An eligibility and benefits (EB) personalization engine, metadata storage and a portal Web page are set up on a server. EB personalization profiles are set up and stored in metadata storage that specify, according to useful descriptors, personalized information that identifies the EB data of insurance companies that is relevant to particular health care providers. An EB filtering rules database is created to store the filtering rules of multiple insurance companies, where the rules are categorized by the same descriptors used in the EB personalization profiles. After receiving a provider's specific request for an insurance company's EB data for a patient's treatment, the EB personalization engine receives the full collection of EB data from the insurance company, uses the provider's EB profile and the EB filtering rules to select the correct EB data for the provider, and sends the provider that selected data.

For speed of communications and cost effectiveness, individuals, businesses, and other organizations frequently exchange electronic data through e-mail, the Internet, and other networks and systems. For example, health-care providers such as medical clinics and hospitals typically communicate over the Internet with insurance companies to determine the eligibility for insurance coverage of patients seeking health care treatment. The insurance companies, which are the final payers of patients' claims for insurance coverage, and the providers may communicate directly, or the insurance companies may use intermediaries for processing information from providers.
FIG. 1 shows a typical operating environment through which providers and payers can communicate over a network, using an intermediary if necessary. Servers 100, 150, 160, 170, and 180 can communicate via a wired or wireless network 130, and wired or wireless links 142, 144, 145, 146, and 148. The servers 100, 150, 160, 170, and 180 may be personal computers or larger computerized systems or combinations of systems. The network 130 may be the Internet, a private LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless network, a TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) network, or other communications system, and can comprise multiple elements such as gateways, routers, and switches. Links 142, 144, 145, 146, and 148 use technology appropriate for communications with network 130.
For example, an operator at a hospital at provider server 1 150 can employ a user interface UI 1 310, such as a screen on a computer terminal, to request information about eligibility and benefits data for a patient from the patient's insurance company at payer server 1 170 through the insurance company's user interface UI 3 330. An operator at payer server 1 170 can then employ user interface UI 3 330 to send the requested information to an operator at provider server 1 150 through user interface UI 1 310. Alternately such information can also be exchanged through machine to machine transmission instead of through operator-controlled screens.
Moreover, an insurance company such as the one at payer server 1 170 can use a service on another server, such as server 1 100, as an intermediary for processing provider requests and sending requested information back to providers.
In such a system, additional providers, such as a clinic at provider server 2 160, and payers, such as an insurance company at payer server 2 180, can further communicate information about the insurance coverage for different treatments and different patients.
It is important to note, however, that an insurance company typically has a large amount of different eligibility and benefits data depending on the category of health care provided to a patient. For example, an insurance company may have different eligibility requirements, co-payments, and amounts of coverage for treatments covering psychiatry, neurology, dermatology, and urgent care such as emergency room treatment. Moreover, patients' coverage may change depending on whether they receive treatment from private clinics or from hospitals and on whether the providers are in-network or out-of-network according to an insurance company's plan.
Typically, an insurance company cannot identify the category of coverage associated with a particular provider's request for eligibility and benefits data and sends a collection of all its eligibility and benefits data to the provider. This means that the provider must then manually read through the entire collection of data to identify the specific information that applies to a particular patient's treatment, which is unnecessarily laborious, expensive, and time consuming.
Therefore there is a need for a method and system that provides a more automatic method to supply only that eligibility and benefits data from an insurance company that applies to a particular health care provider's circumstances.

Personalizing eligibility and benefits responses based on user profiles

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a thermoplastic resin composition, more specifically to a thermoplastic resin composition with superior extrusion and calendar formability and directly coatable without using primer because the crosslinking density can be arranged to improve the physical and chemical properties of the composition and the solubility to the solvent is increased during the coating process by including processing oil, inorganic filler, crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant in random polypropylene resin, highly-crystalline random polypropylene resin, highly-crystalline polyolefin resin, olefin copolymer rubber and low-density polyethylene resin. This thermoplastic resin composition may be suitable for the use as surface material of the inner parts of automobiles.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoplastic resin composition, more specifically to a thermoplastic resin composition with superior extrusion and calendar formability and directly coatable without using primer because the crosslinking density can be arranged to improve the physical and chemical properties of the composition and the solubility to the solvent is increased during the coating process by including processing oil, inorganic filler, crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant in random polypropylene resin, highly-crystalline random polypropylene resin, highly-crystalline polyolefin resin, olefin copolymer rubber and low-density polyethylene resin. This thermoplastic resin composition may be suitable for the use as surface material of the inner parts of automobiles.
Conventionally, PVC, PVC/ ABS alloy extrusion sheet or calendar processed sheet has been widely used for the automotive inner parts like the surface material of instrument panel, door trim panel and headlining, etc. This surface material for automotive inner parts should have good physical and chemical properties, particularly superior abrasion resistance, wear resistance, chemical resistance, solvent resistance and weather resistance. The surface coating should be carried out with not so much luster in order not to hinder the vision of the driver. Also, the color should harmonize with that of other parts.
Recently, researches to replace said surface material for automotive inner parts to olefin thermoplastic elastic material (hereunder referred to as xe2x80x9cTPOxe2x80x9d) sheet, which is environmentally friendly and has good recyclability, lightweightness, fogging and odor, are actively being carried out. Because the TPO sheet has a nonpolar and highly-crystalline molecular structure, it has very poor adhesion property. Therefore, chlorinated polyolefin resin primer pretreatment was required to secure sufficient film adhesion property.
Processing oil is included to enhance the processing of EPDM for said olefin TPO resin. However, the processing oil greatly reduces the calendar formability and secondary formability due to the low melt tension. If the content of the processing oil is reduced and the crosslinking density of EPDM with crosslinking structure is increased to improve the calendar formability, the surface becomes rough and embo sustainability worsens during the secondary processing such as vacuum forming. And, if the crosslinking density of EPDM with crosslinking structure is reduced, processing becomes impossible due to the adhesion to roll surface during the calendar processing.
U.S. Pat. Issue No. 4,247,645 discloses a method of diluting pre-crosslinked EPDM rubber in polypropylene resin with good fluidity. However, this method does not provide sufficient crosslinking density and the elastic and mechanical properties worsen. So, it is not suitable for processing structures with complicated shape such as instrument panel and door trim panel. Also, the equipment and production cost related with the crosslinking process and diluting process are problems. Especially, high-tech equipments with excellent mixing property are required in the diluting process. Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 48-26835 discloses a heat treatment method using peroxide after completely melting-mixing polypropylene resin and EPDM rubber. This method has a disadvantage of low calendar formability because sufficient crosslinking density and viscosity are hardly obtained during the calendar processing due to the overdecomposition of polypropylene resin and partial crosslinking of EPDM. U.S. Pat. Issue No. 4,311,528 discloses a method of completely crosslinking EPDM rubber using phenol crosslinking agent. This method provides superior elastic and mechanical properties compared with the crosslinking reaction using peroxide crosslinking agent due to the good crosslinking density and crosslinking rubber particle formation. However, the cost of the final product increases because the crosslinking agent is very expensive. U.S. Pat. Issue No. 4,212,787 discloses a non-crosslinking polyisobutylene (PIB) and butyl rubber (BR) which provide better shear effect of EPDM/polypropylene composition. Although this method provides somewhat uniform EPDM crosslinking density, the crosslinking density of the final product is insufficient for the calendar processing.
In order to solve said problems, the inventors prepared a thermoplastic resin composition by mixing processing oil with olefin copolymer rubber and then including random polypropylene resin, highly-crystalline polyolefin resin, low-density polyethylene resin, inorganic filler, peroxide crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant.
This thermoplastic resin composition maintains the crosslinking density by using low-density polyethylene resin and random polypropylene resin during the crosslinking reaction of EPDM/polypropylene composition with peroxide. Also, by increasing the solubility to the solvent during coating so that non-crosslinking component of EPDM increases, a thermoplastic resin composition with good extrusion and calendar formability and directly coatable without primer treatment process. Therefore, the present invention was completed.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermoplastic resin composition with good extrusion and calendar formability and directly coatable without primer treatment process.
The present invention is characterized by a thermoplastic resin composition which comprises:
(A) 5-45wt % of random polypropylene resin;
(B) 5-80wt % of highly-crystalline polyolefin resin;
(C) 5-80wt % of olefin copolymer rubber;
(D) 5-30wt % of processing oil;
(E) 1-15wt % of low-density polyethylene resin;
(F) 2-15wt % of inorganic filler;
(G) 0.02-5 wt % of peroxide crosslinking agent to 100 wt % sum of components (A)-(F); and
(H) Less than 5 wt % of crosslinking assistant to 100 wt % sum of components.
Hereunder is given more a detailed description of the present invention.
The thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention has very good formability, physical property and chemical property. So, it is suitable for use as automotive inner parts.
Each component comprising the thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention is as follows.
(A) Random polypropylene resin
Firstly, the random polypropylene resin is an atactic polymer prepared from the propylene and a-olefin monomer block or random copolymer. For a-olefin monomer used in the copolymerization, ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene or 1-hexene may be used. In the present invention, the melt index (230xc2x0 C., 2160 g) is recommended to be 0.1-40 g/10 min, and preferably 5-20 g/10 min. If the melt index is outside this range, the fluidity and viscosity become excessive or insufficient, so that calendar processing becomes poor. The random polypropylene resin is used in the range of 5-45 wt % to the resin composition excluding crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant. Outside this range, the physical properties of the final product worsen.
(B) Highly-crystalline polyolefin resin
The highly-crystalline polyolefin resin is an isotactic or syntheotactic polymer prepared from crystalline propylene monopolymer or xcex1-olefin monomer and propylene block or random copolymer. For xcex1-olefin monomer used in the copolymerization, ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene or 1-hexene can be used. In the present invention, the melt index (230xc2x0 C., 2160 g) is recommended to 0.1-60 g/10 min, and preferably 0.5-30 g/10 min. If the melt index is outside this range, the fluidity and viscosity become excessive or insufficient, so that calendar processing becomes poor. The highly-crystalline polyolefin resin is used in the range of 5-80 wt % to the resin composition excluding crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant. Outside this range, the physical properties of the final product worsen.
(C) Olefin copolymer rubber
The olefin copolymer rubber is an amorphous random copolymer obtained by copolymerizing two or more kinds of monoolefin, and preferably a ethylene-propylene-diene ternary copolymer rubber with ethylene and propylene as main components. For ternary copolymer, dicyclopentadiene, 1,4-hexadiene, methylenenobodene, ethylidenenobornene cyclohexadiene or derivative thereof are recommended to be used in order to unsaturate the olefin copolymer rubber. Among these, ethylene-propylene-ethylidenenorbornene copolymer is mainly used. The olefin copolymer rubber is used in the range of 5-80 wt % to the resin composition excluding crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant. Below this range, the crosslinking density lowers, so that the processing due to the adhesion of resin to the roll surface is hindered. Above this range, the crosslinking density increases, so that the embo sustenance during the secondary processing may worsen.
(D) Processing oil
The processing oil is used to improve the calendar formability. Paraffin mineral oil with 300-580xc2x0 C. of ignition temperature is recommended. The processing oil is used in the range of 5-30 wt % to the resin composition excluding crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant. Below this range, the surface of the composition becomes rough.
(E) Low-density polyethylene resin
For the low-density polyethylene resin, copolymer of ethylene and comonomer is used. The melt index (190xc2x0 C. 2.16 kg) is recommended to be larger than 1 g/10 min, and preferably larger than 3 g/10 min. If the melt index of the low-density polyethylene resin is low, the fluidity lowers and the surface becomes rough because of the crosslinked gel elastic polymer. For the comonomer, 1-butene, 1-pentene or 1-hexene can be used. The low-density polyethylene resin is used in the range of 1-15 wt % to the resin composition excluding crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant. Outside this range, the physical properties of the final product worsen.
(F) Inorganic filler
For the inorganic filler, talc, silica, calcium carbonate, clay or carbon black can be used. The one with 1-30 xcexcm (preferably, 5-10 xcexcm) of average particle size provides a good physical property. The inorganic filler is used in the range of 2-15 wt % to the resin composition excluding crosslinking agent and crosslinking assistant. Below this range, the physical property is not improved; and above this range, it becomes economically inefficient.
(G) Peroxide crosslinking agent
For the peroxide crosslinking agent, benzoyl peroxide, lauryl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, 1,3-bis(t-butylperoxyisopropyl)benzene, di-t-butyl peroxide, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(t-butylperoxyl)hexane, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di (t-butylperoxyl)hexane-3, p-chlorobenzol peroxide, n-butyl-4,4-bis(t-butylperoxy)valerate or 2,4-dichlorobenzoyl peroxide can be used. Among these, 1,3-bis (t-butylperoxyisopropyl)benzene is best in terms of odor and scorch stability. The content can be adjusted according to the crosslinking degree and fluidity. The effective content is 0.02-5 wt % to 100 wt % sum of the components (A)-(F). Below this range, the crosslinking density becomes low, so that the physical property and the formability become poor. Above this range, it becomes economically inefficient and the solubility to the solvent lowers, so that the coating property worsens. Also, the crosslinking agent should be made with peroxide master batch in order to prevent the decomposition of propylene due to the peroxide decomposition during the heat treatment of the peroxide organic compound.
(H) Crosslinking assistant
For the crosslinking assistant, the one which can prevent the excessive decomposition of the polypropylene resin and stabilize the formed radical is used. In the present invention, divinylbenzene, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triarylcyanurate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, arylmethacrylate or trimethylolpropanetrimethacrylate can be used. Among these, triarylcyanurate is the most effective. The content of the crosslinking assistant, which is adjustable, is less than 5 wt % to 100 wt % sum of the components (A)-(F). Outside this range, the stability of the formed radical is not maintained.
Other additives can be used if necessary. For example, general additives like common antioxidant, UV stabilizer, heat stabilizer, colorant and inorganic filler can be used in the range not influencing the thermal decomposition of peroxide.
The preparing method of the thermoplastic resin of the present invention from said components is not limited particularly. A common preparing process of polypropylene is mixing, pelletizing and extruding the source resins to form the final product. For the mixing extruding equipment, the one with relatively good mixing effect such as banbury kneader, double-axis extruder and booth kneader can be used. However, a continuous extrusion equipment is recommended rather than a batch-type mixing equipment because the continuous preparing exerts a great effect on the final product. Especially, required properties and uniformity can be obtained if mixing and heat treatment is performed in a single-axis or double-axis extruder and booth kneader heated to 130-280xc2x0 C. under high shear stress. It is recommended to adjust the temperature within the range of 190-250xc2x0 C. considering the residing time for the reaction to be completed.
Another characteristic of the present invention is a direct coating treatment method of the prepared thermoplastic resin composition without primer treatment. The thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention is characteristic in the introduction of olefin resin compatible with EPDM and polypropylene and enhancing the crosslinking density and the crosslinking reaction using crosslinking agent in order to increase the specific crosslinking content. Resultantly, the thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention provides good extrusion and calendar formability due to the increased solubility to the solvent during the coating process, and direct coating is possible without the primer treatment process.
Hereunder is given a detailed description of the present invention using examples. However, it should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.
Materials and their properties used in the examples are as follows.
1. RB-1: Thermoplastic elastic polymer prepared by the heat treatment of EPDM and oil under shear stress.
2. Random propylene resin-1: Atactic polypropylene with 8 g/10 min of melt index (230xc2x0 C., 2160 g).
3. Random propylene resin-2: Atactic polypropylene with 25 g/10 min of melt index (230xc2x0 C., 2160 g).
4. EPDM: Ethylene-propylene-ethylidene-nobornene ternary copolymer rubber with 65/35 composition of ethylene/propylene, ML1+8, 127xc2x0 C.=55 of Mooney viscosity, and 10 of iodine value.
5. Highly-crystalline polyolefin resin: Highly-crystalline polypropylene resin with 30 g/10 min of melt index (230xc2x0 C., 2160 g).
6. Organic peroxide: Akzo Chemical""s Perkadox 14-40 with 40/60 of 1,3-bis(t-butyl)peroxyisopropylbenzene/CaCO3 content.
7. Crosslinking assistant: Akzo Chemical""s Perkalink 301-40 with 50/50 of trialkylisocyanurate/silica content.


An extendable and retractable support system for raising and lowering structures, including covers or tops of mobile and immobile dwellings which includes a plurality of telescopic assemblies. The telescopic assemblies include at least two tube members that are provided with enclosed sides and a centrally located internal channel structure that is parallel to and proximal to a center of the tube members, though which internal channel structures one of a plurality of spring elements extends. A mechanism extends and retracts the spring elements thereby causing the telescopic assemblies to extend and retract.

Towable tent campers and pop-up trailers having collapsible roofs are generally known in the art. Prior art mechanisms used for raising and lowering collapsible tops on such structures are generally balky, hard to operate and maintain, and prone to failure. For example, many lifting mechanisms rely on cranks and cables that are exposed to the elements, can accumulate dirt and debris, and can bind, slip and stretch. Mechanisms which are based upon gear driven assemblies are significantly heavier and more expensive to produce.
The following U.S. Patents exemplify known lifting mechanisms: U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,456 to Steury, U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,499 to Keyser, U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,485 to Bontrager et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,677 to Steury et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,319 to Gerzeny et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,258 to French, U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,590 to Young, U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,413 to Rowe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,843 to Steury, U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,529 to Bontrager, U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,889 to Gogush, U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,306 to Young, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,494,524 and 6,443,516 to Lambright.
The present invention provides extendable and retractable support systems that include telescopic assemblies which can be used to raise and lower various structures, including covers or tops of mobile and immobile dwellings.

Extendable and retractable support system


An alarm pull station includes a housing, an alarm indicator carried within the housing, an alarm activation mechanism carried within the housing, such that the alarm activation mechanism is adjacent to the alarm indicator, and configured to generate an alarm signal, and a sensor carried within the housing such that the sensor is configured to generate a signal in response to a sensed condition and the alarm indicator is activated in response to the signal generated by the sensor.

Known fire alarm pull stations are often wall-mounted fire protection devices that, when activated or otherwise utilized to signal a fire alert, communicate and/or initiate an alarm within a fire alarm system. In operation, a user activates or initiates the alarm by pulling, for example, a handle down or triggering a switch. This action, in turn, completes a circuit and locks the handle in the activated position. An alarm signal is communicated from the alarm pull station to a fire alarm control panel over an emergency communication and/or building control network. Known fire alarm pull stations are often manually reset utilizing a key or code. The resetting of an activated alarm pull station allows or triggers the handle or switch to return to a normal position. Returning the handle or switch to the normal position resets the alarm pull station but will not, in most cases, reset or deactivate the alarm signal.


A circuit arrangement for limiting the current at make which includes hot-carrier thermistors that see to a reduction of the current flow at make. Only when a further hot-carrier thermistor has been adequately heated by the flow of current are the hot-carrier thermistors bridged, and the capacitative load receives the full operating voltage. After turn-off, an ambient temperature-compensated voltage divider at the base of a transistor prevents the immediate re-activation until the further hot-carrier thermistor and, thus, all hot-carrier thermistors, have adequately cooled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a circuit arrangement for limiting the current at make of a capacitative load that is operated with an operating voltage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When switching on a capacitative load such as, for example, servo output stages for driving X-Y motors, the capacitative load charges suddenly. Given support capacitors (up to 18000 .mu.F) of the output stages, current peaks up to 200 A can occur that fuse the contacts of contactors that intervene in the circuit for safety reasons. These contactors are, thus, no longer functional.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to specify a circuit arrangement for limiting the current at make of a capacitative load that reduces the currents flowing during the turn-on event.

Circuit arrangement for limiting the current at make of a capacitative load


The present invention provides a 4-oxoquinolizine antibacterial agent having a 2-pyridone skeleton as a partial structure and also having a strong antibacterial effect on gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria or anaerobic bacteria. The compound having the following formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof:

Synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents having a quinoloine skeleton have so far been widely studied.
For example, it was found that the antibacterial activity of a synthetic antibacterial agent is remarkably increased by introducing a fluorine group into the 6-position of quinolone skeleton thereof. Fluorine atom at the 6-position is considered to be a structural characteristic indispensable for synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents of the second generation or, in other words, new synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents. Pyrrolidine ring, piperazine ring or the like introduced through C—N bond is also considered to be an indispensable structural characteristic because a substituent at the 7-position of the quinolone structure exerts a considerable influence on the antibacterial activity, internal dynamics and toxicity.
Synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents have so far clinically widely been used as excellent agents having a high antibacterial activity. However, recently, it has become possible to separate many multiple drug-resistant bacteria also resistant to the synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents. However, fluorine atom at the 6-position of the quinolone skeleton and the substituent introduced through C—N bond at the 7-position of the quinolone skeleton, which are indispensable in the structure of the new synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents, are considered to be the causes for the side effects of the new synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents on the central nervous system. Those problems of the multiple drug-resistant bacteria and the side effects are mostly due to the structural characteristics of the new synthetic quinolone antibacterial agents. Under these circumstances, it is demanded to develop a drug having a skeleton different from the quinolone skeleton of the current antimicrobial agents and also a high antimicrobial activity.

4-oxoquinolizine antibacterial agent having 2-pyridone skeleton as partial structure

Abstract: wherein:                R1 represents hydrogen atom or a carboxyl-protecting group,        R2 represents hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a lower alkoxyl group or hydroxyl group,        R3 represents phenyl group or an aromatic substituent selected from the group consisting of 5-membered and 6-membered heterocyclic groups and R3 has a substituent selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a lower alkoxyl group, a nitro group, a cyano group, an amino group, an acyl group, a carbamoyl group and a ureido group, and        R4 represents a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom.


Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that improve implementation of concurrency control modes in a transactional memory system. A transactional memory word is provided for each piece of data. The transactional memory word includes a version number, a reader indicator, and an exclusive writer indicator. The transactional memory word is analyzed to determine if the particular concurrency control mode is proper. Using the transactional memory word to help with concurrency control allows multiple combinations of operations to be performed against the same memory location simultaneously and/or from different transactions. For example, a pessimistic read operation and an optimistic read operation can be performed against the same memory location.

Software transactional memory (STM) is a concurrency control mechanism analogous to database transactions for controlling access to shared memory in concurrent computing. A transaction in the context of transactional memory is a piece of code that executes a series of reads and writes to shared memory. A data value in the context of transactional memory is the particular segment of shared memory being accessed, such as a single object, a cache line (such as in C++), a page, a single word, etc. There are two broad types of concurrency control lock modes in transactional memory systems: optimistic and pessimistic.
With optimistic concurrency control, the system attempts to make forward progress at the risk that a conflict will be detected later on. The transactional memory system performs automatic resolution of such conflicts, often by rolling back one of the conflicting transactions and re-executing it. Optimistic operations are relatively inexpensive when compared to pessimistic operations since they just read and do not involve writes to shared locations (i.e. taking a lock). As the name implies, the hope for optimistic operations is that there are few conflicts. If this turns out to be false, then there will be already wasted work, and the system must then proceed to throw it away and attempt to resolve the conflict. This takes extra time.
With pessimistic concurrency control in transactional memory systems, the system ensures that forward progress can be made safely and conflict-free by doing more work up front to prevent conflicts. This involves locking shared memory by making one or more writes to a shared location (i.e. a lock). As the name implies, this is used for systems or pieces of code that exhibit above average conflict rates. Modern transactional memory systems select one or the other, which often results in some transactions not being executed in the manner best suited for the target workload.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Combined pessimistic and optimistic concurrency control


A power control circuit for a mobile radio communication device controls the transmit power level of the radio communication device based on the position of the antenna. The radio communication device comprises a transmitter and a retractable antenna coupled to the transmitter for transmitting radio signals. A sensor detects the position of the antenna. A power control circuit is responsive to a signal from the sensor to control the power level of the transmitter based on the position of the antenna.

A typical mobile phone includes a retractable antenna which is extended during use, either before placing a call or after receiving a call. When waiting for a call, the antenna is usually placed in a retracted position. Therefore, the antenna must be operable in both the extended and retracted positions.
In designing antennas for mobile phones, it is desirable to match the impedance of the antenna to the impedance of the transceiver to maximize power transfer to the antenna. The patent Tsunekawa et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,937 discloses a retractable antenna for a portable mobile phone with means for matching the impedance of the antenna to the impedance of the transceiver both when the antenna is extended and when the antenna is retracted. Keeping the antenna properly matched when retracted allows the phone's receiver to operate at the best possible efficiency under the circumstances, thereby enabling the phone to better detect incoming calls.
While it is possible to operate the phone with its antenna in a retracted position, it is not desirable. Even though the impedance of the retracted antenna can be matched, the radiation pattern of the retracted antenna may be perturbed by the phone's case and by the dielectric load of the user's hand, thereby limiting the transmission efficiency of the phone. In response to this decrease in radiation efficiency, the mobile phone's power control system will cause the phone to increase its transmission power. The net result will be harmless but unproductive dissipation of RF energy leading to early exhaustion of the phone's battery.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mobile phone with a retractable antenna which includes power control means for limiting power when the antenna is in a retracted position to prevent unnecessary dissipation of RF energy.

Power limiting circuit for radio communication device with a retractable antenna


The present invention relates to multiprocessors which has several microprocessors on a single chip. Efficiency is improved by stripping certain functions that are used less freely from the microprocessor and sharing these functions between several symmetric microprocessors. This method allows each CPU to occupy a smaller area while preserving complete symmetry of capability for software simplification. For example, the shared execution units can include the floating point unit and multimedia execution units.

The single chip embodiment of a shared memory multiprocessor has been well known in the art for several years. Chips with multiprocessors have been built, but to date none with symmetric multiprocessors, i.e., where all processors have identical capability. There are several reasons for the lack of commercial use of this concept relating to the software availability for multiprocessors as well as the difficulty of fitting more than one processor with a shared memory interface on a single die of reasonable size.
FIG. 1 shows a simple superscalar processor 10 with a single instruction queue and single, unified cache. This invention can be applied to much more complicated processor structure. Instructions are fetched from the single ported cache array 12 and loaded into the instruction queue 14 via the result bus 16. The width of the data read from the cache array and the width of the result bus are much greater than a single 32 bit instruction, e.g. 256 bits. This would allow the dispatch of up to 4 instructions per cache read cycle, which for this illustration will be deemed a single machine cycle. Three execution units receive ready instructions from the dispatch logic, at a rate of up to one instruction per execution unit per machine cycle. These units are a branch unit 18, an integer execution unit with integer register file 20 and a floating point unit with floating point register file 22. Memory instructions which require the calculation of an effective address are dispatched to the integer unit and the resulting address is then sent to the memory management unit (MU) 24. Similarly, instruction addresses are generated in the Instruction Fetch Unit 26. Both the MMU and the Instruction Fetch Unit send the addresses to the cache tags 28 and therefore to the array addressing logic. A hit in the tags results in data from the array being placed on the result bus 16. A miss in the cache tags results in a memory request being put on the memory queue 30 and transmitted via the Bus Interface Unit to the external Address and Data bus 32. Each of these units is capable of operating simultaneously resulting in a pipelined superscalar processor with a peak execution rate of 3 instructions per cycle. If the floating point execution unit 22 has a latency of 2 cycles, the pipeline sequence for a single floating point instruction would be fetch, dispatch, decode, execute 1, execute 2, and writeback.
FIG. 2 shows this simple processor 10a extended with the addition of a SIMD style saturating arithmetic multimedia instruction execution unit 34 with its register file. Operation of this unit is similar to the operation of the floating point unit 22. Typically, instructions for this unit do not occur close to floating point operations in the execution sequence of ordinary programs. In fact, in the Intel (tm) MMX architecture, the MMX registers are mapped into the floating point register space and an explicit context switch is needed to enable MMX instructions after floating point instructions have been executed and vice versa.
Building a multiprocessor on a single die would result in a chip similar to those illustrated in FIGS. 3 or 4. Obvious common elements such as the interface 36 to the external bus are shared. Conventional design would also have only one instance on the chip of clock generation, test processor or boundary scan controller, etc. Note that the tag logic and MMU are assumed to have the correct data sharing protocols (e.g. MESI) logic for a multiprocessor. More complex changes are possible when putting more than one processor on a die, such as adding additional levels of caching or more external buses. Such a chip would be large and not have twice the performance of a single processor due to well known multiprocessor effects. However, if the area could be reduced significantly then the instructions executed per second per silicon area, i.e. cost/performance would become equal or better than a uniprocessor. A need exists for a method of splitting these less used functions away from the microprocessor for shared use with other symmetric processors.

Single chip multiprocessor with shared execution units

International Business Machines Corporation


In the present invention, in the photolithography process in which a certain focus condition has been already set, a film on a substrate is exposed to only zero-order light of a light source transmitted, and then developed to reduce a first portion of the film on the substrate. Further, the film on the substrate is exposed to zero-order light and higher order light of the light source transmitted, and then developed to reduce a second portion of the film on the substrate. Thereafter, the film thicknesses of the first portion and the second portion are measured, and the measured film thicknesses of the first portion and the second portion are converted into line widths of a resist pattern by previously obtained correlations between the film thicknesses and the line widths. The converted line width of the second portion is then subtracted from the converted line width of the first portion, whereby the line width depending only on the focus component is calculated. Based on the line width, a new focus condition is set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of setting a focus condition at the time of exposure, an apparatus for setting a focus conditions at the time of exposure, a program, and a computer readable recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a photolithography process in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a plurality of processing and treatments are sequentially performed, for example, resist coating treatment in which a resist film is formed by applying a resist solution onto a wafer surface; exposure processing in which light in a predetermined pattern is applied to the resist film on the wafer to thereby expose the wafer to the light; heat-processing after the exposure which promotes chemical reaction in the resist film (post-exposure baking); developing treatment in which the exposed resist film is selectively dissolved with a developing solution, and so on, so that a predetermined pattern is formed in the resist film on the wafer.
Incidentally, it is necessary to form, on the wafer, the resist pattern with line widths having a uniform predetermined dimension within the wafer. Further, the line width of the resist pattern is greatly affected by exposure conditions such as the exposure amount, focus, and so on at the time of exposure processing in the photolithography process. Hence, it has been conventionally performed that the line width of the resist pattern formed on the wafer has been measured and the focus condition at the time of exposure has been set based on the measurement result (Japanese Translated National Publication of Patent Application No. 2001-534652 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-86497).
In the aforementioned line width measurement, however, it is necessary to use a so-called electronic CD-SEM (Scanning electron microscope) which measures the line width by applying electron beams to the wafer. In this case, a large quantity of electrons collide against the wafer and may damage, for example, the resist pattern on the wafer. Therefore, the sufficient accuracy of the line width measurement is not ensured, causing difficulties to ensure the sufficient accuracy for the setting of the exposure conditions performed based on the result of the line width measurement. In addition, the line width measurement by the CD-SEM suffers from a disadvantage of consuming much time.
Besides, causes of variations in the line width of the resist pattern within the wafer include a variation component resulting from the exposure amount (dose of light) and a variation component resulting from focus at the time of exposure. The setting of the focus condition at the time of exposure has been conventionally performed based on the measurement result of the line width including both of the components, and therefore the setting has not been accurately performed. Therefore, the sufficient uniformity of the line width within the wafer cannot be secured.

Method of setting focus condition at time of exposure, apparatus for setting focus condition at time of exposure, program, and computer readable recording medium


This invention is method for preparing a titania bound ion exchange composition comprising admixing crystalline sodium titanate and a hydrolyzable titanium compound and, thereafter drying the titania bound crystalline sodium titanate and subjecting the dried titania bound ion exchange composition to optional compaction and calcination steps to improve the physical strength of the titania bound composition.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention is a titania bound ion exchange composition comprising a crystalline sodium titanate and a hydrolyzable titanium compound.
(2) Description of the Art
Ever since nuclear weapons were first produced at the end of World War II, large amounts of nuclear waste have been generated and stored at various facilities. The nuclear waste, which consists largely of the byproducts of uranium and plutonium production and purification, was disposed of in ways which were deemed suitable at the time, but which in retrospect are now inadequate. Much of the nuclear waste is now stored in tanks as a highly alkaline mixture of salts and liquids which, if not recovered and properly remediated, will potentially create severe environmental problems.
Most of the stored aqueous nuclear waste is alkaline (pH 14), and contains high concentrations of sodium nitrate. The tanks contain various complexing agents, fission products, transuranic elements and other materials. Much of the stored nuclear waste is in the form of sludge created when alkali was added to the waste to prevent tank corrosion. Some of the radioactive material has been incorporated into salt cakes which is the evaporative product of the alkaline aqueous material. It is desired to remove the radioactive elements from the waste in order to allow for subsequent safe disposal of the non-radioactive materials. The removal of two of the metallic radionuclides, cesium and strontium, is particularly important because their half-lives are long enough to represent a hazard for an extended period of time.
Sodium nonatitanate is known as a strontium ion exchanger. J.Lehto; J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. Letters, 118: 1-13 (1987) describes the ion exchange behavior of Na.sub.4 Ti.sub.9 O.sub.20 .cndot.xH.sub.2 O toward strontium. The sodium titanate was prepared hydrothermally at 300.degree. C. followed by boiling with NaOH.
Other references that disclose the preparation and use of sodium titanates as strontium ion exchangers include R. G. Dosch, "Final Report on the Application of Titanates, Niobates, and Tantalates to Neutralized Defense Waste Contamination Materials Properties, Physical Forms and Regeneration Techniques; National Technical Information Service" (1981); R. M. Merrill; Journal of Radioanalytical Chemistry; 43: 93-100 (1978); J.Lehto et al.; J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Trans., 101-103 (1989); and S. P. Mishra et al.: J. Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles; 162:2, 299-305 (1992).
Various types of sodium titanates are described in the prior art as well as various uses for sodium titanates as an ion exchanger for ions besides strontium. M. Watanabe; Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 36: 91-96 (1981) describes the preparation of sodium titanate compounds from hydrothermal reactions involving TiO.sub.2 with NaOH. The titanates described were TiO.sub.2, Na.sub.2 O.cndot.nTi.sub.2 Na.sub.x TiO.sub.2. J. Akimoto et al., Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 90: 147-154 (1991) describes the synthesis of monosodium titanates NaTi.sub.8 O.sub.13, which are distinct from the sodium nonatitanates disclosed here. H. Leinonen et al., Reactive Polymers, 23: 221-228 (1994) describes the use of sodium titanates as ion exchangers for nickel and zinc.
Lehto et al.; Radiochem. Radioanal. Letters, 50:6, 375-384 (1982) describes the effects of gamma radiation on sodium titanate and other solid ion exchangers. The study concluded that gamma radiation had very little impact on the strontium ion exchange capacity of sodium titanate.
PCT Application WO 94/19277 discloses silico-titanates and methods for making and using them. The silico-titanates disclosed are useful for removing cesium from radioactive wastes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,646 discloses removal of plutonium and americium from aqueous alkaline waste solutions using sodium titanate ion exchangers. The sodium titanate used is a monosodium titanate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,644 describes a titania bound zeolite made by combining the zeolite, a low acidity titania binder material, and an aqueous slurry of titanium oxide hydrate.

Titania bound sodium titanate ion exchanger


An ironing pad having a relatively flexible laminate structure including among its layers an integrally formed, independent layer supporting hollow core units which are disposed adjacent to one another and being received in an individual pocket formed in overlying layers of a closed-sided envelope, and in which hollow core is formed of a plurality of contiguous adjacent open-cell cavities which provide a heat barrier in addition to a layer of relatively high-compressive strength for supporting the weight of steam or flat iron pressing of fabric materials. The pad assembly may include three separate hollow core heat barrier units in hinged relationship with one another to provide a relatively shortened lengthwise dimension to the entire assembly when the end units are folded.

This invention relates to an ironing pad assembly, and more particularly to an ironing pad that may be made portable, and which is adapted to be used on top of a table or similar flat-topped furniture for ironing.
Recently, domestic ironing has been reduced as a household chore from as much as two full days per week to as little as a few hours per week. Thus, the less frequent use of conventional ironing boards, requiring setting up, folding of legs, and storage, has become a nuisance in view of the sporadic times in which ironing is done today. In this regard, there have been several attempts to provide portable pads to alleviate the nuisance of legged ironing boards, as well as providing means for assisting in portability by rolling the pad into a spiral for insertion into a pouch-like cover. These efforts were deficient in desired lateral support, which had, for the most part, been of flat wooden boards. The prior art also taught several efforts to provide portability to ironing pads with folding means to reduce size. By way of example, such means were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,326,062 and 5,161,319, respectively granted to Beatrice Parker and to Mary Boyd. Both patents suggested the use of conventional wooden boards (See symbolic cross hatching used in the presentation of FIG. 7 of Parker and see the Abstract of the Boyd patent discussing a "plywood ironing board" with additional "wood supports"), fastened to conventional hardware store hinges 12 in Parker and hinges 20a and 20b in Boyd. Obviously, those structures are relatively heavy and cumbersome to carry and to set up for accomplishing the ironing task.


A positionable emissions control watercraft that may be placed near a serviced watercraft in a location that is away from the risk of falling cargo, while also eliminating a need for a spacer or a spacer barge, and allowing other service watercraft to access the serviced watercraft.

Watercraft that provide services to other watercraft at berth comprise bunkering (fueling) tankers/barges, supply vessels/barges, and emissions control watercraft. A servicing watercraft is traditionally positioned side-by-side with a serviced watercraft and coupled together with mooring lines. Once the two watercrafts are coupled together, services or operations may begin.
In the case of emissions control watercraft, operations consist of attaching at least one hose to draw exhaust gas from a serviced watercraft through the hose to an emissions treatment system located on the emissions control watercraft to remove contaminants from the exhaust gas before releasing into the atmosphere. In the case of fueling operations or bunkering operations, operations consist of attaching at least one hose from the servicing watercraft (e.g., a bunker barge) to the serviced watercraft so that fuel and/or oil may be transferred. In the case of supply operations, operations consist of transferring materials and/or supplies between the two watercrafts.
I have encountered several significant problems with the traditional method of using an emissions control watercraft alongside (side-by-side) with a serviced watercraft and using mooring lines to secure the two watercrafts together. These problems are described below:
Problem 1: In the case where an emissions control watercraft is positioned side-by-side with a serviced watercraft that is a cargo ship in this example, there is a danger that cargo may accidentally fall off the serviced watercraft and impact the emissions control watercraft that is operating below. This is a potential danger to the emissions control watercraft and personnel. Cargo can weigh more than 65,000 pounds and can fall a distance exceeding 75 feet. Falling cargo has been known to severely damage or even sink servicing watercraft that were operating alongside.
The superstructure of serviced watercraft typically contains crew's quarters, wheelhouse/bridge, fuel connections, oil connections, and exhaust pipes. On cargo ships, the cargo sections typically occupy the space immediately before and/or aft of the superstructure. If an emissions control watercraft is secured with mooring lines alongside a serviced watercraft near the superstructure of a serviced watercraft, then any part of the emissions control watercraft that extends either before or aft of the superstructure of the serviced watercraft is in danger of being impacted by falling cargo such as shipping containers from above. Since the length of a servicing watercraft is typically in excess of 100 feet, and the superstructure of the serviced watercraft is typically only about 50 feet long, a significant fraction of the serviced watercraft is typically exposed to the danger of falling cargo.
We have tried inserting a spacer or a spacer barge between an emissions control watercraft and a serviced watercraft while using mooring lines with the intention to place the emissions control watercraft a distance away from the serviced watercraft, but this does not solve the problem. In the case where the serviced vessel is a container ship, and if a shipping container were to fall from the serviced watercraft, it would fall some distance away from the vessel, not vertically straight down. Thus, a spacer is only effective if the shipping container were to fall directly down the side of the serviced watercraft, which rarely happens. The most common cause for a shipping container falling from a serviced watercraft is when another container within the same row of containers is knocked sideways thus starting a chain reaction, knocking container to container, which eventually results in the outer container(s) being knocked overboard. The sideways force from being knocked over provides the momentum to launch the container away from the vessel. By the time the container reaches the water, its horizontal momentum has carried it several feet away from the side of the serviced watercraft. Therefore, a disadvantage of using a spacer which is typically only about 20 feet wide is that it does not appreciably reduce the danger of cargo falling onto the emissions control watercraft unless the spacer dimension is greater than about 20 feet. Even if the spacer dimension is sufficient to prevent the cargo from impacting the servicing vessel, it still impacts the spacer, which would likely still impart a significant impact to the emissions control watercraft thereby causing significant damage or injury.
Another disadvantage of using a spacer is that it requires that the spacer must be stored, moved, transported, and manipulated into position. A spacer has a disadvantage of increased cost from storage fees for the spacer when not in use. A further disadvantage is an additional cost incurred when a spacer requires more than one tugboat to position the spacer alongside an emissions control watercraft. A further disadvantage is an additional time required to move, transport, and position a spacer which increases costs and increases the amount of time it takes to connect to a serviced vessel.
Problem 2: An emissions control watercraft usually needs to be placed adjacent to the superstructure (house) of a serviced watercraft because the superstructure of the serviced watercraft is typically directly above the engine room. Thus this is where the exhaust pipes are located. On many vessels, the superstructure is near the stern (rear) of the vessel. This is true on non-containerships such as bulk carriers, tankers, Roll on/Roll off (RoRo's), and auto carriers. If a serviced watercraft is lightly loaded and therefore sits high in the water, the stern (the run) has a sharp rake (a rounded incline from perpendicular), and there is not a vertical flat area (sheer strakes) where the vessel can securely come alongside for coupling. In response to this situation, a large floating fender (a large inflated balloon-like bumper) has been used to fill the irregular gap between a servicing vessel and a non-vertical side of a serviced vessel. U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,400A by Yamaguchi Minoru and Kobayashi Takashi, dated Aug. 17 1960, and assigned to Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd, is an example of this approach. These floating fenders are typically referred to in the industry as "Yokohamas." However, a disadvantage of this common approach that it is inconvenient, complicated, time-consuming, and requires constant attention as vessel cargo is loaded and unloaded. Another disadvantage of this approach is that a serviced vessel may rise out of the water even further during the operation due to cargo unloading and reduction in ballast. The amount vertical flat area available may become critically limited, and the gap between the vessels may become excessively large, which may create an unsafe coupling situation.
Problem 3: Frequently an emissions control watercraft and another servicing watercraft need to operate on the same serviced vessel at the same time. One of many examples of this is when an emissions control barge is operating next to the superstructure of the serviced vessel, and then a bunker (fueling) barge also needs to be positioned next to the superstructure. Since both servicing vessels cannot be alongside with the serviced vessel in the same general location at the same time, the emissions control barge is forced to disconnect and be moved elsewhere, sometimes a significant distance away, until the bunkering (fueling) operations have completed. One disadvantage of this is that the emissions control watercraft cannot reduce pollution during the time that the bunker barge is in use. Another disadvantage is that the emissions control watercraft is standing-by thereby wasting energy and workforce during the time that the bunkering barge is in use, which is not cost effective.
One possible solution to this problem is to position both servicing watercraft next to each other so that both can service the serviced watercraft concurrently. However, this is not possible when both servicing watercraft use the incumbent method of using mooring lines to couple to the serviced vessel. If both servicing vessels are placed end-to-end next to the serviced vessel, then the mooring lines of one servicing vessel would cross the mooring lines of the second servicing vessel. Crossing mooring lines cannot be done safely, thereby preventing both servicing vessels from operating concurrently.
Problem 4: Servicing vessels that are used for liquid bulk carriers (e.g., tankers) that carry flammable liquids or flammable gases have special requirements. Some tanker operators prohibit mooring a barge using mooring lines next to a tanker during loading or off-loading operations for safety concerns.

Positionable emissions control watercraft


A semiconductor memory includes cell array having a plurality of bit lines connected to respective input terminals of a column decoder. Input/output (I/O) lines are connected between respective output terminals of the column decoder and a plurality of sense circuits, where each sense circuit includes its own reference circuit, a sense amplifier, and equalizing circuit. The reference circuit includes a reference array essentially identical to the cell array and provides a reference voltage to respective first input terminals of its associated equalizing circuit and sense amplifier. Second input terminals of the equalizing circuit and sense amplifier of each sense circuit are connected to a corresponding I/O line. During read operations, the equalizing circuits are initially maintained in a conductive state so as to equalize the I/O line voltage and the reference voltages. Thereafter, the equalizing circuits transition to a non-conductive state so as to isolate the I/O line from the reference voltage. In response thereto, each I/O line voltage immediately changes to either a more positive or more negative voltage, depending on the binary state of the cell associated therewith.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor memories and specifically to a sense amplifier for sensing a bit line voltage of a semiconductor memory.
2. Description of Related Art
Sense amplifiers determine the binary state of a selected cell of a memory array by comparing the voltage on a selected bit line of the memory array to a reference voltage. For instance, FIG. 1 shows a EEPROM-type memory 10 including a cell array 12, a column decoder 14, sense amplifiers (SA) 16, and a reference circuit 18. The cell array 12 includes a plurality of NMOS non-volatile memory cells (not shown) arranged in sixteen columns, where the respective drains of the cells in a common column are connected to an associated bit line BL. Although not shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity, the memory 10 includes additional logic circuits such as, for instance, row decoders, input and output buffers, and so on.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sixteen bit lines BL of the array 12 are coupled to respective input terminals of the column decoder 14. The column decoder 14 includes four output terminals, each of which is associated with a specific group of four bit lines BL and connected to an associated sense amplifier 16 via an input/output (I/O) line. The reference circuit 18 includes a reference array (not shown for simplicity) having a configuration similar to that of the array 12, i.e., the reference array includes a plurality of NMOS memory cells similar to the NMOS memory cells of the array 12. Each sense amplifier 16 has an output terminal OUT, thereby providing the memory 10 with a four-bit output.
During read operations, four externally generated addresses are latched into the memory 10. These addresses are separated into row addresses and column address, where the row addresses are provided to four row decoders (not shown) and the column addresses are provided to the column decoder 14. In response to the row addresses, the row decoders select four respective rows of cells in the array 12. In response to the column address, the column decoder 14 selects four of the bit lines BL to couple to the four respective I/O lines. Signals indicative of the respective binary states of the four selected cells are provided to the four sense amplifiers 16. Each sense amplifier 16 compares the signal on its respective I/O line to a reference voltage V.sub.REF generated by the reference circuit 18 and, in response thereto, provides a signal indicative of the binary state of a corresponding cell of the array 12 onto its output terminal OUT. In this manner, four cells of the array 12 are read during each reading operation.
As mentioned above, the reference circuit 18 includes a reference array similar to, albeit smaller than, the array 12. In this manner, process variations arising during fabrication of the array 12 are matched in the reference array so that V.sub.REF tracks the bit line voltage. Typically, the reference voltage V.sub.REF is set at a predetermined value which approximates the bit line voltage. However, since this predetermined value is only an approximation, in actual applications the voltage differential between V.sub.REF and the bit line voltage may undesirably limit read speeds.

Sense amplifier with improved bit line initialization


A method and apparatus for generating a hypertext-based outline for a report are described. A report definition specifying the contents and form of the report is received and evaluated to determine if any report definition statements contained in the report definition specify that a hypertext-based outline entry is to be generated. If so, then for each report definition statement specifying that a hypertext-based outline entry is to be generated, a hypertext-based outline entry is generated having a link to a location specified by the report definition statement.

In the context of document management, a hypertext system is a system in which a document can contain links, also known as "hyperlinks," to locations within the same document and to other documents. Two examples of well known hypertext systems are Apple Corporation's Hypercard and the World Wide Web. A program used to view and navigate through a document containing links is generally referred to as a hypertext viewer. A hypertext viewer allows a user to quickly navigate through a document containing links by highlighting text and objects associated with links. When a user selects text or an object associated with a link, the hypertext viewer automatically scrolls the document to the location specified by the link. If a selected link references a document other than the document currently being viewed, then the referenced document is automatically loaded by the hypertext viewer.
Often, the location referenced by a link contains a link tag. The hypertext viewer simply scrolls to the link tag associated with a link when the link is selected. The use of link tags allows changes to be made to the document without affecting the destination of the existing links. However, other approaches to implementing links may also be used, such as having each link reference a page number or a relative offset within a document.
One application of hypertext systems to handle large documents has been the use of a hypertext-based "contents" section at the beginning of documents. Similar to a table of contents in a book or magazine, a hypertext-based contents section contains a list of entries corresponding to sections in the document which are directly accessible by the user. By selecting one of the contents entries, the document display is automatically scrolled to the document location containing the information associated with the selected entry. Hence, a hypertext-based contents section provides a user with direct access to various locations within the document without having to sequentially scroll through all of the preceding pages in the document.
Despite the advantages a hypertext-based contents section has over scrolling through a document page by page, a hypertext-based contents section is not without its disadvantages. Specifically, once a user has jumped into a particular section of the document, the hypertext-based contents section is no longer visible to the user since the hypertext-based contents section is typically located at the beginning of the document. Consequently, the user must return to the beginning of the document so that the hypertext-based contents section will be redisplayed before another hypertext-based contents section selection can be made.
A more flexible mechanism for navigating through a document is an outline which, like the hypertext-based contents section solution, provides direct access to particular sections of the document. Specifically, a hypertext-based outline is displayed which contains a list of entries containing links to various sections in the document. The outline entries provide direct access by a user to the listed sections of the document. However, unlike the contents section which is only accessible from the beginning of the document, the hypertext-based outline always remains visible and accessible to the user, regardless of the portion of the document being displayed. Typically, the hypertext-based outline is displayed in a separate display area from the display area containing the document. For example, in one implementation, the outline is displayed in an outline display frame on the left hand side of a display device while the document is displayed in a document display frame located on the right hand side of the display device. This arrangement allows the user to browse the document either sequentially from top to bottom using the document display frame, or randomly using the outline in the outline display frame.
As with the hypertext-based contents section, selecting an outline entry causes the hypertext viewer to scroll the document to the location specified by the link associated with the selected outline entry. However, since the outline always remains visible and accessible to the user in the outline display frame, regardless of the document portion displayed in the display frame, a user may jump directly to other locations in the document using the outline without having to return to the top of the document.
Although an outline has clear advantages over a contents section, there are limitations common to both the outline and contents section. One significant limitation is the resources required to update the outline or contents section when changes are made to the associated document. When a change is made to the contents or formatting of a document, an outline or contents section associated with that document must also be updated for it to remain accurate. For example, text may be added to or deleted from the document requiring the addition or deletion of entries (and links) to the outline or contents section associated with the document. Some types of documents, such as database reports, contain many pages of information and are frequently regenerated. Maintaining outlines or contents sections for these documents can require enormous resources and can become impracticable.
In view of the benefits provided by existing hypertext systems for reviewing large documents and the resources required to maintain outlines when the associated documents are frequently updated, a method and apparatus for automatically generating hypertext-based outlines for documents is highly desirable.

Automated hypertext outline generation for documents


A method for debugging a sequential program, executable by a programmable controller on the basis of input instructions from a programming unit. The program is stored in an intermediate language, converted from a ladder language or a sequential function language input from the programming unit, and may be debugged using several methods. One method involves execution of single instructions starting at a predetermined word and executing an operator-specified number of instruction words. A second method involves a loop-specified process in which a starting word and a subsequent stopping word are identified as well as a number of loops to be executed between the two words; the operation preceding until the loop count is zero. A third method involves a block mode run in which a starting word is identified as the beginning of a run and its end is the last word in the block to which the starting word relates, the end word being automatically identified as a transition between an output instruction and a subsequent input instruction. The number of words from the start word to the end of the block is calculated and used as a basis for determining the extent of the block mode run.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a programmable controller which allows a stepping operation to be performed on the basis of a single ladder block or sequential function program block having input and output steps related to each other in a sequence program.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a programming unit 2 for use with a programmable controller 1 that employs a controlling process known in the art. Referring to FIG. 3, the programmable controller 1 is connected by a cable 10 to a programming unit 2 for writing programs for operating the programmable controller 1. A CPU 3 in the programming unit 2 is connected by a common bus 3 a to a keyboard 4, a display device 5, and a floppy disk drive 6. A memory unit comprising programming memory 7 for storing an intermediate language program which has been converted from a ladder language or sequential function program entered from the keyboard 4, system program memory 8 for storing a system program for achieving functions of the programming unit 2 in conjunction with the CPU 3, and a work area memory 9, used when converting the ladder language program into the intermediate language or sequential function program or vice versa, also are connected to the common bus 3a. A starting word number memory 9a is used to store a starting word number as the first word number of a ladder block or sequential function program block in a program written in the intermediate language and stored in the programming memory 7. A table 9b identifies a correspondence between each intermediate language step and the number of words in that step. Memory 9a and table 9b are provided in the work area memory 9. Finally, an interface circuit 11 is connected to the bus 3a in the programming unit 2 and also connects to the cable 10.
A CPU 12 in the programmable controller 1 also is connected to several units by a bus 3b. A memory unit comprising a sequence program memory 13 for storing sequence programs, a system program memory 14 for storing a conversion table for converting a sequence program into a language decodable and executable by the CPU 12 for achieving the desired functions of the programmable controller 1, and a work area memory 15 used by the system program, all connect to the bus 3b. Work area memory 15 includes a stop command word number memory 15a, wherein a stop command word number is stored. The word number specifies the step at which the sequence program stops temporarily, as set by the programming unit 2 in a loop-specified step run described later. Work area memory 15 also includes a loop count memory 15b wherein a loop count, i.e., the number of times the sequence program is executed repeatedly, is set by the programming unit 2 in the loop-specified step run. As described later, the loop count is decremented by 1 every time the sequence program is executed. A stop word number memory 15c for storing a stop word number, i.e., a word number at which the sequence program has stopped temporarily, also is in memory 15 and is used in a single instruction execution stop step run described later. A single instruction execution stop flag memory 15d stores a single instruction execution stop flag that is set by the programming unit 2 when the single instruction execution stop step run is performed and is reset when a temporary stop state is restored in the single instruction execution stop step run described later. A single instruction execution stop words memory 15e stores the number of single instruction execution stop words, i.e., the number of words to be executed, and is set by the programming unit 2 in the single instruction execution stop step run later described. An interface circuit 16 exists between the bus 3b of the programmable controller and the cable 10. Finally, an input/output interface circuit 17 exists between an object to be controlled by the programmable controller (not illustrated) and the bus 3b of the programmable controller 1. A mode select switch 18 is operative to specify either of an ordinary run and a step run, and is particularly useful in selecting a desired run for debugging a sequence program.
In operation, the programmable controller 1 shown in FIG. 3 is designed to cause the sequence program written in an intermediate language stored in the sequence block memory 13 provided in the programmable controller 1 to be read sequentially and executed repeatedly from the first step to the last step. The sequence program is converted into a language processable by the CPU 12, via the system program stored in the system program memory 14, and is executed by the CPU 12.
FIG. 4 lists a relationship between representations of a short sample sequence program, as written in the ladder language and in the intermediate language. In FIG. 4, each arrow in a "Block" column 402 indicates a range of one "ladder block" and the three arrows in that column indicate that the program example in FIG. 4 is comprised of three ladder blocks. Each arrow in a "Step" column 403 indicates a range of "one step" and the ten arrows in that column indicates that the program example in FIG. 4 has a total of ten steps. A "Number Of Words" column 405 contains the number of words required for each intermediate language step, and an "Input/Output Instruction" column 406 indicates that each intermediate language step is an input instruction, if an input step, or is an output instruction, if an output step.
In the program example shown in FIG. 4, the total number of intermediate steps is 10 as described above and the total number of words is 23, as written in the "Number Of Words" column 405. The sequence program memory 13 or the programming memory 7 allows information to be transferred on a word-by-word basis and a word number is provided in the order that each memory area, which can store one word, is accessed.
As shown in column 406 of FIG. 4, a ladder block consists of at least one input instruction and one output instruction. Accordingly, a change from an output instruction to an input instruction occurs at a point where the sequence program shifts from one ladder block to the next.
During debugging of the sequence program it may be necessary to check an operating state of the programmable controller 1 while it is executing a specific step in the sequence program. In that case, the operation of the sequence program is checked by displaying the state of the programmable controller 1 in a "stop step" on the display device 5. The stop step may be conducted after carrying out, via the programming unit 2, a "single instruction execution stop step run". The single instruction run can display the state of the programmable controller 1 at each step while simultaneously advancing the sequence program written in the intermediate language. Alternatively, the stop step check and display may be conducted after executing, via the programming unit 2, a "loop-specified stop step run". The loop-specified run can specify a stop step and the number of times the sequence program is run until a stop is effected at the stop step.
FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart for the programmable controller 1 in conducting both a "single instruction execution stop step run", wherein a temporary stop is effected every time one word of the sequence program is executed in the intermediate language, and a "loop-specified stop step run". In FIG. 5, the sequence program is started and a check of the START condition is made at step S500. If there is a START (YES path), the operation advances to the next step S501 to zero the contents of the stop command word number memory 15a, the loop count memory 15b, the stop word number memory 15c, the single instruction execution stop flag memory 15d and the single instruction execution stop words memory 15e, all of which are provided in the work area memory 15 and employed at later steps in the operation. If the sequence program is not in a START condition (NO path) at the step S500, the operation progresses from the step S500 to step S502. There the condition of the mode select switch 18 is determined.
If at step S502 it is determined that the mode select switch 18 is in an "Ordinary Run" mode position, the operation moves on to step S503 to perform the ordinary run. If the mode select switch 18 is in a "Step Run" mode position, indicating that a debug of the program is to occur, the operation advances to the next step S504 where a determination is made as to whether the loop count is equal to 0.
If the loop count is not zero (NO path) at step S504, it is assumed that the "loop-specified stop step run" has been commanded by the programming unit 2 and the "loop-specified stop step run" operation indicated at steps S505 through S509 is performed. This process accomplishes a debugging on a loop basis. At step S505, the sequence program is executed beginning at the stop word number stored in the stop word number memory 15c and ending at the stop command word number stored in memory 15a, both being sent from the programming unit 2. On completion of the specified program execution, the operation then proceeds to the next step S506.
At the step S506, the loop count stored in the loop count memory 15b is decremented by 1 and the result is rewritten into the loop count memory 15b. The operation then proceeds to the next step S507 where a determination is made of whether the loop count is zero.
If the loop count then stored in the loop count memory 15b is not zero at step S507, the operation returns again to the step S506 via the step S509. At step S509, the sequence program is executed once, starting with the stop word number in memory 15c, and is stopped at the stop command word number stored in memory 15a, both being sent from the programming unit 2.
If the loop count is zero at step S507, the sequence program is assumed to have been executed the predetermined number of times, and the operation advances to step S508. At step S508, the word number at which the sequence program has stopped is written into the stop word number memory 15c and the operation returns to step S502. The operation would then proceed from step S502 to step S504. Since the loop count is zero, the YES path at step S504 is followed to step S510. At step S510, a determination is made of whether the single instruction stop command flag in memory 15d is set. When a loop mode had been prescribed, the flag would not be set.
If at step S510 it is determined that the single instruction execution stop command flag stored in the single instruction execution stop command flag memory 15d has not been set by the programming unit 2, the operation returns to the step S502 and repeatedly executes a loop comprised of the steps S502, S504 and S510 until coming to a temporary stop. When the single instruction execution stop command flag stored in the single instruction execution stop command flag memory 15d is set by the programming unit 2, the operation progresses from the step S510 to step S511 and executes the single instruction execution stop step operation. This would effect a line-by-line debugging operation. At step S511, before the single instruction execution stop command flag in memory 15d is set by the programming unit 2, the sequence program is executed by the number of single instruction execution stop words set in the single instruction execution stop words memory 15e and then comes to a stop. At step S512, the word number at which the sequence program has stopped is written into the stop word number memory 15c, and the operation moves on to the next step S513. At step S513, the single instruction execution stop command flag set in the single instruction execution stop flag memory 15d is reset and the operation returns to step S502. The loop comprised of steps S502, S504 and S510 is then repeatedly executed until coming to a temporary stop.
The corresponding operation of the programming unit 2 during the "single instruction execution stop step run" or the "loop-specified stop step run" will now be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.
At step S601 shown in FIG. 6, the programming unit 2 is in a state of waiting for an input from keyboard 4, including a run-type command and related word number, loop count etc. When an operator enters a "single instruction execution stop step run" command, the operation progresses to step S602, where a determination is made as to whether the entered command is for a single instruction stop step run. If it is, the YES path is followed and the operation proceeds to step S605, where the single instruction execution stop step run operation of the programming unit 2, as shown in FIG. 7, is performed. Upon completion of that operation, the programming unit 2 returns to the state of waiting for a keyboard input at step S601.
The single instruction execution stop step run operation of the programming unit 2 at the step S605 may be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 7. Initially, a check of the START condition is made at step S701. If it is determined that the sequence program is started, the YES path is followed. The operation advances to the next step S702, wherein the starting word number memory 9a provided in the work area memory 9 of the programming unit 2 is cleared and the starting step number stored therein is zeroed. At the same time, the stop word number stored in the stop word number memory 15c provided in the work area memory 15 of the programmable controller 1 is zeroed. The operation then proceeds to step S703.
If it is determined that the sequence program is not started at step S701, the NO path is followed and the operation progresses from step S701 to step S703.
At step S703, the number of words required by an instruction at the next step in the sequence program written in the intermediate language is obtained. The intermediate language instruction/number of words correspondence table 9b, which lists all instructions written in the intermediate language and the number of words required for each instruction in the intermediate language, provides this number.
At step S704, the number of words obtained at step S703 is transferred as the number of single instruction execution stop words to the single instruction execution stop words memory 15e, provided in memory 15 of the programmable controller 1.
At step S705, the single instruction execution stop command flag stored in the single instruction execution stop command flag memory 15d provided in the programmable controller 1 is set. As previously discussed, when it is determined that the single instruction execution stop command flag has already been set at the step S510 shown in FIG. 5, the programmable controller 1 branches to the step S511 and performs the single instruction execution stop step run.
At step S706, the result of adding the number of words obtained at step S703 to the starting word number stored in the starting word number memory 9a is written to the starting word number memory 9a as an updated starting word number to prepare for the next step run.
At step S707, a state of the single instruction execution stop command flag stored in the single instruction execution stop command flag memory 15d of the programmable controller 1 is read. At step S708, if the single instruction execution stop command flag has not been reset, it is assumed that the single instruction execution stop step run has not yet been terminated and the operation returns to the step S707. If it is determined that the single instruction execution stop command flag has been reset at step S708, it is assumed that the programmable controller 1 has terminated the single instruction execution stop step run and the YES path is followed to an END step S709.
At the END step, the operation of step S605 in FIG. 6 will terminate and the operation returns to step S601, where the programming unit 2 again waits for a keyboard 4 input. The steps S707 and S708 are provided to synchronize the operation of the programming unit 2 with that of the programmable controller 1. The single instruction execution stop step run operation of the programmable controller 1 is performed at the steps S511 to S513 shown in FIG. 5.
Operation of the loop-specified stop step run will now be described. When the loop-specified stop step run accompanied by the entry of the stop command word number and the loop count is specified at the step S601 in FIG. 6, i.e., the run instruction is not for a single instruction run, the operation progresses along the NO path from the step S602 to the step S603 and further executes the step S604.
The loop-specified stop step run at the step S604 may be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8. In FIG. 8, a determination is made as to whether the sequence program is started at step S801. If started, the operation advances to the next step S802, wherein the stop word number stored in the stop word number memory 15c provided in the programmable controller 1 is zeroed, and the operation proceeds to step S803. If the sequence program is not started at step S801, then the operation progresses from step S801 to the step S803.
At step S803, the stop command word number already entered at the step S601 of FIG. 6 is transferred to the stop command word number memory 15a of the programmable controller 1.
At step S804, the loop count already entered at the step S601 shown in FIG. 6 is transferred to the loop count memory 15b of the programmable controller 1. If the loop count set in the loop count memory 15b of the programmable controller 1 is not zero, the operation branches to the step S505 at the step S504 shown in FIG. 5 and performs the loop-specified stop step run operation.
At step S805, the loop count stored in the loop count memory 15b of the programmable controller 1 is read, and if the loop count is not zero at step S806, the operation returns again to the step S805. If the loop count is zero at the step S806, it is assumed that the loop-specified stop step run is complete in the programmable controller 1 and the operation terminates the step S604 of FIG. 6, returns to the step S601, and the programming unit 2 waits for another keyboard input. The steps S805 and S806 are provided to synchronize the programmable controller 1 and the programming unit 2. The loop-specified stop step run operation of the programmable controller 1 is performed at the steps S505 to S509 shown in FIG. 5.
A conventional operation for debugging the sequence program will now be described.
Since the sequence program provides an output condition in correspondence with an input condition in each block, it is not always useful to determine the operating state of the programmable controller 1 at steps into which the blocks have been subdivided. Therefore, the sequence program is best debugged by repeating the single instruction execution stop step run until the run progresses to a step delimiting one block, or by performing the loop-specified stop step run which is accompanied by the entry of the stop command word number and the loop count. To obtain the stop command word number required for the loop-specified stop step run, it is necessary to show the sequence program on the display or output it on a printer. Hence, the debugging operation is troublesome for a per block run.
The conventional controlling method has only the above described single instruction execution stop step run and loop-specified stop step run as step run modes. When performing a step run on the basis of a single block, which includes input and output instructions related to each other, it is necessary to repeat the single instruction execution stop step run or carry out the loop-specified stop step run. This requires the entry of the loop count and the calculation and entry of the stop word number. This poses problems such as operator error in the required calculation and key operations, and presents a practical difficulty in efficiently debugging the sequence program.

Method for debugging a program by executing a block mode run


A folding breath guard configured to at least partially cover food in a foodservice area includes a top panel, a first side panel, a first hinge rotatably coupling the first side panel to the top panel, wherein the first side panel is movable between an extended position and a storage position, a second side panel, a second hinge rotatably coupling the second side panel to the top panel, wherein the second side panel is movable between an extended position and a storage position, a first storage position securing device for securing the first side panel in the storage position, and a second storage position securing device for securing the second side panel in the storage position.

The present invention relates generally to the field of breath guards for the foodservice industry. Breath guards provide a barrier between a person and food in a foodservice area, while providing relatively unrestricted access to the food for the customer and/or the foodservice staff. Breath guards at least partially cover, shield, screen, or protect the food in the foodservice area. Breath guards may also be referred to as breath shields, food guards, food shields, sneeze guards, or sneeze shields.
Frequently, breath guards are fixed in place for use as a barrier between the customer and the prepared food in a restaurant, cafeteria, buffet, salad bar, or other foodservice arrangement. A need exists for portable breath guards for use by caterers or others providing temporary foodservice arrangements that can be quickly and easily set up and taken down, as well as easily and compactly stored and transported.