A driver circuit (for example, in a switching power supply or in a Class-D switching amplifier) drives a gate of a switch during a transition with a low output impedance during an initial period and then for the remainder of the transition drives the gate with a midrange output impedance. The switch in turn switches current flow through an inductor. The driver circuit includes a “Drive Node Voltage Dependent Impedance Circuit” (DNVDIC) that couples the gate to a supply voltage node. In one embodiment, there are two resistive current paths through the DNVDIC. A non-linear device in the first current path switches from having a small to a large impedance when a voltage drop across the device falls below a threshold voltage. The resulting increase in impedance of the first current path decreases voltage edge rates and reduces noise, whereas the low initial impedance reduces transition power losses.

FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a diagram of a switching power supply 1. This particular power supply is a type of power supply referred to as a "boost" converter or "boost switching power supply". During a first time period, controller integrated circuit 2 controls switch 3 to be on and conductive such that current flows through the inductor 4 and through the switch 3 and to ground as indicated by arrow 5. As this current flows, energy is stored in inductor 4. Then, in a second time period, controller integrated circuit 2 controls switch 3 to be off and nonconductive. Current in an inductor cannot stop instantaneously, so current flows through inductor 4, through a diode 6, and to a storage capacitor 7 and a load 8. This current flow during the second time period is illustrated in FIG. 2 (Prior Art) by arrow 9. The energy that was stored in inductor 4 is now transferred to capacitor 7 and to load 8. Controller integrated circuit 2 monitors VFB via terminal 10 and rapidly switches switch 3 on and off such that the output current flowing through the load (a string of white LEDs) is regulated to a desired current. The converter is called a "boost converter" because VOUT can be higher than the input supply voltage VIN.
Two performance parameters of the switching power supply are efficiency and noise emissions. Efficiency is equal to output power divided by input power. Power loss within the switching power supply therefore translates into lower power supply efficiency. There are multiple kinds of power loss. One type of power loss is referred to as "transition power loss", and is equal to the voltage across the switch (VDS) multiplied by the current flow through the switch (IDS). When switch 3 is off, there is no appreciable drain to source current flow through the switch so there is little power loss. When switch 3 is fully on and conductive, there is only a slight drain to source voltage drop across the switch. The switching terminal 11 is very close to ground potential. Accordingly, the product of IDS and VDS is also very small. There is, however, a short period of time when the switch is transitioning. During this transition time there is appreciable drain to source current flow, and there is an appreciable drain to source voltage drop across the switch. Power dissipation during this transition time is therefore also appreciable.
FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates the drain to source current IDS and drain to source voltage drop VDS. The dashed line 12 represents the transition power loss. This transition power loss can be reduced by driving the switch harder (with a driver having a lower output impedance) such that switch 3 switches faster. The period of time that IDS and VDS are simultaneously at appreciable levels during a switch transition is therefore reduced, and transition power loss is reduced.
Driving switch 3 harder such that it switches on and off faster, however, results in higher voltage changes (dV/dT) at node SW and undesirable ringing, both of which contribute to EMI (electromagnetic interference) and noise emissions.
FIG. 4 (Prior Art) is a simplified waveform diagram that illustrates operation of the boost converter of FIGS. 1 and 2. When switch 3 turns on, there is ringing as illustrated by reference numeral 13. When switch 3 turns off, there is ringing as illustrated by 14. There are parasitic capacitances on switch node 15. Such parasitic capacitances include a capacitance due to the drain of switch 3, diode 6, a capacitance inherent in inductor 4, and capacitance associated with the physical terminal 11 and interconnect at node 15. This parasitic capacitance of node 15 in combination with the inductance of inductor 4 forms an LC circuit that can ring. The faster switch 3 is turned off and on, the higher the voltage change at SW and the larger the ringing and the larger the resulting radiated noise is seen to be. It is desired simultaneously to increase efficiency and to reduce noise emissions.
FIG. 5 (Prior Art) is a diagram of a first circuit 20 that strives to reduce transition loss without generating excessive noise. Switch 21 is switched on and off to switch current flow through inductor 22 as described above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. Input signal SIN on input lead 23 is a pulse train. Inverters 24 and 25 are of increasing drive strength. A second assist path involving inverter 26 and tri-state inverter 27 are provided to increase the drive of the gate of switch 21 during an initial portion of each transition of the signal SIN. FIG. 6 (Prior Art) is a circuit diagram of tri-state inverter 27.
An edge triggered one-shot 29 detects edges of the signal SIN and in response to each such edge generates a pulse. This pulse enabled tri-state inverter 27, thereby allowing the assist path to help in driving the gate of switch 21. Both inverter 25 and tri-state inverter 27 then drive the gate of switch 21. The objective of the circuit is to have this one-shot pulse terminate before the voltage on the gate of switch 21 has completed the voltage transition. When the pulse terminates, tri-state inverter 27 goes high impedance (i.e., "tri-states") thereby decoupling the assist path from the gate of switch 21. Accordingly, only inverter 25 drives the gate of switch 21 during the remaining portion of the transition. This reduces the rate of change of the voltage on the gate of switch 21 at the end of each transition, and helps to reduce noise and ringing. The rapid rate of change of the voltage on the gate of switch 21 during the initial portion of the transition, however, serves to reduce transition power loss.
The circuit of FIG. 5, however, has many problems. The total duration of the transition of the voltage on the gate of switch 21 is small. Generating a very small pulse for controlling switch 21, where the small pulse has precise timing, may be difficult or impossible to achieve. Making the timing of the pulse track with changing characteristics of switch 21 due to temperature changes, supply voltage changes and/or process changes is difficult to achieve. The circuit is complex and large and therefore expensive to realize in a cost-sensitive switching power supply controller integrated circuit.
FIG. 7 (Prior Art) is a diagram of a second circuit 30 that strives to reduce transition loss without generating excessive noise. In the circuit of FIG. 7, a comparator 31 or other voltage detecting amplifier device compares the voltage on the gate of switch 32 to a reference voltage VREF. Consider a high-to-low voltage transition of the voltage on the gate of switch 32. Initially, the voltage on the gate is higher than VREF. Comparator 31 therefore outputs a digital logic high signal that enables tri-state inverter 33. The assist path involving inverter 34 and tri-state inverter 33 therefore drives the gate of switch 32 along with the primary path involving inverters 35 and 36. The voltage on the gate of switch 32 falls rapidly during this initial time. When the voltage on the gate of switch 32 reaches VREF, comparator 31 switches and disables tri-state inverter 33, thereby disabling the assist path. The desired result is a less rapid change in the voltage on the gate of switch 32 during a final portion of the switching transition. The reduced rate of change of the gate voltage during the final portion of the transition reduces ringing, whereas the rapid change of the voltage on the gate of switch 32 during the initial portion of the transition serves to reduce transition power loss.
The circuit of FIG. 7 has many problems. For example, getting changes in performance of the assist path turn on and turn off circuitry to track changes in operational characteristics of switch 32 may be difficult to achieve. The two types of circuits are different and therefore tend to react to changing conditions differently. Secondly, the comparator and tri-state disable path may not be adequately fast. The voltage on the gate of switch 32 may transition down and reach VREF and continue on downward a substantial amount before comparator 31 detects the crossing of VREF and disables inverter 33 to disable the assist path. Making this assist enable/disable signal path faster may increase power consumption of the comparator an unacceptable amount. Moreover, a comparator such as comparator 31 is a somewhat large circuit and therefore may be expensive to realize in a cost-sensitive switching power supply controller integrated circuit.

Switch driver with low impedance initial drive and higher impedance final drive


A lubricating composition of about 90 to about 99% by weight of a lubricant and about 1 to about 5% by weight of an organometallic phthalocynaine, preferably a polymeric organometallic phthalocyanine complex, including nitrogen-substituted analogues thereof, where the complexed metal ion is preferably a Group IVA metal and provides increased time of machine operation to failure by improving oil lubricated bearing performance. Phthalocynanine peripheral ring substituents and attached to the phthalocyanine increase solubility in aqueous and organic lubricants.

In order to increase the life of oil or grease lubricated rotating systems that are operated at high temperatures, high speeds, and/or high loads, various additives and thickeners are sometimes added to the bearing lubricants.
It has been found, for example, that some compounds that have a lattice structure are good additives for lubricants. These include the selenides and sulfides of tungsten, molybedenum, tantalum, and nioboium. However, it has also been found that compounds that are chemically similar and that also have a lattice structure have a very poor lubricating ability. For example, tellurium is chemically very similar to selenium, but the tellurides of tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, and niobium are very poor lubricants. Other compounds that have a lattice structure, such as calcium fluoride, are also poor lubricants at temperatures less than about 600.degree. F. Titanium sulfide, which also has a lattice structure, is actually abrasive. Thus, it is difficult to predict from the chemical structure alone whether or not a compound that has a lattice structure will actually perform well as a lubricant.
It is highly desirable that additives in liquid lubricants be somewhat soluble in aqueous, organic or synthetic lubricants. Solid lubricant additives, such as molybdenum disulfide, are substantially more dense than that of the lubricant and thus are substantially insoluble with certain of the liquid lubricants. At turning gear speeds, the shafts of large turbine generators are not rotating at a speed sufficient to support an oil film, or hydrodynamic lubrication of the journal bearings. Thus, there is needed a composition that retains its lubricity under such a "lubricant starved" operating condition.
There remains a need for a lubricant additive with increased solubility in an organic or synthetic lubricant in order to increase the life of the lubricated mechanism.


Stable feedback circuitry is disclosed for recreating selected CW components of a signal without distortion. Chirp-Z pulses relating to the CW component are continuously replicated at the rate necessary to separate the pulse replications by half the uniform Chirp-Z pulse duration.

The present invention relates generally to signal spectrum analyzers and more particularly, to such analyzers wherein Chirp-Z forward transforms are utilized.
Conventional Chirp-Z signal analyzers utilize forward transforms to compress the individual continuous wave (hereinafter CW) components of the signal into segregated pulses or time intervals from which such components are then selectively reconstructed or expanded with inverse transforms. Considerable gain is inherent with Chirp-Z forward transforms, however, high attenuation is inherent with Chirp-Z inverse transforms. Consequently, Chirp-Z inverse transforms incumber the overall sensitivity of signal analyzers.
To avoid the high attenuation associated with Chirp-Z inverse transforms, selected CW components can be reconstructed from the Chirp-Z pulses relating thereto, by replicating each of those pulses for the time period separating therebetween. A disclosure regarding this technique entitled SAW Tapped Delay Lines For New Potential Circuit Applications, was published by William J. Skudera, Jr. in the Proceedings Of The 42ND Annual Symposium On Frequency Control 1988. In this disclosure, the replications of each pulse are separated by half the uniform Chirp-Z pulse duration and are derived with a tapped delay line (hereinafter TDL) that generates an initial group of replications which is enhanced in number by continual recirculation therethrough until the following Chirp-Z pulse appears. Such recirculation is accomplished through a feedback switch which functions to initiate the reconstruction process for each successive pulse. With each circulation however the number of pulse replications emitted from each tap of the TDL expands, so that some pulse replications stack upon others which causes increasing distortion and possible instability, as the number of recirculations increases.

Feedback circuitry for recreating CW components from chirp-Z pulses

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


Disclosed is a lithographic printing plate material which provides a printing plate which causes no peeling of film even after printing of a large number of prints and even with use of special printing ink such as ultraviolet-curing ink. This printing plate material comprises a polyester film subjected to hydrophilization treatment by coating with an organic copolymer as a support and at least one undercoat layer, at least one emulsion layer containing a silver halide, and an image receiving layer containing physical development nuclei provided on the support in this order, characterized in that the lowermost undercoat layer contiguous to the support contains a bisphenol type epoxy resin latex.

The present invention relates to a lithographic printing plate material which utilizes silver complex diffusion transfer process (DTR process) and in particular, to a lithographic printing plate material in which a polyester film coated with an organic copolymer composition for imparting hydrophilicity and for adhesion is used as a support.
A method of making lithographic printing plate which comprises imagewise exposing a lithographic printing plate material for DTR process, more particularly, a material comprising a support and, provided thereon, at least one silver halide emulsion layer and a nuclei layer containing physical development nuclei particles and then subjecting the exposed material to silver complex diffusion transfer development, thereby to form metallic silver image on the surface of the material is called "direct plate making method" and this method has the advantages in its simplicity and rapidness as compared with conventional plate making method which uses a lith film as an intermediate process, but has the defect in printability that only a small number of prints can be obtained. Under the circumstances, various improvements have been proposed.
The lithographic printing plate materials which are disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokoku No. 48-30562 and which have the above-mentioned defect have been considerably improved in printability as proposed in Japanese Patent Kokoku Nos. 51-15765 and 51-16803 and Japanese Patent Kokai Nos. 51-111103, 52-150105, 53-9603, 54-135002, 55-7704, 56-27151, and 57-86835.
On the other hand, as support, various supports are used as also mentioned in the above patent publications and plastics are mainly used for improving printability and inhibiting extension of plate or penetration of water thereinto during printing. Of the plastics, polyester films are mainly used which are superior in mechanical properties, dimensional stability, heat resistance, chemical resistance and transparency.
As well known, however, polyester films are generally high in crystallinity, chemically inert, excellent in chemical resistance and besides, highly hydrophobic because of having no hydrophilic group and so it has been difficult to attain satisfactory adhesion to hydrophilic photographic emulsion layer.
Hitherto, various attempts have been made in order to solve the above problem. One of them is to subject a polyester film to surface activation treatment such as chemical treatment, mechanical treatment, discharging treatment, flame treatment, ultraviolet ray treatment, high frequency treatment, plasma treatment, laser treatment, mixed acid treatment or ozone oxidation treatment and then directly coat a photographic emulsion layer thereon. These methods are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,934,937 and 3,475,193, British Patent No. 1,215,234, and Japanese Patent Kokai Nos. 53-13672 and 55-18469. However, the thus surface treated polyester films are improved in adhesion to hydrophilic photographic emulsion layer, but are inferior in adhesion strength.
Another method comprises subjecting a polyester film to surface treatment to increase adhesion to hydrophilic photographic layer, thereafter providing a subbing layer of an organic copolymer composition and then coating a photographic emulsion thereon. This method can be roughly classified into the following two.
(1) A method of coating a composition comprising an organic solvent which is swelling agent or dissolving agent and an organic copolymer (hereinafter referred to as "solvent subbing method"). This method is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2, 830,030, British Patent Nos. 772,600, 776,157, and 785,789, and Japanese Patent Kokai Nos. 50-1718 and 50-825.
(2) A method of coating an aqueous composition of organic copolymer substantially free from organic solvent (so-called latex) (hereinafter referred to as "aqueous subbing method"). This method is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Kokoku Nos. 44-13278 and 45-10988, Japanese Patent Kokai Nos. 49-11118, 51-27918, 52-114670, 54-11177, 55-67745, 58-169145, and 59-77439.
The solvent subbing method of (1) has the problem of deterioration in properties of polyester film in subbing step and the problem in hygienic safety caused by the organic solvents and the problem of environmental pollution and now the aqueous undercoating method of (2) is increasingly employed.
However, when the method of (2) is applied to the lithographic printing material of Japanese Patent Kokoku No. 48-30562 referred to hereabove, no problem has occurred for printing of a small number of prints in initial time, but when printability has been improved and a large number of prints are to be made or when a special ink such as ultraviolet-curing ink is used for printing, peeling of photographic layer from support, so-called "peeling of film" occurs during printing and eventually printing becomes impossible. This is a serious defect. It is considered that this phenomenon of film peeling is caused by organic solvent in printing ink. There has not yet been found a subbing method which causes no peeling of film, though degree of peeling depends on kind of organic copolymer used in subbing layer or kind of subbing method. To find such subbing method is very important for lithographic printing plate which has polyester film as a support and which utilizes DTR process (especially for printing of a large number of prints).

Light sensitive element for making lithographic printing plate material


A hydraulic drive system for an electrically-driven hydraulic work machine makes it possible to make a rated voltage of various electric equipment such as power storage devices common to one of an electrically-driven hydraulic work machine that is capable of being operated with lower horsepower and to prevent that only a power storage situation of one of the plurality of power storage devices significantly degrades together with operation of the electrically-driven hydraulic work machine and besides, to extend a time period within which each of actuators of the electrically-driven hydraulic work machine can obtain a predetermined speed. Accordingly, a controller 50 includes a virtual limitation torque calculation section 51 and electric motor rotational speed control sections 52 and 53. Variable horsepower control tables 52r and 53r are provided in the electric motor rotational speed control sections 52 and 53, and limit values q1*limit and q2*limit for a virtual displacement of the variable horsepower control tables 52r and 53r are changed such that a charge state of a power storage device 170 and a charge state of another power storage device 270 become equal to each other.

A conventional technology of an electrically-driven hydraulic work machine such as a hydraulic excavator in which a hydraulic pump is driven by an electric motor to drive actuators to perform various works is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.
According to Patent Document 1, a configuration is proposed in which a hydraulic pump of fixed displacement type driven by an electric motor is provided and the rotational speed of the electric motor is controlled such that a differential pressure between a delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump and a maximum load pressure of a plurality of actuators is fixed to perform load sensing control. If this technology is used, then the number of hydraulic pipes can be decreased from that, in an alternative case in which the load sensing control is performed using a hydraulic pump of variable displacement type, and it is facilitated to apply high-efficiency load sensing control to a small-sized hydraulic excavator or the like in which the necessary installation space is small.
Meanwhile, according to Patent Document 2, an electrically-driven hydraulic work machine is proposed in which a hydraulic pump is configured as that of the variable displacement type including only a horsepower controlling function and a controlling algorism that simulates a horsepower control characteristic of a hydraulic pump of the variable displacement type is provided in a controller for controlling the rotational speed of an electric motor. If this technology is used, then a power storage device that is a power source for the electric motor can be made long-lasting and besides, the electric motor can be downsized in addition to the advantages of Patent Document 1.

Hydraulic drive system for electrically-driven hydraulic work machine

Hitachi Construction Machinery Tierra Co., Ltd.


An item receiving apparatus that, in various embodiments, comprises: (1) a housing defining an interior storage area and an opening through which at least one item may be received for storage within the interior storage area; (2) an item support surface disposed adjacent the interior storage area for supporting one or more items as the items are stored within the interior storage area; (3) an item repositioning assembly disposed between the opening and the item support surface. The item receiving apparatus may be adapted to move the item repositioning assembly from a first orientation to a second orientation in response to the occurrence of a pre-determined event. The item repositioning assembly may be adapted to push one or more items within the storage area laterally away from at least a portion of the item repositioning assembly as the item repositioning assembly is moved from the first orientation to the second orientation.

In the past, secure cabinets have been used to receive items (such as dirty hospital linens) for storage and later retrieval by appropriate personnel (e.g., laundry personnel). One problem with such cabinets (which are often called "receivers") is that the storage capacity of these cabinets is limited. Accordingly, there is a need for new mechanisms and methods for increasing the storage capacity of receivers, such as receivers for linen items.


An earth bit includes a cutting cone rotatably mounted to a lug with a journal. A sealing member is sealingly engaged with the cutting cone and a wear ring carried by the lug. The wear ring is dynamically engaged with the first sealing member and statically engaged with the lug.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to earthboring tools for boring a hole.
2. Description of the Related Art
Earthboring tools are commonly used to bore holes by cutting through earthen annulus. Such holes may be bored for many different reasons, such as drilling for oil, minerals and water. One type of earthboring tool used for boring is a rotary earth bit. Several examples of rotary earth bits are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,550,972, 3,847,235, 4,136,748, 4,427,307, 4,688,651, 4,741,471 and 6,513,607. A rotary earth bit generally includes an earth bit body comprised of three lugs. A cutting cone is rotatably mounted to each lug with a journal. The journal generally includes ball and roller bearings which engage the cutting cone. The lug rotates in response to the rotation of the earth bit. The cutting cones are engaged with the roller and ball bearings and rotate about the journal in response to contacting earthen annulus.
It is known that earthboring tools wear down with use. For example, the portion of the earth bit proximate to the interface between the lug and cutting cone experiences a significant amount of wear and will cause early failure if it wears too much. Replacing an earth bit is costly and time consuming, so it is desirable to decrease the amount of wear the earth bit experiences.


In a detachable vehicle seat, a grip for lifting the vehicle seat is positioned so as to be readily available for installing and removing the vehicle seat without interfering with the vehicle occupant in the installed condition of the vehicle seat. The vehicle seat includes a seat cushion (S1) detachably attached to a vehicle floor, and a seat back (S2) pivotally attached to the seat cushion via a hinge and including a seat back frame (F1), and a grip is provided in a lower part of the seat back frame.

Vehicle seats are sometimes attached to the vehicle floor in a detachable manner. See JPH10-297331A, for instance. Such a seat is typically provided with a U-shaped grip protruding from the rear end of the seat cushion so that the user may hold the grip when installing or removing the seat.
In the vehicle seat disclosed in JPH10-297331A, as the grip protrudes from the rear end of the seat cushion during use, the grip may interfere with the legs of a vehicle occupant who may be seated in another seat located behind this vehicle seat. Also, the grip is exposed to view even when the grip is not used so that the appearance of the vehicle seat may be impaired.


An embodiment includes a method that includes receiving, into a cache server, from a client, a request for content from a content server. The request for content includes one or more fields. The method also includes mapping the request for content into a new request for content that is without the one or more fields. The method includes performing a lookup into a cache list of the cache server based on the new request for content.

The amount of data traffic over large networks, such as the Internet, continues to increase. Such increase is the result of continued exponential increases in the number of users, as well as in the number of large documents, such as media files, to which these users desire access. As a result of this unprecedented demand in the need for bandwidth and access to networks, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), backbone providers, and other carriers that provide the physical connections which implement the Internet face correspondingly unprecedented difficulty.
The Internet provides widespread access to content on an equal basis through the use of a client and server communication model. In this structure, certain computers known as "servers" are used to store and provide information. One type of server, known as a host server, provides access to information such as data, text, documents, programs stored in various computer file formats, but generally referred to as a "document." Other computers in the network known as "clients" allow the users to view documents through the use of a computer program known as a browser that requests a copy of the document be sent from host servers down to the client. Documents are typically requested by the client browser program specifying an address which identifies the host server which stores the document. The request is sent over the network to a naming service in order to obtain instructions for how to establish a connection with the host server associated with the address. Once this connection is established, the server retrieves the document from its local disk and transmits the document over network to the client. The connection between the client and host server is then terminated. A given request may require that it pass through a number of routers or "hops" through the Internet on its way from the host server down to the client.
A common solution for the present bottlenecks within the Internet is to deploy higher speed interconnection hardware. Such solutions include the deployment of digital subscriber line (XDSL) and cable modem technology to speed up the access between the end users and points of presence. Gigabit speed routers and optical fiber backbones are also being proposed to alleviate congestion within the network itself. At the server site, server clusters and load balancers are being deployed to assist with the dispatching of Web pages more efficiently.
While all of these solutions provide some expediency, each only solves part of the problem, and none provides a satisfactory solution to the ultimate problem—the path between the client and server is only as fast or as slow as the slowest link.
As it turns out, much of the traffic on the Internet is redundant in the sense that different users request the same documents from the same servers over and over again. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that certain techniques, such as distributed content caching, may be deployed to reduce the demand for access to both the servers and to the network routing infrastructure. Distributing content throughout the network, such as through the use of document caches, provides a way to intercept client requests and serve copies of the original document to multiple client locations.
Using a cache, the process for providing document files to the client computers changes from the normal process. In particular, when the client requests the connection, say to a given server, the intermediate cache server may instead be requested to obtain the document. While the document is being transmitted down to the client computer, a copy is stored at the intermediate cache server. Therefore, when another client computer connected to the same network path requests the same content as the first user, rather than requiring the request to travel all the way back to the host server, the request may be served from the local cache server.
By moving popular content closer to the users who want such content, distributed content servers may be used to alleviate the congestion at its cause. These distributed cache servers dramatically improve end user response time, decrease backbone and server loading, provide a vehicle for efficient routing of time sensitive traffic.
This approach to caching may not prove useful for current content servers. In particular, current content servers often use more complicated Uniform Resource Locator (URL) schemes for specifying content access paths. Some servers map incoming URL requests to the URLs of the content that is finally delivered. For example, the access URL may contain a session key that is used for computing the final resource to be accessed. Such mapping poses severe problems on any content caching mechanism. Specifically, because of this mapping, the same access URL may lead to the delivery of different resources. In addition, different access URLs may result in the delivery of the same resource. Therefore, the primary access URL cannot be used by a cache server for identifying resources.

Mapping of a content request for a cache server


A method for layout design includes steps or acts of: receiving a layout for design of an integrated circuit chip; designing mask shapes for the layout; transmitting the mask shapes to a litho simulator for generating wafer shapes; receiving the wafer shapes; calculating electrically equivalent gate lengths for the wafer shapes; analyzing the gate lengths to check for conformity against a threshold value, wherein the threshold value represents a desired value of electrically equivalent gate lengths; placing markers on the layout at those locations where the gate length violates the threshold value; and generating a histogram of gate lengths for comparing layouts for electrically equivalent gate lengths for layout quality.

A computer programmed with appropriate computer-aided design (CAD) software, called design-rule verification tools, is normally used to verify that a design of an integrated circuit (IC) chip conforms to certain predetermined tolerances that are required in its fabrication. These predetermined tolerances are often formatted as "rules" that are used by the design-rule verification tools to confirm that the IC layout does not violate any of the design rules. The process that confirms conformance of the layout of the IC to the design rules is called "design rule check" (DRC).
Examples of DRC rules to be used in checking an IC design include minimum width, minimum spacing between elements of a circuit, minimum width of notches, checks for acute angles and self-intersecting polygons, and enclosure and overlap checks. Such DRC rules can be applied to actual layers that are to be fabricated in the chip. Such DRC rules can also be applied to layers (called "derived layers") that are formed by logical operations (such as NOT, AND, OR, and XOR) on actual or derived layers or some combination thereof.
The goal in layout design, as always, is to reduce size and cost while improving the performance of the design. With the current trend of placing more and more transistors on a chip, this is becoming increasingly difficult. This trend results in shorter gate lengths which are more desirable to increase speed. The drawback with shorter gate lengths is that they produce more leakage.
In VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) design, the common cell design library includes enough different cell types (latch, local clock buffer, gate level parameterized cells to name a few) to allow nearly any circuit to be implemented, avoiding the complexity of the hundreds of different macro calls that would be required by a commercial system. Traditionally, one circuit layout is considered superior to another by any one of the following reasons: circuit area, electrical characteristics, accessibility, via number (redundant contacts), timing distribution, power distribution.
Traditionally, layouts are considered valid if they satisfy the design rules whose validity has been determined by an integration team. The process is typically executed in VLSI CAD (Computer Aided Design) tools such as DRC CAD tools. (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,735, 2003, Richardson and Rigg: Method and system for using error and filter layers in each DRC rule). Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an illustrative example of the traditional processing flow for a VLSI chip design. The input to the tool is the input layout in step 010. This input layout is then sent to a DRC tool in step 020 to check if the layout satisfies the design rules or it requires changes.
Once the layout is checked, for purposes of manufacturing, the design undergoes the processes of dataprep to transform the drawn shapes into mask shapes that are able to be printed by the litho tools and the resulting wafer shapes are then expected to conform to drawn shapes and the mask shapes are output in step 030.
Once a layout is declared "DRC clean," the VLSI designer no longer plays a role in the dataprep process.
Out of necessity, integrated circuit chip size is changing, along with the computer systems in which they are housed. Computers are becoming smaller and with the decrease in size we see an increase in their processing power. Chips must be thinner and many of them are now being stacked. With this increasing density and decreasing gate lengths, it is becoming critical to address the issue of uniformity of the printed electrically equivalent gate lengths.

Layout quality gauge for integrated circuit design

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention is novel compounds which are 2-substituted-4,6-di-tertiarybutyl-5-hydroxy-1,3-pyrimidines and pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition or base salts thereof, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use therefor. The invention compounds are now found to have activity as inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenease and/or cyclooxygenase providing treatment of conditions advantageously affected by such inhibition including inflammation, arthritis, pain, fever and the like. Thus, the present invention is also a pharmaceutical composition or method of manufacturing a pharmaceutical composition for the use of treating the noted conditions.

The present invention is novel compounds which are 2-substituted-4,6-di-tertiary-butyl-5-hydroxy-1,3-pyrimidines and pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition or base salts thereof, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use therefor. The invention compounds are now found to have activity as inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase and/or cyclooxygenase providing treatment of conditions advantageously affected by such inhibition including, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, other inflammatory conditions, pain, fever, psoriasis, allergic diseases, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, GI ulcers, cardiovascular conditions including ischemic heart disease and atherosclerosis, and ischemia-induced cell damage, particularly brain damage caused by stroke. They can also be used topically for treating acne, sunburn, psoriasis, and eczema. Also included are leukotriene mediated pulmonary, gastrointestinal, inflammatory, dermatological, and cardiovascular conditions. The disclosed compounds also have potential utility as antioxidants. However, overall the preferable use is to treat inflammatory conditions. Thus, the present invention is also a pharmaceutical composition or method of manufacturing a pharmaceutical composition for the use of treating the noted conditions.
3,5-Di-tertiary-butyl-4-hydroxybenzene, substituted by 1,2,4- and 1,3,4-thiadiazoles and oxadiazoles, and 1,2,4-triazoles are known to provide activity as inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase and/or cyclooxygenase. See 3815-P1. Pyrimidine is not noted in this reference. Structure activity relationships of certain ditertiarybutyl phenols and homologs thereof are discussed by Lazer, E.S., et al in "Effect of Structure on Potency and Selectivity in 2,6-Disubstituted 4-(2-Arylethenyl)-phenol Lipoxygenase Inhibitors, J. Med. Chem. 1990, 33, 1982-1998. Again pyrimidines are not noted in this reference and so compounds therein differ from the present invention.
Numerous references disclose 2-amino-5-hydroxy pyrimidines. Compounds having N containing groups in place of the amino are also disclosed, however, in each such compounds attachment is through the N. Such disclosed pyrimidines may also be substituted at the 4- and/or 6-positions with various groups including alkyls. No reference shows a tertiarybutyl in both the 4- and 6-positions in combination with a 5-hydroxy together with a group other than the N or S containing substituent in the 2-position as found in the present invention. For example, UK patent application number 2045736 and the Bioch. J. 1951, 48, p. 400 shows the simple 2-amino-5-hydroxy-4,6-dimethylpyrimidine. Other substituted 2-aminopyridines are shown in European Patent Application Numbers 89312736.5 and 86305466.4 (equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,888), European Publication Numbers 319170, 233416, 1642 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,859,679 and 4,940,712.
Japanese Application No. 1,216,978 discloses 2-arylpyrimidines but differs from the present invention, that requires the 4,6-di-tertiary-butyl-5-hydroxy substituents.
The difficulty of accommodating steric hindrance in the synthesis of 4,6-tertiarybutyl pyrimidine is documented in J.C.S. Perkin I (1976) 1202-4. No `5-OH` is considered in this synthesis. Further, although French application No. 1,476,534 presents a generic scope including various 2-substituted pyrimidines, this French application differs from the present invention by failing to provide the present invention substituent combinations.
The disclosures in Chem. Ber. (1960) pp. 1998-2001 and in the Indian Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 24B, May 1985, pp. 535-538 showing oxazole to pyrimidine ring transformations and the disclosure in Chemical Reviews (1975), Vol. 75, No. 4, pp. 207 and 412 showing a preparation of an oxazole and subsequent transformation to pyrimidine all show a synthesis and product having substituents in the 4- and 6-positions offering little or no steric hindrance contrary to the present invention which contains 4,6-ditertiarybutyl together with a 5-hydroxy substituent.
In summary, the references of record show neither the present 2-substituent nor combinations of 4 and 6 substituents with a 5-hydroxy group and particularly combinations in which the 4 and 6 substituents are ditertiarybutyl groups which provide steric hindrance not previously present during synthesis of pyrimidines.

2-substituted-4,6-di-tertiarybutyl-5-hydroxy-1,3-pyrimidines useful as antiinflammatory agents


An electroacoustic transducer comprises a condenser of variable capacitance, responsive to acoustic waves impinging upon its plates, connected across a source of d-c voltage in a circuit of negligible ohmic resistance by way of two reactive impedance elements with reactances of equal frequency-dependent magnitude and opposite sign, specifically a positive and a negative capacitance, in series with each other. The negative-capacitance element is formed by an ancillary capacitor in the output of an impedance-inverting four-terminal network including an operational amplifier with resistive feedback. The output signal is taken off across one of the two series-connected impedance elements.

Transducers of this character are frequently used in precision-type instruments of physics laboratories, electromedical equipment, geological probes, military installations such as sonar devices, and sound-recording apparatus.
The capacitance of such a condenser, varying as a function of time in the presence of a sinusoidal acoustic wave, is given by EQU C(t)=C.sub.0 C.sub.1 sin .omega.t
where C.sub.0 is the magnitude of the static capacitance of the condenser and C.sub.1 is the increment resulting from an acoustic wave of given intensity and pulsatance .omega.t=2.pi.f. The maximum ratio C.sub.1 /C.sub.0 is generally very low, on the order of 10.sup.-4 /3.
Conventionally, the pressure-sensitive condenser is connected across a source of d-c voltage in series with a load resistor across which an output signal is available. The circuit resistance R, which includes the load resistor as well as the relatively minor internal resistance of the source, is traversed by a current i given by the equation ##EQU1## where E is the terminal voltage of the d-c source; see Physical Review 1917, Vol. X, No. 1, page 39. This equation can be solved for i to yield EQU I=.SIGMA.I.sub.n sin (n.omega.t+.phi..sub.n) (2)
where n is 1, 2, 3 etc. Considering only the first two terms, for which n=1 and n=2, one obtains ##EQU2## the higher-order terms, omitted in equation (3), are of progressively diminishing amplitudes.
Theoretically, therefore, the electrical output signal appearing across the load resistor has an infinite number of harmonics distorting its waveform. The ratio between the second harmonic (n=2) to the fundamental (n=1) is given, according to equation (3), by ##EQU3## which tends to C.sub.1 /2C.sub.0 for 2R>1/.omega.C.sub.0. That ratio, accordingly, increases with the dynamic range .+-.C.sub.1 /C.sub.0 of the pressure-sensitive condenser. On the other hand, the aforementioned low value of this dynamic range necessitates the availability of a rather elevated d-c biasing voltage E (e.g. of 50 to 100 volts) in order to produce a useful output signal.

Societa Italiana Telecomunicazioni Siemens S.p.A.


A fixture apparatus for vehicle air-conditioner vent outlet is provided, including a fixing unit, a dial, a traction element, a clamp and a support element. The fixing unit is installed with the dial and limits the dial to only rotate at location. The clamp includes two coupled clips. The traction element is disposed with outer screw thread at some segment extending into the fixing unit and contacts the dial in a screw-like manner. When the dial rotates, the traction element moves linearly. One end of traction element outside of the fixing unit is coupled to the coupling position of the two clips of the clamp. The support element is coupled to outer wall of fixing unit, located on a same side of the clamp.

A car forms a closed space. When the air circulation is poor inside the car, the driver or passenger may feel uncomfortable. The air-conditioning system inside a vehicle addresses this problem by providing air circulation through the outlets and channels embedded in the car. In general, the air-conditioning outlet includes a window frame with a plurality of parallel and equally-spaced rectangular fins. The window frame can be adjusted to change the direction the air blows. Some outlets may have two window frames that can be adjusted independently.
In recent years, more and more portable electronic devices are reaching the market, such as, GPS, smart phone, and so on, which result in a variety of clamping devices developed for holding portable electronic devices inside a car. The clamping device is usually installed on the flat surface above the control panel or inside the window shield. The fixation of the clamping device inside the car is usually done by screw, glue or suction disc. However, the above manners usually damage the car interior or obstruct the driver's view.
An alternative is to fix the clamping device that can clamp to the fins of the air-conditioning outlet. The currently available clamping devices usually utilize the resilient force to maintain the clamping. When the driving becomes bumpy, the clamping device clamping on the fins by resilient force may disengage from the fins easily so the portable electronic device may fall and become damaged. It is therefore desirable to devise a fixture apparatus for providing better engagement to the outlet fins.

Fixture apparatus for automotive air-conditioning outlet


A combination game apparatus is provided having a housing with a plurality of settable dials each having indicia thereon. Setting the correct combination on the game dials provides an output for indicating when a correct input combination has been set on the settable dials. The combination setting members are used for changing the combination necessary to indicate the correct input combination for unlocking the combination. The combination setting system includes a plurality of input members each having a combination setting, such as a coded opening in a flat card. Each combination setting member is placed in a covering sleeve so that it may be inserted into the game apparatus from the covered sleeves so that the combination being set cannot be seen by the players. The game may include a ball which is raised in a lift and dropped into a ball track where it passes through an opening in the track as determined by the first dial which determines which of a plurality of ball chutes the ball will move in. Selecting the right track allows the ball to pass through the opening in the combination setting member and proceed to the next dial settable ball track having an opening therethrough to select a second chute of a set of chutes so that selecting the correct chute will feed the ball to the coded opening in the second combination setting flat plate and allow the ball to continue selecting the correct combination which unlocks the combination lock.

The present invention relates to a game apparatus and especially to a game apparatus having a combination game which uses combination setting members for changing the correct combination. The combination can be set without the players knowing the combination.
In the past, a wide variety of games including guessing games have been provided and these include many types of apparatus for playing games. Typical board games have spinning wheels or dice and the like and typically use cards and have various rules for playing the games. There are also many electronic type games which use computer circuitry including microprocessors and stored memory to play a game on a CRT using joysticks or controls. These type of games are typically used in arcades and may include coin boxes and the like. The present game relates to a combination game in which each player guesses the digits of a combination and, if all of the digits are selected to select the proper combination, a door can be opened or some other indication that the correct combination has been selected. The game utilizes a ball running on selected ones of a plurality of ball chutes with means to select the chute for the ball which cannot pass down the chute to the next selected combination unless the first correct chute has been selected. The ball travels down a series of ball chutes, each one of which can be selected from one of a plurality of chutes and a wrong selection returns the ball without completing the full combination circuit and requires the player to start over.
Prior art U.S. patents showing guessing games or games using balls and tracks can be seen in the Peter et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,245,156 for a game of skill which uses automatic delivery of coins through a passageway and enables the player to affect mechanical settings of the device to various modes of playing a game of roulette or the like. The Dieball U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,764, is an electrical game apparatus of chance which includes a housing and display board using a plurality of display lights arranged to provide random symbols or numerals or letters and which game includes a rotatable mixer switch for varying the operation of the display lights with respect to the corresponding 4 switches. The Promin U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,628 is for a game apparatus having a plurality of number ring assemblies mounted vertically and rotatably on a shaft and each number ring assembly has a hole therethrough so that the assemblies can be rotated to any predetermined position which determines whether the ball is allowed to drop through one number ring assembly and out through a base to indicate a winner. The Pitkanen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,265, shows an amusement machine which has a vertically disposed playing surface such that perforated tokens or slugs are propelled upwards so as to descend into a plurality of slots or reservoirs. The Parks et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,114 shows an electrical matching game apparatus using a series of electrical switches such that if correct selections are made, an electrical circuit is completed for dispensing tokens. The Kanno et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,899, is a game capable of collecting and then randomly dispensing objects. The Boahn U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,688, is a container disposal apparatus which raises containers to an elevated position from which they can traverse a downwardly inclined chute where a rotatable interrupter plate, positioned in the chute's path, allows the containers to traverse the interrupter plate to trigger a prize dispensing mechanism.
In contrast, the present invention has means for changing the code each time a game is played such that the players cannot view or determine what the new combination is and then the game can be played by rotating dials which determine whether balls will traverse the ball tracks and chutes through the combination setting members to complete a complete circuit to give an indication of a successful setting of the combination.


The present invention provides a graphene enhanced piezoelectric article of manufacture, system and method of energy generation electrical energy and an electrical charge obtained from environmental motion forces present in the environment that may be collected and stored. The graphene enhanced piezoelectric generator device is configured to utilize a supersatuatrated liquid solution enhanced with graphene to interact with piezoelectric material to generate the electrical charge to provide a self-powered system. The combination of solid graphene in a liquid suspension with piezoelectric materials, an enclosure forming a biodegradable housing, an agitator disposed in the enclosure for interacting with the liquid solution to create mechanical stress, and an electrical circuit using a capacitor has been designed with application in generation of renewable energy for use using mechanical motion from sources in nature available to such person.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to generation of energy and cells for storing the energy created and, more particularly, to a carbon battery using a graphene material and piezoelectric structure in liquid solution adapted to generate electrical energy in applications where alternative energy sources, for example, solar energy is impractical.
Background of the Invention
Systems and methods for producing energy not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel may be termed renewable energy, sometimes referred to as "green" energy, includes any naturally occurring source of energy such as, for example, biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power. Renewable energy is an attractive alternative to fossil and/or nuclear fuels because it is theoretically inexhaustible energy source. While developments have advanced technologies based on biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power for large industrial applications, other individual and portable sources of renewable energy for personal use are not equally available.
In some cases green energy cannot be used because it does not suit the environment. For example, solar energy cannot be generated in a dark or rainy region. Wind energy cannot be used without consistent wind. Renewable energy for personal use is not yet available and is a problem in rural areas, such as at night when the individual desires to light a space in the home, in an emergency when power has been lost (e.g. monsoon season), during camping use, and for other applications. There is a need, as it would be advantageous, for an improvement in the generation of renewable energy for personal use using mechanical motion from sources in nature available to such person. As a result, there is a long felt for a device to solve these problems. In this regard, appellant's invention provides such improvement in a device to solve these and other known problems known but not solved prior to the invention.
While the primary use is personal, when used in aggregate, the invention can also have larger scale commercial applications. If multiple instances of the invention were used simultaneously they could generate enough power for a commercial use. For example if multiple instances of the invention were placed in moving water, such as on a shoreline, stream or dam, the individual energy generated in the devices could be harvested for larger scale use.
The present invention provides an article of manufacture in the form of a device system and method suitable for providing renewable energy in sufficient amounts for the cost to translate available mechanical energy effectively for as long as the mechanical energy is available. Additionally, the materials used in the construction of the article of manufacture are durable and may be safely disposed such that the disposal is environmentally safe with respect to soil and water degradation. The present invention provides a self-contained device that has application to individuals for turning mechanical energy into electrical energy using the new construction of materials such as graphene combined with a piezoelectric structure.

Graphene enhanced piezoelectric article of manufacture, system and method of energy generator and storage cell


A UV printed transferrable material and a method for producing the same are disclosed. For example, the UV printed transferrable material includes a first liner, a UV ink layer on top of the first liner in a desired image, a primer layer on top of the UV ink layer, wherein the UV ink layer and the primer layer are cured, and a second liner on top of the primer layer.

Businesses use signage to display store names, product labels, and the like on a variety of different products and buildings. The products may have a variety of different sizes and shapes. Signage can be created in a variety of different ways. For example, traditionally the signage may be printed on paper or a label that is then adhered to the product. In other instances, businesses may use lighting or electronic signs for a storefront.
In addition to businesses, there may be use for signage at a residential level. For example, some families may decorate a room with personalized images, decals, and the like. Some decorations may be painted directly onto the walls. Other materials may include inks or paints that can be removably applied onto windows, and the like.
Thus, there are many uses for signage from business uses to residential uses. However, the current methods to generate labels may have drawbacks such as being two-dimensional, hand drawn, or difficult to apply.


A tape cassette having a cassette casing having rotatably contained therein a pair of tape reels having fixed thereto respective ends of a tape and a front lid rotatably supported at the fore end of the cassette casing to cover the front surface of the tape partly led out from the cassette casing through tape outlets provided at the fore end of the cassette casing. The cassette includes reel lock members provided to both side walls of the cassette casing slidably in their forward and backward directions to shift in linkage with opening and closing of the front lid, engagement claws provided rotatably at the rear end sections of the reel lock members to engage in and disengage from engagement teeth provided around the flanges of the tape reels, and elastic deformable members provided between the engagement claws and primary sections to the reel lock members and guide sections to guide the movement of the reel lock members. In operation, the engagement claws of the reel lock members engage in the engagement teeth of the tape reels when the front lid is closed and disengage from the engagement teeth when the front lid is opened.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel tape cassette, more particularly a novel tape cassette which can unlock tape reels without requiring a tape player to be provided with such means as reel lock release pins solely for the purpose of unlocking tape reels, and can prevent a tape from slackening without fail.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many cases, tape cassettes are provided with a reel lock mechanism to lock tape reels with a tape wound up therearound and stop them from rotating in order to prevent slackening of the tape while in storage or transfer.
Conventionally adopted for such tape cassettes is a reel lock mechanism which, when a tape cassette is loaded into a tape player, requires tape reels to be unlocked by reel lock pins provided to the tape loading section of the tape player.
However, a tape player using a tape cassette provided with a reel lock mechanism as described above inevitably requires reel lock release pins as its essential constituent element. Furthermore, a so-called multi-tape compatible tape player allowing the use of tape cassettes of different sizes makes its designing complicated with the position of reel lock release pins and their number needing to be taken into consideration, among other things.
A reel lock mechanism of the type described above also requires a tape cassette to be provided with holes formed in its casing to get the reel lock release pins inserted thereinto. Such a tape cassette is prone to dust which is allowed thereinto through the pin holes and makes it unfavorable and disadvantageous in appearance.
Furthermore, such a conventional tape cassette reel lock mechanism tends to cause slackening of a tape at the time of its unlocking.


A rigid aerodynamic advertising member is removably mounted to either the tailgate or vertical side of the bed of a pick-up truck with a mounting bracket coupled to rigid braces attached to the advertising member, with the dimension between the braces being sufficient to insure rigidity while the truck is underway.

The present invention relates to advertising signs and message boards which may be removably mounted upon a motor vehicle.
A variety of businesses, particularly in the fast food industry, employ part-time delivery vehicles. Typically, the business will provide the part-time delivery person with a sign which may be easily mounted upon the delivery person's vehicle, but removed at the end of the delivery person's shift and used during the next shift. Examples of roof top-mounted removable advertising signs are disclosed in my earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,667,428; 4,839,975 and D.290,620.
Removable advertising signs of this type may also be removably mounted to the vehicle window. An example of such a product is a fabric "wind sock" advertising sign manufactured by Windword, Inc. of Spokane, Wash.
Other prior art of interest is set forth in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 914,775 to Aarons; 2,675,983 to King; 3,153,294 to Hay et al; 3,284,938 to Diehl et al; 3,715,821 to Hawes; 3,828,455 to Bentley; 4,231,501 to Goode; 4,667,428 to Elmer; and 4,976,410 to Tomaivolo. See also U.K. Patent 2,124,008 to McGill.
Many of the part-time delivery vehicles of the type described above are so called "pick-up" trucks having an open bed surrounded by parallel sides and a pivoted tailgate which extends lateral to the direction of vehicle travel. It is also very desirable to permit part-time employees having trucks of this type to use signage which may be removably attached to either the vehicle tailgate or one of the sides.

Removable truck-mounted advertising signs and method


This invention relates to a method for determining misalignment of a powder feed nozzle and a laser beam. The method includes forming a test structure on a workpiece in at least two different directions by deposition laser welding with powder at substantially constant deposition parameters without relative rotation between a powder feed nozzle and a laser beam, measuring heights and/or wall thicknesses of the test structure along the test structure, and determining a direction and/or an amount of misalignment of the powder feed nozzle relative to the laser beam based on the measured heights and/or wall thicknesses.

In laser material processing using a powdery additional material, e.g., in deposition laser welding with powder or laser metal deposition (LMD), metal powder is applied onto a substrate through introduction of laser beam energy. It is possible to produce many 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional surfaces or volumes by disposing individual powder paths next to each other and on top of each other to form individual layers and/or layer packages. During deposition laser welding with powder, the quality of the layer can depend on the adjustment of the powder focus with respect to the laser beam and also on the powder quality. In order to obtain high accuracy when processing components in this fashion, and in particular when several layers are formed on top of each other, it is generally desired that the layer characteristics be uniform and reproducible and/or be adjustable during the process.
One way to increase accuracy is to implement process monitoring and control techniques. For example, US 2004/0133298 A1 discloses a method in which several layer properties, such as dimensions, solidification rate, and/or roughness are monitored and, based on those properties, laser power and feed rate can be adjusted. U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,951 B1 discloses a method in which, in addition to laser power and feed rate, the powder application rate can be regulated through the process temperature. This document does not mention adjustment of the powder and laser beam focus with respect to each other or adjustment of the point of impingement of the powder with respect to the laser beam on the workpiece surface.

Determining powder feed nozzle misalignment


A semiconductor device provided on a semiconductor substrate includes an element region including an element, a moisture-resistant frame surrounding the element region, an insulating layer provided between the moisture-resistant frame and an outer peripheral edge of the semiconductor device and on the semiconductor substrate, a first metal line extending along the outer peripheral edge and provided in the insulating layer, and a groove provided in the insulating layer.

In the formation of semiconductor devices on a wafer, the number of effective chips is determined by the area of the semiconductor devices and the area of scribe line regions. Consequently, it has been desired that the number of effective chips per wafer be increased by reducing the area of the scribe line regions.
The scribe line regions are regions required for separating a plurality of semiconductor devices formed on a wafer into chips by laser cutting or cutting with a dicing saw.
Semiconductor devices each include a circuit pattern region and an outer peripheral region for absorbing cracks formed when the semiconductor devices are separated from each other, the outer peripheral region being adjacent to the circuit pattern region and a scribe line region. The outer peripheral region for absorbing cracks due to a chip cutting extends from an edge of the scribe line region to a moisture-resistant frame-shaped shield disposed within the chip. The moisture-resistant frame-shaped shield is disposed at the boundary between the circuit pattern region and the outer peripheral region. The moisture-resistant frame-shaped shield is provided in order to prevent moisture from entering the inside of the semiconductor device from the cut surfaces after the plurality of semiconductor devices formed on the wafer are separated from each other.
According to a known technique for reducing the outer peripheral region that absorbs cracks, a groove for preventing propagation of cracks is provided on a cover film provided as an uppermost layer of a semiconductor device at a position between an edge of a scribe line region and a moisture-resistant frame-shaped shield (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 9-199449). According to another technique, a groove extending from the top of a semiconductor device to a substrate is formed at a position between an edge of a scribe line region and a moisture-resistant frame-shaped shield, and the groove is then filled with a metal material (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-41408).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor device and method of producing semiconductor device


Para-ethyltoluene dehydrogenation catalyst compositions and processes for using such catalysts are provided. The catalyst compositions comprise a catalytically active iron compound, e.g., iron oxide; a potassium catalyst promoter, e.g., potassium carbonate; an optional chromium compound stabilizer, e.g., chromic oxide, and a magnesium compound, e.g., magnesium oxide. Utilization of particular amounts of magnesium compound in dehydrogenation catalyst compositions of this type will provide a catalyst especially suitable for promoting the selective dehydrogenation of para-ethyltoluene to form para-methylstyrene in improved yields.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improved catalysts for the selective dehydrogenation of dialkyl aromatic hydrocarbons to produce alkyl vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons, more particularly to catalysts for the production of para-methylstyrene (PMS) via the dehydrogenation of para-ethyltoluene (PET).
2. The Prior Art
The vinyl benzenes play a particularly important role in the preparation of synthetic plastics and resins. The polymerization of styrenes, for example, to produce polystyrene resins is well known.
Styrene and styrene derivatives are typically produced from ethylbenzene materials by dehydrogenation over solid catalysts in the presence of co-fed steam, and at temperatures ranging from 500.degree. C. to 700.degree. C. The catalysts found to be the most effective for this process are those which are based on potassium oxide (carbonate) promoted, chromium oxide stabilized, iron oxide material. Catalysts of this type are said to be self-regenerative inasmuch as, in addition to their effectiveness in promoting dehydrogenation, they also promote the water gas reaction in the presence of the steam co-feed, to thereby remove coke which would otherwise build up on and deactivate the catalyst. The lifetime of such self-regenerative catalysts is thus determined by the effectiveness of the catalyst in maintaining its activity for conversion of ethybenzene materials such as para-ethyltoluene for any given steam/hydrocarbon ratio in the feed. Catalysts of this type which can maintain such activity at generally lower steam/hydrocarbon ratios are, of course, more economically desirable.
Considerable research has been directed toward attempts to improve the activity and selectivity of iron oxide-potassium carbonate-chromium oxide-based dehyrogenation catalysts. Any improvement which results in either increasing the selectivity (moles of desired product per mole of reactant reacted) or the conversion (moles of reactant reacted per mole of starting material) without lowering the other is economically attractive since the result is that the yield (moles of desired product produced per mole of reactant) of the product has been increased. Any increase in the numerical value of the yield results in a more efficient operation with more reactant being converted into the desired product. In commercial operations, many of which produce millions of pounds of product per year, a trade-off is frequently effected between selectivity and conversion. An increase of only 1 or 2 percentage points in the selectivity can result in a substantial savings of starting materials. An increase in conversion can substantially reduce capital expenditure and energy consumption. The trade-off may vary depending on raw materials costs, energy costs, and the age of the plant.
Attempts have been made to improve the conversion effectiveness and selectivity of iron oxide type dehydrogenation catalysts for use in various alkylaromatic dehydrogenation reactions. Riesser; U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,300; issued May 1, 1979, for example, discloses that an improvement in ethylbenzene dehydrogenation catalyst selectivity can be realized by incorporating small amounts of certain metal oxide materials into dehydrogenation catalyst compositions comprising mixtures of iron oxide, potassium oxide, vanadium oxide and, optionally, chromium oxide.
Courty; U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,858; issued Jan. 19, 1979, discloses an iron oxide based dehydrogenation catalyst containing particular amounts of clay to improve the conversion, selectivity and yield of styrene and divinylbenzenes produced by dehydrogenation of ethyl- or diethylbenzene. This U.S. Pat. No. '858 patent also notes that oxides of copper, vanadium, zinc, manganese, magnesium, nickel, cobalt, bismuth, tin and antimony can be added to the disclosed dehydrogenation catalysts.
Notwithstanding such attempts to improve iron oxide based dehydrogenation catalysts, there is a continuing need to formulate catalysts of this type which can be used to realize improved conversion and/or yield in the dehydrogenation of other types of alkylaromatic materials such as, for example, in the production of para-methylstyrene from para-ethyltoluene.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved iron oxide based dehydrogenation catalyst especially useful for the dehydrogenation of para-ethyltoluene to produce para-methylstyrene.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a para-ethyltoluene dehydrogenation process employing a catalyst which provides desirably high conversion of para-ethyltoluene to p-methylstyrene even at relatively low steam to hydrocarbon ratios in the charge to the reaction zone.
These and other objectives can be achieved by means of the invention described and claimed herein.

Process for para-ethyltoluene dehydrogenation


An aqueous polyisocyanate-lignin adhesive for use particularly in the manufacture of wood composition board comprises in admixture with each other an organic polyisocyanate and the lignin product resulting from the chemical pulping of lignocellulose.

This invention relates to aqueous organic polyisocyanate adhesives containing a major portion of the lignin (waste liquor solids) resulting from the chemical pulping of lignocellulose. This lignin product comprises principally recovered lignin which has been modified by the chemical pulping procedure to which it has been subjected and accordingly is to be distinguished from native lignin, i.e. the "proto-lignin" found in the lignocellulosic structure of growing plants.
Organic polyisocyanate resins containing lignin are not new to the art.
Nichols U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,422 discloses a composition comprising diisocyanate-linked elastomers and lignin wherein the lignin is added to a formed polyurethane and is merely present as a filler.
Mills et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,906,718 discloses lignin-reinforceable, vulcanizeable rubber stocks wherein the lignin takes the place of the usual carbon black reinforcing material.
Moorer et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,581 disclose a method of producing synthetic lignin-polyisocyanate resins, which may be used as adhesives, by dissolving lignin in a glycol solvent and reacting it with an organic polyisocyanate.
Santelli et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,358 disclose organic isocyanate-lignin reaction products, which also may be used as adhesives, formed by reacting an organic polyisocyanate with lignin dissolved in a non-aqueous solvent therefor, the solvent again being a glycol, or dioxane.
However, the polyisocyanate-lignin adhesives of the prior art are neither designed nor suitable for large scale use as bonding agents for wood products, in particular for bonding wood particles or fibers together in the manufacture of wood composition board. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that the patentees sought assiduously to avoid the inclusion of water in the formulation of the adhesives of their inventions in order to avoid excessive urethane formation and foaming during their preparation and use. Moorer et al state in U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,581 for example, at column 6, lines 21-28:
"Water is a solvent for the alkali metal and the ammonium salts of lignin. However, water is so extremely reactive with polyisocyanates that water is not availed of as a solvent for the lignin, but when used is only used in small amount for reaction with part of the polyisocyanate for the production of carbon dioxide as a by-product, the generation of the carbon dioxide resulting in the production of a foam."
The prior art accordingly teaches the use of water with polyisocyanate-lignin mixtures only as a terminal foaming or blowing agent when a foamed urethane product is desired. The prior art adhesives incorporate not an aqueous solvent for the lignin, but rather a proportion of a glycol, ether, or other non-aqueous solvent. They accordingly are totally unsuited for use as wood bonding adhesives.
Wood adhesives must be tolerant of water first, because of the inherent water content of pulping waste liquors, which are the primary sources of the lignin solids used in the adhesives, and second because the wood pieces to be bonded usually have an appreciable water content. For this reason it is impractical, indeed impossible, to employ water-sensitive polyisocyanates as components of adhesive mixtures containing also aqueous solutions of lignin, the adhesive mixtures to be used in the gluing together of pieces of wet wood.
Furthermore, in the art of gluing wood, the adhesives to be used in gluing wood must be of relatively low viscosity so that they may be applied to the wood pieces by such standard techniques as spray-, roll-, or curtain-coating. When thus applied, they must cover the pieces uniformly and bond them together efficiently.
This desired result cannot be achieved by the polyisocyanate-lignin adhesive of the prior art. The prior art adhesives are gummy products of extremely high viscosity. For example, the polyisocyanate-lignin adhesive disclosed in Santelli et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,358, at Col. 8, lines 16-30 is described as a paste having a softening point of over 270.degree. C. This paste is disclosed as an adhesive for glass. It is totally unsuited as an adhesive for wood. Its high viscosity prevents its effective application.
I now have discovered, and it is the essence of the present invention, that under certain circumstances water in fact may be used in major amount in the manufacture of organic polyisocyanate-lignin adhesives to be used in the manufacture of bonded wood products, in particular in the manufacture of wood composition board products such as wood particle board and wood fiber board. This discovery is based on three principal observations.
First, water is an excellent solvent for lignin and may be used in that capacity in the formulation of the herein described adhesive.
Second, the polyisocyanates in the molecular weight range of 200-10,000 are oily, strongly hydrophobic liquids which at ambient temperature react only very slowly with water to form urethanes and carbon dioxide gas. This reaction occurs only at the limited interface between the oily polyisocyanate phase and the water phase. Even when the polyisocyanate is emulsified with water, the reaction takes place so slowly at ordinary mill temperatures that gas formation is not a problem. The aqueous solution of lignin provided by ordinary waste liquor resulting from the chemical pulping of lignocellulose thus may be used as the water solution of lignin without any modification whatsoever.
Third, the gaseous evolution which in minor degree does take place in the gluing of wood pieces with the herein described adhesive is entirely accommodated by the porous matrix to which the glue is applied. In particular, a matrix comprising a wood composition board furnish is sufficiently porous to absorb totally any carbon dioxide gas evolved by the reaction between the polyisocyanates and water without adversely affecting product properties.
In its broad aspect the adhesive of the invention accordingly comprises an organic polyisocyanate having a molecular weight in the range of from 200 to 10,000 and an aqueous solution of waste liquor solids, preferably the waste liquor derived from chemical pulping of lignocellulose, the water being used in amount sufficient to dissolve the lignin and to establish a working adhesive viscosity.
The invention further comprises as a new article of manufacture the glued product comprising pieces of wood bonded together with the aforesaid adhesive. In particular, it comprises wood composition board comprising a hot-consolidated mat comprising small pieces of wood glued together with the said adhesive.


A coating method comprising advancing a web over a coating roller, applying electrostatic charges on the web or coating roller, and coating the web wherein the surface of the web to be coated has a characteristic electrical length of less than 400 .mu.m.

This invention relates in general to the art of coating and in particular to an improved method for carrying out a process of coating in which one or more layers of coating composition, preferably a conductive composition, are applied to the surface of a substrate by advancing the substrate through a coating zone in which a flow coating composition is applied thereto, for example, a process of bead coating or a process of curtain coating. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved coating method in the manufacturing of a photographic film, photographic paper, photographic printing layer, a magnetic recording tape, an adhesive tape, pressure-sensitive recording layer, an offset printing plate material or the like.
A method of applying an electrostatic force to assist in a coating method, along with a conventional method of coating a continuously moving web, has been previously disclosed. For example, as disclosed by Hartman in WO 89/05477, ionizers may be used to deposit polar charge on the web prior to the coating application locus to generate an electrostatic field at the coating application locus for a curtain coating method. This electrostatic assist enables the coating method to operate at increased speeds without the defect of air bubbles trapped in the coating layers or between the web and the coated layer. Many prior patents are cited by Hartman discussing the use of polar charge assist in a bead coating method, as well as methods of measuring and controlling the electrostatic field so that a uniform charge of the required magnitude is obtained. These patents do not describe any particular electrical properties of the web that are particularly helpful to the use of electrostatic assist for a coating method.
In another example disclosed by De Geest in U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,026, a potential difference is applied between the coating roller and the coating composition to generate an electrostatic field to attract the coating composition to the web. This patent constrains the resistivity of the web surface to be greater than 10.sup.9 ohms/square. However, as is shown below in the description of the present invention, it is not the surface resistivity alone, but its combination with the web speed and web capacitance while on the coating roller that determines the effectiveness of the electrostatic assist. Thus, it is possible to use electrostatic assist for web surfaces having a resistivity less than 10.sup.9 ohms/square. Furthermore, De Geest does not address the issue of designing a support with respect to surface resistivity and web capacitance so as to achieve a specified coating speed using electrostatic assist with minimized coating roller voltage levels. By minimized coating roller voltage levels it is meant that the voltage level is preferably as close as possible to the voltage level required when using an insulating web having a surface resistivity greater than 10.sup.13 ohms/square.
In another example disclosed by Nakajima in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,045, an electrostatic force on a coating composition is combined with a web having a gelatin-subbing layer containing a surfactant. This electrostatic force allows an increase in speed of coating without increasing the load of drying the coated layers. The gelatin-subbing layer is required to contain a surfactant to achieve the desired electrostatic assist.
In another example disclosed by Kawanishi in U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,004, web temperature control is used to reduce the non-uniformity of and preserve the level of electrical charges deposited on the web by a set of ionizers prior to the coating application locus. This uniform charge is then used to provide an electrostatic assist for the coating method to yield defect-free coatings. This patent places certain requirements on the environment (temperature, relative humidity (RH)) of the web prior to the coating application locus to achieve a uniform charge.
Thus, there is a need for a method for coating emulsions at high speeds without having air bubbles entrained in the coated layer and with no loss in adherence using electrostatic assist regardless of the presence, or absence, of surfactants in a gelatin subbing layer and without placing restrictions on the environment of the web prior to the coating application locus.

Coating method using electrostatic assist