Compound of Formula (1); wherein: Zw is an organic radical comprising w amino groups, in which w is a number and 5≦w≦3,000; A and B are independently oxy-C1-C20-alkylene carbonyl groups or oxy-C2-C20-alkenylene carbonyl groups derived from hydroxy carboxylic acids or lactones; T is hydrogen or R—CO—, where R is a C1-C50 hydrocarbyl group; Y is a C3-C4-alkylene radical linked to an amino group of Zw; Y′ is an ionic salt link between an amino group of Zw and the terminal carbonyl of (A)r-(B)p-T; r and p are independently numbers between 0 and 50 and r+p>2; s, m and v are numbers; 0.99w≦s+m≦2w; and 0.3w≦s+v≦2w are suitable as dispersants and milling aids.

In order to be able to incorporate solids into liquid media, high mechanical force is necessary. It is usual to use dispersants in order to lower the dispersing forces and in order to minimize the total input into the system of energy needed to deflocculate the particulate solids and hence to minimize the dispersing time. Dispersants of this kind are surface-active substances of anionic, cationic or neutral structure. These substances, in a small amount, are either added to the dispersing medium or applied directly to the solid. It is also known that, following complete de-flocculation of the agglomerated solids into primary particles, after the dispersing operation, there are also instances of re-agglomeration, thereby completely or partly nullifying the dispersing effort. As a consequence of the inadequate dispersing and/or as a result of re-agglomeration there are unwanted effects: viscosity increase in liquid systems, shade drift, losses of gloss in paints and coatings, and the reduction of mechanical strength in plastics. Different formulations of inks require the use of effective dispersants for uniformly distributing the pigments in an organic medium and for minimizing the re-agglomeration that can occur during storage: inadequate dispersing manifests itself as increased viscosity in liquid systems, loss of brilliance and/or hue shifts. In particular in inks for ink-jet systems, particularly good dispersion of the pigment particles is required to ensure unimpeded passage of the pigment particles through the nozzles of the print-head in the ink jet printer, which are usually only a few micrometers in diameter. In addition, pigment particle agglomeration and the associated blockage of the printer nozzles has to be avoided in the standby periods of the printer. In special applications, such as decoration of ceramic by inkjet printing, the characteristics of the dispersants are very challenging because they need stabilization of inorganic pigments with high specific weight, in concentrated formulations that must have low viscosity (i.e. 8-30 mPa·s) and small particle size (<1 μm).
A multiplicity of different substances are nowadays used as dispersants for pigments and fillers. Besides simple compounds of low molecular mass, such as lecithin, fatty acids and their salts, and alkylphenol ethoxylates, complex structures are used as dispersants. These dispersants are mainly based on polymeric structures derived from oligo- or polyamines reacted with polyesters or polyethers, or from polyurethanes and polyisocyanates.
Many polymeric dispersants contain in one part of the molecule the so-called anchor group, which adsorbs onto the pigments to be dispersed. In a spatially separated part of the molecule, polymeric dispersants have polymer chains sticking out whereby pigment particles are made compatible with the dispersion medium, i.e. stabilized. The properties of polymeric dispersants depend on both the nature of the monomers and their distribution in the polymer. Polymeric dispersants obtained by statistically polymerization of monomers or by polymerizing alternating monomers generally result in poor dispersion stability. Improvements in dispersion activity are obtained using graft copolymer dispersants.
Graft copolymer dispersants which contain a back-bone based on poly(alkylene)imine and polyester chain moieties derived from one or more hydroxycarboxylic acids or lactones thereof have been known for a long time. In EP 158 406 and EP 208 041 use is made of amino and amide-functional polymers and oligomers based on polyamines and homo-polycaprolactones, in which most of the reactive amino groups have been converted into amide groups, to provide polymers and oligomers comprising a mixture of salt and amide groups. The polyesters are not terminated or contain a terminal alkylcarbonyl-group. In this case the polyester can be obtained by polymerization of an hydroxycarboxylic acid or lactone thereof in the presence of an alkylcarboxylic acid as polymerizing terminating group to give a polyester chain having only a free carboxylic acid. These dispersants are claimed to be particularly effective in more polar medium such as ketones and esters, but they have limited performance in non-polar medium; in any case their solubility is somewhat limited particularly at temperature below the normal ambient temperature.
The dispersants reported in U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,212 are the reaction products of polyethyleneimine and a polyester terminated by a carboxylic acid group, the preferred polyester being derived from hydroxycarboxylic acids having from 8 to 14 carbon atoms between the carboxylic acid group and the hydroxy group, for example from ricinoleic acid or from 12-hydroxystearic acid. The dispersants are claimed to be effective in non-polar medium, such as aliphatic solvents, however they have limited performance in polar mediums. The properties of such dispersants are claimed to be improved by branching the alkylene group of the polyester chain (EP 958041) or by using polymerization terminating groups containing branched aliphatic chain (US 2003/181544).
EP 1911813 and EP 1911815 describe non aqueous inkjet inks in which the molar percentage of amide groups based on the total nitrogen content of the polymeric dispersant is important for the formulation of a stable inkjet ink formulation.
Polymeric dispersants based on polyisocyanates or polyurethanes are also widely described, for example in EP 154 678, EP 438 836, WO 2004/104064, WO 2008/070601 and WO 2009/148836.
Few patents discloses the combination of polyalkylenimine reacted with epoxides to obtain hydroxyalkylated polyalkylenimine and further grafted with other polymers. US 2009/0131555 describes a dispersant based on a polyalkylenoxyamine linked to a poly(lower alkylene)imine by a dibasic acid. This dispersant is claimed to be suitable to disperse particulate solid in polar organic media and water. U.S. Pat. No. 7,214,653 discloses products based on a polyalkylenimine alkyleneoxide copolymer wherein the polyalkyleneoxide is constituted on average of at least of 2 oxyalkylene repeating unit (preferentially oxyethylene) having different terminal groups to modulate the characteristics of the product. The products of the invention can be suitably used as builders for detergent, as detergents, as water treatment agents and as dispersants.
At last, JP 248029 and JP 6312335 describe dispersing agents obtained by reacting polyethylenimines with epoxides to partially block the amine groups in the polyethylenimine and then by reacting the obtained products with polyesters from hydroxystearic acid or copolymers based on ε-caprolactone and hydroxystearic acid, terminated with a carboxylic acid group. Up to 1 part by weight of epoxide may be reacted with 1 part by weight of polyethyleneimine, which means that the equivalent of epoxides are lower than the equivalent of nitrogen atoms in the polyethylenimine; the polyesters are said to make an amide or salt linkage with the polyethylenimine. The reaction of the polyethylenimine with epoxides is said to avoid the release of odor from the decomposition of the primary amine groups of the polyethylenimine or from the low molecular weight oligoamines present in polyethyleneimine.
In general, in dispersants based on polyalkyleneimine, most of the amine groups are amidated or salified by reaction with polyesters; fewer products are based on polyalkyleneimine linked to aminopolyethers (in general from ethylene and/or propylene oxide) by an anhydride (EP 1648970).
Due to the transformation in amides or salts, the amino groups of the polyalkyleneimine lose basicity.
The dispersants presented above often represent only partial solutions to the problems of dispersion and stabilization. In view of the multiplicity of organic and inorganic pigments and filling materials that are used today, sufficient stabilization of the particulate solids to be dispersed, by desorption-stable occupancy of the surface, is not adequately ensured. This is particularly evident in special applications, such as in decoration of ceramic by inkjet printing, where the stabilization of inorganic pigments with high specific weight in concentrated formulations that must have low viscosity and small particle size, is required.
The present invention is therefore based on novel structures designed to eliminate the above-described disadvantages of known dispersants, in other words on developing dispersing additives which, while effectively stabilizing pigments or fillers, lower the millbase viscosity of inks, paints, pastes or plastics formulations to an extent such that processing with a high degree of filling is possible.
Surprisingly, it has become apparent that a marked improvement in the stabilization of pigments or filler particles in inks, pigment pastes, binders, or plastics formulations can be achieved when the addition compounds prepared from polyalkyleneimines, reacted with about one mole of alkylene oxide per nitrogen atom and further reacted with polyesters, are used. These dispersants strongly low the energy required for preparing millbases with suitable particle size for inkjet inks, reducing viscosity during dispersing and milling. Moreover they keep an excellent long term stability, making it possible to prepare stable formulations having a high solids fraction and low viscosity. This class of dispersant has characteristics very favorable to the preparation of ink-jet inks for ceramic decoration.


A device obtains previously created data content. The device unmasks and extracts one or more chain of custody blocks stored in association with the data content. The one or more chain of custody blocks includes chain of custody data identifying who, when, where, and, with what hardware and/or software, created or edited the data content. The device analyzes the one or more chain of custody blocks and validates an origination of the data content based on the analysis of the one or more chain of custody blocks.

Various different types of data content may be downloaded, delivered, and/or streamed from remote devices or servers. A device, such as a "smart" phone, may request the downloading or streaming of the data content from a remote device or server across a network, such as the cellular network and/or the Internet. The data content may include, for example, a video clip, an audio file, or one or more images. Upon receipt of the data content, a user at the receiving device may display the content via, for example, a screen of the device. In the case of a video clip, display of the data content may include frame by frame playback of the video clip.

Data content chain of custody and integrity validation


User-selectable volumes of a viscous condiment such as ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise are consistently dispensed from a pressurized vessel. The vessel is pressurized using a small air pump, a cylinder of compressed gas or an external gas source. Pressure in the vessel is kept constant by sensing the pressure using a MEMS pressure transducer. Condiment flows from the pressurized vessel into a flexible tube, which passes through an electrically-actuated pinch valve. For a given pressure in the vessel, the amount of condiment to be dispensed is determined by the time that the pinch valve is open. A processor monitors the pressure, actuation of a user interface and controls operation of the air pump.

Portion control and finished product consistency are important to fast food restaurants, especially national restaurant chains, whose trademarks tend to connote product consistency. Portion control and product consistency are also important to the food service industry in general as a way to control costs.
Most establishments that prepare or serve sandwiches with condiments such as ketchup, mustard, relish and mayonnaise, often prefer to make and/or serve them with the same amount of condiment on each sandwich, regardless of when or where the product was produced and/or by whom. A hand-held device that can consistently and reliably dispense different user-selectable amounts of condiment with each and every use, would be an improvement over the prior art. A dispenser that can also be easily disassembled for maintenance would also be an improvement over the prior art.


A method of producing a silicon carbide sintered body jig using a reaction sintering method, comprising:                (a)dispersing a silicon carbide powder and an organic substance as a carbon source in a solvent, to produce a mixed slurry powder,        (b) pouring the resulted slurry powder into a mold and drying this to obtain a green body,        (c) temporarily-sintering the resulted green body under a vacuum atmosphere at 1800° C., to obtain a temporarily-sintered body,        (d) temporarily-molding said temporarily-sintered body, to obtain a temporarily-molded body,        (e) impregnating a melted metal silicon into the resulted temporarily-molded body by a capillary phenomenon and reacting free carbon in said temporarily-molded body with silicon sucked into said temporarily-molded body by a capillary phenomenon, to obtain a silicon carbide sintered body, and        (f) subjecting the resulted silicon carbide sintered body to precise processing, to obtain a silicon carbide sintered body jig.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing a silicon carbide sintered body jig used for producing semiconductors and a silicon carbide sintered body jig obtained by the above-mentioned production method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, silicon carbide sintered bodies are paid to attention as materials used in a high temperature region, due to excellent properties such as high temperature strength, heat resistance, abrasion resistance and chemical resistance. Lately, silicon carbide sintered bodies are used as alternative materials for quartz, as a jig for producing semiconductors.
However, the above-mentioned silicon carbide sintered body obtained by a reaction sintering method needs efforts and time for molding processing due to high strength, consequently, it is required to shorten molding processing time.
Though the present inventors have suggested a method of conducting temporary molding processing at the stage of production of a green body as a means of solving the above-mentioned problem, a considerate care for producing a molded body has been required due to insufficient strength of a green body.
Therefore, there has been a need for a method of trying to shorten processing time while maintaining processing precision of a silicon carbide sintered body.

Method of producing silicon carbide sintered body jig


A heater circuit in a vehicle engine cooling and passenger compartment heating system comprises a control valve (26), and a supply line (22) and a return line (24) both of which are separate from the radiator circuit of the system. A bypass passageway (48) extends between the supply line (22) upstream of the valve (26) and the return line (24) downstream of the valve (26). A bypass valve normally closes the passageway (48) and opens in response to a pressure differential between the supply line (22) and return line (24) exceeding a predetermined magnitude. The passageway (48) has first and second detachably connected portions that communicate with the supply and return lines (22, 24) via radial openings (44, 46). A spring (72) abuts a shoulder (54) in the second portion and a valve element (62) that seats against a flat surface surrounding the radial opening (44) in the supply line (22). The element (62) has laterally extending guide teeth (68) and a rear reduced diameter lug (70) engaged by the spring (72). The bypass valve limits strain on the control valve, makes manual operation of the control valve easier, and enhances the consistency of control of the outlet temperature of the heater.

The most common type of system for heating the passenger compartments (cabs) of heavy duty vehicles is a system that directs hot engine coolant through a heater core and controls the interior temperature of the compartment by controlling the flow of the coolant. Typically, the temperature control is accomplished by manually moving a lever accessible to an occupant of the compartment. Movement of the lever adjusts a flow control valve to thereby adjust the flow of coolant. There is a non-linear relationship between the rate of flow and the air outlet temperature. This makes it difficult to adjust the temperature by means of a lever whose position varies linearly with the flow rate. To overcome this difficulty and enable the operator of the lever to more easily and accurately adjust the temperature, flow control valves have been developed that modulate the coolant flow in a non-linear way to achieve a linear relationship between the hand-operated lever and the air output temperature. One example of such a valve is the valve disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,879, granted Apr. 17, 1973, to P. J. Lange et al. This type of valve has been in use in heavy duty vehicle passenger compartment heating systems for a number of years. FIG. 11 illustrates the non-linear relationship between the control lever position and coolant flow typical of the valve. FIG. 12 illustrates the linear relationship between the lever position and the air outlet temperature. Nearly half of the air temperature control is achieved by controlling the first half gallon per minute of coolant flow.
The valve described in the Lange et al. patent is capable of providing the desired lever position to air output temperature relationship illustrated in FIG. 12 when the coolant temperature, delivery flow rate, and pressure are constant. Unfortunately, the actual operation of heavy duty vehicles produces conditions that depart from the ideal condition of a constant value for each of these three parameters. Coolant temperature, flow rate, and delivery pressure vary as the engine load and engine rpm vary. The thermostat in the engine's cooling system limits the variation in temperature. The flow rate and delivery pressure are a function of the engine rpm and the setting of the heating system control valve. When the valve lever is positioned to control flow in the first half gallon range, changes in engine rpm can result in unacceptable variations in flow rate.
In addition to the difficulty in maintaining the desired temperature control during certain operating conditions, other problems have been encountered in connection with the use of the type of control valve discussed above. When the vehicle's engine is operated at continuously high rpm's, such as during prolonged driving at high speeds, a high pressure differential is placed across the flow control valve if the valve is in its off or a slightly open position. The high pressure differential can make the manual operation of the lever very difficult. The difficulty of operation has been observed, in particular, in connection with heating systems in which the flow control valves are Boden cable operated. This type of operation is very common. The high pressure differential also places severe stress on the valve, and especially its seal and metering components. This stress shortens the operational life of the valve.

Vehicle heating system and bypass therefor


The aspects enable a computing device or microprocessor to determine a low-power mode that maximizes system power savings by placing selected resources in a low power mode while continuing to function reliably, depending upon the resources not in use, acceptable system latencies, dynamic operating conditions (e.g., temperature), expected idle time, and the unique electrical characteristics of the particular device. The various aspects provide mechanisms and methods for compiling a plurality of low power resource modes to generate one or more synthetic low power resources from which can be selected an optimal low-power mode configuration made up of a set of selected synthetic low power resources.

Wireless communication technologies have seen explosive growth over the past few years. This growth has been fueled by wireless services providing freedom of movement to the mobile public, and cutting the tether to hardwired communication systems. As a result of service enhancements, the popularity of wireless services is expected to continue to grow rapidly. Battery life is a key driver of mobile electronic devices so methods and devices which enable conservation of battery power are important considerations in electronic device technologies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Domain specific language, compiler and JIT for dynamic power management


A fastener of the hook and loop type intended to be incorporated into plastic articles by plastic molding processes is formed of a known separable fastener member having a base member and a plurality of engaging elements upstanding from one surface thereof. A covering which intimately surrounds the individual engaging elements protects the elements when exposed to the harsh environment of a molding process. This protecting covering is removable from the fastener after the molding process to expose the engaging elements without substantially destroying the performance thereof.

This invention relates to an improved device and method for adapting separable fasteners, particularly those of the hook and loop type, for attachment to other objects such as poly(urethane) foam seat cushions or hard plastic parts for automobiles, furniture and the like. In this method one portion of a separable fastener is incorporated into the plastic object during the molding process for subsequent attachment to another object carrying the mating portion of the separable fastener. The fastener of this invention provides a greater degree of design flexibility as to the shape and especially as to types of plastic into which the part may be molded.

Molded product having insert mold-in fastener


An electric motor includes a stator (3) secured in the motor housing (2), a rotatable rotor (4), a fan impeller (5) arranged on the rotor (4), and an annular air duct (6) arranged between the fan impeller (5) and the rotor (4) and having a shroud (7) spaced from the impeller (5) by a slot having an axial width (X), a dimensionally stable, with respect to the shroud (7), housing stop (8), an axially, resiliently displaceable fixing element (9) forming a stator stop (10) facing in a same direction as the housing stop (8), and a locking element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air-cooled electric motor, in particular, for a hand-held power tool, and having an air duct.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The stator of an electric motor is formed of stacked sheet metal lamellas in order to prevent any eddy current losses in an a.c. field. The necessary discrete number of lamellas results, upon assembly, to a discrete lengths, with a length tolerance of about 0.5 mm with a minimum one lamella.
For removal of heat, which is generated during operation of the electric motor, in compact electrical motors which are preferably used in hand-held power tools, a cooling air stream is directed through a gap between the stator and the rotor. The air stream is generated by a fan impeller mounted on the rotor shaft. In order to increase the efficiency, the fan impeller is movable in a suitably shaped, air duct with a shroud, whereby a critical, axially narrow gap for the fan impeller is maintained. Even smaller changes of +/−0.2 mm with a slot having a width of about 1 mm cause strong fluctuations of +/−50% of the generated air flow, which leads to different cooling characteristics within a tool series.
According to German Publication DE 42 20 078 A1, in front of the fan impeller, an annular air duct, which forms a foreground grid, is secured to the tool housing of a hand-held tool. The securing of a stator with the air duct cannot be carried out.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,101, behind the fan impeller, an annular or ring-shaped air duct, which is formed of a plastic material, is secured to a rotor end shield with screws. The rotor end shield is secured in the tool housing and is provided with bushes each having an inner thread for a locking bolt for securing the stator. U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,101 does not disclose a freely projecting shroud having a predetermined position relative to the impeller and arranged on one side of the impeller.
According to German Publication DE 26 17 860, a naturally stiff receiving ring, which functions as an annular air duct, is arranged in front of the impeller, with the receiving ring being secured to the tool housing and provided with bushes having an inner thread for looking bolts for securing the stator. Upon securing the stator using the rigid receiving ring, the stator axial tolerances result in the change of the critical axial width of the gap in front of the fan impeller.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is an electric motor with an air duct which is arranged between the rotor and the fan impeller and which, in addition to functioning as means for securing the stator, provides for a gap in front of the impeller that does not depend from stator tolerances.


A memory device, and method of operation of such a device, are provided. The memory device comprises an array of memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, at least one bit line being associated with each column. Column multiplexer circuitry is coupled to the plurality of columns, for inputting write data into a selected column during a write operation and for outputting an indication of read data sensed from a selected column during a read operation. The column multiplexer circuitry comprises a single pass gate transistor per bit line, and latch circuitry is then used to detect the read data from the indication of read data output by the column multiplexer circuitry during the read operation, and to store that detected read data. Such an approach provides a particularly area efficient construction for the column multiplexer circuitry whilst enabling correct evaluation of the read data held in the addressed memory cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device and method of operating such a memory device, and in particular to techniques for reducing the size of the access control circuitry required to read data from, and write data to, the memory device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical memory device will have an array of memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, and access control circuitry will be provided in association with the memory array to enable individual memory cells within the array to be accessed for the purposes of writing data to that memory cell or reading data from that memory cell.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a typical array of memory cells, and further indicating the access control circuitry provided to access columns within the memory array. In particular, FIG. 1 shows an array of memory cells 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 provided in association with a particular column multiplexer 70 of the memory device. Each row is addressed by a word line 16, 18, and each column has a pair of bit lines 12, 14, 22, 24, 32, 34 associated therewith. From an address provided to the memory device, a row and column within the memory device is identified, with the addressed memory cell being the memory cell at the intersection between the identified row and column. For a read operation, the word line 16, 18 associated with the selected row is selected in order to activate a row of cells, and then the column multiplexer 70 outputs to the IO (Input/Output) control block 80 an indication of the voltages on the pair of bit lines associated with the selected column, this indication identifying the value stored in the addressed memory cell. For a write operation, the word line is activated in the same manner, and the voltage on one of the pair of bit lines associated with the selected column is then discharged to identify the data value to be stored in the addressed memory cell.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various circuits are provided within the IO control block 80, including the write transistors required to discharge the voltage on one of the pair of bit lines to a logic zero value during a write operation, sense amplifier circuitry for detecting the value stored in the addressed memory cell from the voltage indications output by the column multiplexer 70, etc. It is also known in some implementations to include the sense amplifier circuitry between the bit lines and the column multiplexer, so that the column multiplexer 70 directly samples the output from the relevant sense amplifier.
Typically each memory cell stores a single bit data value, and accordingly if the data being accessed is a multi-bit data word (e.g. 32 bits, 64 bits, etc), it will be necessary to access multiple memory cells. In a typical design, column multiplexers will be provided corresponding to each bit of the data word, each column multiplexer being connected to the bit lines for a plurality of columns containing memory cells in which the associated bit of the data word can be stored. The memory array can hence be considered to be formed of a plurality of sections, one for each column multiplexer. Hence, by way of example a memory array may have 512 word lines, a multiplexer size of four (meaning four columns are connected to each column multiplexer), and a data word size of 32 bits (meaning there are 32 column multiplexers, each column multiplexer being connected to a corresponding section of the memory array). Such a memory can hence store 2048 32-bit data words.
The circuitry provided within the column multiplexers can take a variety of forms. In one known prior art technique, the write and read paths are maintained separately, with separate read pass gates and write pass gates connected to each bit line. Considering the example of FIG. 1 where there are two bit lines per column, this means that there will be four pass gate transistors per column, typically two NMOS transistors and two PMOS transistors. Separate control lines are required for the NMOS and PMOS transistors, and accordingly this will result in four transistors per column and two control lines per column.
Another alternative approach as shown in FIG. 2 is for the read and write paths to be combined, with a transfer gate 72, 74, 76, 78 being associated with each bit line. As shown in FIG. 2, each transfer gate comprises a PMOS transistor and an NMOS transistor coupled back to back, and again separate control signals are required for the PMOS and NMOS transistors. By forming transfer gates in this form, it can be ensured that during a read operation a voltage value at an input to the transfer gate will be propagated on from the output unchanged, irrespective of whether that voltage value represents a logic one level or a logic zero level. If only a single transistor is used on the read path, then for one possible voltage level the voltage level will be propagated on unchanged, whilst for the other possible voltage level the output will be changed due to the threshold voltage of the transistor. For example, if a single NMOS transistor were used as a pass gate for the read path, then a voltage level of zero will be propagated unchanged, but a voltage level of Vdd will be reduced to Vdd-Vth at the NMOS transistor's output, where Vth represents the threshold voltage of the NMOS transistor.
Whilst the transfer gate arrangement shown in FIG. 2 works well, it will be seen that it again requires two transistors per bit line, and accordingly for the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 requires four transistors and two control signals per column.
As also shown schematically in FIG. 2, the outputs from the transfer gates 72, 74, 76, 78 can be provided as pairs of inputs to a sense amplifier circuit 82 in order to detect a read data value during a read operation, whilst for a write operation write driver circuitry 84 can drive inputs to those transfer gates, causing an input at a logic one voltage level to be input to one transfer gate whilst a logic zero voltage level is input to the other transfer gate connected to the other bit line of the selected column.
The presentation entitled "Memory" by K Yun, UC San Diego, appearing on the Internet at the address http://paradise.ucsd.edu/class/ece165/notes/lecC.pdf gives a general overview of the operation of various memory cell designs, and on page 16 illustrates a column multiplexer arrangement in which the read path and write paths are maintained separately, but requiring three transistors per column. However, such an arrangement does not work in modern memories, as sense amplifiers are used to detect the values stored in the memory cells during the read operation, and this would require the addition of an extra read transistor into the design, hence again resulting in the requirement for four transistors per column.
The individual memory cells of the memory array can take a variety of forms. In one particular implementation, the memory cells may be SRAM memory cells, requiring a pair of bit lines to be connected to each memory cell. Such SRAM cells can be arranged in a variety of ways, FIG. 3 illustrating one particular example construction where a 6T SRAM memory cell is used to form each SRAM memory cell of an SRAM memory. As can be seen, the memory cell consists of two PMOS transistors 100, 110 and two NMOS transistors 120, 130. A node 140 is provided between the PMOS transistor 100 and the NMOS transistor 120, and similarly a node 150 is provided between the PMOS transistor 110 and the NMOS transistor 130. The bit line 180 is connected to the node 140 via an access transistor 160, and similarly the bit line 190 is connected to the node 150 via an access transistor 170.
Two different states can be stored within the memory cell shown in FIG. 3, a first state being where the node 140 is at a ground potential and the node 150 is at a power supply potential Vdd, and the second state being a state where the node 140 is at the power supply potential Vdd and the node 150 is at the ground potential.
There is an increasing demand for memory devices to be constructed which are smaller and consume less power than their predecessor designs, whilst retaining high performance. New technologies are being developed which allow a reduction in the size of the individual transistors making up each memory cell, and indeed the transistors making up the associated access control circuitry. However, as the memory cells decrease in size, the variation in behaviour between individual memory cells tends to increase, and this can adversely affect predictability of operation. One particular issue that arises is that as the size of the transistors decrease, they exhibit more leakage current. Hence, considering by way of example the SRAM cell shown in FIG. 3, the access transistors 160, 170 may exhibit more leakage onto the associated bit lines 180, 190. The effect of this is that the leakage will affect the maximum length of bit line which can be supported within the memory device whilst ensuring correct operation.
One way to seek to address this problem is to partition the column up into a plurality of separate sub-columns in the vertical direction, thus creating a plurality of sub-arrays in the bit line direction of the memory device. Each sub-array then needs to be provided with some local access control circuitry to enable data to be read from, and written to, the sub-array, with the various local access control circuits then being connected to a global 10 circuit responsible for outputting data from the memory device and receiving write data to be written into the memory device. Whilst the creation of such sub-arrays within the device reduces the size of the bit lines, and hence improves reliability of operation when using the reduced size transistors available using modern memory technologies, the size of the associated access control circuitry used to read from, and write to, those sub-arrays becomes a significant factor. In particular, each time the bit line length is reduced by a factor of two, the area required for the associated local access control circuitry will increase by a factor of two (assuming the memory device is still to have the same number of memory cells overall), due to the need to duplicate the local access control circuitry.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop a technique which enabled the size of the access control circuitry to be reduced, so as to reduce the effect that such access control circuitry has on the area efficiency of the memory device.

Memory device having a single pass-gate transistor per bitline column multiplexer coupled to latch circuitry and method thereof


The present invention relates to a network node that includes optical add/drop modules such that a module can be exchanged without disruption of the connections.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a network node. More specifically, the present invention relates to a network node with optical add/drop modules.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A network node for use in a ring network is generally disclosed in German Patent Document No. DE 19731494 C4. The ring network provided for transmitting data in the wavelength division multiplex method has a working device, a protection device and a number of network nodes with add/drop modules. The distinctive feature of this known ring network, the transmission capacity of which is to be utilized to an optimum extent, consists in using only a single protection channel which can be accessed by all terminals, i.e., being able to send data and to receive data.
As disclosed in European Patent Document No. EP 0 847 158 A2, a network node with optical add/drop modules for bidirectional networks is also known in which a separate module OADM1 and OADM2, respectively, is provided for each of the two directions of transmission, in which in each case an add function and a drop function is combined for the respective direction of transmission. The known arrangement is neither provided for a ring network nor does it contain a protection device.
As disclosed in European Patent Document No. EP 0 892 524 A2, a network node with optical add/drop modules in a unidirectional ring network that has a number of ring lines is also known. In the case of a "single point of failure" in the network, the signals are diverted via other links of another ring line which are not faulty.
It is also known as disclosed in European Patent Document No. EP 0 729 247 A2 to guarantee the transmission capacity in bidirectional ring networks, for example in the case of a disturbance, by transmitting on each fiberglass waveguide, in addition to the operating signal, a replacement signal of different wavelength. In the case of a disturbance, i.e., in the case of an interruption of the connection between two network elements, the operating signal between the network elements of the ring network affected by the failure of the connection is switched to the replacement signal, and thus to the second wavelength, thereby maintaining the full transmission capacity. The network elements provided are add/drop multiplexers which are arranged in parallel with existing optical interfaces at in each case additional optical interfaces. These additional interfaces operate in a different wavelength range in contrast to the existing optical interfaces. Operating signal and replacement signal of an optical transmitter are combined in a suitable manner by optical multiplexers at the output of each network element and transmitted to the receiving site by the respective optical fiber waveguides. At the receiving site, an optical demultiplexer separates the two optical signals of different wavelengths and supplies them to the further processing stages.
In purely optical wavelength division multiplex networks, some of the optical connections will be purely of a static nature but some others will have short lifetimes. To optimally utilize the network capacities, there exists a need for automatically reconfigurable and purely optical add/drop multiplexers. In this regard, the reconstruction of existing systems may necessarily need to take place with continuing traffic, i.e., careful protection of the continuing traffic without optical "single point of failure" is necessarily required.
In addition, the ability to implement not only traffic links via a central hub-type network node but any point-to-point connections may necessarily be needed. A typical traffic pattern in future two-fiber ring networks will necessarily include a forward return connection in different fibers on the same link. In this regard, the corresponding protection connection leads via a different route in two fibers, thus providing for a reliable standby connection in the case of a fiber break.
Due to the minimization of production costs in metropolitan ring networks, great differences in level must be expected in the individual wavelength channels.
In this regard, the static add/drop multiplexers in purely optical wavelengths division multiplex rings will necessarily need to be expanded into dynamically remotely and configurable add/drop multiplexers, thus an "in-service" expansion should be possible.
Static optical add/drop multiplexer network elements have only been on the market for a very short time (CAMBRIAN, CIENA, OSICOM, LUCENT, SIEMENS 04/99), where commercial remotely configurable systems are expected for the year 2000. The remote configurability of optical add/drop multiplexer modules has currently only been implemented by way of expensive optical circuit technology (i.e., wavelengths division multiplexers, demultiplexers and space division switching matrices).
However, no corresponding arrangements for setting up remotely configurable protected 1+1 connections have been reported although the use of fiber gratings in add/drop modules is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,349.
An object of the present invention, therefore, relates to protecting the transmission of a WDM signal from an interruption of the line when, for example, modules are exchanged in a ring network.

Network nodes with optical add/drop modules


An exemplary method includes receiving data representative of a content instance over a network from an access device associated with a first user, encrypting the content instance in response to a command initiated by the user by way of one or more graphical user interfaces, providing a key configured to facilitate decryption of the encrypted content instance, creating at least one access rule corresponding to the encrypted content instance, transmitting data representative of the encrypted content instance to a requesting access device associated with a requesting user, receiving, from the requesting access device, data representative of a request to access the key over the network, and performing a predefined action related to the key in response to the request and in accordance with the at least one access rule.

Advances in electronic communications technologies have interconnected people and allowed for distribution of information perhaps better than ever before. To illustrate, mobile phones, which were previously used for voice communications only, are increasingly being used to acquire and transmit photographs, video, audio, and/or other content to other mobile phones and to other types of electronic devices.
As the variety of electronic devices used to acquire, transmit, and access content has become more diverse, it has become increasingly desirable for content acquired by a particular electronic device to be accessible by other electronic devices. For example, a particular user may desire to access content acquired by a mobile phone with a personal computer, set-top box, handheld device, and/or any other electronic device.
The user may additionally or alternatively desire to allow other users to access content owned or otherwise associated with the user. For example, a user may desire to share digital photographs, documents, and/or other content instances with other users. However, once a shared content instance has been downloaded by the other users, it is often difficult, if not impossible, for the owner of the content to revoke or otherwise control access to the downloaded content.

Key-based content management and access systems and methods


A method of identifying programs in a digital video communication system, consistent with certain embodiment of the present invention involve generating an auxiliary program association table (PAT) and an auxiliary program map table (PMT), wherein the auxiliary PAT and auxiliary PMT relate at least one program identifier (PID) to a program. The auxiliary PAT and auxiliary PMT are packetized and identified using a designated PID. The designated PID is encoded as private descriptor in a network information table (NIT) that is transmitted to the Set-top boxes (STB) over an out of band channel. The STBs have an out of band modem that receives a network information table (NIT). A NIT parser parses the NIT to obtain a designated program identifier (PID) for packets containing an auxiliary program association table (PAT) and an auxiliary program map table (PMT). A demultiplexer extracts packets containing the auxiliary PAT and auxiliary PMT based upon the designated PID to obtain PID values associated with programs for use in decoding and decrypting programs.

A conventional cable system arrangement is depicted in FIG. 1. In such a system, the cable operator processes audio/video (A/V) content 14 with conditional access (CA) technology from manufacturer A (system A) using CA encryption equipment 18 compliant with system A at the cable system-headend 22. The encrypted A/V content along with system information (SI) 26 and program specific information (PSI) 27 is multiplexed together and transmitted over the cable network 32 to a user's Set-top box (STB) or other receiver 36. STB 36 incorporates decrypting CA equipment from system A (manufacturer A) 40 that decrypts the A/V content. The decrypted A/V content can then be supplied to a television set 44 for viewing by the user.
In a cable system such as that of FIG. 1, digital program streams are broken into packets for transmission. Packets for each component of a program (video, audio, auxiliary data, etc.) are tagged with a packet identifier or PID. These packet streams for each component of all programs carried within a channel are aggregated into one composite stream. Additional packets are also included to provide decryption keys and other overhead information. Otherwise unused bandwidth is filled with null packets.
Since the encryption process defined by conditional access system A is proprietary to the manufacturer of the STB 36, it is difficult and expensive for a cable operator to utilize alternative sources for this hardware. Consequently, the cable or satellite operator may be locked in to a particular supplier for hardware.
The above-referenced commonly owned patent applications, and others, address this issue and therein describe inventions relating to various aspects of methods generally referred to herein as partial encryption or selective encryption. More particularly, systems are described therein wherein selected portions of a particular selection of digital content are encrypted using two (or more) encryption techniques while other portions of the content are left unencrypted. By properly selecting the portions to be encrypted, the content can effectively be encrypted for use under multiple decryption systems without the necessity of encryption of the entire selection of content. In some embodiments, only a few percent of data overhead is needed to effectively encrypt the content using multiple encryption systems. This results in a cable or satellite system being able to utilize Set-top boxes (STB) or other implementations of conditional access (CA) receivers from multiple manufacturers in a single system—thus freeing the cable or satellite company to competitively shop for providers of Set-top boxes.
In each of these disclosures, the content is carried in the clear using a primary Packet Identifier (PID). A secondary PID (or shadow PID) is also assigned to the program content. Selected portions of the content are then encrypted under two (or more) encryption systems and the encrypted content transmitted using both the primary and secondary PIDs (one PID or set of PIDs for each encryption system). The so-called legacy STBs operate in a normal manner decrypting encrypted packets arriving under the primary PID and ignoring secondary PIDs. The newer (non-legacy) STBs operate by associating both the primary and secondary PIDs with a single program. Packets with a primary PID are decoded normally and packets with a secondary PID are first decrypted then decoded. The packets associated with both PIDs are then assembled together to make up a single program stream. Certain embodiments consistent with the present invention address a mechanism for conveying the PIDs to the non-legacy STBs in a manner that does not disrupt the operation of legacy STBs or otherwise violate rules generally used for transmission of digital video signals to the legacy STBs.


A synthetic oil for the cooking and frying of foods which includes a hydrogenated oligomer of an alpha olefin having to 20 carbon atoms. The synthetic oil of the present invention is not readily digestible in mammals and provides a non-toxic, safe low-caloric, low-metabolic fat content substitute for vegetable oils.

As has been extensively documented, one of the leading nutritional problems in the United States today is obesity, which results from a consumption of calories in excess of those expended. A reduction of caloric intake can be significantly enhanced by a reduction in the intake of dietary fat, since fats provide approximately nine calories per gram as compared to four calories per gram provided by carbohydrates or protein. Studies have shown that fats contribute, on average, 30% to 40% of the total calories consumed by Americans [See e.g., H.L. Merten, J. Agr. Food Chem; 18:1002 (1970)]. Moreover, not only are dietary fats high in calories, but certain fats, consumed in large amounts, have been associated with heart disease and other problems.
Dietary fat is digested to free fatty acids and monoglycerides, primarily in the small intestine. The alpha-lipase steapsin cleaves the glycerol esters at the first and third positions, resulting in fatty acids of 6 to 10 carbon atoms and unsaturated fatty acids which are rapidly absorbed, while those of 12 to 18 carbon atoms are absorbed more slowly. Beta-monoglycerides are also absorbed in the small intestine. Approximately 95% of the total dietary fat is digested and absorbed in the small intestine.
Reducing fat consumption in the population at large, while highly desirable, is not easily achieved due to the fact that dietary habits are well entrenched. As such, much effort has been expended in recent years to develop low caloric fats or fat substitutes.
Several approaches have been taken to develop low calorie fat substitutes. One such approach is to reform the structure of natural triglycerides to retain their conventional properties in foods, while eliminating their tendency toward hydrolysis or subsequent absorption during digestion. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,579,548 and 4,582,715 disclose replacing the fatty acids attached to glycerol with alternate acids. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,613 which discloses inserting certain groups between the fatty acids and glycerol.
Another approach in developing low calorie fat substitutes has been to synthesize minimally or non-absorbable polymeric materials which, although being structurally dissimilar from triglycerides, possess physical properties similar to edible fat. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 519,980 discloses the use of mineral oil as a substitute material. Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,196 which discloses a polydextrose substitute, U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,794 which discloses both polymaltose and polyglucose substitutes, European Application No. 205,273, which discloses the use of a polysiloxane and East German Patent No. 207,070 which suggests the use of polyethylene polymeric materials.
A third approach explores the use of various polyol esters, that is, compounds which have numbers of fatty acid groups in excess of the three found in conventional fat triglycerides, as non-absorbable fat replacements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,774 discloses certain polyglycerol ester substitutes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,927 describes synthetic cooking oils containing dicarboxylic acid esters useful as low calorie synthetic oils suitable for consumption by mammals.
As mentioned above, U.S. Pat. No. 519,980 has described the use of mineral oil as a polymeric, minimally absorbable low calorie fat substitute. Petroleum-based white mineral oils are highly refined, water-white products made from lubricating oil distillates. These oils are complex mixtures of saturated hydrocarbons including straight chain, branched, ring structures and molecules containing all three configurations. White mineral oils typically have carbon numbers in the C.sub.15 through C.sub.30 range.
The relative number of saturated ring structures and straight or branched chain structures will determine whether the oil is characterized as naphthenic or paraffinic in nature. White mineral oils are obtained from the intensive treatment of a petroleum fraction with sulfuric acid or oleum, by hydrogenation, or by a combination of sulfuric acid treatment and hydrogenation. The petroleum fraction is obtained by atmospheric and vacuum distillation to isolate the desired boiling range and viscosity and then solvent treated and dewaxed to remove polar compounds aromatics and waxes.
While mineral oils are likely to be suitable for use as a low-calorie fat substitute in frying and cooking oil and for food use, there has been in recent years concern over the potential risk to human health arising from the use of petroleum-derived mineral oils as food additives and food lubricants. In February 1989, the United Kingdom Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recommended a ban on virtually all food applications of mineral hydrocarbons, including white mineral oils. The United Kingdom decision was based in large part upon toxicological findings reported recently with white oils in rats by the industry [P. Watts, Mineral hydrocarbons in food-a ban?, BIBRA Bulletin, 28: 59-65, (1989)]. Repeated administration of conventional white oils in the diet (over 90 days) has been found to lead to the accumulation of oil droplets in the lymph nodes, liver, spleen and other target tissues in the animals. At high doses, this is accompanied by granuloma formation that is considered to be toxicologically important. Hematological and clinical chemistry abnormalities were also observed in these studies which are indicative of probable adverse health effects. While many other animal studies have not produced similar effects and there have been only rare indications of adverse effects in humans despite the many years in which mineral oils have been used in food and medicinal preparations (e.g., laxatives), the use of petroleum-based products is expected to come under continued scrutiny. Concern over the health safety of white mineral oils indicates a need to consider alternative hydrocarbon materials such as synthetic polyalpha olefins as suitable non-toxic substitutes.
Because of the polymeric nature and the high molecular weight of hydrogenated polyalpha olefin materials, these synthetic oils are not expected to be readily absorbed when ingested orally. Digestion of these materials by intestinal lipasee is not expected since these materials are hydrocarbon-like in nature and lack ester functional groups. Moreover, the low absorbability of these materials is likely to be an important factor governing their safety and the absence of adverse effects. The minimal absorbability of hydrogenated polyalpha olefins also diminishes the likelihood of accumulation in the tissues and therefore reduces the chances of adverse effects (e.g., granuloma formation) in the tissues, thus leading to a safe, non-toxic and low caloric product. The notion of minimally absorbable or non-absorbable polymeric food additives and fat substitutes have been documented in the literature [J.P. Brown and T.M. Parkinson, Non-absorbable food additives through polymeric design, Drug Metabolism Reviews, 16: 389-422 (1985); R.J. Jandacek, Developing a fat substitute, ChemTech, 398-402 (July 1991)]and represents a rational approach towards developing safer substances for use in food and nutrition. There exists a need to apply this concept toward developing suitable synthetic hydrogenated polyalpha olefins that have use as a low-caloric and minimally absorbable and minimally digestible cooking and frying oil and fat substitute.
In addition, another important consideration in the development of synthetic cooking and frying oils is the boiling point of the synthetic material. While many of the above mentioned low calorie fat substitutes possess desirable characteristics when used at room temperature, they are not suitable as cooking and frying oils. For example, esters of malonic acid, and low molecular weight alcohols are known but are unsuitable for use as vegetable oil substitutes due to their low boiling points.
Therefore, there exists a need for temperature-stable, polymeric synthetic oils which are not readily digestible and not readily absorbable and which are suitable for use in the production of low-calorie fried and baked foods.

Synthetic polyalpha olefin cooking and frying oil


A subcutaneous access port for surgical implantation in the body of a mammal, such access port comprising a body portion defining a chamber with an open face, the body portion having attached thereto a biocompatible mesh material, whereby the subcutaneous access port may be fixed within the body by suturing or surgical stapling through the biocompatible mesh material.

The prior art is replete with numerous disclosures directed to percutaneous access/subcutaneous devices. As disclosed therein, such devices are useful when frequent or long-term access to the body is required, as in kidney dialysis, drug delivery, intravenous feeding, ostomies, and transmission of energy to intracorporeal or blood pumps. Typically, such access port devices are surgically implanted under the skin and generally include an outlet opening connected by means of a tubular conduit (catheter) system to a blood vessel within the body.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,278, there is described an access port for implantation within the body of a patient for providing repeated access to a specific site within the patient and communicating with the site by an implanted internal catheter. The access port includes a housing having an inlet orifice leading to a reduced diameter guide passageway. An external filament such as a needle, guidewire, optical fiber external catheter can be introduced into the access device, and fed through the housing. This system is said to allow for the introduction of therapeutic agents, the removal of fluids from the body, or the introduction of sensing and articulating devices to the specific site within the patient.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,168, there is described a subcutaneous implantable access port formed of a housing having a pair of non-circular fluid cavities enclosed therein by a floor, walls upstanding from the floor, and a self-sealing septum system above each fluid cavity. The access ports thereby provide a plurality of needle-penetrable, self-sealing septums, each affording repeated access to a corresponding plurality of distinct fluid cavities each in communication with a plural lumen catheter.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,638, there is reported a multi-chamber subcutaneously implantable infusion port and catheter assembly formed from a small number of plastic components that are easily injection molded and assembled. The components are constructed so that a catheter assembly is easily and securely bonded to the port. In addition, the '638 patent makes reference to the fact that the access port has an anchoring base made of flexible biocompatible materials such as silicon rubber.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,081 there is disclosed a percutaneous access device (PAD) for long term skin penetration and use as an access port in the body of a patient. The PAD is said to include a flat flange or skirt, formed from a semiflexible material such as a semirigid polyurethane. The skirt contains on its surface two "stages" or regions of biocompatible material. The first stage is described to be of biocompatible polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) having pore sizes of about 50-125 microns and a thickness of about 0.020 inches. Optional to PTFE, it is suggested that one can employ a polyurethane, such as "Tecoflex" filaments, which are said to have excellent cell attachment characteristics. The second stage is described as a dacron polyester woven fabric with loose strands to allow for cell infiltration. The '081 patent goes on to emphasize that there is a downgrowth of epidermal cells through the first stage and the formation of mature collagen in the second stage.
Attention is also directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,545, which describes a composite implantable biocompatible vascular access port for delivering a fluid medication, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,325, which discloses an areterial access port which is grafted directly into the vascular system. In addition, European Patent Application No. 90908334 describes an implantable vascular access device which includes a port said to be made of a biocompatible housing, and a septum which is also said to include a biocompatible, self-resealing, penetrable material.
However, as can be seen upon review of the above prior art, a significant drawback of the presently available skin penetration devices relates to the difficulty of attaching said devices by standard suturing procedures. Typically, in the skirt which surrounds the access devices of the prior art, small openings are provided to allow for anchoring of the PAD or subcutaneous device to the patient. This is best illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,393, which emphasizes that the PAD housing contains in the skirt or flange section thereof evenly spaced apertures which provides an opening that must be aligned with the suture needle for suturing the device to a layer of tissue when implanting. Accordingly, in the suturing of such devices, the physician has to make absolutely certain that suturing proceeds through these limited openings in order to guarantee that the PAD/subcutaneous device will be immobilized in the desired location. That being the case, current PAD/subcutaneous designs do not readily permit an easy and convenient method for implanting the PAD or subcutaneous device at a desired location within the body.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved percutaneous/subcutaneous access device, for vascular access, utilizing in lieu of standard sutures, an implantable, integral fabric, mesh material or perforated film of polymer or other biocompatible material. The material may be readily sutured or stapled into place at any position thereof without the need for surgical needle alignment, as noted above, and the implantable fabric can be integral to the device or placed over the device to retain it in the body.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a design configuration while having specific utility for the placement of a PAD or subcutaneous device, further provides a convenient method for immobilizing other types of medical devices in the body, such as a pacemaker.


A high-frequency, high-voltage electron switch includes an electron source, a steering mechanism, a mask or anode plate, and a target. The electron source produces a beam of electrons with a voltage of at least about 1 kV that impinges upon the anode plate. The steering mechanism scans the electron beam across the anode plate at a scanning frequency of at least about 10 MHz. A hole or aperture is provided in the anode plate that allows the electron beam to pass through and produce a pulsed, high-voltage current in the target with a very high-frequency repetition rate and a very fast rise time. The pulsed, high-voltage current produced in the target can be used to cause a high-voltage source to turn on and off.

The invention relates generally to a device to switch electrical current, and in particular, to an electron switch that switches electrical current at a high voltage (tens of kilovolts), over sub-nanosecond rise times, and at repetition rates of tens of megahertz.
The cathode ray tube (CRT) was invented by German physicist Karl Ferdinand Braun in 1897. The CRT is the display device that was first used for computer displays, video monitors, televisions, radar displays and oscilloscopes. The CRT developed from Philo Farnsworth's work was used in all television sets until the 1990s and the development of practical plasma screens, liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions, digital light processing (DLP), organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, and other technologies. As a result of CRT technology, television has acquired the moniker "the tube" even when referring to non-CRT sets.
A cathode ray tube technically refers to any electronic vacuum tube employing a focused beam of electrons. Cathode rays exist in the form of streams of high speed electrons emitted from the heating of a cathode inside a vacuum tube at its rear end. The emitted electrons form a beam within the tube due to the voltage difference applied across the two electrodes. The beam is then perturbed (deflected) either by a magnetic or an electric field, to trace over ("scan") the inside surface of the screen (anode). The screen is covered with a phosphorescent coating (often transition metals or rare earth elements), which emits visible light when excited by the electrons.
In television sets and modern computer monitors, the entire front area of the tube is scanned systematically in a fixed pattern called a raster. An image is produced by modulating the intensity of the electron beam with a received video signal (or another signal derived from it). In all modern television sets, the beam is deflected with a magnetic field applied to the neck of the tube with a "magnetic yoke", a set of wire coils driven by electronic circuits. This usage of electromagnets to change the electron beam's original direction is known as "magnetic deflection".
The source of the electron beam is the electron gun, which produces a stream of electrons through thermionic emission (also known as the Edison effect), and focuses the electrons into a thin beam. The gun is located in the narrow, cylindrical neck at the extreme rear of a cathode ray tube (CRT), and has electrical connecting pins, usually arranged in a circular configuration, extending from its end. These pins provide external connections to the cathode, to various grid elements in the gun used to focus and modulate the beam, and, in electrostatic deflection CRTs, to the deflection plates. Because the CRT is a hot-cathode device, these pins also provide connections to one or more filament heaters with the electron gun. The electron beam is typically modulated at frequencies of about 1 MHz. The electron beam can also be produced using cold emission. In this case, a single or multiple sharp radius conductors are energized at high enough voltage in vacuum to create an electron emission into vacuum. The electrons are then accelerated similarly to a CRT.
The high voltage (EHT) used for accelerating the electrons is provided by a transformer. For CRTs used in televisions, this is usually a flyback transformer that steps up the line (horizontal) deflection supply to as much as 32 kV for a color tube (Monochrome tubes and specialty CRTs may operate at much lower voltages). The output of the transformer is rectified and the pulsating output voltage is smoothed by a capacitor formed by the tube itself (the accelerating anode being one plate, the glass being the dielectric, and the grounded (earthed) coating on the outside of the tube being the other plate). In the earliest televisions, before the invention of the flyback transformer design, a linear high-voltage supply was used because these supplies were capable of delivering much more current at their high voltage than flyback high voltage systems. However, in the case of an accident, they proved extremely deadly. The flyback circuit design addressed this; in the case of a fault, the flyback system delivers relatively little current, making a person's chance of surviving a direct shock from the high voltage anode lead more hopeful (though by no means guaranteed).
For use in an oscilloscope, the design is somewhat different. Rather than tracing out a raster, the electron beam is directly steered along an arbitrary path, while its intensity is kept constant. In time-domain mode, the usual mode, the horizontal deflection is proportional to time (measured out by a "sweep oscillator" in the oscilloscope, visually progressing across the screen at a constant rate), and the vertical deflection is proportional to the measured signal(s). In the less-common X-Y mode, both the horizontal and vertical deflections are proportional to measured signals. The electron gun is always centered in the tube neck; the problem of ion production is either ignored or mitigated by using an aluminized screen.
Tubes designed for oscilloscope use are longer and narrower than tubes designed for raster scan use, greatly reducing the maximum deflection angle required. This allows for the use of electrostatic deflection instead of magnetic deflection. In this case, deflection is caused by applying an electrical field via deflection plates built into the tube's neck. This method allows the electron beam to be steered much more rapidly than with a magnetic field, where the inductance of the electromagnets imposes relatively severe limits on the maximum frequency in the signal that can be accurately represented. The reduced deflection angle also removes any need for dynamic focusing of the electron beam (which would be difficult to accomplish at the required high deflection speeds). Finally, the limited angle makes it much easier to ensure that the beam deflection produced is a linear function of the signal being traced.
To date, there are no devices that provide a multi-kilovolt pulse of at least 1 kV, a repetition rate exceeding 10 MHz and a nanosecond rise time. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a switching device that produces high-voltage pulses, high-frequency repetition rates and nanosecond rise times.

High-frequency, high-voltage electron switch


Embodiments of putter-type golf club heads with adjustable loft and lie and methods of manufacturing of the same with adjustable loft and lie are generally described herein. These embodiments relate in particular to a putter-type club head with an adjustment portion that allows a user to change the loft and lie. The separate adjustment portions of the putter-type club head can couple the upper hosel to the body at a plurality of positions. An insert part of the adjustment portion has an upper section for receiving the upper hosel portion, a middle section, and a lower hosel portion. The sections of the adjustment portion can be coupled together by a fastener so that the sections are rotationally movable.

Golf clubs may be fitted to an individual based on the type of golf club, the individual's physical characteristics and/or the individual's play style. Depending on the individual's physical characteristics and play style, a golf club having a certain lie angle and loft angle may be selected to provide optimum performance for the individual. Accordingly, each individual may require a golf club having a certain lie and loft to fit the physical characteristics and the play style of the individual.

Golf clubs with adjustable loft and lie and methods of manufacturing golf clubs with adjustable loft and lie


A memory device and method of operating the memory device are provided. The memory device has bitcells arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. Row driver circuitry provides access to the array of bitcells by selection of an access row of the plurality of rows. The row driver circuitry comprises a retention control latch to store a retention control value and row power gating circuitry responsive to a retention signal to power gate at least one row when the retention control value has a first value and to leave the at least one row powered when the retention control value has a second value. Row-based retention of the content of the bit cells is thus provided, and the leakage current of the memory device when it is in a retention (e.g. sleep) mode, and only some of its rows contain valid data, can thus be reduced.

Values stored in the bitcells of a memory device may be retained when the memory device goes into a retention mode, in which the device shuts down into a low power mode to reduce its power consumption whilst it is not in active use and then later returns to an active data processing mode in which the data values retained during the retention mode can once again be accessed and processed. This may for example be supported by providing the memory device with a power gating switch enabling the bitcells of the memory device to be coupled to and decoupled from a power rail. For example an SRAM memory device may be put into a retention mode in which, whilst not operationally accessible, the memory content is nevertheless retained by all bitcells of the RAM by means of such coupling being enabled.


Scale-out of a controller and application migration consider the application status, laws and rules of a scale-out destination, and a resource usage status. If an operation status exceeds a threshold value, an administrative server for a computer system of a storage system calculates a first index for each execution target, including an application, a virtual machine, or a container operating in the computer system, based on information about cost, credibility, or performance when the execution target is migrated to, and caused to operate in, another computer system, and indexing information indicating laws or rules applied to the computer system using indexes. A second index indicating, as a dimensionless quantity, the selection degree of another computer system as a migration destination of the execution target is acquired. A migration destination of the execution target is decided from among other computer systems based on the first index and/or the second index.

For example, PTL 1 discloses that "a load distribution apparatus includes: a utilization-rate means that acquires a resource utilization rate in a first cloud and a resource utilization rate of virtual machines operating in the first cloud; and a virtual-machine management means that, when the resource utilization rate of the virtual machines exceeds a predetermined first threshold value, activates new virtual machines in a second cloud if the resource utilization rate of the first cloud exceeds a second predetermined threshold value, and activates new virtual machines in the first cloud if the resource utilization rate in the second cloud is less than the second threshold value.

Storage system and load distribution method for storage system


Food products and methods of production, specifically RTE cereals of reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness and methods of production are provided. The present invention relates to RTE cereals of reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness without increasing the amount of total sugar of the cereal piece. By reducing the amount of sugar in the base cereal mix and adding a substantially equivalent amount as a coating, the cereal piece exhibits reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness.

The present invention relates to ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal products. More specifically, the present invention relates to an RTE cereal of reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness and methods of production. The invention can also find useful application in other foods, especially those which are provided as a collection of individual pieces.
RTE cereals come in a wide variety of classes. Among these classes are puffed or unpuffed, and frosted (e.g., sugar coated) or unfrosted. Similarly, RTE cereals are prepared from a variety of different base cereal mixes. The most common ingredients include grain flour, salt and sugar or other sweeteners. The grain flour usually comes from wheat, corn, oats, barley, and rye. A variety of sugars and other sweeteners are used in the preparation of almost all RTE cereals to impart sweetness to the finished cereal product. Additional flavor may be imparted depending on the particular sweetener used. Brown sugar for example provides a different flavor than refined or processed sugar. In addition, the amount of sugar can also vary greatly with some cereals containing less than 10% and others containing over 40% sugar by weight. While many cereals have all the sugar incorporated into the base cereal mix, some RTE cereals add sugar as a coating in addition to any sugar contained in the base cereal mix.
Typical unfrosted cereals of the type of interest to this invention are made from a base cereal mix containing about 75% by weight of flour, about 14% by weight of processed white sugar/brown sugar mix, and lesser quantities of other ingredients such as maltodextrin, salt, vitamins, minerals, colors and preservatives. These dry ingredients are metered into an extruder along with some water. Typically, the dry ingredients and water are mixed in the extruder, thereby forming a dough. The ensuing dough is extruded at high pressure to form an expanded rope of cereal which is then cut into pieces. The pieces are then dried in a continuous oven and packaged.
Most consumers enjoy cereals with a sweetened flavor; however there are disadvantages to making cereals with too much sugar or artificial sweeteners. First, consumers are more health conscious and try to avoid refined sugars and other simple carbohydrates. In addition, consumers are mindful of avoiding excess calories. Furthermore, highly sweetened cereals have a negative connotation as being children's cereal. Lastly, base cereal mixes that contain large amounts of sugar or artificial sweetener have been found to cause the resulting cereal piece to be undesirably dense. The problem with reducing or eliminating sugar entirely is that the resulting RTE cereal has a very bland flavor and most consumers do not want to take the time and trouble to add their own sugar to the cereal.
In order to provide a pleasingly sweet RTE cereal and yet satisfy the concerns of these consumers, some manufacturers use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar to sweeten the cereal. While the use of artificial sweeteners solves the problem of consuming excess calories, long-term artificial sweetener use may have other deleterious effects on health. In addition, the use of artificial sweeteners may not resolve the problem of undesirably dense cereal pieces.
The invention addresses these matters and determines it is advantageous to produce an RTE cereal with increased perceived sweetness without increasing the amount of sugar. Furthermore, the invention recognizes it would also be desirable to produce a less dense RTE cereal without having to reduce total sugar. Moreover, the invention recognizes it would be highly advantageous to produce an RTE cereal with reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness while keeping the total amount of sugar substantially unchanged.
It has been determined that by reducing the amount of sugar in the base cereal mix by a certain amount and by adding an approximately equal amount of sugar as a coating, an RTE cereal with reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness is produced without having to increase the total amount of sugar in the cereal piece.

Food products of reduced density and increased perceived sweetness and process of production


A probe (S) for the extraction of gas from a process environment comprises a tubular element (2), which can be positioned within the process environment. This tubular element has at one end a gas aspiration opening (TS) and defines an internal cavity (CA) by which the interior of the process environment can be put into fluid communication with a gas take off system. The probe further includes a second tubular element (1) extending into the interior of the cavity of the first tubular element (2). This second tubular element has one end (UG) disposed at the aspiration opening end (that is to say the process environment side), formed in such a way as to inject the said accelerated gaseous fluid towards the aspiration opening of the first tubular element (2) and from there back to the process environment. Also envisaged is a system for the extraction of gas from a process environment which can be coupled to the probe, comprising a circuit (40, C) aspirating the gas from the process environment through the cavity (CA) of the first tubular element of the probe (2), and a circuit (50, C) for re-injecting the said gas into the same process environment through the second tubular element of the probe (1).

The present invention relates in general to systems for the regulation and control of chemical processes which involve the production of gas, for example processes in cement furnaces.
Systems are known for the extraction of gases from a furnace, provided with probes to be mounted within the furnace, in which the gases extracted are conveyed to analyser devices.
For the extraction of the gases such systems utilise a small pump of low power and low pressure, in suction (through the probe). This implies treating the gases hot/moist, giving rise to corrosive acids which attack the couplings, the tubes and the various components involved in the flow of gas, aggravating the situation. For the purpose of avoiding the precipitation of condensate in the system (because it draws in hot/moist gas), it is necessary to heat the aspiration tube, the filter and the tube but with declining results (problems of packing, acids etc).
The probes further have serious problems of blockage of the gas aspiration tube, which make operation unreliable.
Moreover, in traditional probes the filtering of dust is achieved solely by the filter which is overloaded and becomes clogged. The cleaning of the probe is achieved by a washing cycle with compressed air (programmable) but often it is insufficient fully to restore it and, moreover, this introduces contamination into the gas to be analysed.
Because of these problems the values of the furnace gas analysis are approximate and irregular, leading to a misunderstanding of a correct management of the line, especially in the presence of alternative fuels. With these latter, even the best probes currently in commercial use show their limits. Only by meticulous and continuous surveillance and maintenance by man is it possible to obtain results, which even then are only just sufficient.

Probe and system for extracting gases from a process environment


The present disclosure provides an apparatus for and method of generating a context category dataset. According to some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a context category dataset generating apparatus and method which predict a context category to which a user-inputted hashtag belongs, receive from the user the user's context category to which the hashtag belongs, and generate and update the context category dataset.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and do not necessarily constitute prior art.
Natural language processing technologies are advancing along with applications such as text generation, natural language generation, and intelligent agents. Yet, difficulties persist in providing a dataset capable of designing and training models used in natural language processing and applications.
One of the methods of generating a dataset capable of designing or training a model is to use a crowdsourcing method. A compound word of crowd and outsourcing, crowdsourcing means engaging the public in various production activities, including data collection. Crowdsourcing can shorten the time spent in the production process by engaging the majority in production activities.
However, the crowdsourcing method takes cost and time in proportion to the size of the data to be generated, and recently, there are increasing attempts to employ the method of producing a dataset by using machine prediction of an artificial intelligence (AI) model. However, a dataset generated by machine prediction is disadvantageously lower in accuracy than that of a dataset generated through classifying or labeling by a human in person.
Accordingly, in recent years, the classification or labeling of data by using a human-machine collaboration method has been introduced. This human-machine collaboration takes place in the form of a machine preemptively presenting the classification or labeling prediction result which is then reviewed by a human. This collaboration method is expected to be particularly helpful in the technical field related to natural language processing and applications described above in that it uses feedback from humans.
Therefore, there is a need to devise a dataset generation method for natural language classification by using a human-machine collaboration method.

Method and apparatus for generating context category dataset

KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


An optical control device includes a semiconductor laser that generates a light according to a drive current, a light amount detecting unit that detects a light amount of the light generated by the semiconductor laser; and a controller that controls the drive current to adjust the light amount to a target value by referring to a referring number of detection results of the light amount by the light amount detecting unit. The referring number at a time when the controller starts the drive current flowing is smaller than the referring number after the detection result of the light amount reaches a predetermined value.

There is an optical control device including: a semiconductor laser which generates a laser beam according to a drive current; a light amount detecting unit that detects a light amount of the laser beam generated by the semiconductor laser; and a controller that controls the drive current so as to adjust the light amount to a target value by referring to the light amount detected by the light amount detecting unit. In this type of optical control device, the light amount of a laser beam generated by the semiconductor laser can be adjusted to the target value.
For this type of device, to eliminate droop characteristics and noise of the semiconductor laser, JP-A-7-125305 discloses that every light amounts obtained by unblanking APC in the first line are stored and every values including values obtained by the APC at the beginning are averaged and the average is set as a light amount set value for the second line.
However, if the above-described control according to JP-A-7-125305 is performed when the drive current starts flowing, the light amount change is made less distinct and the time until the light amount reaches the target value becomes long.
An optical control device includes a switching unit that draws the drive currents into an energizing path that does not pass through the semiconductor laser. In the optical control device, even when the semiconductor laser to be turned off, the drive current is made to flow into the semiconductor laser by the switching unit at a time when the semiconductor laser emits light without influence on other devices, in order to detect a light amount to be referred. However, the light amount immediately after the drive current made to flow into the semiconductor laser is unstable due to fluctuation such as overshoot. However, in some cases, it is difficult to continue emitting light from the semiconductor laser until the light amount becomes stable. If the drive current is controlled by referring to the light amount detected in a period in which the light amount is unstable as described above, there is a possibility that the light amount of the laser beam generated from the semiconductor laser cannot be satisfactorily controlled to the target value.


A network system for recovering from a link failure in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service comprises: a first media gateway having a current link setting and transmitting a corresponding packet upwardly for the VoIP service; a second media gateway which is link-connected to the same remote terminal as the first media gateway for the VoIP service; a media gateway controller for allocating the second media gateway for link resetting, and for transmitting allocation information when receiving failure information of a link set through the first media gateway; and a router for determining whether a packet transmitted from the first media gateway is received within a set time to determine whether there is a failure of the set link, for transmitting the link failure information to the media gateway controller, and for resetting the link to the second media gateway according to the allocation information transmitted from the media gateway controller when there is a link failure. A method for recovering from a link failure in a VoIP serviced comprises steps corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service and, more particularly, to a network system and method which detour-connect a link for rapid link failure recovery when a link set for VoIP service fails.
2. Related Art
VoIP service is a voice communication service in a communication network like the Internet, which service employs an Internet protocol as a basic communication protocol. A phone for the voice communication service is called an Internet phone or Internet telephone. Due to the rapid commercialization and global spread of the Internet, VoIP service has become a common name for voice service in a voice over packet network (VoPN). In the future, if wire and wireless communication networks are integrated based on Internet protocol, VoIP service will be necessarily employed in most Internet services, such as e-mail, electronic commerce, teleconferencing, and home shopping, as well as voice calling.
There are three types of VoIP service: phone-to-phone, web-to-phone, and web-to-web, where web means an Internet phone.
The present invention relates to routing resetting for VoIP calling when a network failure occurs in an all-in-one system that employs a distributed media gateway.
With gradual diversification and specialization, VoIP gateways have developed from a form in which a signaling gateway is combined with a media gateway into a form that can be configured in mutually different networks. Assisted by the advent of a media gateway control protocol (MGCP) and the introduction of the concept of a media sever, diversification has led to a situation wherein there are various types of media gateways.
The VoIP gateway has advantages due to its various services and service expandability, but it may cause phenomena such as call setup failure and media transmission failure, depending on the reliability of the network. For this reason, the operational status of the media gateway is checked by checking a link between the media gateway controller and the media gateway, and the media gateway controller employs the operational status information to use a valid media gateway, thereby providing reliable VoIP service.
However, the media gateway controller does not take any action to ensure that the operational status during the link check time is reliable, or to prevent failure of the media gateway during VoIP service.
In the case of a VoIP service network which includes a media gateway controller and a media gateway, a link between the media gateway controller and the media gateway is checked to detect a link failure of the media gateway controller for detour connection, but there is a problem in that it is impossible to perform detour connection for a voice session that is currently connected.
Due to the limited time available to check the link between the media gateway controller and the media gateway, the link failure cannot be checked during a predetermined time period. If a short link check time is set to rapidly detect the link failure, the result is an excessive load on the media gateway, and thus it is difficult to efficiently use the media gateway controller to its full performance.

Network system and method for link failure recovery


A pivot punch that has no explicit pivot point. In one embodiment, the tool includes a die, a punch holder pressable along a path toward the die and a punch supported by the punch holder. The punch extends through and is pivotable in an opening in the holder to move the lower part of the punch laterally toward the center of the die. In another embodiment, the upper part of the punch is held tightly in the holder. The lower part of the punch is flexible to move laterally toward the center of the die. A pivot punch that has no explicit pivot point. The punch is flexible and the punch pivot is permitted by the flexibility of the punch.

Many semiconductor devices, which are sometimes referred to as integrated circuit chips, are enclosed in a plastic, ceramic or similar protective material as part of the finished semiconductor package. Typically, a series of conductive leads project out from the protective material. The leads connect the chip to external circuits on a printed circuit board. The conductive leads are plugged in or soldered to the printed circuit board. Many different types of packages are commonly used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. For example, single in line packages (SIPs) have a single row of conductive leads. Dual in line packages (DIPs) have two rows of leads. SIPs and DIPs are mounted on a printed circuit board by inserting the leads through holes in the board. By contrast, the leads of surface mounted packages are soldered to the printed circuit board. Small outline J lead packages (SOJs) with J shaped leads and thin small outlined packages (TSOPs) with gull wing shaped leads are examples of surface mounted packages.
At the end of the semiconductor manufacturing process, and after the chip has been enclosed in protective material, the conductive leads are trimmed and formed into the desired shape. Because molded plastic packages are the most common, the trim and form operations used in the manufacture of molded plastic packages will be described to provide further background for the invention. The individual semiconductor chips are attached to a metal lead frame. The number of frames on a strip depends on the size of the package, the spacing of the chips and the length of the strip. The chips on each lead frame strip are processed together. Thus, it is desirable to increase the number of chips on a leadframe strip to increase the capacity of the processing equipment. After the chips are encapsulated in plastic, the lead frame strip is conveyed through a series of presses in which excess plastic is cut from the package (called deflash), the resin dams are cut (called dedambar--the resin dams are bars in each lead frame that prevent the molten plastic from flowing out along the protruding conductive leads), and then the leads are cut from the lead frame (called leadshear). The leads are usually bent into the desired shape just before or after the leadshear.
The package is trimmed and the leads formed by moving the lead frame strips through a lead forming tool called a press, or a series of presses. Each press includes a die and a punch or a series of dies and punches. As a punch is pressed against a die (or, in some cases, the die is raised up against the punch), the semiconductor package is deflashed, dedambarred, leadsheared and the leads formed in the lead bending steps. During lead bending, shear forces tend to weaken or damage the leads. Also, the punch tends to slide across and scrape the surface of the leads. Tin, lead, palladium and other surface plating materials are often used on the conductive leads to improve the physical and electrical characteristics of the leads. Some of the plating material may be scraped off during lead bending. In addition to adversely effecting the characteristics of the lead, this plating material collects on the die and punch. As a result, the punch and die must be cleaned or replaced periodically.
In an effort to minimize damage to the leads and to reduce maintenance on the punch and die, some lead forming tools use a "pivot punch" instead of a straight punch. A pivot punch pivots into the leads as it is pressed into the die to reduce shear forces on and minimize surface damage to the leads. In a conventional pivot punch, the punch rotates on a pin. Although conventional pivot punches can be effective to reduce shear forces and minimize surface damage, they are not well suited to closely spaced chips on the lead frame strips. The "pitch" of a lead frame strip reflects the spacing of the lead frames and corresponds to the spacing of the semiconductor chips on each strip. For example, in a 0.6 inch pitch lead frame strip, each chip is spaced 0.6 inches from the adjacent chips. It would be difficult and expensive to fabricate and assemble a conventional pivot punch that would work well in this high pitch lead frame strip. The conventional pivot punch components would, in any event, be very fragile and unlikely to function effectively in production.