Provides is a waterproof sound-permeable membrane (10) adapted to permit passage of sound and prevent entry of water. The waterproof sound-permeable membrane (10) includes a sound-permeation region (11) having a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane (20). The polytetrafluoroethylene membrane (20) has an average pore diameter of 0.02 μm or more and 0.1 μm or less as measured according to ASTM F316-86 and has a porosity of 5% or more and 25% or less. The waterproof sound-permeable membrane (10) is suitable for application to an electronic device containing an acoustic device.

Electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, electronic notebooks, digital cameras, and video game instruments have an audio function. Such an electronic device having an audio function includes a housing, inside which is placed a sound emitting part such as a speaker or buzzer or a sound receiving part such as a microphone. The housing is typically provided with an opening for directing sound to the sound emitting part or the sound receiving part.
It is common practice to cover the opening of the housing by a waterproof sound-permeable membrane in order to prevent foreign matters such as water drops from entering the housing of the electronic device. Known examples of the waterproof sound-permeable membrane include porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes (see Patent Literature 1 to 3). A porous polytetrafluoroethylene membrane used as a waterproof sound-permeable membrane is produced by stretching a shaped product containing a fine polytetrafluoroethylene powder and a liquid lubricant so as to form pores in the shaped product.

Waterproof sound-permeable membrane and electronic device


A telephone answering machine with a built in telephone that incorporates a mechanism for retrieving messages under a variety of operating conditions has the ability to access messages through the telephone handset to ensure privacy, while not interfering with normal telephone usage. The messages can also be played back through the speaker of the unit.

In the existing telephone answering machines, if the user wishes to listen to the messages through the handset, he must manually operate a botton or a switch. A significant disadvantage of this feature is that if the switch is inadvertently left in the handset playback mode, anyone who is unfamiliar with the switching mechanism will not be able to respond to the incoming calls. Additionally, existing telephone answering machines cannot handle the transitions of the message playback from the speaker to handset automatically, without user-intervention.
In the patent to D'Agosto III et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,002 a telephone answering machine has a telephone/speaker phone combination that allows a separate Record/Playback Module. The device forms a unit having a telephone answering machine and dictation machine. The patent discusses the use of the handset for recording messages, but there is no mention of the use of the handset in play back.
The patent to Shapiro et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,593 is described a personal alarm system which incorporates a speaker phone so as to permit hands free operation and remote activation via a switch on a hand held unit. It will react differently to the switch depending on whether or not the line is ringing. The following passages explain this aspect of the invention in more detail:
In the event of subscriber inactivity, or in the event a subscriber activates a "help button" to indicate assistance is required, the subscriber station transmits an alarm message containing subscriber identification information over a communications link to the central monitoring station. (Column 1, lines 46-51)
In the speaker phone disabled state, the telephone may be answered by the subscriber in the conventional manner by lifting the telephone handset or, as explained below, by activating a "help button" while the phone is ringing . . . . Upon the occurrence of these concurrent events, the subscriber station produces a speaker phone off hook condition, and activates the speaker phone so as to permit the calling party and the subscriber to converse without the need for the subscriber to lift the telephone handset. (Column 3, lines 8-29) Although this device switches during message playback, it uses it for a purpose completely different from that of the present invention.
GTE Model 6010--This product is a telephone answering machine that uses a manual switch to allow the user to listen to messages over the handset. Our invention provides substantial improvement over this product by performing the switching automatically.

Handset or speaker message retrieval system


An information processing apparatus, including: a memory unit; and a processor configured to perform a migration process of migrating a migration source file system to a migration target file system, the memory unit is configured to store first and second information, the first information managing a target object of the first migration process stored in the migration source file system and the target object to be stored in the migration target file system, and the second information managing a progress status of the first migration process for each object, the processor is configured to: select either or both of the migration source and target file systems based on the first and second information when a write request for the target object is received from a host apparatus; and perform a process related to the write request on the file system selected.

Network storages that provide a file system to a host apparatus such as a business server are known. As the network storage, for example, there is a storage apparatus such as a network attached storage (NAS) that implements a file system such as a network file system (NFS) and provides it to a host apparatus.
In the network storage, there are cases in which data migration between file systems, for example, online migration (hereinafter, also referred to simply as "migration") is performed. In the online migration, data of a migration source file system which is in operation is moved (transferred) to a migration target file system without stopping a user business.
Hereinafter, the migration source file system and the migration target file system are also referred to as a "source" and a "target," respectively. Further, a source network storage and a target network storage are also referred to as a "source storage" and a "target storage," respectively.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2015-179425
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-262488
Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-10540
Patent Document 4: International Publication Pamphlet No. 2015/068208
In the network storage, there are cases in which availability and reliability of the system are decreased during execution of the migration.
For example, in the migration, when an access request such as an NFS request is issued to a storage area in which data is not moved yet, the target storage may process the NFS request after acquiring data from the source. At this time, there are cases in which, when it takes time to acquire data from the source, a business server determines it to be an input/output (I/O) timeout error with respect to the issued NFS request, and a business is unable to be continued.
In addition, there are cases in which the NFS request for files that have undergone the data movement (transfer) is executed in the target storage rather than the source storage. In the migration, since movement completed files are deleted from source and exist only in the target, when a storage failure occurs in the target during the migration, business data which is being operated may be lost.

Information processing system, information processing apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium


A device for testing a multi-terminal electrical service receptacle on a towing vehicle includes an electrically insulative body of elongated shape having forward and rearward faces. Electrical contacts are disposed in the forward face to engage the terminals of the receptacle. Light-emitting devices such as bulbs are disposed in the rearward face, and are connected by way of electrical conductors to the corresponding contacts in the forward surface. During use of the device, the illumination of a particular light signifies the validity of the corresponding electrical circuit involving features of the towing vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a testing device, and more particularly relates to the testing of electrical circuits extending between a trailered recreational vehicle and associated towing vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recreational trailer vehicles currently in widespread use for travel upon public highways utilize various electrically activated features. For example, running lights are positioned at the rear, and sometimes on the sides of the trailered vehicle. Brake lights, responsive to the braking action of the operator of the towed vehicle, are disposed upon the rear of the trailered vehicle. When the trailered vehicle contains living quarters, there may be various electrical appliances that operate off the generator or battery of the towing vehicle.
In order to provide proper electrical service to a trailered vehicle, the towing vehicle is generally provided with a multi-functional electrical receptacle intended to removably connect with appropriate electrical circuitry in the trailered vehicle. However, such receptacles are generally added to the towing vehicle in individually customized installations. Most manufacturers of recreational vehicle (RV) trailers wire their trailers to the same color code to make it easier to achieve proper connection to towing vehicles. On occasion, due to the complexity of a towing vehicle, or the special requirements of the trailered vehicle, or the installer's inexperience or mistake, the receptacle may be improperly wired, or shorted, namely incorrectly attached to the appropriate electrical conductors or sources of the towing vehicle.
Devices and systems for determining the accuracy of electrical and other coupling features between vehicular trailers and the associated towing vehicle are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,122,434; 4,547,722; 4,586,370; 5,086,277 and 5,095,276. However, said devices and systems are generally very complex, and are intended as permanent installations for continuously monitoring the status of the coupling features, even while the vehicles are in motion.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a device for testing an electrical service receptacle for a trailered vehicle.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device of the aforesaid nature which removably associates with said receptacle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device of the aforesaid nature which is quick and easy to use, and of simple, rugged construction amenable to low cost manufacture.
These and other beneficial objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description.

Device for verifying the wiring of an electrical receptacle for a towed vehicle


A housing system includes a rectangular chassis having a front surface, a back surface, a top surface, a bottom surface, and two outer side surfaces. Two front comer feet are adhered to front comers of the rectangular chassis. Two back comer feet are adhered to back corners the rectangular chassis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to support members for a housing system. More particularly, the present invention relates to weight-bearing comer support members that allow for stacking of multiple housing systems while preventing lateral motion thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Most electronic devices today, including computer systems and computer appliances, stereo systems, CD or DVD players, and VCR players, are housed in rectangular metal boxes having, usually, four supporting feet members at the bottom of the boxes. The supporting feet members may be formed from the bottom surface of the housing box, as convex projections, for example, or they may be made of a rubber-like material adhered to the bottom surface of the housing box. An advantage of using a rubber-like material as the feet members is that the rubber-like material is less prone to skidding or sliding on surfaces, thus reducing the chance of accidentally knocking an expensive electronic device off a shelf, a counter, a desk, etc.
When a plurality of electronic device boxes are utilized together, in for example, an entertainment system including an amplifier, a tuner, a CD-player, a VCR player, and a DVD-player; or in a computer networking server system where a number of server appliances are utilized together, the boxes for each of these electronic device components making up the entire system are often stacked vertically on top of each other. Because the supporting feet members are typically located on the bottom surface of the housing box for each electronic device component, as more components are stacked on top of each other, the housing box on the bottom of the stack bears the majority of the weight of all the other components stacked on top, usually with the top surface and the bottom surface of the housing box bearing most of the weight. Because the top surface and the bottom surface of the housing boxes of the lower components in a stack are bearing the weight of the components stacked on top, the weight may cause the top and bottom surfaces of the housing boxes onto which they are stacked to bend and become deformed.
The deformations may cause a change in the shape of the housing box, thus altering the internal airflow patterns inside the housing boxes that may adversely affect cooling of the circuitry within the housing boxes. Therefore, critical circuitry within the housing box may fail because of overheating due to the lack of cooling because of the change of the airflow patterns for which a particular electronic device was designed. Moreover, the supporting feet members of a housing box may not provide enough clearance so that when the housing boxes are stacked on top of each other, the top surface of the lower housing box and the bottom surface of the top housing box may not be able to adequately transfer heat generated by the electronic device to the surrounding air.
For computer system components, such as a server appliance or a desktop computer housed within a box, hard disk drive(s) that are housed therein are usually not readily accessible to a user. Typically, in order to remove a hard disk drive from a computer system, the user will be required to remove the housing cover or casing, exposing the internal circuitry of the computer system, unscrew the hard disk drive from a mounting within the box, and disconnect at least the power and data cables from the hard disk drive.
Alternatively, there are removable hard disk drives for computer systems, for example, for a desktop computer or a laptop computer. These hard disk drives are usually housed in a case or cage, so that they may be selectively removed and inserted (usually being xe2x80x9cfront-loadedxe2x80x9d into the computer system), with the power and data wiring of the hard disk drive being connected to pin connectors located on the cage so that the pin connectors may easily couple with reciprocal pin connectors in the desktop computer or laptop computer, or vice versa.
However, there are times when it is not preferable to be known that a hard disk drive is readily removable from a computer system or computer appliance. The hard disk drive of a computer system or computer appliance may be more prone to tampering if it is known that it is readily removable, even if the hard disk drive is locked into the housing of the computer system or appliance. It is preferable to have a hard disk drive that is removable and yet having this feature remain inconspicuous. Additionally, a computer system or appliance may be more aesthetically pleasing if it is not readily noticeable that it has a removable hard disk drive. Moreover, airflow from cooling fans in a computer system or appliance used to cool the circuitry therein typically do not circulate well to removable hard disk drives that are not completely resident internally within the housing of the computer system or appliance.

Corner support members for housing system

Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.


A lubricant composition comprising (A) a compound of the formula: EQU R.sup.1 --COO--R.sup.2. wherein R.sup.1 is a higher aliphatic hydrocarbon residue and R.sup.2 is an aliphatic hydrocarbon residue which may contain fluorine atom(s) and/or oxygen atom(s), and (B) a compound of the formula: ##STR1##. wherein R.sup.3 is a higher aliphatic hydrocarbon residue; R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 are independently a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic hydrocarbon residue which may contain fluorine atom(s) and/or oxygen atom(s), gives a lubricant layer in a magnetic recording medium having good running durability, still life and weather resistance.

This invention relates to a lubricant composition useful for producing a magnetic recording medium, etc., and a magnetic recording medium obtained by use of said lubricant composition.
In the field of magnetic recording, improvements, such as digitization, miniaturization, long-time running, etc. are in progress, so that there is a growing demand for enhancement of the density of recording media. In particular, thin metal film type recording media having a magnetic recording layer composed of a thin ferromagnetic metal layer have been vigorously investigated in recent years because they are very advantageous for recording at a short wavelength.
In such circumstances, lubricants for magnetic recording medium are also noted and it has turned out that the performance characteristics of a magnetic recording medium itself can be improved by improving the lubricant.
For example, carboxylic acid esters have been known as the lubricants for magnetic recording medium. However, they involve, for example, the following problem: particularly when they are stored at high temperature and humidity, water repellency of the lubricant layer is reduced, and thus water tends to penetrate into the lubricant layer, as a result of which adhesion of the lubricant is weakened and the lubricant itself is coagulated, and hence the original characteristics of the lubricant cannot be maintained any longer.
Fluorocarboxylic acids and esters derived there-from involves, for example, the following problems: the fluorocarboxylic acids damage the surface of a magnetic recording layer or the surface of a protecting layer constituting the magnetic recording medium because they are strong acids; the derived esters are easily hydrolyzable and are not sufficient in weather resistance; synthesis of useful fluorocarboxylic acids having a large number of carbon atoms is difficult; and fluorocarboxylic acids having a relatively small number of carbon atoms and esters derived therefrom are not sufficient in friction-reducing effect, namely, they impart only insufficient running durability.
Ester type lubricants obtained from a mono-carboxylic acid and a perfluoroalkyl alcohol (JP-A 62-256218) have a relatively small cross sectional area of the molecule because of a polar group, a carbonyl group, in its molecule. Therefore, they are advantageous in that they can easily cover the surface of a magnetic layer or the surface of a protective layer constituting a magnetic recording medium. They, however, are disadvantageous in that sufficient exhibition of their lubricating effect is difficult because the alkyl group in the molecule is oriented in such a way as being inclined to the surface of the magnetic layer or protective layer.
Ester type lubricants obtained from a dicarboxylic acid and a fluoroalkyl alcohol (JP-A 5-128498, JP-A 5-282662 and JP-B 6-28717) are advantageous in that since molecules of the lubricant are adsorbed and oriented on the surface by two polar groups per molecule, the alkyl group in the molecule is hardly oriented in such a way as being inclined to the surface, so that the lubricant easily exhibits its lubricating effect. On the other hand, the lubricants are disadvantageous in that the cross sectional area of the lubricant molecule becomes relatively large because of the two polar groups and hence it becomes difficult to cover the surface by the lubricant molecule. In addition, when cooled to room temperature after storage at high temperature and humidity, the lubricants are recrystallized in some cases because of their strong tendency to molecular orientation, which causes deterioration of the weather resistance of the magnetic recording medium. Moreover, the lubricants are disadvantageous also in that the molecular weight of the lubricants is rather high due to their structure, and thus in magnetic recording mediums using these lubricants, still characteristics are lowered at a low temperature range.

Lubricant composition and magnetic recording medium using the same


A method for accessing a device in a primary peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) domain from a secondary PCIe domain includes determining which one or more virtual functions of the device in the primary PCIe domain are to be made available to the secondary PCIe domain. A virtual function driver is installed in the primary PCIe domain associated with the one or more virtual functions. Information corresponding to the one or more virtual functions is provided to the secondary PCIe domain. A virtual function driver associated with the one or more virtual functions is installed in the secondary PCIe domain from the information. The virtual function driver in the secondary PCIe domain has same properties as the virtual function driver in the primary PCIe domain. The device in the primary PCIe domain is accessed from the virtual function driver in the secondary PCIe domain.

Classical Single CPU and End Point Devices
FIG. 1 illustrates a classical single CPU network 100 in a PCIe switch domain. The uppermost PCIe device is a PCIe controller 102 of CPU network 100 with direct memory access to CPU memory 104. The uppermost device (PCIe controller) in this classical layout is called the "root complex" (root of the tree). Also illustrated down from the "root" are PCIe switches 106 and at end points are PCIe device endpoints 108. CPU network 100 uses a shared parallel bus architecture 103 for communication purposes, in which all devices share a common set of address, data, and control lines.
A CPU host 110 typically executes an operating system that determines the configuration of CPU network 100 by "enumeration". Enumeration finds switches 106 and device endpoints 108 and claims total ownership over all the resources in CPU network 100. Type 1 and type 2 configuration read and write commands are used to discover switches 106, device endpoints 108, and memory resources owned by device endpoints 108 and switches 106. Memory addresses in a PCIe address space are assigned to all resources of both switches 106 and device endpoints 108. Base and limit switch registers are configured for all switches 106 to allow any point in CPU network 100 to understand how to route memory transactions around from device endpoint to device endpoint. CPU host 110 and device endpoints 108 can read and write memory resources anywhere in CPU network 100. Therefore, CPU host 110 can configure device endpoints 108 for use, and device endpoints 108 can act independently once setup to perform functions and read/write to and from CPU memory 104.
For example, one type of device endpoint 108 is an Ethernet controller 108a that can be setup to access transmit and receive descriptors from CPU memory 104, which point to buffers that CPU host 110 manages. Ethernet controller 108a can be associated with one or more PCIe devices (e.g., Ethernet devices). Each Ethernet device can independently transmit buffer contents described by transmit descriptors in its transmit descriptor ring (TX ring) and Ethernet controller 108a can receive data and send this data directly to receive buffers by its DMA function via a receive descriptor ring (RX ring) in CPU memory 104. According to Ethernet device programming and the PCIe standard, Ethernet controller 108a can send interrupts to CPU host 110 via a PCIe memory transaction known as an MSI/MSI-x message. This is a memory transaction that hits CPU host 110 device/interrupt registers in the CPU memory space mapped to PCIe.
Switches for this purpose are in wide use and the cost is relatively low. CPU network 100 is called a transparent PCIe network implementing a single PCIe domain. However, access to this PCIe domain from another network domain requires the use of specialized device drivers or specialized hardware.

Method to use PCIe device resources by using unmodified PCIe device drivers on CPUs in a PCIe fabric with commodity PCI switches


Described herein are pharmaceutical compositions and medicaments, and methods of using such pharmaceutical compositions and medicaments in the treatment of cancer.

Advanced hormone refractory metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths of US men. PCa recurs in approximately 30% of men after their initial treatments of either radical prostatectomy or ionizing radiation therapy. Although Androgen-Deprivation Therapy (ADT) initially causes a regression of the early-stage recurrent PCa, over 80% of the patients under ADT will eventually progress to androgen-independent castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPCa). Due to the lack of long term benefit of ADT and high frequency of adverse side effects associated with ADT, the identification of a novel agent to prevent PCa progression at an early stage of recurrence is of significant clinical interest.
Cellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are naturally occurring agents that cause DNA, RNA, lipid and protein damage if their concentrations become too high. ROS levels have been established to be distinctly higher in PCa tissue than in normal prostate. ROS have been shown to propagate prostate cancer development, not only by causing DNA damage, but also by activating an androgen independent survival pathway. Published data have confirmed that androgens induce ROS production in PCa cells via two major factors. First, transcription factor JunD is overexpressed in human PCa cells, when androgen induces oxidative stress, and secondly androgen induces up-regulation of spermidine/spermine acetyl transferase (SSAT), an enzyme responsible for spermidine and spermine catabolism that leads to a rise in cellular ROS levels. In addition, recent data further suggest an intriguing mechanism of PCa progression, where AR-JunD induced SSAT expression causing an increase in ROS levels and consequent upregulation of the transcription factor NF-κB may set up an autocrine feed forward loop of SSAT-ROS-NFκB-SSAT that can sustain ROS production and PCa cell proliferation in the absence of androgen.
Disclosed herein are inhibitors of AR-JunD interaction, which disrupt the AR-JunD complex in PCa cells and thus, block the ROS production, NF-κB activation, and prevent PCa progression. In some embodiments, these inhibitors are effective therapeutic agents for treatment of both androgen-dependent and castrate-resistant prostate cancer.
Androgen activation of AR in LNCaP human PCa cells induces AP-1 transcription factors Fra-2 and JunD. However, only JunD levels and its functional activity remained elevated for 96 h after androgen treatment, when androgen-induced ROS production is observed. JunD may either inhibit or help cellular ROS production, depending on cell type, presence of ROS-generating proteins, growth conditions, etc. Since androgen-induced ROS generation is abrogated by either blocking androgen-induced JunD over-expression with the anti-androgen bicalutamide or silencing JunD protein expression using siRNA, thus JunD activity is deemed necessary for androgen-induced oxidative stress in LNCaP cells.

Androgen induced oxidative stress inhibitors


Provided is an imaging system such as a stereo camera which includes a mechanism capable of controlling a camera setting such as zooming or panning/tilting, wherein the stereo camera and the imaging system maintains measurement accuracy of the imaging system even when the camera setting is changed. The stereo camera including at least two cameras estimates camera parameters of the camera when a lens position of the camera is changed by an operation instruction of the camera. In addition, the imaging system includes at least two cameras, a camera control unit which controls at least a lens position of the camera, a calibration unit which estimates camera parameters of the camera when at least the lens position of the camera is moved by the camera control unit, and an image recognition unit which performs three-dimensional restoration of captured images of the cameras based on the camera parameters.

There is a stereo camera which records information in a depth direction of an object by capturing the object from plural different directions as an apparatus or a system for performing three-dimensional measurement of an object and capturing of a three-dimensional image.
Some stereo cameras or imaging systems which include plural imaging devices to perform three-dimensional measurement processing include zoom lenses. PTL 1 discloses a technique for performing zoom control suitable for three-dimensional measurement when distance measurement of a subject is performed in a stereo imaging apparatus including a zoom lens.
Specifically, PTL 1 discloses a technique in which it is possible to transmit control data corresponding to an operation of a monitoring person to a stereo imaging control unit so that zoom control of an imaging unit and pan control and tilt control of the imaging unit can be performed according to the control data by the stereo imaging control unit, and further capturing is performed at arbitrary focal length, that is, an angle of view, and a field of view, that is, a picture frame, without causing frame-out.


A system and method for automatically and seamlessly routing telephone calls across a telephone network. The system includes a telephone switch having a computer, a master file and client file stored in the computer, and means to dynamically link the master file with the client file at routing time to produce a selected client telephone number and transmit the number across the telephone network. The system utilizes Automatic Number Identification to identify the calling party. The master file has a plurality of records having a calling telephone number field and a spatial key field and is updated very frequently. The client file has a plurality of records having a spatial key field and a client telephone number. Methods of generating the client files for three client service area definitions are included in the present invention.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to telephonic services and routing technologies and, more specifically, to a system for automatically routing telephone calls.
2. Background of the Invention
In the increasingly competitive business world, there have been various attempts to automatically route telephone calls made to an xe2x80x9c1-800xe2x80x9d number or equivalent for a local store, franchise, branch, dealer or service company (henceforth, service location), whose service area encompasses the caller location for the product or service associated with the xe2x80x9c1-800xe2x80x9d number. For example, a person would dial 1-800-Italian from any Touch Tone(copyright) phone (93 percent of U.S. phones are Touch Tone) in the United States, and the phone would ring at the MyPizza (a fictitious business) service location that delivers pizza to the location of the calling telephone.
There have been several previous simplistic attempts to automatically route calls to a service location that is geographically proximate to the caller. These routing technologies are based on routing the incoming call to a location with the same telephone prefix as the originating call, to the same 5-digit zip code, to all zip codes that have the same city name, or a combination of the above. A telephone prefix or exchange is identified by the middle three digits of a ten digit telephone number. For example, in 619-942-9999, the prefix or exchange is 942. Usually all telephone numbers with the same prefix are serviced by the same wire center. A wire center is the geographical area serviced by a single telephone company office. The wire center is usually one switch, but can be multiple switches, and usually provides service to about ten exchanges. By definition of the telephone companies, wire centers do not overlap.
The earth is a sphere, and any point on its surface can be defined by a latitude and longitude spherical coordinate system developed several centuries ago. Using this coordinate system, spherical trigonometry, and a computer, it is possible to calculate the distance between any two locations on the earth and determine if one location lies within a specified radius of another or determine if a location is contained within an irregular service area defined as a spherical polygon.
Several years ago, ATandT instituted the technology of passing the calling telephone number along the telephone network, by use of Automatic Number Identification (ANI), to facilitate billing. The xe2x80x9cCaller IDxe2x80x9d feature, available on some telephone networks, utilizes the ANI technology to identify the telephone number of the calling party. Since a modern telephone switch is just a special purpose computer, it is a simple process for the switch handling the call to look up in a record table (of over one hundred million records) the calling telephone number with an assigned service location telephone number and route the call to the service telephone number.
However, there were some fairly formidable problems that needed to be solved before this routing process could be a commercially viable and practical service. The first problem was initially determining the latitude and longitude of every telephone number in the United States and keeping them updated when twenty percent of the consumer population moves every year and businesses are continually opening and closing locations. The second problem was performing the multitude of spherical trigonometric calculations which is several orders of magnitude beyond today""s most powerful computers that are required to create the calling telephone number to the service location telephone number tables and to keep them updated in a constantly changing environment.
Several key databases and technologies are necessary to solve these problems. The United States Census Bureau, as part of the 1990 census, built a national latitude and longitude cartographic map of the United States called TIGER (Topological Integrated Geographical Encoding and Referencing) that contains almost every street link in the United States. A street link is a street segment intersected by other streets at each end. The TIGER record for all street links contains the latitude and longitude coordinates at each end of the street segment accurate to within plus or minus thirty feet and, for most street segments, the starting and ending address ranges for each side of the street. Where the Census Bureau did not complete the address ranges, private companies have filled in the gaps and are updating TIGER as new streets are built.
In the past, the U.S. Postal Service (the xe2x80x9cPost Officexe2x80x9d) divided the U.S. into postal delivery areas called zip (zone improvement plan) codes to help automate the routing of mail. At the nine digit level (called xe2x80x9czip+4xe2x80x9d), these zip codes usually correspond to a single side of a street link. In addition to geographically dividing the United States into small postal delivery areas, the Post Office also set standards for the naming of places and streets. For direct mailers to get discounts, they had to standardize their mailing addresses to match the Post Office""s naming conventions and provide a zip+4 code. To facilitate the process of postal address standardization and zip+4 coding, the Post Office provides a national Zip+4 Address Coding Guide and has certified several commercially available software packages that correctly address standardize and zip+4 code 99 percent plus of the address records on a Post Office test file. It is well known that file or table records comprise one or more fields.
Recently, the Post Office and some private companies have matched the Post Office""s Zip+4 Address Coding Guide with TIGER and have created files containing zip+4 codes with latitude and longitude centroids (a zip+4 centroid is the approximate geographical mid-point of a zip+4 code). This type of file is referred to as a zip+4 latitude and longitude centroid file 100 (FIG. 1a). These centroids are accurate 95 percent of the time to within plus or minus 105 feet in relation to a house or business receiving mail at a street address assigned to a given zip+4 code. Today, it is a very reliable and economical process to address standardize and zip+4 code a list identifying physical locations, such as a master list of phone numbers of the present invention.
Other changes and improvements in telecommunications technology were needed to make the automated telephone call routing process a commercially viable and practical service. Improvements in the telecommunication infrastructure in the U.S. have changed the telecommunication cost structure. Presently the cost of a telephone call from Los Angeles to New York is about the same as for a call from Los Angeles to San Diego. Therefore, the physical location of a central routing switch is no longer critical, or in other words, can be anywhere in the continental U.S.
Another improvement of telecommunications technology is the advent of Geographic Information Systems, commonly called GIS. These systems allow the aggregation and display of almost any data for any area, any size or shape, anywhere in the United States by interactive maps. The popularity of these systems has lead to the development of sophisticated techniques and algorithms to handle geographically based information. Of primary interest is the linking of the geographic information to telephone numbers, especially at the 10-digit level (area code-prefix-suffix).
The complex process of spherical trigonometric distance calculations on billions of possible permutations has been alleviated by making the process less computer intensive. Instead of performing complex trigonometric spherical calculations, a technique that is less than one-thousandth as computer intensive is used. This technique is based on doing a polyconic projection from each service location and performing simple two dimensional distance squared tests. There are approximately 68.9404 miles per degree latitude. However, the miles per degree longitude varies with the latitude. At a given latitude, the miles per degree longitude is equal to the cosine of the latitude multiplied by 68.9404. By using the service location as the latitude point and knowing the latitude and longitude of calling points, it is easy to obtain a delta latitude and longitude, translate them into miles, and perform a simple distance calculation, i.e., xe2x80x9cdistance=SQRT(X**2+Y**2)xe2x80x9d. This polyconic projection technique results in a distance calculation error of approximately 12 feet for two locations that are 100 miles apart at 40 degrees latitude. However, additional reduction of the computational effort is necessary to have a practical, efficient, and commercially viable routing process.
Previous technologies for routing xe2x80x9c1-800xe2x80x9d telephone number calls to a service location have one or more of the following three problems:
(1) Many such routing systems are very coarse in their level of precision and cannot handle small service areas with legally defined franchise territories like pizza delivery. A much more precise system is desired that is accurate to within 105 feet rather than previous accuracies to within 10 miles. Such a system would utilize very precise distance calculations made possible by knowing the physical location on the earth, most typically expressed as a latitude and longitude, of nearly every non-mobile telephone in the United States. Other coordinate systems could be used in other countries. A business also may like the ability to route a telephone call to a specific franchise territory, which may be an irregularly shaped polygon.
(2) Another problem in routing systems is that they divide the United States into many large arbitrarily defined areas and there is no ability to route a call to the closest service location if the closest location is not located in the same artificially created area as the caller. In many instances, a caller located near the border of an exchange area or 5-digit zip code is much closer to a service location with a different zip code or telephone prefix than the one to which it is routed. A seamless system is desired that does not use artificially created areas such as telephone wire centers, telephone prefixes, or 5-digit zip codes where calls can only be routed within their area. A business may want an option of choosing to route a call to the closest branch or to any branch, for example, in a 5 mile radius of the caller.
(3) Finally, known routing systems often rely on third party telephone directories that are always outdated due to publishing, key entry, and optical character recognition (OCR) scanning time lags and which do not include unlisted numbers. Over 30 percent of the U.S. telephone numbers are unlisted, which includes public pay phones and multiple lines going into businesses and households where only one line is listed. Because consumers and businesses throughout the country change locations on a daily basis, a system is desired that correctly routes a much higher percentage of calls than the previous attempts. In the U.S., such a system would require direct access to the ATandT universe of telephone numbers. Such a system would preferably utilize daily updated and unlisted telephone numbers and involve passing information between regulated telephone databases maintained by the telephone companies and client databases maintained by third parties.
These three deficiencies result in lower customer service and satisfaction, higher costs because of manual exception handling for calls that cannot be routed due to a variety of reasons, costs of misrouting, and high on-going maintenance costs. Manual exception handling generally requires operator intervention in the xe2x80x9c1-800xe2x80x9d call.
Other previous systems require the consumer to enter their zip code or telephone prefix on the Touch Tone keypad in response to voice prompting from the system. Based on the caller-entered data on the keypad, the telephone call is forwarded to a destination telephone. Other similar systems will simply inform the consumer, by a voice message, of another telephone number for the local dealer, which must be manually dialed rather than forwarding the call automatically. A system is desired that does not require any additional customer interaction or input. Such a system would be totally automatic by utilizing, at a minimum, the 10-digit telephone numbers in the standard telephone packet that can only be accessed and utilized by regulated telephone companies on a national basis. The telephone packet includes the complete origin and destination telephone numbers.
The basis of an automatic telephone routing system must include a means to automatically identify the telephone number of the calling party. Such a system is disclosed by Kaplan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,087. This system translates an Automatic Number Identification (ANI) of the calling party into a customer database key previously defined by the called party. The database key, e.g., customer account number, is then provided to the called party instead of the ANI information such that a computer at the called business can process the key to look up and present customer information to an agent of the business. This system assumes that the caller has called this business at a previous time to provide information to the agent of the business to create a customer record or other similar information. The Kaplan system delivers the database key to one business location rather than a plurality of service locations throughout the country. The delivery of the database key to the business requires an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) or similar facility, which is an additional burden for the business.
An automatic routing system should not need to deliver a database key or message to the final destination, but would merely utilize the ANI information as an index to a table containing partitions of a country into small geographic areas, such as postal service zip+4 codes. These partitions would be further utilized to access one of a plurality of service locations that may be anywhere within the country.
A current system for telephone call routing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,267 to Riskin. Riskin employs automatic number identification (ANI) for routing calls from a caller to a dealer located within the same area code and prefix (first six digits of a 10-digit telephone number, the xe2x80x9c6-digit numberxe2x80x9d) as the caller. Because the area identified by the 6-digit number is fairly large and there may be several dealers within the area, the dealer location is usually selected from a list of several locations based on random selection, or weighted percentage assigned to each location. Alternatively, the caller is presented with a list of possible dealer locations for the large geographic area because the system does not know which service locations are closer than the others. Riskin uses the 6-digit number to determine the location of both the caller and the service location. Riskin assumes the location of the caller to be the location of the central office switch that services the caller""s 6-digit exchange (which can be 0 to 5 miles from its true location), and assumes the location of the dealer location to be the location of the central office switch that services the dealer location""s 6-digit exchange (which can be 0 to 5 miles from its true location) utilizing a coordinate system that is accurate to plus or minus 2300 feet. What is desired is a system that uses all ten digits of the calling and service location telephone numbers and the physical street address of the location of the numbers in connection with a GIS-type database (utilizing a coordinate system that is accurate to within 30 feet) to provide geographic precision to within 105 feet for the location of the calling and destination telephones.
Consequently there is a need for an automated telephone routing system that provides the ability to reduce costs by routing a very high percentage of calls made to a single national telephone number without any human intervention; the marketing advantage for a client of a single, easy to remember, toll free or nominal fee national telephone number; geographically precise results; and the ability of a business to choose among different types of destination service area definitions. Preferably, these service area definitions may include the closest service location to the caller within a predefined distance; all service locations within a specific radius of the caller; and a service location whose service area is defined as an irregular shaped polygon that may or may not overlap with any other polygons.
The above-mentioned needs are satisfied by the present invention which includes a system and method for automatically routing telephone calls from a caller to a service location.
The present invention provides a method of routing all published and unpublished telephone numbers, including unlisted numbers, secondary unpublished business lines, and public pay phones without any violation of federal, state and local laws. The present invention also provides a method for legally conforming to contracted franchise territory definitions executed between franchisers and franchisees by routing customer""s calls precisely to the correct legal franchisee area. Additionally, the present invention provides a method for precisely routing telephone calls based on any geographic definition including postal geography, census geography, telecommunications geography, special grid coordinate geography, and all custom geography.
The present invention provides a method for automatically routing and processing customer calls that do not meet the pre-set client protocols. This xe2x80x9cexceptions handlingxe2x80x9d process routes to a xe2x80x9clivexe2x80x9d operator who executes preset exceptions handling protocols. The present invention also provides for a method of integrating unrelated geographic information systems and database technology, telecommunications systems and database technology, postal systems and database technology, and computer technology into a common applications driven architecture. Additionally, the present invention provides a method for dynamically and instantaneously updating and integrating Client and Master Tables with no time lags. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for automating the processing of information that is input by a customer using a customer interface that automatically routes telephone calls to customer requested destinations.
In one aspect of the present invention there is, in a telephone network, an automatic routing system, comprising means for receiving a calling number of a source location, means for converting the entire calling number into a spatial key, means for converting the spatial key into a client number of a destination location, and means for transmitting the client number to the telephone network, wherein the source location is connected to the destination location by the routed telephone call.
In another aspect of the present invention there is a call routing system, comprising a telephone network; a switch connected to the telephone network, the telephone switch having a computer with a memory; a master file comprising a plurality of records, each record having a caller telephone number field and a spatial key field, the master file stored in the computer; a client file comprising a plurality of records, each record having a spatial key field and a client telephone number, the client file stored in the computer; means, within the switch, for receiving a selected caller telephone number from the telephone network; means, within the switch, for linking the master table and the client table to produce a selected client telephone number, wherein the master table is indexed by the selected caller telephone number to provide a selected spatial key, and wherein the client table is indexed by the selected spatial key to provide a selected client telephone number; and means, within the switch, for transmitting the selected client telephone number to the telephone network.
In yet another aspect of the present invention there is, in a telephone network, a method of automatically routing a telephone call, comprising the steps of generating a client table comprising a plurality of records, each record comprising a spatial key and a client telephone number indicative of a service location, storing the client table and a master table comprising a plurality of records, each record comprising a calling telephone number and a spatial key, in the telephone network, receiving a selected calling telephone number from the network, indexing the master table with the selected calling telephone number to obtain a selected master table record, retrieving a selected spatial key from the selected master table record, indexing the client table with the selected spatial key to obtain a selected client table record, and retrieving a selected client telephone number from the selected client table record.
In another aspect of the present invention there is a table generation process, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of service locations comprising two coordinates, each location having a specified service area; windowing the coordinates with a plurality of prestored spatial key windows, each window having an associated spatial key list, each spatial key list having one or more spatial keys, wherein the spatial key is indicative of a spatial key area, thereby providing a selected spatial key list; intersecting spatial key windows with the service area; and creating a client table record including one of the spatial keys from the spatial key list of an intersected spatial key window and the client telephone number of the service area.

Automated telecommunications call processing method


The disclosure herein describes automatically unsubscribing from automated calls based on automated call audio patterns. Audio data of an incoming call is accessed and an incoming call audio pattern is generated based on the audio data of the incoming call. The incoming call audio pattern is compared to an automated call audio pattern set by a call screening engine. Based on the comparison, the user is prompted for a call response instruction. Based on the call response instruction from the user, the call screening engine identifies an unsubscribe operation indication in the incoming call audio pattern, performs an unsubscribe operation associated with the identified unsubscribe operation indication, and updates the automated call audio pattern set based on the incoming call audio pattern. The disclosure enables efficient handling of automated calls and reduces user interaction necessary to unsubscribe from associated call lists.

Automated sales calls, robo-calls, or "spam" calls have become a frequent and persistent nuisance for many people. With the ubiquity of personal cellular phones, many users are subjected to automated calls at nearly any time of day and in nearly any place or situation. While blocking a number prevents receiving more calls from the blocked number, entities that make large quantities of sales calls use a multitude of source numbers for their automated call efforts. Further strategies used by automated calling entities include "spoofing" numbers to avoid blocked call lists.
While some entities that make automated calls provide ways to unsubscribe from associated call lists, in many cases the process requires that the recipient of the call answer the call, listen to an automated message for a potentially significant amount of time, and then perform an action, such as saying the word "unsubscribe" when the automated call prompts the recipient to do so. Additionally, automated call recipients may be required to navigate audio-based menus of options by pressing or saying numbers or keywords or they may be placed on hold or otherwise caused to wait to be able to unsubscribe from the call list, thereby further wasting the recipient's time.

Automatically unsubscribing from automated calls based on call audio patterns


A trim panel having an integral handle is made using a subassembly comprising a structural substrate that has a handle hole and a handle frame that spans the handle hole. The subassembly is mounted on a pneumatic buck and a sheet of pliable and stretchable expanded vinyl plastic is then draped over the subassembly to form a decorative cover for the trim panel. The plastic sheet is then vacuum drawn against the top of the subassembly and partially around the handle frame. Draped portions of the plastic sheet between the handle frame and the handle hole, are then cut and trimmed, to complete the wrapping of the handle frame and the edge of the handle hole. The cut ends of the draped portions wrapped around the handle frame are tucked in a longitudinal slot in the underside of the handle frame. The plastic sheet can be also be drawn completely around the handle frame and the pneumatic buck can be provided with a cusp shaped surface aligned with the handle hole to reduce stretching of the plastic sheet when it is drawn around the handle frame.

This invention relates generally to the manufacture of composite thermoplastic parts such as trim panels for automobile doors and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a composite thermoplastic part that has an integral 360 degree handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,331 granted to James M. Brix et al Jul. 10, 1984 discloses a composite thermoplastic trim panel for an automobile door that includes an integral loop portion for a 360 degree door handle. The trim panel comprises a molded thermoplastic shell that is fitted with an insert that includes a reinforcement for the loop portion. This subassembly is then filled with a cellular material such as reaction injected foam in a secondary operation to provide a composite trim panel that has a partially formed loop. The loop is completed by cutting an endless hole in the composite trim panel and then attaching plates to cover the foam exposed around the periphery of the hole to provide a finished appearance for the door panel.
While this process is suitable for its intended purpose, the process requires the fabrication of cover plates and the attachment of these cover plates to the trim panel after the endless hole is cut to form the loop.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,228 granted to Reza Kargarzadeh, Ken E. Tuttle and John A. Grimes Dec. 22, 1992 discloses another foam in place type method that uses a precast skin shell for forming a 360 degree handle in a composite thermoplastic part such as an automobile door trim panel. In this latter method, the molded thermoplastic shell itself is formed with an integral 360 degree handle in a special mold. The molded thermoplastic shell is then fitted with an insert that includes a reinforcement for the integral 360 degree door handle. The subassembly is then filled with a foam material in a secondary operation to provide the composite door trim panel.
This process is also suitable for its intended purpose. However, the process requires complicated equipment for molding the shell with a 360 degree handle and then a difficult assembly of the handle reinforcement in preparation for the foaming operation.
Automobile interior trim door panels can also be made a vacuum forming process as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,417 granted to Roger Tornero Apr. 26, 1988. In this process, a porous foam backed fabric is loosely positioned over a female mold. A substrate is heated sufficiently to sag and then deposited over the female mold so that the sagging substrate contacts the fabric around an effective mold perimeter. Vacuum applied through the female mold is transmitted through the porous foam backed fabric and attracts the sagging substrate into the mold causing contact and adhesion of the heated substrate and the foam backed fabric. This method produces a contoured door panel that has sizeable functional protrusions, such as an arm rest and ridges or depressions that enhance the decorative appearance of the door. However, the door panel does not have any integral loop portions that provide a 360 degree handle.
It is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,741 granted to Keith K. Kesling Sep. 16, 1969 to vacuum form an inner panel of a refrigerator door so that wooden reinforcing sticks are embedded in the plastic sheet at the tops of integral plastic shelf fronts. This door panel likewise does not have any integral loop portions that provide a 360 degree door handle or any other portions capable of doing so.

Method of manufacturing a trim panel having a handle


Air to be introduced into the cabin of a motor vehicle passes over a measuring device, in which parameters such as temperature, humidity and pollution are measured. The measuring device comprises a housing having an air inlet, which is supplied with a fraction of the air stream, and an air outlet for evacuating this fraction. The housing has an internal chamber which communicates with both the air inlet and the air outlet, and air circulating means such as a pump are provided for setting up a differential pressure between the inlet and outlet so that the fraction of the air stream to be measured flows through the chamber in the housing. The sensor or sensors are arranged in this chamber, so that they are always ventilated by the air passing through the latter.

Measuring devices of this kind are already known which include one or more sensors which are arranged to measure various physical and/or chemical parameters in an air stream. The most widely used type of measuring device comprises a temperature sensor or temperature sonde, in the form of a thermistor. This sensor is located in a selected location in the vehicle, in the path of the air stream before the latter is introduced into the cabin of the vehicle.
A conventional motor vehicle typically has a heating and ventilating (and/or air conditioning) installation which includes, in particular, an air inlet casing which has a fresh air inlet, for introduction of fresh air from outside the vehicle, controlled by a flap valve, together with another air inlet for admitting air recirculated from the cabin of the vehicle and controlled by another flap valve. When such a vehicle is provided with a temperature sensor as mentioned above, the latter is often placed in the air inlet casing of the installation, upstream of the flap valve that controls the admission of fresh air from outside the vehicle (i.e. upstream with reference to the direction of flow of the air stream).
Such an arrangement does have certain disadvantages. In this connection, if the sensor is operating correctly when the installation is in its fresh air mode, then since the sensor is under those conditions ventilated by the stream of fresh air, the same is not true in the alternative situation where the installation is operating in its recirculated air mode. In this latter case, the sensor is not in fact ventilated, and the information derived from the sensor is corrupted by the thermal radiation of the vehicle itself, and in particular that coming from the engine, since the engine is generally quite close to the heating, ventilating or air conditioning installation itself.
In order to overcome this drawback, it has been proposed that the latest measured value of the parameter concerned, represented by the signal from the sensor, should be memorised before the installation is changed from its fresh air mode to its recirculated air mode. It has also been proposed to mount the temperature sensor on the flap valve which controls the admission of fresh air, so as to make its position variable and to improve its ventilation.
However, these solutions do involve certain complications in the construction of the installation; yet, at the same time, they still fail to ensure that the temperature sensor will always give signals that represent the true values of the parameter to be measured.
Apart from temperature sensors, the sensors may of course include at least one other sensor for measuring at least one other parameter. These may for example comprise suitable sensors for measurement of humidity (absolute or relative) in the air stream, with a view to controlling the humidity within the cabin at a required level. Since these humidity sensors are generally located in the same position as the temperature sensors, they are subject to the same drawbacks as have been mentioned above.
In addition, chemical, or physico-chemical, sensors may be provided for dealing with pollution problems. These sensors are of a type which are capable of detecting the presence of noxious gases, especially carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and hydrocarbon exhaust gases. However, pollution sensors at present pose a double problem. First of all, since these sensors are capable of giving a command for passing air in a recirculating mode, they must also be capable of giving the opposite command when the pollution has been dispersed. However, this is not possible if the sensors are not correctly ventilated or aerated by the air stream. In addition, the pollution sensors are in general heated to temperatures which may attain a local mean value of the order of 100 to 400 degrees C., in order to activate the chemical reactions which are the basis of the operation of such sensors. Here again, if the sensors are not correctly ventilated, they may give erroneous values, as may the adjacent sensors. Another undesirable result that may occur is deterioration of the sensors under the effect of high temperatures.

Measuring device for measuring parameters in an air stream to be introduced into the cabin of a motor vehicle


A lightweight guide bar formed from a heavy material, e.g., steel, and having a center section, e.g., a cavity of reduced material and fitted with a lighter weight insert, e.g., aluminum plate. The center section includes a flange to which the aluminum plate is adhered and a spacer lip defines the desired thickness of the adhesive. Adhesive is applied to the desired thickness under the lip and the aluminum plate is abutted against the lip and into contact with the adhesive for adhering of the plate to the flange. In a preferred embodiment, the flange is a continuous web down the center of the center section and insert plates are adhered to each side of the web. Also, preferably the inserts are oval and symmetrical and are selectively mechanically secured to the flanges by rivets.

Chainsaws used for felling large trees are necessarily provided with long guide bars as required to cut through the girth of a large tree. Such a guide bar may be on the order of 3 feet in length. Such bars are typically made of steel, a heavy material. Considering that the bar and the chain that is mounted on the bar extends outwardly from the power head whereat the user's handles are located, the weight of the bar and chain is a substantial burden to the chainsaw operator as he moves about in a forest from tree to tree.
The weight of the bar can be reduced by replacing a center section of the bar with a lighter weight material. Such is the proposal of commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,342 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. That proposal replaces the heavy steel material with an aluminum insert. Whereas the objective of reducing the weight is achieved, the machining requirements for fitting and securing the insert to the bar center adds substantial cost. It is accordingly an objective of the invention to provide the desired fit and securement of a lightweight insert to a bar while reducing the cost, e.g., as compared to the teaching of the '342 patent.


In a clarification method for a beverage liquid, in particular for producing beer, the beverage liquid, after it passes through a fermentation stage, is subjected to a clarification which serves for removing active haze components from the beverage liquid, and fed to a maturation vessel in which the beverage liquid is stored for a maturation time. In a further method step, the beverage liquid is charged with at least one pectin-containing clarification agent for increasing a filtration performance. In this case it is provided that the pectin-containing clarification agent is introduced into the beverage liquid on the path from the fermentation stage to the maturation vessel and the pectin present therein, before the feed to the maturation vessel, is at least for the most part removed again from the beverage liquid.

The invention relates to a clarification method for a beverage liquid, in particular for the production of beer, wine or juices, by applying or using a fast-acting/complexing pectin. In the method the beverage liquid is subjected to clarification after passing through a fermentation stage, said clarification being used to remove haze components from the beverage liquid. In this case the beverage liquid is charged with at least one pectin-containing clarifying agent to increase the subsequent filtration effect. Furthermore, the beverage liquid is supplied to a maturation or storage tank, in which the beverage liquid is stored for a maturation period. Depending on the existing drinks matrix (beer, wine, juices or comparable drinks), particularly with regard to the degree of esterification and amidation, the most suitable pectins to be used as fast-acting/complexing pectins are those which are referred to as Pectino-floc A, B, C etc.
In addition to aroma, taste and colour, the most important qualities of clear drinks (e.g. beer, wine, juices, etc.) include clarity and chemical-physical shelf-life, also referred to as colloidal stability. In order to obtain crystal clear beers, wines or juices, the latter have to be filtered. It is possible to use clarifying agents to increase the filtration effect and shorten the production time of drinks such as beer, wine, fruit juices etc.
The filtered, clear beers, wines and other drinks lose their brightness after a period of time, and after a corresponding storage period an undesirable formation of haze may be observed. Due to the formation of haze the quality of the drinks is generally worsened and the shelf life is reduced. There are many possible reasons for the formation of haze and in principle a distinction is made between biological and non-biological stability. In the case of non-biological stability, which is also referred to as colloidal or chemical-physical stability, chemical and physical reactions are considered to be responsible for the formation of haze, whereas the influence of beer-damaging microorganisms is considered to be the reason in the case of biological stability. Furthermore, non-biological haze is subdivided into cold haze, also known as reversible haze, and permanent haze, which is referred to as irreversible haze.
Cold haze is formed at temperatures between −2° C. and +5° C. and dissolves without residue on heating.
In contrast beers or drinks containing irreversible haze do not clear even at room temperature. Cold haze is considered to be the precursor of irreversible haze and is therefore of particular interest, as by reducing cold haze the formation of irreversible haze is also reduced or prevented.
With regard to the chemical-physical formation of haze in beer and other drinks the interaction between haze-active polyphenols and proteins has been recognised as particularly influential. Therefore, in the drinks industry stabilising agents such as PVPP (polyvinylpolypyrrolidone), bentonite and silica gel are used to remove the haze-active polyphenols or proteins in the production process. More recent research has also shown that specific metal ions are particularly involved in the formation of reversible cold haze. In this case in particular reference is made to the complex formation of metal ions of a specific oxidation stage which are dependent on the temperature and pH with the present polyphenol-protein compounds.
In the pH range of beer (pH 4.2-4.4) in particular oxidised metal ions such as Fe3+/Cu+ are formed after using up the endogenous antioxidant potential by oxidative processes involving the Fenton-Haber-Weiss reaction system and, with the existing polyphenol-protein compounds, produce visible, temperature and pH-dependent complex compounds.
In addition to the clarifying effect of pectic acid described in DE 3614656 C1, which has also occasionally been used in the past for fining wine, WO 2006/032088 A2 describes the use of pectin as a stabiliser in the brewing process. In this connection, in addition to the clarifying effect of pectin the stabilising effect on the colloidal shelf life of beers is highlighted in particular. To explain the stabilising effect and the corresponding increase in the colloidal shelf life different possible mechanisms have been proposed and described with the formation of networks between pectin and Ca2+, Mg2+ ions. The haze-active polyphenols, proteins and carbohydrates are meant to embed themselves into the formed networks and are removed by sedimentation or at the latest during filtration.
According to WO 2006/032088 A2 the pectin used causes a significant colloidal stabilisation effect when added in an aqueous solution of sodium citrate, citric acid and potassium metabisulfite to unfiltered beer during maturation.
In contrast to PVPP and silica gel however, research has not shown a significant stabilisation effect on the colloidal beer stability caused directly by the pectin. This is the case in particular if the pectin is simply added to the unfiltrate dissolved in an aqueous solution or buffering solution (i.e. without sodium citrate, citric acid and potassium metabisulfite) according to the teaching of WO 2006/032088 A2 during maturation. Rather all of the results indicate that the delayed formation of haze described in said prior art and the associated higher colloidal beer stability are not caused by the pectin as such, but are the result of the indirect addition of SO2 and citric acid by means of the predetermined pectin solution with the use of potassium metabisulfite or sodium citrate/citric acid.
In Germany the direct addition of sulphur dioxide to beers brewed according to the German purity law is not permissible. Sulphur dioxide is an important antioxidant in beer and other drinks and may be added to increase the oxidative beer (drink) stability. The formation of haze in beers relative to the storage period is directly associated with oxidative processes and the oxidative beer stability. The connection between oxidative and colloidal beer stability has long been known and was recently verified by relevant research considering the endogenous antioxidative potential of beers (drinks). On the basis of the described connections, the colloidal beer stabilisation described in the prior art is not a result of the added pectin but is achieved by the addition of SO2 and citric acid. In this way the contents of beer involved in the formation of haze (e.g. metal ions) can be complexed (e.g. citric acid) and the formation of haze caused by oxidation can be delayed (mainly addition of SO2).
In contrast to the negative evidence as a stabilising agent, the clarifying effect of the pectin in the production process was clearly evident regardless of the SO2 content in all of the research work. In corresponding laboratory trials it was possible with different types of pectin to achieve a good clarification effect during beer maturation and to reduce the filtration times or significantly increase the filtration effect.
FIG. 1 shows a filtration line V1 after clarification using 80 ppm pectin B and a control line K in the absence of pectin. The lines show respectively the mass G in grams of the held-back material over time t in seconds. The filtration is performed at 0.5 bar, 0° C. and 0.45 pm.
In larger scale production however, unlike the conditions described in the prior art, there were huge difficulties related to handling. The sedimentation of a pectin flake described in the prior art could not be achieved because of the flow conditions during beer maturation or could only be achieved rarely in application. This is mainly because of the flow conditions and the very light pectin agglomerates (pectin flakes) which are held in suspension by the slightest vibration or flows. On this basis it is difficult to draw off a more clarified beer in the upper maturation tank area for accelerated filtration and to perform filtering without corresponding losses of beer.
Additional filtration trials have shown that the pectin agglomerates held in suspension are only suitable to a limited degree or are not at all suitable for accelerating the filtration after maturation. This is probably due to the fact that the network formed by the pectin in the described procedure over time in the maturation or storage tank goes back into the solution or breaks up and the partially dissolved pectin reduces the filtration effect.
The procedure described in the prior art is also only suitable to a limited extent for handling pectin easily and above all using it economically as a clarifying agent in beer production, i.e. pectin is not suitable as a stabilising agent and in the given procedure is only suitable to a limited degree as a clarifying agent in the brewing process.
Furthermore, for a number of years gallotannins have been used in the brewing industry for colloidal stabilisation and for avoiding the gushing effects in drinks (gushing: excessive spontaneous foaming of drinks after opening a bottle). The functional principle is based on the fact that the gallotannins bind to the existing haze-active or active gushing protein fractions and then the precipitations formed can be separated (e.g. filtration). When using gallotannins to reduce the gushing potential of drinks use is additionally made of the fact that active gushing and prooxidatively-acting metal ions, in particular Fe, are present in complexed form in the gallotannin-protein compounds formed and can be removed by the formed precipitations.


The present invention relates to a method for operating a doubly fed induction generator wind power facility during an OVRT event, said the wind turbine facility being adapted to inject active and/or reactive current into an associated grid, the method comprising the steps of determining the occurrence of an over voltage grid event, and maintaining a grid-side inverter of the doubly fed induction generator wind power facility fully operable during the over voltage ride though event so as to maintain a controllable active and/or reactive current capability during the over voltage grid event.

Over the recent years various demands regulating the behaviour of for example wind turbine facilities during grid faults have been suggested. Recent grid demands require that wind turbine facilities remain connected to the grid during over voltage grid events and at the same time support the grid during such events.
EP 2 704 309 A2 discloses a method for controlling a dual-fed induction generator (DFIG) in response to an over voltage grid event. The method involves that an output of a closed-loop portion of a rotor current regulator is set to a fixed value such that a predictive feed-forward path sets an internal voltage for the DFIG. Moreover, the method involves that a condition of a high DC voltage on a DC link or a condition predictive of high DC voltage on the DC link is detected, and in response a rotor related current command is reduced to approximately zero. Thus, the method suggested in EP 2 704 309 A2 aims at protecting the DFIG during the over voltage grid event by setting the rotor related current command to approximately zero. It is a disadvantage of this approach that even though the DFIG is protected during the over voltage grid event the grid itself is not supported appropriately during the event.
It may be seen as an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a method for supporting the grid during an OVRT event.
It may be seen as a further object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a method for maintaining a grid-side inverter fully operable during an OVRT event.
It may be seen as an even further object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a method for ensuring that a grid-side inverter is capable of injecting both active and reactive power into an associated grid during an OVRT event.

Method for handling an over voltage ride through event


A lead-free and bismuth-free solder alloy composition for electronic assembly applications having reduced toxicity. The alloy composition consists of, in weight percent, 90.3-99.2% tin, 0.5-3.5% silver, 0.1-2.8% copper, and 0.2-2.0% antimony. The alloy composition has a melting temperature of 210.degree.-216.degree. C. with superior wetting and mechanical strength making the alloy composition well suited for electronic circuit board manufacture and replacement of conventional tin-lead solders.

The present invention relates generally to an improved solder composition. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved solder composition that contains no lead or bismuth yet still achieves superior soldering characteristics.
In the electronic manufacturing of printed circuit boards and the assembly of components thereon, it has been well known to employ solders containing tin and lead to provide mechanical and electrical connections. Solders which contain tin and lead typically yield highly reliable connections in both automated and manual soldering and provide a surface on printed circuit boards extremely conducive to soldering.
However, the use of such tin-lead solders in the manufacture of printed circuit boards and is assembly of components is becoming more and more problematic due to the toxic effects of lead exposure to workers and the inevitable generation of hazardous waste. Due to these environmental concerns, action is being taken to limit the amount of lead entering into the environment. Recently, federal and many state government agencies have begun to urge the electronics industry to find alternatives to tin-lead solders to reduce worker lead exposure and lessen the amount of lead waste going back into the environment. Long term exposure to lead can greatly effect the health of workers. For example, even small amounts of lead can affect the neurological development of fetuses in pregnant workers.
Tin-lead alloys of, for example, sixty (60%) percent tin, forty (40%) percent lead; and sixty-three (63%) percent tin, thirty-seven (37%) percent lead have historically been used for most electronic soldering operations. These alloys have been selected and are preferred because of their low melting temperatures, mechanical strength, low relative cost, as well as superior wetting characteristics and electrical conductivity.
Due to the materials used, many components and printed circuit boards are easily damaged by exposure to high temperatures during manufacture or assembly. Because of the heat transfer and distribution limitations and concerns, printed circuit boards are typically exposed to temperatures higher than the liquidus temperature of the alloy employed. In response to this concern, electronic manufacturers are exploring alternative alloys to replace the tin-lead alloys.
Compositions containing bismuth were attempted as a substitute for tin-lead alloys. However, these alloys were quickly rejected due to their many problems. For example, alloys containing bismuth exhibit poor soldering and extremely poor peel strength with reduced wetting characteristics for electronic soldering. Further, these bismuth alloys typically fail mechanical thermocycling strength tests that have been performed throughout the electronics industry. Since bismuth is typically mined from lead ores, lead production must be maintained to recover bismuth. Also, known reserves of bismuth are completely inadequate to serve the needs of the growing electronics industry. Therefore, alloys containing bismuth are unacceptable as a substitute for tin-lead alloys.
The prior art has not provided a solder composition exhibiting optimum wetting and flow properties without toxicity. Currently federal, military and commercial solder specifications lack a suitable non-toxic composition. The following prior art patents illustrate inadequate attempts to meet these needs.
Soviet Union Patent No. 183,037, issued to A. I. Gubin, et al. discloses an alloy containing antimony of 1.+-.0.3%; copper 2.+-.0.3%; silver 5.+-.0.3% and the remainder being tin and having a melting point of 225.degree.-250.degree. C. This alloy has a liquidus temperature that does not allow it to be used in electronic soldering because the soldering temperature required to flow the alloy would destroy the printed circuit board and many of the components. No feasible equipment or means currently exists to allow this alloy to be used for the purpose of electronic soldering or coating. Due to the high silver content, this alloy has an economic disadvantage in the marketplace.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,721, issued to Lupfer, discloses a tin-silver alloy of 96.5% tin and 3.5.+-.0.5% silver with wetting and electrical conductivity characteristics marginally acceptable to suit the needs of the electronics industry. However, this alloy has mechanical strength weaknesses that would prohibit its use on a wide range of electronic printed circuit board assemblies. For example, creep strength, a measure of flow under pressure, and percent elongation, metal stretching before fracture, are considerably lower than the tin-lead alloys now used. Even with the common tin-lead alloys, solder joints stress fractures are the cause of many field failures in printed circuit boards where vibration or temperature variations occur. In addition, the liquidus temperature of 221.degree. C. requires that automated soldering be accomplished at a temperature that in many situations would damage the printed circuit board and/or the components. Due to the high content of silver, the cost of this alloy is considerably higher than tin-lead alloys. For each percentage point of silver added to the alloy, the price increases by approximately $0.75/lbs. (based on a silver market of $5.00/troy ounce.)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,733, issued to Lubrano, et al., discloses an alloy containing, by weight, 0.7% to 6% copper; 0.05% to 3% silver; with the remainder being tin with a temperature range of 440.degree.-630.degree. F. This alloy does not use antimony in its composition. As a result, this alloy has a melting temperature that is too high to be used in a wide range of electronic soldering applications without damaging printed circuit boards or components. In addition, the alloy disclosed by Lubrano, et al. exhibits inferior soldering performance, slow wetting times and mechanical strengths ill-suited to electronic assembly applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,428, issued to Ballentine, et al., discloses an alloy containing 0.5-4% antimony; 0.5-4% zinc; 0.1-3% silver; 0.1-2% copper; 88-98.8% tin. The zinc content in this alloy causes the alloy to oxidize quickly. This inhibits wetting and flow producing high dross formation which results in extremely high defect levels. The productivity lost in using such as composition for mass electronic soldering makes it an unacceptable alternative to tin-lead solders.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,407, issued to Ballentine, et al., discloses an alloy containing tin, copper, nickel, silver and antimony. All of the alloy combinations disclosed by Ballentine, et al. have liquidus temperatures in excess of those required for electronic assembly. The lowest disclosed liquidus temperature is 238.degree. C. which is unacceptable for use in the electronics industry.
Since heretofore no acceptable substitute for tin-lead alloys have been found, there is a need in the electronics industry for an alloy composition without lead or bismuth which can achieve the physical characteristics and application performance of tin-lead solder alloys but without the toxic elements.

Lead-free and bismuth-free tin alloy solder composition


A tooth-brushing device comprising a brushing unit having a pair of counter-rotating shafts, with bristles projecting radially outwardly from each shaft. The bristles are arranged in a series of clusters spaced from one another along the length of each shaft. Preferably, the clusters of bristles are spaced apart a distance approximately the width of a tooth.

Toothbrushes of the rotary, power driven type, of which I am aware, have the bristles uniformly distributed along the length of each shaft. An example of one such toothbrush is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,285,865. One of the problems with toothbrushes of this type is that they do not brush satisfactorily between the teeth.
I have discovered that by arranging the bristles in clusters along the length of each shaft, and preferably by spacing the clusters apart a distance approximating the width of a tooth, much more effective brushing between the teeth, where most cavities originate, can be achieved.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings.


A system may include a host processor and a coprocessor for accelerating tasks received from the host processor. The coprocessor may include programmable circuitry organized into logic sectors. Each logic sector may have a dedicated local sector manager (LSM). The LSMs may be controlled by a secure device manager (SDM). The SDM may be coupled to data unloading circuitry for unloading configuration data from the coprocessor off onto the host processor. The unloading circuitry may include a circular first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer circuit that can be divided into multiple partitions to store configuration data from the various LSMs. The FIFO buffer circuit may be configured as an input FIFO in a configuration (loading) mode or as an output FIFO in a data unloading mode.

This relates to integrated circuits and, more particularly, to programmable integrated circuits.
Programmable integrated circuits are a type of integrated circuit that can be programmed by a user to implement a desired custom logic function. In a typical scenario, a logic designer uses computer-aided design tools to design a custom logic circuit. When the design process is complete, the computer-aided design tools generate configuration data. The configuration data is loaded into memory elements on a programmable integrated circuit to configure the device to perform the functions of the custom logic circuit.
Configuration data may be supplied to a programmable device in the form of a configuration bit stream. After a first configuration bit stream has been loaded onto a programmable device, the programmable device may be reconfigured by loading a different configuration bit stream in a process known as reconfiguration. An entire set of configuration data is often loaded during reconfiguration. Sometimes, only a subset of the configuration data is loaded during a process known as partial reconfiguration.
Programmable devices may be used for co-processing in big-data or fast-data applications. For example, programmable devices may be used in application acceleration tasks in a datacenter and may be reprogrammed during datacenter operation to perform different tasks. Oftentimes, an active configuration of a programmable device could be a result of many partial reconfiguration events that is difficult to track or tedious to repeat.
It is within this context that the embodiments herein arise.

Methods and apparatus for unloading data from a configurable integrated circuit


Thermoplastic blend compositions comprise polyphenylene ethers blended with modified polyesters. The modified polyesters comprise linear polyesters, such as polyalkylene terephthalate, modified with hydroxy- or carboxy-terminated polystyrene. The blends have good solvent resistance, heat distortion temperature, and gloss.. Methods for preparing blends of polyester and polyphenylene ether are also described. They involve modifying the polyester with hydroxy- or carboxy-terminated polystyrene, prior to blending with the polyphenylene ether.

Polyphenylene ether resins are known in the art and exhibit a desirable combination of chemical, physical and electrical properties over a temperature range of more than about 650.degree. F. extending from a brittle point of about -275.degree. F. to a heat distortion temperature of about 375.degree. F. This combination of properties renders polyphenylene ether resins suitable for a broad range of applications. However, the usefulness of polyphenylene ether resins is limited in some applications as a consequence of processability, impact resistance and chemical resistance. It is known to modify polyphenylene ether resins with various compounds in order to improve the processability and the impact and chemical resistances of the resins. Alternatively, polyphenylene ether resins have been blended with other resins in order to improve their undesirable properties.
However, as is well known in the polymer art, blending of polymers often leads to disappointing results. Most polymers are not actually soluble in one another, and even if they are intimately mixed by mechanical means, the existence of phase boundaries between the components can result in poor overall physical and mechanical properties. For example, when polyphenylene ethers are blended with linear polyesters, such as polybutylene terephthalate, which are known to have good chemical resistance, the resulting blends generally are of poor quality owing to the incompatibility of the polyphenylene ether and the polyester. The blends exhibit poor interfacial adhesion between the component polymer phases and thus poor mechanical properties, as well as poor surface appearance and low heat distortion temperatures.
Various blending strategies which have been employed in the art include the use of plasticizing additives and styrene-butadiene copolymer resins as taught by the Lee U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,410. Lee discloses the use of large amounts of the plasticizer, preferably 10 to 15 percent, which results in a loss of heat distortion temperature. Such compositions including the plasticizer are also less apt to retain their properties when exposed to solvents, since the plasticizer may be extracted by the solvent.
Blending of polyphenylene ethers with polyesters has also been accomplished by including phenoxy resins in combination with the polymers as disclosed in European Patent Application No. 148,774. However, the resulting blends are quite brittle. The phenoxy resin content also may be expected to lessen the solvent resistance of the blend.
It is an object of the present invention to provide blend compositions of polyphenylene ether and a polyester such as a linear polyester, which compositions exhibit good chemical and solvent resistance and good flowability during molding, as well as good mechanical and thermal properties of the molded product.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process which facilitates the blending of a polyphenylene ether with a polyester such as polybutylene terephthalate.

Blends of polyphenylene ether and modified polyesters


A semiconductor device includes: a dummy gate on a substrate; a first control gate on one side of the dummy gate and a second control gate on another side of the dummy gate; a well in the substrate, wherein the well comprises a first conductive type; a first source/drain region between the dummy gate and the first control gate, wherein the first source/drain region comprises a second conductive type; a second source/drain region between the dummy gate and the second control gate, wherein the second source/drain region comprises the second conductive type; and a doped region directly under the dummy gate, wherein the doped region comprises the first conductive type.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same, and more particularly to a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) and method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetoresistance (MR) effect has been known as a kind of effect caused by altering the resistance of a material through variation of outside magnetic field. The physical definition of such effect is defined as a variation in resistance obtained by dividing a difference in resistance under no magnetic interference by the original resistance. Currently, MR effect has been successfully utilized in production of hard disks thereby having important commercial values. Moreover, the characterization of utilizing GMR materials to generate different resistance under different magnetized states could also be used to fabricate MRAM devices, which typically has the advantage of keeping stored data even when the device is not connected to an electrical source.
The aforementioned MR effect has also been used in magnetic field sensor areas including but not limited to for example electronic compass components used in global positioning system (GPS) of cellular phones for providing information regarding moving location to users. Currently, various magnetic field sensor technologies such as anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) sensors, GMR sensors, magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) sensors have been widely developed in the market. Nevertheless, most of these products still pose numerous shortcomings such as high chip area, high cost, high power consumption, limited sensibility, and easily affected by temperature variation and how to come up with an improved device to resolve these issues has become an important task in this field.

Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same


Lamina plate assemblies, systems, and methods thereof. A lamina plate assembly may be configured to provide lamina support following laminectomy, for example, in cervical and lumbar cases. The lamina plate assembly may include a generally elongate body having a first free end, a second free end, and a posterior portion disposed between the first free end and the second free end. Different embodiments of securing portions are used to secure the lamina plate assembly to a vertebra.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lamina plate assemblies that are used as lamina support following laminectomy in cervical and lumbar cases.
Description of the Related Art
The performance of a spinal laminectomy without instrumentation can lead to spinal deformity after the procedure. When doing a laminectomy, the performing surgeon removes the posterior arch, which removes the fixation point for muscles to attach. As a result, the posterior tension band is lost and kyphosis can occur over time because the extensor muscles in the cervical and lumbar spine cannot maintain tension to keep the correct curvature.
Additionally, laminectomy with fusion is another posterior approach that decompresses the spinal cord, but does not lead to spinal destabilization as in the case with a laminectomy without fusion. However, if the surgeon does not use any product to protect the spinal cord, muscles may attach to the dura and scar tissue will form. Such epidural scarring can make it very difficult for a reoperation and can be irritating to some patients.
Further, some surgeons believe in a less invasive approach by preserving the posterior elements and performing a laminoplasty. However, with laminoplasty, surgeons are not able to achieve bilateral decompression as in the case with performing a laminectomy. In addition, the potential for the posterior arch to cave in on the implant and compress the spinal cord is a possibility.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a lamina plate assembly to protect the patient's spinal cord and to provide an attachment point or attachment points for muscles following laminectomy or laminoplasty to restore the posterior tension bands as well as to provide surgeons with another option to easily achieve direct decompression of the spinal cord with similar results as the more difficult laminoplasty procedure, as well as to restore the patient's posterior profile for cosmetic purposes.