A system and method are disclosed for automatically calibrating capacitive transducers to neutralize feed-through capacitance using linear actuation. The method includes starting with an initial neutralization capacitance, applying no electrostatic force and two known electrostatic forces to a proof mass of the transducer, recording the transducer output changes due to the applied forces; and determining how to revise neutralization capacitance based on the changes. The method can use a binary search to find a final neutralization capacitance providing the best linearity. The method can include comparing the final linearity to a threshold linearity. The electrostatic forces can be applied using a charge control method where the electrostatic force is a linear function of the actuation duration. The linear actuation can be used for continuous self-test of capacitive sensors.

This patent relates to capacitive transducers, and more particularly to techniques for reducing or eliminating nonlinearities due to feed-through capacitances, and automatic calibration procedures to improve the linearity of capacitive bridges and accelerometers by cancelling parasitic feed-through capacitances.
Transducers convert a general physical quantity (for example, acceleration, pressure, etc.) to quantities that can be processed by electronic circuits. In particular, capacitive transducers produce a change of capacitance, corresponding to the magnitude of the measured input signal. Readout circuits for capacitive transducers transform the capacitance change produced by the transducer to an electrical signal. In the process, the circuits apply voltage waveforms to the transducer electrodes.
A capacitive accelerometer, a capacitive transducer for measuring acceleration, can be designed such that displacement of a set of capacitive plates is proportional to acceleration. Then acceleration can be measured using electronics by measuring the difference in the set of capacitors. A capacitive accelerometer can include a mechanical sensing element and a readout circuit. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a mechanical sensing element 100 for a capacitive accelerometer. In this embodiment, the mechanical sensing element 100 includes a proof mass 102 suspended between a first spring 104 and a second spring 106, a first electrode 110 and a second electrode 112. A proximal end of the mass 102 is coupled to the first spring 104 and a distal end of the mass 102 is coupled to the second spring 106. The first spring 104 has two ends; a first end coupled to the proximal end of the mass 102 and a second end coupled to a substrate. The second spring 106 has two ends; a first end coupled to the distal end of the mass 102 and a second end coupled to the substrate. A common electrode M is coupled to the mass 102 and moves with the mass 102 relative to the substrate. The first and second electrodes 110, 112 are stationary relative to the substrate. In this embodiment a positive reference voltage VS is applied to the first electrode 110 and the negative reference voltage −VS is applied to the second electrode 112. A first variable capacitor C1 is formed between the first electrode 110 and the common electrode M, and a second variable capacitor C2 is formed between the second electrode 112 and the common electrode M.
In this embodiment, when the system is at rest, there is a substantially equal nominal gap g0 between the first electrode 110 and the common electrode M and between the second electrode 112 and the common electrode M, creating substantially equal capacitances in the first variable capacitor C1 and the second variable capacitor C2. An input acceleration moves the mass 102 relative to the substrate which varies the gaps between the electrodes and varies the capacitance of the variable capacitors C1, C2. Acceleration in the direction of arrow 120 deflects the mass 102 a distance Δx that is proportional to the input acceleration. This movement of the mass 102 increases the distance between the first electrode 110 and the common electrode M to g0+Δx, and decreases the distance between the second electrode 112 and the common electrode M to g0−Δx, which changes the capacitance of capacitors C1 and C2. The capacitance C of variable capacitors C1 and C2 can be determined by:
                              C                      1            /            2                          =                                            ɛ              0                                    A                                              g              0                        ±                          Δ                                                                                x                                                          (        1        )            where ∈0 is dielectric permittivity, A is the area of the capacitive plates (which extend into the paper), g0 is the nominal gap and Δx is the displacement due to the acceleration. The readout circuit determines the value of Δx based on the capacitance change in capacitors C1 and C2.
Accelerometers are often implemented in harsh vibration-ridden environments, for example automotive or industrial environments. In these environments, it is desirable to have accelerometers with good linearity, low drift performance and large full scale range. Self-balanced accelerometers are usually chosen for these applications. In self-balanced accelerometers, the capacitance C is proportional to 1/d, where d is the distance between the capacitive plates; and the measured output voltage V0 is proportional to (C1−C2)/(C1+C2). Combining these two relationships provides:
                                                                       :                                    Vo                    ∝                                                    C                1                            -                              C                2                                                                    C                1                            +                              C                2                                                    =                                                            1                                  d                                                                                1                                            -                              1                                  d                                                                                2                                                                                1                                  d                                                                                1                                            +                              1                                  d                                                                                2                                                              =                                                                      d                                                                                2                                -                                  d                                                                                1                                                                              d                                                                                2                                +                                  d                                                                                1                                                      =                          x                              d                                                                                0                                                                        (        2        )            where x is the displacement value, d0 is the zero displacement value, d1=d0−x is the distance between the plates of capacitor C1, and d2=d0+x is the distance between the plates of capacitor C2. Equation (2) shows that in the ideal case the output voltage V0 of the self-balanced accelerometer is a linear function of the displacement x. Unfortunately, in actual implementations, there are sources of non-linearity not taken into account in Eq. (2).
Though there are several ways to build self-balanced accelerometers to obtain a reading that is proportional to the displacement of the proof mass, to achieve a highly linear accelerometer it is desirable to have a topology that results in zero residual force upon the application of sensor excitation voltages. There are two main sources of non-linearity in self-balanced accelerometers: feed-through capacitance, and mismatch between the two sensor cores. The dominant source is feed-through capacitance, and it is present in both single ended (using only one core) and differential (using two cores) topologies.
Feed-through capacitance (Cft) is any fixed capacitance between the proof mass and the sense electrodes. The feed-through capacitances Cft arise due to parasitics in the sensor element and due to capacitance between the bond wires. FIG. 2 illustrates the feed-through capacitance in a capacitive core 200, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1. The capacitive core 200 includes a first capacitor C1 between a first sense electrode 202 and a proof mass 204, and a second capacitor C2 between a second sense electrode 206 and the proof mass 204. The capacitive core 200 also includes unwanted feed-through capacitances Cft between the proof mass 204 and each of the sense electrodes 202, 206. Re-deriving Eq. (2) taking into account the feed-through capacitances Cft provides:
                                          Vo            ∝                    :                                                                                C                1                            -                              C                2                                                                    C                1                            +                              C                2                            +                              2                                                  C                  ft                                                                    =                                                            1                                  d                                                                                1                                            -                              1                                  d                                                                                2                                                                                1                                  d                                                                                1                                            +                              1                                  d                                                                                2                                            +                                                2                                                                                C                    ft                                                  A                                              =                                                                      d                                                                                2                                -                                  d                                                                                1                                                                              d                                                                                2                                +                                  d                                                                                1                                +                                                                            2                                                                    C                        ft                                                                                C                                                                                0                                                                                d                                                                                2                      *                      d                                                                                1                                                              d                                                                                0                                                                                =                          x                                                d                                                                                0                                +                                                                            C                      ft                                                              C                                                                                0                                                                                (                                                                        d                                                                                0                            2                                                                          -                                                  x                          2                                                                    )                                                              d                                                                                0                                                                                (        3        )            which introduces a non-linear term x2 due to the feed-through capacitance.
Nonlinearity due to mismatch in sensor cores occurs in fully differential accelerometers which use two sensor cores. A differential topology can provide better robustness to electromagnetic signals and other stray disturbances. The sensor cores are often two separate elements with the proof masses not connected mechanically. This is often done to save cost since mechanical connection of the proof masses of the two cores with electrical isolation can be expensive in terms of processing. Under this condition the offsets of the sensor cores can be in opposite directions which causes non-linearity because of remnant electrostatic forces as well as the fact that capacitance is inversely proportional to displacement.
A comparison of the magnitudes of the non-linearities due to feed-through capacitance and core mismatch shows that feed-through capacitance is the dominant source of non-linearity. The non-linearity due to a core mismatch of 5 pF (+/−5% core mismatch) is 0.016%. However, the non-linearity due to 50 fF (100 times smaller than 5 pF) remnant feed-through capacitance is 0.43%, which is almost 30 times greater than the core mismatch non-linearity. Even a 10 fF remnant feed-through capacitance causes a non-linearity of 0.087%.
It would be desirable to reduce or eliminate the nonlinearity due to feed-through capacitances. It would also be desirable to have an automatic calibration procedure to improve the linearity of capacitive bridges and accelerometers by cancelling the parasitic feed-through capacitances.

Linearity enhancement of capacitive transducers by auto-calibration using on-chip neutralization capacitors and linear actuation


A document shredder (10) includes a housing (12) which has, in a housing wall (18), an insertion slot (22) for inserting sheet material. The insertion slot (22) has a longitudinal extent between two slot ends (32). The shredder further includes a cutting unit which is arranged in the housing (12) and which has motor-driven cutting tools (24) for shredding the sheet material. The insertion slot (22) is widened transversely with respect to the longitudinal extent in at least one end region (38) that is delimited by one of the slot ends (32).

The invention relates to a document shredder.
Document shredders of the type stated at the outset are known in various embodiments. Thus, for example, DE 10 2017 118 889 A1 discloses such a document shredder of which the housing has, on its upper side in the cover wall, an insertion slot for manually inserting sheet material to be shredded.
Furthermore, document shredders with automatic sheet material draw-in are known (cf., for example, DE 10 2014 113 862 A1). The latter have a receiving compartment for receiving the sheet material, the insertion slot being situated in the bottom of said compartment. The sheet material received in the receiving compartment is grasped by draw-in rollers arranged on both sides of the insertion slot and is drawn into the insertion slot. The insertion slot can be arranged in the centre of the receiving compartment or off-centre. The problem exists in the case of the two described types of document shredders that, although the portions of folded sheet material arranged on both sides of the fold are pressed onto one another by the draw-in rollers and can be readily drawn into the insertion slot, the portions of the sheet material arranged on both sides of the fold project from one another in the regions next to the draw-in rollers and the drawing into the insertion slot is thus made more difficult. This disadvantage occurs particularly in the document shredders with automatic sheet material draw-in since, in these document shredders, the sheet material is always folded when being drawn in.


A control apparatus, control method and computer readable article of manufacture for controlling data. The control apparatus includes a data storage unit; a plurality of entry storage units, and a plurality of registration units. The data storage unit stores data. Each of the entry storage units stores an entry for registering a pointer to data. If each of the registration units receives an instruction for registering data, then each registration unit (i) searches the entry storage units for an entry storage unit having an empty entry, (ii) registers a pointer to the data to be registered in the retrieved entry storage unit and (iii) stores the data to be registered and identification information of the retrieved entry storage unit in the data storage unit in such a manner that the data to be registered and the identification information is associated with each other.

The present invention relates to a control apparatus, a control program, and a control method for controlling data.
With the recent widespread use of multi-thread CPUs or multi-core CPUs and recent increases in the number of CPUs included in a server, the number of hardware threads simultaneously executable on a server is increased. For example, even an entry server can realize 64 hardware threads. In order to centrally control data on a server, shared data accessible from each of multiple hardware threads is used.
If each thread simultaneously accesses the shared data using exclusive control, the integrity of the shared data is maintained. However, if the number of hardware threads is increased, exclusive control over the shared data performed by one hardware thread is apt to compete with that performed by other hardware threads. This causes a bottleneck. Specifically, other threads attempting to access the shared data must wait when one thread is performing exclusive control on the shared data. Also, an overhead for handling such a competition is increased.
Among examples of such an overhead are a CPU time consumed when one thread spin-waits until compare and swap succeeds and a processing time taken until a library or the OS generates a queue of threads. There has been proposed "non-blocking hash map" as a data structure that allows efficient control of shared data. Below are examples of a proposed non-blocking hash map data structure.
Cliff Click, "A Lock-Free Hash Table", [online], 2007-05-08, AZUL SYSTEMS, retrieved from the Internet on 2008-10-03, <URL: http://www.azulsystems.com/events/javaone—2007/2007_LockFreeHash.pdf>
Cliff Click, "A Lock-Free Wait-Free Hash Table", [online], 2007-02-21, Stanford University Computer Systems Laboratory EE380 Colloquium, retrieved from the Internet on 2008-10-03, <URL: http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee380/Abstracts/070221.html>
Cliff Click, "A Fast Lock-Free Hash Table", [online], 2007-02-21, JavaOne Online Technical Sessions, retrieved from the Internet on 2008-10-03, <URL: http://developers.sun.com/learning/javaoneonline/2007/pdf/TS-2862.pdf>
Among examples of the usage of shared data is registration of new data, deletion of the registered data, and listing of the registered data, each of which is performed by each of multiple threads. For example, if a server receives an access request from an external apparatus, the server registers information about the access request as shared data, deletes the information when the access is completed, and lists all the registered accesses so as to process the accesses. If an application is executed where a great number of hardware threads frequently register and/or delete data there is a need to realize high throughput and scalability with respect to the registration and/or deletion of data.

International Business Machines Corporation


There is disclosed a method for operating a wireless device in a wireless network, wherein the wireless device is configured, by higher layer signaling, with a first measurement restriction (MR) configuration for measuring and reporting Channel State Information (CSI) the method comprises transmitting a first indication with lower layer signaling, indicating that a second MR configuration for measuring and reporting CSI, replaces the first MR configuration for measuring and reporting CSI.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is responsible for the standardization of the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE). The 3GPP work on LTE is also referred to as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access Network (E-UTRAN). LTE is a technology for realizing high-speed packet-based communication that can reach high data rates both in the downlink and in the uplink and is thought of as the fourth-generation mobile communication system. In order to support high data rates, LTE allows for a system bandwidth of 20 MHz, or up to 100 MHz when carrier aggregation is employed. LTE is also able to operate in different frequency bands and can operate in at least Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes. To further improve on the data rates offered by LTE, 3GPP is currently defining the New Radio access technology (NR) which is considered to be the fifth-generation mobile communication system. NR supports a wide range of carrier frequency include both below 6 GHz and above 6 GHz.
In LTE Rel-8, cell-specific reference signals (CRS) is used in DL for CSI estimation and feedback, and for channel estimation for demodulation. CRS are transmitted in every subframe and are defined to support up to 4 antenna ports (APs). In LTE Rel-10, in order to support up to 8 APs, CSI reference signals (CSI-RS) is defined for a UE to measure and/or report CSI feedback using the multiple APs. In LTE, a UE may be configured to report channel state information (CSI) based on measurements on certain resources; these are so called CSI-RS resources. The CSI-RS resources may be associated with non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resources and/or zero power (ZP) CSI-RS resources. For the NZP CSI-RS resources the UE may expect non-zero power transmissions from the serving cell whereas for the ZP CSI-RS resources (which are also called CSI interference measurement (CSI-IM) resources) the UE may expect zero power transmissions.
In current LTE, the NZP CSI-RS resources and CSI-IM resources (also known as ZP CSI-RS resources) are configured by higher layer signaling, e.g. RRC signaling. Additionally, in LTE it is possible to configure measurement restriction (MR) for CSI measurements. Measurement restriction (MR) means that the time over which the UE is allowed to perform CSI measurements is restricted, e.g. to a single subframe.
The MR may be configured per CSI process and per cell. In total, a UE may consequently be independently configured with MR for at least:
Multiple cells and/or component carriers (currently between 5 and 32)
Multiple CSI processes per cell (up to 4)
Two subframe sets per CSI process
For each subframe set, for NZP- and ZP CSI-RS
Additionally, one can anticipate a possibility to configure CSI feedback with independent MR for each of the CSI-RS resources in a CSI process. Currently up to 8 CSI-RS resources may be supported in a CSI-process, each such resource may support up to 8 CSI-RS antenna ports (AP). Therefore, a huge amount of independent MR configurations for a UE is anticipated. E.g., if only considering the possible combinations of cells, one can see that the possible number of combinations equals:
                                          ∑                          k              =              0                        32                                                                                (                                                            32                                                                              k                                                      )                          =        4294967296                            (                  eq          .                                                    1                )
The number of cell and/or component carrier combinations can be represented by 32 bits. Including all the above-mentioned combinations, more bits have to be added to the already required 32 bits to uniquely identify all possible cell combinations.
The configuration of MR is done by RRC signaling. However, RRC configuration (or re-configuration) may imply a delay. If the network cannot quickly respond to environment changes, by rapidly changing the MR configuration, the network performance will deteriorate.
Using a lower layer signaling message, with low delay, for this purpose is not suitable due to the huge amount of different MR configurations (see e.g. eq. 1 above), which would occupy too many control bits in a lower layer signaling message with a limited number of control bits, usually fewer than 100.

Methods and apparatuses for configuration of measurement restrictions


A phenolic resin molding compound, which is thermally stable in a heating cylinder, is provided. By using the phenolic resin molding compound, moldings with an excellent dimensional precision can be obtained. The phenolic resin molding compound comprises: (A) a novolac phenolic resin with an o/p ratio (ortho/para ratio) of 0.7 to 0.9; (B) a novolac phenolic resin with an o/p ratio of 1.1 to 1.3; (C) talc; and (D) a polyethylene or polyethylene/polypropylene copolymer. The amount of (D) the polyethylene or polyethylene/polypropylene copolymer relative to a total weight of the phenolic resin molding compound is 0.5 to 1.5 weight %. It is preferable that the total amount of (A) and (B) is 20 to 40 weight %, and the amount of (C) is 5 to 15 weight %.

The phenolic resin molding compound is a material having an excellent balance of heat resistance, electrical properties, mechanical properties, dimensional stability, and the like. Therefore, they are utilized in a varieties of fields including electrical components. Generally, they are molded by injection molding. The phenolic resin molding compound loses its flowability when it is in the melted status, in which the phenolic resin molding compound is plasticized at 90° C. to 120° C. in the cylinder of the injection molding machine, since its viscosity increases due to the progress of the curing reaction of the resin. Thus, the thermal stability of the melted resin is reduced. Since the low stability of the melted molding compounds in the cylinder of the injection molding machine, the applicable condition is narrowly limited in a case where moldings are formed with an injection molding machine using the conventional phenolic resin molding compounds.
The viscosity of the generally used phenolic resin molding compounds are relatively high even in a state where they are plasticized at 90° C. to 120° C. in the cylinder. And, the viscosity increases further rapidly during its curing in the injection process where the phenolic resin molding compound is injected into the mold at 160° C. to 200° C. in order to cure it. Thus, the time span, in which the phenolic resin molding compound retains its flowability, is short. Therefore, in order to obtain high quality moldings, it is required to inject the material into the mold in a very short period of time at a very high pressure. However, a residual stress is generated in the moldings formed in the mold in this case. This leads to warp and deformation of the moldings when it is taken out from the mold and the stress is diffused during cooling process. In addition, it is very difficult to avoid burr formation, since a clearance is easily formed between molds when the resin is injected into the mold at a high pressure.
Conventionally, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, molding is performed by reducing the melt viscosity of the molding compound to increase its flowability and injecting the molding compound at a low pressure. In this approach, the burr formation can be suppressed. However, this approach is difficult to apply to the practical usage since the molding cycle become longer due to slow curing.
On the other hand, in the injection molding using the phenolic resin molding compound, a reduced production yield problem occurs since dimension of the moldings can be easily varied and the dimension does not fit into the tolerance range. To compensate that, a precision processing is performed afterward. However, improving the production yield and reducing the post-injection precision processing are needed in order to reduce the production cost.
A technique to improve the thermal stability of the phenolic resin molding compound in the cylinder is disclosed in Patent Literature (PTL) 1. However, further improvement is needed in order to improve the dimensional precision.
On the other hand, a technique to improve the dimensional precision of the injected moldings by adding the talc or clay to the phenolic resin molding compound is disclosed in PTL2. However, further improvement is needed in order to improve its thermal stability in the cylinder.


The printing device is ink jet, parallel or serial-parallel type and comprises a plurality of ejection modules each of which with ejection chambers suitable for containing ink and with associated relative heating elements for ink ejection control. The device includes a support and a nozzle plate common to the modules, and in which the support includes a base plate of rigid material that defines through its thickness a feeding duct for the ink which, in use, is substantially parallel to the line of printing (X axis) and the ejection modules are fixed side by side on the base plate and with the ejection chambers arranged in a line in the same direction (X axis), is a hydraulic, tight connection with the feeding duct. The nozzle plate is fixed on the ejection modules constituting an upper, hydraulically tight, closing surface, for the chambers and comprises a plurality of ejection nozzles in a line, in turn in hydraulic connection with corresponding cells of the modules.

Thermal type ink jet printing devices use heads having ejection modules which are usually made from wafers of semiconducting material with technologies similar to those employed for producing integrated and/or hybrid circuits. This means that the heating elements and relative driving circuits, together with the hydraulic, ink feeding network, can be obtained, all within extremely reduced dimensions.
This is a solution used widely to produce printheads borne by carriages which, in use, are made move transversally over the surface to be printed, all of this according to a typical, serial type printing method.
The ink jet technology is also suitable for the production of printing devices having parallel or serial-parallel type heads with printing of the entire line of a page in a single run, that is without any scanning movement of the head over the surface being printed on or with a movement that is restricted to a fraction of the line.
Solutions are known that simplify the manufacture of heads for serial printing. For example, in Italian patent application No. TO2002A000144 filed on Feb. 20, 2002 by the Applicant, ejection modules are used with resistors adjacent to an edge of greater length and terminals arranged on the opposite edge, and in which nozzles are produced on a plate fixed and hydraulically tight on the module. Advantageously, feeding for the ink of the different chambers takes place through a slot in the support, common to all the chambers and which extends parallel to the nozzles.
The printing devices with heads that operate in parallel or serial-parallel are of compact dimensions and enable printers of great simplicity and limited encumbrance height-wise to be produced. Their field of application thus extends to sectors which include, inter alia, the printing of cash slips, labelling, printing in measuring equipment and photographic printing, as described for example in patent application No. TO2001A000707, filed on 19 Jul. 2001 by the Applicant.
The manufacture of ink jet printing devices having parallel or serial-parallel heads conflicts however with the difficulty of making, with a yield sufficient to allow components to be obtained economically, chips of considerable length (>1 inch) that have zero defects. Furthermore, there is also the risk, at the conclusion of the manufacturing process, of ending up with a faulty device for the sole fact that, in a head, one only of the numerous nozzles and/or heating elements is not functioning. The scale of these problems has been such as to render the production of these devices economically very unattractive up till now.
To overcome the technological and production difficulties of the parallel or serial-parallel printing devices, one proposal has been the recourse to heads with numerous elementary ejection modules of compact dimensions, assembled in such a way as to give a disposition of nozzles aligned in a common direction as in a single module, of the same length as the printing width.
The modules are stuck side by side, with pitch between the nozzles being maintained constant. This also applies to the last nozzle and the first nozzle of two adjacent units. However, other problems arise from using this structure such as, for instance, that of the impossibility of using modules in which feeding of the ink occurs through common slots.
Also proposed have been ink jet devices with heads operating in parallel, having ejection modules and nozzles in a staggered arrangement. This, however, gives rise to a worsening of the alignment of the dots in the printing phase and a more complex logic for controlling activation of the nozzles and in the associated circuitry.

Parallel ink jet printing device and relative manufacturing


A new and distinct cultivar of Doritaenopsis plant named ‘Untold Stories’, characterized by its upright plant habit; moderately vigorous to vigorous growth habit; strong flowering stems; strong leaves; freely flowering habit with typically two inflorescences per plant, each inflorescence with numerous flowers; flowers with fused labella; white-colored flowers that are densely covered with variable and coalescing dark red to purplish red-colored blotches and spots; and good postproduction longevity.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of x Doritaenopsis plant, botanically known as x Doritaenopsis (Doritis x Phalaenopsis), commonly referred to as Doritaenopsis and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Untold Stories'.
The new Doritaenopsis plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Nantou, Taiwan and Heemskerk, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to develop new fast-growing and freely flowering Doritaenopsis plants with good leaf shape and large flowers with unique and attractive patterns and coloration.
The new Doritaenopsis plant originated from a cross-pollination in May, 2012 in Nantou, Taiwan of x Doritaenopsis 'Mei Dar Diamond', not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with x Doritaenopsis 'Luchia Pink', not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Doritaenopsis plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled greenhouse environment in Heemskerk, The Netherlands in April, 2017.
Asexual reproduction of the new Doritaenopsis plant by in vitro meristem propagation in a controlled environment in Assendelft, The Netherlands since April, 2018 has shown that the unique features of this new Doritaenopsis plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A magnetic sensor includes: a substrate; a semiconductor region; a magnetic field detection portion; a pair of first electrodes; and two pairs of second electrodes. One pair of second electrodes includes first and second terminals, and the other pair includes third and fourth terminals. The first and third terminals are disposed on one side, and the second and fourth terminals are disposed on the other side. The first and fourth terminals are electrically coupled, and the second and third terminals are electrically coupled. The magnetic field detection portion and the first and second electrodes provide a vertical Hall element. One of the first and second electrodes supplies a driving current, and the other one detects the Hall voltage.

In recent years, the magnetic sensor using the vertical Hall element for detecting a horizontal magnetic field component with respect to the surface of a substrate is proposed in, for example, "Three-dimensional integrated magnetic sensor", Journal of IEE Japan C, pp. 483-490, No. 7, Vol. 109, 1989. FIGS. 26A and 26B are schematic constructional views showing one example of the above vertical Hall element, where FIG. 26A is a plan view, and FIG. 26B is a cross-sectional view along line XXVIB-XXVIB of FIG. 26A.
As shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B, a Hall element 30 of the vertical type has a semiconductor substrate 31 constructed by, e.g., silicon of P-type, and a semiconductor layer 32. The semiconductor layer 32 is constructed by silicon of N-type formed by, e.g., epitaxial growth on a burying layer 36 formed by introducing impurities of N-type on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 31. The burying layer 36 is constructed by N-type of concentration higher than that of the semiconductor layer 32. Further, electrodes 35a to 35c for supplying a driving electric current and electrodes 35d and 35e for detecting a Hall voltage are arranged on the semiconductor layer 32. Here, the electrode 35a is arranged in a shape nipped by both electrodes 35b, 35c and electrodes 35d, 35e arranged in a shape perpendicular to these electrodes 35b and 35c. Further, N+ diffusion layers 33a to 33e constructed by N-type of concentration higher than that of the semiconductor layer 32 are formed on the surface of the semiconductor layer 32 so as to form ohmic contact with these electrodes 35a to 35e. Further, a diffusion area 34 of P-type is formed in the semiconductor layer 32 in a shape surrounding the circumference of all the electrodes 35a to 35e. Further, diffusion areas 34a, 34b of P-type are formed inside the diffusion area 34 in a shape surrounding the circumference of electrodes 35a, 35d, 35e. Here, diffusion areas 34a, 34b are extended in a mode connected to the burying layer 36 formed on a bottom face of the semiconductor layer 32. Further, the diffusion area 34 is extended in a mode connected to the semiconductor substrate 31. In this Hall element 30, a portion partitioned by their diffusion areas 34a, 34b and the burying layer 36 becomes a so-called magnetic detecting portion HP. Namely, in this Hall element 30, magnetism (magnetic field) applied to this magnetic detecting portion HP is detected. For example, when a constant electric current is respectively flowed between electrodes 35a and 35b and between electrodes 35a and 35c, the electric current including a component perpendicular to a substrate surface is flowed from the electrode 35a to the burying layer 36. At this time, when a magnetic field including a horizontal component with respect to the substrate surface is applied to this Hall element 30, a Hall voltage is generated between electrodes 35d and 35e by the Hall effect. Therefore, the horizontal magnetic field component can be calculated by detecting this Hall voltage through these electrodes 35d and 35e.
The above Hall element 30 of the vertical type is complicated in structure in comparison with a lateral Hall element. Accordingly, an unbalance of an electric potential distribution is caused by an influence such as an alignment shift, the shape of an element, etc., and an offset voltage (unbalance voltage) is easily caused. The offset voltage corresponds to an output voltage when no magnetic field is applied.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 27A and 27B, electrodes 45a, 45b for supplying the driving electric current and electrodes 45c, 45d for detecting the Hall voltage are respectively arranged at four corners of a portion surrounded by a diffusion area 43 in opposite shapes on a semiconductor layer 42 in the Hall element 40 of the lateral type. Terminals S, G, Va, Vb are respectively electrically connected to respective electrodes 45a to 45d. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 27C, a magnetic field component perpendicular to the substrate surface is detected while terminals S, G (electrodes 45a, 45b) for supplying the driving electric current and terminals Va, Vb (electrodes 45c, 45d) for detecting the Hall voltage are replaced and a flowing direction of the driving electric current is switched in directions XXVIIA and XXVIIB (i.e., while a spinning current method is applied). Thus, the offset voltage can be reduced (canceled). FIGS. 27A to 27C are schematic constructional views showing one example of the conventional Hall element 40 of the lateral type, where FIG. 27A is a plan view, and FIG. 27B is a cross-sectional view along line L12-L12 of FIG. 27A, and FIG. 27C is a typical view for explaining the spinning current method. Reference numeral 41 within FIGS. 27A to 27C designates a semiconductor substrate constructed by e.g., silicon of P-type (first electric conductivity type). Reference numeral 42 designates a semiconductor layer constructed by silicon of N-type (second electric conductivity type) formed by e.g., epitaxial growth. Reference numeral 43 designates a diffusion area of P-type for separating the Hall element 40 from other elements. Reference numeral 44 designates contact areas 44a to 44d formed on the surface of the semiconductor layer 42 so as to form ohmic contact with electrodes 45a to 45d.
However, in the case of the above Hall element 30 of the vertical type, as shown in FIG. 26A, electrodes 35d, 35e for detecting the Hall voltage are arranged so as to nip one electrode 35a for supplying the electric current therebetween. Namely, four electrodes constructed by electrodes 35a, 35b (to 35c) for supplying the electric current and electrodes 35d, 35e for detecting the Hall voltage are asymmetrically arranged. Accordingly, even when a spinning current is performed, no offset voltage can be reduced as in the above Hall element 40 of the lateral type.

Magnetic sensor and method for detecting magnetic field


Artificial cervical fluid is disclosed that contains a mucilaginous extract from the okra plant. The mucilaginous extract can be produced using a hot aqueous extractant or cold extraction process followed by separation of larger particles from the extract. The extract finds many uses, for example as a sperm storage medium, a sperm freezing medium, a sexual lubricant, an artificial insemination medium, and an in vitro fertilization medium.

Cervical fluid (CF), sometimes referred to as cervical mucus, is produced by glands in the endocervix. Its properties change markedly at various points during the menstrual cycle, allowing it to function either as a barrier against the passage of material (such as spermatozoa and pathogenic organisms) through the cervix or as a selectively permeable barrier that can be penetrated by spermatozoa. Several hundred glands in the endocervix produce 20-60 mg of CF a day, increasing to 600 mg around the time of ovulation. The viscosity of CF varies, due in part to varying mucin concentrations. The viscosity and water content varies during the menstrual cycle; the CF is composed of around 93% water, reaching 98% at mid-cycle. It contains electrolytes such as calcium, sodium, and potassium; organic components such as glucose, amino acids, and soluble proteins; trace elements including zinc, copper, iron, manganese, and selenium; free fatty acids; enzymes such as amylase; and prostaglandins. Its consistency is determined by the influence of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. At mid-cycle around the time of ovulation—a period of high estrogen levels—the CF is thin to allow spermatozoa to enter the uterus, and is more alkaline and hence more hospitable to spermatozoa. It is also higher in electrolytes, which results in the "ferning" pattern that can be observed in drying CF under low magnification; as the CF dries, the salts crystallize, resembling the leaves of a fern. The CF has stretchy character described as "Spinnbarkeit," most prominent around the time of ovulation.
At other stages of the cycle, the CF is thick and more acidic due to the effects of progesterone. This "infertile" CF acts as a barrier to sperm from entering the uterus. Thick CF also prevents pathogens from interfering with a nascent pregnancy. A CF plug, called the operculum, forms inside the cervical canal during pregnancy. This provides a protective seal for the uterus against the entry of pathogens and against leakage of uterine fluids. The operculum is also known to have antibacterial properties. This plug is released as the cervix dilates, either during the first stage of childbirth or shortly before. It is visible as a blood-tinged mucous discharge.
CF has many potential practical uses. CF is used in sperm motility testing. The ability of CF to maintain the viability of sperm indicates that it could be a useful storage or insemination medium. The selective permeability of CF indicates that it could be useful to separate spermatozoa from semen. As natural CF is difficult to collect in large volumes, and as CF with useful properties is only present at certain times during the menstrual cycle, there is a need in the art for an artificial CF with properties like those of "egg white" CF that is present during ovulation.


A wearing-point device (22) with a quick-coupling formed from a coupling portion (211) of a wearing-part holder (21) and corresponding attachment portions (223) of the wearing point (22), in which a longitudinal elevation (224) extends with a desired height from a front portion (221) towards the attachment portion (223), sliding surfaces (222, 222′) extending in a downward-sloping manner from the longitudinal center plane of the wearing point (22) in the directions of opposite side edges (228) of the wearing point (22) and forming a downward-sloping rear edge (227) that forms an interface towards the attachment portions (223).

The invention relates to a wearing-point device with a quick coupling formed from a coupling portion of a wearing-part holder and a corresponding attachment portion of the wearing point.
On soil-working implements, for example ploughs and cultivators, it is known to use wearing points with quick couplings, see for example the applicant's own Norwegian patent NO 332031. A problem with such wearing-point arrangements is that the quick coupling partially wears in step with the wearing point itself. The transverse eminence according to NO 332031 tries to remedy this, but it has turned out that as said eminence wears down, the wearing point is weakened and tends to break.

Wearing point device with a quick coupling


In an impulse response processing device, a waveform dividing part divides a waveform of an original impulse response into a plurality of blocks on a time axis. A time adjusting part performs a time adjustment to reduce a time difference between successive ones of the blocks. A waveform synthesizing part generates a waveform of a new impulse response by adding the blocks on the time axis after the time adjustment by the time adjusting part. Further, a windowing part performs a windowing process to multiply each block by a window function having a window width corresponding to a width of the block, a function value of the window function decreasing from a center to both ends of the block. The waveform synthesizing part generates the new impulse response using the blocks after the windowing process by the windowing part.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique for processing a waveform of an impulse response used to apply reverberation to a sound signal.
2. Background Technique
In a device for applying reverberation to a sound signal by a convolution operation of an impulse response, a technique for changing a reverberation time length (hereinafter, referred to as 'reverberant time') during which reverberation is continued has been conventionally proposed. For example, Patent Reference 1 discloses a technique for generating a new impulse response of a desired reverberant time by multiplying impulse responses of two types by an exponential function, respectively, and then adding (linear combining) the multiplied responses. [Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-294712
However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-294712 to reduce the reverberant time by multiplying the exponential function and thus reducing the intensity of the impulse response, an amplitude of the impulse response at a rear part (around the rearmost part of the reverberant sound) after processing is excessively reduced. Therefore, a problem in which the reverberant sound lacks volume (even worse, a listener cannot listen) occurs.

Impulse response processing device, reverberation applying device and program


Heterogeneous metal hydride (MH) compositions comprising a main region comprising a first metal hydride and a secondary region comprising one or more additional components selected from the group consisting of second metal hydrides, metals, metal alloys and further metal compounds are suitable as anode materials for lithium ion cells. The first metal hydride is for example MgH2. Methods for preparing the composition include coating, mechanical grinding, sintering, heat treatment and quenching techniques.

Magnesium hydride, MgH2, has been contemplated for use as an anode for lithium ion batteries. In theory, MgH2 converts to Mg embedded in a LiH matrix upon charging and MgH2 is reformed with release of lithium ions and electrons upon discharging. The anode stores lithium during charging. Formation of ionic compound LiH is disadvantageous as it has little or no reversibility.

Metal hydride compositions and lithium ion batteries


A hand drill extender kit has components which are used with a length of electrical conduit to make an extender, a near end of which can be held in the chuck of a hand drill and a far end of which can hold a tool such as a hole saw, the components comprising a chuckable part, a tool holder part, a coupler for coupling two lengths of the electrical conduit, a jig to drill holes diametrically through the electrical conduit for fastening the electrical conduit to the other components, an auxiliary tool holder for tools with larger shafts, and a sample length of electrical conduit with the holes pre-drilled.

The invention is a kit having parts for making an extender for a hand drill to the length needed at a work site, where electrical conduit, readily available at the work site, is used to make the extender.
It frequently occurs at work sites that an extender is needed so that a hand drill can be used to make a hole at a considerable distance from where the hand drill can be easily used. This occurs, for example, when holes for electrical conduit need to be drilled between studs in finished walls from a basement through to a near floor and through to a far floor. Even if the length of the extender needed could be predicted, it would be inconvenient to carry a pre-made extender from work site to work site.
This problem has been long recognized and prior art shows that a solution has been long sought. People seeking a solution however have focused on schemes for devising variable length extenders. Examples are shown by Bocchio in U.S. Pat. No. 1,414,110; by Hamann in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,502; by Salyers in U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,513, and by Carroll in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,214.
Variable length extenders can not work very well because of the number of movable joints which must be included, and they are still inconvenient to carry from site to site. Making a variable length extender smaller so that it is less inconvenient to carry about introduces more movable joints and thus makes the extender less reliable and less safe to use. There remains a need for an extender which has reliable and safe joints and which can be used easily.
The invention shown here is based on a discovery of a new solution to this old problem. The new solution is to provide a kit which comprises parts which can be used with electrical conduit, readily available at work sites, to easily make an extender having the length needed at the particular site. This extender has secure joints so that it can be used reliably and safely. It can be disassembled after use, and only the parts comprising the kit need be carried from site to site.
This solution is not suggested in any prior art nor by any combinations of prior art.


In one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus (50) includes: means for determining (52) a source timing parameter for a source node (70) and a relay timing parameter for a relay node (60), wherein the relay node (60) is disposed between the source node (70) and the apparatus (50); first means for transmitting (56) the relay timing parameter to the relay node (60); and second means for transmitting (56) the source timing parameter and the relay timing parameter to the source node (70). In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus (70) includes: first means for receiving (76) a first timing parameter; second means for receiving (76) a second timing parameter; first means for transmitting (76) a message to a first node (60) in accordance with the first timing parameter; and second means for transmitting (76) the message to a second node (50) in accordance with the first and second timing parameters.

The following abbreviations are utilized herein:
3Gthird generation of GSM-based mobile networks3GPPthird generation partnership projectBSbase stationCDMAcode division multiple accessCQIchannel quality indicatorDLdownlink (Node B to UE)E-UTRANevolved universal terrestrial radio access networkFDMAfrequency division multiple accessGIguard intervalGSMglobal system for mobile communicationsHARQhybrid automatic repeat-requestIMT-Ainternational mobile telephony-advancedLTElong term evolution of UTRANMBMSmultimedia broadcast/multicast service (3GPP)Node Bbase stationOFDMAorthogonal frequency division multiple accessPARpeak-to-average ratioPARRpeak-to-average ratio reductionRANradio access networkSFNsingle frequency networkTAtiming advanceTDDtime division duplexTDMAtime division multiple accessUEuser equipment, such as a mobile station or mobile terminalULuplink (UE to Node B)UTRANuniversal terrestrial radio access networkWANwide area networkWCDMAwideband code division multiple accessWiMAXworldwide interoperability for microwave access (IEEE 802.16 standard)WLANwireless local area network
The use of relays and co-operative diversity is being considered for the next generation of wireless communication systems, such as for E-UTRAN (also referred to as LTE or UTRAN-LTE) and in IMT-A research. While some investigations have focused on fixed relay stations (i.e., where the relay stations are considered a part of the RAN), the use of UEs as relay stations is also being considered, particularly for the UL. In the UL, one aspect of UE relaying is that a UE source may transmit data directly to a Node B destination in a conventional manner and also transmit to the Node B indirectly via a number of relays. At the Node B destination, joint decoding may be performed in order to combine the received signals
It is known in the art, for example, to use TA with a TDD system. Reference in this regard may be made to Section 6.5 of 3GPP (S1.24), V0.1.0, "TDD, Physical Layer Procedures Description," TSG RAN WG1#2 (99)130, February 1999. As described in S1.24, the timing of transmissions from a UE are advanced with respect to the timing of signals received from the Node B to compensate for round trip propagation delay. The Node B determines the TA for the UE by measuring the timing of a transmission from the UE. The Node B subsequently signals the UE its TA.
In the development of E-UTRAN, it is presently assumed that the UL will contain both TDMA and FDMA aspects. Furthermore, and at least partially due to the TDMA aspects, the use of TA in the UL is similarly anticipated. Reference in this regard may be made to Sections 7.2 and 13.9 of 3GPP TR 25.912, V7.1.0, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Feasibility study for evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) and Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) (Release 7)," September 2006.

Methods, computer program products and apparatus providing improved use of relays in wireless communication


A writing implement having a forward-positioned eraser, and method. The eraser circumscribes the shaft of the writing implement, and may have an annular or doughnut shape. The eraser may be affixed to the shaft portion, for example where used with a fixed-length writing implement such as a mechanical pencil or erasable pen. The eraser may, alternatively, be slidable along the shaft portion, which would make the eraser useable with a sharpenable pencil, the length of which will be changed as a result of sharpening.

This invention relates generally to erasing devices and methods for writing implements, and, more particularly, to an eraser positionable proximate a writing end of a writing implement.
Writing implements such as pencils and certain pens that produce an erasable writing material provide the need for a suitable eraser. Typical prior art erasers include erasers permanently affixed to the end of the writing implement opposite the writing end. Erasers are also provided that are separate from the writing implement.
With the typical, permanently affixed prior art eraser, it is necessary to invert the writing implement in order to utilize the eraser. This maneuver interrupts the flow of the user""s writing, is relatively time-consuming, and requires some amount of manual dexterity. (The expenditure of time can be particularly costly when the writer is engaged in the performance of a time-sensitive task, such as participation in a xe2x80x9cMad Minutexe2x80x9d test.) With erasers that are separate from the writing implement, it is necessary to first release the writing implement, and only then to grasp and utilize the eraser in an erasing action. Of course, separate erasers suffer from the further deficiency that they are prone to being lost.
A need exists for an eraser that is positioned proximate the writing end of the writing implement, so that a user can utilize the eraser while still grasping the writing implement in substantially the same manner and without having to invert or release the writing implement. It would be preferred, in one embodiment, to allow the position of the eraser to be adjustable, to take into account a shortening of the length of the writing implement as a result of the sharpening thereof. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides other, related, advantages.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an eraser for a writing implement wherein the eraser is positioned proximate the writing end of the writing implement.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an erasing method that permits a user to perform an erasing task without the need for inverting or releasing the writing implement.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an eraser positionable proximate a writing end of a writing implement, and capable of having its positioned adjusted along a length of the writing implement to take into account a shortening of the length of the writing implement as a result of the sharpening thereof.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a writing implement having a forward-positioned eraser is disclosed. The writing implement comprises, in combination: a writing implement having a shaft portion and a writing point and being dimensioned to be grasped by a user hand along said shaft portion during use of said writing implement for a writing task; and an eraser positioned along said shaft portion between said writing point and a position of said user hand during said writing task; wherein said eraser circumscribes said shaft portion.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method for erasing is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: providing a writing implement having a shaft portion and a writing point and being dimensioned to be grasped by a user hand along said shaft portion during use of said writing implement for a writing task; providing an eraser positioned along said shaft portion between said writing point and a position of said user hand during said writing task; wherein said eraser circumscribes said shaft portion; said user hand grasping said writing implement along said shaft portion; angling said writing implement so that said writing point is not in contact with a writing surface and so that an outer surface of said eraser is in contact with said writing surface; performing an erasing movement on said writing surface by repetitively rubbing said outer surface of said eraser across said writing surface.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Forward-positionable eraser for a writing implement and method


A sensor for a coordinate input device includes an x-direction loop coil group including a plurality of loop coils arranged in an x direction, each loop coil having at least two linear sections perpendicular to the x direction, and a y-direction loop coil group including a plurality of loop coils arranged in a y direction, each loop coil having at least two linear sections perpendicular to the y direction. A terminal portion including a plurality of terminals is provided in the vicinity of an edge portion of the x-direction or y-direction loop coil group. Lines are disposed between the linear sections of the loop coils of the x-direction loop coil group or the y-direction loop coil group to provide connections between the terminals of the terminal portion and the corresponding loop coils of the x-direction loop coil group and the y-direction loop coil group.

Conventional coordinate input devices are well known in the prior art. These devices use a sensor that has a large number of loop coils arranged in x and y directions and a position indicator that includes a coil. In these coordinate input devices, a sensor detects a position indicated by the position indicator using an electromagnetic effect between the sensor and the position indicator.
The sensor used by the coordinate input device must have lines for supplying power to the respective loop coils and for extracting signals from the loop coils. In conventional devices, the lines are extracted from the loop coils toward the outside of the region where the loop coils are provided and are connected to a control circuit.
The sensor for the coordinate input device has a region that can detect a position indicated by the position indicator. This region has an area where the loop coils are provided. This region is called the "detectable area". By contrast, the region where only the lines are provided and the sensor cannot detect the position indicated by the position indicator is called the "invalid area".
For the coordinate input device, increasing the detectable area that can be used for the operation of the position indicator and reducing the overall size are major challenges. To address these challenges there is a need to minimize the invalid area.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 2842717, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a technology in which the lines for supplying power to the loop coils and for extracting signals from the loop coils are arranged between wires of the loop coils and are extracted to the outside of the loop coils, thereby succeeding in reducing the invalid area.
According to the sensor disclosed in Japanese Patent 2842717, the lines are efficiently extracted toward the outside of the loop coils, so that a control circuit substrate or the like can be connected to the sensor. This makes it possible to reduce the invalid area.
However, an increase in the detectable area and a reduction in the invalid area, as described above, are still major challenges.


A dispenser adapted to vertically dispense sheet material therefrom is provided. The dispenser includes a housing, configured to support a sheet material product therein, a platform with an opening, and an exit plate. The exit plate is adapted to reposition when the sheet material is dispensed by the user at a deflection angle relative to the vertical dispensing axis of the dispenser.

Dispensers for rolls or stacks of sheet material have an exit port, which usually permits one sheet material at a time to be dispensed therethrough. One typical type of sheet material dispenser is mounted such that the towel is dispensed from the underside of the dispenser. This type of dispenser is most commonly associated with the dispensing of centerflow rolled towel products in which the rolled product is dispensed from an orifice on the underside of the dispenser. Such dispensers commonly have problems with proper dispensing of such rolled product. Often too much product will dispense, as it fails to tear off in the dispenser, or the product will prematurely tear off, leaving the user with a small tab of a towel. Either of such results are considered dispensing failures.
Some have tried to improve such dispensers by various features and methods. For example, the dispensers taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,718 to Grasso et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,041 to Allegre et al. each utilize a conical chute to feed the tail of the towel roll toward a constricted dispensing orifice. Such a constricted orifice is designed to cause the sheet material to tear at prescribed perforations in the sheet while not restricting the flow such to cause premature tearing before such perforations. Additionally, the dispenser of Allegre et al. utilizes a biasing member to press the sheet material against the dispensing opening with an amount of force applied to the sheet material to retain the tail in the opening and cause the sheet material to separate at the prescribed perforations in the sheet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,667 to Tramontina, another type of centerflow roll dispenser is disclosed. That patent includes one of the inventors of the present invention and is similarly assigned. In one of the dispensers disclosed by the Tramontina, the sheet material passes through a Z-shaped path, which causes the sheet material to separate as desired, without the use of a constricted opening.
One issue present with all such centerflow vertical dispensers is that such dispensers are designed to dispense best when the sheet material is pulled straight downward, along a vertical axis extending down from the dispensing opening. However, users of such dispensers often naturally dispense the sheet material at some deflection angle relative to the vertical dispensing axis. A user will often pull the towel towards themselves or will pull the towel across the dispenser as they walk past the dispenser. In either case, the user pulls at some deflection angle from the preferred vertical dispensing. Typically, the sheet material will improperly dispense, or fail to dispense, the greater the deflection angle at which the user attempts to dispense. The inventors have found that is not uncommon for a typical centerflow dispenser to fail to dispense only 5 to 8 percent of the time when a user properly dispenses with a vertical pull. However, when the user pulls on the same sheet material at an angle of 45 degrees from vertical, the rate of failures can increase upward to around 50 percent. If the angle of pull increases to around 60 degrees from vertical, typical centerflow dispensers will fail to dispense the centerflow sheet material 85 to 100 percent of dispensing attempts.


A semiconductor device fabrication method includes preparing a substrate having a first circuit pattern of a semiconductor device; providing a mask with at least part of second circuit pattern of the semiconductor device; collimating incident direction of particles; changing at least one of the a substrate angle between a vertical axis of the substrate and the incident direction of the particles and a mask angle between a vertical axis of the mask and the incident direction so that the second circuit pattern on the mask can be aligned to the first circuit pattern on the substrate with a design margin; and selectively irradiating the particles to the substrate using the mask.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device fabrication method and an apparatus that applies particles to selected areas of a substrate to be processed using a stencil mask.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to a semiconductor device fabrication method using a stencil mask, an entire circuit pattern of a semiconductor device or part thereof is formed on a stencil mask as a pattern of through-holes. Next, particles are irradiated onto selected areas in a substrate to be processed via circuit pattern through-holes formed on the mask, dealing a circuit pattern on the substrate to be processed.
According to some semiconductor device fabrication methods using the stencil mask, the size of the circuit pattern formed on a mask may be equal to that of a circuit pattern formed on a substrate to be processed. For example, those methods include ion implantation using a stencil mask, low energy electron beam proximity lithography, X-ray lithography or related methods. The particles include ions, electrons and photons.
According to these fabrication methods that allow formation of a circuit pattern on a substrate to be processed that equal in size to a circuit pattern formed on a stencil mask (hereafter, called a 'proximity projection process'), when there is a difference in size between a design size of a circuit pattern using a stencil mask and the actual circuit size of the circuit pattern formed on the stencil mask during a fabrication process, use of a stencil mask in processing a substrate to be processed always creates a misalignment.
In addition, the proximity projection process and a process using a photo mask, which is obtained by enlarging a circuit pattern so as to carry out image reduction exposure such as photolithography (hereafter, called an 'image reduction process'), may be used together for semiconductor device fabrication. Differences in reduction ratio from the photo mask for a circuit pattern to a substrate to be processed occurs during the image reduction process. The circuit pattern on a substrate to be processed is obtained by enlarging or reducing a designed circuit pattern. When subjecting the substrate to be processed to proximity projection, since a circuit pattern formed on the substrate to be processed is equal to a designed circuit pattern, misalignment occurs between the circuit pattern formed in the underlying layer of the substrate to be processed and an additionally formed circuit pattern.
Consideration of this misalignment as well as the size of a designed circuit pattern when designing a circuit may achieve a desired performance of a semiconductor device; however, the size of the semiconductor device is enlarged.

Semiconductor device fabrication method and fabrication apparatus using a stencil mask


A switching assembly having some conductor strips molded in the base and extending outwardly to form connector terminals. Other conductive strips are disposed on the surface of the base and have the ends extending outwardly to also form connector terminals. The conductive strips have other portions bent upward to plug directly into a printed circuit board. A plurality of switches are mounted on the base and a switch is mounted on the circuit board directly above a base mounted switch. User movement of cover mounted rockers actuates the base mounted switches through push pins passing through clearance holes the circuit board. The circuit board mounted switch after user effected rocker actuation absorbs overtravel resulting from continued user movement of the rocker and is operative to move a sliding plunger in the circuit board to operate the base mounted switch directly below.

The present invention relates to switching assemblies of the type employed for user actuation of plural control functions from individual switch actuators. Examples of such devices are found in the switching assemblies employed for enabling user actuation of power lifted automotive windows and door locks where the user actuates an individual switch for the desired control function, such as moving a switch rocker in one direction for lowering the car window and in the opposite direction for raising the window. In such automotive accessory control applications, it has been desired to provide certain degrees of sophistication to the controls, such as, for example, the incorporation of an electronic circuit to enable the window lift motor to run continuously when initially energized for moving the window in the down direction without continued pressure on the switch actuator by the user. In such applications, it has therefore been desired to incorporate electronic control circuitry integral with the mounting for the individual control function switches.
In designing and manufacturing control switch assemblies for user control of plural electrical functions such as those encountered in automotive accessory switches, it has been desired to provide electronic control circuitry integral with the mounting of the plural switches to provide desired control functions for the accessories and to provide such a switch assembly that is compact, low in manufacturing cost, and easy to fabricate and assemble. In particular, it has been desired to provide such a switch assembly which is adapted for connection to a plural connector wiring harness as, for example, the type employed in automobile body wiring harnesses.
In certain applications for user operated function control switches, it has been desired to provide for actuation of plural switches by user movement of a single actuator in one direction. An example of this type of functional control is thus found in the automotive power winder lift switches where it is desired to provide what is known as an automatic or "express down" function. Normally, for manual operation the user moves the desired window lift control switch in one direction by a given amount and holds the actuator in this position to provide continuous operation of the window lift motor until the window is lowered to the desired position, whereupon pressure on the switch is released by the user. An automotive window lift switch equipped with an "express down" function enables the user to push the switch in the desired direction for lowering the window an additional amount of movement beyond the amount that is normally required to energize the motor, whereupon, a second switch is actuated, which signals an electronic controller, which permits the user to release the switch actuator; and, the motor continues automatically to lower the window to its lower limit.
Thus, it has been desired to find a way or means for providing a compact, easy to fabricate and assemble switching assembly, low in manufacturing coast, having user actuators for controlling plural functions and which includes electronic control of certain functions.


A method of optimizing online advertising campaign allocations is disclosed. It is determined that an auction for a set of advertising slots has been triggered. It is identified that the advertising campaigns are configured to bid on the set of advertising slots. A ranking score for each of the advertising campaigns is determined. The ranking scores are adjusted for each cost-per-click advertising campaign of the set of advertising campaigns by an adjustment factor specific to a context of the auction. The set of advertising slots is allocated to the winners of the auction. The winners of the auction are communicated for integration into a content page.

A publisher of online content (e.g., a social network system) may provide advertisers with the ability to integrate advertisements with the online content. For example, the publisher may allow the advertiser to create an advertising campaign. An advertising campaign may include an advertisement and one or more advertisement variations, each of which may include one or more of a headline, description, or image. Additionally, the advertisement may be associated with a link (e.g., a URL) to a web page. Thus, when a member of the social networking service clicks on the advertisement, the member may be directed to the web page. An advertising campaign may also be associated with a desired audience (e.g., based on demographic or other information known about members of the social network system) and information about how the advertiser agrees to compensate the publisher to promote the advertisement.
An advertiser may choose to compensate the publisher using one or more of a variety of methods, such as the cost-per-mille (CPM) method or the cost-per-click (CPC) method. With the CPM method, advertisers may pay for every thousand impressions of the advertisement. Although the precise definition of an impression may vary between publishers, an impression is generally considered to be a display of the advertisement to a potential customer. With the CPC method, advertisers may pay each time a member clicks on the advertisement.
Additionally the campaign may be associated with a bid amount. The bid amount may indicate a maximum amount the advertiser is willing to pay when a member clicks on the advertisement (for CPC advertising campaigns) or a maximum amount the advertiser is willing to pay for every 1,000 impressions of the advertisement (for CPM advertising campaigns). When a member requests access to a content page served by the publishing system of the publisher, a real-time auction for each advertising slot on the content page may be triggered. The advertising campaign that wins the auction (e.g., based on its bid) may have an advertisement allocated for the advertising slot. Then, when the content page is served to the member, the advertisement is displayed in the advertising slot to the member.

Optimizing online advertising campaign allocations


According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat spreader to be mounted on an IC package, the IC package including: a circuit board; an IC chip mounted on one surface of the circuit board; and a plurality of connection terminals formed on the other surface of the circuit board, the heat spreader including: a top wall formed into a rectangular shape; a circumferential wall formed continuously from the top wall, the circumferential wall and the top wall defining a block-like cavity for enclosing the IC chip when the heat spreader is mounted on the IC package; and ear portions formed at lengthwise central portions of a facing pair of side walls of the circumferential wall so to extend outwardly from bottom edges of the facing pair of side walls, respectively.

There are proposed various heat spreaders for spreading heat generated from an IC chip mounted on an IC package.
For example, JP-2563182-B describes a heat sink attaching apparatus in which a gate array is mounted inside a space (cavity) defined by a frame, and a finned heat sink is provided to make contact with a top surface pad of the gate array, thereby spreading heat generated from the gate array.
While the heat spreading efficiency of the above-mentioned heat sink is good as it is provided with plural fins laminated along a post, such structure is complicated, and the operation (catching the post with a hole formed in a heat sink clip by inserting the heat sink clip between two of the fins) required for attaching the heat sink is cumbersome.
Thus, there is a demand for a heat spreader which has a simple structure, and can be easily attached. For example, a so-called hat type heat spreader as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B is proposed.
As illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a heat spreader 100 has a top wall 101, a circumferential wall 102 formed continuously from the entire circumference of the top wall 101, and a flange 103 extended outwardly from the bottom edge of the circumferential wall 102.
For example, it is assumed that an IC chip is mounted on a circuit board as an IC package, and the circuit board is mounted on a motherboard together with a socket. The above-mentioned heat spreader 100 is mounted on the circuit board to surround the IC chip, and then, the heat spreader 100 is attached to the socket together with the circuit board. At that time, the flange 103 of the heat spreader 100 is pressed by a turnable lid member of the socket. Consequently, plural connection terminals formed on the bottom surface of the circuit board are electrically connected to plural connection bumps formed on a base substrate of the socket, respectively.
Here, while the flange 130 is formed on the entire circumference of the circumferential wall of the heat spreader 100, only a part of the whole area of the flange 130 is to be pressed by the lid member of the socket, and the remained non-pressed part is a waste.
On the other hand, in an IC package, the number of chips mounted on a circuit board has been recently increased due to the advance of the implementation of a multichip structure, and the size of the circuit board is correspondingly increased.
Sometimes, the multichip structure is restrained, depending upon the shape of a heat spreader. Thus, it is requested to increase the cavity volume of the heat spreader so that it can cover each IC chip in the IC package, in order to assure the flexibility of the implementation of the multichip structure.

Heat spreader for IC package, and IC package clamper having the heat spreader


The present invention relates to methods and pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of lung cancer. The inventors showed that FHIT (also known as bis(5-adenosyl)-triphosphatase) regulates HER2 activity in lung tumor cells and that HER2 inhibitors reduce invasion induced by FHIT inhibition. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of treating lung cancer in a patient in need thereof comprising the steps of i) determining the expression level of FHIT in a tumor tissue sample obtained from the patient, ii) comparing the expression level determined at step i) with a predetermined reference value and iii) administering to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one HER2 inhibitor when the expression level determined at step i) is lower than the predetermined reference level.

Lung cancers consist of two major histological types, non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and small-cell lung carcinoma. NSCLC consists of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), adenocarcinoma (AD), large-cell carcinoma, and others. NSCLC accounts for ˜85% of all lung cancers, and there are ˜80% of NSCLC cases in advanced stage where the prognosis remains poor. Therefore, investigation of the mechanism of initiation, progression, and identification of prognostic markers is still needed for the selection of patients with NSCLC and to provide better individualized treatment.
FHIT, also known as bis(5-adenosyl)-triphosphatase, is one of the histidine triad gene family members and is an enzyme encoded by the FHIT gene. The FHIT gene locates the most common fragile site in the human genome, FRA3B (3p14.2), a region which frequently undergoes genomic rearrangement, biallelic loss, and cytogenetic abnormalities in tumors. Previous reports showed that FHIT was inactivated by the loss of heterozygosity and methylation in cancer cells, which indicated that FHIT is a tumor suppressor protein. Its precise function has been intensively studied in several tumors, by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, inhibition of cell proliferation, and increasing cell sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents. Recently it was shown that FHIT controls the invasive phenotype of lung tumor cells by regulating the expression of genes associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition such as vimentin or MMP-9 through an EGFR signaling pathway.
Human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2/ERBB2/neu) is a member of the ERBB family of tyrosine kinase receptors, and is activated by homodimerization or heterodimerization with other ERBB receptors. Deregulation of HER2 gene, by overexpression and/or gene amplification has been proved important in breast and gastric cancer, in which overexpression of HER2 confers greater response to specific anti-HER2 treatment, including trastuzumab. In lung carcinogenesis, HER2 mutations are thought to be more clinically relevant than overexpression or gene amplification. HER2 mutations in NSCLC, described exclusively in adenocarcinoma histology, are present in approximately 4% of this subset of lung cancer patients.

Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of lung cancer

INSERM (INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTÉ ET DE LA RECHERCHE MÉDICALE)

CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE DE REIMS


Catheters for percutaneous applications are disclosed. The catheter according to example embodiments may comprise a substantially straight section, an anchoring section positioned proximal to the substantially straight section. The anchoring section can have a curvature for providing longitudinal traction with a tissue to anchor the catheter to the tissue and a pathway extending through the catheter for transporting fluids. The pathway may comprise a first section and a second section in fluid communication with each other, where the first section extends through the length of the straight section, and the second section extends through the anchoring section and has a curvature which mimics the curvature of the anchoring section.

A wide variety of catheters can be inserted into patients for short-term and long-term use. These catheters can be inserted into different types of anatomic structures including vascular structures (e.g. veins, arteries, cardiac chambers), body cavities and spaces (e.g. thoracic, pericardial, peritoneal, epidural, thecal) and visceral organs (e.g. stomach, intestines, bladder). They are used for various purposes including infusion of substances (e.g. fluids, medications, blood products, nutritional), withdrawal of blood or other bodily fluids for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes (e.g. drainage, decompression), monitoring of physiologic parameters (e.g. pressure, temperature) and as a conduit through which therapeutic or diagnostic instruments are passed.
Catheters commonly used for percutaneous applications include Percutaneous Venous Catheters (PVCs) and Central Venous Catheters (CVCs). PVCs are inserted through the skin into a peripheral vein, usually in the arm, and are the most common means of delivering fluids or medications into patients. CVCs are inserted through the skin into a central vein and usually remain in place for a long period of time, especially when the reason for their use is longstanding. PVCs and CVCs are secured into positions utilizing various means. For example, CVCs are sometimes inserted in more critical locations, and the catheters are sutured to the skin and frequently have eyelets, suture guides or other features to facilitate suturing. Other catheters are secured using simple or elaborate taping schemes. There are a wide variety of proprietary catheter anchoring devices being marked which uses a variety of adhesives, straps and other mechanisms.
Catheter dislodgment is an issue for a variety of reasons. Inadvertent dislodgement of certain catheters such as CVCs, chest tubes, large arterial sheaths and others can lead to serious complications including air embolism, pneumothorax, hemorrhage or even death. Furthermore, replacing dislodged catheters can expose patients to additional discomfort, interfere with the therapeutic regimen or other care and lead to complications from the reinsertion procedure. The economic burden resulting from dislodged catheters or the various efforts and protocols necessary to prevent dislodgement can be significant.
Accordingly, there is a need for catheters that can be anchored to the skin without a need for suturing, elaborate taping and/or additional anchoring devices.

Self-anchoring catheters and methods of use


A water dumping game apparatus and method for using the same. The apparatus consists of a water bucket type container with target adapted to be filled with water and hinged connected with a base. The base is configured for attachment with a support apparatus such as a ladder or standard having a horizontal member. The force of a projectile striking the target causes the hinge to pivot and tilt the container so as to dump water on a subject dousee positioned adjacent and below the container.

There are presently numerous amusement games involving a water dumping which utilizing a target which when struck by a projectile will cause a bucket of water to be dumped onto a participant. Such prior art apparatus generally consist of a bucket type container or other water receptacle (for example, a water balloon) mounted on a standard, a target mounted on a stationary or moveable arm member, and a release mechanism for causing water to be dumped on a subject participant positioned below the bucket. The force of a projectile (such as a ball, flying disk, or bean bag) striking the target located on the arm member activates the release mechanism. The prior art is generally overly large in size, complicated in construction, difficult to set up and use and expensive to manufacture and ship.

Water dumping target apparatus and method