A method, system, and computer program product are disclosed for using pattern-dependent models at early stages of the design process. This addresses the key disadvantage of prior approaches which are restricted to using such models later in the design process for IC designs that are nearly complete. Pattern-dependent manufacturing effects are extracted from early stage designs and using the extracted pattern-dependent effects to efficiently and effectively design the integrated circuit. One or more contexts are built around one or more units of the design, with examples of units being a block or cell. The units are then used in the context to generate pattern-dependent data as a basis for one or more pattern-dependent models.

The invention is directed to an improved approach for designing, testing, and manufacturing integrated circuits.
A semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) has a large number of electronic components, such as transistors, logic gates, diodes, wires, etc., that are fabricated by forming layers of different materials and of different geometric shapes on various regions of a silicon wafer.
Many phases of physical design may be performed with computer aided design (CAD) tools or electronic design automation (EDA) systems. To design an integrated circuit, a designer first creates high level behavior descriptions of the IC device using a high-level hardware design language. An EDA system typically receives the high level behavior descriptions of the IC device and translates this high-level design language into netlists of various levels of abstraction using a computer synthesis process. A netlist describes interconnections of nodes and components on the chip and includes information of circuit primitives such as transistors and diodes, their sizes and interconnections, for example.
An integrated circuit designer may uses a set of layout EDA application programs to create a physical integrated circuit design layout from a logical circuit design. The layout EDA application uses geometric shapes of different materials to create the various electrical components on an integrated circuit and to represent electronic and circuit IC components as geometric objects with varying shapes and sizes. After an integrated circuit designer has created an initial integrated circuit layout, the integrated circuit designer then verifies and optimizes the integrated circuit layout using a set of EDA testing and analysis tools. Verification may include, for example, design rule checking to verify compliance with rules established for various IC parameters.
Typically, geometric information about the placement of the nodes and components onto the chip is determined by a placement process and a routing process. The placement process is a process for placing electronic components or circuit blocks on the chip and the routing process is the process for creating interconnections between the blocks and components according to the specified netlist.
Based upon this geometric information, photomasks are created for lithographic manufacturing of the electronic product. A photomask, or more simply a "mask," provides the master image of one layer of a given integrated chip's physical geometries. A typical photolithography system projects UV light energy on to and through the mask in order to transmit the mask pattern in reduced size to the wafer surface, where it interacts with a photosensitive coating on the wafer.
Other processes may also occur during the process of manufacturing an intenerated circuit. For example, etching, Electroplated copper deposition (ECD), and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) may be used to form interconnects for the IC. The lithographic patterns define the dimensions of the circuitry that is transferred to a silicon wafer, with the patterns subsequently used with the etch process to physically etch the features into the wafer surface or other thin films deposited on the wafer surface. Etch equipment includes mechanisms to selectively remove materials (e.g. oxide) from a wafer surface or thin films on the wafer surface patterned with lithography equipment. ECD is a process step in a copper damascene flow that is used to deposit copper material within the interconnect structures.
However, significant variations may arise during the process of manufacturing the IC. For example, lithography mask creation and printing assume that projection is done on a film, within a predetermined depth of focus range. However pattern dependencies between the process by which the ICs are fabricated and the pattern that is being created often cause processed films to have significant variation in thickness across a surface, resulting in variation in feature dimensions (e.g. line widths) of ICs that are patterned using the mask.
Variations in feature density, widths, and heights may also occur during the CMP and plating processes. Variations based upon CMP and plating process are often caused by oxide loss, dishing, erosion, or other copper losses. For ECD, the goal is to completely fill an etched trench region in a void-free manner while minimizing a variation in the deposited copper thickness and minimizing a variation in surface topography. There may exist pattern-dependencies in ECD that result in plated surface variation. Film thickness variation in CMP processes can be separated into various components: lot-to-lot, wafer-to-wafer, wafer-level, and die-level. Often, the most significant component is the pattern dependent die-level component. Die-level film thickness variation is often due to differences in layout patterns on the chip. For example, in the CMP process, differences in the underlying metal pattern result in large long-range variation in the post CMP film thickness, even though a locally planar surface topography is achieved.
As successive non-conformal layers are deposited and polished, the variation becomes worse. The variations may lead to numerous problems and flaws in a manufactured IC, such as timing failures, decreased performance, and increased power consumption. As just one example, because interconnect lines and connections on higher layers carry power to portions of the chip, the variations can increase the sheet resistance and thus affect the power effectiveness of the chip.
One way to reduce the variations in fabricated chips is to make physical measurements on manufactured wafers containing initial designs of devices and use these measurements to adjust the mask design. Other methods to reduce variation include optical proximity correction (OPC) where subwavelength distortions due to patterned features are identified and corrected.
Another approach is to use a pattern-dependent model to predict variations of feature dimensions of an integrated circuit. Pattern-dependent models can also be used to predict topological variations of an integrated circuit. Further details regarding one approach for implementing and using pattern-dependent models is disclosed in US Patent Publication 2003/0229412, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Method and system for implementing context simulation


A process for the destruction of organic wastes and ammonia from acrylonitrile plant wastewater, comprising contacting volatilized wastewater with a catalyst at an elevated temperature so as to convert volatile organic compounds and ammonia to a mixture comprising hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide which are separated and removed from the stream, yielding a purified aqueous stream, substantially free of organic compounds and ammonia.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for the purification of acrylonitrile plant wastewater streams. More particularly, this invention relates to a catalytic process for the eradication of organics and ammonia from such wastewater streams.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Acrylonitrile is one of the highest volume (top fifty) chemicals produced in the U.S. and the world. Nearly all acrylonitrile is produced from propylene, oxygen, and ammonia with either a bismuth phosphomolybdate or an uranium-based compound as catalyst. Acrylonitrile has many uses including for acrylic and modacrylic fibers, ABS and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymers, nitrile rubber, cyanoethylation of cotton and synthetic soil blocks (acrylonitrile polymerized in wood pulp). Acrylonitrile is toxic by inhalation and is a known carcinogen.
Acrylonitrile plants generate a significant volume of wastewater containing organic compounds and ammonia. Methods for treating or disposing these streams include thermal or catalytic incineration, biotreatment, wet oxidation and reduction and deep welling. Currently in the United States, much of the wastewater streams from acrylonitrile plants are disposed of by the deep welling of streams with low levels of contaminants and the incineration of streams with higher levels of impurities. While these disposal methods are believed to be sound and represent general industry practice, producers of acrylonitrile are studying alternative methods of wastewater handling which pose little or no impact on the environment. Biotreatement is often viewed as the future alternative form of treatment of acrylonitrile plant wastewater streams. However, biotreatment is a very expensive alternative and may not be able to satisfactorily remove all impurities from such streams.
A goal of the instant invention is a process for the eradication of organic constituents and other impurities of acrylonitrile plant wastewater streams, which is more environmentally acceptable than deep welling or incineration and more economical than biotreatment.

Treatment process for acrylonitrile plant wastewater streams


A method for producing a coated chewing gum with a controlled release of an active agent, as well as the chewing gum so produced, is obtained by physically modifying an active agent""s properties by coating and drying. An active agent is coated by encapsulation, partially coated by agglomeration, entrapped by absorption, or treated by multiple steps of encapsulation, agglomeration, and absorption. The coated active agent is then co-dried and particle sized to produce a release-modified active agent. When incorporated into a chewing gum coating, these particles release into the mouth but mask bitter and other off-tastes in the mouth, and are readily ingested.

The present invention relates to methods for producing chewing gum. More particularly the invention relates to producing chewing gum containing an effective amount of an active ingredient or ingredients, including a stimulant known as caffeine. The caffeine or other active ingredient that is added to the chewing gum has been treated to control its rate of release from chewing gum by adding the treated active agent to a gum coating.
In recent years, efforts have been devoted to controlling release characteristics of various ingredients in chewing gum. Most notably, attempts have been made to delay the release of sweeteners and flavors in various chewing gum formulations to thereby lengthen the satisfactory chewing time of the gum. Delaying the release of sweeteners and flavors can also avoid an undesirable overpowering burst of sweetness or flavor during the initial chewing period. On the other hand, some ingredients have been treated so as to increase their rate of release in chewing gum.
Besides sweeteners, other ingredients may require a controlled release from chewing gum. In certain embodiments, it is contemplated that the active agent that is added to the gum may be a stimulant such as caffeine. However, stimulants are not generally released very readily. An active stimulant such as caffeine may be encapsulated in a water soluble matrix such that, during the chewing period, the caffeine may be released quickly, resulting in a fast release of stimulant as in a beverage. This would allow chewing gum to be a carrier for an active agent such as caffeine and, with these fast release characteristics the gum may be used as an effective stimulant.
In some instances, serious taste problems may arise because of the bitter nature of many active agents. A prolonged or delayed release of an active agent(s) would allow for the use of the active agent(s) in gum, but the low level of release of such an agent may keep the level of that agent below the taste threshold of the active agent, and not give chewing gum a bitter taste quality. In addition, active agents may also have other unpleasant tastes that may be overcome by reducing the release rate of active agent from a chewing gum.
Another aspect of the present invention contemplates the use of encapsulation techniques. For example, it may be that active agents may also be unstable in a chewing gum environment. In such cases, various methods of encapsulation may be needed to improve stability of the active agent. In other circumstances, active agents may not be readily released from the chewing gum matrix and their effect may be considerably reduced. In such a situation, a fast release encapsulation may be needed to release active agent(s) from the gum matrix.
Other methods contemplated are method of controlling release of active agent(s) from gum. These methods would be useful in not releasing the active agent in the oral cavity during gum chewing, but allowing the active agent to be ingested during chewing. This will keep the active agent from becoming effective until after it enters the digestive track.
Thus, there are specific advantages to adding active agent(s) to chewing gum by controlled release mechanisms.
The use of caffeine in chewing gum is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,298,670. The controlled release of caffeine in chewing gum is disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO 98/23165.
Chewing gum containing caffeine as a stimulant and to combat fatigue and migraine headaches is disclosed in French Patent No. 2 345 938 and in West Germany Patent No. 43 42 568.
Also, two Japanese Patent Publications, Nos. JP 1991-112450 and JP 1991-251533, disclose the use of caffeine in chewing gum to reduce drowsiness.
In Japanese Patent Publication No. JP 1996-019370, caffeine is added to chewing gum as an after meal chewing gum to replace tooth brushing.
Caffeine is a well known stimulant from coffee and tea, and several patents disclose the use of coffee or tea in gum, such as Japanese Patent Publication No. JP 1994-303911, South Korea Patent Publication No. 94-002868, and PCT Patent Publication No. WO 95/00038.
The present invention provides a method of producing chewing gum with physically modified active agents such as caffeine to control their release. Such active agents are added to a gum coating to deliver the active agents systemically without unpleasant tastes. The present invention also relates to the chewing gum so produced. Physically modified active agents such as caffeine may be added to sucrose-type gum formulations and sucrose-type coatings. The formulation may be a low or high moisture formulation containing low or high amounts of moisture containing syrup. Physically modified active agents such as caffeine may also be used in low or non-sugar gum formulations and coatings that use sorbitol, mannitol, other polyols or carbohydrates. Non-sugar formulations may include low or high moisture sugar-free chewing gums.
Active agents such as caffeine and the other active agents described herein may be combined or co-dried with bulk sweeteners typically used in chewing gum before the active agent(s) are physically modified. Such bulk sweeteners are sucrose, dextrose, fructose and maltodextrins, as well as sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, lactitol, hydrogenated isomaltulose and hydrogenated starch hydrolyzates.
The modified release rate noted above may be a fast release or a delayed release. The modified release of active agents such as caffeine may be obtained by encapsulation, partial encapsulation or partial coating, entrapment or absorption with high or low water soluble materials or water insoluble materials. The procedures for modifying the active agent include spray drying, spray chilling, fluid bed coating, coacervation, extrusion and other agglomerating and standard encapsulating techniques. The active agents also may be absorbed onto an inert or water-insoluble material. Active agents may be modified in a multiple step process comprising any of the processes, or a combination of the processes noted. Prior to encapsulation, active agents may also be combined with bulk sweeteners including sucrose, dextrose, fructose, maltodextrin or other bulk sweeteners, as well as sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, lactitol, hydrogenated isomaltulose and hydrogenated starch hydrolyzates.
Prior to encapsulation, active agents such as caffeine may be combined with high-intensity sweeteners, including but not limited to thaumatin, aspartame, alitame, acesulfame K, saccharin acid and its salts, glycyrrhizin, cyclamate and its salts, stevioside and dihydrochalcones. Co-encapsulation of active agents along with a high-intensity sweetener may reduce the poor taste qualities of active agents and control the sweetener release with active agents. This can improve the quality of the gum product and increase consumer acceptability.
Preferably, the physically modified active agents such as caffeine are mixed with a panning syrup and then applied as a chewing gum coating. The coating is applied by panning techniques that may use sugars for a sugar panned product or may use sorbitol, xylitol, or other polyols to make either a soft or hard shell sugarless panned product. By adding physically modified active agents to a gum coating, the active agents will not be available in the mouth for tasting, but carried with the carbohydrate used in the coating and ingested into the digestive system, where the active agents can be absorbed systemically for its effect. This technique significantly reduces the overall poor quality taste of active agents as it is masked by the encapsulant in the mouth during chewing, and results in a gum product having increased consumer acceptability.

Process for controlling release of active agents from a chewing gum coating and product thereof


A synchronized wiper and pen motion solution for ink-jet printers is described. The invented method and apparatus synchronize the motion of the pen and wiper throughout the wipe stroke, and provide for controlled, simultaneous movement therebetween that avoids pole vaulting, excess interference and ink flicking. Such is accomplished by moving the carriage to a defined position shy of a wiping position above the service station including a sled mounting the wiper; raising the sled to produce a proper interference fit between the wiper and the pen while simultaneously moving the carriage at low speed; continuing the wipe stroke by high-speed carriage movement with the sled stationary; and, at the end of the stroke, lowering the sled to clear the wiper from contact with the pen before reversing carriage motion. The solution lends itself to single- or plural-pen ink-jet printers.

Previously, the wiping of pens in ink-jet printheads involved moving the printhead carriage to a position above the service station containing the wipers, raising the service station to a predetermined height of interference between the wiper tips and the pens and then moving the carriage across the stationery wiper tips. This often caused the wiper tips at the end of the wipe stroke uncontrollably to flick wet ink into the printer. It also frequently caused the resilient wiper to "pole-vault" at the beginning of the wipe stroke due to a reverse bias angle of the wiper as it contacted the pen and at the end of the wipe stroke due to reversal of the direction of carriage motion while the wiper was still in contact with the pen. Pole vaulting is undesirable also because it impacts the pen upwardly, potentially damaging the pen or the wiper or both. One previously proposed solution to the pole vault tendency has been to continue the wipe stroke all the way across the pen surface until it was clear of the pen before reversing the printhead carriage's direction. Unfortunately, this increases the lateral carriage travel and thus the width of the ink-jet printer's footprint, which is a critical parameter in many printer installations. It also virtually guarantees that wet ink will be flicked into recesses within the printer as the deflected, resilient wiper springs free of the pen.
Vertically reciprocable sleds mounting wipers for servicing ink-jet pens recently have been developed for use in ink-jet printers. One such sled subsystem is described in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/954,846, entitled "Printer Service Station", filed Sep. 30, 1992, of Gast et al., and subject to common ownership herewith. The disclosure of that patent application is incorporated herein by this reference.

Synchronized carriage and wiper motion method and apparatus for ink-jet printers


The present invention relates to a method of diagnosing the primary lesions that give rise to a chronic condition or incorrect structure in myofascial units and associated structures in a human patient. The invention also relates to a method of therapeutic treatment of the diagnosed conditions, in particular by application of a variable vacuum stimulus.

The diagnosis of chronic conditions or incorrect structures in myofascial units and associated structures in a human patient usually involves the elaboration of the medical history or anamnesis of the human patient by gathering information through questioning by a physician either of the patient or of other people who know the patient and can give suitable information. The medically relevant complaints reported by the patient or others familiar with the patient are referred to as symptoms. This information is complemented by the determination of clinical signs, which are ascertained by direct examination on the part of medical personnel. The information obtained in this way enables the physician to form a diagnosis and treatment plan.
Traditionally, once the lesion or incorrect structure has been identified the treatment plan focuses on restoring the normal function of the structure primarily, although not exclusively, by direct interaction with the incorrect structure where the lesion is located.
Although this strategy provides relief in a number of instances it has been reported that not all patients respond adequately to the treatment of the diagnosed lesion or respond partially or respond to treatment but relapse once treatment is finished or shortly afterwards.


An oil pan which includes a shell of plastic material (e.g., of thermoplastic polyamide), and a support structure (e.g., of metal), having a plurality of perforations, that is fixedly attached to the exterior surfaces and/or the interior surfaces of the plastic shell, is described. More particularly, the oil pan (2) comprises: (a) a shell (11) of plastic material having interior and exterior surfaces, the interior surfaces of the shell defining a hollow interior (40); and (b) a support structure (12) in abutting relationship with and being fixedly attached to at least one of, (i) at least a portion of the exterior surfaces of the shell (11), and (ii) at least a portion of the interior surfaces of the shell (11), the support structure (12) has a plurality of perforations (20) having edges. The plastic shell (11) is formed by molding of plastic material onto the support structure (12), a portion of the plastic material of the shell (11) extends through at least some of the perforations (20) of the support structure (12), the edges of the perforations (20) being embedded in the plastic material extending there through, thereby attaching fixedly the support structure (12) to the plastic shell (11). The oil pan of the present invention may be used as the oil pan or reservoir of a mechanical apparatus (e.g., an internal combustion and/or electric engine) in which oil is collected and from which the oil is redistributed, preferably continuously, during operation of the apparatus.

The present invention relates to an oil pan that may be used with an engine, e.g., an internal combustion engine. The oil pan includes a shell of plastic material, and a support structure, having a plurality of perforations, that is fixedly attached to the exterior surfaces and/or the interior surfaces of the plastic shell. The shell is formed by molding plastic material onto the support structure. During the molding process a portion of the plastic material of the shell extends through at least some of the perforations in the support structure, embedding the edges of the perforations therein, and thereby fixedly attaching the support structure to the shell.
In many instances it is desirable to reduce the weight of a mechanical apparatus for reasons including, for example, ease of transport and, in the case of the transportation industries, improved fuel efficiency. In the automotive industry one approach to reducing the overall weight of the vehicle has involved replacing various structural metal components, such as metal body panels, with lighter weight plastic components. More recently, attention in the automotive industry has turned towards replacing metal components of the engine, e.g., the oil pan, with molded plastic. A molded plastic oil pan must be resistant to a wide range of temperatures, e.g., from xe2x88x9240xc2x0 C. to 150xc2x0 C., and various fluids, such as engine oil, fuels, salt and water. In addition to providing reduced weight, a molded plastic engine component, such as a molded plastic oil pan, must also provide at least the same degree of mechanical strength and rigidity as the metal component that it is replacing. Unfortunately, molded plastic parts typically have lower strength and rigidity compared to equivalent parts fabricated from metal.
It would be desirable to develop a molded plastic oil pan, e.g., for use as a component in the engine of an automobile, that has reduced weight. It is also desirable that the molded plastic oil pan have, in addition to reduced weight, strength and rigidity that is at least equivalent to that of a metal oil pan.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,543 discloses an oil pan for an internal combustion engine that consists of an outer latticed girder structure of a light-weight high-strength material, e.g., of metal, and an inner thin-walled shell of plastic material. The latticed girder structure and the thin-walled shell of the ""543 patent are disclosed as forming an integral oil pan structure. The latticed girder structure is disclosed as being placed into a die, into which plastic material is then injected to form the plastic shell in the ""543 patent. In FIG. 2 of the ""543 patent, the plastic shell and the latticed girder structure are shown as being attached one to the other by means of portions of the latticed girder structure extending through apertures in the plastic shell.
International Patent Publication No. WO 01/83954 A1 discloses an oil pan module for internal combustion engines that is formed by injection molding of a thermoplastic material, e.g., thermoplastic polyamide reinforced with glass fibers. The oil pan of WO 01/83954 A1 is disclosed as being provided with outer and inner reinforcing ribs injection-molded onto it.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,261 discloses a plastic oil pan for an internal combustion engine, which includes a plurality of reinforcing walls integrally formed along the sidewalls. The reinforcing walls of the oil pan of the ""261 patent are disclosed as increasing the mechanical strength of the oil pan such that it can support the engine when the engine rests on the oil pan during installation or repair procedures.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an oil pan comprising:
(a) a shell (11) of plastic material, said shell having interior and exterior surfaces, the interior surfaces of said shell defining a hollow interior (40); and
(b) a support structure (14) in abutting relationship with and being fixedly attached to at least one of (i) at least a portion of the exterior surfaces of said shell and (ii) at least a portion of the interior surfaces of said shell, said support structure having a plurality of perforations (20) having edges,
wherein said shell is formed by molding of plastic material onto said support structure, a portion of the plastic material of said shell extends through at least some of said perforations of said support structure, the edges of said perforations being embedded in the plastic material extending therethrough, thereby attaching fixedly said support structure (b) to said shell (a).
The features that characterize the present invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims, which are annexed to and form a part of this disclosure. These and other features of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects obtained by its use will be more fully understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated and described.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers or expressions, such as those expressing structural dimensions, quantities of ingredients, etc. used in the specification and claims are understood as modified in all instances by the term xe2x80x9cabout.xe2x80x9d


A circuit includes: a communication interface configured to receive data; a plurality of output terminals; a bank of input registers coupled to the communication interface; a bank of buffer registers; a bank of output registers; a signal generator configured to generate a plurality of output signals based on respective registers of the bank of output registers at respective output terminals; and a conversion stage configured to: when data is received by the bank of input registers from the communication interface, sequentially convert content of the input registers of the bank of input registers and store the converted content into corresponding buffer registers of the bank of buffer registers based on a conversion function, and when the conversion stage finishes storing the converted content into the buffer registers, simultaneously copy content from the buffer registers into corresponding output registers of the bank of output registers.

The use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) in lighting devices is increasing. LEDs are now common in various lighting devices, such as televisions, lamps, headlights and automotive infotainment displays, for example.
A feature commonly found in lighting devices is the dimming features. As is known, the human eye perceives brightness levels logarithmically. To make dimming appear to be even to the human eye a dimming engine changes the dimming levels in an exponential manner over time. For example, to make the change in brightness to be perceived by a human eye as a linear change, the signal controlling the LEDs, such as a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal, is changed in an exponential manner.
A conventional approach to dimming includes the use of an exponential law conversion stage that stores an exponential conversion law. The exponential law conversion stage converts linear variations in the input into exponential variations in the output. The output of the exponential law conversion stage is used to, e.g., to generate a PWM signal to drive the LEDs. The exponential law conversion stage may be implemented with a look-up table (LUT) stored in memory, for example.
In some applications, it may be desirable to use different conversion laws at different times. In such applications, a conversion stage includes multiple conversion laws, which may or may not include the exponential conversion law.

Pipelined exponential law brightness conversion for a multi-channel LED driver


A machine for processing containers is disclosed. The machine has a conveying device and at least one processing unit coupled to the conveying device to be carried along a processing path. The processing unit is provided with: a winding element, having an outer lateral surface designed to receive, and cause winding of, a portion of labelling material in a tubular configuration with opposite ends overlapped, and a top surface designed to support a bottom portion of a container to be processed; a sealing device including a sealing element having a functional surface adapted to cooperate with said portion wound about said winding body for performing a welding process of the overlapped ends, as the processing unit is carried along the path, to form a sleeve label; and a displacement device, operable to cause a relative displacement between the sleeve label and the container.

As is known, pourable products are sold in a wide range of bottles or containers, which are sterilized, filled and capped in container processing plants, typically including a plurality of processing stations or machines, such as rinsing machines, filling machines, labelling machines and capping machines. These processing stations may include linear machines or, more frequently, rotating, or so called "carousel-type", machines.
The following description will refer to rotating or carousel-type machines only, although this is in no way intended to limit the scope of the present application.
Labelling machines are known, which are designed to apply labels on the containers being processed.
In particular, sleeve labels are often used with bottles or other containers designed to contain pourable products; such labels are obtained by the subsequent steps of: cutting a web, unwound, from a supply roll, into a plurality of web portions, e.g. of a rectangular or square shape; winding each web portion in a tubular configuration so that opposite vertical edges overlap; and welding or sealing of the overlapping edges to fix the web in a sleeve form.
Labelling machines are known, in which each sleeve label, is formed about a cylindrical winding body (commonly known as "sleeve drum") end subsequently transferred onto a container, by introduction of the container within the sleeve label. The sleeve label is then fixed on the container by means of a thermal retraction process.
This kind of labelling machine comprises a conveyor (so called carousel), which rotates about a vertical axis defining a substantially circular path, along which it is designed to: receive respective sequences of unlabelled containers and of labelling material portions from respective input wheels; manage the application of sleeve labels onto corresponding containers; and release the labelled containers onto an output wheel.
The carousel comprises a number of processing units which are equally spaced about the rotation axis, are mounted along the periphery of the carousel and are moved by the latter along the above-mentioned circular path.
Each processing unit comprises a supporting element, which is designed to support the bottom wall of a container, and a retaining element, which is designed to engage the top portion of the container to maintain it in a vertical position during the rotation of the carousel.
As schematically shown in FIG. 1a, each supporting element 1 comprises a base 2, fixed to a horizontal plane of a rotating frame of the carousel, and a cylindrical winding body 3, which is coupled to the base 2 and is designed to carry a respective container 4 on a top surface thereof, and a respective sleeve label 5 on a side surface thereof.
Winding body 3 is movable, by mechanical cam means (not shown), between a raised position and a completely retracted position, with respect to the base 2.
In the raised position (shown in FIG. 1a), winding body 3 is adapted to receive sleeve label 5 on its side surface from a label input wheel; in particular, sleeve label 5 is wound about the winding body 3, so that opposite vertical edges thereof are overlapped to one another.
After welding of the overlapped edges of the sleeve label 5 by a sealing device, the movement of the winding body 3 from the raised position to the completely retracted position determines the insertion of the container 4 within the sleeve label 5 (as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1b); the container obtained thereby is ready to be transferred onto the output wheel.
Although satisfactory with respect to many aspects, the Applicant has realized that this known solution also suffers from some drawbacks.
In particular, control of the machine requires a number of control units, designed to manage operation of the various operating elements, and the various control units need to be communicatively coupled, in order to manage processing of the containers.
Moreover, designing of the mechanical cam means, which cause movement of the containers 4 within the sleeve labels 5, may be a critical aspect of the overall machine design.
In general, it is also known that it may prove desirable to integrate more functions within a single multi-purpose machine, in order to simplify design and layout, of the container processing plant and also improve maintenance thereof.
However, the above discussed solution is not altogether satisfactory in this respect; in particular, the labelling operation may impede execution of further operations, such as filling operations relating to the same containers 3.
Therefore, the need is surely felt for a solution, which may improve designing of layout and control architecture of container processing machines, in particular with respect to labelling and associated processing operations.

Machine for processing containers having an improved control architecture


A radio antenna for mounting in the lid of a water meter box and forming part of a remote meter reading system comprises an annular conductive plate and a circular conductive plate which are coaxial with and parallel to each other and spaced apart to define a slot, the circular plate serving as a ground plate. The antenna has an input in the form of a conductive pillar interconnecting the two members, with a drive input at a selected point along the length of the pillar and a second input on the ground plate. A variable tuning capacitance is disposed between the plates diametrically opposite the conductive pillar. The ground plate also serves for locating the lid in undergrowth or under snow using a metal detector.

In the United Kingdom, domestic water meters are typically mounted at the bottom of a vertically extending, generally cylindrical, plastics housing, disposed in a pit in the ground just outside the house or other premises whose water supply is being metered. Access to the housing is obtained via a top-mounted lid, known as a pit lid. The lid is generally made of plastic, into which is moulded a metal plate, which serves as an aid to locating the pit in undergrowth or snow by means of a metal detector.
It has been proposed that such water meters should be provided with a radio transmitter for transmitting their readings to a remote receiver, which may for example be a fixed receiver positioned to receive transmissions from water meters within, say, a 500 meter radius, or a mobile receiver carried by a vehicle which periodically drives past the houses or other premises where the meters are located. The transmitters may each be equipped with a simple receiver, which serves to trigger the operation of its transmitter, eg in response to a "wake-up" signal transmitted by the aforementioned vehicle. However, existing remote meter reading systems of these kinds have a limited operating range due to poor antenna performance.


A generator suspension arrangement for suspending a generator unit of a wind turbine is shown, which generator suspension arrangement includes a suspension assembly arranged on a bedframe of the wind turbine, which suspension assembly includes a plurality of suspension points configured to transfer the weight of the generator unit to the suspension assembly, and wherein the suspension points lie at a distance outward from the body of the generator unit. Furthermore, a wind turbine includes a generator unit and such a generator suspension arrangement arranged to suspend the generator unit above a bedframe of the wind turbine. Furthermore, a method of reducing vibrations of a generator unit of a wind turbine is shown.

A number of basic types of wind turbine can be used to generate electrical power. One basic type comprises a rotor with an arrangement of rotor blades for turning a low-speed shaft. The low-speed shaft is connected to a gearbox, which can convert the relatively slow rotation of the rotor and low-speed shaft into a higher rotational velocity suitable for driving a generator. A high-speed shaft extends from the gearbox to a generator. This type of generator is sensitive to alignment of the various components and to coupling of vibrations or oscillations between the various components. Any vibration in the low-speed shaft, for example, can be transferred to the gearbox. Any vibration of the gearbox can be transferred in turn to the high-speed shaft and to the generator. Since the rotating component of the generator has a relatively high rotational velocity, such vibrations can present a serious problem. However, structural properties, manufacturing tolerances as well as the usual wear and tear on the relevant components of the wind turbine mean that vibrations and oscillations cannot realistically be eliminated entirely. For example, tower vibrations cannot be completely damped; generator cogging torque can be reduced but not entirely eliminated; etc. Therefore, much effort is invested in attempting to reduce the effects of oscillation and vibration in this type of wind turbine. For example, stationary components such as the gearbox and generator can be mounted on dampers such as rubber mounting feet in an attempt to at least partially absorb the vibration. In such an approach, for example, the generator can rest on a number of rubber mounting feet arranged on a floor or base of the wind turbine's nacelle, underneath the generator. However, since the generator is basically a cylindrical structure "lying on its side", the placement of any such mounting feet is limited to a narrow region underneath the body of the generator. The ability of such mounting feet to absorb the forces resulting from vibration of the generator during operation is limited since they are only effective at absorbing forces that are transferred directly from the generator body to the mounting feet themselves. Any force with a direction that does not pass through the mounting feet will not be absorbed, so that the generator may experience mild to severe vibration during operation.
If the vibrations reach a level which might lead to damage of the generator or other wind turbine components, it may be necessary to reduce the output power of the generator. Clearly, such a reduction in output power is associated with a loss in revenue and is highly undesirable. In any case, vibrations ultimately result in fatigue damage to various components and parts of the generator and are therefore very problematic.


In an apparatus comprising a zoom lens and an electric flash, a range finder that determines, on the basis of an output result obtained by means of one method out of an active AF and a passive AF, whether or not to operate the other method, is utilized.

1. Field of the Invention
There have generally been, roughly classified, two methods for an auto focus (AF) apparatus of a conventional camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the methods is called a passive method which is based on an image signal of a subject. The other one is called an active method for focusing on the basis of reflected signal light of light projected from a camera to a subject.
In the passive method, the image signal is used, which makes it difficult to focus in a dark scene. Even in a bright scene, it is not possible to focus on a subject having no contrast, in principle. To deal with this, a technique of switching the aforementioned two methods for use as disclosed in Japan Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 11-83474.
In general, there are many cases where an important object is located in the center of a finder in a camera. When another object located in an ambient portion in the finder is brought into focus, the important object located in the center cannot be focused on. More specifically, a case has arises in that, in the scene as shown in FIG. 10, when a camera is focused on a beer bottle 101, a face of the person 102, an essential part, becomes blurred.
However, if either of the two methods is used while switching one to the other between the two methods as like in a conventional technique, a problem of misjudgment has not been able to be avoided such that one method, not the selected one, should have been selected, in fact.
In view of the above-depicted status, it is an object of the present invention to provide a range finder which makes it possible to accurately focus on a person in such scenes, and sufficiently considers shutter time lag or energy conservation by combining the two methods.
To achieve the above object, a range finder of the invention is characterized by comprising first focus means for focusing by using an image signal of a subject, light-projection means for projecting light, second focus means for focusing on the basis of reflected signal light of light projected from the light-projection means, and determination means for determining, on the basis of an output result from one of the first or second focus means and a zoom position of a zoom lens, whether or not to operate the other one of the first or second focus means.
The range finder includes a plurality of ranging points having different precedence from each other, is characterized by comprising determination means for determining whether or not to re-range on the basis of reliability in ranging the plurality of points of high precedence.
In addition, the range finder is characterized by comprising switching means for switching the plurality of points of high precedence on the basis of an angle of view in shooting, in that integral time during A/D conversion of an image signal of a subject is switched in performing the re-ranging.
Moreover, the range finder is characterized in that presence/absence of projecting light for range finding during A/D conversion of an image signal of a subject is switched in performing the re-ranging.
According to a range finder having the above-described mechanism, it is possible to provide a range finder which considers energy conservation or shutter time lag, and furthermore, makes it possible to focus accurately without having a weak point in any scenes.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.


A brake rotor refinishing system provides simultaneously refinishing of two workpieces that are clamped at opposite ends of a duplex chuck, when the chuck is installed on a machine spindel. The duplex chuck has respectives sets of jaws that are independently driven by separate pinion elements. In the case of disk brake rotors, opposite sides of both workpieces are finished simultaneously. The system also includes a refinishing machine that incorporates the spindle and a machining mechanism having cutting elements for simultaneously refinishing opposite sides of a pair of disk rotors.

The present invention relates to the finishing, balancing, and especially the refinishing of worn surfaces on rotor members such as disk brake rotors, brake drums, and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,303 to Baldwin discloses prior art arrangements for refinishing variously configured brake rotors and the like, and an adopter including flange members having shoulder surfaces of differing diameter for centering respectively configured rotor workpieces. The ""303 patent, which is incorporated herein by this reference, also discloses another adapter having movable jaw members for radially clamping a centering hole of a workpiece.
While the variously configured adapters disclosed in the ""303 patent provide significant advantages over earlier prior art, further improvements are desired, particularly regarding the ease and quickness of set-up operations for differently configured rotors, and reducing refinishing time.
Thus there is a need for a rotor refinishing system that further overcomes the disadvantages of the earlier prior art.
The present invention meets this need by providing a duplex chuck rotor refinishing system for enhanced processing efficiency. In one aspect of the invention, the apparatus includes a duplex chuck for refinishing differently configured rotor workpieces on a spindle member having a clamping arbor nut, each rotor workpiece having a centering diameter and a rotor mounting surface, the duplex chuck including a chuck body having a body bore for locating on the spindle member and rotation therewith, respective pluralities of radially oriented first and second jaw slots being formed in respective opposite ends of the chuck body; respective sets of first and second chuck jaws for slidably engaging the first and second jaw slots of the chuck body, the jaw members of each set having respective shoulder surfaces for engaging the centering diameter of one of the rotor workpieces; first and second scroll members rotatably mounted in the body for radially advancing corresponding first and second chuck jaws when the jaws are engaging the first and second jaw slots; a first pinion member rotatably mounted in the chuck body and having geared engagement with the first scroll member for rotation thereof; and a second pinion member rotatably mounted in the chuck body and having geared engagement with the second scroll member for rotation thereof, the pluralities of first and second chuck jaws being independently advanceable in response to corresponding rotation of the first and second pinion members. The first and second pinion members can be rotatable on respective pinion axes, the pinion axes preferably extending in a common plane perpendicular to the body bore for facilitating low-cost manufacture of the chuck.
At least some of the centering diameters can be inside diameters, the shoulder surfaces of at least one of the sets of chuck jaws facing outwardly for engaging the inside diameter of a workpiece. Preferably the duplex chuck also includes flange means for axially locating respective rotor workpieces relative to the opposite ends of the chuck body. The flange means can include an annular first clamp surface formed on a front axial extremity of the chuck body, the shoulder surfaces of the first jaw members projecting forwardly of the first clamp surface for engaging the centering diameter of a first one of the workpieces, the shoulder surfaces preferably also extending rearwardly of the first clamp surface and the first jaw members having clearance behind the first clamp surface for permitting facing contact between the first clamp surface and the first one of the workpieces. The flange means can further include an annular second clamp surface formed on a rear axial extremity of the chuck body, the shoulder surfaces of the second jaw members projecting rearwardly of the second clamp surface for engaging the centering diameter of a second one of the workpieces, the shoulder surfaces of the second jaw members preferably also extending forwardly of the second clamp surface and the second jaw members having clearance forwardly of the second clamp surface for permitting facing contact between the second clamp surface and the second one of the workpieces. Alternatively, the flange means can include the first jaw members having respective face surfaces formed thereon for defining a first face plane perpendicular to the body bore when the first jaw members are engaging the first jaw slots, the shoulder surfaces of the first jaw members projecting outwardly from the first face plane. Also, the second jaw members can have respective face surfaces formed thereon to define a second face plane perpendicular to the body bore when the second jaw members are engaging the second jaw slots, the shoulder surfaces of the second jaw members projecting outwardly from the second face plane.
Preferably the duplex chuck is provided in combination with first and second flange members having respective flange inside diameters for locating on the spindle, and respective flange faces formed perpendicular to the flange inside diameters, for axially clamping respective rotor workpieces against the flange means when the flange members are axially clamped on the spindle toward the opposite ends of the chuck body with the rotor workpieces engaging corresponding first and second chuck jaws.
In another aspect of the invention, apparatus for refinishing the rotor workpieces includes a base; a powered spindle supported relative to the base and having a spindle diameter; a duplex chuck having a chuck body for mounting on the spindle diameter, respective sets of first and second jaw members being radially movable at high mechanical advantage relative to opposite ends of the chuck body for radially clampingly locating respective first and second rotor workpieces concentrically relative to the spindle; and machining means for shaping surfaces of the first and second rotor workpieces when the workpieces are being turned by the spindle. The apparatus preferably also includes the first and second flange members for axially clamping respective rotor workpieces against opposite surfaces of the duplex chuck. The machining means preferably includes first and second machine elements that are simultaneously advanceable relative to respective ones of the rotor workpieces for simultaneously refinishing the workpieces. At least some of rotor workpieces can be disk rotors having oppositely facing disk surfaces, each of the first and second machine elements preferably including respective cutters for engaging the disk surfaces of a corresponding rotor workpiece, and means for moving the cutters axially relative to the base, for facilitating finishing of two pairs of surfaces of the workpieces. Preferably at least one of the first and second machine elements further includes means for adjusting an axial spacing of the cutters. The machining means can include crossfeed means for advancing the cutters radially relative to the spindle, and the crossfeed means is preferably operative for simultaneous radial advancement of the first and second machine elements.
In a further aspect of the invention, apparatus for refinishing the differently configured rotor workpieces includes a duplex chuck having a chuck body for mounting on the spindle diameter, respective sets of first and second jaw members being radially movable at high mechanical advantage relative to opposite ends of the chuck body for radially clampingly locating respective first and second rotor workpieces concentrically relative to the spindle; and the first and second flange members for axially clamping the workpieces against first and second face planes of the chuck.


A process of producing benzoic acids from phthalimides is described. The ability to dramatically reduce the reaction time in comparison to currently practiced processes by the addition of readily available compounds is demonstrated.

The production of benzoic acids from phthalimides by hydrolysis/decarboxylation is a reaction of considerable commercial importance. The conversion of tetrafluorophthalimide to 2,3,4,5-tetrafluorobenzoic acid, a precursor in the synthesis of Floxacin antibiotics, is an example of the reaction's commercial application. The hydrolysis/decarboxylation reaction can be particularly applicable in cases in which a phthalic acid or phthalic anhydride is converted to a phthalimide in order to protect the diacid or anhydride functionality from being compromised by a process which alters the substituency of the adjacent aromatic ring. Such hydrolysis/decarboxylation can subsequently be implemented to obtain a benzoic acid with the altered ring substituency.
The currently practiced method for hydrolysis/decarboxylation has a serious deficiency in that the reaction requires extremely long reaction times in order to come to substantial completion. Reaction times on the order of days are commonly encountered. Such long reaction times can cause the production of benzoic acids from phthalimides to be the rate limiting step in the synthesis of some organic compounds.
A method of conducting the hydrolysis/decarboxylation which reduces the reaction time presently required for the completion of the reaction would be a welcome contribution to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.


A circuit design verification method suitable for use with a 2.5D transceiver device potentially having hundreds of dice mounted on an interposer. An illustrative method includes: (a) retrieving a design of a circuit that includes multiple integrated circuit dice connected via an interposer, each die having at least one contact for receiving or transmitting a digital signal conveyed by an interchip connection of the interposer, said circuit including an IO cell for each such contact; (b) obtaining a timing model for components of said circuit, the timing model accounting for propagation delays of said IO cells and propagation delays of said interchip connections; (c) performing a static timing analysis of the design using the timing model to determine data required times and data arrival times at each of said components; (d) comparing the data required times with the data arrival times to detect timing violations; and (e) reporting said timing violations.

Semiconductor manufacturing processes are employed to create integrated circuit (IC) dice, which may be packaged into modular microelectronic assemblies or IC chips for incorporation into electronic systems. This modular approach is driven by the large design and set up costs and the miniscule marginal costs typical of the semiconductor industry, which combine to make the IC products commercially feasible only when a sufficiently large number are manufactured. To maximize their market, the packaged products are equipped with interfaces that enable operation in a variety of contexts.
In particular, this approach militates that the input and output (abbreviated as I/O or IO) contacts be designed for robust operation so as to support signal transfer over suboptimal connections and/or to tolerate electrostatic discharges or other signal transients. Accordingly, IC dice traditionally employ, for each IO contact, a "standard IO cell" including circuitry that protects the delicate on-chip circuitry from a range of external phenomena while providing power for driving output signals onto loaded signal traces and/or for conditioning potentially attenuated and noisy input signals. As the number of IO contacts increases, the area and power requirements for the standard IO cells can dominate the requirements for the on-chip circuitry and in extreme cases may become prohibitive.
Before manufacturing begins, the circuit operation is preferably verified using one or more of the modeling techniques disclosed in the open literature. These modeling techniques include full circuit emulation, though it becomes infeasible for even moderately complex circuits. Static timing analysis (STA) is a popular modeling technique for digital circuits because it is relatively fast, analyzing the circuit in terms of timing constraints and propagation delays to determine transition arrival times for comparison with timing requirements, enabling the calculation of timing margins ("slack") and the discovery of potential timing violations.
The standard IO cells (in this case, standard digital IO cells) are traditionally treated as an outer boundary for static timing analysis for any of multiple reasons including: the permissible degree of variation for the impedance properties of each external trace; the expected variation in loading of different IO contacts; and the greater potential for contamination by signal crosstalk and noise. When a designer wishes to model the behavior of an IC die in the context of a larger electronic assembly, such considerations may require the use of full circuit emulation for proper modeling, despite the aforementioned infeasibility for even moderately complex circuits. Multi-chip modules (MCM), such as those created using 2.5D technology (i.e., microelectronic assemblies formed by mounting multiple IC dice in a "flip-chip" configuration on an "interposer" substrate that provides inter-die connections and connections to the package contacts) with more than a few dice will generally have a complexity beyond this threshold.

Die interface enabling 2.5D device-level static timing analysis


A merchandise holder, e.g., a drink coaster or a food placemat, is used to facilitate the purchase of food or beverage placed on the holder. A customer may use a mobile device to scan a QR code on a merchandise holder to purchase a beverage. Further, the merchandise holder may include an RFID scanner to keep track of the food or beverages consumed by the customer. The RFID scanner of the merchandise holder may scan RFID tags attached to the food or beverages consumed by the customer. A payment account of the customer may be associated with the merchandise holder to pay for the food or beverages placed on the holder. Accordingly, a customer may use the merchandise holder to order, keep track of, and pay for the food or beverages consumed by the customer.

Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for facilitating purchase using merchandise holders.
Related Art
With modern technology, consumers have access to various marketplaces and merchants to make purchases. For example, goods and products are made available to consumers via not only brick-and-mortar stores but also online stores. Nevertheless, there remains some friction in making a purchase from a service oriented merchants, such as bars and restaurants in which food or beverages have to be purchased from and served by waiters or bartenders at the merchants. For example, depending on the availability of waiters, customers may have to wait to order or pay for the food or beverages. In a popular and crowded bar or restaurant, there may be substantial delay for a customer to order and pay for the food of beverage. This delay and inconvenience may hinder the consumer from making a purchase at the bar or restaurant. Therefore, there is a need for a system or method that helps facilitate a purchase at a service oriented merchants, such as a bar or a restaurant.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

Systems and methods for facilitating purchase using merchandise holder


A partitioned constant delay logic network 208 has a number of constant delay logic elements. The delay of each logic element is held constant by applying a controlled bias voltage, V.sub.bias. The source of the controlled bias voltage is a phase locked loop 201 which has a voltage controlled oscillator 203 constructed out of an odd plurality of constant delay logic elements.

Timing is an important feature in electronic circuits and systems. Digital computers rely upon clock signals to sequentially execute instructions. Digital computers and microprocessors use one or more clock signals to establish the time for each function including receiving data, sending data, and executing arithmetic and logical functions. It is an essential feature of digital computers and microprocessors that such functions be executed in a timed, sequential manner and so it is very important that such clock signals be stable.
Electronic components such as analog to digital converters also rely on a series of clock signals that are delayed a known time with respect to each other. Such A/D converters rely upon an initial clock signal to auto zero, a second clock signal delayed from the first signal to capture data, and the third clock signal delayed from the second clock signal to output the digital representation of the captured data.
Often electronic systems will require fixed or adjustable delay lines. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,867. There is described a programmable digital delay line that could be used as a part of the refresh circuitry of a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
Mass storage memory devices such as compact disc memories, magnetic disc memories and magnetic drum memories may rely upon a combination of a clock and a delay line in order to read and to write data on the rotating memory storage medium. Each device divides its storage medium into cells. As the device rotates at a constant speed, the data in each cell can be thought of as stored in cells that are a known time delay with respect to the prior cell and the subsequent cell. As such, a constant delay line may be used to read data or write data into each cell.
In certain applications including secure communications it is desireable to reduce switching noise. Switching noise can be monitored and contains information about the data carried and switched by the circuit. One approach for reducing the digital switching noise has been developed by Allstot, Kiaei and Zele, "Analog Logic Techniques Steer Around the Noise," IEEE Journal of Circuits & Devices, pp 18-21, September 1993. That approach uses a current steering technique that draws constant current from Vdd. The current that is dumped on the Vss distribution will see a transient current that is device parameter limited as the input transitions to a logical "1." The Iss transient may be used to determine the current-steering logic elements state level.

Constant delay logic circuits and methods


The storage system includes a first storage subsystem having a first logical volume to be accessed by a host computer, and a second storage subsystem connected to the first storage subsystem and having a second logical volume to be mapped to the first logical volume. The first storage subsystem includes a memory having definition information for defining a plurality of logical paths that transfer, to the second logical volume, I/O from the host computer to the first logical volume, and a transfer mode of the I/O to the plurality of logical paths. At least two or more logical paths among the plurality of logical paths are defined as active, and the controller transfers the I/O to the at least two or more logical paths set as active.

The present invention generally relates to a storage system, and in particular relates to a storage system in which a second storage subsystem is externally connected to a first storage subsystem, and a control method of such a storage system.
In order to deal with a system environment that undergoes sudden changes due to increase in the data amount or data traffic, there is a compound storage system in which a storage subsystem is externally connected to an existing storage subsystem.
This compound storage system, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-178811 (Patent Document 1), virtualizes a volume of a first storage subsystem, associates a storage area of a second storage subsystem to the virtualized volume, and transfers the I/O from a host computer to the virtualized volume of the first storage subsystem to the second storage subsystem to store data in the storage area thereof. The storage capacity of the first storage subsystem to be used by the host system can thereby be expanded.
As a control method of a plurality of logical paths defined between the first storage subsystem and the second storage subsystem, Patent Document 1 describes the first storage subsystem using a primary path among the plurality of paths to issue an I/O to the volume of the second storage subsystem.
When a failure occurs in the primary path, the I/O control right, which is the authority for passing the I/O through, is switched from the primary path to other paths in descending order of priority. For reference's sake, the method of transferring I/O via a single path as described above is referred to as a single path mode.
Meanwhile, a round robin method where the first storage subsystem distributively issues the I/O to a plurality of paths between the first storage subsystem and the second storage subsystem is known as a multi-path mode.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-265243 relates to a computer system comprising a host computer and a storage system, and describes technology of switching a logical path connecting the host computer and the storage system.

Storage system and control method of storage system


A method for fabricating a semiconductor device is disclosed. The method includes providing a substrate; forming one or more gate structures over the substrate; forming a buffer layer over the substrate, including over the one or more gate structures; forming an etch stop layer over the buffer layer; forming a interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer over the etch stop layer; and removing a portion of the buffer layer, a portion of the etch stop layer, and a portion of the ILD layer over the one or more gate structures.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. In some IC designs, such scaling-down has also lead to a desire to replace a conventional polysilicon gate electrode with a metal gate electrode to improve device performance.
One process for forming a metal gate structure (e.g., having a metal gate electrode) is referred to as a "gate last" process, where the final gate stack is fabricated last. This reduces the number of subsequent processes, including high temperature processing, that must be performed after formation of the gate structures. There are challenges to implementing such features and processes in conventional fabrication however. As the gate length and spacing between devices decreases, these problems are exacerbated. For example, during chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes, controlling gate height and/or preventing dishing effects (for example, over-polishing) of an inter-layer dielectric layer may present difficulties. Also, it has been observed that dishing effects can cause failure of overlay and alignment mark patterns.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method for fabricating an IC device that addresses the above stated issues.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Embodiments are disclosed of an eye-mountable device (EMD) including a lens enclosure including an anterior layer and a posterior layer sealed to the anterior layer. An anterior electrode is disposed within the lens enclosure on a concave side of the anterior layer, a posterior electrode is disposed within the lens enclosure on a convex side of the posterior layer, and an electrochromic element is disposed across a central region of the lens enclosure, wherein the electrochromic element separates the anterior electrode from the posterior electrode within the central region.

Contact lenses are a widely-worn solution for vision correction. They can sometimes have color, mostly for cosmetic reasons but also for practical reasons such as making them easier to find if dropped. But the optical characteristics of existing contact lenses—their color or opacity, among other things—are usually fixed at the time of manufacture and cannot be changed later. That limits the cosmetic and functional possibilities of the contact lens.


Apparatus for testing adhesion of an adhesive tape to a bonding surface under an applied load includes a test surface of a predetermined configuration to which a test tape may be adhered, a clamping device for grasping a free edge of the test tape, a guide for constraining the clamping device to move linearly relative to the test surface, and an actuator arrangement for driving the clamping device along the guide at a selected speed and with a selected force to apply the force to the test tape. The actuator arrangement includes a first and second linear actuators operable to generate differing ranges of force values, a motor for driving the linear actuators, and a selector arrangement for connecting the motor alternately to the first and second linear actuators according to the selected force to be applied.

Adhesive-backed pressure-sensitive tapes vary considerably in many respects, e.g., as to size, substrate or tape body material and construction, adhesive composition, and end-use applications, but apart from such diverse differences, it is recognized that substantially all adhesive tapes may be quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated according to their adhesion characteristics, particularly resistance to shear and peel forces, as a comparative measure of suitability for a designated end-use. Nevertheless, for many adhesive tapes, no accepted methodology or apparatus exists for systematically testing the adhesion qualities of the tape in a reliable and repeatable manner.
As one representative example, adhesive tape has begun to be commonly used to secure and restrain cargo during transport in shipping containers to prevent shifting movement and attendant damage to the cargo, the container, and/or the ambient environment. An example of such a cargo restraint system is the "TY-GARD 2000"® system produced by Walnut Industries, Inc., of Bensalem, Pa., which is particularly designed and intended for use in standard shipping containers as are commonly used for ocean, rail and truck transportation of cargo. Basically, the "TY-GARD 2000" system utilizes an elongate adhesive tape formed in a relatively large width (e.g., about 16 inches) of a plastic substrate including lengthwise-extending glass fibers backed with an adhesive composition, whereby two lengths of the tape may be secured adhesively to opposite interior side walls of a shipping container and then free ends of the two tape lengths secured together across the widthwise extent of the container, e.g., via a connecting "patch" of an additional length of tape overlapping the two free tape ends, to surround and secure a unit of cargo, e.g., a shipping pallet, against movement during shipment.
As will be recognized, the effectiveness of such a cargo restraint system is directly dependent upon the strength of adhesion of the tape to the sidewalls of the container and, since cargo can vary from drums of hazardous chemicals to complex electronic equipment to delicate breakables, it is critical that the adhesion qualities of the tape be reliably testable and measurable. Heretofore, however, the testing of such cargo restraint tapes has been extremely crude and primitive, e.g., by merely adhering a length of tape to a vertical surface, attaching a designated weight to a free end of the tape, and dropping the weight under the force of gravity to exert an impact stress upon the tape. As is apparent, while such a test may be of some indication of the reliability and effectiveness of a tape, the test lacks suitable controls for the test parameters to be precisely repeatable from one test to another and the results of tests cannot be quantitatively measured and compared. Accordingly, a significant need exists for testing apparatus and methodology by which test parameters can be precisely controlled and repeated and test results can be precisely measured.

Apparatus for testing adhesion of an adhesive tape to a bonding surface under a load applied to the tape


A continuously variable load responsive brake pressure control valve controls the amount of brake pipe pressure for a railway vehicle. The system also includes an isolator therefor for isolating the load sensor therefor from transient inputs caused by normal vehicle motion. A spring loaded isolator coupled with a matched hydraulic cylinder isolate wheel truck deflections with respect to the car body, preventing erroneous inputs to the load sensor of the variable load braking system so as to provide more accurate brake cylinder pressure according to vehicle load weight. The variable load limiting valve is continuously operable between an empty vehicle condition and a fully loaded vehicle condition and assures a minimum braking pressure, while also helping prevent sticking of the brakes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable load type brake control system for a railway vehicle, and more particularly to a load responsive brake pressure control valve which prevents erroneous load sensor readings caused by normal railway freight car motions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For at least the last 100 years, pneumatic braking has been utilized onboard railway freight cars in which a brake pipe runs the length of the freight train providing a source of pressurized air to each individual car of the train. Braking conditions of the train are controlled by changes in the brake pipe pressure through utilization of pneumatic valves. Traditionally, on board each freight car is a control valve which responds to the brake pipe condition in a multi-function role including: charging reservoirs onboard each individual freight car; instituting brake application; and controlling the release of the brakes on the train. Such systems generally utilized onboard pneumatic control valves such as ABD, ABDW, ABDX, or DB60 valves, with 26 type locomotive brake equipment or microprocessor with like EPIC sold by Westinghouse Air Brake Company. It was the general practice to use identical functioning pneumatic control valves in a related control sequencing on comparably equipped freight cars throughout the train, such that each car's braking sequencing would be similar. Generally, the pneumatic signal is initiated by the lead locomotives in the train. However, some systems have been prepared and used where brake pipe pressures can be controlled at the rear or at spaced intermediate positions within the train.
Freight cars have varying braking capabilities depending on (1) brake cylinder pressure in effect at the moment under consideration; (2) the brake cylinder size; (3) the design of the mechanical linkage (brake rigging) between the brake cylinder and the friction pair (usually a brake shoe and the tread of a steel wheel, with disc brake equipment acceptable but seldom employed); (4) the weight of the car plus its contents; (5) the speed of the car at the time brakes are applied; and (6) the friction force developed as a result of the normal (brake shoe) force by the particular friction pair. The preponderance of the North American freight car fleet uses composition brake shoes on wheel treads thus rendering factor (6) constant, while minimizing the effects of speed (5). Brake cylinder size (2) and mechanical linkage (3) are both constants, chosen at the time of car design and are thus of no importance as variables during train operation. The only variables of importance then during train operation are the brake cylinder pressure (1) and the weight of the car and its contents (4).
Brake cylinder pressure (1) is under the control of the driver as a result of his or her manipulation of brake pipe pressure (through an engineer's brake valve or an electronic control, for example). The weight of the car plus its lading are only determined when the actual load is placed in the car. For some cars (such as those that carry only coal or wheat) this variable has one or the other of two values. For other cars (which carry indeterminate amounts of cargo having indeterminate weight, such as general commodity box cars or intermodal flatcars) the weight of the car and its contents may take on a wide range of values.
In either case, the braking ability of the car will be reduced as its weight is increased. In the past, this has been dealt with by selecting the brake cylinder size and rigging at the time of car design such that the highest braking produced by the maximum brake cylinder pressure available to the driver would not slide the wheels of the light car, while the heaviest possible car with this same maximum brake cylinder pressure, would still provide an effective amount of braking. Standards set by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) permit a maximum braking ratio (the ratio of brake shoe force to actual weight of the car and contents) of about 35%, while a minimum of .+-.10% is permitted. Thus the contents of a car can weight no more than 2.5 times the weight of the empty car if the rule is to be followed.
In the past, freight trains usually had about as many empty cars as loaded ones, and the average braking ratio for the train as a whole was better than the minimum acceptable for an individual car as cited above. In recent times, however, two developments have made the use of a single value for maximum brake shoe force less acceptable than in former times. These are: (1) greater use of so called unit trains in which every car is carrying the same commodity and all cars in a train are fully loaded (the train average braking ratio in this case is no better than that of the individual cars); and (2) the fact that with today's engineering advances cars can be designed whose weight for the same carrying capacity is lower than older designs. The first condition leads to train braking performance being lower than might be desirable, and the second would lead to a condition where the lading weight was restricted to a value (2.5 times the car weight) significantly lower than equipment design would otherwise permit.
Empty cars cannot utilize the same level of braking as loaded cars because the highly loaded cars are more likely to have their wheels lock and skid at a braking level that would be acceptable on a fully loaded car. Special brake equipment is therefore necessary to increase the loaded car braking ratio without incurring the consequence of a wheel slide condition when braking an empty car. Such equipment automatically adjusts brake shoe force according to the load condition of the car. These special equipment arrangements fall into two categories: dual capacity empty/load braking and multi-capacity or continuously variable braking.
It is well known to those skilled in the art that overbraking and ensuing wheel lockup and wheel sliding on lightly loaded rapid and/or mass transit vehicles must be avoided since flat spots and damage to the wheels may occur during the braking of passenger trains. On heavily loaded railway vehicles there is the possibility that underbraking conditions may result in longer braking distances which may cause a railway train to over-run its normal stopping point at a station or a block section. In order to avoid an overbraking and underbraking condition, it is common practice to employ equipment which senses the load of the car and reduces the brake cylinder pressure on cars that are not fully loaded. Examples of these are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,106,168; 5,100,207; 5,005,915; 5,269,595; and 5,340,203.
In order to overcome these undesirable limitations, brake manufacturers have developed a number of devices for application to the cars which, in response to an engineer's command for maximum brake effort, provide higher brake shoe force on a loaded car than for an empty one, thus permitting light weight cars to carry greater loads, and improving the braking on unit trains of fully loaded cars.
These devices, generically referred to as empty-load brake controls, provide satisfactory service in the case of cars which are either empty or loaded, but they do not provide a complete solution to the problem. One example is a very light car (such as an intermodal spine car), in which case the car will frequently carry a load intermediate between its maximum design capacity and its empty weight. The problem here is that as car weight is increased by loading, the empty-load device produces no increase in maximum brake cylinder pressure until a certain point is reached, and above this point allows the maximum value (loaded car) brake cylinder pressure. Thus if this changeover point is at a high car weight, the brake cylinder pressure will remain at the low value chosen for the empty car and performance of the train will suffer, as the car with its lading could support a higher brake shoe force without danger of sliding wheels. If, on the other hand, the changeover point occurs at too low a total car weight, the maximum brake cylinder pressure for a full load could be made available to a car weighing only slightly more than an empty one, thus heightening the likelihood of sliding wheels.
In the ideal case, the maximum value of brake cylinder pressure permitted would be continuously variable with increased lading weight. This would eliminate both of the undesirable conditions mentioned above.
Of equal importance is the fact that where equipment is to be operated on trains segregated from the general interchange, such as integral trains, a continuous load limiting system can allow the use of much higher loaded braking ratios and hence provide much better control than can be achieved with the AAR standard values. For example, the loaded braking ratio could be made equal to that presently allowed for empty cars, i.e. .+-.30%. A solid train of such cars, when compared to a solid train of cars braked at 10% (a not unusual condition), would have three times the braking ability, and could safely descend a hill three times as steep or stop in one third of the distance required by the lower braked train. Alternatively, with a train of such cars, the speed could be increased by a factor of 1.732 (or the square root of 3) times the speed of the slower braked train (roughly a 73% of increase) while maintaining the ability to stop in the same distance. This performance improvement is available without demanding any more adhesion of the wheel and rail interface than present practice imposes every day.
In the variable load type equipment, braking pressure is proportioned to the actual load, generally throughout the full range of car loading. It will be appreciated, however, that the proportioned brake pressure is selected in accordance with the maximum brake pressure (emergency) capable of being developed from the maximum running pressure normally carried by a train (110 psi). Therefore, when making relatively light surface braking applications or when making a maximum brake application from a relatively low running pressure (70 psi), the proportioned brake pressure may be far less than that capable of being supported by the adhesion demand. Accordingly, less than optimum brake efficiency is realized under certain brake conditions with variable load type brake equipment, as well as single capacity brake equipment, in order to protect against wheel sliding on an empty car under maximum braking conditions.
In the variable load type equipment, it is common to mount a spring loaded proportioning valve between the railway vehicle car body and the wheel truck assembly. The load on the railway freight car is determined by the amount of deflection between the sprung car body and the unsprung wheel bearings and associated parts of its truck. Thus, for example, the maximum spacing between the bottom of the railway vehicle and the top of a freight type three piece wheel truck assembly is indicative of an empty vehicle, while a fully loaded vehicle is characterized by minimal spacing between the railway vehicle and these same parts. However, this separation distance does not remain constant for either empty or loaded railway vehicles. It is not uncommon for the vehicle and/or wheel assembly to undergo deflections, or rock and roll, as the wheels of the truck assembly traverse the rails during motion. Slight imperfections in the height of the rails, such as at the junction of rail segment ends or in rail high or low spots, can result in raising or lowering of the wheel truck with respect to the railway vehicle body. Additionally, during a curved section of track it is not uncommon for one side of the vehicle to be closer to the truck assembly than the other side, which typically occurs on the inside portion of a curved track section. These deflections can affect inputs to the load sensing valve assembly such that the variable load brake system may thereby be "sensing" a heavier or lighter vehicle than is actually the case.
What is needed then is a system to increase railway vehicle braking efficiency while minimizing errors occurring in load sensing braking systems caused by normal vehicle motion.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a variable load railway braking system which allows the maximum value of braking cylinder pressure to be continuously variable with increased vehicle loading weight.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a means for isolating the variable load sensing braking system from errors caused by normal railway vehicle deflections during typical train movement.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a variable load limiting valve continuously operable between a railway vehicle empty and fully loaded conditions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an easily adjustable maximum pressure output for use on different types of cars.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an easily adjustable ratio control of car height to maximum brake cylinder pressure.

Load proportional brake cylinder pressure limiting system

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation


A light emitting apparatus (10) includes a substrate (100), an insulating layer (160), a light emitting element (102), a coating film (140), and a structure (150). The insulating layer (160) is formed over one surface of the substrate (100), and includes an opening (162). The light emitting element (102) is formed in the opening (162). The coating film (140) is formed over the one surface of the substrate (100), and covers a portion of the light emitting element (102), the insulating layer (160), and the one surface of the substrate (100). The coating film (140) does not cover another portion of the substrate (100) (for example, a portion of an end portion: hereinafter, referred to as a first portion). The structure (150) is located between the first portion of the substrate (100) and the insulating layer (160). The coating film (140) also covers the insulating layer (160).

In recent years, there has been progress in the development of light emitting apparatuses using an organic EL element as a light source. In the organic EL element, an organic layer is used as a light emitting layer, and thus a sealing structure is required. Generally, the organic EL element is sealed using a sealing member which is formed of glass, a metal or the like. A terminal which is connected to the organic EL element is disposed outside of this sealing member.
On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses that an organic EL element is sealed by forming a sealing film using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. Patent Document 1 discloses that, since stress is easily concentrated on a portion having an inverse-tapered shape such as a partition wall, a crack tends to occur in the sealing film.