A process for inducing a transcriptionally active chromosome (i.e., a "lampbrush" chromosome) from condensed chromatin or nucleus is disclosed. The condensed chromosome is contacted with the contents of a germinal vesicle. Preferably, the nuclear envelope is disrupted or removed. Moreover, a heterologous system of chromosome and germinal vesicle derived from organisms of different species is preferred because it permits analysis of organisms that do not have lampbrush chromosomes or cannot be manipulated by other techniques. Such lampbrush chromosomes can be attached to a substrate, and then analyzed by a variety of molecular and cytological techniques such as, for example, antibody detection of chromosomal protein, autoradiography, electron and light microscopy, histochemistry, image analysis, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization of nucleic acids, morphology, and the like.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for inducing a transcriptionally active chromosome (i.e., a "lampbrush" chromosome) from condensed chromatin or nuclei.
2. Description of the Related Art
More than 100 years ago, Flemming described giant chromosomes in the oocyte nucleus or germinal vesicle (GV) of the salamander Ambystoma mexicanum. His initial brief observations were soon followed by detailed investigations that established the existence of giant chromosomes in GVs of many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Ruckert named them lampbrush chromosomes (LBCs) because of their fancied resemblance to the brushes used for cleaning kerosene lamp chimneys.
Lampbrush chromosomes of amphibian oocytes are the largest known chromosomes, rivaled only by the giant polytene chromosomes of Drosophila and other flies. They are characterized by the presence of hundreds or thousands of transcriptionally-active regions that loop out laterally from the main axis of the chromosome. Each loop consists of one or a small number of active genes. Striking variations in the morphology and/or molecular composition of individual loops and of other landmarks along the main axis (e.g., centromeres, telomeres, axial granules, and the like) make it possible to map these chromosomes at the gene level by conventional light microscopy, using combinations of morphology, antibody binding, and in situ nucleic acid hybridization.
Although lampbrush chromosomes are found in a variety of organisms, they are conspicuously absent from many others or are not analyzable in some cases because of the small size of germinal vesicles in some organisms. For instance, it is still debatable whether typical lampbrush chromosomes occur in mammalian oocytes, including human oocytes, but even if they do, the germinal vesicle is too small to analyze such chromosomes by the techniques of the prior art.
The overall organization and functional significance of lampbrush chromosomes have been the subject of extensive experimentation and speculation (reviewed in Callan, 1986; Davidson, 1986). Because LBCs occur in oocytes during the growth period, they are in an arrested diplotene phase of meiosis I with homologous chromosomes held together at one or more chiasmata. Each homologue has a DAPI-positive axis of chromomeres, which correspond to transcriptionally-inactive regions where sisters are intimately associated. Numerous pairs of loops extend laterally from the chromomere axis; these consist of transcriptionally-active regions where sisters are completely independent of one another. Even at the light microscope level of analysis, loops are not of uniform thickness, but contain of one or more "thin-to-thick" regions, which correspond to transcription units. The electron microscope shows that the "thin-to-thick" morphology reflects the increasing length of nascent RNP fibrils along the transcription unit in the direction of transcription. This structure of LBCs reflects their transcriptionally active state.
Despite a wealth of detailed morphological and molecular information on lampbrush chromosomes, fundamental questions remain about their structure and especially about the significance of their highly active transcription. At one time their structure was regarded as unusual, but the discovery of looped chromatin domains in somatic nuclei (Paulson and Laemmli, 1977; Saitoh and Laemmli, 1993; Yokota et al., 1995) suggests that the lampbrush condition is a good model for chromosomes in general. However, the cis and trans factors which cause a condensed chromosome to assume the lampbrush condition had not been identified.
These and other questions about LBCs would be easier to address in a system in which the lampbrush state could be artificially induced and manipulated. In the present application, we disclose that condensed chromatin injected into a heterologous germinal vesicle gives rise within hours to distinctive transcriptionally-active LBCs. This system will be useful in assessing the relative importance of cis and trans acting factors in establishing the morphological and molecular attributes of LBCs. It should also permit analysis of transcriptionally-active chromosomes from organisms whose oocytes cannot be handled by current techniques or do not go through a typical lampbrush stage. Furthermore, LBCs from interphase nuclei exhibit a pattern of loops useful for cytogenetic analysis with higher resolution than interphase chromosomes painted by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Such loop patterns allow mapping, essentially at the single gene level.


A method and system provides a structured and accessible information repository for an entities personal information. An information server contains a personal information database and a set of information preferences associated with the personal information database. The personal information database contains personal information about an entity, such as name, phone number, address, etc. The information preferences define an entities preferences regarding the conditions of use under which the personal information will be released. When another computer or user of another computer, a requestor, requests personal information from the information server, the requestor then identifies the information it is requesting and provides the conditions under which the information is to be used. The received conditions of use are compared to the set of information preferences to determine if the received conditions of use are acceptable. If the received conditions of use are acceptable the information is retrieved and provided to the requestor. If the received conditions are unacceptable, the requestors request is denied. The requestor and freely addressable access interface may then negotiate the conditions of use until acceptable conditions are reached, or until it is determined that acceptable conditions cannot be obtained. Encryption and third party certification are used to provide security to the system. Records of the transactions are maintained to provide a xe2x80x9cpaper trailxe2x80x9d in case the agreement is broken.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer databases. More specifically, the present invention is related to access of personal information stored in computer databases.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
The use of computers to provide structured storage and communications of information in order to streamline information processing tasks is quite prevalent in today""s society. For instance, even small businesses maintain databases of inventory and accounting information, personnel records, etc. The advantage of computers and associated databases is that they provide a structured, easily accessible repository for this information. Once entered into the database, this information can easily be modified, processed, organized in different ways, protected against invasion, and aggregated in different manners to provide valuable reports. These capabilities are of great value in productivity, privacy, organization, and help to insure the correct information is used for the appropriate tasks.
While some businesses may locate their accounting and inventory information in a single repository, providing structure and ease of access, an individual""s personal information is not typically handled as productively. Information, such as address books and calendars, may be stored on a personal digital assistant, or on various computer desktop applications, and is inaccessible to other computer programs or other computers. Other information, such as frequent flyer miles, medical prescriptions, grocery store buying habits, shoe size, etc., are not stored on a computer anywhere, or are stored on systems which the individual does not have immediate access to. In accordance with the present invention, such information is stored in a single repository, or, alternatively, a central access point for such information is provided. The storage of such information in this manner provides a digital persona for the individual which can be accessed by other computers.
The right to access information such as inventory and accounting information is relatively easily determined. Either the user has a reason to access the information or not. Consequently, a simple system of access privilege mechanisms is used to determine who can access the information. When dealing with an individual""s personal information, many factors are considered by the individual to determine whether they would provide the information to the other party. Some information, such as their bank account, is much more private, and therefore would only be given out to trusted entities and only for a very good reason, such as to a merchant to complete a transaction. Other information is much less private and may be given out more freely. Therefore, there is a need for a more complex manner of determining whether access to the information should be allowed. According to the present invention, a complex manner is provided in which a repository or central access point, hereinafter referred to as information server, and the computer attempting access, hereinafter the requestor, negotiate the terms of use and accessibility of the personal information based upon preferences set by the user.
Recently, a protocol known as Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) has been proposed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The P3P protocol enables World Wide Web sites to inform a user of a web browser of a Web sites privacy practices and allow the user of the web browser to exercise preferences based upon those practices. The P3P protocol focuses on storing limited amounts of personal information in a single program, such as a web browser, along with preferences relating to the information. Thereafter, when a user of the web browser is visiting a Web site, the Web site presents a request, along with information regarding the privacy practices of the Web site, to the web browser. If the privacy practices are compatible with the users preferences, the web browser supplies the information to the Web site. If the privacy practices are not compatible, a negotiation may be pursued, and if agreeable terms can be obtained, then the information is released. If agreeable terms are not met, the information is not released. While this provides a single storage place for the information, storage of the information in a web browser limits the accessibility of the information. For instance, a computer at a bank cannot request information that is needed to complete a transaction, unless the user is using the web browser and visiting the actual Web site of the bank. Therefore, a process, such as a loan approval, which has different stages and may require different types of information which could not be obtained earlier, during each stage, cannot be completed without contacting the loan applicant (user of the web browser) physically. This is due to the fact the loan applicant may not even be aware the information is needed and therefore would not know to navigate the web browser to the appropriate Web site. Such a need to contact the loan applicant draws out a process which could have been easily and quickly carried out had the information been easily accessible. At other times, the user of the web browser may be remotely located from the web browser, but needs access to their personal information. The web browser cannot be addressed by another computer and accessed to provide the information and therefore, the information is inaccessible to a user remotely located from their web browser. In summary, the web browser is not freely addressable.
The following references describe the use of user profiles to perform certain tasks or the negotiation between intelligent agents, however, none of these references provide for a central repository of personal information of an entity which is easily accessible.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,873 describes a communication system in which entities want to be involved by exchanging proposals and counter-proposals.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,159 describes a system in which a user stores preferences relating to multiple application devices, such as cellular phones, computers, or automobiles, in a smart card or central database so that the users preferences can easily be set in a new model of the multiple application device.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,923 describes a system for customizing electronic advertisements to an individual user, based upon a user profile. The information of the profile is used to provide targeted information while maintaining the privacy of the individual.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,662 describes a system which retrieves and compiles information to be presented to a user based upon the user""s profile.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,972 describes a system that directs an individual to a web page by the use of direct mail marketing. When the user accesses the page a unique page is generated based upon data stored corresponding to the individual.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,070 describes the use of a certification server to facilitate a purchase initiated by a user over the Internet.
The International Application WO 97/29443 describes a negotiation between agents of a distributed processing environment to determine the services performed by each agent in order to accomplish an overall task.
The International Application WO 98/43146 describes a method of negotiation between intelligent agents which allows the agents to disguise their negotiation strategies from other negotiating parties, limits unproductive negotiations, and incorporates dynamic value determination.
The International Application WO 95/15635 describes a communications network in which management agents negotiate with customer agents to provide new services.
The Japanese Patent Publication JP 04-279935 describes a system for solving problems by negotiating between a plurality of agents having different knowledge bases.
The non-patent literature entitled, xe2x80x9cCooperative Information Agents and Communication,xe2x80x9d describes an architecture in which a communication manager negotiates contracts of communication and transaction protocols with other cooperative information agents.
The non-patent literature entitled, xe2x80x9cICOMA: an Open Infrastructure for Agent-based Intelligent Electronic Commerce on the Internet,xe2x80x9d describes an architecture and message protocol for inter-agent negotiation in an open infrastructure for agent based electronic commerce.
Whatever the precise merits, features and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieve or fulfills the purposes of the present invention. These and other objects are achieved by the detailed description that follows.
The present invention provides a system which provides a structured and accessible information repository for an entity""s personal information. An information server comprises a freely accessible access interface, a personal information database, and a set of information preferences associated with the personal information database. The personal information database contains personal information about an entity, such as name, phone number, address, shoe size, medications, etc. The information preferences define an entities preferences regarding the conditions of use under which the personal information will be released. When a requestor, such as another computer, requests personal information from the information server, the requestor communicates with the information server by addressing the freely accessible interface. The requestor then identifies the information it is requesting and provides the conditions under which the information is to be used. The freely addressable access interface then compares the received conditions of use to the set of information preferences to determine if the received conditions of use are acceptable. If the received conditions of use are acceptable, the freely addressable access interface retrieves the information and provides it to the requestor. If the received conditions are unacceptable, the freely addressable access interface denies the requestors request.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the requestor and the freely addressable access interface negotiate on the conditions of use until an agreement is reached, or until it is determined that an agreement cannot be reached. When the freely addressable access interface initially determines that the received conditions of use are unacceptable, the freely addressable access interface proposes new conditions of use to the requestor which the requestor may accept, or in turn proposes other new conditions of use and so forth, until the agreement is reached or until it is determined the agreement cannot be reached.
In another embodiment of the present invention, once an agreement on the conditions of use has been reached, the freely addressable access interface records the conditions of use of the released information in order to maintain a xe2x80x9cpaper recordxe2x80x9d of the transaction. Additionally, the requestor maintains a record of the transaction. Therefore, if the terms of the agreement are violated, a xe2x80x9cpaper trailxe2x80x9d of the agreement exists.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the requestor additionally identifies a separate, third party certification authority, used by the freely addressable access interface to verify the identity of the requestor.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the personal information is converted into a human readable format, for the case that the requestor is a human user of a computer. The freely addressable access interface retrieves the personal information from the personal information database and supplies it to a human readable converter, which converts the information to human readable format. The freely addressable access interface then provides the information to the computer and the information is displayed to the user.
In another embodiment of the present invention, more than one personal information database and associated set of information preferences exists on the same information server.

Digital persona for providing access to personal information

International Business Machines Corporation


In order to reduce a junction leakage current and obtain a shallow junction, ion implantation to form a doped region, such as an active region of a transistor, is followed by a low-temperature annealing and pulsed laser irradiation. The annealing temperature and time of the low-temperature anneal are 600.degree. C. and one hour, for example. The subsequent pulsed laser irradiation is performed by a XeCl laser, for example, with irradiation energy of 700 mJ/cm2, and a pulse width of 44 nsec. This process can reduce the leakage current by effectively removing points defects around the junction, and enables activation without increasing the depth of the junction.

The present invention relates to a process for fabricating semiconductor devices, and more specifically to a semiconductor fabricating process including one or more steps for recovering the crystal damage resulting from ion implantation, and activating carriers.
In semiconductor fabricating processes, various high temperature heat treatments are required to separate or interconnect a plurality of semiconductor devices which are formed in and on a single semiconductor substrate. Usually, ion implantation for forming a LDD (Lightly Doped Drain) structure, or source/drain regions usually results in crystal damage. In order to improve the crystallinity of a semiconductor substrate and to electrically activate implanted acceptor or donor ions, the ion implantation is followed by a step of activation annealing. Furthermore, in order to reduce a contact resistance, a silicide layer of compound consisting of Si and metal, such as refractory metal (W, Mo, Ti, etc.), Pt or Pd, requires a high temperature heating step. Conventional fabricating processes employ, as the activating anneal or high-temperature heat treatment, furnace annealing or rapid thermal annealing (RTA).
With advance in the IC technology, each IC component becomes smaller in size, and a shallower junction is required for source and drain regions, and emitter and base regions. The furnace annealing and rapid thermal annealing make the diffusion deeper, however, and these annealing methods cannot satisfy the demand for device miniaturization and higher packing density. During the activating anneal subsequent to the ion implantation, the diffusion proceeds not only vertically in the direction to deepen the source and drain diffusion regions, but also sideways so as to broaden the lateral dimension. This lateral diffusion tends to increase the possibility of punch-through specifically in a miniaturized MOS transistor having a short gate length. Annealing at a lower temperature can avoid these undesirable diffusion effects and keep shallow implants shallow. In this case, however, the resistivity remains high, the device's current handling characteristic becomes poor, and the transistor is unable to provide required switching performance.
The time required for rapid thermal annealing is not short enough. FIG. 3 shows one example in which the substrate is heated at about 1400.degree. C. The rate of increase of temperature is 100.degree. C./sec, and a rise of temperature takes a considerable time. The duration t during which the substrate is held at the peak temperature is equal to or more than one second, at least. The duration of the peak temperature is still too long to achieve a desired shallow source-drain junction structure in a minute transistor having a gate length (Lg) as short as 0.5.about.0.35 .mu.m, for instance. Moreover, infrared radiation used in RTA is absorbed unevenly by SiO2 films on top of the substrate and other topside films having different infrared absorption characteristics.
Pulsed laser irradiation is another method which can be employed for the activating anneal to form a shallow doped region. The laser pulse energy is absorbed by the surface (about 20 nm) of the semiconductor substrate, so that the pulse laser annealing is possible only at a depth of about 100 nm or less, even if thermal diffusion is taken into account. The temperature increase of the wafer as a whole is very small (about 1.degree..about.2.degree. C.). The pulsed laser annealing is, therefore, suitable for activation annealing to form a shallow LDD structure, or source-drain pair.
In the case of the pulse laser activation annealing, however, the time of heat treatment is very short (t=100 nsec, for instance) as shown by a profile of the substrate temperature during irradiation in FIG. 4. Therefore, it is not possible to clear a silicon substrate 1 of point defects 2 formed at levels deeper than the junction of an ion implanted region 1a, such as a source/drain region. The remaining point defects cause an increase of leakage current given an application of reverse voltage. FIG. 6 shows a relationship between reverse voltage and reverse leakage current in a junction accompanied by such points defects 2. In the example of FIG. 6, only the pulse laser annealing is applied.
This problem can be solved by increasing the power of the laser to heat deeper regions in the substrate. However, this solution deepens and broadens the implant dopant profile as in the conventional furnace annealing or RTA. Furthermore, high energy laser pulses melt the semiconductor surface to a greater depth and damages the flatness or planarity of the semiconductor substrate surface. Low energy laser pulses melt only a very thin surface layer, and allows a flat surface to be immediately formed again.


Systems and methods for controlling a solar panel or solar panel array to power one or more appliances are disclosed. The systems include at least a solar panel or solar panel array, an appliance or electrical load, and a power controller connected between the solar panel or solar panel array and the electrical load. The controller performs a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm on the solar panel or array. The controller also takes into account contextual information, including location and time information, and allows the battery to be discharged beyond a defined threshold only if the contextual information indicates that sufficient solar power will be available to recharge it.

Energy production from renewable sources—primarily solar, wind, and geothermal—continues to increase in importance as conventional fossil fuel energy sources become less abundant and concerns about carbon dioxide and other products of combustion grow. Renewable energy production is particularly important for areas of the world where power distribution infrastructure is not fully developed.
Renewable energy production involves myriad technological challenges. One of the most fundamental challenges is that renewable energy production is usually not constant or at a steady rate. For example, the amount of power produced by a solar panel will vary with the latitude, the time of day, the inclination of the panels relative to the sun, the weather, the age of the panels, and other factors. For that reason, most renewable energy production systems include some kind of battery or batteries to store power as it is produced and to allow it to be used at other times.
As chemical repositories of energy, batteries have their own difficulties. Most types of batteries do not respond well to frequent charge-discharge cycles. Lithium ion batteries, which are popular in consumer electronics, have a high energy density and can withstand repeated charge-discharge cycles, but are susceptible to the memory effect, and are also expensive. Lead-acid batteries, by contrast, are ubiquitous (they are used in automobiles), but can begin to oxidize and may suffer permanent damage if they are allowed to fully discharge.
If renewable energy production is to reach its full potential, better technologies for maintaining battery condition and charge, for providing power at more constant voltage and current levels, and for managing appliances connected to non-constant power sources are needed.

Apparatus and methods for control of power flow and battery charge


A variable optical attenuator, or VOA, includes a movable focusing mirror and an actuator integrated on a substrate or within a MEMS. The actuator moves the mirror within a range of motion to reflect, focus and steer a light beam. One embodiment further includes an input and an output photonic component, such as wave guides or optical fibers. The wave guides or optical fibers may have angled endfaces and be positioned to reduce the required operating range of motion of the mirror. The mirror may be a Fresnel mirror, a concave mirror, a diffractive mirror or a concave diffractive mirror. In certain embodiments the mirror is moved in at least two dimensions to steer the light beam to form a trajectory having at least two dimensions.

The present invention relates generally to variable optical attenuation, and more particularly, to methods and devices for MEMS-based variable optical attenuation of optical signals.
The wide application of variable optical attenuation of optical signals within optical communications networks insures that enhancements in variable optical attenuators and attenuation methods and capabilities can improve the field of optical network technology. Innovations that increase the performance qualities and lower the cost of manufacture of variable optical attenuators, or VOA""s, are also of value to communications technologists.
The prior art has attempted to improve the devices and techniques of light beam reflection by employing concave mirrors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,022, Morey (Jul. 10, 1984), discloses an apparatus that includes a concave mirror coupled with optical fibers. Morey""s device uses optical fibers as position detecting elements in an electrically passive detecting head. Morey discloses an embodiment wherein a concave mirror is permanently and fixedly mounted onto a movable handle. An optical fiber directs a light beam at the concave mirror, and a plurality of output optical fibers receives portions of the light beam after reflection from the concave mirror. The reflection of the light beam from the concave mirror to the output optical fiber is affected as a user moves the handle while changing the handle position. Observing the portions of the reflected light beam as transmitted through the plurality of output optical fibers are used to determine the position of the handle at the moment of reflection of the light beam from the concave mirror.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,946, Bergmann (Feb. 29, 2000), discloses an optical switch having two optical fibers, a concave mirror, a mirror actuator, and a mechanical actuating member attached to the mirror and to the actuator. The actuating member drives the mirror from one preset, discrete position, to another preset position, wherein each discrete mirror position provides a prespecified degree of attenuation of transmission of an optical beam from one optical fiber to another optical fiber.
There is a long felt need to improve the devices and techniques of variable optical attenuation wherein attenuation can be accomplished with more elegance and flexibility than provided in the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a variable optical attenuator, or VOA, coupled with a substrate.
It is an object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide a MEMS-based VOA.
It is another object of certain alternate preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide a variable optical attenuator, or VOA, integrated on a substrate.
It is a still alternate object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide a VOA that includes a focusing mirror.
It is yet another object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide a MEMS-based device that comprise or partially comprises a VOA.
It is still another object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide an array of MEMS-based devices that comprise or partially comprise a multi-channel MEMS-based VOA.
The method of the present invention provides a VOA for attenuating an optical signal where the optical signal is transmitted at least partially via a light beam. In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, or an invented VOA, a movable focusing mirror of the invented VOA is positioned by an actuator to reflect, focus and steer the light beam toward a receiving photonic component. The movable focusing mirror steers and controllably misaligns the light beam onto a receiving face of the photonic device. The controlled misalignment of the light beam onto the receiving face enables an attenuation of the optical signal by allowing only a portion of the reflected light beam to enter the photonic component for transmission.
The movable focusing mirror may be a concave mirror, a diffractive mirror, a diffractive concave mirror, a Fresnel mirror, a Zone plate mirror, or another suitable movable focusing mirror known in the art.
The actuator may be or comprise, in various alternate preferred embodiments of the present invention, a suitable actuating element known in the art, to include an electro-mechanical actuator, an electro-static actuator, a piezo-electric actuator, a thermo-mechanical actuator, an electromagnetic actuator, and a polymer actuator. Where the actuator comprises a polymer actuator, the polymer actuator may be or comprise an electro-active polymer actuator, an optical-active polymer, a chemically active polymer actuator, a magneto-active polymer actuator, an acousto-active polymer actuator, a thermally active polymer actuator or another suitable polymer actuator known in the art.
A photonic component as defined herein includes mirrors, prisms, wave guides, optical fibers, lenses, collimators, and other suitable photonic and optical devices and elements known in the art. A lens as defined herein includes a suitable optical lens, spherical lens, aspherical lens, ball lens, GRIN lens, C-lens and lens system. A wave guide as defined herein includes suitable optical fibers, planar wave guides, photonic crystal wave guides, and other suitable channels for optical signal and light energy transmission known in the art.
In the invented VOA the light beam strikes the receiving photonic device as reflected, focused and steered by the movable focusing mirror upon the receiving surface of the photonic component. The movable focusing mirror, the actuator, and optionally the receiving photonic component are fabricated upon and/or with a substrate.
The pathway defined by the movement of a center of a strike circle of the light beam upon the receiving surface is a trajectory of the light beam. In various preferred embodiments of the present invention the trajectory may comprise a shape of at least one dimension or of at least two dimensions.
The movable focusing mirror, the actuator, and the receiving photonic component of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention are coupled to the substrate. In certain various preferred embodiment, the substrate may be or comprise a single substrate element or two or more mutually coupled substrate elements. The substrate elements are bonded, or adhered, or coupled in another suitable coupling technique known in the art.
In certain various preferred embodiments of the present invention the movable focusing mirror, the actuator, and the receiving photonic component of the invented VOA are integrated upon or within a substrate, and fabricated on the substrate. The substrate may be or comprise suitable substrate materials known in the art, to include semiconductor material, glass, silica, ceramic, metal, metal alloy, and polymer. The semiconductor material may be or comprise suitable semiconductor substrate materials, to include Silicon, Silicon Carbide, Gallium Arsenide, Gallium Nitride, and Indium Phosphide.
A second preferred embodiment is a MEMS-based VOA device, or MEMS VOA, having a substrate, a movable focusing mirror, an actuator, an input wave guide and an output wave guide. The MEMS VOA is, wholly or partially, integrated upon and/or within the substrate, and fabricated on the substrate and wholly or partially comprised as a MEMS. The wave guides have endfaces that are substantially planar and approximately parallel to a planar surface or element of the substrate. A transmission axis of each wave guide may approach its respective endface at an angle xcex8. The angle xcex8 is the angle formed between the vector of the transmission axis at the endface and a plane, where the plane is parallel to the planar surface of the substrate. The angle xcex8 is measured at the intersection of the transmission axis and the plane. The angle xcex8 is approximately within the range of 45 degrees to 90 degrees, or more optimally within a range of 75 degrees to 90 degrees.
In both the first preferred embodiment and the MEMS VOA, the actuator moves the mirror in an analog fashion relating to a control, power or actuating signal, whereby the movable focusing mirror is positionable within a linear range of motion. The first and second preferred embodiments thereby provide better resolution of attenuation than prior art systems that offer two or more discrete, pre-set positions with a range of motion.
The preferred method of the present invention includes providing a movable focusing mirror, a light beam, and a photonic component. The light beam strikes the movable focusing mirror. The movable focusing mirror reflects, focuses and steers the light beam to strike the photonic component. The mirror controllably forms a trajectory on the photonic component by moving and thereby steering the light beam to move across the photonic component. The position of the mirror thereby determines the portion of the light beam absorbed by the photonic component.
Certain alternate preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention further provide a multi-channel VOA array having a plurality of MEMS-based VOA""s fabricated on a common substrate, where each MEMS-based VOA includes a movable focusing mirror. The array accepts a plurality of optical signal inputs via a plurality of input optical fibers and positions the focusing mirror to steer each optical signal received towards or away from at least one output optical fiber.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The figures and the detailed description which follow more particularly exemplify these embodiments. Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows below. The invention will now be elucidated in more detail with reference to certain non-limitative examples of embodiment shown in the attached drawing figures.


There is provided a carburetor having a main air passageway extending between an air inlet and an air outlet and having a narrower venturi portion intermediate the air inlet and air outlet, a throttle valve being located near the air outlet, and a second narrower passageway extending substantially parallel to the main air passageway, the second narrower passageway having an air inlet from the main air passageway, a fuel inlet to the second passageway downstream from the inlet, and a first outlet from the second passageway to the main air passageway proximate the venturi portion and a second outlet from the second passageway intermediate the venturi portion and a throttle valve, the main air passageway having a flange extending inwardly from said wall at a downstream end of the venturi portion. The carburetor provides better fuel economy and efficiency.

The present invention relates to a carburetor and more particularly relates to improvements in carburetors for internal combustion engines.
Float type carburetors used in internal combustions are well known in the art. Such, carburetors are well known and have a fuel bowl which feeds the fuel to the engine through a venturi arrangement. While such arrangements are well known, it is desirable to have a carburetor which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.


An image-forming method comprises: imagewise exposing to light a light-sensitive material comprising a support and a light-sensitive layer which contains silver halide, a reducing agent and an ethylenic unsaturated polymerizable compound; and simultaneously or thereafter developing the light-sensitive material to imagewise polymerize the polymerizable compound. The light-sensitive material is developed by heating the light-sensitive material at a temperature of not lower than 50.degree. C. under such a condition that the light-sensitive layer contains a liquid in an amount of 10 to 400 wt. % based on the amount of the polymerizable compound.

A light-sensitive material which comprises a support and a light-sensitive layer containing silver halide, a reducing agent and a polymerizable compound is employed in an image-forming method which comprises imagewise exposing the light-sensitive material and simultaneously or thereafter developing the light-sensitive material to imagewise polymerize the polymerizable compound.
The development process of the light-sensitive material in the image-forming method includes a wet development process which employs a developing solution and a heat development process (dry process) which is conducted under conditions substantially not containing water.
Examples of the image-forming method using the wet developing process of wet type are described in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 45(1970)-11149 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,275), 47(1972)-20741 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,667) and 49(1974)-10697, and Japanese Patent Provisional Publication Nos. 57(1982)-138632 and 58(1983)-169143. Those image-forming methods described require a development process using a large amount of a developing solution. The process further requires a relatively long time for the operation.
Examples of the image-forming method using the heat developing process are described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publications Nos. 61(1986)-69062, 61(1986)-73145 (the content of both publications are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,676 and European Patent Provisional Publication No. 0174634A2) and 62(1987)-70836. Those image-forming methods using the heat development process can easily and rapidly give a clear image without producing waste liquid of the developing solution.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 62(1986)-73145 further discloses an image-forming method in which the heat development process is carried out under such a condition that the amount of oxygen contained in the light-sensitive layer of the light-sensitive material is restrained. Oxygen serves as a polymerization inhibitor, so that the elimination of the influences of oxygen makes it possible to form an image with high sensitivity. The above-mentioned publication also discloses concrete methods for restraining the amount of oxygen contained in the light-sensitive layer. One is a method wherein a heat developing process is carried out in a gas having an oxygen content which is lower than that in the air (e.g., nitrogen). Another is a method of using an oxygen-impermeable cover. Otherwise, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 62(1987)-209443 discloses a light-sensitive material containing a compound having two or more mercapto groups which restrains the amount of oxygen contained in the light-sensitive layer.

Image-forming method using silver halide and polymerizable compound


A communications transmission cable includes at least two jacket encased portions each joined to an adjacent jacket encased portion at a recessed section. Jacket encased portions include at least one conductor and at least one strength member, and are readily separated at each recessed section.

Communications transmission cables are extensively used to transport a variety of information from communication sources to receivers. For example, communications transmission cables are used to provide telephone service to customers. These cables may be underground service cables or aerial service cables. Because aerial communications transmission cables are suspended from poles to a customer's premises, it is desirable to provide these cables with structural support to resist various environmental forces.
It is well known in the communications transmission cable industry that structural support for aerial communications cables is achieved by encasing the communications conductors and strength members within a flexible jacket. For example, communications transmission cables are often formed with a figure eight cross-sectional area wherein a strength member is disposed in one loop of the figure eight and the communications conductors are disposed within the other loop of the figure eight. U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,053 teaches a communications transmission cable having strength members disposed within a flexible jacket on either side of the communications conductors and a jacket center recessed section.
Often it is desirable to separate the communications conductors, or conductor pairs, from one another for various communications transmission applications. It is important that each conductor, or conductor pairs, after separation, remain supported by its own strength member or members. The configuration of the communications transmission cable of the present invention provides continued structural support and jacket encasing for communications conductors once the conductors are separated.


A canister is provided with a flange for partitioning part of one axial end of an adsorption material chamber and having a first cylindrical portion protruding toward the adsorption material chamber for defining a space communicating with a purge port, a second cylindrical portion extending toward a first axial end portion of a case for defining a diffusion chamber communicating with a charge port, and orifices for communicating the adsorption material chamber with the diffusion chamber. Also provided are a first partition wall positioned close to a top end of the first cylindrical portion and having an annularly-shaped orifice, and a second partition wall axially spaced apart from the first partition wall toward a second axial end portion and having communication holes. These partition walls cooperate with each other such that a second diffusion chamber not charged with an adsorption material is defined between them, for optimal charge-gas conversion-and-diffusion.

As is generally known, an automotive vehicle, which uses an internal combustion engine, is equipped with an evaporative fuel processing apparatus mainly constructed by a canister for suppressing evaporative fuel generated within a fuel tank from being discharged into the atmosphere. The canister has a canister case charged with an adsorption material such as activated charcoal or carbon. The canister is configured to temporarily adsorb and trap evaporative fuel generated from within the fuel tank by the adsorption material in a vehicle stopped state where the internal combustion engine is stopped, and allow fuel components from the adsorption material to be desorbed by atmospheric air introduced through a drain port (also called "atmospheric port") during operation of the engine, and purge the air containing the fuel vapor desorbed from the adsorption material (the activated carbon) into the intake system of the engine.
One such canister has been disclosed in patent document 1 (JP2014-234717 corresponding to United States patent application publication No. US 2014/0352541 A1). The canister, as disclosed in the patent document 1, is equipped with a laterally-curved purge port configured to extend from the center position of one axial end of the cylindrical case and located on the center line (the axis) of the case, and a charge port connected to a sidewall surface of the one axial end of the case. Also provided at the one axial end of the case is a flange for partitioning a part of an adsorption material chamber. The flange is formed with a cylindrical portion protruding toward an adsorption material chamber. The flange is also formed with a plurality of circumferentially equidistant-spaced orifices, through which the adsorption material chamber and a diffusion chamber (this diffusion chamber is configured to communicate with the charge port) are communicated with each other. Evaporative fuel (charge gas) is introduced from the charge port into the diffusion chamber, and then guided into the adsorption material chamber by way of the plurality of orifices. The previously-noted cylindrical portion is provided to prevent the charge gas containing fuel components at high concentration from flowing directly toward the purge port without being adsorbed or trapped by the adsorption material.


The substrate for surface protective sheet of the present invention is a substrate for surface protective sheet including a support film and an antistatic layer provided on one face of the support film, wherein a stress relaxation rate of the substrate for surface protective sheet is 60% or more; the antistatic layer is one formed by curing an antistatic layer-forming composition containing a curing component and a metal filler; and the content of a metal filler is 55 mass % or more relative to the total mass of the curing component and the metal filler, and the curing component includes a urethane acrylate oligomer.

In a semiconductor wafer, it is general that after forming a circuit on its front face, in order to adjust a wafer thickness, the wafer back face side is subjected to grinding processing. In grinding processing of the wafer back face, a surface protective sheet for protecting the circuit, which is called a back grind tape, is stuck onto the front face of the wafer.
In recent years, following advancement and complication of semiconductor products, a circuit formed on the wafer front face is liable to be influenced by static electricity. For that reason, in order to prevent releasing electrification or the like on releasing, the back grind tape has been being demanded to have an antistatic performance. In addition, following ultrathinning of a wafer in the recent years, in order to prevent wafer warpage or the like after grinding, the back grind tape is demanded to have high stress relaxation characteristics.
Then, as disclosed in PTL 1, there has hitherto been taken a technology that by not only forming a support film using a urethane-based oligomer but also blending the support film with a metal salt antistatic agent, a pressure sensitive adhesive tape is given an antistatic performance and high stress relaxation characteristics.
But, in the pressure sensitive adhesive tape of PTL 1, if the addition amount of the metal salt antistatic agent is increased, change in physical properties is caused, for example, the film rigidity is worsened, and a metal ion derived from the antistatic agent moves into a pressure sensitive adhesive and further moves into a front face circuit of a semiconductor wafer that is an adherend, thus providing a concern of causing a fault. For that reason, the pressure sensitive adhesive tape disclosed in PTL 1 involves such a problem that a high antistatic performance is hardly given.
In addition, PTLs 2 and 3 disclose that a substrate of a pressure sensitive adhesive tape for semiconductor processing is provided with, as a different layer from a support film, an antistatic layer having an antistatic agent, such as a conductive polymer, a quaternary amine salt monomer, etc., blended therein. But, likewise PTL 1, those using such a conductive polymer or quaternary amine salt monomer involve such a problem that a high antistatic performance is hardly given.
Meanwhile, PTL 4 describes that a conductive tin oxide powder having excellent conductivity can be utilized as an antistatic agent. When a metal filler disclosed in PTL 4 is, for example, used in place of the antistatic agent disclosed in PTLs 2 and 3, it is expected that the antistatic performance of a back grind tape is improved.

Substrate for surface protective sheet and surface protective sheet


A system for safeguarding the circuit and the step-up transformer can be devised without using the special high-cost components. Voltage supplied by the primary coil (21) of a step-up transformer (2) is switched by a transistor (TR) and the secondary coil (22) of the step-up transformer causes the generation of secondary voltage. To detect the voltage generated by the secondary coil of the step-up transformer, a voltage detection coil wrapped around the step-up transformer (2) is provided. Abnormalities in the voltage supplied to a cold cathode tube (1) are detected based on voltage detected by this voltage detection coil (23). Switching by the transistor (TR) is stopped when an abnormality is detected.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an inverter transformer and an inverter circuit used in a cold cathode tube light for an LCD (liquid crystal display) backlight, etc.
2. Related Technology
Conventionally, cold cathode tubes are employed in LCD backlights. With the aim of devising more efficient and smaller-sized lighting, a separate excitation drive circuit employing an IC is used. This separate excitation drive circuit uses, for example, the resonance image of the floating capacity resulting from the cold cathode tube, which serves as a charge, and the device in which it is mounted, and the leak inductance of a driving step-up transformer (inverter transformer). This resonance image generates high voltage. Illumination occurs by applying this high voltage to the aforementioned cold cathode tube.
When the cold cathode tube in the aforementioned circuit is damaged or when there is no contact between the cold cathode tube and the step-up transformer, extremely high voltage is output continuously from the step-up transformer. This has caused such problems as step-up transformer breakage, driving circuit breakage, and so on.
The type of circuit structure depicted in FIG. 8, for example, is used to resolve the aforementioned problems. Provided on the secondary side of the step-up transformer (100) are two in-line condensers (C1), (C2). Voltage divided by these condensers (C1), (C2) is supplied to IC (120) and abnormalities are detected. If an abnormality is detected, circuit protection has been devised in that the switch signal supplied by the IC (120) to the transistor TR base is interrupted.
However, in a circuit structured in the manner described above, the condensers (C1), (C2) serving as circuits to detect abnormalities are directly connected to the step-up transformer (100), a high-voltage output component. Consequently, because the aforementioned condensers (C1), (C2) are small capacity, a special high-voltage resistant condenser that can resist high voltage is required (several pF high-voltage ceramic condenser). This is one aspect that contributes to increasing the cost of the apparatus.
Furthermore, when abnormalities such as breakage of the step-up transformer (100) and cold cathode tube (110), etc. occur, the circuit components that safeguard the drive circuit and the step-up circuit (100) comprising the IC (120) and the transistor (TR) are concentrated on the output side of the step-up transformer (100). Since the output side of the step-up transformer (100) outputs several hundred to several thousand volts of high voltage, the components must be physically separated, thus causing the problem of increasing the circuit mounting surface area.
The present invention was created to resolve these sorts of problems found in conventional inverter circuits. Thus, an objective of the invention is to provide an inverter circuit that does not require special high-cost components and whereby protection appropriate to the circuit and the rising-voltage transformer can be devised. In the present invention, moreover, an objective is to provide an inverter circuit without a large mounting surface area in that there is no need to place components on the high output side of the step-up transformer. A further objective of the present invention is to provide an inverter transformer to use in the aforementioned inverter circuit.

Inverter transformer and inverter circuit


An electronic device and method are provided for processing an input using view layers. The electronic device includes a memory, a display, and a processor. The memory stores a first predetermined condition and a second predetermined condition both of which are used for determining whether an input for one or more displayed view objects is valid. The processor displays the view objects using a first view layer and a second view layer at least partially overlapping with the first view layer, and obtains a user input regarding the displayed view object. If a movement of the user input satisfies the first predetermined condition, the processor processes the user input by using the first view layer. If the movement of the user input satisfies the second predetermined condition, the processor processes the user input by using the second view layer.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to an electronic device and method and more particularly to a method of processing an input on a touch-sensitive display of an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic device, such as a smart phone, having a touch-sensitive display offers a variety of functions. In particular, the electronic device may control such functions by obtaining a user input, e.g., a touch event, through the display.
Using at least one view layer, the electronic device may display a view object, such as content, on the display. In response to a user input, such as a touch event, obtained through the display and associated with the view object, the electronic device may control a particular function associated with the view object.
The electronic device may display at least one view layer through the display, and the view layer may include at least one view object. The electronic device may receive a user input regarding each view object contained in the view layer(s) displayed on the display. The view object may be represented on a certain region of the display so as to receive a user input. Based on the received user input, the electronic device may perform a particular function on a specific view layer corresponding to the user input.
In the electronic device, respective view layers may process different user inputs. For example, there may be a view layer capable of processing a user input in the X-axis direction, and there may be another view layer capable of processing a user input in the Y-axis direction. Also, there may be a view layer capable of processing a user input in both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. When processing a user input on a user interface (UI) formed of such view layers, the electronic device may process the user input differently from the user's intention. For example, when the user swipes with the intention of scrolling or flicking, the electronic device may be silent in response to this input. When the user enters a user input in the Y-axis direction, the electronic device may operate incorrectly by recognizing the user input in the X-axis direction or as a touch input. As such, the electronic device may fail to perform a desired function in response to a user input.

Electronic device and method for processing input on view layers


An adaptive hierarchical cache management system for improving effective cache hit ratios by eliminating unnecessary duplicate cache entries in two coupled cache memories. When a cached Storage Controller (SC) is coupled to a Cached Storage Drawer (CSD), the hierarchical coupling of the SC cache memory and CSD cache memory unnecessarily duplicates cache entries during normal operation. A Conditional Purge procedure purges duplicate lines from the CSD cache subject to a DASD activity threshold. A Prenotify Intent parameter allows the SC to request restaging of the purged cache entry preparatory to fast write or LRU demotion in the SC cache. The new procedures substantially and transparently improve the combined caching efficiency without significant new hardware or software overhead.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hierarchical caching of data and particularly to selective purging of duplicate cache entries for Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) subsystems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modem high-performance data processors use a private high-speed hardware-managed buffer memory in front of the main data store to reduce average memory access delay at the Central Processing Unit (CPU). This high-speed buffer is denominated a "cache" because it is usually transparent to the applications programmer. Because hardware speed is generally directly proportional to hardware cost, the cached memory features can be cost-effectively improved by adding another faster cache in front of the first cache if made smaller. Such multilevel cache "hierarchies" are known in the art to give rise to a requirement for "coherence management" in shared memory multiprocessing configurations because each CPU is directly coupled only to its private cache. That is, the temporary contents of many separate private cache buffers must be somehow coordinated to ensure that only the most recent record copies are committed to the underlying main data store.
An analogous problem arises in systems that employ multilevel data storage subsystems. For instance, a modem shared-storage multiprocessing system may include a plurality of host processors coupled through several cache buffer levels to a hierarchical data store that includes a random access memory level followed by one or more larger, slower storage levels such as Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) and tape library subsystems. Transfer of data up and down such a multilevel shared-storage hierarchy requires data transfer controllers at each level to optimize overall transfer efficiency.
The IBM 3990 storage controller is an example of a storage controller used to control data transfer between DASD-based storage libraries and host computer processors. This storage controller includes a local cache memory for buffering data transfers to and from the underlying DASD storage subsystem. The IBM 3990 storage control subsystem is fully described in "IBM 3990 Storage Control Planning, Installation and Storage Administration Guide" (IBM document GA32-0100-04, International Business Machines Corporation, copyright 1991) and in "IBM 3990 Storage Control Introduction" (IBM document GA32-0098-0, International Business Machines Corporation, copyright 1987). Both of these documents are fully incorporated herein by this reference.
A typical (IBM 3990 Model 3) storage controller handles up to 16 channels from host computers and up to 64 logical DASDs. Within the storage controller are two multipath storage directors and four storage paths, two of which are associated with each multipath storage director. Each multipath storage director may be connected to up to eight incoming channels from host computers, for a total of 16 channels. Thus, each multipath storage director functions as an eight-by-two switch.
Recent advances in DASD storage library art include exploitation of the Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) technology now well-known in the art. RAID DASD technology has led to development of a DASD storage system rack incorporating a plurality of cached DASD modules each organized to emulate logical DASD storage volumes. Each module includes a high-speed cache buffer memory for facilitating data transfers between a specific plurality of DASDs and a channel to the adjacent storage controller. Such a module is herein denominated a Cached Storage Drawer (CSD) subsystem.
As is known in the art, channels are physical links between a host computer processor and an external device, such as a DASD data storage subsystem. Usually, a host computer has a small number of channels, each physically connected to channel control multiplexers such as the IBM 3990 storage controller. For instance, several host computer processors may be connected to one IBM 3990-3 storage controller, which in turn is connected to sixty-four DASD volumes. When transferring data, the storage controller can secure any one of the plurality of channels and storage paths back to the host computer and forward to the DASD to establish a temporary input/output transaction data path. It is a feature of the IBM 3990 storage controller that such a data path between a host computer and a DASD subsystem may be severed into two separate connection intervals, each of which may be handled over a different physical channel and storage path. That is, a DASD access request need not be answered over the same channel on which it is received. This feature increases storage controller efficiency because the storage controller is free to handle other tasks during the disconnect interval between request and response.
The independent development of a new CSD RAID type of DASD subsystem and a distributed host processor storage controller has given rise to a new variation of the cache hierarchy architecture known in the art. The IBM 3990 type of storage controller provides a cache buffer memory to support data transfer between host computer and DASD-based storage subsystem. The CSD subsystem provides internal cache buffer memory to support data transfers in and out of the RAID plurality of DASDs. Thus, connecting the IBM 3990 type of storage controller to a CSD storage system creates an unplanned dual-cache hierarchy comprising the storage controller cache and the CSD cache. Each of these two cache memories is independently managed for different purposes, including the aging and demotion of cache entries according to a Least Recently Used (LRU) priority scheme and the like. This unplanned duplication presents novel problems and opportunities heretofore unknown in the hierarchical cache art.
Cache memory is best known for its application as an adjunct to random-access memory (RAM) where the cache buffer provides high-speed storage for frequently-used instructions and data. Practitioners in the art have proposed many important improvements to multiple-cache hierarchies employed in distributed multi-processor systems. The fundamental distributed system cache management problem is to optimize the tension between minimizing cross-interrogation overhead and maximizing cache coherency. Processor time is required to cross-interrogate individual caches when searching for duplicate copies of cache data blocks to ensure that all copies but the latest are flushed from every cache. This cleaning operation provides cache "coherency", which exists when each of the plurality of host processors has access only to the latest version of a cached data line or block. The struggle for coherency in distributed systems invites increased cross-interrogation processor overhead and many practitioners have proposed improvements to reduce cross-interrogation without reducing coherency.
For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,346, Hartung proposes marking cache data lines for retention or discard depending on whether the data line has a "transient" status or "permanent" status. Transient data lines exist only temporarily and are never transferred to storage levels underlying cache. This arrangement eliminates cross-interrogation overhead for the "transient" data lines. Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,680, Anthony et al. propose marking data that is temporarily cachable to facilitate the efficient management of that data in cache. When an "invalidate marked data" instruction is received, the cache controls sweep through the entire cache directory and invalidate all marked cache lines in a single pass, thereby eliminating the usual cache coherency overhead.
Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,922, Liu proposes adding status bits in the cache directory so that cache "exclusive" status (which locks the cache entry for a single processor) can be anticipated without incurring performance penalties when the exclusive assignment is inappropriate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,487, Fletcher et al. add two flags to the directory entry that serve to communicate from main memory to private and shared caches how the given page of data is to be used. Essentially, pages that can be both written and shared are moved from main memory to a shared level-two cache and therefrom to a shared level-one cache, with the host processors executing only from the shared level-one cache. All other pages are moved from main memory to private level-two and level-one caches for the requesting processor. Thus, Fletcher et al. permit a processor to execute from either its private cache or the shared level-one cache, thereby allowing several processors to share an underlying main memory without encountering cross-interrogation overhead. The cost of this feature is voluminous cache space.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,429, Porter et al. disclose a cache clearing system that uses a duplicate directory to reflect the contents of the cache directory within its associated cache unit. Commands affecting information segments within the main memory are transferred by the system controller unit to each of the duplicate directories to determine if the affected information segment is stored in the associated cache memory and, if so, the duplicate directory issues a "clear" command through the system controller to clear the information segment from the associated cache unit, thereby improving cache flushing efficiency.
Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,795, Lange et al. disclose a similar duplicate directory arrangement for selective clearing of the cache in multiprocessor systems where data in a cache becomes obsolete because of changes made to the corresponding data in main memory by another processor. Lange et al. teach a LRU scheme for selecting a storage location for data retrieved from main memory responsive to a cache miss. This scheme provides a higher cache hit ratio, thereby improving flushing efficiency available from the duplicate directory arrangement.
It is clear from these references that the present art focuses primarily on the multiple independent cache coherency problem and neither teaches nor suggests schemes for exploiting two independently-managed high-speed cache buffer memories that are hierarchically connected. When a CSD data storage library subsystem is coupled to a plurality of distributed host processors through one or more cached storage controllers, there is a clearly-felt need in the art for a hierarchical cache management technique that offers improved caching efficiency through reduced duplication of cached data blocks. The related unresolved deficiencies are clearly felt in the art and are solved by this invention in the manner described below.

Management system for a hierarchical data cache employing preemptive cache track demotion and restaging to adapt to access patterns


An electric outlet finishing plate is provided for use with a wall panel having raised portions and comprises a one-piece plastic body with front and rear walls. An internal wall connects the front and rear walls and an external peripheral wall depends from the front wall. The finishing plate is adapted to be inserted in an opening which has been cut in the raised section of the wall panel to provide access to an electrical outlet while giving a finished appearance thereto.

In the building industry it may be desirable to finish inside walls of a building such as, for example, a house or mobile home, with wainscoating, paneling or similar building product made in accordance with U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/912,876, filed Jul. 13, 1992, incorporated herein by reference. Such wall panels may have molded portions or sections that are raised from the wall to give the appearance of a raised panel section.
After the wall panel has been applied, it is generally necessary to cut the wall panel in order to gain access to an electrical outlet. If the wall panel lies substantially flat against the wall, a cover plate is typically attached to the electrical socket by screws giving a finished appearance. However, if the electrical outlet appears behind one of the raised sections of the wall panel, there is a gap or space between the raised portion and the wall giving a rough and unfinished appearance.
It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,635,168; 4,726,152 and 4,920,708 to provide mounting assemblies to accommodate light fixtures and the like and to give a finished appearance to the outside siding of a house. However, such mounting assemblies are not adapted to give a finished appearance to an electrical outlet or an inside wall panel having raised portions or sections.
The present invention provides a finishing plate which gives a finished appearance to a wall panel that has been cut to gain access to an electrical outlet; which is attractive; which is easy to manufacture; which is economical and which is easy to install.
The device of the present invention is adapted for use with the inside wall panel of a house or mobile home.

Mid-America Building Products Corporation


A solid electrolyte fuel cell capable of operating with a mixture of an oxidizer and a fuel includes a permeable catalytic electrode and an impermeable catalytic electrode separated by an electron insulating, ion conducting, gas permeable solid electrolyte. The device produces charge flow in an external circuit when the permeable electrode is exposed to a mixture including an oxidizer and a fuel such as hydrogen, methane or methanol.. The solid electrolyte can be a hydrated aluminum oxide, primarily of the pseudoboehmite structure and either electrode can be Pt or Pd. The solid electrolyte can be produced by exposing a bulk aluminum surface or a deposited layer of aluminum to water or water vapor or by exposing an anodically oxidized layer of aluminum oxide to water or water vapor. The device is produced in thin film form and can be produced by techniques compatible with thin film device fabrication.. The magnitude and direction of the charge flow is dependent on the particular fuel, so that the device can serve as a species selective, gas sensor which does not require the external application of sensing power in order to produce a measurable voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of devices which consume gaseous or liquid fuels and produce electrical energy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many solid materials which are electrically insulating but permit the movement of certain ions are known in the art and are referred to as solid electrolytes. For example, it is known that at elevated temperatures beta-alumina is usefully conductive to some alkali metal ions. Such materials have been incorporated in devices which produce or store electrical energy.
Devices which produce electrical energy while producing oxidation and reduction reactions in substances which can be referred to as fuels and oxidizers are known in the art as fuel cells. In these prior art fuel cells the substance being oxidized and the substance being reduced are separated by a material which does not permit the flow of electrons, but does permit the flow of ions produced in the oxidation-reduction reaction. In addition, it is desirable to have the separating material as impermeable as possible to the oxidizing substance and the fuel substance. Fuel cells which consume hydrogen or hydrogen containing gases and oxygen are known in the art. Fuel cells consuming carbon monoxide are also known, ("Fuel Cells: Their Electrochemistry", J. O'M. Bockris and S. Srinivasan, McGraw Hill, 1969). These cells typically utilize liquid electrolytes to separate the gases.

Primary source of electrical energy using a mixture of fuel and oxidizer


A coating tool that includes an ink containment tube, an oily ink and a backflow inhibiting material. The ink is in contact with the inhibiting material. The ink containment tube has a boundary which is in contact with the oily ink and the backflow inhibiting material. The boundary contains polyvinyl alcohol and fluorine-based surfactants, the oily ink contains a colorant, a resin, an organic solvent, and a gelling agent, and the backflow inhibiting material consists of base material components and a gelling agent which contains polyacrylic acid, the polyacrylic acid being present in an amount of 0.1 to 3 wt % with respect to the total amount of said backflow inhibiting material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coating tool which comprises an oily ink, and particularly, to a coating tool which can preferably be used for a correction pen which comprises an oily gel ink capable of preventing adhering matters of the oily ink and of a backflow inhibiting material on a wall surface in an ink containment tube at the time of usage and which has improved self cleanable property.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, as base material components of a backflow inhibiting material contained in an ink containment tube of a coating tool, methods of regulating viscosity by adding microparticle silica have been known when diglycerol/ethylene oxide adducts and diglycerol/propylene oxide adducts are used.
(Patent document 1, Patent document 2)
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-343875.
Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-34098.
However, this backflow inhibiting material is hard to obtain satisfactory elasticity as a whole and therefore, when it is stored with its pen tip directed upward, some problems occur such as ink leakage caused by dripping of a backflow inhibiting material with time passage in the ink containment tube, or generation of lots of adhering matters on a wall surface of the ink containment tube accompanying the ink consumption. Further, the backflow inhibiting material is susceptible to shock impact and the backflow inhibiting material is likely to be deformed in the ink containment tube, causing ink leakage.
This is because of difficulty in imparting structural viscosity (gelatinization) with the use of microparticle silica in the case of the above mentioned base material components. It is assumed that the above mentioned base material components themselves have considerable surface activity and they are materials with high polarity, which causes inhibition of gel formation.
On the other hand, conventionally, such a correction tool has been provided that is free from adhesion of an oily ink such as correction liquid and the like to an ink containment tube with usage, that shows self cleanable property, that ensures a complete consumption of the total filling and further, that enables confirmation of the residual amount of the liquid when a transparent or translucent container is used (e.g. Patent document 3).
This patent document 3 discloses a correction tool having a coating portion for coating correction liquid which is content liquid at the tip end and containing correction liquid comprising at least an opacifying agent, a hydrocarbon-based solvent with a boiling point of 40-150° C., and a film forming agent soluble in said solvent, and housing and arranging a backflow inhibiting material which contacts with a rear boundary of this correction liquid and which comprises at least an organic solvent insoluble or hardly-soluble in a hydrocarbon-based solvent of said correction liquid and/or water, viscosity modifier, and a surfactant, in which a fluorine-based surfactant is contained as a surfactant.
Patent document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-103884.
However, said correction tool has weak self cleanable property in practice and a backflow inhibiting material (an ink follower) is likely to infiltrate correction liquid with time passage.
Further, as Patent document 4, the correction tool is provided which has a coating portion for coating correction liquid which is content liquid at a tip end and a correction liquid made up at least of an opacifying agent, hydrocarbon-based solvent with a boiling point of 40 to 150° C., and a film-forming agent soluble in said solvent are contained in the side of said coating portion in a tank which contains said correction liquid, and a backflow inhibiting material contacting with a rear boundary of a correction liquid and made up at least of viscosity regulator, an organic solvent insoluble or hardly soluble in hydrocarbon-based solvent of said correction liquid and/or water is arranged, and at least an organic solvent insoluble or hardly soluble in hydrocarbon-based solvent and/or water is coated on an inner wall surface of a containment tank of said correction liquid.
Patent document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-127680.
However, since said correction tool is nothing but a tool in which an organic solvent insoluble or hardly soluble in hydrocarbon-based solvent and/or water is coated on an inner wall surface of a containment tank is coated, as an organic solvent and/or water which was coated disappear/disappears with time passage and said self cleanable property is lost.
The object of the present invention is to provide coating tools such as correction tools provided with a backflow inhibiting material with satisfactory elasticity, preventing dripping and adhering matters on a wall surface accompanied by ink consumption and not susceptible to deformation against shock impact. In addition, the object of the present invention is to provide coating tools such as correction tools in which a backflow inhibiting material is hard to infiltrate in an ink and which has well sustained self cleanable effect against a backflow inhibiting material.


By either subsampling neighbor pixels and deriving an illumination variation parameter, or deriving one normalization shift value of two normalization shift values for normalizing parameters which are used when deriving the illumination variation parameter, with a dependency on the other normalization shift value, an amount of calculation for illumination compensation is reduced.

As a technique of coding images for a plurality of viewpoints, disparity prediction coding in which, when coding images for a plurality of viewpoints, by predicting disparity between the images, an amount of information is reduced, and a decoding method corresponding to the coding method have been proposed. A vector that represents disparity between viewpoint images is called a disparity vector. The disparity vector is a two-dimensional vector having an element in a horizontal direction (x component) and an element in a vertical direction (y component), and is calculated for each of blocks which are regions obtained by dividing one image. For acquiring images for a plurality of viewpoints, cameras that are arranged at the respective viewpoints are generally used. In coding for the plurality of viewpoints, the viewpoint images are coded as mutually different layers in a plurality of layers. A coding method for a moving image formed of a plurality of layers is generally called scalable coding or hierarchy coding. In the scalable coding, high coding efficiency is realized by performing prediction between layers. A layer serving as a reference, for which prediction between layers is not performed, is called a base layer, and other layers are called enhancement layers. Scalable coding when layers are formed of viewpoint images is called view scalable coding. In this case, the base layer is also called a base view, and the enhancement layer is also called a non-base view. Further, in addition to the view scalable, scalable coding when layers are formed of a texture layer (image layer) and a depth layer (distance image layer) is called three-dimensional scalable coding.
Examples of the scalable coding include, in addition to the view scalable coding, spatial scalable coding (in which a picture having a low resolution is processed as a base layer and a picture having a high resolution is processed as an enhancement layer), and SNR scalable coding (in which a picture having low image quality is processed as a base layer and a picture having a high resolution is processed as an enhancement layer). In the scalable coding, for example, a picture of a base layer is used as a reference picture in coding of a picture of an enhancement layer in some cases.
In NPL 1, a technique called illumination compensation in which an illumination change in neighbor pixels of a prediction target block are used for predicting the prediction target block i s known.
Moreover, in NPL 2, a technique called LM prediction in which a chroma image of a prediction target block is prediction from a corresponding luminance image is known.

Illumination compensation device and illumination compensation method


A processing system is disclosed in which transfers between processors and memory are made on dual redundant buses. In a transfer, the transmitting unit sends the same information simultaneously on each of the buses. The receiving unit makes parity checks on each bus, and compares the information received on one bus with that received on the other bus. The receiving unit includes means for implementing a decision rule, based on these checks and comparison, to choose from which bus to take information, if either.

This invention relates to a processing system of the kind including one or more processors and memory modules communicating by means of a multiple conductor bus.
The present invention is intended to have a particular utility in communications systems requiring data and circuit switching. Such systems, operating in real time, must operate very reliably. As the systems become progressively more complex, this requirement is increasingly more difficult to meet. For example, it is advantageous to design systems having multiple processors, including in some cases multiple processors accessing the same memory. It is often difficult to detect accurately the source of an error occurring in such a system, particularly if the error is intermittent. However, if errors are not detected and allowed to accummulate, the entire system may become involved, reaching a state from which recovery is impossible. In an application such as automatic funds transfer, it is highly undesirable for such an unrecoverable state to be reached.