A vertical field effect transistor includes an N.sup.+semiconductor substrate and an N.sup.xe2x88x92epitaxial layer deposited thereon and having lower dopant concentration than the semiconductor substrate, and is configured to have a plurality of unit cell transistors formed in the N.sup.xe2x88x92epitaxial layer and arranged in the epitaxial layer in longitudinal and lateral directions. The unit cell transistor includes a trench formed to have a depth X.sub.a and a width W, and further a gate electrode 25 formed within the trench and interposing a gate insulating film that has a thickness T.sub.OX and formed between the gate electrode and the surface of the trench. Moreover, the unit cell transistor includes a P-type base region having a depth X.sub.b, a source region, a heavily doped P-type base region formed in a central portion of the cell transistor and having a depth X.sub.c, and an gate insulating film (in this case, gate oxide film) formed facing the surface of the trench, in which those components are formed so as to satisfy mathematical relationships represented by X.sub.b less than X.sub.a and X.sub.a≈X.sub.c. The unit cell transistor is further constructed such that when assuming spacing between the trench and the heavily doped P-type region is L.sub.td, the trench and the heavily doped P-type region are formed so as to satisfy a mathematical relationship represented by L.sub.tdxe2x89xa62.times.(X.sub.axe2x88x92X.sub.b).

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vertical field effect transistor provided with a trench-gate structure and having a current path along the sidewall of trench in a direction of thickness of substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a field effect transistor (hereinafter, referred to as MOS transistor) has been employed as one of power devices designed to withstand relatively high current densities and the application of relatively high voltages. Since the MOS transistor is the device of the type used to control its operation by means of voltage, it is advantageously able to operate without need for current input to the transistor to control its operation. Furthermore, the MOS transistor operates utilizing the lateral flow of carriers as a majority carrier that is the only one selected from an electron and a hole. On the other hand, a bipolar transistor operates utilizing the flow of the minority carriers in a vertical direction. Moreover, the bipolar transistor is forced to operate at lower speed when minority carriers accumulates within a base formed extremely thin in a vertical direction. The MOS transistor never suffers from the aforementioned undesirable accumulation of carriers. Accordingly, the MOS transistor is able to switch its state between ON and OFF at high speed. Furthermore, since the MOS transistor has a source and a drain spaced from each other by a distance longer compared with the length of base of bipolar transistor, the MOS transistor operates in a punch-through mode less potentially than the bipolar transistor. Therefore, the MOS transistor has frequently been employed as an inductive load such as a switching regulator.
The first a MOS transistor which became commercially availablewas of the type that allows operation current (drain current) to flow in a direction (lateral direction) parallel to the principal surface of a semiconductor substrate. In contrast, recently, a vertical MOS transistor has been widely used which allows drain current to flow in a direction (vertical direction) vertical to the principal surface of a semiconductor substrate. The vertical MOS transistor can advantageously increase its current capacity because the transistor can be designed to arrange a number of unit cells as a unit element in parallel with one another, constituting a MOS transistor.
For a power device designed to withstand high current densities and the application of high voltages, the on-state series resistance (hereinafter, referred to as on-resistance) and the off-state blocking voltage are important. Since the on-resistance largely affects the switching operation of the power device, the on-resistance is desirably made as small as possible. Furthermore, the off-state blocking voltage is desirably made as large as possible so as to enable the power device to withstand the application of high voltages. Therefore, for making the best of the aforementioned advantages, the vertical MOS transistor needs to reduce its on-resistance and to improve off-state blocking voltage.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a conventional vertical MOS transistor. As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical MOS transistor includes: an N.sup.+(heavily N-type doped) substrate 101; an N.sup.xe2x88x92(lightly N-type doped) layer 102, a P-type base layer 103; an N.sup.+source region 104; a trench 105; a gate insulating film 106; a gate electrode 107; an interlayer insulating film 108; a source electrode 109; a drain electrode 110; and a channel region 111. Furthermore, in the figure, L denotes spacing between trenches.
The vertical MOS transistor having the aforementioned configuration operates as follows. A specific drain voltage V.sub.DS is applied between the source electrode 109 and the drain electrode 110, and a specific gate voltage V.sub.GS is applied between the source electrode 109 and the gate electrode 107. Then, the channel region 111 of the P-type base layer 103 in the vicinity of the gate insulating film 106 is inverted to form an N-type region which is a channel that allows electric charges to flow therethrough. The inverted channel provides electrical connection between the source and drain of the transistor. At this point, the resistance between the source and drain is referred to as an on-resistance of the vertical MOS transistor.
Additionally, when the channel region between source and drain is being electrically conductive (in an on-state), the gate voltage V.sub.GS applied between the source electrode 109 and the gate electrode 107 is set to 0 volts or to a negative voltage, i.e., a reverse bias. This turns off the gate and turns the inverted channel region 111 back to a P-type region, turning an electrical path between source and drain to a nonconductive state (i.e., off-state). Thus, controlling the gate voltage V.sub.GS allows control of current flow between source and drain, and further allows the vertical MOS transistor to be employed as a power switch element.
The off-state blocking voltage BV.sub.DS of the vertical MOS transistor is defined as a drain voltage V.sub.GS that can be applied to the transistor whose gate is in an off-state. The voltage BV.sub.DS is generally determined by the dopant concentration and the thickness of the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102. However, in case of a vertical MOS transistor, the voltage BV.sub.DS further depends on how the surface region of the transistor is constructed. Particularly, in case of a vertical field effect transistor with a trench-gate structure, since the trench 105 penetrates the P-type base layer 103 and then protrudes into the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102, the blocking voltage BV.sub.DS of the transistor is determined by the distal end of the trench 105 protruding into the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102.
FIG. 2 is an electrical field contour plot showing simulated equipotential line distributions representing individual electric potentials of regions that range from the central portion of trench to the central portion of cell and are located around the distal end of trench in the vertical MOS transistor shown in FIG. 1. In this case, the conditions employed to determine the simulated equipotential line distributions are as follows. That is, dopant concentration of the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102 is 1 ohm-cm and total vertical thickness of the P-type base layer 103 and the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102 is 8.5 micrometers.
As can be seen from FIG. 2, when a drain voltage V.sub.DS is applied to the vertical MOS transistor, a depletion zone extends from the P-type base layer 103 to the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102. However, an equipotential line representing a higher potential below the boundary between the layers 103, 102 and located in the vicinity (denoted by xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d in FIG. 2) of the corner of the distal end of the trench 105 protruding into the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102 is pulled a little in a direction approaching the adjacent and lower potential line, increasing the strength of an electric field in the vicinity of the corner. Thus, the strength of an electric field in the vicinity of the corner determines the blocking voltage of transistor, voltage is lower than that of a transistor having no protrusion of the trench 105 into the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102.
To prevent lowering of the blocking voltage of a vertical MOS transistor having a trench-gate structure, for example, a vertical MOS transistor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,266 is proposed. FIG. 3 is a perspective cross-sectiona lview of the vertical MOS transistor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,266. The vertical MOS transistor shown in FIG. 3 has a heavily doped P-type region provided in the central portion of a P-type base layer 103 and having a depth larger than that of a trench 105. The remaining configuration of the vertical MOS transistor shown in FIG. 3 is the same as that of the conventional vertical MOS transistor.
Additionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 8(1996)-167711 discloses a vertical MOS transistor having a P.sup.xe2x88x92layer provided between a P-type base layer and an N.sup.xe2x88x92layer, in order to prevent lowering of the blocking voltage of the transistor while maintaining a low value of the on-resistance thereof. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vertical MOS transistor disclosed in the aforementioned publication. The vertical MOS transistor disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 8(1996)-167711 includes a P.sup.xe2x88x92layer 121 formed so that the P.sup.xe2x88x92layer 121 is located between a P-type base layer 103 and an N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102 while contacting the P-type base layer 103, and disposed facing an insulating film 106 on the trench sidewall via the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102. The remaining configuration of the vertical MOS transistor is the same as that of the conventional vertical MOS transistor shown in FIG. 1.
In the above-described vertical MOS transistor having the configuration shown in FIG. 3, when a drain voltage V.sub.DS is applied to the transistor, a depletion zone extends from the P-type base layer 103 to the N.sup.xe2x88x92layer 102, as is already explained in the description of the conventional vertical MOS transistor shown in FIG. 1. In this case, since the heavily doped P-type region in the central portion of a P-type base layer 103 is formed deeper than the trench 105, the degree to which an equipotential line representing a higher potential below the boundary between the layers 103, 102 and located in the vicinity of the corner of the distal end of the trench 105 is pulled in a direction approaching the adjacent and lower potential line is reduced, reducing the degree to which the blocking voltage of the transistor determined by the strength of an electric field in the vicinity of the corner of the distal end of the trench 105 is reduced. However, an equipotential line representing a higher potential located in the vicinity of the corner of the distal end of the heavily doped P-type region is pulled in a direction approaching the adjacent and lower potential line, increasing the strength of an electric field in the vicinity of the corner of the distal end of the heavily doped P-type region. Thus, the strength of an electric field in the vicinity of the corner determines the blocking voltage of transistor. Furthermore, when forming the heavily doped P-type region having a large depth, spread of a current path in the lateral direction is limited, undesirably increasing the on-resistance of the transistor.
Additionally, in case of the vertical MOS transistor, having the P.sup.xe2x88x92layer 121, of FIG. 4, when applying a drain voltage V.sub.DS to the transistor, a depletion zone also extends to the P.sup.xe2x88x92layer 121 and therefore, a decrease in the degree to which an equipotential line representing a higher potential and located in the vicinity of the corner of the distal end of the trench 105 is pulled in a direction approaching the adjacent and lower potential line is suppressed to a small extent. Accordingly, decrease in the strength of an electric field in the vicinity of the corner of the distal end of the trench 105 is suppressed to a small extent, limiting the increase in the blocking voltage BV.sub.DS of the transistor. Moreover, since avalanche breakdown occurring in an off state of the transistor easily generates carriers in the vicinity of the gate oxide film, the gate oxide film is susceptible to any damage due the carriers.
In consideration of aforementioned problems found in the conventional technique, the present invention has been conceived and therefore, is directed to a vertical MOS transistor having ability to increase its blocking voltage BV.sub.DS and constructed in a simple manner while preventing the on-resistance of the transistor from increasing and damage due to carriers generated upon avalanche breakdown of the transistor from being imposed on a gate oxide film.
A vertical MOS transistor according to the present invention includes a drain region consisting of a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type; a base region of a second conductivity type formed on the drain region and located adjacent the drain region; a source region of a first conductivity type located within the base region and formed in a surface portion of the base region; a trench penetrating the base region and the source region to reach a part of the drain region, and extending in longitudinal and lateral directions in order to divide the base region and the source region in longitudinal and lateral directions into individual base regions and individual source regions; a gate insulating film formed on a surface of the trench; a gate electrode formed within the trench while interposing the gate insulating film between the gate electrode and the surface of the trench; a base contact region located at a approximately central portion of a region surrounded by the trench and apart from the source region, and formed deeper the base region, and further, having a higher dopant concentration than the base region. The transistor is further constructed such that when assuming a distance between a bottom and a top of the trench in a depth direction of the trench, a distance between a bottom and a top of the base region in a depth direction of the base region, and a distance between a bottom and a top of the base contact region in a depth direction of the base contact region are X.sub.a, X.sub.b and X.sub.c, respectively, the trench, the base region and the base contact region are formed so as to satisfy following mathematical relationships.
X.sub.b less than X.sub.a
X.sub.b less than X.sub.c less than (2.times.X.sub.axe2x88x92X.sub.b)
The vertical MOS transistor of the present invention is further constructed such that when assuming that the depth of the base contact region X.sub.c is equal to that of the trench X.sub.a, and that spacing between the trench and the base contact region is L.sub.td, the trench and the base contact region is L.sub.td are formed so as to satisfy a following mathematical relationship.
L.sub.tdxe2x89xa62.times.(X.sub.axe2x88x92X.sub.b)


The present invention provides a hydraulic sensor for quench detection and location in a superconductor, and particularly a superconductor used to form an inductor or a magnet. The sensor consists of an insulating tube (1) adjacent to and preferably co-wound with the super conductor (2) and filled with a supercooled working fluid (3). When joule heating occurs in the superconducting conductor as a result of a portion of it becoming normal, the heat is transferred directly to the corresponding portion of the adjacent tube (1). This heat causes the vapor pressure of the working fluid (3) at that point in the tube to change. This change in pressure propagates in both directions at the speed of sound in the working fluid. By detecting with sensors (6,7) when a change in pressure arrives at the ends (5,6) of the tube (1) and calculating the difference between the arrival times, not only can a quench be detected, but the exact location of the quench initiation region can be determined.

Superconducting magnets and inductors are capable of generating high magnetic fields and thereby storing large amounts of energy. Superconducting inductors are very efficient for these purposes because no energy is lost to resistive or joule heating in the superconducting current path. Every superconducting material has a critical temperature T.sub.c for a given ambient magnetic field above which the material is no longer superconducting. If a region of a superconducting material loses its superconducting property (i.e. becomes normal or quenches), joule heating occurs in the normal or nonsuperconducting region. If the region is small enough, the heat will be dissipated and the region will return to its superconducting state.
If the region is large, such that sufficient joule heating occurs and overcomes the system's ability to dissipate the heat, the normal zone will propagate and grow larger, causing a catastrophic condition which can result in severe damage to the inductor or magnet as even more energy is dissipated in portions of the inductor or magnet. This runaway condition can result in the uncontrolled dumping of the entire magnetic energy of the inductor or magnet causing damage to itself and possibly to the load. It could also result in a service outage of the inductor or magnet which could be intolerable if the inductor or magnet where part of a device having a critical military application. Early detection of a quench, however, permits the energy stored in the magnet or inductor to be dissipated in a controlled fashion. The energy can be dissipated in a variety of ways such as through dump resistors or by making the entire magnet or inductor go normal in a controlled fashion. Catastrophic damage due to overheating is therefore avoided.
Generally, a superconducting inductor is any current path composed of a superconducting material since any current path has a self-inductance. Superconducting inductors, and especially superconducting energy storage inductors, are generally configured as coils called solenoids or toroids. Superconducting magnets, which are a special case of superconducting inductors, often have more complex shapes, so as to appropriately shape the magnetic field they produce.
Several techniques exist for detecting and locating normal regions in a superconducting magnet or inductor. The principle technique involves the use of a series of voltage taps. Voltages are measured by voltmeters at various points along the coil of the superconducting material, with the objective of correlating changes in voltage caused by the change in resistivity due to the creation of a normal region. A severe drawback with using voltage taps is that in addition to the resistive voltage associated with a normal zone, a superconducting inductor produces inductive voltages resulting from the charging and discharging of the coil. These "common mode" inductive voltages are variable and change with any changes in the magnetic field. Also, since normal zones must be detected when they are small, the resistive voltage resulting from a quench is very small, typically 10-20 volts; whereas the common mode inductive voltage between two voltage taps is typically much larger and can be tens of kilovolts. If voltage taps are used, some technique must be utilized to eliminate the inductive voltage from the voltage measured at the taps. Typically, this involves subtracting out the inductive voltage by comparing the signal to a reference voltage. In any event, the technique involves subtracting two voltage measurements, one entirely inductive and the other mostly inductive but also having a small resistive component, with the hope of recovering the small resistive component.
As mentioned above, the inductive voltage across the inductor's terminals may be tens of kilovolts during normal operation. This means the sensor must be floated at these high voltages. This places a severe constraint upon any electronic components attached to the voltage taps to measure and detect a quench since these components must be designed to operate at these high inductive voltages. Also, since the components must be placed close to the voltage taps, they must be capable of operating properly at cryogenic temperatures and in high magnetic fields.
Often, numerous voltage taps are used to locate a normal zone. Typically, the taps are placed between turns of the inductor coil. Resolution, however, is limited to locating the normal zone between two voltage taps. Thus, the relative position of the normal zone between the two voltage taps cannot be determined. It would be desirable to be able to pinpoint within a turn where the normal zone occurs, especially since a turn of a coil in a superconducting inductor or magnet for large energy storage can have a diameter of between 600 and 1000 feet.
Another technique for the detector of quenches has been proposed for cable-in-conduit conductors. See L. Dresner, "Quench Detection By Fluid Dynamic Means In Cable-In-Conduit Superconductors" published in 1988 by Plenum Publishing Corp. of New York, N.Y., in the Proceedings of the 1987 Cryogenic Engineering Conference, Vol. 33, at pages 167-174 thereof. A cable-in-conduit conductor is one in which the superconducting conductor is sheathed in a conduit through which a coolant flows. In contrast, a pool cooled conductor sits in a pool of coolant. When a normal zone occurs in a cable-in-conduit conductor, the coolant in contact with the normal zone is heated. As the coolant is heated, a pressure pulse is transmitted along the conduit and is detected at the coolant source or sink of the conduit. This technique has limitations in that it only applies to superconducting inductors which utilize cable-in-conduit conductors There are also difficulties in measuring the pressure pulse since the conduit is a dynamic fluid system. Pressure changes resulting from conditions independent of the creation of a normal zone, such as source pressure, must be taken into account. Moreover, the resolution of this technique is limited in that the relative position of the normal zone along the superconductinq inductor cannot be determined.
It would be desirable, therefore, to develop a sensor for quench detection and location in superconductors under operating and quiescent conditions wherein not only can a quench easily be detected without encountering the difficulties mentioned above, but the exact location of the quench can also be determined.

Hydraulic sensor for quench detection and location in superconductors


Described is an Evolved Node-B (eNB) comprising one or more processors to generate a first transmission for a first Cellular Internet-of-Things (CIoT) device and a second transmission for a second CIoT device. The first transmission may be generated for a first Narrowband (NB) channel, and the second transmission may be generated for a second NB channel. The first and second transmissions may include the same set of system information. Also described is a CIoT device comprising one or more processors to process a System Information (SI) transmission on one of a plurality of NB channels, and to process and extract information from a PSS and/or SSS transmission on a set of subcarriers corresponding to a set of frequency bands. The plurality of NB channels are within a wireless communication system bandwidth, and at least two of the plurality of NB channels correspond to portions of the wireless communication system bandwidth outside the set of frequency bands.

Various wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented or are being proposed, including a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 3GPP LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, and a 5th Generation wireless/5th Generation mobile networks (5G) system. Next-generation wireless cellular communication systems may provide support for massive numbers of user devices like Narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT) devices, Cellular Internet-of-Things (CIoT) devices, or Machine-Type Communication (MTC) devices. Such devices may have very low device complexity, may be latency-tolerant, and may be designed for low throughput and very low power consumption.

System and methods for system operation for narrowband-LTE for cellular IoT


A computing device is described that outputs for display at a presence-sensitive screen a lock screen graphical user interface. The lock screen graphical user interface includes an unlock region and a widget region including a first widget. The computing device receives an indication of a user input received at a location of the presence-sensitive screen within the widget region. The computing device determines a characteristic of the user input including at least one of a shape, a length, a velocity, and an acceleration. Responsive to determining that the determined characteristic exceeds a threshold, the computing device outputs for display an updated widget region of the lock screen graphical user interface that includes a second widget.

Computing devices can perform various functions, such as executing applications stored at the computing device and outputting information (e.g., documents, e-mails, and pictures) for display (e.g., on a screen). Certain computing devices can include a limited access state that prevents an unauthorized user from accessing applications and information stored at the computing device, thereby effectively "locking" the computing device. For example, some computing devices require a user to provide a specific input to lock and/or unlock the device.
In addition to security, locking techniques can be useful to prevent inadvertent inputs by an otherwise authorized user. For example, the user may carry a computing device, such as a mobile phone, in a pocket. Locking techniques may prevent the computing device from performing various actions in response to detecting accidental user input (e.g., when a user accidentally presses a button, taps a touch screen, or inadvertently activates a presence-sensitive screen while the mobile phone is in the user's pocket).
While locking techniques can provide security to information and also protection from accidental user inputs, locking techniques generally prevent immediate access to applications and information stored at the computing device. For example, when a computing device is "locked," a user must perform, at a minimum, one extra step to "unlock" the computing device before the computing device will permit access to the applications and information stored at the computing device.


Apparatus to convert LNG to gas, comprising a vaporizer having passages to pass the cool or cold LNG in heat transfer relation with warming gas flowing downwardly to discharge in multiple directions, and flow control means to control discharge of the gas flow in selected direction or directions, as a function of wind direction.

This invention relates generally to efficient vaporization of cryogenic fluids, and more particularly to control of flow of ambient air acting to transfer heat to the cryogenic fluid, with control of air discharge as a function of incident wind direction.
Ambient air vaporizers have been used to convert cryogenic liquids into warm gas for over fifty years. To move the ambient air across the heat transfer surfaces, many rely on the natural draft effect. The cryogenic fluids being warmed (vaporized) are passed adjacent vertical heat transfer surfaces while being heated; and the ambient air descends at the other sides of such surfaces. The change in the density of the air as it cools induces a draft (the opposite of a chimney). The velocity of the induced draft is a function of the change in density. At the outlet (bottom) of the vaporizer, the cooled air typically turns to flow horizontally. For a single operating unit, this will cause discharge of the air in a 360° horizontal fan. In large vaporizer arrays, such as large industrial gas users (steel mills) or LNG re-gasification terminals, the exits may be confined to a single directional axis. As long as sufficient height is provided underneath the vaporizer, as by the vaporizer unit legs, this works well. However, in the event of adverse winds, the static pressure generated by the wind is sufficient to slow or even stop the induced draft, thus curtailing the desired vaporization. With high enough winds, the flow may even reverse, disturbing the temperature profile of adjacent vaporizers.

Wind effect mitigation in cryogenic ambient air vaporizers


A system improves characterization and diagnosis of cardiac electrophysiological activities by analyzing and characterizing cardiac function signals (including surface ECG signals and intra-cardiac electrograms) based on cardiac electrophysiological energy mode and pattern identification and mapping. The system accurately determines a time stamp, location and severity of cardiac pathology and clinical events by calculating a cardiac signal energy mode and energy variation and distribution. The system identifies cardiac disorders, differentiates cardiac arrhythmias, characterizes pathological severity, predicts life-threatening events, and supports evaluation of administration of drugs.

Cardiac arrhythmia identification and characterization is necessary for management of cardiac disorders and irregularities. Usually, signal analysis based on electrophysiological activity (such as on ECG signals and intra-cardiac electrograms) and time domain parameters (such as magnitude and voltage) of the waveforms are utilized for cardiac arrhythmia detection and pathology diagnosis. This involves examining P wave disorders for atrial fibrillation (AF) and ST segment changes for myocardial ischemia and infarction, for example. However, known systems for cardiac arrhythmia identification and analysis based on ECG signals are subjective and need extensive expertise and clinical experience for accurate interpretation and appropriate cardiac rhythm management.
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and heart-related problems and cardiac arrhythmias are common and serious. Early arrhythmia recognition and characterization, such as associated with myocardial ischemia and infarction, is valuable for rhythm management of cardiac disorders and irregularities. Currently waveform morphologies and time domain parameter analysis of depolarization and repolarization, such as P wave, QRS complex, ST segment, T wave, are used for cardiac arrhythmia monitoring and identification. However, known systems based on waveform and time domain parameter analyses, are often subjective and time-consuming, and require expertise and clinical experience for accurate interpretation and proper cardiac rhythm management. Some known systems apply more sophisticated mathematical theories to biomedical signal interpretation, such as frequency analysis, symbolic complexity analysis and nonlinear entropy evaluation and focus on generating a new pathology index for qualitative cardiac arrhythmia characterization. These known systems fail to provide comprehensive cardiac electrophysiological function and activity interpretation, tissue mapping and arrhythmia localization.
Additionally, known systems typically analyze waveform characteristics (such as amplitude, latency,) or frequency domain characteristics (such as power, spectrum) which may not efficiently identify small signal changes in a partial portion (P wave, QRS complex, ST segment) of a cardiac cycle. These small changes are usually invisible in a signal wave morphology display and need extensive clinical expertise for identification. Consequently, known systems may fail to identify arrhythmia and have a high rate of false alarm indication. Known systems based on amplitude (voltage) changes and variation analysis may be inadequate to diagnose pathology and fail to accurately explain clinical information and associate signal frequency variation, for example. Known systems may fail to predict a pathological trend, especially in early stage of tissue malfunction and may not efficiently analyze and identify a real time growing trend of cardiac arrhythmias, such as a pathology trend from low risk to medium, and then to a high risk (severe and fatal) rhythm (especially for an arrhythmia such as a VT growing trend). Further, known cardiac function monitoring systems may lack sensitivity and stability for arrhythmia analysis for patient status evaluation and may generate inaccurate and unreliable data because of noise and artifacts. Environmental noise and patient movement artifacts including electrical interference, can distort a waveform and make it difficult to detect R wave and ST segment elevation accurately, and result in a false alarm. A system according to invention principles addresses these deficiencies and related problems.

System for cardiac pathology detection and characterization


Medical imaging systems for use in conjunction with an endoscope are described. Generally, the medical imaging system includes an illumination source configured to generate illuminating photons. The illuminating photons are transmitted to one or more filters configured to filter a first plurality of illuminating photons and generate a first plurality of filtered photons comprising a first passband wavelength and a second plurality of filtered photons comprising a second passband wavelength. A sample is then illuminated with the first plurality of filtered photons and the second plurality of filtered photons to generate a first plurality of interacted photons and a second plurality of interacted photons. One or more detectors are configured to detect the first plurality of interacted photons and the second plurality of interacted photons and generate one or more image data sets.

In performing surgery on the human body, it is essential that surgeons do not accidentally cut or otherwise harm organs, passages or other anatomical structures such as the urethra and ureter. The presence of blood, fat, arteries, veins, intervening tissue such as muscle and fascia and other highly scattering and absorbing media can make it extremely difficult to locate with great accuracy such organs, passages and anatomical structures in the immediate vicinity of the surgical site. Light emitting catheters have been used to detect irregularities in a duct, vessel or organ to assist a surgeon in locating anatomical structures of interest to permit the proper performance of the surgical procedure. However, there exists a need for improved intraoperative imaging tools which are capable of real-time detection of anatomical structures in assisting surgeons performing delicate operations without harming tissue surrounding the surgical site.

Molecular chemical imaging endoscopic imaging systems


The pelmet according to the present invention includes a central right element and two end parts, connected such that longitudinal adjustment may be obtained via the telescopic sliding of the end portions of the central element in guides provided in the end part.

The present invention relates to a device that allows the longitudinal adjustment of a pelmet corresponding to the width of a window or other object. The pelmet according to the invention includes a central element and two end parts.
It is already known that pelmets are commonly used support structures for curtains, from an aesthetic and functional point of view, but that they require for their installation, the skill of specialized people for tailoring the dimensional attributes of the pelmet to its chosen placement.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a pelmet with a simple and functional adjusting means so as to allow the mounting of the pelmet in different placements according to the wishes of the users and without the assistance of specialized persons.

Pelmet support structure which provides for longitudinal adjustment


A component of an implantable medical device comprises a body comprising at least one external surface, the body comprising at least one of titanium, titanium-based alloys, and composites thereof, and a corrosion-resistant surface region at the at least one external surface, the corrosion-resistant surface region comprising at least one of titanium nitride, dititanium nitride, and a solid solution of nitrogen dissolved in the body, wherein the corrosion-resistant surface region is formed by thermal nitridation of the body.

Titanium is often used in implantable medical devices because it is biocompatible. Although titanium is generally stable in implantable medical devices, it is sometimes desired to use titanium in aggressive chemical environments, for example as components within an electrical power source of the implantable medical device, such as within an electrochemical cell, also referred to herein as a cell or a battery. In some cases, the electrolyte compounds used to create an electrochemical cell can be corrosive to titanium components. For example, a fluorine-containing electrolyte may corrode a titanium current collector that is used to mechanically support and provide electrical contact to a battery cathode. The fluorine may react with the titanium to form compounds comprising fluorine and titanium that are electrically insulating so that electrical contact between the current collector and the cathode material may become degraded. Over time, as more and more of the titanium is corroded, the overall electrical impedance of the battery increases over the life of the battery so that the battery provides less power over time to the implantable medical device.

Thermal nitriding process for components of implantable medical devices


An operation method of a mobile application model is provided. An application model is composed that separates applications into individual views and executes the individual views with independent processes. Only a code for a running view is loaded in a memory and a corresponding application is executed in the composed application model when switching to the running view for execution of the corresponding application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an operation method of a mobile application model. More particularly, the present invention relates to an operation method of a mobile application model that separates mobile applications into individual views and operates the individual views with independent processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical application models include all views that are provided by an application in a single process. The application includes a set or thread of functions for respective constituent views.
A shared library-type application model has an application configuration that is equivalent to an application model that includes multiple views in a single process. However, the shared library-type application model loads shared codes commonly used among its applications in order to speed up boot times of the applications.
In an application model that includes an application having a single thread, all functions of the application are included in the single thread. In this application model, a plurality of applications may exist in a single process, and a memory may be shared by the applications in the single process.
In a message-based application model, all applications in the system operate as a single thread, and each application is executed by invoking a relevant function through message delivery.
The message-based application model is most widely used to develop mobile software. This is due to the fact that the message-based application model provides fast reactivity despite its low CPU performance, which is caused by hardware and software characteristics of existing mobile terminals.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of a message-based application model.
In a message-based application model conventionally used to develop mobile software, all applications included in the system as well as the application in use are running because the applications are included in one process.
Referring to FIG. 1, if message application execution (or message list application) is selected in an idle state "idle" in step 100, a "message" view (new message view or message-write view) is displayed on a display. If a contact list application is selected in step 101 after message content is written in the "message" view, a "contact" view (contact list view) is displayed on the display. When a recipient is selected in the "contact" view and an OK is input in step 102, the "message" view, on which the message content is written, is displayed. Thereafter, if a message sending application is selected in step 103, the message is sent.
While the above operation is being executed, a code for the idle state, a code for the message writing, a code for the contact list, and codes for other applications aside from the message application are stored and preserved in a memory.
Therefore, when the message application is being executed through the message-based application model, codes for executing other views aside from the view that is currently displayed are also continuously loaded in the memory, causing a waste of memory.
Further, when the memory is shared among the many applications, the system may crash due to an error of one application, which may result in the propagation of serious and latent bugs.
Additionally, since applications are executed by function invocation through message delivery, codes for managing and scheduling all applications are created in an application stage, and not in a system kernel stage.

Operation method of mobile application model


The present invention provides an acid generator generates a sulfonic acid represented by the following general formula (1) in response to high-energy beam or heat:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel acid generator which is suitably used, especially as an acid generator for a resist composition, a chemically amplified resist composition using the same, and a patterning process.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as LSI progresses toward a high integration and a further acceleration in speed, a miniaturization of a pattern rule is required. Deep-ultraviolet lithography and vacuum ultraviolet lithography are thought to hold particular promise as the next generation microfabrication technology. In particular, photolithography using an ArF excimer laser as the light source is the technique essential to ultra-fine microfabrication capable of achieving a size of 0.13 μm or less.
ArF lithography has started being partially used from production of a 130 nm node device, and used as a main lithography technique from production of a 90 nm node device. At first, a 157 nm lithography with a F2 laser has held promise for the next technique of 45 nm node lithography. However, a delayed development caused by various problems has been pointed. Thus, ArF immersion lithography has been proposed suddenly. In the ArF immersion lithography, a liquid having a higher refractive index than air, such as water, ethylene glycol, or glycerol, is placed between a projection lens and a wafer to set the numerical aperture (NA) of the projection lens to 1.0 or more and achieve a high degree of resolution (see, Non-Patent Document 1).
To prevent a precise and expensive optical material from deteriorating, the ArF lithography requires a resist composition having a high sensitivity capable of getting sufficient resolution even by a small exposure dose. As a strategy for the resist composition, it is most common that a component having a high transparent at a wavelength of 193 nm is selected. For example, a polyacrylic acid and derivatives thereof, a norbornene-maleic anhydride alternating polymer, polynorbornene, a ring-opening metathesis polymer, and a hydrogenated ring-opening metathesis polymer are proposed as a base resin. This achieves some results in terms of increasing transparency of a resin itself.
Various photoacid generators have been investigated. When a photoacid generator generating an alkane or an arene sulfonic acid, which is used for a chemically amplified resist composition using the conventional KrF excimer laser as the light source, is used as a component of the ArF chemically amplified resist composition, the acid strength is not sufficient to cut the acid labile group of a resin, a resolution cannot be achieved, or a sensitivity is low. Thus, the resist composition is not suitable for production of a device.
For this reason, as a photoacid generator in the ArF chemically amplified resist composition, photoacid generators generating a perfluoroalkanesulfonic acid having a high acid strength are typically used. The photoacid generators generating a perfluoroalkanesulfonic acid have been developed for a KrF resist composition. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe photoacid generators generating perfluorohexanesulfonic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, perfluoro-4-ethylcyclohexanesulfonic acid, and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid. Further, as a novel acid generator, acid generators generating a perfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acid are suggested in Patent Documents 3 to 5.
On the other hand, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid or derivatives thereof are known as its acronym PFOS, and has problems of stability (non-degradability) derived from a C—F bond, bioconcentration due to hydrophobicity and lipophilicity, and accumulation. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted Significant New Use Rule, listing 13 PFOS-related chemical substances and further 75 chemical substances although their use in the photoresist field is excluded. Further, it has been proposed to apply Significant New Use Rule to 183 chemical substances such as a perfluoroalkanesulfonic acid or a derivative thereof.
To cope with the problems of PFOS, various companies have developed a partially fluorine-substituted alkanesulfonic acid having a lower fluorine substitution ratio. For example, Patent Document 6 discloses development of an α,α-difluoroalkanesulfonic acid salt from an α,α-difluoroalkene and a sulfur compound, and a resist composition containing a photoacid generator generating such a sulfonic acid upon exposure, specifically di(4-tert-butylphenyl)iodonium=1,1-difluoro-2-(1-naphthyl)ethanesulfonate. Patent Document 7 discloses development of an α,α,β,β-tetrafluoroalkanesulfonic acid salt from an α,α,β,β-tetrafluoro-α-iodoalkane and a sulfur compound, a photoacid generator generating such a sulfonic acid, and a resist composition. Patent Document 3 discloses a photoacid generator having a difluorosulfoacetic acid alkyl ester (e.g., 1-(alkoxycarbony)-1,1-difluoromethane sulfonate), or a difluorosulfoacetic acid amide (e.g., 1-carbamoyl-1,1-difluoromethane sulfonate), but does not describe a synthesis method thereof. Patent Document 8 discloses a photosensitive composition containing a compound generating a partially fluorinated-alkanesulfonic acid having a sulfonylamide structure derived from perfluoroalkylene disulfonyl difluoride.
The substances described in Patent Documents have a lower fluorine substitution ratio. However, since the substances have a hydrocarbon skeleton of which the basic skeleton is hard to be degraded, and do not have a substituent which is easily degraded like an ester group, the substances have low degradability. Further, the molecular design in which the size of alkanesulfonic acid is changed is limited. Moreover, the substances have problems such as expensive fluorinated-starting materials.
In addition to degradability and acid strength of photoacid generators, there are many problems. For example, a pattern layout has become finer in recent years, and fluctuation of pattern line width (line width roughness (LWR)) becomes a problem. In processing a gate electrode portion during production of an LSI circuit, a low LWR causes a problem such as leakage current, and thus the electrical characteristics of a transistor deteriorates. The low LWR is thought to be caused by various factors. A main factor thereof is the low affinity of a base resin and a developer, that is, the low solubility of a base resin to a developer. Since a carboxylic acid protecting group conventionally used is a bulky tertiary alkyl group and has a high hydrophobicity, the solubility is low. When a high resolution is required as in formation of microscopic channels, a large LWR leads to an uneven size. A known approach for reducing LWR is to increase the amount of a photoacid generator to be added (Non-Patent Document 2). However, this approach does not achieve sufficient effect since characteristics such as exposure dose dependency, mask fidelity, and pattern rectangularity sometimes deteriorate extremely. Not only increasing the amount of a photoacid generator, but also uniformly dispersing the photoacid generator is required for improvement of LWR.
As the circuit line width is reduced, the influence of contrast degradation by acid diffusion becomes more serious for the resist composition. This is because the pattern size approaches the diffusion length of acid, and this causes a decrease of mask fidelity and a degradation of pattern rectangularity. Accordingly, to obtain more benefits from a reduction of the wavelength of light source and an increase of NA, the resist composition is required to increase dissolution contrast or suppress acid diffusion as compared with the conventional material.
Patent Document 9 discloses alkanecarbonyloxy-1,1,3,3,3-pentafluoropropane sulfonate having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or arenecarbonyloxy-1,1,3,3,3-pentafluoropropane sulfonate having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, such as triphenylsulfonium 2-(adamantane-1-carbonyloxy)-1,1,3,3,3-pentafluoropropane sulfonate, but is not sufficient to control diffusivity and achieve a low LWR.
Patent Documents 10 and 11 disclose photoacid generators generating a partially fluorinated-alkanesulfonic acid having a polycyclic hydrocarbon group, but cannot achieve sufficient resist performance. Since each photoacid generator is a labile ester of difluoroacetic acid, the storage stability of a resist composition containing the photoacid generator may be decreased.
The depth of focus tends to decrease due to a reduction of the wavelength of a light source for light lithography in a device process. Even when a light source with a short wavelength is used, a depth of focus capable of resolving a wide range is required. While a miniaturization of a pattern rule is required, excellent sensitivity, substrate adhesion, and etching resistance are required. In addition, an improvement of LER and an increase of depth of focus (DOF) are necessary without degradation of a resolution.
In immersion lithography, there are problems. Minute water droplets are left on a resist wafer after the immersion exposure, causing damages to the resist pattern profile, collapse or deform into a T-top profile to the developed resist pattern. Therefore, a patterning process which can form a good resist pattern after development in immersion lithography is required.

Acid generator, chemically amplified resist composition, and patterning process

Abstract: To provide a novel acid generator which is suitably used as an acid generator for a resist composition, which solves the problems of LER and a depth of focus and can be effectively and widely used particularly without degradation of a resolution, a chemically amplified resist composition using the same, and a patterning process.


A portable pet feeder and supply storage apparatus has a first compartment having a base and sidewalls defining a first open space; a second compartment having a lid and sidewalls defining a second open space; a divider interposed between the first and second compartments, wherein the second compartment and the divider are hinged to the first compartment, the divider has a gasket; wherein the second compartment and the divider may be pivoted towards the first compartment to assume a closed position, the gasket on the divider providing a water-tight seal between the first compartment and the divider; a water dish and a food dish both removably insertable within the first open space; at least one removable container receivable within the second open space, the removable container configured to be refillable and water-tight; and wherein the second compartment and the divider are removably attachable to the first compartment.

A large population of people today have dogs, cats, or other pets. A common difficulty faced by pet owners is the ability to easily carry food, water, and other supplies for the pet when travelling. Because animals typically drink out of an open container, it is usually necessary for a person to carry a bowl or other open container for the animal to eat and drink from. Leaving food and water in such a bowl is not ideal, as it will usually spill when in a vehicle. As such, while some foods may be repackaged, any remaining liquid must be discarded to avoid spills. Constantly refilling the bowl is not only burdensome, it also requires the person to carry inordinate amounts of foods and liquids. In other instances, the person may not have a bowl for use while travelling, which makes it difficult to adequately feed and water the animal.
Further, pets may accompany owners on walks, hikes, or other activities. In such an instance, both the person and the animal will usually need water for hydration. This requires the owner to carry separate containers for transporting liquid (e.g., sealable) and for hydrating the animal (e.g., a bowl). Again, the pet may not drink all of the water placed in the bowl by the owner, requiring the owner to discard any remaining water in the bowl before continuing. What's more, pets may experience a bowl movement while on the hike, with the owner needing a waste bag to discard of the excrement. In addition, if the animal requires additional medication or suffers an injury, it may be difficult to adequately care for the animal.
Attempts have been made in the prior art to solve some of these needs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,261 to Fick and U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,445 to Polimeni both disclose apparatuses for feeding pets. However, the '445 patent requires that liquid be removed from the bowl before transporting, and the '261 patent requires a separate apparatus for food and water, which fails to solve several, if not all, of the problems described above.
Further, pets are in need of more supplies than food and water. For example, many pets require medication, wound care, or other needs. Still further is the desire of the person to have additional accessories, such as waste bags for the collection and disposal of animal excrement.
Therefore, despite attempts in the prior art, there remains a need for a portable storage device for pet supplies, including the ability to carry food, water, and other accessories. The present disclosure seeks to solve these and other problems.

Portable pet feeder and supply storage apparatus


An electronic musical instrument, which includes an internal tone generator, a local-on play function, which produces musical tones in consonance with tone data generated by the internal tone generator, and a local-off play function, which externally outputs only an MIDI signal without performing tone production in consonance with tone data generated by the internal tone generator. The instrument comprises first tone information storage for, when the local-on play function is selected, storing a channel that corresponds to tone data, which are generated by the internal tone generator, for each of the tone data; tone-on channel assigning circuitry for employing the tone information, which are stored in the first storage, to specify a channel that corresponds to the tone data generated by the internal tone generator; a further tone generator, which is connected to the tone channel assigning circuitry, for producing a musical tone in consonance with the tone data from the tone-on channel assigning circuitry; second tone information storage for, when the local-off play function is selected, successively storing the ON/OFF states of tone data generated by the internal tone generator for each set of the tone data; a local-off tone data control for employing the tone information stored in the second tone information storage to output, as tone data for an MIDI signal, the tone data that is generated by the internal tone generator without performing either tone channel assignment or tone production for the tone data; and a MIDI signal output, which is connected to the tone channel assigning circuitry and the local-off tone data control, for outputting, as MIDI signals, tone data from the tone channel assigning circuitry and tone data from the local-off tone data control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument that includes a local-on play function and a local-off play function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, electronic musical instruments are well known that have a local-on play function, which performs tone production in consonance with tone data generated by an internal tone generating means, and a local-off play function, which does not perform tone production in consonance with tone data from an internal tone generating means and outputs only an MIDI signal to an external device.
Conventionally, to perform local-off playing in consonance with a keyboard tone generator, such an electronic musical instrument outputs an MIDI signal externally in response to key depression or release at the keyboard. More specifically, when at least one key on the keyboard has been depressed, the electronic musical instrument externally outputs an MIDI signal indicating that at least one key is depressed, and when at least one key of the keyboard is released, the electronic musical instrument externally outputs an MIDI signal indicating that at least one key has been released.
In a conventional electronic musical instrument which incorporates automatic play means that performs automatic playing in consonance with automatic play data, when an MIDI signal is output for tone data that is generated by an automatic play data generator of the automatic play means, i.e., when the electronic musical instrument is in an ACC-ON state (the counter condition is an ACC-OFF state), those tone data, from either the keyboard tone generator or from the automatic play data generator, in consonance with which musical tones are being produced are erased, and new selected tone data for the production of musical tones are registered. This series of processes is required following the selection, by panel operation means, of either the mode in which the keyboard tone generator is activated or the mode in which an automatic play data generator is activated, and of a mode/part, such as a tone quality and a timbre.
In other words, it is necessary to perform an assigner process, that is, a tone channel assignment, to store the ON/OFF state of specific tone data.
The assigner process for a conventional electronic musical instrument is performed on the premise that tone production in the electronic musical instrument, i.e., local-on play, is performed. The conventional electronic musical instrument, therefore, cannot execute local-off play that externally outputs tone data, which has been generated by an automatic play data generator, as an independent MIDI signal.


A memory capacity detecting device for memory cards including at least one memory chip of a predetermined memory capacity comprises an address specifying section for generating an address signal which selectively specifies two memory chips, a data write-in section for writing two items of preset data into top memory locations of the specified memory chips, and chip number detecting section for detecting the number of memory chips in the memory card by first reading out the data from the top memory location of each specified memory chip, comparing the readout data with the corresponding preset data, and determining the number of memory chips based on the comparision results. Particularly, the data write-in section includes writing section for writing different two items of the preset data into the top memory locations, and the chip number detecting section includes reading section for reading out the data from the top memory location of each specified memory chip after all the preset data items have been written.

This invention relates to a memory capacity detecting device for various types of memory cards which include one or more memory chips.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a memory card which is generally used. Memory circuits shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are well known in the art as a circuit of such memory cards. That is, the memory card shown in FIG. 2 has memory unit 10, three connector pins 12A, 12B and 12C connected to signal lines, and switches 13A, 13B and 13C which are grounded at one end and respectively connected at the other end to connector pins 12A, 12B and 12C. The switching states of switches 13A to 13C are determined to generate a capacity code of three bits representing the memory capacity of memory unit 10. The three bits of the capacity code are derived from connector pins 12A to 12C. That is, in this example, a 3-bit capacity code can be selectively determined to represent eight different memory capacities by selectively setting the switching states of switches 13A to 13C.
The memory card shown in FIG. 3 includes memory unit 18 formed of four semiconductor memory chips 14 to 17, and decoder circuit 19 for decoding a 2-bit address signal indicating the number of the memory chips to be used and supplying chip enable signals CS0 to CS3 to memory chips 14 to 17, respectively.
In the memory card of FIG. 3, the presence of each of the memory chips can be determined by writing data into a specified address location of the memory chip, reading out the data from the specified address location and then comparing data in the specified address location prior to the write-in operation and data read out from the specified address location. If it is detected that both data are the same, it is determined that the memory chip is present, but if not, then it is determined that the memory chip is not present. For example, if each of the memory chips has 8 K bytes and it is detected that memory chip 17 is not present, then the memory card is determined to have a memory capacity of 24 K bytes.
In the memory card of FIG. 2, it is necessary to provide switches 13A to 13C and the signal lines. Therefore, with the increase in the number of different memory capacities of the memory cards, it becomes necessary to increase the number of switches and signal lines, making the memory card complicated in construction. Further, since the switches are mechanically operated, the easy and reliable operation for determining the memory capacity cannot be attained.
In the memory card of FIG. 3, decoder circuit 19 is provided to decode an address signal of a number of bits which can represent the maximum number of memory chips to be used. The same type of decoder circuit with the complicated construction is used in a memory card even if it contains only one memory chip, making it expensive.
In general, most of the memory cards on the market are so designed that only an address signal of a number of bits corresponding to the number of memory chips used in the memory card can be decoded. In this case, when memory cards of various memory capacity are used as an auxiliary memory device in a computer system such as an electronic typewriter, there occurs a problem that the memory capacity of the memory card on the market cannot be detected.

Memory capacity detecting device for memory cards


An automated system for matching orders from a virtual trading crowd in an exchange configured for trading securities or derivatives is disclosed including an electronic trade engine operative to receive an order or a quote for a security or derivative at the exchange, the trade engine further operative to disseminate a request for a price message to a plurality of market makers quoting a class in response to receiving the order or the quote, an electronic book in communication with the electronic trade engine, the electronic book operative to store at least one order or quote received by the electronic trade engine, a database including an allocation algorithm, the database in communication with the electronic trade engine, and a trade processor in communication with the database, the trade processor operative to analyze and execute orders or quotes according to the allocation algorithm selected from the database.

The introduction of electronic trading mechanisms into exchanges for securities and derivatives has been an ongoing process. The desire for immediacy of order execution and dissemination of information is one reason for the steady substitution to electronic mechanisms. As trading volume continues to grow, along with the accompanying need for an increasingly efficient trading environment, the move toward electronic trading mechanisms is favored.
Electronic exchanges, while efficient and nearly instantaneous, do not necessarily provide for the routing of orders to a trade engine for a "flash" to the virtual crowd (an electronic, non-floor-based crowd) instead of routing to an away exchange with a more attractive market. A flash period is an auction period prior to the order linking away to another exchange. It is desirable for an exchange to provide a mechanism for the routing of orders to a trade engine for a "flash" to the virtual crowd instead of routing to a public automated routing (PAR) system for booking or automatically linking to an away market.
Currently, national best bid or offer (NBBO) rejects, certain "tweeners" and orders that are marketable against away markets route to PAR. Once on PAR, the orders are represented to the open outcry crowd and, if not traded by the crowd, are either routed to the book ("tweeners") or to an away market. Since manual handling is required on a floor of an exchange for these orders and multiple orders may arrive at a single floor-based workstation, there can be delays between the time the order arrives on the floor-based workstation (e.g. public automated routing workstation (PAR)) and the time the order is routed, booked or sent away for linkage to an away market. During the time period when an order rests on PAR, there is risk to both the customer and the PAR broker.

Automated trading system for routing and matching orders

Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated


A method for storing and delivering hydrogen gas is described. The method includes reacting a chemical hydride with water in the presence of a synergist. The synergist advances the extent of reaction of the chemical hydride with water to increase the yield of hydrogen production. The synergist reacts with byproducts formed in the reaction of the chemical hydride with water that would otherwise inhibit progress of the reaction. As a result, a greater fraction of hydrogen available from a chemical hydride is released as hydrogen gas.

Hydrogen is very abundant and is an almost ideal energy carrier that can be used for fuel economy while reducing reliance on fossil fuels, diversifying renewable energy and sustainable energy, and significantly reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrogen is currently produced by steam reforming of natural gas, or electrolysis of water. To minimize environmental effects, hydrogen is preferably produced without the use of fossil fuels, such as from biomass, hydropower, wind and solar energy. Furthermore, hydrogen is a relatively low-cost fuel, although presently more expensive than petroleum. Hydrogen has the highest energy of all fuels per unit mass of chemical fuel. However, its low ambient temperature density results in low energy per unit volume and requires the development of advanced energy storage methods with higher energy densities. Therefore, hydrogen storage is the key technology for the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technology in station power, portable power and transportation applications.
For electrical power generation, fuel cells that efficiently convert hydrogen to electrical power emit only water. A fuel cell-powered automobile is significantly more energy efficient than a comparable vehicle with an internal combustion engine fueled by gasoline or diesel fuel. PEM fuel cells represent a safe, quiet, clean, high energy density, robust and environmentally desirable means of powering portable electronics if performance and cost factors are met. This future technology is touted as a strong and completely dean transport medium, thereby reducing the environmental degradation caused by vehicle emissions. However, to date there are only a few thousand hydrogen fuel vehicles sold or leased, mainly because the existing hydrogen storage technology is inefficient and expensive.
Hydrogen can be stored in the form of a cryogenic liquid or a high-pressure gas. The liquid technique requires chilling to −253° C. It is necessary to store hydrogen at this temperature to keep it liquid, and cooling hydrogen down to this temperature requires a lot of energy. Good insulation and expensive cryogenic storage containers are also needed to prevent evaporation and to maximize dormancy. Compression gas storage also has its challenges. Hydrogen as a gas usually requires an ultra-high-pressure tank (5,000-10,000 psi). The very high pressure poses potential safety problems. Hydrogen can also be stored at a lower pressure on a solid reversible metal hydride. The use of solid storage can increase the volumetric energy density of hydrogen by using a high-density metal alloy; however, current hydrogen storage alloys are too expensive and the weight ratio is currently too low to be practical. In a typical metal hydride tank, only about 1.0-1.2% of the total weight content is comprised of hydrogen.
Currently hydrogen-powered vehicles lag far behind battery-powered electric cars in market share. But several major automakers are fully committed to this new form of green technology. The first models are very expensive, but they offer a significant advantage over competing electric vehicles: driving range. Although today the vast majority of pure electric vehicles can cover about 200 miles in a single charge, a typical hydrogen-powered car can travel more than 300 miles in a single tank, thus rendering it competitive with the traditional gas or diesel car. Hydrogen-powered cars can also be refueled in a few minutes, unlike electric vehicles, which need several hours to recharge.
Fuel cell-powered vehicles, however, require sufficient hydrogen to enable a driving range of more than 300 miles, and the required amount of hydrogen must be capable of fast and easy refueling to insure commercial success. Current hydrogen vehicles rely on compressed gas stored onboard in a high capacity, extremely high pressure composite container to provide the amount of hydrogen necessary to extend the driving range. The prior art describes several methods for compressing and storing hydrogen as a high-pressure gas. However, this option has both technical and practical challenges, particularly when considering emerging commercial markets. Although compression can be used to increase the energy density by using a robust pressure vessel, compression comes at the expense of weight, compression energy and cost.
There is a need for more effective methods to produce hydrogen for fuel cells and other energy delivery systems that can use hydrogen as a fuel. The method should produce hydrogen safely with high efficiency, while minimizing system weight and complexity.

Hydrogen storage and delivery system using a synergistic hydrolysis technology


An apparatus which is adapted to be retrofit onto a tailpipe of an internal combustion engine co-operates with the primary emissions control system of the engine to improve the overall performance of such control system. The apparatus includes a housing having an inlet connected to the tailpipe of the engine, and an exhaust gas treatment device in fluid communication with such inlet. Overall fluid pressure drop in the system is controlled by a fan which is powered by a motor mounted on the housing. The motor is powered by the engine, and is controlled according to pressure in the exhaust manifold of the engine. The exhaust treatment apparatus can include various elements, such as baffles, charcoal or particulate material.

Emissions of hydrocarbons and other products of incomplete combustion have become a serious problem in connection with air pollution. This problem has been the subject of extensive research and has led to many proposals for emissions control systems for use in conjunction with Internal Combustion Engines.
Problems associated with emissions control are present in all internal combustion engines, but are especially troublesome in older engines which may be less efficient than newer engines. Of course one remedy for this problem would be to simply replace the emissions control system in all older internal combustion engines, especially those in vehicles. However, this remedy may prove to be too costly to be worthwhile.
As air pollution becomes ever more important, the standards for emissions of all vehicles, especially automobiles, are made increasingly strict. Some older vehicles may not be able to meet the stricter standards, and even some new cars may have an emissions control system that is prohibitively expensive in order to meet the strict emissions control standards of many states.
While there have been many proposals for the primary emissions control system, itself, there is still a need for a cost-effective means for either improving the efficiency of the overall emissions removal or for maintaining satisfactory emissions control even if the primary emissions control system should suffer a degradation in performance or for improving the overall efficiency of the emissions control of the vehicle in order to meet standards that have been made stricter after the vehicle was originally sold. At the present time, newer, and stricter, emissions control standards are often written to exclude older vehicles. Such exclusion can vitiate the advantages gained by such stricter standards.

Emissions control system for use in conjunction with an ic engine primary emissions control system


A device is disclosed for use in for example obtaining a soft tissue biopsy sample from a patient. In one embodiment the device comprises an outer needle 16 and a sampling needle 18 in coaxial relationship, a handle 34 to which one of the needles e.g. the sampling needle is secured, and a lever arm 36 arranged to enable the other needle e.g. the sample needle 18 to be moved slidingly over the one needle. A spring 40 is arranged to bias the lever arm 36 and hence the sample needle 18 to a predetermined position. In use the needles 16,18 are inserted into a patient and a portion of tissue is trapped in a slot cut into an end portion of the sampling needle 18 as the outer needle 16 slides fully over the sampling needle. The portion of tissue is removed from the device by releasing a catch 38 which causes the outer needle 16 to be drawn back under the influence of the spring to expose the slot in the sampling needle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a device for obtaining a sample of material from within a larger body of the material and more particularly, though not exclusively, concerns a soft tissue biopsy device for surgical use.
During the course of medical treatment it is sometimes necessary for a Doctor, Surgeon, or other qualified medical practitioner to obtain a sample of flesh or other soft tissue from a patient for further diagnostic analysis prior to the patient being treated. The need for a soft tissue sample may arise, for example, when a patient has a suspected tumour, the biopsy analysis identifying whether the tumour is benign or malignant, since this will dictate the most suitable course of treatment.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a section through a previously available soft tissue biopsy device generally indicated at 10. The device comprises a main body 12, a plunger 14, a sheath needle 16 and a sampling needle 18. The sampling needle 18 is secured to the plunger 14 and is arranged to pass through the outer sheath needle 16 which is secured to the main body 12. The main body 12 and the plunger 14 are commonly made from a plastics material, and the sheath needle 16 and the sampling needle 18 are made from surgical steel.
The device 10 is supplied in the condition shown in FIG. 1. In this condition the end of the sampling needle 18 is shrouded by the sheath needle 16. Prior to use the surgeon presses the plunger 14 into the main body 12 so that a flange 20 on the plunger 14 passes over an end stop 22 on the main body 12 and continues until it reaches the end face 24. Pressing the plunger 14 into the main body 12 in this way projects the sampling needle 18 forward out of the sheath needle 16. The device 10 is then driven into the patient so that the sampling needle 18 first punctures the soft tissue to be sampled followed by the sheath needle 16.
FIG. 2 shows a detail view of the end of the sheath needle 16 and the sampling needle 18. In FIG. 2(a) the sampling needle 18 is shown projecting from the sheath needle 16, and in FIG. 2(b) the sampling needle is shown, along with a soft tissue sample 28 retained in a sample collecting slot 26, retracted into the sheath needle 16.
Once the sampling needle and sheath needle have been inserted into the patient, the sampling needle is drawn back into the sheath needle. As the end of the sheath needle passes over the sample collecting slot 26 a soft tissue sample 28 is cut from the patient and retained in the sample collecting slot 26 by the sheath needle 16. To achieve this action, the plunger 18 is drawn back out of the main body until it reaches a stop position where the flange 20 contacts the end stop 22. The sampling needle is thus retracted into the sheath needle 16 along with the soft tissue sample 28 and the device is then removed from the patient prior to retrieval of the sample 28 from the sampling needle 18.
A problem with this arrangement, which the present invention aims to solve, is that manipulation of the sampling device 10 requires the use of at least two hands if the sample is to be successfully retrieved with minimum distress and injury to the patient. The surgeon must first carefully drive the sampling needle 18 and sheath needle 16 into the patient whilst pressing the plunger 14 down into the main body 12. Next, the surgeon must steady the main body and sheath needle with one hand whilst the plunger is drawn back out of the main body to the stop position with the other hand. Finally, as the device is pulled out of the patient, the skin surface surrounding the puncture must be supported to prevent it from becoming distended and causing unnecessary further pain or damage whilst at the same time the plunger must be retained in the stop position to ensure the sample is not lost.
Thus, an undue amount of dexterity is required of the surgeon during what should be a very simple and straightforward procedure. As a result it is not uncommon for an accident to occur. For example, if the surgeon inadvertently fails to retain the plunger in the stop position during the removal of the device from the patient, the sampling needle can slide back out of the sheath needle so that the tissue sample is lost. In the event that the sample is lost, the procedure must be repeated causing undue distress and injury to the patient and additional cost since a new sterile device will have to be used.


A connector box has a housing forming a space and a cover configured to provide access to the space, a plurality of connectors configured to enable selective connection of fiber optic cables within the enclosed space, and a drop cable entrance assembly configured to provide an opening for one or more drop cables to enter the space in the housing. The drop cable entrance assembly has a housing opening portion providing access to the space from an exterior of the housing and having a removable plate and a grommet, and a cable clamp portion configured to hold the one or more drop cables in place via contact pressure.

Data, voice, and other communication networks are increasingly using fiber optics to carry information. In a fiber optic network, each individual fiber is generally connected to both a source and a destination device. Additionally, along the fiber optic run between the source and the destination, various connections or couplings may be made on the optical fiber to adjust the length of the fiber or to provide termination connection ports for end users at which one or more fibers may be branched from a feed cable.
With the increasing desire for completely optical networks, "fiber to the premises" (FTTP) or "fiber to the home" (FTTH) systems are being developed to provide optical fibers that extend from the source to the site of the end-user. For this purpose, connector boxes are needed for interconnection of various lines with drop cables that extend to user locations. Moreover, as customer demand increases, large-capacity connector boxes are desirable to minimize installation costs and improve efficiency. However, larger capacity may generally come at the expense of organization (e.g., cable management and routing), weather-proofing, and ease of security and access. There is an additional need for flexibility for connector boxes when it comes to connector type and access, as well as box mounting for various conditions and environments.
The present disclosure includes components and configurations that address this and other issues related to fiber optic cables and connector boxes.

Mountable connector box for fiber optic cables


There are disclosed an intermediate transfer member which has the function of transferring an image formed on the surface of an image formation body to a recording medium, and which has a surface hardness of at most 80 N/mm.sup.2 expressed in terms of universal hardness at a depth from the surface of the member equivalent to the average particle size of a toner to be used for forming an image or at a depth of 7 .mu.m; an intermediate transfer member which has the function of transferring an image formed on the surface of an image formation body to a recording medium, and which has a Z value of at least 0.5, in which the Z value is calculated by the following formula; EQU Z=[elastic energy]/[elastic energy+plastic energy] (I). which formula is obtained from deformation restoration behavior of the surface of the intermediate transfer member at the time of measuring the universal hardness of the surface thereof; and an image formation apparatus which is equipped with the intermediate transfer member. The above-mentioned intermediate transfer member is remarkably effective in preventing toner adhesion or fixing and enhancing the durability of itself by virtue of the specific constitution. Further, the member is capable of properly correcting the deformation energy behavior in an extremely shallow region of the member surfaces, and effectively preventing the deformation accompanying the repeated contact of the member with a toner and related members. Thus the durability of the member is surely enhanced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intermediate transfer member and an image formation apparatus using the same. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an intermediate transfer member which is employed in an electrophotographic image formation apparatus such as copying machinery, facsimile machinery and laser printers, and which prevents toner fixing, or improves the behavior of repeated deformation due to contact with a toner, a photosensitive body, a secondary transfer member, a cleaning member and the like, and thus enhances its durability; and an image formation apparatus which is equipped with said intermediate transfer member.
2. Description of the Background
In the conventional electrophotographic image formation apparatus such as copying machinery, facsimile machinery and laser printers, printed images have heretofore been obtained by a method comprising the steps of allowing the surface of a photosensitive body, that is, an image formation body to be charged uniformly; projecting an image from an optical system on the photosensitive body to remove the charge of the light-irradiated portion, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image; then supplying the resultant electrostatic latent image with a toner from a developing roller or the like to form a toner image by the electrostatic adhesion; transferring the resultant toner image to a recording medium such as paper by means of a transfer roller or the like; and heat fixing said image by the use of a fixing roller or the like so as to obtain the objective printed image.
Likewise in color printers and color copying machinery, printing is carried out basically in accordance with the above mentioned process. In the case of color printing, since the color tone is reproduced by the use of four toners having different colors including magenta, yellow, cyan and black, there is required a step for the purpose of obtaining the desired color tone by superimposing the aforesaid toners at a prescribed ratio. Thus several proposals have been made on a method for putting the above-mentioned step into practice.
There is available as a first system, a multiple development system in which at the time of visualizing an electrostatic latent image by supplying a photosensitive body with a toner as is the case with black and white printing, development is carried out by superimposing in turn, the aforesaid four toners having different colors including magenta, yellow, cyan and black so as to form colored toner images on the photosensitive body. Said system, although being capable of constituting a development unit in a comparatively compact manner, involves a problem that the gradation is extremely difficult to control, thus making it impossible to obtain a high quality image.
There is also available as a second system, a tandem system in which four photosensitive bodies are equipped; the latent images of the respective photosensitive bodies are developed with toners having different colors including magenta, yellow, cyan and black, respectively, so as to form four toner images with magenta, yellow, cyan and black, respectively; the photosensitive bodies on which these toner images are formed are arranged in a row and are consecutively transferred to a recording medium such as paper; and said images thus transferred are superimposed on the recording medium so as to reproduce color images. However, although favorable images are obtained, the above-mentioned system brings about a state in which the four photosensitive bodies and the electrically charging mechanism and development mechanism that are installed per each photosensitive body, are arranged in a row, whereby the development unit is made unfavorably large-sized and expensive.
There is further available as a third system, a transfer drum system in which a recording medium such as paper is wound around a transfer drum; said drum is rotated four times, while toners of magenta, yellow, cyan and black, respectively, on the photosensitive body are consecutively transferred to a recording medium such as paper per each one rotation so as to reproduce color images. However, although comparatively high quality images are obtained, the above-mentioned system involves the problem that in the case where a recording medium is a thick sheet of paper such as a postcard, said medium is difficult to wind around a transfer drum, thereby unfavorably limiting the kind of the recording medium to be used.
As a countermeasure against the foregoing multiple development system, tandem system and transfer system, there is proposed an intermediate transfer system as a system capable of producing a favorable quality of image without necessitating a large-sized apparatus in particular or specifically restricting the kind of a recording medium.
The intermediate transfer system is a system which comprises equipping the system with an intermediate transfer member made up of a drum or a belt which once transfers and retains the toner images on a photosensitive body to and on itself; consecutively transferring to said intermediate transfer member, the four color images on the photosensitive body, that is, four toner images with magenta, yellow, cyan and black, respectively so as to form color toner images on said intermediate transfer member; and transferring the resultant color toner image to a recording medium such as paper. The above-mentioned intermediate transfer system is capable of producing high quality images, since the system regulates the gradation by superimposing the four color toner images, dispenses with a large-sized apparatus in particular, since there is no need to arrange photosensitive bodies in a row, differing from the tandem system, and further does not restrict the kind of a recording medium, since there is no need to wind a recording medium on a drum, differing from the transfer drum system.
However, with respect to the above-mentioned intermediate transfer system, the intermediate transfer member is liable to raise a problem of durability, since said member comes in contact with a photosensitive body, a secondary transfer member, a cleaning member and the like.
It is known that the durability of the intermediate transfer member is greatly influenced by a slight deformation thereof due to contact thereof with the residual toner, the photosensitive body, the secondary transfer member, the cleaning member and the like. That is to say, the toner which is primarily transferred from the photosensitive body and is retained on the surface of the intermediate transfer member, must be secondarily transferred to a recording medium such as paper in the next step. In the case where, however, by reason of poor secondary transfer or poor cleaning as the matter of tact, part of the toner is left on the intermediate transfer member, and is gradually embedded on the surface of the intermediate transfer member to cause fixing. The toner, if once embedded thereon, begins to be deposited acceleratingly and appears on an image as defective points. Inherently, it is the fundamental measure to enhance the transfer efficiency as well as cleaning efficiency so as to prevent the toner from remaining on the intermediate transfer member. Nevertheless, with the state of the art it is difficult to remove 100% of the remaining toner.
In addition, the surface of the intermediate transfer member is subjected to repeated deformation in a slight depth owing to the contact of said member with the photosensitive body, the secondary transfer member, the cleaning member and the like, whereby there are caused, though slight, change in the surface configuration of the member, localized distortion of an image, variation in the aspect ratio of an image and the like.
By decreasing the pressure of the contact of the intermediate transfer member with the photosensitive body, the secondary transfer member, and the cleaning member, it is made possible to decrease the repeated deformation due to the contact with the aforesaid members, but such decrease in pressure deteriorates the efficiencies of the primary and secondary transfers, which are the inherent functions of the intermediate transfer member.
In such circumstances, an attempt is made to coat the surface of the intermediate transfer member with a fluorine based material excellent in antifouling properties and sliding properties in order to prevent the residual toner from fixing to the surface of the intermediate transfer member and at the same time, decrease the friction between said member and the photosensitive body, the secondary transfer member, and the cleaning member. It is the present status that said attempt, although being effective to some extent, results in failure to assure sufficient durability.

Intermediate transfer member and image formation apparatus using same


A natural language interface for databases (NLIDB) component of a database-management system receives a user-submitted natural-language query. The NLIDB parses the query into keywords and maps each keyword onto a corresponding query fragment that identifies a predicate of a non-join condition, or other type of expression, of a structured query. The NLIDB selects an optimal mapping for each keyword with the aid of a Query Fragment Graph (QFG) that counts the number of occurrences of each fragment, and the number of co-occurrences of each pair of fragments, in previously received structured queries. The NLIDB then uses the QFG, optionally augmented by contextual data, to select join paths most likely to be consistent with the semantic intent of the user. The NLIDB generates a structured query that incorporates the mapped query fragments and selected join paths and forwards. The structured the query is then forwarded to downstream DBMS components.

This invention relates in general to computerized database-management systems (DBMSs) and in particular to Natural Language Interfaces for Databases (NLIDBs).
An NLIDB is a database-management system (DBMS) component or discrete software application that translates natural-language database queries into a formal, structured database-query language, such as Structured Query Language (SQL), that can be processed by a DBMS.

Natural-language database interface with automated keyword mapping and join-path inferences

International Business Machines Corporation

The Regents of the University of Michigan


A method and device for inserting screws into a patient, such that when the device is removed the device does not stick to the screw. The device, being a push-off driver, may have a handle, an inner driver, and a threaded driver sleeve having a button mechanism and a plurality of spheres, and an inner sleeve. The method includes the steps of assembling a push-off driver attaching a bone screw to the push-off driver inserting the bone screw and detaching the bone screw from the driver by unthreading the threaded driver sleeve from the polyaxial screw which causes the spheres in the recess of the inner driver to back up against the start of the recess and causing the threaded driver sleeve to “push-off” the polyaxial screw from the inner driver.

The use of drivers to insert screws, e.g., polyaxial screws, is known in the art. In practice, the polyaxial screw driver connects itself to the polyaxial screw and drives the polyaxial screw into the patient during an implantation procedure.
While in the past, drivers for polyaxial screws have been successful, they have provided numerous difficulties as well. One such problem has arisen during removal of the driver from the polyaxial screw after insertion. In prior art drivers, after a screw has been inserted, the driver may become stuck inside the recess of the screw. This phenomenon is referred to in the art as "sticking". When the driver becomes stuck in the polyaxial screw, it becomes difficult to dislodge the driver from the screw and the surgeon may need to jar the driver to try and disconnect it from the screw. This results in added difficulty to the surgeon. Accordingly, the need exists for a driver that is easily removable from the polyaxial screw allowing more flexibility to the user of the driver and less risk to the patient. The present invention satisfies the foregoing, as well as other needs.

Push-off driver and method for inserting bone screws


An air filter for purging unwanted substances from air which comprises a filtration media and at least one reactant attached to the filtration media. A method for purging unwanted substances from air which comprises providing an air filter comprising a filtration media and at least one reactant attached to the filtration media, and passing the air which is to be filtered through the air filter so as to purge unwanted substances from the air.

Air filters are used to purge unwanted substances from air. By way of example but not limitation, air filters are commonly used in laboratories to purge unwanted substances from the air in fumehoods before the air is vented from the fumehood, e.g., to the atmosphere or to the ambient air of the laboratory.
In the laboratory application noted above, the air filter typically uses activated carbon granules to purge unwanted substances from the air. Activated carbon is generally preferred for use in air filters because the activated carbon is very effective in purging solvents from air. Furthermore, the use of activated carbon granules is generally highly advantageous, since the activated carbon granules are easily handled, and since they naturally pack into an enclosure with spaces therebetween so as to combine high surface area contact with excellent air flow. Typically, the activated carbon granules are disposed in a simple filter frame, captured between two opposing screens (e.g., meshes, grills, etc.) which pass air therethrough but retain the activated carbon granules therebetween.
While activated carbon granules are extremely effective in purging solvents from the air, they are largely ineffective in purging acids from the air. As a result, where acids may be used within a fumehood, special additives (e.g., rare earth metals, organic metal catalysts, etc.) must be added to the activated carbon granules in order to purge acids from the air. However, these additives tend to reduce the effective surface area of the activated carbon granules, thereby reducing filter capacity. Furthermore, these acid-purging additives are generally only modestly effective in purging acids from the air, and in many cases can comprise relatively toxic materials which may be released in the air by the air flow through the filter.
Thus, incorporating acid-purging additives with the activated carbon granules results in an air filter with reduced efficiency for purging solvents and which has only modest effectiveness for purging acids.
On account of the foregoing, there is a need for a new and improved air filter which is highly effective with respect to both solvents and acids and which works with high efficiency and without using toxic additives.

Method and apparatus for purging unwanted substances from air