A planet transmission (1) for a land vehicle including a planet carrier (7), which is designed for rotation and has at least one journal (8) for supporting a planet wheel (6), and a brake (2), a first set of brake discs (10) being rotationally locked to the planet carrier (7). The brake discs (10) in the first set comprise means (17) for rotationally locking the brake discs (10) directly to the planet wheel journal. A drive device for a wheel of a vehicle is also disclosed that includes the planet transmission (1), as is a brake disc (10) for the planet transmission (1).

Rotationally locking a first set of brake discs to a planet carrier has been previously addressed such as in International Publication, WO 99/03699, for example. Therein, the brake discs are connected, via splines, on a radially outer surface of the planet carrier.
International Publication WO 04/18248 describes a planet transmission in which multiple planet wheel journals are connected to a common carrier for a brake disc. The brake disc is seated radially inside an axially projecting section of the common carrier. The brake is electrically controlled.

Planet transmission, drive device comprising the planet transmission and brake disc for the planet transmission


An imaging system for obtaining a wide field of view comprises a plurality of imaging devices each having a defined field of view and each of the imaging devices having a mechanism for capturing an image at a selected time instant. The imaging devices are positioned such that the field of view of each device overlaps the field of view of each adjacent device. A control module simultaneously actuates each of the imaging devices to capturing an image within the field of view of all devices concurrently. The resulting images from each of the devices are merged to produce a wide field of view image.

It has been recorded that as early as the 1880's the idea of including more of an image on a print than what was available from a lens was attempted. The early inventions moved the camera as well as the film to allow synchronization with the field of view. The result was a developed film that contained a 360 degree (or less) image. The left part of the print was taken earlier than the right part of the print. This time slippage created image anomalies such as double images of moving objects within the multiple fields of view used to create the composite print or image.
As technology progressed, the same type of wide view camera, referred to as the moving camera technology, has significantly been refined. One embodiment rotates a mirror instead of the camera but still requires multiple images to encompass the desired field of view. The fundamental problem with this type of camera system is that it creates time slippage from left to right across the composite field of view.
One attempt to create composite images without a time shift was developed using a parabolic mirror placed perpendicular to a camera lens. Due to the shape of the mirror, a 360 degree perpendicular image is focused on the camera lens. The primary problem with this camera system is that the 360 degree image appears circular on the camera film or sensor when projected to a flat print, the resulting image has visible anomalies much like a Mercatur map projection of the earth.
More recently, the advent of digital camera technology has enabled photographers to rapidly acquire multiple digital images by rotating the field of view of a camera while collecting images. Computer programs have been developed for combining these multiple images into a composite image. However, notwithstanding the smaller time shift across the composite image, images attempting to capture action events such as automobile racing or basketball games still result in anomalies from fast moving objects.

Digital imaging system using overlapping images to formulate a seamless composite image and implemented using either a digital imaging sensor array


Generally, as the time for mechanical scanning of an acoustic wave receiver increases, the load on an examinee also increases. The present invention provides the calculation of a target speed at which an acoustic wave receiver is caused to move for the measurement of an acoustic wave, using data of an emission period of pulsed light and data of an interval between target measurement positions in a subject being examined. In addition, the acoustic wave receiver is caused to move so as to reach an initial target measurement position at the target speed at a time when initial pulsed light for measuring an acoustic wave is emitted. After the target speed has been reached, the acoustic wave receiver is caused to move at a uniform speed which is equal to the target speed.

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is an imaging technology that uses light, in which an acoustic wave produced by irradiating a subject being examined or imaged with pulsed laser light to thermally expand an object being measured in the subject is received and is converted into an image. PAT allows imaging of the in-vivo distribution of hemoglobin, glucose, or the like of which the absorption band lies in the wavelength of the pulsed laser light to be radiated. PTL 1 describes a method for creating a three-dimensional image of a large examination region using PAT, in which acoustic waves are received at a plurality of positions by a mechanically moving acoustic wave receiver while being sequentially positioned.
One of effective imaging methods for the internal structures of a relatively large subject being examined or imaged, such as a breast, using PAT is to, as disclosed in PTL 1, mechanically scan the surface of the subject with an acoustic wave receiver composed of electroacoustic transducers arranged in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array. It is desirable that the time required for such mechanical scanning be as short as possible in terms of reduced load on the examinee.

Measurement apparatus, movement control method, and program


A baler for making large cylindrical modules of cotton includes an expansible module-forming chamber comprising a plurality of module-forming belts that are supported in side-by-side relationship across a plurality of fixed and movable belt support rolls. The module-forming chamber includes a fixed front section and a movable rear section in the form of a discharge gate mounted to an upper rear location of the front section for pivoting between a lowered baling position and a raised discharge position. Located at the bottom of the baling chamber between a bottom fixed belt support roll and a lower front roll of the lowered discharge gate is an inlet through which cotton passes into the module-forming chamber. A module wrapping arrangement is carried on the discharge gate for selectively feeding a length of plastic sheet material into the inlet for being wrapped about the circumference of a cotton module formed in the chamber. Located within the inlet in front of the lower front gate roll is a rake-like cotton bunching eliminator which operates to prevent cotton from bunching prior to being fed onto the circumference of a rotating cotton module during the operation of wrapping the module, thus eliminating the formation of lumps on the circumference of the module.

Presently there are machines which harvest cotton bolls from cotton plants and then use an onboard baler to form a cylindrical cotton module. So that the cotton module holds its form and is protected from the elements until it is transported to a gin, the module is wrapped in a plastic covering before being deposited on the ground by the harvester.
It has been found that the outer surface of the wrapped cotton module tends to be irregular in shape, this irregularity in shape being in the nature of lumps of various sizes dispersed about the circumference of the module. At times, these lumps are quite excessive and cause the baler hydraulic drive system, that is used for driving certain ones of driven rolls of the module-forming chamber, to stall. In addition, the lumps introduce many problematic issues with the plastic wrap, such as, making the plastic prone to being torn thereby permitting entry of contaminates, pulling the plastic away from the ends of the module thereby causing a reduction in, and/or the elimination of, coverage of the ends of the module, and leaving areas unsupported where there are voids in the cotton. Further, at the gin, machinery used to turn the cotton module when removing the plastic wrap does not operate as well with lumpy modules.
It is presently thought that the lumps are introduced at the module surface during the operation of placing a plastic wrapping on the module. Specifically, the circumference of the module-forming chamber is defined by a plurality of endless belts supported in side-by-side relationship across a plurality of fixed and movable rolls, with one of the fixed rolls being a lower front roll of a discharge gate forming a rear section of the module-forming chamber, with the lower front gate roll defining a rear boundary of an inlet located at the bottom of the module-forming chamber and with a front boundary of the inlet being defined by a starter roll. During formation of a cotton module in the module-forming chamber, cotton is fed into the inlet on a path which directs it against the front of the lower gate roll. As the forming module is rotated, cotton at the surface of the module expands in the inlet zone between the starter roll and the lower front gate roll. This expanded cotton, together with incoming cotton, is actively lifted onto the surface of the growing cotton module by the side edges of the belts which come into contact with the fluffy cotton. In one known machine, eleven module-forming belts are used, resulting in twenty two edges being available to aid in transporting the cotton. Upon a cotton module being completed within the module-forming chamber, the introduction of further cotton is interrupted and plastic wrapping material in introduced into the inlet at the bottom of the module-forming chamber from a source roll carried at the rear of the discharge gate. The completed cotton module continues to rotate and the introduced plastic is caught between the belts and the rotating module and is carried around by the module. During the first revolution of the module, the cotton at the surface of the unwrapped portion of the module still expands at the chamber inlet in the zone between the starter roll and the lower front gate roll. However, since the module-forming belts at their region of engagement with the lower front gate roll are now covered with plastic, the edges are no longer available for actively lifting the expanded cotton, and this cotton momentarily hesitates, thus becoming bunched at various locations along the front of the lower front gate roll, with these bunches eventually entering the pinch point between the roll-supported wrapping material and the surface of the formed module so as to form lumps beneath the wrapping material. The formation of bunches of cotton which are subsequently fed onto the module surface is an irregular happenstance, thus resulting in a wrapped module having a lumpy exterior.
The problem to be solved then is to provide a module-forming chamber arrangement constructed so as to eliminate or reduce the formation of lumps on the surface of a wrapped cotton module.

Bale lump eliminator for a round cotton module baler


An optical pumping magnetometer is provided that is capable of improving the response of the magnetometer with respect to a magnetic field that varies with a period shorter than the transverse relaxation time of electron spin of an alkali metal atom.

1. Field
The present subject matter relates to an optical pumping magnetometer and a magnetic sensing method.
2. Description of Related Art
As highly sensitive magnetic detection methods, optical pumping magnetometers have been proposed which use electron spin of alkali metal vapor.
Applied Physics B has disclosed an optical pumping magnetometer for detecting a magnetic field with the use of variation in Larmor frequency in a glass cell containing cesium.
In this optical pumping magnetometer, the electron spin motion of cesium vapor is caused by the oscillating magnetic field applied from an excitation coil, and changes the absorption of laser light passing depending on the orientation of spin polarization. The intensity of the transmitted laser light is detected by a photo-detector to obtain a signal that changes at the same frequency as the oscillating magnetic field. Attention is focused on the phase difference between the signal from the photo-detector and an electrical signal supplied to the excitation coil in order to generate the oscillating magnetic field to read the variation in Larmor frequency, and measure a magnetic field generated from an object to be measured.
In the optical pumping magnetometer of the conventional example described above, the transverse relaxation time T2 of the electron spin of the alkali metal vapor is a proportionality coefficient between the phase difference and the variation in Larmor frequency, and the response of the magnetometer with respect to the magnetic field generated from the object to be measured is thus improved as the transverse relaxation time is longer.
However, the conventional example has a problem that the response of the magnetometer is not improved even when the transverse relaxation time is increased in the case of measuring a variable magnetic field with a shorter variation period of the magnetic field generated from the object to be measured, as compared with the transverse relaxation time of the electron spin of the alkali metal vapor.

Optical pumping magnetometer and magnetic sensing method


A tower crane includes a tower on which a rotating portion is pivotally mounted and configurable between a service configuration in which the rotating portion can be rotatably driven by a motorized orientation system, and an out of service configuration in which the rotating portion is rotatably released to be able to be oriented in the direction of the wind. A control/command unit activates a monitoring mode in the out of service configuration to detect, depending on variations in the angle of orientation or the angular speed of the rotating portion, if the rotating portion is in one of the following movement states: an autorotation state corresponding to a rotary movement of the rotating portion in a given direction over at least one complete turn; or an oscillation state corresponding to a back and forth movement of the rotating portion about the orientation axis.

Conventionally, a tower crane comprises a tower on which a rotating portion is pivotally mounted along an orientation axis, generally vertical, by means of a pivoting mechanism, also called a rotating pivot, which includes at least one motorized orientation system (often of the geared motor type) and a mechanical orientation brake. The rotating portion generally comprises a distributor boom and, depending on the model, a counter-boom, a boom holder and/or a pilot cabin.
Moreover, such a tower crane can be configured between:                a service configuration in which the rotating portion is rotatably driven on the tower along the orientation axis (also called orientation control) by means of the motorized orientation system, to displace a load by means of a lifting system carried by the boom of the rotating portion; and        an out of service configuration (also called safety or weather vane configuration) in which the rotating portion is rotatably released on the tower along the orientation axis, the mechanical orientation brake then being deactivated, in order to be able to be oriented in the direction of the wind, the rotating portion is then free to rotate around the orientation axis and it is conventional to say that the rotating portion is turned into a weather vane.
In the event of strong winds, it is recommended to secure the tower crane (also called weather vane of the rotating portion), by disengaging the rotating portion (in other words by releasing the rotatably rotating portion on the tower, by unblocking the mechanical orientation brake and by disengaging the motorized orientation system) so that it is free to rotate in order to be automatically oriented in the direction of the wind and thus allow the crane to be left unattended.
However, in particular windy conditions, usually due to the site environment such as the presence of nearby buildings, the rotating portion of the crane can enter movement states, including:                an autorotation state characterized by the completion of a full turn or a succession of complete turns about the orientation axis at an angular speed greater than a given threshold (in other words the rotating portion makes one or more turns on itself at a too high speed); and        an oscillation state characterized by a cycle or a succession of cycles back and forth about the orientation axis at an angular speed greater than a given threshold (in other words the rotating portion pivots from right to left at a too high speed).
Simulations, for example in a wind tunnel or in numerical modeling, make it possible to study the windy conditions of a site and thus to anticipate such movements, to provide preventive solutions upstream, such as for example the selection of a taller crane or provided with a more massive structure. It is indeed desired to reduce such movements, because an autorotation or oscillation state can lead to damage to the rotating portion or of the crane.

Tower crane with a detection of a rotating part autorotation or oscillation state in an out of service configuration


Information recorded by an application provider in an IC card can be referred to, read out or changed by another application provider. The IC card has a plurality of cipher keys for reading out or writing the information recorded in the IC card, and provides a cipher key conversion function for encryption with a file capable of being managed, read out or written by the application provider himself using the cipher key. By the cipher key conversion function, data can be read out or written from or in the file of the other application provider.

The present invention relates to an IC card system in which information is recorded in an IC card.
A related system for recording information in an IC card uses such a technique as disclosed, e.g., in JP-A-2001-167241. In this literature, an object of the invention is to enable reliable retaining of secret information of each application provider when preparing a multi-application non-contact IC card. More specifically, a memory 6 is divided into a plurality of regions 7a to 7d according to the number of applications to be installed, and the division regions 7a to 7d are used as respectively independent memory spaces for the respective applications. Therefore, even when a plurality of applications are installed in a single non-contact IC card, the need for each application provider to disclose his unique secret information to a conventional card issue maker can be eliminated, and security can be assured while preventing important secret information from being leaked to an unauthorized person.

IC card with a cipher key conversion function


Method for producing diecuts from heat-activatable adhesive films which comprises applying a layer of heat-activatable adhesive material to a carrier material having a glass transition temperature at least 20° C. lower that that of the adhesive, laminating the heat-activatable layer onto a release liner at a temperature between the glass transition temperature of the release liner and heat activatable adhesive and then diecutting the heat-activatable adhesive layer on the release liner.

Heat-activatable adhesives very often replace pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes in operations where the tapes are required to withstand high temperatures or where very high bond strengths are needed.
Heat-activatable adhesives possess such properties because they have no tack at room temperature and become soft and tacky only with an accompanying increase in temperature. For the mediation of adhesion (for the formation of an adhesive layer), heat-activatable adhesive sheets require application of heat and in general—as for all pressure-sensitive or self-adhesive materials—the application of a certain pressure. In general a distinction is made between thermoplastic and thermally reactive heat-activatable adhesives.
Thermoplastic heat-activatable films are based on the concept that these films are hard at room temperature and then, under heat and pressure, soften, flow on the substrate and then become solid again with accompanying cooling. Thereafter the adhesion to the substrate to be bonded is high, as a result of the wetting process of the adhesive.
In the case of the thermally reactive heat-activatable adhesives, the process that operates is the same in analogy to the thermoplastic heat-activatable adhesives. Additionally here, though, in the course of temperature activation, a crosslinking reaction is initiated which results in the thermally reactive heat-activatable adhesives curing, and hence leads to an increased bond strength.
As a result of the properties described above, heat-activatable adhesives are often used for bonds of metals, or of metals with plastics. This also concerns the electronics industry, with the consequence that heat-activatable adhesives are being used increasingly in the form of diecuts (products from stamping operations).
The production of such diecuts in diecutting processes, however, is not entirely trivial, for reasons including the fact that heat-activatable films cannot, like pressure-sensitive adhesives, simply be transfer-laminated to a desired liner, since at room temperature the pressure-sensitive adhesion is absent. This process generally does not function even with highly graduated release liners in conjunction with a hot-laminating operation.
Nevertheless, within the electronics industry, there is a need to produce such diecuts; in particular to the exclusion of disruptive, unwanted paper fibers, or, for sensitive applications, without silicone. Since a very large number of heat-activatable adhesives are typically furnished with glassine release liners, the aforementioned problem is manifested to a particular degree. There is therefore a need for a general diecutting process for heat-activatable adhesives that operates to the exclusion of paper release liners.
It is an object of the invention, therefore, to offer a method of producing diecuts from heat-activatable adhesives that avoids, or at least minimizes, the disadvantages of the prior art. A particular aim is to avoid the presence of paper as a carrier material in the diecutting operation itself. Advantageously it is to be possible to optimize the partability of the diecuts from the carrier material for the particular intended application.

Method for stamping thermally activatable adhesive materials which are not tacky at room temperature


A multi-primary-color liquid crystal panel driver (100) according to the present invention includes: a multi-primary-color converter (110) which performs a multi-primary-color conversion to convert the grayscale levels of an input video signal in each of a plurality of vertical scanning periods into grayscale levels of four or more primary colors; and an overdrive circuit (120) which sets, based on the grayscale levels that have been subjected to the multi-primary-color conversion in one vertical scanning period and on the grayscale levels that have been subjected to the multi-primary-color conversion in another vertical scanning period that is earlier than the one vertical scanning period by at least one period, the grayscale levels of the four or more primary colors in that one vertical scanning period. The present invention provides a multi-primary-color liquid crystal panel that can improve the display quality even when the input video signal has varying grayscale levels.

LCDs have a number of advantages, including their lighter weight, reduced thickness and smaller power dissipation, over other kinds of display devices, and have been used as not only a display device with a small screen such as the monitor of a cellphone but also the big screen of a TV set. Recently, as there is an increasing demand for driving a liquid crystal display device at even higher rates, someone proposed a driving method, in which according to a combination of the grayscale levels of an input video signal in one and the previous vertical scanning periods, a different effective voltage from the one corresponding to the grayscale level in the former vertical scanning period is applied (see Patent Document No. 1, for example). Such a driving method is sometimes called an "overdrive driving", by which the display quality can be improved when the grayscale level of an input video signal changes.
Meanwhile, liquid crystal display devices that add four or more primary colors together have recently been proposed as a replacement for an ordinary liquid crystal display device that uses the three primary colors. A liquid crystal display device of the former type is sometimes called a "multi-primary-color liquid crystal display device". In general, a multi-primary-color liquid crystal display device uses not only the three primary colors (namely, red, green and blue) but also another primary color as well, and attempts to expand the color reproduction range. Also, a multi-primary-color liquid crystal display device performs a display operation by converting the grayscale levels of an input video signal that can be displayed by a normal three-primary-color display device into those corresponding to four or more primary colors (see Patent Documents Nos. 2 and 3). And such a conversion is called a "multi-primary-color conversion".

Multi-primary color liquid crystal panel drive circuit, multi-primary color liquid crystal panel drive method, liquid crystal display device and overdrive setting method


A fence frame is disclosed that preferably comprises galvanized steel posts that provide an accessible flat surface or surfaces parallel with the surface of the transverse railings and through which are applied holding bolts for securing the post to adjoining ends of railing sections. The posts include at least one strengthening vertical bend. One post structure employs a tubular post support joined to the fence railing sections using a tubing-clamp-and-rail-hanger combination that allows the tubing surface to be firmly held by a piece that integrally has suitable flat-sided structures for attaching to the adjacent railing sections. Corner posts employing the same basic structure as the in-line posts or specifically designed posts are provided. The fence frame comprised of posts and railings are suitable for receiving a fence covering made up of aluminum sheet panels, plastic panels, wood pickets, plastic pickets, metal rods or other coverings of choice.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a fence construction and particularly to a fence comprising parts that are readily prefabricated so that they can be put together by a "do it yourself" fence builder, but resulting in a fence that is durable and aesthetically attractive.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many fences that are seen in residential neighborhoods are picket board fences that, except for nails, gate hinges and locks, and possibly underground foundations for the support posts, are all wooden in construction with only the individual pickets and the posts being pre-cut. Although the wood used can vary, cedar is a common material often employed for its long-lasting qualities and relative imperviousness to the ravages of the environment, including termites and the like. Nevertheless, even cedar fences quickly turn gray and the posts deteriorate, especially at the ground line where the posts enter the ground and/or their respective concrete footings In time, the boards give way at their nail holes and the fences lean, come apart and are generally unsatisfactory as fences. Fences of this type have been known to decay to an unsatisfactory state in only 10 or a few more years, requiring substantial repairs or in many cases, replacement with new materials.
Longer lasting fences employ metal posts, rather than wooden posts. Although fences having enclosed box channel posts are known, most commonly, the metal posts that are used more than any other are metal tubing posts. It is possible to completely drill a bolt hole through such a metal post; however, the most common connection is to use holding bands or straps that go around the post to be secured at its ends by screws or bolts to the cross piece or railing. It will be evident that such securement allows the post to rotate relative to the railing and for the bands and the attached cross piece to slide up or down or even to pull one way or the other and tear the holes of the band. In short, banding the posts to the railings in accordance with prior procedures has not been very satisfactory.
Bolting to a tubular post is extremely tricky and employs extremely long bolts to go through both sides of the tubular post. Even bolting to an enclosed box channel can be tricky and employs long bolts. In addition, an enclosed box channel often accumulates debris and even trash through its top open end that attracts bugs and, with trash decay, can create unpleasant odors. The wooden pickets on metal posts still deteriorate at about the same rate as with an all-wooden fence, requiring painting or replacement, as before. Metal tubular posts, unless they are very heavy gauge, also will not stand up to hard usage and have been known to bend or sever if the fence is subjected to a large lateral force.
Therefore, it is a feature of the present invention to provide an improved frame structure for a fence that is made of standard sized parts that can be pre-fitted for accurate assembly even by a novice fence builder, yet provide a more durable and attractive fence than is commonly on the market.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide an improved versatile fence structure that can be employed to mount wooden pickets, sheet metal panels, plastic panels, metal rods, and other fence coverings.

Fence employing flat sided galvanized steel posts and channel parts


An electrical connector for connecting oppositely arranged first and second mating electrical devices includes a support member, a first circuit having a plurality of electric contact elements arranged on one surface of the support member to contact electric contacts of the first mating electrical device, a second circuit having a plurality of electric contact elements arranged on the other surface of the support member to contact electric contacts of the second mating electrical device, and conductors connecting the first and second circuits. The electric contact elements of the first and second circuits are formed in the most suitable manner to meet the shapes of the mating electric contacts, respectively. The support member is formed through its thickness with slits closely around the electric contact elements, respectively. As a result, when the electric contacts of the first mating electrical device urge the electric contact elements arranged on the support member to deform the support member, the electric contacts slide on the electric contact elements, thereby removing solders adhered on the electric contact elements. The slits are arranged at random to be directed substantially in different directions so that horizontal forces caused by the urging forces of the electric contacts of the first mating electrical device are canceled out each other, thereby maintaining the axial alignment of the first mating electrical device with the electrical connector.

This invention relates to an electrical connector for connecting oppositely arranged first and second mating electrical means, comprising a support member, a first circuit having a plurality of electric contact elements arranged on one surface of the support member to contact electric contacts of the first mating electrical means, a second circuit having a plurality of electric contact elements arranged on the other surface of the support member to contact electric contacts of the second mating electrical means, and conductors connecting the first and second circuits, and more particularly to an electrical connector capable of removing solders adhered to electric contact elements from mating electric contacts, while limiting the sliding movement of the mating electric contacts.
In order to inspect the performance of a ball grid array connector having a plurality of electric contacts in the form of a hemispherical protrusion made of solder or the like, a socket connector has been used, which is detachably fitted with the ball grid array connector. In such inspections, the electrical contact between electric contacts of the two connectors amounts often to several thousand times or more. As a result, the solder forming the electric contacts of the ball grid array connector tends to adhere to the electric contact elements of the socket connector, causing defective or failed electrical connection therebetween.
Owing to such an adherence of the solder to the electric contact elements of the socket connector, removal of the adhered solder therefrom is needed by the use of a brush every several hundred times or thousand times of the contact between the electric contacts and the electric contact elements. However, the removal of the adhered solder by brushing is not an easy matter if not impossible. Earlier use of the brush would make it easy to remove the adhered solder. However, it would increase the number of time of the brushing operation, which would also increase the man-hour of the operation of the electrical connector, resulting in increased cost of operation.
There is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,691 an electric contact element of an electrical connector, having the dendritic structure at its surface. According to its explanation the dendritic structure serves only to enhance the electrical connection. The dendritic structure does not contribute to removal of adhered solder on the mating electric contacts.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,691, there is also disclosed the interposer comprising the support member, apertured members arranged on its upper and lower surfaces and the flexible circuitized substrates further arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the apertured members and supporting the conductors or electric contact elements. With this construction, when a force is applied to the conductors or electric contact elements, the circuitized substrate is depressed within the aperture of the apertured member. In the preamble of the specification of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,691, there are described that when a force is applied to the conductive elastomer elements, the resistivity of such conductive elastomer elements will be varied, that when the flexible circuit is subjected to a cyclic stress, it will shorten the fatigue life of the circuit lines on the flexible circuit, thereby possibly resulting in a failed connection, and that if the various components in the system are poor in compressibility, they could not accommodate their manufacturing tolerances. In order to overcome these problems, the invention of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,691 proposed the elastic support member. It is clear, however, that this proposal does not have the purpose of removing adhered solder.
As can be seen from FIG. 1 of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,691, electric contacts arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the support member are similar in shape to one another. However, there is need to change the shapes of the upper and lower contacts in the most suitable manner depending upon the shapes of mating contacts and their applications.
In manufacturing, moreover, it is needed to investigate microstrip lines in consideration of characteristics as transmission lines preferable for measurements. In reality, however, it is very difficult to investigate the microstrip lines.
As described above, there is a hitherto used electrical connector comprising a ball grid array connector (first connector) and a socket connector (second connector) which are brought into detachable abutment against one another to electrically connect a plurality of electric contacts made of solder in the form of a hemispherical protrusion provided on one surface of the first connector and a plurality of electric contact elements provided on one surface of the second connector. In such a construction, the electric contacts of the first connector arranged with an interval of 0.8 mm are as little as about 0.2 mm in diameter. The narrower the interval or pitch of the electric contacts, the narrower will become contacting areas with the mating contact elements. Therefore, a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera is commonly used to bring the electric contacts of the first connector and the electric contact elements of the second connector into alignment with one another.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, the first connector 110 includes a connector plate 111 made of a ceramic or hard resin substrate or board having a rigidity, on one surface of which are provided a plurality of electric contacts 112 of solder (Pb and Sn) in the form of a hemispherical protrusion. These electric contacts 112 are formed by reflow-soldering of solder balls arranged on lands of a hard resin board.
The second connector 120 includes a plurality of electric contact elements 130 adapted to contact the electric contacts 112 of the first connector 110. These electric contact elements 130 are provided on conductors 126 provided on one surface of a substrate 122 or flexible printed board or the like which is formed with slits 124 around the conductors 126, thereby making flexible the parts of the substrate and the conductors surrounded by the slits 124. With this construction, the elastic support of the electric contact elements accommodates any differences in height between the electric contacts 112 of the first connector 110. The electric contact elements 112 are in general treated with a surface treatment such as nickel or gold plating because they are electrically contacting portions.
FIG. 11A illustrates part of such a first connector 110 including four electric contacts, and FIG. 11B shows part of the second connector 120 in opposition to the part of the first connector 110, whose slits 124 are directed in the same direction. FIG. 11C is a cross-sectional view of the part of the second connector 120 shown in FIG. 11B. FIG. 11D schematically illustrates the electric contact elements 130 supported in the cantilevered manner before urged. FIG. 11E schematically illustrates the electric contact elements 130 urged downward by the electric contacts 112. As shown in FIG. 11E, in the case of the arrangement of the slits 124 directed in the same direction, the electric contacts 112 of the first connector 110 are subjected to horizontal direction shown by an arrow A owing to the horizontal components of the reaction forces caused by the parts of the substrate and the conductors surrounded by the slits 124 of the second connector 120, as a result of which the first connector 110 is subjected to the horizontal force shown by the arrow A. Consequently, the distance of the sliding movement of the electric contacts 112 of the first connector 110 increases although the first connector 110 is guided to prevent it from wobbling in the direction A by a plug and socket mechanism.
In the case of 70% or more of the slits 124 directed in the same direction, it would be difficult to restrain the distance of sliding movement of the electric contacts 112 of the first connector 110, so that contacting positions between the electric contacts 112 of the first connector 110 and the electric contact elements 130 of the second connector 120 would irregularly vary, resulting in unstable contact between the electric contacts 112 and the electric contact elements 130.
With the slits 124 in excess of 70% directed in the same direction, the first connector 110 is further moved by the force shown by the arrow A in FIG. 11E in addition to the sliding movement of the electric contacts 112 although the first connector 110 is guided by the plug and socket mechanism. As described above, the range of contact between the electric contacts 112 and the electric contact elements 130 is very narrow, so that the contact therebetween comes out of the range, with the result of defective or failed electrical connection.
If the slits 124 are directed substantially in the same direction, the distance of the sliding movement of the electric contacts on the electric contact elements would excessively increase, causing excess wear of the contacting portions therebetween.


High bit density, longitudinal and/or perpendicular magnetic recording media that are substantially free of Barkhausen noise are fabricated by utilizing magnetically soft, superparamagnetic underlayers which are compatible with the grain structure of the magnetic recording layer and serve to guide magnetic flux through the magnetic layer. An exchange de-coupling layer is positioned between the superpararnagnetic underlayer and the magnetic layer for prevention of direct coupling of the grains of each the layers.

The present invention relates to improved magnetic information/data recording, storage, and retrieval media and a method for manufacturing same. More specifically, the present invention relates to magnetic media in which Barkhausen noise is substantially eliminated by provision of a magnetically soft superparamagnetic underlayer, and a method for manufacturing same. The invention has particular utility in the manufacture and use of extremely high bit density magnetic recording systems utilizing a single pole vertical (i.e., perpendicular) recording head.
Magnetic media are widely used in various applications, particularly in the computer industry, and efforts are continually made with the aim of increasing the recording density, i.e., bit density of the magnetic media. In this regard, so-called xe2x80x9cperpendicularxe2x80x9d recording media have been found to be superior to the more conventional xe2x80x9clongitudinalxe2x80x9d media in achieving very high bit densities. In perpendicular magnetic recording media, residual magnetization is formed in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the magnetic medium, typically a layer of a magnetic material on a suitable substrate. Very high linear recording densities are obtainable by utilizing a xe2x80x9csingle-polexe2x80x9d magnetic transducer or xe2x80x9cheadxe2x80x9d with such perpendicular magnetic media.
It is well-known that efficient, high bit density recording utilizing a perpendicular magnetic medium requires interposition of a magnetically xe2x80x9csoftxe2x80x9d underlayer, i.e., a magnetic layer having relatively low coercivity, such as of a NiFe alloy (Permalloy), between the non-magnetic substrate, e.g., of glass, aluminum (Al) or an Al-based alloy, and the perpendicular magnetic recording layer, e.g., of a cobalt-chromium (Coxe2x80x94Cr) alloy having perpendicular anisotropy. The magnetically soft underlayer serves to guide magnetic flux emanating from the head through the perpendicular magnetic recording layer. In addition, the magnetically soft underlayer reduces susceptibility of the medium to thermally-activated magnetization reversal by reducing the demagnetizing fields which lower the energy barrier that maintains the current state of magnetization.
A typical perpendicular recording system 10 utilizing a vertically oriented magnetic medium with a soft magnetic underlayer, and a single-pole head is illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein reference numerals 2, 3, and 4 respectively indicate the substrate, soft magnetic underlayer, and vertically oriented magnetic recording layer of perpendicular magnetic medium 1, and reference numerals 6 and 7 respectively indicate the single and auxiliary poles of single-pole magnetic transducer head 5. As shown by the arrows in the figure indicating the path of the magnetic flux xcfx86, flux xcfx86 is seen as emanating from single pole 6 of single-pole magnetic transducer head 5, entering and passing through vertically oriented magnetic recording layer 4 in the region above single pole 6, entering and travelling along soft magnetic underlayer 3 for a distance and exiting therefrom and passing through vertically oriented magnetic recording layer 4 in the region above auxiliary pole 7 of single-pole magnetic transducer head 5. The direction of movement of perpendicular magnetic medium 1 past transducer head 5 is indicated in the figure by the arrow above medium 1.
However, a significant problem and drawback associated with the utilization of soft magnetic underlayers, such as layer 3 shown in FIG. 1, is the generation of noise resulting from, inter alia, pinning and unpinning of the magnetic domain walls, termed xe2x80x9cBarkhausen noisexe2x80x9d, which noise adversely affects performance characteristics of magnetic media, particularly high bit density magnetic media.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved, high bit density perpendicular (and longitudinal) magnetic information/data recording, storage, and retrieval media including magnetically soft underlayers but which exhibit greatly reduced, or no Barkhausen noise. In addition, there exists a need for improved, low Barkhausen noise, high bit density perpendicular and longitudinal magnetic media employing magnetically soft underlayers which are fabricated by conventional manufacturing techniques, e.g., sputtering.
The present invention addresses and solves problems attendant upon the use of magnetically soft underlayers in the manufacture of high bit density perpendicular and longitudinal magnetic media, e.g., Barkhausen noise, while maintaining all structural and mechanical aspects of high bit density recording technology. Moreover, the magnetic media of the present invention can be fabricated by means of conventional manufacturing techniques, e.g., sputtering.
An advantage of the present invention is an improved, high bit density, magnetic information/data recording, storage, and retrieval medium including a magnetically soft underlayer, which medium is substantially free of Barkhausen noise.
Another advantage of the present invention is an improved, high bit density, perpendicular-type magnetic recording medium including a magnetically soft, superparamagnetic underlayer, which medium is substantially free of Barkhausen noise and well-suited for use with a single-pole magnetic transducer head.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is an improved, high bit density longitudinal-type magnetic recording medium including a magnetically soft underlayer, which medium is substantially free of Barkhausen noise.
Additional advantages, aspects, and other features of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from the practice of the present invention. The advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the foregoing and other advantages are obtained in part by a high bit density magnetic information/data recording, storage, and retrieval medium substantially free of Barkhausen noise, comprising:
a non-magnetic substrate having a surface for layer stack formation thereon; and
a stack of polycrystalline layers formed over the substrate surface, the layer stack comprising, in sequence from said substrate surface:
an underlayer;
at least one layer pair composed of:
a magnetically soft superparamagnetic underlayer over-lying
the underlayer; and
an exchange de-coupling layer overlying the magnetically soft superparamagnetic underlayer; and
a high bit density magnetic recording, storage, and retrieval layer;
wherein the grains constituting each of the polycrystalline layers of the layer stack have substantially the same width.
According to embodiments of the present invention, the medium comprises a high bit density perpendicular-type or longitudinal-type magnetic recording medium; the magnetically soft superparamagnetic underlayer is from about 4 to about 12 nm thick, e.g., about 5 to about 8 nm thick, the exchange de-coupling layer is from about 0.5 to about 5 nm thick, e.g., about 0.5 to about 3 nm thick; and the width of the grains constituting each of the polycrystalline layers of the layer stack is from about 5 to about 15 nm, e.g., 10 nm.
According to further embodiments of the present invention, the magnetic medium comprises a stacked plurality of the layer pairs, each pair consisting of a magnetically soft superparamagnetic underlayer and an overlying exchange de-coupling layer.
According to yet further embodiments of the present invention, the at least one magnetically soft superparamagnetic underlayer comprises at least one ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material; the ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material being selected from iron (Fe); Fe-rich alloys, e.g., iron-chromium (Fexe2x80x94Cr) alloys; Fe-oxides; cobalt (Co); Co-rich alloys, e.g., cobalt-chromium (Coxe2x80x94Cr) alloys; and Co-oxides; and the ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material may include boron (B).
According to embodiments of the present invention, the exchange de-coupling layer may comprise chromium (Cr) or a Cr-based alloy; the underlayer may comprise Cr or a Cr-based alloy; and the high bit density magnetic layer comprises a Co-based alloy including one or more elements selected from Cr, Fe, Ta, Ni, Mo, Pt, V, Nb, Ge, and B.
According to further embodiments of the present invention, the non-magnetic substrate comprises glass or aluminum (Al) or an Al-based alloy, e.g., an aluminum-magnesium (Alxe2x80x94Mg) alloy, having a plating layer, e.g., of nickel-phosphorus (Nixe2x80x94P), on the surface thereof; and the medium further includes a protective overcoat layer overlying the magnetic layer and a lubricant topcoat layer overlying the protective overcoat layer.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a high bit density magnetic information/data recording, storage, and retrieval medium comprises:
a high bit density magnetic layer; and
layer means for substantially eliminating Barkhausen noise from the medium.
Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein embodiments of the invention are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for practicing the present invention. As will be described, the present invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are susceptible of modification in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not limitative.

Magnetic recording medium with superparamagnetic underlayer


The present invention provides a device and method to efficiently turn light from an optical fiber around a corner while avoiding the frustrated-TIR loss that would occur if the fiber were bent. The invention uses non-imaging optics which efficiently deal with beam divergence half-angles less than 90°. By recognizing that most light from a fiber optic source will have a divergence half-angle of less than 90 degrees, a practical solution is achieved using non-imaging optics.

An optical fiber cannot be bent around a sharp angle because it will break and it will lose light because some of the light rays it is carrying will strike the cladding at less than the critical angle. The critical angle of an optical fiber is the angle of rays to the normal to the boundary of the fiber at which total internal reflection (TIR) begins to fail, so that the light internal to the fiber begins to exit through the cladding. When this occurs, the efficiency of transmission is significantly reduced. To turn a sharp corner and yet prevent substantial failure of TIR, the fiber can be cut and flat mirrors along with other optics can be used to redirect the light from one substantially-straight section of fiber to another substantially-straight section of fiber which is oriented in another direction. This method of redirecting light provides a break in the optical fiber and allows the light to be turned so it can again be sent down a second optical fiber or otherwise used.
A fiber optic sharp corner turner is desirable for certain applications of pulse oximetry where wires are undesirable, such as in Magnetic Resonance Interference (MRI) applications. Pulse oximetry is typically used to measure various blood flow characteristics including, but not limited to, the blood-oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood, the volume of individual blood pulsations supplying the tissue, and the rate of blood pulsations corresponding to each heartbeat of a patient. Measurement of these characteristics has been accomplished by use of a non-invasive sensor which passes light through a portion of the patient's tissue where blood perfuses the tissue and photoelectrically senses the absorption of light in such tissue. The amount of light absorbed is then used to calculate the amount of blood constituent being measured. For measuring blood oxygen levels, sensors have been provided with light sources and photodetectors that are adapted to operate at two different wavelengths, in accordance with known techniques for measuring blood oxygen saturation using optical signals carried by optical fibers.
MRI exams are typically used to view the internal structure of the human body. Observation of these internal structures has been accomplished by use of a non-invasive magnetic resonance frequency which passes through the body to create an internal picture of the person. For measuring blood oxygen levels during these procedures, fiber-optic-coupled pulse oximeters have been provided since it is desirable in the MRI environment to avoid attaching metal wires to the patient. One reason for this is that the patient might be burned by the wires during the procedure, since the high electromagnetic fields of the MRI instrument can induce high currents in the wires. Ordinary pulse oximetry systems include semiconductor diodes closely-coupled to the patient (two or more of such diodes for light emission and at least one for light detection) and electrical wires to connect those semiconductor diodes to the instrument. A fiber optic pulse oximetry system, on the other hand, has light emission and detection means remote to the patient, and connects these means to the patient's tissue by way of optical fibers. Such a pulse oximeter enables physicians to take data without risk of harming the patient. In a fiber-coupled pulse oximeter, the "sensor" (that is attached to the patient), rather than comprising light emitting and detecting devices, may simply comprise an optical interface between a pair of optical fiber bundles and the patient's tissue, one fiber bundle for bringing light to the patient and one for carrying it away.
A pulse oximeter sensor may be attached at a number of locations, such as a finger. To avoid movement causing stress at the connection to the sensor, the connecting wires, fibers, or fiber bundles may be taped to the patient a short distance from the attachment site. This means that, if an optical fiber is used as a connector, it must run parallel to the patient, then make a sharp turn to deliver the light to the skin. A similar sharp turn would be required for a fetal application of pulse oximetry, where the connector needs to enter through the vagina, then may need to make a turn to direct light at the fetus. Other medical sensors may have similar requirements—for example, in a fiber-optic instrument designed to detect the vitality of dental pulp by sending light through a tooth, it is necessary for an optical fiber to enter the mouth, and for light leaving the end of the fiber to be redirected sharply so as to enter the tooth.
There are prior art optical devices which can achieve efficient corner turning but they use imaging optics and tend to be expensive and bulky. Imaging optics allow a one-to-one correspondence of points on the input object in the object plane to points on the output image in the image plane. Non-imaging optics provide for transmission of light from the input plane to the output plane, without the requirement for one-to-one correspondence of object and image points. Other prior art corner turning devices often require high Numerical Aperture (NA) imaging optics and tend to be expensive and lossy.
In one oximeter system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,499, a probe with a flat reflector is used to redirect light at an angle lateral to the axis of the fiber bundle. This probe incorporates Fresnel light reflections from the optical fiber and air interface, directing them laterally into the fiber and capsule enclosing the end of the fiber without secondary light reflections and refractions. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,468, a connector system for coupling between a fiber optic transmission line and an opto-electronic device is disclosed. With this system, light is bent around a corner using flat mirrors, internally reflecting prisms, and lenses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,543 provides a directional indicator and methods of use which gives a surgeon visual feedback as to the direction of radiation to be emitted from a side-firing laser fiber when the distal end of the laser fiber is obscured from observation. With such a system, the laser core has an integral tilted mirror at one end to cause the emitted beam to be at an angle to the laser axis. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,296, a pair of finger cuffs that include an electrocardiographic electrode, a first radiation source and detector pair for blood pressure measurement, and a second radiation source and detector pair for blood oxygenation measurement are disclosed. In this setup, an optical system with various beamsplitters, lenses, optical fibers, and beam re-directors are used.
Non-imaging optics are a type of optics which have only begun to be understood within the last few decades. The state of the art of analyzing and designing such optics as of 1989 has been summarized in W. T. Welford and R. Winston, High Collection Nonimaging Optics, Academic Press, c. 1989, which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes. At the time of publication of this text, no non-imaging corner turners were known.
Welford and Winston described (see their page 4) a distinction between two-dimensional and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) designs of non-imaging optics, a concept which will be used herein, in a generalized fashion.
2D corner turners are bounded by more-or-less complex curves in the plane of the bend. The three-dimensional shapes of 2D corner turners are generated by moving those curves perpendicular to themselves, so that every cross-section parallel to the plane of the bend is the same curve, and every cross-section perpendicular to the plane of the bend is a rectangle. This is a first type of corner turner (In spite of the name "2D," it is a 3 dimensional object). The upper and lower surfaces of 2D corner turners are planar reflectors. A familiar example of this type of shape, which in the language of solid geometry may be called a "generalized right cylinder," is a curved 90 degree bend in rectangular-cross-section air conditioning duct. 2D corner turners are especially well-adapted for use with input and output optical beams having rectangular cross sections, although at some cost in dilution (see definition below) they may be used with input and output beams of circular or other cross sections.
3D corner turners may in general have differently-shaped curves in each cross section in the plane of the bend, and in each cross section perpendicular to that plane. This is a second type of corner turner. Their input and output cross sections may be adapted to the shape of associated input and output optics, which will in many cases be circular. A familiar shape of the general class to which 3D corner turners belong is a right-angle bend in round copper water tubing.
An article by Collares-Pereira et al., entitled "Redirecting Concentrated Radiation," Proc. SPIE, vol. 2538, pp. 131–135 (August 1995), describes a toroidal corner turner. This 3D device is thought by the present inventor to be the only previous published example of non-imaging optics for corner turning. The corner turner described, by its nature, is restricted to working efficiently with input and output beams, each of which has a maximum ray propagation angle of 90 degrees with respect to the beam axis (in air this corresponds to NA=1.0). If the input beam has less than a 90 degree divergence, the output beam may still have a 90 degree divergence. As such, this use of the toroid is inefficient, which is to say that it does not minimize étendue of the output beam (étendue is defined, in the 2D case, as the product of NA and the beam diameter). In an application in which a toroidal corner turner was used to direct light from one optical fiber to another, both fibers having NA=0.5, much of the light entering the second fiber would be at angles exceeding NA=0.5, and would therefore quickly be lost as it propagated down the length of the second fiber.
Consequently, a device is needed which conserves étendue while redirecting light around a corner that does not use imaging optics and can work efficiently with smaller input divergence than 90 degrees.


A semiconductor memory device comprising a plurality of memory cell arrays including a redundant memory cell for each. Connection between each memory cell array and data input-output terminals can be switched easily by a signal input from the outside in response to a plurality of input-output data widths. Each redundant memory cell compares each bit of an external address input externally with each bit of an internal address of a memory cell having been stored. According to a detection signal from a redundancy judging circuit to detect agreement between both addresses, the memory cell having that address is replaced. This replacement can be carried out not only within the memory cell array having the redundant memory cell but also between different memory cell arrays.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more specifically, to means for compensating a defunct memory cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 are circuit diagrams showing configurations of conventional semiconductor memory devices.
Some semiconductor memory devices have plural varieties with different input-output data widths, although they have the same capacity. For example, in 16-Mbit DRAMs, 4M.times.4-bit, 2M.times.8-bit, 1M.times.16-bit types etc., exist. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the cases of DRAMs whose input-output data widths are 4 bit and 8 bit respectively, although they have the same memory cell array structure.
In the DRAM shown in FIG. 1 having the 4-bit configuration, memory cell arrays ARRAY0 and ARRAY1 (hereinafter called ARRAY0 and ARRAY1 respectively) share groups of local IO lines IO00 to IO30 and IO01 to IO31, each of which is composed of 4 lines. Four respective sense amplifiers are connected to each of row decoders YDEC00 to YDECn0 and YDEC01 to YDECn1. These four sense amplifiers are also connected to each of four IO lines IO00 to IO30 and IO01 to IO31 (hereinafter called IO00 to IO31), respectively.
Upon reading and writing data, one of row decoders YDEC00 to YDECn0 and YDEC01 to YDECn1 is selected. Which one of row decoders YDEC00 to YDECn0 and YDEC01 to YDECn1 is selected and activated depends on an address signal input externally. No matter which row decoder is activated, one of data amplifier groups DA00 to DA30 and DA-01 to DA31 (hereinafter called DA00 to DA 31) which is connected to the memory cell array including the activated row decoder (hereinafter called YDEC) is activated while the other is not. In this manner, 4-bit data in total are input and output between ARRAY0 or ARRAY1 whichever including the selected memory cell and input-output terminals DQ1 to DQ4 via global internal input-output lines RWB1 to RWB4 (hereinafter called RWB1 to RWB4).
In the 8-bit configuration DRAM shown in FIG. 2, sense amplifiers of ARRAY0 and ARRAY1 share local IO lines IO00 to IO30 and IO01 to IO31 composed of 4 lines respectively, as in the 4-bit configuration DRAM shown in FIG. 1. Four sense amplifiers are connected to each of YDEC00 to YDECn0 and YDEC01 to YDECn1. These 4 sense amplifiers are respectively connected to each of IO lines IO00 to IO30 and IO01 to IO31.
Upon reading and writing data, one of YDEC00 to YDECn0 and one of YDEC01 to YDECn1 having the same row address are selected. Both groups of DA00 to DA30 and DA01 to DA31 are activated at the same time. In this manner, 4-bit data in total are input and output simultaneously between ARRAY0 and input-output terminals DQ1 to DQ4 (hereinafter called DQ1 to DQ4) and between ARRAY1 and input-output terminals DQ5 to DQB (hereinafter called DQ5 to DQ8). As a result, 8-bit data in total for the entire chip are input and output between DQ1 to DQ8, and ARRAY0, ARRAY1 via global internal input-output lines RWB1 to RWB8 (hereinafter called RWB1 to RWB8).
A general semiconductor memory device has a function to obtain a proper chip by replacing a defunct cell with a redundant cell having been installed therein in advance, even when one of cells becomes defunct. This replacement is carried out by a replacement address comparing circuit. The replacement address comparing circuit compares a row address signal input externally with a replacement address having been stored internally. When the both show an agreement, the replacement is carried out by selecting a row decoder connected to the redundant memory cell corresponding to the row address signal. In FIGS. 1 and 2, redundancy judging circuits YRED0 and YRED1 (hereinafter called YRED0 and YRED1) are the replacement address comparing circuits and redundant cell row decoders RYDEC0 and RYDEC1 (hereinafter called RYDEC0 and RYDEC1) select the redundant cell.
In the 4-bit configuration product shown in FIG. 1, either ARRAY0 or ARRAY1 is activated, and input and output of data is carried out by using either IO00 to IO30 or IO01 to IO31.
For example, in the case where YDEC00 in ARRAY0 is replaced by using RYEDC1 in ARRAY1, YRED0 and YRED1 compare the row address signal input externally with the respective replacement addresses having been stored. In this case, only YRED1 shows an agreement and RYDEC1 is selected and then DA00 to DA30 is stopped from being activated (YDEC00 is not activated at this time), while DA01 to DA31 is activated instead.
In this manner, data which have been input and output between the sense amplifiers connected to YDEC00 and the outside are input and output between redundant sense amplifiers connected to RYDEC1 and the outside, and the replacement has thus been carried out. It is possible for each of RYDEC0 and RYDEC1 in a 4-bit configuration DRAM to replace an ordinary cell in both ARRAY0 and ARRAY1.
Meanwhile, in an 8-bit configuration DRAM shown in FIG. 2, both memory cell arrays ARRAY0 and ARRAY1 are activated simultaneously, and data input and output is carried out by using both IO00 to IO30 and IO01 to IO31 simultaneously. Therefore, it is impossible to replace YDEC01 to YDECn1 in ARRAY1 with RYDEC0 in ARRAY0 and so is vice versa, since data from a plurality of sense amplifiers conflict on IO00 to IO30 or IO01 to IO31. Therefore, the range where RYDEC0 or RYDEC1 can replace the memory cell is limited to the memory cell array containing each.
As has been described above, even in the same memory cell array structure, the range of defunct bit lines that each redundant bit line can replace differs at depending on an input-output data width.
In order to improve efficiency in designing and in production of varieties of semiconductor memory devices meeting a demand, it is generally carried out that plural varieties are implemented by the same die and the varieties are switched from one to another by bonding wires or metal wiring on an upper layer. A third conventional semiconductor device shown in FIG. 3 is an example of a DRAM comprising this switching function therein.
FIG. 4 is an example of a circuit diagram of redundancy judging circuits YRED0 and YRED1 shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, among fuse elements F0N and F0T which can be cut, only a fuse element F0N is cut when the least significant bit of a replacement address to be stored is 0, while only a fuse element F0T is cut when that is 1. Other fuse elements F1N.multidot.F1T to F(n-1)N F(n-1)T which can be cut are cut exclusively according to the level of each bit of the replacement address. In other words, by appropriately cutting these fuse elements in advance, a row address of a replacement cell can be stored. Meanwhile, complement signals Y0N and Y0T input externally show the least significant bit of a row address. Other complement signals Y1N.multidot.Y1T to Y(n-1)N .multidot.Y(n-1)T are the signals input externally and showing each bit of the row address of each memory cell.
An operation of this circuit will be explained next. Signal RP is normally LOW and becomes HIGH temporarily upon comparison of the replacement address. Therefore, contact 100 is normally HIGH. Upon comparison of the replacement address, if the replacement address having been stored in the fuses and a row address of each memory cell array which is an external address whose most significant bit has been removed are in agreement, contact 100 remains HIGH and becomes LOW if otherwise. As a result, only when the row address input externally agrees with the replacement address, signal YRSEL is output and a corresponding redundant cell becomes activated. Signals YRSEL in FIGS. 1 to 3 have the same suffixes as of memory cell array ARRAY0 or ARRAY1 in which the signals are generated.
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a multiplexer MUX (hereinafter called MUX) installed in the conventional DRAM shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 5, signal Yn distinguishes ARRAY0 from ARRAY1 in the case of the 4-bit configuration, and here it shows a most significant bit of a row address input externally. The complement signals thereof are shown as YnN and YnT. Being the most significant bit has nothing to do with the nature of the present invention. Signal MDX4 shows a bit configuration, and in the case of 4-bit, it becomes HIGH while Low in 8-bit. Signal MDX4 is configured by a circuit which can select a logic level by using bonding to a pad for example, and this circuit is not explicitly shown in FIG. 5. Furthermore, a signal generating process has nothing to do with the nature of the present invention.
MUX connects RWB1 to RWB8 with DQ1 to DQ8 one to one in the case of an 8-bit configuration, that is, if signal MDX4 is LOW. As a result, an operation which is the same as that by the conventional 8-bit configuration product shown in FIG. 2 can be carried out.
On the other hand, in the case of a 4-bit configuration product, that is, if signal MDX4 is HIGH, MUX connects RWB1 to RWB4 with input-output terminals DQ1 to DQ4 one to one when signal YnT is LOW, that is, when ARRAY0 is being activated. When signal YnT is HIGH, that is, when ARRAY1 is being activated, MUX connects RWB5 to RWB8 with input-output terminals DQ1 to DQ4 one to one.
In this manner, by changing a logic level of signal MDX4, the bit configuration can be changed. Therefore, plural varieties in plural bit configurations can be produced even if the chip design is basically the same.
Locations of defunct cells which occur in a memory cell array are not distributed uniformly, but generally take a biased Poisson distribution. Therefore, even if the total number of redundant cells in a chip is the same, the wider the range of ordinary cells that each redundant cell can replace is, the better the replacement of defunct cells in a biased distribution can be conducted. As a result, a probability of obtaining a proper chip replacing all defunct cells can be improved.
In conventional examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each redundant cell in the 4-bit configuration can replace ordinary cells in an area twice as large as in the 8-bit configuration, and the probability of obtaining a proper chip is thus higher for the 4-bit.
In the conventional example shown in FIG. 3, the array configuration regarding defunct cell replacement is the same in both 4-bit and 8-bit configurations. Therefore, in both cases, only ordinary cells in the same region where the redundant cell exists are selected as in the case of the conventional 8-bit configuration. The probability to obtain a proper chip is thus lower than conventional 4-bit configuration products as shown in FIG.


A brush head device for cleaning an object with a cleaning fluid. The device includes a body assembly having an input port and a reservoir. The input port is configured to receive the cleaning fluid. The reservoir is configured to collect the cleaning fluid received by the input port. A valve assembly is disposed in the body member between the input port and the reservoir. The valve assembly includes a plurality of discrete flow control channels configured to regulate a flow of cleaning fluid between the input port and the reservoir. The valve assembly is actuatable between an OFF position and a plurality of discrete flow control positions. Each of the plurality of discrete flow control positions corresponds to one of the plurality of discrete flow control channels. A brush member is coupled to the body assembly and in fluidic communication with the reservoir. The brush member is configured to apply the cleaning fluid to the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automotive cleaning equipment, and particularly to brush heads used to deliver a cleaning fluid to a surface of a vehicle.
2. Technical Background
According to current marketing estimates, there are over five hundred million motor vehicles currently operating around the globe. There are over fifteen million vehicles sold in the United States every year, and forty-four million vehicles sold world wide. Vehicle ownership is a necessity. Motorists depend on their vehicle to get them back and forth from work, shopping, and other events and activities. However, for most people, the purchase of a motor vehicle represents a major investment. Accordingly, most vehicle owners try to protect that investment by providing their vehicles with the best maintenance they can afford. Part of this maintenance includes cleaning the exterior of the vehicle to remove dust, road salt, and other road contaminants that may degrade the vehicle finish.
Automated car washes typically employ devices that meter the storage, release and mixture of concentrated soap into a water stream. These devices are commonly referred to as "sudsers." Sudsers generally include a connector for operably attaching a hose to one end thereof, a reservoir for storing concentrated soap, means through which the water stream must pass to mix the water and soap, and a nozzle for dispensing the water/soap mixture. A brush head, or other such applicators, may be connected to the nozzle to apply the cleaning fluid to the vehicle surface.
However, conventional brush heads and applicators have drawbacks associated with them. For example, conventional brush heads in fluid communication with a source of pressurized fluid have no convenient method for regulating the flow of water and/or cleaning solution. Typically, the user must stop cleaning, put the brush down, and walk over to a selection panel to regulate the flow. Of course, this wastes the user's time and often results in the user depositing more coins in the car wash than are needed.
What is needed is brush head that includes a valve for regulating the flow of water through the brush head itself. The ability to regulate the water flow is desirable because it prevents waste, and allows the user to select an appropriate amount of water flow in accordance with his needs.

Brush head assembly with a three-position control valve


Methods and systems for evaluating the fit of raw data to model data are disclosed. Relationships between an assessment item and a tested attribute, responses from examinees to an assessment item, mastery states for an examinee for a tested attribute, one or more parameters based on expected assessment item performance, estimates for non-tested attributes for each examinee, likelihoods that an examinee that has mastered attributes pertaining to an assessment item will answer the item correctly, likelihoods that an examinee that has not mastered an attribute for an assessment item will answer the item correctly, and/or other variables may be received. For each item and/or for each examinee, a determination of a class for the examinee and/or item may be determined. Statistics may also be generated for each examinee, each item, an examination and/or any other basis.

Standardized testing is prevalent in the United States today. Such testing is used for higher education entrance examinations and achievement testing at the primary and secondary school levels. The prevalence of standardized testing in the United States has been further bolstered by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which emphasizes nationwide test-based assessment of student achievement.
At the same time, standardized testing is accused of a variety of failings. One criticism of standardized testing is that it can only assess a student's abilities generally, but cannot adequately determine whether a student has mastered a particular ability or not. Accordingly, standardized testing is seen as inadequate in assisting teachers with developing a level of mastery for a student in all subject matters.
Because of this limitation, cognitive modeling methods, also known as skills assessment or skills profiling, have been developed for assessing students' abilities. Cognitive diagnosis statistically analyzes the process of evaluating each examinee on the basis of the level of competence on an array of skills and using this evaluation to make relatively fine-grained categorical teaching and learning decisions about each examinee. Traditional educational testing, such as the use of an SAT score to determine overall ability, performs summative assessment. In contrast, cognitive diagnosis performs formative assessment, which partitions answers for an assessment examination into fine-grained (often discrete or dichotomous) cognitive skills or abilities in order to evaluate an examinee with respect to his level of competence for each skill or ability. For example, if a designer of an algebra test is interested in evaluating a standard set of algebra attributes, such as factoring, laws of exponents, quadratic equations, and the like, cognitive diagnosis attempts to evaluate each examinee with respect to each such attribute, whereas summative analysis simply evaluates each examinee with respect to an overall score on the algebra test.
One assumption of all cognitive diagnosis models is that the assessment items (i=1, . . . , I) relate to a set of cognitive attributes (k=1, . . . , K) in a particular manner. The relationships between assessment items and cognitive attributes are generally represented in a matrix of size I×K and having values Q={qik}, where qik=1 when attribute k is required by item i and qik=0 when attribute k is not required by item i.
Using the Q matrix representation, conventional approaches to cognitive diagnosis were developed to either (1) diagnose examinees, by assigning mastery or non-mastery of each attribute to each examinee, without determining the cognitive structure of the exam, or (2) cognitively evaluate the exam, by statistically evaluating the relationships between the items and the attributes, without diagnosing the cognitive abilities of the examinees. If items are not cognitively evaluated, a cognitive diagnosis has little meaning except with relation to the particular assessment examination. Likewise, if cognitive diagnosis is not performed on examinees, a cognitive evaluation of the items cannot be aligned with the observed examinee response data. As a result, the interpretation of an evaluation of the assessment item does not relate to examinees. Moreover, in order to be useful for evaluation purposes, the parameters of a cognitive diagnosis model must be statistically identifiable. No conventional method incorporates all of these requirements.
What is needed is a method and system for performing cognitive diagnosis that evaluates both assessment items and assessment examinees using statistically identifiable parameters.
A further need exists for a method and system for evaluating assessment examinees with respect to a plurality of attributes based on responses to assessment items.
A further need exists for a method and system for evaluating whether assessment items assist in determining one or more attributes of an assessment examinee.
A still further need exists for a method and system for evaluating an assessment examination based on the responses of assessment examinees.
The present invention is directed to solving one or more of the problems described above.

Method of evaluation fit of raw data to model data


A new and distinct cultivar of Salvia plant named ‘Icing Sugar’, characterized by its upright and relatively compact plant habit; strong growth habit; freely flowering habit; red purple and light purple bi-colored flowers; and good garden performance.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Salvia plant, botanically known as Salvia greggii and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Icing Sugar'.
The new Salvia plant originated from an open-pollination during the summer of 2004 of an unnamed selection of Salvia greggii, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Salvia greggii, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Salvia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated open-pollination grown in a controlled outdoor nursery environment in Herefordshire, United Kingdom in 2005.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by vegetative cuttings in Herefordshire, United Kingdom, since the spring of 2006, has shown that the unique features of this new Salvia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


In some examples, a method of vector-raster data fusion includes receiving vector data for a geographical location, and statistically analyzing the vector data to obtain vector statistics. In some examples the method further includes rasterizing the vector statistics, and storing at least one of the vector data and the rasterized vector statistics together in a key-value store together with previously stored raster data for the geographical location. In some examples, the vector data further includes metadata, and the method further includes storing the metadata in at least one of the key-value store or a separate vector database.

The present invention relates to geospatial data, and more specifically, to processing and rasterization of vector data for a geographic location and storing geo-spatially indexed vector data and their rasterized version in a key-value store together with previously stored raster data for the same geographic location.
Currently, geospatial software solutions do not support scalable or distributed analytics for fusing petabytes of vector data with raster data. In this context it is noted that there are ever increasing amounts of vector data available. Such vector data may be generated by, for example, airborne mounted LASER devices used, for example, for vegetation management, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) hardware installed on automobiles intended for autonomous driving, automatic geo-tagging of human infrastructure such as points-of-interest, roads, or houses, visual recognition algorithms employing cameras, or satellite imagery.
Thus, there is an increasing need to curate, host and geo-temporally index such information for analytics processing such as, for example, cross-layer filtering and fusion with existing raster and vector data (e.g. elevation, satellite imagery, weather data, census, etc.), or, for example, machine learning for vegetation management, terrain modeling, archeology discovery under vegetation, and similar applications.
It is useful to provide solutions to address the ever growing need for vector-raster data fusion, in particular in geospatial information systems (GISs).

International Business Machines Corporation


A wheel of a roller skate includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart generally axially extending curvilinear paths. A speed skater, traveling a predominately circular course with such wheels properly aligned on such skates, is able to use air moving past the skater to increase skating speed. As air enters the curvilinear paths of the wheel the direction of air flow changes. In this manner, momentum is transferred from the moving air to the spinning wheels, thus increasing the number of revolutions of the wheel and the speed of the skater.

In the world of roller speed skating, as in many activities today, it is believed that athletes are reaching thresholds of performance which cannot be surpassed by relying solely on the human factor. There is just simply a limit to what the human body, by itself, can achieve. Currently, speed skaters are reaching maximum speeds, around a predominately circular course, of thirty miles per hour.
In view of such limits, more and more athletes seek improvements in the equipment they use to best their competition and achieve record setting results. One way to attempt to improving such equipment is to make the equipment lighter. For instance, it is known to drill a plurality of paths having a circular cross section through the hub of a roller skating wheel, parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel. Such drilling lightens the hub and is ornamentally attractive. However, any improvement achieved in increased speeds is practically unmeasurable.
The present invention is an improvement to the hub of the wheel of a roller skate that produces measurable improvements in speed skating performance.


A transmitter for implementing a stream transmission method is disclosed. Optionally, the transmitter first determines an equal weighting of a plurality of stream weights and transmits a plurality of transmission signals as a function of a plurality of data streams and the equal weighting of the plurality of stream weights. Thereafter, the transmitter reiterates as needed a determination of an unequal weighting of the plurality of stream weights and a transmission of the plurality of transmission signals as a function of the plurality of data streams and the unequal weighting of the plurality of stream weights.

Bell Labs Layered Space-Time ("BLAST") is a prior art technique for sending multiple data streams from a single transmitting device and may use successive cancellation to recover the transmitted symbols. Each data stream is transmitted with the same average power, and in order to perform successive cancellation, the optimal cancellation order of the data streams at the receiver needs to be determined. The prior art determination of the optimal ordering requires either channel knowledge at the transmitter to solve the ordering problem or a computationally complex algorithm in the receiver to determine the optimal ordering. Having channel knowledge at the transmitter requires a large amount of feedback in mobile channels, and transmitting each data stream with the same power requires a successive cancellation algorithm at the receiver to determine the ordering of the data streams. The consequence of both solutions is a burdensome, complex computation being performed by the transmitter or receiver, respectively.
Thus, there is a need for a new and unique data stream transmission method.


A thermal module includes a fin assembly, a heat spreader, a heat pipe connected between the fin assembly and the heat spreader, and a securing plate. The securing plate has at least three resilient members secured on a bottom surface thereof. Each of the resilient members has a capability to deform resiliently along a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the securing plate to resiliently press the heat spreader to an electronic component.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to securing devices, and more particularly to a securing device for securing a thermal module onto an electronic component without risking damaging the electronic component.
2. Description of Related Art
With continuing development of the electronic technology, electronic components such as CPUs (central processing units) generate more and more heat required to be dissipated immediately. Therefore, thermal modules are widely used to help dissipating heat of the electronic components. A typical thermal module includes a heat sink, a heat pipe and a heat dissipating fan. The heat pipe has an evaporation section attached to the electronic component to absorb heat therefrom, and a condensation section attached to the heat sink to transfer heat thereto. The heat sink is located at an air outlet of the heat dissipating fan. The heat dissipating fan generates airflow which flows through the heat sink to take away heat therefrom.
In assembly of the thermal module, the evaporation section of the heat pipe is received in a groove of a heat spreader. The heat spreader is a rectangular plate made of thermal conductive material. The heat spreader is screwed to a printed circuit board on which the electronic component is mounted thus to secure the evaporation section of the heat pipe onto the electronic component. However, because it is difficult to control a proper force exerted on the heat spreader, so excess force is always exerted on the heat spreader and thus risks damaging the electronic component.
For the said reasons, a thermal module which can overcome the described shortcoming is desired.

Securing device and thermal module incorporating the same


A method for power management based on synthetic machine learning benchmarks, including generating a record of synthetic machine learning benchmarks for synthetic machine learning models that are obtained by changing machine learning network topology parameters, receiving hardware information from a client device executing a machine learning program or preparing to execute a machine learning program, selecting a synthetic machine learning benchmark based on the correlation of the hardware information with the synthetic machine learning models, and determining work schedules based on the selected synthetic machine learning benchmark.

The rise of machine learning is unlocking the potential of data. Many companies have developed machine-learning platforms that derive more meaning out of data. Machine-learning tools are constantly being developed to build more powerful applications in all types of environments. For example, machine learning solutions are not only being implemented in data centers but also are finding their way into user's mobile devices. Machine learning solutions, however, are labor intensive and can consume a substantial amount of power.
With the development of data center servers executing machine learning programs, a user may have difficulties arranging power allocation according to consumption requirements. Inside one server, there are different components, e.g. a CPU, a GPU, storage, a network card, etc. Each of these components have set power limits and all consume power. Because their power requirements change depending on the program being executed and because the total power capacity of the server is fixed, how to allocate power according to consumption requirements is a scheduling problem. Power may be allocated inappropriately, however, resulting in less urgent programs receiving more power than more urgent programs. This inappropriate allocation results in inefficiencies in overall program execution and may lead to longer execution times and higher power consumption.
Furthermore, with the development of mobile devices capable of executing machine learning programs, a user may have difficulties executing machine learning programs on mobile devices with limited battery life. Charging the mobile device when the battery is low may be difficult or impossible. Since there is an increased dependency of users of their mobile devices, there is also a need for better management of battery life on mobile devices. Here, power may also be allocated inappropriately to less urgent programs causing inefficiencies in program execution. These inefficiencies may lead to longer execution times and higher power consumption.

Methods and devices for power management based on synthetic machine learning benchmarks