In each pixel, a current-driven type light emitting element OLED, and a driving element T1 which controls an electric current to be supplied to the light emitting element in accordance with a data signal representing a target brightness, are provided. The mutual conductance of the driving element T1, or a parameter reflecting the mutual conductance, is detected, and the data signal to be supplied to the driving element is corrected in accordance with a detection result. More specifically, the data signal is corrected such that a driving current to be supplied to the light emitting element in accordance with the data signal increases as the mutual conductance of the driving element T1 decreases.

In an active matrix type organic electroluminescent (EL) display apparatus, each pixel is formed including a pixel circuit generally having, in addition to an organic EL element, two transistors and one capacitor (2T1C) serving as elements for driving the organic EL element. More specifically, a driving TFT which drives the organic EL light emitting element, a writing TFT which controls a data voltage to be applied to the driving TFT, and a storage capacitor which stores the data voltage are provided.
A channel of a TFT is generally formed of a thin film semiconductor such as amorphous silicon, microcrystal silicon, poly-crystalline silicon, an oxide semiconductor, an organic semiconductor, and so on.
In this case, a TFT drain current Id is determined by the following formula:Id=0.5*(μCch*(W/L))*(Vgs−Vth)2 Here, μ represents a carrier mobility, Cch represents a channel capacitance, W and L represent a channel width and a channel length, respectively, Vgs represents a gate-source bias, and Vth represents a threshold voltage.
Here, degradation with time associated with a variation in mobility and a threshold voltage and application of bias is observed in any semiconductors. Also, drain current of the driving TFT to be supplied to the light emitting element depends on the mobility and the threshold voltage of the driving TFT. Accordingly, a variation in the mobility and the threshold voltage of a driving TFT in each pixel results in a variation of light emission brightness of each pixel with respect to a certain target brightness signal voltage input, which leads to non-uniform display characteristics.
In order to address the above problem, attempts to compensate for mobility and a threshold value of a driving TFT to thereby obtain uniform transconductance have been proposed. Such attempts include a Vth compensation circuit for correcting the threshold voltage of a driving TFT (U.S. 2007-285359), current writing drive for correcting a threshold voltage and mobility (U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,506), and so on.
In the example described in U.S. 2007-285359, a threshold voltage of a driving TFT, which has been previously detected, is superposed on a data voltage and the resulting voltage is applied between gate and source of the driving TFT, to thereby cancel effects of the threshold voltage on the drain current of the driving TFT, so that driving current which does not depend on Vth is supplied to a light emitting element. In this case, while a variation of mobility is not compensated, sufficient display uniformity can be achieved when effects of a variation of mobility upon the drain current are small.
In the example described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,509, a target brightness current is input to drain of a driving TFT in a state where the drain and gate of the driving TFT are short-circuited, to thereby induce a gate voltage required for applying a target current to the gate of the driving TFT. In this example, as not only a threshold voltage but also a variation of mobility are corrected, excellent display uniformity can be obtained even when a variation of mobility.
The two conventional examples described above are proposed attempts aimed at uniformity of drain current of a driving TFT, which is supplied to the light emitting element. In the actual display apparatuses, however, in addition to uniformity of the driving current to be supplied to the light emitting element, uniformity of current light emission efficiency of the light emitting element imposes significant effects on uniformity of the display brightness.
Normally, in driven-by-current type light emitting elements such as organic EL, a phenomenon in which the light emission efficiency is lowered in accordance with light emission of the elements can be observed. Recently, with the improvement of organic EL materials and light emitting element structures, organic EL elements having a constant current light emission brightness-half-life of tens of thousands of hours or more under average use conditions of a display apparatus are being reported.
In the applications of display apparatuses in which averaged use is expected for a whole display region, as the brightness is reduced substantially uniformly over the whole display screen, the brightness-half-life can be considered as an apparatus life. In this case, with the brightness-half-life of several tens of thousands of hours or more, no significant problems would occur in general applications.
However, in the applications of display apparatuses in which use of a large number of simple geometric patterns is assumed, such as mobile terminals, game terminals, PC monitor applications, and so on, the whole screen is used at random and uniform degradation cannot be expected.
In these applications of display apparatuses, a specific region in the screen and a region adjacent thereto are used with different frequencies and different brightness over a long period of time, which can result in a reduction in the light emission efficiencies which vary among different regions. This can cause image persistence of patterns on the screen, which is recognized by a viewer more sensitively than when the brightness of the whole screen is reduced uniformly. In most severe cases, a border between adjacent regions can be recognized if the difference of the brightness is approximately 2 or 3%. It is considered that such image persistence can be recognized with the brightness difference of approximately 5%, although it depends on the application of display apparatuses and patterns of image persistence.
As such, even if current supplied from the driving TFT is corrected in some manner, uniform brightness of the display apparatus can be inhibited due to a significant variation of light emission efficiency of the light emitting elements. In particular, in the applications of display apparatuses in which the product life depends on an image persistence life, it is necessary to correct a variation of light emission efficiency of the light emitting elements so as to secure a sufficiently long product life.
In order to correct degradation of a light emitting element itself, it is necessary to measure the light emission efficiency. Fish et al "Optical Feedback for AMOLED Display Compensation using LTPS and a-Si:H Technologies" SID 05 Digest, pgs 1340-1343 and Shin et al "A New Stable a-Si:H TFT Pixel for AMOLED by Employing the a-Si:H TFT Photo Sensor", SID 08 Digest, pgs. 1211-1214 propose to correct a reduction of the light emission efficiency (optical compensation) by providing a photodetector in a pixel and controlling a light emission period in accordance with the light emission intensity of an organic EL element. A key to this method is requirements for a photodetector. Specifically, it is required that a photodetector should have a sufficient sensitivity, exhibit good linearity with respect to input light, and have stable and uniform characteristics. While use of an off-biased amorphous silicon TFT or PIN diode has been proposed as a photodetector, there are problems that, for the former, the linearity of sensitivity and light current need to be improved and that, for the latter, an additional process need to be added to the manufacturing process. Further, due to the effects of non-linearity and parasitic capacitance of the proposed pixel circuit, it is difficult to realize completely uniform brightness characteristics. For example, Shin et al "A New Stable a-Si:H TFT Pixel for AMOLED by Employing the a-Si:H TFT Photo Sensor", SID 08 Digest, pgs. 1211-1214 discloses that a reduction in brightness caused by degradation of the light emission efficiency when optical compensation is performed can be reduced to ⅓ compared to when no optical compensation is performed.

Electroluminescent pixel with efficiency compensation by threshold voltage overcompensation


A communication system includes a plurality of nodes including a base station; at least one terminal; and at least one relay node through which each terminal can be connected to the base station. An entity in a network higher in layer than each relay node configures the relay node to set a target value for a predetermined parameter reflecting a radio link status of the relay node. The relay node monitors the predetermined parameter to notify an upper-layer node of difference information corresponding to a difference between the target value and a monitored parameter value. The upper-layer node controls a link parameter of a radio link connecting the upper-layer node and the relay node depending on the difference information, resulting in efficient radio resource allocation in a relay network with small signaling overhead.

3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE-Advanced (Long Term Evolution Advanced) Study Item considers deploying relay node (hereafter referred to as RN) in a cellular network. One of the main objectives for deploying RNs is to enhance coverage area of a base station by improving throughput of a mobile station (user terminal) that locates in a coverage hole or far from the base station resulting in low signal quality. Hereafter, a base station is referred to as BS or eNB (evolved Node B) and a mobile station or user terminal is referred to as UE (user equipment).
In the radio communication network with relay nodes, an eNB that can provide connection to at least one RN is called Donor eNB, which is hereafter called DeNB. In this specification, in order to distinguish a normal eNB from DeNB, the term DeNB is only used when refers to the eNB that is currently having connection with the RN.
Moreover, in this specification, the term "eNB-UE" is used for referring to UE that establishes a connection with DeNB and the term "RN-UE" is used for referring to UE that establishes a connection with RN. On the other hand, the term "UE" is used when refers to both eNB-UE and RN-UE commonly.
The radio interface that provides radio protocol Layer-1 (Physical Layer) to Layer-3 (RRC (Radio Resource Control) Layer) connection between the DeNB and the RN is referred to as backhaul link or Un interface in this specification. On the other hand, the radio interface that provide radio protocol Layer-1 to Layer-3 connection between DeNB and eNB-UE is referred to as eNB-access link and the radio interface that provide radio protocol Layer-1 to Layer-3 connection between RN and RN-UE is referred to as RN-access link or Uu interface. Currently, 3GPP RAN Working Groups (RAN WGs) are mainly considering a relay system called Type 1 Relay that shares radio resources between the backhaul and eNB-access links (see NPL 1 and NPL 2). There have been proposed several methods for scheduling radio resources in such a relay system. Conventional examples are as follows.
PTL 1 discloses a radio cellular network in which a BS (corresponding to DeNB) receives reports of link qualities of BS-SS (corresponding to eNB-access link) and BS-RS (corresponding to backhaul link) from the eNB-UE and the RN, respectively. Based on these link qualities, the DeNB allocates radio resources to the eNB-UE and the RN.
PTL 2 discloses a radio telecommunication system in which a RN performs periodically a local fair scheduling procedure in order to achieve a fair distribution of available radio resources of the RN, which is represented by a local fairness parameter, and transmits the local fairness parameter to a DeNB. Using the local fairness parameter received from the RN, the DeNB performs a global fair scheduling procedure for determining a fair distribution of available radio resources of the DeNB.
{NFL 1} 3GPP TR 36.912 v9.1.0 (2009-12), "Feasibility study for Further Advancements for E-UTRA (LTE-Advanced)"
{NFL 2} 3GPP TR 36.814 v9.0.0 (2010-03), "Further Advancements for E-UTRA physical layer aspects"
{PTL 1} WO2008/127814A1
{PTL 2} EP2066084A1

Radio communication system and control method of radio resource allocation


A method for controlling a flow rate of multiple data flows at a network node on a path of the data flows includes the following steps. A private restriction token bucket (RTB) and a private guarantee token bucket (GTB) for each of the data flows and a shared token bucket (STB) common to all of the data flows are provided. n tokens are obtained from the RTBi for the data flow i when a message belonging to the data flow i arrives at the node and needs n tokens. An attempt is made to obtain n tokens from the GTBi for the data flow i and/or the STB. The message is transmitted if n tokens are obtained from the GTBi and/or from the STB, otherwise transmission of the message is delayed until n tokens are available in the GTBi and/or in the STB.

A flow is a sequence of messages that share characteristics, including quality-of-service (QoS) properties. Network flows have to be regulated in order to ensure that the data transmissions conform to defined bandwidth limits.
One approach used to regulate network flow is the token bucket technique which is a common algorithm used to control the amount of data that is injected into a network, allowing for bursts of data to be sent. In general, the token bucket concept is based on an analogy of a bucket that contains tokens. The tokens represent a certain denomination related to data transmission, such as data packet size. Thus, using this analogy, when a data packet of a certain size is to be transmitted, the bucket is inspected to see if there are enough tokens in the bucket to cover that size data packet. If so, the appropriate number of tokens is removed from the bucket (also referred to as "cashing in the tokens") and the data packet is transmitted. On the other hand, if an insufficient number of tokens is available, then transmittal of the data packet is canceled or held back until a sufficient number of tokens is available.
The token bucket concept is employed in several works. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,901,050 issued to Acharya, entitled "System and Methods for Flow-based Traffic Shaping," (which describes a system with multiple token buckets, each handling its flow), U.S. Pat. No. 7,719,968 issued to Swenson et al., entitled "Multi-Priority Multi-Color Markers for Traffic Metering," (which describes a system that contains token buckets with run time interdependencies), U.S. Pat. No. 7,586,848 issued to Gunduzhan, entitled "Elastic Traffic Marking for Multi-Priority Packet Streams in a Communications Network." (which is a scheme based on token buckets that incorporates bandwidth loans), U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,265 issued to Appala et al., entitled "Weighted Fair Queuing Approximation in a Network Switch Using Weighted Round Robin and Token Bucket Filter," (which combines weighted round robin scheduler with token bucket filters), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,147,970 issued to Troxel, entitled "Quality of Service Management for Aggregated Flows in a Network System," (which incorporates two levels of token buckets with the goal of maximizing throughput).
These approaches however deal only with restricting data flows and do not take into consideration the content of the data. For instance, the situation may arise where an urgent message needs to be transmitted, but the respective token bucket is empty. With these conventional approaches there is a risk that the urgent message might not be transmitted.
Thus, improved techniques for regulating network data flows would be desirable.

Efficient urgency-aware rate control scheme for multiple bounded flows

International Business Machines Corporation


A microscope is disclosed having an illumination device that includes a color temperature regulating device and a color temperature measurement device. The color temperature regulating device includes a light guide and two conversion filters that are disposed on a carrier and are adjustable in a motor-driven manner. Moreover, a color temperature control device is provided, which compares the color temperature determined in the measurement device with a predetermined theoretical value and supplies a corresponding signal to the color temperature regulating device. Furthermore, a measurement or regulating device for the intensity of illumination or light intensity is provided, which compensates the change of light intensity by a motor-controllable diaphragm in the illumination beam path.

The invention relates to a microscope including an illumination device. More specifically, the invention relates to a microscope in which the intensity and color temperature of light is regulated.
German Offenlegungsschrift 2,757,543 discloses an illumination device for a microscope. Proceeding from a light source, this illumination device exhibits a condenser system and an annularly curved light guide. Between the condenser system and the light guide there is disposed a filter device, which exhibits, on a carrier, a plurality of individual filters disposed side by side.
By manual movement of this device in the illumination beam path, the illumination light is matched to a specified color temperature in accordance with the filter brought into the working position.
The measurement of the color temperature takes place by a separate measuring system which is disposed on the tube of the microscope. However, for this purpose it is necessary to remove the existing accessory devices, such as for example, a photographic camera, and to replace them by the color temperature measurement system. A particular disadvantage in this case is the awkward incorporation of the color temperature measurement system and the danger, associated therewith, of having to adjust once again the microscope which has already been adjusted. Furthermore, such an arrangement is affected by the disadvantage that the intensity of illumination in the microscope is altered by the regulation of the color temperature. A matching of the intensity of illumination by regulating the lamp voltage is not possible in this case, since an altered lamp voltage alters the color temperature of the illumination light.
Furthermore, German Offenlegungsschrift 3,627,354 discloses a microphotographic device as a separate accessory of a microscope. This device exhibits a photographic camera, a light measurement device as well as a color temperature measurement device. The color temperature measurement device includes two photodiodes with an upstream blue or red filter. Both photodiodes are acted upon simultaneously by light by means of an appropriate optical system. The light measurement device as well as the photodiodes are connected to a control device via electrical conductors. By inserting a deflecting mirror into the measurement beam path, the light measurement device or the color temperature measurement device may selectively be activated. This microphotographic device has proved to be effective in practice, but does not include any device for matching and regulating the color temperature of the microscope light.

Microscope with a camera and automatic color temperature balance


The present invention relates to a sprayable composition for providing a translucent, transparent, semi-transparent or opaque sprayable hair product which exhibits a high level of hold and rigidity to hair such that hair can be held in a particular position for prolonged periods of time without unnatural hardness, superior retention of shape in conditions of heat and humidity, and imparting thickness and body compared to current hairsprays; the composition comprising: a propellant and at least one binder, wherein at least one binder comprises an ethylene vinyl alkanoate copolymer with a weight percent of vinyl alkanoate in the copolymer within the range of 19 wt % to 42 wt %. The invention is also related to the apparatus comprising a container containing the sprayable composition, the methods for forming a coating on a surface and, particularly, the corresponding methods for styling hair, as well as the use of at least one binder in a manufacture of a sprayable composition for styling hair, wherein at least one binder is an ethylene-vinyl alkanoate copolymer with a weight percent of vinyl alkanoate in the copolymer within the range of 19 wt % to 42 wt %.

Consumers are frequently seeking to style their scalp or facial hair, for example to provide a certain hairstyle for their scalp hair or, in other cases, style their eyebrows or, in the case of male persons, their beards, moustaches and/or sideburns, by decorating them and, once styled, it is desirable that the hair remains held in the styled position, or conserves a decorated condition. After styling, there is a tendency for hair to return from its styled to its unstyled condition. For example, hair may return to its natural shape if moistened or under high humidity conditions. Therefore, there is a need to provide hair products that retain hair in a styled condition.
Aerosol hairspray products frequently comprise a pressure-resistant container, a valve, a nozzle, a propellant, and a hairstyling formulation. A hairspray formulation is typically ejected from such products via aerosol-forming spraying device. For example, Rollat et al in U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0110353 relates to a composition for cosmetic treatment of keratin materials, packaged in an aerosol device comprising: (a) at least one propellant and (b) a hairstyling composition comprising at least one polyurethane having a number-average molecular weight ranging from 400 000 to 5 000 000 g/mol, in a cosmetically acceptable medium comprising water.
Another example, Gringore et al in U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0078507 refers to a composition packaged in an aerosol device, containing: at least one propellant; and a hairstyling composition comprising: (i) at least one non-polyurethane anionic or non-ionic fixative polymer and (ii) at least one anionic acrylic associative polymer; wherein at least one propellant is present in an amount greater than 20% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition.
Birkel et al in U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0068849 relates to an aerosol hairspray product for styling and/or shaping hair wherein the product comprises: a container; a spraying device; a propellant; a hairstyling formulation comprising: (a) at least about 50% water; and (b) from about 0.01% to about 20% of a hairstyling polymer, wherein the hairstyling polymer is selected from the group consisting of: acrylate copolymers of two or more monomers of (meth)acrylic acid or one of their simple esters; acrylate/hydroxyester acrylate copolymers of butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, ethyl acrylate and hydroxyethyl methacrylate; polyurethane-14/AMP-acrylates polymer blend; and mixtures thereof.
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA in U.S. Pat. No. 9,132,079 refers to agents for treating keratin-containing fibres, in particular human hair, and methods for the use of such agents are provided. The agent includes at least a specific copolymer of the N-vinylpyrrolidone and at least a polymer with structural units derived from maleic acid ester. The agent is contained in a cosmetically acceptable carrier.
However, in spite of the fact that there are many sprayable compositions for styling hair, a problem with many existing products used for "fixing" hair such that it is held in a styled position with e.g. a heated styling comb, after spraying is that they have a tendency to confer an unnatural hardness and shine. They can also be friable, which may result in loss of holding the hair in a styled position when external forces are applied. It is also desirable for hair products to be, in some cases, translucent or transparent such that they are invisible to the human eye when applied to hair, or in other cases, semi-transparent or opaque which may be used for ornamentation or colouring.
The present invention has the objective of providing other additional translucent, transparent, semi-transparent or opaque sprayable hair products, which exhibit a high level of hold to hair such that hair can be held in a particular position for prolonged periods of time and retain a natural matte appearance after styling with e.g. a heated styling comb.
A further problem with many existing products used for "fixing" hair such that it is held in a styled position is that they tend to lose their shape in conditions of high temperature and humidity.


A digital integrated molding method for dental attachments includes 3D design, aiming at acquiring 3D data of an attachment itself through 3D scanning of an attachment preform, carrying out modeling design directly on the basis of acquired data, adjusting corresponding positions of an inner-crown and an attachment, or a bridge and an attachment by design software, and directly designing the attachments of the inner-crown and the bridge into a whole; data processing, aiming at slicing the integrated inner-crown and attachment or bridge and attachment for additive manufacturing; and additive manufacturing, aiming at processing an integrated inner-crown, bridge or attachment. The molding method can greatly improve the molding accuracy of dental attachments, and ensure the relative accuracy of inner-crowns, bridges or attachments.

The dentition defect and loss are common clinical oral diseases, which greatly affect the oral and systemic health and living quality of patients, especially edentulous patients with severe absorption of alveolar ridge. Attachments play a good role in the partial tooth loss and in the retention and stability of complete denture, which obviously enhance the masticatory function and denture stability of patients, improve the periodontal condition, and reduce the absorption of alveolar ridge in the missing tooth area through physiological stimulation and effects of forces. Attachments are a kind of metal restorations widely used in the restoration of dentition defect at present.
The main difference between attachment denture and conventional denture is the necessity for accurate placement of an attachment. Nowadays, all kinds of attachments popular in the world are preforms, including metal preforms, plastic preforms and metal-plastic preforms. In use, a metal preform is first fixed at a predetermined position, and welded into a metal inner-crown bridge or the metal framework of a removable partial denture. Plastic preforms are mostly made of mold materials. The male and female parts of the attachment are molded together with the inner-crown bridge modeling wax or the dental framework modeling wax respectively, and are integrally embedded and cast. The metal-plastic preform is often an elastic attachment. In use, a metal male part and a metal inner-crown are welded together, and a plastic female part is fixed on the tissue surface of removable partial denture. The plastic female part contains nylon component and thus reveals certain elasticity. In order to make a precise attachment denture, the parallel grinder is required and characterized by the following three main functions: {circle around (1)} determining the position channel as an observer; {circle around (2)} calibrating the position of attachments or substitutes thereof and arranging them accurately; {circle around (3)} modifying the modeling wax or grinding the metal inner-crowns according to the type of restoration, thereby making them parallel to each other or ensuring the proper angle of their axial surfaces. Usually, the attachment fixed on the abutment is made first. Then, the completed part of the attachment is tried on, the other part of the attachment (or the substitute thereof) is inserted into the completed part (or the substitute thereof), a model is infused into a whole dental arch impression, and the jaw position relationship is determined. Afterwards, the laboratory shall make the other part of attachment and denture as required.
The additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, makes the whole manufacturing process truly intelligent and digital by reconstructing and designing a 3D digital model and manufacturing physical parts based on the principle of layer-by-layer accumulation of metal powder. The selective laser melting technology is the most widely used based on the laser melting of metal powder. It integrates the laser technology, digital intelligent control technology, computer aided design analysis and rapid prototyping, and thus can be used directly for manufacturing metal parts with metallurgical bonding, compact structure, good mechanical properties and high precision. Also, it meets the technical requirements of individualized, complicated and highly difficult dental restoration in the current field of dental restoration, and makes up for the shortcomings of the prior art, without influences caused by casting defects. Therefore, the selective laser melting technology has been increasingly applied to the manufacture of dental restorations and evolved into an indispensable emerging technology for digital oral processing.
However, when the selective laser melting technology is used for processing metal materials, the attachment could produce thermal stress and thus deform possibly due to the forming mechanism of sudden heating and quenching during the manufacturing process. In this case, a stable and effective post processor is required to ensure the complete release of residual stress, and thus ensure that the accuracy and performance of the attachment fully meet the clinical requirements. Moreover, after the processed attachment is provided with a support for additive manufacturing, the post-processing becomes time-consuming and easily affects the accuracy of the attachment structure. So, it is very difficult to process the attachment denture by the selective laser melting technology.

Digital integrated molding method for dental attachments

CHENGDU TIANQI ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


A high voltage capacitor has a monolithic body made of layers of dielectric material and further has first and second external contacts located on the body. First and second nonoverlapping electrodes electrically connected to the respective first and second contacts are located on respective first and second layers of dielectric material within the body. A floating electrode not connected to either of the contacts is located on a different, third layer of dielectric material. The floating electrode overlaps the first and second electrodes and forms two serially connected capacitors therewith.

The present invention generally concerns capacitors and more particularly, the organization of internal electrodes within a capacitor having a high voltage breakdown rating.
The present invention relates to the placement of internal electrodes within a multi-layer capacitor made of a dielectric material such as a ceramic dielectric material. Capacitance between spaced-parallel plate regions is a function of their separation. Further, plate density cannot be particularly high in a multi-layer capacitor that relies on only a relatively thin ceramic layer to limit the breakdown voltage. Metal plate regions of alternating polarity are stacked in a parallel relationship and partially overlap each other. The metal plate regions are parallel and overlapping so as to create capacitance along the elementary model of two parallel plate electrodes. The formula for the capacitance of the conventional parallel-plate ceramic capacitor is:
Cap=kA/d
where
Cap is the capacitance in farads,
k is the dielectric constant in farads per meter,
A is the area of electrode overlap in square meters, and
d is the distance of separation between plates in meters.
Although d would desirably be minimized for greatest capacitance, in high voltage capacitors, d cannot be indefinitely small or else the capacitor will be subject to failure from voltage breakdown of the insulating ceramic dielectric. For example, referring to FIG. 4, a known capacitor 10 having a high voltage breakdown rating has a substantially monolithic thee-dimensional body 12 comprised of layers of dielectric material 14. Conductive first electrodes 16 are placed on a first layer of dielectric material 15 and are connected to a conductive first contact 18 on an external portion of the body 12. Conductive second electrodes 20 are also placed between the same layer of dielectric material 15 and are connected to a conductive second contact 22 on another external portion of the body 12. A conductive third electrode 24 is placed on a different, second layer of dielectric material 26. The third electrode 24 is not electrically connected to either of the contacts 18, 22 and overlaps with both the first and second electrodes 16, 20. Referring to FIG. 4B, a first capacitor 28 is formed between the first and the third electrodes 16, 24, and a second capacitor 30 in a series circuit with the first capacitor 28 is formed between the second and the third electrodes 20, 24.
A typical ceramic dielectric will have a voltage rating of 100 volts per mil (0.001 in.) thickness. For example, if the capacitor 10 is designed to have an operating voltage of about 2,000 volts, an axial plate separation, that is, the thickness t of the ceramic layer 15 must be about 10 mils.
Another aspect of high voltage ceramic capacitor design relates to the distance d1 of separation between electrodes 16, 20 of opposite polarity. The plate separation d1 should be 50% greater than the layer thickness and hence the electrode separation t. This is because a voltage breakdown is more likely to occur along the unavoidable imperfections of the seams 32 between the layers 15, 17. Thus, the distance d1 should be about 15 mils, that is, 1.5xc3x9710 mils.
Capacitors so constructed use high voltages, commonly about 750 volts. When the electrodes of the capacitor are subjected to high voltages, for example, on the order of hundreds and, with safety margins, even thousands of volts, the seam 32 is subject to developing voltage breakdown paths between the electrodes 16, 20.
Thus, there is a need for an improved multilayer high voltage ceramic capacitor that has a substantially higher breakdown voltage rating.
The present invention provides a multi-layer capacitor that has a significantly higher voltage breakdown threshold than known capacitors of comparable size. The multi-layer capacitor of the present invention is especially useful in applications where higher voltages may be expected and thus, can be used in a wider range of more rigorous applications than known comparable capacitors. The multi-layer capacitor of the present invention has a construction that substantially strengthens potential voltage breakdown paths within the capacitor and thus, provides capacitors having operating voltages ranging from about 1,000 volts to 10,000 volts and higher.
According to the principles of the present invention and in accordance with one embodiment, the present invention provides a multilayer capacitor having a substantially monolithic body made of layers of dielectric material with first and second external contacts located on the body. A first electrode connected to the first contact is located on a first layer of dielectric material within the body, and a second electrode connected to the second contact is located on a second layer of dielectric material different from the first layer. The first and second electrodes are nonoverlapping with each other. A floating electrode not electrically connected either of the contacts is located on a third layer of dielectric material different from the first and second layers. The floating electrode overlaps the first and second electrodes and forms serially connected capacitors therewith. Locating the electrodes on different layers of dielectric material provides the multilayer capacitor with a higher voltage breakdown threshold than known capacitors of comparable size.
In one aspect of this invention, additional floating electrodes are located on different layers of dielectric material and provide additional serially connected capacitors to increase the voltage breakdown threshold of the multilayer capacitor.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein.

Capacitor with high voltage breakdown threshold


A liquid collector for use in a vapor liquid contacting vessel such as a distillation column having bolted or otherwise fastened components wherein liquid leakage is ameliorated by a collector tray divided into three overlapping levels including a center sump, deck plates and riser hats.

This invention relates generally to vapor liquid contacting vessel internals and, more particularly, to liquid collectors. The invention will find use in any such vessel and is particularly useful in connection with a distillation column such as a cryogenic distillation column.
Liquid collectors, also known as chimney trays, are trays set below packed beds in a vapor liquid contacting vessel, such as a distillation column, which are used to gather the liquid that falls out of the bottom of the packing. This is done for two reasons. The first is to gather the liquid together so that it can be evenly distributed to the next lower packed bed. All or a portion of it can be withdrawn, or additional liquid can be added at this point. The second reason is to mix the gathered liquid together to even out any concentration gradients imposed by maldistribution in the bed above. The existing method of installing seal welded liquid collectors in vessels is the most time consuming and therefore most expensive part of the installation. The main reason for this is the time involved in seal welding all of the panels together. This welding of two thin sheets of metal is also difficult to perform properly. When it is done incorrectly gaps open at the collector perimeter allowing liquid to leak.
A leak free liquid collector which does not require seal welding of the parts would be highly desirable.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an improved liquid collector for use in a rectification column. The collector should be easily assembled using any practical and convenient method of attaching the parts.
The above and other objects, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure, are attained by the present invention which is:
A collector for use in a vapor liquid contacting vessel comprising:
(A) a central sump having side walls defining a sump volume and having an axial length traversing the collector;
(B) a plurality of spaced deck plates oriented perpendicular to the sump, each deck plate attached to a central sump side wall by fastener means which are positioned over the sump volume; and
(C) a plurality of riser hats, each riser hat positioned between spaced deck plates and overlapping a deck plate, and each riser hat fastened to a deck plate by fastener means positioned over such deck plate.
As used herein the term xe2x80x9cdeck platexe2x80x9d means a long narrow metal plate that is trough shaped in cross section and is closed at the outside end and open at the inside end in order to collect falling liquid and direct its flow into the center sump. The deck plates do the majority of the liquid collection.
As used herein the term xe2x80x9criser hatxe2x80x9d means a long narrow metal plate positioned over the openings between deck plates to prevent falling liquid from leaking through the opening. Similar to the deck plate it is trough shaped, closed on the outside end and open on the inside end in order to direct its liquid into the center sump.
As used herein the term xe2x80x9cboltxe2x80x9d means a fastener means comprising a threaded pin or rod with a head at one end designed to be inserted through holes in assembled parts and secured by a mated nut that is tightened by applying torque. Other fastener means which may be used in the practice of this invention include rivets, screws, spot welds, tack welds, cotter pins, and adhesives.
As used herein the term xe2x80x9ccolumnxe2x80x9d means a distillation or fractionation column or zone, i.e. a contacting column or zone wherein liquid and vapor phases are countercurrently contacted to effect separation of a fluid mixture, as for example, by contacting the vapor and liquid phases on a series of vertically spaced trays or plates mounted within the column and/or on packing elements which may be structured packing and/or random packing elements. For a further discussion of distillation columns, see the Chemical Engineers"" Handbook fifth edition, edited by R. H. Perry and C. H.
Chilton, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, Section 13,
Vapor and liquid contacting separation processes depend on the difference in vapor pressures of the components. The high vapor pressure (or more volatile or low boiling) component will tend to concentrate in the vapor phase whereas the low vapor pressure (or less volatile or high boiling) component will tend to concentrate in the liquid phase. Partial condensation is the separation process whereby cooling of a vapor mixture can be used to concentrate the more volatile component(s) in the vapor phase and thereby the less volatile component(s) in the liquid phase. Rectification, or continuous distillation, is the separation process that combines successive partial vaporizations and condensations as obtained by a countercurrent treatment of the vapor and liquid phases. The countercurrent contacting of the vapor and liquid phases is adiabatic and can include integral or differential contact between the phases. Separation process arrangements that utilize the principles of rectification to separate mixtures are often interchangeably termed rectification columns, distillation columns, or fractionation columns. Cryogenic rectification is a rectification process carried out, at least in part, at temperatures at or below 150 degrees Kelvin (K.).

Bolted collector for vapor liquid contacting vessel


In an electroded metal halide high intensity discharge lamp, the arc is ignited and acoustic resonant oscillations are excited in the fill by a high frequency electrical power supply in order to thoroughly mix the ingredients comprising the fill. Either an amplitude modulated or a non-amplitude-modulated power supply can be used to drive the arc. The result is highly efficient straight arc operation of the lamp even in the horizontal burning position.

The arc discharge tube of a conventional high pressure discharge lamp contains a metal which is vaporized in the plasma arc during lamp operation. In particular, in a high pressure sodium lamp, for example, it is well-known that the self-absorption characteristics of sodium atoms tend to limit lamp efficacy. That is, cooler sodium atoms existing proximate the walls of the arc discharge tube absorb some of the visible sodium D-line radiation produced within the hot central plasma region of the arc tube. One solution to this problem is described in application Ser. No. 454,225 of P. D. Johnson filed Dec. 29, 1982, now abandoned. According to this prior patent application, a predetermined amount of iodine is added to the plasma. In this way, while substantially all the sodium iodide in the central region of the plasma arc is dissociated, none of the sodium iodide near the cooler arc tube wall is dissociated. Since sodium iodide cannot absorb radiation from sodium atoms, lamp efficacy is increased. Moreover, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,881, issued to J. T. Dakin on Aug. 12, 1986, teaches the addition of iodine to the discharge tube in excess of sodium iodide stoichiometry (i.e., all sodium and iodine combined) in order to eliminate free sodium near the arc tube walls when xenon is employed as a buffer gas instead of mercury vapor, which had been conventionally used, thus further improving efficacy.
Disadvantageously, however, efficacy in the aforementioned lamps is still limited in conventional long, thin arc tubes by the "de-mixing" of sodium and iodine. That is, in long, thin arc tubes, sodium remains preferentially near the arc tube walls, and iodine remains preferentially in the central region of the arc tube. A solution to the "demixing" problem would be to employ short, wide arc tubes which promote convective mixing of the sodium and iodine. However, electrode losses are a higher percentage of the total input power in a short, wide arc tube. Hence, there are competing factors in the optimization of electroded HID lamps.
These competing factors in the optimization of electroded HID lamps have led to the development of electrodeless HID lamps. An electrodeless HID lamp comprises an arc tube for containing a fill and an excitation coil coupled to a radio frequency power source; the excitation coil surrounds the arc tube for exciting a plasma arc discharge in the fill. One such lamp is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,615, issued to J. T. Dakin on Nov. 8, 1988 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent, which is hereby incorporated by reference, teaches the use of xenon as a buffer gas in an electrodeless sodium iodide HID lamp. Very high efficacies are achieved by using an arc tube with rounded edges and by surrounding a portion of the arc tube with quartz wool.
Another high efficiency, high intensity electrodeless discharge lamp is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,938 issued to P. D. Johnson, J. M. Anderson and J. T. Dakin on Mar. 7, 1989 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In this patent, which is hereby incorporated by reference, it is recognized that a particular combination of arc tube fill ingredients, including a sodium halide, a cerium halide and xenon, will achieve color rendition improvement without adversely affecting efficacy in these electrodeless HID lamps. Additionally, this patent presents a preferred structural configuration for further efficacy improvement.
Although such electrodeless metal halide HID lamps exhibit characteristics of high efficacy and good color, there are applications for which electroded lamp operation is advantageous. For example, at low power levels, i.e. below 200 watts, electroded HID lamps are generally more efficacious than electrodeless HID lamps. One reason is that small, low power, electrodeless HID lamps sustain high coil coupling losses. Moreover, the relative complexity and resulting high cost of the 13.56 MHz electronic ballasts generally needed to operate electrodeless HID lamps render such lamps impractical for many applications.
In another aspect of metal halide HID lamp operation, it is well-known that the discharge column of a lamp operated in the horizontal burning position is bowed, i.e., curved upwardly. Further, with regard to both horizontal and vertical operation, it is well-known that the discharge column may assume a contorted shape, which may be stable or unstable in the frequency range from approximately 20 kHz to approximately 1 MHz. Sufficiently severe instabilities can cause the discharge to extinguish. Moreover, an unstable arc may even destroy the arc tube. It has heretofore been generally accepted that these instabilities are related to the excitement of acoustic oscillations in the gas by the high frequency drive power. U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,746, issued to J. M. Davenport on Oct. 9, 1979 and assigned to the instant assignee, summarizes the theory and effects of destructive acoustic resonances. In particular, Davenport states that when commercially available metal halide HID lamps are operated in the range from 20 kHz to 50 kHz, they are subject to destructive effects of acoustics resonances. As a result, electronic ballast designs are generally limited to operating frequencies which do not excite acoustic resonant oscillations in the fill. In accordance with this theory, Davenport's invention involves miniature metal halide HID lamps operated in resonance-free regions.
In the 4th International Symposium on the Science and Technology of Light Sources, Apr. 7-10, 1986, p. 15, Alexander Dobrusskin describes advantages obtained by operating lamp ballasts at frequencies higher than 50 or 60 Hz, including increased efficacy and decreased arc bending. However, in accordance with the hereinabove described generally accepted theory of destructive acoustic resonances, he states that high pressure discharges are wasted or extinguish at frequencies which excite acoustic resonances in the plasma of the discharge. Further, he states that the difficulties in designing electronic ballasts involve selection of a suitable operating frequency and modulation of the supply voltage, i.e., elimination of supply voltage amplitude modulation.
Contrary to the above-described theory, acoustic resonant oscillations are excited in the fill of the HID lamp of the present invention by either an amplitude modulated or a non-amplitude-modulated power supply, to ensure thorough mixing of the ingredients comprising the fill, thereby resulting in high efficacy and straight arc operation even in the horizontal burning position.

Discharge lamp using acoustic resonant oscillations to ensure high efficiency


A toothpaste dispensing toothbrush includes a handle, a brush head section, and a plunger assembly passed through a proximal opening of the handle and rotatably interfitted within a threaded axial bore. A body of toothpaste is attached to the plunger assembly wherein a leading portion of the toothpaste body is linearly ingressed into the brush head section when the plunger assembly is rotated along a first arcuate direction defined about a centrally oriented longitudinal axis of the threaded axial bore. In this manner, a trailing portion of the toothpaste body is retracted from the outlet and returned upstream along the brush head section when the plunger assembly is rotated along a second arcuate direction defined about the centrally oriented longitudinal axis. The first arcuate direction is opposite to the first arcuate direction so that the plunger assembly can be rotated in clockwise and counter directions respectively.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to toothbrushes and, more particularly, to a toothbrush with an integral toothpaste dispenser for prohibiting toothpaste residue from drying at a bristle head of the toothbrush.
2. Prior Art
In this highly industrialized society, we often have a chance to stay away from home for business or types of traveling, thus requiring a toiletry set that typically contains at least a toothbrush, toothpaste, a towel, and soap. However, sometimes, one or two items in the toiletry set may be forgotten during packing preparations and, for example, the toothbrush may have been packed but the toothpaste has been carelessly forgotten. Hence, the teeth are brushed roughly or tumbled with water instead. As a result, the personal hygiene and the body health are affected unconsciously. Furthermore, foul breath may result in unintentional rude manners to others as one attempts to avoid conversations and the like.
The simply packed hygienic toothbrush in the hotel usually provides poor quality since the bristles on the toothbrush may sting the mouth or fall off during brushing. Even if the toothbrush provided by the hotel is expensively made with better quality, it is wasteful because usually the toothbrush in the hotel is discarded after being used once. If the toothbrush is going to be used for a second or third time, the toothpaste offered by the hotel is spent by this time. Besides, our contemporaries pay more attention to hygiene than before, and a lot of people are used to brushing teeth more than once a day such that a toothbrush and toothpaste is required after taking a lunch break. It is quite inconvenient, however, to carry a toothbrush and toothpaste dispenser every morning while we leaving out for work.
Accordingly, a need remains for a toothbrush with an integral toothpaste dispenser in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an assembly that is convenient and easy to use, is durable yet lightweight in design, is versatile in its applications, and provides users with a toothpaste dispensing toothbrush for prohibiting toothpaste residue from drying at a bristle head of the toothbrush.

Toothbrush with integral toothpaste dispenser and associated method


An passive automatic fluid coupler mechanism utilizes the relative motion between a pallet and a pallet support to operate a self-locking, quick disconnect coupling thereby connecting and disconnecting a fluid path between the pallet and the rotating table.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an automatic fluid coupler, and more particularly, to a passive coupler mechanism for automatically connecting and disconnecting a fluid coupling between a movable pallet and a pallet support in response only to relative motion between the pallet and pallet support.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many manufacturing environments, one or more parts to be processed are loaded onto a movable pallet or fixture on a pallet at a load station. It is common for the parts to be secured to the fixtures or the pallet by means of clamping mechanisms which utilize pneumatic or hydraulic actuators such as a piston and cylinder. Therefore, it is necessary that the pallet have access to a source of fluid power. Typically, the fluid source is remote from the pallet and is supplied to the pallet by hoses terminating with quick disconnect couplings which are automatically or manually connected to the pallet at the load station. After the parts are loaded on the pallet, pressurized hydraulic fluid is applied from the fluid source to operate clamps thereby locking the parts in position. The pressure is maintained by blocking valves, and the fluid supply is disconnected from the pallet. Thereafter, the pallet is moved to a machining station, and the clamps under the fluid pressure hold the parts in position during machining. When the machining process is completed, the pallet is moved back to the load station, the source of fluid is connected to the pallet; and clamps are depressurized, thereby permitting the finished parts to be unloaded.
The load and machining stations may both be located at the machine, and the pallet is simply shuttled therebetween. Alternatively, two pallets may be used, and pans are unloaded and loaded from one pallet located at the load station while the second pallet is located at the machining station. The pallets are then rotated between the machining and load stations. In other environments, the pallet may be loaded and unloaded at a part load station remote from the machine; and the pallet is then transported from the remote load station to a station at the machine.
In order to couple the fluid source to the pallet, a pair of fluid coupling members, typically male members, are located on a side surface of the pallet. A pair of mating female fluid coupling members are connected via hosing to the fluid pressure and return lines of a fluid source. After the pallet is located at the load station, the couplings may be manually connected and disconnected. If a powered automatic coupler is used, a powered slide containing a first pair of coupling members is located adjacent the side of the pallet containing the mating the pair of coupling members. A logic controller associated with the coupler executes a couple and unclamp cycle which automatically moves the slide with the first coupling members to an engagement position with respect to the mating coupling members mounted on the pallet. When in the engaged position, the fluid couplings are made, or connected, and the clamps may be manually or automatically released.
With some designs, the automatic coupler secures the couplings by physically holding the coupling members together. With other designs, the automatic coupler uses self-locking, quick disconnect couplings; and an actuator operates sliding collars on the pair of female couplings which is mounted on the powered slide. By controlling the operation of the actuator in conjunction with motion of the powered slide, the couplings are disconnected; and the powered slide is moved back to its original position away from the pallet.
With the clamps released, the operator may move the pallet to various positions to unload and load workpieces therefrom. After all the workpieces have been exchanged, the pallet is oriented to position the side with the pair of male coupling members adjacent the powered automatic coupler. The powered slide moves the pair of female coupling members to the engagement position thereby connecting the fluid path. The clamps are automatically or manually engaged, the couplings are released and powered slide is retracted from the pallet. The above described system has a disadvantage of requiring very accurate positioning of the automatic coupler relative to the pallet because the coupling members have limited compliance to compensate for a positioning misalignment therebetween. Using the coupling members as an aligning mechanism produces excessive wear on the coupling faces and may also result in the coupling unit binding as the coupling members attempt to force themselves into alignment. The above automatic system has a further disadvantage in that the coupling members mounted on the side of the pallet are exposed to chips and contamination from the machining environment.


An acid-sulfolane catalyzed process of preparing cyclic alkylated compounds such as indanes by reacting a monovinyl aromatic compound with an olefinic compound, such reaction further improved by the addition of a lanthanide oxide, or Group VI A elements and/or oxides or a mixture of such oxides.

This invention relates to a new and useful process using various metal oxides in the acid-sulfolane catalyzed reactions of monovinyl aromatic compounds with olefinic compounds to produce cyclic alkylated compounds.
The acid catalyzed reaction of monovinyl aromatic compounds and olefinic compounds to produce cyclic alkylated compounds is known in the art. It is also known in the art that a primary drawback of these reactions is the dimerization of the starting reactants. The monovinyl aromatic compounds dimerize to produce both acyclic and cyclic dimers. The production of cyclic dimers is undesirable, because unlike the acyclic dimers they do not re-convert to the starting monovinyl aromatic compound. This, therefore, results in low yields of the desired cyclic alkylated products. Likewise, the starting olefinic compound dimerizes into a mixture of oligomers which do not necessarily re-convert to the starting olefinic compounds. This too results in low yields of the desired cyclic alkylated product.
Because of the aforementioned problems, it is of interest to the chemical industry to discover methods and/or reactants that minimize these undesired side reactions, while maximizing the yield of the desired product. This invention represents a successful attempt in maximizing the yield of the desired cyclic alkylated product.

Acid-sulfolance catalyzed production of cyclic alkylated compounds


Releasable leads having an elongated fixed portion extend over a surface defined by a dielectric material of a component or by a semiconductor body. A semiconductor element having a conductive structure connected to a set of contacts is also disclosed. A method of making the conductive structure is disclosed.

The present invention relates to microelectronic packaging and more particularly relates to methods of making connectors and packaged microelectronic components. In various microelectronic devices, it is desirable to provide a connection between two components, which can accommodate relative movement between the components. For example, where a semiconductor chip is mounted to a circuit board, thermal expansion and contraction of the chip and circuit board can cause the contacts on the chip to move relative to the corresponding electrically conductive features of the circuit board. This can occur during service and can also occur during manufacturing operations as, for example, during soldering operations on the circuit board.
As illustrated in certain preferred embodiments of U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,964 (xe2x80x9cthe ""964 patentxe2x80x9d) movable interconnections between elements such as a semiconductor chip and another element can be provided by first connecting leads between the elements and then moving the elements away from one another so as to bend the leads. For example, a connection component may incorporate a dielectric body and leads extending along a bottom surface of the dielectric body. The leads may have first or fixed ends permanently attached to the dielectric element and connected to electrically conductive features such as terminals, traces or the like on the dielectric body. The leads may also have second ends releasably attached to the dielectric body. The dielectric body, with the leads thereon, may be juxtaposed with the chip and the second ends of the leads may be bonded to contacts on the chip. Following bonding, the dielectric body and chip are moved away from one another, thereby bending the leads. During or after movement, a curable material such as a liquid composition is introduced between the elements. This is cured to form a compliant dielectric layer such as an elastomer or gel surrounding the leads. The resulting packaged semiconductor chip has terminals on the dielectric body connection component which are electrically connected to the contacts on the chip but which can move relative to the chip so as to compensate for thermal effects. For example, the packaged chip may be mounted to a circuit board by solder-bonding the terminals to conductive features on the circuit board. Relative movement between the circuit board and the chip due to thermal effects is taken up in the moveable interconnection provided by the leads and the compliant layer.
Numerous variations of these processes and structures are disclosed in the ""964 patent. For example, the package-forming process can be conducted on a wafer scale, so that the numerous semiconductor chips in a unitary wafer are connected to connection components in one sequence of operations. The resulting packaged wafer is then severed so as to provide individual units, each including one or more of the chips and portions of the dielectric body associated therewith. Also, the leads may be formed on the chip or wafer rather than on the dielectric body. In further embodiments, also disclosed in the ""964 patent, a connector for use in making connections between two other microelectronic elements is fabricated by a generally similar process. For example, in one embodiment a dielectric body having terminals and leads as discussed above is connected to terminal structures on a temporary sheet. The temporary sheet and dielectric body are moved away from one another so as to bend the leads, and a liquid material is introduced around the leads and cured so as to form a compliant layer between the temporary sheet and the dielectric body. The temporary sheet is then removed, leaving the tip ends of the terminal structures projecting from a surface of the compliant layer. Such a component may be used, for example, by engaging it between two other components. For example, the terminal structures may be engaged with a semiconductor chip, whereas the terminals on the dielectric body may be engaged with a circuit panel or other microelectronic component. Thus, the broad invention taught in the ""964 patent offers numerous desirable ways of making electrical interconnections and connectors.
Additional variations and improvements of the processes taught in the ""964 patent are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,578,286; 5,830,782; and 5,688,716 and in copending, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/690,532, filed Jul. 31, 1996 and Ser. No. 09/271,688, filed Mar. 18, 1999, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
In one aspect of the present invention, a component for making microelectronic connections comprises a first element having a dielectric material defining a first surface and a plurality of leads having elongated trace portions extending over the first surface and secured to the dielectric element. Each lead has a curved releasable portion extending over the first surface. The releasable portion has a tip end remote from the elongated portion. The releasable portion is releasable from the first surface while the elongated portion remains secured to the semiconductor body. The releasable portion is desirably curved in a plane parallel to the plane of the first surface of the first dielectric element. Thus, leads are provided with an elongated trace portion for routing the lead on the first element, while also providing a releasable portion.
The component desirably includes a plurality of conductive terminal structures adapted for connection to an external substrate and the leads are electrically connected to the terminal structures. Each of the terminal structures may be secured to the first element and disposed at an end of the elongated portion remote from the tip end. The first element desirably comprises a sheet of dielectric material, with the conductive terminal structures extending through the sheet. The sheet of dielectric material is preferably flexible in certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, each lead has an electrically conductive bonding material at the tip end. In certain embodiments, the leads include gold and the bonding material comprises tin, germanium and silicone.
In certain preferred embodiments, the first element comprises a plurality of tiles. The elongated portions of the leads extend outwardly toward the periphery of the first element. The releasable portions of the leads may be disposed in a central area of the first element. The releasable portions of the leads may be disposed in a peripheral area of the first element.
In certain preferred embodiments, the component comprises a support structure having a degradable connecting layer.
In further aspects of the present invention, a semiconductor element comprises a semiconductor body having a surface, contacts and circuits within the body connected to the contacts. The element has a plurality of leads having terminal ends connected to the contacts, elongated trace portions extending over the surface of the semiconductor body and secured to the semiconductor body, and curved releasable portions tip ends remote from the contact ends. The releasable portion of each lead is releasable from the surface of the semiconductor body while the elongated portion remains secured to the semiconductor body. A semiconductor element is provided with elongated trace portions so as to route the lead over the surface of the semiconductor body.
Each lead may have an electrically conductive bonding material at the tip end. The leads may include gold and the bonding material may comprise tin, germanium or silicone. The semiconductor body may comprise a semiconductor chip. The semiconductor body may also comprise a semiconductor wafer.
In certain preferred embodiments, the releasable portion is curved in a plane parallel to the plane of the surface of the semiconductor body.
In certain preferred embodiments, the semiconductor body comprises a semiconductor wafer incorporating a plurality of chips and each chip has a top surface and contacts disposed in a central region of the chip top surface. The elongated portion comprise trace portions extending outwardly from the contacts. In other embodiments, the elongated portions comprise trace portions extending inwardly from contacts adjacent a peripheral region of the chip top surface.
In further aspects of the present invention, a method of making a semiconductor assembly comprises forming leads in place on a semiconductor body having a surface, contacts and circuits within the body connected to the contacts. The contacts include at least one set of contacts exposed at the surface so that the contacts belonging to the set are in proximity to one another. The leads are formed so as to overlie the surface. The step of forming includes depositing a first lead-forming metal over the surface so as to form a first conductor connected to a first contact of the at least one set of contacts. A dielectric material is deposited so as to overlie the first conductor and the first contact. A second lead-forming metal is deposited so as to form a second conductor overlying the first conductor and in contact with a second contact of said at least one set of contacts, whereby the dielectric layer insulates the first conductor from the second conductor. A conductive structure having a first conductor and a second conductor insulated from one another is formed in place on a semiconductor body.
The semiconductor body may have a passivation layer defining the surface. The method may include providing openings in the passivation layer aligned with the first contacts and the second contacts. The step of forming leads may include depositing a sacrificial layer before the step of depositing the first lead-forming metal. The sacrificial layer may comprise a passivation layer on the semiconductor body so that the passivation layer defines the surface on the semiconductor body. A first opening is desirably formed in the sacrificial layer before the step of depositing the first lead-forming metal so that the first opening is aligned with the first contact. The first lead-forming metal may be deposited so as to form an elongated lead and may include depositing metal in the first opening.
The dielectric material may be deposited over the lead-forming metal, including selectively patterning the dielectric material. The selective patterning may include removing portions of the dielectric material aligned with the second contact. The portions of the sacrificial layer aligned with the second contact are desirably removed to form a second opening before the step of depositing the second lead-forming metal. The second lead-forming metal is deposited in the opening. The second lead-forming metal may be deposited so as to form elongated leads.
In certain preferred embodiments, the step of removing portions of the sacrificial layer includes removing portions so as to leave anchors connecting the first conductor to the surface of the semiconductor body. The anchors desirably releasably connect the first conductor to the surface of the semiconductor body.
In certain preferred embodiments, the semiconductor body includes at least one electronic element connected to the set of contacts. The first lead-forming metal, the dielectric material and the second lead-forming metal are desirably deposited so as to form an elongated multi-conductor lead.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor element comprises a semiconductor body having a first internal electronic element connected to a set of contacts exposed at a surface of the semiconductor body so that the contacts belonging to said set are in proximity to one another. A conductive structure overlies the surface and is connected to the set of contacts. The conductive structure comprises a first conductor connected to a first contact of the set of contacts and a second conductor is connected to a second contact of the set of contacts.
In certain preferred embodiments, the semiconductor body comprises a semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer desirably incorporates a plurality of semiconductor chips and one of the chips has the set of contacts. At least one other of the chips may have a set of contacts connected to a second internal electronic element.
In certain preferred embodiments, the conductive structure comprises a second conductor overlying a first conductor and the first conductor and second conductor comprise elongated conductive elements. The conductive structure desirably comprises a first dielectric layer disposed between the first conductor and the second conductor and the dielectric layer comprises an elongated element of dielectric material, so that the conductive structure comprises a multi-conductor lead. The conductive structure may include a signal conductor and a ground plane conductor. The conductive structure may include a first signal conductor and a second signal conductor.
In certain preferred embodiments, the conductive structure has a second dielectric layer and a third conductor.
In certain preferred embodiments, the first conductor has a tip end remote from the first contact and an anchor is connected to the tip end and to the semiconductor element so that the anchor releasably connects the tip end to the semiconductor body. The semiconductor element may comprise a sacrificial layer having holes aligned with the first contact and the second contact. The sacrificial layer may comprise a passivation layer. The semiconductor body, in certain embodiments, has a passivation layer.

Microelectronic unit forming methods and materials


The present invention provides a method for staffing and scheduling agents for revenue and service channels in a skills-based routing environment. Initially, the invention receives forecasts of number of contacts, average handling times, agent shrinkage and sales ratios for a planning period from a forecasting system. Next the initial required staffing levels for different skill groups are determined and agents are scheduled. In the iterative step, a skill group is selected and unscheduled while keeping agents in other skill groups on their current schedules, staffing levels for the skill group selected is updated using a staffing model that applies contact routing rules and includes the number of agents scheduled for work in other skill groups, and reschedules agents in the skill group selected. The invention continues iterations for each skill group until one or more stopping criteria are satisfied.

With the advances in communication and internet technologies, direct marketing and sales channels became popular among customers. Among the sales channels companies currently using are contact centers, web sites, direct sales force, stores sales, etc. Some of these channels such as contact centers and web sites are different in nature than more traditional sales channels such as a sales force or in-store sales in that contact center and web based services usually accessible over extended periods of time.
Contact centers may also offer a plurality of services. For example, services offered may include general information, technical support, billing, and others.
At a contact center organization, contacts may be received through phone, chat, email, postal mail, etc. Contacts received via each channel are processed based on the needs of customers by contact center agents ("agent"). Each combination of revenue or service type offered and channel used is called a contact group ("contact group"). For example, billing-email, sales-phone, and support-chat may be some of the contact groups in a contact center organization.
A contact group used by customers to order products or services is referred to as a "revenue contact group", and a contact group used only for obtaining some type of service such as general information, technical help, etc. a "service contact group" in the remainder of this patent document.
Contact centers make forecasts of number of contacts offered ("NCO"), that is the number of contacts that customers are expected to attempt, and average service time its agents will need to serve a contact ("average handling time" or "AHT") for all contact groups they manage. These forecasts are used to develop agent schedules, staffing requirements, and performance projections.
Each contact group is assigned a performance target. For example, a service contact group (e.g. technical support via phone) may have a service level target ("SL") of answering x % of calls in y seconds. Another type of performance target for service contact groups specifies a maximum abandonment percentage ("Ab %") for customers who abandon or a maximum value acceptable for average speed of answer ("ASA") for contacts that are eventually served. These performance targets are together referred to as productivity-based targets ("productivity-based target"). Productivity-based performance targets are used for service contact groups.
Contact centers may be skills-based or non-skills based. In a non-skills based routing environment, each contact center agent is assigned to serve one contact group only. In a skills-based environment, an agent may have one or more skills to serve one or more contact groups. Contacts are routed to agents based on skills, availability and other routing preferences and rules. Agents may serve a plurality of contact groups depending on their skills and routing rules.
Agents with the same skills, proficiency, handling preferences and routing rules form a skill group ("skill group"). Thus, each agent is a member of a skill group with other agents sharing the same skills, proficiency, preferences, etc.
In a non-skills based environment, staffing models such as Erlang C or the Palm model (Palm, 1957) is used to determine the required staffing levels (also called "agent requirements") to deliver services at the performance target level. For this purpose, these models take the forecasted NCO, AHT and performance targets for each contact group and provide the required staffing levels to deliver services at the targeted performance level. Agents are then scheduled to meet the required staffing levels.
Agent schedules are generated by a variety of heuristics, and Mixed Integer Linear Programming methods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,134 issued on Jun. 8, 1999 to Castonguay et al. describes a method for determining the required staffing levels using Erlang C and a heuristic method using a set of rules for scheduling agents in a non-skills based environment.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,978 issued on Aug. 21, 2001 to Andre et al. describes a method that may be used to post-process an initial schedule set available from another source by applying a rule-based interchange procedure for scheduling agents in a non-skills based environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,355 issued on Mar. 28, 2000 to Crockett et al. describes a simulation method for developing agent schedules in a skills-based routing environment involving multiple agent groups, each with a plurality of skills, and a plurality of contact types requiring different agent skills. The method uses a heuristic scheduler and a simulator.

Method for agent scheduling for revenue and service channels in a skills-based routing environment


An image processing device includes: an estimated size setting section (ACS determination section 151) which sets a document size of a document sheet as an estimated size; a threshold deciding section (ACS determination section 151) which decides a first threshold according to the estimated size; and an ACS determination section (151) which determines that the document sheet is a color document sheet when a number of color pixels reaches the first threshold. When an actual size of the document sheet is smaller than the estimated size, the threshold deciding section decides a second threshold which is smaller than the first threshold, and the document sheet is determined to be a color document sheet when the number of color pixels is the second threshold or greater and is determined to be a black-and-white document sheet when the number of color pixels is smaller than the second threshold.

An image processing device, such as a copier, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), or a printer, which includes an image reading section which reads image data from a document sheet has a function of performing ACS determination on image data read from a document sheet.
In general, ACS determination is a process of counting the number of color pixels included in image data and determining that a document sheet is a color document sheet when the number of color pixels reaches a preset threshold.

Image processing device having a function of automatically determining whether a document sheet is a color document or black and white document