A method of preparing a carbamate or urea-functional compound is described comprising the step of reacting a lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid with a compound (A) comprising a carbamate or urea group or a group that can be converted to a carbamate or urea group, and an active hydrogen group capable of reacting with the hydroxy carboxylic acid or in a ring-opening reaction with a lactone. The compound thus prepared is useful in curable compositions.

This invention relates to methods of preparing compounds, particularly carbamate- or urea-functional compounds, particularly compounds useful in curable compositions such as coating compositions.
Carbamate- or urea-functional compositions have been described for uses such as curable compositions, particularly curable coating compositions. They are often used for topcoats in the automotive and industrial coatings industry. Color-plus-clear composite coatings are particularly useful as topcoats where exceptional gloss, depth of color, distinctness of image, or special metallic effects are desired. The automotive industry has made extensive use of these coatings for automotive body panels. Color-plus-clear composite coatings, however, require an extremely high degree of clarity in the clearcoat to achieve the desired visual effect. High-gloss coatings also require a low degree of visual aberations at the surface of the coating in order to achieve the desired visual effect such as high distinctness of image (DOI).
Such coatings are especially susceptible to a phenomenon known as environmental etch. Environmental etch manifests itself as spots or marks on or in the finish of the coating that often cannot be rubbed out.
Curable coating compositions based on curable components having carbamate or urea functionality have been proposed have been described in the art to provide etch-resistant coatings, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,669 and WO 94/10211.
In addition to resistance to environmental etch, a number of other characteristics can be desirable. For example, it may be desirable to provide a coating having a high degree of flexibility. This can be particularly advantageous if the substrate on which the coating is placed is itself flexible, as in the case of plastic, leather, or textile substrates.
It is also desirable to reduce the amount of solvent required in coating compositions in order to reduce the volatile organic content (VOC), which is better for the environment.
Finally, it is desirable to provide options of different types of carbamate- or urea-functional materials to provide coatings with a good combination of properties such as durability, hardness, and resistance to scratching, marring, solvents, and acids.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of preparing carbamate- or urea-functional compounds capable of providing one or more of the above-described properties. This method comprises a method of making a carbamate- or urea-functional ester-containing compound comprising the step of reacting a lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid with a compound (A) comprising a carbamate or urea group or a group that can be converted to a carbamate or urea group, and an active hydrogen group capable of reacting with the hydroxy carboxylic acid or in a ring-opening reaction with a lactone.
Compounds prepared according to the present invention can provide coatings having a good combination of properties such as durability, hardness, and resistance to scratching, marring, solvents, and acids. Such coating compositions can also provide low VOC levels, and can be used to prepare coatings having good flexibility for use over flexible substrates.
According to the present invention, a compound having carbamate or urea functionality is formed by reaction of a compound (A) having carbamate or urea groups or groups that can be converted to carbamate or urea, and an active hydrogen group.
Carbamate groups can generally be characterized by the formula
wherein R is H or alkyl, preferably of 1 to 4 carbon atoms. Preferably, R is H or methyl, and more preferably R is H. Urea groups can generally be characterized by the formula
wherein Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 each independently represents H or alkyl, preferably of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 may together form a heterocyclic ring structure (e.g., where Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 form an ethylene bridge).
According to the present invention, the carbamate- or urea-functional compound can be formed by reacting a lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid with a compound (A) having an active hydrogen group capable of ring-opening the lactone or undergoing a condensation reaction with the hydroxy carboxylic acid (e.g., hydroxyl, primaryamine, acid) and a carbamate or urea group or a group that can be converted to carbamate or urea. When a compound having an active hydrogen group and a group that can be converted to carbamate or urea is used to ring-open the lactone or react with the hydroxy carboxylic acid, conversion of the group to a carbamate or urea can be accomplished during or after the ring-opening reaction.
Compounds having a carbamate or urea group and an active hydrogen group are known in the art. Hydroxypropyl carbamate and hydroxyethyl ethylene urea, for example, are well known and commercially available. Amino carbamates are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,523. Hydroxyl ureas may also be prepared by reacting an oxazolidone with ammonia or a primary amine or by reacting ethylene oxide with ammonia to form an amino alcohol and then reacting the amine group of that compound or any other amino alcohol with hydrochloric acid, then urea to form a hydroxy urea. Amino ureas can be prepared, for example, by reacting a ketone with a diamine having one amine group protected from reaction (e.g., by steric hindrance), followed by reaction with HNCO (i.e., the product of the thermal decomposition of urea), and then water. Alternatively, these compounds can be prepared by starting with a compound having an active hydrogen and a group that can be converted to carbamate or urea as described below, and then converting that group to the carbamate or urea prior to commencement of the reaction with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid.
Groups that can be converted to carbamate include cyclic carbonate groups, epoxy groups, and unsaturated bonds. Cyclic carbonate groups can be converted to carbamate groups by reaction with ammonia or a primary amine, which ring-opens the cyclic carbonate to form a xcex2-hydroxy carbamate. Epoxy groups can be converted to carbamate groups by first converting to a cyclic carbonate group by reaction with CO2. This can be done at any pressure from atmospheric up to supercritical CO2 pressures, but is preferably under elevated pressure (e.g., 60-150 psi). The temperature for this reaction is preferably 60-150xc2x0 C. Useful catalysts include any that activate an oxirane ring, such as tertiary amine or quaternary salts (e.g., tetramethyl ammonium bromide), combinations of complex organotin halides and alkyl phosphonium halides (e.g., (CH3)3SnI, Bu4SnI, Bu4PI, and (CH3)4PI), potassium salts (e.g., K2CO3, KI) preferably in combination with crown ethers, tin octoate, calcium octoate, and the like. The cyclic carbonate group can then be converted to a carbamate group as described above. Any unsaturated bond can be converted to carbamate groups by first reacting with peroxide to convert to an epoxy group, then with CO2 to form a cyclic carbonate, and then with ammonia or a primary amine to form the carbamate.
Other groups, such as hydroxyl groups or isocyanate groups can also be converted to carbamate groups to form a compound (A). However, if such groups were to be present on the compound (A) and then converted to carbamate after reaction with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid, they would have to be blocked so that they would not react with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid or with active hydrogen groups that are present. When blocking these groups is not feasible, the conversion to carbamate or urea would have to be completed prior to the reaction with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid. Hydroxyl groups can be converted to carbamate groups by reaction with a monoisocyanate (e.g., methyl isocyanate) to form a secondary carbamate group or with cyanic acid (which may be formed in situ by thermal decomposition of urea) to form a primary carbamate group (i.e., unsubstituted carbamates). This reaction preferably occurs in the presence of a catalyst as is known in the art. A hydroxyl group can also be reacted with phosgene and then ammonia to form a compound having primary carbamate group(s), or by reaction of a hydroxyl with phosgene and then a primary amine to form a compound having secondary carbamate groups. Another approach is to react an isocyanate with a compound such as hydroxyalkyl carbamate to form a carbamate-capped isocyanate derivative. For example, one isocyanate group on toluene diisocyanate can be reacted with hydroxypropyl carbamate, followed by reaction of the other isocyanate group with an excess of polyol to form a hydroxy carbamate. Finally, carbamates can be prepared by a transesterification approach where hydroxyl group reacted with an alkyl carbamate (e.g., methyl carbamate, ethyl carbamate, butyl carbamate) to form a primary carbamate group-containing compound. This reaction is performed under heat, preferably in the presence of a catalyst such as an organometallic catalyst (e.g., dibutyltin dilaurate). Other techniques for preparing carbamates are also known in the art and are described, for example, in P. Adams and F. Baron, xe2x80x9cEsters of Carbamic Acidxe2x80x9d, Chemical Review, v. 65, 1965.
Groups such as oxazolidone can also be converted to urea after reaction with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid. For example, hydroxyethyl oxazolidone can be used to initiate the reaction with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid, followed by reaction of ammonia or a primary amine with the oxazolidone to generate the urea functional group.
Other groups, such as amino groups or isocyanate groups can also be converted to urea groups to form a compound (A). However, if such groups were to be present on the compound (A) and then converted to urea after reaction with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid, they would have to be blocked so that they would not react with the lactone, the hydroxy carboxylic acid, or with the active hydrogen groups. When blocking these groups is not feasible, the conversion to carbamate or urea would have to be completed prior to reaction with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid. Amino groups can be converted to urea groups by reaction with a monoisocyanate (e.g., methyl isocyanate) to form a secondary urea group or with cyanic acid (which may be formed in situ by thermal decomposition of urea) to form a primary urea group. This reaction preferably occurs in the presence of a catalyst as is known in the art. An amino group can also be reacted with phosgene and then ammonia to form a compound having primary urea group(s), or by reaction of an amino group with phosgene and then a primary amine to form a compound having secondary urea groups. Another approach is to react an isocyanate with a hydroxy urea compound to form a urea-capped isocyanate derivative. For example, one isocyanate group on toluene diisocyanate can be reacted with hydroxyethyl ethylene urea, followed by reaction of the other isocyanate group with an excess of polyol to form a hydroxy carbamate.
One preferred class of compounds having an active hydrogen group and a group that can be converted to carbamate is the hydroxyalkyl cyclic carbonates. Hydroxyalkyl cyclic carbonates can be prepared by a number of approaches. Certain hydroxyalkyl cyclic carbonates like 3-hydroxypropyl carbonate (i.e., glycerine carbonate) are commercially available. Cyclic carbonate compounds can be synthesized by any of several different approaches. One approach involves reacting an epoxy group-containing compound with CO2, under conditions and with catalysts as described hereinabove. Useful catalysts include any that activate an oxirane ring, such as tertiary amine quaternay salts (e.g., tetramethyl ammonium bromide), tin and/or phosphorus complex salts (e.g., (CH3)3SnI, (CH3)4PI). Epoxides can also be reacted with xcex2-butyrolactone in the presence of such catalysts. In another approach, a glycol like glycerine is reacted at temperatures of at least 80xc2x0 C. with diethyl carbonate in the presence of a catalyst (e.g., potassium carbonate) to form a hydroxyalkyl carbonate. Alternatively, a functional compound containing a ketal of a 1,2-diol having the structure:
can be ring-opened with water at temperatures of at least 60xc2x0 C., preferably with a trace amount of acid, to form a 1,2-glycol, which is then further reacted with diethyl carbonate to form the cyclic carbonate.
Cyclic carbonates typically have 5-6-membered rings, as is known in the art. Five-membered rings are preferred, due to their ease of synthesis and greater degree of commercial availability. Six-membered rings can be synthesized by reacting phosgene with 1,3-propane diol under conditions known in the art for the formation of cyclic carbonates. Preferred hydroxyalkyl cyclic carbonates used in the practice can be represented by the formula:
where R (or each instance of R if n is more than 1) is a hydroxyalkyl group of 1-18 carbon atoms, preferably 1-6 carbon atoms, and more preferably 1-3 carbon atoms, which may be linear or branched and may have subsituents in addition to the hydroxyl (which itself may be primary, secondary, or tertiary), and n is 1 or 2, which may be substituted by one or more other substituents such as blocked amines or unsaturated groups. More preferably, R is xe2x80x94CmH2mOH where the hydroxyl may be primary or secondary and m is 1 to 8, and even more preferably, R is xe2x80x94(CH2)pxe2x80x94OH where the hydroxyl is primary and p is 1 to 2.
Lactones that can be ring opened by an active hydrogen are well-known in the art. They include, for example, xcex5-caprolactone, xcex3-caprolactone, xcex2-butyrolactone, xcex2-propriolactone, xcex3-butyrolactone, xcex1-methyl-xcex3-butyrolactone, xcex2-methyl-xcex3-butyrolactone, xcex3-valerolactone, xcex4-valerolactone, xcex3-nonanoic lactone, xcex3-octanoic lactone, and pentolactone. In one preferred embodiment, the lactone is xcex5-caprolactone. Lactones useful in the practice of the invention can also be characterized by the formula:
wherein n is a positive integer of 1 to 7 and R is one or more H atoms, or substituted or unsubstituted alkyl groups of 1-7 carbon atoms.
The lactone ring-opening reaction is typically conducted under elevated temperature (e.g., 80-150xc2x0 C.). The reactants are usually liquids so a solvent is not necessary. However, a solvent may be useful in promoting good conditions for the reaction even if the reactants are liquid. Any non-reactive solvent may be used, including both polar and nonpolar organic solvents. Examples of useful solvents include toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and the like. A catalyst is preferably present. Useful catalysts include proton acids (e.g., octanoic acid, Amberlyst(copyright) 15 (Rohm and Haas)), and tin catalysts (e.g., stannous octoate). Alternatively, the reaction can be initiated by forming a sodium salt of the hydroxyl group on the molecules to react with the lactone ring.
The lactone ring-opening reaction provides chain extension of the molecule if sufficient amounts of the lactone are present. The relative amounts of the carbamate or urea compound (A) and the lactone can be varied to control the degree of chain extension. The opening of the lactone ring with a hydroxyl or amine group results in the formation of an ester or amide and an OH group. The OH group can then react with another available lactone ring, thus resulting in chain extension. The reaction is thus controlled by the proportion of lactone in the relative to the amount of initiator compound (A). In the practice of the present invention, the ratio of equivalents of lactone to equivalents of active hydrogen groups on (A) is preferably from 0.1:1 to 10:1, and more preferably from 1:1 to 5:1. When the lactone is opened with an acid, the resulting compound has an acid group, which can then be converted to a hydroxyl group by well-known techniques such as reaction with ethylene oxide.
A compound (A)(1) having a hydroxyl active hydrogen group can also be reacted with a hydroxy carboxylic acid to form the carbamate- or urea-functional compound (A). Useful hydroxy carboxylic acids include dimethylhydroxypropionic acid, hydroxy stearic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, 2-hydroxyethyl benzoic acid, and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylene diamine triacetic acid. The reaction can be conducted under typical transesterification conditions, e.g., temperatures from room temperature to 150xc2x0 C. with transesterification catalysts such as such as calcium octoate, metal hydroxides (e.g., KOH), Group I or II metals (e.g., Na, Li), metal carbonates (e.g., K2CO3) which may be enhanced by use in combination with crown ethers, metal oxides (e.g., dibutyltin oxide), metal alkoxides (e.g., NaOCH3, Al(OC3H7)3), metal esters (e.g., stannous octoate, calcium octoate, or protic acids (e.g., H2SO4), MgCO3, or Ph4SbI. The reaction may also be conducted at room temperature with a polymer-supported catalyst such as Amberlyst-15(copyright) (Rohm and Haas) as described by R. Anand, Synthetic Communications, 24(19), 2743-47 (1994), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In one embodiment of the invention, after the reaction of compound (A) with the lactone or hydroxy carboxylic acid is complete, the reaction product (hereinafter referred to as (A)(1) may be further reacted with a compound (A)(2) that is reactive with the hydroxyl groups on a plurality of molecules of (A)(1), but that is not reactive with the carbamate or urea groups thereon. Thus, in the final product produced by this reaction, the residue of compound (A)(2) can be described as a core to which a plurality of carbamate- or urea-functional residues of compound (A)(1) are attached. It is also contemplated that compound (A)(1) may be admixed with other compounds comprising a hydroxyl group plus a carbamate or urea group (e.g., hydroxypropyl carbamate) prior to the reaction with compound (A)(2). In such a case, the resulting reaction product mixture will reflect the stoichiometric ratio of compound (A)(1) to such other compounds.
Compounds that are useful as (A)(2) include polyisocyanates, dialkyl carbonates, cyclic carbonates, CO2, phosgene, acetals, cyclic or linear phosphazene-based compounds, substituted or unsubstituted cyclic siloxanes or silanes, or substituted or unsubstituted linear siloxanes or silanes, which may be described by the formula SiXmRn where X is a group that is reactive with protons, such as a halide, alkoxy, hydride, or acetate, R is a group that is non-reactive with protons such as alkyl, silane, or siloxane, m=2xe2x88x924, and m+n=4, SO2 sources such as SO3 or SO2Cl2, POCl3, POCl2R where R is alkyl or aryl. With certain of the compounds (A)(2), a diol may also be included in the reaction mixture comprising (A)(1) and (A)(2) to obtain chain extension with carbamate or urea termination. This can be done, for example, with phosgene where the phosgene/diol reaction results in chain extension and the reaction of phosgene with compound (A)(1) results in chain termination with a carbamate or urea group.
The polyisocyanate can be an aliphatic polyisocyanate, including a cycloaliphatic polyisocyanate or an aromatic polyisocyanate. Useful aliphatic polyisocyanates include aliphatic diisocyanates such as ethylene diisocyanate, 1,2-diisocyanatopropane, 1,3-diisocyanatopropane, 1,6-diisocyanatohexane, 1,4-butylene diisocyanate, lysine diisocyanate, 1,4-methylene bis-(cyclohexyl isocyanate) and isophorone diisocyanate. Useful aromatic dilsocyanates and araliphatic diisocyanates include the various isomers of toluene diisocyanate, meta-xylylenediioscyanate and para-xylylenediisocyanate, also 4-chloro-1,3-phenylene diisocyanate, 1,5-tetrahydro-naphthalene diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-dibenzyl diisocyanate and 1,2,4-benzene triisocyanate can be used. In addition, the various isomers of xcex1,xcex1,xcex1xe2x80x2,xcex1xe2x80x2-tetramethyl xylylene diisocyanate can be used. Oligomeric or polymeric polyisocyanates prepared by reaction of an excess of monomeric polyisocyanates with a polyol may be used. Also, isocyanurates such as the isocyanurate of isophorone diisocyanate or the isocyanurate of hexamethylene diisocyanate may be used. Biurets of isocyanates such as DESMODUR(copyright) N100 from Mobay may also be useful.
Dialkyl carbonates, cyclic carbonates, CO2, diphenyl carbonates, or phosgene may be used as compound (A)(2) to react with and link two (A)(1) compounds via a carbonate linking group. When phosgene is used, phosgene may be added to a solution of compound (A)(1) at a molar ratio of about 1 mole phosgene to 2 moles (A)(1) (or 2 moles (A)(1) plus other hydroxy carbamate or urea compounds such as hydroxypropyl carbamate). This reaction may be conducted at temperatures of less than 7xc2x0 C. or under pressure in order to maintain phosgene in it""s liquid state, or alternatively, gaseous phosgene may be bubbled through the system. A salting base (e.g., NaOH) may be used to help drive the reaction. The reaction may be conducted in virtually any aprotic solvent at temperatures of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 80xc2x0 C. and pressures of atmospheric to 40 psi.
Cyclic carbonates or dialkyl carbonates may be used as compound (A)(2) to react with compound (A)(1) by heating (e.g., 80-200xc2x0 C.) the appropriate molar mixture (2 moles (A)(1) plus any other hydroxy carbamate or urea and 1 mole cyclic carbonate or dialkyl carbonate) with a transesterification catalyst such as calcium octoate. Useful dialkyl carbonates include diethyl carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, dipropyl carbonate, diphenyl carbonate, and dibutyl carbonate. Useful cyclic carbonates include propylene carbonate, glycerine carbonate, and dimethyl ethylene carbonate. Cyclic carbonates may also be formed from any unsaturated bond by reaction of the unsaturated bond with peroxide to form an oxirane ring, followed by reaction with CO2 to form the cyclic carbonate. Useful catalysts include metal hydroxides (e.g., KOH), Group I or II metals (e.g., Na, Li), metal carbonates (e.g., K2CO3) which may be enhanced by use in combination with crown ethers, metal oxides (e.g., dibutyltin oxide), metal alkoxides (e.g., NaOCH3, Al(OC3H7)3), metal esters (e.g., stannous octoate, calcium octoate), or protic acids (e.g., H2SO4), MgCO3, or Ph4SbI. Any solvents used should be inert to transesterification. The catalysts and/or reaction conditions may need to be adjusted to minimize transesterification of the ester groups from the ring-opened lactone in compound (A)(1). CO2 may also be used as compound (A)(2) under similar conditions with similar catalysts plus it may be used at pressures of 1 to 40 atm.
Compounds having inorganic reactive groups may also be used to react with the hydroxyl groups of compound (A)(1). These include phosphorus compounds such as POCl3 or hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene, SO2 sources such as SO3 or SO2Cl2 or silane-based systems such as substituted or unsubstituted cyclic siloxanes or silanes, or substituted or unsubstituted linear siloxanes or silanes, which may be described by the formula SiXmRn where X is a group that is reactive with protons, such as a halide, alkoxy, hydride, or acetate, R is a group that is non-reactive with protons such as alkyl, silane, or siloxane, m=2xe2x88x924, and m+n=4.
Phosphazene-based compounds (e.g., hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene) or POCl3 may be used as compound (A)(2) to react with (A)(1). In a typical reaction, one equivalent (based on chlorine content) of the phosphorus reagent is dissolved in a dry ether solvent such as diethyl ether of tetrahydrofuran to form a solution of approximately 50%. 1.5 equivalents of sodium hydride are added followed by one equivalent of (A)(1) (or (A)(1) plus other hydroxy carbamate or urea compounds). The mixture is allowed to exotherm to the reflux temperature of the solvent, with the reaction temperature controlled by the addition rate of the (A)(1) compound. After addition of the (A)(1) compound is complete, the reaction mixture is heated to reflux and held for 2-3 hours. The mixture is then cooled, filtered to remove sodium chloride and any unreacted sodium hydride, and the solvent removed under vacuum.
Silane-based compounds may also be used as compound (A)(2). Such compounds may be described by the formula SiXmRn where X is a group that is reactive with protons, such as a halide, alkoxy, hydride, or acetate, R is a group that is non-reactive with protons such as alkyl, silane, or siloxane, m=2xe2x88x924, and m+n=4. These compounds may react with (A)(1) in any dry aprotic solvent (e.g., tetrahydrofuran) under conditions known in the art, which may depend on the nature of the X group. When X is a hydride, the reaction is preferably begun with chilled reactants (e.g., 0xc2x0 C.) under an inert atmosphere using catalysts such as tin catalysts. After the addition of materials is complete, and dry methanol is added to react with any free remaining Sixe2x80x94H bonds. If X is a halide, the reaction is preferably begun under an inert atmosphere at room temperature. The mixture is then heated to reflux to drive the reaction to completion. HCl is given off as a by-product. If X is alkoxy, the reaction is preferably begun under an inert atmosphere at room temperature, which may be maintained for the duration of the reaction. A molecular sieve may be used to absorb the alcohol side product that is formed. Slightly basic or acidic pH will accelerate this reaction; however, it will also accelerate the formation of Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94Si bonds.
For SO2 sources, the SO3 can be reacted with the (A)(1) by bubbling SO3 through the (A)(1) compound if it is in liquid form or by dissolving (A)(1) in a solvent and then bubbling SO3 through the solution. The reaction of SO2Cl2 with (A)(1) may be assisted by the pre-reaction of (A)(1) with Na or NaOR (where R is an organic radical).
In another embodiment of the invention, after the reaction to form compound (A)(1) is complete, (A)(1) may be reacted with a component (A)(3) that is reactive with compound (A)(1) to convert a hydroxyl group on compound (A)(1) to a carbamate group, or a component comprising a group that is reactive with a hydroxyl group on compound (A)(1) and a carbamate or urea group or group that can be converted to carbamate or urea.
A number of compounds may be used as compound (A)(3) to convert a hydroxyl group on compound (A)(1) to a carbamate group. Hydroxyl groups can be converted to carbamate groups by reaction with a monoisocyanate (e.g., methyl isocyanate) to form a secondary carbamate group or with cyanic acid (which may be formed by the thermal decomposition of urea) to form a primary carbamate group (i.e., unsubstituted carbamates). This reaction is performed preferably in the presence of a catalyst as is known in the art. A hydroxyl group can also be reacted with phosgene and then ammonia to form a compound having primary carbamate group(s), or by reaction of a hydroxyl with phosgene and then a primary amine to form a compound having secondary carbamate groups.
Various compounds can be used as compound (A)(3) that have a group that is reactive with the hydroxyl group on (A)(1) and a carbamate or urea group or a group that can be converted to carbamate or urea. Alkyl carbamates (e.g., methyl carbamate, butyl carbamate) or substituted alkyl carbamates (e.g., hydroxypropyl carbamate) can be transesterified with the hydroxyl group on compound (A)(1). This reaction is performed under heat, preferably in the presence of a catalyst such as an organometallic catalyst (e.g., dibutyltin dilaurate). A methylol acrylamide can be reacted with the hydroxyl group on (A)(1) and then converted to carbamate. In this reaction, the unsaturated bond is then reacted with peroxide, CO2, and ammonia as described above. The epoxy groups are then reacted with CO2 to form cyclic carbonate groups, which are converted to carbamate groups by reaction with ammonia. Partially-blocked toluene diisocyanate can also be used as compound (A)(3). In one embodiment, the unblocked isocyanate on the partially-blocked toluene diisocyanate can be reacted with the hydroxyl group on (A)(1). The other isocyanate can then be unblocked and reacted with a hydroxyalkyl carbamate (e.g., hydroxypropyl carbamate) or a hydroxy urea (e.g., hydroxyethyl ethylene urea). Alternatively, the unblocked isocyanate can be reacted with a hydroxyalkyl carbamate (e.g., hydroxypropyl carbamate) or a hydroxy urea (e.g., hydroxyethyl ethylene urea), followed by unblocking of the other isocyanate group and reaction with the hydroxyl group on compound (A)(1). Other polyisocyanates can be used to append carbamate or urea groups onto the hydroxyl group on (A)(1), but they will result in competing side reactions where the polyisocyanate reacts with more than one (A)(1) molecule or more than one hydroxyalkyl carbamate or hydroxy urea.
Carbamate- or urea-functional compounds prepared according to the present invention may be used in curable compositions such as curable coating compositions, and cured by reaction with a component (B) that is a compound having a plurality of functional groups that are reactive with the carbamate or urea groups. Such reactive groups include active methylol or methylalkoxy groups on aminoplast crosslinking agents or on other compounds such as phenol/formaldehyde adducts, siloxane or silane groups, and anhydride groups. Examples of (B) compounds include melamine formaldehyde resin (including monomeric or polymeric melamine resin and partially or fully alkylated melamine resin), urea resins (e.g., methylol ureas such as urea formaldehyde resin, alkoxy ureas such as butylated urea formaldehyde resin), N-methylol acrylamide emulsions, isobutoxy methyl acrylamide emulsions, polyanhydrides (e.g., polysuccinic anhydride), and siloxanes or silanes (e.g., dimethyldimethoxy silane). Aminoplast resin such as melamine formaldehyde resin or urea formaldehyde resin are especially preferred. Also preferred are aminoplast resins where one or more of the amino nitrogens is substituted with a carbamate group for use in a process with a curing temperature below 150xc2x0 C., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,328.
Other aspects regarding the use in curable coating compositions of compounds prepared according to the invention are described in copending U.S. patent application entitled xe2x80x9cCurable Coating Compositionxe2x80x9d, filed on even date herewith in the names of Brian Bammel, John McGee, Walter Ohrbom, Todd Seaver, Paul Harris, and John Rehfuss, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Method of preparing a carbamate- or urea-functional compound


An improved saw assembly (30) includes a rotatable arbor (74) on which two or more saw blades (75) are mounted. The driving interface (96, 98) between the saw blades and the arbor permits the axis of rotation of the saw blades to be collinear with the arbor axis (90) or skewed a few degrees (94) in either direction. A saw blade positioning assembly (72) includes pairs of guide arms (84) which engage the sides (88) of the saw blades to position each saw blade at the proper location along the arbor and at the proper skew angle. The guide arms are moved in unison so that the axial position and the skew angle of each of the saw blades can be changed in unison before and during sawing operations.

Many trees do not grow straight so that the logs cut from the trees are swept or curved in shape. Special procedures and equipment must be used to maximize the board feet of lumber cut from these imperfect logs. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate two typical swept or curved logs 2, 3. FIG. 2 is an end view of log 2 showing how the swept or curved feature is typically in a single plane. To create lumber from log 2, side boards 4, illustrated in FIG. 3, are, in this typical example, cut from log 2 by making cuts along lines 6, 7 on either side of log 2 so that each side board 4 has parallel, cut surfaces 8, 9 and unfinished, uncut edges 10, 11. These cuts are made in a conventional manner. What is left of log 2 is called a center cant illustrated as center cant 12 in FIG. 4.
Center cant 12 has opposite, parallel, cut surfaces 14, 15 which correspond to surfaces 9 of boards 4 made at cutting lines 7. The end 16 of center cant 12 in FIG. 4 has a number of dashed cut lines 18 corresponding to where cant 12 will be rip sawn to create center cant lumber 20. See also FIG. 5. To maximize the board feet of lumber from center cant 12, cut lines basically parallel the edges 22 of center cant 12. While the center cant lumber 20 will originally have the same curved or swept shape as center cant 12, most, if not all, of this curve can be removed during drying operations. Side boards 4 are cut differently than center cant 12 to maximize the amount of side board lumber 24 as suggested in FIG. 6. Using conventional computer-controlled edger optimizing systems, the number, size and position of center cant lumber 20 and side board lumber 24 are determined automatically using appropriate computer programs based upon profile information of the side board 4 or center cant 12 scanned into the computer.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,072 discloses a method and apparatus for edge trimming a side board. A number of overhead pressure rolls engage the side board as the side board passes along a chain conveyor. The side board is centered by sets of centering rolls. A number of scanning gates are positioned above the conveyor to provide a computer with appropriate information on the profile of the side board. The edging assembly includes a pair of adjustable cutting heads designed to chip the unwanted edges from the side board. The cutting heads are slewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the board by hydraulic cylinders so that one or more pieces of side board lumber can be cut from a single side board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,557, assigned to the same assignee as U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,072, uses substantially the same system for delivering partially cut logs to an edging assembly as the '072 patent. However, instead of using angled edge chippers, as in the '072 patent, the '557 patent uses sawing disks or saw blades to make the edge cuts. The entire edger system moves as a unit so that the sawing disks can skew, that is change the angle between the axis of rotation of the sawing disks and the axis of rotation of the arbor on which the saw blades are mounted, and can slew, that is move laterally along a line generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the arbor.
Conventional edger optimizer systems measure the boards transversely and then position the board onto a feeding mechanism and move the board longitudinally into the edger. This conventional method requires a considerable amount of expensive scanning, positioning and transporting equipment to carry out the process. Conventional systems also commonly create cumulative scanning, positioning and transport errors that make the systems somewhat less than optimal. With regard to the '557 patent, complex board centering mechanisms, multiple scanner heads, complex and high maintenance feeding and tracking devices, and complex high inertia edger rotation devices are all characteristic of the system described in the patent.

Edge trimming and board ripping apparatus and method


Quantum key distribution (QKD) employs non-orthogonal quantum states to distribute a random bit sequence between two users for use as a provably secure key for encryption and authentication. The key generation procedure involves the transmission, interception, and reception of two nonorthogonal photon polarization states. At the receiving end, a positive-operator-valued measure (POVM) is employed in the measurement process. The invention is a receiver that is an all-optical realization of the POVM and includes a Wollaston prism, a mirror, two beam splitters, a polarization rotator, and three photodetectors.

This invention is germane to secure communication by means of photonic signals in which the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle is exploited to guarantee that legitimate users can remain confident that a cryptographic key (random bit sequence) distributed over their communication system remains secret in the presence of eavesdropping.
With a secret cryptographic key, two users can (1) make their messages to each other undecipherable by an eavesdropper by means of one-time-pad encryption, and (2) successfully distinguish legitimate messages from modified ones by means of informationally secure mathematical authentication methods. However, it is well known that for secure one-time-pad encryption the key must be (1) as long as the plain text, (2) truly random, (3) secure, and (4) never reused. Mathematical authentication methods such as Wegman-Carter authentication (N. N. Wegman and J. L. Carter, J. of Computer and Syst. Sci. 22, 265, 1981) also consume key information and do not allow re-use of the key.
One method of distributing the key is by carrying between the two users a bulk-material storage medium such as magnetic tape on which a copy of the fresh key is recorded. The two legitimate users must both have copies of the key, and the key must be continually protected from inspection, both during its transport between the two users, and during the entire time from its generation until its use for encryption or authentication and subsequent immediate destruction. Because of the severe logistic problems of key distribution and storage, mathematical techniques for key agreement over an unprotected channel are often used, however, the secrecy of the key is based on unproven assumptions such as the unlikelihood of successfully factoring very large numbers.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) enables two users to secretly share a cryptographic key when needed with provable security arising from the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle (a thoroughly tested physical law). No bulk medium such as magnetic tape is exchanged, but instead, a communication channel is employed that can transmit signals consisting of nonorthogonal quantum states, such as single-photon phase or polarization states. Such signals cannot be accurately monitored by an eavesdropper, because of the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle. Any attempt to monitor them will disturb them and can be detected by the legitimate users of the channel.
Practical methods for QKD were introduced by Bennett et. al. (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin 28, 3153-3163, 1985; J. of Cryptology 5, 3-28, 1992). Bennett also proposed a photonic interferometric version of QKD (Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 3121-3124, 1992). Other implemetations of QKD using photon phase states have been achieved by S. J. Phoenix et. al. (Contemporary Physics 36, 165-195, 1995) and R. J. Hughes et. al. (Contemporary Physics 36, 149-163, 1995). QKD using nonorthogonal photon polarization states in two different bases has been implemented by J. D. Franson et. al. (Applied Optics 33, 2949-2954, 1994).
In each of the QKD schemes, the sender and receiver also exchange information through an unprotected public channel, as part of the secure key distribution process, and also to allow determination of key distribution errors arising from possible eavesdropping and noise. If the disturbance is sufficiently small, the key can be distributed to produce with high probability a smaller amount of secure random key information.
Some related U.S. Pat. Nos. include 5,515,438 to Bennett et al; 5,243,649 to Franson; 5,307,410 to Bennett; and 5,339,182 to Kimble et al.
For the purpose of secure key generation in quantum cryptography, one can employ a train of single photons having two possible equally likely nonorthogonal polarization states .vertline.u> and .vertline.v>, which encode 0 and 1, respectively, to securely communicate a random bit sequence between a sender (Alice) and a receiver (Bob) in the presence of an eavesdropper (Eve).
Recently Ekert et al (see reference 1, which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference) presented an analysis of an entangled translucent eavesdropping scenario of key generation in quantum cryptography. The present invention uses two nonorthogonal photon polarization states. The eavesdropping is translucent in the sense that the eavesdropper Eve perturbs the polarization of the carrier on its way to Bob. The eavesdropper uses a probe that causes the carrier states to become entangled with the probe states.
For detection, Eve makes an information-maximizing von Neumann-type projective measurement, and Bob uses a positive operator valued measure (POVM). Bennett's two-state protocol (see reference 2, which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference) is employed, in which a positive response of Bob's POVM receiver, indicating the reception of a photon in a u-polarization or a v-polarization state, is publicly communicated to Eve without revealing which polarization was detected, and the corresponding bits then constitute the preliminary key secretly shared by Alice and Bob. Bits corresponding to photons that do not excite the u- or v-polarization state detectors are excluded from the key. Because of the noncommutativity of nonorthogonal photon polarization-measurement operators representing nonorthogonal photon polarization states, and also because arbitrary quantum states cannot be cloned (see references 3 and 4), any attempt by Eve to eavesdrop can in principle be detected by Bob and Alice.
The present invention is a new design for the POVM receiver to be used by Bob. It is the first implementation of a POVM in quantum cryptography. The design is totally optical. Because it is also interferometric, it demands precise phase alignment; however, it faithfully represents the perturbed statistics resulting from entangled translucent eavesdropping. Additional analysis pertaining to the device appears in Myers et al (see reference 5).

Positive-operator-valued-measure receiver for quantum cryptography

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


When DRAMs that are high-speed memories and flash memories that are lower in speed but can be larger in capacity than the DRAM are to be mounted on a DIMM, what matters in maximizing CPU memory bus throughput is the arrangement of the mounted components. The present disclosure provides a memory module (DIMM) that includes memory controllers arranged on the module surface closer to a socket terminal and DRAMs serving as high-speed memories arranged on the back surface. Nonvolatile memories as large-capacity memories are arranged on the side farther from the socket terminal.

In the field such as a server, there has been a growing need for high-speed access to massive data such as those in databases (DB) in the coming era of big data. Given delays in three-dimensional memory mounting technology (TSV), that need has yet to be met by a trend of main storages getting ever-larger capacities, each of main storage being made up of DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memory). Moreover, there exists a difference of approximately 106 in throughput (latency) between the DRAMs and SSDs (Solid State Drive) or HDDs (Hard Disk Drive) serving as auxiliary storages connected through SAS (Serial Attached SCSI).
Commercial production is expected of SSDs (PCI-SSD) connected through PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) and having a response speed between DRAMs and SSDs (SAS-SSD) connected through SAS. The market of the SSDs (PCI-SSD) is also expected to expand.
As a result of a prior art search conducted after the present invention was made, Patent Document 1 was extracted as a related document. Patent Document 1 discloses an FBDIMM (Fully Buffered DIMM) in which flash memories and DRAMs mounted on different DIMMs (Dual Inline Memory Module) are connected in the daisy-chain style via serial transmission buffer elements mounted on each module in a serial transmission system. In accordance with the FBDIMM signal transmission protocol, memory controllers transmit serialized control signals, address signals, and write data signals to the DIMMs and receive serialized read data signals therefrom.

DRAM with SDRAM interface, and hybrid flash memory module


A splittable honeycomb comprising: a first comb portion and a second comb portion comprising a first series of cell portions and a corresponding second series of cell portions respectively, said first and second cell portions defining a series of honeycomb cells therebetween, the first comb portion and the second comb portion being moveable relative to each other from a closed cell position to an open cell position, wherein mutually opposed edges of said cells are non-contiguous in the closed cell position to thereby avoid catching a limb of a bee.

Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of the common general knowledge.
A modern beehive comprises various components which fit together to form the hive. Generally, these components will include:
A Hive Stand—The upper hive components rest on this providing a landing board for the bees and helping to protect the Bottom Board from rot and cold transfer;
A Bottom Board—This has an entrance for the bees to get into the hive. This can be screened for ventilation and mite control;
A Brood Box—This is the most bottom box of the hive and is where the queen bee lays her eggs;
A Honey Super—These are the uppermost box(es) where honey is stored;
Frames & Foundation—These are wooden or plastic frames with wax or plastic sheets with honeycomb impression where bees build wax honey combs. Alternatively, the frames and foundation may contain pre-formed plastic honeycombs into which the bees deposit honey;
Outer Cover—This is the outermost housing to provide weather protection for the hive; and
Inner Cover—This provides separation from an overly hot or cold Outer Cover and can be used as a shelf for feeding or other purposes.
The honeycomb is a densely packed matrix of hexagonal cells. Bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen). When a cell is filled, the bees place a wax cap over the end of the cell. The honeycomb is held in a frame which is usually rectangular. Several frames are placed next to each other in the upper part of the hive (the honey super). It is known to provide a plastic (usually polypropylene—but aluminum has also been used) honeycomb formed with the matrix of hexagonal cells. This relieves the bees of the effort required to build wax cells and gives the bees more time to collect honey.
Collection of honey can be very laborious and time consuming. As an example, a common way to collect honey requires the following steps to be carried out: A bee-proof suit needs to be donned; the lid of the hive is opened to expose the honey containing frames. The hive is smoked to calm the bees. A blower is sometimes used to remove bees from the frames. The frames are removed from the hive and transported to a processing center. The cells in the frame need to be uncapped by removing the wax cap. This can be done using an uncapping fork or an uncapping knife. The frames then need to be spun to remove the honey from the cells by centrifugal action. After the honey is removed, the frames are taken back to the hive and replaced (or new frames are inserted). It is estimated that the above time-consuming steps constitute approximately 90% of the beekeeper's time required to collect honey from the hive.
The present inventors have previously addressed the above described problem by providing a honey comb that is described in their international patent application PCT/AU2012/001589. The international patent application discloses an artificial honeycomb which is arranged so that the honeycomb cells may be brought from a closed configuration, in which honey is stored therein, to an open configuration in which the cells of the honeycomb are split and honey is released. Images of exemplary embodiments of this prior artificial honeycomb are reproduced herein in FIGS. 1 and 2. In prior art honeycomb assembly 1 (FIG. 1) the cells may be opened and closed by operation of a rotary crank. In prior art assembly 3 (FIG. 2), inflatable tubes are alternatively filled and deflated to close and open the honeycomb cells.
After "tapping" the honey, the cells are returned to their closed configuration to allow bees to again fill the cells with honey. Honey can therefore be removed without needing to open the hive. The specification and drawings of our international patent application PCT/AU2012/001589 is incorporated herein by cross reference and provides a description of the general operation of the split cells.
The artificial honeycomb comprises first and second plastic comb portions movable relative to each other from a closed position wherein the first and second comb portions define a plurality of partially complete cells, to an open configuration wherein the incomplete cells are split. Each of the two comb portions comprises ½ of the hexagonal side walls. Typically, the first portion is fixed, and the second portion slides up and down between the open and closed positions. An advantage of this cell arrangement is that the cell is partly formed, and the bee only needs to complete the cells, fill the cell with honey and cap the end with wax rather than make the entire cell out of wax first.
A frame can comprise a multiplicity (say 30-80) of first and second comb foundation portions in a side by side relationship. Each first and second comb foundation portions can form 30-100 cells (although this can vary). Thus, a frame can support 900 to several thousand cells. To drain honey from the frame, all the second slideable portions are lifted up (or down) together to break open the cells to enable honey to drain down through the broken cells to the bottom of the frame where the honey is collected to be conveyed to an outlet on the exterior of the super.
A super can contain a multiplicity of such frames in a side by side relationship as is normal. A super can contain between 5-20 frames but this is only given as an example.
To drain an entire super, all the second slideable portions in each frame are moved to break open all the thousands of cells in the frames.
A gap is present between adjacent frames and the gap needs to be wide enough to allow bees to access the open fronted cells but not so wide that the super cannot contain the maximum number of frames. Another reason for a snug fit of the frames is so there are no spaces for pests such as hive beetles to hide from the bees. Thus, problems with pests are minimized and there are no spaces for brace or bur comb to be built. Brace and bur comb is extra comb that bees make in 'open' areas of a hive. These small intrusions of comb makes opening a hive for inspection more difficult and messy. The snug dimensioning of the box relative to the array of frames assists in making the overall combination of the box and the frames robust, which is advantageous for trouble-free transportation.
One disadvantage with the first and second comb portions is that the material used in their construction (for instance plastic) needs to be quite hard to support the honey, and movement of all the second slideable portions relative to the fixed first portions in the super and in an essentially scissor like action can discomfort bees working in the area and possibly snare them. A particularly vulnerable area for bees is the small vertical gap 41 (see FIG. 2) between adjacent frames. This is the gap that bees climb along to deposit honey into a particular cell in the frame. This small gap is defined between the outer edges of the hard plastic cells between adjacent frames.
Draining of a super by sliding all the second portions relative to the first portions in each frame can cause many bees in the gap to be wounded or killed.
For the wellbeing of the hive and in the economic interests of the beekeeper, operating the splittable honeycomb should impact the bees as little as possible. It is an object of the invention to provide an improved artificial honeycomb that reduces injury to bees during collection of the honey.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A semiconductive polymer composition for use in power cables, wherein the composition has a multimodal ethylene homo- or copolymer produced in a polymerization process having a single site catalyst whereby the polymer composition has a density of 870-930 kg/m3, a MFR2 of 1 to 30 g/10 min and a Mw/Mn of less than or equal to 10.

Generally, in power cables the metallic conductor is covered with an inner polymeric semiconductive layer, a polymeric insulation layer, an outer polymeric semiconductive layer, a metallic shield and finally a polymeric jacket.
A wide variety of polymeric materials have been utilized as electrical insulating and semiconductive shield materials for cables in numerous applications. In order to be utilized in services or products, where a long-term performance is required, such polymeric materials, in addition to having suitable dielectric properties, must also be enduring and must substantially retain their initial properties for safe performance over many years of service. A semiconductive polymer composition must fulfill a number of properties, of which the electrical properties are most vital.
It is known that the space charge performance of cables can be influenced by the selection of the components in the semiconductive material. Space charge is an accumulation of electrical charges (electrons, holes and ions) inside the insulation leading to electrical field distortion. They emanate from components inside the insulation or from injection of electrons from the semiconductive layers. Space charges trapped in high voltage insulation systems (i.e. polymeric power cables) can significantly alter the internal electrical field distribution, possibly leading to premature failure of the system at stresses well below anticipated or design values.
Efforts have been made to improve semiconductive polymer compositions, especially to reduce the space charge effects by maintaining other important properties, for example surface smoothness and good processability. Thereby semiconductive polymer compositions have been used which include an ethylene-acrylate copolymer, carbon black, stabiliser and organic peroxide crosslinking agent.
In the following some concepts shall be defined:
The melt flow rate (MFR) is measured in g/10 min. of the polymer discharged through a defined die under specified temperature and pressure conditions and is a measure of the viscosity of the polymer which in turn for each type of polymer is mainly influenced by its molecular weight, but also by its degree of branching. The melt flow rate measured under a load of 2.16 kg (ISO 1133) is denoted as MFR2. In turn, the melt flow rate measured with 21.6 kg is denoted as MFR21.
As a further characteristic, the molecular weight distribution (MWD) which is the relation between the number of molecules in a polymer and the molecular weight of the individual molecules has to be considered. The width of the distribution is given as a number defined as the ratio (Mw/Mn) between the "weight average molecular weight" Mw divided by the "number average molecular weight" Mn.
EP 1 065 672 A2 (UNION CARBIDE CHEM PLASTIC) discloses a composition comprising an olefin polymer, such as a copolymer of ethylene and unsaturated esters with an ester content of at least about 5% per weight based on the weight of the copolymer, and carbon black of about 25% to about 45% per weight based on the weight of the composition, with strictly defined properties, such as particle size of at least about 29 nm and a tint strength of less than about 100%. However, the application gives no information how the space charge properties can be influenced.
EP 0 644 558 A1 (Alcatel Cable) describes an insulative structure for cables, comprising at least one first semiconducting layer that is contiguous and coaxial with the core of the cable and is surrounded by a second electrically insulating layer which is itself covered by a third semiconducting layer, characterised in that the said semiconducting layers are exclusively composed of a matrix, comprising non-polar polymers whose components have a molecular weight (molar mass) greater than 1000.
CA 2145366 (BICC Cables Corp) discloses a semiconductive shield compositions containing a linear, single-site catalysed polymer formed by polymerising ethylene with at least one comonomer selected from C3 to C20 alpha-olefins; a carbon black selected from furnace carbon blacks that contain ash and sulphur in amounts of 50 ppm or less and have crystal dimensions La and Lc of 30 A or less, acetylene carbon blacks, and furnace carbon blacks having an ASTM grad of N-351; and a crosslinking agent. The ethylene copolymer has a narrow molecular weight distribution due to the single-site catalyst and is therefore not multimodal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,783 (Exxon Chemical Patents, Inc.) describes a semiconductive composition comprising ethylene copolymer having a density of 0.86 g/cm3 to 0.96 g/cm3 and a molecular weight distribution Mw/Mn of 1.5 to 30. However, the disclosure does not use a multimodal ethylene copolymer.
It is known that polymers produced by a single-site catalyst have a narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD) which is detrimental to known extrusion processes. For good extrudability, however, a broad molecular weight distribution is required.
Therefore, the problem which has to be solved is to provide a semiconductive polymer composition with both improved space charge performance and good processability leading to long lifetime of the cables.


A data transfer method with peripheral precharge wherein a starting portion of an output data block targeted for a peripheral is transferred to an output buffer for the peripheral using programmed I/O or slave cycles and wherein a virtual address of the output data block is translated into a physical address while the peripheral begins transferring the starting portion from the output buffer and over an output path. A direct memory access operation by the peripheral transfers a remainder portion of the output data block into the output buffer.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of computer systems. More particularly, this invention relates to data transfer operations for peripherals in a computer system.
2. Art Background
Prior computer systems typically include a host processor and a host memory along with a variety of input/output (I/O) peripherals. Such I/O peripherals may comprise, for example, I/O controllers for mass storage devices and network interfaces. Prior computer systems typically include one or more buses such as host buses, specialized I/O buses or peripheral buses that enable communication between a host processor and the I/O peripherals.
One prior method for transferring information to an I/O peripheral via such buses may be referred to as programmed I/O or slave cycles. Typically, such programmed I/O is performed by a host processor. Such a host processor usually transfers a data block from a host memory to the I/O peripheral by employing a series of read cycles and write cycles on such buses. Such programmed I/O operations usually consume a relatively large number of host processor cycles if the data blocks consumed by an I/O peripheral are relatively large. Unfortunately, such excessive consumption of host processor cycles typically slows other operations in the computer system.
Another prior method for transferring information to an I/O peripheral may be referred to as direct memory access (DMA). Such DMA transfers are usually performed by DMA circuitry that is external to the host processor. Typically, the host processor provides the address and length of the data block contained in host memory to the DMA circuitry. The DMA circuitry then usually arbitrates for control of the host bus or I/O bus and obtains control as a bus master. The DMA circuitry then reads the data block directly from the host memory while the host processor is free to perform other tasks.
Prior I/O peripherals such as disk controllers or network controllers that consume relatively large data blocks commonly employ DMA data transfers because DMA operations are usually more efficient than programmed I/O operations. For example, the transfer of a data word using programmed I/O usually requires two bus cycles by the host processor including a read from host memory and a write to the I/O peripheral. A DMA operation, on the other hand, typically includes only one bus transaction per data word which is a direct read from the host memory by the I/O peripheral. In addition, some prior computer systems include I/O buses that enable special burst data transfers during such DMA operations. Such burst data transfers typically enable the transfer of multiple data words in quick succession to an I/O peripheral.
Prior I/O peripherals are usually managed by hardware dependent driver routines that execute on a host processor. Typically, an operating system executing on a host processor calls a driver routine to manage a particular I/O peripheral and to perform data transfers to that I/O peripheral.
In addition, prior host processors commonly implement a memory management mechanism that maps the limited address space of the host memory to a virtual address space for the host processor. The operating system and driver routines typically reference data blocks stored in the host memory with virtual addresses. I/O peripherals, on the other hand, usually reference data blocks stored in the host memory with physical addresses rather than virtual addresses.
As a consequence, prior driver routines typically convert the virtual addresses of data blocks stored in host memory into physical addresses which are used by the I/O peripheral. Such a driver routine usually converts a virtual address to a physical address by calling an operating system routine that translates virtual addresses to physical addresses. In addition, such a driver routine commonly calls operating system routines that lock output data blocks into the host memory which prevents paging operations on the output data blocks during DMA operations.
Unfortunately, such virtual to physical address translations and memory page locking operations consume time and usually delay the start of a DMA operation. Such delays in the start of a DMA operation typically slow the overall data output performance of such I/O peripherals.

Precharging an output peripheral for a direct memory access operation


A bidirectional delay circuit includes an input driving circuit and a delay switch circuit. The input driving circuit is connected between an input node and an intermediate node, and the input driving circuit amplifies an input signal received through the input node to generate an intermediate signal through the intermediate node. The delay switch circuit is connected between the intermediate node and a delay node, and the delay switch circuit delays both of rising edges and falling edges of the intermediate signal in response to a gate signal to generate a delay signal through the delay node. The gate signal may transition in response to the input signal.

Example embodiments relate generally to semiconductor integrated circuits, and more particularly to bidirectional delay circuits and to integrated circuits including bidirectional delay circuits.
The demand for efficient design of semiconductor integrated circuits increases with performance enhancements and higher degrees of integration. Typically, in a semiconductor integrated circuit, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverter chain is used to achieve a relatively short signal delay time, and a resister-capacitor (RC) delay circuit is used to achieve a relatively long signal delay time. However, the delay time of the RC delay circuit is influenced by variations in manufacturing processes and temperature, which makes it is difficult to implement an exact delay time. Also, the RC delay circuit exhibits low efficiency in terms of chip size.
In addition, the on-current of a transistor increases as the manufacturing process is scaled down, and the increased on-current has an negative effect on a delay circuit for realizing a long delay time. As the integration degree of the semiconductor integrated circuit increases, loads of signal lines increase, and thus the longer delay time may be required. For example, in case of a semiconductor memory device, loads of word lines and bit lines increase according to an increase of its memory capacity, and the larger pulse width or the longer delay time may be required read and write operational margin. The size of the delay circuit increases as the required delay time increases, which results in an increase of an entire size of the integrated circuit and limits a design margin.

Bidirectional delay circuit and integrated circuit including the same


A method and system for detecting engine misfire in an internal combustion engine. A data signal containing a plurality of groups of data points generated from sampling crankshaft rotational displacement over three pre-determined angular sampling windows; is generated. Each of the plurality of groups of sampled data points represents a cylinder firing event. The data signal is conditioned, and the plurality of groups of sampled data points are, mapped into single misfire data points. The mapped single misfire detection points are then compared to a misfire detection dynamic threshold, and a misfire detection signal is output if the misfire detection points fall outside the dynamic threshold. The misfire detection system achieves high degree of accuracy through a multi-stage signal conditioning, multi-rate signal processing and statistical decision technology and a mixed size of window sampling strategy, and is capable of being installed on a large scale in motor vehicles through use of existing on board automotive microcontroller technology.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to an automobile engine misfire detection system based on digitally filtered medium data rate crankshaft rpm sampling that exhibits misfire detection accuracy similar to systems having high data crankshaft rpm sampling, but with less associated computational complexity.
2. Discussion
Government regulations require automobile manufacturers to control the exhaust of engine combustion byproducts such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide. Emission of such byproducts is typically controlled via a catalytic converter which operates at a high temperature and, through the use of a catalyst, burns the aforementioned unwanted exhaust byproducts to reduce automobile emissions. These catalytic converters, enable automobile manufacturers to comply with government regulations in a cost-effective manner.
However, if an automobile engine misfires, an increased amount of unburned combustion byproducts is passed through the catalytic converter. Engine misfire occurs as a result of the absence of spark in a cylinder, poor fuel metering, poor compression, or other similar conditions. Over time, regular engine misfire can lead to damage of the catalytic converter and, consequently, increased amounts of unburned byproducts being admitted into the atmosphere.
As a result, regulatory agencies such as the California Air Resources Board (CARB) require that many motor vehicles with feedback fuel control systems be equipped with an emission malfunction indicator that identifies a misfiring engine and the particular malfunctioning component or components. Thus, upon the malfunction indicator being activated, the vehicle operator could proceed to a qualified vehicle repair center to have the malfunctioning component repaired or replaced before an excessive amount of exhaust byproducts is emitted into the air by the vehicle.
Typically, these malfunction indicators generate data allowing identification of specific misfiring engine cylinders. In particular, the CARB rules, known as On-Board Diagnostics II guidelines, mandate that the automobile manufacturer specify a percentage of misfires out of the total number of firing events necessary for determining malfunction for: (1) the percent misfire evaluated in a fixed number of revolution increments for each engine speed and load condition which would result in catalyst damage; (2) the percent misfire evaluated in a certain number of revolution increments which would cause a motor vehicle to fail a federal test procedure by more than 1.5 times the CARB standard if the degree of misfire were present from the beginning of the test; and (3) the degree of misfire evaluated in a certain number of revolution increments which would cause a motor vehicle to fail inspection and a maintenance program tailpipe exhaust emission test. It is contemplated that similar rules are or may be enacted by other states as by the federal government in the foreseeable future.
Government regulations such as those mandated by CARB also require that automobile manufacturers be able to provide information identifying misfiring engine cylinders. This misfire information is typically collected and stored in a computer memory associated with the automobile engine and later downloaded at a service center and is used in diagnostic testing of the vehicle. One misfire detection and identification approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,629, issued Nov. 8, 1994 entitled "Single Sensor Misfire Detection Apparatus and Method for an Internal Combustion Engine". The misfire detection approach disclosed in the aforementioned patent senses crankshaft rotation and calculates a crankshaft velocity based on the sensed rotation of a sensor wheel associated with the crankshaft. The calculated crankshaft velocity changes or a compensated velocity change is compared to a predetermined stored crankshaft velocity range to determine engine misfire.
Additional engine misfire detection approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,217 issued Nov. 12, 1996 for "Engine Misfire Detection with Compensation for Normal Acceleration of Crankshaft"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,521 issued Aug. 13, 1996 for "Engine Misfire Detection with Rough Road Inhibit"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,331 issued Feb. 11, 1997 for "Engine Misfire Detection with Cascade Filter Configuration". The approaches disclosed in the above mentioned patents and patent applications relate to engine misfire detection including sorting of a plurality of changes in crankshaft angular velocity, as measured by sensing rotation of a sensor wheel associated with the crankshaft, over a predetermined series of cylinder firings in averaging the two middle most angular velocity changes to provide an average change in velocity value. The deviation is determined between the change in angular velocity for a selected cylinder and the average change in velocity value. Misfires are detected as a function of a comparison of the deviation with a predetermined threshold velocity valve stored in a system controller.
Generally, a number of conventional misfire detection approaches work well at engine speeds below 4000 rpm. At these lower engine speeds, with cylinder identification engine misfire detection can be realized through monitoring of engine rpm alone. Even at low engine speeds, however, transient signals caused by conditions such as powertrain bobble, engine noise, changing of gears, or engine acceleration and deceleration may cause false engine misfire detection. Additionally, at higher engine speeds of typically greater than 4,000 rpm, engine induced crankshaft flex, or torsional vibration, can cause false engine misfire detection.
To reduce the number of false engine misfire detections, the approach disclosed in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/511,125 filed Aug. 4, 1995 for "Engine Misfire Detection with Digital Filtering" was developed to filter out noise related signals at both low and high engine frequencies to achieve an enhanced signal to noise ratio for detecting engine cylinder misfires. A crankshaft velocity signal is generated by measuring the amount of time expired over a 40.degree. crankshaft angular displacement interval for a cylinder expansion stroke. A digital high pass finite impulse response (FIR) filter operates at low engine speeds to filter out low frequency engine noise. At high engine speeds, a low pass FIR filter operates to filter out high frequency engine noise from the crankshaft rotation signal.
In addition, many conventional misfire detection approaches analyze engine firing frequency through a fast fourier transform (FFT) or other similar frequency domain-based analysis to determine whether an engine misfire has occurred for a particular cylinder firing event. However, the aforementioned approaches are typically complex and do not take into account manifold absolute pressure (MAP) in setting a particular threshold value, for engine misfire detection.
Further, many conventional misfire detection methods utilize low data rate sampling of engine crankshaft velocity or acceleration where crankshaft angular velocity is sampled only once per cylinder firing event. With low data rate sampling, higher order harmonic components of the engine firing frequency, which often contain valuable misfire information for higher engine speeds, frequently are folded back, or aliased, into lower noise-related engine frequencies. These aliased signals may cause misinterpretation of cylinder firing event data.
Further, pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/691,100 filed Aug. 1, 1996 for "Real Time Misfire Detection for Automobile Engines" and pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/695,766 filed Aug. 1, 1996 for "Spatial Frequency Implemented Digital Filters for Engine Misfire Detection" relate to a misfire detection technique that can identify multiple engine misfires through evaluation of engine speed and average MAP data alone, without the need for complex frequency-based methods of analysis, such as Fast Fourier transform-based methods, or the need for additional engine system data such as engine temperature or throttle feedback data. Also, the above pending applications relate to an engine misfire detection method in which one of a multiple of FIR filter banks is operative over a predetermined range of engine speeds to provide effective removal of noise related signals from the signal representing crankshaft angular velocity that samples crankshaft angular velocity at a high data rate of 18 samples per cylinder firing event so that change in crankshaft angular velocity over a given band of engine frequencies around the engine firing frequency may be determined to produce more accurate engine misfire calculations and that utilizes MAP data to set a particular signal threshold for a given set sampled crankshaft angular velocities.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,722 for "Deconvolution Method of Resonance Detection and Removal from Crankshaft Speed Measurements" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,133 for "Mixed Sampling Rate Processing for Misfire Detection" disclose systems and techniques for improving misfire detection accuracy.
While the above described misfire detection approaches are effective in detecting engine misfire, there is still room for improvement in the art. In particular, there is a need for a misfire detection system that utilizes medium data rate crankshaft rpm data sampling through measurement of the angular velocity of a crankshaft sensor wheel at a medium data rate at or near the Nyquist rate to achieve misfire detection with an accuracy typically associated with systems utilizing high data rate crankshaft sampling, and with less computational complexity. There is also a need for a misfire detection technique that utilizes signal processing and statistical derision techniques in addition to medium data rate sampling, to further enhance system accuracy.

Real-time misfire detection for automobile engines with medium data rate crankshaft sampling


Disclosed is a method for forming a glass-plastic composite which includes the steps of: a) activating a first surface of a glass substrate, b) applying an adhesive material on the first surface that has been activated to form an adhesive layer on the first surface, and c) placing the glass substrate together with the adhesive layer in a mold and injection molding a plastic material over the adhesive layer. A glass-plastic composite made according to the method is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for forming a glass-plastic composite, and more particularly to a method for forming a glass-plastic composite by injection molding. The invention also relates to a glass-plastic composite made according to the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In consumer electronics products (for example, mobile phones, electronic appliances, computers, or the like), parts of vehicles, or toys, an outer casing thereof is usually made of glass, metal or plastic. When the outer casing is made from a glass substrate, a plastic material is usually combined with the glass substrate so as to obtain balanced properties of the plastic and glass materials.
Conventionally, the plastic material is bonded to the glass substrate using an adhesive. Specifically, the adhesive is applied on the plastic material or the glass substrate, followed by positioning the plastic material relative to the glass substrate, heating the adhesive, and compressing the plastic material against the glass substrate. The processing procedure using the adhesive is relatively complicated. Furthermore, it is difficult to control the precision of positioning the plastic material relative to the glass substrate.
In view of the aforesaid, it is desirable in the art to provide an improved method for bonding a plastic material to a glass substrate.

Method for forming a glass-plastic composite


This invention relates to a system for forming a composite from a cyanoacrylate composition and a filler within depressions, holes, cracks or spaces in a substrate. The system also allows for the placement of a cantilevered member in the filled depression, hole, crack or space in the substrate to support a load when the cyanoacrylate has cured.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for forming a composite from a cyanoacrylate composition and a filler within depressions, holes, cracks or spaces in a substrate. The system also allows for the placement of a cantilevered member in the filled depression, hole, crack or space in the substrate to support a load when the cyanoacrylate has cured.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Cyanoacrylate compositions are well known, and widely used as quick setting, instant adhesives with a wide variety of uses. See H. V. Coover, D. W. Dreifus and J. T. O'Connor, "Cyanoacrylate Adhesives" in Handbook of Adhesives, 27, 463-77, I. Skeist, ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 3rd ed. (1990). See also G. H. Millet "Cyanoacrylate Adhesives" in Structural Adhesives: Chemistry and Technology, S. R. Hartshorn, ed., Plenun Press, New York, p. 249-307 (1986).
A variety of fillers have been incorporated directly into cyanoacrylate compositions to bring about certain changes in physical properties in one part compositions. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,794,788 teaches thickening of cyanoacrylate adhesives by dissolving therein quantities of polymeric alkyl cyanoacrylates, as well as other compounds including polyacrylates and methacrylates, and cellulose esters such as acetate, propionate and butyrate. U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,377 notes among the additional known thickeners polyvinyl ethers such as polyvinylmethyl ether. U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,752 discloses thickened cyanoacrylates containing certain polyether acrylates/methacrylates, acrylic/methacrylic esters of bis(hydroxyalkyl)phosphonic acid derivatives, and acrylic/methacrylic esters of tris(hydroxyalkyl)cyanuric acid derivatives. The '788, '377 and '752 patents each relate to one part thickened cyanoacrylate compositions containing organic compounds as thickeners.
Various inorganic materials have also been proposed as fillers, which can thicken the composition. In that regard U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,501 teaches preparation of a dental cement containing inert, finely-divided solids such as fused silica, quartz and alumina. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,607,542 teaches the preparation of a water-resistant cyanoacrylate paste containing insoluble, inert fillers such as salts of calcium, titanium, zinc, tin, aluminum, iron and copper, among others.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,945 (Gleave) is directed to and claims a thickened, curable adhesive composition comprising a monomeric ester of 2-cyanoacrylic acid, and for each 100 parts by weight of monomeric ester, about 3 to about 30 parts by weight of an organic material which is an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer, where the composition has improved peel strength over the corresponding unthickened adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,715 (Gleave) is directed to and claims a thixotropic, curable adhesive composition comprising a monomeric ester of 2-cyanoacrylic acid, and for each 100 parts by weight of monomeric ester, about 5 to about 100 parts by weight of a polyvinylidene fluoride powder. It is also disclosed therein that polycarbonates, polyethylenes, and acrylic block copolymer resins containing saturated elastomer segments may be used. The particle size of the filler is about 2 to 200 microns. These finely-divided organic powders which are not dissolved or not fully dissolved in the cyanoacrylate monomer convert the liquid cyanoacrylate to a non-drip, thixotropic gel or paste.
Despite the state-of-the-art it is not believed that cyanoacrylates have been used as part of a two part system to form together with a filler a composite within a depression, hole, crack or space in a substrate or between two substrates, let alone to anchor placement of a cantilevered member which is capable of supporting a load.
However, other adhesive systems are known for such applications in general. For instance, CHEMOFAST ramcord Befestigungssyteme GmbH has promoted for sale three different "chemical anchoring" systems for heavy load carrying attachments in concrete, solid stone or hollow brick surfaces. These systems are based on one of "reaction resin mortar, epoxy-acrylate-based in cartridges", "reaction resin mortar, polyester-based" or "reaction resin mortar, vinyl-ester-based styrol-free".
In each of these systems, their usage is described in terms of drilling a hole in the substrate, cleaning out the drilled hole, and either filling the cleaned drill hole with the reaction resin mortar and then placing a reinforcement bar or threaded rod into the reaction resin mortar filled drill hole or placing a sleeve collar into the cleaned drill hole and filling the collar with the reaction resin mortar and then placing an anchoring element into the reaction resin mortar filled collar within the drill hole, and thereafter curing the reaction resin mortar, say for forty five minutes at room temperature (though other conditions of temperature and time combinations are also disclosed). Once cured, a component may be installed onto the reinforcement bar, threaded rod or anchoring element and torque applied thereto.
While these CHEMOFAST systems have been met with commercial acceptance, it would be desirable to create adhesive systems for such applications that are faster curing at room temperature and that do not require a step of cleaning out the hole, whether the hole was made for the purpose of "chemical anchoring" or whether the hole previously existed and is to be used to "chemically anchor" another article or is simply to be filled. In addition, it would be desirable to create such an adhesive system where the adhesive is dispensed after the filler material, so that there is less opportunity for excess adhesive to be used, thus rendering clean up simpler.
In addition, a system has been offered for sale in Japan, which is seemingly similar to the CHEMOFAST systems, but is based on polyurethane chemistry and includes in the package a series of sponges for placement within the holed prior to dispensing of the polyurethane.
Thus, notwithstanding the state-of-the-technology it would be desirable to provide a composite forming system in which a cyanoacrylate may be applied to a depression, hole or crack in a substrate, into at least a portion of which has been placed a filler, and a composite may be formed within the depression, hole or crack within a period of time of less than about five minutes at room temperature, and when formed such composite is capable of anchoring a cantilevered member which is capable of supporting a load.


An apparatus and a method are proposed for measuring displacement, surface profile and roughness of a moving object or an inner radius of a hollow cylinder. The apparatus includes a light emitting unit, a light dispersing unit for receiving light from the light emitting unit and focusing rays with different wavelengths into different focal points with different intervals, and a wavelength measuring unit for measuring wavelengths of the rays. When the moving object is moving within a dispersing range of the focal points, the rays with different wavelengths are reflected or scattered, and the displacement of the moving object is learned from variation of the wavelengths being measured by the wavelength measuring unit. Given that a reflecting component is disposed in the centre of an inner circle of the hollow cylinder, the inner radius of the hollow cylinder can be measured by the principle of the apparatus for measuring displacement.

The trend of industry automation has swept the globe in recent years, which significantly enhances the productivity and yield of products. Under the trend of automation, a steady, reliable and high precision sensing technique is becoming more and more important. The most common precision sensing technique in industrial automation is laser displacement measuring technique which uses a laser as a sensor to measure displacement. There are three basic types of laser displacement measuring methods: time-of-flight, phase difference and triangulation measuring method.
Time-of-flight measuring method uses a modulated laser light to measure the distance. Distance could be determined by the time delay between the same modulation signals between being emitted and observed. Phase difference measuring method measures the distance by the modulation signal phase difference between the emitted and received laser light. The triangulation measuring method, disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,147 "Optically Scanning Displacement Sensor with Linearity Correction Means" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,536 "Optical Axis Displacement Sensor with Cylindrical Lens Means", use laser as a index to measure the distance by the geometrical relation between the object and optical sensor as photodiodes(PD) array. However, triangulation measuring method has strict requirements for structural stability of the system and the sensibility of the PD array sensor. The applications of the above-described laser measuring methods are different, but they all demand highly sensible receivers and precision electronic circuits, causing the cost of the products becoming too high.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,390 "Optical Axis Displacement Sensor" proposes an optical axis displacement sensing technique, which takes the optical axis of the instrument structure for reference, i.e., takes the optical axial position of the receiver as zero. The position variation of the measured object can be deduced by obtaining the position variation of the receiver. This technique also requires high structural stability of the system and accurate arrangement of the lens. The technique further requires a moving component, which not only increases the cost, but also reduces structural stability of the system.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,834 "Optical Displacement Sensor for Measurement of Shape and Coarseness of a Target Workpiece Surface" proposes a laser confocal scanning technique. According to the optical confocal manner, different positions will have different distributions of the light intensity, indicating position variation of the measured object, thus the displacement of the measured object can be measured. However, problems such as strict structural stability of the system and component assembling (e.g., pinhole focusing) still exist in such technique, which is adverse to system stability and reduction of cost.
Accordingly, there exists a strong need in the art for a simple measuring method that obtains better displacement measuring result with reduced cost.

Apparatus and method for measuring displacement, surface profile and inner radius

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A rack that may readily be installed in the trunk or cargo compartment of a vehicle, the rack including at least one raised horizontal bar from which one can suspend in a row several loaded plastic-film grocery bags so that the bags then rest on the floor of the trunk or cargo compartment in an upright position with their mouths closed. The plastic film bag has an open mouth and is provided with a pair of upwardly-extending handle loops integral with the opposing sides of the bag. The raised bar has a series of hooks anchored thereon at spaced positions, each hook being formed of a resilient spring wire having a U-shaped bend therein that defines a dilatable clamp. When the loaded grocery bag is carried in one hand by a shopper by its handle loops, the loops then bunch together to form a tail. This tail is pushed into the dilatable clamp of a hook on the bar.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to racks for supporting grocery bags in an upright position, and more particularly to a rack which readily fits into the trunk or cargo compartment of an automobile or station wagon and is adapted to suspend loaded plastic-film grocery bags from a horizontal bar so that the mouths of the bags are then closed and the bags are all maintained in an upright position on the floor of the compartment.
2. Status of Prior Art
The conventional grocery bag now in general use in supermarkets is formed of plastic-film material having an open mouth and provided with a pair of upwardly extending handle loops integral with opposing sides of the bag. The patent to Jenkins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,743, discloses a rack to facilitate loading of a bag of this type at a supermarket checkout counter. The Jenkins rack has a rectangular frame to receive the bag, the upper rails of the frame including U-shaped elements that are engaged by the loops of the bag to maintain the bag in an open state while being loaded with groceries.
The concern of the present invention is with what happens to this plastic-film grocery bag after it is loaded in a supermarket. As pointed out in the Wolfe U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,512, bags full of groceries are typically placed in the trunk of an automobile or into the cargo space at the back of a station wagon. These loaded grocery bags receive little lateral support; hence even mild cornering or stop and go driving can often cause a loaded grocery bag to overturn, especially where there are no canned goods or other relatively heavy articles at the bottom of the bag to stabilize the bag in the trunk or in the cargo space of a station wagon.
Should a loaded grocery bag overturn, the shopper must then, when arriving home, retrieve and rebag the spilled contents scattered over the floor of the trunk or cargo space of a station wagon. And should the articles spilling out of the bag be fragile or breakable, then the shopper may be faced with cleaning up a wasteful and unsightly mess. Wolfe's solution to this problem is to provide an elaborate, foldable framework including various upright support members and latch means therefor.
The same problem is addressed by Dottor et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,348. This patent points out that when loaded grocery bags are placed anywhere in an automobile, then sudden stoppages, fast accelerations and quick turns can frequently wreak havoc among the bags. According to Dottor et al., the modern automobile in this age of shopping malls and supermarkets serve two primary functions; the first, of course, being to transport passengers; the second to transport groceries.
But though automobile manufacturers include in their vehicles devices to receive the spare tire and bumper jack in the trunk compartment and also provide seat belts and shoulder straps to secure the driver and the passengers, no attention is paid to securing bagged groceries being transported in these vehicles. To this end, Dottor et al. provides a foldable unit which is installable in the trunk of a vehicle, and which when erected creates an array of compartments, each adapted to accommodate a loaded grocery bag and to maintain it in an upright position. However, the Dottor et al. arrangement is complex and relatively expensive.
The Herlitz et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,213 provides skid slats in the rear cargo compartment of a station wagon which can in a cargo-support mode then act to support packages in an upright manner during operation of the vehicle.
The Majewski U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,056 discloses a portable rack sized to fit into the trunk of a car, the rack having several partitions for minimizing the movement of articles placed therein when being transported from a point of purchase to the home of the shopper.
While the above-noted prior art patents seek to maintain grocery bags in an upright position, they do not take into account the differences between strong paper grocery bags made of kraft paper and the type of plastic film bag that in most supermarkets has replaced paper bags. Paper bags are relatively stiff, and when loaded with groceries, these bags will maintain their form. But plastic film bags have little rigidity and are therefore collapsible. Such bags, when loaded, are difficult to maintain in an upright position unless they are suspended by their handle loops.

Rack for supporting loaded plastic grocery bags


Embodiments include systems and methods for implementing a dummy fill flow in a processor design that points to a library of fill shapes that are associated with (e.g., defined and supported according to) a particular foundry process. For example, a set of cell types is generated in accordance with a foundry process definition, so that each unit cell type has a unique type identifier and an associated polygon definition. These cell types can be stored as a cell library. An automated fill flow can generate a dummy fill of an integrated circuit geometry with respective shape fills having shape cells that each point to one of the cell types in the cell library. Some implementations can use the cell library to stream in and instantiate the fill in the geometric design of the integrated circuit.

Integrated circuit (IC) design can involve a large number of complex stages, including designing the logical circuit design to perform desired functions and designing the physical layout of the chip to meet performance, manufacturability, and other criteria. For example, design for manufacturability can involve a "fill" process, whereby polygons are added to the physical design to help ensure that the various layers of the chip meet certain density specifications (e.g., metal density, density gradient, etc.) for reliable manufacturability (not for logical functionality). As circuits and chip layouts become more complex and foundry processes support smaller features, the fill process can become increasingly complex.
A number of automated techniques are available for adding fill to the physical layout of an IC. Some such automated fill approaches can fill unused regions of the geometric IC layout with polygons and stream out the result in a predefined, foundry-compliant format (e.g., often the Graphic Data System (GDS) or GDSII format). The fill approaches can attempt to meet defined fill rules, but more simplistic approaches can be ineffective in complex designs and do not tend to account for a potential impact of the fill on other constraints (e.g., the underlying circuit design). Other, more complex fill approaches (e.g., model-based fill approaches) can include integrated, concurrent analysis functions that tend to more fully adhere to a variety of constraints. For example, some smarter fill approaches can produce complex fills with multiple shapes and sizes (e.g., including multi-layer shapes), while minimizing the number of polygons used in the fill by concurrently analyzing metal densities and dynamically adjusting the fill accordingly.
As the fills become more complex, the fill output files tend to increase in size and complexity, with increasing numbers of complicated fill shapes and layouts. Large numbers of fill polygons can interfere with the design process in a number of ways. For example, they can be difficult or inconvenient to maintain in a database, can clutter layout designs, and can be particularly cumbersome in environments where multiple users are working on different blocks of a larger design with hierarchical relationships among the blocks.

Unit fill for integrated circuit design for manufacturing