A a dual element magnetoresistive sensor that uses the longitudinal field produced by the sense/bias currents to initialize the elements into a stable antiparallel state. The dual element magnetoresistive sensor comprises two magnetoresistive elements having first and second conductors coupled thereto. The first and second conductors are oriented in the same direction as the magnetoresistive elements in their contact areas. A third conductor is disposed between and coupled to the two magnetoresistive elements at their opposite ends. The third conductor is oriented transverse to the directions of the first and second sensor elements, and is adapted to conduct current therethrough in a direction transverse to the currents conducted by the first and second conductors. Currents conducted by all three conductors self-initialize the magnetoresistive elements into a single domain state. Also, the current flowing in the third conductor creates an anti-parallel longitudinal field in the two sensor elements that is oriented in the same direction as closure fields present in the magnetoresistive elements. These fields ensure that a single domain state is produced in the magnetoresistive elements. An alternative design for the third conductor employs one conductor portion that provides a current distribution that initializes the sensor. This current distribution initializes the sensor. Another conductor portion is used during reading and provides a current distribution that is similar to the distribution produced by the first and second conductors. This ensures that the across-the-track response is symmetric. A small fraction of the sense current flows in the initializing conductor portion to provide stabilization during reading.

The present invention relates generally to magnetoresistive sensors, and more particularly, to the self initialization of short magnetoresistive sensors into a single domain state.
It has long been recognized that instability in magnetoresistive sensors is produced by multiple domain states. In the past it has often been necessary to enhance stability by initializing the magnetoresistive sensor into a single domain state prior to operation by the application of an external longitudinal field of sufficient strength to saturate the sensor.
This conventional technique has numerous problems. The initialization only occurs during manufacture and not in the disc drive itself. Multiple domain states are produced during operation by large fields produced by the head during writing, or by fields from the disc itself. Stray fields that might occur during shipping or assembly also produce multiple domain state. These states often remain during normal operation of the head and cause instability. In addition, because the magnetoresistive sensor is shielded, it may be difficult to produce a strong enough field to entirely remove all of the domains from the sensor.
In coupled magnetic films, such as those present in dual element sensors, the most stable state is to have the magnetization associated with one element antiparallel to the other element. However, an external field can only produce parallel alignment of the magnetizations. Under the influence of the write field, or stray fields, this state may relax to the antiparallel state. During this relaxation, or afterwards, a multiple domain state may be produced.
Typical conventional structures are described in "Magnetic Self-Bias in the Barber Pole Structure," by J. S. Y. Feng et al., in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. MAG-13, No. 5, September 1977, "The Design of Magnetoresistive Multitrack READ Heads for Magnetic Tapes," by Werner Metzdorf et al., in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. MAG-18, No. 2, March 1982, "A specific model for domain-wall nucleation in thin-film Permalloy microelements," by Neil Smith, in Journal of Applied Physics, Vol 83, No. 8, April 15, 1988, and "Study of domain formation in small permalloy magnetoresistive elements," by C. Tsang et al. in Journal of Applied Physics, Vol 52, No. 38, March 1982.
One conventional technique enables a longitudinal field to be applied to the magnetoresistive element directly by the sense/bias current (see the Feng et al. article cited above). In test samples substantiating that invention it was found that the stabilizing fields produced by the sense/bias current in conjunction with a uniform saturating transverse field are capable of reorienting the magnetization in a single magnetoresistive element producing a stable magnetoresistive response. However, the structure that applies the longitudinal field is not able to completely guarantee a single domain state in the magnetoresistive element for a number of reasons.
The longitudinal fields favor a parallel alignment of the magnetization so that at the ends of the magnetoresistive element the lack of closure will introduce a multiple domain state. To minimize this effect the magnetoresistive elements are made relatively long compared with the active area so that the end domains are far away from the active area. The possibility exists that, under the influence of stray fields, the multiple domains could come sufficiently close to the active area to affect the stability of the device.
The region over which the stabilizing longitudinal field is strong is relatively close to the active area. Areas away from the active area are only stabilized by the exchange coupling of the magnetization in the element. If these outside regions were affected by stray fields from adjacent tracks, or in anyway become multidomain, then the magnetization in the active area could be affected by the exchange coupling of the magnetization in the element.

Self-initialization of short magnetoresistive sensors into a single domain state


An apparatus and method for tunable wideband solar radio noise measurement is provided. Accordingly, it is possible to directly measure the absolute flux of solar radio waves in a desired frequency band using a tunable receiver, and accordingly, to protect radio communication broadcasting systems located on the earth from its damage caused due to radio burst, noise and the like.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus and method for tunable wideband solar radio noise measurement, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for tunable wideband solar radio noise measurement, which enables the absolute flux of solar radio waves to be directly measured in a desired frequency band using a tunable receiver.
The sun usually generates radio waves in all frequency bands, and the generated radio waves are propagated to the earth. In most cases, the solar radio waves have no influence on radio communication broadcasting systems on the earth or in the universe.
However, when a solar flare occurs, very intense radio waves of a specific wavelength are generated from the sun, and therefore may cause serious damage to radio communication infrastructures.
The method for measuring solar radio waves is generally divided into two types.
That is, the two types are an RSTN type and an SRBL type. In the RSTN type, the number of receivers that are required are the number of observed frequencies so as to measure an absolute frequency. In the SRBL type, the intensity of a desired radio wave is measured by obtaining an absolute value of observed frequencies at one or two places and then performing relative calibration.
In these methods, measurement is possible at only some of all the specific fixed frequencies, and the absolute flux of solar radio waves is estimated at a desired frequency except the specific fixed frequencies, using interpolation. However, as it is known that values extracted using the interpolation are considerably different actual values, the interpolation cannot be used any more. Accordingly, it is required to directly measure the absolute flux of solar radio waves in a desired frequency band.

Apparatus and method for tunable wideband solar radio noise measurement

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


The present invention addresses the problem of providing a display device that excels in waterproofness against moisture from a display side. A display device is provided with: a display for displaying an image on a display surface; a cover plate located on the display surface side of the display, the cover plate having a light-transmitting section for making the display surface visible; an elastic member provided so as to cover the side circumferential section of the cover plate; and an accommodation body having an open section that is open toward the cover plate side and a protruding section encircling the open section and protruding to the outer circumferential side of the open section. The display is bonded to the cover plate with a photocurable adhesive. The cover plate is secured via the elastic member to the protruding section by a caulked metal frame body.

A related art display device is disclosed in, for example, Patent Literature 1. The display device related to Patent Literature 1 has a structure in which a transparent cover plate and a liquid crystal display device are bonded by a photocurable adhesive. With this structure in which an air layer between the cover plate and the liquid crystal display device is filled with the photocurable adhesive, reflection on an air layer interface can be reduced as much as possible and display quality can be kept high.


A puncturing device which includes a sleeve (1), a push-button (2) mounted on one end of the sleeve (10), a piston (5) which has a puncturing tip (7) and is mounted in the sleeve (1), and a power spring (9) placed inside the sleeve (1) between the face (8) of the push-button (2) and the piston (5). The piston (5) has on its outside perimeter wings (11) which rest against the internal projection (12) of the sleeve (1). A return spring (10) is located inside the sleeve (1) between its bottom (3) with the hole (4) for the puncturing tip (7) and the piston (5).

A disposable lancet designed for puncturing the skin of a patient's finger and enabling the taking of a blood sample is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,117. The lancet is made of a long and stiff shank which exhibits on one of its ends a puncturing tip in the shape of a subcutaneous needle. At the other end the shank is joined with a capsule. The shank is slidably mounted along the entire length in a sleeve which is partially located in the capsule. A spring is located between the sleeve and the bottom of the capsule. By holding the sleeve opening against the patient's finger and pressing the capsule, the sleeve is caused to overcome the action of the spring and move toward the bottom of the capsule by a set distance sufficient to puncture the skin of the patient's finger with the puncturing tip mounted on the shank. After the lancet is used the puncturing tip retreats completely into the sleeve and the capsule element protruding inside it makes it impossible to reuse the lancet.
A finger puncturing device made up of a sleeve inside which a spring is mounted by one end is also known from the Polish disclosure document no. P.293343. On the other end of the spring, a piston with a puncturing tip is slidably mounted in the sleeve and supported by the trigger catch. After pressing the trigger, the catch releases the piston equipped with the puncturing tip and the decompressing spring causes the piston to hit the bottom of the sleeve, and the puncturing tip passing through the hole in the bottom of the sleeve punctures the patient's finger. After that the spring returns to the rest position, in which the puncturing tip is completely hidden inside the sleeve.


Preoperative planning method for systematically performing a total hip replacement utilizing CT scan data to size acetabular and femoral components, orient the actabular cup, and equalize leg lengths. The method includes one or more of the steps of selecting acetabular cup size according to dimensions revealed by a certain acetabular CT slice, determining stem size of the femoral component according the scanned dimensions of the medullary canal, reaming the acetabulum and orienting the face of the acetabular cup placed therein according to a reference plane defined by three CT-defined reference points on the acetabulum, equalizing leg lengths by performing the femoral neck osteotomy according the preselected component dimensions and bone/cartilage removal. The invention envisions the use of CT and NMR devices to achieve bony contour definitions.

This invention concerns surgical procedures, but more specifically, systematic procedures using computer generated tomographic data to implant a hip prosthesis in a patient. Systematic procedures assure accuracy and consistency in orienting and sizing components of the hip prothesis to attain anatomically correct functioning results.
Surgical procedures involving total hip replacements (THR) began in 1959 and have since dramatically evolved. Initially, extraordinarily excellent results of cemented THR in the short term caused surgeons to believe that deterioration over time would not occur. Recent long term follow-up studies, however, have caused alarm by reporting aseptic loosening rates of 11-29% on the acetabular side and 29-40% on the femoral side after ten years. New cementing techniques in the 1980's including pressurization and plugging of the femoral canal, as well as improved prosthetic design, have increased the life of the hip implant. Customized sizing of femoral components also showed an improvement over the cemented THR. More recently, an entirely different technique known as bone ingrowth fixation has shown promising results, but long-term studies are yet to be made.
Nowadays, about 40% of hip replacements are being done without the use of bone cement at all. However, the success of these new implants requires that two criteria be met during implantation. They include establishing intimate contact of a porous implant surface with viable bone, e.g., that bone which can "grow" into the porous implant surface; and an initial rigid fixation of the prosthesis within the bone. Upon meeting these criteria, bone ingrowth normally occurs and early results are good.
Meeting these criteria is more difficult than using cement to provide fixation. Success entails careful preoperative planning and precise preparation of the bone at surgery. An infinite number of anatomical variations of the femoral canal exists whereas only a limited number of prosthesis sizes are available. In most instances, bone must be machined to accept a 18 standard size and shape of prosthesis. The task requires an experienced surgeon to obtain predictably good results, but as a 20 matter of fact, the majority of hip replacements are performed by orthopaedic surgeons who do not specialize in joint replacement surgery and thus may have limited expertise in this area.
Preoperative planning of bone ingrowth (and also cemented) THR is key to successful implantation. Nearly all available hip systems emphasize planning in their surgical technique manuals. These manuals give considerable attention to details of using acetate x-ray templates to plan the procedures. However, standard preoperative planning using plain x-rays and overlay templates is subject to many errors due to the magnification distortion of x-ray films and the difficulty in obtaining right-angle radiographic views of the hip joint. Most planar x-ray templates are enlarged about 20% relative to the actual patient's anatomy which represents an average magnification factor assuming a 40" distance between the x-ray beam source and the x-ray film table. This variable alone can interject 5-10% or 1-2 mm. error in the correct size of the femoral component and a 2-3 mm. error in the size of the acetabular component.
Most surgical THR protocols call for determination of femoral canal size during reaming or broaching of the femoral canal. This is a good method of determining a tight fit, if the reamer or rasps are always sharpened to the same degree. However, if the surgeon decides to use the next larger stem size because the reamer just used does not appear to be large enough, he must then determine whether the next larger stem fits into the femur prior to proceeding. It is critical to determine the fit preoperatively to avoid potential femoral fractures during surgery or potential leg length discrepancies by a failure to insert the prosthesis to the desired depth because it is too large. This problem is compounded by the fact that most orthopaedic surgeons do not do an adequate job of preoperative planning with templates. Furthermore, templating and is somewhat time-consuming.
It is also difficult to attain acetabular component (sometimes called a "cup") orientation and equalization of leg lengths during a THR operation. Proper cup placement depends on a knowledge of the exact position of the patient's pelvis on the operating room table and a system of visually estimating the position of the component orientation guide instrument. Both of these factors are subject to considerable error making this part of the procedure one of the most difficult and requiring considerable judgment and experience. At present, there are no known methods for systematically determining cup orientation relative to the patient's pelvis.
Leg length equalization both depends on the preoperative planning and on intraoperative measurement. Preoperative planning by the overlay templates only provides a rough estimate of leg length equalization. Intraoperative leg length measurement is usually done by subjective and inaccurate tests such as "shuck" and assessment of abductor muscle tension. At least one prior study substantiated leg-length differentials as much as 1.5 cm in approximately 20% of patients following unilateral THR. This is a distressing fact, since leg length inequality is quite obviously apparent to the patient immediately after surgery.
Prior solutions addressing some of the aforementioned problems include the work of Dr. David G. Mendes published in an article titled "The Role of Computerized Tomography Scan in Preoperative Evaluation of the Adult Dislocated Hip" which appeared in the November-December 1981 issue of Clinical Orthopeadics and Related Research, Vol. No. 161. At page 201 thereof, he discusses the use of three-dimensional CT data to help determine the choice of placement of the socket and to help determine component sizes. A German publication by Gerngro.beta., et al. titled "Moglichkeiten geometrischer Rontgenuntersuchung des Beckens fur den halbseitigen Beckenersatz" appearing at page 331-336 of Zeitschrift fur Orthopadie, Vol. 118, describes the use of CT data to reconstruct a hemipelvis with which a femur is to function. Drs. Richard P. Giliberty, et al., in a publication titled "A Prototype Femoral Stem Utilizing CAT and CAD/CAM" appearing in the periodical Orthopaedic Review, Vol. XII, No. 8, describe the geometical aspects of designing a femoral stem in connection with a THR process using CT data, and specifically discusses factors to be considered for achieving a desired angle of femoral neck inclinations in the frontal and transverse (anteversion) planes, as well as the design of the femoral stem in a fashion to minimize stress points in the intramedullary canal. Still relating to femoral stem design, Messrs. Aldinger, Fisher and Kurtz also describe a CT design process in their publication titled "Computer-aided Manufacture of Individual Endoprostheses" appearing in the Archives of Orthopeadic and Tramatic Surgery, Vol. 102, No. 1.
In view of the foregoing, it is an objective of the present invention to remove some of the "guess work" and poor judgment often occurring in a THR surgical procedure.
It is a further objective of the present invention to attain greater accuracy in sizing and orientation of prosthetic components utilizing computer tomographic data, such as CT scans, NMR scans and PET (positron emission transmissions) data.
It is a more specific objective of the present invention to establish systematic procedures for defining a reference plane about the patient's pelvis (or acetabulum) by which an acetabular socket can be correctly oriented in order to implant an anatomically correct hip system.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a method for properly selecting the optimum size and dimensions of femoral and acetabular components of a hip prosthesis.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide mathematical means for leg-length equalization based upon dimensions of the hip components and certain fixation points defined within the patient's acetabulum.
It is a further objective of the present invention to utilize computer tomographic data, in conjunction with certain defined surgical procedures, to accurately implant a hip prosthesis.

Surgical method for hip joint replacement


A method for regenerating soybean plants from cotyledonary nodes is disclosed. Soybean seeds are germinated on nutrient medium containing a cytokinin to produce a donor plant. The cotyledonary nodes of the donor plant are excised and divided into pieces. The cotyledonary node pieces are cultured on nutrient medium containing a cytokinin until callus tissue develops which contains shoots. The shoots are removed and rooted on nutrient medium free of exogenous hormone to form a plantlet.

The present invention relates to the production of soybean plants via tissue culture techniques, and more specifically, to a method of regenerating soybean plants from cultured soybean cotyledonary nodes.
Soybean, Glycine max, is an important annual legume whose seeds are valuable for the production of oil and protein. Despite extensive effort, researchers have had limited success in regenerating soybean plants from tissue culture and the methods which have been developed for regeneration of soybeans from tissue culture have little practical utility. This is unfortunate since in vitro tissue and cell culture methods are potentially useful tools in soybean breeding programs, particularly for the multiplication of hybrid germplasm.
In the case of plant regeneration of soybean, only limited success has been reported from either callus or cell suspension culture. Cheng, et al., PLANT SCIENCE LETTERS, 19:91-99 (1980) reports a technique for soybean plant regeneration from cotyledonary node segments. The method involves germinating soybean seeds for approximately four weeks on a modified Gamborg media containing sucrose as the carbon source. The basal media was supplemented with 0.025 .mu.M indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and benzylaminopurine (BAP) at a concentration of from 0.2 .mu.M to 20 .mu.M. The cotyledonary node segments were prepared from the cultured soybean seedlings by removing the cotyledons adjacent to the stem axis, and cutting the stem approximately 3 mm above and below the node region. The cotyledonary node segments excised from the conditioned seedlings were cultured for four weeks on Gamborg medium supplemented with 0.025 .mu.M IBA and from 0.2 .mu.M to 20 .mu.M BAP and then transferred to a medium with 1.0 .mu.M BAP. At low BAP concentrations (i.e., less than 5.0 .mu.M), the extent of stimulation of shoot-bud formation differed among the tested soybean cultivars. The authors found that conditioned cotyledonary node segments derived from seedlings cultured with a high BAP concentration were most advantageous for stimulation of shoot-bud formation.
Cheng, et al., concluded that a high concentration of BAP is effective in stimulating bud formation but that it inhibits bud growth. When Cheng, et al., subsequently rooted shoots excised from cotyledonary node cultures of cultivars of Dare and Amsoy soybean cultures, the shoots rooted on basal media without addition of auxin. However, while the plants form the cultivar Dare appeared normal, plants from the cultivar Amsoy were abnormal in that the roots were enlarged in their upper regions and were covered with hairlike white cells and split to the core. Further, Cheng et al., often had difficulty in getting the shoots to root at all.
Phillips and Collins, 1981, reported a system of induction and development of somatic embryos from cell suspension cultures of soybean. The suspension cultures were used as inoculum sources for growing callus on agar-solidified nutrient media. The authors reported that numerous embryoids, particularly of Glycine soja, were produced on basal media supplemented with 100 ppm casein hydrolysate, 0.1 .mu.M abscisic acid, 2.25 .mu.M 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and 15.0 .mu.M adenine or 0.46 .mu.M kinetin. Callus recovered from the suspension culture produced one shoot structure when grown on a solid medium containing 0.2 .mu.M Amo 1618, an inhibitor of gibberellin synthesis and 80.0 .mu.M glutathione. The shoot structure consisted of two distinct buds, one producing two leaves. The shoot did not develop into a plant, thus, regeneration of soybean plants was not achieved.
Unlike the prior art methods which yield either no regeneration of soybean plants or regeneration at very low frequencies, often with abnormal soybean plants produced, the method of soybean regeneration described herein offers an efficient, high frequency method which results in the production of normal, healthy soybean plants.
Through the use of the method described herein, one is able to clone multiple individual soybean plants from a single mother plant, e.g., a hybrid (F1). Because the progeny are apparently genetically identical to the mother plant, many transplantable individuals (about 70 to 170), rather than a single individual, may be realized for earlier field evaluation of soybean hybrids. The need for the sexual cycle is totally negated and, thus, no genetic segregation will occur. This, in turn, negates the need for "roguing" of abberant individuals in the field. The procedure thus affords a 30 to 100 fold time savings in manual crossing and deletes one generation of the seed increase process. In the F2 generation, approximately 35,000 individuals can be evaluated, compared to 100 (assuming a single field-grown plant produced a total of 100 seeds). Total time saved in the breeding and hybrid evaluation time cycle could be at least five years.
Another use of the method of this invention is long-term unique germplasm preservation, including all of the ramifications of continuing to produce individuals with identical genotypes over a relatively long period, thus allowing multiple evaluations. Through the use of the procedure described herein, soybean regeneration has been observed from tissue culture for more than ten months. At the present time, nodal tissue has not been maintained in culture past ten months; however, it is expected that the tissue could be maintained in culture for extended periods of time while retaining regeneration capacity.
It will be apparent to skilled artisans that the method of this invention may be used for a variety of purposes. For example, the method described herein may be advantageously employed in a screening program directed to identifying and evaluating chemicals for biological activity in soybeans. Because the method yields shoots, buds, plantlets, and finally plants, chemicals may be screened in vitro at various stages of soybean development. Since the screening is done in vitro rather than in vivo, variability associated with uncontrolled environmental factors may be reduced as well as cost and time necessary for field testing.
Certain of the terms used in this patent specification are defined below; the definitions are believed to be the ones most commonly used by workers skilled in this art.
A "bud" is an undeveloped shoot comprised of a meristem which gives rise to a shoot.
A "cotyledon" is a part of the embryo and is a fleshy specialized leaf-like storage organ which provides nutrients during early seed germination.
A "cotyledonary node" is that part of the seedling including the embryonic axis to which the cotyledons are attached and which botanically defines the division of the hypocotyl and the epicotyl.
"Callus" is a mass of growing cells which may contain organized cells or cells at various stages of cytodifferentiation.
A "cytokinin" is a substance which, in combination with auxin, stimulates cell division in plants and which interacts with auxin in determining the direction which differentiation of the cell takes. All known naturally occurring cytokinins are adenine derivatives (i.e., they are 6-substituted amino-purines).
An "explant" is a piece of tissue taken from a donor plant which in culture will often produce a callus.
An "epicotyl" is the portion of the seedling above the cotyledons which develops into the shoot and its derivatives.
A "hypocotyl" is that portion of the stem of a plant embryo or seedling below the cotyledons and above the root.
A "meristem" is the undifferentiated, mitotically active tissues of a plant.
A "shoot" is derived from meristematic tissue (apical, lateral, or adventitious) and produces the above-ground portion of the plant.

Method of regenerating soybeans from cultured soybean cotyledonary nodes


An exercise bicycle includes an elongated base frame, two support frames mounted on the front portion of the base frame and an adjustable seat mounted on the rear portion of the base frame. A driving assembly, a hand operated assembly, a transmission assembly and a load applying assembly are mounted to the support frames in a compact manner. The driving assembly has a first wheel and a second wheel rotated with the first wheel. The hand operated assembly has a third wheel with a peripheral groove mounted to the second shaft, a rope member wound around the third wheel in the peripheral groove. The transmission assembly has a fourth wheel and a fifth wheel rotated with the fourth wheel. The load applying assembly has a sixth wheel and a seventh wheel rotated with the sixth wheel. A damping fan is coaxially connected to the seventh wheel. When the user pedals and thus rotates the first wheel in a predetermined direction, the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh wheels and the damping fan are in turn rotated in the predetermined direction; and when the rope member is pulled toward the seat by the user, the third, forth, fifth, sixth, and seventh wheels and the damping fan are in turn rotated in the predetermined direction.

This invention relates to an exercise bicycle, more particularly to an exercise bicycle designed for exercising the arms and legs.
Although many types of exercise bicycles have been developed and used for exercising the arms and legs of the user, in most cases, the structures of them are complicated and they are bulky and cumbersome.

Exercise bicycle for exercising arms and legs


One embodiment of a climate management topper includes a flowpath boundary which defines a flowpath adapted to carry a stream of fluid in a principal direction. A flow compliant filler occupies at least part of the flowpath. The filler includes a spacer and a set of shape change actuators (SCA's) each of which is made of a shape change material (SCM). The properties of the SCM include a critical temperature T0. The SCA's are configured to regulate distribution of the fluid stream through the flowpath in a direction transverse to the principal direction as a function of temperature. In one example the flowpath boundary is formed by liner panels and the SCA's are linear elements that elongate at a temperature TH which is higher than T0 thereby distending the spacer and reducing its resistance to fluid flow. One suitable shape change material is a nickel/titanium alloy known as NiTiNOL.

Beds used in hospitals, other health care facilities and home health care settings may be equipped with a climate management topper which manages the temperature and humidity in the immediate vicinity of a bed occupant. The topper may be integrated with a mattress or may be a separate component placed atop the mattress. A typical topper includes a liner which has a lower panel facing away from the occupant and an upper panel facing toward the occupant. In some cases the upper panel is liquid permeable. The liner panels define an interpanel interior space. The topper also includes a gas inlet for admitting gaseous fluid into the interior space and a gas outlet for exhausting the gaseous fluid from the interior space. A blower is connected to the topper inlet by a gas supply conduit. A spacer material occupies the interior space. The spacer is fibrous or mesh-like and therefore porous enough to permit gas flow through the topper interior space from the gas inlet to the gas outlet. During operation the blower propels a stream of coolant, usually ambient air, through the interior space from the inlet to outlet. Accordingly the interior space serves as a fluid flowpath. The fluid stream helps cool the skin of the bed occupant and carry away any occupant perspiration or other liquid which migrates across the liquid permeable upper panel. Both the cooling and the liquid transport are desirable to help resist the formation of pressure ulcers on the occupant's skin. The portions of an occupant's anatomy that bear heavily on the topper are the sites most susceptible to the development of pressure ulcers. Assuming the occupant is supine, these sites may include the occupant's shoulder blades, buttocks, elbows and heels. Therefore these are sites where targeted, preferential climate control would be most beneficial for resisting the formation of pressure ulcers.
The spacer exhibits some degree of crush resistance but nevertheless becomes compressed and therefore denser where it bears the weight of the occupant. This increased density locally increases resistance to airflow and therefore causes diversion of some of the coolant air to other portions of the flowpath where the occupant's weight is not bearing as heavily on the topper. As a result less coolant flows under the heavily loaded parts of the occupant's body, which are the portions most susceptible to pressure ulcers, while more coolant flows underneath the portions of the occupant's body that are more lightly loaded and therefore less susceptible to pressure ulcers. This is opposite what is needed.
One way to achieve better targeted climate management is described in US 2013/0212808 (application Ser. No. 13/401,401) which describes a flowpath shaped to preferentially direct coolant to where it is predicted to be most needed. Yet another way to achieve better targeted climate management is described in US 2013/0205506 (application Ser. No. 13/396,224) which describes a flowpath with nonuniform resistance to preferentially drive coolant to where it is predicted to be most needed. These systems offer simplicity, but are "one size fits all" solutions that cannot readily accommodate patient specific needs such as directing coolant to account for the exact position of the patient on the topper and to account for which portions of the occupant's anatomy are most needful of climate management at any given time. Another way to focus the coolant on the most susceptible sites is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,327,477 which describes a system in which a controller activates selected thermally conductive pathways in response to information from a detector, such as an array of pressure sensors. Although this system can provide patient specific targeted cooling and can respond to changing requirements, it requires certain components that are not ordinarily used with conventional climate management toppers (e.g. the thermally conductive pathways, the pressure sensors, and a set of thermoelectric modules) as well as software to control system operation.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a climate management system that is occupant specific (e.g. responsive to the occupant's position and responsive to which portions of the occupant's body are most susceptible to pressure ulcer formation at any given time). It is also desirable for such a system to be passive, i.e. to not require a controller.

Climate management topper with shape change actuators for regulating coolant distribution


A surface inspecting apparatus can inspect a smaller defect by using a PSL of a smaller particle size. However, the particle size of the PSL is restricted. In the conventional surface inspecting apparatus, therefore, no consideration has been taken as to how to inspect the defect of such a small particle size as is not set in the PSL which will be needed in the near future in an inspection of a semiconductor manufacturing step. The invention has a light source device for generating light which simulated at least one of a wavelength, a light intensity, a time-dependent change of the light intensity, and a polarization of light which was scattered, diffracted, or reflected by an inspection object, and the light is inputted to a photodetector of the surface inspecting apparatus. The smaller defect can be inspected.

In a manufacturing line of a semiconductor substrate, a thin film substrate, or the like, in order to monitor a dust generation situation of a manufacturing apparatus, a defect on the surface of the semiconductor substrate, thin film substrate, or the like is inspected.
Hitherto, as a technique for detecting a micro defect on the surface of an inspection object such as a semiconductor substrate or the like, for example, as disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,829, there is such a technique that a collected laser light flux is fixedly irradiated onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate (an illuminated area which is formed onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate by the laser light flux at this time is called an illumination spot) and in the case where a defect exists on the semiconductor substrate, scattered light which is generated from such a defect is detected by a photodetector, thereby inspecting the defects on the whole surface of the semiconductor substrate.
In such a surface inspecting apparatus, generally, an intensity of a signal which is obtained from the photodetector is converted into a size of detected defect and used as an inspection result. Such a conversion is performed in such a manner that a calibrating wafer (wafer for calibration) adhered with a standard particle (generally, PSL: polystyrene latex sphere is used) whose particle size (diameter) has already been known is preliminarily measured before the inspection, a relation between an intensity of scattered light which is generated by the standard particle whose particle size has already been known and the intensity of the signal which is obtained from the photodetector in correspondence to it is previously calculated as a calibration curve, and the actual inspection wafer is inspected, the intensity of the signal which is obtained from the photodetector is applied to the calibration curve and converted into the particle size corresponding to the standard particle. Such a calibrating method has been disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2003-185588 or the like.

Light source device, surface inspecting apparatus using the device, and method for calibrating surface inspecting apparatus using the device


A safety device for a machine has a first machine part for carrying out a working movement towards a second machine part. It also has at least a first and a second optical barrier moving along with the first machine part during the working movement. The first optical barrier runs ahead of the first machine part by a first distance, and the second optical barrier is arranged at a second distance from the first optical barrier. A control unit is designed to stop the working movement of the first machine part when the first optical barrier is interrupted. A test unit allows to test whether the second optical barrier has been interrupted once the first machine part has been stopped. A blocking unit serves for blocking the working movement as a function of the test result from the test unit. Using this safety device it is possible to determine an overtravel of the first machine part in a simple and reliable manner. Furthermore, an optical sensor barrier can be used to detect the position for a switchover between a rapid motion and a creep motion of the machine without requiring additional position sensors.

The present invention relates to a safety device for a machine, and more particularly to a safety device for a press brake, a folding bench, a stamping machine, a cutting machine or any other machine in which two machine parts are moved towards one another. However, the present invention is not restricted to these applications and can likewise be used in other machines, in which a concurrently moving protective device operating in a non-contact fashion (commonly designated as electro-sensitive protective equipment) can be used for preventing accidents.
DE 202 17 426 U1, which is assigned to the present assignee and which is incorporated here by reference, discloses a safety device, which has in total eight optical barriers running ahead of a moving machine part during its working movement. Four first optical barriers are arranged at increasing first distances in or near the plane of movement, which is defined by the leading edge as a result of the working movement. Four second optical barriers are arranged parallel to the plane of movement, but with an offset to the operator's side. Furthermore, the second optical barriers are arranged slightly higher than the first optical barriers, with the result that each first optical barrier runs ahead of a second optical barrier during the working movement. A particular aspect of this prior art safety device lies in the fact that selected first (and second) optical barriers can be deactivated permanently by means of a configuring means. It is thus very simple to adapt the known safety device to machines having different moving speeds and different overtravels ("stopping distance"). In the case of very slow machines, the overtravels are generally short, and the known safety device in this case only requires a few optical barriers, which are arranged at a smaller distance from the leading edge of the moving machine part. However, in the case of high-speed machines and also in the case of machines having only simple hydraulic drives, the barriers which are close to the leading edge are not capable of stopping the moving machine part in good time before a possible accident. In these cases, the barriers running further ahead are used, too.
In the end, the suitable configuration of the known safety device is thus dependent on the overtravel of the machine. In order to correctly configure the known safety device on a machine, it is desirable to be able to determine the current overtravel. Furthermore, it is desirable for safety reasons to check a selected configuration with regard to the overtravel. In this regard, above-mentioned DE 202 17 426 U1 mentions a program module which is stored in the control unit of the machine and which allows automated determination of the current overtravel. In practice, a CNC control unit is generally used for this purpose, with the moving machine part being moved in a test mode at its working speed and then an emergency stop being triggered via an emergency off button. The current overtravel can then be determined by the CNC control unit using the positions at the time of the emergency stop and once the machine part has come to a standstill.
The advantage of this procedure lies in the fact that the overtravel can be accurately determined by means of the CNC control unit since a CNC control unit is designed for exact position and movement control. In addition, many machines having moving machine parts nowadays have CNC controllers.
A downside of this procedure, however, is the fact that CNC control units are generally not safe as regards the relevant safety provisions, such as the European Standard EN 954-1. Since the determination of the overtravel for the known safety device is a safety-relevant measurement variable, additional measures have to be taken. Generally, additional position sensors, such as switching cams, are required which are used for safety-relevant position sensing alone.

Safety device and method for determining an overtravel in a machine


The present invention relates to a double fluid layer-type ultrasonic cleaning apparatus for cleaning such a workpiece as electronic element and pressed component by immersing it in a cleaning bath, wherein cleaning and removal of foreign substances adhered in spacings and blind holes of the workpiece are assured by storing a cleaning solution of upper layer having a lower specific gravity and containing a hydrocarbon solvent as a main component in an upper stock fluid area of the cleaning bath, and another of lower layer having a higher specific gravity and containing an inert solvent as a main component thereof in a lower stock fluid area of the cleaning bath so as to provide two fluid layers.

It is conventionally known as a method of cleaning such workpiece as electronic elements, for example, that a workpiece is immersed in a cleaning solution containing an inert solvent as a main component and stored in an ultrasonic cleaning bath for cleaning and removing such foreign substances as greases and chips adhered to surfaces of the workpiece by cavitation of the cleaning solution by means of an ultrasonic oscillator.
However, in such ultrasonic cleaning of a workpiece by using a cleaning solution containing an inert solvent as a main component as described above, however, it is a problem that a high cleaning performance cannot be obtained, because the solution is lower in cleaning performance of separating and removing greases adhered to the workpiece in comparison with a cleaning solution containing hydrocarbon solvent as a main component.
Although the above problem can be solved by ultrasonically cleaning a workpiece with a cleaning solution containing a hydrocarbon solvent as a main component, after the cleaning operation, when no more element for deaeration is present, such as when the ultrasonic is discontinued, because the air is dissolved in the cleaning solution, and propagation of the ultrasonic oscillation is inferior, a cleaning effect by the hydrocarbon solvent cannot be expected. In addition, as hydrocarbon solvents is higher in surface tension and lower in permeability than inert solvents, it is difficult to clean and remove foreign substances adhered in spacings and blind holes of a workpiece, and an isolating means for preventing it from being in contact with the air that may cause inflammation must be further provided, thus, requiring a careful handling.
Moreover, in the case of using both hydrocarbon and inert solvents, because a cleaning bath for storing the hydrocarbon solvent and another for the inert solvent are independently employed, it is another problem that an entire apparatus comes to be complicated in structure and bulky.

Double fluid layer-type ultrasonic cleaning apparatus


A method of forming crystals is adapted to grow a single-crystal by subjecting a substrate having a free surface with mutually adjacent non-nucleation and nucleation surfaces to a crystal forming process. Each nucleation surface consists of an amorphous material, having a greater nucleation density than the non-nucleation surface, with respect to a material with which the single-crystal will be formed, and having an area sufficiently small to permit only one nucleus to be generated, which will grow into the single crystal. The non-nucleation surfaces are made of a material having a higher etching rate than the material of which the nucleation surfaces are made. After a process of implanting ions in the entire surface of the substrate, the resultant substrate is subjected to an etching process whereby the non-nucleation surface material alone is selectively etched to remove the unnecessarily ion-implanted portions of the material. Thus, in the ion implantation, which is performed without employing a resist and followed by selective etching, a great amount of ions can be implanted without involving the conventional problems and without complicating the method. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a sufficiently great difference in nucleation density between the nucleation and non-nucleation surfaces, thereby increasing the yield of crystal growth.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a crystal, particularly to a crystal forming method for growing a single-crystal by subjecting a substrate having a free surface on which a non-nucleation surface and a nucleation surface are arranged adjacent to each other to a crystal forming process. The nucleation surface has a greater nucleation density than the non-nucleation surface with respect to a material with which the single-crystal will be formed. The nucleation surface has an area sufficiently small to selectively permit only one nucleus to form, which will grow to form a single-crystal. The method of the present invention forms a crystal which is used, for example, as an electronic, optical, magnetic, piezoelectric or surface acoustic element of a semiconductor integrated circuit, an optical integrated circuit, or a magnetic circuit.
(2) Related Background Art
This application is an improvement in the process for forming a single crystal on an insulating substrate as described in copending application Ser. No. 07/409,284, filed Sep. 19, 1989, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In the prior art, single crystal thin films to be used for semiconductor electronic devices or optical devices have been formed by epitaxial growth on a single crystal substrate. For example, it is known that epitaxial growth of Si, Ge, GaAs, etc., can be performed from the liquid phase, gas phase or solid phase on Si single crystal substrate (silicon wafer), and it is also known that epitaxial growth of a single crystal such as GaAs, GaAlAs, etc., occurs on a GaAs single crystal substrate. By use of the semiconductor thin film thus formed, semiconductor devices and integrated circuits, electroluminescent devices such as semiconductor lasers or LED have been prepared.
Also, much research and development has been recently conducted concerning ultra-high speed transistors by use of two-dimensional electronic gas, ultra-lattice devices utilizing quantum well, etc. What has made such research possible is the high precision epitaxial technique such as MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) or MOCVD (organometallic chemical vapor deposition) by use of ultra-high vacuum.
In such epitaxial growth on a single crystal substrate, it is necessary to take into account matching of lattice constants and coefficient of thermal expansion between the single crystal material of the substrate and the epitaxial growth layer. For example, although it is possible to effect epitaxial growth of Si single crystal film on sapphire which is an insulating single crystal substrate, the crystal lattice defect at the interface due to deviation in lattice constant and diffusion of aluminum which is a component of sapphire to the epitaxial layer pose problems in application to electronic devices or circuits.
Thus, the method for forming a single crystal thin film of the prior art by epitaxial growth may be understood to De dependent greatly on its substrate material. Mathews et have examined combinations of the substrate material with epitaxial growth layer (EPITAXIAL GROWTH, Academic Press, New York, 1975, ed. by J. W. Mathews).
The growth of a crystalline silicon on a crystalline silicon substrate is essentially two-dimensional growth, which is formed layer-by-layer by atomic arrangement on the lattice of the single crystal substrate.
Accordingly, during epitaxial growth on a single crystal, the presence of matching lattice constants and matching coefficients of thermal expansion between the single crystal material and the epitaxial growth layer make possible the formation of a uniform single crystal. The order in the single crystal substrate is carried over and matched during epitaxial growth.
To the contrary, when a material is deposited on a chemically dissimilar substrate, there is a lack of matching lattice constants and a lack of matching coefficients of thermal expansion. That lack causes a disordered growth. Accordingly, when a layer is grown over an amorphous substrate, the structure in the overlayers will also be amorphous, or polycrystalline at best. The absence of long-range order in the amorphous substrate is reflected in the absence of long-range order in the overlayer. In general, when a material is grown on a chemically dissimilar substrate, the growth sequence generally observed is nucleation, coalescence of the nuclei and then recrystallization. That nucleation-coalescence-recrystallization sequence in any subsequent grain growth will produce an overlayer without long range order. Generally, such overlayers are amorphous overlayers, or, at best, polycrystalline overlayers, which are aggregates of small random-sized crystal grains with grain boundaries between adjacent grains.
Both silicon oxides and silicon nitrides are stable amorphous materials, which have been widely used for silicon integrated circuit processing. Such amorphous compounds are formed by chemical vapor deposition. When silicon was deposited on amorphous silicon oxide, or amorphous silicon nitride, an amorphous layer or at best, a polycrystalline silicon layer, was formed with a variety of grain sizes. That is because the silicon layer was formed by spontaneous nucleation, coalescence and recrystallization. In that disordered system, the crystal grain boundary locations were randomly determined, since the silicon nuclei were randomly formed over the substrate surface. Closely located nuclei formed small grains, while more remote nuclei formed larger grains due to the difference in time before interaction with adjacent grains.
The formation of that heterogeneous structure having random polycrystalline grains was an obstacle to applying amorphous materials for production of crystal electronic devices. The nonuniform grain boundaries acted as electrical potential barriers and degraded the characteristics of the device.
Also, the size of the substrate is presently about 6 inches for a Si wafer, and the enlargement of GaAs and sapphire substrate is further inhibited. In addition, since the single crystal substrate is high in production cost, the cost per chip becomes higher.
Thus, for production of a single crystal layer capable of use in a device of good quality according to the method of prior art, it is a problem that the kinds of the substrate materials are limited to an extremely narrow scope.
On the other hand, research and development of three-dimensional integrated circuits to accomplish high integration and multi-function by laminating semiconductor devices in the normal line direction of the substrate have been made often in recent years. Also, research and development of large area semiconductor devices such as solar batteries or switching transistors of liquid crystal picture elements, etc, in which devices are arranged in an array on a cheap glass, are becoming more common from year to year.
What is common to both of these is that the technique for forming a semiconductor thin film on an amorphous insulating material and forming an electronic device such as transistor, etc. thereon is required. Among them, particularly the technique for forming a single crystal semiconductor of high quality on an amorphous insulating material has been desired.
Generally speaking, when a thin film is deposited on an amorphous insulating material substrate such as SiO.sub.2, etc., due to the defect of long distance order of the substrate material, the crystal structure of the deposited film becomes amorphous or polycrystalline. Here, the amorphous film refers to a state in which near distance order to the extent of the closest atoms is preserved, but no longer distance order exists, while the polycrystalline film refers to single crystal grains having no specific crystal direction gathered as separated at the grain boundaries.
For example, in the case of forming Si on SiO.sub.2, according to the CVD method, if the deposition temperature is abut 600.degree. C. or lower, it becomes an amorphous silicon, while it becomes a polycrystalline silicon with grain sizes distributed between some hundred to some thousand .ANG. at a temperature higher than said temperature. However, the grain sizes and their distribution of polycrystalline silicon will be varied greatly depending on the formation method.
Further, by melting and solidifying an amorphous or polycrystalline film by an energy beam such as laser or rod-shaped heater, etc., a polycrystalline thin film with great grain sizes of some microns or millimeters has been obtained (Single crystal silicon on non-single-crystal insulator, Journal of Crystal Growth, vol., 63, No. 3, Oct. 1983, edited by G. W. Gullen).
When a transistor is formed on the thus formed thin film of respective crystal structures and electron mobility is measured from its characteristics, mobility of about 0.1 cm.sup.2 /V .cndot. sec or less is obtained for amorphous silicon, mobility of 1 to 10 cm.sup.2 /V .cndot. sec for polycrystalline silicon. having grain sizes of some hundred .ANG., and a mobility to the same extent as in the case of single crystalline silicon for polycrystalline silicon with great grain sizes by melting and solidification.
From these results, it can be understood that there is great difference in electrical properties between the device formed in the single crystal region within the crystal grains and the device formed as bridging across the grain boundary. In other words, the deposited film on the amorphous material obtained in the prior art becomes amorphous or polycrystalline structure having grain size distribution, and the device prepared thereon is greatly inferior in its performance as compared with the device prepared on the single crystal layer. For this reason, the uses are limited to simple switching devices, solar batteries, photoelectric converting devices, etc.
On the other hand, the method for forming a polycrystalline thin film with great grain sizes by melting and solidification had problems. A great deal of time is required to form the film due to scanning of amorphous or single crystal thin film with energy beam for every wafer. Therefore, that technique is poor in bulk productivity, and also, it is not suited for area enlargement.
Further, in recent years, studies of diamond thin film growth are becoming popular. Diamond thin film, which is particularly broad in bandgap as 5.5 eV as the semiconductor, can be actuated at higher temperature (about 500.degree. C. or less) as compared with Si, Ge, GaAs, etc., which are semiconductor materials of the prior art. Also, the carrier mobility of both electrons and positive holes surpass that of Si (1800 cm.sup.2 /V .cndot. sec from electrons, 1600 cm.sup.2 /V .cndot. sec for positive holes), and thermal conductivity is also extremely high. For this reason, it has been expected to be promising for application in semiconductor devices of the great consumption power type with great heat generation quantity.
However, although there have been reports in the prior art about epitaxial growth of diamond thin film on a diamond substrate by vapor phase growth (N. Fujimoto, T. Imai and A. Doi Pro. of Int. Couf. IPAT), there is no successful report about heteroepitaxial growth on a substrate other than diamond substrate.
Generally speaking, diamond nuclei are generated by utilizing excitation with microwaves, using a hydrocarbon type gas such as CH.sub.4, etc., and by irradiation with a hot filament or an electron beam, but the nucleation density is generally low, whereby a continuous thin film can only De obtained with difficulty. Even if a continuous thin film may be formed, it has a polycrystalline structure with great grain size distribution and is difficult to apply for semiconductor devices.
Also, as long as a diamond substrate is used, it is expensive as a matter of course, posing also a problem in enlargement of area. Thus, it is not suitable for practical application.
As described above, in the crystal growth method of the prior art and for the crystal formed thereby, three-dimensional integration or enlargement of area could not be done with ease, was difficultly applied in practice for devices, and crystals such as single crystals and polycrystals, etc., required for preparation of devices having excellent characteristics could not be formed easily and at low cost.
In the field of silicon on insulator (SOI) technology for growing a single-crystal on an insulating substrate, a method of forming crystals has been reported in, for example, "Extended Abstracts of the 19th SSDM 191" by T. Yonehara et al., 1987 (hereinafter referred to as "the first report"). In this method, nuclei are selectively generated by utilizing the difference in nucleation density between materials forming the surface of the substrate. Crystals are grown around the nuclei.
This crystal forming method will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, a substrate 401 having a surface 403 with a small nucleation density is prepared, and regions 407 and 407' with a diameter a and with a nucleation density greater than that of the surface 403 are arranged on the substrate 401 at a pitch of b.
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 401 is subjected to a predetermined crystal forming process, whereby nuclei 409 and 409' made of a deposited substance (the substance with which the crystals are to be formed) are generated only on the surfaces of the regions 407 and 407', respectively, whereas no nuclei are generated on the surface 403. Throughout the specification, surfaces corresponding to the surfaces of the regions 407 and 407' will be referred to as "nucleation surfaces", and those corresponding to the surface 403 will be referred to as "non-nucleation surfaces".
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the nuclei 409 and 409' generated on the nucleation surfaces of the regions 407 and 407', respectively, are grown so that they grow beyond the nucleation surface regions 407 and 407' until, finally, the crystal grain 410 grown from the nucleation surface 407 abuts on the crystal grain 410' grown from the adjacent nucleation surface 407' to define a grain boundary 411.
Hitherto, the above-described crystal forming method has been performed in more than one manner. The first report described an example in which amorphous Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 was the material used to form a plurality of nucleation surfaces arranged at desired positions on the substrate, while SiO.sub.2 was the material used to form the non-nucleation surfaces. In this example, a Si single-crystal was formed on each nucleation surface by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Another example is reported in a second report ("The 35th Lecture Meeting on Applied Physics", 28p-M-9, 1988), in which SiO.sub.2 was the material used to form non-nucleation surfaces, and a plurality of regions to provide nucleation surfaces were formed by using a focused ion beam to implant Si ions into desired positions of the non-nucleation surfaces. In this example, a plurality of Si single-crystals were formed by a CVD method.
However, the crystal forming method as described in the first report entails the following problems concerning control over the crystal formation. This is because under certain crystal growth conditions, the difference in nucleation density between Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 and SiO.sub.2 is insufficient, corresponding to a ratio of about 1000:1 at most.
If an insufficient difference in nucleation density between the nucleation surfaces and the non-nucleation surfaces is to be remedied by controlling the crystal forming conditions to thereby achieve a sufficient nucleation density on the nucleation surfaces, this may result in unnecessary nucleation on the non-nucleation surfaces. Conversely, if an insufficient difference is to be remedied by adopting a low nucleation density level to thereby suppress nucleation on the non-nucleation surfaces, this can result in an unnecessarily low nucleation density on the nucleation surfaces. If such is the case, some of the nucleation surfaces, where single-crystals should grow, may not have any nuclei generated thereon to grow into single-crystals. Hence, these surfaces may not be able to grow single-crystals.
If substances, such as Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 and SiO.sub.2, having compositions determined by stoichiometric ratios are used, the nucleation densities are determined based on a one-to-one relationship under the given crystal growth conditions. For this reason, it is sometimes difficult to determine, under certain crystal growth conditions adapted to avoid unnecessary nucleation on the non-nucleation surfaces, a particular nucleation density on the nucleation surfaces which assures that a crystal grown from a single nucleus is formed on each of the nucleation surfaces. It is also difficult to suppress, under certain crystal growth conditions adapted to assure that a nucleus is generated and grows into a single-crystal, unnecessary generation of nuclei and unnecessary growth of crystals on the non-nucleation surfaces. Thus, under certain crystal growth conditions, it is difficult to fill a large area with good-quality crystal grains, in which grain size and the grain boundary positions are successfully controlled. As a result, it is difficult to improve the yield of the crystals.
It was an intention of the crystal forming method described in the second report to eliminate the problems of the first-report method. The second method used nucleation surfaces consisting of regions where the nucleation density is increased by ion implantation employing a focused ion beam.
However, under the described circumstances, forming a plurality of nucleation surfaces by projecting a focused ion beam takes a long time. When the substrate has a large surface area, a long processing time is required, leading to a decrease in productivity which renders the second method not readily applicable. In order to overcome this drawback, a method was proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 107016/1988, in which nucleation surfaces are formed in the following manner: a mask of a photoresist is patterned by a resist process so that it has openings only at positions corresponding to the regions where ions should be implanted; then, ion implantation is performed throughout the surface of a substrate over the mask, thereby implanting ions only in those portions of the substrate surface which are to serve as the nucleation surfaces. With this method, however, when ion implantation is performed at a high dose, the photoresist may have its properties changed in the vicinity of the openings, thereby making stripping of the photoresist difficult. Nuclei tend to be generated on any remaining photoresist and incomplete removal of the photoresist can diminish the level of control over the selective growth of crystals. As a result, a plurality of poly-crystalline grains having uncontrolled crystal grain size and uncontrolled grain boundary positions may be formed. For this reason, improvement in the yield has been sought.
In brief, none of the above efforts to overcome the problems of the method as described in the first report have proven to be sufficiently successful. They involve problems such as requiring long processing time, high cost, decrease of controllability and low yield.
The present invention solves the problem of forming crystals over non-monocrystalline substrate surfaces. In order to provide a self-matching single crystal film on a non-monocrystalline substrate, two growth factors must be controlled. The crystal growth must grow on a nucleation surface of (1) sufficiently small area and (2) of sufficient nucleation density to selectively grow only a single nucleus. The single nucleus grows to form a crystal. By patterning the nucleation surface, large grains of single crystals can be formed having well-defined and uniform grain boundaries.


A composition comprising the following components: A) an ethylene/α-olefin/non-conjugated diene interpolymer; B) a peroxide; C) at least one multi-vinyl cyclic siloxane selected from Structure 1 below: Structure 1, wherein n is an integer greater than, or equal to, 1; and each R1 is independently selected from the following: a (C2-C4) alkenyl, or a H2C═C(R1a)—C(═O)—O—(CH2)m—, and wherein R1a is H or methyl, and m is an integer from 1 to 4; and each R2 is independently selected from the following: H, a (C1-C4) alkyl, a (C2-C4) alkenyl, a phenyl, or a H2C═C(R1b)—C(═O)—O—(CH2)m—, wherein R1b is H or methyl, and m is an integer from 1 to 4.

EPDM-based polymer compositions are used in automotive and infrastructures applications. One target application is for hose for automotive Under-the-Hood (UTH) applications, where higher heat resistance is required (from 120/135° C. to 150° C. for 1008 hours), due to the increased UTH temperatures, especially for turbo-charged engines. Another important application of such EPDM compositions is the manufacture of thermoplastic dynamic vulcanizates (TPVs). A TPV is a thermoplastic elastomer that contains a thermoplastic continuous phase and a fine elastomeric dispersed phase, which is cured during the mixing (dynamic vulcanization) process. Due to its superior elastomeric characteristic, low density, easy processibility, and recycling capability, TPVs have become the material of choice for automotive parts, such as body sealing profiles and many other products.
EPDM compositions can be cured by sulfur and peroxide. Compared with sulfur cured EPDM, peroxide cured EPDM compounds have a better heat aging resistance. In organic peroxide curing formulation, multifunctional coagents are also used to modify the cure kinetics and ultimate physical properties. Some coagents, such as multifunctional acrylates or maleimides with polar bridging groups, have poor solubility in EPDM. These coagents produce phase-separated domains of high local concentrations. As the peroxides used are also polar in nature, it is likely that a disproportionate amount of the radicals formed, are partitioned in the coagent domains, as well, promoting thermoset "filler-like" particles produced from radical addition reactions. Such a crosslink network may generate inhomogeneous thermal degradation, in the compositions and final articles, during heat aging. Thus, there is a need for new EPDM-based compositions that contain coagents that have better solubility in EPDM, and good resistance.
Silicone rubber has higher thermal stability than EPDM. Blending silicone rubber in EPDM is a way to improve the heat resistance of EPDM. However EPDM and silicone are two immiscible materials. Simply physical blending EPDM and silicone will get coarse phase morphology and inferior properties. Elastomer compositions are described in the following references: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,005,254, 4,201,698, 3,859,247, and 3,946,099. However, as discussed above, there remains a need for new EPDM-based compositions that form a homogeneous dispersion of coagent and other additives, and have good thermal resistance. This need has been met by the following invention.

Multi-vinyl cyclic siloxane enhanced ethylene/α-olefin/diene interpolymer based compositions


A technique utilizes a monolithic wellbore propagation system to facilitate the drilling of deviated wellbores. A steerable drilling assembly is formed with a monolithic structure having both a bit body section and a steering body section. The steering body section comprises a cavity sized to receive a control system within the monolithic structure. Addition of the control system enables operational control over the steerable drilling assembly to facilitate formation of a desired, deviated wellbore section.

Oil and gas reservoirs may be accessed by drilling wellbores to enable production of hydrocarbon fluid, e.g. oil and/or gas, to a surface location. In many environments, directional drilling techniques have been employed to gain better access to the desired reservoirs by forming deviated wellbores as opposed to traditional vertical wellbores. However, forming deviated wellbore sections can be difficult and requires directional control over the orientation of the drill bit used to drill the deviated wellbore.
Rotary steerable drilling systems have been used to drill deviated wellbore sections while enabling control over the drilling directions. Such drilling systems often are classified as push-the-bit systems or point-the-bit systems and allow an operator to change the orientation of the drill bit and thus the direction of the wellbore. In conventional rotary steerable drilling systems, the drill bit section or housing is connected to a steering control section or housing by a field separable connection, such as a standard API (American Petroleum Institute) connection. However, accommodation of the API connection requires a longer overall rotary steerable system, resulting in design constraints with respect to both the drill bit section and the overall steerable system. The extra length is required regardless of whether the API connection is a common pin-up connection or a less common pin-down connection.


Examples of multi-persona account management in client devices are described. In one example, a client device can host a personal workspace, such as for personal data and applications of a user of the client device, along with a separate alternate persona workspace for work-related data and applications of the user. The client device interfaces with a management computing environment to enroll in device management services and establish an alternate persona workspace on the client device. The client device receives a token for the alternate persona workspace from the management computing environment, creates the alternate persona workspace, and installs an interface service in the alternate persona workspace. The client device also associates an alternate persona account with the alternate persona workspace using the token and returns a service identifier to the management computing environment. The management computing environment remotely administers applications installed in the alternate persona workspace using the service identifier.

Mobile devices are being used for access to enterprise computing systems and resources with greater frequency. With the growing number of different mobile devices, platforms, and operating systems available for adoption by users, various challenges can arise in the management of the mobile devices.
Mobile device management platforms can be relied upon to facilitate certain challenges associated with the management of large numbers of mobile devices using a central administration console. For example, the distribution, installation, and access to a suite of applications on a number of mobile devices can be managed using the administration console. Further, access to the functions performed and data processed by the applications can be managed through the administration of the suite of applications based on a set of management policies, compliance rules, and configuration data which is defined and enforced by the administration console.
In many cases, employees and personnel can be ahead of the curve when it comes to the adoption of new mobile devices and related technology. The proliferation of tablet and smartphone devices, for example, has resulted in a number of companies and organizations allowing employees to bring their own devices to work. The use of these personal devices can be associated with productivity gains and cost savings. The concept "bring your own device" (BYOD) for access to enterprise computing systems may have met initial resistance due to security concerns, but more and more companies are now looking to incorporate BYOD policies.


The invention relates to a strip-casting machine for producing a metal strip. Said strip-casting machine consists of a pair of casting rolls (2, 3) arranged in side-by-side parallel relation, two small faces (4) and a machine tool table (5) that supports the two casting rolls (2, 3). Said small faces (4) can be exchanged by means of a small face exchanging device. The aim of the invention is to reduce the change-over time between two castings, to improve positioning of the small faces and to heat them until start of the casting process while improving the accessibility of the casting rolls for an exchange thereof and while further allowing an optimum inerting of the plant. To this end, the small face exchanging device is configured as a support element, especially as a support arm (9) for one small face (4). Said support arm (9) and said small face (4) can be displaced in one plane from a pressing position downwards and vice versa in an essentially parallel manner and at a distance to the sealing surface of the small face (4).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a strip-casting machine with two casting rolls.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that twin-roll strip-casting machines can be used to produce strips continuously from a molten metal bath, especially from molten steel. The molten metal is supplied continuously in this case to the casting gap defined by two driven casting rolls. Molten metal solidifies upstream of and in the gap, and a strip which is at least partially solidified is conveyed out of the gap by the casting rolls. This strip can then be subjected to additional continuous or discontinuous operations such as cooling, reheating, hot- or cold-rolling, shaping into sections, hardening and tempering of the surface, trimming, etc.
It is also known that, in strip-casting machines with two casting rolls set up essentially parallel to each other, the casting gap can also be limited by two side plates on the roll sides. These side plates are set elastically against the end surfaces of the barrels of the two casting rolls by setting devices. The casting rolls and usually also the two setting devices for the side plates are supported on a standard. When strips are cast, especially steel strips, the side plates are worn down by abrasive wear as a result of the friction with the casting rolls and also, in the lower part, as a result of the friction with the solidified strip. When thus worn out, they must be replaced during a halt in the casting operations. To accomplish such replacement, the side plates are moved out of the casting position, in which the plates are resting against the barrels, in an essentially horizontal direction by the setting devices and thus away from the barrels and into a setting position. The plates are then moved upward from the setting position by means of small plate-changing devices, e.g., robots, which are mounted on the casting platform on each side of the machine (compare Japanese Patent Disclosure JP-5 [1993]-329,583 A). Then the side plates are set down onto a cart and brought to the side plate renovation shop. After a renovated side plate has been preheated, it is picked up by the robot and brought into the setting position from above and attached to the machine. When such robots are provided on both sides of the machine near the standard, they block access to the strip-casting machine. When the robots are set up 2-3 m away from the standard, the size and bulk of the robots increase correspondingly, and the side plates can no longer be moved into the setting position with precision. In addition, before the side plates are set down on the standard, all the supply lines such as those for heating and cooling, electric power lines, pressure media lines, etc., must be disconnected. The installation and removal of the side plates by means of robot arms, etc., requires that the robot arms have unhindered access to the side plates when they are in the setting position. This free access makes it difficult to enclose the casting machine so that an inert gas atmosphere can be created to keep oxygen from coming in contact with the steel strip and the cast strip.
Strip-casting machines with 2 casting rolls have been built with casting roll diameters of 50-1,500 mm. In strip-casting machines with a casting roll diameter of more than 800 mm, the sealing surfaces of the side plates, i.e., the surfaces which are in sliding contact with the end surfaces of the casting rolls, are also correspondingly larger. The setting devices, which press the side parts or the side plates against the casting rolls to form a seal, must also be designed to meet a higher set of requirements. All these requirements associated with casting rolls with diameters of more than 800 mm make it difficult to replace the side plates quickly and precisely.
The invention is based on the task of creating a strip-casting machine which overcomes the disadvantages of the state of the art and which in particular makes it easier to replace the side plates and thus reduces the retooling time between two casting operations. It should also be possible for the side plates to be positioned with greater accuracy and to be kept heated until casting begins. The side plates, furthermore, should also remain connected to all the supply and detector lines of the monitoring system for side plates of this type during the replacement operations. An essential secondary goal is to improve the accessibility to the casting rolls, especially when the casting rolls are to be changed, and to make it simpler to prevent oxygen from reaching the casting entry and casting exit areas of the casting machine (inertization). The problems associated with rolls with diameters of more than 800 mm and correspondingly larger side plates are also to be solved.
In accordance with the invention, the side plater can be moved downward by the carrier element in a straight line, either vertically or at an angle or along a curve. The carrier element is advantageously designed as a support arm. The support arm can swivel around an axis or move along a curve. Underneath the machine, the side plate on the support arm can be replaced with a new side plate and moved back along the same route to the setting position. It must be kept in mind that the term xe2x80x9csetting positionxe2x80x9d includes all positions of the plate located between the casting position and the replacement position. According to an exemplary embodiment, it is possible in a first step of the operation for the support arm to shift the side plate away from the standard essentially in a horizontal direction, i.e., in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the casting rolls. This shifting of the side plate can occur along a horizontal displacement path which can be, for example, on a plane underneath the casting rolls. In a second step of the movement, the support arm with the side plate can then be shifted downward in a direction essentially parallel to the end surfaces of the casting rolls.
The displacement path can take the side plate to a side plate changing station, which is separated spatially from the casting platform by a wall. Separating the side plate station in this way makes it possible for the following work steps such as cleaning, maintenance, replacement, adjustment, preheating of the side plate, etc., to be carried out in an orderly and clean manner while also preventing accidents.
So that the strip-casting machine can be made narrow in proportion to the width of the strip, it is possible according to another exemplary embodiment for the side plate to be moved downward between the bearing journals or bearing points of the casting rolls. The side plate, with or without the setting device, can be shifted downward between the end surfaces of the roll barrels and the standard. For this purpose, the casting rolls can also be moved a certain distance apart.
The casting machine can be made especially narrow by mounting the setting and positioning devices on the standard and by making it possible for them to be connected to and disconnected from the side plates while the plates are in the setting position.
Regardless of whether the setting and positioning device can be lowered together with the side plate or the setting device remains on the standard during the replacement of the side plate, the side plate can be moved between the setting position and the casting position by the use of a pressure medium and piston-cylinder units. The plate could also be moved by electromechanical means.
After the side plate has been brought into the setting or casting position, it is possible, if desired, for the support arm to be disconnected from the side part. According to an advantageous exemplary embodiment, the support arm can remain connected to the side plate even while the plate is in the casting position.
If the side plate is shifted downward together with the setting device, that is, if the setting device is also mobile, the device requires centering and support surfaces with respect to the standard when in the setting position so that the setting forces can be introduced into the standard.
The side plate changing device consists advantageously of a support arm with a vertical carrier and a horizontal carrier, where the horizontal carrier is usually connected to a stroke device.
So that the various supply media (heating and possibly cooling media, electric power, pressurized media, etc.) for the side plates can remain connected during the shifting operation as well, it is proposed that the horizontal displacement path be provided with a drag chain for the lines of the supply media to the side plates.
To improve the seal between the rotating casting rolls and the stationary side plates, the side plates can be provided with electromagnetic coils to generate an electromagnetic field to help seal the gap.
An additional reduction in the replacement time for the side plates can be achieved by installing two side plate changing devices on each side of the casting rolls. Thus a worn-out side plate can be taken away by the one changing device while the new side plate is brought up into position by the other changing device.

Strip-casting machine with two casting rolls


Systems, methods, and devices that identify abusive mobile messages and associated abusive mobile communication device users are presented. A core network can comprise a message abuse detector component (MADC) that can selectively or randomly monitor or sample mobile messages communicated in the core network. The MADC can evaluate origination and destination address information and can identify abusive mobile messages and associated abusive mobile message senders based at least in part on the respective address information and predefined message abuse criteria. The MADC also can distinguish between spam mobile messages, subscription mobile messages, harassing mobile messages, and other mobile messages, and can identify and implement a desired response (e.g., automated response) to the abusive mobile message. To facilitate identifying abusive mobile messages, the MADC also can analyze history and reputation associated with the origination address, reputation of the address reporting an abusive message, message content, etc.

Mobile communication devices, such as cellular phones, have become prevalent in everyday life. The use of such devices for messaging (e.g., text messages (e.g., short message service (SMS), enhanced message service (EMS)), multimedia messages (e.g., multimedia messaging service (MMS)), instant messages, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages, etc.) is ever increasing. Some users have unlimited messaging plans, whereby such users are allowed to send or receive an unlimited number of messages over a billing period for a specified fee. However, other users have limited messaging plans, whereby such users pay a certain fee for a specified number of messages per billing period and pay an additional fee per message for each message over the specified number of messages. Still other users have no messaging plan, whereby such users pay a specified fee for each message sent or received during the billing period.
A problem that is on the rise in mobile messaging is spamming, wherein a mobile communication device and/or computer send spam messages originating from the address (e.g., Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number (MSISDN)) associated with the mobile communication device (e.g., computer connected to the mobile communication device to cause the mobile communication device to quickly send spam messages; computer that is sending spam mobile messages via the account and/or address associated with the mobile communication device). While spam messages have been ubiquitous in emailing for quite some time, they are now on the rise in mobile messaging as well. Pre-paid mobile communication devices with unlimited messaging plans have made it easier and more cost effective for spammers to use mobile communication devices to send spam mobile messages to other mobile communication devices.
Obviously, undesired messages, such as spam or harassing messages, can be a problem for both the user and the wireless service provider. For instance, if the user has a limited messaging plan or no messaging plan, the user may incur a cost for a message that was not desired to be received by the user on the user's mobile communication device, in addition to the inconvenience of having to receive and process (e.g., delete) the undesired message. Undesired messages consume service providers' network resources, forcing service providers to provide costly additional network capacity and/or driving networks traffic volumes to a level where legitimate use of services is or may be denied. Further, when a user contacts a wireless service provider to complain about charges for undesired mobile messages, such complaint calls can be very costly to the wireless service provider, and time consuming for both the user and the wireless service provider. If the problem is a persistent one, users also may become disenchanted with the wireless service and decide to end their subscription with the wireless service provider.
The issue of spamming in mobile messaging is not limited to users receiving undesired spam messages. Another problem arises when a mobile communication device of a user is infected with a malicious software program that automatically sends a spam message to many other mobile communication devices, often without the user even realizing it is happening, resulting in a large messaging bill being incurred by the user. The user then has to take the time to contact the wireless service provider to rectify the problem with the billing as well as the problem with the infected device.
Conventionally, while there have been attempts to address spam emails in email systems, the problem has largely been left unaddressed in mobile messaging. Users typically have been left with the option of contacting (e.g., calling) the wireless service provider to report the receiving (or sending, when the user's device has been infected with a malicious spam program) of undesired messages to try to obtain a credit for the undesired message. Furthermore, for a variety of reasons, spam defenses employed in email systems generally will not be optimal or desirable in the mobile messaging environment.
Another issue with reporting of mobile messaging abuses is that a user may not always accurately report whether a particular message is undesired but subscribed (e.g., where the user may not even realize that the user is subscribed to a service associated with the subscription-related mobile message), spam (e.g., a message, such as a mobile message, that can be undesired and/or unsolicited by the receiver of the message), harassing (e.g., from someone who does not like the user), or otherwise abusive. This and other causes can lead to misclassification of messages, and inappropriate abuse management action(s), such as blocking non-abusive "ham" messages, wherein a "ham" message can be a message, such a mobile message, that can be desired, or at least not be undesired, by a message receiver, for example, even though such message may have been sent to many receivers (e.g., a "Happy New Year" message sent to a number of message contacts associated with a message sender).
A wireless service provider (or user) may desire to take different actions (e.g., block messages, close account of device that is spamming, unsubscribe user from a subscription service, etc.) depending upon the nature of the undesired message(s), there is a need to be able to effectively categorize whether a message is a spam mobile message, a virus, a subscription-related mobile message, or a harassing mobile message.
It is desirable to be able to effectively categorize spam mobile messages and the mobile communication device that originated the spam mobile messages, in contrast to subscription-related mobile messages or harassing mobile messages. Further, it is desirable to be able to respond with (e.g., automatically execute) a desired action appropriate to the category of message and/or originating communication device. Furthermore, it is desirable to reduce the costs (e.g., financial costs, time costs, etc.) associated with spam mobile messages for both the mobile communication device users and wireless service providers.

Identifying abusive mobile messages and associated mobile message senders


A rolling bearing, particularly a slewing connection (1), comprising an outer bearing ring (2) and an inner bearing ring (3) and rolling elements arranged between said outer and inner bearing rings for rolling contact with associated raceways, a stop means for limiting an angle of rotation of the rolling bearing being arranged within the rolling bearing, whereby a first solution offered by the invention, the outer bearing ring (2) comprises on an inner peripheral surface a recess (14) which extends in peripheral direction and is limited at two ends by a first stop lug (15), the inner bearing ring (3) comprises on an outer peripheral surface a guide groove (16) which extends in peripheral direction and is limited at two ends by a second stop lug (17), and a guide element (18) arranged in the guide groove (16) connects the inner and outer bearing rings (3,2) to each other by positive engagement.

Rolling bearing slewing connections of the pre-cited type are known in the prior art. The textbook "Die Wälzlagerpraxis" (Rolling bearing practice), Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH, Mainz 1995 teaches that rolling bearing slewing connections of the pre-cited type are used as pivoting bearings for the support of excavators, cranes and in the field of automotive vehicles for articulated buses and streetcars, i.e. in fields of use in which, in a limited design space, high loads occur and where a high degree of operative safety is demanded. These slewing connections can take up axial forces, radial forces and tilting torques. Such slewing connections are further used in medical technology, robotics and military engineering.
These pivoting bearings are configured as four-point bearings which are particularly well-suited for supporting tilting forces on a small cross-section. Joints of industrial robots and other bearing applications that overtax the bearing capacity and rigidity of ball bearings are preferably equipped with cross roller bearings. These bearings comprise a crown ring filled with rollers with an approximately square cross-section and roll in alternation on offset axes on the rolling raceways. Such pivoting bearings are disclosed, for instance, in FR 2 594 174 A1 and in DE 15 25 140 A1.
As already mentioned above, such slewing connections are also used in the medical field and are mounted as disclosed, for example, in DE 36 27 517 A1, in so-called ceiling tripods or supports. It is common knowledge in this connection that, due to the transmission of data through electric leads or due to the transfer of liquids/gases through tubes, the angular displacement between the two rotating parts must be limited. This is necessary in order to prevent damage to the stewing connection through a twisting of the electric leads or the tubes. FIG. 2 of FR 2 693 102 A1 discloses a ceiling support which makes it clear that the supply ducts for medical gases or fluids through tubes should not be damaged by twisting.
Stops used in this technical field are known to the applicant. These are realized, for instance, in that stoppers that are used in both bearing rings serve as displacement limiters and prevent a twisting of the bearing rings relative to each other by coming to bear against each other when a certain angular position has been reached.
A drawback of this solution is that such mechanical limiters of angles of rotation do not allow the bearing rings to rotate through an angle larger than 360°, but this is required in many cases of use.