A measurement instrument which detects the thickness of the outer layer of a wafer 24, includes a filtered white light source forming an aperture image. The white light source includes a halogen lamp 10, a condensing lens 12, a circular aperture 14, a collimator lens 16, a narrow band filter wheel 18, and a second collimator lens 20. A monochromatic beam generated by this filtered white light source illuminates the entire surface of the wafer 24 with collimated light that has passed through a third collimator lens 22. The light reflected off the wafer 24 returns through the third collimator lens 22 and forms an aperture image upon an optical device which redirects this image to a charge coupled device (CCD) camera 30. The image is converted to a map of measured reflectance data by a digitizing circuit 34 and a computer 36. This map of measured reflectance data is then self-normalized and compared to reference reflectance data to generate a map of the outer layer thickness profile of the wafer 24.

1. Cross Reference to Related Application
This application discloses subject matter that is disclosed and claimed in copending application Ser. No. 07/804,872 filed on Dec. 6, 1991, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Measuring the Thickness of Thin Films" and assigned to the assignee hereof and which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
Also hereby expressly incorporated by reference are related copending applications, also assigned to assignee hereof, having U.S. Ser. Nos. 07/906,079 (filed Jun. 29, 1992) and 07/891,344 (filed May 29, 1992) respectively entitled "Apparatus and Method for Performing Thin Film Layer Thickness Metrology on a Thin Film Layer Having Shape Deformations and Local Slope Variations" and "Apparatus and Method for Performing Thin Film Layer Thickness Metrology By Deforming A Thin Film Layer Into A Reflective Condenser."
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring a thin film or layer thickness and, without limitation, to an electro-optical system which measures the thickness of an outer silicon layer of a silicon/silicon dioxide/silicon (Si/SiO.sub.2 /Si) structured semiconductor wafer.
3. Description of the Prior Art
The above cited copending application discloses and claims an invention that is especially practical for measuring the thickness of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) semiconductor wafer which typically includes a Si/SiO.sub.2 /Si sandwich structure fabricated by growing a silicon dioxide film on one surface of each of two silicon wafers and bonding the two silicon dioxide film surfaces together at high temperature. It should be understood, however, that the earlier invention and the present invention can be used for measuring any number of layers providing only one layer thickness is unknown and the optical properties of all layers are accurately known. It should also be understood that other materials such as, for example, silicon nitride, may be used for the insulator material and that other materials may be used for the wafer material. In such an application, one of the two outer silicon surfaces of the sandwich structure is mechanically ground and polished to an average thickness of several microns. This mechanical process unfortunately results in large spatial variations in the thickness of this outer silicon layer over the surface of the wafer. To reduce these spatial variations, a thickness error map that indicates thickness non-uniformities of this outer silicon layer over the entire wafer surface, is required, for example, to initialize a further micropolishing process.
A sequence of measuring the spatial variations in the thickness of the outer silicon layer followed by thinning and smoothing this surface by micropolishing needed to be performed several times before the entire outer silicon layer achieves the desired thickness. In order to reduce costs and increase production, a measurement of at least 400 points on a wafer surface in 60 seconds is desirable.
Before the above cited invention was made, measuring instruments typically provided film thickness measurements at only a single point on a surface. These instruments use a focused lens or a fiber bundle to locally illuminate the film surface with a beam of monochromatic light, and a grating or prism spectrograph to measure the surface spectral reflectance at each point. In all cases, this surface spectral reflectance data must be numerically corrected due to variations in the angle of incidence caused by the illuminating beam f-number.
These commercial instruments may be extended to cover an entire wafer surface by moving either the measuring instrument or the wafer in a controlled manner. However, the time required for these instruments to determine the thin film layer thickness at a single point is on the order of several minutes and characterizing an entire film surface of at least 400 measurement points far exceeds the time desired for efficient wafer production.
The above cited application disclosed an electrooptical imaging system for efficiently determining a thin film layer thickness of, for example, a wafer over a full aperture. Non-uniformities in this layer thickness are obtained by measuring the reflectance characteristics for a full aperture of a wafer surface and comparing this measured reflectance data to reference reflectance data by using numerical iteration or by using a calibration wafer having known layer thicknesses.
To efficiently measure the reflectance characteristics of a wafer layer, according to the above cited application, a filtered white light source is used to produce a sequence of collimated monochromatic light beams at several different wavelengths. These collimated monochromatic beams are individually projected onto the entire surface of the wafer, and coherent interactions occur between this light as it is reflected from the physical boundaries in the wafer structure. As a result of these interactions an interference fringe pattern is formed on the surface of the wafer for each projected beam and, consequently, for each wavelength. A reflected image of each fringe pattern is projected onto a detector array of, for example, a charge coupled device (CCD) camera, where the full aperture of this image is then captured. The fringe pattern image is captured by digitizing pixels in the CCD camera detector array corresponding to the image present. A reflectance map of the entire wafer surface is generated from this captured fringe pattern image. Several reflectance maps are generated from each measured wafer to eliminate thickness ambiguities which may result from outer layers having phase thicknesses greater than 2.pi..
The reference reflectance data for a wafer, as mentioned above, may be obtained, according to the above cited application, by a theoretical calculation or through the use of a calibration wafer. The theoretical method consists of numerically computing reference reflectance characteristics based on assumed values for the intrinsic optical properties of the wafer materials. Alternatively, a calibration wafer, having a known thickness profile, may be constructed from the same batch of materials used to construct the wafer to be measured. By subjecting this calibration wafer to the measuring method of the present invention, reference reflectance data is obtained for the known wafer.
According to the teachings of the above cited application, the comparison between the measured reflectance data and the reference reflectance data can then be performed by a computer. Upon performing this comparison, the computer can provide a mapping of layer thickness or a mapping of layer thickness nonuniformities over a full aperture of the wafer.
The silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers that are measured, consist of two silicon wafers sandwiching a thin layer of silicon dioxide and typically suffer mechanical distortion caused by the manufacturing and polishing process. This results in surface deformations of 50 to 100 microns and local slope changes up to 1/4 a degree. According to the above cited application, measurement of the thickness of the outer film of silicon requires forming images of the wafer on a CCD camera at various monochromatic wavelengths in the visible region. The images are digitized (512.times.512 pixels) and this data is used to derive the spatial variations of the wafer reflectance caused by differing thicknesses of the silicon film.
According further to the above cited application, a library of reflectance values for different values of the outer film thickness is precalculated at all the different wavelengths and is used to find a match between the measured sampled spectral reflectance and the precalculated sampled spectrum by using a least squares fitting technique. This calculation requires the actual reflectances of the SOI wafer to be derived from the digitized data before the least squares fitting technique can be carried out. However, the intensities in the digitized images are not only proportional to the wafer reflectances but also to the spectral properties of the light source, the camera and the coatings in the optical system. Thus, an absolute measure of the SOI wafer reflectance can be obtained by recording an additional set of images of a bare silicon wafer, and since the reflectance of bare silicon is accurately known, then the wafer reflectance can be scaled from the data in the two sets of images.
The use of two sets of measurements at different times requires that the two wafers being accurately aligned in position and angle. The light source must also be stable in amplitude over the measurement time of about one minute.

Apparatus and method for measuring the thickness of thin films


A dynamic browser interface that is designed to increase information search speed and capability and to make the search more intuitive. It has three basic elements: a multidimensional arrangement and presentation system (1) that is used to generate a navigation map (2): and to represent in at least more than one dimension the following items on the navigation map (2): access nodes (3); multiple categories (4) which are associated with each of the nodes (3); sensory designs (6) such that each node (3) is associated with the corresponding categories (4) thereof and symbols of the operators (11) on the nodes (3) and categories (4). It also includes a system for pre-selecting and visually searching for information (9) that is designed to provide operators (11) (Boolean, Venn, conditional, etc.) with a way for preselecting the desired nodes (3) and categories (4) and a system (7) for presenting the requested information (8) that provides the user with the information found (18) in a new navigation map (for more in-depth categorization), or a combination of both.

In the current state of information technology, reading and obtaining said information and contents is achieved by means of elements such as sites, Internet portals, web pages, menus (which can be more or less dynamic), links, time routines based on the coordinates of a pointer (a technique known as "overmouse" by which different messages appear depending on the spot at which the mouse click is pointed), banners (or publicity elements which can also serve as links to the advertised element), pop-ups (or activation of new contents, windows, Internet micro-sites, etc.)
The information is shown on web pages in text and/or graphical format, occasionally including audiovisual means and use of memory.
In order to read, select, browse and access the information and its contents, links are used which join a key text or image with the access node for the corresponding information. Said links may be associated to different elements and be in different formats: text (letters, words or phrases) which are indicative of the information they refer to, icons, images, ordered in a menu format, presented with individual headings . . .
In this way, navigation is currently based on text or linear environments, which are generally not intuitive or visual.
In addition, the combined effect of the number of mouse clicks necessary to search for and access the desired information and the technology installed by the user (with a limited download speed), makes searching for and accessing the desired information difficult, as current systems of uni-dimensional categorisation are insufficient, demand an additional reading effort, produce an environment that is tiring for the user and limits the possibilities of marketing and promotion of the advertised brand in an Internet site.
Worthy of note among the background of the present invention is document U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,126, which describes a Graphical User Interface for a Database System to represent a search in a database. Said invention presents a plurality of Venn diagrams, each one representing an intersection of at least two sets. For each generic graphic icon, the user chooses a selection of at least one region, defining a set of outgoing data, said generic graphic icons presented on the graphical user interface as modified graphical icons, each of them showing a graphic indication of the selections, and receiving, from the user, the information regarding the existing links between the modified graphic icons to represent an inclusion characteristic composed by said sets based on the sets of outgoing data and on the information links. Once the search is defined, it can be translated if required for its execution by a normal search engine. The extracted results can be quantified and classified by the interface systems for an optimum presentation to the user.
Also worthy of mention is document U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,331 which deals with a System and Method for Graphical Display and Automatic Information Extraction of multiple documents for their visualisation. The information is pulled out from a group of documents according to a series of predefined categories. The user is presented with a visual representation of the extracted information and he/she may apply one or more filters to said information in order to produce a visual representation of the filtered contents of said information.
Lastly, although with a lesser degree of relevance, document U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,564 may be cited. This document describes a Computer Program for quickly creating and altering presentations of parameterised text data objects and their associated graphical images. This invention provides simplified interactive means for naming categories or parameters associated with each text data object, assigning values to each parameter for each text data object to associate graphic images and/or audio files with each text data object, and allows the user to view a categorised and ordered list of the selected text data objects.


The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure having a first wafer including a first substrate, a first dielectric layer over the first substrate, and a first conductive pad surrounded by the first dielectric layer; a second wafer including a second dielectric layer, a second substrate over the second dielectric layer, and a second conductive pad surrounded by the second dielectric layer; a bonding dielectric disposed between the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer to bond the first dielectric layer with the second dielectric layer; and a conductive via extending from the first conductive pad and surrounded by the bonding dielectric, the second conductive pad and the second wafer.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cellular telephones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment. The fabrication of semiconductor devices involves sequentially depositing various material layers over a semiconductor wafer, and patterning the material layers using lithography and etching processes to form microelectronic components, including transistors, diodes, resistors and/or capacitors, on or in the semiconductor wafer.
The semiconductor industry continues to improve the integration density of the microelectronic components by continual reduction of minimum feature size, which allows more components to be integrated into a given area. Smaller package structures with smaller footprints are developed to package the semiconductor devices. For example, in an attempt to further increase density of the semiconductor device, stacking of two or more components has been investigated. However, such stacking may increase complexity of the manufacturing process. It is therefore desirable to develop improvements that address the aforementioned challenges.
This Discussion of the Background section is provided for background information only. The statements in this Discussion of the Background are not an admission that the subject matter disclosed in this Discussion of the Background section constitute prior art to the present disclosure, and no part of this Discussion of the Background section may be used as an admission that any part of this application, including this Discussion of the Background section, constitutes prior art to the present disclosure.

Semiconductor structure having via through bonded wafers and manufacturing method thereof


The invention concerns an applicator (5) with its end part having a conical or polyhedral shape (1) which enables, when it is facing downwards to retain the product and to allow a lock of hair to be inserted into a slot (2) for treating it to modify the colour of the lock of hair.

The invention relates to an applicator of liquid or paste products for hair treatment. The applicator can be used to modify the colour of locks of hair.
The present invention relates to a conical applicator, which can be used to apply a treatment product to a head of hair to modify the colour of the whole head of hair or of parts thereof.
For this treatment operation, a certain number of applicators are known, such as combs, slides, brushes, blades, caps, and other equipment; they all have drawbacks in respect of effects which are not suitable for the present art, for example the delimitation of the locks which is angular by default, the operation being imperfect and the dye frequently runs off to one side and in many cases causing stains and irritation of the scalp. More importantly, it does not enable the dye to be applied all around the lock of hair. The hair is irregularly coated with the dye, which removes its brilliance.
The poor adaptation to the present art increases the time-intensiveness for the user.
This is particularly true of the applicator according to patent application EP 0 224 395 A1 of Oct. 7, 1986:
its fork having different linked elements and a supply of product being fed through an aperture, the whole being operated by the user makes the operation very complicated and inefficient.
The invention would be very difficult to produce and the cost would be inappropriate for the circumstances.
There are two other known patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,050 of Oct. 22, 1991 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,679 of Oct. 29, 1991, these two patents having linked elements and the treatment being pushed through an aperture to be applied, then drawn along the lock of hair, the treatment can never be applied in the opposite direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,501 of Nov. 26, 1991 can also be cited.
a fork on the tip of the dispenser, activated by pressure on a flexible applicator, can be used to spread a trail of treatment on the lock of hair, but cannot be applied in the opposite direction in any circumstances.
This is also the case with Patent DE 3704936 A1 of Aug. 25, 1988:
a row of teeth having at their bases one or more holes enabling one or more trails of dye to be created on the hair; not having any means of delimiting the locks or of treating the whole lock of hair. The holes can never apply the treatment in the opposite direction.
All the existing systems for treating locks of hair have the object of modifying the colours of locks of hair, without enabling the dye to have an all around effect, since none of these systems can apply the dye around the whole lock of hair.

Product applicator for multicolor hair treatment


A method for driving a semiconductor memory device including a transistor with low leakage current between a source and a drain in an off state and capable of storing data for a long time is provided. In a matrix including a plurality of memory cells in each of which a drain of a write transistor, a gate of an element transistor, and one electrode of a capacitor are connected, a gate of the write transistor is connected to a write word line, and the other electrode of the capacitor is connected to a read word line. The amount of charge stored in the capacitor is checked by changing the potential of the read word line, and if the amount of charge has decreased beyond a predetermined amount, the memory cell is refreshed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device including a semiconductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many kinds of memory devices including semiconductors. Examples are a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, and the like (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In a DRAM, data is stored by holding charge in a capacitor which is provided in a memory cell. However, even when a transistor used for switching is in an off state, a slight amount of leakage current is generated between a source and a drain; thus, the data is lost within a relatively short time. Therefore, the data needs to be rewritten (refreshed) on a regular cycle (generally once every several tens of milliseconds).
In an SRAM, data is held by utilizing a bistable state of a flip-flop circuit. A CMOS inverter is generally used in a flip-flop circuit of an SRAM; however, six transistors are used in one memory cell and the degree of integration of the SRAM is lower than that of a DRAM. In addition, the data is lost when power is not supplied.
On the other hand, in an EEPROM or a flash memory, a so-called floating gate is provided between a channel and a gate and charge is stored in the floating gate, whereby data is held. In this specification, a memory having a floating gate, such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, is called a floating-gate nonvolatile memory (FGNVM). The charge stored in the floating gate is held even after power supply to a transistor is stopped, which is why these memories are called nonvolatile memories.
Since multilevel data can be stored in one memory cell in an FGNVM, storage capacity can be large. Further, since the number of contact holes can be significantly decreased in a NAND flash memory, the degree of integration can be increased to some extent.
However, in an FGNVM, high voltage is needed at the time of injection of charge to a floating gate or removal of the charge. Because of this, deterioration of a gate insulating film cannot be avoided and it is not possible to limitlessly repeat write and erase operations.

Method for driving semiconductor memory device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A system including a projection device configured to emit a plurality of light beams, where each individual light beam is emitted with a unique path within an environment, and where each individual light beam has a modulation pattern configured to transmit data corresponding to the unique path. The system also includes a receiver device having a sensor configured to detect at least one individual light beam of the plurality of light beams, a receiver processor configured to identify the modulation pattern of the detected individual light beam and generate response instructions based on the position data transmitted via the modulation pattern, and an output device configured to output a response based on the generated response instructions.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of amusement parks. Specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure are related to techniques for spatial data projection, e.g., using digital light processing.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Theme park or amusement park attractions have become increasingly popular, and various amusement park attractions have been created to provide guests with unique immersive experiences. Certain amusement park attractions allow guests to move around freely while using virtual reality or augmented reality devices to help provide the guests with the unique immersive experiences. As the guests move through the attraction, it may be desirable to update images viewed by the guest (e.g., video feed, pictures, or text or images based instructions) based on a position of the guest in the amusement park attraction. Traditionally, tracking a location of a guest and updating the display involves a head mounted display with onboard cameras or external calibrated tracking systems. However, these head mounted displays are generally expensive, power hungry, and heavy, which may detract from the immersive experience. Accordingly, it is now recognizable that it is desirable to improve these amusement park attractions.


A simple and inexpensive method and apparatus are provided for increasing the pressure at which fluid may be delivered by a lavage/irrigation system.

The term "lavage" has been used in the literature in a somewhat ambiguous manner. Sometimes, the term is used to refer to the washing of tissue using a pulsating stream of fluid. The term also is used to describe aspiration of tissue. As used herein, the term "lavage" is used in its broadest sense, and is intended to refer to any one of, or combinations of, irrigation, pulsatile lavage, and aspiration of tissue. As used herein, lavage can be accomplished with a stream of fluid at a relatively low pressure.
A number of systems for performing lavage are available, most of which are mechanized. Some of the available systems theoretically may be used to perform medical procedures which require a fluid stream delivered at higher pressures; however, the pressure setting mechanism of most of the available lavage systems cannot be set beyond approximately 0-150 mm Hg. Much higher pressures, e.g., 0-1500 mm Hg, are required to perform high pressure procedures such as hydrodissection.
Of course, one could design a lavage system in which the pump could be set to deliver fluid at higher pressures; however, many already have purchased lavage systems which cannot be set at such high pressures. Therefore, an inexpensive but effective means for adapting relatively low pressure lavage systems so that they can produce high pressure fluid streams for medical procedures would be desirable.

Method and apparatus for increasing the pressure in a medical pumping system


A composite sintered body cutting tool, in which tungsten is reduced, is made of a TiCN-based cermet and WC-based cemented carbide. The cutting tool has an angle of less than 90 degrees formed by a rake face and a flank face. The rake face including a cutting edge contains WC-based cemented carbide including 4% to 17% by mass of iron group metal components with a remainder being WC. The thickness of the carbide is 0.05 to 0.3 times the thickness of the composite sintered body. The TiCN-based cermet which is a base body of the cutting tool includes 4% to 25% of the iron group metal components, less than 15% of W, 2% to 15% of Mo, 2% to 10% of Nb, and 0.2% to 2% of Cr. The cermet may contain iron group metal Co and Ni, where, Co/Co+Ni is 0.5 to 0.8.

For cutting tools of steel or cast iron, WC-based cemented carbide is widely used, but there has been a variety of proposals in order to reduce the tungsten usage, which is a rare metal, and obtain desired cutting performance.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 5185032 proposes a composite sintered body cutting tool made of a base material obtained by laminating a cemented carbide layer and a cermet layer which includes 15% to 65% by mass of WC and W in total and includes Co accounting for 80% by mass or more of iron group metals in bonded phases, in which, when the maximum thickness of the base material in the lamination direction is represented by h1, and the maximum thickness of the cutting edge portion in the lamination direction of the cemented carbide layer is represented by h2, h2/h1 is set to 0.002 to 0.02, thereby improving shock resistance and finished surface gloss.
In addition, for example, Japanese Patent No. 5297381 proposes a composite sintered body cutting tool made of a base material obtained by laminating a cemented carbide layer and a cermet layer which includes 15% to 65% by mass of WC and W in total and includes Co accounting for 80% by mass or more of iron group metals in bonded phases, in which protrusions and recesses having a maximum level difference of 50 μm to 500 μm are formed in the boundary between the cemented carbide layer and the cermet layer, and, when the maximum thickness of the base material in the lamination direction is represented by h1, and the maximum thickness of the cemented carbide layer disposed on the rake face side in the lamination direction is represented by h2, h2/h1 is set to more than 0.02 and 0.4 or less, thereby improving the joining properties between the cemented carbide layer and the cermet layer and preventing the deformation of the base material after sintering.
In addition, for example, Japanese Patent No. 5413047 proposes that, in the production of a tool body by forming a pressed compact of cemented carbide powder and a pressed compact of cermet powder respectively, laminating these pressed compacts together, and carrying out sintering by holding the laminate in a vacuum atmosphere at 1,300° C. to 1,500° C. for 0.5 to 3 hours, the unevenness state in the boundary between the cemented carbide layer and the cermet layer is set in a specific range or the amounts of bonded phases in both layers are adjusted to be in a specific range, thereby enhancing the joining properties between the cemented carbide and the cermet, preventing deformation caused during sintering, and improving the wear resistance and the toughness of composite sintered body cutting tools.


A contrast enhancing system is provided comprising: a digital micromirror device (DMD); a light source; a first integrator that receives light from the light source, comprising lateral long and short dimensions, the lateral short dimension at a non-zero angle to the DMD tilt axis; a second integrator that receives and shapes light from the first integrator; a telecentric lens about midway between the integrators that generates fast and slow f-number directions of the light in angle space, respectively corresponding to the lateral long and short dimensions of the first integrator, the slow f-number direction correspondingly at the non-zero angle to the DMD tilt axis, thereby increasing dead-zones between adjacent ones of a DMD illumination path and DMD reflection paths for each of the on, flat and off-state positions; and, at least one optical component that focuses the light along the illumination path from the second integrator onto the DMD.

Digital micromirror device (DMD based projectors currently suffer from poor contrast and/or uniformity when angles between illumination light, flat-state light, on-state light and off-state light are not well-controlled. Each micromirror pivots between an on-state and an off-state, and is generally in an intermediate flat state for about 1% of the time. For example, in some DMD devices, micromirrors pivot between +/−12° and is in a flat state when not at +/−12°, and is sitting flat, but is significant enough to affect contrast.


An information processing device performs processing of specifying a positional relationship between a first printing section and a second printing section based on image capturing data of a test image that is printed on a printing medium by the first printing section and the second printing section in each of which a plurality of printing elements are arranged. The test image includes a plurality of first lines which are printed by the first printing section so as to have printing positions different from each other in a line arrangement direction on the printing medium and a plurality of second lines which are printed by the second printing section so as to have printing positions different from each other in the line arrangement direction. The information processing device contains a printing coordinate acquisition section, a printing position acquisition section, and a positional shift amount calculation section.

There have been conventionally known image printing apparatuses each of which ejects ink from a plurality of nozzles provided in a print head and prints an image on a printing medium conveyed by a conveyance device. Such image printing apparatuses include an apparatus of a single-pass system which is provided with a plurality of print heads, covers the entire printing width in a width direction orthogonal to a predetermined conveyance direction of a printing medium conveyed in the conveyance direction with the entire row of nozzles included in the plurality of print heads, and thus performs image formation without causing the print heads to scan in the width direction.
In an image printing apparatus configured in such a way, a positional shift from an appropriate position of a print head is detected by printing a line pattern including a line printed by ink ejection from an individual nozzle of each of the print heads on a printing medium and reading the position in the width direction of the line pattern with a line sensor provided downstream in the conveyance direction (for example, Patent Document 1).

Information processing device, image printing apparatus, and information processing method


The present disclosure relates to system that includes a processor of a computing device. The processor is configured to determine an absolute position of the computing device within a building based on communications from navigation devices. The processor is configured to identify at least one of the building features located within a threshold distance of the absolute position of the computing device based on a query of a database associated with one or more building features of the building. Additionally, the processor is configured to generate an alert configured to cause the computing device to display information associated with the at least one of the building features or output an audible signal including the information associated with the at least one of the building features.

The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for position-based building guidance. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to generating alerts for users to provide information related to building features that may be within a close proximity to the user.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it may be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Modern buildings or campuses may be large, widespread facilities that include various features located at large distances relative to one another. As such, signs or other physical visual navigation information may be posted within a building to help direct users to desired features of the building. However, the signs or physical visual navigation information may be omitted in some buildings or may be inaccessible to certain visually-impaired users. To better inform users so they may more efficiently navigate the building, it is now recognized that it may be beneficial to improve the manner in which navigation information is provided to users of a building.

Systems and methods for position-based building guidance

United Services Automobile Association (USAA)


A method includes providing a gaming machine with an electronic display for displaying graphical output and providing said gaming machine with a programmable compositing client. The method also includes managing renderable graphics assets for use in said graphical output with a graphics engine, providing the renderable graphics assets on demand to the compositing client with said graphics engine, rendering the graphical output including one or more of the renderable graphics assets with the compositing client, and controlling one or more visual aspects of the graphical output with the graphics engine.

The present invention relates to a gaming system, a method of gaming, a game controller and computer program code.
It is known to provide a gaming system which comprises a game controller arranged to randomly display several symbols from a predetermined set of symbols and to determine a game outcome such as a game win based on the displayed symbols.
Such gaming systems may commonly be implemented as a stepper machine provided with reels with each reel carrying several symbols of the set, or a video machine wherein selected symbols are displayed on virtual reels on a video display. In both of these examples, such gaming machines may include a smaller, secondary video displays for outputting ancillary information to a player.
While such gaming systems provide players with enjoyment, a need exists for alternative gaming systems in order to maintain or increase machine performance and hence player enjoyment.

Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited


In a point-to-point multilink bundle coupling two peers over a network, a simultaneous addition of a plurality of links may be performed using Bandwidth Allocation Protocol and Bandwidth Allocation Control Protocol. When one peer desires to add more links to the multilink bundle, a request is sent to the other peer requesting the addition of the links and means for establishing the links, such as telephone numbers. In response, the second peer will respond with a message indicating the number of links the second peer is capable of adding along with the associated means for establishing these links.

Several protocols have been implemented to facilitate communications over a network, such as a Wide Area Network (WAN), ISDN network, or even the Internet. One of these protocols is the point-to-point protocol (PPP), which provides a standard method for transporting multi-protocol datagrams over point-to-point links. The PPP protocol is set forth in Request for Comments 1661, which is published at http://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1661.txt, and is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Another established protocol is the PPP Multilink protocol (MP), which provides a method for splitting, recombining and sequencing datagrams across multiple logical data links between two endpoints, or peers. The MP protocol was originally motivated by the desire to exploit multiple bearer channels in ISDN, but is equally applicable to any situation in which multiple PPP links connect two systems, including async links. Multilink protocol negotiation permits a system to indicate to its peer that it is capable of combining multiple physical links into a "bundle." A system indicates to its peer that it is willing to do multilink by sending the multilink option as part of the initial negotiation between the two systems. The goal of multilink operation is to coordinate multiple independent links between a fixed pair of systems, providing a virtual link with greater bandwidth than any of the constituent members. The bundled links can be different physical links, as in multiple async lines, but may also be instances of multiplexed links, such as ISDN, X.25 or Frame Relay. The links may also be of different kinds, such as pairing dial-up async links with leased synchronous links.
The PPP Multilink protocol is set forth in Request for Comments 1990 and published at http://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1990.txt, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Another related protocol is the PPP Bandwidth Allocation Protocol (BAP) and the associated PPP Bandwidth Allocation Control Protocol (BACP), which provide a method to manage the dynamic bandwidth allocation of implementations supporting the PPP multilink protocol. The BAP and BACP are set forth in Request for Comments 2125 and published at http//ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc2125.txt, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. The BAP can be used to manage the number of links in a multilink bundle and defines datagrams to coordinate adding and removing individual links in a multilink bundle, as well as specifying which peer is responsible for which decisions regarding managing bandwidth during a multilink connection.
The problem with these existing protocols is that if a system desires to add N links (e.g., ISDN B-channels) to an MP bundle, it will have to wait for N sequential BAP requests where each request consists of a BAP request message, BAP response message, call completion, and BAP status message (N represents a positive integer). Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method for adding N links to an MP bundle in a simultaneous fashion, which will allow for increased responsiveness to transient network loads.

Adding links simultaneously to a multilink bundle using bandwidth allocation protocol

International Business Machines Corporation


An air filtration system comprising a plurality of sections configured to receive an incoming airstream is disclosed. In some embodiments, each section of the plurality of sections includes a first airstream receiving side (ASRS) and a second air stream exhaust side (ASES), and a plurality of cells each comprising a cyclonic cavity having a tangential inlet arranged to receive a portion of the airstream via the ASRS, and an axial outlet arranged to exhaust the portion of the airstream to the ASES. Each section is further configured with a cover that can be opened and closed, such that the closing of one or more respective covers of respective sections forces the airstream to flow through remaining sections having open covers as well as their respective cells, at a velocity greater than when such one or more respective covers are open.

Cyclonic array filters represent a method of filtering an air stream and separating suspended particles from the air. These filters comprise one or more arrays of connected, parallel cells, where each cell is essentially a miniature, hollow cyclonic cavity with a tangential inlet and an axial outlet. The array can form a monolithic sheet, or multiple such sheets, and the cells are hermetically attached to their neighbors such that air can only cross the sheet by entering one of the cyclonic cells through its inlet and emerging through its outlet. Upon entering the cavity at a sufficiently high velocity, the air circulates to form a cyclone or a vortex in the cell. The airborne particles experience a centrifugal force that pushes them towards the inner wall of the cavity and are collected at the bottom of the cyclone. Thousands of miniature cyclones can be efficiently produced in a single monolithic array and such arrays can be used to form a filter of any size needed, and to filter large volumes of air flow.
These cyclonic array filters are passive, meaning that the flow of air is induced externally, e.g. by one or more fans that are positioned before or after the array. However, the rate of air flow in a cyclonic array filter may be important for its ultimate performance. The separation capability of the cyclonic cells is dependent on the velocity of the air flow in the cyclone, as this velocity induces the centrifugal forces that separate the suspended airborne particles. A passive array has many practical advantages, as it is easily manufacturable and can replace a conventional media filter with similar dimensions. However, the rate of air flow through the entire array may be such that the velocities in each cyclone are high enough to achieve the desired separation and filtration performance. If a passive array is deployed in systems with flow rates that are variable or otherwise too low, performance may be compromised.

Flow and pressure control in cyclonic filter arrays


Provided is a fermentation process wherein green ripe uncured vanilla beans are incubated with bacillus subtilis in isolated form to convert glucovanillin to vanillin while consistently forming a fully developed well-balanced vanilla aroma without off-notes.

Vanilla extracts comprising vanillin and other vanilla flavor compounds are produced by subjecting ripe green vanilla beans to a curing and extraction process. The curing process releases vanillin from glucovanillin and forms the brown-black whole vanilla beans commercially available. The cured beans can then be extracted to form a liquid vanilla extract.
The curing period usually lasts many weeks or months, involves repeated quality controls and depends on the environmental conditions. While the sensory profile/flavor of the resulting extracts can be excellent, even under optimal conditions the vanillin yield is very low and usually up to about 2.2% per dry weight of vanilla beans. Shorter curing and extraction processes known in the art either result in a similarly low average vanillin yield, and/or the sensory profile is not fully developed/less complex with an unbalanced flavor profile, and/or contains off-notes. One example of such a process is in U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,238, which describes a curing/drying process for green vanilla beans in a sweating tank that involves cutting green beans and incubating them at 140° F. (60° C.) for 70-78 hours and drying them with forced air at the same temperature to a moisture content of 35-40%, and at room temperature to a final moisture content of 20-25%.
The long curing period of traditional processes employs naturally occurring enzymatic reactions. The enzymatic reactions in the vanilla beans from its precursor glucovanillin to vanillin are believed to be mainly caused by residual plant enzymes, in particular glucosidase enzymes.
Notably, B. subtilis was not previously known to be involved in or useful for the production of vanilla flavour compounds in vanilla beans. The bacterium was known merely for being capable of expressing various enzymes, including, among many others, the b-glucosidase enzyme.


A computer-implemented method for deduplicating archived data may include (1) identifying a volume of data subject to deduplication, with the volume of data comprising at least one archived file that is represented on the volume of data with a placeholder file and is stored on an alternate volume of data, and (2) determining a disposition of the archived file for deduplication by (i) determining that the archived file is represented by the placeholder file, and, in response to determining that the archived file is represented by the placeholder file, (ii) identifying a deduplication fingerprint of the archived file instead of a deduplication fingerprint of the placeholder file. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Data deduplication may reduce the amount of storage space used in a storage system by detecting and preventing redundant copies of data from being stored to the storage system. For example, if multiple instances of a file exist in a deduplicated file system, a deduplicated data system may store a single instance of the file and link all instances of the file to the single stored instance. If one of the instances of the file is later modified, the deduplicated data system may break the link between the modified instance and the single stored instance and store the modified instance of the file separately.
Data deduplication involves identifying redundant copies of the same data. Because of the processing requirements involved in comparing each incoming unit of data with each unit of data that is already stored in a single-instance data storage system, redundant copy identification is usually performed by generating and comparing smaller data signatures ("fingerprints") of each data unit instead of comparing the data units themselves. The detection of redundant copies generally involves generation of a new fingerprint for each unit of data to be stored to the single-instance data storage system and comparison of the new fingerprint to existing fingerprints of data units already stored by the single-instance data storage system. If the new fingerprint matches an existing fingerprint, a copy of the unit of data is likely already stored in the single-instance data storage system.
Unfortunately, traditional data deduplication techniques may perform poorly when some files within a deduplicated data system are archived. An archival system may archive a file by moving the file to an archival storage system and leave a placeholder file (e.g., a "stub" file) in the place of the archived file. When the archival system later identifies an attempt to access the archived file (i.e., the placeholder file), the archival system may retrieve the archived file from the archival storage system, overwriting the placeholder file. When the archival system replaces a deduplicated file with a placeholder file, a deduplication system may determine that the deduplicated file has changed, and the deduplicated file may lose its deduplication links. When the archival system subsequently retrieves the previously deduplicated file, the deduplication system may again detect a change and reprocess the previously deduplicated file (e.g., by generating a new fingerprint). Accordingly, the deduplication system may lose information about and perform redundant operations on archived files. Therefore, the instant disclosure identifies a need for additional and improved systems and methods for deduplicating archived data.

Systems and methods for deduplicating archived data


A plasma source comprising an RF coupling system, magnets or coils that generate magnetic fields, a gas injection system, and a vacuum tight, RF transparent gas containment tube, wherein the RF coupling system comprises an RF coupler and the plasma source further comprises a choke point wherein the ratio of the field strength at said choke point to the field strength at said RF coupler is greater than two.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to plasma sources that ionize gas and heat plasma using RF antennas, applied magnetic fields, plasmas and coaxial gas confinement tubes. Applications comprise plasma production for doping and testing materials in plasma processing applications, break-down of toxic gas streams, and sterilization of materials by bombardment with plasma. Space applications comprise using these systems for rocket engines to provide thrust by discharging ionized particles in a particular direction. More specifically, the invention relates to improvements to antennas, magnet geometries, and thermal solutions for the steady state production and heating of plasmas.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application that covers the broadest implementation of these arts is the Variable Specific Impulse Rocket (VASIMR). The VASIMR is fundamentally an electromagnetic plasma accelerator that borrows heavily from the physics and technology of magnetic confinement fusion research. In the jargon of the fusion community it is called a "magnetic mirror," an open magnetic system or "linear machine" because unlike the toroidal Stellerator or Tokamak, the topology of the magnetic field is open. Linear machines were pursued heavily in the 1970s as potential fusion devices, but due to their weak axial plasma confinement, lost favor in the United States over closed topology magnetic systems such as the Tokamak and the Stellerator. The weakness of the mirror machine as a plasma confinement device is the strength of the VASIMR as a plasma thruster. Plasma in these systems is radially confined, but free to flow axially out of the device to provide rocket propulsion. Therefore, the bulk of the prior art on open ended magnetic confinement systems could be relevant to furthering the technology of the VASIMR.
Three linked magnetic stages perform specific interrelated functions in VASIMR. The first stage handles the main injection of propellant gas and its ionization; the second, also called the "RF booster" acts to further energize the plasma; the third stage is a magnetic nozzle, which converts the energy of the fluid into directed flow. VASIMR is a radio frequency (RF) driven device where the ionization of the propellant is done by a helicon-type discharge. The plasma ions are further accelerated in the second stage by ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH), a well-known technique, used extensively in magnetic confinement fusion research.
It is known in the art that plasma may be accelerated by a series of antennas to generate thrust in a rocket engine. U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,302 describes a variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket (VASIMR) using two antennas to deliver energy to a gas stream. First, a helicon antenna is used as part of a helicon plasma generator to impart radio frequency (RF) power to the gas stream exciting the gas atoms to an ionized state.
Downstream of the helicon antenna, the resulting plasma is subjected to additional RF power imparted by an Ion Cyclotron Radio Heating (ICRH) antenna to excite ion cyclotron resonance on the plasma. The power imparted to the plasma by the antennas is converted to kinetic energy when the ions are thereafter ejected through a magnetic nozzle to provide the desired thrust.
Overall system efficiency, neglecting any ambipolar contribution to thrust, can be expressed as a ratio of exhaust kinetic energy to electrical power input, where part of the electrical power input goes to the helicon plasma generator and part goes to ICRH antenna. Lower mass flow has higher flow velocity, demonstrating variable specific impulse control technique.
In a VASIMR rocket, neutral gas is first injected into a tube with RF compatible dielectric properties. As the gas flows downstream, plasma is generated as the gas is ionized by a helicon antenna. At this stage the temperature of the plasma may be about 60,000 Kelvin. As the plasma flows further downstream it is further heated by an ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) antenna where it could reach temperatures in the millions of Kelvin. The engine's surrounding surfaces are protected from direct contact high temperature plasma by a magnetic field acting on the plasma. However, considerable heat is still transferred between the hot plasma and the antennas, primarily 15 through radiation from the plasma.
A heat pipe is a passive device for heat removal. The extremely high temperatures associated with the plasma require that the plasma be contained by a magnetic field. Heat transferred by radiation or other mechanisms from the plasma to the surrounding surfaces must be removed in steady-state operation if the surrounding surfaces are to maintain their structural integrity.
The use of a heat pipe to transfer heat efficiently from a hot location to a cold location is known in the art (See U.S. Pat. No. 2,350,348). Generally a heat pipe consists of a vacuum tight envelope, a wick structure and a working fluid. The heat pipe is evacuated and then back-filled with a small quantity of working fluid, just enough to saturate the wick. The atmosphere inside the heat pipe is set by an equilibrium of liquid and vapor. As heat enters the heat pipe at the hot end, (the evaporator), this equilibrium is upset generating vapor at a slightly higher pressure. This higher pressure vapor travels to the cold end (the condenser) where the slightly lower temperatures cause the vapor to condense giving up its latent heat of vaporization. The condensed fluid is then pumped back to the evaporator by the
capillary forces developed in the wick structure.
The present inventors are aware of no prior art where thermal management of a helicon—especially antennas and ionization chamber tubing—is achieved through innovative use of heat pipes, coolant flow, heat exchangers, and/or thermally conductive materials with low RF dielectric losses such as CVD diamond. The present inventors are aware of no prior art where gas density and flow rate, antenna design, and magnetic field shape, including the choke design, are all optimized to move the hot plasma downstream for steady-state plasma source operation.

Plasma source improved with an RF coupling system


A weft thread monitor for an air weaving loom with air jets for inserting weft thread yarns of different qualities such as coarse, fine, thick or thin yarns into the loom shed, has an amplifier or comparator controlled in response to control signals which represent the different yarn qualities for providing a loom control signal which is substantially independent of these yarn qualities. The different quality yarns are pulled off from thread storage spools. The air jets of the main nozzles and of relay nozzles are controlled by an air jet insertion control forming part of a central processing unit. The weft thread monitor with its monitoring or sensor element or elements is arranged at the exit side of the air channel formed by profiled reed teeth of the air jet loom. The output of the sensor element is connected to the input of the amplifier or comparator. A uniform output signal from the amplifier or comparator is assured for all types of weft threads regardless of the yarn specific quality, by controlling the amplifier gain or the comparator threshold, for compensation in response to these yarn qualities. Thus, a very thin smooth yarn or a very thick, corase yarn will yield the same resulting output signal.

In air jet looms several types of weft thread may be used for obtaining special fabrics and fabric effects. Each weft thread is pulled off its respective weft thread supply spool and taken over by weft thread insertion nozzles, including a main nozzle located at a weft thread insertion side of the loom shed and a plurality of auxiliary nozzles arranged alongside the weft thread insertion channel formed by the reed and passing through the loom shed. The nozzles are controlled by a central control unit including air insertion control means to provide the proper required air stream in the air channel formed by profiled teeth of the reed. A weft thread monitor is arranged at the weft thread exit side of the weft thread insertion channel for monitoring the presence or absence of a weft thread. A control signal is produced, for example, to stop the loom in response to a broken weft thread. The weft thread monitor comprises monitoring elements such as light emitting and light sensing elements which produce the mentioned control signal which is supplied to the input of an amplifier.
Conventional weft thread monitors of this type are capable to some extent to distinguish yarn qualities, however, a precise distinction or rather high resolution is not possible with conventional weft thread monitors because thick coarse threads and very fine threads cannot be distinguished from each other. Pseudo-faults such as harmless lint or fluff particles passing through the monitor may cause a false shut-off signal. Such monitoring errors may be made quite frequently by conventional monitors.
In a situation in which a conventional weft thread monitor is supposed, for example, to recognize a very fine weft thread yarn, it is necessary to provide a high amplification factor or gain for the signals received from a light barrier through which the fine weft thread is passing. On the other hand, a substantially smaller amplification or gain is required where a weft thread of substantial thickness is being monitored because such a thicker weft thread can be optically monitored much more easily. In other words, in conventional weft thread monitors the output signal of the monitoring elements depends very much on the mechanical characteristics of the weft thread yarn so that a thick yarn is easily monitored while a very fine or thin yarn cannot be sufficiently monitored or sensed. However, increasing the amplification when a fine weft thread yarn is monitored can cause the problem that the amplification is much too high when the yarn thickness suddenly changes. As a result, even a yarn slub or fluff particle can cause the generation of a false warning signal by the weft thread monitor. Substantial weaving errors or flaws can be the result of such conventional weft thread monitoring. Conventional monitors of this type, in addition to not being able to react equally to thick and thin weft threads, also cannot well respond to different air effective qualities of different types of weft thread yarns. The term "air effective qualities" refers to thread characteristics which have an effect on the movement of the weft thread through the air and on the movability of the thread by the inserting air jet. For example, a coarse, hairy yarn with a rough surface responds differently to the transporting air jet than a yarn with a smooth surface. Similarly, a coarse yarn produces more lint balls or fluffs than a fine smooth surfaced yarn. Neither different mechanical yarn qualities nor the air effective yarn qualities must cause a false shut-down signal. Conventional monitors of this type leave room for improvement in this respect.
The mechanical yarn qualities such as the yarn thickness and the air effective yarn qualities together are referred to as yarn specific values in the following text.

Weft thread monitor with control circuit to eliminate false weft defect signals


A system for separating small particles from liquid media comprising: a reactor vessel(s), a hollow primary electrode(s) within the reactor vessel(s), a secondary electrode(s) within the primary electrode(s), an air delivery apparatus configured to deliver coarse air bubbles within the primary electrode(s), an electrical charge apparatus, a separation vessel fluidly coupled to the reactor vessel(s), tertiary electrodes within the separation vessel, and a skimming device configured to collect flocculated material. A method for separating particles from liquid media, comprising the acts of: circulating liquid media throughout a reactor vessel(s), adding coarse air bubbles that travel through a hollow primary electrode(s) to facilitate circulation of the liquid media and removal of micro-bubbles, applying an electrical potential between primary electrode(s) and secondary electrode(s), routing the liquid media to a separation vessel, applying an electrical potential to tertiary electrodes, and skimming flocculated material from an upper surface of the liquid media.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for separating particles from liquid media. Specifically, the invention relates to separating microalgae or other small particles from liquid media using electro-flocculation, flotation, and physical separation of flocculated particles from the liquid media.
2. Description of Related Art
A major bottleneck for processing microalgae for use in bio-fuels, food supplements, and other products is separating the microalgae from the liquid growth medium. Two of the major methods currently used involve filtration or centrifugation. In the case of filtration, filters are frequently clogged by the microalgae. As a result, filter maintenance becomes costly and labor-intensive. Centrifugation, on the other hand, is very energy-intensive. Separating microalgae from liquid growth medium without the high costs of maintenance, labor, or energy would be highly beneficial. It would greatly raise the level of efficiency for harvesting microalgae. Thus, microalgae would become a more viable source of fuel as an alternative to fossil fuels. Additionally, such an invention may be useful in other applications, such as waste-water treatment. There are some prior art references that attempt to address these efficiency problems using a electro-flocculation and/or flotation, but they fall short of providing a system that provides an affordable, long term, commercially viable method of separating high concentrations of particles from a liquid media.
So as to reduce the complexity and length of the Detailed Specification, and to fully establish the state of the art in certain areas of technology, Applicant herein expressly incorporates by reference all of the following materials identified in each numbered paragraph below.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,766 to Adin et al. describes a water purification process for making potable water wherein impure water enters the bottom of a vessel and purified water exits the top of the vessel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,206 to Robinson describes using electro-flocculation for treating water in a reaction vessel where the pollutants are removed from the top of the reaction vessel. These inventions would be inadequate for large scale removal of flocculated particles because they are only intended to remove very low concentrations of pollutants from water and are not suitable for removing high concentrations of particles.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/184,733 by Renaud describes a method for separating contaminants from an aqueous medium wherein the effluent, after being mixed with a flocculent, is allowed to settle in a vessel. The sludge that rises to the top is then removed by a device using a vacuum. This application teaches using a vacuum system for harvesting. Such construction, while perhaps useful in some situations, is not necessary for efficient harvesting and therefore unnecessarily increases the complexity of the device. Furthermore, this application erroneously overlooks the complexity and potential for improvement in the processes of electrocoagulation and electroflocculation. In reality, the complex vacuum separation column taught by this application would not be necessary if the electrocoagulation and electroflocculation step were carried out in a more efficient manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,409 to Austin describes an apparatus for treating sludge involving adding the sludge to a vessel, applying a current to metal plates in a vessel, and supplying pressurized air to the vessel in order to help the sludge float to the top. Austin also describes using a mechanized paddle system on a conveyor belt to remove the sludge that has floated to the top of the vessel. This invention incorporates the flocculation and separation into one vessel, which increases the complexity and reduces efficiency since the two actions are mutually inhibitive, i.e., flocculation is improved by increasing agitation while separation is improved by minimizing agitation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,486 to Borodyanski et al. describes using a telescopic froth-flotation column for separating microalgae from a liquid suspension. A flocculating agent is added to the suspension and the suspension is added to the column as air bubbles are forced up the column. This invention describes using a chemical flocculating agent (like starch, ferric chloride, aluminum sulphate, or ketosones at a rate of 100-300 grams per ton of algae). This invention is not conducive to using electro-flocculation. Therefore, for the water to be recycled through the system, it must be subjected to a costly treatment. Alternatively, fresh water could be introduced for each batch of microalgae, but that is an economically inefficient use of water.
Applicant believes that the material incorporated above is "non-essential" in accordance with 37 CFR 1.57, because it is referred to for purposes of indicating the background of the invention or illustrating the state of the art. However, if the Examiner believes that any of the above-incorporated material constitutes "essential material" within the meaning of 37 CFR 1.57(c)(1)-(3), applicant will amend the specification to expressly recite the essential material that is incorporated by reference as allowed by the applicable rules.

System and method for separating particles from liquid media


Method and apparatus for installing a processor into electronic communication with a socket. The land grid array socket connector includes a socket housing secured to a circuit board and an array of upwardly extending pins for electronic communication with contact pads on the processor. The socket connector provides a carriage configured to receiving the processor through a lateral opening and support a perimeter edge of the processor. A mechanical linkage couples the carriage and the socket housing for substantially vertically translating the processor relative to the socket. A plurality of alignment features upwardly extends from the socket housing along the perimeter of the array of pins. Each of the alignment features has an inwardly-facing tapered surface for registering the edge of the processor and biasing the processor into a position where the array of contact pads are aligned with the array of pins as the processor is lowered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to area array socket connectors, such as a land grid array (LGA) socket connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A central processing unit (CPU) socket is the connector linking the motherboard to the CPU in certain types of desktop and server computers. CPU sockets and processors may be built around the pin grid array (PGA) architecture, in which the pins on the underside of the processor are inserted into the socket. To aid installation, zero insertion force (ZIF) sockets are usually used, allowing the processor pins to be inserted into the socket without any resistance, while gripping the pins firmly once the processor is in place to ensure a reliable contact. An alternative to the PGA architecture is the land grid array (LGA) architecture in which the pins reside on the socket rather than the CPU. The pins come into contact with pads on the bottom of the processor.
While there is great utility in using PGA and LGA architecture, there are still problems that occur. One of the primary problems with these architectures, for example the LGA architecture, is that the pins can become bent during the installation of the processor chip into the socket. The very act of lowering the chip can cause one or more of the pins to bend, resulting in failure of the electronic connector at that the affected pins. It is even possible in many installations for the chip to be dropped directly onto the pins.
In addition to a controlled lowering of the chip, a successful installation of a chip should provide for accurate alignment of the pins and contact pads. For example, in the LGA architecture, it is important to accurately align the array of contact pads on the underneath side of the processor chip with the array of upwardly facing pins on the socket. Inaccurate alignment of the pins and contact pads can also result in pin damage or failure of the electronic communication there between. A damaged LGA socket renders the entire motherboard unusable and irreparable without incurring considerable expense.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus that easily and accurately aligns and installs a processor chip into a socket without damaging the pins. It would be desirable if the apparatus applied a hold-down force to the processor to maintain contact between the contact pads and the pins. Furthermore, it would be even more desirable if the apparatus accommodated the use of a heat sink to make thermal contact with the flat upper surface of the processor.

Method for horizontal installation of LGA socketed chips

International Business Machines Corporation


A photo-sensitive device includes a uniform layer, a gradated buffer layer over the uniform layer, a silicon layer over the gradated buffer layer, a photo-sensitive light-sensing region in the uniform layer and the silicon layer, a device layer on the silicon layer, and a carrier wafer bonded to the device layer.

Photo-sensitive devices are used in a variety of electronic devices. For example, an array of photo-sensitive devices can be used to form an image sensor array to be used in a digital camera. A photo-sensitive device is typically includes a light-sensing region within a semiconductor material that transfers energy from photons into electrical energy.
The light-sensing region is typically formed into a semiconductor material through an implantation process to form either a p-i-n junction or a p-n junction. The semiconductor material in which the light-sensing region is formed is usually partially made of germanium in addition to silicon. This provides various benefits to the photo-sensitive device.
The efficiency at which the photo-sensitive device operates is affected by the characteristics of the semiconductor material in which the light-sensing region is formed. When using a semiconductor crystal that is made of silicon germanium, there may be defects in the crystal due to the different lattice constants between silicon and germanium. These defects are sometimes referred to as dislocations. These defects adversely affect the efficiency at which the photo-sensitive device operates. Thus, it is desirable to reduce these defects as much as possible.

Backside illuminated photo-sensitive device with gradated buffer layer

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A vertebral implant for use in establishing desired spinal curvatures includes separate implant bodies. Each body may include an associated angle between inferior and superior surfaces of the body. Further, the implant bodies may be stacked so that the associated angles are oriented in different anatomical planes. The implant bodies may be secured to one another with a connector. The implant bodies may be used either independently or in conjunction with one another to achieve a desired spinal curvature. Each implant body may include bone engagement features that extend outward from the superior and inferior surfaces of the implant body. The implant bodies may include recesses that are positioned to correspond to the bone engagement protrusions in other implant bodies to allow contact between the inferior and superior surfaces of the respective implant bodies.

The human spine serves many functions. The vertebral members of the spinal column protect the spinal cord. Furthermore, moveable facet joints and resilient discs disposed between the vertebral members permit motion between individual vertebral members. The spinal column also supports other portions of the human body. When viewed from a posterior or anterior direction, the vertebral members are generally aligned, although the width of the vertebral members generally increases from the cervical region to the lumbar region. However, when viewed from a lateral direction, the spine is curved to absorb loads and maintain the balance of the upper body. Abnormal curvatures may occur in some patients. For example, kyphosis may describe an exaggerated posterior curvature in the thoracic region. Lordosis may describe an exaggerated anterior curvature of the lumbar region. Scoliosis may describe an abnormal lateral curvature.
The composite sum of the angular relation between adjacent vertebral members makes up the overall curvature of the spine. Thus, one technique to correct abnormal spinal curvatures is to insert interbody implants that include a desired correction angle between vertebral bodies in the spine. The correction angle may be in the coronal plane or the sagittal plane. It is certainly possible to include implants that provide both coronal and sagittal correction of multiplanar defects. For example, a single interbody implant may provide a desired angular correction in the coronal plane and a separate desired angular correction in the sagittal plane. An implant with this configuration provides a compound correction that is the vector combination of the two corrections. A full set of implants may be provided that account for all possible corrections in both coronal and sagittal planes. However, when one considers the number of correction angles that are possible in both directions, it becomes impractical to manufacture, stock, and have available all of the possible combinations for implantation into a patient. Furthermore, implants that provide correction in both coronal and sagittal planes provide a unique combination of correction angles that are likely unusable in most cases.

Vertebral implants having predetermined angular correction and method of use


Embodiments of the present invention employ complexly shaped, high-surface-area channels for separation and purification of molecules, including important biopolymers such as proteins, glycoproteins, polysaccharides, and other molecular components of living cells. The relatively large internal surface areas of the complexly shaped channels employed in embodiments of the present invention provide, in comparison to traditional, simply shaped separation channels, increased heat dissipation during electrokinetic separation, and a decreased tendency for bulk-solution flow. Heat dissipation prevents high temperatures that can denature proteins and that can induce thermal currents within the separation channel. Bulk-solution flow within a separation channel can overwhelm the generally linear, electrical-potential-induced migration of molecules that leads to efficient and well-resolved molecular separations. The complexly shaped channels employed in various embodiments of the present invention can be readily manufactured at microscale dimensions for use in microscale devices, at millimeter-scale dimensions for inclusion in microfluidics devices, and may also be used in larger scale, traditional separation and purification systems.

In the past five years, enormous progress has been made in elucidating the identities of the molecular components of many living organisms, including humans. Completion of the initial phases of the human genome project have provided a detailed DNA sequence for a large portion of human chromosomal DNA. However, the determination of the DNA sequence of human chromosomes is only a preliminary initial step in the identification of the molecular components of human cells, which is, in turn, only an initial step in understanding how these molecular components interact with one another to form a functioning cell. Different portions of chromosomal DNA, or chromosome subsequences, play different roles in information storage and control of cellular processes, and many portions may play different roles at different times and under different intercellular and intracellular conditions. Perhaps the best-known role for chromosomal subsequences is that of genes. A gene is a stretch of DNA that more or less directly encodes the amino-acid sequence of a corresponding protein. Proteins are biopolymers responsible for myriad structural, catalytic, and control functions in living cells.
Initial analysis of the human DNA sequence led to the conclusion that a total of only about 30,000 proteins are encoded in human DNA. However, many researchers currently believe that a far greater number of proteins may actually be encoded. First, it is possible that only a fraction of the total number of genes has been identified. Second, and more importantly, many different cellular processes can dynamically edit and alter DNA encodings to produce a much larger number of amino-acid-sequence specifications, or mRNA templates, than can be statically identified in chromosomal DNA. Moreover, post-translational processing of nascent proteins can lead to even greater numbers of different types of proteins, as well as many different hybrid and derivative proteins that include significant non-amino-acid components, such as lipid and polysaccharide components, as well as non-standard amino acids.
Determining the identities of, and characterizing, the different protein species in living cells, commonly referred to as the field of proteomics, represents a next phase in understanding the components and processes within living cells. Although it was, at one time, thought that the identities and characteristics of the protein components of living cells might be computationally determined from a complete sequence of the chromosomal DNA, it is now apparent that biochemical isolation and characterization of physical protein molecules remains a necessary approach to identifying and characterizing the protein components of living cells.
A number of different physical techniques are currently employed to identify and characterize proteins. Proteins are identified by separating and identifying individual protein species from complex mixtures of different types of proteins, other types of biopolymers, and small molecules. A particular protein is characterized by its amino-acid sequence, by the one or more native three-dimensional configurations that the protein adopts in its natural, cellular environment, and by its location and function in a cell or in extracellular solutions. Determination of the amino-acid sequence and the three-dimensional configuration of a protein both depend on preparing a relatively pure solution of the protein at relatively high concentrations, in the 5-25 mg./ml. range. For example, pure proteins may be crystallized, and the protein structure determined by x-ray diffraction techniques. Protein crystallization generally involves slow supersaturation of highly purified and concentrated protein solutions. Additional structure determination techniques include nuclear magnetic resonance and spectroscopic techniques, both of which also require relatively pure, concentrated protein solutions. Unfortunately, any particular human cell lysate may contain 20,000 or more proteins with concentrations spanning five or more orders of magnitude. Therefore, for now and for the foreseeable future, the identification and characterization of the protein components of living cells both depend on the development of efficient and precise methods for preparing relatively large amounts of pure proteins from highly complex sample solutions.
Many different types of protein separation and purification techniques are currently used. These techniques include high performance liquid chromatography ("HPLC"), exclusion and affinity chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, and other techniques. Currently used techniques all have various advantages and disadvantages. For example, HPLC provides high throughput and time-efficient separations, but the resolution of HPLC separations may suffer from dispersion due to position-dependent fluid-flow-velocity differentials within HPLC columns. Moreover, the matrix within an HPLC column, by showing differential affinity or exclusion towards different types of proteins, may significantly impact the resolution and overall separability of proteins within a sample solution. An additional disadvantage of the HPLC technique is that proteins may partially or fully unfold from their native three-dimensional configurations as they pass through the HPLC column and interact with the column matrix, and protein unfolding is often practically irreversible. Traditional capillary electrophoresis provides fast and sensitive protein separation, but is restricted to relatively small sample sizes, in the nanoliter range.
Researchers, drug developers, and other professionals involved in identifying and characterizing proteins and other molecular components of living cells have therefore recognized the need for improved methods for separating and purifying significant quantities of proteins and other biopolymers. In particular, methods that can be implemented in microfluidic devices as well as in traditional, larger-scale separation and purification instruments, are highly desirable.

Method and system for electrokinetic, preparative sample separation in high-surface-area separation channels with non-convex cross sections


There is provided a substrate processing method of supplying a processing solution to a substrate through a supply nozzle connected with a supply path via a differential pressure flowmeter provided on the supply path for supplying the processing solution and performing a process on the substrate by the processing solution. The substrate processing method includes measuring a pressure value in the supply path by a pressure measurement unit included in the differential pressure flowmeter when the processing solution is not supplied to the substrate; determining whether the pressure measurement unit is operated normally by comparing the pressure value measured in the measuring process with a predetermined pressure value; and supplying the processing solution to a substrate if it is determined that the pressure measurement unit is operated normally in the determining process.

In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a flat panel display (FPD), there has often been used a liquid process in which a processing solution is supplied to a target substrate (hereinafter, referred to as "substrate" or "wafer") such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate. An example of this process is a cleaning process for removing particles or contamination adhering to a substrate.
As a substrate processing apparatus for performing a process such as the above-mentioned cleaning process on a substrate, there has been used an apparatus including a multiple number of single-wafer liquid processing units and a transfer mechanism. The liquid processing units perform a process by supplying a processing solution to a front surface or front and rear surfaces of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer while the substrate is held and rotated on a spin chuck. The transfer mechanism loads and unloads the substrate to and from these liquid processing units. Further, in order to suppress an increase in footprint of the apparatus and obtain higher throughput, the liquid processing units may be stacked in multiple layers.
In the substrate processing apparatus, a processing solution nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as "supply nozzle") for supplying a processing solution (chemical solution) may be switchably connected to a multiple number of chemical solution supply systems via a mixing valve (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a flow rate control mechanism corresponding to each chemical solution supply system is installed between each chemical solution supply system and the mixing valve.
Meanwhile, a flow rate control mechanism may include a differential pressure flowmeter provided on the way of a flow path through which a fluid flows; a valve for controlling a flow of the fluid; and a controller for controlling an opening degree of the valve (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In Patent Document 2, the controller controls the opening degree of the valve based on a preset flow rate and a flow rate of the fluid measured by the differential pressure flowmeter. The differential pressure flowmeter may include a round tube; a first pressure gauge placed on an upstream side of the round tube; and a second pressure gauge placed on a downstream side of the round tube. The first pressure gauge measures a pressure of the fluid introduced into the round tube. The second pressure gauge measures a pressure of the fluid discharged from the round tube.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2008-34490    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-153677
However, the above-described substrate processing method for processing the substrate by using the processing solution has problems as follows.
As described above, the flow rate control mechanism controls the opening degree of the valve such that a measurement value of the flow rate measured by the differential pressure flowmeter is close to the preset flow rate. Further, by way of example, the differential pressure flowmeter includes a component such as a round tube to make a flow path narrow, the first pressure gauge on an upstream side of the component and the second pressure gauge on a downstream side of the component. The differential pressure flowmeter obtains a measurement value of the flow rate based on a measurement value of the first pressure gauge and a measurement value of the second pressure gauge.
Even if the measurement value of the first pressure gauge or the measurement value of the second pressure gauge is deviated from a true value due to an electrical fault in the first pressure gauge or the second pressure gauge, the differential pressure flowmeter may calculate a measurement value of the flow rate based on the deviated value. At this time, the flow rate control mechanism may control this deviated flow rate to be close to the preset flow rate. Accordingly, by way of example, even though it is displayed on the flow rate control mechanism that the controlled flow rate is equal to the preset flow rate, an actual flow rate may be further deviated from the preset flow rate.
If the measurement value of the flow rate is deviated from the true value as described above, it is difficult to gauge the true value of the flow rate unless a flow rate of the processing solution supplied through the supply nozzle is directly measured by a measuring cup. Therefore, if the measurement value of the flow rate measured by the differential pressure flowmeter is deviated from the true value due to, for example, an electrical fault in the first pressure gauge or the second pressure gauge, there has been a problem in that it is not easy to detect such deviation.
Meanwhile, there is a differential pressure flowmeter using a differential pressure sensor in which a pressure difference on an upstream side and a downstream side is measured by a diaphragm provided to shut a communication unit for communication between the upstream side and the downstream side. In this differential pressure flowmeter using the differential pressure sensor, there may be a case where a measurement value of a flow rate is deviated from a true value due to a bending or deformation of the diaphragm. In this case, there has been a problem in that it is not easy to detect such deviation.

Substrate processing method, storage medium storing program for executing the same, substrate processing apparatus, and fault detection method for differential pressure flowmeter


A first and a second drive current for an electrical drive are generated as a function of a nominal value for a movement variable, such as drive torque or rotational speed. An alternating magnetic field is generated in the drive by the drive currents. The alternating magnetic field causes movement of the drive. A first measurement signal and a second measurement signal are determined by a measurement device. The two measurement signals represent the first drive current and the second drive current. A field-producing direct-axis current component and a torque-producing quadrature-axis current component are determined as a function of the first and second measurement signals. In addition, an actual value of the movement variable is determined as a function of the measurement signals. At least one of the drive currents is generated with a variable test current component which forms a test pattern for checking the measurement device.

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for failsafe monitoring of a movement variable on an electrical drive. In particular, the invention relates to failsafe monitoring of an electrical drive for safeguarding a dangerous area on an automatically operating machine or installation, such as a machine tool, a robot, a conveyor belt or a door which opens and closes automatically.
Such danger areas of machines or installations are often safeguarded by protective fences, light barriers and other devices which prevent direct access to the danger area and/or shut down the machine or installation when the danger area is entered. However, situations exist in which access to a danger area cannot be entirely prevented, for example when setting up an automated process sequence on a machine, or in the case of an automatic door. In order to minimize the risk of injury to people even in such situations, it is known to limit movement variables of the drives causing the danger, such as a rotational speed and/or the torque of the drive, to a defined maximum value. For example, a machine tool can be operated at a reduced, limited speed when a protective door is open. In order to ensure the safety of people in these situations, the dangerous movement variables of the operating drive must be monitored in a failsafe manner.
Failsafe monitoring is usually implemented by monitoring the movement variable at least in a duplicated form, and by comparing the respective monitoring results with one another. The dangerous movement of the drive is permitted only when and for as long as the redundant monitoring results correspond.
DE 100 35 738 A1 proposes a redundant safety device for monitoring the rotation speed of a synchronous drive or of an asynchronous drive, with the rotation on the one hand being detected by a rotation-speed sensor which is connected to a drive shaft. The rotation-speed sensor generates the instantaneous rotation speed as an input variable for a drive control loop. In addition, the drive currents are measured in two of the three so-called phases of the drive. The measured drive currents are converted into a field-producing direct-axis current component and a torque-producing quadrature-axis current component. A plausibility comparison of the current values with acceleration values, which are determined using the rotation-speed signals from the rotation-speed sensor, makes it possible to detect faults in the redundant monitoring system.
DE 101 63 010 A1 discloses a further apparatus and a further method for failsafe monitoring of the speed of an electrical drive. The apparatus has two processors, which allow a cross-comparison of the monitoring results, with the two processors carrying out the monitoring in different ways. The first processor processes the regular control algorithm for closed-loop rotation-speed control, and it uses an estimated or measured rotation-speed value to carry out the monitoring. The second processor uses measured current values or a reconstruction of the control voltage in order to determine an instantaneous output frequency of the so-called frequency converter, which produces the drive currents. This method and this apparatus are intended to make it possible to dispense with a separate rotation-speed sensor. A similar apparatus is also described in DE 10 2005 045 284 A1.
The above apparatuses and methods are primarily used for monitoring a rotational speed, and thus for monitoring a speed of the drive. Monitoring for maintaining a defined torque is not provided.
DE 42 34 501 A1 discloses a method and an apparatus for redundant monitoring of the maximum torque of an electrical drive. In one channel, the instantaneous torque is determined using the drive currents. In a second channel, the instantaneous torque is estimated using an instantaneous rotation speed and using characteristics of the electrical drive, with the rotation speed again being determined by means of a rotation-speed sensor. This known method accordingly requires a separate rotation-speed sensor for torque monitoring.

Method and apparatus for failsafe monitoring of a movement variable on an electrical drive