This invention provides a structure and method for interconnecting logic devices through line segments which can be joined by programming antifuses. One of several programming lines can be connected through an interconnect line segment to each terminal of each antifuse in the array. Interconnect line segments connected to opposite terminals of the same antifuse are connected to a different programming line in order to be able to apply different voltages to the two terminals of the antifuse. An addressing structure selectively connects interconnect line segments to their respective programming lines, and programming voltages applied to the programming lines cause a selected antifuse to be programmed. A novel addressing feature sequentially addresses two transistors for the line segments to be connected, and takes advantage of a capacitive pumped decoder to maintain the addressed transistors turned on while programming voltages are applied. The structure also allows for testing of logic devices by applying test voltages to the programming voltage lines and/or sensing logic device output on programming voltage lines. The structure and method also permit measuring resistance of the programmed antifuses. No separate testing overhead structure is needed.

Elements for programming PROM's, EEPROM's and logic arrays have included fuses and transistors. It is also possible to make programmable connections using shortable elements (antifuses). An antifuse is an element which before programming has a high impedance and which upon application of an appropriate voltage changes to a low impedance conductive state. A thin dielectric, such as silicon dioxide between two conductive regions, such as aluminum, can serve as an antifuse, programmable by the current and local high heat which occur when sufficient voltage is applied to cause current to flow through the dielectric.
Two common programmable arrays are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, horizontal row lines R1 through Rn are connected to vertical column lines C1 through Cm through interconnects each comprising a diode and a programmable connector. The programmable connectors of FIG. 1 are antifuses, although fuses are also commonly used in this application. The diodes and antifuses of FIG. 1 are identified by the row and column which they connect. Thus the diode and antifuse which connect row R2 to column C1 are diode R2,C1 and antifuse R2,C1. To program the array of FIG. 1 so that row R2 is connected to column C1, all columns except C1 are brought to a high voltage and all rows except R2 are brought to a low voltage. Row R2 is brought to a high voltage and column C1 is brought to a low voltage. This combination of voltages causes diodes at intersections not including row R1 or Column C1 to be back biased. There is no voltage drop at intersections of column C1 with rows other than R2 and there is no voltage difference at intersections of row R2 with columns other than C1. However, diode R2,C1 is forward biased so that the full voltage difference is experienced by antifuse R2,C1. If the voltage levels are sufficient to program the particular antifuse, antifuse R2,C1 will short out and form a permanent connection between row R2 and column C1 through diode R2,C1. This technique works well for memory arrays. However, the diodes prevent two-way flow of current and thus the above method may be unacceptable for certain programmable logic applications where bidirectional current flow is required.
A second technique, shown in FIG. 2, eliminates the use of diodes, using simply cross point switch connections, and relies on the use of three voltage levels for selecting the intersection to be connected. As shown in FIG. 2, columns C1 through Cm can be connected to rows R1 through Rn by connecting antifuses at the appropriate intersections. An antifuse is indicated by a .sym. at the intersection. As with FIG. 1, the antifuses will be identified by the rows and columns which they connect.
In order to connect column C1 to row R2, all rows and columns except C1 and R2 are brought to an intermediate voltage level. Column C1 is brought to a high voltage level and row R2 is brought to a low voltage level. With this combination, antifuses at intersections not including row R2 or column C1 experience no voltage difference. Antifuses connecting rows except R2 to column C1 experience the voltage difference between the high and intermediate levels. Antifuses connecting columns except C1 to row R2 experience the voltage difference between the intermediate and low levels. If the intermediate voltage level is half way between the high and low voltage levels, the voltage difference experienced by antifuse R2,C1 is twice that of other elements in row R2 or column C1. If the antifuses can be reliably manufactured such that the voltage difference between the high and low voltages is sufficient to short the element and the voltage rise or difference between intermediate and the high or low voltages is not sufficient to short the element, this technique can be used to program an array of connections without having diodes in the signal path, in contrast to the array of FIG. 1.
Note, however, that after programming the first connection, for example R2,C1, row R2 and column C1 can no longer be brought to different voltage levels for future programming. If it is next desirable to connect row R2 to column Cm, both row R2 and column C1 will be brought to a low level, other columns except for columns C1 and Cm will be brought to an intermediate level, and column Cm will be brought to a high level. Thus in order to place the programming voltage on element R2,Cm, half the programming voltage must be placed across all elements in row R2, column Cm and also column C1, except of course for element R2,C1 which is already programmed.
If it is next desirable to connect element Rn,C1 row Rn will be brought low. Column C1 will be brought high thus placing high voltages on row R2 and column Cm which have been previously connected. But this action places a programming voltage not only on element Rn,Ci which is to be programmed but also on element Rn,Cm which is not intended to be programmed.
Structures such as shown in FIG. 1 are preferred for memories, where isolation of elements is provided by the diodes, and where it is not necessary to have bidirectional current flow. Structures such as shown in FIG. 2 are preferred for interconnect lines where bidirectionality is important and lack of isolation can be dealt with. FIG. 3 shows a structure in which isolation is not provided by diodes but is accomplished by dividing the entire array into smaller units for isolation. When the structure of FIG. 3 is to be programmed, transistors in units BR1,1 and BC1,1 can be turned off while programming the antifuses of section 1,1, thus avoiding the possible erroneous programming which would occur if the entire array were interconnected. Similarly, other sections can be isolated for antifuse programming. For operation of the device in which the antifuse array of FIG. 3 is located, isolating transistors such as those in BR1,1 and BC1,1 are turned on so that the array is interconnected as desired.
Further structures and methods for programming antifuses are known. Elgamal et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,745 describes a structure and method for programming antifuses which, as shown in FIG. 4 (Elgamal FIG. 1B), uses one channel control logic unit 23 for controlling the voltage to be applied to each line in an array. As shown in FIG. 5, (Elgamal FIG. 5, which is described in Elgamal col. 8, starting at line 53), pass transistors 40 are provided in parallel with programmable elements (antifuses) 46. Pass transistors 40 are used as feed through transistors during programming of one of the programmable elements 46. By turning on all transistors in a horizontal channel except the transistor for which an antifuse is to be programmed, a programming voltage can be applied to that antifuse. For example by turning on all transistors in channel 62c except transistor 40, and applying low and high voltages to opposite ends of the channel 62c, it is possible to generate enough voltage across terminals of antifuse 46 to program antifuse 46. Because the programming voltage must be applied through a series of transistors such as transistor 40, the programming current for programming antifuse 46 will be limited by the resistance of the transistors in channel 62c through which the current must flow. Since final resistance of the programmed antifuse depends upon current during programming, the final antifuse resistance is also limited by the resistance of transistors in channel 62c. Further, the arrangement of FIG. 5 is not easily scaled. Since the resistance of a channel such as 62c depends upon the number of transistors in series, if one were to design a set of devices using the principles of FIG. 5, it would be necessary to use different design rules for each device having a different number of transistors in series. If decoders were added midway when scaling to a larger device, so that a programming current was applied through only a set number of transistors in series, the efficiency of having decoding performed entirely at the periphery of the chip would be lost.
Finally, depending upon the number of antifuses to be programmed in one channel and the order in which they are programmed, the final antifuse resistance can vary considerably.

Structure and method for programming antifuses in an integrated circuit array


A method of forming a component by applying a forming load to a blank of material against a mandrel, wherein the mandrel defines the shape of the component to be formed and applying a forming load as a combination of a localised force and localised friction heating.

The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing technique for forming leading edge components of aircraft. A 'leading edge' in the aerospace field is a surface which faces the direction of travel i.e. high speed air makes direct contact with the leading edge. Leading edges can be found, for example, on wings, blades, lip skins on nacelles that are located at the inlet to a gas turbine engine or the like.
Leading edges must be carefully designed to accommodate a variety of thermal and structural loads. Importantly, leading edges must also be designed to accommodate extreme environmental conditions, such as ice and rain which may cause corrosion or wear. Furthermore, leading edges must be designed to accommodate unexpected collisions, for example caused by a bird-strike or otherwise un-expected collision with a leading edge.
The aerodynamic profile or shape of a leading edge (such as a nacelle inlet lip skin) makes manufacturing a complex process in the sense that a smooth curved geometry is needed to provide a smooth surface against which the airstream can flow in normal flight.
FIG. 1 shows an example leading edge component, an engine nacelle. The gas turbine engine 1 is contained within an external structure which is known in the art as a nacelle. The nacelle defines an air inlet into the structure (and engine) at its foremost part. The inlet 2 is generally circular and has a smooth leading edge surface. FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the inlet 2 and illustrates the curvature of the nacelle. It will be recognised that the nacelle needs a smooth leading edge surface to split and direct air into the engine and also along the outside of the engine case (as illustrated by the arrows shown in FIG. 2).
In order to form a leading edge component with the profile shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a common forming process is used which is known as 'spin forming'. This involves a large rotating mandrel against which a disc of metal is pressed to form the final shape of the nacelle. This is illustrated in FIG. 3.
Referring to FIG. 3, a rotatable mandrel 4 is provided defining the nacelle (or other leading edge) profile. A disc of metal 5 is coupled to the end of the mandrel so as to rotate therewith. As the mandrel 4 and disc 5 rotate, a roller 6 presses against the disc forcing the material progressively onto the mandrel surface (shown by ghost profiles A, B and C). The roller 6 moves around the mandrel and applies a force against the material until the material is aligned with the mandrel's outer surface forming the nacelle shape. As shown, and as discussed above, the wall thickness T1 can be controlled within a specified tolerance so as to provide the strength required of the leading edge.
Because materials have formability limits in terms of the stress and strain they can accommodate before failure, certain applications require heat to be applied to the material as it is formed by the roller 6. This is conventionally by means of a flame 7 from a gas blow torch 8 directed on the material as it is being formed by the roller 6.
Forming the leading edge in this way causes the material to be strained in multiple directions. Although this results in thickness changes the changes are controlled within a specified tolerance.
Heating the material during the forming as described above advantageously improves the formability and allows the shape to be conveniently formed. However, the application of heat in this way is not always precise and can cause varied heat distribution i.e. under or overheating of the material during the forming process. This can degrade the material with a resulting reduction in strength and fatigue life. The material is also prone to fracture during forming which generates waste or scrap. Furthermore, there are also health and safety issues associated with naked flame use and the required flammable fuel.


The invention relates to a machine tool monitoring device with an identification unit for identifying the operating situation of a machine tool. According to the invention, the identification unit is designed to identify an operating situation using at least one distance variable.

A machine tool monitoring device for monitoring a processing of a circular saw is known. Thereby the machine tool monitoring device provides a sensor unit for creating and detecting an electromagnetic signal, which is arranged close to a saw blade. An approaching of a body part to the saw blade can be detected by monitoring the frequency spectrum of the signal.


A system for monitoring a power transmission line includes at least one monitoring device located along the power transmission line configured to provide power transmission line data. A wide area situational awareness module is configured to receive the power transmission line data and an adaptation module is configured to receive output from the wide area situational awareness module and further configured to calculate control actions for the power transmission line based on the power transmission line data.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to power grid management. More particularly, this application relates to an arrangement for power grid monitoring.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electric power systems, for quite some time, have been exposed to delivery patterns for which the transmission and distribution (T&D) equipment was not designed. This is basically a result of a combination of reasons such as adding many non-utility-owned generators at various locations throughout the existing power grid, incorporating intermittent renewable energy resources of various technologies, servicing non-traditional types of loads (electronics, modern control systems, data centers, high-tech manufacturing equipment, plug-in electric vehicles etc. . . . ) as well as the consequent needs for economic power transfers across wide areas instead of only the limited areas for which the T&D equipment was designed.
Moreover, today's operating and planning practices do not rely on adaptation of available resources as system conditions vary. Instead, the worst-case preventive off-line simulations and studies are the basis for how the resources are used as a whole. This approach generally results in hard-to-ensure security as conditions vary significantly outside of the regions for which the system was designed, and, as rule, to under-utilization of resources.
In addition, firm point-to-point bilateral energy contracts superposed on top of coordinated least-cost generation dispatch by the system operators have created hard-to-track parallel flows within and between once loosely coupled control areas. Most recently, the trend to deploy unconventional intermittent resources and connect them to the electric power grid is likely to even further change the T&D power flow patterns once well understood by the system operators.
The overall complexity is likely to increase to the point of being hard to manage using today's industry practices. The complexity is further increased by much faster and larger fluctuations of power injections from their forecasted schedules than with conventional generation resulting in hard-to-predict variations in system operating conditions, as these new resources create qualitatively different transmission interface (flow gate) and line flow patterns.
Furthermore, grid system complexity is increased by the installation and utilization of modern generation and T&D control devices, which aim to substantially improve the power system performance. However, they need proper control decisions and actions in order to achieve such a goal. If this is not the case, such devices are underutilized in the power grid. There exists an entire range of controllers available for typical modern electric power systems but they are not currently coordinated in a systematic way to accommodate broader ranges of operating conditions more efficiently and without endangering system security in the existing prior art systems.
Such controls may include (1) governors of power plants, Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVRs) and Power Systems Stabilizers (PSSs) on power plants, capable of controlling power generated, and terminal voltage, respectively; (2) a variety of mechanically-controllable T&D equipment, such as On-Load Tap Changing Transformers (OLTCs), Shunt Capacitor Banks (ShCBs), Series Capacitor Banks (SCBs) and Phase Angle Regulators (PARs), capable of controlling voltage at the sending or receiving lines, voltages at the buses to which they are connected, and flows through the transmission lines to which they are connected, respectively. More recently, new power-electronically controllable versions of these devices, known as modern flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) devices, capable of controlling separately or simultaneously voltages and line flows at specific system locations have become an option as well. Such devices are promising because of their ability to avoid wear-and-tear of the basic equipment being controlled by avoiding mechanical stress of concern when using traditional ShCB, SCB, PARs. They are also capable of implementing much faster adjustments to their controlled set points as these are changed. For example, when properly tuned these devices could avoid the danger of creating fast instabilities as the set points of the controllable equipment are being adapted to the changing operating conditions.
Turning back to the operating protocols for such equipment used when managing a power grid, many previously defined prior art protocols for operating the system reliably during both normal and contingency conditions have problems finding a feasible operating point or result in operating conditions that prevent the most efficient and cleanest utilization of the existing generating resources due to reliability-related constraints. Under different situations such operating conditions might not be optimal, which could be further improved by proper utilization and arrangement of existing T&D equipment, which never the less, in current systems, is not fully utilized due to insufficient control decisions resulting from reduced situational awareness or reduced knowledge of control algorithms for optimally operating such equipment.

System and method for power grid management


According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a first terminal, a second terminal, a first plurality of switching elements and anti-parallel diodes coupled between the positive electrode and the first terminal and the second terminal, a second plurality of switching elements and anti-parallel diodes coupled between the negative electrode and the first terminal and the second terminal and a PiN diode coupled between the positive electrode and the negative electrode with reverse polarity.

In recent years, research and development of a power semiconductor element using SiC is accomplished. SiC is superior in semiconductor properties than conventional Si. Particularly, SiC shows high dielectric breakdown strength, and use of SiC makes it possible to implement a higher-voltage-resistance element as compared with Si. Although only a low voltage resistance of about several hundred volts can be realized with SBD (Schottky Barrier Diode) or JBS (Junction Barrier Schottky) diodes using Si, a high voltage resistance of 1700 volts or more is realized through the use of SiC.
In the case where SBD or JBS diodes are applied to freewheel diodes of a power conversion circuit, reverse recovery does not occur at the time of turnoff and diode recovery loss becomes substantially negligible, since, unlike the conventional PiN diodes, the SBD or JBS diodes are not bipolar devices. Therefore, reduction in loss contributes to enhancing the device efficiency and reducing the device size. Freewheel diodes, also known as flyback diodes, are diodes used to reduce flyback, voltage spikes that are seen across inductive loads when a supply voltage is suddenly reduced or removed.
If a circuit is shorted between positive and negative electrodes due to element failure or a control error in a power conversion device with a two-level or three-level circuit, the electric charges in a capacitor provided between the positive and negative electrodes abruptly flow through the short circuit. After the capacitor has been discharged, the voltage and the current become oscillatory due to the relationship between the capacity of the capacitor and the inductance of the main circuit, thereby generating a reverse current (a current flowing from a negative electrode to a positive electrode) in some cases. Although the element may not be destroyed by the current right after the short-circuiting, there is a possibility that element destruction may occur and get worse because a reverse current far greater than a rated value will be then shunted to the freewheel diodes.
While the SBD or JBS diodes are capable of contributing to loss reduction, they have a drawback in that the surge current resistance thereof is smaller than that of the PiN diode. For that reason, it is believed the SBD or JBS diodes tend to be more easily destroyed than the PiN diode by an electric current that is far greater than the rated value, e.g., the reverse current flowing after the circuit is shorted between the positive and negative electrodes. Thus, there is a concern that this may possibly reduce device reliability. In the case of a power conversion device used in subways, a high voltage such as 3300 V, 4500V or 6500V is supplied, and bigger problems may occur.


The present invention, in some embodiments, provides a low distortion singlet lens and optical imaging apparatus including the same.

Imaging properties of lenses used in optical apparatus and systems can suffer from one or more optical aberrations, such as astigmatism, chromatic aberration, distortion, field curvature and spherical aberration. Optical aberrations can be mitigated through several techniques, including utilization of various structures in conjunction with the lens. In one technique, an external stop is positioned in front of the object side of a lens to assist in correcting off-axis aberrations. Moreover, additional lens structures can be used to correct optical aberrations of a first lens. Achromat doublets, for example, can be used to minimize chromatic aberration of a first lens.
While offering greater degrees of freedom for correcting optical aberrations, optical apparatus comprising compound lens arrangements and/or external stops demonstrate cost and fabrication disadvantages in comparison to optical apparatus based on single element (singlet) lens designs. The use of multiple lenses and/or external stops can increase manufacturing costs as multiple components are required for apparatus completion. Additionally, multiple lenses and/or external stops can increase manufacturing time as these components require accurate alignment and are subject to tight tolerances. Furthermore, a faulty lens or external stop or misalignment thereof can render the optical apparatus defective thereby increasing manufacturing inefficiencies.


In an approach to modifying the essentialness of an ecommerce order, one or more computer processors receive an order for a product from a customer. One or more computer processors determine the product is deemed non-essential. One or more computer processors notify the customer that the product is non-essential. One or more computer processors receive a justification of an essentialness of the product from the customer. One or more computer processors analyze a sentiment of the justification. Based on the analysis of the sentiment, one or more computer processors determine the product is essential. One or more computer processors process the order as essential.

The present invention relates generally to the field of ecommerce, and more particularly to modifying the essentialness of an ecommerce order.
In business and finance, supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities involve the transformation of natural resources, raw materials, and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer.
Electronic commerce (referred to herein as "ecommerce") is a growing sector of the U.S. and world economies. Ecommerce is the activity of electronically buying or selling products or online services over the Internet. Ecommerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Ecommerce is in turn driven by the technological advances of the semiconductor industry and is the largest sector of the electronics industry.

International Business Machines Corporation


An implant material for replacing hard tissue of a living body is provided. The implant material comprises 10 to 90 wt % of a fiber glass and 90 to 10 wt % of an organic high polymer material. The fiber glass is mainly composed of calcium phosphate. The organic high polymer material does not inhibit affinity with the living body. On the surface of the implant material, a portion of the fiber glass is exposed.

The present invention relates to an implant material for replacing hard tissue of a living body, and more particularly to novel implant material for replacing a defect or hollow portion of hard tissue, such as bone or dental root, resulting from external injury or surgical removal of bone tumor.
In surgical and orthopedic treatments, prosthesis operations are often required for filling in defects or hollow portions of bone resulting from fracture of bone or surgical removal of bone tumor. Also in the field of dental surgery, similar denture operations are often required for filling in spoilt void portions in maxilla or mandibula resulting from pyorrhea alveolaris. It has been a common practice to resect ilium or other bone tissue from the patient to fill up the defect or hollow portion of bone thereby to promote early remedy of the bone tissue. However, by means of such an operation, normal bone tissue must be picked up from an unspoilt portion which causes additional pain to the patient and in addition the operation is very troublesome. Moreover, when the volume of defect or void in the patient's bone is large, the amount of bone obtainable from his own body is not always sufficient for fully filling in the defect or void. In such a case, it is inevitable to use a substitute for the patient's own bone tissue.
A variety of metal alloys and organic materials have hitherto been used as the substitute for hard tissue in the living body. However, it has been recognized that these materials tend to dissolve or otherwise deteriorate in the environment of living tissue or to be toxic to the living body, and that they cause a so-called foreign body reaction. Ceramic materials are used up to date, since they are excellent in compatibility with living body and are free of the aforementioned difficulties. From ceramic materials, particularly alumina, carbon or tricalcium phosphate or a sintered mass or single crystal of hydroxyapatite, which are superior in compatibility with living body, artificial bones and tooth roots have been developed and have attracted a good deal of public attention.
However, the conventional ceramic implant materials have a common disadvantage in that they are inherently too hard and brittle, and in that they are difficultly machined to have a shape and dimensions adapted to be filled in the void of bone. On the other hand, when alumina is used as the filler, it acts as a stimulant to cause absorption of bone at the vicinity of the implanted filler, since alumina is much harder than the bone tissue. The use of ceramic materials or alumina has not yet been in the stage of practical application, accordingly.
The hard tissues of living body have, in general, a density of about 1.9 g/cm.sup.3, a bending strength of from 300 to 1800 kg/cm.sup.2 and a modulus of bending elasticity of 1.6.times.10.sup.5 kg/cm.sup.2. It is thus desired that the implant material has a bending strength and a modulus of bending elasticity comparable to those of the hard tissues of living body, as set forth above, and a density substantially equivalent to or less than that of the hard tissues of living body, and that it can be easily machined to have a shape and dimensions well adapted to be fitted in a void into which it is implanted. It is further desired that the implant material does not hinder the affinity with the living body but it promotes positively the formation of new bone.

Implant material for replacing hard tissue of living body


A flexible display screen cover plate, a flexible display module and a flexible display device are provided by the present application. The flexible display screen cover plate includes a composite laminated structure including at least one flexible glass layer and at least one organic layer that are laminated. By providing the composite lamination structure including the at least one flexible glass layer and the at least one organic layer and utilizing rigid characteristics of a glass material and flexible characteristics of an organic material, the flexible display screen cover plate with both a bendability and a sufficient hardness can be ensured, and the bendability of the flexible display screen cover plate can be improved.

With the development of display technologies, display devices are widely applied in many application fields nowadays, and therefore a function of a display screen is gradually demanded to increase. A flexible screen has characteristics such as bendable and so on, and it can be realized that a display device is bent or folded by utilizing flexibility of the display components, thereby it is convenient for people to carry and use the display device. More and more attentions are paid to wearable display devices with flexible display panels, and the wearable display devices have shown significant application potential in fields such as entertainment and so on, and have been listed in major competitive markets in the industry.

Flexible display screen cover plate, flexible display module and flexible display device


One embodiment of the present invention relates to an error tolerant memory circuit having a low hardware overhead that can tolerate both single volatile soft errors and permanent errors. In one embodiment, the method and apparatus comprise a memory circuit having a plurality of memory element pairs, respectively having two memory storage elements configured to store a data unit. One or more parity generation circuits are configured to calculate a first parity bit from data written to the plurality of memory element pairs (e.g., the two memory storage elements) and a second parity bit from data read from one of the two memory storage elements in the plurality of memory element pairs. Based upon the calculated first and second parity bits, the memory circuit chooses to selectively output data from memory storage elements not known to contain an error.

To ensure the reliability of computer systems, errors in the data that is stored in electronic memory structures may be detected and corrected. Errors in memory have long been detected through the use of parity bits. Parity bits are bits that may be added to a memory structure to ensure the integrity of data stored in the memory. Each time that data is written to a memory, a logic circuit (e.g., a parity generation circuit) examines the data and determines the number of high data states (e.g., "1's"). The parity of the data stored in the memory is computed based upon the number of high data states. In the case of even parity bits, the logic circuit will calculate a parity bit value equal to "1" when the number of high data states in the memory is even and a parity bit value equal to "0" when the number of high data states in a memory is odd. It is also possible to have odd parity bits, wherein the logic circuit will calculate a parity bit value equal to "1" when the number of high data states in the memory is odd and a parity bit value equal to "0" when the number of high data states in a memory is even. When data is read back from the memory, the logic circuit reads back the bits and again determines a parity bit value (e.g., if there are an odd or an even number of ones). Comparison of the parity bit values can detect an error in the memory.
For example, FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a memory 102 configured to store a data byte comprising eight data bits 104a-104g and a parity bit 106 at a first time T1, when data is written into the memory, and at a later time T2, when data is read from the memory. At time the memory 102 stores a data byte having an odd number of bits having a data value of "1" (e.g., 104b, 104e, 104f), resulting in an even parity bit 106 having a value of "1". Between time T1 and time T2 an event occurs that causes a value of the data bit stored in memory element 104d to change its value from "0" to "1". Therefore, at the later time T2, the memory 102′ stores a data byte having an even number of bits having a data value of "1" (e.g., 104b, 104d, 104e, 104f), resulting in an even parity bit 106 having a value of "0". Because the value of the parity bit 106 at time T1 is different than the value of the parity bit 106 at time T2, an error is present in the memory.
While parity bits may easily detect single bit errors, the use of parity bits to correct data (e.g., as done in Hamming-Code schemes) requires a large increase in hardware and energy consumption of an integrated circuit and therefore is not desirable. Alternatively, data may be detected and corrected by the implementation of majority decision-makers or voters. However, such methods also use large chip areas and consume large amounts of power.


Methods and systems are provided for producing syngas utilizing heat from thermochemical conversion of a carbonaceous fuel to support decomposition of at least one of water and carbon dioxide using one or more solid-oxide electrolysis cells. Simultaneous decomposition of carbon dioxide and water or steam by one or more solid-oxide electrolysis cells may be employed to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide. A portion of oxygen produced from at least one of water and carbon dioxide using one or more solid-oxide electrolysis cells is fed at a controlled flow rate in a gasifier or combustor to oxidize the carbonaceous fuel to control the carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide ratio produced.

As energy consumption in the United States and throughout the world continues to increase, additional methods for environmentally clean energy conversion that can convert biomass, coal, or other solid or nonconventional heavy hydrocarbon energy resources to hydrogen, synthetic fuels and chemicals are desired. Concerns about the increased wastes and pollutants produced by many of the conventional energy conversion processes, and the low efficiencies of such processes, have led to further research for cleaner, more efficient processes.
In response to the increasing energy demands and the desire to reduce or eliminate pollutants, new cleaner, energy conversion processes that can utilize biomass, coal, or other solid or nonconventional heavy hydrocarbons are being sought. A known process for conversion of these energy resources to cleaner fuels includes synthetic fuels, often referred to as "synfuels," which are made from synthesis gas, often referred to as "syngas." Syngas includes a mixture of varying amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) that may be converted to form hydrogen, synfuels, methanol or chemicals. Production of synfuels from syngas may be performed using a variety of processes including a Fischer-Tropsch process to convert the carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons as shown below in Reaction 1:(2n+1)H2+nCO→CnH(2n+2)+nH2O   (Reaction 1)
The synfuels produced using the Fischer-Tropsch process may include high purity, low sulfur, fuels, often referred to as "Fischer-Tropsch liquids," which have fewer pollutants than naturally occurring fuels or fuels processed from naturally occurring oil deposits.
Another approach is to convert syngas into methanol, which may be converted to gasoline, olefins, or aromatics. Syngas may be converted to methanol using a copper or zinc catalyst such as a modified ZSM-5 catalyst.
High temperature solid-oxide fuel cells may be used to produce electricity and water from hydrogen and oxygen (O2). When run in reverse, the solid-oxide fuel cells are called solid-oxide electrolysis cells and are able to electrolytically reduce and split water into hydrogen and oxygen and carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and oxygen. The water may be converted into hydrogen, which may be combined with carbon monoxide to form syngas. In a solid-oxide electrolysis cell, the anode is the reducing gas electrode and the cathode is the oxidant-side electrode. When operated in reverse, as a solid-oxide electrolysis cell, the anode is the oxidant-side electrode and the cathode is the reducing gas electrode. Furthermore the solid-oxide electrolysis cell may be used to co-electrolyze a mixture of water and carbon dioxide to produce syngas.
Improvements to systems and processes for producing syngas are continually sought after by various industries. It would be beneficial to develop efficient systems and methods of producing syngas while minimizing carbon emissions.

Methods and systems for producing syngas


A carrier for an electronic device such as an integrated circuit chip is designed by assigning two different voltage domains to two separate areas of the contact surface of the carrier, while providing a common electrical ground for both voltage domains. The integrated circuit chip may be a microprocessor having a nominal operating voltage, and the different voltages of the two voltage domains are both within the tolerance range of the nominal operating voltage but one of the voltage domains is aligned with a high power density area of the microprocessor (e.g., the microprocessor core) and provides a slightly greater voltage. The higher power voltage domain preferably has a ratio of voltage pins to ground pins that is greater than one.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the design of integrated circuits and packaging for semiconductor chips, and more particularly to a method of assigning voltage domains (power and ground) to contacts of a chip carrier or interconnect.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuits are used for a wide variety of electronic applications, from simple devices such as wristwatches, to the most complex computer systems. A microelectronic integrated circuit (IC) chip can generally be thought of as a collection of logic cells with electrical interconnections between the cells, formed on a semiconductor substrate (e.g., silicon). An IC may include a very large number of cells and require complicated connections between the cells. A cell is a group of one or more circuit elements such as transistors, capacitors, resistors, inductors, and other basic circuit elements grouped to perform a logic function. Cell types include, for example, core cells, scan cells and input/output (I/O) cells. Each of the cells of an IC may have one or more pins, each of which in turn may be connected to one or more other pins of the IC by wires. The wires connecting the pins of the IC are also formed on the surface of the chip. For more complex designs, there are typically at least four distinct layers of conducting media available for routing, such as a polysilicon layer and three metal layers (metal-1, metal-2, and metal-3). The polysilicon layer, metal-1, metal-2, and metal-3 are all used for vertical and/or horizontal routing.
As the size of integrated circuits continues to shrink, and pin densities grow, it becomes increasingly more difficult to interconnect the chip to external circuitry. Chips are commonly attached to a substrate, e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB) using a carrier or package which fans out the connections to pads or pins on the PCB. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical chip assembly which includes an IC chip 1, a package 2, a PCB 3, and miscellaneous components such as capacitors 4. These various elements may be electrically coupled using surface-mount connections with C4 solder ball arrays 5. IC chip 1 is connected to package 2 which is in turn connected to PCB 3. Package 2 and PCB 3 both have multiple horizontal layers interconnected by vertical vias. A single layer may contain multiple planes, i.e., some for wiring and others for an electrical ground plane or a power plane. A given plane in package 2 may have multiple connections to the top and bottom surfaces to couple ground or power planes of IC chip 1 to ground or power planes of PCB 3. It is common to find 24 or more levels of wiring within a package.
The package itself can significantly affect the performance of the integrated circuit it supports, particularly as power supply currents, power densities, and operating frequencies increase. In addition to shrinking feature sizes and advances in lithography in CMOS technology that have increased circuit integration density (and thereby power density), there has also been a reduction in the chip's operating nominal voltage. These factors have progressively made it more difficult to deliver clean and controlled power to IC chips, and power delivery is often the most critical parameter in a system design. Decreasing channel widths are further leading to an exponential increase is leakage currents.
To more efficiently optimize leakage and power consumption on the chip, some chips are being partitioned into multiple voltage domains. However, partitioning in this manner requires the different voltages to be controlled very tightly which results in major constraints on the chip carrier design. The parameters of concern include the voltage gradients available at the circuits across the chip and pin current magnitudes at the carrier/PCB interface, all of which should ideally be minimized. Optimization is even more difficult with complex circuits like microprocessor chips that integrate one or more CPU (central processing unit) cores, input/output (I/O) interfaces, memory control units and several other functional units into one chip. Each of these building blocks are designed to meet their performance targets and are built with appropriate transistor types and circuit densities which causes a high power density variation across the chip area. In particular, the cores (which have a very high circuit density) typically have a much higher power demand compared to the rest of the functional units and are more sensitive to DC-drop (gradient) and current density.
Unfortunately, state-of-the-art chip carrier designs for single or multi-chip modules (SCM/MCM) are typically designed using a homogenous pattern for the bottom-side metallization (BSM) pins with no consideration given to circuit or power densities. When calculating the required power vias/pins for each voltage domain, the projected total current is simply divided by the maximum allowed pin/via current; the chip power density floorplan is not taken into account. As a result, the expected maximum pin current is higher than the calculated average current by a factor of 3-4. It would, therefore, be desirable to devise an improved technique for delivering power to an integrated circuit chip which could reduce DC gradients across the chip and power dissipation on the chip carrier. It would be further advantageous if the technique could reduce the maximum pin currents at the carrier/PCB interface.

Via/BSM pattern optimization to reduce DC gradients and pin current density on single and multi-chip modules


A method to estimate water saturation (Sw) of a thin-bedded formation is provided including (a) developing a model of anisotropy of resistivity (Rv/Rh) a function of water saturation (Swt) for one or more volume fractions (either Fshale or Fsand); (b) measuring the anisotropy of resistivity of the formation; (c) measuring the volume fraction of the formation; (d) correlating anisotropy of resistivity to the measured volume fraction of the formation using the model to estimate the water saturation (total water saturation or sand water saturation) of the formation.

Thinly laminated formations can hold significant hydrocarbon reservoirs. Often such formations are anisotropic and exhibit the classical "Low Resistivity Pay" (see Boyd et al., "The lowdown on low-resistivity pay," Oilfield Review, Autumn 1995, pages 4-18 and Worthington, "Recognition and evaluation of low resistivity pay," Petroleum Geoscience, 2000, Volume 6, pages 77-92, incorporated by reference herein in their entireties). The cause of this very large anisotropy of resistivity (i.e., larger than 3) is likely due to the presence of water bearing thin beds (shale layers for example) and oil bearing sand layers (see Klein, "Saturation effects on electrical anisotropy," The Log Analyst, January-February 1996, pages 47-49 and Klein et al., "The petrophysics of electrically anisotropic reservoirs," The Log Analyst, May-June 1997, incorporated by reference herein in their entireties).
Conventional techniques to measure water saturation in thin bed laminates (i.e. in the presence of anisotropic resistivity) are generally in two categories:
Models Using Horizontal Resistivity Only:
By taking into account the effect of shale upon resistivity one can derived a shaly-sand equation to compute Sw. Numerous equations have been proposed such as Waxman-Smits, Indonesian etc. At least 19 equations have been published. A good review can be found in: Worthington, P. F., The Evolution of Shaly-Sand Concepts in Reservoir Evaluation, The Log Analyst, 26, pp. 2340, 1985 (incorporated by reference herein in its entirety).
Models Using Vertical and Horizontal Resistivity:
Following the work done by Klein (1996) and Klein et al. (1997), Shray et al. (see Shray et al., "Evaluation of laminated formations using nuclear magnetic resonance and resistivity anisotropy measurements," SPE 72370, 2001, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) proposed an algorithm for water saturation computation in thin-bedded formations, where the inputs are the horizontal resistivity, the vertical resistivity, the fine grained volumetric fraction (from NMR) and the water resistivity. In this approach, the thin-bed is seen as a bi-modal system composed of coarse grain layers and fine grain layers. If the horizontal and vertical resistivity and the amount of fine grain material are known, then the resistivity of the coarse grain and fine grain layer may be calculated. Then the amount of water in each layer may be determined using Archie's law. Consequently, the total amount of water may be determined.
These conventional methods are multi-step inversions requiring knowledge of formation water resistivity and porosity. These inversions are complicated and difficult to transform into real time field answer products.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method to determine water saturation in thin bed formations from anisotropic resistivity measurements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method that directly computes water saturation from the vertical and horizontal resistivity without requiring the determination of porosity of the sand and shale layers, the water resistivity.

Determining water saturation for oil bearing thin-bedded formation having anisotropic resistivity


Systems and methods for predicting multiple health care outcomes are provided. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving clinical data relating to a patient, calculating, with a multi-tasking deep neural network model, a plurality of health outcomes for the patient based on the received clinical data, and displaying one or more of the plurality of health outcomes. In this way, the richness of health care data may be leveraged to predict multiple health care outcomes with a single predictive model.

In health care, there is a need to have a broad and rich predictive view of a person's health. Doctors and other medical professionals are trained to diagnose diseases and medical conditions by analyzing a patient's symptoms and data obtained from the patient's medical history and a physical examination. However, despite years of training and experience, doctors may not accurately diagnose a patient's medical condition, as many signs and symptoms are nonspecific. Furthermore, comorbidity of the condition with other medical conditions and/or the rareness of the condition, for example, may further obscure the true nature of the condition. Further still, the prediction of a patient's susceptibility to a particular disease or a particular medical condition proves even more challenging.
One approach to predictive health care is to train a machine learning model, such as a neural network, to predict or diagnosis a health condition. For example, a neural network may be trained with a large dataset containing the medical history of many patients with or without a particular health care outcome. To predict the susceptibility of a given patient to the particular health care outcome, similar data regarding the patient may be input to the trained neural network, which outputs a prediction.
To predict different outcomes, typical predictive modeling approaches would build a separate predictive model or system for each outcome. Building and maintaining a large number of predictive models is unwieldy. Furthermore, building separate models does not allow each model to support and bootstrap each other. It is well known that many health care outcomes share underlying causes and relationships. For example, diabetes is associated with kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Building separate machine learning models makes it difficult for the different models to share information about underlying causes and factors.
Health care data is very rich and the large number of predictive features makes predictive models prone to overfitting to the training data. For example, there are tens of thousands of ICD diagnosis codes and similarly tens of thousands of different medical procedures. Predictive models that want to use the rich information stored in health care data are prone to the technical issue of overfitting.
Further still, many health care outcomes are rare, and thus data regarding such health care outcomes is sparse. Training models on very sparse data heightens the risk of overfitting problems. Since overfitting is a large concern in predicting health care outcomes, models are often constrained with heavy regularization or by limiting their expressiveness. For example, a neural network might be constrained to only one or two hidden layers with a small number of neurons. For neural networks, this reduces the expressive power of the network to map clinical data to health care outcomes.
The inventors herein have recognized the above issues and have devised several approaches to address them. In particular, systems and methods for predicting, for example simultaneously predicting, multiple health care outcomes are provided. In a first example embodiment, a method comprises: initializing a multi-tasking deep neural network comprising: an input layer comprising a plurality of input nodes; a plurality of hidden layers; a health care outcome masking layer; an output layer comprising a plurality of output nodes, wherein the plurality of output nodes correspond to a plurality of health care outcomes; and a health care outcome cost scaling layer; training the multi-tasking deep neural network using a training dataset; adjusting the health care outcome masking layer based on a characteristic of a patient; inputting patient clinical data into the input layer; predicting at least a first and a second health care outcome for the patient, the first health care outcome predicted based on a first output from a first output node, and the second health care outcome based on a second output from a second output node, wherein both the first and second output are based on the patient clinical data; and displaying one or more of the first and the second health care outcome. In this way, the large amount of available health care data may be leveraged to predict multiple health care outcomes for a patient using a single predictive model, while simultaneously reducing the risk of overfitting.
In another example embodiment, a method stored in a computer-readable storage medium of a computing system that when executed by a processor of the computing system performs the steps of: initializing a multi-tasking deep neural network comprising: an input layer comprising a plurality of input nodes; a plurality of hidden layers; a health care outcome masking layer; an output layer comprising a plurality of output nodes, wherein the plurality of output nodes correspond to a plurality of health care outcomes; and a health care outcome cost scaling layer; training the multi-tasking deep neural network using a training dataset comprising clinical data and corresponding health care outcomes; adjusting the health care outcome masking layer based on a physical characteristic of a patient; inputting patient clinical data into the input layer; predicting a plurality of patient health care outcomes based on output from the plurality of output nodes of the output layer; and displaying one or more of the predicted plurality of patient health care outcomes via a display subsystem of the computing system.
In another example embodiment, a computing system comprises: a display subsystem; a processor; and a computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that when executed by the processor perform the steps of: initializing a multi-tasking deep neural network comprising: an input layer comprising a plurality of input nodes; a plurality of hidden layers; a health care outcome masking layer comprising a plurality of masking nodes; an output layer comprising a plurality of output nodes corresponding to a plurality of health care outcomes; and a health care outcome cost scaling layer, wherein the health care cost scaling layer adjusts a weight of an error associated with each of the plurality of output nodes; training the multi-tasking deep neural network using a training dataset comprising clinical data; adjusting the health care outcome masking layer based on a physical characteristic of a patient; inputting patient clinical data into the plurality of input nodes; predicting a plurality of patient health care outcomes based on output from the plurality of output nodes, wherein the plurality of patient health care outcomes comprise classification and regression health care outcomes; and displaying one or more of the plurality of patient health care outcomes.
The above summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the subject matter. Furthermore, the subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.


A “fair play” online gaming system comprises a deal server for generating an encrypted set of gaming elements (such as cards) and a play server for controlling a set of operations within a game. The play server is coupled to the deal server and receives encrypted gaming elements from the deal server in response to commands. The gaming system also includes an audit server that is coupled to the play server, where the audit server is used to send and receive information between the play server and one or more online players communicating via the internet. A transcript server may be inserted in the signal path between the audit server and the internet, and used to archive all communications. Importantly, the deal server and the play server cannot communicate with the internet and cannot be accessed by untoward individuals, thus providing fair play conditions for an online game.

The online variant of many card games as offered in a casino (for example, poker, blackjack, keno or the like) provides significantly different challenges to the detection of cheating on the part of the dealer than traditional table games. For example, in the online environment, there is obviously a lack of physical contact between the players and the dealer. Indeed, maintaining secure, fair games in online gaming is a difficult and complicated issue for online gaming firms. Although there are many ways to unfairly play the games, one on-going problem is the suspicion on the part of the players that the card deck may be manipulated by the computer system that creates the "electronic deck" and deals the cards.
With the availability of online gambling, issues regarding the integrity of the "electronic dealer" are problem areas that gate the expansion of this industry. That is, there is a suspicion by some players that a computer-controlled system can control the deal of the cards and, therefore, is not "playing fair". Indeed, if a site is involved in using real money to stage a poker game, it is relatively easy for an actual "human" player to be contracted to play for the company controlling the online computer system and be given an advantage. For instance, a deck may be manipulated by a computer-controlled dealer such that a priori certain winning cards will be dealt to the contract player (i.e., the "shill" that is working for the company). If the advantage is not blatant, and is not over-used, it is possible for a rigged gaming site to carry on for an extended period of time.

Creation and monitoring of “fair play” online gaming


The present application relates to a crystal of a tricyclic compound, in particular to a crystal of (S)-8-(4,4-difluorocyclohexyl)-8H-thieno[3,4]pyrrolo[1,5-a]imidazole, a preparation method therefor, a crystal composition and a pharmaceutical composition thereof and the use thereof. The X-ray powder diffraction spectrum of the crystal of the compound of formula I in the present application, represented by a 2θ value, has a diffraction peak at about 11.49°, 15.05°, 20.14°, 21.53° or 21.79°. The crystal of the compound of formula I in the present application has excellent physical properties, high safety and metabolic stability, and has a good inhibitory effect on IDO and a high medicinal value.

Tryptophan (Trp) is an essential amino acid required for the biosynthesis of proteins, nicotinic acid and neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (also known as INDO or IDO) is an enzyme in the first rate-limiting step of catalyzing the degradation of L-tryptophan to N-formylkynurenine. In human cells, IFN-γ stimulation induces activation of IDO, which leads to a depletion of tryptophan, thereby arresting the growth of tryptophan-dependent cellular pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia trachomatis. IDO activity also has an antiproliferative effect on many tumor cells, and IDO induction has been observed in vivo during rejection of allogeneic tumors, indicating a possible role for this enzyme in the tumor rejection process.
The existing IDO inhibitors are mainly divided into the following categories: 1) competitive inhibitors, such as tryptophan derivative 1-MT; 2) non-competitive inhibitors, such as phenylimidazole; 3) anti-competitive inhibitors, such as alkaloid exiguamine A; 4) inhibitors which act through other action mechanisms. These categories of inhibitors generally have problems such as low inhibitory efficiency, inability to penetrate cell membranes, and producing indole ring structure metabolites. In the 1990s, the derivative 1-methyltryptophan (1-MT), which is obtained through structural modification of tryptophan (a substrate of IDO) as a template, is commonly used IDO inhibitor in experiments in vivo and in vitro, with an inhibition constant (Ki) of 34 μM. Up to now, compound NLG919 from New Link Genetics in the United States and compound INCB024360 from Incyte in the United States have entered clinical trials.
With regard to an active compound with identified commercial use, the chemical stability, solid state stability, metabolic properties in vivo, and storage life of the active ingredient are all very important factors. Therefore, it is very important for drug production and storage to provide a drug with the above required properties.

Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.


A broadband communication apparatus includes a broadband communication module, configured to provide an interaction channel between a terminal and a broadband network; a wireless communication module, configured to provide an interaction channel between the terminal and a wireless network; a monitoring module, connected with the broadband communication module, and configured to trigger a switching module when detecting a failure of the interaction channel between the terminal and the broadband network; and the switching module, configured to connect the interaction channel between the terminal and the broadband network, and when triggered by the monitoring module, configured to connect the interaction channel between the terminal and the wireless network.

As broadband networks such as Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (hereinafter referred to as ADSL), Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (hereinafter referred to as VDSL), and Fiber To The x (hereinafter referred to as FTTx) (x represents the destination) rapidly develop, and the technologies and applications such as Voice over Digital Subscriber Line (hereinafter referred to as VoDSL) and Voice over Internet Protocol (hereinafter referred to as VoIP) are mature, the increased broadband rate and the improved network Quality of Service (hereinafter referred to as QoS) mechanism may ensure that the conversation quality of VoIP calls is equivalent to the conversation quality of Public Switched Telephone Network (hereinafter referred to as PSTN) calls. Since 2006, the global VoIP market develops rapidly, and the telecom operators gradually replace the traditional PSTN/Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) voice service by the VoDSL/VoIP voice service, and phase out the operation of the existing PSTN/ISDN network to reduce the Operating Expense (herein after referred to as OPEX).
However, in the process of implementing the present invention, the inventor finds that when implementing the VoIP telephone service, the IP-based broadband network and the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) are vulnerable to connectivity failure, which may make the VoIP telephone service unavailable.
As a technical solution to the problem in the prior art, "PSTN/ISDN+VoIP" is adopted to implement the telephone service. However, the PSTN/ISDN network device is required to be preserved and maintained, and this increases the OPEX for the telecom operators. Therefore, a solution for implementing the telephone service without any PSTN/ISDN network device is desired.

Broadband communication apparatus and method for implementing telephone service


Methods of fabricating integrated circuit devices utilize fuse elements to support sequential testing of vertically-integrated test elements during fabrication. These methods include forming a first test element, a first fuse and a first test pad electrically connected by the first fuse to the first test element, on a substrate. The first test element is tested by passing a first current between the first test element and first test pad and through the first fuse. The first fuse is then “cut” by increasing an impedance of the first fuse, which may include breaking the first fuse to create an electrical “open” (infinite impedance) or greatly increasing a resistance of the first fuse (e.g., by narrowing the fuse through electromigration). A second test element and a second test pad, which is electrically connected to the second test element and the first test pad, are then formed on the substrate.

In general, a semiconductor device formed on a semiconductor substrate made of, for example, silicon, is formed through a series of unit processes, including a film stacking process, impurity doping process, a photolithography process for patterning films, and an etching process. In order to determine whether each unit process has accurately been performed to be adapted to the design, failures of manufactured semiconductor devices, including transistors, capacitors, resistors, inductors, and so on, are detected or parameter characteristics thereof are evaluated whenever the unit process is completed.
As described above, in order to evaluate electrical properties of semiconductor devices, test elements are formed together with the semiconductor devices. The test elements are generally formed on scribe line regions existing between adjacent integrated circuit chips on a semiconductor substrate.
A test element is electrically connected to a pad. In order to test a test element, a probe terminal is brought into contact with the pad to apply a predetermined signal to the test element. Then, the signal output through the pad is analyzed to evaluate the electrical properties of semiconductor devices.
However, the respective pads, excluding those pads for grounding, are electrically connected to one test element, to then be used to test one test element. Therefore, as the number of test elements to be tested increases, the number of pads increases. However, since a space of a semiconductor device in which pads are to be formed is restricted, there exists a need for a method of more efficiently testing a test element using a restricted number of pads.

Methods of testing integrated circuit devices using fuse elements


Disclosed is a magnetic recording/reproduction device 2 including: a recording/reproduction head 7; and a recording/reproduction head 7 for detecting a leakage magnetic field of each of the plurality of magnetic recording cells 1 so as to reproduce information, the recording/reproduction head 7 carrying out the recording on the magnetic recording medium 4 so that the magnetic recording medium 4 includes continuous recording regions that (i) satisfy Nmin≧2 and that (ii) include a continuous recording region that satisfies N≠n×Nmin, where N represents a number of magnetic recording cells 1 in a continuous recording region; Nmin represents a minimum value for N; and n represents a positive integer, the continuous recording regions each being a region on a reproduction track in which region magnetic recording cells 1 sharing an identical magnetization direction are sequentially arranged in a circumferential direction of the magnetic recording medium 4.

There has been rapid improvement in function of information equipment such as a personal computer in recent years. This rapid improvement has in turn increased an amount of data that a user of such information equipment handles. Users of the information equipment thus strongly hope for a mass storage recording device which can record a larger amount of data.
An example of such a mass storage recording device is a recording device including a hard disk. A hard disk is a discoid substrate having a surface which is coated with a magnetic material. A hard disk records information by means of a change caused by a magnetic recording element to a magnetization direction in a magnetic layer on the disc surface.
For production of a mass storage recording device, there is a key issue of improvement in recording density of a hard disk as a recording medium. Specifically, a conventional hard disk as mentioned above includes on a surface thereof a magnetic layer formed uniformly and continuously. Such a magnetic layer includes as a data write unit a recording mark having a jagged edge, which causes noise (transition noise) during reproduction. The noise then causes a problem that a S/N ratio (signal to noise ratio) is decreased, and that recorded information cannot be reproduced properly as a result.
Improving a recording density requires reducing a size of a recording mark itself. In a conventional hard disk, recording marks are formed in a uniformly formed magnetic layer. Thus, in a case where the size of such recording marks is reduced so as to increase a recording density, there occurs a magnetic interference between the recording marks. As a result, there occurs, for example, a problem that information cannot be recorded properly or recorded information cannot be reproduced properly.
One technique to solve the above problems is a patterned medium. A patterned medium is a magnetic recording medium which includes magnetic recording cells arranged so as to be magnetically isolated from one another. Such magnetic recording cells are formed of particles of a magnetic material which particles are regularly arranged on a surface of a nonmagnetic body so as to be evenly spaced with respect to one another. Magnetic information is recorded in the magnetic recording cells, each of which has an edge corresponding to the above-mentioned edge of a recording mark. With use of a patterned medium, it is possible to easily achieve a high S/N ratio even in a case where the recording marks are small. As such, in a case a patterned medium is used as a recording medium, it is possible to reduce (i) noise during reproduction and (ii) a magnetic interference between recording marks so as to greatly improve a recording density.
A high-density magnetic recording medium such as a patterned medium includes magnetic recording cells which are separated from one another by an extremely small pitch of approximately several tens of nanometers. This causes a problem that a recording error easily occurs due to a mere, slight shift in location between (i) a magnetic recording element included in a recording/reproduction head which is carrying out recording and (ii) a targeted magnetic recording cell. In particular, in a case where 1-bit data is recorded in each magnetic recording cell, it is difficult to correct during reproduction a recording error which has occurred in a single magnetic recording cell. Further, a magnetically isolated magnetic recording cell may become defective on its own. In a case where, for example, a magnetic recording cell becomes defective, the recording medium will include a magnetic recording cell in which no information can be recorded. This prevents the recording medium from recording information properly. In this case also, it is difficult to carry out error correction during reproduction.
In order to solve this problem, Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a method of recording 1-bit data in a plurality of cells so that error correction can be carried out. This method thus intends to eliminate an influence of a write error.

Magnetic recording/reproduction device and magnetic recording medium


A multi-point frame-fixing unit type linear displacement measuring apparatus adapted to lessen the thermal stress while the strength of the apparatus with respect to an external force, such as vibration and an impact is maintained. Some portions of a frame of the apparatus in the length measuring direction are completely fixed to an object machine, and some other portions in the length measuring direction of the frame are elastically fixed to the object machine by using a bush provided with an elastic layer between the bush and the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multi-point frame-fixing unit type linear displacement measuring apparatus formed so that a frame thereof containing a main scale therein and extending in the length measuring direction is fixed to an object machine at a multiplicity of points of not smaller than three points, and a method of fixing the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to detect the linear displacement of a relatively moving object machine (moving body) for the purpose of carrying out, for example, a feedback control operation in a machine tool and an industrial machine, a unit type linear scale has been generally used, which is formed in one body as shown in FIG. 1, by an elongated frame 10 of, for example, aluminum in which a main scale of, for example, glass is housed, and a detecting head 14 relatively movable with respect to the frame 10 and having a slider connected thereto and including an index scale for scanning the main scale.
The unit type linear scales include a so-called a multi-point frame-fixing unit type linear scale in which the aluminum frame 10 is fixed directly to an object machine by, for example, fixing screws as shown in FIG. 1.
In this multi-point frame-fixing unit type linear scale, the fixing of the scale is done at a multiplicity of points of not smaller than three points (for example, five points) with the frame 10 contacting a surface of an object machine (an illustration is omitted), so that this scale has the advantages of resisting an external force, such as vibration and an impact. This scale is also advantageous in that, when the number of the scale-fixing positions is increased by arranging the fixing screws 12 at constant intervals of, for example, 200 to 250 mm through the frame 10 over the whole length thereof, the dependency of the resonance frequency of the frame 10 upon the length thereof can be reduced to a low level.
However, when a method of fixing the scale to a machine tool formed mainly out of iron, by completely securing the scale at all of the mentioned points by the fixing screws 12 is used, thermal stress caused by temperature variation at the screw-fixed portions occurs due to a difference between the linear expansion coefficient of iron and that of aluminum. This thermal stress causes the deformation and distortion of the frame 10 and the main scale provided in the interior thereof, and the accuracy of the scale to be deteriorated. In addition, due to the thermal stress as well occurring in the screw fixed portions, the position of the frame 10 with respect to the surface of the object machine slips minutely, and the origin stability of the position of the scale in the length measuring direction is deteriorated.
The present invention has been made so as to solve these problems of the related art apparatus and method of this kind, and mainly aims at minimizing the occurrence of thermal stress with excellent characteristics with respect to an external force, such as vibration and an impact maintained.
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of a multi-point frame-fixing unit type linear displacement measuring apparatus which is formed such that a frame thereof containing a main scale therein and extending in the length measuring direction is fixed to an object machine at a multiplicity of points of not smaller than three points, by fixing some portions in the length measuring direction of the apparatus completely to an object machine, and some other portions in the same direction thereof elastically to the object machine by using bushes provided with an elastic layer between the bushes and the frame.
The first-mentioned parts of the apparatus are fixed to the object machine completely by using a plurality of fixing members.
The thickness of the elastic layer of such bushes may be set larger as the layer is far from the completely fixed portions is set larger.
The present invention provides a method of fixing a multi-point frame-fixing unit type linear displacement measuring apparatus formed such that a frame thereof containing a main scale therein and extending in the length measuring direction is fixed to an object machine at a multiplicity of points of not smaller than three points, in which some portions in the length measuring direction of the frame are fixed completely to the object machine, some other portions in the length measuring direction thereof being fixed elastically to the object machine by using bushes provided with an elastic layer between the bushes and the frame.

Multi-point frame-fixing unit type linear displacement measuring apparatus and method of fixing the same


An apparatus is provided for reducing or eliminating a gap defined between adjacent components of an electronic system, thereby reducing electromagnetic interference generated by the electronic system. The apparatus includes a cam having a cam surface positionable adjacent a component of the electronic system. The cam is moveable to an actuated position in which the cam surface applies a force to the component. The apparatus further includes a support mountable to the electronic system. The support engages the cam and facilitates the movement of the cam. The movement of the cam with respect to the support and into the actuated position causes the cam surface to apply the force to the component, thereby reducing or eliminating a gap between the component and an adjacent component of the electronic system.

This invention relates to electromagnetic interference caused by an electronic system. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus for reducing such electromagnetic interference.
Electronic systems are known to generate electromagnetic energy. Such energy generation can, in some instances, cause EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) if in proximity to other electronic systems. It is, therefore, desirable to reduce the amount of electromagnetic interference attributable to such systems.
Electromagnetic energy tends to leak from the interior of electronic systems through gaps defined between adjacent components of such systems. For example, when the outer sheet enclosure or chassis of an electronic system separates from adjacent inner modules such as card holders, electromagnetic leakage may occur. Generally, such separation can form gaps between the chassis and the inner modules. These gaps may result from manufacturing tolerances or deformation of the chassis due to the weight of units stacked in or near it.
Typically, EMI leakage causes transmission problems. Furthermore, electronic systems are required to comply with specific EMS emissions regulations.
Currently, additional fasteners (e.g., screws, clips, rivets, etc.) are installed to secure the chassis to the inner modules in the areas where gaps typically occur. However, such fasteners may be difficult to access if removal of one of the inner modules is required. Furthermore, fasteners may be dropped into the system during removal and cause damage to the system if they come into contact with current-carrying components.
Alternatively, spring fingers or gasket material may be installed to fill the areas where there are gaps. However, this is not always possible due to tight gap clearances. Also, spring finger and gasket materials may relax over time and become less effective.
Finally, these existing solutions (fasteners and filler material, for example) described heretofore may be difficult to apply to operating electronic systems in the field that develop EMI leakage problems.
Accordingly, there remains a need for reducing or eliminating gaps between adjacent components of an electronic system, thereby reducing electromagnetic interference generated by the electronic system.
According to one aspect of this invention, an apparatus is provided for reducing or eliminating a gap defined between adjacent components of an electronic system, thereby reducing electromagnetic interference generated by the electronic system. The apparatus includes a cam having a cam surface positionable adjacent a component of the electronic system. The cam is moveable to an actuated position in which the cam surface applies a force to the component. The apparatus further includes a support mountable to the electronic system. The support engages the cam and facilitates the movement of the cam. The movement of the cam with respect to the support and into the actuated position causes the cam surface to apply the force to the component, thereby reducing or eliminating a gap between the component and an adjacent component of the electronic system.
According to another aspect of this invention, an electronic system is provided to reduce electromagnetic interference generated thereby. The electronic system includes adjacent housing components and a frame supporting the housing components. The electronic system further includes a cam having a cam surface positionable adjacent one of the housing components. The cam is moveable to an actuated position in which the cam surface applies a force to the housing component. A support is mounted to the frame. The support engages the cam and facilitates the movement of the cam. The movement of the cam with respect to the support and into the actuated position causes the cam surface to apply the force to the housing component, thereby reducing or eliminating the gap between the adjacent components.
According to yet another aspect of this invention, a method is provided for reducing electromagnetic interference generated by an electronic system having adjacent components having a gap therebetween. The method includes the steps of moving a cam surface to apply a force to one of the adjacent components of the electronic system, and reducing the gap between the adjacent components by virtue of the force applied by the cam surface.

Assembly and method for reducing electromagnetic interference generated by electronic systems


A dishwasher includes a tub at least partially forming a treating chamber, a dish rack provided within the wash chamber, and a spray manifold. The spray manifold can have multiple sprayers for emitting wash liquid to define a spray zone. A supply conduit supplies liquid to the manifold from a liquid source. A flow diverter proportionally divides that liquid supplied from the supply conduit to the sprayers in proportion to the volumetric flow rate requirement of the sprayers.

Modern dishwashers include a tub and an upper and lower rack or basket for supporting soiled dishes within the tub. A pump is provided for re-circulating wash liquid throughout the tub to remove soils from the dishes. Typically, larger dishes such as casserole dishes which have a propensity to be heavily soiled are carried on the lower rack and lighter soiled dishes such as cups and glasses are provided on an upper rack. The racks are generally configured to be moveable in or out of the tub for loading and unloading.
One of the problems associated with the typical modern dishwasher is that the dishes receive somewhat uniform wash treatment no matter their positioning within a rack in the dishwasher. For example, in a typical dishwasher, a lower wash arm rotates about a vertical axis and is provided beneath the lower rack for cleaning the dishes on the lower rack and an upper wash arm is provided beneath the upper rack for cleaning the dishes on the upper rack. Dishes in the upper rack receive somewhat uniform wash treatment and dishes in the lower rack receive somewhat uniform wash treatment. Accordingly, lightly soiled dishes in either dish rack are subject to the same wash performance as the highly soiled dishes in the same wash rack, which can lead to poor wash performance of the highly soiled dishes. As a result, it would be advantageous to provide a dishwasher with a second or concentrated wash zone for washing larger dishes such as the casserole dishes, which are more likely to be heavily soiled.
Another problem associated with the modern dishwasher is that to achieve optimal wash performance of heavily soiled, larger dishes, the dishes may need to be loaded with the surface that needs to be washed face down. The face down approach allows the lower spray arm to reach the heavily soiled surface. Accordingly, it would be advantageous if the dishwasher could be provided with a second wash zone that allowed the heavily soiled dishes to be loaded in an upright position, thereby optimizing the number of dishes that can be loaded in the dishwasher on any given cycle. Finally, it would also be advantageous if the dishwasher allowed for a customized wash cycle option which optimized the use of the second wash zone.

Dishwasher having spray manifold and method for controlling same


The present disclosure is related to an array substrate. The array substrate may include a base substrate; a plurality or light-emitting devices on the base substrate; a photosensitive device between the light-emitting devices and the base substrate; and a refractive layer between the photosensitive device and the light-emitting devices. The refractive layer may be at a distance from the photosensitive device, and the refractive layer may cover at least a gap region between the adjacent light-emitting devices. A refractive index of the refractive layer may be larger than a refractive index of a film layer in the gap region between the refractive layer and the photosensitive device, and an orthographic protection of the photosensitive device on the base substrate may at least partially overlap an orthographic projection of the light-emitting devices on base substrate.

With the development of display technology, people are increasingly pursuing full-screen display, so the research of fingerprint recognition technology under the screen is particularly important.
In the related art, in order to realize fingerprint recognition under the screen, a photosensitive element is disposed in the array substrate to collect reflected light of the fingerprint. However, since a light-shielding anode layer exists in each of the light-emitting devices in the array substrate, the external reflected light is partially blocked by the anode layer. Therefore, the photosensitive element can only be disposed at a gap between the light-emitting devices in the array substrate to obtain on optical signal to realize transmission and recognition of the fingerprint signal. However, in order to ensure the aperture ratio of the display panel, the area of the gap between the light-emitting devices in the array substrate is relatively small, which limits the light-receiving area of the photosensitive element and accordingly results in a weak fingerprint recognition signal.

Array substrate and fabricating method thereof, and display apparatus

BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


A compact storage system, mountable for operation on a flat base platform, includes at least one guide rail having a roof and two legs depending from the roof thereby defining an inverted, generally U-shaped continuous channel. The guide rail is mounted in spaced generally mutually parallel relation to the base platform with its legs projecting toward the base platform so that the channel opens downwardly. The compact storage system further includes at least one movable storage unit that is supported for translational movement on the base platform. One or more guide rollers are mounted on the storage unit to be received in the channel of the guide rail with the guide roller being formed to engage either one of the legs of the rail for movement relative thereto. Accordingly, translational movement of the storage unit is confined to a path defined by the guide rail.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high density or compact storage system that makes most efficient use of available floor space by providing storage units that are movable in such a way so as to define a single movable access aisle for all of the units. That is, any two movable storage units may be positioned to be directly adjacent each other at one side of each with access provided by an aisle on an opposite side of one of the units. If access is desired on the other side of that unit, initially directly adjacent the other unit, the first unit is merely moved to a position spaced from the other unit thereby moving the access aisle.
The present invention has particular utility as a compact storage unit that utilizes, as its basic components, a wire shelving system known as the SUPER ERECTA shelf system made and sold by InterMetro Industries, the assignee of the subject invention. However, the novel components of the subject invention may be used equally well in other storage systems in which the storage units are constructed in many different fashions.
Furthermore, the present invention provides particular advantages in application such as in the food service and hospital industries where sanitation is of prime concern.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Storage systems in which storage units are mounted for translational movement on a base, thereby providing a movable aisle offering access to each of the units and thereby making efficient use of floor space, are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,176 (Higbee) relates to a typical storage system of this type, which is also known as an "active aisle" system. The storage system shown in the Higbee patent includes a pair of inverted, generally V-shaped rails that are mutually parallel and are securely mounted on a base platform such as a floor. A number of storage units or carts are mounted on wheels, each of which has a V-shaped groove formed in its circumference. Two wheels on each cart mate with, and are guided on, one of the two V-shaped rails. The wheels on each cart are fixed against swiveling movement, which is said to eliminate the need for directly attaching the guide rails to the floor.
The system shown in the Higbee patent has several notable disadvantages. More particularly, in applications in, for example, the food service and hospital industries, it is difficult to maintain sanitary conditions on and about the rails that are mounted on the floor since they readily collect undersirable foreign matter such as dirt and grease. The rails mounted on the floor also may constitute a safety hazard since operators and users of the system may strip or stumble over them. Additionally, users of the system may want to take independent wheeled utility carts into the active aisle to transport items to and from the storage units. However, guide rails mounted on the floor interfer with free movement of such utility carts into the active aisle.
Other known storage systems are operable on a flat base or floor on which a number of storage units are supported for translational movement. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 766,660 (Bohannan) relates to such a system in which each storage unit is provided with four wheels at its bottom that ride on the floor, while, at its top each unit is provided with a number of trolleys that override and are guided by two mutually guide rods. While the system of the Bohannan patent does not mount its guide rails on the base platform or floor, and thereby eliminates the disadvantages associated with guide rails of this type, it is nevertheless characterized by other disadvantages. More particularly, if there is any deviation in the flatness of the floor or deviation from a straight line by the guide rods, proper engagement of the trolleys on the guide rods properly to guide movement of the storage units not be maintained. Moreover, since the trolleys override the guide rods, it is necessary in assembling the system to either lift the storage units and associated trolleys up properly to position the trolleys on the guide rods or to mount the guide rods after the storage units are in position. Alternatively it is necessary to install the trolleys on the storage units after the storage units and guide raids are in position. However, a complicated arrangement for securing the trolleys to the storage units is required since the relative positions of the trolleys and guide rail may result in forces during storage unit movement that would tend to pull the trolley out of the storage unit. Moreover, as disclosed, the guide rods are secured to interior walls of the building or other structure in which the storage systems is mounted. Thus, the building itself must modified to accommodate the system as described.
Still other compact storage or high density systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,957,322 (Mastronardi et al.), which relates to a means for selectively shifting storage units; 4,432,589 (Sattel), which relates to devices for lighting the active aisle wherever it may be positioned; and 3,762,335 (Baker, Jr., et al.), which relates to a system in which storage units are mounted for movement on air cushions and are guided by rollers having a vertical axis and confined for movement in an upwardly open U-shaped channel secured to the floor or base platform.
Commercially available high density or compact storage systems are marketed by Amco Corporation, 901 North Kilpatrick Avenue, Chicago, Ill., Market Forge, Everett, Mass. 02149; Ames Color-File, 12 Park Street, Somerville, Mass. 02143; and, InterMetro Industries Corporation, North Washington Street, Wilkes-Barre, Penn. Each of these commercially available high density storage systems is generally of the type shown in the Higbee patent.


A flexible, collapsible semi-bulk container for storing and transporting content is provided. The container has the strength to hold up to two tons of contents while being stacked up to five high. The container is also collapsible for ease of storage and transport. In some embodiments, the container includes swing walls that provide support to the side walls when positioned substantially adjacent to them. In another embodiment, the container includes partial swing walls that support cassettes for dividing the container into smaller compartments. In a still further embodiment, the container includes an interior baffle for dividing the container into smaller compartments.

Historically, flexible intermediate bulk containers (bulk bags) have been used for receiving, storing, transporting, and discharging dry flowable materials of all types. Bulk bags are typically constructed in square, rectangular, or circular shapes with lift straps attached to each of the uppermost corners of the bulk bag. Additionally, some content in the bulk bags can be deformed by the static and/or dynamic pressure in the bulk bags.
Typically, intermediate bulk containers (IBC's) store bulk contents in large volumes. The IBC's can be costly to transport due to their weight when loaded with content. Many IBC's are not collapsible because of the heavy weight that is transported and the difficulty in designing a container that can both support the weight of the contents and also collapse for ease of storage and return shipping.
Some shippers include cardboard dividers to separate intermediate bulk containers into smaller compartments but this approach has multiple drawbacks. First, the cardboard dividers are often not reusable because they are deformed during transport, which raises costs. Second, the cardboard dividers introduce box dust that can cause problems in manufacturing facilities as well as be a source of contamination in pharmaceutical and food-grade contents. Third, standard cardboard dividers have a greater x and y dimension than the bulk bags when folded flat, causing problems in storage and return shipping.
Thus, there is a need for a strong collapsible container that efficiently transports content and that can be divided into smaller sanitary compartments that can be used as an IBC or a flexible IBC.