An analog memory includes a cell array, a comparator, a mode selector, and a controller. The cell array includes a plurality of memory cells each having a control gate an injector, and a floating gate, and a first input part of a differential input stage. A first high-voltage pulse signal is applied to the control gate and a second high-voltage pulse signal is applied to the injector. Charges are injected into or are erased from the floating gate through the injector. The comparator has a differential input port whose first input is a reference voltage signal and whose second input is a floating gate voltage signal of one of the plurality of memory cells. The comparator compares and outputs the difference between the reference voltage signal and the floating gate voltage signal. The mode selector connects the output of the comparator to the first input, functions as a unit amplifier during a reading mode, and connects the external reference voltage signal to the first input of the comparator during a writing mode. The controller maintains a program enable state if the current state of the comparator output signal is the same as its previous state and maintains a program disable state if the current state is different from the previous state. The controller generates first and second high-voltage pulse signals according to the state of the comparator output signal. The analog memory reduces the programming voltage, allows for fast programming operations, and increases memory life.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory. More particularly, the present invention relates to a nonvolatile analog memory which can store analog information.
Digital memories have been widely used as information storage media because of their fast random access and small, light, and simple controllers. Such digital memories store either a logic "0" or "1" in a memory cell. In order to increase the storage capability for a given physical dimension of the memory, the size of an individual memory cell must be reduced. However, the reduction of a cell size is limited in view of the current state of manufacturing technology.
Currently, 64 Mbit digital memories and 256 Mbit digital memories are under mass-production, and 1 Gbit and 4 Gbit digital memories are being experimentally manufactured. Using the current manufacturing technology, however, it is difficult to manufacture a digital memory having more than 4 Gbit storage capacity.
In order to overcome the limitation of the technical storage capacity of the digital memory, research into an analog memory which can store multiple values instead of binary values in a memory cell is currently under way. For example, conventional analog memories are disclosed in L. R. Carley, "Trimming analog circuit using floating-gate analog MOS memory," IEEE J. Solid-state circuits, Vol. 24, pp. 1569-1575, (December 1989), T. Blyth, et al., "A non-volatile analog storage device using EEPROM technology" J. ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 192-193, (February, 1991), T. Blyth, et al., "An analog trimming circuit based on a floating-gate device", IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 23, pp. 1437-1440, (December 1988).
The conventional analog memory has inherent drawbacks, however, in that it requires a special fabrication process with an ultra thin oxide. In addition, conventional analog memories use inefficient erasing and programming operations.


A windshield washing apparatus for marine craft includes a reservoir container having a bracket pivotally connected thereto. The bracket can be connected to vertical, horizontal or sloping surfaces on the marine craft while the container remains level. There is a pump mounted on the reservoir. A filler fitting has a connector for mounting the fitting on the surface of the marine craft remote from the reservoir. A first conduit connects the reservoir to the filler fitting. The apparatus includes a spray nozzle and a second conduit for connecting the pump to the spray nozzle. Preferably the reservoir has positions thereon for a plurality of pumps.

This invention relates to windshield washing apparatuses and, in particular, to universal windshield washer apparatuses particularly adapted for marine craft such as pleasure boats.
Marine craft, such as pleasure boats, are not as commonly equipped with windshield washers as are, for example, automobiles. It would be desirable to equip many such craft with windshield washers to counter the effects of salt spray and other contaminants which diminish visibility and present safety problems. However it is difficult to retrofit many such craft with equipment commonly available on the market.
Various systems have been developed for washing windshields of marine craft. For example, in some systems spray nozzles are mounted on the undersides of windshield wiper arms. This means the necessity of purchasing a wiper arm specific to a particular type of spray nozzle. Furthermore, it is difficult to retrofit craft with such systems. For example, on power boats over 30 feet in length, the majority of windshield wiper motors are mounted above the tops of the windshields. This would necessitate mounting the water reservoirs somewhere along the tops of the windshields. In practice this is difficult or impossible to accomplish in many cases. The reservoir essentially would be hanging from the ceiling of the main cabin in view of the people on board and would block the view from the windshield in some cases. If the reservoir were mounted below the windshield, then the distance from the reservoir to the spray nozzles would be too long.
In some cases windshield washer systems for marine craft require water to be poured directly into the top of the reservoir. This means that the reservoir must be mounted in a location where the top can be conveniently accessed. In practice it may be difficult to find a suitable location. If the top of a reservoir cannot be accessed, then the reservoir must be removed for filling. Again this is an inconvenient operation requiring disconnection of hoses and electrical connections.
In other systems there is no reservoir, but rather a solenoid in the pressurized water supply line of the boat for a boat so-equipped with a pressurized water system. This makes the windshield washer system dependent upon the water supply system of the boat. Not all boats have pressurized water systems. Also it may be difficult to fit such a system to an existing marine craft since the water supply lines may not be readily accessible.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,861 to Northrop et al. discloses a window anti-icing/deicing apparatus and method. The fluid can be directed to different window surfaces including side windows, the windshield and rear window of a vehicle. However the different windows, or different areas of the vehicle, cannot be targeted separately. There is but a single pump.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,384 to Lopez et al. discloses a spraying device for jets of windshield washers in motor vehicles. The device includes a fixed body and a spraying body which are coupled coaxially to each other and to a nozzle body attachable to the body work and are connectable to a cleaning liquid tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,462 to Chen shows a wide-angle, atomizing-type of cleaning device for the windshield of a car. It includes a nozzle body and a universal ejector.
The prior art however does not provide an apparatus which is suitable for retrofitting many marine craft and, at the same time, which is adapted for installation in new craft during construction. Nor does it provide a solution to many problems encountered such as separately spraying different window areas. In particular the prior art does not reveal a reservoir capable of mounting on surfaces having different orientations, nor locations where the reservoir cannot be readily accessed to be filled.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved windshield washer apparatus for marine craft which can be readily retrofitted to most marine craft and is also suitable to be installed in new craft during construction.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved windshield washer apparatus which has a reservoir capable of mounting on surfaces and members having different orientations.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved windshield washer apparatus where the reservoir can be mounted in a relatively inaccessible location, but conveniently filled.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an improved windshield washer apparatus having spray nozzles which can be adjusted to spray from different directions to accommodate different mounting surfaces and locations.
In accordance with these objects, there is provided, according to an embodiment of the invention, a windshield washer apparatus for marine craft which includes a reservoir container having a bracket pivotally connected thereto. The bracket can be connected to vertical, horizontal or sloping surfaces on the marine craft while the container remains level. There is a pump mounted on the reservoir. A filler fitting has a connector for mounting the fitting on a surface of the marine craft remote from the reservoir. A first conduit connects the reservoir to the filler fitting. The apparatus also includes a spray nozzle and a second conduit for connecting the pump to the spray nozzle.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided marine craft having a plurality of windshield surfaces and a windshield washing apparatus for washing the surfaces. The apparatus includes a reservoir container having a bracket pivotally connected thereto. The bracket can be connected to vertical, horizontal or sloping surfaces on the marine craft. There is a plurality of pumps mounted on the reservoir container. There is one pump for each windshield surface. A filler fitting has a connector for mounting the fitting on a surface of the marine craft remote from the reservoir container. There is a spray nozzle adjacent to each windshield surface. A filler conduit connects a filler fitting to the reservoir container. There is a plurality of discharge conduits. Each discharge conduit connects one of the pumps to one of the spray nozzles.
The invention offers significant advantages compared to the prior art. The reservoir can be located at many convenient locations within the marine craft, including mounting surfaces in different orientations such as above, below or to one side of the reservoir. In addition the reservoir does not have to be readily accessible. The reservoir can be filled through the remote fitting which can be placed in a more convenient location such as on the front deck of the marine craft. A plurality of pumps can be connected to the reservoir to provide separately controllable supplies of liquid to different window areas.

Windshield washer apparatus for marine craft


ESD protection devices and methods to form them are provided in this invention. By employing the thin gate oxide fabricated by a dual gate oxide process, ESD protection devices with a lower trigger voltage are provided. The NMOS for ESD protection according to the present invention has islands with thin gate oxides and a control gate with a thick gate oxide. These islands overlap the drain region of the NMOS to reduce the breakdown voltage of the PN junction in the drain region, thereby reducing the ESD trigger voltage and improving the ESD protection level of the NMOS. Furthermore, the invention is applicable to general integrated-circuit processes as well as various ESD protection devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection devices and relevant methods to form those devices. In particular, the present invention relates to ESD protection devices and methods suitable for a dual gate process.
2. Description of the Related Art
As products based on integrated circuitry (ICs) become more delicate, they also become more vulnerable to the impacts of external environment, especially to ESD stress occurring when one pin of an IC is grounded and anther pin of the IC contacts an electrostatically-precharged object. Therefore, input pins, output pins, and input/output pins, the power-bus pins for an IC for communicating with external systems, must all be well equipped with ESD protection devices or circuitry to meet the minimum level of ESD robustness required by commercial applications.
NMOS (Negative-type Metal On Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), either with the gate grounded or with the gate coupled to a positive voltage during an ESD event, have commonly been used as primary ESD protection devices for ICs. It is well known that the drain contact of an NMOS must be kept a few microns apart from the gate of the NMOS. What is implied is that the drain side of an NMOS confronting ESD stress in the front line must have a distributed resistor connected in series between the channel under the gate and a drain contacts coupled to an IC pad, and the resistance of the distributed resistor must be larger than an acceptable value. If the ESD transient current starts to localize at a weak spot near the gate, it causes the entire ESD current to rush in, thereby causing local heating and eventually damaging the NMOS. On the other hand, the distributed resistor helps to raise the potential of the adjacent diffusion area, and hence induce a more uniform ESD current flow towards the whole channel.
The advanced salicide process, which forms silicide material on drain/source regions to reduce the resistance of active regions and speeds up the circuit operation rate, however, makes construction of the above-mentioned resistor more difficult and costly.
One known solution for the problems induced by the salicide process is to use the salicide block process, which blocks the formation of silicide on certain diffusion regions. However, this solution is inefficient due to the process complexity and the extra mask required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,439 (hereafter referred as ""439 patent) discloses an MOS structure comprising a number of isolated islands in the drain diffusion region (as shown in FIG. 1). The ESD transient current flows around these isolated islands from the drain contacts 10, toward the drain-gate edge, thereby increasing drain resistance to improve ESD protection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,892 discloses an MOS structure comprising a resistor means whose width is substantially equal to the width of the active zone, wherein the resistor means comprises a number of strips of titanium silicide overlying a resistance zone (n-well) and extending substantially parallel to each to increase drain resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,087 discloses an ESD protection device using a second gate as silicide-blocking mask for the drain region, wherein the second gate overlies an N-well region and separates the drain of the host transistor into two portions.
An object of the present invention is to combine two different kinds of structures for different operating voltages in the same active region.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the ESD protection trigger voltage of an ESD protection device, thereby improving its ESD protection level.
The MOS structure for ESD protection, according to the present invention, is suitable to a dual gate process, which fabricates a thick gate oxide and a thin gate oxide on the same wafer. The MOS structure comprises at least one first island and a gate. The first island has a first conductive segment and a thin gate oxide. The first conductive segment is stacked on the thin gate oxide. The gate has a gate oxide thicker than the thin gate oxide.
The gate can be a control gate with the thick gate oxide, or a gate with field oxide.
The drain and the source of the MOS structure can be each coupled to a pad, respectively.
The advantage of the MOS structure according to the present invention is that its ESD protection trigger voltage is lower by the existence of the island. It implies that the MOS structure has a quicker trigger mechanism and a better ESD protection level when compared to the case without the island.
The present invention provides a method for early trigger of an ESD device. This method is applicable to a dual gate process as well as other IC processes. A first ESD device has a first ESD trigger voltage. A second ESD device is constructed based on the structure of the first ESD device. The second ESD device is essentially of the same construction as the first ESD device, but can have a different size, dimension, etc. An island having a thin gate oxide is incorporated with or proximate to the second ESD device, such that the second ESD device has a second trigger voltage lower than the first trigger voltage.
The fabrication method for an ESD protection device with lower trigger voltage according to the present invention is provided. An active region surrounded by an isolation region (e.g. a field oxide region) on a semiconductor wafer is formed. Within the active region, a thick gate oxide in a first region and a thin gate oxide in a second region are formed. A conductive layer on the first and second gate oxides is then formed. Then the conductive layer is patterned to form a first element on the first region and a second element on the second region.
The first element can be a gate of an MOS operated in a relative-high voltage. The second element can be an island overlapping the active region. In addition, another MOS device in another active region and operated in a relative-low voltage can be fabricated on the same wafer based on the thin gate oxide.
A diode structure with reduced ESD trigger voltage is provided in this invention. The diode comprises a first region, at least one island and a second region. The first region forms a first layer of a first conductivity type. The island is located on the first layer, having a conductive segment and a thin gate oxide. The first conductive segment is stacked on the thin gate oxide. The second region is located adjacent to the first region to form a second layer of a second conductivity type. A PN junction is formed between the first layer and the second layer. The second layer has a profile determined by the island and the second region. The island at least partially overlaps the second region for reducing ESD trigger voltage of the PN junction.
An exceeding-voltage-rating structure for enhancing ESD protection is provided, applied for a dual gate process which fabricates a first gate structure for operating in a relatively-low voltage and a second gate structure for operating in a relatively-high voltage. The exceeding-voltage rating structure comprises a first region, at least one island and a second region. The first region forms a first layer of a first conductivity type. The island has the first gate structure on the first layer. The second region is located adjacent to the first region to form a second layer of a second conductivity type and a PN junction between the first layer and the second layer. The second layer has a profile determined by the island and the second region. The island at least partially overlaps the second region to reduce ESD trigger voltage of the PN junction, and the exceeding-voltage-rating structure is operated in a relatively-high voltage application during a powered-on circuit operation.

ESD protection devices and methods for reducing trigger voltage


A computerized method enables a user to conduct a transaction in a private and secure manner via three computer systems and the user's partial identification information. The partial identification information is insufficient to disclose an identity of the user.

Traditional payment cards such as credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, stored-value cards, gift cards, prepaid cards, etc. can be easily stolen and fabricated. For example, by bribing a waiter in a restaurant, a fraudster can easily steal the card information from a guest of the restaurant. The fraudster can use the stolen card information to pay a nominal fee to numerous background search websites on the Internet to find useful personal information based on the cardholder's name shown on the stolen card. A counterfeit card and a counterfeit identification document, such as a driver's license, can be easily fabricated with present technology.
Once a fraudster has stolen or fabricated such card, the fraudster can quickly conduct many illegal financial transactions before the affected financial institutions, organizations or individuals identify the fraud and disable the card. Many individuals, organizations and financial institutions have suffered tremendous material loss and damages as a result of fraud in financial transactions.
In fact, stealing financial instruments is easily committed today. Many financial institutions and merchants keep the personal information (e.g., the information of the financial instruments such as credit cards, debit cards, etc.) of their clients in their databases. It is common for employees of financial institutions, merchants, or consumer report companies to steal customers' information, commit fraud, and/or sell the information to fraudsters.
In addition to credit cards, debit cards, etc., checks remain one of the most popular financial instruments today. It is easier to fabricate a counterfeit check than to fabricate a counterfeit card. There are numerous cases related to counterfeit checks that are used together with counterfeit identification documents.
Furthermore, an online merchant cannot easily tell whether a remote consumer has the correct identity. If correct card information, which can be obtained from a stolen card, and the correct billing address, which can be obtained from Internet search websites, are presented, the merchant cannot easily tell whether the remote consumer is actually a fraudster. An experienced fraudster can easily conduct fraudulent online transactions. As a result, online merchants lose a tremendous amount of money every year.
Furthermore, mailing new financial instruments to new customers or existing customers when their old financial instruments expire is a major overhead to financial institutions. In addition to the huge amount of resources used in this mailing process, these financial instruments can be easily stolen during the mailing process and become susceptible to fraud.
In addition to these examples, fraud is easily committed in the computer age because a user is often identified by a user ID and/or Personal Identification Number ("PIN") and a password. Once a fraudster has stolen the user ID and/or PIN and password of another person, that fraudster can conduct many criminal activities through access to this account. Therefore, fraud is a major threat to online banking, online trading, e-commerce, and many other computer related activities.
In summary, financial transactions fraud can be easily committed today, and individuals, organizations, merchants and financial institutions are suffering enormous losses and damages. There is a need for a better financial transactions system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for planarizing a damascence structure, comprises using two polishing procedure to remove the redundant metal layer. The method comprises depositing a dielectric layer over a wafer. A photolithography and etching procedure is then performed to form trenchs on the dielectric layer. Then, a metal layer is deposited over the dielectric layer and fills the trenchs. Thereafter, a electrical polishing and chemical mechanical polishing method is performed to remove metal layer until the dielectric layer is exposed. The invention is capable of reducing the dishing and erosion effects occurred on the metal layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a method for planarizing a damascene structure, and more particularly to a planarization method with the combination of an electrical polishing method and a chemical mechanical polishing method to decrease the occurrence of dishing and erosion effects.
2. Background
As the level of integration for integrated circuits increases, the amount of yield, cost and reliability necessary for semiconductor devices increases, too. Damascene processing method is invented due to these requirements. The method is capable of applying to the manufacturing processes of interconnect, via opening and contact opening to displace the conventional metal process, such as using a reactive ion etching method to etch CMOS and logic memory.
FIGS. 1A to 1B are cross-sectional views showing the conventional planarization steps of a damascene structure.
As shown in FIG. 1A, using a step of photolithography and etching with the etching time controlled, a trench 14 is formed on the dielectric layer 10. A metal layer 12 is then formed on the dielectric layer and fills the trench 14.
As shown in FIG. 1B, a chemical mechanical polishing method is used for polishing wafer to remain the metal layer 12 within the trench 14. The dielectric layer 10 is utilized as a polishing stop layer during the polishing step by using slurry having high polish selectivity to the metal layer 12.
The key point of damascence process is the optimization of the chemical mechanical polishing process, especially when the thickness and flatness of the metal layer are controlled by the chemical mechanical polishing process. Dishing effect is occurred on the conductive material layer, for example, tungsten metal, during the chemical mechanical polishing process. Moreover, step height effect is occurred after the depositing step of the conductive material over the dielectric layer and the trench. That is, the height of the conductive layer, for example, metal layer, deposited over the trench is lower than that of the conductive layer deposited over the dielectric layer.
Slurry is composed of polishing particles and chemical enhance reagents. Some particles are deposited on the dishing portions of the metal layer. The polishing speed of the dishing portions are higher than that of other portions, hence the dishing effect become more seriously. Further, additional polishing, for example, over-polishing, is needed after the dielectric layer is exposed to ensure the metal layer over the dielectric layer is removed. Therefore, the metal layer is further polished and dishing effect is occurred.
Erosion effect is another problem of the chemical mechanical polishing process. If there are no enough oxide material used as a stop layer, the erosion effect is occurred. As the polishing process goes on, the oxide layer becomes much thinner. Therefore, the conductive material layer formed under the stop layer is over polished. It makes the thickness of the conductive material layer not enough. Erosion effect is easily occurred, especially on the conductive material layer having high integration and scantily oxide layer formed thereon.
This operation is carried out under suitable controlling parameter settings to obtain the best planarity. However, the list of controlling parameters is long and includes the composition of the slurry, the pressure exerted on the silicon wafer, the rotating speed and composition of the polishing pad, as well as the distribution, temperature, and pH of the polishing particles.

Method for planarizing a damascene structure


An in-band group delay equalizer is formed in a simple circuit configuration so as to have a flat group delay characteristic over a wide frequency band without having a peak of group delay near each passband edge. The in-band group delay equalizer includes a plurality of convex group delay circuits. Each convex group delay circuit is formed of one hybrid coupler and two resonators connected to respective divided output ports of the hybrid coupler. The center frequencies of the respective convex group delay circuits are set to be different from each other so that the overall group delay characteristic of the in-band group delay equalizer becomes flat. The bandwidth and the group delay can be easily adjusted. A distortion compensation amplifier with very low distortion can be realized using such an in-band group delay equalizer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-band group delay equalizer and a distortion compensation amplifier for use in a high-frequency band.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the art of base stations for mobile radio communication systems, a large number of distortion compensation amplifiers are used for the purpose of reducing the size of base stations.
A known technique to realize a distortion compensation amplifier is to use a feedforward amplifier. In this technique, it is required that the group delay time of a high-power path and that of a low-power path should be equal to each other in both a distortion detection circuit and a distortion suppression circuit. To obtain equal group delay times, coaxial cables were used in the early days of the technology. In recent years, reductions in size and loss have been achieved by using delay filters instead of coaxial cables.
In delay filters used for this purpose, it is required that the group delay characteristic thereof should be flat over a passband (variation in group delay time within the passband should be small). Conventionally, the delay filter is formed of a multi-stage bandpass filter. FIGS. 14 to 16 show an example of a delay filter formed of a multistage bandpass filter. FIG. 14 shows an equivalent circuit of a delay filter including eight resonators. In FIG. 14, reference symbols Ra to Rh denote resonators. Adjacent resonators are coupled with each other via a capacitor.
FIG. 15 shows the structure of the delay filter. In FIG. 15, reference numeral 4 denotes a substrate. Coaxial resonators Ra to Rh and a coupling board 21 on which a plurality of capacitors are formed, are disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 4. The central conductor of each coaxial resonator is connected to one of electrodes formed on the coupling board 21.
FIG. 16A shows the group delay characteristic of this delay filter, and FIG. 16B shows the transfer characteristic thereof.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-257505 discloses a delay filter formed by adding a parallel capacitor for jump coupling to a common-type bandpass filter. An example of such a delay filter is shown in FIG. 17 to 18, wherein FIGS. 17 and 18 show an equivalent circuit and the structure thereof, respectively. In this example, the second-stage resonator Rb and the fifth-stage resonator Re are jump-coupled with each other via the parallel capacitor. In FIG. 18, reference numeral 22 denotes a coupling board for realizing the jump coupling. FIGS. 19A and 19B show the group delay characteristic and the transfer characteristic, respectively, of this delay filter.
W001/01511A1 discloses a technique of equalizing the overall group delay characteristic by adding a circuit having a convex group delay characteristic to a bandpass filter having a concave group delay characteristic. FIGS. 20A and 20B show examples of the group delay characteristic and the transfer characteristic, respectively, of the filter disclosed in W001/01511A1. In FIG. 20A, curve b indicates the concave group delay characteristic and curve c indicates the convex group delay characteristic, employed in the this filter, and the overall in-band group delay characteristic obtained by combining them is indicated by curve a. In FIG. 20B, S21 indicates the input-to-output transfer characteristic, and S11 and S22 indicate the reflection characteristics at the input port and the output port, respectively.
In those conventional techniques described above, to achieve good characteristics such as 2100 to 2170 MHz for the passband, 7.5 ns for the group delay, and 0.2 ns for the group delay variation, eight (eight-stage) dielectric resonators are needed in the case of the multi-stage bandpass filter, and six (six-stage) dielectric resonators are needed in the case of the bandpass filter disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001257505 and in the case of the group delay filter disclosed in W001/01511A1.
In any of the conventional techniques described above, the group delay has peaks near both edges of the passband, and thus it is difficult to achieve a flat characteristic in terms of the group delay over a wide band. To increase the group delay bandwidth, the number of resonators of the bandpass filter has to be increased. However, the increase in the number of resonators results in increases in outer dimension and insertion loss. Additionally, the increase in the number of resonators causes a further increase in peaks of the group delay near edges of the passband.
Furthermore, to change the group delay time of the delay filter according to any of the conventional techniques described above, the bandwidth of the bandpass filter must be changed. In general, when the bandwidth of the bandpass filter is changed, the coupling factors between resonators and the resonant frequencies of respective resonators needs to be optimized. Thus, in mass production of delay filters, difficult and time-consuming adjustment is needed.
Furthermore, the capacitance of the parallel capacitor for jump coupling is small compared with the capacitance of capacitors for coupling adjacent resonators, and thus the jump coupling is influenced significantly by stray capacitance which is not shown in the equivalent circuit illustrated in FIG. 17. As a result, produced delay filters have a large variation in characteristic.

In-band group delay equalizer and distortion compensation amplifier


An apparatus for forecasting preferred selections from a menu of a restaurant comprises a) a face recognition system including at least two cameras, b) a point of sales system (POS) including a portable terminal linked thereto and c) a server for running algorithms comprising steps of: receiving the demographic profiles of the customers; obtaining environmental information including weather information and event information from relevant websites via internet; obtaining the transaction data of the customers from the POS; correlating the inputted orders including types of dishes from the customers with demographic profiles of the customers and the environmental information to accumulate correlated data into database in the server; selecting the preferred selections from the database based on a criterial to narrow down a number of the preferred selections; and transferring the selected preferred selections to the portable terminal via the POS.

In marketing research and advertisement, personalization and specificity are two important key factors. In order to obtain useful market information, several technologies have been developed.
For example, US Patent Application Publication No.: US 2012/0287281 discloses a consumer interfaces and transaction systems for restaurants to create an individual profile for repeat customers to provide them with better services when they are recognized on the following visit. Also, the individual profile includes his/or her financial data.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,706,544 B1 discloses a method and system for forecasting the demographic characterization of customers to help customize programming contents on each means for playing output of each site of a plurality of sites in a media network through automatically measuring, characterizing and estimation the demographic information of customers that appear in the vicinity of each means for playing output.
However, when utilizing those gathered data as a tool for proactively sell products to the target customers in restaurants, other items giving more direct impact on actual sales are needed to be added, analyzed and formed to be a tool for promoting actual sales activities or for aiming at timely advertisements.
Even though, internet and computer networks have been rapidly spread in business environment and it becomes easy to get necessary information for the business, so far, there is no useful tool for automatically selecting necessary information and analyzing useful data efficiently for the specific business needs.

Digital information gathering and analyzing method and apparatus


A firearm safety enhancement system is provided for enabling use of a firearm only by an authorized individual. At least one electrically activated preventer is provided having a first position for preventing use of firearm and having a second position for enabling use of the firearm. An electrical activation circuit is operatively connected to the preventer to move the preventer between the first and second positions. A portable power supply is carried in said firearm and is coupled to the activation circuit for providing power. A power signal transmitter is operatively connected to the power supply for transmitting an electromagnetic power signal at a regular frequency. A passive identification tag is mounted to a personal adornment to be carried or worn by an individual and is preprogrammed with an authorized identification code preselected from a large number of available identification codes. The passive identification tag is responsive to the power signal to impose a coded return signal on the power signal. The return coded signal is representative of the preprogrammed authorized identification code so that the power signal acts as a carrier of the imposed coded return signal. A reader circuit is connected to the power signal transmitter and to the electrical activation circuit. The reader circuit is responsive only to an authorized identification code to activate the electrical activation circuit to provide power from the portable power supply to move the at least one preventer between the first preventing position and the second unblocked position for enabling use of the firearm.

As society has moved further and further from rural, agricultural and hunting population bases toward city-dwellers and urban population centers, there has become a greater and greater concern for firearm safety. Particularly concerning are incidences of improper handling of firearms by unsanctioned individuals leading to disastrous results.
Also, firearms have traditionally been advantageous, when properly understood and used, for protection against would be perpetrators of crimes against the property, homes, family and person of law-abiding citizens ("More Guns, Less Crime"--Professor John R. Loft, Jr. 1996, University of Chicago). Yet there is a concern that firearms may be accessed by unauthorized individuals or children. Further, there have been instances in which citizens and police have had their firearms taken from them by intruders, suspects and criminals who then use the firearm against the rightful owner. Thus, there is a need to reduce such incidences of accidental or intentional access by unauthorized persons and children and there is a need to reduce instances of firearms taken from individuals and police officers to be used to assault the individuals or police officers.
As one of the safeguards of our freedom, the Constitution of the United States grants every lawful citizen the right to bear arms. Thus, there is a simultaneous need of free people to own firearms while there is a need to promote safety through education and by offering the choice of additional safety enhancement features to those who may benefit from them.
There have been many safety devices for firearms, however, a device that adequately addresses the personalization of a firearm has not been devised prior to the present invention. For example, safety devices using mechanical keys have been devised; however, keys require keeping track of the key and locating the key before using the firearm. In times of fear or panic, the act of inserting the key prior to operation can lead to difficulties and inability to use the firearm for protection in an emergency. The firearm, once activated with the key, can be taken from the rightful owner and continued to be used as long as the key remains inserted. This does not address many of the concerns regarding firearms to be used for protection or that might be taken away from the rightful user.
Another previously proposed safety mechanism requires mechanical manipulation to cause certain slides and levers to be moved into proper position for allowing firing. Although the requirement that the owner must learn and use certain complex movements, providing a modicum of additional safety, it nevertheless also interferes with prompt use for defense purposes. Also, once the movements become generally known, anyone having this knowledge may use the firearm. Moreover, the risk of accidental "successful" manipulation of the device by a child continues to exist.
Magnetically activated switches or magnetically moveable slide mechanisms for blocking the firing mechanism have also been proposed. However, devices that do not discriminate as to the strength of the magnet required can be activated by anyone having a magnet.
Magnetically activated switches having a particularly selected magnetic strength range have also been proposed. Such devices successfully permit only an individual having the proper strength magnet on a finger ring to operate the firearm. It has been found that such devices are useful for a limited number of selected field strength ranges and thus to distinguish between those without magnets and an individual user having a magnetic ring with the appropriate strength. These devices act quickly in emergency defensive use situations, but nevertheless face some drawbacks with respect to the limited number of selectably distinguishable strength ranges for magnets.
Handprint and fingerprint identification devices have been proposed in which the grip of the firearm has sensors that are connected to a microprocessor to detect distinctive prints of an authorized user. However, the power requirements are significant and tend to prevent practical usage. Also, the complexity, the reliability and the sophistication of the computerized identification of handprints and fingerprints have made this proposed solution very expensive and impractical for wide-scale adoption. Fingerprint identifications are likely to fail when the grip is wet with rain, condensation or another liquid or when hands are wet, sweaty, dirty, greasy or otherwise soiled or when gloves are worn. Any or all of these factors could be present when use of the firearm is appropriate by a peace officer, the rightful owner or another properly authorized individual.
Personal identification of an authorized user through radio transmission of a coded signal from a user to a transceiver has also been proposed. Such a device, however, requires both an adequate power supply mounted in the firearm for operating the transceiver and the safety mechanism and also an adequate power carried by the user supply for operating the transponder or transmitter carried by the authorized user. Moreover, radio transmission and reception generally requires an antenna having a length equal to one-fourth of a wavelength. Thus, for frequencies lower than the gigahertz range the transponder can be quite large. To date, this proposed solution has been impractical and has not been successfully implemented for commercial applications. Some of the problems include the onboard power supply being continuously drained while awaiting receipt of authorized radio signal transmission. Also the transmitter/transponder carried by the authorized user must have an adequate power supply. The risk is significant that the battery power of a stored firearm will become depleted and will thereby prevent use of the firearm by the authorized user at inopportune times. No one wants to be looking for and replacing batteries when an intruder invades their home. Further, the personalized transmitter/transponder can be larger than an ordinary ring in order to accommodate an adequate antenna size or to provide adequate power for continuous availability of the firearm for use. Radio transmission also typically provides for reception distances of more than a few feet, which is generally sufficient for close range use of a firearm against the authorized user. This is not acceptable for situations where a police officer might have a firearm wrested away in a scuffle with a suspect. Also traditional radio frequency signals are subject to many types of outside interference. For example high voltage noise, other radio broadcast, large transformers, certain electronic equipment and even lighting. Even sun spots have been suspected to have caused radio controlled garage doors or other radio controlled equipment to open.
Another device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,211 provides for a directional radio signal wherein the authorized user has a transmitter and the firearm has a receiver. The receiver is designed to deactivate the firearm whenever the directional radio signal indicates that the firearm is pointed at the individual having the authorized radio transmitter. Such a device is clearly useful for certain purposed as it is designed to reduce the risk of a firearm being used against a rightfully authorized user. Once again, these devices have significant power requirements, both for the receiver and the transmitter, so that they suffer from some of the drawbacks as with some of the other prior radio coded devices.
Voice identification and voice activation firearm safety devices have also been proposed. Problems arise with properly programming voice identification or other voice command activation signals so that such signals cannot be duplicated by others. The complexity of computerization using microchips and/or software that is required for voice identification continues to challenge currently available technology and is still very costly. The solution is not yet practical . The power requirements are still problematic. Also, the need in certain situations, particularly hunting and police work, to quietly activate a firearm without talking or without another audible signal, further tends to make this proposal less than adequate.
An electromagnetic solenoid blocking mechanism has become popular among proposed safety devices since it was first suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,016,376 and 5,123,193. Safety devices for use with electronic firing firearms have been proposed as an alternative to mechanical or electro-mechanical blocking of firing mechanisms of firearms. Such alternative devices might avoid some requirements for mechanically or physically blocking the trigger or firing mechanism that has been suggested for most proposed firearm safety devices. The proposed alternative electronic firing devices are complex and the technology for electronic firing is not yet available as a commercially feasible product. Moreover, electronic firing also continues to require a personal identification system that is sufficiently selective, and sufficiently reliable with adequate power and that previously has not been adequately addressed.

Magnetic tag firearm safety enhancement system


An interferometer having a light beam source that produces a plurality of separate and distinct wavelengths of light. Optic fibers are used to transport the wavelengths of light toward an object surface and to allow light reflected from the object to pass through a polarizer to improve the polarization ratio of the reflected light to determine a characteristic of the object surface.

Interferometers are widely used for measuring the profiles of smooth surfaces. In these devices, interfering beams are reflected from different areas on a solid surface and interferometric techniques are used to detect variations in surface height by measuring the path differences between the two interfering beams as the beams are moved across the solid surface. The interferometry transforms phase information encoded on a beam of coherent light into an intensity modulation that can be detected by conventional "square-law" detectors. The encoded information is typically a representation of fringes, in time or space, whose repeat frequency is determined by the period of one cycle of the optical wavelength. The fringe separation can be scaled somewhat by the geometry of the apparatus, but in general one fringe cannot be distinguished from another. As a result, it is not practical to identify a single fringe uniquely. This problem can be partially remedied when the bandwidth of the light is selected to give the highest contrast in the "zero-order" fringe, and which the contrast is reducing in either direction. If the contrast of the fringe reduces rapidly enough to give unambiguous identification, the distance over which a useful measurement can be discriminated is proportionally altered (i.e. reduced or increased).
In addition to the fringe detection problems, typical interferometers are notoriously difficult to keep stable. Since the optical paths of light in different routes are the source of the desired measurement, any differences arising from effects other than that to be measured are ruinous to the accuracy. These include mechanical vibration; thermal expansion; intensity modulation; birefringence effects; spatial and temporal coherence reduction; optical, mechanical and/or electronic drift; and/or other unanticipated operational problems.
Previous interferometers have been able to measure relative surface displacements over a limited range. This has made it impossible to contour surfaces containing steps or other discontinuities. Previous interferometers have also used bulk optics for guiding and mixing the light. Bulk optics suffer from alignment, stability and fringe contrast problems.
In view of the deficiencies of present interferometers used to measure relative surface displacement, there is a need for an interferometer that is simple to use, overcomes past stability and fringe contrast problems, and can measure relative surface displacements over a larger range than heretofore.

Optical device for measuring a surface characteristic of an object by multi-color interferometry


A golf putting training apparatus for a golfer to develop a pendulum stroke including a rigid, upright support and a shoulder engaging guide rotatably attached to the support. The shoulder guide is connected to a rotatable bearing positioned perpendicular to the ground, whereby the golfer""s shoulders may only move in a vertical plane, ensuring that a pendulum stroke is achieved.

The present invention relates to a putting practice device and, in particular, a device for training a golfer to develop a pendulum putting stroke.
A key to proficient putting in playing the game of golf, lies in developing a consistent putting stroke. The direction that a ball takes when rolling on a green toward a hole depends upon three major variables. The first critical factor in executing a proper putting stroke is the club head path. A second factor is the position of the club face relative to the ball, that is, whether the club face is open or closed. A third factor is the location on the putter striking face where the ball is actually struck, it being appreciated that hitting a ball precisely at the center of percussion will produce the truest and straightest roll. It has long been thought that the putting stroke was a miniature of a full golf swing; that is, the club head moves in an arcuate path by being brought back on an inside path during the back swing, returned to a square position at impact, and returned on an inside path during the follow through. This motion opens the club face during the back swing portion of the stroke and closes it during the follow through portion of the stroke relative to the line a golf ball must roll in order to be holed. By opening and closing the putter club face, consistency in the execution of a golf stroke becomes much more difficult.
A more scientific approach to developing a pure putting stroke concludes that the stroke should emulate a pure pendulum movement, whereby the putter face remains square and follows a straight line path with a straight back, straight through motion coincident with the aim line a golfer has selected after reading the green surface in order to hole the golf ball. This straight path motion minimizes deviations in the path of the putter head, which commonly occur with an arcuate stroke, and also aids in maintaining the club face perfectly square throughout the full extent of the putting stroke including the back swing, and the impact position and the follow through.
In order to execute a pendulum putting stroke, a golfer""s shoulders must hang vertically. Preferably the shoulders are located directly over the golf ball, although that is not necessary. Moving the shoulders only in a vertical plane, while maintaining the hands in a rigid, fixed position on the golf club grip, will result in a pure pendulum stroke.
Various putting practice devices have been developed for golfers to develop a pendulum putting stroke. Among these devices are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,251,077, 4,130,282 and 4,437,669, to David Pelz, a well known short game teacher who is a strong proponent of the pendulum putting method. U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,669 relates to a golf practice putting track which is contoured to follow a putter head during a putting stroke. The track includes a pair of rails which may be adjusted with respect to each other so that precise tolerances are maintained between the putter head and rails, thereby insuring that the putter maintains a straight back, straight through path in order to avoid hitting the rails of the track. U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,077 relates to an electronic target alignment system using a mirror and reflected light to ensure that the angle of the putter face remains square during the execution of a stroke. U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,282 relates to a putting system using a practice insert which insures a ball is hit precisely on the center of percussion.
Other patents of interest for maintaining a golfer""s shoulders in a predetermined position include U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,892 to Stahl, which uses a pair of shoulder braces connected to an upright post by means of a tubular adjustment sleeve having a fixed boss which extends outwardly and downwardly at an angle calculated to be proper relative to the horizontal for positioning the golfer""s head and neck during the execution of the swing. The device includes a rotary joint connecting the shoulder apparatus to the fixed post.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,761 to Brock et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,105 to Roboth show golf training apparatuses wherein shoulder guides are positioned on the shoulders of a golfer during the execution of a swing.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for teaching a golfer to make a pure pendulum stroke by maintaining the golfer""s shoulders in a vertical plane during the execution of a putting stroke. The device includes a pair of shoulder engaging members which are rotatably connected to a fixed, upright support. The upright support may be directly attached to a wall or other fixed surface, or it may be mounted on a tripod or similar upright stand. The stand may be mounted on a cart or trolley apparatus with wheels to facilitate transportation of the unit. In a preferred embodiment, the shoulder engaging members extend perpendicular from or horizontal to a fixed vertical support surface and are adjustably movable upward or downward to accommodate golfers of different heights. The mounting post and shoulder engaging members are rotatably connected relative to each other by means of a bearing disposed in a vertical plane, parallel with the post. In this position the bearing is moveable only in a vertical direction. When a golfer executes a putting stroke, the arms and hands holding a putter follow the movement of the shoulders as they vertically rotate, thereby ensuring that the putter movement is also vertical to the ground surface. Assuming a golfer maintains his hands in a fixed position on the club head, the club head ball striking face can only move in a direction limited by the pendulum motion of the apparatus, thus creating a pure pendulum golf stroke.
Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a golf putting practice apparatus to enable a golfer to develop a pure pendulum putting stroke.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a putting practice apparatus which may be used either indoors or outdoors to develop a putting stroke.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a putting training apparatus which can be used by all sized golfers to develop a pendulum putting stroke.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention.

Putting practice apparatus for developing a pendulum putting stroke


A process for producing unagglomerated single crystals of aluminum nitride of low oxygen content having a size of at least 10 microns suitable for the reinforcement of metal, ceramic and polymeric matrix composite materials, and especially metal matrix materials. The process involves producing a reaction mixture of alumina (or a precursor), carbon (or a precursor), and an alkali metal oxide (or precursor such as a carbonate) as a crystal growth promoter or catalyst. The alkali metal oxide is present in an amount required for the formation of crystals of the required size, preferably in the range of 10-60 microns. The reaction mixture is subjected to a preheating step under nitrogen at a temperature in the range of 1600.degree.-1700.degree. and is then subjected to a heating step under nitrogen at a temperature in the range of 1800.degree.-1950.degree. C. This two-stage heating process ensures that the resulting crystals are of low oxygen content and thus good thermal conductivity. Particularly desirable crystals are produced if electrostatic precipitator dust is used as a source of the alumina, if petroleum coke or calcined anthracite coal is used as a source of the carbon and if the reaction is carried out in the presence of a porosity enhancer for the reaction mass, especially short cellulose fibres. The particles produced by the invention are in the form of large single crystals for good matrix reinforcement and have low oxygen and carbon contents. The invention extends to the particles produced by the process and to matrix composites reinforced with the particles.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing substantially unagglomerated single crystals of aluminum nitride and to the crystals so produced.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There is considerable interest nowadays in materials suitable for the reinforcement of metal, ceramic or polymeric matrix composites and similar materials. Composite materials of this type can be made to have very desirable properties, such as lightness of weight, high strength and resistance to high temperatures. Materials used for the reinforcement of the matrices must themselves have desirable properties, such as resistance to high temperatures and good resistance to attack by the matrix materials at high temperatures, as well as imparting a substantial reinforcing effect.
One material that is of interest as a matrix reinforcement is aluminum nitride. This material is especially suited for the reinforcement of aluminum matrix composites because of its high resistance to attack by molten aluminum. However, the reinforcing effect obtainable when using this material has been lower than expected because it has not been possible, at least on a commercial scale, to produce aluminum nitride in the form of particles ideally suited for reinforcement.
Aluminum nitride is used in the electronics industry, but the processes for the production of aluminum nitride for these applications generally result in the formation of sub-micron sized particles, which are too small for effective matrix reinforcement.
Most attempts to date to produce particles of aluminum nitride intended for reinforcement have resulted in polycrystalline particles which are then sintered and classified to obtain particles in the size range of at least about 10 microns. For example, individual particles can be produced by a carbothermal process for the production of aluminum nitride according to the following equation: EQU Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 +3C+N.sub.2 .fwdarw.2AlN+3CO
This reaction takes place at temperatures above 1700.degree. C. but, in order to grow crystals above 10 microns in diameter, the reaction temperature must be maintained above 1800.degree. C. However, when such temperatures are used, the product is unsatisfactory because a significant amount of carbon becomes trapped between agglomerating crystals of the AlN and the trapped carbon cannot be eliminated even by oxidation at elevated temperatures. Besides, a thick, almost sintered layer of AlN is formed on the surface of the particles, which hinders the diffusion of N.sub.2 inside the particle matrix as it is being formed, thus causing incomplete reaction in the interior of the particles.
Pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 07/528,878 filed on May 25, 1990 in the name of S.K. Nadkarni and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses a process for producing unagglomerated single crystals of AlN of at least 10 microns in size. The process involves reacting alumina with carbon under an atmosphere of nitrogen at a temperature in the range of 1800-1950.degree. C. in the presence of an alkali metal oxide as a crystal growth promoter or catalyst. The resulting particles are very useful for the reinforcement of composite materials, but the oxygen content of the particles can often be quite high and this reduces the thermal conductivity of the AlN, which is disadvantageous in many applications. The disclosure of this prior application is incorporated herein by reference.

Process for producing unagglomerated single crystals of aluminum nitride


The use of 3-methyl-5-cyclohexylpentanol, 3-methyl-5-cyclohexylpentanal or mixtures thereof as fragrance materials is disclosed. The subject materials possess unique fragrance notes and are advantageous in that they are cost-effective.

Many compounds have been described in the literature as fragrance materials. As is the case with many classes of compounds having varied utilities, of the many compounds that are known to possess pleasing fragrance notes, only a very small portion are utilized commercially. There are several reasons for this, notably toxicological constraints, environmental considerations, biodegradability, performance, and cost effectiveness. While all of these factors must be carefully weighed in consideration of whether to introduce a new fragrance material, perhaps the most critical are performance and cost. Performance properties include odor activity, notes, and aesthetics; substantivity; and solubility. The cost effectiveness involves manufacture costs and the amount of the compound required to impart fragrance to a consumable product. Of course, the lower the amount of fragrance material required, the higher its cost effectiveness. Many materials have met some of the above-mentioned criteria, yet have not been successful because of cost versus performance.
It must further be borne in mind that, because fragrance materials are by nature utilized in comparatively small quantities, only a very few benefit from the cost efficiency of large-scale production. All of these factors, combined with the tendency in many countries to take a more rigid regulatory position concerning ingredients in consumable products, have acted to hamper the introduction of new fragrance materials in recent years.
There is an on-going need for new fragrance materials that can be readily synthesized from relatively inexpensive raw materials, meet the criteria set forth above, possess unique fragrance notes and, perhaps most importantly, are cost-effective in use. Such materials are provided in accordance with the present invention.


A monolithic-like, composite building module such as a wall panel having a core of rigid foam encased in a shell made of fiber reinforced cement. The composite module can be made by forming a supported open shell made of a hardened mixture of cement and fibers, introducing a rigid foamable polymer into the open shell, closing the open shell with a cover member made of a hardened mixture of cement and glass fibers and thereafter holding the cover member in place while polymer foam fills the interior of the enclosed shell.

This invention relates to a composite building module which is similar to monolithic cast concrete modules in outward appearance and use, yet has significant improvements in insulating properties and weight reduction. More particularly, this invention relates to a composite building module having a rigid foam core, such as a rigid urethane polymer foam, encased or encapsulated in a shell made of a hardened mixture of cement and fibers, such as glass fibers.
Because of increased costs in material and labor, the construction industry has come to use prefabricated building modules, for example wall panels, roof decks and the like. A popular form of construction is known as "curtain-wall" construction and involves the use of a structural steel skeleton which is faced with stacked-up, prefabricated or precast panels. Such curtain-wall panels are commonly cast from reinforced concrete and are provided with a surface finish such as a smooth concrete finish or aggregate imbedded into the face of the panels. These panels are extremely heavy, for example a 4.times.8 curtain-wall panel cast from reinforced concrete weights from 1400-1600 lbs., and require heavy construction equipment to install. In addition, these panels provide very poor insulating properties and by themselves are a poor vapor barrier. This necessitates further construction to insulate and seal the stacked-up curtain-wall of precast concrete modules.
The construction industry has long sought improved building elements that will offer advantages in material and construction costs. A laminated structural element is described Muhim patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,278, issued Jan. 3, 1967, as consisting of (i) a preformed plastic foam layer, (ii) one or more covering layers of aqueous binding material hardened to impart the strength required for a structure where the structural element is to be used, and (iii) mechanical means interlocking the foam covering layers into a unitary element. Heat insulation is imparted by the plastic foam layer while the required structural strengths are provided by the covering layer or layers.
In one embodiment a preformed plastic foam layer is sandwiched between two concrete layers which are connected through openings in the foam layer by a multiplicity of concrete dowels thereby interlocking the layers mechanically. In another embodiment, a covering layer of a hardened cement having a reinforcement of "wood fibers" therein is mechanically interlocked by a multiplicity of "micro-dowels" formed by the binder in surface crevices of the preformed plastic foam layer. The so-called "wood-fibers" providing the micro-dowels have a length of 35-50 cm (approximately 14-20 inches).
Another proposal for a laminated insulating panel is set forth in British Pat. No. 1,030,333 and involves a preformed insulating layer which is surfaced on one or both sides with at least two layers of cement between which is embedded a glass fiber fabric web. The insulating or core layer, which can carry a static load, is made from a mixture of Portland Cement, an aqueous plastic dispersion, sand and a lesser amount of waste foam formed when foamed plastic parts are sawed. The covering layers are made of similar mixture without sand using greater amounts of waste foam.
A real problem encountered in making laminated panels using preformed plastic foam cores (e.g., polystyrene foam) is the lack of adhesive bond between the core and the covering layer. Muhim attempts to cope with this by providing a mechanical interlock using dowels or micro-dowels to form a unitary element. He also contemplates an extra bonding film to improve adhesion. In the British patent, the covering layers contain a binder which will provide a bond with the insulating core. The use of like materials in both the core and the covering layers makes this possible.
The present invention provides a monolithic-like building module which is extremely light in weight as compared to precast concrete panels for example, and which has greatly improved insulating and vapor barrier properties per se. Because the present invention utilizes an in situ foamed core, an adhesive interlock between core and shell is formed which is stronger than either material by itself. The chemical foaming reaction that takes place, plus the fact that foaming takes place in an enclosed shell under retention, results in an overall intimate adhesive interlock and a prestressed structure wherein the shell is under tension and the core is under compression. This means that the shell and core are now united together into a monolithic-like structure that has far greater strengths (because of the overall adhesive interlock) than prior laminated panels using preformed foam plastic cores, and, at the same time, is light in weight and has excellent insulating and vapor barrier properties.


A multiple configuration shower device includes at least one handle (2) connected to a flexible duct for supplying water and at least one water dispensing element (5). The dispensing element (5) is provided with a plurality of water ejection faces (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d), each provided with respective nozzles (U), and comprising at least one connector (6), provided between the handle (2) and the dispensing element (5), which is adapted to allow the manual rotation of the dispensing element (5) about at least one axis which is substantially perpendicular to the handle (2), so as to arrange selectively at least one of the ejection faces (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) substantially in the direction of the user.

As is known, modern shower devices, such as heads connected to a flexible duct for supplying water and spray heads fitted on one of the internal walls of shower enclosures, can adjust the intensity of the jet of water in relation to the specific requirements of the user.
Typically, these devices comprise different sets of dispensing nozzles, toward which the flow of water is diverted selectively (in heads, by means of selection levers), said nozzles having different geometric characteristics and thus providing water jets of different intensity.
However, these adjustments are generally of a rather limited extent and often are rather awkward to perform while one is taking a shower, and in particular for devices of the head type the selection lever is small and difficult to actuate.
Further, modern shower devices are often provided, on the water dispensing surfaces, with massaging elements such as balls, peduncles and/or the like, to be used directly in contact with the skin of the user. The traditional shape of current shower devices utilizes said massaging elements in an extremely limited and in any case awkward manner.


A carpet including yarn pile extending from the face of a primary backing and a secondary backing bonded to the back of the primary backing has a thin film of liquid impervious thermoplastic material bonded either to the rear of the primary backing or to the rear of the secondary backing to provide a fluid barrier for preventing spills from seeping through to a floor beneath the carpet. The film is bonded to either backing by a hot melt thermoplastic adhesive or other non-aqueous adhesive. Additionally, the method of providing such fluid barrier for the carpet is disclosed.

This invention relates to broadloom carpet and more particularly to such carpet having a backing including a barrier impervious to fluid penetration.
Carpet, whether tufted or woven, does not provide a fluid barrier to the under surface upon which the carpet is positioned. The vast majority of manufactured carpet is tufted carpet wherein yarn is stitched into a web of primary backing material. In most cases this primary backing comprises a woven web of polypropylene including ribbon fibers. The majority of carpets are backed with a latex and a secondary backing which may be jute, but substantially more frequently with a woven polypropylene having spun or fibrillated fibers which adhere to latex. An example of a secondary backing of this latter type is sold by AMOCO under the trademark ACTION BAC. Carpets having such secondary backings may be installed on a cushion material and stretched onto a floor for residential use, or may be directly glued onto a floor, the latter being a procedure generally limited to commercial use. Other carpets having such a secondary backing may be directly bonded by latex to a foam material which acts as the cushion for carpet.
When a liquid such as a beverage, milk or the like or urine from a pet, or rain in the case of outdoor carpet, accidentally spills onto the surface of the carpet the liquid flows through the carpet to the back of the carpet and soaks all the way through to the cushion and the floor beneath. Carpet manufacturers universally recommend that the spills be cleaned up promptly, but generally it is highly impracticable to clean and absorb the spills before at least some of the liquid has penetrated through the backing to the sub-floor. This leads to possible permanent odors, stains, formation and entrapment of bacteria, and other potentially carpet destroying characteristics.
Attempts to solve this problem to date have met with limited success. For example, a backing system from DuPont comprising a coating known under the trademark SPILLBLOCK which works to keep spills from soaking through the carpet is stated by the manufacturer not to be completely impervious to the spills and the manufacturer recommends cleaning up the spills promptly. Additionally, closed cell foams or solid polymeric coatings have been utilized in commercial applications. However, such products are very costly and thus have a very limited application. Accordingly, the problem persists and has not been solved completely or economically in the prior art.


A process is disclosed for the preparation of a fluorinated aliphatic olefin having the formula EQU CH.sub.a F.sub.3-a --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.b F.sub.3-b. wherein a is 0 or the integer 1 or 2 and b is 0 or the integer 1, 2 or 3.. In the first step of the process, a chlorinated olefinic hydrocarbon of the formula EQU CH.sub.c Cl.sub.2-c .dbd.CH--CH.sub.d Cl.sub.3-d. wherein c is 0 or the integer 1 and d is 0 or the integer 1 or 2 is reacted with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride for a period of time and at a temperature sufficient to form a chlorofluoro olefin of the formula EQU CH.sub.e Cl.sub.2-e .dbd.CH--CH.sub.f F.sub.3-f. wherein e is 0 or the integer 1 and f is 0 or the integer 1 or 2.. The chlorofluoro olefin produced in the first step is then reacted with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride in a second reaction. This second reaction is catalyzed with at least one compound that is a metal oxide or metal halide. Mixtures of said metal oxides, metal halides and metal oxides with metal halides may also be used. The metallic part of such compound is arsenic, antimony, tin, boron or is selected from a metal in Group IVb, Vb. VIb. VIIb or VIIIb of the Periodic Table of the Elements.. The desired fluorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon is subsequently separated and recovered.. The process is particularly suitable for the preparation of 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane.

The replacement of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) widely used in refrigerant compositions, propellants and cooling fluids as well as blowing agents, solvents and rinse agents with environmentally acceptable alternatives has produced an abundance of compounds meeting one or more of these needs. The most acceptable replacement compounds are those having little or no chlorine, since it is generally accepted that chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons lead to unacceptably reactive chlorine-containing radicals when present in the upper atmosphere. These radicals are thought to react with the ozone in the stratosphere depleting it to dangerously low levels.
One of the more promising alternatives to CFC's are the aliphatic compounds where chlorine has been replaced with fluorine. These materials are known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFC's). Typical HFC's have atmospheric lifetimes and global warming potentials that are a fraction of their chlorinated analogs. However, many of their other physical properties (low flammability and toxicity, sufficient volatility, etc.) are identical or similar to the CFC's. Accordingly, they are attractive replacements for the chlorinated molecules.
In processes for preparing HFC's, a usual starting material is the chlorinated analog of the desired fluorinated compound. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,646 discloses that SbF.sub.3 Cl.sub.2 and/or SbF.sub.3 are useful for converting compounds of the formula CMZ.sub.2 CX.dbd.CHY, for example 3,3,3-trichloroprop-1-ene or 1,1,3-trichloroprop-1-ene to compounds of the formula CF.sub.3 CX.dbd.CHY, for example 3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-ene.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,549,580 discloses the conversion of 1,1-dichloroprop-1-ene to 1,1,1-trifluoropropane by means of hydrogen fluoride at 120.degree. C. and 800 psi pressure.
The preparation of 1-chloro-1,1,3,3,3-pentafluoropropane and of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane from 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexachloropropane in the liquid phase is described in EPO Publication No. 0 522 639 A1. While the preferred catalyst for the reaction is noted to be SbCl.sub.5, other catalysts disclosed are those metal chlorides, fluorides, and chloride fluorides of Group IIIa, IVa, IVb, Va, Vb and VIb of The Periodic Table of the Elements.
Compounds such as 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane are prepared by the coupling of two chlorine containing reactants, i.e., 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane and dichlorodifluoromethane, in the presence of hydrogen and a first catalyst to form an olefin, i.e., 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoro-2-chloroprop-2-ene and then hydrogenating the olefin in the presence of a second catalyst. See WO 95/05353.

Process for preparing fluorinated aliphatic compounds


The invention is a control for boat trailers. A body member is clamped under the forward tongue of a boat type trailer. A folding member is pivotally mounted on the body member. A wheel holding means is rotatably mounted on the folding member. A pair of wheels are mounted on the wheel holding member. A handle is pivotally mounted on the body member. A connecting link member is pivotally connected to the handle at its upper end and pivotally connected to the folding member at its lower end. Provisions are provided so that a removable steering handle may be used on the wheel holding member.

Boat trailers are commonly used to transport boats such as outboard motor boats. These trailers have a tongue which connects to the vehicle by means of a ball and socket joint.
There are no wheels under the front tongue of the boat trailer so that when it is disconnected from the vehicle it is difficult to manoeuvre.
Conventional controls for providing a wheel support for the front tongue of the trailer generally comprises single wheel devices which are mounted on a long screw type jack arrangement. It requires a considerable amount of turning of the jack handle to retract the wheel sufficiently when the trailer is being transported by a vehicle.


Screw unit with a closing screw having a screw head for the aseptic closing of an internal thread of a member and an introduction post in firm, but detachable connection on the closing screw.. The detachable connection is formed by a tongue in an end of the post being received in a slot in the screw head which slot terminates inward of a peripheral edge of the screw head.

The invention relates to a screw unit with a closing screw having a screw slot for the aseptic closing of an internal thread, particularly for closing an internal thread in a member to be implanted in bone material for receiving an implant post or the like.
Enossal implants, i.e. members to be implanted in the jawbone, are e.g. known from EP 0 216 031 A1 and have proved extremely satisfactory in practice. During the implantation of such members absolute sterility must be ensured in order to keep the inflammation risk low. An implanted member must initially be engaged by the bone growth prior to the introduction of the implant post or the like. During this time the internal thread of the member is closed, because it would otherwise fillup with dead material, which cannot be transported away.
For introducing the member into the bone, it is conventional practice to improve its handling to screw an insertion post in the internal thread and the post is subsequently removed. The internal thread of the member is subsequently closed with a special closing screw. This screw is removed as soon as the bone has firmly grown onto the member and then an implant post, an implant extension, a post for attachments, etc. or a screw for fixing crowns and other structures in dental prosthetics will be screwed into the implanted member.


Dual Radio Access Transfer of an IMS in an alerting phase for the Packet Switched to Circuit Switched direction includes initiating an IMS media session towards UE and, during a session alerting phase, making a determination that a DRVCC transfer is required from a PS to CS, access, sending a SIP message from the UE to a SCC-AS, over the PS access, informing the SCC-AS of the DRVCC transfer, and responding to receipt of the SIP message at the SCC-AS by sending a SIP INVITE from the SCC-AS towards MSC. The SIP INVITE includes an identity of the UE as a called party identity and the STN as the calling party identity. The Transfer includes sending from the MSC to the UE a CS Setup message, whereupon the MSC is placed in a state in which it expects a CS Answer from the UE.

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a standardised and established architecture for delivering IP multimedia services to end users. IMS is to a large extent agnostic concerning the access network used by the end users: access networks may be wireless or fixed line. In the context of IMS, it is important to allow end users to seamlessly move between access networks and access technologies, e.g. to allow voice and video call continuity during such movements.
3GPP TS 23.237 v11.4.0 specifies Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC) as a functionality defined for the Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture to allow voice and video calls to be transferred or "handed over" from the LTE packet switched (PS) domain to a legacy circuit switched (CS) domain, in the case where a mobile terminal has only a single radio interface available to it. Such a transfer might be required, for example, when a call is established by a user terminal over a packet switched (PS) LTE connection and it becomes necessary, due to a deterioration in the LTE radio quality, to transfer the call to a 3G UMTS circuit switched (CS) connection. FIG. 1 illustrates schematically the reference architecture for SRVCC (using the Access Transfer Control Function, ATCF, enhancements).
SRVCC relies upon a network (LTE) determination that a PS to CS handover for a given UE is required. The UE is instructed to perform the handover by way of a (SIP) message sent to it over the PS access (i.e. over the Gm interface), and as a result disconnects from the PS access and connects instead to the CS access. A serving MSC within the CS network is caused to send a setup signal to the UE over the now established CS access in order to establish a CS voice call between the UE and the MSC, whereupon the call is transferred to the CS access. A special case arises when handover is required at the call terminating side during the call alerting phase, i.e. after an INVITE has been received by the UE but prior to the user answering the call. This special case is considered in 3GPP TS 23.237 v11.4.0 section 188.8.131.52.4c.
3GPP TS 23.237 also specifies Dual Radio VCC (DRVCC) as a mechanism analogous to SRVCC but concerned with mobile terminals that have dual radio interfaces, i.e. radio interfaces that can be used in parallel. As with SRVCC, DRVCC makes provision for handover of a voice or video call from a PS to a CS access following call establishment. [In contrast to SRVCC, a determination to perform such a handover in the case of DRVCC is made by the UE rather than within the network.] However, the DRVCC specifications have not previously provided a means to handle a PS to CS handover during a voice or video call alerting phase and in particular have not addresses the call terminating side case.
In the context of DRVCC, FIG. 2 illustrates a possible mechanism for handling PS to CS handover of a voice or video call at the call originating side, during the alerting state. An originating user UE-A sends an INVITE towards a terminating user (not shown) and receives a Ringing response: this exchange uses the PS access. At this point, UE-A determines that the quality of the PS access is not suitable for the call, and a DRVCC process is initiated by UE-A in order to transfer to a CS access. UE-A sends a setup request, via the CS access, to the MSC on the originating side. The request includes a Session Transfer Number (STN), a number statically configured on the UE which is used to route the transfer to the SCC AS. The MSC in turn sends an INVITE to the SCC AS (serving UE-A), with the STN being included within the INVITE. [NB. FIG. 2 assumes that the MSC comprises some interworking function able to provide interworking between the IMS side and the CS signalling side.] The SCC-AS uses the STN contained within the INVITE to detect that the request is a request to transfer the session from PS access to CS access, and uses additional information in the signalling (such as the calling party number) to correlate the transfer request with the INVITE previously sent over the PS access. As a result of sending the INVITE, the MSC knows to expect an Answer. When the Answer is received from the SCC AS, the MSC sends an Answer to UE-A and call set up over the CS access proceeds as usual.
FIG. 3 illustrates a problem that might arise when handling DRVCC on the terminating side during a call alerting phase. In this case, the called party, UE-B, which is initially connected to a PS access, receives an INVITE from UE-A, and sends a Ringing response. At this point, UE-B determines that the quality of the PS access is not suitable for the voice call, and a DRVCC process is initiated by UE-B in order to transfer to a CS access. UE-B then sends a Setup message (standard CS signalling) to the MSC to initiate the transfer. The MSC reacts to the Setup message by sending an INVITE towards the SCC AS. [NB. The MSC may alternatively use CS trunk signalling, e.g. ISUP, in which case the trunk signalling setup message will be routed via a Media Gateway Controller]. At this point, the MSC is awaiting an Answer from the remote end, i.e. from the SCC-AS. In the event that a user answers at UE-B, causing an Answer to be sent to the MSC, this unexpected answer causes an error case to arise at the MSC due to un-matched states existing at UE-B and the MSC.
Whilst it would be possible to solve this problem by introducing new logic into the MSC, this is in practice difficult to achieve due to the large number of already deployed MSCs. A preferred solution is one that involves modifications at only the mobile terminals and the SCC-AS. On the one hand, it is relatively easy to upgrade and deploy terminal software whilst on the other relatively few SCC-ASs have been deployed and it will be a relatively easy task to update those ASs.

Access transfer for a DRVCC mobile terminal


Examples of the present invention relate to a lighting unit having an unconstrained curvature, irrespective of the shape of an installation space, and implementing high light-emitting efficiency with a small number of light sources, the lighting unit comprising: a reflection module including a pair of first side portions and a bottom portion connected thereto; and a light-emitting module for emitting light into the reflection module, wherein the bottom portion includes a curved region including at least one inflection point.

Lighting units for use in electronic appliances are configured to adopt suitable light sources depending on the characteristics of electronic appliances in order to increase light-emitting efficiency.
Recent lighting units used in electronic appliance may be applied in various ways, for example, to a backlight unit of a flat panel display, an indoor lamp used in an indoor environment, a headlight, a fog light, a backup light, a sidelight, a license plate light, a taillight, a brake light, a turn signal, or a hazard flasher lamp installed on the exterior of a vehicle, or a passenger compartment light installed inside a vehicle.
However, most of these lighting units have adopted a member for increasing the efficiency of transmission of light, such as a light guide plate, in the interest of maximizing the luminance of a surface light source.
In particular, lighting units for vehicles have recently been developed to adopt, as a light source, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which realize high light-emitting efficiency. In the case of lighting units for vehicles using a surface light source, the use of an LED package as a light source is on the rise. However, when such a LED package is used as a light source, an increase in the number of light-emitting elements constituting a light-emitting surface is necessary in order to achieve a great quantity of light or to realize surface light-emission. The use of a great number of LED packages is problematic in terms of cost and heat radiation as well as in the realization of a circuit between elements due to, for example, curved places or narrow spaces in vehicles, which cause serious disadvantages of high cost and low efficiency. In addition, in the case of a taillight or a location on the vehicle from which light is emitted and which has a curved surface, it is difficult to realize uniform intensity of light over such a light-emitting surface, leading to dark spaces before and after a curved portion. When additional light-emitting elements are used to overcome this problem, an increase in costs is necessarily incurred.


A semiconductor package and method for producing the same has a substrate. A prepackaged semiconductor device is coupled to the substrate. At least one die is coupled to a top surface of the prepackaged semiconductor device. An adhesive layer is laid between the prepackaged semiconductor device and the first die to coupled the two together. A mold compound is then used to encapsulate the semiconductor package.

As electronic devices get smaller, the components within these devices must get smaller as well. Because of this, there has been an increased demand for the miniaturization of components and greater packaging density. Integrated Circuit (IC) package density is primarily limited by the area available for die mounting and the height of the package. One way of increasing the density is to stack multiple die vertically in an IC package. Currently, die stacking with flash memory, Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), logic and/or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) devices have been introduced for increasing the density of chip integration.
In order to provide high quality multi-chip stacked devices, the devices used for stacking must be either high yield FAB (i.e., memory devices) or known good die (KGD). Certain devices, like ASIC and logic devices, have a lower yield than devices like memory. Thus, these types of devices need to be screened if they are to be used in a multi-chip stacked device. A problem arises in that it is expensive to get a KGD prepared. Wafer component testing and burn-in testing is a very expensive process. However, testing of these types of devices is necessary in order to sort out potentially problematic chips and to prevent any quality and reliability issues.
Presently, if a logic or ASIC device in an assembled stacked die package is rejected after testing, the good semiconductor die coupled to these rejected logic or ASIC devices must be scraped. This is problematic for many end customers due to the cost of scraping the good die.
Therefore, a need existed to provide a device and method to overcome the above problems.

Semiconductor package having one or more die stacked on a prepackaged device and method therefor