The present invention provides a peer-to-peer (P2P) network for providing real time media recommendations. The P2P network includes a central server interconnecting a number of peer devices. In operation, a proxy function of the central server receives media recommendations from one or more peer devices that are active and online as media presentations identified by the media recommendations are played by the peer devices. The one or more peer devices are included in a group of peer devices associated with a first peer device. The proxy function provides the media recommendations to the first peer device. An augmentation function of the central server monitors a recommendation level of the first peer device. If the recommendation level falls below a minimum recommendation level, the augmentation function augments the media recommendations provided to the first peer device to increase the recommendation level to or above the minimum recommendation level.

In recent years, there has been an enormous increase in the amount of digital media, such as music, available online. Services such as Apple's iTunes enable users to legally purchase and download music. Other services such as Yahoo! Music Unlimited and RealNetwork's Rhapsody provide access to millions of songs for a monthly subscription fee. As a result, music has become much more accessible to listeners worldwide. However, the increased accessibility of music has only heightened a long-standing problem for the music industry, which is namely the issue of linking audiophiles with new music that matches their listening preferences.
Many companies, technologies, and approaches have emerged to address this issue of music recommendation. Some companies have taken an analytical approach. They review various attributes of a song, such as melody, harmony, lyrics, orchestration, vocal character, and the like, and assign a rating to each attribute. The ratings for each attribute are then assembled to create a holistic classification for the song that is then used by a recommendation engine. The recommendation engine typically requires that the user first identify a song that he or she likes. The recommendation engine then suggests other songs with similar attributions. Companies using this type of approach include Pandora (http://www.pandora.com), SoundFlavor (http://www.soundflavor.com), MusicIP (http://www.musicip.com), and MongoMusic (purchased by Microsoft in 2000).
Other companies take a communal approach. They make recommendations based on the collective wisdom of a group of users with similar musical tastes. These solutions first profile the listening habits of a particular user and then search similar profiles of other users to determine recommendations. Profiles are generally created in a variety of ways such as looking at a user's complete collection, the playcounts of their songs, their favorite playlists, and the like. Companies using this technology include Last.fm (http://www.last.fm), Music Strands (http://www.musicstrands.com), WebJay (http://www.webjay.org), Mercora (http://www.mercora.com), betterPropaganda (http://www.betterpropaganda.com), Loomia (http://www.loomia.com), eMusic (http://www.emusic.com), musicmatch (http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com), genielab (http://genielab.com/), upto11 (http://www.upto11.net), Napster (http://www.napster.com), and iTunes (http://www.itunes.com) with its celebrity playlists.
The problem with these traditional recommendation systems is that they fail to consider peer influences. For example, the music to which a particular teenager listens may be highly influenced by the music listened to by a group of the teenager's peers, such as his or her friends. As such, there is a need for a music recommendation system and method that recommends music to a user based on the listening habits of a peer group.

Maintaining a minimum level of real time media recommendations in the absence of online friends


A circuit and method for measuring the capacitance of a medium independent of the resistivity of the medium. A triangular voltage is applied to plates immersed in the medium to generate both a resistive current component in phase with the triangular voltage and a capacitive current component in phase with a differential of the triangular voltage. The resistive and capacitive current components are summed with a selectable current which is provided having a phase .pi. radians out of phase with the triangular voltage and having an amplitude related to a control signal. The summed current is sampled over a time period phase shifted from the capacitive current component and then integrated so that the capacitive current component integrates to zero and the integral of the resistive current component minus the selectable current provides the control signal. In response to the control signal, the selectable current is varied until the sum of the selectable current and resistive current component are nulled. This summed current is then sampled in phase with the capacitive current component thereby obtaining a measurment of capacitance independent of resistance.

The field of the invention relates to the measurement of capacitance, in particular the measurement of lossy capacitance. Stated another way, the measurement of capacitance shunted by a low resistance.
As the world's petroleum reserves become depleted, interest has increased in adapting vehicles to run on a mixture of gasoline and alcohol (including ethanol and methanol). With present technology, vehicles may be adapted to run on a gasoline/alcohol mixture by altering the engine's air/fuel ratio and/or ignition timing to compensate for the lower energy density of these fuel mixtures. Since the fuel mixture may vary depending upon both gasoline and alcohol availability in a specific locality, it is desirable to have an on-board sensor for providing an engine controller with an indication of gasoline/alcohol mixture in the fuel tank.
Gasoline and alcohol have substantially different dielectric constants. Accordingly, measurement of the capacitance between two parallel plates suspended in the fuel tank may provide an approximation of the gasoline/alcohol mixture. However, the gasoline/alcohol mixture contains contaminants, such as sodium or calcium ions, from dessicants, thereby adding a resistive component between the plates. This parallel resistive component may be sufficiently low to overwhelm capacitive measurement unless very high frequencies, such as 10 MHz, are used. For example, when measured at 30 KHz, the resistive current component between the plates may be approximately 20 times greater than the capacitive current component.
A prior approach for on-board measurement is disclosed in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Volume VT-27, No. 3, August 1978, page 142, entitled "An On-Board Sensor For Percent Alcohol", by J. W. Hille and P. R. Rabe. This approach requires a tuned circuit for comparing the capacitance to be measured to a calibrated reference. A disadvantage with this approach is that variations in the reference will adversely affect the measurement. Further, the problem of a high resistive current component does not appear to be addressed.
An approach to measurement of capacitance in general, rather than the capacitance of a gasoline/alcohol mixture, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,760. A circuit is disclosed for measuring both the resistance and capacitance of a capacitor. The ratio of charging and discharging times of two integrative capacitors is compared to determine the desired measurements. This circuit has the disadvantage of requiring a variable voltage source. In addition, the problem of a high resistive component overwhelming the capacitive current component does not appear to be addressed.

Capacitance measuring apparatus with means for nulling the resistive component


An electronic circuit device includes at least a first substrate and a second substrate, a spacer substrate interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, an electronic component interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and at least one through-hole formed on the second circuit substrate opposing the first circuit substrate. The spacer substrate mutually connects the first substrate and the second substrate. The electronic component is connected to the first circuit substrate with the active surface of the electronic component. The through-hole penetrates from a first surface of the second circuit substrate opposing the first substrate to a second surface of the second circuit substrate. The first circuit substrate is connected to the electronic component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic circuit device and, more specifically, relates to an electronic circuit device capable of dissipating heat generated by an electronic component included in the electronic circuit device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, multilayer substrates for embedding electronic components so as to obtain highly dense and highly integrated electronic components, such as semiconductor chips (e.g., PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 7-107954).
A method for producing a known multilayer substrate with embedded electronic components will be briefly described in sequence below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1A illustrates a substrate 1. On one of the surfaces (upper surface in the drawings) of the substrate 1, wiring is provided by copper foil 2 so as to form a circuit.
As illustrated in FIG. 1B, a semiconductor chip 3 with its active surface (device surface) facing toward the substrate 1 is disposed on the substrate 1. Bumps 4 are formed on electrodes (not shown in the drawings) of the semiconductor chip 3. The semiconductor chip 3 is fixed to the substrate 1 by a bonding member, such as solder or conductive paste, and is electrically connected to the circuit via the copper foil 2. A sealing resin 5 is interposed between the semiconductor chip 3 and the substrate 1 so as to increase the connection strength between the substrate 1 and the semiconductor chip 3 and to prevent intrusion of moisture.
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, the upper surface of the substrate 1 with the semiconductor chip 3 is flattened by applying a resin 6. On the surface of the substrate 1 flattened by the resin 6, wiring is provided by the copper foil 7, a circuit is formed, and a substrate 8 is stacked.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, through-holes are formed in the substrate 1 and the substrate 8 from the upper surface of the substrate 8 to the lower surface of the substrate 1 in positions where the semiconductor chip is not disposed. By plating each of the through-holes entirely with a conductive material, such as copper, through-holes 9 are formed. Circuits composed of copper foil 10 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate 8 and are electrically connected to the through-holes 9. Other circuits composed of copper foil 11 are formed on the lower surface of the substrate 1 and are electrically connected to the through-holes 9. In this way, a multilayer substrate 21 is produced.
As described above, the known multilayer substrate 21 is produced by including the semiconductor chip 3 in the multilayer substrate 21 as part of the multilayer substrate 21.
Recently, in the technological field of mobile phones and home information appliances, there has been a demand for reduction in size and weight and improvement in advanced functions. For this reason, highly efficient electronic devices have been in demand for mobile phones and home information appliances. However, many of these highly efficient electronic devices generate high-temperature heat.


A hands-free apparatus includes a memory and a hardware processor coupled to the memory. The hardware processor is configured to: connect to a mobile phone to enable a hands-free telephone conversation; receive at least one data of outgoing call history data, incoming call history data, missed call history data, and phonebook data stored in the mobile phone; and execute synchronization permission checking processing to check whether transfer of the at least one data is permitted in the mobile phone before receiving the at least one data from the mobile phone.

Hands-free apparatuses that establish a communication line with a mobile phone and can thereby receive an incoming call and make an outgoing call even without a user having to directly operate the mobile phone have conventionally been known. Such a hands-free apparatus is installed in a vehicle, for example, and is used when the user holds a telephone conversation while driving.
In addition, technologies that transfer phonebook data and outgoing/incoming call history data from the mobile phone to the hands-free apparatus are known. A conventional technique is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-193046.
However, in the conventional technologies, when the phonebook data and the outgoing/incoming call history data cannot be transferred to the hands-free apparatus based on a setting of the mobile phone, it may be difficult for the user to grasp the reason why these data cannot be transferred.
The present disclosure provides a hands-free apparatus, a method of data transfer, and a computer-readable medium that enable an appropriate action according to a data synchronization state between the hands-free apparatus and the mobile phone.

Hands-free apparatus, method of data transfer, and computer-readable medium

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A novel new method for rapidly and efficiently depositing carbon on and within or densifying carbon fiber preforms, porous substrates and close packed particulates by pyrolitic carbon in the structures of isotropic, anisotropic, graphitic, amorphous, lonsdaleite, and diamond.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Typical industrial chemical vapor infiltration systems are approximately 5-6% efficient in their use of the carbon in the hydrocarbon gasses being used. Even with currently patented methods and devices for chemical vapor infiltration, the efficiency is low in the range of 10%. Current recycling methods do not utilize the heavy hydrocarbons and reprocess them. The time to make carbon-carbon composites and thick films (>200 microns) is very long on the order of 1000-2000 hours to density from 0.4 g/cc to >1.75 g/cc.

Method for rapid and efficient chemical vapor infiltration and densification of carbon fiber preforms, porous substrates and close packed particulates


A bar clamp, which is operable with one hand, includes a fixed jaw and a movable jaw. The movable jaw connects at one end to a movable slide bar. One-way drive means, by operation of a trigger handle grip, releasably engages the slide bar and advances the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw. Return motion of the movable jaw is accomplished manually when the one-way drive means is disengaged. A braking lever, biased to bind against the slide bar, prevents reverse motion of the movable jaw except when disengaged from the slide bar. The trigger handle advances the slide bar by driving a second lever which binds against a slide bar surface. The second lever returns by spring force to its original position after each stroke of the trigger handle.

This invention relates generally to a bar clamp of the type used to temporarily clamp together two articles, for example, for gluing, or to hold a workpiece for welding, and more particularly to a quick-action bar clamp wherein the moving jaw can be rapidly advanced or advances in small increments of selectable length. The concept of a bar clamp is old and well-known. In recent years, over-center toggle action handgrips have been incorporated for use in final tightening against the workpiece, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,088,313 by Pearson and 4,563,921 by Wallace. A disadvantage in the prior art lies in the fact that adjustment in the moving jaw over a substantial distance is cumbersome and imprecise. Frequently, the moving jaw is entirely disengaged and free to move until the final tightening of an object between the movable and fixed jaws is accomplished. A third hand would be helpful.
What is needed is a bar clamp having a moving jaw which is rapidly movable over both short and long distances to clamp against a workpiece and is operable using one hand with complete control by the operator at all times.

Method of operating a quick-action bar clamp


A plug for medical use includes a plug body having a column member made of a soft resilient material, and a core made of a material harder than the soft material of the plug body and disposed in the column member. The core displaces a portion of the column member outwardly and forming an outwardly bulging portion on the column member. The plug is inserted in a female opening of a BCP port of an extracorporeal blood circulation apparatus, for example, to prevent blood from leading from the BCP port.

The present invention relates to a plug for closing a hole, an opening, or the like of a container, a tube, or the like to prevent a fluid such as a liquid, for example, from leaking out of the hole, the opening, or the like, and more particularly to a medical plug of such a nature and an instrument equipped with such a plug.
Medical plugs for selectively closing and opening the holes, openings, or the like (hereinafter referred to also as a "hole") of containers, tubes, or the like for medical use, are primarily required to be of such a structure as to hold a fluid against leakage from the holes. These medical plugs are also required to be easily fittable into the holes of container, tubes, or the like for medical use, to be easily removable from the holes after they have been fitted, nevertheless to remain securely retained against accidental removal which would otherwise take place due to shocks, and also to be highly durable during long usage. Conventional medical plugs include:
(1) plugs which can entirely be force-fitted into corresponding holes, the plugs being made of a hard material for greater durability and tapered in the direction in which they can be pulled out; PA1 (2) plugs which can entirely be forced-fitted into corresponding holes, the plugs being made of a soft material for easy removal and higher shock resistance and tapered in the direction PA1 (3) plugs which can partly be force-fitted into corresponding holes, such as a sealing member or packing positioned on the front end of the plunger of a syringe and slidably fitted in the cylinder of the syringe.
The medical plug of the group (1), typically a syringe cylinder to be fitted into a hollow needle, is made of a hard material and can be force-fitted into the hole of a medical container, tube, etc. for liquid tightness. While the plug is highly durable, it is not easy to pull the plug out of the hole after it has been fitted in the hole. On the other hand, once the plug is positionally displaced even slightly by a shock applied, the plug tends to become loose in the hole due to the tapered configuration of the plug, with the result that the plug can easily be removed. In order to keep the plug liquid-tight against shocks, the plug has to be force-fitted into the hole more strongly. However, the strongly force-fitted plug cannot be pulled out easily when required. A plug made of a hard material may be designed for being partly force-fitted into a hole, but such a plug would be difficult to manufacture and highly costly.
The medical plug of the class (2), which may be a rubber cap to be fitted in a blood collector tube, is made of a soft material and achieves liquid tightness by being forcibly fitted in its entirety into the hole of a container, tube, or the like. The plug can thus easily be pulled out and is highly resistant to shocks. Since the plug is made of a soft material, however, it is poor in durability and can be deformed during sterilization, particularly autoclave sterilization. Therefore, the plug is normally forced-fitted into the hole under considerably strong forces. As a consequence, the plug cannot easily be fitted into and pulled out of the hole. The plug of the group (2) suffers from the same problem as the plug of the class (1) when it is subjected to shocks.
The medical plug of the kind (3) may typically be a packing to be fitted in the cylinder of a syringe. The plug (packing) of a soft material is partly force-fitted in the hole or space in the cylinder for liquid tightness. While this plug is highly durable, can easily be pulled out, and highly resistant to shocks, it will be fabricated by many manufacturing steps and hence is expensive.

Plug and blood circulation device with the plug


A method of forming a contactless nonvolatile memory device includes preparing a semiconductor substrate including a cell array region, forming a plurality of mask patterns being parallel to each other on the semiconductor substrate in the cell array region, etching the semiconductor substrate using the mask patterns as an etch mask to form a plurality of recess regions, forming a gate insulating layer on sidewalls and bottoms of the recess regions, forming a floating gate layer on an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate to fill the recess regions, planarizing the floating gate layer to expose upper surfaces of the mask patterns and to form floating gate patterns in the recess regions, forming buried impurity diffusion regions in the semiconductor substrate under the mask patterns, forming an intergate dielectric layer, forming a control gate layer, and patterning the control gate layer, the intergate dielectric layer and the floating gate pattern to form a plurality of parallel word lines crossing the mask patterns, floating gates between the word lines and the recess regions, and an intergate dielectric pattern between the floating gates and the word lines, and to expose the recess regions and the mask patterns between word lines.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device and a method of forming the same, and more particularly, to a contactless nonvolatile memory device and a method of forming the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A NOR type contactless nonvolatile memory device having a virtual ground array structure includes a buried impurity diffusion region, which is formed in a semiconductor substrate and crosses word lines at right angles. The buried impurity diffusion region can be a source or a drain depending on which cell is programmed or read. A cell size can be reduced when the contact plug is not formed in every unit cell. For example, a contact plug can be formed only in the buried impurity diffusion region in both ends of a cell array.
In a cell of the virtual ground array structure, the buried impurity diffusion region is isolated from another buried impurity diffusion region by having an impurity region of an opposite conductivity therebetween. Therefore, a distance between two diffusion regions should be long enough to prevent a punch through, which can be generated between the two impurity diffusion regions.
Also, a misalignment may be caused by a decreased process margin in patterning a floating gate layer.

Contactless nonvolatile memory device and method of forming the same


An automatic document feeder includes a feed tray 2 on which documents are placed, a feeder 4 for feeding documents on the feed tray 2 to a conveyor path, conveying 8 for conveying the fed documents to an image reading position, a discharging 9 for discharging the read documents onto a discharging tray 37, and a controller by which the discharging speed of the documents after being read so that the discharging speed varies with respect to the conveying speed, wherein, if the conveying speed when reading a document is within a predetermined range, the discharging speed after reading the document is controlled to be equal to the conveying speed when reading the document, and if the conveying speed when reading the document is out of the predetermined range, the discharging speed after reading the document is controlled to be within the predetermined range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder for use in image readers such as copying machines, facsimile machines, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, automatic document feeders installed on a copying machine body are generally provided with such mechanism that documents placed on a feed tray are fed one by one automatically to a reading means installed in the copying machine body, and are then read by an optical system provided in the copying machine and discharged onto a discharging tray. In order to realize high-speed conveyance of documents, there have been proposed some arrangements in that, for example, documents are conveyed at a high-speed after they are read, and then discharged onto a discharging tray (Japanese Laid-open Utility Model No. 55157 of 1993), or documents are conveyed at high speed after they are read, and then slowed down just before discharging so as to be discharged gently onto a discharging tray (Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 178363 of 1986).
If documents are conveyed at high speed and discharged after they are read in such a conventional automatic document feeder, however, the documents often fly out onto the discharging tray so as to be scattered. This arises a problem of poor alignment of the documents. In addition, if the document feeding is slowed down just before discharging, another problem arises wherein the high conveying speed is sacrificed, although the above-mentioned poor alignment problem is solved. In the cases described above, therefore, the following document cannot be conveyed before the preceding document is discharged since there is a difference between reading and discharging speeds of documents. Consequently, such conventional arrangements include possibilities whereby the total processing speed of the automatic document feeder may be lowered.
Under such the circumstances, the object of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeder that can solve the problem of poor alignment of discharged documents on a discharging tray, as well as improve the total processing speed of the document feeder.


A combination battery pack and low profile antenna arrangement for use in conjunction with a two-way portable transceiver includes an enclosure containing an electrical battery with positive and negative electrodes. A pair of terminals are attached to the outer surface of the enclosure and are coupled to the positive and negative electrodes. A low profile antenna structure is disposed within the enclosure and includes a feed point for coupling RF energy to and from the antenna structure. An antenna coupling arrangement is electrically coupled to the feed point for coupling RF energy into and out of the enclosure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of antenna structures for two-way portable transceivers. More particularly, this invention relates to low profile antenna structures suitable for packaging within the battery enclosure of a portable two-way transceiver.
2. Background
One antenna which is useable in the present invention is described and claimed in the copending U.S. patent application of Stelios J. Patsiokas entitled "Low Profile Antenna Suitable For Use With Two-Way Portable Transceivers", Ser. No. 596,862, filed Apr. 4, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,863 and assigned to Motorola, Inc., the assignee of the present invention. Such patent application, Ser. No. 596,862, is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part hereof as if fully disclosed herein.
A conventional portable two-way transceiver is depicted generally as transceiver 10 in FIG. 1. An exemplary transceiver is the 800 MHz MX-300 series of radios manufactured by Motorola, Inc., the Assignee of the present invention. Such transceivers normally include an external antenna 12 attached to the uppermost portion of transceiver 10. The electronic circuitry which makes up the transmitter and receiver is normally housed primarily in a housing 14. A battery pack 16 typically attaches to the bottom portion of housing 14. This battery pack normally encloses one or more electrical battery cells along with associated decoupling components and circuitry necessary to effect and control charging of the battery cells.
Transceiver 10 is shown to have an overall height of L1 made up of the height of the antenna shown as L2, the height of the housing shown as L3 and the height of the battery pack shown as L4. For a typical model of the MX-300 series transceiver, the overall height L1 is approximately 15.4 inches, L2 is approximately 7.7 inches, L3 is approximately 4.1 inches, and L4 is approximately 3.6 inches.
The present invention allows for elimination of the conventional top-mounted antenna 12 and provides for a highly efficient radiating structure which may be placed within the battery pack. The resulting configuration is shown in FIG. 2 generally as transceiver 20. By utilizing the present invention the overall height may be significantly reduced. The resulting transceiver 20 has an overall height shown as L5 made u of the height of transceiver housing 14 which remains unchanged and the slightly increased height of the battery pack/antenna 22 shown as L6. In one embodiment of the present invention, height L6 is only 4.6 inches resulting in an overall height L5 of 8.7 inches without sacrifice of battery capacity. This is an overall reduction in height of 6.7 inches. Of course, further height reductions are possible if battery life is not a prime consideration. This height reduction is possible without significant compromise of antenna performance.
While the specific antenna configuration disclosed herein may be utilized in locations other than a battery housing, a number of important advantages are attained by placing the antenna in the battery compartment. The electrical battery cells provide an excellent counterpoise for operation of the antenna structure and help shield radiation from sensitive radio components. In addition, the antenna is well protected and less likely to be damaged when enclosed within the battery pack. Also, by removing the antenna from the upper surface of transceiver housing 14, more vital space for transceiver controls is free. This aspect is becoming increasingly important as the level of complexity of two-way portable transceivers rapidly increases.

Battery pack antenna suitable for use with two-way portable transceivers


A system and method include acquisition of a plurality of projection images of a subject, each of the projection images associated with a respective projection angle, determination, for each of the projection images, of a center-of-light location in a first image region, determination of a local fluctuation measure based on the determined center-of-light locations, and determination of a quality measure associated with the plurality of projection images based on the local fluctuation measure.

In emission imaging such as single-photon-emission-computer-tomography (SPECT), detectors rotate around a patient to acquire a set of projection images based on radiation emitted from the patient. Three-dimensional images are reconstructed from the set of projection images using known techniques. The three-dimensional images may be used for diagnosis and/or treatment planning.
Acquisition of the projection images may be performed over a timespan of a few minutes to several hours, during which the patient is likely to move. Patient motion during projection image acquisition may result in data inconsistency between the projection images. A three-dimensional image reconstructed from these projection images may exhibit poor quality and thereby hinder accurate diagnosis and treatment. If this three-dimensional image is reconstructed after the patient has been released from the scanning theater, the patient may have to return for another scan at a later time.
Conventionally, a technician may visually assess data inconsistency among projection images prior to releasing the patient. This approach is subjective and technician-dependent, and does not provide consistent or reliably repeatable results. Systems are desired to efficiently quantify data inconsistency among a set of projection images, preferably prior to image reconstruction.

Systems to assess projection data inconsistency


Embodiments of a wearable device are provided. The wearable device comprises a reusable component and a disposable component. The disposable component comprises a patient engagement substrate comprising adhesive on a bottom side, an electrode on the bottom side, a disposable component electrical connector, and a disposable component mechanical connector. The reusable component comprises a plurality of sealed housings mechanically coupled to each other and movable with respect to each other, each of the plurality of housings containing one or more of a capacitor and a controller, a reusable component mechanical connector adapted to removably connect to the disposable component mechanical connector, and a reusable component electrical connector adapted to removably connect to the disposable component electrical connector. The device can comprise a cardiopulmonary physiologic monitor or an automatic external defibrillator, among other types of devices.

International Patent Publication No. WO2017/035502 discloses multiple embodiments of an external defibrillator that is adhesively attached to the patient and that can be comfortably worn around the clock during showering, sleeping and normal activities. The adhesive patches and batteries of these devices may have useful lives that are shorter than the other components of the defibrillator. In addition, the patient may need to wear the defibrillator beyond the ends of the useful lives of the adhesive patches and/or batteries.

Wearable medical device with disposable and reusable components


A pressure vessel for transporting compressed gas at very high pressure without failing includes an inverted neck at the head so that pressure from compressed gas is applied to the neck in a converging manner. A plug valve is inserted into the opening defined by the neck to seal the pressure vessel. As pressure from the compressed gas enclosed in the pressure vessel increases, engagement between the neck and the plug also increases. Therefore, the pressure vessel can withstand higher levels of pressure from compressed gas before failing during hydro and burst testing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting compressed gas. Specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to pressure vessels for transporting compressed gas at very high pressure without failing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gases or fluids under pressure and similar materials require specialized pressurized containers for transportation. Natural gas and similar materials are often procured at locations that are remote from refineries and storage facilities, as well as the end users of the materials. Large volumes of pressurized gas are transported from field to market using various forms of transportation.
One way to transport gas between locations is through the use of pressure vessels. In general, a pressure vessel is a heavy steel module containing gas so that the gas can be moved from one location to another. A neck provides an opening to the pressure vessel and a plug or valve inserted into the neck prevents any gas from entering or exiting the pressure vessel.
Pressure vessels can withstand the pressure of enclosed gas up to a certain level. At high pressure (generally around 7500 psi for heavy duty composite reinforced pressure vessels), pressure vessels fail because they are unable to contain the gas. In particular, the high pressure exerts force outwardly on the internal walls of the head, causing the head to expand outwardly and the plug or valve to disengage from contact with the neck. When the plug is not fully engaged with the interior walls of the neck, the enclosed pressurized gas escapes from the pressure vessel through the space between the plug and the neck. This scenario presents a problem, as various gases are contained and transported at a pressure of 3000 psi this requires a test pressure of 5000 psi and a burst rating of 7500 psi. Generally, safety guidelines require the burst rating be at least 2.4 times the operating pressure. As explained below, compliance with this standard is difficult with existing technology. Typical composite reinforced pipe uses a ½″ metal shell with ½″ of composite reinforcement and ⅞″ heads welded to the ends of the metal shell. Because composite reinforcement doubles the hoop strength of the shell, the head becomes the probable point of failure.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a cross-sectional view of a pressure vessel head in the prior art. FIG. 1 depicts an area of weakness that may precipitate failure in a pressure vessel head 110 when the pressure vessel contains gas at high pressure. This illustration includes a pressure vessel head 110 that forms one end of a pressure vessel (not shown) and a neck 120 that provides an opening in the pressure vessel head 110. Note that the neck 120 protrudes distally from the pressure vessel head 110. The head 110 and neck 120 combination is typically extruded from a unitary blank to avoid weaknesses that result when the neck is welded to the head. Welding the neck to the head creates a shift spot at the weld. This less flexible spot can cause premature cyclic failure. Typically, one seeks to get at least 10,000 to 20,000 cycles out of a pressure vessel. The weld also has the potential to introduce flaws during the welding process. These factors taken together result in a welded neck being a significant failure point.
An o-ring 130 and plug 140 are engaged in the opening of the neck 120 to prevent gas contained in the pressure vessel from escaping. The gas contained in the pressure vessel creates pressure on an interior portion of the pressure vessel head 110 in the direction of the arrows 150 depicted in FIG. 1. The pressure 150 is directed in an outward direction from inside the pressure vessel head 110, pushing against the internal walls of the pressure vessel head 110 and neck 120.
When pressure 150 from the gas contained in the pressure vessel is high enough, the force from the pressure 150 causes the neck 120 and the opening created by the neck 120 to expand. When the neck 120 expands away from the plug 140, the plug 140 and o-ring 130 no longer provide an effective seal of the opening to prevent gas from escaping from the pressure vessel (even if the plug 140 may still loosely rest in the opening defined by the neck 120). More often the failure is catastrophic with the plug 140 being ejected at high speed. The failure to contain gas at high pressure presents a problem of a pressure vessel in the prior art.


This invention proposes a handling-switching apparatus in which the pieces to be handled are placed on conveyor tables constituted by rotating carpets that are inclined and set to rotation to unload the piece into collecting vessels suitably preset. A cam device is provided to control the unloading of the piece, which are operated and subsequently brought again to a non-operative position by the carriage itself while moving forward, so as to avoid the risk of breakage.

This invention proposes a handling-switching apparatus including a number of conveyor tables, each constituted by a rotating carpet on which the piece to be handled is placed and that performs unloading into collecting vessels that are determined at the moment of introducing the piece into the machine, said collecting vessels being placed along the path below the carpets. A handling-switching apparatus of this kind is already known from the Italian Patent Application No. MI91A2213 dated Jun. 6, 1991, of the same applicant.

Handling-switching apparatus with conveyor tables apt to be inclined, with unloading actuating devices controlled by said conveyor tables


Method for pan sharpening a synoptic pair of multispectral images. Each multispectral image contains multiple spectral bands of M band groups, where M is a number of band groups in a range of 1 to M. A panchromatic image associated with the synoptic pair and having a p band is also provided. for each band group m in the range of 1 to M, the method includes the steps of (a) upsampling band group m; (b) pan sharpening band group m using the p band; (c) producing a pan sharpened result for band group m; and repeating steps (a)-(c) to produce pan sharpened results for each band group from 1 to M. Pan sharpened results for band groups 1 to M are fused together to produce a master fused image.

Panchromatic imagery has lower spectral resolution and higher spatial resolution than multispectral imagery. Conversely, multispectral remotely-sensed imagery has higher spectral resolution and lower spatial resolution. While many methods have attempted to marry the two to achieve the best of both, they often result in the worst of both instead. For example, in part because the multispectral bands, specifically the red-blue-green bands, are not spectrally co-extensive with the full panchromatic band, colors are often distorted when attempting to pan sharpen the multispectral image with the panchromatic image.
One well-known color transform method in image processing is called Hue Intensity Saturation, or HIS, transform. The HIS transform is described in, for example, Gonzalez and Woods, Digital Image Processing, Section 6.2.3, pages 407-412, Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle River, N.J. 07458, which is incorporated here for all that it discloses. The HIS transform converts the red, green and blue (RGB) components of pixels in the multispectral image into values for hue (H), intensity (I) and saturation (S). When manipulating an image in the HIS color space, the values are independent so manipulation of one will not affect the others. Thus, intensity I may be manipulated without affecting the hue H or saturation S. When the manipulations are complete, the HIS color space is changed back to an adjusted RGB in a process known as reverse transformation. The multispectral image is thus "sharpened."


A control apparatus (2000) includes a control unit (2020). The control unit (2020) causes a charging apparatus (20) to perform charging of a lithium ion secondary battery (10), by controlling the charging apparatus (20). First, the control unit (2020) causes the charging apparatus (20) to perform the charging of the lithium ion secondary battery (10), until a voltage of the lithium ion secondary battery (10) becomes a predetermined voltage. Thereafter, the control unit (2020) causes the charging apparatus (2) to suspend the charging of the lithium ion secondary battery (10), until a predetermined time elapses. Therefore, the control unit (2020) causes the charging apparatus (20) to further perform the charging of the lithium ion secondary battery (10), after the suspending. The predetermined time is a time t [minute] that satisfies “t≥−A+B*x+C*y.” x[g/cm2] represents weight per unit area of a negative electrode of the lithium ion secondary battery (10). y [g/cm3] is density of the negative electrode. A is a constant that is equal to or more than 50 and equal to or less than 70. B is a constant that is equal to or more than 500 and equal to or less than 620. C is a constant that is equal to or more than 30 and equal to or less than 36.

As one of secondary batteries, a lithium ion secondary battery is used. When the lithium ion secondary battery is used, there is a need to charge the lithium ion secondary battery using a charging apparatus.
For example, there are Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3, as a technology relating to the charging of the secondary battery. Patent Document 1 disclosed a technology of measuring a terminal voltage of a secondary battery at each suspension time in an intermittent charging operation, computing a parameter which represents a charged state of the secondary battery from the measured terminal voltage, and lowering a charging electrical current based on the parameter.
Patent Document 2 disclosed a technology of determining when to start charging of a lithium ion secondary battery, based on a change ratio of an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the lithium ion secondary battery, after discharging of the lithium ion secondary battery.
Patent Document 3 discloses a technology of performing improvement of a charging cycle, by providing suspension in charging when the charging of a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is first performed.

Control apparatus, control method, and program


A half bridge power converter utilizes two oppositely phased power switches operated with unequal duty cycles. A magnetic arrangement with two inductance values having a ratio equal to the ratio of the unequal duty cycles is included in the converter to compensate for the unequal duty cycles.

An important aspect of modern power supply design is the need to increase the power density of the power supply since many power applications involve locations in which the size of the power supply relative to its power output is restricted by space considerations. The power train and control circuits in addition to being highly compact must also have high overall efficiency to limit heat creating power dissipation. An illustrative application of a high density power supply is an off-line power supply used to power a laptop computer or similar appliance. Bridge type converters are suitable for such applications since they may be designed to operate resonately, which is an operational mode permitting a very high power density and high power efficiency.
The power switching transistors in a half bridge converter have an applied voltage stress half that of the switching transistors in a push-pull converter of comparable power handling capability. Hence the half bridge converter is especially suitable for high input voltage applications such as power converters powered directly from a rectified AC power line or from a power factor correction boost converter powered off the AC line.

Zero-voltage switching power converter with ripple current cancellation


A system and method for providing timing information to a wireless device in a position determination system is disclosed. A wireless device includes a reference signal receiver, a signal processor, a wireless communications transceiver and a GPS receiver. The wireless device is adapted to receive a reference signal, extract a snippet of the received reference signal, determine a time of reception for the snippet and transmit the snippet and time of reception to a position determination entity as part of a request for GPS aiding information. The position determination entity includes a timing source, a GPS memory for storing GPS satellite information, a reference signal memory, a communications interface, a signal processor and a control processor. The position determination entity is adapted to continually receive and store a reference signal along with an associated time of reception, and receive the snippet and timestamp transmitted from the wireless device. The position determination entity is further adapted to match the signal snippet to a portion of the stored reference signal, determine a time offset between the timestamp and the time of reception of the matched portion of the stored reference signal, prepare aiding information for the wireless device, synchronize the aiding information to the wireless device using the time offset, and transmit the synchronized aiding information to the wireless device. The wireless device is further adapted to receive the aiding information, including timing information to assist the wireless device in acquiring the GPS signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to position determination systems and, in particular, to providing timing information to a wireless device in a position determination system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Systems for determining the geographic position of a wireless device are well known in the art. A commonly used position determination system is the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the United States Department of Defense. The GPS includes a network of 24 satellites that orbit the earth in six circular planes. The GPS satellites are spaced so that, at any given time and from any geographic position, at least five GPS satellites will be above the horizon. Each GPS satellite continually transmits its current time and current position for reception by GPS receivers on earth. A GPS receiver may determine its geographic position by locating the signals transmitted from four of the GPS satellites that are in view. The difference between each signal's transmission time and reception time is used to calculate the distances (i.e., pseudoranges) between the GPS receiver and each of the four GPS satellites. These distance measurements, along with the satellite position and time information received through the GPS signals, are used by the GPS receiver to synchronize its internal clock with the GPS clock and calculate its longitude, latitude and altitude with an accuracy of less than 100 meters.
The GPS satellites transmit the GPS signals on the 1575.42 MHz carrier frequency using direct spread spectrum modulation. Each GPS signal is modulated by a pseudorandom noise (PN) code that uniquely identifies the transmitting GPS satellite. Each PN code is a repeating sequence of 1023 chips that is transmitted at a rate of 1023 chips per millisecond. To locate a particular GPS signal, the GPS receiver generates a replica of the associated 1023 chip PN code sequence and searches for a matching 1023 chip sequence in a received signal. The GPS signal will be found if the GPS receiver is able to align the replica, chip-to-chip, with a 1023 chip sequence in the received signal. Many GPS receivers include correlator hardware that allows a range of contiguous chip positions (e.g., 32 chips) to be searched in parallel, thereby reducing the time needed to search across each of the 1023 chip positions. In addition, due to Doppler shift, the perceived carrier frequency of each received GPS signal will vary depending on the relative positions of the GPS receiver and the transmitting GPS satellite. Because the relative positions of the GPS satellites and GPS receiver are typically unknown, the search for a GPS signal may further require searching across a range of potential carrier frequencies.
An exhaustive search across the entire range of potential carrier frequencies for each of the 24 PN codes can be undesirably time consuming—in many cases taking minutes. To reduce the search time, GPS receivers are often provided with aiding information that may be used to help identify the GPS satellites that are in view and the associated Doppler frequencies of each associated GPS signal before commencing the search. In one approach, the GPS receiver stores almanac data describing the approximate orbits of the GPS satellites. Using the almanac data, its internal clock and an estimate of its current position, the GPS receiver calculates the approximate positions of the GPS satellites and identifies which of the 24 GPS satellites are likely to be in view. Next, the GPS receiver estimates the Doppler shift of each GPS signal transmitted from the identified GPS satellites. A search for a GPS signal may then be conducted, focusing on the PN codes of the identified GPS satellites and centered about the expected Doppler frequencies. Although the use of almanac data can reduce the search time, the use of almanac data lacks the precision and efficiency of other known approaches.
In one known approach, the GPS signal acquisition time is reduced through the use of a position determination entity (PDE). A PDE is typically part of a wireless communications network that includes a plurality of base stations and at least one mobile device. The PDE continually tracks the positions of the GPS satellites through a network of stationary GPS receivers distributed across the coverage area of the wireless communications network. Before searching for the GPS signals, the mobile device transmits a request for GPS aiding information to the PDE through a local base station. Using the identity of the local base station, the PDE determines the approximate location of the mobile device and provides the mobile device with the identities and positions of the GPS satellites that are likely to be in view, and the expected Doppler shift of each identified GPS signal. The real-time information compiled by the PDE is typically more precise than standard almanac data and often results in a shorter GPS signal acquisition time.
The GPS signal acquisition time has been reduced even further in code division multiple access (CDMA) networks. In a CDMA network, each base station maintains a clock that is synchronized with the GPS time and transmits a timing beacon to mobile devices in its coverage area. The mobile devices use the timing beacons to synchronize their internal clocks with the base station's clock, often with an accuracy of less than 4 microseconds. The PDE and stationary GPS receivers also maintain clocks that are synchronized with the GPS time. In operation, the stationary GPS receivers track the times at which the beginning of each PN frame (i.e., 1023 chip PN code sequence) is received by the stationary GPS receiver. The PDE transmits the identities of the GPS satellites in view to the mobile device, along with the associated Doppler shift and associated PN frame reception time of each GPS signal. The mobile device may use this information to identify the GPS satellites in view, the expected reception frequencies of the associated GPS signals, and the times at which the associated PN frames are expected to be received at the stationary GPS receiver. Using the received GPS timing information, the mobile device is able to quickly align the generated 1023 chip PN code sequence with a matching 1023 chip sequence from the received GPS signal.
In many wireless communications networks, however, such as asynchronous wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) networks and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, the internal clocks of the mobile devices are not necessarily synchronized with the base stations, PDEs and stationary GPS receivers. Consequently, a mobile device cannot rely on information that describes the time at which a stationary GPS receiver expects to receive the beginning of each PN frame. Transmitting such GPS timing information to the mobile device would provide little benefit in terms of reducing the GPS signal acquisition time.
In view of the above, there is a need for an improved system and method for providing timing information to a wireless device in a position determination system to assist the wireless device in acquiring GPS signals.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Time acquisition in a wireless position determination system


A semiconductor wafer of the present invention includes: a plurality of semiconductor chip areas each of which is to be a semiconductor chip; and a cut-off area for separating the plurality of semiconductor chip areas from one another so as to obtain the semiconductor chips, wherein: an integrated circuit and an electrode pad connected to the integrated circuit are provided in each of the semiconductor chip areas; and a probe pad connected to the electrode pad is provided in the cut-off area.

The present invention relates to a COC (Chip On Chip) type semiconductor device in which two semiconductor chips, each including a semiconductor integrated circuit formed on the upper surface thereof, are attached together by flip chip bonding.
In recent years, various efforts have been made in the art to realize a lower cost, a smaller size and a higher performance (e.g., a higher speed, and a lower power consumption) for a semiconductor device including an integrated circuit. For example, a COC type semiconductor device has been proposed in the art, in which two semiconductor chips are attached together by flip chip bonding, the two semiconductor chips including LSIs of different functions or LSIs that are produced by different processes.
A conventional semiconductor device in which two semiconductor chips are attached together by flip chip bonding, and a method for manufacturing the same, will now be described.
FIG. 11A is a schematic diagram illustrating a semiconductor wafer having formed therein a plurality of semiconductor chip areas each of which is to be a semiconductor chip mounted on a conventional semiconductor device. FIG. 11B is a plan view illustrating the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer of FIG. 11A on an enlarged scale.
As illustrated in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, a plurality of semiconductor chip areas 2 are formed on a semiconductor wafer 1. The semiconductor chip areas 2 are partitioned from one another by a separation line 3, and a plurality of electrode pads 4 are formed in each of the semiconductor chip areas 2. The semiconductor chip areas 2 are cut off from one another along the separation line 3 into semiconductor chips that are each mounted on a conventional semiconductor device.
Each electrode pad 4 formed in a semiconductor chip area 2 is used as an external electrode pad for electrical connection to an external circuit in some cases, and as a probe pad for an electrical inspection of the semiconductor chip in other cases. Thus, each electrode pad functions both as an external electrode pad and as an inspection electrode pad. Note that only the electrode pads 4 are drawn in the semiconductor chip areas 2 in FIG. 11B, and other wires, etc., are not shown in the figure.
FIG. 12A is a schematic diagram illustrating a semiconductor chip 2a that has been cut out from the semiconductor wafer 1 and another semiconductor chip 5, which are to be provided in a conventional semiconductor device, and FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the conventional semiconductor device.
As illustrated in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B, a bump electrode 6 formed on an electrode pad 8 and an external electrode pad 7 are formed on the upper surface of the semiconductor chip 5. Moreover, a bump electrode 9 is formed on an electrode pad 4 on the upper surface of the semiconductor chip 2a. In a conventional semiconductor device 200, the semiconductor chip 5 and the semiconductor chip 2a are attached together by flip chip bonding, with the bump electrode 6 and the bump electrode 9 being connected together. As illustrated in FIG. 12A, the semiconductor chip 2a is mounted on an area of the upper surface of the semiconductor chip 5 that is indicated by a broken line.
In the conventional semiconductor device 200, the space between the semiconductor chip 5 and the semiconductor chip 2a is filled with an insulative resin 10, as illustrated in FIG. 12B. Moreover, the semiconductor chip 5 is fixed on a die pad 11 of a lead frame. Furthermore, the external electrode pad 7 of the semiconductor chip 5 and an inner lead 12 of the lead frame are electrically connected to each other by a thin metal wire 13. The semiconductor chip 5, the semiconductor chip 2a, the die pad 11, the inner lead 12 and the thin metal wire 13 are encapsulated by an encapsulation resin 14.
Next, a method for manufacturing the conventional semiconductor device 200 will be described.
First, an insulative resin is applied on a central portion of the upper surface of the semiconductor chip 5. Then, the semiconductor chip 2a is pressed against the semiconductor chip 5, and the bump electrode 6 of the semiconductor chip 5 is connected to the bump electrode 9 of the semiconductor chip 2a. Note that the insulative resin may alternatively be injected into the space between the semiconductor chip 5 and the semiconductor chip 2a after they are connected together by flip chip bonding.
Then, after the external electrode pad 7 of the semiconductor chip 5 and the inner lead 12 of the lead frame are connected to each other by the thin metal wire 13, the semiconductor chip 2a, the semiconductor chip 5, the die pad 11, the inner lead 12 and the thin metal wire 13 are encapsulated by the encapsulation resin 14. Then, an outer lead of the lead frame protruding from the encapsulation resin 14 is shaped, thereby obtaining the semiconductor device 200.
However, with the conventional semiconductor device 200, the external electrode pad 7 to which the thin metal wire 13 is connected needs to be provided along the periphery of the semiconductor chip 5. In addition, the position at which the external electrode pad 7 is provided needs to be outside an area S on which the semiconductor chip 2a is to be mounted, as illustrated in FIG. 12A. Thus, the size of the semiconductor chip 5 needs to be larger than the size of the semiconductor chip 2a.
A possible way to reduce the size of the semiconductor device is to reduce the size of the semiconductor chip 2a and thus the size of the semiconductor chip 5. However, it is difficult to reduce the size of the semiconductor chip 2a for the following reason.
The semiconductor chip areas 2 formed on the semiconductor wafer 1 are electrically inspected by a probing process, and only non-defective semiconductor chip areas are picked up. Then, those semiconductor chip areas 2 that have been picked up are separated, thereby obtaining semiconductor chips 2a, each of which is attached to the semiconductor chip 5 by flip chip bonding.
A probe pad is required in order to perform an electrical inspection by a probing process, and some of the electrode pads 4 in each semiconductor chip area 2 (semiconductor chip 2a) are probe pads. A probe may slide after contacting the electrode pad 4 being a probe pad. Therefore, in order to ensure that the probe contacts the electrode pad 4 being a probe pad, the electrode pad 4 being a probe pad needs to be formed with a size larger than a square of 70 xcexcmxc3x9770 xcexcm. This necessarily increases the size of the semiconductor chip 2a. Thus, it is difficult to reduce the size of the semiconductor chip 2a.
Moreover, as semiconductor devices are provided with a higher performance (e.g., a higher speed, and a lower power consumption), the formation of a probe pad in the semiconductor chip area 2 (semiconductor chip 2a) makes non-negligible the influence of the capacitance, the inductance, etc., of each of the probe pad, the electrode pad, the protection circuit for the electrode pad, the bump electrode and the wire.
The present invention has been made to solve the problem in the prior art, and has an object to provide a semiconductor device having a small size and a high performance.
A semiconductor wafer of the present invention includes: a plurality of semiconductor chip areas each of which is to be a semiconductor chip; and a cut-off area for separating the plurality of semiconductor chip areas from one another so as to obtain the semiconductor chips, wherein: an integrated circuit and an electrode pad connected to the integrated circuit are provided in each of the semiconductor chip areas; and a probe pad connected to the electrode pad is provided in the cut-off area.
With the semiconductor wafer of the present invention, the semiconductor wafer is inspected by contacting a probe to the probe pad, after which the cut-off area having the probe pad, which is no longer needed after the inspection, is cut off and removed. Thus, the size of the semiconductor chip area to be the semiconductor chip is reduced. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor chip that is smaller than a semiconductor chip obtained from a conventional semiconductor wafer. Moreover, since the probe pad has been cut off and removed in the obtained semiconductor chip, it is not necessary to take into consideration the capacitance and the inductance of the probe pad. Therefore, the capacitance and the inductance of wires such as the electrode pad of the semiconductor chip of the present invention are smaller than those of the conventional semiconductor chip.
The number of electrode pads formed in each of the semiconductor chip areas may be larger than the number of probe pads connected to the electrode pads.
It is preferred that a pitch of the electrode pads formed in each of the semiconductor chip areas is smaller than a pitch of the probe pads connected to the electrode pads.
In this way, the shape of the probe pad can be elongated in the direction in which the probe is slid on the probe pad during the inspection. Thus, the inspection can be more reliable.
A size of the electrode pad formed in each of the semiconductor chip areas may be smaller than a size of the probe pad connected to the electrode pad.
The probe pads connected to the electrode pads may be formed along one, two or three sides of each of the semiconductor chip area.
A protection circuit for the probe pad may be provided in the cut-off area.
It is preferred that a wire connected to the electrode pad formed in each of the semiconductor chip areas is formed in a wiring layer that is below a wiring layer in which a wire connected to the probe pad is formed.
In this way, the wiring length from the internal circuit to the electrode pad can be reduced. Thus, the line capacitance can be reduced.
A semiconductor device of the present invention includes: a first semiconductor chip including a first integrated circuit, a first electrode pad connected to the first integrated circuit, and a first bump electrode formed on the first electrode pad; a second semiconductor chip including a second integrated circuit, a second electrode pad connected to the second integrated circuit, and a second bump electrode formed on the second electrode pad, wherein: a section of an inspection wire connected to the first electrode pad is exposed on a side surface of the first semiconductor chip; and the first bump electrode and the second bump electrode are electrically connected to each other.
With the semiconductor device of the present invention, the inspection wire, which is no longer needed after the inspection, is cut off and removed, and the area in which the inspection wire is provided is also removed. Thus, the size of the first semiconductor chip is smaller than that of a conventional semiconductor chip. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor device that is smaller than a conventional semiconductor device. Moreover, since the inspection wire is cut off and removed from the first semiconductor chip, it is not necessary to take into consideration the capacitance and the inductance of the inspection wire. Therefore, the capacitance and the inductance of wires such as the electrode pad of the semiconductor device of the present invention are smaller than those of the conventional semiconductor device.
In the semiconductor device of the present invention, a probe pad may not be provided in the first semiconductor chip.
An external electrode pad for connection to an external circuit may be formed along a periphery of the second semiconductor chip.
An insulative resin may be provided between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip.
The first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip may be encapsulated by an encapsulation resin.
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention includes the steps of: (a) preparing a first semiconductor wafer, the first semiconductor wafer including: a plurality of first semiconductor chip areas each of which is to be a first semiconductor chip; and a cut-off area for separating the plurality of first semiconductor chip areas from one another so as to obtain the first semiconductor chips, wherein: a first integrated circuit and a first electrode pad connected to the first integrated circuit are provided in each of the first semiconductor chip areas; and a probe pad connected to the first electrode pad is provided in the cut-off area; (b) inspecting each of the first semiconductor chips by contacting a probe to the probe pad; (c) forming a first bump electrode on the first electrode pad; (d) removing the cut-off area of the first semiconductor wafer so as to obtain the first semiconductor chips from the first semiconductor chip areas; (e) preparing a second semiconductor wafer, the second semiconductor wafer including a plurality of second semiconductor chip areas each of which includes a second integrated circuit, and a second electrode pad connected to the second integrated circuit, and each of which is to be a second semiconductor chip; (f) forming a second bump electrode on the second electrode pad formed in each of the second semiconductor chip areas; (g) heating and pressing the first bump electrode and the second bump electrode against each other so as to electrically connect the first bump electrode and the second bump electrode to each other; and (h) cutting the second semiconductor wafer so as to separate the second semiconductor chip areas from one another.
With the method of the present invention, the probe pad, which is no longer needed after the inspection, is cut off and removed from the first semiconductor chip. Thus, the size of the first semiconductor chip is smaller than that of a conventional semiconductor chip. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor device that is smaller than a conventional semiconductor device. Moreover, since the probe pad is cut off and removed from the first semiconductor chip, it is not necessary to take into consideration the capacitance and the inductance of the probe pad in the obtained semiconductor device. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor device in which the capacitance and the inductance of wires such as the electrode pad are smaller than those of the conventional semiconductor device.
In the step (g), an insulative resin may be supplied between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip.
In the step (c) and the step (f), the first bump electrode and the second bump electrode may be formed by using one of an electroplating method, an electroless plating method, a printing method, a dipping method, and a stud bump method.
In the step (c), the first bump electrode may be made of one of an alloy containing tin and silver, an alloy containing tin and lead, tin, nickel, copper, indium, and gold.

Semiconductor wafer, semiconductor device, and method for manufacturing the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A lamp driving device is provided for driving plural lamps. The lamp driving device includes a power conversion circuit and plural lamp connectors. The power conversion circuit is capable of converting an input voltage into a first DC voltage, and outputting a first current having a constant current value. The plural lamp connectors are serially connected with each other, and have respective positive terminals and respective negative terminals connected with corresponding lamps, thereby outputting respective output voltages and respective output currents to corresponding lamps. The first DC voltage is subject to voltage-division to obtain the output voltages, and the magnitudes of the output voltages from the lamps are substantially identical.

Nowadays, with increasing awareness of environmental protection, more and more electronic devices are designed in views of power-saving concepts. Therefore, it is very important to increase the operating efficiency of the electronic devices. In recent years, for example, light emitting diodes (LEDs) capable of emitting light with high luminance and high illuminating efficiency have been developed. In comparison with a common incandescent light, a LED has lower power consumption, long service life, and quick response speed. Until now, LEDs are widely used in many aspects such as household lighting devices, automobile lighting devices, handheld lighting devices, indicator board displays, and the like.
FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating a conventional lamp driving device. As shown in FIG. 1, some lamps 1A, 1B and 1C are installed at different positions within a house according to the practical requirements. In addition, a lamp driving device 1 is used for simultaneously driving these lamps 1A, 1B and 1C. The lamp driving device 1 is a two-stage power conversion circuit. In particular, the two-stage power conversion circuit comprises a first-stage circuit 11 and a second-stage circuit 12. The first-stage circuit 11 is an AC-to-DC converter. The first-stage circuit 11 is configured to convert an input voltage Vin into a bus voltage Vbus having a constant voltage value, and transmit the bus voltage Vbus to second-stage circuit 12. The second-stage circuit 12 comprises a first DC-to-DC converter 121, a second DC-to-DC converter 122 and a third DC-to-DC converter 123. The output terminals of the first DC-to-DC converter 121 are connected with a first lamp connector 131A and 131B. The output terminals of the second DC-to-DC converter 122 are connected with a second lamp connector (132A, 132B). The output terminals of the third DC-to-DC converter 123 are connected with a third lamp connector (133A, 133B). The first lamp connector (131A, 131B), the second lamp connector (132A, 132B) and the third lamp connector (133A, 133B) are respectively connected with the lamps 1A, 1B and 1C. Through the three lamp connectors, three output voltages Vo1, Vo2 and Vo3 are respectively transmitted to the lamps 1A, 1B and 1C.
In a case that the lamp switch 10 is in the on status, the input voltage Vin is transmitted to the input terminal of the first-stage circuit 11 through the lamp switch 10. By the first-stage circuit 11, the input voltage Vin is converted into a bus voltage Vbus having a constant voltage value (e.g. about 52V). The bus voltage Vbus is inputted into the input terminals of the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123. By the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123, the voltage of the bus voltage Vbus is reduced. As a consequence, the first output voltage Vo1, the second output voltage Vo2 and the third output voltage Vo3 are outputted from the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123, respectively.
Moreover, the lamp driving device 1 is configured to drive plural LED lamps that comply with the same specification. As known, the brightness value of the LED is in a direct proportion to the current. For achieving identical brightness values of these LED lamps, the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123 should be manufactured according to the same specification. Consequently, each of the magnitudes of the output voltages Vo1, Vo2 and Vo3 is, for example, about 50V, and the magnitudes of the output currents Io1, Io2 and Io3 are substantially identical. However, due to different fabricating conditions of the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123 are usually different and the component tolerance, the performance of the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123 may be different. In other words, the magnitudes of the output currents Io1, Io2 and Io3 provided by the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123 are different in most situations.
Moreover, since both of the first-stage circuit 11 and the second-stage circuit 12 consume power, there is a power loss after the input voltage is converted by the first-stage circuit 11 and the second-stage circuit 12 into the output voltages required for powering the lamps. Under this circumstance, the power efficiency is reduced, the power consumption is increased, and the operating efficiency of the lamp driving device is unsatisfied. Moreover, since each of the DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123 has an inner controlling circuit, the circuitry is complicated, and it is difficult and costly to integrate these DC-to-DC converters 121, 122 and 123 into a single module. In other words, if the number of lamps to be driven is increased (e.g. if the lamp driving device is used to drive six lamps), the circuitry of the lamp driving device should be re-designed without directly replacing the module. As known, the process of re-designing and fabricating the lamp driving device is time-consuming and costly.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved lamp driving device so as to obviate one of the above-mentioned drawbacks encountered from the prior art.


A frozen aerated confection having an overrun of at least 40% and a fat component in an amount of 2 to 20% (by weight of the frozen aerated confection), said fat component comprising triglycerides of fatty acids wherein no more than 55% (by weight of the fatty acids) of the fatty acids in the triglycerides are saturated, less than 8% (by weight of the triglycerides) of the triglycerides are long chain SSS triglycerides; characterized in that the ratio of the percentage of fat that is solid at 5° C. to the percentage of the fatty acids in the triglycerides that are saturated (by weight of the fatty acids) is greater than 1 and in that the fat component comprises at most 60% (by weight) cocoa butter or shea nut oil.

Fat is an important constituent of frozen aerated confections such as ice cream. Fats are largely made up of triglycerides (approximately 98%), together with minor amounts of other components such as phospholipids and diglycerides. Triglycerides are esters of glycerol with three fatty acids, which may be the same or different. Fatty acids which have no carbon-carbon double bonds are said to be saturated (herein abbreviated as SAFA), whereas fatty acids that contain one or more carbon-carbon double bonds are said to be unsaturated.
The conventional manufacturing process for frozen aerated confections consists of a number of steps: (i) mixing the ingredients, (ii) pasteurisation and homogenisation, (iii) ageing, (iv) aerating and partially freezing the mix, (v) extrusion from the freezer, and (vi) hardening. This process is described in detail in, for example, Arbuckle, W. S., Ice Cream, 4th Edition, AVI publishing 1986, chapters 11-13. In the ageing step, the mix is held at a low temperature, typically 4° C., for a period of time, typically a few hours. One purpose of the ageing step is to allow time for the fat (which is liquid at the pasteurization temperature) to crystallize before the mix is frozen and aerated. Traditionally, frozen aerated confections such as ice cream have been prepared with fats having a high proportion of saturated fat, for example dairy fat (60-70%) or coconut oil (>90%). Saturated fats are used because they crystallise relatively easily during the ageing step so that most of the fat is solid during freezing and aeration. This is important because the presence of solid fat results in ice cream that can be aerated uniformly and consistently, retains its shape after extrusion and has a good texture when eaten. Shape retention is a critical factor in producing some product formats, for example Viennetta™. Such products cannot normally be produced with a low level of solid fat.
Consumers are now looking for frozen aerated confections which have all the properties of these traditional products but which are healthier. One concern that consumers have is that eating saturated fats increases the low density lipoproteins (LDL) in their circulation. Increased LDL levels are believed to be associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Replacing the saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats has been proposed as one way to reduce the amount of potentially harmful LDLs in the blood.
Ice creams made with fats having SAFA levels lower than those of dairy fat are known. JP 55/153561 describes the use of the medium-melting fraction of palm oil to produce ice cream which has similar palatability and melting properties in the mouth to ice cream based on milk fat. However, the SAFA contents relatively high and the problem of reducing the SAFA content is not addressed.
Attempts have also been made to produce frozen aerated confections using fats with low saturated fatty acid contents. However, it is difficult to design low SAFA fats for frozen aerated confections because a number of different interacting criteria must be satisfied simultaneously. Simply replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats provides the health benefit, but at the expense of the processability and texture of the confection because unsaturated fats do not contain sufficient solid fat. JP 57/036944 describes the production of ice cream with oils that are very low in SAFA, such as safflower oil and sunflower oil. To overcome the problem of producing good ice cream with liquid fat, it was found necessary to use a special emulsifier in the form of a sucrose fatty acid ester. However, such additives can detract from the attractiveness of the product to consumers.
There is a need therefore to provide low SAFA fats for use in frozen aerated confections which give good processing properties (such as aeration and shape retention on extrusion) and good texture for the consumer, but do not require other additives, such as sucrose fatty acid esters.


A guidewire system for use in catheter exchanges avoids the need for a separate exchange wire by connecting an extension wire to the proximal end of the guidewire thereby increasing the effective length of the guidewire to permit a catheter exchange. The proximal end of the guidewire is attached to the distal end of the exchange wire by a disconnectible reattachable connection which avoids deformation of the connected joint.

In some catheterization procedures, it is desirable to use a series of sequentially placed catheters. For example, in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty procedures, in which a balloon catheter is advanced into a stenosed region of the patient's coronary artery and is inflated within the stenosis to dilate the lumen of the artery, it is not uncommon for the physician to require the sequential use of several balloon dilatation catheters having balloons of progressively increasing size. Typically, such catheters are used in connection with a guidewire that extends through the catheter and serves as a guide along which the catheter may be advanced to the stenosis. When performing such a catheter exchange, it is important to do so without significantly shifting the position of the guidewire so that the guidewire may be used to guide the next catheter to the stenosis. In order to maintain guidewire position, conventional practice has been to use a relatively long exchange wire. The exchange wire, which typically is of the order of 300 cm long (as compared to a conventional guidewire length of the order of 175 cm) is first exchanged for the conventional guidewire by removing the conventional guidewire from the indwelling catheter and replacing it with the longer exchange wire. Then the indwelling catheter is withdrawn over the exchange wire, the exchange wire being sufficiently long so that it is never completely covered by the withdrawn catheter, thereby enabling the exchange wire to be held in position by the physician or an assistant during the catheter withdrawal. After the initial catheter is removed, the succeeding catheter is advanced over the exchange wire which guides the second catheter to the stenosis. The exchange wire then may be removed and may be replaced with a conventional length guidewire which, typically, will be more easily manipulated during the continuing angioplasty procedure.
The foregoing procedures are time consuming and somewhat awkward. A significant advance in the technique for effecting catheter exchanges has been developed and has been in use enables exchange of catheters without using separate exchange wires. That system utilizes an extension wire that is attached to the proximal end of the indwelling conventional guidewire. That effectively extends the overall length of the guidewire to that needed for the catheter exchange. The system uses a connection in which the distal end of an extension wire is telescopically connected with the proximal end of the guidewire.
In one such system described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/206,008 filed Jun. 13, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,364, a connection system for a guidewire and guidewire extension utilizes a telescoping connector that is self-latching, disconnectible and reconnectible without deformation of the guidewire or the extension. The connection enables the guidewire extension to be attached for a catheter exchange, then disconnected after the catheter exchange is complete to permit the guidewire and catheter to be manipulated and operated conventionally. Should another catheter exchange be required, the extension wire, which may be reused, is simply reconnected to the proximal end of the guidewire and the catheter exchange procedure may be repeated. The number of guidewire-extension wire connections and disconnections is unlimited as is the number of catheter exchanges that may be performed with the system. More particularly, the guidewire is provided with a tubular socket on the proximal end. The extension wire includes a shaft having a distal end that is dimensioned to be received in the socket. A segment of the distal end of the shaft is surrounded by a helical coil, preferably formed from rectangular cross-section wire. The coil is attached to the extension wire shaft at the distal end of the coil but is free at the proximal end of the coil to enable the coil to stretch and contract about the shaft. The distal end of the extension wire carrying the coil is easily insertable into the socket on the proximal end of the guidewire but self-locks in the socket and cannot be easily withdrawn. The extension wire and guidewire may be disconnected easily, however, by twisting the guidewire extension while simultaneously withdrawing it axially from the socket. The twisting motion frees the locking engagement of the helical coil with the internal surface of the socket.
Although the above-described self-latching reconnectible guidewire system has been used widely by physicians, it would be desirable to improve the convenience of the device. In particular, it is common for guidewires to come in several different diameters, each such guidewire presenting somewhat different operational characteristics. Among the most common diameters for steerable coronary guidewires are those having outer diameters of 0.012" and 0.014". The sockets on the proximal ends of the 0.012" and 0.014" guidewires have different inner diameters and, therefore, each requires a differently dimensioned connector coil on its associated extension wire. Consequently, a separate extension wire must be used with each separate diameter guidewire. That, in turn, requires that different size extension wires be stocked and in readiness for use by the physician. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide an extension wire usable universally with both sizes of guidewires.

Guidewire extension with self-latching detachable connector


A mica tape comprising a mica foil, a glass cloth, and an inorganic filler arranged on the glass cloth, wherein the mica tape is wound a plurality of times about an outer circumferential surface of a conductor portion of an electrical rotating machine coil so as to form an insulating layer for the coil, and the inorganic filler has a Mohs hardness falling within a range of 1 to 7 and exhibits a heat conductivity superior to those of the mica foil and the glass cloth, whereby, the inorganic filler is excellent in the heat conductivity and has a Mohs hardness not lower than that of the glass cloth contained in the mica tape, when used together with the inorganic filler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mica tape that is wound a plurality of times around the outer circumferential surface of a conductor of an electrical rotating machine coil so as to form an electric insulating layer, to an electrical rotating machine coil prepared by winding the mica tape around the electrical conductor so as to form a good insulating layer having a good heat conductivity, and to an electrical rotating machine using the electrical rotating machine coil.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to the art that a coil is used as a stator winding or a rotor winding in an electrical rotating machine such as a dynamo or an electric motor. The coil is prepared by winding a plurality of times a mica tape around an electrical conductor formed of, for example, a flat element wire having a rectangular cross section so as to impart electrical insulating properties to the coil, followed by heating under pressure the mica tape together with an adhesive resin so as to form an integral structure of an insulating layer.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view exemplifying the construction of a stator coil of an electrical rotating machine including an insulating layer formed of the conventional mica tape.
As shown in FIG. 7, a slot 53 is formed in a stator core 51 prepared by laminating a plurality of electromagnetic steel plates one upon the other.
A stator coil 52 formed of an element wire having a rectangular gross section is housed in the stator core 51. The stator coil 52 comprises a conductor portion 52a and an insulating layer 52b formed around the conductor portion 52a. In general, the stator coil 52 has a double layer structure including an upper coil and a lower coil. In this case, however, the stator coil 52 alone is shown as the lower coil in the drawing for the sake of brevity. It should be noted that under the lower coil 52 is arranged a spacer 54 in a space between the lower coil 52 and the bottom portion of the slot 53.
In some cases, it is possible for a high voltage and a large current to be applied to the conductor portion 52a of the coil 52 depending on the specification of the electrical rotating machine. Such being the situation, an insulating layer 52b is formed around the conductor portion 52a in order to avoid an accident such as the ground short-circuit caused by the applied high voltage. For forming the insulating layer 52b, it was customary in the past to wind a plurality of times a mica tape 61 having a cross-sectional structure as shown in FIG. 8 around the conductor portion 52a, followed by heating the mica tape under pressure so as to form an integral structure of the insulating layer 52b excellent in the electrical insulating properties.
As shown in FIG. 8, the mica tape 61 comprises a mica layer 63 including a plurality of scale-like mica foils 62 that are laminated one upon the other so as to form a layer-like structure and a glass cloth 64 laminated below the mica layer 63 for reinforcing the mica layer 63. The glass cloth 64 is prepared by weaving glass fibers 65 in vertical and lateral directions. Mica is widely used as a material excellent in electrical insulating properties. However, since the bonding strength among the scale-like mica foils is weak, it is difficult to use a tape prepared by simply bonding the mica foils for the fastening purpose.
Such being the situation, the glass cloth 64 prepared by vertically and laterally weaving the glass fibers 65 is included for the reinforcing purpose in the mica tape 61 so as to make it possible to use the mica tape 61 to be wound around the conductor portion 52a with a high tension.
On the other hand, if a large current flows within the conductor portion 52a of the coil 52, Joule heat is generated within the conductor portion 52a because of the Joule loss. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the Joule heat generation efficiently. The Joule heat generation can be removed by the cooling with, for example, a hydrogen gas or the air. In any case, it is necessary to remove the heat from the conductor portion 52a via the insulating layer 52b.
Since the heat conductivity of the insulating layer 52b greatly affects the entire cooling capacity, it was customary to study in the past how to improve the heat conductivity of the insulating layer 52b. To be more specific, it was proposed in the past to add an inorganic filler (not shown) as a material having a high heat conductivity to the glass cloth 64 included in the mica tape 61.
A mica tape containing aluminum oxide as an inorganic filler having a high heat conductivity is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Disclosure (Kokai) No. 2003-9446.
Inorganic fillers excellent in the heat conductivity also include aluminum nitride and silicon nitride in addition to the aluminum oxide noted above.
However, any of the inorganic fillers excellent in the heat conductivity exemplified above has a high hardness. For example, aluminum oxide has a Mohs hardness of 12.
As described previously with reference to FIG. 8, the glass cloth 64 prepared by weaving the glass fibers 65 is used for reinforcing the mica tape 61. It should be noted that glass has a Mohs harness of about 7. In the case of using a mica tape prepared by adding aluminum oxide having a Mohs hardness of 12 as a filler, it was possible for the aluminum oxide to damage the glass cloth 64 particularly at the corner portion of the conductor when the mica tape is wound about the conductive wire having a rectangular cross section, with the result that the glass cloth 64 is broken, leading possibly to the breakage of the mica tape.
Particularly, in order to form the insulating layer 52b as strong as possible, the mica tape is wound a plurality of times about the element wire having a rectangular cross section. In winding the mica tape, it is necessary to increase the tension of the mica tape as much as possible so as to permit the mica tape to be brought into contact more strongly with the element wire. With increase in the tension noted above, the compressive strength applied within the mica tape is increased, with the result that the planar pressure applied between the glass cloth and the inorganic filler is also increased. It follows that the mica tape tends to be broken easily so as to make it impossible to increase the tension as much as required. As a result, a gap is generated between the formed insulating layer and the surfaces of the wire element having a rectangular cross section. Such being the situation, the heat dissipation and the insulating properties were not sufficiently satisfactory.

MICA tape, electrical rotating machine coil, and electrical rotating machine comprising the electrical rotating machine coil


A cleansing product suitable for making the cleaning of both inanimate and animate surfaces more fun and effective for children is disclosed. Specifically, the cleansing product is capable of expanding in volume under certain temperature conditions, and in some embodiments, can additionally include a coloring agent, providing a color change to indicate when sufficient cleansing has been performed.

The present disclosure generally relates to a cleansing product for cleaning both inanimate and animate surfaces capable of expanding in volume under certain temperature conditions. More particularly, the cleansing product is a hand sponge for cleaning hard surfaces or for cleansing the body. Furthermore, the hand sponge can additionally include a coloring agent, providing a color change to indicate when sufficient cleansing has been performed.
According to the Center for Disease Control, proper cleansing can be one of the most effective steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of diseases and infections. Specifically, proper bodily cleansing according to various sources requires not only using soap but also washing for a sufficiently long period of time in order to remove dirt and any microorganisms that may be present on the skin. For example, the Center for Disease Control has stated that cleaning should last at least 15 seconds.
Adults and children alike, however, tend to hurry through the task of washing and typically do not use soap, do not use a sufficient amount of soap, or do not rub a soap product over their skin for a sufficient length of time necessary to remove substantially all microorganisms that may be present.
Children in particular are known not to appreciate the importance of good hygiene and generally dislike the task of washing even though children continue to play in environments where microorganisms are freely transferred. Parents and other adults attempt to remind children continuously of the need to properly wash. Even with constant reminders, however, children continue to not wash properly unless an adult is actually present during the task. Adult supervision, however, is not often practical during every cleansing episode.
Similarly, children generally dislike participating in household chores which involve cleaning messes off of inanimate surfaces such as sinks, countertops, bathtubs, and tables. As such, many children fail to help with the chores at all or spend insufficient time washing the surfaces to ensure sanitary conditions have been attained.
As such, there is a need in the art to encourage children and adults alike to participate in proper cleansing practices and extend the amount of time spent on cleansing activities on both the skin and inanimate surfaces. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to have a cleansing product that could make cleaning fun for children. In this manner, parents and caretakers would be free from supervising every cleansing activity as they could be assured that their children were doing an adequate job.

Foaming hand sponge with color change indicator