A system and method of telephony resource management and security for monitoring and/or controlling incoming and outgoing calls between an enterprise's end-user stations and a public circuit-switched network and/or a public packet-switched network. A security policy is made up of one or more rules designating at least one action to be performed based on at least one attribute of the incoming or outgoing call. Calls are detected and sensed on the line, trunk and/or cabling, and analyzed to determine attributes associated with each call. Actions are performed based upon the determined attributes, in accordance with the security policy rules.

Currently, there are telecommunication firewalls that operate on traditional circuit-switched networks, implementing a centrally managed, policy-based, enterprise-wide security policy, performing designated actions (such as allowing or denying the call, recording the call, redirecting the call, and monitoring the call for keywords), based on the determined attributes of a circuit-switched call (such as call direction, call source, call destination, and call type). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/907,089 entitled TELEPHONY SECURITY SYSTEM describes a telecommunication firewalls that operates on traditional circuit-switched networks.
Unfortunately, there is no equivalent device for performing the same and similar tasks for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls. Current IP firewalls are in place on the packet-switched network, but they deal with attributes of individual packets, not attributes of the real-time packet-switched call itself. This is indeed unfortunate because a majority of the same call attributes determined on a circuit-switched call can also be determined on a real-time packet-switched call.
Therefore, there is a need for a telephony security system and method that provides centrally managed, policy-based, enterprise-wide monitoring and/or control of incoming and outgoing real-time packet-switched calls between an enterprise's end-user station and the public packet-switched network, based on attributes of the call itself.
Additionally, there is a need for a telephony security system and method that provides consolidated, central, policy-based, enterprise-wide monitoring and/or control of calls on both a circuit-switched network and a packet-switched network


A power transmission and imaging system for an airship comprises a transmission antenna array configured to transmit an energy beam to a patch rectenna carried by the airship. Coupled to the patch rectenna is a power distribution and control network that supplies rectified power delivered by the energy beam into the proper format for delivery to a power storage system and a motor control system. The power storage system comprises one or more batteries to store the transmitted energy, while the motor control system powers various propellers, blowers, and valves maintained by the airship in order to descend the airship to the ground. The rectenna may also function as an imaging system in real-time. The image processing system uses the patch rectenna to transmit and receive signals, and in turn store and process the return signals (images).

Traditional airships, which may also referred to as blimps, aerostats, dirigibles, or lighter-than-air vehicles/platforms, comprise numerous components that are necessary for the navigational and operational needs of the airship. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a typical prior art airship 10 comprises a gas impervious envelope 12 that is formed from a flexible laminate material or fabric that is made to withstand the pressure changes encountered by the airship 10 during ascent and descent, as well as, heat and solar radiation that are encountered during the airship's operation. An exemplary laminate material used by the airship 10 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,479, which is incorporated herein by reference. Within the envelope 12 reside various discrete regions that separately contain helium and air, which allow the airship 10 to be effectively controlled during ascent and descent.
To allow the airship 10 to ascend to altitude, the air containing regions are exhausted through a number of valves 16 disposed about the perimeter of the airship 10. The helium within the envelope 12 expands while the airship 10 ascends to the desired altitude. It will be appreciated that expansion of the helium also forces air out of air containing regions through the blowers maintained by the airship. In order to descend the airship 10 from altitude, air is forced back into each air containing region by operation of one or more blowers 18. In order to maneuver or navigate the airship 10 while in flight or during ascent and descent, a propulsion system is utilized. The propulsion system typically comprises a plurality of electrically powered propeller units 20 mounted externally to the envelope 12 is utilized.
A significant amount of electrical power is required to operate the valves 16, blowers 18 and propeller units 20, and any other electrical component aboard the airship 10. Indeed, a significant amount of electrical power is required upon descent of the airship, as the buoyancy of the helium lifting gas is overcome.
Thus, to meet the energy demands required by the valves 16, blowers 18, and propeller units 20, numerous batteries, solar panels, and/or fuel cells have been used as power sources aboard the airship 10. While these systems are adequate from an energy capacity standpoint, complex and bulky power management systems are required to process the power delivered thereby. For example, approximately 4,000 lbs. of batteries may be needed to fully power the airship 10 during its descent from altitude. As such, the weight contributed by the batteries and other existing energy sources currently utilized by airships negatively impacts the maneuverability of the airship 10, its ability to attain desired altitudes and traveling ranges, as well as its overall performance.
In addition to the significant weight added to the airship 10 by the batteries, a substantial expense is also incurred to maintain, charge, and periodically replace failed batteries to ensure that the airship 10 has the optimal power capacity to complete a decent after a launch.
It will be appreciated that one of the main advantages of high-altitude airships is that they can carry monitoring equipment that can observe any surface or air activity underneath the airship. Accordingly, any monitoring device that is relatively lightweight and that can be carried by the airship provides an additional advantage to the airship.
Thus, there is a need for a power reception and imaging system for an airship that reduces the overall weight of the airship. In addition, there is a need for a power reception and imaging system that reduces the need for batteries, or other energy storage devices of finite capacity. Furthermore, there is a need for a power reception system and imaging system that receives continuous energy from a ground station to the airship, so as to power the airship during all phases of flight, including descent. Still yet, there is a need for a power reception and imaging system that provides a phased array antenna system that generates a focused energy beam for receipt by the airship. Further, there is a need for a power reception and imaging system that utilizes a nanofiber patch rectenna maintained by the airship to receive the transmitted energy beam. Additionally, there is a need for a power reception and imaging system that utilizes a lightweight matched filter, allowing the energy received from the patch rectenna to be efficiently retrieved from a transmitted energy beam. Furthermore, there is a need for a power transmission and imaging system that receives power at a frequency capable of passing through the envelope of the airship. In addition, there is a need for a power reception and imaging system that provides a ground station that generates and transmits a steered energy beam that is periodically realigned with the patch rectenna so as to ensure consistent alignment of the energy beam with the airship. Moreover, there is a need for a ground station used with a power reception and imaging system that utilizes a LADAR (laser detection and ranging) system or other efficient, narrow beam, high frequency transmission system to transmit an energy beam to the patch rectenna to power the airship during all phases of flight, including descent. Finally, there is a need for a dual-use system that integrates both energy reception functions with various imaging functions maintained by the airship.


A secondary texture cache is used commonly by a plurality of texture units, and stores part of texture data in a main memory. A cache controlling CPU controls a refill operation from the main memory to the secondary texture cache in accordance with cache misses of the plurality of texture units, so as to suppress occurrence of thrashing in the secondary texture cache. The cache controlling CPU suppresses occurrence of the refill operation when the plurality of operating units access an identical memory address with a predetermined time difference.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for reading data from a main memory at higher speed, and more particularly to a technology for using a cache memory for acceleration.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, processors have been improved dramatically in the operating frequency. In contrast, dynamic random access memories (DRAMS) typically used as main memories have not been so much improved in the operating frequency as the processors. Taking advantage of the processor performances thus requires some contrivance. The access times of the main memories have been reduced by using the technique of interposing a cache memory between a main memory and a processor.
Nevertheless, even if the processor accesses the cache for a designated address, the cache does not always contain the desired data. In such cases, a cache miss occurs to require a refill from the main memory. When cache misses like this occur frequently, the cache not only tails to contribute to acceleration but also causes overhead.

Information processing apparatus with a cache memory and information processing method


A method of forming a semiconductor device includes providing a bumped wafer. A plurality of grooves is formed in an active surface of the bumped wafer. A pre-underfill layer is disposed over the active surface, filling the plurality of grooves. A first adhesive layer is mounted to the pre-underfill layer, and a back surface of the bumped wafer is ground. A second adhesive layer is mounted to the back surface of the bumped wafer. The first adhesive layer is peeled from the active surface of the bumped wafer, or the second adhesive layer is mounted to the first adhesive layer. The bumped wafer is singulated into a plurality of segments by cutting the bumped wafer along the plurality of grooves.

Semiconductors, or computer chips, are found in virtually every electrical product manufactured today. Semiconductors are used not only in sophisticated industrial and commercial electronic equipment, but also in many household and consumer items such as televisions, clothes washers and dryers, radios, and telephones. As products become smaller but more functional, there is a need to include more semiconductors in the smaller products to perform the functionality. The reduction in size of cellular telephones is one example of how more capabilities are incorporated into smaller electronic products.
A so-called "flip chip" is generally a monolithic semiconductor device, such as an integrated circuit, having bead-like terminals formed on one surface of the chip. The terminals serve to both secure the chip to a circuit board and electrically connect the flip chip's circuitry to a conductor pattern formed on the circuit board, which may be a ceramic substrate, printed wiring board, flexible circuit, or a silicon substrate. Due to the numerous functions typically performed by the micro-circuitry of a flip chip, a relatively large number of terminals are required.
Because of the fine patterns of the terminals and conductor pattern, soldering a flip chip to its conductor pattern requires a high degree of precision. Reflow solder techniques are widely utilized in the soldering of flip chips. Such techniques typically involve forming solder bumps on the surface of the flip chip using methods such as electrodeposition, by which a quantity of solder is accurately deposited on one surface of the flip chip. Heating the solder above its melting temperature serves to form the characteristic solder bumps. The chip is then soldered to the conductor pattern by registering the solder bumps with their respective conductors, and reheating, or reflowing, the solder so as to metallurgically and electrically bond the chip to the conductor pattern.
In flip chip packaging and other semiconductor devices, a so-called "underfill" material is provided between the substrate and the die to promote device reliability characteristics. Various methods are known in the art for depositing the underfill material, including deposition through an opening of the substrate so as to fill in a gap between the substrate and the die. More recently, techniques involving the application of a film to a bumped wafer have been utilized.
Shortcomings associated with the current art remain. For example, removal of a film material from the bumped wafer can cause damage to the characteristic solder bumps. In addition, conventional techniques making use of bumped wafer structures often result in chipping and cracking during a subsequent die attach or chip attach process.

Grooving bumped wafer pre-underfill system


The invention relates to an apparatus for diverting static electricity away from a treadmill. The apparatus includes a diverting apparatus, consisting of a conducting piece, a conductive strip and a connection bolt. The diverting apparatus is mounted on the surface of the platform without influencing the smooth rotation of the continuous belt for carrying off the static electricity produced by friction within a walking area of the treadmill by providing a direct grounding path through the connection of the other end of the conductive strip to the ground.

1. Fields of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for diverting static electricity away from a treadmill, and more particularly, to an apparatus for diverting the electric charges stored on the treadmill to the ground so that the protection of operators and electronic components from injuries and damages is ensured.
2. Description of the Related Art
A treadmill 20, as shown in FIG. 2, includes a platform 27 and a base frame 22. A plurality of cushioning elements 271 are interposed between the platform 27 and the base frame 22 for cushioning impacts. A continuous belt 25 is mounted around the platform 27, the cushioning elements 271 and a front and rear roller 26. In this way, a basic in-place walking area is formed.
The continuous belt 25 can be guided by two rollers 26 for performing non-electric continuous cyclic motion by operators. Alternatively, a motor 28 can be employed to drive a transmission belt 29 to impart rotational motion to the two rollers 26. Therefore, the walking belt 25 can be moved around the platform 27 for an electric operation.
The treadmill 20 further includes a handrail 21 extending upwardly from the base frame 22. A control console 24 is installed on the handrail 21. During the operation of the electric mode, the control console 24 can give out a signal to activate or deactivate the motor 28. Even, it's possible to adjust the rotational speed of the continuous belt 25.
As well-known, molecule is the smallest physical unit of an element or compound, consisting of one or more like atoms in an element and two or more different atoms in a compound. Each atom consists of a nucleus containing combinations of neutrons and protons and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction. In the ordinary state, the number of the protons with positive electric charge corresponds to the number of the electrons with negative electric charge. Thus, the atom is normally of no electric charge through the balance of the positive and negative electric charges. However, electrons bound to the nucleus can be taken away from the ordinary track by an external factor, like kinetic energy, potential energy, heat energy, chemical energy, etc. If the electric charge is not evenly distributed, the electric charge will accumulate and the static electricity is built up, especially on an insulating material.
When an operator stands on the continuous belt 25 for a jogging exercise or the continuous belt 25 circles around the front and rear roller 26, a stationary electric charge will be produced by friction. Due to the continuous action of contact and separation between the continuous belt 25 and the platform 27, the stationary electric charges are unceasingly built up on the surface of the platform 27. According to the law that like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other, the operator can't get an electric shock. In a serious case, it could cause an organic failure and endanger the life of the operator. In addition, the static electricity can be transmitted to mechanical or electrical components of the treadmill to increase their loading. Even, this could affect the functionality of the treadmill.
In order to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks, a solution of TW 92207032 discloses a configuration with a conductive board fixed on a base frame of a treadmill. This conductive board is constantly pressed against the continuous belt so that the static electricity produced by friction during rotational motion can be removed by the conductive board to the base frame. However, this structure still has following drawbacks:    1. The installation of the conductive board against the continuous belt will cause the fact that the operator would worry about kicking this board and falling to the ground.    2. The friction increases due to the constant contact of the conductive board to the continuous belt. Therefore, the continuous belt is easily worn away and even broken off in a special case.

Apparatus for diverting static electricity away from a treadmill


An adjustable solar-power unit to power a dispenser includes a support housing maintaining a receiving aperture to rotatably retain a solar panel carrying holder therein. The adjustable solar-power unit is configured to be mounted remotely from the dispenser or may be configured to be integral with a housing that maintains the components of the dispenser. The holder may be rotated or pivoted so that the angle of incidence of the ambient light can be substantially perpendicular with that of the solar elements carried by the holder to generate an optimal amount of electrical power therefrom in order to power the dispenser.

Touch-free and other automatic dispensers require electrical power in order to dispense material from a refill container. For example, in the case of touch-free soap dispensers, soap is automatically dispensed upon the detection of a user's hand via an IR (infrared) sensor. While some dispensers may utilize a wired power source, such as a wall outlet, this restricts the location at which the dispenser may be mounted to those areas where such outlets are available. To overcome this, many touch-free or automatic dispensers utilize a portable power source, such as a battery, thereby allowing the dispenser to be mounted in any desired location.
Batteries, however, require frequent replacement, which is costly, and as such, dispensers that utilize solar power would be beneficial. Furthermore, there is a need for an adjustable solar-power unit that is configured to be integral with a dispenser. Additionally, there is a need for an adjustable solar-power unit that may be mounted in a remote location separate from a dispenser. Still yet, there is a need for an adjustable solar-power unit that is manufactured as a flat section and then folded via living hinges, so as to reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, there is a need for an adjustable solar-power unit having a holder to adjust the position of a solar element with respect to ambient light.

Adjustable solar-power unit for a dispenser


The invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for preventing restens by the inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, comprising a compound of formula I: ##STR1## wherein: n=1 or 2 R.sub.1 is a member of the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, nitro, benzo, lower alkyl, phenyl and lower alkoxy;. R.sub.2 is a member of the group consisting of hydroxy, acetoxy, and lower alkoxy, and PA1 R.sub.3 is a member of the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkenoxy-carbonyl. as active ingredient therein, and the physiologically acceptable salts thereof, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,124, issued in 1967, there is described and claimed a method for treating coccdidiosis with quinazolinone derivatives.
Halogufinone, otherwise known as 7-bromo-6-chloro-3-3-(3-hydroxy-2-piperidinyl)-2-oxopropyl!-4(3H)-quinazo linone, was first described and claimed in said patent by American Cyanamid Company, and was the preferred compound taught by said patent and the one commercialized from among the derivatives described and claimed therein.
Subsequently, U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 26,833 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,824,847; 4,855,299; 4,861,758 and 5,215,993 all relate to the coccidiocidal properties of halofuginone, while U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,596 teaches that it can also be used for combatting theileriosis.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,678, there is described and claimed an anti-fibrotic composition, comprising an amount of a compound of formula I: ##STR2## wherein: n 1 or 2 R.sub.1 is a member of the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, nitro, benzo, lower alkyl, phenyl and lower alkoxy;
R.sub.2 is a member of the group consisting of hydroxy, acetoxy, and lower alkoxy, and PA1 R.sub.3 is a member of the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkenoxy-carbonyl;
effective to inhibit collagen type I synthesis, as active ingredient therein, and the physiologically acceptable salts thereof.
After further research and development, it has now been discovered that the above-identified compounds of formula I are effective in the inhibition of restenosis, which formally is not a fibrotic condition.
The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis involves abnormal migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) infiltrated with macrophages and embedded in extracellular matrix (ECM) of adhesive glycoproteins, proteoglycans and collagens V. Fuster, et al., "The Pathogenesis of Coronary Artery Disease and the Acute Coronary Syndromes," New Eng. J. Med., Vol. 326, pp. 242-250 (1992); R. Ross, "The Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis: A Perspective for the 1990's," Nature, Vol. 362, pp. 801-809 (1993)!. Under physiological conditions, the majority of arterial SMCs remains in the Go phase and cell growth is controlled by a balance between endogenous proliferation-stimulating and proliferation-inhibiting factors. Following endothelial cell perturbation due to atherogenic risk factors (i.e., hypertension, hyperlipoproteinemia, diabetes mellitus), platelets and non-platelet-derived growth factors and cytokines are released and stimulate monocyte and SMC migration as well as SMC proliferation (V. Fuster, et al., ibid.; R. Ross, ibid.). Among these growth factors are platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) G. A. A. Ferns, et al., "Inhibition of Neoinitmal Smooth Muscle Accumulation after Angioplasty by an Antibody to PDGF," Science, Vol. 253, pp. 1129-1132 (1991)!, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) V. Lindner, et al., "Role of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor in Vascular Lesion Formation," Circ. Res., Vol. 68, pp. 106-113 (1991)!, and interleukin-1 (IL-1) H. Loppnow and P. Libby, "Proliferating or Interleukin-1 Activated Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Secrete Copious Interleukin 6, " J. Clin. Invest., Vol. 85, pp. 731-738 (1990)!. Macrophages and platelets also release enzymes, i.e., elastase, collagenase, heparanase) that digest various constituents of the ECM and release bFGF and possibly other growth factors (TGFB) that are stored in basement membranes and ECM I. Vlodavsky, et al., "Extracellylar Matrix-bound Growth Factors, Enzymes and Plasma Proteins," in: Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Basement Membranes, Monographs in Cell Biology, D. H. Rohrbach and R. Timpl, Eds., Academic Press, New York, N.Y., U.S.A., pp. 327-346 (1993)!. A potent growth-promoting activity towards SMCs is also exerted by thrombin, which, under certain conditions, may be present within the vessel wall R. Bar-Shavit, et al., "Thrombin Immobilized to Extracellular Matrix Is a Mitogen for Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells: Non-Enzymatic Mode of Action," Cell Reg., Vol. 1, pp. 453-463 (1990); S. M. Schwartz, "Serum-Derived Growth Factor is Thrombin?" J. Clin. Invest., Vol 91, p. 4 (1993)!. Molecules that interfere with the growth-promoting activity of these growth factors may attenuate the progression of the atherogenic process.
Proliferation of arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC) in response to endothelial injury is a basic event in the process of restenosis of coronary arteries after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) V. Fuster, et al., ibid.!. Coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty are applied to reopen coronary arteries that have been narrowed by heart disease. A major problem with both procedures is that arteries rapidly reclog in about 30% of patients undergoing angioplasty and about 10% of bypass surgery patients. Vascular SMC are ordinarily protected by the smooth inner lining of the arteries, composed of vascular endothelial cells. However, following bypass surgery or angioplasty, SMC are often left exposed. In a futile effort to repair the wound, the cells proliferate and clog the artery.

Quinazolinone-containing pharmaceutical compositions and methods for the use thereof

Hadasit Medical Research Services & Development Co., Inc.

Agricultural Organization Ministry of Agriculture State of Israel


The display controller of the present invention reduces power consumption by suppressing clock signals to a display memory (comprising SGRAM or SDRAM) between screen refreshes and memory accesses. The present invention takes advantage of power-down modes provided for SGRAM and/or SDRAM memories which are used in the prior art to place a memory in an active suspend mode. Further energy savings are realized and memory bandwidth increased when using a display memory comprising two banks. When one bank of memory is being accessed, the other bank of memory is precharged and activated. Succeeding pages of memory are placed in alternate banks of display memory. Thus, then data is to be accessed from a next page of memory, the corresponding bank is already charged and ready to be accessed.

Conserving power consumption in computer systems is a well-known objective in the computer arts. In addition to prolonging battery life in portable computers, reducing power consumption in a computer system may result in real energy savings, particularly when multiplied by the large number of installed Personal Computers (PCs) in the world. The ENERGY STAR standard promulgated by the U.S. government requires that computers meeting this standard use no more than 60 Watts when idle.
Various control system are known for generating video displays on portable computers, PCs and other computing systems, including VGA and SVGA controllers, so-called graphics accelerators (e.g., 2D and 3D), flat panel display controllers, and the like. Such controllers may be referred to as "video controllers", however, with the advent of full motion video in computer systems, such a term may be a misnomer. For the purposes of this application, such a control system may be referred to a "display controller".
FIG. 1 shows an example of a prior art display controller which is presented here for purposes of illustration only. Such a prior art display controller is disclosed, for example, in Bril et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,428, issued Jul. 23, 1996 and incorporated herein by reference. The present invention may also be applied to other types of display controllers without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown an internal block diagram of a display controller 101. System data may be written to display controller 101 via system data bus 105, system control bus 106, and system address bus 108 (hereinafter generally referred to as system busses 105, 106, 108) may pass through CPU interface 120 to control other elements of display controller 101 via an internal data and control bus 125. Status and other data may also be read from the other elements in display controller 101 via internal data and control bus 125, CPU interface 120 and system busses 105, 106, 108.
Data written to display controller 101, intended to be stored in an external video memory (not shown), may be written through and modified as necessary by graphics controller 117, then written to memory controller 116. Memory controller 116 drives appropriate values on video memory control bus 109 and video memory address bus 110, and drives data out on video memory data bus 111.
Memory controller 116 may also be responsible for reading memory data needed to define video data. Memory controller 116 may drive appropriate values on video memory control bus 109 and video memory address bus 110, and receives video memory data on video memory data bus 111. Video data is stored in an external video memory (not shown) coupled to video memory busses 109, 110 and 111.
In operation, video data from memory controller 116 passes through video FIFO 118, then is modified as necessary in attribute controller 121 before being output on video output data bus 104. Data on video output data bus is further modified by video output block 123, and driven out on video output 103. Video output block 123 may comprise, for example, a RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital to Analog Converter). Video signals entering the RAMDAC may comprise, for example, data which describe a color to be displayed.
Such data may define a number representative of a particular color, but not necessarily the color itself. The RAM portion of the RAMDAC contains a lookup table which converts this number into a digital signal representing a color value. The contents of the lookup table can be altered by software such that a particular color value can be assigned to a different number (or vice versa). The DAC portion of the RAMDAC converts this color value to an analog output, for example, analog VGA or the like, which is then transmitted on video output 103.
CRT controller 119 may generate signals for video output control bus 102. Memory controller 116,may use one of internal clocks 126. CRT controller 119, video FIFO 118, attribute controller 121, and video output 123 may use a different, asynchronous one of internal clocks 126. Techniques known in the art are used to synchronize the transfer of data from memory controller 116 to video FIFO 118. In normal operation, internal clocks 126 are generated by clock synthesizer 122, which may use system reference clock 107.
In the prior art, memory used with display controller 101 typically comprised conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Such memories were relatively inexpensive and suitable for use with low resolution displays of relative static images (e.g., word processing, spreadsheets, simple CAD systems, and the like). However, with the advent of higher resolution displays with higher refresh rates, as well as the use of full motion video, 2-D and 3-D graphics, faster memories and display controller clock speeds have been employed. Memories with faster access techniques and interfaces have been employed (e.g., EDO DRAM, RDRAM, VRAM, and the like).
However, such memory devices may require higher power consumption due to the use of advanced MOS technology. Unlike conventional DRAMS, such memories may use the same amount of power regardless of whether they are being accessed. In the prior art, it is known to stop clock signals to memory devices during power reduction modes (e.g., a "sleep" or "suspend" mode, where clock signals to substantially an entire computer system are shut down or severely slowed). However, such a display memory may remain inactive between screen refreshes and CPU access for a significant amount of time, and thus consume power even when not in use.

Method and apparatus for optimizing power consumption and memory bandwidth in a video controller using SGRAM and SDRAM power reduction modes


A flexible architecture component for providing data integration and exchange between a plurality of client applications is disclosed. The client applications are coupled to a network and access respective data sources, wherein the data sources of each of the client applications may be stored in different formats and are not directly accessible by the other client applications. Aspects of the present invention include providing an adapter API that provides a first set of methods for the client applications to use to translate data into XML. Each of the client applications is then modified to invoke the methods in the adapter API to convert data in their respective data sources into XML format and to have the XML formatted data imported into a database on a server, thereby standardizing the data from the data sources. In a further embodiment, a second set of methods is included in the adapter API for the same or different client applications to use that export data from the database into the client applications using standard Web services.

Due to the evolution of the Internet and related technologies, transfer of data and sharing of information over the World Wide Web has become a very common phenomenon. The web provides a common interface for applications to interchange information, however, data exist in various forms and may be scattered in different platforms and locations. The challenge is to provide an ability to integrate the diverse, distributed data and information sources both within and outside an enterprise into a single coherent framework while meeting scalability, performance and business process requirements.
The plans, methods, and tools aimed at modernizing, consolidating, and coordinating the computer applications in an enterprise is referred to as Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). Typically, an enterprise has existing legacy applications and databases and wants to continue to use them while adding or migrating to a new set of applications that exploit the Internet, e-commerce, extranet, and other new technologies. EAI may involve developing a new total view of an enterprise's business and its applications, seeing how existing applications fit into the new model, and then devising ways to efficiently reuse what already exists while adding new applications and data.
EAI is one of the biggest challenges for large high-tech companies. A major component of the integration effort involves development of data interchange system and tools that can seamlessly transfer data among various systems within the organization. The primary goal of such systems and tools is to provide a generalized software infrastructure that can support various data sources, allow for consumption of data by downstream tools and define a process by which multiple systems can communicate using a supplier, consumer relationship. This needs to be accomplished taking into account co-existence of new and old (legacy) data sources, formats and systems already in place.
One example of an organization that needs data integration is a chip manufacturer that creates custom integrated circuits having specialized functions. To achieve the functions desired, the chips may be designed using software applications, such as Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software tools. The software applications are typically run on different computers may use and store different types of data. The chip manufacturer may have a need to integrate all of the design data, such that it can be retrieved for future analysis. Examples of the type of data that needs to be analyzed may include historical trends, design metrics, targets for process optimization, and so on. The problem is that not all applications have access to the data produced by applications running on different computers. And even where the computers are networked together as clients, the client applications are not compatible with each other in terms of how the data is formatted.
Enterprises, such as the example chip manufacturer, face many problems with respect to implementing enterprise level integration. One of the biggest problems is keeping abreast of the evolution of business applications. Critical business processes and systems evolve rapidly over time and hence there is major need for applications to be scalable. The various data requirements for applications change over time and hence the data interchange tools and methods needs to be generic and scalable. The example chip manufacturer, for instance, may need a way to integrate the data from the data sources in a manner such that the collection of data can evolve over time to include additional types of information from other sources, such as packaging and manufacturing data.
The second major problem with enterprise level data integration is that there is no standardized, modular, software toolkits that client applications can use out of the box for exporting and importing data across applications. There are some high-end third party solutions for this problem, but there are no low cost alternatives and they come with major deployment costs for bringing them online. Further compounding the problem is the fact that in some businesses, such as the example chip manufacturer, the people who must integrate the client applications with the third party tools are often design engineers, not programmers.
Also, the current solutions may provide a way of integrating existing data but there is no standard available for generating and transferring the data easily for applications to adopt. Although XML serves as a standard medium for transferring data from one system to another, it adds a lot of overhead for applications to implement XML specific data generation methods. Many application's developers may not have the knowledge to develop XML documents and the technology required to integrate the data. Even if the data exists in a transferable form, the issue of exporting the data into a data warehouse still exists.
Last, but not least, is that in current business environments, organizations do not have a lot of manpower, time, and material to invest in solving data integration problems. So any solution pursued needs to be cost effective, be able to be developed and deployed expeditiously and should minimize any impact on existing flows and methodologies.
There are some commercially available products built on web services architecture that attempt to address some of these problems. IBM's WebSphere Application Server provides a scalable transaction engine for dynamic e-business applications. The Open Services Infrastructure allows companies to deploy a core-operating environment that works as a reliable foundation capable of handling high volume secure transactions and Web services. Microsoft's BizTalk Server provides organizations with the server, tools, adapters, and vertical accelerators needed to integrate and automate their business. And TIBCO's web services solutions provide enterprise level integration and ability to create "Compound Web Services" that integrates web services.
Although each of the above-mentioned solutions addresses the problem of integrating data and communicating across applications, the existing solutions have several disadvantages. First, these solutions do not address the problem of how the data collected from the various data sources should be standardized and collected from the client applications. Second, all the above-mentioned solutions come with very high deployment costs and rely upon a business model based on professional turnkey services for integration. The cost of technology ramp-up of applications that need to make use of this is very high.
The third problem is that the overhead of integrating these solutions with individual applications is difficult because most applications have to be adjusted to support a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), which these solutions expect. In addition, the overhead of integration is equally complex regardless of the scope and size of the applications.
Although Web services are deemed to provide a standard means of communication among different software applications, the learning curve of programmers to implement web services is very high. Also, organizations need to invest a considerable amount of both time and money to enable the use of web services, regardless of the size and complexity of the applications.
Accordingly, what is needed is an approved method and system for performing enterprise-level data integration. The present invention addresses such a need.

Flexible architecture component (FAC) for efficient data integration and information interchange using web services


A method for processing a digital color image for display and transmission includes the steps of (a) resizing the image to a lower display resolution to produce a display-sized image, (b) quantizing the display-sized image to a display palette with an error diffusion process to produce an error diffused image, (c) losslessly compressing the error diffused image to produce a compressed image having a particular file size, (d) comparing the file size to a maximum file size and if less than the maximum file size, transmitting the digital image to the display; (e) if the file size is greater than the maximum file size but less than a another predetermined file size, reducing the error diffusion rate by a predetermined amount in order to reduce the file size; and (f) if the file size is greater than the maximum file size and the predetermined file size, simplifying the resized image by reducing image detail to produce a simplified image and repeating the preceding steps on the simplified image.

Many color image output devices are not capable of displaying all of the colors in an input digital image due to the fact that they must be stored in a memory buffer with a reduced bit-depth. Likewise, it may also be desirable to represent an image using a reduced bit-depth in order to reduce the amount of bandwidth needed for the transmission of an image, or the amount of memory needed to store an image. For example, many computers may use an 8-bit or a 16 bit color representation to store an image that is to be displayed on a soft-copy display such as a CRT or an LCD screen. Such representations allow only 256 and 65,536 unique color values, respectively. This is significantly less than the 16,777,216 possible color values associated with a typical 24-bit color image that is conventionally used in many digital imaging applications.
In applications where it is necessary to represent an input image using a reduced number of colors, it is necessary to determine the set of colors to be included in the reduced set of colors. In some cases, a reduced set of colors may be determined ahead of time independent of the particular image being encoded. For example, 3-bits of color information (8 different levels) may be used for the red and green channels of an image, and 2-bits of color information (4 different levels) may be used for the blue channel of an image. This produces a lattice of 8×8×4=256 different color values that can be used to represent the input image using an 8-bit representation. The input digital image can be converted to the 8-bit representation simply by taking the highest 2- or 3-bits of each of the corresponding RGB channels. The result is an image that has quantization errors that can produce visible contours in the image in many circumstances. This color palette is referred to as the 3-3-2 palette and is used in a number of wireless devices such as the Ericsson T68 cell phone.
One method for minimizing the visibility of the quantization errors in the reduced bit-depth image is to use a multi-level halftoning algorithm to preserve the local mean of the color value. R. S. Gentile, E. Walowit and J. P. Allebach, "Quantization and multilevel halftoning of color images for near original image quality," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 7, 1019–1026 (1990) described various methods for quantization and multilevel halftoning of color images. One commonly used multi-level halftoning method is called error diffusion. The detail of error diffusion will be discussed later.
In wireless communication, there is usually a limit on the size of the file to be transmitted through the air and received by a targeted wireless device. For example, the current wireless communication standard requires that the file size should not exceed 3 kilo bytes. In the case of the EricssonT68 cell phone, let us assume that one would like to display an image of the size of 96×64 pixels on its color screen. Even after a digital color image is rendered by the 3-3-2 color palette and reduced to 1 byte per pixel, it takes 96×64=6144 bytes to simply store the indices to the color palette. In general, it is undesirable to compress the indices in a lossy fashion because any error in the index value could result in significant color distortion due to indexing error. Therefore, the indices are usually compressed using a lossless file format such as CompuServe GIF, or Portable Network Graphics (PNG) (see www.w3.org./Graphics/PNG), or the upcoming Joint Photographic Network Group recommended format referred to as JPEG 2000 (see www.jpeg.org), by taking advantage of the data redundancy because of correlation in the image structures. In addition, a dithering process such as error diffusion (see P. G. Roetling and R. P. Loce, "Digital halftoning," in Digital Image Processing Methods, E. Dougherty, Ed. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1994.) is frequently employed to alleviate color quantization effect, due to the use of a display palette, in order to produce a visually more pleasing image. Because the image has been reduced to a small size, and more importantly, the amount of correlation is significantly reduced by the error diffusion process, which is of high-pass nature in terms of frequency response, it becomes extremely challenging to achieve the needed compression in order to get the file size below the required 3 kilo bytes. On one hand, compression is required to satisfy the bandwidth limitation. On the other hand, compression (including quantization, and resizing) inevitably reduces the image quality. In short, the requirements for small file size and good image quality are competing constraints.
Conventional systems are generally unable to provide a good solution given similar competing constraints. In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0016818 A1, which is entitled "System and Methodology for Optimizing Delivery of Email Attachments for Disparate Devices" and was published on Feb. 7, 2002, Kirani and Whittington disclose system and methodology for optimizing delivery of email attachments for disparate devices. Kirani and Whittington compare the size of attached images to the capabilities of the types of the recipient client device, and pre-empt the delivery of the original format of those attachments if they are determined to be burdensome or overwhelming for the particular recipient device in use. In cases wherein these attachments would strain the capabilities of the recipient device's wireless bandwidth and/or display features, the original attachments are simply removed from the messages and saved in a network media-sharing repository, which can be subsequently accessed via a link (e.g., URL) referencing that storage address. Recipients can specify their wireless handheld device type, and opt to receive transformations of this type of attachment. In cases wherein the recipient has previously used and specified multiple types of client devices, Kirani and Whittington apply a transformation to the current attachment that corresponds to the least capable in the set of those multiple devices. Clearly, this process is cumbersome and the least capable device determines the image quality for all devices.
There is therefore a need to provide a method for rendering and compressing a digital image for display on a display device using a display palette and having a display resolution less than the original image resolution, where the transmission channel also imposes a limit on the maximum file size.

Method and system for generating digital image files for a limited display


A tilt mechanism is configured for adjustment of a tension applied by a chair back. The tilt mechanism includes a base, a back bracket tiltably supported on the base, and a rocker coupled to the back bracket so as to be moveable relative to the back bracket. The rocker has a pivot axis and pivots about the pivot axis when the back bracket tilts relative to the base. An energy storage mechanism is coupled to the rocker to exert a force onto a portion of the rocker. An actuating mechanism is coupled to at least one of the rocker or the energy storage mechanism and is configured to alter a distance between the pivot axis and the portion of the rocker at which the force is exerted onto the rocker, thereby altering a length of a lever arm.

For a wide variety of applications, chairs are nowadays provided with features which provide enhanced comfort to the person using the chair. For illustration, office-type chairs are commonly utilized in modern working environments to provide an occupant with a level of comfort while performing certain tasks that require a person to be in a seated position for an extended period of time. One common configuration for such a chair includes a mobile chair base assembly to allow the chair to roll across a floor and a pedestal column supporting the superstructure of the chair. The superstructure may include components which enable the user to adjust certain settings of the chair and to facilitate recline or "tilt" of the chair superstructure, including the back and frequently also the seat of the chair. Such a chair configuration allows users to change their sitting position in the chair as desired. Fatigue may be reduced during long sitting periods.
In recent years, chair designs have implemented a feature where a chair back exerts an increasing force onto the seat occupant as a function of recline angle, during a rearward reclining movement of the chair back. The chair seat may also tilt in this process or may be displaced otherwise relative to the chair base. To this end, a spring may be provided which is compressed when the chair back reclines. The torque which must be exerted onto the chair back to maintain the chair back at a given recline angle increases as a function of recline angle. Vice versa, the force exerted onto the occupant by the chair back increases.
For enhanced comfort, it is desired that the force applied by the chair back can be adjusted. For illustration, a light-weight user may prefer a configuration which requires less force to be applied onto the chair back to recline it by a given angle. A heavier user may prefer recline characteristics which requires him to exert a greater force onto the chair back to recline it by the same given angle. The chair may have a tension adjust system which allows the torque which must be exerted onto the chair back in a recline movement, as a function of recline angle, to be adjusted.
One approach to implement such a tension adjust system is to alter an offset bias or pretension of the spring. This can be attained by altering an offset-compression of the spring. An offset force can thus be added to the force applied by the spring. Such an approach has various shortcomings. For illustration, it may be a considerable challenge to adjust the offset bias in a state in which the chair back is already reclined and the spring is already compressed to a certain degree. For further illustration, adjust mechanisms that allow the offset bias to be adjusted frequently need to be implemented such that an actuating lever must complete several full turns, often more than five turns, to alter the recline characteristics from the softest to the hardest recline characteristics. For further illustration, depending on the arrangement of the spring on the chair, an adjust mechanism which adjusts an offset bias may make it difficult for the user to adjust the recline characteristics while remaining seated on the chair.
Another shortcoming of an adjust mechanism which alters an offset bias is that the torque curve as a function of recline angle is merely shifted by an offset. It may be desirable to provide an adjust mechanism which provides enhanced versatility in adjusting the recline characteristics from soft to hard.
There is a need in the art for a tilt mechanism and for a chair which provide good support to the user during a reclining motion. There is a need in the art for such a tilt mechanism and chair which allow the recline characteristics, i.e., the torque as a function of recline angle of the chair back, to be adjusted in a versatile manner. There is also a need for such a tilt mechanism and chair in which the adjust mechanism for adjusting the tension applied by the chair back can be actuated more conveniently, also in a state in which the chair back is already reclined.


A gear pump having an inner rotor and an outer rotor is covered by a cylindrical outer casing and side casings. The cylindrical outer casing has two outer circumferential edges which are welded over the entire circumference thereof to the outer edges of the side casings, respectively. The outer casing has two angularly spaced recesses in its inner periphery for receiving slide seals therein. Welding is started at a welding start point which is 90 degrees spaced from the middle point between two recesses. During welding, welding energies are applied to the welding start point and the middle point between two recesses. Those energies tend to deform the casing into oval shapes that are 90 degrees out of phase from each other. Thus, these energies cancel each other, thereby preventing the casing from being deformed.

This invention relates to a method of welding tubular members such as casings of a gear pump, tubular member welded by use of the welding method, and a gear pump including casings welded by use of the welding method.
FIGS. 2–4 show a gear pump assembly P which is disclosed in JP patent publications 2000-9058 and 2001-80498. It is mounted in a housing H of various devices, and sucks oil a through inlet ports 1 and discharge it through outlet ports 2. Specifically, the pump assembly comprises a rotary shaft 3 driven by a motor M, and a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) gear pumps arranged axially around the rotary shaft 3 and each comprising an inner rotor 4 fixed to the rotary shaft 3 and an outer rotor 5 rotatably mounted in the housing H so as to be eccentric relative to the inner rotor 4. The inner rotor 4 and the outer rotor 5 mesh with each other, thereby causing oil to be sucked into and discharged from the gear pump.
The pump assembly further includes casings 7 each housing a gear pump, a center cylinder 7a and side cylinders 7b which cooperate to define pump spaces in which are received the gear pumps. Each casing 6 has to be hermetically joined to the center cylinder 7a and the corresponding side cylinder 7b. Ordinarily, each casing 6 is welded to the cylinders 7a and 7b over the entire outer circumferential edges thereof as shown at t.
Such welding is started from a desired point of the outer circumferential edge of each casing 6 with a welder S facing the casing 6 and continued in a circumferential direction.
FIG. 3 shows the section of one of the gear pumps. As shown, the outer rotor 5 is biased by slide seals (apex seals) 8 such that gaps defined by the teeth of the inner rotor 4 and the outer rotor 5 gradually increase from the outlet port toward the inlet port. The seals 8 are received in recesses 9 formed in the casing 6. The wall of the casing 6 is thus thin at points where there are the recesses 9. During welding, solidifying force locally act on the casing 6. The condensing force tends to deform the casing 6 more markedly at its thin and thus weak portions due to the presence of the recesses 9 than at other portions.
For example, if welding is started at the point shown in FIG. 5, when welding is being carried out at the portion of a member 10 (casing 6) to be welded to other member where there is a cutout 11 (recess 9), due to the solidifying force b resulting from welding energy, bending stresses Q are applied to the member 10 (casing 6), thus deforming the member 10 into an oval shape of which the minor axis passes the cutout 11, as shown by chain line in FIG. 5.
On the other hand, if the member 10 has no cutout, when welding is started at a point c, due to the solidifying force produced at the welding start point c, the member will be deformed into an oval shape of which the minor axis passes the welding start point c, and the portions in the circumference will deform in a sinusoidal curve, as shown in FIG. 6.
If the member is a casing 6 of a gear pump P, it will be difficult to mount the outer rotor 5 in such a markedly deformed casing with high accuracy or may be utterly impossible to mount the outer rotor 5 in such a casing.
An object of this invention is to minimize the degree of deformation of such a member to be welded.

Welding method and tubular member and gear pump made using the welding method


A machine for distributing blowing wool from a bag of compressed blowing wool is provided. The machine includes a chute configured to receive the compressed blowing wool and a shredding chamber connected to the chute. The shredding chamber includes a plurality of shredders configured to shred the blowing wool. A discharge mechanism is mounted to receive the shredded and picked apart blowing wool and configured to distribute the blowing wool into an airstream. An outlet plate assembly is mounted to the discharge mechanism and includes an outlet pipe configured to connect a distribution hose to the discharge mechanism. The outlet pipe has a plurality of inner diameters each having an inner surface. A blower is configured to provide the airstream flowing through the discharge mechanism. In an installed position, an outer surface of the distribution hose contacts the inner surface of one of the inner diameters of the outlet pipe.

In the insulation of buildings, a frequently used insulation product is loosefill insulation. In contrast to the unitary or monolithic structure of insulation batts or blankets, loosefill insulation is a multiplicity of discrete, individual tufts, cubes, flakes or nodules. Loosefill insulation is usually applied to buildings by blowing the insulation into an insulation cavity, such as a wall cavity or an attic of a building. Typically loosefill insulation is made of glass fibers although other mineral fibers, organic fibers, and cellulose fibers can be used.
Loosefill insulation, commonly referred to as blowing wool, is typically compressed in packages for transport from an insulation manufacturing site to a building that is to be insulated. Typically the packages include compressed blowing wool encapsulated in a bag. The bags are made of polypropylene or other suitable material. During the packaging of the blowing wool, it is placed under compression for storage and transportation efficiencies. Typically, the blowing wool is packaged with a compression ratio of at least about 10:1. The distribution of blowing wool into an insulation cavity typically uses a blowing wool distribution machine that feeds the blowing wool pneumatically through a distribution hose. Blowing wool distribution machines typically have a large chute or hopper for containing and feeding the blowing wool after the package is opened and the blowing wool is allowed to expand.
It would be advantageous if blowing wool machines could be improved to make them easier to use.

Blowing wool machine outlet plate assembly


In order to prevent a communicating pipe from becoming damaged by water (in particular drain water) collecting in the gap formed between the tube element at one end of a heat exchanger that is constituted of a flat plate and a formed plate and the communicating pipe through defective brazing and repeatedly freezing and melting, a flange (32) and a bonding margin (11) continuous to the flange (32) are notched off over almost the entire circumference at the center on the inside of an indented portion (9) in a formed plate (16) which, together with a flat plate (15), constitutes a tube element (3b). Thus, while the communicating pipe (27) comes in contact with the internal surface of a flange (29) of a pipe connection hole (28) of the flat plate (15), it does not come in contact with the formed plate (16), thereby forming a gap bounded by the flat plate (15), the formed plate (16) and the communicating pipe (27).

The present invention relates to a laminated heat exchanger that may be employed in an evaporator or the like constituting the refrigeration cycle in an air conditioning system for vehicles, for instance, having an inflow port and an outflow port provided side-by-side at one side in the direction of the lamination.
The invention completed by the applicant of the present invention, which is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H8-121988, achieves the prevention of freezing damage or corrosion of the tube elements or the communicating pipe which may occur in a laminated heat exchanger constituted by laminating tube elements each having a pair of tanks at one side and a groove portion formed between the tanks alternately with fins over a plurality of levels so that a communicating passage extends between the tanks in the direction of the lamination with the communicating pipe mounted at the communicating passage, when water is collected in the gap formed through defective brazing of the communicating pipe and the circumferential edges of the groove portions constituting the communicating passage. This invention is already in use.
According to this invention, each of the tube elements is provided with a pair of tanks and a U-shaped heat exchanging medium passage communicating between the pair of tanks and is constituted by bonding face-to-face a pair of formed plates. In one of the formed plates in the pair, a flange that is bent toward the non-bonding side is formed in order to increase the strength of the formed plate over the entire circumference at the edge portion of the brazing margin at the circumferential edges of the distended portion for passage formation and the distended portion for tank formation, whereas in the other formed plate, this flange and a brazing margin continuous to the flange are notched over the entire circumferential edge of the groove portion between the tanks. With this, in tube elements constituted by bonding these formed plates, only the groove portion at one of the formed plates comes in contact with the communicating pipe. Alternatively, one side relative to the center of the circumferential edge of the groove portion in each formed plate may be notched, and in tube elements constituted by bonding such formed plates, the communicating pipe comes in contact with alternate groove portions.
As a result, since a large opening is formed between the communicating pipe and the groove portions of the tube elements having the width over which the center of the circumferential edge of the groove portion at the formed plate is notched toward the front end of the formed plate or having the width over which one side relative to the center of the inside circumferential edge of groove portion of the formed plate notched toward the front end of the formed plate, drainage is improved to prevent water from collecting, so that a problem of collected water repeatedly freezing and melting to damage the tube element and the communicating pipe is eliminated. In addition, the problem of the tube element and the communicating pipe becoming corroded by the collected water, is avoided.
Now, laminated heat exchangers employing a communicating pipe include the type illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, in which a formed plate 100 and a flat plate 101 are bonded to each other at one side in the direction of the lamination, a distribution plate 102 is further bonded to the flat plate 101 to form an inflow passage 103 and an outflow passage 104 and one end of a communicating pipe 106 is inserted and fitted in a hole 105 formed in the flat plate 101 to allow a heat exchanging medium to flow in to a specific tank through the inflow passage 103. In this heat exchanger, in order to perform brazing of the flat plate 101 and the communicating pipe 106 in a reliable manner, a flange 107 is formed at the circumferential edge of the hole 105 of the flat plate 101 extending toward the non-bonding side that is not bonded to the formed plate 100.
If the formed plate 100, which is bonded to the flat plate 101 in the laminated heat exchanger, is structured identically to a formed plate in the prior art described earlier, since a bonding margin 109 that contains a flange 110 of the formed plate 100 is bonded to a portion of the flat plate 101 which is in close proximity to the flange 107 at one end of the groove portion 108, there are potential problems that may occur in the event of defective brazing, in that a triangular gap A which is not filled with the brazing material is formed between the formed plate 100, the flat plate 101 and the communicating pipe 106 as illustrated in FIG. 14. This results in water such as the drain water collecting in the gap A and, through a process of repeated freezing and melting, damaging the tube element 111 constituted of the formed plate 100 and the flat plate 101 or the communicating pipe 106, and in the collected water corroding the tube element 111 or the communicating pipe 106.


The plating method comprises the steps of dividing a region, to be plated, into a group of mesh-like zones, measuring a plating area of each of the zones, comparing the measurement values of the plating areas and judging whether or not the plating area has any variance, and conducting a design change, on patterns contained in this zone, to eliminate the variance.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plating technology. More particularly, the invention relates to a method, and an apparatus, for controlling plating so as not to create variance in plating areas when a pattern-providing plating film is formed at a predetermined film thickness on a substrate, a control program and a recording medium that are used for such a control method and apparatus, and a plating method. As the invention can exactly control the plating area, based on such an exactly controlled plating area, the invention can appropriately assist a design change, such as feedback of design change to a designing department of patterns, and preconsideration of production conditions. Therefore, the invention can be used advantageously for producing printed wiring boards, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally speaking, a printed wiring board is produced through a series of steps of boring holes in a substrate comprising a copper-clad laminate board, sequentially applying electroless copper plating and electrolytic copper plating to form a conductor layer having a predetermined thickness on the entire surface of the board, and selectively etching away unnecessary portions of the conductor layer to form wiring or the like in a desired pattern. Because remarkable progress has been made in recent years in the higher density of printed wiring boards and their multi-layered construction and a higher operational speed of devices mounted onto the boards, improvement in and management of plating steps have become very important. For example, it has been desired to provide a plating method capable of easily coping with production of a variety of kinds of products in limited quantities and with frequent design changes. If plating areas have any variance, the plating thickness becomes small or large, so that electrical characteristics are deteriorated and a waste of materials occurs. Therefore, strict management of the plating steps inclusive of the plating area has become necessary.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 56-64493, for example, discloses a production method, for a printed board, which uses a photo-mask to correct a circuit pattern width to cope with variance in the thickness of electric copper plating in an etching step carried out after chemical copper plating and electric copper plating in order to minimize variance in the copper plating thickness. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 1-321308, now U.S. Pat. No. 2,593,690, discloses a plating area measurement apparatus for a printed wiring board characterized in that means, for calculating a pattern area from given pattern data and means for calculating an inner area of each through-hole from boring data and sheet thickness data, calculate a plating area of a printed wiring board so as to omit an expensive and troublesome step that uses a negative film for an optical measuring instrument, when the plating area is measured, to keep the plating thickness constant. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-123298 discloses an electrolytic plating method that determines in advance a relational formula between an electrode potential and a current density and determines, on the other hand, a current value and a potential value when a plating object is polarized in a plating bath, calculates a plating area of a plating object from the relational formula, the current value and the potential value and conducts plating to a predetermined thickness, so as to reduce a variance in a deposition film thickness of a plating metal.
As described above, attempts have already been made to measure and control variance of the plating area to solve the problem of variance of the thickness of the plating film formed on the substrate for forming the pattern in the production of the printed wiring board according to the prior art. However, the prior art plating methods have employed only a method that optically scans the whole surface of one of the surface of the substrate and measures the plating area of the substrate as a whole. Therefore, this method cannot measure and adjust variance of the plating areas between top and back surfaces of the substrate. Thus, this method cannot sufficiently satisfy the recent technical progresses and requirements described above for the following reasons. If the plating area is different between a certain plating region and another when a plating film is considered as a single surface (single body) of the substrate, variance occurs in the plating thickness (when an additive method is used) or in an etching amount (when a subtractive method is used). Further, problems of planarity and warping of the substrate occur. When an insulating film is formed on or below the plating film, control of the film thickness of the insulating film becomes difficult, and insulating defects and connection defects occur due to a flow of the insulating resin.

Designing a plated pattern in printed writing board


An antenna ball identification system comprising first and second outer shells, with each shell having a hollow interior and a substantially planar perimeter edge. Each shell has an interior protrusion disposed inwardly from the perimeter edge which is structured to have a substantially hour glass shaped cavity, with each cavity extending out into the outer perimeter edge. The first shell is hingedly attached to the second shell such that the respective perimeter edges abut each other to form a structure having a substantially solid outer surface. The interior protrusions are positioned such that the cavities are positioned next to each other when the first and second shells are closed, with the cavities forming a hollow receptacle having a neck and extending inwardly from an opening formed by the cavities in the exterior of the structure. The receptacle receives a portion of the antenna rod such that the neck is positioned between the bulbous end of the antenna and the opening such that the structure is engaged to the antenna. A connection structure engages the first shell to the second shell such that the shells are held in a closed position, with the connection structure being integral to the outer shells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to Antenna Devices and more particularly pertains to a new Antenna Ball Identification System for facilitating identification of a particular vehicle within a parking lot by attaching an aerodynamic structure to an antenna rod which includes an indicia to identify the vehicle or to advertise a company.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of Antenna Devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, Antenna Devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art Antenna Devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,964; U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,795; U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,099; U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,624; U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,818 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,372.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new Antenna Ball Identification System. The inventive device includes an encasement structure split into semi-portions, a capturing means secured interiorly of the encasement structure which receives an antenna, a male and female attaching means removably securing the two semi-portions, and at least one indicia for identifying the vehicle or for advertising a particular company.
In these respects, the Antenna Ball Identification System according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of facilitating identification of a particular vehicle within a parking lot by attaching an aerodynamic structure to an antenna rod which includes an indicia to identify the vehicle or to advertise a company.


The invention relates to a control unit for a refrigeration or air conditioning device, comprising a main processor that is situated in a housing and that controls the temperature, fan and/or the defrosting process of a refrigeration or air conditioning device. Contact points for a co-processor, which is separate from the main processor and is suitable for controlling an electronic expansion valve, are located in said housing.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Control devices for air conditioning or refrigeration units are known in the most varied embodiments from the prior art. Simpler air conditioning or refrigeration units are equipped with control devices based on mechanical principles, whereas higher quality air conditioning or refrigeration units frequently have electronic control devices of the aforesaid type in which a microprocessor controls all the control or regulation procedures. In addition to the desired room or cooling temperature, where required, the switching on and off or the speed of a fan as well as the triggering and ending of a defrosting procedure and possibly also even further procedures can be controlled by the microprocessor.
Air conditioning and refrigeration units furthermore generally have a coolant circuit in which a compressor, a liquefier, an expansion valve and an evaporator are arranged sequentially in the direction of flow. For a reliable and efficient operation of the coolant circuit, it must be ensured by a suitable control of the expansion valve that the coolant reaching the evaporator is evaporated as completely as possible in the evaporator. To realize this goal as best as possible, electronically controlled expansion valves are increasingly being used which have some advantages with respect to the precision of the control to be achieved over the otherwise customary thermal expansion valves.
Electronically controlled expansion valves are, however, comparatively expensive and furthermore, unlike thermal expansion valves, require their own electronic overheating control for the processing of sensor signals coming from the coolant circuit. In addition to the additional cost effort for an electronically controlled expansion valve, there is therefore additional effort to be made cost with respect to the electronic overheating control and with respect to the sensor system separately required for the overheating control.

Control device for refrigeration or air conditioning systems


A polyacetal resin composition capable of keeping the generation of formaldehyde from a molded article at a very low level and stably keeping mold deposits at a minimum during molding. The polyacetal resin composition includes at least (A) 100 parts by mass of a polyacetal polymer, (B) 0.01-0.50 parts by mass of an aliphatic carboxylic hydrazide, (C) 0.001-0.50 part by mass of a hydantoin compound having two hydrazinocarbonylalkyl groups, and (D) 0.001-0.30 part by mass of an alkaline earth metal salt of an aliphatic carboxylic acid. The total amount of (B) and (C) is 0.03-0.55 part by mass per 100 parts by mass of the (A) polyacetal polymer.

Polyacetal resins have many excellent properties and molded articles thereof have been utilized in a wide range of fields, but the polyacetal resins have a property of easily decomposing under a heat-oxidative atmosphere, an acidic condition, or an alkaline condition due to their chemical structural characteristics. Therefore, with respect to the polyacetal resins, there has been a desire to increase thermostability and suppress formaldehyde generated during a molding process or from a molded article thereof. Low thermostability causes polymers to decompose when exposed to heat during an extrusion or molding process thereby generating a deposit on a mold (mold deposit) or reducing moldability or a mechanical physical property.
Furthermore, formaldehyde is generated from molded articles of the polyacetal resins in an extremely small amount under ordinary use conditions, but the generated formaldehyde is chemically active and undergoes oxidation to be converted to formic acid, which adversely affects heat resistance of the polyacetal resins. Additionally, when used for components of electrical and electric equipment, formaldehyde or formic acid, which is an oxide of formaldehyde, may corrode metallic contact components or deposits of organic compounds may contribute to discoloration or contact faults.
Therefore, the polyacetal resins have been formulated with antioxidants or other stabilizers for stabilization. The antioxidants known to be added to the polyacetal resins include sterically-hindered phenol compounds (hindered phenols) and sterically-hindered amine compounds (hindered amine), and the other stabilizers such as melamine, polyamide, alkali metal hydroxides, and alkali earth metal hydroxides have been used. Furthermore, the antioxidants are usually used in combination with the other stabilizers.
However, it is difficult to greatly reduce formaldehyde, in particular, formaldehyde generated from the molded articles only by formulating polyacetal resins having an ordinary formaldehyde quality with such all-purpose stabilizers. Moreover, polyacetal resin compositions in which various compounds are formulated have been disclosed in order to solve the above-mentioned problem and reduce the amount of formaldehyde generated.
For example, the technique in which a polyacetal resin having a specific end group, a hindered phenol-based antioxidant, a hydrazide compound, and an isocyanate compound are used in combination with each other has been disclosed (Patent Document 1). Furthermore, the technique in which a hindered phenol-based antioxidant, a hydrazide compound, and an alkaline earth metal salt of a specific carboxylic acid are allowed to coexist has also been disclosed (Patent Document 2).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2009-286874
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-45489

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Proposed is an operation method for seeking a power interruption operation target in which MTBF will become longest. When a target value regarding a power interruption time and a target value regarding a power interruption count per 24 hours is input from an administrator to a management computer, the management computer calculates the MTBF after one year and the annual power consumption for each of the input target values, and, as a power interruption operation target in which the MTBF will become longest in one year, a target value regarding a power interruption time and a target value regarding a power interruption count are respectively selected among multiple target values in which the MTBF will become longest based on each of the calculation results, and displayed on a screen of an output unit.

The present invention generally relates to an operation method of a storage apparatus, a storage apparatus and a storage subsystem, and in particular relates to technology for managing power consumption.
In recent years, as a storage apparatus for storing data in corporations and government offices, a so-called disk array device in which a plurality of hard disk devices are managed and operated in RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) format is being widely used.
Since prices of disk array devices have fallen in recent years, a SATA (Serial AT Attachment) disk that is less expensive than an FC (Fibre Channel) disk is being used as the hard disk device.
Meanwhile, in order to reduce the power consumption of magnetic disk devices, a storage apparatus loaded with a MAID (Massive Array of Inactive Disks) function has been proposed. This storage apparatus monitors the access status from a host system and, when access is not made for a given period of time, turns off the power source of the magnetic disk device or sets it to a power-saving mode (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-79754; Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1 discloses power consumption report technology of computing the power consumption for each storage device group based on the operation result of each storage device group, and outputting the power consumption for each storage device group calculated based on the foregoing computation together with the access status of each logical storage area.
According to the conventional technology described above, since power consumption of each logical storage area can be managed in more detail, it is possible to recognize the relationship between the power consumption and the logical storage area and the relationship between the power consumption and the performance result in order to analyze problems and allow the rearrangement of data.

Storage apparatus for power saving and achieving longest mean time between failures


A table for a drill press that includes a plate for attaching to the column of the drill press, a receptor associated with the plate and providing a well for providing clearance for a sanding cylinder operatively attached to the head of the drill press, a block replaceably disposed at least in the receptor for providing a work surface for resting a workpiece on when the workpiece is being drilled by the drill press or for securing a conventional vise to, and a clamp threadably engaging the cup, and when tightened against the block, maintains the block in the well. The plate has a throughbore that extends centrally therethrough. The receptor is a cup that depends perpendicularly from the throughbore in the plate. The block includes a lower portion that fills the cup, an optional upper portion that rests upon the plate, and an optional throughbore.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a table. More particularly, the present invention relates to a table for a drill press.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for power tool table accessories have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
A first example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,439 to Diggs teaches an improved work-supporting table particularly adapted for shiftable mounting on the support column of a drill press which permits the reciprocable drill bit to cut through the entire thickness of workpiece material supported on the table surface without defacement of the latter irrespective of the drill bit position relative to the table. An arcuate groove in the table surface directly below the drill bit extends parallel to the swinging path of travel of the table relative to the drill bit and provides clearance for the bit when the latter is reciprocably advanced to the table surface. The recessed surface of the groove is covered by a strip of hardened material which is resistant to the cutting action of the drill bit thereby protecting the groove against inadvertent defacement by engagement with the bit. The groove is further provided with a T-shaped cross section to permit coupling with various workpiece holding means for clamping the workpiece material against the table surface in response to selective operation of a biasing mechanism.
A second example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,308 to Disston Jr. et al. teaches a work hold-down for use with a drill press and like machine tools including a sleeve loosely slidable along a column and contractible for clamping to the column, an arm extending from the sleeve over a work table, and a presser depending from the arm remote from the sleeve for downward pressing engagement for a work piece on the table when the sleeve is contracted.
A third example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,980 to Bartlett et al. teaches a table assembly for a multipurpose tool that is used in a combination with a tool of the type having a frame, a pair of parallel way tubes mounted on the frame, a headstock mounted on the frame having a motor driven spindle, and releasable pivots which allow the way tubes to be pivoted about their ends to a substantially vertical positions. The table assembly includes a table top, a pivot mounted beneath the table top, a pair of support legs having racks on opposite sides thereof and attached to the pivot, and a carriage, mounted on the way tubes, having channels to receive the support legs. A pair of pinion gears are positioned within the channels to mesh with the racks and are driven by a crank having a locking mechanism so that the table can be displaced relative to the carriage. The table top can be pivoted to a position so that it is perpendicular to and faces an axis of the output spindle in a drill press mode, or the support legs can be removed from the channels in the carriage, and the table and support legs reversed in position relative to the carriage so that the table faces away from the spindle in an under-the-table shaper mode.
A fourth example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,167 to Chen teaches a table fence assembly that comprises a rear fence, a front, and a plurality of locking bolts and locking nuts The rear fence has an L-shaped cross section that includes a horizontal section and a vertical section. The sections are each provided with an elongated hole. The front face also has an L-shaped cross section that defines a connecting section and a supporting section. The supporting section is provided with an opening for applying a fastener thereto.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for power tool table accessories have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a table for a drill press that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a table for a drill press that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a table for a drill press that is simple to use.
Briefly stated, still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a table for a drill press that includes a plate for attaching to the column of the drill press, a receptor associated with the plate and providing a well for providing clearance for a sanding cylinder operatively attached to the head of the drill press, a block replaceably disposed at least in the receptor for providing a work surface for resting a workpiece on when the workpiece is being drilled by the drill press or for securing a conventional vise to, and a clamp threadably engaging the cup, and when tightened against the block, maintains the block in the well. The plate has a throughbore that extends centrally therethrough. The receptor is a cup that depends perpendicularly from the throughbore in the plate. The block includes a lower portion that fills the cup, an optional upper portion that rests upon the plate, and an optional throughbore.
The novel features which are considered characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawing.


A method of forming a semiconductor memory device includes sequentially forming an etch stop layer and then a mold layer, forming a plurality of line-shaped support structures and a first sacrificial layer filling gaps between the support structures on the mold layer, sequentially forming a plurality of line-shaped first mask patterns, a second sacrificial layer, and then second mask patterns on the support structures and on the first sacrificial layer, removing the second sacrificial layer, the first sacrificial layer, and the mold layer using the first mask patterns, the second mask patterns, and the support structures as masks, removing the first mask patterns and second mask patterns, filling the storage node electrode holes with a conductive material and etching back the conductive material to expose the support structures, and removing the first sacrificial layer and the mold layer to form pillar-type storage node electrodes supported by the support structures.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a method of forming a capacitor of a semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the capacity and integration density of semiconductor memory devices increase, not only the size of memory cells, but also an area occupied by a cell capacitor in a memory cell, sharply decreases. To maximize the capacitance of a cell capacitor in a memory cell with a limited small area, a three-dimensional structure, e.g., a cylindrical structure, may be adopted to increase an area of an electrode.

Method of forming capacitor of semiconductor memory device


An integrated light-emitting diode (LED) indicator display assembly having a carrier plate including a plurality of LED mounting steps. Electrical contact leads for LEDs carried on the mounting steps extend through openings in the mounting steps and out the bottom side of the carrier plate for engaging a metal fret to power the LED array. Preferably, a vibration dampening member is positioned between the LED and the LED mounting step, and a protective covering is applied over the metal fret along the bottom side of the carrier plate to enclose the metal fret and secures the metal fret in place.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to exterior vehicle rearview mirrors, and more particularly, to an integrated light-emitting diode (LED) indicator display assembly, such as a turn signal, that displays through the reflective mirrored surface for signaling adjacent vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Light-emitting diodes (LED) are commonly found in a variety of automotive lighting applications, from interior illumination to exterior signaling purposes. More recently, LEDs have been incorporated into exterior vehicle rearview mirrors to provide signaling capabilities to adjacent vehicles, as well as to back light various indicia to inform the vehicle driver about a particular condition, such as a proximity detector or like display.
As the brightness of LEDs has increased, it has become important to arrange the LEDs so as to avoid glaring the driver with light emitted from the vehicle's mirrors. The prior art is replete with various light control mechanisms, such as light control films, prisms, and slotted inserts for directing light away from the driver to avoid glare. While some of these applications are effective, they add complexity to the mirror assembly and increase the cost and time of production.
When multiple LEDs are arranged to provide an indicator display such as a turn signal, they are usually attached to silicone circuit board to power the LEDs. Each LED must be individually soldered to the board, which increases the complexity, cost and time of construction. Other LED arrangements which use stamped metal frets also require the LEDs to be individually attached to the fret, making this method equally as expensive and time consuming to manufacture.
Further, because the vehicle mirror assemblies are constantly subject to vibration, LEDs can be jarred loose from the support base. Also, the vibration can also lead to the position of the LEDs shifting, thus causing the light to be redirected in an undesirable direction.
Additionally, in an effort to save costs and reduce construction complexity, LED displays are typically left exposed on the interior of mirror housing. When moisture enters the mirror housing, the exposed components of the LED display are subject to damage and premature failure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple cost effective LED signal display assembly for an exterior vehicle mirror that resolves the problems noted above with the prior art.

Indicator display assembly for a vehicle rearview mirror