A gas fired infrared radiation emitter which contains a back-body provided with a distributor, a primary radiator having a combustion surface, and frame which contains four receptacles, each of which is integrally connected to the frame. A screen is removably attached to the frame receptacles by means of two bars, each of which is disposed within the receptacles and is free to move within the receptacles in either direction for a distance of at least about 0.15 inches. Stop surfaces are provided, however, for limiting the amount of longitudinal movement of the bars within the receptacles. The bars each have a length which does not exceed the length of the frame; and they can readily be removed from the receptacles.

Gas fired infrared radiation emitters are widely used in the pulp and paper industry for the drying of coatings on moving cellulosic webs. These emitters are well known; thus, for example, one such emitter is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,361 of Daniel M. Lavigne et al.
The prior art infrared radiation emitters often contain a reverberating screen (or "grating") which increases the radiant power output of the emitter while simultaneously protecting the primary radiating surface from contamination. In some of the prior art embodiments, the screen is integrally connected to the emitter; thus, in these embodiments, when the screen fails due to excessive temperature, contamination, and/or normal wear and tear, the entire emitter must be replaced. When this occurs, not only must one bear the expense of a brand new emitter, but one loses a substantial amount of production time while replacing the emitter.
In the device disclosed in Belgium patent 09501070, an emitter with a removable grating is disclosed (see, e.g., column 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,361). However, as the patentees of U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,361 disclosed, the device of such Belgium patent was essentially inoperable in that "During tests at high temperatures this radiant however exhibited a risk of the grating falling, such fall then necessitating stopping the drying installation " (see lines 29-31 of Column 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,361).
The expressed objective of U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,361 is to remedy the screen falling problem. Thus, at lines 10-40 of Column 7 of such patent, it is disclosed that "The heat emitter . . . represented in FIGS. 1 through 4 has numerous advantages . . . . These advantages are . . . . The risk of the screen or grating falling is almost nil."
However, despite this expressed objective, none of the embodiments depicted in this patent in fact contained a removable screen which did not fall during high temperature use. Heat emitters corresponding to the claimed embodiments in this patent were sold by IDS International, Inc. of Windsor Locks, Connecticut under the name of "OPTIRAY GAS EMITTER "; however, during high temperature use of these emitters (in excess of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit), a substantial number of the removable screens on such emitters invariably fell off.
It is an object of this invention to provide a gas fired infrared emitter with a removable screen which does not fall off during high temperature use.
It is another object of this invention to provide a gas fired infrared emitter whose radiant output is substantially higher than prior art emitters.


Methods and systems of providing a rating of a recruiter are disclosed herein. A plurality of job listings to be posed is received from a recruiter. One or more modifications of at least one of the plurality of job listings are received within a period of time. A modification rate indicative of a rate at which a recruiter modifies job listings is calculated. The modification rate can be calculated by dividing the number of the one or more modifications by the number of the plurality of job listings posted by the recruiter. A recruiter profile can be tagged with a high modification indicator if the calculated modification rate is higher than a predetermined modification threshold.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to job listing services. In particular, it relates to systems and methods of monitoring recruiter activity, reputation, and combating abuse.
2. General Background
Job listing providers generally provide searchable databanks of job listings related to employment opportunities and openings. In the current generation of online job listing services, listing service providers provide job searching capabilities to jobseekers based on search keywords entered by the jobseeker. In addition, listing service providers allows recruiters to post job listings for employment opportunities. Job postings are generally listed by the order of the posting date in order to present to the jobseeker the newest jobs listings. In an attempt to keep their listings at the top of search results, recruiters frequently repost jobs. This can result in old job listings being at the top of search results while genuinely new job postings are relegated less visible positions within a search result list.

Systems and methods for recruiter rating


A computer-implemented method for notifying users of endpoint devices about blocked downloads may include (1) detecting, at a networking device, at least one attempt by an endpoint device to download a file from an external network, (2) determining that the networking device has already blocked at least one previous attempt to download the file from the external network based at least in part on at least one potential policy violation associated with the file, (3) directing the networking device to block the attempt by the endpoint device to download the file from the external network, and then (4) providing the endpoint device with at least one notification indicating that the attempt by the endpoint device to download the file has been blocked based at least in part on the potential policy violation associated with the file. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Computer networks often include a network security filter that filters network traffic to identify and block malicious data transfers. For example, a computer network may include a network security filter installed on a gateway device that facilitates data transfers between one or more endpoint devices and the Internet. In this example, while filtering network traffic at the gateway device, the network security filter may receive a request from a user of an endpoint device to download a file from the Internet. Upon receiving the user's request to download the file, the network security filter may perform one or more security analyses (such as an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) analysis, an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) analysis, an antivirus analysis, and/or a firewall analysis) on the file to determine whether the file poses a potential security risk to the endpoint device.
In the event that the security analyses indicate that the file poses a potential security risk to the endpoint device, the network security filter may direct the gateway device to block the download. Unfortunately, the user of the endpoint device may be unaware that the download was actually blocked instead of simply failing due to one or more technical issues. Since the user of the endpoint device may be unaware that the download was actually blocked, the user may continue his or her attempts to download the file without success.
What is needed, therefore, are systems and methods for notifying users of endpoint devices about blocked downloads such that the users know to discontinue their attempts to download files that include potentially malicious content.

Systems and methods for notifying users of endpoint devices about blocked downloads


Blends of poly(caprolactone) and poly(vinyl chloride) have been found to have good dye permeability. They have been incorporated into photothermographic constructions as barrier interlayers and dye-receiving layers.

High quality three color photothermographic silver halide (i.e., dry silver) imaging constructions based on diffusion transfer of imaging dyes from imaging layers to a strippable image-receiving layer are known in the art. Those multilayer constructions require barrier interlayers between the imaging layers to prevent penetration of upper layers into the lower layers during solvent coating and drying operations, and to prevent crosstalk during development of the latent image following exposure. However, the barrier interlayers must also allow transfer of imaging dyes (formed during development) by diffusion to the image-receiving layer.
It is also desirable that the polymer coated as the image-receiving layer have high permeability to imaging dyes. In full color dry silver constructions, the various imaging dyes often have widely different chemical structures and, therefore, quite different tendencies to migrate in polymer films.
Dry silver compositions or emulsions are photothermographic compositions, and contain a light-insensitive, reducible silver source; a light-sensitive silver source; and a reducing agent for the light-insensitive, reducible silver source. The light-sensitive material is generally photographic silver halide, which must be in catalytic proximity to the light-insensitive, reducible silver source. Catalytic proximity requires an intimate physical association of these two materials so that when silver specks or nuclei are generated by the irradiation or light exposure of the photographic silver halide, those nuclei are able to catalyze the reduction of the light-insensitive, reducible silver source by the reducing agent. It has been long understood that silver (Ag.degree.) is a catalyst for the reduction of silver ions and the silver-generating light-sensitive silver halide catalyst progenitor may be placed into catalytic proximity with the silver source in a number of different fashions, such as by partial metathesis of the light-insensitive, reducible silver source with a halogen-containing source, coprecipitation of silver halide and light-insensitive, reducible silver source material, and other methods that intimately associate the silver halide and the silver source.
In both photographic and photothermographic emulsions, exposure of the photographic silver halide to light produces small clusters of silver atoms. The image-wise distribution of these clusters is known in the art as a latent image. This latent image generally is not visible by ordinary means, and the light-sensitive article must be further processed to produce a visual image. The visual image is produced by the catalytic reduction of silver ions, which are in catalytic proximity to the silver halide grains bearing the latent image.
Typically, in color dry silver imaging systems a leuco dye is incorporated as a reducing agent for the light-insensitive, reducible silver source, generally in combination with a spectral sensitizer for the silver halide. The leuco dye is oxidized to form a dye upon development, thereby giving a colored image. In full color constructions, spectrally-sensitized emulsion layers containing yellow, magenta, and cyan leuco dyes are typically coated onto a substrate and separated by one or more barrier interlayers.
Residual silver stain is a major problem with dry silver color constructions known in the art. This has been overcome by causing the developed dye image to diffuse from the dry silver layer to an image-receiving layer that is then stripped from the emulsion layer(s). In this case, a barrier interlayer must serve the dual roles of separating the chemistry of neighboring emulsion layers, and allowing diffusion of the dye image under thermal processing conditions.
Depending on the particular ingredients of a given dry silver layer, the development may be best carried out, for example, under acidic or basic conditions.
When multiple dry silver layers with incompatible developing chemistries are employed, it is very difficult to keep development conditions within the dry silver layer from affecting the development of nearby or adjacent dry silver layers. As a result, it is advantageous to coat dry silver layers with different developing conditions on opposite sides of a transparent substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,307 discloses a heat developable photographic material that produces a pure and stable dye image by the oxidation-reduction reaction between a reducible organic silver salt and a leuco dye reducing agent wherein the dye image formed is transferred to an image-receiving layer by continuing the heating for development to separate the dye image formed from the silver images and other residual chemicals. However, this material is not capable of producing a multiple color or full color image on the same substrate.
The generation of color dry silver images has been accomplished using microencapsulated constructions and tri-pack (yellow/magenta/cyan) multilayer constructions, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,883,747 and 4,923,792. The cited patents above employed S-97 Gantrez.TM. polystyrene, 523 Vinol.TM. partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl acetate, and B-76 Butvar.TM. polyvinyl butyral as barrier interlayers. These constructions generally have substantial silver and sensitizer stain present that affects the image color separation. The stain problem can be overcome by causing the developed dye image to diffuse from the image-forming layers into a receptor layer that is subsequently stripped from the rest of the construction. The success of this type of approach hinges in large part on the barrier interlayers between the image-forming layers of the tri-pack construction selectively permitting migration of the image-forming dyes while controlling the migration of other image-forming layer components, particularly leuco dyes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,240 shows multiple layers in column 22, lines 7 to 65 and column 23, lines 1 to 57. Interlayers of polyvinyl alcohol are used to preserve the integrity of the color-forming layers. Other hydrophilic polymers, such as gelatin, are also useful. The use of other synthetic polymeric binders alone or in combination as vehicles or binding agents in various layers is also disclosed. Useful resins such as polyvinyl butyral, cellulose acetate butyrate, polymethyl methacrylate, ethyl cellulose, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, chlorinated rubber, butadiene-styrene copolymers, and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers are also disclosed.
Multicolor photothermographic imaging articles are known in the art with the various color-forming layers separated from each other by functional or nonfunctional barrier layers between the various photosensitive layers. Photothermographic articles having at least two or three distinct color image-forming layers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,021,240 and 4,460,681.
A process for forming an image in which mobile dyes are released by using the coupling reaction of a reducing agent oxidized by an oxidation-reduction reaction with silver halide or an organic silver salt at high temperature has been described in European Patent No. 79,056, West German Patent No. 3,217,853 and European Patent No. 67,455.
Copending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/775,193 discloses multicolor dry silver imaging constructions that require dye diffusion to an image-receiving layer. No mention is made in that application to the specific polymers employed herein, or to the particular advantages obtained by their use.
Copending U.S. application Ser. Nos. 07/895,045, 07/870,916, and 07/871,005 disclose various dye diffusive dry silver articles employing vinylidene chloride-containing copolymers as interlayer materials for selective dye diffusion.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


An arrangement and process for producing a circuit arrangement is disclosed. The process includes having a layer arrangement, in which two electrically conductive interconnects running substantially parallel to one another are formed on a substrate. At least one auxiliary structure is formed on the substrate and between the two interconnects, running in a first direction, which first direction includes an angle of between 45 degrees and 90 degrees with a connecting axis of the interconnects, running orthogonally with respect to the two interconnects, the at least one auxiliary structure being produced from a material which allows the at least one auxiliary structure to be selectively removed from a dielectric layer. The dielectric layer is formed between the two interconnects, in such a manner that the at least one auxiliary structure is at least partially covered by the dielectric layer.

Electrically insulating layers are required for many applications in semiconductor technology, in particular when forming integrated circuits in semiconductor substrates (for example in silicon substrates). If insulation layers are formed in an integrated circuit in which electrically conductive regions, in particular electrically conductive interconnects, are also included, coupling capacitances may result between adjacent interconnects and a dielectric layer arranged between them. The capacitance C of two parallel interconnects, the mutually adjacent surfaces of which are denoted by A and which are arranged at a distance d from one another, is, at a relative dielectric constant ε:C=εA/d  (1)
With ongoing miniaturization in silicon microelectronics, i.e. as the distance d between adjacent interconnects decreases, a high coupling capacitance C results in particular if the mutually adjacent surfaces A of the interconnects are large, i.e. if the interconnects run parallel to one another over a considerable length in the integrated circuit. By contrast, the coupling capacitance of two lines which cross one another is lower.
Problems with coupling capacitances are intensified by the ongoing miniaturization of integrated circuits. As the coupling capacitance increases, the propagation time of a signal in the electrical coupling means becomes ever longer, since this propagation time is determined by the product of resistance R and capacitance C (known as the "RC delay").
As can be seen from equation (1), with fixed structure dimensions A, d, it is possible to reduce a coupling capacitance if the relative dielectric constant ε of the insulating material is reduced. It is therefore attempted to use materials with a low relative dielectric constant ε (known as "low-k materials") as materials for insulation layers in integrated circuits.
Amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO2) with a relative dielectric constant of approximately 4.0 is often used as dielectric for electrically insulating metallic interconnects from one another. It is possible to further reduce the dielectric constant of a material for an electrically insulating layer if silicon oxide material which additionally contains fluorine, hydrogen or alkyl groups (in particular CH groups) is used for this purpose. This makes it possible to reduce the relative dielectric constant to as little as 2.5. Furthermore, organic materials, in particular polymers, such as for example SiLK™ (a dielectric produced by The Dow Chemical Company and marketed under the abovementioned trade name) or PBO (polybenzoxazole), are used, making it possible to achieve relative dielectric constants of 2.7. It is also possible for the "low-k materials" used to be materials based on silicon, such as for example a silicon-oxygen-fluorine compound, a silicon-carbon-oxygen-hydrogen compound, hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) or methyl silsesquioxane (MSQ).
The relative dielectric constant of electrically insulating layers can be reduced further by introducing cavities into the "low-k material". The k value of the porous material is reduced further as a function of the proportion of the volume formed by the cavities or pores.
FIG. 1A illustrates a diagram 100 which is known from Steinhögl, W, Schindler, G (2001) "Towards Minimum k Values of Porous Dielectrics: A Simulation Study", Advanced Metallization Conference, Oct. 9-11, 2001, Montreal. The k value khom of a homogenous material is plotted on the abscissa 101, and the associated k value kpor which is obtained if pores are introduced into the homogenous material is plotted on the ordinate 102. A first curve 103 shows the dependent relationship described if the cavities form 40% of the volume of the dielectric. A second curve 104 shows the dependent relationship described if the cavities form 50% of the volume of the dielectric, and a third curve 105 shows the dependent relationship if the cavities form 60% by volume of the dielectric. The curves 103 to 105 were obtained from model calculations calculated using effective medium approximation, an approximation method described in Aspnes, DE "Determination of Optical Properties by Ellipsometry" in "Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids", Academic Press, 1985, pp. 104ff. The diagram 100 also shows a number of data points 106 which were obtained by calculation with the cavities forming 50% by volume, by numerically solving the Maxwell equations using a finite element simulation. It can be seen from FIG. 1A that the higher the proportion of the volume formed by cavities, the greater the extent to which the k value kpor in a porous material is reduced compared to the k value khom in a homogenous material. A k value of 2.0 can be reached by introducing pores into the dielectric.
However, this method is unable to satisfy the demands imposed by the ITRS Roadmap ("International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors") on the k value of an intermetal dielectric (IMD). ITRS is an institution which defines objectives for ensuring progress in integrated circuit technology. According to the ITRS Roadmap, in 2008 the demand will be for a k value of an intermetal dielectric of 1.5.
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, for an effective k value kpor, the host material, i.e. the homogenous, pore-free material, must have a k value khom of approximately 2.1, working on the basis of the pores forming 50% by volume. A material of this type is not currently known for use in silicon process technology.
In particular, the concept of gradually increasing the proportion of a porous dielectric which is formed by cavities is limited by the fact that if this proportion by volume becomes too high, the mechanical stability of the dielectric layer deteriorates and the heat conduction properties, which are of relevance to the dissipation of losses caused by resistance in interconnects, also deteriorate. Therefore, to achieve a sufficiently low k value, the solution of increasing the proportion of cavities to an ever greater extent is reaching its limits.
The dependent relationship between the effective k value keff and the pore cross-sectional area is shown in a semi-logarithmic illustration for different pore shapes and pore geometries in the diagram 110 shown in FIG. 1B.
The pore cross-sectional area is plotted in logarithmic form on an abscissa 111, and the effective k value keff is plotted on the ordinate 112. A first curve 113, a second curve 114, a third curve 115 and a fourth curve 116, which run through the corresponding data points, are plotted in the diagram 110. In all cases, the pores are assumed to form 50% by volume, and the host material is assumed to be silicon dioxide with a (homogenous) k value of 4.0.
The second curve 114 corresponds to the case of pores with a circular cross section, the third curve 115 corresponds to pores with a square cross-sectional area. The first curve 113 and the fourth curve 116 show the dependent relationship for a pore with a rectangular cross-sectional area, which in the case of the first curve 113 is oriented parallel to an external electrical field and in the case of the fourth curve 116 is oriented perpendicular to an external electrical field.
The simulation calculations which are described and known from Steinhögl, W, Schindler, G (2001) "Towards Minimum k Values of Porous Dielectrics: A Simulation Study", Advanced Metallization Conference, Oct. 9-11, 2001, Montreal demonstrate that the effective k value decreases to a greater extent with the pores oriented perpendicular to an electric field than in the case of a parallel orientation between the direction in which the pores run and the electric field vector.
In other words, if elongate and oriented pores are used, it is possible to significantly reduce the effective k value keff without increasing the proportion of the volume which is made up of the pores. With the same proportion of pores by volume, a reduction of 13% is achieved with a pore aspect ratio of 4:1, and a reduction of 20% is achieved with a pore aspect ratio of 24:1. If the pores are randomly oriented, there is no advantage over round pores (aspect ratio 1:1). In this case, the same mean k value is obtained.
However, the formation of oriented pores in a dielectric with cross-sectional areas sufficiently small for preferably a multiplicity of such pores to be arranged between adjacent interconnects of an integrated circuit, which are typically arranged at a distance F from one another, imposes considerable technological demands. In this context, F denotes the minimum feature sizes that can usually be achieved using a specific technology.
The following process for producing a porous dielectric is known from the prior art. Two liquid components, of which one is dielectric in the solidified state and the other is, for example, a pore-forming agent, are mixed and brought to an elevated temperature at which only the first component solidifies, and in so doing encloses liquid pore-forming agent. If the inclusions of pore-forming agent are converted into the gas phase, what remains is a porous dielectric.
However, the process described cannot be used to produce oriented pores, which have particularly advantageous properties (cf. FIG. 1B), and the process is limited to dielectrics which are in a settable liquid phase.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,003 discloses a process for forming air gaps between the metal lines of a semiconductor device.
EP 1 061 043 A1 describes a low-temperature process for synthesizing carbon nanotubes using a metal catalyst layer for decomposing a carbon source gas.
U.S. 2001/0024633 A1 discloses a process for the vertical alignment of carbon nanotubes on substrates at low pressure and low temperature using a CVD process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,318 B1 discloses a process for producing structured carbon nanotube films.

Method of producing a layered arrangement and layered arrangement


Disclosed herein are methods of delivering current to a target tissue using a medical instrument, wherein the medical instrument is configured to track and deliver a predetermined current time amount. Also disclosed herein are methods and a system of monitoring for usage of a hemorrhoid treatment instrument and invoicing for such usage.

It is estimated that one-third of the U.S. population has symptomatic internal hemorrhoids, with an incidence of 50% at age 50 years. Patients frequently postpone examination because of concern of pain associated with a particular treatment modality, hospitalization, cost, and time of disability. Such a delay in evaluation may lead to progression of the hemorrhoidal disease, or late diagnosis of more serious colorectal problems.
Medical procedures for hemorrhoidal treatment have taken many forms. For example, D.C. (direct current) management of hemorrhoidal disease was described in a review published by Wilbur E. Keesey, M.D. in 1934. The topical suppository approach is presently applied to a majority of patients, particularly those with a specific precipitating factor for hemorrhoidal disease (e.g., acute diarrhea episode) and in some instances may be all that is necessary. Necrosis and slough of hemorrhoidal vessels can also, at times, be accomplished by placement of rubber bands over the vessel base with a specific apparatus. This treatment is applicable to those vessels well above the pectinate line to avoid severe pain (a complication in 6 to 10% of patients). Mild to moderately diseased hemorrhoidal vessels are not amenable to this therapy. Injection sclerotherapy is effective for small (grade 1 and 2) bleeding internal hemorrhoids. Submucosal injection of sclerosant produces chemical thrombosis and fixation of the mucosa to the underlying tissue. Sclerotherapy of hemorrhoids is limited to mild to moderate disease and is associated with complications including reaction to the injected material, slough of the overlying mucosa, necrosis, and infection, including submucosal abcess. Cyrosurgery (i.e., application of a metal probe cooled by liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide) freezes hemorrhoids. Occasionally, local anesthesia is required because of pain. Complications may include imprecise control of the depth of tissue destruction, post-operative pain, and rectal drainage. Surgical excision of hemorrhoidal inflammatory disease has the advantage of removing all associated redundant tissue, including the external component of a particular internal hemorrhoid. However, there are limitations to the amount of excision possible without major adverse sequelae. In a typical patient with many involved vessels, surgery can only approach the most symptomatic-diseased area and is not to be considered curative. The disadvantages of these approaches include pain, expense associated with hospitalization, time of disability, and potential complications, e.g., those associated with anesthesia, surgery proper, and post operative complications, including anal stenosis.

Instrument and methods for electrical current treatment of tissues and methods for monitoring the same


A method for applying a liquid to a crop (8;13) according to the invention comprises of moving a body (2) containing the liquid over the crop (8;13) such that the body (2) comes at least partially into liquid transferring contact with the crop (8;13). Plants (13;8;23) not for treatment with the liquid may be shielded from the body (2). Another liquid may simultaneously be applied to the shielded plants.. The method is preferably performed using a device comprising a displaceable frame (1;21;31) having arranged thereon at least one liquid transfer body (2) connected to a container (16) for the liquid. The body (2) may have a flexible part (12), for instance a textile material. The device may further comprise means (7;17;27) for shielding plants (8;13;23) not for treatment with the liquid, and liquid distributing means debouching inside the shielding means and connected to a container for another liquid. The shielding means may further be fitted with adjustable cutting means (9).

The invention relates to a method for applying a liquid to a crop, and to a device for performing this method.
It is generally known to apply liquids to a crop, for instance to weed plants in order to control those weeds or to a cultivated crop to further a healthy growth of the crop. For this purpose the liquid for applying is generally atomized and spread over the crop for treating by means of a spray installation arranged on an agricultural tractor or under a crop-spraying aircraft. This known method has the great drawback that the sprayed liquid can be blown about whereby it comes to rest for instance on land located adjacent to the field for treating, whereby the crop growing there can be adversely affected. This blowing about moreover has the consequence that more liquid has to be used than is actually necessary for treating the crop and that the excess liquid is taken up into the environment. In addition, the atomized liquid can cause a health risk to people present in the field for treating or in the vicinity.


A stand for a tree comprises a base for receiving a trunk of the tree, wherein the base provides a top portion, and a plurality of attachment points positioned along a periphery of the top portion. The stand further comprises a plurality of bracing supports. Each bracing support comprises a first end, wherein said first end is coupled to one of the plurality of attachment points, and a second end, wherein said second end is equipped to engage the trunk of the tree.

Devices designed for the display of Christmas trees generally enable users to properly stand the tree vertically and preferably insure that once positioned, the tree will remain in such a position. Dangers associated with an accidental tipping of the tree include breaking electric light bulbs, igniting the Christmas trees, damaging decorations, and spilling liquid from reservoirs used to supply water and nutrients.
A number of devices have been developed that operate effectively only by removing a substantial portion of side branches around the trunk of the tree. A connecting means is typically limited to bracing the tree only to the height that the branches have been removed in these systems.
Other devices that have been developed provide screws to attach fixed length braces to the tree only after the tree has been placed in the intended vertical position. Such devices generally require all the screws to all the braces be removed in order to perform any subsequent adjustment to the position of the tree.
One particular device uses a movable receptacle for the cut end of the tree in combination with a series of springs and chains to accomplish vertical display. Though the receptacle can be positioned to accommodate crooked trunks, the clamp bolts must be all loosened in order to move the receptacle to a new position to adjust the displayed tree to a more desired position. This new position is totally dependent on the resistance of opposing springs to maintain the position selected. The size of the reservoir is limited by the amount of free travel necessary along each of the guideways needed to accomplish adjustment. This limitation also limits the size of the tree trunk which can be placed in the stand.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for the development of a device which may position a display tree in a substantially vertical position that is readily adjustable and does not require the exfoliation of considerable amounts of side branches, which detracts from the aesthetic look of the tree.


A solid-state imaging device includes: a substrate; a photoelectric conversion unit that is formed on the substrate and generates signal charge in correspondence with a light amount of incident light; and a transparent electrode that is formed in an upper portion of the substrate and includes a first area formed from a nano carbon material and a second area that is brought into contact with the first area and has light transmittance higher than that of the first area.

A solid-state imaging device that is represented by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor includes a photoelectric conversion unit that is configured by a photodiode formed on the light receiving face side of a substrate and a charge transfer unit. In such a solid-state imaging device, light incident from the light receiving face side is photoelectrically converted by the photodiode so as to generate signal charge according to the amount of light. Then, the generated signal charge is transferred to a charge transfer unit and is output as a video signal.
In such a device, since a structure is employed in which light incident during an exposure time as a constant time interval is photoelectrically converted and accumulated, it is necessary for the photodiode to be open to the light receiving face side. Accordingly, in a case where an electrode is formed in an area that covers the light receiving face side of the photodiode, it is necessary for the electrode to be formed not from a general electrode material having a light shielding property but from a transparent electrode material.
As disclosed in JP-A-08-294059 and JP-A-07-94699, indium tin oxide (ITO) is mainly used as the material of a general transparent electrode in the related art. In addition, as disclosed in JP-A-2011-17819, in an electronic apparatus represented by a camera or the like, there is an example in which a light control element such as an electrochromic layer is used in an imaging optical system such as an aperture diaphragm or a shutter device. Even in such a case, as the material of a transparent electrode used for applying a desired electric potential to the electrochromic layer, ITO is used. However, ITO that is used as the material of the transparent electrode has low transmittance in the current status, and there are problems in that the sensitivity is decreased, and the optical characteristics change due to a large film thickness.

Solid-state imaging device and electronic apparatus having a solid-state imaging device


An apparatus for delivering virtual reality data portions to a client device, including a processing unit configured to perform the following in each one of a plurality of iterations: (1) receive from a network a current orientation data indicating a current orientation of a client device, (2) apply a rotation to a segment of a sphere defined in a virtual reality (VR) video file according to the current orientation, (3) crop from the rotated segment of the sphere in an equirectangular projection format an extended field of view (EFOV) frame in the equirectangular projection format according to the current orientation, and (4) instruct the network to transmit the EFOV frame to the client device.

Some embodiments of the present invention relate to streaming virtual reality (VR) 360 video content to client devices and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to low latency, high resolution and high throughput VR 360 video content streaming to client devices.
Consumption of VR 360 video content, i.e., 360-degree videos, immersive videos or spherical videos is constantly increasing. This may result from rapid advances in the capabilities of traditional devices, for example, desktop computers, laptop computers, Smartphones, tablets and/or the like having displays (screens) supporting 2 Dimensions (2D) presentation, i.e., a monoscopic presentation in which one image is directed to both eyes. However, the major driving force for the increase in VR 360 video content consumption may be the increased availability and reduced costs of VR 360 client devices, for example, head mounted displays (HMDs), stereoscopic goggles and/or the like supporting 3 Dimensions (3D) presentation, i.e., a stereoscopic presentation in which two distinct images are directed individually to each eye for a 3D effect. Moreover, there is a continuous demand for better user experience, requiring high resolution image size (e.g., 8K, 16K), high frame rate (e.g., 60, 90 fps) and low motion to photon (MTP) latency (e.g., below 20 milliseconds).
On-line streaming of such VR 360 video content is therefore highly desired as the market potential for such streaming is practically endless for a plurality of applications, ranging from gaming applications, through training and simulation applications to life saving medical applications and/or defense applications.


A method for manufacturing a transistor device is provided, comprising providing a plurality of parallel nanowires on a substrate; providing a dummy gate structure over a central portion of the parallel nanowires; epitaxially growing extension portions of a second material, selectively on the parallel nanowires, outside a central portion; providing a filler layer around and on top of the dummy gate structure and the extension portions; removing the dummy gate structure to create a gate trench, exposing the central portion of the parallel nanowires; providing spacer structures on the sidewalls of the gate trench, to define a final gate trench; thinning the parallel nanowires, thereby creating free space in between the nanowires and spacer structures; and selectively growing a quantum well layer on or around the parallel nanowires, at least partially filling the free space, to thereby provide a connection between the quantum well layer and extension portions.

Fin field effect transistors (FINFETs) are an interesting transistor architecture because of, for instance, their fast switching times and high current densities. A FINFET device comprises a source, a drain, and one or more fin-shaped channel structures between the source and the drain. A gate electrode over the fin(s) regulates electron flow between the source and the drain.
In WO2008/155208, a method for fabricating a field effect transistor device is disclosed. A substrate is provided having a silicon layer thereon. A fin lithography hard mask is patterned on the silicon layer. A dummy gate structure is placed over a central portion of the fin lithography hard mask. A filler layer is deposited around the dummy gate structure. The dummy gate structure is removed to reveal a trench in the filler layer, centered over the central portion of the fin lithography hard mask, that distinguishes a fin region of the device from source and drain regions of the device. The fin lithography hard mask in the fin region is used to etch a plurality of fins in the silicon layer. The trench is filled with a gate material to form a gate stack over the fins. The filler layer is removed to reveal the source and drain regions of the device, wherein the source and drain regions are intact and self-aligned with the gate stack.

Method for manufacturing transistor and associated device


A closed loop system for generating mechanical energy at high efficiencies from hydrogen, fossil fuels, bio-fuels, solar or other renewable and recoverable energy sources. The system can have a heating source, a superheater, an expander, a receiver, a condenser, vacuum pump, or absorber, a desorber, and regenerator with pumps and controls. The heating source and superheater are used to heat a working fluid (including ammonia, other refrigerants, a combination of refrigerants, or steam). A positive displacement liquid/vapor expander expands the heated working fluid to the near saturated or saturated state utilizing a reduced pressure, low-pressure, or sub-atmospheric exhaust sink. A condenser, vacuum pump, or absorber is used to generate the reduced pressure, low pressure, or sub-atmospheric sink. The desorber is used to reconstitute inlet vapor (for reuse) and the regenerator recovers heat generated by the process. The system can generate mechanical energy (or power) which can be used to drive a wide range of mechanical systems (including pumps, compressors, vehicles, conveyances, or other similar mechanical devices); or used to drive an electrical generator to meet electrical power needs-for residences, businesses or office buildings, or commercial and industrial applications. The system can supply electrical energy to power grids, and can be an alternative to power generation plants.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to high efficiency energy generation and power supply systems, and in particular to methods and systems that can meet the energy demands of a home or business or industrial use, and allows for excess electrical energy to be available to be sold over transmission grids and can be utilized as an alternative to power generating plants. The system can be used to drive vehicles (cars, trucks, boats, ships, trains, airplanes, and the like); other conveyance systems or devices (moving sidewalks, conveyers, cranes, elevators and the like); or a wide array of other mechanical devices (pumps, compressors, grinders, and the like). The system can also be used to drive an electrical generator, or alternator, to provide electrical power to a local electrical grid, or for use at a local residence, a commercial facility, or groups of residences and facilities. The system provides the opportunity to extract heat and cooling, from the system, using heat exchangers, which can be used for a primary or as a supplemental heating and cooling source for space heating or cooling, hot water or process heating, process cooling and the like.
2. Description of the Background Art


Direct needle control fuel injectors and methods disclosed. The preferred embodiment injectors have a needle within a needle chamber for movement between a closed position preventing injection of fuel and an open position allowing injection of fuel, a source of high pressure fuel coupled to the needle chamber to provide fuel for injection and to hydraulically urge the needle to the open position by pressurizing a first hydraulic area associated with the needle, a needle control hydraulic area having a second hydraulic area disposed to urge the needle to the closed position when the second hydraulic area is exposed to fuel under pressure, and valving coupled to the source of high pressure fuel and a vent to controllably couple the hydraulic area of the needle control member to the high pressure fuel or to the vent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of fuel injectors.
2. Prior Art
Conventional 2-way needle control valves to control the motion of a diesel injector's needle valve have been in use for quite some years. They provide acceptable but not superior controllability with relatively low cost. On the other hand, needle control with 3-way valves has not been commercialized to the same extent. They provide superior flexibility in controlling the needle motion, but with relatively higher cost.
Direct needle control with 2-way valves is relatively simpler and lower cost. However, the flexibility in controlling the needle motion during both opening and closing through the entire pressure range is not optimal.
Previous direct needle control injectors with 3-way valves achieved superior needle controlling flexibility, but they were complex and costly. Also, the orifice determining the needle opening velocity is farther from the needle control volume than ideal.


A contact lens package kit is described that includes a contact lens packages, wherein each contact lens package includes a base member having a cavity and a sealing member coupled to the base member. An unworn contact lens is provided in a packaging solution within the sealed cavity. The base member is a thermoplastic material (or other recyclable material) and includes a substantially planar surface surrounding the cavity to provide a sealing surface for the sealing member. The kit also includes at least one fastener configured to retain a plurality of base members from each of the contact lens packages after the contact lens is removed from the cavity. A recyclable thermoplastic contact lens assembly is also described, that includes empty contact lens packages attached to a fastener. A method to recycle used contact lens packages, such as curbside recycling, is further described that uses the fastener, and the fastener itself is also described.

Newly manufactured contact lenses are frequently packaged in contact lens blister packages or blister packs. For example, a newly manufactured contact lens will be placed in a cavity or bowl of a plastic base member of a contact lens blister package, a contact lens packaging solution will be provided in the blister package cavity, and a foil sealing member will be adhered to the blister package to hermetically seal the contact lens in the packaging solution in the cavity. In other words, a contact lens blister package used in the manufacture of contact lenses contains a base member having a cavity, an unworn contact lens provided in a packaging solution within the cavity, and a sealing member sealed to the base member to provide an air tight seal around the perimeter of the cavity.
The base members of the blister packages are generally formed of a thermoplastic or plastic material and it is common for a user to peel away the sealing member, take the unworn contact lens out, and discard the empty blister package in the trash that is not recycled. Each individual blister package is too small to be recycled as plastic at a recycling center because most recycling processes of plastic require minimum dimensions and if these dimensions are not met, most recycling lines have steps to remove these smaller objects and not recycle them. In other words, the objects like individual blister packages are not recycled and instead are treated as non-recyclable trash or waste. The material that the contact lens package is made of is a recyclable material and so there is a need to address this problem so that contact lens packaging can be recycled in the same manner as plastic bottles and the like.
Thus, it can be appreciated that there remains an important environmental need to improve contact lens packaging, which, among other things, provides the ability to actually recycle the contact lens package or portion thereof, once used.

Contact lens package kit with recycling fastener


Improved workflow processes for efficiently progressing through a credit union membership application using a user interface having a specially structured layout to facilitate the progression are disclosed. Initially, the user interface presents a membership account selection option to select which type of membership account to initiate. Based on the selected type of membership account, the user interface then displays a product selection option for selecting a specific type of product to initiate with the credit union. The user interface then displays an applicant information option structured to receive information about an applicant. Based on this information, there is a determination as to whether the applicant qualifies for membership. Additionally, the layout of the user interface is specifically required to have a number of features, which are designed to facilitate the application workflow.

A "credit union" (e.g., credit union 100 in FIG. 1) is a type of financial institution that is member-owned financial cooperative. One objective of a credit union is to provide its members with financial rates (e.g., loans, certificates of deposit, etc.), financial products (e.g., checking shares and loans), and other services that are competitive and exclusive to its members.
A credit union is different and legally distinct from a traditional bank. While both are financial institutions, a bank is a for-profit institution available to any person, without discretion. In contrast, a credit union is a non-profit institution and provides products and services only to its member-owners. To clarify, in order to utilize the services and products offered by a credit union, an entity must have a membership with that credit union. In contrast, any entity may utilize the services and products of a bank, without a membership.
Because banks are for-profit institutions, they are typically subject to taxes. Often, the banks pass the costs incurred from paying taxes onto their clients. Because credit unions are non-profit institutions, they pass their profits on to their members and thus are able to typically charge relatively lower fees than banks.
A credit union's bylaws or charter dictates or mandates who is able to become a member. In this regard, a credit union is considered to be a "cooperative" having members who are linked via a common bond and who have shares with the credit union. The bylaws or charter define what this common bond will be. For instance, in some cases, the common bond is that all members work in the same industry or that all members live in the same geographic area or community or even that all members share the same religious institution. For a candidate (e.g., candidate 105 in FIG. 1) to become a member, that candidate must satisfy the membership qualification requirements of the bylaws or charter. Accordingly, as a result of the legalities associated with a credit union, an entity cannot make use of the products and services offered by a credit union until that entity has become a member. As a consequence, there is a hurdle or a barrier to entry 110 that must be satisfied in order to engage with the credit union, where this barrier to entry 110 is membership 115 with the credit union. This barrier to entry 110 is unique to credit unions and has resulted in difficulties in the credit union industry, which difficulties are not present in other financial institutions. What is needed, therefore, is a technique to effectively eliminate this barrier to entry 110 to help credit unions be as competitive as other financial institutions.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

User interface and system for client database management


An apparatus for preventing unauthorized use of motor vehicle includes a shield attachable to an engine control module. The shield is attached to an underside of the engine control module and includes a top plate which extends immediately above a plurality of electrical connectors and prevents unauthorized withdrawal of the electrical connectors. The apparatus further includes a retaining bracket which cooperates with the shield to define a plurality of channels for receiving wire harnesses associated with the electrical connectors.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally pertains to motor vehicles. More particular, the present invention pertains to an apparatus for preventing unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. More specifically, but without restriction to the particular embodiment and/or use which is shown and described for purposes of illustration, the present invention relates to a shield for an engine control module which deters vehicle theft by entrapping harness connectors upon engine control module assembly.
2. Discussion
Most conventional motor vehicles are constructed so as to have many of the engine functions under the control of a microprocessor or engine control module. These engine functions include, for example, ignition. Operation of the vehicle with the engine control module requires an appropriately designated key.
It is well known that a large number of motor vehicle are stolen each year or are taken by unauthorized persons for "joyriding". Sophisticate thieves are frequently able to obtain unauthorized operation of a motor vehicle under the control of a separate engine control module. Many devices have been proposed for preventing such authorized use of a motor vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,842 discloses a system for preventing unauthorized operation of a vehicle incorporating a wire scrambler and interface module which are interconnected between an engine control module and a memory device. A key device has a signal source and is received within a lock cylinder for energizing a cross bar switch matrix in the interface module. The interface module provides a correct wiring relationship between the engine control module and the memory device. Connector parts are secured together in a manner intended to destroy connector contacts if separated.
Many devices have been proposed for preventing unauthorized use of a motor vehicle including the device disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,842. However, all known devices have been found to not be fully satisfactory in that they are relatively expensive, complication to use, not sufficiently reliable, or they are readily circumvented by sophisticated thieves.

Apparatus for preventing unauthorized use of a motor vehicle


A friction disc paddle for a rotatable clutch disc has powdered metal friction faces compacted directly on each face of a metal substrate. The friction faces extend through apertures in the metal substrate, and extend to the circumferential and radial edges of the metal substrate. The friction faces are solidly bonded to the metal substrate. The apertures not only ensure that the friction faces are securely attached to the metal substrate, but they also reduce the overall weight of the friction disc paddle.

This invention relates to an improvement in attaching friction facings to paddles for clutch discs.
Fraction clutch assemblies include a driven disc which selectively transmits drive to and from the transmission. It is desirable for the driven disc to be as light as possible in order to reduce inertia. One of the ways in which driven discs have been improved to reduce inertia is by the use of paddles. In the paddle clutch disc, a plurality of circumferentially spaced paddles extend radially outwardly from a central hub. The paddles have friction facings on both faces of a metal substrate, and are selectively engaged with other discs to transmit rotation. The prior art paddles have a radially outer edge and two circumferential edges which define the circumferential extent of the paddle.
In the prior art, it has been somewhat difficult to attach friction facings to the metal substrate. It has been particularly difficult to maintain friction facings in areas adjacent to the circumferential edges. In these areas the friction facing may erode and break off during use. Further, exposed edges of the metal substrate may corrode.


A removable modular slab for use in the construction industry includes an upper surface, a lower surface, first and second opposing end surfaces, and a conduit extending from an aperture in the upper surface to an aperture in an end surface. The slab is end-to-end abuttable with a second removable modular slab, having: (i) a conduit extending from an aperture in the upper surface to an aperture in an end surface, and/or (ii) a cavity extending from an aperture in an end surface into the slab, whereby the conduits are mateable so as to form an elongate conduit through the two slabs. Such elongate conduit is accessible through the apertures in the upper surfaces of each slab. By such access, a first joining structure is removably locatable to join the two slabs together. Cavities may terminate within the second slab and only be accessible through the aperture in the upper surface of the first slab, into which a joining structure is removably locatable to join the two slabs together. A modular surface system includes two such slabs and a joining structure to join the two slabs together.

The present invention relates to a slab for use in the construction industry, especially to a modular construction slab, to a modular surface system including such slabs, and to a method of joining construction slabs.
It is well known in the construction industry to use slabs, especially concrete or concrete-derivative slabs, as building components. Such slabs find use as flooring components for buildings, public highways and the like. When two or more such known slabs are connected together, it is typically with some kind of internal tie that runs through the interior length and/or width of the slabs.
The problem with a system incorporating such slabs and ties is that, once the slabs have been joined together by the internal ties, if any adjustment, rectification or replacement of a slab or tie is required, the only way to access the tie to disconnect the appropriate slabs is by destroying at least a part of the slab and or tie as is necessary. This is both costly and time consuming because any part that has been even partially destroyed will typically need to be replaced, thereby rendering the system unavailable for a period of time until the rectification work has been completed.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved slab for use in the construction industry, and an improved method of joining slabs, neither of which suffer from the aforementioned problems.


A sled for transporting a power auger across ice in a vertical position having a cradle for holding the ice auger in a vertical position attached to a center stand with adjustable height. The center stand is attached to a folding stand that is attached to two skis. Each component can be assembled using knobs, and laid flat to be sold as a kit and stored using minimum space in an automobile.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatuses for transporting power ice augers across ice in connection with the sport of ice fishing.
2. Description of the Related Art
The popular sport of ice fishing requires a robust method and apparatus for drilling holes in ice. The holes are necessary, of course, for dropping through lures and hooks, and for withdrawing the fish. Drilling holes through ice with an auger is very hard work. The present practice is to carry a gas-powered ice auger along with one's fishing gear, chair, and such, from a car parked near the shore, across the ice to the place where one wants to fish. It is axiomatic that the more holes one can drill, the more lines one can have in the water, and the more fish an angler can catch. The limiting factor in ice fishing success has been how many holes one can drill before becoming too tired to drill anymore. Powered ice augers are heavy, and difficult to drag around. Typically, anglers can drill only two or three holes before giving up.
One solution was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,890, which is not admitted to being prior art by its mention in this Background section. The '890 patent discloses a transportable fish house adapted to be towed by a snowmobile. An ice auger can be stored horizontally at the bottom of the sled, and hauled out when needed. This apparatus still requires the angler to transport the whole sled behind a snowmobile and lift the auger into the vertical position when needed. It essentially adds a snowmobile to the list of equipment required for ice fishing.
Another solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,402, which is not admitted to being prior art by its mention in this Background section. The '402 patent discloses an auger holder that is transported in the vertical position, but requires the device to be mounted on the back of an ATV or other vehicle. Like the '890 patent, the '402 patent requires the use of another vehicle to transport ice fishing equipment.
Yet another solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,490, which is not admitted to being prior art by its mention in this Background section. The '490 patent discloses an ice fishing sled adapted to carry an auger and other ice fishing gear. Although this apparatus does not require a snowmobile, the auger is still transported manually in the horizontal position. It must be lugged up into the vertical position every time it is used.
Finally, the CrosSled device made by CrosSled North America Ltd., of Ontario, Canada, mentions in its advertising that one can strap a hand auger across the uprights of the sled for use in ice angling. The CrosSled resembles a dog sled, but is smaller so that a person can push it. The advertising does not mention use with a power auger, and it apparently cannot mount a power auger in the vertical position.
There are many problems with transporting a power auger in the horizontal position. Laying the auger engine sideways can flood the carburetor, spill gasoline, and foul the spark plug. The engine cannot be started or kept running when horizontal, and the fuel container cannot be filled. Therefore, the engine must be started and stopped for each hole that the angler wants to drill. It is well-known to those having skill in the art that it is difficult to start a small engine in cold weather, and it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that permits the engine to continue running until all the desired holes have been drilled. What is needed, therefore, is a sled capable of manually transporting a power ice auger across ice in the vertical position that does not require the use of an auxiliary vehicle.

Sled for transporting a power auger vertically across ice


A substrate processing apparatus includes processing parts performing substrate processing on target substrates, respectively, substrate mounting tables mounting the target substrates thereon in the respective processing parts, gas introducing members introducing processing gases into processing spaces, a common exhaust mechanism evacuating the processing spaces at once and further performing pressure control for the processing spaces at once, and a pressure measuring part configured to selectively monitor a pressure in any one of the plurality of processing spaces by using a pressure gauge. The pressure measuring part includes pipelines having pressure-measuring pipelines configured to connect the processing spaces to the pressure gauge and dummy pipelines configured to communicate with the processing spaces, which adjust a difference between a volume of the pipelines communicating with a monitored processing space of the processing spaces and a volume of the pipelines communicating with each of non-monitored processing spaces.

In fabricating a semiconductor device, a process such as an etching process, film-forming process or the like using gases is performed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wafer") which is a target substrate.
Conventionally, for such substrate processing, a single-substrate type processing apparatus for processing substrates one by one has been widely used. From the viewpoint of improvement of throughput, however, there has been proposed a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of target substrates is placed in one chamber and then subjected to a predetermined process all at once.
In this substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of processing spaces is defined in one chamber, a target substrate is mounted on a substrate mounting table provided in each of the processing spaces, process gases are supplied independently to each of the processing spaces to perform the processes, and the chamber is exhausted all at once by one exhaust device.
A capacitance manometer as a pressure gauge is provided in each of the processing spaces and a pressure of each of the processing spaces is monitored by the capacitance manometer.
However, when the capacitance manometers as pressure gauges are provided in the respective processing spaces, an error may occur due to a variation among the capacitance manometers. Thus, it is difficult to measure accurate pressures.
For this reason, it is conceivable that when pressures are measured by one capacitance manometer as a pressure gauge, pressures in the plurality of processing spaces can be monitored by switching valves in pressure-measuring pipelines connected to the processing spaces from the capacitance manometer. In such a case, the volume of the pressure-measuring pipeline of the capacitance manometer to a monitored processing space of which pressure is monitored is different from the volume of the pressure-measuring pipelines of the capacitance manometer to a non-monitored processing space of which pressure is not monitored. Accordingly, there is a difference in influence of gases remaining in the pipelines on a process.


An SIMD array processor having a scalable and flexible architecture. The SIMD array architecture includes an array of processing elements, a plurality of processor controllers, and at least one other computer system. A system area network interconnects at least one user computer with the processor controllers and the computer system; and, a storage area network interconnects at least one storage device with the processor controllers and the computer system. The SIMD array architecture is adapted to allow different user computers to use different portions of the array of processing elements and/or different processor controllers and computer systems simultaneously. The array of processing elements has a hierarchical structure comprising backplanes, PCB""s, ASIC""s, and arrays of processing elements. The SIMD array architecture can be scaled by increasing the quantity of backplanes, PCB""s, ASIC""s, and/or by increasing the size of the arrays of processing elements. The SIMD array architecture can also be flexibly modified to achieve arrays of processing elements with different aspect ratios by selectively accessing data paths interconnecting the processing elements.

N/A
The present invention relates generally to SIMD array processors, and more specifically to an SIMD array processor having a scalable and flexible architecture.
Single-Instruction Multiple-Data (SIMD) array processors are known which comprise multi-dimensional arrays of interconnected processing elements executing the same instruction simultaneously on a plurality of different data samples. For example, an SIMD array processor may include a two-dimensional array of processing elements in which each processing element is connected to its four (4) nearest neighbors to form a xe2x80x9cNorth, East, West, South (NEWS) arrayxe2x80x9d. In such NEWS arrays, each processing element communicates directly with its North, East, West, and South neighbors. The exemplary SIMD array processor may be incorporated in a processing system that includes a user computer interfaced with a processor controller that converts a given command sequence provided by the user computer to a corresponding instruction and broadcasts the instruction to the array of processing elements. An example of such a multi-dimensional processing system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,202.
SIMD array processors can be used to solve a set of partial differential equations with associated boundary conditions that describe the nature of a physical environment over a finite volume of space. For example, a particular set of partial differential equations and boundary conditions may be approximated by a corresponding set of finite difference equations that describe values of dependent variables at a finite number of points or xe2x80x9cnodesxe2x80x9d distributed within a problem space. Further, after assigning a single processing element to each node and arranging the processing elements in the array so that each one can efficiently communicate with its nearest neighbors, the SIMD array processor can be used to calculate in parallel the dependent variable values at the finite number of nodes within the problem space.
One drawback of using SIMD array processors to solve such sets of finite difference equations is that the actual number of processing elements included in the SIMD array processor is often significantly less than the number of nodes required to solve the set finite difference equations. The above-mentioned multi-dimensional processing system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,202 addresses this problem by providing a virtual processing address and instruction generator that enables each processing element of an SIMD array processor to handle the processing for more than one node in a problem space.
Nevertheless, it would be desirable to have an SIMD array processor with an architecture that can be easily scaled to include increasing numbers of active processing elements. Such an architecture for an SIMD array processor would not only be scalable but also flexible to facilitate mapping of a node mesh onto the array of processing elements.
In accordance with the present invention, a scalable and flexible architecture for an SIMD array processor is provided that includes an array of processing elements, at least one processor controller coupled to the array of processing elements, a system area network for interconnecting at least one user computer and the processor controllers, and a storage area network for interconnecting at least one storage device and the processor controllers. In one embodiment, the processor controllers are part of a device cluster. In a preferred embodiment, the system area network further interconnects at least one user computer and at least one computer that is not coupled to an array of processing elements. One or more user computers can communicate with the processor controllers coupled to the array of processing elements and the computers not coupled to an array to use different portions of the array and/or different processor controllers and computers to solve different problems simultaneously.
The array of processing elements preferably has a hierarchical structure comprising backplanes, printed circuit boards, application specific integrated circuits, and arrays of processing elements. The SIMD array architecture can be scaled by increasing the quantity of backplanes, printed circuit boards, application specific integrated circuits, and/or by increasing the size of the arrays of processing elements. Moreover, the SIMD array architecture can be flexibly modified to achieve arrays of processing elements with different aspect ratios by selectively accessing data paths interconnecting the processing elements.
Other features, functions, and aspects of the invention will be evident from the Detailed Description of the Invention that follows.


This invention relates to novel iminium salts, which may be in the form of ionic liquids, and a process for producing electron deficient olefins, such as 2-cyanoacrylates, using such an iminium salt, for instance in the form of an ionic liquid.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel iminium salts, which may be in the form of ionic liquids ("ILs"), and a process for producing electron deficient olefins, such as 2-cyanoacrylates, using such an iminium salt, for instance in the form of an IL.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Cyanoacrylate adhesives are known for their fast adhesion and ability to bond a wide variety of substrates. They are marketed as "super glue" type adhesives. They are useful as an all-purpose adhesive since they are a single component adhesive, very economical as only a small amount will do, and generally do not require any equipment to effectuate curing.
Traditionally, cyanoacrylate monomers have been produced by way of a Knoevenaqel condensation reaction between a formaldehyde precursor, such as paraformaldehyde, and an alkyl cyanoacetate with a basic catalyst. During the reaction, cyanoacrylate monomer forms and polymerises in situ to a prepolymer. The prepolymer is subsequently thermally cracked or depolymerised, yielding cyanoacrylate monomer. This approach has remained essentially the same over time, though various improvements and variants have been introduced. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,245,933, 5,624,699, 4,364,876, 2,721,858, 2,763,677 and 2,756,251.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,698, the synthesis of difunctional cyanoacrylates using a Knoevenagel condensation reaction is described. However, the ability to thermally depolymerise the resulting, now crosslinked, prepolymer in a reliable and reproducible manner to produce pure difunctional monomers in high yields is questionable [see J. Buck, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem. Ed., 16, 2475-2507 (1978), and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,975,422, 3,903,055, 4,003,942, 4,012,402, and 4,013,703].
A variety of other processes for producing cyanoacrylate monomers are known, some of which are described below. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,267 defines a process for producing a 2-cyanoacrylic acid which comprises subjecting a 2-cyanoacrylate and an organic acid to a transesterification reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,369 defines an improvement in a process for preparing methyl cyanoacrylate, in which methyl cyanoacetate is reacted with formaldehyde to form a polymer that is then depolymerized to the monomeric product, and in which the purity of yield is 96% or better. The improvement of the '369 patent is reported to be conducting the process in a poly(ethylene glycol) diacetate, dipropionate, or dibutyrate, having a number average molecular weight of 200-400, as the solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,848 defines a process for the production of a biscyanoacrylate, which comprises the steps of esterifying a 2-cyanoacrylic acid or transesterifying an alkyl ester thereof to obtain a reaction mixture; and fractionally crystallizing the reaction mixture to obtain the biscyanoacrylate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,059 defines a process for the preparation of monomeric 2-cyanoacrylates comprising the steps of (a) reacting (i) a 2,4-dicyanoglutarate with (ii) formaldehyde, cyclic or linear polymers of formaldehyde, or a mixture thereof, in the presence of between about 0.5 and about 5 mols of water per mol of 2,4-dicyanoglutarate, at an acid pH of about 3 to slightly less than 7, and at a temperature of about 70 to about 140, to form an oligomeric intermediate product, and (b) removing water that is present from step (a) and thermolyzing the oligomeric intermediate product for a period of time sufficient to effect its conversion to monomeric 2-cyanoacrylates.
Commercial production of cyanoacrylate monomers ordinarily relies on the depolymerisation of a prepolymer formed under Knoevenagel condensation reaction conditions, as noted above. Still today the Knoevenagel condensation reaction is believed to remain the most efficient and prevalent commercial method for producing high yields of monofunctional cyanoacrylates. Nevertheless, it would be desirable to not have to resort to thermally induced depolymerisation of a prepolymer produced by the Knoevenagel condensation reaction. This prospect may also enable facile access to highly useful difunctional monomers, such as so-called bis-cyanaocrylates or hybrid materials of cyanoacrylate and other polymerisable or reactive functionality.
Iminium salts are salts of imines, which are in turn reaction products of carbonyl-containing compounds and amines. General methods of simple imine formation are described for instance in R. J. Vijin et al., Synthesis, 573 (1994) and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,582,128 and 5,744,642.
And in International Patent Publication No. WO 03/086605 A2, task specific ionic liquids ("TSILs") are described. See also Davis, Chem. Letts., 33 (9), 1072, (2004).
Absent from the published literature, however, is the use of iminium salts and/or ionic liquids in the preparation of electron deficient olefins, such as 2-cyanoacrylates. Until now.

Iminium salts and methods of preparing electron deficient olefins using such novel iminium salts