A mechanism by which PIM network traffic can be aggregated is provided, thereby reducing the number of PIM messages transmitted by routers in a multicast network. PIM messages are adapted to permit information targeted at multiple destination routers to be included in one PIM message. Join/prune lists for a plurality of upstream neighbor routers can thereby be included in a single PIM message. PIM Hello messages can be similarly aggregated in a single PIM message and both PIM join/prunes and PIM Hellos can be aggregated in a single aggregated PIM message. Through such aggregation of information that would traditionally be transmitted in multiple PIM messages, network bandwidth consumption and router load due to transmission of PIM messages can be reduced.

Today's network links carry vast amounts of information. High bandwidth applications supported by these network links include, for example, streaming video, streaming audio, and large aggregations of voice traffic. In the future, network bandwidth demands are certain to increase.
As a business grows, so can its network, increasing in the number of network elements coupled to the network, the number of network links, and also geographic diversity. Over time, a business' network can include physical locations scattered throughout a city, a state, a country, or the world. Since it can be prohibitively expensive to create a private network that spans these great distances, many businesses opt to rely upon a third-party provider's transport network to provide connectivity between the disparate geographic sites of the business' network elements. In order for the business' network to seamlessly function through the provider network, the provider network must be able to provide a medium for transmission of all the business' various types of datastreams, including multicast transmission.
Multicast routing protocols enable multicast transmission (i.e., one-to-many connections and many-to-many connections) by replicating a multicast packet close to the destination of that packet, obviating the need for multiple unicast connections for the same purpose; thus, saving network bandwidth and improving throughput. Upon receiving a multicast packet, a network node can examine a multicast group destination address (GDA) of the packet and determine whether downstream subscribers to the multicast packet (i.e., members of the multicast group) are connected to the network node (either directly or indirectly). The network node can then replicate the multicast packet as needed and transmit the replicated packets to any connected subscribers.
FIG. 1A is a simplified block diagram of a network transporting a multicast transmission. Network router elements 110, 120, 130 and 140 are coupled through network links 150, 160, and 170. Network router element 110 is also coupled to network elements 111 and 112; network router element 120 is coupled to network element 121; network router element 130 is coupled to network elements 131 and 132; and, network router element 140 is coupled to network element 141. Such coupling between the network router elements and the network elements can be direct or indirect (e.g., via a L2 network device or another network router element).
For the purposes of this illustration, network element 111 is a multicast source transmitting to a multicast group that includes receiving network elements 112, 121, 131, 132 and 141. A multicast datastream, having a group destination address to which the above network elements have subscribed as receiver members, is transmitted from network element 111 to network router element 110 (illustrated by the arrow from 111 to 110). Network router element 110 determines where to forward packets in the multicast datastream by referring to a multicast group address table that identifies each port of network router element 110 that is coupled, directly or indirectly, to a subscribing member of the multicast group. Network router element 110 then replicates packets of the multicast datastream and then transmits the packets from the identified ports to network element 112, network router element 120 and network router element 130.
Network router elements 120 and 130 can inform network router element 110 that they are coupled to a subscribing member of a multicast datastream using, for example, a protocol independent multicast (PIM) multicast message. Using PIM, network router elements 120 and 130 can send messages indicating that they need to join (a "JOIN" message) or be excluded from (a "PRUNE" message) receiving packets directed to a particular multicast group or being transmitted by a particular source. Similarly, a network element can inform a first-hop network router element that the network element wishes to be a subscriber to a multicast group by sending a membership report request through a software protocol such as internet group management protocol (IGMP). When a network element wishes to subscribe to a multicast transmission, an IGMP membership request frame can be transmitted by the network element. An IGMP-enabled network router element (or a L2 network device) can have "snooping" software executing to read such a frame and build a corresponding entry in the multicast group address table.
Upon receipt by network router elements 120 and 130, packets from the multicast datastream will be replicated as needed by those network router elements to provide the multicast datastream to network elements coupled to those network router elements (e.g., network elements 131 and 132 or network router element 140). In this manner, a multicast datastream from network element 111 can be transmitted through a network to multiple receiving network elements. The path of such a transmission can be thought of as a tree, wherein network element 111 is the root of the tree and network elements 121, 131, 132, and 141 can be thought of as the tips of branches.
FIG. 1B is a simplified block diagram of a network in which multiple sources are transmitting to a multicast group. As in FIG. 1A, network element 111 is a source for a multicast datastream directed to a multicast group including network elements 112, 121, 131, 132, and 141. That multicast datastream is illustrated by path 180 (a solid line). Network element 132 is also transmitting a multicast datastream to the multicast group, and that datastream is illustrated by path 190 (a dashed line). In a multiple source multicast group, any subscriber network element can be a source. In order to provide this two-way routing of multicast data packets, a bi-directional version of protocol independent multicast (PIM bidir) is used to configure the network router elements in the multicast tree. In such bi-directional multicast, datastream packets are routed only along the shared bi-directional tree, which is rooted at a rendezvous point for the multicast group, rather than at a particular datastream source. Logically, a rendezvous point is an address (e.g., address of a network router element) that is "upstream" from all other network elements. Passing all bi-directional multicast traffic through such a rendezvous point, establishes a loop-free tree topology with a root at the rendezvous point. In FIG. 1B, the rendezvous point is illustrated as network router element 110.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate transmission of multicast datastreams in a network in which the network router elements 110, 120, 130 and 140 are directly coupled with one another. But, as stated above, as a business and its network grow, a business' network elements can become geographically diverse, and therefore the path over which the datastream must flow can include an intervening third-party provider transport network.
FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a network configuration in which geographically diverse subnets of a business' network are coupled through a provider transport network 255. The business' network includes network router elements 210, 220, 230, and 240, wherein network router element 210 is coupled to network elements 211 and 212, network router element 220 is coupled to network element 221, network router element 230 is coupled to network elements 231 and 232, and network router element 240 is coupled to network element 241. In order to connect to provider transport network 255, a network router element on the edge of the business' network (a customer edge router) is coupled to a network router element on the edge of the provider network (a provider edge router). In FIG. 2, customer edge router elements 250(1-3) are coupled to provider edge router elements 260(1-3), respectively. Network router element 240 is coupled to provider edge router element 260(4) (that is, network router element 240 is configured as a customer edge router).
It should be noted that the customer edge router and the provider edge router functionality can be provided by a single router. Further, a network router element such as 240 can also serve as an edge router. The provider edge routers provide access to provider transport network 255, which can contain data transmission lines, network router elements, and OSI Level 2 network devices to aid in the transmission of data from one provider edge router to another provider edge router. The provider transport network illustrated in FIG. 2 contains, as an example, network router elements 270(1-5) and 270(r), which are coupled in a manner to permit transmission of packets through the transport network. Such network router elements internal to a transport network are called "core router elements" or "core routers." A provider transport network is not limited to such a configuration, and can include any number of network router elements, transmission lines, and other L2 and L3 network devices.
In order to facilitate transmission of data through the provider transport network, the transport network can utilize different protocols from those used in coupled customer networks. Such transport network protocols can permit faster data transmission and routing through the network. Any needed translation between customer and provider transport network protocols can be performed by the edge routers.
A provider transport network can have a large number of provider edge routers, each of which can in turn be coupled to a plurality of customer networks. In order to maintain privacy between the various customer networks, network traffic from each of the customer networks can be transmitted in a virtual private network (VPN). Each customer can be allocated one or more VPNs depending on the customer's needs.
FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a provider transport network providing network support for a number of VPNs. Provider transport network 310 comprises, in part, provider edge routers 320(1)-320(M). As illustrated, each of the provider edge routers is also coupled, directly or indirectly, to VPNs 330(1)-330(N). While FIG. 3 shows that each provider edge router is coupled to each VPN, it should be understood that each provider edge router need not be coupled to each and every VPN supported by the provider transport network.
A VPN can be configured to support multicast traffic sent from sources to receivers within that VPN. Each provider edge router that supports a multicast VPN (mVPN) customer is part of the multicast domain for that customer. As shown in FIG. 3, multiple customers can be coupled to a particular provider edge router, which means that a provider edge router can be a member of many multicast domains—one for each mVPN customer who is connected to that provider edge router.
As discussed above, PIM is used by routers in a multicast network to provide information about membership to a multicast group or source and group tuple. A network element can express its interest in receiving traffic destined for a multicast group by transmitting an IGMP or equivalent message to a network router element. Upon receiving the network element's expression of interest, the network router can then send a PIM join message toward a root node for that multicast group (e.g., a rendezvous point or a specified source for that multicast group). Join messages are typically known as (*,G) joins because the join message results in joining group G for all sources to that group or (S,G) joins because the join message results in joining group G for a specified source for that group. The (*,G) or (S,G) join message travels hop-by-hop toward the root node and a multicast tree forwarding state for group G is instantiated in each router through which the (*,G) or (S,G) join passes. Eventually, the (*,G) or (S,G) join reaches the root node, or reaches a router that already has a (*,G) or (S,G) forwarding state for group G or source S and group G. When several network elements join a group, their join messages converge on the root node, and form a distribution tree for group G that is rooted at the root node. Join messages are resent periodically so long as a receiver remains in the group. If all receiving network elements coupled to a particular network router element leave a group, then the network router element will send a PIM (*,G) or (S,G) prune message toward the root node.
PIM also supports other message types necessary to the proper functioning of a multicast network. PIM Hello messages are sent periodically on each PIM-enabled interface. Hello messages allow a router to learn about neighboring PIM routers on each interface. A router records Hello information received from each PIM neighbor. In the PIM protocol, Hello messages must be sent on all active interfaces, including physical point-to-point links, and are multicast to a group address that includes all PIM routers within a broadcast domain. Further, Hello messages must be sent periodically in order to refresh PIM-related tables in each PIM router (for example, a typical default Hello timer is set to 30 seconds). Neighbor routers will not accept join/prune messages or other PIM messages from a router unless the receiving routers have first received a Hello message from the transmitting router. Thus, if a router needs to transmit a join/prune or other PIM message on an interface on which that router has not sent a Hello message, then that router must send a Hello message on that interface followed by the join/prune or other PIM message.
In the provider transport network illustrated in FIG. 3, one or more of VPNs 330 can be configured as a multicast VPN. In a multicast VPN, a provider edge router can be called upon to transmit PIM messages across the transport network to neighboring provider edge routers coupled to that VPN. The receiving provider edge routers will then process the PIM messages, transmitting the messages upstream toward a root node of a multicast group as appropriate. PIM Hello and join/prune messages are broadcast to all neighboring PIM routers.
A separate join/prune message is generated for each implicated neighboring router. Join and prune requests are collected for each router over a period of time (typically 60 seconds) and then a PIM join/prune message is compiled for each neighboring router and broadcast through the mVPN. Thus, the number of join/prune messages that can be generated during a period can be equal to the number of provider edge routers (e.g., M) that are members of a mVPN. Further, a provider edge router will generate join/prune messages for each mVPN coupled to the provider edge router (e.g., N).
In a large scale network, where many mVPNs are supported and many provider edge routers are provided, a significant number of join/prune messages can be periodically generated by each provider edge router. Further, since PIM Hello messages are also periodically transmitted to all neighboring PIM routers, a significant number of Hello messages can also be generated. This PIM join/prune and Hello traffic consumes network bandwidth within the provider transport network and creates processing load on the transmitting provider edge routers to generate the various PIM messages. An additional processing load is experienced by the receiving provider edge routers upon receiving the PIM messages, since each router will receive each broadcast PIM message (other than those generated by that router itself).
It is desirable to reduce the quantity of PIM traffic handled by provider edge routers, thereby decreasing the amount of bandwidth consumed by PIM messages and the transmit and receive load on the provider edge routers.

Scaling enhancement for PIM control messages in multicast VPNs


Provided is a toner binder that is excellent in heat resistant storage properties and hot offset resistance properties and also affords excellent anti-blocking properties of paper when printing continuously. The present invention is directed to a toner binder comprising a crystalline resin (A), wherein the crystalline resin (A) comprises two or more crystalline resins (a) and the endothermic peak temperature group that is composed of all of the endothermic peak temperatures of the respective two or more crystalline resins (a) has two or more different endothermic peak temperatures; and a resin particle containing the toner binder.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner binder and a resin particle containing the toner binder.
(2) Description of Related Art
Technologies for fixing a toner with a low energy have heretofore been desired. Accordingly, there is a strong demand for a toner for electrostatic charge development capable of being fixed at a temperature as low as possible.
Since low temperature fixing ability can be secured by lowering the melt viscosity of a toner, a method using a crystalline resin as a toner binder is traditionally known. This method, however, has a problem that hot offset occurs due to shortage of elasticity at the time of melting.
As a measure for solving this problem, there have been disclosed a method of using a crystalline resin and a non-crystalline resin in combination as toner binders (JP-A-2007-147927 and JP-A-2004-197051) and a block polymer of a crystalline polyester and a non-crystalline resin (JP-A-2012-27212, JP-A-2012-42939, JP-A-2012-42940 and JP-A-2012-42941). However, there is a problem that when printing has been performed continuously, printed sheets of paper suffer from blocking (i.e. causing paper to stick together) due to excessively low viscosity of the toner layer fixed to the paper.


A finishing assembly which includes an outside treatment roll for treating both sides of an endless web without having to remove, turn inside out and reload the endless web onto the finishing assembly. The outside treatment roll is movable and adapted to contact the endless web within an opening defined between a pair of cantilever beams such that the "minimum loop length" of the endless web is preserved. The finishing assembly includes a movable non-contacting treatment assembly which is adapted to be arranged between the cantilever beams such that the non-contacting treatment assembly may be used with or without the outside treatment roll to facilitate different finishing processes. In addition, the finishing assembly may include a pivotable cantilever beam in place of one of the cantilever beams. The pivotable cantilever beam may be rotated out of the finishing assembly, further minimizing the "minimum loop length" of the endless web. Finally, one of the cantilever beams may also be movable from a first position to a second position, wherein when in the second position, that beam is not in the way of the endless web and therefore does not interfere with the web. This again provides for a minimizing of the "minimum loop length."

Paper is produced on paper making assemblies consisting of several paper processing machines. Each of these machines utilizes endless loops or webs (e.g., fabric or felt endless webs). Generally, a paper making assembly includes at least a forming stage, a press stage, a dryer stage and a winding and cutting stage. As part of paper making processes, in general, a slurry pulp mixture is disposed onto a first endless web, i.e., the forming stage felt or web. Most of the water contained in the slurry mixture is removed at this stage at which time the paper begins to take form. That is, the surface of the paper mixture itself begins to reflect the web on which it lies during this initial stage of the process.
This paper forming mixture then moves to a second stage, i.e., the press stage, which employs a second endless web. At this stage, as most of the water has been removed, the paper mixture begins to possess characteristics of finished paper. Here, too, the paper surface being formed is reflective of the surface of the web on which it lies.
Thus, it is desirable for webs in at least these initial two stages to be as smooth as possible and devoid of any imperfections or variations so that the paper, which is formed thereupon, likewise will be smooth and uniform. In this regard, the webs should be endless, instead of pieces sewn together, to make a loop. An endless web eliminates any seams either in the machine direction (i.e., the longitudinal direction in which the endless web rotates, or in the cross machine direction, i.e., the direction perpendicular or transverse to the machine direction. Such a seam would create imperfections, or at least variations in the paper, both of which are unacceptable for paper making assemblies.
Typically, the endless webs also are treated with non-contacting methods such as chemicals, mechanical and radiant energy, or by stretching or other similar methods to achieve a smooth set surface. This setting of the endless webs also must be performed in a consistent manner so as to avoid certain imperfections.
Since the webs are endless, the length of the finishing assemblies used to treat them will usually govern their overall loop length or circumferential length. This is commonly referred to as the "minimum loop length." Certain types of endless web finishing assemblies may include at least one inside treatment roll, which heats the endless web on contact, at least one inside treatment roll, which stretches the endless web, and possibly a non-contacting treatment device such as an air box (or oven), which treats the endless web without contacting it. Also, since the webs or loops are endless, the rolls and/or ovens have to be manipulated and moved out of the way so that the endless web can be loaded onto the finishing assembly and off-loaded from the finishing assembly without interference with the rolls and/or ovens and without damaging the endless web.
These endless webs are fairly large and cumbersome and it is uneconomical in terms of production time and labor costs to remove the endless webs during a treatment session. There also is always the risk of potentially damaging the web when it is being removed and turned. These webs are extremely expensive and may have to be scrapped if enough damage is incurred when unloading and turning them. Thus, it is desirable in the felt making industry to treat both the outside and inside surfaces of the endless web without having to remove or unload them, flip them inside out and reload them onto the finishing assembly again. Collectively, the manipulation of a web is commonly called "felt turning." One way to avoid this felt turning step is to employ an outside treatment device. There is a competing need to keep certain webs as small as possible, i.e., the smallest possible "minimum loop length." This is further discussed below.
Certain of these finishing assemblies include cantilevered supports for supporting one or both of the inside treatment rolls while the endless web is being loaded and unloaded. In these assemblies, the outside treatment device is usually positioned between the outside of a cantilevered support and one of the inside treatment rolls. This is so because an air box or oven set will typically be attached to the inside of the cantilevered support.
In the paper making process discussed above, it is desirable to have at least one relatively short endless web having the shortest "minimum loop length" possible. This web is usually utilized in the first stage, i.e., the forming stage. It also is desirable to treat other endless webs at varying sizes to accommodate various other stages of the paper making processes as mentioned above. Thus, it is desirable to have an endless web finishing assembly which is capable of accommodating the smallest "minimum loop length" as well as at the same time being versatile to accommodate a variety of endless web lengths and treatment processes.
However, with the introduction of an outside treatment device, as discussed above and as generally found in the prior art, the "minimum loop length" would be increased by at least the diameter or linear width of the outside treatment roll since this device is usually placed between one of the inside rolls and adjacent or outside of the cantilevered support to allow room for the air boxes or ovens. Hence, the overall "minimum loop length" is dictated by the total diameters of the inside treatment rolls, the diameter or linear width of the outside treatment device and the width of the air box set, in addition to the amount of wrap (or that portion of the endless web which contacts the rolls).
Assemblies for treating both the outside and inside of an endless web without felt turning are known. But in most of these attempts, the "minimum loop length" is necessarily increased as a result of the added equipment needed to treat the outside of the web. In certain cases, in order to maintain the "minimum loop length," oven sets or other non-contacting treatment assemblies are permanently attached to a cantilevered support or at least a bottom oven is attached and a top oven is movable. However, by keeping these ovens (or at least the bottom oven) permanently attached to a cantilevered support, it considerably reduces the amount of surface area or dwell time an outside contact treatment device can contact the endless web. This is so because to preserve the "minimum loop length," the outside contact treatment device is brought into the same area as the ovens. As such, the outside treatment device cannot be brought up high enough to increase the treatment area (i.e., wrap or dwell time).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,523 issued to Erickson et al., discloses a glide surface positioned between a rotatable heatable roller 2 and a rotatable roller 3. Roller 3 is movably mounted for movement toward and away from roller 2, so that it functions as a tension roller. The glide surface 4 is shown between the roller 2 and roller 3. In addition, FIG. 4 of this reference discloses a glide surface 4 and a heater box 15 where the glide surface provides only a small contact surface area. The glide surface is stationary with relation to the movement of the endless web. Thus, there is a resulting relative motion between the glide and the endless web. This relative motion may cause a less than smooth resulting web for several reasons. For instance, since the glide is stationary with respect to the moving endless web, a substantial amount of friction is created. This results in a greater potential for the endless web to bow or skew. This leads to undesirable surface, draining or other mechanical imperfections in the endless web. In addition, since there is a limited contact surface area with the glide, there is less tension control overall and less treatment area per linear foot.
Another example of an endless loop finishing assembly that provides for reducing the "minimum loop length" can be found in the aforementioned, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/924,170, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. In the '170 application, there is provided a finishing assembly for treating an endless web which extends in a machine direction when loaded onto the finishing assembly. The assembly includes a cantilevered support having a generally horizontal free end including at least two cantilever beams extending in a direction generally transverse to the machine direction of the finishing assembly. The two cantilever beams define a transversely-extending open space therebetween. The finishing assembly further includes first and second inside treatment rolls for contacting the inside surface of the endless web to treat the endless web. Each inside treatment roll is arranged to be supported on the cantilevered support when in an endless web loading position. At least one of the inside treatment rolls is movable between the loading position and an endless web treatment position wherein the at least one inside treatment roll is spaced apart from the cantilevered support in a direction generally parallel to the machine direction. Also included in that aspect is a movable roll carriage device for moving the at least one inside treatment roll between the loading position and the treatment position, and an outside treatment roll for contacting the outside surface of the endless web to treat the endless web. The outside treatment roll is movable between a first position and a second position. When in the first position, the outside treatment roll is positioned in the transversely-extending open space and operative to contact the outside surface of the endless web over a predetermined contact surface area, and when in the second position, it is positioned outside of the transversely-extending open space to allow for the endless web to be loaded onto the finishing assembly.
Despite all of the effort which has been devoted to the development of a versatile endless loop finishing assembly capable of being used in various types of universal treatment applications and processes that require "minimal loop lengths," (including the positive results of the aforementioned commonly-owned and assigned invention as disclosed in the '170 application), there are unmet needs for further improvements.


An ECC decoder is provided for use with variable block lengths of Reed-Solomon (RS) code for on-the-fly detecting of multiple errors and correction of one error byte per interleave in data recorded on a storage medium in blocks. Each data block includes variable length data subblocks equal to N*L, where N equals a variable number of bytes per interleave and L equals the interleave degree. The ECC decoder includes a delay register for sequentially receiving consecutive N*L data bytes of the data subblocks at a delay register data input and for sequentially transferring the consecutive N*L data bytes of data subblocks to a delay register data output. Each subblock contains a predetermined number of error check bytes M. Multiple M partial syndrome generators sequentially receive the consecutive subblocks of data and generate partial syndromes. The generated partial syndromes are compared to identify agreement. A first one of the multiple M partial syndrome generators is coupled to the delay register data output for selectively adding an error pattern to the transferred data subblock responsive to identified agreement of the partial syndromes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to error correcting systems and, more particularly, to an on-the-fly error checking and correction (ECC) system for variable block lengths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The following references disclose basic and significant aspects of prior art error correcting systems:
1. I. S. Reed and G. Solomon, "Polynomial Codes Over Certain Finite Fields", J. Soc. Indust. Appl. Math, 8 (1960) p. 300-304;
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,234 "On-The-Fly Multibyte Error Correcting System" by Arvind M. Patel;
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,838 "Multibyte Error Correcting System Involving a Two-Level Code Structure" by Arvind M. Patel;
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,250 "Method and Apparatus for Correcting Multibyte Errors Having Improved Two-Level Code Structure" by Arvind M. Patel;
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,233 "VLSI Single-Chip (255,223) Reed-Solomon Encoder with Interleaver" by Leslie J. Deutsch et al.;
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,701 "Method and System for Correcting Long Bursts of Consecutive Errors" by John S. Eggenberger et al.; and
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,284 "Method and Means for Correcting Random and Burst Errors" by Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar et al.
Most data storage subsystems associated with modern information handling systems employ some type of error correction system in order to obtain cost effective design for high reliability and data integrity. The ability of the data processing system to retrieve data from the storage system, i.e., access time, is a well recognized measure of the efficiency of the overall storage system. In most data processing systems, the decoding time for the error correction code is a direct factor in the total access time. As the capacity of storage devices has increased, the need for increased reliability and availability has also increased. As a result, the time required to process soft errors by the error correcting system becomes a larger percentage of the total access time.
In direct access storage devices (DASD's), typical ECC schemes implement error correction in such a way that data flow is temporarily interrupted, while microcode routines examine the syndromes or partial syndromes and generate correction vectors. One advantage of a microcode implementation is flexibility. Variable block sizes are accommodated cheaply, and in a straightforward manner. However, typical microcode implementations are not fast enough to prevent additional disk revolutions when reading sequential data.
It is desirable to provide an ECC system that provides single burst on-the-fly correction of variable data block lengths with minimal hardware complexity and cost. It is further desirable to provide an improved ECC decoder that implements a Reed-Solomon (RS) code which can correct one byte per interleave and can detect multiple errors in the interleave.

Variable block lengths on-the-fly error correcting decoder

International Business Machines Corporation


A cutting apparatus having a holding member for holding a sheet; a plurality of cutter member for cutting the sheet held by the holding member; and a shifting member engaged by the plurality of cutting member, for shifting the plurality of cutting member in parallel with each other. The shifting member is so designed that it can shift the cutting means without aligning them perpendicular to a cutting direction during the cutting of the sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus for cutting an article to be cut by using cutter members.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, when a sheet of paper is cut to a predetermined size, the paper was obtained by cutting all of edges thereof from one to the other. For example, in a cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 13, a sheet of paper 51 rested on a support surface 50 was positioned by an aligner 52 and a paper holder plate 53 and the sheet was cut by means of a cutter blade 55 shiftable along a guide rail 54 from one edge thereof to the other.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional cutting apparatus, since the paper 51 was cut from one edge thereof to the other, it took a long time to align the paper, and thus, it was not possible to cut the paper correctly in a short time. Further, it was difficult to cut the sheet edges smoothly, since the cut edges were rough because of the clearance between the cutter blade 55 and the paper holder plate 53.


A sensor is provided. The sensor includes semiconductor layer; a photodiode, an impurity-doped polycrystalline silicon layer; and a gate electrode. The photodiode is formed in the semiconductor layer. The impurity-doped polycrystalline silicon layer is formed above the semiconductor layer. The gate electrode applies a gate voltage to the polycrystalline silicon layer. A wiring layer is provided on a first surface of the semiconductor layer and light is incident on a second surface thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor for detecting the wavelength and intensity of incident light. The present invention also relates to a solid-state imaging device. The present invention further relates to an imaging apparatus using such a solid-state imaging device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An attempt for obtaining information about three primary colors (RGB) by a single photodiode has been conducted (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,875).
The photodiode as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,875 has an arrangement of pixels where each pixel includes a stacked structure of three diffusion layers with different depths, 0.2 μm, 0.6 μm, and 2 μm, formed on a silicon substrate. Thus, each pixel has a three-layered structure where the layers have different depths. These layers are designed to transmit and receive light with different wavelengths, three primary colors of light (RGB: red (R), green (G), and blue (B)), respectively, based on transmitting characteristics of silicon.
For example, all the wavelengths of RGB are incident on the pixel from the surface of the silicon substrate and all of them are taken in the top layer, RG except B absorbed by the top layer is taken in the middle layer, and R except BG absorbed by the top and middle layers is taken in the bottom layer. Then, the value of R taken in the bottom layer is subtracted from RG taken in the middle layer to obtain the value of G. Subsequently, the values of R and G are subtracted from the value of RGB to obtain the value of B.
The photodiode is configured as described above, so that an image obtained by directly taking the primary colors of light can be generated in spite of including a single chip.
The above photodiode is designed to take each element out of RGB in the depth direction. However, the photodiode may not change the position for capturing electrons and further the circuit configuration thereof may be complicated, causing insufficient design flexibility. Furthermore, every pixel continuously generates independent data of information about respective colors. Thus, it is difficult to distinguish correct data from noise in a portion where the data is continuously generated and obtain RGB characteristics. Therefore, complicated software may be required for determining the RGB characteristics.
In consideration of the above, there has been proposed a sensor with a single photodiode corresponding to incident light having a structure for controlling the potential depth of the photodiode by changing a gate voltage (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-10114). The sensor changes the gate voltage to allow the depth for capturing electrons generated by light incident on the photodiode to be changed in response to the gate voltage, determining the wavelength and intensity of the incident light.

Sensor, solid-state imaging device, and imaging apparatus and method of manufacturing the same


An aqueous fabric conditioner composition comprising (a) from 2 to 9 wt % of a fabric softening active, by weight of the total composition, wherein the fabric softening active is an ester-linked quaternary ammonium compound having fatty acid chains comprising from 20 to 35 wt % of saturated C18 chains and from 20 to 35 wt % of monounsaturated C18 chains, by weight of total fatty acid chains; and (b) from 0.01 to 0.5 wt %, by weight of the total composition, of a floc prevention agent, which is a non-ionic alkoxylated material having an HLB value of from 8 to 18, wherein the aqueous fabric conditioner composition has a viscosity of greater than 50 cps, preferably from 55 to 200 cps as measured on a cup and bob viscometer; the viscosity being continuously measured under shear at 106 s″1 for 60 seconds, at 25° C. and wherein the composition leads to little or no floc formation upon addition to water.

The rheological properties of liquid fabric softener formulations are critical for consumer acceptance. A common method of enhancing product appeal and conveying a perception of product richness and efficacy is to increase the apparent thickness of the liquid product. The majority of consumers demonstrate a preference for thicker products over thin products.
A number of ways of increasing viscosity of fabric conditioner compositions are known.
One way is to increase the concentration of quaternary softening active. This, however, is expensive and, therefore, often prohibitive for commercial products. Of course, this approach does not provide a solution in the production of dilute fabric conditioners, where the amount of active is typically limited in the region of from about 2 to 9 wt %.
Another method of increasing viscosity is to add a polymer thickener. There are, however, negative attributes associated with many polymeric thickeners in that they are often non-biodegradable, their addition to the rinse product is technically difficult and such polymer thickened products tend to separate with time and cause redeposition problems.
Also known is to blend the active with fatty alcohol, which increases the product viscosity but leads to poor manufacturing robustness and variability problems.
A further problem that must be considered by the manufacturer of dilute fabric conditioners is the phenomenon of flocculation when fabric conditioner compositions are added to water during a rinse step of a laundry process. "Flocs" are white insoluble precipitates which are visually unacceptable and which reduce the performance of the product. There are several approaches to reducing or eliminating this problem.
It is known, for example, to increase the processing temperature during manufacture of the fabric conditioner in order to reduce the occurrence of flocculation upon use. However, this also reduces the viscosity of the formulation.
Decreasing the amount of fatty alcohol in the fabric conditioner composition can also reduce the level of flocculation but again only at the expense of product viscosity.
The use of milling, during manufacture, is also known to reduce flocculation and viscosity.
The addition of non-ionic materials such as non-ionic surfactants is known to break up flocs but is also well known to reduce viscosity.
US2003/0220217 (Unilever) discloses fabric conditioner compositions comprising a cationic softening agent and a defined silicone material to reduce the drying time of laundered fabrics and/or to increase the rate of water removed from the fabrics during the spin cycle of an automatic washing machine. Nonionic surfactants are preferred adjuncts for the purpose of stabilising the compositions. Fully hardened softening agents are preferred and exemplified.
WO99/50378 (Unilever) discloses fabric softening compositions comprising from 1 to 8 wt % of one or more quaternary ammonium fabric conditioning compounds, a stabilising agent selected from a non-ionic surfactant or a single long chain alkyl cationic surfactant or mixtures thereof and a fatty alcohol. The fatty alcohol increases the stability of the compositions.
US2008/0176784 (Unilever) discloses fabric conditioner compositions in the form of an aqueous dispersion comprising an ester linked quaternary ammonium fabric softening material and an alkoxylated non-ionic material to improve high temperature storage stability.
We have now surprisingly found that the combination of a specific quaternary active with a flocculation prevention agent, which is a non-ionic surfactant, enables the formation of a thick "dilute" fabric conditioner composition, which does not flocculate upon use. The quaternary softening active has a specific distribution of fatty acids having chains of a defined carbon chain length. The flocculation prevention agent is essential to prevent the formation of flocs when the composition is added to water. Surprisingly, the viscosity of the composition is not compromised. This combination of exceptional viscosity and visual attributes in a dilute fabric conditioner has not been achieved before.


A method of controllably programming an electrically erasable programmable read only memory comprises the step of erasing a group of memory cells of the memory into a high threshold state. The group including data cells and monitor cells. The data cells of the group are programmed in accordance with data presented to the memory, and the monitor cells of the group are programmed to a low threshold state. The threshold voltage of the monitor cells is sampled, and the monitor cell programming step and the sampling step are repeated until an excessively low threshold voltage is sampled. If the sampling is done with a sampling voltage higher than the read voltage, the cell threshold voltage generally is not excessive. In any event, an excessively low threshold is raised by a controlled erasure.

1. Field of Use
The present invention relates to memory arrays, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for programming electrically erasable programmable read only memory arrays.
2. Description of Related Art
Various memory arrays have been developed using various types of settable threshold memory cells. For example, one conventional type of array, which is described in FIG. 5a of U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,787, issud Oct. 6, 1987 to Mukherjee et. al., uses a two transistor electrically erasable programmable read only memory ("E.sup.2 PROM") cell. One transistor of this cell is a select transistor. The other transistor of this cell is a floating gate transistor in which Fowler-Nordheim tunneling is used to transport charge to or from the floating gate for storing a binary value by selectively setting the transistor to either a low threshold voltage ("V.sub.t ") state or a high V.sub.t state. The charge is transported through a tunnel dielectric insulating the transistor drain from the floating gate. As various conventions appear in the literature for the terms "erase" and "program," the terms low V.sub.t and high V.sub.t are used herein when generally referring to the state of a memory cell. Typically, about twenty volts is needed to alter the V.sub.t state of the transistor. In a typical E.sup.2 PROM memory array, initially all cells of the cell array are placed into a high V.sub.t state by grounding the drain and pulsing the gate at a potential of about plus twenty volts. Then, the desired logic value is written into the array by placing selected cells into a low V.sub.t state by grounding the gate and pulsing the drain of the selected cells at a potential of about plus twenty volts.
Various memory cell arrays have been proposed that are not based on the two transistor cell. For example, The previously mentioned Mukherjee et. al. patent discloses in FIG. 5b another array based on a single asymmetrical source/drain E.sup.2 PROM memory cell that is placed into a high V.sub.t state using hot electrons in a manner similar to conventional EPROM transistors, and placed into a low V.sub.t state in a manner similar to a conventional E.sup.2 PROM cell except that the tunnel dielectric is located between the source and the floating gate. In this array, initially all cells of the array are placed in a low V.sub.t state by grounding the word lines and pulsing the common source line. A byte erase scheme is also proposed in FIG. 5d of Mukherjee et. al. that incorporates an additional transistor for each word. Cells are placed in a high V.sub.t state by channel hot electron injection into the floating gate, which is achieved by (a) grounding the common source line, raising the drain voltage of the selected cells, and pulsing the gate of the selected cells with positive voltage. Channel hot electron injection occurs in only selected cells having a raised drain voltage. Selected cells having a grounded drain do not assume a high V.sub.t state since they lack channel hot electron generation, and deselected cells do not assume a high V.sub.t state since they lack hot electron transport.
The memory cell used in the Mukherjee et. al. array is a type of E.sup.2 PROM cell commonly known as flash memory. Flash memory technology as it is generally referred to involves channel hot electron injection to achieve the high V.sub.t state, and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling to achieve the low V.sub.t state. Flash memory is described in further detail in K. Robinson, "Endurance Brightens the Future of Flash," Electronic Component News, November 1988.
As generally envisioned, flash memory cells are single transistors cells. A flash memory avoids over-erasure of its cells into depletion by using a complex and time consuming software-implemented technique. For example, to write a byte of data into a flash memory, a block of the flash memory is selected, preconditioned, erased, and entirely rewritten. This process can take hundreds of milliseconds. See R. Wilson and D. Lammers, "Intel flash prices rock market," Electronic Engineering Times, Apr. 27, 1992, p. 92-93. Unfortunately, the techniques generally used to prevent individual cells from over-erasing into depletion, a write operation is cumbersome and time-consuming, requiring typically hundreds of milliseconds.

Method and apparatus for programming electrical erasable programmable read-only memory arrays


Provided is a semiconductor apparatus including a channel layer, an upper barrier layer that is provided on the channel layer, a first barrier layer that constitutes a boundary layer on a side of the channel layer in the upper barrier layer, a second barrier layer that is provided in a surface layer of the upper barrier layer, a low-resistance region that is provided in at least a surface layer in the second barrier layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode that are connected to the second barrier layer, at positions across the low-resistance region, a gate insulating film that is provided on the low-resistance region, and a gate electrode that is provided above the low-resistance region via the gate insulating film.

In recent years, in a mobile communications system such as a mobile phone, downscaling and energy consumption saving of a portable communications terminal have been strongly demanded. In order to realize these, for example, regarding an antenna switch, it is necessary to reduce an ON resistance Ron or the like. At the present day, as a device in practical use for the purpose of such an antenna switch, there are a Junction Pseudo-morphic High Electron Mobility Transistor (JPHEMT) and the like.
The JPHEMT is a semiconductor apparatus that performs current modulation utilizing a pn junction and a hetero junction. The semiconductor apparatus like this is provided with a hetero junction of, for example, a channel layer made of InGaAs and a barrier layer (AlGaAs) made of AlGaAs whose band gap is wider than that of the channel layer (InGaAs). Within the barrier layer (AlGaAs), a low-resistance region containing impurities is provided in a surface layer opposite to the channel layer, and a gate electrode is connected to this low-resistance region. In addition, within the barrier layer (AlGaAs), a carrier supplying region containing impurities, which turn out to be carriers, is provided on the channel layer side with respect to the low-resistance region. Moreover, a source electrode and a drain electrode are in ohmic contact with the barrier layer (AlGaAs) on both sides of the low-resistance region and the gate electrode.
In the semiconductor apparatus of a configuration as above, in a boundary face in the barrier layer side in the channel layer, a two-dimensional electron gas layer is formed in which electrons serving as carriers are confined at a high concentration. In addition, by applying a voltage to the gate electrode 20 thereby to control a concentration of the two-dimensional electron gas layer, a current flowing between the source electrode and the drain electrode via a channel layer part below the low-resistance region is modulated (regarding the above, see Patent Literature 1 below, for example).

Semiconductor apparatus and manufacturing method of the semiconductor apparatus


A yogurt cultivator includes a heat insulative pan, a heat-resisting carrier plate mounted within the heat insulative pan, the heat-resisting carrier plate defining a plurality of cells for holding respectively a fermentation container that holds cow's milk and milk solids and bacteria for fermenting into yogurt, each cell having an annular inside flange, a plurality of heat conductive top plates and a plurality of electrically insulative bottom plates respectively mounted in the cells and fixedly fastened to the respective annular inside flanges at top and bottom sides, a plurality of ceramic heating plates respectively mounted in the cells within the respective annular inside flanges between the heat conductive top plates and the electrically insulative bottom plates and controlled to produce heat, and a transparent covering covered on the carrier plate.

The present invention relates to a yogurt cultivator used to cultivate yogurt.
People may like to cultivate yogurt at home. When cultivating yogurt, powdered bacteria (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) and milk (fresh milk or powder milk with water) are mixed in a container, and then the container is put at room temperature for about 24 to 36 hours, enabling the mixture to be fermented into yogurt. This yogurt fermentation process takes much time.


A system and a method for communicating information using the public switched telephone network and a wide area network. The method includes the steps of a) the first system dialling a first telephone call to the second system, b) the first system sending to the second system a data block which includes at least data defining a call request, c) disconnecting the first telephone call, d) both systems connecting to the wide area network by each dialling a second telephone call, wherein the second system uses the call request data for dialling the second telephone call, e) one of the systems connecting to the other system through the wide area network and f) exchanging the information between the systems through the wide area network. The system includes at least a computer and a communications interface. The system can also include a telephone which includes a communication unit, a computer interface, a controller and a switch. The switch is switchable between two states. In the first state the communication unit is connected to a telephone line. In the second state the communication unit is connected to the computer and the computer is connected to the telephone line.

Presently, various commercial and non commercial communication services allow exchanging of digital information packets between physically remote computers connected by an international network of servers using the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or any other communication network. Many commercial service providers also provide access to the Internet. An example of one type of use of such services which gained popularity lately is the Internet telephone. The Internet telephone is based on a combination of software and hardware which allows a user of a computer with access to the Internet to establish a vocal conversation link with another user's computer through the modems installed in both computers. After the establishment of an Internet link, the user speaks to a microphone which is connected to a sound card installed in the computer, the voice information is digitized, compressed and sent as digital information packets using the Internet's packet switching protocols to reach the other user's computer, where it is decompressed and converted to analog sound which the other user can listen to. Thus, for the price of a local telephone call, a user with access to the Internet can make unlimited long distance and international calls to other users which have Internet access. The recent availability of full duplex sound cards and the prospects of continuing improvements in speed, data carrying capacity and reliability of the services of many Internet service providers, makes Internet telephony attractive to many users.
A drawback of existing Internet telephony methods is the fact that in order to use them a user must establish an Internet connection and use the microphone and sound card installed in the computer, thus, the user must be near the computer.
An additional drawback of current Internet telephony methods is the fact that both users who are wishing to conduct a conversation must coordinate in advance a time slot during which both users will be seated by their computers after having established an Internet connection. Thus a user cannot establish a net telephone conversation with another user unless the other user is already connected to the Internet.
Similar disadvantages exist for users who want to exchange information using computers connected to a WAN.

System and method for communicating information using the public switched telephone network and a wide area network


Synthetic pulmonary surfactant consisting of a complex of a polypeptide of 3-4 amino acid residues having alpha-helical structure and a covalently bound long chain acyl group. The peptides are useful when consisting of one or more associated lipids in combination in conditions associated with respiratory distress.

Infantile respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a leading cause of death in the first 28 days of life. It strikes 1 in 100 babies worldwide and about 10 percent die. The syndrome rarely occurs in term infants but is generally associated with immaturity and in low-birth weight (under 2 kg). Adult RDS shows similar clinical characteristics and pathophysiology as the infantile disease and is managed in the intensive care facility in a similar fashion. The adult disease has diverse etiologies and results from lung insults such as diffuse infections, aspiration of the gastric contents or water, inhalation of irritants andtoxins and pulmonary edema arising from such sources as narcotic overdose. RDS is correlated with an absence or dysfunction of the lung surfactant which coats the alveoli of the lungs where gas exchange occurs.
Lung surfactant is composed primarily of lipid (90%) and contains a minor component of various proteins (10%). The primary lipid type is phospholipid which constitutes 97% of the lipid. 80% of this phospholipid is phosphatidylcholine (PC) and 10% is phosphatidyglycerol (PG). 70-80% of the phospholipid acyl chains are saturated and 85-90% of these are 16-carbons in length. The major lipid is dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC). The protein component of lung surfactant is also heterogeneous but more poorly characterized. The major protein is .about.32 kd and its sequence has been predicted from its cDNA (White et al. (1985) Nature 317, 361-363) and it has been cloned (Floros, et al. Journal of Biological Chemistry (1985) 260, 495-500). Minor proteins of lower molecular weight have also been isolated and several sequences have been reported (Warr, et al. (1987) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 82, 7915-7919; Glasser, et al. (1988) Journal of Biological Chemistry 263, 9; Johansson, et al. (1988) FEBS Letters. 232, 61-64; Glasser, et al. (1987) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 84, 4007; Revak, et al. (1988) Journal of Clinical Investigation 81, 826-833).
Infantile RDS has been treated with animal lung lavages (Smyth, et al. (1983) Pediatrics 71, 913-917; McCord, et al. (1988) Arch. Dis. Child. 63, 10-16) and human lung surfactant obtained from human amniotic fluid (Hallman, et al. (1983) Pediatrics 71, 473-482; (1985) J. Pediatr. 106, 963-969; Merritt, et al. (1986) N. Enql. J. Med. 13, 785-790) with considerable success. Cow lung lavages extracted with organic solvents and mixed with synthetic lipids are also effective (Fujiwara, et al. (1980) Lancet 1, 55-59; Noach, et al. (1986) Eur. J. Respir. Dis. 69, 321-335; Kwong, et al. (1985) Pediatrics 76, 585-592; Enhorning, et al., (1985) Pediatrics 76, 145-153; Shapiro, et al. (1985) Pediatrics 76, 593-599; Gitlin, et al. (1987) Pediatrics 79, 31-37; Raju, et al. (1987) Lancet 1, 651-656; Halliday, et al (1984) Lancet 1, 476-478). However, pure synthetic mixtures have not consistently been shown to be active (Morley, et al., (1981) Lancet 1, 64-68; Ten Centre Study Group (1987) Br. Med. J. 294, 991-996; Milner, et al. (1983) Arch. Dis. Child. 58, 458-460; Milner, et al. (1983, ibid 59, 369-371; and Wilkinson, et al. (1985) Lancet 2, 287-291). Only a few clinical studies using surfactants in adult RDS are known, i.e., (Lochman, et al., (1988) Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 222, 511-517), however, the potential value of such therapy has been indicated in the literature (van Golde, et al. Physiol. Rev. 68, 374-455).
Although limited success with pure lipid mixtures has been reported, it appears that a protein component of lung surfactant dramatically improves activity, such as is observed with natural lung surfactants (Hall. et al., Am. Rev. Rspir. Dis. (1992) 145, 24-30). One approach is to use genetically engineered proteins with sequences based on the amino acid sequences predicted from the cDNA of the lung surfactant proteins. An alternative method, which is the subject of the present invention is to synthesize peptides with physical properties suited to the function of lung surfactant when in combination with defined lipid components, but with sequences unrelated to the sequences of proteins isolated from lung surfactant.
The present invention is concerned with short peptides of 3 to 4 amino acids having an N-acyl group and compositions comprising a mixture of synthetic polypeptides and lipids effective in treating RDS. The synthetic polypeptides have unique sequences which are not found in the sequences of the mammalian proteins isolated from lung lavages. The polypeptides may be used singly in mixtures with lipid or in combination in mixtures of lipid. The polypeptide comprises a minor component of the surfactant mixture.
Recently it was demonstrated that of the several classes of lipid-binding peptides, having mixtures of an amphipathic .alpha.-helical peptide with about 10-24 amino acids, with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were effective in restoring quasi-static lung compliance in vitro and gas exchange In vivo in lavaged lungs. The present invention has significantly decreased the size of the peptide required to only 3 to 4 amino acids by modifications of the amino and carboxy terminal.
A helical wheel representation of an amphipathic .alpha.-helical ten-residue peptide (for description of the amphipathic .alpha.-helical peptide see McLean, L. R. et al. Biochem., 1991, 30, 31) is used to develop a model for three and four residue peptides. When looking down the barrel of the .alpha.-helix, the side chains of the residues indicate a hydrophobic face and a hydrophilic face on the helix. A four residue peptide represents a single turn of this .alpha.-helix with the required hydrophobic and hydrophilic face present. A three residue peptide represents a contricted turn of the .alpha.-helix with the hydrophobic and hydrophilic face still present.
The chemical composition of the present invention is novel with regard to the short peptide component of 3-4 amino acids adjoined to an acyl or hydrophobic sequence of 8 to 20 carbons and the combination of such peptides with lipids in a synthetic lung surfactant which is medicinally effective in the treatment of respiratory distress syndromes. The composition of the present invention may be prepared in high purity and in a standardized fashion as it is a defined mixture of synthetic components. Also, the components are not derived from animal sources which minimizes the risk of contamination by viruses and bacteria.

Peptide lung surfactants and therapeutic combinations


A conductive silicon nitride composite sintered body having an average grain size of 100 nm or less and whose relative roughness (Ra) after electric discharge machining is 0.3 μm or less can be obtained by grinding/mixing a silicon nitride powder and a metal powder together until the average particle size of the silicon nitride powder becomes 30 nm or less, and subsequently by molding and sintering. It is preferable that the crushing/mixing is continued until it is apparent that a peak of added metal in an X-ray diffraction pattern has disappeared during the crushing/mixing.

Silicon nitride has been widely used for various structural parts such as vehicle engine parts, cutting tools, and abrasion resistance materials such as roller bearings, and the like, since it is excellent in hardness, mechanical strength, and thermal resistance, and also chemically stable. Recently, in all of these fields, not only have the levels of performance required of materials become extremely high but also the degrees of processing accuracy required of those materials have become strict. As a result, when these materials are used for products, the costs of the products become higher as the costs of processing are higher, which has been the greatest factor in preventing expansion of the markets.
Thus, various processing methods have been proposed. Among them, the most frequently used method is a technique of electric discharge machining that is performed in a state wherein electric conductivity is afforded to a silicon nitride composite sintered body by dispersing conductive particles into a matrix composed of silicon nitride and grain boundary phase.
For example, in Ceramics 21: pp 719–725 (1986), it is described that electric discharge machining is made possible by dispersing conductive particles of from 20 to 40% by volume into Si3N4 to make a silicon nitride material with electric conductivity. However, the surface roughness of such silicon nitride materials deteriorates after the electric discharge machining, and surface cracks occur which are attributed to thermal shock and electric discharge at the electric discharge machining. Thus, the resultant materials cannot be used for practical application because of their low mechanical properties unless grinding or polishing is carried out to remove their surface cracks after the electric discharge machining.

Electroconductive silicon nitride based composite sintered body and method for preparation thereof


Techniques are described for interacting with a vehicle touchscreen. According to one or more embodiments, a system is provided comprising a processor that executes computer executable components stored in at least one memory, including a display control component that selects graphical touch controls to include in a graphical user interface (GUI) for rendering on the touchscreen based on activation of a haptic feedback mode for interfacing with the touchscreen, wherein the graphical touch controls correspond to controls for one or more applications or functions associated with the vehicle. The system further comprising a positioning component that determines a location of a finger on or over the touchscreen relative to the graphical touch controls as displayed on the touchscreen, and a haptic feedback component that causes a vibration unit of the vehicle to provide vibration feedback based on the location corresponding to a graphical touch control of the graphical touch controls.

The rapid increase in smartphone and tablet use in recent years has users accustomed to interacting with their electronic devices by a simple swipe or touch of the finger. As a result, automobile manufacturers are turning to touchscreen technology for a variety of applications. For example, the center stacks of many automobile dashboards are being implemented with touchscreens that provide graphical touch controls to control virtually everything in the vehicle, including the infotainment systems, the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controls, the navigation system, the backup camera and other settings. In this regard, many automobiles are moving away from electromechanical buttons and knobs to having functionality and advanced applications that are accessed and controlled via touchscreens.
A major concern with replacing mechanical controls with touchscreens is the issue of driver distraction. Drivers are used to interacting with electromechanical controls, and can often locate them by feel, without the need to avert their eyes for a significant amount of time. In addition, the traditional controls provide some type of tactile feedback, such as a click when a knob is rotated, or a button is pushed. Touchscreens, with a lack of physical differentiation from one spot on the screen to another, are more likely to require users to look at the screen to see what they are pressing than with traditional buttons and dials. As a result, drivers may be inclined to avert their eyes from the road more frequently, and possibly for longer periods of time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Facilitating interaction with a vehicle touchscreen using haptic feedback


A driver-specific vehicle control method is provided that can adjust one or more vehicle control systems in response to a difference in current driver driving characteristics with respect to safe driver driving characteristics on the same roadway type and vehicle operating conditions. The method maintains a driver score for each driver of a vehicle, in the form of a set of the driver's driving characteristics scores for each different roadway type. The method, via a control apparatus, determines a current position of the vehicle on a roadway and the roadway features to select the appropriate driver score for comparison. When the driver's score exceeds a threshold difference from a safe driver score on the same roadway type, the method can adjust a control system parameter.

The present method relates, in, general, to methods and apparatus for adapting vehicle control systems to a driver's specific driving style.
Vehicles are provided with a number of control systems, which can be varied, based on road and weather conditions, and more particularly, to a driver's particular preferences. Personalizable vehicle controls, such as stability control, and acceleration and brake assist controls, forward crash warning timing, etc., can be controlled by setting options under general headings such as sport, economy, touring, etc. Such modes are usually automatically selected by the driver depending upon the driver's preference, the road conditions that the driver is or expects to be traveling on, i.e., dry, wet, icy, etc., and the type of road, namely, urban streets, rural roads and limited access highways.
However, such general modes of operation are set by the vehicle manufacture in for the different categories of sporting, economy, touring, etc., and average driver skills and not to the specific driving characteristics of a particular driver in a particular vehicle.
Every driver has a different driving characteristic or style, which can vary depending upon the roadway features. A particular driver can, for example, have a different skill level or score for his or her driving characteristics on a limited access, high speed highway, two or multi-lane rural roads, and two or multiple lane urban streets. Such roadway features can also include, for each general type of roadway, the type of roadway segment on which the vehicle is traveling, such as straight, curved, exit or entrance ramp, congested urban traffic, traffic lights, perpendicular intersection turns, etc.
A driver may have a high level of skill in certain of these roadway features, but may have a lower skilled level in other roadway features. Each driver also varies in his or her driving characteristics with respect to acceleration from a stop; such as when a traffic light turns green or when a driver first applies the brakes to bring the vehicle to a stop in congested traffic or at a traffic light, how much distance or headway the driver leaves between his or her vehicle and the vehicle to the immediate front of his or her vehicle. This separation distance or headway affects forward crash warning timing, acceleration and brake assist mode, cruise control, etc.
In addition to the above described roadway features, the driver's driving characteristics can also vary significantly depending upon the roadway surface i.e., paved, concrete, asphalt, dirt, gravel, deteriorating with potholes, etc. In addition, weather conditions, such as snow and ice, rain, dry, etc., also influence a driver's driving characteristics.
It would be desirable to provide driver specific vehicle controls, which can be adapted to a particular driver's driving characteristics, in comparison to safe driver driving characteristics, for all roadway features and roadway conditions.

Method and apparatus for generating and using driver specific vehicle controls

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A dispenser for readily attaching to a roll-type toilet-tissue holder and dispensing moist towelettes from a roll of the moist towelettes. The roll-type toilet-tissue holder is disposed in a wall and has a spindle that is axially spring loaded to facilitate insertion into and removal from the roll-type toilet-tissue holder. The dispenser includes a container. The container contains the roll of the moist towelettes to prevent dehydration thereof prior to dispensing, dispenses the moist towelettes from the roll of the moist towelettes contained in the container, and has the spindle of the roll-type toilet-tissue holder pass freely therethrough and attach to the roll-type toilet-tissue holder so as to allow the container to readily attach to the roll-type toilet-tissue holder.

A. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a dispenser for dispensing moist towelettes, and more particularly, the embodiments of the present invention relate to a dispenser for readily attaching to a roll-type toilet-tissue holder and dispensing moist towelettes from a roll of the moist towelettes.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for containers have been provided in the prior art that will be discussed below, which are in chronological order to show advancement in the art, and which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. Even through these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the embodiments of the present invention in that they do not teach a dispenser for readily attaching to a roll-type toilet-tissue holder and dispensing moist towelettes from a roll of the moist towelettes.

Dispenser for readily attaching to a role-type toilet-tissue holder and dispensing moist towelettes from a role


A paper web is smoothened by passing the web through a pre-calender device on a paper machine before the application of a coating. The pre-calender device comprises at least one pair of steel rolls, one of which is heated, and a liquid application device which applies a thin film of water to the surface of the web which contacts the heated roll before the web enters the nip between the rolls. The web is then dried after exiting the nip either by wrapping the heated roll and/or by applying heat externally to the web.

The invention relates to a method for smoothening a web in a papermaking operation before it is coated. The steps in the smoothening operation include calendering a moistened web in a heated hard nip. This process improves the receptivity of the web surface to coating applications, and to subsequent printing operations.
It is known that an otherwise untreated web of paper or paperboard rawstock will react adversely to the application of a liquid by becoming rougher, since the surface fibers of the web absorb moisture leading to fiber swelling, breaking of hydrogen bonds and fiber reorientation. If the liquid application is in the form of a coating or the like, the web may actually become smoother because of the presence of smoothing ingredients in the coating, but the improvement in smoothness is not as great as would be expected because the surface of the rawstock beneath the coating becomes roughened in the presence of the liquid phase of the coating. Because of this phenomenon, and because one of the objectives in the production of paper and paperboard is to produce a smooth finish, it is desirable to smoothen the surface of the rawstock web before coating.
One of the known techniques for smoothing the surface of a web of paper or paperboard rawstock before coating is to pre-calender the web. This may be accomplished on a paper machine after the web is dried. In the pre-calendering step, the web is passed through one or more nips between the rolls of a calender, the nips providing a degree of compression to the paper surface to flatten the surface fibers, thereby creating a smoothened surface. The degree of finish obtained by this method depends upon the nip pressure reached in the calender. However, the smoothness obtained by pre-calendering a dried web is short lived when the web is subsequently brought into contact with water or a composition containing water, since dry cellulose fibers will not bond under pressure. On wetting, there will be substantial reorientation of the fibers at the web surface due to fiber swelling and release of stress. An improvement that alleviates this unwanted result is to moisten the dry web before pre-calendering. The compressing of moistened cellulose fibers will consolidate the web without undue stress, and the smoothened surface that is achieved will retain a substantial amount of its integrity for a longer time after wetting than is common for a web that is compressed in an essentially dry state.
Conventional processes for wet calendering employ either a water box on the calender, water sprays, or steam showers. In most cases, the quantity of moisture transferred to the web by these means is uneven, too great or too small, resulting in unsatisfactory results. Nevertheless, recent innovations in the paper industry have provided equipment that is capable of applying controlled amounts of water to a web in a uniform manner, particularly as disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/296,394, owned by the present assignee herein. The ability to apply a controlled amount of moisture to the web at the pre-calender yields better results. Nevertheless, there remains a need in the art to further enhance the process, and, accordingly, the present invention is designed to advance the process efficiency and product quality that can be achieved in a pre-calendering operation.
The importance of having a smooth rawstock surface and its effect on the printability of coated paper is well known. Pigmented coatings tend to hide or cover up some of the surface imperfections in a paper rawstock. However, the effectiveness of a coating in smoothing the surface of a paper web depends upon the condition of the surface on which the coating is applied. The effect on paper due to the application of a coating is discussed in the article entitled xe2x80x9cWater-Paper Interaction During Paper Coatingxe2x80x9d, by J. Skowronski and P. Lepoutre, published in the November 1985 issue of TAPPI Journal, at pages 98-102. Meanwhile, the effect of pretreatment or pre-calendering of a paper product before coating is discussed in the articles xe2x80x9cEffect of Pretreatment of LWC Basestock on Coated Paper Propertiesxe2x80x9d, by P. Lepoutre, W. Bichard and J. Skowronski, published in the December 1986issue of TAPPI Journal, at pages 66-70, and in the article entitled xe2x80x9cPrecalendering and its Effect on Paper-Coating Interactionxe2x80x9d, by G. Engstrom and J. F. Lafaye, published in the August 1992 issue of TAPPI Journal, at pages 117-122.
Likewise, the effect of applying moisture to a paper web before the web enters a calender nip, and various methods for making water application are also known, and are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,378,497; 5,505,820; 5,522,312; and 5,607,553, all owned by the present assignee herein. However, none of these prior art references deal with the concept of smoothening the web while reducing loss of bulk by drying the web to a very low moisture content before the application of moisture, passing it through a hard calender nip, and heating at least one roll of the calender nip as disclosed herein. Nor do the prior art references teach the use of the heated roll to dry the applied moisture as the web exits the calender nip as disclosed herein, especially in connection with a pre-calendering treatment on paper machine.
When a web of paper rawstock is exposed to water during a coating process, the surface beneath the coating layer becomes roughened as described above. In order to offset this increase in roughness, the present invention is directed to a process whereby the paper rawstock is pre-calendered before coating on the paper machine. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a process whereby a thin film of liquid is uniformly applied to the surface of the rawstock web using an apparatus particularly as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/296,394, which is herein incorporated by reference. The application of a thin film of liquid to the paper surface allows only the surface fibers of the web to be plasticized, so that, upon pre-calendering in a heated, hard nip formed, for example, by a pair of steel rolls, the surface of the web is fixed. At the same time, loss of bulk of the web is reduced because it does not become wetted throughout with the liquid. According to the present invention, the paper surface may be characterized as being xe2x80x9cfixed,xe2x80x9d in that it is substantially irreversibly smoothened by practicing the process described herein. Because of the fixed surface, subsequent coating application will have a minimal impact on re-roughening the surface of the web. In the preferred method of the invention, the web enters the calender nip prior to the time that the liquid application has a chance to completely penetrate the full thickness of the web. The liquid used to moisten the paper surface can be plain water, or a solution or dispersion of a binder, thickener, or one or more other functional additives, such as lubricants or surface-active agents, which may be heated or at ambient temperature.
Another benefit of using the device of the present invention is that it eliminates the presence of a standing pond of water or finishing liquid on or adjacent to the heated roll, and, as a result, the inherent cooling effect that would be associated with such an arrangement is eliminated. Because the pond is removed, maintaining a roll temperature above the boiling point of water then becomes practical, and operating temperatures in excess of 212xc2x0 F. (100xc2x0 C.) are possible. These higher temperatures in turn are capable of producing even greater smoothening results. In this respect, the temperature of the heated roll can range up to about 400xc2x0 F. or higher, for example, from about 300xc2x0 F. to about 500xc2x0 F., and is limited only by the potential for causing adverse heat effects, such as charring, on the substrate being processed.
The present invention may be practiced on any grade of paper or paperboard that contains moisture sensitive fibers. These include bleached, unbleached, or recycled paper and paperboard. The web may thus consist solely of cellulose fibers, a mixture of cellulose and synthetic fibers, or paper filled with mineral or organic pigments. The web can be unsized or sized in the furnish and/or on the surface, provided the water sensitivity of the fibers is retained. Before pre-calendering, the web is preferably dried to a very low moisture content (e.g., on the order of less than 5% and most preferably, between 1-2%) before application of the water or finishing liquid.
The pre-calendering step may take the form of a typical calendering operation including one or more pairs of nipped rolls loaded to produce a nip pressure on the order of about 400-7000 psi. The nipped rolls are preferably fabricated from steel. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pre-calendering step comprises a heated nip formed between two rolls, at least one of which is heated to a surface temperature greater than about 300xc2x0 F. In this regard, the heated nip may be formed between one heated and one unheated roll or it may be formed between two heated rolls in the calender stack. The moisture application is made to the surface of the web that contacts the heated roll. One nip with controlled loading force will normally suffice, but multiple nips, in tandem or stacked, may preferably be employed.
The passage of the web through the heated nip partially dries the moistened web. Additional drying may be effected by at least partially wrapping the web, after it exits the heated nip, over the surface of at least one heated roll. In this regard, the heated roll may be the same roll forming the at least one heated nip, or it may be another heated roll in the calender configuration. In a preferred embodiment the web is partially wrapped around the heated roll forming a heated nip as the web exits the heated nip. This step allows the heat from the roll surface to re-dry the web before it is passed to the coaters.
With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for pre-calendering a paper web, which, as alluded to herein, may be a paper or paperboard web, so that the web will not be affected by a subsequent coating application. The invention therefore comprises, in one embodiment, a method of pre-calendering that generates a high level of surface smoothness, and which is essentially resistant to reversion upon the subsequent application of a water based coating composition, comprising:
a) preparing a paper web on a paper machine;
b) drying the web to a moisture content within the range of from about 0.5-5%;
c) directing the dried web through a pre-calender device located on the paper machine, said pre-calender device consisting essentially of a stack of adjacently placed hard rolls forming a plurality of nips, at least one of said hard rolls being heated;
d) moistening at least one surface of the web by applying water or an aqueous liquid in the form of a thin film to the web just before the web enters a heated nip formed by a heated roll such that the wet surface of the web contacts the heated roll;
e) passing the web through the heated nip to smoothen the moistened surface while substantially retaining the bulk of the web; and,
re-drying the web.
In another aspect, the invention comprises a paper machine for manufacturing paper or paperboard, comprising: a calender stack formed from a stack of adjacently placed hard rolls, at least one of which is heated, each pair of adjacently placed hard rolls forming a nip, the at least one heated roll forming a heated nip; and a moisture application means positioned proximal to at least one heated roll to deliver a thin film of water or finishing fluid to the surface of the web before it enters the heated nip.

Method for smoothening a paper web before coating


A structure of power semiconductor device having dummy cells around edge of active area is disclosed. The UIS test result of said improved structure shows that failed site after UIS test randomly located in active area which means avalanche capability of the semiconductor power device is enhanced by implementation of the dummy cells.

The unclamped inductive switching test (UIS test) is used to evaluate avalanche capability of a semiconductor power device by measuring UIS current at breakdown voltage. Yet, failed site after UIS test always occur near edge of active area of semiconductor power device of prior art, as shown in FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C.
FIG. 1A shows the top view a trench MOSFET of prior art while FIG. 1B shows its a-a′ cross section view. Refer to FIG. 1B, this device is formed on N+ substrate 100 on which an N doped epitaxial layer 102 is grown. A plurality of trenches are etched inside said epitaxial layer 102 and filled with doped poly within trenches to serve as trench gates 104 over the gate oxide layer 108. Between each trench, there is a P-body region 112 introduced by Ion Implantation, and an N+ source regions 114 near the top surface of said P-body region 112. P+ region 106 is introduced underneath the source-body contact trench 105 which located penetrating through contact oxide interlayer lrce regions 114 to contact with the source regions 114 and the body regions 112.
As mentioned above, failed site always occur near edge of active area after UIS test, as shown in FIG. 1C, which is resulted from the turning on of a parasitic bipolar, as illustrated in FIG. 2A. Since the cells are most nearest gate metal pad and gate runner (refer to FIG. 1A), the gate of the cells near the active edge are turned on first when gate bias is increasing for turning on channel, resulting the parasitic bipolar turning on first near the active edge, thus weakening the avalanche capability of semiconductor device. Therefore, the measured UIS current at breakdown voltage is low and has wide distribution, as illustrated in FIG. 3.
Same technical difficulty also exists in conventional trench IGBT, as shown in FIG. 2B. Different from FIG. 2A the parasitic thyristor in trench IGBT is composed of an NPN and PNP bipolar as a result of the existence of P+ substrate 240.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide new and improved device configuration to enhance the avalanche capability of semiconductor devices.

Avalanche capability improvement in power semiconductor devices having dummy cells around edge of active area


A roasting and/or grilling apparatus for cooking purposes, having a cooking chamber, a food holding unit arranged in the cooking chamber, and a combustion chamber for arranging a heating apparatus. The combustion chamber surrounds the cooking chamber at least in sections at the sides and the combustion chamber is open to the cooking chamber. The combustion chamber and/or the cooking chamber also have an associated air inlet in a lower region and an associated air outlet in an upper region for the purpose of creating a chimney effect. A heating insert for arrangement in the roasting and/or grilling apparatus is also provided. The heating insert is exchangeable and is designed to accommodate a heat source. In this case, the heat source is a fossil fuel and/or a gas burner and/or a radiant electric heating element.

Various roasting and/or grilling apparatuses for cooking food which is to be cooked are known from the prior art. Most roasting and/or grilling apparatuses have a combustion chamber arranged below a cooking chamber, wherein the combustion chamber is provided for the arrangement of a heating source, such as, for example, charcoal, and a grilling grate is customarily arranged in the cooking chamber. A disadvantage of said roasting and/or grilling apparatuses is that carcinogens may be produced by fat dripping down and catching fire.

Roasting and/or grilling apparatus and heating insert for a roasting and/or grilling apparatus of this kind