A novel reducer system is provided for a trocar cannula. The reducer system fastens to the cannula end and a living hinge allows a reducer cap to be closed over the cannula lumen to allow the cannula to be used with smaller diameter surgical instruments. By fastening the reducer system to the exterior of the cannula end, the system can be placed in position on the cannula prior to surgery, even while a large diameter obturator is used with the cannula.

This invention relates to a surgical instrument commonly referred to as a trocar, or an obturator and cannula, often used in laparoscopic or arthroscopic surgery. More particularly, the invention relates to a reducer cap used in conjunction with a trocar cannula.
Many surgical procedures are now being performed with the use of trocars and cannulas. Originally these devices were used for making a puncture and leaving a tube to drain fluids. As technology and surgical techniques have advanced, it is now possible to insert surgical instruments through the cannulas and perform invasive procedures through openings less than half an inch in diameter. Previously these procedures required incisions of many inches. By minimizing the incision, stress, and loss of blood, the patients recovery times are dramatically reduced.
Surgical trocars are most commonly used in laparoscopic surgery. Prior to use of the trocar, the surgeon will usually introduce a Veress needle into the patient's abdominal cavity. The Veress needle has a stylet which permits the introduction of gas into the abdominal cavity. After the Veress needle is properly inserted, it is connected to a gas source and the abdominal cavity is insufflated to an approximate abdominal pressure of 15 mm Hg. By insufflating the abdominal cavity, pneumoperitoneum is created separating the wall of the body cavity from the internal organs.
A trocar is then used to puncture the body cavity. The piercing tip or obturator of the trocar is inserted through the cannula or sheath, and the cannula partially enters the body cavity through the incision made by the trocar. The obturator can then be removed from the cannula and an elongated endoscope or camera may be inserted through the cannula to view the body cavity. Surgical instruments may also be inserted to perform ligations or other procedures.
Once the cannula has been introduced into the opening in the body cavity wall, the pneumoperitoneum may be maintained by introducing gas into the abdominal cavity through the cannula. Various seals and valves have been utilized to allow abdominal pressure to be maintained in this fashion. Maintaining abdominal pressure is important both to allow working room in the body cavity for instruments introduced through the cannula, and to provide free space for the puncturing of the body cavity wall by one or more additional trocars as may be required for some procedures.
Endoscopic surgical procedures often require the use of surgical tools of varying diameters. Although trocars are provided in different diameters, some procedures will inevitably require the use of surgical tools with smaller diameters than that of the cannula. Converting the cannula's diameter rather than inserting separate cannulas for different surgical tool sizes reduces recovery time and the risk of surgical accidents. Where the diameter of the cannula must be converted to use smaller diameter tools, pneumoperitoneum must be maintained while converting the proximate opening of the cannula from a larger diameter to a smaller one. To maintain pneumoperitoneum during surgery, an airtight seal must be made around the smaller diameter surgical tools inserted into the larger diameter cannula.
A system which rapidly and efficiently reduces the diameter of the cannula while retaining pneumoperitoneum is necessary during endoscopic surgical procedures. Reducing systems are described in Stephens, U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,307; Wulf, U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,560; and Shichman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,383.
Reducer systems currently on the market consist either of a plate which must be slid into place or a cap which snaps onto the cannula housing. For instance, Shichman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,383, shows a sliding plate reducer system. This reducer system cannot be attached to the cannula before surgery, but only after the cannula has been inserted through the abdominal cavity wall and the obturator removed. This reducer system requires the surgeon to slide the plate on for smaller instruments used and back off to return to the original diameter of the cannula. Since the plate is not attached to the cannula, the diameter cannot be reduced as efficiently since the plate must be searched for during surgery.
Another system, described in Stephens, U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,307, consists of a reducer cap which snaps onto the cannula housing. This system consists of a base which attaches to the cannula housing, and a cap, containing a gasket assembly, which is attached to the reducer system base by a pin and hinge assembly. The cap is designed so surgeons can flip the cap to convert from one diameter size to another. Although this system does remain attached to the cannula during surgery, several disadvantages exist with Ethicon's reducer cap. For instance, because the cap latches to the base of the reducer system base, if the latch fails to release the surgeon may inadvertently remove the entire reducer system with attendant loss of pneumoperitoneum. Most significantly, this reducer system base attaches to the cannula using the same slots in the cannula that engage tabs from the obturator when the trocar is assembled for piercing the body cavity wall. The reducer cap can only be mounted in place after the incision is made and the obturator removed from the cannula.
Finally, with the current emphasis on cost controls in health care, the most cost efficient product should be utilized whenever possible. The pin and hinge assembly of Stephens, connecting the base and the cap entails higher costs due to the specially molded pieces and increased labor required to assemble the cap to the base. Therefore, a need exists for an attachable, cost efficient trocar reducer system which can be easily used while reducing the risk of mishandling the system during laparoscopic and similar surgical procedures.


A method for measuring a three-dimension object (10, 10a, 10a′, 10h), includes the stationary fixing of the object to a holder (12) rotatable about an axis of rotation (R). At least one surface (22, 22′, 24, 26, 26a′, 28, 28a) of the object is scanned by a probe (20). The object is rotated about the axis of rotation, and the holder and the probe are moved relative to one another. The holder and the probe are moved linearly relative to one another along a translation axis (T) enclosing an acute angle, with the axis of rotation of the holder and spans a plane within which the probe can be moved.

EP 1 103 781 B1 discloses a method for measuring a V-groove shape of an object to be measured by fixing the object to a rotary table and using a scanning sensor to measure the position, while the object is rotated on the rotary table. With the known method, an outer surface, in particular an external thread, on the object can be measured. A control is used to scan a double flank contact in such a way that the measuring element comes into contact with two flanks to form the V-groove.
In the manufacture of machine elements, which are typically manufactured as turned parts and which each may have a thread, measuring geometric parameters, in particular thread parameters, of a manufactured machine element according to the selected tolerance class or manufacturing tolerance is necessary. Likewise desirable is measuring the planarity of end faces, since the axial run-out cannot be measured using conventional test methods used in multi-part manufacturing. A measurement of the axial run-out that is easy to carry out allowing determining the respective manufacturing tolerance to be implemented, even when manufacturing a plurality of machine elements, and consequently ensures a high degree of manufacturing quality. Sometimes the measurement of the axial run-out represents a competitive advantage.

Method for measuring a three-dimensional object


Provided herein are methods of assessing or determining the presence or absence of particles, such as bead particles, present in a cell composition. Also provided are articles of manufacture and kits for use in the methods.

Particles, such as magnetic beads, are used as a surface for immobilization of affinity reagents, such as antibodies. In some cases, such affinity coated particles can be used in various methods, such as in detection, selection, enrichment, isolation, activation and/or stimulation of cells. In some cases, affinity coated particles can remain bound to cells after such processes. Current methods for detecting the presence or absence of particles in a cell composition can be inaccurate for determining the actual number of particles bound or associated with a cell. Improved methods for enumerating or detecting particles in a cell composition are needed. Provided herein are methods, compositions, systems, and kits that meet such needs.

Methods of enumerating particles present in a cell composition


Methods and systems for enabling sizing of storage array resources are provided. Resources of a storage array can include, for example, cache, memory, SSD cache, central processing unit (CPU), storage capacity, number of hard disk drives (HDD), etc. Generally, methods and systems are provided that enable efficient predictability of sizing needs for said storage resources using historical storage array use and configuration metadata, which is gathered over time from an install base of storage arrays. This metadata is processed to produce models that are used to predict resource sizing needs to be implemented in storage arrays with certainty that takes into account customer-to-customer needs and variability. The efficiency in which the sizing assessment is made further provides significant value because it enables streamlining and acceleration of the provisioning process for storage arrays.

Sizing hardware resources is an important function when storage arrays are selected for purchase by end users. Over sizing the hardware of a storage array can cause substantial waste of funds for a purchasing entity, especially if the entity is purchasing multiple storage arrays. Likewise, under sizing the hardware of a storage array can cause performance bottlenecks or failure to operate for the required application workloads.

Methods and systems for determining hardware sizing for storage array systems

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


A fluid interface port in a microfluidic system and a method of forming the fluid interface port is provided. The fluid interface port comprises an opening formed in the side wall of a microchannel sized and dimensioned to form a virtual wall when the microchannel is filled with a first liquid. The fluid interface port is utilized to perform a labeling operation on a sample.

In the chemical, biomedical, bioscience and pharmaceutical industries, it has become increasingly desirable to perform large numbers of chemical operations, such as reactions, separations and subsequent detection steps, in a highly parallel fashion. The high throughput synthesis, screening and analysis of (bio)chemical compounds, enables the economic discovery of new drugs and drug candidates, and the implementation of sophisticated medical diagnostic equipment. Of key importance for the improvement of the chemical operations required in these applications are an increased speed, enhanced reproducibility, decreased consumption of expensive samples and reagents, and the reduction of waste materials.
Microfluidic devices and systems provide improved methods of performing chemical, biochemical and biological analysis and synthesis. Microfluidic devices and systems allow for the performance of multi-step, multi-species chemical operations in chip-based micro chemical analysis systems. Chip-based microfluidic systems generally comprise conventional 'microfluidic' elements, particularly capable of handling and analyzing chemical and biological specimens. Typically, the term microfluidic in the art refers to systems or devices having a network of processing nodes, chambers and reservoirs connected by channels, in which the channels have typical cross-sectional dimensions in the range between about 1.0 μm and about 500 μm. In the art, channels having these cross-sectional dimensions are referred to as 'microchannels'.
By performing the chemical operations in a microfluidic system, potentially a number of the above-mentioned desirable improvements can be realized. Downscaling dimensions allows for diffusional processes, such as heating, cooling and passive transport of species (diffusional mass-transport), to proceed faster. One example is the thermal processing of liquids, which is typically a required step in chemical synthesis and analysis. In comparison with the heating and cooling of liquids in beakers as performed in a conventional laboratory setting, the thermal processing of liquids is accelerated in a microchannel due to reduced diffusional distances. Another example of the efficiency of microfluidic systems is the mixing of dissolved species in a liquid, a process that is also diffusion limited. Downscaling the typical dimensions of the mixing chamber thereby reduces the typical distance to be overcome by diffusional mass-transport, and consequently results in a reduction of mixing times. Like thermal processing, the mixing of dissolved chemical species, such as reagents, with a sample or precursors for a synthesis step, is an operation that is required in virtually all chemical synthesis and analysis processes. Therefore, the ability to reduce the time involved in mixing provides significant advantages to most chemical synthesis and analysis processes.
Furthermore, reduced dimensions enhance separation operations utilized in chemical synthesis and analysis processes. One example is capillary electrophoresis, which is a separation technology based on the migration of dissolved charged species through a liquid filled capillary by the application of a longitudinal electric field. By reducing the cross-sectional size of the capillaries, the separation efficiency can greatly be improved, thereby resulting in rapid separations. For examples, see Effenhauser et al., Anal. Chem. 65:2637–2642 October (1993), Effenhauser et al., Anal. Chem. 66:2949–2953 September (1994), Jacobson et al., Anal. Chem. 66:4127–4132 December (1994) and Jacobson et al., Anal. Chem. 66:1114–1118 April (1994).
Another aspect of the reduction of dimensions is the reduction of required volumes of sample, reagents, precursors and other often very expensive chemical substances. Milliliter-sized systems typically require milliliter volumes of these substances, while microliter sized microfluidic systems only require microliters volumes. The ability to perform these processes using smaller volumes results in significant cost savings, allowing the economic operation of chemical synthesis and analysis operations. As a consequence of the reduced volume requirement, the amount of chemical waste produced during the chemical operations is correspondingly reduced.
It can be concluded that due to the reduced dimensions associated with microfluidic systems, important chemical operations can be accelerated whilst at the same instance lead to a reduction of consumption of chemicals and chemical waste.
Applications of microfluidic systems are myriad. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,591 describes a miniaturized integrated nucleic acid diagnostic device and system. This device is capable of performing one or more sample acquisition and preparation operations, in combination with one or more sample analysis operations. Useful applications for microfluidic systems are in nucleic acid based diagnostics and de novo sequencing applications. International Patent Appln. WO 96/04547, published Feb. 15, 1996, describes the use of electro-kinetic operated microfluidic systems for performing electrophoretic separations, flow injection analysis and chemical reactions and synthesis steps. U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,443 discloses a range of microfluidic devices and methods for performing high-throughput synthesis and analysis, especially useful in screening a large number of different chemical compounds for their effect on a variety of chemical and biochemical systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,804 provides a method of performing an immunological assay in a micro-laboratory array comprising a plurality of microchannels and chambers disposed in a solid substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,991 B1 discloses a serpentine electrophoresis channel in microchip format providing efficient, high-speed analysis of the composition of chemical samples, especially for nucleic acid sequencing.
Many methods have been described for the interfacing of fluids, e.g., samples, analytes, reagents, precursors for synthesis and buffers, towards, within or between microfluidic systems. In conventional microfluidic systems, the structures and methods used to introduce samples and other fluids into microfluidic substrates limit the capabilities of the microfluidic systems. For example, conventional microfluidic systems may include a separate sample introduction channels for introducing a sample to a microchannel for processing. The sample is first introduced into the sample channel and transported through the sample channel to the microchannel. Another method for introducing a fluid involves the use of sample wells or reservoirs in communication with the microchannel for holding a relatively larger supply of the sample. Reservoirs are structures which accommodate a significantly greater volume of fluid than the microfluidic channel. A relatively small portion of the sample supply in the sample well or reservoir is introduced into the microchannel.
The total number of samples and other fluids that can be processed on a microfluidic substrate is currently limited by the size and/or the number of reservoirs through which these fluids are introduced to the microfluidic system. A disadvantage of known structures and methods for introducing fluids into a microfluidic system is the use and transfer of a much greater volume of fluid than is needed for microfluidic analysis due to significant size inefficiencies and sample loss. Furthermore, with conventional methods of introducing fluids into microfluidic systems, it is difficult to control the amount of sample introduces that is eventually introduces into the microchannel after passing through a sample channel or a reservoir.
One method of fluidic communication with microfluidic systems is by mechanical micropumps and valves, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,191 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,465. A major disadvantage of this approach for fluidic interfacing is the complex construction and operation of these micropumps and valves. Another disadvantage is there relatively large size and internal volume when compared to the internal volume of the microchannels. Often there are multiple orders of magnitude between these two volumes and the resulting discrepancy renders micropumps unattractive to interface with a large number of small dimensional microchannels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,163 describes a method and device for introducing a fluidic sample in a micro-capillary for electrophoretic separation. In this method liquid is brought into a separation capillary by introducing one end of this capillary into a vessel containing the liquid to be introduced. A combination of applied external pressures and voltages results in the transport of liquid from the vessel into the capillary. The proposed method has disadvantages. The size of the device does not allow the interfacing with a large number of microchannels, and between consecutive injections, the device needs to be cleaned, thereby considerably reducing throughput.
Another method for introducing materials in a microfluidic device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,709. In this approach electrokinetic forces are employed to move a charged compound through a receiving inlet opening of the microfluidic device. A disadvantage is that the precise amount of injected liquids and substances depends upon a large number of factors which are difficult to control. One important parameter is the surface potential of the microchannel wall, which together with the applied voltage determines the liquid flow. This surface potential depends on pH of the liquid to be pumped as well as its ionic composition and even the type of ions present in the liquid. It is also a disadvantage that it does not allow the efficient interfacing with a large number of different liquids as for every injection port, a separate high voltage supply is required, together with the associated liquid channels for providing a closed electrical circuit.
A method and apparatus for performing electrophoretic experiments in a highly parallel fashion is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,199. Here, a plurality of separation capillaries with associated wells for receiving chemical substances in fluid form are disposed in the form of a two dimensional array. The chemical substances are dispensed from a micro titer plate into these wells by an interfacing methodology employing pressurized chambers associated with the wells to be filled. A disadvantage is that only a very small fraction of the applied liquid is actually introduced in the target microchannel, the bulk of the applied liquid drop remains behind in the well by capillary forces. As a result, most of the liquid is wasted and is not available for a consecutive chemical processing step. The effect that only a small portion of the liquid transported actually is introduced in a targeted part of a microfluidic system, can be referred to as 'injection efficiency', i.e. the ratio between the volume of liquid required for a particular chemical operation in a part of the microfluidic system, and the total volume of liquid required for the introductory operation.
In this particular disclosure, only sub-nanoliter amounts are required for the electrophoretic separation (i.e. the chemical operation), whilst many microliters of sample are drawn from the micro titer plate (i.e. introductory operation), yielding an injection efficiency much less than 0.001. A low injection efficiency is disadvantageous because it indicates inefficient use of chemical substances and an increased production of waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,251 provides micro-fabricated structures for facilitating fluid introduction into microfluidic devices. Fluid is introduced into a plurality of receiving wells in direct communication with associated microchannels, by the dropping of liquids into these receiving wells using pressurized gas. Besides the complexity of the required fluidic manifolds and pressurizing system, also here a disadvantage is the inherently low injection efficiency as only a very small fraction of the applied liquid is actually used in the experiment.
For the introduction of liquids in capillary electrophoresis columns implemented on chip-like devices, generally electrokinetic injection is applied. See Woolley et al., Anal. Chem. 70:684–688 February (1998), Jacobson et al., Anal. Chem. 68:720–723 March (1996), Jacobson et al., Anal. Chem. 66:2369–2373 July (1994) and Effenhauser et al., Anal. Chem. 67:2284–2287 July (1995). In this method, liquid is pumped from a first well towards the microchannel for electrophoretic separation by the application of a high driving voltage between this well and a second well located downstream. Due to the charged inner surfaces of the microchannel walls, an electroosmotic liquid flow is induced pumping liquid out of the first into the targeted microchannel. This method is referred to as 'electrokinetic injection' and has some specific disadvantages. One disadvantage is that if a large number of liquids need to be handled, for instance in high-throughput synthesis and screening applications, a large number of wells need to be integrated on the microfluidic device. The relatively large footprint of a typical well (about 5 mm diameter) when compared to the microchannels in which the actual chemical operation is performed (about 50 μm diameter), takes up a dominating portion of the chip surface (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,152 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,353). As the costs of microfluidic chips strongly depends on the chip surface, the required integration of wells renders this liquid injection scheme unattractive for high-throughput synthesis and screening applications.
Another disadvantage of conventional systems is that for every well, a separate electrode is required together with electronic circuitry for the application of the driving voltages. This requirement results in a complex and expensive apparatus.
Another specific disadvantage with electrokinetic injection is the fact that during the application of the driving voltage on the electrode the electrolysis of water results in the generation of hydroxyl ions (OH−), hydrogen ions (H+), hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2). The generated ions will affect the acidity (i.e. pH) of the liquid pumped from the first well, whilst the produced gasses potentially give rise to the formation of gas bubbles in the microfluidic system thereby destroying the experiment and eventually the microfluidic device. Besides electrolysis of the aqueous medium, any present electroactive species can degrade due to electrochemical reactions at the electrode surface. For instance, the presence of chloride ions, an ion present in most liquid media, will result in the formation of chlorine gas, which on turn can interact and potentially destroy vulnerable (biochemical) compounds present in the liquid to be injected. In addition, the liquid to be injected can contain electroactive constituents, which can be degraded by the electrochemical processes, associated with electrokinetic injection. These disadvantages can be grouped and referred to as 'electrochemical pollution'.
Another disadvantage of electrokinetic injection is that in between consecutive experiments, the well need to be thoroughly cleaned in order to prevent cross-contamination. This required cleaning step results in a reduction of throughput and makes it difficult to implement on-line monitoring. Another disadvantage is that the liquid to be injected is subjected to a high voltage. This aspect of the absence of galvanic separation makes it virtually impossible to use electrokinetic injection for in-vivo or near-vivo applications due to the danger of electrocution. Another disadvantage is that the electrokinetic injection methods referred to, are only applicable in chip like systems produced via microfabrication technology, i.e. via the use of expensive equipment and processes also applied for the fabrication of computer chips. These methods are known to have high costs. It is desirable to provide an n interfacing methodology, which is also applicable in current non chip-based capillary systems. Still another disadvantage is the low injection efficiency of electrokinetic injection. To fill a typical well, about 10–50 μl of liquid is required, whilst for a particular chemical operation only sub nanoliter amounts are required.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,098 discloses the movement of liquid volumes into and through microchannels by employing pressures generated by heating a volume of air in direct connection with these microchannels. A disadvantage of this fluidic interfacing method is that for a correct and efficient operation the pressure generating air chamber together with electronic heater components need to be integrated with the microfluidic system. This results in a complex device with associated large costs.
It can be concluded based on the above that current methods and systems for fluidic interfacing with microfluidic devices have particular disadvantages regarding the difficulty of integration of a large number of chemical operation nodes to interface with (i.e. electrochromatography columns, reactors etc.), relatively large required liquid volumes, low injection efficiency, electrochemical sample pollution, long rinse time between analysis steps, galvanic separation and required microfabrication technologies. Besides these disadvantages, none of the above mentioned interfacing methods allow bi-directional fluidic interfacing, i.e. transporting liquids to and from microfluidic systems. There has arisen a need in the art for providing suitable bi-directional fluidic interfacing structure that allows for the implementation of a much wider range of chemical operation steps in microfluidic systems.

Microfluidic system including a virtual wall fluid interface port for interfacing fluids with the microfluidic system


A linear power supply circuit includes: an output stage including a first output transistor and a second output transistor, which are provided between an input terminal to which an input voltage is able to be applied and an output terminal to which an output voltage is able to be applied and are connected in parallel to each other; a driver configured to drive the first output transistor and the second output transistor based on a difference between a voltage based on the output voltage and a reference voltage; a resistor inserted between a gate of the first output transistor and a gate of the second output transistor; a capacitor having one end connected to the input terminal and the other end connected to a connection node between the resistor and the gate of the second output transistor; and a clamp element connected in parallel to the resistor.

A linear power supply circuit such as an LDO (Low Drop Out) or the like is used as a power supply means for various devices.
It is desirable that the linear power supply circuit can perform phase compensation without significantly increasing the circuit area even when the capacitance value of an output capacitor is reduced.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a linear power supply circuit in the related art.
The linear power supply circuit in the related art includes an input terminal T1, an output terminal T2, a first output transistor 1, a driver 2, a reference voltage generator 3, and a phase compensation circuit 8. Further, an output capacitor 6 and a load 7 are externally attached so that an input voltage VIN is stepped down to generate an output voltage VOUT, which in turn is supplied to the load 7. Conductivity (i.e., an on-resistance value) of the first output transistor 1 and a second output transistor 81 described later is controlled by a gate signal G1. In the configuration shown in FIG. 10, PMOSFETs (P-channel type metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors) are used as the first output transistor 1 and the second output transistor 81. Accordingly, as a voltage level of the gate signal G1 decreases, the conductivity of the first output transistor 1 and the second output transistor 81 increases, whereby the output voltage VOUT increases.
The driver 2 includes a differential amplifier 21, a capacitor 22, a PMOSFET 23, a current amplifier 24, and a PMOSFET 25 that constitutes a current mirror.
An output of the differential amplifier 21 is applied to one end of the capacitor 22, and the ground potential is applied to the other end of the capacitor 22. Therefore, a connection node between the differential amplifier 21 and the capacitor 22 is grounded in a high frequency band, which makes it possible to realize high-speed responsiveness of the driver 2.
The phase compensation circuit 8 includes the second output transistor 81, a resistor 82, and a capacitor 83.
One end of the resistor 82 is connected to each gate of the first output transistor 1 and the PMOSFET 25 constituting a current mirror, and the other end of the resistor 82 is connected to a gate of the second output transistor 81. The capacitor 83 is provided between a gate and a source of the second output transistor 81.
Here, the function of the phase compensation circuit 8 of the linear power supply circuit in the related art shown in FIG. 10 will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing gain characteristics of a transfer function of the first output transistor 1 and the phase compensation circuit 8. A first pole frequency FP1′ is a frequency of a first pole generated by a parasitic capacitance CPD. The first pole of the transfer function of the first output transistor 1 is a pole in which the output capacitor 6 is not involved.
As a current flows through the second output transistor 81 having a gate to which a CR circuit (resistor 82 and capacitor 83) is connected, the first pole frequency FP1′ is shifted to a lower frequency band as compared with a case where the phase compensation circuit 8 is missing (indicated by a thick dotted line). As a result, the gain in a frequency band higher than the first pole frequency FP1′ is lowered as compared with a case where the first pole frequency FP1′ is not shifted to the lower frequency band.
Further, since the first output transistor 1 and the second output transistor 81 are connected in parallel and the first output transistor 1 is not affected by the resistor 82, a pole also exists at an original position before the first pole frequency FP1′ is shifted to the lower frequency band, and a frequency of the pole becomes a second pole frequency FP2′. Since the first pole frequency FP1′ is shifted to the lower frequency band and the gain is reduced, a zero cross frequency FZC′ is shifted to a lower frequency band.
The first pole frequency FP1′ and the second pole frequency FP2′ are related to a second pole frequency of a transfer function of the output capacitor 6 and the linear power supply circuit shown in FIG. 10. Therefore, the phase compensation circuit 8 can shift the second pole frequency of the transfer function of the output capacitor 6 and the linear power supply circuit shown in FIG. 10 to a lower frequency band as compared with the case where the phase compensation circuit 8 is not provided. Due to the shift, in a frequency band higher than the second pole frequency of the transfer function of the output capacitor 6 and the linear power supply circuit shown in FIG. 10, the phase compensation circuit 8 can reduce a gain of the transfer function of the output capacitor 6 and the linear power supply circuit shown in FIG. 10 as compared with the case where the phase compensation circuit 8 is not provided. As a result, a zero cross frequency of the transfer function of the output capacitor 6 and the linear power supply circuit shown in FIG. 10 is shifted to a lower frequency band. That is, in the linear power supply circuit shown in FIG. 10, even when a capacitance of the output capacitor 6 is reduced, it is possible to perform phase compensation only by adding the phase compensation circuit 8 (without significantly increasing the circuit area).
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a relationship between the input voltage VIN, the gate voltage of each of the first output transistor 1 and the second output transistor 81, and the output voltage VOUT in the linear power supply circuit shown in FIG. 10. The vertical axis in FIG. 12 indicates voltage and the horizontal axis indicates time. That is, FIG. 12 shows how the input voltage VIN, the output voltage VOUT, the gate voltage VPG (the gate signal G1) for driving the output transistor 1, and the gate voltage VPGF for driving the second output transistor 81 are changed over time.
According to FIG. 12, both the gate voltages VPG and VPGF start to rise at time t1 at which the input voltage VIN starts to rise from 4.75 V to 16 V. However, when focusing on a time at which the input voltage VIN has completely risen, a level of the gate voltage VPG rises to a certain value, whereas the gate voltage VPGF at that time is lower than the level of the gate voltage VPG and a delay in time may occur as compared to the rise in the gate voltage VPG. This is due to the CR circuit (the resistor 82 and the capacitor 83) included in the phase compensation circuit 8.

Linear power supply circuit with phase compensation circuit


A variable valve actuation (VVA) apparatus comprises an eccentric rotary (ER) cam fixed to a driving shaft for rotation therewith, a pivotal valve operating (VO) cam, a rocker arm having a first arm and a second arm, a control rod having an eccentric control cam, and a crank arm. The eccentric control cam supports the rocker arm for pivotal motion. The crank arm interconnects the ER cam and the first arm of the rocker arm. A link interconnects the second arm of the rocker arm and the VO cam.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,270 (=JP-A 55-137305) discloses a variable valve timing and lift system. It includes a driving shaft, a control rod with axially spaced eccentric cams, and a pivot structure. The pivot structure supports valve operating (VO) cams for pivotal motion above valve lifters of cylinder valves. Springs are mounted for the VO cams, respectively. Each of the springs biases one of the corresponding rocker cams toward its rest position where the associated cylinder valve closes. Rocker arms operate the VO cams, respectively. The eccentric cams, which are in rotary unison with the control rod, bear the rocker arms, respectively. An axis of each of the eccentric cams serves as the center of drive of the corresponding one of the rocker arms. Cams fixed to the driving shaft operate the rocker arms, respectively. An electronic control module (ECM) is provided. Sensors on the engine send information on engine speed, engine load, vehicle speed, and coolant temperature to the ECM. At a predetermined swithover point, the ECM sends a signal to an actuator for the control rod. As the actuator turns the control rod, the eccentricity of each of the eccentric cams with respect to an axis of the control shaft changes. This alters the position of pivot center of the rocker arms relative to the position of pivot center of the VO cams. This causes variation in valve timing and lift of each of the cylinder valves.
According to this known system, the driving shaft is not mounted above the cylinder valves. This arrangement has a potential problem that the considerable modification of the conventional overhead camshaft engine is required to install the driving shaft. Besides, the pivot structure and driving shaft requires a considerable space to install.
the driving arrangement in which the rocker arms press the VO cams against the springs confines an allowable angle through which the VO cams can pivot within such a relatively narrow range as to ensure that the rocker arms will not disengage from the VO cams.
According to the driving arrangement, the springs maintain contact of the VO cams with the rocker arms. This contact cannot be maintained when the driving shaft rotates at high speed due to inertia of the springs. This causes the occurrence of undesired motion of the cylinder valves.
An object of the present invention is to provide a VVA apparatus, which may be mounted to the conventional overhead camshaft engines without any considerable modification of the cylinder heads.

Variable valve actuation apparatus for engine


The fan screw nut for removing scraps includes a screwing hub, multiple fan blades and a frame. The screwing hub has an outer periphery. The fan blades are spiral in shaped and are formed around the outer periphery of the screwing hub. A flux space is formed between each fan blade. The frame is formed integratedly on an outer periphery of a front side of the fan blades. Multiple through holes are formed between the inner side of the frame and the flux spaces for air flowing. The fan screw can be introduced air into flux space via through holes to blow up scraps that generated from cutting a work piece.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screw nut, and more particularly to a fan screw nut for removing scraps.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional tool holder is connected with a cutting tool by a sleeve mounted in a front end of the tool holder, the cutting tool is inserted in the sleeve and a screw nut is mounted around the sleeve to clamp or release the sleeve by rotating. After the cutting tool cut a work piece, scraps are generated and disposed on a top surface of the work piece, which may affect the precision of cutting the work piece. The conventional way of cleaning the scraps is to wash the top surface of the work piece by cutting fluid, but the cleaning effect of the conventional way is not good enough.
To overcome the shortcomings of the conventional cleaning way, the present invention provides a fan screw nut for removing scraps to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


3-nitratooxetane.

Hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene is widely used as a binder for polyurethane-based solid propellants because of its low viscosity and good low-temperature properties. The main chain in the isocyanate cured hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene is hydrocarbon. Binders with energetic groups on the chain are desirable for increased performance.
One of the most attractive examples on the basis of energy that has been studied is poly(glycidyl nitrate).
R. L. Willer and R. S. Day, Proceedings of the APDA Joint International Symposium on the Compatibility of Plastics and Other Materials with Explosives, Propellants and Ingredients, American Defense Preparedness Association, October, 1989, 258, Poly(Glycidyl Nitrate) Revisited; R. L. Willer, A. G. Stern, D. K. McGrath, 1990 JANNAF Propulsion Meeting, CPIA Publication 550, 3, 223, Poly(Glycidyl Nitrate) and Poly(Glycidyl Nitrate) Propellants. Unfortunately, isocyanate-cured PGN binders exhibits a cure reversion on aging, W. B. H. Leeming, E. J. Marshall, H. Bull, M. J. Rodgers, and N. C. Paul, Int. Ann. Conference of ICT, 99, 1-99 (1996) (CA 125:225892), that has limited its usefulness. The cure reversion has been ascribed to interaction of urethane nitrogens with hydrogens adjacent to the nitrate groups.

Abstract: The method of synthesizing 3-nitratooxetane comprising reacting 3-hydroxyoxetane with a nitration agent.

Abstract: The method of synthesizing poly-(3-nitratooxetane) by polymerizing 3-nitratooxetane using a polyol initiator.


To provide an airbag apparatus in which gas from a gas generator can be prevented from directly colliding with an airbag thereof, thereby easing the requirements of heat resistance on the airbag via a gas generator that is inserted through an aperture of an airbag and is fixed to the periphery of the aperture by a band around them. A retaining member is fitted around the gas generator and is fixed to a casing by bolts. Both sides and a lower side of a portion of the gas generator where gas ports are formed are surrounded by side walls and a bottom of the retaining member as a gas-flow deflecting member. Gas spewed through gas ports are prevented from directly colliding with parts of the airbag near the gas ports.

Airbag apparatus for a motor vehicle is well known which has a gas generator and an airbag. In the event of a vehicle collision, the gas generator is activated to inflate the airbag, thereby protecting an occupant or a pedestrian. Many of gas generators employed in such airbag apparatuses are of a type that at least a part of spewed gas is generated by reaction of a gas generant.


A gas turbine engine has a first spool having a low pressure compressor section disposed forward of an air inlet along a direction of travel of the engine, and a low pressure turbine section disposed forward of the low pressure compressor section and drivingly engaged thereto. A second spool has a high pressure compressor section disposed forward of the low pressure compressor section, and a high pressure turbine section disposed forward of the high pressure compressor section and drivingly engaged thereto. The high pressure turbine section is disposed aft of the low pressure turbine section. An output drive shaft drivingly engages the low pressure turbine section and extends forwardly therefrom to drive a rotatable load. A method of operating a gas turbine engine is also discussed.

Reverse-flow gas turbine engines draw air into a central core of the engine near a rear portion of the engine, and exhaust combustion gases from a front portion of the engine. Gases therefore flow through the core from the rear to the front of the engine.
In some conventional reverse-flow engines, air is drawn into the core and compressed with a single compressor stage driven by a first turbine stage. A second turbine stage, separate from the first turbine stage and rotating a separate shaft, provides the rotational output of the engine. The first turbine stage is therefore performing all of the work to compress the air, which may affect the overall efficiency of the engine.


An electronic shutter switching transistor for a CMOS electronic is formed in a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type. The transistor comprises a pair of spaced apart doped regions of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type disposed in the semiconductor substrate forming source/drain regions. A gate is disposed above and insulated from the semiconductor substrate and is self aligned with the pair of spaced apart doped regions. A well of the second conductivity type laterally surrounds the pair of spaced apart doped regions and extends deeper into the substrate than the doped regions. A buried layer of the second conductivity type underlies and is in contact with the well.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic cameras. More particularly, the present invention relates to CMOS electronic cameras with electronic shutters and to an improved electronic shutter using buried layers.
2. The Prior Art
Electronic cameras using imaging arrays are known in the art. Both CCD and CMOS imagers have been employed in such cameras.
Some electronic cameras that employ CMOS active pixel sensors have employed such sensors equipped with an "electronic shutter" feature. The use of an electronic shutter is desirable because it eliminates the need for a mechanical shutter, reducing cost and complexity while improving the problem of latency between triggering an exposure and capturing an exposure. Electronic shutters in CMOS active pixel sensor arrays usually come in one of two forms: a rolling shutter or a true simultaneous shutter. A rolling shutter operates by successively exposing and resetting rows of pixels in the sensor. This type of shutter results in either a different total exposure time for pixels in different rows, or exposure to light from a scene at different points in time for the pixels in different rows. In either case, the resulting image can suffer from noticeable artifacts, particularly if objects in the scene are moving. A true simultaneous electronic shutter allows all pixels of the array to be exposed to incident light for the same period of time, thereby permitting an accurate and simultaneous snapshot of an entire scene. For quality images, a true simultaneous electronic shutter is the preferred method. The true simultaneous electronic shutter feature is usually implemented in CMOS active pixel sensors by providing a switching transistor disposed between the output of the photodiode photosensor and an amplifier associated with the pixel sensor.
Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 1 in which photodiode 10 is shown coupled to reset transistor 12. The electronic shutter in the active pixel sensor of FIG. 1 is implemented as transistor 14, sometimes referred to as a transfer transistor, disposed between the cathode of photodiode 10 and the gate of the source-follower amplifier transistor 16. The source of source-follower amplifier transistor 16 is coupled to an output column line 18 of the array through a row-select transistor 20, whose gate is driven by one of the row lines 22 in the array.
As known in the art, the pixel sensor of FIG. 1 is operated by first turning on the reset transistor 12 to drive the cathode of photodiode 10 to a known potential. The transfer transistor is also turned on during this reset period to charge the gate of transfer transistor 16 (also referred to as the sense node) to a known voltage. When the reset signal at the gate of reset transistor 12 is de-asserted, integration of photo-generated charges begins. When it is desired to end the exposure, transfer transistor 14 is turned off. At this time, a signal voltage representing the accumulated photo-generated charge may be driven onto column line 18 by asserting a row-select signal on row-select line 22 and thereby turning on the row select transistor 20.
Large electric fields associated with the transfer transistor 14 in the active pixel sensor of FIG. 1 cause undesirable leakage paths (shown as dashed-line resistors 24 in FIG. 1) and the relatively large capacitances (shown as dashed-line capacitors 26) inherent in the circuit cause reduced sensitivity.
One of the fundamental limitations of electronic shutters implemented in electronic cameras using advanced CMOS is the need to place the shutter switch in a heavily doped surface well. This requirement stems from the need to isolate the shutter switch from substrate photocurrent. FIG. 2A is a diagram of a semiconductor cross-section of a portion of a CMOS active pixel sensor, showing the effects of failure to provide surface well isolation for the transfer transistor. As shown in FIG. 2A, failure to provide such isolation between the photodiode comprising n+ region 30 in lightly-doped p-type substrate 32, and the n+ source/drain regions 34 and 36 of the transfer transistor allows a leakage path for stray charge carriers (illustrated by the electron designated e− in FIG. 2A) to drift into the n+ source/drain regions 34 and 36 of the transfer transistor.
Several techniques, illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 2C, have been employed to provide a barrier for blocking the leakage currents shown in FIG. 2A. In FIGS. 2B and 2C, structures corresponding to structures illustrated in FIG. 2A will be referred to using the same reference numerals used to identify those structures in FIG. 2A.
FIG. 2B is a diagram of a semiconductor cross-section of a portion of a CMOS active pixel sensor, showing the effects of use of a p-well and p-substrate barrier for isolation of the source/drain regions 34 and 36 of the transfer transistor. For the case shown in FIG. 2B, the transfer transistor is an NMOS device. In FIG. 2B, the n+ source/drain regions 34 and 36 are disposed in p-well 38, doped to about 1e17, a higher doping level than p-type substrate 32, shown doped to a level of about 1e15. The more highly doped p-well region tends to repel the electrons as shown by the curved arrow in FIG. 2B. By repelling electrons, the p-well/p-substrate structure provides a barrier to isolate the source/drain regions 34 and 36 of transfer transistor.
FIG. 2C is a diagram of a semiconductor cross-section of a portion of a CMOS active pixel sensor, showing the effects of use of an n-well barrier for isolation for the transfer transistor. The transfer transistor is now a PMOS device formed in the n-well. In FIG. 2C, the p+ source/drain regions 34 and 36 are disposed in n-well 40, doped to about 1e17. The n-well in FIG. 2C acts as a collection point for the electrons as indicated by the long curved arrow. Electrons are drawn to the positive supply V+ and therefore do not disturb the p+ source/drain regions. In this manner, the n-well structure provides a barrier to isolate the source/drain regions 34 and 36 of the transfer transistor.
NMOS and PMOS surface-well-isolated versions of electronic shutters that are shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C provide isolation from the substrate but the surface wells are required to be more heavily doped than the substrate in order to provide effective isolation and also control of surface concentrations. Furthermore, as CMOS scaling advances, n-wells and p-wells that are available as a natural part of the process become very heavily doped, in the range of 1e17 to 1e18. These high doping levels result in larger electric fields, particularly if signal voltages compatible with competitive imager dynamic range are used. Large electric fields in the shutter switch cause high leakage and low sensitivity as shown in FIG. 1. Because the photodiode charge collection node is to be connected to the electronic switch, the high leakage current and low sensitivity may limit the ability to do high quality long exposures with an electronic shutter of the types shown in FIG. 2. In addition, leakage current is a major source of noise in electronic image sensors, and as such it has a direct impact on dynamic range and image quality for all types of exposures.
Compatibility with advanced CMOS processes, the ability to perform long exposures, better noise and dynamic range performance, as well as eliminating the need for a mechanical shutter in a camera system are all important reasons for an improved electronic shutter technique.

Electronic shutter using buried layers and active pixel sensor and array employing same


The present invention is directed to a photosensitive resin composition comprising (a) a resin having a specific structure, (b) a photosensitive agent, and (c) an organic solvent having a boiling point at atmospheric pressure of 100° C. or higher and 140° C. or lower, the content of the component (c) being 50% by weight or more and 100% by weight or less based on the total amount of the organic solvent, and to a process for producing a heat-resistant resin film using the same. According to the present invention, there is provided a photosensitive resin composition which is less likely to cause defects such as transcribed trace and line drawing.

While a liquid crystal display (LCD) has been proliferating as the most popular type of a flat panel display, the category of a non-light emitting type display includes, besides LCD, an electrochromic display (ECD). The category of a light emitting type flat panel display includes a plasma display panel (PDP) and an electro-luminescent display (ELD) which are in the limelight recently. Among various types of electro-luminescent displays, an organic electro-luminescent display has the capability of high luminance display and full-color display, and has been researched particularly vigorously.
These flat panel displays are driven by applying a voltage across opposing first and second electrodes, or flowing a current therethrough. Since the electric field tends to concentrate at edges of the electrode where radius of curvature is small, undesirable phenomena are likely to occur at the edges such as dielectric breakdown and leakage current.
As means for preventing such phenomena, it is known to cover the edges of the first electrode with an insulating layer (also referred to as a separator), which mitigates the field concentration at the edges of the electrode. Polyimide resin, novolak resin, acrylic resin or the like is commonly used to form the insulating layer. Each of these resins has variations having different properties of being non-photosensitive, negatively photosensitive and positively photosensitive. Since the use of a photosensitive resin enables it to form the insulating layer in a desired pattern without using a photoresist, complicated production process can be simplified and poor yield of production can be improved. In a conventional process for producing the insulating layer, however, there has been such a problem that transcribed trace is left on the insulating layer thereby deteriorating the product quality. The transcribed trace refers to a visible surface unevenness caused on a heated object by an object that approached or made contact with the heated object.
For example, when a heated object comprising a supporting substrate such as glass substrate coated with a resin composition is dried by heating with a hot plate, the heated object is held on a fixture such as proximity pins and the heated object is heated by the heat of radiation from the hot plate. In this process, transcribed trace often appears at the place where the proximity pins touched. The transcribed trace exerts an adverse influence on the subsequent processes such as exposure and development, and eventually causes such problems as film thickness uniformity of the insulating layer after curing. The transcribed trace appears particularly frequently in polyimide and/or a polyimide precursor resin which are widely used to form the insulating layer.
Methods proposed to prevent the occurrence of transcribed trace include one based on the modification of the heating apparatus. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-236431 discloses a method wherein a second hot plate that can be moved up and down is provided so as to make contact over the entire surface of a substrate which is to be heated, thereby to eliminate localized temperature gradient. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-279548 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-40223 disclose such methods that use proximity pins made of a synthetic resin such as polyimide and restrict the contact between the proximity pins and the heated object within an area as small as 0.008 to 0.2 mm2, or form the proximity pins in a tubular shape so as to decrease the heat conductivity.
However, these techniques suppress the occurrence of transcribed trace by modifying the heating apparatus, thus making it necessary to make specific modification for each heating apparatus which is applied, and are therefore expensive and time-consuming. Thus there have been demands for a photosensitive resin composition which is less likely to cause transcribed trace even when a special heating apparatus is not used.

Photosensitive resin composition and process for producing heat-resistant resin film


A rotation control apparatus provides servo control over a recording medium, which allows information signals to be read thereto or written therefrom. The apparatus is capable of effecting proper recording or reproduction even immediately after switching of modes. A motor imparts rotary motion to a recording medium; a pulse generator is arranged to detect the rotation of the recording medium and then to output a pulse of frequency proportional to the rotational speed of the recording medium; a servo circuit receives a reference pulse and the pulse output from the pulse generator and then controls the motor to rotate so that the phase difference between the reference pulse and the pulse output from the pulse generator is constant. An internal vertical synchronizing signal generating circuit having a reset terminal, is arranged to supply an internal vertical synchronizing signal of predetermined frequency to the servo circuit as the reference pulse if no reset signal is supplied to the reset terminal, or, if a reset signal is supplied to the reset terminal, to cause the phase of the internal vertical synchronizing signal to coincide with the phase of the reset signal. An external vertical synchronizing signal separating circuit is arranged to receive a composite video signal and to separate an external vertical synchronizing signal from the composite video signal, thereby outputting the external vertical synchronizing signal. A reset-signal supplier supplies the separated external vertical synchronizing signal to the reset terminal of the internal-vertical-synchronizing-signal generating circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a rotation control apparatus suitable for use with a recording medium such as a magnetic or optical type of disk and, more particularly, to a rotation control apparatus for providing servo control over the rotation of such a recording medium which allows signals to be read thereto or written therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a typical electronic still camera, rotation control is provided as shown in FIG. 3. As illustrated, a magnetic disk 10 is caused to rotate by a motor 12, and a PG coil 16 is adapted to detect the presence or absence of a small magnet 14 attached to one side of the magnetic disk 10. If the PG coil 16 detects the presence of the small magnet 14, the PG coil 16 supplies a PG pulse as a feedback signal to one input of a spindle servo-circuit 18, at which time a reference signal S.sub.3 is supplied to another input of the spindle servo-circuit 18. The spindle servo-circuit 18 controls the operation of the motor 12 so that the phase difference between the PG pulse and the reference signal S.sub.3 may be kept constant.
In this state, if a recording mode is selected by operating a switch (not shown), an analog switch 20 is switched to a REC position, and a vertical-synchronizing-signal separating circuit 22 separates an external vertical synchronizing signal S.sub.1 from a composite color video signal. The external vertical synchronizing signal S.sub.1 is supplied to the reset terminal VR of a synchronizing-signal generator 24 and thus a vertical synchronizing signal S'.sub.1 whose phase has been reset by the external vertical synchronizing signal S.sub.1 is supplied as the aforesaid reference signal S.sub.3 from the output terminal VD of the synchronizing-signal generator 24 to the spindle servo-circuit 18 through the analog switch 20 which is switched to the REC position.
On the other hand, if a reproduction mode is selected by operating the switch (not shown), the analog switch 20 is switched to a PB position, and a subcarrier of 3.58 MHz is supplied from the synchronizing-signal generator 24 to a frequency division circuit 26. The frequency division circuit 26 effects the frequency division of this 3.58-MHz subcarrier and outputs an internal vertical synchronizing signal S.sub.2. This signal S.sub.2 is also supplied as the aforesaid reference signal S.sub.3 to the spindle servo-circuit 18 through the analog switch 20 which is switched to the PB position.
In this fashion, the magnetic disk 10 is rotated on the basis of the external vertical synchronizing signal S.sub.1 during recording, while, during reproduction, the magnetic disk 10 is rotated on the basis of the internal vertical synchronizing signal S.sub.2.
In such a related art electronic still camera, however, switching between the production and recording modes involves the following problems.
If the reproduction mode is switched to the recording mode, the period of the reference signal S.sub.3 abruptly varies as shown in FIGS. 4(a) to 4(c), since the vertical synchronizing signals S'.sub.1 and S.sub.2 differ in phase from each other. It is impossible, therefore, to initiate recording until servo-control reaches its stable state.
On the other hand, if the recording mode is switched to the reproduction mode, the period of the reference signal S.sub.3 likewise varies abruptly and it is impossible to perform proper reproduction until servo-control reaches the stable state.

Rotation control apparatus for use with recording medium


A heat radiation packaging structure without getting a board itself larger, but with an excellent heat radiation ability and a low cost is provided. A bus bar 12 is fixed onto a wiring board 11, a connecting lead 15A of a relay 15 etc. being joined onto the bus bar 12, and the wiring board 11, the bus bar 12 and the relay 15 etc. are sealed all together with a heat conduction resin 23.

The present invention relates to a heat radiation packaging structure for an exothermic electric part e.g. a relay etc. and a packaging method thereof.
Conventionally, degradation of soldered joints has been predominant in the case of mounting a large current electric part such as a relay onto a board using an ordinary eutectic solder, because of the large amount of heat generated by the electric part.
Therefore, a large current electric part has been mounted by soldering it on a electric wiring conductor coated with a resin mold, and by using a high melting point solder or by providing a heat radiation plate especially when an ordinary board may be used. As an exemplification, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 11-40035/1999 discloses a connection structure for an electric part relating to a relay built-in controller. As shown in FIG. 1, a lead frame 1 comprising a metallic plate is used as a wiring conductor for a packaging board. In this prior technology, resin plates 2, 3 are disposed to sandwich the lead frame 1 therebetween.
Further, extruded portions 4 protruding downward almost cylindrically are disposed at the prescribed positions on the lead frame in order to pierce the resin plate 3. As shown in FIG. 2, a terminal 5A of a relay 5, for example, is inserted into the extruded portion 4 down from the upper surface of the resin plate 2, and is joined by filling a solder 6 in the extruded portion 4.
However, in the connection structure for an electric part according to said prior technology, since it is necessary to form the resin plates 2, 3 on the top and bottom surfaces respectively of the lead frame 1 in order to avoid adhering of resin onto the extruded portions, there has been the problems of making a manufacturing process complicated and resulting in a high cost of a product.
Further, since said prior technology includes the structure wherein the both sides of the lead frame 1 are covered with the resin plates 2, 3, there has been the problem of a decrease in a heat radiation ability.
Besides, when such a highly exothermic large current electric part is mounted on an ordinary printed wiring board, it becomes necessary to join them together with a high melting point solder or a high endurance solder and further to use an expensive printed wiring board comprising a board material with low thermal expansion.
Therefore, it has been necessary to make a board larger in dimension in order to maintain heat radiation using a wiring board consisting of the ordinary board material. Further, when such a packaging board is, for example, a board for a relay built-in on-vehicle controller, getting larger in size and area of the board itself may turn to be a cause which interferes getting an engine room smaller in volume.
Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide a heat radiation packaging structure for an electric part which does not cause getting a board itself larger in size, being excellent in heat radiation and low at cost, and to provide a method packaging of the electric part.
The 1st invention is a heat radiation packaging structure for an electric part, wherein a bus bar is fixed to a wiring board, joining a connecting terminal of an exothermic electric part onto the bus bar, sealing said wiring board, said bus bar, and said electric part with a heat conduction resin.
Therefore, since the heat generated from the exothermic electric part is directly conducted to the heat conduction resin in contact with the surface of the electric part and is then radiated outward, and is also conducted through the bus bar via a contact surface between the electric part and the bus bar, and is then radiated outward after conducting through the heat conduction resin in contact with the surface of the bus bar, an efficient heat radiation can be achieved. Moreover, since the heat conducted to the wiring board through the bus bar is also efficiently radiated from the heat radiating resin, the functions to restrain thermal degradation of the electric part and joint degradation of connected portion between the electric part and the bus bar can be provided.
Additionally, according to the 1st invention, it can be restrained for the wiring board to get larger because of an enhanced heat radiating ability using the heat conduction resin. Further, the functions to enhance humidity resistance and electrical insulation can also be provided by means of sealing the whole electric part with the heat conduction resin.
Besides, the 2nd invention is the heat radiation packaging structure for an electric part according to the 1st invention, wherein said bus bar includes a thermal diffusion portion which is bent up apart from said wiring board by means of a bent portion.
According to 2nd invention, since the thermal diffusion portion shaped by bending so as to be apart from the wiring board contacts the heat conduction resin on both the surfaces, an area of heat radiation can be increased and the ability in heat radiation can be enhanced.
Further, the 3rd invention is the heat radiation packaging structure for an electric part according to the 2nd invention as described above, wherein the bent portion of said bus bar contacts a side of said electric part. Therefore, according to 3rd invention, since the bent portion contacts the side of the electric part, the heat generated from the electric part can be well conducted toward the bus bar, restraining the electric part to increase greatly in temperature.
Besides, the 4th invention is the heat radiation packaging structure for an electric part according to any of the 1st-3rd invention as described above, wherein said heat conduction resin is contained in an outer case having a better heat radiation characteristic. According to the 4th invention, the heat stored in the heat conduction resin can be well radiated outward from the outer case.

Heat radiation packaging structure for an electric part and packaging method thereof

Abstract: Additionally, the bus bar 12 comprises a thermal diffusion portion 17 which is bent via a bent portion 12B and is apart from the wiring board 11. By means of such a structure, a heat radiation ability is enhanced and the heat radiation packaging structure for an electric part is realized at low cost without getting a board itself larger.


A method of acquiring data of a matrix touch sensor including a matrix array of cells arranged according to a set of rows and columns, the method including: activating the cells arranged according to a column of at least one subset of columns of the matrix touch sensor; taking an overall measurement of an overall electrical characteristic on all the rows of at least one subset of rows of the matrix touch sensor; taking a sequential measurement of an electrical characteristic successively on each row of the at least one subset of rows, if the overall electrical characteristic has a value representative of a contact on at least one of the cells arranged according to the column; and repeating the overall measurement and sequential measurement after activating the cells arranged according to another column of the at least one subset of columns of the matrix touch sensor.

Such a matrix touch sensor is known from document EP 1 719 047, constituted by a matrix network of conductive tracks disposed in rows and columns, the cells thus being defined at the location of each intersection of the rows and columns of the matrix network.
In document EP 1 719 047, the acquisition of data is carried out by sequentially scanning each cell of the matrix network, that is to say by successively powering each column of the matrix network and by successively measuring, for each powered column, an electrical characteristic at the terminals of each row, representing a level of impedance of the cell placed at the intersection of the row and of the column considered.
This sequential scanning of the cells makes it possible to simultaneously detect several points of contact on the matrix touch sensor at each scanning phase.
However, it is necessary to perform a high number of measurements at each sequential scanning phase in order to scan all the cells.
Thus, for a matrix network of cells constituted by N columns and M rows, the scanning of the sensor requires N×M measurements at each scanning phase.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,752 proposes an accelerated scanning method. In this document, in a first step, a set of columns is simultaneously powered and a sequential measurement is made for each row of a set of rows.
Next, in a second step, a set of rows is simultaneously powered and a sequential measurement is made for each column of a set of columns.
When several cells disposed on the same row and/or the same column are activated, the method identifies zones of ambiguity on which is implemented sequential conventional scanning as described above in relation to document EP 1 719 047.
Although faster, this method, alternating the axes of power supply and measurement of the cell matrix network, has the drawback of requiring connections that are reconfigurable at the inputs and outputs of the electronic measuring circuit.
The design of the data acquisition device is thus complex.

Method of acquiring data from a matrix touch sensor by performing global measurement and conditional sequential measurement


Disclosed are several examples of systems that can read millions of news feeds per day about topics (e.g., your customers, competitors, markets, and partners), and provide a small set of the most relevant items to read to keep current with the overwhelming amount of information currently available. Topics of interest can be chosen by the user of the system for use as seeds. The seeds can be vectorized and compared with the target documents to determine their similarity. The similarities can be sorted from highest to lowest so that the most similar seed and target documents are at the top of the list. This output can be produced in XML format so that an RSS Reader can format the XML. This allows for easy Internet access to these recommendations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to document searching and more specifically to a system and method of identifying relevant documents.
2. Description of the Related Art
One method of searching for electronic documents online is by entering one or more keywords into a search engine, such as a search engine webpage on the Internet. In general, the quality of such a search depends on the skill of the user and their ability to craft and submit an appropriate query. There are some systems that can return results from a keyword search and offer to find more documents based on a given result. If someone was interested in several different topics, they may need to spend a significant amount of time searching for and reviewing documents that may meet the search criteria, but may not be of any real interest.
Earlier works by Potok et al., address the need for automated document searching and the following three references are incorporated by reference as if included here at length. Potok et al., Agent-based method for distributed clustering of textual information, U.S. Pat. No. 7,805,446; Potok et al., Method for gathering and summarizing internet information, U.S. Pat. No. 7,693,903; and Jiao and Potok, Dynamic reduction of dimensions of a document vector in a document search and retrieval system, U.S. Pat. No. 7,937,389.
Further improvements can advance the state of the art.

Method and system to discover and recommend interesting documents


Methods for quantifying the oil and water fractions of a fluid stream. A first method broadly includes making optical density (OD) measurements of the fluid stream by detecting photons of a first predetermined energy where the oil and water absorption characteristics are substantially identical (e.g., 1710 nm wavelength), and determining the oil and water fractions f.sub.o and f.sub.w according to OD.perspectiveto.f.sub.w .alpha..sub.w l+f.sub.o .alpha..sub.o l where .alpha..sub.w and .alpha..sub.o are related to the absorption coefficients of the oil and water at the predetermined energy, l is the path width of the fluid stream, and f.sub.w +f.sub.o =1. A second method which eliminates scattering effects utilizes the photons at the first predetermined energy and further utilizes photons of a second predetermined energy which is sufficiently close to the first predetermined energy such that the oil fraction is a linear function of the OD over the energy range. The oil and water fractions are then determined from the difference in optical density values (.DELTA.OD) according to .DELTA.OD=f.sub.o [(OD.sub.o,a -OD.sub.o,b)- (OD.sub.w,a -OD.sub.w,b)]+(OD.sub.w,a -OD.sub.w,b), where OD.sub.o,a, OD.sub.o,b, OD.sub.w,a, and OD.sub.w,b are the optical densities per unit length of pure oil (o) and pure water (w) at the first (a) and second (b) wavelengths.

This invention relates to methods for analyzing oil and water fractions in a two phase flow stream. This invention further and more particularly relates to methods of determining the oil and water fractions of fluid flowing in a borehole.
As seen in FIG. 1, several different interactions may occur when light strikes a sample. Typically, if the sample is fluid, some light is reflected at the boundary of the sample while the rest of the light enters the sample. Inside the sample, light is scattered by phase interfaces, molecular excitations (Raman scattering) and by collective modes of the medium (e.g., Rayleigh scattering). In general, only a very small fraction of the light is scattered per centimeter of path by the Raman and Rayleigh scattering processes. Rather, depending upon the sample, much of the light is often absorbed. The absorption mechanisms of interest for the present invention are the vibrational absorptions which result from the excitation of overtones of molecular vibrations involving hydrogen atoms; not the electronic absorption which relates to the excitation of electronic transitions in aromatic molecules in the fluid such as asphaltenes, resins, and porphyrins.
Because different fluid samples absorb energy differently, the fraction of incident light absorbed per unit of pathlength in the sample depends on the composition of the sample and the wavelength of the light. Thus, the amount of absorption as a function of the wavelength of the light, hereinafter referred to as the "absorption spectrum", has been used in the past as an indicator of the composition of the sample. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,671 to Safinya et al., assigned to the assignee hereof, and hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, it is taught, among other things, that the absorption spectrum in the wavelength range of 0.3 to 2.5 microns can be used to analyze the composition of a fluid containing oil. The disclosed technique fits a plurality of data base spectra related to a plurality of oils and to water, etc., to the obtained absorption spectrum in order to determine the amounts of different oils and water that are present in the sample.
Numerous other techniques utilizing different parts of the spectrum are known in the arts for identifying or distinguishing between oils. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,284 to Schnell, a helium-neon laser is used to provide photons of a 0.633 micron wave length which are directed at a sample. The resulting Raman spectrum which comprises scattered light at different wavelengths than the incident light is measured, and the measured spectrum is compared with previously obtained reference spectra of a plurality of substances in order to monitor fluid flowing through an oil refinery pipeline.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,821 to Summers, especially prepared rock cuttings containing at least oil from an oil-based mud are excited with ultraviolet radiation with a 0.26 micron wave length, and the frequency and intensity of the resulting excited waves (fluorescence) which are at a longer wavelength than the incident radiation are detected and measured. By comparing the fluorescent spectral profile of the detected waves with similar profiles of the oil used in the oil-based mud, a determination is made as to whether the formation oil is also found in the rock cuttings.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,312 to Brown et al., which is directed specifically to finding the source of a fuel oil leak or spill, crude oil samples are obtained and are prepared in a manner such that they are of the order of 0.1 mm thick. The crude oil samples are then analyzed to fine "fingerprint" valleys in the infrared spectra in the 600-1200 cm.sup.-1 (8.3 to 16.6 micron wavelength) range, and are compared against a library of reference samples so as to identify which specific oil has been found among the different types of fuel oils.
While the Schnell, Summers, and Brown et al. techniques, and many other similar techniques of the prior art may be useful in certain very limited areas, it will be appreciated that they suffer from various drawbacks. For example, the use of laser equipment in Schnell severely restricts the environment in which the apparatus may be used, as lasers are not typically suited to harsh temperature and/or pressure situations such as a borehole environment. Also, the use of the Raman spectrum in Schnell imposes the requirement of equipment which can detect with very high resolution the low intensity scattered signals. The use by Summers of light having a 0.26 micron wavelength, and in Brown et al., of light in the 8.3 to 16.6 micron wavelength, severely limits the investigation of the samples to samples having nominal thickness. In fact, the Summers patent requires that the sample be diluted with solvents before investigation, while the Brown et al. patent requires that the sample be prepared to a thickness of 0.1 mm. Thus, the Summers and Brown et al. patents, do not permit an analysis of formation fluids in situ. On the other hand, while the Safinya et al. disclosure is much less limited, and has been found to be generally useful in analyzing the composition of a formation fluid either in situ or at the surface, it will be appreciated that the interpretation techniques disclosed therein are computationally intensive. Particularly, large computing power is necessary to take a data base of spectra of numerous oils and water, and to fit those spectra to an obtained spectra in order to determine the compositional makeup of the sample. In downhole (in situ) situations, however, where the monitoring of a changing fluid flowstream in real time is desirable, and where it is less important to determine exactly the type of oil which is being obtained from the formation than it is to determine when the formation oil is being obtained as opposed to mud filtrate, it is advantageous to use less computationally intensive techniques.
It is of further note that the prior art techniques are not particularly suitable for analyzing two phase flow for the relative amounts of water and oil contained therein, and for distinguishing between two-phase slug and laminar flows.

Method of analyzing oil and water fractions in a flow stream


A cleaning implement for hard surface cleaning is provided. This cleaning implement includes a handle, a mop head pivotably attached to said handle, and which has a pad forming a bottom surface, and at least one elevational element removably attached to the bottom surface of the pad. The elevational element provides the mop with the ability to pivot relative the surface to be cleaned. This cleaning implement is used in synergy with a disposable absorbent cleaning pad engaging the elevational element.

The use of cleaning implement for cleaning hard surfaces such as mops is known in the art. Such mops typically comprise a handle connected to a mop head which engages a cleaning sheet and the user then wipes the mop against the floor to be cleaned. Those mop heads have typically a flat surface at the bottom. In the context of "wet cleaning", where a liquid is either sprayed on the surface to be cleaned or is already included in a cleaning pad, those mops do not allow a very good usage of the pad. It has been shown that only the front part of the pad which is first in contact with the liquid and where most of pressure exercised by the user is concentrated, is actually contributing to the cleaning. As a result, a substantial part of the surface or volume of the pad is wasted requiring the consumer to use more cleaning pad than theoretically necessary to obtain a clean floor. It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an improved cleaning implement capable of improving the usage of a cleaning pad associated to it.

Cleaning implement for cleaning a surface


A method for applying solder to a braided shield of a cable, particularly of a coaxial cable. A cable end portion is dipped into a solder bath a defined depth and for a defined time period prior to the removal of the jacket of the cable.

Frequently, the screen of a cable consists of braided electrically conductive material. In coaxial cables of high quality the quality of the shield inter alia is defined by the geometrical structure of the braid. If this structure is changed or damaged the screening effect suffers and thus also the transmission behavior of the cable.
The connection to a connector necessitates the removal of the insulation sheath or jacket and to expose the shield for the electric connection to a ground contact. The removal of the jacket may have an influence on the structure of the shield and thus on the screening effect. In case the shield consists of filaments or wires, they may spread at the end of the cable like a brush if exposed. It is extraordinarily difficult for the assembling person to introduce such a cable end into a connector such that the shield remains unchanged and on the spot. If the assembling is to be automated, it is hardly possible to tidily introduce the cable with its shield into the connector.

Method for applying solder to a braided shield of a cable

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


What is described is a method for treating cancer in a patient assaying levels of (a) CXCR1 and/or CXCR2 ligands or (b) myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and/or neutrophils in the patient, and if the patient has increased levels of (a) or (b), then administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound having a structure selected from the group consisting of formulas SX-517, SX-576, and SX-682

Chemokines are chemotactic proteins that have the potential to attract macrophages, T-cells, eosinophils, basophils, neutrophils and endothelial cells to sites of inflammation and tumor growth. Chemokines are typically low molecular mass (7-9 kD) proteins that can be divided into four subfamilies: CC (or β-chemokines), CXC, C (or γ-chemokines) and CX3C (or δ-chemokines). The chemokines are categorized through their primary amino acid structure. The CXC subfamily is characterized by two conserved Cys residues (C) near the N-terminus and separated by an amino acid (X). The CXC-chemokines include, for example, interleukin-8 (IL-8), neutrophil-activating protein-1 (NAP-1), neutrophil-activating protein-2 (NAP-2), GROα, GROβ, GROγ, ENA-78, GCP-2, IP-10, MIG and PF4. The CXC subfamily of chemokines is further characterized by the presence or absence of a specific amino acid sequence, glutamic acid-leucine-arginine (or ELR for short) immediately before the first Cys residue of the CXC motif Those chemokines with the ELR motif (ELRCXC) are important for the recruitment and activation of neutrophils to sites of inflammation. GROα and IL-8 are examples of ELRCXC chemokines.
The CXC-chemokines mediate their chemotactic activity through interaction with the chemokine receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2. CXCR1 binds IL-8 and GCP-2 with high affinity while CXCR2 binds all ELRCXC chemokines with high affinity.
Since CXC-chemokines promote the accumulation and activation of neutrophils, CXC-chemokines have been implicated in a wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory disorders including COPD, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. (Baggiolini, 1992, FEBS Lett, 307:97; Miller, 1992. Crit Rev Immuno., 12:17; Oppenheim, 1991, Annu Rev Immunol, 9:617; Seitz, 1991, J Clin Invest, 87:463; Miller, 1992, Am Rev Respir Dis, 146:427; Donnely, 1998, Lancet, 341:643).
ELRCXC chemokines, including IL-8, GROα, GROβ, GROγ, NAP-2, and ENA-78 (Strieter, 1995, J Biol Chem, 270:27348-57), have also been implicated in the induction of tumor angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth). Angiogenic activity is due to ELRCXC-chemokine binding to, and activation of CXCR2, and possibly CXCR1 for IL-8, expressed on the surface of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) in surrounding vessels.
Many different types of tumors have been shown to produce ELRCXC chemokines. Chemokine production has been correlated with a more aggressive phenotype (Inoue, 2000, Clin Cancer Res, 6:2104-2119) and poor prognosis (Yoneda, 1998, J Nat Cancer Inst, 90:447-54). Chemokines are potent chemotactic factors and the ELRCXC chemokines, in particular, have been shown to induce EC chemotaxis. Thus, these chemokines are thought to induce chemotaxis of endothelial cells toward their site of production in the tumor. This may be a critical step in the induction of angiogenesis by the tumor. Inhibitors of CXCR2 or dual inhibitors of CXCR2 and CXCR1 will inhibit the angiogenic activity of the ELRCXC chemokines and therefore block the growth of the tumor. This anti-tumor activity has been demonstrated for antibodies to IL-8 (Arenberg, 1996, J Clin Invest, 97:2792-802), ENA-78 (Arenberg, 1998, J Clin Invest, 102:465-72), and GROα (Haghnegandar, 2000, J Leukoc Biology, 67:53-62).
Therefore, there is a need in the art to find CXCR1/2 inhibitor compounds and modulator compounds that can be used as pharmaceutical compounds. There remains a need for compounds that are capable of modulating activity at CXC-chemokine receptors. For example, conditions associated with an increase in IL-8 production (which is responsible for chemotaxis of neutrophil and T-cell subsets into the inflammatory site and growth of tumors) would benefit by compounds that are inhibitors of IL-8 receptor binding. The present disclosure was made to satisfy this need.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for treating cancer using chemokine antagonists


A merchandising system which comprises a display panel dimensioned to cover at least a portion of a slot wall. The display panel includes a forward facing surface having coupled thereto a plurality of receptacles, each of the plurality of receptacles being adapted to receive a support arm of sufficient structural integrity to maintain at least one item of merchandise suspended therefrom; a top edge having coupled to at least a portion thereof, at least one bracket dimensioned to engage a slot provided in the slot wall and configured to maintain the display panel in a generally parallel orientation to the slot wall when the at least one item of merchandise is displayed thereon; and a plurality of support arms, each of the plurality of support arms being adapted to couple to at least one of the plurality of receptacles and descriptive signage affixed to the forward facing surface.

Slotted display walls, also known as slat walls, have become popular in many retail environments. The slot walls allow for significant flexibility in organization and merchandising of items of various shapes and sizes. In addition, slot board displays are generally more aesthetically appealing than the previous pegboard systems and offer an advantage of continuous rather than incremental horizontal merchandise position adjustment. However, slot boards employed in the relevant art still generally requires labor intensive repositioning of individual supports to accommodate a particular grouping of merchandise.
In general, most of the improvements in the relevant art, have been directed toward strengthening the slot board or preventing dislodging of a support arm when a consumer removes an item of merchandise. For smaller retail items, repositioning of support arms, restocking and movement of merchandise can be rather time consuming, labor intensive and result in inefficient space utilization.
Therefore, an arrangement which allows a merchandiser to use slot boards but does not require significant individual repositioning of merchandise and support arms is highly desirable, particularly in circumstances where slot wall space is devoted to the merchandising of groupings of related or complementary items.

Merchandising display system and method of use


An associative processing memory system for concurrent data searching and concurrent data processing which includes content addressable memory (CAM) array having multiple CAM words; a multiplexer for executing one of the input devices and for passing an output of one of the input devices; an interface register logic block for storing instructions in a command register and control and status information in a control and status register; a match circuit for executing a match instruction for performing a masked comparison of data in every CAM word in the CAM array to a search pattern; a read circuit for executing a read instruction for reading one CAM word in the CAM array wherein the CAM word is selected using a response register A and a multiple response resolver (MRR); a write circuit for executing a write instruction for performing a masked write operation to every CAM word indicated by a bit set in a select vector; a shift circuit for executing a shift instruction for shifting the response register A up or down by one bit position; a clear circuit for executing an instruction for clearing the most significant bit set in the response register A; a move circuit for executing a move instruction for writing the data contents indicated by the select vector to a response register; a write-column circuit for executing an instruction for writing the contents of the select vector to a column in the CAM array; a circuit for executing an nop instruction for performing no operation; a read-shift for executing a readshift instruction; a read-snext circuit for executing a readsnext instruction; a write-shift circuit for executing a writeshift instruction; and a write-snext circuit for executing a writesnext instruction.

A) Related Applications
This application is related to an application of Charles D. Stormon, Abhijeet Chavan, Nikos B. Troullinos and Raymond M. Leong which is filed concurrently herewith, Ser. No. 08/284/347, filed Aug. 1, 1994, and which is entitled "A Content Addressable Memory Array Integrated with a General Logic Block".
B) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of data processing incorporating a content addressable memory, associative storage, parallel-search storage or the like wherein high performance of data searching, processing of stored data or processing of search results is required.
C) Art Background
In a conventional computer, processing of the contents of a memory is carried out in a single instruction single data (SISD) fashion. A single word in a memory is selected for access by an address that uniquely identifies that word. Instruction sets for the prior art have been based on selecting single operands by unique addresses with no provision for accessing multiple stored words for concurrent operations.
Content addressable memories (CAMS) are used generally in associative memory processing and specifically in computer data processing wherein it is desirable to identify the location of the data stored in the memory by specifying part or all of its contents. However, CAMs have not been popular because of high manufacturing cost and low performance of data searching and data processing.
The present invention significantly increases the performance of applications that include searching stored data and/or processing the stored data or search results. This class of problems is typically handled in prior art by software algorithms that search and process data in a serial (or a SISD) fashion. CAM array 10 in FIG. 1 of the present invention supports a concurrent search that compares all of the stored CAM words to the input data in one operation, thus implemented as a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) operation. The data stored in CAM array 10 can also be processed in an SIMD fashion in accordance with the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention supports more complex operations such as finding inexact (fuzzy) matches for data that falls into a specified range.

Instruction set for a content addressable memory array with read/write circuits and an interface register logic block


An imaging optical system which is a small-sized and wide angle of view a zoom lens, and whose aberration is finely corrected, is provided. In the imaging optical system, it has the first lens group of negative power, the second lens group of positive power, the third lens group of negative power, the fourth lens group of the positive and the following lens group, and the first lens group is fixed with respect to the image plane during zooming and focusing, and during zooming at least the lens group constituting the following lens group is moved within an adequate range, and the distance between the most image side surface of the following lens group and the image plane is set in an adequate range.

Recently, following the spread of the personal computer, a digital camera by which an image can be easily taken into the personal computer is spread. Further, a case where a digital camera is assembled into an information processing device such as a mobile computer, cell phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is also come into common use. Following such a spread of the digital camera, a more compact digital camera is required, and it is necessary that the imaging optical system is also further down-sized.
Further, as the imaging optical system of the digital camera, a zoom optical system is required, and in it, an optical system whose wide angle side is wider than before is required.
Accordingly, in order to make the zoom optical system wide angle of view and down-sized, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 2001-174704, the five-groups composition in which the power arrangement of negative, positive, negative, positive, positive, in the order from an object side is made is disclosed, lens groups except the third lens group are moved to realize zooming, and a wide angle of view zoom lens of about 3 times is proposed. Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 2004-271937, in the five groups composition in which the power arrangement of negative, positive, negative, positive, positive, in the order from an object side is made, each group is individually moved during zooming, and a wide angle of view zoom lens of about 5 times is proposed.
However, in the optical system written in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 2001-174704, the first lens group is moved during zooming, further, the effective diameter of the first lens group is large, and the size of the optical system becomes large for mounting it in the digital camera that is required to be down-sized. Further, the optical system written in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 2004-271937 is wide angle of view and the variable magnification ratio is large, however, the structure of the complicate drive mechanism of cam by which each lens group is individually moved during zooming becomes necessary, the image pick-up apparatus is large-sized, and further, the large drive force is necessary and the power consumption is increased.

Imaging optical system and image pickup apparatus