A polyester film having on at least one side, a primer layer comprising a crosslinked product between (a) a polyurethane having (0.22-33).times.10.sup.-4 gram equivalent/gram of resin, of at least one functional group selected from a carboxyl group and a salt group derived therefrom and (b) a polyepoxy compound, said crosslinked product containing (c) an antistatic agent composed mainly of a compound represented by the following general formula (I) ##STR1## wherein R represents an alkyl group of 4-20 carbon atoms, and M.sub.1 and M.sub.2 each represent an alkali metal ion, an ammonium group or a tertiary amino group, as well as a process for producing said film. The film is useful as a base material for highly processed polyester film products such as magnetic tape, floppy disc, X-ray photographic film, telephone card, OHP, base for printing plate and the like.

The present invention relates to a surface-treated polyester film. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coated polyester film having excellent antistatic property, adhesivity and solvent resistance, useful as a base material for highly processed polyester film products such as magnetic tape, floppy disc, X-ray photographic film, telephone card, OHP, base for printing plate and the like, as well as to a process for producing said film.
A biaxially stretched polyester film, particularly a biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film has excellent mechanical properties, heat resistance, chemical resistance, etc. and is used as a base material for magnetic tape, photographic film, wrapping film, metallized film for capacitor, electrical insulating film, OHP film, etc. The recent growth in demand for said film is very striking. The polyester film, however, has drawbacks in that since the surface is highly crystallized and oriented, the film shows high surface cohesivity and poor adhesivity to various coatings.
Hence, in order to improve the surface adhesivity of the polyester film, it is known to employ various means, for example, a corona treatment, a plasma treatment and a flame treatment. These means, however, have a drawback in that the effect imparted thereby is reduced with the lapse of time.
As a means for eliminating the above drawback, a treatment by chemical agent is mentioned. This means, however, is disadvantageous in practical application because the chemical agent is toxic and the vapor generated therefrom causes environmental pollution.
As another means, it is known to coat a coating agent on a biaxially stretched polyester film to form a primer layer of good adhesivity on the film. However, this means also has safety and hygiene problems such as deterioration of environment by vaporization of the organic solvent used in the coating agent, and further has a fear that surface defects are frequently generated as a result of dust deposition because the coating environment is dirty.
Accordingly, if the formation of a primer layer on a polyester film is made during the step of producing the polyester film by using an aqueous coating agent, it is effected in a clean environment, the degree of dust deposition is low, there is neither fear of explosion nor deterioration of environment because there is formed an aqueous layer, and this approach is advantageous also in properties of resulting film, economy and safety.
Because of these advantages, it has been proposed to use a water-soluble or water-dispersible polyurethane as a primer.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4755337 discloses a process for producing a polyester film having a primer layer, which comprises coating an aqueous primer coating composition comprising a polyurethane having at least one of a carboxylic acid salt group, a sulfonic acid salt group and a hemisulfate salt group, and a polyepoxy compound on at least one surface of a polyester film before its crystallization and orientation are completed, and thereafter completing the crystallization and orientation by subjecting the coated film to drying, stretching and heat treatment.
A polyester film also has a drawback in that it is electrified easily. For example, the magnetic recording medium using, as its base, a primer-treated polyester film of good adhesivity as mentioned above, is electrified by the static electricity generated during tape running or disc rotation and invites dust deposition thereon and the resultant drop-out of recording and regeneration. Further, in winding-up, rewinding or slitting in the steps of film or magnetic recording medium production, there occur in some cases the emittance of spark from the film caused by peeling and electrification, the breakage of the film caused by electrification and bonding, and so forth. Therefore, particularly the film for magnetic recording media is required to have an antistatic property.
As the method to impart an antistatic property to a magnetic recording medium using a polyester film, there can be mentioned conventional methods such as (1) a method wherein a conductive powder such as carbon powder, metal powder or the like is dispersed uniformly in a magnetic layer, (2) a method wherein an antistatic agent such as surface active agent is compounded into a polyester film by kneading, (3) a method wherein a thin metal layer is formed on a film surface by physical vapor deposition (PVD), and (4) a combination of the above methods. These methods, however, have various problems. For example, the method (1) has problems such as reduction in rentention caused by incorporation of conductive particles into the magnetic layer, resultant reduction in recording density, acceleration of drop-out caused by detachment of conductive particles, and so forth. The method (2) has problems in that the antistatic agent incorporated by kneading does not bleed out easily onto the film surface, the antistatic property of the film surface decreases with the lapse of time, and the surface resistance increases correspondingly therewith. The method (3) has problems in that the adhesion between the film and thin metal layer formed thereon is weak and the thin metal layer is detached during use.


The present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing fragments of alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor (API) or chimeric proteins of API and insulin-like growth factor for use in stimulating wound healing.

It is widely recognized that in the United States almost 8 million people per year have burns or suffer from chronic, non-healing wounds (Singer & Clark (1999) N. Engl. J. Med. 341(10):738-746). Chronic wounds invariably occur in individuals with underlying disease and impaired wound healing is a hallmark of diabetic complications. Chronic wounds generally fall into three principal categories: venous stasis ulcers, diabetic ulcers and pressure ulcers. While the prevalence of these conditions vary, it is estimated that as many as 12 million people are afflicted with all forms of chronic wounds in the principal industrialized markets.
Approximately 800,000 diabetic foot ulcers are treated in the United States each year, of which 30% do not respond to standard care. Given that 15-20% of patients with foot ulcers will require amputation, these data underscore the medical benefit and cost saving that may be achieved through emerging technologies and therapies addressing chronic wound repair as provided by this invention.
Wound care and healing technology is evolving rapidly with new product offerings that respond to medical needs in both the acute and chronic wound management setting. According to the most recent National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the incidence of burn injury causing wound stands at 4.2/10,000 or about 1.2 million annually. While severe wounds attributable to burns are significant, a staggering population of greater than 6 million people is afflicted with chronic ulcerations resulting from dermatological conditions and chronic ulcerations secondary to diabetes, immunosuppression and immobilization. Both acute and chronic wounds represent a major health problem, and a new generation of novel agents for wound healing are based on topical growth factors and protease inhibition therapy (Nwomeh, et al. (1998) Clin. Plast. Surg. 25:341-56).
Wound healing is dynamic process. The wound environment is variable depending on the health status of the individual and the underlying pathology. Knowledge of the physiology of the normal wound healing cycle through the phases of hemostasis, inflammation, granulation and maturation provides a framework for developing novel single or combination therapies.
In animal models of the disease, certain recombinant growth factors only partially enhance wound repair associated with diabetic state, however this efficacy may be increased using growth factor combinations such as TGF beta and basic FGF or TGF beta and PDGF. Consistent with this finding is the observation that combination of certain growth factors in fibroblasts cultured from human diabetic ulcers reproducibly cause a greater mitogenic response compared to any agent alone (Loot, et al. (2002) Eur. J. Cell Biol. 81(3):153-160). Moreover, topical applications of IGFs promote wound healing, in particular in association with IGF-binding proteins (Galiano, et al. (1996) J. Clin. Invest. 98(11):2462-8). Poor chronic wound healing in diabetic rats is associated with increased proteolytic enzymes, reduced IGF levels and destruction of IGF-binding proteins (Cechowska-Pasko, et al. (1996) Acta Biochimica Polonica 43(3):557-65). It is generally accepted that intervening parameters such as prolific proteolytic activity in the wound are deleterious to proper healing by degrading de novo granulation tissue and local growth factors and cytokines. Common proteases in the wound microenvironment are neutrophil elastase, matrix metalloproteases and plasmin (Cullen, et al. (2002) Wound Repair Regen. 10(1):16-25).
In burn-wound fluids, elastase from neutrophils is responsible for fibronectin degradation (Grinnell & Zhu (1994) J. Invest. Dermatol. 103(2):155-61). Neutrophil elastase activity is ten- to forty-fold higher in fluids from chronic wounds as compared with fluids from acute wounds. API, also known as alpha-1-antitrypsin, the major physiological inhibitor of neutrophil elastase, is conspicuously absent and not functional in chronic wounds (Rao, et al. (1995) J. Invest. Dermatol. 105(4):572-8). Moreover, in a case report of a patient with complete API deficiency, major skin abnormalities were observed (Ledoux-Corbusier & Achten (1975) J. Cutan. Pathol 2(1):25-9), compatible with a phenotype of uncontrolled elastase activity. Furthermore, in a pilot study, six patients with atopic dermatitis, who had failed to respond to high potency topical steroids, showed a remarkable improvement in tissue healing after topical application of API (Wachter & Lezdey (1992) Ann. Allergy 69(5):407-14).
Site-directed mutagenesis of the anti-elastase API active site suggests that the growth-promoting activity of API may be governed by a sequence that is distinct from its enzyme inhibitory domain (Sandoval, et al. (2002) Protein Eng. 15:413-8). The endogenous 36 amino acid C-terminal fragment of API (C36) is produced after proteolytic cleavage of the inhibitor. This is the only section of API (independent of the active site inhibitory loop) known to have biological activity. This peptide, which has been isolated from spleen and bile (Johansson, et al. (1992) FEBS Lett. 299(2):146-8) and shown to have chemotactic activity (Stockley, et al. (1990) Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 2(2):163-70).


Systems and methods of rate limiting are disclosed herein. In some example embodiments, a rate limiter service receives a request from an online application to access an online resource, and the rate limiter service transmits an indication of the request to a back end system, and an enforcement decision corresponding to the online resource is received from the back end system, with the enforcement decision comprising an instruction to either permit or deny access to the online resource, and the receiving of the enforcement decision from the back end system being performed asynchronously with the receiving of the request and the transmitting of the indication. In some example embodiments, the enforcement decision received from the back end system is stored, the stored enforcement decision is accessed in response to the receiving of the request, and the request is responded to using the accessed enforcement decision.

Providing consumers with access to online or other electronic resources may impact a resource provider's infrastructure. When multiple resources are requested and provided to multiple consumers, the weights or costs associated with the requests add up, and can thus lead to a decrease in overall system performance. For example, in the context of a network-based application platform such as a publishing platform or a marketplace platform, a resource consumer may submit a query request that requires a number of resources, such as some processing by a database server. The processing by the database server needed by the query may have certain associated costs that may be measured, for example, by the amount of time (e.g., processing time), memory, bandwidth, storage, or other computing resources. When a number of query requests and other requests require processing from the database server (e.g., record creation requests, record modification requests, record deletion requests, database management requests, etc.), the costs for a database server may approach or even exceed the database server's limits on its capabilities. Furthermore, responding to certain requests may impose different burdens on varying resources, and differing degrees of burden on the infrastructure than responding to other requests (e.g., querying a database may require substantially more processing than a webpage request). Overuse or abuse by a resource consumer may ultimately degrade the infrastructure's ability to serve other resource consumers.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Different printed products (10) are fed by feeding units (7) and collated in compartments (2), wherein the compartments (2) are conveyed substantially continuously past the feeding outlets (6) arranged successively in a line, and a printed product (10) is added through each feeding outlet (6). The compartments (2) have a compartment base (3) and a transverse wall (4), wherein the compartment base (3) is inclined at least in a feeding region (5) of a circuit (1) of the compartments (2) in a conveying direction and the transverse wall (4) is upstream or downstream depending on the direction of inclination of the compartments. The compartments (2) are coupled to a conveying means such that they are rotatable around a substantially horizontal and/or substantially vertical axis. Thus, it becomes possible to maintain the inclination angle of the compartments which they have in the feeding region, in a region (12) for conveying further, an extraction region (15) with inclining or declining gradients.

The invention is in the field of the processing of piece goods. The device serves the purpose of collating flat objects and conveying them further, wherein the flat objects are in particular printed products.
Collating printed products is understood by the expert as placing different printed products on top of each other to form stacks, wherein normally, identical printed products are superposed in the same succession in all stacks, the stacks, however, may differ in that in individual stacks individual printed products are not present. The printed products are e.g. individual, not folded or folded sheets or kerfs folded several times and the printed products collated to form a stack differ from each other in their printed contents, and may, however, also differ in their shape.
Devices for collating printed products include a plurality of feeding units as well as collating means. Each feeding unit is equipped for the feeding of printed products of a single type into the collating means and the collating means is equipped for the forming of the stacks from the fed printed products. The outlets of the feeding units directed towards the collating means are substantially arranged in a successive line and the collating means comprise a line of compartments for accommodation of the fed printed products, wherein the line of feeding outlets are in parallel to the line of the compartments. During the feeding steps, one compartment is aligned to each feeding outlet. Furthermore, the collating means is equipped for conveying of the fed printed products in a collating direction parallel to the two named lines. The conveying units are e.g. feeders, winding stations or on-line connections with devices in which the printed products to be collated are compiled or processed.
In collating devices in which the printed products are fed into the collating means substantially horizontally to the collating direction, the compartments are normally stationary during the feeding steps and the printed products are moved or tossed into the compartments directed towards the feeding outlets from the side. Between successive feeding steps, the printed products together with the compartments are moved in the collating direction over the distance between successive feeding outlets (or by an integral fraction of this distance), such that the compartments directed towards the feeding outlets are replaced by succeeding compartments. The compartments of such devices are normally arranged such that the printed products come to lie horizontally inside them. In publication U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,070, such a device is described, the compartments of which include one corner which is lower down than the other three corners, such that the printed products deposited therein are aligned to one another at this corner by gravity.
Collating devices, the compartments of which are always stationary, are also known. In this kind of device the printed products fed into the compartments are, between feeding steps, moved with the aid of a slider from the compartment they were fed to through the succeeding compartments, such that all printed products fed in the preceding step are in one compartment which is arranged ahead of the foremost feeding outlet. In order for the printed products moved from compartment to compartment to be stacked regularly in such a device, it is necessary for the printed products to lie oblique in the collating direction, i.e. that the bases of the compartments are arranged in a corresponding oblique manner. Collating devices with the described totally stationary compartments with oblique bases in the collating direction are e.g. described in publications U.S. Pat. No. 1,861,406, GB-1444487 or EP-0292458.
The disadvantages of the collating devices described in short above, in which the compartments are stationary during the feeding, are in particular based on the thus necessary intermittent operation in which large mass needs to be moved and stopped in relatively fast sequences. This means high energy input, high mechanical wear and restricted conveying speeds and, thus, restricted output.
Collating devices with compartments moving substantially continuously in the collating direction do not have the named disadvantages. For a problem-free feeding of the printed products into continuously moving compartments the printed products must, however, be substantially aligned and moved or tossed into the compartments in a precisely synchronized manner, wherein also their speed must be adapted to the conveying speed of the compartments. The collating means of known such devices is e.g. a conveying belt with partitions arranged crosswise and possibly lengthwise to the belt length, wherein two neighboring partitions define one compartment. In these compartments the fed printed products are stacked lying on the conveying belt. Further known collating devices with continuously conveyed compartments comprise V- or L-shaped compartments in which the fed printed products stand on one edge and lean on walls upstream and downstream in the collating direction.
Continuously conveyed compartments, in which the printed products are stacked in a lying manner are simple to implement (e.g. conveying belt with transverse partitions) and they do not require a high accuracy in feeding because they have large openings and may possibly be larger than the printed products to be fed. Because the compartments must be of relatively large dimensions in the collating direction, high conveying speeds become necessary for high output, which restricts application of the device. Furthermore the stacked printed products in the compartments, especially when these are larger than the printed products, are not actually supported and the stacks are, thus, not stabilized, which, in particular, for a further conveying with accelerations and/or changes of direction, may lead to increased effort required when extracting the stacks from the compartments or further processing of the stacks.
V- or L-shaped compartments may be conveyed in much closer succession, such that for an equal output the necessary conveying speeds are much lower. Furthermore the printed products stand on one edge in these compartments and automatically remain aligned to one another in relation to this edge due to gravity. On the other hand, the openings of the compartments are considerably narrower and a relevantly larger accuracy is required in feeding, not only such that the mostly unguided, downstream edge of a printed product to be fed meets the compartment opening in the first place, but in particular that this downstream edge may be safely led past the upper edges of products already stacked in the compartment. The named high feeding speed restricts the conveying speed and, thus, the output of the correspondingly equipped collating device. The compartments are possibly also to be equipped with supporting means by which products already stacked within are pressed against a wall in order not to not conflict with a further printed product to be fed. With this kind of means the compartments become elaborate and complicated regarding the device and its control.

Apparatus for collating flat objects and for conveying the collated objects further


Wear detection in a plain bearing is proposed, with a first component comprising at least one sliding element of plastics material, which has a sliding surface for mobile guidance of a second component relative to the first component. The first component, in particular the sliding element, has a device for detecting wear in a critical region of the sliding element, in particular at the sliding surface thereof, with a transponder and with a detector element which cooperates with the transponder and is arranged on the sliding element. The detector element changes the behavior of the transponder when a predetermined degree of wear is reached in the critical region of the plastics sliding element, such that the wear-induced change is wirelessly detectable. The system and detection method are particularly advantageous for plain bearings for a lubricant-free bearing arrangement.

Plain bearings in the sense as used here have a first component comprising at least one sliding element of plastics material, which has a sliding surface for mobile guidance of a second component relative to the first component, in particular by lubricant-free solid friction. The sliding element may in this case be used as an additional component, for example as a plain bearing bush, for mechanical decoupling of two components movable relative to one another. The sliding element of plastics material may also itself form the bearing-mounting or bearing-mounted component of the mechanical bearing arrangement. The guided component may be made from metal.
The present case in particular considers plain bearings with solid friction ("dry friction", i.e. without fluid-film lubrication), wherein at least one friction partner is made of plastics material. Modern plastics plain bearings use special plastics materials which may optionally have "self-lubricating" properties, and in the last few decades have become some of the most important types of lubrication-free and maintenance-free plain bearings.
Due to the inherent friction, a degree of wear, in particular deterioration caused by abrasion, is inevitable in plain bearings. Wear defines the intended service life of the plain bearing or, for instance in the case of improper use or overloading, possibly also an earlier failure point.
The invention therefore relates to a system for detecting wear (or deterioration) in plain bearings of the type in question and the application of said system. The invention relates primarily to a plain bearing and a sliding element which are suitable for wear detection. It is desirable for said wear detection to take place in contactless or non-contacting manner.
RFID systems for contactless detection are known from electrical engineering. These serve primarily in contactless location and identification of objects. RFID systems substantially consist of at least one transponder, often also known as an RFID tag, which contains identification information and a corresponding reader which is capable of reading the identifier. The reader generates radio waves, i.e. an electromagnetic alternating field, to which the transponder is exposed. Passive transponders draw part of the electrical field energy via their antenna and use this for their own power supply during communication. Active transponders have their own power source. In both cases, the transponder modulates a response in the alternating field, which is detected by the reader. RFID transponders are small, robust and very cheaply obtainable, since they are manufactured in large numbers and have a simple structure. They are therefore already widely used and for example have for decades been attached to goods to protect against theft. More recently, RFID systems have been used for example to identify identity papers, to immobilize vehicles or indeed for banknotes.
The use of RFID systems is also already known in mechanical engineering in general, in particular in the case of bearings and specifically in the production and application of rolling bearings.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,534,045 B2 describes a rolling bearing with a special holder for an RFID tag, which stores a plurality of items of information relating to the rolling bearing permanently and in contactlessly retrievable manner, for example type name, tolerance details, special requirements, time of manufacture and lot number, etc. U.S. Pat. No. 6,501,382 B1 in a similar disclosure also proposes using the RFID tag to detect authenticity or product counterfeiting. More extensive use of the RFID tag is not described in either case.
Patent application WO 2009/127190 A1 discloses a specific embodiment of an RFID transponder antenna which is designed for use in components predominantly of metal, in particular in rolling bearings, but also in plain bearings and linear guides consisting of metal components. The antenna has a simple slot shape which may be very largely independent of the bearing shape. This makes it possible to prevent difficulties resulting inter alia from inherent shielding by metal parts.
Patent application DE 10 2007 009 093 A1 discloses a rolling bearing assembly with running surfaces and rolling elements therebetween. Arranged on a rolling element is an active RFID tag with memory, which buffers forces determined by an additional sensor on the rolling element and relays them wirelessly.
The above-stated RFID solutions enable identification of products and reading out of stored data. In conjunction with further sensors, these solutions in part also enable condition testing and theoretically wear detection.
Additional sensors for determining physical variables would have to be supplied with power and entail additional expenditure. This leads to cost increases, which cancel out the considerable advantages of plastics plain bearings, namely simplicity of design and their generally considerably lower cost compared with rolling bearings of a conventional metal design.
DE 102 27 677 A1 discloses a device for remote monitoring of the condition of a machine part subject to progressive operational wear using at least one electrical conductor track structure which is mounted on the machine part in such a way that it wears together with the machine part during operation. Said remote monitoring, for example of a cutting tool, is achieved by means of a transponder and is very expensive to produce inter alia due to the conductor track structure.

Plain bearing, plastics sliding element, system and method for wear detection


A printer is provided with a roll paper holding portion that holds roll paper without axially supporting the roll paper; a sheet conveying unit that conveys a sheet supplied from the roll paper; a printing unit that executes printing on the sheet; and a roll paper pressing unit that presses the roll paper held in the roll paper holding portion, wherein the roll paper pressing unit is provided with a pressing roller that presses the roll paper and rotates along with the sheet conveyance, and a rotation suppressing portion that suppresses the rotation of the pressing roller.

In recent years, a roll paper printer has been used for various purposes. As a structure for holding roll paper in the roll paper printer, there are known an axial-support type in which a center of the roll paper is supported, and a throw-in type (drop-in type) in which the roll paper is held without being axially supported.
The technology relating to a roll paper printer of the throw-in type is described in Patent Document 1.
The roll paper printer described in Patent Document 1 includes a roll holding portion which is configured to hold the roll paper in the manner of the throw-in type, and a roll paper pressing roller (reference symbol 41 in the Patent Document) which is kept in a state of being pressed against an outer peripheral surface of the roll paper while following a change in outer shape of the roll paper.


The present invention relates to a particulate material separation assembly. It comprises a filtration membrane and an antifouling device. The antifouling device comprises one or more magnets and a plurality of magnetisable particles. The one or more magnets cause the plurality of magnetisable particles to self-assemble into dynamic bristles, thereby forming a brush. The particulate material separation assembly is particularly useful in the context of micro algae harvesting.

There is significant interest in algae growth as algae allow fixating CO2, and/or transforming CO2 in useful compounds using (sun) light as an energy source using photosynthesis. Such useful compounds include sugars, fats, nutritional compounds such as poly-unsaturated fatty acids, carotene, anti-oxidants, aquaculture feeds for e.g. fish larvae, and biomass for energy production. Also, Algae grow fast while not requiring prime agricultural soil for growth.
However, state-of-the-art algae growth systems suffer from a number of downsides. So-called open pond systems suffer from contamination problems whereas closed photo bioreactors tend to be dependent on artificial light which results in high energy costs. One solution could be the use of hybrid systems which are closed and which are based on solar energy. Another challenge is related to harvesting algae in low density growth cultures in a simple and cost-efficient way, preferably without damaging the algae. A last set of challenges is related to down-stream processing such as drying, extraction etc.
Several methods of harvesting micro algae exist: sedimentation, flotation, centrifugation, filtration, capillary dewatering, and combinations thereof. Optionally, chemical additives such as flotation or flocculation compounds may be added for increasing the efficacy of these separation processes.
Algae comprise a considerable amount of water. Accordingly the density difference between algae and growth media may be small. For fat-containing algae, the density difference can even be zero. This small or zero density difference combined with the small dimensions of algae results in spontaneous sedimentation and decantation, or flotation, to be unrealistic.
In case the algae and growth medium have a near-zero density difference, the separation efficacy can be improved by means of centrifugation at high angular velocity. However, this requires a lot of energy because a large amount of water needs to be accelerated for harvesting a relatively low amount of algae due to the low algae densities involved. In addition, associated compression may result in algae damage.
An alternative separation process is separation based on size, i.e. filtration. Dead end filtration can be difficult: once an algae-based filter cake is formed, the filter is clogged. Algae are soft, and can produce large amounts of slimy polysaccharides, and both easily form a filtration barrier, even at very thin filter cake thicknesses.
An alternative to dead end filtration is cross-flow filtration wherein an attempt is made to prevent filter cake formation by means of sideways flow. However, the sideways flow velocity should be high, implying that this comes at the cost of significant energy expenditure for pumping and it does not prevent filter cake formation altogether either. The filter cake may be removed by means of a back flush.
Another option is vibration-assisted dead end filtration in which vibration is used for creating local sideways flow, however this costs plenty of vibrational energy.
An alternative is mechanical scraping, as is done in e.g. baker's yeast preparation. In such processes a pre-formed filter bed, e.g. consisting of starch grains, is commonly used instead of a filter. The pre-formed filter bed is scraped off together with the filter cake. This process of mechanical scraping is very difficult because of the extremely high mechanical demands posed on the blade in terms of straightness, precision, etc. In addition, the filter bed material may be contaminated. Also, mechanical damage of algae during scraping is likely.
Additives may be used to avoid formation of the filter cake but this has the disadvantage that the harvested algae are no longer pure, and that the growth medium contains additives which compromises its reusability.
Accordingly, there is a need for a simple, energy-efficient device and process for cleaning a filter during use to avoid cake formation. Such a process and device should ideally allow the efficient harvesting of algae and should not result in algae damage or in growth medium or algae contamination.

Micro algae harvesting methods and devices


A multi-dimensional transistor structure is fabricated which includes a base transistor substrate upon which transistors are formed. An elevated substrate is formed overlying the base transistor and having an oxide isolation formed in localized regions beneath the elevated substrate but overlying the base transistor substrate. A plurality of transistors are formed on a substrate wafer to form a base-level transistor formation. An intralevel dielectric (ILD) layer is deposited overlying the base-level transistor formation. Overlying the ILD layer, a "sandwich" structure is formed with the deposition of a first polysilicon layer, deposition of an oxide isolation layer, and deposition of a second polysilicon layer. The median oxide isolation layer is patterned and etched according to a localized oxide isolation mask in a configuration determined by the position of transistors in the base-level transistor formation and by the planned position of transistors, that are not yet formed, in an overlying elevated substrate level. The median oxide isolation layer is patterned and etched in a configuration so that isolation is achieved in a predetermined manner, for example, on an individual transistor basis, a transistor group basis, or the like. The resulting electronic integrated circuit structure is used for high speed circuit applications due to high packing densities and small distances between devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit and fabrication method. More specifically, the present invention relates to an integrated circuit including transistors formed in a plurality of planes on substrates including an oxide-isolated substrate and a silicon substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past several decades, the semiconductor industry has continuously developed new and improved fabrication processes. Process improvements, including process improvements and structural improvements, have generated more highly integrated and reliable circuits. Manufacturing process improvements and economies of scale resulting in reduced costs and prices have combined to result in fabrication of devices and circuits in increasingly high densities, quantities, and reliability. Structural improvements include new device designs that improve circuit performance, power control, and reliability.
Technological advancements from small-scale integration (SSI) to ultralarge-scale integration (ULSI) are accompanied by a trend to increasing integrated circuit chip size and decreasing size of individual circuit components. Although integrated circuit chip size has grown as increasing numbers of devices are constructed on the chip, higher densities more greatly result from a decrease in the size of each part of the individual devices, known as the device feature size. The decrease in feature size has resulted from technological improvements in photolithography imaging processes and a trend toward fabrication of multiple layers of conductors.
Recently, the improvements in photolithography have slowed due to limitations in the imaging process, which are exacerbated by increased surface steps, additional layers, and increases in wafer diameter.
What is needed is a semiconductor processing technique and integrated circuit structural design that allows for increased improvement in integrated circuit density.

Integrated circuit including an oxide-isolated localized substrate and a standard silicon substrate and fabrication method


A modular combustion liner cap assembly (42) for use in a multi-nozzle combustor of a gas turbine includes a substantially cylindrical first sleeve (46) having a rearward end and a forward end; a rear plate (48) fixed to the rearward end of the sleeve (46), the rear plate (48) provided with a first plurality of openings (52) for receiving a corresponding number of fuel nozzles (32); a forward plate subassembly (68) fixed to the forward end of the sleeve (46), the forward plate provided with a second plurality of openings (80) in substantial alignment with the first plurality of openings in the rear plate (48); a plurality of open ended premix tubes having forward and rearward ends, each tube (96) extending axially within the sleeve (46) between the rear plate (48) and the forward plate assembly (68), each premix tube (96) supported within a corresponding one of the first plurality of openings (52) at its rearward end and a corresponding one of the second plurality of openings (80) at its forward end.

Gas turbines generally include a compressor, one or more combustors, a fuel injection system and a turbine. Typically, the compressor pressurizes inlet air which is then turned in direction or reverse flowed to the combustors where it is used to cool the combustor and also to provide air to the combustion process. In a multi-combustor turbine, the combustors are located about the periphery of the gas turbine, and a transition duct connects the outlet end of each combustor with the inlet end of the turbine to deliver the hot products of the combustion process to the turbine.
In an effort to reduce the amount of NOx in the exhaust gas of a gas turbine, inventors Wilkes and Hilt devised the dual stage, dual mode combustor which is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,801 issued Oct. 6, 1981 to the assignee of the present invention. In this aforementioned patent, it is disclosed that the amount of exhaust NOx can be greatly reduced, as compared with a conventional single stage, single fuel nozzle combustor, if two combustion chambers are established in the combustor such that under conditions of normal operating load, the upstream or primary combustion chamber serves as a premix chamber, with actual combustion occurring in the downstream or secondary combustion chamber. Under this normal operating condition, there is no flame in the primary chamber (resulting in a decrease in the formation of NOx), and the secondary or center nozzle provides the flame source for combustion in the secondary combustor. The specific configuration of the patented invention includes an annular array of primary nozzles within each combustor, each of which nozzles discharges into the primary combustion chamber, and a central secondary nozzle which discharges into the secondary combustion chamber. These nozzles may all be described as diffusion nozzles in that each nozzle has an axial fuel delivery pipe surrounded at its discharge end by an air swirler which provides air for fuel nozzle discharge orifices.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,570, there is disclosed a dual stage, dual mode combustor which utilizes a combined diffusion/premix nozzle as the centrally located secondary nozzle. In operation, a relatively small amount of fuel is used to sustain a diffusion pilot whereas a premix section of the nozzle provides additional fuel for ignition of the main fuel supply from the upstream primary nozzles directed into the primary combustion chamber.
In a subsequent development, a secondary nozzle air swirler previously located in the secondary combustion chamber downstream of the diffusion and premix nozzle orifices (at the boundary of the secondary flame zone), was relocated to a position upstream of the premix nozzle orifices in order to eliminate any direct contact with the flame in the combustor. This development is disclosed in the above identified co-pending '246 application.
Prior multi-nozzle cap assemblies utilize welded sheet metal fabrications which are very labor and tooling intensive to make. Once assembled, these cap assemblies are difficult to repair or rework, and in some instances, if damaged, repair or rework cannot be economically justified and the cap must be scrapped.

Dry low NOx multi-nozzle combustion liner cap assembly


A multi layered tire former bladder and a method for making the bladder is described. The multi layered bladder includes a elastomeric bladder having an outer surface and an inner surface; a release coating on the outer surface of the bladder; and at least two fabric reinforcing plies which include a first outer ply embedded in the bladder below the outer surface and an inner surface fabric ply at the inner surface of the bladder. In the method of making the bladder an air dried release coating is applied to the outer elastomeric surface of the bladder.

Tires are a combination of many different parts, some of which are rubber and some of which are fabric and/or steel. These parts come together at a tire assembly machine ("TAM"). The TAM is a large horizontal drum where a tire builder who operates the TAM will first slip bead subassemblies over the drum. Thereafter, an inner liner layer is created by wrapping multi-layers of elastomeric rubber onto the drum. The ends of the layers are spliced together to make what is a tube. A tire casing is built with the application of one or more body plies. At this point, the components of the tire more resemble a wheel than a tire and the casing has to be put into the shape and size of a tire. This is done with a rubber tire former bladder. This bladder acts like an inner tube and inflates inside the layers which form the tire casing. At the same time, the TAM drum, which is like a mandrel and over which the layers have been wrapped, shortens itself and pushes the outside edges of the various layers together.
The edges of the body plies of the casing also have to be folded over the tire beads to secure the beads to the casing. This folding is done by turn up bladders (TUBs), which turn the body plies over the bead(s) to secure the plies and casing to the beads. Thereafter, belts and treads are applied, the TAM spun and the various parts are pressed together to make a green tire which then is cured.
Tire former bladders are highly elastic and may be used to shape the uncured tire to place and stabilize plies and tread. These former bladders are subjected to multiple inflations and deflations and have fairly large areas which must readily release from the inner liner of the tire so that the former bladder may be used with another tire forming in another cycle of tire making. In this respect, tire former bladders are unique and different from turn up bladders. The inflations and deflations of tire former bladders cause abrasion on the internal surface of the bladder as it deflates and the internal surface of the bladder folds onto itself. In the past, this rubbing has caused abrading the internal surface of the bladder. Hence the tire former bladder not only must be strong, but ideally should be abrasion resistant to withstand thousands of duty cycles under dynamic high strain conditions, yet the tire former bladder also must readily release from large areas of the uncured tire when deflated. In contrast, turn up bladders do not experience strain and wear from having large areas having to release from green tires. Tire former bladders in the past have readily stuck to green tires disrupting production and the cycle life of the tire former bladder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,904 to Graves describes TAMs and the use of bladders, most specifically mentioning turn up bladders (TUBs), which have a release agent on the outer surface of that elastomeric bladder. Graves has considerable detail as to the use and composition of the release agent on the exterior surface of the TUB. Graves also mentions that the TUBs have an optional fabric reinforcement, but does not discuss the problem of abrasion of the inner surface of tire former bladders, how much stretch the fabric has or should have and where the fabric reinforcements are made a part of the TUB. Indeed tire former bladders need to be capable of more stretch than typical TUBs because tire former bladders do stretch more, and silicone release agents do not adhere well to the outer surface of the former bladder.
Fabric reinforcing agents also are known in tire former bladders. These fabric reinforcing agents, however, were on the inside and/or outside surface of elastomer bladder and did not address an abrasion problem together with a problem concerning the release of the outer surface of the former bladder from the green tire as the bladder as the bladder went through multiple work cycles in forming tires. Known fabric reinforcing agents on the inside surface of the former bladder did not address the ability of the reinforcing agent or fabric to adhere to the bladder, yet reduce friction at the inner surface of the bladder as it is inflated and deflated. Bladders with reinforcing agents on their outside surface did not address or solve the releasability of the bladder's outside surface from the inner liner of the tire being formed.

Tire former bladder and method for making same

Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC


A grate assembly for a fluidized bed boiler is provided. A number of parallel sparge pipes extending substantially in the horizontal direction and are provided with devices for supplying fluidizing air from within sparge pipes into a combustion chamber located above the grate assembly. The discharge of coarse material is effected through an aperture system between the sparge pipes into a receiver unit fitted below the grate assembly. At least some of the sparge pipes are provided with a cool medium circulation, wherein at least a part of the cool medium circulation is placed in the sparge pipes at the upper edges thereof, to extend so that it provides a limit to the edge of the aperture system in the upper part of the sparge pipe in the longitudinal direction of the sparge pipe. Devices for supplying fluidizing air comprise a tubular supply channel that is directed from the upper surface of the sparge pipe. The supply channel is provided with air nozzle apertures at its upper part. The supply channel for at least some of the devices for supplying fluidizing air is fitted in vertical direction to extend on top of a part of the cool medium circulation in a vertical direction.

A grate assembly for a fluidized bed boiler of the above-described type is described in Finnish patent application FI-935455. The grate assembly described in this patent application has proved to be very functional in practice, in particular with regard to cooling the grate assembly. It has been noticed in practice that for cooling of the sparge pipe it is advantageous to position the cool medium circulation at least partially at the upper edges of the sparge pipes in such a manner that the cool medium channel of the cool medium circulation, in particular the cooling duct, is arranged in two adjacent sparge pipes to be situated at the upper edges of the aperture system. An implementation of this type of cool medium circulation is shown in FIG. 3 of Finnish patent application FI-935455. Thus, the edge area which is critical in view of the endurance of the sparge pipe, is cooled, wherein no high heat tensions are effected thereto. This applies in particular to the corner area where the substantially horizontal upper surface of the cross section of the sparge pipe is changed to a substantially vertical side wall of the sparge pipe, i.e., to the substantially vertical side edge of the aperture system. On the other hand, this structure, advantageous with regard to cooling of the sparge pipe, involves problems in particular prior art solutions, the means for supplying fluidizing air have to be placed, in particular as to the air supply location, i.e. the junction between the upper surface of the sparge pipe and the means for supplying fluidizing air, further away from the aperture system, to the upper surface of the sparge pipe, perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the aperture system. This is effected specifically by the fact that the cool medium circulation is placed, at least partially, at the upper corners of the sparge pipes. However, it should be noted that in view of the operation of the fluidizing process, the fluidizing air has to be distributed evenly to the fluidized bed situated above the grate assembly. In other words, the entire fluidized bed has to be kept in a fluidized phase. So-called coarse material is accumulated specifically at such places in the fluidized bed where the air blow is insufficient. In case a process condition of this kind is effected at the aperture system in the grate assembly that is composed, at least partially, of sparge pipes, the danger exists that the aperture system chokes owing to the fact that there is no air blow or an insufficient air blow at the aperture system. Consequently, larger sintered pieces formed of coarse material are produced at the aperture system, and it is most probable that these pieces will eventually block the aperture system, at least partially. It is obvious that the air supply could be effectuated to be smooth and sufficient for maintaining a fluidized phase in the fluidized bed by increasing the air blow through nozzles or by enlarging the nozzle apertures, but in that case it is most probable that excessive air blows have to be introduced, which may cause disturbances to the process itself. In any case, excessive air blows increase the energy consumption of the process.
The above described drawbacks have given rise to the present invention which further improves and raises the level of technology related to cooled grate assemblies composed of sparge pipes and used in fluidized bed boilers. A particular purpose of the present invention is to ensure a smooth supply of fluidizing air for maintaining the fluidized bed, in particular in such the area of the aperture system in a manner that the energy costs are reasonable and the aperture system is not choked.

Grate assembly for a fluidized bed boiler


Methods and systems for adjusting a tuning state of a pendulum damper are provided. In one example, an engine system is provided that includes a crankshaft coupled to a plurality of pistons in a plurality of cylinders. The crankshaft includes a plurality of pendulums coupled to a plurality of cheeks and a pendulum tuning mechanism coupled to an associated pendulum included in the plurality of pendulums or coupled to an associated pendulum in a torque converter and configured to tune damping characteristics of the associated pendulum based on an engine order.

Engine crankshafts oscillate during combustion operation. Devices such as pendulum dampers (also known as pendulum vibration absorbers, pendulum absorbers, and centrifugal pendulum absorbers) dampen torsional vibrations emanating from the crankshaft, thereby reducing noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) in the engine. For instance, the dampers may be included in a transmission torque converter, in one embodiment, or coupled to crankshaft cheeks, in other embodiments. Certain engine designs have also utilized cylinder deactivation technology, affecting the crankshaft's vibrational frequencies. However, previous pendulum dampers do not possess the adaptability to dampen the different oscillations (e.g., engine orders) occurring during both partial and full cylinder operation modes in variable displacement engines (VDEs). Thus, previous pendulum dampers have made tradeoffs with regard to selecting the pendulum's attenuation characteristics to suit either partial or full cylinder operation modes. For instance, the pendulum damper may be tuned to favor full cylinder operation (e.g., dampen vibrations of engine order in full cylinder operation mode), due to its more frequent usage, in certain scenarios.
One example approach for damping crankshaft vibration is shown by Pietron in U.S. Pat. No. 9,068,617 B2. Pietron discloses a crankshaft with a torsion-absorbing pendulum and a brake designed to augment the pendulum's travel limit based on crankshaft speed. The inventors, however, have recognized several drawbacks with Pietron's pendulum. The braking unit in the pendulum is not controllable during engine operation. Consequently, the pendulum is not capable of dynamic adjustment during, for example, transient conditions. As such, augmentation of Pietron's pendulum damping is not possible in engines deploying variable displacement technology.
The inventors have recognized the abovementioned drawbacks and developed an engine system to overcome at least a portion of the drawbacks. The engine system includes a crankshaft coupled to a plurality of pistons in a plurality of cylinders. The crankshaft includes a plurality of pendulums coupled to a plurality of cheeks. The crankshaft also includes a pendulum tuning mechanism coupled to one of the crankshaft pendulums or a pendulum included in a torque converter and configured to adjust damping characteristics of the associated pendulum based on an engine order. In this way, pendulum damping can be augmented to dampen a variety of engine orders. For instance, the tuning mechanism may be operated such that torque converter slip is reduced when cylinders are deactivated and when all the cylinders are activated the lug threshold may be reduced when the engine is operating at higher loads.
As one example, the engine system may include a controller designed to operate the pendulum tuning mechanism for adjustment of the damping characteristic of the associated pendulum responsive to deactivating a portion of the plurality of cylinders. It will be appreciated that the engine order changes when the cylinders are deactivated. In this way, pendulum tuning is dynamically adjusted based on changes in cylinder activation/deactivation to achieve additional NVH reductions.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Engine system and method for pendulum damping


A method for improving the safety of motorcycling. With the aid of a sensor system, it is monitored if a motorcyclist assumes a predefined posture. Using an algorithm on a control unit, if it is detected that the motorcyclist deviates from the predefined posture for longer than a predetermined period of time, a signal transmitter is activated.

In road traffic, accidents are caused over and over again by a rider's inattentiveness or lack of fitness to drive. Typical reasons for such accidents include, for example, serious fatigue all the way up to microsleep, a health problem such as hypoglycemia, or high emotional stress of the rider. Motorcyclists are put at a particularly high risk by overtiredness or lack of attention.
In motorcycling, apart from the physical state of the rider, the correct posture is also important. If the rider abandons a posture suitable for traffic and rides, for example, with no hands, he may endanger himself and other road users.

Method for monitoring the posture of a motorcyclist


A carbon allotrope composite field effect artificial aurora generating device includes an extremely low frequency power supply cabinet, a carbon allotrope composite field effect device and a cuboid-shaped water tank. The carbon allotrope composite field effect device is formed by alternately and in parallel superimposing, in a form of parallel capacitors, a plurality of planar electrode plates made of a foamed nickel deposited with a carbon allotrope composite and a plurality of planar separators made of an insulating material. A first output wire of the extremely low frequency power supply cabinet is connected to odd-numbered planar electrode plates of the plurality of planar electrode plates through a first conductive rod, and a second output wire of the extremely low frequency power supply cabinet is connected to even-numbered planar electrode plates of the plurality of planar electrode plates through a second conductive rod.

Aurora is a natural phenomenon of the earth, which is a result of the interaction of the cosmic high-energy charged particles, the earth's surface atmosphere and the earth's magnetic field. Generally, aurora borealis appears to show greenish glow when oxygen is excited (557 nM), while aurora australis typically presents in shades of purple when nitrogen is excited (428 nM). The gorgeous aurora illuminates the mysterious night sky above the south pole and the north pole, which has brought countless fantasy dreams and desires to mankind for thousands of years, hoping that human beings will be able, like wizards, to create, manipulate and make use of this great miracle of the universe.
Scientific research shows that the carbon allotrope composed of graphene, carbon nanotube, graphdiyne, fullerene and diamond has remarkable nano-material properties and exhibits excellent properties in electricity, optics, thermotics, mechanics and others. Using graphene as an example, electrons escaping from its surface require extremely low power. Very weak energy can trigger electron emissions, and electron or hole conduction therein may be performed at a speed more than a hundred times faster than any other material. This is almost close to the velocity of light. Different from other materials in which one photon produces one electron, with respect to graphene, one incident photon excites many electrons in graphene to produce a large number of electronic signals. Under the action of a low-frequency electric field in a low-energy state, some freely vibrating electrons on the surface of the graphene interact with photons to produce electron dense waves propagating along the surface, which can form electromagnetic surface waves of low-density plasma. Meanwhile, the electric field component of the light wave acts on the free electrons on the surface of the graphene. This can cause longitudinal wave oscillation of the free electrons along the light propagation direction, so as to produce the phenomena of surface plasmon resonance and coupled electromagnetic wave resonance. In addition, graphene can transfer electrons and nuclei like hydrogen and heavy hydrogen atoms by an effect known as quantum tunneling and cause vortex motion at the tip of a micro-region on its surface. This can, in turn, cause high-energy particles to reverse to produce a certain number of superluminal abnormal high-energy charged particles.
Schumann resonance demonstrates that the resonant frequency of an enormous cavity resonator formed by a closed-sphere earth-ionospheric cavity can enhance the radiation of extremely low frequency electromagnetic waves having a frequency of 0-300 Hz. In recent years, scientists have monitored global environmental changes by studying the Schumann resonance caused by natural phenomena such as lightning strikes, earthquakes, and tropical temperature changes.
By means of a method of normal-temperature, vacuum and high-frequency plasma chemical vapor deposition on diamond-like carbon film, taking a foamed nickel or a carbon fiber as a bias cathode substrate, a carbon allotrope composite with a thickness of about 200 nm can be obtained on the surface of the foamed nickel or the carbon fiber by controlling the chemical vapor deposition formation conditions. The resulting carbon allotrope composite having a thickness of about 200 nm is determined via the Analysis and Testing Center of Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences by using the electron microscope and Raman spectroscopy. The foamed nickel deposited with the carbon allotrope composite is made into planar electrode plates, which are immersed in water in parallel and loaded with extremely low frequency electric field, so that the abnormal high-energy charged particles can be excited by Schumann resonance. In addition to the south pole and the north pole of the earth, the device can produce auroras phenomenon in other regions. Moreover, in the period of dawn or dusk when solar rays are parallel to the horizon, the video recording equipment can be used to record the columnar greenish aurora composed of oxygen ions and the columnar fuchsia aurora composed of nitrogen ions in real time. Artificial aurora is covered by strong sunlight during the day, and cannot be excited when there is no sunlight at night, so only in the period of dawn or dusk, that is, when solar rays are parallel to the horizon and the light intensity is weakest, the artificial aurora can be captured and recorded by high-resolution camera.
Usually, aurora occurs only at the earth's magnetic pole region because some of the charged particles from the solar wind are captured by the earth's magnetic field when approaching earth and fall toward the magnetic pole. Those charged particles collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen, knocking out electrons, and cause the atoms of oxygen and nitrogen to be excited ions and emit radiation with different wavelengths. The aurora borealis is mainly a greenish glow formed by oxygen ions, while the aurora australis is mainly a fuchsia glow formed by nitrogen ions. Therefore, the aurora is the product of the interaction of the earth's magnetic field, the cosmic high-energy charged particles and the atmosphere. By means of the aurora that is produced in the non-earth magnetic pole region and excited by the carbon allotrope composite field effect artificial aurora generating device, it is helpful to study and explore the formation and distribution characteristics of the non-dipole spatial magnetic poles in the earth's atmosphere magnetosphere, the origin of the earth's magnetic field, the effects of cosmic energy on the earth's climatic environment and other phenomena. In addition, the spatial energy of artificial aurora can be used to control climate change and environmental pollution and predict natural disasters.
Applicant has used the active oxygen atoms produced by the carbon allotrope composite field effect artificial aurora generating device to perform mineralization and reduction on the pollutants in the atmosphere, water and soil. So far, the treatment of dozens of polluted water bodies has been completed, and passed the expert technical appraisal in 2016 (Zhong Ke Huan Jian Zi No. [58]).
Detection of the concentration of active oxygen element in the atmosphere:
Increasedtimes of theAtmospheric60-minuteconcentrationbackgrounddetectionof activatedExperimental site(ug/L)(ug/L)oxygen elementYu Garden, Shanghai—780780City, ChinaEmerald Lake,1503202.1Chongqing City,ChinaOxidation Pond,011301130Bayannaole City,Inner MongoliaAutonomous Region,China
Detection of the concentration of active oxygen element in experimental water body:
Increasedtimes of theWater body60-minuteconcentrationbackgrounddetectionof activatedExperimental site(mg/L)(mg/L)oxygen elementYaojiang, Ningbo3134.3City, ChinaWest Lake, Yanqing219.79.9City, China
The active oxygen element in the experimental water body digests the organic matter in the water body (chemical oxygen demand (COD) value):
COD valueCOD valueof waterWaterof waterbodyReducedbodybodyDetectionduring thetimes ofcapacitybackgroundtimeexperimentthe CODExperimental site(m3)(mg/L)(Day)(mg/L)valueChaohu3.7 × 109  27.72619.41.4Lake, AnhuiProvince,ChinaNorth Lake,3 × 1051720.42724.6Baoding City,ChinaTao ran4 × 10597.137.313.3Pavilion,Beijing City,China
The above data are obtained by using a JXGT pump suction detector to detect the atomic oxygen content in the atmosphere and using the dichromate method to detect the COD value of the water body.
The above research results show that when the water body capacity of Chaohu Lake in China is 3.7×109 (m3) and the COD value is reduced by 1.4 times, it is required to consume the huge energy of about 109-1010 W, which is equivalent to that of the output energy of the carbon allotrope composite field effect artificial aurora generating device, which is billions of times higher than the input energy thereof. By means of the high-energy charged particles that is produced by the carbon allotrope composite field effect artificial aurora generating device and has an energy close to or higher than the solar storm energy. The artificial auroras with the huge energy can be produced in the earth's atmosphere, which can activate oxygen and nitrogen elements in the atmosphere and increase the concentration of active oxygen element in the atmosphere by 2.1-1130 times. In addition, the concentration of active oxygen element in the experimental water body is increased by 4.4-9.9 times, and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) value is decreased by 1.4-24.6 times. Therefore, it is desirable to apply this artificial aurora acquisition method to control the pollution of the earth's atmosphere, water and soil, which is of epoch-making significance to solve the increasingly serious environmental pollution problems that human beings have to face and restore the natural ecology quickly.

Carbon allotrope composite field effect artificial aurora generating device


Compositions according to the present invention include as essential components: from about 10% to about 50% by weight of d-limonene, from about 50% to about 90% by weight of NMP, and from about 0% to about 10% by weight of a thickener.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paint stripper composition for the removal of cured or partially cured paint materials from substrates. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved paint stripper containing a combination of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and dlimonene for effective paint removal and a more pleasing aroma.
2. Description of Relevant Art
The term "paint" as hereafter used refers to coatings such as epoxies, enamels, latexes, primers, basecoats, clearcoats, lacquers, varnishes, shellacs and polyurethane finishes used to protect and/or beautify substrates. As used herein, the term "paint stripper" refers to compositions which remove or facilitate the removal of paint from a substrate.
Chemical based paint strippers have enjoyed widespread commercial application due to their relative ease of use over various physical scraping and/or sanding methods of paint removal. Many of these paint strippers are solvent based, utilizing methylene chloride, methanol, or butanol, among others, as solvent components. While these solvents yield significant paint removal, they also present potential health, safety, and environmental concerns to both the user and the surrounding environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,507,983 discloses a paint stripper which contains methylene chloride and methylcellulose, a thickening agent used to increase the viscosity of the formulation. Methylene chloride is an effective low-cost paint stripper characterized by high vapor pressure (400 mm Hg at 75.degree. F.) which causes it to evaporate very rapidly. This high vapor pressure leads to an extreme vapor inhalation hazard. In addition, methylene chloride is a suspected carcinogen as well as a dermal irritant. A further concern of methylene chloride deals with possible ground water contamination when the residual stripper is removed from the substrate.
In an effort to reduce the health, safety, and toxicity dangers of methylene chloride based paint strippers, several formulations utilizing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) have been developed. NMP has been proposed as a substitute for chlorinated solvents because of its effectiveness, low toxicity, biodegradability and high flash point. Frusiak, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,300, discloses paint stripping compositions which include formic acid, NMP and ethyl-3-ethoxypropionate (EEP). This formulation acidifies the NMP with an organic or inorganic acid with a pH of 4.0 or less, preferring the use of formic, sulfuric, or phosphoric acid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,255 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,510 also use formic acid as a component of the overall composition. However, each of the above formulations still presents a dermal safety hazard due to the low pH of the formic acid (pH=2.3) and other components.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,279 discloses a paint stripper composition which includes NMP and at least one mononuclear aromatic hydrocarbon. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,120,810; 4,749,510; and 4,666,626 contain aromatic hydrocarbons within the formulation.
These and other formulations, however, may still present potential health, safety, and dermal hazards based on the absorption rate of the particular aromatic hydrocarbon or aromatic solvent used. In addition, many aromatic hydrocarbons are believed to be carcinogenic, pose environmental concerns, and are troublesome regarding disposal of spent chemical.
Sullivan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,621 relates to mixtures of NMP, selected co-solvents (which may include aromatic hydrocarbons and terpenes such as d-limonene), as well as animal and/or vegetable oil as a means to effectively remove paint from substrates. However, the presence of one or more of these natural components such as tallows and fatty acids may lead to the growth of microbiological organisms within the formulation, thereby decreasing the "shelf-life" of the product. The presence of microbiological organisms could lead to altered product performance as well as a noxious and rancid odor, especially when the product is exposed to sunlight.
Thus, there remains a need in the art to provide an effective stripper which has a less than offensive odor, a long shelf life and is effective for stripping of most paints.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide effective paint strippers with improved health, safety and environmental characteristics.
A particular object of the invention is to provide an improved paint stripper with lower toxicity, volatility, and irritability which is both methylene chloride and aromatic hydrocarbon free. Another object of the invention is to provide an acceptable fragrance or aroma to the paint stripper which would improve the consumer acceptance.
Still, another object of the invention is to provide an improved paint stripper with increased product longevity or shelf-life, which is immune from possible microbiological growth.

Specialty Environmental Technologies, Inc.


Pentapeptide compounds are disclosed. The compounds have biological activity, e.g., cytotoxicity. Prodrugs having targeting groups and pentapeptide moieities, as well as precursors thereof are also disclosed. For example, precursors having a reactive linker that can serve as a reaction site for joining to a targeting agent, e.g., an antibody, as disclosed.

Several short peptidic compounds have been isolated from natural sources and found to have biological activity. Analogs of these compounds have also been prepared, and some were found to have biological activity. For example, Auristatin E (Pettit, G. R., Barkoczy, J. "Tumor inhibiting tetrapeptide bearing modified phenethyl amides" U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,483) is a synthetic analogue of the marine natural product, dolastatin 10, an agent that inhibits tubulin polymerization by binding to the same site on tubulin as the anticancer drug vincristine (Pettit, G. R. "The dolastatins" Prog. Chem. Org. Nat. Prod. 1997, 70, 1–79). Dolastatin 10, auristatin PE, and auristatin E are linear peptides comprised of four amino acids, three of which are unique to this class of compounds. Both dolastatin 10 and auristatin PE are in human clinical trials. The structural differences between the drugs reside in the C-terminal residue, in which the thiazolephenethyl amine of dolastatin 10 is replaced by a norephedrine unit in auristatin E.
The following references disclose dolastatin and auristatin compounds and analogs thereof.
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"Preparation of dolastatin 10 analogs as cancer inhibitory peptides" Pettit, George R.; Srirangam, Jayaram K. (Arizona Board of Regents, USA). PCT International Patent Publication No. WO 9614856 A1 (1996);
"Preparation of tetra- and pentapeptide dolastatin analogs as anticancer agents" Pettit, George R.; Srirangam, Jayaram K.; Williams, Michael D. (Arizona Board of Regents, USA). Eur. Pat. Appl. No. EP 695757 A2 (1996);
"Preparation of dolastatin 10 analog pentapeptide amides and esters as anticancer agents" Pettit, George R.; Srirangam, Jayaram K. (Arizona Board of Regents, USA). Eur. Pat. Appl. No. EP 695758 A2 (1996);
"Preparation of dolastatin analog pentapeptide methyl esters as anticancer agents" Pettit, George R.; Williams, Michael D.; Srirangam, Jayaram K. (Arizona Board of Regents, USA). Eur. Pat. Appl. No. EP 695759 A2 (1996);
"Preparation of novel peptide derivative as antitumor agent" Sakakibara, Kyoichi; Gondo, Masaaki; Miyazaki, Koichi; Ito, Takeshi; Sugimura, Akihiro; Kobayashi, Motohiro. (Teikoku Hormone Mfg. Co., Ltd., Japan). PCT International Patent Publication No. WO 9509864 A1 (1995);
"Preparation of tetrapeptide derivatives as antitumor agents" Sakakibara, Kyoichi; Gondo, Masaaki; Miyazaki, Koichi. (Teikoku Hormone Mfg. Co., Ltd., Japan). PCT International Patent Publication No. WO 9303054 A1 (1993);
"Antineoplastic agents 365. Dolastatin 10 SAR probes" Pettit, George R.; Srirangam, Jayaram K.; Barkoczy, Jozsef; Williams, Michael D.; Boyd, Michael R.; Hamel, Ernest; Pettit, Robin K.; Hogan, Fiona; Bai, Ruoli; Chapuis, Jean-Charles; McAllister, Shane C.; Schmidt, Jean M., Anti-Cancer Drug Des. (1998), 13(4), 243–277;
"Antineoplastic agents. 337. Synthesis of dolastatin 10 structural modifications" Pettit, George R.; Srirangam, Jayaram K.; Barkoczy, Jozsef; Williams, Michael D.; Durkin, Kieran P. M.; Boyd, Michael R.; Bai, Ruoli; Hamel, Ernest; Schmidt, Jean M.; Chapius, Jean-Charles, Anti-Cancer Drug Des. (1995), 10(7), 529–44; and
"Synthesis and antitumor activity of novel dolastatin 10 analogs" Miyazaki, Koichi; Kobayashi, Motohiro; Natsume, Tsugitaka; Gondo, Masaaki; Mikami, Takashi; Sakakibara, Kyoichi; Tsukagoshi, Shigeru, Chem. Pharm. Bull. (1995), 43(10), 1706–18.
There is a need in the art for improved antitumor agents. Despite promising in vitro data for dolastatin 10 and its analogs, significant general toxicities at doses required for achieving a therapeutic affect compromise their efficacy in clinical studies. The present invention is directed to fulfilling this need and provides further advantages as disclosed herein.

Pentapeptide compounds and uses related thereto


In a pickup 5 laterally moving by being guided at its one side by a main shaft 4, an inclined piece 5a tilted frontwardly and obliquely downwardly in an opening portion 1a inside a chassis 1 is opposite to the shaft 4. A screw 6 for adjusting the tilt angle of the pickup 5 is obliquely upwardly or downwardly screwed into the inclined piece 5a, and its lower part is placed inside the pickup 5. A flange-like holding portion 6A which is integral with the lower part of this screw 6 is fitted to the opposite opening edge 1b, and the bottom surface edge 6b partially abuts against the chassis 1 top surface and the edge 6b laterally moves by sliding along the top surface when the pickup 5 laterally moves. The edge 6b slides along the top surface near the edge 1b when the pickup 5 laterally moves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pickup adjusting mechanism for a disc player, which is enabled to adjust the tilt angle of the pickup capable of laterally moving in an opening portion provided inside a chassis of a disc player.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, there has been a conventional adjusting mechanism for adjusting such a tilt angle, which is, for example, an optical head described in JP-A-8-171726.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3, this optical head is equipped in an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus for optically recording information on, reproducing information from, or deleting information from an information recording medium surface. The optical head has an optical pickup actuator 109, and a carriage 110 for carrying the actuator 109. Further, a tapered surface 101 is provided on one of the actuator 109 and the carriage 110. A spherical portion 102 to be brought into sliding contact with the tapered surface 101 is provided in the other of the actuator 109 and the carriage 110. Thus, the optical head is adapted to adjust the inclination of the actuator 109 by putting the tapered surface 101 and the spherical portion 102 into sliding contact with each other. In this optical head, an adhesive agent 111 is applied onto the tapered surface 101 or the spherical portion 102. Thereafter, the inclination adjustment is performed by attaching the tapered surface 101 and the spherical portion 102 to each other. After the inclination adjustment, the actuator 109 is fixed to the carriage 110 by hardening the adhesive agent.
However, in this optical head, the tapered surface 101 and the spherical portion 102 are fastened to each other, because the adhesive agent hardens after the inclination adjustment thereof. Thus, this conventional optical head has a drawback in that the inclination adjustment cannot be performed after the tapered surface 101 and the spherical portion 102 are fastened to each other. Moreover, this conventional optical head is configured so that the angle of the carriage 110 with respect to a rail 113 cannot be adjusted.
Further, JP-A-59-125730U describes a pickup adjusting mechanism for a disc player.
As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the disc player comprises a support device for rotating and driving a disc 204, a pickup 214a opposed to an information recording surface of the disc 204 at a predetermined distance, and a carriage 210 for supporting this pickup 214a and for moving the pickup 214a along the disc 204. In this disc player, a fulcrum screw 215 is attached to the carriage 210 in such a way as to be able to go up and down. A portion of the support member 213 for supporting the pickup 214a, which is provided right under the pickup, is supported at a tip end of this fulcrum screw 215. Adjusting screws 219a and 219b, which are positioned at a predetermined distance from the fulcrum screw 215, and other adjusting screws 221a and 221b positioned at a predetermined distance from the fulcrum screw 215 in a direction nearly perpendicular to a direction, in which the screws 219a and 219b are placed, are inserted into the carriage 210. All the tip ends of the adjusting screws 219a, 219b, 221a, and 221b are screwed into the support member 213.
However, this conventional mechanism has a drawback in that friction caused by the adjusting screws 219a, 219b, 221a, and 221b themselves is not taken into account at all.
Further, JP-A-61-149112U describes a conventional apparatus for adjusting an optical axis of a pickup in a CD player.
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a first chassis 305, to which pickup guide shafts 303a and 303b are attached, and a second chassis 310, to which a turntable 306 is attached in such a way as to be parallel with the first chassis 305, are provided in a CD player that needs the adjustment of inclination of an optical axis of a pickup 301. The first chassis 305 is inclined to the second chassis 310 by turning the first chassis 305 around the pickup guide shaft 303a or 303b serving as a fulcrum.
However, this conventional apparatus has a drawback in that the adjusting portion is not in contact with the chassis 305 and 310.
An object of the invention is to solve the drawbacks of the conventional apparatus, and to provide a pickup adjusting mechanism for a disc player, which enables a pickup to bring a secondary-shaft-side part into point contact with a chassis. The pickup has a tilt angle which is adjusted. The secondary shaft side part is opposed to a main-shaft-side part. As a result, the secondary-shaft-side part can laterally move, that reliability in holding the secondary-shaft-side part can be enhanced, and that the lateral movement of the pickup with respect to the chassis can be stably performed.
The invention is proposed to solve the aforementioned drawbacks. According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a pickup adjusting mechanism (hereunder referred to as a first pickup adjusting mechanism of the invention) for a disc player, which comprises an inclined piece portion tilted frontwardly and obliquely downwardly in an opening portion inside a drive chassis and provided at a side opposite to a main shaft in a pickup adapted to laterally move by being guided at one side thereof by the main shaft, a screw for adjusting a tilt angle of the pickup, which is obliquely upwardly or downwardly screwed into the inclined piece portion so that a lower part thereof is placed at an inner part of the pickup, a flange-like holding portion that is provided in such a way as to be integral with the lower part of this screw and that has a sidewise-H-like section in a plan view thereof, and that is fitted to the opposite opening edge, so that the bottom surface edge of an upper flange portion abuts against a part of the top surface of the drive chassis, which is in the vicinity of the opening edge, and so that the bottom surface edge of this screw laterally moves by sliding along and being in contact with the part of the top surface, which is in the proximity of the opening edge, when the pickup laterally moves. In this mechanism, at least the bottom surface side portion of the peripheral edge of the upper flange-like portion of the flange-like holding portion is chamfered, so that an inner edge part of this chamfered portion laterally moves by sliding along and being in contact with the top surface placed in the vicinity of the opening edge. Moreover, the mounting angle xcex8 of the screw screwed into the pickup with respect to the drive chassis is set in such a way as to be larger than an adjusting amount of the tilt angle of the pickup.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a pickup adjusting mechanism (hereunder referred to as a second pickup adjusting mechanism of the invention) for a disc player, which comprises an inclined piece portion tilted frontwardly and obliquely downwardly in an opening portion inside a drive chassis and provided at a side opposite to a main shaft in a pickup adapted to laterally move by being guided at one side thereof by the main shaft, a screw for adjusting a tilt angle of the pickup, which is obliquely upwardly or downwardly screwed into the inclined piece portion so that a lower part thereof is placed at an inner part of the pickup, a flange-like holding portion that is provided in such a way as to be integral with the lower part of this screw and that has a sidewise-H-like section in a plan view thereof, and that is fitted to the opposite opening edge, so that the bottom surface edge of an upper flange portion abuts against a part of the top surface of the drive chassis, which is in the vicinity of the opening edge, and so that the bottom surface edge of this screw laterally moves by sliding along and being in contact with the part of the top surface, which is in the proximity of the opening edge, when the pickup laterally moves.
According to an embodiment (hereunder referred to as a third pickup adjusting mechanism of the invention) of the second adjusting mechanism of the invention, at least the bottom surface side portion of the peripheral edge of the upper flange-like portion of the flange-like holding portion is chamfered, so that an inner edge part of the chamfered portion laterally moves by sliding along and being in contact with the top surface placed in the vicinity of the opening edge.
According to an embodiment (hereunder referred to as a fourth pickup adjusting mechanism of the invention) of the second adjusting mechanism of the invention, a mounting angle (xcex8) of the screw screwed into the pickup with respect to the drive chassis is set in such a way as to be larger than an adjusting amount of the tilt angle of the pickup.

Pickup adjusting mechanism for a disc player


A semi-automatic or automatic rifle is provided. The rifle having: an upper hand guard and a lower hand guard each removably secured to an upper receiver of the rifle, wherein the upper hand guard has an integral upper rail that extends along an upper surface of the upper hand guard and the upper hand guard has a rear tab that is received within a mating slot of the upper receiver when the upper hand guard is secured to the upper receiver and wherein the upper rail of the upper hand guard is contiguous with a receiver rail when the upper hand guard is secured to the upper receiver; a cap configured to releasably engage a forward end of the upper hand guard and a forward end of the lower hand guard; and wherein the upper hand guard and the lower hand guard are not directly secured to a barrel of the rifle such that the upper hand guard and the lower hand guard float in position relative to the barrel of the rifle.

There is a demand from operators that firearms, such as automatic and semi-automatic rifles, have increased versatility allowing use of the firearm in different conditions. For example, operation desire to mount and switch between different accessory or peripheral devices to automatic and semi-automatic rifles that aid operator use of the firearm on different conditions. In addition to heightened versatility, operators desire robust construction and ease of operability and maintenance allowing the firearm to be versatile while being easy to use and having minimum maintenance needs even when undergoing harsh use in harsh conditions such as high humidity or high dust. Conventional firearms have not successfully satisfied the demands and desires of operators. U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,943 dated Oct. 20, 1998, discloses an example of a conventional self loading rifle with a gas pressure loading arrangement. The conventional gas pressure loading arrangement disclosed includes a gas cylinder fluidly connected to the bore of the rifle barrel, and a gas piston received in the gas cylinder to define a gas chamber. The gas chamber is readily susceptible to fowling resulting in stoppage of the firearm. The exemplary embodiments of the firearms disclosed herein overcome the problems of conventional firearms as will be further described below.


A preform is provided for blow-molding to form a container. The preform includes a finish portion for rotatably engaging a closure to seal contents within an interior of the container. The finish portion comprises a cylindrical body that begins at an opening to the interior and extends to and includes a tamper evidence ledge. A mirror polished sealing surface inside the finish portion cooperates with a plug seal of the closure to seal the container. Threads outside the finish portion engage with similar threads inside the closure. Thread starts of the threads reduce potential damage to the threads during installation of the closure. The thread starts may include a start pitch that is greater than a thread pitch of the threads. A handling valley disposed between the threads and the tamper evidence ledge facilitates air-conveying the container along a manufacturing assembly line.

Plastic containers have been used as a replacement for glass or metal containers in the packaging of beverages for several decades. The most common plastic used in making beverage containers today is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Containers made of PET are transparent, thin walled, and have the ability to maintain their shape by withstanding the force exerted on the walls of the container by their contents. Advantages of PET containers include lighter weight and decreased breakage as compared to glass, and lower costs overall when taking both production and transportation into account. PET resins are also reasonably priced and easy to process. PET containers are generally made by a process that includes the blow-molding of plastic preforms which have been made by injection molding of the PET resin.
A PET container for storing liquid contents typically includes a base that extends up to a grip portion suitable for affixing a label, as well as providing a location for grasping the container. The grip portion generally transitions into a shoulder, which connects to a bell. The bell has a diameter that generally decreases as the bell extends upward from the shoulder to a neck and a finish portion. The finish portion is adapted to receive a closure, such as a bottle cap, to seal the contents within the interior of the plastic container.
In many instances, the closure includes a tamper evidence band that is disposed around the perimeter of the finish portion. The tamper evidence band generally remains positioned on the finish portion when an end-user loosens the closure to access the contents within the container. As such, the tamper evidence band and the finish portion cooperate to indicate to the end-user whether or not the closure has been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.
Advantages of plastic containers include lighter weight and decreased breakage as compared to glass, and lower costs overall when taking both production and transportation into account. As such, there is a continuous interest in creating the lightest possible plastic container so as to maximize cost savings in both transportation and manufacturing by making and using containers that contain less plastic. Embodiments disclosed herein provide articles, including preforms and containers, that utilize less plastic in their construction while maintaining the ease of processing and excellent structural properties associated with current commercial designs.
While the present disclosure is subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. The invention should be understood to not be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Container preform with tamper evidence finish portion


An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention acquires temperature information for each of a plurality of memories in a wide IO memory device, and when execution of a job is instructed, decides on a memory having a lower temperature as the memory to be used by a functional module that corresponds to a function, based on the memory size to be used by the functional module that corresponds to the function, and on the acquired temperature information for the memories.

In information processing apparatuses that include a CPU such as a microprocessor, a DRAM is often used for storage of data for executing an OS and various applications, and for temporary storage of data for executing image processing. The DRAM is connected to a CPU, an SoC (System on a Chip), or the like and used by them. Furthermore, in recent years, as functions have been added/enhanced in information processing apparatuses, the amount of memory bandwidth needed in DRAMs has increased. Because of this, the amount of memory bandwidth has been increased by raising the clock frequency during memory access, according to a standard such as DDR3 or DDR4. Furthermore, as another method, memory bandwidth is reserved by including multiple DRAM channels that are connected to a CPU or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). However, a new problem occurs in that increasing the clock frequency and employing multiple memory channels increases power consumption.
In view of this, wide IOs, which are a next-generation DRAM standard, are currently gaining attention. A wide IO is configured by placing a DRAM chip over an SoC die using a 3D stacking technique based on TSVs (Through-Silicon Vias). Features of the wide IO include being able to obtain a wide bandwidth that is over 12.8 GB/s (gigabytes per second) at most, with a wide data width of 512 bits, and having low power consumption due to the access frequency being suppressed to a low frequency. Also, by employing TSVs, the package size can be made thinner and smaller compared to a conventional PoP (Package on Package). Furthermore, as a countermeasure against heat caused by stacking memories in an SoC package, a temperature sensor that detects the memory temperature is built in, and the self-refresh rate is changed according to the detected temperature. Also, in this configuration, a data width of 512 bits is divided into four 128-bit channels and each channel is controlled individually. For example, a method of use is possible in which channel 1 and channel 2 are put in a self-refresh state, while channel 3 and channel 4 are used for normal memory access, or the like. A basic structure and basic access method for such a wide IO is disclosed in US2012/0018885.
The stacked structure of a wide IO is structurally susceptible to heat. For example, if a specific region of a SoC die and a DRAM chip of a wide IO placed on a layer above this specific region are activated at the same time, the temperature of the activated portions sometimes rises locally. This rise in temperature is accompanied by an exponential increase in leak current in the semiconductor and an increase in power consumption. In addition, the DRAM performs storage of data by storing charge in a capacitor included in each cell. Since the capacitors are naturally discharged by leak current in the semiconductor, it is necessary for the DRAM to charge the capacitors by performing a refresh operation, in order to preserve the stored data. The discharging of this charge depends on the temperature of the DRAM, and the higher the temperature is, the faster the discharge speed is. Accordingly, if the temperature of the DRAM becomes high, the refresh frequency needs to be increased. As a result, this invites an increase in power consumption caused by refresh operations, as well as the deterioration of the access performance of the DRAM due to not being able to access the DRAM during a refresh operation.

Information processing apparatus, control method for the same, program for the same, and storage medium


A packet processing system having each of a plurality of hierarchical clients and a packet memory arbiter serially communicatively coupled together via a plurality of primary interfaces thereby forming a unidirectional client chain. This chain is then able to be utilized by all of the hierarchical clients to write the packet data to or read the packet data from the packet memory.

A packet-processing device, like a switch microchip, usually needs to buffer the packets into a packet memory (PM) having one or more banks while the device processes them. Specifically, the ingress ports and the associated ingress port logic (write clients) need to receive packets and write packet data to the packet memory while the device processes portions of the packet. Similarly, the egress ports and the associated egress port logic (read clients) need to read the packet data from the packet memory and output the packets from the device when the processing of the packet has completed. The number of read/write clients needed on the device depends on the bandwidth requirements of the device. In high-performance switch chips, this number can be in the hundreds, so an implementation where each client has a dedicated interface to read or write data to/from the PM is unfeasible due to the large number of wires that are needed to be routed from the clients to the PM. Additionally, the read/write clients are usually physically placed in the periphery of the device (e.g. switch die) whereas the PM is in the middle, thereby exacerbating the problem of routing that many wires between the ports and the PM. As a result, this scheme is not physical friendly because it requires lots of wide interfaces to be routed from the periphery of the die to the center of the die, typically using expensive routing resources (top-level metal layers). Also, due to the large distances these interface busses need to travel, several stages of sequential cells (flops) are needed to be inserted to meet the target clock frequency.

Packet processing system, method and device utilizing a port client chain