The invention relates to a method and a device for detecting the temporal variation of the light intensity in a matrix of photosensors, comprising a matrix of pixels, a block for the automatic adjustment of the amplification of the photocurrent, and an arbitrating and event-encoding block. Each pixel comprises a photosensor that generates a photocurrent, an adjustable gain current mirror connected to the outlet of the photosensor, a transimpedance amplifier arranged at the outlet of the current mirror, optionally at least one amplification circuit arranged at the outlet of the transimpedance amplifier, and capacitors and detectors of thresholds for determining whether the output voltage exceeds a higher threshold or drops below a lower threshold in order to generate an event in the pixel.

DVS sensors are cameras in which each pixel generates an event every time the light striking it changes in a fixed ratio since said pixel generated the previous event. If light increases, the event will be positive and it will be negative if the light fades. This way, the sensor generates a flow of events over time, where each event is defined by the three components (x, y, s), wherein (x, y) are pixel coordinates in the matrix and 's' is the event sign. This flow of events represents the changing visual scene that is captured by the sensor. This sensor concept was originally introduced by Kramer ((J. Kramer, "An Integrated Optical Transient Sensor," IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Part-II: Analog and Digital Signal Processing, vol. 49, No. 9, pp. 612-628, September 2002) and (J. Kramer, "An on/off transient imager with event-driven, asynchronous read-out," IEEE Int. Symp. On Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2002, vol. II, pp. 165-168, 2002)), but its embodiment posed a severe mismatch in pixel performance, which limited the maximum temporal contrast sensitivity that could reach values of about 30% (P. Lichtsteiner, et al "Improved ON/OFF Temporally Differentiating Address-Event Imager," Proceedings of the 2004 IIth IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems, 2004. ICECS 2004, pp. 211-214). In order to improve this state of the art, Lichtsteiner subsequently proposed an improved sensor by introducing a self-timing switched capacitor stage with two capacitors (U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,461) providing a lower mismatch in the performance from pixel to pixel, thus making possible to achieve sensibilities to the temporal contrast in the range of 15% ((P. Lichtsteiner, et al, "A 128×128 120 dB 15 μs Latency Asynchronous Temporal Contrast Vision Sensor," IEEE J. Solid-State Circ., vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 566-576, February 2008) and (U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,269 B2)).
However, the switched capacitor stage required that the two capacitors have a very disparate value, which in one embodiment of integrated circuit results in the requirement of a considerable area within each pixel area. In the sensor manufactured by Lichtsteiner ((P. Lichtsteiner, et al, "A 128×128 120 dB 15 μs Latency Asynchronous Temporal Contrast Vision Sensor," IEEE J. Solid-State Circ., vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 566-576, February 2008) and (U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,269 B2)) these capacitors took approximately two thirds of the total area of the pixel. Therefore, as pixels are large, the chip occupies a large area and is expensive. In order to improve this new state of the art, Leñero (J. A. Leñero-Bardallo, et al, "A 3.6 us Asynchronous Frame-Free Event-Driven Dynamic-Vision-Sensor," IEEE J. of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 46, No. 6, pp. 1443-1455, June 2011) proposed reducing the disparity between the value of the capacitors while introducing a voltage amplifier stage of very small area before that of the switched capacitators, thus achieving both the reduction of the area of the pixel and slightly improving temporal contrast sensitivity up to values of about 10%. However, this amplifier stage had a high consumption and slightly deteriorated the mismatch of pixel performance.
To explain the improvement achieved by the present invention over the state of the art, Lichtsteiner's sensor (U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,269 B2) has been taken as reference, whose pixel simplified diagram is shown in FIG. 1. The light sensed by photodiode D is transformed into photocurrent Iph. The transistors T1 to T4 logarithmically transforms Iph into the voltage VP1=Voffset+V0 log (Iph) in the node P1. The photocurrent Iph, which flows through the transistor T4 and exits from the drain node P0, which is shared by all pixels of the matrix, is added in the current adder block ΣI, which also ads the photocurrents from all pixels in the matrix. This sum is subsequently used to automatically adjust the gate of the transistor T3 in the pixels to minimize consumption of the amplifier T1-T3 to adapt it to ambient light (US 2004/065876). The transistors T5a and T5b copy VP1 to node P2. In Leñero's improvement, these two transistors are replaced by a voltage amplifier stage with gain Av, so that the voltage at P2 would be VP2=Av (Voffset+V0 log (Iph)), wherein Av=1 for the embodiment according to Lichtsteiner and AV>1 for the embodiment according to Leñero. The switched capacitor circuit comprising the capacitors C1 and C2 and the transistors T6 to T8, copy the voltage variation at P3 to P2 from a previous reset time t1 multiplied by the capacitive gain Ac=C2/C1. Thus, VP3(t)=Ac(VP2(t)−VP2(t1))=AcAvV0 log (Iph (t)/Iph (t1)). The transistors T9 to T11 detect whether VP3 (t) exceeds a specific positive threshold VR+ and if so, they generate a positive event (ON). The transistors T12 to T14 detect whether VP3(t) falls below a negative threshold VR− and if so, they generate a negative event (OFF). Every time the pixel generates an event, a reset of capacitor C1 occurs by means of the reset transistor T7. This way, the pixel immediately generates a positive event t2 if VP3(t2)≧VR+=AcAvV0 log (Iph(t2)/Iph(t1)), and a negative event if VP3(t2)≦VR−=AcAvV0 log (Iph(t2)/Iph(t1)). This can also be expressed as ΔI/I=exp ((VR+/−)/(AcAvV0))−1=θ+/−. Where the parameter θ+/− represents the sensitivity to the positive or negative contrast. The minimum value that can be adjusted for this contrast sensitivity is given by the dispersion from pixel to pixel of the parameters VR+/−, Ac, Av and V0. The parameter V0 is usually a function of physical constants and does not undergo dispersion from pixel to pixel in the same chip. The dispersion of the parameters VR+/− is given by the dispersion in the performance of the amplifiers T6 and T8 and the voltage comparators (transistors T9 to T11 and T12 to T14) and is normally high because the amplifiers T6 and T8 and the comparators are made small to reduce the total pixel area. The impact of high mismatch of the amplifier and comparators is reduced by increasing the product of the denominator AcAv. In Lichtsteiner's state of the art Av=1, whereby it was mandatory to make Ac as big as possible. For example, in the Lichtsteiner's embodiment ((P. Lichtsteiner, et al, "A 128×128 120 dB 15 μs Latency Asynchronous Temporal Contrast Vision Sensor," IEEE J. Solid-State Circ., vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 566-576, February 2008) a value of 20 was given. The parameter A, also undergoes dispersion from pixel to pixel, but it is reduced because in integrated circuits the relationship between capacitances is subject to low dispersion (typically below 1%). In Letiero's embodiment, the parameter Av also introduces dispersion. However, the parameter Ac could be reduced to 5 while Av was set at about 25. In this way, the product was 125, which improved overall contrast sensitivity in spite of slightly increasing the dispersion. However, the additional amplifier stage greatly increased the pixel consumption (above a factor of 10).
Therefore, the state of the art poses the problem that contrast sensitivity cannot be improved without increasing the pixel area or without increasing the power consumption. In order to solve the problems associated with the state of the art, the present invention uses transimpedance amplifiers by connecting MOS transistors, polarised in weak inversion and having a diode configuration, which are connected in series (ES 201130862).

Method and device for detecting the temporal variation of the light intensity in a matrix of photosensors

CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (CSIC)


An adaptive multi-tier authentication system provides secondary tiers of authentication which are used only when the user attempts a connection from a new environment. The invention accepts user input such as login attempts and responses to the system's questions. User login information such as IP address, originating phone number, or cookies on the user's machine are obtained for evaluation. User/usage profiles are kept for each user and the user login information is compared to the information from the user/usage profile for the specific user which contains all of the user information that the user used to establish the account and also the usage profile detailing the user's access patterns. The trust level of the current user login location is calculated and the invention determines if any additional questions to the user are required. If the trust level is high, then the user is granted access to the system. If the trust level is not high enough, then questions are sent to the user and the user's answers are evaluated and access is granted or denied based on the trust level and answers. The user's profile is updated to reflect the access attempt.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to user access in a computer environment. More particularly, the invention relates to adapting a secure user login from different originating clients in a computer environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Users commonly have their passwords compromised (lost or stolen). Attackers can typically use the stolen username/password to impersonate a user from a remote site. This compromises the service that the attackers infiltrate, which is costly to the service providers.
Most companies allow users access to an Intranet with very little authentication (i.e., a minor password). This is an extreme case where the company knows where the user is coming from; the access point of the user is in an expected area (e.g., inside the company building). When a user accesses a company's Intranet from an unexpected area (e.g., from home), users must use a secure ID (i.e. a major password) to access the first level.
Other mechanisms used to identify people such as biometrics (thumb prints, retinal scanners, etc.) are very expensive and hardware intensive. These type of approaches are difficult to install and use. They are also impractical when applied to the Internet.
The most common solution to avoiding vulnerability to password theft is to require that key material be carried to each authentication environment. Sometimes the key material is stored in a smart card, sometimes it is carried in a floppy (perhaps containing private keys). Either method is typically not user friendly and tend to suffer problems with the loss of the non-password material (or the user forgetting to carry the material).
It would be advantageous to provide an adaptive multi-tier authentication system that automatically adapts to the user's login patterns. It would further be advantageous to provide an adaptive multi-tier authentication system that does not require additional hardware from the service provider.

Adaptive multi-tier authentication system

AOL LLC, a Delaware limited liability company


Aspects of the disclosure provide for determining when to provide and providing secondary disengage alerts for a vehicle having autonomous and manual driving modes. For instance, while the vehicle is being controlled in the autonomous driving mode, user input is received at one or more user input devices of the vehicle. In response to receiving the user input, the vehicle may be transitioned from the autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode and provide a primary disengage alert to an occupant of the vehicle regarding the transition. Whether to provide a secondary disengage alert may be determined based on at least circumstances of the user input. After the transition, the secondary disengage alert may be provided based on the determination.

Autonomous vehicles, such as vehicles which do not require a human driver when operating in an autonomous driving mode, may be used to aid in the transport of passengers or items from one location to another. Autonomous vehicles, such as vehicles which do not require a human driver, may be used to aid in the transport of passengers or items from one location to another. In some instances, these vehicles may need to change from the autonomous driving mode, where the vehicle's computing devices control the steering, acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle to a semiautonomous driving mode, where there is shared control between of the vehicle (e.g. the driver may control the steering of the vehicle via a steering input while the vehicle's computing devices control the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle), or to a manual driving mode where a driver controls the steering, acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle via steering, acceleration, and deceleration inputs.

Secondary disengage alert for autonomous vehicles


A problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a hair cosmetic which can be easily applied to the hair uniformly, and at the same time, does not drip from the hair, does not spatter when applied to the hair, and does not dirty the surrounding, clothing, the skin or the like. The present invention relates to a hair cosmetic comprising (A) a cationic surfactant, (B) a nonionic surfactant, (C) a higher alcohol, (D) an oil having an IOB value of 0.1 or lower, and (E) water, which is used after being mixed with a gas to be thickened.

A hair cosmetic is used for a variety of purposes, and is used as a hair styling agent for the purpose of hair styling property, a hair treatment agent for the purpose of treatment property, a permanent agent for the purpose of imparting a permanent wave to the hair, a hair dye or a decolorant for the purpose of changing the color of the hair, or the like. Among these hair cosmetics, liquid, creamy, gel-like, spray and foam-like forms are predominant.
These hair cosmetics are used by being applied to the hair, and are required to be capable of being easily applied to the hair uniformly. At the same time, it is also desired that a hair cosmetic does not drip from the hair, does not spatter when applied to the hair, and does not dirty the surrounding, clothing, the skin or the like.
Among the various forms, a liquid hair cosmetic has the characteristic that it is easily applied to the hair, but has a defect that it drips easily. On the other hand, a creamy hair cosmetic has the characteristic that it drips with difficulty, but it has a defect that it is spread with difficulty when applied to the whole hair and hairs are entangled since the cosmetic has high viscosity. A spray hair cosmetic has a defect that spattering to the surrounding or clothing is caused and a specific container equipped with a nozzle which discharges the cosmetic in a spray form is required. Since a foam-like hair cosmetic is foamy, it is applied to the hair in the state where it is diluted with the air. For this reason, in order to make an effective component act at a sufficient concentration, it is required that the concentration of the effective component is enhanced in advance. Furthermore, the hair cosmetic has a defect that a specific container equipped with a nozzle which discharges the hair cosmetic in a foam-like form is required.
Therefore, a hair cosmetic has a problem to be solved that it can be easily applied to the hair uniformly and, at the same time, it does not drip from the hair, does not spatter when applied to the hair, and does not dirty the surrounding, clothing, the skin or the like.
Concerning the problem of a hair cosmetic, for example, in the field of a hair dye or a decolorant aiming at changing the color of the hair, a hair cosmetic which is thickened into a gel by mixing a first agent containing a surfactant in a high concentration with a second agent containing a specific amount of water (e.g. Patent Document 1), and a hair cosmetic which is thickened by mixing a first agent containing an anionic polymer with a second agent containing an alkali agent by utilizing a nature that the anionic polymer is thickened under an alkaline condition (e.g. Patent Document 2) are known.
Patent Document 1 describes a hair dye composition which is gelled and thickened by mixing a first agent containing a surfactant in a high concentration with a second agent containing a specific amount of water. In this hair dye composition, when the first agent containing a surfactant in a high concentration contains water in an amount exceeding a given amount, the first agent itself is thickened, and therefore a lower alcohol such as ethanol or isopropanol is contained in the first agent in an amount around 5 to 30%. As described above, since the first agent contains a large amount of the lower alcohol and the surfactant, the cost may be increased, the hair may be defatted excessively by hair dyeing, the hair may be damaged and dried, and the hair may come to have a rough feeling. Further, since the amount of water contained in the first agent is small, a precipitate may be generated and storage stability may be deteriorated, depending on the solubility of the dye.
Patent Document 2 describes a two-pack type oxidation hair dye and a two-pack type decolorant which are thickened by mixing a first agent containing an alkali agent with a second agent containing an anionic polymer such as an acrylic acid-methacrylic acid copolymer as a thickener. In these two-pack type oxidation hair dye and two-pack type decolorant, usually the first agent and the second agent can be easily mixed with each other since both of them are liquid, and the resultant mixed liquid has such a viscosity that it is easily applied to the hair by the effect of the anionic polymer. However, the use of the anionic polymer may make the hair creaky and rough.
Furthermore, a foamy hair cosmetic which is obtained by shaking a first agent and a second agent upon mixing, thereby giving a foamy agent (e.g. Patent Document 3) is also known. Patent Document 3 describes a hair cosmetic which is a hair dye or a decoloring and destaining agent, that is formulated into a foamy dosage form by a foaming operation of foaming a first agent and a second agent by shaking upon use. This hair cosmetic is in a foamy dosage form, and is applied to the hair in the state where the hair cosmetic is diluted with the air. For this reason, in order to obtain a decoloring effect or a hair dyeing effect which is comparable with that of a liquid or gel-like hair cosmetic, the concentration of an alkali agent or a dye should be increased in advance since the hair cosmetic is applied to the hair after being diluted with the air. In addition, the hair cosmetic contains the alkali agent or the dye in high concentrations, which results in that breakage of the hair or damage of the hair may become severe.


Provided is an adjusting method for a resonance frequency of a vibration isolator, the vibration isolator including first to n-th elastic member groups and/or an n+1-th elastic member group, the first to n-th elastic member groups and/or the n+1-th elastic member group being located on an xy plane of an xyz coordinate system, and an xy coordinate system of the xyz coordinate system being a coordinate system obtained by, when a tensor of inertia I with respect to an XYZ coordinate system having an origin in a center of gravity of a vibration sensing side structure or a vibration source side structure is represented as I, rotating an XY coordinate system by θ=tan−1(2IXY/(IXX−IYY)) around a Z axis, the adjusting method including, when rigidity Ki of the first to n-th elastic member groups is represented as

A vibration isolator is set between a vibration source side and a vibration sensing side and suppresses transmission of vibration.
As the vibration isolator, there has been proposed, for example, a vibration isolator that increases attenuation in resonance to reduce the influence of the resonance of the isolator (see, Patent Literature 1 described below).

Adjusting method and adjusting system for resonance frequency of vibration isolator, vibration isolator, and designing method, designing system, and manufacturing method for vibration isolator

Abstract: [              K        i            ]        =          [                                                  k                              i                                _                                xx                                                          0                                0                                                0                                              k                              i                                _                                yy                                                          0                                                0                                0                                              k                              i                                _                                zz                                                        ]        ,rigidity Kn+1 of the n+1-th elastic member group is represented as

Abstract: [              K                  n          +          1                    ]        =          [                                                  k                              n                +                                  1                                                        _                                        xx                                                                                0                                0                                                0                                              k                              n                +                                  1                                                        _                                        yy                                                                                0                                                0                                0                                              k                              n                +                                  1                                                        _                                        zz                                                                                ]        ,and an x coordinate and a y coordinate of the first to n-th elastic member groups are represented as rpi_x and rpi_y, while satisfying Σki_xxrpi_x=Σki_yyrpi_y=0 and Σki_yyrpi_xrpi_y=Σki_xxrpi_xrpi_y=0, at least one step of a step of adjusting positions of the first to n-th elastic member groups such that values of Σ(ki_zzrpi_y2), Σ(ki_yyrpi_x2), and Σ(ki_zzrpi_y2+ki_yyrpi_x2) change and respectively shifting resonance frequencies of x, y, and z-axial rotational motions and a step of arranging the n+1-th elastic member group at an origin of the xyz coordinate, adjusting values of kn+1_xx, kn+1_yy, and kn+1_zz, and respectively shifting resonance frequencies of x, y, and z-direction translational motions.


An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for preparing a composition prepared by firmly coating the surface of a material with a biopolymer, and a composition prepared by this method wherein the surface of a material is firmly coated with a biopolymer. The present invention provides a method for coating with a biopolymer, which comprises coating the surface of a synthetic polymer with a biopolymer dissolved in a solvent comprising an organic fluorine compound.

Synthetic polymers are broadly used as medical materials. Synthetic polymers are used because they offer easy control of the strengths and structures of materials and easy control of any molding and processing. However, these synthetic polymers have drawbacks in that they often lack affinity for living organisms and lack the inherent bioactivity of biopolymers, for example. To enhance the affinity of the synthetic polymers for living organisms, cells have been caused to adhere to the surfaces of such synthetic polymers, surface treatment has been performed for such synthetic polymers, or such synthetic polymers have been coated or bound with biopolymers (Journal of Biomaterial Science, Polymer Edition. 1993; 4 (3): 217-34, JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 61-82760 A (1986); JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 4-15063 A (1992); JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 4-503311 A (1992)).
Moreover, JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 11-510399 A (1999) discloses a biomaterial having a thrombus-resistant surface and a method for producing the same. The thrombus-resistant surface is composed of a coating layer of chitosan and 1 or more types of bioactive substance (e. g., polyvinyl alcohol capable of forming a polymer blend with chitosan).
Biopolymers that are polymers existing in living organisms are generally soluble in water. Accordingly, when the surfaces of synthetic polymers are coated with biopolymers, the surface of the synthetic polymer is generally coated with an aqueous solution containing biopolymers by various coating methods such as dip coating or spin coating (Brash, Trans. Am. Soc. Artif. Int. Organs, p. 69, 1974).
When a surface coated with biopolymers with the use of water is embedded within a living organism, biopolymer-derived characteristics are imparted to the surface-coated product at the early implantation stage (e.g., approximately several hours). However, as the time for implantation passes, the problem of the peeling off of biopolymers emerges.
Meanwhile, a technique for binding the functional groups on the surfaces of synthetic polymers to the functional groups of biopolymers using a condensing agent or the like has been studied. According to this technique, the chemical structure is partially altered via application of chemical bonds to biopolymers. Hence, the functions of the biopolymers may be decreased, or any side effect may occur.
Organic fluorine compounds represented by 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) or trifluoroethanol (TFE) dissolve proteins such as collagen and gelatin. JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2002-531182 A discloses that a protein matrix for tissue construction is prepared by dissolving the protein and alkyl ester of hyaluronic acid in HFIP and molding the resultant. Also, JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2004-532802 A and JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-321484 A disclose that a structure of protein is prepared by electrospinning. However, only a structure of collagen or gelatin is prepared with the use of this technique, and it is not used for coating of material surface with biopolymers.    Non-patent document 1: Journal of Biomaterial Science, Polymer Edition. 1993; 4 (3): 217-34    Non-patent document 2: Brash, Trans. Am. Soc. Artif. Int. Organs, p. 69, 1974)    Patent document 1: JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 61-82760 A (1986)    Patent document 2: JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 4-15063 A (1992)    Patent document 3: JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 4-503311 A (1992)    Patent document 4: JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 11-510399 A (1999)    Patent document 5: JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2004-532802 A    Patent document 6: JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-321484 A

Method for coating synthetic polymer surface with biopolymer


An arm board for supporting the forearm, wrist and hand during IV therapy which includes a contoured brace with removable straps for securing the forearm and middle two fingers of the patient's hand to the support, allowing some limited movement of the middle two fingers, and free movement of the little finger, thumb and index finger to reduce fatigue without altering the position of the IV tubing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an arm board or arm rest for supporting the forearm, wrist and hand of a patient during intravenous therapy.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In intravenous (IV) therapy, a needle attached to a tube connected to an IV bag is typically placed in a vein of the patient proximate a limb joint such as the elbow where the veins are closer to the skin and more accessible, and infusion, transfusion, phlebotomy or other procedures or therapies are performed by drawing or passing fluids through the tube. It is desirable in many instances to support the limb proximal its joint at the IV site.
Previously, this was accomplished by simply placing a short board or splint along the limb, and then securing the limb to the splint board as with tape, and the IV tubing might either be simply taped down along a portion of the patient's arm or otherwise made fast to the splint in order to prevent any movement of the IV needle in the vein or possible displacement of the IV needle from the vein. Such techniques often resulted in discomfort to the patient due to the non-conformability of the splint board with the patient's forearm and hand.
Various types of prior art supports, immobilizers and restraints have been proposed for use in association with IV therapy in lieu of the splint board, some of which are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,794 and U.S. Design Patent No. 170,885 to Nevill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,456 to Waxman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,508 to Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,851 to Rodriguez, U.S. Pat. No. 2,744,526 to Saylors and U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,477 to Lewis, each of which had disadvantages, either due to the discomfort to the patient or the difficulty and expense in manufacture.
An improvement to the prior art devices is seen in my prior patent No. 5,025,801 which included a contoured support having adjoined forearm, wrist and hand support surfaces for conformally supporting the ventral surfaces of the forearm, wrist and palm of a patient. A hand grip was provided adjoining the palm support surface, and thumb recesses were provided on each side of the hand support to enable the patient to grip the support. A tubing support member was pivotally mounted at the hand grip to provide support for IV tubing, the tubing support being pivotable about its hand grip mounting, as well as vertically adjustable with respect to the hand grip, with locking or clamping mechanisms manually operable for fixing the tubing support in place. While this device had certain advantages over prior art IV arm supports, it was somewhat cumbersome and difficult to use and never received widespread acceptance.


A bit-line selection circuit for a memory device includes a decoding line and a dummy line: The decoding line is between a regulated voltage node, and a programming voltage node generating a programming voltage for a cell in the memory device. The decoding line includes at least one input transistor connected to the regulated voltage node, and is controlled by an enable/disable signal. The dummy line is identical to the decoding line, and is controlled by the enable/disable signal. An equalization circuit is connected between the decoding and dummy lines for setting a current in the dummy line equal to a current in the decoding line. A regulating circuit regulates the programming voltage generated at the programming voltage node in the decoding line. The regulating circuit has a first input for receiving a reference voltage, a second input for receiving a sensed voltage on the programming voltage node in the dummy line, and an output for providing the enable/disable signal. The regulating circuit compensates for differences between the programming voltage and the reference voltage.

In semiconductor memory devices circuits are used for selecting/deselecting addressed memory cells. A example circuit is shown in FIG. 1. The circuit comprises a decoding line that includes a plurality of decoding transistors connected in series and which are controlled by respective selection signals DEC<3>, DEC<2>, DEC<1>. The decoding line also includes at least one transistor controlled by an enable/disable signal PGM, and is connected between a node having a regulated voltage VPD and the series of decoding transistors. When a bit-line is selected, the signals PGM, DEC<3>, DEC<2>, DEC<1> enable the respective transistors. In the memory cells, which are substantially transistors, there are non-null voltages.
An important field of application of the invention is to non-volatile Flash memory devices. For this reason reference will be made to these devices, though other types of semiconductor memory devices are applicable. The programming voltage on the drain of Flash memory cells should be regulated to a precise value. This is very difficult without occupying a large area of silicon.
The voltage on the terminals of any memory cell to be programmed (drain-source voltage) depends on the current flowing in the cell (IP<i>), the number of bits to be programmed at the time, the supply voltage of the memory (VCC), and the operating temperature (T). By observing the typical example of column decoding used in Flash memory devices depicted in FIG. 1, the following is noted: PGM<15:0> are on/off signals that enable the pass-transistor depending on whether a certain bit is to be programmed or not; VPD is the regulated voltage commonly generated by a charge pump circuit; DEC<3:1> are selection signals of the column decoding; and BL<i> are local bit-lines.
In a partitioned memory device, wherein 16 cells at a time are to be programmed, there are 16 pass transistors controlled by the PGM signals. There are also N*16 transistors driven by the selection signal DEC<3>, 16*N*M transistors controlled by the selection signal DEC<2>, and 16*N*M*L transistors controlled by the selection signal DEC<1>, wherein N, M and L are all multiples of 2.
The problems that arise when a decoding circuit such as that of FIG. 1 is used are as follows. It is very difficult to form a regulator for the voltage BL on each cell to be programmed because 16*N*M*L voltage regulators would be required. This results in an unacceptable area occupied silicon.
The current flowing in each cell, designed for a certain nominal value, has a spread that becomes larger as the fabrication process becomes less precise. The current flowing in a cell determines a voltage drop on the selection transistors of the relative bit-line path, and in particular, on the selection transistor controlled by the signal DEC<1>. The selection transistors controlled by DEC<1> are as numerous as the cells of a row. They should be accommodated in the cell pitch, thus they are very small. The voltage drop along the bit-line path ΔV(IP) is approximately given by the drop on the transistors controlled by DEC<1> (low level decoding transistors), as depicted in FIG. 2. The voltage on the nodes of the cell is about VPD−ΔV(IP), thus the programming voltage depends on the current absorbed by the single cell.
The functioning temperature is relevant because when it varies, the resistivity of the low level decoding transistors also varies. The regulated voltage VPD generally depends on the total current absorption by all addressed cells. The voltage drop BL<i> on a cell, which depends on the voltage VPD, indirectly depends upon the number of bits (addressed cells) to be programmed.
If the supply voltage VCC varies, the performance of the charge pump circuit also varies as well as the regulated voltage VPD. As a consequence, the programming voltage BL<i> on each cell varies.
Generally, the following equation holds:BL<i>=VPD[ΣIP<i>,VCC]−ΔVIP[T,IP<i>]Keeping the voltage drop BL<i> on the i-th cell within an acceptable range is difficult when the above parameters vary.
These conditions impose a compromise in which the programming voltage may differ from its nominal value. This compromise may be tolerable in some classes of memory devices. However, it becomes impracticable in multi-level memory devices where the drain voltage on the cells needs to be precisely determined.

Circuit for selecting/deselecting a bitline of a non-volatile memory


A power driving waste line clean out tool which includes an elongated flexible coil spring formed from an elongated spring wire that is helically wound about a flexible water conduit. The water conduit provides water under relatively high pressure to a uniquely designed water jet clean out head assembly that is affixed to the end of the coil spring and is adapted to effectively break up and remove blockages formed in the sewer line being cleaned. A portion of the flexible coil spring is housed within a drum having a conoidal wall through which the coil spring is provided with a feed mechanism and is fed and retracted actually of itself as the drum is rotated. The water jet head assembly of the tool includes a spray head which can be securely connected to the coil spring, a cutter head assembly which can be removably interconnected with the spray head and a connector means of unique design for interconnecting the water conduit of the coil spring assembly with the plurality of water jets provided in the spray head and extending angularly outwardly relative to longitudinal axis of the waste line. Also provided proximate the outboard end of the coil spring assembly is a small video camera which is interconnected with a monitor carried by the frame of the device. Power, ground and fiber optic signal transmitting conduits for operating the video camera are carried within the flexible water conduit so that the blockage and the interior of the waste line can be clearly viewed by the operator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to plumbers' tools of the type used to remove and clean away obstructions formed in and blocking waste lines. More particularly, the apparatus of the invention embodies an elongated coil spring wire which surrounds a flexible tube that functions as a water conduit. Affixed to the free end of the tube is a uniquely designed spray jet head assembly for controllably spraying jets of water under pressure into the interior of the waste line in a direction toward the blockage cutting component of the device to assist in breaking down the obstruction. The apparatus also includes a small video camera which is connected to the spray jet head to permit inspection of the waste line being cleaned.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A wide variety of waste line clean out devices have been suggested in the past. Normally the prior art waste line clean out devices embody an elongated clean out member known as a plumbers' snake. The plumbers' snake is ordinarily housed within a drum or hollow housing having an opening through which the spring or snake is fed and retracted actually of itself as the container is rotated. For tools having power operated spring advancing and retracting means, the feed mechanism for advancing the coiled spring typically includes jaws, rollers, segmented nuts or like structures which grip the spring so that when the spring is fed through the feed while being rotated it is controllably advanced into or retracted from the sewer line. As a general rule, cutter means affixed to the free end of the plumbers' snake and functions to cut away and clear blockages formed in the sewer line.
A very successful prior art waste clean out apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,242 issued to the present inventor. This patent concerns an apparatus similar in some respects to the apparatus described in the present application, but does not contemplate the use of either high pressure water jets for aiding in the clearing blockages, nor does it contemplate means for visually inspecting the interior of the waste line. Because of its pertinence to the present invention, U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,242 is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,679 issued to Klein, Sr. describes a device for cleaning clogged pipes which includes an elongated flexible tube, a heavy coil surrounding the flexible tube and a nozzle at one end of the flexible tube. The nozzle has a plurality of perforations which are in communication with the interior of the flexible tube and which are oriented radially of the flexible tube. Unlike the apparatus of the present invention, the Klein device is specially designed for use in a method of cleaning a clogged pipe wherein the nozzle is first forced through the material clogging the pipe, water is then discharged through the perforations in the nozzle, and the nozzle is then pulled backwards towards the material clogging the pipe while water continues to be discharged through the perforations in the nozzle.
Other prior art patents which generally relate to clean out tools commonly known as "water snakes" are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,599 issued to Ciaccio; U.S. Pat. No. 1,803,425 issued to Cunningham and U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,176 issued to Home.
In addition to waste line clean out devices discussed in the preceding paragraphs, various devices have been suggested for inspecting the interior walls of the sewer line. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,288 issued to Olsen. This apparatus uses electro-mechanical systems for inspecting the inside of pipes for defects and obstructions and more particularly discloses a push cable that mechanically and electrically connects a video camera head to a push reel and video circuit. The push cable of the device comprises an elongated, resiliently flexible push member and an elongated signal transmitting cable. In use, the video camera which is disposed proximate the free end of the push cable, permits visual inspection of the walls of the pipe as the push cable is pushed along the length of the pipe.
In addition to providing means for visually inspecting the interior walls of the waste line being cleaned, the novel apparatus of the present invention includes a unique high pressure jet water spray head which cooperates with a cutting element to remove obstructions in the waste line as the coil spring is urged forwardly of the waste line due to rotation of the drum housing which houses portions of the coil spring and in conjunction with the feeding mechanism.
Experience has shown that the use of strategically directed high pressure water jets materially assist in breaking up and clearing away troublesome obstructions. At the same time, the high pressure water jets function to effectively clean the walls of the waste line after the obstruction has been cleared to an extent to permit free flow of the cleaning water outwardly of the waste line. Since it is important that the spray jet nozzle and the cutting tool work in cooperation to effectively break up and clean away the obstruction so as to prevent the undesirable back-up of contaminated water, means must be provided to selectively interconnect various types of cutter devices to the device at a location proximate the high pressure water jet head that is affixed to the free end of the coiled spring.
The novel water jet head assembly of the invention includes a spray jet head having a plurality of water jet passageways that are angularly disposed relative to the axis of the waste line so that they will direct a plurality of high pressure water jets in the direction of the cutter component as the cutter component cuttably engages the obstruction in the water pipe. The water jet head also includes a reduced diameter portion having a plurality of helical grooves which comprise the means for interconnecting the coil spring with the water jet head.
Removably affixed to the spray jet head assembly of the apparatus of the present invention is a unique video camera component which is interconnected with an elongated electrical or fiber optic signal transmitting cable. The transmitting cable is uniquely housed within the water supply conduit that supplies water under pressure to the water jet nozzles of the spray jet head assembly. Portions of the coil spring which carries the water conduit, the optical signal transmitting cable and the power cable are housed in a rotatable drum having a conoidal wall through which the coil spring is fed and retracted actually of itself as the container is rotated.
The inboard end of the coil spring which houses the high pressure water conduit, the signal transmitting cable and the power cable is interconnected with a novel swivel assembly which, in turn, is interconnected to the drum that houses portion of the coil spring assembly. This novel swivel assembly, which permits water under pressure to be continuously supplied to the water conduit housed within the coiled spring also embodies a plurality of novel electrical interconnection means which permit power from an external source to provide to the video camera. Additionally, the swivel assembly permits signals from the video camera to be transmitted to a stationary viewing monitor disposed proximate the clean out apparatus.

Waste line inspection and clean out device with water jet head


Systems, methods, and apparatus for communication assistance for aneurotypical individuals are described. Embodiments of the systems, methods, and apparatus may receive input data during a communication between a first user and a second user, generate feedback based on the input data using a shared network comprising psychological information about the second user, wherein the shared network is based at least in part on interactions between the second user and a third user, and provide the feedback to the first user during the communication.

The following relates generally to communication assistance, and more specifically to communication assistance for aneurotypical individuals.
A large number of people in our society may be considered aneurotypical, such as those with autism, or those who have developmental or attention-deficit disorders. In some cases, it may be difficult for neurotypical individuals to determine the psychological state of an aneurotypical conversation partner, or to determine how to respond appropriately during the course of a conversation. This may cause one or both individuals confused, agitated, or to misunderstand the context of the conversation.
These problems may disrupt normal conversations between an aneurotypical individual and a neurotypical individual. Therefore, there is a need in the art for systems and methods to improve conversational understanding among neurotypical and aneurotypical individuals.

Context information reformation and transfer mechanism at inflection point

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A device set may interoperate to perform an action, such as providing a message to a user or storing photos taken by a user. Performing the action on all available devices may cause redundancy (e.g., presenting the same message to the user on each device), and depending on user selection (e.g., the user requesting to play music and specifically designating a device) may become onerous. A centralized, server-driven selection of the device to perform the action may be problematic if the server is inaccessible and/or inaccurate if not currently informed of the current state of each device. In accordance with the techniques presented herein, a requesting device broadcasts an action invitation to the device set. Each device provides a suitability report indicating its suitability to perform the action. The requesting device identifies one or more suitable devices, and sends an action request to identified devices to perform the action.

Within the field of computing, many scenarios involve a device set operated by a user, and a request for at least one device of the device set to perform an action. As a first example, a user may utilize a variety of portable and wearable devices, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, and a head-mounted display, and a messaging service may request the device set to present to the user a message, or an invitation to engage in a communication session with another user, such as an incoming voice call. As a second example, a user may request a presentation of media, such as the playing of an audio recording, on one or more of the devices. As a third example, a user may generate some data on a device, such as capturing a photo with a camera, which may be stored on one or more of the devices of the device set.


The invention relates to the use of compounds having pharmacological activity towards the sigma receptor, and more particularly to 1,2,4-triazole derivatives of formula (I) to processes of preparation of such compounds and to pharmaceutical compositions comprising them.

The search for new therapeutic agents has been greatly aided in recent years by better understanding of the structure of proteins and other biomolecules associated with target diseases. One important class of these proteins is the sigma (σ) receptor, a cell surface receptor of the central nervous system (CNS) which may be related to the dysphoric, hallucinogenic and cardiac stimulant effects of opioids. From studies of the biology and function of sigma receptors, evidence has been presented that sigma receptor ligands may be useful in the treatment of psychosis and movement disorders such as dystonia and tardive dyskinesia, and motor disturbances associated with Huntington's chorea or Tourette's syndrome and in Parkinson's disease (Walker, J. M. et al, Pharmacological Reviews, 1990, 42, 355). It has been reported that the known sigma receptor ligand rimcazole clinically shows effects in the treatment of psycosis (Snyder, S. H., Largent, B. L. J. Neuropsychiatry 1989, 1, 7). The sigma binding sites have preferential affinity for the dextrorotatory isomers of certain opiate benzomorphans, such as (+)SKF 10047, (+)cyclazocine, and (+)pentazocine and also for some narcoleptics such as haloperidol.
The sigma receptor has at least two subtypes, which may be discriminated by stereoselective isomers of these pharmacoactive drugs. SKF 10047 has nanomolar affinity for the sigma 1 (σ−1) site, and has micromolar affinity for the sigma (σ−2) site. Haloperidol has similar affinities for both subtypes. Endogenous sigma ligands are not known, although progesterone has been suggested to be one of them. Possible sigma-site-mediated drug effects include modulation of glutamate receptor function, neurotransmitter response, neuroprotection, behavior, and cognition (Quirion, R. et al. Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 1992, 13:85-86). Most studies have implied that sigma binding sites (receptors) are plasmalemmal elements of the signal transduction cascade. Drugs reported to be selective sigma ligands have been evaluated as antipsychotics (Hanner, M. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 1996, 93:8072-8077). The existence of sigma receptors in the CNS, immune and endocrine systems have suggested a likelihood that it may serve as link between the three systems.
In view of the potential therapeutic applications of agonists or antagonists of the sigma receptor, a great effort has been directed to find selective ligands. Thus, the prior art discloses different sigma receptor ligands.
International Patent Application No WO 91/09594 generically describes a broad class of sigma receptor ligands some of which are 4-phenylpiperidine-tetrahydro-pyridine or -piperazine compounds having an optionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, alkoxy or alkoxyalkyl substituent on the ring N-atom.
With regard to the chemical structure of the compounds described in the present patent application, it is to be highlighted that the 1,2,4-triazole ring system has been the subject of considerable research mainly due to the pharmacological properties shown by some of its derivatives and also because of its usefulness in synthetic organic chemistry. Recent reports have dealt with 1,2,4-triazoles derivatives as oxytocin antagonists (WO2006/092731) and also as inhibitors of MPO enzyme (WO2004/096781). 1,2,4-triazoles have also been described as useful agents in the treatment of psychiatric disorders due to their CB1-receptor activity (WO2005/039550), for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as sclerosis or arthritis rumatoide (WO03/092681) and also for the prevention of urological disorders since they act as GABAb agonists (WO2005/039569). In addition, some 3-hydroxyalkyl-1,5-diaryl-[1,2,4-triazoles] have shown a significant anti-inflammatory activity (Archiv. Der Pharmazie, 1990, 323(4), 221-223).
However, none of these documents suggests the effect of these compounds on the sigma receptor.
There is still a need to find compounds that have pharmacological activity towards the sigma receptor, being both effective and selective, and having good "drugability" properties, i.e. good pharmaceutical properties related to administration, distribution, metabolism and excretion.

1,2,4-triazole derivatives as sigma receptor inhibitors


A gastronomy tube holder arranged for ease of access and employment is provided to include a belt member arranged for torso mounting relative to an individual, having cooperative support and cover plate structure to secure in a sanitized convenient manner a gastronomy tube for subsequent use, with a slot directed through the support plate for access into the individual for use.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to medical tube support structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved gastronomy tube holder arranged for storage and orientation relative to an individual.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of gastronomy tubes for individuals is available in the prior art, wherein such devices are typically related to holding structure for gastronomy tubes, wherein feeding of the individual must be directed through a tube structure into the intestinal tract or stomach portion such that a portion of the gastronomy tube projects from the patient and individual for reception of a food substance where food may not be consumed orally. Gastronomy tube structure per se is known in the prior art where such gastronomy tubes typically employ a tube structure tape to the body, wherein the instant invention is directed to the use of a tube structure mounted within an easy storage container relative to the associated belt for use by an individual.


A dual cushion body support system includes a relatively thin, elongate, substantially flat, top cushion and a relatively shorter base cushion that is configured to underlie and elevate a central part of the top cushion to provide upwardly arched support to a person lying in a prone, face down position to comfortably elevate the upper back and shoulders of the person for gently stretching, positioning and exposing muscles of the neck and back for treatment such as massage. The top cushion serves as flexible pad and as a protective cover that drapes the underlying base cushion and relies on the base cushion to provide a properly arched body support contour. An end portion of the top cushion that drapes beyond the length of the base cushion is provided with an upstanding forehead support formation to assist in comfortably supporting the person's head; and, the top cushion is sufficiently flexible to permit its being rolled up for ease of transport and for compact storage. The base cushion is inflatable and preferably employs separately inflatable chambers to provide ready adjustment of the contour and effective length of the base cushion; and, the base cushion can be deflated for ease of transport and compact storage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a dual cushion body support system for providing upwardly arched body support to a person lying in a prone, face down position to comfortably elevate the upper back and shoulders of the person for gently stretching, positioning and exposing muscles of the neck and back for massage or other treatment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dual cushion body support 1) that utilizes a relatively thin, elongate, substantially flat top cushion which serves as a flexible pad and as a protective cover, and 2) that relies on a relatively shorter base cushion to underlie and elevate a central part of the top cushion to provide a support of properly arched contour--wherein the top cushion is quite flexible and can be rolled up for storage, wherein the base cushion is inflatable and can be deflated for storage, and wherein the base cushion preferably includes separately inflatable chambers to provide for adjustment of its contour and effective length.
2. Prior Art
Cushioned body support apparatus for underlying and supporting the human body, for example during the administration of medical or therapeutic procedures such as massage, are known, an example being a multi-component contoured cushion that is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,142 issued Oct. 8, 1991 to Thomas P. Owens. Like many other proposals, the Owens apparatus comprises a complex and relatively expensive set of support components that is not well suited for home use--a set of components that typically requires manual adjustment and careful repositioning when used with persons of different heights--a set of support components that is most effectively put to use by a trained professional.
While a variety of other forms of body support apparatus have been proposed for use in treatment and therapy, a long-standing need has gone unsatisfied for a simple, thoughtfully designed body support system that is well suited for home use as an aid in the effective administration of muscle relaxing treatment such as massage--a body support system which includes a minimal number of components that can be used atop a bed or a carpeted floor, that are capable of providing an arched support of adjustable length and contour for use with persons of differing height, that is light in weight and easy to transport, and that can be compactly stored.


A random switching game engine for wagering games provides the advantage of switching between game engines in response to a triggering event. The switch engine controls which game engine will present a wagering game to the player. The different game engines may have different odds for presenting a winning outcome to a player. After a triggering event has occurred the switch game engine may utilize a random number generator to randomly determine whether a switch between game engines should occur. The triggering event may comprise the start of a game or any other event. A switch game engine may perform the switch by activating one of multiple game engines. The wagering game may be presented according to the same rules, but with different odds of receiving a winning outcome, to prevent a player from noticing that a switch between game engines has occurred, or different games may be presented.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electronic wagering games and system, particularly to a switch game engine for wagering games.
2. Related Art
Traditional gaming machines accept a wager from a player and then, when activated, present a wagering event to the player. These wagering events randomly generate game outcomes, some of which are winning outcomes. For instance a random number generator may be used to determine what symbols are presented to the player which determines if the player is a winner or a loser. This results in random outcomes according to set odds during which the player may experience long stretches of losing games. These long stretches may cause the player to wager on another game, or even to stop wagering completely.
In addition, in some jurisdictions, the amount a single winning game pays out may be limited by rules or regulations. This is highly undesirable because a large payout entices players to play, even though the likelihood of achieving a large payout at a gaming machine is low. In jurisdictions where these large payouts are limited, enticement to play is further reduced.
From the discussion that follows, it will become apparent that the present invention addresses the deficiencies associated with the prior art while providing numerous additional advantages and benefits not contemplated or possible with prior art constructions.

Random switching game engine for wagering games


Systems and techniques for electro-magnetic damping in a stage system. An excitation waveform for one or more actuators includes one or more frequency components with associated amplitudes. Frequency components at a resonance frequency of the stage system have associated amplitudes that are substantially zero.

1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to relative movement using small stages, such as stages for micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) devices.
2. Related Art
Improvements in fabrication processes for small devices (such as MEMS devices) are continuing to reduce minimum device sizes. However, small mechanical and electro-mechanical devices pose a number of challenges. For example, it may be difficult to rapidly and accurately move parts of the devices relative to one another.
One important example of a MEMS device is a miniature camera. Miniature cameras are currently available with many electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the like. Miniature cameras are also available as stand-alone devices for applications such as security and surveillance
The market for miniature cameras is rapidly expanding. For example, camera-equipped cell phones were unheard of just a few years ago; now, they are a significant portion of the cell phone market. However, available miniature cameras may not be optimal for some applications.
For example, available miniature cameras may not be optimal because they are fixed focus cameras (i.e., the focus of the cameras is pre-set). By using a relatively small aperture, the depth of field is sufficient to provide acceptable focus over a wide range of distances. However, the provided focus may be unacceptable for some applications. Additionally, the relatively small aperture limits the light used to form the image. This limitation may severely limit the camera's use in low light conditions.
Some miniature cameras use a flash to enhance camera performance in low light conditions. However, the use of a flash consumes more power from the batteries, thus requiring more frequent battery charging.

Electronic damping for stage positioning


A semiconductor structure may include a semiconductor fin, a gate over the semiconductor fin, a spacer on a sidewall of the gate, an angled recess region in an end of the semiconductor fin beneath the spacer, and a first semiconductor region filling the angled recess. The angled recess may be v-shaped or sigma shaped. The structure may further include a second semiconductor region in contact with the first semiconductor region and the substrate. The structure may be formed by forming a gate above a portion of the semiconductor fin on a substrate, forming a spacer on a sidewall of the gate; removing a portion of the semiconductor fin not covered by the spacer or the gate to expose a sidewall of the fin, etching the sidewall of the fin to form an angled recess region beneath the spacer, and filling the angled recess region with a first epitaxial semiconductor region.

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and particularly to fabricating fin field effect transistors (FinFETs) having recessed fins.
Field effect transistors (FETs) are commonly employed in electronic circuit applications. FETs may include a source region and a drain region spaced apart by a semiconductor channel region. A gate, potentially including a gate dielectric layer, a work function metal layer, and a metal electrode, may be formed above the channel region. By applying voltage to the gate, the conductivity of the channel region may increase and allow current to flow from the source region to the drain region. To improve the conductivity of the channel, stress may be applied to the channel so that carrier mobility across the channel increases. For p-type FETs (pFETs), compressive stress may be applied. For n-type FETs (nFETs), tensile stress may be applied
FinFETs are an emerging technology which may provide solutions to field effect transistor (FET) scaling problems at, and below, the 22 nm node. FinFET structures include at least one narrow semiconductor fin as the channel region of the FET and are gated on at least two sides of each of the at least one semiconductor fin. FinFETs including more than one fin may be referred to as multi-fin FinFETs. FinFET structures may be formed on a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, because of the low source/drain diffusion, low substrate capacitance, and ease of electrical isolation by shallow trench isolation structures. FinFETs may be also formed on bulk substrates to reduce wafer cost and/or enable formation of certain devices in the bulk substrate.

FINFET structures with fins recessed beneath the gate


An electrode well for use in powerline-frequency heating of soils for decontamination of the soil. Heating of soils enables the removal of volatile organic compounds from soil when utilized in combination with vacuum extraction. A preferred embodiment of the electrode well utilizes a mild steel pipe as the current-carrying conductor to at least one stainless steel electrode surrounded by a conductive backfill material, preferably graphite or steel shot. A covering is also provided for electrically insulating the current-carrying pipe. One of the electrode wells is utilized with an extraction well which is under subatmospheric pressure to withdraw the volatile material, such as gasoline and trichioroethylene (TCE) as it is heated.

The present invention relates to soil decontamination, particularly to the use of electrical heating technology for removing volatile organic compounds from soils, and more particularly to electrode well for powerline-frequency electrical heating of soils used in combination with vacuum extraction to remove organic compounds from contaminated soils.
Cleanup of soil contamination by volatile organic compounds, either on the ground surface or subsurface, such as gasoline and trichloroethylene (TCE) has become a major concern, especially where the contaminated areas are located adjacent to underground water. Various prior approaches have been utilized to eliminate the soil contamination, often caused by leakage of fuel or oil tanks, industrial wastes, fuel or oil spills, etc. The primary prior approach to remove contamination from the soil has been excavation to physically remove the contaminated soil. However, the removed soil remains contaminated thus posing a storage problem, as well as the costs of removal and hauling. Also, excavation can only be carried to a certain depth, leaving contamination beyond that depth. Thus, there has been a need for cost effective, rapid cleanup of localized underground contamination.
The present invention provides a partial solution to surface or underground soil decontamination, particularly where the contamination is located less than about fifty feet beneath the ground surface. The invention involves one or more electrode wells for powerline-frequency electrical heating of the contaminated soil in combination with an extraction well or wells under subatmospheric conditions. Heating of the soil by the electrode wells enables the volatile organic compounds, such as gasoline and TCE, to be withdrawn via the extraction well for treatment, storage, and disposal above the ground surface. The electrode wells and the extraction well may be located in small holes drilled by augers or small drill rigs, thus reducing the costs of insertion of the wells. The electrode wells utilize one or more electrodes surrounded by a conductive backfill material, such as damp sand, steel shot, or graphite to increase conductance into the soil formation. A preferred embodiment utilizes mild steel pipe as the current-carrying conductor.

Electrode wells for powerline-frequency electrical heating of soils


An instrumented shell for sensing drilling parameters of a drilling assembly positionable at a wellsite. The drilling assembly includes a top drive assembly and a downhole tool. The instrumented shell includes a shell body, instruments and an interconnector. The shell body is positionable about the top drive assembly, and has pockets extending therein and a cover positionable about the shell body. The instruments include sensors, and are removably disposable in the pocket and sealable therein with the at least one cover. The interconnector includes a top drive connector removably connectable to the top drive assembly and a shell connector removably connectable to the shell body with a cable therebetween to pass signals therebetween whereby drilling parameters of the downhole tool may be directly collected.

The disclosure relates generally to techniques for performing wellsite operations. More specifically, the disclosure relates to drilling equipment, such as top drives, internal blowout preventers, and sensors, for performing drilling operations.
Oilfield operations may be performed to locate and gather valuable downhole fluids. Downhole drilling tools are advanced into subterranean formations to form wellbores to reach subsurface reservoirs. The drilling tools include a drill string, a bottomhole assembly, and a drill bit assembled at a surface rig using surface equipment. The surface equipment includes a top drive used to threadedly connect stands of drill pipe together to form the drill string. Fluid from a mud pit is passed through the drill string and out the bit to facilitate drilling.
During wellsite operations, such as drilling, sensing devices may be provided to sense various drilling parameters. For example, drilling tools may be provided with measurement while drilling and logging while drilling tools to measure drilling parameters, such as weight on bit and torque. These sensing devices may be used to collect data for analysis. Examples of drilling devices are provided in application Ser. No. 20110226485, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,591,304 and 7,108,081, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Modular instrumented shell for a top drive assembly and method of using same


Methods and apparatus for measuring a phase fraction of a flow stream are disclosed. An infrared phase fraction meter includes a light source for emitting into a flow stream infrared radiation that includes first and second wavelength bands. The first wavelength band substantially transmits through first and second phases of the flow stream and is substantially absorbed by a third phase. In contrast, the second wavelength band is substantially absorbed by the second phase relative to the first and third phases. One or more detectors simultaneously detect attenuation of the first and second wavelength bands upon the infrared radiation passing through at least a portion of the flow stream, and a phase fraction of the second phase is determined based on the attenuation. As an example, the first, second and third phases are gas, water and oil, respectively, produced from a well.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to phase fraction meters such as water cut meters, and more particularly to an infrared optical phase fraction meter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Oil and gas wells often produce water along with hydrocarbons during normal production from a hydrocarbon reservoir within the earth. The water resident in the reservoir frequently accompanies the oil and/or gas as it flows up to surface production equipment. Operators periodically measure the fractions of an overall production flow stream that are water/oil/gas for purposes such as improving well production, allocating royalties, properly inhibiting corrosion based on the amount of water and generally determining the well's performance.
In many cases, several wells connect to a manifold in order to selectively isolate one of the wells and measure phase fractions of the production flow from that well. The manifold enables the flow from the well isolated from the combined flow to be diverted and either measured with a phase fraction meter without separation or sent to a separator where the individual production of oil, water, and gas are subsequently measured. In some cases, two phase separators divide the gas from the combined oil and water stream. In this scenario, flow meters measure the gas stream and the combined liquid production stream. In addition, the operator must obtain the percentages of the oil and water in the combined liquid stream to determine net oil and water production. This typically requires the time-consuming and expensive process of manual sampling or the use of an online device called a water cut meter.
As an alternative to the two phase separator, a three phase separator isolates the gas, oil and water so each phase can be metered independently. However, the three phase separator occupies a considerably larger space than the simpler two phase separators and is more expensive to own and operate. Further, inefficient separation or the propensity of certain oils to bind water in a tight emulsion still necessitates manual sampling in the oil and water legs.
Conventional water cut meters include capacitive water cut meters, density water cut meters, and microwave water cut meters. However, capacitive, density and microwave water cut meters each possess particular limitations. In general, these limitations include detection of oil-water concentrations only within a limited range, calibration difficulties, high costs, and results affected by the presence of gas bubbles, salinity fluctuations and density changes or close densities of oil and water.
Additionally, various infrared optical sensors enable water cut measurements. These infrared optical sensors overcome some of the limitations associated with other types of water cut meters. However, problems such as non-absorbance based signal attenuation and low water cuts can prevent accurate measurements using the infrared optical sensors.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved phase fraction meter. There exists a further need for an infrared optical phase fraction meter that minimizes measurement errors and enables accurate measurement across a full range of water cut. A still further need exists for an infrared optical phase fraction meter capable of measuring a water/oil ratio even in the presence of small levels of a third phase such as a free gas.

Multi-channel infrared optical phase fraction meter


An apparatus for carrying objects includes a bag and at least one cord. The bag has a top portion and a bottom portion. The top portion of the bag includes an adjustable mouth and a channel. The cord includes a first end portion coupled to the bottom portion of the bag, a second end portion coupled to the bottom portion of the bag, and a middle portion positioned between the first end portion and the second end portion. The middle portion of the cord includes a first length of cord which extends slidably through the channel and a second length of cord which is positioned outside of the channel. The second length of cord has a substantially larger diameter than the first length of cord.

Carrying bags come in a wide variety of forms and styles. As used herein, the term "bag" refers to any of various different types of carrying bags including, packs, duffels, totes, sacks, and any of various other types of bags.
A backpack style carrying bag, commonly called a backpack, may be useful for some applications because it allows the wearer to distribute the weight of the bag over both shoulders and the back. Additionally, both of the wearer's hands may be free while carrying a backpack.
Backpacks are also found in a variety of forms. Trekking backpacks, used for hiking and camping expeditions, may include internal or external frames made of carbon fiber or aluminum, have capacities of 100 liters, include additional straps that cross the wearer's chest, waist and hips to better distribute weight and weigh 8 pounds when empty. For everyday use, a trekking backpack may be unnecessarily large and bulky and a smaller, simpler backpack may meet the wearer's needs. For example, for transporting a few lightweight items, cinch sacks or sack packs (which may also be referred to as drawstring backpacks) with capacities of around 8 liters and weights of just a few ounces may be sufficient.
Cinch sacks are designed with cords in the form of straps, ropes, strings, or other cords that double as drawstrings to control the opening at the top of the bag. In a common example of a cinch sack, the straps of the cinch sack pass through a channel that surrounds the opening at the top of the bag. When the opening is opened, the channel is elongated and large portions of the straps are drawn into the channel. When the opening is closed, the channel is cinched so that it is shortened and smaller portions of the straps are drawn into the channel. This design allows for simplicity as the assembly may require as little as a simple sack and two drawstrings resulting in relatively low manufacturing costs for the drawstring backpacks. However, when the wearer dons the cinch sack, the drawstrings may dig into the shoulders of the wearer, particularly if the cinch sack is laden with a significant amount of weight.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved cinch sack that addresses issues associated with using a simple carrying bag to transport significant weight. In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide an improved cinch sack which allows a wearer to maintain comfort while using the cinch sack to transport significant weight. It would be further advantageous if this cinch sack does not have increased complexity such that the original benefits of using a small, simple bag are not lost.

Bag with adjustable mouth and variable diameter cording


A cab of this type comprises a frame (3) defining an internal volume (3a), the frame (3) having at least one upper opening (3b) for receiving panes of glass of said cab, said cab being wherein it comprises a canopy (2) forming an assembly in a single piece which is attached to the frame (3) so as to cover the upper opening (3b) and enclose the internal volume (3a), said canopy comprising a support frame (10) provided with side rails (11) defining at least two openings therebetween and at least two panes of glass (4, 5, 6) filling each opening respectively.

In known train cabs of this type, the panes of glass, such as the windshield and the side bays, are mounted on the framework in succession and independently of one another. The cab is then equipped so as to have the desired aerodynamics and appearance, and a treatment is carried out around the glazing using an adhesive material to provide water- and air-tightness, since trains travelling at high speeds in tunnels are subjected to pressure waves.
The large panes of glass are stuck to the framework. The mechanical attachment of large glass elements is complex. The panes of glass have a complex shape and substantial thickness to match the shape of the cab and to be aerodynamically and aesthetically pleasing. Due to the geometric tolerances of the edges of the panes of glass and the corresponding supporting surfaces of the framework, it is difficult to fix such panes of glass to the framework by mechanical attaching means.


A structure of connection between a coaxial cable and a shield terminal includes the coaxial cable configured to have at least one core wire part made of a conductor, an insulating coating part with which said core wire part is coated, a braided shield with which an outer peripheral surface of said insulating coating part is covered, and an insulating tube with which an outer peripheral surface of said braided shield is covered, the shield terminal that has a cylindrical press bond part pressed and is bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the braided shield, and a ring-shaped crimp member that is pressed and bonded to an outer peripheral surface of the insulating tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of connection between a coaxial cable and a shield terminal, and a method of connection therebetween.
2. Description of the Related Art
A coaxial cable used as an antenna wire etc. is conventionally constructed so that in order to block noise of electromagnetic waves etc. from the outside, a core wire part made of a conductor covered with an insulating coating is covered with a braided shield and an outer peripheral surface of this braided shield is covered with an insulating tube. In such a coaxial cable, a shield terminal is connected to the braided shield in order to make earth connection between the braided shield and an earth part. For example, JP-A-2009-99266 proposes a structure of connection between a coaxial cable and a shield terminal configured to have the coaxial cable and the shield terminal pressed and bonded to a braided shield.
In this structure of connection between the coaxial cable and the shield terminal described in JP-A-2009-99266, the shield terminal has an inside terminal receiving part for receiving an inside terminal connected to a core wire of the coaxial cable, an insertion part which cylindrically extends from one end of the inside terminal receiving part and is inserted between an exposed portion of the braided shield exposed to the distal end of the coaxial cable and an insulating coating with which the core wire is covered, and a press bond part for pressing and bonding the exposed portion so as to pinch the exposed portion between this insertion part and the press bond part.

Structure of connection between coaxial cable and shield terminal, and method of connection therebetween


A method for sensing flow within a pipe having an internal passage disposed between a first wall portion and a second wall portion is provided, comprising the steps of: 1) providing a flow meter having at least one ultrasonic sensor unit that includes an ultrasonic transmitter attached to the first wall portion and an ultrasonic receiver attached to the second wall portion and aligned to receive ultrasonic signals transmitted from the transmitter; 2) selectively operating the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit a beam of ultrasonic signal, which beam has a focal point such that within the pipe, the beam is either colliminated, divergent or convergent; and 3) receiving the ultrasonic signals within the beam using the ultrasonic receiver. An apparatus operable to perform the aforesaid method is also provided.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to methods and apparatus for improving the signal-to-noise ratio of ultrasonic sensors utilized for sensing fluid flow within a pipe in general, and to methods and apparatus for lensing an ultrasonic beam or signal to optimize the signal properties of the transmitted ultrasonic beam passing through a fluid flow having entrained particles or bubbles.
2. Background Information
Multiphase fluid flows pose certain issues for flow meters utilizing ultrasonic sensors. In addition to other factors, such as absorption and reflections, particles and/or bubbles entrained within a fluid flow will attenuate an ultrasonic signal or beam propagating through the fluid. The attenuation of the signal may result in a low signal-to-noise ratio, which in turn can make it more difficult to accurately detect and measure the transmitted ultrasonic signal.
For those ultrasonic flow meters that utilize transmitter/receiver sensor units disposed outside the flow pipe the signal-to-noise ratio of the device can also be negatively affected by undesirable "secondary" signals that are portions of the original signal that have been refracted or reflected along a different path through the pipe instead of through the fluid flow. These secondary signals often possess sufficient strength to reach the receiver transducer of the sensor unit, and may interfere with the desired signal passing through the fluid flow. Examples of undesirable secondary signals include "ring-around" signals that travel through the pipe wall.
FIG. 12 diagrammatically illustrates an ultrasonic sensor arrangement where ring-around signals and through-transmitted signals are generated in a sensor unit having an ultrasonic transmitting sensor 40 and the ultrasonic receiving sensor 42 of a sensing unit attached to the exterior surface of a pipe 14. The sensors 40, 42 are arranged such that the generated ultrasonic signal 15 is injected normal to the pipe 14 (and the flow path through the pipe), with the intent to have the injected signal travel through the center of the fluid within the pipe 14. As the ultrasonic signal 15 bisects the pipe 14, bubbles 17 and other matter within the pipe 14 will scatter and attenuate the signal before it fully traverses the pipe 14 and is detected by the receiving transducer 42. At the same time, ring-around signals 19, created through reflection and diffraction between the ultrasonic transmitter and the wall, travel within the pipe wall and are sensed by the receiver 42 along with any desired signals. The noise created by the secondary signals (e.g., ring-around signals) coupled with the significant attenuation of the through-transmitted signal, creates an undesirable signal-to-noise ratio that makes it difficult to accurately detect and measure the desired through-transmitted ultrasonic signal.
What is needed is a method and apparatus operable to optimize the signal properties of an ultrasonic signal to improve the detection of the ultrasonic signal under various flow conditions related to particles and bubbles entrained within the fluid flow, and one which thereby diminishes the effects of undesirable noise resulting from secondary signals.

Apparatus and method of lensing an ultrasonic beam for an ultrasonic flow meter


There is provided a neighbor cell notifying apparatus capable of implementing more efficient notification to a mobile station within a range that can be notified of and monitored, when the mobile station in communication using a plurality of cells is notified of neighbor cell information. This neighbor cell notifying apparatus includes a cell information extracting part for extracting neighbor cell information items for specifying respective neighbor cells corresponding to each of the cells; a cell rank determining part for, based on the neighbor cell information items extracted, determining ranks of neighbor cell information items that the mobile station is to be notified of, in favor of neighbor cell information items about neighbor cells common to the cells; and a cell information notifying part for notifying the mobile station of a predetermined number of neighbor cell information items among the neighbor cell information items on the basis of the ranks determined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a neighbor cell notifying apparatus and a neighbor cell notifying method for notifying a mobile station of predetermined information in a mobile communication network for implementing wireless communication utilizing a plurality of cells between the mobile station and a base station.
2. Related Background Art
The W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access) system, or the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) in IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications-2000) being a typical mobile communication system adopts DHO (Diversity HandOver) to implement communication simultaneously using a plurality of cells and effect combination and selection of signals, thereby improving the quality. In the W-CDMA system, or the UMTS, information about neighbor cells for a mobile station under communication to monitor in preparation for handover is retained as system data or the like at a radio control station, and the mobile station under communication is notified of the information by a message. Neighbor cell information items corresponding to the respective cells are transmitted to the mobile station under communication using the plurality of cells in DHO.
There is sometimes a limit to the total number of neighbor cells that can be notified of and monitored, from performance restrictions at the mobile station. Therefore, in the case of the communication using a plurality of cells in DHO, there is a technique of extracting duplicate cells among the neighbor cell information items of the cells and avoiding transmission of the neighbor cell information items about the duplicate cells, in order to increase information efficiency of the neighbor cell information transmitted from the radio control station to the mobile station.

Neighbor cell notifying apparatus and neighbor cell notifying method


A method for growth of an alloy for use in a nanostructure, to provide a resulting nanostructure compound including at least one of GexTey, InxSby, InxSey, SbxTey, GaxSby, GexSby,Tez, InxSbyTez, GaxSeyTez, SnxSbyTez, InxSbyGez, GewSnxSbyTez, GewSbxSeyTez, and TewGexSbySz, where w, x, y and z are numbers consistent with oxidization states (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) of the corresponding elements. The melt temperatures for some of the resulting compounds are in a range 330-420° C., or even lower with some compounds.

Materials engineering at the nanometer scale can provide smaller devices than those currently available. Recently, one-dimensional ("1-D") nanostructures, such as wires, rods, belts, and tubes, have become the focal point of research in nanotechnology due to their fascinating properties. These properties are intrinsically associated with low dimensionality and small diameters, which may lead to unique applications in various nanoscale devices. It is generally accepted that 1-D nanostructures provide an excellent test ground for understanding the dependence of physical, electrical, thermal, optical, and mechanical properties on material dimensionality and physical size. In particular, 1-D semiconductor nanostructures, which exhibit different properties as compared with their bulk or thin film counterpart, have shown great potential in future nanoelectronics applications in data storage, computing and sensing devices. Phase-change materials ("PCMs") are among the most promising media for nonvolatile, re-writable, and highly durable data storage applications. Phase change materials based on the Ge—Sb—Te multi-element alloy system have been extensively studied and have been found to be suitable for optical and electrical memories. Among these alloys, Ge2Sb2Te5 ("GST") exhibits the best performance when used in a phase change random access nonvolatile memory (PRAM), for speed and stability. GST demonstrates high thermal stability at room temperature, high crystallization rate at high temperatures (can be crystallized in less than 50 nsec by laser heating pulse), and extremely good reversibility between amorphous and crystalline phases (more than 106 cycles). In particular, resistive switching PRAM, using GST thin film as a phase change material, provides faster write/read, improved endurance, and simpler fabrication as compared with the transistor-based nonvolatile memories.
Although substantial improvements in the performance of thin-film-based PRAM have been made over the past decade, a number of issues remain, most notably, large programming current, limited cyclability and scaling problems when moving to increasingly smaller dimensions. There is particularly a concern about the crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition when high current is required for material melting. The Joule heating effect may cause excessive power dissipation and inter-cell thermal interference, presenting problems for further memory scaling.
The phase transition behavior of nanoscale GST may overcome these limitations. The melting temperature Tmelt of GST nanowire (e.g., 385° C. for ≈80 nm diameter) is reduced from that of bulk GST (632° C.), a phenomenon consistent with a previous report for semiconductor nanocrystals that reports a decrease of Tmelt with decreasing nanocrystal size. The thermal conductivity of a low-dimensional structure is also reduced relative to its bulk counterpart. The reduced Tmelt, reduced thermal conductance, and smaller material volume jointly contribute to reduction of the threshold energy required for structural phase transition in GST nanostructures.
A bottom-up synthesis strategy provides a route to prepare various free-standing nanostructures, such as nanodots, nanotubes and nanowires. Some elements or binary compound 1D nanostructures have been synthesized by thermal evaporation, laser-ablation, chemical vapor deposition ("CVD"), and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition ("MOCVD"), etc. methods. One of the challenging issues in the field of PCM nanostructures is thesynthesis of high-quality, high purity Ge—Sb—Te ternary alloy nanowires and nanorods in large quantities.
What is needed is a growth method and associated growth materials for 1-D phase change nanostructures that provide a relatively low melt temperature (e.g., Tmelt≈400° C.) for diameters of the order of 10-100 nanometers (nm), and nanostructures that can easily be grown at pressures close to standard, ambient pressures.

Growth method for chalcongenide phase-change nanostructures

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration