Systems, methods, and devices include counters configured to implement count operations. Systems include non-volatile memory devices which include a first counter configured to store a first plurality of data values representing a plurality of count operations, and a second counter configured to store a second plurality of data values representing a number of erase operations applied to the first counter. Systems further include control circuitry configured to implement read, write, and erase operations for the first counter and the second counter, determine a partial count value based, at least in part, on a current value of the second counter and at least one physical parameter of the first counter, and generate a count value by adding the partial count value with a current value of the first counter. Such counters and control circuitry are immune data loss due to power loss events.

Memory devices may include various memory cells that are configured to store data values based on programming received via various word lines and bit lines. Memory cells, and storage locations mapped to such memory cells, may be referenced using memory addresses, which may be numerical strings used to identify such storage locations. Memory devices may be used to store numbers, such as count values generated by counters for various processing operations. As higher capacity counters are implemented, the size of memory used to store count values increases. Thus, the amount of memory required to store the count values and associated data may be large, and may utilize a relatively large amount of system resources. Accordingly, traditional memory devices remain limited in their ability to efficiently track memory count values in a manner that reduces the use of such system resources, and is also immune to power loss events.

Continuous monotonic counter for memory devices


A domino logic circuit includes a pre-charge circuit pre-charging a first dynamic node in response to a clock signal, a first logic network determining a logic level of the first dynamic node in response to first data signals, an inverter receiving the clock signal, a discharge circuit discharging a second dynamic node in response to an output signal of the inverter, and a second logic network determining a logic level of the second dynamic node in response to at least one second data signal and an output signal of the first dynamic node.

Embodiments of the inventive concept relate generally to domino logic circuits and apparatuses incorporating same. More particularly, embodiments of the inventive concept relate to footer-less NP domino logic circuits capable of accurately processing data at relatively high-speed.
Domino logic circuits are often used as part of a critical path for a processor or other digital logic device. Such circuits provide low data latency. Moreover, domino logic circuits are generally able to reduce the overall size of a constituent function block, while offering relatively high-speed data processing and lower power consumption. As the operating speed of processors including domino logic circuits increases, power consumption by the processor increases. Accordingly, a demand exists for a processor having relatively reduced power consumption, yet being capable of running at a high operating speed. Subsequently, demand exists for domino logic circuits having structures that enable high speed operation at reduced power consumption.

Footer-less NP domino logic circuit and related apparatus


A V-engine having a plurality of cylinders (2) arranged alternately in two banks comprises a combustion chamber provided for each of the cylinders (2), an intake port (20) which connects the combustion chamber to an intake manifold (50), and an exhaust port (30) which connects the combustion chamber to an exhaust manifold (70). The intake ports (20) of the two banks are all configured so as to pass through one of the banks, and the exhaust ports (30) of the two banks are all configured so as to pass through the other bank. The angle formed by the two banks is set to eight degrees or less.

The bank angle of a V-engine is determined according to the number of cylinders. In a four-cylinder V-engine, the bank angle is often set to ninety degrees, and in a six-cylinder V-engine, the bank angle is often set to one hundred and twenty degrees. JP10-121980A, published by the Japan Patent Office in 1998, proposes an engine in which the bank angle is reduced to thirty degrees.


The present invention provides multi-layer multi-chip circuit board comprising at least two ATAB carriers having chips thereon, stacked upon each other in a pyramid configuration and attached to a substrate, thus reducing the required area on the substrate for mounting components to form a circuit board.

Direct chip attachment (DCA) of integrated circuit chips, to an underlying circuit board used in computers or the like presents several problems. Differences in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the chip, which is typically made of silicon, and the circuit board, which is typically made of organic material such as fiberglass filled epoxy often lead to failed connections. Also it is difficult to remove a chip that is directly attached to a circuit board during reworking if chip failure is noted during testing.
A number of solutions for connecting chips to circuit boards have evolved. In one such solution, the chip is connected to a chip carrier which in turn is connected to the circuit board. Employing carriers, especially with a CTE between that of the chip and that of the carrier, relieves the problems associated with differential coefficients of expansion and provides a modular component system that permits easy removal of a deficient chip from the circuit board during reworking of the board. Moreover, if the same material is used as a carrier as for the circuit board, the effect of CTE mismatch is minimized because the carrier is much smaller than the board.
One such carrier system, tape automated bonding (known as ATAB), often is used to connect I/C chips to circuit boards. An ATAB is comprised of a thin film of dielectric material, and a ground plane, typically a thin layer of copper, plated or laminated to the thin film. Atop the thin film, circuitization for connecting the I/C chip and distributing signals to and from the chip, has been laid. One or more I/C chips are attached to the top surface of the ATAB in accordance with the circuitization design. Plated vias are formed through the film to connect the top of the film of material to the bottom of the film of material. Attachment pads communicate with the vias on the ground plane surface but are electrically insulated therefrom. Solder balls are disposed on the pads for connecting the ATAB to the underlying circuit board.
Employing ATAB carrier technology improves the connection of the chip to the underlying circuit board and provides the convenience of modular parts. However, the ATAB carriers occupy additional space in relationship to the size of the chip when disposed on the circuit board. Thus, a large area of circuit board may be required to connect all of the necessary I/C chips. Also, ATABs do not remain flat; and this leads to warpage.
It would be desirable to have structures and methods for making structures that requires less surface area on the substrate for maintaining a given number of I/C chips using ATAB technology.

Multi-layer-multi-chip pyramid and circuit board structure and method of forming same

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for preparing a composition containing between 0.08 and 3.0% by weight of polymer or copolymer of a 3,4-dialkoxythiophene in which the two alkoxy groups may be the same or different or together represent an optionally substituted oxy-alkylene-oxy bridge, a polyanion and at least one non-aqueous solvent from a dispersion of the polymer or copolymer of (3,4-dialkoxythiophene) and the polyanion in water which is prepared in the substantial absence of oxygen, comprising in the following order the steps of: i) mixing at least one of the non-aqueous solvents with the aqueous dispersion of the polymer or copolymer of (3,4-dialkoxythiophene) and the polyanion; and ii) evaporating water from the mixture prepared in step i) until the content of water therein is reduced by at least 65% by weight; a printing ink, printing paste or coating composition, capable of yielding layers with enhanced conductivity at a given transparency, prepared according to the above-described method; a coating process with the coating composition thereby producing a layer with enhanced conductivity at a given transparency; and a printing process with the printing ink or paste thereby producing a layer with enhanced conductivity at a given transparency.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,609 discloses an electrically conductive coating composition comprising: a dispersion comprising dispersed particle of an intrinsically conductive polymer and, a solution which comprises a hydrophobic film-forming thermoplastic polymer, a highly polar plasticizer, and, an acid anhydride surfactant, in an organic solvent; wherein said thermoplastic polymer is soluble in said solvent to at least 1 percent by weight; and, wherein said dispersion comprises from about 1 to about 50 percent by weight of said intrinsically conductive polymer.
EP-A 440 957 discloses dispersions of polythiophenes, constructed from structural units of formula (I):
in which R1 and R2 independently of one another represent hydrogen or a C1-4-alkyl group or together form an optionally substituted C1-4-alkylene residue, in the presence of polyanions.
EP-A-686 662 discloses mixtures of A) neutral polythiophenes with the repeating structural unit of formula (I),
in which R1 and R2 independently of one another represent hydrogen or a C1-4-alkyl group or together represent an optionally substituted C1-4-alkylene residue, preferably an optionally with alkyl group substituted methylene, an optionally with C1-12-alkyl or phenyl group substituted 1,2-ethylene residue or a 1,2-cyclohexene residue, and B) a di- or polyhydroxy- and/or carboxy groups or amide or lactam group containing organic compound; and conductive coatings therefrom which are tempered to increase their resistance preferably to <300 ohm/square.
WO 99/34371 discloses a screen paste with a viscosity of 1 to 200 dPa·s (102 to 2×104 mPa·s) containing a solution or dispersion of a conductive polymer paste and optionally binders, thickeners and fillers. WO 99/34371 further discloses a process for preparing screen pastes in which a solution or dispersion with a content of <2% by weight of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) [PEDOT]/poly(styrene sulphonate) [PSS] is concentrated to a solids content of >2% by removing the solvent and in which subsequently binder and/or filler are optionally added. Example 1 discloses evaporation of water from a 1.3% by weight solids dispersion of PEDOT/PSS in water to a 3% by weight solids dispersion in a rotary evaporator at 45° C. and 20 hPa (mbar).
EP-A 1 081 549 discloses a coating composition comprising a solution of a substituted or unsubstituted thiophene-containing electrically-conductive polymer, a film-forming binder, and an organic solvent media; the media having a water content of less than 37 weight percent. Coating dispersions with 0.1% by weight of PEDOT/PSS, i.e. 0.0294% by weight of PEDOT since BAYTRON® P contains a weight ratio PEDOT to PSS of 1:2.4, and with between 8 and 25% by weight of water were disclosed in the invention examples using BAYTRON® P, a 1.22% by weight dispersion of PEDOT/PSS in water, as the starting material.
EP-A 1 081 546 discloses a coating composition comprising a solution of an electrically-conductive polymer and an organic solvent media wherein the solvents are selected from the group consisting of alcohols, ketones, cycloalkanes, arenes, esters, glycol ethers and their mixtures; the media having a water content of less than 12 weight percent. Coating dispersions with PEDOT/PSS concentrations between 0.02 and 0.1% by weight, i.e. between 0.00588 and 0.0294% by weight of PEDOT since BAYTRON® P contains a weight ratio PEDOT to PSS of 1:2.4, and with between 2 and 8% by weight of water were disclosed in the invention examples using BAYTRON® P, a 1.22% by weight dispersion of PEDOT/PSS in water, as the starting material.
EP-A 1 081 548 discloses a coating composition comprising a substituted or unsubstituted thiophene-containing electrically-conductive polymer and an organic solvent media; the media having a water content of less than 12 weight percent. Coating dispersions with PEDOT/PSS concentrations between 0.02 and 0.1% by weight, i.e. between 0.00588 and 0.0294% by weight of PEDOT since BAYTRON® P contains a weight ratio PEDOT to PSS of 1:2.4, and with between 2 and 8% by weight of water were disclosed in the invention examples using BAYTRON® P, a 1.22% by weight dispersion of PEDOT/PSS in water, as the starting material.
WO 02/042352 discloses a process for producing a water-dispersible powder essentially consisting of polymer particles T with repeating thiophene units and at least one further polyanionic polymer P characterized in that a dispersion or solution containing said polymer T is mixed with a compound which forms an azeotrope with water, the water is removed by azeotropic distillation and the polymer obtained isolated and dried.
WO 02/067273 discloses a method for exchanging solvent in a mixture comprising water and an optionally substituted polythiophene, the method comprising: a) heating at least one solvent in a vessel under conditions suitable for vaporizing water; b) contacting the heated solvent with the mixture comprising water and optionally substituted polythiophene, the contact being sufficient to remove at least part of the water from the mixture as vapor; and c) exchanging the water removed from the mixture with the solvent.
WO 02/072660 discloses a process for the preparation of dispersions or solutions, containing optionally substituted polythiophenes in organic solvents, characterized in that: a) a with water-miscible organic solvent or a with water-miscible organic solvent mixture is added to an aqueous dispersion or solution containing optionally substituted polythiophenes and b) the water is at least in part removed from the resulting mixtures.
WO 02/072714 discloses solutions and/or dispersions of organic semiconductors in a solvent mixture of at least two different organic solvents, characterized in that (A) each of the solvents on its own exhibits a boiling point below 200° C. and a melting point less than or equal to 15° C., (B) at least one of the solvents exhibits a boiling point between 140° C. and 200° C., (C) the solvents used do not contain benzylic CH2- or CH-groups, (D) the solvents used are not benzene derivatives, which contain tertiary butyl substituents or more than two methyl substituents.
For many applications it is desirable that the coating medium of the conductive polymer dispersion be largely non-aqueous to aid surface wettability and reduce the energy requirements for drying. However, to avoid excessive dilution of the conductive polymer, large coating thicknesses and excessive use of solvent, the concentration of conductive polymer should be as high as possible. This can be realized by diluting aqueous dispersions with organic solvents, but this results in extreme dilution of the conductive polymer to 0.00588 to 0.0294% by weight, as disclosed in EP-A 1 081 546, EP-A 1 081 548 and EP-A 1 081 549.
Aspects of the Invention
It is therefore an aspect of the present invention to provide a method of preparing a composition containing concentrations of conductive polymers of at least 0.08% by weight in a largely non-aqueous medium or an aqueous medium with a solvent concentration of at least 30 percent by weight.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a coating composition containing concentrations of conductive polymers of at least 0.08% by weight in a largely non-aqueous medium or an aqueous medium with a solvent concentration of at least 30 percent by weight.
It is also an aspect of the present invention to provide a coating process for coating a composition containing concentrations of conductive polymers of at least 0.08% by weight in a largely non-aqueous medium or an aqueous medium with a solvent concentration of at least 30 percent by weight.
It is also an aspect of the present invention to provide a printing ink or paste containing concentrations of conductive polymers of at least 0.08% by weight in a largely non-aqueous medium or an aqueous medium with a solvent concentration of at least 30 percent by weight.
It is also an aspect of the present invention to provide a printing process for printing a printing ink or paste containing concentrations of conductive polymers of at least 0.08% by weight in a largely non-aqueous medium or an aqueous medium with a solvent concentration of at least 30 percent by weight.
Further aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description hereinafter.

Composition containing a polymer or copolymer of a 3,4-dialkoxythiophene and non-aqueous solvent


A display device includes: a display panel configured to display an image; an input sensor on the display panel; an approach sensing electrode arranged around the input sensor; and a sensor controller connected to the input sensor and the approach sensing electrode, wherein the sensor controller is configured to drive the input sensor in a first driving mode during a first input sensing frame and to drive the input sensor in a second driving mode during a second input sensing frame, and the sensor controller is further configured to provide an uplink signal to the approach sensing electrode in response to the input sensor operating in the first or second driving mode.

Aspects of some embodiments of the present disclosure herein relates to a display device.
Multimedia electronic devices such as a television, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a navigation device, and a game machine each have a display device for displaying an image. Electronic devices may each include an input sensor capable of providing a touch-based input method that enables a user to easily input information or commands in an intuitive and convenient manner, in addition to typical input methods using, for example, a button, a keyboard, and a mouse.
The input sensor may sense a touch or pressure provided by using a user's body. Meanwhile, there is an increasing demand for an electronic pen for detailed touch input for a user who is familiar with information input using a writing instrument or for a specific application program (e.g., an application program for sketching or drawing).
Accordingly, an input sensor employed in an electronic device is required to sense a variety of inputs such as an electronic pen input as well as an input by a touch or pressure provided by a user's body.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background and therefore the information discussed in this Background section does not necessarily constitute prior art.

Display device with input sensor configured to operate in different modes


A conventional data shared system using a plurality of processing nodes and data storage units in a storage area network using SAN OS was a volume-level locking or a file-system-level locking through one limited server. A locking system for SAN proposed this time is one that is a file-system-level locking and creates no single point of failure. Namely, the locking system is incorporated into each storage unit of Storage Area Network to run software. As a result, the storage unit is converted to an intelligent form and an acceptor (1) for a first protocol and an acceptor (2) for a second protocol coexist. This allows the acceptor (1) to perform a locking mechanism and the acceptor (2) to perform data transfer, so that the locking system that is a file system level locking and that creates no single point of failure can be realized. The plurality of protocols is thus used so as to execute data control and data transfer efficiently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data shared system using a plurality of processing units and data storage units in a storage area network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Introduction to Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel is an American National Standards Institute interface including SCSI-3, HIPPI-FP, IP and ATM/AAL5. Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop is one topology used to connect two or more devices within the guidelines by ANSI standard.
Fibre Channel supports both large and small data transfers with the feature of separating the physical I/O interface from the I/O operation.
It can support both channel and network peripheral protocols for device communication. This means that channel and network protocols can share the same physical medium.
Fibre Channel does not have its own native I/O command set protocol. It simply lets other protocol superimpose their command sets onto itself and then transports this information with very high bandwidth over 100 M bytes per second.
Fibre Channel systems take on three topologies: point to point, arbitrated loop and switched fabric. Point-to-point connections are paths between two nodes in a network. Fibre channel arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) consists of multiple nodes chained from a system. Third one is switched design that allows huge number of nodes to be connected through switches.
Fibre Channel connectivity is accomplished in much the same way that today""s local area networks (LAN) are assembled. Network interface cards should be installed to each node and connected via physical cabling. To build networks, arbitrated loop hubs and fabric switches are used.
One of the most attractive features of Fibre Channel is that it merges the channel and the networking paths. Due to its generic transport capability, Fibre Channel can carry channel traffic such as SCSI or HIPPI as well as Ethernet over the same physical connection.
Before Fibre Channel, two distinct paths existed in the LAN for sending information. The first is the network and the second is channel (storage bus). Networks consist of much more random communication than do channels. Network protocols establish the rule (protocol) by which the network sends and receives data. As a result, networks have high overhead.
On the contrary, channels perform a very straightforward task, sending and receiving data. Therefore, channel performance is much higher than networks, but channel can not handle sophisticated task like file protocol handling.
Fibre channel has both of network and channel capability, so there is a possibility to have both sophisticated protocol and channel level performance. But current technology does not have the solution how to merge sophisticated protocols into channel interface.
Introduction to SAN (Storage Area Network)
Storage Area Network uses typically channel paths to get high performance interconnected shared storage environment. SAN is another network constructed from local interconnects such as SCSI, Escon and Fibre Channel. SAN is a new way of attaching storage units to the Network. SAN enables the storage unit to be separated from the server and enables the storage unit to be shared among multiple servers.
LAN comprises network traffic, whereas the SAN interconnects channel paths. LAN protocols offer a feasible solution for creating networks of storage units. On the other hand, SAN is very suitable for storage sharing with multiple servers by very high performance. But SAN does not provide feasible solution for networks, because channel interface does not provide network protocols.
The problem with early stage of SAN is that servers can not actually share the data on the storage while the storage is to be said shared among the several servers. So the first stage of SAN OS provided volume-level locking mechanism in order to solve the problem. But its performance is not good, not drawing out potential SAN performance.
Volume-level locking is to lock the entire HDD or a partition of HDD in order to share the data of HDD. This method is very primitive, because the unity of the lock is physical unit of HDD. The granularity is not fine, so the performance of volume-level locking is not good.
In the second stage, SAN OS provided file-level locking mechanism in order to solve both of the problems. But still they have a problem. That is the second stage SAN OS requires other servers to access storage through a single server that handles locking mechanism. This creates potential bottlenecks and single point of failure.
File-level locking mechanism is to lock each file to use. This method depends on the logical structure of data. The granularity of lock level is fairly fine, so the users can get good performance through file-level locking mechanism.
According to the present invention, there is provided a shared file apparatus accessed via a network, in which a plurality of protocols are usable, by a plurality of file processing apparatuses interconnected by the network, the shared file apparatus comprising:
a first acceptor for accepting a file lock request from the file processing apparatuses by use of a first protocol;
a sender for sending a file access allowance to one of the file processing apparatuses upon receipt of the file lock request; and
a second acceptor for accepting a file access command from the file processing apparatus by use of a second protocol to which the file access allowance is sent.
Also, according to the present invention, there is provided a shared file apparatus accessed via a network, in which both a Network Protocol and a Storage Protocol are usable, by a plurality of file processing apparatuses interconnected by the network, the shared file apparatus comprising:
a first acceptor for accepting a file lock request from the file processing apparatuses by use of the Network Protocol;
a sender for sending a file access allowance to one of the file processing apparatuses upon receipt of the file lock request; and
a second acceptor for accepting a file access command from the file processing apparatus by use of the Storage Protocol to which the file access allowance is sent.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of sharing a file accessed via a network, in which a plurality of protocols are usable, by a plurality of file processing apparatuses interconnected by the network, the method comprising:
accepting a file lock request from the file processing apparatuses by use of a first protocol;
sending a file access allowance to one of the file processing apparatuses; and
accepting a file access command from the file processing apparatus by use of a second protocol to which the file access allowance is sent.
Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having a program recorded thereon;
where the program is to make the computer execute a method of sharing a file accessed via a network, in which a plurality of protocols are usable, by a plurality of file processing apparatuses interconnected by the network, the method comprising:
accepting a file lock request from the file processing apparatuses by use of a first protocol;
sending a file access allowance to one of the file processing apparatuses; and
accepting a file access command from the file processing apparatus by use of a second protocol to which the file access allowance is sent.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a file processing apparatus for accessing a shared file apparatus connected to a network in which a plurality of protocols are usable via the network, the file processing apparatus comprising:
a first sender for sending a file lock request to the shared file apparatus by use of a first protocol;
an acceptor for accepting a file access allowance from the shared file apparatus to which the file lock request is sent; and
a second sender for sending a file access command to the shared file apparatus by use of a second protocol upon receipt of the file access allowance.
Also, according to the present invention, there is provided a file processing method for accessing a shared file apparatus connected to a network, in which a plurality of protocols are usable, via the network, the method comprising:
sending a file lock request to the shared file apparatus by use of a first protocol;
accepting a file access allowance from the shared file apparatus to which the file lock request is sent; and
sending a file access command to the shared file apparatus by use of a second protocol upon receipt of said file access allowance.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having a program recorded thereon;
where the program is to make the computer execute a file processing method for accessing a shared file apparatus connected to a network, in which a plurality of protocols are usable, via the network, the method comprising:
sending a file lock request to the shared file apparatus by use of a first protocol;
accepting a file access allowance from the shared file apparatus to which the file lock request is sent; and
sending a file access command to the shared file apparatus by use of a second protocol upon receipt of said file access allowance.

FILE SHARED APPARATUS AND ITS METHOD FILE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND ITS METHOD RECORDING MEDIUM IN WHICH FILE SHARED PROGRAM IS RECORDED AND RECORDING MEDIUM IN WHICH FILE PROCESSING PROGRAM IS RECORDED


A neck bending apparatus is utilized in association with a coil device of a magnetic resonance imaging system for imaging a forwardly or rearwardly bent condition of the neck portion of the patient. The apparatus includes a plurality of air cushions having variable inner volumes and an air regulator connected to the cushions for regulating the inner volume of each of the cushions in accordance with a degree of bending of the neck portion of the patient. Two cushions are utilized for imaging the neck portion of the patient for resting the head and neck portions and these cushions are connected through a connecting member. The air regulator includes a hand-grip air pump for feeding air into and out of the air cushions, a tube connecting the pump and the cushions and a valve unit connected to the tube for regulating the amount of air fed into and out of the air cushions. In association with the apparatus, the magnetic resonance imaging system is utilized, which includes a coil device including a rest portion on which a subject portion of the patient is rested, a coil unit having substantially an elliptical shape, a coil support portion which is detachably secured to the rest portion and in which the coil unit is disposed and an attachment portion attached to a top board on which the patient is laid.

The present invention relates to a neck bending apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for bending or flexing a cervical region, i.e. a so-called neck portion, of a patient who is lying down, which is utilized in association with an MR (Magnetic Resonance) imaging system for imaging a condition of the neck portion of the patient. The magnetic resonance imaging system is one for utilizing a magnetic resonance phenomenon and inspecting the condition of the patient body in response to a magnetic resonance signal from the patient.
Generally, when it is required to diagnose cervical disk herniatron, rear vertical sclerodesmia and the like of a patient, forward or rearward bending or flexture condition of the neck portion of the patient is diagnosed by utilizing an X-ray imaging system. On the other hand, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is also utilized, as a system superior to the X-ray imaging system, for the extraction of centram, intervertebral disk, myelon and the like. In view of the above fact, recently, there has been an increased demand for utilizing the MRI system for the imaging of the forwardly or rearwardly, i.e. backward, bending condition of the neck portion of the patient.
The principal theory of the MRI system is as follows.
The MRI system carries out an imaging operation by assuming a subject portion of a patient as a plurality of sliced imaging surfaces and the MRI system includes a coil device having an opening into which only a subject portion or a body portion including the subject portion of the patient to be imaged is arranged. When, under this condition, the MRI system is operated, a uniform magnetostatic field is formed in the coil device into which the subject portion of the patient is positioned. Next, an oblique magnetic field is multiplied to the magnetostatic field and a high frequency pulse of magnetic resonance frequency (RF pulse) corresponding to a desired sliced surface of the subject portion of the patient is applied to this magnetic field to cause the magnetic resonance phenomenon to the subject portion to be imaged. During this operation, an MR signal is caused to the subject portion of the patient and the MR signal recieved is then subjected to an image recomposition processing to thereby form a magnetic resonance radiotomy image (MR image) of the desired sliced surface of the subject portion of the patient.
In a conventional MRI system including a coil device utilized for imaging neck and head portions of the patient, the coil device is equiped with a circular or elliptic coil having a reduced inner diameter for improving an S/N (signal-to-nosie ratio). Accordingly, in the conventional MRI system, the patient cannot bend his neck portion once positioned in the coil, so that the imaging of the neck portion was carried out with the neck portion being not bent. Thus, the subject portion, i.e. the neck portion of the patient may not be precisely diagnosed.


A light-emitting device, an electronic device, and a display device each consume less power are provided. The light-emitting device includes a first light-emitting element, a second light-emitting element, and a third light-emitting element that share an EL layer. The EL layer includes a layer containing a light-emitting material that emits blue fluorescence and a layer containing a light-emitting material that emits yellow or green phosphorescence. Light emitted from the second light-emitting element enters a color filter layer or a second color conversion layer, and light emitted from the third light-emitting element enters a first color conversion layer.

As next-generation lighting devices or display devices, devices using light-emitting elements (organic EL elements) in which organic compounds are used as light-emitting substances have been developed and commercialized because of their potential for thinness, lightness, high speed response to input signals, low power consumption, and the like.
In an organic EL element, voltage application between electrodes, between which a light-emitting layer is interposed, causes recombination of electrons and holes injected from the electrodes, which brings a light-emitting substance (an organic compound) into an excited state, and the return from the excited state to the ground state is accompanied by light emission. Since the spectrum of light emitted from a light-emitting substance depends on the light-emitting substance, use of different types of organic compounds as light-emitting substances makes it possible to obtain light-emitting elements that exhibit various colors.
For display devices that are expected to display images, such as displays, at least three-color light, i.e., red light, green light, and blue light are necessary to reproduce full-color images. For higher color reproducibility and higher quality of the display images, the color purity of emitted light is increased with the use of a microcavity structure or a color filter.
Furthermore, a variety of measures, such as changing molecular structures of light-emitting materials to be used and adjusting the materials or the compositions of materials of a light-emitting element and the structure of a light-emitting element, are taken to reduce power consumption.

Light-emitting device, display device, and electronic device with color conversion layers

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A surface treating method of single crystals by which single crystals for substrates having finished surfaces showing pit-free and atomic scale step structures are obtained by treating the {100}-plane surfaces of single-crystal SrTiO.sub.3 substrates by dissolving two-dimensional-lattice atomic layers forming the surfaces one layer by one layer by using a fluorine-based acidic solution (maintained at >35.degree. C. in temperature and <4 in pH) as a solution A and water as a solution B by alternately immersing the substrates in the substrates in the solution A and B.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the surface treating method of single crystals, such as the single-crystal substrates, etc., used for forming superconducting oxide thin films.
2. Statement of the Related Art
A crystal has a three-dimensional internal structure along which atoms are systematically arranged. Bond strengths act between the atoms and molecules constituting the crystal and, because of the bond strengths, the atoms and molecules are systematically arranged in a lattice, resulting in the crystal. Each crystal has its own crystal structure which varies depending upon the crystal system.
Oxide single crystals can be classified into oxide single crystals for optical use, single crystals for substrates used for superconducting thin films, etc., according to their application.
The oxide single crystals for optical use start to attract attention as optical functional elements, the optical communication technology is being developed and researches into the optical computer are in progress.
The single crystals for substrates used for forming superconducting thin films are used in the field of electronics. In the field of electronics, elements utilizing superconductivity are used as Josephon elements represented by the SQUID (high-sensitivity magnetic flux detecting element), superconducting transistors, optical and electromagnetic sensors, etc., and most of the elements are being studied so as to mount them on substrates in the form of thin films. As the research into these elements progress, demands for better substrates are created and, therefore, novel substrates are sought and better treating methods are studied. Recently, many authors reported their research and developed results of single-crystal substrates for thin film elements which are considered to be most quickly put to practical use. For example, bi-crystal substrates have been developed for the SQUID. Single crystals for substrates used for superconducting thin films include LaAlO.sub.3 (lanthanum aluminate), SrTiO.sub.3, NdAlO.sub.3 (neodymium aluminate), LaGaO.sub.3 (lanthanum gallate), NdGaO.sub.3 (neodymium gallate), YAlO.sub.3 (yttrium aluminate), Nb:SrTiO.sub.3 (niobium-doped strontium titanate), etc.
The requirements of single crystals for substrates for superconducting thin films are described below:
1. Their lattice constants must be close to those of thin films (crystal structures close to those of thin films are also desirable). PA1 2. Their coefficients of thermal expansion must be close to those of thin films. PA1 3. They should not react to thin films (their constituent elements should not be diffused into thin films). PA1 4. They must not cause phase transition within the working temperature ranges of thin films (from 4.2K to film forming temperatures). PA1 5. They must have small dielectric constants (small dielectric loss tangents (tan .delta.) are also desirable). PA1 6. High-quality crystals must be obtained. PA1 7. Large-sized substrates must be formed from them. PA1 8. They must be supplied stably (desirably, at low costs). PA1 9. They must be free from surface distortion (deformed layers resulting from treatment). PA1 10. They must have flat surfaces.
Of the above-mentioned requirements, requirements 1 to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 and 10 respectively relate to the characteristics, growing method, and working method of single crystals for substrates.
When the generally used surface treating method using hard abrasive grains, such as those of diamond, etc., is used for the surface finish of single crystals for substrates, the distortion (deformation) of crystal surfaces reaches several to several tens .mu.m and such crystals cannot be used for superconducting thin films. Therefore, so-called mechanochemical polishing using soft abrasive grains, such as colloidal silica particles, etc., or chemical polishing which uses chemicals is used for the surface finish or sputter-etching is performed on the surfaces before film formation.
At the time of manufacturing artificial oxide lattices or developing multi-layered devices with the purpose of seeking novel superconducting materials and devices, the surface conditions of the single crystals used for substrates become very important. SrTiO.sub.3 single crystals polished by mechanochemical polishing with colloidal silica particles are widely used for forming substrates for superconducting thin films. However, their surfaces have a surface roughness of 3-40 .ANG. in maximum height (P-V) and such roughness is not sufficiently flat to deposit high-quality superconducting thin films.
The purpose of this invention is to provide a surface treating method by which the surfaces of single crystals can be finished to surfaces having small surface roughness or flat surfaces.
The second purpose of this invention is to provide surface treatment by which single crystals having pit-free step structures can be obtained even when surface treating conditions are relaxed.
The third purpose of this invention is to obtain better step structures even under such a treating condition that no pit occurs or pits hardly occur.

Surface treating method of single crystal


An embodiment relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. The method includes providing a semiconductor body including a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type and a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type interposed between the first semiconductor region and a first surface of the semiconductor body. The method further includes forming a first contact layer over the first surface of the semiconductor body. The first contact layer forms a direct electrical contact to the second semiconductor region. The method further includes forming a contact trench extending into the semiconductor body by removing at least a portion of the second semiconductor region. The method further includes forming a second contact layer in the contact trench. The second contact layer is directly electrically connected to the semiconductor body at a bottom side of the contact trench.

In semiconductor devices, for example insulated gate field effect transistors (power IGFETs) or insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), low on-state voltage and high robustness against avalanche and over-current turn-off are desired. Electrical contacts to semiconductor regions have an impact on above characteristics. It is desirable to improve an electrical contact to semiconductor regions.

Semiconductor device including first and second contact layers and manufacturing method


A lamp socket adapter to receive a relatively low cost, low voltage (e.g., wedge base or bipin) light bulb so that the light bulb can be powered from a source of 12 volts AC or DC. The lamp socket adapter of this invention is adapted to be rotated into mating engagement with a standard Edison-type lamp socket that is to be connected to receive one of an AC or DC voltage. By virtue of the foregoing, an efficient light bulb circuit is available by which one or more low voltage light bulbs can provide bright light over an area to be illuminated with reduced power consumption relative to a conventional 120 volt AC-powered incandescent light bulb. The lamp socket adapter includes an upstanding bulb pedestal to which the light bulb is attached and supported. First and second electrically-conductive strips extend through the lamp socket adapter by which to connect the low voltage light bulb seated upon the bulb pedestal to the Edison lamp socket so that the light bulb can be powered by the 12 volts AC or DC supplied to the lamp socket.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an adapter to be coupled to a low voltage (e.g., 12 volts) light bulb for rotation into mating engagement with a standard Edison-type lamp socket in place of the usual 120 volt AC-powered light bulb. By virtue of the foregoing, a relatively small, energy-efficient light bulb, which is known to provide bright light, can be connected to receive a supply of AC or DC voltage in substitution of a relatively large, energy-inefficient 120 volt AC-powered bulb.
2. Background Art
For many years, it has been common in homes and businesses to use 120 volt AC-powered incandescent light bulbs connected to a lamp, or the like, to provide a source of light. Such an AC-powered light bulb is rotated (i.e., screwed) into mating engagement with a well-known Edison lamp socket. An electrical cord extends from the Edison socket of the lamp to be connected to an electrical wall receptacle at which to receive a supply of 120 volts AC to power the light bulb. However, it is well known that using the conventional AC-powered light bulb results in an inefficient consumption of energy. In fact, energy-conscious consumers are searching for a viable energy-efficient alternative for the standard AC-powered light bulb. In this same regard, the standard 120 volt AC-powered incandescent light bulb has a relatively short life expectancy. Therefore, the overall cost to the consumer to light a room is undesirably high. What is more, because of its relatively large size, the AC-powered incandescent light bulb is not well suited for recessed lighting applications.
For all of these reasons, it would be desirable to provide a means by which a commercially-available, compact and energy-efficient low voltage AC or DC-powered light bulb can be substituted for the relatively large, costly, and energy-inefficient 120 volt AC-powered light bulb, but without requiring a special lamp socket or having to alter the electrical wall receptacle to which the lamp socket is connected. In this same regard, it would also be desirable to be able to provide power to a plurality of low voltage light bulbs that are coupled to respective lamp sockets interconnected with one another in a lighting system, but without having to add a voltage converter at each lamp socket.

Adapter for connecting a low voltage light bulb to a standard electrical light socket


A delivery system is disclosed for delivering a fluid-sensitive beneficial agent such as a somatotropin, or an analogue or derivative thereof, to an animal such as a bovine. The delivery system comprises a wall that surrounds an internal compartment, said wall comprising a first wall section that limits the passage of fluid into the system and a second wall section that permits the passage of fluid into the system. The wall may further comprise an end cap which may be adapted for ultrasonic welding to the first wall section and may maintain the beneficial agent in contact with an exit. The compartment comprises a beneficial agent and an expandable driving member. The delivery system comprises an exit for delivering the beneficial agent to the animal. The exit may compensate for slight variations in the efflux rate of the beneficial agent and maintain a sufficient velocity or efflux rate of beneficial agent outward from the device while minimizing diffusion of fluids from the external environment back into the device.

Delivery systems for administering a beneficial agent to a biological, fluid environment of use are known to the prior art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,770; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,916,899; 3,995,632; 4,111,202; 4,111,203; 4,203,439; 4,327,725; and 4,612,008.
The delivery devices described in the above patents operate successfully for their intended use and they can deliver many beneficial agents for their intended effects. Now, it has been observed that their use can be limited because they lack the necessary elements to deliver beneficial agents that are sensitive to fluids and to fluids containing biological gases. Their use may be limited because beneficial agents that are sensitive to such aqueous-biological fluids or to other fluids external to the delivery device may be adversely affected by fluids that enter the device and contact the beneficial agents during operation of the device. Examples of such fluid-sensitive agents include proteins, peptides, and hormones. Moreover, the prior art devices lack the necessary means for their use as implant devices for dispensing such sensitive agents to a biological fluid-rich environment of use.
It will be appreciated by those versed in the dispensing arts that if a delivery system is provided for administering at a controlled rate and for protecting a beneficial agent that is sensitive to aqueous and biological fluids, and which delivery system possesses the kinetic ability to deliver the protected beneficial agent in effective amounts over time, such a delivery system would have a positive value and represent an advancement in the dispensing arts. Likewise, it will be self-evident to those versed in the implant art that a pressing need exists for an implant that is essentially free of the tribulation associated with the prior art and that, if such an implantable delivery system is provided, it would have a practical application in the fields of human and veterinary medicine and in the breeding and management of farm animals.

Osmotic system for delivery of fluid-sensitive somatotropins to bovine animals


Methods, systems and devices for sharing communication resources among a plurality of clients (200-204) that are part of a common wireless community (1000). The communication resources are, for example, Internet access resources (101-104). Another example, might be a video or data delivery communication resource. As an example, clients have separate Internet access accounts. Embodiments of the invention, for example, allow client business units or residential units to share separate Internet access accounts.

Dial-up service is a common method of Internet access. Dial-up service uses a dial-up modem through which a computer makes phone calls to an Internet service provider. The dial-up modem transforms digital data from the personal computer into an analog signal for transmission through a phone line, and conversely converts incoming analog signals into digital data for the personal computer. Dial-up service is known to be slow. For example, viewing web pages with multimedia content, such as graphical images, is often unacceptably slow.
Broadband access addresses this problem by providing higher digital data rates than dial-up service. A "DSL" (Digital Subscriber Line) involves upgrading the dial-up modem to a higher speed modem, known as a DSL modem, as well as using an upgraded modem device at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) premises, also known as the "central office." The DSL approach uses existing copper wire, possibly upgraded along certain segments to increase its capacity to carry digitized information. Often the DSL access line is a spare telephone line that is already connected to the client location, such as a business or a residential unit, and the central office is owned and operated by the local telephone company. The data rates achievable by DSL are dependent on the distance between the client location and the central office, and range roughly between 100 kbps-1500 kbps. A DSL connection is commonly called a broadband access line. There are many client locations, e.g., residential units, that are too far away from a central office to have DSL service available.
Another broadband access scheme most commonly used with residential clients makes use of the coaxial cable that passes through a residential unit, for purposes of providing television signals to the home, "Cable TV". A specialized modem, called a cable modem, is attached the coaxial cable inside the residential unit. The cable modem facilitates digital communication between the residential unit and facilities owned by the cable TV operator (often called a "Multiple Services Operator" (MSO)). The MSO is attached to the Internet, and thus becomes an Internet service provider for the residential unit. The coaxial cable entering a residential unit is typically shared with other residential units in close geographic proximity. Peak data rates on the order of approximately 2 million bits per second (Mbps) are possible with cable modems, with current service offerings.

Resource sharing broadband access system, methods, and devices

The Regents of the University of California


A method and devices for obtaining optimized output harmonic frequency light at a plurality of peak frequencies from a nonlinear ferroelectric generator optical device by controlling the overall temperature of sections along the length of the optical structure and differentially applying external energy to the sections, with greater energy input near the input end than near the output end each section.

Bierlein U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,323 discloses the preparation of crystals, such as KTiO(PO.sub.4) crystals (KTP crystals), that are useful as second harmonic generators (SHG).
Miyazuka et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,953,931 and 4,953,943 describe nonlinear devices having a LiNbO.sub.3 thin film waveguide layer formed on LiTaO.sub.3 substrate.
Tamada et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,729 discloses a SHG having a Ta.sub.2 O.sub.3 TiO.sub.2 system amorphous thin film optical waveguide on a substrate. The substrate may be a nonlinear optical crystal material. The waveguide can be made more effective by forming periodically poled regions of selected period and depth in the nonlinear substrate.
Yamamoto et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,291 discloses a semiconductor laser and an optical nonlinear device positioned on a submount with the laser's active layer and the nonlinear device's surface waveguide facing the submount so that the fundamental light from the laser is directly applied to the nonlinear device and doubled in frequency producing a visible light.
Yamamota et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,259 discloses a frequency doubler comprising a nonlinear crystal having domain inverted regions and a waveguide coupled to a semiconductor diode laser. The device includes a means for heating the frequency doubler to tune it to the desired frequency regardless of the ambient temperature.
Endo et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,220 discloses an optical structure that is clad with a metal coating to conduct electricity and uniformly heat an optical structure to tune it.
Welch U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,752 discloses a diode laser having a reflective back end coupled to a SHG. The SHG comprises a periodically poled waveguide having ferroelectric domains and a periodic reflector, particularly a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) grating. This arrangement forms an optically resonant chamber feedback system that stabilizes the frequency output of the diode laser and efficiently couples the diode laser to the SHG.
By the techniques described above, and numerous others, significant improvement has been made in the efficiency, in terms of power output, currently being obtained from laser/SHG systems. Nevertheless, the efficiencies obtainable by the currently available devices are still very low. There is a need for achieving far greater efficiency, and so output power, because higher power laser/SHG units would be useful in a number of areas where current devices are unsatisfactory, such as optical data storage, remote sensing, and therapeutic medical applications. Practicing the present invention, using a KTP crystal optical structure, increases the output power from 2-5 times that from a similar KTP optical structure used in accordance with the prior art. Also the narrower wavelength of the output light from the devices of the present invention makes them more accurate in devices for detecting specific materials, avoiding false readings and making it unnecessary to have expensive devices to avoid false readings.
It has been observed that the second harmonic efficiency of nonlinear harmonic generator crystals of identical dimensions and apparent compositions often have different second harmonic generation efficiencies. It is also believed that various locations along the length of a single crystal may have different generation efficiencies. Also it has been observed that during second harmonic generation the generator tends to heat differentially along the length of the generator, with the greatest heating occurring in the zone near the output end of he generator. Additionally it has been observed that the internal conversion efficiencies of longer crystal generators tends to be less than for shorter length generators.
The method of the present invention increases the internal conversion efficiency of nonlinear optical structures.

Method and apparatus for optimizing the output of a multi-peaked frequency harmonic generator


A semiconductor structure including at least one e-fuse embedded within a trench that is located in a semiconductor substrate (bulk or semiconductor-on-insulator) is provided. In accordance with the present invention, the e-fuse is in electrical contact with a dopant region that is located within the semiconductor substrate. The present invention also provides a method of fabricating such a semiconductor structure in which the embedded e-fuse is formed substantially at the same time with the trench isolation regions.

Current semiconductors and other similar devices are often manufactured with a large number of fuse elements which are used to invoke the replacement of failing cells or components, and provide direct alternative current (DAC) trimming, etc. During testing of the device, selected fuses are usually blown by either a laser beam or an electrical current, depending on the design of the fuse/device. In an electrical fuse design, electronically programmable fuses are blown by passing a current through the fuse link. The electrical current then causes a permanent change to the resistance of the fuse. The fuses that are blown are selected by one or more programming methods, which are generally known to those skilled in the art.
One-time electrically programmable fuses, also called e-fuses, have become very popular recently, because of the circuit and systems design flexibility that it provides; the e-fuse can be programmed even when the chip is mounted in the package and installed in the system. For example, customers can tailor a design to the specific needs of the application after the product is installed in the field. The e-fuse also enables the freedom to alter the design, or fix any problem that may occur during the life of the product.
The one-time electrically programmable fuse is much smaller than ablative type fuses, resulting in circuit density advantages. Although e-fuses provide the above-mentioned benefits, integration with standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processing has been problematic. Furthermore, obtaining a tight distribution of blow voltages derived from normal operating voltages continues to be challenging.

CMOS compatible shallow-trench efuse structure and method

International Business Machines Corporation


A waste liquid processing method comprising a solvent separation process for separating a chlorine-based organic solvent contained in a waste liquid; a first vaporization process that includes vaporization of the chlorine-based organic solvent remaining in the waste liquid after the solvent separation process; a collection process for collecting substances other than the chlorine-based organic solvent contained in the waste liquid after being vaporized in the first vaporization process; a second vaporization process for vaporizing the chlorine-based organic solvent remaining in the waste liquid after the first vaporization process and the collection process; a photo-oxidative decomposition process where photo-oxidation is used to decompose a chlorine-based organic gas generated in the first vaporization process and in the second vaporization process, and a post-treatment process for carrying out adsorption, absorption, and neutralization of a decomposition product gas generated in the photo-oxidative decomposition process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waste liquid processing method and a waste liquid processing apparatus used in the method, for the purpose of selectively separating, decomposing by means of a photocatalyst, and thereby defusing a chlorine-based organic solvent contained in exhaust gas or waste liquid discharged from a process that uses the chlorine-based organic solvent such as trichloroethylene used in a cleaning apparatus for metal parts and tetrachloroethylene used in a dry cleaning apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A chlorine-based organic solvent has been widely used as an excellent cleaning agent for its excellent cleaning performance, stability, and non-flammability.
Recently, since chlorine-based organic solvents were designated as priority procurement substance and voluntarily controlled substances by the Air Pollution Control Law because they are toxic materials that pollute the atmosphere, treatment methods such as adsorption onto active carbon and evaporation by heating have been employed to keep the concentration of the chlorine-based organic solvent contained in waste liquid and exhaust gas discharged from cleaning apparatuses, such as a dry cleaning apparatus, within permissible emission values (0.1 mg per liter for tetrachloroethylene) as specified in the Water Pollution Control Law.
FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of a prior art waste liquid processing apparatus.
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a solvent separation process section, and the arrows indicate the direction in which the chlorine-based organic solvent flows. The solvent separation process section 1 is connected to a vaporization process section 3 either directly or via a waste liquid supply line 2. Further connected to the vaporization process section 3 is a discharge line 9 that discharges effluent after aeration.
The solvent separation process section 1 is also connected, via a vaporization gas supply line 4, to a photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5, and the photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5 is connected to a post-treatment process section 7 via a decomposition product gas supply line 6. Further connected to the post-treatment process section 7 is a discharge line 10 that discharges non-toxic air containing post-treated water and carbon dioxide.
The waste liquid processing apparatus further comprises a control section 8 that controls the solvent separation process section 1, the vaporization process section 3, the photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5, and the post-treatment process section 7.
The solvent separation process section 1 selectively adsorbs the chlorine-based organic solvent that is dispersed in the form of minute particles in the waste liquid. Then the waste liquid containing the chlorine-based organic solvent that has not been adsorbed in the solvent separation process section 1 is aerated in the vaporization process section 3 so as to vaporize the chlorine-based organic solvent, and the vaporization gas containing the chlorine-based organic gas thus generated is passed through the solvent separation process section 1 again. When passing through the solvent separation process section 1, the vaporization gas vaporizes the chlorine-based organic solvent that has been adsorbed in the solvent separation process section 1, and the total combined vaporization gas is introduced into the photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5 through the combined vaporization gas supply line 4. Then the vaporization gas is decomposed in the photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5, and the decomposition product gas containing the chlorine-based gas generated by the photo-oxidative decomposition reaction is introduced into the post-treatment process section 7 through the decomposition product gas supply line 6, so as to be adsorbed, absorbed, and/or neutralized in the post-treatment process section 7 to be converted into non-toxic chlorides, thereby completing the treatment of waste water or exhaust gas.
The waste liquid discharged from a dry cleaning apparatus may include, in addition to the chlorine-based organic solvent, substances such as isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, and surfactant. There has been a problem such that, when such substances are vaporized together with the chlorine-based organic solvent in the vaporization process section 3 and are introduced into the photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5 via the vaporization gas supply line 4, the capability of the photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5 to decompose the chlorine-based organic gas decreases, thus causing the chlorine-based organic gas to be released into the atmosphere without being decomposed. There is also a problem such that, as the capability of the photo-oxidative decomposition process section 5 to decompose the chlorine-based organic gas decreases, the efficiency of the treatment also decreases.

Waste liquid processing method and waste liquid processing apparatus using the same


An intelligent determination of code change review assignments and subsequent secured access to the determined assignments. Code changes undergo code change complexity determination which is based on (i) a level of importance of the module(s) in which the changes occur, (ii) the volume of metadata files impacted by the code changes, and (iii) the dependency of the code changes on external modules. A distributed trust computing network is implemented and a code change smart contract which relies on smart contract rules is used to determine and allocate code change review assignments. In this regard, data blocks within a distributed ledger define individual segments/portions of the code change file with each data block identifying a code change review assignment.

In large enterprises certain computing applications have widespread use across multiple different lines of business, divisions or the like. As the use of such applications have increased, so to has the complexity and functionality of the applications. The complexity and functionality of the applications is exhibited within multiple modules (i.e., a software component or part of an application that includes one or more routines or the like).
As the use of such computing applications across multiple lines of business increases, so too does the number of development teams revising or otherwise making changes to the computing application. With multiple different development teams simultaneously working on a computing application the probability greatly increases that code changes, otherwise referred to as code revisions, will conflict. For example, one developer's code change may be inconsistent with another developer's changes. Moreover, one developer's code changes may have an impact on other internal or external modules, which have a dependency to the module being changed.
Therefore, a need exists to have a robust mechanism to control code change review assignments to ensure that the review assignment is assigned to a reviewer capable of reviewing the code changes. In this regard, intelligent code change review assignment should take into account the complexity of the code changes, as well as, the modules in which the code changes occur and the internal and external modules that are dependent upon the module(s) in which the code changes occur. Further, the intelligent code change review assignment should provide a heightened level of code change review assignment validity and security, to ensure that the assignments are accurate and that only assigned reviewers have access to the code changes that they have been assigned.

Secured code assignment and review engine


A common pivot arrangement mounted on a base member with first and second locating holes is disclosed to include a hinge unit having first through holes corresponding to the second locating holes of the base member and second through holes, and a rotary device, which has a mount with through holes corresponding to the first locating holes and a wheel with mounting holes corresponding to the second through holes. For use in a notebook computer, the first through holes of the hinge unit are respectively fastened to the second locating holes of the base member with screws. For use in a tablet PC and the notebook computer, the second through holes of the hinge unit are respectively fastened to the mounting holes of the wheel with screws, and then the through holes of the mount are respectively fastened to the first locating holes of the base member with screws.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a common pivot arrangement of a portable computer and more particularly, to such a common pivot arrangement, which is suitable for use in different types of portable computers.
2. Description of Related Art
A portable computer generally comprises a base member, and a display module pivoted to the base member. The display module is vertically rotatable relative to the base member, and horizontally rotatable relative to the base member. For example, in a notebook computer, the display module is rotatable relative to the base member between the close position and the open position; in a tablet PC, the display module is horizontally rotated relative to the base member and then closed on the base member for allowing data entry by the user with a touch pen.
According to conventional designs, a base member designed for notebook computer is not usable for making a tablet PC, and a base member designed for tablet PC is not usable for making a notebook computer. For a notebook computer, the base member has locating holes specifically designed for the mounting of a pivot arrangement for notebook computer. For a tablet PC, the base member has locating holes specifically designed for the mounting of a pivot arrangement for tablet PC.
Therefore, conventional designs do not allow the use of common base members for making notebook computers and tablet PCs. It is inconvenient to use different base members in different assembly lines for different types of portable computers. Further, using different base members for making different portable computers will also greatly increase the manufacturing cost.

Common pivot arrangement of portable computer


The invention relates to a disposable, life-like module for use in training physicians and surgeons in the techniques of both human and veterinary microsurgical anastomosis. The module comprises a housing defining a cavity. A pair of spaced apart connectors are connected to the housing and extend therethrough. Each of the connectors includes a bore defining an internal channel for allowing the movement of a fluid through the housing. Each of the channels includes a first end external of the cavity adapted to be in fluid communication with a reservoir and a second end internal of the cavity. A first layer simulates muscle tissue and spans the cavity. An elongate simulated vascular or neurovascular bundle having proximal ends and distal ends spans the chamber and is connected to the respective second connector ends. A pump pumps a fluid simulated blood through a fluid circuit and an optional controller provides pulsatile flow.

It has become commonplace to perform complex, lengthy, surgical procedures on human (and to a lesser extent veterinary) nerves and blood vessels that have been damaged as the result of trauma. A significant percentage of these procedures involve anastomosis or reconnection of the nerves and blood vessels. Micro-vascular and micro-neurrhal anastomosis also form the basis of free tissue transfer in which composite tissues are moved from one part of the body to another. The blood supply must be immediately reestablished by micro-vascular anastomosis. In cases where an extremity, such as a foot, hand, etc. has been injured, anastomosis is often accomplished using cutting-edge technology microsurgical procedures. However, it will be appreciated that reconnecting structures, many of which can be as small as 1.0 millimeter in diameter is an acquired skill which must be painstakingly learned and routinely practiced in the laboratory prior to application in actual clinical practice.
In view of the foregoing, courses have been conducted in hospitals and laboratories throughout the world for the purpose of training surgeons to perform microsurgical anastomosis. The vast majority of these courses have used laboratory rats, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to acquire, as models for the practical side of training. More specifically, the rat femoral artery and vein closely approximate the smallest, and therefore the most difficult, anastomosis that would reasonably be attempted under clinical conditions. Similarly, the rat sciatic nerve closely simulates the smallest neural structures which would be reasonably attempted under clinical conditions. More particularly, the rat model provides vessels and nerves of ideal size (approximately 1 mm external diameter) which closely approximate the smallest vessels used for free tissue transfer and also approximate the dimensions of the digital arteries, nerves and veins. The rat model allows for instruction and practice in end-to-end arterial anastomosis, end-to-side arterial anastomosis, venous anastomosis and interpositional vein grafting. In summary, the rat provides a realistic substitute for learning most of the microanastomotic procedures which would normally be performed on humans and animals in clinical reconstructive practice.
While physically ideal for training medical and veterinary professionals to perform microsurgical procedures, the rat is not without its inherent drawbacks and deficiencies. For example, as the result of the activities of animal rights organizations, the use of animals in laboratory experiments and for training has been severely restricted. In some countries, such as England, the Home Office will no longer allow licenses for the use of animals in survival experiments for instruction and as practice subjects for the learning of surgical techniques.
The use of laboratory animals also has additional drawbacks as it requires professional husbandry, expert handling and anesthesia for "successful" living experiments. In many cases the foregoing requires the involvement of a veterinarian. Furthermore, live animals also require facilities for euthanasia and disposal at the conclusion of non-survival procedures. Such facilities are unavailable in most hospitals.
The foregoing combined makes it less attractive to use animals in training procedures unless absolutely necessary. Thus, a number of attempts have been made in order to find an acceptable substitute.
Human placental vessels have been used to train surgeons in the techniques of micro-surgery and although the vessel quality is obviously good, blood circulation is not present. In addition, human placentas are not always easy to obtain and when available, they are difficult to transport and preserve satisfactorily for subsequent use. In some cases, isolated pig vessels have been employed as training simulators for vessel structures. Again, availability, storage, and transportation are difficult and blood circulation is lacking.
Rodent carcasses have also been employed in an attempt to minimize the use of animals by "re-using" the carcasses of laboratory rodents that have been euthanized following another procedure or experiment. Again, training is provided on a less than optimal model due to lack of circulation, vessel walls having variable consistency and mechanical properties as a consequence of post-mortem changes and freezing. In addition, the carcasses must be disposed of under closely regulated conditions.
In response to the above-noted problems associated with animal models in general, various attempts have been made to eliminate animals altogether and to provide other microsurgical training devices. For example, in some instances foliage leaves have been used in an attempt to develop microsurgical skills but realism was lacking. Similarly, parts of latex surgical gloves have been and still are, used for basic microsurgical training. However, being essentially two dimensional, their use is limited to exercises in handling fine suture material and to placing sutures and tying knots. Although these exercises are of fundamental importance in the training cycle, they do not allow the student to progress to devices used in microvascular anastomosis, nor to practice those dimensional actions required in joining together small vessels. Furthermore, the rubber glove material tends to grip small needles in an unnatural way, so that it is not even an ideal material for these basic exercises. Nevertheless, the foregoing is marketed under the tradename PracticePak by the Sharpoint Company and contains a latex membrane, together with a length of silicone tubing.
Another product known as the Lumley practice block is also marketed as a training tool by the Ethicon Suture Company and includes a double, hinged, microvascular clamp attached to a solid base. Into this can be introduced lengths of thin tubing which can be divided and sutured. The tubing utilized has been medical tubing, usually Silastic manufactured by Dow Corning, as might be used for intravenous catheters. However, realism in appearance, structure, and "feel" are lacking as well as any form of circulating fluid.
With the foregoing in mind it is an object of the present invention to provide a microsurgical training apparatus which closely simulates an authentic look and feel under which microsurgical procedures are performed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a microsurgical training apparatus that eliminates the need for laboratory animals.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a microsurgical training apparatus that is as life-like as possible.
Moreover another object of the present invention is to provide a microsurgical training apparatus that is easily stored without changes in its mechanical properties and wherein disposal may be effected without the creation of additional "medical waste".
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a surgical training apparatus that includes a pulsatile flow similar to that created in a normally operating cardiovascular system.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a microsurgical training apparatus that is inexpensive.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a microsurgical training apparatus that has virtually unlimited availability.

Triangle Research and Development Corporation


A fire extinguishing system for a Christmas tree including a hollow base for maintaining a tree in a vertical orientation. Further provided is a pair of linear rigid lower extinguisher tubes. At least one flexible extinguisher tube is also included with a lower end and an upper end positioned adjacent a top end of the Christmas tree, wherein an intermediate extent of each flexible extinguisher is wrapped about the trunk of the Christmas tree. Further provided is at least one fire extinguisher situated within the interior space of the base containing fire extinguishing material. The fire extinguisher is connected to the extinguisher tubes and is adapted to excrete the fire extinguishing material through out the Christmas tree upon the actuation thereof. Such actuation is afforded via a fire sensor electrically connected to a power supply and the fire extinguisher for effecting the activation of the fire extinguisher upon the detection of a temperature above a predetermined amount.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fire extinguishing system for a Christmas tree and more particularly pertains to automatically dispersing fire extinguishing material throughout a Christmas tree upon the detection of fire.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of fire extinguishers is known in the prior art. More specifically, fire extinguishers heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of for extinguishing various fires are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,702 to Trumbach; U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,586 to Cawley et al.; U.S. Pat. Des. 352,366 to Cox; U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,763 to Jessick; U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,020 to Panetta; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,878 to Schoenwetter.
In this respect, the fire extinguishing system for a Christmas tree according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of automatically dispersing fire extinguishing material throughout a Christmas tree upon the detection of fire.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved fire extinguishing system for a Christmas tree which can be used for automatically dispersing fire extinguishing material throughout a Christmas tree upon the detection of fire. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

Fire extinquishing system for a christmas tree


The present invention is intended to make it possible to form patches that allow for a high precision measurement of a threshold of an electric energy to be supplied to nozzles of a print head, without using a high-precision sensor. To this end, this invention changes the electric energy supplied to the nozzles of the print head stepwise in printing patches that are used to measure an ink droplet ejection state of the nozzles for each level of electric energy. The patch printing involves dividing the nozzle column of the print head into a plurality of nozzle groups and scanning at least one of the nozzle groups a plurality of times over each of the plurality of patch forming areas set on a print medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus that prints on print media by ejecting ink onto it.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ink jet printing apparatus ejects ink droplets from a print head to form images on print media. This ink jet printing apparatus can easily be upgraded to increase a printing speed and enable high-density printing and color-image printing. It also has an advantage of low noise during the printing operation.
The ink jet print head has a plurality of ink ejection openings and liquid paths communicating to the individual ink ejection openings. Each of the liquid paths is provided with a printing element for ejecting ink present in the liquid path from the ink ejection opening. The printing element is formed of an energy conversion element that transforms an electric energy into an ink ejection energy. Among the popular printing elements currently in use are, for example, an electrothermal conversion element (heater) that transforms an electric energy into a thermal energy to eject ink and an electromechanical conversion element (piezoelectric element) that transforms an electric energy into a mechanical energy for ink ejection.
The print head of a type that utilizes heat produced by the electrothermal conversion elements in ejecting ink from the ejection openings applies a voltage to each heater to generate heat. This heat energy boils ink in the ink path to produce a bubble which in turn ejects ink from the ejection opening. In the following description in this specification, a portion including the ink ejection opening, the ink path communicating to the ink ejection opening and the printing element installed in each ink path is called a nozzle.
With the ink jet printing apparatus using such a print head, however, variations are likely to occur among the printing elements such as heaters and piezoelectric elements. Applying a fixed amount of energy to all printing elements without taking such variations into account may result in ink droplets ejected differing in volume or printing elements having different longevities. To deal with this problem, it is a conventional practice, performed before shipping a print head from a factory, to measure an optimal threshold of ejection energy and, based on the threshold, write an optimum value of ejection energy in a memory incorporated in the print head. This allows a user during a printing operation to apply an optimal drive energy to the printing elements for ink ejection.
However, there are variations in a voltage of power supplied to the user for the ink jet printing apparatus and also in a drive voltage for the print head. This means that the optimal value of the drive energy, that was written into the print head during its manufacture, may become deviated out of an appropriate range because of the drive voltage variations. A technology to eliminate variations on the ink jet printing apparatus side is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2001-239658 and 2000-225698.
The technology disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2001-239658 and 2000-225698 is as follows. First, measurement patches are formed for each level of heater drive energy by changing it. Next, a density of each of the formed patches is read by a sensor. Then, the drive energy supplied when a blurred patch was formed is set as a threshold energy. Based on the threshold energy, an optimal drive energy to be supplied to the heater is set.
The technology disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2001-239658 and 2000-225698, however, has the following problem.
That is, in the currently used ink jet print head that has a growing demand for increased density and number of nozzles, the number of nozzles that are driven simultaneously to form a test pattern tends to increase. This in turn may cause a large voltage drop in a current supply circuit to the heaters, resulting in fluctuations of the heater drive voltage. If that happens, the optimum value of the drive energy to be supplied to the heaters becomes difficult to determine precisely.
To deal with this problem, a method may be conceived which, to make a voltage drop unlikely, reduces the number of nozzles driven simultaneously to form a test pattern. Since the number of nozzles used is reduced, the number of dots forming the test pattern also decreases, lowering the density of the patch. The reduced density of the patch results in a slower rate at which the density changes until the patch becomes blurred. Therefore, if a check is made of the blurring condition of the patch by using an ordinary sensor with a low detection precision, a result of the decision made may have large errors. That is, there exists almost no difference in density between a correct pattern, that is printed with a drive energy close to the one used when the patch becomes blurred, and a blurred pattern. As a result, there is a possibility of erroneously determining a correct pattern as a blurred pattern. To avoid this problem a sensor with high accuracy may be used. A high-precision sensor, however, is expensive leading to a cost increase of the printing apparatus.


The toy and movable article which are the subject of this application provide for the article to be moved along a playbase by mechanical assembly and/or variable magnetic field which are remote from and not in physical contact with the article thereby giving the article the effect of being independently movable. The exertion of the movement is via a magnetic arrangement between the mechanical assembly and/or variable magnetic field and article and which, if the article is a scale model of a human character can be arranged in conjunction with the shape of the article, to impart a walking effect on the article as it moves thereby adding to the realism of the toy and article.

Conventionally it is known for toys to be movable and it is easily understood that movement of toys renders the same significantly more attractive to children. This attractiveness is further enhanced if the movement of the article, such as a model of a human character, is not directly controlled in that the child does not have to physically touch the model. For this reason puppets which are controlled by strings are attractive to children and also give the child a degree of fascination and the models a life like quality. The problem with puppets however is that the control strings can become tangled or break and furthermore the ability to incorporate the same into particular environments or to produce the same on a small scale is limited due to the requirement to have no barriers over the puppet so that the strings can be freely moved and if the model is too small the complexity of the controls is too great.
A further method for providing movement is to provide the model to be movable along a base having a predefined track such that the model can be slid along the track to move in a predefined and selected direction or path. The main disadvantage with this arrangement is that the model can only ever move in a predefined path and therefore the toy soon loses its appeal to children as their interest level wanes. Also known is the ability to provide a model with a magnet and to provide a control means with a magnet and to use the magnetic field to cause movement of the model by movement of one or both of the magnets. However, the movement in these conventional toys is only movement of the model while the model remains at the same point on the toy base.


An apparatus for planning a demand-supply scheme of a supply chain so as to increase the corporate profit. A demand-supply scheme including order receipt, order placement, purchase and supply in the unit of a month of each step of a supply chain that includes various steps, such as product sales steps, product-producing steps, steps of producing parts for producing products, etc. is set so that the order placement to each producing step becomes within an order receivable range that is calculated from the equipment, the manpower, the number of times of operation, etc. of the producing step. Furthermore, a demand-supply scheme is planned and changed so as to maximize a profitability index that is calculated by using a cost regarding the production of a product that includes a material cost, a manpower cost, and an equipment cost, a stock management cost, a transportation cost, etc.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to demand-supply scheme planning apparatus and method, and a program for planning a demand-supply scheme, and a storage medium storing the program. More particularly, the invention relates to a demand-supply scheme planning apparatus for planning a demand-supply scheme in a supply chain in which at least two demand-supply steps having receipt of order, placement of order, purchase, and supply of a merchandise, are connected, and to a method for the same, and to a program for causing a computer to function as the demand-supply scheme planning apparatus, and to a storage medium storing the program in a computer-readable manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Systems have been proposed which prompt related supplier factories to coordinate so that parts, raw materials and the like from the factories are supplied in accordance with orders from customers (for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,123). In such a system, a network is constructed by planning-coordination systems provided in factories. When there is a request from a factory on the network formed by the planning-coordination systems, a factory receiving the request responds to the request based on a production scheme of the factory planned by the planning system, so that the timing of supplying parts and raw materials can be appropriately adjusted.
However, in the aforementioned factories coordination system, consideration is not given to the time needed between receipt of an order and supply of the ordered item, the overall cost of a product, stock management, etc., so that it is difficult to make such a plan as to further enlarge the profit of a corporate entity. For example, if identical parts or raw materials can be purchased from a plurality of factories, the cost of a product varies depending on the proportions of volumes ordered with respect to the factories, and therefore the corporate profit also varies depending on the same.

Demand-production scheme planning apparatus, and storage medium