This invention provides a hand held pipette which is ergonomically designed to reduce user fatigue and injury. The pipette preferably includes a nozzle extending downward at a selected angle from a point near the top of a base portion of the pipette, the base portion being grasped by the operator's hand, and may also include a hook extending from a second point near the top of the body portion which is angularly spaced from the first point, which hook extends over a portion of a user's hand to support the pipette thereon. The pipette is also designed to permits operation with the user's wrist and arm in a neutral position and minimizes local pressure points on the operator's hand.

Handheld pipettes are utilized to aspirate one or more fluids from a first receptacle containing such fluids, generally a precise quantity of such fluid, and to dispense the fluid to a second receptacle where the fluid may be analyzed or otherwise tested. To prevent interaction between successive samples, while minimizing cleaning/sterilization requirements, disposable tips are typically mounted to the pipette nozzles. Since an operator using such a pipette may do hundreds of aspirations/dispensings in a single day, repetitive stress injuries are a common problem for such operators. Many complain of wrist and shoulder injuries caused by extended periods of pipetting using traditional axial pipette designs and forearm strain is also a common complaint.
One reason for these injuries is that the operator needs to tightly grip the generally cylindrical pipette, particularly when mounting or removing a tip therefrom, but also while performing aspirating and dispensing operations, the gripping force required being somewhat less, but still significant, during performance of the latter operations. Another potential source of injury is the fact that, for most operations, the user's wrist/hand must be rotated while performing the operation rather than being held in its natural or neutral position which is generally approximately 45° to both the horizontal and vertical. It is preferable that as much of the pipetting operation as possible be performed with the wrist/hand in the neutral position. Similarly, to avoid such stress injuries, it is desirable that the elbow and shoulder joints also be in their neutral posture or position at approximately the mid-point of their travel path. Stress is generally minimized for a given operation when the operation is performed with each joint in this position.
Another problem with existing designs is that, with the tip being an extension of the cylindrical pipette, the pipette is relatively long, making it difficult to maneuver and use under a laboratory fume hood and forcing the operator to hold the pipette above the receptacle being aspirated from or dispensed into. This places stress on the muscles and joints of the shoulder, which, over time, results in fatigue and can ultimately lead to injury. The position of the nozzle and tip away from the operator's fingers also reduces the operator's "feel" of the tip and make it more difficult for the operator to control the tip, adding further to the fatigue and strain of performing pipetting operations.
Another ergonomic problem for pipettes is that operator discomfort and injury can result from points on a pipette which cause high contact pressure on the operator's fingers, thumb or other portions of the operator's hand. This can result from buttons or keys on the pipette having local pressure points or from such points on the body of the pipette which is gripped by the operator. To avoid discomfort or injury, there should be no point on the pipette where more than 14 psi pressure is exerted on the operator's hand. Few, if any, existing pipettes satisfy this criteria.
It is also desirable, particularly when aspirating fluid, to be able to see the tip of the pipette during the operation so that the tip is immersed only to the extent necessary to aspirate the fluid. Deeper immersion can result in inaccurate aspiration of the fluid and can cause other potential problems.
A need therefore exists for an improved, more ergonomic, pipette design which requires less gripping force, and preferably little if any gripping force by the operator on the pipette both during the mounting and ejection of tips from the pipette nozzle and during the aspiration and dispensing of fluids using the pipette. Such design should also facilitate the user's joints, including elbow, shoulder and wrist/hand being held in their neutral or natural position during pipetting operations, facilitate easier access to laboratory fume hoods, position the pipette nozzle and tip close to the operator's fingers, and in particular, to the operator's forefinger, to provide optimum control of the tip and position the nozzle and tip so the tip can be viewed by the operator at least when aspirating fluid and so the operator's elbow or other part of the operator's arm may rest on the surface containing the receptacle on which the pipetting operation is being performed, thereby reducing strain on the operator's shoulder, and minimize contact pressure on all parts of the operator's hand. Since substantial differences exist in the size, and to a lesser extent shape, of operator hands and arms, it would also be desirable if various aspects of the pipette could be customized, for example by use of adjustable or replaceable components, and/or by use of adapters, so as to be able to optimize the ergonomics of the pipette for a given user. Finally, it is sometimes desirable to lay a pipette down in the middle of a pipetting operation to, for example, open the lid of the fluid source, move test tubes, push a button on a machine, adjust the opening of a fume hood to permit access thereto, to otherwise provide access to the fluid source or sink, etc. It should be possible to accomplish this function without leakage of fluid either into or from the pipette and without contamination of the tip. It should also be possible to quickly and easily grasp the pipette in proper position for usage, preferably by use of only one hand. These later objectives can in at least some cases best be achieved if the pipette can be in a "stand-up" position when not in use. While some existing pipettes provide a limited number of these capabilities, a pipette design providing all, or at least most, of these capabilities does not currently exist.


A multi-gas sensor device for the detection of dissolved hydrocarbon gases in oil-filled electrical equipment. The device comprising a semiconductor substrate, one or more catalytic metal gate-electrodes deposited on the surface of the semiconductor substrate operable for sensing various gases, and an ohmic contact deposited on the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate comprises one of GaN, SiC, AlN, lnN, AlGaN, InGaN and AlInGaN. A method for sensing gas in an oil-filled reservoir of electrical equipment, comprising providing a sensor device, immersing the sensor device in the oil-filled reservoir, allowing the gases emitted from the oil to interact with the one or more catalytic metal gate-electrodes, altering the gas as it contacts the catalytic metal gate-electrodes and altering the sensitivity of the sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of gas sensors. More particularly, the present invention relates to semiconductor gas sensors made from wide bandgap materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) that are effective at providing continuous or discrete measure of gas levels resulting from degradation processes in insulating oil in oil-filled high-voltage electrical equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gas sensors have been used in the detection of particular symptomatic gases in oil-filled electrical equipment. Faults in oil-filled transformers, for example, may include arcing (electrical), corona discharge (electrical), low energy sparking (electrical), severe overloading (electrical), pump motor failure (electrical and thermal) and overheating (electrical and thermal) in an insulation system. Faults may generate undesirable gases, such as hydrogen (H2), acetylene (C2H2), ethylene (C2H4), methane (CH4), ethane (C2H4), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). These fault conditions result in a malfunctioning transformer or may indicate an impending malfunction, which, if not corrected, may lead to failure of the transformer. A statistical correlation exists between transformer malfunction and fault gases generated by the transformer. Accordingly, if the accurate detection of potentially dangerous gases in a transformer is achieved, possible malfunction and failure of the transformer can be addressed and often avoided.
The principles described previously for oil filled transformers may also be applied to other pieces of oil filled equipment or facilities, in which high electrical fields or temperature oscillations cause the oil to break down into its potentially flammable constituents over time. One example of such equipment includes x-ray tubes used in medical applications. X-ray tubes supply x-rays used in medical assessments of bone or tissue structure. These tubes, much like transformers, use oil to both insulate and cool internal electrical components. Gas sensors fabricated from GaN or SiC would provide a non-intrusive method for maintaining such equipment regularly, minimizing down-time and avoiding catastrophic fault conditions.
With respect to hydrogen, power transformers expose insulating oil to high electric fields that break down the oil over time. Hydrogen gas and hydrogen bearing compounds are given off, indicating the need for preventative maintenance. If this need goes unheeded, it may lead to the build-up of flammable hydrogen gas in the system, which if ignited, may lead to catastrophic failure. Current detection systems for hydrogen include oil sampling and chromatographic analysis, single gas sensors and person-operated units. These conventional approaches are time consuming, expensive, offer incomplete information, and in some cases are only performed periodically throughout the year.
The ability of sensors to identify a target gas depends on several factors. These factors include the sensitivity of the sensor to other interfering gases and vapors, and a concentration of the target gas. The ability to resolve the target gas from other gases is called the selectivity. There are very few known sensors that are highly selective where a sensor has greater than about a tenfold difference in gas detection between sensing states and non-sensing states. Further, within these very few sensors there are even fewer that are relatively reliable to accurately detect individual gases.
Current semiconductor gas sensor technology may make use of Si/SiO2 as materials on which a gas is sensed. Others may make use of SnO2 or other oxides, however, in the case of SnO2, these devices typically require a heater to increase their temperature in excess of 200 deg C. in order to make them sensitive enough to be useful. While these sensors are mass producible, they often fail in outdoor environments where the temperature fluctuates. Temperature fluctuations may lead to drift in response to gaseous environments over time, which means that the change in electrical response to the same gas will differ over time, thus the sensor system will require temperature correction in order to track quantitative changes. Even small changes in a temperature range, such as about −40 to about 130 deg F., are enough to cause such drift over time. Drift is most noticeable in Si devices, making these devices ineffective in such ambient settings. In order to minimize drift, the Si-based sensors often require heating to a temperature of up to about 150 deg C. in order to return the sensors to nominal operating conditions. Despite the heating, drift over time still occurs due to surface states formed from oxides and other elements on the surface of the sensors.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,041,643, 6,155,100, 6,182,500 and 6,202,473 all issued to Stokes et al., incorporated herein by reference, describe a gas sensor for determining the presence of at least one gas in a gaseous environment. The gas sensor includes a semiconductor substrate, a thin insulator layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate, a catalytic metallic gate disposed on the thin insulator layer and a chemically modified layer disposed on the catalytic metal gate. The chemically modified layer includes a material that protects the sensor from corrosive gases and interference from at least one of foreign matter and water, alters at least one of surface chemical properties and surface physical properties of the sensor, and passes only a designated gas therethrough.
What is needed is a more robust material system for addressing material issues and eliminating drift. What is further needed is a high temperature, harsh environment capable gas sensor that outperforms conventional solid-state sensors that use semiconductor materials such as Si.

Sensor device for detection of dissolved hydrocarbon gases in oil filled high-voltage electrical equipment


Recurring digital control signals are provided in a predeterminable time frame, with a high time-dependent resolution and flexibility. Data for the control signals are stored in a write/read memory addressed by an address counter. A comparator is clocked with a multiple of the digital signals bit clock, for comparison with the content of a time Table stored in the write/read memory. For convenience in synchronizing to the time frames of adjacent cells in a cellular network, an offset adder may add the complement of a measured offset (delay) to the comparator clock signal, so that it is not necessary to adjust the values stored in the time Table.

The invention relates to an arrangement for generating digital signals for a transmission system, more specifically control signals recurring, in essence, in a predeterminable time frame.
Such an arrangement is necessary, for example, in transmitters and receivers (radio sets) for the present Pan-European mobile radio system. In this mobile radio system speech signals are transmitted in digitized form together with other digital signals in a time-division multiple access method (TDMA). This requires a precise time timing control of various functions. A multiplicity of control signals is necessary for this purpose, which signals generally exhibit a periodic variation, i.e. are cyclically recurrent in a predeterminable time frame. In addition, these timing control signals should also be individually controllable in dependence on a large number of different operating requirements. The timing control signals may be derived from the signal of a central clock generator designated as a timer. This clock generator is in essence based on a counter which triggers an interrupt function of the processor of the radio set when a predetermined value is reached or exceeded and/or directly affects external control signals. If a large number of timing control signals are generated in this manner with a rather high time-dependent resolution, the processor is loaded very heavily. Another possibility consists of generating the timing control signals by means of specific switch mechanisms. The timing control signals are then predetermined, so that considerable restrictions arise with respect to the flexibility when these switch mechanisms are used, for example, when individual control signals are changed.

Arrangement for generating digital signals


A method and apparatus for adaptively targeting advertisements to a specific client computer from a server within a distributed data processing system is provided. As a user of the client browses the World Wide Web, the material that is downloaded to the client constitutes a datastream. At some location during the routing of the datastream, either on the server or at the client, the datastream is scanned to generate a list of keywords that are present within the datastream. The datastream may be analyzed in real-time or cached and analyzed on a delayed basis. The generated list of keywords represents a summary of the content that appears to be the focus of interest of the user. The keywords are compared against a database of advertisements, and the server selects an advertisement that matches the user's area of interest in comparison to the analysis of the user's browsing history. The selected advertisement is then inserted into the datastream to be routed to the client. In consideration for viewing targeted advertisements and to entice a Web viewer to allow the monitoring of a datastream so that targeted advertisements may be placed into the datastream, a Web viewer may receive online connection service for free, for a reduced cost, at a premium level of service, or for other some other value, such as frequent viewer credits that may be exchanged for goods and services.

1. Technical Field                The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for monitoring and processing a datastream during a commercial network connection.
2. Description of Related Art
The World Wide Web (WWW, also known simply as "the Web") is an abstract cyberspace of information that is physically transmitted across the hardware of the Internet. In the Web environment, servers and clients communicate using Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) to transfer various types of data files. Much of this information is in the form of Web pages identified by unique Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) or Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) that are hosted by servers on Web sites. The Web pages are often formatted using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which is a file format that is understood by software applications, called Web browsers. A browser requests the transmission of a Web page from a particular URL, receives the Web page in return, parses the HTML of the Web page to understand its content and presentation options, and displays the content on a computer display device. By using a Web browser, a user may navigate through the Web using URLs to view Web pages.
As the Web continues to increase dramatically in size, corporations and organizations have attempted to promote themselves as Web portals or, following the analogy of the Internet and the Web has being an information superhighway, as an on-ramp to the Web. By indexing and collecting vast amounts of information resources within one Web site, a Web portal attempts to become a user's favorite Web starting point for each navigation session of the Web. A user, knowing that he may be able to find almost all desired information within a single Web site, may prefer to search and browse through the Web portal. A Web portal gains a commercial advantage through increased viewership by receiving more advertisement revenue per Web page viewed. However, in its attempt to attract as many users as possible, Web portals increasingly gather together a vast quantity of disparate content. The publication of Web pages is an unrestricted and uncoordinated process. The latest news, book reviews, amateur poetry, games, research, stock and bond prices quotes, chat rooms, groups, clubs, shareware, technical support, on-line shopping, etc., may be found on the Web. There is no ability to know beforehand the type of content that drew the user to the Web portal.
While browsing the Web, a user may follow a hyperlink from one Web page to another Web page. The user may not know what type of content will be viewed upon the target or destination of the hyperlink because hyperlinks are usually small images or very short text strings that provide only a term or a few words that may interest the user based on the context of the surrounding material. The content of the presented hyperlink is often a text string that merely provides the URL of the destination Web page, and the URL is arbitrarily defined by the Web master of a Web site or by the author of the Web page. Hence, a user may follow a hyperlink without knowing what material is being retrieved, and the datastream of downloaded material may be difficult to classify within a category of subject matter.
A significant number of commercial Web sites lose money, and if the Web site generates a profit, the source of the profits are usually advertising revenues. Providing advertisement space on Web pages was one of the first moneymaking opportunities for owners of commercial Web sites or authors of Web pages. Banner advertisements at the top of Web pages are now ubiquitous. Commercial Web sites rely on such advertisements to generate positive income, and advertisers rely on this Web space for the opportunity to create brand-name recognition for their products and services. As noted above, Web portals attempt to increase their advertisement revenue by increasing the number of viewed Web pages, so called "eyeball count".
Advertisers also desire to pay for advertisement placement based on the demographics of Web viewers. However, many Web portals and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) protect user privacy and do not collect biographical or demographic information from the users that surf the various Web sites on their servers or across their domains. Hence, it is difficult for advertisers to target their advertisement expenditures based on Web viewer demographics. Advertisers may also desire to target advertisement expenditures indirectly based on the content being viewed and downloaded by the viewers of a Web page or Web portal. However, because Web portals gather disparate content, it is difficult to ascertain the reasons why a user may be viewing particular content.
This situation is unlike placing advertisements on cable or network television. In that case, informational program guides about the content being carried on the various channels is widely disseminated well ahead of the time of broadcast of the content. Television viewers are enticed to watch programs containing definable content. Based on consumer research, advertisers can ascertain which demographic segment of a population may be attracted to the content being displayed on the channel. Based on the resulting research data, advertisers will target particular advertisements to particular segments of the population based on the content of the broadcast.
In the case of many Web viewers accessing and downloading content from a Web site or Web server, advertisers may have a comparatively difficult time targeting each viewer with effective advertisements so that the advertiser's expenditures are used wisely. In addition to targeting advertisements once a person is viewing Web content, advertisers require a method for enticing Web viewers to view advertisements in a manner similar to enticing television viewers to view particular television program content and, hence, particular advertisements placed in that content.
Therefore, it would useful to have a method for directing advertisements to particular segments of users that download material from particular Web portals in order to increase the efficiency of advertisement expenditures. It would be particularly advantageous to target each user uniquely without gathering biographical information about each particular user. It would also be advantageous to entice Web viewers to view particular advertisements.

Method and apparatus for providing reduced cost online service and adaptive targeting of advertisements

International Business Machines Corporation


Sandwiched structures for an optical disc, especially for Blu-ray discs, are disclosed. According to one exemplary structure, a substrate is sandwiched by two cover layers on both sides of a disc As a result, similar characteristics in material on both sides of the disc help sustain the shape and flatness of the disc. To provide the cover layers in uniform thickness, techniques for creating or producing such a cover layer are described. In one embodiment, a certain amount of the material in liquid form is dispensed onto a dispensing structure. After the dispensing structure is engaged to hold a disc, the dispensing structure and the disc as a whole unit is rotated at a predefined speed. While the dispensed material on the dispensing structure is being dispersed evenly onto the surface of the disc as result of the centrifugal force, a heater is employed to retain or control the temperature of the dispensed material so that the flow of the dispensed material outwards can be effectively controlled to form a cover layer of uniform thickness on the disc.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to the area of optical information recording medium. More particularly, the present is related to new structures of Blu-ray discs.
2. The Background of Related Art
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a new-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of leading consumer electronics and PC companies (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25 GB, which can be used to record over 2 hours of HDTV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition TV. There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold 50 GB.
While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM use a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. Despite the different type of lasers used, Blu-ray products can easily be made backwards compatible through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup and allow playback of CDs and DVDs. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405 nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650 nm), which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it's possible to fit more data on the disc even though it is the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 is what enables Blu-ray Discs to hold 25 GB/50 GB.
Blu-ray discs can be read at a blue-violet laser (λ=405 nm) with a numerical aperture (NA) being 0.85. However, the increase of the NA value may effectively reduce the value of the thickness of the optical path that is denoted by t, defocus is proportional to NA2/λ, the disc tilt tolerance is according to λ/(t×NA3) and the thickness variation tolerance of the optical path is λ/NA4. So it is generally concluded that the situation can be handled by controlling the error of that length and by decreasing the residual focus error. A simple calculation leads to the conclusion that around 0.1 mm thick of optical path and a few microns of error will guarantee compatible detection tolerances in the Blu-ray disc system to those in the conventional systems.
The cover layer formation is one of the characteristic processes in mass production of the Blu-ray discs. In general, a 0.1 mm-thick cover layer is placed on top of 1.1 mm-thick substrate. This appears one way that the physical specifications required by the format may be satisfied. However, the value of t is so small, the flatness requirement of the cover layer is of extremely high. Various manufacturing methods have been proposed how to generate a cover layer of 0.1 mm uniform thickness and place such a cover layer on a 1.1 mm-thick substrate.
One of the manufacturing methods to produce a cover layer is by spin coating of lacquer. Because of the inherent spinning characteristics in the manufacturing method, it is noted that it is very difficult to create a cover layer of 0.1 mm uniform thickness. To control the flow of the lacquer, an additional apparatus is provided to guide the flow of the lacquer. However, it is noted that, as the lacquer is spun outwards, the characteristics of the lacquer could cause that a certain level of jaggedness, likely the cover layer is thicker in the middle than in the edge area. In addition, the lacquer is typically cured by UV lighting. In the curing process, the lacquer in the edge are tends to shrink towards the middle. As a result, the thickness of the cover layer becomes non-uniform. Thus there has been a great need for techniques of providing uniform cover layer of a specified thickness onto a disc.
Essentially, the structure of a typical Blu-ray disc is a structure of 1.1 mm+0.1 m or S+C, where S stands for substrate and C stands for cover layer. FIG. 5 shows such S+C structure 500. As illustrated, one side of the disc is the substrate typically made from polycarbonate (PC) and the other side of the disc is a cover layer made from a UV curable material, hence S+C structure. The different materials on both sides of the disc present many different characteristics, such as moisture absorption, light resistance and heat resistance and expansion and contractibility. In particular, as far as the moisture absorption is concerned, polycarbonate is more prone to moisture absorption than the cover layer material does. As a result, the different characteristics in the materials on both sides of the disc may cause certain variations in the flatness of the disc. Thus there is a further need for a structure that prevents or minimizes different characteristics in the materials that contribute to the flatness of the disc.


Techniques are provided for controlling overload conditions using two values; an acceptance rate fraction allowed value and an occupancy fraction allowed value. The inventive techniques allow quick response to the sudden onset of overload conditions, are robust enough to be used when processor speeds are increased and compare favorably to known techniques.

Telecommunication networks are made up of various "switches" interconnected by communication links. These links comprise two separate "logical" networks. One network carries voice and data, the other signaling and control information ("signaling network"). Switches communicate with each other over the signaling network to set up calls and other services.
Networks and switches are engineered to carry a certain number of active calls and to process requests for calls and services at a certain rate (hereafter referred to as the engineered capacity or just capacity). Occasionally, they might experience traffic that exceeds their engineered capacity. When this occurs a switch or network is said to be "overloaded", or in an "overload condition" or "congested" (collectively referred to sometimes as just "overload").
Controls are required to prevent or reduce overload in order to maintain a switch's throughput and quality of service at an acceptable level. Switches that are designed using appropriate overload controls are less expensive when compared to the less desired option of over-provisioning resources (e.g., building switches or networks with excess capacity to handle occasional overloads).
Within each switch there exists one or more control units or processors (collectively referred to as "processor(s)") that process incoming and outgoing signaling traffic (e.g., voice, data, etc . . . ). These processors can become overloaded due to sudden increases in signaling load and, therefore, need overload controls. Such controls must react to a large number of requests to avoid overwhelming the processor. Switches (and their respective processors) may experience signaling overload conditions even when voice and data networks are not congested. Ideally, the performance of a switch should be maintained at a level that is obtained at the engineered capacity.
Generally, there are two types of responses used by switches to control overload conditions. First, a switch may invoke remote overload controls by signaling neighboring switches that it is in an overload condition. Presumably these neighboring switches then limit signaling traffic to the overloaded switch or direct their traffic elsewhere. Although procedures exist to deal with such an "inter-switch" overload control response, in practice many deployed switches do not implement these procedures. Therefore, any practical solution to preventing or controlling overload or congestion-like conditions cannot necessarily depend on the behavior of neighboring switches.
The second type of response to an overload condition is for a switch to locally protect its own processing resources by selectively "throttling" (i.e., reducing, limiting, controlling) signaling messages. Each request to a switch, either to establish or release a connection, or to request a different type of service, usually results in a sequence of several messages, each of which must be processed in order for the request to be fulfilled. The process of throttling messages, therefore, may be carried out by throttling messages that initiate service requests. This reduces overload by eliminating future signaling messages.
Earlier work on overload control focused on preserving the performance of a switch under sustained overload conditions. Due to the increased number of service types in modern telecommunication networks and the introduction of mobile networks that often result in fast changing network "hot spots", overload control techniques must react quickly to be effective.
Presently, such controls are not quick enough to relieve overload or congestion-like conditions. In addition to being capable of reacting quickly to an overload condition, effective overload controls should also be highly "robust". That is, when a switch's processor is upgraded (i.e., to process faster messages) or when a switch's software is upgraded it is desirable to avoid having to reconfigure the switch's overload controls. The alternatives, that is re-configuring the switch with an alternative overload control technique or adopting an entirely different one, are highly undesirable.
Realizing they needed a fast and robust overload control technique the present inventors considered a number of existing techniques but found them all to be lacking in robustness or responsiveness.
One technique known as Occupancy demonstrated sufficient robustness but lacked the speed needed to eliminate real-time overload conditions. Nonetheless, because this technique provides a framework for introducing the techniques envisioned by the present invention it is worth discussing briefly. Occupancy is a so-called "processor-occupancy" based technique. It should be understood that the present invention also focuses on relieving an overload condition that presents itself to a processor.
A processor's occupancy, ρ, is defined as the percentage of time within a given measurement interval that a processor is busy processing tasks. Processor occupancy (hereafter "occupancy" for short) is a dimensionless quantity, which makes it relatively system independent.
In order to determine the amount of throttling needed to remove an overload condition, Occupancy first sets a threshold or target processor occupancy ρt arg. This threshold occupancy is then compared to an estimated processor occupancy at a particular measurement time. More specifically, using Occupancy, if an estimated processor occupancy at a measurement time n (given by the average of the last processor occupancies) is below ρt arg, the amount of traffic allowed to be received for processing by a processor (hereafter referred to as "fraction allowed" or "f" for short because it is some fraction of the incoming traffic which can be processed by a fully loaded switch) is increased. If the estimated processor occupancy is greater than the threshold occupancy, then the fraction allowed, f, is decreased. A feedback control function for the Occupancy technique is given by:
                              f                      (                          n              +              1                        )                          =                  {                                                                                f                    min                                    ,                                                                                ϕ                      n                                                                                f                      n                                                        <                                      f                    min                                                                                1                  ,                                                                                ϕ                      n                                                                                f                      n                                                        >                  1                                                                                ϕ                      n                                                                                f                      n                                                        ,                                                                              otherwise                  .                                                                                (        1        )            where φ=min (ρt arg/ρ, φmax) and where a minimum fraction allowed fmin is used to prevent a switch from throttling all incoming traffic. The term ρt arg/ρ is referred to as the "occupancy value".
Suppose a given switch is configured to have an occupancy threshold of 80%. This means that if the switch's processor begins to process voice calls at a calls/sec rate equal to, or greater than 80% of the switch's processing capability, then the switch will be in an overload condition.
Suppose further that during a "first" time interval a processor actually begins to process calls at a calls/second rate equal to 90% of the switch's processing capability putting the switch, in fact, into such an overload condition. Using Occupancy, during a "next" or "second" time interval the switch must reduce the level of traffic it will be willing to receive for processing by approximately 11%.
In Occupancy, a processor's occupancy at any given time cannot exceed 100%. This requirement inherently limits how fast an overload condition can be reduced or eliminated because the maximum fraction allowed, f can decrease by, at most, (1−ρt arg)100% between successive measurement times.
For example, if ρt arg=0.8, f can only decrease by 20% (at most) between measurement times. Hence, if the traffic (e.g., arriving signaling traffic) load is 200% of the engineered capacity then it will take 5 measurement intervals before the processor occupancy is brought below the threshold. Unfortunately, this implies that overload control based solely on Occupancy cannot react quickly to reduce an overload condition when such a condition is caused by sudden bursts of traffic.
Enter the techniques of the present invention. Not only are the techniques robust like Occupancy, but they are substantially faster in reducing or eliminating overload under different traffic conditions.
Accordingly, it is a desire of the present invention to provide fast and robust overload control techniques.

Methods and devices for providing fast and robust overload control


The present invention relates to fabric treatment compositions that contain an aqueous solution of a poly-functional molecule comprising at least two functional groups selected from the group consisting of carboxyl, anhydride and amine; and a poly(hydroxy) crosslinking agent, and to methods of treating fabric which comprise applying to the fabric an amount of the fabric treatment composition which is effective to impart temporary crease resistance and stain resistance thereto.

Starch and starch solutions containing various additives have been used as an ironing aid in home and commercial laundry fabric care applications for over 60 years. While starch has shown to be a good product as an ironing aid for decades, it still has a number of areas where performance could be improved. For instance, there is a tendency for starch to build up on the iron and clothes. Furthermore, starch does not impart long-term wrinkle resistance and the starch solutions may tend to clog up the spray nozzles. Another area for improvement involves starch residue, which sometimes takes the form of flakes on clothing, which may be particularly noticeable on dark fabric. The compositions of the present invention provide such improvements.

National Starch and Chemical Investment Holding Corporation


The present invention relates to an improved process for the production of benzaldehyde with 40-50% selectivity comprising by catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene. The process involves providing a continuous flow of air in the presence of a catalyst such as salts of Fe, Co, Mo and Ni, and preferably a co-catalyst such as salts of manganese or copper, a promoter which may also be a bromine source, and a carboxylic acid solvent selected from the group consisting of acetic, propionic, benzoic acids ranging between 0.05 to 0.3 wt. times with respect to toluene, at a temperature ranging between 60-130xc2x0 C. and pressures in the range of 1-10 bars for a period of 0.5-1.5 hours to obtain benzaldehyde (40-50%) along with other by-products.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of benzaldehyde by catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene, preferably with 40-50% selectivity.
The N.F./F.C.C. grade of benzaldehyde is widely used in flavors such as almond and cherry and in various fragrances for soap and toiletries. Benzaldehyde is a F.D.A. sanctioned synthetic flavoring substance generally recognized as safe for food. The technical grade is a versatile chemical intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, dyes, perfume and flavoring chemicals. The technical grade of benzoic acid is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of chemicals, alkyd resins, polyesters, plasticizers, dyestuffs, preservatives, rubber activators and retardants. Benzoic acid, industrial grade, is used as a chemical intermediate and as a diverting agent in crude oil recovery applications.
Benzaldehyde is currently produced by the hydrolysis of the corresponding side chain halogenated toluene compound. U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,379, Oct. 21, 1980 describes the preparation of benzaldehyde by hydrolysis of benzyl chloride at 100-200xc2x0 C. at normal or under increased pressures in the presence of an excessive aqueous hydrochloric acid. U.S. Pat. 4,450,298, May 22, 1994, discloses vapour phase catalytic hydrolysis of benzyl chloride to form benzaldehyde by using activated carbon treated with H2SO4 or impregnated with a metal chloride such as FeCl3 or a metal sulphate such as cupric sulphate. The drawbacks in the above processes are generation of large excess of effluents and the benzaldehyde produced does not meet food grade specifications.
Air oxidation of toluene and its derivatives offers green technology path, provided the desired selectivities are realised for market driven products and minimisation of halogenated and unwanted by-products causing effluents is achieved. Several patents and or applications describe innovation in air oxidation of toluene and its derivatives both in liquid and vapour phase.
One of the prevalent industrial practices for the vapour phase oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde involves a uranium oxide/molybdenum oxide catalyst at 500-600xc2x0 C. (W. L. Faith, D. B. Keyes and R. L. Clark, Industrial Chemicals, 3rd Ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1965); (U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,589). U.S. Pat. 3,946,067 discloses a process for the preparation of aromatic aldehydes such as benzaldehyde or substituted benzaldehydes by the vapour-phase oxidation of aralkyl compounds, such as toluene or substituted toluenes, respectively, at temperatures of less than xcx9c250xc2x0 C. in the presence of a catalyst composition containing phosphoric acid and a catalytically effective amount of palladium metal. The aromatic aldehydes are produced in a single reaction step. The drawbacks in this process are that the conversion of toluene has to be kept very low  less than 4% to attain high selectivity ( greater than 70%) of benzaldehyde and significant amount of carbon dioxide is also formed in this process.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,674, Nov. 2, 1976 describes a process wherein a mixture of toluene, oxygen and a helium diluent in molar ratio 1:2:8 is passed over the Cuxe2x80x94Au-silica catalyst at atmospheric pressure and temperatures in the range of 450-600xc2x0 F. with 200-1000 volumes of gas/h/volume of catalyst. The selectivity of benzaldehyde is 75-80% at conversion levels 15-30%. U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,259, Jan. 30, 1979, describes a process for the vapour phase catalytic oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid at a temperature ranging from 300-500xc2x0 C. in the presence of a silver-iron vanadate on silica with conversion 21%. A selectivity to aldehyde of 33% is described. U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,728, Jun. 28, 1983, describes a process wherein benzaldehyde is formed by the oxidation of toluene in the presence of a catalyst composed of the oxides of Cu, Fe, Pb, U, Mo, and P, and optionally including some other promoter elements. The reaction conditions are 475-550xc2x0 C., 0-10 atm. pressure, per pass conversion is 35-50%, and selectivity to benzaldehyde 40-70%. Ray et al, Ind. J. Technol., 21(4), 137, 1983, reported a process for the oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde. But, the conversion per pass is restricted to xcx9c15% and the yield of benzaldehyde is generally not more than 70%, with CO2 as main product. Further, the low concentration of toluene in the toluene-air feed mixture poses problems of recovery. The drawbacks in the above processes are the use of higher reaction temperatures, generation of carbon dioxide in large amounts contributing to global warming. Therefore, these processes do not appear to be attractive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,827, Dec. 19, 1995, discloses the preparation of aldehydes by the reduction of acids and esters in vapour phase in the presence of a bimetallic catalyst. The drawback is the two-step process of oxidation of toluene, a desired raw material, to benzoic acid and reduction of benzoic acid to benzaldehyde with hydrogen. Eventually, this process becomes uneconomical, when compared to a process of selective oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde conceived.
Morimoto et al (J. Chem. Soc. Sect. B, 62, 1967), Fields et al (Adv. Chem. Ser., No. 76 (2), 395) and Kamiya (Adv. Chem. Ser., No. 76 (2), 193, 1968) have reported that liquid phase air oxidation provides high yield of benzaldehyde when oxidation is carried out in acetic acid medium with cobalt acetate as catalyst and sodium bromide as promoter. The drawbacks are that this process suffers from the disadvantages of relatively low yield. U.S. Pat. No. 2,959,613, describes a process wherein the liquid phase oxidation of toluene or its nucleus substituted materials, such as xylene, is carried out by oxygen under the presence of a catalyser containing a bromine compound and a heavy metallic compound (such as a cobalt compound or manganese compound) along with a zinc compound or an alkaline earth metallic compound or an alkaline metallic compound. The drawbacks in this method are that the main product is the corresponding aromatic carbonic acid and either there is absolutely no production of the corresponding aromatic aldehyde or it is produced in a very small quantity as a by-product.
Japanese Patent No. SHO-53-5132 discloses a process wherein in order to increase the selectivity of benzaldehyde or its nucleus substituted material, a large quantity of catalyser containing a cobalt compound and bromine compound is used. Japanese Patent No. SHO-56-108728, Aug. 28, 1981, describes a process wherein the liquid phase air oxidation of toluene is carried out by a catalyst comprising a heavy metallic compound, zinc and bromine compound at 30-180xc2x0 C. and a small pressure. The transformation percentage of toluene is maintained within a specific range with the advantage of the execution of the reaction employing carboxylic acid as solvent in the range 0.5-2.0 times with respect to toluene or its substituted material. By this method, the selectivity of benzaldehyde is increased while formation of benzyl bromide is reduced to 2 mol %. However, the turnover number is 3-50 in these air oxidation reactions. The drawback in the above processes are that low turnover numbers render the process uneconomical; the use of higher catalyst concentration hasten corrosion of reactors and excessive production of benzyl bromide is detrimental to achieve the desired quality of the product. U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,405 wherein the oxidation of toluene in the presence of cobalt acetate, acid activator and molecular oxygen oxidant giving high yield of benzoic acid with selectivity to benzaldehyde 35% is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,101 describes a process wherein the oxidation of toluene is carried out in the presence of cobalt acetate, sodium bromide and hydrogen peroxide disclosing conversion of 90.6%, benzaldehyde yield of 29.0%, benzoic acid yield of 55.6%. There are drawbacks in the above processes due to excessive production of benzyl bromide or its nucleus substituted material. Therefore, such a method cannot be said to be a satisfactory one from the point of view of industrial production.
Obviously different approaches have been employed both at laboratory and commercial scale to prepare benzaldehyde. Traditional process has the disadvantage of forming unwanted and corrosive halogenated by-products.
The main object of the present invention is to provide an improved process for the production of benzaldehyde with 40-50% selectivity by the catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene.
Another object of the present invention is maintaining transformation percentage  less than 25% in the catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene.
Yet another object of the present invention is the production of benzaldehyde (40-50%) in very low concentration of catalyst thereby rendering the process economical.
Yet another object of the present invention is the production of benzyl alcohol (5-10%) another value added product of toluene in very low concentration of catalyst rendering the process economical.
Yet another object of the invention is to restrict the conversion to obtain high selectivity of benzaldehyde by the termination of the reaction after 1-1.5 hrs.
Yet another object of the present invention is to achieve production of benzaldehyde with a low concentration of catalyst, co-catalyst and promoter thus slowing down corrosion of the reactor which is a very important factor affecting economics of the project.
Yet another object of the present invention is to obtain near identical conversions and selectivities without the addition of promoter or bromide in recycle reactions conducted with the recovered composite mixture of catalyst, co-catalyst and promoter.
Yet another object of the present invention is to minimise the consumption of bromide promoter in recycle reactions.
Yet another object of the invention is to eliminate the formation of benzyl bromide which is detrimental to the quality of benzaldehyde.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a process where the turnover number is in the range of 350-700.
Yet another object of the present invention the benzaldehyde produced is chlorine free and can be used for a wide range of applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an environmentally safe process by elimination of the effluent disposal problem.
Yet another object of the present invention the benzaldehyde produced is chlorine free and can be used for a wide range of applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an environmentally safe process by elimination of the effluent disposal problem.
Accordingly the present invention provides an improved process for the production of benzaldehyde with 40-50% selectivity comprising carrying out catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene by providing a continuous flow of air in the presence of a catalyst selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, Mo and Ni, and preferably a co-catalyst selected from manganese and copper salts, a promoter and a bromine source selected from cobalt bromide, sodium bromide and zinc bromide, and a carboxylic acid solvent selected from the group consisting of acetic, propionic, benzoic acids ranging between 0.05 to 0.3 wt. times with respect to toluene, at a temperature ranging between 60-130xc2x0 C. and pressures in the range of 1-10 bars for a period of 0.5-1.5 hours to obtain benzaldehyde (40-50%) along with other by-products.
The invention also relates a process for the production of benzaldehyde with 40-50% selectivity by catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene which comprises the production of value added products benzaldehyde (40-50%), benzyl alcohol (5-10%) and benzoic acid in large proportions without any trace amounts of benzyl bromide while maintaining transformation percentage  less than 25% in the catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene with continuous flow of air employing the salts of Fe, Co, Mo, Ni as catalysts, manganese or copper salts as co-catalysts and cobalt bromide, sodium bromide and zinc bromide as promoters as well as bromine source and low content of carboxylic acid as solvent such as acetic, propionic, benzoic acids 0.05 to 0.3 wt. times with respect to toluene, in the temperatures 60-130xc2x0 C. and pressures in the range of 1-10 bars for a period of 0.5-1.5 hrs.
In an embodiment of the present invention the conversion is restricted to 15-25%.
In another embodiment of the present invention the process is a catalytic liquid phase reaction.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the selectivity to benzyl alcohol is 5-10%.
In still another embodiment of the present invention air is used as the oxidant.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the co-catalyst contains a heavy metallic compound such as manganese or copper and concentration with respect to toluene is very low in the range of 0.004-0.017 mol %.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the catalyst and co-catalyst are organic acid salts selected from the group consisting of formic acid salts, acetic acid salts, propionic acid salts, etc. of the heavy metallic compound.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the promoter is a bromine compound such as cobalt, sodium or zinc bromide. The concentration of the promoters in the reaction system with respect to the toluene is very low in the range of 0.14-1.14 mol %.
In yet another embodiment, the promoter used is also a bromine source.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the atomic ratio of zinc atoms with respect to heavy metallic atoms is in the range of 0.05-8.
In still another embodiment of the present invention in recycle reactions conducted with the recovered catalyst, near identical conversions and selectivities were obtained without any addition of promoter or bromide on each recycle.
In still another embodiment of the present invention in recycle reactions conducted, the consumption of promoter is minimised.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the process is conducted with low concentration of catalyst, co-catalyst and promoter in order to slow down corrosion of the reactor.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the turnover number is in the range of 350-700.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the process totally eliminates the formation of benzyl bromide as a by-product.
In still another embodiment of the present invention the benzaldehyde produced is chlorine free and can be used for a wide range of applications.
The process also results in the production of value added byproducts benzyl alcohol (5-10%) and benzoic acid in large proportions without any trace amounts of benzyl bromide while maintaining transformation percentage  less than 25%.
It has now been discovered that there is a high selectivity of benzaldehyde and benzyl alcohols in the air oxidation of toluene, with turnover number 350-700. The low concentration of solvent, carboxylic acid in the reaction minimise the release of HBr, which in turn generates free radical Br on interaction with Co3+ sufficient to the initiation of the reaction. In a recycle reaction conducted with the recovered catalyst, near identical conversions and selectivities were obtained without any addition of promoter or bromide. This result clearly establishes that bromine consumption in the system is minimised. An analysis of the results of experiments provides confirmation of the reduced consumption of bromine in the system. Therefore, formation of the by-product, benzyl bromide which requires higher content of HBr is eliminated, thus, resulting in production of benzaldehyde which meets specification of the food grade. This also helps to achieve higher turnover number by allowing optimum use of catalyst and co-catalyst. Apart from this, low concentration of catalyst, co-catalyst and promoter further slows down corrosion on the reactor, a very important factor affecting the economics of process. The process is environmentally safe since there is no effluent disposal problem.

Process for the production of benzaldehyde by the catalytic liquid phase air oxidation of toluene

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


A semiconductor memory according to an example of the present invention comprises first and second bit lines having a twisted bit-line architecture in which the first and second bit lines are alternately twisted at a constant period in first and second columns, a first cell block which is disposed in the first column, a first block select transistor which is connected between the first or second bit line and one end of the first cell block, a second cell block which is disposed in the second column, and a second block select transistor which is connected between the second or first bit line and one end of the second cell block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a twisted bit-line architecture of a semiconductor memory having block select transistors, and is used for, in particular, a T (transistor) C (capacitor) unit type ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM).
2. Description of the Related Art
In a memory product having a memory cell array composed of a plurality of memory cells disposed in a matrix form, wiring intervals such as intervals of bit-lines or intervals of word lines have been being made extremely narrower in accordance with the miniaturization of memory cells.
As a result, in particular, in a memory for reading a minute signal from a memory cell such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a ferroelectric memory (FeRAM) to a bit-line, there is a significant effect on the minute signal under interference (noise) among bit-lines, which causes a malfunction.
Then, in order to absorb interference between adjacent bit-lines, a twisted bit-line architecture in which these bit-lines are elongated in one direction while being twisted is used in such a memory product (for example, refer to H. Hidaka et al, "Twisted bit-line architectures for Multi-Megabit DRAM's" IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 24, No 1, pp. 21-27, February 1989).
In a case of using a twisted bit-line architecture, however, it is necessary to newly provide regions for twisting adjacent bit-lines in a memory cell array.
Therefore, by taking a dynamic random access memory as an example, a region A for twisting directly results in an increase of an area of a memory cell array as shown in FIG. 18.
Accordingly, also in a case of using a twisted bit-line architecture in a semiconductor memory having block select transistors, i.e., in a TC unit type FeRAM, it is necessary to solve the problem of an increase of a memory cell array.

Semiconductor memory having twisted bit line architecture


A method for measuring ocean surface currents using a long-range single station high frequency ground wave radar system includes the steps of forming a rectilinear grid based region, dividing the rectilinear grid into a plurality of sub-regions each having a uniform surface current flow therewithin, spanning each sub-region with a predetermined plurality of radial beam lines from the single radar station, dividing each radial beam line into a pre-selected plurality of radial sub-nodes, measuring radial surface current vector projection at each radial sub-node, inputting each radial surface current vector projection into a multiple regression model having two regressors, determining, with the multiple regression model, surface vector components along each of x and y axis, storing the surface vector components determined in step (g) to a database, and editing, with equation of continuity based algorithm, plurality of surface vector components stored in the database.

As is generally well known, conventional practice of mapping surface currents, which transport floating objects, vessels or pollutants, employs a pair of spaced apart shore-based radar stations that can survey the same oceanic region, but from different vantage points. The data from both stations are combined, in a vector addition sense, to determine the total surface current field. However, due to the cost and complexity of two-radar installations, efforts have been made to map surface currents utilizing a single radar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,533 issued to May et al. discloses the use of a pulsed monostatic radar operating in the HF/VHF range and using a single transmitting antenna with a wide beam width. There is a linear array of antennas, each with its own receiver/digitizer system to sample the complex signal. The summing and phasing of the signals is done in software. The correlation functions are calculated using two successive complex Fourier transforms. The current vectors are measured as a function of range and angle from the radar site, thereby generating the current map.
However, Barrick (1990) proved that this method works only when flow direction is known with respect to the radar beam.
Subsequently, Barrick taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,523 systems and methods for synthesis of total surface current vector maps by fitting normal modes to radar data. This method includes extracting a scalar data set from a radar signal from a radar. Radial velocity components are calculated from the radar signal. These components are fitted to a set of scalar eigenfunctions and eigenvalues to simultaneously solve for the best set of normal modes and the corresponding set of constants. The corresponding set of constants represents a corresponding set of amplitudes. The set of constants and the set of normal modes are used to create a two dimensional vector field used in creating a total vector map.
However, it is believed that Barrick's method is only useful in regions where there are known Eddie currents. It is unclear from Barrick's patent how his methods perform in uniform surface current zones.
Furthermore, both May et al. and Barrick use complex mathematical equations to map surface currents and are limited to short-range system, approximately 50 kilometer range from the radar site.
Therefore, there is a need for a method for determining long-range surface currents from a high frequency single radar station.

Method for measuring surface currents using a long-range single station high frequency ground wave radar system


A programmable package with a fuse embedded therein, and fabrication method are provided. The fuse has first and second terminal ends joined by a central portion defining a fusible link. The ends include a portion of the first and second conductive layers, the central portion including a portion of the first conductive layer. The first layer may be electroless copper and the second layer may be electrolytic copper. The fuse may have a dog-bone or a bow tie shape. The method includes providing a substrate with a dielectric layer, and forming the fuse by depositing first conductive layer, forming and patterning second conductive layer over a portion of the first layer, and patterning first layer to form interconnects between areas of the second layer.

Integrated circuits (ICs) are made up of electronic components linked together by conductive connections to form one or more functional circuits. ICs are typically formed in a piece of silicon called a chip or die. Silicon dice can be formed in a wafer that is a sheet of silicon with a surface that is subject to a series of fabrication steps to form a pattern of identical ICs. The ICs are separated from each other by a repeating pattern of scribe lines, also called saw lines, in the surface of the wafer that serve as boundaries between the dice. One IC is formed on each die. At a stage in a fabrication process the dice are diced (cut apart) from the wafer along the scribe lines and each die is bonded to a substrate to form an IC package.
A substrate is a relatively flat and rigid structure that provides mechanical support for the die in the IC package, transmits signals to and from the IC, and can also transfer heat that is generated during the operation of the IC. The substrate may also be called a carrier. The substrate includes conductive leads connected to respective bonding pads on the die so that the IC may exchange signals with other circuits in the IC package and circuits connected to the IC package. Additional elements such as resistors and capacitors that are not readily included in the IC may be attached to the top or bottom of the IC package. The IC package may be applied to a circuit board assembly that comprises systems of interconnected IC packages to form an electronic device such as a computer or a cellular phone.
One method of bonding a die to a substrate in an IC package is called a flip-chip bonding method. One version of the flip-chip bonding method is formally known as the controlled collapse chip connection or C4 method. In the flip-chip bonding method, solder bumps are placed on bonding pads on the dice while they are connected together in the wafer. The wafer is then diced to separate the dice. Each die is then turned over, or flipped, and aligned with a corresponding pattern of bonding pads or solder bumps on a substrate. A second reflow procedure is carried out to join the bumps to form a series of solder columns between the die and the substrate. The solder columns serve as conductive connections or leads between an IC in the die and the substrate through which I/O signals are transmitted, and power is delivered.
Todays wide range of market segmentation for the microprocessor industry has created challenges in inventory management. These challenges could be solved by having technology and manufacturing capability flexible enough to allow classification of a product in the last manufacturing process step.
Attempts to solve this problem have been made, but have created more complications in the manufacturing process. Presently changes in product classification are accomplished by using external components such as an external fuse (see FIG. 1, designated Prior Art, showing a flip chip pin grid array, or FCPGA type package using external caps/fuse). In this approach, external fuses are programmed to short certain circuits and thus change the product classification. This approach has a number of disadvantages, including the high cost of the extra components, and the need for extra "real estate" on the package to place the additional components. This leads to a larger package body size and thus a higher cost. Further, this approach presents complications in the assembly process and more designs and line items for suppliers and manufacturers to manage.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for technology and manufacturing capability which are flexible enough to allow the classification of the product in the last manufacturing process step.
The above mentioned problems with integrated circuit packaging and other problems are addressed by the present invention and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.


A system aggregates entity location information from multiple documents distributed among multiple locations in a network. The system searches the entity location information to identify a first set of entities located within the entirety of a first geographic region selected by a user. The system provides a first digital map to the user via a network, the first digital map including the first geographic region and further including visual representations of the first set of identified entities and their associated geographic locations.

1. Field of the Invention
Implementations described herein relate generally to information retrieval and, more particularly, to using boundaries associated with a given map view for retrieving the location of businesses located within the boundaries of the map view.
2. Description of Related Art
The World Wide Web ("web") contains a vast amount of information. Locating a desired portion of the information, however, can be challenging. This problem is compounded because the amount of information on the web and the number of new users inexperienced at web searching are growing rapidly.
Search engines attempt to return hyperlinks to web pages in which a user is interested. Generally, search engines base their determination of the user's interest on search terms (called a search query) entered by the user. The goal of the search engine is to provide links to high quality, relevant results (e.g., web pages) to the user based on the search query. Typically, the search engine accomplishes this by matching the terms in the search query to a corpus of pre-stored web pages (e.g., using an index). Web pages that contain the user's search terms are considered "hits" and are returned to the user as links.
Local search engines are search engines that attempt to return relevant web pages and/or business listings within a certain distance of a specific geographic location. For a local search, a user may enter a search query and may specify a geographic location around which the search query is to be performed. The local search engine may return relevant results, such as relevant web pages pertaining to the geographic area or listings of businesses that are located within a certain distance of a center of the specified geographic location. For example, if one searches for restaurants in the San Franciso Bay area using an existing graphical map search interface (e.g., a local search using Google Maps) only the most relevant restaurants within a certain distance of the very center point of the map will be provided to the searching user. The searching user, however, may find it more desirable to locate the most relevant restaurants over the entire area of the map displayed to the user, and not just those within a certain distance of the center point of the map.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Using boundaries associated with a map view for business location searching


A system for on-board anomaly resolution for a vehicle has a data repository. The data repository stores data related to different systems, subsystems, and components of the vehicle. The data stored is encoded in a tree-based structure. A query engine is coupled to the data repository. The query engine provides a user and automated interface and provides contextual query to the data repository. An inference engine is coupled to the query engine. The inference engine compares current anomaly data to contextual data stored in the data repository using inference rules. The inference engine generates a potential solution to the current anomaly by referencing the data stored in the data repository.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to aircraft and spacecraft avionic systems and, more specifically, to a system and method for responding to ground and flight system malfunctions by semantic anomaly resolution.
2. Background of the Invention
Most aircraft such as airplanes, space craft and the like have avionics systems which are designed and built from one or more subsystems. The subsystems are interconnected by signal carrying buses, connected to power sources, etc. Avionic subsystems were at one time relatively simple and tended to function somewhat independently of other subsystems. System operational characteristics and behavior in the event of equipment failures could be analyzed by a few engineers using available analytical and test tools. With the advent of digital avionics, subsystems have become more complex, more integrated with, and more inter-dependent upon one another.
One of the complex and challenging tasks facing modern avionics is that of defining all significant effects on the avionics system of one or more equipment failures. A comprehensive analysis requires the consideration of multiple avionics system operating configurations.
Presently, when an onboard anomaly occurs, a team of engineers are called to review past test data, documentation and the like. Different software simulations and/or hardware test systems may be preformed in order to help the engineers come to a collective consensus in order to provide a resolution or steps for a resolution to correct the anomaly. This process is very complicated and time consuming. The present system and methods only provide for a manual response to the encountered anomaly and there is a distinct lag time between the occurrence of the anomaly and any data/procedure for the resolution of the anomaly.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and method that overcomes the problems associated with the prior art. The system and method will provide an integrated approach to responding to ground and flight system malfunctions.

System and method for responding to ground and flight system malfunctions


A compact surface inspection optical head is disclosed which comprises a frame with two rings of apertures therein. The first set of apertures surrounding and close to a normal direction to the surface to be inspected is connected to fibers used to collect scattered radiation useful for the detection of micro-scratches caused by chemical and mechanical polishing. Where the position of these apertures is selected to be away from patterned scattering or diffraction, these apertures and their associated fibers may be useful for anomaly detection on patterned surfaces. A second ring of apertures at low elevation angles to the surface inspected is connected to fibers to collect radiation scattered by the surface inspected for anomaly detection on patterned surfaces. This ring of apertures segments azimuthally the collection space so that the signal outputs from detectors that are saturated by the pattern diffraction or scattering may be discarded and only the outputs of unsaturated detectors are used for anomaly detection. A pair of larger apertures in the double dark field positions may be employed for anomaly detection on unpatterned surfaces. Scattered radiation passing through the two larger apertures may be collected by objectives or fiber bundles.

This invention relates in general to defect detection, and, in particular, to an improved system for detecting anomalies on surfaces, such as particles and surface-originated defects such as crystal-originated particles ("COPs"), surface roughness and micro-scratches.
The SP1TBI™ detection system available from KLA-Tencor Corporation of San Jose, Calif., the Assignee of the present application, is particularly useful for detecting defects on unpatterned semiconductor wafers. While the SP1TBI system provides unsurpassed defect sensitivity on bare wafers or unpatterned wafers, this is not the case when it is used for inspecting wafers with patterns thereon such as wafers with memory arrays. In this system, all of the radiation collected by a lens or ellipsoidal mirror is directed to a detector to provide a single output. Thus, since pattern on the wafer will generate Fourier and/or other strong scattering signals, when these signals are collected and sent to the detector, the single detector output becomes saturated and unable to provide information useful for detecting defects on the wafer.
Conventional techniques for detecting defects on wafers are either tailored for the inspection of patterned wafers, or for inspecting unpatterned or bare wafers, but not both. While inspection systems for detecting patterned wafers may also be used for inspecting unpatterned wafers, such systems are typically not optimized for such purposes. Systems designed for the inspection of unpatterned or bare wafers, on the other hand, may have difficulties handling the diffraction or other scattering caused by the patterned structures on patterned wafers, for reasons such as those explained above.
For the inspection of patterned wafers, entirely different inspection systems have been employed. One commercial system, known as AIT™ inspection system, is available from the Assignee of the present application, KLA-Tencor Corporation of San Jose, Calif.; such system is also described in a number of patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,394. In the AIT system, spatial filters are employed to shield the detectors from the diffraction or scattering from the patterned structures on the wafer. The design of such spatial filters can be based on prior knowledge of the patterned structures and can be quite complex. Furthermore, this system utilizes a die to die comparison process in order better to identify the presence of a defect.
None of the above-described instruments is entirely satisfactory for the inspection of patterned wafers. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved defect detection system for patterned wafers in which the above difficulties are alleviated. To further economize on the space required for inline inspection, it is desirable to provide an instrument that can be optimized for both unpatterned and patterned wafer inspection.
Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) has gained wide acceptance in the semiconductor industry. The CMP process, however, also creates many types of defects that can significantly impact the yield of an integrated circuit (IC) device if the defects are not properly controlled. Among the CMP defects, the micro-scratch has a strong impact on IC yield. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to detect and differentiate micro-scratches and other CMP defects from particles.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/828,269 describes a defect detection system employing a collector that comprises a curved mirror such as the mirror ellipsoidal in shape. While such system is versatile and desirable for many applications, there may be applications where the use of such curved mirrors may be too expensive or impractical, such as where it is desirable for the defect detection system to be very small. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved system for such applications.

Inspection system for integrated applications


The present invention relates to a baseball swing trainer. In a first embodiment, a ball is pivotally attached to a vertical arm which is slidably attached to an oblique arm, the oblique arm is attached to a horizontal arm which is attached to a support structure; the vertical arm is contained within a first and second guide arm; a stopping member is attached to a first end of the oblique arm and a stopping bar is attached to a second end of the oblique arm such that when the ball is struck, the ball pivots on the vertical arm as the vertical arm slides up the oblique arm, striking the stopping bar and thereafter sliding back down the oblique arm to return to its starting position cradled within the stopping member. The travel path of the ball provides instantaneous feedback as to the quality of the swing.

Baseball has been referred to as America's Pastime. For over one hundred years its popularity as both a spectator event and recreational activity has not diminished. Nearly every community has youth leagues where children as young as five years old participate in organized baseball games.
One of the most difficult skills for a young player to learn is to swing the baseball bat level. Indeed, players of all ages, including professional baseball players, continually practice their swing. A level swing provides optimum contact with the ball, produces the most power and, hence, increases the probability of achieving a "base hit".
One key factor used in producing a level baseball swing is to develop what is commonly called "muscle memory" of a proper swing. In essence, repeatedly executing a level swing allows the utilized muscle groups to "remember" what a level swing feels like so that proper execution becomes automatic. Swing training devices, therefore, are designed to allow immediate feedback to the hitter to consistently and repeatedly produce the desired level swing.
Throughout the years many attempts have been made to develop a baseball swing trainer or warm up device which is uncomplicated in structure, economic to produce, adjustable to different size hitters, and allows for automatic return of the baseball to a starting position.
These devices have included various methods of suspending a ball from a rope mounted to a horizontal support member; attaching a ball to a rigid member; or combinations of the two, such as a suspending a rope with a portion of the rope passing through a tube positioned immediately above the ball. The ideal swing training device would also cause the ball when struck with a level swing to consistently take a smooth fight path that simulates the natural motion of a well struck pitched ball.
Unfortunately, the ideal swing trainer has not yet been achieved. Known ball striking devices have either failed to duplicate the normal striking position of a well struck pitched ball, failed to provide a realistic feel and flight of a well struck pitched ball, are overly complex, or are too expensive to manufacture to allow purchase for young ball players. Accordingly, there is still a continuing need for improved baseball swing trainers. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.


A bicycle front derailleur is provided with a mounting fixture that is configured to maintain an angular orientation of the front derailleur about a mounting axis parallel to a center axis of a frame tube in a stable manner. The mounting fixture has a bicycle frame fastening part, a front derailleur mounting part and a front derailleur contact part. The bicycle frame fastening part is configured to be fastened to the seat tube. The front derailleur mounting part is disposed on the bicycle frame fastening part and configured to be fastened to the front derailleur so that fine adjustment is possible about the mounting axis disposed at a distance from the seat tube. The front derailleur contact part selectively contacts a side surface of the front derailleur on the side facing the seat tube in a position that is different from that of the front derailleur mounting part.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a bicycle front derailleur that is fastened to the bicycle frame. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mounting fixture for mounting the bicycle front derailleur to a tubular member of the bicycle frame in a manner such that the angular position of the bicycle front derailleur can be finely adjusted relative to an axis that is parallel to a center axis of the tubular member of the bicycle frame.
2. Background Information
Bicycling is becoming an increasingly more popular form of recreation as well as a means of transportation. Moreover, bicycling has become a very popular competitive sport for both amateurs and professionals. Whether the bicycle is used for recreation, transportation or competition, the bicycle industry is constantly improving the various components of the bicycle. Recently, bicycle frames have been extensively redesigned. One component that has been extensively redesigned is the bicycle frame and the mounting structures
A bicycle front derailleur is sometimes attached to the seat tube (tubular member) of the bicycle frame by a mounting fixture, which is fastened by being welded or screwed to the seat tube of the frame. This mounting fixture is sometimes called a direct-mounting seat. Since such mounting fixtures are fastened to the seat tube beforehand, the chain guide of the derailleur cannot be disposed in a parallel position directly above the front sprocket in the case of systems in which a band is formed as an integral part of the front derailleur, unless the orientation is adjusted about an axis parallel to the seat tube following mounting.
The present invention relates to a front derailleur which is fastened to a bicycle frame and which can be attached to a mounting fixture having a circular arcuate surface so that fine adjustments can be made by rotation about a first axis, and also relates to this mounting fixture.
In the past, therefore, mounting fixtures have included fittings devised so that not only the vertical position can be adjusted, but also the rotation about the axis can be adjusted (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-177594). This conventional mounting fixture has a bicycle frame fastening part which is fastened with the aid of a screw to the seat tube, and also has a front derailleur mounting part which is disposed on the bicycle frame fastening part and which can be fastened so that fine adjustments are possible by rotation about a first axis in a position distant from the seat tube. The front derailleur mounting part is integrally formed by being bent from the bicycle frame fastening part. Long slots are formed at this location above and below, and the front derailleur mounting part has a first fine adjustment washer which has a circular arcuate protruding surface used for fine adjustment and disposed on the front surface of the slot, and a second fine adjustment washer which has a circular arcuate recessed surface in contact with the first fine adjustment washer. Fastening bolts are passed through these two washers and slots, and are screwed into the front derailleur along the forward-rearward direction, so that the front derailleur can be finely adjusted by rotation about the first adjustment axis. Furthermore, in order to maintain the finely adjusted state about the first adjustment axis, a contact bolt having the configuration of a set screw with a recessed hexagonal socket in contact with the root portion of the front derailleur mounting part bent from the bicycle frame fastening part is disposed in the front derailleur.
When a front derailleur is mounted on such a mounting fixture, the mounting fixture is threadedly fastened to the seat tube in a specified position, and the front derailleur is then fastened in place by the fastening bolt after the vertical position and orientation about the first adjustment axis have been adjusted. In this state, the contact bolt is brought into contact with the front derailleur mounting part so that the adjusted state is maintained. The orientation of the front derailleur about the first adjustment axis therefore tends not to vary even if a force should act on the front derailleur from the chain toward the seat tube during gear shift.
A contact bolt that is disposed in parallel in a position in close proximity to the fastening bolt is used in the abovementioned conventional mounting fixture in order to maintain the adjusted orientation after of the front derailleur about the first adjustment axis. Consequently, a large force is caused to act on the contact bolt by the torque that is generated by the chain, so that there is a danger that the adjusted orientation will vary because of a slight looseness of the screw or the like.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved mounting fixture. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


A variety of field emission devices and structures which employ non-substrate layers of single-crystal silicon. By employing non-substrate layers of single-crystal silicon, improved emission control is achieved and improved performance controlling devices are formed within the device structure.

Cold-cathode field-emission devices (FEDs) are known in the art. Such cold-cathode field-emission devices employ emitter electrodes with geometric discontinuities of small radius of curvature for the purpose of emitting electrons.
The prior art teaches that FEDs are formed by a number of preferred methods. One such method taught by the prior art results in an emitter electrode disposed on the surface of a supporting substrate material, while an alternative method employs selective semiconductor processing to form the emitter electrode directly from the supporting substrate material.
A number of impediments to optimum utilization of FEDs can be associated with these and other prior art methods. One such impediment is that control of limitation of emission is not easily implemented within the FED structure. Additionally, under prior art methods, mono-crystal silicon transistor devices are generally restricted to formation in the substrate material in a structure in which FEDs are also located.
Therefore, a need exists for an FED formation methodology that can easily incorporate an emitter current limitation mechanism and provide for the formation of single-crystal silicon transistors at locations other than in the substrate material.

Field emission device employing a layer of single-crystal silicon


A mutant cellulase obtainable from Thermomonospora spp is provided which differs from a precursor cellulase in that it has been genetically engineered to introduce a substitution, deletion or addition of an amino acid residue to said precursor cellulase which provided improved activity in a detergent. Preferably, the substitution is at a residue corresponding to T140 in Thermomonospora fusca.

The present invention is directed to novel cellulase compositions and methods of use therefor in industrial processes. In particular, the present invention is related to treating textiles, e.g., laundering and processing, with a mutant cellulase derived from Thermomonospora spp. The present invention is further related to the use of cellulase derived from Thermomonospora spp. to enhance the digestibility of animal feed, in detergents, in the treatment of pulp and paper and in the production of starch and treatment of by-products thereof.
Cellulases are enzymes which hydrolyze cellulose (.beta.-1,4-D-glucan linkages) and produce as primary products glucose, cellobiose and cellooligosaccharides. Cellulases are produced by a number of microorganisms and comprise several different enzyme classifications including those identified as exo-cellobiohydrolases (CBH), endoglucanases (EG) and .beta.-glucosidases (BG) (M. Schulein, Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 160, pp. 235-242 (1988)). Current theory holds that the enzymes within these classifications can be separated into individual components. For example, microbial cellulase compositions may consist of one or more CBH components, one or more EG components and possibly .beta.-glucosidase. The complete cellulase system comprising CBH, EG and BG components synergistically act to convert crystalline cellulose to glucose. The exo-cellobiohydrolases and the endoglucanases act together to hydrolyze cellulose to small cello-oligosaccharides. The oligosaccharides (mainly cellobioses) are subsequently hydrolyzed to glucose by a major .beta.-glucosidase.
Cellulases and components thereof, used either singularly or in combination, are known to be useful in detergent compositions and for treating textiles. In the textile industry, during or shortly after the manufacture of cotton-containing fabrics, it is known to treat such fabrics with cellulase to impart desirable properties to the fabric. One purpose of this treatment is to remove fuzz, i.e., untangled fiber ends that protrude from the surface of a yarn or fabric, and pills, i.e., bunches or balls of tangled fibers that are held to the surface of a fabric by one or more fibers. Accordingly, in the textile industry, cellulase has been used to improve the feel and/or appearance of cotton-containing fabrics, to remove surface fibers from cotton-containing knits, and also for imparting a stone washed appearance to cotton-containing denims. In particular, Japanese Patent Application Nos. 58-36217 and 58-54032 as well as Ohishi et al., "Reformation of Cotton Fabric by Cellulase" and "What's New--Weight Loss Treatment to Soften the Touch of Cotton Fabric", Japan Textile News, (Dec. 1988) each disclose that treatment of cotton-containing fabrics with cellulase results in an improved feel for the fabric. It is generally believed that this cellulase treatment removes cotton fuzzing and/or surface fibers which reduces the weight of the fabric. The combination of these effects imparts improved feel to the fabric.
Clothing made from cellulose fabric, such as cotton denim, is stiff in texture due to the presence of sizing compositions used to ease manufacturing, handling and assembling of clothing items and typically has a fresh dark dyed appearance. One desirable characteristic of indigo-dyed denim cloth is the alteration of dyed threads with white threads, which gives denim a white on blue appearance. For example, after a period of extended wear and laundering, the clothing items, particularly denim, can develop in the panels and seams localized areas of variation in the form of a lightening in the depth or density of color. In addition, a general fading of the clothes, some pucker in seams and some wrinkling in the fabric panels can often appear. In recent years such a distressed or "stonewashed" look, particularly in denim clothing, has become very desirable to a substantial proportion of the public. In addition to textile processing, cellulases are also known to be useful as animal feed additives, in the processing of pulp and paper and in the reduction of biomass.
A cellulase system derived from the thermophilic, filamentous, soil bacterium Thermomonospora fusca has been detected and the biochemical characteristics of that system and components thereof studied (Wilson, Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, Vol. 121/2, pp. 45-63 (1992)). One specific endoglucanase component of the T. fusca system, E5, has been sequenced (Lao et al., J. Bacter., Vol. 173, pp. 3397-3407 (1991)), and its disulfide arrangement and functional domains described (McGinnis et al., Biochemistry, Vol. 32, pp. 8157-8161 (1993)). McGinnis discloses that E5 treated with protease from Streptomyces lividans results in a 14 kD cellulose binding domain and a catalytically active 32 kD fragment which had lost the ability to bind to cellulose. Pure catalytically active S. lividans protease treated E5 was shown to have similar activity to intact enzyme on CMC. However, mixtures of catalytically active E5 fragments, when combined with intact E3 from T. fusca or intact E3 and CBHI from Trichoderma reesei, showed decreased performance to similar mixtures containing intact E5 instead of the fragment (PCT Publication No. 96/00281).
Despite intensive research related to the use of cellulases in industrial processes, cellulases known and used in the art often show significant drawbacks. For example, many cellulases have been problematic due to low activity in detergents. Surprisingly, Applicants herein have discovered that a mutant E5 cellulase comprises characteristics particularly desirable in certain industrial applications compared to wild type E5.