A system and method for increasing the effective angular resolution of a multi-function phased array radar system is provided. The system is operative to simultaneously transmit a plurality of overlapping sub-beams covering a representative central beam. A de-convolution process is applied to received return signals. The process includes determining the reflectivity within sub-beamwidth resolution cells defined by the overlapping sub-beams. Generated sub-beamwidth data provides the radar system with an effective angular resolution beyond that of any single transmitted beam.

Radar systems are vital to the operations of various agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These agencies have multiple requirements for modern radar technology covering a wide range of operational purposes including weather observation, meteorological research, aircraft tracking, unmanned aircraft systems surveillance and surface transportation.
As each of these agencies requires a radar system with unique capabilities, the current radar infrastructure comprises a wide variety of radar types and configurations. For example, weather tracking operations by the NOAA and FAA may require a system capable of dual-polarization operation. However, radar tasks associated with the DHS and/or other FAA operations do not have such requirements. Likewise, a narrow beamwidth, for example, no greater than one (1) degree, may be required for certain tracking operations but not for others. These parameters may necessitate variations in antenna array size, radiating element type, cost, and/or complexity.
As many existing radar systems are coming due for replacement, government and industry are working to transition from these individualized systems to a universal system capable of meeting the various agency demands, while offering reduced complexity and substantial cost savings. One proposed solution is digital phased array technology, specifically multi-function phased array radar (MPAR). A phased array antenna is comprised of numerous radiating elements each having a phase shifter. Beams are formed by selectively activating all or a portion of antenna elements of a given array. The beam pattern of these antennas can be controlled to produce one or more directed beams, which may be broad or narrow ("pencil" type). Scanning or steering of the beams is accomplished by shifting the phase of the signals emitted from the elements in order to provide constructive and/or destructive interference. The ability to form and steer a radar beam permits multiple functions to be performed by the same radar system. In addition to multi-function operation, these arrays have a quicker response time and operate at a higher resolution than existing rotating radar systems.
While MPAR offers advantages over current arrangements, several technical and economic obstacles need to be overcome before it can be implemented successfully as a universal system. One such example of an application creating technical challenges is the above-described weather-related radar systems.
For example, a current requirement for the next-generation weather system is to provide one (1) degree of angular resolution. However, it has been shown that some meteorological signatures, such as mesocyclone and tornado vortex signatures, can be detected at greater ranges using radar data with finer resolution, more particularly, an angular resolution of one-half (0.5) of one degree. Radar data produced at this angular resolution is termed "super-resolution" data. As this enhanced resolution increases the range at which small tornado parent circulation patterns can be detected, weather tracking systems using super-resolution data may provide more advanced warnings. Super-resolution data also provides additional detail to aid in other severe storm analysis and weather-related risks, such as predicting flash floods.
Current solutions capable of achieving super-resolution data may utilize over-sized antenna arrays in order to generate a very narrow beam width, and thus a higher angular resolution. However, this increased antenna array size is impractical for use in a universal application and is not cost effective. Other solutions include the use of exceedingly costly antenna elements having improved angular resolution. These elements are cost-prohibitive for use in a universal system.
Accordingly, alternate methods of achieving sufficiently narrow angular resolution, in particular super-resolution, in an MBAR system are desired.


Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for operating a dedicated virtual machine host cluster within cloud computing infrastructure are described herein. In one embodiment, an instance principal certificate that includes a virtual network identifier for a dedicated virtual network for the cluster is retrieved by a host computing device. The instance principal certificate is authenticated by the host against a switch to grant access of the host to a virtual network indicated by the virtual network identifier through a network interface card of the host. A virtual function of the network interface card of the host is allocated to a guest virtual machine. The guest virtual machine is launched in the host with the virtual function as a network device of the guest virtual machine.

Compute clusters of dedicated virtual machine hosts are challenging to create and operate due at least in part to the complexity of cluster network access management. Customers of cloud infrastructure do not wish to involve their guest virtual machines in cluster network access management, and do not wish to administer such access.

Dedicated network authentication and allocation for dedicated virtual machine host clusters


A method for controlling etch processes during fabrication of semiconductor devices comprises tests and measurements performed on non-product and product substrates to define an N-parameter CD control graph that is used to calculate a process time for trimming a patterned mask to a pre-determined width. An apparatus for performing such a method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to semiconductor substrate processing systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to controlling etch processes in a semiconductor substrate processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
To increase operational speed, devices (e.g., transistors, capacitors, and the like) in integrated microelectronic circuits have become ever smaller. The minimal dimensions of features of such devices are commonly called in the art, critical dimensions, or CDs. The CDs generally include the minimal widths of the features, such as lines, columns, openings, spaces between the lines, and the like.
One method of fabricating such features comprises forming a patterned mask (e.g., photoresist mask) on the material layer beneath such a mask (i.e., underlying layer) and then etching the material layer using the patterned mask as an etch mask.
The patterned masks are conventionally fabricated using a lithographic process when a pattern of the feature to be formed is optically transferred into a layer of photoresist. Then, the photoresist is developed, unexposed portions of the photoresist are removed, while the remaining photoresist forms a patterned mask.
An etch mask generally is, in a plan view, a replica of the feature to be formed (i.e., etched) in the underlying layer. As such, the etch mask comprises elements having same critical dimensions as the feature to be formed. Optical limitations of the lithographic process may not allow transferring a dimensionally accurate image of a feature into the photoresist layer when a CD of the element is smaller than optical resolution of the lithographic process.
To overcome limitations of the lithographic process, the photoresist mask may be fabricated using a two-step process. During a first step, the lithographic process is used to form the mask having elements that dimensions that are proportionally greater (i.e., scaled up) than the dimensions of the features to be formed. During a second step, such scaled-up elements are trimmed (i.e., isotropically etched) to the pre-determined dimensions. The trimmed photoresist mask is then used as an etch mask during etching the underlying material layer or layers.
Dimensional accuracy of the etch features generally defined by the corresponding elements of the trimmed photoresist mask. Manufacturing variables of the trimming process result in a broad statistical distribution (i.e., a large σ, where is σ a standard deviation) of the CDs within a group (i.e., batch) of the wafers. When such trimmed photoresist masks are used as the etch masks, critical dimensions of the etched features may be beyond an acceptable range for such dimensions, i.e., the features may be defective.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved method and apparatus for controlling etch processes during fabrication of semiconductor devices in a semiconductor substrate processing system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for controlling etch processes during fabrication of semiconductor devices


A carbamic acid derivative of the formula: ##STR1## which is useful for the control of insect pests.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carbamic acid derivatives, and their production and use. More particularly, it relates to novel carbamic acid derivatives, processes for producing them, and methods for controlling insect pests using them.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,139 that certain carbamic acid derivatives are useful as insecticides. However, their insecticidal activity is still not satisfactory.

Carbamic acid derivatives, and their production and use


A display apparatus having a plurality of subpixels is provided. The display apparatus includes an array substrate and a counter substrate facing the array substrate. The counter substrate includes a base substrate; an optical compensation device on the base substrate configured to adjust light emitting brightness values of the plurality of subpixels to target brightness values respectively; and a plurality of light shielding walls on the base substrate. The optical compensation device include a plurality of photosensors configured to respectively detect light emitting brightness values of the plurality of subpixels. A respective one of the plurality of light shielding walls is configured to at least partially shield a lateral side of a respective one of the plurality of photosensors from light emitted from adjacent subpixels.

In present, the organic light emitting diode (OLED) display apparatus attracts more and more attention, because the OLED display apparatus has many advantages including self-illumination, rich colors, fast reaction speed, wide viewing angle, high contrast ratio, low power consumption, lightness and thinness, and good flexibility.
When a subpixel of the OLED display apparatus display images having high contrast ratio or high brightness for a long time, the brightness of light emitted from the subpixel is reduced. When the brightness of light emitted from some of subpixels is reduced, the whole OLED display panel will not have a uniformity of brightness. By disposing photosensors to detect brightness of each one of subpixels in the OLED display apparatus, the OLED display panel can adjust brightness of light emitted from each one of subpixels and compensate the brightness of light as needed.

Display apparatus, counter substrate of display apparatus, method of fabricating display apparatus

BEIJING BOE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd.


The present invention has an object of providing a recording medium control method, a data management apparatus, and a recording medium for managing data by duplicating the data in each of a plurality of recording media. Two IC cards are loaded into a data management apparatus. In duplicating data in the two loaded IC cards, the two IC cards store their card characteristic numbers for self-identification and the card characteristic number of each other""s pair IC card. If the card characteristic number of the pair IC card stored in one IC card matches the card characteristic number of the other IC card, the two IC cards are controllable.

The present invention relates to recording medium control methods, data management apparatuses, and recording media, and more particularly to a recording medium control method, a data management apparatus, and a recording medium for data management by duplicating data in each of a plurality of recording media.
Commercial transactions using electronic money have been conducted of late. For the commercial transactions using electric money, management apparatuses employing IC cards as storage devices for receiving and transferring value data such as electronic money have been developed. Normally, an IC card employed in such management apparatuses is provided with a unique IC chip having a particular authentication function. Such an IC card is allowed to exchange data only with an IC card or an apparatus having the same IC chip, thereby increasing the reliability of the data.
However, the reliability of the data is insufficient since the data is still exchangeable between the IC cards or the IC card and the apparatus having the same IC chip. Therefore, there have been demands for further increasing the data reliability.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional example.
IC cards 2-1 through 2-n are attached to an electronic money management apparatus 1. The electronic money management apparatus 1 is connected via a network 3 to a terminal device 4.
The electronic money management apparatus 1 stores value data such as electronic money in the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n, and exchanges the value data such as electronic money with the terminal device 4 via the network 3.
The electronic money management apparatus 1 is composed of communication parts 5 and 6, a nonvolatile memory 7, a CPU 8, and connection terminals 9-1 through 9-n. The communication part 5 controls communication with the network 3. The communication part 6 controls communication with the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n.
The nonvolatile memory 7 stores an apparatus characteristic number characteristic of the electronic money management apparatus 1. The CPU 8 obtains value data to be stored in the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n in accordance with the exchange of the value data, and stores the obtained value data in the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n. The connection terminals 9-1 through 9-n are connected to the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n, respectively.
Each of the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n is composed of an external terminal 10 and an IC chip 11. The external terminal 10 is connected to one of the connection terminals 9-1 through 9-n of the electronic money management apparatus 1 so as to connect the IC chip 11 with the electronic money management apparatus 1.
The IC chip 11 is composed of communication part 12, a CPU 13, a nonvolatile memory 14, and a volatile memory 15. The communication part 12 controls communication with the electronic money management apparatus 1.
The CPU 13 controls writing the value data to and reading the value data from the nonvolatile memory 14 in accordance with a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 14. The nonvolatile memory 14 includes an EEPROM and stores the value data and the program executed by the CPU 13. The volatile memory 15 is used as a working storage for processing by the CPU 13. For instance, program control data is loaded thereinto from the nonvolatile memory 14.
In the conventional electronic money management apparatus 1, no value data stored in the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n are duplicated.
Therefore, if the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n are extracted from the electronic money management apparatus 1 or otherwise damaged, the value data of the extracted or damaged IC cards 2-1 through 2-n are lost, so that services cannot be provided.
If value data is to be duplicated in the same IC card in the case of making a duplicate of the value data, no value data can be read out when the IC card is extracted or damaged. Therefore, there is no meaning in duplicating the value data. Accordingly, in the case of duplicating the value data, it is necessary to make a duplicate in a different IC card. In the case of duplicating the value data in a different IC card, the value data is preserved by the different IC card even if the original IC card is lost or damaged.
However, once the IC card is duplicated, a false IC card may be issued based on a false claim that either one of the IC cards is damaged. Further, there is a problem in that when a duplicate of the IC card is made by using an IC card that is a duplicate of another IC card, the value data already stored in the IC card for backup may be deleted mistakenly by a wrong operation of an operator.
The conventional electronic money management apparatus 1 employs the IC cards 2-1 through 2-n for managing the value data. Each of the IC cards uses the EEPROM for retaining the value data. The number of times writing is performed to the EEPROM is physically limited.
Therefore, if the number of times writing is performed to a certain region of the EEPROM increases, use of the other regions of the EEPROM with a smaller number of write operations is limited by the life of the region with a larger number of write operations, thus causing the problem of inefficiency.
The present invention is made in view of the above-described points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium control method, a data management apparatus, and a recording medium with high reliability.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by a recording medium control method for controlling access to a plurality of recording media each storing duplicated data, wherein each of the recording media stores identification information for identifying which of the recording media stores the duplicated data, it is determined whether the data of the recording media are consistent with each other based on the identification information, the access to the recording media is enabled if it is determined that the data of the recording media are consistent with each other, and the access to the recording media is inhibited if it is determined that the data of the recording media are inconsistent with each other.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store, as the identification information, first identification information for self-identification and second identification information for identifying another of the recording media, and it may be determined that there is data consistency between one of the recording media and the rest of the recording media if the first identification information of the one of the recording media exists as the second identification information in the rest of the recording media.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store third identification information for identifying an apparatus in which the recording media are loaded, and the apparatus is enabled to control the recording media when the third identification information matches identification information of the apparatus.
The above object of the present invention is also achieved by a data management apparatus loaded with a plurality of recording media each storing duplicated data and controlling access to the loaded recording media, the data management apparatus including an access control part determining whether the duplicated data of the recording media are consistent with each other and controlling the access to the recording media based on a result of the determination, wherein each of the recording media stores identification information for identifying which of the recording media stores the duplicated data, the access control part makes the determination based on the identification information, and the access control part enables the access to the recording media if said access control part determines that the data of the recording media are consistent with each other and inhibits the access to the recording media if said access control part determines that the data of the recording media are inconsistent with each other.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store, as the identification information, first identification information for self-identification and second identification information for identifying another of the recording media, and the access control part may determine that there is data consistency between one of the recording media and the rest of the recording media if the first identification information of the one of the recording media exists as the second identification information in the rest of the recording media.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store third identification information for identifying the data management apparatus in which the recording media are loaded, and the access control part enables the data management apparatus to control the recording media when the third identification information matches identification information of the data management apparatus.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store version information updated every time the data thereof is updated, and the access control part may record the data of a first one of the recording media on a second one of the recording media so as to set the first and second recording media controllable if the version information of the first and second information media are different from each other, the version information of the first recording medium being updated more times than that of the second recording medium.
Further, the data management apparatus according to the present invention may further include a version number update part updating the version information of each of the recording media when the recording media are removed from the data management apparatus in which the recording media are loaded.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store determination information for determining whether the recording medium is independently controllable, and the access control part may recognize the determination information of each of the recording media if the access control part determines that there is no data consistency between the recording media, and set one of the recording media controllable if the determination information of the one of the recording media shows that the one of the recording media is independently controllable.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store determination information for determining whether the recording medium is in use, and the access control part may inhibit the access to the recording media if the determination information shows that at least one of the recording media is in use, and sets the recording media usable if the determination information shows that all of the recording media are unused.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may store determination information for determining whether the data recorded on the recording medium is valid or invalid, and the access control part may inhibit the access to the recording media if the determination information of one of the recording media shows that the data recorded thereon is invalid.
Further, according to the present invention, each of the recording media may have the data stored divided into a plurality of data blocks, and store data identification information for identifying divided pieces of the data with corresponding data block identification information for identifying the data blocks storing the divided pieces of the data, and the access control part may recognize the data block identification information based on the data identification information and makes accessible one of the data blocks which one stores a required one of the divided pieces of the data based on the data block identification information.
Further, the data management apparatus according to the present invention may further include a monitoring part monitoring an abnormality in each of the recording media storing abnormal information indicating whether another of the recording media has the abnormality, and an information recording part recording information indicating occurrence of the abnormality in one of the recording media on the rest of the recording media as the abnormal information if the abnormality in the one of the recording media is detected.
The above object of the present invention is further achieved by a recording medium for recording data including a plurality of data blocks for recording the data, the data blocks each including a data recording part recording a number of times the data is updated as number management information, and a recording control part moving the data stored in the data block to a next available one of the data blocks if the number management information reaches a preset given number of times.

Recording medium control method, data management apparatus, and recording medium


A method and apparatus for coordinating payment of healthcare expenses is disclosed. The method comprises determining a co-payment amount based on a customer's insurance coverage, determining the availability of funds from a plurality of the consumer's prioritized accounts, and deducting at least a portion of the co-payment from the highest priority account having available funds.

The present method of paying for healthcare expenses partially covered by medical insurance is cumbersome. This is especially true for a consumer wishing to pay for eligible healthcare expenses using funds from a tax-advantaged account (TAA), such as a flex spending account or health reimbursement arrangement. The healthcare provider must submit a claim for the part of the expense paid for by insurance and charge the participant for the balance due (Participant balance-due amount), which usually consists of, but is not limited to, the sum of the co-payment amount, any deductible amount, any uncovered amount, coinsurance, etc. If the participant has a TAA with her employer and desires reimbursement, the participant must save the receipt and submit it to a plan administrator, a function that the employer typically out-sources to a third party administrator (TPA), to receive reimbursement, usually with a significant delay. This is a problem for the participant since she pays out-of pocket twice, the first time from her paycheck and the second time to the provider, before she can be reimbursed for the eligible medical expense. The TPA then must manually process the receipts and adjudicate the participant's claims according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and employer plan rules. This is a costly and error prone process since TPA's usually administer plans from numerous employers and each employer can tailor its own plan with respect to eligible medical expenses. The TPA then sends reimbursements to the participant for eligible claims. This is considered the initial and usual system process for reimbursing participants from their TAAs for eligible medical expenses. Although attempts have been made to streamline the process, significant inefficiencies and unnecessary costs remain. The trend is for more money fronted in TAAs as the participant balance-due amount increases due to increases in co-pay and deductible amounts.
Initial System Problems
Problems associated with the initial process for reimbursing the participant for eligible expenses from TAAs include the following:                1. There is a cash (or credit) outlay by the participant that temporarily doubles payment in connection with FSAs, and requires a payment by the participant in the case of HRAs that should be unnecessary since the employer has already funded the account. As participant point of sale obligations such as co-pays and deductibles go up, this becomes a bigger problem for the participant.        2. If reimbursement is desired, the participant must save the receipt and submit it to a TPA to receive reimbursement, usually with a significant delay. This is extremely inconvenient for participants.        3. The TPAs must perform manual claim adjudication. Manual claim adjudication is costly. For example, there is a manual, multi-step process associated with tying the payment of the participant balance-due amount at the point of sale (such as co-pay) to a qualified medical expense under IRS and employer plan regulations.
Additionally, an increasing number of employers are using combinations of TAA plans for employees. Not only are employers permitted to offer multiple TAAs to employees, such as offering employees both an FSA and an HRA, but employers may create different restrictions related to otherwise allowable expenses under IRS rules for each. This practice has increased the manual processing requirements and created significant risks of error. Since the employer is ultimately liable on the plan, yet it is the TPA who is typically managing the plan, conflicts inevitably arise as these plans and plan combinations become more and more complicated.
In order to solve some of the initial system problems, a method of payment for healthcare expenses from TAAs with a debit card was introduced. The participant can pay for any participant balance-due amount at the point of sale with the debit card using traditional payment networks such as the MasterCard network. The payment transaction would verify against and debit the participant's TAA for the amount of the transaction. The debit card provider would then pay the healthcare provider directly for the amount of the transaction. The intent of the debit card is to eliminate the participant double-pay (or unnecessary pay in the case of payments from HRAs) penalty for eligible medical expenses paid from TAAs. Unfortunately, this system of payment does not solve all of the initial system problems and, moreover, introduces significantly greater problems. The participant still must save all her receipts for auditing purposes and verification that she purchased only qualified medical expenses according to the IRS and employer plan rules. Even though the debit card transaction was electronic, the TPA must still manually adjudicate every claim since the participant can purchase any product at the point of sale with the debit card, not just eligible medical expenses (the cashier has no way of knowing that the debit card relates to a TAA, nor would it have the means to enforce particular rules). What's worse is the fact that the TPA must manually adjudicate each debit card claim with less information than it had when manually adjudicating with receipts. For debit card transactions, the TPA can typically only see who the provider was and the transaction dollar amount. No information about the product or products purchased is available to the TPA at this point. The debit card processors usually have constraints so that purchases can only be made through qualified medical providers such as medical equipment providers and pharmacies; however, these institutions sell many products, not just products that are eligible medical expenses under IRS and employer plan rules. It is up to the TPA to decide which transactions look suspicious and request the documentation from the participant for these transactions (hence the need for the participant to maintain receipts). There are also usually significant processes in place to recover funds from participants who have made debit card purchases for impermissible medical expenses or who can't provide the requested documentation to prove that they made an allowable medical purchase. These range from disabling the debit card to garnishing the participant's wages. This is all because the debit card does not prevent the purchase of unqualified medical expenses up front.
First Effort to Overcome the Problem—Debit Card
The debit card solves only one of the problems with the initial system. It partially solves two other problems. It actually creates several additional problems.
The problem the debit card solves is related to the "double payment." With the debit card, payment for goods and services comes directly from the TAA, therefore the double payment (and unnecessary payment with respect to HRAs) problem is eliminated.
The two problems the debit card only partially solves are:                1. While the debit card eliminates the need for a participant to submit every receipt for reimbursement from the TAA, the participant is required to maintain receipts for proof of authorized purchase in the event the adjudicator requests supporting documentation, such as in connection with an audit.        2. Since the debit card eliminates the need for participants to submit every receipt, it also reduces the amount of TPA time necessary for the processing of receipts. While this reduces costs (a bit), the TPA must still manually adjudicate claims. There is still a multi-step, manual process (if the participant balance-due amount looks "suspicious," the TPA must request the appropriate documentation from the participant, receive the documentation, and review the documentation to verify the subject claim) to tie the participant balance-due amount to a qualified medical expense. Now, though, the TPA has less information to assess legitimacy of purchases. This actually creates a much greater risk of fraud or other abuse related to use of TAA funds for unauthorized purchases. The risk is increased because multiple and unrelated purchases can be made in one transaction (bundled with a qualified medical expense) without any practical ability to police purchases at the point of sale. While debit card providers have attempted to mitigate this problem by allowing transactions to occur only at merchants with specified merchant category codes. This and other techniques are only band-aiding the underlying flaws in the debit card system.
The debit card system actually creates additional problems:                1. Previously, a participant needed to only present an insurance card and identification to the provider. The debit card system requires a participant to also carry and present a TAA debit card.        2. The employer must pay an additional fee to the TPA for each debit card participant, typically in the amount of $2 Per Employee per Month (PEPM).        3. Since the debit card system effectively replaces cash transactions, Providers must now pay a bank charge for every authorized TAA transaction (fee associated with the debit card usage).        4. Since the debit card has eliminated the need for participants to submit each receipt for reimbursement, adjudicators have less information to assess legitimacy of purchases, and each transaction is therefore at a higher risk of fraud.        5. The debit card system cannot properly adjudicate claims in the case where an employer has restricted the IRS expenses which would otherwise be allowable in the FSA or HRA plan.        6. The debit card system does not facilitate payment from multiple accounts. And it does not facilitate rule-based payments from multiple accounts.
Other Efforts to Overcome the Problem
There have been attempts to mitigate problems associated with the initial system or the debit card system, or both. They are described briefly below.
The websites www.evolutionbenefits.com and www.medibank.com both disclose FSA cards. These cards allow a participant to spend money directly from a FSA, rather than pay out-of-pocket and seek reimbursement later. However, www.medibank.com still requires the participant to save the receipts to verify eligibility of the expenses. Further, the account cards only allow spending from the participant's FSA. If the participant runs out of money in the FSA, the participant will be forced to pay out-of-pocket, or provide other payment means.
United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2002/0147678 discloses a debit card system for accessing funds in a participant's FSA. The debit-card does not post directly to the participant's FSA, but rather to a program sponsor's shadow account (an unfunded account used for record keeping purposes during claim adjudication). The funds to pay the provider for the transaction are deducted from the program sponsor's group account (funded by the sponsor) at the same time as the posting to the shadow account occurs. The transactions (not the funds) remain in the shadow account until such time as they can be adjudicated, at which time they are released from the shadow account and posted to the individual participant's FSA. Rejected transactions are moved from the shadow account to the program sponsor's suspense account. The program sponsor can use the information in the suspense account to reclaim the funds from the participant by various means, such as debiting the participant's next paycheck. This provision in and of itself underscores the deficiency with the proposed approach. A combination of manual and automatic adjudication methods are proposed for handling the FSA reimbursements.
United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2002/0198831 discloses a means for processing FSA transactions using a plurality of pharmacies, a stored value card service provider (SVCSP), one or more pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), individuals having FSAs, and a stored value card (SVC) for debiting a participant's FSA. At the point of service (POS), the goods or service provider, such as a pharmacy, electronically transmits a claim to the respective payor, such as a PBM, which includes the participant information. The payor adjudicates the claim and responds with the participant balance-due amount. At the same time, the payor transmits some of the transaction data, such as the participant identifier, date and time of the transaction, and participant balance-due amount, to the SVCSP. The participant then uses the SVC at the POS to pay for the participant balance-due amount from the participant's FSA. The SVCSP handles the adjudication of this SVC transaction by searching its' database for a matching transaction received from the payor. If a match is found and there are sufficient funds in the participant's FSA, the transaction is automatically adjudicated. If no match is found, the adjudication request is rejected. The intent of this invention is to prevent the use of FSA dollars for impermissible IRS expenses. This requires that the payor successfully adjudicates only claims for IRS allowed expenses. This requirement is stated as an advantage of the subject invention. The fact is payors, such as PBMs, are focused on participant eligibility, what is and what is not covered under a specific participant's health plan, and what participant balance-due amount is due for a claim. Payors/PBMs are not focused on or concerned with whether or not a claim is for an IRS allowable expense and an employer allowable expense in connection with a TAA, and this validation is not part of their normal adjudication process. There is a shared responsibility between the employer, SVCSP, and participant to ensure that such reimbursements are properly substantiated according to IRS and employer plan rules. More specifically, there may be items that are covered by medical plans and therefore successfully adjudicated by the payor, which are not expenses allowed by both the IRS and employer rules in connection with the TAA. This point conflicts with the invention's proposal that SVC transactions that match a payor adjudicated claim can be automatically adjudicated by the SVCSP as IRS and employer plan allowed TAA expenses. Furthermore, this invention moves the day-to-day task of ensuring IRS claims substantiation from the employer to the payor, a party that is not substantially involved with this responsibility in whole or in part today, thus opening the door for more complicated compliance procedures and/or potential legal ramifications. This point is underscored with the invention's statement of the advantage that the payor (and not the SVCSP database) may retain sufficient information to enable the SVCSP to later prove that the specific drug or item that was the subject of the transaction was properly reimbursable. Simply put, the fact that an item has passed the payor's adjudication does not mean it is properly reimbursable under IRS and employer plan rules.
United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0061153 discloses a method of using a debit card for an employee benefits program. The debit card transactions are processed as "e-claims" and still require the participant to send in receipts and the processor to manually adjudicate these claims. Significant mechanisms are described to notify participants that receipts are due for substantiating a claim and to disable the debit card in situations in which the claims are not verified within a specified period of time or if the claims are for unqualified IRS expenses. As well, no mechanisms are described for preventing the purchase of impermissible IRS expense items upfront.
In summary, none of these approaches a complete solution to the problems associated with the initial system; participant inconvenience and costly manual adjudication of TAA related claims. Additionally, the foregoing attempts to solve the problems with the initial system have created new problems; a greater potential for unauthorized use of TAA dollars, increased employer and provider costs, and new participant inconveniences. In fact, all debit card approaches substantially require mechanisms to recover tax-advantaged dollars used for purchases that may later be deemed to be impermissible. The increasingly sophisticated attempts to automate some of the claim substantiation with debit cards, such as matching purchase amounts with participant health plan co-pay amounts to automatically adjudicate debit card transactions allow room for abuse by savvy participants who can use the debit card to cover non-qualified product/service purchases that match these same amounts. These efforts will result in increasing exposure over time as the complexity of health plans are increasing with the combination of larger and varied co-pay, deductible, and coinsurance amounts. Moreover, these efforts do not eliminate the costly manual adjudication of claims for reimbursement.
IRS Guidance
The IRS, in the advanced copy of Revenue Ruling 2003-43, which was scheduled to appear in the Internal Revenue Bulletin 2003-21, dated May 27, 2003, has described the rules regarding the use of debit cards and credit cards to reimburse participants in self insured medical reimbursement plans. It is clear from the guidance that the IRS requires all claims to be substantiated, no matter how small the dollar amount. The desire to fix the problems of manual claims substantiation and consumer double pay are so great that the IRS has provided for some scenarios in which claims can be automatically substantiated, without a receipt, with a debit/credit card transaction. First, claims in which the dollar amount at a health care provider equals the dollar amount of the co-payment for that service under the major medical plan of the specific employee-cardholder can be automatically substantiated. Second, recurring expenses that have been previously approved for the same amount, from the same provider, and during the same time period can be automatically substantiated. Third, if the merchant, service provider, or other independent third party, at the time and point of sale, can provide information to the employer that the charge is for a medical expense, the charge can be automatically substantiated. All other scenarios are considered conditional pending confirmation of the medical expense. In our estimation it is still possible that invalid medical expenses can be reimbursed via the first two scenarios described above. It is also possible under the third scenario, with debit card use, that invalid medical expenses can be reimbursed if the employer has restricted the allowable expenses in their tax-advantaged plan. While the IRS is attempting to reduce costs associated with manual claim adjudication, the implementation of these scenarios will be costly.
Problems that Still Remain                1. The participant must carry a debit card or temporarily double pay (or unnecessarily pay in connection with payments out of HRAs) participant balance-due amounts.        2. The participant must use the TAA debit card for TAA approved expenses, and a separate means of payment for other combined purchases, therefore, two or more card transactions must occur at the point of sale.        3. The participant must save all receipts and send in for reimbursement or in the case of debit card transactions, keep receipts for potential TPA audit.        4. If an employer selects the debit card approach, the employer must pay the TPA and additional fee for each debit card participant.        5. The TPA must manually adjudicate each claim based on receipts received, or manually adjudicate each "debit card" claim without receipts (thereby creating a potential for fraudulent use of TAA dollars for non authorized purchases).        6. With either the initial system transactions or the debit card transactions, there is a multi-step, manual process to tie the participant balance-due payment amount to a qualified medical expense under IRS and employer rules for TAAs.        7. There is no fully automated way to adjudicate claims for employer-specific FSA or HRA plans that restrict the allowable IRS expenses. Without a fully automated (rule based) adjudication system for TPAs, as the complexities of plans increase, employers will be subject to greater exposure to liability for processes that are managed fully by a TPA.        8. There is no easy way to enable a participant to pay the participant balance-due amount from multiple prioritized accounts (both TAA and non-TAA accounts).        9. There is no easy way to enable a participant to pay the participant balance-due amount from another participants accounts, such as the account of a spouse.
What is needed is a system that solves all of the problems presented by the initial system, without creating new problems.
What is needed is:
                1. A system that eliminates the out of pocket expense (double payment or otherwise unnecessary payment) by the participant of the participant balance-due amount.        2. A system that eliminates the inconvenience of receipt maintenance or submission.        3. A system that eliminates the need for two transactions at the point of sale in the event the participant is purchasing non-authorized items in addition to the authorized items.        4. A system eliminates the out of pocket expense (double payment or otherwise unnecessary payment) by the participant and the inconvenience of managing receipts without adding a debit card expense to the employer, and allowing the funds to be used only for plan eligible expenses as defined by the IRS and employer plan rules.        5. As system that eliminates all manual processing in connection with claim adjudication of TAA reimbursements.        6. A system that meets all of the IRS claims substantiation requirements electronically, without the need for manual record keeping and processing to ensure that all claims are related to legitimate plan eligible expenses that have not been previously reimbursed and are not reimbursable by any other means.        7. A system that enables the employer to define and implement rules associated with reimbursements from a participants TAA for payment of participant balance-due amounts, and removes all adjudication obligations and responsibilities from the plan administrator.        8. As system that enables a participant to pay participant balance-due amounts from multiple accounts including accounts of another participant, such as an account of a spouse.

Method and apparatus for providing access to healthcare funds

Manning & Napier Information Services, LLC


A cardboard display case for DVDs and the like has a box-like case of folded cardboard with a plurality of shelves on three sides for displaying goods. A retractable pop-up display header extends above the top face of the case near the back. There is a hollow inside the case so that the header can be retracted within the case for shipping. When at a retail store, for example, the header is pulled up to display graphics above the top of the case. A folded cardboard member within the case has a retractable shelf supporting the header when extended above the case. The shelf is folded out of the way when the header is retracted within the case.

This invention concerns a corrugated cardboard display case which may be placed in an aisle of a department store, or the like, to hold packaged DVDs, CDs, vitamin supplements, packaged food items, consumer packaged goods, toys or the like, for prospective customers to simply lift the goods from the case to drop into their shopping basket. Such a point of purchase display case may be set on a multi-size pallet for easy placement in the store. The display case is like a large box, about four feet high, four feet wide and two feet thick, a size referred to as a "half cube". This may also be used for quarter cube, ⅛ cube, full cube sizes. Half cube size is used solely for this description.
Such display cases are delivered to the store where they will be used as a box-like case with no protrusions. After unwrapping at the store, a display header is usually mounted across the back of the display case. This header may have advertising graphics and a place to insert pricing information or the like. In a prior display case, one or more holes are provided through the top of the case and a display header has poles or posts that are dropped through the holes to support the header. Such headers may be provided with the display case as separate pieces to be installed after delivery to the store, or they may be provided by the store itself. Either way, they are attached after the case is on the floor. This causes problems. Sales associates may sometimes forget to install the header or the separate pieces may become separated so that they are not properly mounted.
In accordance with this invention, a "pop-up" display header is built into the display case so that it cannot be separated from the case before it is installed in the store. All that is needed is for a person to pull the header up from within the case. There are stops to keep the header from being pulled up too far and to prevent its dropping back into the case.


An interconnection structure for a semiconductor device may include lower interconnection patterns disposed in a checker board shape and upper interconnection patterns disposed in a checker board shape and connecting two adjacent lower interconnection patterns to each other.

The present inventive concept relates to semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to interconnection structures for semiconductor devices.
Semiconductor devices having increased integration density are needed in order to satisfy consumer demand for high perfoimance low cost devices. In the case of general two-dimensional or planar semiconductor memory devices, the level of integration may be primarily determined by the area required for each unit cell of the device. In such devices, the integration density is primarily increased by decreasing the width of the pattern used to form such unit cells.
However, when the width of the pattern is decreased, various technical difficulties may arise. For example, when the width of the pattern is decreased to 50 nm or less, new lithography arts such as immersion lithography, EUV lithography, or double patterning art may be required to form the pattern.
In addition, in order to rapidly transmit electric signals through the semiconductor device, the resistance of the interconnection needs to be kept low. Since the resistance of the interconnection is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area of the interconnection, when the width of the interconnection is decreased, the thickness of the interconnection may need to be increased in order to maintain a low resistance value. However, when the interconnections are disposed at narrow intervals as is often the case, for example, with bit lines of semiconductor memory devices, an increase in thickness of the interconnection may cause an increase in capacitance or coupling between the interconnections. This capacitance/coupling may generate secondary technical problems such as RC-delay and crosstalk between interconnections that may degrade the performance of the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor devices having lower and upper interconnection structures that exhibit reduced coupling


A battery system including a passive cooling system for cooling a plurality battery cells during normal operation and during overheating of the battery cells. The passive cooling system may include a housing, a cooling fluid (coolant pool) within the housing, and a plurality of dividers between each of the plurality of battery cells.

Vehicle batteries and capacitors have moved to increasingly energetic chemistries to improve power density. Batteries of this design may have a decrease in volume and weight for a given power capacity. However, batteries using chemistries such as lithium cobalt oxide having certain less than desirable characteristics. For example, an upper operating temperature of a battery employing one of these chemistries may be above the battery's thermal breakdown temperature. This characteristic may result in thermal runaway of the battery and the potential for serious consequences such as power failure or fire.
External active cooling of the batteries is generally not an acceptable solution. In addition to supplying power to normal operating systems, the batteries also provide emergency power, for example, in aviation uses. During emergency power operation, other systems, including cooling systems, may not be operating. Terminating cooling system operations during an emergency operation saves power for the operation of more critical systems but may result in overheating of the battery during the supply of emergency power.
A method and structure for controlling the overheating of batteries during operation, for venting harmful gasses in case of thermal runaway, and for providing notification of battery overheating would be desirable.

Thermal management of electrical storage devices by coolant pool


A night vision goggle system is provided having an image intensifier tube that may be installed or replaced without requiring realignment of the optics. The image intensifier tube is coupled to a first locating feature that is in a predetermined relationship to the optical center of the image intensifier tube. The system includes a second locating feature that interacts with the first locating feature to position the image intensifier tube in a predetermined relationship to an optical component of the night vision system.

In conventional panoramic night vision systems two separate monocular subassemblies are provided. Each monocular subassembly includes two image channels. Each of the image channels may be provided by an objective assembly that transmits an image from a viewed object to an image intensifier tube that intensifies the luminance of the image, and outputs the intensified image to another optical assembly, such as an eye piece.
The panoramic effect of such a night vision system is achieved by angling the optical axes of each of the two image channels of each monocular relative to one another, but having partially overlapping fields of view. The separate image channels must be combined, such as by an eyepiece, to provide a wide angle field of view. In order to provide the desired panoramic view, it is necessary that the individual optical axes of the image channels be properly aligned with the image combiner. If the optical axes of the separate image channels are not properly aligned, the image may be sheared.
Unfortunately, the center of the optical axis of an image intensifier tube may vary between different image intensifier tubes. The variation in the optical center of image intensifier tubes must be accommodated during the manufacture or assembly of a panoramic night vision system in order to assure the proper alignment of the optical axis of each channel in a monocular. Conventionally, during manufacture of the night vision system the optical center of the image intensifier tube is properly aligned with the optical axis of the assembly and the image intensifier tube is secured in place in the optical assembly to prevent shifting of image intensifier tube. Securing the image intensifier tube in the optical assembly may include bonding the image intensifier tube to an adjacent component of the assembly, clamping the image intensifier tube in an axial manner using a retaining ring, etc.
While the above techniques may be able to overcome the problem of initial alignment of the image intensifier tube in the night vision system, optical tolerances are too high to allow replacement or removal of the image intensifier tube without realigning and re-securing image intensifier tube.
Accordingly, there is a need for a night vision system and method that allows self-alignment of an image intensifier tube upon replacement of the tube.

Night vision system including field replaceable image intensifier tube


A rigid substantially planar sheet, preferably but not limited to a rectangular shape, having a central fold region and a pair of fold regions spaced from opposing ends of the rectangle with a fastener, preferably hook and loop (Velcro), disposed in the regions between each of the pair of folds and the sheet end. There is also provided an attachment device, preferably containing hook and loop thereon, for attachment to an infant seat or other device as well as to the fasteners on the sheet via the hook and loop for securing the sheet to the seat. The sheet is dimensioned to have a V shape at the central fold when attached to the fasteners and in operating position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a removably mountable sun shield and, more specifically, to a sun shield removably mountable on an infant seat, such as a car seat.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A problem often encountered in the transport of infants is that, during such transport, the sun rays will, on occasion, be directed onto the infant. The intense energy provided by the sun rays can have a detrimental effect on infants, especially since infants are unable to shield themselves therefrom. It is therefore desirable to provide a shield to protect the infants from such rays.
The prior art has attempted to alleviate this problem by providing sun shades for use in conjunction with infant car seats. Examples of such prior art sun shades are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. of Franc (5,007,674) and Ferguson (4,883,315). While such prior art does perform the function for which it is intended, it is readily apparent that, in the case in which the shield is permanently affixed to the car seat, the shield presents an impediment to easy seating and removal of the infant from the seat and is often not readily and easily removable when not in use. In the case of the removable shield, it lacks any kind of rigid structural support and is thus more prone to collapsing downward or side-to-side. Also, in the event of collapse onto the baby's face, such prior art would tend to conform to the shape of the baby's face, thus presenting a risk of suffocation.


A multi-story durable wall construction that is seamlessly integrated with a foundation and construction pad. The construction process incorporates stabilizing elements that rests a primary layer or sheet of welded-wire fabric on a foundation having rebar dowels protruding therefrom. Interlocking temporary upper guiderails are held in place by vertical rebar support rods. The temporary guiderails stabilize the top edge of the primary layer of welded-wire fabric, and rib lath is attached to the surface of the primary layer of welded-wire fabric to form a structural panel. Pressurized concrete is evenly applied to all of the inside and outside surfaces of the structural panels. Once the concrete has cured sufficiently, the upper stabilizing guide rails are removed to provide a durable wall.

Most traditional residential construction is still carried out utilizing conventional methods and materials such as wood or metal frame structural components, masonry block, precast concrete panels, and cast-in-place concrete forms. These types of construction are universally recognized, but they require a high degree of sophistication and training in order for them to be useful. Most of these traditional construction methods are both costly and time-consuming.
Large numbers of "prefab" or "modular" building systems have been brought to the market in recent years. These systems require a central manufacturing facility, and experience high acquisition and transportation costs for all the necessary materials. These modular construction methods also sacrifice the ultimate durability and longevity of the resulting structure, where too much emphasis has been placed on cost-reduction in order to meet limited construction budgets.
There has been some utilization of pressurized concrete or "shotcrete" for wall construction over the past few years. Shotcrete has unique qualities such as high strength, crack resistance, prolonged durability, and low permeability, making it much more water resistant and more resistant to seismic activity than other forms of concrete. There have been several wall systems over the years that use shotcrete or pressurized concrete, none of which has been highly successful.
The two most common types of shotcrete wall systems use either a Styrofoam core to which shotcrete is applied, or a steel panel of some description to which shotcrete is applied. Both of these methods generally require shotcrete to be applied to both sides of the wall. The Styrofoam panel system is inherently weaker, and therefore, makes it less durable and less suitable where high wind or seismic conditions exist. The systems that use various types of steel mesh to which the shotcrete is applied are much stronger, and as a result, they are more durable. The problem with these systems is that it is more difficult to apply the shotcrete to the walls because there is no rigid panel or diaphragm on which to place the shotcrete during the application process. The more the panels or diaphragms move during application, the more difficult it is to get the shotcrete to adhere to the panel surface, where the flexing of the panels increases the rebound effect of the shotcrete, resulting in unacceptable amounts of wasted concrete.
There is still much room for improvement when utilizing shotcrete to form the primary walls in any type of structure. The construction market needs a concrete and steel mesh building system that is strong, fast, and economical. The necessary building system and process to achieve these goals cannot require excessive amounts of costly skilled labor and cannot create excessive amounts of wasted materials.


A nut and bolt cover apparatus is preferably made from three pieces. A cover piece may be placed over a nut and may have an adapter piece placed over the cover. An exterior cover may be releasably attached to the adapter piece and may squeeze a portion of the adapter piece as the exterior cover is releasably attached to the adapter. Squeezing the adapter piece preferably compresses the cover piece and causes the cover piece to grip the nut of a nut and bolt assembly while the adapter piece grips the cover piece. Removing the exterior cover may relieve the compression forces causing the adapter piece to grip the cover piece and the cover piece to grip a nut, thus permitting the nut and bolt cover apparatus to be removed.

The field of the present disclosure relates to a system or apparatus for covering a nut and bolt assembly. Covers for nut and bolt assemblies are used for a variety of reasons, including protecting nut and bolt assemblies from environmental hazards, preventing tampering with a nut and bolt assembly, and for aesthetic purposes.
A variety of approaches have been taken for securing an apparatus for covering a nut and bolt assembly to the nut and bolt assembly. For example, covering apparatuses have been designed to be incorporated into a lug nut as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,018,301 and 4,775,272, to be secured to a bolt protruding past a nut as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,095,289, 3,548,704, and 4,824,305, to have a deformable portion that deforms to hold the cover on a nut as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,462 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,555, and to be secured using adhesives as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,070, among other techniques for securing a cover to a nut.
The present inventors have recognized limitations and drawbacks associated with existing apparatuses for covering nut and bolt assemblies. For example, some present apparatuses are not able to remain secured to a nut and bolt assembly after being removed and reinstalled because of wear or loosening parts. Other apparatuses rely on a portion of a bolt or stud to protrude past a nut, which does not always occur. Still other apparatuses require tools or adhesives for installation. The present inventors have also recognized various needs for an apparatus for covering nut and bolt assemblies that does not require tools to install, or that may be uninstalled and reinstalled without losing its ability to stay in place on a nut, or that does not rely on an exposed bolt or stud for securement, singularly or in any combination.


The described implementations relate to automatic network selection in relation to wireless mobile devices. One method can be applied to a mobile device that has both Wi-Fi and cellular capabilities. The method can attempt to identify Wi-Fi network availability for the mobile device. This method also evaluates whether to configure the mobile device to accomplish data communication over an identified Wi-Fi network or a cellular network.

Mobile devices, such as smart phones are emerging that have capabilities to access both cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks, among others. Cellular networks are widely available and reliable. However, a common revenue model for cellular service is that users tend to be charged for data communicated over the cellular networks. The availability of Wi-Fi networks is more limited than cellular, but data communication tends to be less expensive, or free to users.
Presently, users can manually select when the mobile device connects to a cellular network and when the mobile device connects to a Wi-Fi network. Manual network selection is tedious for users. Further, users tend to forget to control the mobile device in an efficient manner. For instance, the user may switch the mobile device to a Wi-Fi network as he/she uses the device and then forget to switch to cellular when leaving the Wi-Fi network (i.e., hot zone). Alternatively or additionally, the user may forget to re-select a Wi-Fi network for subsequent use. Still other users may not understand (or want to be bothered with) controlling their mobile devices to select specific networks. The present inventive concepts address aspects related to network selection and can lead to enhanced user satisfaction.


Medical devices, substrates and biologic therapies for bone repair and guided tissue regeneration are disclosed. More particularly, bone graft substitutes and bone void fillers which comprise a porous collagen matrix and calcium deficient hydroxyapatite ceramic granules for delivery of osteoinductive or other therapeutic agents are disclosed.

Bone grafts are used in roughly two million orthopedic procedures each year, and generally take one of three forms. Autografts, which typically consist of bone harvested from one site in a patient to be grafted to another site in the same patient, are the benchmark for bone grafting materials, inasmuch as these materials are simultaneously osteoconductive (it serves as a scaffold for new bone growth), osteoinductive (promotes the development of osteoblasts) and osteogenic (contains osteoblasts which form new bone). However, limitations on the supply of autografts have necessitated the use of cadaver-derived allografts. These materials are less ideal than autografts, however, as allografts may trigger host-graft immune responses or may transmit infectious or prion diseases, and are often sterilized or treated to remove cells, eliminating their osteogenicity.
The biological properties of bone graft substitutes are often described by the terms osteoinductivity, osteoconductivity and osteogenicity. Osteoinductivity is the ability of a graft to actively stimulate or promote bone formation. Osteoconductivity is a property of the scaffold that allows the colonization and ingrowth of new bone cells and sprouting capillaries due to its three-dimensional structure. Osteoconduction is mainly determined by the porosity properties of the scaffold and also to a lesser extent by the chemical and physical properties of the substrate that promote adhesion and cell growth. The mechanical properties of bone graft materials and their resistance to compression and torsion are dependent in part, on their composition and porosity.
Significant technical challenges have prevented the efficient incorporation of osteoinductive materials into synthetic bone graft substitutes and controlled release of osteoinductive materials from the implant which, in turn, has limited the development of high-quality osteoinductive synthetic bone graft materials. Moreover, necessary sterilization of synthetic bone graft compositions and inefficient or inconsistent crosslinking of bone graft matrices have resulted in bone grafts having weakened or less than desirable mechanical properties. There is, therefore, a need for synthetic bone graft compositions having consistent and robust mechanical properties and biological properties that promote bone growth at the site of implant.


For optimum induction heating of metallic strips (1) of differing widthsxe2x80x94particularly in the edge regionxe2x80x94one multicoil transverse field inductor is positioned both above and below the strip (1) to be heated, whose coil axes are positioned vertically to the strip surface. In this case, each inductor comprises at least one inductor segment (2, 3; 7; 15; 17), which is constructed as a coil composite of multiple approximately rectangular coils (8, 9, 10; 16; 18) which extend predominantly transversely to the transport direction of the strip (1), the coils (8, 9, 10; 16; 18) having different, stepped transverse extensions and the coil having the highest transverse extension extending at most up to the lateral edges of the widest strip and the coil having the lowest transverse extension extending at most up to the lateral edges of the narrowest strip. Each inductor segment (2, 3; 7; 15; 17) is connected to a circuit for defined clocking of its coils (8, 9, 10; 16; 18), and each inductor segment (3; 7; 15; 17) below the strip is assigned an identical inductor segment (2; 7; 15; 17) above the strip. Through the device according to the present invention, overheating of the edges of metal strips (1) is prevented during induction heatingxe2x80x94independently of the strip width.

The present invention relates to a device for induction heating of metallic strips of differing widths having one multicoil transverse field inductor both above and below the strip to be heated, whose coil axes are positioned vertically to the strip surface.
A device for induction heating of flat metallic stock, having at least two inductors which are assigned in pairs lying above and below the metal stock, is known from German Patent Application 3928629 A1. In this device, the iron cores of at least one inductor have zigzag or wave-shaped grooves in the transport direction of the stock, into which the conductors are inlaid. The adjustment of the inductor power to the respective strip width is performed essentially by switching off selected coil conductors. An essential disadvantage of this known device is that optimized edge heating of the strips cannot be ensured due to the wound coil conductor course, since for conductors which lie in the edge region of the strip, one part of the conductor is nearer to the edge region of the strip than the other part.
The object of the present invention is thus to implement a device of the type initially cited in such a way that the disadvantages of the known relevant device are avoided, so that in the event of varying stock widths, a uniform heating pattern is achieved over the respective width, and particularly in the edge regions, with simple construction of the inductors.
This object is achieved according to the present invention in a device of the type initially cited in that, for optimized edge heating of the strips, the inductors each comprise at least one inductor segment, which is constructed as a coil composite of multiple approximately rectangular coils, which predominantly extend transversely to the transport direction of the strip, the coils having differing, stepped transverse extensions and the coil having the highest transverse extension extending at most up to the lateral edges of the widest strip and the coil having the lowest transverse extension extending at most up to the lateral edges of the narrow strip. In addition, each inductor segment is connected to a circuit for defined clocking of its coils and each inductor segment below the strip is assigned an identical inductor segment above the strip.
Using the device above, operators of heating devices are capable of treating the greatest possible spectrum of stripsxe2x80x94particularly in regard to the strip width, but also in regard to the strip thickness and the material. Through the differing, stepped coils, which may be switched on in a targeted way, the energy consumption is optimized and a uniform heating pattern is achieved independently of the width of the strip used, with maximum temperature oscillations of xc2x115xc2x0 C. In this case, the typical heating temperatures are approximately 400xc2x0 C. for aluminum strips and approximately 500-600xc2x0 C. for brass strips. The defined clocking of the coil selected for the respective strip width particularly counteracts overheating of the strip edges and therefore prevents warping or other quality losses; in this case, at least one coil may also be switched on permanently within a coil composite in addition to the clocked coils. The coil conductors of the upper inductor segments are switched in the same direction as the coil conductors precisely or approximately opposite below the strip to build up a magnetic field which penetrates the strip uniformly. The division of the inductors into inductor segments and the simple construction of the segments by using approximately rectangular coils reduces the production costs and the susceptibility to breakdown. Should a breakdown nonetheless occur, the affected inductor segment may be replaced individually. A long standstill time and high repair costs are therefore avoided.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that an inductor comprises multiple inductor segments, which are positioned one behind another at intervals in the transport direction of the strip. If there is a lack of space in furnaces which are too short, the inductor segments may also, however, be positioned one directly behind another. Through a divided inductor, the possibility results of switching each segment individually and therefore introducing the respective power necessary separately. Therefore, for example, the segments at the beginning of the heating device, which must heat the still cold stock, may introduce a higher power than the following segments.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that each inductor segment is a coil composite of three to eight coils. A coil composite of three to eight coils per inductor segment is simple to construct and produce. The coils, which are stepped in their transverse extension, have graduations of 4 to 10 cm to each strip side. This distance is selected low enough so that a strip whose edge is not sufficiently heated by the coil lying next to it may be heated optimally by clocking multiple coils.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that the difference of the transverse extension of one coil to the transverse extension of the next smaller or larger coil is at least 50 mm and at most 200 mm. A coil composite stepped in this way allows the operator of a facility to treat strips of different widths. Therefore, he is not only fixed on one strip width, but may heat multiple commercially available strips. If high requirements are placed on the temperature precision, a coil composite having small transverse extension differences must be selected. If the operator wants to treat strips of a width which may not be optimally heated by the coil composite already used in the furnace, he may easily remove the segments in the device and, for example, replace them by segments having coils of smaller transverse extensions and/or transverse extension differences.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that a coil composite is constructed from multiple nesting coils of differing transverse extensions, the coils having a shared axis.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that the coils of a coil composite are placed offset in relation to one another in the transport direction of the strip.
The above arrangements are used for optimizing the temperature distribution, particularly in the edge region of the strip. At the same time, there is the possibility of incorporating inductor segments of differing embodiments within an inductor.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that the coil conductors are positioned above one another or next to one another within a conductor groove. It is additionally possible for only one coil conductor to be in a conductor groove.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that at least two coils per inductor segment, selected as a function of the strip width, are switched in a clocked way so that only one coil is switched on at a time. In this way, for example, 500 or 1000 switching operations per second may be achieved. Through clocking of the coils of this type, overheating of the strip is prevented, particularly in the edge region. However, it is also conceivable to leave one coil continuously switched on, while two other coils are switched in a clocked way. In borderline cases, it may also be advisable to only switch on one coil. The power is provided in this case by one or more converters. The original 100% power of the converter may be relayed via thyristors to the coils of an inductor segment in such a way that, for example, one coil is constantly supplied with 70% of the total power, while two further clocked coils are assigned to receive 10% and 20% of the power, respectively. There is the possibility of clocking the coils of each inductor segment individually within an inductor.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that the frequency and/or duration of the switching operations is variably adjustable for each coil. The use of different frequencies and switching durations for the coils may promote uniform heating over the strip width.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that a scanner is provided to determine the temperature profile over the strip width. Therefore, any unforeseen deviations of the temperature profile, due to defective coils, for example, may be established as rapidly as possible.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that a circuit is provided for automatic clocking of the selected coils by analyzing the temperature profile established by the scanner. In this way, deviations from the intended temperature value are detected immediately. The desired temperature profile may be reached again by changing the clocking.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that at least one upper inductor segment is positioned offset transversely to the transport direction of the strip in relation to the assigned lower inductor segment. In this way, balancing of the temperature profile may be optimized.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that the offset between the upper inductor segment and the assigned lower inductor segment is variably adjustable.
The device according to the present invention may further be implemented in such a way that at least some of the inductor segments are mounted replaceably in the device. In this way, the inductor segments may be removed individually and replaced in case of breakdown. This also applies if strips are to be treated which may not be ideally heated by the inductor segments currently in the furnace due to their width. The furnace may be retrofitted for other strip width ranges through rapid replacement of the inductor segments in this case. In addition, it is conceivable that in sufficiently long furnaces, inductor segments for heating narrower strips are positioned in the furnace before or after inductor segments for wider strips. With an embodiment of this type, the corresponding inductor segments may be switched on and the others may be switched off, for the treatment of wider strips, for example. Therefore, strips of two strip width ranges may be treated in one furnace.
The device according to the present invention may be provided for the purpose of heating strips having a width of at least 200 mm.
The device according to the present invention may furthermore be provided for the purpose of heating strips having a width of at most 2000 mm. In this case, in the event strips of different widths are used, the strip width range in a furnace is selected in such a way that the widest strip to be heated is twice or three times as wide as the narrow strip, for example, the width of the narrow strip is 400 mm and that of the widest strip is 800 and/or 1200 mm.
Finally, the device may be used for heating metallic strips made of aluminum, steel, copper, or brass.
In the following part of the description, embodiments of the device according to the present invention are described with reference to 8 figures.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of two inductor segments, positioned without offset in relation to one another, with strip to be heated,
FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of two inductor segments, positioned with offset in relation to one another, with strip to be heated,
FIG. 3 shows a section through coil conductor grooves and coil conductors of an inductor segment,
FIG. 4 shows a further section through coil conductor grooves and coil conductors of an inductor segment,
FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of an inductor segment having electrical connections, a scanner, and strip to be heated,
FIG. 6 shows a schematic illustration of two inductor segments positioned one behind the other in the transport direction,
FIG. 7 shows a further schematic illustration of two inductor segments positioned one behind the other in the transport direction, and
FIG. 8 shows a diagram of the temperature distribution over the strip width of an aluminum band for different coil clockings.

Device for inductively heating metallic strips


A side airbag apparatus includes a support part having a reaction force surface for receiving the deployment force of an airbag upon expanding and deploying the airbag. An inflator is fixed to the support part. A variable mechanism is configured to attach the support part to a seat frame such that the angle of the reaction force surface is variable with respect to the seat frame.

This kind of side airbag apparatus is mounted in a vehicle in order to protect passengers seated in a vehicle seat upon a side collision of the vehicle (see Patent Documents 1 to 4). For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a side airbag apparatus is embedded on the side outside the seat back in the width direction of the seat, with a portion of the airbag, along with an inflator, attached to a seat frame. In addition, upon a side collision, the airbag is expanded and deployed using gas supplied from the inflator, such that the airbag is thereby exposed outside the seat back so as to be arranged between a passenger on the seat and the side panel of the door.


A transfer resistant RFID tag preferably includes an identification chip, a tag coil, a housing and a cap. The identification chip is electrically connected to the tag coil with two wires. A first quantity of bonding compound is applied to a surface that is slightly greater than a surface area of the identification chip. A second quantity of bonding compound is applied to the surface that is slightly greater than the end surface area of the housing. One end of the housing is attached to the second quantity of bonding compound. Then the identification chip is attached to the first quantity of bonding compound. The cap is snapped over the tag coil and the other end of the housing. If someone tries to transfer the RFID tag from one surface to another, the two wires or the identification chip will be destroyed during removal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and more specifically to a transfer resistant RFID tag, which is destroyed by removal and subsequent transfer to a second surface.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It appears that the prior art does not disclose a RFID tag that is attached to a metal surface, such as a motor vehicle body. It is also desirable that once the RFID tag is attached to a first surface that it cannot be removed and transferred to a second surface. Removal of the RFID tag from the first surface must result in the destruction thereof to prevent transfer to the second surface.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for a transfer resistant RFID tag, which is attachable to a metal surface and is destroyed by removal to prevent transfer to a second surface.

Method of attaching a transfer resistant RFID tag to a surface


A power supply structure includes a first circuit board, a second circuit board, a first connecting part and a second connecting part. The second circuit board is horizontally disposed above the first circuit board, a first connecting part electrically connected between the first circuit board and the second circuit board for transmitting signals of the first circuit board and second circuit and a second connecting part electrically connected between the first circuit board and the second circuit board for conducting currents of the first circuit board and the second circuit.

The present invention relates to a power supply, and more particularly to a power supply structure.
Referring to FIG. 1, a customarily used power supply structure includes a frame 10 and a circuit board 11, wherein the circuit board 11 is disposed in the frame 10. The circuit board 11 further includes several different devices in response to specifications of different power supplies, wherein a output terminal 12 is electrically connected with one end terminal of the circuit board 11 for outputting sources and signals. In virtue of the miniaturization of electrical devices day by day, the power supply structure disposed in the electrical device has to be reduced in size. However, it is not easy to reduce the occupied space of the circuit board 11 because electrical devices disposed in the power supply are almost in a standard specification. Furthermore, the output terminal 12 is directly connected to the circuit board 11 and occupies more space of the circuit board 11. Hence, the available space of the circuit board 11 becomes narrower and smaller. The space for the original design and the layout of the circuit board can""t be used effectively and the entire effects either can""t be promoted.
To solve the problem, someone provides electrical devices and output terminals in a small-size specification corresponding to the above power supply of small size, but that will increase a lot of cost. Hence, how to fabricate electrical devices of the existing specification and the circuit board of the existing layout in the finite space without increasing the cost has become one of important targets about the development of the industry.
Therefore, the present invention provides an improved power supply structure for overcoming the problems described above. The power supply structure according to the present invention can be changed for providing proper space for the layouts of several power supplies in different specifications.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a power supply structure to the above end.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a power supply structure for reducing the complexity of fabrication and the cost.
According to the present invention, a power supply structure comprises a first circuit board, a second circuit board horizontally disposed above the first circuit board, a first connecting part electrically connected between the first circuit board and the second circuit board for transmitting signals of the first circuit board and second circuit board, and a second connecting part electrically connected between the first circuit board and the second circuit board for transferring currents of the first circuit board and second circuit board.
Certainly, the first connecting part can be a connector.
Certainly, the second connecting part can be a conductive column.
Preferably, the conductive column is formed with a copper.
Preferably, the power supply structure further comprises an output terminal disposed below the second circuit board and electrically connected with the second circuit board for outputting the respective current.
Preferably, the power supply structure further comprises a third circuit board horizontally disposed above the second circuit board.
Certainly, the third circuit board can be a control board.
Certainly, the control board can have an electrical device with relatively a high heating power.
Preferably, the control board further comprises a heat sink.
Preferably, the power supply structure further comprises a third connecting part electrically connected between the first circuit board and the third circuit board.
Preferably, the third connecting part is a conductive column for conducting currents of the first circuit board and the third circuit board.
Preferably, the third connecting part is a signal connector for conducting signals of the first circuit board and third circuit board.
Preferably, the power supply structure further comprises a fourth connecting part electrically connected between the second circuit board and the third circuit board.
Certainly, the fourth connecting part can be a conductive column for conducting currents of the second circuit board and the third circuit board.
Certainly, the fourth connecting part can be a signal connector for transmitting signals of the second circuit board and the third circuit board.
Preferably, the third circuit board is disposed above the second circuit board via an upholder.
Now the foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through the following descriptions with reference to the drawings, wherein:


The present invention provides a method for printing and coating a flexible substrate web so as to attain a specified coefficient of friction on both sides of the substrate web which employs the use of controlled set-off of coated and/or printed material from the front side to the back side side of the web. Furthermore the method provides a substrate web produced therefrom and the method is useful for packaging substrate webs and, in particular, foil substrate webs.

Presently, for many end users in the packaging industry which employ substrate webs and rolls there is a problem in that the coefficient of friction (CoF) is often too high on both the front side and the back side of the substrate web to achieve proper processing on packaging lines and this is particularly problematic in the case of aluminum foils.
Typically, a low CoF is desirable and usually it is only necessary to provide a low CoF on one side of the aluminum foil. However, in a number of cases a low CoF on both sides of the web is required and thus a special coating needs to be applied to both sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,267,862 discloses the use of primary and secondary amides which interact favorably so as to control CoF in polyolefin and other films whilst US2008/0213522 is directed to a coated polymeric film for the use in a method of wrapping a ream of paper in a packaging film wherein the coating is used to control CoF. The polymeric film may be coated on both sides of the polymeric film.
Consequently, there is a requirement to provide a more efficient process that can modify the CoF on both the front side and the back side of a substrate web without the need to apply separate coatings thereon.

Method of producing a specified coefficient of friction on both sides of a substrate


A substance communicating device for coupling to a host in at least two distinct orientations, as well as a modular system comprising a host, and a functional device in addition to the substance communicating device. The substance communicating device provides a substance from the host to the functional device. The substance communicating device may be an adapter for coupling the functional device to the host, or a functional unit of an adapter and a functional device. The substance communicating device may include a first member having a first interface connectable to the host, and a second member pivotally connected to the first member and having a second interface connectable to the functional device. The modular system may include a plurality of hosts having differently-oriented substance communication service interfaces and the substance communicating device.

Appliances and other useful household equipment are increasingly designed to interact with one another, as well as with a variety of accessory devices. An accessory device may be used, for example, in conjunction with an appliance to enhance or supplement the functionality of the appliance. The accessory device may be configured to be permanently or removably connectable to the appliance. The accessory device may also be operable independently of the associated appliance, thereby requiring a connection mechanism capable of sustaining repetitive attachment cycles.
Operation of the interconnected devices may also involve the transfer of a variety of substances, such as various liquids, gases, and solids. For example, a refrigerator may provide an external water connection for connecting an accessory water dispenser. A freezer section of a refrigerator may include provisions for connecting an accessory ice maker. A washing machine may provide an option for attaching a detergent and/or softener dispenser.
The invention recognizes this trend and attempts to support the trend.

Substance communicating device for coupling to a host