An actuator assembly for an electrical power switch apparatus, the actuator assembly having a housing and a plunger positioned within the housing where the plunger is movable between a set position and an actuated position. The plunger includes a compression spring to provide a pre-load thereto that biases the plunger away from the set position and toward the actuated position. A magnet contained in the housing and positioned proximate to the plunger establishes a magnetic force which overcomes the pre-load of the compression spring and maintains the plunger in a set position. A coil assembly, that when energized, produces an electromagnetic force which bucks the magnetic force established by the magnet allowing the plunger to be propelled by the compression spring to the actuated position. A screw extends through an opening in the plunger for engagement with the compression spring so that rotation of the screw results in the adjustment or calibration of the pre-load of the compression spring.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electrical power switch apparatuses, and more particularly, to an actuator assembly thereof that can be calibrated.
2. Background Information
Several types of electrical power switch apparatuses, such as, circuit breakers, transfer switches, and disconnect switches are known. Such apparatuses include an operating mechanism, typically actuated by an actuator assembly, for opening the switch. For example, an actuator assembly used in conjunction with a circuit breaker interacts with the operating mechanism to separate the circuit breaker contacts upon occurrence of an overcurrent condition within a protected electrical distribution system.
Actuator assemblies, such as utilized in conjunction with circuit breakers, are generally known. For certain known circuit breakers, the actuator assembly receives a pulse electrical signal from an electronic trip unit to actuate the operating mechanism. The signal is usually a low power signal due to the limited power available from the electronic trip unit. Therefore, it is important that the actuator assembly consistently be actuated by the low power signal to insure proper operation of the actuator assembly and the circuit breaker. However, this becomes increasingly difficult in view of manufacturing variations inherent in the manufacturing processes of the actuator assembly components. Particularly because slight manufacturing variations, such as, for example, surface roughness of the holding magnet and armature, directly affect the magnitude of the low power signal needed to actuate the actuator assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,724 sets forth an actuator assembly. This assembly employs a holding magnet to retain an armature against the propelling bias of a compression spring. A coil assembly circumferentially disposed about the armature receives a pulse electrical signal which bucks the magnetic force provided by the holding magnet and releases the armature.
There is a need, therefore, for an electrical power switch apparatus having an improved actuator assembly.
There is also a need for an electrical power switch apparatus having an actuator assembly that is consistently actuated by a pulse electrical signal.
There is a further need for an electrical power switch apparatus having an actuator assembly that accounts for manufacturing variations of the actuator assembly components to assure consistent actuation of the actuator assembly.

Actuator assembly with calibration means and electrical power switch apparatus incorporating the actuator assembly with calibration means


There is provided a testing apparatus for evaluating a device-under-test, having an extracting section for extracting jitter components out of an output signal outputted out of the device-under-test, a filter for passing predetermined frequency components in the jitter components, a phase control section for controlling phase of the output signal based on the jitter components outputted out of the filter and an evaluating section for evaluating the device-under-test based on a signal outputted out of the phase control section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a testing apparatus, a testing method, a jitter filtering circuit and a jitter filtering method. More specifically, the invention relates to a testing apparatus for testing a device-under-test such as a semiconductor circuit.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a case of testing whether or not an electronic device such as a semiconductor circuit can correctly operate with an input signal having a predetermined eye opening. For example, a minimum eye opening called as an eye mask is specified as a characteristic which an electronic device having a serial I/O interface should have in order to guarantee quality of a signal outputted out of a transmitter or a receiver's tolerance to an input signal influenced by disturbance. Eye mask stipulated by PCI Express may be exemplified as the eye opening which the output signal of the transmitter should meet and the eye opening of the input signal that should guarantee that the receiver will normally operate.
Generally, the eye opening must be measured by taking characteristics of a clock recovery circuit of the receiver into account. It is because the receiver having the serial I/O interface for example recovers clock from a data signal transmitted from a transmitter and re-samples the data signal by using the recover clock.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional receiver 400. The receiver 400 receives a data signal transmitted from a device-under-test 200 on the transmitter side. A clock recovery circuit 410 generates recovered clock based on the data signal. A data sampler 420 re-samples the data signal corresponding to the recovered clock to generate recovered data.
FIG. 16 is a graph showing one exemplary filtering characteristic of the clock recovery circuit 410. When a signal-under-measurement is inputted to the clock recovery circuit 410, generated clock will have jitter transfer characteristic corresponding to the filtering characteristic. Then, when the signal-under-measurement is re-sampled by using the recovered clock, the recovered data result in containing jitter components having frequency characteristic obtained by subtracting frequency characteristic of the recovered clock from frequency characteristic of the jitter components contained in the signal-under-measurement.
Because the receiver 400 is thus influenced by the recovered clock whether or not it can correctly re-sample the data signal, the eye opening of the data signal must be measured by taking the characteristics of the clock recovery circuit 410 into account.
For example, PCI Express stipulates for the measurement of the eye opening of a data signal by using clock recovery function (see Equation (1)) which is a 1st-order high-pass filtering characteristics with 1.5 MHz cut-off frequency.
                                                        H              3                                                  (              s              )                                =                      s                          s              +                              ω                3                                                    ,                              ω            3                    =                      2                                                                          π            ×            1.5            ×                          10              6                                                          Eq        .                                                    (          1          )
Conventionally, testing of eye opening of a serial I/O interface such as PCI Express have been carried out by means of a real-time sampling oscilloscope or a testing apparatus having a clock recovery function. For example, the real-time oscilloscope samples a data signal-under-test at high speed and measures jitter in the data signal-under-test by using digital signal processing. Then, it applies the clock recovery function described above to the measured data to analyze an eye diagram.
The testing apparatus recovers clock from a data signal-under-test by using the clock recovery circuit and tests an eye diagram by comparing logic values of the data signal-under-measurement with the edges of the expected values at the clock used as timing reference.
However, the real-time oscilloscope has had a problem that it requires to accurately measure edge timings of the data signal-under-test and to sample the data signal-under-test at high sampling rate. Accordingly, it has had a problem that its apparatus cost is high. Still more, because it is difficult to be adapted to multi-channel, it is unable to test a multi-lane device having several tens to several hundreds of signal paths disposed in parallel. Furthermore, it is hard to use it in a device high volume-production test because it takes time in analyzing the eye diagram by using the data signal processing.
The testing apparatus using the clock recovery circuit also has to meet the requirements: a) assuring the accuracy of timing of the edges of the recovered clock and b) tracking the timing fluctuation by accurately generating recovered clock, so that its circuit complexity increases. Therefore, its apparatus cost has been high and it results in inflexibility of the function of the clock recovery circuit.
Accordingly, it has been desired to realize an apparatus capable of testing and evaluating devices having a high-speed and multi-lane serial I/O interface at low cost.

Testing apparatus, testing method, jitter filtering circuit, and jitter filtering method


A check valve (12) includes a cage (14) having a tubular side wall (16) including outward and inward undulations (28,30) that provide fluid flow through the check valve and externally thereof as well as providing guiding of an associated valve element ball (36).

Check valves are utilized for hydraulic fluid flow in vehicle drivetrain couplings such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,388 Okcuoglu et al., 5,536,215 Shaffer et al., and 5,595,214 Shaffer et al., the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. One consideration with check valves is that the fluid flow that can pass through the valve in its open position is limited by the valve element since the fluid must flow around the valve element and the valve bore in which the valve element is located cannot be too large to increase fluid flow or there will not be proper guiding of the valve element in its movement to the closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,464 Miura discloses a hydraulic damper having a valve that includes a generally flat valve element that is movable within a valve guide that has indentations for providing guiding movement during movement between open and closed positions. Other check valves are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,219,057 Knowles; 3,343,564 Peeples et al.; 3,880,130 Hecht; 4,091,839 Donner; 4,365,648 Grothe; 4,700,741 Murphy; and 5,183,075 Stein.


A memory structure includes a first dielectric layer, having a first top surface, over a conductive structure. A first opening in the first dielectric layer exposes an area of the conductive structure, and has an interior sidewall. A first electrode structure, having a first portion and a second portion, is over the exposed area of the conductive structure. The second portion extends upwardly along the interior sidewall. A resistance variable layer is disposed over the first electrode. A second electrode structure, having a third portion and a fourth portion, is over the resistance variable layer. The third portion has a second top surface below the first top surface of the first dielectric layer. The fourth portion extends upwardly along the resistance variable layer. A second opening is defined by the second electrode structure. At least a part of a second dielectric layer is disposed in the second opening.

In integrated circuit (IC) devices, resistive random access memory (RRAM) is an emerging technology for next generation non-volatile memory devices. Generally, RRAM typically use a dielectric material, which although normally insulating can be made to conduct through a filament or conduction path formed after application of a specific voltage. Once the filament is formed, it may be set (i.e., re-formed, resulting in a lower resistance across the RRAM) or reset (i.e., broken, resulting in a high resistance across the RRAM) by appropriately applied voltages. The low and high resistance states can be utilized to indicate a digital signal of "1" or "0" depending upon the resistance state, and thereby provide a non-volatile memory cell that can store a bit.
From an application point of view, RRAM has many advantages. RRAM has a simple cell structure and CMOS logic compatible processes which result in a reduction of the manufacturing complexity and cost in comparison with other non-volatile memory structures. Despite the attractive properties noted above, a number of challenges exist in connection with developing RRAM. Various techniques directed at configurations and materials of these RRAMs have been implemented to try and further improve device performance.

Resistance variable memory structure and method of forming the same

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A CMOS image sensor according to the present invention includes a substrate having a light receiving region, an interlayer insulating film formed on the substrate, a plurality of metal wirings formed on the interlayer insulating film so as to expose the light receiving region, a protection layer coated on the metal wirings and the interlayer insulating film, and a plurality of color filters formed on the protection layer, wherein at least one of the color filters is provided with an isolation layer formed on an upper surface thereof.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a CMOS image sensor and a manufacturing method thereof.
(b) Description of the Related Art
An image sensor is a semiconductor device converting optical images into electrical signals and, typically manufactured in a type of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor.
The charge coupled device is an integrated circuit containing an array coupled capacitors. Each capacitor stores and transfers electric charge to on or other of its neighbors. In the meantime, the CMOS image sensor is a device adopted a switching mechanism sequentially detecting output using MOS transistors as many as the number of pixels with the CMOS technology which uses the control circuit and signal processing circuit as peripheral devices.
The CMOS image sensor is comprised of a photo-sensing region for detecting the light, a logic circuit area for processing to convert the light into electric signals, and color filters arranged over the photo-sensing region. The photo-sensing region generates photoelectric charges using the light from outside and accumulates the charges. The color filter array (CFA) includes the three filter elements of red, green, and blue colors or yellow, magenta, and cyan colors.
In this case, the red, green, and blue colors filters are formed by exposing and developing the red, green, and blue photo resists formed on the photosensing region. Unlike other processes, however, the photo resist pattern becomes the color filter by itself through the process for forming the color filters, such that when the three photo resist patterns should be formed it is required to rework for forming any of three colors filters, the previously formed photo resist pattern(s) as well as the current photo resist must be removed.
Also, since the color filter-forming processes should be carried out three times or more while the metal on the pad part is exposed such that the metal is likely to be eroded by the developer solution. The damage of the metal pad causes various problems in wire bonding and probe test processes.
The U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,719,074 and 4,600,833 have disclosed typical image sensors and methods for manufacturing the image sensors.

CMOS image sensor and manufacturing method thereof


An electrical connector includes a first insulative housing (21), a number of first contacts (22) retained in the first insulative housing, and a metallic shell shielding on the first insulative housing. Each first contact comprises a main portion, a contacting section (2211) in front of the base portion, and a soldering section (2201) behind the base portion. Each first contact has a first sub-contact (220) and a second sub-contact (221) stacked with each other. The first sub-contact (220) comprises a first main section (2202) and the soldering section, the second sub-contact (221) comprises a second main section (2210) and the contacting section, the first main section is superimposed on the second main section to form the main portion, and the main portion of the first contact has a larger thickness than the contacting section and the soldering section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having contacts for improved characteristic impedance.
2. Description of Related Art
At present, an electrical connector usually includes an insulative housing and a plurality of contacts received in the insulative housing, and each contact comprises a soldering portion soldered with a wire, a mating portion contacted with corresponding contact of a complementary connector, and a middle portion located between the soldering portion and the mating portion. The soldering portion, a mating portion, and the middle portion have a same thickness, thus when the mating portion contacts with a complementary contact, the total thickness of a mating section of the complementary contact and the mating portion is greater than the thickness of the middle portion. When the soldering portion is soldered with the wire, the total thickness of the soldering portion and the wire along an up-to-down direction is also larger than the thickness of the middle portion. Therefore, as the electrical connector is in a working state, mutation phenomenon of the characteristic impedance of the contact may be present, that is, the characteristic impedance of the soldering portion and the mating portion is smaller than the characteristic impedance of the middle portion. Due to the occurrence of the above situation, stability of signal transmission of the electric connector will be affected.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,088,200, issued to Bartley et al. on Aug. 8, 2006, discloses a method and structure to control common mode impedance in fan-out regions for printed circuit board applications. A differential pair transmission line includes a narrow signal trace portion in the fan-out region and a wider signal trace portion outside of the fan-out region. The narrow signal trace portion in the fan-out region has an increased thickness relative to the wider signal trace portion.
Hence, an electrical connector with improved contacts for characteristic impedance is desired.

Electrical connector with improved contacts


A fluid-filled type vibration-damping device having: an elastic body connecting first and a second mounting members; a pressure-receiving chamber formed axially below the main rubber elastic body and partially defined by the main rubber elastic body; an equilibrium chamber formed between the main rubber elastic body and a flexible film by disposing the flexible film so as to cover an outside face of the main rubber elastic body; and an orifice passage through which both chambers communicate with each other. An equilibrium-chamber-side opening of the orifice passage is situated in proximity to an axial lower end of the outside face of the elastic body. A guide groove extending axially upward is formed in proximity to the equilibrium-chamber-side opening. A projecting rib projects from the flexible film towards the guide groove is formed extending along the guide groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a fluid-filled type vibration-damping device for producing vibration damping action based on flow action of a non-compressible fluid sealed inside, and more particularly to a fluid-filled type vibration-damping device suitable for use as an automotive engine mount, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one type vibration-damping connector or vibration-damping support for installation between members making up a vibration transmission system, there has previously been proposed a fluid-filled type vibration-damping device of construction having a first mounting member and a second mounting member spaced apart from one another and connected by a main rubber elastic body; a pressure-receiving chamber a portion of whose wall is constituted by the main rubber elastic body; and an equilibrium chamber a portion of whose wall is constituted by a flexible film; as well as having an orifice passage interconnecting the two pressure-receiving chamber and the equilibrium chamber.
In such fluid-filled type vibration-damping devices, on the basis of resonance action of the fluid induced to flow through the orifice passage, it is possible to derive vibration damping action not readily achieved with the main rubber elastic body alone. Consequently, the fluid-filled type vibration-damping devices have been provided as an automotive engine mount and the like. Among these, there has been proposed a fluid-filled type vibration-damping device that, for reasons relating to vehicle layout, has the pressure receiving chamber formed to one side of the main rubber elastic body, the equilibrium chamber formed to the other side, and with the device installed in the automobile, the pressure-receiving chamber is positioned below the main rubber elastic body while the equilibrium chamber is positioned above the equilibrium chamber.
In order to achieve effective vibration damping action in a fluid-filled type vibration-damping device, it is important that flow of fluid through the orifice passage occur smoothly and stably.
The assignee proposed in the prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/188,243 (U.S. Publication No. 2003-0001322 A1), a construction employing a generally frustoconical main rubber elastic body having in proximity to the large-diameter end of an upper tapered face thereof an opening which leads to the equilibrium chamber side of the orifice passage, and having a guide groove extending in a straight line from this opening towards the small-diameter end of the upper tapered face of the main rubber elastic body. By means of furnishing this guide groove, it is possible to stabilize the condition of fluid flow between the orifice passage and the equilibrium chamber, which is particular prone to unsteady fluid flow conditions or pressure distributions caused by deformation of the flexible film; and on the basis of this stabilization to improve and stabilize vibration damping action based on resonance or other such flow action of fluid induced to flow through the orifice passage.
However, as a result of further investigation, the inventors have found that, depending on the condition of installation of the vibration damping device, the construction taught in the aforementioned prior U.S. patent application may have some unresolved problems.
Specifically, when relatively low pressure is created in the pressure-receiving chamber in association with input of vibration, thereby causing fluid to flow from the equilibrium chamber into the pressure-receiving chamber through the orifice passage, the guide groove (which as described above is formed so as to open onto the surface of the main rubber elastic body) becomes covered up by the flexible film, posing the risk that the orifice passage will become closed off. In particular, in a fluid-filled type vibration-damping device of the design described previously having a pressure-receiving chamber and an equilibrium chamber formed above and below the main rubber elastic body, the action of gravity on the fluid sealed in the equilibrium chamber and on the flexible film also acts in the direction such that the opening of the guide groove, i.e. the opening of the orifice passage, is closed off by the flexible film. Additionally, by means of fluid flow guiding action of the guide groove, large pressure fluctuations along the guide groove (which extends in a straight line from the opening of the orifice passage into the equilibrium chamber) tend to be exerted on the equilibrium chamber, and thus there is a risk that localized large pressure fluctuations will occur in the area of the guide groove, whereby the flexible film tends to be easily pulled against the opening of the guide groove.
In recent years, there has been a trend towards making the amount of sealed fluid relatively small for the purpose of reducing the weight of vibration damping devices. Under this trend, the problem of the orifice passage becoming closed off will tend to become more imminent.
Also, in recent years, there have been proposed fluid-filled vibration-damping devices of dynamic type, furnished with an electromagnetic actuator so as to be able to actively control pressure fluctuations in the pressure-receiving chamber. However, with such dynamic type fluid-filled vibration-damping devices, since the intention is to actively produce relative pressure fluctuations of the pressure-receiving chamber and the equilibrium chamber and increase the flow of fluid through the orifice passage, the problem of the orifice passage becoming blocked off due to the guide groove being covered by the flexible film as described above will tend to be more likely to occur.
If the guide groove becomes covered by the flexible film in this way, the fluid flow guiding action of the guide groove, as well as the vibration damping action per se, which is based on the flow action of the fluid induced to flow through the orifice passage, will unavoidably experience an appreciable drop. A further problem is that repeated contact of the flexible film against the corner of the opening may cause reduced durability of the flexible film.
To address such problems, it may be contemplated, for example, to employ a special multidirectional branched configuration for the guide groove so that localized pressure fluctuations are dispersed. However, not only would a guide groove of such complicated shape be difficult to produce, but the flow of fluid along the guide groove would no longer be smooth. This would have the result of hampering the basic purpose of the guide groove, namely, to increase the flow of fluid through the orifice passage and to stabilize fluid flow.

Fluid-filled type vibration-damping device


A system, computer readable medium and a method for motion detection, the method includes: receiving multiple frames; generating a set of digits for each pixel of multiple pixels of each frame of the multiple frames; wherein each set of digits represents a pixel that belongs to a patch of a frame and represents relationships between (a) first similarities between the patch and a set of patches of a next frame that are located in locations that differ from each other and differ from a location of the patch; and (b) second similarities between the patch and a set of patches of a previous frame that are located in locations that differ from each other and differ from a location of the patch; and processing the sets of digits to detect motion.

Human action recognition from video is an area of immense importance to visual surveillance, video indexing, and several other computer-vision domains. Despite of extensive research, fueled by the ongoing advancements in object recognition, the gap between the current capabilities and the applications' needs remains large.
Indeed, action recognition is challenging due to substantial variations in the video data that are caused by varying factors which include viewpoint and scale, clothing and the subject's appearance, personal style and action length, self-occlusion, multiple video objects, and background clutter.
Beyond recognition accuracy, there are other constraints on the design of action recognition methods. Ideally for several applications, such methods would work efficiently in an online manner, and require simultaneous detection of action at several possible time scales (different action lengths) and for every possible starting point.

System, method and computer program product for motion detection using sets of trinary bits


Semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics can be formed on surfaces of semiconductor fins prior to formation of a disposable gate structure. A high dielectric constant (high-k) dielectric spacer can be formed to protect each semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectric. Formation of the high-k dielectric spacers may be performed after formation of gate cavities by removal of disposable gate structures, or prior to formation of disposable gate structures. The high-k dielectric spacers can be used as protective layers during an anisotropic etch that vertically extends the gate cavity, and can be removed after vertical extension of the gate cavities. A subset of the semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics can be removed for formation of high-k gate dielectrics for first type devices, while another subset of the semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics can be employed as gate dielectrics for second type devices. The vertical extension of the gate cavities increases channel widths in the fin field effect transistors.

The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor structures, and particularly to semiconductor structures having a semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectric and a high dielectric constant (high-k) gate dielectric, and methods of manufacturing the same.
Many types of semiconductor devices can be employed in a semiconductor chip to provide various functionalities. Typically, some devices are optimized for performance, and some other devices are optimized for low power consumption. One of the methods commonly employed to provide different types of semiconductor devices is to employ multiple types of gate dielectrics. For example, a semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectric and a high-k gate dielectric can be employed on a same semiconductor substrate to provide different types of semiconductor devices.
A simple integration scheme for enabling semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics and high-k gate dielectrics on a same semiconductor substrate can employ a step of forming semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics prior to formation of source and drain regions in combination with a step of removing a subset of the semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics in regions where formation of high-k gate dielectrics is desired. However, this integration scheme results in damages and/or undercut to the semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics if employed in conjunction with any anisotropic etch that extends the depth of gate cavities. While extension of the gate cavities is desirable for the purpose of increasing the on-current of field effect transistors, degradation of the semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics should be avoided to maintain device performance. Thus, an integration scheme is desired for concurrently providing undamaged semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics and vertically extended gate electrodes.

Protection of semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectric during replacement gate formation

International Business Machines Corporation


An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device including a back light in which an electrode support member can be reliably arranged on the base side without concern for thermal expansion. There is provided a liquid crystal display device comprising: a liquid crystal display panel; and a back light arranged on the back surface of the present liquid crystal display panel; wherein the back light is composed of a plurality of bar light sources arranged in parallel in a plane opposing the liquid crystal display panel and a base that supports each of the bar light sources through electrode fittings at electrode sections; wherein the electrode fittings are provided on electrode support members extending in a direction in which the bar light sources are arranged in parallel, in units of the electrode fittings that support a mating electrode section of each bar light source; and wherein the electrode support member includes a portion fixed to the base side at least one point and a portion covered by a projecting portion fixed to the base side at another point, along the extending direction of the electrode support member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and particularly to a liquid crystal display device including a so-called direct-type back light.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the increase in size of the liquid crystal display panel, the use of the direct-type liquid crystal display device is also increasing because this type enables the homogenization of a planar light source as a back light.
With such a back light, a plurality of fluorescence tubes are arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof in a plane opposing the liquid crystal display panel with a base having an optical reflective function. Each of these fluorescence tubes is sandwiched by electrode fittings at electrode sections at both ends thereof, the electrode fittings being arranged at both ends of the base.
A plurality of electrode fittings are formed on an electrode support member made of a band-shaped conductive material extending in a direction in which the fluorescence tubes are arranged in parallel. That is, the electrode support member has a function to sandwich a plurality of fluorescence tubes.
Therefore, the plurality of fluorescence tubes in the back light are connected in parallel by means of electrode support members and electrode fittings provided at both ends of the base.
A liquid crystal display device including such a back light is disclosed, for example, in JP-A-2005-347259.

Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.


A design for the high speed identification of a pedestrian at an image is provided, having an input feature vector generation unit 23b for generating, based on an image of an object, an input feature vector u that includes as elements the object's size, the object's upper portion shape, and the object's side portion shape; a kernel discriminant analysis operations unit 23c for generating a vector y mapped to the discriminant space, through performing operations for kernel discriminant analysis based on the input feature vector, and an object determination unit 23d for determining whether the object is a pedestrian or not, depending on whether or not this vector y is within a fixed area at the discriminant space.

Conventionally, a technique has been developed wherein two cameras are mounted at a vehicle and take photographs of frontward images. Then, using those photographed images, the distance to objects at the front of the vehicle is measured.
With this technique, based on the distance between the object and the vehicle, an alarm is emitted from a display or the speakers, to the driver and the crew. Also, the vehicle's travel motions are controlled through control devices such as the brake or the engine.
For such vehicle controls, in particular, identifying whether the object at the vehicle's front is a pedestrian or not is an important element of the technique.
Regarding a vehicle periphery observation device mentioned in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-284057, an image photographed via an infrared radiation camera is processed and whether a pedestrian at the front is detected. An alarm is emitted when the possibility of a collision between the detected pedestrian and the vehicle is high.
However, the vehicle periphery observation device of this patent literature presupposes the use of an infrared radiation camera, and its image processing is done based on the heat emitted by the human body. Because of this, there is a concern that the accuracy of the pedestrian detections may fall, due to environmental fluctuations from day-night changes or the seasons.
In other words, as an example when the temperature difference between the human body and the surrounding ambient atmosphere is small, the efficiency of this observation device drops, and there is a fear that the pedestrian will not be properly detected.
An object of the present invention is to devise the high accuracy identification of pedestrians, with data based on images.
Additionally, another object of the invention is to devise the speeding up of the above-mentioned pedestrian identification, while controlling the operational load to be smaller.


A PLL circuit having a variable frequency divider circuit includes a timing circuit which ensures that data provided to a comparison counter circuit is stable before initiating a counting operation, which prevents the counter circuit from generating erroneous data.

The present invention relates to a variable frequency divider and a PLL circuit, and more particularly to a PLL circuit which generates an output signal frequency consistent with a set frequency.
In recent years, PLL circuits have been used in mobile communication equipments, such as mobile and portable telephones. In such a PLL circuit, the output signal frequency must be switched swiftly into a desired frequency in order to improve usefulness of the mobile communication equipment. Recently, a time-sharing frequency switching system has been adopted to make effective use of the frequency. In such a system, it is especially important that the output signal frequency of the PLL circuit is switched in a fast rate and a short period.
FIG. 1 illustrates a first example of a conventional PLL circuit. A shift register circuit 1 receives serial data SD in accordance with the rise of a clock signal CLK. The shift register circuit 1 then provides, for example, a 10 bits of parallel data for setting a frequency dividing ratio to a latch circuit 2. The latch circuit 2 latches the parallel data in accordance with the rise of a latch signal LE and provides a frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH to a comparison counter circuit 3. The comparison counter circuit 3 divides the frequency of an input signal IN on the basis of the frequency dividing ratio set by the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH, and provides a frequency dividing signal LD to a phase comparator 4, as a comparison signal. At the same time, the comparison counter circuit 3 receives a frequency dividing signal LD, as a load signal.
The phase comparator 4 receives the frequency dividing signal LD and a reference signal REF supplied from a reference frequency divider (not shown). The phase comparator 4 then compares the frequency dividing signal LD and the reference signal REF, and outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the difference in frequency and the difference in phase to a charge pump 5. A pull-up side transistor or pull-down side transistor of the output stage of the charge pump 5 is turned on in accordance with the pulse signal outputted from the phase comparator 4. The charge pump 5 has a loop filter 6 on the subsequent stage as a load, and increases the output voltage as the pull-up side transistor goes on and decreases the output voltage as the pull-down side transistor goes on. The loop filter 6 functions as the load of the charge pump 5, and smooths the output signal of the charge pump 5 to output a smoothed output signal to a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 7. The VCO 7 outputs an output signal of a frequency corresponding to an output voltage of the loop filter 6. The output signal is an input to the comparison counter circuit 3.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the latch circuit 2 and the comparison counter circuit 3 of FIG. 1. The latch circuit 2 comprises a plurality of D flip flop circuits 8. Each of the flip flop circuits 8 receives the parallel data output from the shift register 1. Each of the flip flop circuits 8 also receives the latch signal LE and latches the parallel data in accordance with the rise of the latch signal LE and output the frequency dividing ratio setting signals DLH.
The comparison counter circuit 3 comprises a plurality of flip flop circuits 9 connected in series. Each of the flip flop circuits 9 receives the signal DLH at its data input, and the first stage flip flop circuit 9 receives the input signal IN at its clock input CK. The signal DLH is latched by each of the flip flop circuits 9 in accordance with the input of the frequency dividing signal LD. Each output signal of the flip flop circuits 9 is input to an AND gate 10, which outputs the frequency dividing signal LD.
The comparison counter circuit 3 counts up the pulse number of input signals IN, using a value set in each of the flip flop circuits 9 by the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH as a count start value. When all of the output signals from the flip flop circuits 9 are high, a count-up operation is completed, and the AND gate 10 outputs an H level frequency dividing signal LD having a time length corresponding to one cycle of the input signal IN. When the H level frequency dividing signal LD is input to each of the flip flop circuits 9, the frequency dividing ratio is reset in each of the flip flop circuits 9, and the count-up operation resumes in accordance with the new frequency dividing ratio.
Referring now to FIG. 3, each time the clock signal CLK is input to the shift register 1, the shift register 1 outputs the parallel data. Then, when the latch circuit 2 receives the latch signal LE, the latch circuit 2 latches the parallel data in accordance with the rise of the latch signal LE and outputs the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH. Accordingly, the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH is switched in accordance with the rise of the latch signal LE. When the comparison counter circuit 3 outputs a frequency dividing signal LD, in accordance with the frequency dividing signal LD, a new frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH is received by the comparison counter circuit 3, and a new counting operation is initiated.
However, in operation, the clock signal CLK and latch signal LE are asynchronous with the input signal IN of the comparison counter circuit 3. Accordingly, the switching of the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH is asynchronous with the frequency dividing signal LD. Accordingly, if the fall of the frequency dividing signal LD overlaps a time t1 required for switching the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH, the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH received by the comparison counter circuit 3 is not stable. Therefore, a normal frequency dividing ratio is not set in the comparison counter circuit 3, thereby inviting a risk of malfunction.
FIG. 4 illustrates a second example of a conventional PLL circuit which prevents the aforementioned malfunction of the comparison counter circuit. The same parts as those of the first example will be described with the same numerals. A first latch circuit 2a is supplied with the parallel data and the latch signal LE. The first latch circuit 2a latches the parallel data, in accordance with the latch signal LE, and outputs a first frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH1 to a second latch circuit 2b. The second latch circuit 2b receives the first frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH1 and a latch signal LEC. The second latch circuit 2b latches the signal DLH1, in accordance with the latch signal LEC, and outputs a second frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH2 to the comparison counter circuit 3. The comparison counter circuit 3 generates the frequency dividing signal LD, as previously discussed.
The frequency dividing signal LD is provided to a load timing control circuit 11. The load timing control circuit 11 comprises flip flop circuits 12a to 12c and an AND gate 13. The flip flop circuit 12a receives the frequency dividing signal LD as data D and the input signal IN as a clock signal CK. The flip flop circuit 12a then outputs a latched output signal L1 in accordance with the rise of the input signal IN. The flip flop circuit 12b receives the output signal L1 as data D and the input signal IN as a clock signal CK. The flip flop circuit 12b then outputs a latched output signal L2 in accordance with the rise of the input signal IN. The flip flop circuit 12c receives the output signal L1 as a clock signal CK and the latch signal LE as data D. The flip flop circuit 12c then outputs a latched output signal L3 in accordance with the rise of the output signal L1. The AND gate 13 receives the output signals L2, L3 and outputs a latch signal LEC.
The operation of the PLL circuit thus constructed will be described with reference to FIG. 5. When the switching of the first frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH1 overlaps the falling of the frequency dividing signal LDa, the output signal L3 is kept in the L level depending on the timing of the output signal L1 and the latch signal LE, and the output of the latch signal LECa, based on the frequency dividing signal LDa, is interrupted. As the result, the comparison counter circuit 3 normally receives the frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH1, which prevents malfunction of the comparison counter circuit 3.
Specifically, when the latch signal LE is input to the first latch circuit 2a, the signal DLH1 switches in accordance with the rise of the latch signal LE. The comparison counter circuit 3 outputs a frequency dividing signal LDa that falls from high to low while the signal DLH1 switches. The frequency dividing signal LDa rises, thereafter the output signal L1a from the flip flop circuit 12a rises in accordance with the rise of the input signal IN. The frequency dividing signal LDa falls, thereafter the output signal L1a falls in accordance with the rise of the input signal IN. Therefore, the output signal L1a is in phase with the signal LDa and has a specific delay time. The delay time is set so that the output signal L1a rises prior to the latch signal LE. When the output signal L1a rises, the latch signal LE is still low. Therefore, the output signal L3 of the flip flop circuit 12c is kept low. When the output signal L1a rises, and thereafter the input signal IN rises, the output signal L2a rises. When the output signal L1 falls, and thereafter the input signal IN rises, the output signal L2 falls. Therefore, the output signal L2 is in phase with the output signal L1 and has a specific delay time.
When the output signal L2 goes high, since the output signal L3 is kept in low, the latch signal LEC is kept low. Accordingly, the second latch circuit 2b does not receive the signal DLH1, and the signal DLH2 does not switch.
When the frequency dividing signal LDb rises, while the latch signal LE is kept high, the output signals L1b, L2b are output with a specific delay time in the same manner as the output signals L1a, L2a. The output signal L3 rises in accordance with the rise of the output signal L1b, when the latch signal LE is kept high. When the output signal L1c rises in accordance with the rise of the next frequency dividing signal LDc, if the latch signal LE is low, the output signal L3 falls. Since the output signal L2b is high while the output signal L3 is low, the AND gate 13 outputs the latch signal LEC in phase with the output signal L2b.
The second latch circuit 2b latches the signal DLH1 in accordance with the latch signal LEC and outputs the second frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH2. Accordingly, the signal DLH2 is switched. The comparison counter circuit 3 receives the signal DLH2 in accordance with the next frequency dividing signal LDc, and starts to count the input signal IN in accordance with a frequency dividing ratio set by the second frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH2.
If the latch signal LE rises and thereafter the frequency dividing signal LDb rises, the latch signal LEC is generated, and the signal DLH2 is switched in accordance with the latch signal LEC.
In the second conventional example, when the frequency dividing signal LDb rises while the latch signal LE is high, the latch signal LEC goes high so that the latched second frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH2 switches.
Then, the comparison counter circuit 3 receives the signal DLH2 in accordance with the rise of the next cycle frequency dividing signal Ldc. The comparison counter circuit 3 receives the signal DLH2 after the first frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH1 is switched by the latch signal LE, which takes some time for switching the frequency dividing ratio.
When the rising of the latch signal LE and the falling of the frequency dividing signal LDa overlap, the latch signal LECa is masked, and the signal DLH2 is switched in accordance with the next frequency dividing signal LDb. The comparison counter circuit 3 receives the signal DLH2 in accordance with the rise of the next frequency dividing signal Ldc. That is, the signal DLH1 is switched by the latch signal LE and then the signal DLH2 is not received by the comparison counter until the rise of LDc. Therefore, it takes still more time for switching the frequency dividing ratio, and thus, the switching of the output signal frequency in the PLL circuit requires extra time.
Further, in order to generate the latch signal LEC in accordance with the rise of the frequency dividing signal LD after the latch signal LE rises and the first frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH1 is switched, the latch signal LE necessarily takes a longer time than one cycle of the frequency dividing signal LD. That is, the switching cycle of the first frequency dividing ratio setting signal DLH1 takes a time more than about two cycles of the frequency dividing signal LD. Therefore, the switching cycle of the frequency dividing ratio of the comparison counter circuit 3 requires a time more than about two cycles of the frequency dividing signal LD. Consequently, the switching period of the output signal frequency in the PLL circuit becomes longer.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a PLL circuit capable of switching the output signal frequency in a fast rate and a short period.

Variable frequency divider and PLL circuit


A device for forming a leakproof closure on the terminus of a tubing having an elastic wall. The device consists of a plug insertion tool and a plug. The plug is a elongate member having a convex distal end and a proximal end. The plug insertion tool has a handle portion which is dimensioned to be grasped by a user for manipulation. The distal end of the insertion tool has a rod projecting axially therefrom which is adapted to releasably engage the proximal end of the plug. The plug is dimensioned to fit snugly within the elastically distended lumen of the tubing. In operation, the plug insertion tool is releasably attached to the proximal end of the plug by engagement means such as mating threads and the distal end of the plug inserted into the open end of the tubing and advanced by means of the insertion tool. The intralumenal portion of the plug forms a leakproof seal with the elastic wall of the tubing. The plug is inserted within the tubing and advanced until the tubing drapes over a chamfer proximal to the intralumenal portion thereof. In one sheathed embodiment the intralumenal portion of the plug includes a stepped portion which provides a detent which resists removal of the plug from the tubing. Once the plug is introduced into the tubing lumen, thereby sealing the end of the tubing, the insertion tool is detached from the proximal end of the plug thereby forming a leakproof, biocompatible and removable closure in the end of the tubing. In one embodiment, a sheath overlies the intralumenal portion of the plug. In another embodiment, the plug is of unitary construction. In yet another embodiment, the plug has the general shape of an infant pacifier.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for forming a closure in the end of a tubing.
2. Prior Art
There are many instances in medicine where it is desirable to implant a catheter within the body of a patient. The catheter may be used for delivering drugs into an implanted dispensing reservoir or it may be used for introducing or removing a fluid from within an inflatable article affixed in fluid communication with the open end thereof. It is of primary importance that a fluid within the tubing is not permitted to leak from the tubing even when considerable internal or external translumenal pressure is exerted on the wall of the tubing such as may occur during capsular contracture when such a tubing is surgically implanted. To prevent such undesired fluid transfer into or out of the tubing, the open end of the tubing must be sealed prior to closing the wound after implantation of the tube within the body.
Various techniques have been employed to close the open end of a tubing, such as a catheter, wherein the lumen of the tubing may need to be accessed at a later date. One such technique is the folding over or kinking of the open end of the tube and securing it in a kinked position with a non-absorbable suture. Alternatively, a clamp may be placed on the open terminus of the tubing to prevent leakage from therewithin. Upon excision, the clamp may be removed to gain access to, and establish fluid communication with, the distal end of the tubing. In many instances, the tubing is quite small; having an inner diameter of only 1-2 mm. A plug dimensioned for intraoperative insertion into the open end of such a catheter provides a challenge to even the most dexterous surgeon. A conventional plug designed to fit within the lumen of an implanted tubing would have an outer diameter of only approximately 1-2 mm, and would be difficult to grasp, hold and manipulate and easy to drop or lose in the operative field. Further, such plugs may be easily removed by internal pressure build-up within the tubing such as occurs with mammary prostheses during the well known phenomena of capsular contracture wherein the body forms a fibrous capsule around a fluid-filled inflatable member attached to the distal end of the inflation tubing. Following implantation, the capsule subsequently contracts to compress the inflatable article. For these reasons it is desirable to provide a plug for sealing the open end of a tubing which is easy to insert intraoperatively.


A method for generating summaries of text is described. The method includes the step of extracting features from text of text lists from summaries. The explanatoriness of the text is then evaluated, wherein evaluating the explanatoriness of text includes evaluating the features of the text, including at least the step of evaluating the discriminativeness of the features of the text by comparing the text to a first text data set, wherein the first text data set is derived from a topic label. The evaluated text is then ranked based on the explanatoriness evaluation.

There are a lot of opinionated documents such as blogs, reviews and forum articles on the Web. Because of the huge volume of opinionated documents, automatic summarization techniques have been studied. Some previous opinion summarization techniques focus on predicting sentiment orientation or finding ratings of aspects. For example, to understand opinions about a currently available tablet computer "TabletXYZ", articles, blogs and reviews from websites can be reviewed. Aspects about the tablet computer, such as "OS (operating system)", battery, screen, and price can be used to classify the sentiment orientation of the associated text. Although existing techniques can show the general opinion distribution (e.g. 70% positive and 30% negative), they may not provide detailed reasons about those opinions. Thus, reviewing all of the classified texts may still be required.
In some cases, automatic summarization techniques can be helpful to reduce the length of the text of the opinionated document. However, because many automatic summarization techniques are based on "popularity" (frequently mentioned information is important), the output summary can be a repeat of already known information. For example, for the summary request for "positive opinion about TabletXYZ OS", the output summary might be "OS is good." Such an output summary is redundant with the initial summary request and does not provide any additional information.
The drawings referred to in this Brief Description should not be understood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The present disclosure relates generally to coating medical devices. In particular, the present disclosure provides materials and methods for coating a portion of a balloon catheter with a pharmaceutical agent using electrodeposition techniques. Although angioplasty and stenting can be effective methods for treating vascular occlusions, restenosis remains a pervasiveness problem. Therefore, coating portions of a balloon catheter with a pharmaceutical agent that inhibits restenosis can reduce the likelihood of restenosis.

Angioplasty is a safe and effective way to unblock coronary arteries. In a typical procedure, a catheter is inserted into the groin or arm of a subject and guided forward through the aorta and into the coronary arteries of the heart. There, blocked arteries can be opened with a balloon positioned at the tip of the catheter. Initially, angioplasty was performed only with balloon catheters, but technical advances have been made and improved patient outcome has been achieved with the placement of small metallic spring-like devices called "stents" at the site of the blockage. The implanted stent serves as a scaffold that keeps the artery open. Angioplasty and stenting techniques are widely used around the world and provide an alternative option to bypass surgery for improving blood flow to the heart muscle. There are, however, limitations associated with angioplasty and stenting, one of which is called "restenosis."
Restenosis occurs when the treated vessel becomes blocked again. For example, when a stent is placed in a blood vessel, new tissue grows inside the stent, covering the struts of the stent. Initially, this new tissue consists of healthy cells from the lining of the arterial wall (i.e., endothelium). This is a favorable effect because development of normal lining over the stent allows blood to flow smoothly over the stented area without clotting. Later, scar tissue may form underneath the new healthy lining. However, in about 25% of patients, the growth of scar tissue underneath the lining of the artery may be so thick that it can obstruct the blood flow and produce another blockage. "In-stent" restenosis is typically seen 3 to 6 months after the initial procedure. Another significant limitation of the use of stents is stent thrombosis, which, although rare (occurring in only 1% of patients), most commonly presents as acute myocardial infarction.
If restenosis occurs following balloon angioplasty, it is generally referred to as post-angioplasty restenosis or PARS. Typically, the angioplasty balloon is inserted into the vessel and its inflation physically compresses the occlusion against the artery walls, thus widening the size of the lumen and increasing blood flow. However this action can damage the vessel walls, which can cause a reactionary physiological response that can include the formation of a thrombosis immediately after the trauma, followed by an inflammatory immune response occurring 3-6 months after the initial procedure. The inflammatory response is typically accompanied by cellular proliferation in the vessel walls; this cellular proliferation can lead to restenosis. In cardiac procedures, balloon angioplasty has been associated with a high incidence of restenosis, with rates ranging from 25% to 50%, and the majority of these patients need further angioplasty within 6 months. In peripheral procedures, restenosis rates can be as high as 35%.
To combat restenosis, drug-eluding stents (DES) were developed. DES slowly release a drug that blocks cell proliferation and reduce the rates of restenosis to less than 10%. However, DES have led to new complications including, late and very late stent thrombosis as a result of delayed healing, local inflammation, and impaired endothelial function. These limitations of DES prompted a search for improved solutions for treating restenosis, such as the local delivery of drugs via non-stent platforms, including drug-eluting balloons (DEB).

Electrodeposition coating for medical devices


An exemplary image sensor package includes a substrate, an imaging area, a circuit layer and two passive components. The substrate has a first surface and a second surface, which are opposite to each other. An image sensing area is formed on the first surface of the substrate and a circuit layer is formed on the second surface of the substrate. The passive components opposite to the image sensing area are soldered to the circuit layer of the second surface.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to semiconductor packages and, particularly, to an image sensor package, camera module having the same and manufacturing method for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A camera module typically includes an image sensor package and a number of passive components, which, when interconnected, form a complete circuit. Accordingly, a circuit board is required to support the image sensor package and the passive components, and to establish the interconnection between the image sensor package and the passive components. However, the circuit board may not be beneficial for miniaturization of the camera module.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an image sensor package, a camera module having same, and a manufacturing method of image sensor package, which can overcome the above-mentioned problem.

Image sensor package, camera module having same and manufacturing method for the same


Disclosed herein is an insulating material between adjacent metal layers of a soft magnetic core, and a process for forming this insulating material. The insulating material is composed of the native metal oxides of the metallic core material.

Magnetic materials come in at least two forms, hard or soft. Hard magnetic materials are permanent magnets, which retain their magnetic properties after an energizing field is removed. An example of a hard magnetic material is a common refrigerator magnet. In contrast, soft magnet materials have a magnetic field which collapses after the energizing field is removed. Examples, of soft magnetic materials include electromagnets. Soft magnetic materials are widely used in electric circuits as parts of transformers, inductors, inverters, switch power supplies, and other applications. Soft magnetic materials are also used to make magnetic cores that provide high-energy storage, fast energy storage and efficient energy recovery. In these and other applications, magnetic cores may be used at a variety of different operational frequencies, typically ranging from 400 Hz to 20 kHz or more.
Most magnetic cores are made by winding a very thin magnetic metal strip or ribbon tightly around a substrate to form a multi-layered laminate. The wound metallic core is then subjected to a heating step, known as "annealing," to optimize its performance through heat-induced ordering of the magnetic domains in the metal. After the annealing step, the substrate may be removed and the magnetic core may be treated with binding agents to hold the adjacent metal layers together so that the core will not unwind. As known to those of skill in the art, such binding agents may include epoxies, having either one or two parts, such as Hysol #4242 resin and #3401 hardener (Olean, N.Y.), or #2076 impregnation epoxy by Three Bond Co. Treatment with a binding agent also permits the core to be processed by cutting to form C or E cores, so named because the resulting cut cores resemble a C or an E, as known to those of skill in the art.
The metal strips or ribbon layers making up a magnetic core are very thin, typically from about 0.01 to 0.3 millimeters thick. For high frequency applications of greater than 400 Hz, the individual metal layers of a wound magnetic core must also be electrically insulated from one another for the core to function properly. Without such insulation, at high frequency the magnetic core has electrical properties similar to a large metal block, and will experience large power losses due to eddy currents.
To provide insulation between layers, the prior art generally teaches coating the metal ribbon with an insulating material prior to winding the ribbon to form the core. The insulating material is typically coated on both sides of the ribbon, and functions to insulate the metal layers in the wound laminate from adjacent metal layers. One widely used coating method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,796,364 to Suchoff, which discloses a method of forming a layer of magnesium oxide on a metal ribbon surface as an insulating layer. As described in Suchoff, magnesium methylate is dissolved in an organic solvent, and the solution is applied to the metal ribbon surface. The metal ribbon is then heated to high temperature to form a strongly adherent magnesium oxide insulating film over the surface of the metal ribbon. The metal ribbon may then be wound to form the magnetic core.
There are several known disadvantages to the magnesium methylate process. First, the magnesium methylate must be applied to the metal ribbon before it may be wound into a core. Uncoiling the metal ribbon, dipping the ribbon into a bath to form the coat, heating and curing the coat, and winding the ribbon to form the core make the process slow and expensive. The magnesium methylate process is therefore not suitable to provide insulation to magnetic cores in low cost, high volume applications. Second, it is very difficult to control the thickness of the resulting magnesium oxide insulating layer. This presents a problem for certain magnetic core applications, such as pulse cores, which have high performance specifications that are difficult to achieve unless the coated magnesium methylate layer is very thin. Forming thin magnesium methylate coatings requires special processing that is very slow and difficult to control. Use of the magnesium methylate process for these applications is extremely expensive, and the resulting cores are fragile. Furthermore, even for applications where a thicker insulating layer is acceptable, valuable magnetic core space is taken up when excessive nonconductive insulating material is present. This reduces the space factor of the laminated stack so that the percentage of the core occupied by magnetic material is lessened along with the efficiency of the core. Finally, because the magnesium methylate must be coated before the annealing step, it may also interfere with the ordering of magnetic domains during annealing by inducing stress buildup between the coating and the soft magnetic material.
The magnesium methylate process also cannot be used to form insulating layers for certain types of magnetic cores. High temperatures are required to properly cure the magnesium methylate on the metal ribbon. Typically, the magnesium methylate coating must be heated to temperatures of at least 1550° F. or more to form a magnesium oxide film which firmly adheres to the metal ribbon. However, some soft magnetic materials, such as amorphous metal alloys, may not be heated to temperatures greater than about 840° F. without destroying their desirable magnetic properties. When magnesium methylate is used as an insulating material for these types of metal alloys, it is heated to much lower temperatures, and the resulting magnesium oxide layer is only loosely bound to the metal ribbon. As a result, these types of cores may not be cut to form C or E cores, because the stressful cutting operation will cause the loosely bound insulating coatings to delaminate. Only uncut cores such as toroids can be formed from amorphous metal alloys coated with the magnesium methylate process. Moreover, the present inventors know of no prior art coating process which may be used to form C or E magnetic cores of amorphous metal alloys.
Thus, there is a need for improved methods of forming thin dielectric insulation on soft magnetic metal ribbons used to make magnetic cores. There is also a need for an insulation which permits processing of amorphous metal cores to form C and E cores that can be used at high frequencies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Devices and methods for anchoring surgical sutures are provided. In general, a device as described includes an anchor assembly formed of a plurality of rigid anchor segments including a proximal segment and a distal anchor segment comprising a force transferring element, and at least one segment having at least one interdigitation element configured to create an engagement force between the at least one segment and a tissue. The device further includes a flexible member linking the plurality of anchor segments and configured to transition the anchor from a first, flexible configuration when the flexible member is in a relaxed state to a second, substantially rigid configuration when the flexible member is in a taut state.

Soft tissues, such as ligaments, tendons and muscles, are attached to a large portion of the human skeleton. In particular, many ligaments and tendons are attached to the bones which form joints, such as shoulder and knee joints. A variety of injuries and conditions require attachment or reattachment of a soft tissue to bone. For example, when otherwise healthy tissue has been torn away from a bone, surgery is often required to reattach the tissue to the bone to allow healing and a natural reattachment to occur.
A number of devices and methods have been developed to attach soft tissue to bone. These include screws, staples, cement, suture anchors, and sutures alone. Some of the more successful methods involve use of a suture anchor to attach a suture to the bone, and tying the suture in a manner that holds the tissue in close proximity to the bone.
The tissue may be attached to the bone during open surgery, or during closed (e.g., arthroscopic) surgical procedures. Closed surgical procedures are preferred since they are less invasive and are less likely to cause patient trauma. In a closed surgical procedure, the surgeon performs diagnostic and therapeutic procedures at the surgical site through small incisions, called portals, using instruments specially designed for this purpose. One problem encountered in the less invasive, closed surgical procedures is that the surgeon has significantly less room to perform the required manipulations at the surgical site. Thus, devices and methods are needed which will allow a surgeon to effectively and easily attach tissue to bone in the small spaces provided by less invasive surgical procedures.
Conventional methods for attaching soft tissue to bone typically require that the surgeon to attach the tissue to the bone using a suture. Anchoring a suture at the surgical site in closed surgical procedures, and even in open surgery, is difficult and time consuming due to inherent space constraints. Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques for anchoring surgical sutures.


A system and method for generating a thin sample, the method includes: milling an intermediate section of a thin sample such as to enable an upper portion of the thin sample to tilt in relation to a lower portion of the thin sample; wherein the lower portion is connected to a wafer from which the thin sample was formed. A system and method for inspecting a thin sample, the method includes: A method for inspecting a thin sample, the method comprising: illuminating, by a charged particle beam, a tilted upper portion of a thin sample that is connected, via a milled intermediate section, to a lower portion of the thin sample; wherein the lower portion is connected to a wafer from which the thin sample was formed; and collecting particles and photons resulting from the illumination.

In the study of electronic materials and processes for fabricating such materials into an electronic structure, a specimen of the electronic structure is frequently used for microscopic examination for purposes of failure analysis and device validation. For instance, a specimen of an electronic structure such as a silicon wafer is frequently analyzed in scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) to study a specific characteristic feature in the wafer. Such characteristic feature may include the circuit fabricated and any defects formed during the fabrication process. An electron microscope is one of the most useful equipment for analyzing the microscopic structure of semiconductor devices.
In preparing specimens of an electronic structure for electron microscopic examination, various polishing and milling processes can be used to section the structure until a specific characteristic feature is exposed.
As device dimensions are continuously reduced to the sub-half-micron level, the techniques for preparing specimens for study in an electron microscope have become more important.
SEM has a large interaction volume and collects mixed information from the surface of the inspected wafer and from deeper portions of the inspected wafer. TEM, and especially cross sectioning based TEM, enables to acquire high resolution information from sub-surface regions of the wafer. TEM requires to generate an electron transparent thin sample, and then extract the thin sample. The extraction of the sample is time consuming and can damage the thin sample.
There is an ongoing need for methods and systems for generating thin samples from wafers for improved analysis of a wafer and especially to provide a reliable and fast automatic process for generating this samples and analyzing them.

Method and system for generating and reviewing a thin sample


Control circuitry associated with an electrophotographic imaging device is adapted to operate in conjunction with a sensor to adjust a difference in electrical bias between a photoconductive surface and an associated roller. The sensor detects a reflectance or luminosity of a developed image and the control circuitry uses this detected information and information related to reflectance or luminosity of the underlying surface and the developing toner to determine whether the developed image is produced as desired. The control circuitry adjusts the difference in electrical bias between the photoconductive surface and an associated roller in response to a comparison between the detected and desired images. In one embodiment, a predetermined test pattern is developed over a range of electrical bias differences and an optimum operating point is determined from the iterations.

The electrophotography process used in some imaging devices, such as laser printers and copiers, utilizes electrical potentials between components to control the transfer and placement of toner. These electrical potentials create attractive and repulsive forces that tend to promote the transfer of charged toner to desired areas while ideally preventing transfer of the toner to unwanted areas. For instance, during the process of developing a latent image on a photoconductive surface, negatively charged toner particles may be deposited onto more positively charged latent image features (e.g., corresponding to text or graphics) on the photoconductive surface. At the same time, the negatively charged toner particles may be prevented from transferring or migrating to more negatively charged areas (e.g., corresponding to the document background) of the same photoconductive surface. In this manner, imaging devices implementing this process may simultaneously generate images with fine detail while maintaining clean backgrounds.
The precise magnitudes of these electrical potentials and the nature of the voltages (e.g., AC or DC) varies among devices and manufacturers. In general, however, a laser or optical imaging source is used to illuminate and selectively discharge portions of a photoconductive surface to create a latent image having a lower surface potential than the remaining, undischarged areas of the photoconductive surface. The toner is charged to some intermediate level between the discharge potential of the latent image and the surface potential of the undischarged photoconductive surface. The toner may be charged triboelectrically and/or via biased toner delivery control components, such as a toner adder roll, a doctor blade, and a developer roller. The developer roller supplies toner to develop the latent images on the photoconductive surface. The developed image is ultimately transferred onto a media sheet, typically by employing yet another surface potential that attracts the toner off of the photoconductive surface (or an intermediate transfer surface) and onto the media sheet where it is ultimately fused.
The difference between the surface potential of the developer roller and the surface potential of undischarged portions of a photoconductive surface is sometimes referred to as a "white vector." An optimal white vector achieves certain desirable characteristics, one of which is to provide a clean media sheet with little or no appreciable background toner in areas other than where printing is desired. The magnitude of the white vector needed to prevent background is a function of numerous factors, including developer material, environment, imaging device components, and age. Traditionally, imaging devices incorporating an electrophotography process operate with a white vector that is fixed, but large enough to overcome the factors that contribute to unwanted background.
Very large white vector values are not necessarily the most desirable solution because, although background will be limited, the density of deposited toner and detail of the resulting image may be adversely affected. Conversely, as white vector values fall, unwanted background may begin to appear. Determining an optimal WV that is somewhere between these extremes and that accounts for the aforementioned factors and varying operating conditions is a legitimate problem that is not solved by setting a fixed operating point.


A composition well suited to forming gas barrier layers in elastomeric articles is described. The barrier layer may be incorporated into, for instance, inflatable articles that are intended to contain a gas, such as air, under pressure. For example, in one embodiment, the barrier layer may be incorporated into a tire for preventing oxygen or other gaseous components from migrating through the tire. In general, the barrier layer is made from an elastomer that is combined with permeability reducing particles, such as a silicate, and a terpene hydrocarbon resin having a relatively high glass transition temperature. The terpene hydrocarbon resin can improve the processability of the composition and, in one embodiment, can even serve to improve the permeability characteristics of the barrier layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to elastomers and more specifically, to elastomers useful for inner liners of pneumatic tires.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various articles are constructed to hold a gas, such as air, under pressure. These articles include, for instance, tires, athletic balls such as basketballs, footballs, etc., inflatable boats, air mattresses, and the like. These articles are typically made from a polymeric material having some elastic properties. Tires, for instance, are typically made from an elastomeric rubber material, such as a styrene butadiene polymer.
Many elastomeric materials that are used to make inflatable articles may, in some circumstances, remain slightly permeable to gases such as oxygen. If left unchecked, the gas permeability of the inflated article may compromise the performance of the article and cause the article to deflate over time. Further, oxygen passing through the article can cause oxidation of the elastomers, causing deleterious effects to the properties of the elastomer. For instance, the elastomers may tend to harden and degrade.
In view of the above, inflatable articles, such as tires, typically contain an inner liner that is intended to reduce gas permeability and inhibit oxygen travel through the article. For instance, in the past, these inner liners have been made from a composition containing butyl rubber. Butyl rubber in its raw state, however, still remains somewhat gas permeable. Thus, many attempts have been made to combine butyl rubber with other materials in order to further reduce permeability. For example, attempts to improve the gas permeability of butyl rubber have involved adding a filler to the rubber material.
Unfortunately, great amounts of fillers need to be added to butyl rubber in order to more than minimally improve the gas permeability of the material. Adding relatively large amounts of fillers, however, may adversely affect the mechanical properties of the rubber. For instance, the rubber material may tend to be too brittle, non-flexible, and have reduced cohesion. The above effects not only adversely affect the performance of the liner material, but also make it very difficult to process the material.
In order to improve the mechanical properties of a butyl rubber and filler mixture, attempts have been made to add a plasticizer to the formulation. Plasticizers, such as oils and waxes, however, typically adversely affect the permeability properties of the rubber composition reversing the effects of adding any fillers.
As such, a need currently exists for an improved composition that may act as a barrier layer in inflatable articles, such as tires. More particularly, a need exists for a rubber composition that may be used as a barrier layer that not only has relatively low gas permeability, but that can also be easily processed by having a relatively low modulus and viscosity.


The propagation of a feedback signal, such as a DQS signal generated in response to a read request in a Double Data Rate (DDR) memory system, into a digital host system, such as an ASIC, is controlled by using a programmable delay circuit and detection sequence to compensate for variable I/O delay. The memory system includes a controller and an interface, both on the ASIC, and memory units coupled to the controller through the interface. The interface uses the read request signal, sent by the controller to initiate read operations, to generate a select signal. A programmable delay element inside the interface unit is programmed using a delay value generated by a delay manager unit inside the controller. The programmable delay element delays the select signal, and an enable signal is generated from the delayed select signal, using DQS. The propagation of DQS is controlled by the enable signal. For a number of preferred delay values that are determined through the detection sequence, the enable signal allows DQS to propagate into the ASIC only when DQS is a valid digital signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of digital interface design and, more particularly, to a system for controlling and timing the propagation of a control signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
The design of interfaces plays a significant role in the implementation of many digital systems. One example of a digital system is a Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDR SDRAM) system. FIG. 1 illustrates a common implementation of a DDR SDRAM system comprising a DDR SDRAM Controller coupled to a DDR SDRAM unit through an interface unit (Memory I/O). The Memory I/O is coupled to the DDR SDRAM unit through a set of pad circuits. In a DDR SDRAM, read-data is accompanied by a corresponding trigger signal, commonly referred to as a DQS signal. The DQS signal is commonly used by a host system, which may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) coupled to the DDR SDRAM through an interface unit such as the Memory I/O, to sample and latch the read-data. The DQS signal does not always assume a distinctly defined low state or high state, considered valid states by the ASIC, during operations that are affected by the DQS signal, but frequently assumes a high impedance state, or stays at a mid-supply level, considered invalid states by the ASIC during the aforementioned operations. The ASIC uses the DQS signal to capture the read-data. The ASIC also typically needs to ascertain when the DQS signal is in a valid state.
In current low-speed designs the ASIC may use internal timers to determine when the DQS signal is valid. Variations in delay due to process, voltage and temperature make this method very difficult to use for high-speed designs. Current solutions for high-speed systems focus on the design of special pad cells that are used in coupling the Interface unit to the DDR SDRAM. These special pad cells contain digital and analog (mixed-signal) circuit elements used in preventing the DQS signal from propagating inside the ASIC when the DQS signal resides in an invalid state. Such pad cells may require extensive design times and often result in larger than desired cell areas. Most of the time they are also slower than standard pad cells, thus degrading the overall performance of the ASIC in such instances. Therefore, there exists a need for a system and method for controlling the propagation of a signal, such as the DQS signal, and like signals, which provide a simple and inexpensive solution while tracking all delay variations that the circuit experiences during operation, without requiring the design of special pad cells.

Controlling the propagation of a control signal by means of variable I/O delay compensation using a programmable delay circuit and detection sequence


Recording peripheral image information by an electronic apparatus only when illegal use of the apparatus is determined to minimize resources and simplifying recording. The electronic apparatus includes a first memory storing a parameter representing at least one condition for the illegal use of the apparatus and a control unit for storing in a second memory image information by a photographing device that photographed a user of the apparatus after the conditions are satisfied. The control unit controls the output of the image information stored in the second memory through an output direction and directs a BIOS setup program to read out the parameter in the first memory and record the image information into the second memory and directs an operating system or an application program running on the apparatus to set and alter the parameter in the first memory via an interface in the BIOS program.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus for identifying a user in the event that the user who is not authorized to do so gains access to the apparatus and a medium having a program therefore recorded thereon, and in particular to an electronic apparatus for recording as an image the peripheral status of a system while the system is in operation and a medium having a program therefore recorded thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
A protection mechanism against illegal usage is provided on a conventional electronic apparatus such as a personal computer system (hereinafter, referred to as PC system). This protection mechanism is provided on the premise that the system knows who is the user and identifies him or her as an authorized user when he or she logs on the system. The identification of the user is normally carried out by identifying a certain knowledge that the user possesses, a certain thing that the user possesses or a certain personal feature of the user himself or herself.
Entering his or her password is used as the most common means. Moreover, there is a case where a signature pattern is used for identification of the user. In addition, identification methods using the recognition of finger prints, palm prints, hand configurations, retina patterns, voices or the like have been developed as means for identifying the user on a terminal.
As is described above, there have been devised various methods for protecting a PC system against an illegal usage by a user who is originally not authorized to gain access to the system. However, in a case where a password is entered, it has been possible to record passwords illegally used but has been difficult to identify the user.
In order to identify an illegal user, visual information on the external appearance of the user is very useful. As is seen from automated teller machines, a monitor camera is installed in the vicinity of an automated teller machine as a security system for monitoring the machine. However, since this security system has to be installed separately from the machine, a certain cost is involved. Moreover, although visual information can be recorded for monitoring, with such a system, recording is carried out at all times, and therefore, a recording medium of a large capacity is needed.
Due to this, there is caused a problem when such a security system is adopted for the PC system. In particular, with a battery-operated PC system, the operation time of the system is reduced because the battery has to be used as a power source for operating the recording system at all times for recording visual information continuously. Therefore, it is required that the peripheral status of the PC system in operation is easily recorded as image information.
To this end, an object of the present invention is to enable the identification of an illegal user of a PC system while reducing the consumption of the resource for the system. Another object of the present invention is to enable verification using the PC system without using an application program. A further object of the present invention is to enable the setting of image information recording not only from a BIOS setup program but also from an operating system or an application program.


An X-ray diagnosis apparatus of an embodiment includes: an imaging unit that includes an X-ray tube which emits an X-ray to a subject, and an X-ray detector which detects an X-ray passing through the subject; an X-ray beam limiting unit that is disposed between the X-ray tube and the X-ray detector, has a plurality of collimator blades, and can be rotated; an image processing unit that generates a fluoroscopic image of a region of interest set by the X-ray beam limiting unit; and a control unit that individually controls the plurality of collimator blades in such a way that a long side of an opening formed by the plurality of collimator blades goes in a longitudinal direction of a target within the fluoroscopic image.

Conventionally, in endovascular treatment, angiographic examination, and the like, a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel, for example, from the base of a foot, and is brought to a target site via the blood vessel. When the catheter (or a guide wire that guides the catheter) is brought to the target site, an X-ray fluoroscopic image is displayed. Watching the displayed image, a user moves the catheter or the guide wire to an affected site.
In an X-ray diagnosis apparatus, an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector (which is generally a planar detector called FPD) are so disposed as to face each other, and, on a front of the X-ray tube, an X-ray beam limiting device is provided. The X-ray beam limiting device includes collimator blades that can slide. As the collimator blades are moved, a diagnosis area of a subject is selectively irradiated with X-rays. In this manner, the X-ray diagnosis apparatus is designed to protect the subject from unnecessary X-ray exposure.
However, the X-ray beam limiting device can move only in a horizontal direction (X-direction) and a vertical direction (Y-direction) with respect to FPD. If a blood vessel region that a user wants to see extends diagonally with respect to FPD (e.g., a blood vessel at the base of a foot), the problem arises that the irradiation field becomes larger, causing unnecessary exposure.

X-ray diagnosis apparatus and X-ray diagnosis assisting method


An optical transmission network allows transmission monitoring zones to be set up or changed in a flexible manner, and allows simultaneous monitoring of communication quality for each of these monitoring zones. Also, provided is an optical transmission zone service provider that varies user fees according to communication quality in the used zones.

The present invention relates to an optical transmission network administration device, an optical transmission device, an optical transmission system equipped with these devices, a method for monitoring optical transmission networks, and a monitoring service.
An example of a monitoring method for monitoring optical data transmissions for error and performance conditions in an optical transmission network administration zones is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) Recommendation G.707, which presents a standard based on SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy). This recommendation describes R section monitoring for regenerative repeater zones, M section monitoring for multiplexed end station zones, and fixed monitoring and single-layer tandem connection monitoring such as path monitoring and tandem connection monitoring and the like.
However, such standards are typically created with a view that do not always accommodate actual operating conditions and practical maintenance requirements. Obstacles encountered during implementation and subsequent real-world experiences in the field oftentimes require more capability than anticipated by the standards on which the systems are based.
With the rapidly changing demands of the current optical communication market, there is a need for a technology in optical transmission networks to provide optical transmission administration and maintenance that is easy operate and provides flexibility in the maintenance environment.

Method and apparatus for optical network administration