A panel cover assembly is provided for a forward area of a frame opening of a top storage compartment into which, when the rear lid is open, a folding top with a fixed rear end can be folded inward. A cover panel serves as a parcel shelf when the top is closed, which cover panel is displaced rearward when the top is opened. Side flaps are arranged with mirror symmetry and articulated to ends of the cover panel. Mechanical forced control of the folding motion of the side flaps is provided as a function of the position of the cover panel that is displaceable in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle. The side flaps are constantly urged by springs in an upwardly folded direction and are each foldable downwardly and backwardly into their covering positions by a tensioning cable that is secured to the forward end by displacement of the cover panel rearward into its covering position. A deflecting guide structure for the corresponding tensioning cable fastened to the side flap at its rear end being provided on the lateral end areas of the cover panel.

This application claims the priority of German application 196 37 005.1-21 filed in Germany on Sep. 12, 1996, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a panel cover for a forward area of the frame opening of a top storage compartment.
A panel cover of the kind generally contemplated by the present invention is already known from German Patent Document DE 44 46 483 A1. In order to control the upward folding movement of the side flaps as a function of the position of the panel cover, the side flaps each have associated with them a lever mechanism with link guidance that is moved by actuating a corresponding Bowden cable.
The actuation of the side flaps using a lever mechanism with control by a cable is technically expensive and results in a correspondingly high outlay of materials, money, and assembly effort.
An object of the invention is to improve on a panel cover of the type referred to above such that the technical cost for actuation and control of its side flaps can be significantly reduced.
This object is achieved according to the invention by providing an arrangement wherein the side flaps are constantly under spring tension in an upwardly folded direction and each is capable of being folded down and back into its covering position by displacement of the cover panel rearward into its covering position by means of a cable of the tensioning cable system that is fixed at a forward end, a deflecting device being provided on lateral end areas of the cover panel for the corresponding tensioning cable fastened at its rear end to the side flap.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Panel cover for a forward area of the frame opening of a top storage compartment


This method for disposing fine objects, in a substrate preparing step, prepares a substrate having specified positions where fine objects (120) are to be disposed in an area where a first electrode (111) and a second electrode (112) face each other, and in a fluid introducing step, a fluid (121) is introduced on the substrate (110). The fluid (121) contains a plurality of the fine objects (120). The fine objects (120) are diode elements, each of which has, as an alignment structure, a front side layer (130) composed of a dielectric material, and a rear side layer (131) composed of a semiconductor. In the fine object disposing step, by applying an AC voltage to between the first electrode (111) and the second electrode (112), the fine objects (120) are disposed by dielectrophoresis with the front side layer (130) facing up at the predetermined positions in the area (A) where the first electrode (111) and the second electrode (112) face each other.

A conventional method for disposing fine objects at predetermined positions on a substrate is disclosed in Patent Literature 1 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,106 specification).
In the disclosure of Patent Literature 1, as shown in FIG. 58, an insulating medium (liquid) including nanowires 9925 is introduced onto a substrate 9970 patterned with a left side electrode 9950 and a right side electrode 9953, and a voltage is then applied between the left side electrode 9950 and the right side electrode 9953. Action of an electric field produced by the voltage on the nanowires 9925 causes so-called dielectrophoretic effect and the nanowires 9925 are thereby disposed so as to bridge finger-like portions 9955 of the two electrodes. Thus the nanowires 9925 that are fine objects can be disposed at predetermined positions on the substrate 9970.
In above conventional technique, however, the positions of the fine objects can be controlled, whereas directions thereof cannot be controlled. Specifically, the bar-like nanowires 9925 are each shown in FIG. 58 so as to be uniform without depiction of inner structure thereof, whereas with two ends of each nanowire 9925 discriminated as a first end and a second end, whether the first end, as an example, of each nanowire 9925 is positioned on upper side or on lower side in FIG. 58 is determined by mere chance and cannot be controlled.

Method for disposing fine objects, apparatus for arranging fine objects, illuminating apparatus and display apparatus


A microscope objective lens has a modulator. The modulator can be rotated with respect to the objective lens to compensate for a change in orientation of the objective lens. This is achieved by providing various means on the objective lens for transmitting torque to the modulator, thereby rotating it.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microscope objective lens, and, more particularly, to a microscope objective lens with a modulation contrast apparatus housing a modulator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, microscope objective lenses used as modulation contrast devices have a modulator located within the objective lens, fixed at the pupil position of the objective lens, and cannot be rotated. A modulator is an optical member, as shown for example in FIG. 3. A first partial area 41 at one edge of the circular pupil area 40 of the objective lens has a permeability rate of 1%. A second partial area 42 extending from the first partial area 41 on the optical axis side of the objective lens has a permeability rate of 10%. The remaining area 43 has a permeability rate of 100%. The subject sample contrast is improved by using this member in the pupil position of objective lens.
Objective lenses using modulation contrast devices have the kinds of problems discussed below.
(1) Since the directions of shadowing for dark-light contrast on a three-dimensional object are unilateral, observations are made from a direction that is inappropriate depending on the direction of the sample or the item observed, so the performance of the objective lens is hindered.
(2) A sample area is first located under lower magnification, and the lens turret is then shifted so that a higher magnification objective lens may be utilized for a closer examination of the sample area. However, the orientations of the modulators of the two lenses differ, making observations difficult.


Failure analysis method and apparatus using failure rate data in coordination with the power on hours to more efficiently resolve computer system failures without occupying system memory or processor bandwidth. In response to a system failure, a baseboard management controller (BMC) notes the time of failure and the elapsed operating time of system components. In response to a failure of the computer system, the BMC accesses industry standard failure rate data correlating the elapsed operating time with the probability of failure for each component. By cross-referencing the time of failure with the failure rate data, the BMC automatically determines the probability of failure of each component at the time of failure of the computer system. The BMC generates a component replacement list identifying the component that currently has the highest probability of failure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the maintenance and repair of computer systems, and more particularly to the use of failure analysis to diagnose and correct computer system failures.
2. Background of the Related Art
Failure analysis is a process of analyzing a system, such as a computer system, to attempt to determine the cause of a failure or to prevent a failure from occurring or recurring. Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) is a technology developed by IBM for anticipating the failure of components of a computer system. According to PFA, some key physical parameters of a hardware device (e.g. the head flying height of a hard disk drive) can be measured and compared against predefined thresholds to predict if failure of the device is imminent. The hardware device can generate an alert in advance of (e.g. up to 48 hours prior to) a likely failure of the device. This advance notice of potential failure gives the system administrator ample warning to either hot-swap the component (if applicable) or schedule downtime for the component to be changed or refreshed.
Cost considerations limit the extent to which failure analysis tools and methods can be implemented on some computer systems. For example, the cost constraints of desktop workstation blades in a blade server environment may limit or preclude the use of hardware required to implement some of the predictive failure analysis tools, such as counting single-bit memory errors, parity errors on hard disk drive memory reads, or memory bit drop-outs in a flash device with more than 100,000 write/erase cycles. Additional hardware and associated cost are required for each PFA function. To be cost competitive with stand-alone workstations, this additional cost is prohibitive.

Failure analysis based on time-varying failure rates

International Business Machines Corporation


A catheter insertion device is provided for positioning and inserting a catheter, particularly a midline catheter into a patient. The insertion device includes an actuator assembly movable with respect to a housing for deploying the catheter over a needle. A step-wise movement of the actuator advances a catheter assembly, including the catheter, in stages over the introducer needle. An indexing finger of the catheter assembly engages the actuator body during distal advancement of the actuator, and deflects as the actuator is moved proximally. The device further includes a lockout device such as a button, collar, slider, or tab, which allows movement of the catheter relative to the needle but prevents advancement of the catheter to the first stage of the step-wise movement.

Midline catheters are generally used for parenteral nutrition, intravenous ("IV") fluid replacement and the administration of analgesics and antibiotics. Midline catheters are inserted at the bedside using sterile techniques and can remain in place for several weeks. The insertion (venipuncture) can be performed above and below the antecubital fossa in the cephalic, basilic, or brachial veins. The catheter tip is advanced 3 inches to 8 inches with the tip terminating below the axilla and proximal central veins.
The potential advantages of a midline catheter are the reduced frequency of repeated venipunctures for labs/restarts, decreased incidence of catheter related infections, extended implant/indwell duration, improved clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and associated cost savings. Placing the catheter tip in the larger diameter veins in the upper arm compared to the smaller veins provide improved drug delivery therapy and hemodilution. Midline catheters can be used for infusing contrast media at higher flow rates that are typically done by central venous ("CV") catheters such as peripherally inserted central venous catheter ("PICC") applications.
Prior midline catheter devices typically include an integral guidewire. The guidewire is advanced through the lumen of the needle and into the vein after the needle accesses the vein. Often an ultrasonic probe or imaging device is used to locate the needle in the desired location. The catheter is then advanced over the guidewire into the vein. The needle and guidewire are then detached and separated from the catheter which remains in place in the vein.
These prior devices generally require the guidewire to be fully deployed by moving a sliding member into a locked/detent position. To advance the catheter, the user must put down the ultrasonic probe and use both hands to advance the catheter and complete the final steps of the procedure. This results in a loss of the visualization of the vein and the location of the catheter relative to the vein.
Catheter placement and advancement is dependent on holding the device in a stationary position with one hand while manipulating the catheter advancing mechanism in the other hand without the use of the ultrasonic imaging to assist in proper placement of the catheter. Once the catheter is fully advanced, the user must re-position the ultrasonic probe to re-establish the image and confirm proper placement of the catheter. The operation requires a series of sequential steps with specialized training. The additional exchange of hand positions from the ultrasonic probe to the device and back to the probe adds complexity to the procedure and risks the success of the proper placement of the catheter.
What is needed, therefore is a catheter placement device that streamlines the steps involved in catheter placement, as well as being operated with a single hand, while still providing the same functionality of current catheter placement devices.


A method for transmitting a predetermined sequence of data files on a data bus is described. The data files are stored on a plurality of memory drives. Each of a first type of data file is stored on only one of the memory drives. Each of a second type of data file is stored on at least two of the memory drives. Upon encountering a first data file of the first type in the predetermined sequence, it is determined whether the corresponding memory drive is available. Where the corresponding memory drive is available, the first data file is transmitted on the data bus. Where the corresponding memory drive is not available, first data corresponding to the first data file is written to a temporary data file. The first data file is then transmitted on the data bus after the corresponding memory drive becomes available. Upon encountering a second data file of the second type in the predetermined sequence, the second data file is transmitted on the data bus.

The present invention relates to the playback of audio and video data. More specifically, the present invention provides a means by which audio and video data may simultaneously be presented in a retail environment using a single, inexpensive hardware platform such as, for example, a personal computer (FC) or its equivalent.
Currently, retail locations employ both audio and video presentations for a variety of purposes. For example, such presentations are employed to promote specific products, e.g., televisions, or to provide in-store advertising. Audio and video presentations may also be used to provide a particular ambience. In the typical case, the majority of the content presented in this manner to consumers comprises either entertainment content or commercial content such as, for example, so-called "infomercials".
A variety of techniques are currently employed to effect playback of these audio and video presentations. Some systems employ conventional audio/video tape decks or laser disk players. In other systems, programming content is directly broadcast to the retail location via satellite. In the former case, more than one tape or disk player is necessary if, as is often the case, more than one stream of audio and/or video data is to be presented. Moreover, the audio and video content itself is fixed in some medium, e.g., a video tape cassette or a laser disk, which necessitates interruption of the presentation flow when changes to the content are desired. In the latter case, the audio and video content may easily be changed on-the-fly by altering the data transmitted from the satellite. However, such a system is prohibitively expensive for the majority of retail concerns.
One currently available method for simultaneously presenting more than one stream of data is accomplished through the use of redundant and inexpensive drive (RAID) technology. RAID technology is employed by file servers in the context of local area networks (LANs) to enable several inexpensive hard drives to emulate a single large storage device in which multiple user may have simultaneous access to the same information. However, not only will the cost of such a system still be prohibitive for a significant number of retail concerns, it also represents an inefficient solution in that it provides far more computing "muscle" than is typically necessary for the intended application.
It is therefore apparent that there exists a need for an inexpensive audio and video playback system for retail locations which is capable of simultaneously presenting more than one stream of audio and video data while also providing the capability of altering the audio and video content without disrupting the presentation flow.

Method and apparatus for dynamically arranging information in a presentation sequence to minimize information loss


A no-clean soldering flux consists essentially of one or more halide-free, water soluble activators in an aggregate amount not exceeding about 5% by weight of the flux, a water soluble fluorinated surfactant in an amount not exceeding about 1% by weight of the flux, and water. The flux is substantially VOC-free and is particularly useful in a method of producing soldered printed wiring assemblies with minimal residual ionic contamination, so that post-soldering cleaning of the assemblies is unnecessary. The absence of significant amounts of VOC's and the elimination of post-soldering cleaning result in substantial environmental and production-related benefits.

This invention pertains generally to soldering fluxes and methods, and is more particularly concerned with a water soluble soldering flux and a method using the same, which offer significant environmental benefits as well as significant production-related advantages, especially in the manufacture of critical, high reliability electronic assemblies such as printed wiring assemblies.
Printed wiring assemblies are commonly produced in a process known as wave soldering, in which surfaces of a printed wiring board (printed circuit board) and of component leads and terminations to be soldered thereto are subjected to a solder wave which passes along the board and components mounted thereon. The solder wave contacts the surfaces to be soldered, and bonds and electrically connects them together. Prior to the actual soldering of such assemblies, a flux is ordinarily applied to the surfaces to be joined in order to chemically prepare the surfaces to receive the solder, as by removing oxides, so that a good electrical and mechanical connection will be established. Typically, the flux is applied in somewhat loosely controlled amounts by so-called foam fluxing, in which the board and mounted components are passed along a foaming bed of flux which deposits on the surfaces to be soldered. The fluxed assembly is pre-heated prior to soldering to volatilize the flux carrier from the surfaces.
Soldering fluxes used by the electronics industry in the wave soldering of printed wiring assemblies have traditionally contained ingredients which are detrimental to the environment and/or which necessitate the use of post-soldering cleaning agents which themselves present undesirable environmental risk. For example, typical activated rosin fluxes utilize volatile organic compound (VOC) carriers, such as alcohols, which pollute the environment. Such fluxes may also leave substantial post-soldering contaminant residues of an ionic nature (traces of flux and its decomposition and reaction products) which can eventually corrode and otherwise physically and electrically degrade electronic assemblies, resulting in circuit failure. Thus, particularly in the case of critical, high reliability assemblies, the removal of such residues has been essential. Cleaning has perhaps most commonly been accomplished by vapor degreasing using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) cleaning agents. The environmental hazards of CFC's, and particularly their recently understood harmful effects on the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer, have become a major worldwide concern.
As the environmental consequences of electronics production processes have become better understood, and in order to meet increasingly strict government regulations, the art has sought to avoid the above-described problems by developing alternative cleaning agents as well as by developing improved flux formulations which may be cleaned with safer, environmentally friendly cleaning agents, such as water.
For example, various water soluble fluxes have been proposed which may be cleaned by washing with water. While water cleaning is obviously preferable to CFC cleaning as a general proposition, prior water soluble fluxes have generally left much to be desired. For example, such fluxes have typically been formulated with substantial amounts of VOC solvents (commonly alcohols) and/or halide-containing activators. As noted earlier, VOC solvents are problematic from an environmental point of view. Halide-containing activators, on the other hand, are problematic in that they leave highly ionic, highly corrosive post-soldering residues which must be cleaned. More particularly, in the presence of humidity (water), the halides contained in such residues are known to act somewhat as catalysts in a regenerative corrosion reaction in which the halides complex with the metal (e.g., aluminum) of assembly components and are then regenerated by reaction of the halogenated complex with water, thereby becoming free to attack the metal again. Thus, so long as the humidity remains present (and humidity is, of course, almost always present in practice), the corrosion reaction may proceed unremittingly, ultimately resulting in circuit failure.

No-clean soldering flux and method using the same


A flow control valve includes a main body 1, bonnet 2, spring receiving portion 3, piston 4, spring 24, first diaphragm 27, first valve member 5, second valve member 6 and base plate 7, wherein an opening area of a hydraulic control portion composed of a valve element of the second valve member and a valve seat of the main body is changed according to a motion of the piston.

JP-A-6-295209 discloses a flow control valve.
Referring to FIG. 5, the flow control valve disclosed in JP-A-6-295209 includes: a main body 53 having an inlet passage 51 and outlet passage 52; a valve portion 54; and a valve element 57 having a first diaphragm portion 55 and second diaphragm portion 56. By the first diaphragm portion 55 and second diaphragm portion 56, the chamber of the main body 53 is divided into a first pressure chamber 58 and a second pressure chamber 59. Constant pressure directed inward is given at all times from the outside of the first pressure chamber 59 by utilizing compressed air. Further, constant pressure directed inward is given at all times by the spring 60 provided inside the second pressure chamber 59. The pressure receiving area of the first diaphragm portion 55 is larger than the pressure receiving area of the second diaphragm portion 56.
However, the valve device, in which the above diaphragms are used, is disadvantageous in that gas is transmitted through the diaphragms. Especially, in the case of a pipe line in which chemicals are used, corrosive gas is generated, by the chemicals, in some cases. It is well known that the thus generated corrosive gas is transmitted through the diaphragms and metallic parts arranged close to the diaphragms are corroded.
In the case of the flow control valve disclosed in the above official gazette, the spring 60 is arranged on a lower face of the second diaphragm portion 56. Therefore, in order to protect the spring 60 from the corrosive gas which has been transmitted through the second diaphragm portion 56, it is necessary to conduct coating on the spring 60 with PTFE and others. However, when coating is conducted on the spring 60, the spring constant of the spring 60 is changed by the coating thickness, which could be one of the reasons by which a difference is caused between the individual flow control valves.
In general, in the flow control valve, it is well known that control can be precisely conducted and the control performance can be enhanced when a change in the degree of opening of the valve is small with respect to a traveling distance of the valve element. In the case of the flow control valve disclosed in the above official gazette, when a change in the opening area of the hydraulic control passage is small with respect to a traveling distance of the valve element 57 in the axial direction, the flow control performance is enhanced. In order to reduce the change in the opening area with respect to the traveling distance of the valve element 57, it is necessary to design a valve portion 54 the diameter of which is small. Accordingly, it is necessary to design a rod, the diameter of which is small, for connecting the valve portion 54 with the first diaphragm portion 55. Further, it is necessary to design a rod, the diameter of which is small, for connecting the valve portion 54 with the second diaphragm portion 56.
In the flow control valve disclosed in the above official gazette, when the position of the valve 54 is adjusted by the pressure in the first pressure chamber 58, the opening area of the flow rate control passage 61 can be adjusted. On the other hand, whether or not the diaphragm portion is liable to be deformed depends upon the diameter of the diaphragm portion. Accordingly, the larger the diameter of the diaphragm is, the more linearly the pressure in the first pressure chamber 58 is changed with respect to the displacement of the valve portion 54 and the lower the hysteresis becomes. On the other hand, when the diameters of the first diaphragm portion 55 and the second diaphragm portion 56 are decreased, it becomes difficult for these diaphragm portions to be deformed, and the change in the pressure in the first pressure chamber 58 with respect to the displacement of the valve portion 54 becomes non-linear, and the hysteresis is increased.
That is, in order to enhance the hydraulic control performance of the flow control valve, it is preferable that the diameter of the valve portion 54 is decreased and the diameter of the diaphragm portion is increased.
In this case, when the diameter of the first diaphragm portion 55 is increased and the diameter of the valve portion 54 is decreased, the intensity of the force, which is caused by the pressure in the first pressure chamber 58 and pushes the first diaphragm portion 55 downward, is increased, and the intensity of the force, which is caused by the pressure of the downstream side fluid and pushes the first diaphragm portion 55 upward, is also increased. Therefore, in order to keep the balance of the force, the intensity of the upward force generated by a repulsive force of the spring must be increased.
At this time, these forces are received by a rod for connecting the upper and lower end faces of the valve portion 54 with the first diaphragm portion 55 and the second diaphragm portion 56. This rod is compressed in the axial direction at all times. Therefore, it is necessary to give attention to the mechanical strength of the rod. Especially when the hydraulic fluid is a corrosive fluid of high temperature, the rod is usually made of PTFE, the chemicals-resistance-property of which is high. However, PTFE is characterized in that the mechanical strength is low and, further, PTFE creeps easily. Accordingly, when the rod made of PTFE is used over a long period of time, it is deformed or buckled, and the hydraulic control performance of the flow control valve is deteriorated.

Asahi Organic Chemicals Industry Co., Ltd.


This invention provides a throat screen which can be placed in a dental patient's mouth during dental procedures, comprising a central porous area, with openings sufficiently numerous and of sufficient size to permit breathing through the mouth and draining of excess saliva into the throat, but small enough to prevent the passage into the throat of any debris produced during dental procedures, or small dental objects introduced into the dental patient's mouth during such dental procedures. The throat screen further comprising a rim which biases the screen against the inside of the mouth. The throat screen is preferably fabricated of plastic so as to make it economical to be disposable.

The practice of dentistry and dental or oral surgery frequently involves the production of small particles of debris in the patient's oral cavity, such as particles of dental amalgam or other restorative material, chips of teeth produced during extraction of a tooth or the drilling or other preparation of a tooth for restoration, or bits of debris removed from teeth during dental hygiene treatment. Furthermore, during dental procedures, small objects such as crowns, inlays, bridges, implants, etc. must often be introduced into the oral cavity. It is generally necessary that the dental patient be in an almost supine position, with the head back and the mouth opened wide, to allow the dental practitioner full access to the patients mouth and teeth. In this position, small particles produced in the oral cavity, or objects which fall or are accidentally dropped in the oral cavity may fall down the patient's throat and either be ingested into the esophagus or aspirated into the trachea.
Aspiration into the respiratory tract or lungs is particularly dangerous, since any foreign object carries with it the danger of infection and/or toxic or allergic reaction. Ingestion may also pose significant risk, since many of the products used in restorative dentistry may be toxic or allergenic in their uncured state, or as in the case of dental amalgam scrapings, present a long-term toxicity risk.
Dental practice regulations in most states require that a patient who has aspirated or swallowed a dropped crown, inlay, bridge, etc. undergo x-ray examination to determine where the object has lodged, and an ingested or inhaled dropped dental object may require follow-up medical care to insure against further medical problems.
Accidental ingestion or inhalation of dropped dental objects by a patient also adds significantly to the malpractice liability of the dental practitioner.
Furthermore, such objects as crowns, inlays and bridges cost hundreds of dollars to make, so that, even absent any harmful medical complications, accidental loss of these objects results in considerable economic loss to patient or dental practitioner and/or the distasteful task of recovering the object after it passes through the gastrointestinal tract.
For many dental procedures, dental dams, consisting of a thin sheet of latex rubber or similar material extending over the patient's mouth and clamped in a frame held against the patient's face, are used to prevent dental debris or objects from being swallowed or inhaled. Such dental dams are illustrated in Bolbolan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,673.
Typically, a hole or holes are cut or punched in the dental dam to permit one or more teeth to protrude through the dam, and a portion of the dam is inserted into the oral cavity and clamped around the teeth to be isolated. While such dams are effective in preventing ingestion or inhalation of dental debris or objects, and offer the added advantage of isolating teeth to be treated from the oral cavity, they are awkward and time-consuming to attach, confining to work in, and are poorly tolerated by many patients. The dams interfere with the patient's ability to breath through the mouth, which many patients feel the need of doing under the stress of a dental procedure, and makes it difficult to swallow. As a result, such dams can produce sensations of claustrophobia or choking in many patients. Such dental dams are generally used only for procedures requiring isolating one or more teeth from the oral cavity.
Intraoral dental dams to avoid some of the difficulties in the use of conventional dental dams are taught inter alia by Swan-Gett et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,790; by Gray, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,491; and by Bolbolan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,673. The dams taught in these patents would appear to be effective in preventing ingestion or inhalation of dental debris or objects, but would not allow breathing through the mouth. The aforementioned dams would also prevent excess saliva from draining from the mouth into the throat, where it could be swallowed.
Krygier et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,491, teaches the use of a perforated throat shield held at the opening of the throat by a support member. The throat shield of Krygier et al is designed to prevent ingestion or inhalation of dental debris or objects while allowing the patient to breathe through the mouth, and also allows excess saliva to drain from the mouth to the throat. The throat shield of Krygier et al is complex, and would be relatively expensive to produce as a disposable device.
Neither the throat shield of Krygier et al nor the intraoral dental dams of Swan-Gett et al, Gray, or Bolbolan have found any substantial acceptance among dental practitioners, and neither the throat shield of Krygier et al nor any of the intraoral dams described appear to be commercially available.
In current dental practice, careful practitioners use common 2″ by 2″ gauze squares, partially unfolded to 4″ by 4″, placed in the back of the mouth to prevent ingestion or inhalation of dental debris or objects. These gauze squares allow the patient to breathe through the mouth, and allow excess saliva to drain into the throat. However, they quickly get wet with saliva, leading to collapse and lack of coverage of the throat, so they must be replaced frequently during dental procedures.
There is a need for a simple device which will prevent the ingestion or inhalation of dental debris or objects while allowing the patient to breathe freely through the mouth, and which will allow excess saliva to drain into the throat where it may be swallowed as often as the patient wishes. The device should be inexpensive, so that it may be disposable, to avoid the necessity for sterilization after use or the risk of transmitting disease.
The present invention provides such a device.


A hanger assembly particularly useful for hanging objects on a masonry wall includes a body for receiving case hardened nails and having attached thereto by a frangible connection one end of a handle which can be broken away from the body after the nail has been driven into the wall. A second hanger body can be connected to the opposite end of the handle.

The present inventor has previously created, manufactured and sold a highly successful wall hanger particularly designed for use for hanging objects on masonry walls. The hanger comprises a cylindrical body of molded plastic having flanges at either end and a central bore extending from an open end at the front face of the body into the body where the bore terminates short of its rear face. The bore is designed to frictionally receive and guide a case-hardened, headed nail as it is hammered into the masonry which may be brick, concrete, cement, stone or any similar substance. For proper guidance of the nail, the body must be held with its rear face against the wall as the nail is driven into the wall. It is dangerous to hold the body in place with the fingers while the nail is driven since several quite strong hammer blows are required and almost invariably the hammer does not hit true and slips to one side which can seriously injure the user's fingers. In that prior system, which is still enjoying marked commercial success, I devised a separate handle made of plastic having at one end open jaws, which snapped around the hanger body between the flanges. Thus the user grasped the handle at a position remote from the hanger body and was safe from being struck as the nail was driven into the wall. This system works extremely well but a significant problem manifested itself in that the handle was easily lost and without it, it was so dangerous to hammer a nail into a masonry wall that remaining hangers were unused. One could hold a hanger in place with needle nosed pliers but should the hammer slip and strike the pliers, the user's fingers were injured almost as badly as if struck directly by the hammer.
Thus an object of the invention is to provide a masonry wall hanger which has an integral handle molded to the hanger body but with a frangible connection which permits the ready separation of the handle from the hanger body after the nail has been driven fully into the wall.
It is another object of the invention to provide a hanger body at each end of the handle whereby a single handle serves two hangers.
Still another object of the invention is to provide two different types of hangers at the opposite ends of the handle, one, for example, being designed for hanging heavy objects, such as a relatively large picture or a mirror, on the wall and the other for hanging small objects.
A further object is to provide a cap for a multi-nail hanger to cover the nail heads.
Other objects and their attendant advantages will become apparent as the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A system and method are provided for communicating TDM communications through a packet switch fabric. The method comprises: accepting native TDM frames; converting the native TDM frames to fabric-cellified TDM frames; differentiating the cells of each frame into time slots; interleaving the frame time slots; TDM scheduling the interleaved frame time slots; and, routing the interleaved frame time slots between input port cards and output port cards on backplane data links through an intervening crossbar. TDM scheduling the interleaved frame time slots includes: an input port card ingress memory subsystem (iMS) receiving a first TDM configuration schedule including interleaved frame time slots cross-referenced to backplane transmission times; and, an output port card egress MS (eMS) receiving a second TDM configuration schedule including interleaved frame time slots cross-referenced to egress channel transmission times. Then, the routing is performed in response to the TDM schedules.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to packet communications switching and, more particularly, to a cut-through packet routing system and that can support time division multiplexed (TDM) traffic as well as packet traffic.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is industry demand for integrated circuits (ICs) switching systems that can be easily scaled for Network Access, the Network Edge, or a Core Switch Router, at the high end. SCSA (Signal Computing System Architecture) defines a switch fabric to be the facility for connecting any two (or more) transmitting or receiving Service Providers.
FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram of a general switch fabric system (prior art). Traffic enters the system on the ingress side (the left side of the figure). Traffic exits the system on the egress side (the right side of the figure). The port card ingress and egress structures are sometimes subdivided into channels and subchannels. The packet headers specify a required destination port card, channel, and subchannel. The system must synchronously route each ingress packet to the correct egress destination.
Packets are converted into frames by ingress traffic managers (iTMs). A frame is a logical unit of data, which is often a small piece of a much larger data set such as a file or image. The iTMs feed the ingress side of the fabric. The switch fabric might convert the frame format to a "native" format, and then on egress, convert the data back into the TM frame format before sending the data to the egress traffic managers (eTMs). If the frames are fixed size (for example: 53 bytes, 64 bytes, or 80 bytes), the frames are often called cells.
Protocol Specific Vs. Protocol Agnostic
A switch fabric can be protocol specific or protocol agnostic. An example of a protocol specific switch fabric would be a system designed and optimized specifically for asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) traffic. Another example would be a switch that handles only TCP/IP traffic. The obvious disadvantage of a switch fabric hardwired to handle a specific protocol is lack of flexibility. Service providers want to sell services to a variety of customers in various industries. Protocols vary from industry to industry.
Even within one protocol type, there can be protocol upgrades. For example, TCP/IP, the machine language of Internet routers, now runs primarily "IPv4." This protocol, successful as it has been, has a lack of available addresses, poor security features, and no "quality of service" (QoS) provisions. The next generation Internet protocol is "IPv6." It provides solutions to these limitations.
A protocol agnostic switch fabric works equally well with all protocol types, however, the traffic manager must be responsible for recognizing specific protocol types. The disadvantage of a protocol agnostic switch fabric is that it may be more complicated, and perhaps slower than a switch fabric dedicated to a particular protocol.
Packet Striping Vs. Single Link Per Packet
The simplest way for a traffic manager to transmit a packet into a switch fabric is to transmit the packet serially along one line. Striping is a way of achieving higher bandwidth by transmitting a single packet across multiple ingress/egress lines. For example, a TM can transmit a packet into a switch fabric eight times as fast if the packet is sliced into eight pieces (stripes) by the TM, and conveyed into the fabric along 8 parallel lines simultaneously. The fabric captures the packet in memory, routes it to the required egress destination, and slices the packet into 8 parallel lines before transmitting the packet to the egress TM.
The upside to packet striping is the potential for lower latency. There are several negative aspects of packet striping:
if one of the links is damaged (1 of 8 in the example above), the entire channel is out of service, degrading fault tolerance; and,
the interface between the TM and switch fabric is more complicated. Circuitry must be used to slice the packet into stripes and reassemble it into packets.
Single-Cell Packet Vs. Multi-Cell Packets
Many switch fabrics now deployed and passing revenue traffic, especially in wide area networks (WANs), use asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) packets. ATM packets are single-cell packets, with a fixed cell size of 53 bytes, 48 bytes of which is the information payload. The ATM specification evolved in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was then believed that variable length (multi-cell) packets would be too difficult to implement at rates needed for wire-speed traffic. The single-cell solution was a compromise that would work for voice data, video data, multimedia data, email data, file data, etc. With a fixed frame size, switch designs are simplified and ultimately faster.
However, files are better sent in large frames. Voice switching performs better with small bursts of data, corresponding to analog-to-digital converter time slots. Large frames and concomitant switching latencies can render a switch useless for most 2-way voice applications. Voice communications require low latency (time delay). Since ATM had to work for all network data, the small payload (voice) requirements prevailed at the expense of the large frame applications.
For large frames or packets it is much more efficient to establish a path from an ingress port card to the required egress destination, and then leave this path undisturbed until the packet is completed. With single cell packets, the ingress port card must bid for, accept grants, and then schedule each cell of a multi-cell packet.
There are also Frame Relay switch fabrics. Frame Relay is a single-cell protocol, albeit with frame size ranging from 6 to 4096 bytes. Such switch fabrics have been deployed and passing revenue traffic since the early 1990s. These switch fabrics have generally not been used for voice data because of the large latency. Only highly compressed voice traffic works well over frame relay. Voice-over-frame relay was added as an afterthought by network engineers. Frame relay excels at data communications such as local area network internetworking (LAN-to-LAN). Such communications are very high speed and bursty, with non-critical latency constraints.
Cut-Through Vs. Store-and-Forward
The conventional method of switch fabric packet routing is called Store-and-Forward. In this method, the switch fabric accepts an input packet and buffers the packet on the ingress side of the fabric, making sure the packet was received intact, knowing the exact number of cells in the packet. The problem with the store-and-forward method is the added latency of buffering the packet. In Cut-through Packet Routing (CPR), a switch fabric is able to send the incoming packet cells to the correct egress port as soon as the destination address is known.
Memory-Based Vs. Arbitrated Crossbar
A switch fabric can use memory-based crossbars or arbitrated crossbars. A memory-based crossbar is sometimes called a "shared memory switch." Ingress packets flow from the port cards into a huge memory bank, which serve as the switch. From the memory bank, the destination address is determined from egress port destination information in the cell headers. The problem with these switch fabrics is that they become prohibitively expensive and large from all the required high-speed memory. Such fabrics cannot be used to reach terabit total switching speeds with technology available today.
Packet Vs. Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
As noted by John Sotir, in "Stretch Your TDM Network to Meet Next-Generation Needs", Communication Systems Design, March 2003, pp. 27-29, TDM is an established international standard, where voice is sampled (digitized) 8,000 times per second. The results are carried as 8-bit data samples, resulting in the well-known, 64-kbit/second bandwidth for an uncompressed voice call. Because this is a universal technique, it is possible to call anywhere in the world from virtually any telephone device and have the call go through with what is now perceived as excellent quality. To provide the broad reach and interoperability demanded by customers, communications systems, whether wireless telephony or Internet Protocol telephony (voice over IP), require some type of device to interface to TDM networks.
When 64-kbit/s voice streams reach central offices and switching stations, they are multiplexed onto single channels of communications, preserving the 125-microsecond time slots, or frames, required by a sampling rate of 8,000 Hz. These "single channels" have grown dramatically in the recent past from T1/E1 connections (1.5/2.0 Mbits/s) to OC-3, OC-12 and OC-48 connections.
Various types of communications equipment today are under development to bring next-generation TDM systems up to the higher capacity and performance levels needed to meet next-generation demands. The equipment includes pure TDM devices, such as remote-access servers, large TDM gateways, medium to large central-office TDM switches, digital cross connects, mobile switching centers, access concentrators and servers, as well as devices (such as voice-over-IP gateways, multiservice access platforms, media gateways and digital-loop carriers) that straddle the circuit-switched-to-packet-switched divide.
The heart of a TSI (Time Slot Interchange) consists of the switching fabric that performs the nonblocking switching function, a memory block for the time slot data, and a separate memory for the switching configuration. In some TSI configurations, the interchange fabric will be able to switch any of the 147,456 possible incoming time slots to any of the 16,384 possible outgoing time slots, addressing the capacity issue. The interchange fabric performs this switching function without regard to the physical link from which the time slot was taken, a fact that allows the TSI to be called a time-space switch.
Prior art attempts in using TDM switches to pass packet traffic have been done, but with drawbacks. Packet traffic is "bursty," meaning it is transmitted in brief uneven spurts. Allocating TDM time slots and trunk lines can waste bandwidth and is also expensive. The TDM circuits must wait idle until a burst of packet traffic comes along, and then return to the idle state. The guaranteed exact arrival time of TDM is not needed for the majority of packet traffic types. TDM provides a costly resource of a fixed path, of known bandwidth and delivery time, through the public switched traffic network (PSTN). Packet traffic does not need this expensive resource.
Many conventional attempts in using packet switches to handle TDM traffic have also fallen short. Some of these drawbacks are as follows: Prior art packet fabrics introduce too much processing latency for TDM. The total one-way latency for PSTN networks should be less than 250 milliseconds. Much of this time is needed for point-to-point transmission delay which cannot be avoided. The actual switching should therefore add nearly negligible latency.
Many conventional packet fabrics introduce too much delay jitter to the PSTN circuit. For voice communications, the arrival times of speech must be consistent. So, if point-to-point one-way transmission delay is 200 milliseconds, the voice signals should arrive at 200 milliseconds plus or minus 10 milliseconds, consistently. Conventional packet fabrics may introduced delay jitter of plus or minus 100 milliseconds, which is unacceptable for voice.
Some earlier attempts in using packet switches to handle TDM traffic have also lacked a TDM grooming capability. Grooming is the process in which a switch consolidates or segregates traffic for efficiency. TDM grooming would include the capability of "combing" the incoming TDM traffic into orderly bundles, organized as a function of destination and required bandwidth.
To get around these problems, conventional packet fabrics must dedicate some entire crossbars to packet traffic, and other entire crossbars to TDM traffic. Such a solution can be wasteful of crossbar resources. It would be preferable to be able to allocate any desired number of links in a packet fabric to TDM traffic, without the excessive latency or delay jitter problems described above.
It would be advantageous if a switch fabric could simultaneously manage both packet and TDM traffic.
It would be advantageous if a switch fabric could efficiently switch both packet and TDM traffic.

System and method for communicating TDM traffic through a packet switch fabric


An image sensor that has one or more pixels within a pixel array. The pixels are arranged within a plurality of rows within the array. Each row of the pixel array can be selected by a row decoder in response to an edge of a control signal. The control signal may be one of a plurality of signals generated by a processor coupled to the image sensor. The processor can control the exposure time of the pixels by varying the control signals. The control signals may also have an embedded narrow pulse that is used to determine the location of a “window” in the pixel array.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of semiconductor image sensors.
2. Background Information
Photographic equipment such as digital cameras and digital camcorders contain electronic image sensors that capture light for processing into a still or video image, respectively. There are two primary types of electronic image sensors, charge coupled devices (CCDs) and complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. CCD image sensors have relatively high signal to noise ratios (SNR) that provide quality images. Additionally, CCDs can be fabricated to have pixel arrays that are relatively small while conforming with most camera and video resolution requirements. A pixel is the smallest discrete element of an image. For these reasons, CCDs are used in most commercially available cameras and camcorders.
CMOS sensors are faster and consume less power than CCD devices. Additionally, CMOS fabrication processes are used to make many types of integrated circuits. Consequently, there is a greater abundance of manufacturing capacity for CMOS sensors than CCD sensors.
To date there has not been developed a CMOS sensor that has the same SNR and pixel pitch requirements as commercially available CCD sensors. Pixel pitch is the space between the centers of adjacent pixels. It would be desirable to provide a CMOS sensor that has relatively high SNR while providing a commercially acceptable pixel pitch.
The image sensor is typically connected to an external processor and external memory. The external memory stores data from the image sensor. The processor processes the stored data. The data includes one or more images generated by exposing the pixels for a predetermined time interval. The exposure time of the pixels is typically controlled by an internal clock(s) of the image sensor.
The exposure time of a picture frame is established by a word written into an exposure time register. Changing the exposure time requires writing new data into the register and then reading the data. In video and fast successive still photo shots this technique may create confusion regarding the exposure time of incoming pixel data, thereby creating instability in the system. It would be desirable to provide processor control of the exposure time of the pixels that improves stability and does not require an undesirable number of pins and signals.
Camera or camcorder products typically have an auto-focus function. To increase the speed of an auto-focus cycle the camera may be designed to process only a "window" of the pixel array. The auto-focus routine may require the window to move around the pixel array of the image sensor. It would be desirable to provide processor control of the window data in a manner that minimizes the pin count and number of signals required for the image sensor.

CMOS image sensor with processor controlled integration time


A method of exchanging data in a communications network is provided. A control channel channelization code is assigned for transmitting user specific data channel allocation information to a particular mobile station (MS). The data channel allocation information indicates which part of the transmission time interval (TTI) available for data can be used by that particular MS. The control channel channelization code is shared in a TDMA fashion between the MSs during the TTI in a proportion equal to that in which the data channel channelization code is shared between the MSs such that each MS is allocated a share of the control channel channelization code in that part of the TTI. The control channel channelization code is then transmitted in a part of the TTI corresponding to that in which the data channel channelization code is transmitted for a particular MS.

The demand for higher data rates and the growth of mobile broadband services continues to push the need to advance HSPA (high speed packet access) technology.
For example, 3GPP HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access) with Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission has been defined in 3GPP Release 7 to enable a 28 Mbps data rate. The combination of MIMO and 64QAM provides a 42 Mbps in Release 8 and in Release 9, dual cell HSDPA and MIMO and 64 QAM are defined to enable 84 Mbps. Release 10 will be approaching even higher data rates with 168 Mbps being achievable by having four carriers and MIMO. With the increased data rates, the buffer sizes in the devices (user equipment or UEs) also increase when the delay is unchanged.
As the data rates keep increasing in the future, the resulting buffers will grow even more and earlier solutions employed in HSPA will not be able to reduce the resulting latency/delay.
Therefore a solution is required for HSPA networks, which increases efficiency and reduces delay when the data rates, and therefore the size of the buffers, increase.

Channelization code sharing between multiple users


A computer system increases the efficiency with which billing codes may be generated based on a chart, such as a medical chart. The computer system provides the chart to a computer-assisted coding (CAC) module, which produces an initial set of billing codes and an initial assessment of the accuracy and/or completeness of the codes. The computer system decides whether to send the initial set of billing codes to an initial human reviewer. If the computer system sends the initial set of billing codes to the initial human reviewer, then the initial human reviewer reviews the chart and the output of the CAC module, and attempts to fix errors in the CAC output. The system provides the chart and the current (initial or modified) codes to a final human reviewer, who may be more highly skilled than the initial human reviewer, for final verification and modification.

After physicians and other healthcare professionals (referred to herein generally as "healthcare providers") provide healthcare services to patients, bills for such services must be generated. The process of generating such bills based on the set of clinical reports associated with a patient encounter (referred to as a "chart") can be a tedious, time-consuming, risky, and error-prone process for a variety of reasons, such as:                Laws, regulations, and institutional policies prescribe that bills satisfy various rules, such as rules requiring that each item in a bill be justified by adequate supporting evidence. Such rules can be difficult to identify and interpret, and the required evidence can be difficult to find and evaluate.        Bills must be encoded using billing codes specified by technical billing code standards such as ICD-9, ICD-10, and CPT. Such standards can be difficult to understand and apply in particular situations in light of the services provided and the available evidence. Furthermore, as older standards (such as ICD-9) are replaced with newer, more complex, standards (such as ICD-10), the difficulty of understanding the applicable standards is increasing.        Bills often must be generated quickly due to time and budget constraints.        The error rate in bills, including both false positives and false negatives, must be kept to a minimum. False positives (including items in bills that should not be included, such as because they are not justified by available evidence) may violate applicable laws, regulations, and/or institutional policies. False negatives (failing to include items in bills that should be included) lead to lost revenue for the healthcare provider.        Billing codes are typically generated by specialized "billing coders," who must be trained to select the appropriate codes based on the documentation provided by the healthcare providers. Training a billing coder can be time-consuming and expensive, and even expert billing coders can make mistakes.
These problems are likely to be exacerbated by the transition to the ICD-10 billing code standard. Expert billing coders, who are fluent in ICD-10, are in short supply and are unlikely to meet the demand for such billing coders.
In order to address this shortfall in supply of expert billing coders, many healthcare providers have either been outsourcing their coding process to service companies or attempting to automate the coding process using Computer Assisted Coding (CAC) technology.
Both outsourcing and automation have associated drawbacks. For example, because the ability to perform billing coding accurately and completely directly impacts the cash flow and overall profitability of healthcare organizations, such organizations are reluctant to rely on an outsourced workforce. Another drawback of outsourced billing coding is that the ultimate responsibility, and legal liability, for the accuracy of billing coding lies with the healthcare organization, few (if any) outsourced billing coding providers are willing to indemnify a sizable healthcare organization against liability incurred as the result of billing coding errors. As a result, even healthcare organizations that are willing to outsource may not be able to outsource all of their billing coding needs to billing coding providers who can satisfy exacting quality and legal requirements.
CAC solutions have their own problems. CAC solutions apply Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to compute the most likely set of billing codes from a set of clinical reports before a human coder reviews the chart. Some CAC solutions can, in addition, create confidence scores that estimate the likelihood that any given code, or the complete coding of a chart, is correct. Some CAC solutions provide the option of bypassing the human coder completely, for at least a subset of charts, if the chart-level confidence score is sufficiently high. The state of the art of such fully-automated coding, however, is not sufficiently accurate to be relied upon in practice for anything but the most simple charts. More complex charts, which are the norm in practice, cannot be accurately coded using fully-automated coding. As a result, in practice it is necessary, in most cases, for a human coder to review the automatically-generated codes for accuracy and to revise such codes as necessary.
The promise of CAC solutions, even when the codes that they generate must be reviewed by a human coder, is to provide an increase in efficiency in comparison with a system that relies solely on human coders, by providing the initial set of codes for review quickly and accurately enough that the combination of generating codes automatically followed by human review and correction of those codes is more efficient and inexpensive than purely human code generation. In practice, however, CAC systems do not always increase productivity as much as is theoretically possible. Furthermore, deploying CAC systems requires a lengthy and labor-intensive tuning process to adapt the CAC technology to the idiosyncrasies of a healthcare provider. The result is that productivity during the tuning process can be impacted negatively, and the resulting overall productivity may be lower than if no CAC system were used at all.
What is needed, therefore, are techniques for overcoming the problems of conventional CAC systems, and for otherwise improving the efficiency of generating billing codes.

Hybrid human and computer-assisted coding workflow


A compression ignition internal combustion engine includes injectors, each of which injects fuel into a corresponding cylinder. An ECU determines target ignition timing based on engine operational information and adjusts fuel injection start timing and a fuel injection quantity of each injector based on the target ignition timing. The engine further includes an air/fuel ratio sensor, which senses an oxygen concentration of exhaust gas. The ECU corrects the target ignition timing based on the oxygen concentration, which is sensed with the air/fuel ratio sensor, with reference to a predefined relationship between the oxygen concentration and ignition timing for achieving a generally equal constant torque of the engine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system for a compression ignition internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, some compression ignition internal combustion engines, such as diesel engines, have direct fuel injection valves that inject fuel into corresponding cylinders. The fuel, which is injected from each fuel injection valve into the corresponding cylinder, is combusted together with intake air. In the above type of internal combustion engine, there are implemented multiple combustion modes, which have different fuel injection timings that are set in view of the engine output characteristics and exhaust gas characteristics. One of the fuel combustion modes is selected based on the rotational speed and the load of the engine. The fuel injection timing, the fuel injection quantity, the intake air quantity and the recirculation quantity of the exhaust gas through an exhaust gas recirculation system are controlled for each combustion mode. For example, in the conventional combustion, a premixed combustion period and a diffusion combustion period exist. In the premixed combustion period, the fuel and the air are mixed together during an ignition delay period, and then the premixed combustion of this air-fuel mixture takes place. In the diffusion combustion period, the injected fuel is immediately combusted right after the fuel injection. In contrast to the conventional combustion, in a lately developed premixed combustion, the control operation is performed such that the oxygen concentration is set to be a relatively low value due to supply of a large quantity of the EGR gas, and the ignition timing does not occur in the fuel injection period. In the following description, this widely known premixed combustion will be referred to as complete premixed combustion. Besides the complete premixed combustion, a semi-premixed combustion may be implemented in an intermediate range in an engine operational range between the complete premixed combustion and the conventional combustion, as shown in FIG. 2, to achieve smooth change between the complete premixed combustion and the conventional combustion. In the semi-premixed combustion, each of the oxygen concentration, the fuel injection timing and the fuel injection quantity are set to be a corresponding intermediate value between the corresponding value in the complete premixed combustion and the corresponding value in the conventional combustion.
During the operation of the engine, a change in the fuel injection system and a change in the air system show different responses relative to a change in its corresponding target. Specifically, this is due to the following differences between the fuel injection system and the air system. That is, in the fuel injection system, the fuel injection timing and the fuel injection quantity may be instantaneously adjusted by changing the fuel injection mode. In contrast, in the air system, an actuation delay of an actuator(s) and a delay in conduction of a flow may occur. Because of this, the balance between the fuel injection system and the air system is deteriorated at the time of changing the combustion mode, so that the characteristics of the exhaust gas may be deteriorated, and the shaft torque may be changed. This may cause a deterioration of the drivability of the vehicle.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Number 2005-48724 (corresponding to US 2005/0022517 A1) discloses a control method that addresses the above disadvantage. According to this control method, when a target value of an excess air ratio significantly changes, a ratio between an amount of change in the target value of the excess air ratio and a difference between the target value of the excess air ratio and an actual value of the excess air ratio is obtained. Based on this ratio, the fuel injection timing is corrected. FIG. 6A shows a way of correcting the fuel injection timing by applying the above control method in a case where the target value of the excess air ratio is changed at the timing ta. In FIG. 6A, the amount of change in the target value of the excess air ratio will be denoted by A1, and the amount of change in the target value of the fuel injection timing is denoted by B1. Furthermore, a difference between the target value of the excess air ratio and the actual value of the excess air ratio is denoted by A2, and a difference between the target value of the fuel injection timing and the actual value of the fuel injecting timing is denoted by B2. The fuel injection timing is corrected in a manner that satisfies a relationship of A1:A2=B1:B2.
The inventors of the present invention found a relationship between the excess air ratio (corresponding to oxygen information) and the fuel injection timing (corresponding to ignition timing) for achieving the generally equal constant shaft torque of the engine. FIG. 6B shows the relationship between the excess air ratio and the fuel injection timing for achieving the generally equal constant shaft torque where the control method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Number 2005-48724 is applied.
In FIG. 6B, a characteristic curve L3 indicates the relationship between the excess air ratio and the fuel injection timing for achieving the generally equal constant shaft torque before changing of the combustion mode from the conventional combustion to the complete premixed combustion, and a characteristic curve L4 indicates the relationship between the excess air ratio and the fuel injection timing for achieving the generally equal constant shaft torque after the changing of the combustion mode from the conventional combustion to the complete premixed combustion. As discussed above, the EGR quantity in the complete premixed combustion is larger than the EGR quantity in the conventional combustion, so that the characteristic curves L3, L4 differ from one another. The target value of the excess air ratio and the target value of the injection timing are located at a point D of the characteristic curve L3 before the timing ta, at which the combustion mode is changed from the conventional combustion to the complete premixed combustion. However, after the timing ta, the target value of the excess air ratio and the target value of the injection timing are located at a point E of the characteristic curve L4. As discussed above, the change in the air system is delayed from the change in the fuel injection system, so that the fuel injection timing is corrected to satisfy the relationship of the A1:A2=B1:B2. Thus, the excess air ratio and the fuel injection timing at the arbitrary timing tb are located at a point F, which is deviated from the characteristic curve L4 in the combustion mode after the changing from the conventional combustion to the complete premixed combustion. Therefore, the combustion is changed to have the different shaft torque that is different from the shaft torque before the changing of the combustion mode. As a result, the drivability of the vehicle is deteriorated.

Control system for compression ignition internal combustion engine


The polishing apparatus is capable of transferring a work piece to a top ring without moving the work piece from the center and capable of precisely polishing the work piece. The polishing apparatus has a transfer unit for transferring the work piece to the top ring. The transfer unit comprises: a guide member having a receiving section, which centers the work piece; a mounting table vertically moving with respect to the guide member, the mounting table having a mounting section, which receives the centered work piece; and a supporting mechanism supporting the mounting table and allowing the mounting table to move downward. The mounting table is relatively moved close to the top ring and presses the work piece onto the top ring so as to transfer the work piece to the top ring.

The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus for polishing work pieces, e.g., wafer.
Many types of polishing apparatuses are known.
An ordinary polishing apparatus has a polishing plate, whose upper face is covered with polishing cloth, and a top ring, which has a lower face for holding a work piece and presses a lower face of the work piece onto the polishing cloth. The polishing plate and the top ring are relatively moved so as to polish the lower face of the work piece.
Generally, the work piece is conveyed to a transfer unit by a robot hand, the transfer unit centers the work piece, and the top ring is moved to the transfer unit to receive the work piece.
A conventional polishing apparatus having a transfer unit is disclosed in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 11-347922.
The transfer unit comprises: a pusher stage having a supporting face, on which a work piece, e.g., a semiconductor wafer, will be mounted; an elevating unit for vertically moving the pusher stage; and a guide member, which is located in a periphery of the pusher stage and which has a guide face, which is a female-tapered face.
The semiconductor wafer is conveyed to the pusher stage by the robot hand and mounted onto the supporting face of the pusher stage. Then, the pusher stage is moved downward together with the wafer. The wafer enters the guide member, and an outer circumferential face of the wafer contacts the guide face of the guide member, so that the wafer can be centered. The pusher stage is moved upward, received the centered wafer and presses the centered wafer onto a lower face of the top ring, so that the wafer can be held by the top ring.
After polishing the wafer, the polished wafer is conveyed from the top ring to the transfer unit by the backward process, then the wafer is conveyed from the transfer unit to an external place by the robot hand.
However, in the conventional transfer unit, the work piece is moved from the pusher stage to the female-tapered guide face so as to perform centering of the work piece. When the work piece is transferred to the top ring, the pusher stage is moved upward so as to receive the work piece and press the work piece onto the top ring. Therefore, the centered work piece is vibrated while the pusher stage is moved toward the top ring, thereby the work piece will be easily moved from the center. If the work piece is moved or shifted from the center, the work piece will be damaged or broken.


An IC chip package and a chip-on-glass structure using the same are provided. The IC chip package includes an IC chip having a circuit surface, and plural copper (Cu) bumps formed on the circuit surface. Moreover, a non-conductive film (NCF) could be formed on the circuit surface to cover the Cu bumps. The chip-on-glass structure includes a glass substrate, plural electrodes such as aluminum (Al) electrodes formed on the glass substrate, and a conductive film formed on the electrodes. The conductive film contains a number of conductive particles. When the IC chip package is coupled to the glass substrate, the Cu bumps can be coupled to the corresponding electrodes via conductive particles.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an IC (Integrated circuit) chip package and its application, and more particularly to an IC chip package having Cu bumps and a chip-on-glass structure using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The electrical transfer between an IC chip and a glass substrate is normally implemented by metal bumps, and the existing metal bumps are formed by gold (Au). The metal bumps are formed during the packaging process. Actual drawings illustrating the methods and routes regarding the connection of metal bumps are obtained by the software of package design. The material and hardness of the metal bumps are restricted by the requirements of the packaging process. On the other hand, the material and hardness of the metal bumps have effect on the electrical performance of the metal bumps after having been connected to the glass substrate.

IC chip package and chip-on-glass structure using the same


Methods are disclosed for identifying and treating oil sand ores having degraded bitumen. This can be done by considering the location from which the ore is mined or its history, or by microscopic examination of a bitumen froth made from the ore, or by near-infrared spectroscopy. Ore which contains degraded bitumen is treated with at least 0.05 wt/wt % alkaline material, preferably 0.1 wt./wt % of such alkaline material, in the water addition step of a hot or warm water extraction process for the making of bitumen froth, such as the Clark process.

The oil sands located in northern Alberta, Canada contain heavy bitumen with a gravity of approximately 8 API, in concentrations of 6 to 14 wt. %. The Alberta oil sands form one of the world's largest known sources of oil.
A considerable amount of this resource is accessible by surface mining methods, and major mining of these oil sands takes place. However, the costs of extracting, treating and up-grading bitumen are high. Accordingly it is desirable to improve the process steps to maximize bitumen recovery from the oil sands which are mined.
Techniques for the surface extraction of bitumen from oil sands are well known in the industry. The oil sands are mined and crushed to form a crushed ore (called "ore" or "oil sand ore" in this application).
An established commercial method for the processing of oil sand ore is the hot or warm water extraction process. This is sometimes known as the "Clark Process", although many variants of it now exist. This extraction process treats the ore with steam or water or a mixture of the two with agitation in air to produce an aerated bitumen froth. The temperature of treatment varies, but is usually in the range of 40° C. to about 85° C. or higher. This process is sometimes called a "warm water" process when the water temperature is below about 50° C., and a "hot water" process when the temperature is higher, but both the warm and hot water processes will be described collectively in this application as a "hot water process". A typical composition of the bitumen froth from such a process (excluding the air which forms it into a froth) is approximately 60 to 65 wt. % bitumen, 30 to 40 wt. % water and 5 to 10 wt. % minerals. The minerals are present as small solid particles.
It is known to add sodium hydroxide (NaOH) along with the hot water or steam in the hot water bitumen extraction process. This is done when there is a high "fines content" (which is defined in the industry as the fraction of solid particles of less than 44 micrometers in size), or when there is a low bitumen content. Generally, if there is a fines content above about 10-15% by weight, some sodium hydroxide is added, and the greater the fines content, the greater the amount of sodium hydroxide which is added. Also, sodium hydroxide can be added to increase bitumen extraction when the ore contains only a small percentage of bitumen. Low bitumen content and high fines content are often found in the same ore. "Very high grade" ore (which is defined as ore containing more than 12% by weight of bitumen) or "high grade" ore (which is defined as ore containing 11-12% bitumen, do not have sodium hydroxide added to them during hot water bitumen extraction. The amount of sodium hydroxide present in commercial hot water bitumen extraction processes can vary from no sodium hydroxide at all (for rich ores containing a lot of bitumen and relatively small amounts of fines) to approximately 0.03 wt. % of sodium hydroxide based on the weight of the ore for very low-grade ores which contain little bitumen and large amounts of fines.
It is recognized in the industry that sodium hydroxide should be used as little as possible in the hot water treatment process, having regard to the need for controlling fines and extracting bitumen from poor ores. This is because sodium hydroxide addition increases the cost of the treatment process. Also, it is known that sodium hydroxide delays seriously the settling rate of tailings (the mixture of minerals, clay and water which is left over after extraction of the bitumen). This increases the difficulty of managing the disposal of the tailings. Also, it is found that addition of sodium hydroxide beyond a certain optimum level for any particular ore does not increase bitumen production: in fact, it may reduce it.
Although the role of sodium hydroxide in bitumen froth production is not well understood, a few studies have linked it to the production of natural surfactants. It has been said that aged bitumen may be deficient in surfactants, and sodium hydroxide could cause some to be generated. See articles by Schramm et al., (1984) AOSTRA Journal of Research, vol 1, page 10, and (1987) AOSTRA Journal of Research, vol 3, page 215. However, this work has not led to any method of identifying bitumen which is lacking in such surfactants, or to any practical process of treating such ores. Further, the amount of sodium hydroxide which is suggested in these articles for addition to high grade ore is low, being about 0.01 weight %.
Generally, oil sand treatment by the hot water bitumen extraction process is quite effective, and leads to good recovery of bitumen as bitumen froth. It is sometimes found, however, that, as the hot water process is running as a continuous ore treatment process, the bitumen froth output from it increases in density, because the ratio of mineral and water content in the froth increases markedly and the bitumen content decreases. This can lead to plugging up of the froth treatment equipment, such as centrifuges, and hence force the process to shut down. When the problem is not severe enough for a shutdown, it can still lead to reduced recovery of bitumen. Similarly, batch processes, even those running high or very high grade ores, can sometimes give rise to high density froth without any obvious reason.
Inspection of the ores which are implicated in the increased density problems in the hot water process does not give obvious indicia which are different from other ores. Many are high grade or very high grade ores. Sometimes, but not always, the ores show signs of oxidation (for example, elevated iron, calcium or magnesium content indicative of a oxidation of iron sulphide to iron sulphate). However many of the ores which give high densities of froth or low bitumen recoveries do not show these features.
The ores implicated in the increased density problems are not "poor" ores in the classical sense of the term. Their fines content and bitumen content do not differ significantly from other ores from the same ore body which process satisfactorily in the hot water process. For example, high density froth problems can occur even with ores having 14% bitumen content or more, which is extremely high grade ore. Typically, ore with this bitumen content would give a froth with under 10% mineral. Much higher mineral concentrations than this are observed with the increased density ores, leading to plugging of equipment.

Processing of oil sand ore which contains degraded bitumen


Various embodiments provide a method for processing encoded data bits transmitted over a lossy communication channel. In some embodiments, the method receives the encoded data bits over the communication channel, the encoded data bits including redundant data units; decodes the encoded data bits at an error correction decoder, wherein the recovery of lost data is implemented at the error correction decoder using at least one of the redundant data units; determining if at least one data bit is unable to be recovered due to the decoder finding a plurality of candidate bit values for the at least one data bit; receives information relating to the transmitter; analyzing the plurality of candidate bit values to exclude at least one of the candidate bit values for the at least one data bit using information relating to the transmitter; and resolves the at least one data bit based on the analysis.

There are many situations in which a data stream is transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver over a communication channel. A communication channel may exist in one (or more) of many different possible networks. For example, a communication channel may exist in the internet or in a wireless network such as a mobile telecommunications network. The data in a data stream may be divided into data packets for transmission over a communication channel. The protocol for dividing the data into data packets (e.g. the form of the headers of the data packets, and other such implementation details) may depend upon the nature of the communication channel on which the data is to be transmitted, e.g. the type of network through which the data packet is to be transmitted. The data may be encoded by an encoder prior to transmission from the transmitter and decoded by a decoder after reception at the receiver.
In an ideal system, the communication channel is lossless such that every data packet transmitted from the transmitter over the communication channel is received at the receiver. However, in real physical systems, the communication channel may be lossy, meaning that some of the transmitted data packets will be lost on the communication channel and as such will not be received at the receiver. This may be detrimental. Correction schemes can be used at the receiver to help recover at least some of the lost data packets.
As an example, forward error correction (FEC) is one correction scheme which can be used to combat packet loss in a communication channel.


A method for fabricating a potential barrier for a nitrogen-face (N-face) nitride-based electronic device, comprising using a thickness and polarization induced electric field of a III-nitride interlayer, positioned between a first III-nitride layer and a second III-nitride layer, to shift, e.g., raise or lower, the first III-nitride layer's energy band with respect to the second III-nitride layer's energy band by a pre-determined amount. The first III-nitride layer and second III-nitride layer each have a higher or lower polarization coefficient than the III-nitride interlayer's polarization coefficient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to polarization-induced barriers for nitrogen-face (N-face) nitride-based electronics.
2. Description of the Related Art
(Note: This application references a number of different publications as indicated throughout the specification by one or more reference numbers within brackets, e.g., [x]. A list of these different publications ordered according to these reference numbers can be found below in the section entitled "References." Each of these publications is incorporated by reference herein.)
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a wide bandgap semiconductor with multiple applications in electronics and optoelectronics. This material, and its alloys with aluminum (Al) and indium (In), presents two different faces when grown along the c-direction. FIG. 1 shows these two faces, or polarities, which are the Ga-face (0001) 100 and the N-face (000-1) 102, and the lattice positions of Ga 104 and N atoms 106. Most of the electronic and optoelectronic devices developed in this material until now have been fabricated on the Ga-face.
Recently, our group has exploited the use of N-face AlGaN semiconductors to develop new electronic devices with improved performance [1-7]. Some examples include depletion mode high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with lower gate current, and enhancement-mode HEMTs, etc.
However, there remains a need in the art for improved N-face nitride-based electronics, and methods of making the same. The present invention satisfies that need.

Polarization-induced barriers for N-face nitride-based electronics

The Regents of the University of California


The present invention provides a high speed digital data retiming apparatus, in which, in binary data bits transmitted at a high speed, the data can be retimed in a stable manner, even if there are present a static skew due to a delay difference between the retiming clock pulse and the data and a dynamic skew due to the characteristic variation according to time and temperature. Therefore, the present invention has the following advantages compared with the conventional apparatus. First, periodical and regular external clock pulses are delayed by means of a delaying section, so that system performance is independent of the pattern of data. Second, even if the data phases show a continuous difference (wandering) for more than a certain period of time, an elastic buffer absorbs the wandering, and therefore, no data loss is generated, with the result that the system is not put to a disorder condition. Third, even in the case where a metastable state occurs, its occurrence probability can be significantly reduced by utilizing logic, thereby making it possible to retime the data in stable manner.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for retiming high speed digital data, in which, in binary data bits transmitted at a high speed, the data can be retimed in a stable manner, even if there are present a static skew due to a delay difference between the retiming clock pulse and the data and a dynamic skew due to the characteristic variation according to time and temperature.
2. Description of the prior art
In the conventional digital system in which data are transmitted at a high speed, there are many cases in which the total system operates in synchronization with system clock pulse. In these cases, if the phases of the data and the clock pulse are not proper (that is, if the edges of the data and the edges of the clock pulse are not separated enough to satisfy the set-up time of a flip flop and a delay time), then a metastability condition occurs, and consequently, the data cannot be retimed in a stable manner.
In an attempt to solve the above described problem, a method for recovering clock pulse based on PLL (phase locked loop) structure has been developed, as can be found in C. P. Summer (British Patent 8,039,874), M. Belkin (U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,667), and C. R. Hogge (U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,459)!. Based on this method, the data can be retimed in a stable manner during a high speed data transmission. However, its constitution is generally complicated, and there are used analogue components such as a voltage controlled oscillator, a low pass filter and the like. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve a high density, and it is uneconomical.
In an attempt to overcome the above described disadvantages, another method has been proposed. According to this method, external clock pulse having 4 phases (0.degree., 90.degree., 180.degree. and 270.degree.) is generated to detect the edge portion of the data. Then, by utilizing this, a control signal is formed to select a delay data suitable for the phases of the external pulse, from among the data having sequential phase delays. In this method, however, since the clock pulse having four phases is used, the generation of the pulses becomes difficult as the frequency becomes high R. R. Cordell (IEEE journal of solid state circuits, vol 23, No. 2, 1988)!.
In order to solve this problem, only clock pulse having phases opposite to the phases of the external clock pulse is used to reduce the number of the clock pulse having different phases. In this case, since clock pulse having inverted phases is used, the timing margin of the system is reduced, and therefore, the overall operating frequency of the system is lowered R. R. Cordell (U.S. Pat. 4,821,296)!. In order to improve this, clock pulse having a plurality of phases is generated by utilizing a delay device, so that external clock pulse having a single phase may be used S. W. Lowery (U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,873)!.
FIG. 1 illustrates the constitution of the above described conventional binary data retiming apparatus. In this drawing, reference code 101 indicates an edge detector, 102 indicates an increment-decrement controller, and 103 indicates a D/DD register & multiplexer. The edge detector 101 delays the external clock pulse by using a delaying device which has many steps. Thus, external clock pulse having a plurality of phases is generated, and by utilizing these, data edges are detected. The increment-decrement controller 102 utilizes the edge detecting signals of the detected data so as to generate up/down control signals for controlling the D/DD register & multiplexer 103. The D/DD register & multiplexer 103 receives the up/down control signals for selecting data synchronized with the phase of the external clock pulse, the selected data being outputted through a multiplexer.
The above described method has the advantage that the clock pulse having a plurality of phases is not required. That is, it uses clock pulse of a single phase. However, like the methods described before above, the non-periodical random data are delayed by using a delaying device, and therefore, the system performance becomes data-pattern-dependent. Therefore, if the data phases show a continuous difference more than a certain period of time so as to depart (wander) from a predetermined delay limit, then an initialization has to be carried out. Therefore, a data loss is generated, and due to this, the system falls into a fault state.

High speed digital data retiming apparatus

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute