In an optical recording medium having concave and convex type signal pits formed on a substrate surface, a reflection layer is formed on the signal pits in such a manner that a reflection index of an interior of the signal pits is higher than a reflection index at a periphery of the signal pits with respect to a given reproduction laser beam wavelength. In an optical recording medium having a phase change recording layer which reversibly changes optical states upon application of laser energy, a structural phase difference between a reflection beam of non-recorded regions and a reflection beam of recorded regions of the optical recording medium with respect to the wavelength of a reproduction laser beam is in a range of (0.5-1.5)+2 n.pi. radians, where n is an integer. The phase change recording layer has principle components of Ge-Sb-Te or Sb-Se.

The present invention generally relates to an optical information recording medium, and especially an optical disk from which high density recorded information may be reproduced using laser beams or the like.
Generally, a technique is known of recording minute signal pits on a substrate having optical spot diameters which are on the order of a light wavelength used upon reproduction. Such a technique is put into practical use in the form of a read only type (ROM=Read Only Memory) optical disk such as compact disk (CD) and a laser video disk (LVD). Another known technique is directed to an optical phase change type optical disk which uses chalcogenide as a recording film material and has been put into practical use as a write once type (WORM=Write Once Read Many) optical disk capable of recording and reproducing signals or a rewritable optical disk capable of recording, reproducing and erasing of signals.
In a read only type optical disk, a signal track formed of small concave and convex pits is provided in advance between a transparent disk substrate such as resin or the like and a reflective film such as Al or the like. During signal reproduction, a scanning operation is effected on a signal track having optical spots by focusing laser beams. The laser beams are reflected at locations where pits do not exist and are substantially diffracted at locations where pits exist. By using an optical detector, the location of the signal pits can be discriminated in accordance with a magnitude of the reflected light.
In an erasable optical phase change type of optical disk, signal marks are formed in accordance with a crystal condition of a recording film material. The recording film, when melted and quenched upon application of laser beams, becomes a crystalline state. Optical constants (refractive indexes, extinction coefficients) of recording marks located on the recording film differ according to a non-crystalline state or a crystalline state of each location, and thus a reflected quantity of light recording mark locations also varies accordingly. Signals are detected in accordance with the magnitude of reflected light. In order to erase the signals, the recording film is increased in temperatures by application laser beams, having a lower power than those used during recording, so as to return recording mark location to the non-crystalline state.
As a recording film material, typically a material is used as above which changes in optical phase between a non-crystalloid state and a crystal state and which has Te, In, Sb, Se or the like as principal components, or a material is used which reversibly changes in optical phase between two different crystal states. One merit of optical change recording is that information signals can be overwritten using a single laser beam. When the laser output is modulated in accordance with the information signal between two levels, i.e., a recording level and erasing level, and is applied to a recorded information track, a new signal can be recorded while the existing information signal is erased (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 56-145530).
The write once type optical phase change optical disk also records and reproduces signals with the use of the reflection index of a recording film.
It has been proposed to provide a disk construction in which a structural phase change is caused between a non-recorded portion and a recorded portion with respect to the wavelength .lambda. of reproduction laser beams (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 3-41638, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 3-157830). When the recorded portion (recording mark) is read out reflection index change, a suitable reproduction signal cannot be obtained without the area of the recording condition of the range sufficiently larger as compared with the size of the laser beams to be used for the reproduction. This is because the magnitude of a reflected light beam is proportional to a value averaged with the respective area and the optical intensity distribution being weighted upon the reflection index of the recording mark and the reflection index of the peripheral unrecording region as the optical intensity of the reproduction beams is generally Gausian distribution and is spread more externally than the optically phase changed recording mark. In the case of the structural phase change construction, the structural phases of the recorded portion and the non-recorded portion are different, and the reflected quantity of light changes in accordance with the extent to which the structural phases interfere with each other. Preferably, the change in the reflected quantity of light is largest when the structural phase difference of the reflective beam in the recorded portion and the non-recorded portion is (1+2n) .pi. radians (n is an integer). The effect of interference is largest and therefore, the change in reflected light intensity is larger when the reflection intensity from the recorded portion is equal to the reflection intensity from the peripheral non-recorded portion. A larger reproduction signal can be provided when the recording marks are smaller than the size of the reproduction beam. Thus, a larger signal magnitude is provided, and thus a higher density recording operation can be effected using a recording mark having an area which is smaller than that of the reflection index change reproduction construction with respect to a reproduction operation using the same reproduction optical beam.
In the conventional optical disk, the limit of recording density is determined by the extent to which signal marks can be made small and still be detected using light spots focused up to the wavelength limit. The size of the light spots is determined by the wavelength of the laser beam and the numerical aperture (NA) of the objective lens for focusing the laser beam. The light spot can be made smaller, as the wavelength of the laser beam is made shorter or the numerical aperture of the objective lens becomes larger. The improvement in the recording density can be effected only with the development of a shorter wavelength laser and/or a larger numerical aperture objective lengths, which cannot be realized easily.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An output data strobe signal generating method and a memory system that includes a plurality of semiconductor memory devices, and a memory controller for controlling the semiconductor memory devices, wherein the memory controller provides a command signal and a chip selecting signal to the semiconductor memory devices. One or more of the semiconductor memory devices may detect a read command and a dummy read command in response to the command signal and the chip selecting signal and generate one or more preamble signals based on a calculated preamble cycle number.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a memory system and semiconductor memory device which generates an output data strobe signal having a preamble signal and a method for generating an output data strobe signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a memory system may include a memory controller and a semiconductor memory device. Input/output data strobe signals may be generated together with data to provide accurate timing of input/output data during a data transmission between a memory controller and a semiconductor memory device.
For example, in a double data rate, quadruple data rate, etc., semiconductor device, data input/output may be performed in synchronization with a rising edge and/or falling edge of a clock signal. The input/output data strobe signals may be generated in synchronization with a clock signal. The semiconductor device may receive sampled input data with the input data strobe signal during a write operation and may output data with an output data strobe signal during a read operation.
However, as operation speed of the memory system increases, a frequency of the clock signal may increase, and thus the output data strobe signal which may be generated in synchronization with the clock signal and may be generated during a read operation may not swing stably from a first output voltage to a second output voltage during an initial generating stage. As a result, the output data strobe signal and the data which are generated initially may not coincide.
Due in part to the forgoing, a semiconductor memory device may generate a preamble signal during a predetermined cycle (fixed, for example) before generating a strobe signal of the output data strobe signal, thereby possibly providing stable swing during the initial stage of strobe signal generation. As a result, generation timing between the output data strobe signal and transmitted data may coincide. The preamble signal may be synchronous with the clock signal before the strobe signal of the output data strobe signal is generated. However, the initially generated preamble signal may not be synchronous with the clock signal due to an unstable swing and may be toggled during a predetermined cycle (fixed, for example) to gradually become synchronous with the clock signal.
The memory controller may be connected to a plurality of semiconductor memory devices and an output data strobe signal line may be commonly connected to an output data line. If a cycle number of the preamble signal of the data strobe signal of a plurality of semiconductor memory devices is fixed, a problem may occur because the read operation of a first semiconductor memory device may be performed immediately or approximately immediately after read operation of a second semiconductor memory device. Because the preamble signal of the output data strobe signal may be generated from the second semiconductor memory device while the strobe signal of the output data strobe signal may be generated from the first semiconductor memory device, a collision may occur between the strobe signal of the first semiconductor device and the preamble signal of the output data strobe signal of the second semiconductor device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Memory system, memory device, and output data strobe signal generating method


A high-efficiency drying kiln, particularly for wood-like material, constituted by an internal chamber, which is covered with thermally insulating material and is provided with at least one opening for loading and extracting the material to be treated; two flues for recirculation of the air inside the chamber by aspirating and delivering air respectively from and into the outside environment; an air heating device; an air acceleration duct and air acceleration elements located inside the acceleration duct; the air acceleration duct has, at least at its output section, elements for orienting in an axial direction the air stream that is forced by the acceleration elements.

The present invention relates to a high-efficiency drying kiln, particularly for wood-like material, such as for example boards, panels, laths, et cetera.
It is known that a drying kiln for wood-like material comprises a supporting frame being covered with thermally insulated walls which delimit one or more chambers inside which the material to be dried is loaded. Such chambers are crossed by hot air which is propelled with a low head by blowers or fans.
A drawback of the drying kilns currently in use is that the blowers or fans being used generate a turbulent air flow which causes uneven velocity distribution of the air inside the kiln.
The nonuniformity of the air stream entails poor operation of the kiln, because the drying process does not occur evenly and uniformly on all the stacks of wood contained in the treatment chamber.
In particular, the drying of wood-like material can take even longer than a month, during which the kiln works uninterruptedly. Accordingly, it is evident why all the refinements aimed at reducing consumption and increasing the effectiveness of the heat exchange with the air can have a decisive effect on the total production costs of the products being treated.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a drying kiln in which the turbulences and nonuniformities of the distribution of the air that leaves the fans are reduced, so that each individual stack of wood-like material contained in the kiln is hit by the same amount of air, regardless of its position, in order to ensure a uniform and homogeneous drying process of the entire load of the kiln, thereby allowing to treat simultaneously rather large batches of stacks of wooden material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-efficiency drying kiln which can operate with minimal consumption while maintaining a high heat exchange coefficient, in order to reduce the production costs related to the amount of fuel and electric power used per unit of treated material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a drying kiln in which the hot air is changed and mixed continuously so as to achieve good recirculation on the material to be dried.
Not the least object of the present invention is to provide a drying kiln which can be manufactured easily and therefore has low manufacturing costs, so that its industrialization also is economically advantageous.
This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a high-efficiency drying kiln, particularly for wood-like material, which comprises:
at least one internal chamber, being covered with thermally insulating material and provided with at least one opening for loading and extracting a material to be treated,
at least two flues for recirculation of air inside said chamber by aspirating and delivering air respectively from and into the outside environment,
at least one air heating device,
at least one air acceleration duct, and
air acceleration means located inside said acceleration duct,
and characterized in that said air acceleration duct has, at least at an output section thereof, means for orienting in an axial direction an air stream that is forced by said acceleration means.
Conveniently, the air acceleration duct is arranged at the centerline and at the top of said internal chamber.
Advantageously, the kiln comprises an air channeling panel at least at an output end of the acceleration duct and externally thereto.

High-efficiency drying kiln particularly for wood-like material


A substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber including a process space configured to accommodate a substrate; a substrate support part including a substrate mounting stand; a first gas supply part; a second gas supply part; a gas introduction port configured to introduce a gas from the first gas supply part or the second gas supply part; a gas rectifying part including an opening through which the gas introduced from the gas introduction port passes; a gas flow passage communicated with the opening and formed between the gas rectifying part and an outer periphery of the substrate mounting stand in a circumferential direction; a gas pressure equalizing part including at least two gas pressure equalizing spaces; a purge gas supply part configured to supply different amount of a purge gas to each of the at least two gas pressure equalizing spaces; and a conductance adjustment part.

With an increase in the density of large scale integrated circuits (hereinafter, referred to as an LSI), circuit patterns are being miniaturized.
In order to integrate a large number of semiconductor devices into a small area, the semiconductor devices must be formed to be small in size. To this end, widths and spaces of patterns to be formed should be made small.
With the current trend of miniaturization, microstructure embedding, particularly, oxide embedding a narrow void structure (groove) which is deep in a vertical direction or narrow in a width direction has reached its technical limits when the embedding of the oxide is performed by a CVD method. In addition, with the miniaturization of transistors, a thin and uniform gate insulating film or gate electrode is required to be formed. Further, it is required to reduce the processing time per substrate in order to improve productivity of semiconductor devices.
Further, in order to increase the productivity of semiconductor devices, it is required to improve the processing uniformity for the entire surface a substrate.


A catalyst composition for the polymerization of radically polymerisable monomer is disclosed, which comprises (i) an initiator having a radically transferable atom or group and (ii) a component of Formula (I): {Fe[T]L}.(T/b)X, wherein Fe is iron and T its oxidation state, L is a ligand of Formula (II): R 1xe2x80x94Nxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94(CH 2 ) n xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90Nxe2x80x94R 2, in which R 1 and R 2 are independently selected from C 1 C 10 alkyl, aryl and substituted aryl, and n is 0 or 1; X represents an atom or group covalently or ionically bonded to Fe; b is the valency of the atom or group X.

The present invention relates to novel catalyst compositions and to the polymerisation of olefinically unsaturated monomers using said catalyst compositions.
A recent development in the control of radical polymerisation systems is atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) based on a redox reaction with a transition metal compound. ATRP is believed to result from two parameters (i) the presence of a low constant concentration of growing radicals and (ii) a fast and reversible equilibrium between the growing radicals and the dormant polymer species. If the concentration of growing radicals is kept low enough and a fast and reversible equilibrium between growing radicals and the dormant polymer species is established the proportion of termination reactions in comparison to propagation can be minimised which results in better predictability of molecular weight and lower polydispersities. A more detailed discussion of the mechanism of ATRP may be found in Patent Application No. WO 96/30421.
Patent Application No. WO 96/30421 describes a method for atom or group transfer radical polymerisation of an alkene such as styrene whereby the alkene is polymerised in the presence of an initiator, a transition metal compound and a ligand and the formed polymer is subsequently isolated. The use of an alkyl halide initiator, copper (I) chloride, and bipyridine ligand to produce controlled molecular weight polymers of low polydispersity is described.
However the process described in WO 96/30421 has the disadvantage that it is a heterogeneous system due to the fact that the copper catalyst is only partially soluble in the polymerisation system. Thus it is difficult to determine the level of active catalyst in polydispersity of the final product. Heterogeneous catalysts are also known to be less efficient than homogeneous catalysts in terms of g/g productivity, and also require specific separation steps from the product in commercial use. As a result, homogeneous systems are generally preferred where possible.
Patent Application No. WO 97/47661 describes the use of copper diimine complexes which allow homogeneous atom transfer polymerisation of olefinically unsaturated monomers and thus the level of active catalyst in the mixture to be controlled. However rates of conversion for styrene using these complexes are relatively low, and polydispersities (Mw/Mn) relatively high.
It has now been surprisingly found that by using a catalyst system which includes particular iron complexes improved control over the activity of the catalyst system can be achieved, thereby ultimately providing an improved product.
According to the present invention there is provided a catalyst composition comprising
(i) an initiator having a radically transferable atom or group, and
(ii) a component of Formula I
[Fe[T] L] . (T/b)Xxe2x80x83xe2x80x83Formula I
wherein
Fe is iron and T its oxidation state
L is a ligand of Formula II
R1xe2x80x94Nxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94(CH2)nxe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90Nxe2x80x94R2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83Formula II
in which R1 and R2 are independently selected from C1-C10 alkyl, aryl and substituted aryl, and n is 0 or 1;
X represents an atom or group covalently or ionically bonded to Fe;
b is the valency of the atom or group X.
The initiator suitable for use in the present invention may be any initiator having a radically transferable atom or group. Examples of suitable initiators include conventional atom transfer radical addition initiators, for example, organic halides, such as alkyl halides, e.g. alkyl chlorides or bromides such as CCl4, CHCl3 and CCl3Br, activated alkyl halides e.g. alkyl halides containing at least one alpha-electron withdrawing group such as an ester, e.g. 2-bromoethylisobutyrate or a ketone, e.g. 2-bromoisobutyrophenone or an optionally substituted aryl e.g. phenyl or nitro-substituted phenyl. Other suitable initiators include arenesulphonyl chlorides which can be substituted or unsubstituted such as para-toluenesulphonyl chloride and para-methoxybenzenesulphonyl chloride. Preferred initiators include CCl4 and para-toluenesulphonyl chloride.
It will be understood that such initiators may also be molecules (monomeric or polymeric) which contain more than one radically transferrable atom or group. Examples of monomeric multifunctional initiators include alkyl dihalides and sulphonyl halides such as 1,3-benzene disulphonyl chloride. Suitable initiators for the invention also include polymers, which may optionally be based on styrene, which contain one or more radically transferable group present at the chain ends and/or pendent to the main chain and distributed along its length. It will be understood that such multifunctional initiators provide access to star branched and grafted polymer architectures with the enhanced potential to fine-tune properties.The use of mixed initiators is also within the scope of the invention.
In the Formula I, Fe may be Fe(II) or Fe(III), most preferably Fe(II). The atom or group represented by X in the Formula I is preferably selected from halide, sulphate, nitrate, thiolate, thiocarboxylate, BF4-, PF6-, hydride, carboxylate, triflate, cyano, arylsulphonate, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterohydrocarbyl, C1-C6 alkoxy. Examples of such atoms or groups are chloride, bromide, fluoride, iodide, phenyl, benzyl, methoxide, ethoxide, isopropoxide, tosylate, benzenesulphonate, toluenesulphonate, formate, acetate, phenoxide and benzoate. Most preferred is chloride.
R1 and R2 are independently C1-C10 alkyl or aryl or substituted aryl. When one or both of R1 and R2 is C1-C10 alkyl, it is for example, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, i-propyl, n-butyl, t-butyl, n-hexyl, n-octyl, and n-decyl. C1-C6 alkyl is generally preferred, especially t-butyl.
When one or both of R1 and R2 is aryl, it is preferably C6-C10 aryl, for example, phenyl.
When one or both of R1 and R2 is a substituted aryl group, it may have from 7 to 24 carbon atoms, and be substituted at e.g. one or both ortho positions and/or the para position with, for example, C1-C6 alkyl such as methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, i-propyl, n-butyl, t-butyl, especially t-butyl. An example is 2,6 di-i-propyl phenyl.
Preferably R1 and R2 are the same: preferably n is zero.
A preferred combination is where R1 and R2 are each 2,6 di-isopropyl phenyl and n=0. An especially preferred combination is where R1 and R2 are each t-butyl and n=0.
Compounds of Formula II can be prepared using procedures known to the man skilled in the art and disclosed in published literature for example as described in Z. Naturforsch, 1981, 36b, 823.
The present invention further provides a process for the polymerisation and copolymerisation of a radically polymerisable monomer comprising contacting the monomer under polymerisation conditions with the catalyst composition of the present invention. A further aspect of the invention is the use of the above-defined composition as a polymerisation catalyst for radically polymerisable monomers.
Monomers suitable for use in the polymerisation process of the present invention include any radically polymerisable monomer. Preferred monomers include ethylene; optionally substituted conjugated dienes such as 1,3-butadiene, isoprene; acids and anhydrides such as acrylic acid or acrylic anhydride; (meth)acrylamides; vinyl halides e.g. vinyl chloride; (meth)acrylonitrile; (meth)acrylate esters of C1-C20 alcohols e.g. methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, propyl methacrylate (all isomers), butyl methacrylate (all isomers); vinyl esters of C1-C20 alcohols e.g. vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate or vinyl butyrate; vinyl amides such as vinyl pyrrolidone, and other vinyl amides having up to 8 carbon atoms; vinyl ketones such as ethylvinyl ketone, butylvinyl ketone and other vinyl ketones having up to 8 carbon atoms; vinyl substituted aryls e.g. vinyl substituted phenyls, vinyl substituted naphthyls. The aryl ring may be substituted by at least one vinyl group such as 1-2 vinyl groups. Examples include styrene and 1,4 divinyl benzene. The vinyl group(s) may be substituted or unsubstituted, e.g. substituted styrenes. Suitable . vinyl group substituents include a C1-C6 alkyl (preferably at the alpha-carbon atom) e.g. methyl. Examples include alpha-methyl styrene. The vinyl substituted aryl may also have at least 1, preferably 1 to 3 substituents on the aryl ring. Thus, phenyl may be substituted by 1 to 3 substituents. Suitable aryl ring substituents e.g. phenyl ring substitutents may be C1-C6 alkyl, C1-C6 alkenyl, C1-C6 alkoxy, halogen, carboxy and nitro.
Examples of acrylates include methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, isobornyl acrylate, and functional derivatives thereof such as 2-hydroxy ethyl acrylate, 2-chloro ethyl acrylate and the like. Such acrylates generally have from 1 to 12 carbons, preferably from 1 to 8 carbons.
Examples of methacrylates are methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, isobornyl methacrylate, and functional derivatives thereof such as 2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate, 2-chloro ethyl methacrylate and the like. Such methacrylates generally have from 1 to 12 carbons, preferably from 1 to 8 carbons.
Examples of (meth)acrylamides include (meth)acrylamide itself, N-methyl (meth)acrylamide, N,Nxe2x80x2dimethyl (meth)acrylamide and the like.
Examples of acids and anhydrides include (meth)acrylic acid, maleic acid, maleic anhydride, vinyl sulphonic acid, itaconic acid.
Examples of other monomers includeamino olefins, vinyl pyridine, N-amino ethyl acrylamide, N-aminoethyl acrylate, isoprene, butadiene, and C2-C8 xcex1-olefins such as ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, isobutene, 1-hexene, 1-octene and the like.
Particularly preferred monomers are styrene, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, vinyl acetate and acrylonitrile.
A mixture of two or more monomers may be used. The monomers may also be polymerised with a natural or synthetic rubber or combination thereof, such that the resulting polymeric product comprises a polymer or copolymer of styrene having rubber grafted thereon.
Examples of rubbers include natural rubbers such as 1,4-polyisoprene, with those derived from the Hevea brasiliensis tree and quayule bush being useful. Synthetic rubbers include polybutadiene rubber, polyisoprene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, neoprene rubber, polysulphide rubber, polyacrylate rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, fluoroelastomer, chlorosulphonated polyethylene rubber, polyurethane, or a thermoplastic rubber.
With regards to the polymerisation reaction using the catalyst composition herein described, the relative proportions of initiator and iron component are those effective to achieve the desired polymer product.
The molar ratio of initiator to monomer is chosen depending on the molecular weight of the product polymer to be achieved. For molecular weights of e.g. polystyrene or polymethyl methacrylate in the range 50 k-1 million the initiator may be present in a molar ratio of from 2xc3x9710xe2x88x923:1 to 10xe2x88x924:1 relative to monomer, for molecular weight range 100 k-600 k the initiator is preferably present in a molar ratio of from 10xe2x88x923:1 to 1.6xc3x9710xe2x88x924:1 relative to monomer and to obtain polymer product of molecular weight in the range 250 k-500 k, the initiator is preferably present in a molar ratio of from 4xc3x9710xe2x88x924: to 2xc3x9710xe2x88x924:1 relative to monomer.
The molar ratio of initiator to the iron component to effect polymerisation can depend upon the degree of solubility of the iron component in the reaction system but may be from 10xe2x88x924:1 to 10:1, preferably from 10xe2x88x921:1 to 5:1, more preferably from 0.3:1 to 2:1 and especially from 0.9:1 to 1.1:1.
The greater the degree of solubility of the iron component the greater the concentration of iron there will be present in the reaction system. Consequently in a homogeneous system the molar proportion of iron component to initiator may be reduced, e.g. 10xe2x88x923:1.
The molar ratio of ligand:iron used is generally between 100:1 and 1:1, for example 5:1 to 1:1, and sometimes from 3:1 to 1:1.
The polymerisation of the present invention may be carried out in the presence of solvent or absence of solvent. Suitable solvents include protic and non-protic solvents such as water, aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, ethers, cylic ethers, C5-C10 alkanes, halogenated hydrocarbon solvents (which do not act as an initiator under the reaction conditions), acetonitrile, propionitrile, dimethylformamide and C1-C6 alcohols. Suitable aromatic hydrocarbon solvents include benzene, toluene, xylene (all isomers). Suitable ethers include diethyl ether, dimethoxyethane, diethoxyethane, diphenyl ether, anisole. Suitable cyclic ethers include dioxane and tetrahydrofuran. Suitable C5-C10 alkanes include hexane, heptane. Suitable halogenated hydrocarbon solvents include dichloromethane, 1,2 dichloroethane. Suitable C1-C6 alcohols include methanol, ethanol, propanol.
The polymerisation process is suitably carried out at a temperature in the range of from xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 200xc2x0 C., suitably from 40xc2x0 C. to 150xc2x0 C., for example from 80xc2x0 C. to 120xc2x0 C. Alternative suitable temperature ranges are from 40 to 160xc2x0 C., preferably from 40 to 85xc2x0 C. for emulsion polymerisation, and from 80 to 160xc2x0 C. for bulk polymerisation.
The polymerisation process of the present invention may be carried out in the presence of an activator, such as a Lewis acid activator. Typical Lewis acids which may be used include aluminium alkyls, e.g. methyl aluminium bis(2,6 di-tert-butylphenoxide), aluminium alkoxides such as aluminium tris(iso-propoxide), aluminium halides such as aluminium trichloride, alkyl zinc reagents such as diethyl zinc and boranes such as BPh3 and B(C6F5)3.
The use of an activator may increase the rate of polymerisation, for example the rate of polymerisation of (meth)acrylate esters of C1-C20 alcohols e.g. methyl methacrylate, and in particular methyl methacrylate polymerisation in the presence of an aluminium activator.
The molar ratio of activator to iron complex used may be, for example, in the range from 1:1 to 10:1 such as 2:1 to 6:1.
The polymerisation process may be carried out in bulk, solution, emulsion or suspension (slurry), as a single phase or multiple phases. Gas phase polymerisation can be carried out wherein the monomer in gaseous phase contacts a bed of the catalyst which has been previously contacted with the initiator(s) and ligand. Bulk polymerisations are particularly advantageous. The invention can be practiced as a batch, semicontinuous, or continuous process. Monomers, initiator, catalyst, and optionally solvent, are mixed together in a suitable reaction vessel. The order of component addition is not critical although it is desirable that monomer is present before others items are introduced. This vessel may be purged with an inert gas, such as nitrogen. The gas purge may be continued throughout reaction. Polymerisation may be carried out with all monomers present at the begining or with monomers added incrementally or continuously throughout the reaction. The reaction mixture may be agitated by any known method to mix components. The reaction is continued until the desired level of polymerisation has occurred, generally from about 40% to about 100% conversion of monomer to polymer. The reaction mixture may then be treated as required in subsequent steps to achieve the final desired product. For example, the reaction may be stopped by cooling, addition of inhibitor such as 4-methoxyphenol and the like, and discontinuing monomer feed. Alternatively, the reaction mixture may be taken on to further work-up stages such as monomer devolatalisation, catalyst removal steps, and/or polymer isolation.
The polymers and copolymers formed by the process of the present invention include straight and branched chain polymers and copolymers, star (co)polymers and the like. The copolymers can be random, alternating, block, graft, multiblock, straight chain, star, star block copolymers and the like. The (co)polymers may also be high impact polystyrene wherein a natural or synthetic rubber or a combination thereof is grafted onto the polymer or copolymer.
The polymers and copolymers may be further processed by moulding, spinning, extruding, and the like. Additives include lubricants, dyes, plasticisers, pigments, stabilisers, antistatic agents, antioxidants, fillers and blowing agents. Utilisations for the polymers and copolymers include moulded or foamed articles, sheets, films, pipes, tubings fibres and the like.
The present invention is illustrated in the following Examples


A component mounter is provided with a characteristic value measuring device that measures a characteristic value of first component, and head that mounts each of first component and second component on board. Second component is a digital potentiometer provided with receiver section that receives information from head, variable resistance section for which the resistance is variable, and control section that controls the resistance value of variable resistance section. Head is provided with receiver section that receives information from characteristic value measuring device, sender section that sends information to second component, power source that supplies electric current to variable resistance section, memory section that memorizes the resistance value of second component according to the characteristic value of first component, and control section.

A component mounter is disclosed in patent literature 1 (JP-A-2009-004714). The component mounter disclosed in patent literature 1 is provided with a head that has a nozzle. The head uses the nozzle to hold a component and mount the held component on a board. The head mounts multiple components on the board.


A machine for lifting a roll of previously wound material and for unwinding the material from the roll is disclosed. The machine includes a turret shaft around which a lift arm assembly is moved from a first position to a second position. A lifting mechanism for lifting the roll after it is loaded at the first position is also provided. A plurality of lift arm assemblies can be provided so that a stand-by roll can be loaded onto the machine to be quickly rotated into an unwinding position. The lift arm assembly supports the roll without the use of a shaft through the core of the roll. A drive tower is provided which includes a turning belt with a frictional contact surface for contacting the roll as the turning belt is rotating, thereby turning the roll to unwind the material therefrom.

Many products are manufactured from elongated sheet or stock material that is shipped and stored in the form of a roll or coil. Continuous strips or webs of thin, flexible material are commonly provided on storage rolls that are subsequently unwound for production of items made from these materials. Examples of these materials are plastic film, metal foil, and paper. Other materials such as cable or wire are also wound onto rolls.
During the manufacture of paper products such as napkins, newspapers, and magazines, for example, very large storage rolls of paper are used to provide the stock material from which the paper items are produced. The storage rolls are then unwound for further processing such as cutting, folding, or printing.
When a coiled roll is being unwound so that the material can be further processed, it is desirable to quickly change to a new roll once the previous roll is spent. However, the large and heavy storage rolls of stock material are difficult to handle. Also, the manufacturing process must be stopped so that the spent roll can be removed and replaced by a new roll. The time spent unloading and reloading the machine results in decreased production of the final product.
A machine that can accept subsequent or stand-by rolls of stock material that are ready to be moved quickly into an unwinding position is highly desirable because of the savings in time that such a machine would provide. The stand-by roll can be quickly moved into place, and the unwinding and subsequent processes can proceed with minimal interruption.
The placement of a roll of material onto a shaft or spindle which is then mounted onto a machine for unwinding of the roll is another time-consuming manufacturing step. The added steps of inserting the shaft into the core of the roll and then removing it when the roll is unwound result in additional time spent setting up the machine which also decreases production. A machine that can hold and unwind a roll of material without using a shaft or spindle would be advantageous.
Thus, there continues to be a need for a method and apparatus for unwinding material from a roll that allows the loading of subsequent rolls of material which are then quickly rotated into position for unwinding. Also, there is a need for a method and apparatus that will increase the speed of the unwinding process by eliminating time-consuming steps, thus increasing productivity. The present invention meets these desires.

Specialty Systems Advanced Machinery, Inc.


A stylus for use in a coordinate input system (e.g. digitizer tablet system) includes a finger wheel. The degree of rotation of the finger wheel by the user determines the extent to which a chosen graphical parameter (e.g. line thickness, color, shading, gray scale, etc.) is varied. Thus, a user can easily vary the graphical parameter while drawing by merely rotating the finger wheel about its fixed rotational axis.

This invention relates to a stylus device for use with a digitizer or other coordinate input system. More particularly, this invention relates to a pointing stylus including a rotatable side wheel, wherein manipulation and rotation of the side wheel enables the user to vary a graphical or control parameter (e.g. line thickness, color, pen-stroke, shading, line texture, etc.) of an image being drawn via the coordinate input system. Other possible uses include scrolling in text documents with the finger wheel, navigation in a third dimension of a 3D space, zooming in and out of a document or graphical representation, and the like. In certain embodiments, a touchpad may replace the finger wheel on the side of the stylus.
Pointers for use in conjunction with coordinate input systems are known in the art. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,731,807; 5,028,745; 5,061,828; 5,109,141; 5,055,831; and 5,004,871, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. These pointers may be used in conjunction with coordinate input systems, such as digitizer systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,807 discloses a mouse for inputting coordinate data into a coordinate input system. Unfortunately, some users of graphics tablets dislike mouse devices and prefer stylus-like devices for drawing because of their aesthetic feel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,871 discloses stylus having a pressure sensitive side switch which protrudes outwardly from a housing at an angle which is transverse to the housing. The magnitude of force (i.e. pressure) applied to the switch determines the signal which is output by the stylus. Unfortunately, the transverse alignment of the switch relative to the housing in the ""871 patent, and the switch""s transverse movement relative to the housing""s axis, are undesirable. The transverse extension or protrusion of the switch renders it susceptible to damage, and furthermore it is difficult for some users to accurately adjust transverse finger pressure while writing (e.g. drawing) with the stylus. In sum, the requirement for accurate and adjustable transverse finger pressure during drawing strokes is undesirable and difficult to achieve, as is the requirement for transverse protrusion of a stylus side switch. It would be desirable if these characteristics could be eliminated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,141 discloses a digitizer stylus including a switch moveable along the side of the housing, and wherein the switch retains the position it is moved to after it is released by the user. The switch in the ""141 patent is movable along the housing side parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing. These features of the ""141 side switch are undesirable. Firstly, it is undesirable to have to move a switch along the side of a housing while drawing. Second, it is undesirable to have a side switch that is moveable along the housing side parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing because the requirement for such movement during drawing or stroke movement is undesirable, and requires sliding finger movements which do not adequately simulate air brush use and which are often not desirable during stroke movement of the stylus.
It should be apparent that there exists a need in the art for a stylus which can simulate air-brush usage, wherein the stylus includes a finger input device (e.g. finger wheel or touchpad) that can be easily used during drawing stokes, and where the finger manipulatable input device (i) does not protrude transversely relative to the stylus housing, (ii) does not require transverse device movement, (iii) does not require sliding device movement parallel to the stylus"" longitudinal axis, and (iv) does not require device or switch movement along a side of the housing.
It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill the above described needs in the art, as well as other needs which will become apparent to the skilled artisan from the following detailed description of certain embodiments of this invention.
Generally speaking, this invention fulfills the above-described needs in the art by providing a stylus for use in a digitizer coordinate input system, the stylus comprising:
a housing;
electronic circuitry disposed within the housing;
a rotatable finger wheel or dial that is rotatable about a central axis by a user, wherein a degree to which the finger wheel is rotated determines the extent to which a control or graphical parameter utilized by the digitizer coordinate input system is varied;
the finger wheel including a plurality of teeth defined in a peripheral portion thereof;
a gear wheel including a first set of gear wheel teeth for meshing with the teeth of the finger wheel and a second set of gear teeth for meshing with corresponding teeth on a potentiometer so that the potentiometer detects the degree xcex8 to which the finger wheel is rotated and causes the parameter to be varied as a function thereof; and
wherein the first set of teeth on the gear wheel defines a peripheral portion having a different or smaller diameter than a peripheral portion of the second set of teeth on the gear wheel.
This invention further fulfills the above-described needs in the art by providing a stylus comprising:
a housing;
a printed circuit board including at least one substantially flat surface disposed inside of the housing, the printed circuit board having at least one chip mounted thereon and the one flat surface of the printed circuit board defining a plane;
a button disposed on a side of the stylus, the button being pressable inward along a button axis toward a longitudinal axis of the stylus in order to cause the stylus to output data indicative of a change in status of the button, and wherein the button axis and the longitudinal axis of the stylus are substantially perpendicular to one another; and
wherein the button axis is substantially parallel to the plane of the printed circuit board.
This invention further fulfills the above-described needs in the art by providing a stylus for use in a coordinate input system, the stylus including a touch sensitive area having no moving parts exposed for manipulation by a user, wherein the touch sensitive area enables a user to adjust a graphical parameter of an image being drawn by varying the user""s finger position or the finger""s pressure applied in the touch sensitive area. In certain embodiments, the touch sensitive area on the stylus may be implemented such that it measures finger position in the area and/or finger pressure applied in the area. The combination of sensing both finger position and pressure in the touch sensitive area would enable a user to manipulate two degrees of freedom with the touch sensitive area or side pad.
This invention will now be described with reference to certain embodiments thereof as illustrated in the following drawings.

Abstract: Preferably, rotation of the wheel causes an intermediate gear wheel with teeth thereon to rotate which in turn causes a potentiometer to detect the degree of rotation of the finger wheel. In alternative embodiments of this invention, a touchpad for inputting finger position and/or finger pressure information may be provided on the side of the stylus instead of the finger wheel.


In one embodiment, the invention is directed to an illumination device. The illumination device includes a light emitting diode that emits a radiation pattern, wherein a maximum luminous intensity of the radiation pattern is displaced relative to a center axis of the light emitting diode. The illumination device may also include a number of light guides positioned to be illuminated by the light emitting diode. The invention utilizes the “batwing” radiation pattern of a light emitting diode to effectively illuminate a number of light guides with a single light emitting diode. Each light guide is offset from a center axis of the light emitting diode to capture light that is annularly displaced. This offset positioning of the light guides allows the light guides to effectively capture light from the light emitting diode where light intensity is greatest.

Light guides can be used to provide functional or decorative lighting. Functional lighting refers to lighting that is used for the purpose of illuminating an object or area to make the object or area more conspicuous. Decorative lighting refers to lighting that is used for aesthetic purposes. Often, light guides are used for both functional and decorative purposes.
A light source can be used to illuminate one or more light guides such that light is transmitted through the light guides via total internal reflection. Light guides may provide side lighting, in which light is emitted from the sides of the guides. In addition, light guides may provide end lighting, in which light is emitted from the end of the guides. A variety of different extraction techniques using notches or coating, for example, can be applied to the light guides to cause light to be emitted from the light guides in a controlled or random manner.
Lighting systems that implement light guides generally have a light source that illuminates the light guide. For example, incandescent light sources, florescent light sources, or light emitting diodes are often used to illuminate a light guide. The light source may reside in a light source assembly, also referred to as an illuminator. The light can be transmitted down the light guide, possibly changing colors or pulsating over time to provide the desired functional or decorative effect.
Light emitting diodes are particularly well suited for illuminating light guides because light emitting diodes are point-like light sources. Moreover, light emitting diodes use less energy than many other light source alternatives. Some light emitting diodes, however, have "batwing" radiation patterns in which the maximum luminous intensity of the light emitting diodes is angularly displaced. Therefore, conventional lighting systems that utilize light emitting diodes often utilize corrective optics to correct for the angular displacement of the radiation pattern and provide peak radiation intensity along a center axis of the light emitting diodes.

Illumination device utilizing displaced radiation patterns


Examples disclosed herein relate, in one aspect, to a computing device. The computing device may include, among other things, a first communications module to send communication data, a communications monitor to capture a portion of the communication data sent from the first communication module, and a management processor to determine, based on the captured portion, a network address associated with the computing device.

Many computing devices today are connected to a network. In order to identify a particular computing device on the network, each computing device connected to the network may be assigned one or more network addresses, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. If a first device connected to the network would like to communicate with a second device connected to the network, the first device needs to know the second device's network address. Sometimes, a computing device may include several processors (or several cores of a multi-processor) where one processor is dedicated to managing the computing device and is referred to as the management processor. In some cases, the management processor may be associated with a separate network address and may communicate with other devices on the network through a separate network interface. This may allow remote devices to manage the computing device by configuring it or monitoring its status even when they cannot communicate with the computing device through other means.

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP


Wide band CMOS digital to analog converters (DACs), including converters with selectable impulse response, using multiple DAC cores. The DAC cores operate on the same data at the DAC clock rate, but staggered in phase. Switches are used to switch the later part of the output time of each DAC core to the DAC output, otherwise to a dummy load. Thus each DAC conversion is comprised of a later part of each DAC core conversion, at least the first part of each DAC core conversion being ignored to allow each DAC core to settle before utilizing its output. Since the same switches and switching sequence is used on each DAC data conversion, the effects of switch imbalances are negated. Various embodiments are disclosed, including manipulation of the input to one of the DAC cores to selectively provide an NRZ, RZ and an RF response.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of digital to analog converters.
2. Prior Art
Current steering digital to analog converters (DACs) are well known in the prior art. In a current steering DAC, current sources are provided, with each current source being coupled to an output load, or to a power supply terminal or dummy load, dependent on the bit controlling the current steering switch controlling the destination of the respective current source. In a binary coded current steering DAC, the current sources are in a binary progression, each in proportion to the respective bit in the binary coded input, so that appropriate summing of the currents of the "active" bits provides an analog current output proportional to the value of the binary coded input. Passing the output current through a resistor provides an analog voltage proportional to the value of the binary coded input.
In a thermometer coded current steering DAC, assuming a binary coded input, the binary code is first converted to a thermometer code, so-called because of the nature of a thermometer code. In particular, an N bit binary code recodes to a 2N thermometer code, with all bits up to particular level, dependent on the binary code input, being ones, or active so to speak, and all bits above that being zeros, or inactive. Each bit of the thermometer code is then used to control the steering of a respective one of 2N equal current sources to the output, or to a power supply terminal or dummy load. Again, passing the output current through a resistor provides an analog voltage proportional to the value of the thermometer code, or in turn, proportional to the value of the binary coded input.
In a segmented DAC with an N bit binary code input, the input is broken up into two or more segments, such as, by way of example, two approximately equal size segments for the most significant bits and the least significant bits, each segment being converted to analog form, with the outputs being combined for an overall DAC output. Usually a segmented DAC uses thermometer coding for at least the most significant bits.
A current steering DAC may have a single ended or differential output. In the case of a differential output, the various current sources are steered to a positive output if the respective bit is active, or to a negative output if the respective bit is not active.

Wide band digital to analog converters and methods, including converters with selectable impulse response


A portable vehicle parking assistance device that can be used in any parking location to indicate when a vehicle has reached a selected point and should be stopped. The device includes a movable sensor arm extending upwardly from a tray which contains ballast material that provides sufficient weight to maintain the entire parking assistance device in the desired position on a garage floor or other surface on which the vehicle travels. The upper end of the movable sensor arm carries a motion indicator located in the sight of the vehicle driver to signal the driver when the bumper or other extremity of the vehicle has contacted the sensor arm and should be stopped. Preferably, both an audible indicator and a signal light are provided in addition to the motion indicator to signify that the vehicle should be stopped immediately.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle parking aid and signaling device which assists in parking a vehicle in a desired position within a confined parking area, e.g. a garage. More particularly, the invention is directed to a simple, completely self-contained, portable vehicle parking assistance device that can be used in any parking location to indicate when a vehicle has reached a selected point and should be stopped.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of vehicle parking assistance devices is well known in the prior art, and a great number of contrivances have been developed for this purpose. However, all of the known devices of this character have drawbacks which make them impractical and/or of limited application. For instance, some of the prior art devices require a large number of parts and thus are expensive to manufacture as well as difficult to assemble, install and maintain. Others must be mounted to a fixed structure, such as a wall, and thus lack portability and are incapable of easy movement to different locations. Still others fail to give a foolproof indication of vehicle position and, hence, lack effectiveness.
Attention is directed to the following United States patents as examples of parking assistance devices analogous to the subject matter of the instant invention:
______________________________________ 2,296,311 Sept. 22, 1942 Schneider 2,956,262 Oct. 11, 1960 Bahr 3,668,626 June 6, 1972 Follett 3,820,065 June 25, 1974 Koplewicz et al. 3,922,638 Nov. 25, 1975 Mendelsohn 4,145,681 March 20, 1979 Bubnich et al. 4,873,509 Oct. 10, 1989 Simi 4,965,571 Oct. 23, 1990 Jones ______________________________________
The most pertinent of those patents listed above are believed to be the Mendelsohn and Simi patents, and of these, Mendelsohn is seen to be the most closely related. Similarly to the present invention, Mendelsohn's device employs a large container or tray surrounding the functional components of the indicator assembly of his parking assistance device for containing a ballast. However, unlike the present invention, the ballast utilized by Mendelsohn is concrete which must be mixed separately by the user and poured into the tray where it hardens and thereafter becomes a permanent part of the structure, thereby greatly increasing the weight of the entire device and thus severely limiting the ability to transport the device to different locations when desired. In addition, the Mendelsohn device involves a switch and mechanical construction that includes numerous parts and requires a specialized compartment to house the several switch parts. Also, the light bulb employed as a visual indicator in Mendelsohn is mounted at a remote position from the other components of the device. As a result, the Mendelsohn device is not a self-contained construction that is totally portable as a single unit. Furthermore, in order to utilize the Mendelsohn device with a vehicle having a bumper at a relatively great distance above the surface upon which the vehicle travels, it is necessary to elevate the ballast tray above such surface by means of separately attached legs. Such makes the device top heavy and susceptible to tipping over when engaged by the vehicle, thus rendering it inoperative.
The device disclosed in the Simi patent likewise fails to possess many of the features of the present invention. For example, in Simi there is no indicator in the view of the driver of the vehicle and only a single power-dependent audio signal is used to alert the driver of the position of the vehicle. If the audio signal fails, the driver will not be alerted to stop the vehicle.
It is clear from the Mendelsohn and Simi patents just discussed, as well as the other patents listed above, that prior vehicle parking assistance devices either have been complex mechanically and/or electrically, or have required mounting on a fixed structure, such as a wall, all of which makes them impractical for the changing parking position requirements commonly encountered in home garage situations or other parking locations. Also, many such devices provide only a single power-source-dependent mode of warning a driver of the position of a vehicle and, hence, are totally ineffective when that mode fails to function.

Portable vehicle parking assistance device


A method and apparatus for separating groups of sheets from a stack for a punching or binding operation. The invention uses a dual disk arrangement having a front disk and a rear disk. The arrangement is for separating a substack from a stack of pages, the substack temporarily resting on the rear disk, and divided by the front disk. The arrangement includes a plurality of rollers downstream of the substack to transport the substack to a downstream processing station.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for separating groups of sheets of paper from a cue or stack of sheets to be processed downstream in a further operation such as punching and/or binding. The apparatus and method are useful for segregating successive "lifts" or groups of sheets for producing booklets or books, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,806 discloses a separator-transfer system which separates and transfers articles such as magazines, newspapers and similar printed publications from a stack to a remote location. This device uses a rotating support (22) and jaws (20, 23) to separate the lift of pages for further processing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,628 discloses a horizontal stack of sheets wherein a substack of sheets is separated by two disks (31, 32).
A simple, effective and rapidly acting disk separator means of the present invention, which allows separation of groupings of pages in succession for further processing such as punching or binding is not heretofore known.


A nozzle is provided including a nozzle body having an upstream end and a downstream end aligned about a central axis. A discharge portion is positioned adjacent the downstream end. A bore extends inwardly from the downstream end over the length of the discharge portion. An opening is formed in the nozzle body adjacent the discharge portion. The opening is fluidly connected to the bore to provide an interior air flow passage. A main fuel channel extends from the upstream end to the discharge portion. At least one fuel flow branch extends through the discharge portion between the bore and an outer surface of the nozzle body. The fuel flow branch is fluidly coupled to the main fuel conduit to provide a fuel flow passage. The outer air cap is positioned about the outer surface of the discharge portion of the nozzle body to form an exterior air flow passage.

This invention generally relates to injectors and fuel nozzles for high temperature applications, and more particularly, to fuel injectors and nozzles for gas turbine engines.
Gas turbine engines used in military and commercial aircrafts must satisfy high demands with respect to reliability, weight, performance, economic efficiency, and durability. Turbine engines typically include a plurality of fuel injectors configured to inject fuel in a spray or atomized form into a combustion chamber of the engine. The atomized air/fuel mixture is then combusted to create the energy required to sustain engine operations.
The atomization of the fuel/air mixture is generally achieved by mixing the fuel with a turbulent, non-linear air flow. To create a turbulent air flow in conventional fuel nozzles, an air swirler is positioned at an upstream end of the nozzle within the interior air flow path. As the air flows over the air swirler, the air is forced to swirl about the circumference of the passage. Because the air swirler is arranged at the upstream end of the nozzle, the swirl generated dissipates as the air travels over the length of the nozzle. By the time the air flow reaches the downstream end where it is mixed with the fuel, the swirling of the air flow may be diminished, thereby reducing the atomization of the mixture.
Conventional methods for manufacturing components of a gas turbine engine include machining, forging, and investment casting. Material selection for the components that are subjected to high mechanical loads, high vibration loads, or high thermal loads is often based upon material limits being exceeded in localized regions of the component. Because high-strength materials are needed, the cost of the component is largely driven by the amount of material used, so elimination of excess weight can significantly reduce part or component cost.

Airblast nozzle with upstream fuel distribution and near-exit swirl


A base body of a piston ring has an electroplated chrome or gas nitrided sub-layer formed on its outer peripheral face. The sub-layer is face-lapped, roughened through grit blasting, and then oil lapped to remove the asperities. The resulting plateau-reservoir surface has a smooth plateau and a number of reservoirs. A metallic nitride face coating is applied to the sub-layer. The reservoirs provide additional surface area to promote the bonding between the metallic nitride and the sub-layer. The coating does not eliminate the reservoirs, however. Thus, the reservoirs provide the additional function of storing lubricating oil which may be used during piston ring operation to eliminated unwanted wear.

It is known to form a gas nitrided layer on a piston ring as a base for a metallic nitride face coating. The face coatings complement the hard gas nitrided layer by providing advantages not possessed by the gas nitrided layer, such as strong scuff resistance and extremely high hardness.
Yet, the desirable advantages offered by metallic nitride face coatings result in unwanted side effects. The coatings are particularly prone to chipping and may not achieve suitable coating thickness if they lack sufficiently strong bonds with an underlying substrate. Even if a suitable substrate is provided, however, there is often insufficient surface area between the coating and the substrate to promote the necessary bonds.
The lack of porosity and very high strength results in increased friction between the face coating and a mating mechanical element such as a cylinder wall. Metallic nitride face coatings lack the inherent ability of oil retention. Therefore, they cannot provide a critical source of lubrication during periods when boundary layer lubrication is required and to enhance scuff resistance during piston ring break in.


Methods and systems for controlling an operational state of a vehicle having a keyless rotary ignition switch and a locking mechanism coupled to the keyless rotary ignition switch are provided. The locking mechanism is disengaged to allow the keyless rotary ignition switch to be rotated from a first position to a second position by a user when an electronic authorization is detected. The locking mechanism is engaged to prevent the keyless rotary ignition switch from being rotated from the first position to the second position by the user when no electronic authorization is detected.

In recent years, advances in technology, as well as ever evolving tastes in style, have led to substantial changes in the design of automobiles. One of the changes involves the complexity of, and convenience offered by, the systems used to gain entry into and start automobiles.
One recent modernization of ignition systems is the advent of "keyless" ignition systems with "push-button" starting. Such systems use electronic keys that do not have to be inserted into the ignition switch of the automobile but merely present in a predetermined authorization zone, such as the passenger compartment of the automobile, to start the automobile. When the automobile detects that an authorized electronic key is within the authorization zone, the driver may start the automobile by simply pressing the ignition button. If the automobile does not detect an authorized key within the authorization zone, the automobile disables the ignition button so that the automobile can not be started.
One drawback of keyless ignition systems is that in order for an automobile to be fitted with such a system, many components of the automobile that form the conventional key lock rotary ignition system must be replaced. Thus, the keyless ignition systems greatly increase the manufacturing costs and complexity of the automobile. As a result, in order to reduce costs, manufacturers often include keyless ignition systems as standard equipment. However, including the keyless ignition systems as standard equipment forces automobile manufacturers to increase the suggested retail price on the automobile, which reduces the customer base for any particular automobile, and reduces sales. Another drawback of typical keyless ignition systems is that the use of the ignition button, as opposed to rotary ignition switch, causes some drivers to feel uncomfortable because of the lack of familiarity with starting an automobile with the push of a button, as opposed to the turn of a switch.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system for controlling the operational state of a vehicle that combines the convenience of modern keyless ignition systems with the familiarity of conventional rotary ignition switches. It is also desirable to provide a keyless ignition system that may be installed relatively easily and inexpensively as optional equipment on an automobile usually equipped with a key lock, rotary ignition switch. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Method and system for controlling an ignition switch and an operational state of a vehicle


A radio control driving circuit device used for a model device having a radio control system comprising a d-c power supply, two electric motors and a receiver, characterized in that two transistors of the same type, instead of the conventional complementary type, are used as two transistors each connected in series to the right and left motors for separately driving each of the motors, and a common power supply is used for driving the motors to permit control signals from the receiver to be introduced via a phase division circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a radio control driving circuit device, and more particularly to a radio control driving circuit device used for a model toy equipped with a d-c power supply, a receiver and two electric motors and travelling by receiving control signals transmitted from a transmitter, wherein transistors of the same type and used as two driving transistors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the model car, etc. having a radio control system has such a construction that two electric motors are equipped for separately driving each of the right and left driving wheels so that variable width control pulse signals transmitted by a transmitter can control the travelling direction and speed of the model car. In this type of driving circuit device, two transistors of the complementary type each having operating characteristics opposite to each other are usually used for each of the right and left motors. That is, each of the complementary type transistors is controlled by control pulse signals inputted from a single terminal, and two separate power supplies are used for driving the right and left wheels. In this circuit configuration, however, the difference in the characteristics of the complementary type transistors constituting the circuit and the difference in the degree of exhaustion between two batteries connected to the right and left motors may cause variations in revolution between the right and left motors.
In other words, since this circuit device is based on the operating principle that control pulses transmitted by a transmitter is received by a receiver on board the model car to drive the right and left wheels of the model car in accordance with the polarity and width of the received control pulses, the model car can travel straightforward by setting the duty factor of the control pulse width at 50%, thereby making the revolution of the right and left motors equal. In this type of conventional circuit device, however, the model car cannot necessarily travel straightforward at the duty factor of 50% due to the fact that the received control pulse signals are supplied to the complementary transistors, and that the right and left motors are driven by separate batteries.


An inverter device for converting DC to AC by using thyristors as switching elements comprises a commutation circuit for turn-off of the thyristors which is formed by a serial connection of an auxiliary power source, a gate control thyristor and a thyristor which is commonly used and connected to a thyristor used as the switching element which is turned off by applying a reverse voltage by turning on the gate control thyristor and the thyristor of the commutation circuit.

The present invention relates to an inverter device for converting a direct current into an alternating current.
Heretofore, an inverter device shown in FIG. 1 has been known. In FIG. 1, the reference numeral (1) designates a DC power source; (2U+), (2V+), (2W+), (2U-), (2V-) and (2W-1) respectively designate transistor; (3U+), (3V+), (3W+), (3U-), (3V-) and (3W-) respectively designate diodes. The transistor and diode (2U+), (3U+); (2V+), (3V+); (2W+), (3W+); (2U-), (3U-); (2V-), (3V-) and (2W-), (3W-) are respectively connected in reversely parallel. The transistors (2U+), (2U-); (2V+), (2V-) and (2W+), (2W-) are respectively connected in series. The collectors of the transistors (2U+), (2V+), (2W+) are connected to a positive terminal of a power source (1) and the emitters of the transistors (2U-), (2V-), (2W-) are connected to a negative terminal of the power source (1). The reference (4) designates a load three terminals (U), (V), (W) of which are respectively connected to a joint of the transistor (2U+) and the transistor (2U-); a joint of the transistor (2V+) and the transistor (2V-); and a joint of the transistor (2W+) and the transistor (2W-). The bases of the transistors (2U+), (2V+), (2W+), (2U-), (2V-), (2W-) are respectively connected to the base controller (5). During the period shown in FIG. 2, the base signal is controlled so as to provide phase shifts for each 120.degree. in the transistors (2U+), (2V+), (2W+); and for each 180.degree. between the transistors (2U+), (2U-); (2V+), (2V-); and (2W+), (2W-) and to turn on for 180.degree., respectively.
When the base signal is input into the base of the transistor, the voltage shown in FIG. 3 is applied between the terminals of the load (4). The voltage of the power source (1) is shown as Ed. During the period of (I) of FIG. 2, the transistors (2U+), (2W+), (2V-) are turned on whereby a voltage Ed is applied between (U)-(V); a voltage -Ed is applied between (V)-(W) and a voltage 0 is applied between (W)-(U). This corresponds to (I) in FIG. 3. Thus, the AC is fed from the DC power source (1) to the load (4).
The diodes (3U+), (3V+), (3W+), (3U-), (3V-), (3W-) are required for forming passage capable of passing the current in the direction of the currents of the transistors which have been turned off, even though the transistors (2U+), (2V+), (2W+), (2U-), (2V-), (2W-) are turned off in the case of the induction load (4). That is, for example, when the transistor (2U+) is turned off, the diode (3U-) passes the current which has been passed through the transistor (2U+). The diode (3U-) is turned on and the potential of the terminal (U) is the same as that of the turn-on of the transistor (2U-). The voltage waveform shown in FIG. 3 is not changed.
In the inverter shown in FIG. 1, the transistors are used for the switching elements. The transistors are expensive in comparison with a thyristor etc. as another element having the same current capacity. Thus, the thyristor does not turn-off even though the gate signal is stopped. Therefore, the inverter device shown in FIG. 1 does not operate in the normal state only when the transistor is replaced to the thyristor. When the transistor is replaced to the thyristor, as it is well known, a commutation circuit is required.


Techniques for facilitating the reuse of a browser-based thin client of a client-server application in a browser-independent context. These techniques may be used, for instance, to integrate the functionality of a browser-based thin client in a desktop-based, rich client infrastructure. In one set of embodiments, these techniques include determining one or more browser dependencies that require the thin client to operate within a web browser. For example, the thin client may depend on a web browser to handle application security, the loading/caching of client-side files, the receipt/passing of application parameters, and the like. These browser dependencies are then eliminated. As a result, the thin client can be subsequently reused without the presence of a web browser. In one set of embodiments, this process is performed by a conversion utility that automatically converts program code for the browser-based thin client into program code for a browser-independent client application.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to computer software, and more particularly relate to techniques for facilitating the reuse of a browser-based thin client of a client-server application in a browser-independent context.
In the late 1980's and early 1990's, many business applications were developed using a "thick client"-based client-server architecture. These applications, which included both a client-side and server-side component, were structured so that the client-side component (i.e., thick client) performed the bulk of the application processing (e.g., user interface generation, logic processing, etc.). An example of such a thick client-based application is Oracle Forms, developed by Oracle Corporation.
As the Internet grew in popularity in the mid to late 1990's, many organizations re-architected their existing, thick client-based applications so that they could be accessed via the World Wide Web (WWW). This process generally involved moving functions previously performed by the thick client to a middle tier layer running on a server-side machine. This allowed users to access the application via a lightweight "thin client" running in a standard web browser. In these implementations, the thin client was typically a JAVA applet or some other type of browser-based software component, and was configured to perform relatively simple tasks such as presenting user interfaces generated by the server, capturing user inputs, and the like.
Now there is a growing trend towards building browser-independent composite applications. These applications do not require a web browser, and enable users to view and interact with user interfaces from one or more component applications. For example, one type of browser-independent composite application may incorporate user interfaces from one or more legacy client-server applications. To achieve this, it would be advantageous to reuse existing browser-based thin clients for the legacy client-server applications in the context of the browser-independent composite application.
However, reusing a browser-based thin client in a browser-independent context is challenging for several reasons. For example, in many cases, existing browser-based thin clients depend on web browser features (i.e., cookies, HTML forms, etc.) to handle security for interacting with their respective servers. In further cases, existing browser-based thin clients depend on the host web browser to handle the loading and caching of files, the receipt and passing of application parameters, and other functions.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have techniques for reusing a browser-based thin client of a client-server application that overcome the challenges above.

System and method for integration of browser-based thin client applications within desktop rich client architecture


A program is executed on a processor to produce execution events. The execution events are traced using a first trace mode during a first portion of the program execution, wherein a portion of trace information for the execution events is omitted from a trace report while tracing in the first trace mode. The mode of tracing is dynamically changed to a second trace mode in response to an event trigger, such that all execution events that occur during the change of mode are captured. Execution events are traced during a second portion of the program execution using the second trace mode, wherein additional trace information for the execution events is included in the trace report while tracing in the second trace mode. The trace mode may be dynamically switched between the two trace modes during execution of the program.

Testing and debugging of a new application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or of a new or modified application program running on an ASIC requires insight into the internal workings of busses and program execution. The IEEE 1149.1 (JTAG) standard has proven to be a very robust solution to a variety of test and debug systems, enabling a rich ecosystem of compliant products to evolve across virtually the entire electronics industry. Yet increasing chip integration and rising focus on power management has created new challenges that were not considered when the standard was originally developed. The Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Test and Debug Working group has selected a new test and debug interface, called P1149.7, which builds upon the IEEE1149.1 standard. P1149.7 enables critical advancements in test and debug functionality while maintaining compatibility with IEEE 1149.1.
In order to provide more visibility into the execution of programs within a complicated system on a chip (SOC), instruction execution tracing may be provided. Various capabilities for instruction tracing have been provided for processors in the past; for example, a test system provided by Texas Instruments, "Code Composer Studio" uses a trace buffer included within a microprocessor to trace program execution by recording address traces and when a discontinuity occurred in an instruction execution sequence, such as by taking a jump or receiving an interrupt. Another example of program execution tracing is provided by ARM Limited, which provides a program trace macrocell (PTM) for use with processor cores in an ASIC.
In addition to P1149.7, the MIPI test and debug interface specifies how multiple on-chip test access port (TAP) controllers can be chained in a true IEEE1149.1 compliant way. It also specifies a System Trace Module (STM). STM consists of a System Trace Protocol (STP) and the Parallel Trace Interface (PTI). The signals and pins required for these interfaces are given through the 'MIPI Alliance Recommendation for Test & Debug—Debug Connector', also part of the MIPI test and debug interface. The main blocks of the MIPI Debug and Trace Interface (DTI), seen from outside of the system, include: a debug connector; the basic debug access mechanism: JTAG and/or P1149.7; a mechanism to select different TAP controllers in a system (Multiple TAP control); and a System Trace Module.

Recording processor instruction execution cycle and non-cycle count trace events


A cleaning apparatus for a printing press includes a cleaning unit, apparatus frames, a locking member, and air cylinders. The cleaning unit has a supply roll on which a web for cleaning a cylinder/roller is wound and a take-up roll for taking up the web drawn from the supply roll, and rotatably supports the supply and take-up rolls. The apparatus frames detachably support the cleaning unit. The locking member fixes and holds the cleaning unit on the apparatus frames. The air cylinders are fixed on the apparatus frames and rotate the take-up roll in a direction to take up the web.

The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for various types of printing presses, which cleans the printing cylinders, e.g., a blanket cylinder and an impression cylinder, and rollers, e.g., a form roller and a vibrating roller.
Various types of printing presses, e.g., an offset printing press and an intaglio printing press, have printing cylinders, e.g., a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder, and an impression cylinder, and rollers, e.g., a form roller and a vibrating roller. During printing, foreign matters, e.g., ink dust and paper dust attach to the circumferential surfaces of these printing cylinders and rollers to degrade the quality of printed matter. Hence, the printing press is provided with a cleaning apparatus for removing these foreign matters.
The cleaning apparatus of this type has a supply roll and a take-up roll. The supply and take-up rolls extend in the axial direction of a printing cylinder to be cleaned, e.g., the blanket cylinder, to be close to its circumferential surface. Each roll has two end portions rotatably supported by the bearings of the frame. A belt-like cleaning web (to be merely referred to as a web hereinafter) constituted by an unwoven fabric or the like is wound on the supply roll. The web is drawn from the supply roll by rotating the take-up roll with a drive unit, pressed against the circumferential surface of the blanket cylinder with a guide roller or a pad provided between the supply and take-up rolls, and taken up by the take-up roll.
With this arrangement, when the blanket cylinder is rotated and the take-up roll is intermittently rotated to intermittently drive the web, the foreign matters attaching to the circumferential surface of the blanket cylinder are wiped with the web and transferred to the web. The web after the wiping operation is taken up by the take-up roll with the foreign matters attaching to it.
When the ink roller is to be cleaned, for example, a cleaning apparatus for scraping the foreign matters attaching to the circumferential surface of the ink roller with a doctor is employed. More specifically, in a cleaning state, the doctor is obliquely provided between the supply and take-up rolls with its distal end facing upward. The doctor is separated from the circumferential surface of the ink roller, so that its proximal end portion is brought into contact with the web traveling from the supply roll to the take-up roll and that its distal end opposes to contact the circumferential surface of the ink roller.
With this arrangement, after the distal end of the doctor opposes to contact the circumferential surface of the ink roller, when the ink roller is rotated and the take-up roll is intermittently rotated, the web is intermittently driven. Then, the foreign matters attaching to the circumferential surface of the ink roller are scraped by the distal end of the doctor, moved downward on the flat surface of the doctor, and transferred from the proximal end portion of the doctor to the web. The web passing by the proximal end portion of the doctor is taken up by the take-up roll with the foreign matters attaching to it.
In the cleaning apparatus of this type, if the apparatus is kept mounted on the frame when it is not in use, the operation of the printing press is hindered. Therefore, the entire cleaning apparatus is removed from the printing press and stored. When the web wound on the supply roll runs out, the empty supply roll is removed from the support members of the apparatus frames and exchanged for a new supply roll having a web wound on it. Simultaneously, the take-up roll having the web fully wound on it is exchanged for a new empty take-up roll.
Therefore, conventionally, the cleaning unit is constituted by a supply roll, a take-up roll, and apparatus frames supporting the two rolls and a doctor. The cleaning unit is detachably mounted on the frame of the printing press, thereby allowing storage of the cleaning unit and exchange of the web.
However, in the conventional cleaning apparatus, since all the air cylinders and levers for driving the take-up roll are provided on the cleaning unit side, the entire cleaning unit is considerably heavy. Hence, to clean a roller, this heavy cleaning unit must be mounted on or removed from the frame of the printing press. Regarding exchange of the web, not only this heavy cleaning unit but also the pipes of the air cylinders for driving the take-up roll must be mounted on and removed from the frame of the printing press, requiring a time-consuming heavy labor.


There is a foldable musical keyboard player can convert from a deployed configuration to at least a first and a second folding configuration. In the deployed configuration, the top keyboard of the player is flipped up, exposing the music keys on both the top keyboard and the bottom keyboard. Such a configuration allows access to all the music keys and the control panel of the player, enabling the user to play music. By flipping down the top keyboard that covers the bottom keyboard, the player is converted into the first folding configuration, which transforms the player from a format adapted for playing to another more suitable for transport. By using a number of hinges and adjusting the fastening assemblies, the user may fold the keyboard player again, converting to the second folding configuration, which makes the musical keyboard player compact in occupied space and easy to transport and store.

Due largely to their versatility and adaptability, musical keyboards have become a more and more essential part of modern day music instruments. One other important advantage of the musical keyboard vs. the piano is its relatively improved portability. However, comparing with instruments such as guitars, the conventional keyboard player is still bulky and difficult to carry around, making it more inconvenient to the users and the band. While it is desirable to make the musical keyboard more portable, the presence of music keys limits that attempts to reduce the actual size of the keyboard player. Other solutions are thus important and one of such solutions is to make the keyboard players foldable or collapsible. In particular, it is much more desirable to make the two-level keyboard fordable because this kind of keyboard is usually larger and heavier compared with the single-level keyboards.
While several disclosures cover such designs, all the other teachings fail to address important aspects of the problem, except the current invention, which satisfies all the important requirements and confers other benefits that are outlined hereinafter.
Examples of related patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,925 ('925 patent) discloses an electronic music keyboard that folds in the middle bottom-to-bottom, and pivots in the middle, back-to-back. When fully open along both planes, the keyboard looks and performs in a conventional manner. When partially pivoted, the keyboard may be supported by an ergonomic belt, or standard means and played hanging from the body of the operator forming an adjustable, inverted "V" shape on a vertical axis. When fully pivoted, the keyboard may be worn over the chest of the operator and played much like a double-keyboard accordion. The ends form a carrying handle and the keyboard folds neatly into a carry bag. This device may also be fabricated from appropriate materials to act as a support for prior art small MIDI keyboards.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,875,913 ('913 patent) discloses a musical keyboard that is collapsible between a deployed configuration and an undeployed configuration. The musical keyboard including two or more modules, each module containing a different subset of a set of musical keys; and means for collapsing the modules from the deployed configuration in which the modules are arranged in a row to form the musical keyboard, the keyboard being substantially planar, to the collapsed configuration in which the modules are substantially positioned on top of each other.
In summary, various apparatus are known in the art, but their structures are distinctively different from the current invention. Moreover, the other inventions fail to address all of the problems solved by the invention described herein. One embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be described in more detail herein below.


Method for creating a crystal/rhinestone template utilizing a sewing/embroidery machine to perforate a medium in a desired pattern. In the case of a multiple-needle sewing/embroidery machine, the machine's needle is replaced by a perforator blade and perforator blade holder which are attached to machine's needle bar. Machine's needle plate is replaced by perforator plate and waste holder. With a single-needle sewing/embroidery machine, machine's needle is replaced by a pressing tool attached to the machine's needle bar. A contact point, a spring, and an arm are attached to machine's presser foot. Machine's needle plate is replaced by perforator plate. A template medium is placed on a work surface of machine. Machine is operated by software that reads a user-specified pattern/motif outline for filling stones in vector form, using innate rules to move machine frame and control hole placement.

This application is directed to a system for creating a template to be filled with crystals or rhinestones. Crystals and rhinestones ("stones") are used for embellishment or decorative purposes, often in the form of a pattern or motif. To accurately and consistently affix the stones to items such as a garment, a template with the desired pattern or motif, it is advantageous to affixing each stone by hand or creating a new template with each placement of the stones.
Information relevant to attempts to address these problems can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/962,061. However, this reference suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: the user must determine placement of the rhinestones onto a grid board to create the desired pattern or motif; with each use of the invention, the pattern or motif must be re-created.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a system to create a crystal/rhinestone template utilizing a sewing or embroidery machine attachment to create holes or perforate a medium in the desired pattern and a computer software application/function ("software") to control the sewing/embroidery machine ("machine").

Attachment for embroidery and sewing machines for creating crystal/rhinestone patterns and motifs, and software functions to control the attachment