In order to effectively utilize a paper diaper waste having a high calorific value as a raw material for forming a mammalian excrement treating article having a calorific value enough to enable the article to be incinerated or burnt up even after being used, the mammalian excrement treating article is produced in a granular form from a paper diaper waste powder having a particle size of 5 mm or less, and an organic compounding material.

Depending upon the type of product, a paper diaper generally comprises 40 to 50% by weight of cotton-like pulp such as a pulverized pulp, an absorbing sheet of paper and the like, 20 to 30% by weight of a high-molecular absorber such as a highly water-absorbable resin, 10 to 15% by weight of non-woven fabric such as a face polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, rayon MIX and PETMIX, etc., 10 to 15% by weight of a water-proof material of a polyethylene film, a calcium carbonate-incorporated polyethylene film, etc., and 5% by weight of a tape such as a furnishing tape, a release tape, a target tape, or an elastic yarn such as spandex, or tape of adhesive such as hot melt and the like.
For example, the paper diaper is formed by placing an absorbing band containing a mixture of a fuzz, i.e., a fluff made of a pulverized pulp and a highly water absorbable resin in a tissue, onto a polyethylene film at a predetermined place, and sealing an upper surface of such package, for example, by putting a non-woven fabric of polyethylene thereover. Rubber is attached around the waist or leg thereof, and tape fasteners are mounted on opposite side of the back thereof. Tensioning support tapes are mounted in correspondence to the respective tape fasteners.
The disposal paper diaper having such a structure is checked by a check a cross-over cut check, a tape position check, a metal detection check and the like, thereby rejecting the defective articles, but the amount of such wastes is increased to very large amount.
The paper diaper waste includes, for example, the polyethylene film, the non-woven fabric of polypropylene and the rubber in amounts of about 30% by weight; the highly water absorbable resin in an amount of about 25% by weight; and the pulp powder and the tissue in amounts of about 50% by weight. Therefore, if the paper diaper waste remains as it is, such waste does not find an application, and must be subjected to a classification, thereby separating the polypropylene, the polyethylene, the tissue and the rubber from the highly water-absorbable resin and the pulp, For this reason, most of the paper diaper wastes is incinerated or burnt up.
However, the paper diaper waste has a calorific value as high as 5,000 to 6,000 K Cal/kg and hence, must be separated from the common refuse. In addition, even when the paper diaper wastes are burnt up, they must be burnt up in mixture with other refuse, which causes a problem. It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems concerning the discarding disposal of the paper diaper wastes. It is another object of the present invention to provide a granular mammalian excrement treating article which is capable of being incinerated or burnt up even in a water-containing state after use.
The present inventors have found that if the polyethylene film, the non-woven fabric of polypropylene and the rubber are pulverized into a particle size of 5 mm, preferably, 2 mm or less, the powder resulting from the pulverization has a water-absorbability and a water retention which are significantly increased, as compared with those before the pulverization, and the paper diaper waster has a high calorific value, but if the paper diaper waste is used as a starting material for the mammalian excrement treating material, the excreted urine is retained by the water-absorbable resin contained in the paper diaper waste and hence, even if the paper diaper waste has such a high calorific value, the paper diaper waste is suitable for incinerating treatment, because the calorific value is lowered by the contained water. Thus, the present inventors have reached the accomplishment of the present invention.

Mammalian excrement treating material and process for producing the same


Methods for promoting interface bonding energy utilized in SOI technology are provided. In one embodiment, the method for promoting interface bonding energy includes providing a first substrate and a second substrate, wherein the first substrate has a silicon oxide layer formed thereon and a cleavage plane defined therein, performing a dry cleaning process on a surface of the silicon oxide layer and a surface of the second substrate, and bonding the cleaned silicon oxide surface of the first substrate to the cleaned surface of the second substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to the field of semiconductor manufacturing processes and devices, more particular, to methods of surface activation by plasma immersion ion implantation process utilized in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor circuit fabrication is evolving to meet ever increasing demands for higher switching speeds and lower power consumption. A higher device switching speed at a given power level is desired for applications requiring large computational power. In contrast, a lower power consumption level at a given switching speed is desired for mobile applications. Increased device switching speed may be attained by reducing the junction capacitance. Reduced power consumption may be attained by reducing parasitic leakage current from each device to the substrate. Both reduced junction capacitance and reduced parasitic leakage current is attained by forming devices on multiple silicon islands formed on an insulating (e.g., silicon oxide) layer on the semiconductor substrate. Each island is electrically insulated from all other islands by the insulating layer. Such a structure is called a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure.
SOI structures may be formed in a layer transfer process in which a crystalline silicon wafer is bonded to the top of a silicon oxide layer previously formed on another crystalline silicon wafer. FIGS. 1A-G depict an exemplary conventional method for fabricating SOI structures on a substrate. A donor substrate 102 and a handle substrate 104 are utilized to form SOI structures, as shown in FIG. 1A. A thermal oxidation process may be performed to form a silicon oxide layer 106 on the surface and/or the periphery of the donor substrate 102, as shown in FIG. 1B. An ion implantation process may be performed to implant ions, e.g., hydrogen ions, into the donor substrate 102, thereby forming a cleavage plane 108 at a predetermined depth below the surface of the donor substrate 102, as shown in FIG. 1C. Subsequently, an O2 plasma surface treatment process may be performed to form activated surfaces 112, 114 on both the donor substrate 102 and handle substrate 104, as shown in FIG. 1D, promote the bonding energy at the interface. The activated surfaces 112, 114 are abutted together by flipping the silicon oxide surface the donor substrate 102 over to adhere to the surface 114 of the handle substrate 104, as shown in FIG. 1E. The activated surface 112 of the donor substrate 102 is therefore bonded to the activated surface 114 on the handle substrate 104, as shown in FIG. 1F. In a final step, the donor substrate 102 is split along the cleavage plane 108, leaving a portion of silicon layer 110 and the silicon oxide layer 106 adhered to the handle substrate 104, as shown in FIG. 1G. The silicon layer 110 and the silicon oxide layer 106 bonded on the handle substrate 104 form the SOI structure.
During substrate bonding process, several problems have been observed. For example, interface surface particles, surface imperfections, contaminants, or air trapped at the substrate interface may result in poor adhesion and bonding failure between the donor and handle substrates. Poor adhesion and bonding failure at the interface may affect the mechanical strength and electric behavior of the devices built on the substrate, thereby causing poor device performance and/or failure, along with adversely affecting device integration.
Therefore, there is a need to improve bonding of substrates in SOI fabrication.

Methods for surface activation by plasma immersion ion implantation process utilized in silicon-on-insulator structure


During a recording operation, when receiving compressed moving-picture data from the moving-picture compression encoder, the code arrangement converter rearranges the data so that the core frame data may be distribution-recorded in a particular place on each track of the tape, for example, in the head portion of the main data area. In normal reproduction, the reproduced main data undergoes error correction and deinterleaving at the format reverse-converter. The resulting date is rearranged by the code arrangement reverse-converter to form the compressed moving-picture data in the same arrangement in recording. This compressed moving-picture data passes through the moving-picture expansion decoder and appears at the output terminal. During high-speed reproduction, for example, 9-fold speed reproduction, the main data in a frame corresponding to one of core frames 0 to 8 is reproduced. The resulting signal undergoes error correction and deinterleaving at the format reverse-converter. This deinterleaved data is supplied to the local read data arrangement circuit, which extracts one core frame of data. This data is decoded at the moving-picture expansion decoder and supplied at the output terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to moving-picture digital recording and reproducing apparatuses such as digital tape recorders, and more particularly to a moving-picture data recording and reproducing system capable of high-speed reproduction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital audio tape (DAT), originally developed for audio use, is finding wide application as an external memory in the field of computers where it is standardized in DATA/DAT format.
In a moving-picture data recording/reproducing apparatus using helical scanning digital tape such as DATA/DAT, tracking based on automatic track fining (ATF) is performed during high-speed reproduction by controlling the rotational speed of the cylinder so that the bit rate of the reproduced signal may be equal to that for normal reproduction according to the tape speed. For an n-fold speed reproduction, if n is odd, data on tracks with both positive and negative azimuth angles can be reproduced at intervals of n tracks, and if n is even, data on tacks with either a positive or a negative azimuth angle can be reproduced at intervals of 2n tracks.
In general, digital recording has the advantage of less degradation of pictures during dubbing, but has the disadvantage of requiring a larger amount of data than analog recording. Therefore, in recording moving-picture data on a tape medium by helical scanning, even one frame of picture data extends over several tracks, with the result that high-speed reproduction cannot be achieved by simply increasing the tape speed as in analog recording.
At the time of decoding compressed moving-picture data, defects in the data heavily affect the picture quality and complicate the decoding process. For this reason, to achieve high-speed reproduction, it is necessary to use a recording format suitable for high-speed reproduction in recording moving-picture data on DATA/DAT.

Moving-picture data digital recording and reproducing apparatuses


Conjugated capsular saccharides from meningococcal serogroups C, W135 and Y are safe and immunogenic in humans when combined in a single dose. This effect is retained when a conjugated capsular saccharide from serogroup A is added. These conjugated antigens can be stably combined in a single aqueous dose without the need for lyophilization. Broad protection against serogroup B infection can be achieved by using a small number of defined polypeptide antigens. These polypeptide antigens can be combined with the saccharide antigens without loss of protective efficacy for any of the five serogroups. Efficacy if retained even if a Hib conjugate is added. The efficacy of a serogroup W135 conjugate is enhanced by addition of protein antigens derived from a serogroup B strain. Addition of a Hib conjugate to meningococcal conjugates enhances the overall activity against meningococcus serogroup W135.

N. meningitidis is a non-motile, Gram-negative human pathogen that colonises the pharynx and causes meningitis (and, occasionally, septicaemia in the absence of meningitis). It causes both endemic and epidemic disease. Following the introduction of the conjugate vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), N. meningitidis is the major cause of bacterial meningitis in the USA. A third pathogen responsible for bacterial meningitis is Streptococcus pneumoniae, but an effective vaccine (PrevNar™ [1]) is now available. Like the Hib vaccine, the pneumococcal vaccine is based on conjugated capsular saccharide antigens.
Based on the organism's capsular polysaccharide, various serogroups of N. meningitidis have been identified, including (A, B, C, H, I, K, L, 29E, W135, X, Y & Z. Serogroup A is the pathogen most often implicated in epidemic disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Serogroups B and C are responsible for the vast majority of cases in the United States and in most developed countries. Serogroups W135 and Y are responsible for the rest of the cases in the USA and developed countries. Although the capsular polysaccharide is an effective protective immunogen, each serogroup requires a separate saccharide antigen, and this approach is unsuitable for immunising against serogroup B. Thus the recent success with conjugated saccharide vaccines against serogroup C (Menjugate™ [2], Meningitec™ and NeisVac-C™) has had no impact disease caused by serogroups A, B, W135 or Y; on the contrary, they present a selective pressure towards the emergence of these serogroups as major causes of meningococcal disease.
An injectable tetravalent vaccine of capsular polysaccharides from serogroups A, C, Y & W135 has been known for many years [3,4] and is licensed for human use. The polysaccharides in this vaccine are unconjugated and are present at a 1:1:1:1 weight ratio [5], with 50 μg of each purified polysaccharide. Although effective in adolescents and adults, it induces a poor immune response and short duration of protection and cannot be used in infants [e.g. ref. 6]. Furthermore, the vaccines suffer from the disadvantage of requiring reconstitution from lyophilised forms at the time of use.
For serogroup B, a vaccine has proved elusive. Vaccines based on outer-membrane vesicles have been tested [e.g. ref. 7], but protection is typically restricted to the strain used to make the vaccine.
Thus there remains a need for a vaccine which protects against meningococcal serogroups A, C, W135 and Y in children, and also one which does not require reconstitution prior to administration. Furthermore, there remains a need for a vaccine which broadly protects against serogroup B.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Liquid vaccines for multiple meningococcal serogroups


The present invention relates to novel thrombolitic v-PA's which dissolve blood clots in the human body and thus are suitable for the treatment of cardial infarction, for example.

The present invention relates to a novel thrombolytic, processes for its isolation, and its pharmaceutical usage.
Thromboses are produced by the formation of a blood clot in blood vessels. One distinguishes between venous thromboses including pulmonary embolisms and arterial thromboses including acute myocardial infarction.
Pulmonary embolism and cardiac infarction are life-threatening events requiring immediate medical intervention.
Besides various invasive methods, a popular form of therapy for arterial and venous thromboses has evolved in recent years in the form of enzymatic thrombolysis with plasminogen activators. These substances, called thrombolytics, convert plasminogen, the inactive proenzyme of the fibrinolysis system in the blood, into the active proteolytic enzyme,plasmin. Plasmin, in turn, dissolves the fibrous substance, fibrin, which is a substantial component of a blood clot; this leads to reopening of the blocked vessels and restoration of blood flow. However, plasmin is a relatively unspecific protease, i.e. once formed in the blood, it destroys,.by proteolysis, components in the blood indispensable for intact hemostasis (e.g. fibrinogen) and thereby induces under certain circumstances dangerous risks of hemorrhaging.
The thrombolytics of the first generation, streptokinase and urokinase, are compounds which, once injected into the circulation, systemically convert plasminogen into plasmin and induce systemic proteolysis. Therefore, thrombolysis therapies with these substances are frequently accompanied by complications due to hemorrhage. The fibrin-specific thrombolysis, developed thereafter, wherein recombined plasminogen activators of the tissue type, called t-PA for the sake of brevity, are employed, was supposed to lead out of this dilemma. In the blood circulation, t-PA has an only low affinity to plasminogen. However, in the presence of the fibrous substance, fibrin, with which it reacts by way of specific binding sites, this affinity is increased by a multiple, resulting in plasmin formation on the surface of the thrombus. This concept could be verified in vitro and in animal experiments; the clinical studies, however, show that large amounts of t-PA are needed in order to bring about rapid dissolution of a coronary thrombosis.
However, if doses of t-PA of such magnitude are infused, this will lead to a systemic proteolysis accompanied by a relative risk of hemorrhaging, in a similar way as in the cases of streptokinase and urokinase. Therefore, one speaks nowadays of a relative fibrin specificity of t-PA. The cause therefor lies in an essential characteristic of t-PA: This molecule is an active protease which, under favorable conditions (high enzyme concentration, long exposure time, high substrate concentration, optimal pH and ion environment), will convert plasminogen into plasmin even in the absence of fibrin. All of these conditions are met in present clinical standard therapy with t-PA.

Plasminogen activator from saliva of the vampire bat


A new and distinct cultivar of Phlox plant named ‘Red Caribbean’, particularly distinguished by bright red-colored flowers, compact habit, healthy foliage, and good mildew resistance, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Phlox plant botanically known as Phlox paniculata and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Red Caribbean'. The new cultivar originated from an open pollination in 2006 in a nursery location in Haarlem, The Netherlands between unknown male and female Phlox paniculata plants.
The new cultivar was selected from the results of the open pollination in 2007 in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Asexual reproduction of the new Phlox by vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Haarlem, The Netherlands since the summer of 2007, has shown that the unique features of the Phlox are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A composition of an N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamide of the following formula (II), which has an improved storageability and which contains an N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine of the following formula (I) in an amount of from 10 to 10,000 ppm: ##STR1## where R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 each independently represent an alkyl group having ##STR2## where R.sub.3 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 each independently represent an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and. n represents an integer of from 2 to 4.

An amino group-containing vinyl monomer is homo-polymerized or copolymerized with other vinyl monomer(s) and is widely used as a raw material for producing various amino group-containing vinyl polymers. An amino group-containing vinyl polymer is utilized in various fields, for example, as a coagulant, a dispersing agent, an additive to a papermaking stock, a polymer for recovery of petroleum, a vehicle for coating paints, an adhesive and others.
Hitherto, as an amino group-containing vinyl monomer, an N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylate has widely been utilized. Recently, however, an N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamide of the following general formula (II) has been considered important because of the excellent hydrolysis-resistance and the excellent hydrogen-bonding ability of the amido group. ##STR3## where R.sub.3 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group;
R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 independently represent an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and PA1 n represents an integer of from 2 to 4. PA1 R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 independently represent an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and PA1 n represents an integer of from 2 to 4.
However, N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamides have a problem in that the storageability thereof is poor, although they have the above-mentioned various excellent characteristics. Precisely, N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamides have a severe problem in that they are deaminated with the lapse of time under the condition of contact with oxygen to give divinyl impurities as by-products.
For instance, when N,N-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide is allowed to stand in air for a while, it gives a divinyl impurity of allylacrylamide as a by-product in an amount of several hundred ppm in one month.
Where the thus by-produced divinyl impurity-containing N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamide is polymerized, the solubility of the resulting polymer in solvents would be worsened or the viscosity of the polymer would disadvantageously increase, because of the crosslinking reaction occurring along with polymerization reaction. As a result, the polymer to be formed is to have some undesirable property which is different from the originally intended property, and such undesirable property often causes some serious problems in practical use of the polymer. In particular, when a water-soluble polymer having a high molecular weight is to be obtained, there would occur a fatal problem in that the polymer formed could not dissolve in water. Though depending upon the molecular weight of the polymer to be formed, the solubility of the polymer is generally worsened when the content of the divinyl compound impurity in the polymer is 10 ppm or more.
On the other hand, conventional N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamides color with the lapse of time in the presence of oxygen. Coloration extremely lowers the commercial value of polymer products to be obtained from the monomers. In particular, it causes a serious drawback in that the colored polymers cannot be used in a field where the appearance color of products is an important factor. Under the such situations the utilizable range of N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamides is often restricted because of the undesirable coloration of the monomers.
For overcoming the above-mentioned problems of by-production of divinyl compounds and coloration of monomers, there are known a method of polymerizing the monomers immediately after preparation or purification of the monomers, and a method of storing the monomers under the condition of an extremely low temperature. However, these methods are not industrially practicable. On the other hand, a method of minimizing the contact of an N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamide with oxygen so as to prevent by-production of divinyl impurities has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-270653). However, control of the method is complicated and the method is accompanied by a dangerous possibility that the monomer will be polymerized. Therefore, the utilizable range of the method is limiting.
As mentioned above, dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamides which have an excellent storageability under a general storage condition and which are free from a problem of polymerizing are desired in this technical field.

N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl (meth) acrylamide composition with improved storageability


The invention describes a sweetener of glycosylated steviol glycosides and a rebaudioside in an aqueous solution for convenience of use in the food and beverage industry.

Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America.
The species Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, commonly known as sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply Stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. The leaves have traditionally been used as a sweetener. Steviosides and rebaudiosides are the major constituents of glycosides found in the leaves of the Stevia plant.
Over 100 phytochemicals have been discovered in Stevia. It is rich in terpenes and flavonoids. Of these eight glycosides, stevioside is considered the sweetest and has been tested to be approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevioside, comprising 6-18% of the Stevia leaf, is also the most prevalent glycoside in the leaf. Other sweet constituents include steviolbioside, rebaudiosides A-E, and dulcoside A.
Stevia extracts generally contain a high percentage of the glycosides of the diterpene steviol. The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana contain over 10 different steviol glycosides. Steviol glycosides are considered high intensity sweeteners (about 250-300 times that of sucrose) and have been used for several years in a number of countries as a sweetener for a range of food products. Stevioside and rebaudioside A are the principal sweetening compounds and generally accompanied by smaller amounts of other steviol glycosides. The taste quality of rebaudioside A is better than stevioside, because of increased sweetness and decreased bitterness (Phytochemistry 68, 2007, 1855-1863).
The structures and chemical abstract service registry numbers for steviol and its glycosides that are the main sweetening agents of the additive steviol glycosides are shown below:
 Compound nameC.A.S. No.R1R2 1Steviol471-80-7HH 2Steviolbioside41093-60-1Hβ-Glc-β-Glc(2→1) 3Stevioside57817-89-7β-Glcβ-Glc-β-Glc(2→1) 4Rebaudioside A58543-16-1β-Glcβ-Glc-β-Glc(2→1)|β-Glc(3→1) 5Rebaudioside B58543-17-2Hβ-Glc-β-Glc(2→1)|β-Glc(3→1) 6Rebaudioside C63550-99-2β-Glcβ-Glc-β-Glc(2→1)|β-Glc(3→1) 7Rebaudioside D63279-13-0β-Glc-β-β-Glc-β-Glc(2→1)Glc(2→1)|β-Glc(3→1) 8Rebaudioside E63279-14-1β-Glc-β-β-Glc-β-Glc(2→1)Glc(2→1) 9Rebaudioside F438045-89-7β-Glcβ-Glc-β-Xyl(2→1)|β-Glc(3→1)10Rubusoside63849-39-4β-Glcβ-Glc-α-11Dulcoside A64432-06-0β-GlcRha(2→1)12Rebaudioside M1220616-44-3(β-Glc)2-β-(β-Glc)2-β-(also known asglc-glc-Rebaudioside X)
In addition to the above mentioned steviol glycosides, many steviol glycoside derivatives can be obtained for example, by synthetic manipulation or by enzymatic processes. KR10-2008-0085811 herein incorporated by reference, discloses the following steviol glycoside derivatives obtained from enzymatic processes.
 NameR1R2Stevioside(ST)—H—HStevioside-G1-glucosyl—H(ST-G1)—H-glucosylStevioside-G2-(glucosy)2—H(ST-G2)-glucosyl-glucosyl—H-(glucosy)2 NameR1R2R3RebaudiosideA—H—H—HRebaudiosideA-G1-glucosyl—H—H(RA-G1)—H-glucosyl—H—H—H-glucosylRebaudiosideA-G2-(glucosy)2—H—H(RA-G2)—H-(glucosy)2—H—H—H-(glucosy)2-glucosyl-glucosyl—H—H-glucosyl-glucosyl-glucosyl—H-glucosyl
As shown, several glucosyl groups can be added on the backbone of a steviol glycoside such as, stevioside and rebaudioside A, by the disclosed enzymatic process. The glycosylated steviol materials with 1 additional glucosyl are referred to as G1, the materials with 2 additional glucosyls are referred to as G2, and so forth. Without limitation, glycosylated steviol glycosides containing even more glucosyl groups can be made.
As a sweetener and sugar substitute, rebaudioside A has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, and be deemed very close to sucrose, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations. All steviol glycosides are bitter or lingering, some in less degree and some in greater degree.
The relationship between steviol glycoside mixtures, solubility, and how solubility of these mixtures affects the overall taste profile of Stevia sweeteners has not been studied in detail.
Therefore, a need exists for glycosidic compositions with superior taste profiles for the food and beverage industry.

Compositions of steviol multiglycosylated derivatives and stevia components

Sweet Green Fields International Co., Limited


A liquid chromatography system including a solvent delivery system, a sample delivery system in fluidic communication with solvent delivery system, a liquid chromatography column located downstream from the solvent delivery system and the sample delivery system, a detector located downstream from the liquid chromatography column, a thermal chamber housing at least one of the solvent delivery system, the sample delivery system, the liquid chromatography column and the detector, an engine configured to control the temperature in the thermal chamber, a heatsink operably connected to the engine, a first temperature sensor in the thermal chamber, a second temperature sensor, and a computer system configured to receive temperature information from each of the first and second temperature sensors, and implement a method for controlling temperature in the thermal chamber.

Chromatography is a set of techniques for separating a mixture into its constituents. For instance, in a liquid chromatography system, a pump takes in and delivers a mixture of liquid solvents to a sample manager, where an injected sample awaits its arrival. The mobile phase, comprised of a sample dissolved in a mixture of solvents, passes to a column, referred to as the stationary phase. By passing the mixture through the column, the various components in the sample separate from each other at different rates and thus elute from the column at different times. A detector receives the elution from the column and produces an output from which the identity and quantity of the analysis may be determined.
Prior to being provided into the liquid chromatography system, the sample may be provided to a sample organizer and/or a sample manager. The sample organizer and/or a sample manager may be configured to store the sample in conditions that prevent the sample from degrading or becoming otherwise damaged. The sample organizer and/or sample manager may be configured to provide the sample into the liquid chromatography system. The sample organizer and/or sample manager may be configured to store a plurality of samples prior to analysis by the liquid chromatography system.
Sample managers and/or sample organizers often include thermal chambers with the need of very accurate temperature control at temperatures at or close to freezing point of water. Temperature control may include incorporating a heat sink running at temperatures below 0° C. However, heat sinks running at such temperatures are known to condense liquid and eventually freeze. When ice has built up the performance of the engine controlling the temperature decreases and the temperature within the thermal chamber will undesirably rise. Furthermore, sometimes engines that control thermal chambers of these systems fail unexpectedly.
Thus, liquid chromatography thermal systems, or liquid chromatography sample managers and/or organizers, with associated systems and methods for detecting the status of thermal chambers therein, would be well received in the art.

Liquid chromatography thermal system with thermal status detection


A crystal oscillator circuit comprises: a crystal oscillator; and an injection frequency generating circuit, the injection frequency generating circuit being configured to sense a signal of the crystal oscillator and amplify the sensed signal, the injection frequency generating circuit being further configured to inject the amplified signal to the crystal oscillator; wherein the crystal oscillator circuit is configured such that the crystal oscillator receives the amplified signal during an initial start-up period of the crystal oscillator and stops receiving the amplified signal at an end of the initial start-up period.

Crystal oscillators are widely used as a reference clock or a real time counter in various applications. Crystal oscillators may be used in portable or small-sized devices, where power is limited and, hence, power consumption of the device is a concern.
A crystal oscillator having a high quality (Q) factor may take a long time to start up after receiving power. It follows that power consumption of the device is affected by the start-up time.
The start-up time of the crystal oscillator may be especially important for small wireless devices in wireless networks. A wireless sensor node may be configured to be mainly in a sleep mode and only power up when a data packet is to be transmitted on the wireless network. The start-up time of the crystal oscillator may be in the same order of magnitude (milliseconds) or even longer than the time during which the device is active for transmitting a data packet.
Hence, reduction of start-up time of the crystal oscillator would significantly affect power consumption of wireless sensor nodes.
Frequency injection, i.e., providing an external frequency to activate the crystal oscillator, may reduce the start-up time of the crystal oscillator significantly. However, the frequency of an injection signal needs to be very close to the crystal oscillator frequency in order for the frequency injection to reduce the start-up time. In particular, the frequency of the crystal oscillator and an injection frequency generator may not be affected in the same manner by environmental changes, as the frequency provided by the injection frequency generator may typically drift with environmental changes, such as a temperature. Thus, in some conditions, the injection frequency may not be sufficiently close to the frequency of the crystal oscillator for reducing the start-up time.
In US 2015/0333694, a circuit including a crystal oscillator to generate an output frequency for a circuit is disclosed. A driving oscillator generates a startup signal having a driving frequency that is provided to activate the crystal oscillator. The driving frequency of the startup signal is varied over a range of frequencies that encompass the operating frequency of the crystal oscillator to facilitate startup of the crystal oscillator. Although the driving oscillator generates a range of frequencies that encompasses the frequency of the crystal oscillator, the driving oscillator still needs to be calibrated and adapted to the crystal oscillator.
Thus, it would be desired to provide reduction of start-up time of a crystal oscillator which is easy to design and is robust to environmental changes.

Crystal oscillator circuit and method for starting up a crystal oscillator


A system and method of notating and teaching music are disclosed. The system and method includes referencing notes and other musical representations using symbols, such as numbers, letters and color. For example, music notation may include at least one set, wherein a single set comprises twelve notes that may be numbered from 1-12, in which the numbers 1-9 may be used for the first nine notes and the letters x, y and z may be used for notes ten through twelve. Each series of twelve notes may be grouped together into a set, identified as “A Set”; “B Set”; “C Set” and so forth.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to a method and system for notating and teaching music, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to a method and system for notating and teaching music using symbols, such as numbers, letters and colors, to represent notes, durations and other aspects of music notation.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a myriad of different methods and systems known in the industry for notating music and teaching music to others. Despite the advantages known in notating and teaching music in a traditional style, improvements are still being sought. Prior methods of notating and teaching music require a great amount of study and learning and are thus characterized by several disadvantages that may be addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the failures, and other problems known in traditional methods and systems for notating and teaching music, by utilizing the methods and features described herein.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


The invention concerns a height adjustment device (1) for a handle (4) of a rollator, comprising: —an inner tube (2) telescopically received in an outer tube (3), the handle (4) of the rollator being connected at the upper end of said inner tube (2), —a locking assembly (10) adapted to lock the inner tube (2) in a fixed position with regard to the outer tube (3), —an unlocking assembly (20) adapted to unlock the inner tube (2) from said fixed position.

Certain health conditions hinder vertical balance, and movement in the upright position or other mechanics of walking. The health care industry has developed aids for those who suffer from such conditions, including crutches, walkers, rollators, and wheelchairs. Rollators are wheeled supports which aid individuals who have function in their lower limbs, but lack the muscular control, strength or balance to enable them to walk unassisted. It is advantageous for such supports to include two pairs of wheels in order to avoid the need to lift the device, and to facilitate its use as an ambulatory aid. Further, these devices may include a seat so that a user may use the device to sit and rest.
Conventional rollators may also comprise height adjustable handles. These height adjustable handles permit to adapt the rollator to the needs of the user.
In the document US 2005/0211285, the handles are mounted on the ends of uprights telescopically adjustable in the main frame of the rollator. The adjustment of the handle height consists in removing and repositioning screws inside corresponding holes provided in the uprights and the main frame. This procedure is generally long and boring, and involves appropriate tools for removing the screws. Another disadvantage of this known rollator is the impossibility for a user to memorize a desired handle height corresponding to its needs. Thus, one user has no choice but to repeat the same handle height adjusting procedure every time he uses the rollator after a storage period, during which the handles of the rollator are generally positioned in their lowest position.
One aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a height adjustment device for a handle of a rollator, wherein the drawbacks mentioned above is avoided.

Height adjustment device for a handle of a rollator


The invention is a circular rapid-joint connector comprising a sliding bush; an elastic element provided on the inner edge of the sliding bush; a holding unit joined with the sliding bush movably; and a connector plug penetrating into the sliding bush and joined with the holding unit. Thereby, in assembling, direct docking with a connection socket by the connector plug is available for the connection socket to push away the sliding bush. After the connection socket and the connector plug are snap-fitting, the sliding bush is pushed back by the elastic element automatically, such that the sliding bush is locked to the outer edge of the connection socket to complete the operation of assemblage. In disassembling, the sliding bush is pulled backwards such that the sliding bush is not limited to the outer edge of the connection socket any more. After that, a force may be applied to remove the connector plug from the connection socket directly, so that the effects of rapid assembling, solid joining, rapid disassembling, simple structure and facile of use are accomplished.

Field of the Invention
The invention is a circular rapid-joint connector, particularly relating to one which may be in direct docking with a connection socket by a connector plug when using, such that effects of rapid joint, solid joining, rapid disassembling, simple structure and facile of use are accomplished.
Descriptions of the Related Art
Conventionally, the "Circular Connector", U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,373 B2, includes a first connector element and a second connector element each of which has a first contact inset or a respective second contact inset in which, around the first contact inset of the first connector element, a sleeve-shaped latch segment is arranged from which, running along the longitudinal direction of the connector, one or more resilient latch flanges with latch tabs are formed that are appropriate for locking onto a ring-shaped groove formed on the inner side of the second connector element (locking position) and in which the first connector element includes an outer directly manually operated sleeve-shaped actuation slide, which can be slid back against a spring force along the longitudinal direction of the connector (unlocking position) and is adapted to actuate one or more sliding supports as locking elements, which can be slid along the longitudinal direction of the connector under a section of the latch flanges and are appropriate for supporting the latch flanges (locking position), characterized in that the latch flanges formed from the latch segment are integrally fixed to an end thereof in a manner ending rearwardly toward the actuation slide, that the sliding supports are formed from an end of the actuation slide and are directed directly toward the free ends of the latch segments, wherein the sliding supports extend from outside of the latch flanges essentially beneath their free ends only, when the actuation slide is pushed forward under the force of the spring.
From the cited patent described above, after the plug and the socket are docked, the actuation slide has to be pushed further in order for inserting the sliding supports beneath the latch flanges, such that the latch tabs are pushed and fastened into the ring-shaped groove, so that the operation of insertion and latching may be accomplished. As a result, cumbersome insertion procedure and complex structure will inhibit rapid connection in use of the conventional connector.
In view of this, the inventor has researched and developed a circular rapid-joint connector in order to improve the above conventional connector with respect to various shortages thereof.


The invention is a method for controlling a wind turbine to optimize the energy production with an estimation of the incident wind speed Vw being used to obtain an optimum control (COM). The estimation of wind speed M is achieved by accounting for the dynamics of the system from the measurement of rotor speed the torque imposed on the generator and of orientation of the turbine blades.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to renewable energy and more particularly to control of wind turbines.
Description of the Prior Art
A wind turbine converts the kinetic energy from the wind into electrical or mechanical energy. For conversion of the wind energy to electrical energy, the wind turbine is made up of the following elements:
A tower allows a rotor to be positioned at a sufficient height to enable motion thereof (necessary for horizontal-axis wind turbines) or allowing the rotor to be positioned at a height enabling it to be driven by a stronger and more regular wind than at ground level. The tower generally houses part of the electrical and electronic components (modulator, control, multiplier, generator, etc.).
A nacelle is mounted at the top of the tower, housing mechanical, pneumatic and some electrical and electronic components necessary to operate the machine. The nacelle can rotate to adjust the machine to the correct wind direction.
A rotor is fastened to the nacelle, comprising blades (generally three) and the nose of the wind turbine. The rotor is driven by wind energy and it is connected by a mechanical shaft, directly or indirectly (via a gearbox and mechanical shaft system), to an electrical machine (electrical generator) that converts the energy recovered to electrical energy.
A transmission having two shafts (mechanical shaft of the rotor and mechanical shaft of the electrical machine) is connected by a transmission (gearbox).
Since the beginning of the 1990s, there has been renewed interest in wind power, in particular in the European Union where the annual growth rate is about 20%. This growth is attributed to the benefit of carbon-emission-free electricity generation. In order to sustain this growth, the energy yield of wind turbines still has to be improved. The prospect of wind power production increase requires developing effective production tools and advanced control tools in order to improve the performance of the machines. Wind turbines are designed to produce electricity at the lowest possible cost. They are therefore generally built to reach their maximum performance at a wind speed of approximately 15 m/s. It is in fact unnecessary to design wind turbines that maximize their yield at higher wind speeds, which are not common. In the case of wind speeds above 15 m/s, it is necessary to not capture part of the additional energy contained in the wind to avoid damage to the wind turbine. All wind turbines are therefore designed with a power regulation system.
For this power regulation, controllers have been designed for variable-speed wind turbines. The purpose of the controllers is to maximize the electrical power which is recovered, to minimize the rotor speed fluctuations and to minimize the fatigue and the extreme moments of the structure (blades, tower and platform).
Linear controllers have been widely used for power control which control the blade pitch angle (orientation of the blades). These include techniques using PI (proportional integral) and PID (proportional integral derivative) controllers, LQ (linear quadratic) control techniques and strategies based on robust linear controls.
However, the performance of these linear controllers is limited by the highly non-linear characteristics of the wind turbine. First a strategy based on non-linear controls was developed. Such a strategy is for example described in the document: Boukhezzar B., Lupu L., Siguerdidjane H., Hand M. "Multivariable Control Strategy for Variable Speed, Variable Pitch Wind Turbines" Renewable Energy, 32 (2007) 1273-1287.
None of these strategies however uses the incident wind speed which is a fundamental element for the aerodynamic phenomena that govern the wind turbine. To take this component into account, initial work was performed with a measurement of the wind speed. This work shows that the productivity of a wind turbine and the life thereof can be significantly increased through innovative strategies using the wind speed.
This technique unfortunately requires a sensor that is expensive and is not very accurate. To take the incident wind speed into account without a sensor, an estimation of this speed can be performed to use this data in the control. Further work has been conducted to this end using a Kalman filter, which is described in the document: Boukhezzar B., Siguerdidjane H., "Nonlinear Control of Variable Speed Wind Turbine Without Wind Speed Measurement" IEEE Control and Decision Conference (2005). This method is not sufficiently accurate because the wind reconstruction is poorly representative. Indeed, according to this method, the wind is not structured and is considered as white noise, which is not the case experimentally.

Wind turbine control method using an estimation of the incident wind speed


Provided is an image processing system, an image processing method, and a program for preferably detecting a mobile object. The image processing system includes: an image input unit for receiving an input for some image frames having different times in a plurality of image frames constituting a picture, which is of a pixel on which the mobile object appears or a pixel on which the mobile object does not appear, for selected arbitrary one or more pixels in an image frame at the time of processing; and a mobile object detection model constructing unit for learning a parameter for detecting the mobile object based on the input.

In recent years, in the application of video surveillance or the like, needs for detecting and tracking a mobile object such as a person or a vehicle are increasing. With such increasing needs, many techniques for detecting the mobile object and tracking the detected mobile object have been proposed. A mobile object herein is not limited to an object which continues to move among objects appeared on an image, and also includes an object which "temporarily stops" (also referred to as "rests" or "loiters"). In other words, a mobile object generally means an object appeared on an image except a portion regarded as a background. For example, a person or a vehicle which is a common target to be monitored by video surveillance is moving not all the time, but has a state of resting such as temporarily stopping or parking. For this reason, it is important in applications such as video surveillance that an object can be detected even when the object temporarily stops.
As a method of detecting the mobile object, the background difference method is known (see, for example, Non Patent Literature 1 and Non Patent Literature 2). The background difference method is a method in which an image stored as the background is compared with an image captured by a camera to extract a region having a difference as the mobile object. Here, when the mobile object is detected by using a background difference, an accurate background extraction is required at the time of analysis. This is because, when data at the start of measurement is simply used as a background fixedly, many error detections occur, caused by influence of a change of the background due to an environmental change such as a change of illumination. Accordingly, in order to avoid such problems, usually, a background at the time of analysis is performed by a method such as calculating a mean value for each pixel from images observed within the latest time period. For example, Non Patent Literature 1 discloses a method of applying the background difference method while performing an update of the background successively.
On the other hand, there is also a technique in which only an object which temporarily rests such as a left object or a person who loiters for a predetermined time is extracted (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). Patent Literature 1 discloses a method in which a motion in a scene is analyzed by a plurality of background models having different time spans. In the method, a long-term background model which is analyzed using a long time range and a short-term background model which is analyzed using a short time range are generated. When the mobile object is not detected by a background difference based on the short-term background model and is detected by a background difference based on the long-term background model for a predetermined times, the mobile object is then detected as being a temporarily stationary object.

Image processing system, image processing method, and program storage medium


The method serves for the control of an electric power plant (2) associated with a power source (6) with temporally random availability, the plant comprising at least one battery (10) adapted to be supplied with electric current from the source. When the random power (6) is available, the battery (10) current supply is controlled. The supply is controlled so as to come as close as possible to a state of complete charge of the battery, and preferably to reach this state.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electric power plants comprising at least one battery adapted to be supplied with electric power from a power source with temporally random availability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such plants are known which comprise a battery adapted to be recharged with current by means of photovoltaic panels. The energy (power) available in a temporally random manner is then solar radiation. These plants are used in particular in developing countries, in regions having no local or national electricity supply network. Usually, to control the charging and discharging of the battery, the voltage across the terminals of the battery is monitored and a predetermined top voltage threshold and a predetermined bottom voltage threshold are used. Thus, when the voltage across the terminals reaches the bottom threshold, the users are disconnected so as to safeguard the battery from excessive discharging. Once the voltage across the terminals reaches the top threshold, the battery is disconnected from the panels and, after a timeout of a few minutes, the battery is made available for the delivery of current by reestablishing the connection with the users. An advantage of this device is its simplicity.
However, such a method of control has numerous drawbacks. Firstly, in practice there is no strict correlation between the instantaneous voltage across the terminals of the battery and its state of charge. In particular, it is possible for the voltage to be high while the charge of the battery is very low.
Moreover, the battery conventionally comprising several subassemblies each adapted to receive and to output an electromotive force, it is frequently the case that when the top threshold is reached, the charge of the battery is distributed in a very unequal manner between its various subassemblies. Hence, one of the subassemblies might thereafter reach by priority its deep discharge threshold and might overdischarge throughout the period required for the discharging of the other subassemblies. Now, a subassembly which remains deeply discharged for too long will experience a great reduction in its lifetime, so that it is a fifth or a sixth thereof for example, this correspondingly shortening the lifetime of the battery.
Furthermore, theoretically, the step of complete charging of each subassembly comprises in particular, in the case of open batteries, a phase of heterogenization of the electrolyte followed by a phase of homogenization: in the course of the first phase of the charging, concentrated electrolyte firstly gradually fills the porous electrodes of the subassembly, then seeps out of these electrodes in the form of a heavy viscous acid which runs down the electrodes and accumulates at the bottom of the bath. This therefore results in a stratification of the electrolyte: the electrolyte concentration becomes high at the bottom of the bath and low at the top of the bath, hence the expression xe2x80x9cheterogenizationxe2x80x9d. During the second phase, the current received by the battery is apportioned into a charging current proper and into an electrolysis current producing oxygen at the positive electrodes and hydrogen at the negative electrodes. The continued charging of the battery therefore causes a release of gas in the bath, thereby causing forced convection of the electrolyte. This results in gradual homogenization of the electrolyte whose concentration ultimately becomes uniform again throughout the height of the bath. The heterogenization phase is sometimes referred to as the xe2x80x9cchargingxe2x80x9d phase, and the homogenization phase as the xe2x80x9coverchargingxe2x80x9d phase. However, at the termination of the heterogenization phase, charging is incomplete and the homogenization phase is merely the continuance of charging so as to obtain complete charging. The use of a top voltage threshold to stop the charging causes the homogenization phase to be shortened and often even to be absent. In this way, a heterogenization (stratification) phase without subsequent complete rehomogenization occurs during each charging period. Consequently, the layers of acid accumulate gradually and irreversibly at the bottom of the bath during the life of the battery. Hence, only the bottom parts of the electrodes participate in the operation of the battery. This leads to their rapid destruction and considerably reduces the lifetime of the electrodes and of the battery.
One sometimes attempts to alleviate these drawbacks by overdimensioning the battery. The effective lifetime of the battery is then longer than that of a more modest battery. Nevertheless, this effective lifetime is substantially reduced relative to that normally envisaged for the battery.
One object of the invention is to provide a method for controlling an electric power plant of the aforesaid type, allowing better knowledge of the effective state of charge of the battery and making it possible to increase the lifetime of the plant without overdimensioning it.
With a view to achieving this object, there is provided according to the invention a method for controlling an electric power plant associated with a power source with temporally random availability, the plant comprising at least one battery adapted to be supplied with electric current from the source, in which method, when the random power is available, the battery current supply is controlled, doing so so as to come as close as possible to a state of complete charge of the battery, and preferably to reach this state.
Thus, the search for the obtaining of the state of complete charge makes it possible to avoid any uncertainty relating to the correlation between the voltage measured across the terminals and the actual state of charge. Once complete charge has been reached, the continuous measurement of the current delivered or received by the battery makes it possible to know at any instant its effective charge with good accuracy.
Moreover, the state of complete charge implies that each of the subassemblies of the battery has also reached its state of complete charge. Subsequently, there is therefore no longer any need to fear premature total discharge on one of the subassemblies, thus making it possible to safeguard the lifetime of the battery.
Furthermore, the complete charging ensures that the phase of heterogenization of the electrolyte has been followed by a phase of sufficient rehomogenization of this electrolyte. This prolongs the lifetime of the electrodes and hence that of the battery.
Finally, the invention avoids the need to resort to an overdimensioning of the plant, which would generate excessive costs.
Advantageously, after the battery has been supplied so as to have received a quantity of electricity above a first predetermined threshold and in particular when the random power is not available, the plant is controlled in such a way that delivery of current by the battery is disabled.
Preferably, the threshold will be below or equal to the partial state of charge after which the electrolyte begins to seep out of the electrodes. Advantageously, this threshold will be as close as possible to this limit. This threshold has a particular value for each type of battery. In certain cases it corresponds to 5% of the nominal capacity of the battery.
Thus, under the aforesaid conditions, the subsequent continuance of the charging phase is favored over the immediate delivery of current. For example, if the phase of heterogenization of the bath has been interrupted for lack of random power, a bid for immediate considerable delivery of current would lead under the effect of the stratification to deep discharging and hence to the fatiguing of the lower parts of the electrodes. It is therefore preferred rather to preserve the battery state for the subsequent resumption of the charging phase causing the continuance of the heterogenization and then the complete rehomogenization of the bath. The lifetime of the battery is thus lengthened.
Advantageously, after the battery has been supplied so as to have received a quantity of electricity below the first threshold and when a delivery of current is requested, the delivery of current by the battery is enabled.
The first threshold is preferably chosen as stated above. Thus, the discharging of the battery is enabled so long as the heterogenization phase has not yet started, namely so long as, at the start of charging, the electrolyte accumulates in the electrodes without seeping out of them. The discharging of the battery does not then cause heterogeneous operation and can be allowed. This involves a limitation to the common control regime stated in the general definition of the invention. This common regime (priority search for the state of complete charge) is preferably limited to the cases where the battery oversteps the first threshold.
This mode of discharge will subsequently be referred to as xe2x80x9cmicrocyclingxe2x80x9d. It is advantageous for several reasons: it makes it possible to reduce the frequency of the complete cycles of the battery. Moreover, the energy yield obtained is high, the concentration of the electrolyte in the porous volume of the electrodes being high.
Advantageously, after the battery has delivered current so as to reach a state of partial nonzero charge, and when the random power is available, the plant is controlled in such a way that current supply to the battery is enabled until it has received a quantity of electricity equal to the first threshold.
Thus, the phase of discharging to the limit of the first threshold is combined with a phase of charging which follows it. Within this limit, it is thus possible to alternate the successive chargings and dischargings so as to make the microcycling last longer.
Advantageously, the plant comprising at least two batteries, in particular which are adapted to be connected in parallel one with respect to the other, after the two batteries or at least two of the batteries have reached a state of partial charge below a second predetermined threshold and when the random power is available, the plant is controlled in such a way that a single first of these batteries is supplied first until it reaches a state of partial charge equal to the second threshold.
Preferably, the second threshold corresponds to the limit between the heterogenization phase and the homogenization phase, or at the very least, is as close as possible to this limit. Its exact value depends on the type of battery. Thus, one favors the supplying of the batteries with current one after the other until the heterogenization phase is completed for the first battery, this phase enabling a larger intensity of current than the homogenization phase which follows it.
Advantageously, after the first battery has reached the second threshold and when the random power is available, the plant is controlled in such a way that the first battery and the or another of the batteries having a state of partial charge below the second threshold are supplied simultaneously.
Thus, after the heterogenization phase has been completed on a battery, the same is done on another battery whilst performing the homogenization phase on the first battery. Thus, the number of batteries in the state of complete charge is optimized when the availability of the random power ceases, for example in the case of solar power, at the end of the day. Hence, after the period of availability, the quantity of stored energy available for the delivery of current is optimized.
Advantageously, when the random power is available, the plant is controlled in such a way that, according to the following order of decreasing priorities:
when the or at least one of the batteries has received a quantity of electricity below the first threshold, the or successfully each of these batteries is supplied until it has received a quantity of electricity equal to the first threshold;
when the or at least one of the batteries has a state of partial charge above the second threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied until it reaches a state of complete charge; and
when the or at least one of the batteries has received a quantity of electricity above the first threshold and has a state of partial charge below the second threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied with current until it reaches a state of partial charge equal to the second threshold.
Thus, the order of decreasing priorities is: microcycling, xe2x80x9coverchargingxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cchargingxe2x80x9d (that is to say incomplete charging). This mode of implementation of the method is particularly adapted to cases where it is envisaged that the temporally random power will soon cease to be available for a certain period. For example, when dealing with solar power, this corresponds to a meteorological forecast announcing weak sunshine. In this situation, microcycling is favored vis-à-vis the overcharging and charging phases, the energy stored in the battery or batteries being available immediately.
Advantageously, when the random power is available, the plant is controlled in such a way that, according to the following order of decreasing priorities:
when the or at least one of the batteries has a state of partial charge above the second threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied with current until it reaches a state of complete charge;
when the or at least one of the batteries has received a quantity of electricity below the first threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied with current until it has received a quantity of electricity equal to the first threshold; and
when the or at least one of the batteries has received a quantity of electricity above the first threshold and has a state of partial charge below the second threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied with current until it reaches a state of partial charge equal to the second threshold.
In this mode of implementation, the decreasing priorities are therefore: overcharging, microcycling, charging. This mode is adapted to the cases where it is envisaged that the random power will not be sufficiently available to accomplish the complete charging of at least one battery.
Advantageously, when the random power is available, the plant is controlled in such a way that, according to the following order of decreasing priorities:
when the or at least one of the batteries has a state of partial charge above the second threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied with current until it reaches a state of complete charge;
when the or at least one of the batteries has received a quantity of electricity above the first threshold and has a state of partial charge below the second threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied with current until it reaches a state of partial charge equal to the second threshold; and
when the or at least one of the batteries has received a quantity of electricity below the first threshold, the or successively each of these batteries is supplied with current until it has received a quantity of electricity equal to the first threshold.
Thus, in this mode of implementation, the priorities are: overcharging, charging, microcycling.
It corresponds to envisaged cases other than those stated above. It is therefore adapted to cases where the random power seems to be available for a considerable period of time. For example, for solar power, this is the case of meteorological forecasts indicating strong sunshine during the day.
Advantageously, the plant comprising at least two batteries, in particular which are adapted to be connected in parallel one with respect to the other, when the random power is available and a delivery of current by the plant is requested, the plant is controlled in such a way that current is delivered simultaneously from all the batteries which are not in the charging phase.
Advantageously, after the or one of the batteries has reached a state of zero charge and then goes to the state of complete charge, a quantity of electricity which the battery receives so as to go from the state of zero charge to a state of charge equal to a second predetermined threshold is measured.
Thus, this measurement makes it possible to update the value of the capacity of the battery, this value being liable to vary in the course of the life of the battery. This updating improves the accuracy of the control of the plant, in particular for the tracking of the instantaneous charge of the battery or batteries.
Advantageously, the plant is controlled so as to reach the state of zero charge of the battery.
Thus, the battery is forced to discharge totally with a view to updating the value of its capacity. This operation is performed for example when the total discharging of the battery has not occurred for a predetermined period.
Advantageously, the or at least one of the batteries comprising at least two subassemblies each adapted to receive and to deliver electric current, at least two voltages in series are measured on the battery, each comprising a voltage across the terminals of a respective one of the subassemblies.
Thus, the evolution of the state of charge of each subassembly of the battery is tracked with greater accuracy.
Advantageously, the battery or batteries are furthermore adapted to be supplied with electric current from a power source with temporally definite availability.
The plant may then be referred to as a xe2x80x9chybrid plantxe2x80x9d.
There is also envisaged according to the invention an electric power plant adapted to be associated with a power source with temporally random availability, the plant comprising at least one battery adapted to be supplied with electric current from the source, and means for controlling the plant, in which the control means are adapted to implement the method according to the invention.
Advantageously, the plant comprising at least two batteries, in particular which are adapted to be connected in parallel one with respect to the other, the plant comprises means for disabling the delivery of current by any one of the batteries to the other or to any other of the batteries.
Advantageously, the plant comprises four batteries.
This number makes it possible to control the phases of charging and of discharging of the batteries as a function of the availability of the temporally random power source and of the demand for current, while reconciling good flexibility and reasonable cost.

Method for controlling an electric power plant associated with a temporally random power source

Electricite de France (Service National)


A superstructure (1) for an endosteal dental implant (2) has a longitudinal axis (11) and an outer surface (12), which has buccal, lingual, mesial and distal regions, and an annular surface (8) which is intended for the connection to a dental implant (2) and is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (11). The superstructure (1) is further provided with a connection for accommodating an orthodontic element (6).

The amount of orthodontic treatments of adults and adolescents to correct the dental position is increasing. So far the corrections of the dental position have been undertaken partially by means of a head-gear through which the forces on the bows and clasps which lie close to the teeth may be applied. The head-gear will act on the rows of the teeth about 8 hours as a general rule. The head-gear is therefore only intermittently effective and is felt by the bearer as extremely cumbersome.

Superstructure for an endosteal dental implant


A number of synchronization objects simultaneously usable during runtime by a group of threads within a multi-threaded execution environment is predicted by a processor that manages synchronization object allocations within the multi-threaded execution environment. A synchronization object pool is allocated with the predicted number of synchronization objects, each initialized with a deployment state of undeployed and an acquisition state of unlocked. Over time, the deployment state is changed between deployed and undeployed in response to requests by threads to deploy and undeploy the synchronization objects. The acquisition state is independently controlled as the synchronization objects are acquired and released by the threads. The allocated number of synchronization objects within the synchronization object pool is adjusted during the runtime in response to determined deployment rates of the allocated number of synchronization objects.

The present invention relates to synchronization of executing threads. More particularly, the present invention relates to dynamic synchronization object pool management.
Computing applications may be written as uniprocessor applications or may be written as multi-threaded applications. Each thread of a multi-threaded application may be executed by a different processor or may be allocated different intervals of time for sequential execution on a single processor.

Dynamic synchronization object pool management

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Methods, systems, and computer program products are disclosed for protecting the security of resources in distributed computing environments. The disclosed techniques improve administration and enforcement of security policies. Allowed actions on resources, also called permissions, (such as invocations of particular methods, read or write access of a particular row or perhaps a particular column in a database table, and so forth) are grouped, and each group of permissions is associated with a role name. A particular action on a particular resource may be specified in more than one group, and therefore may be associated with more than one role. Each role is administered as a security object. Users and/or user groups may be associated with one or more roles. At run-time, access to a resource is protected by determining whether the invoking user has been associated with (granted) at least one of the roles required for this type of access on this resource.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer programming, and deals more particularly with methods, systems, and computer program products for protecting the security of resources in distributed computing environments. The disclosed techniques improve administration and enforcement of security policies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Use of distributed computing environments for e-commerce (or, equivalently, e-business in general) has skyrocketed in recent years. One well-known distributed computing environment is the public Internet (and the subset thereof known as the World Wide Web, or simply "Web"). Other distributed computing environments include intranets and extranets, where intranets are typically designed as computing networks for internal use within a business enterprise and extranets are typically designed for use by a business' suppliers and/or customers.
Protecting the security of resources in distributed computing environments is vital to the success of e-business initiatives. Few, if any, businesses put distributed computing applications into production without the assurance that their business processes and data are protected from malicious or inadvertent loss. A business may therefore implement security constraints for its network resources, where these security constraints may include (by way of illustration) ensuring that only authorized users are able to execute certain programs or certain functions of programs, or are able to access particular types of stored data, or perhaps are able to obtain Web pages which are retrieved using particular Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") addresses. As an example of restricting access to program functions, supervisors using an online banking application might be permitted to update account balance records, while tellers might be prevented from performing this function. As an example of restricting access to stored data, in an online personnel management application, managers might be permitted to view information about their employees' upcoming salary increases, whereas non-managerial employees would likely be restricted from seeing this information. Managers might also be allowed to view Web pages which present budget information, but non-managerial employees might be prevented from viewing these same pages.
On the other hand, there may be network resources which do not require protected access. For example, online shopping sites typically allow all users to browse their electronic catalogs, and online flight reservation sites normally allow all users to view information on flight arrival and departure schedules. In these types of business scenarios, resource protection is typically applied only after the user initiates particular types of transactions (such as ordering merchandise from the online catalog or making reservations on a certain flight).
Security policies are implemented to control access to an enterprise's resources, where these security policies are designed based on the types of resources and the need to protect each resource. In the online shopping and airline reservation scenarios, for example, choosing to allow unrestricted access up to a certain point may be thought to increase the likelihood of attracting new business.
In an enterprise containing thousands of deployed resources, the security administrator's job in designing and enforcing the security policy typically involves controlling access to each of these resources. With reference to an enterprise in which the Java™ programming language is used to develop applications, for example, the applications may use components based upon Enterprise JavaBean™ (also referred to as "EJBs"), Java Server Page™ (also referred to as "JSPs"), and servlets. In this environment, referred to hereinafter as a "J2EE™ environment", it is typically necessary to define the security policy at a level which enables protecting the methods of the EJBs and servlets, and the methods which are invoked from JSPs and when referencing each of the enterprise's Uniform Resource Identifiers or "URIs" (of which URLs are one subset). ("J2EE" is an acronym for "Java™ Platform, Enterprise Edition". The J2EE environment is used herein for purposes of illustration, but it is to be noted that the present invention is not limited to use in a J2EE environment. "Java", "JavaBeans", "JavaServer Pages", and "J2EE" are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
In an enterprise which may have thousands of EJBs (also referred to as "beans") installed, with potentially tens of methods in each bean, the sheer number of resources to be protected becomes too large for the security administrator to understand and to administer.
Similarly, for multiple portal applications, business-to-business or "B2B" applications, distributed web services environments, and content security considerations (that is, environments wherein the content of received data needs to be monitored), the number of resources to be managed under the security policies is too large for the security administrator to effectively control. At the same time, however, security concerns are continually increasing as hackers learn ways to penetrate security even at entities which would be expected to have tamper-proof systems.
Furthermore, an application in a modern computing system will often be composed of programming elements hosted on different middleware technologies—for example, a Teller application may be composed of static HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) pages, JSPs, servlets, EJBs, database tables and stored procedures, OLTP (online transaction processing) transactions, etc. Each of the middlewares contributing to the overall application will often impose their own technology assumptions, programming models, and representations. It may be necessary to specify the authorization policy for the Teller application in a number of different ways for each of the middlewares employed by the application—leading to potential inconsistencies and conflicting sub-policies.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved technique for administering and enforcing security policy.

Role-permission model for security policy administration and enforcement

International Business Machines Corporation


In the present invention, a partly duplexed conversion table is used as a conversion table for converting an M-bit based data string directly into an N-bit based code string without using margin bits. This conversion table is constituted by first and second sub-tables including plural code groups, respectively. The plural code groups include different codes for the same input data. The second sub-table is a table which is partly duplexed with the first sub-table and is produced by allocating different codes to data from first input data to second input data in the first sub-table. The first and second sub-tables are so designed that code sets of the duplexed portions take variants of digital sum variations which are opposite in sign. Codes are allocated to all the code groups in the duplexed portions of the first and second sub-tables with respect to input data sequentially from a code having a maximum absolute value of variant of the digital sum variation. Thus, according to the present invention, low frequency components of modulated signals may be restricted properly.

When recording digital signals, such as digital speech signals, digital video signals or data, error correction code data is first appended to the digital signals, and the resulting data is routed to a modulating circuit where it is converted by channel coding into the code suited to the characteristics of a recording/reproducing system.
An optical disc, such as, a compact disc (CD), is a recording medium having a wide field of application as a package medium for picture information or as a storage device for a computer. The optical disc system reproduces signals recorded on a reflective surface of the disc via a transparent substrate having a thickness of the order of 1.2 mm. On the optical disc, information such as digitized audio signals, video signals or digital data, is recorded. In this case, the error correction code data is appended to the digital signals, and the resulting data is routed to a modulating circuit where it is converted by so-called channel coding into code data suited to the characteristics of the recording/reproducing system.
The signal format of the above-mentioned compact disc (CD) system is summarized as follows:
______________________________________ sampling frequency 44.1 kHz number of quantizing bits 16 (linear) modulation system EFM channel bit rate 4.3218 Mb/s error correction system CIRC data transmitting rate 2.034 Mb/s ______________________________________
The modulation system employed is 8-14 conversion or EFM.
With the EFM, an input 8-bit code, referred to hereinafter as a symbol, is converted into a 14 channel bit code, to which a frame synchronization signal of 24 channel bits and a subcode of 14 channel bits are appended and the neighboring codes are interconnected by merging bits of 3 channel bits. The resulting data is recorded by the NRZI modulation system.
FIG. 1 shows a frame structure of the CD system.
Referring to FIG. 1, 24 symbol data (music signals) and 8 symbol parity, entering a modulating circuit from a cross-interleave Reed-Solomon code (CIRC) encoder during a sync frame (6 sample value domains, six samples each of the L and R channels, with each sample being 16-bit data) are transformed into 14 channel bits and connected by merging bits of three channel bits to give 588 channel bits per frame. The resulting data is recorded by the NRZI system at a channel bit rate of 4.3218 Mbps.
The respective symbols entering the modulating circuit are transformed, with reference to a lookup table composed of a ROM, into a channel bit pattern in which the number of "0"s between "1" and "1" is not less than 2 and not more than 10. The channel bit pattern of a frame synchronization signal Sf is "100000000001000000000010" in binary expression. As for the merging bit pattern, one of "000", "001", "010" and "100" is selected. Each sub-coding frame is made up of 98 frames. As the subcode for the 0'th and first frames, the subcode sync signal S0 (="00100000000001") and S1 (="00000000010010") are appended (see FIG. 2).
FIG. 3 shows, for a typical sample value of input data, a channel bit pattern after EFM and a digital sum variation (DSV).
Each 16-bit sample is split into upper 8 bits and lower 8 bits each of which is entered to the modulation circuit via a CIRC encoder for 8-14 conversion to produce 14 channel-bit information bits. Not less than 2 and not more than 10 "0 "s are interposed between "1" and "1" of the information bits, as previously described. One of the merging bits "000", "001", "010" and "100" is selected. This rule is observed at all times at the connecting portions of the 14 information bits, so that EFM signals based on 17-channel bits are generated and outputted from the modulating circuit at 4.3218 Mbps. The number of channel bits is 27 in the case of the frame synchronization signal Sf.
Since not less than 2 and not more than 10 channel bits are interposed between an optional channel bit "1" and the next channel bit "1", the period during which the high level or the low level of the NRZI recording waveform continues, that is the recording wavelength, is necessarily not less than 3 T and not more than 11 T (see FIG. 3).
In this case, the shortest recording wavelength is 3 T and the longest recording wavelength is 11 T, with T being a period of a channel clock of 4.3218 MHz. This is referred to hereinafter as the 3 T.about.11 T rule of the EFM modulation regulation.
The digital sum value or variation (DSV) is now considered as an index of the dc balance of the NRZI recording waveform. The DSV is given as a time integral of the recording waveform. That is, the variant of the DSV when the high level of the recording waveform has continued for a unit time T is +1, while the variant of the DSV when the low level of the recording waveform has continued for a unit time T is -1.
The time change of DSV when the initial value of DSV at time t.sub.0 is assumed to be zero is given at the lower most portion of FIG. 3. The modulated signal during the time since t.sub.1 until t.sub.2 is not uniquely determined by the 17-channel bit pattern "01000001000001001", but depends on the modulated signals level at time t.sub.1, that is on the ultimate level of the modulated signal waveform during the time interval from time t.sub.0 until time t.sub.1 (referred to hereinafter as CWLL).
Thus the modulated signal waveform illustrated is that for the CWLL at time t.sub.0 being at a low level (CWLL="0"). The modulated signal waveform for CWLL="1" (high level) is inverted from the pattern for CWLL="0" so that the high and low levels are inverted to low and high levels, respectively.
Similarly, the DSV is also increased or decreased depending upon the CWLL, such that, if CWLL="0" at time t.sub.0, the DSV variant with the information pattern "01000100100010" (referred to hereinafter as 14 NWD), that is the DSV variant during the time period from t.sub.0 until t.sub.0 +14, is +2, as shown in FIG. 3. Conversely, if CWLL="1" at time t.sub.0, 14 NWD=-2. The DSV variant since time t.sub.0 +14 until t.sub.1 +14 is referred to as 17 NWD.
The merging bits, inserted since time t.sub.0 +14 until time t.sub.1, is now explained. Of the four margin bits "000", "001", "010" and "100", "001" or "100" cannot be inserted under the above-mentioned 3 T.about.11 T rule, such that only "010" or "000" can be inserted. That is, if the number of "0"s at the trailing end of the previous information bit pattern, outputted before the merging bit, is B, and the number of "0"s at the leading end of the subsequently outputted current information bit pattern is A, since B=1 and A=1, the leading and trailing ends of the merging bit must be "0" and "0", such that the merging bit pattern that can be inserted becomes "0X0", where X is arbitrary (don't care).
In the lower most portion of FIG. 3, there is shown the DSV with the bits "010" inserted as merging bits, by a solid line, while there is shown the DSV with the bits "000" inserted as merging bits, by a broken line.
In general, the merging bits to be inserted at a connecting point need to be selected so that the 3 T.about.11 T rule of the modulation regulation will be met. Similarly, such merging bits are prohibited which, when inserted, will produce a repetition by two times of a 11 T pattern which is the same as the 11 T frame synchronization pattern.
Of the merging bits satisfying the above requirements, such merging bits are selected as optimum merging bits which, when inserted, will produce the smallest absolute value of the cumulative DSV from the merging bit until the end of the next information bit pattern connected to the prevailing cumulative DSV.
In the example of FIG. 3, the DSV at time t.sub.1 +14 when the merging bits "010" are inserted is +3, while the DSV at the same time point when the merging bits "000" are inserted is -1, so that the merging bits "000" are selected.
The merging bits, found by the above-described algorithm, satisfy the 3 T.about.11 T rule of the modulation regulation at the connecting portion between two 14-bit data, while prohibiting generation of an erroneous frame sync signal and approaching the cumulative DSV of the EFM signal to a value as close to zero as possible.
Meanwhile, with the conventional EFM system, since the shortest run-length is limited to two, two merging bits suffice if for the purpose of coping with run-length limitations. If the number of the merging bits can be reduced to two, the data recording density may be increased by a factor of 17/16 without altering the physical size such as the recording wavelength.
However, there are only three sorts of the 2-bit merging bits. In addition, it is a frequent occurrence that only one of the three sorts of the merging bits can be inserted because of limitations such as those imposed by run-length. Thus, with the conventional DSV control system, there exist a large number of domains in which it is impossible to control the DSV. Consequently, low-frequency components of the modulated signals cannot be sufficiently suppressed to affect servo stability or the data error rate on data demodulation.
In view of the foregoing, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a signal modulating method, a signal modulating apparatus, a signal demodulating method and a signal demodulating apparatus whereby the input M bits, such as an input 8-bit code string, is directly transformed into N-channel bits, such as 16 channel bits, without employing the above-mentioned merging bits at the time of signal modulation, thereby reducing ill effects on the DSV control and also enabling sufficient suppression of the low-frequency components.

Signal modulating method, signal modulating apparatus, signal demodulating method and signal demodulating apparatus


A piezo thin-film diode (piezo-diode) cantilever microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and associated fabrication processes are provided. The method deposits thin-films overlying a substrate. The substrate can be made of glass, polymer, quartz, metal foil, Si, sapphire, ceramic, or compound semiconductor materials. Amorphous silicon (a-Si), polycrystalline Si (poly-Si), oxides, a-Site, poly-SiGe, metals, metal-containing compounds, nitrides, polymers, ceramic films, magnetic films, and compound semiconductor materials are some examples of thin-film materials. A cantilever beam is formed from the thin-films, and a diode is embedded with the cantilever beam. The diode is made from a thin-film shared in common with the cantilever beam. The shared thin-film may a film overlying a cantilever beam top surface, a thin-film overlying a cantilever beam bottom surface, or a thin-film embedded within the cantilever beam.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the fabrication of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and, more particularly, to a thin-film diode cantilever MEMS and related fabrication procedures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Active devices such as thin-film transistors (TFTs) and diodes are formed through deposition processes that create thin films of silicon (Si) and insulator material. While the resulting devices may not have the switching speed and drive capability of devices formed on single-crystal substrates, they can be fabricated cheaply with a relatively few number of process steps. Further, thin-film deposition processes permit active devices to be formed on alternate substrate materials, such as transparent glass substrates, for use in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). More specifically, the active devices may include a deposited amorphous Si (a-Si) layer. To improve the performance of the device, the a-Si may be crystallized to form polysilicon, at the cost of some extra processing. The crystallization procedures are also limited by the temperature sensitivity of the substrate material. For example, glass substrates are known to degrade at temperatures over 650 degrees C. Large scaled devices, integrated circuits, and panel displays are conventionally made using thin-film deposition processes.
MEMS devices are a logical derivative of semiconductor IC processes that may be used to develop micrometer scale structural devices such as transducers or actuators. MEMS devices interface physical variables and electronic signal circuits. MEMS structures are varied and, therefore, more difficult to standardize, as compared to the above-mentioned thin film processes. On the other hand, it may be possible to develop MEMS devices by engineering modifications to well-developed silicon IC processes. Many of the MEMS devices that have been fabricated to date have more theoretical than practical application, as the devices are often difficult and expensive to make. For the same reason, larger scale systems using MEMS components have been expensive to fabricate due to the process difficulties and the cost associated with integrating the MEMS and IC technologies.
For example, transistors and associated MEMS structures have been fabricated on bulk Si substrates, and the authors claim excellent performing bio-chemical sensing MEMS transducers [Vinayak P Dravid and Gajendra S Shekhawat; "MOSFET Integrated Microcantilevers for Novel Electronic Detection of "On-Chip" Molecular Interactions", Material Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.]. However, the etching processes needed to form a bulk silicon MEMS are more difficult to control, dramatically limit available process steps, and require long etch times. These limitations make these devices unsuitable for low-cost integrated systems.
Alternately, MEMS structures made using high temperature LPCVD thin films have been built with conventional sensing schemes such as capacitive and/or piezoresistive bridges, generating reasonable output signals [(1) William P. Eaton, James H. Smith, David J. Monk, Gary O'Brien, and Todd F. Miller, "Comparison of Bulk- and Surface-Micromachined Pressure Sensors", Micromahined Devices and Components, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 3514, P. 431. (2) Joao Gaspar, Haohua Li, Paulo Peieiro Freitas, "Integrated Magnetic Sensing of Electro-statically Actuated Thin-Film Microbridges", Journal of MicroElectroMechanical Systems, Vol. 12, No. 5, October 2003, p. 550-556]. However, these sensing schemes cannot be applied to low temperature TFT process, because the changes in electrical characteristics induced as a result of stress change are too small to be practically measured.
Stress is induced on a surface when bio-molecules become immobilized on a solid surface. This property is one of the most promising avenues to explore for bio-sensing. To detect the surface stress, a thin cantilever may be used. The selective absorption or immobilization of molecules on one side of the cantilever creates a surface stress difference between the two sides of the cantilever, and this difference is measured via a change in electrical resistance using an integrated piezoresistor transducer. Alternately, the substantial displacement at the cantilever tip can be detected by an atomic force microscope (AFM). AFM has the best sensitivity, but its expense and complexity prevent it from being widely used. Some key design issues include strain sensitivity and the electrical noise inherent in the sensor. These problems are conventionally addressed by using a single crystal silicon substrate.
Electrically passive piezoresistive cantilever transducers have been studied and demonstrate bio-sensing capabilities for low surface stress sensing. Limited by single crystal silicon anisotropic fabrication processes and relatively poor sensitivity, it is difficult to fabricate a piezoresistive cantilever sensor array at low cost. Prior art devices are usually formed on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, using high temperature processes and special tools such as deep reactive ion etching (RIE). Bulk micromachining uses a subtractive process to carve the MEMS structure out of the bulk substrate (typically a silicon wafer).
It would be advantageous if a high sensitivity MEMS cantilever could be formed with an integrated active device from laser annealed thin-films, without the necessity of a single crystal silicon substrate or bulk micromachining processes.

Piezo-diode cantilever MEMS fabrication method