A computer system and method concurrently process transactions directed to computer devices coupled to a bus agent. The method transmits first and second transaction requests from one or more computer processors across a computer bus to the bus agent. The bus agent transmits the first transaction request to a first computer device coupled to the bus agent. In addition, the bus agent transmits the second transaction request to a second computer device before the bus agent has received a transaction response to the first transaction request from the first computer device, thereby concurrently processing the transaction requests. The bus agent includes plural device managers each uniquely associated with one of the computer devices. Each device manager employs a queue pointer into a transaction queue to track each transaction involving the computer device associated with the device manager.

A computer system includes a set of interconnected components or modules of three basic types: central processing unit (CPU), memory, and input/output (I/O). The modules of the computer system are connected together by communication pathways known as busses. A bus is a shared transmission medium in that plural computer modules can transmit across the same bus. However, if two modules transmit during the same time period, their signals will overlap and become garbled. Therefore, it is important to ensure that only one module transmits across the bus during a given time period.
The central processing unit or processor communicates with the memory and I/O modules of the computer system using information transfers known as transactions. Each transaction includes a transaction request in which one of the computer system modules, such as the computer processor, requests the transfer of information to or from another one of the modules. For example, the computer processor could issue a transaction request that writes data to or reads data from the memory module. Each transaction also includes a transaction response that responds to the transaction request or indicates that an error has occurred.
Many computer processors, such as the Intel Pentium Pro processor, issue transaction requests in a pipelined manner in which plural transaction requests are outstanding simultaneously. For example, the Pentium Pro processor bus allows up to eight transactions to be outstanding simultaneously. With such a pipelined system, care must be taken to ensure that the transaction requests are responded to in the same order as they were issued.
Shown in FIG. 1 is a prior art computer system 10 that includes a processor bus 12. The computer system 10 includes a multiprocessor system architecture in which first and second computer processors 14, 16 are each coupled to the processor bus 12. Coupled to the first computer processor 14 is an input device 18, such as a keyboard, mouse, or microphone, that inputs information to the first computer processor from a user. The computer system 10 also includes first and second bus agents 20, 22 coupled to the first and second computer processors 14, 16 via the processor bus 12. Coupled to the first bus agent 20 is a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus 24 which is coupled via a video controller 26 to a video monitor 28 that outputs information to the user. An Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus 30 also is coupled to the PCI bus 24 via a PCI/ISA bridge 32. Coupled to the ISA bus 30 are a hard drive 34 and a fax/modem 36. Coupled to the second bus agent 22 is a main memory 38.
Whenever either of the first and second computer processors 14, 16 desires to transmit information to or receive information from one of the computer devices 26, 34-38 the computer processor issues a transaction request as discussed above. In prior art computer systems, such as the computer system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the first and second processors 14, 16 and the first and second bus agents 20, 22 include transaction queues 40, 42, 44, 46, respectively, that each keep track of the outstanding transactions of the computer system 10. For example, if the first processor 14 issues a transaction request to read data from the hard drive 34, the first and second processors 14, 16 and the first and second bus agents 20, 22 insert an indication of the transaction request in their respective transaction queues 40-46. Each of the first and second processors 14, 16 and the first and second bus agents 20, 22 includes logic that prevents the transaction requests from being responded to out of the sequential order in which the transaction requests are inserted in the respective transaction queues 40-46. Thus, the transaction queues 40-46 ensure that the various transaction requests transmitted by the processors 14, 16 and bus agents 20, 22 are answered with transaction responses in the same order as the transaction requests were issued.
Although the transaction queues 40-46 enable each of the first and second processors 14, 16 and the bus agents 20, 22 to process a single transaction concurrently, none of the processors 14, 16 or bus agents 20, 22 can process plural transaction requests concurrently. For example, if the first processor 14 issues a transaction request to read data from the hard drive 34 and the second processor 16 subsequently issues a transaction request to write data to the video controller 26, the two transactions cannot be processed concurrently by the video controller 26 and the hard drive 34. Instead, the first bus agent 20 will wait until after the hard drive 34 has issued a transaction response in response to the first transaction request and the bus agent has forwarded the transaction response of the processor bus 12 to the first processor 14 before transmitting the second transaction request to the video controller 26. The first bus agent 20 will wait to send the second transaction request to the video controller 26 even if the video controller 26 is so much faster than the hard drive 34 that the video controller could respond to the second transaction request before the hard drive 34 could respond to the first transaction request.
If the first bus agent 20 transmitted the second transaction request before receiving the response to the first transaction request, then the first bus agent could transmit the second transaction response on the processor bus before transmitting the first transaction response. Transmitting the transaction responses out of order like that would cause the first processor 14 to incorrectly receive the second transaction response in response to the first transaction request. As such, the first processor 14 would be expecting data read from the hard drive 34 and instead would receive the second transaction response from the video controller indicating that data was correctly written to the video controller. Such transposing of transaction responses could quickly disable the computer system 10.

Method and system for concurrent computer transaction processing


Methods of manufacturing circuit boards and circuit boards formed thereby to have a surface that is configured to receive circuitry and a notch of a selectable configuration in a lateral edge along the surface of the circuit board boards, and where the selectable configuration is configured to convey identifying information relating to the circuit boards. Such a circuit board can be produced from a panel containing one or more circuit boards, wherein at least one circuit board has a border adjoined and defined by a partition feature that is configured to enable the circuit board to be physically separated from other portions of the panel. Notches having the same of varying selectable configurations may be formed on the at least one circuit board during the manufacturing of the circuit board.

The present invention generally relates to circuit boards. The invention particularly relates to methods of identifying circuit boards.
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are often manufactured and assembled while part of an array of PCBs within a panel to enable multiple PCBs to be manufactured and assembled at the same time using automated processes. A panel may be in the form of a multilayer blank (board). The blank may comprise any suitable number of layers formed of various materials. For example, the blank may include a laminate base having a thin copper layer on one or more surfaces thereof. An image may be applied to surfaces of the blank representative of (as nonlimiting examples) traces and pads of the desired circuit board. Imaging is often performed with high intensity ultraviolet light and chemical processes known in the art. The resulting image effectively exposes portions of a copper layer of the blank while covering other portions of the copper layer. Etching processes are performed to remove the exposed portions and expose the laminate base thereunder. The remaining portions of the copper layer, which were covered during the etching process, generally define features such as traces and pads. An oxide coating may be applied to the remaining portions of the copper layer to improve adhesion to their surfaces. At this point, additional layers, including layers of copper foil, may be added to the blank through one or more lamination processes.
After various processes to prepare the blank for circuit components, the blank may then be marked to include, for example, component placement, part numbers or names, date codes, logos or other specified information relating to each board to be fabricated from the blank, after which various other processes may be performed on the blank to result in a multilayer blank suitable for producing the intended panel and its circuit boards.
The individual circuit boards within a panel often carry markings that may include the identity of the manufacturer, part numbers, board dimensions, model numbers, versions, date codes, and/or other identifying information capable of identifying the boards after they have been placed installed in a computing system. Conventionally, these identifying markings may be printed on components mounted to the circuit board and/or printed on portions of the circuit board surfaces that are not occupied with components, for example, by inking processes performed on outer layers of copper that were applied to the panel during its manufacture. These processes often add additional steps, time, and expense to the manufacturing process of a circuit board. In addition, as the sizes of circuit boards are reduced and denser component placement is sought, there is less space on circuit boards where identifying markings may be located and remain visible in the final circuit boards.
In view of the above, there is a long felt need for marking circuit boards with identifiers and/or other identifying information relating to the boards while reducing the additional steps and time, and associated expenses.

Circuit boards and methods of identification and manufacturing thereof


An energy harvester including first and second sheets; and a plurality of walls, each wall being sandwiched between the first and second sheets and surrounding a cavity, wherein each cavity houses at least one curved plate adapted to change from a first shape to a second shape when its temperature reaches a first threshold and to return to the first shape when its temperature falls to a second threshold lower than said first threshold.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an energy harvesting device and to a method of forming such a device. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a device that converts thermal energy into electrical energy.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It has been proposed to use a bimetal plate, which changes shape under varying temperature conditions, in combination with a layer of piezoelectric material, to convert thermal energy into electrical energy.
FIG. 1 substantially reproduces FIG. 2 of U.S. patent application 2011/083714. As illustrated, a curved bimetal plate 100 comprises a support layer 102, which changes shape in response to temperature variations. Plate 100 is shown having a first shape in the form of an arch, and for example changes shape to the form of an inverted arch when its temperature changes. A layer 104 of piezoelectric material is superposed over the support layer 102. A piezoelectric material is one that has the property of generating a voltage difference between its main surfaces that varies depending on the stress applied to it. During a shape change of the curved metal plate 100, a stress S occurs in the piezoelectric layer 104, represented by arrows in FIG. 1, resulting in variations in the voltage signals V− and V+ present on the top and bottom surfaces of the piezoelectric layer 104. The curved metal plate 100 is, for example, positioned in a cavity between hot and cold walls, such that its middle section contacts with the hot and cold walls when the curved plate 100 assumes its respective shapes. This results in a periodic shape change of the metal plate 100, leading to the generation of a periodic voltage signal from which electrical energy can be extracted.
There is a need in the art for a simple and low cost energy harvester that operates based on the above principles and that can provide an efficient conversion of thermal to electrical energy in a range of different environments.


A memory apparatus and a memory accessing method are provided. The memory accessing method includes: calculating an accessed times of each of a plurality of word line addresses; setting each of the corresponding word line addresses as an aggressor word line address by comparing the accessed times of the each of the word line addresses and a threshold accessed times; and setting a backup word line address, and replacing memory cells of the aggressor word line address by memory cells of the backup word line address.

Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for accessing a memory, and particularly, the invention relates to a method for reducing a row hammer effect of a memory.
Related Art
In a specific application of a dynamic memory, a specific word line therein is probably required to be repeatedly turned on by many times. In this case, data stored in memory cells on word lines adjacent to the word line that is repeatedly turned on by many times is probably varied due to a cross talk effect or a coupling effect, and the situation mentioned above is called row hammer effect.
In detail, referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a dynamic memory having a row hammer effect. When the word line WLA is repeatedly turned on by many times during two adjacent refresh operations, the memory cells on the word lines WLB and WLC adjacent to the word line WLA may have a data error phenomenon due to the repeat turn-on operations of the word line WLA. The word lines WLB and WLC can be referred to as victim word lines, and the word line WLA can be referred to as an aggressor word line.
In the conventional technical field, additional refresh operations are generally performed to resolve the aforementioned problem of the row hammer effect. However, such solution cannot be implemented in burst type refresh operations. Moreover, to cope with the additional refresh operations to be performed, the specification of the dynamic memory is required to be modified, which may cause usage difficulty.

Memory apparatus and method for accessing memory


A fuel injection timing control system for a diesel fuel injection pump with a duty-cycle controlled electromagnetic solenoid valve associated with an injection-timing-control timer piston to change a timer-piston axial position or a set position of a pump plunger in response to a duty cycle of the electromagnetic solenoid valve, comprises a control unit for transiently permitting the entry of a duty cycle of the electromagnetic solenoid valve into a predetermined dead-zone for a predetermined period of time during a fuel injection timing closed-loop control in which an actual injection timing is feed-back controlled toward a target injection timing. In addition, the control unit limits the duty cycle of the electromagnetic solenoid valve to a predetermined limiting value as soon as the predetermined time period has been elapsed, during the fuel injection timing closed-loop control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel injection timing control system of a fuel-injection pump for diesel engines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
On conventional distributor type fuel-injection pumps for use in diesel engines, the injection pump employs therein a fuel-injection timing control piston, often called a "timer piston" serving as a fuel-injection timing control member, so that a fuel-injection timing is controllable depending on an axial sliding movement or an axial position) of the timer piston. One end of the timer piston cooperates with the cylindrical piston chamber of the pump housing to define a high-pressure chamber which communicates with the pump discharge outlet port (i.e., a pump chamber of a fuel-feed pump) via an orifice (exactly a flow-restriction orifice), whereas the other end of the timer piston cooperates with the cylindrical piston chamber of the pump housing to define a low-pressure chamber which communicates with the pump inlet port (i.e., a suction chamber of the fuel-feed pump). A communication passageway is provided between the high-pressure and low-pressure chambers for intercommunication therebetween. An electro-magnetic valve (exactly an electromagnetic solenoid valve) is also provided in the communication passageway for opening and closing the communication passageway at a desired duty cycle. That is to say, the opening and closing of the electromagnetic solenoid valve is controlled or regulated by way of a so-called duty-cycle control (exactly a duty-cycle modulated control) of the electromagnetic solenoid valve or an on and off time control of the solenoid valve, thereby controlling or regulating the amount of fuel flowing from the high-pressure chamber to the low-pressure chamber depending on the desired duty cycle value. Thus, a pressure in the high-pressure chamber is adjustable (in other words, the pressure differential between the high-pressure and low-pressure chambers of the fuel-feed pump) depending on the duty cycle of the solenoid valve. Therefore, the axial position of the timer piston is controlled by balancing the controlled pressure differential between the high-pressure and low-pressure chambers to the spring bias of a return spring which is operably disposed in the previously-noted cylindrical piston chamber to act on the one end of the timer piston. In the conventional diesel-engine fuel-injection system, the timer piston is mechanically linked to a pump plunger to adjust the axial position of the pump plunger according to the axial position of the timer piston and consequently to adjust the fuel injection timing. Also, the conventional electronic fuel-injection system sets a target fuel-injection timing usually based on engine/vehicle operating conditions such as engine load and speed. For instance, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 7-127552 has been disclosed a fuel-injection timing detecting device for diesel engines. The Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 7-127552 teaches detection of an actual fuel-injection timing by means of an injector nozzle-needle lift sensor (simply a nozzle lift sensor), and setting or determining a duty cycle (or a duty ratio) of the previously-noted electromagnetic solenoid valve associated with the timer piston by comparing the calculated target fuel-injection timing with the actual fuel-injection timing detected by the nozzle lift sensor, and thus feed-back controlling the fuel-injection timing by a determined duty-cycle signal (exactly a pulse-width modulated voltage signal at the controlled duty cycle determined based on the result of comparison between the calculated fuel-injection timing and the actual fuel-injection timing). Generally, during the duty-cycle control, there are two different dead-bands, one being a lower dead-zone less than the lowest possible duty cycle value and the other being an upper dead-zone greater than the highest possible duty cycle value. That is, there is no change in the timer piston within the upper and lower dead-zones. On the contrary, within a usual duty-cycle zone defined between the upper and lower dead-zones, the axial position of the timer piston can be controlled or adjusted depending on the controlled duty cycle. The previously-discussed usual duty-cycle zone will be hereinafter referred to as an "effective duty-cycle zone". Assuming that increment in the duty cycle of the electromagnetic solenoid valve corresponds to an advance of the fuel-injection timing and that decrement in the duty cycle corresponds to a retardation of he fuel-injection timing, the duty cycle value (abbreviated to "DTCV") of the solenoid valve associated with the timer piston is greatly reduced when the target fuel-injection timing (abbreviated to "target IT") is greatly retarded owing to deceleration of the vehicle, as seen in FIG. 8A. Such great and rapid reduction in the duty cycle results in easy entry of the duty cycle value (DTCV) into the previously-noted lower dead-zone. Thereafter, even when the vehicle is accelerated soon, there is a tendency for the recovery from the lower dead-zone to the effective duty-cycle zone to retard due to a rapid drop in the duty cycle value, thereby resulting in undesiredly slow advance of the actual fuel-injection timing (abbreviated to "actual IT"). As may be appreciated, the use of a limiting circuit (or a limiter) is effective to avoid entry into the upper dead-zone as well as the lower dead-zone, for limiting the duty cycle value within two predetermined upper and lower duty-cycle limits, so that the controlled duty cycle value is variable between the predetermined upper limit and the predetermined lower limit. The use of the limiter may effectively prevent entry into the lower dead-zone even when rapidly decelerated, thus enhancing a follow-up performance of the fuel-injection timing advance in a transition from during deceleration to during acceleration. However, when the controlled duty value is limited actually to the predetermined lower limit by means of the limiter (the duty-cycle value limiting process) as seen in FIG. 8B, there is a tendency for the actual IT to be gradually slowly adjusted to a proper timing suitable for the current engine/vehicle operating condition, because of a comparatively moderate drop in the controlled duty cycle value as compared with the rapid duty-cycle drop shown in FIG. 8A. The undesiredly slower fuel-injection timing retardation may lower the responsiveness of the fuel-injection timing control based on the controlled duty cycle.

Fuel injection timing control system of fuel-injection pump for diesel engines


A control apparatus for a kite powered conveyance device. Port and starboard kite leads (28,32) and/or port and starboard kite control lines (30, 36) connect ends of a control bar (26, 26′) to port and starboard ends of a kite (12). A tether guide (34, 34′, 34″) is connected to one end of the control bar (26) or to one of the kite leads (28, 32). A harness (12) with a spreader bar (18) is adapted to be worn by a user of the kite powered conveyance device. An arm (20, 20′) is connected to the spreader bar (18). A tether connector (42, 42′) and a hook (22, 22′) are rotatably mounted on the arm (20, 20′) for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the arm (20, 20′). The hook (22, 22′) is hooked to the control bar (26, 26′) to connect the control bar (26, 26′) to the spreader bar (18). A tether (38) passes through the tether guide (34, 34′, 34″) and has its first end connected to the tether connector (42, 42′) and its second end connected to one of the Kite control lines (30, 36).

Kite powered conveyance devices are becoming increasingly popular for recreational purposes. By way of example kite surfing, such as depicted in FIG. 1, has rapidly become a popular water sport. In kite surfing, a person stands on a surfboard and grips a control bar which is fastened by kite control lines to opposite sides of a large kite. The person may wear a harness with a spreader bar which is hooked to the control bar. As the kite is blown by the wind, the kite tows the person on the surfboard. In addition to surfboards, other kite powered conveyance devices might include roller skates, in line skates, and bicycles, for example. The following description will generally be with reference to a kite powered surfboard, but the invention is likewise usable with other conveyance devices.
A kite powered conveyance device, such as a surfboard, is often provided with a tether connected to one side of the kite to enable the surfer to depower the kite when desired, as well as to automatically depower the kite in the event the surfer falls or otherwise loses his or her grip on the control bar. It is common for the tether to be connected to a band that the surfer wears around his or her wrist. The force on the tether, due to the wind in the kite, can result in considerable strain and damage to the surfers wrist, arm, and shoulder. In addition, surfers using a kite powered surfboard often perform various acrobatic stunts. These might include jumping into the air and rotating through a complete circle. However, such stunts can result in the kite control lines twisting about each other and in the tether becoming tangled with the kite control lines or becoming wrapped around the hook which hooks the surfer's harness to the kite control bar. Such hazards also can occur if the surfer falls.

Control apparatus for kite powered conveyance device


The disclosure describes an engine system having liquid and gaseous fuel systems, each of which injects fuel directly into an engine cylinder. A controller monitors and controls engine operation in a normal mode, during which the engine produces rated power, and in a limp-home mode, which is used when an abnormal operating condition of the gaseous fuel system is present. During limp-home mode operation, the engine uses more liquid fuel and less or no gaseous fuel relative to the normal mode, and produces power that is less than rated power.

There are various different types of engines that use more than one fuel. One type is known as a direct injection gas (DIG) engine, in which a gaseous fuel, such as LPG, is injected into the cylinder at high pressure while combustion in the cylinder from a diesel pilot is already underway. DIG engines operate on the gaseous fuel, and the diesel pilot provides ignition of the gaseous fuel. Another type of engine that uses more than one fuel is typically referred to as a dual-fuel engine, which uses a low-pressure gaseous fuel such as natural gas that is mixed at relatively low pressure with intake air admitted into the engine cylinders. Dual-fuel engines are typically configured to operate with liquid fuel such as diesel or gasoline at full power. The gaseous fuel is provided to displace a quantity of liquid fuel during steady state operation. The air/gaseous fuel mixture that is provided to the cylinder under certain operating conditions is compressed and then ignited using a spark, similar to gasoline engines, or using a compression ignition fuel, such as diesel, which is injected into the air/gaseous fuel mixture present in the cylinder.
When one of the fuel delivery systems in a dual fuel engine malfunctions, for example, when the gaseous fuel supply is unable to provide a sufficient amount of gaseous fuel, the engine adjusts its operation with various degrees of difficulty depending on the type of engine. For example, adjusting engine operation in dual-fuel engines, in which the gaseous fuel supply is at low pressure, is relatively easy because these engines are already configured to operate normally without gaseous fuel. Thus, in the event a malfunction of the engine prevents the supply of the gaseous fuel from reaching the cylinder, the engine merely continues to operate on the liquid fuel.
One example of such an engine configuration can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,242, which was issued on Feb. 17, 2004. In this example, an engine includes two controllers, one controlling engine operation in a dual fuel mode, and the other to control operation in a single, liquid fuel mode. The engine is configured to operate in diesel only mode under the command of the single-fuel controller. Operation under dual-fuel mode occurs under the control of the second controller. When operating in this mode, gaseous fuel is provided at a low pressure in mixing relation with air entering an engine cylinder, where it is compressed before diesel injected into the cylinder initiates combustion. As can be appreciated, the engine's ability to operate in diesel-only mode allows the engine to transition to this operating mode when, for example, a failure in the gaseous fuel delivery system has been detected.
Another example of dual-fuel engine having a fuel supply that displaces liquid fuel during engine operation can be seen in International Publication No. WO 2007/056845 A1, which published on May 24, 2007. In this example, a gaseous fuel delivery system is designed for retrofit onto existing diesel engines, and includes a gaseous fuel injector installed into an existing glow plug opening of the engine. Gaseous fuel is injected directly into the engine cylinder, as does the existing diesel injector. Combustion is accomplished by preconditioning the air entering the cylinder by use of a heater, which elevates the incoming air temperature to create conditions favorable for gaseous fuel combustion. The engine can operate on both fuels or, with the aid of the heater, in either gaseous fuel-only or diesel fuel-only operation.
Although engines using more than one fuel are known, these engines use the gaseous fuel to displace an amount of liquid fuel such as diesel under certain operating modes. Thus, these engines are capable of operating without any gaseous fuel when a malfunction of the gaseous fuel is detected.
However, this is not the case for DIG engines, in which the main fuel is the gaseous fuel and the secondary liquid fuel, for example, diesel, is used to initiate combustion as previously described. In these engines, a failure of the gaseous fuel system will immobilize the engine and thus the vehicle in which it is installed, because the gaseous fuel is the main fuel supply for the engine and the liquid fuel is merely used as an ignition source. Such immobilization is especially undesired when the engine is installed in large equipment, such as mining trucks, because a single immobilized truck in a fleet can halt an entire mining operation. For example, in mines where roadways to and from a dig site are carved as the dig site moves, a single lane for traffic is typically cut, often at an appreciable grade. A fully loaded truck stranded onto one of these steep roadways will create delays for other trucks entering or leaving the dig site, which will create a hazardous traffic condition and generate long delays and increased costs in the extraction operations of the mine.


A liquid crystal film, a method for manufacturing the same, a polarizing plate, and a liquid crystal display are provided. The liquid crystal film has excellent physical properties such as durability and an optical physical property so that it can be effectively used for various applications. In addition, the physical property of the liquid crystal film can be controlled according to desired purposes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal film, a method for manufacturing the same, a polarizing plate, and a liquid crystal display.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There is a continuously increasing demand for a thinner, lighter and wider liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display panel (PDP) and the like. Also, it is required to improve screen uniformities, contrast ratios, and viewing angles in order to realize a high quality image.
In a display, an optical film, such as a retardation film or a viewing angle-compensation film, may be used to decrease changes in color, to secure a viewing angle, and to improve brightness.
A liquid crystal film using optical anisotropy of a liquid crystal film manufactured by curing polymerizable liquid crystal compounds is known as an optical film.
Liquid crystal molecules may be divided into rod-like liquid crystals and disc-like liquid crystals according to their shapes. There are various alignments of the rod-like liquid crystals, which include homogeneous, homeotropic, tilted, splay, and cholesteric alignments, and the like. Accordingly, the liquid crystal film may have various optical properties that cannot be obtained from an oriented film. For example, a wider variety of physical properties can also be secured by coating polymerizable liquid crystal compounds on the oriented film and then realizing various alignments of the liquid crystal compounds.
The liquid crystal film may be manufactured by forming an alignment layer by applying an alignment agent, such as polyimide or poly(vinyl alcohol), on a substrate; giving an aligning property by rubbing the alignment layer in a predetermined direction; and applying and then aligning polymerizable liquid crystal compounds. However, since the rubbed alignment layer is deficient in an adhesive strength to a liquid crystal layer, there are problems in that the liquid crystal layer is delaminated or contracted under the severe environment, such as a high temperature or high humidity environment. There are also problems in a rubbing process, which are static electricity or scratching which may easily occur due to friction according to a rubbing method and fine dust generated from a rubbing cloth.
In order to solve the problems caused by the rubbing method, a non-contacting alignment method is known, and a photo-aligning method using light irradiations is known as an example thereof. Photo-aligning methods include a method of using a photodimerization reaction of a cinnamate moiety, a coumarin moiety, a chalcone moiety, and the like, a method of using a photoisomerization reaction of a polymer including an azobenzene moiety, a method of using a photodissociation reaction of a polyimide polymer, and the like.
However, according to the above methods, there are still problems in that the alignment layer may have poor heat-stability or photo-stability and contamination may be caused by decomposition products or un-reactive materials.
In addition, the alignment layer is generally formed on a plastic substrate in order to manufacture a retardation film, a viewing angle compensation film or a brightness enhancement film using the polymerizable liquid crystal compounds. However, there is a problem in that a type of a usable substrate is limited in the photo-aligning method. For example, a photo-alignment layer is manufactured by forming an alignment layer by applying a coating solution, which is prepared by dissolving a photo-alignable polymer in a solvent, to a substrate, and then performing aligning through irradiation of light. However, since it is common for a plastic substrate to be easily corroded by a solvent, the substrate has a high probability of incurring damage in a process of manufacturing an alignment layer. When the plastic substrate is damaged in the process of manufacturing the photo-alignment layer, entire physical properties of the film may be deteriorated.
In addition, the plastic substrate may be swelled by a solvent in the process of manufacturing the alignment layer and thus the swelling phenomenon may also decrease the physical properties of the film. For example, when the substrate may be swelled in the process of manufacturing the alignment layer, there may be a lack of cross-linking of the alignment layer according to a level of UV irradiation. The lack of the cross-linking of the alignment layer as described above may cause dissolving and/or swelling again which may be induced by a solvent used to coat a liquid crystal in order to form the liquid crystal layer and thus an orientational property of materials in the alignment layer may be affected. As a result, the aligning property of the liquid crystal may be decreased.
In addition, LCDs are classified into various modes, including twisted nematic (TN), super twisted nematic (STN), vertical alignment (VA), and in-plane switching (IPS) modes according to the ordering of liquid crystal molecules in a liquid crystal panel. Each liquid crystal panel has an intrinsic ordering of liquid crystals and thus there are optical anisotropy differences between the liquid crystal panels.
Accordingly, to compensate the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal panel, a film having optimized optical physical properties needs to be developed according to a type of the liquid crystal panel.


This disclosure concerns a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device comprising an etching process using an etching solution having ozone dissolved by 10 ppm or more into a liquid containing H2SO4 by 86 wt % to 97.9 wt %, HF by 0.1 wt % to 10 wt %, and H2O by 2 wt % to 4 wt %.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device and an etching solution.
2. Related Art
At the time of etching silicon or polysilicon in an RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) process, a mixed gas of a halogen gas (Br gas and a CI gas, for example) and oxygen is used as an etching gas. In this case, a SiO2 deposit is formed.
At the time of etching a silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film in the RIE process, a CF (fluorocarbon) gas is used as an etching gas. In this case, a CF deposit is formed.
Therefore, when a lamination film of a polysilicon film and a silicon nitride film is continuously etched by RIE, both a SiO2 deposit and a CF deposit are adhered to the etched result as etching residues. After this RIE, it is necessary to continuously execute a remove processing of the SiO2 deposit and a remove processing of the CF deposit. For example, it is necessary to carry out a process as a combination of an oxidation process of the CF deposit by means of a dry ashing, an SPM (sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide mixture) process, an alkali process, a DHF (diluted hydrofluoric acid) process, a VPC (vapor HF) process, and the like. When these processes are combined, the number of steps of processes after the RIE increases. Further, the DHF process etches a gate insulation film and a silicon oxide film of STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) and the like. Therefore, the use of the DHF process after forming the STI and the gate insulation film is not preferable.

Manufacturing method of semiconductor device using etching solution


An initial program loading system in an information processing system containing a central processing unit and at least one peripheral apparatus connected to the central processing unit. The system transfers program data from the peripheral apparatus to the central processing unit. The system then loads the program data in the central processing unit, responding to an IPL request which is input into said initial program loading system. Each peripheral apparatus has a unit for sending a notification to the central processing unit that the peripheral apparatus is ready to transfer the program data to the central processing unit. After the central processing unit receives the notification, the transfer of the program data is carried out. The IPL request may be received in the central processing unit, or each peripheral apparatus. An IPL controller may be provided in the system. The IPL controller may contain units to receive the IPL request, to receive a notification as above from each peripheral apparatus, to determine one peripheral apparatus from which the program data is to be transferred to the central processing unit, and to notify the result of the determination to the central processing unit.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an initial program loading system in an information processing system containing a central processing unit and peripheral apparatuses connected to the central processing unit. The initial program loading system is provided for transferring program data from one of the peripheral apparatuses to the central processing unit, and loading the program data in the central processing unit.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Distributed information processing systems conventionally include a number of processor units. In many recent distributed information processing systems, each of the processor units has the same hardware construction, but the respective processor units operate differently in accordance with programs which are loaded in the respective processor units. The programs are loaded in respective processor units in different ways before the respective processor units start their operation. That is, generally a number of peripheral apparatuses are connected to each processor unit. A program is transferred to the processor unit from a different one of the peripheral apparatuses which holds program data, and the unit is prepared to transfer the program data to the central processing unit in the processor unit.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a plurality of processors in a digital exchange system. The digital exchange system of FIG. 1 is comprised of a management processor 1, a plurality of call processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, 2.sub.3, . . . , and a plurality of line processors 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, 3.sub.3, . . . .
The management processor 1 controls the whole operation of the digital exchange system including the plurality of call processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, 2.sub.3, . . . , and the plurality of line processors 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, 3.sub.3, . . . . Further, reference numeral 5 denotes a magnetic tape device, 9 denotes an operation console, CCA denotes a channel-to-channel adapter, CSC denotes a common signal controller, and SGC denotes a signal controller.
The channel-to-channel adapter CCA is equipped in the management processor 1 and each of the call processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, 2.sub.3, . . . for interfacing between the management processor 1 and the call processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, 2.sub.3. . . . The common signal controller CSC is equipped in each of the line processors 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, 3.sub.3, . . . and the signal controller SGC is equipped in each of the line processors 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, 3.sub.3, . . . for interfacing between the respective line processor 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, 3.sub.3, . . . and the corresponding call processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, 2.sub.3, . . . .
The call processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, 2.sub.3, . . . each control a speech path memory (not shown), the line processors 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, 3.sub.3, . . . each control a line circuit (not shown), and all the processors cooperate with each other to realize a consistent operation of the digital exchange system. Although each of the management processor 1, the call processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, 2.sub.3, . . . , and the line processors 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, 3.sub.3, . . . respectively realize different functions, all of these processors have the same hardware construction so that total production cost is reduced by enabling mass production. Different respective programs (operating systems) are initially loaded for the processors to realize the above different functions (initial program loading operation, IPL).
The initial program loading operation includes its initial stage of loading a boot program (bootstrap loader) which realizes a function of reading (and loading by itself) a total operating system. To load different operating systems in respective processors, different bootstrap loaders must be loaded in the respective processors. Although the above processors have the same construction, respective processors are generally located in different situations, and are generally connected to a plurality of peripheral apparatuses, e.g., a magnetic disc device, a magnetic tape device, terminal equipment, or the like. The initial program loading operation of the processors in the construction of FIG. 1 can be carried out by transferring program data of bootstrap loaders for the respective processors, for example, from the magnetic tape device 5 which is connected to the management processor 1. Further, generally each processor in the construction of FIG. 1 can connect thereto one or more I/O devices, and the bootstrap loader can be transferred to the processor from one of the I/O devices connected thereto. Namely, each processor has a plurality of suppliers of the bootstrap loader.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a processor unit which includes one of the above processors (for example, a line processor in the construction of FIG. 1) in the conventional distributed information processing system. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 denotes a central processor (CPU), 12 denotes a main memory, 13 denotes a channel controller, 14 denotes a channel-to-channel adapter, 15 denotes a magnetic disc device, 16 denotes a magnetic tape device, 17 denotes a main memory bus, and 18 denotes an input and output (I/O) bus.
The channel controller 13 is located between the main memory bus 17 and the I/O bus 18 for controlling operations of data transfer between the main memory 13 and the peripheral apparatus independently from the CPU 11. The channel-to-channel adapter 14 in the processor unit of FIG. 2 is to be connected to another channel-to-channel adapter in another apparatus to carry out data transfer between the processor unit of FIG. 2 and the other apparatus. Generally, the processor unit of FIG. 2 can receive program data from either of the channel-to-channel adapter 14, the magnetic disc device 15, the magnetic tape device 16, or the peripheral apparatus from which the processor unit should receive program data (bootstrap loader) in the initial program loading operation, which varies depending on various situations of the processor unit. Therefore, it is necessary to instruct the processor unit from which peripheral apparatus the processor unit should receive program data (bootstrap loader) in the initial program loading operation.
Conventionally, each processor unit in a distributed information processing system comprises a unit to receive a manual input for instructing the processor unit from which peripheral apparatus the program data should be received, for example, a DIP switch. When an IPL switch (not shown) is turned ON, an IPL request signal is generated and is input into the central processor 11. The central processor 11 comprises a ROM (not shown), and memorizes a microprogram for the initial program loading operation, in the ROM. Responding to the above IPL request signal, and in accordance with the microprogram, the central processor 11 reads the above input from the DIP switch, and the operation jumps to a vector address in the microprogram which corresponds to that input. In accordance with instructions in the microprogram beginning at the vector address, the central processor 11 carries out an initial program loading operation to receive a bootstrap loader from a peripheral apparatus which is instructed by the above manual input in the DIP switch.
However, according to the above conventional method to input an instruction to select a peripheral apparatus which supplies the bootstrap loader, to each processor unit individually and manually, an error is liable to occur when inputting the manual instruction to each processor unit. Further, when a new processor unit is added to the distributed information processing system, or when modifying processor configuration in the distributed information processing system, the above-mentioned microprogram which is memorized in the ROM in each processor unit, must be renewed or modified. Therefore, the above conventional method heavily reduces the flexibility in modifying a processor configuration in a distributed information processing system.

System for initial program loading responding to notification from program supply apparatus


There is prepared at least one flame retardant sheet member in which a flame retardant layer comprised of a flame retardant agent having extinguishability is sandwiched between resinous layers. One end face of the at least one sheet member and another end face of the at least one sheet member are opposed to each other while forming a clearance therebetween. A first welding member having a first width larger than a width of the clearance is placed on one face of the sheet member. The first welding member is welded with the end faces of the at least one sheet member such that the first welding member is melted and pushed into the clearance while the flame retardant agent situated in the vicinity of the end faces is pushed out from the clearance, thereby forming a joint portion. A second welding member having a second width larger than the first width is placed on the joint portion. The second welding member is welded with the at least one sheet member.

The present invention relates to a method of bonding end portions of a flame retardant sheet consisting of a flame retardant layer sandwiched between resinous layers, the flame retardant layer being made of a flame retardant agent having extinguishability.
The invention also relates to a method of fabricating an intermediate transfer member by making use of the above-described bonding method, the medium being used in an image forming apparatus for forming an image using an electrophotographic technique such as a printer, facsimile machine, copier, or the like.
Generally, an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic technique comprises: an image carrier having a photosensitive layer on its outer surface; a charger for uniformly charging the outer surface of the image carrier; an exposer for selectively exposing the outer surface uniformly charged by the charger to form an electrostatic latent image; a developer for applying toner (developer agent) to the electrostatic latent image formed by the exposer to thereby form a visible toner image, and a transferer for transferring the toner image developed by the developer to a recording medium such as paper.
An intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt is known as the transferee. In particular, a toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred (primary transfer) and is further transferred (secondary transfer) to the recording medium.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-282260A discloses an intermediate transfer member formed in an endless manner. Specifically, a substrate sheet made of a resin is prepared, a conductive layer and a resistive layer are formed on one surface of the substrate sheet. End faces of the substrate sheet are placed opposite to each other with a space between them. A welding member is inserted into the space and abutted against the respective end faces. The welding member is melted using a welding tool such as an ultrasonic hone to weld together the end faces of the sheet.
In spite of the fact that a high-voltage transfer bias is applied to the intermediate transfer member, it is flammable because the substrate sheet is made of a resin. The above intermediate transfer member has only a flame retardant class of less than UL 94 VTM-2.
Therefore, in the past, when the intermediate transfer member is mounted in an image forming apparatus, the whole intermediate transfer member is covered by a cover having non-flammability. Accordingly, a large mounting space is necessary.
On the other hand, a sheet having a flame retardant layer having extinguishability (having the property of depriving oxygen) and sandwiched between resinous layers is known. Accordingly, if this sheet can be used as the substrate sheet of the intermediate transfer member, a flame retardant intermediate transfer member can be obtained. However, a flame retardant agent having extinguishability has no adhesiveness.
For this reason, an endless intermediate transfer member cannot be obtained by the method described in the above publication because the flame retardant agent around the joint hinders welding between the resinous layers, thus deteriorating the bonding strength.

Method of bonding ends of flame retardant sheet and intermediate transfer member of image forming apparatus fabricated by the method


Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a technique for image reconstruction that employs cascaded over-complete dictionaries (i.e., collections of bases) for extracting features and building representations for images at different reconstruction levels. Each dictionary on a different reconstruction level can be learned and optimized for the purpose of capturing either generic or discriminative features. By finding sparse representations through the cascaded dictionaries, an image can be reconstructed and recognized.

In image recognition, an over-complete dictionary as a collection of bases can be utilized to represent and reconstruct images. The dictionary can be optimized to include a large set of bases, but typically uses only a small group of bases to reconstruct a particular image. Therefore, the representation is generally sparse. To classify an image, it is desirable for the dictionary to contain discriminative features from different classes so that the sparse representation would indicate class labels.
However, the image can typically comprise both generic features and class-specific features. Therefore, for an image recognition system that is based on a recognition by reconstruction scheme, it is desirable that the dictionary possesses not only discriminative power for classification purpose, but also reconstructive power for error tolerance.

Image recognition system based on cascaded over-complete dictionaries


The instant invention is directed to a method for producing a lubricating base stock having a preselected oxidative stability comprising the steps of: (a) separating, into a plurality of fractions based on molecular shape, a hydroisomerized hydrocarbon wax, (b) collecting the fractions of step (a) which have the preselected oxidative stability for use as a lubricating base stock, wherein the fractions to be collected are determined by measuring the oxidative stability of each of said fractions of said plurality of fractions to determine which fractions have said preselected oxidative stability. The invention is also directed to an improved lubricating base oil and a formulated lubricating composition using said lubricating base oil.

In recent years, the efficiencies of automotive engines have increased significantly in order to conserve fuel and to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements on automotive fuel consumption. This increased efficiency has, in turn, led to more severe service requirements for the engine lubricants because the higher efficiencies have generally been accompanied by higher engine temperatures as well as higher bearing pressures concomitant upon the use of higher compression ratios. These increasingly severe service requirements have made it necessary for lubricant manufacturers to provide superior lubricants. Furthermore, it is expected that this trend will continue and that in the future even more severe service ratings will be established by engine manufacturers. At present, the API "SH" rating is currently employed for passenger car motor oils for gasoline engines and this represents a significant increase in the service requirements of lubricants. Thus, there is a continuing need for lubricants with superior performance characteristics.
One of the performance characteristics which is of greatest significance is the viscosity index (VI). This represents the extent to which the viscosity of a lubricant varies with temperature. Lubricants of high VI change relatively little in viscosity as temperature increases, at least as compared to lubricants of lower VI. Since retention of viscosity at higher temperatures is a desirable characteristic, high viscosity index is desirable. Satisfactory viscosity properties may be conferred either by suitable choice of the lube base stock or by the use of VI improvers which are generally high molecular weight polymers.
The extent to which VI properties can be varied by the use of these improvers is, however, limited because not only are large amounts of improver expensive but the improvers are subject to degradation in use so that service life of lubricants containing large amounts of improver may be limited. This implies that improvements in the VI of the base stock are desirable.
Synthetic lubricants produced by the polymerization of olefins in the presence of certain catalysts have been shown to possess excellent VI values, but they are expensive to produce by the conventional synthetic procedures and usually require expensive starting materials. There is, therefore, a need for the production of high VI lubricants from mineral oil stocks which may be produced by techniques comparable to those presently employed in petroleum refineries.
Studies to date have shown that lubricants prepared via the hydroisomerization of Fischer-Tropsch wax, are equivalent to polyalphaolefins (PAO) except in low temperature performance and base oil oxidative stability. Therefor, a process is needed which is capable of increasing the oxidative stability of hydroisomerized Fischer-Tropsch waxes while producing a lubricant having a high viscosity index (VI).

Lubricant base oil having improved oxidative stability


A prosthetic foot includes a pair of elongated forefoot leaf springs with proximal ends coupled to an attachment member and extending in an arc to distal ends with the forefoot leaf springs being oriented with one over another. The pair of forefoot leaf springs has different lengths and is coupled to one another at the proximal and distal ends defining an open, uninterrupted gap between the forefoot leaf springs. A pair of hinge connections can be disposed each at a different one of the proximal and distal ends of the pair of elongated forefoot leaf springs. The pair of forefoot leaf springs together has a non-linear force deflection under loading during gait.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resilient prosthetic foot that has a reinforcement member to provide reinforcement. More particularly, the present invention relates to a prosthetic foot having at least a resilient forefoot member, and at least one resilient reinforcement member.
2. Related Art
Many individuals have lost a limb for various reasons including war, accident, or disease. In most instances these individuals are not only able to live relatively normal lives, but physically active lives as well. Often times, these individuals are aided in their everyday lives by a prosthetic limb. The objective of prosthesis is to provide an artificial limb that simulates the function and natural feel of the replaced limb.
With respect to prosthetic feet, the development of a functional and natural artificial foot has been limited only by material and imagination. Many designs have attempted to copy the anatomy of the foot or simulate its actions by replacing the bones and muscle with various mechanical components. Other designs have departed radically from mere anatomical copying or mechanical simulation by replacing the entire foot with an energy storage element, such as a spring. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,913 or 5,593,456. As the user steps onto the foot, the user's weight compresses the spring. As the user moves forward, the user's weight comes off the foot and the energy stored in the spring is used to propel the user forward.
The stiffness of prosthetic feet typically varies according to the intended use. Feet intended for everyday use typically require a soft feel, and thus incorporate a loose spring. Feet intended for athletic use typically require strength, and thus incorporate a stiff spring. Although different prosthetic feet may be changed to suit the particular activity, such switching is inconvenient and at times it is impossible, such as a sudden need to run to catch, or avoid being hit by a bus. Feet designed for particular purposes are typically unsuited for other purposes. Stiff, athletic feet are too hard for everyday use, and loose, everyday feet are too fragile for athletic use. Multiple-use feet have been designed which are capable of many different uses, but without being particularly well suited for any use.
In addition, the performance of these energy storing feet has been altered in various ways to provide a more universal foot which is capable of many different uses ranging from athletic use to more normal walking. For example, some feet use multiple springs, bladders or resilient materials disposed between various elements, and/or multiple springs that deflect at different intervals of foot deflection in order to increase resistance as the force applied to the foot by the user increases. In this way, a prosthetic foot can provide a stiff or highly resilient response when a high load is applied, such as when the user runs, or a looser less resilient response when a lower load is applied, such as when the user walks. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,776 or 6,099,572, both of which propose multiple members; one of which disposes an adjustable pressure buffer between members; the other of which places a secondary member in the extreme range of motion of a primary member.
While many prosthetic feet have been designed to accommodate variation in terrain and use, there is still a need to increase the amount of energy a prosthetic foot can store during use which can be returned to the user to help propel the user forward.

Prosthetic foot with two leaf-springs joined at heel and toe


Keratinic fibers are dyed with a two-component agent for tinting and/or dyeing keratinic fibers comprising a first preparation (A) comprising at least one direct-absorbing dye and/or at least one precursor of a nature-analogous dye, and a second preparation (B) containing at least one conditioning substance, wherein the two preparations are packaged separately from one another in the chambers of a two-chamber tube. The chamber openings in the tube are oriented in such a way that the contents of each of the chambers are emitted simultaneously into a common space.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to two-component agents for tinting or dyeing keratinic fibers, said agents being packaged in a two-chamber tube; to a corresponding two-chamber tube; and to a method for tinting and/or dyeing keratinic fibers with the aid of this two-component agent.
Preparations for tinting and dyeing hair are an important type of cosmetic agent. They can serve to tone the natural hair color to a greater or lesser degree according to the corresponding person's wishes, to achieve an entirely different hair color, or to conceal undesired colors such as, for example, gray tints. Depending on the desired color and the durability of the coloring, usual hair-coloring agents are formulated on the basis either of oxidant dyes or of direct-absorbing dyes. Combinations of oxidizing dyes and direct-absorbing dyes are also often used to achieve specific shades.
Coloring agents based on oxidizing dyes result in brilliant and permanent colors. They require, however, the use of strong oxidizing agents such as, for example, hydrogen peroxide solutions. Such coloring agents contain oxidizing dye precursors, so-called developer components, and coupler components. Under the influence of the oxidizing agents or atmospheric oxygen, the developer components form, among one another or by coupling to one or more coupler components, the actual dyes.
Coloring agents based on direct-absorbing dyes require no oxidizing agents, and can be formulated at pH values in the region of neutrality, but yield colors that are less permanent. In addition, the ability of the dye molecules to be absorbed onto the hair, and the luster of the colored hair, may not be entirely satisfactory in many cases.
Not least, the large amount of stress on the hair resulting from such color-modifying treatments, as well as permanent waves, hair washing with shampoos, and environmental stresses, increase the importance of conditioning products having effects that last as long as possible. Such conditioning agents influence the natural structure and properties of the hair. Subsequent to a treatment with a conditioning agent, for example, the wet and dry combability of the hair and its stability, body, and fullness can be optimized, or the hair can be protected from increasing splitting.
Therefore, it has been usual for some time to subject the hair to a specific post-treatment. In this, the hair is treated, usually in the form of a rinse, with specific active substances, for example, quaternary ammonium salts or specific polymers. Depending on the formulation, this treatment improves the hair's combability, cohesion and fullness, and decreases splitting.
The active substances that are available typically act preferentially on the hair surface. Active substances are known, for example, that impart luster, stability, fullness, or better wet or dry combability to the hair, or that prevent splitting. Just as significant as the external appearance of the hair, however, is the internal structural cohesion of the hair fibers, which can be greatly influenced especially by oxidizing and reducing processes such as dyeing and permanent waves. Active substances have also recently been proposed that can counteract, in sustained fashion, this change in the internal structure of the fibers.
Very recently, so-called combination preparations have been developed in order to reduce the complexity of the usual multi-step methods, in particular in a context of direct application by users. In addition to the usual components for tining and/or dyeing the hair, these preparations contain active substances that were previously reserved for hair post-treatment agents. The consumer thus eliminates one application step. Packaging outlay is at the same time reduced, since one less product is used.
The known active substance in some cases has the disadvantage, however, that they cannot be formulated in stable fashion in the tinting agents.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Henkel Kommandit Gesellschaft auf Aktien


A flow-through assembly for use in a downhole drilling string includes a Moineau-type motor, means for selectively activating the motor such as a ball catch component that selectively causes drilling fluid to enter into or bypass the motor, and a rotating variable choke assembly that is driven by a rotor of the motor. The choke assembly varies the flow rate of drilling fluid as rotation causes ports of the choke assembly to enter into and out of alignment with each other. In one embodiment, the choke assembly comprises a faceted rotary component including bypass ports on the facets of the component. In another embodiment, the choke assembly comprises a tapered rotary component that rotates in a complementarily tapered stationary component.

In oil and gas production and exploration, downhole drilling can be accomplished with a downhole drill powered by a mud motor. The drilling fluid used to drive the motor also assists the drilling process in other ways, for example by dislodging and removing drill cuttings, cooling the drill bit, and providing pressure to prevent formation fluids from entering the wellbore.
Stalling and slip-stick issues can result in damage to drilling string components. It is believed that applying a vibrational or oscillating effect to the drill string components can improve performance of a downhole drill, and/or mitigate or reduce incidences of stalling and slip-stick.
Further, when drilling deep bore holes in the earth, sections of the bore hole can cause drag or excess friction which may hinder proper weight transfer to the drill bit or causes erratic torque in the drill string. These effects may have the result of slowing down the rate of penetration, creating bore hole deviation issues, or even damaging drill string components.
Friction tools are often used to overcome these problems by vibrating a portion of the drill string to reduce friction or hole drag. Friction tools may form part of the downhole assembly of the drilling string, and can be driven by the flow of drilling fluid through the friction tool. Accordingly, the operation of a friction tool may be constrained by the flow rate of drilling fluid pumped through the string. Controlling the frequency of operation of the friction tool may therefore require varying or stopping the flow rate of the drilling fluid at the surface.
It is not always desirable to run a friction tool during the entirety of a drilling operation. For instance, it may be unnecessary or undesirable to run the tool while the drill bit is at a shallow depth, or at other stages of the drilling operation where the added vibration of the friction tool is problematic or not required. During those stages, the drill string may be assembled without the friction tool. However, when a location in the bore hole is reached where the need for a friction tool is evident, it may then necessary to pull the downhole assembly to the surface to reassemble the drilling string to include the friction tool, then return the drilling string to the drill point. This process can consume several work hours.

Flow-through pulsing assembly for use in downhole operations


Methods and systems for assessing regional variations in aqueous outflow vessels of the eye and for optimizing locations within the eye stent implantation or other surgical procedures intended to increase aqueous outflow and reduce intraocular pressure.

The last few years have witnessed rapidly rising interests in both developing new and modifying current Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgeries (MIGS). This surge in momentum is no doubt spurred by the fact that the current standard glaucoma surgeries, trabeculectomy and tube shunt surgery, still have high complication rates ranging from 27% of tube shunts to 74% of trabeculectomy (Quigley, H. A. and A. T. Broman, The number of people with glaucoma worldwide in 2010 and 2020. Br J Ophthalmol, 2006. 90(3): p. 262-7; and Gedde, S. J., et al., Postoperative complications in the Tube Versus Trabeculectomy (TVT) study during five years of follow-up. Am J Ophthalmol, 2012. 153(5): p. 804-814.e1). MIGS devices improve the pressure-dependent outflow track by bypassing or ablating the trabecular meshwork (TM), or creating new drainage routes into the suprachoroidal space (Kaplowitz, K., J. S. Schuman, and N. A. Loewen, Techniques and outcomes of minimally invasive trabecular ablation and bypass surgery. Br J Ophthalmol, 2014. 98(5): p. 579-85). Clinical studies so far show MIGS with improved safety profiles, and the most serious complications are temporary hyphema and intraocular pressure (IOP) rise in early postoperative period occurring in 3-10% of trabectome (Mosaed, S., L. Dustin, and D. S. Minckler, Comparative outcomes between newer and older surgeries for glaucoma. Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc, 2009. 107: p. 127-33) and 2% of iStent® patients (Arriola-Villalobos, P., et al., Combined iStent trabecular micro-bypass stent implantation and phacoemulsification for coexistent open-angle glaucoma and cataract: a long-term study. Br J Ophthalmol, 2012. 96(5): p. 645-9; and Voskanyan, L., et al., Prospective, unmasked evaluation of the iStent® inject system for open-angle glaucoma: synergy trial. Adv Ther, 2014. 31(2): p. 189-201).
IOP reduction in MIGS is generally not as dramatic as seen in trabeculectomies and tube shunts, which are the gold standard for glaucoma surgical management. Clinical studies show an average 15.2 mmHg for phaco-trabectome at 5 years, and 16.8 mmHg for the iStent with phacoemulsification at 5 years (Mosaed et al., Arriola-Villalobos et al., and Voskanyan et al.). Since the ablative type MIGS such as trabectome are capable of removing a large arc of TM, they can generally achieve lower IOP endpoints compared to the bypass type such as iStent (Kaplowitz et al.). However, this comes at an expense of higher rate of transient postoperative IOP rise and hyphema. Furthermore, anatomic studies have shown that Schlemm's canals are highly segmented and discontinuous, and the location and number of the collector channels vary among individuals (Francis, A. W., et al., Morphometric analysis of aqueous humor outflow structures with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 2012. 53(9): p. 5198-207; and Kagemann, L., et al., Visualization of the conventional outflow pathway in the living human eye. Ophthalmology, 2012. 119(8): p. 1563-8). Bypassing an area of TM far away from the collector channels may thus not achieve the full potential of IOP reduction. These lines of evidence all suggest that the real estate value of the TM is not the same across the entire 12 clock hours. In other words, knowing what segment of the TM to ablate or bypass may be crucial to achieve more targeted MIGS and potentially narrow the gap between the IOP endpoints currently seen in MIGS and the theoretical limit of the episcleral venous pressure (Loewen, N. A. and J. S. Schuman, There has to be a better way: evolution of internal filtration glaucoma surgeries, in Br J Ophthalmol. 2013: England. p. 1228-9; Brubaker, R. F., Determination of episcleral venous pressure in the eye. A comparison of three methods. Arch Ophthalmol, 1967. 77(1): p. 110-4; and Sit, A. J. and J. W. McLaren, Measurement of episcleral venous pressure. Exp Eye Res, 2011. 93(3): p. 291-8).
One intuitive approach to target the high-yield TM is to identify the collector channels via imaging (Loewen et al.). Several studies have successfully imaged the outflow anatomy using 3D-micro computed tomography (Hann, C. R., et al., Imaging the aqueous humor outflow pathway in human eyes by three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (3D micro-CT). Exp Eye Res, 2011. 92(2): p. 104-11), swept-source optical coherence tomography (ss-OCT) (McKee, H., et al., Anterior chamber angle imaging with swept-source optical coherence tomography: detecting the scleral spur, Schwalbe's Line, and Schlemm's Canal. J Glaucoma, 2013. 22(6): p. 468-72), and endoscopic OCT (Ren, J., et al., Ex vivo optical coherence tomography imaging of collector channels with a scanning endoscopic probe. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 2011. 52(7): p. 3921-5). One group has shown the angle structure using swept source OCT while another group has shown the intrascleral plexus using micro-CT. Micro-CT has shown, in great details, the complexity of intra- and episcleral vessels, however, this imaging modality is limited to ex vivo settings. Further, these studies share in common that they all require extensive tissue processing which limits the clinical applicability. While swept source OCT has great clinical translatability, image acquisition of the entire 360 degree may require up to several seconds, which can be confounded by motion artifacts. In addition, several studies have shown that Schlemm's canal can partially collapse under increased IOP. This can make consistent identification of the angle structures more challenging. Lastly, OCT provides ample anatomical data, but the functional correlations to guide the locations for MIGS procedure are currently still lacking. A new technique is needed to help highlight the lumen of the outflow pathway. An intraoperative technique has recently been proposed to locate larger-caliber aqueous veins by observing episcleral venous fluid wave. This technique is obviously limited to intraoperative use, and it is largely a qualitative and subjective method.
What is needed is a device, system, and method utilizing a microendoscope that is capable of detecting episcleral vessels. Further, there is a desire to detect and quantify regional differences in episcleral vessel morphology across the 12 clock hours of the lim bus. A method is also needed to identify, preoperatively and noninvasively, areas of TM that MIGS procedures should access to yield the lowest post-operative IOP possible. Such systems and methods should be functional in real-time, and not require delays for extensive tissue image processing.

Device, system and method for functional imaging of episcleral vessels

The Regents of the University of California


A repair kit (10) includes a sealed package (12) having a plurality of isolated compartments (32, 42, 44) for holding substances (50, 52) that, when mixed together, form an adhesive, and for holding a flexible substrate (54). Pull tabs (60, 66, 80, 86) are arranged on the package (12) to aid in opening fluid communication between the compartments to permit adhesive mixture and to permit adhesive flow onto the substrate (54) for subsequent repair purposes.

Many items become damaged due to unexpected accidents or corrosion. For example, vehicles, boats, surf boards, etc., may become damaged through use wherein the surface of the object is dented or punctured. One way to repair such damage in these objects is to mix together epoxy which is a two part chemical comprising a resin and a catalyst. Once these two materials are mixed together they form an adhesive which is then paddled into the dent. The material is smoothed with the paddle and the material allowed to dry. The hardened material is then sanded smooth and finished such as by painting. During the repair, the user is in contact with the epoxy material during mixing and during application using the paddle.
Sometimes, a repair of an object requires the use of a supporting material such as volan or fiberglass cloth. For such repairs, the epoxy mixture is spread over the dent and the volan cloth is placed over the epoxy covering the dent. More epoxy is then spread over the volan cloth. However, it is difficult to keep the volan cloth from moving when the epoxy is being spread over the volan cloth. The material is then smoothed, allowed to dry, sanded, and finished.

Method and apparatus for repairing a surface defect


A writable recording medium having reduced jitter, improved performance on repeated reproduction, improved light resistance, and sensitivity controllability is disclosed, in which a light-absorbing layer thereof contains (D-1) a cyanine dye having an absorption band in the wavelength region of light for recording or reproduction, (D-2) a cyanine dye having an absorption band in a shorter wavelength region than that of cyanine dye (D-1) and having a smaller absorption than that of cyanine dye (D-1) in the wavelength region of light for recording or reproduction, (Q-1) a quencher for preventing photo-deterioration of cyanine dyes, and (Q-2) a quencher selected from an azo compound and a diphenylamine compound, the weight ratio of cyanine dye (D-2) to cyanine dye (D-1), taken as .alpha., being from 1 to 3, the weight ratio of quencher (Q-1) to quencher (Q-2), taken as .beta., being from 0.5 to 1, the ratio of the total weight of quenchers (Q-1) and (Q-2) to the total weight of cyanine dyes (D-1) and (D-2), taken as .gamma., being from 0.25 to 0.5, and the product of .alpha. by .gamma. (.alpha..cndot..gamma.) being less than 1.1.

It is generally well-known to use organic dyestuffs, such as cyanine dyes and phthalocyanine pigments, in a recording layer of so-called writable recording media.
Recording systems of these recording media consist of applying a condensed laser beam on a very small area of a recording layer and converting the laser beam to a heat energy to change the properties of the recording layer (pit formation). For smooth change of the recording layer properties, generally spread media has a so-called air-sandwiched structure composed of a pair of substrates each having formed thereon a recording layer with the recording layers facing to each other. Recording of information on this type of recording media is carried out by irradiating a laser beam from the transparent substrate side to form optically readable pits in the recording layer. For reading, i.e., reproduction, of the recorded information, a laser beam having a weaker output than that for recording is irradiated on the recording layer to make a contrast between the pitted area and the non-pitted area, and the contrast is read out as electrical signals.
On the other hand, read-only-memory (ROM) type recording media having previously recorded information have been widely put to practical use in the field of audio recording and information processing. This type of recording media have no writable recording layer as used in the above-described writable recording media. That is, the ROM type recording media comprise a plastic substrate having previously formed thereon prepits by press forming, a reflective layer comprising a metal, e.g., Au, Ag, Cu, and Al, and a protective layer in this order. Such ROM type recording media are typically represented by compact discs (CD). The recording and reproduction signals on CD are standardized, and reproducing apparatus, called CD players, according to the standards are widely popular.
The above-mentioned writable recording media are similar to CD in use of a laser beam as a light source and in disc form. Hence, it has been keenly demanded to develop a writable recording medium which follows the standards of CD and can therefore be applied to a CD player. Several samples have been proposed to date to meet this demand. While the proposed samples conform to the standards as far as their initial characteristics are concerned, they turned out disadvantageous in that (1) they suffer from considerable jitter, (2) they are poor in duration of performance on repeated reproduction, (3) the recording layer has no light resistance, and (4) the recording sensitivity is uncontrollable.


An apparatus for roasting coffee beans comprises a roasting chamber for containing coffee beans. The roasting chamber is positioned within a resonant cavity of a waveguide. A microwave emitter produces microwave energy within the waveguide with one or more stable high intensity microwave regions within the roasting chamber to heat the coffee beans in the roasting chamber to a temperature sufficient to roast the coffee beans. A device configured to move the coffee beans within the one or more high intensity microwave regions is coupled to the roasting chamber.

Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. Unroasted beans contain similar if not higher levels of acids, protein, sugars and caffeine as those that have been roasted, but lack the taste of roasted coffee beans due to the Maillard and other chemical reactions that occur during roasting. The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its desirable flavor.
The vast majority of coffee is roasted commercially on a large scale, but small-scale commercial roasting has grown significantly with the trend toward "single-origin" coffees served at specialty shops. Some coffee drinkers even roast coffee at home as a hobby in order to both experiment with the flavor profile of the beans and ensure the freshest possible roast.
The coffee-roasting process follows coffee processing and precedes coffee brewing. It consists essentially of sorting, roasting, cooling, and packaging but can also include grinding in larger-scale roasting houses. In larger operations, bags of green coffee beans are hand- or machine-opened, dumped into a hopper, and screened to remove debris. The green beans are then weighed and transferred by belt or pneumatic conveyor to storage hoppers. From the storage hoppers, the green beans are conveyed to the roaster. Initially, the process is endothermic (absorbing heat), but at around 175° C. (347° F.) it becomes exothermic (giving off heat). For the roaster, because the beans are heating themselves, an adjustment of the roaster's heat source might be required. At the end of the roasting cycle, the roasted beans are dumped from the roasting chamber and air-cooled with a draft inducer.
In Vietnam coffee is often coated with oil (traditionally clarified butter) and a small amount of sugar prior to roasting to produce a "butter roast". The roasting process results in an additional caramelized coating on the beans.
The most common roasting machines are of two basic types: drum and hot air. There are also packed-bed, tangential and centrifugal roasters. Roasters can operate in either batch or continuous modes. Drum roasting machines consist of horizontal rotating drums that tumble the green coffee beans in a heated environment. The heat source can be supplied by natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electricity or wood. The most common employ indirectly heated drums where the heat source is under the drum. Direct-fired roasters are roasters in which a flame contacts the beans inside the drum. Fluid Bed or hot air roasters force heated air through a screen or perforated plate under the coffee beans with sufficient force to lift the beans. Heat is transferred to the beans as they tumble and circulate within this fluidized bed.
Various attempts in the art have been made to roast coffee beans using microwave energy. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,114 discloses a microwave oven incorporated in a coffee bean roasting system and includes a rotatable microwave transparent tube or drum positioned within the same and at an angle to the horizontal, through which coffee beans are introduced at an upper end and flow in continuous agitation to the lower end while being subjected to microwave fields within the oven. At the lower end of the oven a separate section is preferably provided for subjecting the coffee beans to selective treatment during the final stages of the roasting process. In one form utilizing a unitary structure the separate section is provided by a conductive septum, which separates the oven into sections in which the power level is different. In the last section the power level is adjusted to control the final critical phase of the roasting process. The oven terminates into a cooling and quenching chamber from which the beans are delivered through a microwave trap to a further cooling stage to rapidly reduce their temperature to well below roasting.
Other devices have been disclosed for providing a device for roasting coffee beans in a conventional microwave oven. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,235,764 and 6,436,457. PCT Application Pub. No. WO 2008/087622 A2 discloses an open roasting pan for inserting into a common or microwave based home oven for roasting coffee beans. The roasting, however, takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
A number of names have been commonly used to identify the various degrees of roast, such as City Roast and French Roast, based on the internal bean temperatures found during roasting. Often, a recipe known as a "roast profile" is followed to obtain certain flavor characteristics of the roasted coffee beans. A number of factors can affect the best profile to use, such as the coffee bean's origin, variety, processing method, moisture content, bean density and/or desired flavor characteristics. A roast profile can be presented as a graph showing time on one axis and temperature on the other, which can be recorded manually or using computer software and data loggers linked to temperature probes inside various parts of the roaster.
As the coffee beans absorb heat during roasting, the color shifts to yellow and then to increasingly darker shades of brown. During the later stages of roasting, oils appear on the surface of the bean. The roast will continue to darken until it is removed from the heat source. Coffee also darkens as it ages, making color alone a poor roast determinant. Most roasters use a combination of temperature, smell, color, and sound to monitor the roasting process. The most popular, but probably the least accurate, method of determining the degree of roast, however, is to judge the bean's color by eye. To obtain more accurate roasts, devices that quantitatively measure the roast have also been developed. For example, Agtron, Inc. of Reno, Nevada sells coffee roast analyzers that include spectrophotometers to analyze the degree of roast of ground and whole bean coffee. The Agtron analyzers use a narrow band of near-infrared energy to evaluate the coffee roast both as a whole bean and in a ground form.
Sound is a good indicator of temperature during roasting. There are two temperature thresholds called "cracks" that roasters listen for. At approximately 196° C. (385° F.), the coffee will emit a cracking or roasting sound. This point is referred to as "first crack," marking the beginnings of a "light roast." At first crack, a large amount of the coffee's moisture has been evaporated and the beans will increase in size. When the coffee reaches approximately 224° C. (435° F.), it emits a "second crack," this sound represents the structure of the coffee starting to collapse. If the roast is allowed to progress too much further, the coffee will fully carbonize and eventually combust.
The following table sets forth various common roasts based on bean temperature and a description of the resulting roast at that temperature.
Green Beans - 22° C. (72° F.)Drying Phase - 165° C. (329° F.)Green coffee as it arrives at the dock.During the drying phase the beans areThey can be stored for approximatelyundergoing an endothermic process until12-18 months in a climate-controlledtheir moisture content is evaporated,environment before quality loss issignifying first crack.noticeable.Cinnamon Roast - 196° C. (385° F.)Light Roast - 205° C. (401° F.)A very light roast level that is immediatelyModerate light brown, but still mottled inat first crack. Sweetness isappearance. A preferred roast for someunderdeveloped, with prominent toastedspecialty roasters highlights origingrain, grassy flavors, and sharp aciditycharacteristics as well as complex acidity.prominent.American Roast - 210° C. (410° F.)City Roast - 219° C. (426° F.)Medium light brown, developed during firstMedium brown, common for most specialtycrack. Acidity is slightly muted, but origincoffee. Good for tasting origin character,character is still preserved.although roast character is noticeable.Full City Roast - 225° C. (437° F.)Vienna Roast - 230° C. (446° F.)Medium dark brown with occasional oilModerate dark brown with light surface oil,sheen, roast character is prominent.more bittersweet, caramel flavor, andAt the beginning of second crack.acidity muted. In the middle of secondcrack. Any origin characteristics havebecome eclipsed by roast at this level.French Roast - 240° C. (464° F.)Italian Roast - 245° C. (473° F.)Dark brown, shiny with oil, burntNearly black and shiny, burnt tonesundertones, acidity diminished. At thebecome more distinct, acidity nearlyend of second crack. Roast character iseliminated, thin body.dominant; none of the inherent aroma orflavors of the coffee remain.
As noted in the table above, green coffee beans can be stored for approximately 12-18 months before quality loss is noticeable. However, for coffee beans to be considered part of the "current crop," the storage time cannot exceed one year. If the green coffee remains in storage for longer than a year, it is considered old crop, and is less valuable because of its drier state. Once the coffee is roasted, however, the shelf life is significantly reduced.
After roasting, the coffee beans contain carbon dioxide that is emitted from the beans over time. For dark-roasted coffee, the beans can emit up to 10 liters per kilogram of coffee. The roasted coffee beans rapidly emit carbon dioxide over the first few days after roasting, then more gradually over the remainder of what is referred to as the degassing period. The carbon dioxide in the roasted coffee beans forms a barrier against oxidation, which is part of staling that degrades quality by altering the roasted coffee bean's essential oils and aromatic components. Exposure to moisture, high temperature and light after coffee beans have been roasted are also known to detrimentally affect the quality of the roasted coffee beans by accelerating oxidation of the roasted coffee beans and degrading their aroma. Thus, it is desirable to limit the time of storage of roasted coffee beans to obtain the best quality coffee.
As noted above, retention of carbon dioxide in the beans is desirable for a number of reasons. In addition, for preparing espresso, the carbon dioxide in the roasted coffee beans creates the highly desirable "crème" (the silky foam that forms on the top of the brewed coffee). Thus, it is desirable to utilize freshly roasted coffee beans that have retained significant amounts of carbon dioxide to produce the most desirable brewed coffee products.
Conventional coffee bean roasting methods, including those that have attempted to use microwave energy, have various disadvantages. One common disadvantage to all such roasting methods is that they take too much time to produce roasted coffee beans on demand. In addition, such roasting methods often require specialized equipment that is configured to prepare large quantities of roasted coffee beans, which may not remain fresh if not used within a few days. The methods used previously can also result in non-uniform heating of the roasted coffee beans, resulting in uneven or incomplete roasting of some of the beans.
Although standard multi-mode kitchen microwave devices have been used in the art for roasting coffee beans, the long processing times can result in burning of some of the coffee beans while other coffee beans in the same batch are under roasted. Non-uniform roasting will affect the taste and aroma characteristics of the resulting coffee brewed form such beans. As a result, the processing times, costs of production and losses in efficiency and quality of end product are compromised.
Improvements in the prior art methods have been subject to certain constraints. For example, the prior art specifically teaches that roasted coffee bean results are sensitive to the rate of rise of the temperature of the coffee beans during roasting. For roasting coffee beans in a roasting pan, the prior art teaches preheating a roasting pan to about 260° C. (500° F.), which is extremely hot and can result in sever burns if not handled correctly. At this temperature, the roasting takes about 8-10 minutes, with the first crack at approximately 5 minutes. After roasting, the beans must be quickly cooled to prevent further internal roasting as a result of heat that is retained in the beans from the roasting process.
Thus, there exists a need in the art to provide a method, system and device for improving coffee roasting. The various aspects and embodiments of the present invention, as described below, represent novel improvements on the above devices and methods of the prior art.

Apparatus and method for roasting coffee beans