but it is often difficult for consumers to find and even more difficult for consumers to tie the information in the Internet to the product in which they are interested.
Just as consumers may have a great need for information about products and services, retailers, distributors, packagers, and service providers may be aware of these needs and may wish to provide information to consumers in order to increase sales and profits. Knowing which consumers show an interest in which products, regardless of whether the products are purchased or not, may help the provider towards a wiser use of marketing resources. Also, knowing more about what information consumers desire may help providers decide what, if any, changes might be needed in product or service function and quality in order to improve consumer acceptance of the product or service. Thus, obtaining information about why consumers choose not to buy a product or service may be even more important than obtaining information about those consumers who do choose to buy a particular product or service. Further, different customers need different information. In order for a product or service provider to provide relevant information to the consumer, the provider must first obtain information from the consumer about the consumer's needs.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a mechanism for enhanced information delivery about products and services to consumers based on the preferences and needs of customers.

Mechanism for retrieving information using data encoded on an object

International Business Machines Corporation


A training device to improve tennis skills. The device includes wristbands for encircling each wrist of a user and a tension device with an umbilical attached to it and to the wristbands. The umbilical is under constant tension during use of the training device to encourage the movement of a user's hands in unison in carrying out a tennis stroke.

In providing instruction to tennis players for improving a player's skills, it is emphasized that not only should the hand holding the racket move to a position prepatory for stroking the ball but that the user's other hand move in the same direction thus causing a user's body to turn appropriately. This properly aligns the shoulders and increasing the effectiveness of the stroke, improving ball velocity and placement while minimizing injury. Conversely, many players, particularly novice players, move only the hand holding the racket allowing the other hand to remain idly by and giving little or no consideration to body positioning in preparing for the return of an oncoming tennis ball. In doing so, ball velocity, accuracy, consistency and pace are reduced and, perhaps more importantly, ball direction on the return stroke can be haphazard and unpredictable.
The present invention is not the first teaching of an aid to improve tennis skills by coordinating wrist movement of a user. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,833 teaches a device for joining a player's wrists together so as to engender movement of both arms and shoulders together in executing a tennis stroke. This patent further suggests extending, from a wristband and onto a user's middle finger a loop to prevent or reduce palmar flexion.
Although the invention described and claimed in the '833 patent is of interest in recognizing the benefits of joining a player's wrists together in executing a tennis stroke, it has been found that the components suggested for implementing this function are inadequate and do not, in the final analysis, provide the intended function. Specifically, the '833 patent suggests employing straps for joining first and second wristbands together. The buckled straps of the prior art can be changed in length through the use of buckles but once fixed, the straps represent nothing more than rigid extenders providing no tension between a user's wrists when the straps have not been pulled to their full extended length and, of equal importance, do not enable the wrists of a user to extend beyond the fixed strap length.
The straps suggested in carrying out the invention disclosed in the '833 patent are deficient for a number of reasons. Firstly, unless the straps are pulled to their full fixed length, neither wrist of the user is encouraged to move in the direction of the other. As such, when the dominant or racquet hand of a user moves, there is nothing to encourage the subservient hand to move in the same direction unless in moving the dominant hand, full strap length is established between wrists causing the subservient hand to be yanked or abruptly pulled in the direction of the racqueted hand. This is hardly a way to encourage unison wrist movement. Secondly, there are times in which the distance between the wrists of a user are to be greater than the intended spacing between wrists during tennis strokes. For example, if the training device is to be employed for all purposes both during training and in participating in an actual match, ball service, requiring an overhead stroke would undoubtedly require wrist spacing far greater than if a forehand or backhand was to be conducted using this training aid under normal circumstances. The fixed strap of the '833 patent would prevent overhead or service strokes if the strap was to be fixed at a normal spacing for forehand and backhand play.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a teaching aid for improving tennis skills which is devoid of the limitations of the prior art.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a tennis aid tensioning and thus encouraging unison of movement between the wrists of a player to improve tennis skills.
These and further objects will be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.


An antenna array includes five grounding plates, a signal transmission part, two radiation conductors, and a signal feed cable. The first and fifth grounding plates located at the same plane are substantially perpendicular with the second and fourth grounding plates respectively. The second and fourth grounding plates respectively connected to the first and fifth grounding plates extend with the same direction and have two holes or grooves. The third grounding plate connected between the second and fourth grounding plates is substantially perpendicular with the second and fourth grounding plates. The signal transmission part passing through the two holes or grooves is substantially perpendicular with the second and fourth grounding plates. The signal transmission part is connected between the two radiation conductors. The signal feed cable includes a central conductor connected to the signal transmission part and an outer conductor connected to the third grounding plate.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to an antenna array, and more particularly to an antenna array with a simple production process and lower side lobe energy dissipation of its radiation pattern.
2. Description of Prior Art
Currently, the conventional antenna array includes a grounding plate, radiation conductors, a signal transmission part, and a signal feed cable. Wherein, the radiation parts are set on the top side of the grounding plate, and the signal transmission part is connected between the radiation conductors. The signal feed cable includes a central conductor connected to the signal transmission part and an outer conductor connected to the grounding plate. The signal feed cable is used to feed the high frequency signal into the conventional antenna array.
The high frequency signal may leak its energy when transmitting in the signal transmission part, and thus an energy loss occurs. Further, because the signal transmission part and the radiation conductors of the conventional antenna array are sited at the same side of the grounding plate, the radiation pattern of the conventional antenna array may be interfered by the leaking energy. Thus, the energy of the side lobe in the radiation pattern of the conventional array may increase, and according to the law of the energy conservation, the increasing of the energy of the side lobe decreases the signal level of the main lobe of the conventional antenna array. Furthermore, when the distance between the signal transmission part and the grounding plate is large, the input impendence of the conventional antenna array may be large too, and thus the impendence match of the conventional antenna is hard to be achieved. Accordingly, the signal transmission part of the conventional antenna array may be bent to approach the grounding plate. Thus, the transmission impendence of the signal transmission part may be lowered, and the impendence match may be achieved.
Contrary to the design of making the signal transmission part approach to the grounding plate, the efficiency of the radiated signal of the conventional antenna array may increase when the distance between the radiation conductors and the grounding plate increases. That is, the gain of the whole radiated signal may be enhanced when the distance between the radiation conductors and the grounding plate is large.
The radiation conductors and the signal transmission part are connected to each other, but the design of the distance between the radiation conductors and the grounding plate and the design of the distance between the signal transmission part and the grounding plate are opposite to each other. Therefore, the radiation conductors and the signal transmission part must be sited on the different heights, and the difficulty of producing the conventional antenna array may increase. Thus the impendence of the conventional antenna array may be hard to adjust and match, the stability of conventional antenna array may decrease, and the production cost of the conventional antenna array may increase. In addition, for the conventional antenna array, the isolation level of the radiation conductors may decrease when the distance between the radiation conductors is too short. That is, the interference thereof may occur, and the radiation pattern of the conventional antenna array is affected.
In order to solve these and other problems as stated above, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an antenna array with a simple production process and lower side lobe energy dissipation of its radiation pattern.


A drawer dishwasher includes a drawer which is movable from a closed to an open position. A lid is separate from the drawer and is adapted to seal over the top of the drawer when the drawer is in its closed position and to move upwardly and away from the drawer in response to movement of the drawer from its closed to its open position. Recirculation plumbing and draining plumbing are connected to the drawer dishwasher and lead to a remote pump and reservoir for receiving drained fluid from the drawer and for recirculating drained fluid back into the spray assembly within the drawer.

This invention relates to a lid construction for a drawer dishwasher.
Various attempts have been made to provide a dishwasher which operates as a drawer and can slide in and out from beneath a countertop. Several problems are encountered in attempting to develop such a drawer dishwasher.
One problem is the necessity for connecting the various plumbing fixtures to the drawer so that the fixtures can move in unison with the drawer as it slides from its closed to its opened position. In the prior art flexible hoses are used to move with the drawer as it moves in and out.
Another problem encountered with drawer dishwashers is the ability to place a spray head within the drawer while at the same time connecting the spray head to the proper plumbing leading to a recirculation pump.
Another problem encountered with drawer dishwashers is the ability to maximize the space of the drawer without using a substantial portion of that space for a recirculation reservoir and pump.
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is the provision of an improved lid construction for a drawer dishwasher.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved lid construction which separates from the drawer when the drawer is pulled from its closed to its open position.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved lid construction which cams upwardly away from sealed engagement with the top of the drawer in response to the drawer moving from its closed to its open position.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved lid construction which includes a rotatable spray arm attached to the lid construction.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved drawer dishwasher construction which includes a recirculation conduit attached to the lid, but detached to the drawer.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved drain system which will drain fluid from the drawer throughout movement of the drawer between its closed and its open position.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved drawer dishwasher which includes a recirculation reservoir located remote from the drawer and being in fluid communication with a recirculation pump for receiving the fluid from the drawer and for recirculating fluid back to the drawer through the spray arms.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved drawer construction which is economical to manufacturer, durable in use and efficient in operation.
The foregoing objects may be achieved by a dishwasher having a frame assembly with forward and rear ends. A drawer having a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and side walls defines a drawer compartment. The front, rear and side walls each have upper edges forming an upwardly presented opening in the drawer compartment. A lid is shaped in covering relation over the upwardly presented opening in the drawer compartment. A guide mechanism mounts the drawer to the frame for movement from a closed position wherein the lid is in covering relation over the upwardly presented opening of the drawer to an open position wherein the drawer is spaced apart from the lid. A spray assembly is positioned within the drawer compartment for spraying a washing fluid on objects within the drawer compartment whenever the drawer is in its closed position.
One feature of the improved dishwasher of the present invention is the use of a washing conduit connected to the lid when the drawer is in either of the open or closed positions, and connected to the spray assembly whenever the drawer is in its closed position.
Another feature of the present invention is a first portion of the spray assembly being attached to the interior of the lid and a second portion of the spray assembly being attached to the drawer.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a lid mounting mechanism mounting the lid to the frame for movement from a lowered position when the drawer is in its closed position to an upper position above the lowered position in response to the drawer moving from its closed to its open position.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher wherein the drawer includes a portion which engages the lid and moves the lid to its lowered position whenever the drawer moves from its open to its closed position.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a drain conduit which is stationary relative to the drawer and which is adapted to receive drained washing fluid from the drawer as the drawer moves between its open and its closed positions.
An alternate embodiment of the present invention utilizes a unique gasket to seal the washing conduit within the drawer to the conduit supplying washing fluid to the drawer when the drawer is in its closed position.
Another alternate embodiment utilizes a shroud surrounding the lid to provide a vapor barrier between the drawer and the remainder of the dishwasher.
Another alternate embodiment utilizes a stationary lid in combination with an inflatable seal between the drawer and the lid.


A method infers a scene from a test image. During a training phase, a plurality of images and corresponding scenes are acquired. Each of the images and corresponding scenes are partitioned respectively into a plurality of image patches and scene patches. Each image patch is represented as an image vector, and each scene patch is represented as a scene vector. The image vectors and scene vectors are modeled as a network. During an inference phase, the test image is acquired. The test image is partitioned into a plurality of test image patches. Each test image patch is represented as a test image vector. Candidate scene vectors corresponding to the test image vectors are located in the network. Compatibility matrices for the candidate scene vectors are determined, and probabilities of the compatibility matrices are propagated in the network until convergence to infer the scene from the test image.

This invention relates generally to processing digital signals, and more particularly, to inferring scenes from test images.
One general problem in digital signal processing is how to infer the overall characteristics of some real world signal from isolated instances or degraded signal samples. For example, in vision applications, some part of a real world scene is measured by acquiring one or more images. For motion estimation, the input is usually a temporally ordered sequence of images, e.g., a xe2x80x9cvideo.xe2x80x9d The problem is how to estimate the projected velocities of various objects, e.g., people, cars, balls, or background, moving in the video. Another vision application deals with recovering real-world three-dimensional structure from two-dimensional images. For example, how to recover the shape of an object from a line drawing, a photograph, or a stereo pair of photographs. Yet another problem is how to recover high-resolution details from low-resolution signals. For example, how to produce high-resolution details from a low-resolution image, or how to provide a high-resolution audio signal on a noisy transmission line.
Humans make these types of estimates all the time, frequently subconsciously. There are many applications for machines to be able to do this also. These problems have been studied by many workers with different approaches and varying success for many years. The problem with most known approaches is that they lack machine learning methods that can exploit the power of modem processors and memory capacities within a general framework.
In the prior art, methods have been developed for interpreting blocks of world images. Other prior art work, using hand-labeled scenes, has analyzed local features of aerial images based on vector codes, and has developed rules to propagate scene interpretations. However, these solutions are for specific one-step classifications, and therefore, cannot be used for solving a general class of low-level vision problems. Methods to propagate probabilities have been used, but these methods have not been put in a general framework for solving vision problems.
Alternatively, optical flow can be estimated from images by using a quad-tree to propagate motion information across scale. There, a brightness constancy assumption is used, and probabilities about the velocity of the optical flow is presented as a Gaussian probability distribution, both of which limit the generality of that approach.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/203,108 xe2x80x9cEstimating Scenes Using Statistical Properties of Images and Scenes,xe2x80x9d by Freeman et al., uses probability densities modeled as a mixture of Gaussian distributions to make scene estimates. In a Continuation-in-Part application Ser. No. 09/236,839 xe2x80x9cEstimating Targets Using Statistical Properties of Observations of Known Targets,xe2x80x9d by Freeman et al., the estimation is done by a combination of probability densities and vectors. The problem with these prior art techniques is that Gaussian mixtures consume substantial time and storage during processing and give a poor approximation to the probability density. It is desired to improve over these prior art techniques.
The invention provides a method for inferring a scene from a test image.
During a training phase, a plurality of labeled images and corresponding scenes are acquired. Each of the images and corresponding scenes is partitioned respectively into a plurality of image patches and scene patches.
Each image patch is represented as an image vector, and each scene patch is represented as a scene vector. The probabilistic relationship between the image vectors and scene vectors is modeled as a network. The probabilistic relationship between the image vectors and scene vectors is modeled as a network, preferably a Markov network.
During an inference phase, the test image corresponding to an unknown scene is acquired. The test image is partitioned into a plurality of test image patches. Each test image patch is represented as a test image vector. Candidate scene vectors corresponding to the test image vectors are located in the training data. Compatibility matrices for candidate scene vectors at neighboring network nodes are determined, and probabilities are propagated in the network until a predetermine termination condition is reached to infer the scene from the test image. The termination condition can be some level of convergence or a fixed number of iterations.

Method for inferring scenes from test images and training data using probability propagation in a markov network


Disclosed is a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) cell which includes a storage capacitor disposed in a trench formed in a semiconductor substrate and an access transistor disposed in a well which is opposite in conductivity type to that of the substrate and a buried oxide collar which surrounds an upper portion of the trench.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a semiconductor memory device and, more particularly, to a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) cell having a trench storage capacitor wherein the retention time of the cell is significantly increased and leakage currents are eliminated by utilizing a buried oxide collar surrounding the trench.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many DRAM applications where it is important to maximize the retention time of the cell. In particular, applications depending on battery power for the system would benefit from a DRAM cell which did not need to be refreshed very often. Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) DRAM cells in the time frame of 4Mbit and beyond require trench storage capacitors in order to meet high density requirements. DRAM cells having a storage capacitor disposed in a trench formed in a semiconductor substrate are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,063 assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, which patent is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a substrate plate trench (SPT) DRAM cell which utilizes a trench storage capacitor formed in a semiconductor substrate. A portion of the substrate is heavily doped and forms the counterelectrode of the storage capacitor while a heavily doped polycrystalline plug disposed in the trench forms the other electrode of the storage capacitor. The SPT DRAM cell includes a field effect access transistor disposed in a well which is opposite in conductivity type to that of the substrate. The trench capacitor extends from the surface of the well, through the well and lightly doped substrate portion, into the heavily doped portion of the substrate. The capacitor electrode disposed in the trench is directly connected to the source/drain of the access transistor.
In the SPT DRAM cell of U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,063, charge is stored on the dielectrically isolated polysilicon electrode formed within the trench in order to meet rigid leakage requirements. To further reduce leakage, the DRAM cell includes an n-well interposed between the substrate plate and the access transistor electrodes. As described in Cottrell et al., "N-Well Design for Trench DRAM Arrays", IEDM Tech. Digest, pp. 584-587, 1988, to further increase the immunity of an SPT DRAM cell to leakage current an n-well with a doping profile that monotonically decreases with depth can be utilized.
While leakage is significantly reduced in prior art SPT DRAM cells, a parasitic voltage dependent upon junction leakage current may inherently develop in the memory devices which limit the retention time of the cell. This leakage current is the result of two main leakage mechanisms, (1) generation of charge carriers in the space charge region of the trench electrode diffusion and (2) thermal generation of charge carriers along the depleted sidewall of the trench. The second mechanism is aggravated by the n-well which sets up an electric field that causes the generated carriers to be collected by the trench electrode diffusion. As described in Noble et al., "Parasitic Leakage in DRAM Trench Storage Capacitor Vertical Gated Diodes", IEDM Tech. Digest, pp. 340-343, 1987, another disadvantage of the SPT DRAM cell is that when a bias is applied to the trench, the gating action of the trench also affects the n-well/substrate junction which leads to an excess current from the n-well to the substrate. Thus, there is a need to develop an SPT DRAM cell which minimizes the inherent junction leakage current.


Provided is a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices including channel trenches that are separated by isolation structures. According to the process, the substrate is etched to form isolation trenches after which a sidewall oxide layer, a liner nitride layer and a field oxide layer are subsequently formed on the substrate and in the isolation trenches. The substrate is then planarized to remove upper portions of the sidewall oxide layer, the liner nitride layer and the field oxide layer to expose surface portions of the substrate between adjacent isolation trench structures. Channel trenches are then formed in the exposed surface portions of the substrate leaving residual substrate regions adjacent the isolation trench structures. These residual substrate regions are then oxidized and removed to form improved second channel trenches for the formation of transistor regions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices incorporating a transistor having a trench type channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the use of semiconductor memory devices has continued to expand in computers, telecommunications equipment and personal electronics, the demand for improved semiconductor memory devices has remained strong. From a functional point of view, preferred semiconductor memory devices will tend to be those that are reliable, capable of operating a high speed and simultaneously provide a large data storage capacity.
In order to meet these demands, the fabrication technology employed in manufacturing semiconductor memory devices has tended to focus on improving the degree of integration, the reliability and the operating speed of semiconductor memory devices. As the degree of integration increases, the surface area available for forming the individual memory cells decreases. As the cell size is reduced, the dimensions of the structural elements and patterns formed on the substrate, as well as the manufacturing process margins associated with such elements and patterns, has also been reduced.
As a result, the channel length of a cell memory cell transistor decreased to a point where leakage current presented a concern with regard to the memory cell transistor performance and reliability. In order to suppress or reduce the leakage current, various methods for lengthening the effective channel length have been proposed and utilized. One such method utilizes a trench type gate electrode in the cell transistor rather than a conventional planar type gate electrode.
FIGS. 1–5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a conventional method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a trench type channel. Referring to FIG. 1, a pad oxide layer (not shown) is formed on a substrate 100 with a mask layer (not shown) then being formed on the pad oxide layer. The mask layer is subsequently patterned using any conventional photolithography process to form a mask pattern (not shown) that exposes portions of the pad oxide layer. The exposed portions of the pad oxide layer and the underlying substrate 100 are then etched using the mask pattern as an etching mask to form isolation trenches having an upper width greater than a lower width.
An oxide layer (not shown) is then formed on the substrate 100 and the isolation trenches with a nitride layer (not shown) then being formed on the oxide layer. A thicker insulating layer (not shown) is then formed on the nitride layer to a thickness sufficient to fill the isolation trenches. Upper portions of the insulating layer, the nitride layer and the oxide layer are then removed to planarize the surface and expose regions of the substrate 100 between isolation trench structures 140 that include an oxide layer pattern 110, a liner nitride layer pattern 120 and an insulating layer pattern 130. The isolation trench structures 140 will tend to exhibit an upper width greater than a lower width generally corresponding to the shape of the isolation trench. An active region A may be defined in a portion of the substrate 100 arranged between adjacent isolation trench structures 140.
Referring to FIG. 2, a first channel trench 150 is then formed by removing an upper portion of the substrate 100 from the active region A using a highly anisotropic etch. Conventionally, a mask pattern (not shown) will be formed on the substrate 100 to expose only a portion of the substrate in the active region. The exposed substrate 100 is then etched using the mask pattern as an etching mask to form the first channel trench 150 in the active region A.
Because the isolation trench structures 140 tend to have an upper width that is greater than their lower width, a residual portion 100a of the substrate 100 will tend to remain in region B adjacent the isolation trench structures 140 after formation of the first channel trench 150. Because the remaining portion 100a of the substrate can interfere with the subsequent formation of a memory cell transistor, allowing the remaining portion to remain in place will tend to degrade the electrical function and reliability of the resulting memory cell transistor. Accordingly, it is desirable to remove the residual portion 100a of the substrate 100 from the peripheral regions of the first channel trench 150.
Referring to FIG. 3, the remaining portion 100a of the substrate 100 may be removed using a secondary dry etch to form a second channel trench 160. However, although the conventional secondary dry etch tends to remove the majority of the residual portion 100a, a second residual tip portion 100b will tend to be formed along the periphery of the channel trench adjacent the isolation trench structures in region C. The tip portion 100b of the substrate 100 may weaken or degrade a gate oxide layer formed in the channel trench during a subsequent process.
Referring to FIG. 4, a sacrificial oxide layer (not shown) is formed on the substrate 100 and the isolation trench structures 140. The sacrificial oxide layer and a portion of the isolation trench structures 146, specifically an upper portion of the oxide layer 110, are then removed to form a third channel trench 170. The sacrificial oxide layer provides some protection for the upper surface of the isolation trench structures 140 during the etch process. Referring to FIG. 5, a gate oxide layer 180 is then formed on the exposed surfaces of substrate 100 and a gate electrode 190 is formed on the gate oxide layer 180 and the isolation trench structures 140.
However, in the conventional fabrication method, the residual portion 100a of the substrate 100 must be removed using a secondary etch process and typically a second dry etch apparatus, thus requiring an additional etch step for the formation of the channel trench.
Further, because the secondary etch process does not tend to remove all of the residual portion 100a of the substrate 100 not completely removed using the conventional secondary etch method, a smaller residual tip 100b of the substrate will tend to remain along the periphery of the channel trench. This residual tip 100b, if left in place, will tend to compromise or degrade the subsequently formed gate oxide layer 180 to a degree that lowers the performance and/or reliability of resulting memory cell transistor.

Method for manufacturing a semiconductor device


A method for checking for elevated activity of mixed-function oxidases using a single insect, includes homogenizing a single insect in an acid pH buffer, preferably by grinding it in a small tube, such as an Eppendorf tube, with a pestle, adding a buffered tetramethylbenzidine solution as substrate, adding hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, and checking the blue coloration, the intensity of which indicates the degree of elevated mixed function oxidase activity. The invention also provides a test kit for use in the method which comprises separate containers of: I. an acid pH buffer, preferably an acid buffer about pH5 II. tetramethylbenzidine III. a solvent for tetramethylbenzidine, preferably methanol, and IV. hydrogen peroxide.

Chemical insecticides remain as the most important agents for the control of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, filariasis etc. Countless deaths from these diseases have been spared since the introduction of the first synthetic insecticide, DDT in the 1940's. Prolonged use of insecticides has however, induced the development of resistance in the vectors, primarily insects, that carry such diseases, which renders them less effective in combating the vectors and thus the diseases that they spread. Resistance detection is mainly based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard test procedures which, among other things, are not user-friendly, use test kits of short shelf life and need skilled manpower to conduct the tests and interpret the test results. As a result, very often little is known of the susceptibility status of many insect vectors, which tends to affect the outcomes of control programmes.
The development of rapid field test kits would be a major breakthrough in the control of vector-borne diseases.
In general, the biochemical basis of resistance is due to 3 mechanisms:                1) increased level of non-specific esterases targeted against organophosphates and carbamates;        2) elevated activity of mixed-function oxidases against pyrethroids; and        3) non-susceptability of acetylcholine esterase against organophosphates and carbamates.

Method for detecting elevated activity of oxidases in insects


A rotatable printing machine includes a horizontal exchangeable cylinder which is held between two sidewalls of a machine frame by a holding and driving arrangement which enables disengagement. To remove the cylinder, a carriage arrangement is positioned in the frame and can include a movable trolley for receiving the cylinder and sliding it in a horizontal plane onto a hand cart. One embodiment includes a movable table for raising and lowering the cylinder from the path of the trolley to the operating position. Another embodiment positions rails for the trolley immediately underneath the operating position of the cylinder and includes an arrangement for raising and lowering supports for the cylinder relative to the cylinder. A third embodiment includes a fixed track mounted immediately adjacent the cylinder and utilizing position adjustment means for the drives of the cylinder to lower the cylinder onto the track.

The present invention is directed to a rotary printing machine which is equipped with an interchangeable cylinder, especially a screen ink transfer cylinder, which is also called "anilox" cylinder and is held between two side walls of the machine frame by a freely disengageable holding and driving means.
With a view to optimize the use of the rotary printing machine, exchangeable anilox or transfer cylinders have become a more desirable feature.
In fact, depending on the given print motif, for example a very intensive solid requiring considerable ink quantities or a fine meshed screen necessitating much less ink, it is possible to vary the quantity of ink being transferred by either varying the viscosity of the ink by dilution or to exchange the anilox or transfer cylinder of which the volume of the bits on the cylinder surface will determine the quantity of ink being transferred. Considering the difficulties to master the ink homogeneity and viscosity, an increasingly preferable solution consists in exchanging the anilox or transfer cylinders.
Patent Documents FR 2 503 628; WO-87/04665 and EP-315 917 present rotary printing machines equipped with one or several cylinders and the driving means lodged in a so-called cassette. The cassette can be removed horizontally from the machine perpendicularly to the lateral or side wall of the machine. As may be gathered, the weight of the exchangeable assembly of the cassette comprises the weight of the cylinders to be exchanged must also include the weight of the cassette body, as well as the cylinder holding and driving means, which are attached thereto. Handling of such an assembly will, thus, be so difficult that the exchange will not be carried out as often as it should.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,641, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference thereto, discloses a rotary printing machine. In this Patent, a printing cylinder is held by two axles which have tapered or frusto-conical ends which extend into equally tapered apertures arranged coaxially on both lateral ends of the cylinder. The axle may be freely advanced or retracted, as required, toward and from the cylinder in order to seize the cylinder or to disengage it. Moreover, an ink basin is kept underneath the printing cylinder by a bracket arrangement, which can be rotated around a vertical threaded shaft and also descend along the threaded shaft. The linkage between the basin and the bracket is also rotatably movable. The inner surface of the basin is provided with a V-shaped, half-rigid support for the cylinder.
With the bracket rising, the basin will come into contact with the lower surface of a cylinder and, thus, support its weight. The cylinder holding axles will then be retracted to release the cylinder and, by a double rotation of the basin with regard to the bracket as well as the bracket with regard to the threaded shaft, it will be possible to disengage the printing cylinder through an upstream side of the printing device and then across one of the side walls. It becomes obvious that the bracket holding the cylinder at the very end of the basin and the cylinder should be particularly well-dimensioned and that the movement to be carried out for the release of the cylinder is rather complex for less qualified workers.

Rotary printing machine equipped with an exchangeable cylinder


A method and apparatus for use in a cell network node for initial routing and rerouting of connections to a slave node based on ordering candidate slave connections, searching existing connections for candidate best routes and validating the selected best route comparing actual route delays and available bandwidth with maximum allowable delays and loading of the candidate slave connection. The invention also provides for programmable queuing delays by controlling queue lengths and for improved justification of reassembled information using actual maximum node delays.

Prior cell switching networks typically allow integration of voice, data, facsimile, and video signals over a network, permitting the interconnection of computers, private branch exchanges ("PBXs"), and other communications equipment using a single type of switching fabric. Cell switching networks are also referred to as communication networks for fixed length packets. This prior cell technology is also known as Cell Relay by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers ("IEEE") and as Asynchronous Transfer Made ("ATM") by the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee ("CCITT").
Cell switches typically operate in private corporate networks. Private high speed digital networks have expanded relatively rapidly in the United States due to the ready availability of T1 trunks and in Europe due to the ready availability of E1 trunks. A typical international network may use a mixture of (1) T1 trunks in North America and Japan and (2) E1 trunks in Europe. Gateway nodes provide the necessary conversions between the two standards.
Unlike prior circuit switching communication networks that commit specific communication resources to a given end-to-end connection, prior cell switching networks typically establish virtual connections. This means that network resources are generally only used when needed. This allows for optimal use of network resources (bandwidth) based on the existing demands and priorities. This contrasts with dedicated physical routing that does not take into consideration varying demand and priorities.
Each cell switching node of a prior cell switching network typically permits a user to enter a message longer than the specified maximum cell size. The longer message is typically segmented and formatted into multiple cells along with "housekeeping" information presented by the network protocol. The individual cells are reassembled at the destination node. Typically there is reduced transit delay because of pipelining and reduced average queuing and packetization delay at each node because of short cell formats.
A prior North American or Japanese T1 trunk typically has a data rate of 1.544 megabits per second ("Mbps"). A prior European E1 trunk typically has a data rate of 2.048 Mbps. Prior fractional T1 trunks allow operation at integral multiples of 64 kilobits per second ("Kbps"), which is a digital signal zero "DSO" unit of bandwidth corresponding to the rate required for a single voice channel. This helps to avoid the full cost of a T1 trunk. This service is available in the U.S. and Canada. A similar European trunk service, known as X.21, supports data rates from 256 Kbps to 1.920 Mbps in units of 64 Kbps on unframed E1 lines.
The incorporation of fractional trunks into a prior cell network typically generates longer queuing delays at the nodes of these trunks. For a fixed queue length, queuing delay is inversely proportional to the trunk data rate. These delays may introduce restrictions on certain uses of these trunks. Voice communications are typically drastically hindered by excessive end-to-end delays. The management of these delays in a cell network is often critical.
Another complication resulting from the incorporation of fractional trunks into a prior cell network is that varying delays may result from dynamic route selection when there are links of differing capacities and queuing delays.

Method and apparatus for routing cell messages using delay


A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) strain gauge includes at least one flexible arm that can be caused to oscillate. Transverse strain on the arm changes the resonant frequency of the arm. A detector communicating with the flexible arm may detect the frequency of oscillation to provide, an indication of the transverse strain of the substrate.

The present invention relates to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and in particular, to a MEMS device used to measure strain.
Conventional strain gauges are made of wire or foil (metal) or a semiconductor material that is mounted to the surface of the object. As the underlying object is strained, the strain is transferred to the strain gauge material and a change in electrical resistance is exhibited proportional to the deformation (i.e. strain) of the strain gauge material. In addition to resistance, capacitance, inductance or reluctance may also be used to establish a measure of strain. Some semiconductor strain gauges are made of a piezoresistive material such as silicon. As the piezoresistive material is stressed, the fundamental materials properties of the material change causing the resistance to change. This change in electrical resistance is measured to provide an indication of the stress in the piezoresistive material and therefore also an indication of the strain in the underlying object.
MEMS devices are extremely small machines fabricated using integrated circuit techniques or the like. The small size of MEMS devices makes possible the mass-production of high-speed, low-power, high sensitivity, and high-reliability mechanisms that could not be realized on a larger scale.
It would thus be desirable to provide a MEMS device that can be mounted onto an underlying object that is operable to provide an indication of strain experienced at the object. It would furthermore be desirable to measure the strain at a plurality of locations over an area.

Microelectromechanical strain gauge with frequency detector


Embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to projecting light on a surface and analyzing the scattered light to obtain spatial information of the surface and generate a three dimensional model of the surface. The three dimensional model may then be analyzed to calculate one or more surface characteristics, such as roughness. The surface characteristics may then be analyzed to provide a result, such as a diagnosis or a product recommendation. In some examples, a mobile device is used to analyze the surface.

Analysis of surface texture (e.g., roughness, waviness) is used in a variety of industries. For example, surface texture may be analyzed to confirm adequate polishing of bearing surfaces during manufacturing to reduce friction. In another example, surface texture may be analyzed to confirm proper application of a coating to a surface (e.g., paint). Data on surface texture may be acquired by a variety of methods including interferometry, electrical capacitance, high resolution imaging, confocal microscopy and electron microscopy. Acquiring the data to calculate various characteristics of the surface texture may require specialized equipment. This may reduce the availability and/or increase the cost of analyzing surface texture. Accordingly, techniques for analyzing surface texture with less expensive and/or more readily available equipment may be desired.

Texture detection apparatuses, systems, and methods for analysis


A system for displaying performance test information for software. The system includes a graphical user interface that displays information in a format to allow ready identification of performance problems and their causes. The interface includes a timeline view depicting activity levels during the execution of a program under test. Events during a sub-range of times during the program execution may be displayed with information revealing interactions of threads making up the program. Additional information may be displayed in a further display fields, including textual information. Much of the displayed information is represented graphically, allowing a performance engineer to quickly identify areas of the program to investigate further.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to software program development and more specifically to performance analysis of software programs.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Software programs are generally tested during their development. Testing has traditionally been used to verify that the software program performs the functions as intended. As software programs have become more complex, performance testing has become a more significant component of the development cycle. Performance testing supports "performance engineering" activities during which portions of the program that cause delay in program execution are identified and are rewritten to reduce the time required to execute the program.
Performance testing is often performed by inserting "probes" into a program under test. Probes are simple functions that write data into log files when executed. The data in the log files may then be analyzed to determine the various characteristic of the program operation.
Traditional performance analysis tools use data in the log files to present an aggregated view of execution of the software program under test. For example, the data in the log files may be used to determine the number of times each function in the software program under test has been invoked. Such information may, for example, reveal to a performance engineer that a particular function is in a loop that is executed more times than intended. Such an observation may for example, indicate that performance of the program may be improved by restructuring the program to reduce the number of times that loop is executed.
An aggregated view of the data may also indicate the average amount of time in which each function executes. If the average execution time for a function greatly exceeds the expected execution time, a performance engineer may investigate whether some event blocks execution of that function.
Tools have been employed that present performance data on a software program under test for a performance engineer to review. Such tools have, for example, allowed a performance engineer to select from multiple types of aggregated data so that the performance engineer could examine different aspects of a software program under test. Such tools have also included timeline views, which allow the performance engineer to see the activity level of the software program under test.

Method and apparatus for performance analysis on a software program