Switch circuitry is disclosed having a series stack of transistors coupled between first and second port terminals. A string of gate resistors having a common gate terminal is coupled to gates of the series stack of transistors. A bias control transistor has a bias control terminal and first and second current terminals. The second control terminal is coupled to a switch control terminal configured to receive on-state and off-state control voltages that transition the series stack of transistors between passing a radio frequency signal and blocking the radio frequency signal from passing between the first and second port terminals, respectively. A string of diodes is coupled between the common gate terminal and the first current terminal, and a common gate resistor is coupled between the common gate terminal and the switch control terminal. The diodes contribute to actively generating additional negative gate bias as RF power level increases.

Radio frequency (RF) switching devices are used in many applications, such as in wireless communication systems, to selectively pass an RF signal. Many switching devices include a series stack of field-effect transistors (FETs) to switch the RF signal. However, undesirably low levels of bias voltage applied to the gates of the FETs can cause insertion loss and/or cause undesirable switching effects. These undesirable effects cause reduced power handling by the switching device. Therefore, a new switch architecture that increases power handling by mitigating insertion loss and undesired switching of the FETs is needed.


A joint pack includes one or more phase members that utilize integrated standoff spacers that protrude and come into contact with opposing conductor plates to maintain a phase space between the phase members. The spacers are located along the insulating plates of the phase members away from the phase member's axial sleeves and protrude through apertures in the conductor plates disposed on the phase members, in which the standoff spacers also provide a barrier that prevents phase-conductors from being inserted too far within the phase space. The phase members include axial sleeves that fit within one another during assembly to form a nesting arrangement, thereby reducing the overall size of the joint pack while satisfying standards. The axial sleeves can be distinctively designed such that the phase members must be assembled in a predetermined order, with no components being omitted, to form the joint pack.

A bus assembly system typically includes two or more bus assembly sections, one or more joint packs or bus assembly connectors, as well as a plurality of plug-in units. Each bus assembly section includes one or more phase-conductors and a housing. For example, in a three-phase system, the bus assembly section may include three live phase-conductors, or three live phase-conductors and one neutral-conductor, depending on the type of system architecture being employed. To draw power, various plug-in units or electrical components may be directly connected to one or more plug-in connection sites spaced along the bus assembly sections. Each joint pack is used to physically and electrically connect two sections or sets of bus assembly sections together.
A requirement in assembling a joint pack is that all of the required phase members which make up the joint packs must be assembled correctly and in the correct order to ensure that the joint pack will operate effectively. Many existing joint packs include discrete spacer standoffs that are inserted between phase members to ensure that the required spacing between the phase members is satisfied. However, these spacer standoffs are additional components that are not part of the phase members themselves, and one common problem is that such spacers may be inadvertently omitted during the assembly of the joint pack. This omission may prove costly as the joint pack will not operate effectively if one or more spacers are left out during assembly.
A common problem in assembling such joint packs is that one or more phase members may be incorrectly oriented with respect to the other phase members. Another common problem is that a conductor plate of one or more phase members may be placed at the incorrect phase location (i.e. phase A, B, or C) when assembling the joint pack. Another problem occurs when a portion of a phase member, such as a conductor plate, is inadvertently omitted when assembling the joint pack. These types of errors may cause the joint pack to not able to be installed in a bus assembly system.
Yet another problem occurs when the existing joint pack is decreased in size to make the overall size of the joint pack more compact. In particular, as a result of decreasing the sizes of the individual phase spaces within the joint pack, an unintended change may occur in the amount of creepage and/or through-air clearance that occurs between the phase members, thereby rendering the joint pack no longer satisfactory for the particular creepage and clearance guideline standards for which it is intended to be used.
Thus, a need exists for an improved joint pack that satisfies one or more of these needs and solves these problems.


Provided are relatively higher-performance wire-type semiconductor devices and relatively economical methods of fabricating the same. A wire-type semiconductor device may include at least one pair of support pillars protruding above a semiconductor substrate, at least one fin protruding above the semiconductor substrate and having ends connected to the at least one pair of support pillars, at least one semiconductor wire having ends connected to the at least one pair of support pillars and being separated from the at least one fin, a common gate electrode surrounding the surface of the at least one semiconductor wire, and a gate insulating layer between the at least one semiconductor wire and the common gate electrode.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating the same. For example, example embodiments may relate to a wire-type semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same.
2. The Related Art
In the related art, as the integration density of semiconductor devices increases, a more restricted design rule may be applied to elements of the semiconductor devices. For example, in a semiconductor device requiring a large number of transistors, the gate length, which may be a standard design rule applied in the fabrication of a semiconductor device, may be short, and thus the channel length may be reduced. Such a reduction in the channel length of a transistor may cause short channel effects.
Short channel effects may make it difficult to control transistors, and thus an off-current of the transistors may increase. As a result, the reliability of the transistors, for example, refresh characteristics of a memory device using the transistors, may deteriorate. Transistors having a thin body structure have been researched in order to suppress short channel effects, which are problematic in conventional planar transistors, while simultaneously increasing operation current.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,664,582 by David M. Fried et al. discloses a Fin-FET and a fin memory cell. However, because the Fin-FET is manufactured using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, the manufacturing cost is high, and the entire fin may not be used as a channel region. Therefore, there may be a limit to increasing the operation current, i.e., the speed of a memory cell using the Fin-FET. For this reason, research on transistor structures having, for example, wire-type channels in which the entire fin can be utilized as a channel region, is being performed.

Wire-type semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating the same


A flexible hose which is formed by attaching a resin reinforcing coil member to a cylindrical body, the cylindrical body being composed of a nonwoven fabric layer which is formed by winding a nonwoven fabric tape spirally and connecting adjacent side end portions and an air-cut layer which forms on at least one side of the nonwoven layer. The nonwoven fabric tape and the reinforcing coil member are formed of heat-fusible resin materials, and the reinforcing coil member is fused with the nonwoven fabric layer in a body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible hose, and more particularly to a flexible hose which has high flexibility and expandability, the flexible hose being light weight and easy to handle and being able to form in long length. This flexible hose is suitable for air-conditioning duct.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a hose which is formed by winding a tape made of soft vinyl chroride spirally and connecting side end portions of the tape to form a cylindrical body and applying a reinforcing coil member made of hard vinyl chroride on the cylindrical body is often used as an air-conditioning duct hose, since this type of duct hose has high formability and requires low manufacturing cost. However, reducing a thickness of the cylindrical body is technically limited, and further, it is difficult to keep the hose compact when not in use, furthermore, it is difficult to handle because the weight of the duct hose is considerably heavy. Also, the use of vinyl chroride tends to be limited in recent global environment problem, because a combustion waste of vinyl chroride generates a noxious gas and is considered to be a cause of acid rain, and vinyl chroride itself is considered to be a cancerating substance.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-21326 mentions that a hose made of a synthetic fiber filament is used as a duct hose. However, although this hose has an advantage of light weight of a nonwoven fabric, since this hose is made by winding and connecting the nonvoven fabric into a cylindrical form, a long-length hose can not be produced, and further, a cylindrical body can not be kept stable because there is no reinforcing member for keeping the shape of the hose.


Markers are established in a data object to provide a means to refer to specified parts of the object. Each marker is established within the object by giving the location and length of the part of the object that is to be marked. The marker continues to mark that part of the object as changes are made elsewhere in the object. As data is received into the cache computer it is stored in a sequence of buffers. A plurality of filters, all executing concurrently, search for different interesting string in the object. Each filter finds its interesting strings and marks them using the markers. The result of filtering data of the object is a marker attribute table identifying each of the markers by the offset and length of the interesting strings located by the filters. Vend time is the time at which the object is streamed out of the cache to a client computer. Before the data is vended, a User Data Filter (UDF) executes a call function which sets up a string substitution table. The substitution table has entries for substitution, including the offset at which to make the substitution and the string to be substituted into the streaming object. A byte counter tracks the outgoing data stream of the object, and whenever the byte count matches an offset of a marker, the length entry in the marker attribute table determines the length of an omitted string, and the substitute string is placed in the outgoing data stream.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to caching of objects, and more particularly to substituting strings of bytes into an object at vend time as the object is being streamed to a client. The invention is applicable to any software system characterized by fill and vend cycles, where the vended content is some transformation of the filled content. For example, the invention is applicable for one vend, or for many vends, following a fill operation. For example, the invention is applicable to Internet caching, and to any other fill and vend application.
2. Background Information
There are various applications for storing data in a cache, and retrieving the data at a later time, with other data added into the originally cached data. For example, a computer application may cache a web page at a first time referred to as the "fill" time, and retrieve the data at later times referred to as the "vend" times. An example of such an application is the insertion of advertisements appropriate to each user requesting the web page. The basic web page is first cached, then when a user requests the page, the advertisements appropriate for that user are determined and inserted into the web page as it is being vended to the user.
The presently used method is to scan the entire web page, normally written in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) each time that the page is vended from the cache. The scan finds the locations within the page where the advertisements are to be placed. The contents of these sections of the page, typically universal resource locator (URLs) for default or dummy advertisements are then replaced by the URLs of advertisements chosen for the requestor.
However, scanning a web page as it is being vended is a wasteful method of inserting external data into the page because the locations where the advertisements, or other data are to be inserted into the web page are always the same each time the page is vended.
There is needed a better method for adding desired data at fixed locations into a cached data stream.


A housing element for attachment to an electric flat conductor rail. The housing element includes a flat conductor socket extending in a first direction, and a plug connector flange extending in a second direction transverse to the first direction, and including an interior contact part receptacle. The plug connector flange is further separated from the flat conductor socket by a wall. A passage opening connects the flat conductor socket to the contact-part receptacle. The present disclosure further relates to an electric line arrangement including such a housing element and to a production method therefor.

From the prior art, housing elements for electric line arrangements having an essentially dimensionally stable flat conductor rail for use in a vehicle are already known.
One such flat conductor rail can, as disclosed, for instance, in DE 10 2015 220 115 A1 published after the filing date of the present application, can be installed in a vehicle, for instance as a part of a central electrical energy supply system. For example, a flat conductor rail, as a ground wire or supply line, can extend between a front and rear area of the vehicle. For linking vehicle electrical loads, lateral taps, that is, taps protruding transversely to the longitudinal direction of the flat conductor rail, that have electrical contact parts are used. Via these contact parts, a ground return, for instance to the ground terminal of a vehicle battery, can be accomplished from the loads, or a supply of the loads can be accomplished for instance through the vehicle battery, a vehicle generator, a direct-voltage converter, or the like.
For instance, DE 10 2016 116 563 A1, also published after the filing date of the present application, describes a housing element as part of a housing in which an electric conductor, embodied as a flat conductor rail, and a contact part that contacts the flat conductor rail can be received. The housing has a housing cap and a housing element, provided as a housing base, which are connected to one another pivotably via a hinge. For making contact with the contact part, a conductor is introduced into the housing to the contact part and connected there directly to the contact part.
A different housing is also known from DE 10 2016 103 439 A1, also published after the filing date of the present application. In it, a contact part, which is connected to a flat conductor rail in a connection region, is located in a multi-shell housing. The housing is in turn secured to the flat conductor rail. Here as well, a conductor which for instance is relatively flexible is again introduced into the housing and connected there directly to the contact part.
Since the flat conductor rails are used more and more often as a central energy supply system in vehicles, electric conductors must accordingly be guided to the flat conductor rail for the sake of making contact. However, in this respect it would be desirable if existing versions of plug connectors, which until now have had flexible conductors, could be used with flat conductor rails as well.

Housing element, electric line arrangement, and production method therefor


A sensor for counting the rotations of a pneumatic tire on a vehicle comprising a rigid base member adapted for attachment to the radially inner surface of the tire tread region, at least two spaced-apart mounting links, a force sensing member disposed between said mounting links for producing a countable output signal and means for processing said output signal such that on rotation of the tire, a force variation is applied to the force sensing member due to the changes in circumferential radius of curvature of the tire tread in contact with the road.

The present invention relates to a sensor for a pneumatic tire and more particularly to a sensor for measuring the number of rotations of a tire in service and producing an output signal indicating the result.
It has long been an objective in tire and vehicle development to be able to effectively monitor a tire's condition, particularly its pressure and distance travelled. Tire pressure monitoring has been approached by various means including the use of a detector unit mounted integrally with the tire which transmits on demand, or in some cases continuously, a tire pressure signal.


A battery electrode or separator surface protective agent composition having fluidity and being capable of being solidified by hot melt, and comprising at least two types of organic particles comprising organic materials, wherein the organic particles of types different from each other are substantially incompatible with each other, wherein when the composition is solidified by hot melt, the organic particles of the same type thermally fuse with one another to form a continuous phase.

Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the present invention relates to a battery electrode or separator surface protective agent composition, a method for protecting a battery electrode or separator surface using the composition, a battery electrode or separator coated with the composition, and a battery comprising the battery electrode or separator. The battery comprising the battery electrode or separator is advantageous not only in that it has high heat resistance, low internal resistance, and excellent charge/discharge cycle characteristics as well as large charge/discharge capacity, but also in that even when the battery is charged and discharged in many cycles repeatedly for a long term, the deterioration of the active material layer is small, achieving an increased life of the battery.
Background Art
Some of lithium-ion primary battery and secondary battery which are lightweight and which have a high voltage and a large capacity, calcium-ion primary battery and secondary battery, magnesium-ion primary battery and secondary battery, sodium-ion primary battery and secondary battery, and an electrical double layer capacitor having excellent charge and discharge rate characteristics have been put into practical use as a power source for mobile electric devices, such as a cell phone and a laptop computer, and power tools, such as an electric tool and a vehicle. However, a conventional battery has problems in that the safety is poor due to low heat resistance or crush resistance, and in that conductive foreign matter mixed into the battery in the stage of production penetrates the separator to cause short-circuiting. In addition, the conventional battery has a high internal resistance, practically unsatisfactory high-rate charge/discharge characteristics, and unsatisfactory charge/discharge capacity, and, when the battery is used for a long term, the active material layer markedly deteriorates.
One of the reasons why satisfactory safety of the battery cannot be provided as mentioned above resides in that with respect to the heat generation by the occurrence of short-circuiting due to the breakdown of the insulation by the separator caused by, e.g., mixing of conductive foreign matter, the generation of dendrite, or breakage of the battery, the method for preventing the runaway heat generation from rapidly proceeding in the battery is inappropriate.
As a method for solving the above problem, a method has been proposed in which a coating layer having high heat resistance, which has insulation with respect to the electronic conductivity but has ionic conductivity, is formed on a battery electrode and/or separator surface so that, even when runaway heat generation causes the separator to thermally degrade, the coating layer prevents the positive and negative electrodes from touching to cause short-circuiting (patent document 1). The above coating layer acts as a layer which suppresses the generation of dendrite or retains the electrolytic solution, and the coating layer serves as an ion supply source to reduce the internal resistance, contributing to the improvement of the high-rate discharge characteristics. Further, the coating layer makes the electrode surface uniform, and therefore local acceleration of the deterioration of the active material layer caused by the concentration of an electrode reaction due to the uneven surface of the electrode can be suppressed, and thus an effect of preventing the deterioration of the active material layer caused when the battery is used for a long term can be obtained. However, in this method, the coating layer has poor adhesion to the electrode surface and further has low ionic conductivity, and therefore, when the method is applied to a battery for use as power supply for vehicle and others, the resultant battery has high internal resistance so that it cannot achieve high-rate charge/discharge cycle characteristics, and particularly, the high internal resistance causes charge and discharge loss, making it difficult to achieve satisfactory running distance. Furthermore, the batter has no satisfactory effect of relaxation of expansion and shrinkage stress of a material constituting the battery, such as an active material, caused due to charging and discharging, leading to a problem in that the adhesion force, mechanical strength and others are lowered.
Further, there is a coating layer of a composite type in the form of an emulsion of, e.g., an elastomer having high ionic conductivity, and this coating layer has both high ionic conductivity derived from an elastomer constituting the island portion and a mechanical strength derived from a polymer constituting the sea portion, and therefore exhibits excellent ionic conductivity and excellent mechanical strength as well as excellent stress relaxation effect (patent document 2). However, in this method, the coating layer has low ionic conductivity, and therefore, when the method is applied to a battery for use as power supply for vehicle and others, the resultant battery has high internal resistance so that it cannot achieve high-rate charge/discharge cycle characteristics, and particularly, the high internal resistance causes charge and discharge loss, making it difficult to achieve satisfactory running distance.
Furthermore, there is a coating layer of a type having incorporated inorganic particles, such as a ceramic, and this coating layer conducts ions through a polar group present on the ceramic surface, and hence exhibits excellent ionic conductivity and excellent mechanical strength by virtue of a reinforcing effect of the ceramic (patent document 3). However, there is a problem in that a binder having poor ionic conductivity covers the individual particles to clog voids between the particles, causing the ionic conductivity to be poor.
Moreover, a method has been proposed in which the active material and conductive agent are bonded using a binder in a particulate form, and the binder covers the active material and conductive agent to prevent the lowering of the ionic conductivity. However, this method has a problem in that much of the binder does not constitute a continuous layer and further many voids are formed between the active material and conductive agent, lowering the mechanical strength (patent document 4).

Battery electrode or separator surface protective agent composition, battery electrode or separator protected by the composition, and battery having the battery electrode or separator


A novel method for cleaning the exterior surfaces of an automobile or other automotive vehicle. The surface that is to be cleaned is sprayed with a water solution of a mild detergent and then rubbed with a putty-like wad of a rubbing composition until the surface contaminants are loosened and adhere to or are suspended in the wad of rubbing composition. The wad of rubbing composition can be reworked from time to time to expose new, clean portions of the wad. The rubbing composition is substantially water free and contains a fatty acid or fatty ester, a fine abrasive, a polybutylene, and an oil absorbent filler. Various types and quantities of materials for the rubbing composition that will produce satisfactory, improved and optimum results are disclosed.

Contaminants of various kinds may appear on the exterior painted or metallic surfaces of an automotive vehicle in various ways. Small flakes of paint or small metallic particles may be present on the painted surfaces of such a vehicle even in its brand new condition. Over time, road film such as soil or tar, as well as oxidized paint or tarnished metal surfaces, may contaminate the exterior surfaces of the vehicle.
Mechanical buffing of an automotive vehicle with special buffing equipment is a common method of removing undesirable contaminants from the exterior surfaces of the vehicle. Such equipment is expensive, and many man-hours of work are required to complete such a cleaning job. Moreover, the high speed rotation of the brush carrying the buffing composition often produces swirl marks or scratches on the surface being cleaned, and in the case of cleaning a painted surface can result in burning through the paint.

Method for cleaning exterior surfaces of automotive vehicles


A printing apparatus includes a reception unit configured to receive print data from an external apparatus, a storage unit configured to store the print data, an operation unit configured to receive an operation to be performed on the print data, a printing unit configured to print the print data when the received operation is print operation, a charging unit configured to start charging in response to the printing of the data when the printing apparatus is operating in charge mode, and a control unit configured to perform control in such a manner that the print data is deleted when the received operation is cancel operation. When the printing apparatus is operating in the charge mode, the control unit performs control in such a manner that the print data is not deleted even when the cancel operation is instructed, until print operation is received.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of printing print data received from an external apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been known a system that reserves print data transmitted from an external apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) in a printing apparatus and prints the print data in response to a user's predetermined operation on an operation panel of the printing apparatus. The printing in this manner is called reservation printing.
An example of a conventional technique regarding reservation printing can be found in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-76028. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-76028 suggests a method where a PC adds a password to a print job and transmits the print job to a printing apparatus. The printing apparatus prints transmitted data of the print job in response to a password input on the operation panel of the printing apparatus, when it is the same as the added password. This method for reservation printing may be also called secure printing, confidential printing, private printing, and authentication printing.
In general, a user is required to input a password to perform print operation of a reserved print job, but user operation to cancel a print job (hereinafter referred to as "cancel operation") is not restricted.
There are mainly three reasons why cancel operation is not generally restricted. The first reason is that security of a print product can be maintained even without restricting cancel operation of a secure print job because there is no chance for others to see the print product. The second reason is that there is an upper limit to the number of secure print jobs that can be reserved in the printing apparatus. More specifically, there is a possibility that secure print jobs reserved in the printing apparatus may be left as it is for a long time. When the number of the reserved secure print jobs reaches the reservable upper limit, the printing apparatus cannot receive secure print jobs any more. If cancel operation of secure print jobs are restricted in such a situation, only a user knowing the passwords of the secure print jobs left in the printing apparatus could cancel the print jobs. The third reason is to improve operability. When a secure print job has been transmitted mistakenly or a secure print job becomes unnecessary due to change of a situation after transmission of the secure print job, a user cancels the secure print job on an operation unit of the printing apparatus. At that time, if the user is required to input a password, the operation would become complicated.

Printing apparatus, control method therefor, and computer-readable medium


A collection insert for use in a diaper for the testing of the urine of a baby is generally disclosed. The collection insert is configured to collect and temporarily retain the urine, allowing the urine to be later tested for the presence of absence of an analyte. The collection insert is fluidly isolated from the absorbent core of the diaper, and can be positioned between the bodyside liner and the outer cover or located in a pocket defined by the bodyside liner. The collection insert can include an insert cover and a collection core, such as a sponge, cellulosic material, polymeric nonwoven material, and the like. Additionally, the collection insert can be substantially free of superabsorbent material.

The collection and testing of urine samples is a frequent need in the care of newborn babies, especially premature babies. However, due to the fragile nature of newborn and premature babies' skin, caregivers must exercise care in collecting the urine samples. As a current practice, caregivers typically collect urine samples by bagging the child, or at least the lower torso of the child, within a collection bag. Then, once the child urinates, the urine is held within the bag. The caregiver can then collect the bag containing the urine sample, and wash the baby's skin.
However, the baby sitting in a puddle of urine and excessive washing of babies' skin can lead to skin irritation, rash, and other skin-related problems. Thus, a need exists for an improved collection and testing method for newborn and premature babies that can help minimize skin-related issues arising from collection bags.

Collection and testing of infant urine using an absorbent article


A focus controller configured to control focus of an optical system that has a focus lens includes a switching circuit configured to select a first driver for the electrization to a coil of a motor in performing focus control using a first focus detector, and to select a second driver in an electrization to the coil of the motor in performing focus control using a second focus detector. The first driver is configured to switch an electrization to the coil in the motor according to an output of the position sensor. The second driver is configured to switch an electrization to the coil of the motor according to a determined time interval.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the electrization technology to the coil in the focus control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it is known to employ a stepping motor for a driving source of an autofocus ("AF") controller used for an optical apparatus, such as a camera. In addition, it is also known that the AF uses a phase-difference detection method, an external ranging method, a contrast detection method, or a hybrid method (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-109690) that combines the foregoing methods.
The phase-difference detection method splits a luminous flux from a subject, introduces the two split luminous fluxes into two AF sensors, and calculates a defocus amount based on a shift amount or interval between two images output from these sensors. The external ranging method is classified into an active method and a passive method. The active method irradiates an infrared ray or an ultrasonic wave to a subject, detects the reflected wave through a sensor, and measures a distance to the subject based on a time period necessary for the reflected wave to return and an irradiation angle. On the other hand, the passive method splits a luminous flux from a subject, receives the split luminous fluxes with two light receiving sensors (line sensors), and operates a correlation between signals from two sensors. The passive method operates the number of pixels of the line sensor which corresponds to a shift amount that maximizes the correlation, and obtains focusing information based on the shift amount on the triangulation principle. The contrast detection method extracts a high frequency component in a video signal output from an imaging section by reciprocating or wobbling a focus lens, and moves the focus lens to a position that provides a maximum value to obtain the on-focus state.
Other prior art include Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-331666.
The stepping motor is likely to step out due to high-speed driving or load fluctuations. In addition, although the phase-difference detection method or the external ranging method drives the focus lens at a high speed to a target position after obtaining the defocus amount or focusing information, and shortens a focusing time period, the stepping out can occur when these methods use the stepping motor. If a motor having a large step width or a low reduction gear ratio of a transmission mechanism is used for high-speed driving with the stepping motor, a high resolution is hard to obtain and the focusing accuracy deteriorates. In addition, it restricts a wobbling width in the contrast detection system, and degrades the quality of a recorded image. In addition, a high driving resolution of a focus lens is effective so as to improve the focusing accuracy and to provide the degree of freedom to the wobbling width in the contrast detection method. On the other hand, when a motor with a small step width or an enhanced reduction gear ratio of a transmission mechanism is used to obtain a high resolution with a stepping motor, high-speed driving is difficult and a focusing time period is likely to increase.

Focus controller, optical apparatus using the same, and control method


There is provided an optical system 8 for a micro analyzing system capable of precisely analyzing a sample. In the optical system 8, after light beams leaving the tip of an optical fiber 14 pass through a condensing part 13, a sample moving in a separation passage 6 due to electrophoresis is irradiated with the light beams. The condensing part 13 includes a first aspherically cylindrical surface 10 being convex toward the optical fiber 14, a second aspherically cylindrical surface 11 being convex on the opposite side to the first aspherically cylindrical surface 10, and a third aspherically cylindrical surface 12 being convex toward the second aspherically cylindrical surface 11. The first through third aspherically cylindrical surfaces 10 through 12 are arranged in that order from the side of the optical fiber 14 toward the separation passage 6. The sample moving due to electrophoresis is irradiated with light beams which are condensed by the first through third aspherically cylindrical surfaces 10 through 11 after leaving the optical fiber 14.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical system for a micro analyzing system. More specifically, the invention relates to an optical system for a micro analyzing system used for optically analyzing a very small amount of sample in the field of chemistry, such as biochemistry or analytical chemistry, medicine or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, there has been developed a micro analyzing system wherein a micro space, which functions as a flow passage, a reacting portion, a separating portion or a detecting portion, is formed in a microchip of a glass or plastic to rapidly process a very small amount of sample in the microchip. FIG. 9 shows an example of a microchip 41 for electrophoresis, to which a conventional optical system 48 for a micro analyzing system is applied. As shown in FIG. 9, the microchip 41 has a plate member 42 in which a sample passage 45 and a separation passage 46 are formed so as to cross each other. In the sample passage 45 and separation passage 46, a sample separating medium is previously filled. The microchip 41 is designed to separate and identify a sample by the following process. First, a sample is injected from one end portion of the sample passage 45, and a voltage is applied to both ends of the sample passage 45 to move the sample due to electrophoresis until the front end of the sample passes through a passage crossing portion 47. Then, a voltage is applied to both ends of the separation passage 46 to feed a very small amount of sample, which is positioned at the passage crossing portion 47, into the separation passage 46 to start the separation of the sample. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the sample moving in the separation passage 46 due to electrophoresis has different electrophoretic speeds in accordance with a difference in molecular weight or the like, and is separated into a plurality of bands (a group of materials) 43 until it reaches the optical system 48. The sample (band 43) reaching the optical system 48 is irradiated with light beams from an optical fiber 54, and fluorescence emitted from the fluorescent label of the sample is detected by a detecting means (e.g., a light receiving element) 55 to analyze the sample (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 11-64278 and 2002-214194).
In such a conventional optical system 48 for the micro analyzing system which is applied to the microchip 41, light beams emitted from the tip of the optical fiber 54 connected to a light source (not shown) are condensed by a cylindrical lens 49 having a spherical lens surface viewed in directions perpendicular to the plane of FIGS. 10 and 11, and the sample (band 43) moving in the separation passage 46 due to electrophoresis is irradiated with the light beams condensed by the spherically cylindrical lens 49, so that fluorescence emitted from the sample is detected by the detecting means 55 (see S. Camou et al., "Design of 2-D optical lens on a PDMS micro-chip to improve fluorescence spectroscopy using integrated optical fibers", Optical MEMS 2001, 25-28, September 2001, pp. 133-134).
However, in the optical system 48 for the micro analyzing system shown in FIG. 10, the width (the width in directions in which the sample moves due to electrophoresis) of light beams obtained by condensing divergent beams, which are emitted from the optical fiber having a predetermined core diameter, by means of the spherically cylindrical lens 49 is large. Therefore, if the distance between adjacent two of the bands 43 is decreased as shown in FIG. 11, there are some cases where adjacent two or more of the bands 43 in the moving direction due to electrophoresis may be simultaneously irradiated with light beams, so that fluorescence simultaneously emitted from the plurality of bands 43 may be detected by the detecting means 55. In addition, there are some cases where fluorescence from a sample other than a target sample may be simultaneously picked up, so that the precise of analysis is not always satisfied. Moreover, in order to ensure the precision of analysis, if the distance between adjacent two of bands is increased so that only a target sample (band) is irradiated with measuring beams, the time required to carry out measurement increases. Thus, it is desired for research workers in the field of chemistry, such as biochemistry or analytical chemistry, medicine or the like to obtain an optical system for a micro analyzing system capable of more precisely and rapidly analyzing a sample.

Optical system for micro analyzing system


The present invention provides an optical waveguide interconnection board, including: optical input and output ports; at least one optical waveguide corresponding to an optical circuit pattern; and at least one light direction-changing element each of which is disposed between one of the optical input port and the optical output port and one of the at least one optical waveguide or, when the optical waveguide interconnection board has two or more optical waveguides, between two of the optical waveguides, and which comprises at least one of at least one light direction-changing element A that changes the direction of light in a plane parallel to a plane of the optical waveguide interconnection board and at least one light direction-changing element B that changes the direction of light to a direction having an angle with respect to a plane parallel to the plane of the optical waveguide interconnection board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical waveguide interconnection board particularly suited for use in a photoelectric multifunction board, to a method of manufacturing the same, to a precursor for use in manufacturing optical waveguide interconnection board, to a photoelectric multifunction board including such an optical waveguide interconnection board, and to a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In IC or LSI technology, attention has recently been drawn to optical interconnections being used between devices, between boards inside equipment, or within a chip to improve operating speed or degree of integration in place of high-density electric wiring. Optical interconnections in high-speed, large-capacity, optical-communication systems use electronic devices to process the transmitted optical signals and thus need photoelectric multifunction devices.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2003-114365 discloses an optical path-changing device for forming optical interconnections, that includes: an array-type photoelectric conversion unit having photoelectric conversion elements; an array-type optical waveguide unit having optical waveguides which have different lengths and each of which has at least one cut end having an angle of 45° with respect to the plane of the optical waveguide and serving as a mirror; and an optical waveguide for optically coupling one of the photoelectric conversion elements and one of the optical waveguides.
In recent years, the development of mobile instruments with radio-communication functions has been significant, and attempts have been made to replace a part of their electric connections with optical connections. Optical connections offer high speed and absence of electromagnetic induction, and are meant to address the problems of electromagnetic interference (EMI) from electric boards, low resistance against radio wave intrusion from outside, or signal irregularity (SI) caused by an incomplete connection.
For example, JP-A No. 2003-131081 discloses optical connection of a photoelectric multifunction board that includes a laminate of an optical waveguide board and an electric circuit board, and an optical device such as a light-emitting device or a light-receiving device. An electric chip including an optical pin and the optical device is used in the optical connection, and the optical pin is inserted into a guide hole in the optical waveguide board. JP-A No. 2003-57468 discloses a photoelectric multifunction board that includes an electric circuit board, an optical waveguide sheet, and an optical device (light-emitting or—receiving device) equipped with an optical path-changing means and embedded in the core portion of the optical waveguide sheet. The optical waveguide sheet with the optical device embedded therein is laminated on the electric circuit board.
However, none of the array-type optical waveguide unit, the optical waveguide board, and the optical waveguide sheet as disclosed in JP-A Nos. 2003-114365, 2003-131081 and 2003-57468 has a pre-installed means for changing the travelling direction of light therein. In particular, there is no disclosure concerning an element for changing the direction of light in a plane parallel to the surface of the optical waveguide or the optical waveguide sheet.
The photoelectric multifunction board disclosed in JP-A No. 2003-57468 uses an optical waveguide sheet rather than an optical waveguide line. In such a case, although the optical waveguide sheet needs no special processing, the optical device equipped with an optical path-changing means is large in size, and thus a significantly higher degree of integration cannot be expected from such a device. Additionally, different types of optical path changes require different types of devices having an optical path-changing means. The optical waveguide sheet cannot focus light on the target of signal transmission and thus only a part of the light can form signals to be transmitted. Therefore, the energy efficiency is very low, and then it is necessary to increase the amount of light emission from the light-emitting device, which shortens the life of the device.
Thus, there have been needs for: an optical waveguide interconnection board which has a light direction-changing element within a patterned optical circuit and can form highly integrated optical connections; a method of manufacturing the same; a photoelectric multifunction board; a method of manufacturing the same; and a precursor for use in manufacturing the optical waveguide interconnection board.

Optical waveguide interconnection board, method of manufacturing the same, precursor for use in manufacturing optical waveguide interconnection board, and photoelectric multifunction board


A method for manufacturing electronic devices on a semiconductor substrate with wide band gap that includes the steps of: forming a screening structure on the semiconductor substrate to include at least a dielectric layer that leaves a plurality of areas of the semiconductor substrate exposed, carrying out at least a ion implantation of a first type of dopant in the semiconductor substrate to form at least a first implanted region, carrying out at least a ion implantation of a second type of dopant in the semiconductor substrate to form at least a second implanted region inside the at least a first implanted region, carrying out an activation thermal process of the first type and second type of dopant with low thermal temperature suitable to complete the formation of the at least first and second implanted regions without diffusing the at least first and at least second type dopants in the substrate.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing electronic devices integrated on a semiconductor substrate, in particular silicon carbide, and, more specifically, to a method for manufacturing electronic devices on a semiconductor substrate with wide band gap. The disclosure also relates to a vertical conduction power electronic MOSFET device integrated on a semiconductor substrate with wide band gap.
The disclosure also make reference to a power electronic MOSFET device integrated on a semiconductor substrate with wide band gap comprising at least a first implanted region of a first type of conductivity, at least a second implanted region of a second type of conductivity formed inside said at least a first implanted region, a gate region projecting from said substrate and insulated therefrom by means of a dielectric layer.
The disclosure particularly, but not exclusively, relates to a method for manufacturing power MOS transistors and the following description is made with reference to this field of application by way of explanation only.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor material with wide band gap, i.e., with a band gap energy value Eg higher than 1.1 eV, with such physical characteristics as to make it ideal for the formation of electronic switches for power applications. In the following table some physical parameters are reported of the polytypes that are more common than silicon carbide, compared with silicon (Si).
Si3C—SiC6H—SiC4H—SiCEg (eV)1.12.333.3Vsn1 × 1072.5 × 1072 × 1072 × 107μn (cm2/Vs)13501000380947εr11.89.669.79.7Ec (V/cm)2 × 105  3 × 1064 × 1063 × 106K (W/cm K)1.54.955where Eg is the energy value of the band gap, Vsn is the saturation speed of the electrons, μm is the mobility of the electrons, ∈r is the dielectric constant, Ec is the critical electric field, and k is the thermal conductivity.
From the parameters reported in such table, it is possible to deduce that power electronic devices formed on silicon carbide substrates with respect to power electronic devices formed on silicon substrates have the following advantageous characteristics:
a low output resistance in conduction being the breakdown voltage equal (due to the high value of the critical electric field Ec);
a low leakage current (thanks to the high value of the band gap energy, Eg),
high working temperature and high working frequencies (due to the high value of the thermal conductivity k and of the saturation speed Vns).
However, it is well known that to form any electronic device integrated on a silicon carbide substrate it is necessary to introduce dopant elements that produce, inside the reticular matrix of the silicon carbide substrate, some doped regions of the N type or of the P type.
In particular, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) introduce donors into the reticular matrix forming doped regions of the N type, boron (B) and aluminium (Al) introduce acceptors and form doped regions of the P type.
A particularly important technological problem linked to the formation of such doped regions is that any type of dopant implanted in a silicon carbide substrate has a negligible diffusion coefficient D up to temperatures in the order of 1800° C. as described in the article "Properties of Silicon Carbide" by Gary L. Harris. In particular, at such high temperatures, nitrogen has a diffusion coefficient D in the silicon carbide equal to 5×10−12 cm2s−1, oxygen has diffusion coefficient D equal to 1.5×10−16 cm2s−1, whereas boron has a diffusion coefficient D equal to 2.5×10−13 cm2s−1.
In the silicon, instead, boron has a diffusion coefficient equal to 2.5×10−13 cm2s−1 at a temperature of about 1150° C. Thus it has about the same diffusion in silicon as it does in silicon carbide at a much more lower temperature.
The diffusion of dopant species, used for forming the doped regions necessary for the formation of power electronic devices, is thus a problematic technical factor in the case of silicon carbide substrates.
A solution in the form of a known technique for manufacturing MOSFET devices integrated on silicon carbide substrates is described in the article by J. Tan, J. A. Cooper, M. R. Melloch, IEEE vol 19, n 12, Dec. 1998, published by the University of Purdue (USA).
As shown in FIG. 1 of the present application, a MOSFET device is formed on a substrate of the 4H SiC type and of N+ type which is overlapped by a drift region of the N− type.
Above such drift region a first epitaxial layer of the N type of thickness tn and a layer of the P type forming the MOSFET transistor base region are formed in sequence. In this latter layer of the P type, a layer of the N+ type is formed. A plurality of trenches are then formed in the layer of the P type and in the first epitaxial layer of the N type until the drift region is exposed so as to insulate a portion of the layer of the N+ type, which forms a source region above the base region.
Once a selective implantation of P regions has been carried out inside the trenches, an epitaxial layer of the N type and then an oxide layer are grown on the whole device and inside the trenches. The final device is then completed with the usual metallization steps for the formation of the gate region, and of the contacts of the integrated device thus obtained.
Although advantageous in several aspects, the formation of such a device implies complex and non industrialized processes.
A technical problem underlying the present disclosure is that of devising a method for manufacturing electronic devices integrated on a semiconductor substrate wherein the doped species have a low diffusivity coefficient, such as for example silicon carbide having such characteristics as to allow the formation of such electronics devices with a high efficiency, thus overcoming the problem linked to the diffusivity of the dopant species, which limits the devices formed according to the prior art.

Method for manufacturing electronic devices integrated in a semiconductor substrate and corresponding devices


A Small Hive Beetle trap, which replaces the bottom board of beehives, includes a frame having three walls and a top surface, a trap plate, an entry means, and a trapping means. The trapping means provides a dark environment attractive to small hive beetles and contains a small hive beetle attractant made from pollen dough and inoculated with yeast that produces small hive beetle attracting volatiles. The yeast is a biologically pure strain of yeast producing hive beetle attracting volatiles designated yeast spp. NRRL Y-30722.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a Beehive System that includes a small hive beetle trap and to a lure for capturing small hive beetles found in honeybee hives. It also relates to methods for using the system, the trap, and the lure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Apiculture is a vital component of modern agriculture. Currently there are more then 2.5 million honeybee producing colonies in the United States with an estimated value of the beekeeping and pollination industries of about 14.6 billion dollars per year. Honeybees, specifically Apis mellifera L., are highly efficient foragers on numerous flowering plants, including agricultural crops. Plant pollination by the honeybee is the most commonly recognized means of crop pollination. Beekeepers are challenged with diseases and pests within hives such as the tracheal and varroa mites in the United States and destructive diseases such as foulbrood disease. A beehive generally has fixed top and bottom and includes an exclusion device to keep the queen bee isolated. The bottom board is generally a rectangular shaped box or frame upon which the rest of the beehive is stacked. The bottom board includes a gap on or in one of the four upstanding walls through which bees enter and exit the beehive while keeping out other larger insects, mice, and other rodents.
The small hive beetle is an exotic pest that originates from South Africa and was found in Florida in 1998. It has now spread throughout the eastern and mid-western United States, causing considerable damage to honeybee colonies and negatively impacting the beekeeping industry (Morse and Calderone, Bee Culture, Volume 128, 1-15, 2000). In sub-Saharan Africa, the beetle's native home, they are not considered a major pest of honey bees (Lundie, Sci. Bull. 220, Union of South Africa, Department of Agriculture and Forestry, 30 pages, 1940), because in strong colonies, worker honey bees encapsulate groups of small hive beetles with propolis (Neumann et al., Naturwissenschaften, Volume 88, 2140216, 200). However in the United States, where honey bee colonies are predominantly of European origin, small hive beetles have been reported to damage both weak and strong colonies (Sanford, Apis, Volume 16, 1-5; 1998). Defense mechanisms have yet to be demonstrated in European bees.
Damage to honey bee colonies in the United States is caused mainly by the beetle larvae, which feed on honey, pollen, and brood. In addition, larval excrement tends to ferment honey, rendering it unsuitable for human consumption. In highly infested colonies, where larval feeding is extensive, bees generally leave. The beetle can multiply to huge numbers within infested colonies where it eats brood, destroys combs, and if uncontrolled ultimately destroys the hives. If the infestation is sufficiently heavy, the beetles may cause bees to abandon their hive. In stored combs and honey awaiting extraction, the beetle larvae may tunnel through the combs of honey, feeding and defecating, causing discoloration and fermentation of the honey. The small hive beetle will thrive in tropical, semi-tropical and temperate climates. It is an opportunist and a scavenger, taking advantage of situations that suit its reproduction. Adult beetles lay eggs in irregular masses in crevices or brood combs containing pollen or brood. Each female beetle is capable of laying an enormous number of eggs which can lead to a heavy infestation in a single generation. Beetle larvae mature from egg to pupae in about 10-16 days. The larvae require a diet of honey and pollen to fully develop. Beetle larvae also feed on stored comb and supers of honey in honey houses, especially frames containing pollen. The beetle is a major problem when honey supers are allowed to remain in the bee hive for long periods prior to extraction. Wax cappings, set aside following honey extraction, may also become beetle infested. Bee brood rearing stops when beetle infestation reaches high levels in the colony.
Currently small hive beetles are controlled using good management and a number of techniques that can reduce the impact of the beetle. Relocating hives may break the beetle's life cycle. Pesticide containing products such as CheckMite+™ strips and GardStar® (MannLake Ltd., Hackensack, Minn.) have been recommended for hive beetle control. The CheckMite+™ is an inside-hive treatment while the GardStar® is a soil drench.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,129 (Griffith, Oct. 22, 2002) discloses a bottom board that has a screen permanently installed in the bottom board that covers the full expanse between the upstanding walls so that mites in the hive have to pass through the screen and conic in contact with a sub-board that is removable from the bottom board through a rear access. The subboard may optionally include a sticky coating to trap the mites that pass through the screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,380 (Martin, Jul. 28, 1987) discloses a bottom board which is flat at its base with three upstanding walls to support the remainder of the beehive with a gap provided between two of the upstanding walls to allow bees to enter and exit the hive.
Suazo et al., (Apidologie, Volume 34, 525-533, 2003) report that there has been no attempt to identify the cues attracting small hive beetles to honey bee hives. They state that Elzen et al. (Apidologie, Volume 31, 361-366, 1999) reported that small hive beetles are attracted to a combination of honey, pollen, and adult bees. They also reported that small numbers of beetles were captured in traps baited with adult bees but not in traps baited with honey and pollen, or brood alone.
Various forms of small hive beetle control are known, however there remains a need in the art for reliable control methods and traps for controlling small hive beetles. The present invention, as described below, is different from related art control methods, lures, and traps.

In-hive trap and lure for control of the small hive beetle,

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

University of Florida Research Foundation Inc.


A propulsion unit for an aircraft includes a nacelle, a turbojet engine, an annular flow path for circulating a secondary air flow, and a precooler device communicating with a motor enclosure and including a scoop opening into the annular flow path. The propulsion unit includes a compressed air supply circuit arranged in the propulsion unit for injecting a flow of compressed air into the scoop of the precooler device. A method for ventilating a motor enclosure of a propulsion unit includes injecting compressed air into a scoop of the precooler device when the turbojet engine is stopped.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
An aircraft is driven by several propulsion units each comprising a turbojet engine housed in a nacelle.
A propulsion unit comprises a nacelle, connected via a suspension mast also called an engine pylon, to the wing of the aircraft, and a turbojet engine, for example of the bypass type, adapted to generate, via the blades of the rotating fan, a flow of hot gases (also called primary flow) and a cold air flow (also called secondary flow) which circulates outside the turbojet engine, through an annular passage, also called flow path, formed between two concentric walls of the nacelle. The primary and secondary flows are ejected from the turbojet engine at the rear of the nacelle.
The nacelle generally has a tubular structure comprising an upstream section, or air inlet, located upstream of the turbojet engine, a middle section intended to surround the fan of the turbojet engine, a downstream section, intended to surround the combustion chamber of the turbojet engine (also called "core"), which can embed thrust reversal means, and can be terminated by an ejection nozzle located downstream of the turbojet engine.
The downstream section of the nacelle generally has an outer structure including an outer cowl, which defines, with a concentric inner fixed structure, the annular flow path for channeling the cold air flow. The inner fixed structure of the nacelle is generally designated by the acronym "IFS."
An annular passage, also called motor enclosure, is defined by the annular space comprised between the inner fixed structure of the nacelle and a motor casing surrounding the combustion chamber of the turbojet engine. Thermal blankets generally protect the inner fixed structure of the nacelle, exposed to hot gases circulating in the turbojet engine.
The propulsion unit includes several ventilation devices used to cool, when the propulsion unit is in operation, the motor enclosure. The ventilation of the motor enclosure can be ensured by ventilation vents, generally constituted by static or dynamic scoops distributed on the inner fixed structure of the nacelle. In addition, a precooler type heat exchanger, which is used to regulate the temperature that comes out of the air withdrawals intended for the aircraft ancillaries, discharges the air thereof when the circuit is open. This precooler operates in the following manner: a scoop withdraws the fresh air which circulates in the annular flow path, a valve controls the air flow rate, the fresh air is sucked by the precooler regulating the temperature of the air sent to the aircraft and is blown back into the motor enclosure, being mixed with the motor enclosure ventilation. All the hot air is ejected from the motor enclosure by the downstream of the propulsion unit.
When the turbojet engine goes from an operating state to a stopped state, no ventilation system operates. This results in an increase in temperature, which occurs, on the one hand, inside the combustion chamber of the turbojet engine, and, on the other hand, in the motor enclosure formed by the annular space comprised between the inner fixed structure of the nacelle and the motor casing surrounding the combustion chamber of the turbojet engine.
This increase in temperature is such that the turbojet engine and the motor enclosure are subjected to temperatures higher than the operating temperatures, the propulsion unit being no longer ventilated.
This increase in temperature can cause "coking" phenomena or deteriorations of structures or joints.
In order to prevent such phenomena or deteriorations from occurring, a first solution of the prior art consists in dimensioning the components of the combustion chamber of the turbojet engine so that they are compatible with the temperatures reached during the shutdown of the turbojet engine for 30 to 60 minutes.
The manufacturing cost of such components, which are oversized with respect to the thermal resistance, is relatively high.
A second solution of the prior art consists in continuing the ventilation by leaving the motor running dry. This solution is very restrictive and proves to be relatively expensive.
A third solution of the prior art is to increase the thickness of the thermal blankets which cover the inner fixed structure of the nacelle.
This solution is not satisfactory because it leads to an increase in the cost and the mass of the nacelle.

Aircraft propulsion unit and method for ventilating an engine enclosure


Telemetry data may be included in packet exchanges of authentication protocols. In one example, a tag, associated with shipped goods, authenticates with a local area network that is associated with a destination of the goods. An identification is received from the tag and the authentication and the identification are sent to a remote location as an indication of the goods being at the destination.

1. Field
The present description relates to the field of tracking goods through a supply chain and, in particular, to determining a location of an identification tag through an access point using authentication protocols.
2. Related Art
In a supply chain, it may be difficult to track the location of goods sent from a supplier to a customer. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags attached to the goods are proposed to allow the location of the attached goods to be tracked. Smart RFID tags are also able to monitor environmental conditions and the time. This allows the tag to provide some indication as to the potential state of the goods on arrival. An RFID tag, however, requires an RF reader that can communicate with the tag and then report the position of the tag while the tag is in transit or at least when the tag arrives at the customer's premises. For the tag to be tracked while it is in transit, there must be tag readers along the supply chain to the customer.
Tracking the goods during shipping or in transit using RFID tags requires, not only a tag reader infrastructure to poll tags and determine their identity and locations, but also some way to communicate that information to the supplier and to the customer. Existing wireless networks are not well equipped, to provide communication to remote suppliers and customers.


Systems and methods for providing data integrity for stored data are disclosed. A method for providing access to a remote shared image may include receiving from a first provisioning server a request to create a write space for a client communicatively coupled to the first provisioning server. The message may further include creating a partition on a first logical unit disposed in a storage array, the first logical unit communicatively coupled to the first provisioning server and associated with the client. The method may additionally include storing a thin clone of a shared image on the partition, the shared image common to the client and at least one other client and stored on a second logical unit, the thin clone comprising a write space for data specific to the client.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Increasingly, information handling systems have utilized on-demand desktop streaming (ODDS) and other similar methods. ODDS is an approach used to provide a single, standard desktop image (e.g., an operating system and one or more application programs) to information handling systems from a network service. Because the shared image may be configured, delivered and managed centrally, costs associated with maintaining the network of information handling systems may be minimized, while providing greater security and flexibility. In an ODDS implementation, individual information handling systems are often communicatively coupled to one or more provisioning servers. The one or more provisioning servers are generally configured to manage input/output (I/O) communications between the individual information handling systems and a storage array communicatively coupled to the one or more provisioning servers. For example, because a user of an information handling system may write data specific to that user and not common to the shared image, an individual write space may be created for such user-specific data. Accordingly, the one or more provisioning servers may create and/or manage the user-specific write spaces, and may present a user of an information handling system with the shared image and any user-specific write space such that the user may be presented a private copy of the shared image and write space.
To ensure high availability of ODDS and similar approaches, two more provisioning servers may be employed. The use of multiple provisioning servers allows operational redundancy, such that in the event of a failure or fault of one provisioning server, another provisioning server is available to provide I/O access to information handling systems in an ODDS configuration. However, in order to support access to individual write spaces and a shared image using multiple provisioning servers, the shared image and write spaces are often managed by the provisioning servers as files in a clustered file system. Clustered file systems are often expensive to implement, and may render high-availability ODDS implementations economically infeasible in many situations.

System and method for providing access to a shared system image


A cleaning cart includes: a support body; and a communication device holder for receiving a mobile communication device. The communication device holder is secured to the support body. In an embodiment, the support body has a double-shell construction, including an outer first shell and an inner second shell. The first shell covers the second shell in an essentially dome-shaped manner.

Cleaning carts are generally known and are used, for example, for professional building cleaning, wherein all cleaning tools needed for cleaning are accommodated in or on the cleaning cart.
Typically, such tools are, for example, cleaning devices, cleaning cloths and/or cleaning agents.
The advantage of a cleaning cart is that the user can transport a plurality of cleaning tools in an energy-conserving and convenient manner.
Cleaning itself and the use of cleaning carts have been purely analog matters in the past. Users of cleaning carts statically work through cleaning schedules on their own.
However, digital communication, for example between a cleaning center and the cleaning cart and/or the user, cannot take place. The rapid retrieval of information from the Internet when needed, for example in order to answer unforeseen questions relating to the user's work day, has hitherto also been functionally decoupled from the cleaning cart.


A semiconductor storage device includes a first bit line and a second bit line. A nonvolatile memory element and a first cell transistor are connected in series between the first bit line and the second bit line. A sense transistor has a gate connected to a sense node which is provided between the first bit line and the memory element. A read bit line is connected to a source or a drain of the sense transistor. The read bit line is configured to transmit data of the memory element. A sense amplifier is configured to detect the logic of data transmitted from the read bit line.

Conventionally, a sense amplifier used in an MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) or the like detects data by detecting a current (a cell current) running through a memory cell. Therefore, a current-detection sense amplifier for use in the MRAM or the like is larger in size than a voltage-detection sense amplifier for use in an SRAM or the like.
Furthermore, in the MRAM or the like, it is necessary to set a bit line voltage at the time of reading data to an intermediate voltage between a high level voltage (Vdd) and a low level voltage (Vss) to suppress read disturb.