A water fountain diverter device connectable to a faucet for selectively directing water from a normal downward direction, to an upward direction for direct drinking by a user. The device has a body connectable to the faucet, a body inlet for receiving water from the faucet, an outlet through which water can flow un-diverted, and a spout from which a water stream flows for direct drinking when the water is diverted via a valve within the device.

The present invention relates to water drinking fountains, and more particularly to an improved fountain attachment device for a water faucet.
Water faucets of the type commonly used in households provide a stream of water directed downwardly towards the sink. To get a drink of water, a container such as a cup or glass must be filled. In households with multiple people, this can require numerous glasses being used on a daily basis. Thus a water fountain like device could help eliminate the need for washing numerous glasses, and make getting a drink of water more convenient.
Various fountain attachment devices for water faucets have been proposed in the past which, when attached to a faucet, let the faucet serve two purposes—one discharging a stream of water downwardly towards the sink as a faucet typically does, and secondly discharging a stream of water in an upwardly direction for drinking directly from the stream as with a typical water fountain. Such previous devices have proved difficult or inconvenient to use, and provide little or no control over the height of the fountain stream.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water fountain device that is easily attachable to a water faucet and which will permit a normal flow of water towards the sink as would the faucet, and which can be manually operated to direct a stream of water upwardly for direct drinking.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a water fountain device attachable to a water faucet that provides control over the water pressure for controlling the height of the fountain stream.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a water fountain device attachable to a water faucet that is easily operable by the user.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.


A hydrogen purification method that is used to separate hydrogen gas from a source gas. A hydrogen separator is provided that has at least one hydrogen permeable tube. A support tube is provided for each hydrogen permeable tube. A support tube is coaxially aligned with the hydrogen permeable tube, wherein a micro-channel exists between the hydrogen permeable tube and the support tube in an area of overlap. A tubular wire structure is placed within the micro-channel. The tubular wire structure is coated with catalyst material. The source gas is introduced into the micro-channel. The source gas spreads thinly past the tubular wire structure in the micro-channel. The restrictions of the micro-channel cause the source gas to embody turbulent flow characteristics as it flows. The turbulent flow causes the hydrogen separator to separate hydrogen from the source gas in a highly efficient manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods that are used to separate molecular hydrogen from a volume of gas. More particularly, the present invention is related to systems and methods that separate hydrogen from a volume of mixed gas by exposing the mixed gas to a hydrogen permeable material through which only atomic hydrogen can readily pass.
2. Prior Art Description
In industry, there are many applications for the use of molecular hydrogen. However, in many common processes that produce hydrogen, the hydrogen gas produced is not pure. Rather, when hydrogen is produced, the resultant gas is often contaminated with water vapor, hydrocarbons and/or other contaminants. In many instances, however, it is desired to have ultra pure hydrogen. In the art, ultra pure hydrogen is commonly considered to be hydrogen having purity levels of at least 99.999%. In order to achieve such purity levels, hydrogen gas must be actively separated from its contaminants.
In the prior art, one of the most common ways to purify contaminated hydrogen gas is to pass the gas through a membrane made of a hydrogen permeable material, such as palladium or a palladium alloy. As the contaminated hydrogen gas passes through the membrane, atomic hydrogen permeates through the walls of the membrane, thereby separating from the contaminants. In such prior art processes, the membrane is typically heated to at least three hundred degrees centigrade. Molecular hydrogen disassociates into atomic hydrogen on the surface of the membrane and the material of the membrane absorbs the atomic hydrogen. The atomic hydrogen permeates through the membrane from a high pressure side of the membrane to a low pressure side of the membrane. Once at the low pressure side of the membrane, the atomic hydrogen recombines to form molecular hydrogen. The molecular hydrogen that passes through the membrane can then be collected for use.
In certain types of hydrogen separators, the hydrogen permeable membrane is formed as a straight tube. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,594, to Edlund, entitled Steam Reformer With Internal Hydrogen Purification, a straight segment of palladium tubing is placed inside a larger tube. Gas is then caused to flow through the larger tube. Hydrogen from the gas permeates into the palladium tube, where it is collected.
The opposite configuration is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,408 to Buxbaum, entitled, Hydrogen Generator. In the Buxbaum design, a small diameter tube is placed inside a straight length of palladium tubing. Gas is introduced into the palladium tubing. Hydrogen from the gas permeates out of the palladium tubing and is collected. The remaining waste gas is removed by the small diameter tube.
In prior art systems like the ones shown in both the Edlund patent and the Buxbaum patent, gas is caused to flow either along the inside of a palladium tube or outside a palladium tube. However, in both prior art designs, the space though which the gas flows is large. This allows the gas to have a laminar flow as it passes along the length of the palladium tube. Due to the laminar flow characteristics of the passing gases, there is very little turbulence in the flowing gases. The laminar flow pattern prevents much gas from even contacting the surfaces of the palladium tube before the gases flow out of the palladium tubing. Accordingly, much of the hydrogen that may be contained in the flowing gas never has the opportunity to be absorbed by the palladium tubing. The hydrogen is merely flushed through the palladium tubing. The overall efficiency of the hydrogen separator therefore remains low.
Power & Energy, Inc., the assignee herein, has developed a line of hydrogen separators where a palladium alloy tube is positioned around a gas supply tube. The gap space in between the concentric tubes is very small. Consequently, gas flowing through the gap space flows in a turbulent fashion and results in more gas reacting with the hydrogen permeable membrane. Such hydrogen separators are exemplified By U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/053,528, to Bossard, entitled Hydrogen Gas Separator System Having Micro-channel Construction For Efficiently Separating Hydrogen Gas From A Mixed Gas Source, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,485 to Bossard, entitled System And Method For Processing Fuel For Use By A Fuel Cell Using A Micro-Channel Catalytic Hydrogen Separator.
A problem that has occurred with such small gap hydrogen separators is that it has proven difficult to place catalyst material within the small gap that is available. Normally, catalyst material helps separate hydrogen from larger molecules within the supply gas. However, if the catalyst is not properly applied, it can actually hamper the gas flow rate through the gap space and decrease the efficiency of the overall hydrogen separator.
A need therefore exists for a system and method of applying a catalyst in the gap space between concentric tubes of a hydrogen separator. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.

Hydrogen gas separator system having a micro-channel construction with a tubular wire insert for retaining catalyst material


According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a photoresist layer on a surface of a wafer. The wafer includes an array of die that includes a plurality of complete die and at least one partial edge die. The wafer has an edge that has a substantially rounded profile causing undersized patterns in semiconductor devices formed on partial edge die. A first exposure intensity is assigned to a first group of die on the surface of the wafer. The first group of die includes a group of complete die, and the first exposure intensity is assigned based at least in part on the location of the first group of die on the surface of the wafer. A second exposure intensity is assigned to a second group of die on the surface of the wafer. The second group of die includes at least one partial edge die. The second exposure intensity less than the first exposure intensity to compensate for reduced line width due to the wafer edge topography. Energy is directed at the second group of die at the second exposure intensity to avoid over-exposure of the second group of die.

A scanner or other light source may be used during conventional fabrication processes to form devices or features on the surface of a wafer. Specifically, a light source may be operated to generate a beam of energy which is directed at a portion of the wafer. The energy transmitted from the light source through a mask is typically directed onto the wafer surface to cover a spatial area called the "shot" area. The shot area generally covers a group of die on the wafer or a single die depending on the size of the die and the configuration of the mask. Although a wafer has a generally horizontal surface on which the features are formed, the edge of the wafer is typically rounded such that the wafer has a substantially rounded profile. Typically, the light source is operated at a standard exposure intensity for all devices and features formed on the surface of the wafer regardless of the location of the particular devices and features on the surface of the wafer. For example, the exposure intensity of the shot of energy used in the formation of devices and features near the edge of the wafer is the same as the exposure intensity of the shot of energy used in the formation of devices and features near the center of the wafer. This standard exposure intensity, however, may result in deformities in the features formed near the rounded edge of the wafer, especially on partial edge shot. Because the features may have reduced baseline dimensions, the adherence of the features to the wafer surface may be weakened. Where such features become detached during subsequent semiconductor fabrication processes, the detached features may provide a source of particle contamination.

System and method for exposure of partial edge die


The invention relates a method for mixing a dilution air with a hot main flow in a sequential combustion system of a gas turbine, wherein the gas turbine essentially comprises at least one compressor, a first combustor which is connected downstream to the compressor, and a second combustor. The hot gases of the first combustor are admitted to at least one intermediate turbine or directly or indirectly to at least one second combustor, wherein the hot gases of the second combustor are admitted to a further turbine or directly or indirectly to an energy recovery device. The method comprises a coaxial injection of first combustor liner cooling air with second combustor liner cooling air, the first combustor liner cooling air having a sufficient excess pressure margin with respect to the second combustor liner cooling air.

Beforehand, some general considerations which allow a better understanding of the invention:
CO emissions of gas turbine engines need reductions for the sake of saving the environment. Such emissions are known to appear, when there is not sufficient time in the combustion chamber to ensure the CO to CO2 oxidation, and/or this oxidation is locally quenched due to contact with cold regions in the combustor. Since firing temperatures are smaller under part load conditions CO, and the CO to CO2 oxidation gets slower, thus CO emissions usually tend to increase under these conditions.
A reduction of CO emissions in turn might be invested in lowering the gas turbine load at the parking point of a gas turbine. This reduces the environmental impact due to reduced CO2 emissions and overall cost of electricity due to less fuel consumption during engine parking. Finally the CO emission reduction might be invested in a reduction of first costs due to savings on a CO catalyst. In this case a CO catalyst might be avoided (or at least reduced). At the same time losses, which appear due to a catalyst will be removed (or at least reduced), and thereby the overall efficiency of the power plant increased.
According to the US 2012/0017601 A1 the basic of this state of art is a method for operating the gas turbine, which keeps the air ratio λ (defined in US 2012/0017601 A1 paragraph 0009) of the operating burner of the second combustor below a maximum air ratio λmax during part load operation. This method is characterized essentially by three new elements and also by supplementing measures which can be implemented individually or in combination.
The maximum air ratio λmax in this case depends upon the CO emission limits which are to be observed, upon the design of the burner and of the combustor, and also upon the operating conditions, that is to say especially the burner inlet temperature.
The first element is a change in the principle of operation of the row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes, which allows the second combustor to be put into operation only at higher part load. Starting from no-load operation, the row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes is already opened while only the first combustor is in operation. This allows loading up to a higher relative load before the second combustor has to be put in operation. If the row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes is opened and the hot gas temperature or turbine inlet temperature of the high-pressure turbine has reached a limit, the second combustor is supplied with fuel.
In addition, the row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes is quickly closed. Closing of the row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes at constant turbine inlet temperature TIT of the high-pressure turbine, without countermeasures, would lead to a significant reduction of the relative power.
In order to avoid this power reduction, the fuel mass flow, which is introduced into the second combustor, can be increased. The minimum load at which the second combustor is put into operation and the minimum fuel flow into the second combustor are therefore significantly increased.
As a result, the minimum hot gas temperature of the second combustor is also increased, which reduces the air ratio λ and therefore reduces the CO emissions.
The second element for reducing the air ratio λ is a change in the principle of operation by increasing the turbine exhaust temperature of the high-pressure turbine TAT1 and/or the turbine exhaust temperature of the low-pressure turbine TAT2 during part load operation. This increase allows opening of the row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes to be shifted to a higher load point.
Conventionally, the maximum turbine exhaust temperature of the second turbine is determined for the full load case and the gas turbine and possibly the downstream waste heat boiler are designed in accordance with this temperature. This leads to the maximum hot gas temperature of the second turbine not being limited by the TIT2 (turbine inlet temperature of the second turbine) during part load operation with the row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes closed, but by the TAT2 (turbine exhaust temperature of the second turbine). Since at part load with at least one row of variable compressor inlet guide vanes closed the mass flow and therefore the pressure ratio across the turbine is reduced, the ratio of turbine inlet temperature to turbine exhaust temperature is also reduced.
Correspondingly, with constant TAT2 the TIT2 is also reduced and in most cases lies considerably below the full load value. A proposed slight increase of the TAT2 beyond the full load limit, typically within the order of magnitude of 10° C. to 30° C., admittedly leads to an increase of the TIT2, but this remains below the full load value and can practically be achieved without service life losses, or without significant service life losses. Adaptations in the design or in the choice of material do not become necessary or can be limited typically to the exhaust gas side. For increasing the TIT2, the hot gas temperature is increased, which is realized by an increase of the fuel mass flow and a reduction of the air ratio λ, which is associated therewith. The CO emissions are correspondingly reduced.
A further possibility for reducing the air ratio λ of the burner in operation is the deactivating of individual burners and redistribution of the fuel at constant TIT2.
In order to keep the TIT2 constant on average, the burner in operation has to be operated hotter in proportion to the number of deactivated burners. For this, the fuel feed is increased and therefore the local air ratio λ is reduced.
For an operation which is optimized for CO emissions, in a gas turbine with split line, a burner (for example for the second combustor) which is adjacent to the split line is typically deactivated first of all. In this case, the plane in which a casing is typically split into upper and lower halves is referred to as the split line. The respective casing halves are connected in the split line by a flange, for example.
Its adjacent burners are subsequently then deactivated or a burner, which is adjacent to the parting plane on the opposite side of the combustor is deactivated and in alternating sequence the adjacent burners, which alternate on the two sides of the combustor, starting from the parting plane, are deactivated.
A burner which is adjacent to the split line is preferably deactivated first of all since the split line of a gas turbine is typically not absolutely leak proof and in most cases a leakage flow leads to a slight cooling and dilution (see below mentioned considerations) of the flammable gases and therefore to locally increased CO emissions. As a result of deactivating the burners which are adjacent to the split line, these local CO emissions are avoided.
The combustion instabilities which are to be avoided by means of staging, typically no longer occur at low load or are negligibly small. In one exemplary embodiment, it is proposed, therefore, to carry out the restricting not by means of a fixed restrictor but by means of at least one control valve. This at least one control valve is opened at low load so that all the activated burners can be operated virtually homogenously with a low air ratio λ. At high load, the at least one control valve is throttled in order to realize the staging.
Referring to the currently proceeding cooling air from the reheat (second) combustor and any remaining air from the premix (first) combustor or fresh air from plenum are supplied as dilution air to the combustor(s) separately, as shown in FIG. 2.
In order to have sufficient backflow margin, both dilution air streams have to be injected with an excess pressure of about 1.5%. But the problem is, that not all flow paths are at the same pressure level, due to different pressure drop characteristics of sequential and premix liner cooling as depicted in the FIG. 2a.
The configuration as shown in FIGS. 2/2a leads to at least 8% combustor pressure drop, as result of aforementioned backflow margin requirement and differences among all three flow paths. Pressure drop must be artificially increased in premix liner and premix burner circuits in order to match the sequential liner cooling circuit.

Method for mixing a dilution air in a sequential combustion system of a gas turbine


An exchange-coupling film has an antiferromagnetic film consisting of an antiferromagnetic alloy such as an RMn alloy or an RMnFe alloy (R is at least one kind of element selected from Ir, Rh, Pt, Au, Ag, Co, Pd, Ni, Cr, Ge, Ru and Cu) and a ferromagnetic film stacked with the antiferromagnetic film. The antiferromagnetic film is oriented in its plane. Further, the antiferromagnetic film has a large grain diameter of such as 5 nm or more. The antiferromagnetic film can be obtained by forming a film with an alloy target of which oxygen content is 1% by weight or less. An exchange-coupling film using such an antiferromagnetic film has exchange-coupling force enough large at room temperature and high temperature region together with excellent corrosion resistance or heat resistance. The exchange-coupling film is provided with an electrode for energizing an electric current to the ferromagnetic film and is used as, for example, a spin valve type magneto-resistance effect element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exchange-coupling film between an antiferromagnetic film and a ferromagnetic film and, a magneto-resistance effect element and a magnetic head using thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a reproducing head in high density magnetic recording, study of a magnetic head (MR head) using a magneto-resistance effect film (MR film) is being proceeded. As an MR film, for example, a Ni.sub.80 Fe.sub.20 (at %) alloy (permalloy) and the like which shows anisotropic magneto-resistance effect (AMR) is well known. Since a change rate of magneto-resistance effect (MR change rate) of an AMR film is such small as about 3%, as an alternative MR film material, an artificial lattice film or a spin valve film such as (Co/Cu).sub.n which shows a giant magneto-resistance effect (GMR) is attracting an attention.
Since an AMR film consisting of such as a permalloy film or the like has a magnetic domain, it is important to eliminate Barkhausen noise due to that. Thus, various methods to transform an AMR film into a mono-magnetic domain is being investigated. As one of them, a method to control the magnetic domain of the AMR film into a particular direction by taking advantage of exchange-coupling between an AMR film, being a ferromagnetic material, and an antiferromagnetic film, is in use. As an antiferromagnetic material here, a .gamma.-FeMn alloy is traditionally well known (see, for example, specification of U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,315 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,147).
The above described spin valve film has a sandwich film consisting of a laminate structure of a ferromagnetic material layer/a non-magnetic material layer/a ferromagnetic material layer, and the GMR is obtained by pinning down magnetization of one ferromagnetic material layer. In pinning down of magnetization of one ferromagnetic layer material layer of such a spin valve film, a technology taking advantage of exchange-coupling between an antiferromagnetic film and a ferromagnetic film is prevailing. Also in this case, a .gamma.-FeMn alloy is dominantly used as an antiferromagnetic film.
However, there is a problem that a .gamma.-FeMn alloy is poor in its corrosion resistance and, in particular, is prone to be corroded by water. Therefore, when the .gamma.-FeMn alloy is employed, due to corrosion during processing steps of an MR element or a magnetic head or due to corrosion by moisture in the air, an exchange-coupling force with the MR element deteriorates with the lapse of time.
Besides, since a recent MPU in which its throughput is sped up generates heat in quantity, due to that even in a magnetic recording device such as an HDD, the temperature rises up to around 393 K. during operation. Therefore, the exchange-coupling film between an antiferromagnetic film and a ferromagnetic film, from the view point of reliability, is required to have an exchange-coupling force of 200 Oe or more at 393 K. In order to attain an exchange-coupling force of 200 Oe or more at 393 K., it is necessary not only to have high exchange-coupling force naturally at room temperature but also to be excellent in its temperature characteristics of the exchange-coupling force.
Concerning the temperature characteristic of an exchange-coupling force, the blocking temperature where an exchange-coupling force between a ferromagnetic film and an antiferromagnetic film is lost is desirable to be as high as possible. However, the blocking temperature of a .gamma.-FeMn alloy is 443 K. or less and its exchange-coupling force shows very bad temperature characteristic. Therefore, under the temperature environment described above, enough exchange-coupling force can not be obtained.
Thus, there are problems that an MR element or a magnetic head in which a .gamma.-FeMn alloy is employed as an antiferromagnetic film is likely to deteriorate in its characteristics during manufacturing process and, further, under the above described environment of operation temperature, enough long term reliability can not be obtained. To circumvent these problems, for example, in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,468, a .theta.-Mn alloy such as a NiMn alloy which has a crystal structure of a face-centered tetragonal crystal system is disclosed to be used as an antiferromagnetic film.
In the above described gazette, it is disclosed that, when an antiferromagnetic film consisting of a .theta.-Mn alloy is employed, even in the higher temperature region, an exchange-coupling force between a ferromagnetic film and an antiferromagnetic film does not decrease. In addition, the present inventors have previously proposed an IrMn alloy having a crystal structure of a face-centered cubic crystal system as an antiferromagnetic film which has a high blocking temperature and a large exchange-coupling force, and is excellent in its corrosion resistance(Japanese Patent No. 2672802). As an antiferromagnetic film of the identical crystal structure, a .gamma.-Mn alloy such as a PtMn alloy or a RhMn alloy is known(see, specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,468).
However, an operation environment of an MR element or a magnetic head, in which an exchange-coupling film between an antiferromagnetic film and a ferromagnetic film is used, is becoming more and more severe. For example, an environment temperature during operation tends to rise. In addition, accompanying high densification of recording density, narrowing tendency of a track and a gap is proceeding. Under these circumstances, it is required for the magnetization of, for example, one ferromagnetic material layer to be firmly pinned down. From these reasons, even an antiferromagnetic film consisting of such as an IrMn alloy, a PtMn alloy, a RhMn alloy can not necessarily be said that enough exchange-coupling force is obtained. Thus, there is a demand of an exchange-coupling film, which shows a large exchange-coupling force at room temperature and higher temperature region, between an antiferromagnetic film and a ferromagnetic film.
Further, although a sputtering method is generally employed to form an antiferromagnetic film, all the above described antiferromagnetic materials are consisting of Mn alloys difficult in manufacturing of a high density target. Therefore, there is a problem that control of film quality or purity of the antiferromagnetic film is difficult. Since a crystal structure of a face-centered cubic crystal system is formed in Mn-rich region, it is particularly difficult to produce a target of excellent quality. Deterioration of the film quality or the purity of the antiferromagnetic film can be cause to lower the exchange-coupling force of the ferromagnetic film. In addition, in an MR element or a magnetic head in which such an exchange-coupling film is employed, the antiferromagnetic film is likely to be badly affected from the other layer constituting them to be prone to be deteriorated in its exchange-coupling characteristics.

Exchange-coupling film and, magneto-resistance effect element and magnetic head using thereof


A counterbalancing system is provided that can be easily installed to an exterior of a tailgate and provides a mechanism for arresting the tailgate in an open position. The system includes a stop assembly coupled to the vehicle and a counterbalance assembly adapted to be coupled in a pretensioned position to an outer periphery of the tailgate, the counterbalance assembly providing a counterbalance force when engaged with the stop assembly while the tailgate is opened or closed.

Typically, a tailgate is pivotally mounted between body side panels forming the pillars at the rear of the vehicle. The tailgate pivots about a hinge axis between a horizontal, open position and a vertical, closed position. Preferably, the mounting assemblies for the tailgate permit the tailgate to be removed, removal typically being accomplished when the tailgate is pivoted to a position between the fully open or fully closed position. For example, the tailgate may include hinge pins that extend outwardly along the hinge axis that removably connect into brackets carried on the truck body. When the tailgate is pivoted to a predetermined intermediate position, for example, 15° away from the fully closed position, at least one of the hinge pins slips through a slot in the connecting bracket as the tailgate is lifted at one end from the truck body.
Some of the tailgate mounting assemblies include counterbalance mechanisms, such as torque rods for assisting with the opening and closing of the tailgate. These torque rods are located, at least in part, within the tailgate for spring biasing between the tailgate and the body panel pillars. These torque rods typically require numerous components to assemble the torque rod to the tailgate.
In some instances, it may be desirable to keep the tailgate in the open position, such as for transporting material having a greater length than vehicle's bed. As such, the tailgate can be susceptible to closing by way of the counterbalancing mechanism. For example, the tailgate might bounce in a direction toward closure if the vehicle were to inadvertently go over a bump or into a pothole, and the counterbalancing mechanism would then assist in potentially closing the tailgate.


A bicycle seat and adjustable mount includes an arcuate rail extending generally upward and backward from a base mounted on a bicycle seat post, and a seat support slidably mounted on the rail and capable of being positioned at various positions along the rail. The seat support preferably carries a seat having a planar laterally elongated base with terminal upstanding hip restraints to position the rider on the seat.

This invention relates to seat assemblies for bicycles. More particularly, this invention relates to seat assemblies allowing for adjustment in angle, height and longitudinal position of the seat without the rider having to dismount from the bicycle.
The seat of a bicycle is required to perform a number of functions for the rider. It must support the rider comfortably for rides of long duration, it must position the rider for maximum efficiency in pedaling the bicycle, and it must aid the rider in controlling and stabilizing the bicycle. Various seat configurations have been devised to attempt to meet these objectives simultaneously. Because a rider may assume different positions with respect to the pedals of the bicycle in order to achieve maximum power for different conditions, e.g., uphill versus level riding, various adjustable seat mountings also have been devised.
Most bicycle seats are elongated in a longitudinal direction with respect to the bicycle frame, and typically have transverse extensions with a forward-extending pommel to conform to the rider""s anatomy and to aid in stabilizing and controlling the bicycle. This configuration of the seat, having a convex transverse cross-section, concentrates the force of the seat under the rider""s ischial tuberosities and becomes uncomfortable, especially for rides of long duration. Furthermore, in recent years evidence has been accumulating that in some cases the pommel of the seat pressing on this perineal area can cause injury. Various seats without pommels have been devised, but control has been sacrificed by not having the pommel to straddle.
Preferably, the seat should be configured with a concave transverse cross-section to distribute the force of the seat over the rider""s buttocks, and the seat should have elevated sides to provide the control lost by eliminating the pommel. Also, as the rider moves his body for optimal positioning, the seat should move along the same path to remain in contact with the rider to assure constant control, and the front of the seat should tilt downward to permit longitudinal pressing against the seat to counter forward thrust on the pedals, thereby increasing the thrust on the pedals to provide for maximum effort by the legs in turning the crank and to provide for maximum utilization of the rider""s weight. At other times the rider wishes to have the seat in a lower, backward position and bends forward to minimize wind resistance.
Since adjustments to most seats require dismounting from the bicycle, the seat remains stationary with respect to the bicycle frame while the rider is riding. Consequently, when the rider rises from the seat for greater power, he can no longer use the seat for stabilizing the bicyclexe2x80x94with considerable increase in effort, stabilization and control must now be achieved with his arms. Furthermore, when the rider stands up, any forward thrust on the pedals must be countered by pulling backward on the handlebars with his arms. (It should be noted that the only effort by the rider that contributes to forward movement of the bicycle is that which he can exert with his legs by applying force to the pedals, and any energy expended by his arms other than for steering is wasted energy.)
Preferably, the seat should snugly fit the rider by inward leaning flexible sides and/or by use of a constraining member such as a belt. The rider should then be able to unlock the seat remotely from one or more of its various constraining locks and move to a new orientation carrying the seat with him. When in the new desired attitude, the rider should be able to relock the seat in its new attitude.
Accordingly, a need has continued to exist for an adjustable, comfortable bicycle seat assembly that can aid the rider in providing maximum pedaling force, can provide the rider with continual control in various pedaling positions, and avoids the possible injury associated with a seat having a pommel. It also would be preferable for the rider to be able to perform all releasing and locking of the seat without removing his hands from the handlebars.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a seat assembly for a bicycle.
A further object is to provide a bicycle seat that does not have a pommel.
A further object is to provide a bicycle seat having side supporting members.
A further object is to provide a bicycle seat having angled and/or inward tilting side support members capable of grasping the sides of the buttocks of the rider to maximize control and to facilitate moving the seat into a new attitude.
A further object is to provide a bicycle seat having support members together with a constraining member such as a belt to maximize control and to facilitate moving the seat into a new attitude.
A further object is to provide a bicycle seat assembly that can ride along a rail so that the seat assembly can be simultaneously adjusted in both longitudinal position and in height.
A further object is to provide a seat assembly that can follow an optimal path positioning and supporting a rider over a full range of riding conditions.
A further object is to provide a seat assembly that can be adjusted in tilt position while riding the bicycle.
A further object is to have remotely controllable lock/release control from the handlebars for the several degrees of freedom in regard to the attitude of the seat assembly.
A further object is to have independently and/or simultaneously releasable degrees of freedom in regard to the attitude of the seat assembly.
A further object is to provide a bicycle seat assembly which can be tilted in a vertical plane to provide buttock support as counter-thrust for forward thrust on the pedals.
A further object is to provide a bicycle seat assembly wherein a rail that supports a seat can be shifted forward and backward and tilted to provide optimum seat positioning.
A further object is to provide a secondary tilt mechanism between the seat and the seat mount that rides on the rail.
A further object is to minimize counter-productive arm effort in control of the bicycle and countering forward thrust on the pedals.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the description of the invention which follows.
The above described needs have now been met by various aspects of the present invention, including a seat assembly having a concave transverse support member together with upstanding side support members slidably mounted on a rail.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a seat with a concave transverse support member and upstanding side support members slidably mounted on a rail via a seat mounting assembly that may be securely positioned at a plurality of locations along the rail. Depending upon the shape of the rail, the seat mounting assembly may comprise a single bushing with a partially circular channel, or a bushing box containing multiple bushings allowing for sliding along differently curved regions of the rail. The seat assembly may be secured at locations along the rail by hand via a plunger assembly, or electromechanically via a solenoid.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a seat as above that may be tiltably mounted on the seat mounting assembly and secured at a plurality of tilt positions. The tilt of the seat may likewise be adjusted through use of a plunger assembly or a solenoid.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a seat as above that may be adjusted along a translation rail mounted over the frame of the bicycle. The translation rail may be maintained level through use of an adjustable support assembly, and the seat may be secured at different locations along the rail through use of a plunger assembly or a solenoid.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a seat as above that may be adjusted rotationally about a central member and secured at a plurality of locations about the member through use of a plunger assembly or a solenoid.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a seat with a transverse and concave support member with upstanding side members that have slots to receive a restraining member or inwardly deflecting regions to hold a rider""s hips.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a substantially spherical bushing having a bore therethrough to permit sliding along a rail and an opening to permit securing about a keel, where the diameter of the bore varies to permit sliding along differently curved regions of the rail.


A system and method of operation is disclosed describing migration, management, and operation of applications and servers from customer data centers to cloud computing platforms without modification to existing environments or user access procedures. A cloud isolation layer operates as a virtual layer on the cloud platform, enabling server operation in a virtual environment that appears the same as the prior local environment. A cloud software image and a local cloud gateway act to redirect existing addressing from the local environment to the cloud implementation through secure network and data paths. A local management application provides a control interface and maps and manages the local environment and utilized cloud resources.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The invention deals with cloud computing, and more particularly with migrating, operating, and managing existing software environments from data center-based computing resources to cloud computing platforms.
2. Background
Cloud computing embraces the concept of providing computer resources as a third party service. Resources include storage, networking, and processing. Different cloud implementations offer different variations of available services. Commercial benefits include paying based on actual resources used, dynamic access to resources based on usage demands, and third party management of computing resources. Drawbacks include requirements to modify applications or operating environments to connect to a cloud provider, limitation to a specific cloud provider based on proprietary APIs, and third party control of computing resources. Third party control may introduce risks or questions about the security of data and the network.
Utilization of cloud computing resources is at various levels as provided at a platform level and as utilized by customers. There are strong economic incentives to utilize cloud resources, as local software solutions often require available hardware resources to meet maximum loads for every individual application or server. As such, local servers generally run without maximum resource usage. Moving to a cloud model allows a cloud provider to dynamically allocate resources based on current load, and charge only for specific usage. Thus a cloud customer removes both management costs and concerns of maintaining local hardware and avoids costs of provisioning hardware that may mostly be under-utilized except during high load spikes. While attractive due to management and utilization efficiencies, there are costs associated with moving existing applications to cloud platforms or configuring them to work with clouds. Complexity may range from recompiling an application for a specific platform to substantial code modifications to access and utilize cloud APIs. In addition to costs associated with moving applications to a new platform, there may be additional costs or overhead involved if utilizing the cloud changes how an existing application may be accessed. Adding or altering access methods for users may entail company-wide policy changes and retraining, which may be a significant hurdle preventing cloud utilization. Further, changes may be required to secure data, devices, and communications. Applications run within closed or secure networks, or connected to identifiable and secure hardware, may operate without securing each individual communication or data transaction. Cloud access is generally over the Internet, rather than restricted to internal access, and hardware resources and connections may be fully under third party control. Thus applications may need to add or implement security solutions protecting all data, network, and other device access calls once an application is moved to a cloud. Current products have taken different paths in attempts to address these problems and reduce the barriers to cloud utilization.
3. Description of Prior Art
Some products allow for cloud creation, allowing a company to run its own cloud. This addresses security and trust control, but does not maximize available cloud resources or the benefits of third party management, nor ease migration of existing applications in the cloud. Similarly, some products are designed to allow a customer to build a grid/cloud with a set of unique capabilities. These technologies are designed to allow seamless scaling of an application across a large pool of resources. To allow such scaling, the internal cloud must be scaled to handle peak resource utilization, and thus is less than fully utilized outside of the peak periods. Often the maximum resources must be allocated to equal the sum of the peak utilization of everything operating within the cloud, which leads to the management and cost burden of maintaining a full set of resources which may be lightly loaded for most of the time.
Other products help create new applications for the cloud and ease cloud adoption. At a first level, they access cloud application programming interface's (API's) to enable provisioning servers and using clouds. Users then define or build new applications utilizing templates to deploy applications to one or more clouds. In general, these products focus on building or delivering an application to a cloud—they create a standalone server or collection of servers in the cloud. The focus is to allow simplified horizontal scaling, or to create new application or services in or for the cloud rather than moving existing applications.
Additional products focus on tools and packaging to manage applications for the cloud. This is best described by building packages, environments, and components into a server that can be deployed to a specific cloud. The application can then be recompiled for a different cloud. These products provide tools and environments for packaging and deploying application to the cloud. The technology works by adding (or subtracting) components from the existing operating environments such that they can run in the cloud. They generally focus on altering existing applications to enable a move to a cloud. These solutions generally tie an application to a specific or individual cloud. Packaging solutions rebuild application images for each cloud, but do not account for data movement or modifications made directly to the application once deployed to the cloud, and therefore lock applications to the specific cloud.
Some products focus on providing more detailed monitoring of cloud resources. Generally, these are third party monitoring services. They enhance cloud monitoring capabilities, but are narrowly focused on that single aspect.
Similarly, some products provide control consoles (or portals) for the clouds. Their focus is to provide a simplified graphical interface for controlling and monitoring resources in the cloud. These are generally third party services, customized for cloud operation, and are narrowly focused to the control interface.
Some solutions provide cloud services (actual compute and storage resources) and products that enable customers to take advantage of these resources. These products are restricted to operate against resources that are managed by their specific software. These products require the cloud provider to install their components as part of the cloud or the whole cloud.
Some solutions focus on providing the capability to bridge the network between the cloud and the data center. Current solutions include inserting VPN software into the end users operating environment, or providing the ability to remotely connect to cloud deployments without completely integrating with existing data centers.
Some solutions enable virtual machines to be converted between underlying cloud formats (i.e. between hypervisor formats, and cloud specific functions). Some of these operate by recompiling an application for different clouds. Others convert the virtual machine image format so that they can be deployed into different cloud environments. The current solutions alter the users operating environment in order to allow them to execute in the different cloud environments.
United States Patent Application 2008/0080526 "Migrating Data to New Cloud" (Alexander G. Gounares et al., Apr. 3, 2008) discloses, in the Abstract, "a system and/or a method that facilitates preserving and maintaining data and/or services associated with a network service. The network service can be any collection of resources that are maintained by a party (e.g., third-party, off-site, etc.) and accessible by an identified user over a network (e.g., WAN, Internet, etc.). An interface component can receive a termination notification related to the network service. An executor component can relocate at least a portion of one of data and a service associated with the terminated network service to a disparate replacement network service in order to preserve any services and/or data related therewith."
United States Patent Application 2008/0082667 "Remote Provisioning of Information Technology" (Henricus Johannes Maria Meijer et al., Dec. 20, 2006) discloses, in the Abstract, "Hardware, software, service and/or expertise can be moved from on-premise to a remote location (e.g., central, distributed . . . ). Accordingly, at least a large degree computation can be moved to the center to exploit economies of scale, among other things. In such an architecture, computational resources (e.g., data storage, computation power, cache . . . ) can be pooled, and entities can subscribe to a particular level of resources related to a private entity IT network."
The existence of these varying solutions, and of varying cloud platform standards and options, adds an additional burden of cross-cloud compatibility. While a cloud-specific implementation may meet a customer's need, it may prove insufficient should it become beneficial to move the implementation to a different cloud platform. Such a move could be triggered by new cloud availability, new cloud offerings or supported technology, performance enhancements or degradations of existing clouds, new pricing for cloud resources, or failure or cessation of services of an existing cloud provider.
What is needed is a solution which provides network and data security without requiring third party trust, enables migration and operation of existing applications to and from a data center to any cloud without altering the application or user environment, monitoring of cloud performance integrated into the existing user environment, and utilization of multiple available clouds and cloud resources to maximize performance.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Environment preserving cloud migration and management


A parking assist system includes a control device. The control device continues an automatic parking process as a driver releases an operation on a brake pedal in a case where an obstacle is detected in a suspension area and an operation amount of the brake pedal has been equal to or more than a second threshold. The control device causes a brake device to stop a vehicle with a second brake force and suspends the automatic parking process in a case where the obstacle is detected in the suspension area and the operation amount of the brake pedal is less than the second threshold. The control device causes the brake device to stop the vehicle and cancels the automatic parking process in a case where the obstacle is detected in a cancellation area and the operation amount of the brake pedal is less than a first threshold.

During the execution of an automatic parking process by a parking assist system, a driver is required to monitor the surroundings and operate a vehicle as needed. Accordingly, the parking assist system determines how to execute a process in a case where the driver intervenes in the driving of the vehicle during the execution of the automatic parking process. For example, JP2007-331479A discloses that an automatic parking process is suspended in a case where the speed of a brake operation by a driver is high, while the automatic parking process is continued in a case where the speed of the brake operation by the driver is low.
However, the driver does not clearly understand a threshold of the speed of the brake operation related to these processes (namely, suspension or continuation of the automatic parking process). Accordingly, if the automatic parking process is suspended or continued depending on the speed of the brake operation, the driver cannot estimate one of these processes to which the current process will switch. Further, in a case where the parking assist system has a function of stopping the vehicle according to a brake operation by the parking assist system itself during the execution of the automatic parking process, it is necessary to determine which process to execute after the parking assist system stops the vehicle.


A surgical instrument in the form of a biopsy needle for removing tissue samples from a patient. The device has means for preloading to excise tissue samples of a preselected one of many possible tissue sample sizes. After preloading, the procedure is easily accomplished using a single hand. The tip is rendered less traumatic by positioning the distal end of the tissue sample notch relatively close to the very distal tip of the stylet. This is accomplished by grinding the distal tip of the stylet into an elliptical shape in a plane having a lateral projection which is away from the distal end of the tissue sample notch.

1. Summary of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to medical devices and more particularly relates to surgical instruments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The diagnostic advantages of obtaining and analyzing a tissue sample have been long known. This procedure is often termed biopsy. To be most useful, the surgical instrument or biopsy needle, utilized to obtain the tissue sample must be insertable through the skin of the patient, guidable through the body to the sample site, and capable of quickly and easily excising and removing the selected sample.
An early biopsy instrument is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,979, issued to van der Gaast, incorporated herein by reference. Called a disposable surgical skin punch by the inventor, the device is capable of taking manual core samples. U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,061, issued to Terwilliger et al., incorporated herein by reference, shows an extremely complex motorized version of a biopsy instrument. Though probably somewhat easier to operate, the cost of manufacturing such a device probably precludes disposable use, which has become a major health care consideration. Unlike the earlier device, Terwilliger et al. employs a stylet having a tissue notch concentrically slidable within a sharpened canula. This basic sampling technique has become the standard technique.
To facilitate maintenance of the tissue excising portion of the needle, U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,634, issued to Simon and incorporated herein by reference, shows the use of retractable barbs at the distal end. This may be particularly adapted to soft tissue use, particularly the breast. U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,860, issued to Leigh et al., incorporated herein by reference, shows a device especially intended to be disposable following single use. With the increasing awareness of blood borne viruses, disposability is now a key feature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,413, issued to Baran and incorporated herein by reference, describes a spring loaded device permitting single hand operation by attending medical personnel. Before use, the spring is compressed providing retraction of the outer canula proximally of the distal stylet tip. The distal end of the instrument is advanced to the sample site. Releasing the spring advances the sharpened canula over the stylet thus excising the tissue sample within the sample notch (see FIG. 9). This has become the typical method for biopsy procedures. Alternative tissue notch configurations are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,419, issued to Kaldany.


Disclosed are devices, programs and methods for determining a type of target peptide contained in a test sample, which relate to comparing first to third information on the target peptide obtained from the test sample with first to third information on a known peptide stored in the storage unit; and determining whether or not the target peptide is the known peptide, wherein the first information is a dissociation rate constant when the target peptide dissociates from a protein, in a solid phase carrier in which the target peptide is immobilized on a support through the protein binding to a peptide, the second information is a maximum value of a layer thickness change amount on the support, and the third information is information indicating that a dissociation mode of a peptide and the protein is either a single dissociation mode or a multiple dissociation mode.

A method for identifying a peptide includes, for example, a method for detecting a peptide by mass spectrometry (refer to US 2006/0243899 A).
The method described in US 2006/0243899 A is carried out as follows. First, a sample containing a specific substance to be measured such as a target peptide and a substance other than the specific substance is mixed with a matrix that is more likely to ionize the specific substance than the substance other than the specific substance. Then, the obtained mixture is irradiated with a laser beam, and the specific substance is specifically ionized. Thereafter, a mass spectrum of the ionized substance is obtained.
However, it is desired to more easily determine the type of the peptide.

Device, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and method for determining type of target peptide


Modified video is distributed to a viewer of a computer-implemented game by causing a processor to distribute, toward a terminal device of a viewer, a first video including an animation of a first avatar of a distributor generated based on motion data; distribute, toward the terminal device, a second video related to a computer-implemented game generated with operation data using a received web page; receive, from the terminal device, token data indicative of a token sent to the distributor from the viewer during execution of one unit section of the game; and distribute, toward the terminal device, the second video including, during one time section occurring after the one unit section of the game ends and before a next unit section of the game begins, a rendering of a token object selected based on the token data.

One example of a service used for distributing a video related to a computer game is known a service called Mirrativ provided on a website identified by the following URL.
https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/mirrativ-/id1028944599
With this service, the distributor uses a terminal device to distribute, to the terminal devices of a plurality of viewers, a video including an animation of an avatar generated on the basis of motion data related to the motion of the distributor.

Video modification and transmission using tokens


A passive filter for connection between an AC source and a load, in either three-phases or in a single-phase arrangement. The filter includes, for each phase, a trap circuit having an inductor in series with a capacitor, the trap circuit having at least two terminals. A line reactor is connected between the AC source and the load, the line reactor having at least an input terminal, an output terminal and a tap terminal. A switch selectively connects at least one of the trap circuit terminals to a selected one of the line reactor terminals. The switch is capable of selecting which of the trap circuit terminals to connect to which of the line reactor terminals on the basis of a level of voltage distortion being experienced by the AC source, or on the basis of a calculated level of background voltage total harmonic distortion.

Non-linear electric loads such as variable frequency motor drives with diode rectifier inputs draw current from an AC sinusoidal voltage source at multiple frequencies, that is, at the fundamental frequency of the AC source, and also at harmonic multiples of the fundamental frequency. The currents drawn at harmonic frequencies are undesirable, and considered distortion. Passive filters are commonly used to reduce the amount of undesirable harmonic current flowing from the load into the AC source. As an example, an input passive filter placed between the AC source and the harmonic load, as shown in FIG. 1, will reduce the harmonic currents flowing in the source (Iin) as compared to the harmonic load (Iout).
The purpose of the input passive filter is to reduce the amount of harmonic current flowing in the source. This is primarily accomplished by providing a trap circuit (L2/C2 in FIG. 2) that has low impedance at the relevant harmonic frequency, thus attracting the load harmonic currents to flow in the trap circuit and not in the source. The line reactor L1 further impedes the harmonic currents from flowing in the source. The trap circuit is connected to the line reactor tap terminal T3 for optimal harmonic performance.
Another passive filter implementation is shown in FIG. 3, wherein the line reactor L1 does not have a tap terminal, and the trap is connected to the line reactor end terminal T2. Under ideal electrical system conditions, with a sinusoidal ac voltage source, the passive filter circuit topology shown in FIG. 2 is a higher performing filter (achieves lower source current harmonic levels) for variable speed motor drive loads than the filter shown in FIG. 3.
Under non-ideal and real world conditions, the AC voltage source is not purely sinusoidal, sometimes containing up to 1%-5% background distortion (1%-5% rms voltage at harmonic frequencies of the fundamental) or more. In remote locations, such as rural oil fields, the voltage source can experience voltage distortion exceeding 10%. Background voltage distortion is defined as the distortion in the voltage provided by the electric utility or generator. It is equivalent to the distortion level of the input AC voltage with loads not operating or drawing current. As loads are added to the power system within a facility, additional voltage distortion will be produced by their harmonic load currents. The presence and level of background voltage distortion can significantly lower the performance of some passive filters, depending on the filter topology. As shown by the graph in FIG. 4, the tapped line reactor filter shown in FIG. 2 outperforms the non-tapped line reactor filter shown in FIG. 3 at low input background voltage distortion. However, at higher background voltage distortion, such as distortion greater than 2% vTHD (voltage total harmonic distortion), the non-tapped line reactor filter shown in FIG. 3 outperforms the tapped filter shown in FIG. 2 and produces a lower current THD.
It is known in the field that connecting the trap to the tapped terminal T3 as shown in FIG. 2 will improve the performance of the filter under normal voltage conditions (vTHD<1%), compared to connecting the trap the end terminal T2 as shown in FIG. 3. Passive filter topologies can be optimally built for low input voltage distortion (FIG. 2) or for high input voltage distortion (FIG. 3).
As the background AC voltage distortion varies over time at any given location on the AC network, a passive filter that provides optimal performance under any input distortion condition is needed.


Moldable compositions comprising metallic powder and/or ceramic powder, mixed an organic binder are disclosed, which comprises an ether polyamine of the formula (1) and/or a primary amine of the formula (2) : ##STR1## wherein A.sup.1 and A.sup.2 are alkylene groups or aryl-substituted alkylene groups; X.sup.1 is a residue of an active hydrogen atom-containing compound having at least 2 active hydrogen atoms; n is at least 1; m is 2-8; and X.sup.2 is an amino group represented by ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are hydrogen atom, alkyl groups or groups of the formula : --(A.sup.3 --O).sub.k --R.sup.3, wherein A.sup.3 is an alkylene group, R.sup.3 is hydrogen atom or an alkyl group and k is at least 1; R is hydrogen atom or an alkyl groups containing 1-30 carbon atoms, A is an alkylene group containing 1-4 carbon atoms, and r is an integer of at least 1.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to moldable metallic and/or ceramic composition, to process for producing a sintered body therefrom and to products resulting from same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to produce sintered bodies from moldable compositions comprising metallic and/or ceramic powder mixed with organic binders, such as those comprising a secondary or tertiary amines or combinations thereof with a thermoplastic resin (EP 0 329 475).
Compounds comprising such secondary or tertiary amines disclosed in EP 0 329 475 have drawbacks that the binder component is liable to bleed out from the surface of molded bodies during molding operations and the binder bleeded out may adhered to the mold to cause dificulties in continuous molding and problems arisen therefrom, and that the debinding temperature is relatively high. Thus, these known molding compositions are not always satisfied for industrial production.

Moldable composition, process for producing sintered body therefrom and products from same


In one embodiment, a method includes assigning at a server, priority levels to channels associated with video broadcast content, transmitting the assigned priority levels to a network device transmitting the video broadcast content to receivers, and updating the assigned priority levels based on channel information received at the server. A policy is applied to the video broadcast content based on the assigned priority levels when network congestion occurs. An apparatus is also disclosed herein.

In order to attract subscribers, providers of video services over IP (Internet Protocol) networks need to meet or exceed the video experience provided by existing services. The visual quality experience provided by IP networks may be impacted by many factors including packet loss due to network congestion.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Video content priority aware congestion management


Pillar-type connections and methods for fabricating a pillar-type connection. A conductive layer is formed on a bond pad. A second conductive layer is formed on the first conductive layer to define a conductive pillar. The conductive pillar includes a non-planar top surface defining a recess. The recess may receive a portion of a solder body used to connect the conductive pillar with a package.

The invention relates generally to semiconductor structures and the fabrication of semiconductor chips and, in particular, to pillar-type connections and methods for fabricating pillar-type connections during the back-end-of-line processing of semiconductor chips.
A chip or die includes integrated circuits formed by front-end-of-line processing using the semiconductor material of a wafer, a local interconnect level formed by middle-end-of-line processing, and stacked metallization levels of an interconnect structure formed by back-end-of line processing. After singulation from the wafer, chips may be packaged using a controlled collapse chip connection or flip chip process. Solder bumps provide mechanical and electrical connections between bond pads in the last or top metallization level and the package. The solder bumps establish physical attachment and electrical contact between an the bond pads and a complementary array of bond pads on a package.
Conductive pillars are a next generation flip chip interconnect technology that is competitive with solder bumps. Fine-pitch conductive pillars are capable of providing improved thermal and electrical performance, compared to solder interconnects, in smaller geometries and at tighter pitches. In addition, conductive pillars reduce the amount of solder required to form the mechanical and electrical connections between bond pads in the top metallization level and the package.
Improved pillar-type connections and methods for fabricating pillar-type connections are needed.

Conductive pillar shaped for solder confinement

International Business Machines Corporation


A packaging method for sanitary items, the preferred embodiment of which is a diapering kit. In the diapering kit example, one or more diaper wipe(s) (12) are rolled around a disposal bag (10). The disposal bag folds back over the wipes, and a diaper (20) is rolled around it. The disposal bag is closed by a releasable closure (18), leaving the closed end of the disposal bag exposed, and folds back over the rolled diaper. A third reusable closure (22) closes the disposal bag at the other end of the rolled diaper, and the disposal bag folds back over the rolled diaper to the half-way point where it is closed tightly around the rolled diaper by a fourth releasable closure (32). Four additional item storage locations are created within the disposal bag, with potential for storing several different material types.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to compact packaging methods for a plurality of related items, specifically those with storage means in the core; for example, a sanitary kit such as a disposable diaper changing kit including diapering items such as a diaper, a diaper wipe, and a impermeable disposal bag.
2. Prior Art
Many sanitary tasks such as changing a diaper require a number of items. In order to increase convenience, the concept of such products as a disposable diaper changing kit has evolved in which disposable versions of these required items are carried in a single, throwaway package. At a minimum, the example of a diapering kit requires a disposable diaper and one or more diaper wipes. In addition, most such kits include an impermeable bag for sanitary disposal. Additional items can include a barrier material for use as a changing surface and packages of baby powder, diaper rash cream, etc.
Previous patents (U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,378 to Finkel, et. al. on Oct. 27, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,161 to Jonese on Aug. 22, 1995; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,080 B1 to Habib, et. al. on Apr. 20, 2004) have attempted to address the need for making such kits smaller in size, resistant to water, disposable, and even capable of being dispensed from a vending machine. However, a more compact and simpler arrangement with fewer packaging elements that addressed these needs would be even more convenient. The invention disclosed herein possesses all of these properties.
Another approach to making the carrying of diaper changing supplies more convenient is to modify the diaper to carry additional items. U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,221 to Ehrlich on Sep. 9, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,052 to Feldman on Jun. 5, 1990; and 5,582,605 to Lepie on Dec. 10, 1996 take this approach. These inventions do not address the need for a more compact form of the kit or the need for water resistance. In addition, they require the addition of many packaging elements, all of which must be worn along with the diaper and therefore be hardy enough to stay together in a wide variety of situations. U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,307 to Colon, et. al, on Dec. 21, 1999 combines this strategy with an exterior water impermeable cover member and a more compact, folded arrangement. This invention also suffers from the need for several complicated packaging elements to be worn by the diaper wearer as well as not being as compact as the invention disclosed herein.
The general need for compact packaging has led to a number of inventions in which the core of a rolled object has been used for storing related materials. Such patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 2,130,728 to Berkman on Sep. 20, 1938, usually use caps placed on the ends of a hard, hollow core to keep the related materials inside the rolled object. Such concepts require additional packaging material that must be produced and disposed. A packaging concept, U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,195, patented to Hill on Aug. 24, 1967, uses multiple impermeable, flexible membranes to store film materials in hermetically sealed packages, internal to one another. The invention disclosed herein will use only a single impermeable, flexible membrane, which is also a functional element within the kit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,230 to Fisher on Oct. 29, 1996, for an individually packaged sanitary napkin with a cleaning wipe, allows for fairly compact packaging of a sanitary napkin within a material that can be used for disposal. This patent requires the creation of a pouch as part of the wrapper and within which the cleaning wipe or sanitary napkin may be disposed. It does not possess the concept of using an unmodified disposal bag as the primary means of packaging. In addition, the sanitary wrap is in a C-fold, as opposed to the more compact rolled arrangement. The patent is also specific to packaging a sanitary napkin with an adhesive backing, and does not address the broader field of sanitary item packaging such as a diapering kit and the potential need for packaging additional kit items other than a cleansing wipe. All of these packaging concepts also suffer from difficulty associated with removing the items from the packaging material, a difficulty that is eased by this invention.

Compact, rolled packaging for a group of sanitary items


A circuit for generating an internal source voltage which is applied to the memory elements of a semiconductor device. The circuit includes a reference voltage generating circuit for generating a reference voltage, a comparator for comparing the internal source voltage with the reference voltage, a driver for driving an external source voltage into the internal source voltage under the control of the comparator, and a low reference voltage generating circuit for generating a control signal to fully turn on the driver when the voltage level of the external source voltage is lower than the voltage level of the reference voltage generating circuit and which prevents the driver from receiving the output signal of the comparator so as to apply the external source voltage to the memory element of the memory device.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to a circuit for generating an internal source voltage in a semiconductor memory device.
As semiconductor memory devices have become more highly integrated, the memory cells in the memory devices have become increasingly miniaturized. Hence, if an external voltage supplied to the memory device is not properly adjusted, a strong electric field may be formed which will cause a stress to be applied to the memory device, thereby damaging the memory elements. The semiconductor memory devices having 16 Megabits should employ a circuit for generating an internal voltage to drop the level of the external voltage to the level of the operating voltage of the memory device. For example, semiconductor memory devices over 16 Megabits should use an internal voltage of 4V which is usually obtained by dropping the external voltage of 5V.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional circuit for generating an internal source voltage according to prior art. This circuit includes a reference voltage generating circuit 100 for generating a reference voltage Vrefs. Comparator 200 compares the internal source voltage int.Vcc with the reference voltage Vref. A driver 90 couples the external voltage ext.Vcc to the internal source voltage int.Vcc under the control of the comparator 200 and a burn-in reference voltage generating circuit 300. The internal source voltage int.Vcc is applied to the memory elements of the memory device, as well as, to an NMOS transistor N2 of the comparator 200. If the internal source voltage int.Vss drops below the reference voltage Vref, the level of the output signal G1 of the comparator 200 drops so as to fully turn on the driver 90 to compensate for the dropping internal source voltage int.Vcc. Alternatively, if the internal source voltage int.Vcc is increased above the reference voltage Vref, the output signal G1 of the comparator 200 is increased so as to turn off the driver 90 to permit the internal source voltage int.Vcc to drop to the reference voltage Vref.
If the voltage level of the external source voltage ext.Vcc is higher than the voltage level of the burn-in reference voltage, the burn-in reference voltage generating circuit 300 generates an output signal G3 having a logic "high" state so as to turn off transmission gates N4, P3 through inverters I1 and I2 and turn on a pull down transistor N5, so that the external source voltage ext.Vcc is applied to the memory device through the driver 90. In this case, since the transmission gate N4, P3 is turned off, the output signal G1 of the comparator 200 does not affect the signal G2 which is applied to a gate of the driver 90.
In such a conventional circuit for generating the internal source voltage, if the voltage level of the external source voltage ext.Vcc is lower than the voltage level of the reference voltage Vref, the transmission gate N4, P3 is turned on so as to cause the output signal G1 of the comparator to affect the driver 90. Consequently, when the internal source voltage int.Vcc is changed by a peak current generated in the memory drive, the voltage G2 changes so as to instantly drop the internal source voltage int.Vcc below the external source voltage. Thus, the operating speed of the memory elements is slowed down to cause an improper functioning of the memory.

Circuit for generating an internal source voltage


A pipe connector for offshore risers has conical thread forms. The connector has a pin with a nose, an external shoulder, and conical first and second pin threaded sections. The first and second pin threaded sections are axially separated by a pin intermediate section that is free of threads. The first and second pin threaded sections are formed on a single continuous taper and on a continuous helix. The intermediate section is also conical and at the same taper as the pin first and second threaded sections. The connecter has a box with a rim, an internal base, and a conical receptacle between the rim and the base. The conical receptacle has first and second box threaded sections that make up with the pin threaded sections. The box also has an intermediate section between its first and second threaded connections that is free of threads. The intermediate sections make up with radial interference. Upper and lower metal-to-metal sealing surfaces are located at the nose and at the base of the pin.

This invention relates in general to threaded pipe connectors, and particularly to a riser pipe for an offshore well.
In some offshore production facilities, riser pipes are used to convey well fluids from a wellhead at the sea floor to a production platform. The riser must provide sealing against high pressure for many years. Also, the riser must be able to accommodate bending moments and fatigue due to wind, waves, and current.
Threaded production riser comprises sections of pipe, each typically having a connector welded onto each end. One connector, referred to as the pin, inserts into a receptacle referred to as a box. The pin and box have conical threaded sections that engage each other. The pin has an external shoulder that makes up against the rim of the box. In some riser pipe, the pin and box have radial interference sections for forming metal-to-metal sealing surfaces near the external shoulder of the pin and near the nose of the pin. A stress relief groove may be located at the pin base.
While there are successful prior art connectors, improvements are desirable in reducing stress amplification factors throughout the connector, improving fatigue life, and reducing the potential for damage to the thread forms.
The pipe or connector of this invention has a pin with conical first and second pin threaded sections. The threaded sections are separated by a pin intermediate section that is free of threads. The first and second pin threaded sections are formed on a single continuous conical taper.
The box has a receptacle with first and second threaded sections that are configured to make up with the first and second pin threaded sections. Similarly, the first and second box threaded sections are separated axially by an intermediate section that is free of threads. The intermediate sections engage each other with radial interference, forming a metal-to-metal seal. Metal-to-metal seals are also located at the pin nose and at the pin base.
The first and second threaded sections are formed not only on the same conical angle, but also on the same helical pattern. Although the helix is interrupted by the intermediate section, the thread form of the second section is a continuation of the helix of the thread form of the first section. Preferably, the tapered pitch line of the pin threads differs slightly from the box tapered pitch line so as to form more radial interference between the threads near the nose of the pin than at the base of the pin.
A stress relief groove is located adjacent the external shoulder of the pin. One of the metal-to-metal sealing surfaces on the pin locates between the stress relief groove and one of the threaded sections. The other metal-to metal sealing surface is at the nose of the pin. The threads are preferably V-shaped, with blunt crests. The crests of the pin threads do not contact the roots of the box threads and vice-versa. Radial interference exists between the load flanks of the threads. A shallow recess is formed on the exterior of the box to reduce stiffness.


Signal management control units 47.sub.1 -47.sub.n of respective scan drivers LSI in an LCD module are cascade-connected and each have the same construction. A detected signal of the signal management control unit 47J is a data signal latch clock LP applied to a terminal CKB.sub.1. A detected signal of the signal management control unit 47.sub.2 is a frame start signal SP applied to a terminal CKB.sub.2. A detected signal of the signal management control unit 47n is an AC-transforming clock FR applied to a terminal CKBn. The signal management control unit 47.sub.1 includes a signal stop detection circuit 48 serving as a signal detection means for detecting a stop of the detected signal and a sequence processing circuit 51 consisting of a signal delay circuit 49 and a logic circuit 50. When stopping oscillations of, e. g., the frame start signal SP, outputs T.sub.1 -T.sub.n of the circuit 51 change to an L level. Hence, a display-off signal DF of the LCD module assumes the L level. A liquid crystal panel is forcibly set in a display-off mode. As a result, even if the frame start signal SP is stopped due to some cause, a liquid crystal application voltage is set down to zero. It is, therefore, possible to avoid a liquid crystal DC drive and prevent a deterioration of the liquid crystal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a flat display such as liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma display panels and also applied devices thereof, and more particularly, to a flat display device having such a configuration that a display body module and a display control unit for controlling the display are separately disposed as well as to a display body driving device.
2. Background Art
A portable personal computer and word processor known as a so-called laptop type generally have hitherto incorporated an opening/closing type flat display unit. Middle-and-large-sized liquid crystal display devices mounted therein each consist of, as illustrated in FIG. 9, a liquid crystal display unit 10 built into the device body and a flat liquid crystal display module unit 20 provided inwardly of an opening/closing cover so that these units are separately independently disposed. The liquid crystal display control unit 10 includes a liquid crystal module controller 12 and a microprocessor unit (MPU), not shown. The liquid crystal module controller 12 supplies a variety of control signals and clock signals to liquid crystal display module unit 20. The liquid crystal display module unit 20 has:, e. g., a simple matrix type liquid crystal display panel (matrix liquid crystal display elements) 22; a signal electrode driving circuit (X drivers) 24 and a scan electrode driving circuit (Y drivers) 26 which are TAB-packaged in peripheral regions (frame) of the panel 22; and a liquid crystal power source circuit 28 for generating high liquid crystal driving voltages (reference voltages) V.sub.0 -V.sub.5. Signal electrode driving circuit 24 is composed of a plurality of signal electrode driver semiconductor integrated circuits 24.sub.1 -24.sub.m which are cascade-connected. Signal electrode driving circuit 24 supplies driver outputs per picture line to, e. g., M-pieces of signal electrodes in total. More specifically, data signals D0-D7 are sequentially taken in a shift register within the signal electrode driving circuit 24 by pixel clocks (shift clock pulses) XSCL. When the signals (M bits) per picture line are taken in, the data signals within the shift register are transmitted in parallel to a data latch circuit by scan line synchronous signals (data signal latch clocks LP) YSCL. The data signals undergo series/parallel conversion. The data latch circuit holds a signal voltage per line during a 1-scan period. Based on this signal voltage, a selection switch circuit sets output voltages of drivers connected to the signal electrodes either in a selection state or in a non-selection state. The AC-transforming clock FR is a clock for transforming each voltage described above into an AC waveform in order to prevent a deterioration of the liquid crystal elements due to a DC drive. A forced blank display signal DF is conceived as a signal for forcibly bringing a liquid crystal picture into a blank display state. The scan electrode driving circuit 26 consists of a plurality of scan electrode driver semiconductor integrated circuits 26.sub.1 -26.sub.n which are cascade-connected. The circuit 26 works to give a section voltage to only one of a total of N pieces of scan electrodes and non-selection voltages to the rest of them, i. e., (N -1) pieces of scan electrodes. A 1-scan line period is started by the scan start pulse (frame start signal) SP. Every time a scan line synchronous signal YSCL (data signal latch clock LP) comes, the selection voltages are sequentially impressed on the scan electrodes from the first line electrode to the N-th line electrode (line sequence display). The liquid crystal power source circuit 28 disposed on the side of the liquid crystal display module unit 20 generates a plurality of liquid crystal driving voltages V.sub.0 -V.sub.5 selected by the selection switch of the scan electrode driving circuit 26 and the signal electrode driving circuit 24. The liquid crystal power source circuit 28 is set in power on/off states by the forced blank display signal DF.
The liquid crystal display control unit 10 built in the device body is connected to the flat liquid crystal display module unit 20 typically through a hinge-connected movable part by using a flexible cable 30. With this arrangement, the cable 30 itself is bent every time the opening/closing cover on the side of the flat liquid crystal display module unit 20 is opened and closed. Signal lines of the cable 30 tend to be damaged or disconnected due to physical factors. If a part of the signal lines are disconnected, there arises a situation where no AC drive is effected in such a state that a DC voltage (DC component) remains impressed on, e. g., a liquid crystal display panel 22. Deterioration of the liquid crystal display panel 22 is caused which is more expensive than other parts and therefore difficult to exchange. This liquid crystal deterioration is conceived as a factor of obstacle to display quality and life-span. This is a serious problem to the display device based on visual recognizability. Among the signals supplied to the liquid crystal display module unit 20 from the liquid crystal module controller 12, the signals which may induce a decline of the DC drive of the liquid crystal display panel 22 are a scan start pulse SP, a scan line synchronous signal YSCL (data signal latch clock LP), an AC-transforming clock FR, and a logic-side power source voltage Vcc. When some operational abnormalities occur in the liquid crystal module controller 12 and the microprocessor unit (MPU), abnormalities arise in the respective signals. There exists a possibility where the situation similar to the above-mentioned may take place.
Expanding the problem about the DC drive of the liquid crystal display body, this can be generalized to a problem associated with a signal abnormality on the side of the liquid crystal module unit. Besides, where a wall-mounted TV is presumed, because of a display control unit and a display panel being disposed in remote places, a problem in terms of deterioration in display quality is produced due to attenuation of signal level and the influence of noise as well as signal stoppage. Furthermore, problems also occur not only in liquid crystal displays but also plasma displays.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention devised in light of the above-described problems to provide a flat display device and a display body driving device which are capable of preventing deterioration of display characteristics due to a DC drive of a display panel, this deterioration being derived from an abnormality of a signal supplied from a display control unit to a display body module unit.

Flat device and display driver with on/off power controller used to prevent damage to the LCD


A system and method can support message pre-processing in a distributed data grid. The system can associate a message bus with a service thread on a cluster member in the distributed data grid. Furthermore, the system can receive one or more incoming messages at the message bus using an input/output (I/O) thread, and pre-process said one or more incoming messages on the I/O thread before each said incoming message is delivered to a service thread in the distributed data grid. Additionally, the system can take advantage of a pool of input/output (I/O) threads to deserialize inbound messages before they are delivered to the addressed service, and can relieve the bottleneck that is caused by performing all message deserialization in a single threaded fashion before the message type can be identified and offloaded to the thread-pool within the distributed data grid.

Modern computing systems, particularly those employed by larger organizations and enterprises, continue to increase in size and complexity. In areas such as Internet applications, there is an expectation that millions of users should be able to simultaneously access that application, which effectively leads to an exponential increase in the amount of content generated and consumed by users, and transactions involving that content. Such activity also results in a corresponding increase in the number of transaction calls to databases and metadata stores, which have a limited capacity to accommodate that demand.
Furthermore, modern applications have embraced scale out architecture as a solution to the challenges of cost, scale and application reliability and serviceability. This approach offers many advantages over legacy approaches which are typically dependent on using increasingly large and costly high-end servers. However, this approach generally suffers from one persistent and challenging limitation: the input/output (I/O) bottleneck. Thus, the performance and efficiency of modern highly distributed systems may be constrained by the communication mechanism that connects all of the system components.
This is the general area that embodiments of the invention are intended to address.

System and method for supporting message pre-processing in a distributed data grid cluster


A data transfer switch includes a switch controller and a selector switch unit. The switch controller selects one of transfer requests having the same output accommodation unit serving as a transfer destination from all transfer requests output from the input accommodation units, outputs a selector control signal, as data to be transferred to a transfer destination output accommodation unit, the selector control signal designating to select data from a transfer source input accommodation unit, and outputs a transfer permission to the transfer source input accommodation unit. The selector switch unit selects, on the basis of the selector control signal output from the switch controller, one of data output from the input accommodation units as data to be transferred to each output accommodation unit, connects the transfer source input accommodation unit to the transfer destination output accommodation unit in a one-to-one correspondence, and transfers the data from the transfer source input accommodation unit to the transfer destination output accommodation unit in accordance with the transfer permission in one direction.

The present invention relates to a data transfer switch and, more particularly, to a data transfer switch for transferring and outputting data of an arbitrary length input from a predetermined input accommodation unit to a predetermined output accommodation unit.
A conventional data transfer switch having a plurality of input accommodation units (input ports) and output accommodation units (output ports) to transfer data of an arbitrary length from an arbitrary input accommodation unit to an output accommodation unit through a predetermined medium (physical medium) has an arrangement shown in FIG. 13.
In input accommodation units 101a to 101n, transfer requests 105a to 105n are output from input controllers 113 to a system bus controller 103 to request data transfer through a medium, i.e., a system bus 104 in response to external data write access to memories 111.
In response to these transfer requests, the system bus controller 103 checks the use state of the system bus 104 and outputs transfer permissions 106a to 106n to the input controllers 113 to permit data transfer if the system bus 104 is free.
Upon reception of the transfer permissions 106a to 106n, the input controllers 113 designate the start of data transfer to data transfer sections 112. The data transfer sections 112 read out data from the corresponding memories 111 and output the readout data onto the system bus 104.
In output accommodation units 102a to 102n, data receiving sections 121 receive data of the corresponding ports from the system bus 104 and write them in corresponding memories 122, thereby completing the data transfer. The data are externally read out from the memories 122 at subsequent predetermined timings.
In this conventional data transfer switch, the plurality of input accommodation units and the plurality of output accommodation units share the medium (physical medium), i.e., the system bus 104. To use this medium, the transfer requests are arbitrated or scheduled in accordance with predetermined rules, thereby performing data transfer between an arbitrary input accommodation unit and an arbitrary output accommodation unit. For this reason, the sum of output transfer rates capable of outputting data from the respective input accommodation units and the sum of input transfer rates capable of receiving data by the respective output accommodation units are limited by the data transfer rate of this physical medium (electrical transfer rate of the physical medium). When the data output transfer rate of each input accommodation unit and the data input transfer rate of each output accommodation unit come close to the data transfer rate of the medium, the numbers of input and output accommodation units are undesirably limited.
Another conventional switch is also proposed to increase the data transfer rate of the medium itself. In this switch, a tag representing an output destination is imparted to data in an input accommodation unit, and data are distributed at an intersection constituting a transfer switch on the basis of the tag. With this arrangement, when a plurality of data for the same destination simultaneously reach the intersection, a data loss occurs. To avoid this, a queue buffer must be arranged to perform contention control. The buffer capacity is undesirably increased with an increase in the number of intersections.

Data transfer switch for transferring data of an arbitrary length on the basis of transfer destination

Ultra-High Speed Network and Computer Technology Laboratories


Partial reconfiguration of a programmable integrated circuit can include loading, using computer hardware, a platform design including a module black-box instance corresponding to a user design and marking, using the computer hardware, data of the platform design including data relating to synchronous boundary crossings between the platform design and the module black-box instance and implementation data for the platform design within an extended routing region available for routing the user design. Unmarked data can be removed from the platform design resulting in a shell circuit design. The user design can be implemented based on the shell circuit design and timing constraints corresponding to the marked data in the shell circuit design.

A programmable integrated circuit (IC) refers to a type of device that includes programmable circuitry. An example of a programmable IC is a field programmable gate array (FPGA). An FPGA is characterized by the inclusion of programmable circuit blocks. Examples of programmable circuit blocks include, but are not limited to, input/output blocks (IOBs), configurable logic blocks (CLBs), dedicated random access memory blocks (BRAM), digital signal processing blocks (DSPs), processors, clock managers, and delay lock loops (DLLs).
Typically, each programmable circuit block includes programmable interconnects and programmable logic (referred to collectively as "programmable circuitry"). Programmable interconnects typically include a large number of interconnect lines of varying lengths interconnected by programmable interconnect points (PIPs). Programmable logic implements the logic of a user design using programmable elements that may include, for example, function generators, registers, arithmetic logic, and so forth.
The programmable circuitry may be programmed by loading a stream of configuration data into internal configuration memory cells that define how the programmable elements are configured. The configuration data can be read from memory (e.g., from an external PROM) or written into the FPGA by an external device. The collective states of the individual memory cells then determine the function of the FPGA.
Some programmable ICs may be partially reconfigured. Partial reconfiguration refers to a capability in which a region of programmable circuitry of the device is reconfigured by loading different configuration data therein to implement different circuitry in the region than was previously implemented. The region is a portion of the available programmable circuitry on the device. Other portions of programmable circuitry of the device not included in the region may implement circuitry that is capable of operating uninterrupted by reconfiguration of the region. Partial reconfiguration allows the programmable IC to implement different circuit designs in a designated region over time while other neighboring and/or surrounding programmable circuitry of the device continues to operate without interruption.

Partial reconfiguration of integrated circuits using shell representation of platform design with extended routing region