The present invention provides a method for treating patients with spinal cord injury by administering germination activated Ganoderma lucidium spores (GASP) to the patients. The GASP are sporoderm-broken. The GASP promote axon regeneration and improve motor neuron survival in the injured spinal cord.

The spinal cord coordinates the body's movement and sensation to and from the brain. It is a complex organ containing nerve cells (also known as neurons), and supporting cells (also known as neuroglial cells or glial cells). A typical neuron consists of a cell body, containing the nucleus and the surrounding cytoplasm (perikaryon); several short radiating processes (dendrites); and one long process (the axon, which terminates in twiglike branches (telodendrons) and may have branches (collaterals) projecting along its course. The axon together with its covering or sheath forms the nerve fiber. The neuroglial or glial cells form the supporting structure of nervous tissue. There are three types of glial cells, which are astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia. Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes (collectively macroglia) are of ectodermal origin. These cells far outnumber neurons in the brain and spinal cord and perform many essential functions. The oligodendrocyte creates the myelin sheaths that insulate axons and improve the speed and reliability of nerve signal transmission. Astrocytes, large star-shaped glial cells, regulate the composition of the fluids that surround neurons. Some of these cells also form scar tissue after injury. Microglia are of mesodermal origin. They are smaller cells that become activated in response to injury and help clean up waste products. All of these glial cells produce substances that support neuron survival and influence axon growth.
There are several types of neurons that lie within the spinal cord and carry out the spinal cord functions. Large motor neurons have long axons that control skeletal muscles in the neck, torso, and limbs. Sensory neurons (also called dorsal root ganglion cells) have axons which carry information from the body into the spinal cord. Spinal interneurons, which lie completely within the spinal cord, help integrate sensory information and generate coordinated signals that control muscles.
Motor neurons are traditionally classified as upper motor neurons or lower motor neurons. Upper motor neurons reside in the precentral gyrus of the brain, and send long processes down to synapse on lower motor neurons in the ventral (anterior) horns of the grey matter of the spinal cord. From the ventral horns of the spinal cord, axon processes of lower motor neurons coalesce to form the ventral roots. These axons eventually terminate on one or more muscle fibers. Through arborization of the terminal part of its fiber, each lower motor neuron comes in contact with anywhere from a few to 100-200 or more muscle fibers to form a "motor unit," (Adams and Victor, 1985, in "Principles of Neurology," McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, p. 37).
Many axons in the spinal cord are covered by sheaths of an insulating substance called myelin, which gives them a whitish appearance; therefore, the region in which they lie is called "white matter." The neurons themselves, with their tree-like dendrites that receive signals from other neurons, make up "gray matter." This gray matter lies in a butterfly-shaped region in the center of the spinal cord. Like the brain, the spinal cord is enclosed in three membranes (meninges): the pia mater, the arachnoid, and the dura mater. The spinal cord is then surrounded by rings of bone called vertebra.
The spinal cord and the brain together make up the central nervous system (CNS). Unlike neurons of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), which carry signals to the limbs, torso, and other parts of the body, it is generally believe that neurons of the CNS do not regenerate after injury. (Walker, New Eng. J. Med., (1991) 324: 1885-1887). Recent research, however, supports that the injured spinal cord can be successfully regenerated, provided that the damaged neurons must be able to survive the injury or be replaced, and the axons must be able to regrow and find appropriate targets. Axons and their targets must then interact to construct synapses, the specialized structures that act as the functional connections between neurons.
The spinal cord is about 18 inches long and extends from the base of the brain, down the middle of the back, to about the waist. The spinal cord is organized into segments along its length. The spinal nerves that branch out from the spinal cord to the other parts of the body are lower motor neurons (LMNs). Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves exit and enter at each vertebral level and communicate with specific areas of the body. The segments in the neck, or cervical region, referred to as C1 through C8, control signals to the neck, arms, and hands. Those in the thoracic or upper back region (T1 through T12) relay signals to the torso and some parts of the arms. Those in the upper lumbar or mid-back region just below the ribs (L1 through L5) control signals to the hips and legs. Finally, the sacral segments (S1 through S5) lie just below the lumbar segments in the mid-back and control signals to the groin, toes, and some parts of the legs. The effects of spinal cord injury at different segments reflect this organization.
Neurons of the brain and spinal cord respond to signals differently from most other cells of the body, including those in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The brain and spinal cord (i.e., the CNS) are confined within bony cavities that protect them, but also render them vulnerable to compression damage caused by swelling or forceful injury. Cells of the CNS have a very high rate of metabolism and rely upon blood glucose for energy. The "safety factor," that is the extent to which normal blood flow exceeds the minimum required for healthy functioning, is much smaller in the CNS than in other tissues. For these reasons, CNS cells are particularly vulnerable to reductions in blood flow (ischemia). Other unique features of the CNS are the "blood-brain-barrier" and the "blood-spinal-cord barrier." These barriers, formed by cells lining blood vessels in the CNS, protect neurons by restricting entry of potentially harmful substances and cells of the immune system. Trauma may compromise these barriers, perhaps contributing to further damage in the brain and spinal cord. The blood-spinal-cord barrier also prevents entry of some potentially therapeutic drugs. Finally, in the brain and spinal cord, the glial cells and the extracellular matrix (the material that surrounds cells) differ from those in peripheral nerves. Each of these differences between the PNS and CNS contributes to their different responses to injury.
Although spinal cord is well protected, spinal cord injury does occur due to causes such as trauma (e.g., car accident, violence, falls, sports) and disease (e.g., polio, spina bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia). In the United States, approximately 450,000 people live with spinal cord injury, and there are about 10,000 new cases every year, mostly involving males between ages of 16 to 30. Spinal cord injury can be divided into complete injury (no motor and sensory functions below the level of the injury) and incomplete injury (some functioning below the primary level of injury). Recovery from spinal cord injury is much more difficult because the neurons are very specialized and unable to divide and create new cells.
Usually, injuries to the spinal cord do not result in a cut through the cord; instead, they crush the axons. Researchers studying spinal cords obtained from autopsy have identified several different types of spinal cord injuries. The most common types of spinal cord injuries are contusions (bruising of the spinal cord) and compression injuries (caused by pressure on the spinal cord). Other types of injury included lacerations, caused by a bullet or other object, and central cord syndrome.
The damage that occurs to spinal cord axons within the first few hours after-injury is complex and it occurs in stages. The normal blood flow is disrupted, which causes oxygen deprivation to some of the tissues of the spinal cord. Bleeding into the injured area leads to swelling, which can further compress and damage spinal cord axons. The chemical environment becomes destructive, due primarily to the release of highly reactive molecules, e.g., free radicals. These molecules break up cell membranes, including killing cells that were not injured initially. Macrophages that invade the site of injury to clean up debris may also damage uninjured tissue. Non-neuronal cells, such as astrocytes, may divide too often, forming a scar that impedes the regrowth of the injured nerve cell axons.
The early events that follow a spinal cord injury can lead to other kinds of damage later on. Within weeks or months, cysts may form at the site of injury which fill with cerebrospinal fluid. Typically, scar tissue develops around the cysts, creating permanent cavities that can elongate and further damage neurons. Also, nerve cell axons that were not damaged initially often lose their myelin. Over time, these and other events can contribute to more tissue degeneration and a greater loss of function.
Effective drug therapy for spinal cord injury first became a realty in 1990s, when methylprednisolone, the first drug shown to improve recovery from spinal cord injury, moved from clinical trials to standard use. The NASCIS II (National Acute Spinal cord Injury Study II) trial, a multicenter clinical trial comparing methylprednisolone to placebo and to the drug naloxone, showed that methylprednisolone given within 8 hours after injury significantly improves recovery in humans. Completely paralyzed patients given methylprednisolone recovered an average of about 20% of their lost motor function, compared to 8% recovery of function in untreated patients. Partially paralyzed patients recovered an average of 75% of their function, compared to 59% in people who did not receive the drug. Patients treated with naloxone, or treated with methylprednisolone more than 8 hours after injury, did not improve significantly more than patients given a placebo. (National Institutes of Health, "Spinal Cord Injury: Emerging Concepts," (1996) www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and _medical/pubs). The results of the clinical trial of methylprednisolone revolutionized thinking that there is a window of opportunity for acute treatment of spinal cord injury.
Today, more drugs are being tested for treatment of spinal cord injury. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,493 discloses the use of clomethiazole (5-(2-chloroethyl)-4-methylthiazole) for treating pathological conditions caused by compression to the spinal cord, whether traumatically induced or due to compression caused by tumours, haemorrhage, infectious processes or spinal stenosis. U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,069 discloses the use of 9-substituted hypoxanthine derivatives (such as N-4-carboxyphenyl-3-(6-oxohydropurin-9-yl) propanamide) to stimulate regeneration or survival of a mammalian motor neuron or of a mammalian sensory neuron. U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,714 discloses the use of a hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) to promote the survival, growth and differentiation of motor neurons.
Recently, Cheung et al. (FEBS Lett 2000; 486(3): 291-6) disclose that Ganoderma lucidum extract induces neuronal differentiation in vitro, using a primary neuronal cell system (i.e., PC12 cells). The PC12 cells are derived from rat pheochromocytoma cells which respond to the nerve growth factor (NGF). The Ganoderma ludicum extract described by Cheung et al. is made from the fruit bodies of the Ganoderma lucidum.
In the invention to be presented in the following sections, a novel use of the sporoderm-broken germination-activated Ganoderma spores (GASP) from Ganoderma lucidium for treatment of spinal cord injury is undertaken. The GASP have previously been disclosed for use in treating patients with cancer, AIDS, hepatitis, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, and can prevent or inhibit free radical oxidation and hepatotoxic effects. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,316,002 and 6,468,542, which are incorporated herein by reference. Unlike methylprednisolone, which has to be given to patients within 8 hours after injury to be effective, the GASP can be administered to humans and animals in a much later time while still achieving significant, improvement. A further benefit of using the GASP is that they are non-toxic so that higher dosage can be prescribed to the patients.

Effects of sporoderm-broken germination activated ganoderma spores on treatment of spinal cord injury

Enhan Technology Holdings International Co., Ltd.


A method, computer system, and a computer program product for topic monitoring in web conferencing is provided. The present invention may include determining a topic profile for each of the plurality of virtual rooms. The present invention may include displaying, in a web conference user interface, the determined topic profile for each of the plurality of virtual rooms to a user. The present invention may include identifying one or more topics of interest of the user. The present invention may include recommending one or more virtual rooms to the user based on a commonality score between the one or more topics of interest of the user and the topic profile for each of the plurality of rooms.

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, and more particularly to web conferencing.
Web conferencing may be a term used for various types of online conferencing and collaborative services including at least webinars, webcasts, and web meetings. Web conferencing may be used in social gatherings, live discussions, professional meetings, training events, lectures, and/or presentations, amongst other things. Depending on the technology being used, participants may speak to and listen to audio over standard telephone lines or via computer microphones and speakers. Due to the increasing popularity of web conferencing, a user may wish to join conflicting web conferences and may be required to choose one web conference over another.
Furthermore, web conferencing may lack one or more desirable characteristics of in-person conferences, including but not limited to including, allowing people to freely switch and/or merge discussion groups and monitoring simultaneous and/or proximate discussions.

Facilitating social events in web conferences

International Business Machines Corporation


A process is provided for producing a biomass-derived rheology modifier, comprising: providing a pretreated feedstock comprising cellulose-rich solids; refining the cellulose-rich solids in a first high-intensity refining unit, generating refined cellulose solids; gelling the refined cellulose solids in a second high-intensity refining unit, thereby generating gelled cellulose solids; and homogenizing the gelled cellulose solids in a high-shear homogenizer, thereby generating a biomass-derived rheology modifier. The pretreated feedstock may include kraft pulp, sulfite pulp, AVAP® pulp, soda pulp, mechanical pulp, thermomechanical pulp, and/or chemimechanical pulp, derived from wood or lignocellulosic biomass. The pretreated feedstock may be GP3+® pulp, obtained from steam or hot-water extraction of lignocellulosic biomass. These rheology modifiers may be utilized in a wide variety of applications, including water-based or oil-based hydraulic fracturing fluid formulations, as gelling agents. These rheology modifiers are biodegradable, and their production does not directly involve chemicals other than biomass and water.

Biomass refining (or biorefining) has become more prevalent in industry. Cellulose fibers and sugars, hemicellulose sugars, lignin, syngas, and derivatives of these intermediates are being utilized for chemical and fuel production. Indeed, we now are observing the commercialization of integrated biorefineries that are capable of processing incoming biomass much the same as petroleum refineries now process crude oil. Underutilized lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks have the potential to be much cheaper than petroleum, on a carbon basis, as well as much better from an environmental life-cycle standpoint.
Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable material on the planet and has long been recognized as a potential feedstock for producing chemicals, fuels, and materials. Lignocellulosic biomass normally comprises primarily cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose and hemicellulose are natural polymers of sugars, and lignin is an aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbon polymer reinforcing the entire biomass network. Some forms of biomass (e.g., recycled materials) do not contain hemicellulose.
Despite being the most available natural polymer on earth, it is only recently that cellulose has gained prominence as a nanostructured material, in the form of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC), and bacterial cellulose (BC). Nanocellulose and microcellulose are being developed for use in a wide variety of applications such as polymer reinforcement, anti-microbial films, biodegradable food packaging, printing papers, pigments and inks, paper and board packaging, barrier films, adhesives, biocomposites, wound healing, pharmaceuticals and drug delivery, textiles, water-soluble polymers, construction materials, recyclable interior and structural components for the transportation industry, rheology modifiers, low-calorie food additives, cosmetics thickeners, pharmaceutical tablet binders, bioactive paper, pickering stabilizers for emulsion and particle stabilized foams, paint formulations, films for optical switching, and detergents.
Oil and natural gas are common fossil-based resources used for the production of transportation fuels, heat and power, materials, chemicals, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, polymers, fibers and other products. Since the first oil well drilled in 1859 and the introduction of the internal combustion engine, the United States has been a major producer and consumer of fossil resources.
In 2010, the US produced over 2 billion barrels of oil and 26.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas worth over $180 and $110 billion, respectively. A significant amount of this production can be attributed to advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Previously unrecoverable deposits have been freed up ensuring access to decades of domestic natural gas and oil.
Oil and natural gas deposits are located all across the United States and the World. It is estimated that the total amount of technically recoverable natural gas resources worldwide is 22,600 trillion cubic feet of which shale gas is 6,622 trillion cubic feet or nearly 30% (World Shale Gas Resources: An Initial Assessment of 14 Regions Outside the United States, U.S. Department of Energy and Energy Information Administration, 2011). Wells are drilled hundreds of meters deep in order to gain access to the resources. Once drilled, new wells or old unproductive wells are hydraulically fractured to stimulate production.
Drilling fluids or muds are used during the initial well bore to cool the bit, lubricate the drill string, suspend and transport cuttings, control hydrostatic pressure and maintain stability. Drilling fluids are typically water-based or oil-based but can be pneumatic. Water or oil is the main ingredient in liquid drilling fluids. Barite, clay, polymers, thinners, surfactants, inorganic chemicals, bridging materials, lost circulation materials and specialized chemicals are also added to engineer drilling fluid properties.
Hydraulic fracturing was developed in the 1940s to increase productivity of oil and gas wells. Hydraulic fracturing creates and maintains cracks within oil and gas formations providing a clear path for oil and gas to flow. Fracturing can be performed in vertical and horizontal wells. During a fracturing operation, perforations are made through cement casing into the oil and gas formation using explosive charges. Fracturing fluids are injected into the well at high pressures to create new cracks while further expanding and elongating the cracks (Hydraulic Fracturing: Unlocking America's Natural Gas Resources, American Petroleum Institute, 2010).
Fracturing fluids are composed primarily of water (87-94%) and proppant such as sand (4-9%). Sand mixed with the fracturing fluids is used to prop open formation cracks and maintain a clear path for oil and natural gas. The remaining fracturing fluid (0.5-3%) is composed of chemicals that aid the fracturing process. Chemical additives are mixed into the drilling fluid depending on the well and formation properties. Chemicals are used to dissolve minerals, reduce friction, prevent scaling, maintain fluid properties (viscosity, pH, etc.), eliminate bacteria (biocide), suspend the sand, prevent precipitation of metal oxides, prevent corrosion, stabilize fluid, formation and wellbore, thicken fluid (gelling agent) and break down the gel (breaker).
Hydraulic fracturing fluid is made in a step-wise procedure and carefully engineered to accomplish the fracking process. In its most basic form, a gelling agent (typically gaur gum) is first added to water and hydrated. Next a breaker (oxidant or enzyme) is added which will break the gel bonds after being pumped into the well. A crosslinking agent such as borate is then added to the solution which immediately forms a viscous, gelled solution. The purpose of the gel is to suspend the proppant while being pumped into the well where it is wedged into formation fractures propping them apart.
Eventually the fracturing fluid must be removed from the well leaving the proppant in the fractures to maintain open channels for oil or gas to flow through. In order to pump the fracturing fluid out of the well and leave the proppant behind the viscous gel must be broken down to a viscosity less than 100 cP. Since the fracturing fluid is pumped into the well in stages, precise amounts of breaker are mixed with the fracturing fluid to break the entire gel solution simultaneously. Once the entire gel is broken the fracturing fluid is pumped back to the surface where it is stored in retention ponds or hauled away from the well for treatment and disposal.
What are needed in the art are methods and products that minimize environmental impact and costs of drilling, treating and hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas. Improved compositions are desired, including biomass-derived compositions. While cellulose-based materials have been generally recognized as possible components in drilling and fracturing fluids, heretofore there has not been an economical process to provide cellulose-based materials, with adjustable properties for different types of fluids and additives.

Processes for producing high-viscosity compounds as rheology modifiers, and compositions produced therefrom

GranBio Intellectual Property Holdings, LLC


A separation system for separating a first section from a second section is disclosed. In one embodiment, the separation system includes first and second doublers for initially interconnecting the first and second sections, an expandable explosive system contained in a cavity defined by the first and second doublers and first and second sections, first and second grooves positioned on the first and second doublers, the first and second doublers severable along break planes defined by the first and second grooves, and bend augmenters associated with at least one of the first and second doublers to facilitate hinging of the doubler upon firing of the explosive, which thereby reduces separation shock.

Various separation systems have been developed over the years in the launch vehicle industry to separate payload fairings from the launch vehicle, to thereby uncover any spacecraft contained therein for deployment. In this regard, both point separation devices and linear separation systems have been utilized over the years to separate payload fairings from the launch vehicle.
One major design consideration for not only launch vehicle separation system, but also for other separation systems is to provide a system which will not result in a collision of the separated structure with the remaining structure. For example, in the launch vehicle industry, it is important that separation system clear the payload fairing structures away from the launch vehicle to avoid any collision therebetween. However, designing such separation systems to avoid collisions have become increasingly difficult in instances where large, heavy structures are utilized.


An integrated circuit chip having solder bumps thereon may be tested using a temporary substrate having substrate pads corresponding to locations of the input/output pads on the chip and having a sacrificial conductor layer on the temporary substrate pads. The solder bumps are placed adjacent the corresponding sacrificial metal layer and heated to form an electrical and mechanical connection between the chip and the temporary substrate. The chip is then tested and/or burned-in on the temporary substrate. After testing/burn-in, the sacrificial metal layer is dissolved into the solder bumps by heating. The integrated circuit chip, including a solder bump having the dissolved sacrificial metal layer therein, may be easily removed from the temporary substrate. Solder bumps may also be formed on the temporary substrate and transferred to unbumped chips. Solder bumps with different characteristics may be formed by varying the current-time product to each individual pad of the temporary substrate during a plating operation.

Integrated circuit chips are typically manufactured by forming the active devices for many chips on a single wafer of semiconductor material. The wafer is metallized to form the required interconnections among the active devices. The wafer is then diced into individual chips. The chips are mounted on a next level of packaging such as a printed circuit board, a multilayer ceramic (MLC) substrate, or other substrate, to form a single chip or multi-chip module.
Microelectronic systems have required ever increasing density of input/output (I/O) connections between an integrated circuit chip and its next level packaging. Accordingly, the art has increasingly turned to an interconnection technology which uses solder bumps or solder balls to electrically and mechanically connect the chip I/O pads to pads on a next level of packaging. This interconnection technology is also known as "controlled collapse chip connections" ("C-4") or "flip chip" technology. This technology has also been used in environments which do not require high I/O densities.
Many techniques have been heretofore described for forming solder bumps on an integrated circuit chip. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,623 to Dishon entitled Method of Building Solder Bumps, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, describes a method of forming a solder bump on an underbump metallurgy by depositing a layer of solder-soluble metal on the underbump metallurgy so as to cover the underbump metallurgy. A layer of solidified solder is then coated on the solder soluble metal. The solder is then heated until the layer of solder melts and the solder-soluble metal dissolves in the melted solder. The surface tension of the melted solder draws the solder and dissolves soluble metal away from the nonwettable passivation layer which surrounds the underbump metallurgy, to form a spheroidal solder bump.
Another solder bump fabrication technique is described in Japanese Patent No. 55-111127 by Saga et al., published on Aug. 27, 1980 and entitled Method of Building Solder Bumps. This patent describes a two-step melting process for forming solder bumps. In a first low temperature heating step, an under-bump metallurgy layer is dissolved. Then, the photoresist which was used to define the underbump metallurgy is removed and the chip is tested in an unspecified manner. Then, a high temperature heating step is performed to form a hemispherical solder bump.
Other techniques for forming solder bumps involve transfer from a decal chip onto a device chip or a multilayer ceramic structure. See, for example, IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletins Vol. 22, No. 3, page 996, August 1979 entitled Decaled Solder Transfer; Vol. 21, No. 12, May 1979 page 4835 entitled Solder Rework Technique; Vol. 21, No. 12, May 1979 page 4834 entitled Solder Volume Optimization; and Vol. 22, No. 3, August 1979, page 995 entitled Method to Change Solder Composition of Chip.
In the manufacture of chips, some testing is typically performed at the wafer level. However, it is difficult to perform exhaustive tests of the chips at the wafer level. Similarly, some tests are performed at the module level after the chip is incorporated into the next level package. However, detection of failure at this level often requires scrapping the entire package or may require expensive rework of the package. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to perform testing of the chip after it has been diced from the wafer but before it is mounted on a next level package. Testing, as used herein, includes any and all operations, electrical or otherwise, which are typically performed on integrated circuits. Examples of such operations include parametric measurements, verification of functionality, erasure of Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memories (EPROM), programming of Programmable Logic Devices (PLDS) and power-on burn-in. Similarly, it is highly desirable to perform a "burn-in" at elevated temperatures (e.g. 160.degree. C.) and for long times (e.g. hundreds of hours) to identify early failures.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to perform "burn-in and test" on chips having solder bumps thereon. These chips are difficult to probe due to the very high density and close spacing of the solder bumps. Moreover, if the solder bumps are probed and simultaneously burned-in, distortion and squashing of the solder bumps typically occurs, which renders the chips unusable or requires expensive rework. Chip burn-in may also damage the next level package.
Techniques have recently been developed to allow test and burn-in of C-4 chips. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,006,792 and 5,073,117 both to Malhi et al. and both entitled Flip-Chip Test Socket Adaptor and Method, describe a test socket which includes a plurality of cantilever beams for making electrical contact to a bare chip. The cantilevers are designed to deflect and compensate for variations in solder bumps on the bare chips. Unfortunately, since solder bump connections typically are formed in an array over the entire face of an integrated circuit chip, it is difficult to form cantilever beam connections to all of the solder bumps. Moreover, these beams may squash the solder bumps during burn-in and test.
Another electrical connector for contacting C-4 chips during burn-in and test is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,079 to Beaman et al. entitled Connector Assembly for Chip Testing. The connector includes a plurality of rigid conductors embedded therein, and a concave opening aligned with an end of each conductor so that each concave opening exposes the conductor and mates with the contact areas on the chip. Unfortunately, such a connector may also unduly stress the solder balls during burn-in and test.
Another technique for burn-in and test of C-4 chips is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,227 to Frankeny et al. entitled Integrated Circuit Packaging Using Flexible Substrate. An integrated circuit chip having solder balls thereon is mounted on a substrate having input/output lines which extend outward from the integrated circuit footprint to an area on the substrate which is accessible. The integrated circuit chip can thereby be tested prior to mounting on its ultimate carrier. Once tested, the chip and the substrate are excised from the roll of substrate material. This excised, pretested package, which includes both the chip and the flexible substrate, can be mounted directly onto the ultimate carrier. Unfortunately, the flexible substrate is an additional package level which may impact the reliability of the overall package, and limits the density and performance attainable.
Finally, another technique for testing C-4 chips is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,163 to Pope et al. entitled Non-Destructure (sic) Method of Performing Electrical Burn-In Testing of Semiconductor Chips. An electrically conductive, liquid eutectic joint is formed at room temperature with low pressure between electrical terminals on a chip and a circuitized substrate. The eutectic joint remains liquid at test temperatures, while enabling test completion. At the end thereof, chips and pads are separated and any eutectic material residue thereon is removed. Unfortunately, the liquid burn-in/test interconnections may be unreliable and the liquid eutectic joint may be unstable. Moreover, the liquid eutectic may alloy with the solder bumps and thus may be difficult to remove.
As the above survey indicates, the art has heretofore not developed a satisfactory method for performing "burn-in and test" of C-4 chips.

Method for testing, burn-in, and/or programming of integrated circuit chips


An automatic white balance method and an electronic media device incorporating the method deploy characterized individual human facial color features set of a user or users of the device as reference color surfaces in automatic white balance illuminant estimation and color adjustments, which could improve illuminant estimation accuracy, provide flexible color adjustment options and render the image color to each user's own satisfaction taking into account user preferred rendition as target values through a human-machine interactive interface.

Skin color surfaces are usually difficult in automatic white balance illuminant estimation. Firstly, skin tone could vary significantly from individuals to races; and secondly, it could be very close to and sometimes mingle with the white point locus under certain illuminations, which tends to illuminant estimation errors for some common illuminant estimation algorithms, such as A. The Grey World, B. Perfect Reflector and C. Color by Correlation Models. It is often found that even in top of the line professional or smartphone cameras automatic white balance errors and unpleasant skin tone rendition would occur, for example, by approaching the camera head to near skins. Therefore, in US patent application US2008037975 (A1), it is proposed to remove the detected face area as a noise from automatic white balance illuminant estimation.
Automatic white balance usually comprises steps of illuminant estimation and color gain adjustment followed by related color correction or enhancement. For illuminant estimation, it is a well-known classical phenomenon in automatic white balance that what comes into the camera lens is a mixed emission from surfaces with unknown reflectance spectrum properties illuminated by unknown ambient light sources. It would be much easier for automatic white balance if there is a reference color surface in the scene with known color properties such as a gray chart used for on-site white balance by professional photographers. However, that approach is cumbersome and not applicable to ordinary users for daily usage. Now it is observed that the face of a user of a Front-Side camera is often within the view field of the camera and comprises a considerable portion of the pictures taken, while back-side cameras and other consumer or surveillance digital cameras also take shots of human portraits more often than not. These findings and growing popularity of smartphones and other devices with Front-Side cameras make it a practical application for automatic white balance and related color rendition to use a reference surface within the image target itself, the properly characterized facial color features of the device user.

Automatic white balance with facial color features as reference color surfaces


A radome for a radar sensor in a motor vehicle. The radome includes a first region, which is permeable to at least one specific type of electromagnetic waves, in particular radar waves, and a second region, which includes a shield, so that the second region is impermeable to the specific type of electromagnetic waves. Also, a radar sensor is described.

The use of driver assistance systems, especially distance warning or distance-keeping systems in motor vehicles is increasing steadily. In the case of distance-keeping systems on the basis of radar sensors, the corresponding radar sensors are covered by radomes.
A radome for a radar sensor in a motor vehicle is described in European Patent No. EP 2 151 888 A1; here, at least one wall is provided with at least one three-dimensional first structure on a first surface, and a second surface that lies across from the first surface has a second structure, which is adapted to the at least one first structure such that the optical path for electromagnetic waves is generally identical at points of the wall provided with a structure and those without structure.
However, because of the required characteristic of allowing radar beams to pass as freely as possible, such radomes require a lot of space. They must be placed at a distance from each other, so that, for instance, antennas provided for radiating the radar beams, and a corresponding supply network do not interfere with each other.

Radome for a radar sensor in a motor vehicle, and corresponding radar sensor


A session-based client-server asynchronous information search and retrieval system for sending character-by-character or multi-character strings of data to an intelligent server, that can be configured to immediately analyze the lengthening string and return to the client increasingly appropriate search information. Embodiments include integration within an Internet, web or other online environment, including applications for use in interactive database searching, data entry, online searching, online purchasing, music purchasing, people-searching, and other applications. In some implementations the system may be used to provide dynamically focused suggestions, auto-completed text, or other input-related assistance, to the user.

The world has moved to embrace the Internet. In fact, the Internet has become a world of its own: a world of information, a world of marketing, a world in which virtually anything can be brought to anyone, anywhere. If the Internet is a world in itself, then intranets are enterprises in themselves. Knowledge and domain components—from purchasing orders, insurance policies and tax returns to shoes, chainsaws and paper clips, as well as customers, employees, and infrastructure—everything is available through Web applications, or soon will be. The Internet offers an enormous connectivity advantage: the ability to maintain information and business rules in one place, accessible by anyone we wish it to be accessible to.
Like most modern software applications, browser-based applications typically use a client that runs in a web browser or on a handheld wireless device, a server that provides a centralized application that centrally manages application data and the business logic, and a protocol that governs the communications between the client and the server. However, applications designed for the Internet are far more primitive and far less powerful than LAN-based client/server applications because web browsers must work on as many platforms and systems as possible, and because the protocols that made the Internet a worldwide success were, by design, limited in features. As such, missing from Web applications are manageable windows, multiple document interfaces, drag-and-drop, in-line editing, automatic completions, different views on the same data, updating while typing or selecting, automatic spell checking, intelligent lookups, instant calculations, and many other powerful interactive end user tools that are now standard features on personal computers and workstations everywhere. Typically, users have to press Submit, Search, Continue, Next, or a similar button for their input to have any effect, often resulting in a completely new page loading into their browser. As Web applications attempt to handle increasingly complex business data, users find themselves filling in huge forms, then being notified about typos or incompleteness only after pressing Submit.
To address the deficiencies and limitations of the web browser, a new class of client technologies has emerged. These technologies enable developers to create "rich" Internet applications (RIAs). RIAs are friendly, data-driven applications that run in web browsers and other "thin" client environments, providing advanced UI features that significantly enhance the browser user's experience.
RIAs can be developed using frameworks and technologies based on several popular platforms, including Macromedia Flash, Sun Java, Microsoft ASP.NET, DHTML (Dynamic HTML), JavaScript, HTML, Extensible Markup Language (XML), cascading style sheets (CSS), the Document Object Model (DOM), and the Microsoft XMLHTTPRequest object.
What, then, are users missing, from an interaction perspective, in current Web pages? It is not the mouse, which is an intrinsic part of any Web experience and is often the only device available to interact with a Web page. It is also not the WYSIWYG nature of modern GUI-based applications. HTML in itself is quite rich in formatting text, adding pictures, movies and everything else that make web pages appealing. HTML is designed primarily for the presentation of such information. However, because it must display this information using different browsers across a diverse range of platforms and systems, HTML offers only a simple user interface that is relatively primitive by modern server-based application standards. Consequently, Web applications are seriously handicapped when delivering interactive applications. Alternatives, such as replacing HTML pages by Java applets or full-page Flash applications, can enhance interaction but they have other disadvantages, which is a reason many companies tend to stick with HTML and JavaScript when moving their applications to the Web.
What users are primarily missing from their Internet or online environment is feedback. Web applications cannot provide users with feedback, the essential element of intelligent interaction that users have come to expect from their personal computers and workstations. Web pages are relatively static. They cannot be automatically responsive to user input. Instead, users must push a Submit button and wait for the page to redraw before getting any useful feedback on the data they typed into a form. This is totally contrary to the user experience provided by today's stand-alone or client/server applications (e.g. Microsoft Word) where instantaneous feedback is a common and expected feature (e.g. highlighting of spelling mistakes).
The ability to provide immediate feedback on user actions would be advantageous in turning Web applications into interactive applications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for utilizing asynchronous client server communication objects


An image forming method comprises: supplying an image support onto an imaging site, the image support comprising a substrate, a light-scattering layer containing a white pigment and a first thermoplastic resin comprising a polyolefin-based resin, and a toner-receiving layer containing a second thermoplastic resin comprising a mixture of a crystalline resin and an amorphous resin, in this order, forming a colored toner image on the image support with a colored toner containing a third thermoplastic resin; and forming a transparent toner image on the image support having the colored toner image formed thereon with a transparent toner containing a fourth thermoplastic resin having a glass transition temperature of from not lower than about 50° C. to lower than about 70° C.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the configuration of an image formed by an imaging apparatus such as copying machine and printer and particularly to an image forming method effective for the formation of a color image using an electrophotographic method or the like and an image-forming apparatus using same.
2. Related Art
This type of color image-forming apparatus has heretofore employed the following imaging steps to form a color image taking an embodiment using electrophotographic process as an example.
In some detail, light reflected by an original when irradiated with light is subjected to color separation by a color scanner. The color data thus obtained are subjected to image processing and color correction by an image processor to obtain a plurality of color image signals which are each then modulated by a semiconductor laser or the like to generate laser beams. These laser beams are each applied to an image carrier made of an inorganic photoreceptor such as selenium and amorphous silicon or an organic photoreceptor comprising a phthalocyanine pigment, bisazo pigment or the like as a charge-generating layer by plural times to form a plurality of electrostatic latent images. These electrostatic latent images are then sequentially developed with charged Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan) and K (black) color toners. The toner images thus developed are then separately or altogether transferred from the image carrier made of an inorganic or organic photoreceptor onto an image support such as paper on which they are then fixed by a fixing unit of heat pressing fixing type. In this manner, a color image is formed on the image support.
In the aforementioned case, the color toner comprises an inorganic particulate material such as particulate silicon oxide, titanium and aluminum oxide or organic particulate material such as particulate PMMA and PVDF having an average particle diameter of from about 5 nm to 100 nm attached to a particulate material having an average particle diameter of from 1 μm to 15 μm having a colorant dispersed in a thermoplastic resin such as polyester resin, styrene-acryl copolymer and styrene-butadiene copolymer.
Examples of the colorant to be dispersed in the thermoplastic resin include benzidine yellow, quinoline yellow and Hansa yellow as Y (yellow) colorant, Rhodamine B, rose Bengal and pigment red as M (magenta) colorant, phthalocyanine blue, aniline blue and pigment blue as C (cyan) colorant, and carbon black, aniline black and blend of color pigments as K (black) colorant.
As the image support there has been heretofore used ordinary paper mainly composed of pulp material, coated paper obtained by spreading a resin mixed with a white pigment or the like over ordinary paper, white film made of a resin such as polyester mixed with a white pigment or the like.
On the other hand, as the transferring step there has been known a process which comprises previously allowing the image support to be adsorbed to a transferring roll or transferring belt composed of a dielectric material or the like provided opposed to an image carrier, and then applying a bias to the transferring roll or providing a predetermined transferring member (e.g., transferring corotoron, biased transferring roll or biased transferring brush) on the back side of the transferring belt, whereby an electric field having a polarity opposite that of the charge of the toner is given to the back side of the transferring roll or transferring belt so that the toner images are sequentially electrostatically transferred onto the image support.
As the transferring step there has been known also a process which comprises giving an electric field having a polarity opposite that of the charge of the toners to the back side of a belt-shaped intermediate transferring material composed of a dielectric material or the like provided opposed to the image carrier using a predetermined primary transferring member (e.g., transferring corotoron, biased transferring roll or biased transferring brush) so that the toner images formed on the image carrier are separately transferred onto the intermediate transferring material to form a multi-layer toner image thereon, and then giving an electric field having a polarity opposite that of the charge of the toners to the back side of the image support using a predetermined secondary transferring member (e.g., transferring corotoron, biased transferring roll or biased transferring brush) so that the toner images thus superposed on each other are electrostatically transferred onto the image support at once.
Further, as the fixing step there has been known, e.g., a heat pressing fixing process which comprises passing an image support onto which toner images have been transferred through the gap between a pair of fixing rolls having a heat source such as incandescent lamp incorporated therein disposed in pressure contact with each other so that the toners are heat-melted and fixed on the image support or a cooling/peeling fixing process which comprises passing an image support onto which toner images have been transferred with a fixing belt superposed thereon through the gap between a pair of fixing rolls disposed opposed to each other with the fixing belt interposed therebetween, the fixing belt having a release layer such as silicone resin layer formed thereon, extending over a plurality of tension rolls and comprising a heat source such as incandescent lamp incorporated therein, so that the toner images are heat-pressed and fixed, and then separating the toner images from the fixing belt after cooling so that the toner images are fixed on the image support.
It has been known that the latter fixing process is suitable particularly for the formation of an image having a gloss as high as that of silver salt photographic prints. Further, when the latter fixing process is used in combination with the aforementioned image support having a thermoplastic resin layer provided thereon, a uniformly high gloss can be obtained regardless of image density.
When as the base to be incorporated in the image support having a thermoplastic resin layer provided thereon there is used a white PET film or coated paper, the resulting image quality is good, but the image support itself is expensive. On the other hand, when inexpensive ordinary paper is used as a base, a technical problem arises that a good image quality cannot be obtained.
Further, when the thermoplastic resin is mainly composed of an amorphous polyester resin such as polyester-based resin, polystyrene-based resin and acrylic resin, a technical problem arises that all the requirements for low temperature fixability, heat resistance and mechanical strength cannot be satisfied at the same time.
In other words, taking into account the reduction of consumption of energy in the formation of image, low temperature fixability is essential. In order to satisfy the low temperature fixability, it is an effective solution to reduce the molecular weight of the resin or lower the glass transition point of the resin.
On the other hand, when an image having a smooth surface as photographic print is stored in automobiles or warehouses or allowed to stand in high temperature atmosphere during the transportation at the bottom of ship with the surface of an image superposed on the back surface of another, the surface of two images superposed on each other or the surface of an image superposed on an album material, it is likely that blocking can occur at the contact site.
In this case, in order to improve durability at high temperatures, i.e., heat resistance, it is effective to raise the glass transition point or molecular weight of the resin itself.
Further, the enhancement of resistance of image to folding, i.e., mechanical strength, too, is an important assignment. In order to enhance the mechanical strength, it is an effective solution to raise the molecular weight of the resin.
Thus, the enhancement of mechanical strength and heat resistance and the improvement of low temperature fixability are opposing assignments. In particular, in order to form an image having a gloss as high as that of silver salt photograph, it is necessary that the fixing temperature be raised. Therefore, it is more difficult to satisfy all the three requirements.

Image forming method and image-forming apparatus using the same


A multistage aspirator for an inflatable assembly may comprise a first end defining a primary gas inlet and a second end defining a gas outlet. An internal surface of the multistage aspirator may define a flow path extending from the primary gas inlet to the gas outlet. A first stage of the multistage aspirator may include a first stage orifice extending from the internal surface to an external surface of the multistage aspirator. A second stage of the multistage aspirator may include a second stage orifice located downstream of the first stage orifice and extending from the external surface to the internal surface.

Emergency evacuation assemblies generally include an inflatable structure, such an evacuation slide or a life raft, which may be used to exit an aircraft absent a jet way and/or in the event of a water landing. The gas used to inflate the inflatable structure is typically supplied by a cylinder containing compressed gas (such as nitrogen) or cryogenic fluid (such as liquid carbon dioxide). The volume of the gas supplied to the inflatable may be multiplied by injecting the supplied gas into an aspirator, which draws in ambient air that is combined with the supplied gas to inflate the inflatable structure. The aspirator may employ the venturi and/or coanda effect to use the flow of supplied gas to create a low pressure region in the flow stream, which draws in ambient air. Gas supplies that employ solid gas generators, as opposed to compressed gases, tend to reduce a weight and/or envelope of the evacuation assembly. However, the temperature of gases produced by solid gas generators may be 1000° Fahrenheit (F) (538° Celsius (C)) or greater. If the temperature of the gases entering the inflatable structure is too high, the material of the inflatable may melt and/or the inflatable may lose pressure when the temperature of the gas within the inflatable decreases. Additionally, the exhaust products of solid gas generators may contain flammable or other harmful gases. For example, solid gas generators that incorporate guanidine compounds to reduce the temperature of the exhaust gases can produce exhaust with greater than 14% hydrogen (H2) gas.

Multistage aspirator for inflatable assemblies


An isokinetic testing machine is disclosed having a support frame, a sub-assembly disposed on the support frame, a power source operably disposed within the sub-assembly, a first main arm having a proximal apex end and a distal end, the first main arm distal end is pivotally attached to the power source, a first torque arm pivotally and releasably attached to the first main arm proximal apex end, a user support area disposed on the support frame proximate to the first torque arm proximal end, a first load cell disposed within the first torque arm for measuring the torque when the first torque arm pivots, and wherein the first main arm and the torque arm can pivot and are configured to a desired position for isokinetic testing of the knees, the shoulders, and the back of the user.

Isokinetic testing machines have been used to measure the strength of a person in order to determine whether that person has the suitable physical strength for a particular job or task.
Broadly, it has been customary for the person or individual to go to a clinic or isokinetic testing center. Generally, such tests involve measuring the strength of the knees, the shoulders, and the back of the person or client at various isokinetic stations each designed to perform the isokinetic testing machine specifically for the back, the shoulders, and the knees.
As a result, the use of these prior art isokinetic apparatus resulted in a time consuming, inconvenient, costly, and cumbersome procedure for the users and employers.
A further drawback of the prior art isokinetic testing machines is that they are relatively large and require a substantial space because they require multiple setups and stations for testing of the knees, the shoulders, and the back. Moreover, because the prior art isokinetic testing machines require multiple stations for the testing of the various joints, such tests become more time consuming and costly to the employers. For example, if a company or an employer wants to test a large number of employees at a specific on-site location, transporting and setting up prior art isokinetic testing machines can be very costly and time consuming.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an isokinetic testing apparatus which can perform the isokinetic testing of a client's knees, shoulders, and the back in a single station in an efficient manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an isokinetic testing apparatus that is more compact and easily transportable.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an isokinetic testing apparatus that includes motorized arms, backrest, and seats to ease the physical demands of setting up and operating the apparatus.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an isokinetic testing apparatus that can be easily and accurately configured and reconfigured for subsequent testing of a specific client or user.


A boxlike casing has an opening partly formed on a front wall and a plurality of stationary contacts provided on an inner bottom surface. A slider is installed in the casing and slidable in a predetermined slide direction. The slider has a rod guide portion provided at a predetermined portion and spring receive portions provided at left and right ends. A rod is installed in the rod guide portion and slidable in a push direction normal to the slide direction. The rod has an operating lever protruding forward from the opening of the casing and a push portion extending rearward. At least one elastic contact piece is fixed to at least one of lower surfaces of the slider and the rod for electrically connecting or disconnecting the stationary contacts. Two L-shaped springs have proximal portions held by spring holders. The first arms have distal ends supported by spring receive portions and mesial portions received by arm receive portions. The second arms are pressed by the push portion of the rod movable in the push direction.

The present invention relates to a switch arrangement operable in both slide and push directions preferably used in various electronic devices, and its assembling method.
Many slide switches and push switches have been conventionally proposed. It is highly desirable that an operating lever of the switch is automatically returned to its original position. To realize this, each switch accommodates a plurality of springs.
However, providing the plurality of springs increases the total number of switch parts. Installing the springs into a switch casing is complicated and time-consuming because the springs easily jump out of the casing during the assembling work. This results in significant increase of manufacturing costs.

Switch arrangement operable in both slide and push directions and its assembling method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A puzzle toy that includes a plurality of push buttons that normally project from the surface of a cubic or spherical body. As the buttons are pushed in one at a time a latching mechanism residing within the body holds the buttons in a pushed-inwardly state, given a correct sequence of a subset of the buttons was pushed, deduced by logic and memory and including a chance mechanism. However if an incorrect sequence of the selected subset of button pushing is employed the user is unable to continue until all the buttons so far pushed are reset, either manually or automatically, forcing the player to start all over. The puzzle is solved when all buttons are pushed in flush with the body of the toy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to amusement devices and toys and, more specifically to a puzzle toy having a set of projecting buttons which are pushed inwardly by a player.
2. Background Description
One other puzzle toy with push pins or buttons is known to exist whereby the object of the game is to push in all six projections. This puzzle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,430 to Suzuki. The problem with it is that with each push of the projections the sequence of solving the puzzle changes whereby projections pop out randomly and have to be pushed back in randomly, thus making the solving of the puzzle strictly by chance and no logic or memory plays a part.

Push button puzzle with internal locking mechanism


Rock dust is applied to a mine wall for mine fire suppression in combination with a chemical foam, by generating the foam from air and a foamable liquid in a mixing chamber, and delivering the foam through one flexible conduit and a suspension of rock dust in water through another flexible conduit to a combiner, and causing the combined foam, rock dust and water to pass through a flexible hose to a delivery nozzle from which it is applied to a mine wall.

In coal mining, it has been common practice to apply limestone in the form of a dust to the walls of a mine, thereby causing the limestone to adhere to the walls. The process, known as "rock dusting," has two effects. First, because the limestone dust covers exposed surfaces of unmined coal, it prevents mine fires from being propagated along those exposed surfaces. Second, if methane, coal dust, or a mixture of methane and coal dust, ignite in a mine causing an explosion, the rock dust adhering to the mine wall will become airborne, and suppress the propagation of fire resulting from the explosion.
The United States Mine Safety and Health Administration has established standards for rock dusting, which include a requirement that all exposed surfaces of a mine be covered with rock dust at least 80% of the content of which is non-combustible. Existing methods for applying rock dust include application of rock dust to a mine wall. Recently, mines have begun using chemical foam to achieve improved adhesion of the rock dust to mine surfaces. One method of using foam in rock dust application is to apply a dry mixture of rock dust and a foaming agent to a mine wall. Another method is to apply a mixture of foam and rock dust to a mine wall. In the last-mentioned method, the foam is formed, mixed with rock dust in a mixing vessel, and pumped through a conduit to the point of application. A system for utilizing foam to enhance the adhesion of rock dust to a mine wall is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,849, granted Apr. 27, 2004. Still another method, described in United Stated Patent Publication 2012/0181051, published Jul. 19, 2012, utilizes a composition made up of rock dust, water, a pumping aid and a polymer is applied to a mine wall. The pumping aid can be a foaming agent such as a laurel ether sulfate. A foamed slurry composition is prepared by mixing rock dust and water in a tank, using a paddle mixer in the bottom of the tank for agitation. The pumping aid is added to the slurry, and a foamed slurry is formed by further agitation by the paddle mixer. The foamed slurry is then pumped to a nozzle for spraying.
In known systems in which a foam is combined with rock dust upstream of a delivery pump, or in which a mixture including rock dust and a foaming agent is caused to foam upstream of the pump, several problems can arise. The expansibility of the gas component of the foam can either interfere with the operation of the pump or limit the proportions of ingredients in the foamed compositions to ranges that allow the composition to be pumped effectively. In addition, the action of the pump can cause deterioration of the foam, requiring the generation of large amounts of foam, or the use of large amounts of foaming agent, to provide adequate quantities of foam in the mixture being applied to the mine wall.
In still another method, described in my copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/736,112, filed Jan. 8, 2013, an apparatus for applying rock dust to a mine wall comprises first and second conduits. Rock dust is entrained in air in the first conduit, and a flowable foam, made by mixing a foamable liquid and air, is delivered through the second conduit. Rock dust and air taken from the first conduit are combined with flowable foam taken from the second conduit, and the combined mixture of air, rock dust and foam is applied by a nozzle to a mine wall.
Among the apparatus and methods used previously for applying rock dust, the method described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/736,112 has, among its advantages, the ability to combine rock dust and foam near the point of application to the mine wall, not only avoiding difficulties encountered in pumping a foamed mixture, but also avoiding the deterioration of foam that takes place when a foam travels through a long conduit along with rock dust. However, the air used to entrain the dust in the process of patent application Ser. No. 13/736,112 also causes the foam to deteriorate, even though the foam is combined with the air-entrained rock dust at the location of the nozzle.

Method and apparatus for applying rock dust to a mine wall


The present invention provides a rolling method and apparatus for manufacturing concrete-reinforcing steel bars, wherein the invention provides for obtaining various concrete-reinforcing steel bars satisfying the required specifications for knot height while using the same finishing rolls even if the diameters of the final product steel bars are different. According to the present invention, two pairs of rolls (total of four rolls) each having a roll caliber and one or more knotting round calibers are used for the final finishing pass, and the two pairs of rolls are arranged to exert rolling pressures in two orthogonal directions on a raw material S.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rolling method and apparatus for manufacturing steel bars used for concrete reinforcement or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to a rolling method by which various steel bars for concrete reinforcement (hereinafter, referred to as concrete-reinforcing steel bars) having high dimensional accuracies, such as knot height can be obtained using the same finishing rolls regardless of the diameters of the steel bars of final products. Concrete-reinforcing steel bars of various types, including non-lib type, 2-lib type, and 4-lib type, can be manufactured. The present invention is particularly suitable for manufacturing concrete-reinforcing steel bars of the 4-lib type.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional rolling methods for manufacturing concrete-reinforcing steel bars, a raw material is rolled through a series of rolling stands in an early stage of the process so as to form an oval cross section. After that, the raw material, now in oval form, is rolled with a final finishing rolling stand equipped with a pair of rolls (total of two rolls) so as to form knots on the circumferential surface of the raw material.
FIG. 1 is an elevation view of conventional finishing rolls in a final finishing rolling stand. Each of the finishing rolls R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 has a roll caliber 1 which has a circular arc cross section, one or more grooves 2 to form knots (hereinafter, referred to as knotting round calibers) formed on the roll caliber at a pre-determined pitch in the circumferential direction of the roll and one groove 6 to form a lib (hereinafter, referred to as lib-forming groove) formed on the roll caliber bottom in the circumferential direction of the roll. A raw material S which has been rolled through a aeries of rolling stands in an earlier stage of the rolling process, providing an oval cross section is rolled with this final finishing rolling stand.
FIG. 2 contains schematic drawings showing the shape of one example of a final product 4-lib type steel bar S. The final product, i.e. a round rod material, has knots 3 on its circumferential surface. Additionally, the round rod material has four libs 4 on the surface along the axis direction which are formed due either to overfill of the raw material S from between the rolls R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 or to metal flow to the lib-forming groove. Such a concrete-reinforcing steel bar is specified by:
I unit weight; PA1 II diameter D excluding the heights of the knots 3 and libs 4; and PA1 III design of the knots 3, namely, PA1 rolling a raw material in a final finishing rolling stand with rolls each having a roll caliber and one or more knotting round calibers on the roll caliber at a pre-determined circumferential pitch so as to form knots on the circumferential surface of the raw material, wherein the final finishing rolling stand includes two pairs of rolls each having the roll caliber and one or more knotting round calibers, and wherein the two pairs of rolls are arranged to exert rolling pressures in two orthogonal directions on the raw material.
i) height t of the knots 3, PA2 ii) distance L between knots 3 next to each other in the axis direction, and PA2 iii) distance d between knots 3 next to each other in the circumferential direction. In particular, the tolerance range for the height t of the knots 3 is strictly specified.
In the prior art, when concrete-reinforcing steel bars which have the same knot height but different diameters are manufactured, so that all the steel bars satisfy the strict specifications, the rolls of the rolling stand must be changed from rolls fixed for a first diameter to rolls fixed for a second diameter. If a concrete-reinforcing steel bar having a small diameter is manufactured by rolling with a 2-roll rolling stand fixed for a diameter larger than that of the steel bar being manufactured, the roll gap between finishing rolls R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 in the rolling stand must be changed from a value H.sub.1 to a value H.sub.2 smaller than H.sub.1, as shown in FIG. 8. In this case, the knot height can not be controlled in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the roll gap, and therefore, each knot formed will have an irregularity in height relative to the circumferential direction. As a result, the produced steel bar will not satisfy the required specifications. Further, when a 4-lib type concrete-reinforcing steel bar is manufactured by rolling with a 2-roll rolling stand, breakage frequently occurs in a corner portion formed at the bottom of the caliber of each roll. Accordingly, steady rolling cannot be completed due to wear of the rolls.

Rolling method and rolling facility for manufacturing steel bars for concrete reinforcement


A spring loaded guard is provided to limit access to a potential nip point formed between the rotating nut driver and its guide and wherein the guard extends beyond the guide housing a sufficient distance to engage the tubing for displacement of the guard for use in restricted access areas.

This invention relates generally to power driven wrenches and more particularly to a guard for tubenut wrench jaws. In a typical power driven tubenut tool a rotary driven nut engaging socket and a retaining or guide housing for the socket or jaw are provided with a radial access slot which are in alignment to permit the wrench to be slipped over a tube for engagement and for tightening or loosening a retaining tubenut. In operation, a pinch or nip point is created in the radial opening area as the jaw opening passes through the surrounding housing opening. It is therefore desirable to prevent access to the nip point area during tool operation or the possibility of accidental operation. Due to the typical use of tubenut wrenches, any guard must be self deployed and easily diverted to permit access of the tube and allow function of the tubenut wrench in restricted space often associated with hydraulic manifolds and the like.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present devices and methods. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.


An additive package for removing oil from solid material recovered from a well bore, e.g., drill cuttings and produced sand, is provided. The additive package includes an aqueous acidic solution containing a polymer substituted with an amino group, a halogenating agent, and optionally one or more surfactants. The polymer substituted with an amino group is preferably chitosan, and the halogenating agent is preferably a sodium hypochlorite solution. A product of the reaction of the polymer and the halogenating agent, in conjunction with the surfactant when present, is capable of causing the separation of at least a portion of the oil from the solid material.

Well drilling is a process used in penetrating subterranean zones (also known as subterranean formations) that produce oil and gas. In well drilling, a well bore is drilled while a drilling fluid (also known as a drilling mud) is circulated through the well bore. The circulation of the drilling fluid is then terminated, and a string of pipe, e.g., casing, is run in the well bore. The drilling fluid in the well bore is conditioned by circulating it downwardly through the interior of the pipe and upwardly through the annulus, which is located between the exterior of the pipe and the walls of the well bore. Next, primary cementing is typically performed whereby a slurry of cement in water is placed in the annulus and permitted to set into a hard mass to thereby attach the string of pipe to the walls of the well bore and seal the annulus.
Drilling through subterranean zones containing clay and shales which swell upon exposure to water requires the use of non-aqueous drilling fluids to avoid problems such as sloughing and well collapse. Such non-aqueous fluids include a base fluid, e.g., diesel, mineral oil, unsaturated olefins, organic esters, or a combination thereof. Other components, such as calcium chloride brine, emulsifying surfactants, rheology modifiers, and wetting agents, are added to the base fluid such that the resulting water-in-oil emulsion, also referred to as an invert emulsion, may contain up to about 30-40 weight % internal aqueous phase based on the weight of the emulsion. The symbol "%" represents the term "percent" throughout this application.
During the drilling process, the drill bit generates drill cuttings as it forms the well bore. Drill cuttings consist of small pieces of shale and rock. The drill cuttings are carried in a return flow stream of the drilling fluid back to the well drilling platform. They are then separated from the bulk of the drilling fluid via conventional separators such as shale shakers, mud cleaners, and centrifuges. Some shale shakers filter coarse material from the drilling fluid while other shale shakers remove finer particles from the drilling fluid. After removing the drill cuttings therefrom, the drilling fluid may be re-used in the drilling process.
The drill cuttings separated from the bulk drilling fluid typically are discharged from the drilling platform to the surrounding area. Drilling platforms are often located offshore in hundreds of feet of water filled with marine life. The drill cuttings thus accumulate in the seabed near the base of the platform. Unfortunately, the drill cuttings collected from drilling with non-aqueous drilling fluids are contaminated with the oily organic drilling fluid. This oil must be removed from the drill cuttings before their disposal. Otherwise, the oil would pollute the surrounding environment and would be particularly hazardous to marine life.
The crude oil recovered from the subterranean formations often contains sand that must be separated from the oil. Like the drill cuttings, the sand is disposed of by dumping it from the drilling platform into the seabed where it forms sand piles. The sand also may be undesirably coated with the produced crude oil. Thus, the sand could adversely affect the marine environment unless the oil is removed therefrom.
Several methods have been used to remove oil from drill cuttings and sand to meet certain regulations designed to protect the environment from oil pollution. In one method, the oil is extracted using solvents such as toluene or methylene chloride. However, the potential hazards caused by the toxic nature of the solvents have raised doubts about this method. Another method involves transporting the drill cuttings and the sand onshore and subjecting them to a thermal process. For example, the oil is commonly burned off using very high temperature heat lamps or steam. Using such a thermal process can be very expensive, particularly since it is necessary to transport the drill cuttings and the sand to an onshore location.
As such, there continues to be a need for improved processes that utilize environmentally friendly, economical, and simple means for reducing the oil level in well bores, drill cuttings, and sand. The present invention utilizes a non-hazardous and simple process to remove oil contamination from solid materials, thus allowing for the drill cuttings and the sand to be inexpensively disposed of onsite, e.g., at the drilling platform.

Additive packages for removing oil from solid materials recovered from a well bore


The present disclosure relates to an electrochemical flow cell that includes a gap positioned between an ion exchange membrane (IEM) and a cathode gas diffusion electrode (GDE), where the gap is positioned to contain a liquid and the gap has a thickness value, as defined by the distance between the IEM and the cathode GDE, of between greater than zero mm and less than about 2.0 mm. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the gap may be between about 0.1 mm and about 1.0 mm.

Several studies on CO2 reduction have been performed, however studies have not focused on the development of a viable and scalable hardware architecture that would enable this reaction to take place at industrial relevant current densities and therefore improve the overall practicality of this process. Most studies were tested in hardware adopted from other applications, e.g., fuel cells, half cells, and water electrochemical flow cells. Lacking suitable hardware specifically designed for the reduction of CO2 has, among other things, limited the long-term operation of CO2 reduction systems and has prevented the identification of electrode degradation mechanisms. In addition, when an electrolyte layer is used between the membrane and cathode, an ohmic loss is introduced by the electrolyte layer, causing an extremely high cell voltage. Other issues arising from improperly designed hardware includes flooding of the gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), inhibiting the inability to reach high current densities. Thus, there remains a need for electrochemical flow cells designed for the efficient and economic electrochemical reduction of CO2 to useful intermediates and products.

Electrolyzers for the reduction of carbon dioxide to formate


An electrically heatable honeycomb body includes a large number of passages which are defined by partition walls made of an electroconductive material and which are substantially parallel to the direction of a gas flowing through the honeycomb body, and two ends which are the gas inlet and outlet sides of honeycomb body. At least one slit is formed to control, upon electrification of honeycomb body, the flow of electricity therein and consequently the heat generation therein. In order to make lower the temperature of the end of each outer slit close to each of the electrodes attached to the honeycomb body, than the temperature of the center of honeycomb body or the temperature of the end of each inner slit, the thickness of partition walls is made larger at the intersection points of partition walls, in the passages surrounding said end of each outer slit, or the cell number between two adjacent slits is made larger in outer slits close to each of the electrodes attached to the honeycomb body, than in inner slits. This honeycomb body can prevent cell rupture from occurring during repeated electrification and has excellent durability.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrically heatable honeycomb body and a honeycomb unit comprising the honeycomb body. More particularly, the present invention relates to a honeycomb body favorably used as a honeycomb heater for, for example, purification of the exhaust gas emitted during the cold start of automobile; as well as to a honeycomb unit comprising the honeycomb body.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, metallic honeycomb structures have drawn attention as a catalyst, a catalyst carrier or the like used for purification of the nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) present in the exhaust gases emitted from the internal engines of automobiles, etc.
As the control for such exhaust gases has become stricter, development of a heater, etc. capable of reducing the emission during the cold start of engine has become more necessary.
In order to respond to such necessity, the present applicant proposed heaters such as mentioned below.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,757 was proposed a honeycomb heater comprising (a) a honeycomb structure and (b) electrodes, wherein slits as a resistance-adjusting means were provided in the honeycomb structure between the electrodes. This heater can quickly heat the low-temperature exhaust gas emitted during engine start.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,547 were proposed a honeycomb heater as shown in FIG. 10, wherein the partition wall "a" at the dead end of each slit 100 (where a current is concentrated most) and the partition walls "b" at the both sides of each slit (where a current is concentrated at a relatively high degree) were made thicker with an electroconductive material; and a honeycomb heater as shown in FIG. 11, wherein the passages "d", "f" and "h" (where a current is concentrated) were sealed with an electroconductive material. In these honeycomb heaters, however, cell rupture occurred at times when heating by electrification was repeated frequently.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,841 was proposed a honeycomb heater wherein the polygonal section of each cell undergoing larger thermal shock and generating a higher thermal stress was formed so as to have a side of 10 mm or less in order to relax the thermal shock and prevent the deformation, cracking, etc. of the cell. However, when this honeycomb heater was actually electrified, cell deformation occurred at the cells of the both sides of each slit end where current concentration took place, and a higher stress appeared at these cells. Therefore, it is necessary to take an appropriate countermeasure to prevent the deformation of such cells and reduce their thermal stress.
In U.S. patent application No. 08/357,213 (European Patent Publication 0 661 097) was proposed a honeycomb heater whose thickness in the direction of gas flow was made smaller at a particular position so as to allow quick local heating. In this heater, however, since the thickness changes sharply from that particular position, current concentration occurred at that position at times during electrification.
As described above, when a honeycomb structure is electrified, there appears (appear) a current-concentrating portion(s). Such portion(s) is (are) in the vicinity of each slit end in the case of a honeycomb structure having a slit(s) and, in the case of a honeycomb structure of vortex type, the center thereof. When the honeycomb structure is subjected to repeated electrification, cell rupture occurs at the current-concentrating portion(s) of the honeycomb structure, which may finally lead to no flow of electricity.

Electrically heatable honeycomb body and honeycomb unit comprising said honeycomb body


A communication system is disclosed in which communication resources are dynamically partitioned into a plurality of slices, each slice having at least one associated network-level performance requirement. A network-level performance requirement is translated into cell-level resource requirement(s) for determining, based on the cell-level resource requirement(s), whether to admit a slice instance. When the slice instance is admitted, information identifying the cell-level resource requirement(s) for the slice instance is provided to a scheduler function. The cell-level resource requirement(s) for a given slice instance may be used to determine an associated packet delivery deadline and entitled resource amount before deadline. The scheduler function allocates communication resources to each admitted slice based on an earliest-deadline-first method.

The latest developments of the 3GPP standards are referred to as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also commonly referred as '4G'. In addition, the term '5G' and 'new radio' (NR) refer to an evolving communication technology that is expected to support a variety of applications and services such as Machine Type Communications (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT) communications, vehicular communications and autonomous cars, high resolution video streaming, smart city services, and/or the like. Accordingly, 5G technologies are expected to enable network access to vertical markets and support network (RAN) sharing for offering networking services to third parties and for creating new business opportunities. 3GPP intends to support 5G by way of the so-called 3GPP Next Generation (NextGen) radio access network (RAN) and the 3GPP NextGen core (NGC) network.
The next-generation mobile networks must support diversified service requirements, which have been classified into three categories by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) [1]: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (uRLLC) and Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC). eMBB aims to provide enhanced support of conventional MBB, with focuses on services requiring large and guaranteed bandwidth such as High Definition (HD) video, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR); uRLLC is a requirement for critical applications such as automated driving and factory automation, which require guaranteed access within a very short time; mMTC needs to support massive number of connected devices such as smart metering and environment monitoring but can usually tolerate certain access delay. It will be appreciated that some of these applications may have relatively lenient Quality of Service/Quality of Experience (QoS/QoE) requirements, while some applications may have relatively stringent QoS/QoE requirements (e.g. high bandwidth and/or low latency).
As it would be expensive and infeasible to deploy dedicated network infrastructure for each service or application type, network slicing (or network virtualisation) is envisaged as a key enabler to support above diversified service requirements in the 5G ecosystem by dynamically partitioning physical network infrastructure into logical networks, referred as network slices, to meet certain network characteristics [2]. Effectively, a network slice can be regarded a logical network for a specific tenant. Various details of 5G networks and network slicing are described in, for example, the 'NGMN 5G White Paper' V1.0 by the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance, which document is available from https://www.ngmn.org/5g-white-paper.html.


Connectors to which cables are attached are provided. Included is a cable having a conductor covered with an insulator, the connector comprising a housing and a terminal held in the housing and connected to the conductor. Cable holders are arranged in the housing and hold a distal end portion of the cable. A shell is fitted in the housing to cover these members. The cable holders hold the cable in the housing, the housing including: fitting holes for fitting the cable holders, the shell including: through holes provided in a position opposed to the fitting holes, the cable holders having a double-legged or double-tined portion consisting of a pair of legs or tines for grasping the cables, such as by pinching or nipping, and a board portion or backbone for connecting the legs or tines together. The cable holders straddle and pinch the cable while the board portion is positioned in the through holes when fitted in the fitting holes via the through holes, thereby reducing size. Another advantage is preventing solder hardening of the wires, thereby further facilitating miniaturization.

The present invention relates to a connector for a plurality of cables. The connector provides electrical connection between the cables and a circuit board in a manner that fosters miniaturization and avoids undue stiffness of the cables at the connector.
Coaxial cables are known as cables for transmitting high-frequency signals in portable telephones, personal computers, and the like in order to transmit a volume of information. As shown in prior art FIGS. 37 and 38, a typical coaxial cable 300 is composed of a signal line 306 having a centrally located inner conductor 302 covered with an inner insulator 304, an outer conductor 308 consisting of a large number of spirally wound or braided electric wires and covering the signal line 306, and an outer insulator 310 covering the outer conductor 308.
Soldering methods are among the technologies available to connect a cable such as the coaxial cable 300 to a connector. As shown in FIG. 39, a known soldering method exposes the outer conductor 308 and the inner conductor 302 by stripping off the outer insulator 310 and the inner insulator 304, and the outer conductor 308 is twisted into a strand and then soldered between flat metal sheets (not shown). In this known soldering method, when soldering the coaxial cables to terminals, the solder can be "sucked up" by the outer conductor 308 through a phenomenon known as "solder wicking". In such a case, the outer conductor 308 becomes hard. Once the outer conductor 308 becomes hard, the coaxial cables are not flexible, and they thereby become difficult to wind or twist and/or difficult to arrange in a narrow space such as inside a portable telephone. Such difficulties make the coaxial cables inconvenient and inefficient and at times unsuitable for applications where increased miniaturization is an objective. Further, if extraordinary outer forces are imparted to the hardened portion, cracking of the hardened portion may be experienced.
As the types of connectors have diversified in recent years, connectors having a large number of terminals arranged in parallel have come into use. With such connectors, their large number of parallel terminals are connected to flat cables having a large number of coaxial cables. Connectors having such flat cables can be components of many devices or electronic instruments. For instance, in folding-type portable telephones, these types of connectors are used for transmitting signals between a liquid crystal screen and operational buttons on opposite sides of the device joined through a hinge. The portable telephone is folded by rotating one side to the other side but the cables typically are arranged in the hinge portion. When the hardening phenomenon due to soldering occurs at such hinge portion cable areas, a device such as a portable telephone becomes difficult to fold, the connector is not easily passed through a cable insertion-hole (not shown) at the hinge, and/or connection failure may be induced.
Meanwhile, the need for miniaturization of portable instruments has been increasing over the years, which means that the outer dimensions of connectors cannot be increased. Hence, problems such as those noted herein must be addressed without increasing the size of the device, and prior approaches have focused on improvements in connector components. Prior publications along these lines teach technologies for effecting solder connection between a connector and a coaxial cable or other such electric wire. These include Japanese Patent Publication No. JP 2000-260497 A, No. JP 11-260439 A and No. JP 11-260440 A.

Miniaturization facilitating plug connectors


A magnetic memory device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The magnetic memory device can include a word line, a freely switchable layer, a fixed layer, a dielectric layer, and a bit line. The freely switchable layer can be electrically connected to a diffusion region at one side of the word line, and the fixed layer can be horizontally adjacent to the freely switchable layer. The dielectric layer can be provided between the freely switchable layer and the fixed layer, and the bit line can be electrically connected to the fixed layer.

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) can be used as a non-volatile memory.
As a low-power consumption device capable of retaining data even when no power is supplied, MRAM is also suitable for reducing cell size, and is thus being adopted as a next generation memory device.
Therefore, it appears that dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and flash memory devices may be replaced by magnetic memory devices, which can be applied in personal computers, mainframe computers, smart cards, portable computers, mobile communication terminals, telephones, televisions, and other electronic devices.
A magnetic memory device typically uses a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with an insulating layer inserted between a fixed layer and a freely switchable layer.
A magnetic memory device can store different values of contact resistances manifested with the magnetic moment of the fixed layer and the magnetic moment of the freely switchable layer inversed as digital states D0 and D1, respectively. The digital states of the magnetic memory device can generally be sustained as long as no external magnetic field is applied exceeding the anti-magnetic field of the freely switchable layer.
The magnetic memory device can sense the stored digital states by either supplying a current to the MTJ to measure the applied voltage at the junction or by measuring a flowing current with an applied predetermined voltage.

Magnetic memory device and method for manufacturing the same


A sequential prefetch method is provided for a pipelined data processor having a sequential instruction prefetch unit (IPU). An instruction queue in the IPU is coupled to a pipelined instruction unit and an instruction cache of the data processor. A prefetch controller in the IPU keeps the instruction stream prefetched so that the instruction queue may load any combination of one, two, or three word instructions into the pipelined instruction unit every clock cycle. The pipelined instruction unit receives instruction words from the instruction queue, and decodes the instruction for execution operations, and for the instruction length/pipeline movement. A queue filling method is provided for maintaining the requisite number of instruction words in the instruction queue to avoid pipeline stalls. The queue filling method is based upon the movement of the instruction pipeline attributable to the usage by an instruction sequencer of the instruction words received from the instruction queue.

Today's high performance data processors execute a complex set of instructions, wherein each instruction is comprised of a sequence of simple machine operations. Typically, these data processors have instructions of varying length (number of machine operations), and execution time (number of clock cycles per instruction). These variable length instructions are necessary to facilitate memory accesses by numerous instructions operating in a variety of addressing modes.
In the conventional non-pipelined data processor, each instruction executes to completion before the next instruction commences. In order to improve the efficiency of machine operations, while increasing overall performance, pipelined data processors were implemented in conventional data processor designs. These pipelined data processors are capable of executing several instructions concurrently, by overlapping sub-operations of successive instructions. Optimally, pipelined processors fetch one new instruction, and complete executing another instruction every clock cycle. Thus, although the actual execution time required for complex instructions varies, the overall instruction execution rate may approach one instruction per clock cycle. As a result, the use of pipelined processors dramatically improves the overall performance of the data processor.
In order to achieve single cycle instruction execution, an instruction prefetch unit (IPU) must maintain an instruction stream capable of loading the instruction pipeline (IP) with the requisite number of instruction words every clock cycle. If the IPU fails to maintain the required instruction stream, and the IP is not loaded with the requisite number of instruction words, a pipeline stall may occur. In the prior art, some IPUs contain an instruction queue (predetermined number of buffers) for temporarily storing multiple instructions (e.g. four to eight instructions). The instruction queue functions as a dispatcher, and issues a stream of instructions to the IP. During program execution, the buffers in the instruction queue are periodically emptied; therefore, a mechanism for refilling the buffers is necessary. Generally, additional logic is attached to the prefetch instruction queue, to extract the required information from each instruction stored therein, and to refill the instruction queue once it is emptied. Circuit implementation of this additional logic may result in efficient utilization of chip area.
The refilling mechanism must maintain the instruction stream so that any combination of one, two or three-word instructions can be loaded into the IP every clock cycle. Furthermore, the refilling mechanism must accommodate change of flow instructions (e.g. branch), to insure that the instruction queue is filled with the requisite instruction stream.

Method for refilling instruction queue by reading predetermined number of instruction words comprising one or more instructions and determining the actual number of instruction words used