A radiation source apparatus comprising: a container (400) for being pressurized with a gaseous medium in which plasma which emits plasma emitted radiation is generated following excitation of the gaseous medium by a driving radiation (50), wherein said container is operable (66, 67) substantially to remove radiation with a wavelength of 10-400 nm from said plasma emitted radiation before said plasma emitted radiation exits said container as output radiation. In an embodiment the container comprises: an inlet radiation transmitting element (64) operable to transmit said driving radiation from outside said container to inside said container, and an outlet radiation transmitting element (65) operable to transmit at least some of said plasma emitted radiation from inside said container to outside said container as output radiation; wherein at least one of said inlet and outlet radiation transmitting elements comprises a plane parallel plate.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to plasma based radiation sources (photon sources). Such sources may be used for example to provide high brightness illumination in methods and for meteorology usable, for example, in the manufacture of devices by lithographic techniques and to methods of manufacturing devices using lithographic techniques.
Background Art
Radiation sources according to the invention may find application in a wide range of situations. As an example application, the following will describe use of the invention as a light source in metrology. As a particular field of application of metrology, the following shall refer for the sake of example to metrology in the manufacture of devices by lithography.
The terms 'light' and 'light source' may be used conveniently to refer to the generated radiation and the radiation (or photon) source itself, without implying any limitation to radiation of visible wavelengths.
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g., including part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
In lithographic processes, it is desirable frequently to make measurements of the structures created, e.g., for process control and verification. Various tools for making such measurements are known, including scanning electron microscopes, which are often used to measure critical dimension (CD), and specialized tools to measure overlay, the accuracy of alignment of two layers in a device. Recently, various forms of scatterometers have been developed for use in the lithographic field. These devices direct a beam of radiation onto a target and measure one or more properties of the scattered radiation. From these measured properties a property of interest of the target can be determined Examples of scatterometers and techniques can be found in patent applications US 2006/066855 A1, WO 2009/078708, WO 2009/106279, and US 2011/0027704 A.
In one commercially available metrology apparatus, the light source is a xenon (Xe) arc-discharge lamp. Light from this lamp is imaged onto the measurement target through an illumination branch of the apparatus sensor, the last stage of which consists of a high-NA objective. The measurement spot may have a diameter of 25 μm, for example. The time required for each measurement depends in practice on the brightness of the light source at a given wavelength or wave range. Future generations of apparatus are desired to provide an increased spectral bandwidth and sensor design with lower transmittance, while keeping the measurement time the same or shorter. Significant source brightness improvements are necessary to fulfill these requirements.
Plasma-based radiation (photon) sources, for example laser driven light sources (LDLS) offer higher brightnesses. Plasmas are generated in a gaseous medium by the application of energy through electric discharge, and laser energy. The spectral distribution of the radiation may be broadband or narrowband in nature, and wavelengths may be in the near infrared, visible and/or ultraviolet (UV) bands. Published patent application US 2011/204265 A1 discloses plasma based light sources including laser driven light sources directed at producing output radiation (at least partly) in the UV band. One of the difficulties with LDLS is the short lifetime of the xenon arc-discharge bulbs used.

Radiation source, metrology apparatus, lithographic system and device manufacturing method


A multi-wafer CAM cell in which the negative effects of increased travel distance have been substantially reduced is provided. The multi-wafer CAM cell is achieved in the present invention by utilizing three-dimensional integration in which multiple active circuit layers are vertically stack and vertically aligned interconnects are employed to connect a device from one of the stacked layers to another device in another stack layer. By vertically stacking multiple active circuit layers with vertically aligned interconnects, each compare port of the inventive CAM cell can be implemented on a separate layer above or below the primary data storage cell. This allows the multi-wafer CAM structure to be implemented within the same area footprint as a standard Random Access Memory (RAM) cell, minimizing data access and match compare delays.

Nearly every modern microprocessor employs a cache whereby some instructions and/or data are kept in storage that is physically closer and more quickly accessible than from the main memory. This type of storage is commonly known as a cache. When the cache is tightly integrated into the processor's execution pipeline, it's called an L1 (e.g., Level 1) cache.
FIG. 1 shows a system-level representation of a prior art microprocessor 108 (e.g., CPU) and its connection to a memory subsystem. In this example, the microprocessor includes an L1 instruction cache 100 and an L1 data cache 102. The system also includes an L2 cache 104 that holds both instructions and data as well as an L3 cache 106 that backs up the L2 cache 104.
Microprocessor performance is tied very closely to the access time of the L1 data cache. In fact, this is of such importance that the access time of the L1 data cache 102 plays a central role in determining the microprocessor frequency target. One of the "tricks" sometimes employed by logic designers to improve L1 data cache 102 access time is to use a CAM-based approach instead of the more traditional directory-based approach, which is typically used in L2 cache 104 designs.
FIG. 2 is a block representation of a CAM-based L1 data cache. Rather than having a separated directory plus data arrays as in a traditional directory-based approach, in a CAM-based L1 data cache, the directory and the data array are designed to work as a single structure. The CAM (Content Addressable Memory) has a tag region 206 that keeps the addresses of all of the lines in the cache and a data region 208 that keeps the data for all of the lines in the cache.
In a directory-based cache, the microprocessor searches the cache by selecting a few lines in the directory (typically 1-8 lines) to read and then sends them thru comparators to determine whether there's a "hit". In some implementations, the comparator results form part of the address used to read from a separate data array. In other implementations, the data array reads all of the possible "hit" locations concurrently with the directory read-compare operation and then uses the "hit" results to select which data is actually being requested by the microprocessor.
In a CAM-based cache, the microprocessor searches the cache by comparing the search tag 226 vs. all of the cache's valid tags at once and then using the compare results (match lines 204) as a decoded address into the data region 208 for the read. Only the data that's desired is read out 224, and there is no multiplexer after the data region read that's waiting on the directory hit results. The match lines 204 also go through a reduction OR to produce the lookup results 222 that indicate whether the search found a hit or was a miss.
There are several operations within the microprocessor that require a tag search on the L1 data cache. A load operation wants to read data from memory and place it into a register. As the load is executed, it first makes a load request 216 to the cache control arbiter 202 to perform an L1 data cache lookup. A lookup is defined as a tag search plus data read if a tag match is found. A load request 216 has an associated load address 210 that's used to form the search tag 226 for the load. A store operation wants to write data to memory. As the store is executed, it first makes a store request 218 to the cache control arbiter 202 to perform an L1 data cache search. A store request 218 has an associated store address 212 that's used to form the search tag 226 for the store. If there is a hit, the store requestor is informed of the location of the hit so that it knows where in the cache to write the store's data or whether to send the store request to the L2 cache 104 or to the memory. A snoop operation wants to know whether a line is in the cache, sometimes for the purpose of invalidating the line from the cache. As the snoop is executed, it first makes a snoop request 220 to the cache control arbiter 202 in order to perform an L1 data cache search. A snoop request 220 has an associated snoop address 214 that's used to form the search tag 226 for the snoop. If there is a hit, the snoop requestor is informed of the location of the hit so that it knows which tag to invalidate if it needs to do so.
It would be beneficial to create a multi-layer CAM structure where the compare results are available faster. The CAM Search and Lookup operations selecting the data tend to be the frequency limiting paths in microprocessors. Improving these paths is likely to improve the overall frequency expectation for the processor. Additionally, any improvement in these paths may enable other cache control functions to be processed in the same cycle. For example, if a cache search for a snoop request 220 could be processed more quickly the resource dedicated to servicing the snoop requestor can be freed earlier. Freeing resources like these more quickly allows for increased bandwidth with the same number of resources or possibly the same bandwidth with a smaller number of resources. This provides additional area and power savings.
Conventional CAM designs require the compare and tag storage to be turned on every time the CAM is accessed. However, if the compare logic was put on a separate layer, it would be possible to power it down separately from the data portion. In a sleep mode, it would be desirable to maintain the data in the CAM structure while disabling the compare portion to save power. Also, if a warning indicator arrived before operations that were to access the CAM it would be possible to disable the compares when it was known that they would not be needed for some period of time.
CAM designs are used for structures other than caches. Any widely associative searchable structure may employ a CAM structure. For example, a buffer which holds stores bound for a cache might need to be searchable. A CAM structure would be helpful if stores needed to be located for invalidation (snoops) or hazard comparisons (load hit store, store-to-load forwarding).
Many processors employ small cache-like structures close to the Instruction or Data Cache to do address translation. These structures are commonly called μTLB's (micro Translation Look-aside Buffer) or ERAT's (Effective to Real Address Translator). A μTLB (See, FIG. 3) contains a subset of a larger page translation table. Typically these structures are accessed using an Effective Address 300 (EA) and comparing that with an Effective Page Number 302 (EPN). Using a CAM structure for this function, the EA 300 would be used as the search value, and the EPN 302 would be the value held and compared internally in the CAM structure. The data needed for translating the page would be contained in the data portion 304 of the structure and would be indexed by the CAM's matchlines 306. The CAM would provide the results of the lookup 308 as well as the matchlines 306. The data structure would then provide the data needed 310 to translate the address.
In view of the above, there is a need for providing a new and improved CAM cell in which the compare results can be obtainable faster, without increasing the distance that the signals need to travel.

International Business Machines Corporation


A device for dispensing individual components of a two-component adhesive includes first and second manifold members, each having a distribution chamber therein. A set of conveying tubes is supported within the dispensing device and collectively present a predetermined total cross-sectional flow area to the first distribution chamber. The second manifold member has an array of passages therethrough. Each tube extends substantially concentrically through a respective passage to define annular flow spaces that collectively present a predetermined total cross-sectional flow area to the second distribution chamber member. First and second components emanating from the tubes and the flow spaces are able to intermix with and diffuse into each other on the discharge area of the second manifold member. The cross-sectional flow areas presented to the first and second distribution chambers are equal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus used in the dispensing of fast-setting multi-component adhesives, particularly medical adhesives.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fast-setting two-component adhesive is an adhesive compound that cures within seconds of the components being mixed together. Such fast-setting two-component adhesives have many applications, including use as tissue adhesives for a number of potential medical applications. Such potential medical applications include closing topical wounds, adhering synthetic onlays or inlays to the cornea, delivering drugs, providing anti-adhesion barriers to prevent post-surgical adhesions, and supplementing or replacing sutures or staples in internal surgical procedures.
The components of such fast-setting two-component adhesives must be mixed at the site of application or immediately (i.e., typically within a few seconds) before application. Conventional static mixers have been employed to mix the two components together as the adhesive is applied to the tissue. These conventional static mixers typically employ a serpentine passage. The mixing action occurs within the serpentine passage before the adhesive exits the mixing passage. Representative of such conventional static mixer are those devices sold by Med Mix Systems AG, Rotkreuz, Switzerland and Mix Tek System LLC, New York, N.Y.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,712, assigned to E.I. DuPont DeNemours and Company, also disclose a static mixing device employing a serpentine passage within a planar structure.
These prior art static mixers are believed disadvantageous for use in any medical application which requires intermittent application of adhesive. If flow of the adhesive through the mixer is interrupted, even momentarily, the mixed components rapidly increase in viscosity. This increase in viscosity, known as gelling, may occur so rapidly that the mixer passage becomes clogged, thus preventing the resumption of flow of the adhesive.
Besides the static mixers previously described, dynamic mixers such as powered impellers and magnetic stir bars have been used. However these devices are costly and cumbersome and not particularly amenable to medical use as they may damage the adhesive by over-mixing.
Accordingly, in view of the foregoing there is believed to be a need for a dispensing device capable of delivering the individual components of a fast-setting multi-component adhesive without experiencing the clogging problems of prior art devices.

Dispensing device having an array of concentric tubes


A wired mail delivery indicator having a physical construction which forces any size of mail across a groove (20). Slope on the left vertical wall of mailbox (10), slope of panel (14), and force of gravity cause mail to block light beam. The light beam is generated by a photodiode emitter (22) and detected by a photo detector (24). Mailbox and electronic circuitry (26) contains photodiode emitter (22), photo detector (24), current limiting resistor (42), and current amplifier transistors (46 and 48). House end electronic circuitry (28) contains power transformer (32), diode rectifier (34), and current sensor (38, 40, and 36). House/mailbox connecting wire (18) carries power and mail delivery information with two wires.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to indicators, specifically to one which tells if mail has been deposited in a mailbox at a remote location.
2. Description of Prior Art
Heretofore, mail delivery indicators used mechanical switches and mechanisms to indicate the presence of mail in the box. Others, such as the device in U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,543 to Binkley (1989) required battery maintenance, used valuable radio spectrum, and used complex circuitry. Mailbox in U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,372 to Nakano (1985) employed complex electronic circuitry as above and used multiple emitter/detector pairs. Until now, mail delivery indicators known suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) Their design requires the periodic replacement of batteries in the mailbox.
(b) Complex electronic circuitry is required.
(c) Multiple emitter/detector pairs or complex sensor signal paths are used.
(d) Wired versions require more than a single pair of wires.
(e) Radio transmissions from the remote mailbox result in reduced privacy.
(f) Valuable radio spectrum is used for radio transmissions from the remote mailbox.

Gravity fed remote mail delivery indicator


The present invention is to provide a multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor capable of stably obtaining a high image quality image over a long term by restraining the exposure memory and the photo memory, and an image forming apparatus comprising such a multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor. A multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor comprising a charge generating layer containing at least a charge generating agent on a base member directly or via an intermediate layer, and a charge transporting layer containing at least a charge transporting agent and a binder resin formed successively, wherein the light absorption degree at a 680 nm wavelength light beam in the photoconductive layer of the multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor is of a value of 0.8 or less, and the light absorption degree at a 450 nm wavelength light beam is of a value of 1.0 or more, and an image forming apparatus comprising such a multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor and an image forming apparatus. In particular, it relates to a multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor capable of restraining generation of the exposure memory and the photo memory by limiting the light absorption degree (light absorbance) of a predetermined wavelength in a photoconductive layer, and an image forming apparatus comprising such a multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as an electrophotographic photoconductor used for an electrophotographic machine such as a copying machine and a laser printer, an inorganic photoconductor comprising a photoconductive layer made of an inorganic material such as amorphous silicon, and an organic photoconductor comprising a photoconductive layer containing a charge generating agent, a charge transporting agent, and a binder resin, are known.
Among these photoconductors, the organic photoconductor having the production convenience and additionally, the excellent freedom in the structure design owing to the variety of the selection range of the charge generating agent, the charge transporting agent, or the like, is widely used. Moreover, the organic photoconductor is roughly classified into a single layer type organic photoconductor and a multilayer type organic photoconductor in terms of the layer configuration. In particular, since the multilayer type organic photoconductor has the functions separated per each layer, it is advantageous in terms of the design easiness and the function control so that it is widely used recently.
However, since the multilayer type organic photoconductor contains the charge generating agent and the charge transporting agent in different layers, the charge transporting ability in the charge generating layer can easily be lowered so that a problem of the image characteristic deterioration due to the charge accumulation inside the layer is involved.
In particular, problems of generation of the so-called exposure memory of transferring the charge generated in the previous rounds and accumulated inside the charge generating layer to an image in the following rounds, or the so-called photo memory of the influence to the evenness of the initial charge caused by the charge generated by the external beam accumulated inside the charge generating layer have been observed.
Then, for solving these problems, a method for improving the charge characteristics by improving the charge transporting ability in the charge generating layer by containing an electron transferring agent in the charge generating layer in a positive charge type multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor has been proposed.
More specifically, a multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor containing the same binder resin in the charge generating layer and the charge transfer layer, and an accepter compound contained having the electron transporting ability in the charge generating layer and the charge transporting layer has been proposed (for example, see patent documents 1 and 2).                [Patent document 1] JPH07-199487A (claims)        [Patent document 2] JPH07-219251A (claims)
However, although the multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductors disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2 improve the charge characteristics, depending on the photoconductor material to be used, the printing conditions, or the like, the charge is accumulated in the charge generating layer so that the charge characteristics may be lowered.
In particular, depending on the kind of the charge generating agent or the charge transporting agent, the charge transporting ability may not be sufficiently obtained, or on the contrary, due to the excessive sensitivity to the exposure light source, the exposure memory may be generated. Moreover, in the case of the exposure of the electrophotographic photoconductor to the external beam for a long time at the time of replacement, or the like, the photo memory is also generated so that the charge characteristics may be lowered.

Multilayer type electrophotographic photoconductor and image forming apparatus


Method and apparatus for protecting internal memory from external access. A method for protecting a memory space from external access is provided. A plurality of lock bits are stored in a location in memory, each associated with a separate logical portion of the memory space and determinative as to the access thereof for a predetermined operation thereon. a request is then detected for access to a location in the memory space for operating thereon. The requested operation is then compared with the associated lock bit in the associated logical portion and then it is determined if access is allowed for the requested operation. If allowed, the requested operation is performed.

Currently available Memory systems are typically interfaced with a microprocessor core, which microprocessor core is operable to access any and all locations in the memory by generating an appropriate address. The processor requires access to the memory in order to both execute instructions and also read data from an address location or write data thereto.
In some situations, certain instructions are proprietary in nature and it is the desire of a manufacturer to protect that code. It is not the execution of the code that is to be protected but, rather, the ability of a user to gain access to the code, i.e., download the code, for reverse engineering thereof to determine the functionality that is embedded within the code. In systems that have provided this protected memory to prevent access to data or programs stored in the memory, circuitry is provided for monitoring the contents of the Program Counter and generating an inhibit signal whenever the Program Counter is at a certain value. This inhibit signal inhibits access to certain portions of the memory.
Additionally, protection of the memory is also important to the "lock" the memory from external access. This has typically been facilitated by generating lock bits in predetermined locations. Once these lock bits are set, the hardware will check a lock bit prior to allowing access to a particular section of memory. If a lock bit for that memory is set, then access to the memory for a read or write, depending upon which function is locked, will be prohibited. In order to reset the lock bit, the entire memory has to be erased.


An optoelectronic assembly and methods of fabrication thereof are provided. The assembly includes a sub-mount, one or more micro-devices attached to the sub-mount, and a lid attached to the sub-mount. The lid includes a dispense channel and a gel groove which allows for a thermal gel to be dispensed between the lid and the micro-device in a manner that mitigates the thermal gel dispersing and/or flowing onto components of the micro-devices.

Micro-electronic and micro-optical devices generate large amounts of heat during operation which is dispersed via various heat dispersion components. Compliant thermal gels and greases have been developed in order to aid the heat transfer from the micro-devices to a heat dispersion component such as a lid.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.

Thermal gel application on electronic and optical components


An optical unit that is configured of a three-group wide-angle lens, that is capable of suppressing optical distortion to a small amount, that has favorable optical characteristics, and that is tolerant of reflow, and an image pickup apparatus are provided. An optical unit 100 includes: a first lens group 110 including a first lens element 111; a second lens group 120 including a second lens element 121, a first transparent member 122, and a third lens element 123 that are arranged in order from object plane toward image plane; and a third lens group 130 including a fourth lens element 131, a second transparent member 132, and a fifth lens element 33 that are arranged in order from the object plane toward the image plane, the first lens group 110, the second lens group 120, and the third lens group 130 being arranged in order from the object plane toward the image plane.

As a prior art of a lens system for applications such as in-vehicle application and monitoring application with a horizontal angle of view of about 90 degrees, a technology of a wide-angle lens disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is known. The wide-angle lens is configured of three groups that include a first lens including a glass lens, and second and third lenses each including an aspheric mold, and is usable for applications such as in-vehicle application and monitoring application.
As another example of such a wide-angle lens including three groups, a technology disclosed in Patent Literature 2 is known.


Process for the formation of a removable surface area of a specific depth on a substrate with all coatings seated on the surface of the substrate, wherein a layer of a material, thin as related to the substrate, with a thermal expansion coefficient strongly deviating as compared with the substrate, is bonded to the substrate at one temperature and is subsequently cooled to another temperature.

This invention relates to the formation of a removable surface area of a certain depth on a substrate, along with all coatings, such as designs, glazings, sealants, protective coats and color coats, seated on the surface of the substrate. The invention also concerns a substrate reduced by a surface area of a certain depth, produced according to the proposed process.
It is frequently technically necessary or desirable to clean substrates on their surfaces and/or to free them of adhering coatings.
It is, in part, a very complicated and expensive necessity to separate the coating from the substrate, particularly if the substrate represents a valuable, reusable raw material, the properties of which are negatively altered by the adhering coatings in case of reuse of the substrate:
--In case the produced coating does not satisfy the technical requirements due to production errors, such as, for example, partial detachment, running of decorations, or the like,
--or in case the aesthetic impression deviates from the given standard, for example due to color changes.
Moreover, to an increasing extent, the manufacturer is forced by regulations and enacted laws to take his products back in the used state after they have served the customer.
In order to avoid paying additional costs for storage space, warehouse administration, and waste disposal, it is necessary to recycle these used products as "new" raw materials by incorporation into the respective manufacturing process. In this way, on the one hand, the expenses for storage of the returned, used products are considerably reduced and, on the other hand, expensive raw materials are, in part, saved by the recycling of these products.
However, frequently coatings or contaminations attached to the used product to be recycled must be removed since these prevent or decisively restrict the recycling of the basic material which otherwise would be technically feasible and advantageous.
Firmly entrenched coatings and/or contaminants, however, can be removed from the support in most cases only with very great expense and by complicated methods.
The state of the art is, for example:
--Mechanical grinding off or cutting off of the coatings, which takes a large amount of time, requires, in part, a great expenditure in costly machinery, grinding and separating agents, and moreover entails waste disposal problems in connection with the thus-produced fine dusts, coolants, and in wet processes the separation and concentration of the dust-containing suspensions.
--The burning off and oxidation of the coatings and/or contaminations with, in part, large amounts of emissions of possibly toxic gases, including a plurality of difficultly determinable organic and inorganic intermediates, in dependence on the temperature, the burner operation, and the atmosphere during the burning step.
Moreover, the energy costs to be expended in such processes are very high. Also, the furnace facilities and the flue gas and waste gas purification units which must be resistant to large amounts of fluxes, such as Pb.sup.2+, K.sup.+, Li.sup.+, Na.sup.+, etc., and corrosive gases containing F.sup.-, Cl.sup.-, are very expensive.
--Removal by caustics or etching with acids and/or bases. These processes are likewise complicated from an industrial viewpoint and expensive; moreover, the thus-formed reaction products can be disposed of as waste only with great difficulties.

Formation of a removable surface area on a substrate


A surgically implantable infusion port includes a housing portion, a penetrable elastomeric septum portion which cooperates with the housing portion for defining an interior cavity and a catheter element which extends outwardly from the interior cavity for dispensing medication therefrom at a predetermined location in the body of a patient. The elastomeric septum portion is penetrable by a hypodermic needle for dispensing medication in the interior cavity, and it is laterally compressed to enhance the ability of the septum portion to reseal itself after being repeatedly penetrated. A septum assembly including a similar laterally compressed septum element can also be utilized as a penetrable barrier between various liquids and gases.

The instant invention relates to medical apparatus and more particularly to a self-sealing laterally compressed elastomeric septum which is penetrable by a hypodermic needle or the like and to a surgically implantable infusion port which includes the septum.
Surgically implantable infusion ports have been heretofore available for a number of years, and have generally been found to be effective for dispensing medication in the bodies of patients. One of the most common types of heretofore available infusion ports comprises a rubberized base portion, a metallic housing on the base portion having an interior cavity therein and an opening at the upper end thereof, a penetrable elastomeric septum which is received in sealing relation in the opening in the housing, and a catheter which extends from the interior cavity to the exterior of the housing. In use, an infusion port of this type is normally surgically implanted in a patient so that it is positioned beneath the skin with the upper end of the housing and the penetrable septum facing outwardly, and with the catheter positioned so that it can transmit medication to a predetermined area of the patient's body, such as a large vein. Once an infusion port of this type has been surgically implanted in the body of a patient, the cavity in the housing can be filled with medication by inserting a hypodermic needle through the skin of the patient so that the tip portion of the needle penetrates the septum and passes into the interior cavity and by then dispensing medication in the cavity through the needle. In most instances, after a predetermined amount of medication has been dispensed in this manner, the hypodermic needle is removed, so that the elastomeric septum reseals itself in the area where it was penetrated by the hypodermic needle. However, it has been found that each time the septum of an infusion port of this type is penetrated by a needle, a certain amount of damage is caused to the septum and that after a septum has been repeatedly penetrated, it can lose its ability to reseal itself. It has been further found that when this occurs, it is generally necessary to surgically replace the entire infusion port.
Another type of heretofore available infusion port is disclosed in the Moden et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,174. This device is intended to be utilized in a similar manner to that hereinabove set forth, although it is adapted for side entry with a hypodermic needle rather than top entry, such as with the above mentioned device.
The instant invention provides an effective septum which is laterally compressed to enhance the ability thereof to repeatedly reseal itself over a prolonged period of time and an effective infusion port which incorporates the septum. Specifically, the infusion port of the instant invention comprises a housing portion having an interior cavity therein and an access opening in the housing, a septum received in sealing relation in the access opening, and a catheter which extends between the interior cavity and the exterior of the housing for dispensing medication in the body of a patient. The septum of the instant invention is made of a substantially solid elastomeric material and it has an outwardly facing surface thereon. The septum is penetrable by a hypodermic needle by inserting the needle through the outwardly facing surface of the septum. The septum is compressed by between approximately 1% and 30% in a direction which is substantially parallel to the outwardly facing outer surface thereof, and it is preferably compressed by between 5% and 10% in two substantially perpendicular directions, both of which are parallel to the outwardly facing surface of the septum. In one embodiment of the infusion port, the septum is of substantially circular configuration and it is compressed in at least two radially extending directions. In this embodiment, the septum is preferably substantially flat, but it is preferably at least slightly concave prior to being compressed. In another embodiment, the septum comprises first and second layers of elastomeric material, wherein the first layer is operative for applying a compressive force to the second layer in order to maintain the second layer in a compressed disposition.
It has been found that because the infusion port of the instant invention includes a laterally compressed septum, it has an increased effective life as compared to many of the heretofore available infusion ports. Specifically, it has been found that the septum of the infusion port of the subject invention has a substantially increased ability to reseal itself after repeated penetration, and that as a result, the effective life of the septum is substantially increased. Accordingly, the infusion port of the instant invention can normally remain implanted in the body of a patient for an extended period of time before surgical replacement is necessary. It has also been found that the compressed septum of the instant invention can be effectively utilized in a variety of other applications to provide a resealable barrier between two fluids, including liquids and/or gases. For example, the compressed septum can be effectively utilized as a penetrable barrier for dispenser bottles of the type commonly utilized for filling hypodermic syringes.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the instant invention to provide an effective infusion port having a laterally compressed septum.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide an infusion port comprising a septum having an enhanced ability to reseal itself after being repeatedly penetrated with a hypodermic needle.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

Laterally compressed septum assembly and implantable infusion port with laterally compressed septum


The present invention relates to a cubic element for construction toys, including three, straight, open-ended channels each formed on an adjacent different face of the cube between two opposite faces of the cube and extending in orthogonal opposite directions to each other (X,Y,Z). Each channel includes a bottom wall and two upwardly extending parallel sidewalls, wherein the width of the bottom wall and the distance between the face which is distal to the channel that is extending orthogonally from the same cube face, and the sidewall adjacent the distal face, are substantially equal.

Construction toys play a major part in the development of the imaginative, cognitive, motoric and other faculties of young players. Countless number of such toys have been introduced into the market-place in the last century.
As a rule, the traditional toys were composed of differently designed basic elements. Efforts have been made to minimize the number of non-identical elements. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,883 dated Jan. 2, 1968 (to Glanzer et al) it has been stated as follows (see annexed FIG. 1):                "The main object of the present invention consists in providing a composite toy easy to assemble, so that it can be used by children of even very young age, the toy offering the possibility for building-up a large variety of structures with practically only three basic elements.        The composite toy according to the present invention is inexpensive due to the fact that it comprises only two structurally different connecting pieces of identical outer dimensions and a plurality of cylindrical rods of various lengths, but nevertheless gives the user a possibility for building-up very complex structures." (Col, 1, II. 51-62—emphasis added)".
Glanzer et al further discloses that in order to be useful as a construction toy piece, the cube as described and claimed by this patent must be made of a resilient material such as polyethylene (Col. 2 II. 8-9).
It is thus an object of the present invention to still further reduce the number of differently designed construction elements, namely to only a single element.
Yet another object of the present invention is to use the this single construction element to form structures that adhere to the rules of the well-known game "Dominoes" or new rules based on the same principle, so as to create a novel 3D "Dominoes" game.
It is therefore a long felt need to provide a construction toy that is based on a single object and a method of forming same, and contributes to the development of the imaginative, cognitive, motoric and other faculties of young players, and additionally be used to create a new of Dominoes game which provides many new and more challenging possibilities for the players of this game.

Cubic element for construction toys and a method for forming same


An APD includes a substrate formed of n.sup.+ -type Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb or Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb.sub.y As.sub.1-y semiconductor, whose aluminum content ratio x is typically within a range from 0.1 to 0.3. A light absorbing layer is formed of an-type GaSb semiconductor on the substrate. An avalanche multiplication layer is formed of n-type Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb or Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb.sub.y As.sub.1-y semiconduct, whose aluminum content ratio x is from 0.02 to 0.1, typically 0.065, so that an ionization rate ratio of positive and negative carriers is essentially maximized by a resonant impact ionization phenomenon. A p.sup.+ -region is formed as a surface layer of n-type Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb or Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb.sub.y As.sub.1-y semiconductor on the avalanche multiplication layer or directly in the avalanche multiplication layer so as to form a pn junction. Electrodes are formed on the p-type region and the substrate so as to apply a bias voltage to the APD. A light to be detected is injected through the substrate via an opening in the substrate electrode, while producing no carriers therein, into the light absorbing layer. The avalanche multiplication layer generates resonant impact ionization with only the positive carriers from the light absorbing layer, so that low noise and fast operation of the APD is achieved. Furthermore, the APD structure of the invention allows for easy design of an APD.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor avalanche photodiode (referred to hereinafter as an APD). More particularly, it relates to an APD which achieves both low noise and high speed operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Long-distance and high-capacity optical transmission using a wavelength of 10 to 1.7 .mu.m, where the optical transmission loss of a silica optical fiber becomes minimum, has been increasing in practical use. As an optical detector for this type of transmission, many types of APD devices have been developed. A typical one of these APD devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 037,000, filed Apr. 10, 1987 by the assignee of the subject application. In this prior application, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 1, the numeral 1 denotes an n.sup.+ -type GaSb substrate; the numeral 2 denotes an n-type GaSb light absorbing layer; the numeral 3 denotes an n-type Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb avalanche multiplication layer, where x=0.065; the numeral 4A denotes an n-type Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x Sb window layer, where x=0.3, having a band gap energy larger than that of the avalanche multiplication layer 3; and the numeral 5 denotes a p.sup.+ -type region doped in the window layer 4A for forming a pn junction. Some thickness of the window layer 4A is left between the pn junction 5' and the avalanche multiplication layer 3, and a light to be detected is irradiated through the p.sup.30 -type region 5 into the light absorbing layer 2. The above-described material of the avalanche multiplication layer 3 generates a high ionization rate of positive holes to that of electrons by a resonant impact ionization phenomenon, resulting in the achievement of both low noise and high speed operation of the APD. The resonant impact ionization is described by o Hilderbrand et al. in IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Vol. QE-17, No. 2, p. 284-288, February, 1981.
The problems with the above-described prior art APD are discussed below. In FIG. 2, the quantum efficiency characteristic which is an average number of electrons or positive holes photoelectrically emitted in a photoelectric material per incidental photons (i.e., a unit intensity of light) thereto versus the incidental wavelength, is presented. Incidental light having a 1.3 .mu.m wavelength produces both types of carriers, i.e., electrons and positive holes, in the avalanche multiplication layer 3 for x=0.065, as indicated by a notation "M", even though the light should pass therethrough without producing carriers therein. The most important aspect of employing resonant impact ionization to reduce the noise generation is obtained when only positive carriers are injected from the light absorbing layer 2 into the avalanche multiplication layer 3. Accordingly, the undesirable generation of both types of carriers (i.e., electrons and positive holes), in the multiplication layer 3 deteriorates the pure generation of the resonant impact ionization. As a result, the low noise characteristics of the APD are deteriorated. The same problem still exists for 1.55 .mu.m wavelength incident light as indicated by a notation "M'", though the amount of the produced carriers is much less.
Another prior art APD is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Sho 60-105281 which is assigned to the assignee of the subject application and which is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the numeral 3-11 denotes a p.sup.+ -type GaSb substrate, and the numeral 3-12 denotes a p-type Ga.sub.0.935 Al.sub.0.065 Sb avalanche multiplication layer which generates a resonant impact ionization phenomenon. The numeral 3-13 denotes a p-type Ga.sub.0.9 Al.sub.0.1 Sb light absorbing layer, and the numeral 3-14 denotes a p-type Ga.sub.0.6 Al.sub.0.4 Sb window layer. The numeral 3-15 denotes an n.sup.+ -type region doped in the window layer 3-14 for forming a pn junction, and the numeral 3-18 denotes an anti-reflection layer. The numerals 3-19 and 3-20 denote electrodes for applying a bias voltage to the APD. The light to be detected is injected through the n.sup.+ region 3-15 into the light absorbing layer 3-13. Accordingly, the light does not have to pass through the avalanche multiplication layer 3-12. Therefore, the problem of the prior art APD of FIG. 1 is avoided. However, other problems are created therein. Because of the longer distance between the pn junction 3-16 and the avalanche multiplication layer 3-12, any fluctuations in the impurity density or the thickness, etc., of the layers therebetween in the fabrication process seriously affect the APD characteristics. Furthermore, currently available diffusion source materials, such as sulfur or selenium, for forming the n region 3-15, are difficult to work with to achieve an adequate diffusion depth, resulting in difficulties in designing and fabricating the n.sup.30 region 3-15.
A third prior art APD is schematically illustrated in FIG. 4, where the same or like numerals denote the same or corresponding portions of the APD of FIG. 1. A substrate I, and a light absorbing layer 2 are the same as those of FIG. 1. An avalanche multiplication layer 3' is formed of the same material in the same way as the FIG. 1 APD. However, the layer 3' is formed in a mesa shape. A peripheral portion of the mesa is filled with the same material as that of the window layer 4A of FIG. 1, so as to form a guard ring 4B. Into the surfaces of the mesa-shaped layer 3' and an adjacent part of the guard ring 4B, zinc is diffused approximately 1 .mu.m deep to form a p.sup.30 -type region 5. The p.sup.30 -type region 5 forms a pn junction 5' with the avalanche multiplication layer 3' as well as the guard ring 4B. The pn junction also has a peripheral portion 5". A light to be detected is injected through the p.sup.30 -type region 5 into the light absorbing layer 2. The disadvantage of the prior art APD of FIG. 4 is the same as that of the prior art APD of FIG. 1.


While scheduled checkpoints are being taken of a cluster of active compute nodes distributively executing an application in parallel, a likelihood of failure of the active compute nodes is periodically and independently predicted. Responsive to the likelihood of failure of a given active compute node exceeding a threshold, the given active compute node is proactively migrated to a spare compute node of the cluster at a next scheduled checkpoint. Another spare compute node of the cluster can perform prediction and migration. Prediction can be based on both hardware events and software events regarding the active compute nodes.

Traditionally a computer program, like an application computer program, has been executed on a single computing device, such as a server. While the per-processor costs of computing devices have greatly decreased, advances in performance have slowed. Therefore, more recently, multiple computing devices have begun to be used to distributively execute a computer program in parallel. Large numbers of computing devices have even more recently still been clustered to provide massively parallel processing of computer programs, permitting such clusters to rival the performance of conventional supercomputers.

Proactive cluster compute node migration at next checkpoint of cluster cluster upon predicted node failure

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


Methods for improved acquisition and processing of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography data are presented. One embodiment involves improving the acquisition of the data by evaluating the quality of different portions of the data to identify sections having non-uniform acquisition parameters or non-uniformities due to opacities in the eye such as floaters. The identified sections can then be brought to the attention of the user or automatically reacquired. In another embodiment, segmentation of layers in the retina includes both structural and flow information derived from motion contrast processing. In a further embodiment, the health of the eye is evaluating by comparing a metric reflecting the density of vessels at a particular location in the eye determined by OCT angiography to a database of values calculated on normal eyes.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is widely recognized as a powerful ophthalmic imaging technique. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography techniques, such as optical microangiography (OMAG), speckle variance, phase variance, etc., use OCT systems to achieve the imaging of flow and motion within a tissue, including imaging of functional vascular networks within microcirculatory tissue beds in vivo, without the use of exogenous contrast agents. A majority of ocular diseases may lead to abnormality in microvasculature beds in the eye, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, retinal vein occlusion etc. OCT angiography can be a non-invasive way to be able to diagnose and monitor such vascular abnormalities. However, it is very critical to be able to obtain high quality images of vasculature and perform reliable analysis for diagnosis and monitoring of diseases.
There are several limitations in the state-of-the-art OCT angiography technology that makes it difficult to consistently acquire high quality clinical data sets. One of the major challenges of OCT angiography for larger field of view (FOV) scans is the variability of signal levels from different regions of the eye. This variability can be caused by many factors including subject motion and non-optimized refractive correction in different regions of eye. On the analysis side, there are several challenges as well, such as the capability to segment tissue layers with greater accuracy. Sometimes, spatially localized opacity, such as the one caused by a floater in the vitreous or by the opacity of the lens of the eye, may project dark pockets in the vasculature beds, thereby causing uncertainty in the diagnosis whether it is the loss of vasculature (ischemia) or shadow by a floater. In addition it will also be desirable to be able to develop analyses that could aid in detecting early vasculature based symptoms due to a disease like DR.

Acquisition and analysis techniques for improved outcomes in optical coherence tomography angiography


In a layout pattern generating apparatus, a truth value data grouping section 3 groups truth value data whose logic is "1" and which are adjacent to each other, and a coordinate value data calculating section 4 calculates coordinate data on a layout pattern at every grouped truth value data, thereby producing a layout pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a layout pattern generating apparatus for generating a layout pattern to be used for writing ROM data in an LSI including a mask ROM.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, for writing the logic "1" in manufacturing a ROM, a mask for exposure is first required to be manufactured which is necessary for the writing of the logic "1", and for manufacturing this mask, a layout pattern generating apparatus is required which calculates and outputs coordinate values for the manufacture of the mask on the basis of the truth value data. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case of successively retrieving whether or not the logic "1" exists at the right side of truth value data f whose logic is "1", when a decision is made such that the truth value data whose logic is "1" exists at the right side of the truth value data of the logic "1", the starting point f1 to the lower right-end set point f2 are not read but all of 5 points including the lower left-end set point g1 of the data g, the upper left-end set point g4, the upper left-end set point f4 and the starting point f1 are read so as to set an area M to take in the gap N between the data f and the data g. Thereafter, the respective points g1, g2, g3, g4 and g1 of the next data g are read to set an area P. According to this operation, unlike the operation which independently reads a rectangular area corresponding to the data f, a rectangular area corresponding to the gap N and a rectangular area corresponding to the data g, the gap N can be read together with the data f, thus making easy the operation.
FIG. 20 is an input/output-related illustration for describing the conventional layout pattern generating apparatus in detail. In FIG. 20, numeral 201 designates a truth value data to be inputted to this apparatus, 206 represents a corrected layout pattern to be outputted from this apparatus and 207 denotes a ROM layout pattern correcting apparatus which acts as the layout pattern generating apparatus.
FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram showing the conventional layout pattern generating apparatus. In FIG. 21, numeral 202 designates a truth value data reading means for reading the truth value data 201, 213 represents a coordinate data calculating means for calculating coordinate data of the layout pattern corresponding to the truth value data 201, 214 denotes a layout pattern correcting means for correcting the layout pattern to produce the corrected layout pattern 206, and 215 depicts a coordinate data storing section for storing the coordinate data calculated in the coordinate data calculating means 213.
FIG. 22 shows one example of the truth data, and FIG. 23 illustrates one example of the layout pattern where the layout pattern coordinate is calculated only with respect to the truth value data whose logic is "1". Further, FIG. 24 shows one example of the corrected layout pattern after the correction of the layout pattern, and FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing the operation of the conventional layout pattern generating apparatus.
Secondly, the operation of the conventional apparatus will be described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 20 to 25. First, the truth value data are read by the truth value data reading means 202 (step N1). The truth value data means the ROM data converted into the binary number data, comprising the logic "1" and the logic "0", and rearranged to correspond to a memory cell array on the layout pattern. A rectangular coordinate data to be drawn on the mask ROM with respect to the logic "1" truth value data are calculated by the coordinate data calculating means 213 to produce the layout pattern (step N2). Then, the layout pattern correcting means 214 retrieves, with respect to the respective rectangles of the layout pattern, whether a rectangle adjacent to the upper, lower and right, left positions exists (step N3). If there is the rectangle adjacent thereto, the layout pattern correcting means 214 performs the correction of the layout pattern to produce the corrected layout pattern (step N4). There is no rectangle adjacent thereto, the correction of the layout pattern is not effected. Here, the correction of the layout pattern means that the rectangular coordinate data is recalculated so as to eliminate the gap between the adjoining rectangles (FIG. 24).
FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram showing the conventional layout pattern. In FIG. 26, numeral 1 represents truth value data to be inputted to this layout pattern generating apparatus, 4 designates coordinate value data, 12 denotes a corrected layout pattern data to be outputted from this apparatus, 124 depicts a reading means for reading the truth value data 1, 125 indicates a truth value data retrieving means for retrieving whether an adjoining rectangle exists around the rectangle (the truth value data ="1"), and 126 is a layout pattern producing means for performing the correction of the layout pattern to produce the layout pattern data.
FIG. 27 shows one example of the truth value data. FIG. 28 shows one example of the layout pattern after the layout pattern process. In FIG. 28, 15a represents a light-transmission pattern and 15b designates a light-cutting pattern. A printing is effected with respect to a device in accordance with these patterns.
FIGS. 29(a) and (b) flow charts showing the operation of the conventional layout pattern generating apparatus. In FIGS. 29(a) and (b), the truth value data is first read (step 127). The truth value data means the ROM data (hexadecimal number) which is inputted to the LSI with the mask ROM, the ROM data being converted into binary number data, comprising "1" and "0", and rearranged to correspond to the memory cell array on the layout pattern. Here, when the truth value data have ended, the process terminates (step 128). It is checked whether or not the read truth value data is the data for generating a rectangle (step 129). If the truth value data is the rectangle-generating data (truth value data ="1"), the coordinate value data calculating process is effected for performing the correction process of the layout pattern data. If it is the data (truth value data="0") which does not generate the rectangle, the operational flow returns to the truth value data reading process.
Further, it is effected to retrieve whether a rectangle (truth value data="1") adjacent to the upper, right and upper-right sides of the rectangle-generating data exists (step 130). If there is the rectangle adjacent to all of the upper, right-upper and right sides thereof, the correction process of the layout pattern is performed so as to fill up the gaps between the rectangles existing at the upper, right-upper and right sides thereof (step 131), thereby producing the corrected layout pattern. If there is no rectangle which is adjacent to at least one of the upper, right-upper and right sides thereof, the next retrieving process is effected. Here, the layout pattern correcting process means that the rectangular coordinate value data is calculated so as to fill up the gap between the adjacent rectangles (FIG. 28).
Moreover, it is effected to retrieve whether a rectangle adjacent to the right side of the data which generates a rectangle exists (step 132). If there is the rectangle adjacent to the right side thereof, the correction process of the layout pattern is effected so as to fill up the gap between the rectangles (step 133), thereby produce the corrected layout pattern 12. If such rectangles do not exist at the right side, the next retrieving process is effected. Further, it is checked whether or not a rectangle adjacent to the lower and lower-right sides of the data which generates a rectangle exists (step 134). If the rectangle adjacent to all of the lower and lower-right sides thereof exists, it is checked whether or not a rectangle adjacent to the upper side thereof exists (step 135). Here, if there is the rectangle adjacent to the upper side thereof exists, the correction process of the layout pattern is effected so as to fill up the gap between the upper and lower side rectangles (step 136). If the rectangle adjacent to the upper side thereof does not exist, the correction process of the layout pattern is effected so as to fill up the gap relative to the lower side rectangle (step 137), thereby to produce the corrected layout pattern. If the rectangle adjacent to at least one of the lower and lower-right sides thereof does not exist, the next retrieving process is effected.
Still further, it is checked whether or not a rectangle adjacent to the upper side of the data which generates a rectangle exists (step 138). If the rectangle adjacent to the upper side thereof exists, the correction process of the layout pattern is effected to fill up the gap relative to the upper side rectangle (step 139) so as to produce the corrected layout pattern. If the rectangle adjacent to the upper side thereof does not exist, the operation advances to the next process.
If a rectangle adjacent to the upper, right, upper-right, lower-right and lower sides thereof does not exists, the layout pattern is produced without performing the correction process of the layout pattern (step 140).
The above-described operation for retrieving the adjoining rectangles and for calculating the rectangular coordinate value data is repeatedly effected with respect to each truth value data up to the end of the truth value data,
Since the conventional layout pattern generating apparatus is arranged as being described above, even if taking in the gap N between the adjacent data f and g where the logic is "1", in terms of the layout pattern the coordinate data is produced one by one in correspondence with the truth value data whose logic is "1". That is, similarly, the process is required to be effected to produce the coordinate data with respect to the respective data f and g. In the case of the mask ROM LSI having an extremely large ROM capacity, if the coordinate data is produced one by one with respect to the truth value data whose logic is "1", there is a problem that the data amount of the layout pattern extremely becomes large to require a large disc capacity for the processing, that is, the disc capacity for the processing lacks, and the time necessary for the processing becomes long.


Snow guards and mounts for attaching to seams of metal roofs have tops, spaced sides and inward and downward extending holes for elliptical tipped set screws. Square recesses opposite inner extremities of the holes form square bends in the seams. One screw and recess deform two layers below a rolled seam. Another screw and recess deform five layers in the rolled seam. Bottom lobes near one support provide a lowered hole and a lowered opposite recess. Snow blades extend upward and outward from the top and sides and downward to near a level of the bottoms of the sides.

Double lock standing seams or double standing seams in metal roofs are formed as rectangular reentrant bends in edges of overlapping metal sheets. The seams stand about one inch or more above the plane of the sheets, and the rectangular reentrant bends occupy about an upper one-half inch of the seams.
Connectors to connect objects, for example snow guards, to the roof have grooved bodies for spanning the seams. Threaded openings in one side of the groove receive screws. The opposite side has spheroid internal recesses for receiving and holding portions of the seams that are pushed into the recesses by the screws. The screws should be tightened sufficiently to distort and hold the seams using powered wrenches or hand operated wrenches. When torqued sufficiently for the screws to deform the metal of the seam into the spheroid recesses and thus prevent dislodgment of the snow guard from the seam, the screws acting through the seam and recesses may distort inferior bodies causing them to crack or split. When the screws are tightened insufficiently, the mounts may slide along or off the seams, causing possible damage to the roof or objects below.
Fasteners historically have been perpendicular to the seam and parallel with the plane of the roof surface or panel and have made for difficult installations due to their close proximity to the panel, leaving little room for either hand or electric impact tools. Additionally, the sight line of the installer is impeded by the close proximity to the roof panel surface. As such installer frustration and roof panel damage are common in the trade.
Needs exist for improved metal seam mounts.


A home appliance having a door which may be opened and closed, and more particularly, a home appliance to assist a user in easily opening or closing a door is disclosed. The home appliance includes a cabinet having a chamber in which an object is received or retrieved, a door to open or close the chamber, and a handle assembly to be rotated relative to the door during opening or closing of the door, wherein rotation of the handle assembly causes the door to be rotated about a door rotating axis.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a home appliance having a door, and more particularly to a home appliance to assist a user in easily opening or closing a door.
2. Background
Home appliances may refer to products that perform a variety of functions using electricity or other energy at home or indoors.
Examples of home appliances may include a washing apparatus for washing or drying laundry, a refrigerator for keeping food at a refrigerating or freezing temperature, a dishwasher for washing dishes, and gas or electric ovens or microwave ovens for cooking food. In addition to the aforementioned examples, various other types of home appliances may be present.
In many cases, home appliances may include a cabinet defining the external appearance of the home appliance. In turn, a chamber in which an object is received may be defined in the cabinet. Thus, the cabinet may define the chamber.
For example, the chamber may be configured into various shapes according to the types or purposes thereof, such as a space for cooking food, a space for washing laundry, a space for storage or processing of clothes, a space for washing dishes, or a space for storage of food. Also, the chamber may be referred to by various names according to the purpose or usage of the home appliance.
The home appliances may include a door configured to be opened or closed for the ingress or egress of an object. The door may be provided with a handle to assist a user in opening or closing the door by gripping the handle with the hand.
As the capacity of the home appliance, i.e. the capacity of the chamber increases, the size of the door increases, which problematically results in the increase in the weight of the door. Therefore, there is a need to assist the user in easily opening or closing the door using the handle despite the size and weight of the door, for the sake of enhanced user convenience.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional oven or dishwasher home appliance. In the illustrated conventional oven or dishwasher, a handle 40 is provided at an upper portion of a front surface of a door 30, and door 30 is opened or closed via pivotal rotation thereof about a pivot center at the bottom of door 30.
To open or close door 30, the user has to grip and pull handle 40 provided at a front surface of door 30, and simultaneously apply downward force to handle 40. This type of door may be referred to as a pull-down type door. Here, handle 40 is fixed to door 30.
In many cases, as illustrated in FIG. 1, when opening the door 30, a user "a" will grip handle 40 with at least one hand such that the back of a hand "b" faces upward. In this case, the wrist of the user will inevitably be bent as door 30 is opened, and the back of the hand "b" may potentially be pushed by an upper edge 30a of door 30. Although changing a hand's posture of gripping handle 40 in the course of opening door 30 may eliminate this discomfort, this is not easy because it is necessary to inconveniently change from the hand that has already gripped handle 40 to the other hand.
On the other hand, the user may open door 30 by gripping handle 40 with the hand such that the palm faces upward. However, even in this case, the wrist of the user will similarly be bent and the wrist or the palm may potentially be pushed by the edge 30a.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, handle 40 deviates from the visual field of the user when door 30 is rotated and opened past some position. For example, when door 30 is rotated by 90 degrees and is completely opened, the user cannot see handle 40 and this makes it inconvenient for the user to grip handle 40 when closing door 30.
In particular, in the case of opening or closing the door using the above-described handle, use of the handle is not easy because the user must move various joints and muscles, such as the wrist, the arm, the knee, or the shoulder, for example. Additionally, since an increase in the capacity of home appliances results in an increase in the size and weight of the door, user inconvenience caused by the opening or closing of the door may be further increased.
For this reason, there is a need for provision of convenient home appliances that adopt an ergonomic handle design to minimize labor and discomfort of the user when opening or closing the door.

Home appliance having movable door handle


A printed circuit board has one or more conductor-deleted portions formed in the lands of a conductor pattern printed on an insulating substrate. The conductor-deleted portions may be one or more slits extending radially from a center hole of each land, one or more holes, or one or more notches. Preferably, the conductor-deleted portions are positioned to be in the direction of alignment of the lands. The conductor-deleted portions reduce the amount of solder adhering to the lands and prevent solder bridges between adjacent lands from forming.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a printed circuit board to be used for attaching various kinds of electronic parts, and particularly to a printed circuit board in which the amount of solder deposited on closely spaced printed lands is decreased so as to eliminate the risk of solder bridges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, in order to prevent solder, bridges from occurring, there has been proposed such means as shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, conductor patterns 2 are printed on an insulating substrate 1, a resist 3 is applied thereon to form lands 4, and another resist 5 is applied between adjacent lands 4 having a narrow interval therebetween. Double application of the resists 3 and 5 makes it possible to prevent solder bridges from occurring between the lands 4 when lead wire terminals 7 of electronic parts passed through holes 6 of the respective lands 4 and projected therefrom are connected with the respective lands 4 by soldering.
In such a printed circuit board as described above, while the above-mentioned means acts to prevent the solder bridges, the construction of the circuit board requires additional steps for providing the double resists.


An imaging device includes a basic cell having two or more the pixels that share floating diffusion. The imaging device also includes a transistor shared by the two or more pixels in the basic cell and arranged on the outside of the two or more pixels. The imaging device further includes a light receiving unit connected to the floating diffusion shared by the pixels in the basic cell through a transfer gate. In the imaging device, on-chip lenses are arranged substantially at regular intervals. Also, an optical waveguide is formed so that the position thereof in the surface of the solid-state imaging device is located at a position shifted from the center of the light receiving unit to the transistor and in the inside of the light receiving unit and the inside of the on-chip lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device with an optical waveguide on a light receiving unit and also relates to an imaging apparatus provided with such a solid-state imaging device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a solid-state imaging device, the more the distance from the center of the imaging device to a pixel increases, the more the incident angle of light on the pixel increases. Thus, the amount of light incident on the photoelectric conversion unit (light receiving unit) decreases if the uppermost lens is located just above a photoelectric conversion unit (light receiving unit).
Then, there is proposed a solid-state imaging device in which the horizontal position of each of the lens and the photoelectric conversion unit (light receiving unit) is shifted depending on the distance from the center of the imaging device to the pixel to place the lens near the center of the imaging device (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open Nos. 2006-261247, 2006-261249, and 2006-324439). Such a configuration of the imaging device can allows the more amount of the slanting incident light passed through the lens to enter the photoelectric conversion unit (light receiving unit), resulting in sufficient sensitivity. The shifting of the horizontal positions of structural components, such as a lens and a light receiving unit, in this way is referred to as "pupil correction". In other words, the term "pupil correction" means that an on-chip lens is shifted to an appropriate position to take measures against a fact that the incident light is not vertically incident on the periphery of a pixel but obliquely incident thereon.
In Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2006-261249, furthermore, an optical waveguide is provided between a lens and a light receiving unit. Then, the lens, the optical waveguide, and the light receiving unit are shifted in the horizontal direction so that the distances from the center of the imaging device to the lens, the optical waveguide, and the light receiving unit increase in this order with an increase in distance from the center of the imaging device to the pixel.
By the way, in the typical CMOS type solid-stage imaging device, a transistor and a floating diffusion are provided for every pixel. The presence of the transistor and the floating diffusion in each pixel restricts the production of a finer pixel. The finer the pixel is made, the more the surface area of the light receiving unit decreases. As a result, a decrease in amount of electric charges occurs. Thus, the resulting pixel may tend to be a very dark pixel and also random noise may tend to overlap an image signal.
To avoid such phenomena, there is proposed another imaging device in which a transistor and a floating diffusion are shared by two or more pixels to decrease the surface area of the pixel occupied by these elements while increasing the surface area thereof occupied by the light receiving unit (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2006-303468).

Solid-state imaging device with pixels having first and second optical waveguides with shifted positions, and imaging apparatus including the solid-state imaging device


A switching signal input device for use with an electronic apparatus is provided. The switching signal input device includes a switch part, an operating part and a resilience element, and is capable of performing four-directional switch control actions in response to the elastic forces generated from the resilience element on two planes perpendicular to each other.

Generally, electronic apparatuses such as MP3 players, subscriber identity module (SIM) card readers and the like have user operation interfaces for users to control for example volume or function selection of the electronic apparatuses. These electronic apparatuses are usually controlled in response to switching signals. The user operation interfaces of the touch switches, for example touch pads, knobs and the like, are usually mounted on the electronic apparatuses. In other words, by controlling these user operation interfaces, the touch switches will be triggered to generate switching signals.
Conventionally, the switch operation interface is a disc-shaped touch pad having several (for example four) touch points. Each touch point correlates to a switch. In response to a depressing operation, the corresponding switch is triggered to generate a switching signal. This approach, however, has some drawbacks. For example, the touch pad occupies much area. In addition, some users may have problem in operating the touch pad to control the electronic apparatus.
Another switch operation interface having rotary means is convenient for other users. Such a switch operation interface has a rotatable control rod rotated to trigger the switch. The conventional rotary means for triggering the switch, however, can only provide three-directional switch control actions, i.e. levorotary, dextrorotary and pushing control actions. The number of the switch control actions for a user to perform is limited.

Switching signal input device for use with electronic apparatus


A thermoplastic resin composition and a molded article produced using the same. The thermoplastic resin composition includes: a styrene-based copolymer resin; a rubber-modified acrylic graft copolymer; a silicone compound-containing branched copolymer; glass fibers; and metal particles, wherein a weight ratio of the branched copolymer to the glass fibers ranges from about 1:1 to about 6:1.

A thermoplastic resin has a lower specific gravity than glass or metal and has excellent moldability and mechanical properties such as impact resistance. Plastic products made using a thermoplastic resin such a polycarbonate resin are rapidly replacing glass and metal products in the fields of electrical/electronic products and automotive parts.
Recently, as the importance of design becomes more prominent, there is increasing demand for plastic materials that can express various textures. For example, there is a growing demand for plastic exterior products that can create metal textures to give a more luxurious feel. In order to realize a metal texture on a plastic exterior product, there has been proposed a method of producing a molded article using a plastic resin and then coating the molded article with metal or metal paint.
However, such a metal-coated molded article has a problem in that a complicated coating process is required, harmful solvents are used, and manufacturing costs are high. In addition, the use of a painted plastic exterior material can cause significant deterioration in appearance quality due to scratches on a painted portion even by slight impact.
In order to solve such problems, there has been proposed a resin composition capable of expressing an appearance having a metal texture by adding metal particles to the resin without coating. For example, a resin composition using scaly fine metal particles and a resin composition using glass fibers and metal particles have been developed. However, these compositions have drawbacks in that flow marks or weld lines are generated during injection molding, causing deterioration in appearance characteristics.
In addition, with increasing demand for aesthetically pleasing products, there is growing demand for low-gloss resins for presentation of an emotional atmosphere and anti-glare. Further, with increasing awareness of environmental issues, low-gloss resins prepared without matte coatings or padding processes are increasingly used.
A method of imparting low-gloss properties to a resin composition by adding a specific rubber component to the resin composition has been proposed. However, such a method has a problem in that sufficient low-gloss effects cannot be obtained and other physical properties such as impact strength and heat resistance are likely to be deteriorated.
Therefore, there is a need for a resin composition which can express a low-gloss metal texture without causing appearance defects such as flow marks or weld lines.

Thermoplastic resin composition and molded article using the same


Systems and methods for determining an effective amount of light energy to deliver to fluids, particularly fluids having target and non-target materials. The systems and methods specifically relate to phototherapy and photopheresis systems where an effective amount of light energy is desired to be delivered to targets in biological fluids.

Light irradiation or phototherapy has been widely used in the chemical and biological sciences for many years. Ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation of blood was used in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's for the treatment of many conditions. These conditions included bacterial diseases such as septicemias, pneumonias, peritonitis, wound infection, viral infections including acute and chronic hepatitis, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, and mononucleosis. Phototherapy or light irradiation also includes the processes of exposing photoactivatable or photosensitizable targets, such as cells, blood products, bodily fluids, chemical molecules, tissues, viruses, and drug compounds, to light energy, which induces an alteration in or to the targets. In recent years, the applications of phototherapy are increasing in the medical field. These applications include the inactivation of viruses contaminating blood or blood products, the preventive treatment of platelet-concentrate infusion-induced alloinmunization reactions, and the treatment of both autoimmune and T-cell mediated diseases. Light irradiation applications also include the irradiation sterilization of fluids that contain undesirable microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses.
Numerous human disease states, particularly those relating to biological fluids such as blood, respond favorably to treatment by visible or UV light irradiation. Light irradiation may be effective to eliminate immunogenicity in cells, inactivate or kill selected cells, inactivate viruses or bacteria, or activate desirable immune responses. For example; phototherapy can be used as an antiviral treatment for certain blood components or whole blood. (See PCT Application WO 97/36634 entitled Photopheresis Treatment of Chronic HCV Infections). In this case, a pathogenic virus in a donated platelet concentrate can be inactivated by UV light exposure.
Indeed, certain forms of light irradiation may be effective by themselves, without the introduction of outside agents or compounds, while others may involve the introduction of specific agents or catalysts. Among the latter treatment techniques is the use of photoactivatable drugs. In a particular application, it is well known that a number of human disease states may be characterized by the overproduction of certain types of leukocytes, including lymphocytes, in comparison to other population of cells which normally comprise whole blood. Excessive abnormal lymphocyte populations result in numerous adverse effects in patients including the functional impairment of bodily organs, leukocyte mediated autoimmune diseases and leukemia related disorders many of which often ultimately result in fatality.
Uses of photoactivatable drugs may involve treating the blood of a diseased patient where specific blood cells have become pathogenic as a consequence of the disease state. The methods generally may involve treating the pathogenic blood cells, such as lymphocytes, with a photoactivatable drug, such as a psoralen, which is capable of forming photoadducts with lymphocyte DNA when exposed to UV radiation.
A specific type of phototherapy is extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP). An application of ECP is for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). In an example of this therapy, 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), a naturally occurring light-sensitive compound, is orally administrated to a patient prior to before ECP treatment. During the ECP treatment, blood is withdrawn from the patient, anticoagulated, and the white cells are separated by centrifugation and collected as a leukocyte enriched fraction, also known as the buffy coat. The 8-MOP molecules in the blood enter the white blood cell nuclei and intercalate in its double-stranded DNA helix.
In the extracorporeal circuit, UV light is directed at the leukocyte-enriched blood fraction and promotes the photoactivation of the target 8-MOP molecules. The photoactivated 8-MOPs alter the pathogenic leukocyte by cross-linking to the thymidine bases and prevent the unwinding of DNA during transcription. The fluid containing the altered leukocytes is then reinfused back into the patient. The reinfusion induces a therapeutically significant delayed immune attack that targets antigens on the surface of both irradiated and unirradiated leukocytes of the same pathogenic clones. See PCT Application WO 97/36581 entitled Photopheresis Treatment of Leukocytes, which is expressly hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This PCT Application discloses the UVAR.RTM. system for ECP. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,321,919, 4,398,906, 4,428,744, and 4,464,166, each of which is expressly hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, also describe, inter alia, methods for reducing the functioning lymphocyte population of a human subject using photopheretic techniques.
ECP also has been shown to be an effective therapy in a number of autoimmune diseases such as progressive systemic sclerosis (see A. H. Rook et al., ARCH. DERMATOL. 128:337-346 (1992)), inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis (see S. Malawista, et al., ARTHRITIS RHEUM. 34:646-654 (1991)), and juvenile onset diabetes mellitus (see J. Ludvigsson, DIABETES METAB. REV. 9(4):329-336 (1993)), as well as other T-cell mediated phenomena including graft-versus-host disease (see Rosseti et al., TRANSPLANT 59(1):149-151 (1995)), and organ allograft rejection after transplantation (see A. H. Rook, et al., J. CLIN. APHERESIS 9(1):28-30 (1994)). The ECP treatment preferably results in a highly specific immune response against aberrant T-cells as well as removal of pathogenic antibodies and circulating immune complexes.
A difficulty inherent in light irradiation or phototherapy techniques when used in the irradiation of fluids and/or their target components, however, is that often times the fluid is not completely transparent to light, e.g., the fluid itself is not entirely transparent and/or the fluid contains material (e.g., non-target material) that is not entirely transparent to light. Material that is not completely transparent to light energy attenuates the irradiance of the light. This phenomenon is particularly undesirable in phototherapy or photopheresis applications since some targets in the fluid will receive light that is attenuated by the nontransparent material. This attenuation makes it difficult to predict how much light energy should be delivered to the fluid to provide a desired amount of light energy to targets in the fluid.
Another source of light attenuation in fluids is stacking. Stacking occurs in a fluid when material or targets in the fluid are not distributed uniformly on the fluid surface but rather are located at different depths throughout the fluid. Therefore, for instance, targets in the outer most layer of the fluid, closest to the irradiating light source, may be exposed to incident light intensity, while the targets below the surface layer may receive attenuated light energy.
Furthermore, the shapes of non-transparent material in the fluid and their alignment can be a cause of light attenuation. For example, in photopheresis applications, non-targets in he biological fluid may include red blood cells, which have discord shapes with depressions at the middle. When red blood cells are aligned parallel to the light energy source during irradiation, their attenuation of light is minimized. However, when red blood cells are aligned perpendicular to the light energy source during irradiation, their attenuation of light is maximized. Since the alignment of such fluid material is usually not predictable, it is presently difficult to accurately determine how much light energy should be delivered to the biological fluid in order to deliver a desired amount of light energy to each target in the fluid and overcome the light attenuation caused by the alignment of the material.
The CTCL ECP methodology referenced in PCT Application WO 97/36581 can be used to illustrate these exemplary light attenuation characteristics. The buffy coat suspension usually contains some red blood cells and platelets due to inefficiencies inherent in the cell separation techniques utilized. Since the buffy coat suspension, red blood cells and platelets are not completely transparent, they can attenuate the light energy during irradiation. Also, since the fluid's thickness during irradiation can support target white blood cells at different depths, stacking is present. Finally, the alignment of red blood cells in the fluid containing the buffy coat may attenuate the light energy.
With CTCL ECP, the desired amount of light energy for delivery to targets may be result-based, e.g., delivering enough light energy to the target white blood cells to produce a gradual death rate culminating in at least fifty (50) percent of treated, irradiated white blood cells dead after day six (6) of irradiation. Yet, the fluid's non-transparent qualities presently make it difficult to accurately calculate the amount of light energy required to deliver to the fluid, in order to achieve the desired result.
A conventional way to reduce the effect of the attenuation of light in such applications is to constantly agitate the fluid during irradiation. Agitation assists to produce uniform exposure of the targets to the light energy, yet it does not directly address all the light attenuating factors present in such applications. See PCT Application WO 98/22164, entitled Blood Product Irradiation Device Incorporating Agitation, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
It is therefore desirable to have a system for determining an effective amount of light energy to deliver to fluids containing targets for the light energy, in order to deliver an effective amount of light energy to the targets and, more particularly, to have a system applicable to phototherapy and photopheresis systems for determining an effective amount of light energy to deliver to a biological fluid containing targets for the light energy where an effective amount of light energy is desired to be delivered to the targets.

Method and system for determining an effective amount of light energy to delivery to fluids having targets for the light energy


To provide an electrically-driven vehicle which does not impede the usual traveling even when a push-walk function is used. A motor is provided for driving a drive wheel with a battery supplying electric power to the motor. A throttle is provided for adjusting a vehicle speed and a battery control unit controls the motor based on an output of the throttle. The electrically-driven vehicle further includes a push-walk switch operated by a rider for selecting the push-walk traveling and, at the same time, the battery control unit also performs the detection of a vehicle state. The battery control unit performs the control of the push-walk traveling when the battery control unit receives the instruction of the push-walk switch via a rider and a vehicle state satisfies a preset condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrically-driven vehicle having a push-walk function.
2. Description of Background Art
An electrically-drive-assisted bicycle is disclosed in JP-A-2003-95182 which uses a resultant force of manpower and an assist power as a driving force. The electrically-drive-assisted bicycle is provided with a push-walk function which allows the bicycle to travel at a speed which is slower than a usual vehicle speed and is substantially equal to a speed that a man walks. The application of the push-walk function to an electrically-driven vehicle such as a scooter is hereinafter discussed. Here, the electrically-drive-assisted bicycle adopts the structure in which a one-way clutch or the like is interposed between a pedal crank and a drive shaft or between a motor and the drive shaft. Thus, even when the push-walk function is driven during usual traveling, the adjustment is configured to be performed between the speed of the pedal traveling using manpower and the speed of the push-walk function.
However, since the electrically-operated scooter or the like uses the power of the electrically-operated motor as the main driving force, when the push-walk function is driven during usual traveling, the driving force of the electrically-operated motor is changed.


A cation-conducting polymer has two or more repeating units of the following formula

Fuel cells are designed to transform fuel's chemical energy into electrical energy directly by electrochemistry reaction. Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of the common systems due to high conversion efficiency and high degree of environmental friendliness.
In PEMFC systems, hydrogen fed into the anode can diffuse toward the catalyst on anode side via the gas diffusion layer and be catalyzed to dissociate into protons (H+) and electrons (e−) by Pt in the catalyst (H2→2H++2e−). Electrons flow to the cathode via external circuit and protons are transported into the catalyst on cathode side by the proton exchange membrane (PEM). In the cathode, water is generated by reduction reaction of protons, electrons and oxygen fed into the cathode (4H++4e−+O2→2H2O). PEMFC systems will not pollute the earth because the fuel is hydrogen and the products are water and heat (2H2+O2→2H2O).
PEM is key component in performance and life-cycle of PEMFC systems. Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionmer membranes, such as Nafion® (DuPont), are preferred materials due to high proton conductivity and great service life (more than 60000 h). However, PFSA membranes have some disadvantages such as decreased proton conductivity caused by low water retention in high-temperature and low-humidity environment, limited performance in higher temperatures because of low glass transition temperature (Tg), high cost and environmental inadaptability. As a result, alternative PEM materials are under intense investigation.
Taiwan patent I527842 disclosed a polymer of fluorine-containing sulfonated poly(arylene ether)s which was synthesized by nucleophilic polycondensation of fluorine-containing monomers having 1 to 6 fluoro or trifluoromethyl groups and multiphenyl monomers. However, the fluorine-containing monomers may cause decreased hydrophilicity and conductivity of the polymer and disadvantageous to PEM performance in fuel cell.

Abstract: Owing to the cation-conducting polymer has good physicochemical properties, hydrolytic stability and conductivity, a film formed by coating the liquid cation-conducting polymer can be used as proton exchange membrane to apply in fuel cell system.