Disclosed herein are novel polymer-tethered ligands, metal complexes comprising these ligands, and the use of these complexes as chain transfer catalysts to control the molecular weight of oligomeric and polymeric materials produced in a radical polymerization process. The materials made by the processes disclosed herein have significantly reduced color, making them suitable for a wide range of color-critical end-uses, including automotive coatings.

The present disclosure relates to free radical polymerization processes employing chain transfer agents for controlling the molecular weight of polymer and copolymer product using a recoverable catalytic chain transfer agent. Removal of the catalyst at the end of the reaction results in colorless to lightly colored resins.
Techniques for controlling the molecular weight of polymer and copolymer with chain transfer agents are disclosed in the prior art, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,526,945 and 4,547,323, respectively. Problems associated with use of known chain transfer agents include undesirable odor, intense color, and broad molecular weight distribution in the resulting polymer. Improved chain transfer agents are of considerable interest to the chemical industry. Catalytic chain transfer (CCT) is a versatile technology that allows for effective molecular weight/chain length control in free radical polymerizations by controlling the amount of catalyst and initiator used. Materials with lower molecular weights (i.e., smaller chains) generally require the use of larger amounts of the catalyst system while those with higher molecular weights generally result from the use of lower catalyst concentrations.
Certain catalytic chain transfer agents such as various cobalt porphyrins, iron porphyrins, cobalt aza-porphyrins, cobalt hemiporphyrins, cobalt phthalocyanines, cobalt naphthapthalocyanines, cobalt dipyrrole bis(nitromethylidenes) and cobalt oxime complexes enable molecular weight control of free-radical polymerizations of methacrylates (such as methyl methacrylate), which can lead to the formation of small molecules (such as dimer, trimer, tetramer), oligomers or higher molecular weight poly(methacrylate) containing unsaturated end groups. The products from catalytic chain transfer can be used as macromonomers in further polymerization or copolymerization. Such macromonomers are commonly used in forming structured polymers particularly useful as dispersants, binders, and other additives in automotive exterior paints. Examples of such applications are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,648; 6,635,690; and 5,955,532.
One limitation of CCT arises from the color of the homogeneous cobalt catalysts generally employed that cannot be easily removed from the product. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,680,352, 4,694,054 and 4,886,861 disclose the use of cobalt(II) chelates in processes for free radical polymerization, wherein they act as catalytic chain transfer agents for controlling the molecular weight of the homopolymers and copolymers produced. The cobalt chelates are generally left in the polymer, or removed by extensive purification procedures, including filtering, ion exchange, chromatography, and the like. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,726,263 and 4,526,945. PCT Publication WO 87/03605 discloses the use of cobalt (III) compounds to produce oligomeric species by free radical polymerization of unsaturated monomers. These catalysts, while useful, are also not easily separated from the reaction mixture and typically remain in the final reaction product. Since colored catalyst species remain in the product, these versatile building blocks have limited use in applications that demand color-free and/or metal-free products such as clear coats used in automotive finishing and refinishing operations. Metal and color contaminant-free resins and catalysts that can be recovered and reused would have high value.
One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide novel catalysts for use as chain transfer catalysts in oligomerization and polymerization of olefinic monomers (preferably methacrylates and methacrylic acid derivatives), characterized in that said catalysts are homogeneous and display high activity during the polymerization stage of the process and can be easily removed after the polymerization reaction is completed by means of phase separation. Another aspect is to provide a process which uses these novel catalysts to yield macromonomer, oligomer, and polymer with less color than processes with conventional catalysts.

Recoverable polymer-bound homogeneous catalysts for catalytic chain transfer process


In accordance with novel features of the present invention, a method and apparatus are provided for generating a oscillatory output signal having an oscillatory rate that is proportional to the magnitude of charge delivered through the input to the first charge well. The apparatus includes an input disposed to receive an input signal and an output disposed to output an oscillatory signal. A plurality of adjacently-disposed CCD charge wells are disposed between the input and the output. The plurality of CCD charge wells include a first charge well that is disposed in communication with the input and a last charge well is disposed in communication with the output. A charge sensor is disposed in proximity to the first charge well and operates to sense the magnitude of charge stored in the first charge well, and a driver is responsive to the sensor to drive an electrode disposed in proximity to a second charge well, which is disposed adjacent to the first charge well. Means are included for propagating the charge delivered to the second charge well to the last charge well.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to artificial intelligence systems, and more particularly to an apparatus that simulates a biological neuron for use in artificial intelligence applications.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As is known, artificial neural networks are made up of multi-dimensional matrices comprising simple computational units generally operating in parallel. These simple computational units are designed to replicate the behavior and interaction of biological neurons, in an effort to mimic the behavior and computational process of the human brain. Such computational process is desirable for achieving things such as extremely fast decisional output, the ability to reason, and the ability to learn.
Many artificial silicon based neural networks have been made. The complexity of these are orders of magnitude less than that of biological nets. State of the art technology simulates neural behavior only in terms of axodendritic connections (discussed further below) and thus is extremely limited. Typically, artificial neural networks try to mimic the human biological network, which allows systems to be trained, as opposed to being programmed. The training techniques create nonlinear statistical models of input data by adjusting the synaptic weight coefficients. These models tend to be more accurate and more sophisticated than the rigid conventional logic of circuit design (or programming techniques) which attempt to model the same behavior.
Artificial neural networks can be implemented in either hardware or in software, depending on the level of performance required. Conventional neural network architectures are often simplistic feed forward or recurrent models, where the timing of events is not important to the processing being done. In biological systems, each synapse has a different size and has size-appropriate capability. Also synapses possess a metabolic rate, whereby if a particular synapse is an often-used-route, it will be more efficient and can communicate more information per unit volume than a synapse which is less frequently used. These qualities are modeled in artificial networks by `synaptic weight coefficients`, which adjust the input signal. Such models, however, generally take into account only the processing of spatial stimuli, and make no provision for temporal processing.
Unfortunately, this further limits the capabilities of the such models, as they fail to achieve the dynamic manner in which information is processed in biological systems. In this regard, the arrangement of neurons in the biological system actually processes very complex signals, not only spatially but temporally as well. Although there has been some research done in artificial systems which theoretically recognize the neuron's temporal qualities, there has been little practical work which utilizes these frequency parameters to control any function within the network.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,305 to Nunally discloses an artificial neural network that provides recursive, asynchronous neural processing in a neural processor element, or neuron, which uses a "pulse stream" signaling mechanism that attempts to simulate that of the biological neuron. As acknowledged within the '305 patent, the invention therein advances the state of by providing an asynchronous processor, as opposed to synchronous processors, which impair the ability to achieve a more natural (biological) operation.
However, a shortcoming of the '305 patent, which is common to many prior art devices, relates to the utilization of transistor circuits to realize the processing elements. While the proliferation of semiconductor technology has paved the way for the wide spread use of transistor-based circuits, such circuits have disadvantages when utilized to mimic systems that are inherently analog in nature. This failing is compounded when modeling large scale networks. More particularly, the failing of a transistor model to accurately mimic a biological neuron is compounded when a large number of these transistor circuits are interconnected to simulate a neural network. Thus, the use of transistor-based processing circuits for implementing artificial neural networks creates error-sensitive circuits, wherein an error in one elements may catastrophically compound as it passes through subsequent processing elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,512 is another example of a largely transistor-based implementation of a neural processing element. The device of the '512 patent utilizes one or more EEPROMS as analog, reprogrammable synapses, which apply weighted inputs to positive and negative term outputs which are combined in a comparator. As noted in the '512 patent, the device therein addresses the need for flexibly configurable neural network elements which can be conveniently and densely packaged while providing wide ranges of programming options, particularly analog programming connections and weights. One of the benefits realized by the device in the '512 patent is the non-volatility of the synaptic weights stored in EEPROMs, as the device need not be reprogrammed before use, which saves time otherwise expended in the overhead of downloading synaptic weighting coefficients.
Notwithstanding the advances realized by the devices of the '305 and '512 patents, and other devices known in the art, the prior art still fails to accurately and adequately model a biological neuron, and therefore artificial neural networks still fail to realize the effectiveness desired. Accordingly, there is still a need to provide a device that more accurately mimics a biological neuron and, therefore, a device that may be interconnected with many similar devices to more accurately model a biological neural network.

Apparatus for simulating a biological neuron


A method for increasing the surface area of a polysilicon storage node electrode, used as a component for a DRAM stacked capacitor structure, has been developed. The method features forming a metal silicide layer, on the top surface of the polysilicon storage node electrode, locally consuming regions of underlying polysilicon during the metal silicide formation. Removal of the metal silicide layer, from the surface of the polysilicon storage node electrode, results in a roughened surface, comprised of crevices in the top surface of the polysilicon storage node electrode, in regions in which localized metal silicide formation had occurred. The crevices in the top surface of the polysilicon storage node electrode result in surface area increases, when compared to counterparts fabricated using smooth polysilicon surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relate to a method used to fabricate semiconductor devices, and more specifically to a method used to fabricate a dynamic random access memory, (DRAM), device, using a storage node structure, with a roughened top surface.
2. Description of Prior Art
The semiconductor industry is continually striving to improve the performance of semiconductor devices, while still maintaining, or even decreasing the manufacturing cost of these same semiconductor devices. The advent of micro-miniaturization, or the ability to fabricate semiconductor devices, with sub-micron features, has allowed the industry's performance and cost objectives to be successfully addressed. The use of sub-micron features result in decreases in performance degrading capacitances and resistances, thus allowing improved device performance to be realized. In addition the use of micro-miniaturization allows smaller chips, still containing circuit densities comparable to circuit densities obtained with larger semiconductor chips, to be fabricated. This in turn results in an increase in the amount of semiconductor chips obtained from a specific size starting substrate, thus resulting in a reduction of manufacturing cost of a specific chip.
Dynamic random access memory, (DRAM), devices, are being fabricated using a stacked capacitor, (STC), structure, overlying a transfer gate transistor. The shrinking of device features has resulted in a decrease in STC dimensions. Therefore the capacitance of the STC structure, influenced by the dimensions of the storage node electrode, has to be increased via other means. The use of thinner capacitor dielectric layers, or higher dielectric constant materials, used to increase STC capacitance, is limited by process complexity or yield concerns. Therefore the DRAM community has focused on capacitance increases via the creation of storage node electrodes, exhibiting a roughened topology, or a top surface comprised of concave and convex features. The use of a storage node electrode, with a roughened top surface topology, results in an increase in surface area, when compared to counterparts fabricated with a smooth top surface topology, thus resulting in an increase in STC capacitance.
One method of creating a storage node electrode, with a roughened surface, is the formation of an overlying hemispherical grained silicon, (HSG), layer. The ability to create the HSG layer, comprised of silicon bumps, results in surface area increases. Prior art, such as Weimer, et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,974, describes a method for formation of an HSG silicon layer, to be used as the top layer for a storage node structure. However the method chosen by Weimer, et al, is complex in regards to initially forming silicon seeds, followed by critical annealing procedures. This invention will describe an alternative to HSG silicon, for providing increased surface area for a storage node electrode, resulting in the improved STC capacitance needed for high density DRAM devices. This invention will describe the formation of, and the removal of, a metal silicide layer, from the surface of a storage node electrode, resulting in a roughened, or creviced surface, of polysilicon storage node electrode, resulting in increased surface area, without using HSG silicon layers.

Method for increasing DRAM capacitance via use of a roughened surface bottom capacitor plate

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


α1-2-fucosyltransferases, and methods and compositions for making and using α1-2-fucosyltransferases, are described herein.

L-Fucose is commonly found as a component of glycans in glycoconjugates on mammalian cell surface where they play important functions.[1] Among fucose-containing mammalian glycoconjugates in which fucose can be α1-2/3/4/6-linked to galactose (Gal), N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), glucose (Glc), or α-linked to the serine or threonine residues in proteins,[2] α1-2-linked fucose is a major structural component of all human histo-blood group ABH antigens and some Lewis antigens such as Lewis b and Lewis y.[1] α1-2-Linked fucosides are also abundant in human milk oligosaccharides (HMOS) where they have been found to have prebiotic, antiadhesive antimicrobial, and immunomodulating activities which contribute significantly to the benefits of breast feeding.[3] For example, Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), one of the most common causes of diarrhea worldwide and the primary cause of ascending motor neuron paralysis,[4] binds α 1-2-fucosylated blood group H antigens. The fucosides in HMOS can inhibit C. jejuni binding to host cells thereby blocking the infection process.[4-5]
In humans, FUT1[6] is an α1-2-fucosyltransferase (h2FT) responsible for synthesizing the Fucα1-2GalβOR linkage in ABH antigens presented in glycoproteins and glycolipids on red blood cell surface. FUT2,[7] also known as the Secretor (Se) transferase, is another h2FT that is responsible for the synthesis of α1-2-fucose-containing glycan structures in body fluids. The lack of FUT2 determines the non-secretor status and the consequent lacking of α1-2-linked fucose in body fluids such as the absence of Fucα1-2Gal-containing structures including 2′-fucosyllactose (2′FL),[8] lactodifucotetraose (LDFT), lacto-N-fucopentaose I (LNFP I), and lacto-N-difuco-hexaose I (LNDFH I) in the milk of Lea+b− non-secretors.[9]
Some bacteria which are often commensals or pathogens of human and animals also have fucosyltransferases that are involved in the synthesis of α1-2-linked fucose-containing lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). Several bacterial α1-2-fucosyltransferases (2FTs) have been cloned, characterized, and used for small-scale synthesis of α1-2-fucosides. These include Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) FutC (or Hp2FT),[10] Escherichia coli (E. coli) O86:B7 WbwK,[11] E. coli O86:K62:H2 WbnK,[12] E. coli O128 WbsJ,[13] and E. coli O127:K63(B8) WbiQ.[14] However, their expression levels are usually low which limits their application in synthesis. A more recently characterized E. coli O126 WbgL[15] has a reasonable expression level but has a preference towards β1-4-linked galactosides as acceptor substrates. The access to α1-2-fucosylated α1-3-linked galactosides in large scales has been greatly hampered by the lack of an α2FT that can be obtained in large amounts.

Reaction mixture for synthesis of alpha1-2-fucosides

The Regents of the University of California


An electronic device connecting method according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: mounting an electronic device having at least one electrode portion on a sheet-like porous member having a hole therein so that the electrode portion is close to the porous member; selectively irradiating a predetermined region of the porous member, on which the electronic device is mounted, with energy lines to form a latent image in an irradiated or non-irradiated portion of the porous member, the predetermined region including a portion close to the electrode portion; after irradiating with the energy lines, filling a conductive material in a hole of the latent image of the porous member to form a conductive portion; and bonding and integrating the porous member, in which the conductive portion is formed, to and with the electronic device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for connecting an electronic device.
2. Related Art
In order to enhance the function of information portable apparatuses such as portable telephones and wearable computers, it is required to provide small, light and thin semiconductor packages, and modules wherein electronic devices are integrated at a high density. In a usually semiconductor package, an electrode (pad) of a semiconductor chip is connected to a package substrate via a solder bump or the like. However, since the bump exists, the semiconductor chip can not closely contact the package substrate, so that there is a problem in that it is difficult to thin the semiconductor package. In addition, there is a problem in that it is difficult to align the semiconductor chip with the package substrate.
In order to eliminate such problems, there is a method for directly forming a package wiring layer on a semiconductor chip. However, it is difficult to decrease the diameter of a via contact, and since the via contact connected to a pad is formed separately from the package wiring, the via contact is easily displaced from the package wiring. In addition, the displacement of the pad from the via contact also occurs, so that it is difficult to connect the via contact with the narrow pitch pad. Moreover, if it is failed to form a via contact or package wiring or to connect the via contact or package wiring to the pad, it is difficult to reuse (rework) the semiconductor chip.
As methods for forming a small-diameter via contact, there are proposed methods for forming a conductive column which passes thorough an insulating layer corresponding to a via contact (see, e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-161306, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-207450, U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,467, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-25755). In these methods, a conductive material, such as copper, is filled in a desired region of a porous sheet having a three-dimensional continuous hole to form a conductive column passing through the sheet from the surface to reverse thereof. In addition, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-262328 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-83347) proposes a method for filling a porous sheet with a conductive material in accordance with the pattern of a via contact or wiring to form a multilayer interconnection substrate.
However, the mechanical strength and dimensional stability of the porous sheet are inferior to those of a non-porous usual resin sheet. Therefore, the pattern of a via contact or wiring formed in the porous sheet is easily distorted, and the via contact or wiring is easily displaced from the pad.
As described above, in conventional methods for producing a semiconductor package, it is difficult to narrow the pitch of pads of a semiconductor chip. In addition, in a method for directly forming a package wiring layer on an electronic device, e.g. a semiconductor chip, it is difficult to rework electronic devices if displacement and so forth occur. Also in a method for forming a via contact or wiring in a porous sheet to connect it to the pad of an electronic device, the mechanical strength and dimensional stability of the porous sheet are inferior, so that there is a problem in that the displacement from the pad is easy to occur.


A sympatholytic cardiovascular agent delivered by a drug delivery pump to a central nervous system site to alleviate symptoms of acute or chronic cardiac insult or impaired cardiac performance. The drug delivery pump can be external or implantable infusion pump (IIP) coupled with a drug infusion catheter extending to the site. A patient activator can command delivery of a dosage and/or an implantable heart monitor (IHM) coupled with a sensor can detect physiologic parameters associated with cardiac insult or impaired cardiac performance and trigger dosage delivery. The IIP and IHM can be combined into a single implantable medical device (IMD) or can constitute separate IMDs that communicate by any of known communication mechanisms. The sympatholytic cardiovascular agent is one of the group consisting of an alpha-adrenergic agonist and an alpha2-adrenergic agonist (e.g., clonidine, p-aminoclonidine, guanabenz, lidamidine, tizanidine, moxonidine, methyldopa, xylazine, guanfacine, detomidine, medetomidine, and dexmedetomidine).

Generally speaking, the practice of medicine involves the diagnosis of a human disease from observed symptoms to develop a disease or injury hypothesis, the prescription and administration of a therapeutic treatment, e.g., a drug regimen and/or other therapy, the monitoring of the patient's adherence to self-administered treatment, particularly a drug regimen, the periodic assessment of the efficacy or lack of efficacy of the treatment, and the revision of the prescription and administration as necessary. The present invention is related to these practices in the particular context of assessing, monitoring and treating cardiac diseases.
The sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system plays a major role in affecting cardiovascular function in both health and disease. Recently, it has been appreciated that what may begin as a short-term beneficial compensatory response by the sympathetic nervous system to impaired cardiac function, may lead to worsening of the disease state if increased sympathetic output continues unabated.
Sympatholytic cardiovascular agents, particularly, adrenergic stimulants (central) that decrease the sympathetic nerve output, as opposed to inhibiting only a subset of postsynaptic receptors, may be more effective than beta-blockers. A "centrally acting" sympatholytic cardiovascular agent is one that when administered by a conventional route, e.g., orally or by injection into the blood stream, is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and can produce effects on the central nervous system. Suitable centrally acting adrenergic stimulants include Aldoclor® (methyldopa and chlorothiazide sodium); Aldomet® (methyldopa); Aldomet® ester HCL (methyldopate HC1); Aldoril® (methyldopa and hydrochlorothiazide); Catapres® (clonidine HC1); Catapres®-TTS (clonidine); Clorpres® (clonidine hydrochloride and 25 chlorthalidone); Combipres® (clonidine hydrochloride and chlorthalidone); and Tenex® (guanfacine). Other centrally acting adrenergic stimulants include p-aminoclonidine guanabenz, lidamidine, tizanidine, moxonidine, xylazine, detomidine, medetomidine, and dexmedetomidine. It is also known that certain local anesthetics, e.g., lidocaine, bupivacaine, and ropivacaine, that when administered directly to a sympathetic nerve have a local effect on the neurons that function in a sympatholytic manner. However, these local anesthetics that can act as a sympatholytic cardiovascular agent are not centrally acting, in that they cannot cross the blood-brain barrier.
Clonidine, also known as 2-[(2,6-dichlorophenyl)amino]-2-imidazoline is well known as a potent anti-hypertensive cardiovascular agent. Bolus intravenous injections of clonidine HCl have produced decreased sympathetic outflow, increased vagal tone and sensitivity of the baroreceptor reflex, with peak effects occurring at 5-20 minutes. Reductions were observed in heart rate, left ventricular filling pressure (preload), mean systemic arterial pressure (afterload), mean pulmonary artery pressure and right atrial pressure. See Giles, T. D. et al, "Acute Effects of Intravenous Clonidine HCl in Congestive Heart Failure", Circulation, II, 62(4), October 1980. Oral administration of clonidine and its addition salts is asserted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,141 to be useful in the treatment of cardiac patients particularly to enhance exercise tolerance. The major side effects associated with oral or transdermal clonidine are sedation and dry mouth.
Clonidine and related compounds have other therapeutic uses than in the treatment of impaired cardiac function. Chronic pain is presently treated by intrathecal infusion of opioids (e.g., morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone) through an intrathecal catheter from an implantable drug pump implanted in the patient's body or from an external drug pump worn externally by the patient. Recently, clonidine has also been approved for epidural infusion for the treatment of chronic pain (Duraclon®, Roxane Labs) and is typically administered in combination with opioids. Abnormally low blood pressure (hypotension) and bradycardia are reported as undesirable side effects accompanying intrathecal delivery of clonidine. Consequently, an effort is underway to develop a centrally acting alpha2-agonist causing less cardiovascular side effects, such as tizanidine.
The efficacy (or lack of efficacy) of the cardiovascular agent or agents delivered in a prescribed drug regimen must be carefully monitored and periodically assessed by the treating physician through use of patient interviews and a variety of tests. Patient data relevant to the state of health of a cardiac patient includes the patient's current ability to exercise and perform daily activities and the patient's self assessments that are periodically completed as set forth in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,409. The progression of cardiac disease and/or impairment and the efficacy of prescribed drug regiments can be assessed by periodically accurately measuring cardiac performance (e.g., ejection fraction) under a variety of metabolic conditions the patient is likely to encounter on a daily basis and typically employing external echocardiogram equipment in the clinical setting. However, the measurement procedure is time consuming to perform for even a resting patient and cannot be practically performed replicating a range of metabolic conditions. Typically, the echocardiography procedure is performed infrequently and months or years may lapse between successive tests, resulting in a poor understanding of the progress of the disease or whether or not intervening drug regimens have been efficacious.
A number of implantable cardiac monitors have been proposed and certain ones are clinically available. For example, a patient activity monitor is disclosed in the above-referenced '409 patent for implantation in a patient to record patient activity, e.g., walking, over a period of time. It may be concluded that the drug regimen is efficacious if the activity record exhibits increasing activity level over time or is either not efficacious or is not being adhered to by the patient if the activity record does not exhibit increasing activity level over time.
A monitor/stimulator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,717, that monitors and assesses level of cardiac function then permits a physician to arbitrate the therapy mode, if therapy is indicated. The monitor/stimulator assesses impedance, EGM, and/or pressure measurements, and then calculates various cardiac parameters. The results of these calculations determine the mode of therapy to be chosen. Therapy may be administered by the monitor/stimulator itself or a control signal may be telemetry transmitted to various peripheral devices aimed at enhancing the heart's function. Alternatively, the monitor/stimulator may be programmed to monitor and either store or telemeter information without delivering therapy.
Implantable physiologic cardiac monitors for monitoring the mechanical and/or electrical heart function have been proposed and, in some cases, implemented for deriving and storing EGM and mechanical performance data over a prolonged time.
It has been proposed, as described in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/002,338 filed Oct. 30, 2001, and Publication No. 2003/0100925 to employ various types of sensors including accelerometers, magnets, and sonomicrometers typically located in a blood vessel or heart chamber that respond to or move with mechanical heart function to derive a metric that changes in value over the heart cycle in proportion to the strength, velocity or range of motion of one or more of the heart chambers or valves. Such a mechanical function metric would complement the measurement of blood pressure and the EGM to more confidently determine the degree of change in the hemodynamic performance of the heart.
An implantable EGM monitor for recording the cardiac electrogram from electrodes remote from the heart as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,966 and PCT publication WO 98/02209 is embodied in the Medtronic® REVEAL® Insertable Loop Recorder having spaced housing EGM electrodes. More elaborate implantable hemodynamic monitors (IHMs) for recording the EGM from electrodes placed in or about the heart and other physiologic sensor derived signals, e.g., one or more of blood pressure, blood gases, temperature, electrical impedance of the heart and/or chest, and patient activity have also been proposed. In particular, the Medtronic® CHRONICLE® Implantable Hemodynamic Monitor (IHM) system comprises a CHRONICLE® Model 9520 IHM of the type described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,040 coupled with a Model 4328A pressure sensor lead that monitors the EGM of the heart and senses blood pressure within a heart chamber using a pressure sensing transducer of the type disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,434. The CHRONICLE® Model 9520 IHM measures absolute blood pressure, and the patient is also provided with an externally worn Medtronic® Model No. 2955HF atmospheric pressure reference monitor of the type described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,735 to record contemporaneous atmospheric pressure values.
A variety of patient worn and implantable drug delivery systems have been developed that obviate the problems that arise from patient non-compliance with the prescribed drug regimen, that are convenient to use and enable more precise dosage titration, and that reduce side effects as a result of the dosage titration and because the drug can, in certain cases, be delivered to an optimal delivery site rather than being injected into the blood stream or ingested.
Implantable drug pumps having drug reservoirs that can be refilled through ports accessed transcutaneously and coupled with catheters extending from the reservoir to a delivery site have been developed or proposed to deliver a variety of drugs. The Medtronic® SynchroMed® Infusion System approved for certain clinical uses comprises an Implantable Infusion Pump (IIP) coupled to a catheter. The battery powered IIP can be advantageously programmed to frequently or continuously deliver drug boluses of drugs that have a short duration of activity directly to an efficacious site. The IIP is surgically implanted subcutaneously under the skin such that the refill port is directed outward. The IIP reservoir can be refilled as necessary. Adverse side effects are reduced and the mental and physical states of many patients are improved by the automatically administered drug therapy. It is not necessary to rely upon the patient to comply with the prescribed regimen.
The Medtronic® SynchroMed® Infusion System is approved for intrathecal drug delivery treatment of spasticity by intrathecal administration of baclofen and to reduce chronic pain by intraspinal administration of the opioids morphine and fentanyl. It has been proposed to deliver insulin into the central nervous system employing the Medtronic® SynchroMed® Infusion System in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/133,251 filed Apr. 26, 2002. One end of the drug infusion catheter is connected to the IIP, and the other end of the catheter is threaded into a cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) filled sub-arachnoid, intrathecal space in the patient's spinal cord. An IIP comprising an implantable pump and catheter is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,643,207 and 5,782,798 for dispensing pancreatic polypeptide blockers and other drugs that decrease sensations of hunger and increase satiety into particular sites in the brain through a distal catheter segment that is implanted through the skull and extends to the specific sites.
Methods for administration of clonidine employing a Medtronic® SynchroMed® Infusion System to a human patient suffering from acute or chronic pain, most preferably neuropathic pain, are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,188. An increasing dosage of clonidine is administered throughout a treatment regimen, wherein the amount of clonidine administered intraspinally is gradually increased over the treatment period to minimize adverse hemodynamic side effects. In preferred embodiments, the drug is administered intrathecally or epidurally, most preferably intrathecally, in a dosage of up to about 1200 mcg/day of clonidine over a treatment period of about 4 to 12 weeks. The amount of clonidine administered is increased periodically, preferably between once and about three times per day. Clonidine administration is increased by about 0.5 to about 5 mcg/hr during the administration period, resulting in a clinically effective dose of from about 4 to 50 mcg/hr.
It has also been proposed to implant multiple IMDs in the same patient, and to enable communication between the IMDs, whereby the multiple IMDs function cooperatively as disclosed, for example, in the above-referenced '409 patent and in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,897. The multiple IMDs include tissue stimulators, e.g., cardiac pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), gastrointestinal stimulators, deep brain stimulators, and spinal cord stimulators, implantable drug pumps, and implantable physiologic and activity sensors. It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,505, for example, to combine the features of disparate IMDs, e.g., an implantable drug pump with a tissue or organ stimulator and with remote physiologic sensors, to provide multiple functions. In both cases, the IMD or IMDs communicate with external proximate medical devices, e.g., programmers and patient control units, and remote medical devices and systems employing a variety of data transmission techniques. In commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,210, an IMD is disclosed that detects dysautonomic syncopes, e.g., vasovagal syncope, and endocardially infuses a drug in response thereto. A variety of sensors are placed in locations where the physiological activity to be detected is most prominent and more feasibly detected. Such sensors include, but are not limited to, those which can detect heart rate (R-R interval), atrio-ventricular interval (AVI), QT interval, QT/R-R ratio, heart rate variability indices such as HF, LF, LF/HF ratio, QRS or ventricular electrogram integral (area under depolarization signal), QRS duration, myocardial contractility index (accelerometer signal), subcutaneous blood flow mean value (SubQ BF), SubQ BF variability indices, motion, pH, temperature, position and chest wall impedance for monitoring respiration rate. The physiological activities used to determine the need for treatment include changes in heart rate, heart rate variability, QT interval, PR interval, pressure, blood flow, vagal nerve activity, temperature, pH, and AV conduction times, position, respiration rate and combinations thereof. The drug infusion catheter is placed according to the desired treatment regimen. For example, the drug infusion catheter may be placed within the coronary sinus, right atrium or right ventricle to provide rapid infusion with little dilution of pharmacological therapy.
A number of systems have been proposed to combine the delivery of an appropriate anti-arrhythmic drug therapy as an alternative or companion therapy with the delivery of an appropriate cardioversion/defibrillation shock as described, for example, in the above-referenced '897 patent and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,087,243 and 5,269,301. In these systems, an IIP is combined with an ICD, the system having a decision-making control algorithm to govern the diagnosis of the arrhythmia, prioritize the therapies to be delivered, and deliver the therapies. It is hoped that the delivered drug therapies can reduce the frequency of the need to deliver a cardioversion/defibrillation shock by either suppressing the tachyarrhythmia entirely or converting it to a lower rate or less chaotic tachyarrhythmia amenable to conversion by less aggressive high rate pacing therapies.
Combined neurological stimulation and/or drug delivery and cardiac therapy delivery devices are disclosed in further commonly assigned co-pending U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. US 2002/0165586, 2002/0143369, 2002/0107553, and 2003/0004549. Cardiac insult or anticipated cardiac insult is detected from monitored physiologic states, and electrical stimulation may be provided to peripheral nerves, intrinsic cardiac nerves, sympathetic ganglia, cranial nerves, and may generally be directed to the vertebral column, or within the chest wall of the patient. A drug delivery system optionally included in the system delivers biologically active agents based on the anticipation of the occurrence of the cardiac insult.
Despite the wide variety of IMDs and methods of treatment that have been proposed in the prior art, a need remains for an efficacious way of delivering drug therapies to patients who receive an acute cardiac insult, who suffer chronic cardiac pathologies, or who could benefit from a prophylactic cardiac therapy.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Delivery of a sympatholytic cardiovascular agent to the central nervous system


The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for performing reverse auto-negotiation, in which one network device establishes a link with another network device at a preferred operating mode (e.g., the lowest speed) common to both devices without linking twice. The physical layer of a local network device (local PHY) may stall the normal auto-negotiation process with the link partner, while receiving the abilities of the link partner. The local PHY may then transmit a signal having only the preferred common operating mode (e.g., the lowest speed) encoded within. The link partner may then conclude that the local PHY is only capable of the preferred common operating mode (e.g., the lowest speed) and a link between the two devices may be established at that common mode.

This invention relates to protocols for determining a common mode of operation for two network devices that can operate at multiple modes. More particularly, this invention relates to methods and apparatus for performing reverse auto-negotiation between the two network devices.
A local area network may be provided to establish a network connection between a plurality of network devices (e.g., computers, printers, routers, switches, hubs, etc.). These network devices, however, may each have different networking abilities (e.g., speed, duplex, pause, master/slave, etc.). For example, one device (e.g., a hub) may support 10BASE-T and 1000BASE-T connections. Another device (e.g., a computer) may support 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T, and 1000BASE-T connections. The network standard (e.g., IEEE 802.3) may define a protocol, such as an auto-negotiation protocol, to determine the highest common mode (e.g., the highest speed) at which these devices can operate to communicate with one another. In this example, auto-negotiation may determine that the highest common operational mode of the two network devices is 1000BASE-T.
A network device operating at 1000BASE-T, however, consumes a large amount of power compared to, for example, a 10BASE-T connection. In particular, a network device operating at 1000BASE-T must use four data transceivers to transmit and receive data packets over four twisted-pair cable paths. On the other hand, a network device operating at 10BASE-T and 100BASE-T only requires a single data transceiver to transmit and receive data packets over two twisted-pair cable paths.
Therefore, for purposes of reducing power consumption, it may not be desirable for some network devices to operate at the highest common operational mode. Instead, a different mode may be preferred. For example, if a local network device maintains a constant link with another network device (e.g., a server for periodic backup of data), it may not be desirable to sustain a constant high speed connection (e.g., 1000BASE-T), especially when the local network device is idle for long periods of time (e.g., overnight). In this example, it may be desirable for the local network device to operate at the lowest common operational mode (e.g., 10BASE-T) in order to reduce power consumption for the local network device.
One approach to establishing a connection between a local network device and another network device (i.e., the link partner) at any common mode is for the local network device to determine the abilities of the link partner through normal auto-negotiation. Then the local network device may intentionally break the link with the link partner and re-link with the link partner. When auto-negotiation occurs for the second time, the local network device advertises only the common mode at which it prefers to operate (e.g., the lowest speed at which the link partner is able to operate). The link partner receives only this advertised capability, and the local network device and the link partner connect at the preferred common operational mode.
Although this approach results in the desired outcome (e.g., the two network devices link at the preferred mode), this approach has several disadvantages for the overall network. One of these disadvantages is that the two network devices must link twice before establishing a connection. Every time a link is broken and reestablished, the network must recalculate its spanning tree. Recalculating a network spanning tree involves remapping a single path to each network device to prevent the same packet from arriving at a network device multiple times. If several devices unnecessarily force the network to recalculate its spanning tree, the network may experience a slowdown in traffic for other network devices.

Methods and apparatus for performing reverse auto-negotiation in network communication


A spin stand testing system is used to determine a positioning range of a microactuator disposed on a head gimbal assembly. The microactuator is configured to laterally translate a read sensor of a head of the head gimbal assembly through the positioning range. The spin stand testing system includes a disk having a track, and a secondary mover configured to laterally translate the head gimbal assembly. During testing, a feedback loop keeps the read sensor locked to the track. While the read sensor remains locked, the head gimbal assembly is translated laterally. The microactuator translates the read sensor in an opposite direction until the microactuator reaches an end of its range, which is determined by monitoring a signal. The amount of translation of the head gimbal assembly by the secondary mover when the signal indicates the end of the range is the measured positioning range in one direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to the field of magnetic disk drives, and more particularly to apparatus and methods related to testing disk drive components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetic disk drives are used to store and retrieve data for digital electronic apparatuses such as computers. A typical magnetic disk drive comprises a head, including a slider and a transducer, in very close proximity to a surface of a rotatable magnetic disk. The transducer, in turn, includes a write element and/or a read element. As the magnetic disk rotates beneath the head, a very thin air bearing is formed between the surface of the magnetic disk and an air bearing surface of the slider. The air bearing causes the head to "fly" above the surface of the magnetic disk with a separation ("fly height") that is typically less than 40 nanometers in contemporary disk drives. As the head flies over the magnetic disk, the write element and the read element can be alternately employed to write and read data bits along a magnetic "track" on the magnetic disk.
The head is positioned on the disk by a gimbaled suspension that comprises a load beam, gimbal, and swage mounting plate. Collectively, these three components and the head are frequently referred to as a Head Gimbal Assembly (HGA). The HGA is, in turn, attached to one end of an actuator arm. The other end of the actuator arm includes a winding of a conductor, called a voice coil. The actuator arm is mounted on a shaft situated between the voice coil and the load beam. In a disk drive, the voice coil is disposed between two strong permanent magnets. By adjusting the strength and the polarity of a current in the voice coil, the voice coil can be made to move between the permanent magnets. In this way the actuator arm is made to rotate around the shaft in order to control the position of the head relative to the disk to move between tracks.
Improvements in write elements have enabled increasingly higher track densities on the disk by writing tracks with increasingly more narrow track widths. Read elements have also been narrowed to match the more narrow track widths. As these dimensions have become smaller, what were once minor sources of error, such as disk run-out, have become significant obstacles to maintaining proper alignment between the head and the track. Accordingly, newer generations of disk drives are beginning to employ actuators located on the HGA in addition to the voice coil to keep the head aligned with the track. Depending on the particular location of the actuator on the HGA, these actuators are termed either milliactuators or microactuators. For example, actuators located on the swage mounting plate or load beam are typically referred to as milliactuators while actuators located on the slider or between the slider and the gimbal are typically referred to as microactuators. However, for convenience both milliactuators and microactuators will be referred to as "microactuators" for the remainder of this patent specification and the claims.
It will be appreciated that HGAs are highly complex and, accordingly, are preferably qualified before being assembled into disk drives. A spin stand is a common testing apparatus that has been developed for testing writing and reading characteristics of heads. Generally, the spin-stand includes a rotatable disk and a positioning device that secures the HGA. The positioning device allows the head to be moved to a desired position over the disk.
Accordingly, what is needed is a spin stand that is able to qualify milliactuators and micro actuators.

Method for determining a microactuator range of movement


The present invention is to provide a narrow bandpass filter installed on a circuit board for suppressing a high-frequency harmonic wave, which uses a metal microstrip method to directly build a microstrip circuit corresponding to a narrow bandpass filter on a circuit board of a wireless communication product and uses an interdigital finger method to lay a capacitor microstrip of the microstrip circuit on the circuit board to avoid the capacitor microstrip occupying too much area of the circuit board and maximizes the usable space of the circuit board, so that the wireless communication product can suppress a second or higher harmonic spurious noise of the wireless communication product without using an additional high-frequency filter, and thus can greatly lower the manufacturing cost of the wireless communication product and effectively reduce the electromagnetic interference.

In recent years, the market indicates a drastic increase of demand for wireless communication products, and thus the wireless local area network (WLAN) is developing in a much faster pace, particularly after the IEEE 802.11 WLAN protocol was established around 1997, not only providing unprecedented functions for the WLAN communications, but also providing a universal solution for various wireless products of different brands and creating a new milestone for the development of WLAN. The IEEE802.11 WLAN protocol confirms the total solution of executing a single chip by a core device, which greatly lowers the cost of adopting wireless technologies, so that wireless networks can be used extensively in various wireless communication products.
When these wireless communication products carry out the wireless data transmission under a high power condition, a high-frequency harmonic spurious noise is produced and an electromagnetic interference results. Therefore, every developed country has established related laws and regulations to solve this problem. The import and use of wireless communication products incompliant to the laws and regulations are prohibited. In view of such laws and regulations, wireless communication product designers and manufacturers add a wave filter behind a power amplifier for the circuit layout and design in a limited space to suppress the high-frequency harmonic spurious noises in hope of producing a wireless communication product in compliance with the related laws and regulations of different countries. However, when each manufacturer designs and manufactures the control circuit for such wireless communication products, the wave filter is usually used for suppressing the second harmonic waves produced by these wireless communication products, but the high-frequency filter not only comes with a high price, but also has a relatively large size. Therefore, adding a high-frequency wave filter will greatly increase the manufacturing cost and volume of the product, which is obviously not suitable for the present trend of the design of a light, thin, short, compact, low-price and good-quality wireless communication product.
Further, a harmonic wave produced by a high-power transmitted signal is usually the most difficult part to pass an electromagnetic interference test required for the wireless communication products. More particularly, the second or higher harmonic wave used as the primary frequency of the transmitted signal is the most difficult one to meet the standards. Therefore, designing a wireless communication product in compliance with related laws and regulations without greatly increasing the manufacturing cost and volume of the product becomes an important issue for designers and manufactures to overcome.

Narrow bandpass filter installed on a circuit board for suppressing a high-frequency harmonic wave


An ionic liquid formed of a cationic component and an anionic component characterized in that the cationic component contains fluorine atoms. When defects of an oxide film formed on the surface of a metal are anodized by a two-electrode system under existence of the ionic liquid, a current-voltage curve being obtained by applying a forward voltage from 0 V at a constant voltage rate of 1 V/s has an initial peak voltage and gives a withstand voltage of 50 V or above. This ionic liquid does not evaporate easily, exhibits hydrophobicity and low hygroscopicity, and has excellent metal oxide film-repairing ability.

An electrolytic capacitor generally has a structure including an anode of a valve metal such as aluminum or tantalum, a dielectric of an oxide film formed on the surface of the anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte disposed between the cathode and the dielectric. Here, an oxide film is formed by an anodic oxidation method in which an oxide film is formed on the surface of a metal using the metal as an anode in an acid electrolyte or neutral electrolyte. In addition, in the present application, the term "electrolyte" includes both solid and liquid forms. For example, in an example using aluminum, a thick porous oxide film is formed in an acid electrolyte such as sulfuric acid, oxalic acid, or phosphoric acid and a thin, dense, barrier-type film is formed in a neutral electrolyte such as borate, phosphate, or adipate. A porous aluminum oxide film is used for anticorrosion or antifriction of a metal or for decoration by coloration. A barrier-type film is broadly used as a dielectric of an electrolytic capacitor.
The electrolyte in such an electrolytic capacitor has two important roles. One is a function as an actual cathode which achieves the task of taking out capacitance from a dielectric on an anode and is therefore required to have high electric conductivity, i.e., high electron conductivity. The other is a function for protecting and repairing an extremely thin oxide film by a chemical action for newly forming an oxide at a defected portion of an oxide film of aluminum or tantalum based on the ion conductivity of the electrolyte. The above-mentioned anodic oxidation method is used for the purposes of forming a dielectric oxide film in an electrolytic capacitor and repairing a defected portion of an oxide film. Therefore, it is necessary that the electrolyte of an electrolytic capacitor has anodizability.
In general, an organic or inorganic acid or a salt thereof is added to an organic solvent, such as ethylene glycol or γ-butyrolactone, and the mixture is used as the electrolyte of an electrolytic capacitor. Examples of the added organic or inorganic acid or a salt thereof include phosphoric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, ammonium adipate, ammonium succinate, tertiary amines, and quaternary ammonium salts. These composite electrolyte systems are used for obtaining an electrolyte excellent in ion conductivity.
However, though the conductivity of these liquid electrolytes is improved by adding an additive described above, it is insufficient for realizing a low impedance capacitor. In addition, in these liquid electrolytes, a dry up phenomenon is caused by evaporation of the used solvent. If the dry up occurs, both anodizability and conductivity are lost, resulting in a low heat resistance and a short life-time, which is a problem.
In order to solve these problems, a molten salt has been investigated to use as an electrolyte for a capacitor. For example, it has been investigated to constitute an electrolyte for a capacitor by, without using a solvent, melting or melting and then solidifying an electrolytic salt composed of a nitrogenous heterocyclic cation having a conjugated double bond or composed of a nitrogenous heterocyclic ring having a conjugated double bond.
Furthermore, it has been investigated to constitute a capacitor by interposing an electrolyte alone or with a separator between an anode foil and a cathode. The electrolyte for the electrolytic capacitor is in a molten state prepared by mixing carboxylate and carboxylic acid not using a solvent. However, since such an electrolyte is a solid at ambient temperature, the anodizability is significantly decreased and the conductivity property is poor. Therefore, the practical application has not been achieved yet.
On the other hand, recently, a capacitor using a solid electrolyte not containing solvents (called solid electrolytic capacitor) has been developed. Specifically, one or more electrically conductive polymers such as polypyrroles, polyanilines, polythiophenes, polyquinones, derivatives thereof, polymers prepared by polymerizing an aromatic compound containing an amino group, and polymers prepared by polymerizing an aromatic compound containing a hydroxyl group are used as an electrolyte. These conductive polymers have a significantly higher electric conductivity (electron conductivity) compared with those of liquid electrolytes using the above-mentioned known solvents. Therefore, in capacitors using these polymers as electrolytes, the internal impedance can be decreased. In particular, capacitors used in high frequency circuits show excellent characteristics. Therefore, these conductive polymer capacitors have been occupying an important position in the electrolytic capacitor market.
However, these conductive polymers do not essentially have ion conductivity and therefore are far inferior in the anodizing function for repairing an oxide film of an electrolytic capacitor to known capacitors using liquid electrolytes. It is generally thought that, in a conductive polymer capacitor, the dielectric film is prevented from breakage by insulating the conductive polymer present on the dielectric surface at the breakage portion by a dedoping reaction caused by Joule heat generated when the dielectric film is broken. This mechanism is different from that for repairing an oxide film of a capacitor using a known liquid electrolyte in the fundamental principle.
Consequently, a conductive polymer capacitor has a disadvantage that a high withstand voltage cannot be obtained. Specifically, in a conductive polymer capacitor using aluminum as an anode, the withstand voltage of the capacitor is about 16 V only by the forming at 70 V, for example, and in a conductive polymer capacitor using tantalum, the withstand voltage is about 12 V only by the forming at 34 V, for example. Here, the term "forming at 70 V" means that a direct-current voltage applied to a valve metal which becomes an anode when a dielectric oxide film is formed on the surface of the valve metal, i.e., a forming voltage (or referred to as applied voltage, the same applies hereinafter), is 70 V. Logically, it is possible to increase the withstand voltage by using a higher forming voltage. However, in such a case, the capacitor capacitance is decreased with an increase of the forming voltage, and the withstand voltage is not increased in proportion to the increase in the forming voltage. Thus, it is not a good method.
As an attempt to improve withstand voltage characteristics of such a conductive polymer capacitor, an electrolytic capacitor using an electrolyte composed of a conductive polymer and an organic acid onium salt is disclosed (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-22938 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1)). However, this organic acid onium salt is fundamentally thought to be a salt in a solid state. Therefore, in order to improve withstand voltage characteristics, the ratio of a conductive polymer (P) and an organic acid onium salt (O) is preferably (P): (O)=1:0.1 to 5, more preferably (P): (O)=1:0.2 to 2. However, in the range of this ratio, the withstand voltage characteristics are certainly improved, but the conductivity is worsened. This undesirably deteriorates the impedance characteristic of the capacitor.
Recently, remarkable molten salts which are liquids at room temperature (for example, 10 to 30° C.) have been developed independently of the technologies relating to the above-mentioned electrolytic capacitors. These are called an ionic liquid and are composed of a combination of a proper cationic component (quaternary salt cation such as imidazolium or pyridinium) and a proper anionic component (Br−, AlCl4−, BF4−, or PF6−). Many ionic liquids contain a halogen. These ionic liquids are characteristically nonvolatile, nonflammable, chemically stable, and highly ion conductive and are regarded as remarkable reusable green solvents which are used in chemical reactions such as various synthesizes and catalyst reactions. However, it has not been reported that the ionic liquid is investigated from the viewpoint of anodic oxidation, namely, from the viewpoint of forming an oxide film on the surface of a valve metal or repairing an oxide film.
Further, ionic liquids are generally hydrophilic except for ones containing some anions such as PF6− or (CF3SO2)2N−, and moisture may isolate a hazardous gas from an ionic liquid. For example, in 1992 Wilkes and Zaworotko disclosed [EMIm][BF4−], but it is hydrophilic and consequently has a limitation in its application field. Since these hydrophilic ionic liquids have a property to absorb moisture, an electrolytic capacitor using such a hydrophilic liquid as the electrolyte is reduced in water resistance and moisture resistance and is decreased in electric property, which is also a problem.
In addition, claim 25 of PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2004-527902 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 2) discloses "A long-lived electrochemical device comprising in combination:    (a) a conjugated polymer working electrode;    (b) a counter electrode;    (c) an ionic liquid having an anion and a cation in contact with both said working electrode and said counter electrode; and    (d) a power supply for applying a voltage between said working electrode and said counter electrode, whereby a response is induced in said electrochemical device."In Patent Document 2, the conjugated polymer (polyanion) is limited to ones electrochemically deposited on the electrodes and is characteristically an anion of an ionic liquid.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-22938    Patent Document 2: PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2004-527902

Ionic liquid and method for producing the same, method for forming oxide film on metal surface, electrolyte capacitor and electrolyte


Systems and methods are disclosed for pre-fetching assets from content providers to user equipment (UE). In one embodiment, the UE initiates a pre-fetch operation to download assets from content providers in advance of an end user requesting the assets. The UE accesses a resource profile for the pre-fetch operation that indicates the content providers that have assets for the UE to download in advance for local storage on the UE, and defines a percentage of UE resources allocated to each of the content providers for downloading the assets during the pre-fetch operation. The UE may then download the assets from the content providers based on the resource profile, and store the assets in a local memory.

Mobile networks (also referred to as wireless or cellular networks) include a plurality of base stations that use radio signals to communicate with mobile devices, which may be referred to User Equipment (UE). A base station includes transceivers (antennas) having a particular transmission range which form "cells" around the base station. When a UE comes into range of a cell of the base station, the UE is able to exchange radio signals with the base station. The base station in turn interfaces the UE with a core network that offers voice and/or data services to the UE. For example, the base station may interface the UE with an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards or another type of core network so that the UE may download content from websites.
As data services have emerged due to 3G and 4G technologies, the use of data services by subscribers has increased. For example, mobile subscribers tend to access data services, such as web surfing, email, etc., more than they use voice services. Data services allow end users to download content from content servers, some examples of which are Facebook, YouTube, NetFlix, etc. Network operators are faced with the problem of providing adequate bandwidth to its subscribers as the use of data services increases. The air interface of a mobile network may be a bottleneck for increasing bandwidth because there is a limited radio spectrum that may be used for communications. Thus, network operators look for ways to save bandwidth over the air interface.

Pre-fetching of assets to user equipment


A router system is disclosed. The router system comprises a wireless router and a cradle comprising a router interface configured to receive the router. One or more connections are positioned at the router interface for communicating with the router. Methods and systems for communicating between a router and the internet are also disclosed.

Routers allow client devices in a local area network (LAN) to access a wide area network (WAN). Connections between client devices and the router may be wired or wireless. Similarly, connections between the router and the Wide Area Network may be wired or wireless. Wireless connections to the WAN may be through a cellular network.
Portable, wireless routers are well known in the art. Such routers can connect to the internet using a data exchanger. The router can provide a wireless link to local client devices. In addition, the router may provide a wireless link to an internet service provider. However, wireless links to internet service providers can sometimes provide relatively slow data transfer and/or be costly to use.
In addition, wireless routers may suffer from poor signal strength between the router and the client devices and/or the internet service provider. Further, the router may run on batteries that are rechargeable, or need to operate continuously for a period of time that is longer than some batteries will allow.
The present disclosure is directed to addressing on or more of the problems discussed above.


An adaptive generalized matched filter (AGMF) rake receiver system includes a rake receiver and an AGMF weight determination module. The rake receiver is coupled to a spread spectrum input signal and applies a vector of weight signals to the spread spectrum input signal to compensate for dependant noise and generate a decision variable. The AGMF weight determination module monitors the decision variable and generates the vector of weight signals, wherein optimal values for the vector of weight signals are calculated by the AGMF weight determination module by varying the vector of weight signals until the signal to noise ratio of the decision variable reaches a peak value.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of spread spectrum rake receivers. More particularly, an Adaptive Generalized Matched Filter rake receiver system and method is provided that is especially well suited for use in a mobile communication device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile communication devices operate in a multi-path propagation environment, i.e., there is typically more than one propagation path from the transmitter to the receiver. In addition, the velocity of the mobile device may vary from 0 km/h (standing still) to 500 km/h (traveling in a high speed train). Therefore, the multi-path propagation environment will typically range from direct line of sight to multi-clustered, multi-path propagation with no direct line of sight spread over several microseconds. Consequently, typical mobile communication devices employ a multi-fingered rake receiver that uses simple Maximal Ratio Combining and standard pilot tracking processing in order to track the centroids of the multi-path clusters in a spread spectrum signal, such as a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal.
A typical Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) rake receiver includes a plurality of fingers, each of which correlates to a different delay of an input signal. The correlator outputs from each finger are then typically weighted by a vector of complex weighting coefficients, and combined to form a decision variable. In typical MRC rake receivers, the values of the coefficients in the weighting vector are chosen without regard to the statistical correlation properties of the noise impairment in the received signal, for instance by setting each weighting coefficient as the complex conjugate of the channel impulse response. As a result, typical MRC rake receivers perform optimally when the noise corruption to the input signal is limited to Independent Additive Noise (IAN), such as Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), which is independent of the signal transmitted to the mobile device from a base station. In typical mobile communication systems, however, multiple spread spectrum signals are transmitted at a single bandwidth, resulting in dependant noise, such as Multi-User Interference (MUI). Because typical MRC rake receivers are optimized to compensate for IAN, they are often sub-optimal when dependent noise is present.
The use of a Generalized Matched Filter (GMF) to compensate for dependant noise in a spread spectrum signal is known. For instance, a generic description of a GMF is found in Kay, "Fundamentals of statistical signal processing—detection theory," Prentice Hall, 1998. In addition, the use of a GMF in a CDMA receiver is disclosed in G. Bottomly et al, "A generalized Rake receiver for interference suppression," IEEE Journal on selected areas in communications, Vol. 18, No. 8, August 2000. Known Generalized Matched Filters, however, require an excessive amount of processing, and are therefore not typically implemented in mobile communication devices.

Adaptive generalized matched filter rake receiver system and method


A human machine interface includes a display screen coupled to a processing device. The display screen is disposed on a case and displays an image frame. In the processing unit, a comparing module compares a first trigger signal stored in a storage unit with a monitored signal transmitted from a signal source. A notification signal is generated when the first trigger signal is detected appearing in the monitored signal. A control module receives the notification signal and generates a first alert signal to display in the image frame or on the case.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a human machine interface and an alert display method; in particular, the present invention relates to a human machine interface and an alert display method to facilitate user's perception of an alert signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prevailing era of personal computer and network, computers have become an indispensable part in our life. When people use a computer, they usually open several windows on the screen, but are often fully occupied to a certain one and easily miss some information required to be noticed immediately. Sometimes, people may neglect ambient sounds while wearing an earphone and inevitably miss some information. Besides, when people do not operate keyboard and mouse for a while, the display will switch to a standby state for saving energy and stopping outputting image frames, but the computer is still working. If people want to know whether there is any important information, they have to operate keyboard or mouse again to activate the display from standby state, and it is not convenient.
Similar situation may be occurred while people are playing games. Taking multiplayer online game as an example, when a player is executing a mission, he/she may pay attention to the mission and the developments of enemy. Those developments can be classified into several items, and the player may easily miss important information if he/she merely depends on listening to audio from the earphone and watching image frames on the display. Therefore, a few human machine interfaces such as keyboard, mouse, and earphone can emit light in response to the developments of enemy.
However, the aforementioned human machine interfaces cannot obtain game state encoding and data transmission interface format without licensing from the game company. After obtaining authorization, the human machine interfaces can correctly read each command or state information when the game is running, and then the human machine interfaces may change the lighting state in response to the progressing of the game. For a manufacturer who could not afford high royalty to the game company, the manufacturer cannot develop such a human machine interface product that can change the lighting state.

Human machine interface and alert display method


A power steering apparatus has a steering power assisting system coupled to tire wheels and a variable gear transfer system coupled to a steering wheel. The steering power assisting system includes a torsion bar rotation sensor and a first actuator rotation sensor to calculate a first pinion angle and a second pinion angle based on the detected rotation angles, respectively. The variable gear transfer system includes a steering sensor and a second actuator rotation sensor to calculate a third pinion angle based on the detected rotation angles. Sensor failure is detected by comparing the calculated first, second and third pinion angles.

A conventional variable gear transfer system varies an amount of change in steering angle of tire wheels (steered wheels) relative to an amount of operation of a steering wheel in a vehicle. This variable gear transfer system has a steering sensor for detecting a steering angle of the steering wheel and an electric actuator for varying the rotation transfer ratio in accordance with the detected steering angle, so that the change amount in the steering angle of the steered wheels relative to the operation amount of the steering wheel is varied. Since the variable gear transfer system thus performs steering control by using the steering angle detected by the steering sensor, accurate control cannot be performed if the steering sensor fails to operate normally. Therefore, it is necessary to detect any failure of the steering sensor.
The variable gear transfer system also has an actuator sensor for detecting a rotation angle of an output shaft of the electric actuator, thereby to perform feedback control by comparing an actual rotation angle of the actuator output shaft with a target rotation angle of the same. It is therefore also necessary to detect any failure of the actuator sensor.
US 2004/0147002A1 (JP 2002-340625A) discloses a failure detection device for detecting failure of a steering sensor. This failure detection device performs failure detection for a steering sensor by moving a sensor unit for detecting rotation of a steering shaft a predetermined distance, which is longer than a unit pitch of detection of the steering shaft. The failure of the steering sensor is detected by checking whether a signal produced by the sensor unit changes while the sensor unit is moved.
If failure in the above steering sensor is a mechanical one, it can be detected easily because the signal produced from the steering sensor does not change in a self-diagnosis operation. If failure is an electrical one, there are some cases in which the signal produced from the steering sensor does not change. This failure detection device may not detect any failure in some cases.
JP 2006-177750 discloses a failure detection device for detecting failure of an actuator sensor. In this device, a resolver is energized by a sine-wave signal, amplitude-modulated in accordance with a rotation angle of a rotor relative to a stator, and produces a sine-wave phase output signal and a cosine-wave phase output signal. The amplitude changes of these output signals are different from each other by π/2 in phase. The amplitudes of the sine-wave phase output signal and the cosine-wave phase output signal are calculated to determine the rotation angle in accordance with the calculated amplitudes. If the square-root of a sum of square of each amplitude continues to be outside a predetermined range, failure is tentatively determined. If this failure further continues, the failure of the actuator sensor is determined finally.
In many instances, a steering power assisting system is mounted in a vehicle together with the variable gear transfer system. The steering power assisting system is for assisting steering power. In this system, an input shaft and an output shaft are coupled by way of a torsion bar, and a torsion bar sensor is provided to detect a difference in rotation angles of the input shaft and the output shaft. The assisting power, which is to be generated by an electric actuator, is determined in accordance with the detected rotation angle difference, so that a target rotation angle of the electric actuator is determined in accordance with the determined assisting power. The electric actuator is feedback-controlled so that an actual actuator rotation angle detected by the actuator sensor converges to the determined target rotation angle. It is also necessary to detect failure in the torsion bar sensor and in the actuator sensor.
JP 2005-43071A discloses a failure detection device for detecting failure of a torsion bar sensor This failure detection device is provided for an electric power steering apparatus, which includes twin resolver type torque sensor having a torsion bar, an input shaft rotation angle sensor and an output shaft rotation angle sensor. Failure of the torsion bar sensor is detected, if an inter-phase electrical shorting is detected in either of the rotation angle sensors. This electrical shorting is determined, if the electric angle calculation result by one of the rotation angle sensors is outside a first predetermined range including 45° for more than a predetermined period and the electric angle calculation result by the other of the rotation angle sensor is also outside a second predetermined range including 45° for more than a predetermined period.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,154,404 (JP 2005-219527A) discloses a failure detection device for detecting failure in a rotation angle sensor, which detects rotation angle of an electric actuator in a steering power assisting system. This steering power assisting system includes a three-phase brushless DC motor, a steering torque detector for detecting steering torque generated by a steering wheel, a resolver for detecting a resolver rotation angle of the brushless DC motor, a rotation angle converter for converting the detected resolver rotation angle into a motor rotation angle corresponding to the number of poles of the brushless DC motor, a rotation direction command unit for determining a rotation direction command for the brushless DC motor, a current calculation unit for calculating a command current for driving the brushless DC motor based on the detected steering torque. The failure detection device is connected to the current calculation unit to communicate with the current calculation unit and checks whether the calculation result of the current calculation unit is in a normal range. The failure detection device receives the motor rotation angle and the rotation direction command and checks the current calculation unit based on the received motor rotation angle and rotation direction command, thereby detecting the failure of the rotation angle sensor of the electric actuator.
The above failure detection devices for the actuator sensor and the torsion bar sensor can detect failure only when the failure continues.

Power steering apparatus having failure detection device for rotation angle sensors


A method of automatically determining a sensing timing in a page buffer of a NAND flash memory device is disclosed, which includes the steps of discharging a first reference bit line, discharging a second reference bit line, determining a first control signal and determining a second control signal. To perform the method, an apparatus of automatically determining a sensing timing in a page buffer of a NAND flash memory device is also disclosed. The apparatus includes a first reference bit line, a first current sink, a first reference page buffer, the second reference bit line, a second current sink and a second reference page buffer. The first reference bit line is coupled to the first current sink and the first reference page buffer at both ends thereof. The second reference bit line is coupled to the second current sink and the second reference page buffer at both ends thereof.

In a NAND flash memory, the data stored in a cell is read out through the page buffer. The page buffer also serves program verification and erase verification that function as a read operation. Page buffers appear in a variety of designs. FIG. 1 is one design of page buffer, which is published in "A 3.3 V 32 Mb NAND flash memory with incremental step pulse programming scheme", IEEE Journal of Solid-State-Circuit, Vol. 30, No. 11, p. 1149-1155, November 1995. The read operation is described as follows. First, the word line (not shown) switches to logic low and thus no current occurs in the cell. Then, the bit line BL is discharged to ground by turning on NMOS 102 and 103. Next, the bit line BL is charged to VCC by turning off NMOS 103 and 104 and turning on PMOS 101. The page buffer uses a mirrored current provided by a PMOS 101 noted as a current load to pull up the bit line BL. The mirrored current is compared with the accessed cell current on the bit line BL and thus defines the bit line voltage. If the accessed cell is in low threshold voltage (i.e., erase state), it will be turned on by the word line and has an electrical current larger than the mirrored current during read or verification. Consequently, the bit line BL will be discharged gradually and NMOS 105 is turned off. If the accessed cell is in high threshold voltage (i.e., program state), the voltage on the word line cannot turn on this cell. The mirror current will pull the bit line BL in high voltage state and NMOS 105 will be turned on. After a period of time, namely the signal development time, the cell state is sent to the latch in the page buffer by activating a "READ " pulse to turn on NMOS 106, and thus the data stored in the cell is transferred to the page buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,204 does not use the mirrored current scheme but discloses a page buffer as shown in FIG. 2 instead, in which a bit line BLE is selected for reading and another bit line BLO used as a shielding bit line. FIG. 3 illustrates a timing diagram with reference to the schematic shown in FIG. 2. In Region 2 of FIG. 3, the bit lines BLE and BLO are discharged to ground first by turning on NMOS 201 and 203 in connection with grounded VIRPWR. The node SO is also discharged by turning on NMOS transistors 202 and 204. Then, Region 3 is active, during which BLSHFO switches to logic low, the word line WL is turned on, BLSHFE is biased at about 2.0V and PLOAD is active low. The node SO is pulled to VCC and charges up the bit line BLE to 2.0V-VTH, where VTH is the threshold voltage of NMOS 204 and is typically about 1V. The 2.0V bias and the threshold voltage on NMOS 204 clamp the voltage level of the bit line BLE. When the voltage level of the bit line BLE is stabilized, Region 4 is active and BLSHFE is pulled to ground level to turn off NMOS 204, and namely the signal development starts on the bit line BLE. The bit line BLE will be discharged to a lower level if the accessed cell has a low threshold voltage and is turned on. In contrast, if the accessed cell has a high threshold voltage, it will not be turned on and the bit line BLE keeps the pre-charge voltage level. After the signal development time, Region 5 is active. NMOS 204 is turned on again but the voltage level of BLSHFE is around 1.3V only. This is used to sense the voltage level of the bit line BLE with respect to the node SO. The node SO with VCC level will be discharged to the bit line BLE if the bit line BLE is at low level, and NMOS 204 will be turned on. While the node SO remains at VCC level and NMOS 204 is off if the accessed cell has high threshold voltage or the bit line BLE is at 1V. The signal of the node SO will be sent to a left register 205 by activating a PBLCHM pulse signal. In this conventional scheme, a timer is required to control the activation of the PBLCHM signal. The timer will count up to a pre-determined time period, so as to ensure that the signal PLOAD goes high in Region 4. In Region 6, all bit lines and the node SO are discharged to ground again. In Region 7, all control signals of the page buffer are disabled.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,925,005 discloses a sensing method to track the memory cell position in bit line direction and word line direction. The cell array is divided into many regions. Each region has a reference bit line to control the sensing timing for this region. The reference bit line has a reference cell to each crossed word line. That is, the reference bit lines have the same connection as normal bit lines. However, this method will result in difficulty in efficiently adjusting the threshold voltages for so many reference cells. Another concern is about disturbance/drifting of the threshold voltage of the reference cell, which is caused by the adjacent normal bit lines and reference bit lines. That is, when the normal cells are programmed, the associated word lines go high and will affect the threshold voltages of the reference cells. Similarly, the drifting of the threshold voltages of the reference cells also occurs during the erase operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,486 uses a single reference bit line and a reference cell at each intersection of word lines and this single reference bit line. It means each page has a reference cell. When this reference cell passes erase verification, it will initiate the verification on normal cells. Additionally, when this reference cell passes program verification, it will initiate the program verification on normal cells. However, if one of the reference cells fails, the corresponding word line fails to access normal cells. Another concern is the reliability of the reference cells that degrade due to repeated program and erase operations with the normal cells.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,475, applied on multiple-level cell design, uses multiple reference bit lines. Each reference bit line has a reference cell at each intersection of word lines and reference bit line. The reference cells on each reference bit line have a pre-tuned threshold voltage during production. However, in this design, tuning the threshold voltages of the reference cells is time-consuming, increasing production cost drastically and therefore not feasible. For example, there are 32,000 word lines in a 1 Gb NAND flash memory and thus there are 96,000 reference cells in need of threshold voltage adjustment. Another concern is about disturbance/drifting of the threshold voltage of the reference cell, which is caused by the adjacent normal bit lines and reference bit lines.
In each of the conventional schemes mentioned above, a timer is required to control the activation of the control signal, e.g., the signal PBLCHM of FIG. 2, to start the operation of read or program verification; also, the timer will count up to a pre-determined time period, so as to ensure that the PLOAD signal goes high in Region 4 of FIG. 3. In practice, the sensing timing controlled by the timer is determined by simulation and then is implemented by a logic circuit. Thus, the control of the sensing timing by the timer may fail if the RC (product of resistance and capacitance) of the bit line changes due to variation of the fabrication process.

Method and apparatus for determining sensing timing of flash memory

Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology Inc.


An apparatus for measuring feature widths on masks 1 for the semiconductor industry is disclosed. The apparatus encompasses a carrier plate 16 that is retained in vibrationally decoupled fashion in a base frame 14; a scanning stage 18, arranged on the carrier plate 16, that carries a mask 1 to be measured, the mask 1 defining a surface 4; and an objective 2 arranged opposite the mask 1. A liquid 25 is provided between the objective 2 and the surface 4 of the mask 1.

The established existing art for the optical measurement of feature widths on masks of the semiconductor industry is the use of microscopes in the visual (VIS), ultraviolet (UV), and deep ultraviolet (DUV) spectral regions using dry objectives. Dry objectives are characterized in that air is present between the specimen and the first optical surface of the microscope objective immediately adjacent to the specimen. As a consequence of this, the theoretical maximum possible numerical aperture NA is equal to 1; in practice, values of at most NA≈0.95 are attainable, and have in fact been achieved. The scope for higher apertures, i.e. higher resolution, has thus been exhausted.

Apparatus for measuring feature widths on masks for the semiconductor industry

MueTec Automatisierta Mikroskopie und Messtechnik GmbH