The present disclosure provides devices, systems, and methods to utilize relative timing offset information reported by one or more mobile devices. When coupled with AGPS information reported by one or more mobile devices, the offset information is be used to calibrate calculations and subsequently to locate all 3G mobiles with GPS-like accuracy, whether or not a GPS receiver is available on said mobile device being located. A determination of a propagation delay between one or more cell sites and a mobile device is reported to a network and used to calibrate unknown information such as a timing offset, to improve the accuracy of a detected location. The relative timing offset can be applied to determine a location for all other mobile devices within the area served by the known base station. The present disclosure utilizes this method in conjunction with information crowd-sourced from a plurality of mobile devices.

Mobile devices such as cellular telephones, PDAs, etc. are proliferating like never before. Almost everyone has some sort of mobile device, and some people have multiple devices. Users can access several different networks using a single mobile device, and can access voice, text, and multimedia data from other network entities such as servers and other mobile devices. Further, mobile device complexity is increasing, with more and more advanced and power efficient processors, display interfaces, and applications to provide a user experience like never before. Such devices include, for instance, the iPhone®, iPad®, Droid®, and other PDAs I netbooks.
These mobile devices additionally include Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which provides for a host of location-based services (LBS). Location estimation of mobile devices, in for instance a 3G UMTS system, is important for obtaining location tagged network failure data for system optimization, location based services, 911 services, and a variety of other location enhanced applications. Although GPS receivers enable precise location determinations, GPS receivers do not always receive satellite signals. This problem is highlighted in several situations, for instance in buildings, basements, or generally where the signal from a satellite is blocked for some reason. Estimating accurate (sub 100 m median accuracy) location of 3G mobile devices today typically consists of relying on Assisted (AGPS) devices to achieve the desired accuracy. The problem however, is that mobiles can only report AGPS location estimates if they actually see enough satellites, which essentially limits AGPS locates to mobiles which are "outdoors, in-vehicles or by windows". By some estimates this means that between 30-50% of mobile locates are not able to return AGPS location information.
Commonly owned and assigned patent application Ser. No. 12/712,424, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,224,349, on Jul. 17, 2012 (the NELOS application), describes methods to determine a location of non-GPS mobile devices using network probes that measure timing offsets for base stations pairs and forwards these timing offsets to the mobile device to assist in a location determination. However, this relies on functionality on the network, which may not always be available to the mobile device. Further this does not allow for locating devices serviced by base station pairs that are not operated by the same network operator that owns the network servers.
Consequently, what is needed is a technique to determine a location of a non-GPS mobile device to a precise degree without relying on unnecessary intelligence on the network.

Location estimation of a mobile device in a UMTS network


A hearing aid is permanently adjusted to match prescribed amplification characteristics at predetermined frequencies. A single channel filter (24) includes three identical filter stages (60, 62, and 64) that are optionally cascaded in series. Each of the filter stages (60, 62, and 64) exhibits a frequency response curve having a first corner frequency (36) below which the magnitude of the response curve approaches a predetermined minimum value, a second corner frequency (38) above which the magnitude of the response curve approaches a maximum value, and a predetermined gain in magnitude between the minimum and maximum values.

Hearing aids help to compensate for a wide range of hearing impairments that vary in magnitude from mild to severe based on amounts of amplification required to meet hearing threshold levels at predetermined frequencies. Individual patterns of hearing impairment are plotted in audiograms that record a range of hearing threshold levels over a domain of audible frequencies.
Detailed audiological assessments of hearing performance are made by measuring the hearing threshold levels throughout the range of audible frequencies presented as both pure tones and speech. Other measures include air and bone conduction, reflexes, tympanometry, most comfortable loudness level (MCL), loudness discomfort level (LDL), and real-ear unaided response (REUR)--the acoustical influence of the auditory canal and concha.
Various combinations of these measures are used in conjunction with a variety of prescriptive formulae for selecting hearing aid amplification characteristics. For example, one prescriptive formula, known as the Byrne and Tonisson procedure, calculates amplification characteristics required to present important frequency components of speech with equal loudness. Another prescriptive formula, known as the Berger procedure, calculates amplification characteristics required to restore a fraction close to one-half of the measured hearing loss at each frequency.
The prescriptive formulae specify exact amplification characteristics at predetermined frequencies, and these desired characteristics are often referred to as "target frequency responses". However, the ability to meet these target frequency responses with known hearing aids is limited, and procedures for selecting and adjusting hearing aids to approximate the target frequency responses are much less exacting.
One approach allows physicians and audiologists to choose from a large array of electrical components such as microphones, amplifiers, filters, and receivers, each contributing to a total frequency response of the assembled hearing aid. The large number of available components, peculiarities of each component, and the interaction between components make the choice of a complete set of components very difficult and time consuming. The large number of different components also adds considerable inventory, design, and manufacturing costs.
Another approach provides physicians and audiologists with a matrix of frequency responses from which to choose. The electrical components for achieving the target frequency responses are selected in advance by the hearing aid manufacturers. However, the limited choices for frequency response usually preclude a close match with the target frequency response, and the hearing aid performance is correspondingly reduced. Improperly matched hearing aids can also produce distorted or uncomfortable sounds and can obscure information important to the perception of speech.
The ability to match target frequency responses with known hearing aids is also limited by the performance of filters within the hearing aid circuits. Attempts have been made to combine filters in both series and parallel circuits to more closely match target frequency responses. However, any frequencies that are attenuated by a first filter in a series circuit cannot be fully restored to a higher level of amplification. Filters arranged in parallel (i.e., in separate channels) for processing different portions of the audible spectrum produce individual phase shifts that interfere with recombining the two processed portions of the spectrum.
Some hearing aids are also provided with potentiometers to provide a further adjustment to frequency response after manufacture. The potentiometers are used to control the performance of hearing aid components such as amplifiers and filters. The adjustments are often based on subjective responses of the hearing aid wearer and may produce results that are inappropriate for other sound environments.

Hearing aid with permanently adjusted frequency response


A production method of a liquid high-purity polyhydric alcohol derivative-modified silicone or a composition thereof is disclosed. The method comprises: a capturing step 1) of bringing into an impurity-containing composition containing a liquid polyhydric alcohol derivative-modified silicone and hydrophilic impurities originating from a polyhydric alcohol derivative, the polyhydric alcohol derivative being a hydrophilic modifier of the polyhydric alcohol derivative-modified silicone, into contact with solid particles capable of capturing the hydrophilic impurities, and then capturing the hydrophilic impurities with the solid particles; and a separating step 2) of separating the polyhydric alcohol derivative-modified silicone and the solid particles. The method is useful for production of the liquid high-purity polyhydric alcohol derivative-modified silicone and the composition thereof on a commercial scale.

Among the silicones modified by a polyhydric alcohol derivative, it is possible to indicate a glycerin derivative-modified silicone as an example of a typical material other than a sugar derivative-modified silicone.
Commonly known examples of silicones modified by a glycerin derivative include the compounds disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 9, and the reaction schemes of such compounds are also well known. Generally, since there are almost no cases in which the introduction reaction of a glycerin derivative to a silicone skeleton proceeds by the chemical equivalent (mole equivalent), the introduction reaction is commonly completed by supplying the glycerin derivative in excess. Therefore, in addition to a glycerin derivative-modified silicone copolymer, which is the product, an unreacted modifier (a glycerin derivative) remains as a residual in the reaction system, resulting in turbidity. Since the glycerin derivative has a high boiling point in most cases, and polyglycerin is a high molecular compound, as such, purification by stripping is not effective. Therefore, it was difficult to obtain a high-purity glycerin derivative-modified silicone on a commercial scale. This is due to not only the fact that stripping at an excessively high temperature causes the degeneration of the product or undesirable side reactions, but also the fact that a technique of stripping impurities having a high boiling point at an even higher temperature is inefficient in an actual production process.
Another technique for increasing the purity of an organo-modified silicone containing a residual organic modifier as an impurity is, for example, an extraction (or precipitation/re-precipitation) separation method utilizing the difference in solubility between impurities and the main component. For example, when the organic modifier is a hydrophilic compound, in an extraction separation method, most of the impurities are first extracted and removed with a hydrophilic solvent (alternatively, the main component is conversely extracted with a lipophilic solvent). However, phase separation in the extraction step ordinarily takes time, and this does not yield clean separation. This results in an increase in waste and a decrease in yield and productivity. In addition, in the case of the glycerin derivative-modified silicone, there are many cases in which the entire system enters an emulsified state and cannot be separated, which leads to poor versatility.
On the other hand, a precipitation and re-precipitation method is a technique of dissolving an organo-modified silicone containing a residual organic modifier in an organic solvent with solubility in both, and precipitating and separating the organo-modified silicone by gradually adding water, for example. Patent Document 10 discloses a high-purity polypropylene glycol-modified organosiloxane polymer obtained by a precipitation and re-precipitation method. However, the total amounts of the organic solvent and water that are used in this method are ten times the amount of the organo-modified silicone each time re-precipitation is performed, and this is repeated three times to obtain a high-purity organo-modified silicone with no impurities. Accordingly, taking into consideration problems such as the low productivity in relation to the number of reactions and the large amount of waste water treatment, application to mass production on a commercial scale is difficult. In addition, when the organic modifier is a polyethylene glycol derivative or a glycerin derivative, the hydrophilicity and surface activity of the corresponding organo-modified silicone are increased, so separation and purification are often difficult with this method.
Patent Document 11 discloses an organosiloxane derivative having a sugar residue but not containing an unreacted starting material, which is obtained by a membrane separation method using a dialysis tube. However, a dialysis time of three days is required to obtain 10 g of a high-purity organo-modified silicone, so this method cannot be considered suitable for mass production on a commercial scale from the perspective of efficiency. In addition, in Patent Document 11, it is stated that the purification of the organopolysiloxane derivative is also possible by column chromatography. Patent Document 4 discloses a glyceryl ether-modified silicone purified by a silica gel column. However, column chromatography requires the circulation of a large amount of a solvent in order to obtain a high-purity organo-modified silicone, and there are many problems with production on a commercial scale, such as the apparatus design, the recovery of the waste solvent, the removal of the solvent from the recovered solution, and low productivity.
Patent Document 12 discloses a purification method for an alkyl glyceryl polysiloxane derivative by means of ultrafiltration utilizing a diafiltration method. However, since the pore diameter of ultrafiltration is small and the film tends to become obstructed in a short amount of time, ultrafiltration must be performed after diluting an organo-modified silicone containing an organic modifier around ten times with a volatile solvent such as hexane. Therefore, there are problems such as the removal of the solvent from the filtrate, low productivity, and operator safety.
Patent Document 7 proposes a method for producing a branched polyglycerol-modified silicone obtained by adding/graft polymerizing a silicone having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of hydroxy groups, carboxy groups, amino groups, imino groups, mercapto groups, and epoxy groups, with 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol in the presence of an acidic or basic catalyst. With this method, however, the siloxane backbone breaks during graft polymerization, and as a result, at least two components having different properties tend to be produced as copolymers, and there are many problems from the perspectives of quality and the purification step, and thus, it is difficult to obtain a high-purity polyglycerin-modified silicone in a stable manner on a commercial scale.
In addition, Patent Document 13 discloses a hydrogenation treatment for the glycerin-modified polysiloxane, and an acid treatment following the hydrogenation treatment, in Example 5, as a purification method of a modified silicone compound having a branched polymer made of a hydrophilic group. However, this technique is a deodorizing technique by which the unsaturated group portion of the residual organic modifier, which is the source of odorization of the modified silicone composition, is stabilized by hydrolysis and the hydrogenation treatment, and a high-purity glycerin-modified silicone is not obtained. In this technique, the excess glycerin derivative changes the structure thereof and continues to remain in the composition.
Recently, Patent Document 8 has proposed a novel alternating copolymer of organopolysiloxane with glycerin derivative, and suggests that a high molecular weight polyglycerin-modified silicone can be obtained without the problem of white turbidness, and the like, caused by the unreacted starting material. However, it is clear from the chemical structure that this compound has a hydrophilic group portion incorporated on its backbone. As a result, this copolymer has properties completely different than those of conventional general-use hydrophilic silicones such as polyether-modified silicone and the like and, therefore, a high level of technical skill is necessary to stably compound this copolymer in delicate formulations such as cosmetic products and the like, leading to the problem of the field of use being limited.
In such a situation, in Patent Document 14, the present inventors disclose a novel organopolysiloxane containing a hydrophilic group, which is easy to produce and incurs almost no phase separation or sedimentation of unreacted starting material and the like after production, and is chemically stable and has excellent practicality, and a method for producing the same. In particular, they propose that this organopolysiloxane be used as a surfactant, powder treatment agent, and surface treatment agent that can be advantageously used in the field of cosmetics. Moreover, in Patent Document 15, the present inventors disclose a novel liquid organopolysiloxane having flowability at least at 100° C., having a silicon-bonded glycerin derivative group, and also having a crosslinked structure including a carbon-silicon bond in the crosslinking part, and a method for producing the same. At the same time, they propose an external use preparation or cosmetics having an excellent emulsion stability without the inclusion of a compound containing a polyoxyethylene structure, which conforms to the world-wide trend of improving the overall configuration of a product for the end consumer, such as cosmetic products, etc. including the liquid organopolysiloxane, to a PEG-FREE formulation. In addition, the present inventors examine the usage, structure, functions, etc. of these novel materials, and disclose the details in Patent Documents 16 to 23.
In Patent Documents 14 to 23, a production example of not only the glycerin derivative-modified silicone invented by the present inventors, but also of the glycerin derivative-modified silicone based on the prior techniques has been reported as a comparison product. However, most of the compositions containing the glycerin derivative-modified silicone at the point of time when the reaction step ended, except for those for which the hydrogenation treatment is performed, have a milky white to grayish brown opaque appearance. Moreover, there are also case examples of attempts made to reduce the residual glycerin derivative, which is the cause of turbidity, by filtering the opaque composition, however, there are cases in which a translucent appearance is obtained, or conversely, there are also cases in which the turbidity is not removed at all, and as such there has been no known technique of increasing the purity of a glycerin derivative-modified silicone composition that is practical and clear, and is effective for a wide range of design structures.
For example, in Examples 2 to 7 of Patent Document 22, it has been reported that the glycerin derivative co-modified organopolysiloxane that has a low viscosity and a low HLB is obtained as a transparent liquid by performing the filtration process after removing the low-boiling components following the hydrosilylation reaction. Since these glycerin derivative-modified silicones have an extremely low HLB and low viscosity, the affinity of the residual glycerin derivative starting material in the reaction mixture and the glycerin derivative-modified silicone, which is the product, is extremely poor, and when allowed to stand for a period of one day up to a few days at laboratory scale, two-layer separation occurs, and the residual starting material undergoes sedimentation. Hence, by sampling and filtering out only the phase of the glycerin derivative-modified silicone, which is a supernatant, excellent transparency can be obtained. Therefore, there were problems that the yield was low and certain amount of time was required for production, as well as that the applicable range of the structure was narrow. In addition, there was the problem that since the bulk (height) of the reaction mixture increases during production of a large amount on a commercial scale, the time taken until two-layer separation increases significantly as compared to the laboratory scale, which makes it difficult to filter only the supernatant liquid.
As described above, until now, there has been almost no known effective method for producing a liquid high-purity glycerin derivative-modified silicone or a composition containing the same in a stable manner on a commercial scale. Further, there has also been no known technique of increasing the purity of a liquid glycerin derivative-modified silicone which can be applied regardless of the type of the glycerin modifier and can reasonably cope with production on a commercial scale. Therefore, there has been a demand for the development of a high-purity glycerin derivative-modified silicone having low turbidity that is stable while being in liquid form, or a composition thereof, which is easy to produce and incurs almost no phase separation or sedimentation of unreacted starting material or the like after production, and a method for producing the same.

Method for producing liquid high-purity polyhydric alcohol derivative-modified silicone or composition thereof


Container made of a plastic material, provided with a base including a standing ring forming a support flange and a diaphragm extending from the standing ring to a central portion, the diaphragm being capable of standing in an outwardly-inclined position, the diaphragm connecting to the standing ring at an outer junction forming an outer articulation of the diaphragm with respect to the standing ring; the diaphragm connecting to the central portion at an inner junction forming an inner articulation of the diaphragm with respect to the central portion; the diaphragm being invertible with respect to the standing ring to an inwardly-inclined position; the central portion having a thickness greater than the diaphragm, the central portion having an annular section of greater thickness adjacent to the inner junction, the central portion having a central recess thinner than the annular section and protruding upwardly from an inner edge of the annular section.

U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 2008/0047964 (Denner et al, assigned to CO2PAC) discloses a container comprising a pressure panel located in the bottom portion of the container. According to Denner, the pressure panel is movable between an outwardly-inclined position and an inwardly-inclined position to compensate for a change of pressure inside the container. In order to alleviate all or a portion of the vacuum forces within the container, the pressure panel is moved from the outwardly-inclined position by a mechanical pusher after the container has been capped and cooled, in order to force the pressure panel into the inwardly-inclined position.
Tests conducted on such a container showed that, once inverted to the inwardly-inclined position, the pressure panel does not maintain its position but tends to sink back under the pressure of the content. In the end, after the content has cooled, the container has lost much rigidity and therefore feels soft when held in hand. When stacking or palletizing the containers, there is a risk for the lower containers to bend under the weight of upper containers, and hence a risk for the whole pallet to collapse.

Container provided with an invertible diaphragm and a central portion of greater thickness


A flexible integrated circuit mounting apparatus and method for mounting a chip on a printed circuit board directed to the reduction of stresses within the mounting or interconnection medium, caused principally by a mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion between the chip circuit and the printed circuit board, and thus reduction of the likelihood of interconnection failure between the chip and the particular surface or device to which an interconnection is made.

The trend in the semiconductor industry is the development of submicron level integrated circuits (IC or chip). The use of the IC involves interconnection between the IC and the surface or device where it is positioned. Interconnection include silicon chip connection between chip and lead frame or board; printed wiring connecting individual components; and interconnection between printed wiring boards. Of these interconnections, chip to board interconnection failure is the cause of the majority of failures of electronic systems or devices. Of interconnection failures, solder related interconnection failures are the largest contributors to electronic package failure.
Interconnection provide mechanical, thermal, and electrical functions in the electronic package. Various technologies have been developed to solve this problem of interconnection between chips and the chip and the circuit board. The pin in hole or pin through hole was the traditional method, until the late 1980's when the surface mount technology was introduced. The introduction of the surface mount technology revolutionized the electronic packaging industry. Surface mount technology includes flip chip, chip-on-chip, tape automated bonding, ball grid array and multi-chip module. Each of these techniques differ in its circuitry design and interconnections. U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,447 to Hirano et al., a flip chip mounting type device having a gate region for injection of a sealing member filled between a mounted board and the chip.
Solders have been successfully used for interconnections. Solder fluxes and solder powders have been combined into paste and is easily applied to component foot print areas. Various interconnection methodologies such as vapor phase, convection, laser, infrared, and hot-bar reflow are in use today. With the surface mount technology solder interconnection will continue to be the most reliable, with case of interconnection, and cost effective method. However, failure in solder interconnection are due to the following: mechanical failure due to weakness in material strength, surface tension effect, high temperature creep and plastic deformation, excessive void, intermetallic compound formed at interfaces, the development of damaging microstructures, fatigue failure due to corrosion, and mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE).
The joint material causes serious failure due to stress as a result of CTE mismatch. The thermal environment experienced by electronic circuits varies greatly encompassing a range of -50 degrees to +200 degrees F., or more. The CTE of plastic/ceramic is approximately 20 times the CTE of the silicon chip. One solution is to use strain buffers between the low CTE silicon and the high CTE metal. At present solders will strain buffers such as copper and molybdenum are in use. The strain at the solder joints due to temperature change, and fatigue failure of solder interconnections remain high. U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,329 to Purdes discloses a chip mount to reduce stresses caused by thermal expansion mismatch between chip and printed circuit board including a strip member secured to the chip and a guide layer secured to the circuit board.
Typically a packaging scheme may require high heat removal, combined with low stress at the interconnection between chip and board. Thus the interconnection materials should have high thermal conductivity to dissipate heat produced by the chips, with close match between the CTE of the chip and the substrate to minimize thermal stress. However, most of the work in electronic packaging is concerned with packaging schemes rather than materials. The chip or die is attached to the substrate or printed circuit board (PCB) on which interconnection lines have been written (usually by screen printing) on each layer of multilayer substrate or board. In the first level packaging the chip (or chips) may be attached to substrate via soldered joints and the substrate attached to the PCB via soldered joints. In the direct chip attach module (DCAM), the chip is attached directly to the PCB. In the multichip module laminate (MCML), the chip is attached via cardlet, with one or many card attached to a large card. The MCML allows for denser packaging. In surface mount technology (SMT) the surface patterns of conductors are connected electrically without employing holes. Solder is used to make electrical connection between the surface mount package (leaded or leadless) and a circuit board. An examination of conventional pin-through-hole (PTH) technology and high density packaging based on surface mount technology (SMT) provides clues as to the failure mechanism.
One approach to meet the needs of advanced material in electronic packaging is to create new composite materials. Composite materials consists of two or more constituents, with each one maintaining distinct properties and regions. Accordingly alloys are not composites.
One of the well-established composite is the glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) for printed circuit boards. However the recent advanced composites provide unique advantages by being able to tailor their CTE, with high thermal conductivity, low density, and with high strength, and stiffness. At present, the leading composites of interest for applications such as heat sinks and packages are carbon fiber reinforces epoxy (C/Ep), carbon fiber reinforced aluminum (C/Al), carbon fiber reinforced copper (C/Cu), boron fiber reinforced aluminum(B/Al) and silicon carbide particle reinforced aluminum(SiC)-p/Al). Fiber reinforced composites are strongly anistropic; their properties depend strongly on fiber direction. In contrast, monolithic and particle reinforced metals tend to be isotropic; their properties are the same in every direction. Mechanical and physical properties of fiber reinforced materials can be tailored over wide ranges by selection of fiber, matrix, fiber volume fraction, and fiber orientations. It is known that the isotropic inplane CTE of copper reinforced with a variety of pitch-based carbon fibers varies with fiber volume fraction. By varying fiber volume fraction, Vf, it is possible to match the CTE of virtually all materials of interest, including silicon, gallium arsenide, alumina, beryllia and aluminum nitride. The inplane thermal conductivity of C/Cu composites vary with Vf. Note they are much higher than those of conventional packaging materials with low CTE's. Through-thickness conductivities are also high. The CTE and thermal conductivity of carbon fiber reinforced aluminum vary with fiber volume fraction. Another important composite material is reinforcing aluminum alloys with silicon carbide particles. The purity of SiC plays an important role here, and high purity particles have higher thermal conductivities.
The most common composites consists of a matrix reinforced with continuous or discontinuous fiber whiskers, or particles. The four key classes of composites are polymer-matrix composites (PMC's), metal matrix composites (MMC's), ceramic-matrix composites (CMC's) and carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. In addition, there are composites in which the phases have amorphous geometries. For example, some circuit breaker contacts are made by infiltrating silver into a porous preform made by sintering tungsten particles, in essence a metal/metal composite.
The problem associated with brazes and solders can be alleviated by the use of composites brazes or solders which contain a filter of low CTE. Graphite is a suitable filler for alloys typically used for brazing and soldering, such as silver-based braze alloys and tin-based solder alloys. Carbon fibers have been successfully used as a filler for both brazes and solders. Either short or continuous carbon fibers can be used. Short fibers are needed if the solder or braze is to be applied in the form of a paste. Continuous fibers are more effective than short fibers in decreasing the CTE, but they cannot be in a paste form and are thus limited to applications in solder/braze preforms.
Polymers are used as adhesives for attaching a die to a substrate. Due to the low CTE of the die and the substrate, a low CTE is desired for the adhesive. A filler of low CTE can be added to the polymer for this purpose. Because of the need to dissipate heat from the die and because polymers are in general thermal insulators, the filler is preferably a thermal conductor. Graphite and AlN are thus suitable fillers.
Solders in the form of solder pastes compete with polymer adhesives for use as screen printable die attach. The attraction of solders lies in their high thermal conductivity. Like polymeric adhesives, solders suffer from a high CTE. Solders suffer in particular because they are fatigued by thermal stresses arising from CTE mismatches. Use of an active (titanium-containing) solder together with a low CTE filler (such as molybdenum particles) alleviates CTE mismatch but it makes the solder less ductile.
Problem Definition
Chip Size, Type of Solder and Fatigue Failure
In industry today two types of solders are used, soft and hard solder. Hard solder consists of Au--Sn, Au--Ge, and Au--Si. Hard solder has a low melting point, with a relatively long fatigue life. However hard solder is expensive and it is only used for chip sizes smaller than 0.25 in. Since the chip is small the differential expansion between the copper and the silicon is small and thus the stress is reduced, with relatively long fatigue life. Due to the cost, even in this case soft solder is used. Soft solder consists of Pb, Sn, In, Ag, Bi, and Cd. They are low cost and also have a low yield stress at low temperature. They plastically deform and have a low fatigue life. Soft solder is normally used for chip sizes between 0.25 in and 1.00 in. If chip sizes are greater than 1.00, then there are two approaches. One is to parallel two chips of half the size, which reduces the thermal expansion stress. However due to close proximity of many joints and power cycling they have electrical failures. The other approach is in the use of low expansion materials such as W, or Mo. How ever the surface still rub against each other due to CTE mismatch, and fatigue failure occurs.
Solder Stress Induced During Assembly
It is well understood that the elements of an electronic package are fabricated forms that are mechanically joined at one temperature and then exposed to different temperature in use. Owing to the differing CTE, the joined materials are subjected to thermal stresses that can fracture component to carrier interface joints causing mechanical and electrical failure. Silicon has a low CTE, compared to the CTE of other packaging materials. During manufacture the temperature is normally raised to 400F. for solder reflow and then cooled to room temperature. This temperature change introduces strain at the solder joints and stress in the components before being used.
Package Distortion Due to Temperature Gradient; (Pure Shear Strain vs Tensile Force)
How rigidly the package is clamped to the heat sink determines the type of strain induced in the solder joints due to the temperature gradient. In FIG. 1, the package is rigidly clamped, and the solder joint is subjected to a shear dominance strain field. In FIG. 2, the package is not rigidly clamped, hence the solder joint is subjected to a perpendicular force in addition to the in plane shear strain. This results in bowing of the electronic component. Note FIGS. 1 & 2 are highly magnified. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,973,527; 4,262,412; 4,414,418 and 5,098,798 address the formation of fiber bundles.

Flexible interconnection between integrated circuit chip and substrate or printed circuit board


A method that includes determining input-resolution parameters for an input resolution, receiving first and second output resolutions from an electronic device, wherein the first output resolution includes first output-resolution parameters and the second output resolution includes second output-resolution parameters, calculating a first value by using the input-resolution parameters and the first output-resolution parameters, calculating a second value by using the input-resolution parameters and the second output-resolution parameters, selecting one of the first and second output resolutions based on a comparison between the first and second values, providing the selected output resolution to the electronic device, and receiving a video stream from the electronic device, wherein the video stream has a resolution corresponding to the selected output resolution.

An increasing number of electronic devices today come equipped with cameras, displays, audio, and communication capabilities, and are therefore capable of participating in a videocalling or videoconferencing. Such devices include, but are not limited to, desktop, laptop or netbook computers, smart phones, feature phones, tablet computers, TVs, as well as electronic devices designed specifically for videocalling or videoconferencing. Given the growing variety of such devices, interoperability becomes an important issue in the videocalling field.

Comparison-based selection of video resolutions in a video call


A reflector for a fluorescent fixture having an elongate generally cylindrically concave inner surface defining a cavity shaped so that all portions of a fluorescent lamp along the reflectivity axis are within the cavity. The inner surface of the reflector includes a specularly reflective major central portion that reflects a major portion of light emitted from the lamp generally normal to an imaginary plane across an outlet side of the cavity to illuminate an area beneath the fixture, and opposite reflective signal portions adjacent opposite sides of the reflector that each direct a minor portion of the light emitted by the lamp across the open side of the cavity and past the opposite edge of the inner surface to indicate to persons spaced from the illuminated area that the fluorescent lamp is emitting light.

Fluorescent strip light fixtures or industrial strip fixtures employing a diffuse white painted reflector emit light in almost every direction, including along the ceiling and toward the walls of a room being illuminated, in addition to toward the floor or work area intended to be illuminated. While such fixtures have been successfully used for years to provide light in a desired area, substantial amounts of light and energy are wasted by such fixtures due to the amount of light they direct toward areas, such as walls and/or windows and along the ceiling plane, where the light is not needed; the only significant benefit thereof being that persons outside of the area being illuminated will see light directed toward them through windows and/or reflected of walls, and will thereby know that the lights are turned on, which to potential customers of a store will indicate that the store is probably open.
To conserve energy, energy efficient light fixtures are now being used that include specular (i.e., mirror like and polished) reflectors that reflect light directly toward the area in which illumination is desired. Since such fixtures do not direct light along the ceiling and toward the walls and windows of a room, viewers outside the area being illuminated cannot readily ascertain whether the lights are turned on. This can cause a problem, for example, when such energy efficient lights are used in stores that remain open throughout the night. Business can be lost when potential customers, believing the store is closed because they can not tell that its lights are on, drive past the store without attempting to enter it.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,821 addresses this problem by providing illuminators for the opposite edges of a reflector that are illuminated when a fluorescent lamp within the reflector is emitting light, thereby indicating that the lamp is turned on. Generally, the edge illuminators of this invention each comprises a generally transparent or translucent illuminator body, and illuminator-mounting means adapted for mounting the illuminator body along the edges of the reflector so that the edge illuminators refract a portion of the light originating from the fluorescent bulb at a sharp angle with respect to the light reflected generally downwardly by the reflector to indicate to viewers along the sharp angle that the light is turned on. While such edge illuminators are effective, they add cost to the fixtures and interfere with placing the bottom edges of the fixtures flush with the surface of the ceiling, should that be desired.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A milking cup having a sleeve-like cup and a rubber teat holder inserted therein. The rubber teat holder has a suction sleeve portion which is connected at the lower end to a milk discharge pipe connected to a vacuum source. An underpressure relief valve is provided on the milking cup. A tube is connected to and extends between the underpressure relief valve and either the suction sleeve or a member which is connected to and is positioned between the lower end of the suction sleeve and the milk discharge pipe. The end of the tube projects into a passageway defined by the suction sleeve or the member and terminates approximately at the midpoint of the passageway.

German OS No. 23 12 756.2 already discloses a milking cup having a rubber teat holder, in which from an underpressure relief valve which is provided on the milking cup air can flow into the space of the rubber teat holder below the teat. In this milking cup the pipe or tube, which extends from the underpressure relief valve to the suction sleeve, is constructed in one piece with the rubber teat holder and the pipe ends inclined with respect to the axis of the suction sleeve into said suction sleeve. Through this it is achieved that during cleaning of the milking cup, if same is turned upside down, milk flows into this pipe, which leads to the underpressure relief valve, and solidifies there as cheese. Since one can usually not look into the milking cup, these residues are not noticed and can cause the quality of the milk which is later obtained with this milking cup to be affected as well as the entire function of the underpressure relief valve being affected or even completely turned off. The loss of the operation of the underpressure relief valve cannot easily be determined.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,732 already discloses a milking cup having a rubber teat holder, in which an additional connecting tube, which terminates approximately at a right angle in the suction sleeve, is formed out directly in one piece with the rubber teat holder. Also in this milking cup occur the already above-mentioned disadvantages of an unnoticed contamination of the supply pipe to the underpressure relief valve. In this known arrangement the pipe which ends in the suction sleeve of the teat rubber must additionally also be guided out through the sleeve-like cup of the milking cup to the outside, which brings about an extremely complicated installation of the rubber teat holder and thus an extremely difficult replaceability of the rubber teat holder. This also makes more difficult the weekly general cleaning operation of the milking cup, as is generally common, and during which the milking cup is disassembled. Furthermore, however, this connecting pipe or tube is subjected to special stresses in as far as, on the one hand, the tube is held fixedly in the cup, while on the other hand the rubber teat holder is being moved back and forth constantly during the milking operation.
Therefore, the basic purpose of the invention is to produce a simple milking cup having a rubber teat holder, in which the relieving air can be introduced into the space below the teat and which permits a simple maintenance of the cleanness of the parts.
This purpose is attained inventively by utilizing a milking cup of the above-mentioned type and locating the end of the tube a ways into the suction sleeve or a member secured to the suction sleeve.
Through this construction, an important advantage is achieved in that a maintenance of cleanness is made substantially easier. In particular, the difficulties which have occurred up to now with respect to the milk residues in the tube leading to the underpressure relief valve are overcome completely.
As particularly advantageous was found an embodiment in which the end of the tube, which projects into the suction sleeve or joint member secured to the suction sleeve, is constructed in form of a drip projection. In particular with respect to any easy cleaning possibility it has also proven to be advantageous to releasably connect the tube to the suction sleeve or to the joint member which is connected to the suction sleeve. In particular, in such a development, additional expenses can be avoided, which can result from forming a one-piece rubber teat holder and tube construction.
It is easily possible to permit the tube to terminate also directly below the teat in the suction sleeve. Especially in such a position of the mouth of the tube, the invention is of a special value, because in this case the condition of the tube, which leads to the underpressure relief valve, can be controlled without particular difficulties. On the other hand, however, especially in this position of the mouth of the tube, two further advantages are gained. One, the teat can be relieved substantially from the underpressure, whereby at the same time sufficient massaging can be carried out, and two, the milk transport problem is solved at the same time in an entirely surprising manner. Because through the air, which during the relief cycle right after the milk flow from the teat stops, flows into the lower and underpressure in the suction sleeve, a discharge of the milk through the discharge vacuum pipe is simultaneously effected without problem. Due to the fact that the relief air is introduced practically directly below the teat, a back injection of milk into the teat does not occur, which up to now has often been a reason for undesired utter infections.
As a whole, a quick milk transport at a reduced cross section of the milk discharge pipe is achieved.
If one permits according to a different embodiment of the invention the tube to extend on the outside of the sleeve-like cup and to terminate in the part of the suction sleeve projecting from the cup or the joint member outside of the cup, then here the important advantage is obtained that the tube can be kept clean particularly well and, if it preferably consists of a transparent material, its cleanliness can also be supervised.
For a maintenance of the cleanliness, it has also been proven to be particularly advantageous to arrange the underpressure relief valve at a point of the cup which is as close as possible to the end of the suction sleeve, which end exits from the cup, or the joint member, so that the length of the tube can be as short as possible.
In order to be able to easily observe the mouth end of the tube for the collection of any residues, which end projects into the end of the suction sleeve projecting from the cup or a joint member, the part of the suction sleeve which projects from the cup or the joint member is preferably manufactured of a transparent material. A further advantage is thereby simultaneously obtained that the perfect functioning of the underpressure relief valve can be controlled or supervised easily during the operation. Because in this case the air, which shoots through the underpressure relief valve and the tube into the inside of the suction sleeve or the joint member, will blow the impact surface free of milk, which can be observed easily.
To reduce the danger of milk running into the mouth of the tube, it has been proven furthermore to be advantageous to enlarge the cross section of the suction sleeve or of the joint member at least at the level of the mouth of the tube compared with the cross section of the milk discharge pipe.
According to a different solution of the invention, a milking cup of the above-mentioned type is provided which is characterized by the underpressure relief valve being constructed as a valve connected through a short tube to the suction sleeve and movably supported in the cup. The valve movement corresponds with the movement of the suction sleeve and can be controlled by the pressure difference which exists between the inside of the suction sleeve on one side and the space between cup and suction sleeve on the other side, which in open condition connects these two spaces with one another. The connecting tube between suction sleeve and underpressure relief valve can in this case be kept especially short. Moreover, the tube can be connected releasably to the suction sleeve and can terminate perpendicularly into same. However, additionally it is possible to provide a drip projection which projects into the suction sleeve and which practically makes it impossible for milk to flow back into the pipeline. Since the valve and also the tube lie, in this case, completely within the cup, the valve and also the tube are both protected from damages.
As a protection for the pressure relief valve and at the same time as a cover for the cup, a transparent cap can be provided which closes off the opening in which the pressure relief valve is mounted. Both the operation of the valve and also, for example, the degree of dirt accumulating in an air filter in front of the underpressure relief valve can be precisely observed through the cap.
A characteristic of the present invention consists mainly in underpressure relief air being able to be supplied directly below the tip of the teat.
One preferable embodiment is the provision of an underpressure relief valve which consists of a valve that can be controlled by the difference pressure existing between the inner space between the cup and the suction sleeve on one side, and the tube on the other side, and which, in open condition, connects the tube to the atmosphere. Such a valve can be adjusted such that it opens and closes precisely at different pressures. Such a valve permits in particular a sudden opening and closing.
If one, however, rather uses an underpressure relief valve which consists of a valve which can be controlled by the pressure difference between the inner space between the cup and the suction sleeve on one side, and the tube on the other side, and connects, in open condition, the tube to the pulsator supply pipe, the advantage is obtained that the pulsator air is used directly as relief air and this air can be cleaned specially.


A diver's watch having a frame (22) and a case (10) containing a clockwork movement associated with time displaying means (15, 16). The case includes a middle (11), a base (12) and a rotating bezel (13). The case is hinge mounted on the frame (22), which is configured so as to define a housing wherein the case can be folded down to take up a position preventing its bezel from rotating and wherefrom it can be retrieved to allow its rotation.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to horology. It more particularly concerns a diver's watch.
2) Description of Related Art
This type of product, in known manner, is equipped with a rotating bezel carrying graduations generally corresponding to sixty minutes. It is initially set by the diver to a time period which, in relation to the position of the minute hand, gives the diver a permanent indication of the time spent underwater or the time left before having to resurface.
It is easy to understand that, throughout the entire diving time, this bezel must necessarily remain immobile despite the various aggressions it may undergo, otherwise the diver may be in serious danger.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a diver's watch which, while remaining of pleasing appearance, is provided with means which reliably prevent any undue rotation of its bezel.


A method is provided for automatically adjusting the color of a digital image. In one aspect, an strength offset is determined to automatically remove gray from a distorted image. In an other aspect applied independently or after gray removal, scaling factors are automatically determined to adjust the image to conform to empirically determined optimal brightening of the image. Using a determination of color dot maximums and a function which ensures constraint within the dynamic range, scaling factors are established which correspond to the strength values of each dot maximum and which are applied to each of the dot's R,G and B to maintain ratios therebetween and thus maintain the true color. The function for establishing the scaling factors is interpolated from a nominal function and a target average strength for the image.

Light Amplification of Images
If one were to photograph the stain glass windows of a Cathedral, the resulting image would be typically too dark for modern tastes. The beauty of the actual stained glass is lost. Further, a photographer can increase depth of field of an image by reducing the device's aperture, but light collection is sacrificed and can also result in a dark image. Further, as a still image device is capable of only HSV color space, Kuo then isolates and removes the color information (Hue) from the remaining image components (saturation and intensity). Kuo suggests that the components of saturation and intensity can be enhanced without introducing distortion into the color or Hue component. Kuo's color image is represented by a plurality of pixels in HSV color space. Once transformed, Kuo inverse transforms HSV back to RGB color space, all the while claiming this to be efficient. In the preferred embodiment, Kuo adjusts intensity (V) and saturation (S). In summary, Kuo first transforms RGB to HSV color space, applies two sequential transformation functions to V and S respectively, and finally inverse transforms the altered HSV back to RGB for display.
Respectfully, Applicant asserts that manipulation of the saturation does affect the color and thus the Kuo technique does not result in true color enhancement. Color photos have three degrees of freedom, being R,G and B, where as black and white photos only have one. Any transformation of the three values results in three more values, each of which contains a color component and not merely a single color value (i.e. hue) and two other independent structural components (i.e. saturation and intensity). Hue may be a more extreme sense of color than saturation, but saturation is still a color component. Adjusting a dot's saturation results in a change in the proportions of RGB in the dot and hence its color. If the saturation is changed, say as part of brightening the image, the result is not the same as if the recording device or camera had obtained the image directly from the real world subject under brighter conditions, or more exposure.
Further, note that Kuo emphasizes and attempts to minimize the computational overhead or expense. Unfortunately, Kuo introduces two RGB-HSV and HSV-RGB transformations in addition to whatever adjustments (preferably two) Kuo makes to the HSV pixel. A transformation from RGB to HSV color space, and back again, involves the use of computation-intensive mathematical functions.
Further, the foregoing methodologies rely on significant user input and skill.
Automatic Correction
It is known to automatically corrects tone values of digitally stored images as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,258 to Levien. A histogram of the image is processed by adding a constant, applying a non-linear function to each value, and digital filtering. Application of a square root function assures that small histogram values have more contribution to the final curve, and that large histogram values have less contribution to the final tone curve, relatively. The processed histogram is integrated and then normalized for a tone correction function. This tone correction function can be applied to the average histogram of the respective individual color planes. It is applicant's view that this correction does not maintain the true colors through the correction nor deal with limitations of dynamic range.
Accordingly, there is demonstrated a need for an automatic and computationally efficient process which is capable of maintaining true color for each dot during enhancement of an image. Automation avoids the barrier of a steep learning curve to effectively adjust images for more a pleasing effect. The present invention addresses these problems by providing a technique which is both automated and which, no matter how much image-brightening is needed or what the nature of that brightening is, the color of all dots in the image are preserved.

Automatic color adjustment for digital images


An interlock mechanism in a motor control unit is provided for preventing the motor control unit from being engaged with current carrying bus bars within an enclosure when a handle disposed on the motor control unit is in an ON position, the handle controls a switching device disposed in the motor control unit, the interlock mechanism interacts with the switching device and automatically engages when the control unit is connected to the current carrying bus bars whereby preventing the motor control unit from being disengaged from the current carrying bus bars once the control unit becomes engaged with the current carrying bus bars and the handle is moved to the ON position.

Control units which are used to control the distribution of electric current to a plurality of electric loads, such as a number of motors, from a central location, are generally housed in compartmented structures called control centers. Such control centers are formed of a group of individual control center sections each of which includes a plurality of cells or compartments wherein the control units are installed. Each control center section houses a number of control units vertically stacked one on top of the other. To facilitate wiring and servicing, control centers are provided with main horizontal bus bars which extend across the upper portions of all of the individual control center sections and which are connected to deliver current from a supply to groups of individual vertical bus bars in each control center section. Electrical current is supplied to the control center via the horizontal bus bars and is distributed through the vertical bus bars that run the length of each control center section. The vertical bus bars in turn deliver the current to the control units within the individual control center sections through separable jaw-like connectors which make contact with the vertical bus bars.
If a control unit were to be installed onto current carrying vertical bus bars while it was in the ON position, damage could be caused to the electrical distribution system, the control unit or the equipment which the control unit is controlling. Therefore, control units utilize an interlock mechanism to prevent them from being installed onto vertical bus bars when the control unit handle is in the ON position. Interlock mechanisms in the prior art require the user to manually engage the interlock mechanism when the control unit is fully engaged with the vertical bus bars. Therefore, there is a need to provide an interlock mechanism which automatically engages when the control unit is fully inserted into the control unit compartment.

Interlock mechanism for a motor control unit


A combined solar energy panel and roof element, which provides an additional layer of weather proofing to a building, as well as providing an electric power source. The solar energy panel is comprised of a translucent polymeric pane, with electrically interconnected photovoltaic cells laminated onto the underside of the polymeric pane. A polymeric frame is attached to the underside of the pane contiguous to the edges of the pane. Anchor blocks are adhered to the roof and the panel is attached to the roof at the anchor blocks, where several anchor blocks support the frame attached to the panel and each anchor block may support the frames of more than one panel. A plurality of solar energy panels may be arranged in an array, whereby waterproofing means seals any spaces between the panels.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to solar energy panels, specifically solar energy panels capable of being mounted on building roofs for providing electric power.
2. Background Information
Solar energy panels for the conversion of sunlight into electricity are well known as a mostly pollution free source of energy. Existing solar energy panels are constructed with photovoltaic material, which converts sunlight into electricity, often configured as discrete cells of a thin wafer construction. The cells are wired together to provide the electricity in useful amounts, which electricity is output to a common electrical connection. These cells are relatively fragile and require protection when used outdoors. Current solar energy panels protect the photovoltaic cells with a glass pane supported by a metal frame. In such configurations, the thin photovoltaic cells are often adhered or laminated to the glass pane.
Framing has been used as a means of providing support or stability to solar energy panels. Prior art framing consists of separate elements of metal, wood, Plexiglass.RTM. or other plastic, used to support the solar energy panel with flanges around the edges of the pane or other forms which cover or overlap the edges of the pane.
Existing panels are both heavy and relatively fragile, with most of the weight of such panels derived from the metal framing and the glass pane. With heavy panels, the additional weight added to a roof is a major consideration in construction and installation. Existing panels have been affixed directly to the roof rafters in an attempt to provide proper support for the weight of the panels.
Solar energy panels must cover a large surface area in order to produce a significant amount of electricity, since panels with small surface areas provide no more than a minimal amount of electricity. Although a large panel could provide a primary source of electricity, because of concerns about cost and weight of the glass pane and supporting frame, existing photovoltaic panels have not been constructed to cover large areas. Therefore, such existing panels are usually configured to provide only a supplement to the generator-produced electricity provided by a conventional utility company.
To limit obstacles between solar energy panels and the sun, solar energy panels are often mounted on the roofs of buildings. Roof mounting has the benefit of providing some clearance from shade cast by surrounding buildings and trees. However, roof mounted solar panels, like all outdoor construction, present concerns about weather conditioning. Water has a known deleterious effect on electrical systems and may damage the photovoltaic material. It is desired for roof mounted solar panels to be large in order to minimize the number of seams in which water may enter, although the size of the panels is limited by concerns such as cost and strength of the glass pane, as well as the weight of large panels and their support framing. It is therefore desired to have a solar energy panel which is weather proofed to limit or reduce the potential for water damage.
Prior roof-mounted solar panels have been concerned with whether the roof can provide sufficient support for the heavy metal frames and glass panes. For large panes, the weight of the frame introduces the problem of excess weight on a building's roof. It is therefore desired to have a lightweight frame which supports the solar panel. Further, it is desired to remove the need for, and associated complications involved in, additional framing in solar energy panel construction.
Because of their limited energy production efficiency, and in order to be a cost-efficient device, it is desired that solar energy panels be cheap and durable. It is also desired that the panels be easy to replace in the event of damage to an individual panel. Modular construction is desired whereby an individual panel can be installed or replaced with ease. Reducing the amount of framing serves the goals of ease of construction and ease of replacement.
The cost of existing panels requires a significant investment of money for installation, as well as resulting in an increased cost of maintenance and replacement. Such high costs prevent widespread use of solar energy. Further, because of the current state of solar energy technology, cost effective use of solar energy panels is primarily found in warmer, sunnier latitudes or in areas where conventional electric power is unusually costly. With cheaper solar energy panels, the benefits of solar energy technology may be realized in cooler climate zones and in locales where conventional electricity is common.
The present invention provides features which overcome the limitations and problems of previous solar energy panels.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a solar energy panel which may be used to cover an entire roof without overloading the roof's ability to support the additional weight of the solar energy panel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a solar energy panel for which additional weighty framing is unnecessary.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive solar energy panel and roofing element which may be easily mounted onto an existing roof.


An improved process for the preparation of codeine from morphine comprises the steps of a) reacting morphine with a methylating agent in the presence of a hydrocarbon solvent at a temperature of 100 to 215xc2x0 C. under reflux conditions such that approximately 50% or more of the hydrocarbon solvent is returned to the reaction mixture to substantially avoid the formation of codeine methyl ether; and b) recovering codeine from the reaction mixture. The process may include step a) above followed by b) cooling the reaction mixture to approximately 85xc2x0 C. and adding water to terminate the reaction; c) raising the pH of the reaction mixture to approximately 11; d) separating the hydrocarbon solvent phase containing codeine and dimethylaniline; and e) adding a dilute mineral or organic acid and approximately 6 to 7 times the volume of water for each volume of hydrocarbon solvent to separate dimethylaniline and codeine.

This invention relates to the preparation of codeine from morphine and, more particularly, to an improved process for the preparation of codeine which provides for more complete control over the formation of the methylated by-product codeine methyl ether and for a more thorough separation of dimethylaniline and codeine.
Codeine is widely used as an analgesic and is the methyl ether of morphine. While it occurs naturally in opium to a small extent, it has been prepared synthetically by methylation of the phenolic hydroxyl group in morphine. Thus, it is known to prepare codeine by the reaction of morphine with a methylating agent such as dimethyl sulfate or trimethylphenyl ammonium ethoxide or trimethylphenyl ammonium hydroxide in the presence of a base such as aqueous sodium hydroxide, or alcoholic sodium ethoxide. See W. R. Heumann, Bulletin on Narcotics, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 15-17 (1958); U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,615 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,337. Modified conditions of the process described by Heumann have been used commercially for some years.
Currently employed processes suffer from significant yield loss, great recycle volume, high operator exposure, and extensive cycle times. The yield loss occurs partly from the current need to remove unreacted morphine and color bodies through precipitation, salt crystalilizations, and carbon treatment. Most of the precipitation and crystallization steps require manual digging of a centrifuge or filter. This creates much operator exposure and greater reliance on personal protection equipment. Allergic symptoms from the narcotics can result through extended exposure. Repetitive motion injuries can also occur from the manual digging.
There remains a need for further improvements in the preparation of codeine from morphine in order to more fully control the formation of the undesired by-product codeine methyl ether, and more efficiently provide for the removal of unreacted morphine and for the separation of dimethylaniline from codeine.
Among the several objects of the invention may be mentioned the provision of an improved process for preparing codeine from morphine; the provision of such a process in which formation of the by-product codeine methyl ether is more fully controlled; the provision of such an improved process in which removal of unreacted morphine is more efficiently achieved; and the provision of such an improved process which results in the more efficient production of codeine from morphine and overcomes the significant yield loss, great recycle volume and extensive cycle times of prior art processes. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Briefly, the present invention is directed to a process for the preparation of codeine from morphine which comprises the steps of a) reacting morphine with a methylating agent in the presence of a hydrocarbon solvent at a temperature of approximately 100 to 115xc2x0 C. under reflux conditions such that approximately 50% or more of the hydrocarbon solvent is returned to the reaction mixture to substantially avoid the formation of codeine methyl ether; and b) recovering codeine from the reaction mixture. The present invention is also directed to such a process in which step a) above is followed by b) cooling the reaction mixture to approximately 85xc2x0 C. and adding water to terminate the reaction; c) raising the pH of the reaction mixture to approximately 11; d) separating the hydrocarbon solvent phase containing codeine and dimethylaniline from the aqueous phase containing unreacted morphine; and e) adding a dilute mineral or organic acid and approximately 6 to 7 times the volume of water for each volume of hydrocarbon solvent to effect a separation of dimethylaniline and codeine.
In accordance with the present invention, it has now been found that a more efficient process for the production and purification of codeine from morphine may be achieved through certain improved process conditions. In the first step of known processes such as that described in Heumann""s publication for preparing codeine from morphine, a methylating agent such as trimethylphenyl ammonium ethoxide in ethanol is added to a morphine-toluene or other hydrocarbon solvent slurry. At reaction temperatures of 90xc2x0 C. and above, the ethanol and toluene are stripped off. Toluene and ethanol form a binary azeotrope of 32 wt % ethanol which boils at 76.7xc2x0 C. During co-distillation of ethanol and toluene, it has been found in accordance with this invention that with sufficient reflux return, ethanol (b.pt.=78.5xc2x0 C.) and toluene (b.pt.=110.6xc2x0 C.) can be separated returning the bulk of the toluene to the reaction mixture. More particularly, it has been found that when reflux conditions are such that at least 50% or more of the toluene is returned to the reaction mixture, the over concentration of codeine in toluene is avoided thereby preventing the formation of the methylated by-product of codeine, codeine methyl ether. In general, the provision of two theoretical plates in the overhead condenser will insure adequate toluene in the reaction mixture and control the formation of codeine methyl ether.
The methylation reaction is carried out at a temperature of approximately 90xc2x0 to 110xc2x0. Any compatible hydrocarbon solvent such as toluene or xylene may be used as the reaction medium and the methylating agent may be one of those known to those skilled in the art such as trimethylphenyl ammonium chloride, trimethylphenyl ammonium ethoxide, diazomethane or dimethyl sulfate. After the methylation reaction has been carried out for a sufficient time period, usually two to six hours, the reaction mixture is cooled to a temperature of approximately 50xc2x0 to 85xc2x0 C. and water is added to terminate the reaction. Due to the basic nature of the methylating solution, the resulting toluene-water mixture is basic with a pH of approximately 9-10. A small portion of sodium hydroxide or other alkaline material is added to render the mixture more strongly basic with a pH of approximately 11-12. At this pH, unreacted morphine is soluble in water and separation of the water and toluene phases effects a separation of unreacted morphine and codeine.
The toluene phase contains both codeine and dimethylaniline which is left over after the methylating solution of trimethylphenyl ammonium ethoxide has reacted and is neutralized. Dimethylaniline is slightly less basic than codeine and remains in the free base form at a pH of 5.0 to 6.0, while codeine is in the salt form in this pH range. As a salt, codeine is water-soluble and as a free base, the dimethylaniline is soluble in toluene in this pH range. In accordance with the invention, in order to effect a separation of dimethylaniline and codeine, a dilute mineral or organic acid is added to adjust the pH to approximately 4.0 to 6.0 and approximately six to seven times the volume of water for each volume of hydrocarbon solvent is added to effect a separation of dimethylaniline and codeine in the hydrocarbon solvent phase. For this purpose, any dilute mineral or organic acid such as acetic acid, sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid may be used.
In carrying out the present invention, the morphine starting material may be highly purified or of technical grade and may be in the form of a stable monohydrate containing 5.9% water by weight or even greater levels of water.
In accordance with the invention, the control of codeine methyl ether formation, the removal of unreacted morphine, dimethylaniline and color bodies formed during the methylation reaction advantageously allows for the remaining codeine to be de-colorized via chromatography or other means known to those skilled in the art.


A method of forming a mask pattern for fabricating a semiconductor device. A first region and a second region, having an intersecting third region, are defined in the semiconductor substrate. An inorganic mask layer is etched in the first region to a predetermined thickness, and etched in the second region to another predetermined thickness. While the inorganic mask layer is etched in the first and second region, an organic mask layer is exposed in the third region. The organic mask layer exposed in the third region is removed to form a mask pattern. Consequently, double exposure is performed using the organic mask layer and the inorganic mask layer, so that a fine feature size that closely follows a desired layout can be formed, damage to the organic mask layer by ashing is prevented, and adhesiveness between the organic mask layer and the inorganic mask layer can be improved.

The present invention disclosed herein relates to a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method of forming a mask pattern for photolithography.
In a process of fabricating a semiconductor device, photolithography is used to form a pattern on a semiconductor substrate.
As the integration of a semiconductor device increases, its pattern features and line widths become finer, while an etched material layer becomes relatively thicker in comparison to the shrinking feature sizes. Therefore, a variety of technologies have been introduced to overcome difficulties in pattern formation caused by optical limitations and optical proximity effects and to provide a mask layer having etch resistance during a process of etching a thick material layer.

Method of forming a mask pattern for fabricating a semiconductor device


A display device may include a light-emitting element and a controllable element. The light-emitting element may emit a light. The controllable element may neighbor the light-emitting element in a plan view of the display device and may include a fluid set. The fluid set may include at least one of a light-reflecting element set and a black element set. The controllable element may have a first average reflectance value in a first direction if the controllable element receives no voltage or receives a first voltage. The controllable element may have a second average reflectance value in the first direction if the controllable element receives a second voltage. The second voltage may be unequal to the first voltage. The second average reflectance value may be unequal to the first average reflectance value.

1. Field
The technical field relates to a display device, such as an organic light emitting display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among various types of display devices, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device, or organic light emitting display device, may have several advantages, such as a relatively high luminance, a relatively wide viewing angle, and/or relatively desirable thinness. In the OLED display device, electrons and holes are injected into an organic thin layer through a cathode and an anode. The electrons and holes are recombined in the organic thin layer to generate excitons, thereby emitting a light of a certain wavelength.


An automatic dry food feeder for animals is described. The feeder consists of a housing with a hopper fitted in the housing having sloping members terminating in a rectangular section at the bottom of the hopper. An electric motor having a gearbox attached thereto is located outside the rectangular portion of the hopper. The gearbox shaft extends into the rectangular portion with a sleeve fitted over the shaft. Attached to the sleeve are segmented flexible vanes that rotate in accordance with the signal provided by an electronic programmable controller. Rotating the segmented flexible vanes a prescribed amount in response to a programmed timer dispenses a measured amount of dry animal food into a tray.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an animal feeder to dispense a measured amount of dry animal feed into a tray.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous automatically operated food dispensers have been devised for the feeding of dry food to animals. Such devices have the disadvantage of being unduly complicated with both mechanical and electrical devices being heavy and cumbersome and were so expensive that there was limited cliental that could afford such feeders.
Prior devices such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,800,745, 4,722,300 and 3,206,861 use agitator or vibrating means to dispense the dry animal food. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,284,035 and 4,688,520 use a auger to dispense food and U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,520 adds water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,280 uses a gate that opens to dispense food and U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,200 uses a pivoting scoop while U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,221 uses a rotating scoop. U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,699 uses a weight sensitive means to dispense food while U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,838 is a conditioner for premoistening dry power food. While U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,699 feeds the dry powders with rotating blades, the apparatus feeding the powders with rotating blades, the apparatus feeding the powders is keyed to providing corresponding amount of water. As can be seen there has been an abundance of animal feeders to provide food for an animal while the owner is away. None of these feeders have been a commercial success.
What is needed is a simple, low cost, high reliability animal feeder that can provide a measured amount of dry animal food at timed intervals.


A membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) 1 has a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 2. The membrane 2 has ion-conductive domains 3 and non-ion-conductive domains 4 and an electrode catalyst 5. The electrode catalyst 5 is present selectively on surface sites of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 2 which corresponds to the ion-conductive domains 3 rather than surface sites of the membrane 2 which corresponds to the non-ion-conductive domains 4. A spray liquid containing the electrode catalyst and a solvent is applied onto a surface of the membrane 2 by electrostatic spray deposition to selectively adhere the electrode catalyst 5 on the surface sites of the membrane 2 which corresponds to the ion-conductive domains 3. The membrane 2 is preferably subjected to a hydrophilization treatment before being sprayed with the spray liquid.

Solid polymer fuel cells have recently been researched and developed extensively. As part of the research and development, solid polymer electrolytes having high proton conductivity have been studied from the aspects of conductivity, chemical and thermal stability, and economical efficiency. The origin of solid polymer fuel cells can be traced to the Gemini 5's on-board polymer fuel cells, which were supplanted by alkali fuel cells on account of the low performance of the solid polymer electrolyte used therein. Then, Du Pont Company developed Nafion (a registered trademark for a perfluoroalkylsulfonic acid polymer). The high proton conductivity and chemical and thermal stability possessed by Nafion have again boosted development of solid polymer fuel cells. The inventors of the present invention previously proposed a solid polymer ion conductor in which polymer molecules having an ionically dissociable group are oriented in an electric field in an attempt to provide a solid polymer electrolyte with high proton conductivity and thermal and chemical stability (see Patent Document 1).
Central to the solid polymer fuel cell technology is a thin film device, which is a laminate of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane and electrodes, called a membrane-electrode assembly (hereinafter abbreviated as MEA). An MEA has contributed to size and weight reduction of fuel cells and driven practical application of fuel cells for vehicles and domestic use. As illustrated in FIG. 10, in a currently available MEA 1′, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 2′ generally has a phase-separated structure composed of hydrophilic (ion-conductive) domains 3′ and hydrophobic (non-ion-conductive) domains 4′. An electrode catalyst 5′, which is adhered to the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 2′, is applied to the entire surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 2′. Not all the electrode catalyst 5′ participates in electrode reaction, nevertheless. Only the part of the electrode catalyst that is in contact with the hydrophilic domains 3′ serving for ionic conduction can participate in electrode reaction. The part of the electrode catalyst applied to the hydrophobic domains 4′ is not given opportunities to take part in the reaction. In other words, the state-of-the-art MEAs have a large quantity of an electrode catalyst that does not participate in electrode reaction.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2003-234015
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an MEA free from the above-mentioned problem associated with the related art and a process of producing the MEA.

Membrane electrode assembly, method for producing the same, and solid state polymer fuel cell


According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a fixing member, a pressurizing member, a movable member, and a controller. The fixing member heats a sheet. The pressurizing member has first heat capacity and faces the fixing member. The movable member is provided to be movable between a contact position to contact with the pressurizing member and a separation position to be separated from the pressurizing member, and has second heat capacity smaller than the first heat capacity. The controller is configured to move the movable member to one of the contact position and the separation position based on a change of a control temperature of the fixing member or the pressurizing member.

A fixing device has a problem that a variation of a temperature of a heating member is large when heat capacity of the heating member is small. Therefore, there is a fixing device configured to prevent the variation of the temperature of the fixing device by using a pressurizing member having large heat capacity. However, when the heat capacity of the pressurizing member is large, warm-up takes time. Also, there is a multifunction printer or the like having a plurality of modes, in which a heating temperature of the heating member is different. For example, there is a multifunction printer using decolorizing toner. Such a multifunction printer switches the temperature of the heating member between a first temperature at which the decolorizing toner is fixed and another temperature at which the decolorizing toner is decolorized at a temperature higher than the fixing temperature. When the heat capacity of the pressurizing member is increased in such a multifunction printer, it takes time for the temperature to decrease from the decolorizing temperature to the fixing temperature, and thus the switching undesirably takes too much time.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method


A system for collecting outgassed compounds from a disc drive includes the following structure into which the disc drive fits during such an outgassing test a base portion and a top plate connected to the base portion to move between a first and second positions to clamp a pair of valves to an outer cover of the disc drive. The two valves each include a needle plunger that may be extended from the valve to penetrate the outer cover of the disc drive and create a flow path for on inert gas sweeping between the two valves through the interior of the disc drive. An inflow line connects a source of inert gas to one valve to mix the inert gas with the outgassed compounds within the interior of the disc drive. An outflow line connects the second valve to a trap containing absorbents to separate substantially all of the outgassed compounds from the inert gas. A power supply and a disc controller operate the disc drive in a realistic manner during the course of the test.

It is well known that complex electromechanical devices, such as computer disc drives, can be hanned by foreign substances which come into contact with vital components of the device. For example, dirt or dust particles which accumulate on the platters of a disc drive can damage the read/write head of the drive causing a "crash. " Thus, such devices are typically manufactured within a clean room environment and are sealed prior to leaving the clean room to reduce or prevent the possibility of such contamination.
However, the current breed of disc drives spin much faster and are more densely packed with data than prior drives. These speed and size increases require that the read/write heads fly very close to the surface of the disc platters (on the order of a micron). In light of these very low fly heights, it is possible for matter smaller than common dust or smoke particles to cause head/disc crashes. Indeed, even chemicals or chemical compounds which are outgassed by the disc drive may accumulate or be combined with other compounds to interfere with the drive heads.
Although some disc drive components outgas chemicals and chemical compounds while the drive is inactive, the level of outgassing typically increases when the drive is operating and the components are exposed to high temperatures. These outgassed chemicals and chemical compounds are easily transported throughout the drive (due to the rotation of the disc platters and the resulting air currents within the drive) where they typically bond to the substrate that coats the disc platters. In addition to physically interfering with the drive heads during operation of the drive, some outgassed compounds (e.g., adhesives) may react chemically with the drive heads during periods of inactivity when the heads are in direct contact with the disc platters. Such chemical reactions cause stiction between the heads and the disc platters which further contributes to early disc drive failure.
Thus, it is important for disc drive manufacturers to carefully monitor the outgassed compounds generated by the disc drive both in its static state,as well as during operation of the drive. The typical manner of determining the type and amount of compounds outgassed by a disc drive is to test the individual components of the disc drive. For example, each major component (or a portion thereof) may be tested by placing the component within a testing container and then sampling the interior volume of the container to determine which compounds have been outgassed during the course of the test. Such headspace sampling typically entails heating the sample container for a period of time and drawing a small sample from the sealed container. The sample is then analyzed with appropriate instrumentation, such as a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrum analyzer, to determine the composition of the outgassed compounds. Alternatively, dynamic sampling systems may be utilized in place of the above-described static sampling system to collect the compounds outgassed within the sample container. Dynamic sampling systems typically direct a flow of inert gas through the sample container and then through a trap which bonds with the outgassed compounds while allowing the inert gas to pass through the trap. One example of a dynamic system for sampling outgassed compounds from individual components is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,334 entitled MULTISAMPLE DYNAMIC HEADSPACE SAMPLER, issued Jul. 8, 1997 to Scheppers et al., assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Once all of the individual disc drive components have been tested, the results may be combined and compared to a maximum or global tolerance for each identified compound. In this manner, individual disc drive components may be replaced or modified as necessary to maintain the overall outgassing levels of the disc drive below the defined maximum tolerances. However, the process of testing each disc drive component separately necessarily ignores interactions which may occur between the components as they operate together within the disc drive. Additionally, it is not possible to accurately test the contributions of some of the drive components outside of the drive itself. For example, the outgassing contributions of materials which are not fully exposed to the interior of the disc drive (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesives, gaskets, tape seals, etc.) are difficult to gauge from individual tests of those materials. Thus, individual component testing does not typically provide a true representation of the outgassing that occurs within the interior of an operative disc drive.
One solution to the problems associated with individual component testing is to pass an inert gas through the interior of the disc drive itself. Sampling the entire disc drive in this manner is typically accomplished by removing the drive top cover and replacing it with a modified cover having gas inlet and outlet ports formed therein. Gas inlet and outlet lines attached to the ports in the modified top cover then direct a flow of inert gas through the disc drive to remove any outgassed compounds for analysis. However, prior "whole drive" outgassing tests do not provide highly accurate or representative results due to the use of the modified top cover in place of the original drive top cover. For example, the modified top cover will not typically include all of the elements of a conventional top cover, such as breather filters, pressure sensitive adhesives, vibration dampeners or the original tape seal. Additionally, the original top cover typically contains absorbent filters for absorbing compounds outgassed within the disc drive. If the modified top cover does not contain these same filters then any outgassing test conducted with the modified top cover will detect unrealistically high levels of the outgassed compounds. Furthermore, the process of removing the original top cover and installing the modified top cover can lead to contamination and cause further anomalous readings.
While it is preferable to perform whole drive outgassing tests under actual operating conditions, the use of the above described modified top cover makes this process difficult, if not impossible. Because the top cover is an integral component of the disc-drive, the replacement of the original top cover with the modified top cover for the outgassing test frequently results in impaired operation or outright failure of the disc drive during the course of the test. Therefore, prior art whole drive outgassing tests are severely impaired due to the tendency of the modified top cover to both contaminate the test results and inhibit normal drive operation during the test.
In summary, regardless of whether individual disc drive components arc tested separately or the entire drive is tested with a modified top cover, prior outgassing tests have not provided truly representative or accurate indications of the compounds which are outgassed within a disc drive during operation of the drive.
It is with respect to these and other background considerations, limitations and problems that the present invention has evolved.