According to a representative configuration of the developing device and the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the developing device includes: a developing sleeve which bears developer and conveys the developer to a developing region; a developing chamber which supplies the developer to the developing sleeve; an agitating chamber which forms a circulation path with the developing chamber and collects the developer from the developing sleeve; and a conveying unit (a first conveying screw and a second conveying screw) which circulates and conveys the developer in the circulation path. A spiral groove is formed on a surface of the developing sleeve so as to apply a conveying force to the developer in a rotation axis direction of the developing sleeve opposite to a developer conveying direction of the agitating chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile, and a developing device used therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vertical agitation type developing devices horizontally arranged in parallel are used as conventional developing devices for reducing the size of a full color image forming apparatus. In such a vertical agitation type developing device as illustrated in FIG. 8, a function separation method is adopted in which a developing chamber 41a and an agitating chamber 41b are vertically disposed, and toner is supplied to a developing sleeve 44 from the developing chamber 41a and is collected in the agitating chamber 41b. Therefore, toner density nonuniformity and image density nonuniformity resulting therefrom can be prevented, and thus a uniform image having no lengthwise density difference can be obtained.
In the vertical agitation type developing device 4 adopting the function separation method, if the fluidity of developer is varied as a result of a control operation such as T/D control for durability or charging amount adjustment, circulation of the developer may lean to one side in a developing container 41, and the developer may easily stagnate on a scooping portion. Here, T/D denotes a weight ratio of toner relative to developer.
The conveying of developer is very sensitively affected by the fluidity of the developer because the developer is squeezed by a second conveying screw 41e while being scooped up from the lower agitating chamber 41b to the upper developing chamber 41a. If developer stagnation occurs, developer rotates together with the developing sleeve 44 after a developing operation instead of being stripped from the developing sleeve 44 at the downstream side of the agitating chamber 41b (corotation phenomenon). If the level of developer stagnation increases, the developing device 4 may overflow with the developer.
A common method used as a countermeasure against such overflow is to form a groove having a depth of several tens micrometers (μm) in the developing sleeve 44 for easily conveying developer. FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating a developing device having a grooved sleeve in the related art. Referring to FIG. 9, a groove is formed at regular intervals around the surface of a developing sleeve 44 of the related art along a longitudinal rotational axis thereof. Furthermore, in a blast method also used as a countermeasure against overflow of developer, glass beads are injected to the surface of the developing sleeve 44 to roughen the surface of the developing sleeve 44. In those cases, since the developing sleeve 44 can convey developer forcibly, it is possible to reduce the amount of developer stagnating on a stripping pole between repelling like poles of a magnet disposed in the developing sleeve 44.
In addition, as a method of stabilizing developer distribution in a vertical agitation type developing device, a return screw is disposed between an agitating screw and a developing sleeve (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 6-51634 and 11-84874). In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-51634, when developer is collected to an agitating chamber from a developing region by rotating a return screw and an agitating screw in opposite directions, the amount of developer is large in the vicinity of an upper scooping portion, thereby preventing stripped developer from sticking back to a developing sleeve.
However, in the structure where a groove is formed in a developing sleeve, a corotation phenomenon may occur in which developer is not stripped from the developing sleeve but is rotated together with the developing sleeve after a developing operation.
Further, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-51634, all the developer splattered upward by the return screw may not reach the agitating screw but some may return to the developing sleeve. If it becomes difficult to convey developer as the fluidity of the developer is lowered by aging, the scooping portion may scoop developer insufficiently, the return screw may convey the developer insufficiently, and the developer may be collected from the developing sleeve insufficiently, thereby causing a corotation phenomenon.
Furthermore, the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-84874 does not sufficiently cope with the change of the distribution of developer according to the variation of fluidity caused by durability deterioration, T/D variation, and greenhouse environment.

Developing device and image forming apparatus


A suture assembly configured to load a suture instrument with suture includes a cap attached to an end of the suture, a suture container configured to retain a portion of the suture, and a cap retainer having a wall and a suture channel formed in the wall. The suture channel is configured to receive a length of the suture, and the wall is configured to deny passage of the cap into the suture channel and align the cap with the length of the suture for loading into the suture instrument.

Intracorporeal suturing of tissue during surgery presents challenges to the surgeon in that the surgeon is called upon to manipulate suturing instruments within the confines of a relatively small incision formed in the patient's body. In some cases, the surgeon is unable to see the suture site and will digitally palpate within the incision to locate a landmark for the desired placement of the suture. In any regard, once the suture placement site is identified, the surgeon will deliver at least one, but typically multiple, sutures to the site.
Improved devices and methods for loading suture instruments with suture would be welcomed by the surgical staff


In a system for stabilizing a pattern of structural changes in corneal fibrils, an eye treatment system causes corneal fibrils of a cornea of an eye to transition from a first structure to a second structure. An application device applies a cross-linking element to the corneal fibrils. An activating device applies an initiating element to the corneal fibrils and activates the cross-linking element. The cross-linking element causes cross-linking in the corneal fibrils to preserve the second structure of the corneal fibrils. Another application device may apply a cross-linking breaker to the corneal fibrils. The cross-linking breaker halts or reverses at least partially the cross-linking in the corneal fibrils. Another activating device applies an initiating element to the corneal fibrils and activates the cross-linking breaker. Advantageously, the cross-linking breaker provides greater control over the amount and progress of cross-linking that occurs in the corneal fibrils.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of keratoplasty and, more particularly, to systems and methods for stabilizing changes to treated corneal tissue.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of eye disorders, such as myopia, keratoconus, and hyperopia, involve abnormal shaping of the cornea. Keratoplasty reshapes the cornea to correct such disorders. For example, with myopia, the shape of the cornea causes the refractive power of an eye to be too great and images to be focused in front of the retina. Flattening aspects of the cornea's shape through keratoplasty decreases the refractive power of an eye with myopia and causes the image to be properly focused at the retina.
Invasive surgical procedures, such as laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), may be employed to reshape the cornea. However, such surgical procedures may typically require an extended healing period after surgery. Furthermore, such surgical procedures may involve complications, such as dry eye syndrome caused by the severing of corneal nerves.
Thermokeratoplasty, on the other hand, is a noninvasive procedure that may be used to correct the vision of persons who have disorders associated with abnormal shaping of the cornea, such as myopia, keratoconus, and hyperopia. Thermokeratoplasty may be performed by applying electrical energy in the microwave or radio frequency (RF) band. In particular, microwave thermokeratoplasty may employ a near field microwave applicator to apply energy to the cornea and raise the corneal temperature. At about 60° C., the collagen fibers in the cornea shrink. The onset of shrinkage is rapid, and stresses resulting from this shrinkage reshape the corneal surface. Thus, application of heat energy according to particular patterns, including, but not limited to, circular or annular patterns, may cause aspects of the cornea to flatten and improve vision in the eye.

Method for making structural changes in corneal fibrils


A center conductor engagement member comprising a resilient contact region having a first end and a second end, the resilient contact region being substantially curvilinear from the first end to the second end, wherein the second end of the resilient contact region is secured by a body portion, and an insert engageable with the second end of the resilient contact region to retain the second end of the resilient contact region is provided. Furthermore, an associated method is also provided.

Coaxial cable is used to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals in various applications, such as connecting radio transmitters and receivers with their antennas, computer network connections, and distributing cable television signals. Coaxial cable typically includes a hollow center conductor, an insulating layer surrounding the center conductor, an outer conductor surrounding the insulating layer, and a protective jacket surrounding the outer conductor. A coaxial cable is typically attached to a prepared end of the coaxial cable to connect onto complementary interface ports, such as those on cellular towers and other broadband equipment. One of the difficulties of field-installable coaxial cable connectors, such as compression connectors or screw-together connectors, is maintaining acceptable levels of passive intermodulation (PIM) and return loss. PIM and return loss in the terminal sections of a coaxial cable can result from nonlinear and insecure contact between surfaces of various components of the connector. A nonlinear contact between two or more of these surfaces can cause micro arcing or corona discharge between the surfaces, which can result in the creation of interfering RF signals. Where the coaxial cable is employed on a cellular communications tower, for example, unacceptably high levels of PIM in terminal sections of the coaxial cable and resulting interfering RF signals can disrupt communication between sensitive receiver and transmitter equipment on the tower and lower-powered cellular devices. Disrupted communication can result in dropped calls or severely limited data rates, for example, which can result in dissatisfied customers and customer churn. Accordingly, engaging the hollow center conductor of the coaxial cable when a coaxial cable is attached to a connector is critical for desirable PIM results. The contact between a hollow center conductor and the receptive clamp engages the center conductor to provide a contact force therebetween. The result of poor engaging and/or seizing of the hollow center conductor leads to equally poor contact force between the center conductor and the clamp of the connector.
Thus, a need exists for an apparatus and method for a center conductor engagement mechanism that ensures an adequate contact force between a center conductor of a coaxial cable and a clamp of a coaxial cable connector.


An impact hammer mountable to the drum of a rotary crusher employs an attachment bolt having a tapered head which is wedged into a tapered socket in the impact hammer body. A “supernut” is used to secure the bolt to the rotary drum. The supernut is tightened against the rotary shear head until it is snug. Then, threaded locking posts, which pass through the periphery of the supernut, are tightened repeatedly, thereby applying a great deal of tension the bolt shank and effectively stretching it. Any shocks applied to the impact hammer will drive the tapered head of the bolt deeper into the socket of the hammer body block, resulting in the maintenance of a secure hammer-to-drum union. The hammer body also has tungsten carbide chips embedded in a hardfacing material that is applied to the wear surfaces of the hammer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to impact hammers for rotary stage loader impact crushers and, more particularly, to impact hammers which are affixed to the rotary head of such a crusher.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The longwall method of underground coal mining, which was implemented during the latter half of the twentieth century, is generally considered to represent the most revolutionary advance in coal mining technology in history. Longwall mining now accounts for about 31% of underground coal production. There are about 100 longwall operations in the United States, with most of them being in Appalachia. In longwall mining, a cutting head moves back and forth across a vertical face at one end of a seam of coal being mined. The vertical face, or "wall", typically has a width within a range of about 250 to 400 meters, and a height within a range of 1 to 2 meters. The seam of coal may be several kilometers in length. The cut coal falls onto a flexible conveyor for removal. Longwall mining is done under hydraulic roof supports (shields) that are advanced as the seam is progressively cut away. The roof in the mined out areas falls as the shields advance. About ninety percent of the coal within a seam is recoverable using the method. Stage loader crushers, which are generally of the rotary impact type, are used as part of the longwall mining system to crush lump coal and oversize rock for easier conveying and to prevent jamming of the conveyer system. Such crushers are manufactured by companies such as Joy Mining Machinery, Inc. And McLanahan Corporation. The crushers typically utilize a rotary drum onto which impact hammers having tungsten carbide inserts are affixed. Hammers produced by original equipment manufactures (OEMs) are often affixed to a rotary drum with a roll pin inserted through a mounting post. However, because the roll pin represents a common failure point, bolting of the hammer to the drum has become increasingly common. The hammer generally has a hollow mounting post so that a bolt can be inserted through the hollow post and then secured with a nut to an anchor on the rotary drum. Although the bolted design constitutes a significant improvement over the roll-pin secured hammer, the bolt is still prone to failure.
Another problem with OEM hammers is that the steel hammer blank, to which tungsten carbide inserts are welded, is subject to rapid wear.


A method and apparatus for purifying carboxylic acids is disclosed. A mixture containing crude carboxylic acid is contacted with a selective crystallization solvent to form a slurry of a salt complex of the carboxylic acid and the selective crystallization solvent. The salt complex is recovered and optionally processed to recover the free carboxylic acid. The method and apparatus of the invention is particularly suitable for purifying aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as terephthalic acid. The present invention also reduces contamination by carboxybenaldehyde isomers in crude phthalic acids by oxidizing the carboxybenzaldehyde to the corresponding phthalic acid.

Purified carboxylic acids, and particularly aromatic dicarboxylic acids are industrially important. For example purified terephthalic acid (TPA) is a starting material for the formation of polyester resin, which is, in turn, used to make many materials of commerce having a variety of utilities. Purified terephthalic acid is formed from "crude" terephthalic acid conventionally by a number of purification methods, often with the aid of catalysts. Many of the currently available methods for purifying crude terephthalic acid are not completely satisfactory either from an engineering or an economic standpoint. Yet the purity of terephthalic acid is an important determinant in the formation of polyester resin.
Many of the problems of existing and prior systems for producing purified terephthalic acid stem from the difficulties in economically running reaction systems to produce good yields of crude terephthalic acid, compounded by the difficulties of refining crude terephthalic acid to eliminate impurities and unwanted components to produce purified terephthalic acid of a quality suitable as a starting material for producing polyester. Concomitant problems in prior systems include the high capital investment required for PTA plants, the severity of operating conditions of prior processes, both for the production of crude terephthalic acid, and for its purification, and the need for handling catalyst systems and reaction solvents, as well as reaction byproducts in a way such that environmental problems are minimized, and loss of material is also controlled.
One important factor in the production of purified terephthalic acid is the formation of crystals having a size and shape that provide them with good handling characteristics, washability, and filterability in the PTA manufacturing process, and also provide easier handling and better processability in a polyester process.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,949,483, by Ham et al., describes dissolving terephthalic acid in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone then precipitating a "salt complex" containing terephthalic acid and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone. The solid is washed with water to remove the N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone and yield purified TPA. The patent claimed a recovery rate of about 60% to 95% of the weight of the crude terephthalic acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,968, by Lee, et al., describes a method and apparatus for purifying crude terephthalic acid from a liquid dispersion also containing impurities of unreacted starting materials, solvents, products of side reactions and/or other undesired materials. The method uses the steps of filtering the dispersion to form a crude terephthalic acid filter cake, dissolving the filter cake in a selective crystallization solvent at an elevated temperature to form a solution, crystallizing purified terephthalic acid from the solution in the crystallization solvent by reducing the pressure and temperature of the solution, and separating the crystallized purified terephthalic acid from the solution. The selective crystallization solvent is non-aqueous, non-corrosive and essentially non-reactive with terephthalic acid. Examples of selective crystallization solvents described are N-methyl pyrrolidone or dimethyl acetamide.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,274, by Lamshing, et al., describes a method for reducing carboxybenzaldehyde isomers in crude terephthalic and/or isophthalic acids (IPA). Crude TPA or IPA is dissolved in N-methyl pyrrolidone and is subsequently contacted with an oxidant, such as substantially anhydrous hydrogen peroxide, to convert the carboxybenzaldehyde isomer (4-CBA or 3-CBA) to TPA or IPA under moderate temperature and pressure conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,610, by Lee et al., describes a method and apparatus for preparing purified terephthalic acid and optionally isophthalic acid from mixed xylenes. The method purifies the oxidation reactor effluent containing a mixture of terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid as well as minor amounts of 4-carboxybenzaldehyde (4-CBA), 3-carboxybenzaldehyde (3-CBA), and toluic acid isomers, to produce purified terephthalic acid and, optionally, purified isophthalic acid in an integrated process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,534, by Lee et al., describes a method for preparing isophthalic acid from metaxylene and especially for purifying crude isophthalic acid (IPA) produced in the course of such method, or otherwise, from a liquid dispersion thereof also containing unreacted starting materials, solvents, products of side reactions and/or other undesired materials. The purifying portion of the method includes the steps of: (1) filtering the dispersion to form a crude IPA filter cake; (2) dissolving the filter cake in a selective crystallization solvent at an elevated temperature to form a solution; (3) crystallizing purified IPA from the solution in the crystallization solvent by reducing the temperature, or pressure, or both of the solution; (4) separating the crystallized purified IPA from the solution; and (5) re-dissolving or soaking the washed purified IPA cake at elevated temperature, to remove the final traces of the crystallization solvent and obtain the desirable particle sizes and shape. The selective crystallization solvent is typically N-methyl pyrrolidone.

Purification of carboxylic acids by complexation with selective solvents


A rotational structure is configured such that a hollow portion, in which a base member is opposed to a rotational member, is formed around a shaft member. An encoder provided in the hollow portion includes a detection target member rotated together with one of the rotational member and the base member and having a physical quantity changing in a circumferential direction, and a detector capable of detecting the physical quantity of the detection target element and rotated together with the other of the rotational member and the base member.

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration example of a robot hand encoder used for a robot hand including a movable part rotated with a motor, and capable of detecting a rotational state of the movable part. The robot hand encoder includes a disc part rotating as one unitary piece together with a rotational shaft of a motor, a first cover provided between the motor and the disc part, and a circuit board having a main surface provided with an optical sensor which transmits and receives light to detect a rotational state of the disc part to and from the disc part. The optical sensor is inserted into a through hole formed in part of a support part of the first cover. This structure enables the optical sensor to overlap the first cover in the rotational shaft direction of the motor, and reduces the thickness of the encoder by a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the optical sensor.
Patent Document 2 discloses a fastening tool for a frame member using a T slot.
Patent Document 3 discloses a separatable joint structure.

Rotational structure, assist system, and robot

ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL


A computer implemented method for replication includes registering a first database system with a second database system and performing a failback operation on the first database system. The failback operation includes opening a snapshot that includes data known to have existed on the first database system and the second database system at a first time. Transaction log information is requested from the second database system. The transaction log information corresponds to transactions performed on the second database system beginning with the first time. The transaction log information is applied to the snapshot data on the first database system. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and articles are also described.

Database systems rely on data replication and synchronization to maintain continuous system availability. Typically, in such a system, a complete copy of the database is stored at a first database system and the same complete copy of the database is stored at a second database system. The first and second database systems may be in different locations. Since the data in the second database system needs to be the same as the data in the first database system, a synchronization mechanism is typically employed to handle synchronization of the data. If there is a failure associated with the first database system, the overall system can switch to using the second database system without significant issues.
Since the second database system may be asked to perform all of the same tasks as the first database system, typically, the second database system has the same hardware and software requirements as the first database system. Sometimes more than two database systems may be included within the overall system.

Logical equivalent replication with snapshot based fallback of database systems


A computerized system and methods for determining a schedule and availability of an establishment's products and services for a user that includes a server system with a processor, an input system and an output system. There is also a plurality of system units that access the server system through a communications network and a web server application with an application for collecting information about usage of the establishments, providing the usage information and usage times and a wireless portal and a website on the server system with web pages for entering the schedule and availability of the establishment's products and services related information.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Various establishments have heavier usage at some times than at others. A user may arrive at a popular facility at a time when the facility is busy and consequently receive delayed service detracting from the experience.


An image forming apparatus includes: an image data forming unit that forms an image data which includes a first dot image to be visible by copying, a second dot image to be invisible by copying, a hidden text portion and the background portion; and an image forming unit that carries out image formation by using the image data formed by the image data forming unit, the first dot image has a first color and includes dots having a dot size increased by decreasing the number of lines of dots, the second dot image has a second color and includes dots having a dot size decreased by increasing the number of lines of dots, and the second dot image is stacked on the first dot image in at least one of a hidden text portion or a background portion.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
Printing with dot pattern code is a printing technology capable of inhibiting duplication of an important printed document and clearly showing that it is the duplication of a printed document even if it is an illegally duplicated one. This printing with dot pattern code is to print out a printed document having, in the background thereof, patterns fine enough to prevent recognition of a specific text prior to duplication or patterns fine enough to permit understanding of the contents of the document without being disturbed by the text.
In the printing with dot pattern code, it is possible to cause the text to appear so as to be visible when the document is illegally duplicated and thus show that it is the duplication of a printed document.
Examples of the specific test include "COPYING PROHIBITED" and "DUPLICATION PROHIBITED". They are texts warning against unauthorized copying or duplication.

Image forming apparatus capable of printing a copy-forgery pattern


A process in which an amine tetrol prepared by oxyalkylation of a propanediol with propylene oxide is catalytically aminated to provide, for example, an aminotetramine is disclosed. The aminotetramines are useful for preparing polyurea products and as curing agents for epoxy resins.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to aminotetramines and to a method for their preparation by the reductive animation of amino tetrols derived by propoxylation of, for example, 2-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (AMPD) or 2-amino-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol (AEPD). The products of this invention are useful in preparing RIM elastomers, coatings and polyamides and in the curing of epoxy resins as well as in making other polyurethane products.
2. Prior Art
The amination of long alkoxylated alkyl chains terminated by hydroxyl groups is well known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,370 to E. L. Yeakey teaches the amination of polyoxyalkylene polyols to form the corresponding amines by means of ammonia and hydrogen over a catalyst prepared by the reduction of a mixture of the oxides of nickel, copper and chromium. The amination is carried out at a temperature of 150.degree. to 275.degree. C. and 500 to 5000 psig.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,399 to H. E. Swift et al., teaches catalyst for animating aliphatic alcohols and aldehydes. The unsupported catalyst comprises (1) copper oxide or copper hydroxide and (2) nickel oxide or nickel hydroxide, and optionally (3) an oxide or hydroxide of a Group IIA; e.g., magnesium barium, The reaction is carried out at a temperature of 150.degree. to 250.degree. C. and 1 to 100 atom with continuous water removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,184 to P. H. Moss et al., teaches a process for converting a secondary alcohol to a high-molecular weight primary amine by means of a hydrogenation-dehydrogenation catalyst comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of the metals and oxides of nickel and cobalt, together with copper and a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of chromium oxide, molybdenum oxide, manganese oxide and thorium oxide. The reaction is carried out at a temperature of 225.degree. to 260.degree. C. and pressure of 2000 to 4000 psig, with ammonia as the aminating agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,204 to R. A. Hales et al., teaches a catalytic process for producing secondary amines from derivatives of phenols, alcohols and amines containing 5 to 40 moles of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. The catalyst is Raney nickel with ammonia or primary alkylamines as the aminating agent. The reaction is carried out at 200.degree. to 275.degree. C. with the evolution of water. Amines include lauryl amine, hexadecyl amine, octadecyl amine, rosin amine and fatty acid amines.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,926 to J. D. Zech teaches a catalytic process for aminating primary and secondary aliphatic alcohols. The catalyst comprises a chromium-promoted Raney nickel. The reaction is carried out at 150.degree. to 275.degree. C. with ammonia, primary amines or secondary amines of 1 to 6 carbon atoms.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,696 to K. E. Harwell et al., teaches resinous compositions formed by the reaction of an epoxy resin with a high-boiling amine product. The patent further teaches hydrogenation catalysts employing copper, nickel, cobalt and oxides thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,590 to Hobbs et al., teaches the production of long-chain unsaturated amines such as N-(alkadienyl)amines and saturated or hydrated derivatives thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,370 to E. Pechhold teaches a process for preparing a polyurethane which is the reaction product of (a) an oligomer formal diol made by coupling segments of copolymers of tetrahydrofuran and an alkylene oxide, such as propylene oxide, with formaldehyde, (b) an organic polysiocyanate and a chain extender as exemplified by ethylene glycol, glycerine, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,000 to Andre Collart et al., teaches a process for preparing copolymers containing oxymethylene and 2-fluoromethoxyethylene repeating units formed by copolymerizing trioxane with a derivative of a cyclic ether, such as epifluorohydrin.


A computer controlled support and stabilization unit comprising of a vertical array of magnets for levitating a flywheel containing fluid, a computer controlled adjustable bearing support means that can clamp and unclamp the rotating center shaft of a flywheel containing fluid between a plurality of bearings, a computer controlled adjustable magnetic lifting support means for lifting the flywheel containing fluid to reduce the forces placed on the vertical array of magnets for levitating a flywheel containing fluid and reduce the forces placed on the plurality of bearings clamping the rotating center shaft of a flywheel containing fluid.

Presently, many efforts are being made to convert and store energy so that electricity can be made available at a time and place when and where it is required.
One method of energy storage presently being developed is a flywheel that uses fluid to increase the mass of the flywheel during its operating cycle.
A problem with this type of flywheel is that, during the operating cycle, the weight of the flywheel will change depending on how much fluid is present within the flywheel.
Because there can be different amounts of fluid within the flywheel at different times, this means that there will be different stresses and strains upon the supporting bearings at different times of the operating cycle.
A flywheel energy storage system may have its operating cycle broken down into three distinct operating periods of time.
There is firstly the period of time when energy is transferred from one form of energy such as, for example, electrical energy into the flywheel to be stored as kinetic energy which can then be seen as the rotation of the flywheel.
Then there is the period of time when energy is not being transferred into the flywheel and not being transferred out of the flywheel other than losses within the system.
Lastly, there is the period of time when energy is being transferred out of the flywheel; this is usually converted into electrical energy for use by the consumer.
During these three periods of the operating cycle different forces, stresses and strains may be set up within flywheel energy storage system. These forces, stresses and strains may be transferred to and from the supporting bearings.
These forces stresses and strains may reduce the operating life of the flywheel energy storage system.
To aid the balance, vibration and overall performance of a flywheel containing fluid there exists a need for a bearing and support mechanism that can adapt very quickly to the constantly changing loads.


A helice pier post used for rotating into a ground surface for holding various structural items upright on the top thereof. The structural items may be a light post, a fence post, a building beam or column, a pier, a sound barrier and like items. The helice pier post broadly includes a top mounting plate, a hollow tubular casing, a first pipe shaft with a first helice mounted thereon. The mounting plate is welded to a top portion of the tubular casing. Also, the plate is welded to an upper end of the first pipe shaft. The first pipe shaft is centered inside and disposed along the length of the casing. An outer diameter of the first helice can be welded to an inner diameter of a bottom portion of the casing. A lower end of the first shaft can be coupled to an upper end of the second pipe shaft. A lower end of the second pipe shaft is attached to the second helice. The first and second helice are used for guiding the pier post into the ground surface with the top mounting plate resting next to or near the top of the ground surface.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ground anchor device used for supporting various types of structures thereon and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a helice pier post rotated into a ground surface with a structure mounted on top of the helice pier post and a method of installing the pier post.
(b) Discussion of Prior Art
Heretofore, there have been a variety of ground anchor devices used for soil stabilization. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,662 to Howard A. Perko and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,904,447, 5,919,005 and 5,934,836 to Stanley J. Rupiper et al. disclose recent anchor devices using helical piers for stabilizing soil, securing building foundations and other structures. Also, the patents cited during the prosecution of the above patents are incorporated herein by reference.
Today, a number of United States companies manufacture foundation anchors having an enlarged hollow pipe shaft with a fixture mounting plate attached to the top of the pipe shaft. The pipe shaft has a cableway precut in its side for wiring lighting fixtures attached to the top of the mounting plate. A helix is attached around a circumference of a lower portion of the pipe shaft. The helix is used for rotating the foundation anchor into a ground surface. The foundation anchors can be used for securing light poles, telephone poles, road signs and the like thereon. These types of foundation anchors do not incorporate the use of one or more cutting teeth or cutting shoes attached to a tubular casing for reducing drag and torque during the installation of the subject helice pier post as described herein.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,168 to Holdeman, a foundation earth anchor and installation unit is described having a hollow cylindrical foundation support. The foundation support is driven into a ground surface using an installation drive component with a helix. The installation drive component is releasably coupled to the cylindrical foundation support. Once the foundation support is driven into the ground surface, the rotation of the helix is reversed and the installation drive component is removed from the ground surface and disconnected from the foundation support. This patent does not disclose or teach a combination of structure making up a helice pier post, which is left permanently in the ground for supporting various types of structures under vertical and lateral loads.
None of the prior art ground anchor devices and foundation supports described in the cited patent references provide the unique features, structure, and advantages of the subject helice pier post as described herein.
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary objective of the subject invention to provide a helice pier post that can be rotated into a ground surface with the top of the post used for securing various types of building structures, piers, beams, columns, fence posts, light posts, sound barriers, signage and like items.
Another object of the invention is to provide for a method of installing a helice pier post having a hollow tubular casing with compacted soil therein and providing a foundation for structures subject to lateral and vertical loads such as sound barriers, fencing, signage and the like.
Still another object of the invention is the pier post may include a plurality of pier shafts having lengths of 5 feet or greater. By adding additional pier shafts, the overall length of the pier post can be increased to 20 to 30 feet and greater as the pier post is advanced into a ground surface.
Yet another object of the invention is, by the nature of it""s construction, the pier post can be used in unstable ground conditions and used for providing lateral support for foundations, buildings and other structures.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of installation using one or more cutting shoes, cutting bits and the like for greatly reducing installation torque and drag as the pier post is rotated into various types of ground conditions. This important feature allows for reduced cost by decreasing the thickness of a hollow tubular casing attached to a first pipe shaft with a first helice.
Still another object of the pier post is the use of one or more helice disposed inside the hollow tubular casing along with compacted dirt received therein for providing resistance to crushing of the casing under lateral loads. Again this is another feature that allows for reduction is the thickness of the tubular casing and reduced cost.
A further object of the pier post is the use of a top mounting plate having a plurality of slotted openings for adjusting the attachment of various types of structures on the mounting plate.
A further object of the pier post is the first pipe shaft and added pipe shaft can be hollow along with grout holes disposed along the length of the shafts. The holes in the shafts for introducing pumped grout into the tubular casing and the surrounding ground after the installation of the pier post.
The helice pier post includes a top mounting plate, a hollow tubular casing, a first pipe shaft with a first helice mounted thereon. The helice pier post can also include a second pipe shaft with a second helice mounted thereon. The mounting plate is welded to a top portion of the tubular casing. Also, the plate is welded to an upper end of the first pipe shaft. The mounting plate is used for receiving a lower end of a pier, column, post, etc. thereon. The first pipe shaft is centered inside and disposed along the length of the casing. The inner diameter of the tubular casing surrounds the outer diameter of the first pipe shaft. An outer diameter of the first helice can be welded to an inner diameter of a bottom portion of the casing. The tubular casing receives compacted dirt therein as the pier post is screwed into the ground surface. The dirt received inside the casing provides additional strength to the pier post when the pier post is under collinear and/or lateral loads. A lower end of the first shaft is coupled to an upper end of the second pipe shaft. A lower end of the second pipe shaft is attached to the second helice. The pier post can also include oner or more additional helice disposed between the first helice and the top mounting plate inside the tubular casing. The helices are used for guiding and threading the pier post into the ground surface with dirt compacted inside the casing with the top mounting plate resting next to or near the top of the ground surface. The first and second shafts can be hollow with grout holes along the length of the shafts for pumping grout into the casing and surrounding ground after the pier post is installed for added strength and stability.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those familiar with ground and soil stabilization devices and helical piers used in stabilizing soil, building foundations, concrete slabs and other structures when reviewing the following detailed description, showing novel construction, combination, and elements as herein described, and more particularly defined by the claims, it being understood that changes in the embodiments to the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included as coming within the scope of the claims, except insofar as they may be precluded by the prior art.

Helice pier post and method of installation


An integrated circuit package characterized by an interposer including a thin, flexible, planar insulator having a plurality of substantially radial traces provided on one side thereof. The other side of the insulator is attached to the die attach pad of a lead frame, and an integrated circuit die is attached within a die attach area of the assembly. A first set of wires couples bonding pads of the die to the traces, and a second set of wires couples the traces to bonding fingers of the lead frame. The bonding fingers, interposer, die, and both sets of wires are then encapsulated in plastic. The interposer can be advantageously manufactured in a tape automated bonding (TAB) process to provide a low cost, high performance, and versatile lead frame assembly.

This invention relates generally to integrated circuits, and more particularly to integrated circuit packaging.
The term "integrated circuit" usually refers to an integrated circuit die and its associated package. A common way to package an integrated circuit die is to attach it to a lead frame and then to encapsulate it within plastic. A typical lead frame includes a die attach area and a number of bonding fingers which are electrically coupled to the die by bonding wires.
Integrated circuit dies are being designed with smaller and smaller feature sizes to increase the performance and to reduce the cost of the integrated circuit. An integrated circuit die having smaller feature sizes will usually end up being smaller than a functionally equivalent integrated circuit die having larger feature sizes. While integrated circuit die tend to be shrinking, integrated circuit package sizes are commonly fixed by standards and conventions.
A yield problem occurs when small die are packaged within lead frames designed for larger die. Since the die is physically smaller, longer bonding wires are required to electrically connect the die to the bonding fingers of the lead frame. These long bonding wires can be quite flexible and have the tendency to short out with adjacent wires due to an intrinsic twist of the bonding wires or during the encapsulation process.
One solution to this problem is to make lead frames which accommodate smaller die sizes. This tends to be an expensive solution because the bonding fingers of the lead frame become so small and so closely spaced that the lead frames can no longer be economically stamped out but, rather, must be manufactured by an expensive etching process.
Another solution to this problem is to use what is known as an interposer. With an interposer, a number of intermediate bonding islands are provided on the die attach pad of the lead frame so that the die can be wired to the bonding fingers in two jumps. This is accomplished by wiring the bonding pads of the die to the bonding islands of the interposer with a first (inner) set of wires, and wiring the bonding islands to the bonding fingers of the lead frame with a second (outer) set of wires. By making the connection between the die and the bonding fingers in two jumps, the long, direct connection wires have been replaced by two sets of shorter wires. These shorter wires are less likely to short against adjacent wires than their longer counterparts.
Prior art interposers are essentially small printed circuit boards having a relatively thick, rigid, insulating substrate upon which the conductive islands are formed. The printed circuit boards are attached to the die attach pad of the lead frame, and are provided with a central aperture to accommodate the attachment of an integrated circuit die through the interposer to the die attach pad.
While the prior art interposers perform their function admirably, they do have an number of drawbacks. First, they are relatively expensive devices because they are, essentially, miniature printed circuit boards. Also, since the size of the die aperture is fixed, a particular interposer can only be used for a small range of die sizes. Obviously, an interposer cannot be effectively used when the die size is larger than the size of the die aperture. If an interposer was used with a die much smaller than the size of the die aperture the inner set of wires must be made longer, reducing the effectiveness of the interposer. Another drawback with prior art interposers is that the bonding islands have an intrinsic inductance which can degrade high-frequency performance of the integrated circuit.
The prior art does not, therefore, disclose an interposer for integrated circuit packages which increases the yield of functional integrated circuits, which is economical to produce, which has superior high-frequency performance, and which can accommodate integrated circuit die having a range of sizes.

Integrated circuit package having an interposer


Computerized method requiring claim adjudication to receive patient payment for a product or service provided by a healthcare provider to a patient with full financial responsibility, including receiving a patient claim; re-pricing the claim, automatically initiating a real-time payment authorization request through a payment gateway; receiving a real-time notification that the patient's funding source has verified funds availability, with the funds to be deposited in a designated account for subsequent provider payment; sending the healthcare provider the copay and plan pay pricing edits; and concurrently, sending the patient a payment e-receipt electronically, indicating the total amount due and the amount debited from the patient's funding source, the plan payment, with any difference the copay to be paid directly to the provider. Automatic real-time patient audit enabling payment e-receipts indicate claim adjudications and claim reversals as well as adjudicated copay and plan pay amounts, with the plan payment eliminating adjudication circumvention.

When health care providers receive pricing edit responses from healthcare claims processors that indicate patients are financially responsible for the entire cost of their services or products (100% copay), health care providers recognize the opportunity to charge and collect more than the pre-negotiated,    discounted reimbursement rates under the applicable health plan or program without detection at the point of service, with detection at a later date highly improbable. Discounts, that providers have felt forced to accept under managed care plans, have spiraled down over time and are now well below their preferred margins. This has led health care providers to subsidize those discounts by charging patients more than the health care provider's contracted rates when patients are financially responsible for the entire cost of their services or products (100% copay). Health care providers can be expected to continue this practice as long as there continues to be very little risk of being caught; and existing penalties, if any, have not eliminated this problem.
Account-based health plans, commonly referred to as Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHPs), are the fastest growing segment of healthcare coverage; and this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. The cost to provide traditional health insurance to an aging population coupled with governmental regulation/health reform is expected to cause traditional health insurance premiums to continue to increase at an alarming rate. Add a struggling economy, and an ideal scenario is created for the explosive growth of CDHPs. In order to secure lower premiums, almost half of the market has already shifted to HDHPs with a deductible that is just a little under that required to qualify for a Health Savings Account (HSA). The premiums for CDHPs tend to be considerably less than traditional health insurance; and as traditional health insurance premiums continue to climb, the healthier population, that historically has subsidized the sicker population under traditional insurance programs, will gravitate to a CDHP in order to lower their total cost of health care. This will    generate a subsidy loss and traditional health insurance premiums will increase even more. This adverse selection cycle is expected to continue over time with the net effect of a higher CDHP population than traditional insurance. This trend is expected to continue, if not accelerate, in the foreseeable future.
CDHPs are the only plans proven to "bend the cost curve". Mandates, subsidies, wellness incentives, and excise tax on "Cadillac" plans, could all push more people into CDHPs. As the Affordable Care Act, or any foreseeable replacement, transitions patients without insurance to adopting High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), which includes CDHPs, because of their greater affordability, health care providers' "cash cow targets" will be transitioning from patients without insurance to those patients utilizing insurance products that have a deductible attached. Unfortunately, this major transition places patients in the vulnerable position of easily being treated as "cash cows" by health care providers who can circumvent the claim adjudication process to secure their preferred margins without detection at the point of service. Consequently, patients are vulnerable to being charged more than contracted, claim adjudicated rates without their knowledge or consent.
Currently, in 100% copay situations, there are no published statistics on the frequency of claim adjudication circumvention. There is no way to track, measure, or prevent its occurrence at the point of service because neither patients, healthcare claims processors nor health Plans know if the health care providers have circumvented the claim adjudication process to 1) collect higher reimbursement fees, and/or 2) avoid paying fees to a healthcare claims processor which is commonly associated with cash discount programs for providing "patient steerage" to the    health care provider when they provide a product or service, or 3) for some other reason (drug incompatibilities, prices higher than patients are willing to pay, etc.). Under cash discount programs, the vulnerability is greater because health care providers may not even submit claims when such programs are identified upfront; or they may reverse a submitted claim to avoid paying a fee that is assessed by healthcare claims processors for providing "patient steerage" to the health care provider. Under Consumer Driven Health Plans, approximately ninety percent (90%) of plan members never meet their deductible and under traditional High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), approximately fifty percent (50%) of plan members never meet their deductible. This further reduces the potential for health care providers being caught; because before deductibles are met, patients in these plans experience the same vulnerability as they would under cash discount programs. The difference between HDHPs/CDHPs and cash discount cards is that HDHPs/CDHPs have a deductible that, once met, automatically converts to a cost-sharing arrangement with the health plan and this eliminates the claim circumvention problem.
The market place problem the present invention addresses and eliminates is the ability of health care providers to "game" the system by circumventing the adjudication (price determination) process by either failing to submit claims or reversing submitted claims when they realize the responsibility for payment is entirely that of patients. This enables health care providers to 1) charge "what the market will bear" rather than the pre-negotiated, discounted prices as specified in the healthcare claims processor's pricing edits, and/or 2) avoid paying a fee that is assessed by the healthcare claims processor for providing "patient steerage" to the health care provider    providing a product or service under a cash discount program. At the point of service, the health care provider's actions are undetectable because the healthcare claims processor is not aware that claims have not been submitted for adjudication, and if claims are reversed, the reason for the providers' reversals are not known. For example, there could be a logical, clinical reason for reversals. Also, without the present invention, patients have no way of knowing if a provider reversed a claim, thus eliminating the posting of the patient's product or service to the patient's claims history. Therefore, in all 100% copay situations, patients and the healthcare claims processors are completely vulnerable to health care providers unilaterally circumventing the claim adjudication process without their knowledge or consent and charging "what the market will bear".
Providers have been confronted with ever decreasing reimbursement rates from health insurance/cash discount program entities; and patients who are totally responsible for providers' charges (100% copay) provide an opportunity for providers to charge their preferred rates rather than the health plan/program discounted rates they have been "forced" to accept. Detection of this practice is highly unlikely, and penalties, if any, are minimal in the unlikely event they are caught. Therefore, providers can be expected to consider the relative "risk" of being detected against the "reward" of being able to charge their desired, higher price. When it is easy to exploit a system for financial gain, with very little chance of being caught, and limited to no penalties, it is logical to conclude that a significant percentage of providers will take advantage of the opportunity. Circumventing the claims adjudication process to: 1) charge a higher fee from a patient under 100% copay situations, and/or 2) avoid paying a fee that is assessed    by the healthcare claims processor for providing "patient steerage" to the health care provider providing a product or service under a cash discount program may not be consistent with the terms of health care providers' contracts; but the repercussions, if any, in the unlikely event a health care provider is caught, has not eliminated the problem.
When providers circumvent the adjudication process, pricing is only one of six significant problems that are experienced under High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) and Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHPs), the fastest growing segment of health care coverage—growing annually at double digits. The six (6) problems that can be experienced when the claims adjudication process is circumvented are:                1. Patients paying more than the contracted, discount rates for their products and services.        2. Claims not being counted toward patients' deductibles (when applicable).        3. Deductibles, if applicable, not being tracked at the point of service. This means that, if patients would hit their deductible with the service or product then being provided, they would not receive the benefit of a reduction in their financial responsibility at that time, with their third party (such as a health plan, etc.) picking up the difference.        4. Patients not receiving concurrent Drug Utilization Review (DUR) on all prescriptions, thereby making them susceptible to drug therapy related problems that otherwise could have been avoided. Concurrent DUR is provided via healthcare claims processors' computerized programs that, before prescriptions are dispensed, electronically alert pharmacists to drug interactions, duplicate therapies, and other potential drug therapy related problems caused by taking two    or more prescription drugs. Through DUR, the cost of therapy is controlled and becomes cost-effective because it reduces the need for other medical services, such as hospitalizations, nursing home admissions, and additional physician visits. It also decreases the potential for meeting patient deductibles, thereby minimizing the underwriting risk. Obviously, circumventing the adjudication process increases patients' risk for drug therapy related problems. There are comparable medical care issues.        5. Data required for accurate actuarial and clinical analysis, risk prediction, projected outcomes and optimal provider compensation under pay-for-performance (P4P), or value-based purchasing models are incomplete. Consequently, any results derived from available data would be inaccurate.        6. Healthcare claims processors lose the revenue that would be received by processing the circumvented claims.
The significance of the problem in the pharmacy benefits sector alone is illustrated by the fact that it is not uncommon for cash discount programs to experience claim reversal rates ranging from twenty percent (20%) to fifty percent (50%), with those reversal rates ranging from four (4) to ten (10) times that experienced under traditional, fully funded pharmacy benefit plans when patients' (cost-sharing) copays alone are approximately the same amount as the average prescription cost under cash discount programs. Therefore, the cost of the products or services being provided is not responsible for the difference in reversal rates. Under traditional prescription drug s that utilize a cost-sharing copay structure, provider self-serving claim circumvention is not possible because plans (insurers) are responsible for a share of the cost and claim    submission is required in order to receive the plan share of the adjudicated cost of the product or service for full payment.
The bottom line is that because of cost differentials in traditional health plans and various types of High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), including all Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHPs), HDHPs/CDHPs can be expected to grow by double digits annually; and this growth increases the probability for the identified risks/problems to be experienced by increasingly more patients.
Aside from the pricing issue, the problem of a health care provider reversing a previously submitted claim under HDHPs/CDHPs is that the problems identified in items 2-6, above, continue to be experienced even though the health care provider may have assessed the patient the correct pricing. Securing a higher profit margin is not always the sole reason for circumventing the adjudication process. Health care providers may opt to circumvent the adjudication process under cash discount programs to avoid being assessed a fee by the healthcare claims processor for adjudicating the claim, a common practice in that market. Therefore, preventing health care providers from circumventing the adjudication process not only benefits patients, but also healthcare claims processors because, by forcing compliance with their health care provider network agreements, they increase their revenue.
Under HDHPs/CDHPs, patients may receive retrospective, hardcopy Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) that enable them to identify claims that have been adjudicated and the amount of their financial responsibility for the products/services that have been provided. Patients could use the EOB to identify a received product or service that is missing from the FOB, thus identifying those instances when adjudication circumvention has    taken place; however, the vast majority of patients do not review EOBs for what is missing, but rather for what has been included. Likewise, some healthcare entities may make available their retrospective EOBs online by providing an online portal to provide patients the ability to log in and identify the claims that have been submitted for adjudication and the amount for which they were financially responsible. Patients typically assume available EOBs are correct and rarely review them for what is missing, making a retrospective EOB review process ineffective in identifying or reducing claim adjudication circumvention. In order to be effective, a majority of patients would need to review EOBs for what is missing as opposed to the information provided, by retaining accurate records of all products and services received in order to compare their retained records to their EOBs. Even if the majority of patients maintained such records and diligently made comparisons, it would still be a retrospective process that doesn't prohibit claim adjudication circumvention at the point of service and would require costly corrective action. Obviously, the corrective action would be retrospective and generate problems for both patients and plans. Experience indicates retrospective approaches to the problem have not been effective in eliminating the claim adjudication circumvention problem.
There are several problems with a retrospective approach: 1) the process is retrospective; therefore, corrective action can only take place at a later date in the unlikely event claim adjudication circumvention is discovered by a patient; 2) at the point of service, health care providers have the opportunity to circumvent the adjudication process and charge "what the market will bear" without detection; 3) there is no significant    deterrent for health care providers "gaming" the system since there is very little chance of being caught because of the low percentage of patients that routinely use the EOBs to verify that all of their claims have been adjudicated and the correct amount was paid; 4) there is no way for plans or healthcare claims processors to track, measure, or prevent the occurrence of claim adjudication circumvention because neither patients, healthcare claims processors, nor health plans know when health care providers have either failed to submit claims for adjudication or reversed claims to collect higher reimbursement rates or for some appropriate reason (clinical, etc.); 5) the process relies solely on "paranoid" or extremely "cost sensitive" patients to a) retain complete records of all products/services received; b) make a conscious effort to track the cumulative balance of their healthcare expenses and; c) go through a frustrating appeals process in order for the circumvented claims to be counted toward the patient's deductible, and if having met the deductible, secure reimbursement from their health plan; 6) health plans would then need to deduct the over-charged amounts from future health care provider payments until health plans have recovered the excess payments that health care providers have collected from patients. For the retrospective process to be effective, all patients have to assume responsibility for a retrospective audit and retain all of their receipts to document evidence of their assertions.
Experience indicates that the vast majority of patients simply assume that claims have been submitted and all charges were correct. As previously noted, major pharmacy benefit management firms experience reversal rates ranging from twenty percent (20%) to fifty percent (50%) under cash discount    programs which astonished those Pharmacy Benefit Management firms from whom reversal rates were requested and received. These reversal rates range from four (4) to ten (10) times that experienced under traditional, fully funded, pharmacy benefit plans when patients' (cost-sharing) copays are approximately the same amount as the average prescription cost under the cash discount programs. Therefore, the cost of the products or services being provided is not responsible for the difference in reversal rates. Under traditional prescription drug plans that utilize a cost-sharing copay structure, claim circumvention is not possible because plans (insurers) are responsible for a share of the cost.
When patients use an identification card that discloses their use of a cash discount program, health care providers are made aware that patients bear the full financial responsibility for the cost of the products or services being sought. At that point, health care providers are able to exercise a unilateral decision to NOT submit a claim in order to secure their preferred higher prices than previously negotiated and agreed upon discounted prices. The preceding is accomplished without the patients', healthcare claim processors', or health plans' (programs') consent or knowledge. Health care providers' actions to circumvent the claim adjudication process for the purpose of securing higher reimbursements are undetectable because healthcare claims processors and health plans (programs) have no record of claims and no knowledge that patients received either products or services. At the point of service, patients are unaware that claims have not been submitted and furthermore, patients have no knowledge of the correct, contractual fees owed.
Additionally, when health care providers submit claims online under healthcare benefit plans and cash discount programs in which patients bear the full financial responsibility for the cost of the products or services at some point during their plan year, providers receive pricing information (edits) that specifies the amounts they should collect from patients and the amounts third parties will pay after applicable deductibles, if any, have been met. Based upon copay edits received from healthcare claims processors, health care providers are made aware on those occasions when patients have full financial responsibility. At that point, in order to secure a price higher than the healthcare processors' adjudicated discounted price indicated in the edits, health care providers are able to exercise a unilateral decision to reverse the claim and disregard previously provided pricing edits that indicate the amount health care providers should collect from the patient. The preceding is accomplished without the patients', healthcare claim processors', or health plans' knowledge or consent because, at the time claims are submitted, healthcare claims processors cannot confirm the reason (appropriate or inappropriate) that claims were submitted and reversed; and patients have no knowledge of the correct, adjudicated fees that they owe for products or services.
Also, health care providers may identify patients as participating in High Deductible Health Plans, including Consumer Driven Health Plans, at the beginning of a plan year and elect to circumvent the claims adjudication process entirely by not submitting claims online and charging patients higher fees than their contracted, adjudicated rates. Again, health care providers' actions are undetectable because healthcare claims processors have no knowledge claims were not submitted;    and patients have no knowledge 1) that the claims adjudication process has been circumvented, or 2) of the contractual fees that they actually owe for their products and services. Therefore, in all 100% copay situations, patients are completely vulnerable to health care providers circumventing the claim adjudication process and charging "what the market will bear" without their knowledge or consent.
When health care providers circumvent the claim adjudication process without the patients', healthcare claims processors', or health plans' knowledge or consent, the following problems are experienced: 1) patients paying more than the plan or program negotiated contract discount rates for their products and services; 2) claims not being counted toward patients' deductibles (when applicable); 3) deductibles, if applicable, not being tracked at the point of service to identify when deductibles have been met; 4) therapy related problems such as duplicate therapies, drug interactions, etc. not being detected and avoided; 5) data required for accurate actuarial and clinical analysis, risk prediction, projected outcomes and optimal provider compensation under pay-for-performance (P4P), or value-based purchasing models are incomplete and inaccurate; and 6) healthcare claims processors lose the revenue that would be received by processing the circumvented claims.
In addition to addressing financial and claims history issues by enabling patients to pay their health care providers' adjudicated charges via the healthcare claims processor and audit the actions of health care providers regarding a claim reversal or voided claim (hereafter, referred to as "claim reversal"), if any, typically in real-time, but at a time determined by the healthcare claims processor, the present    invention also may have applicability when health care providers utilize a healthcare claims processor for the purpose of pre-adjudicating or providing an "estimate" of patients' financial responsibility. In such instances, health care providers may opt to charge and collect more than the healthcare claims processor's estimated calculation of the patient's financial responsibility in an effort to eliminate the potential of not being able to collect the ultimately determined amount of the patient's financial responsibility if it exceeds the estimated amount. Health care providers recognize the opportunity to charge and collect more than the discounted, pre-negotiated reimbursement rates without detection in all 100% copay situations. In this scenario and in the highly unlikely event patients discover they have paid more than their final determination of the patient's financial responsibility, patients must seek reimbursement from their health plan, which is a frustrating experience for patients and an expensive process for health plans. This leaves health plans the need to deduct the over-charged amounts from future payments until health plans have recovered the excess payments that health care providers have collected from patients. Health care providers engage in this practice because experience indicates that, once patients leave the point of service without paying for the service or product received, providers are at-risk of not being able to collect the balances owed. Furthermore, health care providers often write-off unpaid balances because pursuing the collection of unpaid balances often cost more than the unpaid balances owed by patients.

Patient payment system and method for the real-time prevention of healthcare claim adjudication circumvention in all 100% copay situations


In an access network, a tunnel gateway (TGW) managed network caching architecture is proposed. The proposed TGW receives a terminal request directed to a data server for a flow of data. The terminal request is forwarded to the TGW through a tunnel from a tunnel endpoint located below the TGW. The TGW selects a network cache to handle the data traffic of the flow requested by the requesting terminal. The TGW then redirects the terminal request to the selected network cache to provide the requested service. The TGW redirects the terminal request through a tunnel whose endpoint is the selected network cache.

In a 3GPP access network, to enable the communication of a user equipment (UE) or a terminal to the external world, a PDN (Packet Data Network) connection is established, and a PGW (PDN Gateway) is selected for the PDN connection. As seen in FIG. 1, the PGW for the UE is selected by a serving MME (Mobility Management Entity) and it remains the same for the lifetime of the PDN connection. The PGW allocates an IP address for the UE and acts as the IP point of presence, i.e. all traffic to and from the UE is tunneled to the selected PGW. Inter-working with legacy 2G and 3G networks is achieved by defining an interface (S4) for 2G/GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) traffic and control signaling between a SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) and a SGW (Serving Gateway), as well as a direct tunnel interface (S12) between a RNC (Radio Network Controller) and the TGW for UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) UP traffic.
In many cases, the path of the traffic over the PDN connection continues from the PGW to the operator's service network or to an ASBR (Autonomous System Border Router), i.e. one of the operator's border routers constituting a peering point with other carriers, and further into the Internet.
In SAE/LTE (System Architecture Evolution/Long Term Evolution) networks, user packets travel through a significant portion of the access network encapsulated in a GTP-U (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol—User Data Tunnelling) tunnel. The GTP header of the incoming packet, especially one of its fields, the TEID (Tunnel Endpoint Identifier) is used in combination with the tunnel endpoint's IP address to explicitly identify a bearer of the terminal.
In SAE/LTE, the SGW and the base station use the TEID in the received packet's GTP header to forward the packet to the appropriate bearer. Based on the incoming TEID, the SGW selects a GTP or PMIP (Proxy Mobile IP) based tunnel leading to the PGW. Based on the incoming TEID, the eNodeB selects the appropriate radio bearer (leading to a specific terminal).
There are two alternative tunnelling possibilities between the SGW and the PGW. One is GTP tunnelling similarly as between the RBS (Radio Base Station) and SGW, and the other is using PMIP with GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) tunnelling.
In 3G networks, GTP is used between the SGSN and the RNC as well as between the SGSN and GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node). Based on the incoming TEID, the SGSN selects a GTP tunnel leading to the GGSN. Based on the incoming TEID, the RNC selects the appropriate radio bearer leading to a specific terminal through an appropriate NodeB. Alternatively, in the direct tunnel solution, GTP tunnelling is used directly between the RNC and GGSN. In EPC (Evolved Packet Core) networks, the traffic from 2G/3G access and SGW is also transported in GTP tunnels.
This tunnel-based forwarding mechanism is needed because the IP address does not necessarily identify the terminal unambiguously. In many cases, the terminal is allocated a local address that is later translated to a globally unique address by the PGW, thus it may easily happen that two terminals attached to the same RBS have the same IP address.
Lately with the introduction of broadband mobile technologies and change of subscriber behaviour shifting towards more high volume media download, coping with increased traffic volume in a mobile RAN (Radio Access Network) has become a problem. One possibility to off-load the access is to apply caches that would serve some parts of the requested content such as media, web, etc. In this way, it is possible to achieve transport gain above the cache. Additional benefits of RAN caching is the possibility for QoS/QoE enhancement by reducing transport delays and also reduced peering cost.
One relevant activity is the offload architectures for selected traffic such as the Internet traffic towards a defined IP network close to the terminal's point of attachment to the access network. A motivation for this requirement, together with the similar requirement for local IP access (LIPA) for the home (e)NodeB subsystem, is to decrease operator expenses, because in many cases it would be suboptimal to carry the traffic all way up to a central PGW, especially if that traffic may be offloaded locally at lower costs to a local service network or to the Internet.
Technical solutions for achieving SIPTO (Selected IP Traffic Offload) have been discussed and introduced into 3GPP standards. For Release 10, it has been decided that two main alternatives will be supported. One is based on selection of a closer PGW for specific types of traffic, and another is based on traffic breakout from the GTP tunnels on the Tu interface.
The advantage of the first conventional solution is that the traffic break-out, including break-out for caching purposes, may be achieved by architectural solutions that do not require significant changes to the current 3GPP architecture. However, it is questionable that designing small nodes with PGW functionality is economically feasible. Also, it may be problematic to provide secure network environment for these distributed GWs, whose functions (legal intercept, charging, policy enforcement) require such an environment.
The second conventional solution generally involve a type of a NAT (Network Address Translator) to be able to offload traffic from a tunnel below the IP point of presence. A similar solution is based on an enhanced NATting solution involving encapsulation and decapsulation based on the information stored in an extended NAT mapping table. However, this conventional solution does not deal with a number of related issues such as getting the tunnel information during attach and mobility. Addressing these issues would require a number of additional proprietary functions in the system, including intercepting mobility signalling messages, or interfacing to certain nodes to get required tunnel information.

Tunnel gateway managed caching architecture


A device for reading from and/or writing on a rotating disk including a mobile opto-electromechanical device placed above the disk and connected to a motherboard via a set of electric wires. The opto-electromechanical device includes actuators, a laser diode, photodetectors, and an electronic circuit, each photodetector providing the electronic circuit with an analog electric signal proportional to the received light signal, the electronic circuit controlling the diode and the actuators. The electronic circuit comprises an analog-to-digital converter digitizing the analog electric signals coming from the photodetectors and transmitting the digitized signals to a digital processing unit providing data of alignment of the opto-electromechanical device with respect to the disk, and a reference clock signal having its period substantially corresponding to a multiple or to a sub-multiple of the time period corresponding to the overflight by the opto-electromechanical device of a bit of the disk.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a device for reading from and/or writing on digital data storage disks enabling optical reading and/or writing. Such disks are for example "CDs", "DVDs", "Bluerays", or "HD-DVDs".
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a known diagram of such a device. A mobile opto-electromechanical device 1 is placed above a disk 2 on a support 3 formed of two horizontal rails held on one side by a foot 4 laid next to disk 2. Opto-electromechanical device 1 is connected to a motherboard 5 by electric wires placed on a flexible strip 6.
The opto-electromechanical device structure is schematically shown to the bottom left of the drawing. Actuators 10 enable moving device 1 on the rails of support 3. A laser diode 11 emits light to read from or write on the disk. An image sensor 12 formed of a photodetector array continuously measures the intensity of the light reflected by the disk. Each photodetector of image sensor 12 provides an analog electric signal having a magnitude substantially proportional to the intensity of the light received by this photodetector. Actuators 10, laser diode 11, and image sensor 12 are connected to an electronic circuit 13 comprising the following elements. An amplifier 14 amplifies the analog electric signals provided by each of the photodetectors of image sensor 12 and transmits them to motherboard 5 in the form of a set of analog signals s. An amplifier 15 receives control signals cmd transmitted by the motherboard and, after amplification, transmits said signals to actuators 10. A regulation/amplification device 16 controls the light intensity of laser diode 11, the light intensity being small or variable according to whether a reading or a writing is performed. In a write phase, regulation/amplification device 16 receives a digital data signal D and varies the light intensity of laser diode 11 according to the type of bit to be written, the intensity being for example high to write a "1" and low to write a "0", the writing of a bit at "1" causing a modification in the nature of the track portion corresponding to this bit and especially a modification in its reflective characteristics.
The motherboard receives or provides audio-visual signals for or from an apparatus such as a television or an audio system, and exchanges with opto-electromechanical device 1 previously-mentioned signals cmd, s, and D. Generally, motherboard 5 is a printed circuit on which are placed one or several integrated circuits. From a functional point of view, the motherboard can be divided into four main units. A "servo" unit 20 provides control signals cmd to actuators 10. A processing unit (proc RF) 21 processes the analog signals s originating from image sensor 12. Processing unit 21 provides a data signal d to a read unit R 23, which provides an audiovisual signal Se after demodulation and decoding. A write unit W receives an audiovisual signal Sr and performs a coding and a modulation of this signal, the coded and modulated signal being sent to opto-electromechanical device 1 in the form of a signal of digital data D to be written on disk 2.
Processing unit 21 analyzes the images provided by sensor 12 to detect four main elements. This analysis is performed in "analog" form with calculation means, and especially summing and subtracting means, operating from analog signals. The first two provided elements relate to the alignment of opto-electromechanical device 1 with respect to disk 2. These are address data @ indicating the disk area above which device 1 is placed, and data of alignment error Δ of device 1 with respect to the followed disk track, that is, too laterally offset from the track or again too close to or too far away from the track so that the light spot formed on the disk is not perfectly clear. Analog alignment data signals @ and Δ are transmitted to servo unit 20 which analyzes them and provides in return control signals cmd to the opto-electromechanical device to properly realign device 1 if necessary. Another element provided by processing unit 21 is an analog read data signal d which is demodulated and decoded by read unit R. The last element provided by processing unit 21 is a reference clock signal Ck known as a "wobble" signal. The period of reference clock Ck substantially corresponds to a multiple or to a sub-multiple of the duration of the passing under the sensor of a portion of the disk corresponding to a bit when the disk is rotating, or in other words, of the duration of overflight by the image sensor of a data bit written on disk 2. Reference clock signal Ck is transmitted to write unit W which transmits a digital data signal D to be written with a rate corresponding to the frequency of reference clock signal Ck.
As disk read and write speeds increase, more and more failures of the previously-described device can be observed. Such failures especially occur in devices using the most modern technologies known as "blue ray". The encountered failures mainly are write errors.


Novel fluffy, solid, strong elastic gels exhibiting resistance to elastic deformation, capable of shape-memory recovery, being dimensionally stable and having a density of at least less than about 0.60 g/cm.sup.3, a gel rigidity of from about 20 to about 3,000 gram Bloom, and an elongation of at least 200% can be formed with or physically interlocked with selected material substrates to form composites including any sequential additions or permutations of said combinations of gels and substrates.

The closest known prior arts are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,683,104; 3,843,568; 4,351,913; 5,421,874; 5,422,378; 5,592,706; and 5,626,657. Both '104 and '568 are directed to mixtures of petrolatum, partially crosslinked polymers and hollow synthetic thermoplastic particles of styrene and acrylonitrile. U.S. Patent '378 is directed to styrene foam made by the use of a blowing agent. Patent '913 is directed to waterproofing cable filling materials of block copolymers dissolved in oils with a minimal amount of hollow microspheres. The other '874, '706, and '657 patents are directed to free moving, sliding microsphere-liquid and liquid polymer mixtures. In particular, U.S. Patent '657 is directed to conforming, movable, flowable, shape changing, shearable, ambient temperature microsphere-liquid mixtures. It teaches forming a SEBS visco-elastic oil fluid at between near 350.degree. F. to 365.degree. F. and held at 365.degree. F. for about four hours with continued agitation. After the visco-elastic fluid has cooled to ambient temperature, acrylic PM 6545 microspheres are added to the fluid to make for example a composite mixture having a specific gravity of about 0.12. The resulting mixture has little or no memory, is readily flowable and shearable, does not have shape memory, and the fluid amount of the mixture is insufficient to disperse the microspheres in the lubricant. Microspheres suitable for use include expanded or unexpanded DE (091-80) phenolic microspheres from Expandcel, Inc. U.S. There is no suggestion in '657, no teaching, no reason that any unexpanded microspheres after mixing with lubricant is ever heated to a sufficient temperature necessary to expand the unexpanded microspheres. It appears that the unexpanded microsphere lubricant mixture is used as is without any heating to expand the microspheres. U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,430 is directed to gel filled deformable cushion and padding.

Fluffy, strong, solid elastic gels, articles and method of making same


In various embodiments, compact connector designs may be provided that have reduced board pitch (e.g., 1.80 mm, 1.50 mm, 1.27 mm, etc.), but are still capable of accommodating large electrical conductors (e.g., 1.4 mm, 1.1 mm, 0.9 mm, etc.). In this manner, PCB footprint may be reduced (e.g., by 50% when a staggered connector configuration is used), while adequate current carrying capacity may be maintained (e.g., 2 A, 3 A, 4 A, etc.). Additionally, or alternatively, one or more other advantages may be achieved, such as ruggedness (e.g., vibration endurance), error proofing, configuration flexibility, ease of manufacturing, ease of assembly, and/or lowered costs.

Many electrical devices are controlled by, and/or powered via, printed circuit boards (PCBs). For instance, in an automobile, an electrical connector may be used to connect an LED lamp to a PCB controlling and/or powering the LED lamp. Such a connector may include an electrical terminal configured to be crimped onto an electrically conductive wire (e.g., a wire of a cable connected to the LED lamp) and/or a contact pin configured to be soldered onto the PCB.
There is a continuing trend in many fields to miniaturize components. This creates an ongoing need for electrical connectors with high signal density. Furthermore, there is a need for improved vibration endurance. For instance, in an automotive application, it may be desirable to prevent two mated connectors from becoming unmated due to vibration in an operating environment.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0050838 (hereafter "the '838 publication") shows, among other things, examples of terminals for use in a connector. Such a terminal may be securely crimped onto a wire of an electrical cable. The '838 publication also shows a connector having a core and a housing, where the core and the housing are attached to each other with a retention force that is higher than a retention force provided between the connector and a mating connector, so as to prevent the core and the housing from accidentally being pulled apart when a user attempts to unmate the two connectors.


The invention provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device by forming, on a P-type silicon substrate, a memory cell portion partitioned with a field oxide film, forming trenches in self-alignment with a polycrystalline silicon film which act as gate electrodes in the semiconductor device, completely burying second and third oxide films in the trenches, removing the third oxide film near the end of the field oxide film by using a second resist film as a mask and thereafter etching-back the whole surface to cause the second and third oxide films to remain only in the trenches. According to the method, the oxide film can be stably buried in the trenches.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of fabricating a semiconductor device and in more particular to a method of fabricating a very fine and submicron trench isolation region.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method of fabricating conventional trench isolation regions will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1F.
First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a field oxide film 2 is formed by selectively oxidizing the top surface of a P-type silicon substrate 1. Then a gate oxide film 3 is formed on the surface of the silicon substrate 1 at a prescribed position which will act at least as a memory cell in a semiconductor device. Consecutively, the whole surface of the semiconductor substrate including the field and gate oxide films 2 and 3 is covered with a polycrystalline silicon film 4 and a first oxide film 5 in order. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1B, a first resist film 6 is formed on the first oxide film 5, holes are made in prescribed positions of the resist film 6 corresponding to places which will act finally as trench isolation regions 7-1 to 7-3, and the first oxide film 5, the polycrystalline silicon film 4 and further the gate oxide film 3 are successively etched by using the first resist film 6 as a mask to cause the P-type silicon substrate 1 to be exposed. After the first resist film 6 is removed, as shown in FIG. 1C, the exposed silicon substrate is subjected to etching by using the first oxide film 5 as a mask to form trenches 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 1D, a second oxide film 9 and a third oxide film 10 are formed in order on the first oxide film 5 and the inner surfaces of the trenches 8 so that the oxide films 9 and 10 are completely buried in the trenches 8. In FIG. 1D, d.sub.1, d.sub.2 and d.sub.3 are defined to represent the final thickness of the third oxide film 10 at prescribed positions shown in the drawing, i.e. at any position above the gate oxide film 3, any position above a boundary between the gate oxide film 3 and the field oxide film 2 and any position above the field oxide film 2, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 1E, the third oxide film 10, the second oxide film 9 and the first oxide film 5 are subjected to etch back by using the polycrystalline silicon film 4 as a stopper so that the second oxide film 9 and the third oxide film 10 are selectively buried only in the trench isolation regions 7-1 to 7-3. Finally, as shown in FIG. 1F, a silicide film is deposited on the whole surface above the semiconductor substrate, which is followed by selectively removing the silicide film to thus form a silicide wiring 11. Consequently, transistors 12 having polycide gate electrodes formed in self-alignment with the trench isolation regions 7-1 to 7-3 are formed. The polycide gate electrode is of a stacking structure comprising the polycrystalline silicon film and the silicide film.
Generally, as for the third oxide film 10, there is used a BPSG film formed by a low pressure CVD method and having good coverage and high reflow property. However, after heat-treating, the thickness of the third oxide film 10 has the following relation: d.sub.2 >d.sub.3 .apprxeq.d.sub.1 as shown in FIG. 1D. Thus the first oxide film easily remains at the position of d.sub.2 when the etch back is performed according to the conventional method, and over-etching must be performed to remove the remaining oxide film. When the over-etching is performed, the second and third oxide films buried in the trench are depressed and there is a possibility of a short circuit taking place between the silicide wiring and the silicon substrate. In addition, if an atmospheric pressure CVD method is used, the thickness of the third oxide film 10 has the following relation: d.sub.2 >d.sub.3 >>d.sub.1, and thus the possible short circuit is more remarkable. A problem exists in that it is difficult to appropriately control the etch back step of burying the oxide films in the trenches according to the conventional method.

Method of fabricating an BPSG-filled trend and oxidation isolation structure with a gate electrode