Described herein is a minimally invasive surgical instrument comprising an elongate tubular section including a tubular portion and an end effector mount having first and second mount portions and a wrist mechanism associated with the first and second mount portions for permitting adjustment of the angular orientation of the first mount portion relative to the second mount portion. The tubular portion is pivotably connected to a proximal end of the second mount portion. First and second end effectors are further provided and are pivotably connected to a distal end of the first mount portion. Also provided is an actuator mechanism connected to the first and second end effectors for effecting pivotable movement of the first and second end effectors.

Within minimally invasive surgery, there is a recognized need for simple devices such as graspers, dissectors, scissors, and other basic surgical instruments. These instruments are necessary in order to perform simple functions during surgical procedures. Specifically, devices such as graspers are necessary in order to properly clear the work site so that the tissue to be worked on may be isolated and surgery may be performed. Scissors may be needed in order to make an appropriate cut in tissue. Dissectors can be necessary to separate one portion of tissue from another. These instruments also enable other, larger instruments, such as staplers and ligating clip appliers, to have sufficient volumetric room to perform effectively during procedures such as appendectomies, cholecystectomies, herniorrhaphies, etc.
Traditionally, minimally invasive surgical instruments such as graspers, dissectors, scissors and the like have been mounted on generally straight shafts. These shafts may or may not have been able to rotate about their longitudinal axes. Nonetheless, there has been perceived a need for the end effector portion of the shaft to be able to angulate with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. This would enable the surgeon to attack tissue to be operated upon from an oblique angle. In fact, it may be desirable to have the shaft angulate up to 90.degree. with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. In many ways, this function can be analogized to the capability of the human hand to rotate around the "axis" of the arm, and also "angulate" about the wrist. Of course, while the hand is able to function with pure rotation, the degrees of freedom given by wrist action are much greater and in many ways enhance the ability of the hand to perform simple daily functions.
Thus, there is perceived a need for a minimally invasive surgical instrument having an end effector portion which is capable of angulating with respect to the longitudinal axis of the instrument. It would additionally be desirable to have an end effector portion which, in addition to being able to angulate with respect to the longitudinal axis of the instrument, includes means for permitting adjustment of the angular position of the end effectors about the central axis of the end effector portion.


A method for producing a chip on which biomolecules are immobilized in an aligned state, comprises (a) producing a substrate 1 on which a plurality of biomolecules 1 of a single type are immobilized in an aligned state, (b) adding reaction reagents for synthesizing biomolecules 2 to microreactors on a microreactor chip comprising the microreactors at positions overlapping with the sequence positions of the biomolecules 1 immobilized on the substrate 1 produced in step (a), (c) closely attaching the microreactor chip to the substrate 1 so that the reaction reagents for synthesizing the biomolecules 2 are allowed to come into contact with the biomolecules 1, so as to synthesize the biomolecules 2 in the microreactors, and (d) superposing the microreactor chip on a substrate 2 after completion of step (c) so as to bind the biomolecules 2 onto the substrate 2; and a chip produced thereby.

A DNA chip, a protein chip, and the like are currently used as useful tools for comprehensively analyzing biomolecules. In the case of these chips, DNAs or proteins are immobilized on a substrate in an array form, and they are then subjected to an appropriate reaction system that depends on purposes, so as to comprehensively identify molecules that are likely to exhibit functions of interest.
With regard to such DNA chip, at present, the method of Affymetrix, Inc., which comprises synthesizing DNA on a chip using an optical lithography technique and then matching location information and sequence information, and the method of Stanford University, which comprises attaching DNA whose sequence has been known to a chip, are widely used. In order to examine a large number of sequences at once, the Affymetrix method is advantageous. In order to examine a limited number of DNAs whose sequences have been known, the Stanford method is convenient. Thus, the two types of methods are used, depending on purposes.
On the other hand, with regard to production of a protein chip, Phylos, Inc. has attempted to hybridize the mRNA region of IVV (in vitro virus) with an Affymetrix-type DNA substrate, so as to assign numbers to proteins on a chip and to non-covalently immobilize them thereon (Non-Patent Document 1). However, a majority of protein chips are produced by the Stanford method of producing such protein chips by spotting a limited number of specific proteins. Hence, under the present circumstances, it is extremely difficult to produce protein chips from an enormous library comprising genes having unknown sequences. In this respect, the method of Phylos, Inc. is most advantageous. However, since hybridization is used in immobilization of proteins in the method of Phylos, Inc., this method is not considered as a stable immobilization method, when an enzyme assay is carried out under various buffer conditions. Thus, this method has not yet been practically used. In addition, since this method comprises a process of introducing a region to be hybridized as a tag, it is not necessarily said that it is efficient from the viewpoint of practical utility.
The present inventors have provided various techniques for identification and development of useful proteins using the IVV (in vitro virus) method (Patent Document 1). The IVV method has attracted attention as a method of selecting a peptide molecule of interest from large quantities of peptides having random sequences or a peptide library comprising such peptides, which is advantageous in terms of evolutionary engineering. The IVV method is capable of matching nucleic acid sequence information and the activity or function of the corresponding protein on a one-to-one basis. Thus, if this method could be used in a comprehensive analysis, proteins with desired activity and information regarding nucleic acid sequences encoding the same can be obtained simultaneously in a large volume. However, at the present stage, techniques of applying such method to comprehensive analyses have not yet been reported.    [Non-Patent Document 1] Weng et al., Proteomics. 2: 48-57, 2002    [Patent Document 1] International Publication WO2006/041194


There is provided a pellicle having a pellicle frame on which an adhesive layer for attaching the pellicle onto a photo mask is made from a room temperature curable two-part adhesive, so that a formation of the adhesive layer is carried out without heating. The room temperature curable two-part adhesive dispensed on the pellicle frame is not heated for curing.

In manufacturing semiconductor devices such as LSI and super-LSI or in manufacturing a liquid crystal display board or the like, a pattern is made by irradiating light to a semiconductor wafer or an original plate for liquid crystal, but if a dust gets to adhere to a photo mask or a reticle (hereinafter merely referred to as a "mask" for simplicity) during the irradiation operation, the dust absorbs light or refracts it, causing deformation of a transferred pattern, roughened edges or black stains on a base, and leads to a problem of damaged dimensions, poor quality, deformed appearance and the like.
Thus, these works are usually performed in a clean room, but it is still difficult to keep the mask clean all the time. Therefore, a pellicle is tentatively attached to a surface of the mask as a dust-fender before photo irradiation is carried out. Under such circumstances, foreign substances do not directly adhere to the surface of the mask but only onto the pellicle membrane, which is sufficiently removed from the mask surface, and thus by setting a photo focus on a lithography pattern on the mask, the foreign substances on the pellicle membrane fail to transfer their shadows on the mask and thus no longer become a problem to the image transfer performance.
In general, a pellicle is built up of a pellicle frame, which is an endless frame bar, and a transparent membrane or pellicle film, the latter being tensely pasted to one of two frame faces. The membrane material is selected from cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, fluorine-containing polymer and the like, which transmits light well, and the pellicle frame is made of aluminum, stainless, polyethylene or the like. A solvent capable of dissolving the pellicle film is applied to one of two frame faces of the pellicle frame and the pellicle film is laid onto it and the solvent is air-dried to complete the adhesion (Japanese Laid-open Patent Application S58-219023 or 1983-219023), or an adhesive such as acrylic resin, epoxy resin or the like is used to adhere the pellicle film onto the frame face (hereinafter this face is called "upper frame face") (U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,402 and Japanese Pre-Patent Publication for Public Review S63-27707 or 1988-27707). The other frame face (hereinafter called "lower frame face") of the pellicle frame is paved with a pressure-sensitive solid adhesive layer made of polybutene resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, acrylic resin, silicone resin or the like for attaching the pellicle frame to a mask, and over this pressure-sensitive solid adhesive layer is laid a separation layer (or releaser) for protecting the solid adhesive layer. (The applicants failed to find a document dealing with the pressure-sensitive solid adhesive layer from the view point of adhesiveness.)    [Publication-in-patent 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Application S58-219023    [Publication-in-patent 2] U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,402    [Publication-in-patent 3] Japanese Pre-Patent Publication for Public Review S63-27707

Pellicle and a method for making the same


The invention relates to a computer-assisted planning method for reconstructing changes in shape on joint bones, comprising the following steps:                a three-dimensional patient data set is acquired;        reconstruction-type model data is assigned to the patient data set;        resection auxiliary regions are determined by means of the model data; and        the resection auxiliary regions are visually output and/or visualized together with the patient data set.

Changes in the shape of joint bones are a possible cause of arthritic joint ailments. For example, bone anomalies can arise in the region of the hip joint which lead to bone collisions in the region of the joint when the leg is moved and—in particular over a longer period—cause attrition. In order to prepare reconstruction treatments, i.e. treatments which restore a suitable shape of the bone, planning is necessary which can be performed with computer assistance. The reshaping of the femoral head, and sometimes of the rim of the joint cavity, is planned in such a way that unnatural collisions between the femoral bone and the acetabulum (joint cavity) in the joint environment are prevented, wherein a natural shape of the femoral head is to be achieved. The basis of such planning has previously been to determine the contour of joint bones on a two-dimensional basis, for example in a particular sectional plane or imaging plane. In the "Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery", volume 84-B, No. 4, May 2002, pages 556 to 560, Noetzli et al. describe determining the contour of a femoral neck, for which a measuring and angle system is specified, to which reference shall also be made later in this document.

Joint reconstruction planning using model data


An integrated circuit capable of motion compensation and a method thereof. The integrated circuit includes a partition unit and a motion compensation unit. The partition unit receives a video block having a predetermined block dimension, and partitions the video block into sub-blocks with a sub-block dimension less than the predetermined block dimension when the video block is on a frame boundary of a video frame. The motion compensation unit, coupled to the partition unit, performs motion compensation on the sub-blocks.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to video coding, and in particular, to a motion compensation method and integrated circuit utilizing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Block-based video coding standards such as MPEG 1/2/4 and H.26x achieve data compression by reducing temporal redundancies between video frames and spatial redundancies within a video frame. Encoders conforming to the standards produce a bitstream decodable by other standard compliant decoders.
Each video frame comprises an array of pixels. A macroblock (MB) is a group of pixels, typically 16×16 pixels. The 16×16 block can be further partitioned into block sizes of 16×8, 8×16, 8×8, 8×4, 4×8, or 4×4 in some video coding standards. It is common to estimate movement of an image between frames on a macroblock basis, referred to as motion estimation, which typically comprises comparing a macroblock in the current frame to a number of macroblocks from other reference frames for similarity. The spatial displacement between the macroblock in the current video frame and the most similar macroblock in the reference frames is a motion vector (MV). Motion vectors may be estimated to within a fraction of a pixel, by interpolating pixels from the reference frames.
Motion compensation refers to the reverse process of reconstructing a video frame from a reference frame and the motion vector in a video decoder. RV9 RealVideo specification includes an MV clipping scheme for the motion compensation. FIGS. 1a and 1b show exemplary MV clipping schemes in RealVideo specification RV9, depicting the MV of a 4×4 chrominance component in a macroblock being clipped at right and bottom respectively. RV9 specification provides two MV clipping schemes, including an UMV clipping scheme and a (4×4) block MV clipping scheme. The UMV clipping scheme extends the border pixels to four directions limitlessly, while the (4×4) block MV clipping scheme extends limited extended pixels around the frame boundary of a video frame. In the (4×4) block MV clipping scheme, when the sub-block of a chrominance component is at the outside of the frame boundaries, RV9 specification adjusts the MV such that the sub-block is only less than 1 pixel outside of the right (FIG. 1a) and bottom (FIG. 1b) boundaries, resulting inaccurate reconstructed image.
Thus, a need exists for a motion compensation method for a motion decoder to determine an accurate motion vector for motion compensation near a frame boundary in real video applications.

Motion compensation method and integrated circuit utilizing the same


An integrated circuit includes a bus; a processing unit configured to execute a user program; and a debugging circuit connected to the bus, the debugging circuit transferring a command in a command register to the processing unit via the bus in response to a command transfer request from the processing unit, wherein, when the processing unit halts the execution of the user program and makes a request for the command transfer request to the debugging circuit, the debugging circuit makes a response for freeing the use right of the bus from the processing unit in a period between the command transfer request and the command transfer operation.

1. Field
The present invention generally relates to an integrated circuit and, more particularly, relates to a debugging circuit for checking the correctness of programs and an integrated circuit including the debugging circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
In semiconductor devices in which a central processing unit (CPU), such as a micro controller unit (MCU), is mounted, when programs to be executed by a CPU are to be developed, a debugging system is used. The debugging system supports debugging operations by displaying information regarding CPU operations that execute a program to be developed and by providing functions of performing specific operations on a program to be developed.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the configuration of a debugging system. A debugging system 10 includes a semiconductor device 11, such as an MCU, an external debugging device 12, and a host computer 13. The semiconductor device 11 is a device for which debugging is performed, and includes a CPU 21, a debugging circuit 22, a RAM 23, a ROM 24, a peripheral circuit 25, and an internal bus 26. The CPU 21 executes programs stored in the RAM 23 and the ROM 24. The CPU 21 appropriately accesses the RAM 23 as necessary when a program is executed, and uses the RAM 23 as a work area. The CPU 21 is connected to the debugging circuit 22, and supplies various kinds of execution history information to the debugging circuit 22. Furthermore, the debugging circuit 22 controls the operation of the CPU 21 based on a breakpoint and causes the CPU 21 to execute a debugging program in a debugging state after the break, thereby implementing a desired debugging function.
The external debugging device 12 is connected to the debugging circuit 22 via a debugging terminal 28, and functions as an interface between the debugging circuit 22 and the host computer 13. In the host computer 13, debugger software 15 is executed. A user performs debugging operations on programs to be executed by the CPU 21 of the semiconductor device 11 by operating the debugger software 15 using the host computer 13.
In recent years, some debugging circuits have been incorporated into mass-produced products in response to a request of wanting to perform debugging operations after shipment from factory. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-273167 discloses a hardware break circuit used for debugging, which is incorporated inside a processor so that it can be used as a cache memory after debugging is completed.
Furthermore, there has been another demand of wanting to perform tuning of parameters of programs by using the debugger software 15 while the CPU 21 is executing a program. In order to perform such tuning in parallel with program execution by the CPU 21, it is desirable that the RAM 23 inside the semiconductor device 11 can be directly accessed from the debugging circuit 22 controlled by the debugger software 15 without the intervention of the CPU 21. In a configuration in which the debugging circuit 22 can directly access the resources inside the semiconductor device 11 in the above-described manner, there is a possibility that bus right acquiring requests collide between the debugging circuit 22 and the CPU 21. Therefore, it is desired that a bus right acquiring request and approval thereof are controlled so that the bus can be efficiently used.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 8-263428 and 9-305536, an information processing apparatus in which a split transfer method is applied, and a bus arbitration method for use in the information processing apparatus are disclosed with respect to information equipment in which data input/output is performed via a bus.

Integrated circuit, debugging circuit, and debugging command control method


The present disclosure provides a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having an integrated circuit (IC) device; an interconnect structure disposed on the semiconductor substrate and coupled with the IC device; and a transformer disposed on the semiconductor substrate and integrated in the interconnect structure. The transformer includes a first conductive feature; a second conductive feature inductively coupled with the first conductive feature; a third conductive feature electrically connected to the first conductive feature; and a fourth conductive feature electrically connected to the second conductive feature. The third and fourth conductive features are designed and configured to be capacitively coupled to increase a coupling coefficient of the transformer.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. However, these advances have increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC processing and manufacturing are needed. In the course of integrated circuit evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased.
Various active or passive electronic components can be formed on a semiconductor IC. For example, a transformer may be formed as a passive electronic component. As device sizes continue to decrease for even higher frequency applications, traditional transformer structures may encounter problems, such as reduced mutual inductive coefficient K and reduced self-resonant frequency. Particularly, when a transformer is applied with an electrical voltage having a high frequency up to 30 GHz, the mutual inductive coefficient drops to 0.6 or less. The self-resonant frequency also drops down with decreased device size by advancing technology nodes.
Therefore, while existing transformer devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.

Structure and method for a high-K transformer with capacitive coupling

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A user equipment for a wireless communication is configured to interact the radio link monitoring and beam failure recovery for resolving radio link failure quickly. When the out-of-synchronization (OOS) condition is detected in PHY sublayer, a timer may start to wait to receive a beam recovery success indication. Once the beam recovery success indication is received in RRC sublayer, the RRC sublayer may determine to consecutively receive a number of in-synchronization (IS) indications. If the number of the consecutively received IS indication is larger than or equal to a threshold number by comparing, the radio link is identified as being recovered.

In long-term evolution (LTE), radio link failure (RLF) occurs when an user equipment (UE) in an RRC_connected state detects timer expiry due to downlink (DL) out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync or OOS) condition, random access procedure failure or radio link control (RLC) failure. In the case of timer expiry due to DL OOS condition, physical (PHY) sublayer sends a number of OOS indications and in-synchronization (in-sync or IS) indications to radio resource control (RRC) sublayer periodically, and RRC sublayer detects DL radio link problems when consecutive N1 of periodic OOS indications are received. Once receiving the consecutive N1 of the OOS indications from PHY sublayer, a timer T1 starts. The timer T1 will stop when receiving N2 of consecutive IS indications in RRC sublayer. If the timer T1 keep running until it expires, radio link failure will be confirmed and a timer T2 will start for initiating RRC connection re-establishment procedure if security is activated. If T2 expires due to RRC re-establishment failure, the UE would enter the RRC_idle state. If the timer T1 keep running until it expires and security is not activated, the UE would enter the RRC_idle state.
In new radio (NR), the UE is configured in communication with base stations via radio beams. The UE monitors associated reference signal for beam failure detection and the beam failure occurs when the beam failure condition is met based on the configured parameters, e.g., beamFailureInstanceMaxCount and beamFailureDetectionTimer. Beam failure recovery (BFR) can be performed to resolve the beam failure and restore the radio link so that the heavy RRC connection re-establishment can be avoided when the UE declares an RLF.
However, the RLF procedure and the BFR procedure are performed separately in different sublayers, resulting in radio link restoration time wasting and bad user experiences. Therefore, an interaction mechanism between the RLF procedure and BFR procedure is required for better system performance to reduce mismatch of the two separate procedures in different sublayers.

Interaction mechanism between radio link monitoring/radio link failure (RLM/RLF) and beam failure recovery procedure


The present invention is related to methods and apparatus that can enhance the reliability of a hard drive by providing a built-in error check in the drive. Conventional hard drives can erroneously seek to an incorrect location on a platter of the hard drive. The erroneous seek corrupts the data stream and is difficult to detect and correct. Embodiments of the present invention can detect a logical block address assigned to a portion of the platter of the hard drive and thereby detect when an erroneous seek has occurred. Upon detection of an error, one embodiment of the present invention can further take corrective action to read from the correct portion of the platter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to mass storage as used in computer systems. In particular, the present invention relates to verifying the integrity of data from a storage device in a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems frequently store voluminous quantities of data on mass storage devices. A hard drive or a disk drive is one form of mass storage. Popular interface formats that are used for hard drives include the various versions of the small computer system interface (SCSI) and the AT attachment (ATA) interface standards.
Those in the art have sought to use low cost drives, such as ATA drives, in relatively high reliability applications to save cost. However, an end user of an off-the-shelf hard drive often has no convenient or timely way of identifying whether the drive selected is reliable or unreliable.
A disk drive typically includes an internal firmware driven controller, which can be prone to firmware bugs. One example of a firmware bug that results in corrupt data is a firmware bug in code that is responsible for caching hard disk data to a memory buffer. In addition, a drive can occasionally seek to an incorrect location on a hard disk platter. For example, when a host computer or controller requests data from logical block address A, the drive can unexpectedly return data from logical block address B instead of logical block address A.
In a conventional drive, the erroneous seek occurs without warning or indication and the host system is unaware that the drive has erroneously provided data from a wrong location. Although error checking protocols exist, the error checking in a conventional drive is limited to the verification of data transmitted from the drive to a host on an interconnect system, e.g., error checking within an ATA interface. Where the data in the drive is already corrupted by, for example, seeking to the wrong physical location, conventional error checking schemes may fail to detect the error.
One conventional approach to improve the reliability of a drive embeds error checking information in non-standard size sector. For example, one conventional approach uses special hard drives that store error checking information in two or more bytes of the non-standard size sector. A standard sector contains 512 bytes. By contrast, the special hard drives store error checking information in the extra two or more bytes of the larger than standard size sectors. A disadvantage to the special drives is a loss in economies of scale, as the special drives differ from standard off-the-shelf drives and are produced in much smaller quantities.
Embodiments of the present invention overcome the disadvantages of current systems by providing techniques that allow ordinary disk drives to verify that a seek to a track has been properly commanded by verifying that the desired sector has been accessed. The techniques can apply to single disk drives or to multiple disk drive systems such as in a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID). One embodiment maintains a reference to the logical block address of a cluster in an extra sector of the cluster, which allows the embodiment to verify that the seek had been properly executed.
Other embodiments according to the present invention advantageously maintain an error detection code, such as a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) checksum, in an extra sector of the cluster that can be used to verify the integrity of the remainder of the data in the cluster. In yet another embodiment, both the reference to the logical block address and the error detection code are stored in the extra sector.
One embodiment of the present invention groups sectors in the disk drive into clusters of sectors. The cluster referenced herein is different than the cluster used in a file allocation table (FAT). The cluster of sectors according to an embodiment of the present invention includes multiple input/output data sectors and at least one xe2x80x9cextraxe2x80x9d sector. The extra sector maintains error checking information that can be used to verify the data in the data sectors, to verify that a read/write head has performed a seek to the correct track, and the like. The error checking information is recalculated upon extraction of the data from the cluster and compared with the previously stored calculation. In one example, a reference to a logical block address of a sector in the cluster is stored in the extra sector. In another example, the data verification portion of the error checking information conforms to a CRC-CCITT polynomial. The extra sectors occupy a portion of the storage space of the disk drive and the logical block addresses used by a host computer system are translated to new logical block addresses used by the disk drive. A number of sectors requested for transfer can also be translated to compensate for the sectors occupied by the extra sectors.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, to perform a write operation to the disk drive, the old data from the data group of the cluster disk drive is first read, then modified with the new data, and then written to the disk drive. The read-modify-write process allows a computation of the error checking information to be performed quickly and efficiently. A memory buffer can also be used to temporarily store the data to be written to the disk drive.
In another embodiment of the present invention, an indicator of a location of a cluster of sectors is stored in an extra sector of the disk drive. In one embodiment, the indicator corresponds to the logical block address (LBA) of the first data sector of the cluster of sectors. By maintaining a reference to the physical location of the accessed sector, the embodiment can detect whether the correct sector has been accessed. If an erroneous seek occurred, another seek can be commanded to the hard drive, by, for example, setting an interrupt to a firmware controller. In one embodiment, the other seek can include a command to move the read/write head to other tracks, a command to flush a memory cache, and the like.

Disk drive data protection using clusters containing error detection sectors


A method of manufacturing a grooved polishing pad wherein a large number of grooves, extending parallel to each other, are fabricated at specific intervals on at least one of a front surface and a back surface of a polishing pad substrate through a groove cutting process on the polishing pad substrate which is made from a synthetic resin material, the method comprising the steps of: cutting, by using a multi-edged tool having a plurality of pad groove machining cutting parts, arrayed at equal spacing p with the spacing p being an integer multiple no less than 2 of a desired spacing d of the grooves, a plurality of the grooves; and repeating the cutting of the plurality of grooves through shifting the multi-edged tool in a direction in which the pad groove machining cutting parts are arrayed, in order to fabricate the large number of grooves, extending parallel to each other, with the desired spacing d.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technologies relating to polishing pads used in, for example, the CMP method (chemical-mechanical polishing method), and, in particular, relates to a method for manufacturing grooved polishing pads wherein a multiple grooves are formed on the front surface and/or back surface thereof in order to increase the polishing precision.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, technologies have been known for polishing processes for high precision polishing of objects using polishing pads in the form of thin disks of synthetic resin materials. For example, in recent years there has been a great deal of interest in providing technologies for performing CMP of semiconductor wafers and devices with multilayer structures such as conductive layers on the surface of semiconductor layers. In particular, given increases in the density of the electronic components to be polished, there is the need for greater precision and greater efficiency polishing processes, and in CMP in particular. There have been reports of not only improvement in polishing devices, slurries, polishing pad materials, and so forth, to this end, but also reports of the effectiveness of forming grooves of the appropriate shapes on the front and or back surfaces of the polishing pads.
These types of polishing pads used in CMP are conventionally made from synthetic resin materials, and, typically, the grooves of appropriate shapes are molded at the same time as the fabrication of the polishing pads. However, given the increasingly rigorous requirements for polishing precision, the present inventors, aware of the limitations in the fabrication of grooves using molding, have been the first to propose the fabrication of grooves using a cutting (machining) process. Moreover, in this type of cutting of grooves, typically a large number of grooves adjacent one another in parallel are cut simultaneously through a multi-edged tool that is equipped with a plurality of blade edge parts arranged in parallel to one another in order to raise the efficiency of the machining cycle.
However, in order to achieve high precision polishing, as well as in order to achieve effective cutting with respect to a soft polishing pad, it is desirable to form a large number of grooves with a small pitch and a small width onto a surface of the polishing pad, as pointed out in the previous application by the present inventors. In particular, the groove widths and groove pitches have been miniaturized to their limits in order to respond to recent requirements for high levels of high precision polishing performance.
At this point, in machining of polishing pads using conventional multi-edged tools, the gaps between the individual blade edge parts provided in the multi-edged tools have become narrow due to the narrowing of the desired groove pitch. Because of this, the frictional heating that occurs repetitively in the blade edge parts due to the friction with the polishing pads is concentrated on the narrow parts positioned between the blade edge parts in the polishing pads, with the risk of causing problems such as thermal deformation of the polishing pads, which are made from synthetic resin.
Further, the narrower gaps between the individual blade edge parts will cause low air flows flowing through the gaps. This may cause deterioration in cooling performance by means of the air flows flowing through the gaps, thereby enhancing the risk of the heating problems. In order to address the heating problems, the cutting speed must be decreased, thereby lowering the machining rate.
Moreover, where the individual blade edge parts make small in the width length and the gap distance, manufacturing of the blade edge parts becomes difficult, and defects or dimensional errors of the blade edge parts may occur readily.
In addition, the narrower gaps between the individual blade edge parts may readily cause the sticking of the cutting parts against the gaps. This may further deteriorate air flows through the gaps between the individual blades, so that the resultant insufficient cooling may cause additional problems. The cutting parts stuck to gaps between adjacent blade edge parts may be welded due to the heat of the blade edge parts, thereby ragging the cutting surfaces of the grooves, leading readily to deterioration in cutting accuracy of the grooves.


A method for obtaining DNA from fish spermatogonia comprises (i) disrupting fish spermatogonium to obtain a milky-white colloid, (ii) adding an alkaline solution of pH 8 to pH 12, containing more than 1 mol of salts, such as monovalent salts, to the milky-white colloid, to separate DNA from protamines, and then (iii) adding ethanol solution to the resultant mixture, effecting a precipitation of DNA.

The present invention relates to obtaining deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from fish spermatogonium in a large scale and, more particularly, to a methodology that entails disrupting fish spermatogonia, followed by a protein separation step and a DNA precipitation step.
DNA is a biopolymer that encodes genetic information and that exists widely in various live organisms. DNA is composed of phosphorous acid, four (4) kinds of bases, deoxyribose, and has been widely used in biochemical experimental materials, cosmetics, medicines, food additives, and etc., due to its intrinsic physicochemical or biological properties.
Squid spermatogonium is a by-product obtained in a large amount from squid food processing industry. After it is captured and its intestines are eliminated, the squid is processed for producing dried squids or dried squid slices. The egg and spermatogonia of squid are processed for use of side dishes in restaurants. The spermatogonium of squid contains a larger amount of DNA than any other materials do and thus, can be used as a good DNA source. Traditionally, DNA has been obtained from spermatogonia of herring or salmon. Korean Patent No. 35973 discloses the use of an anionic surfactant and sodium chloride for producing DNA.
A process also has been disclosed for obtaining DNA in a large scale, either using phenol (U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,148) or using an anionic surfactant with a highly concentrated sodium chloride (Korean Patent No. 35973). However, these methods generate a large amount of pollutants during the process and thus, result in a high cost for treating the pollutants. Therefore, a new process for obtaining DNA from fish spermatogonium without generating of pollutants, preferably by-products produced from the process may be used for manure, has been desired in this field.
Therefore, the present inventors have studied for a long time to develop a novel and economic process for obtaining DNA from fish spermatogonium without the disadvantages of the prior methods, and have found that DNA can be obtained from fish spermatogonia effectively and economically, by using highly concentrated alkaline solution.
It therefore is an object of the present invention to provide a method for obtaining DNA from fish spermatogonia, avoiding the environmental and other problems of conventional techniques, by using highly concentrated alkaline solution without resort to a phenol which is harmful to humans, SDS (Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate), to an anionic surface active agent or an environmental pollutant, such as sodium chloride, which is harmful to soil. As a result, by-products generated during a DNA obtaining process of the present invention are suitable for use as plant nutrient.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid nitrogenous manure containing by-products generated from the method of the present invention.
These and other objects of the present invention can be achieved via a method for obtaining DNA from fish spermatogonium that comprises:
i) disrupting a fish spermatogonium to produce a milky-white colloid containing DNA;
ii) treating the milky-white colloid with alkaline solution of pH 8 to pH 12 which contains more than 1 M of salts, such as a monovalent salt, to separate DNA from nucleosome; and
iii) precipitating DNA by adding ethanol to the mixture obtained in the step (ii).
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by providing a method for obtaining DNA from fish spermatogonium, which comprises:
i) disrupting a fish spermatogonium in an alkaline solution of pH 8 to pH 12 which contains more than 1 M of salts, such as monovalent salts;
ii) adding an anhydrous compound to the disrupted spermatogonium mixture obtained in the step (i), to effect acylation reaction;
iii) precipitating DNA by adding ethanol to the acylated spermatogonium mixture.

Method for obtaining DNA from fish spermatogonium


A linear motion guide unit is disclosed in which a lower seal can be fastened easily, securely to a slider that travels relatively along a track rail. The slider is provided on a bottom surface thereof with a lug terminating in a hook that juts widthwise and extends lengthwise of the slider. The lower seal is made therein with a first hole allowing the lug to fit in there, and a second hole made connected to the first hole in longitudinal direction of the lower seal and made on at least any one lengthwise edge thereof with a tooth that will come into hooked engagement with the hook on the lug. The lug jutting out of the slider to fasten the lower seal is made at a flat bottom area near the track rail, which is over a space left open underneath the end cap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a linear motion guide unit having wide application in sliding parts incorporated in a variety of machines and apparatus including, for example, semiconductor manufacturing equipments, precision measurement/inspection instruments, precision-assembling machines, and so on. More particularly, it relates to a linear motion guide unit in which a slider is allowed to move relatively to an elongated track rail by virtue of rolling elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although the linear motion guide units have come to be used extensively in machinery in fields as diverse as semiconductor manufacturing equipments, measurement/inspection instruments and so on, the expansion of their uses accompanied by the current developments in advanced technologies requires more and more such linear motion guide units that can manage growing demands for less noise, low-frictional resistance, long-lasting service life, high precision, high-speed sliding motion, easy assemblage, versatility and the like. With the prior linear motion guide units, moreover, the slider is commonly provided with a lower seal to keep the foreign matter such as dirt and dust against entering inside a raceway or a raceway groove, resulting in ruin of the sliding performance of the slider relatively to the track rail, and also prevent the contaminants including debris, metal cuttings and so on, which might occur in the linear motion rolling guide unit in itself, from escape outside the linear motion guide units.
In Japanese Patent No. 3237981, which was granted for a senior invention of the same applicant as in the present application, there is disclosed a linear motion guide unit in which the slider is mounted with the lower seal. With the prior linear motion guide unit, the lower seal is designed to make attachment to and/or detachment from the slider much easier and envisaged to make sure of a room ample in height above the top of the base on which the track rail lies and underneath the slider that fits astride over the track rail. The slider is composed of a carriage, and end caps attached on forward and aft ends of the carriage, one to each end. The end cap has a lug underneath, which extends downward along the side closer to the track rail and terminates in hooks. The lower seal is made up of a metal backing plate and an elastic member, both of which are made therein with holes to fit the lug therein, which are located in such relation to one another that an edge of the hole in the elastic member is partially inside the hole made in the metal backing plate. To fasten the lower seal to the end cap, the lug on the end cap is first forced to fit into the lower seal while having the hole edge of the elastic member deformed elastically, and then the hook comes into biting engagement with the hole edge of the metal backing plate to accommodate the lower seal within a room reserved for any grinding tool in the carriage of the slider.
With the linear motion guide unit constructed as recited just above, nevertheless, the first and second holes located in offset relation to one another in the lower seal would need urging the lug of the end cap into the holes while having the elastic member of the lower seal deformed elastically to assemble the lower seal with the slider. Thus, this prior construction has to go through some chores of pressing the lower seal to the end cap against elasticity of the elastic member in the lower seal. Moreover, the hooks on the lug of the end cap, because of made in a way extending towards the front or the rear, should not be able to extend as long as desired to make sure of certain biting engagement of the hooks with the lower seal. Thus, the biting engagement of the hooks with the lower seal in the prior slider recited earlier is too small in size to make ensure the satisfying engagement of the hooks with the lower seal safely.
The present invention, therefore, has as its primary object to overcome the problem as described just above and more particular to provide an improved linear motion guide unit in which a secure fastening of a lower seal to an end cap of a slider can be indeed ensured with just a slight lengthwise shift of the lower seal relatively to the associated end cap after a lug of the end cap has fit in a recess made in the lower seal.
The present invention is concerned with a linear motion guide unit; comprising a track rail made on a lengthwise side thereof with a first raceway surface, a slider movable lengthwise along the track rail, the slider having a second raceway surface in opposition to the first raceway surface, a rolling element running through a load raceway defined between the confronting first and second raceway surfaces, and a lower seal installed underneath the slider to close the load raceway; wherein the slider is provided on a bottom surface thereof with a lug terminating in a hook that juts widthwise and extends lengthwise of the slider; wherein the lower seal is made therein with a first hole allowing the lug to fit therein, and a second hole connected to the first hole in longitudinal direction of the lower seal and made on at least any one lengthwise edge thereof with a tooth that will come into hooked engagement with the hook on the lug; and wherein the lug of the slider fits in the first hole in the lower seal and then is moved into the second hole relative to the lower seal to fasten the lower seal to the slider. With the linear motion guide unit of the present invention stated earlier, it is to be under stood that the rolling element may be either a ball or a roller, and the terminology xe2x80x9craceway surfacexe2x80x9d includes xe2x80x9craceway groovexe2x80x9d. Moreover, the words xe2x80x9cat least one lengthwise edgexe2x80x9d is the conception applied, not only to any one side, to both sides.
In one aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which the slider is comprised of a carriage made with the second raceway surface and a return passage allowing the rolling element to run through there, end caps fastened to lengthwise opposite ends of the carriage, one to each end, and made therein a turnaround to connect the second raceway surface to the return passage, getting the rolling element turning about there in running direction thereof and further made thereon with the lug, the end seal fastened to the end caps, and a retainer extending along by the carriage to keep the rolling element in place. It is to be understood that the terminology xe2x80x9cretainerxe2x80x9d used earlier has the conception including all the shape like rod, plate or band.
In another aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which both the first and second holes formed in the lower seal are made at lengthwise opposite ends of the lower seal so as to parallel the lugs of the end caps in a way oriented in the same direction along the longitudinal direction and also arranged at the same interval with one another. In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a linear motion guide unit in which the lug made on the slider to fasten the lower seal thereto is located at a flat bottom area near the track rail over a space reserved underneath the end cap.
In another aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which a lengthwise dimension of the lug on the slider is made almost the same size in length as each of the first and second holes in the lower seal.
In another aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit constructed is provided in which the lower seal includes a backing plate having a tooth extending lengthwise along at least one edge of the second hole, and an elastic sealing member adhering to the backing plate to close the load raceway. In another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a linear motion guide unit in which the backing plate of the lower seal is composed of a major flat portion where there are formed both a slot edged with the tooth to define the second hole and a window connected lengthwise with the slot to define the first hole, and a slanting portion integral with the major flat portion and extending lengthwise while making face-to-face engagement with a slantwise surface area that extends over the space left open just underneath the slider. In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a linear motion guide unit in which the tooth made on the backing plate of the lower seal has at a sidewise edge thereof a sealing tip that will come into engagement with a pedestal of the lug on the slider.
In another aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which the sealing member of the lower seal includes a first sealing part adhering to a lower side of the backing plate and extending over an entire length of the backing plate, a second sealing part lying lengthwise on an upper side of the backing plate in a fashion bulging out up to coming into contact with a slantwise surface area over the space where a lengthwise bottom surface of the carriage is partially cut away, and a third sealing part lying on the upper side of the backing plate along a longitudinal bottom surface of the end cap. In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a linear motion guide unit in which the first sealing part is made therein with an opening to define the second hole and a pocket constituted with the first hole that is connected lengthwise with the opening and closed with a thin bottom, and wherein the opening is larger in widthwise dimension than the slot edges with at least one tooth formed on the backing plate and roughly equal in width with the hook, while the pocket is substantially equal in width with the window in the backing plate.
In another aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which the thin bottom is made with a traverse ridge raised above the thin bottom towards the backing plate along a traverse edge of the thin bottom. After the lower seal has been fastened to the end cap, the thin bottom in the lower seal comes into engagement at the traverse ridge thereof with any adjacent one of the forward and aft ends of the hook of the lug to close the second hole in the first sealing part, helping improve the sealing performance of the lower seal.
In another aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which the first sealing part involves a first lip extending in the longitudinal direction of the lower seal so as to come into engagement with any associated side of the track rail, and a second lip made to extend lengthwise to make sliding engagement with the slantwise surface area beneath which the space is left open.
In another aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which a pedestal of the lug jutting out of the end cap of the slider is made with a recess extending lengthwise between the hook and a bottom surface of the end cap, so that the lower seal is fastened to the end cap after the tooth made on the backing plate of the lower seal has come into engagement with the recess. With the linear motion guide unit constructed as stated earlier, the lug made on the slider first fits in the pocket below the backing plate of the lower seal, and then the recess on the lug fits over the tooth on the lower seal to fasten the lower seal to the end cap.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a linear motion guide unit is provided in which the slider fits over the track rail for linear movement relative to the track rail.
According to the linear motion guide unit of the present invention constructed as recited earlier, while the end cap of the slider is made on the bottom surface thereof with the lug terminating in the hooks, the lower seal has both the first hole allowing the lug to fit therein and a second hole edged lengthwise with the teeth that may make engagement with the hooks. Thus, certain engagement of the hooks on the lug of the end cap with the teeth of the lower seal to make sure of fastening securely the lower seal to the slider can be easily accomplished by just the act of first introducing the hooks into the first hole in the lower seal and then slightly moving the hooks into the second hole where the hooks come in hooked engagement with the teeth of the lower seal.
With the linear motion guide unit constructed as stated earlier, the lower seal can be mounted easily, securely to the end cap with the sealing member in the lower seal being less subject to elastic deformation when fastened to the end cap. Moreover, the fastening construction of the present invention makes it possible to certainly, smoothly and securely install the lower seal in the slider without causing any damage that might take away any of the sealing effects even for the large linear motion guide units.


Methods for compressing a transform associated with a feature space are presented. For example, a method for compressing a transform associated with a feature space includes obtaining the transform including a plurality of transform parameters, assigning each of a plurality of quantization levels for the plurality of transform parameters to one of a plurality of quantization values, and assigning each of the plurality of transform parameters to one of the plurality of quantization values to which one of the plurality of quantization levels is assigned. One or more of obtaining the transform, assigning of each of the plurality of quantization levels, and assigning of each of the transform parameters are implemented as instruction code executed on a processor device. Further, a Viterbi algorithm may be employed for use in non-uniform level/value assignments.

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems have found widespread usage in a host of different and varied applications. Some example applications include, but are not limited to, telephony, data entry, transcription, and machine control. Some ASR systems are implemented in other systems (and generally referred to as embedded devices) such as appliances and vehicles.
It is known, however, that an ASR system performs more accurately when it is trained on data associated with, or representative of, the application in which it will operate. Various techniques have been proposed to improve the ASR training process, and thus the real-time (test) usage of the ASR system. One technique is generally referred to as feature space transformation where the feature space that is generated by extraction of cepstral features from the input speech signal is transformed in some manner in order to improve the overall operation of the ASR system. One such feature space transformation technique is known as fMPE (described in further detail below) which provides for discriminative training of the feature space for an ASR system using a minimum phone error (MPE) objective function. The result of the fMPE process is a transform parameter space that can be relatively large and, thus, may present a challenge for ASR systems implemented as embedded devices which may have limited processor and memory capacities.

International Business Machines Corporation


An improved system and method for pen-based handwritten and keystroke data input into a computer system is disclosed. The system and method receives pen-based data entry from multiple related input boxes within a handwriting area on a digitizer pad. Thread-based processing allows each input box or group of input boxes to be separately evaluated, providing for continuous character recognition. Character strokes entered into each input box or group of input boxes are saved and interpreted together to allow more complete recognition of naturally written characters. Improvements on keyboard layouts are also disclosed.

Given the increasing demand for mobile computing, the last decade has seen a surge in the number and types of portable or handheld computer devices. Frequently referred to as Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs, these computer devices are largely designed to function as electronic notepads, address books, daily planners and the like. As computer hardware technology has improved and miniaturized, PDAs have become increasing smaller, lighter and faster.
One tradeoff to the reduced size of PDAs is their inability to accommodate traditional keyboard-based, touch-typing data entry. Given the nature of the typically hand-held PDA, together with the physical constraints of a small viewing and data input area, keyboards are generally unacceptable as a means of data entry. As a result, many PDAs use a pen and digitizer pad combination for data input. This arrangement allows a user to hold the PDA in one hand while at the same time inputting data via the digitizer pad using the pen. PDAs have long been used for pen-based keystroke input of characters, for example, by using the pen to press icon representations of characters located on a "QWERTY" keyboard layout. More recently, PDAs have included pen-based handwritten character entry. Handwriting recognition engines have been provided that convert the user's handwriting into a machine readable format.
While both keystroke and handwritten character entry have become increasingly embraced as workable options for PDAs, there remain disadvantages with both types of PDA data entry. Character keyboards provided with PDAs have been based on a traditional QWERTY keyboard layout. But in light of the inability to use two hands to type on PDAs, there is little advantage to preserving this format over superior keyboard layouts. In addition, the traditional QWERTY keyboard layout does not efficiently provide for the inclusion of frequently used complementary characters such as numbers and certain symbols. Finally, PDAs using keyboard-based data entry fail to provide convenient and efficient movement between various keyboard options.
There are likewise disadvantages with existing PDA handwriting systems. Historically it has been very difficult to teach a computer system all of the nuances associated with interpreting a user's handwritten words. Lacking the technological resources to provide full context referencing, PDA handwriting recognition systems have relied instead almost solely on the writer's input strokes to evaluate each character separately. Natural human handwriting, however, is inherently complex, and typically involves multiple strokes to complete each character. Due to database and processor limitations, traditional PDA handwriting systems have great difficultly evaluating characters consisting of multiple strokes. Thus, rather than analyze the natural manner in which most writers produce characters, PDA handwriting manufacturers have promoted the use of short-hand or other abbreviated forms of handwriting wherein each character is represented by a single, typically simple stroke. While this approach has improved the overall accuracy of PDA handwriting systems, it has come as the expense of the user, who is now forced to learn a new language to effectively use the PDAs. In addition, PDAs historically suffer from processor delays or lag associated with handwritten data input. PDA handwriting systems are largely unable to keep pace with handwriting input. Finally, many PDA handwriting recognition systems rely heavily on the use of mode keys, which require additional strokes, to distinguish between upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method for pen-based handwritten and keystroke data input into a PDA that overcomes the noted disadvantages with existing systems.

System and method of pen-based data input into a computing device


An actuating mechanism includes an actuating shaft, an actuated member, and an engaging and disengaging structure. The actuating shaft is configured to be rotatable. The actuated member can be actuated by the actuating shaft to rotate. The engaging and disengaging structure includes an actuating structure provided on the actuating shaft and an actuated structure provided on the actuated member. When the actuating structure engages with the actuated structure, the actuating structure can drive the actuated structure to rotate, such that the actuating shaft can drive the actuated member to rotate. Further, a set of actuating and actuated structures of the actuating mechanism can rotate and stop according to set angle requirements, such that a valve body can be actuated to connect and disconnect different fluid passages as required.

A regulating valve is applied in a vehicle. The regulating valve controls a flow path of a cooling liquid by connecting different thermal control passages inside the vehicle, in order to regulate the temperature of various elements inside the vehicle. The regulating valve generally comprises a housing and a valve body disposed inside the housing. The housing is provided with housing flow ports. Each housing flow port is connected to a temperature regulating system inside the vehicle via a pipeline. The valve body is provided with an opening. The valve body can rotate under an actuator, such that different opening of the valve body is aligned with a housing flow port to fluidly connect different flow ports of the housing, and then to communicate with different temperature regulating passages in the temperature regulating system. A plurality of sealing elements are provided between the valve body and the housing flow ports to ensure that the communicating or non-communicating passages all can be airtight. When the valve body rotates, the sealing elements are pressed between the housing and the valve body and apply a pressing force to them. The frictional resistance caused by the sealing elements prevents the valve body from rotating, and the valve body can be rotated by overcoming the frictional resistance.
As more and more elements, which need to be regulated, is provided inside the vehicle, the number of flow ports on the housing is increasing. A regulating valve is needed to provide more fluid passages, thereby achieving different flow paths to form different thermal control passages.

Actuating mechanism for actuating valves


A method for regulating a clocked buck/boost converter, wherein a buck converter switching element is driven at a common clock frequency with a first pulse-width-modulated switching signal and a boost converter switching element is driven with a second pulse-width-modulated switching signal to convert an input voltage into a regulated output voltage, and a regulator signal from an output voltage regulator is used to generate the first and second pulse width modulated switching signals such that the buck converter is operated in a discontinuous mode with quasi-resonant switching, where the inductor current or the current through the buck converter switching element is detected and compared with a reference current, where the regulator signal is amplified to the extent that the reference current is reached, in terms of time, before a turn-off pulse of the first pulse-width-modulated switching signal, and where the second pulse-width-modulated switching signal is generated using the amplified regulator signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a switching converter and a method for regulating a clocked buck/boost converter, wherein a buck converter switching element is driven at a common clock frequency with a first pulse-width-modulated switching signal and a boost converter switching element is driven with a second pulse-width-modulated switching signal to convert an input voltage into a regulated output voltage, and wherein a regulator signal from an output voltage regulator is used to generate the pulse-width-modulated switching signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Buck/boost converters have long been known. These devices essentially involve switching converters that operate alternately or in a transitional area simultaneously in the manner of a boost converter and in the manner of a buck converter. In a corresponding circuit arrangement, a common choke as well as a common output filter are provided. As a rule, the buck converter switching element is connected between the input voltage and the first terminal of the choke. The reference potential of the input voltage is connected, on one hand, to the reference potential of the output voltage and, on the other hand, via a first diode likewise to the first terminal of the choke. This second terminal of the choke is additionally connected via a second diode to the terminal of the output voltage (see FIG. 1). In this case, the diodes can also be embodied as synchronous switches.
If the input voltage exceeds the output voltage, the switching converter operates as a buck converter. As soon as the input voltage drops below the output voltage, conversion switches to the boost converter mode (see FIG. 2).
As a rule, the two switching elements are driven by pulse-width-modulated switching signals. To form these switching signals, a regulator signal of an output voltage regulator is mostly overlaid onto a sawtooth or triangular signal. An exemplary buck/boost converter is disclosed in patent application DE 43 06 070 C1, where two pulse-width-modulated signals are generated with only one regulator signal. In this case, one sawtooth signal is displaced in relation to the second sawtooth signal by a value equal to the amplitude. This means that with an increasing regulator output signal, the duty cycle of the first pulse-width-modulated switching signal for driving the buck converter amounts to 100% before the second switching signal delivers first switching impulses to the boost converter.
To compensate for voltage drops in the components of the switching converter, methods are also known in which the two sawtooth signals are displaced by a value equal to the amplitude minus a correction value. Such overlaying of the sawtooth signals for realizing an overlapping operation of the boost and buck converter is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,527 A. It is known from WO 2009/033924 A2 that, during a transition from buck converter operation to boost converter operation, the boost converter switching element can be synchronized with an earlier clocking. In this case, a further pulse-width-modulated switching signal is generated that specifies an earlier clocking on transition.
A fault-free transition between the two operating modes is, as a rule, only possible if the switching elements of the buck/boost converter are connected in a continuous mode. The common choke in this case always remains magnetically charged and no resonance oscillations occur, which conventionally occur after the magnetization of the choke has taken place. The respective switching element is switched into a discontinuous mode after the choke has been de-magnetized. A dead time thus occurs. According to the prior art, the aim in a discontinuous mode is quasi-resonant switching (i.e., valley switching). In this case, the switching element is switched on when the voltage oscillating at a resonant frequency at the switched off switching element is at a minimum. In this way, turn-on losses are kept low.
With a generic buck/boost converter, unspecified resonance events within existing resonant circuits can lead to faults. Such faults involve increased losses, for example, because no valley switching can occur. In addition, faults occurring can lead to undesired noise emissions.

Method for regulating a buck/boost converter


The present invention relates to a molecule capable of binding to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) with high affinity. The present invention also relates to use of the molecule for detection and/or purification of ACTH.

The present invention relates to a molecule capable of binding to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) with high affinity. The present invention also relates to use of the molecule for detection and/or purification of ACTH.
Among various peptides contained in blood, some peptides show varied blood concentration in certain pathological conditions from normal conditions. Such peptides are attracting attention as disease markers in the field of clinical tests. For example, for clinical tests of Simmonds disease and Sheehan's syndrome resulting from reduction in secretion of pituitary hormones, kits for ACTH detection are used which utilize antigen-antibody reaction.
However, preparation of antibodies which are used for antigen-antibody reaction is extremely complicated and quality control of antibodies is also difficult.
Alternative to the methods utilizing antigen-antibody reaction, new peptide detection methods, i.e., detection methods utilizing aptamers which are nucleic acid molecules specifically binding to target peptides have been recently developed. For example, WO 2003/078623 discloses a method for producing an aptamer which is capable of binding to a target protein with high affinity and contains a modified nucleotide.

Molecule capable of binding to adrenocorticotropic hormone, and use thereof


The invention relates to a method of monitoring a concentration of a halogenated disinfectant in swimming pools or the like and a device for implementing the method. The method comprises: a liquid-injection step of injecting the liquid to be analyzed into the analysis chamber; a reagent-injection step of injecting a reagent into the analysis chamber; a measurement step of measuring the liquid/reagent mixture by colorimetry; a processing step of processing the measurement in relation to data; and a verification step of verifying the colorimetric measurement when the measurement corresponds to the reagent being bleached or to an absence of reaction color.

Outdoor swimming pools are being associated more and more frequently with protective covers and/or shelters. These elements make it possible to keep the pool clean by reducing dirt and grime from the outside, and they also contribute to making swimming pools safer, shelters having the added advantage of increasing the duration of the bathing season.
Conventionally, covers and the transparent surfaces of shelters are treated so as to filter out ultraviolet rays. The Applicant has found that variation in the amount of ultraviolet rays reaching the water of a swimming pool strongly influences the rate at which halogens such as chlorine and bromine disappear.
As a general rule, doses of chlorine or bromine are calculated depending on the characteristics of the swimming pool when said swimming pool is not covered. When the swimming pool is covered, the rate at which the chlorine and bromine disappear is considerably slowed down and consequently, due to lack of regulation in real time, the concentration increases rapidly and becomes too high. That concentration that is too high is detrimental because it makes the water aggressive to the skin and to the liner of the pool. Another drawback is that the lack of regulation leads to too much disinfectant being consumed.
A regulating device is available on the market for measuring, in real time, the concentration of halogenated disinfectant. However, that device uses a probe based on the redox effect and is not satisfactory. Measurement of redox potential is not reliable in view of many external factors interfering with such measurements. Moreover, the device deduces that chlorine or bromine are absent if there is no electrolysis, yet such absence of electrolysis may be due to a low microbe presence in the water being analyzed. In that event, the device causes a new dose of disinfectant to be added, even though the concentration of disinfectant may be greater than the required maximum concentration.
A device has also been proposed for measuring concentrations of chlorine, in real time, by using a reagent that reacts in the presence of chlorine, said reagent being associated with a colorimetric detector. However, that device is not reliable in the sense that the reagent is bleached when the concentration of chlorine exceeds a certain limit, thus distorting the measurement. In contrast, the device is unable to distinguish between an absence of reagent in the mixture and a concentration of chlorine that is low, and therefore it can cause chlorine to be added when the concentration of chlorine is sufficient or even greater than the required maximum concentration.

Measurement method for measuring the level of halogen agents in swimming-pool water


An electrical plug having an additional fuse connecting between the metal prongs in an outlet connected to a power source and the power cord connected to electrical equipment with the fuse having fuse strips along one face of an insulator block and up opposite faces of the insulator block on opposite ends of each of the fuse strips. The insulator block has a threaded hole therethrough aligned with a threaded hole in the bottom of a space or cavity in the plug with a screw threaded through both holes to maintain the insulator block in the space and in tight electrical contact with the tips of wires from the power cord and the edges of the prongs.

The present invention refers to a plug featured with a safety design so that when equipment connected by a power cord to the plug overloads, the fuse in the plug will automatically break the circuit in only that power cord.
In general, the conventional power outlet can be of single, or multiple style, in which a fuse is often equipped to protect the overall circuit. In such a case, it will be found that the outlet will shut down completely since the fuse will disconnect the outlet from the power source. However, it is to be understood that most outlets are not equipped for only a single plug.

No. 32, Lane 111, Chang Hsin Rd., Sec. 2, Ho Mei Jenn


Methods for marking cellulosic products, including cellulosic fibers such as lyocell and cellulosic films, including methods for marking such products with a detectable nucleic acid marker to identify and validate the origin or authenticity of the products or items manufactured using such products. Detectably-marked cellulosic products marked with nucleic acid markers for authentication, validation and tracking are also provided.

Manufacturers have an interest in protecting the integrity and purity of their products that are fabricated from quality components and may be subject to mixing or dilution with less expensive, lower quality materials. Such adulteration and even outright counterfeit substitution of process feed-stocks and production materials, received from suppliers to be processed by the manufacturers, often escapes detection until after the products are manufactured.
Counterfeiting and blending of high-end products in particular, with cheaper material, has become a major liability problem for many companies. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) reported that in 2008, counterfeited goods resulted in a loss of $650 billion in revenues and 2.5 million jobs. The ICC projected that the loss in revenues would exceed $1.7 trillion in 2015, which is equivalent to 2% of the world economy. In addition to revenue losses, a variety of counterfeit products have been implicated in serious health and safety issues.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Methods and apparatus to produce augmented reality representations across multiple devices are described. In one example, operation include generating a virtual object, generating a reality space including a first display, and presenting the virtual object in the reality space including the first display on a second display. Further operations include tracking a location of the virtual object in the reality space as the virtual object moves through the reality space, updating the presentation of the virtual object on the second display using the tracked location, and presenting the virtual object on the first display when the tracked location of the virtual object coincides with the location of the first display in the reality space.

Augmented Reality (AR) includes techniques for showing virtual objects superimposed over an image of a real place. In a simple example, the image is a view of a street that includes a restaurant and this reality is augmented by adding the name of the restaurant superimposed over the image of the restaurant. This has been expanded to include menus, reviews, friends that are inside, and other information. The image may be a video sequence of images. Smartphone applications have been proposed or developed which allow the user to point a camera phone at a location and see the location on the smartphone display. The application then obtains data about the location, such as restaurant names, etc. and then augments the reality shown in the smartphone display with the names, menus, reviews, etc.
AR techniques have also been used to mix real world video with three-dimensional graphics. In one example AR is used to superimpose virtual people or animals over a video feed of a real scene. In some cases, the real scene is observed by a camera and a person standing in the scene can then make gestures that are observed by the camera and used to provide interactivity between the real person and the virtual person or animal. This interaction between the real person and the virtual person cannot be seen directly by the real person, but through a display that shows the augmented reality view. This view includes the real scene, the real person, and the virtual person.
A further AR development has real objects in the scene being enhanced or converted to virtual objects that interact with other virtual objects or people. So for example, a real candy can turn into virtual explosives and a real picture of a television can virtually display television channels. These types of AR techniques provide entertainment and novelty. With improvement, AR techniques may be used for game play, training, and teaching.

Augmented reality representations across multiple devices


A method of delivering video content is disclosed that includes receiving a request at a video content gifting server from a first set-top box device. The request indicates a selection to purchase video content for a second subscriber associated with a second set-top box device. The method also includes sending notification information to the second set-top box device. The notification information indicates that the video content has been purchased for the second subscriber. Further, the method includes receiving viewing preferences data at the video content gifting server from the second set-top box device. The viewing preferences data indicates a particular time that the second subscriber is to receive the video content. Additionally, the method includes sending video content download data to a particular network entity. The video content download data includes instructions to send the video content to the second set-top box device at the particular time.

Television viewing is part of daily life for many people. Television systems typically limit the distribution of video content to personal home entertainment. As a result, television viewers are typically limited in their opportunities to share video content with friends and family. Hence, there is a need for an improved system and method of delivering video content.

System and method of delivering video content


A method for data transmission in a communication system is disclosed in the present invention. The method includes: after the radio access network and the core network finish the initialization, the core network initiates a public bearer establishment or the radio access network requests to establish the public bearer, and the radio access network and the core network establish the public bearer there between; and the radio access network and the core network transmit uplink data and/or downlink data of multiple machine type communication (MTC) equipment by using the public bearer. A system for data transmission in a communication system is also disclosed in the present invention.

The Machine to Machine (M2M) is defined in the narrow sense to be the machine to machine communication. The definition in the broad sense is the networked application and service which take the intelligent interaction of the machine terminal as the core. The M2M is based on the intelligent machine terminal, regards a plurality of communication modes as the access method and provides the information solution to the customer, to satisfy the information demand of the customer at the respects, such as monitoring, commanding and dispatching, data acquisition and measuring, etc.
The development of wireless technology is the important factor of the development of the M2M market. The wireless technology breaks through the space-time restriction and the region obstacle for the traditional communication mode, makes the enterprise and the public get rid of the cable fetter, lets the customer control the cost more effectively, reduces the mounting cost and is used simply and conveniently. In addition, the demand increased day by day is promoting the M2M to develop forward constantly. The contradiction with the increasing of the information processing capacity and the network bandwidth constantly is that the information acquisition means is far backward. While the M2M well satisfies this demand of people, through which people can monitor the external environment in real time, to realize large range and automatic information acquisition. Therefore, the M2M can be applied to the industry application, family application and personal application, etc. The industry application includes: traffic monitoring, alarm system, offshore rescuing, dispenser and paying when driving etc. The family application includes: automatic meter reading and temperature control, etc. Personal application includes: life detection and remote diagnoses etc.
The communication object of the M2M is machine to machine or people to machine. The data communication between one or more machines is defined as machine type communication (MTC), and in this case, man-machine interaction is seldom needed. The machine participating in the MTC is defined as the MTC equipment. The MTC equipment is the terminal of the MTC user, which can communicate with the MTC equipment and the MTC server through the public land mobile network (PLMN). The user equipment (UE) is the additional function block of the MTC equipment, and that function block is used for making the MTC equipment access the mobile communication system. The MTC server manages and monitors the MTC equipment. FIGS. 1 and 2 are the diagrams of the MTC UE accessing the core network (CN) through the universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), and the evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN) in the prior art respectively.
Since the MTC equipment is mostly specific application equipment, for example, the automatic meter reading and life detection use different equipments, etc. The MTC equipments of different applications have different characteristics, for example, the elevator equipment such as the lift has attributes such as low mobility, packet switch only (PS only), and etc. While the monitoring and alarm equipment, except for having low mobility and the PS only characteristics, further has the attributes, such as low data transmission and high usability. Therefore performing different system optimizations to the MTC equipments of different applications can efficiently perform management, controlling and paying, etc., to the MTC equipment.
The communication between the MTC equipment and the network also has the following obvious features:                there are many communicating equipments: data acquisition is usually used for the application in a certain service industry, and many machinery equipments are involved, such as the ammeter data statistics of each household in the whole urban;        the flow rate of the data is low: the machinery equipment usually transmits data only when needing to acquire the information, the flow rate of the data is low, and the data packet is small and does not need to be transmitted continuously;        the real time requirement is low: generally the time requirement of the data acquisition is not high, which can be finished during a relative long time period.
The present wireless communication system, such as the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) and the long term evolution (LTE) system, performs the data transmission through setting a dedicated bearer for each user. Since the MTC equipment communication system has the obvious features, such as, numerous equipments and little data bulk, setting dedicated bearer for each data transmission of each user will increase a large number of control plane signaling used for bearer setting and deleting, and the efficiency of the dedicated bearer used for the data transmission is also very low.

Method and system for data transmission in communication system


Embodiments are disclosed that relate to increasing heat transfer in a steam reformer. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a steam reformer including an outer wall and an inner wall which includes a step extending outward toward the outer wall and downward toward a bottom of the steam reformer at a position between a top of the steam reformer and the bottom of the steam reformer. The steam reformer further includes a reaction chamber disposed between the outer wall and the inner wall.

In a steam reformer, under high temperatures (e.g., 400-800° C.) and in the presence of a catalyst (e.g., nickel), steam may react with a feed gas (e.g., methane) to generate a reformate (e.g., hydrogen) which may be used as fuel in a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity, for example. Because the reforming reaction is endothermic, a heat source is needed to maintain a temperature range at which the reaction can occur.


A self-biased voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) that includes a VCO core including a plurality of switching transistors, a resonant tank circuit operatively coupled to the VCO core, a current source operatively coupled to the VCO core for supplying a bias current to the VCO core, and a biasing circuit operatively coupled to both the resonant tank circuit and to the current source. The biasing circuit and the switching transistors of the VCO core cooperatively function to bias the current source, whereby the VCO is self-biased.

The present invention relates to methods for biasing Voltage Controlled Oscillators, and in particular embodiments to biasing Voltage Controlled Oscillators such that the phase noise contributed by the biasing is reduced.
Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) are well-known. VCOs have been used in a wide variety of applications having different requirements. For example, VCOs are presently used in transceivers for wireless communications devices, such as cellular telephones, for generating a Local Oscillator (LO) signal that is mixed in a downconverter with an incoming RF signal to generate an Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal that is then further processed by downstream circuitry within the device. In general, it is desirable that the VCO generate an LO signal that has low phase noise. Phase noise is the noise-to-LO signal power ratio.
Presently available cellular systems utilize a variety of different air interfaces, including GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). In general, the LO phase noise requirement for CDMA cellular transceivers is much more stringent than the phase noise requirement for TDMA or GSM cellular transceivers. Low phase noise is also desirable for many other VCO applications, including, for example, optic receivers.
VCOs used in cellular transceivers and other applications require separate biasing circuitry, such as a current mirror and a bias current generator, in order to generate the bias current that is required to limit the current of the VCO core. However, such separate biasing circuitry introduces phase noise that is amplified by the current mirror ratio. The use of a low current mirror ratio (e.g., a 1:1 current mirror ratio) may improve phase noise performance, but at the expense of undesirably large power consumption by the biasing circuitry. Moreover, typical biasing circuitry includes some type of positive feedback, which also increases LO phase noise.
Presently available biasing schemes may provide adequate phase noise performance for certain applications, however many applications can benefit from improved. phase noise performance.
Based on the above, there presently exists a need in the art for a VCO that is biased in such a manner as to achieve superior phase noise performance in a power-efficient manner. The present invention addresses this and other needs in the art.
One aspect of the present invention encompasses a self-biased voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) that includes a VCO core including a plurality of switching transistors, a resonant tank circuit operatively coupled to the VCO core, a current source operatively coupled to the VCO core for supplying a bias current to the VCO core, and a biasing circuit operatively coupled to both the resonant tank circuit and to the current source. The biasing circuit and the switching transistors of the VCO core cooperatively function to bias the current source, whereby the VCO is self-biased.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the biasing circuit and the switching transistors of the VCO core, in combination, constitute a constant transconductance biasing circuit that controls the transconductance of the switching transistors of the VCO core.
In a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the current source is a PMOS transistor, the resonant tank circuit is an LC resonant tank circuit includes a pair of varactor diodes, and an inductor, arranged in parallel. A DC bias voltage is supplied to the central tap of the inductor. The switching transistors of the VCO core illustratively may include a first pair of cross-coupled PMOS transistors and a second pair of cross-coupled NMOS transistors. The LC resonant tank circuit illustratively may be arranged in parallel between the first and second pairs of cross-coupled CMOS transistors of the VCO core.
In the first exemplary embodiment, the biasing circuit includes an uppermost CMOS transistor having a first electrode coupled to the power supply voltage, a gate electrode coupled to the gate electrode of the current source, and a second electrode coupled to the gate electrodes of the uppermost CMOS transistor and the current source; an intermediate CMOS transistor having a first electrode coupled to the second electrode of the uppermost CMOS transistor, a gate electrode coupled to the second electrode of the current source, and a second electrode; a lowermost CMOS transistor having a first electrode coupled to the second electrode of the intermediate CMOS transistor, a second electrode coupled to ground, and a gate electrode coupled to a biasing point of the VCO core; and, a resistor connected between the second electrode of the lowermost CMOS transistor and ground.
In the first exemplary embodiment, the first pair of switching transistors of the VCO core includes a first PMOS transistor having a gate electrode, a first electrode coupled to a first node, and a second electrode coupled to a first terminal of the inductor, and a second PMOS transistor having a gate electrode coupled to the second electrode of the first PMOS transistor, a first electrode coupled to the first node, and a second electrode coupled to both a second terminal of the inductor and to the gate electrode of the first PMOS transistor. The second pair of switching transistors of the VCO core includes a first NMOS transistor having a gate electrode, a first electrode coupled to a second node, and a second electrode coupled to the first terminal of the inductor, and a second NMOS transistor having a gate electrode coupled to the second electrode of the first NMOS transistor, a first electrode coupled to the second node, and a second electrode coupled to both the second terminal of the inductor and to the gate electrode of the first NMOS transistor.
The first exemplary embodiment also includes a first inductor coupled between the second electrode of the current source and the first node, and a second inductor coupled between ground and the second node.
In a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the VCO further includes a first capacitor coupled between the second plate of the first varactor and the second electrode of the first NMOS transistor of the second pair of switching transistors of the VCO core; and, a second capacitor connected between the second plate of the second varactor and the second electrode of the second NMOS transistor of the second pair of switching transistors of the VCO core. The second exemplary embodiment further includes a first biasing resistor coupled between a first tank circuit node and a VCO frequency tuning voltage; and, a second biasing resistor coupled between a second tank circuit node and the VCO frequency tuning voltage. The first tank circuit node is between the first capacitor and the first varactor of the tank circuit, and the second tank circuit node is between the second capacitor and the second varactor of the tank circuit.


Systems and methods for programming and/or activating a subscriber identity module (SIM) enabled analog telephone adapter (ATA) device. A component activates and/or programs a SIM-enabled ATA module. Additionally, a component is provided that communicates with a network, such that the activation/programming component enables functionality of the SIM-ATA device by programming and/or activating the SIM-enabled module via the network. Separate components can effectuate activating and programming the SIM-ATA module.

Mobile telephone systems include a variety of services and functions beyond simple direct voice communication. Once scarce and expensive, mobile communication devices are now so common that most people own at least one. Mobile phones allow users to communicate from virtually anywhere.
Many cellular systems today comprise either a subscriber identity module (a "SIM" card) or a universal SIM (a "U/SIM" card) that is used for authenticating cellular subscription, services, billing, as well as other purposes. These technologies are denoted collectively as U/SIM. The U/SIM card is typically in a form factor that is removable by the user, which can make it possible to carry mobile subscription information and data through different types and generations of mobile communication devices (e.g., cellular phones).
The U/SIM card contains a microchip that houses a microprocessor and a memory. The card stores a mathematical algorithm that encrypts voice and data transmissions, which makes it nearly impossible to "listen in" on calls. The U/SIM also identifies the user to the mobile network as a legitimate caller. The interfaces between the mobile handset and the U/SIM card are fully standardized, and there are already specifications in place for third generation handsets and U/SIMs.
In addition to being employed with a mobile communication device, the U/SIM card can be utilized in connection with an analog telephone adapter (ATA), which can couple a telephone to a cellular network via Voice over IP (VoIP). SIM-enabled ATA devices (hereinafter referred to as SIM-ATA) generally require a SIM that is programmed with the customer subscription information. SIM-ATA devices can be employed in the subscriber's home and/or office and can be useful when cell coverage does not extend into a potential area of use or fails to provide adequate signal strength.

Remote programming/activation of SIM enabled ATA device