A public facsimile machine is arranged so that it will only receive an incoming facsimile if the facsimile is preceded by a predetermined security code. In addition, the public facsimile machine is associated with an enhanced facsimile service so that the capabilities provided by such a service, for example, broadcasting a facsimile to a plurality of destinations, may be offered to a user of the public facsimile machine.

Facsimile systems are now being located in various public places, for example, airports and hotels, for use by the general public. Accordingly, a person who happens to be in an airport or hotel and who needs to send or receive a facsimile of a document (hereinafter referred to as sending a "facsimile") may now do so. A public facsimile system typically employs a broadcast mode which allows a person (user) to send a facsimile of a document to a number of different destinations identified by the user. In doing so, the public facsimile system places a telephone call to each such destination and transmits a facsimile of the user's document thereto. It can be appreciated that if the number of such destinations is appreciable, then it will take an appreciable amount of time for the public facsimile system to complete its task. It can also be appreciated that if a number of other users are waiting to use the public facsimile system, then the delay that arises as a result of the aforementioned broadcast may cause one or more of such other users to forgo using the public facsimile system. As such, the public facsimile system would lose revenue as a result of such nonuse.
As mentioned above, a public facsimile system may also be used to receive a facsimile of a document. Typically, a user who desires to receive a copy of a document via a public facsimile system first places a call to another person who has access to the document and then passes to the latter the telephone number of the public facsimile system. (In most instances, the telephone call may be placed via the public facsimile system.) Upon completing the call, the user then places the public facsimile system in a receive ready mode to await receipt of the intended transmission. The other person, in a conventional manner, may then transmit, via his/her facsimile machine, a copy of the desired document to the identified public facsimile system. The public facsimile system then prints and outputs a printed version of the received facsimile. It can be appreciated that, for whatever reason, the transmission of the facsimile could be delayed. If the delay is an appreciable amount of time, then the public user might be prompted to proceed to a public telephone in order to place a telephone call to the sender to ascertain the reason for the delay. It can also be appreciated that in such a situation the public facsimile system could receive the facsimile and output a copy thereof during the time that the user is placing the telephone call to the sender. As such, the copy could be intercepted by another person.


Technologies are described for facilitating database system recovery in a distributed database environment having a master node and at least one slave node. The at least one slave node receives a preliminary slave log backup position. The at least one slave node replays at least a portion of one or more log backups until the preliminary log backup position is reached. The at least one slave node receives a final slave log backup position. The slave node replays at least a portion of one or more log backups until the final slave log backup position is reached.

Database performance can be enhanced by distributing information, such as source tables, among multiple hosts. For example, a number of hosts may store different tables in the database system, or tables can be partitioned among multiple hosts. The ability to distribute a database system among multiple hosts can provide opportunities to increase system performance, such as by distributing workloads among CPUs located at the different hosts, rather than relying on the capabilities of a single host. However, distributed systems can be more complex to recover after a crash or other disruption.
Typical database recovery schemes involve significant coordination between a master database system node and one or more slave nodes. In some cases, such as when backup files are maintained on a serial-access storage medium (e.g., a magnetic tape), the potential for deadlocks can exist. Recovery strategies to avoid deadlocks can involve complex algorithms and accompanying code, as well as requiring significant system resources and longer system recovery times. Thus, room for improvement remains in database system recovery.

Database system recovery using preliminary and final slave node replay positions


A battery ejection mechanism for ejecting a battery housing removably attached to an electrical device housing. The mechanism includes at least one ejection member having a button and an arm. The arm is adapted to transfer a force applied on the button to the electrical device housing to provide a pushing force for ejection of the battery pack from the electrical device housing. Force on the button also causes a latch on the battery pack to move to its release position.

The present invention relates generally to battery packs, battery operated devices, and methods for their use. The invention may find particular use in slide type battery packs having a plurality of cells. In particular, the present invention relates to mechanisms for ejecting detachable battery packs from battery operated devices.
Electrical power tools, such as drills, screwdrivers, saws, etc., are in widespread use. While these tools can be powered by an AC power source using an electrical cord, battery operated tools offer their operators greater mobility. Battery operated tools also eliminate the need for extension cords, which can be quite cumbersome. However, battery operated devices also have limitations. The batteries can hold a limited amount of electrical power. To alleviate this problem, power tool manufacturers developed more powerful packs. As a result, battery packs have become large and heavy. This increase in weight has led manufacturers of battery operated power tools to develop locking mechanisms that secure these large, heavy battery packs in electrical contact with the power tool. Unfortunately, the larger and heavier the battery pack, the stronger the locking mechanism. To change the battery pack for recharging, the operator must first disable the locking mechanism and then separate the battery pack from the power tool. Because the pack is large and heavy, there is a need to assist a power tool user in separating the battery pack from the power tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,572 shows a battery ejection mechanism where a spring is used to apply a force to either the battery packer to assist a user separating the two. This approach has limitations. First, the user must compress the spring when connecting the battery. The user must apply a sufficient force to compress the spring enough for the spring to apply a large enough force to provide real assistance in the removal of these large, heavy battery packs. Thus, the effort saved by providing assistance with the removal of the battery is negated by the effort required to compress the spring when attaching the battery to the tool. Further, the spring applies a force against the battery as the operator attempts to attach the battery. This force acts to directly oppose the efforts of the operator. The battery ejection mechanism of the present invention addresses these and other problems of the art.


A system and method for pipeline maintenance may include a payload and a transport module having the payload attached thereto. The transport module may include a plurality of movable arms each having at least one respective wheel. At least some of the wheels may be drive wheels which are operable in a first orientation to drive the transport module linearly along a length of a pipeline, and are further operable in a second orientation to drive the transport module circumferentially around an inner surface of the pipeline. At least some of the arms are operable to move the payload in a generally radial direction toward and away from an interior surface of the pipeline.

A number of systems and methods currently exist for inspecting gas pipelines, some of which may be performed "live"—i.e., where the gas has not been shut off to the area being inspected. Although it may be possible to use a small inspection camera to identify and even accurately locate an area in a pipeline that needs repair, performing the actual repair typically requires excavation to provide access for a repair crew. This type of excavation is disruptive and costly, and therefore a need exists for a system and method that can be utilized to perform repair functions, such as sealing a leaking joint, without the need to perform large excavation.

System and method for pipeline maintenance


The present invention provides An alternating phase shifting mask (Alt-PSM), that is to be used in a double exposure lithographic process with a light source of 248 nm. The Alt-PSM comprises: (1) a quartz substrate; (2) at least one semi-dense line on the substrate, wherein the semi-dense line is adjacent to a clear region with a width larger than 2 nm on one side and on the other side is adjacent to a dense-line pattern with a narrow pitch; (3) a first phase shifting region, which is located between the dense line pattern and the semi-dense line pattern and is adjacent to the semi-dense line; and (4) a second phase shifting region with a predetermined width, which is adjacent to the semi-dense line and located on the side opposite to the first phase shifting region; wherein the phase difference between the first phase shifting region and the second phase shifting region is 180 degree.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a phase shifting mask (PSM), particularly an alternating phase shifting mask (Alt-PSM) that can rectify spherical aberration induced by semi-dense lines and that can be used in a double exposure lithographic process with a light source of 248 nm. Besides, this invention can expand process window.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the circuit making processes, lithographic process has not only been mandatory technique but also played an important role in limiting feature size. Only by lithographic process, a wafer producer can precisely and clearly transfer a circuit pattern onto a substrate. In a lithographic process, a designed pattern, such as a circuit pattern or a doping pattern, is created on one or several photo masks, then the pattern on the mask is transferred by light exposure, with a stepper and scanner, onto a substrate. Recently, the most mature lithographic technique is optical lithographic technique, of which the light sources include KrF laser (248 nm), ArF laser (193 nm) and F2 laser (157 nm) . . . etc., among which KrF laser""s light exposure technique is the most developed. The other two light exposure techniques and non-optical lithographic techniques, such as extreme UV and e-beam, are still underdeveloped.
According to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductor (ITRS) published by Semiconductor Industry Association (SIF), the smallest size of a semiconductor device should be reduced to less than 0.13 nm (about 130 nm) by the year of 2002. The light exposure technique with an ArF laser, with wavelength of 193 nm, can meet this requirement, but the cost is too high. Therefore, in order to achieve the same lithography performance as ArF laser and to prolong the life of a 248 nm lithographic equipment, a new proposal combining the resolution enhancement technique (RET) and KrF laser""s light exposure technique, is being developed.
Recently, many RET techniques, which can reduce devices"" sizes to the smallest with a light source of certain wavelength, employ a double exposure lithography technique with an alternating phase shifting mask (Alt-PSM). Beside an alternating phase shifting mask, the double exposure lithography technique employs a trim mask to complete pattern transferring. This technique was first developed by Wang, et al. from Numerical Technologies, Inc., (NTI), and was presented in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,580. However, this optical proximity correction (OPC) technique with Alt-PSM still has some problems, including transmission imbalance which occurred in phase shifted and non-phase shifted regions and other flaws caused by Alt-PSM.
Besides, with the increase of devices"" packing density, pitches-particularly the ones between gate electrodes are reduced, resulting in some dense lines, semi dense lines or isolated lines on the photo mask. Unfortunately, conventional Alt-PSM can""t avoid spherical aberration caused by these semi-dense line patterns, narrowing the process window created by the dense lines and the semi-dense lines formed on the resist, and hampering the quality of the lithographic process.
Please refer to FIG. 1; FIG. 1 is an enlarged partial view of an Alt-PSM according to the prior art. In order to explain the faults of the prior technique, FIG. 1 only shows the region 10 related to the present invention. As shown in here, the region 10 comprises a dense-line region 12 and a semi-dense-line region 14, wherein the dense-line region 12 comprises two closely arrayed dense lines 4a and b formed on the quartz mask. The dense lines 4a and b and the semi-dense line 5 are made of opaque material, such as chromium (CR). The pitch 20 is the sum of line width (L) and the line space (S). Usually, the semi-dense line 5 has a pitch of less than 400 nm from the dense lines 4a and b on its one side and a pitch larger than 400 nm on the other side. Moreover, between the dense line 4a and the dense line b is a phase shifting region 1 of 180 degree, and between the dense line 4a, and the semi-dense line 5 a phase shifting region 2 of zero degree, and the other side of the semi-dense line 5 is a phase shifting region 3 of 180 degree.
Please refer to FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a plot of center focus vs. pitch from an Alt-PSM according to the prior art, wherein the Y-axis is center focus in um, the X-axis is pitch in nm. As shown in the plot, when a pitch on an Alt-PSM exceeds 500 nm, namely a pattern comprising semi-dense lines, the center focus would shift; as a pith is between 300 nm and 400 nm, the center focus is between 0.45 and 0.4 um; as a pitch increases to between 650 nm and 700 nm, the center focus shifts to around 0.7 um and results in insufficient width of process window created by the dense lines (pitches less than 400 nm) and the semi-dense lines (pitches more than 400 nm). As shown in FIG. 3, in which the Y-axis is focus, the region 25 is the domain of the process window created by the dense-lines; the region 26 is the domain of the process window created by the semi-dense lines. Shifting of the center focus of the semi-dense line pattern results in a size-reduction of the region 27, which is the overlapping area of the region 25 and the region 26, and which represents the size of the process window in the light exposing process.
The main purpose of the present invention is to provide an Alt-PSM, which can correct the spherical aberration caused by semi-dense lines and can increase the size of process window, and which is to be employed in a double exposure lithographic process with a light source of 248 nm.
The phase shifting mask in the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises: 1) a quartz substrate; 2) at least one semi-dense line formed on the substrate, wherein the semi-dense line is adjacent to a clear region with a width more than 2 nm on one side and to a dense line pattern with a narrow pitch on the other side; 3) a first phase shifting region, which is located between the dense line pa tern and the semi-dense line, adjacent to the semi-dense line; and 4) a second phase shifting region with a predetermined width, adjacent to the semi-dense line opposite to the first phase shifting region, wherein the phase difference between the first phase shifting region and the second phase shifting region is 180 degree.
The Alt-PSM in another preferred embodiment comprises: 1) a quartz substrate; 2) a dense line pattern formed on the quartz substrate; 3) at least one semi-dense line pattern adjacent to the dense-line pattern; 4) a first phase shifting region with a first predetermined width, located between the dense-line pattern and the semi-dense line pattern and adjacent to the dense-line pattern; 5) a second shifting region with a second predetermined width, which is unconnected to the first shifting region, and is located between the dense line pattern and the semi-dense line pattern and adjacent to the later; and 6) a third phase shifting region with the same width as the second phase shifting region, located on the side opposite to the second phase shifting region and adjacent to the semi-dense line pattern; wherein the phase difference between the first and second phase shifting regions is zero degree, and the one between the second and third phase shifting regions is 180 degree.


The present invention provides an improvement in a color picture tube having a tensioned mask and support frame assembly. Each of the mask and the support frame is rectangular and has two long sides that parallel a central major axis thereof and two short sides that parallel a central minor axis thereof. The mask has a substantially cylindrical contour, being curved along the major axis and straight along the minor axis. The improvement comprises the frame including two first members that parallel the major axis and two second members, attached to the ends of the first members, that parallel the minor axis. Each of the first members includes a rigid section and a compliant section cantilevered from the rigid section. The mask is attached to the distal ends of the cantilevered compliant sections.

A color picture tube includes an electron gun for generating and directing three electron beams to a screen of the tube. The screen is located on the inner surface of a faceplate of the tube and is made up of an array of elements of three different color emitting phosphors. An apertured mask, which may be either a shadow mask or a focus mask, is interposed between the gun and the screen to permit each electron beam to strike only the phosphor elements associated with that beam. A shadow mask is a thin sheet of metal, such as steel, that is contoured to somewhat parallel the inner surface of the tube faceplate. A focus mask comprises dual sets of conductive lines that are perpendicular to each other and usually separated by an insulative layer.
One type of color picture tube has a cylindrical faceplate and a tensioned shadow mask mounted therein. In order to maintain the tension on the mask, the mask must be attached to a relatively massive support frame. Although such tubes have found wide consumer acceptance, there is still a need for further improvement in tube types having cylindrical faceplates, to reduce the weight and cost of the mask-frame assemblies in such tubes.

Color picture tube having a tensioned mask and compliant support frame assembly


Systems and methods for providing antenna calibration can be used in a variety of applications. A method of calibrating an antenna array for use in a traffic advisory system or traffic alert and collision avoidance system provide a mechanism that renders complex combining circuitry unnecessary in the array. A method can include receiving an unsolicited reply that contains absolute position information of an intruder aircraft. The method can also include determining a bearing of a signal encoding the reply based on a phase relationship of the signals from an antenna array not configured to operate with an internal self-test phase calibration mechanism. The method can further include comparing the bearing based on the phase relationship with a bearing calculated by a comparison of the absolute positions of a host aircraft and the intruder aircraft. The method can additionally include calibrating the antenna array based on the result of the comparison.

1. Field
Systems and methods for providing antenna calibration can be used in a variety of applications. A method of calibrating an antenna array for use in a traffic advisory system, sometimes referred to as a traffic awareness system, or traffic alert and collision avoidance system provide a mechanism that renders complex combining circuitry, beamforming circuitry, and internal calibration circuitry unnecessary in the array.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various techniques for calibration of antennas using internal sources. Calibration is generally accomplished using an internal circuit which is capable of generating a test signal of a known equivalent bearing that is then received by the elements. The phase relationship between the signals received by the elements is a function of bearing. Consequently, variable and unknown phase constants (antenna cables, receiver front end differences, and the like) can be compensated out of the equation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,172 discusses an internal calibration apparatus used to inject a "known" phase signal into the elements. This known phase signal may correlate to a particular bearing angle. Subsequent bearing measurements may be made relative to this reference to get absolute bearing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,748 discusses an additional method of injecting a self test calibration signal to aid in calibrating out phase errors in the receive system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,349 discusses reviewing the means by which the TCAS directional antenna accomplishes bearing detection.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0009909 discusses means for using positional data of both an intruder and a host aircraft to provide a correction factor to the measured bearing data so as to more nearly perfect the data. However this may still rely on an internal beam forming network to determine the initial bearing estimate.
Another approach for antenna calibration may include locating the antenna very close to the receiver and connecting the two with a very short, precisely manufactured set of matched cables. Thus, the phase lengths between the antenna elements and the receivers may be ideally equal. However, this approach does not compensate for aging and temperature variations that do not affect each channel identically.

Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems LLC


A method includes monitoring, through a battery driver component of a embedded operating system executing on a data processing system deriving power from a battery, a state of the battery. The method also includes modifying, through a backlight driver component of the embedded operating system, an intensity level of a backlight of one or more Input/Output (I/O) devices of the data processing system from a current level associated with a normal operation thereof to an intensity level lower than the current level when the battery is detected to be in a critical state to prolong a lifetime thereof. The critical state is associated with a remaining charge on the battery being below a threshold required to maintain the data processing system in a powered on state.

A data processing system (e.g., a mobile phone) may derive power from a battery. A backlight associated with an Input/Output device (e.g., a display, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen etc.) of the data processing system may consume more battery power than other components of the data processing system. Even when a remaining charge on the battery decreases below a "critical" threshold required to maintain the data processing system in a powered on state, a user of the data processing system may be performing a desired task thereon. The user may have to charge the battery immediately and/or perform the desired task hastily in order to circumvent inconvenience associated with the impending switching off of the data processing system. If the data processing system is switched off prior to the user saving data associated with the desired task on the data processing system, the unsaved data may be lost, thereby frustrating the user and/or requiring the user to restart the desired task from scratch or from an earlier state thereof.

Automatic backlight intensity adjustment in an embedded operating system environment


A new variety of Dendranthema grandiflora (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) for the outdoor garden and for spring flowering greenhouse pot plant culture, characterized by long-lasting blooms which are also early opening, 3.5 cm in diameter, full pompon, white with light yellow center, and resistant to pinking at lower temperatures, on plants of an informally mounded plant habit with small to medium sized leaves on stiff stems.

This new cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant originated as seedling number 82-135-88 resulting from a cross of Spartan and Chiquita's Rival (unpatented cultivars) made in 1981 at St. Paul, Minn. during the course of breeding efforts in an on-going Chrysanthemum project under direction of the inventor, a professor at the University of Minnesota, Department of Horticultural Science and Landscape Architecture.
Minnesota Selection (NM Sel.) 82-135-88 was discovered and selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in the fall of 1982, in the St. Paul Campus field test plots at the University of Minnesota. The early opening of the 3.5 cm, white pompon flowers with light yellow centers, with the entire flower fading to a snow-white color and resistance to pinking at low temperatures, caused me to select this seedling for propagation and testing. The first act of asexual reproduction of MN Sel. 82-135-88 was accomplished when vegetative cuttings were taken in March-April 1983, in a controlled environment in St. Paul, Minn. Cuttings were from the initial selection plant that had been dug from the field in late October, 1982. Plants so reproduced continued to have the same favorable characteristics with clean, medium green foliage on stiff stems and white flowers with light yellow centers fading to a clear snow white color.
Plants of this Chrysanthemum were field tested at seven locations in Minnesota in 1985, 1986 and 1987, including the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the Crookston, Grand Rapids, Lamberton, Morris, Rosemount and Waseca Agricultural Experiment Stations. In addition, this cultivar was trialed in 1985, 1986 and 1987 as a greenhouse grown spring flowering plant in 3-inch pots. Rooted cuttings were potted March 15 of each year, pinched (stem tip removal) one week later and successfully forced into bloom in both natural (long day) and short day (0800-1600 hours) photoperiods. Flowering of this selection in the St. Paul Campus field test plots of the University of Minnesota usually begins in the last week of August and a week before the cultivar Baby Tears.


A digital system bus arbiter network which provides prioritized but equal opportunity for various devices to gain access to a common bus. The network samples the state of all pending requests for bus access, stores the current requests and generates a sequence of bus access granting signals in an order determined by the priority of the stored bus requests. When all of the bus requests have been processed for a given sample period, the network resamples currently pending bus requests and repeats the process of generating the sequence of bus granting signals on a prioritized basis. The network guarantees an equal share of bus bandwidth to each device.

This invention relates generally to digital systems and in particular to systems comprising a plurality of devices interconnected by a common bus having a bus arbiter for determining which one of the devices shall have first access to the common bus when more than one device is requesting use thereof. The devices may be processors, memories and/or input-output controllers.
Bus arbitration is generally accomplished by distributed or centralized arbitration techniques. In a distributed arbitration system each of the devices connected to the common bus comprises an arbitration network as described in a patent to Evett, U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,040 which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. In such a distributed arbitration system, the arbitration network in each device determines the device's priority relative to other devices based on a code generated by each device. This approach is often used in high reliability or fault-tolerant systems where single point failures cannot be tolerated. In a centralized arbitration system, a single bus arbiter determines which one of a plurality of devices will be granted access to a common bus based on assigned priority to each device. However, if one or two of the higher priority devices monopolize the bus, then lower priority devices are prevented from ever using it. Thus, there is a need for a bus arbiter that will allow all devices to have an equalized opportunity to have common bus access.

Synchronized processing system with bus arbiter which samples and stores bus request signals and synchronizes bus grant signals according to clock signals


Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for enabling memory module slots in a computing system after a repair action, the computing system having a plurality of memory module slots and having at least one memory module installed in one of the memory module slots, that includes: determining, during a boot process for the computing system, whether any of the memory module slots are disabled; and if any of the memory module slots are disabled: retrieving, for each memory module installed in one of the memory module slots, a memory module identifier for that memory module, retrieving, from non-volatile memory of the computing system, previously stored memory module identifiers, determining whether the retrieved memory module identifiers match the previously stored memory module identifiers, and enabling the disabled memory module slots if the retrieved memory module identifiers do not match the previously stored memory module identifiers.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is enabling memory module slots in a computing system after a repair action.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely complicated devices. Today's computers are much more sophisticated than early systems such as the EDVAC. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware and software components, application programs, operating systems, processors, buses, memory, input/output devices, and so on. Advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture have served to push the performance of the computer higher and higher and have resulted in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
Throughout the advancement of semiconductor processing and computer architecture, advancements in computer memory subsystems have played an important role in creating more powerful computers. To maintain the steady overall increase in computer performance, increases in the speed and reliability of computer memory subsystems have complimented increases in the speed and reliability of computer processors. In fact, the speed of these computer memory subsystems has increased by several orders of magnitude in recent years.
Computer memory subsystems are typically composed of a memory controller that provides access to one or more memory modules installed in memory module slots. Memory modules may be implemented as Dual In-Line Memory Modules ('DIMM') or Single In-Line Memory Modules ('SIMM'). Currently, the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council ('JEDEC') serves as an important source of design standards for these computer memory subsystems. JEDEC was founded in 1960 and is the semiconductor engineering standardization body of the Electronic Industries Alliance ('EIA'). EIA is a trade association that represents all areas of the electronics industry and works to promulgate standards throughout the electronics industry that meet the needs of both manufacturers and consumers.
Often during the operation of a computer memory subsystem, one or more of the memory modules may fail. Upon detecting a failed memory module, the system Basic Input/Output System ('BIOS') typically disables the memory module slot in which the failed memory module is installed by mapping that memory module slot out of the processor's address space. At some later point in time, a computer technician may perform a repair action by replacing the memory module in the computer memory subsystem. To utilize the new memory module, the disabled memory module slot must be enabled. To enable the disabled memory module slot, the technician or another user must typically use the BIOS configuration user interface to traverse through various BIOS setup menus until locating the memory slot enablement menu. Because the technician or user often forgets to enable the memory module slot after performing a repair action, the computer memory subsystem does not utilize the new memory module. Moreover, when the user discovers that the computer memory subsystem is not using the new memory module, the user typically has to again request the assistance of the computer technician, increasing overall maintenance costs and generating additional downtime for the computer system.

Enabling memory module slots in a computing system after a repair action

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for verifying a serializing function in a system including a plurality of processors and a test system including processors for verifying the serializing function. Each processor executes a verifying processing including the steps of: synchronizing an execution status of its own processor with an execution status of another processor; delaying an initiation of a next execution for a predetermined changeable period; issuing and executing a serializing instruction indicating a set of data read and write processings; and verifying whether the serializing instruction is normally executed or not. By controlling a timing of the execution of the serializing instruction at random between each processor, it is possible to verify normality of the serializing function satisfactorily and in a short time, while specifying whether cause for a fault occurring in the entire system is due to the serializing function or not.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of verifying a serializing function in a system including a plurality of processors or central processing units (CPUs) for taking access to a common memory or storage to execute multiprocessing.
The serializing function verification according to the present invention is carried out when the system is unfolded for its forwarding, or when the system is rebuilt or under maintenance.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a multiprocessor (multi-CPU) system for executing the above multiprocessing, a serializing instruction such as a test and set (TS) instruction is frequently used for synchronization of processings, control of competition for access to an identical storage area, or the like.
The TS instruction is composed of a series of processings of reading flags, judging them and setting them based on a result of the judgement, or the like. Since the TS instruction needs two memory cycles, the system is provided with a serializing function (hardware) of inhibiting access to the identical area by another processor (CPU) during execution of the TS instruction, so that processing based on the TS instruction is ensured.
To verify whether the serializing function normally works or not, it is necessary to execute serializing instructions at various timings and cause accessing operations by CPUs to compete with each other. In practice, however, it is very difficult to set the timings between the CPUs and confirm them. In this regard, in the prior art, the serializing function has been verified at a constant timing. Accordingly, the prior art has a drawback in that it is impossible to satisfactorily ensure normality of the serializing function.
In recent years, a multi-CPU system has increasingly come into wide use and thus a technique of perfectly ensuring normality of the serializing function has been strongly demanded.

Method for verifying a serializing function in a system including processors and a test system including processors for verifying the serializing function


An office information system having a device which provides a user with an operational message of the system is disclosed. In an embodiment of the office information system, a path record storage device stores a plurality of path records related to components of the system, each path record indicating a locating path needed to reach a location of a specific one of the components in the system when a failure related to the specific one of the components occurs. A failure location detecting device detects a location of a component in the system when a failure related to the component occurs. A reached location determining device reads a path record from the path record storage device when the location of the failure is detected, and determines a currently reached location in the system based on the path indicated by the path record. A message device generates, when the reached location is determined, an operational message needed for recovering the failure at a subsequent location in the path following the reached location.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to office information systems, such as copiers, facsimiles or printers, and more particular to an office information system having a device which provides a user (or a request source) with an operational message of the office information system when an specific event occurs.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 8 shows an enclosure of an office information system according to the related art. This office information system is, for example, a copier, a facsimile or a printer.
In the office information system of FIG. 8, a liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panel 101 is provided on top of an enclosure 100, and an access door 102 is provided at a lower portion of the enclosure 100. The access door 102 is opened by the operator or user who wishes to look into the internal components of the system for the purpose of repair or maintenance.
When a failure, such as paper jam or lack of toner, in the office information system of the above type takes place, an image indicating a failure location in the system is displayed on the LCD panel 101.
FIG. 9 shows an image of a failure location displayed on the LCD panel 100 of the office information system of FIG. 8. In the example of FIG. 9, a paper jam occurs in the system and a location "B3" of the paper jam in the system is indicated in the displayed image.
FIG. 10 shows an internal structure of the office information system of FIG. 8 when the access door 102 is opened and the internal components of the system are looked into. As shown in FIG. 10, the office information system includes, for example, a plurality of components at respective locations A1, A2, B1, B2 and B3.
The user views the image on the LCD panel 100, opens the access door 102, and searches for the location of the paper jam in the actual system corresponding to the location "B3" in the displayed image. If the location of the paper jam can be found, the user performs a repairing or correcting operation on the related component at the location "B3" so as to eliminate the failure from the system.
However, in the office information system of FIG. 8, a guidance message which helps the user to recover the paper jam or lack of toner in the system is only the image displayed on the LCD panel 101. Such a message is often inadequate for the user to complete failure-recovery operations on the system, and this makes it difficult to efficiently carry out the failure recovery.
For example, when the location "B3" of the failure indicated by the displayed image is a concealed place within the system, finding the actual component related to the failure in the system is difficult, or a considerable time and cost is needed to find it. When a certain preliminary operation must be formed to reach the related component at the location "B3" of the failure, the user is often unable to recognize the need of the preliminary operation from the displayed image only. Therefore, it is desirable that an office information system which ensures easy searching and recognition of a location of a failure in the system and provides the user with a failure-recovery operational message for efficient failure recovery is provided.

Office information system having a device which provides an operational message of the system when a specific event occurs


Apparatus for locking a workpiece, such as a compact disc, in a vacuum chamber includes a locking mechanism, movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, and a sealed bellows assembly that is coupled to the locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is automatically actuated by the bellows assembly between the locked and unlocked positions when the pressure in the chamber is changed by a predetermined amount. The locking apparatus is preferably used for locking the compact disc to a disc holder during processing and/or handling.

Compact discs have become a standard medium for recording of audio and video information in digital format. The replication of compact discs involves molding of a raw disc, sputtering a metallic coating on the raw disc to form a metallized disc and applying a lacquer coating to the metallized disc. The raw disc is molded plastic having data pits which contain digital information. The metallic coating forms a reflective layer that allows a scanning laser beam to read the digital information from the compact disc (CD). The lacquer coating functions as a protective layer for the metallic coating and provides a smooth surface for printing.
The metallic coating on compact discs may be deposited on the substrate in a sputtering system. The compact discs are loaded into a sputtering chamber. The pressure in the chamber is reduced from atmospheric pressure to a pressure on the order of 1.3.times.10.sup.-3 -1.3.times.10.sup.-2 mbar (1-10 mTorr) for processing. The loading, processing and unloading of the compact discs is preferably automated. Compact discs must be handled in a way that avoids damage. During processing, the compact disc may be locked to a holder without covering any of the active surface to which the metallic coating is applied. The locking mechanism must be able to operate in vacuum without generation of contaminants or particles. The locking mechanism should be simple in construction and low in cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,794 issued Mar. 23, 1993 to Hummel, Jr. et al discloses a compact disc lifting system in which a plunger moves perpendicular to the central opening in a compact disc. Fins are positioned in slots in a housing and include legs and arms meeting at acute angles inside a formed seat. When the plunger moves to its extended position, fins rotate the legs outwardly, thereby engaging the lower edge of the center opening of the compact disc. The disclosed device is designed for manual handling of compact discs and is not practical for use in a vacuum processing chamber.


An oil filter wrench dimensioned and constructed in a fashion which will accommodate a broad range of sizes of cylindrical oil filters. The handles and jaws of the oil filter wrench are substantially identical. One of the jaws, however, has a pin and the other jaw has a pair of openings to define first and second pivot axes for the pliers.

The invention relates to an oil filter wrench and, more particularly, to an oil filter wrench which is convertible from a large jaw opening size to a small jaw opening size.
Oil filter wrenches or oil filter wrench pliers are available in the marketplace in the form of a pliers having a pair of handles with integral jaws. The jaws serve as arcuate gripping members which fit around a cylindrical oil filter to effect removal from an engine. Heretofore, oil filter wrench pliers have been available in various sizes depending upon the diameter of the cylindrical oil filter to be removed from an engine. For example, pliers capable of removing cylindrical or canister type oil filters having a diameter in the range of two (2) to three (3) inches would be effected by a smaller pliers construction. Larger diameter filters, for example those having three (3) to four (4) inch diameter cylinders, would be removed by a separately sized pliers wherein the jaws are larger and spaced further apart.
It has been recommended that oil filter wrench pliers be convertible or changeable so that the pivot point associated with the connection between the separate handles forming the pliers could be altered thereby enabling the oil filter wrench to accommodate large as well as small diameter cylindrical oil filters. There has remained, however, a need for a wrench construction for oil filters convertible from a first diameter to a second diameter wherein the handles, which are manually gripped, may be generally uniformly spaced when the pliers accommodates variously sized cylindrical oil filters. Thus, there has remained a need to provide an improved design for a convertible oil filter wrench which enables gripping a wide range of diameters of cylindrical canisters or oil filters.


An image processing apparatus includes a depth control signal generation unit generating a depth control signal controlling emphasis of the feel of each region of an input image based on the depth position of a subject in each region of the input image; a face skin region control signal generation unit generating a face skin region control signal controlling emphasis of the feel of each region in the input image based on the human face skin region in the input image; a person region control signal generation unit generating a person region control signal controlling emphasis of the feel of each region in the input image based on the region of the person in the input image; and a control signal synthesis unit synthesizing the depth control signal, the face skin region control signal, and the person region control signal to generate a control signal.

The present disclosure relates to an image processing apparatus, method, and program, in particular, to an image processing apparatus, method, and program capable of obtaining a more natural image without discomfort.
Hitherto, in order to obtain a higher quality image, image processing which performs adjustment of the feel with respect to an image has been used. For example, as such image processing, a process controlling the feel of a face region detected from the image and a process of preserving steep edge portions as is and emphasizing regions other than the edges have been proposed (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-298621).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Image processing apparatus, method, and program


Red mud bauxite residue produced in the Bayer Process is treated in a plurality of centrifuges and repulp tanks to successively wash and dewater the red mud. A final centrate liquor is obtained in a first upstream centrifuge stage which is rich in alumina and caustic values for respective recovery and reuse. The concentrated red mud cake produced in the final downstream washing/centrifuge step is low in caustic and alumina concentration permitting environmentally friendly disposal. The concentrated red mud cake is reslurried and mixed with bauxite sand for disposal in a dry stacking impoundment area.

The present invention relates to the treatment and disposal of bauxite residue or so-called "red mud" which is generated in the Bayer Process in the production of alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3). The alumina so produced may be further processed to yield aluminum metal or it may find use directly in numerous non-metallurgical applications.
In the Bayer process, alumina is extracted from naturally occurring bauxite ore. The bauxite is digested in a digester vessel at elevated temperatures and pressure with a strong solution of caustic soda (NaOH). In the presence of a strong base, the alumina acts as an acid to form sodium aluminate in solution. The impurities remain insoluble and form the red mud. The red mud is then separated from the green liquor solution by decantation and filtration. The green liquor formed at the high digestion temperature is cooled and becomes supersaturated at lower temperatures. The cooled liquor is then inoculated in a precipitator vessel with aluminum hydroxide crystals, Al(OH).sub.3, and agitated. A portion of the alumina gradually crystallizes and precipitates out of solution in hydrated form and is separated from the spent caustic liquor by filtration. After washing, the hydrate is calcined to the oxide form to provide a very pure alumina. It may also be collected and sold in the hydrate form. The spent caustic liquor and wash water, after concentration, are recycled and used for another digestion treatment of bauxite ore.
Conventionally, the red mud residue is removed from the digested slurry of bauxite and caustic soda/sodium aluminate liquor using a plurality of hydraulic thickeners/washers or pressure filters. Hydraulic thickeners are large vessels on the order of 100 feet in diameter, which require large volumes of water to achieve proper treatment and thickening of the red mud residue. These thickeners rely heavily upon the settling characteristics of the residue and are known to suffer major upsets when this characteristic changes. The large volumes of water associated with the thickeners must also be diminished by steam heating/evaporation which necessarily increases energy consumption and capital costs associated with the equipment and energy usage. These large vessels also require periodic cleaning of the dried red mud residue which, in itself, is a difficult and time-consuming task requiring shutdown of the thickener to remove the hardened residue over these very large surface areas.
Conventional pressure filters, on the other hand, rely on the filtration characteristics of the red mud. Such filtration characteristics may often change abruptly and without advance warning. Further, few bauxite ores produce a red mud residue possessing consistently good filtration characteristics. Such bauxite ores naturally occur in only specific bauxite deposits throughout the world and long term supply of such ores is oftentimes problematic.
Heretofore, it has been conventional practice to dispose of treated, i.e., washed and thickened red mud by impoundment in waste ponds or lakes. In such impoundment lakes, the red mud settles out by gravity and the supernatant liquor is returned to the process for reuse, such as hose water, wash water and the like, or it may be disposed of after proper treatment. As the red mud settles, it entrains about 45% by weight lake water which may contain, for example, up to about 35 grams per liter of caustic soda and 8 grams per liter of alumina which was present in the liquid portion of the red mud slurry when it was pumped to the impoundment lake. Thus, considerable quantities of caustic soda and alumina are lost to occlusion in the red mud impoundment lakes which represents a significant monetary loss. Aside from these chemical losses, the lake water itself poses a disposal problem from an environmental standpoint due to a high alkalinity. Groundwater runoff is not permissible unless the caustic lake water is neutralized.
In addition to the caustic and alumina losses and the negative environmental impact, conventional red mud impoundment lakes demand substantial land usage on a continuing basis. For example, a typical impoundment lake may occupy about 50-70 acres or more which is non-recoverable land and is useful for only about five years. In addition to the land costs, significant costs are realized in constructing and maintaining the dikes which retain the waste lake water and red mud.
The present invention solves the problems heretofore encountered in the treatment and disposal of red mud bauxite residue. The instant invention provides methods for treating red mud which, in one aspect, replaces the pressure filters of the prior art. Thus, the present invention eliminates the dependence upon the use of only a limited number of bauxite ores which heretofore had to be used in conjunction with pressure filters due to their consistent filtering characteristics. The present invention eliminates the need for pressure filters and their dependence upon such "good filtering" bauxite, which not only increases productivity but also permits the use of many other sources of bauxite ores which may be poorer in filtering characteristics.
The present invention also eliminates the need for numerous washing steps and large-sized thickener vessels presently used in the art. The invention thus provides a significant reduction in physical plant space required to house the apparatus for treating red mud, while also reducing the need for large volumes of wash water previously required in such existing process systems. Because the present invention minimizes the use of wash water, there is no need to construct extra evaporative heating capacity as is necessary in these conventional treatment systems.
Still further, the process of the present invention provides a treated red mud which contains minimal amounts of entrapped caustic and alumina. Concurrently, the wash water liquor recovered in the present invention contains significantly greater amounts of caustic and alumina values than previously recovered, and in an economical manner. The additional caustic value recovered from the red mud is then reused in the digestion process saving the expense of extra caustic additions heretofore required. Further, the higher levels of alumina values recovered from the red mud is recovered to provide a further economic advantage over conventional processes.
The present invention further includes a method for disposing of the treated red mud in a so-called "dry stacking" mode which eliminates the need and attendant expense of constructing and maintaining waste lakes. Capital costs for the apparatus employed in the dry stacking aspect of the invention are also lower than conventional methods.

Treatment and disposal of red mud generated in the Bayer Process


The invention relates to a light intensity modulator controlled by a "word" of n bits and an opto-electronic digital-analog converter.. The modulator comprises a two-arm interferometer in whose length there is created, by opto-electrical effect, successive phase shifts controlled respectively by control bits and whose values, when the control bits are in state 1, conform to the successive powers of 2. The total phase shift obtained thus depends directly on the analog value of the control word and the emerging intensity is modulated as a function of this word. A digital-analog converter is constructed by adding a photodetector means whose output voltage depends on the analog value of the control word.

The invention relates to a digitally controlled light intensity modulator, constructed with integrated optics.
It is known to construct light modulators controlled by an analog voltage, from a two-arm interferometer in which there is created, by an electro-optical effect, a difference in the propagation speed between the two arms, producing an electrically controlled phase shift. The emerging light intensity varies with the phase shift and is therefore modulated by the analog voltage inducing the electro-optical effect. The response of such a modulator is sinusoidal but may be linearized by adding an optoelectronic feedback loop. This improvement is described in French patent application No. 79.08 372 filed by the applicant.

Light intensity modulator with digital control and a digital-analog converter comprising such a modulator


The invention relates to a process for the preparation of a compound of formula (I):

Gestodene (17-alpha-ethynyl-17-beta-hydroxy-18-methyl-estra-4,15-dien-3-one) is a progestin mainly used as an oral contraceptive, in combination with an oestrogen. This molecule, which was described for the first time in German patent application DE2546062, is a third generation progestin with low androgenic activity.
Gestodene is usually prepared from a hydroxylated intermediate (15-hydroxy-18-methyl-estr-4-en-3,17-dione) which is converted into the desired product by means of a process which comprises the protection of the ketone in position 3 as a ketal, the esterification of the hydroxyl in position 15 and the ethynylation of the ketone in position 17 (see e.g. FR-A-2326927 and EP-A-700926). An alternative route, described by Hofmeister in Arzneim. Forsch. 1986, 36(1), 781-783 or in EP-A-201452, also starts from 15-hydroxy-18-methyl-estr-4-en-3,17-dione, but comprises the protection of the ketone in position 3 as a methyl enol ether, the acylation of the hydroxyl in position 15, and then the introduction of the ethynyl in position 17 (see preparation 2 and example 1b). EP-A-201452 also describes another alternative route comprising the conversion of 15-hydroxy-18-methyl-estr-4-en-3,17-dione into 18-methyl-estra-4,15-dien-3,17-dione, the protection of the ketone in position 3 as a methyl enol ether and then the introduction of the ethynyl in position 17 (see preparation 1 and example 1a). Another process, described in EP-A-1586579, comprises the protection of the ketone in position 3 as a ketal, and the introduction of a phenyl sulphide or phenyl sulfoxide in position 16 which affords the double bond in position 15,16 by elimination.
The crucial step for the synthesis of gestodene is precisely the timely introduction of the double bond at this specific 15,16 position. Introduction of the double bond with concomitant ethynylation in position 17 (as described e.g. in example 1b-d of EP-A-201452) is prone to competition between the elimination of the group in position 15 and the ethynylation in position 17. Introduction at an earlier stage of the synthesis (as described e.g. in preparation 1 of EP-A-201452) may result in impurities being obtained. In each case, this may be detrimental to the overall synthesis yield.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a process for the synthesis of gestodene which is devoid of the drawbacks of the above-mentioned processes. It is in particular an object of the present invention to provide a process which is simple to implement and which makes it possible to obtain gestodene in high purity and yield.

Process for introducing a double bond into position 15, 16 of a steroid

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are as defined in the description, by reaction of a compound of formula (II)

Abstract: with a base.

Abstract: Compound (I) is an intermediate useful in the preparation of gestodene.


A network includes an account status system for checking the status of checking accounts used to make payments, and a payment account monitoring system that includes linking files that store, for individual credit card accounts, the account numbers for checking accounts used to pay the credit card accounts. The monitoring system periodically retrieves checking account numbers from the linking files and checks the account numbers at the status system. If a negative status is indicated at the status system, an alert is provided to the credit card company.

Creditors are faced with various issues when processing payments from their customers. One such issue is the inherent delay when processing payment checks. As an example, a credit card company may receive a payment check, but until the check is cleared through the banking system, the card company may not know if the account is good or there are sufficient funds to cover the check.
Fraudulent schemes have been devised to take advantage of the delay between a check being received and a check being cleared for payment by a bank. One such scheme is sometimes referred to as "bust out fraud." A person with a credit card account makes payment by check, but the check is drawn against an account that is known (by the cardholder) to be closed or to have insufficient funds. A credit card company may post the check (before it is presented to the paying bank) and restore some or all of the credit card limit. The cardholder then quickly makes additional purchases. Before the credit card company receives notification from the bank that the check has not cleared, the cardholder may in fact have made numerous purchases (and possibly sent in several more bad checks) before the scheme is uncovered.
While credit card companies may attempt to stem losses from such schemes by suspending a payment credit until a check clears, such a practice penalizes honest cardholders and prevents them from fully using their card account until the check clears. This may give rise to frustration on the part of the cardholder, and also reduced card use (and reduced revenue for the credit card company).
Solutions have been adopted for minimizing some of these difficulties by providing up-to-date account status to creditors when a payment (such as a check) is received. For example, the remittance risk service provided by Early Warning Services, LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz., provides notice to banks, creditors and payment processors of account status when checks are deposited or used for payment. A database stores current information on checking and similar accounts at most U.S. banks, so that upon receipt of a check, the recipient may electronically access the database and immediately determine the status of the account against which the check is drawn. Checks drawn against accounts that have been closed or have some other questionable status may be flagged for further investigation or rejection (i.e., posting a credit payment may be delayed or refused).
While such services may reduce the risk from fraudulent check schemes, it does not eliminate burden to the creditor (e.g., in following up on flagged accounts), or the possible negative customer impact if the flagged account is questionable for reasons other than fraudulent activity by the customer. For example, a trustworthy customer himself or herself may have been the victim of fraudulent activity (e.g., identity theft), and the creditor and customer may both need to investigate reasons for a flagged, high-risk status. Or, when payment to a creditor is in the form an automatic monthly draft against an account using the ACH (automated clearing house) system, a customer may have closed an account without remembering to change the payment authorization to a new account. Receiving notification of refusal to honor a payment (or having fees automatically assessed for a payment being rejected) may lead to hard feelings on the part of a valued customer, and result in loss of customer goodwill.

Payment account monitoring system and method


The invention provides a method of treating vulnerable plaque at a site in a vessel. A vulnerable plaque site is identified for treatment. A radiation source is introduced into a vessel containing a vulnerable plaque site identified for treatment. The radiation source is guided to a position adjacent to the treatment site. A therapeutically effective dose of radiation is delivered to the vulnerable plaque site. As the radiation impinges upon the wall of the lumen, it promotes cell growth. Such growth can serve to strengthen the thin fibrous cap found atop a vulnerable plaque lesion. With the lesion thus stabilized, time is provided for the use of statin drugs or other agents to shrink or remove the lipid pool beneath the cap.

Heart disease, specifically coronary artery disease, is a major cause of death, disability, and healthcare expense in the United States and other industrialized countries. Until recently, most heart disease was considered to be primarily the result of a progressive increase of hard plaque in the coronary arteries. This atherosclerotic disease process of hard plaques leads to a critical narrowing (stenosis) of the affected coronary artery and produces anginal syndromes, known commonly as chest pain. The progression of the narrowing reduces blood flow, triggering the formation of a blood clot (thrombus). The clot may choke off the flow of oxygen-rich blood (ischemia) to heart muscles, causing a heart attack. Alternatively, the clot may break off and lodge in the vessel of another organ, such as the brain, resulting in a thrombotic stroke. Within the past decade, evidence has emerged changing the paradigm of atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, and heart attacks. While the buildup of hard plaque may produce angina and severe ischemia in the coronary arteries, new clinical data suggest that the rupture of vulnerable plaques, which are often non-occlusive, per se, causes the vast majority of heart attacks. The rate is estimated as high as 60-80 percent.
In many instances, vulnerable plaques do not impinge on the vessel lumen; rather, much like an abscess, they are ingrained within the arterial wall. The majority of vulnerable plaques include a lipid pool, smooth muscle (endothelial) cells, and a dense infiltrate of macrophages contained by a thin fibrous cap. The lipid pool is believed to be formed as a result of pathological process involving low density lipoprotein (LDL), macrophages, and the inflammatory process. The macrophages oxidize the LDL, producing foam cells.
The macrophages, foam cells, and associated endothelial cells release various substances, such as tumor necrosis factor, tissue factor, and matrix proteinases, which result in generalized cell necrosis and apoptosis, pro-coagulation, and weakening of the fibrous cap. The inflammation process may weaken the fibrous cap to the extent that sufficient mechanical stress, such as that produced by increased blood pressure, may result in rupture. The lipid core and other contents of the vulnerable plaque may then spill into the blood stream, thereby initiating a clotting cascade. The cascade produces a blood clot that potentially results in a heart attack and/or stroke. The process is exacerbated due to the release of collagen and plaque components (e.g., collagen and tissue factor), which enhance clotting upon their release.
Various methods of identifying vulnerable plaques have been proposed. These include sensing the temperature differential between healthy vascular tissue and the inflamed tissue of a vulnerable plaque. Devices that identify vulnerable plaques by the higher temperature of the inflamed tissue have been described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,997 to Campbell and U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,159 to Casscells, et al. A spectrographic identification method for vulnerable plaques is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,210 to Phelps, et al.
Currently there are few strategies for reliably treating vulnerable plaques. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), which is commonly used to treat hard plaques, is contraindicated. In this procedure, a catheter having an inflatable balloon at its distal end is introduced into the coronary artery, and the balloon is inflated to flatten the hard plaque against the arterial wall. Inflation of a balloon catheter near a vulnerable plaque could rupture the thin fibrous cap covering the lipid pool, resulting in precisely the clotting cascade that treatment would seek to prevent. However, radiation treatment, which has been used to prevent the restenosis that sometimes occurs following PTCA, holds promise in treating vulnerable plaques.
While high levels of radiation inhibit stenosis, lower levels appear to promote cell growth and encourage restenosis. For example, hyperplasia has been seen to occur at the distal and proximal edges of a treated area due to reduced radiation exposure at these edges. The resulting stenosis at either end of the treated area is termed a "candy-wrapper" effect.
Thickening of the inner wall of a vessel is clearly an unwanted and deleterious side effect when treating hard plaques. However, such thickening could have a positive effect when it serves to strengthen the thin fibrous cap found atop a vulnerable plaque lesion. With the lesion thus stabilized, time is provided for the use of statin drugs or other agents to shrink or remove the lipid pool.
Radiation therapy can be accomplished in a variety of ways, as discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,561 to Weinstein et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,384 to Fearnot, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,613 to Weinberger. Among other radiation therapy devices, these references disclose a guide wire having a radioactive tip, a radioactive source within a balloon catheter, and a radioactive source mounted on a balloon expansible stent. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,377,846 B1, Chornenky et al. disclose an improved device for delivering localized x-ray radiation and a method for fabricating such a device.
It would be desirable to have a method of treating vulnerable plaques that overcomes the clear disadvantages of traditional methods of plaque treatment such as PTCA, while realizing the benefits of radiation therapy.

Method of treating vulnerable plaque using a catheter-based radiation system


A toner composition comprised of pigment, and polyimide of the formula ##STR1## wherein m represents the number of monomer segments present; X is ##STR2## thus X can be benzophenone, oxydiphthalic, hexafluoropropane diphenyl, diphenyl sulfone, or biphenyl; X is attached to four imide carbonyl moieties; and R is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, oxyalkylene and polyoxyalkylene.

This invention is generally directed to toner and developer compositions, and more specifically, the present invention is directed to developer and toner compositions containing certain amorphous polyimide resins, and process for the preparation thereof. In embodiments, there are provided in accordance with the present invention, toner compositions comprised of certain polyimide resins, and pigment particles comprised of, for example, carbon black, magnetites, or mixtures thereof, cyan, magenta, yellow, blue, green, red, or brown components, or mixtures thereof thereby providing for the development and generation of black and/or colored images. In embodiments, there are provided in accordance with the present invention polyimide resins illustrated by the formula, and melt condensation processes thereof ##STR3## wherein X is ##STR4## thus X can be benzophenone, oxydiphthalic, hexafluoropropane diphenyl, diphenyl sulfone, or biphenyl; and X is attached to four imide carbonyl moieties; and R is an alkyl, an alkylene, such as an alkylene oxide with from about 1 to about 25 carbon atoms, such as ethylene, diethylene oxide, triethylene oxide or a polyoxypropylene; and m represents the number of repeating segments, and can be a number of from about 50, preferably 100 to about 10,000. The toner compositions of the present invention in embodiments possess a number of advantages including gloss switching characteristics, which is the ability of a toner to provide either low or high gloss performance, low melting characteristics, excellent blocking characteristics, excellent admix characteristics, excellent nonvinyl-offset properties, and low relative humidity sensitivity such as from about 1.01 to about 2.3. The toner compositions of the present invention can in embodiments be generated by a preparative process involving the melt polycondensation of about 1 mole equivalent of dianhydride, such as benzophenone dianhydride, and of from about 1 mole equivalent of an alkylene diamine, or preferably a diaminoterminated alkylene oxides such as the diaminoterminated polypropylene oxide or diaminoterminated polyethylene oxide available from Texaco Chemicals as JEFFAMINE D-230.TM., D-400.TM., D-700.TM., EDR-148.TM., and EDR-192.TM. as illustrated by the formula The aforementioned polyimides of the present invention exhibit in embodiments a number average molecular weight of from about 1,500 to about 50,000 and preferably 20,000 grams per mole as measured by vapor phase osmometry, and a glass transition temperature of from about 40.degree. C. to about 80.degree. C., and more preferably of from about 50.degree. C. to about 65.degree. C. as measured by the Differential Scanning Calorimeter. In another embodiment, the polyimides can be generated by a preparative process involving the reaction of about 0.7 mole equivalent to about 1 mole equivalent of dianhydride, such as benzophenone dianhydride, and of from about 0.7 to about 1 mole equivalent of an alkylene diamine, or preferably a diaminoterminated alkylene oxide, such as the diaminoterminated polypropylene oxide, or diaminoterminated polyethylene oxide available from Texaco as JEFFAMINE.TM., and optionally a comonomer, such as a symmetrical aromatic or cyclic monomer, such as pyromellitic anhydride selected in amounts of from about 0.1 mole equivalent to about 0.3 mole equivalent, and wherein the polyimide resin resulting possesses a number average molecular weight of from about 1,500 to about 50,000 grams per mole as measured by vapor pressure osmometry, and a glass transition temperature of from about 40.degree. C. to about 70.degree. C., and more preferably of from about 50.degree. C. to about 64.degree. C. as measured by the Differential Scanning Calorimeter. In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a toner composition comprised of a pigment, charge control agent and polyimide resins as illustrated herein with low fixing temperature of from about 120.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C., low gloss such as from about 0 to 30 gloss units at rapid fusing speeds, such as from about 200 to about 350 millimeters per second, or high gloss, such as from about 31 to about 90 gloss units at slower fusing speed, such as from about 50 to about 180 millimeters per second, with nonvinyl offset properties and in addition, low relative humidity sensitivity such as from about 1.0 to about 2.3.
Examples of advantages of the toner composition of the present invention comprised of the polyimides include gloss switching characteristics, such as the ability to provide low gloss such as from about 0 to 30 gloss units at rapid fusing speeds, such as from about 200 to about 500 millimeters per second, and the ability to provide high gloss, such as from about above 30 to about 90 gloss units at slower fusing speed such as from about 1 to about 180 millimeters per second. Furthermore, the toner compositions of the present invention in embodiments possess low fusing temperatures, such as from about 120.degree. C. to about 140.degree. C., and therefore lower fusing energies are required for fixing thus enabling less power consumption during fusing, and permitting extended lifetimes for the fuser system selected. Furthermore, the toner compositions of the present invention possess a broad fusing latitude, such as from about 40.degree. C. to about 100.degree. C., with minimal or avoidance of release oil, which inhibits the toner from offsetting onto the fuser rollers usually associated with ghosting or background images on subsequent copies. Additionally, the fused images obtained with the toner compositions of the present invention in embodiments do not substantially offset to vinyl covers, such as those utilized for notebook binders, and such toners possess low humidity sensitivity ratios of from about 1 to about 2.3 as calculated by the ratio of the triboelectric charge in microcoulombs per gram of the developer after placed in a chamber of 20 percent humidity for 48 hours, to the triboelectric charge in microcoulombs per gram of the developer after placed in a chamber of 80 percent humidity for 48 hours.
In designing resins for toner composition, it is generally desired and/or required that the glass transition temperature of the resin be from about 50.degree. C. to about 65.degree. C., and preferably no less than about 55.degree. C., so that, for example, the toner particles do not aggregate, coalesce or block during the manufacturing, transport or storage process or until the toner is required for the fixing step. Additionally, low fusing characteristics are important, hence the resin should melt or flow as low in temperature as possible such as from about 130.degree. C. to about 145.degree. C. Moreover, low relative humidity sensitivity of toners is needed, such as from about 1.0 to about 2.3, so that the triboelectric charge is stable to changes in environmental humidity conditions. Additionally, in many instances, especially in highlight applications, low gloss documents are highly desired, that is from about 0 to 30 gloss units as measured by the 75.degree. Gardner Gloss Metering Unit. Also, in many instances, especially in process or pictorial color applications, high gloss documents are highly desired, that is, from about above 30, for example 31, to about 80 gloss units as measured by the Gardner Gloss Metering Unit. Toners which display low gloss properties are known, and are for the most part comprised of a styrene-(meth)-acrylate or styrene butadiene resin, or crosslinked polyesters and pigment. Moreover, toners which display high gloss characteristics are also known, such as those comprised of a linear polyester resin and pigment, or comprised of a styrene based resin and pigment, and fused at temperature of from about 160.degree. C. to about 180.degree. C. Although, copiers and printers can be designed with several toners, or different fuser designs such that both low and high gloss prints or copies are generated, this can be very costly and is not considered practical. In the present invention, toner compositions comprised of certain polyimide resins and pigments display both high gloss and low gloss characteristics depending, for example, primarily on the fusing speed of the fuser rolls during the transfix step. For instance, a toner composition comprised of a polyimide of the present invention and pigment displays low gloss characteristics of from about 0 to about 30 gloss units as measured by the Gardner Gloss Metering Unit, when the fusing speed is set at greater than about 200 millimeters per second. When the fusing speed is set between 100 and 180 millimeters per second, higher gloss is obtained, such as from about above 30 to about 90 gloss units. Hence, by systematically setting the fusing speed of a printer or copier by the press of a button, low gloss, a matte finish, or high gloss can be obtained. Furthermore, with the toners of the present invention in embodiments, low fixing temperatures, such as from about 130.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C., are utilized and need not be changed for the production of low or high gloss documents. Additionally, the polyimide toners of this invention display a broad fusing latitude such as from about 40.degree. C. to about 100.degree. C. with minimal or avoidance of release oil, which oil inhibits the toner from offsetting onto the fuser rollers usually associated with ghosting or background images on subsequent copies. Furthermore, the fused image obtained from the toner composition of the present invention in embodiments does not substantially offset to vinyl covers, such as those utilized for notebook binders, and these toners possess low humidity sensitivity ratio of from about 1 to about 2.3 as calculated by taking the ratio of the triboelectric charge, in microcoulombs per gram, of the developer after placed in a chamber of 20 percent humidity for 48 hours, to the triboelectric charge, in microcoulombs per gram, of the developer after placed in a chamber of 80 percent humidity for 48 hours. Toners with polyimide resins derived from a mesogenic dianhydride and organo diamine can exhibit low fixing of from about 120.degree. C. to about 140.degree. C., high gloss, such as from about 50 gloss units to about 80 gloss units, nonvinyl offset properties and low relative sensitivity, such as from about 1.0 to about 2.3. Moreover, by utilizing prior art toners comprised of styrene-butadiene or polyester resins and pigments, both high and low gloss documents may not usually be obtained by changing the speed of the fuser rolls, while maintaining the same low minimum fixing temperatures, as illustrated herein in Comparative Examples VIII and IX.
Illustrated in the following copending applications, the disclosures of each being totally incorporated herein by reference, are:
U.S. Ser. No. 144,075 , filed concurrently herewith, illustrates a toner composition comprised of a pigment and a crosslinked polyimide; and wherein the crosslinked polyimide can be obtained from the reaction of a peroxide with an unsaturated polyimide of the formula ##STR5## R is alkyl or oxyalkylene and m represents the number of monomer segments present and is a number of from about 10 to about about 1,000.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,930 illustrates a toner composition comprised of a pigment, and a thermotropic liquid crystalline polyimide of the formula ##STR6## wherein m represents the number of monomer segments present; X is a symmetrical moiety independently selected from the group consisting of phenyl, naphthyl, cyclohexyl, or bicycloaliphatic; and R is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, oxyalkylene and polyoxyalkylene.
U.S. Ser. No. 144,956, filed concurrently herewith, illustrates a toner composition comprised of pigment, and polyimide of the formula ##STR7## wherein n represents the number of monomer segments, and is a number of from about 10 to about 1,000; and R is alkyl, oxyalkyl, or polyoxyalkyl.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,831 illustrates a toner composition comprised of pigment, and a polyester imide resin of the formula ##STR8## wherein n represent the number of segments present and is a number of from about 10 to about 10,000; R' is alkyl or alkylene; and R is independently selected from the group consisting of an oxyalkylene and polyoxyalkylene.
Polyimide resins and, more specifically, liquid crystalline polyimide resins are also known, such as summarized and illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, 2nd Edition, Volume No. 12, Published by Wiley (1985). However, these polyimide resins are aromatic and useful as high performance materials, and toner use is not described. Moreover, the polyimide resins of the present invention and, more specifically, polyimides with flexible diamino alkane moleties and also polyoxyalkylene moieties are not believed to be disclosed.


The firing performance of a radial, scroll, or vortex cyclone furnace can be improved when firing difficult to burn materials having a relatively low heating value or a relatively high moisture content, such as sub-bituminous and lignite coals. This can be achieved by introducing additionally heated primary air into the burner of the radial and vortex cyclone furnace or separately introducing preheated or additionally heated auxiliary air into the scroll burner. Moreover, additionally heated tertiary air can be introduced into the radial and scroll burners to further improve firing performance. Moreover, additionally heated primary air can be mixed with the coal before introducing the mixture into the scroll burner to further improve firing performance.

In the 1940's, Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) developed a cyclone furnace, which uses ash slagging, to burn low-grade coals. At that time, low-grade coals were considered unsuitable for pulverized coal combustion. The cyclone furnace concept was originally designed to 1) lower fuel preparation capital and operating costs by using relatively larger crushed coal particles (1/4" or less); 2) combust coal completely or nearly completely in a relatively small cylindrical chamber; 3) lessen flyash and convection pass fouling (as only 15 to 30% of the convecting fuel ash passes instead of 80% for pulverized coal firing) by melting the ash contained in the coal and separating a large percentage of it from the flue gas; and 4) accurately measure and control coal flow and air flow to each burner.
Cyclone furnaces fire relatively large crushed coal particles, approximately 95-97% passing through a 4 mesh screen. Many of these particles are much too large to burn completely in air suspension. To completely combust them, they are thrown against the inner wall of the combustion chamber, where they are captured by a molten slag layer. The combustion air passes over the incompletely burned particles (air scrubbing) stuck in the molten sticky slag layer, which captures and holds the heavier particles. While the large particles are trapped in the slag layer, the fine coal particles burn in suspension, which provides the necessary intense radiant heat supplied to the slag layer. Ideally, it is desirable to trap all large coal particles in the molten slag so that they can completely combust, leaving behind only ash to replenish the slag layer. Compared to a pulverized coal furnace, a cyclone furnace requires a relatively smaller combustion chamber.
Three types of burners have been developed for use with the cyclone furnace: scroll, vortex, and radial. With each of these burners, cyclone furnaces use a horizontally oriented cylindrical barrel (of water-cooled tube construction), typically 6 to 10 ft in diameter, attached to the front and/or rear of a boiler (main) furnace. A cyclone burner is positioned at the frontwall (upstream wall) of the cylindrical barrel, collinearly aligned therewith. Crushed coal and air (primary and tertiary (for scroll and radial burners only)) enter through the cyclone burner where the fuel is ignited. The coal-air fuel mixture is propelled to the combustion chamber where the larger coal particles are captured in the molten slag while the finer particles are burned in suspension in the combustion chamber. Main combustion (secondary) air is introduced into the combustion chamber to impart a swirl to the coal particles. Combusted products leave the cyclone furnace through the re-entrant throat (exhaust outlet). A molten slag layer develops and coats the inner surface of the combustion chamber. The slag drains to the bottom of the cyclone and is discharged through the slag tap. To capture the molten slag, the inside of the combustion chamber is provided with densely populated short pin studs that extend radially inwardly from its inner surface. A refractory lining material (insulation) is embedded in the pin studs to maintain the combustion chamber at a sufficient temperature to permit slag tapping from the bottom of the combustion chamber and significantly reduce the potential for corrosion.
In scroll and radial burner types, crushed coal is introduced tangentially to the inner wall of the cyclone burner to impart a swirl to the crushed coal. A vortex burner, on the other hand, introduces crushed coal from the burner end wall. Primary air is also introduced tangentially into the burner to further impart a swirl to the crushed coal in vortex and radial burners. In the scroll burner, primary air and crushed coal are premixed before they are introduced into the burner. The scroll and radial burners also use tertiary air to control axial flame displacement and to prevent coal from continuously recirculating at the burner end wall. In all three types, secondary (main combustion) air is introduced tangentially to the cyclone barrel in the same rotation direction as the coal swirling motion imparted by primary air to further impart a swirl to the coal. Primary air, secondary air, and tertiary air are typically tapped from a windbox (air duct), which supplies preheated air. The preheated air in the windbox is obtained by passing ambient air through a heat exchanger, which derives heat from the gases exhausting from the boiler to which the cyclone furnace is attached. Typically, the heat exchanger heats air to about between 550-600.degree. F.
The purpose of cyclone primary air is to distribute coal into the combustion chamber. Primary air enters the burner tangential to the cylindrical inner wall to impart a swirl to the crushed coal introduced into the burner or carry the crushed coal (in scroll burner) into the cyclone burner with a swirl. Primary air controls the coal distribution within the combustion chamber. Generally, primary air is about 10-20% of combustion air flow.
Secondary (main combustion) air is injected tangentially to create a swirling motion in the combustion chamber in the same direction as the swirl imparted by primary air. The swirling motion throws the large coal particles against the inside surface of the combustion chamber, where they are trapped in the slag layer and burn to completion. Secondary air is about 85% of the combustion air supplied to each cyclone.
Tertiary air enters the center of the burner along the cyclone axis, directly into the cyclone vortex. The purpose of cyclone tertiary air (for radial and scroll type cyclones) is to minimize coal recirculation at the "eye" of the burner. Generally, tertiary air is about 3% of combustion air flow.
Early cyclone furnaces were of the scroll type, which combines primary air and coal before entering the burner. Tertiary air is admitted at the center of the burner to minimize coal recirculation at the eye of the burner. In vortex cyclone furnaces, primary air is injected into the cyclone burner tangentially as with the scroll type, but the coal is introduced at the burner center. This configuration eliminated the tertiary air requirement. The radial burner concept was developed in the 1960s to solve the wear-block erosion problem. Like the vortex burner, coal and primary air are separately introduced into the radial burner. Coal is introduced tangentially in the same rotation as the primary air. The coal particles form a long rope (concentrated stream of coal) as it sweeps across the burner wear blocks and enter the cyclone barrel. This approach greatly reduced the concentration of coal recirculating around the burner, effectively reducing wear-block erosion. Tertiary air was introduced using the same axial entry location as with the scroll burner.
Modern cyclone furnaces incorporate radial burners to combust bituminous and sub-bituminous coals and scroll burners to combust lignite coal. The scroll burner is used to combust lignite coal because, with lignite firing, the primary air is mixed with coal during coal preparation, before introducing coal into the burner. When mixed with coal, primary air can heat coal to about 150-250.degree. F. (the mixture temperature). Due to evaporation of moisture in the coal, the temperature stays in this range even if the primary air temperature is raised, e.g., to 700.degree. F.
When operating properly, cyclone furnaces generate much greater heat than the water-cooled walls can absorb. The combined high heat release and low heat absorption rates ensure the high temperatures needed to nearly complete the combustion within the cyclone furnace and maintain the slag layer in a molten state. The intense radiant heat and high temperatures melt the ash into a liquid slag coating, which covers the entire cyclone interior surface except for the area immediately in front of the secondary air inlet. The refractory lining further assists this molten condition by limiting heat absorption to the water-cooled walls. The slag flows constantly from the cyclone into the main furnace where it drains through a floor tap opening into a water-filled tank.
Fuel suitability for cyclone furnaces depends on many characteristics of the fuel, such as heating value, ash content, moisture content, ash fusion temperatures, and viscosity of the fuel ash at the cyclone operating temperature. The most important consideration in cyclone firing is that the temperature in the cyclone furnace must be high enough to maintain a molten slag coating and cause the ash to flow continuously from the cyclone furnace.
This consideration was easily met for a wide spectrum of bituminous coals in the U.S. Currently, a significant portion of electric power generation in the U.S. is by units having cyclone furnaces.
To meet SO.sub.x emission requirement and to minimize fuel cost, it is highly desirable to burn sub-bituminous coal, which typically has a very low sulfur content and is relatively inexpensive. As a result, a large number of cyclone furnace units, designed to burn bituminous coal have been converted to burn sub-bituminous coal or a blend of mostly sub-bituminous coal. Sub-bituminous coal, however, is difficult to burn satisfactorily in most cyclone burners designed to burn bituminous coal because, due to the higher moisture content of the sub-bituminous coal, the cyclone temperature often is too low for the ash to continuously flow from the cyclone furnace. The cyclone furnace temperature is lower when burning sub-bituminous coal because of the necessity to evaporate the high moisture content of sub-bituminous coal and because the high moisture content delays combustion and thus reduces the percentage of combustion that occurs within the cyclone furnace. As a consequence, most cyclone furnace boilers that have been switched to sub-bituminous coal have to burn a blend of sub-bituminous coal with an expensive high heat value "kicker" coal or accept lower boiler efficiency due to increased discharge of unburned coal. The industry thus has been searching for economical ways to enable burning sub-bituminous coals, without blending them with more expensive bituminous or higher heating value "kicker" coals, as much economical advantage can be gained therefrom.
Thus, there is a need for a more economical way to burn higher percentages of low-grade fuel in cyclone furnaces. The present inventor has a found a more economical way to burn low-grade solid fuel, particularly sub-bituminous and lignite coals in cyclone furnaces.
The above background information is derived from my personal experience and observations, and from Babock & Wilcox's publication, STEAM, 40th Edition, Chapter 14, Cyclones, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as a general background information.

Method of improving the performance of a cyclone furnace for difficult to burn materials, and improved cyclone furnace thereof


Devices and methods are disclosed that allow for analysis with simplified sample preparation. Of particular relevance is the analysis of wire samples (e.g., weld wires) using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) or optical emission spectrometry (OES). Representative devices can isolate a sample, such as in a sealed, inert environment in an analytical instrument. These devices may include first and second sample end attachments connected to a body, which has a connecting portion that may be configured for alignment with the face of the instrument. The body may also include a rotatable cap, and the sample end attachments may be joined to this cap (e.g., at opposite ends thereof) to allow adjustment of the angular position of the sample, relative to the connecting portion, which in use may be affixed to the instrument.

Analytical techniques are known in which a high energy plasma of a sample is first formed, which, upon cooling generates a characteristic emission spectrum. More specifically, during this cooling, electrons of atoms and ions at the excited electronic states of the plasma return to their lower energy or ground states, causing the emission of radiation at discreet wavelengths, corresponding to the changes in energy levels. Every element in the periodic table is associated with unique spectral emission lines that may be detected in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Emitted light from plasma may therefore be collected and coupled with a spectrograph detector, which can use a diffraction grating to split this light and resolve the emission spectra for the elements in the sample. The intensity of each spectrum can be used to determine the concentration of each associated element.
In laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), high temperature plasma formation occurs upon focusing a short-pulse laser beam onto the sample surface, such that a small quantity of the sample is ablated, or removed by both thermal and non-thermal transformations. In optical emission spectroscopy (OES), the discharge plasma is normally formed by the application of electrical energy, such as in the form of a spark generated between an electrode and the sample. OES, however, can also refer to methods using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) as the excitation source, or otherwise direct-current arc discharge or glow discharge, rather than a spark discharge. Both LIBS and OES provide simple, reliable, and fast methods that are especially suitable for the analysis of metallic samples by resolving their component elements. Concentrations may be accurately determined over a wide range that extends down to parts per million (ppm) levels. For these reasons, LIBS and OES have found widespread applicability in metal-producing industries such as foundries and steel manufacturing.
One particular procedure of importance in the field of LIBS and OES is the analysis of metal wire samples, including weld wire that must consistently meet stringent composition standards to ensure its acceptable performance in fabrication operations. Conventional preparation of a weld wire sample involves using welding equipment to melt the wire, followed by cooling of the molten puddle and grinding to provide the appropriate material for testing. Both LIBS and OES require the sample to be maintained in an inert atmosphere, typically provided by argon gas, within the analysis chamber.

Device for positioning and isolating a sample in a sealed environment

Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc.