A first display zone and a second display zone are displayed based on a first light source group, which corresponds to a first voltage data signal; and then the second display zone and a third display zone are displayed based on light for a second light source group, which corresponding to a second voltage data signal. The first light source group and the second light source group illuminate the display zones alternatively. Each display zone is fed with either a first data voltage signal or a second data voltage signal. While the first data voltage signal is updating each display zone in sequence, the second data voltage signal starts updating the first display zone when the first voltage signal is updating the third display zone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stereoscopic display, and more particularly, to a time-sequential stereoscopic display.
2. Description of Prior Art
Human beings see real-world images using both eyes. Further, the human brain forms three-dimensional (3D) images according to differences in spatial distance between two views seen by both eyes from two different angles. A 3D display is designed to create simulations of human visual fields from different angles to help users perceive 3D images when viewing two-dimensional (2D) images.
Currently, 3D displays are divided into two categories. One is auto-stereoscopic displays; the other is stereoscopic displays. Users of auto-stereoscopic displays are able to view 3D images without wearing glasses with a unique structure while ones of stereoscopic displays have to wear specially designed glasses to view 3D images.
The principle of a 3D display of parallax barrier patterns inside auto-stereoscopic displays is that, based on an opaque parallax barrier, users of auto-stereoscopic displays are able to view parallax images with both eyes, and such a parallax produces the third dimension in the brain. The principle of a spatial sequential 3D display is that a time-irrelevant parallax barrier is employed to let both eyes see two different groups of pixels, and the two groups of pixels are provided with signals from the left and right eyes, respectively, so both eyes can view different images. But, the drawback is that the resolution declines to one-half of the original resolution. The principle of a time sequential 3D display is that a time-manipulating and synchronously-driven-with-display-panel parallax barrier is employed to let both eyes see the same group of pixels at different time points. This group of pixels is supplied with signals of left and right eyes at different time points, respectively, to let each eye view different images. However, considering that a single human eye must receive signals of 60 Hz to avoid perceiving flicker, a time sequential 3D display usually requires a frame rate of at least 120 Hz.
Referring to FIG. 1 showing a schematic diagram of a time sequential 3D display device 10, the display device 10 comprises a liquid crystal panel 12 and a barrier 14. The liquid crystal panel 12 comprises a pixel matrix. The barrier 14 has multiple stripe openings 14 (a) thereon. With the use of the above-mentioned barrier 14, left-eye and right-eye images are separated, and then the separated images are reflected into a viewer's left eye L and right eye R, respectively. At frame N, pixels of odd columns are displayed based on left-eye signals, while pixels of even columns are displayed based on right-eye signals, and the barrier 14 is deemed to operate in "LR mode". While at frame N+1, pixels of odd columns are displayed based on right-eye signals, while pixels of even columns are displayed based on left-eye signals, and the barrier 14 is deemed to operate in "RL mode". Because the liquid crystal panel 12 adopts a row-by-row scanning, column numbers distributed by left- and right-eye signals on the upper part of the liquid crystal panel 12 are different from those distributed on the lower part when the frame of the liquid crystal panel 12 is updated medially. Take FIG. 1 for example, signals received by pixels on the upper part of the liquid crystal panel 12 are in RL mode while signals received by pixels on the lower part are in LR mode. However, if the barrier 14 as a disparity barrier is in motion at the same time, the human eye will receive mixed left- and right-eye signals in the end.
There are two approaches to avoid the above-mentioned problem: one is black frame insertion (BFI) and the other is dynamically switching the backlight module. The BFI approach proceeds as follows: After a frame where images are displayed according to odd columns with right-eye signals and even columns with left-eye signals is shown, insert a black frame and then another frame where images are displayed according to odd columns with left-eye signals and even columns with right-eye signals. Repetitively, insert a black frame and then another frame where images are displayed according to odd columns with right-eye signals and even columns with left-eye signals. As for dynamically switching the backlight module, the method is as follows: when a liquid crystal panel is scanning, the backlight module is turned off. Then the frame will hold its state for a while after finished being scanned, the backlight module will be turned on at this time. Then the liquid crystal panel will continue scanning the next frame, and the backlight module is turned off again. Unfortunately, the two approaches share a common problem; that is, a refresh rate higher than 120 Hz is required (e.g., 240 Hz is needed for the BFI method) in order to permit the human eye receive frames at 60 Hz. This will produce additional power consumption and increase design complexity.

Stereoscopic display device and method for driving a stereoscopic display that updates a plurality of display zones


Some embodiments of automated recording and playback of application interactions have been presented. In one embodiment, an application proxy server communicatively coupled between an application server and a client records responses and requests between an application server and a client during a transaction. Furthermore, the application proxy server generates a script based on the responses and requests recorded.

As the use of computers become more popular and common in the everyday life of people, many applications are developed for various different usages. An application as used herein generally refers to a program or a suite of programs executable by one or more processors to perform one or more tasks and/or functions. Currently, many applications are developed to conduct transactions between multiple machines (e.g., servers and clients). These transactions may or may not be carried over a network. Moreover, these applications may or may not interact with other applications (e.g., requesting information from another application, providing data to another application, updating records using another application, etc.).
An important part of the development of applications is quality assurance, which involves testing of applications. For applications that interact with other applications and/or users, tests are needed to test the way the applications interact with each other. Currently, software developers routinely test such applications by manually interacting with these applications to emulate interaction with other applications and/or users in a variety of scenarios.
The above approach to test applications suffers from many disadvantages. First, the above approach is labor intensive because it requires a quality assurance engineer to manually create a series of predetermined user interactions and/or application interactions with the application under test. Further, additional effort is needed to analyze the test result. When the test has to be re-executed in order to test another revision of the application, the quality assurance engineer has to manually repeat the above procedures.

Automated recording and playback of application interactions


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates end-to-end identity propagation to a backend-tier application that is not single sign-on enabled. During operation, the system receives request from a user at a middle-tier application to access private data from the backend-tier application. Upon receiving this request, the system redirects the user to a single sign-on server that verifies authentication credentials of the user. The middle-tier application then receives a token from the single sign-on server authorizing access to a backend-tier application. Next, the middle-tier application uses the token to access the private data from the backend-tier application, and then provides the private data to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for providing authentication within computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus that provides end-to-end identity propagation to support access to computer applications.
2. Related Art
Existing computer systems provide user authentication in a point-to-point fashion. As principals (users or servers) access different computer systems, or as application services access other services in the user's behalf, the secure flow of identity can be lost. This is particularly true in web-based and enterprise computing environments where an end-user accesses multiple application services, which in turn access other services on behalf of the user. Existing systems suffer from the problem that there is no centralized trust model. Consequently, it is possible for an application service to impersonate a user, which gives rise to potential security problems.
Some systems provide a single sign-on (SSO) service that can be used as a single point of authentication for partner applications, and can thereby facilitate end-to-end authentication for the partner applications. In these systems, partner applications can receive user authentication through a token issued by the SSO server. These partner applications can, in turn, access other partner applications using the SSO token, thereby maintaining the end-to-end authentication, and providing a centralized trust model.
Unfortunately, even if an SSO service exists within a computer system, applications that are not SSO-enabled and third-party applications, such as web-based applications, still have a fragmented trust model. Some applications that are not SSO-enabled, for example a relational database management system (RDBMS), can provide authentication based on user identities in a number of ways. Users may be defined locally to an RDBMS instance. Users may be authenticated by an external repository, such as a Kerberos system, a remote authentication dial-in user service (RADIUS), or a lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) service. Additionally, enterprise users may be authenticated using the public key infrastructure (PKI) or may be password authenticated. While these methods each have advantages, they do not provide a centralized trust model and consequently have security problems.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus that provides end-to-end identity propagation across multiple layers of computer applications with a heterogeneous technology stack without the problems described above.

Method and apparatus for end-to-end identity propagation


A linear power efficient radio frequency (RF) driver system (100) includes a pre-driver amplifier (105) for amplifying an RF signal; and an output driver (107) having a substantially high impedance input for amplifying the signal from the pre-driver amplifier (105). A bias controller (109) is used for controlling the RF power output of the output driver (107) where the current drain of the pre-driver amplifier (105) and the bias controller (109) are controlled to a minimum level while maintaining linearity of the output driver (107). The system and method of the invention work to provide minimal current drain in portable products using simultaneous current and power amplifier reduction based on driver input swing to lower signal distortion.

Power control in RF transmitter systems is well known in the art and is commonly used to control transmitter output power depending on the proximity of the transmitter to a receiver in a radio or cellular telephone network. The power output may be controlled using radio signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement or otherwise so the receiving radio is not overloaded and to reduce power consumption in the transmitting communications device.
Controlling drive power of an RF amplifier is often essential in minimizing the amount of current drain in portable devices. U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,101 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,064, which are herein incorporated by reference, describe methods of controlling RF drive power. The '064 patent describes a dynamic bias for an RF power amplifier where operating bias of the RF transmitter is dynamically adjusted in response to a power control signal. The '101 patent describes an RF transmitter with an extended efficient power control arrangement where the transmitter includes stage switching, bias adjustment and drain supply modulation to provide fine and coarse power control and power envelope fluctuations. Although these systems operate to allow a reduction in power in an RF amplifier stage, they do not operate to conserve current drain or to trade off distortion for current. These prior art systems do not use a multistage approach where current is more efficiently used by controlling output power in both the low current driver stage as well as the high current amplifier stage while still maintaining overall linearity and high efficiency. When these types of transmitter power controls are used with portable devices, they do not function to reduce current drain since their design is solely for the purpose of varying the power output of the RF amplifier. These prior art systems are fixed at one current level for meeting specific design requirements such as linearity at power regardless of output power needed. Consequently, these designs can be highly inefficient and wasteful leading to high current drain and a shorter than necessary battery life. This can be very problematic in portable RF devices where battery life is of critical concern.
Accordingly, the need exists to provide a system and method for controlling RF power output in an RF amplifier while still operating to have an efficient current drain while maintaining linearity of an RF power amplifier.

Linear power efficient radio frequency (RF) driver system and method with power level control


This invention relates to a process for preparing a pigmented thermoplastic polymer composition which is useful as a low profile additive composition for thermosetting resins. The process includes the steps of. (A) selecting at least on thermoplastic polymer having a refractive index which is within about 0.06 units of the refractive index of the thermosetting resin; PA1 (B) preparing a mixture of said thermoplastic polymer and at least one color pigment, dye or mixture thereof under high shear in a high-intensity mixer; and PA1 (C) forming a slurry containing said mixture obtained in step (B) in at least one liquid copolymerizable monomer containing at least one CH.sub.2 .dbd.C<group. In a preferred embodiment, at least one surfactant is included in the slurry obtained in step (C) in an amount sufficient to enhance the uniformity of the pigmentation of a cured composite produced from the thermosetting resin composition and a low profile additive composition. Additional pigment can be added to the slurry before the slurry is mixed with the thermosetting resin. The cured composites produced from the thermosetting resin composition and the low profile additive composition of the invention are characterized has having improved uniformity and intensity of color.

Thermosetting resins, particularly unsaturated polyester resins containing fillers and reinforcements have been used for premix, transfer molding, compression molding, injection molding, and mat and preform molding. Although polyester resins generally perform satisfactorily in the above-molding processes, the resins are subject to several deficiencies. Parts molded from polyester resins are subject to shrinkage and warpage upon cooling, and often the molded product exhibits surface waviness, roughness and sink markings, especially when the articles have relatively intricate shapes and sections of varying thickness.
Various suggestions have been made in the art for improving the surface characteristics (also called low profile characteristics) of polyester resins. The automotive industry's need for thinner, smoother and tougher low profile sheet molding compound (SMC) composites for body panel parts has created an even greater interest in overcoming the shrinkage problems of thermosetting resins such as polyester resins. One proposed solution to the shrinkage problem is the inclusion of additives in the polyester resin which are believed to expand as the polyester resin is cured thereby minimizing and/or offsetting the shrinkage of the polyester. Such additives are generally referred to in the art as "low profile additives" since they improve the low profile characteristics of the cured polyester resin. In other words, low profile additives have been added to unsaturated polyester compositions for the purpose of obtaining compositions which can be molded to thermoset articles having surfaces which truly reflect the surfaces of the mold.
A number of the low profile additives which have been suggested for improving the surface properties of polyester resins are thermoplastic resins such as polymethylmethacrylates, polystyrenes, and other polymers derived from compounds containing a polymerizable olefinic group. U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,921 describes a polyester premix containing polystyrene and monomeric styrene. These compositions are described as providing a polyester resin system which, when molded exhibits relatively low shrinkage, non-warp, and improved surface characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,893 describes the modification of an unsaturated vinyl ester thermosetting resin by inclusion of a copolymerizable monomer and unsaturated polydiene rubbers such as styrene-butadiene copolymers. Such resin mixtures are reported to provide improvements in one or more properties of impact strength, stability, paintability, surface smoothness and uniformity of pigmentation in reinforced molded articles prepared therefrom.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,701,748 and 3,772,241 describe unsaturated polyester resin compositions containing a monomer having an olefinic group copolymerizable with the unsaturated polyester, and a thermoplastic polymer which is soluble in the monomer, but when present during the copolymerization of the unsaturated polyester in the monomer, yields an optically heterogeneous cured composition. It is reported that through the use of the specific combinations of the three components, the overall polymerization shrinkage is at most very low. Fibrous reinforced articles prepared from such modified unsaturated polyesters are characterized by smooth surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,714 also relates to unsaturated polyester compositions containing a thermoplastic polymer. In this patent, the thermoplastic polymer is a polymer of vinyl acetate having an average of at least one carboxyl group per molecule. Such modified compositions have particular utility in sheet molding applications to form thermoset articles characterized by excellent impact strength and by excellent surface properties.
The use of low profile additives for improving the surface characteristics of cured thermosetting resins such as unsaturated polyester resins is not problem-free. One of the difficulties which arises from the preparation of a mixture of a thermosetting resin such as the polyester resin and a thermoplastic resin composition is that the thermosetting resins and the thermoplastic resins generally are immiscible and result in the formation of a two-phase system. Although techniques have been developed in the art for satisfactorily handling two-phase systems, particular problems have been observed when it is desired to prepare colored or pigmented molded articles from such two-phase systems. Normally, color pigments are utilized to produce the desired color to the molded article. In these types of systems, color pigments appear to have a different affinity for thermosetting resins than the thermoplastic resins, and thus, the distribution of the color pigments in the molded articles is not always as uniform as desired. Also in the finished product, there is a haze caused by the differences in the index of refraction of the different resins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,534 describes a process for improving the uniformity of pigmentation in thickenable low shrink polyester molding compositions. The improved pigmentation in the thickenable polyester molding compositions containing a carboxylated vinyl ester polymer low profile additive is achieved either by incorporating a surfactant in the composition, by using as the low profile additive, a vinyl acetate/maleic acid copolymer, or by a combination of the two methods. A wide variety of surface active compounds are disclosed as being useful, and as a general rule, the ionic surface active compounds are reported as giving the best results.

Method of preparing a cured pigmented thermosetting polymer composition exhibiting improved color values and reduced haze


A boat includes a connection structure that connects couplings via a transfer shaft on a rear end portion of a crankshaft extending rearward from an engine. The crankshaft and the transfer shaft are connected by screwing an external thread and a front internal thread, and the transfer shaft and the couplings are connected by screwing an external thread and an internal thread. There are provided an inner bolt that strengthens the connection between the external thread and the front internal thread, an end bolt that strengthens the connection between the transfer shaft and the couplings, and an outer nut that strengthens the connection between the crankshaft and the transfer shaft. The boat can prevent movement between the crankshaft and an intermediate member and between the intermediate member and a coupling both in a rotational direction and in an axial direction without causing an increase of processing time or processing cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boat provided with a connection structure arranged to connect a coupling via an intermediate member to a rear end portion of an output shaft extending rearward from an engine disposed in a hull for outputting a motive power of the engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, there is a boat that ejects water suctioned from a bottom of the boat in the rear direction of a stern by operation of a jet pump so as to travel on water. An engine is disposed in a central portion of a hull of such a boat. A crankshaft (output shaft) extends toward the rear direction from the engine such that a rear end portion of the crankshaft is connected to a pump drive shaft of the jet pump via a coupling. An impeller is connected to the pump drive shaft. Accordingly, a rotational force of the crankshaft by operation of the engine is transmitted to the impeller, and thus the impeller rotates. Consequently, a propulsive force is generated by the boat.
However, an intake port of the jet pump of the boat may be exposed to air and suction air during traveling. Therefore, a load applied to the impeller is temporarily reduced. As a result, the load applied on an impeller shaft and a crankshaft easily varies. Therefore, when the crankshaft and the coupling are directly connected, a length of the crankshaft becomes long. Then, flexure is easily generated in the crankshaft by the load variation described above. As a result, the durability of the crankshaft is decreased. Accordingly, a boat is provided with a connection structure that connects a rear end portion of the crankshaft and the coupling via an intermediate member (see JP-A-2003-26093, for example).
In this boat, the connection structure is provided with a crankshaft (output shaft), an output shaft (a separate shaft from the output shaft), a connecting pipe (an intermediate member), and a coupling. A spline is provided on a rear end of an outer circumferential surface of the crankshaft and a front end of an outer circumferential surface of the output shaft. Further, a spline is provided on an inner circumferential surface of the connecting pipe and is engaged with the spline of the crankshaft and the spline of the output shaft, respectively. As these splines are engaged, the crankshaft and the output shaft are connected via the connecting pipe. In addition, splines are also provided on a rear end of the outer circumferential surface of the output shaft and on the inner circumferential surface of the coupling and can be engaged with each other. As these splines are engaged, the output shaft and the coupling are connected.
However, although each movement in the rotational direction of the output shaft in relation to the crankshaft and of the coupling in relation to the output shaft can be restricted by engagement between the splines in the conventional boat described above, movement in the axial direction cannot be restricted. Accordingly, a bolt is inserted in the output shaft from the rear end of the output shaft, and a screw on an end thereof is screwed together with a screw provided on an inner surface of the crankshaft to prevent the output shaft from moving in the axial direction in relation to the crankshaft. However, even this construction cannot prevent the coupling from moving in the axial direction in relation to the output shaft which generates a positional displacement. In addition, as the coupling moves in relation to the output shaft, a loss is generated in the drive force transmitted from the crankshaft to the coupling. Moreover, because spline processing is time-consuming, the processing time and processing cost are increased.


A light emitting module includes a body, first to Mth (wherein, M is an integer of 2 or greater) light emitting devices provided on the body to be spaced apart from each other, and a turn-on controller controlling the first to Mth light emitting devices to turn on. An mth (1≦m≦M) light emitting device among the first to Mth light emitting devices comprises first to Nth (wherein, N is an integer of 2 or greater) light emitting cells connected to each other in series. An nth (1≦n≦N) light emitting cell among the first to Nth light emitting cells includes at least one light emitting structure, and the turn-on controller simultaneously turns on or turns off the nth light emitting cells of the first to Mth light emitting devices.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a light emitting module and a lighting unit including the same.
2. Background
Light emitting devices, such as light emitting diodes or laser diodes, using Group III-V or II-VI compound semiconductor materials may produce various colors such as red, green, blue, and ultraviolet, thanks to development of thin film growth technologies and device materials. In addition, these light emitting devices may produce high-efficiency white light using fluorescent materials or through color mixing and have advantages, such as low power consumption, semi-permanent lifespan, rapid response time, safety, and environmental friendliness, as compared to conventional light sources, such as fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps.
Therefore, such light emitting devices are increasingly applied to transmission modules of optical communication units, light emitting diode backlight units substituting for cold cathode fluorescence lamps (CCFLs) constituting backlight units of liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, lighting apparatuses using white light emitting diodes substituting for fluorescent lamps or incandescent lamps, headlights for vehicles, and traffic lights.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a conventional light emitting module 10.
The light emitting module 10 of FIG. 1 includes a plurality of light emitting devices 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 44, 46 and 48 and a control circuit 20. Each of the light emitting devices 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 44, 46 and 48 includes a plurality of light emitting structures connected in series. In this regard, the control circuit 20 controls the light emitting devices 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 44, 46 and 48 to turn on and off according to level of a driving voltage applied from the outside. That is, the light emitting devices 32 and 42 are turned on when the level of the driving voltage is low, the light emitting devices 32, 34, 42 and 44 are turned on as the level of the driving voltage gradually increases, the light emitting devices 32, 34, 36, 42, 44 and 46 are turned on as the level of the driving voltage further increases, and all the light emitting devices 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 44, 46 and 48 are turned on when the level of the driving voltage reaches a certain level.
Even though light emitting devices are sequentially turned on as described above, uniformity ratio of illumination and power consumption of the light emitting devices 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 44, 46 and 48 of the conventional light emitting module 10 are not constant due to the disposition thereof as illustrated in FIG. 1.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Light emitting module and lighting unit including the same


A switching converter detects when a dimmer circuit supplying power to the switching converter changes from a conducting state to a nonconducting state or from a nonconducting state to a conducting state; an equivalent input resistance of the switching converter is changed to a first, higher value when the dimmer circuit is in the conducting state and to a second, lower value when the dimmer circuit is in the nonconducting state, thereby drawing a minimum current from the dimmer circuit while the dimmer circuit is in the nonconducting state.

LED lighting systems are capable of high light output while consuming significantly less power than that consumed by traditional incandescent bulbs. LEDs require a tightly regulated current supply, however, and thus LED lighting systems require more complex driver electronics than traditional systems in order to supply this current. In addition, LED lighting systems may be designed to interface with existing lighting infrastructure, such as traditional dimmer switches. A typical LED lighting system thus includes one or more LEDs and driver circuitry to power and dim the LEDs.
One such traditional dimmer switch operates via phase dimming, in which a varying portion of a current or voltage (such as an AC mains signal) is removed or "chopped," thereby delivering a variable amount of power to the downstream LEDs. A TRIAC may be used to perform this chopping; the amount of the AC mains that is passed is referred to as the conduction angle, or phase, which may be measured in degrees; the leading edge or the trailing edge of the AC mains may be chopped.
FIG. 1 illustrates a sample circuit 100 for a phase dimmer. A voltage V1 supplies power to the circuit 100, and a resistor R1 represents the variable load of a lamp. A second resistor R2 sets the conduction angle; the resistor R2 may be a variable resistor and may have a resistance ranging from 100 kΩ to 10 MΩ or any other value. When the voltage V1 is below a threshold, the TRIAC U1 does not conduct, and a voltage thereby develops across the resistor R2 and a capacitor C1 (the rate of development being controlled by the sizes of R2 and C1). This developing voltage charges the capacitor C1 until the voltage increases sufficiently to cross the conduction threshold of the TRIAC U1 and a second TRIAC U2. The first TRIAC U1 turns on, allowing larger currents to conduct through the lamp resistance R1. The TRIAC U1 continues to conduct until current no longer flows through it, at which point it resets.
The size of the lamp resistance R1 affects the operation of the phase dimmer circuit 100. A traditional incandescent bulb has a resistance of approximately 240Ω (given a 60 W bulb operating at 120 V) in its steady-state condition, though when the lamp is first turned on its resistance may be much higher. The size of the variable resistance R2 (and of the other components in the circuit 100) can thus be set accordingly to ensure that the circuit 100 operates properly. LEDs, on the other hand, may vary in power consumption from anywhere from 4 W to 20 W, which corresponds to an equivalent resistance ranging from 700Ω to 3600Ω. Furthermore, the drivers for LEDs may not have a purely resistive input characteristic, creating further variation in the equivalent resistance. The deleterious effect of this variation can produce a momentary loss of current in the TRIAC U1, resulting in a mis-firing thereof. The effects of this mis-firing include flickering, shimmering, or other dimming incompatibilities of the LED.
Existing systems reduce or prevent these deleterious effects by adding a so-called "bleeder" circuit to draw current through the TRIAC U1 to prevent its misfiring. For example, a resistor may be switched into the circuit 100 or a semiconductor may be operated in its linear region across the input terminals of the driver or LED. The bleeder circuit may be configured to continually draw current or may be configured to draw current only when the current through the TRIAC U1 falls below a threshold and/or only during certain portions of the input AC mains cycle. In either case, however, the bleeder circuit wastes power by drawing this current. A need therefore exists for an LED driver that prevents TRIAC misfire without consuming unnecessary power.

LED driver with high dimming compatibility without the use of bleeders


A method for determining affinity domain information based on virtual memory address in a computing system where access to memory is non-uniform includes receiving a request to identify an affinity domain associated with a specified virtual memory address. The affinity domain includes a cluster of processors and memory local to the cluster of processors. A physical memory page corresponding to the specified virtual memory address is determined using a page table mapping a plurality of virtual memory addresses to a plurality of physical addresses. An affinity domain associated with the determined physical memory page is identified. Affinity domain information is provided for the identified affinity domain.

The present invention relates to techniques for managing memory in computing systems and, more specifically, to determining affinity domain information based on the virtual memory address.
Concerns over memory mismanagement continue to increase due to the increasing inadvertent and malicious misuse of memory in computing systems. For example, the same memory is often used by different applications or processes within an operating system instance. Additionally, in systems that employ virtualization as a tool to abstract physical resources (such as processors, memory, storage, etc.) into different logical partitions (running different operating systems), the same memory can also be used by different applications (or processes) in each logical partition. In these situations, it is often possible for a subsequent application to access or recover data within memory that was used by the previous application. This recovered data, if exploited, can comprise the security of several programs in the operating system and/or comprise sensitive customer information.
The feature of NUMA (Non Uniform Memory Access) architecture is that the shared memories are distributed physically, and the collection of all these memories is global address space. Therefore, the time that the processors spend in accessing these memories is different; apparently the speed of accessing the local memories (high affinity) is a little more than that of accessing global shared memories or remotely accessing other memories (low affinity).
As memory sizes continue to grow each year, however, determining where a particular page is located is increasingly becoming a time-consuming and hardware intensive process. Thus, there is a need for improved methods for quickly determining affinity domain information in systems that support large memory sizes.

Determining affinity domain information based on virtual memory address

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A bit decoder for a memory array includes a decode NOR/OR circuit coupled to an output driver circuit. The decode NOR/OR circuit includes a plurality of input signals connected to respective input FET's all of which are connected in parallel between a common source and a common drain node. One input is also connected to an active pullup FET which is connected in series with the input FET's at the common drain node and which is always maintained slightly on. A bipolar transistor pulls down the common drain node and a bleeder FET pulls down the common source node. The output driver is a BICMOS circuit that provides both the bit selection and bit refresh signals which are of opposite phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory array and addressing circuitry for use therewith. More particularly, the invention relates to improved bit decoding, restoring and word decoding circuitry for a static random access memory (RAM) array. The invention may be implemented in BICMOS technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various bit decoding (also known as column decoding or selection) and word decoding (also known as row decoding or selection) schemes for memory arrays are known in the art. See, for example: Aoyama et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,700; White U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,851; Tanimura U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,374; Chan et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,779; Chan et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,002; Chan U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,390; Ochii U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,631; Sauer U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,898; and Chan et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,913.
Chan et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,913 (particularly FIGS. 5, 6, and 9) discloses improved bit decoder, bit select, word decoder and other circuits for use in an all-bipolar RAM employing CTS (complementary transistor switch) cells. Decoder circuitry for an all-CMOS static RAM is disclosed in Aoyama et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,700 (particularly FIG. 6).
These and other prior art decoding schemes have, however, served specialized needs not applicable to CMOS or BICMOS static RAMs, or have suffered from several disadvantages. For example, a decode scheme for an all-bipolar array normally will not be able (and does not need) to provide a restore or precharge signal to the bit lines after a read or write operation. A restore signal is, however, needed for high-speed operation of a CMOS or BICMOS array. This restore signal also must be timed properly with the bit decode signal, and the restore timing circuitry (clock drivers, etc.) normally consists of separate circuitry in the prior art, which has increased cost and complexity.
All-bipolar decoders also draw large amounts of power and occupy considerable chip area. On the other hand, although all-CMOS decoders draw less power and are smaller, they are usually slower.
With the increasing size and complexity of memories, the associated addressing circuitry has likewise become increasingly complex. Thus, there is an increasing need to simplify functions and reduce circuitry wherever possible, as well as a need to reduce power, increase speed and increase circuit density.

Bit decoder for generating select and restore signals simultaneously

International Business Machines Corporation


Provided are a system and method for generating a database scheme for storing different types of data structures. In one example, the method includes receiving a first data object having a first data structure and a second data object having a second data structure that is different than the first data structure, generating a database scheme based on the first data structure and the second data structure, wherein the generated database scheme retains information about a structure of the first data structure and a structure of the second data structure, and storing the first data object and the second data object, in a database, according to the generated database scheme. According to various aspects, by at least partially retaining the original structure of the data objects, further searching and processing may be performed on different types of data objects stored in a relational database.

A storage device such as a relational database may organize data into one or more tables of columns and rows, with a key identifying each row. Generally, each table represents one entity type such as a customer entity or a product entity. In this arrangement, the rows may represent instances of that type of entity such as a name of a person or a name of a product, and the columns may represent values attributed to that instance such as an address of the person or a price of the product. Digital databases are commonly used to store big data because of the flexibility, ease of use, security, data independence, and data manipulation capabilities of a digital database. Storing and analyzing big data are of significant importance to software systems. For example, data sets may be analyzed and interpreted by these systems to predict a future behavior or a future event. The data sets may include data that is collected from multiple external data sources such as devices on the internet of things (IoT). To analyze the data, the data is often transferred from the external data sources to a backend system where it can be stored for evaluation at a later point in time.
In some software systems, the transfer of data may be accomplished by sending messages from the data sources to specific interfaces within the backend system. The interfaces may have different structures or they may be built differently in order to receive and transmit different types of data messages (e.g., one interface may receive orders, another interface may receive available products, and the like). Therefore, messages within the system can be composed of different data structures. When an error occurs (e.g., semantic error) while processing a message, the system may persist the message and attempt to recover the message at a later point in time. For example, the system may wait until there is a group of messages to be analyzed. To persist a group of messages that have different data structures, the system typically requires an unnormalized database scheme or even a schemaless database. However, an unnormalized scheme may limit further processing, because the data's original structure gets lost on a database layer. For instance, aggregating or searching within specific columns or even within joined tables is very limited or prevented. Doing this on an application layer results in a negative impact to the performance of the system and increases overall complexity.
Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated or adjusted for clarity, illustration, and/or convenience.

Database scheme for storing generic data


Disclosed is a system and method for ultrasonic measurement of the average diameter and roundness profile of a tube. A roundness algorithm represents the angular dependence of the tube surface profile as a sum of Fourier components, each component being a harmonic representing an integer number of undulations per revolution, with “0” (the first harmonic) corresponds to an average circle associated with the tube outer surface. A calibration block is used to calibrate the first harmonic, representing the average tube diameter.

The ideal cross-section of a pipe or tube is perfectly circular, providing maximum strength and ease of joining adjacent tubing sections. Methods of measuring deviation of tubes from roundness are known in the art.
Known roundness measurement methods are often performed using a displacement transducer mounted between two location members which contact the surface of the tube and locate the transducer. As the tube under test is rotated with respect to the transducer and the location members, the transducer measures a displacement which is a weighted combination of the departures from roundness of the transducer and the contact points of the two location members. The advantage of this geometrical arrangement is that the measurement can be done with just one transducer, precision rotary bearings are not required, the axis of the tube does not have to be accurately aligned to the axis of rotation, and access to only one side of the rotating tube is required.
Moore (J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 22 (1989) 339-343 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,908) has presented design considerations and algorithms for such a geometrical arrangement. However, Moore is silent on the use of ultrasound transducers, which have the advantage that they are able to simultaneously measure the wall thickness and the deviation from roundness of the tube under test. Furthermore, Moore's algorithms are applied to a two-dimensional circular object with no consideration of any profile variations in the third dimension, which is the axial length of the tube.
Glasscock (U.S. Pat. No. 7,386,416) teaches use of an ultrasonic probe for measuring wall thickness and ovality. However, Glasscock's method is capable of measuring only the maximum and minimum deviation from the average diameter of the tube, thereby calculating the ovality. FIG. 1A illustrates an ovality measurement of a tube 4′ having a nominally circular outer surface 2′. According to the method of Glasscock, a maximum diameter Dmax and a minimum diameter Dmin of tube 4′ may be measured along two perpendicular axes, and tube 4′ is assumed to have an oval shape as illustrated in FIG. 1A.
FIG. 1B illustrates a roundness measurement of a tube 4 whose diameter has non-oval deviations from an average circle 2, wherein average circle 2 is a circle having the average diameter of tube 4. Tube 4 is a better general representation than tube 4′ of observed roundness deviations in tubes. Note, however, that the deviations from roundness of tube 4 have been exaggerated for clarity of presentation. Tube 4 may be characterized by the maximum diameter Dmax and the minimum diameter Dmin, but measurement of deviations δ from average circle 2 for all positions around the circumference of tube 4 would provide a much better characterization. Measurements of such other, non-oval, deviations from roundness are not possible with the method of Glasscock.
In general, users wish to determine variations along the axial length of the average diameter of the tube, not merely the roundness profile which is a measure of deviations from a nominal tube diameter. A problem of ultrasonic roundness methods in existing practice is that the measurement of the average tube diameter has low precision, and there is no method to calibrate for higher accuracy.
There therefore exists a need for an ultrasonic method capable of measuring deviations from tube roundness as a function of axial position, while at the same time providing an accurate and calibrated measurement of the axial dependence of tube average diameter.

Method and apparatus for measuring wall thickness, ovality of tubular materials


Disclosed are compounds of the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are selected independently from H, C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 unbranched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 cycloalkylalkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.14 araalkyl, 2-, 3- or 4-pyridinyl, 2-thienyl, 2-furanyl, phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from F, Cl, Br, OH, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, CH.sub.3 S(O).sub.r, NO.sub.2, CF.sub.3, or NR.sup.7 R.sup.8 ; or ##STR2## where L is O, O(CH.sub.2).sub.m+1 O, or (CH.sub.2).sub.m where m is 0-4; R.sup.3 is H, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, allyl, benzyl, or phenyl optionally substituted with F, Cl, CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 O, or CF.sub.3 ;. R.sup.4 is straight chain C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl optionally substituted with F; C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 cycloalkylalkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.14 araalkyl where the aryl group is optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8, or NCOR.sup.7 ; C.sub.3 --C.sub.6 alkenyl or alkynyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 perfluoroalkyl, phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8 or NCOR.sup.7 ; pentafluorophenyl, benzyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, pyrimidinyl, or biphenyl; PA0 R.sup.5 is H, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, or benzyl; PA0 R.sup.6 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 alkenyl or alkynyl, phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8, or NCOR.sup.7 ; pentafluorophenyl, benzyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8, or NCOR.sup.7 ; PA0 R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 are selected independently from H or C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl; PA0 X is S(O).sub.r, O, NR.sup.5, CH.sub.2 ; PA0 A is C.sub.2 -C.sub.10 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.10 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.10 alkenyl, or C.sub.3 -C.sub.10 alkynyl; PA0 Y is O, S, H.sub.2, or NH; PA0 Z is NHR.sup.4, OR.sup.4, or R.sup.4 ; PA0 r is 0-2,. or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and their use as antihypercholesterolemic agents or antiatherosclerotic agents.

Hypercholesterolemia is an established risk factor in the development of atherosclerosis. Therapeutic agents which control the level of serum cholesterol have proven to be effective in the treatment of coronary artery disease. While agents exist that can modulate circulating levels of cholesterol carrying lipoproteins, these agents have little or no effect on the intestinal absorption of cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol can increase the level of serum cholesterol to levels which place an individual at increased risk for the development or exacerbation of atherosclerosis. Since much of the free or unesterified cholesterol that is absorbed by intestinal mucosal cells must first be esterified by ACAT prior to its incorporation and secretion into the bloodstream in large lipoprotein particles called chylomicrons, inhibition of ACAT can reduce the absorption of dietary cholesterol. In addition, the accumulation and storage of cholesteryl esters in the arterial wall is associated with increased activity of ACAT. Inhibition of the enzyme is expected to inhibit the formation or progression of atherosclerotic lesions in mammals.
There are a limited number of patents in the literature disclosing compounds which are useful as ACAT inhibitors in particular and antiatherosclerotic agents in general. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,662, issued to De Vries Nov. 18, 1986, discloses ureas and thioureas as ACAT inhibitors useful for reducing the cholesterol ester content of an arterial wall, inhibiting atherosclerotic lesion development, and/or treatment of mammalian hyperlipidemia. U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,927, issued to Holmes on Feb. 2, 1988, discloses disubstituted pyrimidineamides of oleic and linoleic acids as ACAT inhibitors useful for inhibiting intestinal absorption of cholesterol.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,598, issued to Lautenschlager et al. one Jul. 17, 1984, discloses compounds of the formula: ##STR3## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 independently are H, F, Cl, Br, I, alkyl, alkoxy, or CF.sub.3, with the proviso that one or several of R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, R.sup.3 and R.sup.4, or R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 taken together represent methylenedioxy;
R.sup.7 is H, alkali metal ion, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or benzyl; and
n is 0 to 10. PA0 R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 independently are H, F, Cl, CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 O, CF.sub.3 ; PA0 R.sup.4 is H, Na, K, CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2, (CH.sub.3).sub.2 CH, CH.sub.3 (CH.sub.2).sub.2, or butyl; PA0 A is C(CH.sub.3).sub.2, CH(CH.sub.2).sub.m CH.sub.3, (CH.sub.2).sub.n, or (CH.sub.2).sub.n-2 CH(CH.sub.3); PA0 m is 0 to 8; and PA0 n is 2 to 10. PA0 R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 independently are H, OH, saturated or unsaturated alkyl, cycloalkyl, or hydroxyalkyl of 1 to 10 carbon atoms, ##STR7## R.sup.8, R.sup.9, R.sup.10, R.sup.11, R.sup.12 and R.sup.13 independently are H, F, Cl, Br, NO.sub.2, CH.sub.3 CONH, OH, alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, CF.sub.3, and alkoxy of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, with the proviso that R.sup.8 and R.sup.9, R.sup.10 and R.sup.11 or R.sup.12 and R.sup.13 taken together represent methylenedioxy; PA0 R.sup.14 is alkyl of 1 to 2 carbon atoms; PA0 m and n taken together represent a whole number from 0 to 9; PA0 p is 0 to 2; PA0 s is 0 to 2; and PA0 t is 0 or 2. PA0 X is a bond, O, OC(.dbd.O)O, C(.dbd.O)O, CONR.sup.7, OC(.dbd.O), or OC(.dbd.O) NR.sup.7 ; PA0 m and n taken together represent a whole number from 0 to 9; PA0 p is 0 to 2; PA0 s is 0 to 2; and PA0 t is 0 to 2. PA0 R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 can also be taken together as ##STR15## where L is O, O(CH.sub.2).sub.m+1 O, or (CH.sub.2).sub.m where m is 0-4; R.sup.3 is H, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, allyl, benzyl, or phenyl optionally substituted with F, Cl, CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 O, or CF.sub.3 ; PA0 R.sup.4 is straight chain C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl optionally substituted with F; C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 cycloalkylalkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.14 araalkyl where the aryl group is optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8, or NCOR.sub.7 ; C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 alkenyl or alkynyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 perfluoroalkyl, phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8 or NCOR.sup.7 ; pentafluorophenyl, benzyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, , NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8 or NCOR.sup.7 ; 2-, 3- or 4- pyridinyl, pyrimidinyl, or biphenyl; PA0 R.sup.5 is H, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, or benzyl; PA0 R.sup.6 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 alkenyl or alkynyl, phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8, or NCOR.sup.7 ; pentafluorophenyl, benzyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or alkoxy, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboalkoxy, NR.sup.7 R.sup.8, or NCOR.sup.7 ; PA0 R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 are selected independently from H or C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl; PA0 X is S(O).sub.r, O, NR.sup.5, CH.sub.2 ; PA0 A is C.sub.2 -C.sub.10 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.10 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.10 alkenyl, or C.sub.3 -C.sub.10 alkynyl; PA0 Y is O, S, H.sub.2, NH; PA0 Z is NHR.sup.4, OR.sup.4 or R.sup.4 ; PA0 r is 0-2, PA0 R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are selected independently from C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 cycloalkylalkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.14 araalkyl, 2-, 3-, or 4-pyridinyl, 2-thienyl, 2-furanyl, phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 2 groups selected from F, Cl, Br, OH, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, CH.sub.3 S(O).sub.r, NO.sub.2, or NR.sup.7 R.sup.8 ; or PA0 R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 can also be taken together as ##STR16## where L is O, O(CH.sub.2).sub.m+1 O, or (CH.sub.2).sub.m where m is 0-4. PA0 R.sup.3 is H, CH.sub.3, phenyl; PA0 R.sup.6 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 O, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, or di (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4) alkylamino; or benzyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 O, F, Br, Cl, NH.sub.2, OH, CN, CO.sub.2 H, CF.sub.3, or di (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4) alkylamino; PA0 X is S(O).sub.r, CH.sub.2 ; PA0 A is C.sub.2 -C.sub.10 alkyl, C.sub.4 -C.sub.9 branched alkyl. PA0 R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are selected independently from C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 cycloalkylalkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.14 araalkyl, 2-, 3-, or 4-pyridinyl, 2-thienyl, or phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 2 groups selected from F, Br, Cl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, CH.sub.3 O, CH.sub.3 S(O).sub.r, NO.sub.2, or di (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4) alkylamino; or PA0 R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 can also be taken together as ##STR17## where L is O or OCH.sub.2 O; R.sup.3 is H; PA0 R.sup.4 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 branched alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 cycloalkyl, C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 cycloalkylalkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.14 araalkyl, phenyl substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from CH.sub.3, F, Cl, CH.sub.3 O, CN; or benzyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 O, F, Cl, or CN; PA0 R.sup.6 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl or phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 3 groups selected from CH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 O, F, Cl, or CN; PA0 A is C.sub.4 -C.sub.9 alkyl; PA0 X is S(O).sub.r. PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-h eptylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptyl-N'-phenylurea PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[8-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)octyl]-N-he ptylurea PA0 N-butyl-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[8-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)oct yl]urea PA0 N'-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl )-N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptyl-N'-methylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptyl-N'-propylurea PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl )-N-[5-[(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)sulfonyl]pentyl]-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N'-(3-fluorophenyl )-N-heptylthiourea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N'-(3-fluorophenyl )-N-heptylurea PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-heptyl-N-[5-(4-phenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl ]urea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio )pentyl]N-heptyl-N'-(2,4, 6-trifluorophenyl)thiourea PA0 N'-(2,6-dichlorophenyl )-N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptyl-N'-(1-methylethyl) urea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-2,4-difluoro-N-heptylbenzen eacetamide PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptyl-N'-propylthiourea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]N-heptyl-N'-octylurea PA0 N'-cyclohexyl-N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptylurea PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[5-[(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)sulfinyl]penty l]-N-heptylurea PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[2-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)ethyl]-N-he ptylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptylbutanamide PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl )-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis(1-methylethyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorop henyl)-N-heptylurea PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[5-(4,5-dipropyl-1H-imidazole-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N- heptylurea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis(4-fluorophenyl )-1H-imidazol-2ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-heptylurea PA0 5-(1H-dibenz[2,3:6,7]oxedino[4,5-d]imidazol-2-ylthio )pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis(2-thienyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl )-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptylpentanamide PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptyl[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-a cetamide PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]heptyl-N'-(2,4,6-trifluoroph enyl) urea PA0 N-5-[4,5-bis (2-pyridinyl )-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-heptylurea PA0 N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[6-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl) hexyl]-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (4-methylphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-he ptylurea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N-heptylbutanamide PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-h eptylurea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (1-methylethyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N-heptylcyclohexaneacetamide PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (3-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-h eptylurea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (2-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-h eptylurea PA0 N'-[(1,1'-biphenyl)-4-yl]-N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-b 1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptylurea PA0 N-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N'-o ctylurea PA0 Propyl [5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio) pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 (Phenylmethyl) [5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 Phenyl [5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio )pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 (2-Methylpropyl) [5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio) pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 Ethyl [5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio )pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 Octyl [5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio )pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis [4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophe nyl )-N-heptylurea PA0 N-[5-(4,5-dicyclohexyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N'-(2,4-difluorophenyl )-N-heptylurea PA0 (4-fluorophenyl) [5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N'-octyl-N-phenylurea PA0 N-[5-(1H, 9H-dibenz[4,5:8,9][1,3]dioxonino[6,7-d]imidazol-2-ylthio)-pentyl]-N'-(2,4- difluorophenyl )-N-heptylurea PA0 N'-(4-cyanophenyl)-N-[5-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio)pentyl]-N-heptyl urea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (4-methoxyphenyl )-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-2,4-difluoro-N-heptylbenzeneacetamide PA0 Phenyl [5-[4,5-bis (4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1H-imidazo-2-ylthio]pentyl]heptylcarbamate PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis (4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N-heptyl-N'-(1-methylethyl) urea PA0 N-[5-[4,5-bis [4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-1H-imidazol-2-ylthio]pentyl]-N-heptyl-N'-(1-meth ylethyl)urea
The synthesis and the use of these compounds in the treatment of thromboembolic, inflammatory and/or atherosclerotic diseases is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,358, issued to Lautenschlager et al. on Mar. 31, 1987, discloses compounds of the formula: ##STR4## wherein k is 0, 1, or 2,
The synthesis and the use of these compounds in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, diseases of lipid metabolism, and/or hyperlipidemic diseases is disclosed.
German Laid Open Application No. DE 3504679, Lautenschlager et al., published Aug. 14, 1986, discloses compounds of the formula: ##STR5## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 independently are H, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or ##STR6## R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 independently are H, C.sub.6 H.sub.5, or alkyl of 1 to 9 carbon atoms;
The synthesis and the use of these compounds in the treatment of thromboembolic, inflammatory, atherosclerotic, and lipid metabolism diseases in general is disclosed.
German Laid Open Application No. DE 3504680, Lautenschlager et al., published Aug. 14, 1986, discloses compounds of the formula: ##STR8## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 independently are H, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or ##STR9## R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 can be taken together with the carbon atoms in the 4 and 5 position of the imidazole ring to represent a carbocyclic five- or six-membered aromatic or partially hydrogenated ring which may be substituted by R.sup.8 or R.sup.9 ;
R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 independently are H, C.sub.6 H.sub.5, or alkyl of 1 to 9 carbon atoms; PA1 R.sup.6 is alkyl, cycloalkyl, or hydroxyalkyl of 1 to 20 carbon atoms, H, alkali metal if X is --COO--, 1-phenethyl, or ##STR10## R.sup.7 is H, OH if X is --CONR.sup.7 --, or alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R.sup.8, R.sup.9, R.sup.10 and R.sup.11 are independently H, Cl, F, Br, NO.sub.2, CH.sub.3 CONH, OH, alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, CF.sub.3, or alkoxy of 1 to 3 carbons, or R.sup.8 and R.sup.9 or R.sup.10 and R.sup.11 taken together represent methylene-dioxy;
The synthesis and the use of these compounds in the treatment of thromboembolic, inflammatory, atherosclerotic, and lipid metabolism diseases in general is disclosed.
Durant et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,291, issued Oct. 14, 1980, teaches compounds of the formula: ##STR11## wherein A together with the carbon atom form an unsaturated heterocyclic nucleus which may be an imidazole, pyrazole, pyrimidine, pyrazine, pyridazine, thiazole, isothiazole, oxazole, isoxazole, triazole, thiadiazole, benzimidazole, or 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroimidazol[1,5-a]pyridine ring; X.sub.1 is H, lower alkyl, hydroxyl, trifluoromethyl, benzyl, halogen, amino, or ##STR12## X.sub.2 is H, or when X.sub.1 is lower alkyl, lower alkyl or halogen; k is 0 to 2 and m is 2 or 3, provided that the sum of k and m is 3 or 4; Y is O, S, or NH; E is NR.sub.2 ; R.sub.1
is H, lower alkyl or di-lower alkyl amino-lower alkyl; and R2 is H, nitro, or cyano. The compounds are said to be antihistamines of the H.sub.2 receptor blocking type, As well as having anti-inflammatory activity.
White, U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,130, Nov. 1, 1983, discloses histamine H.sub.2 receptor antagonists of the formula: ##STR13## where A together with the carbon atom form an unsaturated heterocyclic nucleus which may be an 5 imidazole, pyridine, thiazole, isothiazole, oxazole, isoxazole, pyrazole, triazole, thiadiazole, pyrimidine, pyrazine or pyridazine; X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 may be H, lower alkyl, trifluoromethyl, hydroxyl, halogen, amino, or X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 and at least two of the atoms comprising A may form a further ring; k is 0 to 2 and m is 2 or 3, provided that the sum of k and m is 3 or 4; E is O, S, or NR.sub.2 ; R.sub.1 is H, lower alkyl, acyl, or dialkylaminoalkyl; and R2 is H, NO.sub.2, CN, alkansulphonyl or arenesulphonyl.
There are no known literature references disclosing the imidazoles of this invention, their use as ACAT inhibitors, or their use to lower cholesterol or in the treatment of atherosclerosis.
The compounds of this invention are very potent ACAT inhibitors. As shown by the data presented below in Table 6, the compounds of this invention inhibit ACAT activity in vitro with at least ten times the potency of any ACAT inhibitors described in the current literature. As shown by the data presented below in Table 8, the compounds of this invention cause a reduction in the serum cholesterol level in cholesterol-fed hamsters. The compounds of this invention are thus expected to be useful in pharmaceutical formulations for the treatment of atherosclerosis. The compounds of this invention have been shown to lower serum cholesterol, and this invention should not be construed as limited to any particular antihypercholesterolemic mechanism of action.

Imidazoles for the treatment of atherosclerosis

The Du Pont Merck Pharmaceutical Company


Finishing composition substantially free of non-volatile silicone materials and comprises a mixture of abrasive particles and an emulsion, which comprises water, a volatile siloxane, and a lubricant.

Finishing compositions may be used as paint refinishing materials to remove scratches left by sanding operations, which remove paint defects on vehicle surfaces. Typically when removing a paint defect, the defect is sprayed with a clearcoat and then removed using an abrasive material (e.g., sandpaper). However, this leaves visible scratch marks on the vehicle surface. The scratch marks may be removed by applying and distributing a finishing composition with abrasive buffing pads. A surface-protective sealant (seal coat) may then optionally be applied.
Conventional finishing compositions contain solvents to improve the handling properties of the compositions (e.g., working time, product deposition on the surface, pick-up with a buffing pad, and clean up). These solvents evaporate after the finishing is applied to the surface. However, environmental regulations require relatively low concentrations (e.g., less than 17 percent, by weight) of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in certain products.

Finishing compositions with reduced volatile organic compounds


A wire cut electrical discharge machining device including a work tank (31) which holds a workpiece (8), a wire cutting device (11) which cuts the wire electrode used to generate a electrical discharge in the gap between the wire electrode (32) and the workpiece into small pieces, a container (12), mounted outside the work tank, to hold the small wire pieces, and a malleable guide tube (13), one end (13A) of which is connected to the wire cutting device, and the other end (13B) of which is directed toward the container. Small wire parts are conveyed to the container by the flow of a fluid (15) introduced to the guide tube. The container includes a filter (12A) to separate the small wire pieces and the fluid.

Wire cut electrical discharge machining devices are known in which a continuous wire-shaped electrode, unwound from a wire supply source such as a bobbin or reel, is fed into a work tank or pan in which the workpiece is held and, after being used to generate electrical discharges in the space formed between the wire electrode and the workpiece -- the machining "gap" -- is taken up by a recovery roller. In devices of this type, the winding of the wire electrode on the recovery roller side can have undesirable effects on the wire electrode which is traveling through the gap side.
Wire cut electrical discharge machining devices having a container provided outside of the work tank with sufficient capacity to recover the spent wire electrode, and a mechanism for conveying the wire electrode from the gap to the container are known. Generally, such wire conveying mechanisms include a device mounted in proximity to the wire recovery container to pull the wire electrode, and a part for feeding the wire electrode from the gap to the wire pulling device, for example multiple feed rollers and pulleys, conveyor belts, or guide tubes into which a fluid is introduced, have been used for this purpose. In addition, a device which imparts curl to the wire may be provided between the wire pulling device and the container, so that the wire can be stored in an orderly manner in the container. Alternatively, a device for cutting the wire into small pieces may be provided. Such additional devices improve the storage capacity of the container.
Normally, the tension imparted to the wire electrode as it travels through the gap side is controlled by the joint action of a brake device, which is provided between the wire supply device and the gap, and which imparts an adjustable damping on the wire, and the wire pulling device. The wire pulling device performs a portion of the tension control function, so that failures along the travel path between the gap and the wire pulling device, such as wire straying from the travel path or wire jamming, may be transmitted to the wire electrode passing through the gap and cause poor machining accuracy. In particular, such failures can easily occur when automatically threading the leading end of a wire having a diameter less than, for example, about 0.1 mm, to pass through the initial hole in the workpiece and on to the pulling device.


A novel method for characterizing multilayer subterranean reservoirs comprising forming a single layer reservoir model representative of the flow parameters of the multilayer reservoir and developing a set of predicted flow rates from a numerical reservoir simulator. The predicted flow rates are scaled to form a set of dimensionless flow rates. Differences between actual reservoir flow rates and predicted flow rates obtained from the dimensionless flow rates, are minimized automatically to obtain estimates of flow parameters for each layer of the multilayer reservoir. Additionally, for a given set of flow parameters, the optimum injection and production well patterns as well as injection and production well operating conditions can be determined for producing hydrocarbon from the multilayer reservoir.

The present invention relates generally to the field of enhanced hydrocarbon recovery and more particularly to a method for characterizing multilayer subterranean reservoirs.
Initial hydrocarbon production from subterranean reservoirs is generally referred to as "primary" production. During primary production, only a fraction of the hydrocarbon in the reservoir is recovered. Thereafter, additional hydrocarbon can be recovered employing enhanced hydrocarbon recovery techniques by injecting fluids such as water, steam, nitrogen, CO.sub.2 or natural gas into the reservoir and such subsequent production is generally referred to as "secondary" or "tertiary" production. Enhanced recovery techniques generally depend on the injected fluid to displace the hydrocarbon from its in-situ location and direct it towards a producing well from which it can be recovered. Because of the substantial economic cost required to develop and implement enhanced recovery techniques, it is critically important for a reservoir engineer to characterize the storage and flow capacity of a hydrocarbon bearing reservoir. More particularly, it is important for the reservoir engineer to describe the distribution of porosity, permeability, and thickness of the various reservoir layers and to be able to optimize both the spacing and operating conditions of injection and preduction wells for producing hydrocarbons from a multilayer reservoir. Geological, geophysical and petrophysical analyses can provide a good starting point for an initial estimate of such reservoir properties. However, such analyses can be seriously limited especially with regard to their inability to accurately describe the vertical variation of in-situ reservoir permeability.
Experience in the petroleum industry has indicated that reservoir storage and flow parameters obtained from geological, geophysical and petrophysical data can be used to develop a model of the reservoir and thereafter the model can be input into a numerical reservoir simulator to obtain predictions of reservoir response or performance during enhanced hydrocarbon recovery. The goal of such numerical reservoir simulators is to predict reservoir performance in more detail and with more accuracy than is possible with simple extrapolation techniques. Unfortunately, one seldom knows enough about a reservoir to develop an accurate model describing reservoir storage and flow parameters without testing it in some way and iteratively altering the model of the reservoir until it produces acceptable results. Given the limited amount of information available to delineate the reservoir model, the most useful--and usually the only--way to test the model description of reservoir storage and flow parameters is to simulate past performance of the reservoir and compare the simulation with actual, historical performance. Typically, such "history matching" is done on a trial-and-error basis by modifying selected reservoir storage and flow parameters upon which the reservoir model was derived and iteratively running the numerical reservoir simulator until eventually the simulated performance matches the historical performance.
The history matching technique can be an especially useful and powerful technique to determine reservoir storage and flow parameters. Although such numerical reservoir simulators coupled with trial-and-error history matching techniques have been used with some success to develop reservoir storage and flow parameters, they can consume substantial amounts of computing time as well as be quite expensive and frustrating because reservoir storage and flow parameters can be very complex with numerous interactions. While there are many methods of combined numerical reservoir simulation and trial-and-error history matching, no universally applicable method has evolved. Moreover, such techniques typically involve iteratively, manually adjusting selected reservoir storage and flow parameters and recalculating reservoir performance with the numerical reservoir simulator. Making changes by guessing or by following one's intuition can be expensive and will usually prolong the history matching analysis.
In order to address the aforementioned shortcomings of conventional history matching techniques, the present invention provides an automated method of history matching whereby flow parameters of the reservoir can be determined more quickly and less expensively than can be achieved using present techniques. Additionally, the present invention provides a novel method for determining the optimum injection and production well pattern on spacing as well as optimum operating conditions for producing hydrocarbons from a multilayer reservoir.

Method for characterizing subterranean reservoirs


A beauty device includes a light irradiation section having a blue LED, a yellow LED, a red LED, and near infrared LED each of which emits light with a predetermined wavelength to a face A, and an oxygen supply section 2 that supplies oxygen to the face A.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a beauty device that irradiates human skin with light of a predetermined wavelength, and more particularly to a beauty device that has effects on removal of face blemishes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of beauty devices that have effects on facial beauty treatment have been conventionally known. For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication 2000-217938 discloses that human skin is irradiated with a laser beam to obtain skin beauty effects.
However, the technique disclosed in the above patent publication is limited to one using the laser beam irradiation and there is a fixed limitation in the skin beauty effects. Accordingly, the beauty device, which is more excellent in the skin beauty effects, has been expected.


The present invention is directed to an end connector for a cross tee for use in a suspended ceiling grid system. The end connector includes a front portion adapted to be inserted by a stab in motion into a vertical opening in a web of a main tee and a rear portion adapted to be attached to an end of a cross tee. The front portion has front, bottom and top edges with a first lock arrangement provided on a top edge of the front portion, the first lock region providing a connection between the end connector and a web of a main tee when the connector is inserted into an opening in a web of a main tee. The first lock arrangement extends angularly outwardly of the end connector and has a forward portion resiliently deflectable from its rest position to pass through an opening in a web of a main tee and then spring back to its rest position. A web containing area is located rearwardly of the forward portion for containing a web of a main tee and a stop surface is located rearwardly of the web containing area. The front portion of the end connector also has a second lock arrangement located within the body of the front portion for locking engagement with a complementary second lock arrangement of another end connector to interlock two such connectors inserted from opposite sides into an opening of a web of a main tee.

Suspended ceilings have been utilized in building installations for many years. They are typically provided as a grid work of main runners and cross runners suspended from the building structure and supporting suitable infill material such as ceiling tiles, light fixtures, air handling devices, etc. In most suspended ceilings the runners have the form of an inverted "T", and thus, are sometimes called main tee's and cross tee's. The grid tee's are usually formed from a strip of material which has been bent to form a bulb or bead along the top edge of a central web with opposed, outwardly extending flanges located at the bottom edge of the web. The flanges are generally covered by a cap strip to provide a finished appearance to the portion of the tee which is exposed to the room.
Suspended ceilings are generally formed by hanging main tee's along one dimension of a room, the main tee's being spaced apart a distance equal to the length of a cross tee which is typically four feet. The main tees are provided with openings at a regular spacing along the length of the main tee, the openings accepting an end connector located at the end of the cross tee for connecting the cross tee to the main tee. Typically opposed cross tees are interconnected within the opening, the opposed cross tees extending to either side of the web of the main tee. The connection between the cross tee and the main tee and between interconnected cross tees must, according to many present building code standards, be able to support the ceiling in an emergency situation, such as fire and seismic conditions. Thus, the suspended ceiling must provide sufficient integrity such that the connectors will not disengage when exposed to a fire, and also should have sufficient integrity so that in a seismic occurrence, such as an earth quake, the connections will be maintained to enable the infill material of the ceiling to be supported.
A variety of end connector designs have been proposed, the most common of which are stab-in type connectors shown in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,108,563 4,611,453 and 4,601,153 amongst others. These stab-in type connectors utilize a tab lanced out of the side of the end connector to engage the side of the web of the main tee adjacent the opening and generally include an interlock to lock two of the end connectors together when placed through the opening from opposite sides of the web of the main tee. While these cross tee connectors were simple to install, in circumstances where it may be desirable to remove the end connector, such end connectors were not easily removed without causing damage to the end connector or the web of the main tee.
In recent years, a number of removable end connectors have been proposed exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,648,230 4,779,394 and 5,517,796. While the cross tee connectors of these patent were able to be removed without the use of tools, the removal of the end connectors caused damage to the main tee, both in deformation of the flange of the main tee as well as in deformation of the opening in the main tee for the connection of the connectors.
There thus remains a need for a simple to install cross tee end connector which provides for a secure connection of the cross tees in the suspended ceiling system, while allowing relatively simple removal of the cross tees without damage to the main tee's.

Suspended ceiling cross tee end connector


In a method of erasing a nonvolatile memory device, an erase operation is performed on memory cells of a selected block. A first soft program operation is performed on the cells on which the erase operation has been performed. The erase operation and the first soft program operation are repeatedly performed by increasing an erase voltage by a first step voltage until a threshold voltage of the memory cells becomes lower than a first erase verify voltage. When the threshold voltage of the memory cells becomes lower than the first erase verify voltage, a second soft program operation is performed. The second soft program operation is repeatedly performed by increasing a soft program voltage by a second step voltage until a cell is programmed to have a soft program verify voltage.

The present invention relates to a method of erasing nonvolatile memory devices.
Recently, there has been an increasing demand for nonvolatile memory devices, which can be programmed and erased electrically and do not need a refresh function of rewriting data at specific intervals.
A nonvolatile memory cell is an element that enables electrical program/erase operations. The program/erase operations are performed by changing the threshold voltage of the cell as electrons are moved by a strong electric field applied to a thin oxide layer.
In the erase operation of the nonvolatile memory device, there have been significant advancements. In the case in which only a single level cell program operation was performed, the influence of distributions of an erased cell on the program operation was not significant. However, as multi-level cell program methods are commercialized, one memory cell may be represented by several states. In order to ensure a margin of each state, efforts for narrowing the distributions have been made. This is described below in connection with the erase operation. As the distributions when the memory cells are erased become narrow, distributions after corresponding cells are programmed become narrow. Accordingly, it is necessary to improve the erase operation to narrow the cell distributions to the greatest extent after the erase operation is carried out.

Method of erasing a nonvolatile memory device


A modular electron beam device is disclosed, the device being housed in a modular enclosure containing a power supply subsystem coupled to provide power to an electron beam tube. The enclosure is shaped to permit stacking of plural such modular units in a way that the stripe-shaped beam emitted from each of the units completely irradiates a surface to be treated. Beams may lie on different lines but the combined beams sweep out a width on a surface which is a continuous span. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the modular unit comprises a plurality of electron beam units, each comprising an electron tube and a filament and bias supply to power the tube. A single high voltage stack is common to the plural tube/filament/bias sub-units. A daisy-chain arrangement allows for the single high voltage stack to power all of the tube units. In yet another embodiment, the modular unit comprises a plurality of electron tubes powered by a single power supply.

Electron beam and ultraviolet sources are the primary options for irradiating surface layers. Existing surface curing systems, however, are fixed-size configurations and are not easily modified to accommodate different sized surfaces. Surface curing applications can involve web sizes ranging anywhere from 1 inch to 60 inches in width. However, because of the inherent non-scalability of fixed-size surface curing systems, electron beam treatment has been an impractical and therefore seldom used option.
The growth of electron beam systems has stalled due to resistance in a number of areas which challenge the advancement of the technology. First, there is the high cost of the systems resulting from the need for scalability in order to accommodate various surface dimensions. Second, is the overall size of a typical high energy electron beam system, its so-called footprint, which typically includes a vacuum sub-system, the power supply and transformers. A related concern is the need for protective X-ray shielding in high energy electron beam systems. This results in added material and physical complexity of the system.
Operationally, there is concern over the issue of surface reaction rate of the curable material with atmospheric oxygen. This undesirable interaction of the chemistry with oxygen affects the chain reaction of the surface, resulting in improperly treated surfaces. System up-time is another consideration worth noting. With single-unit electron beam devices, failure of any part of the device makes the entire system inoperable.
Manufacture of single-unit systems tends to drive up the cost of these systems. Precise alignment of the individual components comprising such systems is required and testing of large systems is a time consuming effort, adding significantly to the cost of manufacture.
What is needed is an electron beam system suitable for surface curing applications, which can economically be scaled up to accommodate high-speed, wide-web curing operations. At the same time, such a system should have a low specific cost and is compact to accommodate a wide variety of electron beam applications.

Apparatus and method for a modular electron beam system for the treatment of surfaces

American International Technologies, Inc.


An ice hockey stick comprising a blade and an elongate, narrow handle connected to a top end of the blade. The handle and blade are formed from a strong, lightweight metal such as aluminum alloy. The blade has a number of relatively small holes extending through it for purposes of weight reduction. These holes are distributed over the surface of the blade. Preferably the handle is detachably connected to the blade. A preferred embodiment is for a goalkeeper and, in this version, the blade has an ice engaging portion and an upstanding portion which extends at an obtuse angle to the ice engaging portion. The holes are distributed over both portions of the blade.

The present invention relates to the field of ice hockey sticks.
In playing the game of hockey, whether on ice, asphalt or other surface, a great deal of stress is placed on hockey sticks which are typically employed to project a relatively heavy, e.g. 250 gram, hockey puck at speeds approximating 150 km/h. Other stresses may also be applied to hockey sticks, such as the stress imposed upon the blade portion of the stick by players who slap the ice or ground when taking a shot or handling the puck. In addition, goalie sticks often receive significant blows from high speed pucks and from players who barrel into the goalkeeper at breakneck speed in an attempt to score a goal. These and a myriad of other stresses imposed on hockey sticks in the game of hockey result in a relatively short lifespan for the hockey stick. Consequently, a player may need to purchase many hockey sticks in a season, which costs may be exacerbated when the hockey stick in question is a goalkeeper's stick.
A number of prior art patents address the problem of making the typically wooden hockey stick stronger and/or less prone to breakage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,288 issued Mar. 22, 1977 to Goverde discloses a hockey stick made primarily from foamed nylon mixed with glass fiber. In one embodiment, the stick is reinforced with an aluminum frame which is embedded in the blade. The reinforcement is provided with pierced openings for reducing the weight thereof, and to help bond the plastic material with the reinforcement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,990 issued Mar. 24, 1987 to Profit discloses a protective device for a goalkeeper's stick which is most useful for protecting the stick during practice sessions. This device is in the shape of a channel having a base and upstanding front and rear panels for engaging the blade. The rear panel of this device includes a number of openings therein in order to reduce the weight of the device. The device can be held on the stick by means of tape.
Published Canadian application number 2,078,254 describes a blade protector that can be made in one or two pieces and that fits on the bottom of a hockey stick blade. In this manner, the blade may be protected from ground abrasions such as occur when playing road hockey.
U.K. patent No. 1,259,467 issued Jan. 5, 1912 to M. Cunningham describes a plastic hockey stick that has a handle portion with a metal stiffening member embedded therein. In addition, hockey sticks which have an aluminum shaft and a wooden blade insert are currently available for sale in a variety of establishments. However, there are oftentimes explicit warnings at the point of sale that such sticks are not guaranteed against breakage.
The problem with the prior art is that while certain advances have been made with respect to strengthening the hockey stick, these advances have been minimal. To date, there is no hockey stick which, when used normally, can be considered virtually indestructible.


A method and system for the automatic harvesting and qualification of dynamic database content for efficiently providing highly relevant and timely information in response to a user's queries. The method includes obtaining an initial categorization structure for organizing a plurality of subject areas of information, obtaining a plurality of parametric information lists for optimizing operation to a user's requirements, acquiring a listing of qualified databases from candidate database listing by matching candidate databases to a plurality of subject areas, obtaining a query from the user, the query being associated with a subject area, submitting a query to the qualified databases, acquiring a collection of responsive content from the qualified databases, indexing the responsive content to form an index for facilitating searching the collection, and publishing a summary of the collection for review by the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to search engines and database searching techniques and more particularly pertains to a new method and system for automatic harvesting and qualification of dynamic database content for efficiently providing highly relevant and timely information in response to user's queries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many enterprises, whether business, governmental, or any other organized undertaking, require large amounts of "current" information to be analyzed and available for use in the daily execution of their activities. Often the informational needs of the enterprise can be categorized into discrete subject areas or domains. Each of these domains may have additional divisions providing increasing granularity or specificity of the subject matter.
Since its inception, the Internet has held the promise of real-time access to an almost inexhaustible supply of information, stored on computers throughout the world, in near real time. However, sorting through the information available to find documents relevant to a given question or query can be laborious; and a method to speed this process was needed. Search engines are known in the prior art and allow a user to search for sites that have some keyword corresponding to the user's query. While it is true that millions of documents are readily available as static pages to users through search engines, much more of the total content of the Internet, in the form of dynamic content, has remained relatively difficult to access through more conventional search engine techniques. For the purpose of clarity, a static page of a network database provides the same content to virtually every user accessing the database, usually in the form of the same document or page (or set of documents or pages). A dynamic network database presents dynamic content to each user accessing the database, and the dynamic content usually comprises unique documents or pages that are in response to and are based at least in part on the user's query.
The dynamic content, while available, often requires independent knowledge of the exact location of the document, sophisticated search techniques, or in many cases the use of professional researchers to attempt to "mine" the needed information.
Additionally, the resources required to evaluate all of the information identified by a conventional search engine in order to filter out non-relevant information can be more than substantial. The resources used may include, by way of example and not limitation, transmission bandwidth, data storage, and time (both of system usage and of personnel) required to filter out related but not relevant information. The need to capture and organize relevant information can be overwhelming, and an automated system is required to effectively solve this problem.
In these respects, the method and system for automatic harvesting and qualification of dynamic database content according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides a system primarily developed for the purpose of efficiently providing highly relevant and timely information in response to user's queries.

Method and system for automatic harvesting and qualification of dynamic database content