Geopolymer composite materials having low coefficient of thermal expansion are disclosed. The materials are useful in high temperature applications due to their low coefficient of thermal expansion and high strength. Also disclosed is a boron modified water glass geopolymer composition that is compatible with ceramic particulate material such as cordierite and fused silica. The geopolymer composite may be extruded to form structures such as honeycomb monoliths, flow filters or used as a plugging or skinning cement and may be fired at temperatures at or below 1100° C. Both the structures and the cement have high green and fired strength, a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and good acid durability. The cost of manufacturing objects using the material of the present invention is substantially reduced, in comparison with typically production methods of cordierite based bodies, due to the substantially shortened firing times.

Diesel engines provide lower emissions and increased fuel economy as compared to gasoline engines; however, environmental and health hazards are posed by diesel exhaust emissions. Diesel particulate filters control particulate emissions from diesel-powered equipment such as trucks, buses, diesel electric locomotives and generators. Cordierite is a preferred material for the manufacture of diesel particulate filters and other high temperature bodies such as catalytic converters, NOx adsorber substrates, catalyst substrates, honeycomb monoliths and flow filter bodies because it is relatively low cost. Cordierite-based composite materials also have a low coefficient of thermal expansion to allow a part to withstand high and variable temperatures.
Diesel particulate filters control diesel particulate emissions by physically trapping soot particles in their structure. Wall flow monoliths such as cordierite filters allow exhaust gasses to flow through the porous ceramic walls, while any particulate is collected on the upstream side of the wall. The filter may be cleaned by auto-regeneration, during which the temperature of the exhaust gas is high enough to ignite any particulate and thereby reduce the backpressure of the diesel particulate filter. The surface of the upstream wall may contain a catalyst wash coat of platinum (Pt), iron (Fe), strontium (Sr) or rare earth elements such as cerium (Ce) to lower the temperature required for auto-regeneration of the filter.
One preferred material for the manufacture of high temperature components is cordierite (Mg2Al4Si5O18), a magnesium aluminum silicate that often includes low levels of iron or other impurities. Cordierite ceramics have a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high strength and are resistant to thermal shock. Cordierite materials are typically manufactured by mixing a raw batch including talc, alumina, aluminum hydroxide, kaolin and silica. The batch is then blended with a binder such as methylcellulose and lubricants such as sodium stearate to form a plastic mixture that is formed into a green body and sintered. U.S. Pat. No. 6,864,198 (hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety), assigned to Corning Incorporated, discloses a method of forming cordierite honeycomb structures. The '198 patent states "[t]he green bodies are dried and then fired at a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient time to form the final product structure. The firing is preferably done by heating to a maximum temperature of about 1405 to 1415° C. over a time period of 50 to 300 hours."
Geopolymers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,349,386; 4,472,199; and 5,342,595, herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. The geopolymers described are ceramic-like materials with framework structures that can be synthesized at low or ambient temperatures. Geopolymers are typically inorganic materials produced by the polymerization and solidification of mixtures of "active" metakaolin and silica under highly alkaline conditions. The geopolymer materials disclosed in these patents are suggested for products such as building materials and thermal insulation. Geopolymer materials have also been studied for use in bonded abrasive products and for the immobilization of intermediate-level nuclear and toxic wastes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,726, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses an alkali metal silicate-based matrix that includes inorganic particulates, organic particulates, or a mixture of inorganic and organic particulates which is produced at ambient temperature by activating the silicates of an aqueous, air-entrained gel containing matrix-forming silicate, particulates, fly ash, surfactants, and a pH-lowering and buffering agent. The '726 patent states that particulates should be present in amounts between 30 and 40 volume percent, and particulates such as polystyrene beads for foaming and wollastonite for strengthening the composite material are specifically mentioned.

Geopolymer composites and structures formed therefrom


A method of estimating a rotational position of a motor having saliency, the method including the steps of a) superimposing, on a drive voltage for the motor, a measuring voltage having a predetermined frequency higher than a frequency of the drive voltage to generate three-phase voltages, and supplying the three-phase voltages to a stationary portion of the motor; b) in parallel with step a), extracting components of the predetermined frequency in three-phase currents flowing in the stationary portion as first, second, and third extracted currents; c) multiplying the first and second extracted currents together to acquire a first composite signal, multiplying the second and third extracted currents together to acquire a second composite signal, and multiplying the first and third extracted currents together to acquire a third composite signal; d) subjecting the first, second, and third composite signals to low-pass filtering to acquire first, second, and third filtered signals, respectively, the low-pass filtering passing low-frequency components including the frequency of the drive voltage; and e) acquiring a rotational position of the rotating portion based on the first, second, and third filtered signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of estimating a rotational position of a motor, and a control apparatus of a motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sensorless vector control, which eliminates use of a sensor for rotational position detection to reduce the number of wires in a motor, the size of the motor, and a production cost of the motor, has often been used. A high-frequency voltage injection method is known as a sensorless vector control technique. In the high-frequency voltage injection method, a voltage having a frequency higher than a frequency of a drive voltage for a motor is applied to the motor, and a rotational position (i.e., a phase) of the motor is estimated based on a response current.
For example, a paper by Shinnaka, S., "A new speed-varying ellipse voltage injection method for sensorless drive of permanent-magnet synchronous motors with pole saliency—New PLL method using high-frequency current component multiplied signal" (IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, 44(3), 2008, pp. 777-788), is known. In a method described in this paper, a high-frequency voltage is generated in a γδ rotating reference frame. This voltage is transformed to a αβ stationary reference frame through Park transformation, and the resulting voltage is applied to a motor through space vector PWM and an inverter. Three-phase high-frequency currents flowing in the motor are extracted using band-pass filters, and are transformed to the γδ rotating reference frame. A γ-axis current and a δ-axis current are multiplied together, and the resulting signal is subjected to low-pass filtering to generate a signal of a single channel. This signal is used to estimate the rotational position of the motor through a PLL.
Further, a paper by Corley, M. J. and Lorenz, R. D., "Rotor position and velocity estimation for a salient-pole permanent magnet synchronous machine at standstill and high speeds" (IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, 34(4), 1998, pp. 784-789), is known. In a method described in this paper, using response currents in a stationary reference frame and the sine and cosine of an estimated rotational position (i.e., angle), a signal representing a d-axis component of a high-frequency current is obtained. This signal is passed through a band-pass filter or the like to obtain an error signal representing a difference between the estimated rotational position and an actual rotational position. This error signal is inputted to an observer. The observer minimizes the error to track the rotational position.
In each of the above methods, a process requiring a high computational load, such as, for example, transformation between stationary and rotating reference frames, needs to be performed in an arithmetic portion. An increase in the computational load on the arithmetic portion may affect precision with which the rotational position of a rotating portion is sensed. Accordingly, there is a demand for a novel technique to precisely sense the rotational position of the rotating portion with a low computational load.

Method of estimating rotational position of motor, and control apparatus of motor


There is provided a honeycomb structure in which the structure is not segmented, or a smaller number of segments are integrated to suppress a local temperature rise and to reduce breakage by thermal stress at the time of use, and a method of manufacturing the structure. There is disclosed a honeycomb structure 1 comprising: a large number of cells 3 partitioned by cell walls 2 and extending through an axial direction. A flow channel separator 6 is formed in the honeycomb structure 1. There is disclosed a method of manufacturing the honeycomb structure 1 in which the flow channel separator 6 is formed by extrusion. There is disclosed a method of manufacturing the honeycomb structure 1 in which the flow channel separator 6 is formed by clogging.

A honeycomb structure has been used in a filter for capturing particulate in exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine or a boiler, particularly used in a filter for capturing diesel particulate (it is hereinafter referred to as DPF) or a substrate for purifying exhaust gas, or the like.
The honeycomb structure for use in this purpose, in general, includes a large number of cells 3 partitioned by cell walls 2 and extending through an X-axis direction as shown in FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b). Furthermore, the structure for the DPF usually includes a structure in which the cells 3 disposed adjacent to each other are alternately plugged at ends on opposite sides so that end surfaces form checkered patterns. In such a honeycomb structure, a fluid to be treated flows in the cell 3 not plugged at inflow end face 42, that is, plugged at outflow end face 44, passes through the porous cell walls 2, and is discharged via the adjacent cells 3, that is, the cell 3 plugged at the inflow end face 42 and not plugged at outflow end face 44. In this case, the cell walls 2 act as a filter. For example, soot discharged from a diesel engine is trapped by the cell walls and deposited on the cell walls. In a honeycomb structure used in such a way, the sharp temperature change of exhaust gas and the local heating of the structure make non-uniform the temperature distribution inside the structure and there have been problems such as crack generation in honeycomb structure and the like. When the honeycomb structure is used particularly as a DPF, it is necessary to burn the fine carbon particles deposited on the filter to remove the particles and regenerate the filter and, in that case, high temperatures are inevitably generated locally in the filter; as a result, a big thermal stress and cracks have tended to generate.
To solve the problem, a method of bonding a plurality of divided segments of the honeycomb structure by a bond material has been proposed. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,783, a method for manufacturing a honeycomb structure is disclosed in which a large number of honeycomb members are bonded by discontinuous bond materials. Also in JP-B-61-51240 is proposed a thermal-shock resistant rotary regenerating thermal exchanging method which comprises forming, by extrusion, matrix segments of honeycomb structure made of a ceramic material, firing them, making smooth, by processing, the outer peripheral portions of the fired segments, coating the to-be-bonded areas of the resulting segments with a ceramic adhesive having, when fired, substantially the same chemical composition as the matrix segments and showing a difference in thermal expansion coefficient, of 0.1% or less at 800° C., and firing the coated segments. In SAE document 860008 of 1986, a ceramic honeycomb structure is disclosed in which the honeycomb segment of cordierite is similarly bonded with cordierite cement. Further in JP-A-8-28246 is disclosed a ceramic honeycomb structure obtained by bonding honeycomb ceramic members with an elastic sealant made of at least a three-dimensionally intertwined inorganic fiber, an inorganic binder, an organic binder and inorganic particles.
A method in which a plurality of segments divided in this manner are integrated to suppress a local temperature rise is an effective method. However, this requires a step of producing many segments and thereafter integrating these segments in order to manufacture one honeycomb structure, and this is not economically favorable especially in a case where the structure needs to be divided into a large number of segments.
The present invention has been developed in consideration of the situations, and an object thereof is to provide a honeycomb structure which is not segmented or is integrally constituted of a smaller number of segments to suppress a local temperature rise and to reduce damages by a thermal stress at the time of use, and a method of manufacturing the honeycomb structure.

Honeycomb structure and process for production thereof


A FinFET device and a method for fabricating a FinFET device is disclosed. An exemplary FinFET device includes a substrate including a fin structure, the fin structure including a first and a second fin. The FinFET device further includes a shallow trench isolation (STI) feature disposed on the substrate and between the first and the second fins. The FinFET device further includes a gate dielectric disposed on the first and the second fins. The FinFET device further includes a gate structure disposed on the gate dielectric. The gate structure traverses the first fin, the second fin, and the STI feature between the first fin and the second fin and has a longitudinal stepped profile.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of the IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC manufacturing are needed.
For example, as the semiconductor industry has progressed into nanometer technology process nodes in pursuit of higher device density, higher performance, and lower costs, challenges from both fabrication and design have resulted in the development of three-dimensional (3D) devices such a fin-like field effect transistors (FinFETs). Current methods of forming FinFET devices, however, fail to adequately provide FinFET devices that have uniform voltage thresholds in the channel region. Accordingly, although existing FinFET devices and methods of fabricating FinFET devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.

FinFET device including a stepped profile structure

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


The invention relates to modified wheat flour containing sodium metaphosphate Nan[PnO3n] for increasing the suspension stability of the flour. According to the invention, said modified wheat flour can be used as a substitute for starch in paper production.

In paper manufacture, a fibre slurry is firstly produced, which is an aqueous suspension comprising starting materials such as fibrous constituents and possibly further papermaking auxiliary agents. This papermaking stock is passed in web form onto a belt-type screen containing drainage elements. After partial drainage the web passes through a so-called sizing press, in which starch is applied as sizing agent to the partially dried web in the form of an aqueous suspension to increase the tear resistance of the paper to be manufactured.
Since the starch in question is a processed product, which is relatively expensive to produce and is thus associated with corresponding costs, it was desirable to replace the starch with a cheaper raw material.
Thus, it is proposed in DE 43 44 139 A1 to substitute cereal flour such as rye flour, for example, for the starch, wherein the cereal flour is extruded to homogenise it and is then ground to a powdered product. Extrusion serves to prevent lump formation during the necessary dispersion of the cereal flour for use in paper manufacture.
To assure an undisturbed operation for the paper manufacture and additionally constant quality of the paper obtained, it is necessary that an even homogeneous application of the aqueous suspension serving as sizing agent is assured over longer periods of operation. Moreover, no sedimentation should occur in the suspension.
Therefore, an aqueous suspension of cereal flour, such as that to be used as sizing agent in paper manufacture, for example, should have a high suspension stability, wherein there should also be no substantial change in viscosity over a longer period of time and moreover no, or substantially no, sedimentation should occur.
DE 197 29 272 relates to starch-based thermoplastic mixtures, wherein starch is modified with a phosphate, amongst others sodium trimetaphosphate, and the components are mixed by application of thermal and mechanical energy preferably at elevated temperature and with simultaneous exertion of shearing forces. The mixing can be conducted in conventional single- and double-screw extruders.
The aim was to obtain starch-based moulding materials, which exhibit a thermoplastic behaviour enabling them to be processed by means of known plastic processing techniques to form mouldings with adequate mechanical properties such as, for example, an adequate strength and a sufficient dimensional stability.
Moreover, it is stated that the obtained products can be used, inter alia, as adhesives for paper and corrugated cardboard. Adhesives are used to glue individual paper layers, as is necessary, for example, in the manufacture of corrugated cardboard from several paper layers.
However, no further details are given regarding the suitability for paper manufacture, in particular for sizing.

Modified cereal flour for paper manufacture


A system and related method for signal processing. Interferometric projection data reconstructed into one or more images for a spatial distribution of a physical property of an imaged object. The interferometric projection data is derived from signals acquired by an X-ray detector (D), said signals caused by X-ray radiation after interaction of said X-ray radiation with an interferometer and with the object (OB) to be imaged, said interferometer (IF) having an inter-grating distance. The reconstructor (RECON) configured to perform, based on the projection data and a forward signal model, a reconstruction operation for one or more images in an image domain of a spatial distribution of at least one physical property of said object (OB) including a refractive index, wherein the reconstructor is configured to perform in the reconstruction operation a scaling operation based on the inter-grating distance of the interferometer and/or on a distance of a location in said image domain from said interferometer (IF).

Grating-based differential phase-contrast imaging is an emerging and promising approach to improve X-ray computed tomography. In addition to the spatial distribution of the linear attenuation coefficient, this method provides access to the spatial distribution of the electron density (which is essentially equivalent to the refraction index distribution) and of the small-angle scattering power of the object.
Grating based phase contrast imaging requires a grating interferometer. Different interferometer designs are discussed by Donath et al in "Inverse geometry for grating-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging", J. Appl. Phys. 106, 054703 (2009).
A reconstruction scheme for grating based tomography is described in Applicant's WO 2013/171657.

Phase-contrast and dark-field CT reconstruction algorithm


In an implementation, an electronic device may obtain a configuration file from a device provider. The configuration file may include settings of a number of communications providers for communicating over a wireless wide area network. A subscriber identification module (SIM) card may include information, such as a communications provider identifier, that is utilized to determine the settings for a modem of the electronic device. Configuring the modem of the electronic device according to the settings may cause the modem to communicate over the wireless wide area network according to specifications of a particular communications provider of the plurality of communications providers.

Various electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablet computing devices, wearable computing devices, and the like, may communicate using a wireless wide area network. Typically, devices communicate over a wireless wide area network according to specifications specified by a communications provider. Communications providers may provide services for communicating via a wireless wide area network to individuals that purchase plans or subscriptions from the communications providers. Upon a user of an electronic device purchasing a subscription or plan from a particular communications provider, the electronic device may be configured for communications over a wireless wide area network according to the specifications of the particular communications provider.

Configuring an electronic device for wireless communications


A magnetic head having an air bearing surface reads and writes data to and from a disc. The magnetic head includes a substrate and a data transducer positioned upon the substrate adjacent the a bearing surface. The data transducer includes a plurality of metallic layers wherein each metallic layer has a top surface. An isolated transducer portion is isolated from the data transducer and recessed from the air bearing surface. The isolated transducer portion has a top surface wherein the top surface of the isolated transducer portion is positioned coplanar to the top surface of one of the plurality of metallic layers of the data transducer.

The present invention relates generally to the field of magnetic data storage and retrieval systems. In particular, the present invention relates to an isolated transducer portion within a magnetic head for improved within-wafer chemical mechanical planarization (CMP).
In a magnetic data storage and retrieval system, a thin-film transducing head generally includes a transducer, a substrate upon which the transducer is built, and an overcoat deposited over the transducer. The transducer typically includes a writer portion for storing magnetically-encoded information on a magnetic media and a reader portion for retrieving that magnetically-encoded information from the magnetic media. The reader portion typically consists of a bottom shield, a top shield, and a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor positioned between the bottom and top shields.
The writer portion typically consists of top and bottom poles, which are separated from each other at the air bearing surface of the writer by a gap layer, and which are connected to each other at a region distal from the air bearing surface by a back gap closer or back via. Positioned between the top and bottom poles are one or more layers of conductive coils encapsulated by insulating layers, or a writer core. The writer portion and the reader portion are often arranged in a merged-configuration in which a shared pole serves as both the top shield in the reader portion and the bottom pole in the writer portion.
In the fabrication of magnetic transducing heads, numerous read-write heads are simultaneously constructed, layer by layer, on a single wafer. The wafer is later divided by slicing the wafer into individual read-write heads. The read-write head is built from multiple dielectric or metal layers, which are applied to the wafer surface. The reader includes the bottom and top shields along with multiple, thinner layers. The writer includes the top pole, bottom pole, and coil (single-turn or multi-turn) which is situated near a gap between the top and bottom poles. In addition, electrical leads (usually made of copper) are added to connect the magnetic head to other components.
Multiple features of the read-write head, including but not limited to the shields, poles, coils and electrical leads (commonly referred to as copper studs), require CMP in order to achieve the degree of planarity required to produce magnetic heads which read and write at high areal densities. Two general methods exist for forming and planarizing such features in magnetic heads. One method, known as a damascene process, etches a pattern into a planar, dielectric layer and then fills the pattern with metal. Excess metal is applied over a top surface of the dielectric layer. The excess metal is removed by CMP until the dielectric is re-exposed and the patterned metal surface remains. The second method requires that first, the metal feature be applied to a relatively planar water surface. The metal is patterned via etching, photolithography, milling, and/or methods to form the head features. A dielectric layer is deposited on top of the metal head features so as to cover the features. The oxide coating the top of the head feature is removed via CMP to expose the metal below.
In the field of magnetic heads, the masks of certain planarized layers of the magnetic head have areas of non-uniform pattern density. The non-uniform pattern density of these layers ultimately results in poor post-CMP within-wafer uniformity, however, immediately the non-uniform pattern desnity of the layers results in poor post-CMP within-head uniformity. Poor post-CMP uniformity can impact reader-writer spacing and thermal expansion effects within the head. As the layer planarization (i.e. polishing) takes place, if the density of the head feature layer is not uniform, overpolishing, or dishing, of some of the head features or of the material surrounding the features occurs. The overpolishing results in a thickness variation of the head features across the wafer. Thickness variation impacts the number of read-write heads that perform well across the wafer's surface.
The magnetic head feature densities of the layer in the area to be planarized are typically non-uniform. Thus, when the layer is planarized, valleys in the top surface of the layer result from overpolishing. Because there is less support in the layer areas where the head features are not formed, the material is removed at a faster removal rate, which results in dishing. It is important that the layers of the magnetic head be planar after polishing, however, problems such as dishing occur causing a nonplanar surface. The uneven, or non-uniform, surface impacts reader-writer spacing and performance, and has thermal expansion effects on the magnetic head.
In the semiconductor industry, dummy features isolated from the electrical or magnetic circuits are added to the semiconductor substrate in the wafer build process to improve the post-CMP uniformity. A magnetic head is needed in the art which improves the CMP uniformity of the head features when they are planarized at the wafer level.

Isolated transducer portions in magnetic heads


Provided is a writing instrument comprising an ink tank, an ink holder which can hold an ink, a pen tip, an ink guiding part for guiding the ink in the ink tank to the pen tip and an ink occlusion body which can feed the ink to the ink guiding part and which has an outer skin, wherein through parts are provide in the outer skin of the ink occlusion body.

As shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 348487/1999, a writing instrument in which a liquid ink and an ink occlusion body (sliver) having an outer skin are mounted in an ink tank has so far been known. The writing instrument having such structure does not deteriorate so much the writing performances of a free ink type writing instrument which have so far been exhibited, and has the effect of preventing an ink from leaking to the outside of the writing instrument even when air in the inside of the ink tank is expanded due to a change in temperature and pressure. However, the writing instrument shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 348487/1999 has the following problem that arises from mounting therein an ink occlusion body (sliver) having an outer skin, though having the effect of preventing an ink from leaking.
Conventional problems shall be explained with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. A method for charging an ink occlusion body (sliver) and an ink into an ink tank includes various methods. It includes, for example, a method in which an ink is charged into an ink tank to some extent and then an ink occlusion body impregnated with the ink is charged into the ink tank, a method in which an ink is charged into an ink tank and then an ink occlusion body impregnated with no ink is charged into the ink tank and a method in which, as shown in FIG. 9, an ink occlusion body 3 is charged into an ink tank 1 and then the ink occlusion body 3 is impregnated with an ink 6 while introducing the ink into the ink tank 1. In these methods, the ink occlusion body 3 has to be impregnated with the ink 6 from a lower part thereof so that air does not remain in the inside of the ink occlusion body 3.
A prescribed amount of the ink is charged thereinto, and then an ink holder 7 is pressed into the ink tank 1 from its aperture to complete a writing instrument. After completion, the writing instrument is upset to turn a pen tip part 9 downward, so that the ink 6 passes through between an outer skin 2 and the inner wall of the ink tank 1 to flow toward the pen tip part 9. No problem is brought about when the ink occlusion body 3 is completely impregnated with the ink, but if not completely impregnated, the ink occlusion body starts to be impregnated with the ink as well from the lower part (pen tip part 9 side) thereof, so that a void part 13 is produced in the ink occlusion body 3. If writing is continued in this state, caused are the problems that the void part 13 makes it impossible to effectively consume the ink in the upper part (reverse side to the pen tip part 9) than the void part 13 and that the void part causes inferior writing. These problems are liable to be brought about even if any of the charging methods described above is employed.
Further, when an ink occlusion body is merely mounted in an ink tank, the state that a gas-liquid exchange part is not wetted is brought about in a certain case, and an ink head applied to a pen tip is increased. As a result, the problem that an ink leaks from a pen tip part is caused.
An object of the present invention is to solve the problems brought about when an ink occlusion body having an outer skin is mounted in the inside of an ink tank, that is, to provide a writing instrument which prevents an ink void part from being produced in the ink occlusion body and which can effectively consume an ink and does not cause inferior writing.
Further, an object thereof is to solve the problem that when an ink occlusion body is mounted in an ink tank, an ink head applied to a pen tip is increased and as a result, an ink leaks from a pen tip part.

Production processes for writing instrument and ink occlusion body


A cartridge assembly for a valve is disclosed. The cartridge assembly includes a cartridge containing an activation component. The cartridge and activation component are configured to be replaceable as a unit. The activation component prevents the valve from either opening or closing until either a predetermined pressure is exerted on the valve or a predetermined temperature is experienced by the activation component. The cartridge may include any of a variety of activation component types, such as buckling pins, tensile pins, shear pins, springs, or fusible alloys, either individually or in combination to control the valve opening or closing.

This invention generally relates to systems for controlling pressure in a pressurized system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cartridge assembly for a valve.
There are many types of systems that process, transmit or use a pressurized fluid. To ensure the safety of these types of systems, each such system typically includes a pressure relief valve designed to prevent the over-pressurization of the system. In an emergency situation, where the fluid in the system reaches an unsafe level, the high pressure of the fluid acts on the pressure relief valve to create an opening to release fluid from the system. Venting fluid to the environment or a safety reservoir through the opening reduces the pressure in the system and prevents another portion of the system from failing due to the high pressure of the fluid.
A common type of pressure relief valve is a rotatable valve assembly. A rotatable valve includes a plug that is mounted on a rotatable shaft and may be rotated between a closed position where the plug blocks the flow of fluid and an open position where the plug allows fluid to flow through the valve. The plug may be mounted on the shaft so that the rotational axis of the plug is offset relative to the center of the plug. Consequently, the pressurized fluid exerts a torque on the shaft and urges the plug to rotate.
Commonly, an activation component such as a buckling pin is operatively coupled to the shaft to prevent the shaft from rotating until the torque on the shaft reaches a certain level indicating that the pressure of the fluid has reached an over-pressure situation. When the pressure of the system reaches a predetermined safety level in such systems, the torque exerted on the valve by the pressurized fluid exceeds the resistance of the pin that keeps the valve from opening. When this event occurs, the pin fails and subsequently the valve opens for the fluid to escape to relieve the pressure in the system.
However, a bare pin used for a pressure relief valve requires considerable care and control during installation. Maintenance personnel must ensure that the bare pin is properly secured and tightened to bear the pressure exerted on the pressure relief valve. Failure to do so may result in untimely opening of the valve. A premature opening below the predetermined safety level leads to an unwanted downtime for the system, while a delayed opening above the predetermined safety level jeopardizes the physical integrity of the system.
Another problem with a bare pin is that there is a risk of pin damage stemming from maintenance personnel having to contact the bare pin during installation or maintenance. This risk of pin damage is especially high for a fragile, low pressure bare pin.
Still, another problem with a bare pin is that the bare pins are difficult to mark with serial numbers and/or certification stamps. Often, a serial number is needed for traceability and control purposes, and industry code certification stamps are needed to indicate a compliance with relevant code requirements. Directly stamping the pins with serial numbers and/or certification stamps will damage the pins.
Yet, another problem with existing systems is that it is a skilled and time consuming activity to remove and reinstall the bare pin. Many times, the bare pin needs to be decoupled from the pressure relief valve for the inspection and maintenance of the system including the pressure relief valve. Due to the risk of pin damage and the caution needed to properly secure and tighten the bare pin, a considerable amount of time is spent in removing and reinstalling the bare pin.
A further problem with existing systems is the need to install bare pins such that they are loaded perfectly along their length axis. Improper pin loading results in loss of set pressure accuracy for the pressure relief device and reduced service life.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need for a device for a pressure relief valve that (1) obviates the care and control needed during installation, (2) reduces the possibility of damaging the activation component during pre-installation storage and shipping, installation, use, and maintenance, (3) decreases the time needed to replace the activation component, (4) enables a complete identification and relevant code stamping of the activation component, (5) reduces the precision required in mounting the pin for proper loading, and (6) provides for the convenient removal and reinstallation of the activation component for valve inspection purposes without impairing its performance characteristics.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a device for a pressure relief valve that obviates one or more of the limitations and disadvantages of prior art release devices. The advantages and purposes of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages and purposes of the invention will be realized and attained by the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To attain the advantages and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention is directed to a pressure relief device containing a pressurized fluid. The pressure relief device includes a rotatable plug engageable with the system to expose the plug to the pressurized fluid. The fluid acts on the plug to rotate the plug from a closed position to an open position. An activation component is operatively connectible to the plug and is configured to prevent the plug from rotating until a predetermined pressure is exerted on the plug. A cartridge having a hollow body with a first and second end is provided. The hollow body substantially encloses the activation component so that the cartridge and the activation component are replaceable as a unit without any contact with the activation component. A support member is configured to receive the cartridge to operatively connect the activation component with the plug.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a cartridge assembly for a valve containing a member movable between a first position and a second position. The cartridge assembly includes an activation component operatively connectible with the pressure relief valve. The activation component prevents the member from moving from the first position to the second position until a predetermined pressure is exerted on the valve. The cartridge assembly further includes a cartridge having a hollow body with a first and second end. The hollow body substantially encloses the activation component so that the cartridge and the activation component are replaceable without any contact with the activation component. A support structure engageable with the cartridge is provided to operatively connect the activation component with the valve.
In yet another aspect, the invention is directed to a cartridge for a valve operable between a first configuration and a second configuration. The cartridge includes an activation component operatively connectible with the valve. The activation component maintains the valve in the first configuration until a predetermined pressure is exerted on the valve to force the valve toward the second configuration. The cartridge further includes a hollow body having a first and second end. The hollow body substantially encloses the activation component so that the cartridge is replaceable without any contact with the activation component.
In yet another aspect, the invention is directed to a cartridge for a valve containing a member movable between a first position and a second position. The cartridge includes an activation component operatively connectible with the valve. The activation component maintains the member in the first position. The activation component includes a fusible alloy that liquifies, thereby allowing the member to move toward the second position. The cartridge further includes a hollow body having a first and second end. The hollow body holds the activation component so that the hollow body and the activation component are replaceable as a unit.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.


A binaural communication link between two hearing devices is established via at least one wire (7w) and a conductor, which is formed by individual's body (7B).

The present invention is directed on linking a pair of hearing devices to form a set of binaural hearing devices. Such hearing devices may be therapeutic hearing aid devices for hearing impaired persons or may be hearing devices just for improving human hearing or for allowing listening to electronically converted audio signals as e.g. for telephone ear-sets, ear-sets in airplanes or even noise protection hearing devices, thereby possibly for active noise cancellation.
Today known binaural links between a pair of hearing devices are impaired by the severe requirements at hearing devices and thereby especially at hearing aid devices with respect to electric power consumption. There has been proposed to establish such a binaural wireless communication link in the RF-frequency band or even in the microwave frequency band. Thereby satisfyingly small receiving and transmission aerials may be used, but the power consumption for the transmitter and the receiver is considerable.
A communication link approach at lower transmission frequencies necessitates, whenever audio signals shall be transmitted via such link, relatively complex encoding and decoding procedures as e.g. MPEG-codec, so as to result in high compression of the data being transmitted. Such encoding procedures nevertheless have the drawback of significant signal delay normally in excess of 50 msec and are therefore not suited for binaural communication between hearing devices as here a real-time signal processing is important.
Other approaches to such binaural communication are based on wire-bound transmission. This necessitates the appliance of at least two wires by mini plugs to both hearing devices of the pair. Handling of a cable with two wires and especially of respective mini-plugs at the hearing devices is cumbersome for the individual, especially if such handling is performed as the hearing devices are already applied to the individual's ear. Therefore it is an object of the present invention to propose a binaural communication link which eliminates the drawbacks mentioned of wire-based links.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for establishing a binaural communication link and binaural hearing devices


A processor which is specially adapted for use as a coprocessor. The processor is implemented as a microprocessor. The adaptations include the following: The microprocessor has a master-slave pin which receives an input which determines whether the microprocessor operates as a bus master or a bus slave. Certain output pins have three-state bus drivers which employ feedback to ensure that a signal on a line being driven by the driver has gone inactive before the driver is turned off. Instructions executed by the microprocessor permit specification of portions of the internal registers as sources and destinations and specification of the size of an ALU operation, permitting easy operation on data ranging from bytes through 24-bit pointers. Instructions are executed in an instruction pipeline and a separate I/O instruction pipeline. Some pipeline stalls are avoided by way of a special MOVE instruction which differs from an ordinary MOVE instruction in that it does not cause pipeline stall when it reads data from a register loaded by a preceding READ instruction. The microprocessor also has an Intel/Motorola pin whose input specifies the type of host processor the coprocessor is working with and further executes I/O instructions which permit the same code to be used with either host processor.

1. Field of the Invention
As processors have gotten cheaper, more and more digital data processing systems have appeared in which several processors operate as coprocessors. A coprocessor is a processor which cooperates with another processor to process data. Classic examples of coprocessors are floating-point units for performing floating point arithmetic and I/O processors for handling the flow of data between peripheral devices such as terminals and the system memory. The relationship between two coprocessors lies along a continuum whose ends are described by the notions tightly coupled and loosely coupled. One coprocessor is tightly coupled to another when there is a high degree of direct interaction between the coprocessors. For example, floating point units are typically tightly coupled. The processor served by the floating point unit provides the operands to the floating point unit, indicates the operation to be performed, and receives the results directly from the floating point unit. The results typically not only include the result value, but also signals indicating the status of the floating point operation. I/O processors, on the other hand, are typically loosely coupled. Communication with the processor they serve is generally through the system memory. When the processor requires the assistance of the I/O processor to output data, the processor places the output data and a description of what the I/O processor is to do with it in memory at a location known to the I/O processor and then indicates to the I/O processor that the data is in memory. The I/O processor thereupon responds to the indication by retrieving the data from memory and outputting it to the desired peripheral device. When it is finished, it puts a record of the status of the operation in memory at a location known to the processor and indicates to the processor that it has finished the memory operation. The processor then responds to the indication by reading the data at the location to determine the status of the output operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Coprocessors necessarily share resources with other processors. One consequence of this is that the time required for a coprocessor to execute an instruction which involves a shared resource is unpredictable. For example, the time it takes to perform a memory read or write operation depends on whether the coprocessor has immediate access to the bus and on whether the memory is busy. The unpredictability of execution time is particularly problematic in processors which increase execution speed by pipelining instruction execution.
Pipelining works as follows: The execution of any instruction has a number of phases. For example, with a MOVE instruction which moves data from one register to another, it is typically necessary to fetch the MOVE instruction, to decode it to determine that it is a MOVE instruction and to determine which register is the source of the data being moved and which the destination, and to actually execute the instruction by moving the data from the source register to the destination register. When instruction execution is pipelined, the phases of execution are performed in parallel on different instructions. For instance, if a pipelined processor is executing three instructions in the order n1, n2, and n3, it may be simultaneously performing the execution phase on n1, the decode phase on n2, and the fetch phase on n3.
Pipelining works well as long as all of the instructions have the same number of phases, or at least have a fixed number of cycles of execution. The difficulty comes when a first instruction which does not have a fixed number of cycles of execution is followed by a second instruction which is dependent on the results of the execution of the first instruction. In that case, the execution of the second instruction must be halted until execution of the first instruction is complete, and while execution of the second instruction is halted, the entire pipeline is halted. Such halting of a pipeline to await the conclusion of execution of an instruction is termed a pipeline exception or stall in the art. Dealing with pipeline stalls is an important problem in the design of pipelined processors. It is an object of the invention described in the present application to provide an instruction which prevents pipeline stalls in certain situations.

Apparatus for controlling instruction execution in a pipelined processor


The present invention describes the identification, isolation and characterization of novel mammalian proteins encoded by the Ese1 and Ese2 genes which are involved in endocytosis, vesicular trafficking and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. Transcripts and products of these genes are useful for detecting abnormal cellular endocytosis processes as well as for developing assay systems to find and elucidate further binding partners of the proteins, to develop therapeutics to alter/restore protein function and for the isolation and manufacture of Ese proteins.

Endocytosis via clathrin-coated pits is a multipstep process (1, 2). Clathrin heavy and light chains are brought to the plasma membrane through association with a heterotetrameric complex known as clathrin adaptor complex 2, o-r AP-2. At coated pits, the membrane is bent through the assembly of clathrin triskelion into a caged lattice. The GTPase Dynamin is also recruited to the neck of coated pits where it assembles into a collar for vesicle fission (4, 5). Recruitment of Dynamin to coated pits is believed to require the Amphiphysin I/II heterodimer (6), as these proteins bind Dynamin in vivo and amphiphysin proteins are required for endocytosis in yeast (7). In addition, ectopic expression of either Amphiphysin I or II by themselves (6), or the isolated SH3 domain of Amphiphysin I blocks endocytosis (8, 9). Recent data has revealed that the Rab5 small GTPase is required for sequestration of ligands such as transferrin and Epidermal Growth Factor into coated pits in vitro (10). The mechanism by which these components interact to regulate coated pit assembly, cargo sequestration, followed by vesicle fission is not yet understood.
From biochemical, cell biological and genetic analysis it is clear that additional components such as kinases, phosphatases, ubiquitin conjugating enzymes as well as lipid modifying enzymes are required for clathrin-coat and vesicle formation (1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19). Indeed there is also strong evidence for a requirement of the actin cytoskeleton in endocytosis and several proteins which may facilitate this connection (1, 7, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25).
The Eps15 protein was discovered in a search for substrates of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (26). In 1995, Benmerah et. al. reported that Eps15 is constitutively associated with α-adaptin of the AP2 complex (27). The Eps15 protein has also been localized to the neck of clathrin-coated pits by immunoelectron microscopy (28, 29). Recently, two groups have used dominant inhibitory mutants of Eps15, or antibodies against Eps15 (or the related protein Eps15R), to demonstrate that Eps15 proteins are required for endocytosis via clathrin-coated pits (30, 31). Eps15 contains three large structural domains (26, 32). The N-terminal third contains three copies of an EH domain (for Eps15 Homology domain) (32, 33). The central region of Eps15 forms an extended coiled-coil, which is followed by a complex C-terminus containing SH3-binding motifs (34), a large number of DPF repeats (Aspartic acid-Proline-Phenylalanine), and α-adaptin binding sequences (31, 35, 36). The full length Eps15R protein has a similar overall organization (34). Both Eps15 and Eps15R can be alternatively spliced to produce numerous smaller proteins(37).
A protein with similar overall organization has been identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae named Pan1p. Genetic analysis of PAN1 has revealed that this gene is required for endocytosis and for organization of the actin cytoskeleton (23, 38). Like Eps15 and Eps15R in mammals, the Pan1p protein has N-terminal EH domains followed by a central coiled-coil domain and C-terminal proline-rich sequences. A second EH domain containing protein, End3p, has also been described in S. cerevisiae which is required for endocytosis and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton (21, 39). Co-immunoprecipitation studies have shown that Pan1p and End3p form a complex in vivo (40). Indeed, overexpression of End3p can suppress the phenotype of pan1–4 hypomorphic mutants, and Pan1p is mislocalized in end3 mutants indicating that these proteins function together (40). Additional studies have revealed that the EH domains of Pan1p bind to yeast homologues of mammalian clathrin-binding proteins, AP180 and CALM (yAP180A and yAP180B), through NPF motifs (Asparagine-Proline-Phenylalanine) in the yAP180 C-termini(25). These data have led to a proposal that the Pan1p:End3p complex functions as a multivalent adaptor to coordinate protein—protein interactions during endocytosis (25, 40). At least two additional proteins are predicted to bind to the Pan1p:End3p complex in vivo, as strong genetic interactions have been detected between PAN1 and SJL1(25), and between PAN1 and RSP5 (41). SJL1 encodes a phosphatidylinositol polyphosphate-5-phosphatase protein which is related to mammalian synaptojanin (42) and has a C-terminal NPF motif predicted to bind to EH domains in Pan1p (or End3p) (25, 43). RSP5 encodes an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase which may bind to the C-terminal polyproline sequences in Pan1p through one of its three WW domains (25).
Numerous SH3 domain containing proteins have been implicated in the regulation of endocytosis (44). These include Amphiphysin I(45) and II(6, 46, 47, 48), Rsv161/Rsv167(7), Actin Binding Protein-1(49), Endophilin/SH3P4/8/13 (50, 51) and Grb2 (52). Kay and coworkers have reported the isolation of several novel SH3 encoding cDNAs (53).
The present inventors have identified novel mammalian proteins containing both EH and SH3 domains, which have been named Ese1 and Ese2. Sequence and functional analysis of the full length proteins have implicated these proteins in receptor mediated endocytosis via clathrin coated pits and therefore the proteins have been named Ese1 and Ese2 respectively (Ese: for EH-domain and SH3 domain regulator of Endocytosis). Also identified are several mammalian alternative transcript proteins two of which are named Ese1L and Ese2L.

HSC Research and Development Limited Partnership


Clock speed is controlled based upon the supply voltage to a digital device. When the supply voltage is below a reference voltage the clock speed will be slower than if the supply voltage is above the reference voltage. A phase-lock-loop (PLL) may be used to generate a higher frequency that is an integer multiple of a reference oscillator. The clock speed will be proportional to the frequency multiplication of the PLL when the faster clock speed is selected. A multiplexer is used to switch between different frequency sources, and a timer can be used to insure stable operation of the PLL. A status configuration register has status and control bits for indicating and controlling operation of the clock speed control. A universal serial bus (USB) device can operate at a slower clock with reduced operating voltage, and at a faster clock with increased operating voltage.

Digital systems use clocks to drive or step operation of sequential and latching digital circuits, and information transfer over data buses of the digital system. The speed at which the digital circuits reliably operate is dependent upon the supply voltage to these digital circuits. Higher operating voltages allow faster clock speeds for operation of the digital circuits. However, there are digital systems that may be battery operated and must continue operation even when the battery voltage degrades. Also faster clock speeds cause the digital circuits to draw more power.
Universal serial bus (USB) devices are being used for many applications in digital systems. The universal compatibility of USB devices for many different types of digital devices that may be used in a variety of applications. However, these diverse applications impose a broad range of operating parameter capabilities required by the USB devices, e.g., computer operation at full voltage and power versus remote field operation using a battery voltage supply. The former benefits from high data throughput (fast clock speeds) and the latter benefits from low operating voltage and power consumption (slow clock speeds).
Therefore, there is a need for digital devices having USB interfaces that will operate over a wide range of supply voltages and power consumption.

Digital system having selectable clock speed based upon available supply voltage and PLL configuration register settings


The invention relates to a method for improving the benefit of a therapy or a therapeutic agent to a subject. The method comprises administering to the subject an agent which reduces Fc receptor binding of serum IgG molecules in the subject; and subsequently administering said therapy or said therapeutic agent to the subject. The invention also relates to a method for reducing the effect of pathogenic autoantibodies in a subject, the method comprising (a) administering to the subject an agent which reduces Fc receptor binding of serum IgG molecules in the subject and optionally (b) subsequently subjecting the subject to a treatment which removes endogenous autoantibodies. The invention also relates to a kit for carrying out a method of the invention.

Antibodies are components of the immune system, which recruit other immune system elements to particular targets within the body. Antibodies are specific to target antigens through the specificity of the Fab domains. Antibodies recruit other elements of the immune system through the interaction of the antibody fragment crystallisable (Fc) domain with Fc receptors (FcRs) expressed on the surface of immune cells. The predominant antibodies in mammalian serum are usually of the immunoglobulin G (IgG) class: IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4. These antibodies bind the human FcRs: FcγRI, RγIIa, RγIIb, RγIIIa and FcγRn, and the complement Fc receptor Clq. The efficacy of the recruitment of the cellular immune system by IgG molecules is influenced by the affinity of the Fc to the FcR(s). The interaction between the Fc domain of an antibody and an FcR is important both for the action of antibodies which are administered as therapeutic agents and also of antibodies which play a pathogenic role in various autoimmune conditions including antibody-mediated transplant rejection.

Method for improving the benefit of organ transplant


An apparatus for preparing the free ends of individual wires of a multi-conductor cable is disclosed. The apparatus includes a wire nest for separating the individual wires into distinct multiple wire sets and each wire of the wire sets includes multiple conductive strands. A wire stripper is provided in alignment with the wire nest to grip outer insulative coverings of the wires in each set and strip a preselected length of the covering therefrom. A wire twister is provided generally adjacent the wire stripper to engage and twist the multiple strands of each wire and a trimming knife cuts the exposed, twisted wires after they have been twisted.

The present invention relates generally to wire preparation tooling, and more particularly to a machine for preparing the free ends of multi-stranded wire conductors for welding.
Multi-conductor, jacketed cables are used widely in the electronics industry to interconnect various electrical devices together. These multi-conductor cables contain a plurality of wires that may be terminated to connector contacts, connector bus bars, support blades or the like to form a connector. Often each conductor of these multi-conductor cables has an inner core comprised of multiple conductive strands surrounded by an outer insulative covering. In most instances in the assembly of these conductors, the wires are individually attached, such as by welding or soldering, to a corresponding plurality of electrically conductive contacts. Soldering of the wires is a tedious and time-consuming task and the soldering process itself lends itself to potential contamination of the connector contacts.
When the free ends of these multi-strand wires are attached to a set of contacts by resistance welding, the wire strands must be twisted together so that the free ends have enough body to resist the electropressure generated by such welding. This twisting has heretofore been accomplished by manual labor and, as such, it is a tedious labor-intensive and time-consuming task that increases the cost of wire preparation. This wire preparation and attachment process must often be repeated when the connector utilizes rows of contacts such as the LFH ("low insertion force helix") connectors made by Molex Incorporated of Lisle, Ill., the assignee of the present invention. Such a connector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,180, issued Apr. 26, 1988 to Molex. The number of wire attachments in such connectors may range from about 10 individual attachments to about 200 individual attachments.
The preparation of the free ends of the cable wires is currently performed by hand. This method is costly for it is labor intensive and it is prone to irregularities because the wires are twisted by hand and uniform twisting and stripping of the wires is therefore hard to obtain.
The present invention is directed to a wire preparation assembly that prepares a plurality of multi-strand wires for welding by stripping the wires, twisting the exposed wire strands and cutting the wires to an appropriate length for welding. In this preparation, the wire insulations are stripped to a specific length, the wire strands are twisted simultaneously for the same number of rotations and the wires are clearly cut to a uniform proper length.

Wire end preparation apparatus and method


Two kinds of metal patterns 12, 13 are formed on a semiconductor wafer 11 to deposit a surface protective film 14 on the entirety of the surface to implement patterning to the surface protective film 14 so that the surface of the metal pattern 12 at least on dicing lines of the metal patterns 12, 13 is exposed to deposit barrier metal 15 on the entirety of the surface to remove, by etching, at the same time, portions on the dicing lines of the barrier metal 15 and the metal pattern 12 on the dicing lines of the metal patterns 12, 13 to carry out dicing with respect to the semiconductor wafer 11 along the dicing lines from which the metal pattern 12 has been removed to thereby prevent that the end portion of the metal pattern turned up by dicing comes into contact with inner lead or bonding wire so that any failure takes place.

This invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a processing implemented prior to dicing the semiconductor wafer.
In the case of dicing the semiconductor wafer, on the dicing lines, patterns indispensable for manufacturing such as mask alignment marks and/or quality control marks, etc. exist in respective layers. In general, such marks are formed by metal pattern or silicon oxide film, etc.
Hitherto, such an approach was employed to carry out dicing of the semiconductor wafer in the state where marks comprised of metal pattern are left on the semiconductor wafer to quarry semiconductor chips to carry out packaging. However, when dicing is carried out, the end portion of the metal pattern constituting the mark is turned up. As a result, in carrying out TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) packaging or wire bonding packaging, problems as described below have arisen.
In the TAB packaging, the inner lead and the metal pattern turned up at the edge portion of the semiconductor chip are caused to be in contact with each other. As a result, short circuit takes place between terminals adjacent through the metal pattern. In addition, the metal pattern which has been caused to be in contact with the substrate such as device characteristic monitor pattern, etc. existing at the edge portion of the semiconductor chip comes into contact with the inner lead. As a result, the p-type semiconductor substrate short-circuits with the ground terminal and the n-type semiconductor substrate short-circuit with the power supply terminal.
In the wire bonding packaging, the bonding wire and the metal pattern of the edge portion of the semiconductor chip are caused to be in contact with each other. As a result, short circuit takes place between terminals adjacent through the metal pattern. In addition, the metal pattern which has been in contact with the substrate at the edge portion of the semiconductor chip comes into contact with the bonding wire. As a result, the p-type semiconductor substrate short-circuits with the ground terminal and the n-type semiconductor substrate short-circuits with the power supply terminal.
As described above, hitherto, there was the problem that the metal pattern turned up at the time of dicing gives rise to inconveniences in the electric characteristic.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device


An electrostatic method for producing a master image for decorating ceramic, enamel or glass objects comprising the steps of:. providing a temporary support having a surface with release properties,. image-wise depositing charged toner particles, having a volume average particle size d.sub.v50t, such that 5 .mu.m<d.sub.v50t <15 .mu.m and including particles of a ceramic pigment, CP, having a volumetric particle size distribution such that 90% of the particles have a diameter lower than 2/3 times d.sub.v50t and. providing particles of glazing material, having a volumetric particle size distribution such that 90% of the particles have a diameter lower than d.sub.v50t, in the master image. Preferably the glazing material is formed in the master image by image-wise depositing toner particles comprising both a ceramic pigment and glazing material.

Decoration of ceramic, enamel or glass objects mostly proceeds by providing a master image, monochromic or full colour, on a substrate with releasing properties, by transferring said master image to the ceramic, enamel or glass object and by firing said objects to fix the image on said ceramic, enamel or glass object.
The master image is mostly made by screen-printing. In screen printing it is necessary to produce various screen images for the various colours to be printed, which makes the technique quite time-consuming and for small edition or personalised work totally uneconomical. By decoration is mostly to be understood the application of identification printing on ceramics or glassware, e.g., a label, a bar-code, etc. Moreover, the screen printing process uses liquids, mostly organic and volatile, and requires thus measures to avoid organic vapours to reach the environment. Further, screen printing is basically an analog process while nowadays more and more information and images to be printed become available in digital form.
The need for a dry and digital method for producing master images for decorating ceramic of glass objects is thus real.
In EP-A 097 134, it has been disclosed to decorate tiles by electrostatographic methods. Electrically charged dry colouring ceramic pigment particles are image-wise deposited onto a photoconductive drum and transferred to a tile. The ceramic material contains no binder resin, and therefore quite complex transfer and bonding aids have to be applied to the tile to assist the transfer and the bonding of the ceramic pigment to the tile in order to be able to flawlessly further process the tile. In this document it is disclosed to produce multi-colour images by using a machine printing for each colour. Apart from the need for complex transfer and bonding aids on the tile, the method according to this disclosure presents some additional problems: first, the contact between photoconductor and tile is rather unstable since an attempt is made to contact two hard surfaces, secondly the photoconductor is very likely to be damaged, since it is a fragile member whereas the tile is hard, thirdly, since the contact is unstable, difficulties arise to register the colour image. Finally, add-on transfer of different colours on already deposited colour layers will be critical in the unstable contact. Apart from cited problems, the disclosure is limited to the decoration of flat tiles and is not useful for decorating essentially non-flat objects.
In DE-A 40 41 358 it is disclosed to use master images made by electrophotography to decorate ceramic, enamel or glass objects by transferring said master images to said objects. The method includes the steps of providing an image-wise deposition of toner particles exhibiting ceramic colouring characteristics on an intermediate substrate having release properties, and transferring said master image to an object by first coating the master image with a collodion lacquer. There is, however, in this disclosure no special attention given to the electrophotographic process and the disclosure hints to the fact that any photocopying machine, whatever the imaging method, fixing method, transporting method of the master image, the method can provide good images. It is in anyway necessary to fix the toner particles to the intermediate, since a non-fixed toner image can barely be handled. It is furthermore disclosed that said process is only workable when the toner particles contain, apart from a binder resin, either a metal, a metal alloy and/or a metal-oxide. It is disclosed that only by using such toner particles and pigments a master image can be created giving, after transfer and firing to the object to be decorated, enough optical density and sharpness of the final image. By limiting the useful pigments to either a metal, a metal alloy and/or a metal oxide, the method disclosed in DE 40 41 358 has a limited practical use, as within the type of pigments enumerated only a few colours can be provided.
In EP-A 647 885 an electrophotographic method, essentially equal to the method disclosed in DE-A 40 41 358, for the production of master images for the decoration of ceramic objects is disclosed. The problem obtaining high optical density with toner particles comprising ceramic pigments (i.e. mostly metal oxides) is addressed by laying very thick toner layers (between 0.3 and 0.6 mm thick, whereas a normal full colour electrophotographic image comprises toner layers of 0.01 mm thickness). These thick toner layers can give problems during the fixing to the intermediate substrate, therefore a non-contact fixing step in an oven or by contacting the rear side (non-image side) of the intermediate substrate is used. In this disclosure it is said that optionally glazing material can be applied to the object to be decorated before the master image is transferred or after the master image is transferred. This document discloses further that it is essential that the toner particles contain a binder and a ceramic pigment, said pigment being preferably a spinel or zirconiumsilicate, and optionally a charge enhancing compound and some flow enhancing additives, in order to be able to obtain a high optical density. This indicates that the method disclosed, shows, even when depositing thick toner layers, a problem in obtaining enough optical density.
In JP-A 08/11496 it is disclosed to produce master images for decoration of ceramics by electrostatographic means and by using toner particles comprising both a colouring agent and glazing material.
In GB-A-2 151 189 a process for applying a pattern to a ceramic article disclosed, wherein a pattern is generated by a reprographic process and this pattern then printed on a temporary support with release properties. The printing of the pattern can proceed by a xerographic process.
In EP-A-280 378, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,506 white toner particles, comprising TiO.sub.2 as pigment have been disclosed. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,427 a black toner comprising a inorganic black pigment is disclosed.
Although the methods, disclosed in the references cited, do present a step forward when compared to methods using screen printing to form a master image, there is still room for improvement of the electro(stato)graphic method for producing master images.

Method for electrostatographically producing master images for decoration of ceramic objects


A three in one belt pack having in combination a conventional pack, a cushion-flap, and a belt. The cushion-flap selectively attaches via hook and loop fasteners to the belt on the inside of the pack, if the pack is being worn. When attached to the belt inside the pack the cushion-flap can be rolled up and placed inside the pack for storage. The user has the option of using a cushion-flap having a humorous design, school logo or message thereupon. When used in protection or display mode, the cushion-flap functions as a seat comfortable, waterproof cushion, a walking display and as a protective barrier shielding the user's clothing from becoming soiled due to filthy chairs or benches. The cushion-flap is made of a double sided nylon neoprene material, preferably, is waterproof and thermal. The pack is detachable from the belt and has an assortment of compartments dimensioned and configured to contain various items.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to belt packs and more specifically to a combination waist pack, seat cushion-flap and belt. The invention is specifically related to a belt pack incorporating three separate elements which combine together to form the 3 in 1 fanniflap pack.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many joggers, sightseers, hikers and travelers find belt packs to be extremely convenient and handy. The packs allow free use of the hands while providing convenient and easily accessible storage compartments for the storage of such items as keys, wallets, currency, and other miscellaneous items. The user gets the benefit of the safe storage of valuables plus use of his or her hands. The packs have separate storage compartments which allow the user to isolate items such as jewelry from other items such as coins or tools. Anyone who has had the face of a valuable watch scratched will appreciate the separate compartments. Likewise, cyclists have been known to place spare inner-tubes and bicycle flat tire repair kits in the compartments. Others, such as travelers and hikers, use them in their journeys. However, travelers and hikers occasionally must sit on hard dirty benches which are hard on their buttocks and sometimes soil their clothing. Similarly, skiers are presented with the problem of sitting upon a cold metal chairlift. Conventional belt packs are not equipped with padding or any other protective device that protects the clothing from being soiled while providing a soft, insulative cushion-flap to sit upon in combination with means to store the protective devices within the belt packs while attached to the belt. Therefore, a need exists for a combination belt pack having a protective cushion-flap attachable to the belt via fasteners, wherein the cushion-flap and belt are employed either with or without the belt pack and wherein the protective cushion-flap is capable of being rolled around the belt or alternatively rolled up into a compartment of the pack. The present invention provides such an apparatus.
Combination belt packs have been described in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,362 issued on Jan. 30, 1964 to Wakefield, discloses a combination seat-pack which is constructed of water repellant materials. The seat-pack engages the waist in a manner similar to belt-like garments. The seat-pack is in the form of an extensible pack which may be selectively extended to function as a seat-cushion, and subsequently retracted to its original position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,300 issued on May 7, 1985 to Cohen, discloses a multiple-use sports bag and method of converting it to a backpack. The sports back includes a pouch-like body having a first open storage space and a space adjacent thereto. A pack is folded and disposed within the adjacent space with Velcro strips being included to secure it. A zipper is provided for accessing the backpack, while pull tabs are disposed on the opposite sides of the zipper for opening and closing the pouch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,824 issued on Sep. 29, 1992 to Alverez et al., discloses a dual purpose unitized pack suited for use as a container for holding articles. The unitized pack includes a pouch, a substantially flat enclosure member attached thereto, and a belt attached at least on one end to the pouch. An open top collapsible sack is positioned in the enclosure member and attached thereto. The open top sack is capable of being fully contained within the enclosure member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,315 issued on Jan. 4, 1994 to Carmack et al., discloses a waist pack with cushion seat. The waist pack is adapted to be worn about the waist of a human and includes at least one interior compartment. A seat cushion is connected to the waist pack by means of a connecting strap. Both the connecting strap and the seat cushion are locatable in a stowage position within an interior compartment of the waist pack. The seat cushion may be extended and inflated for placement beneath the buttocks while in a sitting position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,991 issued on Sep. 19, 1995 to Neading, discloses a combination storage belt and ski carrier accessory and method of conversion. The apparatus includes a belt which mounts a pair of releasably and reversibly attachable flexible members at each of a pair of opposite ends of the belt. A storage bag is positioned at an intermediate location on the flexible members on opposite ends of the belt. The belt is adjustable to convert it between a contracted position suited for wearing around the waist, and an expanded condition suited for wearing across the torso and over the shoulder.
French Pat. No. 2,577,123 issued on Aug. 14, 1986, and Switzerland Pat. No. 237,293 issued in April, 1945, both describe belt accessories but fail to disclose belt packs having seat cushions attached thereto.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A laundry treating appliance having a tub, a drum located within the tub and at least partially defining a treating chamber in which laundry may be received for treatment according to an automatic cycle of operation and a liquid supply system for introducing liquid thereto and a method for filling the laundry treating appliance including supplying liquid, determining a load inertia value and stopping the supply of liquid based thereon.

Laundry treating appliances, such as clothes washers, refreshers, and non-aqueous systems, may have a configuration based on a rotating drum that defines a treating chamber in which laundry items are placed for treating according to one or more cycles of operation. The laundry treating appliance may have a controller that implements the cycles of operation having one or more operating parameters. The controller may control a supply of liquid into the drum according to one of the cycles of operation; however, it is difficult to accurately estimate the correct amount of water to put into the drum. Over estimation results in wasted water and under estimation results in poor wash performance.

Laundry treating appliance and method of filling a laundry treating appliance with liquid


An elevator roller guide configured to ride along a rail having a base member and a rail member. The rail member has a front face, a first side and a second side. The rail member further extends substantially perpendicular to the base member. The elevator roller guide preferably includes a car movement compensation member configured to maintain the face roller in contact with the front face of the rail member when the elevator car moves a first distance in a direction transverse to the rail member wherein the first distance is a distance that would cause the face roller to slide off or lose meaningful and/or substantial contact with the front face of the rail member without the car movement compensation member.

Typically, an elevator car travels along a pair of opposing guide rails located in a shaft or hoistway of a building structure. It is customary to employ four roller guides per elevator car to guide the elevator car along the guide rails as the car is moved in a shaft or hoist way. Two of the rollers guides are secured to the upper portion of the elevator car in such a manner as to engage the corresponding guide rails. The remaining two roller guides are secured to the lower portion of the elevator car in a similar manner to engage the corresponding guide rails. Typically, roller guides have a plurality of rollers that engage and travel along the corresponding guide rail. Typically, each roller guide includes three or six rollers. The present invention is not limited to elevator roller guides having a particular number of rollers. Rather, the present invention can be used in elevator roller guides having differing numbers of rollers.
A significant problem may arise with conventional elevator roller guides when an elevator car moves transverse or across the guide rails as conventional elevator roller guides cannot readily compensate for this crosswise movement of the elevator car. This is particularly problematic as elevator guide rails are becoming narrower than ever. In conventional roller guides, the transverse movement of the elevator car causes the face roller of the elevator to move across the front face of the rail member of the guide rail. The transverse movement across the front face of the rail member can be so significant that the face roller of an elevator roller guide slides off of the front face of the rail member of the guide rail and/or the face roller loses meaningful and/or substantial contact with the front face of the rail member of the guide rail. Obviously, this will have an extremely adverse effect on the elevator car and its ability to smoothly ascend and descend in a building structure.


A ball grid array (BGA) semiconductor package includes a package case having a recess in an upper surface thereof, a semiconductor chip received in the recess, and a connection means provided on an active region of the chip. A molding compound molds the chip and fills a gap between the package case and the connection member. The package enables a thinner package fabrication and reduces an access time of a package device, thereby realizing a high speed device.

With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional BGA semiconductor chip package includes a substrate 1 having a metallic pattern 3 provided therein. A chip 5 is bondingly mounted by an adhesive 4 onto the substrate 1. Chip pads (not shown) formed on the chip 5 are electrically connected by metallic wires 7 to the metallic pattern 3. A certain portion of the substrate surface including the chip 5 and the metallic wires 7 is covered by epoxy molding compound 6. A plurality of conductive pads 2 are formed on the lower surface of the substrate 1. Solder balls 8 are each formed by a reflow process on a corresponding one of the conductive pads 2. The conventional BGA package is then mounted on a printed circuit board (not shown) using solder balls 8.
The conventional BGA package, however, has a couple of disadvantages. Since the solder balls 8 of the package are positioned on the opposite surface to an active surface or a lower surface of the chip, the electrical path in the package becomes lengthy by the elongation ranging from the chip 5 through the wires 7 up to the PCB, whereby a longer access time in the package has been experienced. Further, there are limitations to the reduction of the package size.
Additionally, there is an embodiment (not shown) in which solder balls are laid out on an active surface of a package chip, however, due to requiring a tab bonding to be applied thereto for interconnection, problems of low productivity along with the difficulty of the fabrication process have yet to be solved.

Semiconductor package having a connection member


A method and related device for performing sterile medical procedures are disclosed. The method and related device are capable of accessing a sterile environment from a non-sterile environment to perform a medical procedure within the sterile environment. The method and related device can achieve a sterile technique during endoluminal procedures and in uncontrolled and unsterile environments. The device includes an inner hollow member moveably disposed within an outer hollow member. The outer hollow member is adapted to penetrate a boundary separating non-sterile and sterile environments and the inner hollow member is adapted to extend past the outer hollow member and into the sterile environment. A fluid compartment is adapted to be in selective fluid communication with the outer tube such that when the inner member extends past the outer member and into the sterile environment, fluid enters the outer member and the boundary.

The present invention pertains to a method and related device used to provide access from a non-sterile environment to a sterile environment. More specifically, the invention relates to a sterile technique used during a medical procedure, such as disease treatment and/or diagnosis, taking place in lumens within a body. Such endoluminal procedures may take place in vascular, gastrointestinal, air exchange lumens, or other like places within the body and often require passing a device through the lumen wall to access a sterile environment.
Generally, medical practitioners have practiced and refined sterile techniques to prevent microbial contamination when passing objects such as catheters, other surgical tools, hands, fingers, medications, and the like from a non-sterile environment to a sterile environment. Implementing a sterile technique requires that the objects themselves remain microbe-free when entering the sterile environment. Additionally, the opening between the non-sterile and sterile environments must remain impassable to microbes for a time period sufficient to allow completion of the medical procedure and closure of the breach between the environments.
For a number of medical procedures, these requirements are more readily met. Such medical procedures occur in areas of the body that easily can be kept clean, dry and free from contamination for extended time periods. Moreover, many medical procedures occur in environmentally controlled surgical arenas, thus facilitating a sterile technique.
Many currently-employed methods and devices focus on avoiding contamination at catheter insertion sites on the patient""s body. Some of these methods and devices may attempt to stabilize the catheter and to apply antiseptic solutions at the insertion site. Such devices may include an adhesive patch or seal that surrounds the catheter and affixes to the patient""s skin. Additionally, the devices may include a mechanism for feeding antiseptic solution between the skin and the patch or seal. Overall, these systems attempt to apply a sterile technique at the boundary between the atmosphere (the non-sterile environment) and a point of insertion on the patient""s body. However, the current systems are not suited for performing a sterile technique at intracorporeal sites, for example the boundary between a gastrointestinal lumen (non-sterile environment) and the inter-abdominal cavity (sterile environment).
Achieving a sterile technique for many intracorporeal sites can pose difficulties. For instance, keeping an area of the body clean, dry, and free from contamination presents significant challenges when the treatment area exists in a part of the body awash with microbe-rich body fluids. An endoluminal procedure presents such a challenge. During an endoluminal procedure, diagnostic or treatment devices pass through a lumen wall to access other areas within the body, for example, entering the inter-abdominal cavity from the gastrointestinal tract, as mentioned earlier. Because body lumens generally are microbe-rich environments, a significant risk of infection arises due to the potential for the lumen fluids to leak through the hole formed in the lumen wall and into the sterile environment. Such infection can cause serious illness, such as sepsis, and even death.
Successful implementation of a sterile technique also may prove difficult when treatment proceeds under less than ideal environmental conditions. For example, medical procedures and treatments often take place on a battlefield or during a rescue operation where controlling and sterilizing the surrounding environment may be nearly impossible.
The advantages and purpose of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages and purpose of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To attain the advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention includes a device for performing a sterile technique. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the device includes an outer hollow member having a sharp distal end for penetrating a tissue that separates a sterile environment from a non-sterile environment. The outer hollow member also has a seal at its sharp distal end. The device further includes an inner hollow member disposed within the outer hollow member and axially moveable with respect to the outer hollow member. The inner hollow member also has a sharp distal end for penetrating the tissue and extending into the sterile environment.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the device includes a distal end capable of penetrating a boundary layer separating a non-sterile environment from a sterile environment and an inner hollow member moveably disposed within the outer hollow member. The inner hollow member includes a distal end adapted to extend past the outer hollow member distal end and into a sterile environment. The device further includes a compartment containing a reservoir of antiseptic solution, with the reservoir in selective fluid communication with the outer hollow member so that when the inner hollow member extends into the sterile environment, the antiseptic solution flows through the outer hollow member to create a sterile boundary.
The invention further includes a method of performing a sterile medical procedure by creating a sterile passage. A preferred method includes penetrating a tissue separating a sterile environment from a non-sterile environment with a sharpened distal end of an outer hollow member, with the distal end of the outer hollow member including a seal. The method further includes extending a sharpened distal end of an inner hollow member in an axial direction with respect to the outer hollow member and penetrating the seal and the tissue so that the distal end of the inner hollow member enters the sterile environment.
Another preferred method according to the present invention includes penetrating a non-sterile/sterile boundary with a distal end of an outer hollow member, and providing an inner hollow member that is moveably disposed within the outer hollow member. The method further includes extending a distal end of the inner hollow member past the outer hollow member distal end and into the sterile environment, and providing a compartment containing a reservoir of antiseptic solution and selectively establishing fluid communication between the reservoir and the outer hollow member such that during the extending step, the antiseptic solution flows through the outer hollow member to enable a sterile technique.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

Method and apparatus for performing sterile medical procedures


Systems and methodologies are described that effectuate establishment of an IPSec tunnel for utilization in a wireless communication environment. IPSec establishment procedures on home base stations can be used to establish IPSec tunnels between home base stations situated on open access sectors of wireless communication environments and packet data interworking function components positioned at the contiguity of secured segments of the wireless communication environments. Moreover, high rate packet data point-to-point protocol challenge-handshake authentication protocols can be directed through the IPSec tunnels to facilitate authentication of access terminals associated with the home base stations in order to facilitate further communications with components dispersed within secure areas of wireless communication environments. Further, international mobile subscriber identities (IMSI) affiliated with access terminals associated with home base stations can be used to identify packet data serving nodes with which to establish communications between home base stations and packet data serving nodes.

I. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to base stations in a wireless communication system.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication; for instance, voice and/or data can be provided via such wireless communication systems. A typical wireless communication system, or network, can provide multiple users access to one or more shared resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, interference, time slot, . . . ). For instance, a system can use a variety of multiple access techniques such as Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and others.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication systems can simultaneously support communication for multiple access terminals. Each access terminal can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from base stations to access terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from access terminals to base stations. This communication link can be established via a single-in-single-out, multiple-in-single-out or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
MIMO systems commonly employ multiple (NT) transmit antennas and multiple (NR) receive antennas for data transmission. A MIMO channel formed by the NT transmit and NR receive antennas can be decomposed into NS independent channels, which can be referred to as spatial channels, where NS≦{NT,NR}. Each of the NS independent channels corresponds to a dimension. Moreover, MIMO systems can provide improved performance (e.g., increased spectral efficiency, higher throughput and/or greater reliability) if the additional dimensionalities created by the multiple transmit and receive antennas are utilized.
MIMO systems can support various duplexing techniques to divide forward and reverse link communications over a common physical medium. For instance, frequency division duplex (FDD) systems can utilize disparate frequency regions for forward and reverse link communications. Further, in time division duplex (TDD) systems, forward and reverse link communications can employ a common frequency region so that the reciprocity principle allows estimation of the forward link channel from reverse link channel.
Wireless communication systems oftentimes employ one or more base stations that provide a coverage area. A typical base station can transmit multiple data streams for broadcast, multicast and/or unicast services, wherein a data stream may be a stream of data that can be of independent reception interest to an access terminal. An access terminal within the coverage area of such base station can be employed to receive one, more than one, or all the data streams carried by the composite stream. Likewise, an access terminal can transmit data to the base station or another access terminal.
There are many occasions where mobile communications devices, such as smart phones, cell phones, and the like, lose connectivity with the macro cellular network to which they are members. This is especially the case where the mobile or portable device is taken into homes or business establishments where cellular communication coverage is sparse at best. The subject matter as claimed is directed toward resolving or at the very least mitigating one or all the problems elucidated above.

Employing a home base station in a wireless communication environment