A folding fin system includes a fin root and an upper fin part that is rotatably borne on the fin root. The upper fin part may be moved relative to the fin root between an unfolded and a folded position, and wherein the upper fin part and the fin root may be locked relative to one another using a slot-and-key system when the upper fin part is in the unfolded position.

The invention relates to the folding fin system described in the following, in particular a self-locking folding fin concept that was realized with the goals of robustness, reliability, and minimizing manufacturing costs. This folding fin was attained by using the fewest possible components, production parts with a design that is optimized for function and production, and by employing standard components.
Folding fin systems are known from the prior art, for example, in EP 1 628 112 A1. Folding fin systems are always used when a guided missile requires a fin for stabilizing its flight, but at the same time must be launched from a generally cylindrical launch tube. In this case folding fin systems are used, wherein the fin is folded in so that the missile can be placed in the launch tube. As soon as the missile is launched and leaves the launch tube, the fin moves to its unfolded condition so that the missile may be guided.
In known systems, however, it is disadvantageous that the systems are extremely complex and thus expensive to produce. In addition, known systems may not be used for a number of missiles; in particular known system are not scalable or adaptable.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a folding fin system that may be used for a plurality of missiles, while being simpler and more cost-effective to manufacture and assemble, and that in particular may be easily scaled or adapted.
This object is attained using a folding fin system that includes a fin root and an upper fin part. The upper fin part is rotatably borne on the fin root. The upper fin part may be moved between an unfolded position and a folded position using a movement of the upper fin part relative to the fin root. The movement is in particular a rotation of the upper fin part relative to the fin root. It is inventively provided that the fin root and the upper fin part may be locked relative to one another using a key-and-slot system when the upper fin part is in the unfolded position. Locking by means of key and slot ensures that the upper fin part cannot be moved out of the unfolded position. Thus, it is assured that the folding fin system can develop its fin effect without this being interrupted by the upper fin part folding inadvertently. The fin root may be applied and attached, in particular, from outside to a missile casing, especially using attaching elements such as screws, rivets, or an adhesive bond. In addition to being characterized by robustness and reliability, as has already been verified numerous times during an ejection test, the folding fin is also characterized by the possibility of scaling and simple adaptation to other missiles, since the fins do not engage in the casing of the missile. The fin root may be produced integrally with the missile section (e.g., precision extrusion molding) or may be applied to the missile section from the outside.
It is preferably provided that the upper fin part is borne via an axis on the fin root. To this end, the fin root has a first axial mount, while the fin upper part has a second axial mount. The axis is arranged inside of the first axial mount and the second axial mount. Moreover, it is preferably provided that the first axial mount includes at least one first axial mount element and the second axis includes at least one second axial mount element. Particularly advantageously, a plurality of first axial mount elements and a plurality of second axial mount elements are present, wherein, in particular, the number of first axial mount elements is equal to the number of second axial mount elements. Advantageously, the axis is guided alternately inside the first axial mount element and the second axial mount element. This provides a connection of the upper fin part to the fin root in the manner of a hinge.
Particularly preferred, exactly one second axial mount element is allocated to each first axial mount element. The first axial mount element has a slot, while the allocated second axial mount element has a corresponding key. In an alternative embodiment, the first axial mount element has a key, while the allocated second axial mount element has a corresponding slot. Thus the aforesaid key-and-slot system is realized especially in the first axial mount and second axial mount, particularly advantageously in the first axial mount element and second axial mount element. The term "allocated" here shall especially be construed to mean that the slot or key of the first axial mount element may be caused to engage with the key or slot of the allocated second axial mount element such that the aforesaid locking is realized. In particular, it is provided that keys and slots exclusively of allocated first axial mount elements and second axial mount elements may be caused to engage with one another.
In addition, it is particularly advantageous when the key may be inserted into the slot parallel to the axis using a relative movement between upper fin part and fin root. Thus, a rotation about the axis is required for unfolding the folding fin system, i.e., for moving the upper fin part into the unfolded position, while a translation along the axis is required for locking the upper fin part to the fin root. This separation of movements ensures secure and reliable locking.
Each key and/or slot has a tapered area with conically tapering flanks and an end area with parallel flanks. It is particularly advantageous when the conically tapering flanks are chamfers in the parallel flanks. Thus, in particular, it is provided that for inserting the key into the slot, first the tapered area of the key must be inserted into the tapered area of the slot, which is facilitated by the conically tapering flanks or chamfers. As soon as the key is completely inserted into the slot, the flanks of the end areas block a relative movement between key and slot in all directions except along the insertion direction of the key into the slot. Thus, in particular, a rotation of the upper fin part about the axis is prevented.
Furthermore, it is preferably provided that borne on the axis is an elastic element that presses each first axial mount element against the allocated second axial mount element. Particularly advantageously, the elastic element is a compression spring. Particularly advantageously, the compression spring is supported against a first end of the axis and against a first axial mount element. At the same time, it is provided that a second end of the axis is supported against a second axial mount element. In this manner, the axis is continuously tensioned so that the first axial mount element and the allocated second axial mount element are always pressed against one another. Thus it is assured that the relative movement between upper fin part and fin root that is required for inserting the key into the slot is automatically performed when the upper fin part is in the unfolded position. For releasing the lock, this means for removing the key from the slot, a movement of the upper fin part relative to the fin root would have to be performed against the elastic spring effect of the elastic element, especially the compression spring. The translation required for locking preferably occurs opposing the flight direction of the folding fin system, so that inertia during acceleration and aerodynamic forces amplify the effect of the elastic element and cannot weaken.
The first axial mount element or the second axial mount element preferably has a stop that blocks a movement of the upper fin part relative to the fin root beyond the unfolded position. Thus, it is ensured that, when there is an unfolding movement of the upper fin part relative to the fin root, the upper fin part is stopped in the unfolded position so that the key can be inserted into the slot, which means the blocking or locking of the upper fin part relative to the fin root occurs.
In addition, the folding fin system preferably has an elastic rotary element, wherein a spring force of the elastic rotary element urges the upper fin part into the unfolded position. Thus an external force must act on the folding fin system, especially on the upper fin part, to retain the upper fin part in the folded position. As soon as this external force is removed, the spring force of the elastic rotary element causes the upper fin part to execute a movement relative to the fin root to be moved into the unfolded position. In particular if the aforesaid stop is present, the upper fin part is pressed against the stop by the elastic rotary element. If, in addition, the described elastic element is borne on the axis, the folding fin system is automatically locked, since the key is inserted into the slot by the elastic spring force of the elastic element.
The elastic rotary element is particularly preferably a leg spring. In addition, it is provided that the elastic rotary element has a first leg that is inserted into a bore of the upper fin part. It is also preferably provided that the elastic rotary element has a second leg that is positioned at an angle to the first leg about a pre-tensioning/biasing angle. The magnitude of the pre-tensioning/biasing angle permits, in particular, a pretension of the elastic rotary element to be set. The second leg is advantageously positioned against the fin root or is disposed in a pocket in the fin root provided for this purpose. If the elastic rotary element, especially the leg spring, is embodied symmetrically, it is also alternatively provided that the first leg is positioned against the upper fin part instead of being guided in a bore of the upper fin part.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


Our high phase sensitivity wide-field phase cancellation interferometry system allows single-shot, label-free optical sensing of neural action potentials via imaging of optical path length changes. Single-shot sensing and monitoring of single neurons within a neural network should lead to a more comprehensive understanding neural network processing, which is beneficial for the advancement in the field of neuroscience as well as its biomedical applications and impact. Our system cancels the phase profile of the resting neuron from the phase profile of the spiking neuron, improving the sensitivity by two orders of magnitude. Using a detector with an extremely large well depth and an appropriately biased interferometer increases the sensitivity by another order of magnitude, yielding a measurement that is three orders of magnitude more sensitive than those possible with other microscopes.

Understanding the human brain requires understanding neural network processing. To capture the spiking activity of a neural network, optical measurements have several advantages over electrical recordings. Optical measurements allow us to visualize the neuron and entire neural network, and hence can inform us about the neurons' relative positions. Furthermore, the activity of a neural network can be measured optically with a finer spatial resolution than with electrical measurements, which have a spatial resolution limited by the configuration of the recording electrode array. Optical methods also present the possibility to quantify neural activity in a label-free fashion.
Label-free optical imaging techniques, such as those based on light scattering and birefringence, have been used before for detecting neural activity. Wide-field interferometric microscopy has also been used for detecting neural activity. These and other techniques are possible thanks to changes in a neuron's light scattering, absorption, birefringence, fluorescence, membrane motion, and refractive index during an action potential. Unfortunately, current interferometric systems are limited by their low phase measurement sensitivity. At current phase sensitivity limits of about 10−3 rad, interferometry is not sensitive enough to allow single-shot measurements of neuron action potentials.


A femoral hip stem explant system has an alignment body which is attached to two locations of a femoral bone and has several lockable collet type adjustment features to set the shaft of a reamer or end mill exactly in coincidence with the femoral bone cavity axis. The shaft of the end mill or reamer is supported by a sleeve member, which is inserted into a drill guide central aperture. The drill guide aperture is adjusted first and locked to be in line with the femoral bone cavity. Each of the sleeve members has the same mating outer diameter, which fits into the drill guide central aperture. Accordingly, the sleeve members can be interchanged into the drill guide aperture with shafts of differently sized reamers or end mills.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hip replacement systems; and, more particularly, to a femoral hip stem explant system for the removal of remnant cement mantle following the removal of a femoral prosthesis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many patents address issues related to removal of a cement mantle incorporated in the bone cavity, typically used to attach a femoral implant. The femoral implant must be extracted and replaced with a new implant when the implant sockets have worn out or due to poor bond formation. The prosthesis is easily extracted by the application of pressure, but the bone cement mantle used during the implant procedure remains attached to the bone cavity and must be removed by drilling, dissolution or other means. Most commonly used methods include free hand drilling wherein the surgeon uses a drill to approximate the location of the bone cement mantle and significant damage may occur to the bone canal including bone fracture which precludes the possibility of a new implant. In some cases the surgeons use an x-ray fluoroscope to get an outline of the bone cavity and the drill, to manually guide the drill within the bone cavity when drilling out bone cement mantle. Drilling of a hardened bone cement mantle can result in heat generation that may damage bone tissue adjacent to the mantle. This damage may prevent bond formation between the femoral bone and the newly implanted femoral implant. It is therefore necessary to limit the amount of heat generated during this bone cement mantle removal procedure. Methods of bone cement mantle removal disclosed in prior art patents generally comprise (i) sawing, to cuts along the side of the mantle; grinding, using a tracing grinding element, the path of which tracks a template; (iii) casting, to cast a resin inside the bone cavity; and (iv) pulling on the resin, to forcefully remove the bone cement mantle. In lieu of pulling on the resin, there is used a fixture that is attached to the femoral bone by interference. This fixture carries a drill that is translated to drill out the bone cement mantle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,861 to Dimakos et al. discloses an instrument for removal of a hollow bone cement tube from an artificial femur head reimplantation. This instrument has an elongate hollow tube adapted to be inserted into the bone cement tube. The end of the hollow tube within the bone canal has a collet comprising a slot. The slot is expanded by a central mandrel rod so that the collect engages the end of the bone cement tube. A cylindrical striker sliding on the hollow tube applies pressure to the bone cement tube enabling its extraction. For this device to work, a free end that is essentially flat must be available within the bone cement tube so that the collet may be engaged for extraction. This feature is oftentimes unavailable. Moreover, a large amount of force must be applied to release and displace the bone cement tube, which may not be available by the simple back and forth movement of the cylindrical striker.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,236 to Tarabichy et al. discloses a revision arthroplasty method and related instrument. This method is for revision arthroplasty or the removal of a loosened or defective prosthesis component set in a bone cavity using polymer cement. The loosened or defective prosthesis is then removed out of the bone cavity. Cement is then removed from the cavity by the use of an instrument having a heated working end. Heating the working end to a temperature exceeding the melting point of the cement enables cement to be removed without perforating or damaging the bone. Such heat in the range of 150° C.-200° C. provides an invasive procedure, and can be damaging to bone tissue, preventing bond formation of an implanted prosthesis.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,846,161 and 4,986,826 to Roger disclose a method and apparatus for removing prosthetic cement. This method and device is for use in removing the prosthetic cement from a bone in which an artificial joint, such as hip joint, is to be replaced. The device cuts the prosthetic cement in a longitudinal plane of the prosthetic cavity to the complete depth of the cement, without substantially cutting into the bone. The device includes a reciprocating saw head, which is advanced longitudinally of the cavity and is maintained within the preselected longitudinal plane of the cavity by a guide while it cuts through the cement. The saw head is transversly biased towards the cement, so that it cuts only to a depth defined by the profile of a template. The profile of the template is obtained from X-ray information obtained before commencement of the operation. This reciprocating cutting action only produces a cut in the longitudinal plane of the prosthetic cement. Such a cut does not guarantee easy removal of the prosthetic cement, since the cement is shown to be three dimensional in structure matching the shape of the template. Cutting debris is left behind within the bone cavity, and excessive heating is generated by the cutting action, damaging bone tissue. Multiple cuts are needed to effect any removal of the prosthetic cement. The bottom plug of the prosthetic cement is said to be removed by this removal procedure. However, the saw does not reach the very bottom of the cavity. Consequently, these multiple sections are still held together by the bottom uncut portion, making the removal of the prosthetic cement difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,735 to Davey et al. discloses a drill alignment guide for osteoplastic surgery. This drill alignment apparatus for osteoplastic surgery comprises an alignment rod mounted on one or two spaced clamp elements. The alignment rod is parallel to and is disposed at a predetermined distance from a shaft of the drill. The clamp element includes an aperture, which permits passage of the rod. The clamp element is adapted to be affixed to a bone, such as a femur, by interference. With this arrangement, the aperture is displaced from the central axis of the bone by substantially the same distance that the center axis of the alignment rod is displaced from the center axis of the drill shaft. When drilling is commenced, the forward end of the alignment rod is placed within the aperture of the clamp element. As drilling progresses, the rod passes through the aperture, thereby ensuring that drilling occurs along a predetermined drilling path extending along the bone axis. The clamping elements merely rest on the femoral bone with no bottom support. Accordingly, they are subject to lifting, especially when a drilling load is applied. When two clamping elements are used, the parallelism of the alignment rod with respect to the bone cavity is not possible, since the shape of the femoral bone is not exactly cylindrical. An alignment rod support is used to attach the drill to the alignment rod. Thus supported, the alignment rod progressively passes through the aperture in one or two clamp elements as the drill enters through the intramedullary bone canal. However, vertical displacement of the clamp element without any bottom support can cause drilling in a path that is not concentric with the intramedullary bone canal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,153 to Chin discloses a method and apparatus for removing pre-placed prosthetic joints and preparing for their replacement. This method and apparatus removes a pre-placed prosthetic joint from a bone cavity and conditions the cavity for receipt of a replacement joint. The pre-placed joint is first pulled from the mantle of hardened methylmethacrylate cement holding it within the cavity, thus leaving a cavity within the mantle. A mass of fluid methylmethacrylate cement is then placed within the cement cavity. A pulling appliance is inserted into the fluid cement and the fluid cement is permitted to cure to bond the appliance to the mantle. Tension is then applied to the pulling appliance to remove the appliance and the cement mantle from the bone cavity as a unit. The fluid cement partially dissolves and softens the hardened cement mantle so that an integral cement mass is formed upon curing of the fluid cement. The pulling appliance is of a screw-like configuration, with means to connect a slap-hammer to its proximal end. The curing of the fluid methylmethacrylate occurs by exothermic reaction of liquid methyl methacrylate monomer with a finely divided powder mixture of polymethyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate-styrene-copolymer. This exothermic reaction results in large heat generation, damaging bone tissue and resulting in poor bonding of the new implant. The removal of the bone cement mantle within the cavity by this pulling method requires the cavity to be uniformly tapered outward with the progressively larger dimension towards the bone canal opening. This may not be the case in all intramedullary bone canals since the femoral implant is forced into the canal with the bone cement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,120 to McColl et al. discloses a multipart kit and method of using the same to remove cement used to secure prosthetic joints. A mantle of cement within a bone elongate cavity is removed from the adhered condition by successively breaking away sections of the mantle with a plurality of elongate screw threaded pulling elements proportioned to engage a limited length of a screw threaded mass of cement within the cavity. The apparatus is provided in a kit form having a sufficient number of elements to enable the full length of the mantle to be removed in successive steps. The kit may also include a cement injection syringe and vent tube to fill the cavity of the mantle with a mass of cement, a die to form a screw threaded passage in the mass of cement, and a slap hammer connectable to the pulling elements. This method of removal requires direct attachment by screw thread to a portion of the remaining mantle of cement or attachment of a threaded pulling element by fresh methylmethacrylate cement, which is said to soften the old mantle of cement. Such softening prevents bond creation between the old cement mantle and the freshly applied methylmethacrylate preventing any removal of the old cement mantle. Moreover, methylmethacrylate is a brittle resin and will readily fracture upon being subjected to tensile pull by slap hammer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,426 to Huebsch discloses an apparatus for removal of bone cement. Bone cement is removed from a bone cavity, such as the intramedullary canal, during a prosthetic revision. The bone cement is pre-molded by a thermal chisel, which includes a shaft for extending into the bone cavity, a plasticizer chisel on a working end of the shaft, and a heat element carried by the shaft for heating the chisel to a temperature within a range of temperatures sufficient to plasticize the bone cement. This deforms and weakens the bone cement upon direct non-impact type contact between the heated tip of the chisel and the cement. The cement is removed by pre-molding it with the heated working end of the thermal chisel, preferably by molding a distally located circumferential furrow in the bone cement and then molding circumferentially spaced apart longitudinal furrows from the circumferential groove to the proximal end of the bone cement. Upon rehardening of the bone cement, these thermally molded furrows form weakened areas within the bone cement so that the regions of bone cement between the weakened areas can be removed by an impact type chisel. Use of this heated tip raises the temperature of the cement sufficiently to melt or soften the cement. The bone tissue that is in direct contact with the cement also reaches the same softening or melting temperature, which is a fixed temperature according to the composition of the cement used. Exposure of the bone tissue to such high temperatures compromises the ability of the bone tissue to heal and bond to a new implanted femoral prosthesis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,792 to Watkins et al. discloses an apparatus and method for gauging and controlling process steps used to remove prosthetic joints. Over tightening of the threaded rods used to engage and remove the cement for prosthetic joints is avoided by measuring the depth of the passages into which the rods are threaded. Sleeves on the rods are provided to serve as visual indicia of the extent of penetration of the rods into the cement. A depth gauge is calibrated in both units of length and screw thread turns, for the measuring function. The sleeves are slidably received on the rods and proportioned to engage the edges of the passages into which the rods are threaded. In use, the sleeves slide toward a marker as the rods are threaded into place. Sequentially sized tools are screwed into the mass of cement injected into the bone cement mantle and torsional and pulling force is applied to extract the bone cement mantle. Insertion and hardening of the cement into the bone cement mantle takes time, and the fluid cement injected is said to soften or partially dissolve the bone cement mantle. As a result, the bond between the poured cement and the bone cement mantle is weak and the application of torsional and pulling forces may separate at this interface between the injected cement and the bone mantle cement, resulting in incomplete or poor extraction of the bone cement mantle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,619 to Wuchinich discloses an apparatus and method for removal of cement from bone cavities. This surgical apparatus has a hand piece with a vibration source for generating mechanical vibrations in response to current supplied to the vibrator. A elongated hollow tool is attached to the vibration source of the hand piece. The tool extends away from the hand piece to the cement to be removed. Cement is removed using the surgical apparatus by applying the tool to the cement and thereby applying mechanical vibration to the cement, causing the cement to melt. Removal of cement is accomplished by suction through the hollow elongated tool. In an alternate method, the tool is rotated to apply shear forces to the cement being removed. The tool is then cooled, used to damp lateral vibrations at the tool end. The cement is irrigated, while being melted and removed. In this arrangement, the vibratory and rotary motion of the tool creates sufficient friction generated heat to melt the bone cement mantle, causing molten cement to be drawn through the central aperture of the hollow tube. Since the bone cement mantle is in intimate contact with the bone tissue, such heat generation exposes the bone tissue to heat, preventing its ability to heal and bond to a new implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,551 to Chin et al. discloses a controlled apparatus and method for extracting cement mantles from bone recesses. A cement plug, received within a bone recess, is extracted by forming a bore within the plug, tapping the bore to form internal screw threads therein, engaging the threads with a pulling tool, and applying tension to the tool to extract the plug. The method for removing a cement mantle includes steps of: (i) filling the bone cavity with a fluid cement; (ii) inserting an elongate curvilinear rod in the fluid cement; (iii) curing the fluid cement, rod, and mantle to form a unitary mass; (iv) withdrawing the curvilinear rod from the mass; (v) tapping to form a screw-threaded section therein; (vi) engaging the screw-threaded section of the bore with a pulling tool; and (vii) imparting pulling force to the pulling tool to remove that portion of the mass within which the tool is thread-ably engaged from the recess. The curing of the fluid cement takes time, which is not generally available in a surgical situation. For this technique to work, the fluid cement must form an intimate bond with the bone cement mantle. Otherwise, the pulled rod, together with the hardened fluid cement, extracts without pulling the bone cement mantle from the bone cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,957 to McColl et al. discloses a method and apparatus for extracting a cement mantle from a bone recess. This method and apparatus effects removal of a pre-placed prosthetic appliance, anchored in place in a bone recess by a cement mantle, and conditions the recess for receipt of a replacement appliance. The preplaced appliance is first pulled from the mantle of hardened cement, holding it within the recess, thus leaving a cavity within the mantle. A screw threaded post having nuts threadably engaged therewith at longitudinally spaced locations is then anchored within the cavity with a new mass of cement. Thereafter, the post is threadably disengaged from the nuts, leaving the nuts in place within the new mass of cement. A pulling tool is then successively engaged with the nuts and tensioned to incrementally remove the mantle from the recess. The hardening of the new mass cement within bone cement mantle requires time, which is not generally available during surgical procedure. In order to harden a new mass of cement incrementally in one-half inch increments, the bone cement mantle must intimately bond with the old bone cement mantle, and the hardened new mass of cement must fracture at specified incremental locations. In practice, these features may not readily occur, leaving portions of the bone cement mantle within the bone cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,578 to Zahedi discloses a device for removing a bone cement tube. This device for removing a bone cement tube in a bone cavity after the removal of the endoprosthesis comprises an ultrasonic generator with an essentially cylindrical guide section, the free end of which carries the sonotrode, which emits the ultrasound. The diameter of the guide section is less than the internal diameter of the bone cement tube, and its length is adapted to the length of the prosthesis shaft or to the length of the bone cement tube. It has been found that a layer of cement, which covers a bone substance, loosens when it is ultrasonically radiated with a frequency in the region of 40 kHz. This cement layer can be removed from the surface of the bone as a complete block of cement. The substance of the bone is not weakened due to this procedure. Since the ultrasonic frequency is emitted by the sonotube, an ultrasonic coupling agent must be disposed between the sonotube and the bone cement tube in order to couple the ultrasonic frequency energy. No such coupling agent is indicated, with the result that energy transfer to the bone cement tube will be inefficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,336 to Ling et al. discloses a system for performing hip prosthesis revision surgery. This hip prosthesis revision surgery apparatus includes means for preparation of the cavity left after removal of the original prosthesis. The old bone cement tube or mantle is completely removed first by drilling and by progressively increased sizes of reamers. The old restrictor at the bottom of the bone cavity is also removed. The reamed bone cavity is larger in size than that needed for the new implant, and is shaped to proper size by tamping cancellous bone graft material. Following removal of the old prosthesis, old cement and old restrictor, a new cement restrictor or plug is placed at or near the bottom of the cavity in femur. A guide-wire, having external threads, is threadedly engaged with the new restrictor. A tamp having a stem portion and a longitudinal passageway is inserted into the cavity. The tamp is positioned to be driven into the cavity by means of the rasp handle, which is impacted by a hammer or other impacting device as it is driven to the desired position within the cavity to crush the cancellous bone graft to a desired density. Following tamping of the cancellous bone graft material to the desired density and the resultant formation of a cavity having the proper size and shape, the tamp may be removed from the newly formed cavity. The rasp handle is then removed and the guide-wire may be unscrewed and removed from the restrictor. The new cavity is now ready to receive the new prosthesis. The '336 patent disclosure deals with packing a larger sized bone cavity with graft material. It does not address removal of old bone cement mantle that is present when a damaged or worn out femoral implant is removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,930 to Kertzner discloses an orthopedic centering tool. This centering tool is guides a surgical drill bit through the center of a target obstruction within a bone. An adjustable frame of the centering tool includes a pair of right angle sections mounted in a mirror image relationship. The sections are adjustably clamped to one another and, in turn, secure a vertical sleeve for guiding a surgical drill bit and a horizontal sleeve for accommodating an anchor pin within a coplanar arrangement. Various clamps associated with the frame elements and the sleeves permit a surgeon to adjust the tool so that the drill bit is guided through the vertical sleeve to the approximate center of the bone immediately below the obstruction, while the pin anchors the frame to the bone. The surgical frame is attached to the femoral bone in one location only and the frame is therefore rotatable around this femoral bone attachment point, especially when drilling loads are applied to the vertical sleeve. Any such rotation will lead to meandering of the drill bit within the bone cavity that is being drilled to remove bone cement mantle, causing permanent damage to the bone tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,392 to Vandewalle et al. discloses a method and apparatus for ultrasonic removal of bone cement material. Ultrasonic removal of bone cement material is accomplished using an auger tool and an ultrasonic transducer/hand piece. The auger tool includes a spiral helical flute, which extends about a cylindrical body. A quick connect mechanism couples the auger tool to the ultrasonic transducer/hand piece. Upon energizing the hand piece, bone cement is heated to a flowing mass so that the flowing mass of bone cement may flow about the cylindrical body and be guided via the spiral helical flute. Removal of bone cement material is accomplished easily and quickly during a revision type orthopedic surgical procedure. The auger tool is vibrated with sufficient ultrasonic power to cause the bone cement to melt, and the molten cement is guided along the helical flute path. The bone tissue directly below the molten bone cement mantle reaches the melting point of the bone cement. Consequently, the heating temperature employed by the method and apparatus of the '392 patent is oftentimes sufficient to damage bone tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,502 to Stulberg discloses methods and instruments for performing radial impacting. This radial impacting technique involves using a set of progressively larger radial impactors to pack a medullary canal in a radial direction toward the cortex. For revision cases, graft material, which may be either synthetic or bone graft material, is added into the medullary canal after the previously installed implant has been removed. Packing the medullary canal in the radial direction, as opposed to the conventional approach of packing in a distal direction, is said to provide superior results. The radial impactors are preferably cannulated and may also have holes to assist in the removal of fluids from within the medullary canal. The profile impactors may be either cannulated or non-cannulated and prepare the medullary canal for receipt of the implant. The '502 patent disclosure deals with packing a bone cavity with graft material. It does not disclose or suggest removing old bone cement mantle that is present when a damaged or worn out femoral implant is removed.
"Controlled Perforation: A Safe Method of Cement Removal from the Femoral Canal", Sydney et al., Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res., 253, April 1990, pp 168-172 discloses a method for removal of cement from a femoral canal. This method involves removal of cement from the canal by way of placing multiple 9-mm perforations at least 5 cm apart on the anterior surface of the femoral shaft. According to the disclosure, the tip of the revision stem should be at least 5 cm distal to the most distal perforation. From January 1984 to December 1986, there were 219 cases of revision total hip arthroplasties performed using this technique. The incidence of ipsilateral postoperative femoral fractures was nine out of 219. Eight of these fractures were at the tip or distal to the femoral prosthesis and were associated with trauma. One fracture occurred through a perforation site and had an associated fracture of the femoral component. Accordingly, this method of drilling multiple 9 mm perforations disclosed by the Sydney et al. publication results in an unreliable surgical procedure.
"A Device for Removal of Femoral Distal Cement Plug During Hip Revision Arthroplasty: A High-Powered Drill Equipped with a Centralizer", Jingushi et al., The Journal of Anthroplasty, Vol. 15, Iss. 2, February 2000, pp 231-233 discloses removal of a femoral cement mantle in hip revision arthroplasty by way of a high-powered drill. The high-powered drill is equipped with a centralizer developed to remove the distal cement plug safely. Using the drill equipped with a centralizer the cement plug is removed well enough to insert a new component without causing perforation during the operation. The bone cement mantle in the bone cavity is not indicated to be removed by the centralizer mounted high powered drill. Only the bottom cement plug is said to be safely removed.
"Segmental Cement Extraction at Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty", Schurman et al., Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res., 285, December 1992, pp 158-163 discloses a method for segmented cement extraction during revision surgery. This technique permits segmental extraction of bone cement from the femoral canal through the introduction of fresh cement into the old cement mantle and placement of a threaded rod into the wet cement. The threaded rod is held in place while the cement hardens. The thread-forming rod is then removed leaving a threaded channel in the cement. Extraction rods are then screwed 1.5 to 2.5 cm into the threaded channel. A slap hammer, which attaches to the opposite end of the extraction rod, is used to remove 1.5- to 2.5-cm segments of cement. Fifteen cases involving revision of cemented femoral components were analyzed using the 'Segmental Cement Extraction reference system. Complete cement removal was achieved in 12 cases. The method produced less damage to the femur when compared with conventional methods. In two cases, there was retained cement along the medial wall of the femur and, in one case, the plug could not be extracted using the 'Segmental Cement Extraction reference's method. This method requires the fresh cement to bond to bone cement mantle. It requires the fresh cement to break at screw insertion depth, and to carry with it a portion of the bone cement mantle. If the bond between the bone cement mantle and the fresh cement is weak, the bone cement mantle is not extracted. If the fresh cement cures to a stronger cement, fracture may occur unpredictably, creating bone cement extraction problems.
There remains a need in the art for a femoral hip stem explant system that reliably and safely removes any remaining bone cement mantle and bottom plug without damaging the bone tissue due to poor drill or reamer placement or subjecting the bone tissue to excessive heat. Also needed is a femoral hip stem explant system that removes all residue of the bone cement within a reasonable time period, so that the operating time is not excessively prolonged.


A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device having a semiconductor substrate of a first conduction type having, on its bottom surface, a bottom electrode; a first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer of a first conductive type provided on the substrate; a Group III-V compound semiconductor active layer provided on the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer; a second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer of second conduction type provided on the active layer; and a top electrode provided on the surface of the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer. The top electrode includes a lower electrode and an upper electrode, the lower electrode is in direct contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer and formed of a metal incapable of establishing ohmic contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, and the upper electrode is provided on the lower electrode and formed of a metal capable of establishing ohmic contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer.

The present invention relates to a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device including a semiconductor substrate, a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer formed on the substrate, and an active layer formed of a Group III-V compound semiconductor. Particularly, the present invention relates to a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device which has an improved electrode structure and exhibits high emission intensity.
Conventionally, techniques for producing semiconductor light-emitting devices (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED) and a laser diode (LD)) incorporating a layer formed of boron phosphide (BP), which is a Group III-V compound semiconductor (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,021) have been proposed. A conventional boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device has a stacked layer structure including a substrate formed of, for example, single-crystal silicon, and a boron phosphide layer which is formed on the substrate and serves as a buffer layer (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,021). Recently, a stacked layer structure employed for producing semiconductor light-emitting devices, which includes a light-emitting portion of a pn-junction-type double hetero structure including a wide-band-gap boron phosphide layer serving as a cladding layer (see Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-158282) has been proposed.
A conventional boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device incorporating an electrically conductive silicon substrate includes a bottom electrode provided on the bottom surface of the silicon substrate, and a top electrode provided on a top layer constituting a stacked layer structure similar to that described above. The top electrode or bottom electrode is formed of a metallic material capable of establishing ohmic contact with an n-type or p-type semiconductor layer on which the electrode is provided (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2-275682). Regarding the boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device incorporating the silicon substrate, a technique for forming a top positive electrode on a contact layer formed of a p-type conductive boron phosphide layer has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2-275682).
In a light-emitting device such as an LED or an LD, a top electrode generally has an electrical polarity opposite that of a bottom electrode, and a negative electrode is provided on an n-type semiconductor layer and formed of a metal capable of establishing ohmic contact with the n-type semiconductor layer. In a conventional boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device, a portion of an electrode that is in contact with a p-type or n-type semiconductor layer consists of a metal capable of establishing ohmic contact with the p-type or n-type semiconductor layer. In a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor device (particularly, a light-emitting device) including an electrically conductive silicon substrate, when a portion of an electrode that is in contact with a p-type or n-type semiconductor layer is formed of a metal capable of establishing ohmic contact with the semiconductor layer, current for operating the light-emitting device is advantageously caused to flow between top and bottom electrodes.
However, in a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device, when a semiconductor layer on which a top electrode is formed has a thickness and a resistivity such that operation current is insufficiently diffused therein in a horizontal direction, the operation current preferentially flows to a region of a light-emitting portion that is located just below the top electrode, and the operation current fails to be diffused throughout the light-emitting portion. That is, when operation current is caused to flow, light is emitted from merely the region of the light-emitting portion that is located just below the top electrode. In addition, since light emitted from the region located just below the top electrode is shielded by the electrode, difficulty is encountered in extracting the emitted light from the device. Therefore, the boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device which exhibits high luminance can be hardly obtained.
An object of the present invention is to provide a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device (LED) including a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer serving as a cladding layer, and a top electrode having a structure such that the operation current can be caused to flow to a wide region of a light-emitting portion from which light is advantageously emitted, not just to a region located below the top electrode.
Accordingly, the above object of the present invention has been achieved by providing the following.
(1) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device comprising a semiconductor substrate of a first conduction type having, on its bottom surface, a bottom electrode; a first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer of a first conductive type provided on the substrate; a Group III-V compound semiconductor active layer provided on the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer; a second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer of a second conduction type provided on the active layer; and a top electrode provided on the surface of the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, wherein the top electrode includes a lower electrode and an upper electrode, the lower electrode is in direct contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer and formed of a metal incapable of establishing ohmic contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, and the upper electrode is provided on the lower electrode and formed of a metal capable of establishing ohmic contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, wherein a portion of the upper electrode is in contact with the surface of the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer.
(2) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to (1) above, wherein the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer serves as a cladding layer for the active layer.
(3) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to (1) or (2) above, which further comprises a buffer layer formed of an amorphous or polycrystalline boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer provided between the semiconductor substrate and the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer.
(4) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to any one of (1) through (3) above, wherein the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, the active layer, and the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer constitute a light-emitting portion of double hetero (DH) structure.
(5) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to any one of (1) through (4) above, wherein the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer is formed of p-type boron phosphide (BP), and the lower electrode is formed of a gold.germanium (Au.Ge) alloy, a gold.indium (Au.In) alloy, a gold.tin (Au.Sn) alloy, or an indium.tin composite oxide (ITO).
(6) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to (5) above, wherein the upper electrode is formed of a gold.zinc (Au.Zn) alloy or a gold.beryllium (Au.Be) alloy.
(7) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to any one of (1) through (4) above, wherein the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer is formed of n-type BP, and the lower electrode is formed of a gold.zinc (Au.Zn) alloy or a gold.beryllium (Au.Be) alloy.
(8) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to (7) above, wherein the upper electrode is formed of a gold.germanium (Au.Ge) alloy, a gold.indium (Au.In) alloy, or a gold.tin (Au.Sn) alloy.
(9) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to any one of (1) through (4) above, wherein the lower electrode and the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer are capable of establishing a Schottky junction.
(10) A boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to (9) above, wherein the lower electrode is formed of nickel (Ni), tungsten (W), tantalum (Ta), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), gold (Au), titanium nitride (TiN), or tungsten carbide (WC).
The present invention also provides the following.
(11) A method for producing a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device comprising successively forming, on a semiconductor substrate of a first conduction type, a first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer of a first conduction type, a Group III-V compound semiconductor active layer, and a second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer of a second conduction type; forming a bottom electrode on the bottom surface of the semiconductor substrate; and forming a top electrode on the surface of the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, wherein a lower electrode containing a metal incapable of establishing ohmic contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer is formed to come into direct contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, and subsequently an upper electrode containing a metal capable of establishing ohmic contact with the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer is formed on the lower electrode such that a portion of the upper electrode comes into contact with the surface of the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer.
(12) A method for producing a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to (11) above, wherein the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer serves as a cladding layer for the active layer.
(13) A method for producing a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to (11) or (12) above, which further comprises forming, between the semiconductor substrate and the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, a buffer layer containing an amorphous or polycrystalline boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer.
(14) A method for producing a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device according to any one of (11) through (13) above, wherein the first boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer, the active layer, and the second boron-phosphide-based semiconductor layer constitute a light-emitting portion of double hetero (DH) structure.
The above object of the present invention has also been achieved by providing the following.
(15) A light-emitting diode comprising a boron-phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device as recited in any one of (1) through (10) above.

Boron phosphide-based semiconductor light-emitting device, production method thereof, and light-emitting diode


An easy-open and reclosable container has a non-circular scored portion on the top lid and an opening and resealing device pivotally fastened on the scored portion for selectably separating it from the top lid to provide an aperture, and selectably resealing the aperture by putting the separated portion back into the aperture and rotating it so as to lock it under the inner surface of the top lid. The opening and resealing device has a compression sealing member for resealing the aperture while the scored portion is locked. As an alternative, the easy-open and reclosable container can utilize an openable and reclosable device which includes a bottom flange member fastened on the top lid having a flange rim extending through an opening on the top lid, a closure member hingedly connected to the rim in part and having a channel complementary in shape with the flange rim, and a tension controlling member hingedly connected to the closure member and separable engaged with a rivet on the top lid for selectably releasing the pulling force on the closure member to allow it to open and selectably re-exerting the pulling force on the closure member to reclose the container. The present invention further provides a triangular cylindrical beverage container which can save storage space.

The present invention relates to an easy-open and reclosable container, especially to two types of easy-open and reclosable devices for a beverage container, and also relates to a triangular beverage container.
Beverage containers usually have a lifting tab attached to the top lid by means of a rivet for selectively depressing a scored portion on top of the top lid into the interior of the container to provide an aperture by pulling the lifting tab upwardly. The lifting tab cannot normally be used to reseal the aperture. After an unreclosable beverage container is opened any portion of the beverage not immediately consumed is usually discarded, since it is not practical to transport an unsealed container, and any beverage in the container has a tendency to "go flat" if stored due to the escape of dissolved gases.
In recent years, some reclosable mechanisms attached to a container have been suggested in the prior art. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,950 issued on Apr. 17, 1984 to Thomas P. Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,866 issued on Aug. 7, 1984 to George Mandel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,319 issued on Apr. 29, 1975 to Robert A. Wells et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,099 issued on Jan. 16, 1987 to Robert A. Wells, U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,797 issued on Nov. 11, 1980 to Nelson J. Waterbury, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,216 issued on Apr. 15, 1986 to Alan E. Byrd, U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,936 issued on Jan. 7, 1986 to Joseph F. Deflander, U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,561 issued on Mar. 27, 1951 to Miles 0. Polson et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,238 issued on July 21, 1987 to Ruben G. Sanchez.
The Wilson patent, Mandel patent and Wells U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,099 disclose a type of reclosable container having a scored portion on the container top lid and a removable lever member pivotally mounted on the top lid by a pivot rivet. Upon raising the lever member, the scored portion will be broken downwardly by the end of the lever member to form an opening. The lever member has a depending plug with a layer of resilient material on it for resealing the opening. In some cases, there is provided a stopper portion on the depending plug. However, there are limitations associated with a depending plug configuration. For example, this kind of reclosure is easily inadvertently reopened when bumped or when the container falls from a table. If a stopper portion is provided it is hard to add the resilient material onto it during manufacture due to the shape of the depending plug. Further, the lever member needs to sit in a protective recess for protection of it from contamination prior to use. As a result, applications of depending plug configurations are limited.
The Wells et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,319 teaches a similar reclosable container including a scored portion on the container top lid, and a closure member movably attached on the top lid and having a depending plug. The depending plug has a severing edge used to break the scored portion to provide an opening. To reclose the container, the depending plug can be moved into the opening to provide a friction engagement between the depending side of the depending plug and the adjacent side of the opening. This closure member has similar limitations to the above discussed reclosure mechanisms.
The Waterbury patent and Byrd patent show another type of reclosable container having a plug member articulated on the container top lid which is not only used to initially seal an opening on the toplid, but is reinsertable into the opening to reclose the container. The plug member has a lift element integrally formed on the plug member used to open the container by pulling the member upwardly. The Waterbury patent further suggests that the plug member can be made of plastic material and shaped in complementary fashion to the opening. This type of reclosable container still has the problem that the reclosed opening may be inadvertably reopened when bumped and the like. Moreover, if the plug member is made of plastic material and shaped in complementary fashion to the opening, the plastic lift element may sometimes have not enough tensile strength to open the sealed plug.
Sanchez discloses a resealable container comprising a scored portion on the container top lid and a rotatable tab member pivotally connected by a rivet assembly to a sealing member and resealing lobe with a resilient sealing layer attached on the inner surface of the container top lid. The rotatable tab member can be raised to depress the scored portion and the sealing member into the interior of the container to expose an opening. The resealing lobe is integral with the sealing member, and upon rotation of the tab member can be positioned so as to reseal the opening. As there is relatively large friction during the rotation operation, the rivet assembly has an inner rivet head and an outer sleeve portion. In this construction, all the sealing or resealing elements are set in the container. This type of resealable mechanism is very complicated and hence expensive to manufacture. Additionally, the material used to make the sealing member and resealing lobe must be carefully chosen because these elements are positioned in the container where they will be in contact with its contents.
Commercially available beverage containers today are normally made in round, cylindrical shapes. However, the round beverage containers waste a lot of space in supermarket, storage and shipping areas. In addition, round containers easily roll when dropped and can be dangerous. This is not desirable, especially while in airplanes, trains, cruise ships, passenger buses, boats or cars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,114 issued on Feb. 13, 1979 to Elizabeth T. Long et al for "Composite Container Having A Plurality Of Removable Sections" discloses a composite container with at least three separable individual compartments. In one embodiment, the composite compartmented container is divided into right-triangular separate compartments joined together by solder globules to form an overall round configuration.
Another U.S. patent for "Container" in U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,342 issued on Apr. 29, 1975 to Stephen H. Longo, Jr., suggests forming multiple attached triangular containers for receiving a product by using a unitary blank having foldable panels and end panels formed from the same blank.
The present invention overcomes the limitations or disadvantages in the previous reclosable containers and the round containers by providing two types of new easy-open and reclosable containers and a triangular beverage container.


An electric fuse is formed over a semiconductor substrate, the electric fuse being broken when a current flows therethrough. A breaker transistor is formed in a first surface layer of the semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, the breaker transistor including a source region, a drain region and a gate electrode. The source and drain regions sandwiches a channel region. The gate electrode controls a conduction state between the source and drain regions. The drain region is connected to one end of the electric fuse. A breaker pad is connected to the end of the electric fuse to supply a fusing current to the electric fuse. A back-bias pad applies a fixed voltage to the first surface layer independently from both a power supply voltage and a ground potential. A fuse information read circuit reads a breakdown/non-breakdown state of the electric fuse.

A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and its manufacture method, and more particularly to a semiconductor device having electric fuses to be electrically broken.
B) Description of the Related Art
Electric fuses formed on a semiconductor substrate are used for redundancy of RAM and identification of chip IDs. An electric fuse is broken by applying large current thereto and generating electromigration. An electric fuse is characterized by a smaller occupying area than that of a fuse to be broken by laser irradiation. A fuse to be broken by laser appropriates all wiring layers for its own use, whereas an electric fuse uses only one wiring layer. The electric fuse causes a high degree of freedom in layout. Test, break, and break check can be performed by using a tester. Therefore, as compared to break by laser, a test cost can be reduced. The electric fuse can be broken even after packaging.
FIG. 9 is an equivalent circuit of an electric fuse and its breaker circuit adopted in a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit. A similar breaker circuit is disclosed in ISSCC 2004 3.7 Power PC 970 in 130 nm and 90 nm Technologies.
One terminal of an electric fuse 1 is connected to the drain region of a breaker transistor T1. The source region of the breaker transistor T1 is grounded. The other terminal of the electric fuse 1 is connected to a breaker pad 2. The terminal connected to the breaker pad 2 is grounded via a first read transistor T2. The terminal of the electric fuse 1 connected to the breaker transistor T1 is connected to a fuse information read circuit 8 via a second read transistor T3. The breaker transistor T1, first read transistor T2 and second read transistor T3 respectively connected directly to the electric fuse 1 consists of high breakdown voltage transistors capable of being durable for high voltage during breaking the fuse. A ground potential VSS is applied to a p-type well in which the breaker transistor T1 and read transistors T2 and T3 are disposed.
When the electric fuse 1 is to be broken, the read transistors T2 and T3 are turned off and the breaker transistor T1 is turned on to apply a fusing current to a serial circuit of the electric fuse 1 and breaker transistor T1 from the breaker pad 2. For reading whether the electric fuse 1 is a breakdown state or a non-breakdown state, the read transistors T2 and T3 are turned on and the breaker transistor T1 is turned off. The fuse information read circuit 8 reads the state of the electric fuse 1 and outputs a read result to an output terminal VF.
FIG. 10 shows a breaker circuit of an electric fuse disclosed in JP-A-SHO 59-66142. A pad 71 is connected to one terminal of a serial circuit of an electric fuse 75 and a breaker transistor TR1 on the side of the electric fuse 75, and the source region of the breaker transistor TR1 is grounded. A substrate potential of the breaker transistor TR1 is supplied from a pad 70 having the same potential as that of the semiconductor substrate.
An electronic circuit 72 is formed on the same substrate. The electronic circuit 72 includes an NMOS transistor TR2. The substrate potential of the NMOS transistor TR2 is also applied from the pad 70. An interconnection point between the electric fuse 75 and pad 71 is connected to the gate electrode of the NMOS transistor TR2.
When the electric fuse 75 is to be broken, the breaker transistor TR1 is turned on and a power supply voltage is applied to the pad 71 to apply a fusing current to the electric fuse 75. In order to confirm the state of the electric fuse 75 after it is broken, the pad 70 is maintained at a lower potential than that of the pad 71. If the electric fuse 75 is not broken, a forward current flows across a pn-junction between the diffusion layer of the breaker transistor TR1 and the semiconductor substrate. If the electric fuse 75 is broken, this forward current will not flow.
If the pad 71 is connected to the source or drain region of the NMOS transistor in the electronic circuit 72, a forward current flows across the pn-junction between the diffusion layer of the NMOS transistor and the semiconductor substrate while the breakdown state of the electric fuse 75 is confirmed. It is not possible therefore to confirm the breakdown state of the electric fuse 75. In the circuit shown in FIG. 10, since the pad 71 is connected only to the gate electrode of the NMOS transistor TR2 in the electronic circuit 72, current will not flow from the pad 70 to the pad 71 via the NMOS transistor in the electronic circuit 72.

Semiconductor device with electrically broken fuse and its manufacture method


Systems and methods are disclosed for secure transmission of high-priority computer server event notifications. One method comprises obtaining a new computer server event to report; generating a first notification message pertaining to the computer server event; generating a second notification message pertaining to the computer server event and to the delivery of the first notification message; storing the first notification message; storing the second notification message; and transmitting the first notification message to a partner over a computer network.

In distributed computing systems, such as one supporting collaborative practices including, for example, financial services and electronic payment transactions, events arising within one distributed partner's environment may be significant to other distributed partners. Events may be related to, for example, business processes, data synchronization, updating status of records, error conditions, etc. Thus, it is important that such distributed systems provide mechanisms for notifying such events to other partners within the distributed computing system. Existing distributed computing systems rely, for example, on file transfers or on polling application programming interfaces (APIs), etc. for computer server event notifications or calling partner APIs. However, these mechanisms suffer from high computing resource costs, delays and lack of security, and may be subject to changes in underlying APIs that force changes in other parts of the distributed system.
Systems and methods for notifying distributed partners of events have previously been disclosed. For example, systems have been disclosed wherein a partner subscribes to topics and receives notifications. However, under these systems, only certain details may be provided to a partner in the initial notification, and the partner may be required to engage in several iterative communications with the computer server. For some types of high-priority notifications, it is desirable to provide alerts to distributed partners without the distributed partner needing to retrieve event details as a separate action.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods and systems for providing transmission and registration of high-priority computer server event notifications between disparate systems that are efficient, secure, and scalable.

Systems and methods for real-time processing and transmitting of high-priority notifications


Devices are provided for field weakening control of a compressor, including the compressor and a main circuit unit providing power for the compressor. The devices include a compressor rotational speed obtaining unit, and a control unit that compares the rotational speed ω of the compressor with a rotational speed threshold ω1 of the compressor, and controls the main circuit unit according to comparison results. When the rotational speed ω is less than ω1, an output voltage of the main circuit unit is controlled at a fixed value. When the rotational speed ω is greater than or equal to ω1, the compressor is controlled not to enter the field weakening control temporarily and the output voltage of the main circuit unit is controlled to rise, the compressor is controlled to enter the field weakening control when the output voltage of the main circuit unit cannot continue to rise.

When operating in a high-speed area, a permanent magnet synchronous compressor is easy to enter a field weakening control area. During the field weakening control, the increase of Id current (Id: current that generates magnetic flux) is easy to cause the efficiency of a whole machine to become lower, meanwhile, the change of Id will cause problems such as position estimation, resulting in the unstable system. Therefore, if the time for the compressor to enter the field weakening control can be delayed, the efficiency of the compressor and the stability of the system will be improved.

Device and method for field weakening control of compressor, air conditioner and storage medium

QINGDAO HAIER AIR-CONDITIONING ELECTRONIC CO., LTD.


A method is provided for removing gimbal periodic reorientation (indexing) readout errors in a navigation system having multiple IMUs mounted to a platform. Each IMU has multiple gyroscopes providing attitude outputs. Attitude readout errors bias due to periodic gimbal motions is determined in each IMU along each gyroscope attitude axis. Attitude outputs of the gyroscopes are time-aligned, as necessary. Onset times of indexing of each gyroscope is determined. A difference is formed between gyroscope attitude outputs. Steps in this difference of attitude outputs are assigned to the respective gyroscope causing the step in attitude. Cumulative sums of the steps associated with the respective gyroscopes are formed. The mean and linear trend in the respective cumulative sums are removed from the respective cumulative sums to form the final error correction, corresponding to the time interval associated with the steps. Each final error level correction is subtracted from the attitude output from the respective gyroscope at the time of indexing associated with that final correction.

Navigation data for a moving platform, such as a ship, includes current position and velocity. Attitude data includes orientation (i.e., roll, pitch and heading measurements) and orientation rate of the platform in a reference frame. Measurements of a tracked target may be used by multiple processing functions and may generally involve transformation from the platform's coordinate system to an external coordinate system.
This transformation matrix is a function of roll, pitch, and heading of the platform's orientation with respect to the East, North, and Up (ENU) coordinate frame. These angular orientations are measured by component gyroscopes of an inertial measurement unit IMU For example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) of the INS may contain three single-axis accelerometers and three gyroscopes, where, for example, each gyroscope is a single degree of freedom (SDOF) ring laser gyroscope (RLG). A single-axis accelerometer mounted on a moving platform measures linear acceleration experienced along its measurement axis. The three single-axis accelerometers are mounted on three mutually orthogonal axes. These three mutually orthogonal axes define the coordinate frame of the IMU. This frame is aligned to the platform by physically aligning the three orthogonal axes of the IMU to the three orthogonal axes of the platform. This allows accelerations measured by the IMU in each axis to constitute an acceleration vector of the platform. The accelerometers need the three RLGs to measure the orientation of the platform with respect to ENU fixed coordinate frame. Thus, the IMU provides both the linear acceleration of the platform and the angular orientations (e.g. roll, pitch, heading turns). With reference to an initial position and attitude, the IMU provides the information about the current position, velocity, and attitude of the platform, allowing the platform to set and adjust its course and determine the location of any other objects that are being tracked and/or targeted by the platform.
The accelerometer measurements provide an acceleration vector with respect to the inertial frame of the IMU. In order to relate the accelerometer measurements to an Earth frame, the angular orientation of the accelerometer assembly with respect to the Earth is determined. For example, by integrating the acceleration vector twice, the position of the IMU can be obtained. This position can be converted to latitude and longitude with reference to an Earth model, e.g., World Geodetic System, revision 84 (WGS-84). The angular orientation of the IMU is measured by mounting the three RLGs on the three planes defined by the mutually orthogonal axes used for the accelerometers. The acceleration of the platform is measured by the IMUs with respect to the instantaneous ENU coordinate frame, which is referenced by the navigation data to the Earth Centered Earth Fixed (ECEF) coordinate frame of WGS-84. This acceleration vector is fed back to the computation of the velocity and position of the IMU, with respect to WGS-84. The SDOF RLG detects angular rotation around the axis normal to the plane containing the RLG. This provides the angular orientation of that axis.
These sensing elements (RLGs and accelerometers) are mounted on a sensor block assembly, which is mounted within a two-axis (dual axis) gimbal assembly. This dual axis gimbal assembly allows the axes for each RLG and accelerometer to be periodically reoriented during operation. This is accomplished by an inner gimbal that provides rotation in heading and an outer gimbal that allows rotation in roll. This periodic change of orientation allows the cumulative effects of small drift errors in the RLGs and accelerometers to cancel out.
The RLGs and accelerometers are subject to many sources of error. These include but are not limited to, random-walk error, gyro bias error, gyro scale factor error and accelerometer bias. Some of these errors lead to the bias of the output of RLGs and accelerometers. These biases lead to erroneous values for the orientation and position of the sensor block assembly. By reversing the orientation of the sensor block assembly periodically (e.g., every five minutes), a bound is imposed on the biases output from the RLGs and accelerometers.
This periodic reversal of the sensor axes is called indexing. In one example, the rotation of the gimbal assembly takes ten seconds to complete and occurs every five minutes. The orientation of the sensor block is held for five minutes (minus the 10 second rotation duration), therefore retaining the RLG and accelerometer biases with respect to the orientation of the axis being measured. The reorientations of the sensor block assembly change the magnitude and direction of the RLG and accelerometer biases, thereby, canceling out any cumulative effects due to the instrument biases. Indexing gives the IMU a capability to meet a better positional accuracy over a required time period, at the price of introducing a periodically varying mechanical positioning error in attitude.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a forward (FWD) and corresponding, aftward (AFT) IMU gyro attitude (either roll, pitch or yaw) angle output, compared to the (assumed, here, constant) truth attitude value. The true attitude angle θ is depicted by the dashed line, trace 105. Traces 100 and 102 are examples of attitude angle measurement produced by the FWD IMU gyroscopes (FWD gyro) and AFT IMU gyroscopes (AFT gyro), respectively. The traces 100, 102 can differ from the true attitude angle trace 105 by mean gyro attitude angle mean traces 101 and 103 from the true attitude. The difference between traces 100 and 101 and the difference between traces 101 and 103 are intended to show errors (biases) due to indexing. This indexing bias is piecewise constant for the interval defined by the indexing times. The transition between indexing biases is shown as instantaneous steps in the traces 100, 102. The idealized step function (to simplify initial presentation) transitions of the angular measurements due to indexing occur at the vertical dashed lines. These vertical dashed lines represent the times of indexing for the FWD and AFT gyros denoted by tif, i=1, 2, 3, . . . and tia, i=1, 2, 3, . . . respectively. Compensation for indexing errors in gyro output traces, 100 and 102, from the mean gyro attitude traces 101 and 103, respectively is desired. Compensation or correction of the mean gyro attitude traces 101 and 103, to the true attitude angle trace 105, requires reference to measurements external to the IMU platform, and is addressed herein. Such a process takes a longer period to resolve than the indexing period. The indexing biases slow convergence of such a process and are a remaining error in the attitude output. Attitude angle measurements of the AFT gyro are subtracted from the attitude angle measurements of the FWD gyro and this difference is plotted as curve 200 in FIG. 2A. The observed difference can be positive or negative and the transitions occur at the times of index.

Gyro indexing compensation method and system


A combined cycle power plant includes a gas turbine having a primary flow passage, a heat recovery steam generator having a heat exchanger disposed downstream from the primary flow passage, an exhaust stack in fluid communication with the primary flow passage and disposed downstream from the heat recovery steam generator and a reversible turning gear coupled to a rotor shaft of the gas turbine. The reversible turning gear counter rotates the rotor shaft during turning gear counter rotation operation of the gas turbine and reverses flow of combustion exhaust gas from the exhaust stack through the heat exchanger and back into the primary flow passage of the gas turbine, thereby conserving thermal energy stored in the heat recovery steam generator. A method for conserving thermal energy of a combined cycle power plant during counter rotation turning gear operation of the gas turbine is also disclosed.

One type of combined cycle gas turbine power plant utilizes at least one gas turbine and at least one steam turbine, in combination, to produce electric power. The power plant is arranged such that the gas turbine is thermally connected to the steam turbine through a heat recovery system such as a heat recovery steam generator ("HRSG"). The gas turbine generally includes a compressor section, a combustion section disposed downstream from the compressor section and a turbine section which is downstream from the combustion section. A rotor shaft of the gas turbine is coupled to a generator. A rotor shaft of the steam turbine may be coupled to the same generator or to a separate generator.
The HRSG generally includes one or more heat exchangers which are positioned downstream from a turbine exhaust duct of the gas turbine. During fired operation of the gas turbine, hot combustion exhaust gases flow from the exhaust duct, through the HRSG and out an exhaust stack. Thermal energy from the hot combustion exhaust gas is transferred via the heat exchanger(s) to a working fluid such as water so as to provide a flow of pressurized steam to the steam turbine(s).
In certain instances, the gas turbine may be operated primarily during peak or high power demand periods and shut down during non-peak or low demand periods. During a shut-down or non-fired operational period, however, it may be generally desirable to keep the rotor shaft of the gas turbine rotating at some desired minimal rotational speed via a turning gear which is coupled to an electric motor in order to protect the gas turbine rotor from bowing.
As the rotor is turned via the turning gear, ambient air is drawn through the compressor section, routed into a compressor discharge casing of the combustion section, routed through the turbine section out the exhaust duct and then through the HRSG. Although the air flowing from the compressor during turning gear operation may realize a slight increase in thermal energy, the temperature of the air passing from the compressor into the HRSG may be lower than the temperature of the working fluid residing in the heat exchangers of the HRSG, particularly soon after fired-operation of the gas turbine has ceased. As a result, thermal energy from the working fluid within the heat exchanger is lost to the cooler exhaust air.
The loss of thermal energy from the working fluid in the HRSG during turning gear operation may negatively impact overall power plant performance. For example, additional time may be required to bring the working fluid within the HRSG back to a required operating temperature before full operation of both the gas turbine and the steam turbine may be realized. In addition, a large temperature differential between the working fluid in the HRSG and the hot turbine exhaust gas, particularly during the initial start-up period, may result in thermal stresses on various components of the HRSG which may impact overall HRSG performance. Accordingly, a system and method for conserving thermal losses from the HRSG working fluid during turning gear operation of the gas turbine would be useful.

Combined cycle power plant thermal energy conservation


A method of measuring the efficacy of an anticancer agent in generating abasic (AP) sites in DNA of cancer cells of a subject includes administering to the subject an anticancer agent that generates AP sites in at least one cancer cell and an AP endonuclease inhibitor probe. The AP endonuclease inhibitor probe includes a detection moiety for detecting the probe in the subject. The amount of probe bound to cancer cells of the subject is then measured. The amount of probe bound to cancer cells of the subject is indicative of efficacy of the anticancer agent in generating AP sites in cancer cells of the subject.

Current cancer therapies rely heavily on radiation and DNA damaging agents to induce both cytotoxic DNA changes and programmed cell death (Neidle S, Thurston D E. Chemical approaches to the discovery and development of cancer therapies. Nat Rev Cancer 2005; 5: 285-96). Cytotoxic DNA damages include bulky lesions, inter-strand crosslinks, double-strand breaks, interruption of transcription, replication, and chromosome segregation (Friedberg E C. DNA damage and repair. Nature 2003; 421: 436-40.). These lesions interfere with DNA metabolic processes and inhibit normal cell and tumor growth.
Among the DNA-targeted chemotherapeutic agents is temozolomide (TMZ, 3,4-dihydro-3-methyl-4-oxoimidazo[5,1-d]tetrazine-8-carboxamide), which has been widely utilized in cancer therapies (Stevens M F, Hickman J A, Langdon S P, et al. Antitumor activity and pharmacokinetics in mice of 8-carbamoyl-3-methyl-imidazo[5,1-d]-1,2,3,5-tetrazin-4(3H)-one (CCRG 81045; M & B 39831), a novel drug with potential as an alternative to dacarbazine. Cancer Res 1987; 47: 5846-52.). The drug easily penetrates the blood-brain barrier making it particularly useful in treating malignant brain tumors (Newlands E S, Stevens M F, Wedge S R, Wheelhouse R T, Brock C. Temozolomide: a review of its discovery, chemical properties, pre-clinical development and clinical trials. Cancer Treat Rev 1997; 23: 35-61.). It has shown promising antitumor activity in recent clinical trials (Taliansky-Aronov A, Bokstein F, Lavon I, Siegal T. Temozolomide treatment for newly diagnosed anaplastic oligodendrogliomas: a clinical efficacy trial. J Neurooncol 2006; 79: 153-7; Trudeau M E, Crump M, Charpentier D, et al. Temozolomide in metastatic breast cancer (MBC): a phase II trial of the National Cancer Institute of Canada-Clinical Trials Group (NCIC-CTG). Ann Oncol 2006; 17: 952-6; Hegi M E, Diserens A C, Godard S, et al. Clinical trial substantiates the predictive value of O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter methylation in glioblastoma patients treated with temozolomide. Clin Cancer Res 2004; 10: 1871-4; Lanzetta G, Campanella C, Rozzi A, et al. Temozolomide in radio-chemotherapy combined treatment for newly-diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme: phase II clinical trial. Anticancer Res 2003; 23: 5159-64). However, drug resistance remains a critical consequence, often causing treatment failure in clinical use (Mason W P, Cairncross J G. Drug Insight: temozolomide as a treatment for malignant glioma—impact of a recent trial. Nat Clin Pract Neurol 2005; 1: 88-95). A major resistance factor is the presence of elaborate mechanisms of DNA repair (Liu L, Gerson S L. Targeted modulation of MGMT: clinical implications. Clin Cancer Res 2006; 12: 328-31). This resistance is based on the fact that TMZ reacts with DNA forming O6-methylguanine (O6mG), 7-methylguanine (N7mG), and 3-methyladenine (N3mA) DNA adducts that are repaired by three major mechanisms.
The O6mG DNA adduct is a cytotoxic and genotoxic lesion mainly repaired by O6-methylguanine DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) (Gerson S L. MGMT: its role in cancer aetiology and cancer therapeutics. Nat Rev Cancer 2004; 4: 296-307). Cell death from O6mG adducts is also promoted by mismatch repair (MMR) (Modrich P, Lahue R. Mismatch repair in replication fidelity, genetic recombination, and cancer biology. Annu Rev Biochem 1996; 65: 101-33). Deficiency in MMR is associated with pronounced resistance to TMZ (Caporali S, Falcinelli S, Starace G, et al. DNA damage induced by temozolomide signals to both ATM and ATR: role of the mismatch repair system. Mol Pharmacol 2004; 66: 478-91). Meanwhile, N7mG, the dominant lesion formed by TMZ, and N3mA DNA adducts are removed by the base excision repair (BER) pathway (David S S, Williams S D. Chemistry of Glycosylases and Endonucleases Involved in Base-Excision Repair. Chem. Rev 1998; 98: 1221-62; Fromme J C, Verdine G L. Base excision repair. Adv Protein Chem 2004; 69: 1-41; Barnes D E, Lindahl T. Repair and genetic consequences of endogenous DNA base damage in mammalian cells. Annu Rev Genet 2004; 38: 445-76). Efficient BER minimizes the impact of these lesions in normal and tumor cells.

Detection and quantification of abasic site formation in vivo


Methods, systems, and computer-readable media described herein provide for the display of aircraft traffic and climb/descent information on an aircraft display. Flight data is received from a traffic aircraft in the vicinity of an ownship aircraft. Similar flight data is determined for the ownship aircraft. The flight data for the traffic aircraft and the ownship aircraft is used to determine a criteria indicator that is associated with at least the longitudinal separation and closure rate between the two aircraft. According to various embodiments, a number of altitude indication lines are displayed and an aircraft traffic indicator and ownship indicator corresponding with the traffic aircraft and ownship aircraft are displayed on the appropriate altitude indication lines. The criteria indicator is displayed so that the position of the criteria indicator with respect to the aircraft traffic indicator and ownship indicator informs a pilot as to whether an altitude change is possible.

Every day, hundreds of aircraft fly across oceans or other airspace that is not monitored by radar. Aircraft fly within designated routes at predefined altitudes, or flight levels. A flight level indicates an altitude in hundreds of feet according to a standard pressure datum. For example, flight level (FL) 310 indicates an altitude of 31,000 feet, while FL 280 indicates an altitude of 28,000 feet. Often, pilots will want to select a cruise altitude that will optimize the performance of the aircraft in some manner. For example, the wind direction and velocity may vary between the available flight levels along the route that the aircraft is flying. The pilot may want to take advantage of a tailwind at a particular flight level to consume less fuel, which consequently may lower operating costs and reduce environmentally harmful emissions, and/or to decrease the flight time to the destination airport.
A problem when flying these oceanic routes is that due to the lack of radar coverage, the position updates must be regularly sent to an air traffic control (ATC) facility that is in communication with the aircraft at any given time. The pilots typically do not have a big picture of the traffic that is surrounding them at any given time. Any requests for changes in flight levels must be relayed to ATC, and often through multiple personnel or facilities until an accurate depiction of the surrounding traffic is determined and a decision can be made by the controller. More often than not, the request for a flight level change is denied for traffic reasons. For this reason, pilots often stop asking, which leads to inefficiencies and delays.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology allows ADS-B equipped aircraft to receive flight information broadcast directly from other ADS-B equipped aircraft. This information may include identification, position, altitude, directional data, and other flight data corresponding to the current flight conditions of the broadcasting aircraft. However, while this data is useful in assisting a pilot and ATC with valuable traffic information, the pilot must still spend time analyzing the constantly changing data in order to make a determination as to whether a flight level change would possible in light of the current traffic environment.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is presented.