A surgical cutting instrument including an outer tube having a bearing sleeve disposed within a lumen thereof, along with an inner wire assembly extending through the outer tube and the bearing sleeve. A cutting tip is connected to the inner wire assembly distal the outer tube. Conversely, a coupling chuck is connected to a proximal section of the inner wire assembly, with a housing maintaining the outer tube and the coupling chuck. When mounted to a motor, the inner wire assembly is rotated to effectuate a surgical cutting procedure at the cutting tip, with the bearing sleeve supporting the inner wire assembly relative to the outer tube during rotation.

The present invention relates to a surgical cutting instrument. More particularly, it relates to a high speed surgical cutting instruments, such as a bone-cutting bur, usable with various size cutting tips and adapted for minimal interference with surgical site visibility.
Surgical cutting instruments including a cutting tip are usually connected to a motorized handpiece for rotating the cutting tip at various speeds to perform a variety of surgical cutting procedures. Many high speed surgical cutting instrument designs impair visibility of a surgical site during a cutting procedure. For example, high speed surgical cutting instruments often employ a straight bur extender including a ball bearing assembly between an outer support sleeve and a rotating inner cutter shaft. Outer diameters of such outer support sleeves are relatively large (e.g., on the order of 6 mm) to accommodate a ball bearing assembly. Such relatively large outer diameters create blind spots and otherwise impair surgical site visibility during cutting. Other line-of-sight and handling concerns are often encountered with straight bur extenders. For example, the straight support sleeves associated with straight bur extenders are typically in or near a surgeon's line of sight during cutting.
In view of the above, it would be desirable for a surgical cutting instrument to have a reduced diameter and/or angle or bend away from an associated handpiece to improve visibility, ergonomics, or other performance or cost factors. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide a curved bur extender operable at relatively high speeds with small burs (e.g., about 2 mm) as well as larger burs (e.g., burs having diameters greater than about 2 mm, from about 3 mm to about 4 mm, or at least about 3 mm).


According to one embodiment, a wireless communication device includes a first transmitting/receiving unit, a first physical processor, and a first MAC processor. The first transmitting/receiving unit transmits one first wireless signal and receives a second wireless signal by a first wireless communication method using a frequency band with a certain bandwidth. The first physical processor decodes the second wireless signal to obtain a frame and encodes a frame of the first wireless signal to be transmitted. The first MAC processor supplies a control frame generated by embedding a first frame to a MAC header of a second frame to the physical processor as the frame. The first frame is recognizable by the first wireless communication method and a second wireless communication method. The second frame is recognizable by the first wireless communication method but is not recognizable by the second wireless communication method.

Multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) communication is defined in the IEEE 802.11n standard. In MIMO communication, all the streams simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of antennas are transmitted to a wireless terminal. This is referred to as single MIMO communication. Meanwhile, a stream is transmitted from an antenna.
The IEEE 802.11ac standard is now being formulated as a next generation communication standard of the IEEE 802.11n standard, and by this, communication by a multi-user MIMO method, which performs wireless communication between the wireless base station and a plurality of wireless terminals, is studied.
Unlike single-user MIMO communication, in multi-user MIMO communication, a plurality of streams simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of antennas may be transmitted to different terminals. In general, in the wireless communication including single-/multi-user MIMO communication, an uplink and downlink pair is often formed between the wireless base station and the wireless terminals and made the transmission and reception of the data.
In a wireless communication system in which a wireless communication device complying with multi-user MIMO communication and a wireless communication device which performs wireless communication according to a standard other than this standard are accommodated, it is required to efficiently transmit and receive the data.

Wireless communication device and communication method thereof


A bike mount for securing a bike on a vehicle includes a wheel clamp and securing devices for mounting bikes of various types, dimensions, and styles in one or more tray portions, extending between a pair of crossbars or other support structures.

Top-mounted vehicle racks provide a versatile platform for transporting bicycles, skis, snowboards, boats, cargo boxes, gear racks, and other items. Such racks may include crossbars that extend side-to-side across the top of a vehicle. The crossbars typically are supported on each side of the vehicle's roof by a tower, where the length of each crossbar and the distance between crossbars depend on factors such as the shape and size of the vehicle's roof. The towers supporting the rack crossbars are securely fastened to the vehicle in some manner, to prevent the rack from slipping during use.
With the growing popularity of bicycling as a recreational activity, vehicles are often equipped with racks specifically configured to transport bicycles. Various systems have been developed to secure and stabilize bicycles on vehicle-mounted crossbars. One such system utilizes a fork block mounted to one of the bars with a skewer extending therethrough to receive and grip the front forks of a bicycle. Typically in such systems, a wheel tray extends from the fork block to the other crossbar to receive the rear tire of the bicycle. While these systems typically securely hold the bicycle in place, they have the disadvantage that the user must remove the front wheel of the bicycle before placing it in the rack, and then secure the front wheel separately to the rack or store it inside the vehicle.
Another common system used to attach a bicycle to vehicle-mounted crossbars secures both wheels of the bicycle to a wheel tray extending between the crossbars. This has the advantage that the user may secure the bicycle to the rack without removing the front wheel of the bicycle, but in such systems, a mechanism other than a fork block must be provided to secure the front end of the bicycle to the rack. Such mechanisms may include various combinations of straps, clamps, and stabilizing bars that attach to various points on the bicycle frame and/or wheels.
Frame attachment may effectively secure the bicycle to the vehicle rack. However, the rigidity of the bicycle frame may transfer potentially damaging motions from the vehicle to the bicycle. As a result, the frame may be damaged structurally. In addition, points of carrier engagement on the frame may be damaged cosmetically, that is, dented or scratched.
Wheel attachment overcomes some of the problems associated with frame attachment, because bicycle tires have an inherent shock-absorbing ability, which generally reduces the effects of sudden vehicle motions on an attached bicycle. However, some wheel-based carriers do not grip a bicycle wheel tightly enough to safely carry a bicycle on a vehicle roof at high speeds. Other wheel-based carriers are not designed for easy bicycle loading on a vehicle roof. As a result, it may be difficult for one person to position and balance a bicycle on the carrier as the bicycle is attached. Therefore, a vehicle-mounted bicycle carrier is needed that is easily loaded with a bicycle and that holds a wheel of the bicycle securely and effectively.

Yakima Innovation Development Corporation


The developer solution of the invention is suitable for use to develop a positive-working resist composition comprising an alkali-soluble novolac resin and a naphthoquinone diazide compound and capable of giving a patterned image of the resist layer with a high contrast and increasing the effective depth of focus. The characteristic ingredient in the inventive developer solution is an alkali-soluble organic cyclic nitrogen compound such as N-hydroxyethyl piperazine, N-methyl-4-piperidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone and the like added in a specified concentration to a conventional developer solution containing tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide or choline as the water-soluble alkaline compound.

The present invention relates to a developer solution for a positive-working resist composition. More particularly, the invention relates to a developer solution for a positive-working resist composition of the type comprising an alkali-soluble novolac resin as the film-forming resinous component and a naphthoquinone diazide compound as the sensitive component and capable of forming a resist pattern by irradiation with actinic rays. In particular, the invention has an object to provide a developer solution capable of greatly improving the contrast and depth of focus of patterned images formed from a positive-working resist composition.
As is well known, manufacturing processes of various kinds of electronic devices and components such as semiconductor-based integrated circuits, photomasks for the manufacture of integrated circuits, printed circuit boards and the like always involve a step of an area-selective surface treatment of the substrate such as etching treatment, diffusion treatment and the like. It is usual in such a selective surface treatment that a patternwise layer of a resinous resist composition having sensitivity to actinic rays such as ultraviolet light, X-rays, electron beams and the like is formed on the substrate surface with an object to protect the areas of the substrate surface which should not be subjected to the surface treatment.
Such a patternwise protecting resist layer is formed on the substrate surface by a method including the steps of forming a coating layer of a resist composition on the substrate surface, irradiating the resist layer patternwise with actinic rays and developing the latent images formed by the irradiation with a developer solution. Resist compositions are classified depending on the types of sensitivity to the actinic rays into positive-working ones, of which the areas of the resist layer irradiated with actinic rays are imparted with increased solubility in developer solutions while the unirradiated areas are left insoluble, and negative-working ones, of which the solubility behavior of the irradiated and unirradiated areas in developer solutions is reverse to that in the positive-working resist compositions.
Along with the trend in recent years toward higher and higher dimensional fineness of working in the manufacture of electronic parts in general, prevalence in use is directed to the positive-working resist compositions over negative-working ones owing to the advantage of the high resolving power of the former as compared with the latter. Positive-working resist compositions of a typical type are formulated with an alkali-soluble novolac resin as the resinous film-forming ingredient and a naphthoquinone diazide compound as the ingredient having sensitivity to actinic rays. The resist layer formed from such a positive-working resist composition formulated with a novolac resin and a naphthoquinone diazide compound can be developed with an aqueous alkaline solution as the developer solution, in which the water-soluble alkaline compound is usually an organic alkaline compound such as tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, choline, i.e. trimethyl 2-hydroxyethyl ammonium hydroxide, and the like. Though useful in most cases as a developer solution for positive-working resist compositions, one of the problems in the developer solutions of this type is that the difference in the solubility behavior is relatively small between the areas unirradiated and irradiated with actinic rays or the contrast in the image formation so that the cross sectional profile of a line pattern of the developed resist layer sometimes has trailing skirts on the substrate surface to greatly decrease the accuracy or fidelity of the resist pattern. This problem is particularly serious when the solution is used for the development of a resist pattern having increased fineness reaching the so-called submicron order. Accordingly, the performance of the developer solution available is a limiting factor which prohibits compliance with the demand for an increased dimensional fineness of working in the manufacture of modern semiconductor integrated circuits.
On the other hand, improvements in the technology of irradiation with actinic rays also have a great influence to facilitate an increase in the working fineness in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. For example, patterned resist layers having a submicron order fineness can easily be obtained by the techniques of minifying projection exposure recently developed utilizing a lamp emitting the i-line ultraviolet light having a short wavelength of 365 nm as the light source. Nonetheless, this method cannot be without any problems in the practical application in respect of the problem relative to the depth of focus.
This problem in the depth of focus or the problem that the depth of focus is decreased when the resolving power is increased is unavoidable in so far as the irradiation apparatus for the patternwise irradiation utilizes an optical system. However, the disadvantage due to a decreased depth of focus can be compensated for by using a developer solution capable of giving a high-contrast image by which an effective resist pattern can be obtained even with a small depth of focus and samll width of light-intensity distribution.
In this regard, various proposals have been made for the formulation of a developer solution for positive-working resist compositions with an object to increase the contrast of the developed images including an aqueous solution of a cyclic amine compound as a developer solution for a 1,2-naphthoquinone diazide-based positive-working resist composition disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 57-30832, an aqueous soluion of a cyclic quaternary ammonium hydroxide compound disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 60-179738 and the like. The developer solutions of the former type are defective because, although they are useful for the development of a positive-working resist composition of which the resinous ingredient is a copolymer of an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated olefinic carboxylic acid, they are not applicable to the positive-working resist compositions comprising a novolac resin as the film-forming ingredient used in the major current of the modern technology. The developer solution of the latter type is also disadvantageous and not practicable because the cyclic quaternary ammonium hydroxide compound as the principal ingredient of the aqueous solution must be prepared in a very complicate process including a step of N-methylolation of a cyclic nitrogen compound followed by ion exchange so that stability in the developing performance of the developer solution can hardly be expected as a consequence of the complicate preparation procedure of the solution not to give reproducible results in the patterning of resist layers.

Developer solution for positive-working resist composition


The device consists of a base channel detachably secured to the buckle element of a seat belt so that the buckle rests in the channel and secures the channel to the buckle. A hinged cover can be closed and detachably locked over the buckle so that the release button, either on top or in the front of the buckle assembly, is covered. Pressure on the two sides of the cover releases the latch connection on each side of the device which normally holds the cover closed over the buckle mechanism of the seat belt.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in release guards for seat belts on automobiles and other vehicles.
Seat belts which are used to retain both small children and children's car seats in position, are easily released by young children who quickly learn that a push of the button on the seat belt buckle, releases same. This action is not always noticeable by the driver, particularly if the child is in a car seat situated in the rear seat of an automobile as is conventional.
Once the seat belt has been unbuckled by the child, whether in a car seat or in the automobile seat itself it is relatively easy for the child to reach the door and open same apart from the obvious danger of being loose in the car without being buckled in, in the event of a sudden stop or accident.
The present device overcomes this problem of young children either inadvertently or purposely releasing the seat belt mechanism yet at the same time permits rapid emergency quick release operation.
It has been found that once a child is old enough to manipulate the guard release, he or she is old enough to understand the importance of not interfering with the seat belt mechanism while the car is moving.
Prior art known to the applicant includes the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,303 issued June 23, 1987 to Paula J. Salcone shows a safety lock for a seat belt buckle which is designed specifically for a top release buckle and cannot be used in an end release situation inasmuch as the lid or cover hinges parallel to the longitudinal axis of the seat belt.
U S. Pat. No. 4,497,094 issued Feb. 5, 1985 to Roy E. Morris shows a safety sleeve engaged over the seat buckle assembly and can only be release by a relatively small member such as the ignition key engaged through a small aperture in the sleeve in order to depress the latch button of the seat belt. Once again this is for top button type seat belts only.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,194 issued Mar. 5, 1985 to Roy E. Morris shows a method similar to the previous patent once again requiring a small tool to be engaged through a small aperture in order to release the top or upper mounted release button of a seat belt.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,033 issued Nov. 25, 1986 to Dale W. Orton shows a relatively involved safety seat belt securement device which partially covers the release button so that direct access is restricted. Actuator mechanism is difficult if not impossible for a young child to operate due to its complicated or multi-step operation or force required for actuating same.
U S. Pat. No. 4,675,954 issued June 30, 1987 to Daniel J. Gullickson shows a cover or sleeve for a seat belt having an upper surface which is resilient so that only an adult can depress the upper surface in order to engage the seat belt button therebelow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,912 issued Mar. 22, 1988 to Helen A. Boriskie et al shows a side hinged cover adapted for use with a central upper release type seat belt assembly and cannot be used for end release type seat belts as the end flanges hold the device in position and cover an end release mechanism.
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages inherent with prior art devices and in accordance with the invention there is provided a seat belt release guard for use with a seat belt assembly in which said seat belt includes a latch plate on one free end and a latch plate receiving buckle assembly on the other free end, said latch plate receiving buckle assembly including a spring release member thereon, said release guard comprising in combination a buckle assembly receiving component and a cover component hingedly secured to adjacent one end of said receiving component and moveable in an arc parallel to the longitudinal axis of said release guard, from an open, unguarded buckle release position to a closed, guarded position detachably covering the associated spring release member against inadvertent access, means to detachably latch said cover component to said receiving component when in the closed position, means to selectively release said cover component from said release component to move said cover component to the open unguarded position and means to detachably secure said release guard to the associated buckle assembly.
Another advantage of the invention is to provide a device in which the cover component can be adjusted vertically relative to the receiving component to accommodate seat belt buckle assemblies of different thicknesses.
A still further advantage of the invention is to provide a device which is useable with top release and end release type seat belts.
Still another advantage of the invention is to provide a device which is easily secured to the underside of a seat belt buckle assembly and can be removed when desired.
A still further advantage of the invention is to provide a device with the character herewithin described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the best mode known to the application and of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention, in which:


A method of calibrating a reversible-binding sensor for detecting an analyte includes:                (i) varying the temperature of a first calibration solution from a first temperature (T1) to a second temperature (T2) while the first calibration solution is in contact with a sensing region of the sensor;        (ii) determining the sensor output for the first calibration solution as a function of temperature;        (iii) varying the temperature of a second calibration solution from a third temperature (T3) to a fourth temperature (T4) while the second calibration solution is in contact with the sensing region, the second calibration solution having a concentration of analyte which is different from that of the first calibration solution;        (iv) determining the sensor output for the second calibration solution as a function of temperature; and        (v) using the determined sensor output from steps (ii) and (iv) to calibrate the sensor.

The usual aim in developing a chemical sensor or biosensor is to produce a digital electronic signal, whose magnitude depends on the concentration of a specific chemical or set of chemicals (analyte). The sensor usually includes two main components, a chemical or biological part that reacts or complexes with the analyte in question (ideally specifically) to form new chemical or biological products or changes in energy that can be detected by means of the second component, a transducer. The chemical/biological component can be said to act as a receptor/indicator for the analyte. A variety of transduction methods can be used including electrochemical (such as potentiometric, amperometric, conductimetric, impedimetric), optical, calorimetric and acoustic. After transduction the signal is usually converted to an electronic digital signal.
Since the signal generated by the chemical/biological reaction with the analyte is usually dependent not only on the concentration of the analyte but also on the characteristics of the sensor itself, such sensors usually require calibration before they can be utilised quantitatively. The way in which the signal varies with the analyte concentration determines the shape of the calibration curve (signal versus analyte concentration) and may define the number of calibration points. Typical calibration curves can be straight line, exponential, s-shaped, etc. and the principal of calibration applies to all methodologies of transduction for chemical or biological sensors.
Ideally, the sensor should be calibrated just before its use since some sensor characteristics that can affect the calibration curve vary with time (ageing effect). It is often the case that the time between sensor manufacture and use can be many months, so calibration at the point of manufacture can lead to inaccuracies in the end result.
In the case of a medical sensor, an attendant clinician or nurse may be required to perform the calibration whilst maintaining sterility of the sensor. Additional constraints applied by the clinician/nurse are that the calibration process should be simple to perform, ideally invisible to the person performing the calibration, and be quickly completed (preferably in less than 10 minutes). Calibration of many currently available medical sensors requires the clinician/nurse to carry out a number of specific steps which can lead to errors or inaccuracies in the measurement if the process is not followed correctly.
There is therefore a need for a method of calibrating a sensor which avoids the inaccuracies caused by ageing effects, and which is a simple procedure, capable of being carried out at the point of use by an inexperienced user.


A data writing method for writing data from a host system into a flash memory chip having a plurality of physical blocks is provided. The method includes configuring a plurality of logical access addresses and recording address centers and address radiuses for the physical blocks. The method also includes receiving data to be written in logical access addresses, determining opened physical blocks among the physical blocks, and writing the data into the flash memory chip based on the logical access addresses, and the address centers and the address radiuses of the opened physical blocks. Accordingly, the method can effectively reduce the degree of data dispersion of each of the physical blocks, reduce the time for organizing valid data, and increase the speed for writing data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data writing method for a flash memory and particularly to a data writing method capable of effectively writing data into a flash memory, and a flash memory controller and a flash memory storage system using the method.
2. Description of Related Art
Flash memory is the most adaptable memories to be applied in portable electronic products which are supplied power by batteries due to its data non-volatility, low power consumption, small volume, and non-mechanical structure. For example, a solid state drive (SSD) is a storage device that uses a NAND flash memory as its storage medium, and which has been broadly used in notebook computers as the main storage device.
In general, the flash memory chip of a flash memory storage device has a plurality of physical blocks, each physical block has a plurality of physical pages, and each physical block is the erasing unit and each physical page is the programming unit. When the memory cells of the flash memory chip is programmed, the programming only is performed in one-way (i.e., a value of each memory cell only be programmed from '1' to '0'). Therefore, the programmed physical page (i.e., the physical page had been used for storing data) must be erased first and then programmed, but not be programmed directly. In particular, the flash memory must be erased in unit of each physical block. Therefore, when an erasing operation is performed for a physical page had been used for storing data, entire physical block that the physical page belongs to must be erased. In view of the characteristic of the flash memory mentioned above (i.e., each physical block is the erasing unit and each physical page is the programming unit), the physical blocks of the flash memory chip are logically grouped into a data area and a spare area in the flash memory storage device. The physical blocks in the data area are physical blocks which have been used for storing data, and the physical blocks in the spare area are physical blocks which have not been used for storing data. When a host system is about to store data in the flash memory storage device, a control circuit of the flash memory storage device gets a physical block from the spare area to write data, and the gotten physical block is associated to the data area. And, when the physical block in the data area is erased, the erased physical block is associated to the spare area.
Additionally, the host system writes data based on logical addresses, but usually not according to the order of the logical addresses. Therefore, the data written by the host system may be stored dispersedly in a plurality of physical blocks.
Accordingly, when the control circuit of the flash memory storage device is about to erase a physical block, the flash memory storage device will spend a lot of time to organize valid data and invalid data in the entire physical block, and therefore the speed of writing data of the flash memory storage device does not increased effectively.
Therefore, how to increase the speed of writing data in a flash memory is one of the major subjects in the industry.
Nothing herein should be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art of any portion of the present invention. Furthermore, citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention, or that any reference forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art.

Data writing method for a flash memory, and flash memory controller and flash memory storage system using the same


A billing system is disclosed which performs processing in order to provide service to user terminals, and which performs billing for the service provided to the user terminals. In this billing system, user billing profiles UBP are stored in a user billing profile registration unit, by service type and in user terminal units; a billing condition generation unit within a service provider server compares the user billing profile UBP corresponding to a specified service type and to a user terminal with a server billing profile SBP to generate billing conditions, and a billing condition setting unit of a foreign agent sets the billing conditions in a billing unit; and based on the billing conditions thus set, the billing unit executes billing processing for each user terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a billing system, and to devices constituting this billing system, including a billing condition determination server, mobile nodes, and router device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The rapid expansion of the Internet has resulted in a sharp increase in IP packet traffic. Further, the spread of cellular telephones has been accompanied by standardization under International Mobile Telecommunications 2000 (IMT-2000), and it is anticipated that high-speed IP communications in a mobile environment will continue to expand. Despite this rapid technological change, technologies enabling faster IP communications, that is, QoS at individual terminals, as well as network-wide load distribution of WWW servers, cannot be described as sufficiently mature given the anticipated demand.
The present invention provides a billing method necessary to perform billing according to service details in the IP service control mechanism of an IP network which includes a mobile environment, and which enables service management and execution in terminal (subscriber) units. That is, the present invention provides a billing method to perform billing for individual terminals connected to the Internet, and in units of the services provided to these terminals.
Further, the present invention provides a billing method for billing services which continuously provide information from a plurality of servers. Businesses are emerging which offer integrated services which utilize geographically distributed server groups, as one form of new information delivery service employing networks. Specifically, in contrast with existing car navigation systems which preserve map information in storage devices within automotive systems, these services distribute map information for required regions, such as the vicinity of the current location, via a network. In this type of service, while there is one map information provider, the servers and other equipment providing services are distributed geographically, and map information to be distributed to each server is retained separately. In other words, there exist servers which handle the delivery of information related to different regions. This configuration aims at improvement of the response time for users when distributing maps and other information, data sizes of which are anticipated to increase, as well as alleviation of network traffic and distribution of map server loads. It is necessary to establish a billing method for billing services which continuously provide information from such a plurality of servers; the present invention concerns such a billing method.
PBN (Policy-Based Networking)
A framework for control of IP networks under the concept of PBN (Policy-Based Networking) is being proposed by a group centered on Cisco, 3Com, and other U.S. vendors. In PBN, a policy server sets network operation policies in routers and other network equipment groups, and the network equipment groups achieve QoS and provide other services by referring to these policies. However, when the setting of policies for each mobile node is considered, it is necessary to set policies for all network equipment groups for which there is a possibility of accommodating mobile nodes when policies are appended or modified, so that the volume of processing to set policies over the entire network is increased. Further, in order to apply information provided by PBN to basic services prescribed for Mobile IP or similar, it has been necessary to prepare specifications and study implementation for the purpose of application to the respective services. In other words, with PBN, it is difficult to provide different service control, such as QoS control, for each user or terminal. Hence the applicant of this application proposes an "integrated IP service control architecture" which provides IP services customized for each user or terminal on the Internet.
Integrated IP Service Control Architecture
As one requirement made of the Internet, it is anticipated that with the advancing diversification of applications and terminal capacity, well-defined service control functions for each user will become necessary. However, the Internet in its current state, or with the above-described PBN, cannot be said to have sufficient functions to provide IP services customized to individual users. Features of the above "integrated IP service control architecture" proposed by the applicant of this application are: (1) IP services customized to each user are provided; (2) by regarding stationary terminals as mobile nodes with mobility 0, and enhancing the location registration functions that are essential to mobile communications, the control for services to both stationary terminals and mobile nodes is executed under the base of mobile communication; and, (3) procedures and data (service control data) necessary for service control are stored only in a necessary device in the network at the time of location registration, and these are used during packet transfer to perform service control. Where implementation of this architecture is concerned, deployment to the Internet will be made possible by adopting the Mobile IP now being studied by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force).
In other words, the "integrated IP service control architecture" enables provision of IP services customized for each user/terminal, without differentiating between stationary and mobile nodes, and is characterized by:
(1) control technology which integrates stationary and mobile nodes;
(2) function separation technology which takes ease of deployment into consideration;
(3) technology for delivery of control information, applying location registration and location query procedures; and,
(4) technology for standardization of service profiles.
The control technology integrating stationary and mobile nodes (1) regards stationary terminals as mobile nodes with mobility=0, and exercises control independent of IP network type (packet transfer method, stationary/mobile, and similar) The technology for function separation which considers ease of deployment (2) is technology which separates a layer into a service control layer and IP packet transfer layer, enabling independent development and deployment of each layer. The technology for control information delivery (3) is technology for the delivery of service control information (service profiles and location information) only to equipment related to packet transfer, upon location registration of a terminal on the network. The technology for standardization of service profiles (4) provides editing functions to the user himself, linked with a policy-based network management system.
Foundation of an Integrated IP Service Control Architecture
In the following, the (1) layer structure, (2) service control method, (3) Mobile IP principle, (4) application to Mobile IP (service profile delivery procedure), and (5) application to Mobile IP (service execution procedure) for the "integrated IP service control architecture" which is the foundation of this invention are explained.
(1) Layer Structure
FIG. 91 is a figure explaining the layer structure of the integrated IP service control architecture; the layer is separated into a service control layer SCL and an IP packet transfer layer PTL. In the service control layer SCL are provided a service profile database (also called a service control database) SPDB; a position information database PIDB; and a server SV which executes IP service control functions. Service control information for individual subscribers (terminals, such as for example quality control information (QoS), is registered at the time of contract in the service profile database SPDB, and position information indicating the current position of each subscriber, based on location registration from user terminals, is registered in the position information database PIDB. The server SV manages information for each of the databases, and distributes position information and service profile information to the edge routers ERT1, ERT2, ERT3 of the IP packet transfer layer PTL as necessary. The IP packet transfer layer PTL is positioned in the core network NW and in the vicinity of the core network, and accommodates numerous user terminals; it comprises edge routers ERT1 to ERT3 which execute specific service control, such as for example quality control services.
The server SV of the service control layer SCL (a) manages the terminal location (which router accommodates the terminal) and the service profile set in the terminal, (b) executes service control based on the service profile set in the terminal in question, and (c) distributes the location information and service profiles of prescribed terminals to edge routers. An edge router ERT of the IP packet transfer layer PTL (a) requests location registration of the service control layer SCL, (b) saves, in cache memory, the location information and service profile of the destination terminal distributed from the service control layer SCL, and (c) after saving this information, executes service control and communicates with the destination terminal based on the service profile rules stored in cache memory (cache execution function), without the mediation of the service control layer SCL.
(2) Service Control Method
FIG. 92 explains the service control method in the integrated IP service control architecture.
{circle around (1)} The terminal MN1 (IP address: IP#M1) issues a location registration request message to the server SV of the IP service control layer SCL via the edge router ERT1. By this means, the server SV registers the IP address (IP#F1) of the router ERT1 accommodating the terminal corresponding to the terminal MN1 (IP#M1) in the position information database PIDB. The destination port number and quality control information QoS are already registered in the service profile database SPDB in association with the terminal MN1 (IP#M1). In an example, the port number 80 is an HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) port and a high QoS (for example, high priority) is set, while port number 25 is an SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) port, and a low QoS (for example, low priority) is set.
{circle around (2)} In this state, when the terminal MN2 (IP#M2) first sends a data packet to the terminal MN1 (IP#M1), the data packet passes through the service control functions of the server SV, services are executed, and the packet arrives at the terminal MN1 (IP#M1). That is, the edge router ERT2 accommodating the terminal MN2 queries the server SV for the location and service profile of the terminal MN1, and based on the location information/service control information obtained, the server SV transmits the packet from the terminal MN2 (IP#M2) to the terminal MN1 (IP#M1).
{circle around (3)} Then, the server SV transmits the location information and service profile of the terminal MN1 (IP#M1) to the edge router ERT2 accommodating the terminal MN2 (IP#M2), as described above. The edge router ERT2 stores the transmitted information in its internal cache memory, and then refers to the location information and service profile stored in cache memory to communicate with the terminal MN1 (IP#M1).
{circle around (4)} After delivery of the service profile to the edge router ERT2 by the server SV, when a packet is issued from the terminal MN2 (IP#M2) to the terminal MN1 (IP#M1), the edge router ERT2 independently executes service control of the terminal MN1 and performs transmission, without the mediation of the server SV.
(3) Mobile IP Principle
FIG. 93 is a figure explaining the principle of Mobile IP. NW is the core network, ISP-1 is the home network for the terminal MN1, HA is the edge router (called the home agent) performing unified management of the home network IPS-1 of the terminal MN1, ISP-2 is an external network other than the home network, connected to the core network NW, FA is an edge router (foreign agent) performing unified management of the external network ISP-2, and AAAS is an AAA server executing authentication, authorization, and accounting processing. Mobile IP is a protocol which supports the movement of terminals in an IP network. In IP networks prior to Mobile IP, IP addresses allocated to each terminal were fixed in the number system within a specific network, and were valid only in this network; it was in essence impossible to bring these to another network. Mobile IP makes this possible.
In other words:
{circle around (1)} The terminal MN1 moves from the home network ISP-1 to an external network ISP-2.
{circle around (2)} When the terminal MN1 moves to the external network ISP-2, it sends a location registration request message to the foreign agent FA. By this means, the foreign agent FA requests authentication of the terminal MN1 by the AAA server.
{circle around (3)} When the AAA server completes authentication of the terminal MN1, it requests registration of the destination location by the home agent HA managing the terminal MN1 on the home network ISP-1 of the terminal MN1.
{circle around (4)} The home agent HA, having received the registration request message, recognizes the IP address (IP#f.a) of the edge router (foreign agent FA) managing the destination network ISP-2 as the destination (location) of the terminal MN1, and simultaneously creates internally a mobile connection table MCTB as location information for the terminal MN1; subsequently this table is used to manage the location of the terminal MN1. When location registration is completed, the home agent HA sends a registration reply message to the AAA server.
{circle around (5)} The AAA server relays the registration reply message, with the foreign agent FA as the destination, and the foreign agent FA notifies the terminal MN1 of the completion of location registration. Subsequently, data packets sent to the terminal MN1 are sent back to the terminal MN1 on the visited network ISP-2 via the HA/FA. In other words, packets sent to the terminal MN1 arrive, via normal routing, at the home agent HA of the home network ISP-1. The home agent HA refers to the mobile connection table MCTB, recognizes the location of the terminal MN1, and employs IP tunneling technology to compel forwarding of the packet to the foreign agent FA; the foreign agent FA then sends the packet to the terminal MN1.
(4) Example of Application to Mobile IP (Service Profile Delivery Procedure)
FIG. 94 is a figure explaining an example of application to Mobile IP (service profile delivery procedure); the AAA server is provided with IP service control functions, and at the time of location registration the service profile is distributed to the home agent HA and foreign agent FA by the AAA server. The AAA server also distributes the location information to the home agent HA. A summary of the procedure for delivery of the service profile is as follows.
{circle around (1)} The mobile node MN (Mobile Node) sends a location registration request to the foreign agent FA as a result of movement. The foreign agent FA relays this location registration request to the AAA server.
{circle around (2)} Upon receiving the location registration request, the AAA server registers this in the position information database PIDB, and retrieves the service profile for the mobile node MN from the service profile database SPDB.
{circle around (3)} The AAA server sends the retrieved service profile, together with the location information, to the home agent HA. The home agent HA stores these in internal cache memory. As a result, subsequently the home agent HA can acquire the location information and service profile for subordinate mobile nodes MN by referencing cache memory, without querying the AAA server.
{circle around (4)} When location registration is complete, the home agent HA sends a registration reply message to the AAA server.
{circle around (5)} In this way, the AAA server distributes the service profile of the mobile node MN to a foreign agent FA, and the foreign agent FA stores this service profile in internal cache memory.
{circle around (6)} Also, the foreign agent FA notifies the mobile node MN of the completion of location registration.
By this means, subsequently the foreign agent FA can execute a prescribed service and send packets from the terminal MN to another terminal, without querying the AAA server for the service profile or location information. Also, the home agent HA can perform the prescribed service and send packets addressed to the mobile node MN.
(5) Example of Application to Mobile IP (Service Execution Procedure)
FIG. 95 is a figure explaining an example of application to Mobile IP (service execution procedure). To summarize service execution, the home agent HA executes the service on a packet addressed to the mobile node, and the foreign agent FA executes the service on a packet issued by the mobile node. That is:
{circle around (1)} A data packet sent from a prescribed communication node (communication node) CN to the mobile node MN arrives at the home agent HA of the mobile node MN via the edge router ERT3, is here subjected to the prescribed service, and is then sent to the foreign agent FA via the core network NW. In other words, a packet addressed to the mobile node MN is subjected to services based on the service profile held by the home agent HA.
{circle around (2)} A packet sent from the mobile node MN to a prescribed communication node CN, on passing through the foreign agent FA of the mobile node MN, is subjected to prescribed service control based on the service profile, after which the packet is sent to the communication node CN via the edge router ERT3.
By means of the "integrated IP service control architecture" proposed above, contract conditions for service control can be set for each stationary/mobile node, and IP services (for example, bandwidth assurance or QoS control) or similar can be provided. As a result, by associating network resource usage fees with contract conditions, profits can be expected to be consistent with equipment investments.
Current Billing Technology
At present, fee systems to which subscribers make payments in Internet connection services which include stationary and mobile nodes, other than fixed-amount billing, fall into the following two categories:
(1) Billing based on packet flow and connection time
(2) Billing based on information/content service
However, the service contract conditions of current service providers mainly stipulate fixed-amount billing for a contract period or similar. Introduction of a new billing mechanism such as billing based on meter rate would require the distributed deployment, in routers or other equipment in the network, of functions for calculation of service usage fees (for example, number of packets consumed); in this environment, it is difficult for an independent service provider, and in particular a new small-scale service provider to construct a meter rate-based billing mechanism with the expectation of an appropriate return on investment.
The Emergence of ASPs (Application Service Providers)
At present, ASP (Application Service Provider) businesses are appearing in various areas, and are offering various solutions. One basic conception of ASPs is as businesses which provide, via a network, package software or services which previously had been sold separately on a per-terminal basis, with fees charged according to quantity used (usage time, and/or data volume). A wide range of services are provided by ASPs, and proposed categories extend from groupware to ordinary package software. Because it is thought that the users of ASPs are often motivated by a desire to save money by paying only an amount corresponding to the actual amount of use, not intending to use the product sufficiently to justify a purchase, it is anticipated that there is a demand for meter rate-based billing and for a variety of other billing methods.
Current State of Fees for Mobile Nodes
There has been remarkable growth in data services other than voice communication for mobile nodes, and in particular for cellular phones. More specifically, these data services consist of connection to the Internet; however, services utilizing this communication foundation are nearly all information services provided on a monthly basis or purchases of goods (mobile commerce). They are characterized in that services are provided on the occasion of agreement to pay a fixed amount, regardless of the amount of information used on the network or similar; payments are not made on the basis of content, including the needs of individual users or the circumstances of data delivery over the network.
In light of the above, an operation mode is practical in which the network operator introduces volume-based billing or some other new billing mechanism, provided as general-purpose functions to the service provider. By this means it becomes possible to apply diverse billing methods, thereby activating competition among service providers. Further, if network operators act as proxy in the collection of fees, users need not conclude individual fixed contracts with service providers, and can utilize services with peace of mind, while entry of content providers into the market can be facilitated.
The Need for Strategic Billing
At present, with attempts being made to integrate all manner of information communication means into the Internet protocol (IP), activation in future of competition between competitors is anticipated as a result of thriving IP service businesses. Conceivable elements serving to differentiate such competitors include (1) differentiation of service contents (customization, specialized functions and similar), and (2) the provision of strategic pricing plans. In particular, (2) is important for ASP services, for which meter rate-based billing systems are effective, and can contribute to intensified competition among a plurality of businesses offering similar services.
Conditions Facilitating the Emergence of New and Superior Services
Hereafter, in order that highly original services may appear on the Internet as bandwidth grows, it will be necessary to establish the following foundations:
(a) Provision of a choice of various billing methods, in order to activate competition among service providers
(b) Facilitation of market entry by content providers, through the proxy collection of fees by billing businesses
In other words, these foundations are regarded as necessary for the emergence of highly original services. One reason for the success of i-mode is said to have been the proxy billing for content in a simple manner. If billing technology satisfying the requirements of these two foundations can be established, by linking this billing technology with technology for control of contract services in terminal units, it will become possible to set various fees not only for each terminal, but also by service type. Effective equipment investments can be made by network operators, and competition between service providers can be stimulated.
In an IP network with integrated voice and data communications, and to which various types of terminals are connected, the realization of QoS functions is vital for the protection of traffic which is sensitive to delays and traffic which is of high priority for business. As means of realizing QoS, Int-Serv and Diff-Serv methods have been proposed; of these, Diff-Serv support, with its lower overhead for carrier networks and backbones, is regarded as the more promising.
However, there are the problems that Diff-Serve requires that policies be set on network devices on the route, and that network management is complex using Diff-Serv alone. Consequently the concept of PBN (Policy-Based Networking) was proposed, in which policy settings for network equipment is set all at once on a server called a policy server. However, in a seamless global network comprising various providers and carriers supporting mobile nodes, it must be possible for all local networks to determine policies, and set information in network equipment, for all users who may possibly connect to the network. In order to accomplish this using PBN, either policy information for all users must be stored locally, or else information must be set in advance for all network equipment to which connection is possible. It is extremely inefficient and impractical to undertake this for users who may number in the hundreds of millions. Moreover, the continual storage in network equipment of policy information for all users will necessitate increases in the memory capacity of network equipment, and cause degradation of processing capability. Conversely, if a method of processing is used in which policy servers are always queried, overhead associated with queries will arise, and there is the problem of an increased possibility that SLAs (Service Level Agreements) cannot be fulfilled.
In the above-mentioned "integrated IP service control architecture", IP services implement a service control method for individual subscribers; but in providing services based on individual conditions in subscriber units, appropriate billing must be performed according to the services provided. Hence in this invention, a billing method is proposed which enables the setting of billing conditions in terminal units and in units of the services utilized by terminals, premised on cooperation with the above architecture. Specific problems 1 through 3 addressed by this billing method are listed below.
Problem 1: Flexible Introduction of Billing Functions
Currently, the units for billing services provided to mobile nodes take the form of either monthly fixed amounts, or amounts paid for specific items, and billing is performed only under fixed conditions determined by the service provider, rather than in user units.
Hereafter, it is anticipated that more high-quality content will be provided over the mobile Internet, the bandwidth of which will continue to increase; these services are expected to become practical under quality control of IP services in the core network. Hence it will be necessary to set appropriate pricing plans for high-quality applications, and in order to induce competition among content providers, diverse billing methods in user units and in service type units must be provided. As one basic market principle, in order to engender active competition among businesses, it is important that customers be offered a variety of choices with respect to billing methods.
When individual services are to be offered in terminal units (user units), rules for billing in terminal units (billing conditions) will differ.
Further, in order to set separate billing conditions for individual mobile nodes, and to enable application of these billing conditions in a destination network, the billing conditions for the mobile nodes must be set in all the billing devices (billing engines) within the network. In this case, if some innovation is not made, it becomes necessary to set in advance, for one billing device, the billing conditions for the vast number of all the terminals accommodated by the network; this is not practical from the standpoint of application to the large-scale network of a network control mechanism.
Further, one promising method to promote the emergence of diverse services is to offer a variety of billing conditions, making it easier for a service provider to put forward characteristic features of the service. To this end, permissible conditions for billing services in terminal units are stipulated, and service providers are offered a variety of billing conditions. By this means, it is possible to greatly expand the possible patterns of service conditions which can be offered, and services meeting user needs can be provided.
Problem 2: Application of Billing to Mobile Nodes
Currently, the principal technology for quality control in mobile nodes is smooth handoff technology. This technology aims at the continuation of data communication when a mobile node moves between base stations. However, current handoff technology executes transmission control in packet units in layer 3 (the IP layer), and is not linked with the authentication session information of the upper application level. On the other hand, in a fee-based service the billing function portion within the network must recognize session information related to the service. For this reason, when introducing a high-quality fee-based application, it becomes necessary to precisely understand and inherit billing information when a service is provided to a mobile node. For example, in the provision of a fee-based application which has begun between a server and a mobile node, functions are required so that billing information related to the fee-based application is exchanged between the new and old base stations at the time of handoff, and billing can be continued immediately after movement.
Problem 3: Realization of Proxy Billing
Many of the current fee-based services on the Internet are being developed by large-scale businesses by exploiting sophisticated facilities, data centers in particular. Among the pioneers of this business model were amazon.com of the U.S. and others; they are said to be driving existing store-based bookstores out of business. However, although the sales volume of amazon.com continues to grow, it cannot be called profitable. The reasons for this include the considerable costs incurred in the introduction and maintenance of an extremely high-cost infrastructure (servers, transmission lines); on the other hand, this acts as a barrier to the market entry of smaller-scale businesses.
In future, an inexpensive and highly reliable commercial transaction infrastructure will be necessary for businesses of all sizes, and in all industries, in order to enter the market as an IP service provider. In addition to adequate transmission line capacity and servers, in order to provide ASP (Application Service Provider) services, it will also be necessary to provide flexible billing functions.
Consequently, by providing billing functions and performing proxy billing for businesses planning to offer IP services, a network operator can facilitate the market entry of new and small-scale businesses. In order to perform proxy billing, billing devices must be deployed within the network, and packets related to the service which is to be billed must be observed and information extracted.
Problem 4: Billing Technologies which can be Applied to IPv4 and IPv6 Respectively
It is necessary to provide both billing technology which solves the above problems 1 to 3 in a network configuration based on IPv4/Mobile IP, and billing technology which solves the above problems 1 to 3 in a network configuration based on IPv6, which is regarded as the basis of a future commercial Internet protocol.

Billing system, and device constituting same


A cellulose ester film containing a polyester represented by Formula (1) or (2), wherein an in-plane retardation value (Ro) is 0 to 5 nm and a retardation value in a thickness direction (Rt) is −20 to 10 nm, Ro and Rt being measured at 23° C. and 55% RH:B1-(G-A-)mG-B1  Formula (1)                wherein B1: monocarboxylic acid, G: dihydric alcohol, A: dibasic acid, B1, G and A contain no aromatic ring, m: repeat number, plural B1 may be the same or different, and plural G may be the same or different; andB2-(A-G-)nA-B2  Formula (2)wherein B2: monoalcohol, G: dihydric alcohol, A: dibasic acid, provided that none of B2, G and A contains an aromatic ring, n: repeat number, plural B2 may be the same or different, and plural G may be the same or different.

Recently, liquid crystal displays, plasma displays and organic EL displays to be used for personal computers, word processors, watches and desk-top calculators tend to be used in sever conditions. Therefore, high durability is required to an optical film such as a polarizing plate protective film, a retardation film, a front filter for plasma display panel and a front film for organic EL display so that the properties thereof is not deteriorated so that, for example, the physical properties are not degraded and the dimensional stability is maintained, in the sever environment.
Besides, a problem of narrow viewing angle has been posed hitherto about the liquid crystal display. Therefore, use of various kinds of retardation film has been proposed for expanding the viewing angle; cf. Patent Documents 1 to 5, for example. It is well known that a cellulose ester having a lower substitution degree exhibits a larger Rt (retardation in the thickness direction of a film) value (refer to Patent Document 6), however, in an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display, desired is a cellulose ester film having a lower Rt value, in order to enlarge a viewing angle.
The retardation film strongly influences on the displaying properties such as the viewing angle, color tone and the gradation of the display. Accordingly, high dimensional stability during a long time use and high stability in the retardation are desired to the retardation film. Moreover, high dimensional stability of the polarizing plate using the retardation film, particularly the dimensional stability in the absorption axis direction of the polarizers and superior resistivity against degradation of the polarizing plate, are desired. The cellulose ester film disclosed in Patent Document 7, being added with a polyester, exhibits a superior dimensional stability, however, durability of polarizing plate is poor. The cellulose ester film disclosed in Patent Document 8, being added with an acryl polymer, exhibits a lowered Rt value, however, notable deterioration of the polarizing plate after a long time use has been observed. In order to prevent deterioration of a polarizing plate, generally known is to add a material containing an aromatic ring, however, addition of an aromatic ring results in a problem in that Rt value is increased.
When the dimensional variation during the aging for a long time is large, stress is generated between the polarizing plate and the adhesive or between the polarizing plate and the liquid crystal cell pasted on the polarizing plate through an adhesive layer, and a phenomenon so-called corner unevenness which is a white defect in a black image is caused (refer to Patent Documents 9 and 10).
It is desirable that the retardation film not only has a function of optical compensation for the liquid crystal cell but also is superior as the protective film with respect to the durability of the flatness against an environmental change.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereafter referred to as JP-A) No. 4-229828    Patent Document 2: JP-A No. 4-258923    Patent Document 3: JP-A No. 6-75116    Patent Document 4: JP-A No. 6-174920    Patent Document 5: JP-A No. 6-222213
Patent Document 6: JP-A No. 2002-120244    Patent Document 7: JP-A No. 2002-22956    Patent Document 8: JP-A No. 2003-12859    Patent Document 9: JP-A No. 5-341124    Patent Document 10: JP-A No. 6-167611

Cellulose ester film, polarizing plate for in-plane-switching mode display and in-plane-switching mode display using the cellulose ester film


An adapter for connecting a cannula to a syringe barrel or a liposuction handle includes a tapered recess that precisely matches a tapered nose of a syringe barrel and a cylindrical recess that precisely matches the cylindrical outside end surface of the syringe barrel. A bore through a nose of the adapter receives the cannula and is in open communication with the tapered recess and the cylindrical recess.

The invention relates to an adapter for supporting cannulas, such as those used for liposuction surgery and needles, and for attaching such a cannula or needle to a plastic syringe barrel with a Luer taper or other tip styles such as toomey, feeding, eccentric, etc.
Many syringes that are in use today for various medical or clinical purposes are designed without a needle permanently attached. In such syringes, the syringe barrel may be tapered at its distal end so that a female connector of a needle assembly may be attached thereto. One widely known connection of this kind is the LUER-LOK connection which allows the needle to be readily attached to the syringe by a twisting movement. The LUER-LOK attachment of a needle to a syringe barrel is advantageous inasmuch as different size needles may be attached to a particular syringe barrel. Other syringe barrels have a tapered nose which is referred to as a Luer taper coupling. The prior syringe needle connecting techniques have an inherent weakness which is a severe disadvantage when large amounts of force, especially forces transverse to the cannula axis, are applied during use of the syringe. During liposuction surgery or during harvesting of bone marrow or the like, surgeons vigorously manipulate a liposuction handle or a syringe barrel to apply large longitudinal transverse, and twisting forces to a cannula in order to loosen fat cells or other cells before they can be suctioned through the cannula. The prior Luer or LUER-LOK connections are subJect to breakage, resulting in exposure of the suctioned cells to air, possibly causing leakage of harvested cells around the syringe adapter connection and contamination thereof by foreign substances present on the outer surface of the syringe, and possibly also causing punctures in surgical gloves during attempts to attach or remove the Luer or slip needles.
In the LUER-LOK connection, the collar expands slightly when a cannula or syringe needle is twisted in the usual fashion to engage the collar. This expansion increases the likelihood of leakage and contamination of liquid being either injected or harvested. There have been instances in which blood being withdrawn by a LUER-LOK syringe has leaked and come in contact with the skin or eyes of attending medical personnel, subjecting them to a possibility of contacting AIDS.
In spite of the popularity of the Luer and LUER-LOK connections, there remains an unmet need for a much more contamination resistent, leakproof, airtight, rigid cannula-to-syringe barrel or cannula-to-liposuction handle adapter having far greater rigidity than previously has been possible.
When harvesting fat cells for manufacture of autologous collagen to be reinjected in the same patient for eliminating wrinkles, it is necessary for the surgeon to be able to control the amount of vacuum in the syringe barrel to avoid damage to harvested fat cells.
There frequently is a need to transfer withdrawn body fluids from a withdrawing syringe into another syringe for reinjection, as many times fluids are withdrawn in a large syringe but reinjection is done with a smaller syringe or syringes. Transfer from one syringe to another may be subject to contamination.


The present disclosure provides a substrate for an integrated circuit. The substrate includes a dielectric layer. The substrate further includes a plurality of conductive elements at least partially embedded within the dielectric layer and having a substantially smooth outer surface. The substrate further includes an interlayer disposed between the individual conductive elements and the dielectric layer. The interlayer has a first surface comprising a plurality of protrusions interlocked with the dielectric layer and a second surface adhered to the outer surface of the individual conductive elements.

Semiconductor packages include a number of different components. In order to ensure proper functioning, it is desirable for certain components to remain adhered to each other. However, ensuring adhesion between some components can result in increased signal loss in the package. It is desirable therefore to improve adhesion between components while mitigating signal loss.

Semiconductor package having polymeric interlayer disposed between conductive elements and dielectric layer


A new and distinct cultivar of Saintpaulia plant named xe2x80x98Butterfly Redxe2x80x99, characterized by its compact plant habit; freely flowering habit; and star-shaped double purple and lighter purple bi-colored flowers.

Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Saintpaulia ionantha cultivar Butterfly Red.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Saintpaulia plant, botanically known as Saintpaulia ionantha, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Butterfly Redxe2x80x99.
The new Saintpaulia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Honselersdijk, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create new Saintpaulia cultivars with double flowers and attractive flower coloration.
The new Saintpaulia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in March, 2001 in Honselersdijk, The Netherlands of a proprietary selection of Saintpaulia identified as code number A 25, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Saintpaulia identified as code number B 18, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Saintpaulia was discovered and selected by the Inventor within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Honselersdijk, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new Saintpaulia by leaf cuttings taken since January, 2002 at Honselersdijk, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Saintpaulia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Butterfly Red has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Butterfly Redxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Butterfly Redxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact plant habit.
2. Freely flowering habit.
3. Star-shaped double purple and lighter purple bi-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Saintpaulia differ from plants of the female parent selection in flower form, shape and coloration.
Plants of the new Saintpaulia differ from plants of the male parent selection in flower form and coloration.
Plants of the new Saintpaulia can be compared to plants of the cultivar Rococo, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Honselersdijk, The Netherlands, plants of the new Saintpaulia differed from plants of the cultivar Rococo in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Saintpaulia were larger than plants of the cultivar Rococo.
2. Flowers of plants of the new Saintpaulia were positioned above the foliage whereas flowers of plants of the cultivar Rococo were occasionally within the foliage.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Saintpaulia was bi-colored whereas flower color of plants of the cultivar Rococo was not bi-colored.


A process for recovering elemental chlorine from ferrous chloride produced during chlorination of a titaniferous ore or ore beneficiate by oxidizing ferrous chloride in a fluidized bed of particulate material which is inert, e.g., sand, continuously oxidizing first to ferric chloride and then to ferric oxide as one stage.

The chlorination and beneficiation of titaniferous ores by chloride processes produce iron chlorides as a by-product. The chlorine gas which is used to effect the chlorination may be recovered from the ferrous chloride by oxidation to chlorine gas which can be recycled back to the chlorinator or beneficiator reactors.
Where the titaniferous ore is chlorinated only to the extent necessary to remove iron as iron chloride (ferrous and/or ferric) and the titanium dioxide remains substantially unchanged, this process is called "beneficiation". Where the titaniferous ore is chlorinated under conditions sufficient to yield titanium tetrachloride as an end product, this process is understood as a "direct" chlorination process leading ultimately to the production of titanium dioxide. In either case, ferrous and/or ferric chloride are produced. The chlorinating agent in either case is elemental chlorine.
When the ferrous chloride (FeCl.sub.2)is condensed and separated from the off-gas of an entrained flow chlorinator, a chlorinator, or beneficiator, only a small amount of unburned carbon remains with the solid ferrous chlorides. If an indirect heat transfer means is used for separating the chlorine, plugging by iron chlorides can result. Accordingly, all heating and cooling are by a direct method.
In the process of the present invention, there is no special preparation of the fluid bed medium. This medium is formed of a particulate solid material which is inert to chlorine and ferrous chloride. A most convenient material is ordinary silica sand. Thus, the instant process avoids the high costs of material preparation and also stabilizes the reaction rate because of the consistency of the physical and chemical properties in a fluidized bed medium.
Problems are inherent in the oxidation of FeCl.sub.2 or FeCl.sub.3 to elemental chlorine. The main problem with the full oxidation of FeCl.sub.2 or FeCl.sub.3 to Cl.sub.2 is that at low temperatures where the thermodynamics are favorable, the reaction is slow. At higher temperatures where the reaction proceeds at a practical rate, the thermodynamics are unfavorable and the reaction is far from complete.
Efforts to overcome this problem are disclosed by Dunn in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,887,694 and 3,376,112; and in Bonsack U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,944,647 and 3,919,400. These patents teach the use of catalysts to speed up the reaction at lower temperatures where the thermodynamics are more favorable. Dunn in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,920 and Bonsack in U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,854 also suggest systems operating at higher temperatures where unreacted FeCl.sub.3 is separated and recycled back to the oxidation zone. Dunn in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,920 also suggests the use of a very long "fuel pipe" in the oxidation zone discharge which pipe is held at a lower temperature.
Another severe problem with FeCl.sub.2 or FeCl.sub.3 oxidation to elemental chlorine is the formation of hard, dense Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 deposits on the inner walls especially near the oxidation zone discharge. Attempts to solve this problem were the subjects of Sawyer U.S. Pat. No. 2,642,339; Nelson Nos. 3,050,365 and 3,092,456; Reeves No. 3,793,444; and Mitsubishi No. 4,073,874.
Nelson, in No. 3,092,456 introduces carbon in the discharge line of the oxidizer. In Nelson's process the reaction is essentially complete. Moreover, Nelson is oxidizing iron chloride to chlorine in a gas-gas reaction rather than in a gas-solid reaction as used in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,621 to Okudaira teaches a process for obtaining chlorine from iron chloride. Iron oxide is added to the iron chloride which is prepared by chlorinating iron-containing titanium ore, in an amount above 10% by weight of the resulting mixture and charging the mixture in solid phase into a fluidizing roasting furnace for oxidation. Any overflow is oxidized in a second reactor. The iron oxide thus obtained is recycled to the primary reactor for controlling the reaction temperature in the furnace.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,746 to Turner et al relates to the recovery of chlorine values from iron chloride produced from the chlorination of titaniferous material containing iron and particularly from the carbo-chlorination of ilmenite which, for example, can be the first stage in the so-called chloride route to form titanium dioxide pigment. The iron chloride which may be ferric chloride or ferrous chloride is subjected to a combination of reduction and oxidation reactions. In the reduction reaction, ferric chloride is dechlorinated to ferrous chloride by a reducing agent suitable for producing a chloride compound for recycling to the chlorination process. In the oxidation reaction ferrous chloride is oxidized to ferric oxide and ferric chloride. The ferric chloride is recycled to the reduction reaction. According to Turner, by this method the chlorine values are recovered from the by-product iron chloride by a route which avoids the difficult reaction between ferric chloride and oxygen to produce chlorine and ferric oxide.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,174,381 to Reeves et al teaches an improved process and an apparatus for producing chlorine and iron oxide in a multistage recirculating fluidized bed reactor wherein ferric chloride in the vapor phase is reacted with an excess of oxygen at temperatures from 550.degree. to 800.degree. C. The improvement comprises utilizing a reactor that includes an initial "dense" zone and a downstream "dilute zone". In the dense zone, a fuel is burned, reactants and recirculated iron oxide particles are heated, ferric chloride is vaporized and at least 50% of the ferric chloride is converted to chlorine and iron oxide. In the downstream dilute zone, the conversion of ferric chloride is continued to greater than 95% completion.
European Patent publication No. 5054 discloses a process for the preparation of micaceous iron oxide which comprises reacting ferrous chloride substantially free from disruptive impurities, such as carbon, with oxygen at a temperature of 300.degree. to 1200.degree. C. The process can be carried out in a fluidized bed and it can form a part of a process for the recovery of chlorine values from iron chloride. The presence of carbon gives a nonmicaceous iron oxide. Also, a fluid bed reactor has disadvantages in that Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 cannot be discharged continuously as in a packed bed system, without entraining unreacted FeCl.sub.2. This is because a fluid bed regime is a perfectly mixed reactor which makes separation of fresh feed and product impossible.
Another reference which relates to the recovery of iron oxide and chlorine by oxidation of iron chlorides is the patent to Hartmann U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,584. The invention described therein is directed specifically to the oxidation of chlorinator dust which is essentially ferrous chloride contaminated with coke and other metal chlorides and oxides. The amount of coke present in the chlorinator dust derived from the chlorination of ilmenite is about 23% to 25% by weight. Before the treatment in the oxidation reaction reactor, the temperature is elevated to 700.degree. C. by burning carbon monoxide in oxygen and then the chlorinator dust is added. During reaction the temperature reaches 750.degree. C., and afterwards the solid/gas mixture is separated in a cyclone separator. The resulting solid mixture showed a coke content of 53.8%. Hartmann states of his process at column 3, line 24, "Since the reaction is carried out at relatively low temperatures, i.e., 500.degree. to 800.degree. C., combustible secondary constituents of the chlorinator dust, such as carbon, are definitely not oxidized". This avoids sintering of the iron oxide and enables easy control of the reaction. Hartmann describes a total chlorination procedure instead of a selective chlorination procedure. In a selective procedure the amount of carbon present in the reaction mass is much less than in chlorinator dust from a total chlorination process.
In a beneficiation process taught by V. G. Neurrgandnkar, Journal Chem. Tech. Biotechnol, 1986, 36, 27-30, the carbon to ilmenite ratio is 8%. In a total chlorination reaction the ratio is 20-30%. Thus, the carbon content in the off-gas in a beneficiation reaction is much lower than the carbon content in a total chlorination reaction. This is also true in an entrained flow chlorination such as that taught by Bonsack, supra. The carbon used in this case is reactive and thus much easier to burn and no carbon is left over. As described in "Mitsubishi Process for Upgrading Ilmenite and Chlorination Recirculation", S. Fukushima and Y. Sugawara, p. 453, the ratio of carbon to ilmenite is 8% in such a reaction.
Other references relating to beneficiation and entrained flow chlorination teach carbon/ilmenite ratios of less than 20%. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,775 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,954 to Bonsack; U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,391 to Dunn; U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,853 to Robinson; and a total chlorination process by described by Robinson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,843 which teaches about 7.5%, but preferably less than 12.5% carbon/ilmenite ratio.
As taught in the references cited above, the carbon content in condensed iron chloride is much lower in beneficiation processes than in total chlorination processes because beneficiation is usually run at a carbon deficiency condition. The carbon content in iron chloride condensed from entrained flow chlorination is much lower than that resulting from conventional chlorination processes which yield chlorinator dust, because the highly reactive carbon tends to be burned out entirely. Entrained flow chlorination yields only "left over" carbon, not blowover carbon as in a fluid bed reactor. The carbon/ilmenite ratio is lower in an entrained flow chlorinator.
In the case of condensed ferrous chloride from a total chlorinator, e.g., a fluidized bed chlorinator, the carbon content must be reduced from the normal 20 to 25% by weight. The carbon, together with any ore in the off-gas stream can be separated by conventional separation methods, such as using a hot cyclone separator, electrostatic precipitator (U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,954) or a "knock out pot". This removal can be effected at temperatures above the melting point of ferrous chloride (674.degree. C.). The carbon and ore solids can be most efficiently removed from a hot gas stream by using a ceramic fiber bag in a baghouse. The temperature can be as high as 800.degree. C. The carbon content in the condensed FeCl.sub.2 under these conditions is below about 12% and usually, the removal of carbon and ore is almost complete. If the collection is good, the carbon and ore are isolated with good separation before the ferrous chloride condenses.
The carbon content in the condensed ferrous chloride solid is then burned with oxygen to supply heat required to keep the fluidized bed medium hot, and to supply heat lost through the wall of the reactor. The presence of too much carbon in the ferrous chloride-containing mixture from a total chlorinator is undesirable because it consumes too much oxygen in burning and forms too high a concentration of carbon dioxide. This reduces the chlorine concentration. If chlorine containing excessive CO.sub.2 is returned to the fluidized bed chlorinator, carbon needed for the reaction is consumed because under these conditions, carbon dioxide in the recycle gas reacts with carbon to form carbon monoxide. The whole process is, therefore, rendered less efficient and hence it is preferred practice to lower the carbon dioxide content in the recycle gas by keeping the carbon content of the condensed ferrous chloride/carbon mixture preferably less than 12%.
As can be seen from the prior art above, in various methods for chlorinating titaniferous materials, e.g., ilmenite, rutile, and titaniferous slags, to produce TiCl.sub.4 and iron chlorides, chlorine is generally the chlorinating agent, and chlorine is recovered from iron chlorides by oxidation to Cl.sub.2 and Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3.

Oxidation of ferrous chloride directly to chlorine in a fluid bed reactor


A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, a spindle motor operable to rotate the disk, a head actuated over the disk, an interface operable to receive a host supply voltage, and a capacitor. The host supply voltage is used to charge the capacitor to a capacitor voltage higher than the host supply voltage. During a power failure, the host supply voltage stops charging the capacitor, and a motor supply voltage is generated from the spindle motor. The capacitor voltage is used to operate control circuitry, and when the capacitor voltage decays below the motor supply voltage, the motor supply voltage charges the capacitor.

Disk drives comprise a disk and a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm which is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) to position the head radially over the disk. The disk comprises a plurality of radially spaced, concentric tracks for recording user data sectors and embedded servo sectors. The embedded servo sectors comprise head positioning information (e.g., a track address) which is read by the head and processed by a servo control system to control the velocity of the actuator arm as it seeks from track to track.
When a power failure occurs, it may be desirable to complete pending write commands prior to safely shutting down the disk drive so that user data is not lost. This is of particular concern in disk drives that cache write data in a volatile semiconductor memory prior to writing the data to the disk or a non-volatile semiconductor memory. A conventional disk drive may charge a capacitor to a high voltage using the power supplied by the host, and then use the capacitor voltage to power circuitry in the disk drive to flush a write cache during a power failure. Using a high voltage capacitor to generate the backup power is more cost effective compared to using a lower voltage capacitor or bank of capacitors.

Disk drive charging capacitor using motor supply voltage during power failure


A game element for use in a genetic deck based game. The game element includes indicia to partition a larger set of game elements into ordered subsets of game elements. The game element also includes a unique identifier for the genetic deck.

The present invention which will be described shifts the focus from a plurality of cards to a plurality of decks of cards. This move eliminates the disadvantages of prior art that relies on libraries of cards to build decks. In prior systems there must be special game rules for including multiple copies of the same card within a set, while the present invention eliminates the need for such rules.
The deck based nature of the present invention allows game designers to place limits on the effective power of potential game decks at the time of creation or printing while allowing players to construct a set of components in a manner that is transparent to the player. To attain both of these foregoing advantages, the present invention uses a system of indicia that partition all potential game elements into fixed length decks.


An aerosol dispensing device comprises a tubular body that provides a plenum, a mouthpiece having an outlet, a valve for dispensing fluid from a canister as an aerosol with relatively large and small droplet sizes into the plenum for supply to a user through the mouthpiece, and a baffle arrangement that provides first and second passageways each coupled at one end to the plenum and so configured to receive relatively small and large size droplets in the aerosol respectively, the other end of the first passageway extending to the outlet in the mouthpiece to supply the small size droplets to the user, and the other end of the second passageway being closed to inhibit passage of the large size droplets to the mouthpiece outlet, and containing a absorbent pad to prevent leakage of liquid from the canister. The pad may be pre-loaded with a flavourant.

Hitherto, proposals have been made for a device reminiscent of a conventional tobacco-containing cigarette, for inhaling nicotine-containing products. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,884 discloses an inhaler having a generally cylindrical body that receives a canister of pressurised fluid that contains nicotine, which is dispensed for inhalation when a user draws on the device in a manner similar to drawing smoke from a conventional cigarette. U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,929 discloses a generally cylindrical body containing a supply of nicotine and pressurised gas which is mixed in a valve to create an aerosol directed to a mouthpiece for a user. The body of the device includes a baffle arrangement to block the passage of relatively large droplets created in the aerosol and allow only smaller size droplets to pass to the mouthpiece for inhalation. However, a problem with this device is that the larger droplets may undesirably drain from the device in a liquid stream.
Also, the mere use of a nicotine aerosol may not find acceptance by smokers as a substitute for conventional cigarettes that provide tobacco smoke for inhalation, due to the lack of smoke flavour in the nicotine aerosol.

British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited


In response to a user-initiated interaction request sent by a user using an electronic communication, subsequent actions performed by other users that received the user-initiated interaction request are analyzed. A determination is made as to whether the subsequent actions performed by the other users that received the user-initiated interaction request correlate to an intended interaction result of the user-initiated interaction request. A visual representation of a collaboration model that correlates probabilities of successful collaborations between the user and the other users is generated in accordance with determined correlations between the subsequent actions performed by the other users and the intended interaction result. A collaboration recommendation based upon a degree of correlation between the subsequent actions performed by the other users and the intended interaction result represented within the collaboration model is provided in association with the visual representation of the collaboration model.

The present invention relates to collaboration group recommendations. More particularly, the present invention relates to collaboration group recommendations derived from request-action correlations.
Users of computing devices may utilize those devices to perform work, play games, send messages to other users, and for other purposes. Users may install and run different applications on the computing devices to perform these different types of functionality.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Collaboration group recommendations derived from request-action correlations

International Business Machines Corporation


A mini-trampoline is disclosed. In one embodiment, a base support frame is circumferentially offset from a trampoline mat. The base support frame includes a horizontal support frame with vertical support members extending subjacently therefrom. Resilient members circumextend from the trampoline mat to the horizontal support frame. Each of the vertical support members includes a suction cup having a suction cup locking mechanism at a lower end. A support assembly is secured to the base support frame and includes a T-shaped support bar having handles cantilevering toward the trampoline mat.

Mini-trampolines, also known as rebounders, exercise trampolines, or trampettes, typically have smaller diameters and are closer to the ground than traditional, recreational, or competitive trampolines. Such mini-trampolines are often utilized indoors as part of a physical fitness regime, as "rebounding" on a mini-trampoline provides a form of exercise with a low impact on knees and other joints. Mini-trampolines have, therefore, become popular with people of various ages and physical abilities. Accordingly, a need exists for mini-trampolines that provide increased accessibility before and after use as well as increased stabilization during use.