A water purification and softening system includes a water softening system, connected to a water supply, a temperature stabilization unit, connected to the water softening system, and a dispenser, connected to the temperature stabilization unit. The temperature stabilization unit is configured to adjust a temperature of the softened water to a range of 32° F. to 65° F., and the dispenser is configured to dispense the water. The water can also be carbonated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to water supplies for the food and beverage service industry. More particularly, the present system and method provides a softened water product that can be carbonated and dispensed through a beverage dispenser, such as a soda fountain.
2. Related Art
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In the food service, hospitality and related industries, a variety of water treatment and filtration systems have been developed and employed for many years. Companies such as U.S. Filter and Culligan have been leaders in the market for water filtration systems. For example, Culligan developed the Everpure® Water Filter System which is now used by Coca Cola® for their fountain beverage systems.
One aspect of water treatment that has gained much attention in recent years is water softening. Water softening removes minerals from water, and thus by itself provides a certain type of water purification. It is well known that soft water helps to reduce scale and mineral buildup in plumbing fixtures, pipes and appliances, for example, and is advantageous for use with soaps and detergents. However, soft water is generally not used for cooking or drinking purposes, and, more particularly, is not used for carbonated beverages for two primary reasons: (1) poor taste due to salt contamination, and (2) soft water is believed not to carbonate acceptably, predictably, or stably. For example, one leading manufacturer of carbonators and soda fountain dispensing machines specifically states in its carbonator manual that soft water is not acceptable for use in a fountain drink machine because it causes over-foaming of the beverage.
It is desirable to have consistent output quality in food and beverage water dispensing systems. Unfortunately, poorly designed and inefficient plumbing systems can hinder this objective and hinder the delivery of consistent quality water. For example, backflow from hot water heaters can introduce undesirable taste and smell into the feed water supply and compromise product quality. The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the above-mentioned issues.

Water purification and softening system and method for beverage dispenser


Representative embodiments disclose intelligent help systems that monitor user interactions through email, digital assistants, and other applications and recognize when a user can utilize the help of an expert with a task. The system detects user intent and a category of problem from the interactions (i.e., email communications, etc.) and searches a database of user profiles to find experts with the proper expertise to help the user with the category of problem. User intent can be detected by parsing communications, extracting features from the communications, and using the extracted features to identify intent, such as through matching or machine learning. A social score and an expertise score are calculated for expert profiles from the database. The social score is based on a degree of separation and expert and the expertise score is based on a level of expertise. Experts and areas of commonality are presented to the user.

Digital assistants have been making inroads in various aspects of people's lives. The purpose of these digital assistants is to make the life of the user easier by automating and performing various tasks on behalf of the user. However, there are numerous situations where the user could utilize help of an expert, but either do not know that such an expert exists or do not know how to approach them.
It is within this context that the present disclosure arises.


A light fixture assembly includes a housing having an interior surface, a ballast mounted on the interior surface of the housing, a first reflector releasably coupled to the interior surface of the housing, the ballast being substantially enclosed between the housing and the first reflector when the first reflector is in a first, closed position and being exposed when the first reflector is in a second, open position spaced from at least a portion of the interior surface, a lens releasably coupled to the housing, the first reflector being substantially enclosed between the lens and the housing when the lens is in a first, closed position and substantially exposed when the lens is in a second, open position. This construction provides relatively easy and quick access to the ballast for replacement and from below the fixture if it is mounted in or on the ceiling.

Numerous lighting fixtures for directly illuminating areas are known. A common lighting assembly used in ceilings of commercial buildings includes a troffer with one or more downwardly-facing fluorescent lamps mounted therein. The lighting fixture can have a removable grid or reflector attached to the housing to allow access to the lamps for replacement. The reflectors are generally mounted to the housing. Other forms of lighting assemblies include a hinged or removable cover and a lens and reflector that cooperate with the lamps. The lamps are positioned inside the lens and the reflector is spaced from the lens to direct the light to preselected areas to be illuminated.
Common light fixtures using fluorescent lamps also include an electrical ballast to adjust the current to the lamps. A ballast has a limited life and must be replaced after failure. Often, light fixtures must be partially disassembled, removing pieces of the cover and housing, to access the ballast for replacement. Other light fixtures require a repair person to access the troffer from above the ceiling, maintaining the positions of the reflectors and lens, to replace the ballast. These methods of replacing the ballast are labor intensive, requiring a repair person to gain access to the troffer through the ceiling or requiring disassembling portions of the troffer, making multiple trips from the ceiling where the troffer is mounted, to the floor or nearby repair area.
Examples of these prior troffers and light fixtures are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,466 to Belise et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,424 to Kotloff, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, there is a continuing need to provide improved access for replacement of electrical ballasts.

Light fixture assembly with pivoting reflector assembly and lens assembly


An urea injection control system for an internal combustion engine, specifically adapted to apply a scheme for decreasing a NOx level downstream of a selective catalytic reduction catalyst of an ICE related exhaust gas aftertreatment system. The present disclosure also relates to a corresponding computer implemented method and a computer program product.

There is an ongoing development for reducing emissions in a vehicle, such as a truck, comprising a diesel-based combustion engine. A diesel engine has an efficiency of up to about 52% and is thus the best converter of fossil energy. The high efficiency is however only possible at an elevated combustion temperature at which high levels of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are inevitable. The NOx emission concentration is in turn is dependent on local oxygen atom concentration and the local temperature.
Furthermore, a suppression of NOx formation by internal means (air/fuel ratio) has the tendency to cause an increase in particulates, known as the NOx-particulates trade off. Furthermore, an excess of oxygen in the exhaust gas from a diesel engine prevents the use of stoichiometric 3-way-catalyst technology for reduction of NOx as is used in gasoline engine cars from the late 80-ties. Accordingly, reducing (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) in exhaust gases from a diesel engine has become a very important problem in view of the protection of environment and the saving of finite fossil energy supply.
Current legal emission requirements generally dictate emission control, whereby exhaust gas aftertreatment systems (EATS) are necessary. Usually, such an EATS comprises a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) for oxidizing nitrogen monoxide (NO) to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a particulate filter and a unit for reducing NOx emissions. The EATS functions as soon as exhaust gas temperatures are around 200°-250° deg. C. However, ensuring that the EATS functions in an optimal manner is complicated and it is problematic to ensure that only a minimal level NOx is released into the environment.
A proposed solution to this problem is presented in US2016201535, specifically suggesting the introduction of adaptive calibration of the SCR. The adaptive calibration performed on the SCR device includes a comparison of a NOx conversion desired from the SCR device with an actual NOx conversion of the SCR device measured from inputs from a NOx sensor disposed upstream of the SCR device and a NOx sensor disposed downstream of the SCR device, for the given operating condition of the engine.
Even though US2016201535 improves the overall operation of the vehicle's aftertreatment device, there appears to be room for further improvements, specifically taking into account what type of means to apply for ensuring efficient operation of the vehicle.

Urea injection control system for an internal combustion engine


A method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor laser element having a nitride semiconductor layer including at least an active layer provided on a substrate, a pair of cavity planes formed on the nitride semiconductor layer, and a protruding part where part of the substrate protrudes from said cavity plane, said method comprises: a step of forming the nitride semiconductor layer on the substrate; a first etching step of forming a first groove by etching at least the nitride semiconductor layer; and a second etching step of forming the cavity plane, in the second etching step, the inner wall of the first groove and part of the nitride semiconductor layer surface adjacent to the first groove are etched to form a second groove, and form the upper face of the protruding part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor laser element, and more particularly relates to a method for manufacturing a cavity plane for a nitride semiconductor laser element.
2. Background Information
Cleavage, etching, and various other methods have been employed in the past to form a cavity plane for a nitride semiconductor laser element. Of these, forming a cavity plane by dry etching allows just the cavity plane part of the nitride semiconductor layer to be formed by etching, without etching all the way down to the lower part of the nitride semiconductor layer that makes up the laser element and the substrate on which this nitride semiconductor layer is laminated. Therefore, a plane protective film can be formed in wafer units, so the process is simplified, the advantage to which is lower cost, compared to a method in which the substrate and the nitride semiconductor layer formed on the substrate are split in the shape of a bar and a protective film for the cavity plane is formed in bar units to form a cavity plane by cleavage (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H9-223844 and WO2002/103865).
However, when a cavity plane is formed by etching after a nitride semiconductor layer has been laminated on a substrate, a terrace-like horizontal face may be formed between the cavity plane and the element separation face after the element has been separated. This terrace-like horizontal face can block the light of the laser beam from the emitting plane part of the cavity plane, or reflect this light, etc., resulting in disturbance of the far field pattern.
Method that have been proposed to prevent this disturbance of the field image, and with which the formation of a terrace-like horizontal face is minimized, include a method in which a cavity plane is first formed, and then a V-shaped auxiliary groove is formed for substrate division (such as Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H1-120885), a method in which a semiconductor layer is laminated on a substrate, an electrode is produced over an active layer, and then an element separation groove is formed, after which a cavity plane is produced by etching, and a method in which this element division groove is formed so that the angle formed between the groove face and the substrate face is an acute angle at an light emission-side plane (such as Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-106470).
However, with a method in which a V-shaped auxiliary groove is formed after the formation of the cavity plane, because the V-shaped auxiliary groove is V-shaped, the cavity plane has to be protected with a resist or other such protective film during this V groove formation. However, if the cavity plane is protected by covering it with a resist or the like, the thickness of this protective film will result that a distance will be opened up between the cavity plane and the auxiliary groove after etching due to the protective film becoming a mask, and this ends up being a problem in that a terrace-like horizontal face is formed between the cavity plane and the element separation face.
Even when the cavity plane is etched after the element separation groove has been formed, alignment of the cavity plane mask is necessary, and a terrace-like horizontal face is formed at the margin thereof.
Furthermore, when an element separation groove is formed by dicing or the like, a problem is that the nitride semiconductor layer is susceptible to damage.
When this element separation groove is formed such that the angle formed between the groove face and the substrate face is an acute angle, not only is it difficult to dice diagonally with good precision, but also it is difficult to form the grooves equidistantly spaced, so this approach is believed to be inefficient. Furthermore, with a completed element, since the substrate is removed from under the emission-side cavity plane, which is where heat is most likely to build up, another problem is that heat dissipation is worse.

Method for manufacturing nitride semiconductor laser element


A system includes a library of elements to create a model describing a waveform parameter technique. A constraint checker verifies that the created model is correct by construction by needing no verification after compilation. The constraint checker also implements a valid programmable device build according to the waveform parameter technique. A placement decision module receives the verified models produces a placement decision for placing the waveform parameter technique based on the verified model in a programmable device. A synthesis tool receives the verified model from the placement decision module and synthesizes the waveform parameter technique based on the verified model. A link/loader receives the placement decision from the placement decision module and receives the synthesized technique from the synthesis tool. The link/loader also places the waveform parameter technique in the programmable device according to the placement decision.

In currently existing software defined radio (ES) product roadmaps, hardware is reconfigured, e.g. a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, into circuits used to generate and receive waveforms. This may be accomplished before compiling. Often, there are more waveform circuits that may be used for a given mission than can fit in the given reconfigurable hardware. Further, during a campaign, new capabilities may be used and the ability to update a technique generator, where a technique defines a waveform with frequency, phase, and amplitude parameters as a function of time to add and remove capabilities may be performed. The hardware may be dynamically reconfigured to "swap" out waveform circuits during run-time.
Currently, waveform technique development takes weeks to months, wherein verification alone can take weeks. This is because techniques are currently monolithic and are not designed as independently operating modules where multiple techniques access the same resources. Moreover, there are occasionally more waveform circuits that may be used for a given mission than can fit in the given reconfigurable hardware.
Many methods exist that provide for partial reconfiguration approaches as well as dynamic, e.g., during runtime, reconfiguration approaches. Other dynamic reconfiguration approaches exhaustively compile a new version of a technique for each possible location the technique would be used on a FPGA. Still other dynamic reconfiguration approaches are verified such that the FPGA build is verified for the possible permutations,

Runtime creation, assignment, deployment and updating of arbitrary radio waveform techniques for a radio waveform generation device


A photographic camera uses photographic film of the type having a magnetic recording layer. The camera includes a piezoelectric film drive for advancing the film in the camera in periodic steps; and a magnetic recording subsystem for writing information on the magnetic recording layer of the film during film advance, the magnetic recording subsystem being synchronized with the periodic steps of the piezoelectric film drive.

Recently, photographic cameras employing film having a magnetic recording layer for recording information relating to photographic taking conditions, identification of the photographer, etc., have been introduced to the marketplace under the name of Advanced Photographic System (APS). See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,745 issued Jul. 14, 1992 to Cloutier et al. One frequently encountered problem in such cameras is the reliability of the magnetic recording of information on the film in the camera. One approach is to translate a recording head relative to the film, while the film is stationary in the camera. This approach has the drawback of requiring additional apparatus in the camera. The other, and most commonly used approach is to employ a stationary recording head to record on the film while the film is being advanced in the camera. This approach requires some means for synchronizing the recording with the motion of the film advance system. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,455 issued Dec. 12, 1995 to Hibino et al., where the film speed encoder is employed to generate a serial data clock for synchronizing the recording of magnetic data on the film. The film speed encoders that are presently employed in APS cameras such as the Kodak model APS3600 camera monitor the passage of the film perforations for determining the film speed. Since there are only two perforations per film frame, this technique is not as reliable as would be desired. To increase the reliability of the recording, the information is recorded a minimum of three times in such cameras. There is a need therefore for an improved method and apparatus for synchronizing the recording of magnetic information with film advance in APS cameras.

Photographic camera having magnetic recording synchronous with piezoelectric drive


Surgical probe for use in minimally invasive surgery. The probe includes an elastic membrane tip portion which deforms upon contact with an object. The elastic membrane forms an enclosure containing fluid and an inside surface of the membrane includes a plurality of visible markings such as dots. A CCD camera forms an image of the dots and the image of the dots or a representation of the image of the dots is displayed on a video monitor. The probe also includes an ultrasound transducer which responds to frequency shifts to indicate motion of an object reflecting ultrasound energy. A speaker generates sounds related to the frequency shift as an indication of motion. The probe thus provides information about the surface of an object encountered during a minimally invasive procedure and also about motion of structures within the body.

This invention relates to a surgical probe and more particularly to a surgical probe for the detection of embedded anatomical structures and pulsing blood vessels.
Historically, surgery has been a physically traumatic experience. Surgical techniques often involved large incisions in the body to allow the surgeon both to see and feel organs and tissues that were being removed or repaired. While medicine in general has flourished in the 20th Century with innovations such as penicillin and x-ray machines, surgery has not progressed technologically nearly so quickly as other fields of medicine. Until the early 1980's the most significant surgical advance had been the invention of general anesthesia in 1846.
The early 1980's began what has become a revolution in surgery called minimally invasive surgery (MIS). This revolution in surgery in turn resulted in large measure from the development of imaging techniques employing cameras with charge coupled devices (CCD) as the image capturing element. CCD elements are very small (3.4 mm by 6 mm is standard) and can be used to make tiny cameras because they allow the image to be digitized at the camera lens but processed by electronics which may be separated from the camera itself.
In minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon makes several small (1-2 cm) incisions in the body and uses long, slender tools such as endoscopic forceps and scalpels, inserted through small incisions, to manipulate tissue inside the body. The surgeon watches what he or she is doing on a video monitor. The image on the monitor is generated by an endoscope, a long slender camera/lens system typically 10 mm in diameter, which is inserted through one of the incisions.
Minimally invasive surgery reduces trauma to the patient, greatly reduces patient recovery time and leaves very little scarring. The first procedure routinely performed by minimally invasive surgery was removal of the gall bladder. This procedure is known as cholecystectomy.
Despite the great medical promise of minimally invasive surgery, the technique is still in its infancy due in large measure to the fact that the surgeon has virtually no sense of touch during such procedures. Instead, the surgeon must rely purely on visual feedback from the endoscope to ensure that he or she is performing the tasks properly. For most procedures, tactile feedback is crucial in order to manipulate properly delicate body tissues and to diagnose correctly the state of disease. Further, surgeons must take great care during minimally invasive procedures not to puncture accidentally an embedded blood vessel that is not visible in the endoscope image. Tumors are also difficult to locate visually during minimally invasive surgery.
The lack of tactile feedback is a great disadvantage in the case of cholecystectomy. The gall bladder is removed usually because the bile ducts have been blocked by stones that often develop in elderly patients at the junction between the gall bladder and the cystic duct. Because the cystic duct and cystic artery are often directly next to each other, they may be indistinguishable by visual observation provided by an endoscope. Surgical complications often result and a significant number of laproscopic cholecystectomies are converted to open cholecystectomy in order to give the surgeon a better visual field.
Modem surgical instruments for minimally invasive surgery include high resolution endoscopic camera systems and high quality endoscopes for imaging during the procedure. The tools most frequently used by surgeons are the endoscopic scalpel, forceps, and grasps. Although some tactile array sensors have been adapted to surgical probes, they are not routinely used in surgery. This lack of routine use may be due to their rigid structure that does not lend itself well to tactile sensing of curved geometries such as human organs.
Surgeons have also used invasive Doppler probes in heart studies and in invasive imaging techniques. Such pulsed Doppler systems are electronically complex because they rely on precisely timed circuitry to parse the incoming and outgoing signals. Simpler ultrasonic devices are known for detecting flow. Such devices use the Doppler effect with a continuous wave ultrasonic signal. Such devices have been used to determine information on blood flow in surface arteries.
Currently, there are no devices known to the inventors that can detect motion or flow so as to localize pulsing blood vessels and also provide a representation of the shape of an object within the body.

Surgical probe comprising visible markings on an elastic membrane

President and Fellows of Harvard College


A device to be used as part of a new or existing rain gutter system, positioned between and joining an open-end gutter and the downspout, that utilizes the movement of flowing rain water to keep the system open and draining by floating and pushing nuisance debris to and out the low open end on to the invention. Removal of the low point end stop and repositioning the downspout connector eliminates the primary causes of pooling and build up of debris. Very steep smooth parallel bars, covering the top of a trough-shaped collector box. receive the effluence and separate the solids from the liquid, as the solids slide down and off the end while the liquids fall between the bars into the collector box for passage to the downspout connected at the bottom. The device enables the gutters to discharge at speeds and volumes consistent with collection minimizing the possibility of spillage while, at the same time, keeping the system open and flowing without the need for frequent hand cleaning. A versatile connector-adaptor enables connections to selected rectangular and round downspout pipe, rotating to accommodate the attitude of the pipe.

The invention presented relates to the general field of rain gutters as attached to a structure for collection and proper disposal of rain water. More specifically, it relates to removal of unwanted solid debris such as leaves, twigs, and bark that accumulate at downspout openings causing stoppage and spillage of water.
Improper care in disposal or dispersion of drainage water can result in erosion of soil and serious damage to land and property. This is particularly true of rain water, as it appears to be falling harmlessly off the edges of roofs. The continued seepage of rain water through the porous soil around and under a structure results in such erosion. This erosion will eventually undermine the foundation causing cracks and ensuing damage.
To control this problem, rain gutters are installed on most structures to carry away the run-off from the roof. These gutters are pitched at a slight downward angle allowing the water to be channelled to the low point where it is discharged through an opening in the bottom. The water exits through this opening into a pipe called a downspout, and it continues to flow through this pipe to a sewer or other means of dispersion on the ground away from the building foundation.
As long as the system remains open and flowing, the water is harmlessly disposed. Interruptions to this free-flow do occur, however, caused by the collection of leaves, twigs, bark, and other undesired debris along with the water. The debris can move with the water to the openings, and these openings are smaller than the gutter, causing restrictions. At these points solids in the effluence accumulate building up with each new rainfall until clogging occurs. The stoppage can take place at the opening in the gutter or in the downspout pipe. Ensuing rain can cause a pooling of water, and the gutters fill to capacity until spillage occurs over the sides contributing to the possible erosion of the foundation of the structure. This accumulation of water puts a heavy load on the gutter supports. This load can cause bending and sagging resulting in the loss of proper drainage angle of flow, often permanently. To keep the gutters open, the property owner must clean them frequently or use some method of preventing the accumulation of such debris. Since cleaning can be dangerous and distasteful, or costly, many products have been advanced to assist in attempting to keep gutters open and flowing.
These products can be divided into four different categories:
1. The first is devoted to preventing debris from entering the gutters.
2. The second is devoted to preventing debris already in the gutters from entering the downspout.
3. The third is designed to separate and eject debris after it has passed through the downspout connector.
4. A fourth method advanced allows debris and water to fall through an opening in the bottom of the gutter onto a collector positioned below the opening designed to screen out the solids.
Category No. 1
It appears that one of the earliest methods of preventing debris from entering the gutters was a screen over the top, completely around the structure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,053,393 September 1962 McLean was awarded for a gutter cover made of sheet metal with round perforated holes keeping the debris out while allowing the water to enter. From this many new screens have been fashioned incorporating expanded metal and hardware cloth, as well as other straining materials. Of late, screens have been made from both flexible and rigid plastic with varied openings. A problem with mesh screens is its propensity to snag leaf stems and other erose points. This snagging holds the leaves in accumulated layers blocking the water from entering, causing spillage over the edge. The leaves are also held until they dry, becoming brittle. The dried leaves break off, and a part falls into the gutter. This accumulation and build-up must be removed to prevent blockage. Cleaning under the screens makes a distasteful task more unpleasant. Some screens are now made with hinges to facilitate cleaning.
An additional method of shielding the gutters from receiving debris is a cover made from metal or plastic without perforation. The solid cover extends over the top of the gutters at a downward angle allowing the water and debris to slide over the side. The debris is free to fall, but a rounded outer edge on the shield causes the water to cling by surface tension until it can fall through a narrow opening into the gutter. The narrow opening keeps most of the unwanted solids out, but many of these products are equipped with hinges for cleaning the accumulation that does occur. During heavy rain when sudden surges of rain overcome the capacity of surface tension, spillage can be experienced.
Category No. 2
The second general method of preventing interruption of water flow is to attempt to screen the downspout opening from debris that has already entered the gutters. U.S. Pat. No. 2,210,248 August 1940 Lighthill was awarded for a device with closely spaced xe2x80x9cfingersxe2x80x9d to be placed in the gutter over the downspout opening. A derivation of this idea is now in widespread use made from wire or mesh in the form of a pear that is placed in the downspout connector at the gutter level. This is designed to hold back the solids in the gutter while letting the water pass through. Other screening devices include boxes with removable screens for cleaning. U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,635 April 1992 Carpenter was awarded for a device that channels the effluence through a cloth sock that retains the solids while letting the liquid pass through the interstices of the cloth.
Since these types of devices are fashioned to retain and accumulate the debris in the gutter, they can do more to aggravate the problem than to relieve it. The property owner is still confronted with the task of frequent gutter cleaning or its harmful alternative.
Category No. 3
A third method of solving the flowage problem is to permit the water and solids to pass down through the downspout connector, or in some cases into the downspout, where a separator is positioned. The debris is separated by a strainer and allowed to slide out the side while the water passes down through the openings in the strainer into the downspout. U.S. Pat. No. 2,090,997 August 1937 French was awarded for a device called a xe2x80x9crefuse eliminatorxe2x80x9d to be placed in the downspout to strain out and eject solids while letting the water fall through. At later dates, U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,274 September 1984 Williams and U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,377 January 1989 Bolt were awarded for similar devices to be installed at the top of the downspout and below the downspout connector to screen solids from the effluence, ejecting them out an opening in the side while letting the water pass through into the downspout. The downspout connector is located at the bottom of the gutter, and is limited in opening size to the dimensions of the gutter. Consequently, only solids that are able to pass through the small opening can reach the strainer, and all other debris remains and gathers in the gutters. This remaining material must be removed by hand at uncertain intervals to prevent accumulation and clogging.
Category No. 4
Two devices have been awarded patents that are similar in design. The principle employed is to allow the effluence to fall through an opening in the bottom of the gutter onto a collector box equipped with a straining system that strains out the solids while allowing the liquid to pass through into the downspout. U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,153 October 1986 Carey allows the effluence to fall onto a solid, slightly curved, surface encouraging the outflow to slide off the side. Surface tension is used to direct the water into slits on two opposite vertical sides while the solids are free to fall clear. The efficiency of the device for collection of water is questioned. The free-fall exposure to the wind opens the possibility that much of the flow could be blown clear of the collector. It is also probable that splashing on the surface of the collector could cause a portion of the water to be lost over the side. In addition, sudden heavy rain could overcome the surface tension on the vertical sides allowing a portion of the water to fall clear of the slits.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,612 June 1996 Wade is designed to allow the effluence to fall through an opening in the bottom of the gutter onto a collector positioned below. The collector is made with a series of three mesh strainers on the top and positioned to slope downward at an angle of between 20xc2x0 and 45xc2x0 from horizontal. The top mesh screen is spaced to provide openings of 5 mmxc3x975 mm to intercept larger solids, and the secondary screens are spaced to provide openings of 0.09 mmxc3x970.09 mm to screen out small particles.
The efficiency of the water collection is questioned. The opening at the bottom of the gutter is made with a downward wind deflector called a xe2x80x9cpopxe2x80x9d to shield the effluence during part of the free-fall. Since the downward projection extends only part of the distance to the strainer, the fall is still subjected to winds and splashing. The upper mesh screen positioned at an angle of between 20xc2x0 and 45xc2x0 from horizontal (a mean angle of 32xc2xdxc2x0) offers a high possibility of snagging leaf stems and other erose debris.
Experiments on the device that is the subject of this patent request (OGS) have shown that such a screen has the propensity to snag and hold passing leaves causing ensuing solids to build up. This build-up blocks portions of the screen causing splashing and spillage over the sides. Unless cleaned, the dried leaves break off and accumulate until blockage occurs. (The experiment is explained in a following section.)
It has been related above that, to date, in attempt to keep gutters open and flowing, devices have been advanced that either restrict the collection capability of the gutters, restrict the discharge capacity of the downspouts, or do not maintain control of the effluence through the entire discharge process. Although the experience of the inventor at his own house is similar to that of most property owners, it is mentioned at this point as additional background material. When purchased, the house was equipped with mesh strainers covering the entire gutter system. Constant spillage over the sides, as a result of clogging and excess collection, caused the inventor to discard the strainers after about three years. Downspout screens were retained at each downspout drop making the gutters much easier to dean, but the clogging and spillage continued. After many years of living with these conditions, the problem was diagnosed as a combination of the following conditions:
1. Open-top gutters, draining the entire roof area, have a collection capacity far greater than the capacity of the downspouts assigned to the task of discharging the effluence unless the water can flow rapidly through the downspout at volumes consistent with intake.
2. The rainwater, carrying the debris along, flows to the low end and accumulates, stopped by the end-stop and awaiting the downspout to permit sufficient drainage to clear the gutter. Without water movement the solid debris stays in place and is compacted by ensuing clutter and turns putrid.
3. The opening for the downspout connector is limited in size, and is capable of passing only those solids small enough to fit. Larger solids remain in the gutter near the downspout opening accumulating more debris with each rainfall until the opening eventually becomes clogged. This shuts down the drainage, but the gutters remain open, filling to capacity until spillage occurs.
Using this prior experience as a means of avoiding similar problems, a new device is proposed that keeps gutters open to accept maximum collection capacities, downspouts that are effectively free from impingement, keeping discharge at maximum levels, and a controlled flow of discharge from roof to disposal, free from winds and splashing. This product is named Open Gutter Strainer (OGS), and it is presented in detail herein.
Product Development and Testing
Gutters, open on top, are free to accept the off-fall at full capacity, but to eliminate the accumulation of solid debris carried to the low end by the water flow, the drainage must be capable of discharging effluence in comparable volumes and without restriction. Two such restrictions are the end-stop and the smaller downspout connector opening, and they should be removed.
The background and prior art provided the criterion to create a new device that can keep the gutters open and flowing and enable the system to function at full capacity. All impediments to receiving or discharging the effluence must be eliminated.
The device needed at the end of the open gutter must be both a collector and a strainer to separate the solids while capturing the liquids for proper disposal. Therefore, an elongated collector box was designed to collect and strain the effluence, ejecting the solids while permitting the liquids to flow through the strainer into the collector box and then to the downspout connected to the bottom. The requirements of the collector box were:
1. It must be large enough to catch the effluence exiting from the open gutter.
2. It must contain a screen of some sort to separate the solids from the liquid.
3. It must be mounted at a steep angle to enable the solid debris to slide off the end.
4. It must be capable of connection to new or existing downspouts.
Tests were needed, and to create assimilated house conditions, gutters were temporarily erected and positioned for testing. Old rotting leaves and a hose as the source of water were selected for the test material. Screen material such as expanded metal and hardware cloth were initially selected for testing. The opening sizes in the hardware cloth were xe2x85x9xe2x80x3, xc2xcxe2x80x3, and xc2xdxe2x80x3. Each was tested at angles between 30xc2x0 and 60xc2x0 downward from horizontal. The xc2xcxe2x80x3 and the xc2xdxe2x80x3 snagged the stems and points of the leaves causing a build up of the ensuing effluence, blocking the liquid from entering the collector box and causing spillage. At shallow angles, the solids would not move regardless of greatly increased volume of water and water pressure. At the steep angle of 60xc2x0 down from horizontal, the leaves could be moved with heavy volume of water, but most of the liquid spilled out the end. Comparable results were experienced with the use of expanded metal with an opening size of xc2xcxe2x80x3. The xe2x85x9xe2x80x3 material was free from snagging, but the small openings were closed over by the surface tension of the water, and almost all the liquid was spilled.
A different type of strainer was needed, and a strainer of closely spaced parallel bars seemed most likely to avoid the snagging problem. Smooth parallel bars were introduced into the testing procedure, and the results proved to be very favorable. The snagging was eliminated. The size, spacing, and the angle of installation were determined by trial and error. Repeated testing confirmed successful results.
At that point the testing moved to actual conditions. Hand made units were produced and installed on the inventor""s house, and these devices have been in test under actual weather conditions for more than a year. The gutters were cleaned prior to the installation, and they have not been cleaned since. To date, the gutters have remained open and flowing. During this period the gutters have been flushed completely clean on several occasions by heavy rains. At the end of the winter, the encrusted solids were also flushed clean by the melting ice and snow.
This invention consists of a device that creates a new and improved method of channelling rainfall through the existing rain gutter and downspout system in wide use around the world. To prevent erosion under structures, the water must be contained and controlled from the collection by the gutters through the disposal by the downspout drainage pipes. Spillage caused by impingement, blockage due to collected debris, or wind spray must be eliminated, and this new device can accomplish these objectives without the bother or cost of frequent gutter cleaning.
The use of the the OGS in the rain gutter system enables the system to be altered by elimination of the two primary causes of impingement and blockage, the end-stops at the low ends and the downspout connector openings at the bottom of the gutter. This permits free flow of discharge out the end of the open gutters. The OGS mounted at the end of the open gutter receives the effluence and discharges the solids while collecting the liquids for passage to the downspout that is connected at the bottom of the collector box. The free-flow permits the gutter to drain at a rate of speed and in volumes consistent with collection greatly minimizing any opportunity for spillage. The OGS can be used in both new installations and in existing gutter systems, and because of its versatile connector-adaptor it can connect with round or rectangular downspouts in current use. The potential for immediate use of this new in-line collector-strainer represents a very large market which is readily available. The OGS is an inexpensive solution to an old and troublesome problem.
The OGS is comprised of parts which are described and function as follows:
1. The COLLECTOR BOX is an elongated box open on top. It is about 18xe2x80x3 in length with bottom and sides about 5xc2xdxe2x80x3 wide at this length with sloping ends to form a vertical back wall and a horizontal bottom and stub wall at the lower front when mounted on the structure. The box assumes a steep angle down from horizontal. The COLLECTOR BOX collects the liquid and channels it, functioning like a small trough, to the downspout for safe disposal. The COLLECTOR BOX contains a round opening in the horizontal bottom for snug fit with the CONNECTOR-ADAPTOR. The COLLECTOR BOX can be made from formed sheet metal or sheet plastic or it can be molded from metal or plastic.
2. The BAR STRAINER, made from plastic or metal parallel bars, with dimensions of about 10xe2x80x3xc3x971xe2x80x3xc3x97xe2x85x9xe2x80x3 positioned to form spaces between about 10xe2x80x3xc3x971xe2x80x3xc3x97xe2x85x9cxe2x80x3. The BAR STRAINER is made of two sets of such bars in two tiers with the upper tier overlapping the lower tier by about 2xe2x80x3 providing an over-all length of about 18xe2x80x3 and a width of about 5xc2xd. The upper tier is positioned with the upper bars over the spaces between the lower tier bars. The BAR STRAINER is placed to cover the entire open top area at an angle of about 55xc2x0 down from horizontal with the upper end leaning on the back wall of the COLLECTOR BOX and the lower end resting on and extending about 1xe2x80x3 out from the front stub wall. The BAR STRAINER intercepts the solids in the effluence, separating them from the liquid, where they slide down and off the end while the liquid falls between the bars into the COLLECTOR BOX.
3. The CONNECTOR-ADAPTOR, preferably made from molded plastic, is designed to connect the COLLECTOR BOX to the downspout pipe. It comprises a xc2xdxe2x80x3 wide circular flange with the outside diameter about 5xe2x80x3, atop a tubular funnel, and below this are three male connector areas each 1xc2xdxe2x80x3 high and descending in size from a circular shape sized to connect with 4xe2x80x3 plastic drainage pipe to a middle area, sized and shaped to connect with 3xe2x80x3xc3x974xe2x80x3 rectangular downspout pipe to a lower area, sized and shaped to connect with 2xe2x80x3xc3x973xe2x80x3 rectangular downspout pipe. The CONNECTOR-ADAPTOR can be dropped down through the opening or mounted to the bottom of the COLLECTOR BOX by fasteners through the flange. The circular shape of the connection permits the CONNECTOR-ADAPTOR to be rotated to any angle needed to comply with the position of the downspout. The unneeded stub, below the connector selected area, is cut off and discarded to permit full flow. The CONNECTOR-ADAPTOR is not limited to these sizes.
4. Mounting hardware, consisting of a MOUNTING PLATE and two MOUNTING STRAPS, is used to connect the COLLECTOR BOX to the gutter and to the structure. The OGS can discharge the effluence to the left, to the right, or to the front as determined by the placement of these parts. The MOUNTING PLATE is attached to the COLLECTOR BOX at the upper end on either side or on the back wall, and it is then mounted on the structure. If connected to the side, the BAR STRAINER is pointed to the side, and thus the discharge flows to that direction. By reversing the mounting to the opposite side, the flow is directed to the side in the opposite direction. If the MOUNTING PLATE is attached to the back wall, the discharge is to the front. The OGS is positioned under and behind the gutter allowing the gutter to overlap about xc2xdxe2x80x3, and the fasteners pass through both the back of the gutter and the MOUNTING PLATE simultaneously in the overlapped area when driven into the side of the structure. The MOUNTING STRAP(S) are used to hold the COLLECTOR BOX in a touching position with the bottom of the gutter by connecting the outer front area of the COLLECTOR BOX to the upper front of the gutter. The fasteners can be sheet metal screws, rivets, or nuts and bolts, and the OGS is mounted to the structure with screws of no less than xc2xexe2x80x3 or ring nails.
As a result of this unrestricted open-end discharge, the debris that would otherwise be contained by the lower end-stop is pushed or floated out the end, eliminating build-up and ensuing blockage. The continued flow of effluence out the open end purges the gutter of debris. Depending upon the amount and the frequency of rainfall and melting ice and snow, the gutters are purged, either partially or even completely, keeping the ends open to flow freely. This provides the following benefits:
1. Open-end gutters allow free-flow avoiding spillage and possible erosion.
2. Open-end gutters, purged by rain water, eliminate the need for frequent hand cleaning.
3. Open-end gutters eliminate pooling of water and collected debris that can put heavy weights on the gutters and brackets causing them to bend from proper drainage angles, often permanently.
4. Open-end gutters allow even small amounts of water to drain, eliminating standing water that can provide a breeding area for unwanted insects.
Downspouts may be placed at the ends of the gutter or any place in between. It is, therefore, necessary that the OGS be capable of installation in all such positions. A collector box could be designed for each of these positions, but for the advantage of production economy and easier distribution, separate mounting hardware is favored. Such hardware, consisting of a mounting plate and two mounting straps, can be attached to the collector box in three different points to allow mounting in all necessary positions. The mounting hardware serves to connect the OGS to the gutter and to the structure. The choice of points determines the direction of discharge as desired; either to the left, to the right, or to the front. The methods of mounting the hardware for selected positions are illustrated in FIG. 17, FIG. 18, FIG. 19, FIG. 20, FIG. 21, and FIG. 22.
If the COLLECTOR BOX and the mounting hardware are made from plastic, they may be attached to each other with plastic cement rather than fasteners, and parts made from plastic made be used with parts made from metal interchangeably.
In times of prolonged dry spells, when rain is not available nor expected, the open end enables the gutters to be flushed of undesired debris with only a garden hose.


A programmable multi-cycle signaling scheme provides synchronous communications over relatively large distances. An input digital data stream is de-multiplexed onto multiple conductors. The digital data stream is recreated at the far end of the conductors.

Integrated circuits typically include signal paths, or "conductors" upon which signals are transmitted. Signals take a finite amount of time to propagate along a conductor. This time is referred to herein as "propagation delay." Propagation delay of a conductor may be influenced by many factors. For example, propagation delays may be influenced by the physical dimensions of a conductor, electrical properties of the conductor, environmental factors such as temperature, and the like.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art integrated circuit. Integrated circuit 100 includes sequential elements 110 and 112 coupled by conductor 114. Clock distribution circuit 120 provides a clock signal CLK1 to sequential element 110, and also provides a clock signal CLK2 to sequential element 112. Clock distribution circuit 120 typically includes matched circuits to distribute CLK1 and CLK2 as closely phase-matched as possible.
Propagation delay "tpd" describes the amount of time it takes for a signal to propagate along conductor 114 between sequential element 110 and sequential element 112. Synchronous communications can take place between sequential element 110 and sequential element 112 as long as the propagation delay of conductor 114 is less than the period of clock signals CLK1 and CLK2. As clock signals increase in frequency, and as propagation delays increase due to larger integrated circuits, propagation delays may become larger than the clock period, introducing errors in the synchronous communications.

Programmable multi-cycle signaling in integrated circuits


The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates communicating data utilizing a portable device. An interface component can receive annotation data related to a display associated with a portable device. An annotation component can append a screen shot corresponding to the display with the annotated data to create an annotated screen shot.

In the not too distant past, mobile communication devices in general, and mobile telephones in particular, were luxury items only affordable to those with substantial income. Furthermore, these mobile communication devices were significant in size, rendering them inconvenient for extended portability based at least in part upon size (e.g., battery, housing, circuitry, etc.). For example, in contrast to today's mobile telephones (and other mobile communication devices), mobile telephones of the recent past could not be placed into a user's pocket and/or handbag without causing extreme discomfort. In other words, the benefit of mobile communications was diminished due to the inconvenient characteristics associated with such former mobile communication devices.
The development, refinement, and advancements in mobile communications have rapidly increased to allow convenient and efficient mobile communications and/or mobile communication devices, wherein such above-described deficiencies have been overcome. Mobile communication devices have added functionality (e.g., game applications, web access, storage capacity, address books, display size, ergonomics, battery life, capture/display images, capture/display video, text message, etc.), while also decreased in size (e.g., housing, circuitry, battery, etc.). More importantly, the costs of such mobile communication devices and mobile communication services have decreased rapidly due to various technological advancements within the industry.
Furthermore, the development and refinement of mobile communication devices continues to occur at an extremely rapid pace. In particular, advancements in mobile communication devices are mostly based upon consumer demand. In order to fulfill consumer needs, the industry provides a plurality of devices (e.g., models of devices having various applications, and features). Smaller devices, game applications, web access, storage capacity, display size, cameras, media storage, MP3 capabilities, ergonomics, phonebook storage, longer battery life, are a few examples that encourage the mobile communication device industry to improve upon existing technology. Moreover, most mobile communication devices do not employ a graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or a graphic card on the desktop, yet in the near future the mobile communication device industry is moving toward such goal.
Thus, mobile devices are increasing in technological ability wherein mobile communication devices can provide a plurality of functionality within a limited device-space. Mobile communication devices can be, but not limited to, cell phones, portable digital assistants (PDA's), pagers, tablets, messenger devices, hand-helds, pocket translators, bar code scanners, smart phones, gaming devices, portable media devices, scanners, and the like. Although each device employs a specific function for a user, devices have been developing to allow overlapping functionality in order to appeal to consumer needs. In other words, mobile devices have incorporated a plurality of features and/or applications such that the devices have invaded one another's functionality. For example, cell phones can provide cellular service, phonebooks, calendars, games, voicemail, paging, web browsing, video capture, image capture, voice memos, voice recognition, etc.
As a result, portable devices have incorporated a variety of techniques and/or methods for inputting information in order to cater to the user and/or user needs. Portable devices facilitate entering information utilizing components such as, but not limited to, keyboards, keypads, touch pads, touch-screens, speakers, stylus' (e.g., wands), writing pads, etc. Based on such data entered and/or collected, portable devices manipulate and/or employ such data in a multitude of ways in order to convey such data and enhance the functionality and/or capability of the devices and respective features/applications. Such user-interaction and/or data communication is a crucial element upon providing portable devices to meet consumer demand.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Mobile data and handwriting screen capture and forwarding


A server system which stores data indicating the identifiers of web pages associated with which each portion has been previously rendered. The data facilitates identification of the entire web pages even if interest is expressed based on content of the portions. For example, a search engine may search the contents of the portions, and then send as search results the identifiers of the web pages which have previously included the portions. As a result, a user may be displayed the entire web pages (as opposed to just the content of the portion), which could be more meaningful.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to server systems used in providing access to data/service on networks, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for facilitating identification of entire web pages when each web page is rendered from multiple portions and interest is expressed based on content of the portions.
2. Related Art
Internet generally enables data and services to be accessed from various servers. In one common scenario, a user uses a browser software on a client system to specify a web page of interest, and the corresponding Uniform Resource Locator (URL) (along with any parameters) are transferred to a corresponding server system. The server system generally contains a page definition indicating the specific portions that together form each web page, and the area on the web page in which each portion is to be laid out.
In response to receiving the URL, a server system may retrieve different portions of data (representing text, image, etc.) from potentially multiple content servers and generates a web page of interest according to the corresponding page definition. The server system then sends the web page to the client system requesting the page, and the page is rendered on the client system. Using such an approach, a user may view multiple web pages, with each page containing several portions potentially retrieved from several sources.
One typical requirement is to enable a user to search the web pages previously displayed. In one prior approach, a server system determines various parameters (e.g., the identity of the user, parameters specified by the user, prior searches performed) to base a search on, and compares the data with different portions stored on the content servers. The URL corresponding to the matching portions is then displayed to the user, potentially for further browsing.
However, a user may have developed interest for desired content based on an entire content of the web page, and may thus wish to view the entire web page. Accordingly, the approach of above may be deemed to be inadequate at least in some scenarios such as in the case of dynamic web pages, in which the content of a web page is determined dynamically when the page is assembled. What is therefore needed is a method and approach which facilitates identification of entire web pages when each web page is rendered from multiple portions and interest is expressed based on content of the portions.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Facilitating identification of entire web pages when each web page is rendered from multiple portions and interest is expressed based on content of the portions


A memory hub includes a reception interface that receives data words and captures the data words in response to a first clock signal in a first time domain. The interface also provides groups of the captured data words on an output in response to a second clock signal in a second time domain. A transmission interface is coupled to the reception interface to receive the captured data words and captures the data words in response to a third clock signal in the first time domain. This interface provides the captured data words on an output. Local control circuitry is coupled to the output of the reception interface to receive the groups of data words and develops memory requests corresponding to the groups of data words. The first clock domain is defined by clock signals having frequencies higher than frequencies of clock signals in the second clock domain.

Computer systems use memory devices, such as dynamic random access memory ("DRAM") devices, to store data that are accessed by a processor. These memory devices are normally used as system memory in a computer system. In a typical computer system, the processor communicates with the system memory through a processor bus and a memory controller. The processor issues a memory request, which includes a memory command, such as a read command, and an address designating the location from which data or instructions are to be read. The memory controller uses the command and address to generate appropriate command signals as well as row and column addresses, which are applied to the system memory. In response to the commands and addresses, data are transferred between the system memory and the processor. The memory controller is often part of a system controller, which also includes bus bridge circuitry for coupling the processor bus to an expansion bus, such as a PCI bus.
Although the operating speed of memory devices has continuously increased, this increase in operating speed has not kept pace with increases in the operating speed of processors. Even slower has been the increase in operating speed of memory controllers coupling processors to memory devices. The relatively slow speed of memory controllers and memory devices limits the data bandwidth between the processor and the memory devices.
In addition to the limited bandwidth between processors and memory devices, the performance of computer systems is also limited by latency problems that increase the time required to read data from system memory devices. More specifically, when a memory device read command is coupled to a system memory device, such as a synchronous DRAM ("SDRAM") device, the read data are output from the SDRAM device only after a delay of several clock periods. Therefore, although SDRAM devices can synchronously output burst data at a high data rate, the delay in initially providing the data can significantly slow the operating speed of a computer system using such SDRAM devices.
One approach to alleviating the memory latency problem is to use multiple memory devices coupled to the processor through a memory hub. In a memory hub architecture, a system controller or memory controller is coupled over a high speed data link to several memory modules. Typically, the memory modules are coupled in a point-to-point or daisy chain architecture such that the memory modules are connected one to another in series. Thus, the memory controller is coupled to a first memory module over a first high speed data link, with the first memory module connected to a second memory module through a second high speed data link, and the second memory module coupled to a third memory module through a third high speed data link, and so on in a daisy chain fashion.
Each memory module includes a memory hub that is coupled to the corresponding high speed data links and a number of memory devices on the module, with the memory hubs efficiently routing memory requests and responses between the controller and the memory devices over the high speed data links. Computer systems employing this architecture can have a higher bandwidth because a processor can access one memory device while another memory device is responding to a prior memory access. For example, the processor can output write data to one of the memory devices in the system while another memory device in the system is preparing to provide read data to the processor. Moreover, this architecture also provides for easy expansion of the system memory without concern for degradation in signal quality as more memory modules are added, such as occurs in conventional multi drop bus architectures.
Although computer systems using memory hubs may provide superior performance, they nevertheless may often fail to operate at optimum speeds for a variety of reasons. For example, even though memory hubs can provide computer systems with a greater memory bandwidth, they still suffer from latency problems of the type described above. More specifically, although the processor may communicate with one memory device while another memory device is preparing to transfer data, it is sometimes necessary to receive data from one memory device before the data from another memory device can be used. In the event data must be received from one memory device before data received from another memory device can be used, the latency problem continues to slow the operating speed of such computer systems.
Another factor that can reduce the speed of memory transfers in a memory hub system is the delay in forwarding memory requests from one memory hub to another. For example, in a system including five memory modules (i.e. five memory hubs with one per module), a memory request to read data from the fifth module that is farthest "downstream" from the memory controller will be delayed in being applied to the fifth memory module due to the intervening delays introduced by the first through fourth memory modules in processing and forwarding the memory request. Moreover, where the applied command is a command to read data from a memory module, the longer the delay in applying the read command to the memory module the longer it will take for the memory module to provide the corresponding read data, increasing the latency of the module. The farther downstream a memory module the longer the delay in applying a memory request and the greater the latency in reading data, lowering the bandwidth of the system memory.
Still another concern with a memory hub architecture is the complexity of the circuitry required to form each memory hub. Complex circuitry increases the cost of each memory hub, which increases the cost of each memory module and the overall cost of system memory as modules are added. As the functions each memory hub must perform increase, the complexity of the circuitry increases accordingly. In one implementation of a memory hub architecture, each hub must determine whether a given memory request is directed to that module. If the memory request is directed to the module, the hub processes the request, and if not the request is forwarded to the next downstream hub. A variety of other functions must also be performed by each memory hub, such as generating all the control, data, and address signals for accessing the memory devices on the memory module.
There is therefore a need for a computer architecture that provides the advantages of a memory hub architecture and also minimizes delays in processing downstream memory requests to provide a high bandwidth system memory.

Method and system for capturing and bypassing memory transactions in a hub-based memory system


The invention relates to novel fullerene derivatives, to methods for their preparation and educts or intermediates used therein, to mixtures and formulations containing them, to the use of the fullerene derivatives, mixtures and formulations as organic semiconductors in, or for the preparation of, organic electronic (OE) devices, especially organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices and organic photodetectors (OPD), and to OE, OPV and OPD devices comprising, or being prepared from, these fullerene derivatives, mixtures or formulations.

In recent years, there has been development of organic semiconducting (OSC) materials in order to produce more versatile, lower cost electronic devices. Such materials find application in a wide range of devices or apparatus, including organic field effect transistors (OFETs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic photodetectors (OPDs), organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells, sensors, memory elements and logic circuits to name just a few. The organic semiconducting materials are typically present in the electronic device in the form of a thin layer, for example of between 50 and 300 nm thickness.
The photosensitive layer in an OPV or OPD device is typically composed of at least two materials, a p-type semiconductor such as a polymer, an oligomer or a define molecular unit and a n-type semiconductor such as a fullerene derivative, graphene, a metal oxide, or quantum dots. In recent years, many p-type semiconductors, mainly polymers, have been prepared to enhance the performance of an OPV device. In comparison, the development of n-type semiconductor has been limited to only a few selected candidates.
Novel n-type semiconductors as promising alternative to PCBM-C60 fullerene are limited. FIG. 1 shows some known fullerene derivatives, including Fullerene 1 and the respective multiple adducts both described in WO2008/018931 and WO2010/087655, Fullerene 2 and the respective multiple adducts both described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,217,260, Fullerene 3 described in JP 2012-094829, Fullerene 4 described in WO 2009/008323 and JP 2011-98906 and Fullerene 5 and the respective multiple adducts both described in JP 2011-181719. However, the physical properties of these fullerene derivatives, such as solubility, light stability, thermal stability are limiting their use in commercial applications.
Thus there is still a need for fullerene derivatives which are easy to synthesize, especially by methods suitable for mass production, show good structural organization and film-forming properties, exhibit good electronic properties, especially a high charge carrier mobility, a good processability, especially a high solubility in organic solvents, and high light and thermal stability.
It was an aim of the present invention to provide fullerene derivatives that provide one or more of the above-mentioned advantageous properties. Another aim of the invention was to extend the pool of n-type OSC materials available to the expert. Other aims of the present invention are immediately evident to the expert from the following detailed description.
The inventors of the present invention have found that one or more of the above aims can be achieved by providing cyclohexadiene fullerenes as disclosed and claimed hereinafter.
Surprisingly it was found that these cyclohexadiene fullerenes demonstrate one or more of the improved properties as described above, especially for use in OPV/OPD applications, compared to the fullerenes disclosed in prior art.
Substituted cyclohexadiene fullerenes have been proposed for medical applications, see for example S. Durdagi et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2008, 16, 9957-9974 and Periya et al., Tetrahedron Letters 2004, 45, 8311-8313.
Substituted cyclohexadiene fullerenes have also been used for fundamental studies, see for example Liou et al., J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1995, 1603-1604, An et al., J. Org. Chem. 1995, 60, 6353-6361, Cossu et al., J. Org. Chem. 1996, 61, 153-158, Hsiao et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 12232-12236, Qian et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 8333-8334, Inoue et al., Synlett 2000, 1178-1180, Iwamatsu et al., Org. Lett. 2002, 4, 1217-1220, and Vida et al., Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2007, 28, 1345-1349.
KR 1128833 B1 describes an organic/inorganic hybrid solar cell containing a fullerene derivative and a dye in an inorganic semiconductor, where the fullerene derivative, including one monosubstituted cyclohexadiene fullerene example, contains at least one of carboxylic acid group, anhydride group, phosphoric acid group, siloxane group, and sulfonic acid group. However, such groups have the drawback that they can act as charge traps in an OPV device configuration and liberate acidic protons (H+) that are detrimental for the performance and lifetime of the OPV device.
Until now monosubstituted or polysubstituted cyclohexadiene fullerenes as disclosed and claimed hereinafter have not been suggested as potential candidates to replace PCBM type fullerenes in the photoactive layer of a OPV or OPD device, or for use as p-type or n-type semiconductor in an OFET or OLED device.
For example, the data reported for the cyclohexadiene fullerenes that are functionalized with unsubstituted thiophene rings as disclosed in Vida et al., Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2007, 28, 1345-1349, do not suggest that these fullerene derivatives could be interesting candidates for OPV/OPD application, because relevant information for such a use, like the electron mobility, energetic level (particularly LUMO level) and solid state morphology have not been reported.


Methods for determining whether to perform a stimulation treatment on a subterranean zone are disclosed. Process zone stress (“PZS”), indicative of a production potential of the subterranean zone, is determined, and a determination is made as to whether the PZS exceeds a preselected value. A PZS exceeding the preselected value may indicate a poor production potential, and a stimulation treatment of the subterranean zone may be avoided. As a result, a substantial cost saving associated with the avoided stimulation treatment may be realized.

Oil and gas wells produce oil, gas, and/or by-products from underground reservoirs. Oil and gas reservoirs are formations of rock containing oil and/or gas. The type and properties of the rock may vary by reservoir and also within reservoirs. For example, the porosity and permeability of a reservoir rock may vary from reservoir to reservoir and from well to well in a reservoir. The porosity is the percentage of core volume, or void space, within the reservoir rock that can contain fluids. The permeability is an estimate of the reservoir rock's ability to flow or transmit fluids. A reservoir may include a plurality of reservoir zones, and the zones may have properties different from each other, and the properties within a zone may vary. Further, different reservoir zones may be formed from different types of rock.
Oil and gas production from a well may be stimulated by fracture, acid or other production enhancement treatment. In a fracture treatment, fluids are pumped downhole under high pressure to artificially fracture the reservoir rock in order to increase permeability and production. In some implementations, a pad, which is fracture fluids without proppants, is first pumped down the well until formation breakdown. Then, the fracturing fluid with proppants is pumped downhole to hold the fractures open after pumping stops. At the end of the fracture treatment, a clear fluid flush may be pumped down the well to flush the well of proppants.
In some instances, an initial treatment or minifracture may be performed before a production stimulation fracture treatment to calculate formation and fracture properties. In some implementations, the initial treatment may be an injection falloff test.

Determining the use of stimulation treatments based on high process zone stress


A cyanoacrylate monomer adhesive formulation which has improved thermal properties resulting from the inclusion in the formulation of an effective amount for enhancing the thermal resistance of the cured polymer of a compound of the formula: ##STR1## where R is C(CN).sub.2, C(CO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2, C(SO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2 or C(Ph).sub.2 ; R.sup.a, R.sup.b, R.sup.c and R.sup.d are independently H, monovalent hydrocarbon, halogen or strong electron withdrawing groups; or two of R.sup.a, R.sup.b, R.sup.c and R.sup.d combined form a fused hydrocarbon ring; R.sup.1 is C(CN).sub.2, C(CO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2, C(SO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2 or C(Ph).sub.2, or R.sup.1 and R.sup.b combined form a fused ring having a C(CN).sub.2, C(CO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2, C(SO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2 or C(Ph).sub.2 group in conjugation with R; R.sup.e is alkyl and Ph is phenyl or. R and R.sup.1 are both O; and R.sup.a, R.sup.b, R.sup.c and R.sup.d are independently H, monovalent hydrocarbon, halogen, hydroxyl, alkoxyl or strong electron withdrawing groups, or two of R.sup.a, R.sup.b, R.sup.c and R.sup.d combined form a fused hydrocarbon ring, provided that at least two of R.sup.a, R.sup.b, R.sup.c and R.sup.d are halogen or strong electron withdrawing groups, or PA0 R is is O; R.sup.1 is C(CN).sub.2, C(CO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2, C(SO.sub.2 R.sup.e).sub.2 or a diphenylmethylene group, the phenyl groups of which may be optionally substituted with one or more halo, hydroxyl, alkoxyl, hydrocarbon, nitro, acyloxy or cyano groups; and R.sup.a, R.sup.b, R.sup.c and R.sup.d are independently H, monovalent hydrocarbon, halogen or strong electron withdrawing groups, or two of R.sup.a, R.sup.b, R.sup.c and R.sup.d combined form a fused hydrocarbon ring.

Cyanoacrylate monomer adhesives are well known and widely used as "instant adhesives", so-called because of their very rapid polymerization on contact with surfaces containing even very weak anion sources. However, a notorious problem of cyanoacrylate polymers is their susceptibility to thermal degradation at only moderately high temperatures. As a consequence, the instant adhesive benefits of cyanoacrylate monomers have not been available in many applications where the bonded substrates may be subjected to intermittent temperatures in excess of 120.degree. C. or extended exposure to temperatures of about 80.degree. C. This problem of thermal stability of cyanoacrylate polymers is distinct from the problem of stabilizing monomer formulations against premature polymerization. However, to preserve the instant adhesive benefits of cyanoacrylates, it must be appreciated that improvements in polymer thermal stability should not significantly degrade the storage stability or cure speed of the monomer formulation from which the polymer is derived.
Numerous attempts have been made to improve the thermal stability of cyanoacrylate adhesive bonds. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,334, the addition of maleic anhydride is said to produce adhesives which have increased thermal resistance while preserving fast cure speed of the cyanoacrylate adhesive.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,271, tri-, tetra- and higher carboxylic acids or there anhydrides are said to be useful form improving heat resistance of cured cyanoacrylate adhesives. Phthalic anhydride is reported to improve heat resistance of cyanoacrylate adhesive bonds in U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,265 and benzopheonetetracarboxylic acid or its anhydride are reported to provide a superior heat resistance for cyanoacrylate adhesives in U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,293.
According to Chem. Abst., 85:64138p a cyanoacrylate adhesive which includes a graft copolymer of methyl methacrylate and a fluorine containing rubber as a plasticizer is reported to give improved stability to thermal shocks. Cyanoacrylate adhesives containing elastomeric acrylic rubbers are reported to give improved properties, particularly after exposure to elevated temperatures, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,910.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,515, cyanoacrylate compounds containing certain maleimide or nadimide compounds are reported to improve the hot strength properties of cyanoacrylate adhesives.
Mixtures of certain sulfone compounds and a dicarboxylic acid or dicarboxylic anhydride are said to greatly improve heat resistance of cyanoacrylate adhesives in JP 55/066980.
In JP 48/8732 cyanoacrylates containing 3-25% divinyl sulfone are reported to have improved heat resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,723 describes certain cyanoacrylate adhesives containing a certain treated copolymer toughener, and a "sustainer" compound having certain compatibility properties said to provide improved retention of toughness on heat aging of the cured adhesive. Various substituted aryl compounds are identified as suitable "sustainers," including nitrobenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene and bromochlorobenzene.
Despite this extensive work in the art, there continues to be a need to identify materials which will improve the heat performance of cyanoacrylate adhesives so as to increase the options available to the formulator and/or provide further improvements over the existing additives known to enhance thermal resistance of cyanoacrylate polymers.
Various dyes are used in cyanoacrylates for coloration based on anthraquinone or similar structures. References are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,699,076; 4,035,334; 4,062,827; 4,405,750. All of these dyes contain amino groups. It has also been known to use quinone and various phenolic compounds such as hydroquinone, t-butyl catechol, p-methoxy phenol, etc. Compounds of the quinoid structures defined below for the invention herein are not believed to have previously been reported as cyanoacrylate stable colorants or as cyanoacrylate radical stabilizers.

Cyanoacrylate adhesives utilizing quinoid compound polymer stabilizer


A coated glass mat comprises a glass mat substrate having non-woven glass fibers and a coating which essentially uniformly penetrates the glass mat substrate to desired fractional thickness of the coated glass mat. The coating imparts a tensile strength to the coated glass mat which on average is at least 1.33 times greater than the tensile strength of the glass mat substrate without the coating. In example embodiments, penetration of the coating into the glass mat substrate preferably extends to a depth of from twenty five percent of a thickness of the coated glass mat to seventy five percent of the thickness of the coated glass mat. Moreover, a non-coated thickness of the coated glass mat is sufficiently thick for bonding purposes with, e.g., a gypsum slurry or other core materials such as thermoplastic or thermosetting plastics. The coating has a porosity in a range of from 1.3 CFM to 5.0 CFM, e.g., the coating comprises a coating blend which provides the coated glass mat with a porosity sufficient to allow water vapor to escape from a gypsum slurry when heated. The coating is preferably a coating blend comprised of water, latex binder, inorganic pigment, and inorganic binder.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention pertains to mats, webs, or facers for the building construction industry, such as gypsum board fiberglass facers and thermosetting polyiso foam insulation board facers, as well as processes for making/applying such facers and products utilizing such facers.
2. Related Art and Other Considerations
Many forms of weather resistant webbed sheets have been developed for the building construction industry for installation as an "underlayment" under shingles or under siding. Examples of such webbed sheets, also called "construction paper", range from the old original "tar paper", up to the spun-bonded polyolefin house wraps of the present day.
Various types of webbed sheets have also been used as a "facer" material for foamed insulation board laminates, with the laminates ultimately being utilized as side-wall or roofing insulation. For example, two facers for a laminate board typically sandwich a core material therebetween, e.g., a laminated foam core, for example. A popular material ("facer") in this category is the web of U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,678 to Gay et al (referred to herein as the '678 patent). The relatively fire-resistant web of the '678 patent has also served well as an underlayment in a U.L. Incorporated fire-resistant rated roofing system over wooden decks, etc. For many years this material has served the building construction industry, e.g., as the facer for the laminated foam board product taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,005. The foam board of U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,005 remains an important and integral part of both roofing and side-wall insulation.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art coating method suitable for applying coatings such as those of U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,678. A raw glass mat 10 (e.g., the "substrate") enters a coating station at a level lower than a top of an applicator roll 12. The direction of travel of the glass mat 10 is parallel to a "machine direction" (M.D.) of a facer produced by the machine, while a dimension perpendicular to the machine direction and perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 is understood to be parallel to a "cross machine direction" (C.M.D.) of a resultant facer similarly oriented. The applicator roll is driven to rotate about its axis (either clockwise or counterclockwise, as depicted by arrow 13). A coating pan 14 is filled with a coating mix 16 up to a level that is sufficient for the applicator roll 12 to pull an adequate amount of coating to the top of the applicator roll 12. The speed of rotation of applicator roll 12 is used to get adequate amounts of coating mix 16 up into the glass mat 10 as the glass mat 10 is conveyed. In its path of conveyance, the glass mat 10 extends around applicator roll 12 in a wrap-arc 18. A scraper blade 20 is placed so that the excess coating scraped off returns into the coating pan 14. After the excess is scraped off, the coated mat proceeds into a dryer section (not shown) where the coated glass mat facer 22 is dried and wrapped into rolls.
The prior art process of FIG. 1 is characterized by a wrap arc 18 at the applicator roll 12 and a wrap angle 28 at the scraper blade 20. Conventionally, the wrap arc 18 on the applicator roll 12 is less than 30 degrees, and typically less than 20 degrees. The wrap angle 28 around the scraper bar 20 is conventionally slightly less than 180-degrees; e.g., 175-degrees.
In the construction industry, building materials are often analyzed to determine their performance vulnerabilities or weak points. A vulnerability for a laminated board made with a coated glass mat facer can be the structural integrity of the glass mat which comprises the facer. In other words, how well the glass mat of the facer holds together under stress, e.g., the cohesive strength (or lack of strength) of the glass mat, is an important indicia of material quality. Experience has generally shown that the cohesive strength of any glass mat is typically too low to resist the pulling-away force of high wind shear vacuums, whether the glass mat be incorporated either in a stucco wall or under a fully adhered single-ply membrane roofing system.
One factor influencing structural integrity of a building material which incorporates a coated glass mat is the degree to which glass fibers comprising the mat are uncovered. Uncovered glass fibers are exposed and thus more subject to deleterious forces.
The complications of using coated glass mats as ingredients in building materials such as a board are compounded when the glass mats interface with certain other materials which comprise the board core. One example of such a complicating material is Gypsum. Most gypsum board applications are more difficult, and much stronger coated glass mats are required. While the problems presented by gypsum could perhaps be solved by using heavier raw glass mat substrates, such an option is quite expensive. A challenge, therefore, is strengthening the coated glass mat (e.g., strengthening the facer) without substantially increasing costs.
The history of gypsum board development has passed many milestones, many of these milestones being related to the surfaces, or facers, covering the broad surface of a gypsum board. In almost all cases, the subject of facer stability was an issue. Also the facers have had to resist weathering as well as retaining constant dimensions. Mildew and mold have been a problem with the original multi-ply paper facers used on gypsum board. Unfortunately, the paper facers also might not allow water vapor to escape. Yet the escape of water vapor is essential in curing the gypsum. While these paper facers have been modified with chemicals to improve their properties, most of the gypsum board progress and success has come by changing from paper facers to fiberglass mat facers.
The entire scope of manufacturing different facer materials for building products is extensive, encompassing both fields of gypsum board fiberglass facers and thermosetting polyiso foam insulation board facers. In recent years, many facer-related methods and products thereof have been taught in United States patents such as the following (all of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference):
3,284,9803,993,8224,504,5334,637,9514,647,4964,784,8974,810,5694,879,1735,112,6785,148,6455,171,3665,220,7625,319,9005,342,5665,342,6805,371,9895,395,6855,397,6315,401,5885,552,1875,601,8885,644,8805,665,4425,718,7855,791,1095,945,1825,945,2085,965,2576,001,4966,146,7056,299,970
As alluded to above, some coated glass mat prior art facer products are ineffective or unusable as a facer for a gypsum board. For example the coated glass mat of U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,257 shows signs of dissolving when subjected to a stream of running water, and has low tensile test numbers (e.g., when compared to the mat made from the '678 patent).
A gypsum board used in construction is much heavier than a low density, lightweight insulation foam board. The gypsum board must have enough structural strength to avoid breaking while being handled during installation. The facers of gypsum board provide most of the structural strength needed. The prior art multi-ply paper-board facers possess ample tensile strength for use as facers. However, the ordinary prior art coated glass mat facers do not have adequate tensile strength. In addition to lacking tensile strength, ordinary coated glass mat facers can face difficulty in becoming adequately bonded to the gypsum slurry.
Thus, as indicated above, conventionally a laminated board has a core which is sandwiched between two facers, the facers each comprising a coating material on a glass mat. It is the interface between the core and the glass mat where failure can occur under conditions of high stress in the "pull-apart" direction. As previously mentioned, the failure occurs because some fibers are left uncovered and the bonding strength of the so-called "binder" material between individual glass fibers is not strong enough to prevent failure. Just after a non-woven glass mat is formed on a drainage wire, a complex binder chemical is added, but this is barely strong enough to hold individual fibers together.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,496, No. 4,810,569, No. 5,371,989, No. 5,644,880, and No. 6,001,496, show how a glass mat can be partially imbedded in gypsum board but leave loose glass fibers on the surface.
In a gypsum board process which utilizes a coated glass mat in a facer, a fine balance must be achieved. If the coated glass mat facer has too much glass mat exposed such that the gypsum cannot cover it essentially entirely, the resultant board is unacceptable. On the other hand, if not enough glass fibers (which serve to anchor the gypsum) are left exposed, the resultant board is not acceptable. In both cases, the finished board can fail a flexural stress test, or worse, break at the job-site. Thus a coated glass mat facer must have both adequate tensile strength plus the ability to become tightly bonded and intermeshed with gypsum slurry before it hardens. Since prior art facers did not suffice, there remains a need for an unique coated glass facer to use in creating a gypsum board having a mold resistant, weather-proof surface, and strong flexural test results.
What is needed, therefore, and an object of the present invention, is a coated glass mat which has enhanced tensile strength, as well as methods for fabricating such mat.

Method and composition for coating mat and articles produced therewith


A door safety device including a cover for a gap at a hinge side of a door and door frame combination. The cover includes a strip of a rigid material that is flexible about its major axis. The strip has attachment members at its long edges whereby each edge may be secured respectively to the door and door frame. The attachment members are arranged such that one edge of the strip is firmly fixed to one of the door and door frame combination and the other edge is fixed to the other member of the combination in a way that allows some vertical movement of that edge. The strip is formed with rigid portions and longitudinally directed fold areas such that part of the cover may be supported against a vertical edge of the door when the door is in an open condition. The safety cover can be fitted to doors either a coventional or a rising-butt type of hinge and it can prevent a child""s hand from being inserted into the gap and thus being at risk of injury.

This invention relates to a door safety device. It relates particularly to a device for fitting at the hinge side of a door and door frame in order to reduce the risk of injury to a child""s fingers if they should attempt to enter this space.
When a door is in the open position, the hinge side of the opening between the door side and the door frame offers a gap into which a young child""s hand or fingers can very easily be inserted. If the door should then be closed, possibly by another child or by pressure from a draught of wind, there is a serious risk that the hand or fingers will become hurt or badly damaged. In time, of course, any child will learn that the gap at the edge of a door that is being closed is a dangerous area in the home and any fingers should be kept well away from this zone. However, the younger child will not be aware of this risk and may suffer a crushed finger.
The present invention was devised to provide a shield that would reduce the risk of injury to a child""s hand.
According to the invention, there is provided a door safety device comprising a cover for the gap at the hinge side of a door and door frame combination, the cover comprising a strip of a rigid material which is flexible about its major axis, the strip having attachment means at its long edges so that one edge may be secured to the door and the other edge to the door frame of the combination, the attachment means being such that one edge is firmly fixed to one of the door/door frame combination whilst the second edge is fixed in a manner that allows a vertical movement of that edge with respect to the other one of the door/door frame combination, and the cover being formed with rigid portions and longitudinally-directed fold areas, so that when the door is opened the vertical door edge can form a support for one rigid portion of the device whereby the device will be maintained in a generally convex attitude throughout the operation of opening and closing of the door.
The cover may be formed of four rigid portions connected by three fold areas. The cover may be made of a fibrous or fluted board material.
The attachment means at one side of the strip may include the strip edge being formed in a T-shape and this edge being positioned in a C-shaped housing which will hold the T-shape yet allow the necessary vertical movement.