A method and apparatus are disclosed for improving system performance by controlling the flow of transactions between interconnected nodes by considering the system resources required for a transaction response when determining whether to send a transaction. The system uses a debit system for tracking the space consumed by pending transactions between nodes within a particular flow-control class. The system allocates a certain maximum number of debits to a flow-control class. Each time a transaction is sent, a number of debits required to respond to the transaction is computed and added to a debit register. When the debit register reaches the maximum number of debits allocated to it, no more transactions are sent. As transaction responses are completed, the debit register balance is decreased to reflect that more space within the flow-control class for debits is available, such that new transactions might be processed.

In a system having multiple, interconnected nodes, credits are often used to proactively control the flow of transactions. In this approach, if two nodes A and B are connected, A maintains a certain number of credits for B in each flow-control class in which it can send a transaction to B. Each transaction sent from A to B enters a first-in, first-out (FIFO) structure belonging to the flow-control class for that transaction. Thus, A maintains the amount of available space for B in each flow-control class in which it can send a transaction to B. A flow-control class may consist of instructions of a particular type. For example, a class may consist of "read" requests in which the requesting node sends a memory address to the receiving node and the receiving node retrieves the data from memory and sends the data as a response to the requesting node.
When A sends a transaction to B in a particular flow-control class (e.g., class F), a credit system decrements the amount of available credits of class F for B by the amount reflecting the amount of FIFO storage that will be consumed in B for node A. When node B consumes the transaction, it releases those credits back to A. In the "read" example above, the requesting node may have 100 credits initially allotted for the "read" class, and a single read request might require 2 credits. Under existing credit systems, the available balance for the "read" class credits will decrease by two each time a request is made. The destination node will release the credits back to the sender as it removes the transaction from its queue. The released credits for each flow control class travel back to the sender A from receiver B either through a special transaction or as part of normal transactions that B sends to A. It should be noted that different transactions in the same flow control class may need different credits. The sender sends a transaction if it has enough credits needed for that transaction.
It may be noted that node A may have to keep track of credits for other nodes if node A is directly connected to those nodes. For example, in a multi-processor system, the nodes may be different interconnect chipsets such as the memory controller, the I/O controller, the cross-bar, etc. The various flow-control classes may be used for transactions such as to obtain a cache line, data return from memory, coherency responses from the various caches, etc. Some systems may not employ a proactive credit-based flow-control mechanism, but instead may adopt a separate signal from the destination node requesting the sender to stop transmitting any new transactions. The proposed scheme should work for the signaling way of flow control as well.
While the credit-based scheme, or the reactive flow-control scheme, guarantees that a transaction does not get dropped due to a lack of FIFO space in the destination node, they do not guarantee that access requests from one node do not slow down traffic in the entire system. Existing credit systems only consider the amount of space required by a transaction in the destination node and do not consider the amount of space required if the transaction needs a response. For example, a system may include a cross-bar chip connected to a cache coherent host I/O bridge. The cross-bar chip may also be connected to a memory controller, some CPU chips, other host I/O bridges, and connections to other cross-bars if a bigger system is used. The host I/O bridge may serve one or more I/O buses, each of which may contain one or more I/O devices. It is conceivable that if a lot of I/O devices are actively doing direct memory access (DMA) and the cache is pre-fetching deep for each DMA read request, many cache line read requests may go to the system. A DMA read request will enter the read request queue in the cross-bar chip. The read request will then be forwarded to the system memory controller or other caches, or some other system memory controller, if they hold the data. The requested entity subsequently provides the data to the cross-bar chip. This data enters the data return queue in the cross-bar and is eventually returned to the host I/O bridge that requested the data as a data return transaction in a different flow control class.
Typically, data return requires many more cycles than a read request. If requests from the host bridge arrive at a fast pace, the data returning to the host bridge will be queued in the cross-bar chip. This may create a situation in which the data return queue in the cross-bar chip is full due to multiple pending data returns to the host bridge. When this happens, the traffic to other parts of the system also stalls because the data return queue in the cross-bar is a shared resource. The problem arises because an entity such as the host I/O bridge can make requests at a rate at which it cannot sustain the resultant data return. Even though the host bridge may possess the credits to make the read requests, it does not have enough bandwidth to process the data returns at the rate at which it can make read requests. This causes a backlog of data return traffic in the system and slows down the entire system. Thus, a greedy agent can lower the entire system's performance. Existing strategies do not provide any safeguards against this kind of performance bottleneck. What is needed is a system that prevents a single requesting agent from slowing the system. In particular what is needed is a system that considers the effects of pending transactions on the system when it decides whether or not to initiate a new transaction.

Method and apparatus for improving system performance through remote credit management

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method for estimating resistivity of a formation includes: selecting spectra collected by pulsed neutron instrument disposed down a wellbore traversing the formation, the spectra including capture interactions and inelastic interactions; deconvolving the spectra to estimate an elemental yield; converting the elemental yield to a total concentration value; subtracting a concentration value for drilling mud and a concentration value for the formation from the total concentration value to estimate a concentration in fluid within the formation; and converting the fluid concentration value to a resistivity value. A computer program product and an instrument are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates to oil exploration and, in particular, to a method for using nuclear data to provide related indications of resistivity values.
2. Description of the Related Art
Water saturation and hydrocarbon saturation, its complement, are two of the most important petrophysical parameters. Connate water resistivity, has been one of the main inputs to all water saturation equations. Until now, water saturation has been measured almost exclusively from electric logs sensitive to bulk resistivity using one of a multitude of empirical functions. None of these functions has satisfactorily accounted for the many variables in downhole resistivity, resulting in great disarray in the industry and uncertainty in the final result.
Chlorine is an important part of the formations measured by wireline logging. It is present in at least three forms: as a solid part of a surrounding rock matrix, as an ion in the pore fluid, and as an ion in the formation fluid.
Salt content in the rock matrix is often known from other information such as core descriptions, mud logs, X-Ray fluorescence, X-Ray diffraction, and other wireline devices. The salt content is converted to a concentration of chlorine in kppm. In many wells, the salt content is effectively 0 kppm.
The chlorine concentration of the borehole fluid is often known directly from the mud report given by the drilling fluid operator. However, chlorine content is not always uniform in a wellbore due to salinity gradients and other driving forces. One method of knowing the chlorine content in a wellbore is the use of a wireline temperature and mud resistivity log.
Temperature and pressure have an effect on resistivity, temperature more so than pressure. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the effects of pressure are considered negligible. The mud resistivity measurements can be converted to yield a constant temperature.
Some instruments that may be used downhole do not operate principally as a resistivity instrument. For example, a pulsed neutron instrument may be used to collect valuable data. Unfortunately, when the pulsed neutron instrument is in use, this may preempt resistivity measurements with a resistivity instrument.
Therefore, what are needed are techniques for generating forms of resistivity data from a pulsed neutron instrument. Preferably, the techniques are useful for identifying elemental constituents, such as chlorine.

Method for determining formation water resistivity from a wireline pulsed neutron device


A method and device for providing switched tunnel connections from a user to a destination or a multiple number of destinations. Tunnels are switched from a user to a destination by receiving an incoming tunnel connection from the user and initiating a switched tunnel connection to the destination. Traffic from the incoming tunnel is switched to the destination over the switched tunnel. A disclosed embodiment uses user information to determine the switching of the tunnel to implement security access to a tunnel destination, load balancing among destination resources, and bundling of tunnel sessions to implement high bandwidth transmission.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for switching network tunnel connections.
B. Description of the Related Art
A tunnel connection allows a user to access a destination network via an intermediate network such as the public Internet. For example, as seen in FIG. 1, a remote user 10 traveling in San Diego, Calif. wishes to connect to a destination network 20 at his home in Chicago, Ill. Typically, the remote user 10 would place a long distance telephone call over the public switched telephone network to Chicago to directly access the destination network 20 on a dial up access connection.
If the destination network has an Internet access 22, however, a tunnel connection through the Internet 40 may be used to access the destination network 20. To initiate a tunnel connection, the remote user 10 places a local telephone call 12 through the public switched telephone network ("PSTN") 30 and Internet Service Provider ("ISP") 42 local point-of-presence in San Diego. In this example, the remote user 10 would be a subscriber to a national ISP 42 with a local dial up access in San Diego. Upon being accessed by the remote user 10, the ISP 42 searches its subscriber database to identify the destination network 20 associated with the remote user 10. To reach the destination network 20, the ISP 42 recognizes the remote user 10 requires a connection or "tunnel" over the Internet 40 to the destination network 20. The ISP 42 forms a tunnel connection 50 to the destination network 20 by sending data from remote user 10 to the Internet access point address of the destination network 20. Data sent to the remote user 10 is thus tunneled across the Internet 40 to the destination network 20. The tunnel connection 50 across the Internet 40 thus allows remote access to the destination network 20 by placing a local telephone call.
Such a tunnel connection 50 over the public Internet 40, however, typically requires the destination network 20 to allow public Internet access. In order for the tunnel connection to be established from the ISP 42 to the destination network 20, the destination network 20 usually must typically have a Internet address that is accessible from the ISP 42. The destination network 20 is therefore publicly accessible, without the ability to control access and maintain information secure and protected during tunneling access. Thus, information that the destination network 20 wishes to maintain protected is typically not made accessible to tunnel connections over the public Internet 40.
In addition, the destination network 20 may have a number of resources 22, 24, 26 to accommodate a large number of incoming remote users. The ISP 42 creating tunnels to the destination network 20, however, typically controls the establishing of tunnels to the destination network 20. The destination network has no control over which of its resources 22, 24, 26 are used to handle the incoming tunnel traffic. Thus, a number of ISPs 42, 44, 46 may be directing incoming tunnels to only one of a destination network's available resources 22, 24, 26. This busy resource may suffer from congestion, while the destination network's other resources are underutilized.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have the ability to consolidate the control of tunnel access to a destination network for security reasons, as well as, to direct the routing of incoming tunnels to a particular access point of the network. Consolidating control of tunnel access to a destination network also provides other benefits as will be apparent.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for forming flash memory devices is provided. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate, which comprises a silicon material and has a periphery region and a cell region. The method further includes forming an isolation structure between the cell region and the periphery region. Additionally, the method includes forming an ONO layer overlying the cell region and the periphery region. Furthermore, the method includes removing the ONO layer overlying the periphery region to expose silicon material in the periphery region. The method also includes forming a gate dielectric layer overlying the periphery region, while protecting the ONO layer in the cell region. In addition, the method includes forming a polysilicon layer overlying the cell region and the periphery region.

The present invention is directed to integrated circuits and their processing for the manufacture of semiconductor devices. More particularly, the invention provides a method of semiconductor device formation with a simplified process flow. Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to the formation of SONOS-based non-volatile memory or flash technologies, but it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability.
Integrated circuits have evolved from a handful of interconnected devices fabricated on a single chip of silicon to millions of devices. Conventional integrated circuits provide performance and complexity far beyond what was originally imagined. In order to achieve improvements in complexity and circuit density (i.e., the number of devices capable of being packed onto a given chip area), the size of the smallest device feature, also known as the device "geometry", has become smaller with each generation of integrated circuits.
Increasing circuit density has not only improved the complexity and performance of ICs but has also provided lower cost parts to the consumer. An IC fabrication facility can cost hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars. Each fabrication facility will have a certain throughput of wafers, and each wafer will have a certain number of ICs on it. Therefore, by making the individual devices of an IC smaller, more devices may be fabricated on each wafer, thus increasing the output of the fabrication facility. Making devices smaller is very challenging, as each process used in IC fabrication has a limit. That is to say, a given process typically only works down to a certain feature size, and then either the process or the device layout needs to be changed. An example of such a limit is the ability to remove a layer and form structures without damaging the active device.
As merely an example, etching processes are often used to remove or partially remove a layer to form structures therefrom. Etching is often performed by an etching tool, such as a dry etcher or wet etcher. The wet etcher often includes a vessel that has an etchant chemical to selectively remove one material from another material. The dry etcher often includes a plasma source and treatment chamber. The dry etcher often uses gases such as fluorine bearing species and chlorine bearing species to remove semiconductor materials such as silicon or metal such as aluminum. For example, dry and wet etchers may be used within the formation of SONOS-based non-volatile memory or flash memories. A conventional polysilicon gate etch process consists of a two-step etch process used to etch the polysilicon and ONO layers. The first step etches away polysilicon and stops at the top oxide layer of the ONO layer within both the cell and periphery regions. A second etch step etches the top oxide and silicon nitride of the ONO layer away and stops at the remaining oxide. The two-step poly gate etch process is used to ensure that both the periphery and cell devices can obtain the best gate etch profile without degrading device performance. However, a simplified poly gate etch process could be used, thus simplifying the process flow and providing improved process efficiency.
From the above, it is seen that an improved technique for processing semiconductor devices is desired.

Poly gate etch method and device for sonos-based flash memory

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation


The present invention allows a rapid and easy transformation of coordinates for position designation between first and second observation apparatus having means for designating positions in a sample. The present invention includes the steps of setting at least three observation points in random positions in the sample, setting the sample marked for determining the relative positions of the sample and a sample base on the first and second observation apparatus so as to read the coordinates of the above-mentioned observation points, and determining coordinate transformation formulas by calculating a, b, c, and d of below-described formulas (1) by letting one of the above-mentioned three observation points serve as temporary origins, correcting the coordinates of the other two based on the above-mentioned temporary origins, and substituting the corrected coordinates into the formulas (1).

The present invention relates to a coordinate determination method of an observation apparatus, such as a microscope with an automatic sweep unit, having its own coordinates determined within an observation range so that an object to be observed can be positioned and observed at any of the coordinates, and more particularly to a coordinate determination method by which a specified position in a sample which position is observed by an apparatus A and checked using the coordinates of the apparatus A can be determined easily in an apparatus B having coordinates different from those of the apparatus A when the same sample is observed by the different observation apparatus having their respective own coordinates.
A rapid microorganism detection system using an ATP-luciferase method, for example, observes the presence of microorganisms by causing a luciferin-luciferase reaction using adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which exists peculiarly in a mass in a living cell, so as to detect faint luminescence generated in proportion to the content of ATP by means of a photodetector. This state of luminescence is imaged by means of an image acquisition unit such as a charge coupled device (CCD) so as to be visually observed. However, according to this method, although the presence of the microorganisms can be observed to a slight extent, the kinds of the observed microorganisms cannot be recognized.
Therefore, in order to accurately specify the microorganisms whose presence is observed by the above-described method, it is necessary to observe a sample used in the above-described method by a microscope. In order to make these two observations skillfully and efficiently, it is important to specify, with ease in a short time, positions at which the microorganisms exist in the sample and designate the positions by means of an automatic sweep unit for examination position provided to the microscope so that the objective microorganisms can be observed immediately.
However, when the sample is checked by the above-described rapid microorganism detection system (hereinafter referred to as an RMDS) and further observed by the microscope with the automatic sweep unit (hereinafter referred to as an SFDS), the coordinates of the RMDS, as they are, cannot be used as those of the SFDS. Therefore, the microscope separately requires an adjustment, thus forcibly requiring time and complicated operations.
In other words, the coordinates of the RMDS and the SFDS do not have a direct correlation, and the respective units of the coordinate axes thereof do not have any correlation, not to mention the origins thereof. (For example, the coordinate axes provided for the RMDS for position confirmation employs as a scale unit one pixel of an image acquisition unit employed. On the other hand, the scale unit of the coordinate axes provided for the sweep unit of the SFDS is millimeters.) For example, if a sample of the RMDS were a filter 47 mm in diameter, on which filter an enzyme of one cell exists, it would be necessary to observe a visual field of 3,000 with a magnification of 100 and that of 6,000 with a magnification of 200 when the sample is observed by the microscope. However, practically, the observations cannot be made in this way. (In this case, the areas of the visual fields of the respective magnifications would be 0.76xc3x970.76 mm and 0.53xc3x970.53 mm.)
This problem is not limited to the usages of the RMDDS and the SFDS, but is in common with the usages of observation apparatus having means for determining their own coordinates within observation ranges and for indicating and designating the specified positions of objects to be observed by means of the coordinates.
The present invention eliminates the above-described conventional disadvantages, and the object thereof is to obtain a coordinate transformation method in which a correlation is established between the coordinates of observation apparatus having their respective coordinates for position designation so that a position in one observation apparatus is specified based on position data from the other when the same sample is observed by the observation apparatus.
The present invention is made in the light of the above-described disadvantages and eliminates the disadvantages by adopting the following processes.
In other words, the present invention is a method of transforming a first coordinate system for position designation of a first observation apparatus into a second coordinate system for position designation of a second observation apparatus. The first and second coordinate systems are different from each other. The present invention is characterized by adopting the following processes.
(1) Preparing a sample for coordinate determination in which sample at least three observation points are set in random positions.
(2) Placing the sample on the sample base of the first observation apparatus to observe the above-mentioned observation points and read the coordinates thereof ((X1, Y1), (X2, Y2), and (X3, Y3)).
(3) Marking randomly the sample and the sample base so as to determine the relative positions thereof.
(4) Removing the sample from the first observation apparatus and setting the sample in the second observation apparatus. Putting randomly a mark on a holding unit (for example, a slide glass) for holding the sample so that the mark corresponds to the marked position in the sample when the sample is placed on the sample base (including the original coordinates of the second observation apparatus) or the sample holding unit of the second observation apparatus. Setting the sample in the second observation apparatus so that the marked position in the sample corresponds to the mark. Hereafter, setting the sample so that the marked position corresponds to the mark whenever the sample is observed by the second observation apparatus after being observed by the first observation apparatus.
(5) Reading the coordinates ((x1, y1), (x2, y2), and (x3, y3)) of the positions of the observation points set in the sample by using the original coordinates of the second observation apparatus.
(6) Letting one of the above-described observation points serve as temporary origins (for example, (x1, y1) and (X1, Y1)).
(7) Calculating a, b, c, and d of coordinate transformation formulas xn=aXn+bYn and yn=cXn+dYn by substituting the coordinates of the other two observation points into the above-described formulas. Substituting obtained values into the above-described formulas to determine the coordinate transformation formulas. Correcting the values of xn, yn, Xn, and Yn to be substituted thereinto to values based on the respective temporary origins (to give a correlation).
(8) Correcting the determined transformation formulas so that the determined transformation formulas are adapted to the original coordinate system of the second observation apparatus (correcting the first coordinate system based on the temporary origin thereof to the original coordinate system of the second observation apparatus) (xn=aXn+bYn+x1 and yn=cXn+dYn+y1).
(9) Observing the sample by the first observation apparatus and reading the value of an observation point in the sample ((X4, Y4).) . . . ).
(10) Calculating (x4, y4) by substituting the value confirmed in the process (9) into the coordinate transformation formulas determined in the process (8).
(11) Moving the sample to the second observation apparatus and inputting the value of the above-mentioned coordinates to the position determination means (a sweep unit) thereof so as to designate a position.
Through the above-described processes, the coordinates of the observation points in the sample confirmed by the first observation apparatus can be transformed into the coordinates of the observation points in the second observation apparatus. Further, by providing the second observation apparatus with the above-described coordinate transformation function, the coordinates of the observation points confirmed by the first observation apparatus, as they are, can be used to designate positions in the second observation apparatus.
Moreover, the observation apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by having a position determination means including a first coordinate system, which means includes a coordinate transformation means for transforming a second coordinate system of the position determination means of another observation apparatus into the first coordinate system, which is different from the second coordinate system.
According to the observation apparatus of the present invention, a coordinate value confirmed by another observation apparatus is directly input to the observation apparatus of the present invention to be transformed into an original coordinate value thereof and output to the position determination means thereof.

Coordinate transforming method in position setting means of observation device and observation device equipped with coordinate transforming means

Abstract: Xn=aXn+bYn, yn=cXn+dYnxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)


The method and system allow a carrier of cargo to effectively manage a system to process customer cargo claims. The method and system utilize a computer, a storage medium, and programing to organize incoming information, store the information in memory, and assign the folders to various workflow queues in order to process the claim. This system and method allow additional information to be input at any point and allows retrieval of any information previously input on any claim. The system has the ability to interface with existing data systems to optimize the performance of the system for claim processing

The high volume of cargo transported in today's marketplace has created demand for quick and accurate resolution of a customer's claim that the customer's cargo has been lost or damaged. Managing a cargo claim can include documenting the claim, deciding how to process the claim, controlling what remains to be done on a claim, managing the various stages the claim goes through, sending information to and receiving information from both the customer and other stations in the carrier's company, deciding whether to pay or deny a claim, creating checks and other types of credits for claim settlement, and tracking cost recovery from responsible parties. A cargo carrier must accurately track and rapidly process cargo claims in order to maintain good customer relations and contain costs.
The high number of customer cargo claims has required carriers to create large volumes of correspondence and documentation in paper form when processing these claims. Present manual cargo claims management systems require managing large volumes of paper, creating tracking and management problems during the resolution of the claims. A manual system does not contain an automated control system or an automated audit trail.
In a manual cargo claim system, it is difficult to tell quickly and easily if the claim is being properly processed because the claim file must be manually reviewed. No automated system exists to determine what information still needs to be received to begin processing a claim. Requests for information about a claim from customers and from other stations in the claims management system must be manually tracked to ensure the information is later received. Since a manual system has no automatic prompt, a request for information could be sent out and the claim file could subsequently sit in a cabinet and wait for a number of days, weeks or months for a response to return. Manual claims management systems typically do not track whether the information was returned or how long the claim file sat awaiting responses to requests for information. In a paper-driven system, no single person or group of persons understood the status of each particular folder. This can lead to customer frustration, because processing the claim may take a considerable amount of time.
Further customer dissatisfaction can occur because the customer service representative typically cannot quickly and accurately determine the status of a customer's claim. When a customer calls, the customer representative must typically make the customer wait for an answer because the representative must locate the file, physically retrieve the file, determine the status of the claim and then return the customer's call. The inability to immediately tell the customer the status of the claim in question can strain the customer relationship.
Frustration can also occur on the part of the customer representative when trying to satisfy the customer's requests. A customer might, over several phone calls, talk to several different customer representatives. Each time the claim folder must be moved to the customer representative speaking to the customer. Also, the customer's file may have moved to a different physical location for further processing. This leads to constant searches for the information and folder. This can be frustrating for both the customer service representative as well as the customer.
Also in a manual system, communication between departments of a cargo claims management system are often slow and time-consuming. Letters to customers in a manual claims management system must be manually generated.
In a manual system, only one person can have access to a physical paper claim file at any one time. Because of the limitations of a physical file, even though some stages of the claims process can happen concurrently if multiple persons had access to the file, only one person can be processing the claim at a time.
Due to work space considerations, physical paper files of claims must sometimes be archived. Once a paper copy file for a claim is archived, it must be retrieved when it becomes necessary to further process the claim.
Furthermore, a manual claim management systems typically does not track the average time required to process a claim or the average time required at each step of the claim processing cycle. Factors such as staffing, work load, claim processing time, and time from customer complaint to resolution of the claim, could not be determined with accuracy because there was no system or method to track this data in a manual claims management system.
Also in a manual claims management, the folder or the information contained within the folder could and did get lost or misplaced. Once lost, the information contained in the claim folder would have to manually reproduced from the beginning of the process. Sometimes this information was irretrievable. If a folder was merely misplaced, as new information came in relating to that folder, the information would either lay in loose form outside of the proper claim folder, or a new folder might be opened, creating the problem of trying to track two folders for the same claim.
An improved cargo claims management method and system would increase cargo claim processing productivity and provide consistency in servicing customers who have made cargo claims.

Method and system for management of cargo claims


The invention relates to a method of selecting low-pressure mercury discharge lamps each provided with a discharge vessel which supports a luminescent layer on an inner surface, by which method the luminescent layer is excited and the low-pressure mercury discharge lamps are selected in dependence on the emission spectrum of the light radiated by the luminescent layer. The invention also relates to a device for selecting low-pressure mercury discharge lamps which are each provided with a discharge vessel supporting a luminescent layer on an inner surface, which device is provided with an excitation source for exciting the luminescent layers of the low-pressure mercury discharge lamps to be selected and with detection means for detecting the light radiated by the low-pressure mercury discharge lamps to be selected. According to the invention, the selection process comprises at least one step in which it is determined from previously defined portions of the emission spectrum whether or not the luminescent layer contains a given luminescent material. It was found to be possible by means of this selection criterion to subdivide the luminescent layers into a small number of groups, each group being capable of recycling in a simple manner and with a high yield.

The invention relates to a method of selecting discharge lamps which are each provided with a discharge vessel which supports a luminescent layer at an inner surface, by which method the luminescent layer is excited by means of ultraviolet radiation generated inside the lamp vessel, and the discharge lamps are selected in dependence on the emission spectrum of the light radiated by the luminescent layer. The invention also relates to a device for selecting discharge lamps which are each provided with a discharge vessel which supports a luminescent layer on an inner surface, which device is provided with an excitation source for generating ultraviolet radiation within the lamp vessel and thus exciting the luminescent layer of each of the discharge lamps to be selected and is provided with detection means for detecting the light radiated by the low-pressure mercury discharge lamps to be selected.
A method as mentioned in the opening paragraph is known from German Patent document DE 3911395 C1. Such a method often forms part of a process for recycling low-pressure mercury discharge lamps. Such a process often comprises a process step in which the luminescent layer of the low-pressure mercury discharge lamp (also referred to as "lamp" hereinafter) is removed from the lamp vessel and collected so as to be made suitable for re-use by means of a number of further process steps, or to serve as a basic material for the chemical industry. Widely differing mixtures of luminescent materials, however, are used in the luminescent layers of low-pressure mercury discharge lamps. A mixture of luminescent layers of widely differing compositions is not suitable for re-use. The further process steps for making the materials suitable for re-use, moreover, are not the same for each and every luminescent layer composition. It is often not possible for these reasons to prepare luminescent layer materials jointly for re-use if they originate from low-pressure discharge lamps of different types and made by different manufacturers. A separate recycling of each individual luminescent layer composition, however, would lead to a highly complicated recycling process. This is why it is desirable to achieve a separation into a limited number of groups in the collection of the luminescent layer materials, each group being capable of preparation for re-use by means of its own distinct process steps. It is required for this that the composition of the recycled mixture yielded by recycling of a certain group can be rendered suitable for use in various types of low-pressure mercury discharge lamps in a simple manner, for example through the addition of one or several luminescent substances. The fact that each composition of a luminescent layer of a low-pressure mercury discharge lamp corresponds to a distinct, individual emission spectrum renders it possible to identify this composition through measurement of the emission spectrum of the low-pressure mercury discharge lamp. The excitation of the luminescent layer necessary for this may be realized, for example, by igniting the low-pressure mercury discharge lamp. It is also possible to excite the luminescent layer by inducing a discharge locally in the plasma of the low-pressure 10 mercury discharge lamp by means of an external electric field. If the lamp is leaky, for example, and the composition of the gas filling has been so changed thereby that it is no longer possible to generate a discharge in this gas filling, it is possible to introduce a UV source into the lamp vessel after the latter has been opened at one end and to realize the excitation in this manner. It is possible in principle to derive the composition of the luminescent layer of the low-pressure mercury discharge lamp from the emission spectrum.

Method and device for selecting low-pressure mercury discharge lamps


In a burner of the double cone type, at least one relief slit (30) is arranged in the front plate (18) locally between the regions having different axial expansions. The flexible connection remaining between the two outlet regions may be made integrally within the same casting or via a further welded-on part. Excessive thermal stresses are advantageously avoided thereby.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of combustion technology. It is concerned with a burner of the double cone type which is known, for example, from the publication EP 0,321,809 B1.
2. Description of Background
EP 0,321,809 B1 describes the basic design of a premixing burner of the double cone type. This burner essentially consists of at least two hollow part-cone bodies supplementing one another to form a body, with tangential air inlet slits and feeds for gaseous and liquid fuels, in which burner the center axes of the hollow part-cone bodies have a taper widening in the direction of flow and run so as to be offset relative to one another in the longitudinal direction. A fuel nozzle is placed on the burner head in the conical interior formed by the part-cone bodies. The gaseous fuel is fed to the combustion air stream, before it flows into the burner interior, via gas injectors arranged along the inlet slits. The formation of the fuel/air mixture thus takes place directly at the end of the tangential air inlet slits.
The premixing burner has, on the combustion space side, a front plate which serves as an anchorage for the part-cone bodies.
Like many other components of thermal machines, the burner of the double cone type also has high thermal stresses as a result of being subjected to media at widely varying temperatures.
Thus, widely differing thermal stresses occur in this premixing burner due to the fact that the outer parts of the part-cone bodies have lower temperatures than the inner parts, since the outer parts are subjected to radiation to a less pronounced extent and are cooled to a greater extent by the inflowing air and by the cold gaseous fuel fed in the same region via ducts. This gives rise, above all, to different thermal expansions of the part-cone bodies and of the gas feed ducts connected to them, said expansions exerting a load cyclically on, above all, the front plate connecting them, this having the adverse effect of causing fatigue cracks, thus reducing the life of the burner.
This thermal stress is system-induced and, in terms of the differential thermal expansions in the direction of the burner axis, can be changed only to an inadequate extent.


A quantizer for quantizing scanned DCT coefficients in a video encoder is disclosed. The quantizer comprises a memory having a first bank with a plurality of areas for storing an inter quantization matrix and a second bank with a plurality of areas for storing an intra quantization matrix; a memory controller for generating a write address for writing the inter quantization matrix and the intra quantization matrix in the memory in an order of zigzag scanning manner, and a read address for reading a corresponding quantization matrix from the memory in an order of a scanning manner of the DCT coefficients, and controlling a write/read operation of the inter quantization matrix and the intra quantization matrix in the memory according to the write address and the read address; an arithmetic controller for obtaining a reciprocal value of the corresponding quantization matrix from the memory via the memory controller and a reciprocal value of a quantization scale provided externally and outputting the obtained value; and an arithmetic unit for quantizing the scanned DCT by using the reciprocal values of the corresponding quantization matrix and the quantization scale. Thus, a corresponding quantization matrix can be read from a memory without data collision, in accordance with scanned manner of DCT coefficients.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quantizer and more particularly to a quantizer for quantizing scanned Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficients in a video signal encoding system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a conventional MPEG-2 video encoder comprising a frame memory, a subtracter (SUB), a Discrete Cosine Transform unit (DCT unit), a quantizer (Q), a scanning unit, a Variable Length Coding unit (VLC unit), an inverse quantizer (IQ), an Inverse Discrete Cosine Transform unit (IDCT unit), an adder (ADD), and a motion compensator (MC).
In FIG. 1, a differential video signal between a current video signal from the frame memory and a previous video signal motion-compensated in the motion compensator is calculated in the subtracter, and outputted to the DCT unit. In the DCT unit, the differential video signal is converted into DCT coefficients. The DCT coefficients are quantized in the quantizer, and the quantized DCT coefficients are outputted to the scanning unit and the inverse quantizer. In the scanning unit, the quantized two-dimension DCT coefficient series are converted into one-dimension coefficient series, and are outputted to the VLC unit or a Run Length Coding unit (RLC unit) for generating a final coded bit-stream.
As described above, in the conventional MPEG-2 video encoder, the scanning is performed after the video data have been quantized. However, due to the problem of latency caused by the structural restraint of the conventional video encoder, there has been a need for video encoder in which the scanning is performed prior to quantization of the video signals.
FIG. 2 shows a differential circuit except a motion compensator of a video encoder in which the scanning is performed prior to quantization. The video encoder comprises a orthogonal transform unit, a scanning unit, a quantizer, and a coding unit. In the orthogonal transform unit, input video signals are converted by DCT. In the scanning unit, the converted two dimension DCT coefficients are converted into one dimension coefficient series to be quantized. In the coding unit, the quantized one-dimension coefficient series are coded by a VLC or a RLC to generate a coded bit-stream. The video encoder similar to the above is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,439.
In the MPEG-1 video encoder, the DCT coefficients, as shown in FIG. 3A, are converted to the one dimension coefficient series by a zigzag scanning. An alternate scanning, as shown in FIG. 3B, or the zigzag scanning may be used selectively in picture units in the MPEG-2 video encoder. This alternate scanning can also be efficiently used in an interlaced scanning screen.
However, as shown in FIG. 2, when the scanning is performed before quantization, the quantizer must provide quantization matrixes corresponding to the zigzag and alternate scanning manner of the scanning unit. In MPEG-2 video encoder, the quantization is of adaptive quantization, since a weighted value is changed according to a spatial frequency. Accordingly, a matrix for quantizing an intra block (intra quantization matrix) and a matrix for quantizing, an inter block (inter quantization matrix) are required according to the coding mode. In the quantizer, only the zigzag manner is required for an input order of the matrix, however, an input order of video data changes by the scanning manner. Accordingly, in order to quantize the scanned DCT coefficients, the order of quantization matrix should correspond with the order of input video data affected by the scanning manner. Particularly, input video data couples should match quantization matrix couples when processing two pixels by 16 bits for a fast video coding in the quantizer.

Quantizer for video signal encoding system


There is described a method of recovering energy and/or combustible gas by thermally gasifying fuel during its partial combustion, wherein the fuel and an oxygen-containing gas are delivered to a reactor (1) and caused to circulate in a closed circuit of reactants and reaction products during partial combustion of the fuel. Circulation is effected by virtue of the fact that the reactor (1) is configured as an ejector (9) at the location of the oxygen-containing gas inlet (8), so that the gas delivered to the reactor will function to drive reactants and reaction products around the closed circuit. The invention also relates to a reactor for carrying out the inventive method.

It has long been known to recover energy and/or combustible gas by partially combusting fuel in a reactor, and many different methods and processes for such recovery are known from the literature, as are also many different reactor designs for putting these processes into effect. Gasification of coal, recovery of combustible gas from waste and biomaterials of different origins, and gasification of spent liquors from the pulp industry are some examples of known applications. These processes have acquired considerable economic significance. Such methods and processes are also highly significant from an environmental aspect, since they enable waste which would otherwise be discarded and contaminate the environment to be put to a useful purpose.
In the pulp industry, different spent-liquor gasification processes, and then particularly black-liquor gasification processes have obtained more and more importance as a replacement for the earlier known combustion processes, such as the well known Tomlinson process. The recovery of energy can be kept separate from the recovery of process chemicals, by controlling the gasification process in a suitable manner and the process can also be controlled to recover sulphur in a gaseous phase and the base, for instance sodium carbonate, in a solid or molten phase. Such processes are described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,073,672, 3,333,917 and 4,872,950.
It is often desirable to carry out the gasification processes at a pressure above atmospheric pressure, since this will provide several process-technical advantages. For instance, the reactor used may be given smaller dimensions while the throughput is not changed. Furthermore, the pressure can be used as a process control parameter, so as to make it possible to work at a higher temperature when using a higher pressure and to enable the process to be controlled in the desired direction. This is described, for instance, in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,950.
However, the use of elevated pressures in fuel gasification processes is encumbered with several problems. When working at pressures of about 3 bars and thereabove, the volume of the reactor is normally so small as to make it difficult to maintain a good fluidization of the reacting material in the system. Furthermore, the time available for the gasification reaction is often much too short in a continuously working reactor. This results in an impaired efficiency and in a poor process economy. Poor efficiency also results in a higher load on subsequent purification apparatus and also in larger quantities of waste The present invention eliminates these problems to a great extent.

Method of recovering energy, and a reactor therefor


A light fixture coupling bracket to connect to a light box. The light fixture coupling bracket connects to a light bar having at least one light socket. The light fixture coupling bracket connects to a removable and adjustable gripping device. The gripping device is rotationally adjustable around the light box.

1. Field
This invention relates to light boxes, and more particularly to a versatile fire retardant light box.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the entertainment industry, which includes motion pictures, television, theatrical arts, etc., and in the photographic industry and other fields, it is necessary to light a set, stage or other area. For an indoor set in the motion picture and television industries, the key or primary lighting is provided opposite to where the camera and audience, if any, to avoid sound equipment (boom) shadows, etc.
On many sets, light box housings are made of disposable material, such as wood lined with foamcore. The wooden material is used to quickly form a box of desired dimensions. A diffusion film may be stapled or nailed to the front of the light box in order to modify the lighting effect. While these light boxes are made in the dimensions required for a certain light effect, these light boxes deteriorate due to the inexpensive construction. Also, due to the material used, these light boxes are flammable and are thus a fire hazard. Moreover, due to the excessive heat that the lights in the light box output, the light box deteriorates and sometimes must be discarded after use on a single set.
Moreover, the assembly and disassembling of a typical light box can be time consuming. The storage and handling of a wooden light box can lead to damage and failure of the light box.

Light box coupling bracket including rotatable gripping device


A method for updating configuration information includes, in a computing device including a processor, memory, and an operating system, initiating an update to at least one configuration setting of the computing device. The update may be downloaded from at least one update data source. The update may include configuration update data and configuration update metadata. The update may be verified by comparing the configuration update metadata with metadata associated with a current version of the at least one configuration setting. The update may be installed if it is verified. The update to the at least one configuration setting may be installed based on an intent from an unsecure component of the computing device. The unsecure component may include content consuming application installed on the device, a component of a computing platform of the device, and/or an update-seeker application installed on the device.

Conventional software updates pushed to, or downloaded by, computing devices do not include updates to configuration settings of the computing device. Additionally, when configuration settings are communicated to a computing device, there may be incompatibility between the current version of the configuration settings and the new (updated) version of the configuration settings (e.g., if the computing device has been turned off for an extended period of time, the device may have skipped an update version of the configuration settings). Furthermore, many third party applications may attempt to download malicious code in the form of configuration data.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with some aspects of the present method and apparatus set forth in the remainder of this disclosure with reference to the drawings.


A separating unit determines, for an image data, whether there exists black data, and generates density data from the black data when the black data exists, and generates color data from data other than the black data. A multinarizing unit converts the color data into multinary data. A magnification varying unit varies the density data and the color data multinarized, using a cubic function convolution method. A binarizing unit binarizes the color data varied, based on a predetermined threshold. An image forming unit prints the color data binarized and the density data varied, onto a recording medium.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for reading a color image through a scanner to reproduce the image on a transfer paper in two colors of red and black.
2) Description of the Related Art
Multifunction peripherals that functions as printer, copier, facsimile, and scanner are known. Moreover, multifunction peripherals that form two-color images are also known.
Top row in FIG. 14 illustrates a pixel string with pixels A to G spaced at intervals of T and bottom row illustrates the same pixel string when the number of pixels in the pixel string is reduced to 80%. It is common to use the cubic convolution method to perform increase and/or reduction of pixels, because, this method is accurate. In this method, four consecutive pixels are selected from the pixel string as sampling pixels, and a virtual pixel that is a pixel after increase and/or reduction of pixels is obtained by using a cubic function as a distance parameter.
If the pixels that are at interval T in the pixel string shown in FIG. 14 are to be reduced to 80%, the interval between two virtual pixels will be 100/80=1.25T. For example, a virtual pixel α is obtained by using a cubic function G (x) (not shown) and four pixels A, B, C, and D as sampling pixels.
FIG. 15 illustrates how data is generated in varying processing in the apparatus that reproduces an image in two colors. The original color data is converted into binary color data, and the original density data is converted into binary density data. However, if an unbalance is generated between the original color data and the binary color data or the original density data or the binary density data, the desired image is not produced after the varying processing.
Suppose the cubic function convolution method is used for varying processing of the density data and simple interpolation, which does not take into consideration the phase component, is used for varying processing of color data. The density data at a virtual pixel (B) between the sampling pixel (A) as black and a sampling pixel as any other color each identified by a color identifying unit is calculated using information for four pixels forward and backward from the virtual pixel B. On the other hand, the color data is calculated using information for one forward pixel.
Therefore, a black pixel "a" is generated unlike the original image. This represents a shift between the color data and the density data.


A process for the tetramerization of ethylene includes contacting ethylene with a catalyst under ethylene oligomerization conditions. The catalyst comprises a source of chromium, a ligating compound, and an activator. The ligating compound includes a phosphine that forms part of a cyclic structure.

It is known that chromium-based catalyst systems with diphosphine ligands catalyse the selective conversion of ethylene to 1-hexene and/or 1-octene depending on the reaction conditions and choice of ligand structure. In particular, the nature and position of any substituents on the aryl rings connected to the phosphines are crucial influences on the selectivity split between 1-hexene and 1-octene. Of particular interest to industry are catalysts for ethylene tetramerisation, as these catalysts are relatively rare. Octene is a valuable co-monomer for the production of high performance linear low density polyethylenes and elastomers, and few selective on-purpose routes to this chemical are known in industry. By comparison, catalysts for ethylene trimerisation are relatively common, and are used industrially by several companies. By tetramerisation it is meant that at least 30% 1-octene is produced in the process.
Non-limiting examples of selective ethylene tetramerisation catalyst systems include the ubiquitous Cr/bis(phosphino)amine (i.e. 'PNP') systems, particularly of the type (Ar1)(Ar2)PN(R)P(Ar3)(Ar4), where Ar1 to Ar4 are aryl groups such as phenyl and R is a hydrocarbyl or a heterohydrocarbyl group, beginning with PNP ligands containing no substituents on the phenyl rings bonded to the P-atoms (e.g. as described in WO 2004/056479) and those with m or p-methoxy groups on the phenyl rings (e.g. as described in WO 2004/056480). In addition to this, PNP systems containing o-fluoro groups on the phenyl rings are described in US 2008/0242811 and US 2010/0081777, and PNP systems bearing pendant donor atoms on the nitrogen linker are described in WO 2007/088329. Multi-site PNP ligands are discussed in US 2008/0027188. In addition to the Cr/PNP systems, chromium systems bearing N,N-bidentate ligands (e.g. as described in US 2006/0247399) can be used. PNP ligands with alkylamine or phosphinoamine groups bonded to one of the PNP phosphines (i.e. 'PNPNH' and 'PNPNP' ligands) are described in WO 2009/006979. Finally, carbon bridged diphosphine (i.e. 'PCCP' ligands) are described in WO 2008/088178 and WO 2009/022770.
Related ethylene trimerisation catalysts with high selectivity for 1-hexene can be obtained by using PNP ligands with ortho-methoxy or ortho-alkyl substituents on the phenyl rings bonded to the P-atoms (e.g. as described in WO2002/04119, WO2004/056477 and WO2010/034101).
When carrying out a process for tetramerisation of ethylene, the aim is to choose a catalyst system and adjust process conditions in order to produce the maximum amount of 1-octene, as opposed to trimerisation processes where catalysts and process conditions are adjusted to produce the maximum amount of 1-hexene. 1-Hexene is also typically co-produced in a tetramerisation process. Consequently, new tetramerisation catalyst systems which increase catalyst selectivity to 1-octene while reducing selectivity to co-products are highly desirable. Alternatively, new tetramerisation catalysts which produce similar amounts of 1-octene to catalysts known in the art, but which produce more 1-hexene (i.e. reduced C4 and C10+ oligomers) would also be desirable.
In several investigations of structure-selectivity relationships for tetramerisation ligands, the effect of various patterns of ortho-substitution on the phenyl rings of the (Ar1)(Ar2)PN(R)P(Ar3)(Ar4) ligand (where Ar1-Ar4 are optionally substituted phenyl groups and R is a hydrocarbyl group) has been studied. For example, the effect of ortho-alkyl groups (Blann et al, Chem. Commun. 2005, 620), ortho-methoxy groups (Overett at all. Chem Commun 2005, 622) and ortho-fluorine groups (US 2010/008177) on selectivity has been reported. These ortho-substitutions may produce significant selectivity benefits in terms of reduced co-products (e.g. C10-C14 secondary products or reduced C6 cyclics). However, in all cases the effect of ortho-substitution is to reduce the 1-octene:1-hexene ratio relative to the equivalent unsubstituted PNP ligand. Consequently, ligand motifs that act to increase the intrinsic 1-octene selectivity and which may be used in combination with a beneficial ortho-substitution motif on the same PNP ligand structure may be particularly beneficial.
The formation of a high molecular weight polymer co-product by the Cr-based ethylene tetramerisation catalyst may present a major technical challenge when commercialising an ethylene tetramerisation process. Polymer fouling of the reactor or downstream sections will reduce plant run time and necessitate shut-downs due to blockages and loss of reaction cooling due to coating of heat exchange surfaces. When running tetramerisation processes at reaction temperatures in the range of 40 to 80° C., as is taught in the art, most of the polymer co-product precipitates in the reactor, which can result in fouling of process equipment. To ensure process reliability and adequate run-times under such reaction conditions, it may be necessary to utilise expensive or energy-intensive process design features.
Running a tetramerisation process at process conditions whereby the polymer co-product remains predominantly dissolved in the liquid reaction medium in the reactor (i.e. a solution phase process) would substantially reduce the possibility of reactor or downstream fouling. In addition, a further benefit of such a process might be that a cheaper or more energy-efficient process design could be used, due to the reduced likelihood of fouling process equipment.
A solution phase process could be achieved by using higher reaction temperatures than typically taught in the art, specifically temperatures of above 80° C. However, the art teaches away from running at higher temperatures due to undesirable effects including poor catalyst activity, increased polymer formation and increased selectivity towards 1-hexene. It is well known in the art of the invention that higher reaction temperatures shift the selectivity from 1-octene towards 1-hexene. New tetramerisation catalysts have been developed that show improved performance at high temperatures, but these modifications reduce the octene:hexene ratio further. In this context, novel tetramerisation catalyst structures that increase the intrinsic selectivity towards 1-octene are highly desirable.


Methods for the transformation of plants are provided. The methods of the present invention comprise the steps of a) contacting the meristematic tissue of a plant and an area of the plant below the contacted meristematic tissue to a power source, wherein the area below the meristematic tissue is contacted to a positive lead and the meristematic tissue is contacted with a DNA-containing medium which in turn is contacted with a negative lead, and b) applying low amperage current, thus causing the DNA to migrate from the DNA-containing medium into the cells of the meristematic tissue. The transformed plants may be grown to maturity. The mature plants may then self-pollinate and the seed from the plant harvested. Both the parent plant, seed from the parent plant, progeny plants and progeny seeds contain the introduced DNA.

Many economic and scientific interests are tied to the genetic engineering of plants. Several methods of introducing foreign genetic material such as DNA into plants, i.e., transforming plants, have evolved and are currently in use. The most common are Agrobacterium-mediated gene delivery, microprojectile bombardment and free DNA delivery to protoplasts.
DNA delivery procedures via Agrobacterium, microprojectile bombardment and direct uptake into protoplasts systems require that the transgene be under control of promoter and transcription termination signals that function in plants. The transgene sequence(s) must conform to plant consensus codon usage. Both microprojectile bombardment and protoplast systems (collectively referred to as direct DNA delivery procedures) most commonly introduce transgene sequences carried on high copy number E. coli plasmids which are easy to produce in large amounts. Agrobacterium-based DNA delivery requires that the transgene of interest be inserted into the T-DNA between the right and left border sequences on either disarmed Ti or Ri plasmids, or binary vectors followed by reintroduction into the appropriate Agrobacterium strain.
Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is currently the most widely used commercial technique. It requires the production of recombinant Agrobactrium containing the gene of interest. Transformation is then achieved by co-cultivation of the recombinant Agrobactrium with the mesophyll cells of leaf disks. The leaf disk is routinely used for dicots such as tobacco, soybean and cotton, but has not been found to be effective with monocots. Songstad, D. D. et al., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture 40:1-15 (1995).
Although widely used, there are a number of drawbacks to the Agrobacterium method. It is time consuming, requiring the production and isolation of a recombinant Agrobacterium, a two day co-cultivation period, and regeneration of a plant from a single cultured cell. The method also requires the use of leaf disks which are prepared by enzymatic digestion of plant cells to break down the cell wall. After transformation, a single, transformed cell is selected and grown on antibiotic-containing media to form the new plant. The whole procedure must be carried out using sterile procedures and facilities. In addition, the method involves prolonged tissue culture and requires the capability to regenerate the cultured cells to whole plants.
Transformation of both monocots and dicots can be achieved by particle bombardment. The DNA to be delivered is attached to microparticles such as gold or tungsten beads. The beads are then "shot" into cells using a gun, usually powered by compressed air. This method has been used to transform monocots such as corn, wheat and rice that were shown to be unresponsive to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Songstad, D. D. et al., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ culture 40:1-15 (1995). Particle bombardment however, shares many of the same drawbacks as the Agrobacterium method. For example, the entire procedure must be carried out under sterile conditions and individual cells, not seedlings, are transformed. An additional drawback is the expense of the equipment necessary to deliver the DNA-coated microparticles to the cell (e.g., a "gene gun").
Protoplast-mediated transformation is an alternative method for producing recombinant monocot and dicot plants. As with Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, cultured mesophyll protoplasts are transformed by introducing foreign DNA. However in protoplast-mediated transformation, the DNA is introduced directly into the cell. Direct delivery of the DNA is achieved by either chemical treatment of the protoplasts to make the cell membranes porous to the DNA or by electroporation. Songstad, D. D. et al., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture 40:1-15 (1995); Morikawa, H. et al., Gene. 41:121-124 (1986). This method however, shares the drawbacks set forth above for the other methods. In addition, if electroporation is used for DNA delivery, the resulting transformed plants are often sterile.
Recent advances in plant transformation have led to the use of an electrophoretic method for the transformation of plant embryos. The embryos are either removed from the seed, or the seed is dehusked prior to electrophoresis. A cathode is then placed in direct contact with the embryo or seed and a DNA-containing medium is placed between the anode and the embryo or seed. Application of current causes the DNA to migrate from the medium into the embryo or seed cells. The embryos or seeds are then germinated. Barley and corn embryos as well as orchid protocorms have been transformed by this method. Ahokas, H., Theor. Appl. Genet. 77:469-472 (1989); Murry, L. E. et al., Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry 25:253-261 (1994); Griesbach, R. J. et al., Acta. Hort. 336:165-169 (1993). An advantage of this method is that it does not require sterile conditions. However, barley embryos transformed by this method produced sterile plants. Ahokas, H., Theor. Appl. Genet. 77:469-472 (1989). The method is also time-consuming, wherein the embryos must either be removed from the seeds or the seeds must be treated, i.e. dehusked, before transformation. This method also requires large amounts of plasmid DNA (approximately 10 μg). Moreover, most zygotic embryos are sensitive to the amount of current applied and often will not germinate after treatment.
It would thus be desirable to provide an improved method for transforming plants. It would be desirable for the improved method to be applicable in both dicots and monocots. It would also be desirable to provide a method for transforming plants that may be performed under normal (i.e., non-sterile) conditions with little or no preparation of the plant material. It would further be desirable to provide a method for transforming plants that produces non-sterile transformants, so that the progeny of the transformed plants also carry the transgene. It would also be desirable to provide a method for transforming plants that is commercially attractive, e.g., allowing transformation of a large number of plants at one time with high yields. It would further be desirable to provide a method for transforming plants wherein basic materials and equipment are employed so that the method is cost-effective.

Board of Trustees operating Michigan State University


A safety switch, which is particularly intended for monitoring a guard door on an automated installation, has an actuator and a sensor. The actuator comprises an actuator antenna and the sensor comprises a sensor antenna. The actuator and the sensor are coupled to one another like a transformer, in particular like a transponder, when the guard door is in the closed position. According to one aspect of the invention, the sensor antenna has a magnetic directional characteristic which allows transformer coupling with the actuator in at least two mutually perpendicular spatial directions as seen from the sensor antenna.

The present invention relates to a safety switch for monitoring an adjacent position of two parts that are moveable relative to each other, and more particularly, the invention relates to a safety switch for monitoring a closed position of a guard door in an automated installation.
Safety considerations relating to protection against accidents are playing an increasingly major role in the planning and design of automated installations. Various protective measures are used to make the installations safe, such as emergency-off switches, light barriers and what is known as guard doors, which prevent access to a dangerous part of the installation in conjunction with guard fences. The opening of the guard door has to be detected in a fail-safe manner during operation of the installation, since the open guard door represents a safety risk. The relevant European Standard EN 954-1 and related or comparable regulations (for example the new IEC EN 61508 or prEN ISO 13849-1 which is derived from the latter) stipulate the requirements for the protective measures. The present invention relates to safety switches which are intended and designed for these safety related applications, and thus the safety switches satisfy at least Category 3 of EN 954-1, or comparable safety requirements.
There are various approaches for implementing safety switches in order to monitor the closed position of a guard door, and more generally the closed position of two parts moveable relative to one another, with a sufficient degree of fail-safety. In addition to mechanical switches, which can also provide an interlocking function, there are various types of non-contact safety switches. These offer advantages in dirty environments. The actuator and sensor In one known type of non-contacting safety switches, the actuator and sensor are magnetically coupled to one another in the closed position. In order to prevent manipulation, coded magnet arrangements are used in some cases.
In another type of non-contacting safety switch, individually coded communication is used between the sensor and the actuator, with this communication being possible only when the moving parts are in the closed or adjacent position. For safety switches of this kind, so-called transponders (in some cases also referred to as "tags") are particularly used. The transponders transmit an individual coding to the sensor when they are transformer-coupled to that sensor. A safety switch of this kind is marketed by the company Eucher GmbH & Co. KG, 70771 Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany, under the product name CES.
Another prior art safety switch is offered by the company K. A. Schmersal GmbH, 42232 Wuppertal, Germany, under the product name BZ 16. This prior art safety switch suffers from the disadvantage that a dedicated switch variant has to be used for each direction of approach, i.e. the direction of approach from the actuator to the sensor. By way of example, if a safety switch is required for an application in which the actuator is intended to be moved toward the sensor from above rather than from the front, a different variant of the known safety switch is required. This not only makes it more difficult to install the safety switch but also leads to increased storage costs, both for the manufacturer and for the user, since it is desirable to always have a certain number of spare parts of important components available for smooth production.
In the case of the CES safety switch from Euchner, it is possible to mount the "sensor head" (i.e. that part of the sensor which contains the sensor antenna) in different orientations on the safety switch in order to avoid this problem. Different approach directions can thus be achieved by tilting the sensor head. This solution allows reduced storage, but results in a complicated installation.

Safety switch for monitoring a closed position of two parts moveable relative to one another


In an information processing device, if the power state of a peripheral device changed by a class driver is the low-power state, in which the peripheral device consumes less power than in its normal state but its operation is limited, a filter driver below the class driver suspends controlling the peripheral device in accordance with a control request from an application program without passing through the class driver until the power state of the peripheral device returns to the normal state.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to an information processing device, a peripheral device control method, and a filter driver. For example, the invention relates to a technology that controls the power state of a peripheral device.
Background Art
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is being widely used as a general-purpose bus which connects a computer and a peripheral device to input or output data. For this reason, various types of USB-related technology are being considered.
One type is filter drivers (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-16166, Japanese Patent No. 4720959, Japanese Patent No. 4959766, U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,628). Typically, a filter driver is inserted below a device driver and provides additional functions that the device driver does not support. Another type is Selective Suspend (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,386,813). Selective Suspend is a technology that saves power by selectively putting a USB device into a suspended state (low-power state) in accordance with the operating state thereof.

Information processing device, peripheral device control method, and non-transitory computer readable medium storing filter driver for controlling a power state of a peripheral device


A device of detecting collision of a vehicle for determining collision of a vehicle based on an acceleration from an acceleration detecting means for detecting a collision acceleration of the vehicle, the device including a collision force calculating means for calculating an estimated collision force caused in the vehicle in the collision based on the collision acceleration and a collision determining means for determining the collision based on the estimated collision force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for detecting a collision of a vehicle when the vehicle is brought into collision, in a short period of time with high reliability and a device for initiating the passenger protecting device.
2. Discussion of the Background
Conventionally, a passenger protecting device such as an air bag etc. is operated by using a collision detecting device for detecting collision of a vehicle from the magnitude of acceleration of the vehicle. A collision detecting device for detecting collision of a vehicle more swiftly and firmly is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-4-135947.
FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a driving circuit of a conventional passenger protecting device for a vehicle, FIG. 26(A) is a diagram showing a change over time in an output of an acceleration sensor in collision and FIG. 26(B) is a diagram showing a displacement of a head portion of a passenger.
In FIG. 25 numeral 69 designates an acceleration sensor for detecting a change in an acceleration caused by collision or the like of a vehicle and outputting the detection result as an analog signal a(t). Numeral 70 designates a first incomplete integrating circuit having a time constant T.sub.1 for integrating the analog signal a(t) outputted from the acceleration sensor 69, and numeral 71 designates a second incomplete integrating circuit having a function the same as that of the first incomplete integrating circuit 70 for processing an incomplete integration output v(t) from the first incomplete integrating circuit again to incomplete integration. The time constant T.sub.2 of the second incomplete integrating circuit 71 is the same as the time constant T.sub.1 of the first incomplete integrating circuit 70.
Numeral 72 designates a first coefficient circuit comprising a first damper for adding a first coefficient to the detected output from the acceleration sensor 69, numeral 73 designates a second coefficient circuit comprising a second damper having a damping rate of K and the second coefficient circuit 73 adds a second coefficient to the incomplete integration output v(t) from the first incomplete integrating circuit 70. Further, the damping rate of the first coefficient circuit 72 is a half of a square of the damping rate K of the second coefficient circuit 73. Incidentally, the above-described damping rate K is equal to a time period td, required from supplying an ignition current to an ignition device of an air bag, mentioned later, to the completion of expansion of the air bag.
Numeral 74 designates an adding circuit and the adding circuit 74 adds an output x(t) from the second incomplete integrating circuit 71, an output from the first coefficient circuit 72 and an output from the second coefficient circuit 73. Numeral 75 designates a comparing circuit switching the output level to, for example, high level when the added output from the adding circuit 74 exceeds a predetermined threshold value, numeral 76 designates a driving circuit, numeral 77 designates an ignition device that is a main body of a passenger protecting device and the ignition device 76 operates, for example, an air bag based on an output from the driving circuit 76.
Next, an explanation will be given of the operation of the conventional device.
First, when a vehicle is running at a constant velocity V0, if the acceleration a(t) operating in the forward and rearward direction of the vehicle as illustrated by FIG. 26(A) is detected by the acceleration sensor 69, the head of the passenger is thrown at the constant speed v0, while the acceleration a(t) at that time is operating also on the passenger, whereby the head starts to move at a relative velocity in respect of the vehicle, that is, v(t) (integral over time of a(t)).
Meanwhile, the output a(t) of the acceleration sensor 69 at that time is integrated by the first incomplete integrating circuit 70. Also, when the position of the head immediately before collision is set to an initial position, the head is displaced by x(t) (integral over time of v(t)) from the initial position following a time-sequential procedure in accordance with the starting of the movement. The displacement x(t) is calculated by integrating the output of the first incomplete integrating circuit 70 by the second incomplete integrating circuit 71 whereby an estimated amount of displacement of the head of the passenger in the actual time is calculated.
Next, the output v(t) from the first incomplete integrating circuit 70 is weighted by td by the second coefficient circuit 73 whereby v(t).times.td, that is, an amount of displacement in a time period of td is calculated. Further, the output a(t) from the acceleration sensor 69 is weighted by 1/2(td.times.td) by the first coefficient circuit 72 whereby 1/2(td.times.td), that is, an amount of displacement in a time period of td is calculated. The outputs are added by the adding circuit 74 whereby x(t)+v(t)td+1/2a(t).times.(td.times.td) is calculated. That is, by this operation a predicted value of x(t+td) for the position of the head of the passenger after the time period of td from the current time point is calculated.
The predicted position is supplied to the comparing circuit 75 and when the position of operating an air bag etc. is set to a position which is dislocated from the initial position by x in FIG. 26(B), the air bag is operated at a time point t1 that is earlier than a time point t2 where the position of the head actually reaches x by the time period of td as illustrated by a curve x(t).
As described above, according to the conventional example the displacement of the head of the passenger is calculated from the acceleration signal in accordance with the above-mentioned equation and when the calculated displacement of the head of the passenger is determined to be equal to or larger than a predetermined amount, the passenger protecting device is operated.
The following problems occur with the conventional passenger protecting device for a vehicle as described above.
(1) In order to shorten the determining time the predicted displacement signal x(t+td)=x(t)+v(t)td+1/2a(t).times.(td.times.td) provided by adding the acceleration and the velocity respectively multiplied by the coefficients to the displacement signal x(t), is calculated. However, the predicted displacement signal x(t+td) is only a value for determining the collision earlier than the normal determination by the displacement of the passenger. Further, the predicted displacement signal x(t+td) is not the value accurately showing the displacement of the passenger and therefore, even in the case where the operation of the passenger protecting device is not necessary, the passenger protecting device may prematuredly be operated whereby the reliability of the collision determination is deteriorated.
(2) The conventional passenger protecting device does not correspond to various collision modes such as front collision, oblique collision, collision to a pillar or the like, running on a road shoulder, running under a large-sized vehicle etc. and the passenger protecting device may be unnecessarily operated or the determination of collision may be retarded depending on the collision mode.
(3) The threshold value at the comparator used in the determination of collision stays constant irrespective of a change over time and cannot sufficiently correspond to various collision modes and the passenger protecting device may unnecessarily be operated or the determination of collision may be retarded depending on the collision mode.
(4) The determination of collision may be retarded in expanding a side air bag corresponding to a collision from a side direction which requires a collision determining time further shorter than that in the front collision in the forward and rearward direction.

Device of detecting vehicle collision and device of determining start-up of passenger protecting device


A method of forming photo masks having rectangular patterns and a method for forming a semiconductor structure using the photo masks is provided. The method for forming the photo masks includes determining a minimum spacing and identifying vertical conductive feature patterns having a spacing less than the minimum spacing value. The method further includes determining a first direction to expand and a second direction to shrink, and checking against design rules to see if the design rules are violated for each of the vertical conductive feature patterns identified. If designed rules are not violated, the identified vertical conductive feature pattern is replaced with a revised vertical conductive feature pattern having a rectangular shape. The photo masks are then formed. The semiconductor structure can be formed using the photo masks.

Modern integrated circuits are made up of literally millions of active devices such as transistors and capacitors. These devices are initially isolated from one another but are later interconnected together to form functional circuits. Typical interconnection structures include lateral interconnections, such as metal lines (wirings), and vertical interconnections, such as vias and contacts. The quality of the interconnection structure drastically affects the performance and reliability of the fabricated circuit. Interconnections are increasingly determining the limits of performance and density of modern integrated circuits.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional illustration of a conventional vertical interconnection structure used in the semiconductor industry. Metal lines 104 and 106, which are typically formed of copper, aluminum or alloys thereof, are used to couple active devices (not shown) into functional circuits. A dielectric layer 108 electrically isolates the metal layers in which metal lines 104 and 106 are formed. Electrical connections are made between metal lines 104 and 106 through a metal via 112.
The interconnection structure of FIG. 1 experiences several problems. As integrated circuit dimensions decrease, in order to increase circuit density, vias are becoming smaller by the square of the dimension decrease. Such small vias can cause both reliability and performance problems in an integrated circuit. Reliability problems are caused by high concentrations of current or current crowding effects, which in turn causes self-heating effects, and hence electro-migration. As a result, voids, open circuits and other reliability problems such as high RC delay, which is caused by high contact resistance, arise. Similar problems also occur to contacts, contacts being a term typically used to describe a via between a first metal layer and an underlying active or passive component.
Open circuits and high RC delay are typically solved by redundant vias. U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,658 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,224 disclose methods of forming redundant vias in order to improve reliability. With redundant vias, if one of the vias is open or has a high contact resistance, the remaining vias still provide a good contact, and the overall circuit performance is not affected.
Although the addition of the redundant vias reduces the probability of open circuit and/or high RC delay, the distance between the vias decreases. With the scaling of integrated circuits, particularly at 90 nm technology and below, problems such as bird's beak occur. FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of vias having bird's beak effects. Vias 116 and 118 are closely located. Due to optical proximity effects during the exposure of photo resists, via extensions 120 and 122, each having the shape of a bird's beak, are formed. As a result, vias 116 and 118 may short.
Due to the close proximity of the vias and other conductive features in the integrated circuit, it is difficult to move vias away from each other without violating design rules. Therefore, there is a need for a new method of forming vias and photo masks, so that the adverse effects of closely located vias can be avoided.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Methods and apparatus for preparing a hot melt adhesive for packaging and for packaging same and a packaged, hot melt adhesive product are provided according to the present invention. Particularly, methods and apparatus are provided for rapidly chilling and dusting a hot melt adhesive mass to provide chilled, dusted hot melt adhesive masses which can be packaged without necessitating additional packaging around or between individual masses. A resulting packaged, hot melt adhesive product includes hot melt adhesive masses packaged without necessitating packaging around or between individual masses to prevent the masses from adhering to adjacent masses or shipping containers. The hot melt adhesive masses can be removed from a shipping container and directly inserted into a hot melt adhesive processing unit for various applications without requiring removal or disposal of additional packaging.

Hot melt adhesives are recognized as adhesives which are tacky when applied in a molten or "hot melt" state. These hot melt adhesives, including pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesives, are typically solids and often tacky at room temperature.
Hot melt adhesives are generally supplied to customers in rigid form for adding to glue pots or other hot melt adhesive processing equipment for melting prior to application. Hot melt adhesives, particularly pressure sensitive adhesives, are also generally supplied to customers at room temperature at which they are extremely tacky. The adhesive properties of pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesives have produced problems in preparation, packaging and processing. For example, pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesives have adhered to other pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesives during packaging, shipping, and storage. Further, hot melt adhesives have adhered to packaging materials such as plastic films, papers or cardboard cartons in various processing conditions.
Attempts have been made to package hot melt adhesives in rigid block portions surrounded by films or other packaging which must be removed prior to supplying the adhesive to a melting pot or other processing equipment. For example, methods and apparatus for packaging hot melt adhesives have been attempted utilizing polymer films filled with molten hot melt adhesive. The high temperature of the molten adhesive has caused melting of certain films including polymer films.
Various of these packaging films have been utilized with certain cooling methods such as water sprays or baths applied to the film during and immediately after filling with the molten, hot melt adhesive. Such packaging processes require elaborate and costly steps and equipment to cool the film during filling. Examples of such water cooled systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,373,682 and 5,401,455 to Hatfield. Other plastic films have been utilized to surround individual adhesive masses for packaging to prevent adhesion of the adhesive with other adhesives or packaging.
Attempts have also been made to coat a hot melt adhesive with an anti-adhesive coating prior to wrapping with a plastic film. One such example is proposed in EPO patent 412,867. Also, a micronized powder has been utilized with a silicone coated polymer film to wrap adhesives as proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,592 to Bozich.
In attempts which have utilized packaging such as polymer films or silicone paper to surround individual adhesive masses, the packaging must be removed from each adhesive mass prior to introducing the adhesive into the melting pot or processing equipment. These film and other wrappers or packages, once removed, create waste and disposal problems. Some polymer films have been used with melting points lower than the melting temperature of the molten pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesive which are designed to be melted in the glue pot with the hot melt adhesive product. These films also create waste in the glue pot and introduce an additive to the adhesive which can adversely affect the adhesive properties of the adhesive.
All of these individually packaged masses which must be removed from individual packaging prior to the introduction into a glue pot, increase time, costs, including labor costs, and waste during application of the adhesive. Such film or individually packaged adhesives may require repetitive tasks of unwrapping by manual labor.
Other attempts have been made to package adhesives utilizing trays or molds formed of a material having non-stick properties or coated with non-tacky material. The adhesive generally has been shipped and transported in these trays for use by the customer where an operation removes the hot melt adhesive product from the tray prior to introduction into the glue pot. The adhesive has been transported in the trays due to the tackiness of the adhesive. Such trays or molds have also been coated with castor oil or powder held in position with static electricity. Generally these trays are costly and produce waste. Such slow cooled adhesives in molds have then generally been individually packaged in film or other exterior individual packaging prior to shipping. One such mold is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,796 to Viel.
There is therefore a need to provide methods and apparatus for preparing individual hot melt adhesive masses, particularly of the pressure sensitive type, for packaging which reduces time and costs, including labor costs and steps, and reduces waste resulting from packaging and later processing with the adhesive. Further, there is a need for a hot melt adhesive product which can be utilized without adding waste or deleterious by-products to the adhesive application process.


A virtually seamless, flexible, and shape-retaining bag and a method of manufacturing such a bag is disclosed. The bag is formed from two complimentary three-dimensional custom shaped halves of molded flexible foam. A single and continuous piece of material, fabric, or textile is bonded or otherwise joined over the exterior of each half. The entire outer material covering each half is free of seams, stitching, or other joining of two separate pieces material. The complimentary and exposed edges of the two halves are joined about a hinge and fastener, whereby opening the fastener allows the two halves to separate about the hinge, and closing the fastener secures the first half to the complimentary second half of the bag.

The manufacturing of purses, satchels, wallets, handbags, totes, backpacks, and other bags has remained mostly the same. The fabrics, patterns, and dimensions of a bag may change from year to year, but the manufacturing process does not.
Each bag may be made from multiple sections (e.g., six or more) of material that have different cuts, dimensions, and shapes. The sections of material are joined at multiple seams with stitching or glue to give the bag its shape and form. Soft materials, like leather, are used to give the bag a pliable shape and allow the bag to take or deviate from a default shape when filled with objects, and revert or take the default shape when empty.
Each seam on a bag, resulting from a stitch or glue point at which different sections of material are joined, represents a potential point of failure. Each seam disrupts the continuous shape of the bag, and may make the bag less aesthetically appealing. Each additional seam also adds to the cost of the bag by making the manufacturing of the bag more difficult and time consuming.

Virtually seamless and shape-retaining bag with a flexible and soft material exterior


Sentiment classification can be implemented by an entity-level multimodal sentiment classification neural network. The neural network can include left, right, and target entity subnetworks. The neural network can further include an image network that generates representation data that is combined and weighted with data output by the left, right, and target entity subnetworks to output a sentiment classification for an entity included in a network post.

Sentiment analysis of a network site user post involves attempting to determine the sentiment of the user that created a given network site user post of a subject or named entity discussed in the given network site user post. For example, in "Goal Machine! Luis Suarez picks up double award after hitting 40 in La Liga," the user appears to express a positive sentiment towards Luis Suarez (an athlete), and neutral sentiment towards La Liga (a sports league). Conventional sentiment analysis approaches attempt to perform sentiment analysis by using textual based processes. However, these conventional methods tend to be less effective when applied to some types of network site posts, such as a social media post comprising an image and a short caption, as such posts have limited text to analyze.