The present patent application discloses a universal flexible in-the-ear hearing aid, comprising a front portion of the hearing aid, a middle portion of the hearing aid and a rear portion of the hearing aid, the front portion of the hearing aid including a speaker, the rear portion of the hearing aid including a main body, the middle portion of the hearing aid including the sound transmission device, the sound transmission device is a flexible or soft-connection device, a end of the soft-connection device connected to the front portion of the hearing aid, another end of the soft-connection device connected to the rear portion of the hearing aid.

At present, the companies supplying the digital hearing aid normally focus their attention on increasing the power of the hearing aid for obtain more higher audio outputting signal, or by suing the way of suppressing the environment noise or eliminating echoing sound signal, etc, to ensure the quality of the outputting signal. The consequence is that: even the quality of the outputting signal is very good, however the gain portion in the user actually received signal is quite less so that the user still cannot obtain a good listening effect. Normally, a customized hearing aid is put on the auricle of the user, a behind-the-ear aid is put behind of the ear of the user, and there is a distance between the sound from the speaker and the eardrum of the user. The interaction between the resistance of the sound transmission and sound deflection made sound loss when the sound is transmitted in the ear canal with complicated physiological structure. In general, there is about 20%˜30% gain loss so that many severe hearing loose patient complaining the power of the hearing aid being not enough.
For enhancing the wording efficiency and improving the invisibility of wearing, completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid or in-the-ear hearing aid is created, so that reduced the loss which happened during the transmission in ear. Thanks to the volume of the in-the-ear hearing aid is very small, the room for arranging the parts is very limited, so must design and make the parts as small as possible, meantime the assembly should be quite impact. The disadvantage caused by smaller size is power of the hearing aid has to reduce accordingly; the sound gain effect is expected cannot be great.
Completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid is a kind of hearing aid customized, need to take ear-impression for each hearing-impaired patient in fitting centre in advance, then sending the ear-impression to the plant and manually make as the housing of the hearing aid. Thanks to the main body of the hearing aid does not exposed outside of ear, its invisibility being very high is a object which is pursued by part of hearing-impaired patients, however, rather because it being put inside of the ear, the adverse effect could be produced would be occlusion effect, echo howround, effecting to the wearing stability which resulted from the hard contacting with the whole ear canal and not adapting the movement of the muscle of ear canal, and the difficulty of cannot be put in depth ear canal which resulted from the complicated 3-dimensioned physiology-anatomy structure, etc.
For letting the fitting centre can obtain the common acknowledge when they are filling the "customized hearing aid customer order", give convenient to the fitting centre when they select the ear canal length of the customized hearing aid, improving the success rate of their first time fitting, especially, the literal report gives standard definition to the 3-dimensioned physiology-anatomy structure. Hereby, by taking reference to FIG. 12, explaining short ear canal 21, middle length ear canal 22, long ear canal 23, deep ear canal 24, etc.
Short ear canal 21: Not exceed the central line of the first curved conduit and the second curved conduit (generally, suit for the hearing aid fitting patient whose hearing impairing rather small, not suit to CIC patient)
Middle length ear canal 22: exceed the central line of the first curved conduit and the second curved conduit, not exceed the second curved conduit (suit for the hearing aid fitting patient whose hearing impairing not very severe, but not suit to CIC patient)
Long ear canal 23: exceed the second curved conduit about 1 mm (suit for the hearing aid fitting patient whose hearing impairing is somehow severe, or suit to CIC patient)
Deep ear canal 24: exceed the second curved conduit 3˜5 mm (suit for the hearing aid fitting patient whose hearing impairing very severe and reach the limitation of hearing aid fitting, not suit to the situation of the curvature of the second curved conduit of the patient is very large, the situation of loss of hearing is quite good, or the old aged ITE selecting patient)
Universal in-the-ear hearing aid is the new completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid which developed in the recent years on the base of common customization, there is no need for each patient take the ear-impression and special manual manufacture for such a hearing aid. However, its positioning in the ear canal mainly depends on the earplug with greater protrusion end, hard plastic main body hardly contact with the ear canal and slides along with movement of the muscle of ear canal caused by the activity like talking, eating, drinking etc. The main problem is that it is hardly extending into the depth of ear canal, can not eliminate the occlusion effect and echo howround, the wearing stability and extent of comfort is rather bad.
U.S. utility patent numbered by U.S. Pat. No. 7,092,543B1 discloses a common in-the-ear hearing aid, as shown in FIG. 13, the speaker portion of this in-the-ear hearing aid is able rotate flexibly, belongs the in-the-ear hearing aid which suit for use in anybody's ear canal, its speaker extending into the inside of ear, comparatively closer to human eardrum located in depth of ear canal, reduced the gain loss which caused during the sound transmission in the ear canal, improved the work efficiency of the hearing aid. A fixed pulling line or pole disposed at the rear end of the in-the-ear hearing aid, made the taking out of it is very convenient. However, the angle of elevation of the speaker portion is not larger than 30 degree, can not adapt to the requirement of turning angle of the human ear canal is up to 60 degree; There is no air circulation near the central part of ear canal during use and sweating situation exist, so as to make the user feels not comfortable, also it is hardly to be put to where is close r to human eardrum.
FIG. 14 is a structure illustrative view of a universal in-the-ear hearing aid supplied by UNITRON, its stent maintain a space from the ear canal, ensured the air circulation in ear, there is no sweating although long time wearing, and the speaker is closer to human eardrum, reduced the gain loss which caused during the sound transmission in the ear, improved the work efficiency of the hearing aid. A pulling pole disposed at the rear portion of this in-the-ear hearing aid, so as to convenient the taking out of the hearing aid. However, its sound transmission device is a rigid connection, in such, the hearing aid will often meets the following situation during use: The outer housing of in-the-ear hearing aid is a rigid housing with unchangeable shape, when it is put in the ear of human, resulting from difference in the length and shape of the ear canal, a non-even contacting exist between the outer housing and the ear canal, some portion of ear canal exerted very high pressure, made the user feel uncomfortable. Its positioning mainly depends on the earplug with protruded end, the hard plastic made main body hardly contact with the ear canal and slides along with the movement of the muscle of ear canal. The main problem is that it cannot bend, cannot extended into the ear canal with complicated 3-dimensioned structure, cannot eliminate the occlusion effect and echo howround, the stability of wearing and extent of comfortable is very bad.

Universal flexible in-the-ear hearing aid


The invention relates to a cylinder drum (1′) for a hydrostatic piston engine, having at least one kidney-shaped control port/cylinder bore transition (5′, 5″, 5′″) which leads into a cylinder bore (2, 2′a) for receiving a piston that can be axially displaced therein, wherein the kidney-shaped control port/cylinder bore transition (5′, 5″, 5′″) is configured perpendicular to the flow direction in a stepless and edge-free manner.

The invention relates to a cylinder drum for a hydrostatic piston engine, having at least one kidney-shaped control port/cylinder bore transition which leads into a cylinder bore for receiving a piston that can be axially displaced therein.
Publication DE 43 41 846 C1 makes known a hydrostatic piston engine that includes a cylinder drum in which at least one cylinder bore is formed, in which a piston can be moved upwardly and downwardly. The motion of the piston is controlled by a swash plate against which the piston bears with the aid of a sliding block. The cylinder drum has a contact surface on the end face out of which the piston does not extend; the cylinder drum bears via the aforementioned contact surface against a valve plate. Two kidney-shaped control ports are formed in the valve plate. One kidney-shaped control port is designed as an inlet opening, while the other kidney-shaped control port is designed as an outlet opening. A kidney/cylinder bore transition is formed in the cylinder drum between the cylinder bore and the contact surface on the end face of the cylinder drum out of which the piston does not extend. When the cylinder drum rotates about its rotational axis, the contact surface of the cylinder drum glides across a diametrically opposed contact surface of the valve plate. The kidney/cylinder bore transition alternately connects the cylinder bore to the inlet opening which is connected to a suction connection when a pump is present, and to the outlet opening which is then connected to a pressure connection. When the piston moves downward in the cylinder bore, hydraulic fluid is pumped through the kidney/cylinder bore transition into the cylinder bore. When the piston moves upward, hydraulic fluid is pumped out of the cylinder bore through the kidney/cylinder bore transition out of the cylinder bore. The cylinder drum that was disclosed has the disadvantage that, when the piston moves downward in the cylinder bore, only a relatively small quantity of hydraulic fluid is pumped into the cylinder bore. Therefore, at a given pivot angle of the swash plate per revolution of the cylinder drum, only a relatively small quantity of hydraulic fluid can be pumped from one kidney-shaped control port to the other kidney-shaped control port.

Flow-optimized cylinder drum for hydrostatic piston engines


The present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for removing particulates from a gas stream. The apparatus includes a ceramic filter, at least one electrode, and at least one conductor. The electrode is located at an end of the filter and produces an atmospheric glow discharge in order to oxidize carbon deposits trapped in the filter. The conductor extends at least partially into the filter and acts as a counter electrode. Through various arrangements of the electrodes and conductors, the present disclosure provides closer connection between the trapped carbon deposits and the electrodes. This improves the regeneration of the filter without increasing the size and/or weight of the apparatus.

Internal combustion engines and static hydrocarbon burning equipment tend to emit, via their exhaust systems, carbonaceous particles commonly referred to as particulates. While efforts are being expended towards reducing particulate emissions at source, particulate filters (traps) in the exhaust systems of such equipment are becoming useful in helping to meet increasingly strict environmental legislation and public expectations.
Particulate filters which may be regenerated are known. It is especially desirable for a particulate filter to be self-regenerating in use, under any load, in order to maintain filtering and gas-flow efficiencies above a certain level while keeping filter size to a minimum. It is also desirable that the filter is self-controlled to regenerate when a predetermined level of particulates is present and to do so without requiring any external sensing means. It is further desirable that the regeneration process is economic in the use of any externally supplied energy or material, that the construction of the filter is also economic, and that the system is effective irrespective of types and compositions of fuel and engine operating conditions.
WO 01/04467 ("WO '467") to the same applicant discloses an apparatus and a method for removing particulates from a gas stream. WO '467 discloses a ceramic monolith filter of depth less than 100 mm which uses a first electrode to produce an atmospheric glow discharge near to the first end of the filter. Although the combination of a reduced-depth ceramic filter and atmospheric glow discharge has provided far more efficient particulate removal and filter regeneration performance compared to earlier known arrangements, the applicant has established that performance can be improved still further.

Autoselective regenerating particulate filter


A method of manufacturing a composite wall with an open cell metal foam core layer bonded to an inner cladding layer and an outer cladding layer. The method involves: creating a core substrate of open cell gas permeable foam in a chosen shape; impregnating the open cell foam substrate with metal vapour and depositing a porous layer of metal on exposed internal and external surfaces of the substrate thereby forming the open cell metal foam core through metal vapour deposition; and forming the inner and outer cladding layers upon the metal foam core through spray application of metal or ceramic.

The invention includes manufacturing a composite wall having an open cell metal foam core layer bonded to an inner and outer layer of metal or ceramic, that can be used for constructing the walls of a high temperature low cost combustor chamber for a gas turbine engine.
A common prior art annular combustor is constructed of large sections that have thin metal walls that are machined down in thickness from a single forging as for example shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,199 to McCaldon et al. issued Jun. 27, 2000. Large sections of the combustor are machined from a single forging or the entire combustor shell is constructed from several individually machined panels, each from a separate forging and thereafter precisely welded together.
However, this method for creating a combustor shell is less than optimum due to the inherent limitations of fitting, welding and machining large components to the required finished tolerances. In order to economically produce a combustor wall, sections may be left relatively thick in cross section to reduce the amount of machining time required and also to reduce the difficulty involved in machining very thin shells having a large diameter. As a result, therefore, prior art combustors can be very heavy with mechanical strength that far exceeds the requirements of the engine and the requirements of the combustor as a pressure vessel. Joints between panels are left relatively thick in order to permit the drilling of a large number of small cooling holes that are required to develop a cooling protective air film in a down stream combustor section.
The metal structures are expensive, difficult to machine from tough high strength expensive materials, and may still require a coating of a ceramic thermal barrier on the inner surface to protect the metal. The complexity of the surface features and a large number of cooling holes make application of the spray ceramic coating a time consuming and expensive proposition, due to the amount of preparation work in masking over openings to avoid covering the cooling openings or grooves to maintain their function. Although modern fabrication techniques employing computer control have somewhat mitigated manufacturing costs, the modern combustor is still an expensive structure to produce.
The role of the combustor is to serve as a heat shield protecting the walls of the pressure vessel, which surrounds the combustor and contains compressed air from the compressor. Combustion gases are produced from ignition of the fuel and air mixture, and the combustor also serves to physically duct the combustion gases and protect the adjacent portions of the engine from the extreme heat of the combustion gases. The combustor also meters the compressed air flowing into the combustor in a specific proportion creating a fuel/air mixture that allows the formation of a stable flame zone within the combustor. If airflow was not partitioned and metered within the combustor, the flame would be difficult to establish and maintain, thereby leading to engine performance that is extremely unreliable.
However, the combustor in practice is a little more than a gas flow baffle that separates gases of different temperatures. It meters the flow of compressed air into the combustion zone and structurally resists a modest pressure drop across it's surface as air enters cooling holes and metering holes. The load imposed by this pressure differential acting on the combustor walls is relatively low and a very thin walled section could easily support the pressure difference. The greatest stress on the combustor walls results from large temperature gradients generated by the non-homogeneous gas temperatures within the combustor that result in differential thermal stresses, and are dependent on the efficiency of air/fuel mixing. The higher the temperature gradients within the combustor, the higher the thermal stresses that the combustor must resist. The wall thickness in a homogeneous material such as nickel alloy also aggravates the gradient and stresses.
It is an object of the present invention to produce an improved combustor for a gas turbine engine that can be manufactured more cheaply and offers better performance.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for manufacturing an improved combustor
Further objects of the invention will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention below.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An RF treatment device according to the present invention includes one or two radio frequency electrode holders each having multiple electrodes arranged to create a transmural lesion through tissue. The treatment device is placed with one holder placed on the endocardial surface of the heart wall with the electrodes protruding towards the epicardial surface of the heart and the other optional holder placed on the epicardial surface of the heart with the electrodes protruding towards the endocardial surface of the heart forming a bipolar arrangement of equally spaced electrodes. The embodiments of the present invention are described for use in creating a transmural lesion in heart tissue to treat atrial fibrillation by blocking the passage of abnormal electrical currents through the heart. However, the devices and methods may also be used to create continuous transmural lesions in heart tissue and other body organs and tissues to treat other conditions. Although the invention is primarily described with respect to the application of RF bi-polar energy, the devices may also be used to apply other types of energy, such as cryo, ultrasound, microwave, heat, or other electrical means of providing an interruption to the abnormal electrical circuits at given regions.

The invention relates to an atrial fibrillation RF treatment device and method, and more particularly, the invention relates to a device and method for creating a narrow transmural lesion or discontinuity in tissue, such as heart tissue or other body organs or tissues.
Atrial fibrillation is a condition of the heart in which abnormal electrical signals are generated in the myocardial tissue causing irregular beating of the heart. One method used to treat atrial fibrillation is called the Maze procedure. The Maze procedure involves forming barriers in the heart tissue to prevent the abnormal electrical signals from passing through the heart. The barriers are created by forming several long (i.e., approximately 2-10 cm) scars. The scars are formed by cutting through the heart wall and sewing the wall back together to create the scars which are intended to stop the irregular beating of the heart by preventing the passage of abnormal currents. This procedure is referred to as the Maze procedure because it creates a maze of scars blocking the passage of abnormal electrical currents through the heart. These scars may be formed by cutting or by application of energy.
Procedures for forming the linear scars involve opening the patients chest cavity and forming linear incisions or cuts through the heart wall in specific locations described as the Maze III and other similar atrial fibrillation treatments.
The Maze III procedure using conventional surgical incisions has a success rate of up to 90%. A new technique of cryo-ablation has also been used to create the lesions in the heart wall. This approach has the benefit of reducing the cardiopulmonary bypass pump time and allowing more time for correcting the valvular disease and CABG if needed.
Although catheter techniques have been attempted for minimally invasive treatment of atrial fibrillation, these techniques have not been successful to date. Known catheter devices for forming these lesions include flexible catheters which form lesions from an interior surface of the heart. Examples of these ablation catheters are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,895,417; 5,941,845; and 6,129,724 which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
One drawback with the catheter techniques and devices used on the epicardial surface of the heart is that it is difficult to impossible to assure a transmural lesion or the complete blockage of unwanted electrical signals. In addition, RF energy will not go through fat with currently available devices because of the high impedance of the fat compared to the low impedance of tissue. In addition, current devices have difficulty dealing with varying thickness of tissue through which a transmural lesion is desired. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system for precisely creating transmural lesions on a beating heart or non-beating heart with a minimum of trauma to the patient.
The present invention relates to a device and method for creating a transmural lesion.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an RF treatment device for creating transmural lesions in tissue includes an electrode holder; a plurality of tissue penetrating RF needle electrodes arranged in a single linear array to create a continuous transmural lesion, each of the RF needle electrodes having a length of at least 4 mm; and an RF energy source connected to each of the RF needle electrodes with alternating electrodes connected to opposite polarities of the RF energy source.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the present invention, an RF treatment device for creating transmural lesions in heart tissue includes an electrode holder; a plurality of tissue penetrating RF needle electrodes arranged in a single linear array to create a continuous transmural lesion, each of the RF needle electrodes having a length sufficient to create a transmural lesion through the entire thickness of the tissue of the heart wall; and an RF energy source connected to each of the RF needle electrodes.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a method of treating atrial fibrillations includes the steps of: penetrating heart tissue to be treated with an RF treatment device comprising a plurality of tissue penetrating RF needle electrodes arranged in a single linear array; and applying radio frequency energy to form a transmural lesion which provides a barrier across an entire thickness of the heart tissue to prevent the passage of abnormal electrical currents through the heart tissue.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of treating atrial fibrillations includes the steps of: positioning a first electrode of a radio frequency forceps on an endocardial surface of a heart at a location to be treated; positioning a second electrode of the radio frequency forceps on an epicardial surface of the heart opposite the first electrode; and applying radio frequency with the first and second electrodes to form a transmural lesion which provides a barrier to the passage of abnormal electrical currents through the heart tissue.
In accordance with another additional aspect of the present invention, a medical device for creating transmural lesions in tissue includes an electrode holder; a plurality of tissue penetrating needle electrodes arranged in a single linear array to create a continuous narrow lesion, each of the needle electrodes having a length sufficient to create a transmural lesion through the tissue of the heart wall; and an energy source connected to each of the needle electrodes.

Atrial fibrillation RF treatment device and method


The disclosure provides an animation configuration method and a display device. The display device includes: a screen; a rotating component for driving the screen to rotate; and a controller. The controller is configured to receive a command for rotating the screen from a user, control the rotating component to drive the screen to rotate, monitor component rotation information of the rotating component, and configure a rotation animation based on the component rotation information.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Various applications such as social applications (traditional video applications and short video applications) and reading applications (comics and reading books) can be displayed on a screen of a smart TV, which provides rich media resources for the smart TV. Moreover, the smart TV may also exchange data and share resources with different terminals. For example, the smart TV may be connected with mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones) through wireless communication methods such as a local area network and Bluetooth, so as to play the resources in a mobile device or directly project screen and present pictures on the mobile device on the screen of a display device.
However, since different applications or media resources from different sources correspond to different aspect ratios, the smart television usually displays images different from a traditional video ratio. For example, video resources shot through terminals such as mobile phones are generally vertical media with aspect ratios of 9:16, 9:18 and 3:4, while pictures provided by reading applications belong to vertical resource with an aspect ratio similar to that of books. The aspect ratio of the display screen of the smart TV is generally in a landscape state of 16:9; and as a result, when displaying vertical media such as short videos and comics through the smart TV, the vertical media picture cannot be displayed normally because of mismatching of aspect ratio and display screen ratio. In most cases, the vertical media picture should be scaled for a complete display. However, presenting a vertical media picture on a display device in a landscape state or presenting a horizontal media picture on the display device in a portrait state can result in a poor user experience.

Animation configuration method and display device


A turbine nozzle guide vane 10 with passages 28 leading from a hollow core 32 to respective seal strip slots 20, to deliver cooling air to abutment faces 18 on each end of the vane 10.

Turbine nozzle guide vanes for gas turbine engines generally comprise inner and outer platforms with an aerofoil extending therebetween. Such guide vanes are formed as a plurality of segments arranged in one or more rings around an engine. It is necessary for a gap to be left between adjacent guide vanes to allow for manufacturing tolerances and thermal expansion during use. These gaps are conventionally sealed by providing cooperating slots in each guide vane, with a metal seal strip extending in the slots and between the segments.
Nozzle guide vanes are generally air cooled, and passages can be provided in the platforms and aerofoil. It is generally difficult however to cool the abutment faces between adjacent vanes, and particularly due to the provision of the seal strips extending therebetween. Higher engine gas temperatures are generally now being used which make cooling of the nozzle guide vanes increasingly important.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,333 discloses a stator vane having platforms that abut adjacent platforms. The platforms comprise a rear attachment rail. The abutting faces of the platforms define seal slots along their lengths and are fed with cooling air from a single passageway that is located rearward of the rear attachment rail. One problem of this design is that the single rearwardly positioned hole does not provide a sufficient supply of cooling air to the slot and therefore the front part of the abutment face and platform may become overheated resulting in adverse thermal gradients that reduce the life of the vane. U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,198 discloses a similar arrangement with a similar problem.


An interferometer of the present invention includes a PBS2 which splits light into reference light and measurement light, a reference mirror 4a which reflects the reference light entering the reference mirror from a first direction, a measurement mirror 4b which reflects the measurement light entering the measurement mirror from a second direction, a lens system 6 which reflected lights from the reference mirror 4a and the measurement light 4b enter, a reflective device 5 which reflects light from the lens system 6, and a light receiving device 16 which receives multiplexed light, wherein the reference mirror 4a and the measurement mirror 4b are in a conjugate relation with respect to the reflective device 5, and at least one of the reference mirror 4a and the measurement mirror 4b is tilted so that its normal direction differs from the first and the second direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interferometer, and more particularly to a double pass interferometer which obtains displacement information of an object to be measured from lights which have been reflected twice on a reference mirror and a measurement mirror, respectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as an apparatus which measures a displacement of an object, controls a stage, or performs a various kind of length measurements, a laser interferometer has been used because of the features of the high accuracy and high resolution. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-112974 discloses a position detecting apparatus which detects a position displacement of an object using an interference length measurement by non-contact.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional interferometer. A laser beam 110 having a wavelength of λ (λ=633 nm) emitted from a light source 10 enters a PBS 20 (a polarizing beam splitter) and is split into reference light 120a and measurement light 120b on the PBS surface 20p. The reference light 120a is reflected on the reference mirror 40a and enters the PBS 20 again by passing through the previous optical path. In this case, A P wave is converted to an S wave by being transmitted through a ¼ λ plate 30a twice. Therefore, it is transmitted through the PBS surface 20p to be reference light 130a and enter a reflective device 50.
On the other hand, the measurement light 120b is reflected on a measurement mirror 40b and passes through a previous optical path to enter the PBS 20 again. In this case, because a light beam of the measurement light 120b is transmitted through a ¼ λ plate 30b twice and an S wave is converted to a P wave, it is reflected on the PBS surface 20p to be a light beam 130b and, similarly to the reference light 130a, enter the reflective device 50.
After that, the reference light 130a is transmitted through the PBS 20 again to be reference light 140a, and the measurement light 130b is reflected on the PBS 20 again to be measurement light 140b. The reference light 140a and the measurement light 140b are transmitted through the ¼ λ plates 30a and 30b twice, respectively. The reference light 140a and the measurement light 140b entered the PBS 20 again are multiplexed to be multiplexed light 150. An interference signal having a period of ¼ λ in accordance with a displacement of the measurement mirror 40b can be obtained by receiving the multiplexed light 150 by a light receiving device 160.
As shown in FIG. 3, in a conventional typical interferometer, there are a lot of reflective surfaces in the optical path. A component reflected on an interface 210b passes through the same optical path as that of the ordinary measurement light and is finally superimposed on the multiplexed light 150. Although this reflective component is modulated by the movement of the measurement mirror 40b, it reaches the measurement mirror 40b by only one reflection. The same is true for interfaces 210a, 210aa, and 210bb. Therefore, a modulation amount is a half of an ordinary reflective component and is obtained as an interference signal (a ghost light signal) having a period of ½ λ.
For example, when a reflectance of an AR coat (an antireflective coating film) on the interface 210b is 0.2%, the interference signal generated by the ghost light which has been reflected on the interface 210b has an interference intensity of no less than around 9%, compared wave-optically to the interference intensity of a primary signal. Even if an ultralow reflective AR coat having a reflectance of 0.01% is adopted, the interference intensity is 2.5%.
FIG. 4A is a waveform of an ideal interference signal, and FIG. 4B is a waveform of an interference signal on which a ½ λ periodic error is superimposed. The interference signal shown in FIG. 4B is a periodic signal including an error caused by ghost light of a double pass interferometer.
On the electric signal outputted from the light receiving device 160, a sine wave signal caused by all ghost lights is superimposed. Therefore, the interference signal obtained by the conventional interferometer has a waveform as shown in FIG. 4B.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between an output of a light receiving device (a sensor displacement output) and a displacement of an object to be measured.
Commonly, sub-nanometer resolution can be obtained by electrically dividing the sine wave periodic signal modulated in accordance with the displacement of the object to be measured. However, if a component caused by the ghost light is superimposed, as shown in FIG. 5, the linearity of the sensor displacement output with respect to the displacement of the object to be measured is deteriorated. In other words, an interpolation error is included between the sensor displacement output and the displacement of the object to be measured. Because this error amount reaches several nanometers to tens of nanometers, it is a big problem in the interferometer used for the application requiring ultrahigh accuracy

Double pass interferometer with tilted mirrors


Lightweight polyester resin molding compositions include a melt-blend of (A) between 97 to 20 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the total composition weight, of a polyester base resin, (B) between 3 to 80 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the total composition weight, of a polyolefin resin, (C) between 0.1 to 15 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the total composition weight, of a compatibilizing compound having a carbon-carbon double bond and an epoxy group in its molecule, (D) between 0.1 to 20% by weight, based on the weight of the compatibilizing compound, of a free radical initiator, and optionally, (E) up to 120 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the total composition, of a filler material. The free radical initiator is at least one compound having a one-minute half-life temperature of 130.degree. C. or greater, and is preferably pre-blended in solution form with the compatibilizing compound prior to being added to a melt of the polyester base resin and polyolefin resin. The resulting compositions may be molded to form relatively lightweight articles having minimal (if any) propensity to surface peel.

Thermoplastic polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), are well known engineering resins and are used extensively to form a variety of molded articles due to their favorable mechanical, physical and chemical properties. Thus, molded articles formed of polyester resins have been employed as component parts for automobiles, electric and electronic apparatus, tools, and precision machines.
Recently, there has been a need to reduce the weight of many apparatus and machines which include components formed of molded polyester resins. For example, the weight of automobiles has been desired as one means to reduce fuel consumption. Furthermore, in the electric and electronics appliance industries, weight reduction is a desirable objection so as to facilitate greater ease of handling of the apparatus as a whole (e.g., so as to make the apparatus more easily transported by the consumer).
Attempts have been made to reduce the weight of apparatus generally by using lighter weight (lower specific gravity) component parts without sacrificing the functions and/or properties that are needed. A possible technique for reducing the weight of molded parts formed of thermoplastic polyester resin involves incorporating into the polyester base resin, a polyolefin resin having a lesser specific gravity. However, since polyester and polyolefin resins form an incompatible blend, surface peeling is often observed on molded articles due to insufficient dispersion of the polyolefin throughout the polyester base resin thereby deleteriously affecting the articles' impact strength. As a practical matter, therefore, a commercially viable polyester molding composition cannot be obtained simply by melt-blending a polyolefin resin with a polyester base resin.
There have, however, been attempts to improve the incompatibility of polyester and polyolefin resins, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 60744/1986 and 60756/1986. In the former, a technique is disclosed whereby a copolymer of an epoxidized ethylene or ethylenically unsaturated compound is used as a compatibilizing agent. In the latter, a technique is disclosed whereby a modified polypropylene is used in addition to the copolymer of an epoxidized ethylene or ethylenically unsaturated compound so as to improve compatibility with polyester resins.
Notwithstanding these prior proposals, there still exists a need for improved and compatible blends of polyester and polyolefin resins so that more lightweight polyester resin compositions, and molded parts thereof, may be produced. It is towards fulfilling such a need that the present invention is directed.
Broadly, the present invention principally resides in the discovery that the compatibility of thermoplastic polyester and polyolefin resins can be significantly improved by incorporating a compatibilizing compound having both a carbon-carbon double bond and an epoxy group in its molecule, and by melt-blending the components in the presence of a radial initiator.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a moldable thermoplastic polyester resin composition which includes:
(A) between 97 to 20 parts by weight (based on 100 parts by weight of the compositions) of a polyester base resin; PA1 (B) between 3 to 80 parts by weight (based on 100 parts by weight of the composition) of a polyolefin resin; PA1 (C) between 0.1 to 15 parts by weight (based on 100 parts by weight of the composition) of a compatibilizing compound having both a carbon-carbon double bond and an epoxy group in its molecular structure; and PA1 (D) between 0.1 to 20 % by weight of the compatibilizing compound, of a free radical initiator.
These components are preferably melt-blended in the presence of the free radical initiator for a time period of at least 30 seconds. Optionally, the compositions of this invention may further be blended with (E) up to 120 parts by weight (based on 100 parts by weight of the composition) of at least one filler material (in the form of solid or hollow fibers, powders, flakes or the like).
Further aspects and advantages of this invention will become more clear after careful consideration is given to the detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof which follows.

Lightweight thermoplastic polyester molding compositions, methods of making the same and molded articles formed thereof


A semiconductor device has a semiconductor chip in which a plurality of semiconductor components and a plurality of pads are arranged, a plurality of external connection contacts arranged in grids, and a plurality of wires for electrically connecting the pads and the external connection contacts. The pads include a plurality of pad groups including a pair of electrode pads connected to the plurality of semiconductor components in common and a plurality of signal pads respectively connected to the semiconductor components connected to the electrode pads. In each pad group, each signal pad is arranged adjacently to one of the electrode pads; and each wire extending from each signal pad is extended along a wire extended from the electrode pad adjacent to each signal pad.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a semiconductor device preferably applied to a FBGA (Fine pitch Ball Grid Array) type DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a conventional semiconductor device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-185576 (Patent Document 1). The semiconductor device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with pads for signal lines (signal pads), pads for a power supply potential (power supply pads), and pads for a ground potential (ground pads). In this semiconductor device, in order to reduce a power supply based inductance in the semiconductor device, all of the pads are formed on a surface of a wiring board, the surface connected with a semiconductor pellet (semiconductor chip) by wire bonding, and are connected with a signal contact, a power supply potential contact, and a ground potential contact formed on another surface of the wiring board electrically independently one another by through hole conductors. The power supply pads and the ground pads are respectively arranged at the both sides of the signal pads.
However, although Patent Document 1 discloses an effective technique for reducing the power supply based inductance in the semiconductor device, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a reduction in size (size shrink) of a semiconductor chip used in the semiconductor device.
In the semiconductor device such as a DRAM, a reduction in size of a semiconductor chip is desired. By the reduction in size of the semiconductor chip, a number of semiconductor chips obtained from a piece of silicon wafer can be increased, and final costs of the semiconductor device can be reduced.
For that reason, semiconductor manufactures try to reduce sizes of components such as a transistor and a capacitor in the semiconductor device and to reduce sizes of wires in the chip by improvement of the production process. With these efforts, chips in DRAMs having the same capacity have been remarkably made small.
With techniques similar to the wiring in the chip and the production process for the semiconductor chip, pads for transmitting and receiving signals between a semiconductor chip and a package, a board, or a memory module and for supplying a power supply potential and a ground potential to the chip can be made small principally in the same way.
However, these pads are required to be capable of transmitting and receiving signals to/from the outside of the chip, such as a package. Therefore, pads are required to have sizes so as to be used in a step called "post-process", for example, packaging. In a FBGA using a wiring board, it is necessary to connect pads and wires inside the package reliably by wire bonding. Also, in a FBGA using a tape substrate, it is necessary to connect pads and wires inside the package reliably by a flexible tape substrate. The connection technique in the post-process has not advanced rapidly as compared with the processing technique inside the chip. Therefore, even if the size inside the chip is significantly reduced, there is a possibility in that connection is performed by only current pad sizes and current pad pitches under constraints on the connection means for the semiconductor chip and the package. Pads for semiconductor chips in the current semiconductor producing technique are formed in a square or a rectangle having a side of approximate 80 to 100 μm, and pad pitches are larger than the side.
As described in Patent Document 1, it is preferable that the power supply pads and the ground pads are arranged at both sides of the signal pads on the main surface of the semiconductor chip in view of electrical characteristics. However, this causes an increase of pads to provide a problem of preventing a reduction in size of the semiconductor chip. On the other hand, when attentions are paid to only size reduction of the semiconductor chip and then the number of power supply pads and ground pads is reduced excessively, it is impossible to make electrical characteristics, namely, inductance of power supply and ground wires small sufficiently, and, as a consequence, there is a problem in that the semiconductor device cannot be operated at high speed.
This situation causes a problem in that a further reduction in size of chip cannot be attained under constraints on pads to be arranged on the main surface of the chip regardless of the situation in that a reduction in size of the semiconductor chip can be attained by improvement of the production process for the semiconductor chip.

Fine pitch grid array type semiconductor device


A liquid crystal display and method of fabrication are provided, the liquid crystal display having a pixel electrode with a plurality of interconnected partitions, and a common electrode disposed opposite to the pixel electrode and having a plurality of apertures, where the plurality of partitions and the plurality of apertures define domains for generating electric fields, and at least one of the domains has at least one oblique side that is oblique to the length direction of that domain.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display having wide viewing angle, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display having a pixel structure for reducing textures.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display (LCD) has an upper panel including a common electrode and a plurality of color filters, a lower panel including a plurality of thin film transistors (TFTs) and a plurality of pixel electrodes, and a liquid crystal layer having liquid crystal molecules disposed therebetween. The pixel electrodes and the common electrode are applied with electrical voltages to generate an electric field to vary the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, thereby controlling the transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer.
Conventional LCDs typically have a disadvantage of narrow viewing angle, i.e., view of the LCDs would be difficult at an angle larger than the viewing angle. Various techniques for widening the viewing angle have been developed. One of the techniques is to form apertures or protrusions in the pixel electrodes and the common electrode opposite the pixel electrodes, and to control the tilt directions of liquid crystal molecules by using the fringe field generated by the apertures or the protrusion, thereby providing several domains.
A domain preferably has the shape of a long stripe for improving the fringe field effect and the response time, and thus the planar shape of a domain has two long sides and two short sides.
However, this conventional LCD is disadvantageous from a first type of texture generated at the short sides of the domain, a second type of texture in the shape of kidney generated at the center of a pixel, and a third type of texture generated at the chamfered corner of the domain adjacent to a repairing connection. Thus, it is desirable to reduce generation of the textures, thereby enhancing the image quality of an LCD.

Liquid crystal display panel having wide viewing angle


A configuration register enables built-in testing logic during testing operations, and disables the testing logic during non-testing operations. When enabled, the testing logic is in a normal state, and when disabled the testing logic is in a low power state. The configuration register generates a control signal to the testing logic, the control signal being is responsive to signals received at a key input and a reset input of the configuration register. When the reset input of the configuration register is triggered, the control signal drives the testing logic to the low power state. When a signal matching a predetermined data pattern is applied to the key input, the control signal drives the testing logic to the normal state.

As society's dependency on computer systems and computer-controlled devices grows, it becomes increasingly important to verify the integrity of the components which make up such systems. One method of testing the integrity of a logic component consists of transmitting a series of random numbers into the input of the logic module of the component, accumulating the outputs generated by the module in a data compression register (DCR), and, when the entire series of numbers has been processed by the logic module, comparing the output signature of the DCR with a predetermined correct signature. If the DCR output signature matches the correct signature, then the logic component is functioning properly; otherwise, it is faulty.
Consequently, logic component architectures have been developed which provide built-in self-testing (BIST). Such architectures contain, in addition to a logic module, the hardware required to test the module (i.e. a pseudo random number generator (PRNG) and a DCR). During normal operation, the logic module receives data from normal inputs and transmits data to normal outputs. During testing, the logic module receives input from the PRNG and transmits its output to the DCR.
One disadvantage of current BIST architectures is that the testing logic embodied therein consumes power as it is driven by the system clock whether or not the logic module is being tested. Such unnecessary power consumption makes BIST-equipped architectures generally less energy efficient than architectures without testing logic. For example, for one circuit comprising six BIST-equipped logic modules, it has been observed that testing logic adds a power load of approximately 2.5 pF which, at each clock cycle, consumes about 23 mW of dynamic power.
It is therefore clearly desirable to provide a BIST architecture which disables testing logic when the logic module is not being tested. It is further desirable to provide means for enabling the testing logic for testing operations that will not accidentally enable the testing logic during normal operation.

Power saving feature for components having built-in testing logic


A clamp circuit is connected to one-side ends of first and second bit lines which are adjacent in a memory cell array and a data cache is connected to the other ends thereof. The first and second bit lines are selectively divided into plural portions by use of first and second switching elements. The data cache, clamp circuit and first and second switching elements are controlled by use of a control circuit and the bit line to which a memory cell of an address to be written is connected is precharged by use of the clamp circuit or data cache and the other bit line is shielded by the clamp circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrically rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and more particularly to the technique for enhancing the read/verify operation speed in a multivalue NAND flash memory, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
The number of memory cells connected to a bit line is increased with an increase in the memory capacity of a semiconductor memory device and the pitch of the bit lines is narrowed with a reduction in the chip size. Therefore, the capacitance associated with the bit line and the capacitance between the bit lines are steadily increased.
In a NAND flash memory, in order to reduce the influence of the capacitive coupling due to the parasitic capacitance between the bit lines, one of the adjacent two bit lines is shielded at the time of charging/discharging the bit line. For example, a bit line of an odd-numbered address is shielded when a bit line of an even-numbered address is accessed and a bit line of an even-numbered address is shielded when a bit line of an odd-numbered address is accessed (for example, refer to Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. H04-276393).
However, since the load capacitance of the bit line becomes larger as described above and the bit line is charged by use of a clamp circuit having small current driving ability in order to suppress an increase in the chip occupied area, time for charging the bit line becomes long, thereby causing the read/verify operation speed to be lowered. Further, since the bit line of large load capacitance is discharged via a cell transistor whose current driving ability is made small because of miniaturization when the bit line is discharged, long time is required for discharging and the read/verify operation speed is lowered in this respect.

Electrically rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory device


Disclosed is an integrated and streamlined system and method for collecting, containing and processing different types of wastes which provides an economically efficient solution of treating wastes and utilizing the collected data in an operationally useful manner either or both of the waste generator and processor. The present system and method include waste containment in compliance of the laws and governmental regulations, and processing of the wastes. In one embodiment, the system and method also includes compilation and utilization of data relating to the collected and processed wastes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an integrated system of collecting, containing, transferring, and processing wastes, which is economically efficient and environmentally friendly. In one embodiment, the integrated waste containment and processing system of the present invention also includes compiling, analyzing and ultimately utilizing data relating to the collection and processing of the wastes that are useful and beneficial to either or both of the waste generator and processor.
2. Background
Traditionally, landfills and incinerators are used to dispose of solid wastes. Both of these systems, however, have many limitations and problems. In addition to space limitations, there is increased public concern about gaseous emissions from hazardous and municipal landfills and the possibility of contamination of groundwater. The production of large quantities of gaseous emissions from incinerator systems could also result in the need for costly air pollution control systems in an attempt to decrease emissions levels to comply with requirements imposed by regulatory agencies. The potential for leaching of medical, infectious wastes including pathogenic agents to the environment also poses a significant threat to the general public safety. It was therefore desirable to develop a medical/infectious waste disposal system and process which could insure substantial elimination of the possibility of the medical/infectious waste being leached to the environment, and which could be used in the medical/infectious waste treatment industry in a practical, safe and economically efficient manner.
To overcome the problems associated with landfills and incinerators, attempts have been made to utilize plasma arcs to destroy toxic wastes. Such systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,280,757, 4,644,877, and 4,431,612, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference. There has been also developed a waste converting system that uses combinations of independently controllable plasma arcs and joule-heating in a melter. Such systems, also known as PEM (Plasma Enhanced Melters), are generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,560 and its related family of patents, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference.
While both the plasma arc systems and PEM systems provide certain advantages over the traditional waste disposal systems such as landfills or incinerators, e.g., having the ability to convert wastes to useful syngas and other recyclable products, there existed a need for further improvement. While technological aspects of the PEM system have been described and developed, prior to the invention disclosed and claimed herein, there was no integrated waste collection and disposal working process which could offer the plasma arc or PEM systems to the waste generators and processors as an efficient, safe and economically feasible system of waste disposal. In addition, there was no existing waste disposal system that complies with the laws and regulations that govern the collection and disposal of medical/infectious wastes. For example, despite existing regulations, medical/infectious wastes are currently being processed without using containers that meet the required specifications of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the United Nations.
It was therefore desirable to have an integrated waste collection and processing system and process which is efficient, cost effective, and compliant with governmental regulations to enable both the waste generators and processors to utilize useful waste disposal systems such as the PEM system.
The process of the present invention relates to an integrated and streamlined system and method for collecting, containing and processing different types of wastes including solid and hazardous, asbestos, medical/infectious, pharmaceutical, radioactive, crematory and Other Potentially Infectious Material (OPIM) wastes, etc. The integrated waste containment and processing system of the present invention includes up to three major components: (1) waste collection and containment; (2) treatment and processing of the wastes; and, in one embodiment; (3) collection, compilation and utilization of data relating to the collected wastes and the processing of the waste. The combination of these components provides an economically efficient solution for collecting and treating wastes and in some embodiments, utilizes selected portions of the collected data in an operationally useful manner both for the waste generator and processor.
First, the present system provides a method of collecting and containing the wastes in accordance with the regulatory governmental requirements and also in a practical and economically feasible manner which was not achieved in the art prior to the present inventions. Specially designed containers are provided at the waste generation sites to allow for convenient and efficient, collection and initial containment of the waste. According to the invention, these containers are designed to meet or exceed the specifications required by the United States government, DOT, and the United Nations for containing and transporting certain types of waste collected. The containers are provided to the waste generators with pre-classified designations that indicate the appropriate types of wastes to be placed in the containers. The containers are designed to meet quality specifications to minimize, and, ideally, substantially eliminate leakage of any component of the waste to the environment. As an added precaution, in one embodiment, the transportation vehicles are also equipped with a containment section which is designed to substantially prevent any leakage of any component of the waste, e.g. a sub micron filtered exhaust that creates a negative pressure within the containment section when it is closed.
In addition to the containment system, the present invention provides an optimal way of treating and disposing of wastes. In one embodiment, the wastes are processed to produce syngas, vitrified glass and metal materials. The syngas, one of the end products of the processing of the waste, may contain carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane and other light hydrocarbons in various concentrations depending on the compositions of the waste and operating parameters of the disposal equipment, and may be utilized as a fuel to operate the disposal equipment, process other wastes or generate electricity for internal use or sale to the power grid.
Another embodiment of the invention provides for the collection and utilization of data relating to the wastes which enhances the safety, efficiency and practice of the waste containment and processing system and method of the invention. One aspect of the data collection process deals with tracking the wastes. From the point the empty containers are delivered to the waste generators, each of the containers is tracked so that selected information about its location, content, waste treatment status, and even the end products acquired from the waste can be readily accessed. The tracking system ensures that each and every waste container is properly received from the generator, transported and timely processed.
Another aspect of the data collection is to compile relevant information about the processed wastes, e.g., the type, source, volume, composition, mass balance and frequency, and to analyze and acquire statistically meaningful trends and correlations that are useful to both the waste generator and processor. The waste processor may, for example, develop an optimal waste-operating recipe based on the specific type and composition of the wastes. In one embodiment, the optimal waste-operating recipe may allow utilizing the waste itself as a fuel for processing the waste disposal system. The waste generator may also use the collected and analyzed data and correlate them with other relevant business parameters to make its operation more efficient and less expensive.
The integrated waste containment and processing system and process of the present invention streamlines the entire process of collecting and processing the wastes, and, in one embodiment, allows for compiling and extrapolating relevant data relating to the wastes that are meaningful and helpful to both the waste generator and processor.
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one of skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

Integrated waste containment and processing system

Asia Pacific Environmental Technology, Inc.


Coagulation tweezers (1) provided with two tweezers legs (2) and (3), with their mutual pivoting apart from each other being limited by a stop element (6) and a counter stop element (7). Here, the protrusion or head (10) of the stop element (6), during the opening or closing the legs (2) and (3) of the tweezers, is movable inside the counter stop element (7) in reference thereto, and is spaced apart a distance in the radial direction during its relative displacement or pivotal path movement in reference to the interior longitudinal cavity (12) of the counter stop element (7) so that during normal pivotal motions of the tweezers no friction develops by these stop elements.

The invention relates to coagulation tweezers, with the legs of the tweezers merging from their operational tips to a common connecting end and with the operational tips and the connecting end being spaced apart from each other even in the closed position of the operational tips, with a stop element and a counter stop element being provided inside the perimeter of the coagulation tweezers to limit the opening of the legs of the tweezers, with the stop element being formed as a pin or shaft with a protrusion or head located at its free end, arranged laterally or radially, which is fastened at or in the first leg of the tweezers with its end facing away from this protrusion or head and with the counter stop element mounted at the second leg of the tweezers, being provided as a part engaging through the stop element, with its penetration opening having a smaller cross-section than the protrusion or head of the stop element.
Tweezers of this type are known from DE 3 110 666 C2. Here, the counter stop element is embodied as a guidance sheath, with the head of the pin serving as a stop element gliding along the interior wall in a guiding fashion during the opening and closing motion of the legs of the tweezers, namely during the entire motion of the two legs of the tweezers in reference to each other. Here, the protrusion or head of this pin prevents the legs of the tweezers from developing too wide of an opening angle, thus limiting the opening path.
In practice it has been difficult to realize via known production technology the mutual relative motions of the stop element and the counter stop element during the operation of the tweezers because these relative motions occur over a curved path; however, a pin and a sheath must be embodied straight for a cost-effective production. In practice it has shown that here at least the pin embodied as the stop element must be bent approximately equivalent to the pivotal motion, which results in a substantially more expensive production and assembly of the coagulation tweezers, particularly because in the inserted position, the curvature of the pin must also be aligned according to the progression of the pivotal motion.

Coagulation tweezers with limiter opening


Methods and devices for implanting a ventricular assist device employ a coupler that engages an aperture formed in a heart wall and provides a conduit by which blood is pumped from the ventricle via the ventricular assist device. A method includes penetrating a distal end of a delivery device through a wall of a heart into a ventricle of the heart to form an aperture having a diameter in the wall. A coupler is deployed from the delivery device so that the coupler engages the aperture, expands the diameter of the aperture, and forms a conduit for a flow of blood from the ventricle. The delivery device is removed from the ventricle by retracting the delivery device through the conduit. The ventricular assist device is coupled to the coupler to receive the flow of blood from the ventricle and pump the flow of blood to assist circulation in the patient.

Ventricular assist devices, known as VADs, often include an implantable blood pump and are used for both short-term (i.e., days, months) and long-term applications (i.e., years or a lifetime) where a patient's heart is incapable of providing adequate circulation, commonly referred to as heart failure or congestive heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, more than five million Americans are living with heart failure, with about 670,000 new cases diagnosed every year. People with heart failure often have shortness of breath and fatigue. Years of living with blocked arteries and/or high blood pressure can leave a heart too weak to pump enough blood to the body. As symptoms worsen, advanced heart failure develops.
A patient suffering from heart failure may use a VAD while awaiting a heart transplant or as a long term destination therapy. A patient may also use a VAD while recovering from heart surgery. Thus, a VAD can supplement a weak heart (i.e., partial support) or can effectively replace the natural heart's function.
In many instances, blood from a ventricle of the heart is extracted through an aperture or opening formed in the wall of the ventricle and pumped by a VAD to the patient's circulatory system. For example, a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) can extract blood from the patient's left ventricle and pump the blood into the patient's ascending aorta. A VAD can be implanted adjacent to the heart, in contact with the heart, or in a remote location such as the abdomen. Existing approaches for fluidly coupling a VAD with the heart include removing a portion of the heart wall via coring or cutting to create an opening, suturing an annular cuff to the exterior of the heart wall opening, and aligning the VAD with the annular cuff. The cuff attachment procedure however is substantially invasive, both in terms of the amount of access required and the localized trauma inflicted on the heart wall, and can be a time consuming and complicated procedure that is costly. As such, improved methods and devices for VAD implantation may be desirable.

Minimally invasive methods and devices for ventricular assist device implantation


Organoborane triazoles compounds having the formula: ##STR1## wherein R, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are defined in the description, and intermediates therefor are disclosed.. The compounds of formula I are especially useful as agricultural fungicides.

This invention relates to certain triazole bis-borane complexes and derivatives thereof. In a further aspect, the invention relates to the use of such complexes as fungicides and especially as agricultural fungicides.
A large amount of crop loss and plant damage is incurred each year due to plant diseases caused by four classes of fungi: Ascomycetes, causing a large number of leaf spots, blights, soil-bourn and post-harvest diseases; Deuteromycetes, also causing a large number of leaf spots, blights, soil-bourn and post-harvest diseases; Basidiomycetes, causing rust, smuts, bunts and soil borne-diseases; and Phycomycetes, causing downy mildews, leaf blights and soil-bourn diseases.
Leaf spot and blight diseases, such as those induced by species of Leptosphaeria, Mycosphaerella, Alternaria, and Helminthosporium cause damage to many crops such as maize, wheat, banana, and solanaceous crops and are difficult to control.
Various species of the genus Botrytis are responsible for diseases causing large losses in numerous vegetable, ornamental and vine crops. Present fungicides such as benzimidazoles and dicarboximides cannot adequately control these diseases due to the development of resistance by the pathogen.
The late blights and downy mildew plant diseases produced, for example, by Phytophthora and Plasmopara are very destructive to grape and solanaceous crops, e.g., potato, tomato. These diseases are also difficult to control due to the development of resistance to the leading systemic fungicides used to control these diseases.
Thus, it would be desirable to develop new fungicides which are effective to control plant diseases and especially in the case of late blights, mildew and Botrytis-produced diseases which are not subject to cross-resistance of the pathogen and which do not cause significant injury to the plants (i.e., are relatively non-phytotoxic).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,708 generally teaches that amine complexes of triphenylborane with certain Lewis bases have antifungal activity. The patent shows in vitro activity with respect to complexes of triphenylborane with imidazole, pyridine, and a number of other Lewis bases and illustrates in vivo activity against tomato early blight, bean rust, late blight and seed rot (Pythium ultimum) with respect to certain triphenylborane amines including complexes with piperidine, pyridine and 4-ethylpyridine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,679 teaches that triarylborane amine complexes with pyridine or a variety of substituted pyridines are useful as toxicants for antifouling paint and that such paints import residual toxicity to marine borers to wood structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,401 teaches the use of certain complexes of triarylboranes with Lewis bases/including triphenylborane-piperadine; triphenyl-piperazine; triphenyl-pyridine; triphenyl-imidazole and others, as seed coatings to protect the seeds from soil borne microorganisms.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,686,398 teaches that certain 10,9-boroxarophenanthrenes are useful to control fungi and exhibited preventative control of bean rust and celery late blight.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,103 teaches that certain di(substituted and unsubstituted phenyl)azaborolidines exhibit fungicidal, insecticidal, acaricidal and herbicidal activity. The fungicidal activity is described as polyvalent and is shown against bean anthracnose (Collectrotrichum lindemythianum), tomato mildew (late blight) (Phytophthora infestans), tobacco mildew (blue mold) (Peronospora tabaci), cucumber (powdery) mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum) and wheat rust (Puccinia glumarum) at quantities of between 10 and 200 g of active substance per hectoliter of liquid diluent such as water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,373 teaches that certain tetra(substituted and unsubstituted phenyl) boranes complexed with a heterocyclic amine are useful as antifouling, antiseptic, and antifungal agents in many industrial applications. In vitro inhibiting activity of certain of patentees compounds against certain fungi are shown in Table 4 of the patent.
Based on the Derwent Abstract, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 62-277307 describes complexes of tri(substituted phenyl)borane with amines and nitrogen containing heterocycles as useful as insecticides, miticides and nematocides. Based on Derwent Abstract No. 5188957, Japanese Patent Application publication JP No. 1056684 published Mar. 3, 1989 discloses certain tetraphenylboron-onium complexes useful as agricultural and industrial fungicides.

Fungicidal triazole bis(triphenylboranes), derivatives thereof and use thereof


A method (700) and a base station controller (120) for operating in accordance with a wireless communication protocol are described herein. In a wireless communication system (100), the base station controller (120) may detect that the mobile station (160) is operable in accordance with the wireless communication protocol based on information associated with the mobile station. In response to detecting at least one of condition of the system (100) suggesting a potential for improved system performance, the base station controller (120) may transmit a handoff message from the first base station (140) to the mobile station (160). The handoff message may notify the mobile station (160) to operate in accordance with the wireless communication protocol.

The present disclosure relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a method and a base station for operating in accordance with a wireless communication protocol.
A wireless communication system is a complex network of systems and elements. Typical systems and elements include (1) a radio link to mobile stations (e.g., a cellular telephone or a subscriber equipment used to access the wireless communication system), which is usually provided by at least one and typically several base stations, (2) communication links between the base stations, (3) a controller, typically one or more base station controllers or centralized base station controllers (BSC/CBSC), to control communication between and to manage the operation and interaction of the base stations, (4) a switching system, typically including a mobile switching center (MSC), to perform call processing within the system, and (5) a link to the land line, i.e., the public switch telephone network (PSTN) or the integrated services digital network (ISDN).
A base station subsystem (BSS) or a radio access network (RAN), which typically includes one or more base station controllers and a plurality of base stations, provides all of the radio-related functions. The base station controller provides all the control functions and physical links between the switching system and the base stations. The base station controller is also a high-capacity switch that provides functions such as handover, cell configuration, and control of radio frequency (RF) power levels in the base stations.
The base station handles the radio interface to the mobile station. The base station includes the radio equipment (transceivers, antennas, amplifiers, etc.) needed to service each communication cell in the system. A group of base stations is controlled by a base station controller. Thus, the base station controller operates in conjunction with the base station as part of the base station subsystem to provide the mobile station with real-time voice, data, and multimedia services (e.g., a call).
After a call is initiated in an original cell, the mobile station may continue to scan the neighboring cells to determine if the signal from another cell becomes comparable to that of the original cell. When this happens, the switching system (e.g., MSC) indicates to the mobile station that the call has entered a new cell""s coverage area and that a handoff can be initiated. The mobile station transmits a control message to the MSC, which states that the new cell site is now strong and identifies the new cell. The MSC initiates the handoff by establishing a link to the mobile station through the new cell while maintaining the old link. While the mobile station is locate in the transition region between the two cells, the call is supported by communication through both cells; thereby eliminating the ping-pong effect (i.e., repeated requests to hand the call back and forth between cells). The original cell site will only discontinue handling the call when the mobile station is firmly established in the new cell.
The cells may operate in accordance with a variety of wireless communication standards. For example, the original cell may be operable in accordance with the code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000-1X standard while the new cell may be operable in accordance with either the CDMA 2000-1X standard or the CDMA 1X-EV/DV standard. The CDMA 2000-1X standard provides wireless data packet services at 144 kilobits-per-second (kbps) whereas the CDMA 1X-EV/DV standard may provide real time voice, data, and multimedia services on a single radio frequency carrier with existing CDMA 2000 networks at data rates up to 3.07 megabits-per-second (Mbps). With the enhanced data rates provided by CDMA 1X-EV/DV standard, a user may browse the Internet, access e-mail, or transmit/receive large data files or images via a mobile station (e.g., a cellular telephone) with a wireless communication link as if the user accessed the Internet via a laptop or a desktop computer with a wired Internet connection. Further, the CDMA 1X-EV/DV may be backward compatible with other CDMA components such as IS-95A and IS-95B components. Thus, it may desirable to use the CDMA 1X-EV/DV standard when all possible.
One aspect of designing a wireless communication system is to optimize the resources available to the wireless communication system. For example, a mobile station should operate in accordance with the CDMA 1X-EV/DV standard when available because the CDMA 1X-EV/DV standard provides higher data rates and greater data capacity than the CDMA 1X standard. Therefore, a need exist to optimize communication resources by operating in accordance with the CDMA 1X-EV/DV standard.

Method and base station controller for operating in accordance with a wireless communication protocol


Disclosed is a queue based multi-level Active Queue Management with drop precedence differentiation method and apparatus which uses queue size information for congestion control. The method provides for a lower complexity in parameter configuration and greater ease of configuration over a wide range of network conditions. A key advantage is a greater ability to maintain stabilized network queues, thereby minimizing the occurrences of queue overflows and underflows, and providing high system utilization.

New applications and user requirements are driving the need for a network architecture that is both flexible and capable of differentiating between the needs of different applications and users. Different applications and users are increasingly demanding different quality of service (QoS) and network usage rates. The current Internet and most private corporate networks, however, offer best-effort service to traffic. To address these new demands, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has been looking at a number of architectural enhancements that will enable networks to provide service differentiation based on application and user needs. One of these efforts has resulted in the differentiated services (DiffServ) architecture.
In the DiffServ architecture, an edge device (gateway, router, switch, server, etc.) would classify/mark packets into several behaviour aggregates according to their diverse QoS requirements such as bandwidth, delay, and packet drop precedence. A DiffServ domain refers to a contiguous set of nodes operating with a common set of service provisioning policies and per-hop-behaviours (PHB) definitions. Per-domain services are realized by traffic conditioning at the edge and simple differentiated forwarding at the core of the network. Packets are marked with the appropriate DiffServ codepoint (DSCP) at the edge of the network and within the core of the network, the network nodes (routers, switches, etc.) simply forward packets based on the PHB associated with the DSCP. An end-to-end differentiated service is obtained by concatenation of per-DiffServ domain services. The underlying goal of the DiffServ architecture is to address the scalability issue regarding per-flow service differentiation in the core of the network. In DiffServ, the core network elements do not necessarily have to implement complex resource reservation, scheduling, processing and classification mechanisms in addition to maintaining state information for each individual traffic flow. The architecture allows network designers to push most of the state and forwarding complexity to the edge of the network.
The IETF decided to specify particular forwarding behaviours (the PHB) rather than standardizing services. This is to allow service providers the freedom to construct services that meet their customers' needs. The IETF has currently standardized two PHB groups, namely, Expedited Forwarding (EF) PHB and the Assured Forwarding (AF) PHB. Packets marked for the EF PHB receive a premium service with low loss, low latency, low jitter, and guaranteed bandwidth end-to-end. The AF PHB, on the other hand, specifies four independent classes of forwarding (each of which can be assigned a certain amount of forwarding resources, i.e., buffer space and bandwidth) and three levels of drop precedence per class. The three drop precedence levels are also referred in terms of color (in the order of high to low priority or precedence) as green, yellow, and red. During network congestion, an AF-compliant DiffServ node drops low precedence (red) packets in preference to higher precedence (green, yellow) packets.
With the AF PHB, packets entering the network are marked with the goal of assigning a low drop probability to the traffic that fits within the subscribed profile and a higher drop probability to the excess traffic. During congestion at a node, packets marked with higher drop probability are preferentially dropped in order to make buffer room for packets marked with the lowest drop probability (which may be dropped only in the case of severe congestion). For these reasons, the packet drop mechanism at the node plays an important role in the quality of service offered to the user.
Active queue management (AQM) has been proposed as a means to provide some congestion control as well as some notion of QoS to users. One important class of AQM is based on randomized packet dropping or marking. With this form of AQM, a network node drops each arriving packet with a certain probability, where the exact probability is a function of the average queue size (or any suitable indicator of network congestion such as rate mismatch at a node). With AQM, dropping a packet is a way of signalling congestion to adaptive traffic sources such as those running transport protocols like the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). By dropping a packet, the node sends an implicit indication to the traffic source that congestion is experienced at some point along the end-to-end path to the destination. The traffic source is expected to respond to this indication by reducing its transmission rate so that the network node buffer does not overflow. An important benefit of AQM is that it avoids the global synchronization of many traffic sources decreasing and increasing their window at the same time. The random early detection (RED) algorithm is a well known example of an AQM algorithm.
The difficulty in configuring or tuning the RED parameters has resulted in the need for development of alternatives to RED. In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a technique for network queue management which overcomes the above-described inadequacies and shortcomings by providing a mechanism which does not react to short-term burst traffic and allows each precedence level to be addressed differently, while providing lower parameter configuration complexity and greater ease of configuration over a wide range of network conditions.

Queue based multi-level AQM with drop precedence differentiation