A spark plug having multiple spark gaps, where at least one of the spark gaps is located within a prechamber. The spark plug may include a first center wire assembly, a second center wire assembly, an insulator, a metallic shell, a first sparking area with a prechamber cap and a ground electrode for a prechamber spark gap, and a second sparking area with a ground electrode for a main chamber spark gap. The spark plug is designed to maximize engine performance and/or operation by utilizing the multiple spark gaps, where the prechamber spark gap may be used for certain operating conditions where such a spark gap is advantageous and the separate main chamber spark gap may be used for other conditions where a main chamber spark gap is advantageous.

Spark plugs are used to ignite air/fuel mixtures in a variety of internal combustion engine types and in a variety of operating conditions. For many engines and/or operating conditions, such as those involving rich air/fuel mixtures, low engine speeds or low load conditions, cold starts, etc., a standard spark gap located in a main combustion chamber of the engine is sufficient for igniting the air/fuel mixture and initiating the combustion process.
However, for other types of engines and/or operating conditions, like those utilizing lean air/fuel mixtures (e.g., mixtures with a Lambda of 1.4 or more), high engine speeds or high load conditions, etc., main chamber spark gaps may not be optimal for igniting the air/fuel mixture. In such cases, a prechamber spark gap may be advantageous for initially igniting the air/fuel mixture and then causing the flame kernel to develop and spread throughout the main combustion chamber. The challenge is to develop a spark plug that can operate well under all such conditions.
One way to address this challenge is to provide a single cylinder with multiple spark plugs: a first spark plug to operate during a first set of operating conditions, and a second spark plug to operate during a second set of operating conditions. However, skilled artisans will appreciate that designing an engine to accommodate multiple spark plugs and then providing such plugs can add additional cost to the engine.
The spark plug disclosed herein is designed to address some of the challenges and drawbacks in the prior art, as noted above.


The present invention relates to use of Perovskite type of materials as combustion improver in gaseous and liquid fuels. Structurally, the Perovskite material consists of ABO3, AxB1-xCyO3 or AxB1-xCyO3 kind of material with stoichiometric deficiency and oxygen deficient sites. More particularly, the present invention relates to the nanosized perovskite materials stably dispersed in hydrocarbon medium and compatible to the fuel has been used to improve the combustion process and generate more heat output.

There is a continuous effort to increase the combustion efficiency of the fossil fuels available in various form, may it be gaseous or liquid. Alternative approaches are being deployed by automotive and petroleum companies to improve the fuel economy include formulating new fuels and engine oils. Complete combustion in IC engines and maximum heat through put from a fuel is the demand to meet. Further, achieving the 100% combustion and thereby getting a better fuel economy and highest heat throughput is always desirable.
In order to improve the combustion efficiency, a number of catalytic materials have been used as dispersion or on a porous media. These materials in general have stoichiomeric deficient sites where, oxygen is stored. Further, these materials act as a chemically active component by release of oxygen during the oxygen lean condition.
US patent application 2011/009987 discloses that oxygen storage materials such as cerium oxide and same doped with a number of transition metals have been used widely as diesel soot combustion improver and three-way catalysts. Due to their capabilities to oxidize the hydrocarbons and improve combustion, these materials in a stable dispersion form have also been used for catalyzing combustion in fuels, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,169,196 B2.
Recently, a number of Perovskite structured materials in ABO3 and AxB1-xCyO3 have been found to be better materials for (oxygen storage) OSC applications, as described in another US patent application 2017/0232387. Especially, the latter one with a double perovskite structure and stoichiometric oxygen deficient sites has an OSC many folds to that of cerium oxide. In fact, perovskite materials are also proposed to be better materials for three way catalytic applications according to US patent application 2017/0089571, which describes that un-burnt hydrocarbon molecules are converted into CO2 and released.
It is evident that the perovskite materials are very good as oxygen storage material and proposed to be good candidate for three way catalytic application. However, the prior arts don't infer the perovskite materials as catalysts for increasing the heat through put, flame temperature and overall efficiency of the fuels, specifically for gaseous hydrocarbon fuels and atomized liquid hydrocarbons. In addition, the prior arts do not describe use of the perovskite materials as combustion improver of hydrocarbon fuels and further fail to describe increase in the efficiency of hydrocarbon fuels.
Furthermore, the prior-arts fail to disclose dispersion of the perovskite materials in the fuel matrix, which is a challenge. Propane and other gaseous fuels are being used for metal cutting applications, where the fuel burns at cutting nozzle. In case of gas fueled boilers the combustion takes place at burner nozzle. No effort has been reported in the prior-arts for increasing the efficiency or temperature output of flames generated through a nozzle on burner using the perovskite type materials.
Also, enhancement of the heat output and flame temperature through catalytic combustion, where catalyst is dispersed in fuel has not been reported so far.
Therefore, there is a need of a mechano-chemical process to reduce particle size of perovskite material in presence of suitable dispersant to make a stable dispersion in hydrocarbon fuel compatible matrix. Also, there is a need to prepare a stable dispersion of the perovskite materials by doping with hydrocarbon compatible media. The doping of hydrocarbon fuels with stable dispersion of Perovskite materials to catalyze the combustion process would in-turn lead to increase in the flame temperature and heat through put.
A top-down approach to grind the materials is adopted in presence of a suitable dispersant to make a stable dispersion of the perovskite materials in hydrocarbon compatible media. Nano-dispersion of the Perovskite type of materials in matrix compatible to the hydrocarbon fuels would serve the purpose to make such stable perovskite dispersion. The liquefied gaseous fuels doped with the prepared nano dispersion have been found to have better flame temperature compared to the neat fuel.

Nano perovskite materials as combustion improver for liquid and gaseous fuels


An apparatus for detecting a degraded grid controller includes a status module that collects for individual grid controllers in a grid array a status update comprising a keepalive status and a connectivity indicator and/or a pending transaction indicator between pairs of the individual grid controllers. The apparatus also includes a responsiveness module that determines a responsiveness indicator for a particular grid controller based on the keepalive status and the connectivity indicator and/or the pending transaction indicator of the particular grid controller. The apparatus further includes a configuration module that removes the particular grid controller of the individual grid controllers from use in the grid array in response to the responsiveness module determining that the responsiveness indicator of the particular grid controller indicates that the particular grid controller is degraded. A method and a system for detecting a degraded grid controller perform similar functions to those of the apparatus.

Some computing and storage systems use a grid architecture where all grid controllers function as equal members of a grid array. A grid architecture helps to ensure that all components of the system have an active role in servicing host requests. Individual grid controllers perform important roles, which are implemented in software on the grid controllers by specific service processes. Individual grid controllers may be added to the grid array and if a particular grid controller fails, the grid array can redistribute the load to remaining grid controllers. Some grid controllers fail to respond at all, such as for example when the particular grid controller is powered down or taken offline. A particular grid controller that is online but has problems connecting and/or transacting with another grid controller may not be able to determine the source of the problem.

Apparatus, method, system for detecting a degraded grid controller

International Business Machines Corporation


A computer system for executing a binary image conversion system which converts instructions from a instruction set of a first, non native computer system to a second, different, native computer system, includes an run-time system which in response to a non-native image of an application program written for a non-native instruction set provides an native instruction or a native instruction routine. The run-time system collects profile data in response to execution of the native instructions to determine execution characteristics of the non-native instruction. Thereafter, the non-native instructions and the profile statistics are fed to a binary translator operating in a background mode and which is responsive to the profile data generated by the run-time system to form a translated native image. The run-time system and the binary translator are under the control of a server process. The non-native image is executed in two different enviroments with first portion executed as an interpreted image and remaining portions as a translated image. The run-time system includes an interpreter which is capable of handling condition codes corresponding to the non-native architecute.

This invention relates generally to computer systems and more particularly to execution of computer programs on non-native computer system architecture.
As is known in the art, computer systems which generally include a central processing unit, a main memory, and input-output device interconnected by a system bus are used to execute computer programs to perform some useful task. One type of computer program is an operating system which is used to interface the central processing unit to an application program. The aforementioned application program is a program used by a user of the computer system to perform the useful task. The operating system includes all of the software resources needed by the computer system to interface each of the hardware elements, to the computer system as well as to interface the application program to other programs on the computer system.
The application programs can include programs such as spreadsheets, word processors, electronic mail, etc. The application program executes on the computer system under the control of the operating system. The operating system often includes routines or libraries which the application program uses in order to complete its execution.
It is generally known that application programs are written for a particular computer architecture or computer instruction set as well as a particular operating system. Computer architectures are varied, but common architectures include the so-called Alpha.RTM. architecture by Digital Equipment Corporation's assignee of the present invention, the so-called X86 architecture which is based upon the family of X86 microprocessors designed and built by Intel Corp., as well as others such as the Power PC.RTM. architecture designed and built by Motorola, IBM and Apple. Other architectures include the VAX.RTM. architecture by Digital Equipment Corporation and the PA-RISC.RTM. architecture by Hewlett Packard.
Generally, programs written for one architecture are also written for a particular operating system which is supported on the architecture. Thus, for the aforementioned Alpha architecture, the architecture supports the Windows NT.RTM. operating system by Microsoft Corporation, the Open VMS.RTM. operating system by Digital Equipment Corporation, and the UNIX operating system by Digital Equipment Corporation as well as others. Generally application programs written for one architecture and a particular operating system can not directly execute on a different architecture and/or different operating system. New computer architectures are developed in order to provide significant performance improvements for the hardware associated with the architecture. For example, the so-called Alpha.RTM. architecture based upon the 64 bit Alpha microprocessor is a RISC type architecture (Reduced Instruction Set Computer). Presently, versions of the Alpha microprocessor operate at clock speed of 300 MHz. On such an architecture, an application program executes much faster with higher performance and thus provides to a user significant performance advantages.
One drawback to a new architecture, however, is that often application programs written for older architectures can not run directly on the new architecture. This occurs because the instruction sets of the new architecture and the old architecture are different and since different instructions are used in each architecture, the programs are not directly transferable.
While it is desirable for a user to migrate to a new higher performance architecture, one of the most significant drawbacks for a user to migrate to a new architecture is the user's pre-existing investment in software applications as well as data files resulting from application programs run on the old architecture. That is, an architecture which has been in existence for a number of years and used by a large number of users will represent a substantial cumulative financial investment. If that investment is not transferable to a new architecture users will be highly reluctant to migrate to the new architecture.
There are several approaches which have been developed over the years to assist users to migrate from an old architecture to a new architecture. One approach is the so-called "porting approach". With the porting approach a software vendor agrees with the owner of the architecture to take its source code for a particular application program and run the source code through a compiler developed for the new architecture and to perform some sort of checking such as a quality assurance check at the end of the compilation. Thus, with porting the source code of application is converted into an executable image which can run on the new architecture. Porting is a viable solution for many applications. In particular applications involved in the so-called enterprise computing field are excellent candidates for porting since the nature of the program and the nature of the customer are such that there is an expectation of a high level of support from the software vendor as well as from the owner of the architecture.
Another technique commonly employed is so-called "on-line interpretation". In on-line interpretation, a software module called an "interpreter" interprets instructions from the application program written in the non-native instruction set and converts those instructions into instructions or routines which execute on the new architecture. The interpreter thus tests the instructions to determine the resources needed by the instruction and analyzes the instruction to determine the function of the instruction. From this testing the interpreter maps the instruction to a routine that performs the same function only written in instructions executable on the new architecture. After the routine is identified the routine is executed in the computer system to provide the equivalent function called for in the application program written in the non-native instruction set.
A third technique commonly used is a so-called "static translator". In static translator, a software program called a translator receives an instruction in the old architecture, and for each instruction, provides an instruction sequence in the new architecture to accomplish what the original instruction does in the old architecture.
When interpretation or translation is employed to enable a user to execute a non-native application program on a new architecture, the goal is to accurately (transparently?) emulate the architecture for which the application program was initially written so that the user is not aware of any differences between executing the application on the new architecture and executing the application on the architecture it was originally written to execute. Accurate emulation can be difficult to achieve however, when the original architecture relies on a feature of the original architecture not present in the new architecture. An example of such a feature is the condition codes maintained on an X86 machine.
Condition codes are maintained on an X86 machine to provide knowledge of the machine state in the subject architecture to the computer system. Currently, X86 machines utilize six condition codes. These codes are Carry (C), Negative (N), Zero (Z), Overflow (O), Parity (P), and a low nibble carry (A). These condition code bits are modified as a result of the execution of a certain instructions within the X86 instruction set. Subsequent instructions may query the condition code bits to use ore or more of them as input to the instruction, an operand, or one or more of the bits may be used as the basis of a conditional branch.
The instructions that modify the condition codes on an X86 machine fall into five categories which designate which condition code bits are modified as a result of the execution of the individual instructions. In the first category all condition code bits are modified (ALL). The second category of instructions modify all but the Carry bit (ALL.sub.-- BUT.sub.-- C). The third category of instructions modify only the Carry bit (ONLY.sub.-- C) while the fourth category modifies only the Zero bit (ONLY.sub.-- Z). The final category of instructions modify only the Carry and Overflow bits (C.sub.-- AND.sub.-- O). As an application program has no control over the manipulation of the condition codes, i.e. cannot turn off the setting of the bits, to accurately emulate the X86 environment, the emulating environment should also maintain condition codes.
A simplistic approach to emulating condition codes is to maintain, in memory or within the registers of the new architecture, a set of bits which would be used to emulate the X86 condition codes. These bits would be appropriately modified upon execution of each condition code modifying opcode just as the condition codes bits within the X86 architecture are modified.
One problem encountered by this approach however, is that computing the values of the condition codes is computationally intensive. As a result, execution of the application program on the new architecture could appear noticeably slower to the user than it would be on the original architecture.
In addition, condition codes are not necessarily used each time they are altered. That is, execution of a subsequent condition code modifying opcode may overwrite the modifications to the condition codes made by a previous opcode before a subsequent instruction is executed which uses one or more of the condition codes. In a system updating the condition codes after each opcode is executed, a considerable amount of CPU time is wasted which, if avoided, could speed up the execution time of the application program. Moreover, as some instructions only modify a subset of the condition codes it would be an additional waste of CPU time to recompute the current state of each of the condition code bits after each opcode is executed.

Means and apparatus for maintaining condition codes in an unevaluated state


A manufacturing method for a cooling unit that includes a cooling plate in which a cooling fluid flows, the cooling plate having a cooling pipe through which the cooling fluid flows, and a pair of tabular members arranged to be opposed to each other across the cooling pipe, the manufacturing method for a cooling unit includes: forming a groove in which the cooling pipe is housed at least in one opposed surface of the pair of tabular members; combining the pair of tabular members while housing the cooling pipe in the groove; and filling a heat conduction material in a gap between the groove and the cooling pipe.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for a cooling unit, a cooling unit, an optical device, and a projector.
2. Related Art
As a cooling unit using a cooling fluid, there is one including a cooling plate in which a metal pipe serving as a cooling fluid channel is arranged between inner surfaces of a pair of metal plates combined to be opposed to each other. This cooling plate is manufactured by forming a pipe housing groove larger than the metal pipe at least in one of the pair of metal plates and integrally combining the metal pipe and the pair of metal plates. In a manufacturing process of the cooling plate, a pressurized fluid is supplied into the metal pipe after the combination and the metal pipe is expanded in diameter to cause the metal pipe to come into close contact with the pipe housing groove (see, for example, JP-A-2002-156195).
In the manufacturing method for a cooling unit, the pipe housing groove is formed in a reverse taper shape with respect to a mating surface of the metal plate and the metal plate and the metal pipe are combined by causing an edge portion (an undercut portion) of the groove to cut into the metal pipe at the time of the expansion of the diameter of the metal pipe.
However, in the manufacturing method, cutting needs to be performed using a special cutting tool for formation of the undercut portion. Thus, it is difficult to realize a reduction in cost.
In order to satisfactorily bring the metal pipe into close contact with the pipe housing groove, it is necessary to repeat the processing for expanding the diameter of the metal pipe plural times. This requires a great deal of time.
Moreover, when the metal pipe has a small diameter, it is difficult to expand the diameter of the metal pipe and an amount of deformation of the metal pipe tends to fluctuate. Thus, a gap is formed between the metal pipe and the pipe housing groove. As a result, deterioration in cooling performance of the cooling plate tends to be causes.

Manufacturing method for cooling unit, cooling unit, optical device, and projector


Disclosed is a low power consumption GNSS receiver by adaptively adjusting clock frequency. A correlator performs correlations to signals received from the channels with a correlator clock frequency. A DSP controls the correlator clock frequency according to a correlator load to performing correlations. The DSP calculates and adjusts code phases and Doppler frequencies for the signals in turn with a DSP clock frequency. The DSP controls the DSP clock frequency according to an accumulated throughput of calculation and adjustment or a predetermined threshold number of channels. The DSP controls the RF power according to the correlator load. A microprocessor processes a measurement result of the calculation and the adjustment for obtaining position information with a microprocessor clock frequency. The microprocessor controls the microprocessor clock frequency according to an accumulated progress of processing the measurement result. Accordingly, reducing power consumption for the GNSS receiver can be realized.

Nowadays, a commercial GNSS receiver has become a popular device, a small, portable size and convenient for use. Such portable GNSS receiver must utilize a battery as a power supply thereof. Due to the limited charging capacity of generic batteries, reducing power consumption of the portable GNSS receiver for advancement of long running-time is a great topic for research and development of the commercial GNSS receiver.
A GNSS receiver usually comprises two main units or two software partitions those include a measure engine and a navigation engine. For example, the measure engine may comprise correlators and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The correlators perform correlations to signals from channels for searching and tracking respective satellites. The DSP calculates and adjusts code phases and Doppler frequencies for the signals received from the channels in turn and decodes data for the channels as well. Specifically, the calculations and adjustments of the DSP for all the channels have to be completely done in 1 millisecond and a measurement result of code chips, the code phase sand the Doppler frequencies is transmitted to the navigation engine usually in 1 second for a calculation of a GNSS user's position, velocity and time information. A microprocessor of a standalone solution or a host CPU in many host based application will be in charge of that calculation of the GNSS user's position, velocity and time information.
A clock generator generates a reference clock for an RF unit and a synthesizer of the GNSS receiver. The synthesizer receives the reference clock and provides a correlator clock for the correlator, a DSP clock for the DSP and a microprocessor clock for the microprocessor, respectively. The DSP controls the correlator clock and the DSP clock. The microprocessor controls the microprocessor clock.
According to prior arts, the GNSS receiver continuously receives signals from all channels. The correlator performs correlations to the signals from the all channels and the DSP calculates and adjusts code phases and Doppler frequencies for the signals from the all channels in turn. When the GNSS receiver performs searching and tracking of specific number of satellites, the power consumption of the GNSS receiver remains the same, no matter the size of search range of a lost satellite or signal strength variations of the satellites due to different channel blocking or channel fading. In some circumstances of the prior art, the correlator may stop performing correlations to some signals for any reason during aforesaid searching and tracking. Therefore, the number of channels that are actually in use may change, but all the hardware related clock frequencies (the correlator clock frequency, the DSP clock frequency and the microprocessor clock frequency) always keep the same during GNSS receiver operation.
However, the power consumption is proportional to the correlator clock frequency, the DSP clock frequency, and the microprocessor clock frequency. Keeping all clock frequencies the same without considering the variations will result in the power consumption of the GNSS receiver be reduced inefficiently.
According to prior arts, stopping or freezing aforesaid clock frequencies is necessary for the GNSS receiver for reducing power consumption by a user command or according to a correlator load of performing correlation. Consequently, Such as a drawback that the GNSS receiver can't work well under a big dynamic operation condition, for example, a sudden acceleration or deceleration or a drawback that a sudden channel fading or a channel blocking suddenly degrades performance of the GNSS receiver seriously is unavoidable.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a low power consumption GNSS receiver by adaptively adjusting clock frequency and method thereof.

Low power consumption GNSS receiver and method thereof


A computer-implemented method for increasing security for radio frequency identification (RFID) transactions. The computer-implemented method includes receiving an RFID transaction via an RFID tag and identifying an account associated with the RFID tag. The computer-implemented method further includes determining if the account has an increased security feature enabled on the RFID tag, and verifying with an owner of the account that the RFID transaction is authorized. In exemplary embodiments, the computer-implemented method further includes determining if the account has an electronic personal assistant set up, engaging the owner of the account associated with the RFID tag by accessing the electronic personal assistant, and requesting an authorization from the owner of the account to verify the RFID transaction. In exemplary embodiments, the electronic personal assistant is an in-vehicle voice assistant.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field of computing and more particularly to data processing and verification of radio frequency identification transactions.
In this fast moving world, stopping to pay for a purchase can really slow one down, not to mention create a line of frustrated consumers that now need to wait for a cashier to accept payment, make change, and return the change to the consumer.
Nowadays, wireless transactions allow consumers to instantly make purchases on-the-go with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags attached to the windshield of a car. Some examples of wireless on-the-go transactions may include toll booth collections, parking fees, etc.
However, a visible RFID tag is subject to theft and thus innumerable fraudulent charges by a thief.

Increased security for radio frequency identification (RFID) transactions


Disclosed is a gluing device including a reservoir tank of liquid glue; an applicator roll partially immersed in the liquid glue; a doctor roll for adjusting a thickness of the liquid glue adhered to the applicator roll to become uniform; and a pair of glue dams for regulating a width of the liquid glue adherable to the applicator roll. The gluing device is configured to apply the adhered liquid glue on the applicator roll to a corrugated medium of a corrugated paperboard sheet. Each of the glue dams includes a pair of dam units located in spaced-apart relation to each other in a width direction of the applicator roll. The pair of dam units are configured to form a glue-uncoated region interposed between the pair of dam units on an outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll so as to correspond to a trimming region of the corrugated paperboard sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gluing device, and more particularly to a gluing device usable in a corrugating machine for producing a corrugated paperboard sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a corrugating machine is designed to continuously produce a plurality of corrugated paperboard sheets from raw paperboards such as a corrugated medium and a linerboard. For this purpose, the corrugating machine is equipped with a gluing device for gluing or bonding a corrugated medium and a linerboard together. Examples of this type of gluing device include a gluing device used in a gluing machine to apply liquid glue to flute tip regions of a corrugated medium in a single-faced corrugated paperboard sheet in which the corrugated medium is bonded onto a planar linerboard.
The gluing device of the gluing machine comprises: a reservoir tank storing therein liquid glue; an applicator roll partially immersed in the liquid glue stored in the reservoir tank; a doctor roll for adjusting a thickness of the liquid glue adhered to the applicator roll to become uniform; and a pair of glue dams for regulating a width of the liquid glue adherable to the applicator roll. When the gluing device of the gluing machine is used in a situation where a width of a single-faced corrugated paperboard sheet used is greater than a width of a front linerboard, flute tip regions of a corrugated medium applied with the liquid glue are exposed in widthwise opposite edge regions of the single-faced corrugated paperboard sheet, thereby causing a problem that the liquid glue is wastefully used, and the exposed liquid glue adheres to a downstream-side heating plate.
With a view to solving this problem, for example, JP-U 04-094433A (Patent Document 1) discloses a gluing device for a gluing machine, wherein a pair of glue dams each movable in a width direction of a corrugated paperboard sheet are provided in a reservoir tank of the gluing device to thereby allow a transfer and supply width of liquid glue to be arbitrarily set in a variable manner, correspondingly to an effective crosswise width of a corrugated paperboard sheet to be produced.
Meanwhile, after the gluing, the resulting glued corrugated paperboard sheet is cut (slit) into a given width along a sheet feeding direction (machine direction) by a slitter apparatus disposed downstream of the gluing machine. The corrugated paperboard sheet after passing through the slitter apparatus is cut into a given cut length by a cutter apparatus disposed downstream of the slitter apparatus. A plurality of corrugated paperboard sheets cut by the cutter apparatus are sequentially stacked up to a given height by a stacker disposed on a downstreammost side of the corrugating machine.
In this process, a strip-shaped cutting scrap (hereinafter referred to as "trimming strip") is formed along each of opposite edges of a corrugated paperboard sheet after passing through the slitter apparatus, because a width of an initial or original corrugated paperboard sheet is set to be greater than a cut width of the slitter apparatus. As illustrated in FIG. 12, such trimming strips 101 are sucked and collected by a suction duct 102 disposed along and downstream of a slitter apparatus 100. However, an increase in width dimension of each of the trimming strips 101 causes a problem that jamming-up (clogging) is more likely to occur inside the suction duct or around an inlet of the suction duct.
With a view to solving this problem, for example, JP 09-262790A (Patent Document 2) discloses a slitter apparatus, wherein, when a width of each trimming strip is greater than a given value, a cutting center of the slitter apparatus is offset in such a manner that a relatively narrow trimming strip and a relatively wide trimming strip are formed, respectively, in one of opposite edge regions of a corrugated paperboard sheet and in the other edge region, and wherein, when the relatively wide trimming strip has a width equal to or less than a given value, the relatively wide trimming strip is further narrowly cut, and then sucked and collected by the suction duct.


The reservation management system includes an input device and a reservation management unit. The input device includes a manual operation part movable between a first position and a second position and sends a wireless signal containing movement information of the manual operation part and ID information. The reservation management unit performs reservation management based on the wireless signal sent from the input device. The reservation management unit includes a clock unit, a storage unit, and a determination unit. The clock unit measures time. The storage unit associates reservation information containing a reservation start time, and the ID information with each other and stores them. The determination unit determines a reservation performance status based on a current time, the reservation start time, and the movement information.

In the past, there has been proposed a use status management system (reservation management system) enabling remote check of use statuses of conference rooms, meeting spaces, and the like (see Patent Literature 1). The conventional use status management system includes a display plate device, a repeater, and a processing device.
The display plate includes a plate supporting member and a communication unit. The plate supporting member holds a display plate in a removable manner, and allows a slidable operation of the display plate between a first position making first state information of the display plate visible from a display window, and a second position making second state information of the display plate visible from the display window. The communication unit sends a signal in accordance with movement of the plate supporting member.
The repeater receives a signal from the display plate device, sends it in a converted communication protocol.
The processing device displays a state corresponding to the first state information or the second state information which is exclusively being displayed by the display plate device, based on the signal received from the repeater.
However, the conventional reservation management system merely shows the use status of the facility on the screen, and cannot associate the reservation information and the use status.

Reservation management system, input device, reservation management method, and program

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A reset device resets an electronic device by monitoring a telephone line. The reset device detects a first ring signal transmitted via the telephone line and starts a timer. The ring signals transmitted via the telephone line are counted and compared to a preselected number. When the number of ring signals counted by the reset device is equal to the preselected number, a signal is transmitted to the electronic device causing it to reset.

The present invention relates to remotely resetting a computer and, more particularly, to resetting a computer via telephone communications.
Many electronic devices rely on computers for their operation. A computer associated with an electronic device may operate a plurality of functions associated with the electronic device. The computer may also monitor the operation of the electronic device so as to detect errors in the operation of the electronic device. When an error in the operation of the electronic device is detected, the computer may inform or otherwise alert a technician of the error. In many of these electronic devices, the failure of the computer results in the failure of the electronic device. Furthermore, when the computer has failed, the computer will not be able to inform a technician that the reason for the failure of the electronic device is due to the failure of the computer itself.
Computers require an operating system in order to function properly. The operating systems, however, tend to become unstable and encounter faults at times. These faults cause the computers to fail, which in turn cause the electronic devices to which they are associated with to fail. A fault in the operating system typically requires the computer to be manually reset in order to clear the fault and allow the computer and its associated electronic device to return to normal operation.
Some electronic devices, such as some mass data storage devices, use computers for the additional tasks of communicating with remote users or remote computers. These computers may, as an example, be equipped with telephone modems that allow communications via conventional telephone lines. The communication via a telephone line permits a remote user to access the computer, which permits a user to modify the operation of the electronic device and to monitor errors that may occur in the operation of the electronic device.
The communication with a remote computer further permits the computer associated with an electronic device to contact the remote computer to report errors in the operation of the electronic device. Several computers associated with electronic devices may all communicate errors and the like to a single remote computer. A user of the remote computer may then monitor the status of several electronic devices. For example, a computer associated with an electronic device may be programmed to monitor the electronic device for errors in the operation of the electronic device. Upon the detection of an error, the computer may establish communications with the remote computer via a telephone line. Once the communications are established, the computer associated with the electronic device may transfer information describing the faults detected in the operation of the electronic device to the remote computer. In many situations, faults in the operation of the electronic device may be diagnosed and resolved remotely before a user of the electronic device knows that a problem ever existed.
The use of a computer associated with an electronic device generally works well in operating and diagnosing the electronic device until the computer encounters a fault. For example, when the operating system fails, the computer is rendered dysfunctional. The remote computer is then unable to operate the electronic device. Problems are further exacerbated because the computer associated with the electronic device is not able to establish communications with the remote computer. Therefore, the computer associated with the electronic device is unable to contact the remote computer to report the fault. Accordingly, a user of the remote computer will not be aware of a fault with the electronic device. Even if the user of the remote computer were aware of the fault, he or she would not be able to resolve the problem due to the communications failure. Generally, the only way to resolve a fault in the operating system and restore communications is for a person to manually press a reset function on the computer associated with the electronic device.
Therefore, a need exists for a device or method that overcomes some or all of the above-described problems.
The invention is directed toward a circuit for remotely resetting a computer. The reset circuit monitors a telephone line for ring signals. When a preselected number of ring signals have been received within a preselected period, the reset circuit transmits a signal to the computer causing the computer to reset.
The reset circuit may comprise a ring detector, a counter, a timer, a comparator, a number generator, and a power controller. The ring detector may comprise a ring detector input and a ring detector output. The ring detector input may be electrically connected to the telephone line. The ring detector output is transitionable to a preselected voltage for a preselected period upon detection of a ring signal at the ring detector input.
The counter may comprise a counter input, a counter output, and a counter enable function. The counter input may be operatively connected to the ring detector output. The counter output may output a binary number corresponding to the number of ring signals detected by the ring detector over a preselected period. The timer may comprise a timer trigger and a timer output. The timer output may be transitionable from a first voltage to a second voltage for a preselected period upon a voltage transition at the timer trigger. The timer output may be operatively connected to the counter enable function.
The comparator may comprise a comparator first input, a comparator second input, and a comparator output. The comparator output may be transitionable between a first comparator voltage when the first comparator input is not equal to the second comparator input and a second comparator voltage when the first comparator input is equal to the second comparator input. The first comparator input may be operatively connected to the counter output and the second comparator input may be operatively connected to the number generator. The number generator generates the aforementioned preselected number of rings that are to be detected by the reset circuit so as to cause it to reset the computer.
The power controller may comprise a controller input and a controller output. The controller input may be operatively connected to the comparator output and the controller output may be operatively connected to a reset function associated with the computer.
When a telephone call is placed to the reset circuit, the ring detector detects the ring signal associated with the telephone call. When the first ring signal is detected, the timer enables the counter to count subsequent rings for a preselected period established by the timer. As the ring signals are detected, they are counted by the counter and compared to the preselected number established by the number generator. When the number of rings detected and the preselected number are equal, the comparator transmits a signal to the power controller instructing it to reset the computer.

Apparatus and method for remotely resetting a computer


Systems are disclosed for automated protection switching enabled by in-band signaling. A status monitor coupled to a switch fabric may be operable to read signal quality information from cells packet-switched over the fabric, the cells carrying traffic signals from one or more working channels between two network nodes. The status monitor may apply a protection algorithm to the signal quality information to determine whether a traffic signal on a working channel meets requirements indicative of channel failure or degradation sufficient to move the traffic signal to an additional protection channel between the two nodes. The status monitor may encode a request to transfer this traffic signal in cells switched by the fabric. In some examples, this request may be encoded in an optional user and fabric overhead field of cells consistent with the Optical-Transport Network (OTN) over Packet Fabric Protocol (OFP).

Involvement by a network administrator to repair a damaged communications network can result in unacceptable delays and lost data. Reliable communication networks take into account potential degradation or failure of the channels over which traffic signals are transported through redundancy in the network. The need to quickly repair communication of networks leads to the automation of the controls by which redundancies may be accessed.
The objective of such automation is to transfer a traffic signal to a redundant, or protection, channel from a degraded or failed channel with small enough latencies that the process is transparent to end users. To meet this objective an upper boundary on latency is commonly set at fifty milliseconds, with even shorter latencies preferable. However, the control signaling involved in coordinating a determination to transfer a traffic signal from a compromised channel often pushes and/or transgresses this upper boundary.

In-band signaling for network protection switching


An advertising display or like material insert structurally adapted to be used in combination with a cassette such as video cassette and packaged with the cassette in any one of a variety of designs of cassette containers, such that opening of the container and removal of the cassette will immediately expose one or more display surfaces with advertising or like material indicia thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an advertising display structure designed for use with a video or like cassette type structure wherein the display structure includes numerous display surfaces and may be packaged on the interior of a container for the cassette and removed therefrom upon removal of the cassette from the container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous devices and display structures are available, both commercially and in the prior art, which are specifically designed to accomplish presentation of advertisement to the consuming public. While numerous advertising displays are directed to the consuming public generally, there are certain specific display structures which have a more specified or precise application or which are directed to a predetermined group of consumers.
Naturally all types of respectively, signs, billboards, publication, etc., are well known and rely on certain areas of exposure in order to present the advertising message to the segment of the consuming public most interested. However, relatively few advertising display structures have the capability of being used in combination with a specific product which itself is distributed on a somewhat limited and specified basis to a certain segment of the public. The wide spread use of video cassette recorders has resulted in an evergrowing number of retail outlets specifically designed to accomplish the rental of video cassettes for a relatively short period of time. Such rentals have become increasingly popular and allows the consumer access to a large number of such cassettes, as well as the material thereon, without having to actually purchase the video cassette. In many areas of the United States, as well as other industrialized countries, the ownership and use of video cassette recorders (VCR) is as popular as the ownership and use of television sets.
In the advertising industry, professionals are constantly on the lookout for the ability to effectively isolate a specified segment of society in order to make advertising displays more effective.
Therefore, there is a continuous recognized need in the industry for areas of specific application of display structures, carrying advertising, which is applicable to a predetermined segment of society.

Advertising display for a video cassette or like structure


A liquid crystal display panel includes a black matrix formed of a resin material, formed at a predetermined region extended from one end portion of a first substrate and at a boundary region of pixel areas; a color filter formed so as to correspond to the pixel areas; a seal pattern formed at an upper surface of the black matrix; and a second substrate attached to the first substrate by the seal pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display panel capable of preventing the use of heavy metal harmful to the human body in forming a black matrix and minimizing an area of a dummy region except an effective image display part.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display apparatus is a display device in which data signals including image information are individually supplied to unit pixels arranged in a matrix form, and the light transmittance of the unit pixels is controlled to display a desired image.
Thus, the liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel where the unit pixels are arranged in a matrix form, and a driver integrated circuit (IC) for driving the unit pixels.
In the liquid crystal display panel, a thin film transistor array substrate and a color filter substrate are attached to each other so as to face into each other and have a certain interval (generally, referred to as a cell-gap) therebetween, and, at the cell-gap, a liquid crystal layer is formed.
The thin film transistor array substrate and the color filter substrate are attached to each other by a seal pattern formed along the outer edge of an effective image display part. At this time, a spacer is formed on the thin film transistor array substrate or the color filter substrate, thereby-forming a certain cell-gap therebetween.
At outer surfaces of the substrates, a polarizing plate, a retardation plate and the like are installed. Such a plurality of components are constructed to vary the state of light and a refraction ratio of light passing through in order to have a liquid crystal display device having a high brightness and a contrast characteristic.
At the liquid crystal display panel where the thin film transistor array substrate and the color filter substrate face into and are attached to each other, a common electrode and a pixel electrode are formed to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer. That is, a voltage applied to the pixel electrode is controlled while a voltage is applied to the common electrode, thereby individually controlling light transmittance of the unit pixels. In order to control the voltage applied to the pixel electrode for each unit pixel separately, a thin film transistor used as a switching device is formed at each unit pixel.
Liquid crystal display devices are generally classified into twisted nematic (TN) mode liquid crystal display panels and in-plane switching (IPS) mode liquid crystal display panels.
In the TN mode liquid crystal display panel, a pixel electrode is formed on a thin film transistor array substrate at each unit pixel, and a common electrode is formed at an entire surface of a color filter substrate. Thus, a liquid crystal layer is driven by an electric field between the pixel electrode formed on the thin film transistor array substrate and the common electrode formed on the color filter substrate.
In the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel, a pixel electrode and a common electrode are formed on a thin film transistor array substrate at a predetermined interval then. Thus, a liquid crystal layer is driven by a horizontal electric field between the pixel electrode and the common electrode formed on the thin film transistor array substrate.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary view illustrating a plane structure of a liquid crystal display panel where the thin film transistor array substrate and the color filter substrate face into and are attached to each other.
In FIG. 1, the thin film transistor array substrate 101 faces into and is attached to the color filter substrate 102, and an edge of one long side thereof and an edge of one short side thereof are protruded compared to the color filter substrate 102.
At a region where the substrates 101 and 102 are attached to each other, an image display part 113 is provided, where unit pixels are formed in a matrix form to display an image. A seal pattern 116 is formed along the outer edge of the image display part 113.
A gate pad part 114 connected with gate lines of the image display part 113 is provided. At an edge region of one short side of the thin film transistor array substrate 101 that extends beyond the color filter substrate 102.
A data pad part 115 connected with data lines of the image display part 113 is provided. At an edge region of one long side of the thin film transistor array substrate 101 extends beyond the color filter substrate 102.
The gate pad part 114 supplies a scan signal supplied from a gate driver integrated circuit to the gate lines of the image display part 113, and the data pad part 115 supplies image information supplied from a data driver integrated circuit to the data lines of the image display part 113.
On the thin film transistor array substrate 101, the gate lines to which the scan signal is applied, and the data lines to which the image information is applied, intersect one another, so that the unit pixels are defined in a matrix form. At the intersection, a thin film transistor is provided for switching the unit pixel.
On the color filter substrate 102, a red, green or blue color filter corresponding to a unit pixel is provided, and a black matrix is provided to prevent a leakage of light generated from a back-light and to prevent a mixture of colors from adjacent unit pixels.
In case of the TN mode liquid crystal display panel, a pixel electrode is provided at the thin film transistor array substrate 101 and a common electrode is provided at the color filter substrate 102 to drive a liquid crystal layer. In case of the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel, a pixel electrode and a common electrode are provided at the thin film transistor array substrate 101 to drive a liquid crystal layer.
The thin film transistor array substrate 101 and the color filter substrate 102 are have a cell-gap therebetween maintained by a spacer so as to separate one from the other by a fixed distance. They are attached to each other by a seal pattern 116 formed at the outer edge of the image display part 113, and thus constitute a liquid crystal display panel 100. At one side of the seal pattern 116, a liquid crystal injection hole is provided for injecting liquid crystal between the thin film transistor array substrate 101 and the color filter substrate 102 that are attached to each other. The liquid crystal injection hole is sealed after an injection of the liquid crystal is terminated.
FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a sectional structure of a color filter substrate for a region 'A' of FIG. 1 in case of the TN mode liquid crystal display panel.
With reference to FIG. 2, the color filter substrate includes a black matrix 202 made of a chrome material, formed at a predetermined region extended from one end portion of a transparent substrate 201 and at a boundary region of pixels, preventing a leakage of light generated from a back-light, and preventing a color mixture of the adjacent pixels; a red, green or blue color filter 203 partially overlapping with the black matrix 202, and formed to correspond to a unit pixel; a common electrode 204 formed on the entire surface of upper parts of the black matrix 202 and the color filter 203; and a seal pattern 205 formed on a structure that the black matrix 202 and a common electrode 204 are laminated.
In order to form the black matrix 202 on a color filter substrate of the TN mode liquid crystal display panel, a thin film made of a chrome material is deposited in a film process, such as sputtering, and the deposited thin film is patterned through a photolithography process.
The seal pattern 205 is formed on a structure such that the black matrix 202 made of the chrome material and the common electrode 204 made of a transparent metal material are laminated.
As above, for the black matrix 202 formed on the color filter substrate of the related art of TN mode liquid crystal display panel, a thin film made of a chrome material, a heavy metal to the human body, toxic is used.
FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a sectional structure of a color filter substrate for a region 'A' of FIG. 1 in the case of the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel.
With reference to FIG. 3, the color filter substrate includes a black matrix 302 made of a resin material, formed at a region constantly separated from one end portion of a transparent substrate 301 and at a boundary region of pixels, preventing a leakage of light generated from- a back-light, and preventing a color mixture of adjacent pixels; a red, green, or blue color filter 303 partially overlapping with the black matrix 302, and formed to correspond to a unit pixel; an over-coat layer 304 formed at an entire surface of an upper part of a transparent substrate 301 including the black matrix 302 and the color filter 303; and a seal pattern 305, formed at an upper surface of the over-coat layer 304 formed on the edge portion of the transparent substrate 301.
Unlike the TN mode liquid crystal display panel, the black matrix 302 formed at the color filter substrate of the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel is formed of an organic film such as a resin material.
In the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel, a liquid crystal layer is driven by an electric field between a pixel electrode and a common electrode formed on a thin film transistor array substrate. Therefore, in case that the black matrix 302 formed on the color filter substrate is formed of a thin film made of a metal material such as chrome, an electric field between the pixel electrode and the common electrode is distorted thereby causing deficiency in driving the liquid crystal layer. Accordingly, the black matrix 302 formed on the color filter substrate of the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel is formed of a thick film which is made of an organic film such as a resin material.
The over-coat layer 304 is formed at an entire surface of an upper part of the transparent substrate 301 including the black matrix 302 and the color filter 303 in order to planarize the surface.
However, because the seal pattern 305 formed at the color filter substrate of the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel is formed at an upper surface of the over-coat layer 304 that is formed on the edge portion of the transparent substrate 301, a region where the seal pattern 305 is formed and separate a region where the black matrix 302 is formed are required. Thus, a dummy area is increased relative to an effective image display part, and consequently, the size of the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel must be increased. In addition, since the black matrix 302 is not formed at an edge portion of the transparent substrate 301 at which the seal pattern is formed 305 due to a problem in adhering the black matrix 302 and the seal pattern 305, light generated from a back light leaks at the edge portion of the transparent substrate 301, thereby degrading the image quality of the liquid crystal display panel.
In addition, a black matrix made of a chrome material is formed through a thin film process in the TN mode liquid crystal display panel, but a black matrix made of an organic material is formed through a thick film process in the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel. Therefore, separate individual processes for producing the color filter are performed according to the TN mode and the IPS mode, increasing the complexity of and degrading the efficiency on the use of clean rooms.


Disclosed is a black pigment ink suitable for ink jet recording which comprises carbon black, a dispersant containing polyethylene oxide and 0.1-5 mmols/g of amino group, and a solvent such as water. The ink is excellent in storage stability, causes no clogging of head and provides printed images of excellent quality and high light resistance.

The present invention relates to a black pigment ink, particularly, to an ink suitable for ink jet recording which is carried out by squirting ink droplets from a printing head, and, more particularly, to a black pigment ink which can give printed images of excellent quality and high light resistance.
In the conventional ink jet recording, dye inks prepared by dissolving various dyes in water or mixed solvents of water and organic solvents have been used.
However, dye inks have the disadvantage that they are apt thereby blot on the recording paper to deteriorating the quality of the resulting printed images, and furthermore, the resulting images are inferior in light resistance and water resistance.
Under these circumstances, an investigation has been made to prepare pigment inks which have less blotting and can provide printed images which are excellent in quality and high in both light and water resistance. However, conventional pigment inks suffer from poor dispersibility and dispersion stability of the pigment particles in the ink and, furthermore, they are likely to cause clogging of the printing head. One of the methods for the solution of these problems is proposed in JP-A-3-210373. It discloses an aqueous pigment ink prepared using acidic carbon black. The reference teaches that acidic carbon black enhances affinity of the pigment particles per se for an aqueous solvent, resulting in improved image density.
However, the aqueous pigment ink disclosed in JP-A-3-210373 is soluble in an aqueous solution and is prepared by dissolving an amine in a dispersant and the dispersant, per se, has an acidic polar group such as carboxyl group. Since both the pigment and the dispersant have acidity, the dispersibility of the dispersant for pigment is not so high. As a result, clogging at the printing head is apt to occur and, further, the resultant printed images are insufficient in quality.

Black pigment ink and method for producing the same


A portable media player comprises an earphone transmission port, a detection circuit, a switch circuit, and a processor. The earphone transmission port mounted on the portable media player is electrically connected to a connector for receiving a signal or power transmitted from the connector. The detection circuit electrically connected to the earphone transmission port is used to detect a type of the connector for sending an informing signal. The switch circuit electrically connected to the earphone transmission port is used to switch between a signal inputting status and a signal outputting status according to the type of the connector. The processor electrically connected to the detection circuit and the switch circuit is used to receive the informing signal for turning on or off the switch circuit.

With the daily advances of the electronics industry, we are facing an information era. A multitude of high-tech electronic products are derived from various digital technologies and improved very fast while various electronic components and peripherals for assembly in electronic products are also developed and improved. Electronic components and peripherals are applied to daily life or working space of various industries so as to substantially improve human life with technology development. However, following the development of various electronic technologies, consumers always pay attention to utility and convenience, and if the related electronic products can satisfy their needs.
Traditional MP3 players are generally applied to daily life as requisite electronic tools. Traditional MP3 player functions includes music playing and broadcasting, and now the traditional MP3 player can be used as a portable disk and/or a portable recorder for downloading and recording. According to the obvious and strong need for integrating all functions in a single unit, manufacturers must design novel MP3 players which are more convenient to carry and easier to play for satisfying consumers' needs. Meanwhile, MP3 players or other electronic products should be designed to be more compact by minimizing various electronic elements and peripherals of the electronic products to a compact profile for the purpose of increasing the utility and reducing the occupied space thereof.
Presently, MP3 players have integrated with portable disks and portable recorders to provide various functions, such as downloading, recording, or storing. Meanwhile, each of the MP3 players usually has three types of input/output connectors, including a USB connector for electrically connecting to a computer device, an earphone connector for electrically connecting to an earphone, and a microphone connector for electrically connecting to a microphone. However, if one manufacturer wants to design the MP3 player more compact, the MP3 player should not include too many connectors due to the limited surface area of an MP3 player.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a portable media player with a earphone transmission port and a signal adaptor cable thereof to solve the problems existing in conventional MP3 player so that the portable media player can omit unnecessary connectors, and a plurality of connectors can be integrated into a single connector, such as the earphone transmission port, for reducing the volume and manufacture cost of portable media players.

Portable media player with common earphone transmission port and signal adaptor cable thereof


A material for forming a silica based film which enables the production of a silica based film with a reduced etching rate relative to hydrofluoric acid. This material includes a solid fraction containing a film forming component capable of generating a silica based film, an organic solvent, and water, and the water content of the material, as determined by gas chromatography measurement, is within a range from 0.1 to 50% by weight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a material for forming a silica based film.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-412380, filed Dec. 10, 2003, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, in the production of substrates for semiconductor elements and liquid crystal elements, SOG (spin-on-glass) is a known technique used in the production of planarizing films, interlayer insulating films, passivation films, as well as the raw material solutions used for producing these films. SOG is a generic term that is typically used to describe both solutions comprising a silicon compound dissolved in an organic solvent (hereafter also referred to as SOG solutions), and silica based films (hereafter also referred to as SOG films) comprising SiO2 as the primary component, formed by applying a SOG solution to a substrate and conducting a subsequent heat treatment.
A variety of silica based films have been proposed (see patent references 1 to 4, listed below).
Silica based films formed using chemical vapor deposition methods (hereafter also abbreviated as CVD methods) are formed in a conformal manner relative to the wiring pattern, meaning that following film formation, they must be subjected to reflow at a high temperature of 950 to 1100° C. in order to flatten the surface of the film.
In contrast, SOG films can be formed with a flat surface by applying a SOG solution, and then conducting baking at a temperature that is lower than the above reflow temperature. Such SOG films display excellent surface planarity.
Patent Reference 1:
Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. Hei 8-3074 B
Patent Reference 2:
Japanese Patent (Granted) Publication No. 2,739,902
Patent Reference 3:
Japanese Patent (Granted) Publication No. 3,228,714
Patent Reference 4:
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 10-313002 A
However, with recent further advances in the miniaturization of semiconductor devices, the use of SOG films is becoming restricted due to the high etching rate of SOG films by hydrofluoric acid. For example, use of a SOG film as the insulating film of so-called PMD (Predetermined Metal Dielectrics) provided on top of a metal wiring pattern in a device with a gate length of no more than 0.18 μm is problematic.
Specifically, if a contact hole is formed by penetrating through the SOG film, and the inside of the contact hole is then washed with hydrofluoric acid, then the SOG film from the inside walls of the contact hole is also etched in a horizontal direction relative to the substrate, causing so-called side etching.
This side etching is most prevalent at the bottom sections of the SOG film, namely, the sections of the film closest to the substrate in the film depth direction.
In the case of substrates for the next generation of devices, some substrates covered with a film formed by a CVD method can comprise ultra fine indentations with a width between wiring (the wiring separation) of no more than 0.25 μm and a depth (step) of at least 0.4 μm. A SOG film formed on top of this type of substrate must be capable of filling these spaces between wiring without generating voids. In addition, if side etching of the SOG film which fills the indentations between wiring sections to planarize the substrate surface occurs, then short circuits can develop within the wiring, and consequently it is becoming increasingly important to reduce the etching rate of SOG films by hydrofluoric acid, thus preventing side etching.


A three-dimensional printing system can include polymeric build material and jettable fluid(s). The polymeric build material can have an average particle size from 20 μm to 150 μm, a first melt viscosity, and a melting temperature from 75° C. to 350° C. In one example, the jettable fluid can include water, from 0.1 wt % to 10 wt % of electromagnetic radiation absorber, and from 10 wt % to 35 wt % of an organic solvent plasticizer. Contacting a first portion of a layer of the polymeric build material with the jettable fluid can provide an organic solvent plasticizer loading from 2 wt % to 10 wt % based on the polymeric build material content. The first melt viscosity of the polymeric build material at the first portion can be reduced and the melting temperature of the polymeric build material at the first portion can be decreased by 3° C. to 15° C.

Methods of three-dimensional (3D) digital printing, a type of additive manufacturing, have continued to be developed over the last few decades. In general, 3D printing technology can improve the product development cycle by allowing rapid creation of prototype models or even finished products in some instances. For example, several commercial sectors such as aviation and the medical industry, to name a few, have benefitted from rapid prototyping and/or the production of customized parts. There are various methods for 3D printing that have been developed, including heat-assisted extrusion, selective laser sintering, photolithography, additive manufacturing, as well as others. As technology advances, higher demands with respect to production speed, part consistency, rigidity, method flexibility, etc., exist with customers.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An object of the present invention is to provide a novel primer and prove for detecting tubercle bacillus capable of avoiding false positive, and an easy-to-use, rapid and high-sensitivity method for detecting human tubercle bacillus (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) using the same. The present invention relates to an oligonucleotide comprising a part of or an entire sequence of the nucleic acid sequence described in SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7 or SEQ ID NO:8, or a part of or an entire sequence of the complementary sequence thereof, wherein the oligonucleotide has a property of hybridizing with the nucleic acid sequence of IS6110 gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a primer and a probe containing the oligonucleotide for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and a method for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis using the primer and the probe.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogenic microbe causing tuberculosis in human, and is Gram-positive bacillus belonging to genus Mycobacterium having acidophilic properties. In spite of the significant decrease of tuberculosis in recent years, it has recently become serious problems due to increased the incidence rate in elderly and the outbreak of the group infection in the young people who are not experienced tuberculous infection.
On the other hand, it is also known that besides Mycobacterium tuberculosis, non-tuberculous Mycobacteria such as Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare and Mycobacterium kansasii also exhibit pathogenicity for human. Further, it has also become a big problem for non-tuberculous Mycobacteria to develop disease in patients infected with AIDS virus. Since most of these non-tuberculosis Mycobacteriosis exhibit resistance against antituberculous agents, differential diagnosis between tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis mycobacteriosis becomes important for determining therapeutic strategy. However, since differentiation from tuberculosis based on clinical symptom and histopathological observation is quite difficult, the diagnosis has to be determined by using identification of bacteria.
When the differential diagnosis is made between the tuberculosis and the non-tuberculosis mycobacteriosis, the specimens are generally separately cultured in the Ogawa medium, and then subjected to biochemical tests for the identification of the species. However, since growth of genus Mycobacterium is generally slow, a considerable time has to be required for the culture. For that reason, when the conventional fundamental tests such as smear examination and culture examination are conducted, the isolation and culture of bacteria for obtaining the diagnostic result to determine tuberculosis or not requires at least for 3 to 4 weeks, and then a time period of further 2 to 3 weeks has to be required for various tests on identification of species.
Although another method for detecting tubercle bacillus using anti-genus Mycobacterium antigen antibody is known, specificity to tubercle bacillus is deficient due to cross reaction among species of genus Mycobacterium, and as a result, sensitivity is not sufficient.
Recently, a diagnostic technique by applying nucleic acid amplification techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been examined as a useful means, as well as application thereof to the diagnosis of tubercle bacillus. It has been studied whether various regions on DNA genomes of tubercle bacillus can be used as a target for detecting tubercle bacillus using PCR.
For example, a method for detecting genetic region coding the 65 KDa antigen of genus Mycobacterium has been reported (refer to, e.g., non-patent document 1, non-patent document 2, non-patent document 3, non-patent document 4, and non-patent document 5). However, it is known that the same genus such as M. avium, M. fortuitum, M. paratuberculosis, M. kansasii, M. malmoense, BCG and M. marinum as well as Mycobacterium tuberculosis have the gene of the 65 kDa antigen is known. Especially, since the 65 kDa antigen has a high cross reactivity with M. avium or M. kansasii which are the representative causative microorganisms of non-tuberculosis Mycobacteriosis, the method for detecting the gene of 65 kDa antigen has still a problem as a method for specifically detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Further, a test examination for identifying M. tuberculosis using a gene sequence coding MPB70 protein, which was identified by DNA of Mycobacterium bovis, has been studied (refer to e.g. non-patent document 6). However, Kulski, et al. reported the result in FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 1997 Mar. 1; 148(1): 43-48 (non-patent document 7). Namely, as a result of an examination by PCR, the cross reaction with the similar sequence in DNA of M. kansasii was found to occur when MPB70 protein was targeted. Consequently, this method has still a problem as a method for specifically detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Alternatively, a method for detecting M. tuberculosis/bovis using a gene sequence coding a protein antigen b (Pab) as a marker has been reported (refer to e.g. non-patent document 8), and usefulness of this marker in using for detecting M. tuberculosis/bovis has been confirmed. However, since in the case of Pab gene, only one copy can exist in genome of M. tuberculosis, it is considered not so preferable as a material for targeting nucleic acid amplification (contrary to that, in the case of IS6110 sequence described below, ten copies exist in genome of M. tuberculosis).
Further, RFLP (Restriction fragment length polymerization) by using IS6110 as a probe was reported to be able to utilize for diagnosis of tubercle bacillus (refer to e.g. non-patent document 9). This sequence has widely been used as an important tool for the epidemiological survey of tuberculosis in many countries in the world. IS6110 is an insertion sequence specific to tubercle bacillus, and exists plurally on the chromosomal DNA, with the different number and location depending on the strain, and this genetic character is inherited stably in some extent. Therefore, different RFLP patterns are shown depending on difference in strain, and grouping based on their origins can be possible. There are many reports on detection method of tubercle bacillus using IS6110, indicating sensitivity exceeding 75% as well as specificity of nearly 100%. However, in the mean time, a study result indicating that there is a possibility to cause false positive in the detection method using IS6110, has also been reported (refer to non-patent document 10). Although there is a detection method performing PCR by designing a primer specific to IS6110 has also been known (refer to e.g. patent document 1, patent document 2, patent document 3 and patent document 4), this method has a problem that sequences relating to IS6110 derived from genus Mycobacterium other than M. tuberculosis is amplified, too. Further, IS6110-like sequences exist in other microorganism species other than tubercle bacillus, and as a result, it has been suggested that these microorganisms might be detectable by the detection method of targeting IS6110. Consequently, any of the conventional methods for detecting IS6110 has a problem of insufficiency in specifically detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Accordingly, there is a need for establishing a novel method for specifically detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis.     [Patent Document 1]: JP-A-05-507617    [Patent Document 2]: JP-A-11-514522    [Patent Document 3]: JP No. 2814422    [Patent Document 4]: U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,998    [Patent Document 5]: JP-A-60-500717    [Patent Document 6]: JP-A-60-281    [Patent Document 7]: U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,015    [Patent Document 8]: U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,848    [Patent Document 9]: U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,155    [Patent Document 10]: U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,517    [Patent Document 11]: U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,121    [Patent Document 12]: JP No. 2650159    [Patent Document 13]: JP-B-07-114718    [Patent Document 14]: JP-A-58-040099    [Patent Document 15]: JP-A-62-265999    [Non-patent Document 1]: Chia et al., J. Clin. Microbiol., 1990, 28(9), 1877-1880.    [Non-patent Document 2]: Brisson-Noel et al., Lancet, 1989, 334, 1069-1071    [Non-patent Document 3]: Hackel et al, Molecular and cellular Probes, 1990, 4, 205-210.    [Non-patent Document 4]: Woods, Cole, FEMS Mycrobiology Letters, 1989, 65, 305-310.    [Non-patent Document 5]: Hance et al., Molecular Microbiology, 1989, 3(7), 843-849.    [Non-patent Document 6]: Kulski et al., J. Clin. Microbiol., 1995, 33, 668-674    [Non-patent Document 7]: Kulski et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. Mar. 1, 1997, 148(1), 43-48.    [Non-patent Document 8]: Sjobring et al., J. Clin. Microbiol., 1990, 28(10), 2200-2204.    [Non-patent Document 9]: Hermans P W M et al., J. Clin. Microbiol., 1990, 28, 2051-2058.    [Non-patent Document 10]: Lee et al., Neurological Sciences, 1994, 123, 173-179.    [Non-patent document 11]: Thierry et al., Nucleic acid Res., 1990, 18(1), 188.    [Non-patent Document 12]: Nucleic acids Res., 1986, 14, 6115-6128.    [Non-patent Document 13]: Kent P T, Kubica G P, Public Health Mycobacteriology, A Guide for the Level III Laboratory, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, U.S.A., 1985, p. 31-55.

Probe and primer for tubercle bacillus detection, and method of detecting human tubercle bacillus therewith


A method and system are provided. The method includes mapping a binary matrix to an undirected graph form, applying a two-way graph partition algorithm to the mapped binary matrix that minimizes edge cuts between partitions in the mapped binary matrix, applying a greedy algorithm recursively to find a set of row or column permutations that maximizes a transfer of non-zeros from sparse blocks to nonsparse blocks, and sparsifying or densifying the binary matrix according to the applied greedy algorithm.

There is an increasing demand for hardware accelerators for machine learning (ML) applications. The computation that dominates many of these ML applications is matrix vector multiplications. Pruning methods have been demonstrated that are able to sparsify the layers, resulting in a large fraction of zero-valued elements. Sparse vector-matrix multiplication techniques for all-digital architectures have been developed that improve the power/performance of inference operations. For non-sparse matrices, it is possible to perform matrix vector multiplication very efficiently in analog through a crossbar network. However, for networks that have been pruned, the power savings are not typically realized in these analog or semi-analog crossbar networks as they are in all-digital designs because the overhead associated with powering up the arrays incurs overhead that is not reduced significantly, even if a large fraction of the weights are zeros. In order for there to be power savings, the zero-valued elements may be locally correlated.

Optimization of sparsified neural network layers for semi-digital crossbar architectures


A system, method and computer program product are provided for processing network accounting information. First, accounting information is received utilizing a packet-switched network. During use, at least one aspect of the received accounting information is monitored. In order to provide a defense against network attacks, dealing with heavy network traffic, or any other type of surge of network events, at least a portion of the accounting information is discarded and/or aggregated based on the monitored aspect. This prevents a system from being overloaded during the network accounting process.

Network accounting involves the collection of various types of information pertaining to the data communications over a network, and sending and receiving information over a network. Examples of such information may include, but is not limited to a communication session's source, destination, user name, duration, time, date, type of server, volume of data transferred, etc. Armed with such accounting information, various services may be provided that require network usage metering of some sort.
Networks are often subject to various attacks wherein a perpetrator attempts to infiltrate a system. During a denial of service (Dos) attack, a network failure is likely to occur as a result of data being transmitted over the network. Accompanying such attacks is a surge in the amount of accounting information that is generated by various devices. Such accounting information is collected and sent to the back-end systems such as Operation and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS). Overwhelmed by the overload situation, back-end systems may fail leading to the loss of valuable network accounting information and loss of service revenue ultimately.
For instance, if a computer attempts an attack, i.e. syn or fin, on a network, it will scan a plurality of ports. There are generally 65,536 ports to scan for a network device, and all this takes place over a very short period of time, typically several seconds. In general, the amount of network traffic generated by these attacks is negligible (as the data associated with attacks is generally of control and management nature that is short and can often be encapsulated in a small data packet), but the amount of accounting data created is large as accounting data is generated for events happening in the network. For instance, it would create 65,536 log entries in a firewall log, or up to 131,072 NetFlow flows, for each host that it attempts to attack. If a ping attack is used, then a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses is scanned in a similar fashion.
By way of background, a port is a "logical connection end-point" that associates a communication channel with entities running on a server or a client. Typical entities may be a program or an application executed on the client or server. A communication channel may be established as TCP connections using the Internet Protocol. Higher-layer applications that use TCP/IP such as the Web protocol, HTTP, have ports with pre-assigned numbers. These are known as "well-known ports" that have been assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Other application processes are given port numbers dynamically for each connection. When a service (server program) initially is started, it is said to bind to its designated port number. As any client program wants to use that server, it also must request to bind to the designated port number. Port numbers are from 0 to 65535. Ports 0 to 1023 are reserved for use by certain privileged services. For the HTTP service, port 80 is defined as a default and it does not have to be specified in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
A port scan is a series of messages sent by someone attempting to break into a computer to learn which computer network services, each associated with a "well-known" port number, the computer provides. Port scanning, a favorite approach of computer hackers, gives the assailant an idea where to probe for network weaknesses. Essentially, a port scan consists of sending a message to each port, one at a time. The kind of response received indicates whether the port is used and can therefore be probed for weakness.
Exemplary Types of Port Scans Include:
    Vanilla—An attempt to connect to all ports (there are 65,536)    Strobe—An attempt to connect to only selected ports (typically, under 20)    Stealth scan—Several techniques for scanning that attempt to prevent the request for connection being logged    FTP Bounce Scan—Attempts that are directed through an FTP server to disguise the cracker's location    Fragmented Packets—Scans by sending packet fragments that can get through simple packet filters in a firewall    UDP—Scans for open UDP ports    Sweep—Scans the same port on a number of computers
Unwanted accounting information surges can also occur as a result of situations other than network attacks. For example, information may be collected from unreliable sources. Further, a storage capacity of a system may be inadequate. In still other situations, some information may be deemed pertinent, while other data may be deemed expendable.
There is therefore a need for a technique of identifying attacks and/or other network conditions; and more importantly, preventing the propagation of large amounts of accounting information to back-end systems which may in turn result in undesired failure in the network accounting process.

System, method and computer program product for processing network accounting information


In a pair of eyeglasses having a bridge joining the edges of the lenses, the nose rest includes a one-piece bow which is secured via a spacer element to a retaining and essentially rests only on the bridge of the nose. In particular, the bow, spacer element and retaining plate are portions of a one-piece shaped part, so that a wider range of adaptation options to the individual anatomical features of the eyeglasses wearer in the nose region, on the one hand, and to the eyeglasses design used, on the other hand, is possible in a simple manner.

The present invention relates to a pair of eyeglasses of the type having a bridge joining the edges of the lenses and a nose rest that can be mounted on the side of the bridge facing toward the wearer.
Proper positioning of a glasses frame is of critical importance because this defines the path of incident light into the eyes, and hence the intended optical effect, while an anatomically unfavorable or unskilled positioning can cause impairments and in particular discomfort to the wearer and damage to the skin where the glasses rest.
These two problem areas are intrinsically interrelated, and the actual problem arises from the fact that the relevant anatomical features in the head region, that is the region of the root and sides of he nose and in region around the ears, are different in every person and also differ from one another in persons of different races.
It suffices to mention here only the variation in the width of the forehead by up to 10 mm, the shape and width of the nose, and so forth. The anatomical features which are particularly relevant in the design of a glasses frame can be found in an article by Dieter Fahrner published in NOJ 11/1990, pp. 8 to 19.
If it is to be possible to position the eyeglasses frame on any individual wearer in a satisfactory way from both an optical and an anatomical standpoint, structural designs are necessary that can be adapted in some way sufficiently so that the optical wearing situation for a given wearer is attainable at least in rough approximation. In principle this adaptation can be attained in two different ways: namely by means of a structural part that is intrinsically variable in shape, or one that is available in different sizes and dimensions. It is then the task of the optician, for an industrially manufactured glasses frame, to make such changes with skill or to select properly fitting component parts, to enable individual adaptation to the wearer. For instance, manufacturers offer glasses frames in three different bridge widths (16 mm, 18 mm and 20 mm), to make possible at least a rough adaptation to the width of the bridge of the nose of the particular wearer.
In narrowly defined regions, adaptations to the anatomical features of the wearer can also be attained by means of a soft or elastic embodiment, as is for instance known from the use of silicone as a sheathing material, which has the additional advantage of great comfort while being worn.

Eyeglasses having a detachable nose rest