Bale opener for use in a feeding line of a biomass energy plant, the bale opener (1) comprising at least two disintegration members (2), wherein each disintegration member (2) is rotatable around a respective rotation axis (5) and in the direction of that rotation axis (5) has a first end (3) and a second end (4), an inlet (17) for feeding bales (28) in a feeding direction (33) to the disintegration members (2), an outlet (18) for discharging loosened bale material from the disintegration members (2), a drive system (6) being operable to drive the disintegration members (2) to rotate around their respective rotation axis (5), wherein each disintegration member (2) is provided with a plurality of blades (8) that are radially disposed in a mill-wheel arrangement, the blades (8) extending outwardly from a radially inner edge (9) to a radially outer edge (10) and from a first edge (11) at the first end (3) of the disintegration member (2) to a second edge (12) in a direction towards the second end (4) of the disintegration member (2), and that the inlet (17) is arranged opposite to the first end (3) of the disintegration members (2) so as to feed the bales (28) to a processing region (34) at the first end (3) of the disintegration members (2).

Biomass is considered an important source of energy. Particularly interesting candidates for exploiting the energy contained in biomass, e.g. for the production of heat or electrical energy, are biological materials that are otherwise considered as a waste product of agricultural crops, such as straw, corn stalks, or the like. At harvest, these biomaterials are dried, compressed and bound into bales suitable for transportation and storage.
A biomass energy plant may be a plant or installation for immediate energy production from biomaterials, such as heat or electrical energy, or may be a plant for the production of fuels for energy generation at a later stage. Examples of such biomass energy plants are a straw-fired boiler, a bio-ethanol production plant or a biomass pellet production plant. At industrial scale, such biomass energy plants require a large amount of dried biomaterial to be supplied at a fast rate. For example in a straw-fired energy plant, production rates may easily reach thirty tons per hour.
Biomaterial is usually delivered to and stored at the site of such biomass energy plant in the form of bales. For production, the bales are conveyed to the production unit of the plant via one or more feeding lines. In the feeding line, the biomaterials are processed into a form suitable to be supplied to the production unit of the plant.
This processing is performed using a bale opener for breaking up the bales and effectively loosening the biomaterial gently, but at a high rate suitable for industrial scale production, while avoiding lumps of compressed biomaterial that might choke the supply mechanism of the production unit, for example the stoker of a straw fired boiler.
Other problems that are particularly pronounced in industrial scale set-ups operating at high production rates and that are to be avoided is generation of sparks and/or the entanglement of bale packaging materials, in particular bale strings, in the mechanism of the feeding line.
Different types of equipment for processing bales of biomaterial for use in e.g. a straw fired burner are known in the art.
DE 32 09 885 discloses a straw bale comminution device for supplying a straw fired central heating boiler. The comminution device involves a single rotating disk cutting the straw by means of knives radially arranged thereon, the knives cooperation with edges of corresponding holes in a stator disk to provide a scissor action. Such a construction involving a comminution type processing mechanism requires frequent attention in order to maintain the knives sharp, and remove frequently encountered contaminants, such as stones, branches or even metal parts jammed in the comminution mechanism, here typically between the rotating disk and the stator disk, and in particular bale packaging materials, such as bale strings, entangled therein. Furthermore, when operating the device according to DE 32 09 885, a core of unprocessed material tends to build up in the central part around the rotation axis, thus leading to congestion in the feeding hopper. To avoid such a core from building up, additional cutting means may need to be provided at the hub part in the centre. Such cutting means rotating in the centre are particularly prone to catching bale strings subsequently getting entangled in the rotating parts.
A bale opener of the type mentioned in the introduction above is known from DK 173 159. DK 173 159 discloses a breaking-up device with at least two breaking-up means that are shaped as a body of revolution carrying a helicoid on the surface. The at least two breaking-up means are arranged next to each other and are at one end supported by bearings. The breaking-up means are operable to be rotated in such direction that the transport direction of the helicoid is directed away from the bearings. The configuration disclosed in DK 173 159 has the drawback that under operational conditions a considerable tilting load may occur in a transverse direction of the bearings of the breaking-up means. When mounted in connection with a feeding channel, the breaking-up device of DK 173 159 is hinged on a spring-loaded support such that the breaking-up device may swing away from the end of the feeding channel and give way to the pressure exerted on the breaking-up means by the straw bales conveyed thereto. The hinged support allows lumps of compacted straw to bypass the breaking-up device.


A manufacture includes a substrate comprising a first portion and a second portion. The manufacture further includes a first polysilicon structure over the first portion of the substrate. The manufacture further includes a second polysilicon structure over the second portion of the substrate. The manufacture further includes two spacers on opposite sidewalls of the second polysilicon structure, wherein each spacer of the two spacers has a concave corner region between an upper portion and a lower portion. The manufacture further includes a protective layer covering the first portion of the substrate and the first polysilicon structure, the protective layer exposing the second portion of the substrate, the second polysilicon structure, and partially exposing the two spacers.

In some applications, a logic circuit, static random access memory (SRAM), and one-time-programmable (OTP) memory of an integrated circuit are fabricated on the same substrate. In some applications, when performing a self-aligned silicide (salicide) process to form electrical contacts on the logic or SRAM part, the OTP part of the integrated circuit is protected by a protective layer. The performance of the logic circuit, the SRAM, and the OTP memory is affected by the thickness of the protective layer in the OTP part and residue of materials used to form the protective layer in the SRAM part.

Polysilicon structure including protective layer

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A coated press or transfer belt and method for coating a press or transfer belt is disclosed, wherein a coating of one or more polymers and possible blend components and additives is formed on the surface of the belt. Coating is carried out by rotational molding, which is, as such known, onto the belt rotating on one or more rolls from at least two rapidly reacting liquid components. The set coating layer is then ground to an even thickness.

The present invention relates to a method for coating a press or transfer belt, in which a coat is formed on the surface of the belt comprising one or several polymers and possible blend components and additives. The invention also relates to a corresponding coated belt. In particular, the invention relates to press or transfer belts in a paper machine.
Various kinds of press and transfer belts used in a paper machine are known from paper publications EP 509 460 (Yamauchi Corp.), EP 786 550 (Conrad Munzinger and Cie. AG), EP 576115 (Albany International), and WO 95/34715. Generally, a belt of this type comprises a woven supporting structure and a polyurethane matrix. The seam in the belt is often a nuisance in papermaking. In the first publication referred to, the seam is avoided by means of a construction, in which a narrow strip soaked in polyurethane elastomer runs in an endless spiral to form a belt without a transverse seam. In belts with transverse seams, the effect of the seam becomes emphasized or appears as the belt wears.
The present invention is intended to create a method for coating a press or transfer belt and creating a coated belt, by means of which the life of the belt can be lengthened and/or its characteristics improved. By means of the invention a coating is applied to the surface of a worn, scratched and/or otherwise damaged belt to restore its characteristics, or if it is wished to provide the belt with new surface characteristics.
The optimal properties for a belt in different applications are achieved through the selection of different materials. The relevant properties are hardness, density, and filler contents. From the point of view of a long service life, the most important characteristics of these properties are their homogeneity and especially their profiles in all directions, i.e. in the x, y, and z directions. With the aid of the invention, the belt is always seamless, which characteristic is retained even when the belt becomes thinner through wear.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the basic polymer chains of one or more components of the coating are modified with halogenated macro-oligomers, diols, triols, thiols and/or other polyols. In the most preferable modification the halogen used is fluor, but iodine or bromine may also be used. Halogen treatment of this kind, in which the basic polymer of the coating itself is modified, is considerably more effective that the traditional treatment of the surface with a substance containing halogen particles.
The coating of a belt is intended to restore the original good characteristics of the belt or to improve the characteristics of the belt in its current application. The homogeneity of the coating is a particularly important property.
The invention is next described with reference to the accompanying figures, which illustrate some embodiments of the invention.

Method for coating a press or transfer belt and a corresponding coated belt


A flange alignment tool is provided for aligning misaligned flanges such that one worker can align the flanges, in a safe and efficient manner, with no sledge hammer involved. The flange alignment tool is simple to operate and is adaptable to various sized flange holes. The tool is operated by simple tools, such as a wrench, with no impact forces required. The tool is constructed of rigid materials to provide the strength and support for the alignment process, and has all components attached, and readily accessible, that are needed to accommodate various sizes of flange holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is industrial piping equipment, specifically flange joints used for connecting sections of pipe, valves, and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Industrial workers often face the task of connecting two pipe sections, or a valve and a pipe section, where each pipe section and valve has a flange on its end. The flanges are matched and have a number of corresponding hole pairs such that bolts may be inserted through the hole in the first flange and through the corresponding hole in the second flange. A nut is then added to the bolt portion that protrudes from the hole in the second flange. All corresponding hole pairs receive a bolt and nut in this manner, and the flange joint is finally connected by tightening the nuts on the bolts.
In order to begin this task, the worker must first line up a pair of corresponding holes on the first and second flanges. Since the pipe, valves, and flanges are usually very heavy and awkward, it is hard to align the corresponding holes to receive the first bolt. In current practice, the worker uses a "line-up pin", which is a steel pin that must be driven into the corresponding hole pair with a sledge hammer. The force of the sledge hammer acting on the pin will eventually move the flanges into approximate alignment, and a bolt may be placed in another of the corresponding hole pairs.
The line-up pin technique has serious shortcomings. Often the workers are in small areas with insufficient room to properly aim and swing the sledge hammer. As a result, the worker holding the pin is often struck in the arm or hand by the hammer. Also, surrounding structures, such as the valve bodies, are often inadvertently struck by the hammer. A sledge hammer striking the steel pin is also very loud, especially when working in metal buildings.
What is needed is a device for aligning misaligned flanges in a simple operation such that one worker can align the flanges, in a safe and efficient manner, with no sledge hammer or other impact forces involved.


A cutting apparatus and method to facilitate milling of a casing window by improving the interaction between the mill and the casing. The cutting apparatus comprises a whipstock having a plurality of ramp sections which provide a ramp profile arranged and designed to cooperate with the cutting structure of a mill to achieve a desired loading on the mill cutting elements during milling of the casing window. The plurality of ramp sections, having specific lengths and oriented at specific angles, adjust the loading on the mill as the mill cuts through the casing during formation of the casing window. The improved whipstock maintains a more balanced loading across the cutting elements during milling operations. Additional mill cutting structures may also be selected and evaluated to further balance the cutting load during window milling.

Directional drilling has proven useful in facilitating production of fluid, e.g., hydrocarbon-based fluid, from a variety of reservoirs. In many such operations, a vertical wellbore is drilled, and casing is deployed in the vertical wellbore. One or more windows are then milled through the casing to enable drilling of lateral wellbores. Each window formed through the casing is large enough to allow passage of components, e.g., passage of a bottom hole assembly used for drilling the lateral wellbore and of a liner for lining the lateral wellbore. The bottom hole assembly may comprise a variety of drilling systems, such as point-the-bit and push-the-bit rotary drilling systems.
In some operations, the bottom hole assembly is relatively long and lacking in flexibility which can create difficulty in forming a suitable casing window for passage of the bottom hole assembly. Formation of casing windows, particularly longer and/or larger casing windows to better accommodate longer and stiffer bottom hole assemblies, requires substantial removal of material. Existing whipstock and mill designs tend to create substantial loading on specific cutters or cutter regions of the mill and this can lead to excessive wear and reduction in cutting efficiency, particularly when cutting larger casing windows.


There is disclosed a method of operating a radio node in a Radio Access Network, RAN. The method includes transmitting, according to a transmission timing, a data element of a data stream associated to an acknowledgement signaling process. The transmission timing is determined based on a retransmission indication indicating whether the data element is to be transmitted the first time in the data stream, or is to be retransmitted in the data stream. The disclosure also pertains to related methods and devices.

In wireless communication technology, acknowledgement signaling is often used to ensure reliable transmission of data, e.g. in the context of ARQ (Acknowledgement Repeat reQuest) or HARQ (Hybrid Acknowledgement Repeat reQuest) technology. The acknowledgement signaling usually indicates whether transmission of data has been successful, e.g. based on an error detection procedure. If the data has not been received correctly, the (intended) receiver provides a corresponding signal (e.g. a NACK signal) to the transmitter, and the transmitter resend the data. If the data has been received correctly, a corresponding signal (e.g. ACK) may be send, and the transmitter proceeds sending other, new data.

Re-transmission timing for acknowledgment signaling


According to one embodiment, a power supply device includes one or more processors. The one or more processors control wireless power supply by an electromagnetic wave to a power receiving device. The one or more processors monitor a radio wave state of a wireless signal received by an antenna. The one or more processors output output information based on a monitoring result.

A device that controls a power supply frequency or the like in accordance with a state of power supply to a plurality of power receiving targets such that interference to the power reception targets is reduced has been proposed as a power supply device for a remote power receiving target using a microwave or the like. Further, a power supply device that detects that an external wireless device is performing radio wave search and stops power supply has been proposed.
However, the techniques of the related art do not deal with existing wireless communication systems that use a band (for example, ±10% of a transmission signal frequency) near a frequency band of a transmission signal performing power transmission. For this reason, there are cases in which strong interference to a wireless communication system is caused by transmission of an electromagnetic wave for power transmission.

Power supply device, monitoring method, computer program product, and communication system


Methods of adhering polymeric materials to a substrate, either directly or through linker molecules, are disclosed. Structures, for example, microstructures, including microwells and arrays of microwells, may be readily formed using the methods. In some embodiments, microstructures formed completely from polymeric materials are provided, making it possible to tailor the chemical and physical properties of the microstructures. For example, microwells having a bottom comprising a polar polymeric material and well sides/top comprising a non-polar polymeric material are provided. Biochemical reagents may be easily delivered to such “smart wells” because the intrinsic attraction of the well bottom for the reagents and the intrinsic repulsion between the well sides/top combine to direct the reagents to the wells.

Micrometer- and nanometer-scale structures (collectively, "microstructures") are useful for making micro-sensors, micro-actuators, micro-instruments, micro-optics, microfluidic devices, and micro-reactors. Previous methods for making such structures have focussed on their production within solid substrates through, for example, the use of photoresists and chemical etching techniques. Since there are a limited number of solid substrates that can be used to produce microstructures, the range of chemical and physical properties exhibited by known structures also is limited.
One approach to altering the chemical and physical properties of the surfaces of microstructures is to apply a thin film of a polymeric material to the surface of a microstructure etched into a substrate. For example, Yan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,539) describes applying a polymeric material coating to the interior of a micro-well etched in a silicon wafer.
Another approach is to construct microstructures entirely from polymeric materials. Husemann et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 122: 1844-45, 2000) recently reported the generation of polymer array brushes using a combination of surface-initiated polymerization and photoacid-based chemical transformation of the polymer chains. However, because this technique is based upon a tert-butyl acrylate polymer, the range of chemical and physical properties of the resulting microstructures is limited.
Chip-based microwell arrays have greatly increased the capability to perform analytical and biochemical reactions and assays. These microwell arrays allow a large number of reactions to be carried out simultaneously, at much higher speed and more efficiently than conventional analyses. The small volume of the microwells dramatically reduces the amount of reagents needed, resulting in reduced waste and lower costs. Most of the microwells are silica-based microwells that are fabricated in silicon wafers or glass slides using photolithography and etching. See, for example, Mensinger et al., in Micro Total Analysis Systems; van den Berg and Bergveld Eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, London,; p. 237 (1995); Kricka and Wilding, "Micromechanics and Nanotechnology" in Handbook of Clinical Automation, Robotics, and Optimization, Kost and Welsh Eds., John Wiley and Sons: New York, p 45 (1996); and Kovacs et al., "Silicon Micromachining: Sensors to Systems," Anal. Chem., 68: 407A (1996).
Conventional methods for manufacturing microwells are relatively expensive and the necessary facilities are not routinely accessible to most chemists. Furthermore, as the surface-to-volume ratio increases dramatically for the microfabricated wells as compared to conventional reaction tubes, it is important that the devices are chemically compatible with the reactions taking place inside them. However, silicon chip-based devices may not be compatible with biochemical assays or reactions. For example, native silicon is an inhibitor of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplification. Thus, PCR reactions performed in silicon chip-based nanowells show poor reproducibility.
Therefore, recent investigations have focused on polymer-based microwells. For example, microwells have been generated in ordered arrays by etching with a bundle of optical fibers (Pantano and Walt, "Ordered Nanowell Arrays," Chem. Mater., 8: 2832, 1996). Ewing and co-workers fabricated picoliter microvials in PS by an embossing technique using structures formed by a photolithographic patterning technique (Clark, et al., "Electrochemical Analysis in Picoliter Microvials," Anal. Chem. 69: 259 (1997)). Recent work by Whitesides and Chilkoti demonstrated large arrays of microwells in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) (Jackman et al., "Fabricating Large Arrays of Nanowells with Arbitrary Dimensions and Filling Them Using Discontinuous Dewetting," Anal. Chem., 70: 2280 (1998). These microwell arrays were fabricated by casting PDMS elastomer against a master that was prepared by conventional photolithography.
Equally important for the successful implementation of microwell arrays for analytical and biochemical applications is the delivery system that controls the precise placement of the reagents into the wells. Systems and processes that deliver reagents in an array format include a pin tool that loads the reagents mechanically, ink jet printing that dispatches microscopic drops of liquids on active surfaces, and electrically polarizing the array sites. An attractive alternative is to create functional microwells that can perform surface-induced placement of reagents into the wells. In a recent report, Whitesides et al. selectively deposited proteins into microwells made of PDMS by first trapping air bubbles in the well bottoms and then coating the well-top with one protein (Ostuni et al., "Selective Deposition of Proteins and Cells in Arrays of Nanowells," Langmuir 17: 2828 (2001)). The air bubbles were then removed and a second protein was delivered into the wells.

Polymeric structures, particularly microstructures, and methods for making same

State of Oregon acting by and through the State Board of Higher Education on behalf of Portland State University


A fluid mixing device includes a body, a water controlling valve assembly and a Venturi tube structure. The body is internally formed with inlet channels for communicating with water source, a first channel, an outlet channel communicating between the first channel and outside of the body, and a gassing channel communicating between the first channel and a gas source. The water controlling valve is operable between first and second positions. The Venturi tube structure is disposed within the first channel and includes a necked passage communicating with the first channel and a gassing hole communicating between the necked passage and the gassing channel. When the water controlling valve is located in the first position, the water flow passes through the necked passage and draws gas from the gas source through the gassing hole to come into the necked passage to mix with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid device, and more particularly to a fluid mixing device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the improving of human life, food hygiene requirement becomes stricter. People usually use ozone added in water to wash fruit, meat and dishes, because the water added with ozone has a specific function, and the ozone reduces to oxygen after a period of time, so that it also contributes to environmental protection. A fluid mixing device for adding the ozone is provided on the market. This kind of fluid mixing device is disclosed in TWM292419, TWI312045 and so on.
However, the water mixes with the ozone when it outputs to the water outlet in conventional techniques, so that the mixing efficiency is too poor to mix the water with the ozone. While the performance of the ozone water including sterilization, odor, detoxification and bleaching depends on the ratio the water mixes with the ozone, so when the ratio is too low, it highly affects the performance, and this disadvantage is needed to be improved.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


A leak detecting device includes a carrying device attached to a holder to be fastened to the body of an operator. From the carrying device, a flexible capillary line extends to a sniffing probe, which includes a gas inlet at its front end. The carrying device is connected with a basic device that includes a vacuum pump. In the carrying device, a test gas detector is arranged.

Leak detecting devices serve for detecting leaks in test objects containing a test gas, such as helium. Leak detecting devices are known which comprise a hand-held sniffing tip. Gas is taken in through the sniffing probe and fed to a test gas sensor. The devices require a vacuum pump which is normally accommodated in a floor- or table-mounted device, i.e. a basic device placed on the floor or on a table. The basic device frequently also includes the test gas detector. Said test gas detector may be a mass spectrometer or a structurally smaller infrared gas analyzer.
Normally, the sniffing probe is connected with the basic device via a capillary line. The operator can relatively easily move the sniffing probe in the vicinity of the test object in search of possible leaks. However, such leak detecting devices have a longer response time. The response time is the period between the intake of the leakage gas and the indication. The response time is determined by the length of the sniffing line which is typically 5 meters. Added to this is the response time of the test gas detector.
WO 03/008923 A2 describes a sniffing-type leak detector where the test gas detector is integrated in a handpiece to which the sniffing probe is attached. The handpiece may be connected with the floor- or table-mounted basic device via a line, wherein the basic device comprises, inter alia, a vacuum pump and an indicator means. Said leak detecting device has a short response time due to the short distance between the intake opening of the sniffing probe on the one hand and the test gas detector on the other hand. However, the handpiece with the sensors arranged therein is large and heavy such that the use of the leak detecting device in continuous operation is fatiguing to the operator. Further, constricted regions of the test objects are difficult to access by the voluminous handpiece.


Disclosed are novel diaminothiazoles that are selective inhibitors of Cdk4. These compounds and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts and esters are anti-proliferative agents useful in the treatment or control of solid tumors, in particular breast, colon, lung and prostate tumors. Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds as well as intermediates useful in the preparation of the compounds.

Uncontrolled cell proliferation is the hallmark of cancer. Cancerous tumor cells typically have some form of damage to the genes that directly or indirectly regulate the cell-division cycle.
The progression of cells through the various phases of the cell cycle is regulated by a series of multienzyme complexes consisting of a regulatory protein, a cyclin, and a kinase. These kinases are called cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks). The Cdks are expressed throughout the cell cycle, while the levels of the cyclins vary depending on the stage of the cell cycle.
The transition from G1 phase into S phase is regulated by the complex of Cdk4 with cyclin D. This complex phosphorylates the tumor supressor protein Retinoblastoma (pRb), releasing the transcription factor E2F and allowing the expression of genes required in S phase (Nevins, J. R. Science 1992, 258, 424–429). Blocking the activity of the Cdk4/cyclin D complex arrests the cell cycle in G1 phase. For example, the proteins of the INK4 family, including p16INK4a, which block the kinase activity of the Cdk4/cyclin D complex, cause arrest in G1 (Sherr, C. J. Science 1996, 274, 1672–1677).
Recent experiments show that the complex of Cdk4 with cyclin D3 also plays a role in cell cycle progression through G2 phase. Inhibition of this complex, either by p16 or using a dominant negative Cdk4, results in arrest in G2 phase in cells that do not express pRb (Gabrielli B. G. et al. J. Biol. Chem. 1999, 274, 13961–13969).
Numerous defects in the pRb pathway have been shown to be involved in various cancers. For example, overexpression of Cdk4 has been observed in cases of hereditary melanoma (Webster, K. R. Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs 1998, 7, 865–887); cyclin D is overexpressed in many human cancers (Sherr, C. J. Science 1996, 274, 1672–1677); p16 is mutated or deleted in many tumors (Webster, K. R. Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs 1998, 7, 865–887); and pRb function is lost through mutation or deletion in many human cancers (Weinberg, R. A. Cell 1995, 81, 323–330). Defects in this pathway have also been shown to have an effect on prognosis. For example, loss of p16 is correlated with poor prognosis in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and malignant melanoma (Tsihlias, J. et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 1999, 50, 401–423).
Because of the involvement of the Cdk4/cyclin D/pRb pathway in human cancer through its role in regulating progression of the cell cycle from G1 to S phase, and the potential therapeutic benefit from modulating this pathway, there has been considerable interest in agents that inhibit or promote elements of this pathway. For example, effects on cancer cells have been shown using antibodies, antisense oligonucleotides and overexpression or addition of proteins involved in the pathway. See, e.g., Lukas, J. et al. Nature 1995, 79, 573–582; Nevins, J. R. Science 1992, 258, 424–429; Lim, I. K. et al. Molecular Carcinogenesis 1998, 23, 25–35; Tam, S. W. et al. Oncogene 1994, 9, 2663–2674; Driscoll, B. et al. Am. J. Physiol. 1997, 273 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol.), L941–L949; and Sang, J. et al. Chin. Sci. Bull. 1999, 44, 541–544). There is thus an extensive body of literature validating the use of compounds inhibiting targets in the Cdk4 pathway as anti-proliferative therapeutic agents.
It is thus desirable to identify chemical inhibitors of Cdk4 kinase activity. It is particularly desirable to identify small molecule compounds that may be readily synthesized and are effective in inhibiting Cdk4 or Cdk4/cyclin complexes, for treating one or more types of tumors.
There are several examples of small molecule inhibitors of the cyclin-dependent kinases, including Cdk4 (Rosania, G. R. et al. Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents 2000, 10, 215–230). Several of these compounds inhibit multiple targets.
For example, Flavopiridol (Aventis)
is in Phase II clinical trials for lymphoma and multiple myeloma and also for the treatment of solid tumors. It inhibits Cdk1, Cdk2 and Cdk4 and it blocks cells in both G1 and G2 phases. It is also a weaker inhibitor of PKC and EGFR (Senderowicz, A. M. et al. J. Natl. Cancer Inst 2000, 92, 376–387).
WO9716447 (Mitotix) discloses the following compounds related to flavopiridol

Some of these compounds are stated to inhibit Cdk4.
WO9943675 and WO9943676 (Hoechst) disclose the following purine derivatives
which are stated to inhibit Cdk2 and Cdk4.
WO9833798 (Warner-Lambert) discloses the following pyridopyrimidines

These compounds are stated to inhibit the cyclin dependent kinases Cdk1, Cdk2, and Cdk4. Some of these compounds also inhibit the receptor tyrosine kinases PDGFR and EGFR, and the cellular Src protein kinase, c-Src.
WO9909030 (Warner-Lambert) discloses naphthyridinones
that inhibit PDGFR, FGFR, c-Src, and the cyclin dependent kinases Cdk1, Cdk2, and Cdk4.
WO0039101 (AstraZeneca) discloses diaminopyrimidines
that inhibit Cdk4 and FAK3.
WO0012485 (Zeneca) discloses diaminopyrimidines
that inhibit Cdk4 and FAK3.
WO9924416 (Bristol-Myers Squibb) discloses aminothiazole inhibitors of formula

The compounds inhibit Cdk1, Cdk2 and Cdk4.
WO9921845 (Agouron) discloses diaminothiazole inhibitors of Cdk1, Cdk2 and Cdk4, having the following structure
where R1 and R2 are ring systems. This patent application indicates that in cases where the R2 ring system does not bear an ortho substituent, the compounds lack potency and selectivity as inhibitors of Cdk4.
Finally, WO0075120 (Agouron) discloses diaminothiazole inhibitors of protein kinases including VEGF-R, FGF-R, CDK complexes, TEK, CHK1, LCK, and FAK, having the following structure

It is desirable to provide small molecule inhibitors of Cdk4 that are selective against other Cdks. That is, the small molecule is significantly more inhibitory (at least 10 times, preferably 100 times) of Cdk4 than Cdk1 and Cdk2. This parameter is desirable because of the potential concomitant toxicity and other undesirable complications that may follow from inhibiting multiple targets. Thus, for purposes of this invention, the inhibition of Cdk2 and Cdk1 are monitored to determine the selectivity of the inhibition of Cdk4. A compound that exhibits selectivity against Cdk2 and Cdk1 is expected to have a better safety profile than a compound that is not selective between Cdk4, Cdk2 and Cdk1.
There continues to be a need for easily synthesized, small molecule compounds that are specific inhibitors of Cdk4 for the treatment or control of one or more types of solid tumors. It is an object of this invention to provide such compounds, compositions containing such compounds, and methods of using such compounds in the treatment or control of breast, colon, lung and prostate tumors.

Diaminothiazoles having antiproliferative activity


A system, method, and computer-readable media for performing a fine-grained encrypted search of data stored in encrypted form in an encrypted search database. The system includes at least one processor and at least one memory having computer-readable instructions for performing the method. The method includes performing an encrypted search of the encrypted search database based on one or more search terms, presenting a result of the encrypted search on an interface, and performing a further search of an encrypted data storage based on a response to the result.

The conflict between privacy and law enforcement authorities is well-known and has been extensively debated. However, even when legal access to encrypted data is authorized and decryption is possible, it is very difficult to determine what portion of or how much of the encrypted data to decrypt. As a result, there is a potential for very significant intrusion into privacy of individuals, organizations, etc., because currently authorized legal access can expose significantly higher amount of data and material to decryption and ultimately to law enforcement officials than would be necessary if it were possible to determine the scope of the data at the point of seeking authorization.
Currently, legally authorized access to encrypted data is achieved by the provision of encryption keys to access encrypted data. Access to the data is controlled by technical and legal constraints. The technical constraint on such access is the scope of the key itself. For example, finer-grained access to data can be provided by having a number of keys. This might be routinely done for different security classifications, for example. The second constraint on access is the scope of the legal authorization itself, which is concerned with issues such as which data or communications to grant access to.
There are several drawbacks to this paradigm. The first is that the number of keys for finer-grained access to encrypted data creates management, usability and security problems. Furthermore, a key management system has no concept of the content of the encrypted data itself and/or of the kind of access that might be needed. For example, in a financial context a regulator might want access to conversations between two traders. It is unlikely that a system will provide different access for all possible pairs of traders in the institution, so that only their conversations could be accessed by a key, thus exposing all conversations between all possible pairs of traders to decryption resulting in breach of privacy problem mentioned above.
Another problem with currently utilized methods of accessing encrypted information is that the often large scope of the required access risks law enforcement officials being denied the needed authorization by courts.

Fine-grained encrypted access to encrypted information


A novel solution for fast packet classification includes a novel data structure to store classifier rules which enables fast packet classification, which structure employs bitmaps for each field of the incoming packet for which classification is desired. A fast packet classification algorithm using the novel data structure allows the matching rule with the highest priority to be quickly obtained. A novel rule update algorithm allows new classifier rules to be added into the data structure incrementally. In one practical implementation of a classification engine employing the structures and algorithms of the present invention, a configurable processor with customized instructions is used to accelerate packet classification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to communication networks and, more particularly, to routing and classifying messages in communication networks.
2. Background of the Related Art
Originally, the Internet was developed to support best effort services (such as data services) based on packet switched technologies while the telephony network provided circuit switched technologies to support dedicated connections such as for voice services. A network device 100 that can be employed in a network, such as the Internet, for switching packets is shown in FIG. 1.
Although best effort services were the original intent of packet-switched networks such as the Internet, there is a clear trend to support more improved and reliable services such as those supported by circuit-switched technologies. For example, a suite of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) protocols and systems are under development and are being deployed. Furthermore, the Internet, which is based on IP protocols, will need to support a rich set of multimedia applications such as voice, data and video. To enable the Internet to transition from best effort service to a wide class of services, an emerging set of protocols such as differentiated services (diffserv) and integrated services (intserv) must be supported by switching elements throughout the network, such as network device 100.
These new protocols attempt to provide a means to distinguish one kind of packet (such as voice packets) from another kind of packet (such as best effort data packets) so that proper treatment is given to different kinds of packets. For example, in converged networks, premium treatment may be given to voice packets since voice packets have stringent delay and jitter requirements.
To distinguish between how different types of packets should be treated, packet classification is needed. Generally, packet classification can be characterized as matching a packet against a set of rules with multiple fields to identify the highest priority rule or rules matching the packet, and performing an action associated with the matching rule(s).
Packet classification plays an important role in many kinds of applications such as:                firewall or access control, network security, intrusion detection monitoring and signature matching;        policy based networking;        QoS queuing selection to meet service level agreement (SLA) and support differentiated services with QoS guarantee;        traffic accounting and billing, policing, and management; and        network address translation (NAT).
For a firewall, static access control is currently one of the most popular applications for packet classification. An access control list (ACL) is maintained with sequential ordering. The first matching access control element is the rule to be applied to an incoming packet. The matching access control element is associated with an action (allow or deny the packet to go through). This is also called packet filtering. Typically a linear search is used for packet filtering. The static access control lists are generally configured by network operators and change less frequently while dynamic access control, which is also used in some firewall applications, may undergo frequent changes on the order of hundreds of changes per second.
Another popular application of packet classification noted above is policy based networking, which is used to enforce organizational policies such as automated operations, network management and control systems. In this context, a policy is a relationship between network objects such as particular groups of network elements, network resources/services, and user groups. For example, a company may enforce an authorization policy that gives the members in a particular department access to a particular service. Policy based networking relies on rules to automate network administration tasks such as configuration, performance, security, fault restoration, and service provisioning.
Differentiated services will be supported in the next generation networks. These require per-flow or per-class service queuing. So, packet classification is needed to identify which flow or class an incoming packet belongs to. It is critical to separate the packets from different flows or classes into different queues, which will be fairly dequeued by a packet scheduler, in order to meet service level agreements and guarantee QoS.
Billing is an important function of network equipment. Usage based billing has been used so that users are charged fairly based on the amount of their bandwidth usage. This requires classifying the packets in order to determine to which users they belong so as to perform traffic accounting and billing. Packet classification is also needed to police incoming traffic according to a service level agreement to prevent bandwidth stealing or detrimental usage, and to support denial of service (DoS) protection.
Finally, network address translation is used to conserve IP addresses since a shortage of IP addresses is becoming a problem due to the exponential growth of the Internet. NAT operates on a router between an intranet and public internet by translating between a special group of IP addresses, which are not Internet routable IP addresses defined by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in private intranets, and public Internet routable IP addresses. For service providers, NAT saves the expense of registering large numbers of addresses with IANA. Enterprises can have their own internal IP address schemes and use only a limited number of IP addresses for public Internet access. NAT requires packet classification to perform one-to-one or many-to-one IP address translation by replacing the IP address in the IP header with a different IP address. The same applies to other fields such as the TCP/UDP port if port translation is desired.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional network device 100 that includes a switch engine 102 for determining how to treat different kinds of incoming packets in accordance with routing table 104. In an example where network device 100 is a typical present-day IP router, switch engine 102 determines how to forward packets to one or more of outputs 1 to N based solely on the IP destination address in the headers of the packets. In such an example, routing table 104 merely associates particular IP destination addresses with outputs 1 to N. However, next generation IP routers, in order to support the improved services mentioned above, may need to perform packet forwarding based on multiple fields in the packet headers. This means that conventional switch engine 102 and routing table 104 are inadequate for considering these different packet header fields in order to forward different types of packets in distinct ways. For example, voice packets may need to be forwarded to one output that is associated with a less congested path and has a quality of service (QoS) guarantee while data packets having the same IP destination address may need to be forwarded to an output associated with a different path that is more congested and has no QoS guarantee. Thus, traditional packet forwarding solely based on IP destination address is insufficient to handle this improved form of packet classification.
A simple packet classification algorithm is to compare an incoming packet against each classification rule sequentially. The complexities of this linear search is O(N) with O(N) memory, where N is the number of rules. The update can be made incrementally by using a binary search in the sorted list of rules in O(logN) time. Note that this algorithm needs the least amount of memory but its query time becomes unacceptable when the number of rules is large, which is the case in most practical applications. To speed up packet classification, more advanced data structures and algorithms should be used. Such advanced data structures will use more memory to store redundant information and thereby speed up packet classification. Clearly, there is a tradeoff between query time and memory size.
The prior art describes a scheme based on bit-parallelism to find the right tradeoff between query time and memory size. The characteristics in packet classifier rule databases (in particular for a firewall application) are taken advantage of in another prior art effort for multiple-stage packet classification. A heuristic approach is also considered in other efforts. Packet classification using tuple space search is given in additional efforts.
Primarily three approaches have been used for packet classification, namely, pure software, pure hardware, and a combination of software and hardware. In packet filtering or firewall applications, a pure software solution has been attempted. The main advantage of this approach is that software is flexible, easy to change and easy to upgrade. Its disadvantages are that software performs poorly, lacks efficiency, and is unable to scale to high-speed interfaces.
Due to high performance requirements and the complexity of the problem, hardware solutions such as a hard-wired ASICs have been pursued for packet classification. One hardware device called a ternary content addressable memory (TCAM), is a special type of fully associative memory where each cell has three logic states: 0, 1 and X (don't care). TCAMs allow a fully parallel search of the classifier database and are popularly used for packet classification. The disadvantages of a pure hardware solution are that hardware is inflexible, difficult to change to accommodate evolving network protocols, and has long development cycles. Furthermore, TCAMs have very high power consumption and support a fewer number of rules.
In next generation routers, a combination of the software and hardware approach is taken in a so-called "network processor", which uses network application specific processors instead of a general-purpose processor. The advantages of this approach are that network processors are programmable, flexible, and can achieve performance comparable to a customized ASIC. This technique also shortens the time to market, can be easily changed or upgraded to accommodate new features or protocols, and adds product differentiation by customers. For example, the nP7120 Packet Processor from MMC Networks supports processing 13 million packets per second (MPPS) with dual 200 MHz processors optimized for packet processing. The IBM Rainier network processor uses 16 RISC cores for MAC & POS framing as well as packet classification with hundreds of rules at 1.6×OC48 speed. ClassiPI from PMC-Sierra uses two million logic gates (plus 2 MB RAM) for packet classification at OC48 speed.
Nevertheless, there remains a need for a high performance packet classification solution that provides an optimal tradeoff between performance and memory size.

Fast IP packet classification with configurable processor


A memory management method and a controller for a non-volatile memory storage device are provided. The memory management method and the controller are adapted for establishing a logical-to-physical mapping table of each block in a memory buffer of the controller by merely reading the data stored in a system management area within a start page of each block, so as to promote the management efficiency of the non-volatile memory storage device. In addition, the method and the controller of the present invention integrate all of or a part of the system management areas within the start page for efficiently managing and using the memory capacity of all the system management areas within the start page.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a management technique of a storage medium, and particularly relates to a memory management method and a controller for a non-volatile memory storage device.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, consumers' demand for storage media has been surging as digital cameras, mobile phones with built-in digital cameras, MP3 players, and MP4 players are rapidly developed. Compared with other storage media, a flash memory has the characteristics of non-volatile data storage, low power consumption, small size, and non-mechanical structure, and is therefore an ideal built-in memory for the above portable multimedia storage devices. In addition, to satisfy the growing demands for detachable small-size memory cards and flash memory devices, manufacturers in this field all work on developing flash memories with larger capacity and higher use/management stability.
At present, a flash memory is generally collocated with a controller to form a flash memory storage device. It is known that the controller will sequentially read all the data stored in a sector of the start page of each block in the flash memory when the flash memory storage device is powered. Accordingly, the controller establishes the logical-to-physical mapping table of each block by a memory buffer (generally a SRAM) inside the controller. Thereby, the host which uses the flash memory storage device can receive the logical-to-physical mapping relationship of each block in the flash memory for accessing data from the flash memory storage device.
Generally speaking, a sector usually includes a user data area having a memory capacity of 512 bytes for storing user data; a system management area having a memory capacity of 6 bytes for storing system management data; and an error correction area having a memory capacity of 10 bytes for storing error correction codes (ECC). Herein, the content of the logical-to-physical mapping relationship of the blocks is usually stored in the system management area.
It can be known from the above that the controller needs to read all the data stored in a sector of the start page of each block in the flash memory so as to establish the logical-to-physical mapping table of each block in the memory buffer of the controller. However, as the memory capacity of a flash memory increases (i.e. the number of the blocks increases), this method reduces the management efficiency of the flash memory storage device (i.e. the speed of establishing the logical-to-physical mapping table becomes very slow).
Moreover, because of the advance of semiconductor technology, multi level cell (MLC) flash memories have been developed from single level cell (SLC) flash memories to increase memory capacity. However, the error correction code of the MLC flash memory requires a memory capacity up to 10 bytes or above. Consequently, the memory capacity of all the system management areas within the start page is reduced to less than 6 bytes, which is insufficient for each system management area.

Memory management method and controller for non-volatile memory storage device


Replaceable outer support structure 38 for a particulate material bed 70 in a radial flow system comprises a plurality of hollow conduits 50, 250, 260, at least some of which have a generally trapezoidal cross-section. The conduits are arranged in a ring around the inside wall surface 39 of the vessel 42 and have flat or slightly concave inner wall surfaces 52 formed of segments of vertically extending screen members which have slots or openings 86 which provide uniform flow through the uniform thickness particulate bed which they help define The side walls 54, 56 of the conduits extend generally radially outwardly to engage the inner surface 39 of the outside wall 40 of the vessel and at least those of them which have a trapezoidal cross-section have their side walls formed at an included angle α which is less than if they extended radially relative to the axis of the vessel. An embodiment having alternating generally trapezoidal 250 and generally rectangular cross-sections 260 for the conduit members maximizes the total internal flow area of the ring of conduits as compared to an embodiment in which all of the conduit members have a trapezoidal shape, while still allowing the inward movement of individual conduit members during installation or replacement operations.

1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the fluid conduits which form the outer retaining wall for an annular particulate bed used in a radial flow system mounted in a cylindrical vessel. In such systems a fluid typically is directed radially inwardly or outwardly into or out of the particulate bed through openings in the inner surfaces of a plurality of outer, vertically arranged conduit members or through openings in a cylindrical screen basket member which has a smaller diameter than the inner wall of the vessel. The fluid passes through openings in a vertically arranged center pipe which forms the inner retaining wall for the annular particulate bed.
2) Description of the Related Art
The vessel typically is a reactor which contains a bed of particulate material such as catalyst, absorbent, resins or activated carbon. The fluid which passes through the particulate bed in a radial direction is usually a gas but it could also be a liquid or a liquid/gas mixture. In prior art systems the outer wall support for the annular particulate bed is often a ring of individual scallops members which have convex inner surfaces and outer surfaces which conform to the wall of the vessel. The scallops members can be formed from metal plates which contain perforations smaller in diameter than the size of the particulate material. They can also be formed with their convex inner surface comprising a screen element having a plurality of closely spaced wires welded to support rods. Such scallops are often sized so they can be installed or replaced when required by lifting them through an opening in the top of the vessel. Although the convex surface of the scallops which supports the particulate bed is quite strong, the convex shape causes the thickness of the annular bed to be non-uniform. Thus, the flow distribution through the bed is non-uniform and more flow will take place at the location on the scallops where their convex surface is closest to the center pipe and the pressure drop is lowest. Since the bed must usually have a predetermined minimum thickness, the convex scallops shape means that additional particulate material must be provided to fill all of the space which is radially outwardly of a circle containing the radially innermost portion of the scallops. Where the particulate material is one which contains a precious metal such as platinum, the need for additional material can be very expensive. In addition, the tendency for flow to take place where the flow distance is at its shortest results in uneven contact between the fluid to be reacted and the particulate material in the bed. This uneven flow can result in the need to replace the particulate material sooner than if the flow was entirely uniform.
Another type of prior art system includes a cylindrical screen basket member which is spaced inwardly from the outer wall of the vessel. Such a cylindrically shaped screen basket member cooperates with an inner screen pipe member to cause the particulate bed positioned between such inner and outer members to have a uniform thickness. However, the systems is quite expensive since the large diameter screen cannot be installed or removed through a small upper opening in the vessel, as can the scallops type screen.
Examples of prior art systems which have scallops members around the inside surface of the outer vessel wall include Hansen, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,399 and Koves et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,908. Farnham U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,094 shows vertical screen segments surrounding an annular catalyst bed which are spaced from the side wall of the vessel. Schuurman U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,547 shows a moving bed reactor wherein a ring of screen segments surrounds a centrally located catalyst bed and separates the catalyst from the outer annular chamber which receives the effluent after it passes through the screen surfaces. Nagaoka E. P. Publication 0 483 975 A1 shows a device for holding particulate catalyst in a radial flow reactor which comprises a ring of vertically arranged containers having abutting side walls and screened inner walls, the containers being filled with catalyst and positioned between an annular outer fluid chamber and an inner cylindrical fluid chamber.

Plural conduit replaceable outer support structure for radial flow system


An ambulatory infusion system and a method of operating including a disposable infusion cartridge having a collapsible reservoir and a substantially rigid shell disposed over the collapsible reservoir having an interior volume, a pump device, a pressure sensor in communication with the interior volume and a processor. The method includes actuating the pressure sensor to take pressure measurements at regular time intervals; periodically assessing a preselected number of the pressure measurements with statistical analysis to identify statistical measures associated with the pressure measurements; and using the statistical measures to assess the status of the flexible reservoir and the pump device.

Certain infusion pumps, particularly certain ambulatory insulin infusion pumps that are used to treat people having diabetes, include a spool with a distal section, a collapsible reservoir that contains insulin, vented volume surrounding the collapsible reservoir and a pressure sensor that senses the pressure within the vented volume. The pressure sensor is coupled to a controller or processor that is programmed with an algorithm to control, operate and monitor the infusion pump. The pressure sensor can be used to determine the fluid volume in the collapsible reservoir of the system. In such cases, pressure measurements are taken at intervals and variations in air pressure are used to calculate fluid volume within the collapsible reservoir.
One of the challenges of using the pressure sensor to determine fluid volume in the infusion pump system is that the related calculations are generally made under the assumption that the vented volume air pressure and the fluid pressure in the collapsible reservoir are the same. This assumption is not always true. This is due, for example, to the fact that the collapsible reservoir is not infinitely flexible, especially when it is filled to maximum or near maximum capacity. When the collapsible reservoir is filled to maximum capacity, the envelope of the collapsible reservoir is placed under stress and there can be variations between the pressure inside of the collapsible reservoir and the vented volume surrounding the collapsible reservoir. In the case of the collapsible reservoir being at or near maximum capacity, any compliance in the system, such as, e.g., air bubbles in the fluid or expansion of the fluid-containing structure that does not affect air chamber volume, can cause errors in the fluid volume measurement process as fluid that is removed from the collapsible reservoir in the system will not cause an equal change in air volume of the air in the air chamber.


A method is provided for improving the performance of copy operations in storage systems. The method includes storing a measure of relative availability of storage system resources, detecting operations when sequential portions of a storage media are to be accessed for writing of information, and when the measure of relative availability of system resources drops to a specified extent, introducing a wait into the operation in which sequential portions of a storage media are to be accessed for writing of information. In another implementation, a method is provided for controlling writing of data in a storage system in which a step is performed of analyzing a requested write operation to determine if the requested write operation calls for a sequential task or a random task. If the requested write operation is a sequential task, information about it is stored in a task management table. the table is used to determine if throttling is needed to carry out the requested write operation, and invokes throttling if it is needed.

This invention relates to storage systems, and in particular to storage area networks in which copying and remote copying of data provided by a host is provided. Modern storage systems provide users with the capability of storing and backing up enormous amounts of data quickly over networks to various local and remote locations. In such systems, at the time an initial copy of information is stored on hard disk drives at a primary storage site, a remote copy is made to corresponding hard disk drives at a secondary storage site. The storage system is typically configured to automatically copy the entire disk, and configure the disks at the primary and remote storage sites as "remote copy pairs." In performing these operations, data is provided to the hard disks at the primary site under control of a host system. The operation is typically performed by the host sending data and write requests to the primary storage system, which acknowledges receipt of those write requests. As the data arrives at the primary storage system from the host, it is usually stored in a cache memory before being written to hard disk drives in the storage system. Either synchronously with the writing of the data to the hard disk drives, or asynchronously, the data is also written to storage media in a secondary storage system, typically located remotely from the primary storage system. In this manner, highly reliable access to the data is provided, making the system less susceptible to natural disasters or other events which may damage or destroy one of the two storage systems.
One problem which occurs in storage systems is commonly known as cache puncture or cache overflow. Each time data is to be written to a selected portion of the storage system, for example, a particular hard disk drive or a group of hard disk drives, the data is first transferred to a cache memory. This allows the high speed host system and its affiliated bus network to operate at speeds much higher than those employed in the electromechanical writing of data onto hard disk drives. In this manner, the computer system will continue to operate and perform other calculations or provide other services to the user, while the data is being written to the disks in the much slower electromechanical operations common to hard disk drives or other storage systems.
Normally, the random nature of reading and writing data in a large storage system will not overwhelm any particular component because the components have been appropriately sized for operation in these circumstances. In some circumstances, however, access from the host to the primary storage system will be sequential, that is, with many consecutive sectors targeted at only one or a small group of hard disk drives, for example, operations such as batch or backup processes which create large loads on small portions of the storage system. Cache puncture is more likely in these circumstances.
FIG. 11 is a diagram which illustrates a typical circumstance of cache puncture. As shown in the second row of the diagram, host operations up through a given time t will be normal and have minimal impact on the cache memory. In the example depicted, however, beginning at time t the host accesses become heavy, to the point of exceeding the maximum capability of the remote copy (RC) or even the primary storage system. In these circumstances, as shown by the cross-hatched portion of the curve in FIG. 11, an overloaded condition occurs in which more data is being transmitted to the storage system than the storage system is capable of storing immediately. This large amount of data will be attempted to be stored in the cache memory, which is essentially functioning as a buffer between the high speed host the slower speed disk drives. If the large demand for storage continues as shown by the upper curve in FIG. 11, eventually the capability of the cache will be exceeded, as shown by the location designated "X" in FIG. 11. At this point the host will need to intervene to reschedule writing the data until a later time or take some other action. The lower two rows in FIG. 11 illustrate a normal operation in which the host access never reaches the maximum performance line (shown dashed). Thus, there will be no cache puncture, and the overall operation will be carried out in the normal manner.
In prior art systems, the solution to cache puncture was to send an error message and stop the writing operation until it could be rescheduled for a time when demands were lower. This slowed overall system operation. In addition, in some prior art systems, a wait condition was introduced to place host operations on hold for enough time to allow the cache memory to become available. This wait condition was introduced, however, only at the time of error messages, and not in circumstances as a preventive measure to preclude the error message in the first place. For example, IBM in its document entitled "Implementing ESS Copy Services on S/390" describes two techniques: (1) If data in cache exceeds a predefined limit, I/O will be blocked to the specific volume with the highest write activity, and (2) a temporary write peak will cause a session to be suspended. Accordingly, what is needed is an improved technique for controlling the operations of the host, a primary system and a secondary subsystem in a manner which precludes cache puncture, yet still provides high speed performance.


Provided is a circuit substrate which can integrate circuit elements without degrading wiring characteristics, and a display device including the circuit substrate. The circuit substrate of the present invention includes a transistor substrate (10) which is a support substrate (1) having a transistor (20) and an external connection terminal (50) mounted thereon, and an external member (60) attached on the transistor substrate (10). The external member (60) is connected physically and electrically to the external connection terminal (50) through a conductive member (3), and the transistor (20) and the external connection terminal (50) are arranged side by side.

In recent years, for mobile electronic devices such as a cellular phone or a PDA using liquid display device, organic EL display device or the like, further size and weight reduction are desired. Accordingly, there is a trend for a smaller region around display area, i.e. narrower frame region, and vigorous development of such is underway.
For thickness and cost reduction, there is an increased trend for display devices provided with a full monolithic type circuit substrate having a peripheral circuit necessary for driving, such as a driver circuit. In a display device provided with a full monolithic type circuit substrate, a circuit for driving the pixels is formed on the circuit substrate. As a result, a part of the area of the circuit substrate that is not a display region (frame region) increases. Therefore, development for a narrower frame is underway.
In a conventional display device, low resistance aluminum is used for wiring inside a panel. When this wiring is extended to the panel exterior to be used as an external connection terminal, an exposed part of the aluminum film can become corroded. To address this problem, a measure was taken in which the aluminum film used for the wiring inside the panel is connected to a separate metal film disposed in a lower layer below the aluminum film inside the panel, and the metal film is used to connect the wiring inside the panel to the panel exterior (see Patent Document 1, for example).
In Patent Document 1, a configuration which prevents corrosion of an external connection terminal is also disclosed. In this configuration, an aluminum film is used as a wiring inside the panel and the aluminum film is extended to the panel exterior to be used as an external connection terminal. An exposed portion of the aluminum film extended to the panel exterior is covered with a chrome (Cr) film and an indium tin oxide (ITO) film.


The present invention is directed to a valve which includes a housing having a valve seat for a flap that is rotationally mounted on a drive shaft. A double wound lamellar ring is arranged outside and around the flap in a peripheral groove of the flap. The invention also relates to the use of the valve.

The invention relates to a valve and to a use of the valve. Valves, for example for gas ducts, are known. They often comprise a housing with a valve seat in which a rotatably mounted flap is arranged for closing the gas duct. In order to avoid leakage air, the flap is provided with a piston seal encircling it on the outside. The latter generally comprises a metal ring which, for flexibility reasons, has a gap. During operation, it is often disadvantageous that leakage air can pass through this gap, which is not desirable. This is the case in particular if the gases to be conducted by the valve have relatively high temperatures and in addition greatly fluctuate in their temperatures.


By estimating the processing rate on the basis of capacity factors, which are classified with respect to process recipes, i.e., technology nodes, and process tool groups, a fast response to various conditions may be accomplished, thereby providing significantly enhanced flexibility in estimating the productivity and rentability of a manufacturing environment.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present invention relates to manufacturing processes, and, more particularly, to the modeling of product streams in a manufacturing environment, such as a semiconductor facility, in which a plurality of different product types and processes and metrology tools are handled.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today's global market forces manufacturers of mass products to offer high quality products at a low price. It is thus important to improve yield and process efficiency to minimize production costs. This holds especially true in industrial fields, in which highly complex process tools operate on complex products according to specified process parameters that may vary between different product types. A prominent example in this respect represents the field of semiconductor device fabrication, since, here, it is essential to combine cutting-edge technology with mass production techniques. It is, therefore, the goal of semiconductor manufacturers to reduce the consumption of raw materials and consumables while at the same time improve process tool utilization. The latter aspect is especially important since, in modern semiconductor facilities, equipment is required which is extremely cost-intensive and represents the dominant part of the total production costs.
As one example for a mass product, integrated circuits are typically manufactured in automated or semi-automated facilities, thereby passing through a large number of process and metrology steps to complete the device. The number and the type of process steps and metrology steps a product, such as a semiconductor device, has to go through depends on the specifics of the product to be fabricated. For example, a typical process flow for an integrated circuit may include a plurality of photolithography steps to image a circuit pattern for a specific device layer into a resist layer, which is subsequently patterned to form a resist mask for further processes for structuring the device layer under consideration by, for example, etch or implant processes, deposition processes, heat treatments, cleaning processes and the like. Thus, layer after layer, a plurality of process steps are performed based on a specific lithographic mask set for the various layers of the specified device. For instance, a sophisticated CPU requires several hundred process steps, each of which has to be carried out within specified process margins so as to fulfill the specifications for the device under consideration. Since many of these processes are very critical, a plurality of metrology steps have to be performed to efficiently control the quality of the process flow. Typical metrology processes may include the measurement of layer thickness, the determination of dimensions of critical features, such as the gate length of transistors, the measurement of dopant profiles and the like. As the majority of the process margins are device-specific, many of the metrology processes and the actual manufacturing processes are specifically designed for the device under consideration and require specific parameter settings at the adequate metrology and process tools.
In many production plants, such as semiconductor facilities, a plurality of different product types are usually manufactured at the same time, such as memory chips of different design and storage capacity, CPUs of different design and operating speed and the like, wherein the number of different product types may even reach a hundred and more in production lines for manufacturing ASICs (application specific ICs). Since each of the different product types may require a specific process flow, specific settings in the various process tools, such as different mask sets for the lithography, different process parameters for deposition tools, etch tools, implantation tools, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tools, furnaces and the like, may be necessary. Consequently, a plurality of different tool parameter settings and product types may be simultaneously encountered in a manufacturing environment.
Hereinafter, the parameter setting for a specific process in a specified process tool or metrology or inspection tool may be commonly referred to as process recipe or simply as recipe. Thus, a large number of different process recipes, even for the same type of process tools, may be required which have to be applied to the process tools at the time the corresponding product types are to be processed in the respective tools. However, the sequence of process recipes performed in process and metrology tools or in functionally combined equipment groups, as well as the recipes themselves, may have to be frequently altered due to fast product changes and highly variable processes involved. As a consequence, the tool performance, especially in terms of throughput, is a very critical manufacturing parameter as it significantly affects the overall production costs of the individual products. Therefore, in the field of semiconductor production, various strategies are practiced in an attempt to optimize the stream of products for achieving a high yield with a moderate consumption of raw materials. In semiconductor plants, substrates are usually handled in groups, called lots, wherein, in a frequently encountered strategy, the dispatching of a sequence of lots for a given group of process tools, in which at least a part of the manufacturing process is to be performed, is determined on the basis of the current state of the lots and the tools such that an efficient processing of the lots may be achieved. Thus, a so-called dispatch list may be established when demanded by an operator or an automated supervising system, which may describe the sequence of releasing the various lots in an attempt to obtain efficient routing of the released lots through the process flow under consideration.
Another approach for generating an efficient stream of products through a manufacturing environment is referred to as scheduling and includes the calculation of a schedule for the lots and process tools over a certain time interval or time horizon into the future. Based on the current tool and lot status and using predefined functions with respect to manufacturing specific criteria, the schedule may be "optimized," wherein, however, changes of the manufacturing environment, in terms of tool availability, process recipe changes and the like, may require frequent updating of the schedule, wherein the consideration of all relevant constraints and process criteria, such as an efficient handling of so-called re-entrant processes, in which products are repeatedly processed in the same process tools, however, at different stages of the manufacturing process, may not be efficiently handled by conventional strategies, thereby reducing the effect of the schedule for enhancing the productivity in the manufacturing environment under consideration.
Moreover, it is frequently important to estimate the investments in terms of resources, such as process and metrology tools, for a manufacturing environment on the basis of a given product entry rate in order to obtain a prediction for installing or re-installing a manufacturing environment. For this purpose, complex software tools are available that include a capacity-based model of the manufacturing environment. Based on the given start rate of a specified product type mixture, the model may then estimate the required resources.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a typical conventional flow 100 for modeling the number of process tools in a manufacturing environment, such as a semiconductor facility, on the basis of a desired production rate. In box 110, the desired start rate for one or more product types A . . . Z to be processed in the manufacturing environment under consideration may be defined. For example, in a semiconductor facility, various types of microprocessors are to be manufactured on the basis of substantially predefined process recipes. Consequently, for each individual type of microprocessor, a desired start rate, for example in the form of wafer count per time, may be entered. In box 120, the capacity-based model of the manufacturing environment under consideration may calculate, on the basis of the specific process recipes and predefined tool capacities, that is, throughput values of a process tool or tool group for a given process recipe, the resources, i.e., the number of individual tools per tool group I . . . N, required for providing the capacity of running at the desired start rate for each specified product type. Finally, the calculated capacity is output in box 130, for instance in the form a tool count for the various process and metrology tools of the manufacturing environment under consideration.
Thus, the product stream in existing or virtual manufacturing environments may be calculated on the basis of the above-described techniques. However, in some respects, these techniques may suffer from reduced flexibility with respect to efficiently determining a cost-efficient product stream, since, for example, the schedule calculation described above may require immense computational resources when a complex manufacturing environment is considered, while otherwise non-acceptable simulation intervals may be needed, which significantly reduce the applicability of these techniques with respect to increasing efficiency of resources of a manufacturing environment. On the other hand, the strategy described with reference to FIG. 1 may not allow the direct deduction of a product entry rate that would be supported by a given resource capacity, such as a given equipment set. In order to obtain a corresponding estimation of a supported start rate, a plurality of simulation runs on the basis of different product start rates may have to be performed in an attempt to get a result from the model that is identical or at least close to the given tool count. Moreover, when a moderately complex mixture of product types is to be processed in the manufacturing environment, a corresponding large number of variables may have to be varied for the various simulation runs, thereby rendering this technique less attractive due to the moderately long simulation times.
In view of the situation described above, there is therefore a need for a technique that enhances the efficiency of a production process while avoiding or reducing one or more of the problems identified above.

Method and system for modeling a stream of products in a manufacturing environment by process and tool categorization


An overhead door includes a plurality of panels pivotally connected to one another with the mating upper and lower edges of the adjacent panels providing a pinch-resistant configuration during articulation of the overhead door. Additionally, the installation and assembly of the door is more easily and efficiently accomplished because of first and second contact locations between the mating upper and lower edges of the panels and the configuration of those contact locations provides registration or alignment of the panels relative to one another during installation. Additionally, the hinge assembly includes a pivot axis which is positioned between the front and back faces of the panel to enhance the pinch-resistant operation of the door and the installation of the hinge is easily accomplished with a reduced number of parts because of cooperating keyhole slots and key on the pivot pin of the hinge.

This invention relates to overhead doors and, more particularly, to an overhead door panel configuration and hinge designs for constructing the overhead door.
There are numerous designs of overhead or retractable door assemblies which are commonly used for garage doors, truck doors, warehouse doors or the like. Typically, an overhead door of this type is convertible between an open, overhead or generally horizontal configuration and a closed generally vertically oriented configuration in which the door closes an opening in the building or the like. The overhead door is typically movable along a track assembly mounted proximate the opening and the track assembly commonly includes a generally vertical track section, a generally horizontal track section and a curved transition track section joining the horizontal and vertical sections together.
Retractable overhead doors of this type are conventionally constructed of a number of vertically arranged, horizontally oriented panels which can fold along the horizontal divisions between the panels to enable the door to pass along the curved transition section of the track when being opened or closed. The panels are pivotally coupled together with hinges on the interior surface or back face of the door panels. Commonly, gaps appear between the adjacent panels while the panels are traveling toward and/or through the curved transition section of the track. Fingers or other foreign objects may be inserted into these gaps by accident or due to improper handling of the door by a user. This is a potentially serious situation which can result in bodily injury.
Recently, many different overhead door designs have been suggested which are aimed at minimizing this hazzard. Commonly, such designs are referred to as "pinch-proof" or "pinch-resistant". These types of door designs often include complicated hinge structures, guards which cover the gaps between the articulating panels or involved and complicated panel geometries to minimize or inhibit the insertion of a probe or other foreign object between the adjacent articulating panels. However, many of these design features have proven to be minimally effective to inhibit and/or prevent such injuries.
An additional drawback of many such door systems is the difficulty associated with the proper installation of the overhead door. For example, proper alignment of the panels relative to one another is very important to maintain a weather tight seal or closure for the garage opening or the like. Furthermore, improper alignment of the panels may result in binding or interference of the adjacent panels during articulation of the door between the open and closed positions. This can result in the door binding or freezing up during articulation or damage to the panels, each of which may require repair, service, replacement or the like.
Further, although the vast majority of overhead garage doors are installed and/or serviced by a professional, it is becoming more common for a do-it-yourselfer such as a homeowner or the like to install the garage door. Installation of the door by an inexperienced individual highlights the need for easy and reliable installation of the system while still providing the pinch-resistant safety features. The complexity of many known door systems, including the design of the respective panels, hinge assemblies and the like, is a clear impediment to proper door installation and operation for not only an experienced installer but an inexperienced installer.


An electromagnetic coaxial driving injection apparatus, having a linear motor for driving injection and a rotation motor for metering. The linear motor and the rotation motor of both the injection and metering motors and an injection screw are set on a common axis. A connecting device connects moving parts of the motors with the injection screw. Stationary parts of the motors are fastened on a frame and forward-backward moving unit, not moving during injection and metering. Due to the arrangement of the moving parts and the injection screw on a single axis, moving parts are lessened, and transmission losses are minimized. Since the number of structural parts is low, only the moving parts of the motors move during injection while the stationary parts thereof remain at rest, thus greatly reducing inertia. Furthermore, since the moving axis of the injection screw and the injection screw are linked, without being connected with stators or other structural parts, injection is performed with minimal friction, enhancing effectiveness of the apparatus.

With steady technological progress, demands on precision of molding are increasing by the day. Of particular importance are speed and aiming precision of injection molding machines. Previously, injection pressure was generated by hydraulic devices or servomotors. Mechanic transmission, however, effects hysteresis and backlash, so that injection is not aimed precisely and demands of high technology are not met. During metering, the driving unit of the injection screw moves along with the injection driving device, greatly increasing inertia. In addition, the accuracies at the end of movement is reduced, thereby reducing the precision in molding. Thus, the present invention developed to eliminate the positional inaccuracies and injectional backlash generated by mechanic transmission and high inertia, thereby achieving high speed and precision molding.
1. Basic Object of the Present Invention
An electromagnetic coaxial driving injection apparatus is provided, comprising an injection screw; an injection and metering driving device coaxial therewith, at least one connecting unit, and at least one bearing. When the injection screw performs a linear movement, only rotors of motors move along, while stators of the motors remain at rest, greatly reducing inertia. Both injection and metering are directly driven, without any transmission by belt or gears, so that no backlash and hysteresis occur. Since the number of structural parts are lessened, accumulating inaccuracies due to manufacturing and assembly are avoided. The present invention thus meets demands for high speed and precision.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional injection system of an injection molding machine comprises an injection driving device for driving a linear movement of the injection system and a metering device for driving and controlling a rotating movement of an injection screw of the injection system to perform metering.
Linear driving for injection systems of injection molding machines is performed either hydraulically or electrically. Hydraulic devices allow readily to implement a linear driving force easily. However, due to the compressibility behavior of fluid and change of properties thereof with temperature, positioning accuracy is comparatively poor. Furthermore, noise is generated during operation, cleaning is difficult and power consumption is high. An electric motor generating a rotational motion, on the other hand, consumes less power than a hydraulic device and is accurately controllable, but transformation of a rotational movement into a linear movement is needed. Therefore, a complicated mechanism of belt and pulleys is required. This causes the structure to be complicated and requirement for space to be high.
Using a linear motor as a prime driving force for driving injection not only saves energy, but has also mechanical advantages, as compared to a rotational motor. In addition, lower inertia, simple structure, speed control and positional maneuverability are obtained. Several designs using linear motors for driving injection have already been disclosed, as further explained in the following.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,505 uses a linear motor for driving injection and a coaxial rotation motion for metering, both of which are set on an injection screw and connected by mechanical means.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,896 and Japan patent publication no. 2001-300967 both disclose a linear motor for an injection driving device. The motor has a shape like a rectangular tube, in each publication having a particular design of its own, with stators and rotors distributed on the periphery of a rectangle. A metering part is provided, with U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,896 using a rotation motor directly driving an injection screw at a rear end thereof, and Japan patent publication no. 2001-300967 using a rotation motor indirectly driving an injection screw via a belt and a pulley.
Japan patent publications no. 2001-124169 and 2002-079555 both disclose at least two linear motors, connected in series or parallel and linked mechanically for driving injection. As to metering parts, Japan patent publication no. 2001-124169 uses a rotation motor which directly drives an injection screw and is placed at a rear end thereof, whereas Japan patent publication no. 2002-079555 uses a rotation motor indirectly driving an injection screw via a belt and gears.
Above publications all describe one linear motor or at least two linear motors for driving injection; however, for the metering part, a rotation motor is used, performing direct or indirect driving. Rotor and stator of the metering motor move along with the injection movement. Therefore, the injection driving motor not only drives the injection screw and a plastics melting device, but also the metering motor, which increases inertia. If, as partly taught in the patent publications, the stator of the metering motor does not move along with the injection movement, a mechanical transmission system is required, such as a spindle, which causes friction and thus increases load on the motor and reduces mechanical effectiveness thereof. Furthermore, mechanical transmission systems, like belts, pulleys and spindles have backlash, hampering accuracy of positioning and thus impairing precision of manufacturing products. Since the design of the present invention minimizes friction of the assembly and structural parts, good responsive behavior is achieved, and speed response as well as controlling precision are improved.
Moreover, in the driving system of the injection system of the present invention, there are no mechanically transmitting connected parts, so that mechanical impairing of the machine by friction is reduced and the negative effect of backlash between a transmission belt and transmitting parts is avoided, resulting in increased repetitive good behavior.

Electromagnetic coaxial driving injection apparatus

Abstract: The main characteristic of the present invention is that, due to direct driving of injection without mechanical transmission, the effects of hysteresis and backlash are avoided. Furthermore, inertia and friction are reduced. The present invention increases the response and reappearance of the system.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A chair includes a frame and a seat bottom associated with the frame. Flexible seat mounts are used to retain the seat bottom on the frame.

The present disclosure relates to chairs, and particularly to chairs including seat backs and bottoms mounted on a tubular frame. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to brackets for mounting seat bottoms on chair frames.
According to the present disclosure, a chair includes a frame, a seat bottom associated with the frame, and flexible seat mounts configured to retain the seat bottom in place on the frame while allowing some limited movement of the seat bottom relative to the frame without damaging the seat bottom retaining function of the flexible seat mounts. During use, static and dynamic loads are applied to the seat bottom and the flexible seat mounts are configured to allow some movement of the seat bottom relative to the frame and yet maintain the seat bottom in a position coupled securely to the frame.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

Flexible seat mount for chair seat bottom