A tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) sensor includes a first ferromagnetic (FM) layer (e.g. a sense or reference layer), a barrier layer formed over the first FM layer, and a second FM layer (e.g. a sense or reference layer) formed over the barrier layer. The barrier layer is made of magnesium-oxide (Mg—O). The sense and reference layers of the TMR sensor exhibit controlled magnetic properties, the barrier layer provides a low junction resistance-area product, and the TMR sensor exhibits a high TMR coefficient. The junction resistance is sufficiently low so as to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage to submicron-sized TMR sensors used for magnetic recording at ultrahigh densities.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) sensor and methods of making the same, and more particularly relates to a method of forming a barrier layer of the TMR sensor which includes a three-step barrier-layer formation process.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional illustration of a tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) sensor 100. TMR sensor 100 may include a tantalum (Ta) seed layer 102, an antiferromagnetic (AFM) platinum-manganese (Pt—Mn) pinning layer 104, a ferromagnetic (FM) cobalt-iron (Co—Fe) keeper layer 106, a ruthenium (Ru) spacer layer 108, an FM cobalt-iron (Co—Fe) reference layer 110, an insulating aluminum-oxide (Al—O) barrier layer 112, FM cobalt-iron/nickel-iron (Co—Fe/Ni—Fe) sense layers 114, copper/tantalum (Cu/Ta) cap layers 116, and shield/layers 118, 120. Sense layers 114 may be referred to as free layers, and keeper and reference layers 106 and 110 may be referred to as first and second pinned layers, respectively. Such a TMR sensor 100 differs from a commonly used giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor in that barrier layer 112 replaces a conducting copper (Cu) spacer layer. In contrast to the GMR sensor which exhibits GMR effects upon applying a sense current in a direction parallel to film planes, TMR sensor 100 exhibits TMR effects upon applying the sense current in a direction perpendicular to film planes.
In TMR sensor 100 of FIG. 1, antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic coupling occurs between pinning and keeper layers 104 and 106, producing a unidirectional anisotropy field (HUA). Ferromagnetic/ferromagnetic antiparallel (AP) coupling also occurs within Co—Fe/Ru/Co—Fe pinned layers 106, 108, and 110, producing a spin-flop field (HSF) and an AP saturation field (HS). Due to these fields, the magnetization of keeper layer 106 (M3) is pinned in a transverse direction perpendicular to an air bearing surface (ABS) and that of reference layer 110 (M2) is pinned in an opposite direction. The lowest of the three fields, defined as a pinning field (HP), must be high enough to ensure rigid pinning for proper sensor operation.
Ferromagnetic/ferromagnetic coupling also occurs across barrier layer 112, producing a ferromagnetic (FM) coupling field (HF). This HF must be balanced by a demagnetizing field (HD), which is induced by the net magnetization of reference and keeper layers (M2–M3) in sense layers 114, in order to orient the magnetization of sense layers 114 (M1) in a longitudinal direction parallel to the ABS and thereby ensure optimal TMR responses. With this field balance, TMR sensor 100 exhibits a resistance of RJ+(½)ΔRT, where RJ is a junction resistance measured when M1 is parallel to M2, and ΔRT is the maximum tunneling magnetoresistance measured when M1 is antiparallel to M2. During operation of TMR sensor 100, M1 rotates in response to signal fields while M2 and M3 remain unchanged. This M1 rotation causes a change in the resistance of TMR sensor 100 by −(ΔRT/RJ) RJ sin θ1, where ΔRT/RJ is a TMR coefficient and θ1 is an M1 rotation angle.
In a prior art fabrication process of TMR sensor 100, barrier layer 112 is typically formed by depositing a metallic film and oxidizing the film in air or an oxygen gas. Optimal oxidation is essential for a TMR sensor 100 to attain good magnetic and TMR properties. Oxidation in air results in TMR sensor 100 with a junction resistance-area product (RJAJ) of beyond 1000 Ω-μm2 and a ΔRTRJ of beyond 30%. Oxidation in an oxygen gas of 10 Torr results in TMR sensor 100 having an RJAJ of beyond 10 Ω-μm2 and a ΔRTRJ of beyond 20%. Unfortunately, such TMR sensors cannot be used in practice as submicron-sized read sensors for magnetic recording at high densities, since RJAJ must be around 4 Ω-μm2 in order to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage to the sensors.
To illustrate further, FIG. 2 shows a graph 200 of ΔRT/RJ versus RJAJ for TMR sensors having various Al—O barrier layer thicknesses (δAl-O). With an optimal δAl-O of 0.90 nm, the TMR sensor exhibits an RJAJ ranging from 2.8 to 5.6 Ω-μm2 and a ΔRT/RJ ranging from 9.6 to 19.0%. A smaller δAl-O leads to a desired low RJAJ, but also an undesired low ΔRT/RJ. A larger δAl-O leads to an unacceptably high RJAJ and a low ΔRT/RJ. FIG. 3 shows a graph 300 of ΔRT/RJ versus a bias voltage (VB) for TMR sensors having various δAl-O. The thermal stability of the TMR sensor with an optimal δAl-O of 0.90 nm is characterized by a critical voltage (VC) where the ΔRT/RJ decreases to 10%. Its VC ranges from 238 to 264 millivolts (mV), indicating high thermal stability.
Accordingly, in order for a TMR sensor to perform magnetic recording at ultrahigh densities, further improvements in RJAJ, ΔRT/RJ and VC are needed.

Tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) sensor having a magnesium oxide barrier layer formed by a multi-layer process


A method of increasing the fluorous nature of a compound includes the step of reacting the compound with at least one second compound having the formula:

Organic chemists are typically trained that organic compounds have to be synthesized as pure substances through well-planned reactions and scrupulous separation. In fields such as drug discovery, catalyst design and new material development, however, tens of thousands of organic compounds must be synthesized and tested to discover a few active ones. In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, synthesizing such a large number of compounds in the traditional way is too slow compared to the rapid emergence of new biological targets. A major factor limiting the productivity of orthodox solution (liquid) phase organic synthesis is the tedious separation process for the purification of products. High throughput organic synthesis, therefore, preferably integrates organic reactions with rapid purification/separation procedures.
Recently, fluorous synthetic and separation techniques have attracted the interest of organic chemists. In fluorous synthetic techniques, reaction components are typically attached to fluorous groups such as perfluoroalkyl groups to facilitate the separation of products. In general, fluorous-tagged molecules partition preferentially into a fluorous phase while non-tagged ones partition into an organic phase. Although fluorous synthetic and/or separation techniques are promising, such techniques are currently limited by a lack of availability of suitable fluorous tags.
It is thus very desirable to develop fluorous tagging compounds and methods of increasing the fluorous nature of compounds.

Fluorous tagging compounds and methods of increasing the fluorous nature of compounds

Abstract: wherein Rf is a fluorous group, Rs is a spacer group, d is 1 or 0, m is 1, 2 or 3, Ra is an alkyl group and X is a suitable leaving group. A compound has the formula:

Abstract: wherein Rf is a fluorous group, n is an integer between 0 and 6, m is 1, 2 or 3, Ra is an alkyl group and X is a leaving group.

University of Pittsburgh - of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


An elevator control panel device, including an elevator control panel disposed in a doorjamb forming an entrance to the elevator in a building, a panel door rotatably pivoted via a hinge at a hinge side of the panel door and providing access to the control panel, an automatic closing mechanism configured to force the panel door in the closing direction so as automatically to close the panel door when the panel door is open, and at least one lock provided for locking the panel door at an opposite side of the panel door opposite to the hinge side of the panel door, a first member mounted on the panel door, and a second member mounted on the doorjamb, the first member being configured to engage the second member in a locked state automatically upon closing of the panel door.

This application claims benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. JP10-252672 filed Sep. 7, 1998, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an elevator control panel device, in particular, to an elevator control panel device allowing the safe and easy pursuit of the maintenance check.
2. Description of the Background
In a conventional elevator, a machine room (penthouse) is provided at the upper end on top of an elevator shaft of the building wherein a cage ascends and descends. Provided in the machine room is a drive unit for the ascending and descending movement of the cage, and a control panel for controlling the elevator.
However, in the conventional configuration with the machine room provided at the upper end part of the shaft, the building height is increased due to the existence of the machine room, and thus it is disadvantageous in terms of the right of sunshine, the building capacity, and the like. That is, the machine room projects above the rooftop of the building, for example, possibly resulting in an infringement of the right to sunlight. Therefore, a machine-roomless elevator without a machine room installed at the upper end part of the shift, but wherein the drive unit and the control panel is installed in part of the space in the shaft, has been recently adopted.
While a doorjamb forming the entrance for the cage is provided on each floor of the building provided with the elevator, the conventional elevator is provided with a control panel, for controlling the elevator, inside the doorjamb of the hall of the uppermost floor in the machine-roomless elevator. Moreover, a rotatable panel door for opening/closing the front side of the control panel is provided at the inside front side of the doorjamb. A locking mechanism is provided in the panel door. At the time of a maintenance check, a maintenance worker unlocks the locking mechanism so as to open the panel door for operating the control panel.
However, the worker possibly may be interrupted during the performance of maintenance and may need to leave the control panel unattended. If the panel door then remains open while unattended, there is a risk of an accident by the intentional or inadvertent operator of the control panel by a third person other than the maintenance worker, and thus it is preferably for safety purposes that the panel door is always maintained in the closed state except during the time that the maintenance worker actually operates the control panel.
The doorjamb provided in the elevator hall, in general, has a height exceeding 2 m. Therefore, the panel door to be provided inside the doorjamb has a longitudinal shape with a large vertical span. However, in the conventional configuration, a part of the panel door is locked with the locking mechanism.
Moreover, the locking mechanism has a function of engaging and supporting the panel door mechanically, in addition to the function of prohibiting opening of the panel door. However, in the conventional configuration, since a locking mechanism is provided only in a part of the panel door, if the panel door is in the locked state and is opened by force or handled violently, distortion or deformation is generated between the upper and lower parts of the panel door.
An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator control panel device with reduced risk of an accident by the intentional or inadvertent operation of the control panel by a third person other than the maintenance worker.
This and other objects are achieved by providing a new and improved elevator control panel device, including an elevator control panel disposed in a doorjamb forming an entrance to the elevator in a building, a panel door rotatably pivoted via a hinge at a hinge side of the panel door and providing access to the control panel, an automatic closing mechanism configured to force the panel door in the closing direction so as automatically to close the panel door when the panel door is open, at least one lock provided for locking the panel door at an opposite side of the panel door opposite to the hinge side of the panel door, including a first member mounted on the panel door, and a second member mounted on the doorjamb, the first member being configured to engage the second member in a locked state automatically upon closing of the panel door.


An enteral bag system constructed of two welded panels.

Patients often require the delivery of nutritional compositions when they cannot orally ingest food. Commonly delivery tubes are used to deposit the compositions directly into the gastrointestinal tract at a point below the mouth.
The nutritional compositions are typically stored in feeding containers. Rigid containers, such as plastic bottles are common. Flexible bags, however, have advantages. They can collapse as the compositions are being administered, reducing the need to allow for air inflow during administration. In addition, bags can be less expensive.

Enteral bag system for nutritional composition


The invention relates to a cartridge for paste-like substances, including a tubular cartridge body closed at one end by a front end wall having an outlet nipple defining an outlet opening; a plunger for pressing such a paste-like substance through the outlet opening, the plunger being inserted into the open rear end of the cartridge body, wherein an outer periphery of the plunger is in sealing contact with an inner wall of the cartridge body; a journal protruding from and fixed to the plunger, the journal being adapted to penetrate the outlet opening when the plunger rests against the front end wall, the journal being at least the same length as the outlet opening; and at least one continuous longitudinal axial groove formed in at least one of an outer peripheral surface of the journal and an inner wall of the outlet opening, wherein the plunger is adapted to have its entire front surface contact the front end wall of the cartridge upon forcing the journal through the outlet opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cartridge for a paste-like substance, comprising a tubular cartridge body closed at its front by an end wall which is provided with an outlet nipple delimiting an outlet opening, and a plunger which is inserted into the open rear end of the cartridge body. The plunger lies sealingly against the inner wall of the cartridge body and, upon displacement towards the front end wall of the cartridge body, presses the substance through the nipple opening.
2. Related Art
Paste-like substances for which such cartridges are used include sealing compounds, such as adhesives or the like, which harden from exposure to air. Expressing of the substances from the cartridges may be effected by mechanical or pneumatic extraction pistols, in which a pressure ram or compressed air presses the plunger forward.
The cartridges are made of rigid plastic materials, usually polyethylene (HDPE). Empty cartridges have a relatively large volume, and are thus bulky to dispose of. Accordingly, it is desirable to avoid this problem by reworking the plastics material, such as by grinding the empty cartridges for subsequent recycling.
Here the problem arises, however, that with known cartridges, even when the substance is fully expressed therefrom, the remains a relatively large residual quantity of the substance in the cartridge, on the order of 10 g. To illustrate the problem, reference is made to FIG. 1 of the drawings, which shows in cross-section the front end of an expressed cartridge. The conventional convex shape of the plunger, because of the radial force component generated during the axial upsetting of the plunger, does admittedly facilitate trouble-free sealing with the cartridge body wall. However, when the plunger is pressed forward as far as it will go, a relatively large residual quantity (illustrated by the dark areas) of the substance is left in the spaces remaining between the cartridge body, front end wall, and the convex front face of the plunger. Moreover, a considerable quantity of the paste-like substance is left in the opening of the outlet nipple.
The residual substance leads to smearing of the mills and to clogging. A further and particularly aggravating factor is that the substance remaining in the spaces, even over an extended period of time, does not harden. That is, air is prevented from entering the cartridge since the plunger seals off the opening of the nipple, resulting in the substance being enclosed in an airtight manner in the spaces, thus remaining in a paste-like, i.e. extremely smeary and sticky, state. Grinding empty cartridges containing such non-hardened residual quantities rapidly renders the mills unserviceable.

Fully dischargeable cartridge for paste-like substances


The present disclosure relates to a clock generation system. The system includes a clock source, a tuning buffer, an output buffer, a duty cycle measurement circuit and an automatic calibration component. The clock source generates a clock signal. The tuning buffer is configured to generate a corrected clock signal from the clock signal according to adjustment values. The output buffer is configured to generate an output clock signal from the corrected clock signal. The duty cycle measurement circuit is configured measure a duty cycle of the output clock signal. The automatic calibration component is configured to generate the adjustment values according to the duty cycle measurement and the specification values.

Clock signals are commonly used in electronic devices for a variety of purposes, including circuit operation, synchronization, and the like. Clock signals are created by a clock generator circuit, which, for a high speed clock generator, includes a ring oscillator.
Clock signals have a number of features or characteristics. These include duty cycle, waveform shape, min/max values, frequency, and the like. For example, waveform shapes include sine waves, square waves, and triangle waves. The duty cycle is the time a signal spends in one state as a fraction of the total time. Thus, for example, a signal that is on half the time, has a duty cycle of 50 percent. Min and max values refer to minimum and maximum amplitude values for the clock signals. The frequency refers to the number of cycles per second.

Real time automatic and background calibration at embedded duty cycle correlation

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


Constant and accurate signal gain systems based on controlling oscillator loop gain. A constant gain positive feedback network and an amplifier form an oscillator. Only when the oscillator loop gain is at least one does the oscillator produces an AC signal. Negative feedback of the oscillator's AC signal level is used to keep the loop gain close to or at the value of one by controlling the loop gain of the oscillator circuit. By maintaining the loop gain of the oscillator circuit substantially constant the signal gain is also maintained substantially constant.

This invention relates to systems for providing a constant and accurate signal gain with relatively wide bandwidth based on controlled oscillator loop gain and is described. The constant gain positive feedback network combined with an amplifier forms an oscillator. Only when the oscillator loop gain is at least one does the oscillator produces an AC signal. Negative feedback of the oscillator's AC signal level is used to control the loop gain of the oscillator circuit, keeping the loop gain close to or at one. By maintaining the loop gain of the oscillator circuit substantially constant, the signal gain of the amplifier is maintained substantially constant with the gain primarily set by the positive feedback network gain and to a lesser extent the gain of the negative feedback loop.
In general, the prior art systems have used negative feedback between the output and input of the amplifying circuit for obtaining an accurate constant signal gain. A major problem in such systems has been that to maintain amplifier stability the amplifier frequency bandwidth needed to be limited to obtain relatively large gain and phase margins.
The present invention overcomes the bandwidth limitation of the negative feedback amplifying circuit by allowing the system to become unstable and oscillate. Thus the present invention does not have the same limited frequency bandwidth requirements to maintain large gain and phase margins.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a constant and accurate signal gain system that has a high temperature, radiation, and voltage stability due to its reliance on passive component ratios to set circuit gain values. Passive components such as resistors and capacitors are more stable under these conditions. This invention increases system accuracy by making the accuracy dependent on passive component ratios instead of transistor stability.
Another object of the invention is to provide bandwidth improvement in constant gain signal amplifiers.
A further objective of the invention to provide circuits that are less susceptible to process variances by relying on impedance ratios thereby providing a more consistently manufacturable circuit.

Constant gain amplifier system with positive and negative feedback


A piccolo tube for an anti-icing system may comprise an annular tube and a plurality of openings formed along a circumference of the annular tube. The annular tube may comprise a first cross-sectional diameter at an inlet point and a second cross-sectional diameter at a distal point. The second cross-sectional diameter is less than first cross-sectional diameter. The distal point may be 180° from the inlet point.

A nacelle for a turbine engine typically includes an inlet, a fan cowl, a thrust reverser, and an exhaust section. The nacelle is typically mounted to a wing or a fuselage of an aircraft via a pylon. An anti-icing systems may be employed to prevent or minimize ice build-up along the nacelle inlet.

Variable diameter piccolo tube for anti-icing system


A therapeutic device includes a power unit for cyclically moving a therapeutic head unit at a frequency selected to cause compression wave energy to propagate through body tissue to a target scar tissue structure. The therapeutic head unit includes a plurality of differently shaped therapeutic heads to be pressed against the body surface.

Within the human body various healing responses to injury, tissue damage, inflammation and other conditions often includes the formation of scar tissue and scar tissue buildup. Generally speaking, scaring takes place as the body develops a network of relatively strong, tough tissues. These tissues often form networks of stronger, tougher fibrous tissues which invade and permeate softer body tissue.
Scar tissue, often referred to as "adhesions" is created as a temporary patching and repair mechanism for wounds caused by injury or surgery. Scar tissue may also form as a result of highly repetitive motions such as throwing a ball or operating a keyboard or other computer input device. The repetitive stress often associated with such activities may cause muscles to tighten up and therein cause friction and inflammation between layers of moving body tissue. When a muscle tightens up, swelling often occurs restricting the oxygen supply to the muscles and connective tissue. Scar tissue or adhesions may be produced by the lack of oxygen together with friction and inflammation from these repetitive type of activities.
One example of such scar tissue formation is generally known as "carpal tunnel" syndrome in which scar tissue and adhesions often form within the body and are primarily resident in the muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and joints which interact with and often surround associated nerves and blood vessels.
When an injury occurs, the body responds with a complex sequence of operations. Specialized cells called fibroblasts resident beneath the skin surface initially move into a provisional wound matrix, often referred to as a clot, and start secreting collagen to stabilize the injury as quickly as possible. This wound matrix is initially soft and is heavily loaded with growth factors. The fibroblast move about the matrix pulling and reorganizing the fibers. The matrix then grows stiffer and, at a certain point, the action of the fibroblasts changes into powerful contractal cell action which in turn anchors the cells to the matrix pulling the edges of the wound together. Since there are no blood vessels that nourish this fibrotic tissue, it dries and constricts becoming dead, rigid and inflexible. If the scar tissue and adhesions remain after their usefulness has expired, they often trap and contract around nerves causing pain and impairing movement.
While such scar tissue formation may be an important part of body response to trauma, inflammation and other stresses imposed upon the body, over time scar tissue can become a source of pain and difficulty. All too frequently, scarring can lead to undesired and painful conditions which persist long after the healing response to the original trauma has been completed. Such persistent scarring and the more extensive condition often referred to as "over scarring" may occur from skin surface regions to deep body regions and joint areas.
The pain and other problems associated with residual scar tissue buildup creates a need in the art for ever more improved treatment apparatus and methods of treatment directed toward reducing and removing scar tissue buildup and residual networks of scar tissue.
In addition to scar tissue formation created problems, a variety of other problems and conditions arise in the body such as tissue inflammation, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonosis, muscle spasms, trapped nerves, motion range limitations, contractures, neuromas, adhesions, knee problems, tennis elbow, headaches, TMJ and gout as well as back, shoulder and ankle pain.
Confronted with the wide variety of injuries, maladies and other condition which cause pain, suffering and limitations of movement within the body, practitioners in the art have endeavored to provide suitable and effective therapeutic devices and methods of treatment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,095 issued to Libin sets forth a PRESSURE-POINT ATTACHMENT FOR USE WITH ELECTRICAL HANDHELD MASSAGERS designed to slip upon the vibrating head of a handheld electrical vibrator. The attachment is used to apply point-pressure combined with vibration to body tissue points that correspond to body organs, nerves and glands as disclosed in the field of reflexology massaging. The attachment is formed of a circular disk having a conical finger extending from the center of the disk.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,321 issued to Albach, et al. sets forth a HAND MANIPULATED BODY MASSAGER having an enclosed casing for massage application to the body. The casing includes a cylindrical body wall and hemispherical end wall which is vibrated by a gyratory motor supported therein. The remaining end of the casing is closed by a cover which presents a cylindrical rim attached to the casing together with a tapered nose extension for facial or scalp massage attachments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,621 issued to Kohr sets forth a MASSAGING DEVICE which includes a motor integrated within a housing, a shaft for transmitting motor motion, a treatment head attachable to the shaft and a control circuit for rotational speed control. The set point of the rotational speed of the motor is manually adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,424 issued to Jones, et al. sets forth a HANDHELD MASSAGE DEVICE WITH REMOVABLE HANDLE which provides a modular apparatus allowing the user the option of employing a roller mechanized massager with or without an elongated handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 942,299 issued to Wiking sets forth an MASSAGE DEVICE having an elongated handle supporting a rotating hand crank mechanism. The hand crank mechanism rotates an output shaft which extends from the elongated handle to an end unit which in turn includes a rotational offset weight apparatus providing vibratory energy when the hand crank is driven.
Published U.S. Patent Application U.S. 2002/0161315 filed on behalf of Harris, et al. sets forth a HAND-HELD PERCUSSIVE MASSAGER WITH ADJUSTABLE NODES utilizing a flat vibrating massage head and a pair of percussion massages nodes all of which is driven by a single internal driven unit. The percussion massage nodes are adjustable for width and are manually controlled by the flat massage head on the opposite side thereof.
A large number of different aesthetic designs for massage units have been provided by practitioners in the art in attempting to increase the attractiveness and usefulness of such handheld massagers. By way of example, Design U.S. Pat. D467,347S issued to Yang; Design U.S. Pat. D435,913S issued to Harris, et al.; Design U.S. Pat. D470,239S issued to Yang; Design U.S. Pat. D609,817S issued to Piller, et al. and Design Patent Des. 430,938 issued to Lee are illustrative of different aesthetic designs provided for handheld massage units.
In a related art, U.S. Pat. No. 7,320,691 issued to Pilcher, et al. sets forth an APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ACOUSTIC/MECHANICAL TREATMENT OF EARLY STAGE ACNE includes at least two skin contacting elements, the elements having narrow end faces and a mounting assembly for holding the elements closely adjacent to one another. A driving mechanism reciprocally moves one element relative to the adjacent elements at a frequency which provides action upon the skin pores to loosen sebaceous plugs present in the skin pores permitting removal from the skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,219 issued to Balamuth sets forth a METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ULTRASONICALLY REMOVING TISSUE FROM A BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM while U.S. Pat. No. 2,984,241 issued to Carlson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,683 issued to Idemoto, et al. sets forth a SURGICAL INSTRUMENT each illustrative of different handheld powered apparatus applied to tissue.
In a related art, a large size therapeutic device manufactured and distributed by Sonorex Corporation under the tradename Sonocour Orthopedic Extracorporeal Shockwave System provides an extra corporeal shockwave therapy device in which a shockwave is generated at the base of a shock tube by an electromagnetic acoustic source. The shockwave source includes a water-filled generator and an acoustic lens. The latter is operative to focus and direct the acoustic energy generated within the electromagnetic acoustic source.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have to some extent improved the art and in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing and unresolved need in the art for handheld therapeutic apparatus which is effective in treating resistant and troublesome painful tissue such as scar tissue and the like through the use of effective energy waves introduced to the body tissue at a desired amplitude and frequency which is optimized for the tissue malady.

Therapeutic device and method for scar tissue therapy having intermediate and opposed heads


An erectable arm assembly for use in a borehole, the erectable arm assembly comprising a main body and an arm member, the arm member being able to move between a collapsed position in which the assembly can be removed from the borehole and an erected position, the erectable arm assembly being adapted to house a fluid drilling assembly comprising a fluid cutting device and a flexible hose drill string such that the arm member during erection can contain at least part of the fluid drilling assembly, and when in the erected position the arm member is able to guide the fluid cutting device towards the borehole wall, the assembly further including at least one sensor for monitoring the arm member or the fluid drilling assembly.

Whipstocks are well known in the mining and petroleum industries and are used to change the direction of a drill hole (directional drilling). Since the earliest times, boreholes were made to deviate by placing tapered wedges or "whipstocks" in the borehole to force the bit sideways into a new direction, and it is well known that different bottom-hole assemblies had a tendency either to increase or decrease the inclination of the hole. No one drilling method is satisfactory for all radii of curvature. It is therefore customary to distinguish among these as long-, medium-, short-, and ultra-short-radius methods. The invention relates to ultra-short-radius methods which are typically defined to have a radius of 2 ft. (0.6 m) or less.
Directionally drilled wells fall into two main categories. In the first category, the task is to reach locations that are not accessible through straight, vertical holes. The objective is to reach a substantial distance horizontally away from the drilling location. The second category consists of wells in which part of the well that lies in a particular oil or gas reservoir is given a particular orientation so as to increase productivity. An example of this second category is a vertically thin reservoir where a horizontal hole can contact a greater part of the reservoir than a vertical one, increasing the drainage contact area. It is this second category to which the invention primarily relates.
Ultra-short-radius whipstocks have been developed that are applicable to the second category of directional drilling.
A common feature of existing ultra-short-radius whipstocks is a requirement to incorporate a device in the bottom-hole assembly that either pushes the drill string around the ultra-short-radius and into the deposit which is to be drilled, or uses a complicated hydraulic piston drive arrangement. Drill strings for use with these whipstocks are either segmented or coiled tubing.
More elaborate devices are also known to turn a drill string and/or cutter into the borehole wall. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,783 describes a cavity forming device for use in boreholes and which has an erectable arm member provided with a fluid cutting jet to cut a large cavity in the borehole.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,381 describes a drill string bending assembly which has an extending arm portion to direct the drill string into the sidewall.
A disadvantage with existing whipstocks and other similar assemblies is in correctly determining various parameters in the down hole and drilling process. For instance it is necessary to determine the distance travelled by the fluid cutter, whether the segmented or coiled tubing drill string is feeding properly through the bore, when the fluid cutter is properly retracted so that the arm member can be retracted, the orientation of the arm member, the degree of inclination of the arm member, and so on.
The assembly of the invention can be used with a drilling system that uses a high pressure hose as a flexible hose drill string and a self-advancing fluid jet cutting nozzle. Such a nozzle has been described in International Application No. PCT/AU96/00783.

Erectable arm assembly for use in boreholes

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization


A static electricity prevention device includes a main body, an air ionizing generator, a first griping arm, a second griping arm and a driving unit. The main body includes a receiving cavity. The air ionizing generator is fixed on the main body and configured for ejecting ionized air. The first griping arm and the second griping arm each comprises a gripping end and a supporting end connected with the gripping end, the first griping arm and the second griping arm are pivotally mounted on the ends of the main body. The driving unit is arranged in the receiving cavity, and configured for driving the supporting end to rotate, and in order to open or close the gripping end.

Plastic products, such as lenses, lens barrels and spacer rings are widely used in electrical devices, and these products are mass produced adopting injection molding method due to the short molding cycle and high precision. Static electricity is generated in the injecting molding process when the mold is opened and closed rapidly, static electricity will easily cause the lightweight plastic products to disperse.


A power monitoring device includes: a silicon support layer being attached to a PCB board; a glass layer disposed above the silicon support layer; at least one sensing element disposed on the glass layer; and at least one metal pad disposed on the glass layer. The sensing element is suspended over a laser element that is attached to the PCB board and configured for sensing light directed thereto that is emitted by the laser element. A cavity is defined in the silicon support layer and configured for accommodating the laser element. A transmitter that includes the power monitoring device is also provided.

Vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) has many advantages over edge emitting lasers, such as a simple manufacture process, a single mode as well as multi-mode of operation, high coupling efficiency and lower cost, and etc. So it is widely used in a variety of optical fiber communication system. The VCSELs, indeed a semiconductor laser in general, has the nature that the optical output taken as a function of input current represents a steep slope during lasing action. Hence, during its operations in optoelectronic transmitters, minor variations, e.g. ambient temperature changes and aging of the device, can result in significant fluctuations in its output power. In order to ensure a near constant output power from the VCSEL, a feedback control system is desired, that first requires a monitoring system to detect its optical output. Usually photo detectors are used in this kind of application, with the form of either being integrated into the VCSEL structure or standing alone separately from it.
Integrating monitoring photo detector with VCSEL can only be realized during VCSEL fabrication. More fabrication steps have to be introduced during VCSEL formation and VCSEL normal manufacture process has to be interrupted. That increases the process complicity and the risk for VCSEL yield. It is obvious that these drawbacks can be easily overcome by a stand-alone photo detector; the main consideration can be simplified on how to integrate the detector with VCSEL by packaging.
Packaging the monitoring photo detector with VCSEL together is widely investigated in recent years. Due to that light emitting of a typical VCSEL only comes from one surface of its structure, any monitoring should use the same output for optical communication. Approaches focus on detecting a partial reflection of the output power, which requires a specific assemble position among VCSEL, monitoring photo detector and reflecting system.
To ensure reliable performance of the optical transmitter, it is therefore desired to provide a low cost and non-interfering VCSEL power monitoring system, which can integrate VCSEL with reduced complexity and increased manufacturability.

Power monitoring device and transmitter having same


Implementations are directed to cross-asset trading in blockchain networks, and include a first node providing transaction information based on a first value, a second value, and an exchange rate of a second node, receiving, from the second node, a first evidence set, a first range proof, and a digital signature of the second node, and submitting the transaction for verification based on the first range proof, a second range proof, the first evidence set, a second evidence set, a digital signature of the first node, and the digital signature of the second node, the transaction being executed to decrease a balance of the first node by the first value, increase a first balance of the second node by the first value, decrease a second balance of the second node by the second value, and increase a balance of the third node by the second value.

Distributed ledger systems (DLSs), which can also be referred to as consensus networks, and/or blockchain networks, enable participating entities to securely, and immutably store data. DLSs are commonly referred to as blockchain networks without referencing any particular use case. Example types of blockchain networks can include public blockchain networks, private blockchain networks, and consortium blockchain networks. A public blockchain network is open for all entities to use the DLS, and participate in the consensus process. A private blockchain network is provided for a particular entity, which centrally controls read and write permissions. A consortium blockchain network is provided for a select group of entities, which control the consensus process, and includes an access control layer.
Blockchain networks can be used for trading value through the transfer and exchange of digital assets, such as currencies. Several different types of digital assets can be exchanged within a blockchain network by transferring the digital assets from one node of a blockchain network to another node. In some instances, transferring digital assets within a blockchain network involves the exchange of one type of digital asset for a second type of digital asset based on an exchange rate.
Participants in a blockchain network, however, may desire privacy in their transactions, such that other participants, including consensus nodes are unaware of details of the transaction (e.g., transaction amounts, exchange rates). To provide privacy, encryption schemes can be used. However, some encryption schemes do not support multiplication operations, such as homomorphic multiplication. Although some encryption schemes to support such multiplication operations, they are limited to only a single multiplication operation. This inhibits the ability of participants in a cross-asset transaction that includes, for example, an exchange rate, to maintain privacy of the exchange rate.

Cross-asset trading within blockchain networks


The present invention provides compounds which are useful as inhibitors of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (“LSD1”). The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds. The present invention also relates to a method for preparing these compounds. The present invention also relates to a method of treating a mammalian disorder in which LSD1 levels are elevated by administering these compounds and compositions to a patient in need thereof. The present invention also relates to a method for decreasing histone demethylase activity in a mammal comprising administering to the mammal an effective amount of these compounds and compositions.

Over the past decade it has become clear that epigenetic changes, which alter gene activity without altering DNA sequence, collaborate with genetic mistakes to promote cancer development and progression (Tsai, H. C. and Baylin, S. B. Cell Res 2011, 21 (3), 502-17; and Fullgrabe, J., Kavanagh, E., and Joseph, B. Oncogene 2011). The regulation of the modifications on DNA and the proteins associated with DNA has become an area of intense interest and the enzymes involved in these processes have been suggested as a new class of protein targets for drug development. The major proteins associated with DNA are histone proteins. Histone tails are subject to a variety of posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, and ubiquitination, and these modifications, especially acetylation and methylation on lysine residues, play a major role in the regulation of gene expression, and are often dysregulated in cancer (Fullgrabe, J., Kavanagh, E., and Joseph, B. Oncogene 2011).
Recently an enzyme called Lysine-Specific Demethylase 1 ("LSD1") was identified as the first histone demethylase that specifically catalyzes the oxidative demethylation of monomethylated and dimethylated histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me1 and H3K4me2) and lysine 9 (H3K9me1 and H3K9me2) through a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent reaction (Shi, Y., et al. Cell 2004, 119 (7), 941-53; and Metzger, E., et al. Nature 2005, 437 (7057), 436-9). LSD1 is a component of the corepressor of RE1 silencing transcription factor (CoREST) complex that is responsible for silencing neuronal-specific genes in nonneuronal cells (Gocke and Yu, PLOS One, 2008, 3 (9), e3255 (1-12)). The active site of LSD1 shows a highly negatively charged substrate-binding cavity spacious enough to accommodate the N-terminal tail of histone H3. (Chen, Y., et al. PNAS, 2006, 103(38), 13956-13961. Further, an N-terminal SWIRM domain and an insertion in the core catalytic domain, termed the Tower Domain, were established as necessary structural motifs for enzymatic activity and interactions with cofactors such as CoREST. Id.
Several lines of evidence point to LSD1 as being a possible therapeutic target in cancer. LSD1 is reportedly over-expressed in a variety of tumors including neuroblastoma, estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast, bladder, lung, and colorectal tumors (Schulte, J. H., et al. Cancer Res 2009, 69 (5), 2065-71; Lim, S., et al. Carcinogenesis 2010, 31 (3), 512-20; and Hayami, S., et al. Int J Cancer 2011, 128 (3), 574-86). Increased methylation of the permissive H3K4 mark by LSD1 inhibition has been shown to reactivate expression of tumor suppressor genes in cancer models (Huang, Y., et al. Clin Cancer Res 2009, 15 (23), 7217-28). In addition, LSD1 has been found to associate with estrogen and androgen receptors leading to the specific demethylation of the repressive H3K9 mark, thereby increasing target gene expression (Metzger, E., et al. Nature 2005, 437 (7057), 436-9; and Garcia-Bassets, I., et al. Cell 2007, 128 (3), 505-18). Thus, depending upon cofactors bound to LSD1, demethylation by LSD1 can contribute to cancer through both the permissive H3K4 and the repressive H3K9 mark. Therefore, the inhibition of LSD1 might be an effective strategy for re-expression of epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes as well as down regulation of important cancer pathways in a number of cancer types. Several LSD1 inhibitors have been reported, but they have shown poor selectivity and/or pharmacological properties, making further exploration of LSD1 biology difficult.
Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors such as tranylcypromine and pargyline have been reported as LSD1 inhibitors, and there have been several reports regarding attempts to discover derivatives with increased selectivity for LSD1 over MAO (Mimasu, S., et al. Biochemistry 2010, 49 (30), 6494-503; Binda, C., et al. J Am Chem Soc 2010, 132 (19), 6827-33; Culhane, J. C., et al. J Am Chem Soc 2006, 128 (14), 4536-7; Culhane, J. C., et al. J Am Chem Soc 2010, 132 (9), 3164-76; and Ueda, R., et al. J Am Chem Soc 2009, 131 (48), 17536-7). These compounds irreversibly inactivate LSD1 by covalent binding to the FAD cofactor. Polyamine derivatives have also been evaluated as LSD1 inhibitors, where compounds with activity in the μM range have been described (Huang, Y., et al. Clin Cancer Res 2009, 15 (23), 7217-28; Sharma, S. K., et al. J Med Chem 2010, 53 (14), 5197-212; and Huang, Y., et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2007, 104 (19), 8023-8). In general, these and other reported LSD1 inhibitors are neither adequately selective nor potent enough to optimally interact with the crucial amino acid residues of the substrate-binding site present in LSD1.
In summary, the LSD1 protein plays a key role in epigenetic and transcriptional regulation, and is frequently altered in mammalian cancers, thus making them an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. Despite advances in drug discovery directed to identifying inhibitors of LSD1 protein activity, there is still a scarcity of compounds that are both potent, efficacious, and selective inhibitors of LSD1. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of compounds effective in the treatment of cancer and other diseases associated with dysfunction in LSD1. These needs and other needs are satisfied by the present invention.


A system control unit 11 includes a first step of causing a stereoscopic image to be displayed in an enlarged scale according to an instruction on a display device 23, and a second step of determining, when the stereoscopic image is enlarged at a magnification according to the instruction, whether or not a parallax amount of the enlarged stereoscopic image displayed on the display device 23 is greater than a threshold value, in which in the first step, when the instruction for enlarging the stereoscopic image at the magnification at which the parallax amount is greater than the threshold value is made, the enlarged stereoscopic image to be displayed on the display device 23 after the instruction is finished becomes the enlarged stereoscopic image in the enlarged scale at the magnification at which the parallax amount is not greater than the threshold value.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display control device, an imaging apparatus including the same and a stereoscopic image display control method.
2. Related Art
A television receiver capable of displaying a stereoscopic image (a 3D image) is spreading, and a digital camera (a stereoscopic image imaging apparatus) capable of photographing the stereoscopic image of a subject is showing a sign of its spread. When the stereoscopic image captured by such a stereoscopic image imaging apparatus is displayed on, for example, a display unit of the stereoscopic image imaging apparatus or an external display device (e.g., a large screen TV), a user may want to display the displayed stereoscopic image in an enlarged scale.
FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an exemplary stereoscopic image. A stereoscopic image 300 illustrated in FIG. 10 is constituted by right-eye images and left-eye images. The right-eye images include a main subject 200R, and a background 100R positioned at the back of the main subject 200R, and the left-eye images include a main subject 200L displayed at a position shifted with respect to the main subject 200R by a parallax amount Po, and a background 100L displayed at a position shifted with respect to the background 100R by a parallax amount Pb.
FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the stereoscopic image 300 of FIG. 10 in an enlarged scale. As illustrated in FIG. 11, when the stereoscopic image 300 is enlarged, the parallax amount Pb and the parallax amount Po are also increased according to a magnification. Until the parallax amount Pb and the parallax amount Po are increased to some extent, it is possible to make the stereoscopic image 300 stereoscopic without burden on, for example, eyes of an observer. However, when the parallax amount Pb and the parallax amount Po are extremely increased, the parallax of the main subject or the background becomes too large, resulting in a great burden on, for example, eyes of the observer.
Patent Literature 1 (JP-A-20014-349736) discloses an apparatus which determines if a parallax amount of a stereoscopic image is within a stereoscopically visible parallax range, and provides, for example, an alert to a user, or adjusts the parallax amount of the stereoscopic image when determining that the parallax amount is out of the parallax range.

Stereoscopic image display control device, imaging apparatus including the same, and stereoscopic image display control method


A nested cutting block includes at least a first slot for guiding a saw blade during a first bone cutting operation. The first block has a cavity formed therein. A first securing interlock is formed on the first block. A second block is detachably mounted in the cavity and includes at least a second slot for guiding the saw blade during a second bone cutting operation. A second securing interlock is attached to the second block. An interlock member engages the first and second securing interlocks for detachably engaging the second block within the first block. The first bone cutting operation is made with the first and second blocks interconnected and mounted in a cutting position. The second bone cutting operation may be made with the first and second blocks nested together in the cutting position. Alternatively, the second bone cutting operation may also be made with the first block detached from the second block and the second block remaining in the cutting position.

The disclosures herein relate generally to implants for prosthetic joints and more particularly to preparing cuts in bones for fitting such implants, such as preparing femoral cuts in the distal femur.
Preparing the distal femur to receive the femoral component of a knee prosthesis, involves several accurately located cuts in the bone surface of the femur. Typically, the first cut establishes a transverse surface and a second cut may establish a reference, anterior surface. This provides a locating surface for a cutting guide which is used to assist in accurately cutting the additional surfaces needed to locate and secure the implant of the femoral knee prosthesis.
One method used for preparing the additional cuts includes a combination of cutting guides commonly known as speed blocks, all-in-one blocks, and four-in-one blocks. These are cutting guides for supporting and guiding an orthopedic saw blade during the preparation of the distal femoral chamfered surfaces for the femoral component of the knee prosthesis. All chamfered and square cuts can be made with one instrument without removing the device so that the user is not forced to use an additional block or blocks with different cutting surfaces and angles to complete the cuts. Another method involves using independent chamfer blocks that only allow one, two, or more cuts. This involves removal of the first block from the bone and replacing it with a second block to complete the cuts.
One approach to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,093, which describes a cutting guide for guiding a saw blade during the preparation of a femur for the implant of the femoral component of the knee prosthesis. This device includes guide surfaces for enabling the cutting of the anterior femoral cut, the posterior femoral cut, the anterior chamfer cut, and the posterior chamfer cut, while the cutting guide remains located and secured to the femur in a single position on the transverse surface located along the distal femur.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,505, which describes a jig for resecting the distal end of a femur to receive the femoral component of the knee prosthesis. The jig has independent medial and lateral condyle sagittal saw guides. The guides aid the user in cutting three of four resected surfaces or planes for each condyle. The femoral component accepts shims over either condyle to compensate for uneven loss of healthy bone. Each saw guide slides on a slanted dovetail track so that the proper amount of anterior displacement can be maintained.
Presently known methods have their respective advantages and limitations. One limitation is that in one known method, the user is making blind cuts and has no accurate method for checking the flatness of each cut; a factor which can be critical for a bone-ingrowth device. Another limitation is that in another known method, the user has the advantage of being able to verify each cut with a flat, straight edge after each cut is made, for each cut surface. However, because this method requires that the blocks must be removed and replaced in the bone at least two times, error is more likely. Also, if the bone is soft, the locating holes for the blocks can become elongated, thus allowing the cutting surfaces to move when pressure from the saw blade is applied. This creates a burdensome requirement in the manufacture of these devices, because manufacturers are forced to supply both of the described types of cutting blocks on either a production and/or custom basis to satisfy customer demand.
Therefore, what is needed is a device and method which gives the user the advantages of both of the above types of chamfer blocks without the limitations of each, and which permits the manufacturers to avoid the expense of producing two different devices that perform the same function.


A semiconductor device is provided which is suitable for a DRAM with word lines and configured to have a trench gate transistor and suppress an increase in the capacitance of a word line without affecting the transistor characteristics. The semiconductor device includes a trench gate transistor which is provided with: a trench which is provided with vertical sides and is formed in a semiconductor substrate; a gate electrode which is formed inside the trench via a gate dielectric film; and a source and a drain which are provided at the semiconductor substrate in the vicinity of the gate electrode via the gate dielectric film, wherein at least one of the thickness of the gate dielectric film in a region contacting the source and the thickness of the gate dielectric film in a region contacting the drain are larger than the thickness of the gate dielectric film formed inside the trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a trench gate and a manufacture method therefor.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-318726 filed on Nov. 27, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each memory cell in a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like includes a selection transistor and a capacitor. The microfabrication of semiconductor elements leads to size reduction of MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors, which makes the short channel effect of MOS transistors prominent. In a large-capacity DRAM, the size reduction of the memory cells makes the channel length of transfer gate transistors shorter, thus reducing the performance of the transfer gate transistors. This brings about problems of impairing the retention and writing characteristics of the DRAM memory cells. In the following description, the "transfer gate transistor" is described as "memory cell transistor".
As one way of dealing with the short channel of transistors, trench gate transistors having a channel with a three-dimensional structure have been developed. This trench gate transistor has a trench formed in a semiconductor substrate and makes the channel length longer by effectively using a three-dimensional trench interface as a channel. One example of the configuration of a DRAM using such a trench gate transistor (also called as RCAT (Recess Channel Access Transistor)) will be described below referring to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing the planar structure of a memory cell, and FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram of the cross section of the memory cell along line A-A′ shown in FIG. 15.
A memory cell section 101 shown in FIG. 15 is one example of a structure where 2-bit memory cells are laid out in a single active region.
The memory cell section 101 is roughly structured by arraying a plurality of elongated active regions 102, slightly skewed in a planar view in FIG. 15, in a corresponding area of a semiconductor substrate, at predetermined intervals in a horizontal (X) direction and a vertical (Y) direction, providing a bit line contact (not shown) at a center portion of each active region 102, and providing a memory cell transistor (not shown) and a capacitor (not shown) connected to a substrate contact 105 on both right and left sides of the bit line contact. In the illustrated structure, multiple memory cells are repeatedly laid out in a matrix form with a plurality of serpentine bit lines 106, laid out in the horizontal (X) direction, and a plurality of word lines (including gate electrodes) 107, laid out in the vertical (Y) direction, as common interconnection lines. A selective epitaxial layer 103 is formed on those surface regions of the semiconductor substrate which become a source and a drain, and LDD (Lightly Doped Drain) side walls 108 are formed on side walls of the word line 107.
The cross-sectional structure of the memory cell section shown in FIG. 16 has a trench isolation dielectric film 110, a trench 111, a gate oxide film 112, a gate electrode 113, a first conductive layer 114 provided inside a substrate contact, a lightly doped impurity diffusion layer 115, a heavily doped impurity diffusion layer 116, a dielectric layer mask 117 provided on a gate electrode, a second conductive layer 119 provided in the substrate contact, an oxide film 120 provided on side walls of the gate electrode, and the LDD side walls 108.
The following patent document is known as a prior art document relating to such a trench gate transistor.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H6-13621 discloses the structure of a trench gate MOS-FET (Field Effect Transistor) where to improve the breakdown voltage by relaxing the concentration of an electric field at that portion of an N-drift layer 2 which lies near a gate electrode 5, a first gate dielectric film 6a, located between the gate electrode 5 and the N-drift layer 2, is made thinner than a second gate dielectric film 6b, located between the gate electrode 5 and that portion of a well region 3 where a channel is to be formed, so that when a reverse bias is applied to the gate electrode 5, the conductivity type of the portion of the N-drift layer 2 which lies near the gate electrode 5 is inverted to a P type.
While the trench gate transistor with the structure typified by the one shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 is advantageous over a planar transistor in that the gate length can be made longer at shorter gate pitches, it has a problem of having a large gate capacitance.
In a planar transistor, gate electrodes are positioned only on a semiconductor substrate and the side of a gate electrode that faces diffusion layers where a source and a drain are to be formed is limited to a two-dimensionally overlapping region at the surface of the semiconductor substrate. In a transistor with a trench gate structure, by way of contrast, diffusion layers are in contact not only with the surface of the semiconductor substrate but also upper side walls in a trench, increasing the area of the overlapping region of the gate electrode and the diffusion layers. This increases the gate capacitance. The overlapping region becomes a gate electrode or a parasitic capacitor of a word line in the DRAM, and therefore causes an operational delay, which impedes a fast operation.
It is therefore desirable that the conventional trench gate transistor should have such a structure as to be able to reduce the gate capacitance.
For example, while a DRAM having a trench gate transistor which can ensure microfabrication of the circuit of the memory cell section by reducing the gate length has an advantage of improving the refresh characteristics, the DRAM faces the problem of an increase in power consumption caused as the value of the current needed to write data increases due to the increased gate capacitance.

Semiconductor device and manufacture method therefor


A photon emitter including a photon generator configured to generate photons having a first polarization state or a second polarization state, the first polarization state being orthogonal to the second polarization state; and a time delay device which delays photons having the second polarization state with respect to those having the first polarization state.

(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of photonic quantum information systems specifically those using unpolarised photon sources. The present invention is particularly intended for use in quantum communication. The present invention also extends to photon emitters and methods for outputting photons.
(2) Description of Related Art
In quantum communication systems, information is transmitted between a sender and a receiver by encoded single quanta, such as single photons. Each photon carries one bit of information encoded upon a property of the photon, such as its polarisation, phase or energy/time. The photon may even carry more than one bit of information, for example, by using properties such as angular momentum.
Quantum key distribution which is a technique for forming a shared cryptographic key between two parties; a sender, often referred to as "Alice", and a receiver often referred to as "Bob". The attraction of this technique is that it provides a test of whether any part of the key can be known to an unauthorised eavesdropper (Eve). In many forms of quantum key distribution, Alice and Bob use two or more non-orthogonal bases in which to encode the bit values. The laws of quantum mechanics dictate that measurement of the photons by Eve without prior knowledge of the encoding basis of each causes an unavoidable change to the state of some of the photons. These changes to the states of the photons will cause errors in the bit values sent between Alice and Bob. By comparing a part of their common bit string, Alice and Bob can thus determine if Eve has gained information.
A photonic quantum computer or logic device is a device where gate operations are performed upon the encoded states of a number of single photon pulses in order to carry out some computation task. The single photon pulses will be provided either by an array of single photon sources or, alternatively using repeated emission from a single photon source with appropriate delays. In order for the logic gates to function properly it is often necessary for the photons to have the same polarisation.
Photonic quantum information systems are typically sensitive to the polarisation of the light used. For example, many photonic quantum communication systems encode information on the polarisation of the photons by applying a rotation to an initial polarisation state. However, this can only be done if the initial polarisation state is known. In other quantum communication systems, the information is encoded upon the phase of the photons in an interferometer. The components in the interferometer will often be sensitive to the polarisation of the photons. For example, the phase shift introduced by the phase modulator depends upon the polarisation of the photons. Thus photons in different polarisations will experience different phase shifts when passing the phase modulator.
To overcome the polarisation dependence of such systems, it is common to linearly polarise the light using a polarising filter. However, this has the disadvantage of reducing the efficiency of an unpolarised source. If for example the source is randomly polarised, this will reduce the bit rate by 50%. This problem is of particular concern for single photon sources where this loss cannot be compensated by increasing the intensity.

Photonic quantum information system using unpolarised light


An image processor is composed of a game device body, an operation panel and a display. The game device body is composed of a data processor 11 and a memory 12. The data processor 11 realizes a hit determining circuit 111, an enemy control circuit 112, an enemy (object) set circuit 113, a cursor control circuit 114, an enemy retrieval circuit 115 and a camera control circuit 116 in accordance with corresponding programs used. When an object is displayed on the display, the cursor control circuit 114 displays a cursor in accordance with predetermined processing performed on the basis of data on the coordinates of the object. The camera control circuit 116 performs a zoom-in display process for the object when the object is displayed on the display.

The present invention relates to image processing devices and methods, and more particularly to an image processing device and method for a video game. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to improvements of the techniques for facilitating identification of characters displayed on a display.
Conventionally, image processing has been applied in many fields. Recently, a new image processing technique has been established in the field of video game devices. Conventional game processing devices are generally composed of a game device body which executes various game programs stored beforehand, a peripheral device controller which gives operation commands to the respective elements of the game device body, and a display which displays the result of the processing performed by the game device body.
The game processing devices of this type are constructed so as to perform a desired processing operation through the peripheral device controller on the characters displayed on the display. For example, the player visually identifies a character as an attacked object displayed on the display, and manipulates a gun unit to make a predetermined attack on the identified character. The game device body determines success or failure in the attack on the basis of whether the attack has been made appropriately.
Conventionally, the player cannot easily identify a character which is subjected to image processing because the character is displayed in a small size on the display screen or a plurality of characters is displayed simultaneously. In order to clearly display a character to the player in the field of video game devices, several improvements have been tried. For example, in order to facilitate the identification of the character, a cursor which identifies the character is displayed on the display screen such that the cursor is moved along with the character. In addition, when an attack on the character fails, the character is displayed in an enlarged scale.
In the field of video game devices, however, the content of the game becomes sophisticated and the speed at which the game picture is developed increases. Thus, in the conventional character display techniques, it is difficult to display the character such that it is identified easily and rapidly. Even when the identification of the character is facilitated in the conventional game processing devices, an auxiliary display for the player to predict the next movement of the character has not been allowed for.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an image processing device and method which is capable of easily and rapidly identifying a character displayed on the display screen and of predicting the next movement of the character.


A divider panel (10, 11) has a major panel (12) with an anchor flap (14) foldably adjoining an edge thereof. The anchor panel (14) has an aperture (16) which is positioned for alignment with an aperture (8) in a carton (7) in which the divider panel (10, 11) is disposed.

A divider panel often has an anchor flap which is positioned to be sandwiched between some of the articles which are packaged and a wall of the carton which forms a part of the package. Divider panels with anchor flaps are disclosed in patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,111. Anchor flaps are useful for helping to maintain the position of the divider panel as a package is created. An anchor flap is also useful for helping to remove the divider panel from a package.
Often in the packaging field it is desirable to have a carton which displays at least a portion of the contents of the carton. Partial display of the contents of a carton can be achieved through use of an aperture which extends through a wall of the carton. A convenient means for providing an aperture through a carton wall is to provide for the aperture in a composite wall of the carton. For example, an aperture is very simply provided in an end wall of an end-loaded carton by providing end flaps which are short enough to leave an opening when the flaps are brought together and/or overlapped to create a composite end wall. A suitable viewing aperture may also provided by a cut-out portion of a carton wall. Because the anchor flap of a divider panel is normally disposed in face-contacting relationship with a carton wall, it would be useful to have a divider panel with an anchor flap that would be compatible with a carton having a viewing aperture such that the anchor flap would not obstruct the carton viewing aperture.

Divider panel with anchor panel window aperture


An approach to exchanging data and identity between devices, securely, is provided. The approach includes data encryption, device management, a voting mechanism, message queuing, and encrypted data storing. Using the approach, a user can provide their identity to and share data with an external software or device in a secure manner. Also the user can decide where to store their encrypted data.

Identity theft has become an important concern. A significant contributing factor is that an individual's social security number and other confidential identifying data are required on many application forms. As a result, individuals may lose control over what is applied for in their names. Particularly with the growth of the Internet, the opportunity exists for a person to represent himself or herself, improperly and without authorization, as another person. This may be done, for instance, to make purchases, to obtain credit or debit cards, or for other purposes. This misrepresentation may be done by using, for example, a stolen social security number or bank account number or other confidential, personal identifying number.

System and method for securely exchanging data between devices


A device for providing a localized executable functions platform to generate information for control systems. The device may comprise an I/O interface configured to communicate with the control systems, a memory configured to store a set of executable functions, and an executable functions platform configured to receive an initialization, determine an executable function needed to obtain information pertaining to a control system, access the executable function from the memory, run the executable function using input data for the control system, obtain the information pertaining to the control system in response to running the executable function, and provide the information pertaining to the control system.

The disclosure relates generally to control systems, and more particularly to an executable functions platform for monitoring and controlling the operation of control systems. In industrial processes there are several systems that may run as part and parcel of the operations of the process. These systems often require a computational element and a memory element to be executed. Traditionally these elements have been in close vicinity of the process in embodiments of personal computers or programmable logic controllers, and so on. With the advent of industrial internet of things, the capability of using these systems in remote computational servers has become available. The process may communicate the information required to run the computation in the remote server. The remote server may be part of a public or private cloud. However, the mechanism by which the computational elements are executed even in the remote server has not necessarily fundamentally changed. There still appears a need for the remote server to be configured as it would have been configured (as a local PC) in the cloud. An issue of provisioning a PC, albeit in the cloud, configuring it, providing it with a file system and operating system and various services (like web service, network stack) may still remain. What would be desirable is a platform capable of simplifying the infrastructure and the framework required for monitoring and controlling the operations of the industrial processes of control systems for various different consumers.

Localized executable functions platform for execution of diagnostic, operational, and other computational algorithms


The present invention relates to a passive electronic component architecture employed in conjunction with various dielectric and combinations of dielectric materials to provide a differential and common mode filter for the suppression of electromagnetic emissions and surge protection. The architecture allows single or multiple components to be assembled within a single package such as an integrated circuit or connector. The component's architecture is dielectric independent and provides for integration of various electrical characteristics within a single component to perform the functions of filtering, fusing and surge suppression, alone or in combination.

The majority of electronic equipment produced presently, and in particular computers, communication systems, military surveillance equipment, stereo and home entertainment equipment, televisions and other appliances include miniaturized components to perform new high speed functions and electrical interconnections which according to the materials from which they are made or their mere size are very susceptible to stray electrical energy created by electromagnetic interference or voltage transients occurring on electrical lines. Voltage transients can severely damage or destroy such micro-electronic components or contacts thereby rendering the electronic equipment inoperative, and requiring extensive repair and/or replacement at great cost.
Electrical interference in the form of EMI or RFI can be induced into electrical lines from such sources as radio broadcast antennas or other electromagnetic wave generators. EMI can also be generated from the electrical circuit which is desired to be shielded from EMI. Differential and common mode currents are typically generated in cables and on circuit board tracks. In many cases fields radiate from these conductors which act as antennas. Controlling these conducted/radiated emissions is necessary to prevent interference with other circuitry or other parts of the circuit generating or sensitive to the unwanted noise. Other sources of interference are generated from equipment coupled to the electrical lines, such as computers, switching power supplies and a variety of other systems, which may generate significant interference which is desired to be eliminated to meet international emission and/or susceptibility requirements.
Transient voltages occurring on electrical lines can be induced by lightning which produces extremely large potentials in a very short time. In a similar manner, nuclear electromagnetic pulses (EMP) generate even larger voltage spikes with faster rise time pulses over a broad frequency range which are detrimental to most electronic devices. Other sources of large voltage transients are found to be associated with voltage surges occurring upon the switching off or on of some electronic power equipment as well as ground loop interference caused by varying ground potentials. Existing protection devices, primarily due to their architecture and basic materials, do not provide adequate protection in a single integrated package.
Based upon the known phenomenon of electromagnetic emissions and transient voltage surges a variety of filter and surge suppression circuit configurations have been designed as is evident from the prior art. A detailed description of the various inventions in the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,430, herein incorporated by reference.
The '430 patent itself is directed to power line filter and surge protection circuit components and the circuits in which they are used to form a protective device for electrical equipment. The circuit components comprise wafers or disks of material having desired electrical properties such as varistor or capacitor characteristics. The disks are provided with electrode patterns and insulating bands on surfaces thereof which coact with apertures formed therein so as to electrically connect the components to electrical conductors of a system easily and effectively. These electrode patterns act in conjunction with one another to form common electrodes with the material interposed there between. The '430 patent was primarily directed toward filtering paired lines. The present invention improves on the paired line concept by refining and adapting the concept for use with low voltage low current data communication lines as well as arrangements directed towards high voltage industrial and home applications such as three phase power lines, electric motor noise filtering, LANs and other computer devices.
Therefore, in light of the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art, the applicant's invention is herein presented.

Paired multi-layered dielectric independent passive component architecture resulting in differential and common mode filtering with surge protection in one integrated package


A recommendation apparatus for determining, for a user, a set of one or more recommended paths through an information space in response to receiving from the user a path request message. Advantageously, in some embodiments, the path recommender apparatus determines a recommended path by analyzing a set of paths, where each path in the set was traversed by a person who is in a “social graph” belonging to the user (e.g., each path in the set was traversed by one of the user's Facebook friends). In this way, paths can be recommended to the user based on paths that are popular with the user's friends.

For any given information space (e.g., a set of interconnected information objects, such as, a set of web pages or a set of other interconnected information objects) there usually exists a number of acceptable paths through the information space. For example, there usually exists a number of acceptable paths between any two information objects (i.e., any two "points") in the information space.
As a specific example, consider a person (e.g., Johan) who wants to navigate from a personal finance page on Yahoo (information object A or "point A") to a Britney Spears fan page (information object B or "point B"). While this can be accomplished directly through keyword lookup in an index (using, e.g., a search engine), an alternative is to find a page which connects both to information object A and information object B. While no such direct connection might exist, there is a likelihood that there are connections through several intermediary points in the information space. It is, furthermore, likely that there are several of these intermediary points, and that there can be multiple paths between information objects A and B.
What is desired, therefore, are systems and methods for providing a recommended path through an information space.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatuses and methods for recommending a path through an information space


The present invention is directed to a rotary air coupling that distributes air to tires mounted on a rotating hub of a driven axle. The coupling is positioned outside of the axle and hub bearings avoiding interference with the wheel assembly. And the rotary coupling is connected to the brake mounting plate and the wheel hub to take advantage of their closely held tolerances.

The present invention is directed to a rotary air coupling that provides a means to distribute air from an air supply to vehicle tires mounted on a rotating hub of a vehicle drive axle.
Automatic tire inflation systems (ATIS) are becoming popular with the trucking industry. Various types of ATIS systems have been developed, both for trailer axles and tractor drive axles. Existing air distribution systems for tire inflation systems on drive axles direct the supply air through the bearings of the hub. Distribution through the bearings demand smaller bearings and require additional seals in the hub. The seal life is shortened due to the increased seal friction caused by pressure loading of the seal lips.
The present invention is particularly directed to a rotary air coupling designed to distribute supply air to the tires mounted on drive axles in which the air coupling is positioned externally of the drive axle and the hub bearings. Therefore, the improved rotary air coupling of the present invention by being mounted outside the bearings of the hub have no effect on existing hub bearings.
However, a rotary air coupling, which includes a stationary seal and a rotating seal must be accurately positioned relative to each other and therefore requires small tolerances, such as five to ten thousands of an inch. Generally, the tolerances in wheel assemblies on an axially driven truck are quite large and thus are not suitable mounting surfaces. However, one set of surfaces in a wheel assembly that are tightly controlled is the relationship between the brake shoes and the brake drum. The present improved rotary air coupling takes advantage of this controlled dimension by connecting the stationary component of the coupling to the brake mounting plate directly or through the axle housing, while the rotary component of the coupling is connected to the hub and thus to the brake drum, such as by being attached to the wheel lugs of the hub.
One of the advantages of the present invention is that the rotary coupling of the present invention does not interfere with the drive axle, bearings or lubrications as internal axle type air couplings can. Thus, there is no interference in the strength of existing vehicle components which can lead to lengthy testing delays demanding by OEMs. Another advantage is the accessibility of the present rotary coupling. The present rotary coupling can be accessed as easily as brake shoes and will not cause mechanical difficulty in reassembly.

Rotary air coupling for tire inflation system


A magnetic memory cell for use in a magnetic random access memory array that uses the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition properties of FeRh to assist in the control of switching of the memory cell.

The desired characteristics of a memory system for computer main memory are high speed, low power, nonvolatility, and low cost. Low cost is accomplished by a simple fabrication process and a small surface area. Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells are fast and expend little power, but have to be refreshed many times each second and require complex structures to incorporate a capacitor in each cell. Flash type EEPROM cells are non-volatile, have low sensing power, and can be constructed as a single device, but take microseconds to write and milliseconds to erase, which makes them too slow for many applications, especially for use in computer main memory. Conventional semiconductor memory cells such as DRAM, ROM, and EEPROM have current flow in the plane of the cell, i.e., "horizontal", and therefore occupy a total surface area that is the sum of the essential memory cell area plus the area for the electrical contact regions, and therefore do not achieve their theoretical minimum cell area.
Unlike DRAM, magnetic memory cells that store information as an orientation of magnetization of a ferromagnetic region can hold stored information for long periods of time, and are thus nonvolatile. Certain types of magnetic memory cells that use the magnetic state to alter the electrical resistance of the materials near the ferromagnetic region are collectively known as magnetoresistive (MR) memory cells. An array of magnetic memory cells is often called magnetic RAM or MRAM.
Although many types of MR cells have been proposed for use in MRAM arrays, magnetic tunnel junction sensors (MTJ), also called tunnel valves, have shown the most promise. A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) includes two ferromagnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic, electrically insulating barrier layer, and the magnetoresistance results from the spin-polarized tunneling of conduction electrons between the two ferromagnetic layers. The tunneling current depends on the relative orientation of the magnetic moments of the two ferromagnetic layers. For example, when the magnetizations of the two ferromagnetic layers are parallel, electrical resistance through the sensor is at a minimum, and, conversely when the magnetizations of the ferromagnetic layers are antiparallel, the electrical resistance is at its maximum.
A MTJ cell used in a MRAM array generally has one of its ferromagnetic layers pinned in a desired direction (such as by exchange coupling with an anitferromagnetic material), while the other is free to rotate in response to a magnetic field. The MTJ cell may be designed so that the free ferromagnetic layer has a magnetic anisotropy, such as a shape induced anisotropy, that causes the magnetization of the free layer to tend to align in one of two directions, either parallel to the magnetization of the pinned layer or antiparallel to the magnetization of the pinned layer.
The MRAM array has a first set of parallel electrical lines that can be referred to as word lines and a second set of parallel electrical lines, termed bit lines, that are generally perpendicular to the word lines. Each MTJ cell connects a word line with a bit line. Conducting electrical currents in the word and bit lines associated in a particular cell generates magnetic fields that can be used to flip the magnetization of the free ferromagnetic layer, thereby switching the cell between a high and low resistance state as desired.
In order to provide effective non-volatile memory, the switched state of the MTJ cell must remain in its desired position, until it is desired that it be switched. However, the anisotropy energy of the free layer is often not sufficient to ensure that the cell will remain in its desired state. For example, magnetic stray fields from adjacent cells and lines can, in combination with thermal fluctuations, cause the free layer to spontaneously flip.
In order to overcome this problem, some researches have attempted to develop thermally assisted MRAM systems. An example of cell 100 from such a system can be seen with reference to FIG. 1. The cell includes a first magnetic layer FM1 102 that is exchange coupled to a layer of antiferromagnetic material 104 and second ferromagnetic layer FM2 106. The Curie temperatures of both ferromagnetic layers 102 and 106 (TC1 and TC2, respectively) are significantly higher than the blocking temperature of the antiferromagnetic layer 104 (TB). The blocking temperature of the antiferromagnetic material is that temperature at which the material ceases to exchange bias the ferromagnetic layer and often corresponds with the loss of antiferromagnetic order. A barrier layer 110 is sandwiched between the first and second ferromagnetic layers 104 and 106. An electrically conductive word line 112 and a perpendicular, electrically conductive bit line 114 (shown in cross section) are provided at opposite ends of the memory cell 100.
Those familiar with spin valve sensors will recognize the disclosed structure as being similar to a tunnel valve sensor designed for use in a hard disk drive wherein the second ferromagnetic layer 106 serves as a free layer and the first magnetic layer 102 serves as a pinned layer. However, in the presently described memory cell 100, the second ferromagnetic layer 106 exhibits sufficiently high magnetic coercivity to maintain the magnetization of the second magnetic layer fixed in a desired position even in the presence of magnetic fields from the word and bit lines 112, 114. Above TB the first ferromagnetic layer 102 exhibits low enough coercivity, so that its magnetization can be switched in the presence of magnetic fields from the word and bit lines 112, 114, while layer 106 exhibits high enough coercivity, so that its magnetization cannot be switched in the presence of magnetic fields from the word and bit lines 112, 114. When it is desired that the memory cell be switched from one memory state to another, heat can be provided by a heat source (not shown) to heat the memory cell to a temperature TW above the blocking temperature TB of the antiferromagnetic material 104, but below the Curie temperatures TC1 and TC2 of the two ferromagnetic layers 102 and 106 Heat can be provided by flowing a current through the word and bit lines 112, 114 or by an external heat source such as a laser or resistive heater. When TW is reached the strong pinning provided by the AFM layer 104 ceases and the magnetic state of the first magnetic layer 102 can be switched by magnetic fields from the word and bit lines. Once the magnetic state has been switched, the cell 100 is cooled below the blocking temperature of the AFM layer 104 and the first magnetic layer 102 is again strongly pinned by exchange coupling with the AFM layer 104. With the magnetization of the first and second magnetic layers strongly fixed, inadvertent flipping of the memory state of the sensor is avoided. A memory cell similar to that described above is described by J. M. Daughton and A.V. Pohm in the Journal of Applied Physics Volume 93, Number 10 pages 7304 through 7306 (15 May 2003).
While the above described heat assisted memory cell 100 effectively prevents flipping of the memory state, it does suffer from other drawbacks. For one thing, in order to achieve good pinning at room temperature an AFM with high blocking temperature needs to be employed. The reason is that the pinning strength of the antiferromagnet does not vanish instantaneously at a given temperature, but rather decreases almost linearly over a large temperature range. By way of example, the blocking temperature TB of 20 nm thick IrMn is ˜550 Kelvin. TB decreases with decreasing IrMn thickness, however the pinning at room temperature will generally also be lower and pinning still decreases over a large temperature range. Since good pinning at room temperature is desired, an antiferromagnetic layer with blocking temperature much higher than room temperature is preferred. Heating above and cooling back down from such a high blocking temperature takes a significant amount of time and requires a powerful heat source. This prior art concept thus requires heating the cell 100 well above the blocking temperature of the AFM layer 104 in order to ensure that the ferromagnetic layer 102 will be able to be switched. Therefore, the point of switching cannot be well controlled, and the process is undesirably slow.
Therefore, there remains a need for a magnetic memory cell having a well maintained magnetic memory state that can also be switched quickly. Such a memory cell would preferably not require heating to excessively high temperatures and would be able to be very quickly switched, preferably on timescales of the order of nanoseconds or below.

Heat assisted switching in an MRAM cell utilizing the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition in FeRh

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


Provided is a method for treating a sandstone formation with a well treatment composition. The method may include introducing a pre-flush pill, introducing the well treatment composition, introducing a post-flush fluid, and maintaining the wellbore such that the well treatment composition interacts with the sandstone formation. Further provided is a method that may introduce the well treatment composition as two pills, such as an organic acid pill and an inorganic acid pill. The well treatment composition may include an aqueous solution of an ammonium salt, an inorganic acid, an organic acid, and optionally one or more of a pH adjuster, a mutual solvent, a surfactant, and a corrosion inhibitor.

In a typical oil and gas well, acid may be introduced into the well for the purpose of penetrating into the porous rock. Such acid treatments, called matrix acidizing, can remove damage from a well or promote a well to improve flow, or both. Unfortunately, acid treatments to remove formation damage, especially in sandstone reservoirs, often fail to maintain reservoir integrity and result in the formation of precipitated products.

Aqueous well treatment composition and method for treating a sandstone formation


Method for operating a two-for-one twisting or cabling machine (1) with multiple workstations (2), each equipped with at least two feed bobbins (6, 13), one feed bobbin (6) being creeled on a spindle (3) of the workstation (2) and at least one further feed bobbin (13) being creeled on a creeling device (12) associated with the workstation (2). The yarns (7, 15) of the feed bobbins (6, 13) are guided together in a balloon yarn guide (5) and cabled, and the cabled yarn is wound to form a take-up bobbin (16). The feed bobbin (6) creeled on the spindle (3) has half the weight of the take-up bobbin (16) to be produced and the dimensions of the spindle (3) are adapted to the diameter of the reduced feed bobbin (6).

A method for operating a cabling machine of the type mentioned at the outset is known from German Patent Publication DE 27 26 603 A1. The cabling machine known from German Patent Publication DE 27 26 603 A1 has a large number of workstations, which are arranged next to one another in the longitudinal direction of the machine. The workstations in each case comprise a spindle, onto which a feed bobbin is creeled as well as a creeling device arranged on the machine frame, which is used to receive a second feed bobbin. The yarn drawn off from the feed bobbin on the creeling device is guided to a yarn guide arranged above the spindle, where it is joined to the yarn drawn off overhead from the feed bobbin creeled on the spindle. The yarn produced by this course is wound onto a take-up bobbin with a predetermined weight. The feed bobbins generally used in this production process always have the same weight, the total weight of which is above the weight which the completed take-up bobbin has. During production, a not inconsiderable quantity of yarn therefore remains on the feed bobbin creeled on the spindle, which is, however, insufficient, after the completed take-up bobbin has been replaced by an empty tube, to again wind the latter to form a take-up bobbin with the required weight. The residual feed bobbin located on the spindle is therefore removed from the spindle pot and creeled on the creeling device. The start of the yarn is connected to the yarn end of the residual feed bobbin already located there, so both feed bobbins can be unwound consecutively without an interruption. If the residual yarn quantity of the two feed bobbins is not sufficient to fill a further take-up bobbin with the desired yarn quantity, a further feed bobbin is placed on the creeling device or the residual feed bobbin which has run empty first is replaced on the creeling device by a new feed bobbin.
It has proven to be disadvantageous in this procedure that, on the one hand, a large number of operating steps is necessary to wind a take-up bobbin of a predetermined weight and that, on the other hand, residual feed bobbins remain, the yarn material of which, after the ending of a batch, have to be processed as residual bobbins or discarded.

Method for operating a two-for-one twisting or cabling machine and two-for-one twisting or cabling machine