A method for lifting a first well tubular nested in a second well tubular from contact with the second well tubular includes moving a wellbore intervention tool to a location where the first well tubular is in contact with the second well tubular. The well intervention tool is operated to displace a wall of the first tubular until either (i) the wall of the first tubular contacts the second tubular and separates the first tubular from contact with the second tubular, or (ii) an opening is made in the wall of the first tubular. After the opening is made, an object is displaced from the wall of the first tubular until the object contact the second tubular and lifts the first tubular from the second tubular, wherein a circumferentially continuous annular space is opened between the first well tubular and the second well tubular.

This disclosure relates to the field of subsurface well intervention. More specifically, the disclosure relates to methods for preparing a subsurface well for permanent sealing and abandonment.
When subsurface wellbores are to be permanently abandoned, the oil and gas industry has as an objective to permanently leave as many well tubulars, e.g., tubing, liner and casing in the well as possible. Leaving tubulars in the well may provide the benefit of saving considerable cost for removing, transport and disposal of the tubulars and leaving the tubulars in the well may greatly reduce safety and health hazards to personnel performing abandonment procedures. A substantial benefit in leaving tubulars in the well accrues to offshore wells, where the drilling and/or plug and abandonment rig cost for an operator is often very high.
Where a well has both casing and a tubing nested in the casing, both being disposed in the well, abandonment procedures that leave such tubulars in the well may require sealing an annular space between the casing and the tubing. A method to create a seal between the tubing and the casing is to place a barrier material, for example cement, in the annular space, the so-called "A-annulus." After sealing the A-annulus, a fluid barrier may be placed within the tubing. Such fluid barrier may comprise an expandable plug placed in the tubing and subsequently covered with cement.
However, wells are frequently drilled at inclined angles from vertical, even horizontal. Even when wells are drilled intended to be vertical, wells never precisely vertical. Even intended vertical wells tend to penetrate the ground at a non-zero angle, or inclination over at least part of the longitudinal extent. Since all wellbore tubulars are to some degree flexible, a tubing nested within a casing will have longitudinal contact with the casing along substantial areas of the casing string.
To illustrate the foregoing contact between tubing and casing, FIG. 1 illustrates part of a wellbore having a tubing "string" 12 ("tubing" hereafter for convenience) nested within a casing string 10 ("casing" hereafter for convenience). The wellbore is deviated from vertical, sometimes to fully horizontal deviation. The tubing 12 may be "jointed" tubing, that is, made by assembling segments ("joints") of tubing end to end. At the longitudinal ends of each tubing joint, typically 10 meters in length, there is a threaded coupling 14 to connect the tubing joint 12 to an adjacent tubing joint 12. The couplings 14 may have an external diameter larger than the external diameter of the tubing 12 between the longitudinal ends, such that the couplings 14 will be in contact with the inside of the casing 10 because of gravity. Due to the flexibility of the tubing joints, however, the tubing 12 will bend downward between the couplings 14 to make longitudinal contact, shown at 16, with the casing 10. As a result, a barrier material can be placed between the tubing 12 and the casing 10, but not efficiently or about the full circumference of the tubing 12 where the longitudinal contact between the tubing and the casing is present.
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of a tubing 12 in a casing 12 in a highly inclined wellbore, wherein the tubing 12 rests on the casing 10 by the action of gravity. The tubing 12 has so-called "micro tubes" 18 mounted externally. Such micro tubes 18 may be hydraulic power and control lines, electrical and/or fiber optic cables, etc. As one will observe, the tubing 12 is in contact with the casing 10 on the lower side, due to gravity and weight of the tubing 12.
FIG. 3 an arrangement of tubing and casing in a highly inclined well as FIG. 2, but without micro tubes.
Such contact as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 creates the challenge of placing a barrier material circumferentially between the tubing and the casing over the entire circumference, as pumping in such barrier material will not lift the tubing from contact with the casing so that the entire circumference may be filled with such barrier material. As a result, areas where the tubing is in contact with the casing will become possible leak paths.
There is a need for methods to lift tubing from casing to enable full-circumference filling of the A-annulus with barrier material.

Method for separating nested well tubulars in gravity contact with each other


The present invention relates to compositions and methods for the protection and restoration of hearing. In particular, the present invention relates to treatments to facilitate the protection and re-growth of the auditory nerve. The present invention further provides methods of preventing hair cell loss and the accompanying loss in hearing. The present invention thus provides novel interventions for a variety of hearing impairments.

Hearing impairment is the United State's number one disability. It has been estimated to compromise the quality of life and communication in more than 30 million Americans, and approximately 1 billion individuals worldwide. With the increase in longevity in life and the association of hearing impairment with aging, this disability is increasing in incidence and prevalence. In children, it severely affects education and future employment opportunities. In a working individual, it compromises the quality of life, job satisfaction, and productivity; and in the elderly, it leads to isolation and increased medical costs.
Sensorineural hearing loss is better known as nerve deafness. This is behind 95% of all hearing problems. It usually happens because the tiny, sound-transmitting structures deep within the ear wear down or get damaged. Sound enters the inner ear, but it doesn't get sent to the brain in the right way. Nerve deafness can be caused by loud noise, use of ear-damaging or ototoxic drugs, infections like measles and meningitis, an accident or trauma, or a birth or hereditary defect. Treatments for nerve deafness (e.g., hearing aids), allow for improved hearing and improved quality of life in some individuals.
The remaining 5% of hearing problems are due to conductive hearing loss. In these conditions, sound is not transferred from the outer to the inner ear. Conductive hearing loss can result from a punctured eardrum, severely impacted earwax (cerumen), head trauma, birth defects, or heredity.
For patients with profound deafness, cochlear implants may provide some sound and often prove quite helpful. Though they can't restore natural hearing, cochlear implants produce hearing sensations in the ear. While cochlear implants have provided a huge advance in the treatment of profound hearing impairment, patient performance remains highly variable, and even in the best cases, implant performance is far below that of the native, normal inner ear. Thus, methods of treating deafness and improving the outcome of profoundly deaf patients are needed.

The Regents of the University of Michigan


A tree-structure memory device. A tree-structure memory device comprises a plurality of bit lines formed on a substrate and arranged in at least one plane substantially parallel to a substrate surface and extending substantially in a first direction. A plurality of layers having a plurality of memory cells is arranged in a first array. At least one tree structure corresponds to a plurality of layers and a bit line, and has a trunk portion and at least one branch portion that corresponds to one of the layers. A word-line group includes at least one word line crossing with the branch portion of the tree structure at a first intersection region. A memory cell of the first array is located at the first intersection region in a layer of the layers. The first array of memory cells includes at least one memory cell comprising a phase-change-material layer disposed between the word line and the branch portion of the tree structure at the first intersection region without an intervening current-steering element.

Currently, three-dimensional (3-D), solid-state memories based on polysilicon diodes and antifuses are beginning to be commercialized and promise to be less expensive than the current low-cost leader in solid-state memory, two bit-per-cell NAND flash memory. 3-D memories increase chip capacity by a large factor over conventional memories. In this way, cost per bit can be significantly reduced. However, vertically stacked memories produced to date have limited application, because they can not be rewritten. Also, only one bit per cell can be stored, because the antifuses are either blown or not-blown.
In one simple approach, a rewritable, variable-resistance memory element would take the place of the antifuses, and would be compatible with a polysilicon diode. Therefore, it is expected that such a memory element would be unipolar with the same direction of current flow for both writing and erasing the memory element, and that it would be able to withstand the high temperatures used for polysilicon diode fabrication. Moreover, it is expected that the current density during operations of writing and erasing the memory cell should not exceed the current-carrying capacity of polysilicon diodes.
Many skilled in the art feel that phase-change memory (PCM) has the best chance to compete with flash memory in the future. Although a PCM is a unipolar, variable-resistance device, it requires a high current during reset, and is not stable at high temperature. In conventional two-dimensional (2-D) PCM, these problems are avoided, because single crystal diodes are grown directly up from the silicon substrate at high temperature before any temperature sensitive phase-change (PC) material is deposited in fabrication. Unfortunately, this approach is not feasible for a vertically stacked memory device, such as a 3-D PCM, because of the temperature sensitivity of the PC material to any subsequently deposited polysilicon in which current-steering elements, e.g. diodes, are formed.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A method for distinguishing between calcified atherosclerotic tissue and either fibrous atherosclerotic tissue or normal cardiovascular tissue. The present method is based on the discovery that, when irradiated with a beam of monochromatic infrared light, calcified atherosclerotic human aortic tissue produces a Fourier Transform Raman spectrum which is distinguishable from analagous spectra obtained from fibrous atherosclerotic human aortic tissue and normal human aortic tissue. Some salient differences in the respective Raman spectra are the presence of five Raman bands at Raman shifts of 957, 1071, 1262-1300, 1445, and 1659 cm.sup.-1 (.+-.4 cm.sup.-1 for all shifts) for the calcified tissue as compared to three Raman bands at Raman shifts of 1247-1270, 1453 and 1659 cm.sup.-1 (.+-.4 cm.sup.-1 for all shifts) for the fibrous tissue and three Raman bands at Raman shifts of 1247-1270, 1449 and 1651 cm.sup.-1 (.+-.4 cm.sup.-1 for all shifts) for the normal tissue. In addition, it was discovered that the ratios of intensities for the Raman bands at 1659 and 1453 cm.sup.-1 and at 1254 and 1453 cm.sup.-1 were 0.69 and 0.53, respectively, for the calcified tissue, 1.02 and 0.85, respectively, for the fibrous tissue and 1.2 and 0.83, respectively, for the normal tissue.

The present invention relates to a method for distinguishing between calcified atherosclerotic tissue and fibrous atherosclerotic tissue or normal cardiovascular tissue using Raman spectroscopy.
It is well known that deposits of plaque on cardiovascular tissues, such as on the interior walls of arteries, can severely restrict or completely block the flow of blood therethrough. Such plaque typically exits in two forms, namely, as calcified plaque or as fibrous plaque. Calcified plaque is more rigid and more difficult to remove than fibrous plaque.
As can readily be appreciated, methods for detecting deposits of calcified plaque and/or fibrous plaque on blood vessels have substantial utility in the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular ailments.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,806 to Deckelbaum, which is incorporated herein by reference, a process and apparatus for ablating atherosclerotic tissue is disclosed. The process comprises directing a low power ultraviolet laser having a wavelength outside the band of visible wavelengths at a selected section of a blood vessel to cause fluorescence of the tissue in said section, analyzing the frequency spectrum of such fluorescence to determine whether the section of the blood vessel at which said low power laser is directed is normal or atherosclerotic, providing a high power laser having an output in the form of pulses, the pulse duration and pulse energy per unit area of said pulses being selected so as to cause ablation without charring, directing the pulses from said high power laser at said section if said step of analyzing the frequency spectrum indicates that said section is atherosclerotic, continuing to irradiate the tissue with said low power ultraviolet laser energy to cause said tissue to fluoresce, and discontinuing the laser ablation process when the fluorescence pattern of the tissue indicates that it is no longer atherosclerotic.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,417 to Kittrell et al., there is also disclosed a method for diagnosis of the type of tissue in an artery, including distinguishing artery wall from atheromateous plaque using visible fluorescence spectral information.
While the above-described processes are suitable for detecting fibrous atherosclerotic tissue, they cannot be used to detect calcified atherosclerotic tissue since calcified atherosclerotic tissue and normal cardiovascular tissue have indistinguishable fluorescence spectra.
A variety of spectroscopic methods for detecting calcified atherosclerotic tissue are described by R. H. Clarke et al. in "Spectroscopic Characterization of Cardiovascular Tissue," Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, Vol. 8, pp. 45-59 (1988). In particular, Clarke et al. discuss using visible Raman spectroscopy to analyze the surface of diseased and healthy tissue sites on postmortem specimens of calcified aortic valve leaflets and coronary artery segments.
In "Raman Spectroscopy of Atherosclerotic Plaque: Implications for Laser Angioplasty," Radiology, Vol. 177, pp. 262 (Nov. 1990 Supplement), Redd et al. disclose using visible Raman spectroscopy to analyze human cadaveric aorta, percutaneous peripheral atherectomy, and surgical endarterectomy samples and conclude that Raman spectroscopy allows fatty plaque to be distinguished from a normal artery.
One disadvantage to using visible light to illuminate biological materials for analysis by Raman spectroscopy as described above is that a significant fluorescence background is usually obtained. Consequently, to obtain the Raman spectrum, one must assume the fluorescence profile and subtract it from any observed signal. This method is inaccurate and difficult to use.
In "Applications of Near-Infrared Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy in Biology and Medicine," Spectroscopy, Vol. 5, No. 7, pp. 24-32 (1990), Nie et al. disclose that fluorescence-free Raman spectra were obtained from pigmented squirrel eye lenses, normal and cataracious human eye lenses, intact bones and teeth, various woody tissues, human and chicken sclera, blood vessels, liver tissue, muscles, cartilage and tobacco mosaic virus using near-infrared Fourier Transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy.
In "Human Breast Tissue Studied by IR Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy," Lasers in the Life Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 1-6 (1991), Alfano et al. disclose that fluorescence-free Raman spectra of benign breast tissues, benign tumor tissues, and malignant tumor tissues were obtained using IR FT Raman spectroscopy, and note that the difference in the relative intensity between the 1445 and 1651 cm.sup.-1 Raman lines, as well as the number of Raman lines in the different tissues, offers a potentially new optical diagnostic to detect cancer.

Method for distinguishing between calcified atherosclerotic tissue and fibrous atherosclerotic tissue or normal cardiovascular tissue using Raman spectroscopy


A control apparatus for a vehicle equipped with an engine senses a condition indicating the capacity of the battery of the vehicle. When the capacity is below a prescribed level, the drive current to an actuator of the vehicle is adjusted to prevent the battery from becoming excessively discharged. In one form of the invention, the drive current is decreased to decrease the load on the battery. In another form of the invention, the actuator is controlled to increase the engine speed, thereby increasing the output of a generator driven by the engine. In another form of the invention, the actuator is controlled to stop the engine. When the engine is restarted, the initial rotational speed of the engine is high enough for the generator to recharge the battery.

This invention relates to a control apparatus for an arrangement in which an electrical generator is driven by an internal combustion engine. More particularly but not exclusively, it relates to a control apparatus for a vehicle such as automobile or a boat which can prevent failure of an electrical control system for the vehicle when an engine of the vehicle is operating at a low speed.
Automobiles, boats, and other types of vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine are frequently equipped with a wide variety of electrically-powered actuators, such as windshield wipers, fuel pumps, head lights, and ignition coils. Furthermore, modern vehicles commonly have an electronic control unit for controlling the engine. When the engine of such a vehicle is rotating above a certain speed, the electrical power for the actuators and the control unit is provided by an electrical generator driven by the engine. However, when the engine is running at a low rotational speed, such as when an automobile is idling or a boat is trolling, the output of the generator may be insufficient to power all the actuators, so at this time power is drawn from a storage battery of the vehicle. If the engine is run at a low rotational speed for a long period, the charge on the battery will gradually decrease, and the charge may fall to a level at which the battery can no longer supply sufficient current to the actuators or the control unit. As a result, they may malfunction and cause the engine of the vehicle to stop.


A data processing device comprises a state manager for determining a logic number of configurational information to be used in a next state, the logic number representing information on a mutual relationship between items of configurational information included in an object code, based on a present operational state, a group of candidates for a state to transit to next, and an event signal issued from arithmetic units, a configuration number converter for outputting a real number corresponding to the logic number determined by the state manager, the configuration number converter having conversion information for converting the logic number into a real number representing a location where the corresponding configurational information is actually stored, and a configurational information storage for storing the configurational information and indicating configurational information corresponding to the real number output from the configuration number converter, to the arithmetic units and an interconnector.

Information processing apparatus have been finding wider use and have been required to have an ability to perform sophisticated arithmetic processing and to process a large amount of data such as of images and moving pictures at a high speed. There has heretofore been known an arrangement including, in addition to a host processor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) dedicated to certain arithmetic operations and processing operations for reducing the processing burden on the host processor, namely a CPU or the like, to increase the processing capability of an information processing apparatus.
In recent years, information processing apparatus have been required to perform compressing/expanding processes and arithmetic processing operations according to various standards on multimedia data such as of images, moving pictures, speech, music, etc., and various protocols have been used for communication processes for sending and receiving various data via networks such as the Internet, etc. Furthermore, concern over the security of information sent and received over networks has resulted in needs for encrypting processes for information security and decrypting processes for decrypting encrypted information. If the information processing apparatus incorporate many DSPs and ASICs for performing such processes, then the information processing apparatus will be large in circuit scale and cost.
There has been known an arrangement wherein an information processing apparatus incorporates a data processing device comprising a reconfigurable device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), or a DRP (Dynamically Reconfigurable Processor), and, when necessary, the program in the data processing device is rewritten to process data for thereby increasing the throughput of the information processing apparatus, reducing the cost thereof, and meeting various processing demands.
The reconfigurable device includes an internal memory for storing programs (object codes) therein. Under the control of a CPU, object codes stored in an external memory are loaded into the internal memory, and a circuit is configured in the reconfigurable device according to the loaded object codes for processing data input to the circuit.
Details of the DRP are disclosed, for example, in Patent document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-138579), Patent document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-224025), Patent document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-232354), Patent document 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-232162), Patent document 5 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-076668), Patent document 6 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-099409), Non-patent document 1 (Hideharu Amano, Akiya Jouraku, Kenichiro Anjo, "A Dynamically Adaptive Hardware on Dynamically Reconfigurable Processor", IEICE Transactions, Vol. E86-B, No. 12, pp. 3385-3391, 2003). The DRP comprises an arithmetic device for performing arithmetic operations and a controller for controlling the operation of the arithmetic device. The arithmetic device comprises a plurality of small-scale arithmetic units and an interconnection device for changing connections between the arithmetic units.
The DRP is capable of performing various types of processing operations. For example, while the DRP is performing a processing operation, it may read other data from a memory and continue the processing operation using the read data. Though the DRP has an internal memory, the internal memory often has a limited storage capacity. Therefore, when the DRP needs to refer to a table or data which requires a large storage capacity while the DRP is performing a processing operation, it is necessary to access a memory which stores the table or the data. A processing method for such memory access is disclosed, for example, in Patent document 7 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-222141) and Patent document 8 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-222142).
For performing a processing operation based on an object code made up of one or more configurational information generated depending on data to be processed, the data processing device of the background art employs a method of performing the processing operation by directly designating the position of the configurational information that is stored in the data processing device.
The configurational information refers to information required to hypothetically configure a circuit in the data processing device, including arithmetic instructions for arithmetic units at a certain time, information representative of the connected relationship between the arithmetic units in the interconnection device, and information representative of the relationship between an event signal and configuration information to be selected next depending on the event signal. The object code indicates a set of configurational information required to perform a desired processing operation.
According to the above method, however, when a plurality of object codes are installed in the data processing device, if the stored positions of the configurational information of the object codes overlap each other, then the object codes need to be combined again so that they will not overlap each other.
If a plurality of object codes or a large-sized object code is installed in the data processing device beyond the number of items of configurational information that can be held by the data processing device, then the data processing device needs to perform a series of processing operations including shutdown, replacement of the object code or codes that have been held, and restart. In order to perform such operations, the data processing device requires an external processing unit such as an MPU or the like. Since the data processing device of the background art can have configurational information installed only in the location determined at the time the object codes are combined, if configurational information made up of codes having the same function is to be installed in a different location, then it is necessary to prepare a plurality of items of configurational information made up of is codes having the same function. As the configurational information cannot be shared, the data processing device has been problematic in that its processing operations tend to be slow because the data processing device holds a plurality of items of identical configurational information and rewrites the same configurational information.

Converting logical to real number to access shared configuration information in event driven state transiting reconfigurable system


There is disclosed a guide device for guiding an endoscope. The guide device includes an elongate, tubular guide body so flexible as to be bent. An insertion portion of the endoscope is adapted to be inserted into and guided by the guide body. A direction indication mechanism is mounted on an inner periphery of a front end portion of the guide body. The direction indication mechanism includes an annular holder member, and a displacement member supported by the annular holder member for displacement circumferentially of the holder member under the influence of gravity. The endoscope itself is not provided with a direction indication mechanism, and by observing the displacement member from the inner side of the front end portion of the guide body, the direction is confirmed.

This invention relates generally to an elongate guide device for guiding an endoscope, and more particularly to a guide device having a direction indication mechanism by which the actual direction of each portion of an image obtained by the endoscope can be confirmed.
Generally, an endoscope comprises a body, an insertion portion extending from the body, and a rigid tip member mounted on a distal end of the insertion portion. An inspection window is provided at a distal end face of the tip member. An image entering from the inspection window is observed from an ocular portion of the body through an optical transmission system passing through the insertion portion.
When the insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted into a tube of a complicated shape so as to observe the inner surface of this tube, the actual direction of each portion of an image obtained or picked up by the endoscope is not confirmed, for example, because of a torsion of the insertion portion. Therefore, even if a defect can be found on the inner surface of the tube, the direction in which this defect exists (that is, whether the defect is in the right, the left, the upper or the lower direction) is not confirmed.
In order to overcome such a disadvantage, there have been proposed endoscopes, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 62-63910 and 2-68024, which incorporate a direction indication mechanism for confirming the actual direction of each portion of a picked-up image.
The direction indication mechanism of the former publication is provided within a tip member of the endoscope as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 of this publication, and more specifically this mechanism is disposed between an inspection window and a distal end of an image guide, and has a ball 12 which is limited in axial movement by a pair of transparent plates 11 but is movable in circumferential and radial directions. Therefore, part of this ball can be observed as part of an image from an ocular portion provided on a body of the endoscope. The ball is always located at the lower side by gravity, and therefore the upper and lower directions with respect to the image can be confirmed by observing the ball. In embodiments shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 of this publication, there is used a transparent disk 15 rotatably supported by an annular bearing 14. The center of gravity of this disk 15 is eccentric from the axis of rotation thereof, and a direction indication mark 16 is provided on that portion of this disk always kept at the lower side. However, in the direction indication mechanism disclosed in this publication, the ball 12 or the mark 16 appears in the image, and accordingly the field of vision is narrowed, which has resulted in a problem that the image can not be observed satisfactorily.
The direction indication mechanism disclosed in the latter publication includes a forwardly-extending wire 26 secured to a tip member of the endoscope, and a weight 28 secured to a distal end of this wire. The wire is elastically deformed by the weight. The direction of deformation of the wire is the direction of the gravity, and by observing this, the upper and lower directions with respect to the image can be confirmed. In the direction indication mechanism of this publication, there has been encountered a problem that since the wire hanging down across the field of vision, the image can not be observed satisfactorily.
The basic construction of a guide device for an endoscope is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,649.


Minimum Federal Safety Standards for corrosion control on buried oil & gas pipelines stipulate that metallic pipes should be properly coated and have impressed-current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems in place to control the electrical potential field around a protected pipe. In certain examples described herein, electrically-conductive composites can be used and provide intrinsically-safe materials without the dielectric shielding issues of existing materials used with pipelines. As reacted by customary spray applications, the nanocomposite foams described herein are directly compatible with ICCP functionality wherever foam contacts the metallic pipe. Various compositions and their use with underground and/or above ground pipelines are described.

To adequately protect underground pipelines, specialized coatings (e.g. —fusion-bonded epoxies) must conduct cathodic protection (CP) current when a coating disbondment occurs. Industry experts have long emphasized that most external corrosion on pipelines is caused by disbonded coatings that electrically shield the exposed metallic substrate from the well-known benefits of CP.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electrically-conductive compositions and methods of using them with pipelines


A conveyor belt system for intermittently controllably transporting and arresting workpieces. The belt band of a conveyor belt runs between two upward facing shanks of an H-profile track. The conveyor belt is either actively or passively lowered in the area of the appropriate work station so that a workpiece carrier comes to rest on the U-shaped ends of a base support with positional exactness. During working on the workpiece, the belt band runs through underneath the workpiece carrier. The forces resulting from working on the piece are taken up by the two U-shaped ends of the base support. For the further transport of the workpiece carrier the belt band of the conveyor belt is again raised to contact the work piece carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a conveyor belt system for intermittently controllably transporting and arresting goods, so that work can be performed on the transported goods without damage to the conveyor belt.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the transport and positioning of work pieces conveyor belt systems are frequently used in modern assembly technology. Since the processing of work pieces is normally done at rest, the work pieces carriers, on which the work pieces are carried, are removed from the conveyor belt at the appropriate work station.
From DE-PS 38 32 845 there is known an assembly station with a positioning- and stop-arrangement. In this arrangement the work piece carrier is lifted off the conveyor belt and the stop arrangement is correspondingly loaded during the working processing of the work piece.
If the work takes place on the halted conveyor belt without lifting off the work piece carrier, abrasion and wearing can appear after many insertion, pressing in, or other operations. The conveyor belt must thus be so constructed as to be able to tolerate such pressure loads.
From CH 669 167 A5 a conveyor belt device is known in which the work piece carrier is with frictional engagement taken along a train drawgear. Upon stopping of the workpiece carrier the frictional engagement remains intact.
From DE-AS 26 44 240 is known the original generic gathering conveyor, in which a laterally driven apron or slat conveyor circulates disposed between two conveyor surfaces. The conveying surfaces are respectively formed of multiple, successive rollers. The apron or slat conveyor can in sections be raised by means of lift tracks. In the raised condition the slat conveyor contacts with the under side of the goods to be transported. Thereby there is effected the conveyance of the goods. In the lowered condition no contact is made between the slat conveyor and the goods to be transported. The slat conveyor runs freely passing underneath the goods to be transported. The lift tracks are pneumatically raised and lowered by means of inflatable airsacks. The goods to be transported rest during transport simultaneously on both the slat conveyor and on the rollers. Upon lowering of the slat band the goods to be transported can roll on.
From DE 38 32 465 A1 a conveyor system is known for loading and unloading of automobiles. The conveyor system is built on an H-shaped profile track.


A semiconductor laser diode including a substrate, and a first semiconductor layer, an active layer, a second semiconductor layer and an electrode sequentially formed on the substrate is provided. In the semiconductor laser diode, the second semiconductor layer has a ridge and the electrode is formed on the ridge of the second semiconductor layer at a width which is less than the width of the ridge.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor laser diode, and more particularly, to a semiconductor laser diode having a ridge-shaped layer on an active layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor laser diodes require high optical extraction efficiency against applied power, research is being conducted to optimize their structure.
A typical semiconductor laser diode having a p-type electrode contacting the entire surface of a p-type cladding layer has difficulty in operating in a single transverse mode using laser light generated in an active layer. Thus, a ridge-shaped cladding layer is formed on the active layer in order to achieve single transverse mode operation.
FIG. 1 illustrates a path which carriers flow from a p-type electrode 15 to an n-type electrode 17 in a conventional semiconductor laser diode having a ridge. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional semiconductor laser diode includes a substrate 10, an n-semiconductor layer 11, an n-cladding layer 12, an active layer 13 having a multi-quantum well (MQW) structure, a ridge-shaped p-cladding layer 14, and the p-type electrode 15 formed sequentially on the substrate 10. The conventional semiconductor laser diode further includes the n-type electrode 17 formed on a portion of the n-semiconductor layer 11 where the n-cladding layer 12 is absent. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the conventional semiconductor laser diode with the ridge-shaped p-cladding layer 14 and the p-type electrode 15, formed on the active layer 13 restricts the path along which current is injected into the active layer 13.
By increasing a ridge width in a semiconductor laser diode having a ridge, optical output power may be improved.
However, in the conventional ridged semiconductor laser diode in which the dimension of the p-type electrode 15 is equal to that of the ridge, a maximum output power can be increased by a limited degree and a saturated voltage drop occurs even when the ridge width is increased. This results from current crowding.
FIG. 2 illustrates the carrier density distribution for the conventional ridged semiconductor laser diode of FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a high density of carriers flowing along a path from a portion 15a of the p-type electrode 15 close to the n-type electrode 17. Also as is evident from FIG. 3, this current crowding leads to a non-uniform carrier density distribution.
In this way, the conventional ridged semiconductor laser diode suffers current crowding on the ridge having the same dimensions as the p-type electrode 15. That is, carrier density is high in a portion of the ridge close to the n-type electrode 17. The current crowding effect becomes more severe as ridge width increases.
FIG. 3 illustrates a change in voltage with respect to a ridge width for the conventional ridged semiconductor laser diode of FIG. 1 when current of 100 mA is applied. As evident from FIG. 3, voltage is not substantially further reduced when the ridge width exceeds a predetermined value, e.g. 4 μm, which is called voltage saturation.
As described above, in the conventional ridged semiconductor laser diode in which the dimensions of the p-type electrode 15 are equal to that of the ridge, a maximum output power cannot be further increased and a saturated voltage drop occurs when a ridge width exceeds a predetermined value due to current crowding. Non-uniform carrier distribution due to current crowding also may cause reliability problems such as degradation due to local heating.


The chemical mechanical polishing pad is suitable for polishing at least one of semiconductor, optical and magnetic substrates. The polishing pad includes a polymeric matrix with an elastomeric polymer distributed within the polymeric matrix. The polymeric matrix has a glass transition above room temperature; and the elastomeric polymer has an average length of at least 0.1 μm in at least one direction, represents 1 to 45 volume percent of polishing pad and has a glass transition temperature below room temperature. The polishing pad has an increased diamond conditioner cut rate in comparison to a polishing pad formed from the polymeric matrix without the elastomeric polymer.

This specification relates to polishing pads useful for polishing and planarizing substrates, such as semiconductor substrates or magnetic disks.
Polymeric polishing pads, such as polyurethane, polyamide, polybutadiene and polyolefin polishing pads represent commercially available materials for substrate planarization in the rapidly evolving electronics industry. Electronics industry substrates requiring planarization include silicon wafers, patterned wafers, flat panel displays and magnetic storage disks. In addition to planarization, it is essential that the polishing pad not introduce excessive numbers of defects, such as scratches or other wafer non-uniformities. Furthermore, the continued advancement of the electronics industry is placing greater demands on the planarization and defectivity capabilities of polishing pads.
For example, the production of semiconductors typically involves several chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processes. In each CMP process, a polishing pad in combination with a polishing solution, such as an abrasive-containing polishing slurry or an abrasive-free reactive liquid, removes excess material in a manner that planarizes or maintains flatness for receipt of a subsequent layer. The stacking of these layers combines in a manner that forms an integrated circuit. The fabrication of these semiconductor devices continues to become more complex due to requirements for devices with higher operating speeds, lower leakage currents and reduced power consumption. In terms of device architecture, this translates to finer feature geometries and increased numbers of metallization levels. These increasingly stringent device design requirements are driving the adoption of smaller and smaller line spacing with a corresponding increase in pattern density. The devices' smaller scale and increased complexity have led to greater demands on CMP consumables, such as polishing pads and polishing solutions. In addition, as integrated circuits' feature sizes decrease, CMP-induced defectivity, such as, scratching becomes a greater issue. Furthermore, integrated circuits' decreasing film thickness requires improvements in defectivity while simultaneously providing acceptable topography to a wafer substrate; these topography requirements demand increasingly stringent planarity, line dishing and small feature array erosion polishing specifications.
For several years, polyurethane polishing pads, such as the IC1000™ polishing pad from Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials CMP Technologies have provided excellent planarization of patterned semiconductor wafers, but the polymeric microballoons are difficult to disperse uniformly and have a broad particle size distribution. These polishing pads have polyurethanes matrices that contain hard and soft segments. Chemically, the soft segments comprise the high molecular weight long chain glycol component of the formulation. Commonly used glycols include polyether glycols (such as polytetramethylene glycol or polypropylene glycol), or polyester glycols (such as poly ethylene adipate glycol). The mobility of molecular chains in the soft segment, which depends on their chemical nature and chain length, results in increased flexibility, toughness and impact resistance. Phase separation increases with increasing chain length and decreasing polarity of the soft segment due to less hard segment/soft segment interaction. Preferred molecular weights are in the 1,000 to 4,000 range. At higher molecular weights, especially at low hard segment amounts, there is a tendency for the soft segments to crystallize that reduces the elastomeric benefits conferred by the soft segments. Soft segments alternate with hard segments that are stiff oliourethane units, principally composed of reacted isocyanate and chain extender moieties. Hard segments act as pseudo cross-links and control the dimensional thermal stability of polyurethanes. Thus, hard segments control properties such as strength and stiffness at elevated temperatures.
The high molecular weight long chain glycols terminate with reactive groups that react with isocyanates to form urethane linkages. Therefore, since the glycols become an integral part of the polyurethane molecular structure and, as such, this limits their ability to phase separate into large discrete domains. Thus, the glycol chains become the connective links between the hard segments rather than existing as well-defined phase domains. As illustrated in the Polyurethane Handbook, 2nd Edition, Edited by Oertel, on page 40, hard and soft domains are intimately mixed at length scales of less than 100 nm. Although these hard and soft domains can provide excellent polishing properties, their scale is too small to impact large-scale-morphology-related properties.
Polyurethane alternative pads, such as polybutadiene pads containing cyclodextrin particles disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,264, to Hasegawa et al., have achieved limited commercial applicability. Since Hasegawa et al. introduce the solid cyclodextrin particles by conventional milling techniques, however, it is difficult to achieve a good dispersion having uniform particle size; and agglomeration is a problem.
Huh et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,747, disclose a polishing pad that includes a liquid mineral phase distributed in a polyurethane matrix. Although the mineral oil is added as a liquid and fairly easy to disperse uniformly, it remains as a liquid phase in the final pad, can leach from the pad during polishing and can contaminate the polished wafer surface.
Shiro et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,107, disclose polyurethane pads impregnated with acrylate monomers polymerized as a second discrete manufacturing step. The disadvantages of this process is the complex, multi-step sequential manufacturing process involving first polyurethane foam formation, impregnation with an acrylic monomer, followed by subsequent free radical polymerization of the monomer.
There is an ongoing need for improved polishing pads that have superior planarization ability in combination with improved defectivity performance for a variety of electronic applications. Additionally, in order to ensure high wafer throughput, high removal rates and short pad break-in times are required. Furthermore, as semiconductor manufacturing move to increasing temperatures, there is a greater desire for polishing pads with stable polishing performance at high temperatures and over a greater temperature range. Finally, these polishing pads all require manufacturability, pad-to-pad consistency and within pad uniformity.

Elastomer-modified chemical mechanical polishing pad

Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials CMP Holdings Inc.


Systems for providing automated diagnosis of problems for an electronic network include a central diagnosis engine configured to include modules that rank identified policy/configuration changes into potential causes, verify the ranked potential causes and determine whether any of the ranked potential causes is a likely cause or contributor to the problem. An estimator module is configured to calculate distances associated with the ranked potential causes such that a list of potential causes of the problem can be presented in order of likelihood. Other systems and methods are also provided.

Communications networks and systems have become increasing complex. Sophisticated networks typically include a large number of elements or system components. Management of these networks often requires information and knowledge about these elements or combinations of elements such that problems can be readily resolved.
System administrators who manage these complex networks are expected provide a highly reliable and secure system. To provide a continuously high level of service, the system administrators have become problem solvers. The system administrators are often expected to respond to and understand the impact of changes to the network made by both authorized personnel and intruders, such that they can avoid or resolve problems in a timely fashion. Thus, system administrators should be knowledgeable about elements, rules, characteristics and other data related to the operation, management and control of the network. As networks continue to grow in size and complexity, it is becoming increasingly difficult for system administrators to remain informed of the operation of each element of the network using existing tools available to manage the elements. Further, the ability of system administrators to identify causes of problems is likewise diminished by the sheer complexity involved. However, having access to such information and being able to quickly identify problem causes have become pre-requisites for timely resolution of problems that arise in complex modern networks.
Thus, heretofore-unaddressed needs exist for a solution that addresses the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Automated diagnosis for computer networks

AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc.


A porous membrane with the membrane wall constructed of a hydrophobic polymer and a hydrophilic polymer, wherein when the membrane wall is divided into 3 sections in the film thickness direction to form region “a” containing one wall surface A of the membrane wall, region “c” containing the other wall surface C and region “b” between region “a” and region “c”, the hydrophilic polymer content ratio Ca in region “a” is greater than the hydrophilic polymer content ratio Cc in region “c”, and the mean pore size of the wall surface C is larger than the mean pore size of the wall surface A.

Conventional processes employed for removing microbial particles such as yeast or bacterial cells from aqueous solutions include gel filtration processes, centrifugal separation processes, adsorptive separation processes, precipitation processes and membrane filtration processes. However, gel filtration processes are difficult to apply for industrial purposes because the target substances are diluted by the solvents used for gel filtration, rendering such processes unsuitable for bulk treatment. Centrifugal separation processes can only be applied for microbial particles with sizes of several μm or greater, and for aqueous solutions of low viscosity. Adsorptive separation processes can be utilized for removal of certain trace microbial particles, but the processes cannot be applied for aqueous solutions in which many different microorganisms are dispersed in large quantities. Precipitation processes can be utilized for treatment of relatively large amounts of aqueous solutions, but microbial particles cannot be completely removed by such processes alone.
On the other hand, membrane filtration processes that employ microfiltration membranes or ultrafiltration membranes can remove various types of microorganisms and are suitable for industrial use as they permit continuous bulk treatment.
Examples of membranes used in such membrane filtration processes include polysulfone hollow fiber membranes having large pore sizes on the inner surface and having small pore sizes on the outer surface, as described in Patent document 1 or Patent document 2.

Porous membrane, process for producing porous membrane, process for producing clarified liquid, and porous-membrane module


A lighting circuit, in particular for a motor vehicle light, comprises at least one light source, particularly of the LED type, defined by a first voltage selection, a first selection circuit to identify said first voltage selection, at least one light source, particularly of the LED type, defined by a second voltage selection, and a second selection circuit to identify said second voltage selection. An electronic control unit configured to detect said first and second voltage selection of the light source, and to regulate the driving current absorbed by the light source defined by the lower voltage selection, so that said driving current follows with a constant ratio the trend of the driving current absorbed by the light source defined by the higher voltage selection, the latter being taken as reference.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting circuit, in particular with LED light sources, for making vehicle lights.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known in the art, some light sources (LEDs in particular) are supplied by manufacturers classified according to their voltage, flow category, or flow selection. The term "voltage selection" refers to a voltage range within which the junction voltage characteristic of a category lies, as obtained by supplying the LED with its nominal current. The phrase "a light source having a certain flow selection" means that the source, when driven at nominal voltage, emits a luminous flow variable within a specific and limited predefined range.
In some applications (for example, in LED lighting for vehicle lights), the LED light sources of the lighting circuit are generally placed on separate electronic lighting circuit boards. In order for the electronic lighting circuit boards to have the same electric and photometric behaviour throughout the operating range of supply voltages, the lighting circuit must include lighting circuit boards fitting light sources having the same voltage and flow selection. From a practical point of view, this requires connecting the circuit boards mechanically during the SMT soldering process of the electric components to the circuit boards. However, this imposes restrictions and constraints with respect to the relative geometric position of the circuit boards. The circuit boards must be assembled simultaneously and must therefore comply with certain restrictions imposed by the wiring and positioning, restrictions during in-line assembly of the light, and material and process costs (because a selective soldering process must be provided for the mechanical soldering connection of the circuit boards). As a result, there is a need in the art to have greater flexibility in the production of the electronic circuit boards and reduced difficulty in the in-line assembly of the light.

Lighting circuit, in particular with LED light sources

Automotive Lighting Italia S.p.A. a Socio Unico


A data access arrangement (DAA) that includes a substrate and an optically-active component disposed on the substrate. The component is encapsulated with a radiation-transmissive material to form an optical medium. The DAA also includes a layer of opaque material disposed around the substrate and the optically-active component so that the substrate and the component are sealed from the outside environment. A lead frame is attached to the substrate that extends through and beyond the opaque material layer to enable electrical contact with the substrate and the component.

Telephone signals are provided to subscribers (customers) through the public switched telephone network. Necessarily, any terminal equipment connected to this network by or for a subscriber must meet certain specifications in order to function properly.
To connect subscriber equipment such as data modems, facsimile machines, (non-cellular) portable telephones, speaker telephones, message answering machines, etc. to the analog public switched telephone network, one must provide an interface or data access arrangement to bridge any incompatibilities between the network and the subscriber equipment. In addition to complying with network protocols, since subscriber equipment are typically four-wire devices with separate transmit and receive pairs, the interface must separate the analog signals on the network into discrete transmit and receive signals (and vice versa). Finally, the interface must electrically isolate the telephone network from the subscriber equipment.
Isolation line transformers have historically been used in DAA circuits to provide the required separation between the network and the subscriber. However, such transformers are physically large, heavy and costly and, thus, are not well-suited for applications requiring the interface to have minimal volume and weight (e.g., small portable computers and data entry devices). In such reduced volume/weight applications, a substitute such as optical couplers (optocouplers), must be used to provide the requisite function.
Optocouplers are formed of a light emitter, typically an infrared light emitting diode, and a photodetector. The emitter and photodetector are mounted on a lead frame side-by-side, or vertically facing one another on a jogged lead frame. In a hybrid DAA circuit, typically, a plurality of optocouplers are mounted on a substrate along with a variety of discrete components and integrated circuits that they connect to in the circuit.
Although optocouplers provide a DAA with a smaller profile and reduced weight, they also present certain difficulties. First, the smaller profile of the DAA circuit on the substrate may adversely affect the DAA function of providing electrical isolation between the network and the subscriber equipment. Such isolation may be difficult to accomplish when the optocouplers of the DAA circuit are physically located close to one another. Second, severe components testing, such as pressure-cooker tests, used in quality assurance evaluations may damage the components. In a typical quality assurance test, a DAA is placed in a pressure-cooker for 24 hours at approximately 120.degree. C. and 2 atmospheres and then checked to see if it remains functional. If the circuit board of the DAA becomes exposed during such tests, water may migrate to the inside of the optocouplers or other components and create an arc path, causing the DAA to fail electronically.
In part to protect against environmental conditions, circuit boards are often covered with an encapsulating material on the circuit side of the substrate. Such a circuit board, however, is not completely sealed to the outside environment, and is still susceptible to the damage discussed above that occurs during quality assurance tests. This damage is caused by penetration of fluids between the substrate and the encapsulating material or through the substrate. In addition, electrical connections on these boards are typically formed by solder bumps on the uncovered side of the circuit substrate. Such connections are difficult to use because they cannot be seen when the circuit board is viewed from the encapsulated side.

Optical semiconductor device having plural encapsulating layers


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes providing a first semiconductor substrate having a first main surface and an opposing second main surface, and forming a pattern into the first semiconductor substrate. The pattern includes a plurality of trenches defining a plurality of mesas. Each of the plurality of mesas has sidewalls and a free surface formed by material of the first semiconductor substrate. The method further includes forming a cavity in the first semiconductor substrate such that the pattern is recessed in the cavity, forming an oxide layer in the cavity and on the sidewalls and free surfaces of the plurality of mesas, and etching the oxide layer to remove the oxide layer from the free surfaces of the plurality of mesas and at least a portion of the sidewalls of the plurality of mesas.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices to remove an unwanted defect in patterned cavities known as "grass."
During deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) processing, a defect known as "grass" is known to occur. "Grass" refers to thin spikes of silicon or other semiconductor material remaining after the etch process. An example of this defect is shown in FIG. 13. In most cases, the chemistry of the etching process can be adjusted to remove the occurrence of "grass." However, in some circumstances, the etch chemistry cannot be adjusted to eliminate this defect.
For example, in applications requiring a double etch, i.e., a pattern formation in a semiconductor layer followed by formation of cavity such that the pattern becomes recessed in the cavity, the process itself appears to cause heavy grass formation. Accordingly, it is desired to provide a process solution to remove unwanted "grass" defects during double etch procedures.

Grass removal in patterned cavity etching


A BD-ROM has recorded therein an AV Clip generated by multiplexing a video stream and an interactive graphics stream. The video stream representing a motion picture made of a plurality of pictures, and the interactive graphics stream representing an interactive display to be overlayed on the motion picture, where the interactive graphics stream includes state control information (ICS) stored in a packet and a graphics data sequence (ODS), and the packet includes a time stamp that indicates a time at which the initial display is performed, the time being obtained by adding a predetermined duration to a decode ending time (PTS) of graphics data positioned midway through the graphics data sequence (S-ODSsfirst, S-ODSslast).

It is a long-cherished dream for movie manufacturers to realize an interactive control, in which buttons appear on a screen in the course of reproduction of a motion picture made of a plurality of pictures, and the course of reproduction changes according to an operation directed to the buttons. DVD is an epoch-making product in a sense of having realized such an interactive control. The synchronous reproduction between a motion picture made of a plurality of pictures and buttons is realized by setting a time stamp so that buttons appear at an arbitrary time on a reproduction time axis of the motion picture.
However, so as to realize the interactivity, it is not sufficient only to record graphics data constituting buttons in the recording medium; control is also required such as to change the state of a plurality of buttons arranged on a screen in response to a user operation, and to change the state of the buttons in the course of the reproduction of the motion picture data. So as to realize such state control for a DVD, in the stream (video object) generated by multiplexing audio/videos, state control information is provided in a NAVI pack positioned at the beginning of each VOBU. Each VOBU includes one GOP of the video stream, audio data to be read from the DVD together with the GOP, and sub-picture data. The state control information is information to change the state of each button arranged on a screen, and a NAVI pack is information indicating a transfer rate, a buffer size, and the like, for GOP for each stream. By setting such state control information in a NAVI pack, a DVD realizes the state transition of a button with a time accuracy of GOP. FIG. 1 shows the above-described interactive control. In this drawing, data allocation in a DVD is shown at the bottom, and state control information is stored in the NAVI pack. Furthermore, the state control information is valid during the duration of the GOP to which the NAVI pack belongs. In addition, a graphics object is stored in a PES packet, and is displayed at a same display time as picture data to be synchronously displayed. One prior art disclosing such a technology is the following patent reference 1.
(Patent Reference 1)
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2813245
However, movie manufacturers today are not satisfied with a current level of interactive control, and require further contrivance of the makers of recording media and reproduction apparatuses. Such contrivance includes realization of the state transition of a button by means of animation. Realization of such animation increases the number of graphics to be decoded, and decoding load. Accordingly, there are cases where a reproduction apparatus cannot immediately respond to a user operation. For example, assume that an interactive display has four buttons, each of which has three states: normal state; selected state; and active state. Also assume that each state of button is presented in 2-3 seconds of animation display. Even if one page of graphics data is displayed at intervals of 5 frames in an image signal, about 30 pages of graphics data are required to realize 2-3 seconds of animation. Not only that, since there are three states for a button (normal state, selected state, and active state), there will be total of 90 pages (3*30) of graphics data. So as to dispose four buttons on an interactive display, it requires decoding of 360 pages (4*90), which is an enormous amount of graphics data. Decoding load for one page of graphics data is light. However, it takes about dozens of seconds so as to decode several hundreds of pages of graphics data. If a reproduction apparatus cannot receive any user operation during the dozens of seconds, the user cannot help feeling a sense of response debasement.

Recording medium, reproduction apparatus, recording method, program, and reproduction method


A holding cabinet assembly for holding pre-processed food products and a process for maintaining the product appearance of a pre-processed food product for a predetermined amount of time includes a steamer assembly and a cabinet housing coupled to the steamer assembly. As a result of controlling and maintaining the temperature of the water in the steamer assembly and air in the food cabinet housing, the relative humidity of the food cabinet housing is maintained at a substantially fixed value. In this holding cabinet assembly, compartments are arranged in the housing with each compartment including an openable and closeable drawer. A carrier insert is adapted to be removably supported in each of the drawers with each carrier insert being capable of holding pre-processed food products whereby the food products in the carrier inserts can be conditioned at the fixed relative humidity of the food cabinet housing.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of food holding cabinets, and more particularly, relates to the field of holding cabinets for pre-processed food products.
B. Related Art
In a bakery, food holding cabinets have been used wherein fresh baked products are held for a period of time and the air in the cabinet is maintained at ambient temperature and humidity. However, these holding cabinets previously employed in bakeries have been found to be undesirable in a fast food restaurant to hold toasted baked goods as (a) fast food restaurants require that the temperature and humidity of the holding cabinet be maintained other than at ambient temperature and humidity, and (2) the product tends to dry out in these food cabinets used in bakeries thereby leading to degradation of the physical characteristics of the product. Therefore, in fast food restaurants, it has been found desirable to provide a holding cabinet for pre-processed food products, namely toasted baked goods, such as toasted hamburger buns, which controls heat and humidity to maintain product appearance, such as product softness, taste, and the desired toasted characteristics, also known in this context as an acceptable caramelized appearance.
In the fast food industry, it is known to batch toast baked goods. Batch toasting is advantageous in the fast food environment as it is less labor intensive and leads to increased productivity. In one known batch toasting process, the baked food product is removed from a plastic bag and toasted, then the toasted food product is reinserted into the plastic bag and then put in a dry convective heat cabinet.
This batch toasting process has been found to be disadvantageous for a number of reasons. First, an intermediate step is required as the baked food product must be removed from and then reinserted into the plastic bag, thereby leading to a consequent increase in labor. In addition, in this prior batch process, the holding cabinet must be continually opened and closed because of the convective circuit. This, in turn, leads to further labor requirements. It has therefore been found desirable to provide a food holding cabinet assembly for toasted baked goods for use in fast food restaurants which does not require utilization of a convection cabinet. It has been further found desirable to provide a food holding cabinet assembly for toasted baked goods for use in a fast food restaurant which is easy to use.
As a further prior example, in order to attempt to maintain the desired physical characteristics of toasted baked products in fast food restaurants, the toasted baked products have been placed in holding steamers or convective ovens. However, these prior steamers and convective ovens have been unable to control humidity. Moreover, since these steamers and ovens typically have relatively large sliding or hinged doors to load the toasted food products thereinto and remove the toasted food products therefrom, heat and humidity escape from the unit. In addition, these prior steamers used in fast food restaurants have limited holding times only, up to approximately 10 minutes, and limited capacities, as one example, up to 16 hamburger buns of a 4″ diameter and 12 hamburger buns of a 5″ diameter. It has therefore been found desirable to provide a food holding cabinet assembly for toasted baked good for use in a fast food restaurant which provides for increased holding times and product capacities.


A phototherapeutical apparatus and method are described. The apparatus includes an ultraviolet light source, an optical guidance system, and a patient interface. The patient interface is insertable at least partially into a body cavity and is operable to apply the guided ultraviolet light to a tissue surface of a body cavity. The method includes providing the phototherapeutical apparatus, preparing for the application of the phototherapeutical apparatus, inserting the patient interface at least partially into a body cavity, and applying the ultraviolet light by the patient interface to a tissue surface of a body cavity, wherein the tissue of the body cavity has an inflammatory or a hyperproliferative disease. The inflammatory diseases include rhinitis, sinusitis and rhinosinusitis. A photochemotherapeutical method is also described, using photosensitizing substances, such as psoralen before treatment with ultraviolet light. The phototherapeutical method is also effective for the prevention of inflammatory or hyperproliferative diseases.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the treatment and prevention of inflammatory and hyperproliferative diseases of body cavities, more particularly to the treatment and prevention of diseases of the nasal cavity by phototherapeutical methods.
2. Description of Related Art
The treatment and prevention of inflammatory diseases of the nasal mucous membrane and paranasal sinuses is an unsolved problem. These diseases include allergic rhinitis, commonly referred to as hay fever, vasomotor rhinitis, non-allergic eosinophilic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, which is the inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, and nasal polyps.
Rhinitis is an inflammatory disorder of the nasal mucous membrane, which is characterized by nasal itch, sneeze, nose running, nasal blockage, and rarely by loss of smelling. The inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane is frequently associated with the inflammation of the paranasal sinuses (rhinosinusitis, chronic sinusitis). As a consequence of the frequent and persistent inflammation of the mucous membrane hyperproliferative lesions, or so-called polyps develop on the mucous membrane.
One characteristic disease is the allergic rhinitis, commonly referred to as hay fever. The allergic rhinitis is the most frequent allergic disease affecting 10–20% of the population. The number of patients with allergic rhinitis, especially in the well developed industrial countries increased very rapidly in the last few years. Because of the high number of patients the direct and indirect costs of this disease are great.
Although hay fever is not a very severe disease, its unpleasant symptoms worsen the quality of life considerably. Hay fever is frequently associated with allergic conjunctivitis and sometimes with general symptoms. The symptoms last only for a few months in some patients (seasonal rhinitis), while in others they last the whole year (perennial rhinitis).
The symptoms of the allergic diseases develop as follows. An allergen enters the body and induces the production of a specific IgE, which binds to specific receptors on the surface of mast cells. After subsequent exposure the allergen crosslinks the IgE receptors, resulting in mediator release from the mast cells. These mediators are responsible for the development of the symptoms in patient.
As a result of this activation histamine and other preformed mediators are released from the mast cells. In the mast cells new inflammatory mediators are produced attracting further inflammatory cells into the mucous membrane (Howarth PH, Salagean M, Dokic D: Allergic rhinitis: not purely a histamine-related disease. Allergy 55: 7–16, 2000).
At present there is no known treatment for rhinitis. The increased number of inflammatory cells in the nasal mucous membrane release mediators, which are responsible for the clinical symptoms. Often antihistamines are used locally or systemically for the blocking of the released mediators. Sodium cromoglycate is available for the inhibition of the release of mediators. Finally, corticosteroids are used locally or systemically for the blocking of the synthesis of new mediators. In special cases a desensitizing therapy might be used. The pathogenesis of the development of the clinical symptoms is already well known. However, the presently available drugs often do not eliminate the symptoms. Therefore, every new method for the treatment of this disease has a great medical significance.
A further characteristic disease is vasomotor rhinitis. Vasomotor rhinitis is an inflammatory disorder of the nasal mucous membrane with unknown origin. The clinical symptoms are largely similar to that of allergic rhinitis: permanent nasal blockage, nasal itch, sneeze, nose running, and rarely loss of smelling. Mastocyte-activating mediators cause the symptoms. These are released from the nerve endings of the nasal mucous membrane upon irritation.
A further characteristic disease is the nonallergic eosinophilic rhinitis. This disease is characterized by the high number of eosinophils in the nasal secretions and by the lack of an allergic origin. The disease is frequently associated with the development of nasal polyps, the hyperproliferative condition of the nasal mucous membrane. The clinical symptoms are the same as in allergic rhinitis.
Additional diseases are rhinosinusitis and sinusitis. The inflammation of the paranasal sinuses is frequently associated with the inflammatory condition of the nasal mucous membrane (nasosinusitis). The isolated inflammation of the paranasal sinuses is also a frequent disease (sinusitis). This disease has often an allergic origin, although its exact cause remains unknown. There is no well-tested treatment, thus usually the same therapy is used as for rhinitis.
Ultraviolet light has been used for more than twenty years for the treatment of allergic and auto-immune skin diseases. In various treatments and procedures ultraviolet-B light (280 nm–320 nm) and ultraviolet-A light (320 mn–400 nm) is used typically. The ultraviolet light inhibits the antigen-induced cellular immune response and is able to induce tolerance (Streilein J W, Bergstresser P R: Genetic basis of ultraviolet-B on contact hypersensitivity. Immunogenetics 27: 252–258, 1988).
The ultraviolet light suppresses the immune reaction by inhibiting the antigen presentation and by inducing T-cell apoptosis. Irradiation of the skin with ultraviolet-B light or ultraviolet-A light on an area previously photosensitized by psoralen is known to inhibit the immunological processes in the skin. For the treatment of skin diseases there are a number of phototherapeutical devices available.
These phototherapeutical devices include ultraviolet light sources. These light sources might be classified based on, for example, their operational principle, output energy or power, mode of operation (impulse or continuous), and whether they are emitting monochromatic or multiwavelength light.
In early treatments broad band ultraviolet B (BB-UVB) light sources were used. In recent years more efficient narrow band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) light sources became popular (Degitz K, Messer G, Plewig G, Röcken M: Schmalspektrum-UVB 311 nm versus Breitspektrum-UVB. Neue Entwicklungen in der Phototherapie. Hautarzt 49: 795–806, 1998).
Our previous investigations of psoriatic patients indicated that the 308 nm xenon chloride excimer laser is more effective for phototherapeutical treatments than the NB-UVB light sources (Bónis B, Kemény L, Dobozy A, Bor Zs, Szabó G, Ignácz F: 308 nm UVB excimer laser for psoriasis. Lancet 35: 1522, 1997; Kemény L, Bónis B, Dobozy A, Bor Z, Szabo G, Ignacz F: 308-nm excimer laser therapy for psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. 137: 95–96, 2001).
Phototherapeutical treatments improved significantly with the appearance of ultraviolet light delivering optical systems. Such an ultraviolet light delivering phototherapeutical system with fiber optic is used in the Saalmann Cup instrument, in which the concentrated ultraviolet light is coupled into a fiber optic cable. Therefore, it is suitable for the treatment of smaller lesions of the skin or mucous membrane (Taube K M, Fiedler H: Hochkonzentrierte UV Bestrahlung kleiner Hautbezirke mit einem neuen Punktstrahler. Grundlagen und klinische Ergebnisse. Deutsche Dermatologe, 10: 1453, 1992).
However, the Saalmann Cup can not be introduced into smaller body cavities because of its large contact area and because of the thickness of the used fiber optic cable. This device can be used in body cavities where the distal end of the fiber optic cable and the area to be treated can be visually controlled, such as the oral cavity. For this reason, this device is unsuitable for the treatment of body areas, which cannot be visually controlled, such as the nasal and paranasal mucous membrane, the gastrointestinal, and the urogenital mucous membrane.
Although ultraviolet light has been used for the treatment of hyperproliferative and inflammatory skin diseases for many years, it has not been used for the treatment of common, immunologically mediated disorders of the nasal mucous membrane. Neuman and Finkelstein used narrow-band, low energy, red-light phototherapy for the treatment of the nasal mucous membrane and they found it effective for perennial allergic rhinitis and for nasal polyposis (Neuman I, Finkelstein Y Narrow-band red light phototherapy in perennial allergic rhinitis and nasal polyposis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 78: 399–406, 1997).
There are a number of ultraviolet light delivery systems, which use lasers. For example, the light of the 308 nm xenon chloride excimer laser can be guided by fiber optic cable for the cleaning of root canals by ablation (Folwaczny M, Mehl A, Haffner C, Hickel R: Substance removal on teeth with and without calculus using 308 nm XeCl excimer laser radiation. An in vitro investigation. J. Clin. Periodontol 26: 306–12, 1999). The 308 nm xenon chloride excimer laser is also suitable to treat artherosclerosis by treating the blood vessel walls (U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,979), or to enhance the cardiac oxygenization with transmyocardial laser revascularisation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,124), or inhibiting neovascularisation during angioplasty by destroying myocardial cells (U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,033).
These systems share the common feature that the high-energy ultraviolet light at the end of the light delivering system is focused on small areas of only a few hundred microns in diameter. This intense ultraviolet light carries out its effect by breaking some of the chemical bonds. However, the intense ultraviolet light damages the tissues with its ablative effect.
It is also known that larger skin lesions can be treated by using a number of small fiber optic cables (U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,302; WO9607451, Asawanonda P, Anderson R R, Chang Y, Taylor C R: 308-nm excimer laser for the treatment of psoriasis: a dose-response study. Arch Dermatol 136: 619–24, 2000).
Phototherapeutical systems attached to endoscopes are also used for the photodynamic treatment of tumors, such as bladder carcinoma or bronchial cancer. However, in these instruments no ultraviolet light is used, and they have special distal ends for tumor treatment (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,313,431; 4,612,938; 4,676,231; 4,998,930; 5,146,917).
At present, the phototherapeutical systems delivering ultraviolet light consist of a hand piece specifically shaped to a special problem. As such, they are either unsuitable or inconvenient for the treatment of small body cavities such as the nasal cavity with visual control.
Finally, only the light of small concentrated ultraviolet light sources can be coupled with good efficiency into thin optical fiber cables, which have a diameter of a few tenth of millimeter. Ultraviolet lasers are suitable for this purpose, but they are expensive.

Phototherapeutical apparatus and method for the treatment and prevention of diseases of body cavities


A gas-fired engine that supplies high-pressure liquefied gas (e.g., LNG) as fuel by a reciprocating pump. A gas fuel supply device includes: a reciprocating pump driven by a hydraulic motor to boost an introduced liquefied gas pressure to a desired pressure and discharge the liquefied gas; a hydraulic oil introduction line that introduces a portion of high-pressure hydraulic oil from a hydraulic oil line and supplies the high-pressure hydraulic oil to the hydraulic motor; a hydraulic oil return line that returns the high-pressure hydraulic oil to the hydraulic oil line; a heating unit that heats and gasifies the boosted liquefied gas; a control section that adjusts a rotational speed of the hydraulic motor to maintain constant a gas fuel outlet pressure of the heating unit; and an engine inlet gas pressure-reducing valve that regulates a gas fuel pressure injected into a combustion chamber.

There are various conventional diesel engines which are operated with natural gas obtained by gasifying liquefied natural gas (referred to as "LNG" below) as fuel. In recent years, slow-speed two-stroke diesel engines with high-pressure gas injection (referred to as "SSD-GI" below) are attracting attention as a measure to improve the environmental emission efficiency of existing oil-fired slow-speed diesel main engines. The SSD-GI is an engine having higher thermal efficiency and higher response than a conventional heat engine using LNG (e.g., a steam turbine), and capable of outputting power at low speed. The SSD-GI can be driven in direct connection with a propeller.
However, unlike the proven oil-fired diesel engines, a high-pressure injection technique for supplying high-pressure natural gas (about 150 to 300 bar) into a combustion chamber has not been sufficiently developed for the SSD-GI which uses natural gas as fuel. There appears to be no established technique for supplying LNG fuel.
When the SSD-GI was considered as a potential main engine for LNG vessels, a method for using boil off gas (referred to as "BOG" below) as engine fuel by compressing BOG having a substantially atmospheric pressure by a multi-stage gas compressor and cooling the BOG during or after the compressing process was studied. However, the method of compressing and cooling BOG has a disadvantage that a large facility is required and large power is consumed.
For example, PTL 1 described below (see FIG. 7 or the like) discloses a configuration in which BOG in a gas tank is compressed in two stages by low-pressure and high-pressure compressors and introduced into an engine chamber as a propulsion engine for LNG-operated vessels.
Meanwhile, recently, a BOG re-liquefaction system has been achieved in LNG vessels. Thus, BOG does not need to be used as fuel, and can be liquefied and stored. In conventional LNG vessels, there has been an effort to develop a method for using BOG as fuel from the perspective of effective use of BOG. However, the problem in employing LNG as the main fuel of a main engine has been almost solved because of the BOG re-liquefaction system. In a case in which LNG is used as fuel in vessels other than the LNG vessels, no BOG treatment is required when a pressurized LNG tank is employed.
Based on such background, LNG with excellent environmental emission efficiency is recently attracting attention as the fuel of a marine main engine or the like. Various researches and developments have been carried out to develop a method for using LNG or the like.
As a method for supplying natural gas as fuel by high-pressure injection, LNG may be heated and gasified after the pressure is boosted to a high pressure. To boost the pressure of LNG, a reciprocating pump is typically used. The reciprocating pump, which has a rotational speed of about 300 rpm, is much slower than a general electric motor, which has a rotational speed of 1800 to 3600 rpm. Thus, when the reciprocating pump is driven by the electric motor, a speed reduction mechanism is required to reduce the rotational speed to that of the reciprocating pump.
A geared or pulley speed reduction mechanism has been known as a typical speed reduction mechanism used for operating the reciprocating pump. The geared speed reduction mechanism is a speed reduction mechanism which combines a plurality of gears with different teeth numbers. The pulley speed reduction mechanism has a structure in which large and small wheels coupled via a V belt are rotated.
In a plant for re-gasification of liquefied gas, the pressure of liquefied gas removed from a storage tank is boosted to a high pressure by a pump in a liquid state as disclosed in, for example, PTL 2 described below.
In marine diesel engines, electronically-controlled engines with high environmental responsiveness which can reduce nitrogen oxides emissions or the like have been recently developed in response to a worldwide tightening of regulations on exhaust emissions from marine engines. In the electronically-controlled engines, the driving of at least one of a fuel injection system, an exhaust valve train system, a start-up system, and a cylinder lubrication system, which are driven by a camshaft in conventional engines, is electronically controlled. The electronically-controlled engines employ a method of controlling high-pressure hydraulic oil by a controller and an electromagnetic valve and thereby driving respective units of the engine.


A device, system and method for dispatching responders to patrol routes is provided. A device accesses: historical patrol route information indicating patrol routes taken for each of a plurality of time periods, each of the patrol routes taken by a respective uniquely identified responder; and historical crime information indicating actual crime rates for the patrol routes taken. The device receives a request to assign responders to respective patrol routes and responsively: determines available responders for the upcoming time period; determines, based on the available responders and the historical crime information, a mapping of the available responders to the respective patrol routes that reduces and/or minimizes an expected crime rate for the upcoming time period across the respective patrol routes; and based on the mapping, causes the available responders to be dispatched to the respective patrol routes for the upcoming time period.

Dispatching responders (e.g. police officers) to patrol routes is often performed by a dispatcher. The dispatcher may use considerable processing and/or network resources in determining which responders to assign to which patrol routes, for example to access various employee records and the like. When responders are not dispatched so as to reduce overall predicted crime and/or expected crime, substantial additional processing power and communications resources must be consumed to compensate.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Device, system and method for dispatching responders to patrol routes


The invention provides a family of 2-write WOM-codes, preferred embodiments of which provide improved WOM-rates. Embodiments of the invention provide constructs for linear codes C having a 2-write WOM-code. Embodiments of the invention provide 2-write WOM-codes that improve the best known WOM-rates known to the present inventors at the time of filing with two writes. Preferred WOM-codes are proved to be capacity achieving when the parity check matrix of the linear code C is chosen uniformly at random. Preferred embodiments of the invention provide an electronic device utilizing an efficient coding scheme of WOM-codes with two write capability. The coding method is based on linear binary codes and allows the electronic device to write information to the memory twice before erasing it. This method can be applied for any kind of memory systems, and in particular for flash memories. The method is shown to outperform all well-known codes.

A Write Once Memory (WOM) is a storage medium with binary memory elements, called cells, that can change from the zero state to the one state only once, except, in some types of memory, upon a block erase. WOM-codes were originally designed for memories that consist of binary memory elements that could physically only be changed from a zero state to a one state. Examples of such memories are punch cards and optical disks. More recently, WOM-codes have been designed for general usage in different types of memories, including flash memories. See, e.g., A. Jiang, "On the Generalization of Error-Correcting WOM-codes," in Proc. IEEE Int. Symp. Inform. Theory, pp. 1391-1395, Nice, France (2007); A. Jiang and J. Bruck, "Joint coding for flash memory storage," in Proc. IEEE Int. Symp. Inform. Theory, pp. 1741-1745, Toronto, Canada, (July 2008); H. Mandavifar, P. H. Siegel, A. Vardy, J. K. Wolf, and E. Yaakobi, "A Nearly Optimal Construction of Flash Codes," in Proc. IEEE Int. Symp. Inform. Theory. pp. 1239-1243, Seoul, Korea, (July 2009).
A WOM-code allows the reuse of a write-once medium by introducing redundancy into the recorded bit sequence and, in subsequent write operations, observing the state of the medium before determining how to update the contents of the memory with a new bit sequence.
A simple example enables the recording of two bits of information in 3 memory elements, twice. The encoding and decoding rules for this WOM-code are described in a tabular form in the table below. It is easy to verify that after the first 2-bit data vector is encoded into a 3-bit codeword, if the second 2-bit data vector is different from the first, the 3-bit codeword into which it is encoded does not change any code bit 1 into a code bit 0, ensuring that it can be recorded in the write-once medium.
Data BitsFirst WriteSecond Write00000111101000110101010111001110
The sum-rate of the WOM-code is the sum of all the individual rates for each write. While there are different ways to analyze the efficiency of WOM-codes, we find that the appropriate figure of merit is to analyze the sum-rate under the assumption of a fixed number of writes. In general, the more writes the WOM-code can support, the better the sum-rate it can achieve. The goal is to give upper and lower bounds on the sum-rates of WOM-codes while fixing the number of writes t to a desired number.

Efficient two write WOM codes, coding methods and devices

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