An attractant for social pest insects has been discovered and isolated from soybean oil. This attractant is also found in canola oil. This attractant increases the effectiveness of baits and/or traps in the control of social pest insects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an attractant for use in bait compositions and/or traps for social insects, particularly ants and more particularly fire ants. It also relates to the use of these compositions to control social insects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Attractants for insect control are used to lure insects to a toxicant and/or trap. They also can be used to identify the presence, distribution and population of an insect. Most commercially available baits for pest social insect control use a vegetable oil, such as soybean oil, or a sugar which act as phagostimulants in the baits. The oil is also the solvent for the active ingredient which is usually a toxicant. The solution is then absorbed onto an inert carrier, typically pre-gel defatted corn grits. The formulation can then be spread effectively to allow foraging insects to harvest the grits, taking them and the active ingredient into the nest. In the nest the liquid is sucked out of the grits and distributed to other colony members including the queen. The toxic baits take advantage of social insect foraging and food distribution systems to direct the toxicant to the entire colony. Thus, smaller quantities of insecticide are used then would be required for the inundation of colonies with, for example, insecticide emulsions (drenches). Thus, an effective attractant will facilitate the discovery and distribution of an active ingredient to an entire colony of social pest insects.
Control of social insects such as ants, yellow jacket wasps, other pest wasps and termites has long been a problem. Various species of ants pose significant problems for man from both an agricultural and a health care point of view. Leaf-cutting ant species can defoliate a citrus tree overnight. Argentine ants endanger crops by domesticating and protecting other pest insects such as aphids and scale. Fire ants are particularly destructive by stinging humans and livestock, feeding on germinating seeds and crop seedlings thereby reducing yields, damaging electrical equipment and damaging farm machinery which strike the ants' mounds.
Requirements for an effective pesticide formulation for the control of pest social insect species, such as ants, are very stringent because the reproductive forms (queens) of social insects are buffered from the effects of insecticides by a large worker force and their often closed nest structure. Thus, control of social insect pests is inherently different from control of non-social insects. For example, a mature fire ant colony may contain 250,000 sterile workers and a single queen. Only 10 percent of the workers are on the surface foraging for food. Insecticide treatment with a fast acting insecticide will not affect the 90% of the workers in the nest or the queen and the total effect is negligible. In fact, 95% of the workers can be killed, but if the queen is unaffected, the colony will come back. Thus, an effective social insect toxicant must exhibit delayed toxicity, not repel the insects and be effective over a range of concentrations. Repellency can reduce or negate the effectiveness of a toxicant because the insects will avoid a treated bait. A bait must be of a form that is transferable either by carrying it back to the nest or by trophallaxis and the toxicity must be delayed because foraging worker insects constitute only a small percentage of the total colony and must survive long enough to pass the toxicant onto the main colony population, especially the queen(s).
Identification of attractants is important in the development of integrated pest control programs. Most commercially available baits are formulated with either a vegetable oil or a sugar. U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,658 to Hagarty discloses an insecticidal bait composition which is effective against ants, centipedes, earwigs, firebrats, German cockroaches, harvestmen, millipedes, sowbugs, spiders and ticks. This composition includes the sugar maltose, pulverized cereal, animal or vegetable oils as the phagostimulant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,413 to Kohama et al discloses a bait composition that is effective against a wide range of harmful insects such as cockroaches, pillbug, beetles, and ants including Monomorium pharaonis, Monomorium niponense, Lasius fuliginosus and Formica japonica. The composition includes crystalline cellulose, vegetable oils such as soybean oil, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, wheat germ oil, etc.; crop product powders such as potato starch, sweet potato starch, corn starch, wheat flour, rice powder, corn powder, etc.; a saccharide such as sugar, glucose, D-fructose, lactose, black sugar, brown sugar, soft brown sugar, etc.; and an insecticide.
There are many reports on volatiles that contain attractive chemicals for insects. Tsuboi et al (J. Org. Chem., Volume 47, 4478-4482, 1982) report that certain insect pheromones have conjugated E,Z-diene systems. They also disclose that(2E,4Z)-Dienoic esters are important compounds having utility as aroma agents for food, drinks and tobacco. The reference is directed to synthetic methods for 2E,4Z-Dienoic esters and is silent on the use of these compounds as attractants in baits for the control of social pest insects. Buttery et al report that (E,Z)-2,4-heptadienal is a component in the volatile oil extracted from leaf-cutter bee cells obtained from a number of different natural nesting sites. However, the reference is silent as to any activity of this component of the extracted volatile oil. Wassgren et al (J. Insect Physiol., Volume 38 (11), 885-893, 1992) report the presence of (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal in whole body extracts of female pine sawflies but the reference states that the function of these two compounds is unknown and notes that these two components have a structural relationship to (E,Z)-2,4-decadenoate which is a pheromone component of the spruce engraver beetle. Pierce et al (Journal of Chemical Ecology, Volume 16 (2), 465-475, 1990) disclose that two olefinic oat volatiles, 2(E),4(E)-heptadienal and 3(E),5(E)-octadien-2-ol were attractive at 0.1-10 .mu.g for the beetle O. surinamensis (sawtoothed grain beetle) and O. mercator (merchant grain beetle). However, the reference fails to specifically mention the use of these compounds in baits.
There remains a need in the art for highly effective attractant formulations for the control of social pest insects. The present invention provides an attractant for use in baits and/or traps for the control of social pest insects that is different from related art attractants.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


The invention relates to differentiation methods for progenitor cells, e.g. mammalian epithelial stem cells, differentiation media for use in said methods, organoids and cells obtainable by said methods and uses, including therapeutic uses, thereof.

There is great interest in culture media and methods for differentiating progenitor cells. Progenitor cells and their differentiated progeny can be used in cellular assays, drug screening, and toxicity assays. Progenitor cells and their differentiated progeny also show promise for cell-based therapies, such as in regenerative medicine for the treatment of damaged tissue. Furthermore, efficient cell culture media are important for providing and maintaining populations of cells for research purposes.
Methods for the long-term culture of progenitor cells or tissue fragments derived from several tissues (e.g. pancreas, colon, intestinal crypts, stomach, liver and prostate) have been described (see WO 2010/090513, WO 2012/014076, WO 2012/168930 and WO 2015/173425). There is a need for improved culture media and methods that result in a higher efficiency of differentiation of progenitor cells and the generation of differentiated cells that more closely reflect corresponding cell types in vivo.

Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie Van Wetenschappen


A high efficiency impeller-type aerator designed for aeration of the water supply of aquatic organisms. The aerator design includes a first impeller (booster), a second impeller (main impeller), and a pump casing having at least one water inlet, one air inlet, and one water outlet. The first and second impellers are disposed between the pump casing water inlet and outlet. The air inlet is positioned advantageously between the first impeller and the second impeller and is in communication with air, and wherein the water inlet and outlet are in communication with water. The efficiency of the pump is retained while the bubbles produced in accordance with the present invention are advantageously small.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a high efficiency impeller-type aerator for oxygenating the water supply of aquatic organisms, such as fish in a fish tank or bait in a live well.
2. Description of the Related Art
When fishing from a boat, it is a common practice to bring along bait fish in closed tanks known as live wells. Alternatively, larger boats may be equipped with a thru-hull bait well, wherein water from outside the boat is continuously pumped in, is passed through the tank, and is discharged over the side. In order to keep the bait fish alive for long periods of time, an aerator is provided to replenish the oxygen in the water as it is depleted by the bait fish. Several distinct types of aerators have been developed.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,498 teaches an aerator for a live well wherein water is sucked through a pump and sprayed out a distributor manifold in the form of small jets above the surface of the water. As the jets pass through the air and then strike the surface of the water, the water picks up dissolved oxygen and entrained air bubbles. These systems are, however, disadvantageous for a number of reasons.
First, it is inevitable that jets of water will strike the fish and wash away the mucus outer coating which protects the fish. Second, energy consumption is high. Third, while the surface area of the live well may be aerated, the lower reaches of the bait well are not aerated, particularly when a large number of bait fish are kept in the bait well. Finally, aeration efficiency is relatively low, so that the total number of bait fish which can be kept in the well is correspondingly limited.
The aerator described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,777 (Vento et al), which utilizes a centrifugal pump, achieves a significantly improved level of oxygenation of the water in a live well while producing a gentle action which does not harm the bait fish. In fact, the unusually high level of oxygenation makes it possible to pack two to four times as many bait fish into a live well as had previously been possible.
The Vento et al use of the impeller cavity of a centrifugal or impeller type pump as an aerator mechanism represented a departure from conventional thinking, since it is the common experience of those in the industry that as air is introduced into the centrifugal pump it accumulates around the impeller, resulting in air-lock. That is, the accumulated air causes the impeller to spin freely, without pumping water. When water is not pumped through a live well, bait fish begin dying. Thus, conventional thinking was to take measures to prevent any air from getting into the centrifugal pump. Vento et al discovered that by regulating the amount of air introduced to the upstream (suction) side leading to a centrifugal pump, it becomes possible to induce a very thorough mincing of air and water in the pump impeller, resulting in emission of very fine mist of bubbles from the downstream (emission) side of the pump, without the problem of loss of suction. In other words, by supplying just the right proportions of air and water into the pump impeller, significant aeration can occur without the above-described problem of air lock.
Although the level of aeration is significantly improved with the Vento et al aerator as compared to conventional pumps using the same amperage, the inventor has noticed that there are two problems associated with this system. The first is that the Vento et al arrangement requires regulation of the input of air, either manually (via valve, clamp, etc.) or automatically (via optical turbidity sensors, etc.). The second is that the output from a centrifugal pump, once modified to introduce air according to the Vento patent, drops dramatically, for example, from 500 gallons per hour to 200 gallons per hour, thus the pump is operating at only 40% of its intended capacity.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved centrifugal type aerator which does not require monitoring or regulating of the air input.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an aerator which exhibits an improved capacity or flow rate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an aerator designed to avoid vapor lock of the centrifugal pump impeller.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an aerator which achieves a high level of oxygenation.


A sport simulation game having a two dimensional playing field with a number of defensive players attached thereto and moveable in at least a widthwise direction. The offensive player is moveable in both a lengthwise and widthwise direction and is controlled by a hand control. The offensive player may carry a ball and the object is for the offensive player to move lengthwise over the playing field while avoiding engagement with any of the defensive players. One or two players may play the game. With two players, one player would use a hand control to control movement of the defensive player. With one player, the defensive players would be set to automatically move either independently of or dependent upon the lengthwise movement of the offensive player.

It has become increasingly desirable, in the field of games, to be able to simulate sports closely such that the strategies of the sport being simulated are carried over into the game and the mental skill of the human player is challenged. As such, many efforts have been directed at producing games that closely simulate team sports including football, hockey, and soccer, and individual sports such as skiing, auto racing and more.
These efforts have produced mechanical games, computer aided games, and video games. The current sophistication of electronics and computers has enabled production of computer aided and video games which simulate sports closely and require strategic adeptness for success. These games are limited, however, in that they do not offer a physical embodiment of the players or the field or surface upon which they play. Rather, these games illustrate the players and fields visually through a two dimensional video screen. This visual embodiment takes away from the overall feel of the sport being simulated. In particular, for example, a video football game does not offer the rugged, exciting feeling of the contact sport of football. While past mechanical games have offered physical replicas of the players and a physical setting of the sport being simulated, they too have limitations associated therewith. In particular, past mechanical games have limitations in the directions of movement of the physical players and do not offer multiple players whose movements are controlled independently. For example, manual mechanical soccer games include soccer players which are affixed to rotatable bars and which are movable widthwise along the playing field. As such, each soccer player on the field may only be rotated to kick the ball and moved back and forth widthwise across the field. No one soccer player can be moved lengthwise across the field while dribbling the ball to score a goal. Similarly, no past mechanical football simulation games offer a physical player who can carry the ball lengthwise across the field and dodge defensive players. As such, the true feeling of playing football and soccer are not generated by playing these past mechanical games which are absent a player or team which is moveable lengthwise across a field.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a sport simulation game in which a physical player may be operable and manually controllable to move lengthwise and widthwise over a playing field while avoiding obstacles on such playing field.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sport simulation game in which obstacles or defensive players on the playing field are operable and controllable to move at least widthwise to impede movement of an offensive player.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a sport simulation game in which an offensive player is operable and controllable to move lengthwise and widthwise over a playing field and a set of defensive players automatically move back and forth widthwise across the playing field when the offensive player moves lengthwise in one direction over the playing field.


The present invention provides a sound signal processing function comprising a plurality of kinds of sound signal processing with the same arrangement of microphones that does not require replacement of the microphones or the sound signal processing part regardless of the application or the sound signal processing function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microphone array system. In particular, the present invention relates to a system that performs various kinds of signal processing with respect to sound signals received at each microphone to provide various functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hereinafter, a sound signal processing technique that utilizes a conventional technique will be described.
In the case where a plurality of sound sources of a desired signal and noise are present in a sound field, high quality enhancement of the desired sound, detection of the direction of the desired sound and noise suppression are important issues to be addressed for sound signal processing. Possible applications that utilize sound signal processing are in a wide range, such as animation and sound recording, systems for voice memo, hand-free telephones, teleconference systems, guest-reception systems or the like. In order to realize processing for enhancing a desired signal, suppressing noise and detecting the direction of the sound source, various sound signal processing techniques are under development.
Conventionally, microphones suitable for a particular application are used to obtain input sound signals for use in the processing for enhancing a desired signal, suppressing noise and detecting the direction of the sound source. For a compact video camera, a stereo microphone of MS (mid-side) system is widely used. In recent years, a unidirectional microphone is used in a personal computer that utilizes sound input in application software such as a voice memo, so that a suitable and articulate input sound signal can be obtained. Although these microphone are suitably used in view of the use and the cost, they are intended for a single use so that the directivity or the use is predetermined. Moreover, the processing of the sound signals received at the microphones is limited to the sound signal processing required by the application.
In an apparatus such as a conventional video camera or sound-inputtable personal computer that requires microphones suitable to each application and implements only sound signal processing required by the application that currently runs, the microphone and the sound signal processing function are each intended for a single function. However, for the apparatus designed to have a large number of functions, more flexible directionally received sound processing, sound source direction detecting processing and noise suppressing processing are desirable, and a function that has not conventionally required may be required in an application. In this case, since the configuration of the apparatus using the conventional microphone with a single function cannot meet this need, it is necessary to replace the microphone by a microphone suitable to the required function and also to replace the sound signal processing part for received sound signals by another one having the required function.
As the utilization system is varied, combining a plurality of kinds of sound signal processing such as directionally received sound processing, sound source direction detecting processing, noise suppressing processing and the like may be needed. In this case, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of microphones, each of which has a single function, and to perform sound signal processing for each individual microphone, and then perform sound signal processing of the combined results from the plurality of microphones. Thus, this conventional system requires a large number of microphones, so that it results in a large-scale apparatus. Furthermore, it may be difficult to physically arrange the required number of microphones to perform a plurality of kinds of sound signal processing in the necessary directions.

Abstract: The present invention uses an apparatus having a signal processing function such as a personal computer as the platform. An array section includes a plurality of microphones arranged in the X and Y axis directions. A received sound signal from each direction is subjected to a delay process by a delay unit, a subtraction process by subtracters 121 and 122, so as to obtain a received sound signal with a unidirectional pattern to the direction of the front of the apparatus and a received sound signal with a bidirectional pattern to the directions orthogonal thereto. In the case where the sound source is not in the direction of the front, a correction process to direct the sound source to the front is performed by a delay unit, a subtracter and adjustment of the gain amount. The directional sound signal calculating part, the sound source direction detecting part, and the noise suppressing part have a logic necessary to implement various functions using the uni/bidirectivity pattern signal as the input.


A compound bow includes a base member with a longitudinal extent and has first and second ends. The base member is formed from a rigid material and has a grip location between its first and second ends, which provide mounting locations for mounting limbs to the base member. An elastomeric body is applied over, for example by molding, and at least substantially encapsulates the base member over the longitudinal extent. The elastomeric body comprises an elastomeric material, and optionally forms a grip member at the grip portion.

The present invention generally relates to a bow and, more particularly, to a compound bow that exhibits improved vibration dampening and generates less noise than conventional bows.
Bows typically have four main components: a riser or handle; two arms or limbs that mount to the riser; and a bow string or cable that is tensioned between the two arms. In the past, the riser was made from wood, but more recently risers are formed from metals, such as cast aluminum or magnesium. Even more recently, the risers have been formed from extruded metals, such as extruded aluminum. While metal risers have provided increased stiffness and, in some cases, reduced the weight of the bow, they have exhibited increased vibration and, more significantly, generate louder and higher frequency noise when the riser makes contact with an object, such as an arrow, tree, or tree stand, when the riser is bumped into the object or the object bumps into the riser. These risers even tend to produce more noise during a release cycle. Noise is particularly undesirable when a hunter is approaching his or her prey.
While vibration dampeners have been proposed to reduced noise when the bow string is pulled and then released, heretofore these vibration dampeners have not succeeded in reducing the other noises inherent when handling a bow.
Accordingly, there is a need for a bow that will exhibit increased vibration dampening and further will minimize noise that is inherent when using or handling the bow.


A semiconductor memory device includes: first and second wiring layers extending in substantially parallel to each other in a first direction; a first semiconductor region formed in a part of a portion between the first and second wiring layers; a second semiconductor region formed on an opposite side to the first semiconductor region with respect to the second wiring layer and making a pair with the first semiconductor region; a third semiconductor region formed in another part of the portion between the first and second wiring layers; a fourth semiconductor region formed on an opposite side to the third semiconductor region with respect to the first wiring layer and making a pair with the third semiconductor region; a third wiring layer extending in a second direction that crosses the first direction and having an electrical contact with the first semiconductor region; a fourth wiring layer extending in the second direction and having an electrical contact with the fourth semiconductor region; a fifth wiring layer extending in the first direction to cross over the first and third semiconductor regions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase-change random access memory device and a semiconductor memory device including a memory cell structure in which phase-change elements and diodes are connected in series.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-214521, filed Aug. 21, 2007, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
A phase-change random access memory (PRAM) device is attracting attention as a nonvolatile memory capable of high-speed writing. However, a PRAM device has a disadvantage of requiring comparatively high current when writing to the memory cell. When memory cell is selected by using a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor which requires large write current, the layout size of the switching MOS transistor increases in order to secure write current while the size of the phase-change elements constituting the memory cell can be reduced. To secure write current with a small cell size, a memory cell structure called "diode matrix ROM" is proposed, in which phase-change elements and diodes are connected in series.
FIG. 7 is a memory cell structure of a diode matrix ROM. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the memory cell structure shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is an equivalent circuit of the memory cell structure shown in FIG. 7.
As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, in this memory cell structure, a pn junction diode 203 is formed on a diffusion layer 202 embedded in a silicon (Si) substrate 201. A bottom electrode 206 is formed on the diode 203 with a contact 204 and a mid-contact 205 in between. A phase-change film (GST {GeSbTe} film) 207 is formed on the bottom electrode 206. A top electrode 208 is formed on the phase-change film 207. Forming the bottom electrode 206, the phase-change film 207, and the top electrode 208 in this manner obtains a phase-change element 209 that is connected in series to the diode 203. A memory cell MC is constituted by connecting the phase-change element 209 in series with the diode 203. A memory cell MC is arranged at each point of intersection between a diffusion layer 202 forming a word line WL and a top electrode 208 forming a bit line BL. The bottom electrode 206 is formed as a heat plug (a section which heats by current-concentration) for generating phase-change. In this memory cell structure, write current is reduced by providing an insulating film (side wall) 210 inside the opening where the bottom electrode 206 is arranged, making the heater smaller than the opening diameter.
Such a diode matrix ROM memory cell structure is known as a cross-point cell structure, and can realize a minimum cell area, specifically a cell size of 4F2 (where F is a minimum feature size of a process).
With this memory cell structure, one effect of reducing the cell size is that write current concentrates in the word line (ground line) WL. When memory cells (bits) on a same word line are selected, current for simultaneous writing concentrates in the word line WL. As a result, the resistance of the word line WL causes its potential to increase, whereby the write current of each bit decreases.
For example, in FIG. 9, two memory cells on the same word line WL are in write status. Here, among the plurality of bit lines BL along the vertical direction, the selected bit lines BL are indicated by H (thick solid line) and the unselected bit lines BL are indicated by L (thin solid line). Among the word lines WL along the horizontal direction, the selected word line WL is indicated by L (thick solid line), and the unselected word lines WL are indicated by H (thin solid line). As indicated by the broken line in FIG. 9, write current flows from the two selected bit lines BL and through the memory cells MC to the selected word line WL. Therefore in this case, write current from two memory cells MC concentrates in one word line WL. Therefore, twice the current required for writing each memory cell MC flows to one word line WL.
Since a phase-change random access memory device generally requires a large write current of approximately 500 μA to several mA, when current concentrates in a word line WL, the potential of the word line WL increases greatly. When performing reading, this concentration of current in the word line WL leads to a rise in the potential of the word line WL, which adversely affects the data sensing operation. A phase-change random access memory device has a comparatively long writing time (approximately several ten ns to several hundred ns). Therefore, when the phase-change random access memory device is used as a memory cell MC for applications with a short read/write cycle such as a DRAM, there is a possibility of mixture of read/write operations. Specifically, it is conceivable that, a read of one memory cell MC is performed on a word line WL, while a write of a different memory cell MC on the same word line WL is performed. In this case, since a large current is required for writing, concentration of this write current makes the potential of the word line WL increase. Consequently, the required voltage is not applied to the phase-change element 209 of a different memory cell MC on the same word line WL and the current for reading decreases, making reading impossible or reducing the read speed.
Currently there is a demand for semiconductor memories to perform multi-bit and high-speed reading and writing. There is a consequent trend toward increasing the number of bits to which reading/writing is performed simultaneously. As the number of bits increases, more bits are activated within same mats (regions having common ground lines), which generates more current concentration.
Accordingly, to prevent such concentration of write current in word lines WL, United States Patent Application, Publication No. 2005-270883 and 'Novel Heat Dissipating Cell Scheme for Improving a Reset Distribution in a 512M Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM)', VLSI Symposium 2007 disclose a configuration for arranging a MOS transistor below a memory cell MC. Specifically, in this configuration, two, four, or eight memory cells MC are connected in a single MOS transistor. Since the current travels in the direction of the bit lines BL instead of the word lines WL, concentration of current can be avoided.
However, when the MOS transistor is arranged below the memory cells MC in this manner, limitation regarding the layout of the MOS transistor results in a cell size of 6F2. This results in a problem that the cell is larger than the 4F2 case above.

Phase-change random access memory device and semiconductor memory device


A frequency comb multiple access (FCMA) communications system in which address and message data are transmitted on a common channel to different users. The data transmitted are in the form of signatures, each of which consists of combined specific frequencies selected from a range of discrete frequencies available in the bandwidth of the common channel. Each signature corresponds to an address and to a data message directed to the address. This system does not require handshaking nor channel assignment. A transmitter and a receiver for the system are also disclosed.

Previous multiple access schemes for satellite communications have operated on a variety of bases. One type is where resources are assigned by some control centre on a demand basis, such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA).
Other systems include variants of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), including Frequency Hopped Code Division Multiple Access (FH-CDMA) and Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA). Both these systems use spread spectrum transmission techniques. In FH-CDMA, user signatures occupy a time varying narrow band, while in DS-CDMA signatures occupy the full bandwidth.
In FH-CDMA, each user modulates a hopping carrier over the full transmission bandwidth. Special sequences are used to minimise hits between hopping patterns of different users. The number of carriers available is B/H, where B is the available bandwidth to be shared and H is the hopping rate. In FH-CDMA only one carrier frequency is transmitted per time interval.
In DS-CDMA a modulated carrier is multiplied by a high symbol rate frequency spreading signal, which is usually a pseudo random binary sequence. At the receiver the "despreading" operation is performed by multiplying the received signal with a locally generated version of the original spreading signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,179 to Magnuski discloses a system which utilises a fixed range of frequencies and time shifts to address users. It does not provide an interleaved frequency system in which address and data are comprised in a single transmission.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved multiple user communications system, particularly but not exclusively for satellite communications, which ameliorates at least some of the deficiencies of the prior art.

Random access multiple user communication system


An apparatus, method, computer program product, and propagated signal for a transport. The transport including: a waveguide including a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within the guiding region, the waveguide including an input region and an output; a plurality of constituents disposed in the waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of the waveguide; and a polarization system coupled to the input region, the input polarizer system producing a wave component having a supported polarization disposed at a predetermined angular orientation at the input from an input radiation source including a set of source wave components each having one of a set orthogonal polarizations wherein the input polarizing system operates on the source wave components to pass source wave components having polarizations matching the supported polarization.

The present invention relates generally to a transport for propagating radiation, and more specifically to a waveguide having a guiding channel that includes optically-active constituents that enhance a responsiveness of a radiation-influencing property of the waveguide to an outside influence.
The Faraday Effect is a phenomenon wherein a plane of polarization of linearly polarized light rotates when the light is propagated through a transparent medium placed in a magnetic field and in parallel with the magnetic field. An effectiveness of the magnitude of polarization rotation varies with the strength of the magnetic field, the Verdet constant inherent to the medium and the light path length. The empirical angle of rotation is given byβ=VBd,  (Eq. 1)
where V is called the Verdet constant (and has units of arc minutes cm-1 Gauss-1), B is the magnetic field and d is the propagation distance subject to the field. In the quantum mechanical description, Faraday rotation occurs because imposition of a magnetic field alters the energy levels.
It is known to use discrete materials (e.g., iron-containing garnet crystals) having a high Verdet constant for measurement of magnetic fields (such as those caused by electric current as a way of evaluating the strength of the current) or as a Faraday rotator used in an optical isolator. An optical isolator includes a Faraday rotator to rotate by 45° the plane of polarization, a magnet for application of magnetic field, a polarizer, and an analyzer. Conventional optical isolators have been of the bulk type wherein no waveguide (e.g., optical fiber) is used.
In conventional optics, magneto-optical modulators have been produced from discrete crystals containing paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials, particularly garnets (yttrium/iron garnet for example). Devices such as these require considerable magnetic control fields. The magneto-optical effects are also used in thin-layer technology, particularly for producing non-reciprocal devices, such as non-reciprocal junctions. Devices such as these are based on a conversion of modes by Faraday Effect or by Cotton-Moutton effect.
A further drawback to using paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials in magneto-optic devices is that these materials may adversely affect properties of the radiation other than polarization angle, such as for example amplitude, phase, and/or frequency.
The prior art has known the use of discrete magneto-optical bulk devices (e.g., crystals) for collectively defining a display device. These prior art displays have several drawbacks, including a relatively high cost per picture element (pixel), high operating costs for controlling individual pixels, increasing control complexity that does not scale well for relatively large display devices.
Conventional imaging systems may be roughly divided into two categories: (a) flat panel displays (FPDs), and (b) projection systems (which include cathode ray tubes (CRTs) as emissive displays). Generally speaking, the dominant technologies for the two types of systems are not the same, although there are exceptions. These two categories have distinct challenges for any prospective technology, and existing technologies have yet to satisfactorily conquer these challenges.
A main challenge confronting existing FPD technology is cost, as compared with the dominant cathode ray tube (CRT) technology ("flat panel" means "flat" or "thin" compared to a CRT display, whose standard depth is nearly equal to the width of the display area).
To achieve a given set of imaging standards, including resolution, brightness, and contrast, FPD technology is roughly three to four times more expensive than CRT technology. However, the bulkiness and weight of CRT technology, particularly as a display area is scaled larger, is a major drawback. Quests for a thin display have driven the development of a number of technologies in the FPD arena.
High costs of FPD are largely due to the use of delicate component materials in the dominant liquid crystal diode (LCD) technology, or in the less-prevalent gas plasma technology. Irregularities in the nematic materials used in LCDs result in relatively high defect rates; an array of LCD elements in which an individual cell is defective often results in the rejection of an entire display, or a costly substitution of the defective element.
For both LCD and gas-plasma display technology, the inherent difficulty of controlling liquids or gasses in the manufacturing of such displays is a fundamental technical and cost limitation.
An additional source of high cost is the demand for relatively high switching voltages at each light valve/emission element in the existing technologies. Whether for rotating the nematic materials of an LCD display, which in turn changes a polarization of light transmitted through the liquid cell, or excitation of gas cells in a gas plasma display, relatively high voltages are required to achieve rapid switching speeds at the imaging element. For LCDs, an "active matrix," in which individual transistor elements are assigned to each imaging location, is a high-cost solution.
As image quality standards increase, for high-definition television (HDTV) or beyond, existing FPD technologies cannot now deliver image quality at a cost that is competitive with CRT's. The cost differential at this end of the quality range is most pronounced. And delivering 35 mm film-quality resolution, while technically feasible, is expected to entail a cost that puts it out of the realm of consumer electronics, whether for televisions or computer displays.
For projection systems, there are two basic subclasses: television (or computer) displays, and theatrical motion picture projection systems. Relative cost is a major issue in the context of competition with traditional 35 mm film projection equipment. However, for HDTV, projection systems represent the low-cost solution, when compared against conventional CRTs, LCD FPDs, or gas-plasma FPDs.
Current projection system technologies face other challenges. HDTV projection systems face the dual challenge of minimizing a depth of the display, while maintaining uniform image quality within the constraints of a relatively short throw-distance to the display surface. This balancing typically results in a less-than-satisfactory compromise at the price of relatively lower cost.
A technically-demanding frontier for projection systems, however, is in the domain of the movie theater. Motion-picture screen installations are an emerging application area for projection systems, and in this application, issues regarding console depth versus uniform image quality typically do not apply. Instead, the challenge is in equaling (at minimum) the quality of traditional 35 mm film projectors, at a competitive cost. Existing technologies, including direct Drive Image Light Amplifier ("D-ILA"), digital light processing ("DLP"), and grating-light-valve ("GLV")-based systems, while recently equaling the quality of traditional film projection equipment, have significant cost disparities as compared to traditional film projectors.
Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier is a reflective liquid crystal light valve device developed by JVC Projectors. A driving integrated circuit ("IC") writes an image directly onto a CMOS based light valve. Liquid crystals change the reflectivity in proportion to a signal level. These vertically aligned (homeoptropic) crystals achieve very fast response times with a rise plus fall time less than 16 milliseconds. Light from a xenon or ultra high performance ("UHP") metal halide lamp travels through a polarized beam splitter, reflects off the D-ILA device, and is projected onto a screen.
At the heart of a DLP™ projection system is an optical semiconductor known as a Digital Micromirror Device, or DMD chip, which was pioneered by Dr. Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments in 1987. The DMD chip is a sophisticated light switch. It contains a rectangular array of up to 1.3 million hinge-mounted microscopic mirrors; each of these micromirrors measures less than one-fifth the width of a human hair, and corresponds to one pixel in a projected image. When a DMD chip is coordinated with a digital video or graphic signal, a light source, and a projection lens, its mirrors reflect an all-digital image onto a screen or other surface. The DMD and the sophisticated electronics that surround it are called Digital Light Processing™ technology.
A process called GLV (Grating-Light-Valve) is being developed. A prototype device based on the technology achieved a contrast ratio of 3000:1 (typical high-end projection displays today achieve only 1000:1). The device uses three lasers chosen at specific wavelengths to deliver color. The three lasers are: red (642 nm), green (532 nm), and blue (457 nm). The process uses MEMS technology (MicroElectroMechanical) and consists of a microribbon array of 1,080 pixels on a line. Each pixel consists of six ribbons, three fixed and three which move up/down. When electrical energy is applied, the three mobile ribbons form a kind of diffraction grating which "filters" out light.
Part of the cost disparity is due to the inherent difficulties those technologies face in achieving certain key image quality parameters at a low cost. Contrast, particularly in quality of "black," is difficult to achieve for micro-mirror DLP. GLV, while not facing this difficulty (achieving a pixel nullity, or black, through optical grating wave interference), instead faces the difficulty of achieving an effectively film-like intermittent image with a line-array scan source.
Existing technologies, either LCD or MEMS-based, are also constrained by the economics of producing devices with at least 1K×1K arrays of elements (micro-mirrors, liquid crystal on silicon ("LCoS"), and the like). Defect rates are high in the chip-based systems when involving these numbers of elements, operating at the required technical standards.
It is known to use stepped-index optical fibers in cooperation with the Faraday Effect for various telecommunications uses. The telecommunications application of optical fibers is well-known, however there is an inherent conflict in applying the Faraday Effect to optical fibers because the telecommunications properties of conventional optical fibers relating to dispersion and other performance metrics are not optimized for, and in some cases are degraded by, optimizations for the Faraday Effect. In some conventional optical fiber applications, ninety-degree polarization rotation is achieved by application of a one hundred Oersted magnetic field over a path length of fifty-four meters. Placing the fiber inside a solenoid and creating the desired magnetic field by directing current through the solenoid applies the desired field. For telecommunications uses, the fifty-four meter path length is acceptable when considering that it is designed for use in systems having a total path length measured in kilometers.
Another conventional use for the Faraday Effect in the context of optical fibers is as a system to overlay a low-rate data transmission on top of conventional high-speed transmission of data through the fiber. The Faraday Effect is used to slowly modulate the high-speed data to provide out-of-band signaling or control. Again, this use is implemented with the telecommunications use as the predominate consideration.
In these conventional applications, the fiber is designed for telecommunications usage and any modification of the fiber properties for participation in the Faraday Effect is not permitted to degrade the telecommunications properties that typically include attenuation and dispersion performance metrics for kilometer+−length fiber channels.
Once acceptable levels were achieved for the performance metrics of optical fibers to permit use in telecommunications, optical fiber manufacturing techniques were developed and refined to permit efficient and cost-effective manufacturing of extremely long-lengths of optically pure and uniform fibers. A high-level overview of the basic manufacturing process for optical fibers includes manufacture of a perform glass cylinder, drawing fibers from the preform, and testing the fibers. Typically a perform blank is made using a modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) process that bubbles oxygen through silicon solutions having a requisite chemical composition necessary to produce the desired attributes (e.g., index of refraction, coefficient of expansion, melting point, etc.) of the final fiber. The gas vapors are conducted to an inside of a synthetic silica or quartz tube (cladding) in a special lathe. The lathe is turned and a torch moves along an outside of the tube. Heat from the torch causes the chemicals in the gases to react with oxygen and form silicon dioxide and germanium dioxide and these dioxides deposit on the inside of the tube and fuse together to form glass. The conclusion of this process produces the blank preform.
After the blank preform is made, cooled, and tested, it is placed inside a fiber drawing tower having the preform at a top near a graphite furnace. The furnace melts a tip of the preform resulting in a molten "glob" that begins to fall due to gravity. As it falls, it cools and forms a strand of glass. This strand is threaded through a series of processing stations for applying desired coatings and curing the coatings and attached to a tractor that pulls the strand at a computer-monitored rate so that the strand has the desired thickness. Fibers are pulled at about a rate of thirty-three to sixty-six feet/second with the drawn strand wound onto a spool. It is not uncommon for these spools to contain more than one point four (1.4) miles of optical fiber.
This finished fiber is tested, including tests for the performance metrics. These performance metrics for telecommunications grade fibers include: tensile strength (100,000 pounds per square inch or greater), refractive index profile (numerical aperture and screen for optical defects), fiber geometry (core diameter, cladding dimensions and coating diameters), attenuation (degradation of light of various wavelengths over distance), bandwidth, chromatic dispersion, operating temperature/range, temperature dependence on attenuation, and ability to conduct light underwater.
In 1996, a variation of the above-described optical fibers was demonstrated that has since been termed photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). A PCF is an optical fiber/waveguiding structure that uses a microstructured arrangement of low-index material in a background material of higher refractive index. The background material is often undoped silica and the low index region is typically provided by air voids running along the length of the fiber. PCFs are divided into two general categories: (1) high index guiding fibers, and (2) low index guiding fibers.
Similar to conventional optic fibers described previously, high index guiding fibers are guiding light in a solid core by the Modified Total Internal Reflection (MTIR) principle. Total internal reflection is caused by the lower effective index in the microstructured air-filled region.
Low index guiding fibers guide light using a photonic bandgap (PBG) effect. Light is confined to the low index core as the PBG effect makes propagation in the microstructured cladding region impossible.
While the term "conventional waveguide structure" is used to include the wide range of waveguiding structures and methods, the range of these structures may be modified as described herein to implement embodiments of the present invention. The characteristics of different fiber types aides are adapted for the many different applications for which they are used. Operating a fiber optic system properly relies on knowing what type of fiber is being used and why.
Conventional systems include single-mode, multimode, and PCF waveguides, and also include many sub-varieties as well. For example, multimode fibers include step-index and graded-index fibers, and single-mode fibers include step-index, matched clad, depressed clad and other exotic structures. Multimode fiber is best designed for shorter transmission distances, and is suited for use in LAN systems and video surveillance. Single-mode fiber are best designed for longer transmission distances, making it suitable for long-distance telephony and multichannel television broadcast systems. "Air-clad" or evanescently-coupled waveguides include optical wire and optical nano-wire.
Stepped-index generally refers to provision of an abrupt change of an index of refraction for the waveguide—a core has an index of refraction greater than that of a cladding. Graded-index refers to structures providing a refractive index profile that gradually decreases farther from a center of the core (for example the core has a parabolic profile). Single-mode fibers have developed many different profiles tailored for particular applications (e.g., length and radiation frequency(ies) such as non dispersion-shifted fiber (NDSF), dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) and non-zero-dispersion-shifted fiber (NZ-DSF)). An important variety of single-mode fiber has been developed referred to as polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber. All other single-mode fibers discussed so far have been capable of carrying randomly polarized light. PM fiber is designed to propagate only one polarization of the input light. PM fiber contains a feature not seen in other fiber types. Besides the core, there are additional (2) longitudinal regions called stress rods. As their name implies, these stress rods create stress in the core of the fiber such that the transmission of only one polarization plane of light is favored.
As discussed above, conventional magneto-optical systems, particularly Faraday rotators and isolators, have employed special magneto-optical materials that include rare earth doped garnet crystals and other specialty materials, commonly an yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) or a bismuth-substituted YIG. A YIG single crystal is grown using a floating zone (FZ) method. In this method, Y2O3 and Fe2O3 are mixed to suit the stoichiometric composition of YIG, and then the mixture is sintered. The resultant sinter is set as a mother stick on one shaft in an FZ furnace, while a YIG seed crystal is set on the remaining shaft. The sintered material of a prescribed formulation is placed in the central area between the mother stick and the seed crystal in order to create the fluid needed to promote the deposition of YIG single crystal. Light from halogen lamps is focused on the central area, while the two shafts are rotated. The central area, when heated in an oxygenic atmosphere, forms a molten zone. Under this condition, the mother stick and the seed are moved at a constant speed and result in the movement of the molten zone along the mother stick, thus growing single crystals from the YIG sinter.
Since the FZ method grows crystal from a mother stick that is suspended in the air, contamination is precluded and a high-purity crystal is cultivated. The FZ method produces ingots measuring 012×120 mm.
Bi-substituted iron garnet thick films are grown by a liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) method that includes an LPE furnace. Crystal materials and a PbO—B2O3 flux are heated and made molten in a platinum crucible. Single crystal wafers, such as (GdCa)2(GaMgZr)5O12, are soaked on the molten surface while rotated, which causes a Bi-substituted iron garnet thick film to be grown on the wafers. Thick films measuring as much as 3 inches in diameter can be grown.
To obtain 45° Faraday rotators, these films are ground to a certain thickness, applied with anti-reflective coating, and then cut into 1-2 mm squares to fit the isolators. Having a greater Faraday rotation capacity than YIG single crystals, Bi-substituted iron garnet thick films must be thinned in the order of 100 μm, so higher-precision processing is required.
Newer systems provide for the production and synthesis of Bismuth-substituted yttrium-iron-garnet (Bi—YIG) materials, thin-films and nanopowders. nGimat Co., at 5313 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Atlanta, Ga. 30341 uses a combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) system for production of thin film coatings. In the CCVD process, precursors, which are the metal-bearing chemicals used to coat an object, are dissolved in a solution that typically is a combustible fuel. This solution is atomized to form microscopic droplets by means of a special nozzle. An oxygen stream then carries these droplets to a flame where they are combusted. A substrate (a material being coated) is coated by simply drawing it in front of the flame. Heat from the flame provides energy that is required to vaporize the droplets and for the precursors to react and deposit (condense) on the substrate.
Additionally, epitaxial liftoff has been used for achieving heterogeneous integration of many III-V and elemental semiconductor systems. However, it has been difficult using some processes to integrate devices of many other important material systems. A good example of this problem has been the integration of single-crystal transition metal oxides on semiconductor platforms, a system needed for on-chip thin film optical isolators. An implementation of epitaxial liftoff in magnetic garnets has been reported. Deep ion implantation is used to create a buried sacrificial layer in single-crystal yttrium iron garnet (YIG) and bismuth-substituted YIG (Bi—YIG) epitaxial layers grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG). The damage generated by the implantation induces a large etch selectivity between the sacrificial layer and the rest of the garnet. Ten-micron-thick films have been lifted off from the original GGG substrates by etching in phosphoric acid. Millimeter-size pieces have been transferred to the silicon and gallium arsenide substrates.
Further, researchers have reported a multilayer structure they call a magneto-optical photonic crystal that displays one hundred forty percent (140%) greater Faraday rotation at 748 nm than a single-layer bismuth iron garnet film of the same thickness. Current Faraday rotators are generally single crystals or epitaxial films. The single-crystal devices, however, are rather large, making their use in applications such as integrated optics difficult. And even the films display thicknesses on the order of 500 μm, so alternative material systems are desirable. The use of stacked films of iron garnets, specifically bismuth and yttrium iron garnets has been investigated. Designed for use with 750-nm light, a stack featured four heteroepitaxial layers of 81-nm-thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) atop 70-nm-thick bismuth iron garnet (BIG), a 279-nm-thick central layer of BIG, and four layers of BIG atop YIG. To fabricate the stack, a pulsed laser deposition using an LPX305i 248-nm KrF excimer laser was used.
As seen from the discussion above, the prior art employs specialty magneto-optic materials in most magneto-optic systems, but it has also been known to employ the Faraday Effect with less traditional magneto-optic materials such as the non-PCF optical fibers by creating the necessary magnetic field strength—as long as the telecommunications metrics are not compromised. In some cases, post-manufacturing methods are used in conjunction with pre-made optical fibers to provide certain specialty coatings for use in certain magneto-optical applications. The same is true for specialty magneto-optical crystals and other bulk implementations in that post-manufacture processing of the premade material is sometimes necessary to achieve various desired results. Such extra processing increases the final cost of the special fiber and introduces additional situations in which the fiber may fail to meet specifications. Since many magneto-applications typically include a small number (typically one or two) of magneto-optical components, the relatively high cost per unit is tolerable. However, as the number of desired magneto-optical components increases, the final costs (in terms of dollars and time) are magnified and in applications using hundreds or thousands of such components, it is imperative to greatly reduce unit cost.
What is needed is an alternative waveguide technology that offers advantages over the prior art to enhance a responsiveness of a radiation-influencing property of the waveguide to an outside influence while reducing unit cost and increasing manufacturability, reproducibility, uniformity, and reliability.

System, method, and computer program product for structured waveguide including polarizer region


A web UI automation maintenance tool includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores UI automation scripts for an initial web page that includes elements to be displayed for the web page, with each element having an element identifier. The processor determines web page specifics for the initial web page, including the attributes for each of the elements. After the initial web page has been updated, the processor determines the web page specifics for the updated web page. The processor compares, for each element, attributes from the initial web page to the updated web page, and identifies a new element identifier for each element that changed from the initial web page to the updated web page. The UI automation script in the memory is updated with the new element identifiers for each element whose element identifier has changed.

User interface (UI) automation scripts automate user interactions on a web page. When UI changes are made in a web page, the same changes need to be reflected in the UI automation scripts. A web page will typically display a number of elements, and UI automation scripts interact with the elements by using element identifiers. The element identifiers may be based on certain attributes of the elements, such as 'id', 'css class name', 'xPaths', 'text', etc. Attributes provide additional information about the elements.
The elements in a web page can be represented by a document object model (DOM) tree. The xPaths are addresses of the elements in the document object model tree. Each xPath represents a path to take within the document object model tree to reach an element from a starting point. An example xPath is "Title=/bookstore/book[2]/title", where 'Title' is an element identifier. This xPath represents the title of the second book in the bookstore. When the same 'book' object is moved to a different location (analogous to UI elements being modified), the same xPath would now be invalid or would wrongly point at something entirely different. To ensure that the element identifier continues to point to the correct element, the value of 'Title' needs to be updated. This update to the UI automation scripts is a manual process, as typically performed by a web developer.
When such a change is made, wherein an object is moved from one location to another in a web page, other element identifiers are affected as well. Alternatively, when a change is made to an attribute of an element, its attribute based selector will fail to identify the element correctly. Such changes are very common on a website. When these changes are made, the element identifiers have to be continually updated to ensure that the UI automation scripts execute correctly. This situation occurs more frequently when the web page has a large number of elements, and when xPaths are used as element identifiers. Consequently, in this case, a change in one element of a web page may modify the xPaths for other elements within the same web page. Updating the element identifiers in the UI automation scripts can be a labor intensive effort when there are a large number of elements that have been updated for a web page.


The present invention pertains to a wiping and/or sealing element for sealing a piston (11) guided movably in a housing (10) with a seal held in a groove (21, 30). The present invention pertains, furthermore, to a process for sealing a movable piston (11) by means of a seal inserted into a groove (21, 30) and a clamping and/or support element with a piston (21), which is guided in a housing (10) such that it can be withdrawn and extended, wherein the piston (11) is sealed by means of a seal arranged in a groove (21). To achieve sealing of the piston (11) with a high sealing force for high liquid pressures at low friction, the wiping and/or sealing element according to the present invention as well as the clamping and/or support element according to the present invention are wherein the seal is a quad ring (22) with a square cross section.

Clamping elements in which a workpiece, a tool, a device or a mold is tensioned by means of a piston that can be withdrawn and extended, are known from practice. Likewise, support elements are known from practice, by means of which workpieces that are already tensioned per se are supported to avoid unacceptable deformations at certain points by a piston that can be withdrawn and extended. In machine tools for cutting, in particular, the piston must be sealed in order to prevent cutting oil from penetrating into a housing of the clamping or support element. The cutting oil is often under a high pressure, so that very high requirements are imposed on the seal.
The sealing has hitherto been performed by means of a fixed wiping ring, which keeps away coarse dirt particles, for example, chips. A circular groove, into which a seal is inserted, is recessed into a hole of the wiping ring. This seal, usually an O-ring, ensures the liquid-tight sealing of the piston against the wiping ring. The depth of the groove is selected to be smaller than the diameter of the seal, i.e., for example, of the O-ring. The O-ring is deformed elastically as a result and exerts a normal force on the piston, which ensures tightness. The pressure, which is maintained now at such a level that it ensures sealing, depends on the value of the normal force (pretension of the O-ring) and consequently on the ratio of the groove depth to the O-ring diameter. A low ratio means great deformation of the O-ring and consequently a high normal force (high mechanical pretension of the O-ring) and also great tightness.
It is disadvantageous here that the friction between the piston and the seal also increases proportionally with the normal force because of the coefficient of friction. This may lead to disturbances especially in support elements because of undefined contact forces of the piston against the workpiece.

Wiping and/or sealing element as well as process for sealing a piston and clamping and/or support element


A vertical evaporator has an inner tube containing a heat exchanger for heating water and an outer tube which is coaxial with and surrounds the inner tube, forming a sealed system and leaving a peripheral space between the two tubes. The inner tube has bottom outlets through which steam and water droplets generated by heating water by the heat exchanger are ejected. A helical fin is attached to the outer surface of the inner tube for centrifugally separating steam and water droplets moving up inside the peripheral space as they are guided by the helical fin. The outer tube has a steam outlet at an elevated position for discharging pure steam separated from water droplets, as well as an indentation above the helical fin for collecting water droplets which are centrifugally separated from steam. A discharge pipe is provided, leading to the indentation for discharging water collected in the indentation.

This invention relates to an evaporator of a vertical type. Highly purified distilled water and pure steam are required at production facilities of various medicaments as well as sites of medical treatments. This invention relates to an improved vertical evaporator adapted for use in connection with an apparatus for producing distilled water or a pure steam generator for the generation of pure steam.
As an example of such an evaporator, Japanese Patent Publication Tokko 57-2041 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,017 have disclosed a vertical evaporator comprising an inner tube containing a heat exchanger inside and having a helical flow duct on the outside and an outer tube surrounding this inner tube. Water which is supplied to the interior of the inner tube is heated by the heat exchanger, and the mixture of the pure steam thus generated by the heating and water droplets which have not evaporated is ejected from the bottom of the inner tube. While it rises through the helical flow duct, it is separated into the gas and liquid phases, and the separated water droplets are dropped from small apertures on peripheral surfaces of the duct into a narrow space formed between this helical flow duct and the outer tube, going down to the lower part of the outer tube while the separated pure steam is taken out from the top.
Such a prior art evaporator has several drawbacks. Firstly, since the inner tube having a helical flow duct on its exterior is contained inside the outer tube such that a narrow space is left between the peripheral surface of this duct and the outer tube, the overall structure is complicated, and not only is its production difficult but its maintenance is cumbersome. Secondly, since the separated water droplets are dropped from the apertures around the helical flow duct into this narrow space down to the lower part of the outer tube, dirt will tend to accumulate easily between the helical flow duct and the outer tube while its thorough cleaning is very difficult to carry out.


A method and apparatus for measuring formation properties including coiled tubing fitted with a bottom hole assembly. The bottom hole assembly includes apparatus to measure formation fluid properties, apparatus and methods to transmit the formation fluid properties to a surface monitoring system, apparatus and methods to isolate a section of a wellbore, and apparatus and methods to control the flow of fluid entering the coiled tubing.

Currently the best way to understand reservoir boundaries and their properties is to do a Drillpipe Stem Test. This operation consists of lowering a bottom hole assembly (BHA) with sensors down the wellbore on drill pipe. It is a costly and time consuming operation. With high daily cost drilling rigs (such as but not limited to offshore and deep water rigs) doing a DST is (most of the time) too costly, with the cost being directly associated with the time it takes to do the test. When a DST is imperative to understand complex reservoirs or to estimate reserves, it is often done only in the zones with the greatest chances of success and smaller zones that could still produce a substantial amount of hydrocarbons are neglected as it may be cost prohibitive to perform a DST on these additional zones. Currently the overwhelming majority of DSTs where more than one zone per well are tested are performed by testing one zone per "trip in the hole", that is only one zone gets tested each time the drillpipe descends into the wellbore.
If information is required from multiple zones of lesser interest, the industry will typically use tools like the Modular Dynamic Tester (MDT), a mark of Schlumberger, tool to assess the zone potential. This method consists of drawing out a small amount of fluid from the formation (usually a few cubic centimeters to a couple of gallons at a maximum) and trying to measure or infer true formation pressure. On one side of the spectrum we have a full DST that involves flowing a substantial amount of formation fluid for extended periods of time to be able to measure or model formation parameters such as pressure, boundaries, skin, permeability, damage, etc. On the other side of the spectrum we have MDT-like measurements where only a comparatively small amount of formation fluid is drawn out and some of the same formation parameters are measured or modeled.
What is needed is a way to use a more efficient system like coiled tubing to deploy the BHA and perform these tests on several zones in one "trip in the hole". The associated time savings would allow many additional operators to perform a DST on their wells or to increase the number of zones where drillpipe stem testing is being performed. This will increase the knowledge of the reservoir properties, help quantify reserves more accurately and increase the chances of finding more producing zones within the same well.
The idea to use coiled tubing as a means to do a DST test is not new but it faces many safety challenges including but not limited to flowing hydrocarbons to the surface through the coil of the coiled tubing unit. Some of the U.S. Patents or Patent Applications that describe multi-zonal testing systems (and which are incorporated herein by reference) are: U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,763 entitled "Method and apparatus for integrated horizontal selective testing of wells" by Hook and Ramsey; U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,892, entitled "Well Testing Using Multiple Pressure Measurements" by Fikri Kuchuk, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,844 entitled "Inflate control system for inflatable straddle stimulation tool" by Kenison et al.; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20070044960 titled "Methods, systems and apparatus for coiled tubing testing" by Lovell et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/960,852, filed Dec. 20, 2007, entitled "System and method for optimizing production in a well" by Kannan et al.
Once the formation fluid "exits" the well bore there is only one barrier, the wall of the coiled tubing, to contain the flowing fluid (which may possibly include flammable or toxic hydrocarbons or other materials such as hydrogen sulfide gas). The practice of having only one barrier, especially when that barrier is the coiled tubing itself, is not an approved practice in the industry due to the potential catastrophic consequences of a rupture in the coiled tubing and subsequent release of hydrocarbons or other hazardous materials into the atmosphere. Therefore, although the idea of using coiled tubing to flow a well to surface and to use it as a DST string has been explored in other patents, these patents typically describe unpractical methods (having little or no chance of being used due to safety concerns) or by using what is known in the industry as a dual coil (i.e. concentric coiled tubings) type of equipment.
The present invention proposes that the formation test done in coiled tubing as a solution to the two issues discussed above: the efficiency of a system that can test several zones in a single trip in the hole and a system that will be able to test (draw out) many times over the volume of tools like the MDT tool but without the risk inherent to flowing hydrocarbons to the surface.

Zonal testing with the use of coiled tubing


A support block has a first face, a second face opposed to the first face, and first and second through holes communicating between the first face and the second face, and is formed with resin material. The first face, the second face, and the first and second through holes are covered with an electrically conductive plated coating. First and second probes are electrically connected to terminals of a device to be tested provided on a side of the first face and to terminals connected to a testing apparatus provided on a side of the second face. The first probe is provided in the first through hole and is electrically connected to the plated coating on the first through hole, the second probe is provided in the second through hole and is electrically connected to the plated coating on the second through hole. A pattern for defining a first region electrically connected to the first probe via the plated coating and a second region electrically connected to the second probe via the plated coating is formed by partially removing the plated coating on the first face and the second face, where the second region is electrically isolated from the first region. Electrodes of an electronic component are respectively connected to the first and second regions.

The present invention relates to a test socket which interconnects electrode terminals (lead terminals) of a device to be tested and wiring terminals to be connected to a testing apparatus by means of probes which are supported by a support block, for the purpose of testing electrical performance of the device to be tested such as an IC, before the device is actually assembled into a circuit. More particularly, the invention relates to the test socket, in which a component can be mounted between the probes.
Test for testing performance of a device (an object to be tested) such as a semiconductor wafer, an IC or a module, by inputting an electric signal to the device, has been generally conducted. In case of conducting such test of electrical performance of the device, there has been employed a test socket such as an IC socket which is provided with probes for interconnecting wiring terminals on a wiring board on which ends of leads to be connected to a testing apparatus are collected and electrode terminals (lead terminals) of the device. This test socket is constructed, as shown in FIG. 10 for example, in such a manner that a support block 72 for supporting probes 71 is formed with through holes, into which the probes 71 for signals, for power supply, and for grounding are inserted, and then, the electrode terminals (the lead terminals) of the device to be tested (not shown) which is provided on one face of the socket (an upper side in the drawing) are electrically connected to the wiring terminals of the wiring board (not shown) which is provided on the other face of the socket (a lower side in the drawing), thereby to conduct the test. A device guide 74 for positioning the device to be tested is provided on an outer face of this support block 72 at a side where the device to be tested is mounted, integrally with the support block 72 or formed as a separate component to be fixed by means of screws or the like which are not shown. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 73 designates holding plates for holding the probes 71 so as not to escape, and 76 designates positioning pins for positioning the test socket with respect to the wiring board.
With recent progress of high frequency, high speed, and high performance of the device (the above described device to be tested), various performances are required to be added to the test socket which is used for testing the device to be tested. As one of examples, it is requested that the test socket is equipped with a bypass chip capacitor. Generally, the bypass chip capacitor for the probe for power supply is mounted on a wiring pattern which is the closest to the device in electric distance, on the wiring board at a lower face side of the test socket. Specifically, as seen from the device to be tested, power passes through the probes in the test socket and the pattern on the wiring board until it reaches the chip capacitor. However, due to recent progress of high frequency, high speed, and high performance of the device, inductance component that inherently exists in the probes in the test socket may sometimes become a factor for causing instable operation of the device. For this reason, it is requested that the bypass chip capacitor is arranged more close to the device to be tested. In short, this requires such an arrangement that this chip capacitor is mounted at a position directly below the device to be tested and also above the test socket.
In the test socket in the related art, the support block for supporting the probes has been formed of resin or metal. Accordingly, it has been difficult to connect the component such as the chip capacitor between the specified probes, even if so desired.
FIG. 11 shows a side view of the test socket in the related art, in which a chip capacitor is soldered to probe tubes. In the test socket in FIG. 11, a holding plate 83 at an upper side of a support block 82 is removed, and only a holding plate 83 at a lower side of the support block is shown. This support block 82 and the holding plate 83 are formed of resin. FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of FIG. 11. A chip capacitor 89 is soldered (solder is denoted by S2, in the drawings) to probe tubes 81 (herein, denoted by reference numeral 81 including the probes) at their parts projected from an upper face of the support block 82. For this purpose, a relief part, which is not shown, is provided on the holding plate 83 which is disposed on the support block 82, at a position corresponding to the chip capacitor 89 so that the holding plate 83 may not interfere with the chip capacitor 89. In FIGS. 11 and 12, a pitch between the probes 81 is 1.0 mm, a size of the chip capacitor 89 is 1.0 mm×0.5 mm×0.5 mm. Therefore, it is necessary to use a soldering tool exclusive for this purpose, and high technique for soldering is also required. Further, unless the chip capacitor 89 is attached to the two probes 81 in an accurate position, forces applied to the two probes 81 are not likely to be balanced, and so, there is such anxiety that abrasion and cracks may occur in the probes 81 and electrodes of the chip capacitor 89. In short, there occurs a problem that reliability and durability of the test socket are deteriorated. Moreover, in case where the pitch between the probes 81 is reduced to 0.5 mm which is currently a mainstream, it is necessary to use a chip capacitor which is further compact having a size of 0.6 mm×0.3 mm×0.3 mm, for example, as the chip capacitor 89 to be attached, and higher technique is required for soldering, which may result in more remarkable deterioration of reliability and durability of the test socket. Further, in case of exchanging the probes 81 for maintenance, the chip capacitor 89 which has been soldered must be removed, and soldering work must be conducted again, for attaching the chip capacitor 89 after the probes 81 have been exchanged.
FIG. 13 shows a sectional view of the test socket in the related art, employing a support block formed of metal. In the test socket in FIG. 13, while it is not shown specifically the chip capacitor is soldered to the probe tubes in the same manner as in the test socket as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, and correspondingly, a relief part for preventing interference with the chip capacitor is formed in a fixing plate at an upper side of the support block.
Use of metallic material for a support block 92 for supporting probes 91 as shown in FIG. 13 is effective for preventing noises. A metal plate formed of brass or aluminum, for example, is used for the support block 92.
In order to enhance RF performance of the test socket (high frequency in analogue form is referred to as the high frequency, while very short pulse width and short pulse interval in digital form are referred to as the high speed, both of which are hereinafter referred to as an RF), it is necessary to form the probe 91SIG for signals in a coaxial structure, and to reliably connect the probe 91GND for grounding to the ground in vicinity of the probe 91SIG for signals. For this purpose, the probe 91SIG for signals is formed in a coaxial structure in such a manner that the probe is used as a center conductor, and an inner wall of a through hole 95 in the support block 92 is used as an external conductor, with forming a space between them. An outer diameter d of the probe 91SIG and an inner diameter D of the through hole 95 are so set as to make a determined impedance. By constructing the probe 91SIG for signals in this manner, dielectric constant becomes 1, because a hollow space is formed between the center conductor and the external conductor, and therefore the coaxial structure of the determined impedance can be obtained even at a narrow pitch, even in case where an interval between the electrode terminals becomes very small due to a recent stream of downsizing and high density of the device. The probe 91GND for grounding is inserted into the through hole 95 in the support block 92 interposing a bell-shaped metal tube 97 having slots, for example, so that the probe can be reliably brought into contact with the support block 92. On the other hand, the probe 91POW for power supply is inserted into the through hole 95 in the support block 92 interposing an insulating tube 98 so as not to get in touch with the support block 92.
In the probe 1SIG for high frequency and high speed signals, the inner diameter D of the through hole 95 in the support block 92 and the outer diameter d of the probe 1SIG for signals are set so as to satisfy the following formula (1) and so as to obtain the coaxial structure having a determined impedance Z0. In the formula (1), ∈r is a dielectric constant of dielectric substance between the center conductor and the external conductor. According to the structure as shown in FIG. 13, because an air space is formed between the probe 1SIG for signals as the center conductor and the through hole 95 of the support block 92 as the external conductor, the dielectric constant ∈r becomes 1. In this manner, it is possible to cope with the narrow pitch of the probes 91.
                    [                  Formula                                                              1                ]                                                                      Z          0                =                              60                                          ɛ                r                                                                    log            e                                          D            d                                              (        1        )
In case of the test socket as shown in FIG. 13, use of the support block formed of metal is convenient for enhancing shield performance, and for constructing the coaxial probe. However, because the support block is formed of metal, there is such a risk that the chip capacitor may get in touch with the support block to make a short circuit, incurring a problem that reliability is deteriorated.


Incremented authenticated encryption involves dividing a data stream to be encrypted into multiple data segments and encrypting each of the data segments. For each encrypted data segment, an authorization tag is generated. Each segment's authorization tag may be based on the corresponding segment's position in the sequence of data segments within the data stream. A segment authorization tag may be generated based on an segment initialization vector that may be incremented with each segment authorization tag. Each data segment may be encrypted independently of the others. Similarly, each encrypted data segment may be decrypted and authenticated independently of the others. Additionally, a final authentication tag may be generated. The final authentication tag may be used to authenticate all the data segments of the data stream as a whole.

Traditional encryption and decryption techniques are often inefficient when it comes to encrypting and decrypting large amounts of data, such as large messages and/or data files. Similarly, traditional encryption techniques that attempt to combine security and authentication are often error prone and/or difficult to implement.
Furthermore, when encrypting large amounts of data it is often impossible to decrypt and/or authenticate only a portion of a larger encrypted data file without accessing the entire date file, or at least all the data up to the desired point. Additionally, traditional encryption techniques are often vulnerable to particular ciphertext attacks, such as an attack that involves analysis of attempts to decrypt a particularly chosen set of encrypted data (e.g., ciphertext).
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning "having the potential to"), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning "must"). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean "including, but not limited to."


A flexure for mounting a plurality of reproduction elements thereon includes a metal base and an interconnection part. The metal base includes a first area, and a second area in which a window portion is formed. The interconnection part includes an insulating layer including a first lane which covers the first area and a second lane which covers the second area, a write trace pair connected to a recording element, read trace pairs provided on the second lane to face the window portion and connected to reproduction elements, respectively, and a ground trace arranged between two adjacent read trace pairs and provided with grounding points at two end portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvement of electrical characteristics in a flexure with conductors for a multi-reader which is mounted in a hard disk drive, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
As hard disk drives increase in capacity while their sizes have been reduced, a further improvement in recording density of a magnetic disk is desired. In order to realize the above, improvement in track density in addition to a liner density of the magnetic disk is desired. However, reducing track width causes a problem of displacement of recording data in the magnetic disk and a reproduction element of a magnetic head.
With respect to this problem, as disclosed in JPH06-215322 A (Patent Literature 1), a method of simultaneously reproducing recording data and a displacement signal and making a correction by providing two reproduction elements (a multi-reader) in a magnetic head has been proposed. Further, as the developed form of the above method, a method of reproducing two-dimensional magnetic recording (TDMR) by a plurality of reproduction elements has been proposed, as disclosed in JP 2011-134372 A (Patent Literature 2). A flexure for mounting a magnetic head comprising a plurality of reproduction elements thereon will be hereinafter referred to as a flexure with conductors for a multi-reader. In the flexure with conductors for a multi-reader, pairs of read traces corresponding to the reproduction elements, respectively, are provided.
The impedance of each pair of read traces should preferably be decreased in order to match the impedance of the read trace pair with that of reproduction elements, etc., and also to reduce power consumption. In an ordinary flexure with conductors comprising a pair of read traces, a window portion is formed by etching on a metal base of an area in which the pair of read traces (the read trace pair) is arranged, thereby adjusting the impedance value. Also in a flexure with conductors for a multi-reader comprising a plurality of read trace pairs, forming a window portion for each of the read trace pair is considered.
However, since the minimum width of a metal base which can be formed by general chemical etching in flexure manufacturing is limited, if an interconnection part continues to be denser and denser as a result of miniaturization of the flexure, it becomes difficult to form an independent window portion in each of the read trace pairs. Hence, in order to reduce the size of the flexure with conductors for a multi-reader, one idea is to form a shared window portion with respect to a plurality of pairs of read trace.
However, if such a window portion is formed, the positional relationship between a positive (a positive phase signal) read trace and a negative (a reverse phase signal) read trace, which constitute a pair of read traces, and the window portion (the external form of a ground) becomes asymmetrical. If the capacitance of the read traces becomes unbalanced between the positive and negative phases, the capability of the read trace pair which removes noise by transmitting a differential signal as a pair is lowered. In this case, the read trace pair is likely to be affected by crosstalk (noise) from a write trace pair.
Up to the present, various technologies for suppressing crosstalk in a pair of read traces which transmit a differential signal have been proposed with respect to an ordinary flexure with conductors for a single reader. Meanwhile, technologies for suppressing crosstalk in pairs of read traces in a flexure with conductors for a multi-reader are barely known. For example, even if a crosstalk suppression technology intended for a flexure with conductors for a single reader as disclosed in JP 2006-48800 A (Patent Literature 3) or JP 2006-331485 A (Patent Literature 4) is applied to a flexure with conductors for a multi-reader, the applied technology will not bring about any advantage or will induce an adverse reaction on the contrary.

Flexure with conductors for multi-reader


A system for anchoring inflatable structures having a base which, when the structure is inflated, rests on a supporting surface to support the structure, includes at least one water receiving anchoring portion positioned adjacent a side of the base of the structure that rests on the supporting surface and which is secured to and extends from the inflatable structure. The water receiving anchoring portion includes a water receiving section to receive water therein and a shaping section to provide a shape to the water receiving section and to the water receiving anchoring portion to ease filling of the water receiving section with water. The shaping section shapes the water receiving section generally into a cup or bucket like structure so that water can be poured into the water receiving section without the water receiving section being held in such shape by hand or without having to be filled with pressurized water.

1. Field
The invention is in the field of inflatable devices such as inflatable recreation devices, for example, inflatable slides, which sit on a surface.
2. State of the Art
There are numerous inflatable structures in wide use today, particularly inflatable play structures, such as inflatable slides, and inflatable advertising structures, such as inflatable structures that form a surface for placing advertising signs or inflatable structures in various shapes, such as animal or other shapes, that are placed at a businesses to draw attention to the business. These structures have a base which rests on a supporting surface such as the ground, a deck, or a floor, and may be relatively light weight because they are hollow and filled with air. Because these structures may be relatively light and relatively large, they are subject to being blown around in wind when out doors. Further, if a play structure, they can be easily rocked and moved when being played on. A stabilizing or anchoring system for such structures is needed that can be easily used.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,591 shows an inflatable display structure that includes longitudinally extended water bladders inside the device secured to and resting on the base to provide weight to stabilize and anchor the structure. The bladders have a hose bib attached for filling the bladders with water and a drain for draining the bladders. In filling the bladders, it is necessary to connect a hose to the hose bib and supply pressurized water to the bladder to fill it. The patent also indicates that such bladders can be positioned externally to the structure and fastened to the structure with stays. U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,938 shows an inflatable projection screen and teaches that the structure may be secured to the ground with stakes and tethers, or alternatively, the tethers may be secured to concrete blocks or water-filled drums or bladders. In either case, where the bladders are used, the bladders are not easily filled with water without a pressurized source of water that can be attached to the inlet of the bladder. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,591 provides hose bibs in the bladder to connect a hose thereto for filling the bladder. Further, when not positioned internally of the structure, the bladders are connected to the structure by stays or tethers and are not part of the structure. This lessens the stabilizing effect of the bladders and makes connection of the bladders difficult. Bladders within the structure, while holding the structure in a wind, often are not positioned to provide stabilization if the structure is played upon.
An improved, easy to use water stabilizing system is needed.

System for anchoring inflatable structures


An information processing apparatus includes: a display section provided with a screen capable of displaying a content of an application; a user-input processing section for acquiring an instruction input from a user; and a screen-hierarchy control section for managing a screen hierarchical order of each application when contents of a plurality of started applications are displayed in the display section. When one of at least two applications of a plurality out of the applications is set to be a master application and the other of the applications is set to be a slave application, the screen-hierarchy control section disposes and links the slave application at an immediately lower level than that of the master application in the screen hierarchy, and performs screen-hierarchy control such that the master application and the slave application are moved in the screen hierarchy in a state being linked at the time of updating the screen hierarchy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, method, and an information processing program, which are capable of changing and using a plurality of applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
To date, a method of changing and using a plurality of applications in an information processing apparatus, such as a cellular-phone terminal, has been known as follows:
(1) A method of displaying a screen showing a list of applications once, and starting the application selected by the user from that list
(2) A method of providing each application with a mutual linkage function, and starting another application from a certain application by those application linkage functions
(3) A method of providing each application with a mutual linkage function, and directly using another application function from a certain application by those application linkage functions.
Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-347782 (refer to FIGS. 4, 5, and 7) has disclosed an electronic system in which when displays are changed in two ways between a first display screen showing one function and a second display screen showing another function, the display modes at screen-change time are controlled on the basis of a hierarchical relationship between a level including one function and a level including another function. By the technique described in the above publication, in a mobile electronic system having a smaller display screen in a list-type mobile information processing apparatus, etc., in particular, including a plurality of functions in multiple layers, the user is allowed to visually know an operation state or a selection state with ease, thereby improving the operationality.

Information processing apparatus, method, and information processing program