The data transfer between an initiator and a target, interconnected over an IEEE1394 interface, is to be improved in efficiency. At the time of login, the buffer information of the targets 11 to 14 is acquired by an initiator 10. Based on the buffer information, acquired by the initiator 10, a data transfer table, at least including the node ID information of the targets 11 to 14, address information of the buffer memory and the data transmission/receipt specifying information for specifying the transmission or receipt of the data, is formulated. The data transfer table, formulated by the initiator, is supplied to each target. When a signal instructing the transfer of the data is input, handshaking is performed between the initiator 10 and the targets 11 to 14, based on the predetermined information appended to the transfer protocol of the interface, to effect the data transfer based on the data transfer table.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a data transferring method for transferring data between an initiator and plural targets.
This application claims the priority of the Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-167812 filed on Jun. 7, 2002, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
2. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, there is a demand for a high-speed interface, convenient for transferring digital data, such as acoustic data or picture data. Several next-generation interface standards have already been proposed, such that, as an interface for high speed data transfer not only between computers and peripherals but also between digital equipment including household equipment exemplified by digital video cameras, digital equipment, employing the IEEE1394 interface, have now begun to be commercialized. This interface standard, proposed by the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.), and prescribed as the IEEE Std. 1394-1995 IEEE Standard for a High Performance Serial Bus, has a high transfer rate of hundreds of Mbits/sec, and yet supports synchronous transfer, live-line connection/disconnection or high freedom degree connection topology, so that it is a high convenience serial interface which also takes general household use into account.
The technique employing this IEEE1394 interface has already been stated in for example the gazette of Japanese Patent 3091184. As stated in this gazette, in transferring digital data, using a packet composed of a preset data block and the appended information, such as the destination of transmission, a receipt equipment on receipt of the packet transmitted from the transmitting equipment returns an acknowledgment ACK representing the received state of the packet to the transmitting equipment of the source of transmission from time to time to cause the packet to be re-transmitted from the sending equipment as necessary, with a view to improving data transmission reliability. For example, in a packet communication between the first and second equipment, interconnected over the IEEE1394 interface, if a request packet requesting a preset operation from a first equipment 1 is sent to and received by a second equipment 2, an acknowledgment ACK representing the received state of the request packet is returned from the second equipment 2 to the first equipment 1, as shown in FIG. 11. This acknowledgment ACK includes the information for advising the source of transmission of the necessity for re-transmission, completion of receipt etc and, if the acknowledgment ACK requesting the re-transmission is received from the first equipment 1, the same request packet is re-transmitted from the first equipment 1 to the second equipment 2. If the completion of the receipt is informed by the above acknowledgment ACK to the first equipment 1, the preset operation is being performed by the second equipment 2. Thus, the first equipment 1 is in a standby state until such time a response packet associated with the request packet is transmitted from the second equipment 2. When the preset operation in the second equipment 2 has come to a close, the response packet, including the results of the above-mentioned preset operation, is sent from the second equipment 2 to the first equipment 1. On receipt of the response packet, the first equipment 1 returns an acknowledgment ACK, indicating the request for re-transmission or completion of processing, to the second equipment 2. If, in this case, the acknowledgment ACK is requesting re-transmission, the same response packet is retransmitted from the second equipment 2 to the first equipment 1. If the acknowledgment ACK indicates the end of the processing, the second equipment 2 is set to a state opened for the next processing.
Meanwhile, one of the application protocols in the above IEEE1394 interface is SBP-2 (Serial Bus Protocol 2). For illustrating this SBP2, FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the layered structure of the IEEE1394 interface and the SBP2. Referring to FIG. 12, the layered structure of the above IEEE1394 interface is basically made up by three layers, namely a physical layer, a link layer and a transaction layer. The SBP2 belongs to a transport layer which is higher than the transaction layer, and includes, for example, the functions of efficiently transmitting commands or data between the various devices, such as discs, tapes, printers, scanners or digital cameras, referred to below as nodes, or of notifying an application of an upper order than the SBP2 of the state of the operations of commands, results thereof or whether or not data transfer may be terminated. In the SBP2, the nodes responsible for sending out real commands, including management request commands, such as login of connection request, logout of connection completion or data write/readout, such as scanners or digital cameras, are termed initiators, while the nodes responsible for receiving the commands from the initiator to effect actual processing, such as discs, CD-ROMs or printers, are termed targets. It is between the initiators and the targets that communication takes place. As for the target, a logical unit equivalent to an actual device, namely the disc, CD-ROM and the printer, is strictly handled as a unit of such target, and communication takes place between at least one logical unit provided in the target and the initiator as a pair.
The procedure of the communication between the initiator and the target is shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 shows the data structure of a login request block in the SBP2, FIG. 15 shows the data format of a communication packet in the IEEE1394 interface, FIG. 16 shows the data structure of a login response block and FIG. 17 shows the data structure of a logout request block. Prior to transmission of all commands to a target 22, as a counterpart party of communication, an initiator 21 has to send out a login request to a logical unit of the target 22, as shown in FIG. 13. The data structure of a login request block is shown in FIG. 14. The data structure of the block in the SBP2 is termed an ORB (operation request block). In a "function" field of the log-in request block, among management blocks, there is stated "0" representing the login, as shown in FIG. 14. The logical unit of the target 22, a an object of login of the initiator 21, is specified by a "lun" field representing the logical unit number. This ORB is inserted into a data section of a transaction packet in the IEEE1394 interface shown in FIG. 15 and is sent by the transaction packet so as to be sent from the initiator 21 specified by an ID field as a source of transmission of the packet header to a target 22 specified by the ID field of a source of transmission of the packet header. On receipt of the login request packet from the initiator 21, the packet is accepted by a mechanism, termed a management agent, responsible for processing the management block, in the logical unit specified by the "lun" field of the target 22. The information pertinent to the base address of the register of this management agent (control and status register or CSR) is pre-stored in a ROM termed a configuration ROM. By referring to this configuration ROM, the management agent is able to accept the login request packet. The management agent verifies whether or not the login may be allowed in connection with the login request, that is whether or not communication is possible. If the login is allowable, a login response in meeting with the login request packet is returned from the target 22 to the initiator 21. The data structure of the login response request block is shown in FIG. 16. This login response request block includes a login ID field for identifying the login, and a command block agent field for stating the base address of the CSR of the mechanism, termed a fetch agent, in which the initiator 21 accepts a command request issued by the initiator 21 for the target 22 to perform the processing within the target 22. In this fetch agent, in distinction from the management agent, the relative address relationship in the register is predetermined, however, the base address itself is allocated to a position in a register space provided in an address space in the IEEE1394 interface for each login, so that, in order for the initiator to execute the command by the fetch agent, the above-mentioned base address is needed. If the login has met with success in this manner, the initiator 21 refers to the base address of the CSR of the fetch agent specified in the login response packet and, using this base address, a request for executing the command (write, readout and lock) is sent from the initiator 21 to the target 22. The target 22 holds a login identifier, including the logical unit number lun, login owner ID, . . . , login ID (loginID), for each login. When the target 22 receives a command execute request, the loginID associated with the source of transmission ID is referenced from the login identifier. Using the associated base address, the fetch agent is selected to execute the command. On completion of the processing of the command, the result is transmitted to the initiator 21, using the status block. When the needed command is executed in accordance with the above-described sequence of operations, the initiator 21 sends out a logout request to the target 22. The data structure of the logout request block is shown in FIG. 17. In this figure, the loginID field is included in the logout request block in which the loginID used in this communication is entered. In the function field, "7" indicating logout is entered. When the logout request packet is received by the target 22, the packet is accepted by the management agent in the target 22. Based on this loginID, the base address of the fetch agent, so far used, is set in a re-usable state. When the logout processing has come to a close, an end notice is sent to the initiator 21, using the status block. This terminates the communication such that the logical unit of the target 22 specified is opened.
In a data transfer system 2, shown in FIG. 18, data transfer is carried out using the above-described technique. The data transfer system 2 includes an initiator 21 and targets 22 to 24, as shown in FIG. 18. The respective equipment are interconnected by the aforementioned IEEE1394 interface.
FIG. 18 indicates that the target 21 transfers data to the initiator 20 and to the targets 22 and 23, the target 22 transfers data to the initiator 20, and that the target 24 transfers data to the targets 22 and 23.
Referring to FIG. 18, all data must traverse the initiator 20, so that, if the data is to be transferred from the target 21 to the target 22, the data needs to be transferred first from the target 21 to the initiator 20 and thence to the target 22, so that the transfer rate can scarcely be raised.
On the other hand, there are bidirectional transactions in the SBP2 by the aforementioned ORB, in addition to the data transfer. Due to these transactions, blank time is produced in data transfer to lower the data transfer speed, and hence the transfer rate can scarcely be raised.
Moreover, the handshaking between the equipment, needed in effecting the data transfer, has to be performed at least once every 65535 bytes which is provided for in the SBP2, with the result that the data transfer becomes time-consuming.
When data is read out from an external device, connected to a target, and the so read out data is transferred to plural targets, the data must be read out from the external device, for each target, and transferred to the targets, and hence plural transactions are produced on the inner bus of each target and on the IEEE1394 transactions, with the result that the data transfer rate tends to be lowered.
In addition, if, during data transfer by isochronous communication, the conventional data transfer method is used, and a data error has occurred, data re-transmission cannot be performed except on the page basis, with the result that the real-time characteristics tend to be lost. Furthermore, if the error processing described above is taken into account, data cannot be transferred except to a sole target.


A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array composed of a plurality of memory cells. The memory cell array includes a plurality of word lines interconnecting the memory cells in the row direction and a plurality of bit line pairs interconnecting the memory cells in the column direction. One end of each bit line pair is connected to a clamping circuit, while the other end of each bit line pair is connected via a column select gate to a read/write circuit. Each bit line pair is bent about centrally in the two-dimensional form of a letter U and the clamping circuit and the column select gate are disposed alternately on one same straight line.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and, more particularly, to an improvement in the arrangement of various circuits in semiconductor memory devices, such as, for example, a static random access memory (referred to hereinafter as a static RAM) or a dynamic random access memory (referred to hereinafter as a dynamic RAM).
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing the construction of a static RAM as an example of the conventional static semiconductor memory device. Such conventional static RAM is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 63-893. Referring to FIG. 11, a memory cell array 1 is formed by a two-dimensional array of a plurality of memory cells, not shown, arranged in the column direction and in the row direction. A row address input signal supplied from outside of the static RAM is transmitted via a row address buffer 2 to a row decoder 3. The row decoder 3 is responsive to this row address input signal to select a row select line which is not shown (referred to hereinafter as a word line) for selecting memory cells constituting the memory cell array 1 row by row. Similarly, an externally supplied column address input signal is applied to a column decoder 5 via a column address buffer 4. The column decoder 5 is responsive to this column address input signal to drive a column select gate, not shown, as later described, to select each column of the memory cell array 1. During read-out, the data that is stored in the memory cell selected by the row decoder 3 and the column decoder 5 is read out via a read circuit 6 so as to be applied to a data output buffer 7. The read-out data is outputted via a terminal 8 from the data output buffer 7. On the other hand, during data writing, write data is entered via a terminal 9, and is applied via a data input buffer 10 to a write circuit 11. The write circuit 11 is responsive to the write data to write the data in the memory cell selected by the row decoder 3 and the column decoder 5. The operations of the read circuit 6, the data output buffer 7, the data input buffer 10 and the write circuit 11 are controlled by a read/write control circuit 13 responsive to a read/write control input signal supplied via a terminal 12.
FIG. 12 shows the construction of the memory cell array 1 of FIG. 11 in more detail. In the memory cell array 1 of FIG. 12, plural memory cell elements 14, each functioning as a data storage unit element, are arranged in a two-dimensional manner in the row direction and in the column direction. The memory cells 14 are connected to respective word lines 15 each for selecting the memory cells for one row. Each word line is selected by the row decoder 3.
The memory cells 14 of each column are connected to a pair of bit lines 16. It is by way of these bit line pairs that data are read out from the memory cells 14 or applied to the memory cells 14. Each bit line pair 16 has its one end connected to an associated clamping circuit 17, each clamping circuit 17 functioning as a bit line load for charging the associated bit line pair 16 to a predetermined potential. Each bit line pair 16 has its other end connected via an associated column select gate 18 to a read/write circuit 19. Each column select gate 18 is constituted by a pair of MOS transistors having their control electrodes connected in common. The control electrodes of these MOS transistors are supplied with a signal from a column decoder, not shown, such as the column decoder 5 of FIG. 11. As a result, one of a plurality of column select gates 18 is opened and one of a plurality of bit line pairs is selected and connected to the read/write circuit 19. This read/write circuit 19 has the function of both the read circuit 6 and the write circuit 11 shown in FIG. 11. This read/write circuit 19 is usually provided one for several columns of memory cells, such as, for example, a 2.sup.n number of columns (n being a positive integer). In this prior-art example, one read/write circuit 19 is provided for two consecutive columns.
The read/write operation of the memory cells shown in FIG. 12 is now explained. During read-out, the row decoder 13 is responsive to the row address input signal to select one of a large number of word lines 15 to which a memory cell from which data is desired to be read out is connected. This causes the data stored in the memory cells 14 connected to the selected word line 15 to appear on the associated bit line pairs 16.
The column decoder 5 is responsive to the column address input signal to turn on the MOS transistors of the column select gate 18 associated with the column including the memory cell from which the data is desired to be read out. As a result, the data stored in the memory cell 14 selected by the row decoder 3 and the column decoder 5 is transmitted via the bit line pair 16 and the column select gate 18 to the read/write circuit 19. The read-out circuit section, not shown, of the read/write circuit 19 is activated by the control signal from the read/write control circuit 13 of FIG. 11 to amplify signal data of extremely small amplitude read out from the memory cell 14 to output the amplified signal data to the outside via a data output buffer 7 shown in FIG. 11.
During writing, the write circuit section, not shown, of the read/write circuit 19 is activated by the control signal from the read/write control circuit 13 of FIG. 11 to write the data via a column select gate 18 and a bit line pair 16 in the desired memory cell selected in the same manner as during reading.
Meanwhile, the potentials at the non-selected bit line pairs are clamped by the above mentioned clamping circuits 17, each acting as a bit line load, at a suitable potential of not inverting the data of the memory cells.
The semiconductor memory device of the above described construction is disclosed in, for example, "a 34-ns 1-Mbit CMOS SRAM Using Triple Polysilicon" by T. Wada et al. appearing IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. SC-22, No. 5, pp. 727 to 732, issued in October, 1987.
In the above described conventional semiconductor memory device, a clamping circuit 17 and a column select gate 18 are required for each column or bit line pair 16. For keeping with the tendency towards a higher degree of integration, the width of each column is reduced, so that the widths of the clamping circuit 17 and the column select gate 18 need be reduced correspondingly. With the progress in the degree of integration, several problems have been presented in arranging the clamping circuits 17 and the column select gates 18 on the semiconductor chip. More specifically, in the memory cell array 1 shown in FIG. 12, the pitch of arrangement of the clamping circuit 17 and the column select gate 18 on the semiconductor chip is dominated by the one having a larger width of the clamping circuit 17 and the column select gate 18. That is, in the memory cell array 1 of FIG. 12, since the clamping circuit 17 has a larger width than the column select gate 18, the pitch of arrangement is dominated only by the width of the clamping circuit 17, such that a certain limit is placed on improving circuit integration thus resulting in the limited degree of freedom in circuit designing.
In addition, in the above described conventional semiconductor memory device, read/write circuits are arranged at a rate of one for several columns, for example, two columns in the prior-art example of FIG. 12. Thus, when the bit line pair width is reduced to keep pace with the high integration, the following problem is presented in arranging the read/write circuits on the semiconductor chip. That is, in FIG. 12, the transverse length, or width, of the read/write circuit corresponds to two bit line pairs. Since each memory cell is made up of four transistors, only several transistors can be arrayed over an extent limited by such width. However, inasmuch as the read/write circuit 19 is usually made up of several tens of transistors, the longitudinal extent of the read/write circuit 19 is necessarily increased with the result that the arrangement of the read/write circuits becomes difficult on the semiconductor chip so that the degree of freedom in circuit designing is correspondingly limited.
On the other hand, the Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 63-10396 discloses an intersecting system of bit lines in the semiconductor memory device. However, there is not shown as yet a construction in which the bit line pairs are bent or turned down substantially in the two-dimensional form of a letter U.

Semiconductor memory device having improved bit line arrangement


Methods, systems, and computer-readable medium to perform operations for identifying fracture barriers in a well. The operations include converting rebound hardness values of a rock specimen from the well to unconfined compressive strength (UCS) values, where each of the rebound hardness values corresponds to a respective coordinate of a measurement grid imposed on the specimen. The operations further include, for each column of the grid, plotting the UCS values versus depth. Further, the operations include mapping, based on a maximum UCS value and a minimum UCS value, a relative strength contour plot for the specimen. Yet further, the operations include mapping, based on a fixed strength range, an absolute strength contour plot for the specimen. In addition, the operations include determining, based on the relative strength contour, the absolute strength contour, and mineralogy of the rock specimen, that the rock specimen is indicative of a fracture barrier in the well.

Natural rocks are discontinuum materials due to the existence of various cracks, fractures, weak planes, or discontinuities (for example, a joint, foliation, schistosity, gneissosity, vein, dyke, bedding plane, or lamination). Due to the presence of discontinuities, natural rocks show anisotropy and heterogeneity, which affect the mechanical properties of rocks.
Oil and natural gas production in unconventional reservoirs depend on a stimulated rock volume (SRV) that is defined by the hydraulic fracture geometry (for example, height, length, and aperture). The growth of these fractures is controlled by the anisotropy and heterogeneity of the reservoir and its mineral composition. However, predicting the SRV can be difficult if the intended fracture height is reached during stimulation.

Identifying fracture barriers for hydraulic fracturing


An air gap adapter for use with a water faucet. The air gap adapter has an adapter body with a base portion and an integral riser portion which extends generally vertically upwardly from a rear region of the base portion. The base portion has a hole for a water inlet shank of the water faucet, and the riser portion has brine inlet and outlet bores. The brine outlet bore is vertically oriented in the riser portion, and the brine inlet and outlet bores are open at their upper region. Two barbed connectors are located at a lower region of the adapter body and provide a brine inlet and outlet to the adapter. A venting aperture is formed near an upper region of said riser portion and passes into the brine outlet bore. A cap is positioned on the riser portion above the bores. A brine focusing ring with focusing hole is located in the brine outlet bore above the venting aperture and focuses the flow of brine downwardly into the brine outlet bore so that the brine does not contact the inside side walls of the brine outlet bore. In use, the water faucet will be placed with its water inlet shank through said aperture in said base portion of said adapter body so that the valve body rest on said base portion and lies in front of and adjacent said riser portion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to plumbing components, and more particularly to an air gap adapted to be used in conjunction with devices which require an air gap, such as reverse osmosis water purification units.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As concern about the quality of our nations' drinking water grows, increasing numbers of individuals are purchasing drinking water in bottles, or treating their tap water themselves. These treatment methods vary from simply filtering the tap water through fibrous filters to remove rust and sediment, to more costly carbon filters, which traps many organic molecules, heavy metals, and many microorganisms. After filtering, the cleaner water is routed to a clean water outlet. One cost effective means to create a very high quality of purified water is the use of reverse osmosis drinking water systems, which typically include a fibrous prefilter, a carbon filter, and lastly utilizes the effect of reverse osmosis to force pure water through a membrane and into a holding tank. The reverse osmosis method of water purification, as one of its sides effects, generates a considerably high percentage of waste water, or brine, as it is commonly referred to, which is shunted to a drain line. By law, this brine must be passed though an air gap before it is drained into a drain line to provide an anti-siphon break.
Several companies offer reverse osmosis faucets which directly incorporate air gaps into their water faucet designs. For example, the Touch-Flo Company, at 59 E. Orange Grove, Burbank, Calif. 91502, and Butler Water Quality Products, of 9430 Lurline Avenue, Chatsworth, Calif. 91311, offers several models of faucets directly incorporating air gaps. One problem with the air gap designs of these companies is that they all place the brine inlet and outlet lines too close to the purified water inlet line to the water faucet, which sometimes makes installation troublesome. Another problem is their relatively high cost. A company by the name "The Foundry," of 1384 N. Nova Road, Daytona Beach, Fla. 32117, offers an air gap in the form of a generally cylindrical spacer unit upon which a water faucet with an extra long shank is mounted. However, this adapter unit raises the level of the faucet substantially up above the sink level, over 2.54 cm (one inch), since its venting hole must by building code be at least an 2.54 cm above the level of the sink!, which is unattractive to some, and requires use of a water faucet with an extra long shank.
There accordingly remains a need for an air gap adapted which can be used with standard water faucets without costly built-in air gaps and with a pure water inlet shank of normal length, and which does not substantially raise the faucet from the sink.


An adjustable pole cap that includes a peripheral rim that defines an adjustable opening that may be adjusted to receive different sized pole tops, and blanks for forming such caps.

Wood poles/post are used in several different applications including, but not limited to, supporting fencing, boat docks and utility lines. In many instances, the poles are made from lumber that has been cut or otherwise shaped for the particular application and then driven or otherwise anchored into the ground. In other instances, the poles may be made from tree stumps or trunks of dead trees. In such instances, the dead branches are trimmed from the stumps/trunks and the stumps/trunks of the dead trees are cut to a desired height. For example, in several rural and agricultural regions Osage Orange or other types of trees are used as a natural form of fencing. It is common for dead Osage Orange trees to be trimmed down to the stump/trunk and the trimmed stumps/trunks to be uses as a fence post.
One issue that is common to all wooden poles/posts, whether formed from lumber or a dead tree stump/trunk, is deterioration of the top of the wooden pole due to exposure to the elements. Wood poles are susceptible to degradation due to exposure to ultraviolet sunlight and water. UV sunlight degrades the wood at the top end of the pole, causing the wood at the top to become weaker. Water softens and seeps into exposed wood at the end of the pole. As deterioration begins to occur on the top of the pole, depressions or indentations form in which water can pool. The pooling of water on the top of the pole increases or speeds up the rate of deterioration. In certain climates, the water absorbed by the wood may go through freeze and thaw cycles that expand and contact the wood fibers. Such decay oftentimes leads to split and/or weakened poles.
Caps sometimes have been used to cover the ends of poles. Such caps are typically designed to fit poles of a particular size and shape. That is, oftentimes the caps are provided in pre-set sizes. Because the size and shapes of poles formed from trimmed stumps/trunks vary from pole to pole, such pre-set caps may not fit on such poles and caps of different shapes and sizes would be required to cover a set of such poles. In other instances, cast off material such as license plates, scrap metal and old boots have also been used to fabricate crude covers/caps that do not always provide sufficient protection to the top of the pole.
Therefore, there is a need for pole caps that can fit a variety of different size pole tops and in particular a need for pole caps in agricultural applications where post are oftentimes made from irregularly sized and shaped posts.


A push switch is capable of performing a first switching operation and subsequently a second switching operation when a pressing force is applied to the switch. The push switch includes (a) an insulating membrane having at least one dome with at least a portion thereof overlaid by or serving as an inner conductor and at least a portion of its outer periphery overlaid by or serving as an outer conductor, (b) an insulating substrate having thereupon an inner pole contact disposed at a position opposing to the inner conductor and an outer pole contact disposed at a position opposing to the outer conductor, respectively, and (c) a spacer placed between the insulating membrane and the insulating substrate for spacing the conductor apart from the pole contacts during the time when no pressing force is applied to the switch. When a light pressing force is applied to the dome, the outer conductor will first come in contact with the outer pole contact causing a first switching operation to take place, and subsequently with a further pressing, the inner conductor will come in contact with the inner contact causing a second switching operation to take place.

The present invention relates to a push switch which can present a two step switching operation by pressing it and finds applications in various kinds of electronic equipment such as video cameras, video cassette recorders, facsimile machines and the like.
In recent years as a multiple function is required more and more of many kinds of electronic equipment, demands for a push switch capable of performing the two step switching operation have been increasing.
With this type of switch, when its push button is lightly pressed by finger touching, a first switching mechanism is actuated and subsequently when the push button is further pressed, a second switching mechanism is actuated.
In its typical application, the first switching step is used for getting a certain function of electronic equipment into a preparatory mode and the second switching step is used for getting that specific function into a full operational mode.
A more detailed description of the prior art push switches of the kind mentioned above is given in the following:
FIGS. 1(a)-1(c) is a partially cross-sectional view of one switch element of the typical prior art push switch.
In FIGS. 1(a)-1(c) an insulative substrate has disposed thereon one or more switch elements.
One switch element disposed on the insulative substrate 1 comprises a first pole contact 2 shaped like a "C" letter, a second pole contact 3 shaped like another "C" letter and disposed inside the first pole contact 2, a third disc shaped pole contact 4 disposed inside the second pole contact 3 and conductor leads (not shown) connected to these pole contacts 2, 3 and 4, respectively.
Over the first pole contact 2 and the second pole contact 3 are placed an upper side diaphragm 5 and a lower side diaphragm 6, respectively, which are dome shaped and made from an electro-conducting and elastic metal.
The upper side diaphragm 5 is covered by a insulating membrane 7 and fixed to the first pole contact 2, and also the lower side diaphragm 6 is fixed to the second pole contact 3 by soldering and the like to complete the switching element.
Further, over the upper side diaphragm 5 is disposed a push button 8, movement of which is guided by a panel 9 placed above the switch element.
Next, the operation of this push switch will be explained.
When the push button 8 is pressed lightly by a finger, the upper side diaphragm 5 will come in touch with the lower side diaphragm 6 to make contact between the first pole contact 2 and the second pole contact 3 as shown in FIG. 1(b), causing a first switching operation to take place.
Then, when the push button 8 is pushed strongly further, the lower diaphragm 6 will come in touch with the third pole contact 4 as shown in FIG. 1(c) to make contact between the second pole contact 3 and the third pole contact 4, causing a second switching operation to take place. When the finger pressure is removed from the push button 8, the diaphragms 5 and 6 will return to their original shapes as shown in FIG. 1(a) by their elastic springback force to break contact between the pole contacts with a resultant cancellation of the first and second switching operations.
In the above prior art example, a push switch of applying pressure to diaphragms through a push button was presented but also there is a push switch type wherein the diaphragms are pressed directly by a finger without using the push button.
However, the conventional push switches as described in the foregoing require two diaphragms to make one switch element, resulting in such problems as too many component parts required, a complicated assembly process due to a high mechanical precision needed in positional alignments of diaphragms and a likelihood of ending up with a high production cost.

Push button switch assembly including single or plural sequentially closed switches

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Embodiments of methods for providing a new Channel State Information (CSI) reference resource definition for CSI reports in New Radio (NR) are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) index reporting in a wireless communication system comprises deriving a CQI index to be reported to a network node, where the CQI index is derived assuming a hypothetical transmission on a CSI reference resource, wherein a wireless device-specific reference signal overhead in the CSI reference resource is consistent with one or more parameters, and reporting the CQI index to the network node. In another embodiment, a method performed by a radio access node reporting in a wireless communication system comprises receiving a CQI index from a wireless device for a CSI reference resource, wherein a wireless device-specific reference signal overhead in the CSI reference resource is consistent with one or more parameters.

In Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 36.213, the Channel Quality Index (CQI) definition is given. For a User Equipment device (UE), based on an observation interval in time, and an observation interval in frequency, the User Equipment device (UE) shall derive, for each CQI value reported in uplink subframe, the highest CQI index which satisfies the following condition, or CQI index 0 if CQI index 1 does not satisfy the condition:                A single Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transport block with a combination of modulation scheme and transport block size corresponding to the CQI index, and occupying a group of downlink physical resource blocks termed the Channel State Information (CSI) reference resource, could be received with a transport block error probability not exceeding a given threshold.
The CSI reference resource for a serving cell is defined as follows:                In the frequency domain, the CSI reference resource is defined by the group of downlink physical resource blocks corresponding to the band to which the derived CQI value relates        In the time domain, the CSI reference resource is defined by a single downlink or special subframe to which the derived CQI values related        In the layer domain, the CSI reference resource is defined by any Rank Indicator (RI) and Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) on which the CQI is conditioned
In the CSI reference resource, for the purpose of deriving the CQI index, the UE shall make some assumption about the control channel configuration, numerology (e.g., Cyclic Prefix (CP) length and subcarrier spacing) for PDSCH reception, resource elements used by primary or secondary synchronization signals or Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), redundancy version, the ratio of PDSCH Energy Per Resource Element (EPRE) to CSI Reference Signal (CSI-RS) EPRE, Resource Elements (REs) used for CSI-RS and zero-power CSI-RS and the PDSCH transmission format, etc. For example, in New Radio (NR) specification R1-1719227, the UE shall assume the following for the purpose of deriving the CQI index:                The first [3] Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols are occupied by control signaling        The reference resource uses the CP length and subcarrier spacing configured for PDSCH reception        No resource elements used by primary or secondary synchronization signals or PBCH        Redundancy Version 0        The ratio of PDSCH EPRE to CSI-RS EPRE is as given in Subclause 4.1        Assume no REs allocated for CSI-RS and zero-power CSI-RS        The PDSCH transmission scheme where the UE may assume that the NR base station (referred to as a gNB) transmission on the PDSCH would be performed with up to eight transmission layers on antenna ports [1000-1011] as defined in Subclause 220.127.116.11 of 3GPP TS 38.211.
In 3GPP TS 36.213 or 3GPP TS 38.214, one example CQI table is defined as Table 1. In this CQI table, the CQI index indicates a combination of modulation scheme and transport block size corresponding to a single PDSCH transport block.
TABLE 14-bit CQI Tablecode rate ×CQI indexmodulation1024efficiency0out of range1QPSK780.15232QPSK1200.23443QPSK1930.37704QPSK3080.60165QPSK4490.87706QPSK6021.1758716QAM3781.4766816QAM4901.9141916QAM6162.40631064QAM4662.73051164QAM5673.32231264QAM6663.90231364QAM7724.52341464QAM8735.11521564QAM9485.5547
The UE shall assume the PDSCH DMRS being mapped to physical resources according to type 1 or type 2 as given by the higher-layer parameter DL-DMRS-config-type.
The UE shall assume the sequence r(m) is mapped to physical resource elements according to
            a              k        ,        l                    (                  p          ,          μ                )              =                  β        DMRS                                                w            f                                          (                          k              ′                        )                          ·                              w            t                                          (                          l              ′                        )                          ·                  r                                (                                          2                                                                                m                            +                              k                ′                            +                              m                0                                      )                                    k    =          {                                                                                k                      0                                        +                                          4                                                                                m                                        +                                          2                                                                                k                        ′                                                              +                    Δ                                                                                Configuration                                                                                type                                                                                1                                                                                k                      0                                        +                                          6                                                                                m                                        +                                                                                k                      ′                                        +                    Δ                                                                                Configuration                                                                                type                                                                                2                                                                                k              ′                                =          0                ,                              1                                                                          l                    =                                    {                                                l                  0                                ,                                  l                  _                                            }                        +                          l              ′                                          where wf(k′), wt(l′), and Δ are given by Tables 220.127.116.11.2-1 and 126.96.36.199.2-2.
For briefing, for RE set occupied by DMRS with k′=0, it is named as "comb0" and for RE set occupied by DMRS with k′=1, it is named as "comb1".
The reference point for l and the position l0 of the first DMRS symbol depends on the mapping type:                for PDSCH mapping type A:                    l is defined relative to the start of the slot            l0=3 if the higher-layer parameter DL-DMRS-typeA-pos equals 3 and l0=2 otherwise                        for PDSCH mapping type B:                    l is defined relative to the start of the scheduled PDSCH resources            l0=0
The position(s) of additional DMRS symbols is given by l and the last OFDM symbol used for PDSCH in the slot according to Tables 18.104.22.168.2-3 and 22.214.171.124.2-4.
The time-domain index l′ and the supported antenna ports p depend on DL-DMRS-len according to Table 220.127.116.11.2-5.
TABLE 184.108.40.206.2-1Parameters for PDSCH DMRS configurationtype 1 for single-symbol DMRSwf (k′)wt (l′)pΔk′ = 0k′ = 1l′ = 0l′ = 110000+1+1+1+110010+1−1+1+110021+1+1+1+110031+1−1+1+110040+1+1+1−110050+1−1+1−110061+1+1+1−110071+1−1+1−1
TABLE 188.8.131.52.2-2Parameters for PDSCH DMRS configurationtype 2 for single-symbol DMRSwf (k′)wt (l′)pΔk′ = 0k′ = 1l′ = 0l′ = 110000+1+1+1+110010+1−1+1+110022+1+1+1+110032+1−1+1+110044+1+1+1+110054+1−1+1+110060+1+1+1−110070+1−1+1−110082+1+1+1−110092+1−1+1−110104+1+1+1−110114+1−1+1−1
TABLE 184.108.40.206.2-3Additional PDSCH DMRS positions l when DL-DMRS-lenequals 1PositionAdditional DMRS positions lof lastPDSCH mapping type APDSCH mapping type BPDSCHDL-DMRS-add-posDL-DMRS-add-possymbol01230123≤7——8—7—9—96, 9—10—96, 9—11—96, 95, 8,—1112—117, 115, 8,—1113—117, 115, 8,—11
TABLE 22.214.171.124.2-4Additional PDSCH DMRS positions l when DL-DMRS-lenequals 2Additional DMRS positions lPositionPDSCH mappingof lasttype APDSCH mapping type BPDSCHDL-DMRS-add-posDL-DMRS-add-possymbol012012≤7——8——9——10—8—11—8—12—10—13—10—
TABLE 188.8.131.52.2-5PDSCH DMRS time index l′ and antenna ports pSupported antenna ports pConfigurationConfigurationDL-DMRS-lenl′type 1type 2101000-10031000-100520, 11000-10071000-1011
As one example of DL-DMRS-len=1, DL-DMRS-add-pos=1 and DL-DMRS-config-type=1, the DMRS pattern can be shown as FIG. 1.
As another example, DL-DMRS-len=1, DL-DMRS-add-pos=2 and DL-DMRS-config-type=1, the DMRS pattern can be shown as FIG. 2.
In 3GPP TS 38.211, the PTRS definition is given. The UE shall assume phase-tracking reference signals being present only in the resource blocks used for the PDSCH, and only if the higher-layer parameter DL-PTRS-present indicates phase-tracking reference signals being used.
If present, the UE shall assume the PDSCH PTRS being mapped to physical resources according toak,l(p,μ)=βPTRSr(m)l=lDMRS+1+LPTRS·l′l′=0,1,2, . . . .in every KPTRS of the scheduled resource blocks, starting with the lowest numbered resource block scheduled when the following conditions are fulfilled                l is within the OFDM symbols allocated for the PDSCH transmission        the resource element (k,l) is not used for DMRSand where        the index k refers to the subcarrier number within a physical resource block        lDM-RS equals l0 in case of one symbol DMRS and l0+1 in case of two symbols DMRS where l0 is defined in clause 188.8.131.52.2        KPTRS∈{2,4} is given by [6, TS38.214]        LPT-RS∈{1,2,4} is given by [6, TS38.214]
As one example, when KPTRS=2 and LPTRS=1, the PTRS pattern is illustrated as shown in FIG. 3.
In 3GPP TS 38.214, the procedure for the PTRS usage is given.
If a UE is configured with the higher parameter DL-PTRS-present and if the additional higher layer parameters DL-PTRS-time-density and DL-PTRS-frequency-density are configured, the UE may assume the PTRS antenna ports' presence and pattern are a function of the corresponding scheduled MCS and scheduled bandwidth as shown in Table 2 and Table 3, otherwise the UE may assume that PTRS is present in every OFDM symbol and in every second Physical Resource Block (PRB).
TABLE 2Time density of PTRS as a function of scheduled MCSScheduled MCSTime density(LPT-RS)IMCS < ptrs-MCS1PTRS is not presentptrs-MCS1 ≤ IMCS < ptrs-MCS24ptrs-MCS2 ≤ IMCS < ptrs-MCS32ptrs-MCS3 ≤ IMCS1
TABLE 3Frequency density of PTRS as a function of scheduled bandwidthScheduled bandwidthFrequency density (KPT -RS)NRB < NRB0PTRS is not presentNRB0 ≤ NRB < NRB12NRB1 ≤ NRB4

CSI reference resource definition for CSI report in NR


In various embodiments, the invention teaches systems and methods for magnetic resonance imaging. In some embodiments, the invention teaches systems and methods for determining the source of pain in intervertebral discs by measuring one or more physiological biomarkers associated with disc pain and/or disc degeneration.

All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Lower back pain is a major medical condition estimated to affect up to 85% of the US population. Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is often associated with back pain. Although degenerate discs can be identified using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), they do not always cause pain. Therefore, if a patient with lower back pain has several degenerate discs, further examination is required to determine which disc is the source of the pain, prior to a decision of surgical intervention. Standard procedures include discography, during which the suspected discs are pressurized in order to provoke pain. This is a painful procedure that is also known to further accelerate disc degeneration, disc herniation, and loss of disc height and affect the adjacent endplates. It is also subjective to variations of the placement of the needle, pressure exerted, and anesthesia. Recent studies have associated low pH with discogenic pain. It is believed that pH could potentially serve as a new metabolic biomarker for discogenic back pain.
Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) is an emerging MR (magnetic resonance) technique to measure pH-dependent signal changes. This technique exploits the constant chemical exchange, which is pH-sensitive, between water protons and solute protons in certain molecules. The chemical exchange rate is dependent on pH values. The solute protons are first magnetization-saturated with a series of frequency selective radiofrequency (RF) pulses, and after exchanging with water protons, the saturation is indirectly detected in the water signal. For example, chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) is an emerging MR technique to detect glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content. This technique exploits the constant chemical exchange between the water protons and the hydroxyl protons in GAG. The hydroxyl protons will be first saturated, and after the transfer with water protons, the saturation will be indirectly detected in the water signal. Previous studies have applied gagCEST to explore the GAG content distribution in patients with degenerative disc disease. In addition to concentration, correlation with pH was also reported. However, the gagCEST contrast is a rather complicated effect. It involves multiple confounding factors, including but not limited to (a) exchange rate between water protons and GAG protons, which is dependent on the pH; (b) labile proton ratio, which is linearly correlated with GAG concentration; (c) water relaxation parameters T1 and T2; and (d) the RF irradiation power of CEST saturation module.
Recent studies have focused on separating the exchange rate or the labile proton ratio from other confounding factors in the CEST experiments. Among these methods, quantitative CEST (qCEST) allows for simultaneous measurements of the exchange rate and labile proton ratio. It was developed based on the observation that the CEST effect can be represented as a linear function of 1/B12. Multiple CEST experiments were performed with varying B1 amplitudes for omega plot analysis.
Simultaneous measurements of pH value and concentration using qCEST have been shown in creatine phantom studies. Creatine protons have a slow to intermediate exchange rate with water protons. However, for GAG protons which undergo relatively faster chemical exchange, whether this technique can detect pH changes has not been investigated. In addition, most of the studies were performed on a preclinical scanner using continuous-wave (cw) saturation pulse. No in vivo validation has been performed and potential clinical application is not yet clear.
There is clearly a need in the art for improved systems and methods for diagnosing, prognosing, and monitoring the progression of conditions involving tissue degeneration, and particularly those associated with back pain.

Non-invasive pH-dependent imaging using quantitative chemical exchange saturation transfer (qCEST)


A package for a semiconductor device or circuit comprises a semiconductor switch module having a metallic base on an exterior side and metallic pads. A sealed metallic enclosure holds the semiconductor switch module. The metallic enclosure has a set of dielectric regions with embedded or pass-through electrical terminals that are electrically insulated or isolated from the sealed metallic enclosure. The electrical terminals are electrically connected to the metallic pads. A housing is adapted for housing the semiconductor switch module within the metallic enclosure. The housing comprises chamber for holding or circulating a coolant overlying the metallic base.

For some semiconductor devices, certain prior art semiconductor packages are available for soldering to a cold plate or connection to a cold plate via a thermal interface material. If thermal interface material is used rather than a direct metal bonding or solder connection, thermal impedance for the system of the semiconductor package and the cold plate tends to be increased; hence, heat dissipation of a semiconductor device can be degraded.
To reduce or minimize thermal impedance, other prior art semiconductor devices support applying coolant directly to semiconductor packages via coolant volumes that are bounded by gaskets or seals. However, if the seals or gaskets leak, an electronic assembly associated with the semiconductor device or the semiconductor device can become vulnerable to catastrophic failure, such as short circuits associated with water or moisture, from the ingress of coolant into live electronic circuitry and devices. Therefore, there is need for a package for a semiconductor device that facilitates the use of coolants without a gasket or seal that is vulnerable to the leakage of coolant or ingress of coolant into semiconductor device.


A heat pipe includes an air tight elongated container and a heat carrier sealed in the container. The elongated container has a flat bottom wall serving as a heat receiving portion and a top wall serving as a heat dissipating portion. A liquid passage for moving condensed heat carrier in a slanted direction and parallel directions with respect to the longitudinal axis by capillary action is provided on the inner wall surfaces of the container. The heat carrier which has been condensed into liquid flows along the liquid passage to be distributed entirely over the bottom wall surface where it efficiently absorbs heat to be evaporated again.

Recently, a higher responsiveness and a higher integration of integrated circuits used for electronic devices such a computers have been in greater demand. Accordingly, the power consumption of an integrated relative to the circuit has been increased, and the temperature of the electronic component in operation has been increased. In order to cool the electronic component, a radiating device has been used.
A heat pipe has been known as an example of a radiating device for cooling an electronic component. A heat pipe is obtained by reducing the internal pressure in an air tight container formed by closing both ends of a pipe, and by sealing a heat carrier such as water of alcohol, called a working fluid into the container. At a heated portion of the heat pipe, the working fluid evaporates into steam or gas which moves away from the heated portion of the heat pipe and toward a cooler portion of the heat pipe where it condenses again into liquid to dissipate heat. The liquid returns to the heated portion because of capillary action. By the repetition of this action, heat received from an electronic component at the heated portion is radiated to the atmosphere at the cooler portion of the heat pipe.
A heat pipe is placed on a top surface of an electronic component in order to cool the electronic component such as a semiconductor integrated circuit package. Since a conventional heat pipe has a circular or an oval cross section, it contacts the electronic component along a line. Therefore, not much heat is transmitted from the electronic component to the heat pipe.
Conventionally, one heat pipe is used for one electronic component to cool the respective electronic component. Therefore, a large number of heat pipes have been used in a device including a large number of electronic components, which leads to higher production costs.


Incident differently-polarized light beams are separately directed and combined by one or two corner cube structures, each having one or two walls formed as a beam splitter. One incident light beam is passed, while the other incident light beam is reflected.

In general, light is electromagnetic radiation which oscillates. The frequency of oscillation establishes a wavelength for the light. Light wavelengths in the range of about 4,000 to 7,700 angstroms (Å) are perceived by the normal human eye, with different colors having different wavelengths. Light at other frequencies and wavelengths is not perceived by the human eye.
Polarized light has oscillatory electrical and magnetic properties that are confined to a particular plane. The plane is stationary and extends perpendicular to the path of the light beam. For example, a light beam which propagates in a horizontal beam path may have a vertical plane of polarization. In general, most light visible to the normal human eye is not polarized, meaning that the oscillatory electrical and magnetic properties exist randomly in many different orientations in the plane perpendicular to its propogation.
Polarized light beams are used in many technical and scientific applications, usually under circumstances where multiple light beams occupy the same, common or coincident beam paths. Each light beam can carry separate information encoded into the frequency, wavelength or phase relationship of the polarized light beam. Because polarized light beams have specific planes of polarization, multiple polarized light beams can propagate in the same coincident beam path while still preserving the information unique to each light beam. Each of the light beams remains distinguishable from the other because of its own unique plane of polarization, even though all the beams may occupy the same or a similar beam path.
In technical and scientific applications, it is frequently necessary to separate one polarized light beam from each other individual polarized light beam in a common beam path. Separation is required because it is necessary or desirable to change or modify the information carried by one of the polarized light beams, such as changing its frequency, wavelength or phase relationship without changing its plane of polarization or without influencing the information in the other light beam. Similarly, it is also frequently necessary to add an additional polarized light beam to a common beam path occupied by one or more other polarized light beams. It is important when separating or combining the light beams that the beam which remains in the beam path is not adversely influenced by the separation or combination.
Both the separating and combining requirements are frequently needed when one of the polarized light beams is used to measure or respond to some characteristic before rejoining the common beam path with the other light beam or beams having different planes of polarization. One such exemplary application is described in the above referenced US patent application, where two differently-polarized beams of light are reflected from two separated, freefalling test masses to obtain relative phase and frequency information by which to determine a differential in gravity acting on the two separated, freefalling test masses. After reflection off of the two test masses, the two polarized light beams are compared. The phase and frequency information measures the minute change in separation distance between the two test masses during their free fall. The change in separation distance is directly related to the difference in gravity acting upon the two test masses. This type of instrument is known as a gravity gradiometer.
In many technical and scientific applications, exemplified by the gravity gradiometer described in the above referenced US patent application, there are many and significant practical requirements, all of which must be obtained in order to preserve the functional accuracy and integrity of the application. For example, any change in position of an optical element can adversely affect the information carried by each of the polarized light beams, because the change in position will be reflected in a change in frequency, wavelength and phase of the polarized light beam. Any change in frequency, wavelength and phase of the polarized light beam caused by an unintended external effect adversely changes the information carried by that light beam in an unintended or erroneous manner and thereby appears as an error or inaccuracy. Temperature changes, vibration and external perturbations all have the ability to adversely affect the information carried by the light beams. Temperature changes may cause movement of the optical elements which changes the alignment of the beam paths and thereby diminishes the energy of those beam paths to an extent that makes detection and use inaccurate or impossible. Movement of the optical elements may change the beam path length and thereby change the frequency, wavelength and phase of the polarized light beam in the beam path. There are other types of unintended adverse external physical influences which negatively impact light beams.
There are discrete optical components which may be used for separating one polarized light beam from a common beam path occupied by another polarized light beam, or for combining one polarized light beam with another polarized light beam in a common beam path. However, multiple discrete optical components are typically required for such separation or combination. Each of the separate discrete optical elements consumes a significant amount of space, and the number of the discrete optical elements usually required consumes even more space. These factors make it difficult or impossible to incorporate beam separation and combination optical elements in technical and scientific devices where space is limited.
Another problem is that each of the discrete optical components must be precisely positioned and that position must be maintained independent of the other optical components so that the light beam paths remain oriented and directed to achieve the desired and intended functionality. Changes in temperature, vibration and other external perturbations all have the ability to change the alignment of the discrete optical components. The process necessary to achieve the desired alignment of the discrete optical components is difficult, tedious and time-consuming. Furthermore, maintaining the alignment often depends on external support devices which themselves are subject to changes in temperature, vibration and external perturbations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present disclosure provides for affording a market management framework. Category analysis is provided for a user specified project. Then, supplier analysis is performed for the user specified project. A strategy is then developed for determining the suppliers for the specified project based on the supplier analysis. Further, negotiations are managed between selected suppliers and the user.

Commercial sites on the Internet (in particular on the World Wide Web) are known. Typically, Web sites where merchandise or services can be purchased consist of a static description of the goods or services being offered, the price at which such goods or services are being offered, and some type of order form for a customer to enter personal and payment information. Similarly, Web sites soliciting merchandise and services consist of a static description of the goods or services sought, the price at which such goods or services will be purchased at, and some type of order form for a seller to enter personal information.
Such sites are not well suited for the purchase of goods or services that are negotiable, including unique, surplus, high-volume or discontinued items, or negotiable services. The known commercial Web sites are interactive only to the extent that a customer is able to choose a particular item for purchase and to enter payment and shipment information. Such Web sites include so-called "auction" sites such as NetMarket.RTM. (www.netmarket.com), in which users may consecutively enter prices they are willing to pay for specific products, until a set deadline, thus bidding up the price. The product is then sold to the customer with the highest bid. Such "auction" Web sites do not allow the user to negotiate with the vendor, or vice versa. Consequently, there is no manner by which negotiation can take place between the seller and the customer.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a dynamic and interactive computer-implemented system which is capable of purchasing, through a distributed network such as the Internet, goods and/or services that have negotiable prices.
The present disclosure provides for affording a market management framework. Category analysis is provided for a user specified project. Supplier analysis is performed for the user specified project. A strategy is then developed for determining the suppliers for the specified project based on the supplier analysis. Further, negotiations are managed between selected suppliers and the user.
In one aspect of the present invention, providing category analysis includes identifying a file including expenditure data relating to spent monies, extracting the expenditure data from the file, determining an independent and a dependent variable relating to the expenditure data, graphing the expenditure data based on the determined variables, and displaying conclusions based on the expenditure data.
In another aspect of the present invention, performing supplier analysis includes providing access to a database including supplier profile data, identifying supply chain relationships based on particular commodities and the supplier profile data, generating a report depicting the identified supply chain relationships, allowing users to create request for information for specified suppliers based on the generated report, and distributing the created request for information to the specified suppliers.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, developing a strategy for determining the suppliers includes allowing a user to dynamically create a request for quote document, grouping specific request for quote line items based on a request from the user, enabling the user to attach further data to the request for quote document, and distributing the request for quote document to specific suppliers.
In a further aspect of the present invention, managing negotiations includes allowing a user to post an electronic request for quote on a website, affording selected suppliers access to the request for quote on the website, supporting electronic negotiations between the user and a selected supplier, and facilitating post-negotiation analysis via a decision matrix.

Manufacture for a market management framework


A method of forming a buried contact to a source/drain junction or other active device region in a silicon substrate. A silicon oxide layer is formed over the silicon substrate. A first polysilicon layer is formed over the silicon oxide layer. A resist mask having an opening over the planned said buried contact is formed and the first polysilicon layer is isotropically etched to form a tapered opening to said underlying silicon oxide which opening undercuts the resist mask. The silicon oxide layer is anisotropically etched using the same resist mask which results in an opening to the silicon substrate corresponding to the resist pattern opening while leaving a silicon oxide border uncovered with the first polysilicon layer. A second polysilicon layer is deposited over the first polysilicon layer, the opening to the silicon substrate and the border of uncovered silicon oxide. The planned buried contact region is covered with a resist mask. Openings are formed to the planned source and drain regions wherein at least one of the source and drain regions is adjacent to the opening of the planned buried contact. The resist mask is removed. Ions are implanted through the second polysilicon layer in the opening to the silicon substrate to form the source and drain regions. The structure is heated to cause the formation of the buried region under the buried contact by outdiffusion from the buried contact layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the fabrication of integrated circuit devices, and more particularly, to a method of forming source/drain buried contact junctions in the fabrication of integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In forming buried contact regions, a wider and deeper junction is allowable for a contact, but is not acceptable for a high quality source/drain region in integrated circuits designed in the less than one micron era.
A typical buried contact process flow is to deposit a doped layer of polysilicon over and on the planned source/drain regions. The structure is heated and the source/drain regions are formed by outdiffusion from the doped polysilicon layer. The doped polysilicon layer is allowed to remain on the source/drain regions as their contacts. This is called the buried contact process.
A number of workers have addressed this and other problems involving forming source/drain regions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,514 to Mori shows a process of doping polysilicon, open metal silicide layer, ion implanting, and annealing to form the source/drain region. U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,584 to H. Nakata describes a process involving outdiffusion to form source/drain regions and to leave the contact and source of dopants for the source/drain regions in place. While this patent's invention has the advantage of self alignment of the contact to the source/drain, it does not have the desired tailoring of the source/drain regions to the optimum conditions for the under one micron era.

Taiwan Semiconductor manufacturies Company


A shutter opening and closing apparatus for protecting a projection lens of a beam projector, wherein a shutter member is provided at an exterior case for selectively opening and closing an opening for exposing the light output surface of the projection lens and a driving unit mounted separately from the shutter member for driving the shutter member whereby the apparatus can be used as a wall hanging slim beam projector or a stand-up type slim beam projector capable of operating with a reduced consumption of electricity because of its compact, light-weight construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical lens shutter opening and closing apparatus for a beam projector, and more particularly to a shutter opening and closing apparatus for protection of a projection lens of a projector. Specifically, the present invention relates to a projection lens shutter opening and closing apparatus specifically applicable to a slim type wall-hanging or stand-up type beam projector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recent increasing trend has been observed with respect to the distribution of projectors capable of obtaining image information via a large screen in order to satisfy the demands of consumers as broadcasting via high definition television is revitalized and markets of home theater apparatus are expanding.
As typical examples of projectors, beam projectors largely utilized for presentation by being connected, for example, to a computer, have been widely marketed and have already become popular. These types of beam projectors are operated in such a manner that the image matrix is projected with illuminating lights onto a large scale screen by Digital Mirror Devices (DMDs), or by Liquid Crystal Devices (LCDs) in a fixed-in-space projection beam.
Typically, a projection lens of a beam projector is exposed toward an opening formed in such a manner that its light output surface is opened at an exterior case. The opening is opened and closed by a shutter in response to an operation mode of the beam projector to thereby conceal and protect the projection lens during a stop mode.
Referring to FIG. 1 where a shutter opening and closing apparatus for protecting a projection lens in a conventional projector is illustrated. An opening 12 formed at a front case 10 for exposing a light output surface of a projection lens (not shown) is selectively opened and closed by a planar shutter member 20.
The shutter member 20 is reciprocally disposed at a bottom surface of the front case 10. A driving unit 30 for reciprocally moving the shutter member 20 is mounted on the shutter member 20.
The driving unit 30 includes a forward/reverse rotation driving motor 32, a gear train connected to an output axis of the driving motor 32, and a pinion 36.
The pinion 36 is meshed with a rack gear 40 disposed at a bottom surface of the front case 10. Furthermore, the rack gear 40 is arranged in the moving direction of the shutter member 20. Elements 50 and 52 denote guide members for guiding the reciprocal movement of the shutter member 20.
There is a disadvantage in the shutter opening and closing apparatus for protecting a projection lens of a projector as constructed according to the prior art in that, because the shutter member 20 moves with the driving unit 30 mounted thereon, the shutter assembly set is increased in thickness, frustrating the manufacturing of an exterior case having a small-size, with a light weight, compact configuration.
Another disadvantage is that the driving load increased by the increased weight of the shutter assembly set results in the inevitable use of a large capacity motor with an associated increase in power consumption, exerting a bad influence on product reliability and quality.
Still another disadvantage is that the electrical wirings between the driving motor and a controller are lengthened, resulting in a cost increase and a subsequent quality instability.

Shutter opening and closing apparatus for beam projector


Described is a stacked-plate apparatus having a plurality of plates stacked along an axis and having gaps between adjacent plates, each of which act as flow passageways for flow of fluid from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet. Pairs of adjacent plates comprise one and optionally two lips, which extend axially into the flow passageway at the fluid inlet, thereby narrowing an inlet gap between the plates at the fluid inlet. The lips enhance the flow of fluid towards the fluid outlet of the flow passageway, for at least a working distance downstream thereof, as compared to a pair of adjacent plates that does not have the lips.

Production from wells in the oil and gas industry often contains particulates, such as sand. This sand could be part of the formation from which the hydrocarbon is being produced, introduced from hydraulic fracturing, fluid loss material from drilling mud or fracturing fluids, or from a phase change of produced hydrocarbons caused by changing conditions at the wellbore (asphalt or wax formation). As the sand is produced, problems occur due to abrasion and plugging of production equipment. In a typical startup, after stimulating a well by fracturing, the stimulated well may produce sand until the well has stabilized, often lasting for several months after production commences. Other wells may produce sand for a much longer period of time.
Erosion of the production equipment can be severe enough to cause catastrophic failure. High fluid stream velocities are typical and are even purposefully designed for elutriating particles up the well and to the surface. An erosive failure of this nature can become a serious safety and environmental issue for the well operator. A failure, such as a breach of high pressure piping or equipment, releases uncontrolled high velocity flow of fluid which is hazardous to service personnel. Releasing such fluid to the environment is damaging to the environment resulting in expensive cleanup and loss of production. Repair costs are also high.
In all cases, retention of sand contaminates surface equipment and the produced fluids and impairs the normal operation of the oil and gas gathering systems and process facilities. Therefore, desanding apparatus are required for removing sand from the fluid stream. Due to the nature of the gases handled, including pressure and toxicity, all vessels and pressure piping in desanding apparatus must be manufactured and approved by appropriate boiler and pressure vessel safety authorities.
Trends in the fracturing industry have evolved to where the amount of sand pumped downhole is now in the order of 10,000 tonnes (20 million pounds) per well in multi-stage fractures. Correspondingly, the amount of sand produced in flow back operations has increased and it is not unusual for a well to produce 50 tonnes (100,000 pounds) of sand. Desanding capabilities must increase accordingly.
It is known to employ filters to remove sand, including fiber-mesh filter bags that are placed inside a pressure vessel. The density of the filter bag fiber-mesh is matched to the anticipated size of the sand. Filter bags are generally not effective in the removal of sand in a multiphase condition. Usually multiphase flow in the oil and gas operations is unstable. Large slugs of fluid followed by a gas mist are common. In these cases, the fiber-mesh bags can blind off, becoming a major cause of pressure drop and they often fail due to the liquid presence. Thus, filter bags are avoided in critical applications and due to cost associated with replacement and subsequent disposal as contaminated waste.
Other prior-art apparatus use plate filters and/or screens for removing sand from an input fluid stream. For example, stacked plate or multiple-disc type filters are known, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,731 to Drori, and US application US2015/0144546, published May 28, 2015, each of which disclose a plurality of paired, cooperating disc-like filter surfaces. Such designs are designed to form annular pockets between adjacent discs for receiving and holding foreign particles separated from the fluid. As stated by Drori, multiple-disc filters have a number of advantages over the apertured screen type including removal and retention of higher quantities of foreign particles, and higher resistance to damage. However, these prior-art desanding apparatus have drawbacks such as low or even marginal tolerance for pressure drop, and usually physically collapse at differential pressures as low as about 100 psi. Another drawback of such prior-art devices is that the screens thereof are easily plugged or clogged due to the accumulation of sand thereon.
Applicant's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/835,039, filed Dec. 7, 2017 and published as US 2018-0161705A1 on Jun. 14, 2018, describes a stacked plate filter for filtering out sand from a fluid, which comprises parallel, closely-spaced plates suitable for excluding sand of a particular diameter. The cross-sectional dimension of the passages through which a fluid is conducted, such as the walls of spaced stacked plates in a filter, is typically sized to exclude sand and minimize pressure drop, which also happens to result in opposing wall spacing that is far greater than the sum of the approaching boundary layer displacement from each wall for the fluid being filtered.
The closer together that the stacked plates are spaced, the smaller is the particulate that can be excluded from the space between the plates. However, Applicant notes a problem arises in spacing the plates closer together when the fluid being filtered was a liquid. As plate spacing decreased, for a given fluid flow rate, the pressure drop was been observed to increase beyond that of the theoretical. Clearly, the characteristics of liquid, as the process fluid, behaved significantly differently from gaseous fluids.
Therefore, there is a need to further improve the efficiency of separating smaller particulates from a multiphase fluid in a stacked-plate filter.

Boundary layer modification in closely-spaced passages


A joint for a vehicle steering linkage comprises a housing and a ball stud. The housing has a socket which contains the ball end of the ball stud, and has a sleeve which receives the end of a tie rod. The sleeve has an external, first clamping surface which is inclined with respect to the axis of the sleeve. The joint further comprises a clamp which clamps the tie rod in the sleeve. The clamp includes a clamping member and a threaded nut. The clamping member has a second clamping surface, and is free of a thread for engaging the thread on the tie rod. The threaded nut moves the clamping member relative to the sleeve and the tie rod, and moves the second clamping surface in sliding contact with the first clamping surface.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,367 (the '367 patent) discloses a joint in a vehicle steering linkage. The joint disclosed in the '367 patent comprises an internally threaded sleeve in which a threaded rod extends. The sleeve is made from a metal blank which is formed into a tubular shape, and has a longitudinal seam which is defined by adjoining edges of the metal blank. The sleeve also has a frusto-conical outer surface extending circumferentially around the sleeve.
The joint disclosed in the '367 patent further comprises a nut having an internal thread engaged with the thread on the rod. The nut has a frusto-conical inner surface complementary to the frusto-conical outer surface on the sleeve.
When the nut is moved axially on the rod toward the sleeve, the frusto-conical inner surface on the nut is moved into sliding contact with the frusto-conical outer surface on the sleeve. When the nut is tightened axially against the sleeve, a force is developed between the frusto-conical surfaces, and the sleeve is pressed against the rod to clamp the rod in the sleeve.


The invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical component. In this method, a substrate, for example of glass, is successively provided with an orientation layer and an optically anisotropic layer of a material containing monomers which are provided with at least one covalently bonded reactive group, whereafter the optically anisotropic layer is polymerized. In accordance with the present invention, the applied orientation layer also comprises covalently bonded reactive groups. As a result, a good adhesion between the optically anisotropic layer and the orientation layer of the substrate is achieved. This has a favorable effect on the optical quality of the component. For the reactive groups use is preferably made of (meth)acrylate compounds which are polymerized by exposing them to radiation. Good results are achieved if for the orientation layer use is predominantly made of polyimide with covalently bonded reactive groups. Preferably, a glass plate is used as the substrate, and a bonding layer based on an organosilane compound is provided between the substrate and the orientation layer.

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical component, in which method a substrate is successively provided with an orientation layer and an optically anisotropic layer of a material containing monomers which are provided with at least one covalently bonded reactive group, whereafter said optically anisotropic layer is polymerized. The method also relates to a polarization-sensitive beam splitter (PBS) and to a cholesteric filter, which are manufactured by means of this method.
A method of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph is known per se. For example, in European Patent Application EP 576 072-A1, a description is given of this method of manufacturing of a polarization-sensitive beam splitter which comprises at least a wedge-shaped element of a birefringent material, the so-called wedge-shaped PBS. The material used consists of a uniaxially oriented polymer which is formed from a polymerized, liquid-crystalline monomer composition. At least a number of the monomers of the monomer composition are provided with at least one covalently bonded reactive group. Said composition is cured by means of polymerisation between two substrates which are arranged in such a manner relative to each other that they form a wedge, the facing surfaces of said substrates being provided with an orientation layer.
Such a method is also suggested in the non-prepublished European Patent Application 95201770.5 (WO 97/01779). In said Patent Application, a description is given of the manufacture of a different type of polarization-sensitive beam splitter. This beam splitter is flat and comprises a substrate with an orientation layer on which a structured, optically anisotropic layer is provided. This layer includes areas with birefringent material and areas with isotropic material. This material is provided in two steps by means of a replica process. In this process, use is made of a pressing mould having a structured pressing surface, for example, in the form of a zigzag structure or a saw-tooth structure. First, the optically anisotropic material is provided on the orientation layer in accordance with a specific structure by means of the replica process and then polymerized. After the pressing mould has been removed, the resultant grooves are filled by means of the isotropic material (for example by spinning), whereafter also this material is polymerized. By means of this method, a so-called flat, polarization-sensitive beam splitter (flat PBS) is obtained.
Also in European Patent Application EP 643121 A1, a description is given of such a method, which is used to manufacture a switchable cholesteric filter. This filter comprises an optically active layer with liquid-crystalline material, which is sandwiched between two substrates which are each provided with an orientation layer. Said liquid-crystalline material comprises the cholesterically ordered polymerization product of a mixture of monomers of which a part contains at least one covalently bonded reactive group. By virtue of the presence of a small quantity of monomers with two covalently bonded groups, a slightly cross-linked network is formed by polymerization.
The known method has drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is that the adhesion between the polymerized, optically anisotropic layer and the substrate carrying the orientation layer is insufficient. In the manufacture of the wedge-shaped polarization-sensitive beam splitter ("wedge-shaped PBS") this disadvantage manifests itself when one of the two substrates between which the wedge-shaped optically anisotropic material is polymerized is removed. Visual inspection has revealed that when one substrate is detached, the adhesion between the wedge-shaped element and the other substrate is seriously affected. Sometimes said operation even leads to the formation of cracks in the wedge-shaped element. These effects have a negative influence on the optical quality of the wedge-shaped PBS. This is considered to be a serious disadvantage.
In the manufacture of the other type of polarization-sensitive beam splitter ("flat PBS"), a similar problem occurs. This problem manifests itself during the removal of the pressing mould, after the optically anisotropic layer has been provided and polymerized. Sometimes parts of the applied layer adhere so firmly to the surface of the mould that they are pulled loose from the substrate. Consequently, also in this case the adhesion between the optically anisotropic layer and the substrate provided with the orientation layer is insufficient.
Also in the case of the cholesteric filters manufactured by means of the known method, the adhesion between the polymerized optically anisotropic material and the substrate gives rise to problems. For example, some time after the manufacture of the filters, undesirable structures (cauliflower effect) form on the filters. Close examination of these filters has revealed that the cholesteric material becomes detached from the substrate. This can possibly be attributed to tensile stresses which develop during the polymerization of the optically active layer and the associated shrinkage.

Method of manufacturing an optical component


A user selects a wireless network mapping option on their computer and is presented with a list of names of electronic devices coupled to the wireless network to which the computer is coupled. When one of the electronic devices transmits a wireless identification signal to the computer, a visual cue identifies the default name associated with the electronic device in the list. The user may then rename the default name to a local name. The user may also opt to transmit a wireless identification signal of their own to one or more of the electronic devices coupled to the wireless network. Alternatively, the user may select one or more electronic devices from the list, and nudge the selected devices by sending an activation signal, causing the electronic devices to identify themselves using an audio or visual cue.

Computer systems, from small handheld assistants to medium-sized mobile and desktop systems to large servers and workstations, are becoming increasingly pervasive in our society. Computer systems typically include one or more processors. A processor manipulates and controls the flow of data in a computer by executing instructions.
Currently, communication protocols are being developed to enable different types of computer systems to communicate with each other, allowing for a rapid exchange of data. Enabling this type of communication among computer systems may greatly enhance our efficiency. Unfortunately, establishing a communication link and exchanging data between computer systems may be a complex and time consuming task. In particular, communication links between computers that operate using different languages, or between unidentified computers, can be unintuitive, inefficient and may jeopardize system security.
The present invention addresses this and other problems associated with the prior art.

Method and apparatus for mapping electronic devices coupled to a wireless network


In this clip for mounting a component, a first plate portion includes first engaging pawls, and a second plate portion second engaging pawls, are linked by a linking-side plate portion in the rear end region on a side having either one of the plate portions, and first and second side plate portions which bend and extend from the first and second plate portions are in contact on the side having the other plate portion. The linking-side plate portion and the first and second side plate portions cut through a gap portion formed as an opening in the rear of the first and second plate portions of the clip, and gap portions formed as openings in both sides.

A mounting structure that uses a plate metal clip is employed to mount an automobile interior component, e.g. a component known as a grab rail or an assist clip (referred to as a grab rail below), to an interior panel. Mounting structures that use a plate metal clip are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
The plate metal clip comprises a pair of plate portions linked at the distal ends or proximal ends relative to the direction of insertion, and engaging protuberances cut and raised outward are formed in the plate portions. When a clip of this configuration is passed through a through-hole formed in a base component at both ends of the grab rail to which the clip is being mounted and the clip is pushed into a through-hole in the interior panel, the engaging protuberances of the clip engage in the back surface of the interior panel. Further, a cap is mounted in the through-hole of the base component from the rear side of the clip, so that engaging parts formed in the cap become engaged with the base component from the front side in the direction of insertion, in which state the through-hole of the base component is closed up. In this state, the interior panel is sandwiched between the engaging protuberances of the clip and the area of the base component that faces the interior panel, and held in this state by the cap engaged in the base component.
Thus, when the base component of the grab rail is positioned in the through-hole of the interior panel and the clip and cap are pushed into the through-hole of the base component in this state, the base component is mounted in the interior panel. Therefore, the grab rail can be easily mounted in the interior panel without fastening implements such as screws or bolts.
Mounting structures that use a clip made from a plastic molded article are also known, as disclosed in Patent Document 3. The essential configuration of such a mounting structure that uses a plastic clip is the same as when a plate metal clip is used. Elastically deformable engaging protuberances are formed in the clip, and when the engaging protuberances are passed through through-holes formed in the base component at both ends of the grab rail and pushed into through-holes in the interior panel, the engaging protuberances come to be engaged in the back surface of the interior panel.

Clip for mounting component, and component-mounting structure