A finishing assembly which includes an outside treatment roll for treating both sides of an endless web without having to remove, turn inside out and reload the endless web onto the finishing assembly. The outside treatment roll is movable and adapted to contact the endless web within an opening defined between a pair of cantilever beams such that the "minimum loop length" of the endless web is preserved. The finishing assembly includes a movable non-contacting treatment assembly which is adapted to be arranged between the cantilever beams such that the non-contacting treatment assembly may be used with or without the outside treatment roll to facilitate different finishing processes.

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


A stretchable chemical protective material is described comprising a selectively permeable chemical protective film and an elastic textile. Further described are methods for making a stretchable chemical protective material and methods of using the same. Materials made from these methods may have improved flex durability. Garments made from these materials may have improved heat loss.

Varying levels of threats from chemical and biological agents have resulted in chemical protective garments based on multiple technologies. For example, to achieve protection from the highest level of chemical and biological challenges, garments may be formed from impermeable chemical protective materials which prevent toxic agents from passing through the material and to the body of the wearer. Likewise, these impermeable materials are non-breathable, preventing the passage of moisture vapor through the impermeable material and away from the body of a wearer. Protective garments formed from adsorptive materials, such as activated carbon-based materials, adsorb toxic agents to which the material is exposed. Adsorptive materials have a finite capacity to adsorb toxic agents. This capacity to adsorb toxic agents is readily depleted by indiscriminant adsorption of non-toxic chemicals present in the environment. Protective garments may also be made from selectively permeable materials that significantly restrict liquid and vapor chemical agents from passing through the protective garment, while allowing moisture vapor to pass through the garment and away from the body of a wearer.
Protective garments are frequently designed having multiple layers providing a wearer protection against a combination of anticipated challenges. Individual layers are selected for desired properties and incorporated into a protective multilayer material which is then formed into garments. The protective multilayer materials are often thick and/or stiff. Consequently, protective garments formed from these materials can be bulky, stiff and/or non-form fitting.

Stretchable chemical protective material


A method for performing wellbore operations of a field having a subterranean formation. The method includes determining, based on an image log of a wellbore penetrating the subterranean formation, a plurality of interpreted geological surfaces, identifying a plurality of estimated slickensides from the plurality of interpreted geological surfaces based on at least one pre-determined criterion, calculating, using a processor, a differential stress using a curvature model representing at least one mechanical unit defined by the plurality of estimated slickensides, generating a stress model using the differential stress, identifying a modeled wellbore stress-induced failure in response to a total stress value in the stress model exceeding a strength property of the subterranean formation, determining a difference between the modeled wellbore stress-induced failure and an observed stress-induced failure in the subterranean formation, and updating the stress model by adjusting the plurality of estimated slickensides to, in turn, adjust the difference.

Operations, such as geophysical surveying, drilling, logging, well completion and production, are typically performed to locate and gather valuable downhole fluids. Surveys are often performed using acquisition methodologies, such as seismic mapping, resistivity mapping, etc. to generate images of underground formations. These formations are often analyzed to determine the presence of subterranean assets, such as valuable fluids or minerals, or to determine if the formations have characteristics suitable for storing fluids. Although the subterranean assets are not limited to hydrocarbons such as oil, throughout this document, the terms "oilfield" and "oilfield operation" may be used interchangeably with the terms "field" and "field operation" to refer to a site where any types of valuable fluids or minerals can be found and the activities required to extract them. The terms may also refer to sites where substances are deposited or stored by injecting them into the surface using boreholes and the operations associated with this process. Further, the term "wellbore operation" refers to a field operation associated with a wellbore, including activities related to wellbore planning, wellbore drilling, wellbore completion, and/or production using the wellbore.
Fractures in the earth play an essential role in influencing the movement of fluids in rocks. Fractures may be of natural origin or may be created artificially by operations associated with the exploitation of hydrocarbon or mineral reserves. For example, fractures may be deliberately induced in an oil or gas well by raising the wellbore fluid pressure until the surrounding rock fails in tension. Such rock failure may include failures in shear, pore collapse, etc. Fractures produced in this manner are known as hydraulic fractures and they are frequently used in the petroleum industry to enhance production (i.e., stimulation) by providing high permeability conduits that promote the flow of hydrocarbons into the wellbore.
The production of hydrocarbon and the stimulation design is historically based upon intrinsic properties of the rock such as petrophysical properties or stiffness properties and extrinsic loading of the formation such as the magnitude and orientation of the far-field stress. Typically these formation parameters are used to affect the operation of the wellbore drilling and completion procedure. For example porosity, saturation, permeability, natural fractures, stress magnitude and orientations have been measured to characterize the reservoir. However, the application of these properties has not fully solved the dilemmas encountered in hydraulic stimulation and drilling optimization. The production and drilling profile in many wellbores are highly variable. It has been observed in numerous vertical and horizontal completions to have non uniform production, to the point that many intervals are not flowing. The pressures measured in the wellbore during hydraulic fracturing may be interpreted to obtain an estimate of the magnitude of stress in the earth. In order to optimize production and understand where fractures may be induced in the formation, it is essential to correctly interpret stress in the earth based on an understanding of local geology and how it relates to the local reservoir properties.

Determining differential stress based on formation curvature and mechanical units using borehole logs


A three function control system for independently or conjointly controlling three separate hydraulic valves through manipulation of a single control lever. The control system basically includes a single vertically elongated control lever mounted for manipulation through first and second control arcs and has a handle assembly carried at a free upper end of the control lever to facilitate one-handed control over the three valves. First and second linkage assemblies translate arcuate movements of the control lever through the first and second arcs, respectively, into regulatory operations of a first and second hydraulic valves, respectively. A third linkage assembly transmutes twisting movements of the control lever into regulatory movements for the third valve thereby facilitating single-handed control over all three hydraulic valves. A locking mechanism releasably holds the handle assembly to inhibit inadvertent operations of the valves.

Off-highway implements, such as front-end loaders and the like, are typically provided with a loader mechanism at one end thereof. A conventional loader mechanism includes a working tool such as a bucket or the like pivotally connected to a frame of the implement by longitudinally extending loader arms. A series of hydraulic actuators, usually in the form of double-acting hydraulic cylinders, are connected to a hydraulic system of the implement for effecting various loader functions. Hydraulic actuators are used to elevationally position the bucket or tool by raising and lowering the loader arms. Hydraulic actuators are likewise used to control the roll or pivotal movement of the bucket relative to the loader arms. Many loader mechanisms further incorporate a device such as a clam shell bucket which utilizes hydraulic actuators to effect articulated movement of the clam shell bucket to effect a "grab" function.
Control over the various loader functions or work operations is conventionally achieved through manipulation of various control levers. Each control lever is connected to one or more control valves which, in turn, regulates hydraulic fluid flow between a pressurized hydraulic source on the implement and each of the actuators.
During operation of the implement, the loader mechanism can perform a single function, but usually at least two loader functions are effected simultaneously relative to each other. That is, while the loader arms are being elevationally adjusted, the pivotal position or roll of the bucket may likewise be adjusted. When the loader is equipped with a clam shell bucket, all three loader functions may be effected simultaneously to economize on operational time for the loader. As will be appreciated, controlling the implements direction and speed simultaneously with the raising, lowering, tilting, and articulating movements of the bucket of the loader mechanism through movement of a multiplicity of control levers can become a cumbersome task for anyone to perform successfully.
Thus, there is a need and a desire for a control system including a single control lever capable of effecting regulation of various loader functions either independently of one another or in unison with one another or, in any combination desired by the operator.


A semiconductor storage device according to the present embodiment includes a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells. First bit lines transmit read signal voltages from the memory cells. A gate of a first transistor is connected to the first bit lines. A second bit line is connected to one of a drain and a source of the first transistor. A step voltage line is connected to the other one of the drain and the source of the first transistor to apply a step voltage changing in a stepwise manner to the first transistor at a time of reading. A reference-voltage generator generates a reference voltage. A sense part is connected to the second bit line to receive the read signal voltages and the reference voltage.

Semiconductor storage devices such as a NAND flash memory have been downscaled to increase storage capacities. To realize further downscaling, development of memories using new materials is progressed. For example, new memories such as a ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory), a PRAM (Phase-Change RAM) or a PCM (Phase-Change Memory), an iPCM (interfacial PCM), a FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory), a FeNAND (Ferroelectric NAND-type memory), and an MRAM (Magnetic Random Access Memory) have been developed.
As downscaling of these new memories has been progressed, variations in characteristics of elements and characteristics of transistors have become large. For example, variations in characteristics of memory elements and variations in threshold voltages of transistors included in a sense amplifier circuit cause erroneous data read. For example, there has been a demand for a circuit configuration that causes no erroneous read even when variations of pair transistors included in a sense amplifier are likely to occur.


A system and method for regional anesthesia using ultrasound to assist in locating the anesthetic needle are disclosed. One or more piezo-electric crystal transducers is placed either at the tip of the needle or near the tip of the needle on a stylet which is inserted into the lumen of the needle. The transducer(s) are pulsed with ultrasonic frequency, the reflected ultrasonic signals from structures are detected and converted into a digital signal and may be displayed in an oscilloscopic format to indicate anatomical structures forward to the needle and allow the medical professional to avoid errors and/or increase efficiency and accuracy. An array of transducers can be pulsed in a phased array fashion to generate a 2D image, or a single transducer can be pulsed to generate a 1D image.

Regional anesthesia involves the introduction of local anesthetics, with the intention of blocking the nerve supply to a specific part of the body so the patient cannot feel pain in that area when a surgical operation is performed, for pain relief during onset of labor or during labor, or for chronic pain. Regional anesthesia is used in both epidural and subdural or spinal procedures, and can involve plexus blocks and blocks of peripheral nerves.
Epidural anesthesia, one form of regional anesthesia, has gained popularity over the years as being an effective manner of blocking pain without requiring entry to the dura mater of the spinal cord (i.e., a spinal anesthesia). In fact, epidural anesthesia is often the anesthesia of choice in child birth. The surgical procedure for epidural anesthesia typically starts with the utilization of a 17- or 18-gauge Touhy needle in the lumbar region in order to puncture the skin, and to traverse at least the supraspinous ligament. The Touhy needle is basically a hollow needle having an angled distal tip which is slightly curved (i.e., a Huber point) and a proximal luer fitting, and a solid stylet which sits inside and substantially fills the hollow needle. Once the skin and supraspinous ligament have been traversed by the Touhy needle, the solid stylet is removed from within the hollow needle, and an air filled syringe is coupled to the proximal luer fitting of the hollow needle. With pressure being applied to the plunger of the syringe as well as to the barrel of the syringe, the hollow needle of the Touhy needle is slowly advanced past the interspinous ligament and ligamentum flavum until the needle enters the epidural space between the ligamentum flavum and the dura mater of the spine. Location of the epidural space which is filled with connective tissue, fatty tissue, and blood vessels is indicated by loss of resistance; i.e., less resistance to the injection of air through the needle. In other words, when the pressure applied by the practitioner to the plunger causes the plunger to readily push air through the needle, the practitioner can assume that the epidural space has been reached. Upon entry to the epidural space, the syringe is carefully disconnected from the hollow needle (extreme care being taken to keep the needle in its exact position), and a catheter is threaded through the hollow needle. Because the hollow needle has an angled distal end, upon reaching the distal end of the hollow needle, the catheter is directed into the epidural space which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the needle. The catheter is advanced only two to three centimeters into the epidural space in order to reduce the likelihood that it might exit though an intervertebral foramen, with resulting inadequate epidural anesthesia. With the catheter in place, a test dose, repeated injections, or a continuous flow of anesthesia may be administered through the catheter.
A conventional method of placing regional anesthetic needles is to use anatomical landmarks, tapping on the barrel of an attached syringe to feel the way forward until a loss of resistance is obtained. Because the person placing the needle must rely on tactile information, the incidence of errors such as dural punctures, wet taps during lumbar epidurals, and spinal chord injury during cervical or thoracic epidural placements is a serious problem.
While the apparatus and methods for administering regional anesthesia have proved successful over a long period of time, there are drawbacks to those approaches and methods. With regard to the Touhy needle in particular, although it is provided with a curved Huber point, the Touhy needle is still sharp. Use of the Touhy needle therefore runs the risk that the practitioner, i.e., physician, operator, or other person trained to perform this procedure, might overshoot the epidural space and enter the subdural space between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater of the spine, or the subarachnoid space. Such a mistake could result in extreme over-application of anesthesia with a possible high level of spinal anesthesia, necessitating endotracheal intubation of the trachea and mechanical ventilation of the patient. Similar complications could also occur during the disconnection of the syringe from the Touhy needle and insertion of the catheter, as the patient might move, or the needle might not be held properly in position. Such movement of the needle could result in the undesirable entry of the needle and/or catheter into the subdural or subarachnoid spaces.
In order to obtain better information during regional anesthesia needle placement, it has been proposed to use X-ray fluoroscopic techniques to place the needles, but in many cases it is not possible to use X-ray, for example in the case of pregnant women or at the bedside in the trauma intensive care unit (TICU).
Recently it has been proposed to use 2-D echo to facilitate placement of regional anesthetic needles. MicroMaxx™ hand-held ultrasonic devices, manufactured by SonoSite, Inc., which use 2D ultrasound on the patient's skin, have been used at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to assist in proper placement of the needle. The use of a 2D echo device is complicated by the need for the use of an acoustic gel, which can compromise sterility when used to assist with regional anesthetic needle placement. Moreover, the 2D echo device is not useful for imaging structures inside the bony spinal canal because the structure of bone tissue scatters ultrasound randomly, such that no intelligible image can be obtained from sound reflected from tissue structures that are deep to bone.
Accordingly there exists a long-felt and continuing need for apparatus and methods for placement of epidural needles and other regional anesthesia needles.

Regional anesthetic method and apparatus


Apparatus, method and program for maintaining common data in first, second and third datasets in first, second and third respective computer systems. The first computer system is assigned a sole right to approve updates of the common data while able, and a second computer system is assigned a right to approve updates of the common data when the first computer system is unable. The third computer system subsequently makes a request to the first computer system to update the common data, and in response, the first computer system updates the common data in the first dataset and advises the second and third computer systems to make a corresponding update to their second and third datasets, respectively.

The invention relates generally to computer systems, and deals more particularly with synchronization of data between distributed computer systems.
The Internet is an example of a distributed computer system comprising computers and computer networks of different types. Networks, such as mobile phone networks, corporate intranets and home networks, can also exist outside the Internet. Within all of these networks, computers and other devices can communicate with one another and share resources despite their geographic separation. Such resources may include printers, disk drives, data files, databases and other data objects.
To allow the sharing of a resource, a computer program executing on a computer communicates with other computers by passing messages. For example, a client using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) specifies a server's URL in a message to request a resource. Then, the server looks up the path name of the requested resource. If the resource exists, the server accesses the resource and sends back the requested data in a reply message to the client device.
One example of a distributed system is a cluster or group of servers which all provide the same service/application using the same data to provide load balancing and/or redundancy. In a distributed system it is likely that more than one client device will occasionally want to access the same shared resource at approximately the same time. For proper operation, access to the resource must be synchronised such that the proper data is read or written. The data must be consistent throughout the distributed system. The problem is compounded by large volumes of transactions, when communication times are extended, and when fast performance and high availability are desired.
Web service providers and suppliers currently have a distributed model in the implementation of a web service. One or more web services are deployed across a number of geographically dispersed physical environments. At the same time, each of these physical environments requires a consistent view of some of the data that is common to the web services. This has proven difficult to both synchronize data among the implemented web services and allow multiple systems to update the same data.
In order to update data across multiple servers, it was known to employ a "two phase commit" protocol. This protocol allows all of the servers involved in a transaction to either accept an update or to rollback an update, thereby maintaining consistent data. To achieve this, one of the servers takes on a coordinator role to ensure the same outcome on all the serves. In phase commit, a client device sends a request to commit or rollback a transaction to the coordinator server. The coordinator server forwards the request to all other servers which maintain the same data. If the request from any participating server is to abort, i.e. not enter a transaction, the coordinator informs all other participating servers to roll back the transaction before it is considered entered. If the request from a server is to commit a transaction, the coordinator sends a request to all the other participating servers asking if they are prepared to commit the transaction. If a participating server can commit the transaction, it will commit as soon as the appropriate records have been updated in permanent storage and the participating server is prepared to commit.
A disadvantage of using two phase commit is that it requires all the participating servers to support the two phase commit protocol. Even if the participating servers all support the two phase commit protocol, there may be differences in implementation between different vendor solutions across multiple physical environments.
U.S. patent application publication 2002/0188610 discloses a data storage and access system employing clustering. A data management system comprises a plurality of application servers, web servers and data servers. The data management system also includes a session manager directing users accessing the system to a subset of web servers, application servers and data server's based on the characteristics of the users.
U.S. patent application publication 2002/0188610 discloses that there are two forms of replication strategies, master-slave and master-master mode. Each has its own conflict resolution algorithm and work delegation technique. The data exists in two different computer systems at the same time.
An object of the present invention is to effectively synchronize data in a distributed computing environment, such as a load balanced environment.

Data synchronization between distributed computers

International Business Machines Corporation


Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for calculating capacity allocation in storage systems. Embodiments of the present invention can be used to calculate a capabilities score for all storage systems, resulting in a list of storage systems, prioritized, so that a storage administrator may select automatically or manually, the best system to provision for the requesting application, based on the calculated capabilities score of each storage system.

The present invention relates generally to the field of storage management, and more particularly to provisioning storage allocation using prioritized storage system capabilities.
In an abstracted cloud environment, a storage administrator builds systems in an aggregated manner, consolidating many different storage systems under a single storage service or virtual storage system. Each of these storage systems may contain different qualities or features. A storage device may allocate capacity for spaces (e.g., logical volumes) according to an allocation strategy, e.g., allocating capacity from the storage device having the greatest available capacity, or maximizing the distribution of allocated capacity across the storage devices.

Provisioning storage allocation using prioritized storage system capabilities


Several system diagnostic and network management tools are disclosed that, as a primary goal, support the consumer's ability to self diagnose and solve an existing problem. A non-intrusive diagnostic tool is provided that exposes system parameters of a consumer system for remote analysis by qualified personnel. Important data parameters of a given radio receiver are preferably predetermined and gathered directly at the receiver. Then, they are uploaded via the Internet from a removable memory placed into an Internet terminal (e.g., PC), or through a temporary docking station connected to an Internet terminal. This leads toward quick and efficient problem resolution with a properly informed customer service representative that is crucial to enriching the consumer's experience. The data collected relating to relevant system parameters may be used by service providers to enhance or even in some cases enable services.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the technical and marketing challenges of satellite and cellular radio-based technology, including remote diagnostics and allowing for management by qualified personnel should a problem arise.
2. Background of Related Art
In a consumer-grade service offering, such as the emerging satellite radio market as well as the developing cellular radio market, it must be assumed that the consumer does not understand nor have the capability to diagnose and solve problems in these systems. When problems do arise, the consumer typically places a call to a call-center where a 'qualified' attendant is available to assist the user in diagnosing the problem and arriving at a solution for the same. This is a costly model as it makes lengthy use of a manned call-center.
For instance, to properly accomplish this task, a call-center attendant will attempt to gain insight into the consumer's system by asking relevant usage questions of the user, as well as questions relating to ascertaining a description of the problem(s).
To collect the usage pattern of receivers, the service provider normally has to do it by mail, phone based survey, or deploy a service technician into a given area. However, this results in high cost, is time consuming, and ultimately may be inaccurate. Also, all users are not necessarily active in response to such methods.
In a known solution, user applications that allow support information gathering of a given service are generally not available in Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) and cellular-based services. Data Management and collection tools to date have been provided for personnel that are 'skilled in the art' of network management. In most cases, deployment of a service technician into a given area to diagnose an issue is required. This is a time consuming and costly service. Residential applications, however, are consumer focused. Generally, residential consumers have little or no prior network management experience.
Remote management and analysis tools to date have been provided for Network Management personnel that are 'skilled in the art' of network management. These network management personnel generally need to be deployed to a given service area, e.g., when a customer complains that the cellular signal is lost, when the signal strength is degraded to an unacceptable level, or when general problems are occurring. Such deployment of a qualified service technician is a costly endeavor.
There is a need for a technique and apparatus for providing efficient, accurate and cost-effective analysis and correction of problems arising in consumer's satellite and cellular radio devices.

Remote management and analysis techniques in cellular and satellite radio networks


Method and apparatus for monitoring and reconfiguring a programmable device are disclosed. In some implementations, the programmable device may include a processor and a plurality of satellite monitors to determine operating temperatures at various locations throughout the programmable device. When temperatures of at least some of the satellite monitors exceed a threshold, the processor may reconfigure the programmable device using an alternative configuration. The alternative configuration may provide equivalent functionality with respect to an initial configuration through a different arrangement of functional blocks within the programmable device. The new arrangement of functional blocks may reduce operating temperatures by relocating blocks to different regions of the programmable device.

Programmable devices are devices that may be programmed by a user to implement a variety of user-specified circuit designs. One example of a programmable device is a field programmable gate array (FPGA). An FPGA may include an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), dedicated random access memory blocks (BRAM), input/output blocks (IOBs), digital signal processors (DSPs), a number of processing cores, and other subsystems (such as memory controllers, device management resources, and configuration circuitry) that may be selectively connected together by programmable interconnect structures. Another example of a programmable device is an adaptive compute acceleration platform (ACAP). An ACAP may include scalar engines (compute cores), adaptable engines (programmable logic and memory cells), and intelligent engines (configurable artificial intelligence (AI) and digital signal processing (DSP) engines) that may selectively be connected together with a configurable high-bandwidth network-on-chip (NoC). A user-specified circuit design may be implemented within a programmable device by loading configuration data representative of the user-specified circuit design into configuration registers that collectively determine the functions and operations performed by the various blocks, interconnect structures, and subsystems of the programmable device.
Some portions of a user-specified circuit design may be subject to high temperature operation. For example, some parts of the user-specified design may be associated with intense numerical computations or high speed operations. If some portions of the programmable device are operating at or near a temperature threshold, operations of these portions of the programmable logic device may be "throttled" (e.g., clock reduced) to protect the device from thermal damage. Throttling is undesired since it reduces data throughput and may not be predictable. In extreme cases, throttling may cause one or more portions of the programmable logic device to stop operating completely.
Therefore, there is a need to monitor the temperature of regions of the programmable device and respond to high temperature operations without reducing data throughput.

Thermal load balancing of programmable devices


A disposable electrochemical sensor strip is provided. The sensor strip includes an isolating sheet having at least a through hole, at least a conductive raw material mounted in the through hole, a metal film covered on the conductive raw material to form an electrode which comprises an electrode working surface for processing an electrode action, and an electrode connecting surface, at least a printed conductive film mounted on the isolating sheet and having a connecting terminal for being electrically connected to the electrode connecting surface, and a signal output terminal for outputting a measured signal produced by the electrode action.

Generally, utilization of a noble metal as an electrode material for an electrochemical sensor can achieve a high stability and a high reproducibility of detection and is a well-known technique in the field of electrochemistry. But, in the sensor, the only demand of the noble metal is a surface of an electrode, and other surfaces of the noble metal are unnecessary. Especially, for a disposable strip, the noble metal surfaces rather than the electrode are all squandered. The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a structure and a manufacturing method of a low-price metal electrode in a disposable electrochemical sensor strip for significantly reducing the demand of the noble metal and further reducing the cost.
The metal electrode according to the present invention also can be applied in various metal-catalyzed electrodes (not only noble metals) with a direct catalysis, besides in a noble electrode without chemical interference. The disposable electrode and the sensor according to the present invention can be suitable for all kinds of electrochemical detection electrodes, biosensors, fluid biochemical sensor (e.g., sewage, insecticide concentration, and heavy metal sensor strips), domestic medical application (e.g., blood glucose, uric acid, and cholesterol sensor strip).
The principle of electrochemical sensor has been developed and applied in detecting all kinds of fluid, biochemical ingredients. An electrochemical sensor may have different configurations for conforming to different functions. Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows that a basic framework of an electrochemical detecting device 10 includes the following components:
1. A container 12 for containing a fluid sample to be an electrochemical measure region 13.
2. A chemical reagent 14 for chemically reacting with an analyte contained in the fluid sample 11 and generating an output signal with an electric parameter, wherein the electric parameter corresponds to a biochemical ingredient of the analyte contained in the fluid sample 11. For example, if the fluid sample 11 is human blood and the analyte is glucose, the chemical reagent 14 is basically a glucose oxidase and a complex thereof.
3. Plural testing electrodes, as shown in FIG. 1, a counter electrode 15, a working electrode 16, and a reference electrode 17, for transmitting a working voltage for an electrochemical reaction from an electrochemical meter 18 to the container 12 and again transmitting the electric parameter to the electrochemical meter 18 after the analyte contained in the fluid sample 11 undergoes an electrochemical reaction so that the electrochemical meter 18 can process a numerical analysis and then display the result thereon.
4. An electrochemical meter 18 for providing the working voltage (or current) needed by the electrochemical reaction and measuring the electric parameter (output voltage or current) produced by the electrochemical reaction to record, or process the numerical analysis and display the testing data.
Meanwhile, plural testing electrodes can only include the counter electrode and the working electrode or further include a reference electrode. Moreover, a detecting electrode could be included as a fourth electrode. The number of the plural testing electrodes is varied according to the requirement of the electrochemical reaction.
The electrodes of different functions are made of different materials. In the laboratory, the counter electrode 15 is made of any conductive material, however the lower the conductive resistance the better the effect, such as a copper, a silver, a nickel, a graphite, a carbon, a gold, a platinum or other conductive materials, or can be a conductive membrane electrode formed by printing a carbon paste or a silver paste. The most common structure of the reference electrode 17 is a modified electrode 171 produced by means of printing or electroplating an Ag/AgCl film. Because the electric potential of the Ag/AgCI film is quite stable, it is extensively used as the reference electrode.
The selection of the working electrode 16 is more complex and can be sorted as two types, one is an electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode and the other is a metal-catalyzed electrode. The electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode has a chemical reagent immobilized thereon, wherein the chemical reagent includes an enzyme (such as a glucose oxidase) and a redox mediator (such as a potassium ferricyanide which is extensively used in the glucose testing piece). The enzyme and the analyte will react with each other to produce a new chemical compound (such as H2O2), the electrons generated from the redox reaction between the mediator and H2O2 is utilized to produce an electric signal, and through the electrode, the electric parameter can be outputted. The main purpose of this kind of electrode is only simply a conductor and is not involved in chemical catalysis. However, the material of the electrode should be selected specifically to avoid a chemical reaction with the fluid sample 11 or the chemical reagent 14 thereby interfering with the result.
The electrode without the chemical interference should be made of an inert conductive material, which is generally a noble metal (such as a gold, a platinum, a palladium, or a rhodium), or a carbon containing material (such as a carbon based screen printing electrode or a graphite bar). Furthermore, because carbon and the noble metal have no chemical reactivity in a low temperature, the chemical interference would take place. However, because the noble metal is more expensive, the carbon made electrode is usually applied as the electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode.
As to the metal-catalyzed electrode, it is made of a material which will directly and electrochemically reacts with the chemical reagent, the analyte, or the derivatives thereof, and has an ability of direct catalysis or a function of a single selectivity for the analyte. Thus, the mediator is not needed to add to the chemical reagent. This kind of electrode, not like the electrode only needs to be made of a chemically inactive metal, is generally made of a material that must have an ability to catalyze the reaction. Therefore, the material thereof should not be limited to be a noble metal but matched with the analyte, such as a copper, a titanium, a nickel, a gold, a platinum, a palladium, or a rhodium . . . etc., (for example, a rhodium electrode has an excellent ability to directly catalyze H2O2).
The two types of metal electrodes described above both have a high cost of the material and the processes when being formed under conventional manufacturing methods. This is especially true regarding the noble metal. Consequently, although the noble metal has a better stability, it cannot be the mainstream of the disposable medical treatment testing in family. Nowadays, the biggest requirement of the biosensor is the medical treatment in family for a blood glucose, a uric acid or a cholesterol . . . etc. And, the electrode used by these biosensors mostly belongs to the electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode, and thus the disposable testing sheet of the biosensor can have the carbon base screen printing electrode printed thereon for reducing the cost, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,116, which is a typical example.
Please refer to FIG. 2 which shows the example described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,817. In this patent, two conductive metal tracks 201 and 202 both coated by a palladium are fixed on an insulative backing 203 with an identical size for being the metal electrode of the sensor. A working electrode 204 and a counter electrode 205, electrode leads 206 and 207, and signal output terminals 208 and 209 are all integrally formed by palladium. However, the positions do necessarily be formed by palladium are only two tiny sections of the working electrode 204 and the counter electrode 205, and the other portions can only be formed by materials having a conductive characteristic rather than noble metal-palladium.
Further refer to FIG. 3 in which shows the example described in EP 1 098 000 and is another manufacturing method for the metal electrode. In this patent, an insulation sheet 301 previously injection molded has positions of a pattern 302 surrounded by recesses and islands 306, an electrode lead 303, and output terminals 304 and 305. Then, metallic deposit proceeds to deposit a metal layer on the surface of plastic insulation sheet. Due to all the surface of the insulation sheet being covered by deposited metal, an additional process has to be proceeded for removal of metal layer on the islands and remaining the patterns, the electrode leads and the output terminals. Thus, this method has a high cost and is only suitable for the electrode only formed by one kind of metal.
According to the technical defects described above, for reducing the manufacturing cost of the metal electrode in the disposable sensor strip and overcoming the problem of wasting the noble metal, the applicant devoted himself to develop a "structure and manufacturing method of disposable electrochemical sensor strip" through a series of experiments, tests and researches. In addition to effectively solving the wasting problem of the noble metal in prior arts, the electrodes according to the present invention can be formed or modified in advance respectively in different electroplating containers in a great quantity, and then be assembled to an isolating sheet for reducing manufacturing time thereof.
Furthermore, in addition to be employed as the noble metal electrode requiring no chemical interference, the metal electrode according to the present invention can also be employed as the metal-catalyzed electrode which has a direct catalyzing function. And, the disposable electrode and the sensor according to the present invention can be applied to all kinds of electrochemical testing electrodes, biosensors, biochemical analyte sensors for fluid (e.g., testing strips for a sewage, a pesticide content, a heavy metal ingredient etc.), all kinds of domestically medical treatment testing strips (e.g., testing strips for a blood glucose, a uric acid, and a cholesterol).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A multimedia display system includes a central processing unit, a storage device associated with the central processing unit, a standard interface bus to which the central processing unit and the storage device are connected, a graphics processor connected to the bus for generating graphics data in response to commands from the central processor, a digitizer for converting an analog video signal to digital form and for producing synchronization signals, a video processor for processing the digitized video data to produce pixel representations of the digitized video signal, a shared frame buffer for storing the graphics data generated by the graphics processor and the pixel representations of the video signal, a device for converting the stored digital data to a data stream appropriate for driving a video monitor, and a video monitor for displaying the graphics data and the video information, wherein the video processor generates a programmable variable phase vertical synchronization signal for synchronizing video data and graphics data through a shared frame buffer with the capacity to handle relocatable windows.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data processing systems, and more particularly to multimedia data processing systems wherein graphics and video data are to be displayed simultaneously on a display monitor.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,741, entitled "Synchronization Signal Stabilization for Video Image Overlay", teaches a system for stabilizing the synchronization (sync) signal provided to a second video display generating a second video signal for precise overlay of a first video signal from a first video display having a relatively unstable sync signal.
Although the patent generally describes apparatus for synchronizing two video signals, it does not teach nor suggest overlaying of a video data stream and a graphics data image in a single shared frame buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,097, entitled "Apparatus for Receipt and Display of Raster Scan Imagery Signals in Relocatable Windows on a Video Monitor", shows an interface and memory system which receives a digital raster scan image from an external source and displays the image as an inset window on a video monitor display. The input image is asynchronous with respect to the display refresh timing. The pipeline dual memory system is composed of update and display buffers.
Although the patent deals with overlaying two images on a single display monitor, the patent employs two separate buffers--an update buffer and a display buffer.
Although the patent generally describes apparatus for synchronizing two video signals, it does not teach nor suggest overlaying of a video data stream and a graphics data image in a single shared frame buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,912, entitled "Audio Video Interactive Display", teaches a method and apparatus for synchronizing two independent rasters such that a standard T.V. video and a high resolution computer generated graphics video may be each displayed on a high resolution graphics monitor concurrently. This is accomplished by using dual frame buffers--a first T.V. frame buffer and a second graphics buffer.
Although the patent generally describes apparatus for synchronizing two video signals, it does not teach nor suggest overlaying of a video data stream and a graphics data image in a single shared frame buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,863, entitled "Programmable Digital Video Processing System", teaches a programmable apparatus for digital processing of video signals from multiple sources converted to digital format to provide real time multiple simultaneous special video effects and suitable for direct interface to a conventional microcomputer bus. The patent also teaches means for synchronizing or "genlocking" signals from different sources for display on a single display monitor.
The patent describes a video processing subsystem that uses a synchronized pixel clock for genlocking. This technique produces a pointer artifact for a resizable, repositioned video window. This pointer artifact produced by the system according to the patent is eliminated by invention described herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,853, entitled "System for Converting a Video Signal From a First Format to a Second Format", teaches an apparatus for converting a video input signal representing an image from a first format to a prescribed second format.
The patent does not teach the merging of two separate multimedia images such as video and graphics and does not have the capability of readily handling relocatability of video windows.
Although the patent generally describes apparatus for synchronizing two video signals, it does not teach nor suggest overlaying of a video data stream and a graphics data image in a single shared frame buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,322, entitled "Video Storage and Synchronization", teaches a video storage and synchronization system having one or more frame buffers and an output buffer providing a selectable delay. Incoming video signals are digitized and routed to the memories and/or to the buffer. Storage signals are read out from the memories in synchronism with the incoming signals and can be mixed with the incoming signals before processing in the output buffer.
The patent teaches how to synchronize a number of live video streams where the streams are always provided at a constant rate. The requirement for a constant rate is a severely limiting factor on the patent in that in many graphics display systems, update of graphics data is not always at a constant rate and cannot be handled by the system described in the patent.
Although the patent generally describes apparatus for synchronizing two video signals, it does not teach nor suggest overlaying of a video data stream and a graphics data image in a single shared frame buffer.

Method and apparatus for synchronizing video and graphics data in a multimedia display system including a shared frame buffer

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides methods for increasing the hatchability of eggs by contacting an avian egg with a solution that includes a halide, preferably chlorine.

The poultry industry hatches more than 9.1 billion birds each year in the United States. The intense genetic selection of turkeys, chickens and other poultry for increased body size and growth rates has achieved dramatic results. However, this genetic selection has adversely affected the efficiency of poultry production by causing low average hatchability rates for the eggs, as low as about 70% for many strains of domestic turkeys (Christensen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,968). Since the intense genetic selection of poultry continues today, and will continue for the foreseeable future, it is possible that hatchability rates will continue to decrease. Efforts to increase the hatchability of poultry eggs have included optimizing the environmental conditions during egg incubation, and the injection of antibiotics into eggs to control disease.
The ability of a developing embryo to breath during the incubation process occurs solely by the diffusion of gases through the shell (Christensen and Bagley, Poultry Sci., 63, 1350-1356 (1984)). During incubation, an egg must lose a certain amount of its weight, mainly by the loss of water (Peebles et al., Poultry Sci., 66, 834-840 (1987)). The rate of water loss from an egg can influence the rate of embryonic development, pre-pipping oxygen consumption rate, metabolic rate, and gas exchange. The effect of modifications of the egg shell on hatchabililty has been studied, typically by dipping eggs in a solution including sodium hypochlorite (Christensen and Bagley, Poultry Sci., 63, 1350-1356 (1984), (Peebles et al., Poultry Sci., 66, 834-840 (1987), Bagley and Christensen, Poultry Sci., 70, 1412-1418 (1991)). The poultry industry has a continuing need to increase the hatchability of eggs.


A bleed air control system and method include first and second flow paths, first and second flow control valves, and a controller. The first flow path is configured to carry a first bleed air flow and includes a heat transfer device configured to transfer heat to or from the first bleed air flow. The second flow path is configured to carry a second bleed air flow. The first and second flow paths merge downstream to provide a combined bleed air flow. The first flow control valve is positioned to control the first bleed air flow, and the second flow control valve is positioned to control the second bleed air flow. The controller is configured to control the first and second flow control valves to control a temperature and flow of the combined bleed air flow.

The present invention relates generally to environmental control systems, and in particular to a system and method of controlling a temperature and flow of bleed air provided to environmental control systems.
Aircraft environmental control systems often utilize air-to-air heat exchangers to cool bleed air from the aircraft engines using ram air. Bleed air is traditionally provided to the environmental control system heat exchangers through a single flow control valve. If the flow control valve fails, bleed air is completely cut off from the environmental control system. It is desirable to eliminate the single point failure of the bleed flow control valve.
The cooled bleed air is eventually used for cooling within the aircraft, such as in the aircraft cabin, or for cooling aircraft electronics. Ram air is received at a ram air inlet and drawn through the heat exchangers to provide cooling for the bleed air. A ram air inlet valve, such as a ram door, is positioned at the ram air inlet to control the flow of ram air to the heat exchangers. The temperature of the bleed air can therefore be controlled by adjusting the position of the ram air inlet valve to reduce or increase the flow of ram air to the heat exchangers. However, controlling temperature using the ram door can lead to undesirable error in the downstream temperature of the bleed flow. It is desirable to decrease this error in downstream temperature of the bleed air.

Bleed air temperature and flow control system


The present invention relates to aromatic polyether resins crosslinked with amic acid or imide side chain, and more particularly, to the aromatic polyether resin crosslinked by amic acid or imide side chain, which is produced by heat curing of amic acid, wherein introduction of imide groups to the basic backbone provides excellent chemical resistance as well as heat resistance and improves surface roughness when coated as a thin film so that it can be suitable for films and flexible display plate substrate.

Displays are created by arranging thin film transistor (TFT) in a matrix which acts as a controller to each pixel. The most commonly available substrate material is glass in the display fabrication process. However, glass is not desirable due to its heaviness, fragility and a relatively high cost. In addition, with the increasing demand for achieving lighter and thinner displays, more efforts have been made for the development to reduce thickness of glass substrates. However, since displays must be handled with extreme care to avoid breakage, the fabrication process becomes complicated and the manufacturing costs is increasing due to low productivity (Appl. Phys., A, 72, 699(2001)).
Recently, plastic has been developed to replace glass as a starting material for display fabrication. Plastic substrates are advantageous in that they are light-weighted and rugged but have also high impact resistance, flexibility, and ability for roll to roll manufacturing process so that plastics may be more widely used in place of glass on the display industry. With requirements of color clarity, high dimensional stability, low moisture absorption and the like for plastic substrates used for displays, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethersulfone (PES), polycarbonate (PC), and cyclic olefin polymer have been used. With the aforementioned excellent characteristics in use for plastic substrates on displays, however, chemical resistance is also required because they are exposed to solvents for various chemical treatments during the manufacturing process. Most commercially available plastic materials are PC, PET, PES and the like but there is still significant room for improvement on chemical resistance of resins.
In order to improve the chemical resistance of resins, methods such as modification of polymer structure, surface coating and introduction of cross-likable groups have been used. A typical method for forming cured film or coating layer is to directly coat on plastic substrate with heat curable resin solution or UV curable resin solution or form a thin film having a thickness of 1-15 μm as a buffer layer. Japan Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-191370 discloses a method for coating thermo-setting polymer on a plastic substrate and a method for forming crosslinkage by polymerization of monomers containing acryloyl or methacryloyl groups. Japan Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-60506 discloses a method for coating alicyclic acrylate polymer on the surface of the plastic substrate and curing with UV rights. Further, Korea Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-76642 discloses that acrylate functional groups are UV-treated by dispersion of silica particles and silicone-based surfactant to enhance chemical resistance and rigidity.
However, conventional methods for coating resins on the substrate use compounds which have a different composition for coating materials from those of the substrate so that it causes separation between layers due to difference in coefficient of thermal expansion during the manufacturing process of display modules, thus resulting in distortion and haze.
Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention have noticed that even if conventional polyether resins such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, and polycarbonate resins have excellent optical transmission, there is still limitation to use those resins for display substrates due to their poor chemical resistance and thus have intensively studied to develop polyether resins with excellent chemical resistance.

Aromatic polyether resins crosslinked by amic acid or imide side chain

Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology


A heat exchange device has a thermoelectric device which includes P-type thermoelectric elements and N-type thermoelectric elements. One of the thermoelectric elements is secured to a first housing, and the other of the thermoelectric elements is secured to a second housing. The first and second housings forms a volume filled with an adhesive material which functions to prevent excessive loads from being applied to the thermoelectric elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchange device, and more particularly to such a device having a thermoelectric element.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As a heat exchange device having thermoelectric device, for example, Japanese Utility Patent laid-open publication No. 55-126177 discloses a thermoelectric device having a cooling surface and a heating surface. A first radiator and a second radiator, which are made of heat conducting material, are connected to the cooling surface and the heating surface of the thermoelectric device, respectively. A plurality of screws are arranged between the first and second radiators to secure the thermoelectric device.
However, this heat change device has the following disadvantages:
1) The thermoelectric device is so fragile that an exacting manufacturing process control is required to load an appropriate force to secure the thermoelectric device. It is time consuming to adjust this force.
2) There is no support structure between the first and second radiators. When the first radiator and the second radiator are pressed toward one another, the thermoelectric elements may receive an excessive load force.

Heat exchange device having thermoelectric device


The subject invention relates to a type of spare battery box for PC, comprising an opening on the expansion slot plate on a PC casing; said opening accommodating a battery box; the inside of said battery box forms a battery chamber to accommodate a battery; on the inside wall of the battery chamber are fixed with two guide plates that can be connected by contact with the two battery poles; the two guide plates have guide wires and a connector; said connector can be plugged to the connector for outside battery on the main board; so that the power from the battery can be transmitted to the main board; thereby to achieve the function to facilitate replacement of the battery.

The subject invention relates to a type of spare battery box for personal computer, particularly to a type of battery box to be fixed on an expansion slot plate to facilitate replacement of battery.
The prior art of a conventional PC's main board includes a built-in battery RTC or a battery box fitted onto the main board to supply power to the main board RTC. In case the battery has run down and needs replacement, the whole casing, or even some interface cards, have to be removed; thus casing much inconvenience to the user.
The primary purpose of the subject invention is to provide a type of spare battery box for PC; by reserving an opening on the expansion slot plate on the PC casing; said opening will accommodate a battery box; said battery box comprises a battery chamber to accommodate the battery; inside the battery chamber are fitted with two guide plates that can be connected by contact with the two electrodes of the battery; the two guide plates have guide wires and a connector; said connector can be plugged to the connector for outside battery on the main board, so the battery power can be transmitted to the main board; when the battery has run down and needs replacement, all the user has to do is to pull out the battery box for easy replacement procedure; so the user may enjoy such a convenience.
To enable better understanding, the designing approach and functions to achieve the above purpose are described in details below with drawings:

Spare battery containing means in a personal computer


Driver (100) and method are provided for driving capacitive load (120) that achieve an improved response time without increasing power consumption of the driver. Driver (100) has load buffer (105) with an input (110) for receiving an input voltage (VIN), and an output 115 for coupling an output voltage (VOUT) to load 120. VOUT is driven between a first voltage level (V1) and a second voltage level (V2) in response to changes in VIN. Driver (100) also has reserve circuit (125) with capacitor (130), reserve buffer (135), switch (140) for coupling the capacitor to capacitive load (120) and controller (145) for operating the switch. Reserve buffer (135) has an input (150) for receiving an input voltage (VRESxe2x80x94IN), and an output (155) for coupling an output voltage (VRESxe2x80x94OUT) to capacitor (130) to charge the capacitor. Controller (145) is configured to operate switch (140) to couple capacitor (130) to capacitive load (120) when VOUT is being driven between V1 and V2.

The present invention relates generally to driving circuits for capacitive load, and more particularly to a system and method for achieving fast switching of analog voltages on a large capacitive load.
A conventional driving circuit or driver for driving a capacitive load typically consists of a signal input, a signal output and an amplifier or an analog voltage buffer to drive the load between two or more voltages. Two important properties of a buffer are power consumption and response time, which is the time required for the buffer to reach a specified output following the application of a specified input under specified operating conditions. Generally, these two properties cannot be optimized simultaneously. This is because improving response time means increasing unity gain frequency and slew rate, the ability of an amplifier to reflect a change in the input in the output quickly, both of which require increasing bias current of the buffer. Thus, reducing response time requires increasing power consumption, and reducing power consumption results in a increase in response time.
There are prior art designs for buffers that dynamically increase the bias current to improve the slew rate only when needed, thereby improving the response time while limiting the increase in power consumption. However, the design of such a buffer is complicated and exhibits several undesirable characteristics such as instability. These dynamic buffers also produce significant noise on supply lines during voltage transitions when the needed charge is drawn quickly, thereby requiring the addition of complex and often costly filters.
The above shortcomings of conventional driver circuits are particularly a problem for driving circuits used, for example, to drive floating gates of FETs (Field Effect Transistors) used in semiconductor devices such as storage elements or cells in non-volatile memory systems, such as electrically erasable programable read-only memory (EEPROM) or flash memory. The floating gate in an FET is not directly connected to the rest of the device and thus appears to the driving circuit as a purely capacitive load. This capacitive load can be quite large since a large number of storage elements in the non-volatile memory system, typically from 16 thousand to 10 million storage elements depending on the size of the memory, must be switched simultaneously between a programming voltage and a verify voltage. A programming voltage is a voltage applied to store information in the storage element as a charge on the floating gate. A verify voltage is used to determine if the storage element has stored a proper amount of charge and therefore the information. The transition between programming voltage and verify voltage and vice versa must be fast to achieve satisfactory write-performance. However, such driver circuits are frequently used in portable, battery operated devices in which the available power is limited and therefore must be conserved. Morever, the power for the driver circuit is usually supplied by an on-chip high-voltage-pump. Because both the generation and consumption of power produce heat that must be dissipated for the devices on the chip to function properly, conserving power is again necessary. Thus, increasing the bias current to improve the response time in the buffer is generally not desirable.
Accordingly, there is a need for a driving circuit for driving a capacitive load that provides an improved response time to drive the load between two or more voltages without increasing power consumption of a buffer in the driving circuit.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a driver for driving a capacitive load, the driver having a load buffer with an input for receiving an input voltage (VIN), and an output for coupling an output voltage (VOUT) to the capacitive load. The load buffer is configured to drive VOUT between a first voltage level (V1) and a second, higher voltage level (V2) in response to a change in VIN. The driver further includes a reserve circuit configured to reduce the time for VOUT to transition between V1, and V2. The reserve circuit has a reserve capacitor or capacitor, a reserve buffer, a switch for coupling the reserve capacitor to the capacitive load and a controller for opening and closing the switch. The reserve buffer has an input for receiving an input voltage (VRESxe2x80x94IN), and an output for coupling an output voltage (VRESxe2x80x94OUT) to the reserve capacitor to charge the capacitor. The controller is configured to operate the switch to couple the reserve capacitor to the capacitive load when VOUT is being driven between V1 and V2. Generally, the controller is coupled to the input of the load buffer, and is configured to operate the switch when a change in VIN is required.
In one embodiment, the reserve buffer includes a negative feedback loop to provide a gain that is substantially equal to unity. The reserve buffer is configured so that when VIN equals V1, VRESxe2x80x94IN has a steady state value of V2+a, and when VIN equals V2, VRESxe2x80x94IN has a steady state value of V1xe2x88x92a, where a equals (V2xe2x88x92V1)CLOAD/CRES, and where CLOAD is the capacitance of the capacitive load and CRES is the capacitance of the reserve capacitor.
In another embodiment, the driver includes a second switch for electrically isolating the capacitive load from the output of the load buffer. The second switch is operated by the controller to open when VOUT is being driven between V1 and V2. Desirably, the second switch is operated by the controller to simultaneously open when the first switch is closed and to close when the first switch is opened.
In yet another embodiment, the reserve circuit includes first and second reserves capacitors, CRESxe2x80x94A and CRESxe2x80x94B, and first and second reserve buffers having inputs adapted to receive first and second input voltages, VRESxe2x80x94INxe2x80x94A and VRESxe2x80x94INxe2x80x94B respectively, and outputs adapted to couple first and second output voltage, VRESxe2x80x94OUTxe2x80x94A and VRESxe2x80x94OUTxe2x80x94B respectively, to charge CRESxe2x80x94A and CRESxe2x80x94B. A single pole, double throw switch capable of alternately coupling CRESxe2x80x94A and CRESxe2x80x94B to the capacitive load, is operated by a controller to alternately couple CRESxe2x80x94A and CRESxe2x80x94B to the capacitive load when VOUT is being driven between V1 and V2.
The driver of the present invention is particularly useful in non-volatile memory systems such as a flash memory having a number of storage elements or cells with a number of Field Effect Transistors (FETs), each of the FETs having a gate coupled to the driver, and the driver configured to periodically drive the gates between a programming-voltage and a verify-voltage. Generally, the non-volatile memory system further includes a high-voltage-pump to supply voltage to both the load buffer and the reserve buffer. In one version of this embodiment, the storage elements, the driver and the high-voltage-pump are fabricated on a single semiconductor substrate.
In another aspect, a method is provided for operating the driver of the present invention. In the method, when VIN changes from V1 to V2 or from V2 to V1, the load buffer is then operated to drive VOUT from V1 to V2 or from V2 to V1 in response to the change in VIN. At the same time, or shortly thereafter, the switch is closed to couple the reserve capacitor to the capacitive load, thereby reducing the time necessary for the capacitive load to transition between V1 and V2. Generally, the step of closing the switch involves closing the switch only briefly until VOUT has reached V1 or V2.
In one embodiment, as described above, the reserve circuit further includes a reserve buffer coupled to the reserve capacitor, and the method further includes the steps of charging the reserve capacitor to a voltage level (VRESxe2x80x94OUT) using the reserve buffer, and discharging the reserve capacitor into the capacitive load to raise the voltage applied to the capacitive load from V1 to V2. When, subsequently, the voltage applied to the capacitive load is to be lowered from V2 to V1, the switch is again closed and the capacitive load allowed to discharge into the reserve capacitor to rapidly lower the voltage applied to the capacitive load.
In another embodiment, as described above, the driver further includes a second switch for electrically isolating the capacitive load from the output of the load buffer, and the method involves opening the second switch to electrically isolate the capacitive load from the output of the load buffer. Desirably, the second switch is opened at the same time, or shortly before, the first switch is closed to couple the reserve capacitor to the capacitive load.
In yet another aspect, the invention is directed to a non-volatile memory system for storing information therein. The memory system includes a number of storage elements or cells having a number of Field Effect Transistors (FETs) with gates electrically isolated from sources and drains of the FETs, and a driver coupled to the gates to simultaneously drive the gates of the number of FETs between a verify voltage (V1) and a programming voltage (V2). The driver has a load buffer with an input adapted to receive an input voltage (VIN), and an output adapted to couple an output voltage (VOUT) to the gates, and means for reducing time for VOUT to transition between V1 and V2. The load buffer is configured to drive VOUT between V1 and V2 in response to a change in VIN. Generally, the means for reducing time for VOUT to transition between V1 and V2 includes reserve circuit having a reserve capacitor, a reserve buffer having an input adapted to receive an input voltage (VRESxe2x80x94IN), and an output adapted to couple an output voltage (VRESxe2x80x94OUT) to the reserve capacitor to charge the reserve capacitor, a switch for coupling the reserve capacitor to the gates, and a controller for opening and closing the switch, the controller configured to operate the switch to couple the reserve capacitor to the gates when VOUT is being driven between V1 and V2.
In one embodiment, the memory system further includes a high-voltage-pump to supply voltage to the load buffer and the reserve buffer. Desirably, the storage elements, the driver and the high-voltage-pump are fabricated on a single substrate.
The advantages of the present invention include: (i) faster response time, (ii) efficient use of available power with substantially no increase in peak voltage needed from the existing high-voltage-pump, (iii) complete integration of driver including the reserve circuit onto a single substrate and (iv) reduced noise in the high-voltage-pump due to a steady, balanced consumption of current without any of the sharp increases or decreases that occur in prior art approaches.

System and method for achieving fast switching of analog voltages on large capacitive load


A building management system (BMS) including device controllers configured to monitor and control one or more heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) devices and to store and process time-series data associated with the HVAC devices. The BMS includes a BMS controller that is communicably coupled to the device controllers. The BMS controller is configured to generate and send one or more processing sub-requests to at least one of the device controllers based on a processing request requesting time-series data associated with an HVAC device. The BMS controller is configured to receive one or more processing results from the at least one of the device controllers and join the one or more processing results into a joined result. The BMS controller is configured to provide the joined result to a requesting entity. The device controllers are configured to receive and process processing sub-requests and send results to the BMS controller.

The present disclosure relates generally to data processing in a building management system (BMS). A BMS controller may store, collect, or retrieve data from sensors and actuators in a building. The BMS controller may receive a processing request to process the sensor or actuator data. In this regard, the BMS controller can itself process the sensor and actuator data to generate a result, this is known as central processing. In a central processing system each sensor and actuator constantly or periodically sends data to the BMS controller. For this reason, there is a decrease in the amount of available bandwidth in central processing system. Further, since the BMS controller stores the sensor or actuator data locally and performs all processing functions itself, the BMS controller may require a high amount of computing power and a large database to store, aggregate, and process all the sensor and actuator data.

Building management system with distributed data storage and processing


An improved paper arranging and position mechanism, including a sorter with a stapler, for arranging paper stacks loaded on a plurality of bins and for moving the arranged paper stacks into an opening portion of a stapler, while retaining other paper stacks on other bins.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sorter with a stapler on a copier, printer and the like, and more particularly to a paper arranging and positioning mechanism for stapling papers copied or printed.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a sorter with a stapler is provided with not only a function of sorting paper sheets driven out of a copier but also a function of binding the sorted paper sheets. If the paper sheets distributed and stacked onto bins are not arranged neatly and then positioned at a region where they can be bound by a stapler before stapling, the stapler can not trimly bind the stacked paper sheets. Thus, the operation of arrangement and position must be made before the stapling operation in order that the stapler can properly perform its function. Therefore, various paper arranging and positioning mechanisms have been designed for carrying out these operations.
As for a mechanism having such functions as neatly arranging and positioning the paper sheets and then stapling the paper sheets, U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,890 discloses a sorter with a stapler, as shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, having construction of the pivoting device 500 and the stapling device 400. The pivoting device 500 has pushing members for positioning or neatly arranging paper sheets on the bins and a device for shifting each pushing member to a position which matches the paper size. The stapling device 400 is made up of the stapler 401, the chuck section 421 for pulling a stack of paper sheets 301 toward the stapler 401, and a mechanism for moving the stapler 401 and the chuck section 421 up and down to any one of the bins 400.
However, in this sorter with a stapler, the movement of paper stacks from the initial position on the bin to the stapling position is executed by two separate mechanisms, one of which is the pivoting device 500 for arranging and positioning the paper stacks loaded on each bin, the other of which is the stapling device 400, including the chuck section 421, for pulling the positioned stack of paper sheets on the particular bin into the stapler 401. Thus, the construction of the mechanisms is so complicated that the number of components thereof is increased, and as a result, the cost of production is high.

Paper arranging and positioning mechanism in a sorter with a stapler


In Step 1, a bias is applied (ON) to all of vertical rows Z1(0) to Z1(2). With respect to the horizontal rows, a bias is not applied (OFF) to a horizontal row Z2(0) where the defective sector exists and a bias is applied (ON) to the other horizontal rows Z2(1) and Z2(2). On the sectors in the horizontal rows Z2(1) and Z2(2), a voltage stress is applied and an access operation is performed. In Step 2, with respect to the vertical rows, a bias is not applied (OFF) to a vertical row Z1(1) where the defective sector exists and a bias is applied (ON) to the other vertical rows Z1(0) and Z1(2). With respect to the horizontal rows, a bias is applied (ON) to the horizontal row Z2(0) where the defective sector exists, and no bias is applied (OFF) to the other horizontal rows Z2(1) and Z2(2). As for the two steps, a voltage stress can be applied once to the sectors other than the defective sector.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-137991 (hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 1") discloses a nonvolatile semiconductor memory having sectors in a plurality of areas and capable of erasing stored data in a group. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory has a high voltage generating circuit for generating high voltages to be used for erasing data and a plurality of transistors connected between the high voltage generating circuit and the sectors in the plurality of areas. At the time of erasing a group of data together, a plurality of transistors are operated with a constant current to control the current passed to the sectors in the plurality of areas. Consequently, even if a defective sector exists in the sectors, current to be passed is regulated to a constant value so that high voltage necessary for erasure can be maintained and batch erase can be performed.
In a semiconductor storage device as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H8-106796 (hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 2"), a "select" signal is always output to blocks which are not switched to redundant blocks by switching means among a plurality of blocks, and a "non-select" signal is output to a defective block switched to a redundant block in response to an input signal of batch writing/batch erasing all blocks in a test mode. The semiconductor storage device has a block selecting circuit for inhibiting application of a batch write/erase voltage to a defective block in a block batch write/erase mode. With this configuration, high voltage is not applied to a defective block and a voltage value does not drop due to current leakage.

Method and apparatus for applying bias to a storage device


When information related to road surface conditions is conveyed from a vehicle body side system to a tire-mounted sensor and the tire-mounted sensor determines the road surface condition, an integrated voltage value is corrected based on the information related to the road surface condition. It is thus possible to estimate the road surface condition more accurately. Furthermore, in as much as the road surface condition is estimated at each tire-mounted sensor, the road surface condition can be estimated for each wheel.

Conventionally, a road surface condition estimation device includes a tire-mounted sensor provided on a rear side of a tire tread and estimates a coefficient of friction (hereinafter referred to as p) and the like of a travel road surface by detecting vibrations applied to a tire by the tire-mounted sensor and transmitting a vibration detection result to a vehicle body side system. A road surface μ value is usable for controlling vehicle motion such as an anti-lock brake system (hereinafter referred to as ABS) and automatic driving with high accuracy. For realization of such vehicle motion control, it is required to estimate the road surface μ value with high accuracy.

Road surface condition estimation device


Imaging systems providing high resolution, low light images with significant dynamic range are disclosed. The improvements to photo imaging sensors providing low costs and yet higher performance sensors may be obtained an enhanced photosensor generating a single color channel image per photosensor. The single color channel image contains luminence values corresponding to light focused onto the photosensor. The plurality of photosensors are constructed using Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) nanowire structures and nanopyrimid structures used in cells within an array of cells. Photosensors may be constructed as single color imaging devices as well as multi-color devices. The generation of various color channel images are controlled using metasurface filter structures as well as color filter layers setting a wavelength for absorbed light by controlling a concentration of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) within the color filter layers.

Imaging systems are currently being developed for a multitude of vision system applications. In order for the vision systems to function, high resolution, low light images may be needed with significant dynamic range to support the image processing used within these vision systems. These requirements may be challenging given current imaging sensors. Additionally, many of the vision systems may be planned to be embedded in a host of solutions in which the cost of the imaging sensors cannot be exorbitant for many solutions to be commercially viable.

High dynamic range imager enhancement technology


The invention relates to a bevel gear wheel (1) of a bevel gear unit, each tooth (2) of which comprises a load flank (3) and a non-working flank (4), wherein the teeth (2) have a helical or spiral tooth trace, in particular a curved tooth longitudinal line, and the teeth (2), in particular the upper meshing region of the teeth, have an octoid tooth shape or a spherical involute tooth shape, and the teeth have an excess material quantity (11) on the load flanks (4) in order to reinforce the load flanks (4), in particular such that the axis (9) that runs through the tooth tip-bisecting point A1 of the tooth tip transverse line (23) and through the midpoint of the gear wheel exhibits asymmetry of the teeth (2). The invention further relates to a method for producing a bevel gear wheel (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the tooth geometry is produced by a four-axis or multi-axis method, in particular a five-axis method.

The design of the tooth geometry of bevel gears is generally effected symmetrically relative to an axis of symmetry that runs through the gear center and radially through the tooth. This is justified on the basis that toothed gears are generally designed and produced to operate equally in both directions (forward and backward).
Depending on the direction of operation, an individual tooth during the transmission of torque has a load flank that is engaged and transmits the torque to the load flank of the opposing tooth, and a nonworking flank. When the toothed gear rotates, the nonworking flank of a tooth comes into contact either partially or not at all with the following opposing tooth of the meshing toothed gear so long as there is no reversal in the direction of rotation.
In practice, bevel gear units often do not require any reversal of the direction of rotation. Nevertheless, the flanks of the individual teeth of a toothed gear are produced identically and further machined for both rotational directions.
There are a variety of approaches for increasing the maximum possible transmission of force for a gear. One approach is to have the surface undergo heat treatment in order to prevent damage to the tooth flanks. Damage to tooth flanks occurs, for example, in response to excessively high contact pressures. To avoid this, manufacture of the tooth geometry is, among other approaches, followed by finishing the surface, i.e. subjecting it to surface treatment or hardening it. In other approaches, the tooth shape is optimized and its basic rack profile is standardized by DIN 867.

Load rating optimized bevel gear toothing


The invention relates to aqueous stable liquid bleaching compositions comprising a sulfone diperoxycarboxylic acid, an anionic surfactant, a non-ionic surfactant and optionally a salt stabilizer.

The present invention relates to pourable sulfone percarboxylic acid bleach detergent compositions which are chemically stable.
The ability of certain materials to bleach is widely used to remove discolorations or stains from fabrics. Although the exact mechanism by which bleaching agents function is only partially understood, it is generally known that many stains and soils possess a series of alternating single and double bonds and that loss of color can occur if one of the double bonds is destroyed. Thus, a material which can eliminate a double bond may be an effective bleach.
Categories of bleaches which are well known in the art include chlorine releasing compounds, inorganic oxygen bleaches and organic oxygen bleaches. Chlorine releasing compounds have certain disadvantages associated with their use such as, for example, their tendency to weaken or degrade fabrics, a tendency to react with other components of compositions in which they are present and their tendency to fade the colors of many dyed fabrics. Also, some bleaching conditions cause yellowing of certain synthetic or resin treated fabrics.
While inorganic oxygen bleaches overcome many of the disadvantages found with active chlorine releasing compounds, they have the disadvantage that they must be used at relatively high temperatures such as 85.degree. C. or higher.. This drawback becomes significant in light of the modern trend of using lower wash temperatures which are generally less than about 60.degree. C. in order to reduce energy cost and prolong the life of the fabric. As a result, it is generally necessary to improve the low temperature performances of inorganic oxygen bleaches through the addition of agents known as bleach activators. Unfortunately, this approach typically requires the use of either a large excess of the inorganic oxygen bleach or the use of a bleach activator in order to obtain an acceptably complete and rapid release of the active bleach species. Still another disadvantage is that the bleach activator must contain within its structure moieties which, upon release of the effective bleaching species, become side products contributing little or nothing to the bleach activity. Thus, the inclusion of these moieties tends to be wasteful.
The disadvantages of chlorine bleaches and inorganic oxygen bleaches, whether used alone in or combination with activators, can be overcome by the use of effective organic oxygen bleaches, especially the peroxycarboxylic acids. Unfortunately, when dissolved in water, percarboxylic acid bleaches are unstable, losing their active oxygen and converting to carboxylic acid. Thus, it is not possible to make a stable aqueous bleach solution with most percarboxylic acids. However, a pourable bleach can be made with percarboxylic acids of low water solubility by dispersing the peracid in water with stabilizing agents to maintain the percarboxylic in suspension or slurry. The presence of water in these bleach compositions accelerates their decomposition on storage such that it is difficult to obtain acceptable shelf life. Thus, there is a continuing need for chemically stable aqueous slurry peroxycarboxylic acids for use in effective bleaching of fabrics.

Pourable sulfone diperoxycarboxylic acid compositions