A merged memory logic (MML) integrated circuit includes an adjustable clock generator configured to receive a input clock signal and produce an adjustably delayed clock signal therefrom responsively to a control signal generated by a programmable logic circuit. A buffer has a clock input for receiving the adjustably delayed clock signal and is configured to receive an input data signal and produce a corresponding output data signal therefrom responsive to the adjustably delayed clock signal. The adjustable clock generator preferably includes a clock generator configured to receive the input clock signal and produce a output clock signal therefrom, and an adjustable delay circuit which receives the output clock signal and generates the adjustably delayed clock signal therefrom, the adjustably delayed clock signal being delayed by a selected one of a plurality of selectable delay intervals with respect to the output clock signal. The adjustable delay circuit may include a plurality of delay circuits, a respective one of which is configured to receive the output clock signal and produce a respective delayed clock signal therefrom, the delayed clock signal being delayed a respective predetermined delay with respect to the output clock signal. One of the delayed clock signals is selectively coupled to the clock input of the buffer, preferably through a switch of a plurality of switches which are operative to connect the plurality of delay circuits to the clock input of the buffer.

Merged memory logic (MML) integrated circuits are conventionally used in lightweight or compact systems to provide high performance and reduced power consumption. A typical MML integrated circuit includes memory, e.g., a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM), along with logic appropriate to control the memory, combined on a single chip. Typically, the logic controls the writing and reading of data in the memory.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional semiconductor memory integrated circuit 101. The integrated circuit 101 includes an input terminal clock buffer 111, an input buffer 121, an output terminal clock buffer 141, an output buffer 131 and a memory 151. The input terminal clock buffer 111 generates an internal clock signal PCLK in response to an external clock signal CLK. The input buffer 121 transmits received data DI1 to the memory 151 in response to the internal clock signal PCLK. The input terminal clock buffer 111 includes an internal clock generator 113 for generating the internal clock signal PCLK from the external clock signal CLK, the internal clock signal being delayed by an interval introduced by a delay 115.
Similarly, the output terminal clock buffer 141 generates an output clock signal DLKDO in response to the clock signal CLK. The output buffer 131 produces data DQ2 from data DQ1 received from the memory 151 in response to the output clock signal DLKDO. The output terminal clock buffer 141 includes an output control clock generator 143 for converting the clock signal CLK to the output clock signal DLKDO, delayed by an interval introduced by a delay 145.
Variations in process conditions can cause variations in the timing characteristics, e.g., setup and hold times, of memory integrated circuits. Compensation for these variations may require changes to the masks of the delays or other structures in the memory integrated circuit, often resulting in production delays, increased cost, and the like.

Merged memory logic integrated circuits including buffers driven by adjustably delayed clock signals


A highly reliable light-emitting device is provided, which is capable of effectively suppressing detrimental effects of sulfuric gas. A light-emitting device comprising a solid light-emitting element 1, a metal member 2 reacting with sulfuric gas and a phosphor-containing layer 5 that contains a phosphor 3, the phosphor-containing layer 5 containing a sulfuric gas-adsorbing substance 4 that adsorbs sulfuric gas, and, when the phosphor-containing layer 5 is tripartitioned from the side near the metal member to far into a proximal layer portion, an intermediate layer portion and an outer layer portion, the concentration of sulfuric gas-adsorbing substance 4 in the proximal layer portion is made to be higher than those for the intermediate layer portion and the outer layer portion.

Although the current mainstream in light sources for lighting are fluorescent tubes and filament bulbs, light-emitting devices with LED as light source are becoming more widely used, since, compared to a fluorescent tube or the like, when an LED is used in a light source, in addition to power consumption being low, life span being long and safety being provided of not being hot to the touch, environmental aspects are excellent with no harmful substance such as mercury being contained.
Known as light-emitting devices using LEDs are light-emitting devices provided with a constitution in which, for instance, LEDs are disposed over a metal plate comprising silver plating performed on copper serving as a reflective plate, and the LEDs and metal plate are sealed with a phosphor-containing resin comprising a phosphor included in a resin such as silicon resin.
When a sulfur-containing phosphor is used in such a light-emitting device, since sulfur-containing phosphors react readily with water, sulfuric gas such as hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide or sulfur trioxide is generated, for instance, by reaction with atmospheric moisture, or the like, and problems have been pointed out, such as, this sulfuric gas corrodes a metal member, for instance, a metal member inside an element that is provided for the purpose of raising the reflectance of the reflective plate, such as an Ag-plating film (hereafter referred to as "Ag reflective film"), decreasing the reflection performance thereof, or provoking an electrical defect such as wiring disconnection.
In addition, since sulfuric gas is present in the atmosphere at hot spring resorts or the like, even when a phosphor other than a sulfur-containing phosphor is used, the possibility has been pointed out, that, due to atmospheric sulfuric gas, a metal member inside an element, such as an Ag reflective film, becomes corroded, decreasing the reflection performance, or provoking an electrical defect such as wiring disconnection.
Upon examining the techniques proposed in prior art for solving such problems regarding light-emitting devices, for instance, with the purpose of improving moisture-resistance or the like, methods of covering this species of phosphor with a glass material or the like (Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5), the method of covering the surface of phosphor particles by a chemical vapor phase reaction method (Patent Document 6), the method of binding particles of a metal compound (Patent Document 7), and the like, have been proposed.


A transcervical intrauterine catheter applicator for the hyperthermia/thermal therapy treatment of the uterus. The applicator includes one or more EMR antennas and one or more temperature sensors for measuring the temperature of the endometrial tissue. Each EMR antenna has an elongated helical coil connected to the center conductor of a coaxial cable to thereby generate a light bulb shaped radiation pattern and thus generate a similar-shaped pattern of thermal energy in the endometrium tissue. The catheter can be of the balloon type that can be inflated, thereby radially moving the antenna and temperature sensor against the walls of the uterus.

Hyperthermia (i.e., thermal therapy or intentionally induced above normal temperature, has proved to be beneficial in treating tumors (both benign and malignant growths) in animals and humans. External wave guide applicators have been used to treat superficial lesions; wave guide applicators positioned around a body or limb have been used in an attempt to heat deep seated lesions; interstitial (within the tissue) antennas have been employed to invasively treat tumors such as unresectable breast cancer; and intracavitary (inside a naturally occurring cavity, a.k.a. intraluminal, endotract, etc.) approaches have been employed to heat growths in, and adjacent to, naturally occurring cavities such as the esophagus and the prostatic urethra.
Attempts to employ EMR to heat subsurface growths ordinarily result in temperatures in the intervening normal or non-targeted tissue reaching hazardous levels before the tumor or target tissue temperatures reach prescribed thermal dose levels. The advantage of interstitial and intracavitary approaches is that the applicator is positioned inside or adjacent to the target tissue. Thus, heating is localized to the area immediately around the source of the EMR, is confined to the target tissue, and does not overheat significant amounts of non-targeted tissue before reaching the desired temperature in the target tissue.
The major advantage of an intracavitary approaches is that it is minimally invasive (unlike interstitial techniques), non-surgical, and allows direct access to the target tissue.
The terms hyperthermia and thermal therapy are used herein interchangeably. Hyperthermia is broadly defined herein as any above normal temperature and includes terms of fever (37-41.5 degree C), hyperthermia (typically defined as 41.5-45 degree C), thermal therapy (typically defined as 45-55 degree C), coagulation necrosis (>55 degree C), cauterization, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,407,690 by Southworth teaches the advantages of using external wave guide apparatus for diathermy and how the wave can be directed down tubular orifices. But the Southworth body passage insertable waveguide applicator concentrates the heating pattern at the radiating tip of the applicator. Thus, the use of Southworth type applicator results in non-uniform heating of the tissues along the length of a tubular organ.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,246 by LeVeen describes an RF helical antenna with the helical antenna coils wound tightly together (i.e., windings without any space therebetween) for interstitial and intracavitary use. The LeVeen helical coil antenna propagates energy from the distal tip of the applicator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,836 by Turner is stated to be for a microwave antenna that provides uniform heating along the length of the esophagus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,716 by Kasevich et al discloses a device that provides uniform heating along the entire length of the applicator array.
Dipole type antennas have been employed in intracavitary applicators, but such type of applicators concentrate the energy propagation and result in a heating pattern around the "junction" that is proximal to the distal tip of the antenna.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,880 by Stauffer et al., illustrates an implantable helical coil antenna adaptable for interstitial hyperthermia that is designed with a "gap" between the proximal end of the coil and the outer coaxial conductor. This design provides uniform heat along the active length of the coil and the heating pattern is unaffected by the insertion depth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,566 by Hines describes a helical antenna that is substantially equivalent to the Stauffer et al., design except that there is no "gap", in that the proximal end of the antenna coil is connected to the outer conductor. In the Haines patent, it is contended that the design provides more uniform heating along the length of the coil.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,097,845 and 4,841,988 by Fetter et al., describe a helical coil antenna that is similar to the Hines design, except that the separation between the windings varies in an attempt to provide uniform heating along the axial length of the antenna.
Intracavitary hyperthermia has been employed to treat cancer of the prostate (CaP), benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), and other conditions of the prostate. Both atransrectal and transurethral treatment approaches have been developed.
Mendecki et al., described in a publication entitled "Microwave Applicators for Localized Hyperthermia Treatment of Cancer of the Prostate"; Int. J. Radiation Oncology, Bio., Phys., Vol. 6, pp 1583-1588), 1978, a transrectal applicator with a dipole antenna for the treatment of CaP.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,154 by Sterzer et al., describes a transrectal applicator (identical to that described by Mendecki, et al) that is equipped with a temperature sensor in a transurethral catheter to monitor temperatures.
Yerushalmi et al., published an article "Normal Tissue Response to Localized Deep Microwave Hyperthermia in the Rabbit's Prostate: A Preclinical Study"; Int. J. Radiation Oncology, Bio., Phys., Vol. 9, pp 77-82, 1982, describing the results of transrectal hyperthermia experiments on rabbit tissue. U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,296 by Yerushalmi describes a transrectal applicator with channels for circulating a cooling agent around the surface of the applicator to spear the rectal wall tissues in contact with the applicator. Subsequently, a number of publications and patents have been issued for different designs for transrectal applicators (e.g., Eshel, European patent application 0 248 758 A1; and Eshel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,429).
Transurethral hyperthermia has been employed to principally treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Mebust reports in the editorial comments section of another publication entitled "Transurethral Hyperthermia for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia; Preliminary Clinical Results"; The Journal of Urology; Vol. 143, May, 1977, that in 1977 a high frequency electrical surgical current was used in a transurethral approach to treat patients with BPH.
As described in the article entitled, "Microwave Surgical Treatment of Diseases of Prostate"; Urology, Vol. XXVL, Number 6; pp 572-576, 1985, Harada et al., employed transurethral hyperthermia to treat human patients for CaP and BPH using a rigid microwave monopole antenna to cause coagulation necrosis.
Saprozink publicly disclosed (Mar. 31, 988) in Medical Tribune, "Transurethral Hyperthermia for BPH: Trial's Goal is to Top 80% Success", by Rick McGuire, Thurs., Mar. 31, 1988, pp. 3, 13, 14, a foley catheter built by Astrahan with three EMR antennas, a temperature sensor and a balloon for transurethral hyperthermia for the treatment of BPH.
Turner et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,765 for a urethral inserted applicator for prostate hyperthermia that contains a single helical coil antenna, temperature sensor means and a balloon.
Hascoat/TechnoMed's European patent application 0 370 890 A1 describes a transurethral catheter with a MW antenna that is positioned with a transrectal ultrasound transducer imaging probe.
Sogawa et al., describes an endotract applicator (U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,383) that employs a balloon to fix a dipole antenna in a tubular organ. The transrectal applicator is shaped to be held in place by the rectal sphincter.
Matsuda's intraluminal applicator described in "Heat Application for Clinical Carcinoma of the Esophagus; Intraluminal hyperthermia for esophageal tumors"; Hyperthermia Oncology 1988, Vol. 2, Special Plenary Lectures, Proceeding from the 5th International Symposium on Hyperthermic Oncology, Kyoto, Japan, Aug. 29 Sep. 3, 1988, pp 715-716, employed a balloon with circulated fluid to position the applicator in the esophagus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,765 by Turner et al., discloses the use of a standard foley balloon catheter in the bladder neck to position the transurethral applicator.
Eshel (European Pat. Application 0 248 758) used a balloon on the posterior surface of a transrectal -applicator to push the anterior surface of the applicator against the rectal wall and posterior lobe of the prostate.
Hascoat (European patent application 0 370 890 A1) employed saline filled balloons as a "radio reflective screen" to protect non-target tissues from microwave exposure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,437 by Sterzer used two balloons; one to position the applicator in the bladder neck and a second to compress the tissues during treatment.
None of the above identified patents or publications suggests the use of intracavitary EMR (microwave) hyperthermia (thermal therapy) as a non-surgical approach to endometrial ablation.

Transcervical intrauterine applicator for intrauterine hyperthermia


A unitary protective pipe cover for disposition about a pipe configuration under a conventional sink, and which is sized and shaped so as to cover the J-trap, as well as the waste arm, in the undersink pipe configuration. In the event that the waste arm extends at an acute angle with respect to the J-trap, the pipe cover can be severed and the two severed pipe cover sections can be secured together in a generally tamper proof arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in a pipe cover adapted for disposition around pipes under a sink in order to cover same, and more particularly, to a unitary jacket adapted to generally conform to the shape and size of the undersink pipe configuration, to thereby cover same, and where the jacket can be adapted to conform to the shape of the pipe configuration, in the event that the waste arm extends at an acute angle with respect to the J-trap of the undersink pipe configuration.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis in covering undersink pipes, primarily, although not exclusively, to protect those individuals who are wheelchair bound, and who might otherwise roll their wheelchair to a partial undersink position. In this case, the knees and legs of the individual in the wheelchair might otherwise come into contact with a pipe forming part of a pipe configuration. If hot water should be passing through, or have recently passed through that pipe, the individual in the wheelchair would become burned. Moreover, the party in a wheelchair may be less able to extricate himself or herself from that situation as quickly as an ambulatory individual.
In addition to the foregoing, pipe configurations under a sink frequently contain edges, such as edges on pipe nuts and the like and exposed threads, which can actually be injurious to a person who comes into moderately hard contact with such portion of a pipe configuration.
Recently, and at least in the United States, the Americans With Disabilities Act has mandated protection on undersink pipes in certain public buildings, in order to reduce the incidence of this type of injury. As a result, many public buildings are required to have such protection on undersink pipe configurations. As a result, there has been a plethora of undersink protective covers for disposition around the undersink pipe components.
Generally, the undersink pipe configuration includes a J-trap, that is, a pipe section generally having a J-shape, with a pair of vertically arranged legs connected by a U-shaped section. There is also a waste arm which connects to a pipe, usually within a wall structure, and designed to carry waste water which passes through the J-trap and waste arm from the sink. In most cases, the waste arm generally lies in the same plane as the J-trap. However, depending upon the structure of the room involved, the waste arm can extend at an acute angle, with respect to the plane of the J-trap.
There have been several proposed protective jackets in the prior art which are provided in individual components, such as the J-trap cover and a waste arm cover. These covers are comprised of a heat insulative material designed to provide a degree of heat insulation by the jacket, in order to potentially reduce the incidence of burns and abrasive injuries. These jackets are comprised of a first jacket section having a generally J-shaped configuration, and a waste arm jacket having the shape of a waste arm, which is frequently in an L-shape. These jacket sections are designed to be located relative to one another so that they effectively cover the undersink pipe, which carries waste water from the sink to a drain pipe, generally located in a structure beyond the wall, as aforesaid.
Many of these commercially available protective covers for undersink pipe configurations were formed of injection molded plastics. They were longitudinally slit from end to end, so that the jacket could be spread apart and disposed about the pipe. However, the jacket essentially had to have the configuration of the section of pipe about which it was to be fitted. Each of these jackets or covers included pairs of apertures spaced along the longitudinal slit, and were sized to receive fastening means, and particularly, pin-type fasteners.
There are numerous U.S. patents representative of this type of device, and these include U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,730 to Trueb et al., and other related Trueb et al. patents. In this system proposed by Trueb et al., and although the jacket arrangement is initially provided as a unitary piece, it cannot be used in the fashion as shown, but must be separated so that it can properly fit upon an undersink pipe configuration. Also representative of fasteners used for securing edges of a jacket together along a longitudinal slit is the Du Laney U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,019, and the Guskea U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,100.
Another form of pipe cover arrangement is also shown in the Helmsderfer U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,412 and other related patents to Helmsderfer. The applicant of this application also has proposed a unitary pipe cover jacket which is normally formed of a fabric material, as opposed to an injection molded material, as for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,334 dated Oct. 8, 1991. However, this pipe cover, although being insulated, was not formed of an injection molded plastic material. As such, it did not spring back around the pipe itself when disposed about the pipe.
There were a number of problems with these prior art protective covers. First of all, they frequently did not fit properly. In many cases, the waste arm extended outwardly away from, and at an angle to, the plane of the J-trap. These prior art covers attempted to make some accommodation, but were not truly effective for that purpose. Secondly, and in the case of the covers disclosed in the Trueb et al. patents, they were frequently installed in an upside down position, and therefore, did not properly fit upon the pipe configuration. Thirdly, and with many of the previously described pipe covers, installers frequently complained about the difficulty in installing the covers. In addition, they were not necessarily vandal proof and could be removed from the pipe arrangement about which they were disposed.
In about the mid-1980s, there was an injection molded pipe cover which had a unitary structure, and which had a shape to fit over the J-trap and the P-trap of an undersink pipe configuration. In effect, this single cover which was also longitudinally slit from end to end, could be opened and resiliently extend back about the pipe configuration. When the waste arm was in the same plane as the J-trap, the pipe cover functioned quite well. However, in many cases, as aforesaid, the waste arm did not extend in the same plane as the J-trap. In those cases, there were attempts to make the pipe cover fit about the jacket because of its resiliency, but it did not properly fit, and in some cases, did not fully enclose the pipe about which it extended. Thus, if the waste arm extended angularly away from the J-trap beyond a relatively small angle, the jacket would not properly fit.
This unitary structure prior art cover or jacket, however, could have been separated in the region where the waste arm would be connected to the J-trap, so that it would form two pieces, essentially in the same manner as that shown in the Trueb et al. patents. However, it did not include suitable means for coupling the two pieces together after they were severed into two pieces from the unitary piece.
Notwithstanding the plethora of heat protective covers which have been offered in the marketplace, there has been a need for a protective cover for disposition around undersink protective pipes, which could be provided as a unitary piece, and severed if necessary, and coupled together about a pipe configuration in a generally tamper proof manner, and which was easy to install and highly efficient in operation.

Unitary pipe cover assembly for undersink pipes


A device for multi-stage translation of prefetch requests includes a prefetch queue for providing queued prefetch requests, each of the queued prefetch requests including N different control entries; N serial-connected translation stages for the translation of N control entries of one of the queued prefetch requests into a translated prefetch request, wherein a translation in a i-th translation stage is dependent on a translation in a (i−1)-th translation stage, iε[1, . . . , N]; and a prefetch issuer which is configured to control an index for each of the N different control entries in the prefetch queue and to issue a prefetch of the indexed control entry of the N different control entries for the highest non-stalled translation stage.

The invention relates to a device and to a method for multi-stage translation of prefetch requests. Such a device may be part of an I/O (Input/Output) controller. The I/O controller may be coupled to a processing unit, e.g., a CPU, and to a memory. The I/O controller may include an I/O link interface, an address translation unit and an I/O packet processing unit.
Following the trend for virtualization in processor cores, virtualization is finding increasing adoption in the I/O space as well. Together with the trend for network adapters to provide user-level-like queue based interfaces to the consumers, mainly used for providing each virtual machine running on the system with at least one private queue for interaction with the network device, I/O virtualization support in the I/O root complex, which is usually a PCI Express root complex, gains increasing importance. This requires the PCI Express Host Bridge (PHB) to provide address translation capabilities, such that different physical or virtual functions of a device can access their own virtual address space safely. This is becoming an increasing challenge with the increasing line speeds of PCI Express and the high parallelism used by I/O devices that creates little spatial locality in the requests from the device and thus increases the pressure on the root complex address translation unit.
At the same time, the translation caches of the root complex need to be small in order to be able to fit multiple root complexes on a processor to support a large number of links with different link configuration. The caches can also not be shared easily between PHBs as the attached devices usually do not share the same virtual domains and therefore require their own translations and caches. In addition, as mentioned above, virtualized devices in general show little spatial and temporal locality that would improve the efficiency of the translation unit cache.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,297 B2 describes a method and an apparatus for performing just-in-time data prefetching within a data processing system comprising a processor, a cache or prefetch buffer, and at least one memory storage device. The apparatus comprises a prefetch engine having means for issuing a data prefetch request for prefetching a data cache line from the memory storage device for utilization by the processor. The apparatus further comprises logic/utility for dynamically adjusting a prefetch distance between issuance by the prefetch engine of the data prefetch request and issuance by the processor of a demand (load request) targeting the data/cache line being returned by the data prefetch request, so that a next data prefetch request for a subsequent cache line completes the return of the data/cache line at effectively the same time that a demand for that subsequent data/cache line is issued by the processor.
JP 2010-217992 shows a cache controller, a cache control method and a cache control program.
In the European Patent Application 11195663.7, an I/O controller is described which is coupled to a processing unit and to a memory. The I/O controller includes an I/O link interface, an address translation unit, an I/O packet processing unit, and a prefetcher. The I/O link interface is configured to receive data packets having virtual addresses. The address translation unit includes an address translator for translating received virtual addresses into real addresses by translation control entries and a cache allocated to the address translator for caching a number of the translation control entries. The I/O packet processing unit is configured to check the data packets received at the I/O link interface and to forward the checked data packets to the address translation unit. The prefetcher is configured to forward address translation prefetch information from a data packet received at the I/O link interface to the address translation unit. Further, the address translator is configured to fetch the translation control entry for the data packet by means of the address translation prefetch information from the allocated cache or, if the translation control entry is not available in the allocated cache, from the memory. Thereby, translations from virtual addresses to real addresses may be prefetched, improving performance by reducing address translation miss stalls in the address translation unit in spite of little spatial locality of the addresses in the requests from I/O devices.

Multi-stage translation of prefetch requests

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Process for the joining of strips and/or sheets of metallic materials, wherein the strips/sheets are introduced converging on one another at an angle into a roll nip, the surfaces coming into contact with one another being heated, but not melted by a laser beam immediately prior to physical contact and the strips/sheets being so pressed together in a directly following joining pass that they are rigidly connected to one another at material surfaces brought into contact.

The invention relates to a process for the joining of strips and/or sheets of metallic materials, wherein at least two strips and/or sheets are introduced offset from one another with reference to their longitudinal axes and overlapping one another and converging on one another at an acute angle into a roll nip and are pressed on to one another in a roll pass, so that they are completely or partially rigidly connected to one another at their surfaces brought into contact.
Processes of the kind specified are used, for example, to provide steel sheets with metal coatings. Such coatings are used for protection against corrosion and wear, to enhance surface hardness, give a more decorative appearance, to improve sliding properties or for the application of material to places liable to wear. The coatings can have different thicknesses, in dependence on the process and the materials used.
In a prior art process of the kind specified, namely a cold pressure welding process, soft unalloyed steel or stainless steel is given a cladding with aluminium, copper or brass by cold rolling. As a rule thin strips or sheets up to thicknesses around 4 mm are obtained. To obtain a satisfactory connection between the different metals, reshaping is required in the contact zone. Such reshaping opens up oxide layers or surface films, so that metals not vet exposed to the surrounding atmosphere are connected to one another. This so-called cladding lamination requires a threshold change of shape of usually at least 30% in one cold rolling pass. For this purpose high rolling forces must be used. Heavy demands are also made on the surfaces in the cladding zone; these must be previously suitably cleaned. As a result, the process is expensive in technical apparatus. Moreover, the combinations of materials suitable for cold rolling cladding are limited (Journal "Aluminium", 56, 1980.2, pages 147/149).
Another known cold pressure welding process is the explosive cladding of unalloyed, low-alloyed or stainless steel with other metallic materials. A cladding of various materials is applied directly or via intermediate layers. Explosive claddings usually have thicknesses above 4 mm. One example is the explosive-clad transition members (transition joints) for welded connections between constructional steel and the fairly high-strength aluminium alloy AlMg 4.5, which must be carried out using an intermediate layer of Al 99.5, to achieve those utilization properties which are required of fusion welding connections with transmission of force perpendicularly to the plane of the cladding. In this process the advantage of a certain independence as regards the combinations of materials is offset by the disadvantage that a number of layers must be joined. This kind of strip production is therefore also bound up with the presence of expensive devices Journal "Aluminium", 56, 1980.2, pages 147/149).
It is also known to connect steel and aluminium to one another by fusion welding. Conventional welding processes are used such as the TIG or the MIG process. In any case the process is so performed that only aluminium in the liquid state is present in the roil nip. A disadvantage of this process is that at the boundary layer of the two materials an intermetallic connection is formed which is the weakest point of the welded connection (Journal "Aluminium", 56, 1980.2, pages 147/149).
In another known Joining process, also a fusion welding, the energy required for melting is introduced into the roll nip by means of a laser beam. In this known process both the carts to be joined are melted. If in this process aluminium and steel are to be connected to one another, the same problems probably arise as in the case of the other melting processes (DE 37 13 975 A1).
Lastly, a process is known for guiding metal strips together wherein the two strips are introduced converging on one another into a roll nip and are pressed on to one another in a roll pass, so that they are rigidly connected to one another at their surfaces brought into contact. Immediately prior to physical contact in the roll nip, the strips to be brought into contact are heated by a laser beam, the heated zone being either melted or merely heated to a diffusion temperature (U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,204). However, according to that prior art the two strips to be guided together are laterally offset in relation to their axes and overlap one another. In such cases there is a risk that the softer strip will be squashed in the projecting zone in the roll nip.
It is an object of the invention to provide a process for the connection of overlaoding strips of different metallic materials of difficult fusion meltability, if any, which is less expensive than the aforementioned process and wherein no squashing takes place of the overlapping zone of the strip or sheet of a softer material.


A decelerating device includes a bushing and a pin carried coaxially by the bushing. A first end of the pin is housed inside the bushing and a second end of the pin, opposite to the first end, projects axially in cantilever fashion from the bushing. Inside the bushing, between the pin and one internal side wall of the bushing, there are housed, alongside one another, at a pre-set axial distance apart from one another, one or more deformable annular gasket elements. Each deformable annular gasket element has in radial cross section, in undeformed conditions, a peripheral profile defining at least one concavity.

It is known that, in top-loaded washing machines, the drum is provided with two doors equipped with spring-loaded hinges. When the doors, in the closed position, are released, for instance, by actuation of a push-button, springs push the door into the open position, causing the doors to rotate in a radial direction. The opposite movement is performed by exerting manual thrust on the doors so as to bring them back into the closed position, with application of pressure against the action of the springs, which are thus elastically re-loaded.
Since the motion of opening of the doors would prove somewhat too sharp, with consequent danger for the user, it is necessary to provide the doors with decelerating devices in order to dampen the motion of opening.
More in general, in many applications, not only in the field of household appliances but also in the automobile field (for example, the door of the glove-box inside the passenger compartment), it is necessary to dampen the motion of two relatively rotating members.
In general, known decelerating devices comprise a rotor (for instance, a turbine-shaped rotor), which turns immersed in a viscous fluid contained in a casing. The rotor is secured to one of the rotating members, and the casing is secured to the other rotating member. Albeit effective, this type of decelerating device is, however, characterized by large overall dimensions, in particular in the radial direction, and the larger the overall dimensions, the greater the decelerating action required. Consequently, such a device is far from suited to being integrated in a hinge, in particular in a hinge of small dimensions as in the case of the drum of a top-loaded washing machine.
Furthermore, other known types of decelerating device with small radial dimensions simply envisage a rotating pin immersed in the viscous fluid and are consequently not able to generate a high decelerating torque.

Decelerating device for insertion between two relatively rotating members, in particular a drum and an oscillating door for loading the drum in a top-loaded washing machine


Bridge domain communication methods and devices are presented for efficiently communicating information in a bridge domain based upon group indications and source indications. Packets with a source and destination indication are received. A bridge domain communication process is performed at the bridge level wherein a packet is selected for forwarding based upon a source and group indication. For example, a determination is made if a particular bridge domain corresponds to the group destination indication in the received packet. The source indication in the packet is compared with a tracked source designation indication. Output ports associated with the tracked source designation indication are identified if the tracked source designation indication matches the received source indication. The communication packet is forwarded on identified ports.

Electronic systems and circuits have made a significant contribution towards the advancement of modern society and are utilized in a number of applications to achieve advantageous results. Numerous electronic technologies such as digital computers, calculators, audio devices, video equipment, and telephone systems facilitate increased productivity and cost reductions in analyzing and communicating data, ideas and trends in most areas of business, science, education and entertainment. These results are often achieved utilizing distributed network resources. However, managing the communication to distributed networked resources can be complicated and a number of conditions can adversely impact the timing of various operations. For example, there are usually numerous different users on a network that often have selective desires for various information. Inefficient distribution of the information can have detrimental impacts on the overall performance of a network and end use applications.
Communication networks are usually configured in a hierarchical architecture including multiple layers. For example, the Internet typically includes a first layer, second layer and third layer of hierarchical communication devices. The first layer typically includes end use devices which users utilize to access a network. The second layer devices (e.g., layer 2 switches) are typically utilized to control and manage communications within a subnet (e.g., a local area network). The third layer devices (e.g., layer 3 routers) are typically utilized to route communications between subnets. The speed at which information is communicated and processed usually has a significant impact on the end use applications. Numerous end use applications such as real time applications (e.g., video broadcasts, voice over internet protocol, streaming audio, etc.) are adversely affected if information is not delivered in a timely manner.
The Internet is becoming a very diverse and prevalent communication network. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) are typically utilized for Internet communication and offer a number of advantages. For example, various IP multicast architectures (e.g., mbone) enable users to easily join multicast groups and the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is defined in RFC 1112 as the standard for IP multicasting on the Internet. The IGMP can be utilized by a host to easily establish host memberships in particular multicast groups by informing layer 3 devices (e.g., a router) that the host wants to receive messages addressed to a specific multicast group.
Multicast communications are typically utilized to communicate information over a network to groups of hosts or end users. For example, e-mail mailing lists, media communications (e.g., television), teleconferencing, videoconferencing, etc. often use multicast communications. Multicast technologies used to communicate data are often associated with narrowcast business models and typically send information to a select group rather than every client connected to a network (e.g., in network wide broadcast communications). Multicast is advantageous for communicating large amounts of information because the information can be forwarded to multiple end users simultaneously, rather than other communication mechanisms that use separate connections for each destination and source pair. One set of packets is transmitted to the destinations in a group. However, sending large amounts of information to every member in a group can cause significant bottlenecks and delays in network architecture components by consuming or occupying significant bandwidth of the components.

Source specific multicast layer 2 networking device and method


A lamp assembly (10) for use as a vehicle marker lamp or a vehicle clearance lamp is disclosed. A lamp assembly includes a multifaceted prismatic diffuser (12) to which a number of LEDs (14) are fitted. The diffuser has an outwardly directed portion (20), a center portion (22), and an inwardly directed portion (24). The outwardly directed portion and inwardly directed portion are both formed with angularly offset facets (26-38). The LEDs are fitted into openings (40) that are formed in the facets (32, 34) of the inwardly directed portion of the diffuser. When the LEDs are energized, the light emitted thereby is initially diffused throughout all of the diffuser. It is then emitted from the facets forming the outer portion of the diffuser such that it can be seen over a wide viewing angle.

Marker lamps are frequently fitted to the outside of large vehicles, such as trucks, trailers, and recreational vehicles. Marker lamps are installed on a vehicle to provide an indication of its size, shape, and direction of motion so that nearby motorists and pedestrians can quickly evaluate the characteristics of the vehicle and take necessary steps to avoid an accident. Some vehicles, such as large trailers, are provided with a set of top located marker lights, known as clearance lights. Clearance lights are mounted on a vehicle in order to provide a ready indication of whether or not the vehicle can drive under a low ceiling structure, such as a bridge or a loading dock canopy. A typical marker lamp assembly comprises an incandescent light bulb that is encased inside a small housing. A colored lens, typically an amber lens, forms the outer wall of the housing. The amber wavelength light emitted by the bulb passes through and is diffused by the lens. This light is the light nearby motorists and pedestrians observe when they see an illuminated marker light.
While conventional bulb-in-housing marker lamps have proved useful for providing an indication of the shape of the vehicle to which they are attached, they are not without some limitations. The trucks, trailers, and other vehicles to which these lamps are mounted often experience intense vibrations and/or vibrate constantly while in motion. The bulbs in these lamp assemblies contain thin, fragile filaments. Over time, the vibrations to which these bulbs are exposed cause the filaments to break, resulting in burnout of the bulb. Since many marker lamps are located on the top of the vehicle to which they are attached, and can be 10 or more feet off the ground, removing and replacing the burned-out bulbs can be a laborious and time-consuming task. Another disadvantage of these assemblies is that in some environments the ambient light may be so intense that it washes out the light emitted by a marker light. This can make it difficult on a bright, sunny day, for example, to use the marker lights to evaluate whether there is sufficient clearance for a truck trailer to pass under a bridge or through a tunnel.
Moreover, the housing forming the body of a marker lamp is simply a hollow body. The outer wall of this body is a thin plastic layer that has relatively minimal mechanical strength. Consequently, the lenses of this assembly are prone to breakage when struck by foreign objects, such as rocks that may be thrown up from the road by the wheels of the vehicle or deliberately thrown by mischievous persons. Once an object breaks the lens, the lamp assembly may no longer emit the appropriate color light and confuse nearby persons who expect the light to have certain characteristics. Also, if the object strikes the marker/clearance light hard enough it will break not only the lens but the bulb inside the lamp housing. Once this happens, the lamp assembly is rendered completely useless.
Recently, there have been some attempts to use light-emitting diode (LED) lamp assemblies to substitute for conventional incandescent bulb-type marker lamps. A disadvantage of these assemblies is that a single LED does not emit light over a relatively wide arc. In order to provide an LED marker lamp assembly capable of emitting light over a wide viewing field, it has been necessary to construct these assemblies using a number of spaced-apart LEDs. These assemblies are typically too large to put in a vehicle body opening that are normally formed to accommodate marker lights. Moreover, the large number of LEDs that form a single lamp assembly collectively typically consume a relatively large amount of power.

Marker lamp with LED array and prismatic diffuser


Cleaning solutions for semiconductor devices comprise tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, acetic acid, and water. Methods of removing contaminants from semiconductor devices comprise contacting the semiconductor devices with cleaning solutions to remove the contaminants from the semiconductor devices.

The increase in integration density of semiconductor devices, along with the miniaturization of circuit patterns has resulted in heightened levels of impurities being present on the devices. Such impurities include, for example, metals, polymers, and particles. The impurities often adversely affect the yield and reliability of products containing the semiconductor devices. Accordingly, cleaning the semiconductor devices has become increasingly important in semiconductor manufacturing processes.
In fabricating semiconductor devices, aluminum is generally used as a wiring material and serves to connect the devices. During the annealing process, the deposited aluminum often reacts with the underlying silicon layer. Specifically, when pure aluminum is employed in the above process, the junction between the aluminum and the silicon is typically destroyed due primarily to the presence of a spike at their contact surface. As a result, the semiconductor device often experiences failure.
In attempting to address the above problem, aluminum alloys containing a predetermined amount of copper, silicon, and the like are used as a wiring material. Subsequent to etching such an aluminum alloy layer, the aluminum is usually removed by an etch solution. The copper and silicon typically remain however, and may react with components of the etch solution. As a result, impurities are often produced.
A metal layer may be etched using a conventional etch gas and a photoresist pattern. In such a process, polymer contaminants are often produced by a reaction between the etch gas, the photoresist, and the metal layer. Since the presence of the polymer contaminants may greatly increase contact resistance between metal patterns, it is typically necessary to remove the polymer contaminants by applying a cleaning solution. Conventional cleaning solutions typically contain an amine compound such as aminoethyl piperidine, isopropylamine, hydroxyethyl morpholine, aminoalcohol, and diethylenetriamine; and a solvent such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and N, N-dimethylformamide.
Although these cleaning solutions have the potential to remove the polymer contaminants, the use of the solutions often results in local corrosion of metal layers. As a result, wiring reliability may be adversely affected. Therefore, there remains a need in the art for cleaning solutions which successfully remove various impurities with minimal local corrosion of metal layers.


An audio processing and image generating apparatus for displaying novel line drawing images on a display screen according to music is disclosed. A character object line drawing image is displayed on a virtual road object line drawing image. Further, obstacle object line drawing images generated based on a result of a frequency analysis of an digital audio signal of CD data or the like are inserted in the virtual road object line drawing image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio processing and image generating apparatus, an audio processing and image generating method, a recording medium, and a program which make it possible to display novel line drawing images on a display screen according to music.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some information apparatuses such as entertainment apparatuses including video game machines (entertainment systems), for example, a game is played by manipulating a controller while displaying the contents of the game stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM on the screen of a television receiver as a monitor.
Currently, many games available on the market are directed to utilize more realistic and finer video images with the aid of recent advanced technology. In such games, the controller of the entertainment apparatus can be vibrated according to the movement of images so as to make the games more realistic and interesting. Under the circumstances, since games are getting more complicated, the difficulties of the games tend to be increased. In some games, high level of skills for manipulating the controller is required for the user. In this case, it is not possible for some users such as amateur game players or older people to complete the games. Further, once a user completes such games and acquires the manipulation skills, the user may soon get tired of playing the games.
In contrast, less complicated games utilizing only line drawing images can be widely accepted by people in different generations. That is, since such games are simple and do not require manipulation skills, children and old people can enjoy the heartwarming games.

Audio processing and image generating apparatus, audio processing and image generating method, recording medium and program


A portable body restraint device for use in restraining and transporting prisoners or patients who are unmanageable. The device includes a flat, wide board sufficiently large to receive facedown the person to be restrained. The board is provided with properly positioned slots and adjustable straps that provide for restraining any person regardless of his or her size. The slots and adjustable straps permit the person's pelvis, chest, wrists, ankles, arms and legs to be secured as well as the person's head.

Not infrequently, law enforcement officers and medical personnel must handle individuals who have become temporarily unmanageable due to a physical or mental condition or because of the use of drugs or alcohol. In such situations, it is the responsibility of the law enforcement officer or medical attendant to restrain the individual in order to prevent such individuals from damaging property, other persons, or even themselves. Also, once properly restrained, it is almost always necessary to transport the restrained individual to another location such as a hospital or confinement facility.
At the present time, various restraint devices are used. In the law enforcement area, these include handcuffs, shackles and straight jackets. However, persons confronted with arrest or confinement frequently are quite violent and jerk and move all of his or her body parts in an effort to escape. In so doing, they can cause injury to themselves and to the law enforcement officers and others. Since handcuffs will only restrain the wrists and shackles will only restrain the ankles, these restraining devices do not prevent such individuals from using their head or their complete body in an effort to escape. Moreover, handcuffs and shackles have the potential of injuring the prisoner's limbs if secured too tightly, and in any event, many state laws prohibit the use of handcuffs for the purpose of restraint if they are attached to a permanent fixture. Thus, these presently used devices and methods do not provide for complete and safe restraint of an individual nor do they assist in transporting the individual to a confinement or other facility.
In the medical field, there are known and used backboards which are designed to permit transportation of an injured person usually to a hospital or trauma center for treatment. Such persons may be conscious or unconscious, and in either event, it may be necessary to immobilize the person's head, a leg, arm, back etc. to prevent further injury to the person. Such devices are designed to provide for such partial immobilization and also to provide for ease of transportation to a hospital or trauma center.
At the present time, there are no devices or equipment available to provide for complete restraint and transportation of unmanageable individuals. Since the primary concern of law enforcement officers as well as medical personnel is the safety of the subject individual, there is an unmet need for a means of safely and completely restraining such individuals while providing for the transport of the individuals to a confinement or treatment facility.
There is also a need for a restraining device that provides for complete restraint but which is simple to use and which enables the subject to be easily placed in it without use of excessive force. Such a device also must be humane and safe for the subject and must be easily transportable and easily cleanable.
There is a further need for a restraining device that can also be used for limited periods of time to control the subject after the individual has been transported to a confinement or correctional facility. Such a device should minimize the staffing requirements during this temporary confinement period.


A thin film transistor (TFT) and the manufacturing method thereof are disclosed, and the thin film transistor comprises: a substrate, a gate electrode, a first CuSix layer, a gate insulting layer, a semiconductor layer, a second CuSix layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode. The gate electrode is disposed on the substrate, wherein the gate electrode includes the material of copper (Cu). The first CuSix layer is disposed between the gate electrode and the substrate. The gate insulating layer is disposed on the gate electrode. The semiconductor layer is disposed on the gate insulating layer. The second CuSix layer is disposed between the source electrode and the semiconductor layer and is disposed between the drain electrode and the semiconductor layer, wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode include the material of copper (Cu). The source electrode and the drain electrode are disposed on the second CuSix layer. Accordingly, the reliable TFT is provided through providing at last one CuSix layer for enhancing the adhesion of copper and silicon and avoiding the diffusion, and the yield is improved as well.

As the semiconductor design and the manufacture technique update, the rate of improvement in components accelerates, and the size of panel and the resolution of TFT-LCD increase, the distortion of the gate pulse signal due to the resistance-capacitance (RC) signal delays will increase. To decrease the RC signal delays, low resistance material for the connection between the components must be chosen. As the density of the components increases, the line width of the connection will decrease to induce the electromigration problems by high current density, so that it becomes a factor in choosing the material. Generally speaking, the conventional connection material is aluminum (Al) which resistivity is about 2.66 μΩ-cm. But using copper (1.67 μΩ-cm) or silver instead of aluminum for connection material is regarded as a practicable proposal gradually because copper and silver have higher resistance-to-electromigration and lower resistivity than aluminum.
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic view of a conventional thin film transistor is illustrated. The conventional thin film transistor comprises a substrate 11, a gate electrode 12, a gate insulating layer 13, a semiconductor layer 14, a source electrode 15, and a drain electrode 16. A gate metal is sputtered by physical vapor deposition (PVD) on the substrate 11. After patterning the gate metal by a first photolithography process to form the gate electrode 12, the gate insulating layer 13 and the semiconductor layer 14 are then sequentially deposited on the substrate 11 by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and patterned by a second photolithography process, wherein the gate insulating layer 13 can be a SiNx or SiOx. Then, a second metal layer (source/drain) is sputtered and patterned by a third photolithography process to form the source electrode 15 and the drain electrode 16, wherein the source electrode 15 and the drain electrode 16 are separated by a channel region by etching. Furthermore, the conventional thin film transistor could further comprise a passivation layer and an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) layer which are then patterned by a fourth and a fifth photolithography process, respectively. As manufacturing technique varies, there are four to six steps of photolithography processes in application. This prior art is focused on the structure of the conventional thin film transistor for gist description and is ignored about the other details and principles.
However, in conventional thin film transistor which uses copper to be a gate electrode that at least has following disadvantages. For example, before using PECVD to form the gate insulating layer 13, copper usually suffers oxidation that produces bubbles by reacting with other materials and produces an internal reaction in PECVD and ammonia. The cupric oxide may increase the resistance. In addition, copper expands to silicon easily, for example, the substrate 11 which the principle is silicon, the gate insulating layer 13, and the semiconductor layer 14 having amorphous silicon that become a CuSix layer through the reaction that causes instability in the thin film transistor. Moreover, the adhesion in copper and the substrate 11 is bad that causes the peeling of the gate insulating layer 12 after forming gate electrode. The yield of thin film transistor is also decreased due to the characteristic as mentioned above. In order to manufacture thin film transistor, providing better adhesion characteristic and low resistance are a key factor that research and development (R&D) staffs must solve instantly.

Thin film transistor and manufacturing method thereof


A customer-orientated manufacturing planning and controlling system. An order management module is programmed to receive an order for a product and reserve a capacity for the order based on a capacity model that considers a plurality of capacity vectors in a production system. A plan engine generates a fixed production schedule for the order based on the capacity model. A priority management engine provides a priority for the order. A production schedule monitor and evaluation module determines whether the order in process conforms to the fixed production schedule by statistical process control (SPC) and whether to adjust the fixed production schedule and to adjust the priority based on a dynamic achievement model of historical fixed production schedules, based on historical production information in a production database storing production information of the production system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to manufacturing management, and in particular to a system and method of manufacturing planning and control with a fixed planning schedule for an order using a statistical process control (SPC) method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Supply chain is important for modern enterprises, systemizing purchase of materials, transformation of materials into intermediate and finished products, and distribution of finished products. In the supply chain, customers transmit requests (demands) consisting of a request for a particular quantity of a product by a specific date to a manufacturer, and the manufacturer plans its manufacturing schedule according to these received requests to satisfy each customer.
Supply chain management has become an important issue to meet the goals of reduced inventory and increased productivity. Conventionally, resources and facilities of a production system are regarded as limiting factors. Therefore, not every customer request may be met, since some may be promised, some may suffer inadequate supply, and others rejected. Consequently, effective demand and capacity management in supply chain management without excess capacity loss has become fundamental and critical for most manufacturing and distribution organizations.
Supply chains exist in most manufacturing environments, although the complexity of the chain may vary greatly from industry to industry and firm to firm. For integrated circuit (IC) foundries, the manufacturing process of each IC product is complicated and varies and the cost of wafers and capacity is relatively high.
Many commercial supply chain solution providers provide packaged systems for clients to install and follow, such as i2 technology or ADEXA Inc. For a manufacturer or a factory, a production scheduling engine is usually embedded in the systems to arrange resources and materials for a production plan. The production scheduling engines provide a master production schedule (MPS) for the manufacturer or factory to follow. However, conventional production scheduling engines are designed to meet the best interests of the manufacturer or factory. More specifically, conventional production scheduling engine are programmed to generate a minimum-cost, optimal-capacity, and low-inventory MPS.
For IC foundries, conventional production scheduling engines recalculate and generate an updated MPS to optimize resources and capacity when receiving new orders. When lots are running (hereinafter referred as work-in-process, WIP), the MPS is still changed, indicating rolling production schedules for running lots for optimization of foundry resources. It becomes difficult to promise delivery of their lots because of the rolling MPS.
When a preferable plan engine is provided so that the rolling MPS can be accurately obtained, however, manufacturing execution in the production system may not match the manufacturing plan, due to problems in execution, such as unfamiliarity on the part of the manufacturer with the production system, or problems in planning, such as ill-defined parameter settings provided to the plan engine.
Generally, a checking process between manufacturing plan and execution in the production system is required to match the plan and execution. However, it is difficult to determine whether problems with the production system occur in the planning engine or manufacturing execution when a significant deviation is found. Specifically, problems may occur in execution, but the manufacturing plan may be mistakenly modified to match the execution.
For clients, the uncertainty can severely disrupt transport and inventory planning and management.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for manufacturing planning and control

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A feeding apparatus (device) has a housing including two members. These two members are telescoping arranged when the housing is in a disassembled position. Upon assembly of the housing, by moving these members with respect to each other, the members resiliently deform with respect to each other, and once the assembled position is reached, the peripheral surfaces of each member are in an abutment sufficient to inhibit the members, and thus, the housing, from collapsing. By making the housing in this manner, assembly is simple, and the feeding apparatus (device) is economical, as packaging volume, and resulting shipping volume, are reduced, when compared to contemporary feeding apparatus (devices).

Animal feeding devices, in particular bird feeders, are quite common worldwide, as many people care about the welfare of animals. It is enjoyable to watch the animals feed at these devices. Animal feeding devices are especially useful in areas where the climate makes access to food and water for animals difficult.
For example, in colder areas of North America, there is snow cover on the ground for several months. For birds living in these areas, the deep snow inhibits them in obtaining seeds, other foodstuffs, stones and/or water, necessary for maintenance. To assist birds in this winter survival, many people have bird feeding devices, that can be placed at locations above the snow cover, allowing birds access to these items. One bird feeder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,205 (Larson).
Bird and animal enthusiasts are also interested in having as many feeding devices as possible, and therefore, it is always desired to produce high quality feeders at the lowest possible cost. One way to reduce costs is to reduce shipping costs. These costs can typically be reduced if more product can be shipped in the same amount of space and by using less packaging material. While fully disassembled birdfeeders occupy the least amount of volume, many people do not wish to purchase fully disassembled structures. Alternately, many fully assembled structures are also commercially available, but these structures occupy large amounts of volume in their packaging, with this increased volume leading to increased shipping costs, adding to the overall product cost.

Feeding apparatus having telescoping members


Disclosed is a novel vascular optical fiber guidewire. The vascular optical fiber guidewire includes a metal axial wire and an optical fiber surrounding the metal axial wire. The optical fiber includes a core wire and a cladding layer covering the core wire. For above vascular optical fiber guidewire, in a part of the optical guidewire that is required to transmit light, a bending radius of the optical fiber around the metal axial wire is greater than a critical bending radius, and in a region of the optical fiber guidewire that is required to scatter light, the bending radius of the optical fiber around the metal axial wire is less than the critical bending radius. The present disclosure is capable of entering a blood vessel by a percutaneous puncture technique, guiding the optical fiber guidewire through a medical imaging device in a blood vessel, and performing side-illumination on the head.

At present, Seldinger arterial intubation technique is very mature. Under the guidance of clinical imaging medicine (X-ray, CT, MR, B-us, etc.), a delicate instrument, such as a special catheter or guidewire is inserted into the lesion via percutaneous vascular route or an original channel in human body, so as to achieve a diagnostic imaging and treatment. This technique uses a metal guidewire via percutaneous vascular route to enter blood vessels and reach the lesion. This method is simple in operation, slight in damage, and does not need to suture the blood vessels. Thus, it completely replaces previous methods which need to cut open the blood vessels surgically, and becomes a basic operation technique of modem interventional radiology. This method has achieved good effects in tumor thrombosis and drug perfusion, intra-arterial irradiation, prevention of radiation damage, chemotherapy, preoperative embolization of tumor blood vessels, vasoactive drugs and alcohol perfusion, etc. However, due to the limitation of the treatment mode, the existing treatment mainly relies on the embolization to cause tissue ischemia, hypoxia and necrosis, or perfusion of drugs to inhibit cell growth, or the release of implanted medical devices to change the shape of organs and tissues, and thus it is impossible to introduce light into blood vessels and body or to lead light out blood vessels and body.
Compared with conventional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy of tumor has several advantages, such as small trauma, low toxicity, good targeting and good applicability. However, irradiation means is limited to the body surface or big channels, depending on the laser emission mechanism and pharmacological properties of photosensitizer. In such situation, the photo-dynamics of photodynamic therapy may work only on the area of a few millimeters, which greatly limits its application in the medical field.
Optical fiber is used in the medical field to guide light from the light source to the lesion site, and is widely used in photodynamic therapy, surgical hemostasis and tumor laser hyperthermia. Since the end face of optical fiber is generally only on the order of a few micrometers to a hundred micrometers, the emitted laser light has a small irradiation area to the tissue, and a homogenizing device is required to uniformly distribute the laser light in the lesion site. In general, the homogenizing device is required to emit light along the side, to have a uniform luminous length of about 5 mm to 50 mm, and to be thin enough to be used in a device such as a puncture needle or an endoscope.
There are a variety of scattering-type side-illuminated and homogenizing device that scatter light out of the side of the optical fiber through scatterers (such as powders, beads, gratings, etc.) in the core wire of the optical fiber. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,196,005 and 5,330,465 disclose that powder scatterers are embed into a silica core layer at the end of the optical fiber, and the concentration of the powder scatterers increases with increasing of length. U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,777 discloses that the powder scatterers are incorporated in the cladding layer of the optical fiber, rather than being doped in the core layer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,628 describes a method of incorporating a scatterer into a polymer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,778 B1 uses a fiber grating arranged in an optical fiber to scatter light, in which the fiber grating is a type II Bragg grating, and the refractive index is modulated by the grating to laterally scatter the light along the optical fiber. U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,669 proposes the out cladding layer of the multimode fiber is constructed by gradually thinning along the length of the fiber, wherein due to the thinning of the outer cladding layer, part of the light transmitted in the core wire is exited from the side of the optical fiber by means of evanescent waves, and the remainder continues to be transmitted in the core layer up to out of the fiber.
All of the above methods for forming a beam homogenizing device have some disadvantages: the production of special doping scatterers and graded fiber gratings requires a high processing process, which inevitably leads to an increase in cost; part of the scatterer structure is prone to breakage caused by heat absorption when the light intensity is strong, thereby destroying the function of the homogenizer, these scatterers are generally large in diameter, and cannot be guided through the blood vessels of the human body and guided through the catheter.


A method of operating an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber with a piston, comprising of adjusting an operating parameter of the engine so that a mixture of air and fuel in the combustion chamber approaches, but does not achieve, an autoignition temperature, and performing a spark from the spark plug so that said second mixture combusts; adjusting a timing of said spark from the spark plug; and adjusting an operating parameter to increase a correlation between said adjusted spark timing and timing of said combustion.

Various types of combustion may be used in an internal combustion engine. For example, spark ignition (SI) of a homogenous mixture during the expansion stroke is one example method. This method relies on a timed spark from a sparking plug in order to achieve ignition within the combustion chamber of an air and fuel mixture. Another type of combustion may be referred to as homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), which occurs when the temperature of the combustion chamber exceeds the autoignition temperature for the specific fuel resulting in autoignition. HCCI can be used to provide greater fuel efficiency and reduced NOx production under some conditions.
One approach to utilizing autoignition is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,246. In this approach, rather than relying on autoignition to initiate combustion, a spark assisted type of auto-ignition operation is utilized. Specifically, the approach in U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,246 relies on spark assist at all times in order to initiate autoignition of a mixture that has been raised to a temperature close to the autoignition temperature. In this example, the spark assisted combustion process requires the temperature of the gas within the combustion chamber attain a state near autoignition without achieving combustion. By firing a spark and initiating combustion in a portion of the combustion chamber, the pressure, and hence the temperature, may be increased in the entire combustion chamber. Thus, the gases which were near autoignition, are elevated to or above the autoignition temperature, thus autoignition occurs throughout the chamber. This phenomena is in contrast to spark ignition combustion in which a spark is fired thereby initiating a flame front which progresses through the combustion chamber into a mixture. In contrast, spark ignition combustion occurs in a mixture which is rich enough to sustain and propagate a flame front. Furthermore, the mixture is cool enough ahead of the flame front to resist autoignition. A sparking mechanism is then utilized to assist in initiating combustion within the chamber.
The inventors herein have recognized a disadvantage with such an approach. Specifically, conditions may exist during such spark assist operations where autoignition of the air/fuel mixture may occur prior to the initiated spark. In such situations the engine may experience degraded operation.
In one approach, the above issues may be addressed by a method of operating an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber with a piston. The method comprises: adjusting an operating parameter of the engine so that a mixture of air and fuel in the combustion chamber approaches, but does not achieve, an autoignition temperature, and performing a spark from the spark plug so that said second mixture combusts; adjusting a timing of said spark from the spark plug; and determining whether timing of said combustion correlates to timing of said spark. In one example, based on this determining, engine operating parameters can be adjusted to ensure the timing of the spark correlates to the timing of combustion.
In this way, it is possible to achieve reliable spark assisted HCCI operation across a substantially broad range of operating conditions. Therefore improved fuel economy and reduced emissions may be obtained.
In another example, a method of operating an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber with a piston may be used. The method comprises: adjusting an operating parameter of the engine so that a mixture of air and fuel in the combustion chamber approaches, but does not achieve, an autoignition temperature, and performing a spark from the spark plug so that said second mixture combusts; adjusting a timing of said spark from the spark plug; and adjusting an operating parameter to increase a correlation between said adjusted spark timing and timing of said combustion.
In this way, it is possible to maintain control of combustion timing during a spark-assisted autoignition operation and thereby achieve improved performance, even when various parameters may inadvertently influence combustion.

System and method for engine operation with spark assisted compression ignition


There is provided an organic light-emitting device obtained by using a specific copper coordination compound as a light-emitting material, which has a basic structure in which two copper ions are crosslinked in a ring form by one of atomic groups containing a halogen atom, a sulfur atom, and an nitrogen atom. The light-emitting device provides high luminescence efficiency and high stability at low cost by using an inexpensive copper coordination compound as a light-emitting material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting device using an organic compound. More specifically, the present invention relates to an organic light-emitting device using a metal coordination compound as a light-emitting material so as to allow high luminescence efficiency in a stable manner.
2. Related Background Art
An organic electroluminescence (EL) device has been extensively studied for its practical application as a light-emitting device with a high responsiveness and high luminescence efficiency (see, e.g., "Macromol. Symp.", 125, pp. 1-48 (1997)).
A copper coordination compound can be produced at a comparatively low cost because of inexpensive raw materials. Thus, exploiting the characteristics of the copper coordination compound would lead to a high-performance organic EL device with low cost.
For instance, organic EL devices using copper complexes have been disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2940514 B and Y. Ma et al., "High Luminescence Gold (1) and Copper (1) complexes with Triplet Excited State for Use in Light-Emitting Diodes", Advanced Materials, 1999, 11, No. 10, p. 852. However, these EL devices are extremely poor in luminescence efficiency and described insufficiently in these documents in terms of their efficiency. The characteristics of the cooper coordination compound may be insufficiently brought out. Thus, the cooper coordination compound has insufficient property to be used for a display, illumination, or the like.
Furthermore, in "Chemical Review", 1999, 99, p. 3625-3647 and the proceedings of "the 15th Photochemistry Panel Discussion of Coordination Compound" (Japan), 2001, p. 91, copper coordination compounds are disclosed. However, these documents describe only photoluminescence emitted in a solution or crystalline particle powder, while no luminescence of an organic EL device under excitation with an electric current is described.


A sanding apparatus (1) has a sanding platen (2) to which motion is applied. The platen (2) has a flat surface (9) to which an abrasive sheet (22) is applied. The peripheral edge (3) of the platen (2) has a point (4) which can be used for detailed sanding. The surface (9) has a detachable portion (14) adjacent the point (4). The detachable portion (14) can be removed from the remainder of the platen (2) and rotated through 180.degree.. The abrasive sheet (22) can have an area corresponding to the detachable portion (14) of the surface (9) which is removable from the remainder of the abrasive sheet (22) by means of a perforated line (24).

Sander with multiple-layered platen are known which have platens with a body on which is mounted a foam pad which has a surface to which abrasive sanding sheets are attached. An orbital or random motion is applied to the platen by a central drive from a motor. The platen moves in relation to a head of the apparatus. The platen body and the foam pad can be held against the surface to be sanded and the motion applied to the platen results in a sanding of the surface.
A carrier layer can be disposed between the platen body, which is generally formed of a hard plastics material, and the foam pad. The foam pad can be attached to the carrier layer by means of a Velcro (registered trade mark) attachment means. The term platen is used herein to denote the combination of the platen body and foam pad and any intermediate layer.
The platens can be of varying shapes, known examples include circular and rectangular platens. Sanding apparatus suitable for detailed sanding have platens which are generally triangular in shape with outwardly curved edges. Iron shaped platens have also been developed in which a single point tip is provided for accessing corners and providing detailed sanding whilst a large surface is provided for general flat sanding.
Sanding platens with pointed tips often result in the tip of the foam pad becoming worn due to the sanding platen being used at an angle and thereby wearing the foam at the tip of the foam pad.


A method is provided for acting on a product in a machine operating in a machine cycle in the tobacco-processing industry in dependence on information about the product. Information about the product is detected synchronously with the machine cycle. The information is associated with the product asynchronously with respect to the machine cycle. An action is effected on the product synchronously with respect to the machine cycle in dependence on the information associated with the product.

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for processing a product in a tobacco-processing machine operating according to a given machine cycle. Particularly, the product is processed in dependence on information about the product and associated with the product.
German patent document DE 19 00 701 B2, co-owned by the assignee of the present application, discloses writing information about a manufactured product into a cell of a shift register. The information is advanced in the shift register in clock-synchronous relationship with the product to permit timed actuation of actuators arranged at a spacing from the corresponding sensors.
German patent document DE-OS No 21 13 841, owned by Industrial Nucleonics Corporation, discloses a method of tracking and classifying products. As disclosed therein, provided along a production path are a reference point, a plurality of measurement stations, an actuation station, and a counter. The counter is increased as the product passes a reference point. When a product moves past one of the measurement locations, a signal corresponding to the measurement result is formed and stored in a memory having a plurality of cells. The address of the memory cell corresponds to the difference of the current value of the counter and the spacing between the measurement location and the reference point. At the same time, the procedure provides for reading the memory cell whose address corresponds to the difference between the current counter condition and the spacing of the actuation station from the reference point, whereby the corresponding signal reproduces the information belonging to the product just moving past the actuation station. If the information states that the corresponding product is not faultless, the actuation station is activated and the product removed from the production installation.

Method and apparatus for acting on articles in the tobacco-processing industry


A full-color image forming apparatus for forming an image on a transfer material by transferring a toner image formed on an image bearing member onto the transfer material includes a belt-shaped transfer member for transferring a toner image from the image bearing member onto a transfer material, and a cleaning blade for cleaning the belt-shaped transfer member by being brought into contact therewith. Shape coefficients SF-1 and SF-2 of a toner for forming the toner image have values of 100xe2x89xa6SF-1xe2x89xa6125, and 100xe2x89xa6SF-2xe2x89xa6125, respectively. The belt-shaped transfer member has a seamless shape in which a seam is absent. An amount of abrasion of a surface of the belt-shaped transfer member is equal to or less than 10.0 mg. An angle of contact with respect to water of the belt-shaped transfer member is at least 60xc2x0. A slide resistance of a surface of the belt-shaped transfer member is equal to or less than 1 N.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including belt-shaped transfer members, such as an intermediate transfer belt, a transfer belt, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus which uses belt-shaped transfer members, such as an intermediate transfer belt (for obtaining an image by transferring a toner image formed on a photosensitive member onto the intermediate transfer belt before transferring the toner image onto a transfer material, such as paper or the like, and thereafter transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt onto the transfer material), a transfer-material conveying belt (for conveying the transfer material to a transfer region in order to transfer the toner image formed on the photosensitive member onto the transfer material), and the like, is effective as a color image forming apparatus or a multicolor image forming apparatus for outputting a color image or a formed image reproduced by synthesizing multicolor images, by sequentially transferring and laminating a plurality of component color images included in color image information or multicolor image information, or an image forming apparatus having a color image forming function or a multicolor image forming function. In such an image forming apparatus, a high-grade cleaning property is required for both of the intermediate transfer belt and the transfer-material conveying belt. Hence, the related art will be described illustrating the intermediate transfer belt.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a color image forming apparatus (a copying machine or a laser-beam printer) which utilizes an electrophotographic process. In FIG. 1, a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter termed a xe2x80x9cphotosensitive drumxe2x80x9d) 1, serving as an image bearing member, is rotatably driven in the direction of an arrow at a predetermined circumferential speed (process speed). In a charging process, the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential of a predetermined polarity by a primary charger 2, and is then subjected to exposure 3 by, image exposure means (not shown). Thus, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a first color component image (for example, a yellow color component image) of a target color image is formed.
Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed to provide a yellow component image, serving as a first color image, by a first developing unit (a yellow color developing unit 4Y in this case). At that time, since second through fourth developing units, i.e., a magenta color developing unit 4M, a cyan color developing unit 4C and a black color developing unit 4K, do not operate on the photosensitive drum 1, the yellow component image, serving as the first color image, is not influenced by the above-described second through fourth developing units.
An intermediate transfer belt 6 is rotatably driven in the direction of an arrow at a surface moving speed which is substantially the same as (or slightly higher than) the circumferential speed of the photosensitive drum 1. The yellow component image, serving as the first color image, formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is sequentially transferred (subjected to primary transfer) onto the outer circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer belt 6 by an electric field formed by a primary transfer bias voltage applied from a bias-voltage power supply 12 to the intermediate transfer belt 6 via a primary transfer roller 8, while passing through a nip portion between the photosensitive drum 1 and the intermediate transfer belt 6. The primary transfer bias voltage is, for example, within a range between +100 V and +2 kV.
The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after transfer of the yellow toner image, serving as the first color image, while contacting the intermediate transfer belt 6 is cleaned by a cleaning device 5. Similarly, a magenta toner image, serving as a second color image, a cyan toner image, serving as a third color image, and a black toner image, serving as a fourth color image, are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 6 in a superposed state, to form a synthesized color toner image corresponding to the target color image on the intermediate transfer belt 6.
In the above-described primary transfer process of the toner images of the first through third colors from the photosensitive drum 1 onto the intermediate transfer belt 6, a secondary transfer roller 9 and a belt cleaner 7 are separated from the intermediate transfer belt 6. The secondary transfer roller 9 is disposed at a portion below the intermediate transfer belt 6 by being supported so as to be parallel to a secondary-transfer facing roller 16. After forming the synthesized color toner image corresponding to the target color image on the intermediate transfer belt 6, the secondary transfer roller 9 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 6, a transfer material 10 is fed from a feeding roller 18 to a contact portion between the intermediate transfer belt 6 and the secondary transfer roller 9 at a predetermined timing, and a secondary transfer bias voltage is applied from a bias-voltage power supply 17 to the secondary transfer roller 9. The synthesized color toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 6 is thereby subjected to secondary transfer onto the transfer material 10.
The transfer material 10 onto which the synthesized color toner image has been transferred is guided to a fixing unit 13 to be fixed by being heated. Upon completion of image transfer onto the transfer material 10, the belt cleaner 7 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 6 in order to clean toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 6 after image transfer.
In contrast to a conventional color electrophotographic apparatus including an image forming apparatus in which a transfer material is attached or attracted on a transfer drum and an image is transferred from an image bearing member onto the transfer material, for example, a transfer device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 63-301960 (1988), the above-described color electrophotographic apparatus having the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt has the advantage that, since an image can be transferred from the intermediate transfer belt without requiring any processing or control (for example, grasping on a gripper, attracting, or providing a curvature) for the transfer material, image transfer can be realized irrespective of the width or the length of the transfer material, ranging from thin paper of about 40 g/m2 to thick paper of about 200 g/m2, such as an envelope, a postcard, label paper or the like.
Although in the case shown in FIG. 1, a first-color toner image through a fourth-color toner image are sequentially transferred from one photosensitive member onto an intermediate transfer belt, there are a method for forming toner images of respective color components on a plurality of corresponding photosensitive members and sequentially transferring the toner images onto an intermediate transfer belt, a method for forming toner images of a plurality of color components on one photosensitive member and then simultaneously transferring the toner images onto an intermediate transfer belt, and the like. There are, of course, electrophotographic apparatuses each using an intermediate transfer belt in which a full-color image is output after passing through an image forming process other than the above-described process. Image forming apparatuses, such as color copiers, color printers and the like, each using such a belt-shaped transfer member have started to operate on the market.
However, when repeatedly using an image forming apparatus using a belt-shaped transfer member actually in various environments, the following problems still exist.
For example, the efficiency of transferring toner from an image bearing member, such as a photosensitive drum, onto a transfer member, such as an intermediate transfer member or the like, or onto a transfer material, and the efficiency of transferring toner from a transfer member, such as an intermediate transfer member or the like, onto a transfer material are not yet sufficiently high. Accordingly, it is required to provide a cleaning device for the transfer member. Particularly when a large amount of toner particles remain after image transfer, the lives of members, such as the transfer member and the like, are shortened, and the cleaning device inevitably has a complicated configuration and a high cost, resulting in a high cost of the apparatus.
In order to improve the efficiency of toner transfer, the inventors of the present invention have proposed, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 8-320591 (1996), to achieve improvement of the transfer efficiency by specifying the shape of toner and the surface characteristics of an intermediate transfer member.
As for a cleaning member for a transfer member, various cleaning methods have been proposed, such as a cleaning method using a brush-shaped cleaning member, a cleaning method using an electric field, and the like. Among these cleaning methods, a blade cleaning method is preferable because the structure of a cleaning device is relatively simple, and reliability is high, and a low cost can be realized.
In the above-described approach described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 8-320591 (1996), when using a cleaning blade as a member for cleaning toner particles remaining on an intermediate transfer member after image transfer, a failure in cleaning sometimes occurs. Such a phenomenon is pronounced when using a belt-shaped member as the intermediate transfer member. It is considered that in contrast to a case of using a stiff intermediate transfer member having the shape of a roller or the like, in the case of using a belt-shaped transfer member, uniform contact of a blade is difficult to realize.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 9-258474 (1997), image formation is performed by combining spherical toner with an apparatus including an intermediate transfer belt. However, no consideration has been taken to the physical properties of the intermediate transfer belt.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a full-color image forming apparatus including a belt-shaped transfer member and having a high transfer efficiency and a stable cleaning property.
According to one aspect, the present invention which achieves the above-described object relates to a full-color image forming apparatus for forming an image on a transfer material by transferring a toner image formed on an image bearing member onto a transfer material. The apparatus includes a belt-shaped transfer member for transferring a toner image from the image bearing member onto a transfer material, and a cleaning blade for cleaning the belt-shaped transfer member by being brought into contact therewith. Shape coefficients SF-1 and SF-2 of a toner for forming the toner image have values of 100xe2x89xa6SF-1xe2x89xa6125, and 100xe2x89xa6SF-2xe2x89xa6125, respectively. The belt-shaped transfer member has a seamless shape in which a seam is absent. An amount of abrasion of a surface of the belt-shaped transfer member is equal to or less than 10.0 mg. An angle of contact of the belt-shaped transfer member with respect to water is at least 60xc2x0. A slide resistance of a surface of the belt-shaped transfer member is equal to or less than 1 N.
The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Full-color image forming apparatus with belt-shaped transfer member