In a fault tolerant computing system, a number of processing nodes are connected via a communication channel to a management node. The management node has the function of setting the processing nodes in uniquely different configurations and operating the processing nodes in parallel to execute common application programs in parallel, so that the application programs are run under diversified environments. The management node has the function of respectively distributing request messages to the processing nodes. The configurations of the processing nodes are sufficiently different from each other to produce a difference in processing result between response messages when a failure occurs in one of the processing nodes. Alternatively, the management node has the function of selecting, from many processing nodes, those processing nodes which are respectively set in uniquely different configurations and operating the selected processing nodes in parallel to execute the common application programs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a multi-node computing system and more specifically to a software-fault tolerant multi-node computing system and a method of enhancing the fault tolerance of a computing system at the level of its software element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fault tolerant computing systems are known in the computer technology to cope with a system error. Usually, the fault tolerant computing system is one in which a plurality of identical modules are connected to a common bus. All applications are divided into a number of tasks of suitable size and each module is assigned the same tasks. All the tasks are simultaneously executed by the modules. Through the common bus, each module reads the result of the execution performed by other modules to which the same tasks are assigned and takes a majority decision for masking a system error of any of these modules. However, the presence of a software error results in a premature ending of the program known as abnormal end.
A technical paper "Fault Tolerance by Design Diversity: Concepts and Experiments" (A. Avizienis and John P. J. Kelly, IEEE Computer Society. Vol. 17, No. 8, August 1984, pages 67–80) describes a fault tolerance scheme in which a plurality of programs of identical function for achieving the same purpose are independently designed by different developers. These independently designed programs are simultaneously executed in parallel. By taking a majority decision from the results of the parallel computations, a software error in one of these programs is masked. However, the development cost of this technique is prohibitively high.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,971 discloses a method known as checkpointing scheme for reconstructing the state of an interrupted computation in a parallel processing system. According to this scheme, an application program is executed in distinct execution phases by issuing commands and replies. All such commands and replies are recorded and the end state of each successfully completed execution phase is saved in memory. If a failure is detected in any of such execution phases, the last-saved end state of the execution phase prior to the detection of the failure is restored and all recorded commands and replies from the beginning of execution of the application up through the restored last-saved end state are recapitulated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,726 discloses a fault recovery technique which performs management of checkpointing data. When a failure is detected, the checkpointing data is retried item by item in search of the best checkpointing data.
Also known in the computing art is the method of making regular backup copies of data of the hard-disk onto a separate storage medium. The checkpointing scheme differs from the backup method in that it additionally saves dynamic data such as the internal variables and the running point of execution. To ensure precision checkpointing, it is necessary to prevent the system from saving an internal variable which is currently changing and to cause the system to save the running point of execution.
Another shortcoming of the prior art checkpointing scheme is that, since a significant amount of time lapses from the instant the cause of a failure occurs to the instant the failure is detected, difficulty arises to determine which part of the saved checkpointing data is to be restored. For identifying the potential cause of a trouble, the usual practice involves system engineers making a search through the logs delivered from the computer and through the data indicating the running state of a program dumped at the instant the failure is detected. Appropriate checkpointing data is then selected based on the determined cause to recover the system from the failure. Since this approach is a time consuming job, a substantial amount of man-hours would be required.
Therefore, there exists a need for a fault tolerant computing system of enhanced tolerance to software errors.

Fault tolerant multi-node computing system for parallel-running a program under different environments


A treated pigment and a dispersion composition thereof having preferable dispersion stability and fluidity in a dispersion medium even the pigment has no functional group reactive with a carbodiimide group on the surface thereof, and further to provide a resist composition exerting very excellent developing characteristics when forming color filters, black matrices and the like patterns. Furthermore, the invention also provides a compound for pigment treatment suited for the treatment of such pigment. A treated pigment which is producible by the treatment with a carbodiimide-based compound having at least one side chain selected from the group consisting of polyester side chains, polyether side chains and polyacrylic side chains and at least one basic nitrogen-containing group within the molecule.

It is a current tendency to utilize pigments as colorants not only in various printing inks and paints but also in those fields in which clearer colorations are required, for example in color filters and inks for ink jet printing.
In recent years, marked advances have been made in the technology of dispersing such pigments. The method which is used for further rationalization of production processes comprises carrying out dispersion so as to increase the pigment concentration as far as possible. However, there is a fundamental problem that as the pigment concentration increases, the fluidity and dispersion stability decrease.
In addition, in the fields of color filters and ink jet recording, where high levels of fastness are required, it is necessary to use high-grade pigments and reduce the particle diameter to a finer level so that clearer colorations may be accomplished. However, high-grade pigments are by nature poor in dispersion stability as compared with other pigments and, further, as the particle diameter becomes finer, the tendency toward aggregation increases and it becomes difficult to obtain stable dispersions.
On the other hand, carbon black is widely used as a pigment showing a high level of blackness. However, it has problems, namely difficulty in attaining high concentrations thereof and insufficiency in dispersion stability due to its characteristics that its primary particle diameter is very small and it is porous and has a large specific surface area. Recently, attempts have been made to use carbon black also as a light-shielding material for black matrices. It is a problem, however, that it is difficult to obtain highly insulating black matrices from carbon black which is highly conductive.
Therefore, for solving such problems, investigations have so far been made concerning, for example, the treatment (surface treatment/modification) of pigments themselves or the development of pigment dispersants, pigment derivatives or surfactants, each having marked ability to wet (adsorption ability) pigments and/or be wetted to increase the pigment dispersion stability and/or pigment concentration, and a number of research works are now still going on.
For example, Japanese Kokai Publication Sho-54-37082 discloses a dispersant which comprises a reaction product derived from poly(lower alkylene)imine and a free carboxyl group-containing polyester in which at least two polyester chains are bonded to each poly(lower alkylene)imine chain; Japanese Kokai Publication Hei-07-207012 discloses a pigment dispersant produced by reacting a carboxyl group-terminated polylactone compound obtained by the ring-polymerization of a lactone compound using hydroxycarboxylic acid as an initiator with a polyalkylene polyamine compound; Japanese Kokai Publication Hei-09-169821 discloses a polyallylamine derivative introduced with a polyester, polyamide, etc. into an amino group of the polyallylamine; and further Japanese Kokai Publication Hei-09-166869 discloses a grafting method which comprises reacting a dispersant having a functional group such as an aziridine group, isocyanate group and epoxy group with a carboxyl group in carbon black having a functional group such as a carboxyl group, however, even with this method, improvements in fluidity and dispersion stability at high concentrations have not been achieved.
Thus, the applicant paid attention to a carbodiimide group having high reactivity particularly with a carboxyl group as a technology of improving the dispersibility by grafting a pigment such as carbon black, and has already developed and proposed a treated pigment capable of stably maintaining a finely dispersed state by grafting a dispersant containing the carbodiimide group within the molecule onto the surface of the above pigment (Japanese Kokai Publication 2002-201381). Furthermore, the applicant has found that the dispersion stability and fluidity of a treated pigment can be further improved by introducing a specific side chain into the molecule of a carbodiimide compound (Japanese Patent Applications No. 2002-064416, No. 2002-74966, No. 2002-89231, and No. 2002-186838).
Such a treated pigment as proposed by the applicant is utilized in printing inks, paints, ink jet recording liquids and the like and, in addition, suitably utilized particularly in resist compositions for said color filters and black matrices.
Furthermore, in recent years, dealing with high concentration of pigments which has been required, dispersing stability and fluidity become exceedingly preferable even in the case of highly-concentrated pigments, clear and high contrast coatings can be obtained in organic pigments, coatings having high insulating property and light-shielding property can be obtained in carbon black, further developing ability is improved when used as a resist composition; and other excellent effects are to be obtained.
However, the above-mentioned technology is highly effective for pigments having a functional group reactive with a carbodiimide group on the surfaces, but there has been a problem that the effect is hardly obtained for those pigments having no such functional group. Further, when the pigment is used as a resist composition, higher developability is sometimes required, and there has been room for further improvements.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Treated pigment, use thereof, and compound for pigment treatment


The ramp-signal generator circuit includes a reference voltage generator that changes the voltage of a reference signal Vr to a comparator setting voltage VR for compensating for a voltage difference between a reference signal Vr and an analog input signal (Vs1-Vsn) before comparison by an analog-to-digital converter circuit and outputs a ramp signal whose slope starts from the comparator setting voltage VR in response to a start of the comparison. The ramp-signal generator circuit is configured to add a predetermined enhanced voltage VA to the comparator setting voltage VR before the comparison.

The present disclosure relates to image sensors and imaging systems, and more particularly to a ramp-signal generator circuit that outputs a reference signal to a single slope (or integrating- or counter-type) analog-to-digital converter (hereinafter referred to as an ADC) included in an image sensor or an imaging device.
Image sensors each of which performs column parallel analog-to-digital (AD) conversion with an ADC provided in each column of a pixel array of the image sensor such that pixel output signals from a single row of the pixel array are subjected to AD conversion at a time in a horizontal scanning period, have been developed and put into practical use. In this column parallel AD conversion, a single-slope ADC whose circuit scale is relatively small is typically employed because of a limited area of each column determined depending on the pixel pitch (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-340044). In the single-slope ADC, a ramp signal correlated with a count value of a counter is input as a reference signal to a comparator of the ADC, and based on a count value obtained when this reference signal coincides with an analog input signal (a pixel output signal), an AD conversion result is output as a digital signal.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a conventional image sensor.
A column parallel ADC (a single-slope ADC) 620 includes comparators 660 (661-66p) (where p is a natural number) and counters 670 (671-67p). The column parallel ADC 620 compares, in the comparators 660, a reference signal Vr from a ramp-signal generator circuit 630 with pixel signals Vs1-Vsp from a pixel array 610, and based on counting results of comparison results Vc1-Vcp obtained by the counters 670 (671-67p), outputs an AD conversion result (a digital signal).
The column parallel ADC 620 included in the image sensor performs AD conversion through a procedure called digital correlated double sampling (CDS). In the digital CDS, two AD conversion processes, i.e., an AD conversion process on reset levels of the pixel signals Vs1-Vsp and an AD conversion process on a signal level, are performed, and the difference between these AD conversion processes is used as an AD conversion result on the Vs1-Vsp so as to reduce fixed pattern noise due to characteristic variations among pixels of the pixel array 610 and the comparators 660.
Referring to a timing chart of FIG. 13, operation of the digital CDS will be specifically described.
First, in a period from time T30 to time T31, the pixel array 610 outputs a reset level voltage V1 as a pixel signal Vsx (where x=1−p). The reference signal Vr from the ramp-signal generator circuit 630 is set at an initial voltage VI that has been previously set by the control circuit 640. In this state, the control circuit 640 sets a reset signal CRST at "L" and resets the comparators 660. Specifically, a comparator 66x (where x=1−p) includes a differential amplifier having input capacitances 3a and 3b and an inverter (INV) amplifier 3i having an input capacitance 3c, as illustrated in FIG. 14, for example. In response to an input of the reset signal CRST, reset transistors 3f, 3g, and 3h cause short circuits between the gates and drains of the differential transistors 3d and 3e and between the input and output of the INV amplifier 3i, and thereby, the comparator 66x is reset to a balanced state.
In a period from time T31 to time T32, the control circuit 640 drives a comparator output initialization control signal Sr. Then, the ramp-signal generator circuit 630 changes the reference signal Vr from the initial voltage VI to a comparator initialization voltage VR, and holds the comparator initialization voltage VR. Here, the comparator initialization voltage VR is a voltage that is used for compensating for a voltage difference (i.e., comparison) between the reference signal Vr and the pixel signal Vsx after initialization of the comparator 66x, and is higher, by a compensation voltage, than the initial voltage VI previously set by the control circuit 640. In this manner, the comparator 66x (where x=1−p) is defined (initialized) from the balanced state to a state where the comparison result Vcx (where x=1−p) is "H."
At time T32, the control circuit 640 starts driving a counter clock CK, and the reference signal Vr becomes a sloped ramp signal whose slope starts from the comparator initialization voltage VR. With the start of output of the ramp signal, the counter 67x (where x=1−p) starts down-counting from an initial count value, and comparison for a first AD conversion process starts.
At time T33, when the reference signal Vr in the comparator 66x coincides with the pixel signal Vsx (the reset level voltage V1), the comparison result Vcx transitions to "L" and the counter 67x stops down-counting, and holds the count value (a count width Vd) at this time.
In a period from time T34 to time T35, the control circuit 640 drives the comparator output initialization control signal Sr again. Then, the ramp-signal generator circuit 630 changes the reference signal Vr to the comparator initialization voltage VR again, thereby initializing the comparison result Vcx (where x=1−p) to "H." The pixel array 610 outputs a pixel signal Vsx which has been changed to a reset level voltage V2, and enters a standby state until the state is stabilized.
At time T35, the control circuit 640 starts driving of the counter clock CK, and the reference signal Vr becomes a sloped ramp signal whose slope starts from the comparator initialization voltage VR. Then, with the start of output of the ramp signal, the counter 67x starts up-counting based on the count value held in the first AD conversion process, and comparison for a second AD conversion process is started.
At time T36, when the reference signal Vr in the comparator 66x coincides with the pixel signal Vsx (the reset level voltage V2), the comparison result Vcx transitions to "L" and the counter 67x stops up-counting, and holds a count value at this time. The difference between the count value at time T33 and the count value at time T36 is equal to the difference value between the first AD conversion process and the second AD conversion process, i.e., serves as an AD conversion result of the difference (V1−V2) in amplitude of the pixel signal Vsx.
In recent years, the number of pixels in a digital camera system has increased rapidly. In addition, a newly installed function of capturing a high-definition video image has increased the speed of driving image sensors. The increased speed causes problems, which will be described below, in AD conversion using the above-described digital CDS, and various techniques have been proposed to solve the problems.
For example, to catch up with the increase in speed, a double-data-rate (DDR) technique that uses timings at both rising and falling edges of a clock is employed. In the above example (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-340044), a clock signal line supplies a common clock to the ramp-signal generator circuit 630 and the counters 670. Thus, the clock signal line is extended to a long distance. When the frequency of this clock increases, a load due to wiring resistance and/or wiring capacitance causes rounding of a clock waveform and a decrease in duty ratio, resulting in degradation of differential non-linearity (DNL) characteristics of AD conversion.
To solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-077172 proposes a technique for smoothing a ramp signal waveform by dividing, and thereby, reducing the frequency of a clock to be supplied to a ramp-signal generator circuit, and inserting a low-pass filter (LPF) in a path for an output signal from the ramp-signal generator circuit. This technique can reduce degradation of DNL characteristics due to rounding of a clock waveform or a decrease in duty ratio.
As described above, AD conversion of digital CDS is implemented by two AD conversion processes. To achieve high-speed driving, an AD conversion period is preferably minimized.
In view of this, United States Patent Application No. 2010/0271248 proposes a technique for reducing an AD conversion period in digital CDS. Specifically, in this technique, a linear period of a ramp wave is extended within a ramp wave generation period (e.g., a down-counting period or an up-counting period in FIG. 13). More specifically, an output section of the ramp-signal generator circuit is driven by a buffer, and is coupled to a large number of ADCs. An input section of the buffer in the output section of the ramp-signal generator circuit includes an LPF for smoothing glitch noise. Switching of a time constant of this glitch smoothing LPF can reduce rounding at a start of output of a ramp wave.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-337139 shows a technique for enhancing high-speed responsiveness of a ramp wave generator. Specifically, in this technique, a ramp wave and a square wave are added at the same timing, thereby achieving high-speed ramp wave generation.

Ramp-signal generator circuit, and image sensor and imaging system including the same

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A device that indicates an internal pressure of an inflatable medical cuff. The device includes a membrane movable in response to a difference between an internal pressure of the device and an external pressure. The device includes a movable internal pressure indicator. The movable internal pressure indicator is operably associated with at least a portion of the membrane.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and device for pressure indication. In particular, the invention relates to a method and device for indicating an air pressure of a cuff of a laryngeal mask or other airway device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In 1988, Dr. Archie Brain invented a new airway device, called the laryngeal mask, for delivering anesthetic gases and oxygen to an unconscious patient during an operation. Prior to this, patients were commonly anaesthetized using an Endotrachial Tube running through the vocal cords of the patient into the trachea. Alternatively, a face mask connected to a gas source was held over the patient's nose and mouth.
In use, the laryngeal mask is inserted into the pharangeal space (throat) deflated, and when correct positioning is observed, an inflatable cuff around the outside of the mask is inflated with air using a syringe. The syringe is inserted into an end of a valve which is connected to the cuff by a small tube, such that air passed through the valve from the syringe is used to inflate the cuff. There are presently eight different sizes of the laryngeal mask available, and while all require different volumes of air to inflate the cuff, the maximum recommended intra cuff pressure is 60 cm H2O.
The Laryngeal Mask is now the preferred choice of anesthetists in many countries, and its use continues to grow. The greater prevalence in use of the laryngeal mask has brought certain possible dangers to light. Due to human errors and the possible diffusion of nitrous oxide into the silicone cuff, the cuff may be excessively inflated. Such excessive inflation of the cuff has the potential to damage nerves and tissues around the hypopharynx, and this potential danger has been the subject of scientific papers in anesthesia journals.
In order to prevent over-inflation of the cuff, it is desirable to check the intra cuff pressure when the laryngeal mask is in place. Currently, the means for checking the air pressure of the cuff include a small inflatable bulb in fluid communication with the cuff inflation tube. To get an indication of the cuff pressure, medical personnel squeeze the bulb under slight pressure from their figures to thus subjectively judge the intra cuff pressure. Alternatively, a manometer may be connected to the cuff inflation valve in order to obtain an accurate pressure measurement. Manometers are, however, relatively expensive and somewhat bulky and can be inconvenient to connect to the cuff inflation valve as the valve is usually close to the patient's mouth.
Similar problems can occur in other airway devices having an inflatable cuff, such as endotrachial tubes, for example.

Device for pressure indication of an inflatible cuff


A method of preparing particles of a substance, for example selected from a flavor, fragrance, pigment, dye, biologically active compound or a plastics material, comprises contacting the substance of a formulation (which may include the substance in conjunction with a second solvent) with a first solvent which comprises a C1-C4 hydrofluorocarbon, especially tetrafluoroethane, and subjecting the resultant mixture to a separation process, for example, by allowing the mixture to be sprayed as a mist (14) from a high pressure environment in a first vessel (2) to a low pressure environment in a second vessel (8), thereby to cause separation of a least some of the substance from the first solvent and the formation of fine particles (20) of the substance.

Many industries require that their solid particulate raw materials meet rigorous specifications as to size and shape. Some require very small particles or crystals with closely defined limitations as to the range of size and shape.
In the food industry, it would be advantageous to obtain raw materials as solid particulate powders having very small, narrowly distributed mesh sizes in order to distribute more evenly the flavour ingredient throughout their prepared food-stuff products.
Industries concerned with colour in the form of dye-stuffs and pigments need small, uniform, closely defined particulate materials, to distribute better and more evenly such dyes and pigments in suspension or solution throughout their paints, printing inks and textile printing media.
The plastics industry also has need for very small particles of a variety of polymeric materials such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyacrylamide etc.
The property known as polymorphism is the ability of crystalline materials to exist in a variety of forms or structures despite being chemically indistinguishable from each other. The crystalline form or structure may have an effect on the properties of the material. In view of this, in addition to the control of the particle size (mesh) of their raw materials, some industries require crystals of very well defined shape to the rigorous exclusion of similarly sized crystals of other shapes.
The chemical and pharmaceutical industries have a particular demand for small particles for a wide range of applications. For example, small particle size raw ingredients and intermediates are advantageous for their increased ease of dissolution, enhanced chemical reactivity and increased ease of drying.
The pharmaceutical industry in particular has a significant requirement for use of particles of controlled size in drug formulations. There are several methods available for provision of controlled drug delivery systems. Particle size and crystal form are important characteristics affecting the performance and efficacy of ingested pharmaceuticals, whether as tablets, powders or suspensions. Small particles of micro-crystalline form, due to their large surface area, are absorbed more quickly than larger particles and hence have a faster activity. The reverse is also true. Therefore, the release rate of active ingredients can be controlled by controlling the size of the particles from which the pharmaceutical is made.
Particle size control is also important in situations where a drug is delivered through the skin in, for example, the provision of painkillers and vaso-dilators, such as capsicum extracts, used as a means of treating and accelerating the healing of sprains and muscular damage. Suppositories, which depend for their efficacy on the ability of the active pharmaceutical to penetrate through the rectal mucosa, have proved to be a valuable means for the administration of drugs. The opinion that "skin-patches" comprising or impregnated with pharmaceutically active compounds may have considerable advantages has been growing in popularity in recent years. Hormone replacement therapy patches and nicotine patches are now a widely used and effective means for the delivery of active molecules through the epidermis.
In some applications where prolonged drug delivery is desired, such as in certain common cold preparations, a mixture of variously sized particles is used in order that the therapeutic benefits last for extended periods of time.
Traditionally, milling or grinding of a solid material was considered to be an adequate means for causing attenuation or reduction in the particle size of a solid material. Micronization improved this technique, yielding even smaller particles.
Unfortunately, all forms of mechanical grinding, milling, micronizing or attrition of solids to powders result in the destruction of the crystal form and in the introduction to the powder of heat energy with an inevitable rise in temperature of the solid. This may (at best) have no effect on the pharmacologically active ingredient. However, it may in some cases cause a reduction in the efficacy of a preparation containing the active ingredients.
Methods including introducing liquid nitrogen or solid carbon dioxide to the grinding surfaces, collectively known as "freeze grinding", have gone some way to alleviating and evading such rises in temperature, by removing the heat almost as fast as it is generated. However, even this process can never be performed without destruction of the crystalline form of a material.
Another means for the production of small particles from solutions of a compound is "spray drying". This process has been widely used for over forty years as a means of producing small particles of the water soluble solids of coffee liquor to yield the product known as "instant coffee".
According to this technique, a hot (frequently super-heated) aqueous solution containing the compound, is injected at high velocity into a large chamber through an "atomiser" or orifice, with the intention of producing very small droplets. The droplets fall under the influence of gravity whilst encountering a spiral and rising stream of warm dry air, injected into the chamber at the base thereof. As the warm air passes up through the chamber counter-current to the falling droplets of solution, heat is exchanged, and, drying of the droplets occurs. The resultant dry powder is harvested from the bottom of the chamber for further processing.
This process has disadvantages that prevent wide-scale use for the general preparation of small particles of some compounds, for example, pharmaceutically active ingredients. The introduction of heat to the injected liquor could cause decomposition of a pharmaceutically active ingredient. Exposure to air could result in the oxidation of a component. Furthermore, all components desired to be produced by this method are required to be prepared in aqueous solution, which can be difficult, if not impossible, for some components. In addition, atomisation of the formulation combined with heat and rapid drying often introduces static energy into the particles, thus increasing the risk of fire and causing the particles to be hygroscopic.
In recent years, a technique analogous to spray-drying, but using super-critical carbon dioxide fluid as a solvent has been under intense scrutiny by many industries.
This technique relies on the curious property of carbon dioxide (at temperatures above its critical temperature of 31° C.) and at very high pressures (in the region of 100 to 400 Bar) to "dissolve" certain pharmaceuticals and other materials such as essential oils, fragrances and flavours. To use this procedure for the production of very small particles, a solute (e.g. the active pharmaceutical) is placed in a chamber capable of withstanding pressures in excess of 300-500 Bar. The chamber and contents are heated to typically 30-40° C. and the solute is contacted with and subjected to a flow of carbon dioxide at pressures that are typically 100-400 Bar. Some of the solute appears to "dissolve" in this super-critical fluid stream.
If the super-critical solution stream is allowed to emerge into a second chamber, wherein the pressure is maintained at a lower level or even at atmospheric pressure, the dissolving properties of the carbon dioxide are reduced or eliminated and a cloud of very fine particles of solute is formed as a mist. It is sometimes possible to harvest this mist and thereby make a preparation of very finely divided solute.
One-major disadvantage of this procedure is its cost; the capital cost of the various chambers, pumps, nozzles, heat exchangers etc., all of which must be capable of withstanding and functioning under very high pressures indeed, is extremely high.
Furthermore, carbon dioxide, being an acidic gas, can cause reductions in pH of the solute, in the presence of water, to unacceptably low levels.
It is an object of the present invention to address problems associated with the production of solid particles.


The present invention includes devices and methods for dynamically monitoring cell adhesion and cell spreading. Cells are added to a microelectronic cell sensor array operably connected to an impedance analyzer. The device also includes a coating including biological molecule or organic compound capable of interacting with the cell. Cell adhesion and cell mobility is determined by detecting changes in impedance and comparing impedance or cell index values between samples.

The cells making up the various tissues and organs systems are held together by specific molecules that essentially serve as "biological glue" conferring shape, structure, rigidity or plasticity. During embryogenesis, these biological molecules or extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins serve as "tracks" and direct cells to the appropriate vicinity within the embryo to give rise to tissues and organ systems. ECM proteins also play a prominent role during wound healing, and are involved in directing other cellular processes such as proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Failure of cells to interact with the appropriate biological surface or molecule can be detrimental to the faith of the cells and can contribute to cancer cell metastases.
There are several methods for assessing and quantifying cellular adhesion and spreading on an ECM coated surface. The most widely used method is to apply the cells onto surfaces coated with appropriate ECM components, allow the cells to attach and adhere for a specified length of time and wash the unbound cells. The attached cells are then fixed, labeled with fluorescent reagent such as rhodamine phalloidin and visualized using an epi-fluorescent microscope or an epi-fluorescent confocal microscope. Alternatively, the cells can be labeled with a dye such as crystal violet and quantified by either counting the stained cells using a light microscope or solubilizing the stain and obtaining absorbance reading using a spectrophotometer. Cells can also be pre-labeled with a fluorescent dye for live cells such as 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA) and then applied to appropriate ECM-coated surface. The unbound cells are washed off and the bound cells are quantified using a plate reader. An additional method for assessing the role of integrins and other adhesion proteins is to coat different surfaces with antibodies or peptides which are specific for the various receptors and then seed the cells which are expressing the appropriate integrin receptors. The interaction of integrin receptor on the cell surface with the antibody or peptide-coated surface will allow the cells to adhere and undergo specific morphological and biological changes which can then be assessed by using cell biological techniques discussed above.
While the assays just described for assessing and quantifying cell adhesion have been informative, there are certain caveats associated with each of these assays. For example, each of the assays described are end-point assays which provide a "snapshot" of the adhesion process. All the assays involve pre-labeling or post-labeling of the cells and also involve fixation and permeabilization leading to destruction of the cell. In this application we describe a label-free real-time assay using electronic cell sensor technology (RT-CES system) which addresses some of the major limitations of the current in vitro assays for assessing the interaction of bio-molecular coated surfaces with target cells. Furthermore, because the readout is non-invasive it precludes the need for fixation and lysis of the cells and allows for acquisition of information for biological events occurring after adhesion and spreading, such as proliferation and differentiation.

Dynamic monitoring of cell adhesion and spreading using the RT-CES system


A polyoxymethylene copolymer excellent in stability and mechanical properties which is comprised of oxymethylene units and oxyalkylene units and has a molecular weight of 10,000 to 200,000. The proportion of oxyalkylene units to oxymethylene units is 0.07 to 0.5% by mole and the ratio of the absorbance of terminal formate groups to that of methylene groups determined by infrared spectrophotometry is not more than 0.025. A process for producing the copolymer is also disclosed.

Polyoxymethylenes synthesized by prior art techniques are classified broadly into homopolymers and copolymers. Polyoxymethylene homopolymers and polyoxymethylene copolymers of the prior art respectively have only one of the two desirable characteristics, namely either excellent mechanical property or excellent stability. That is, polyoxymethylene homopolymers obtained by homopolymerization of formaldehyde or trioxane are excellent in mechanical properties but are not satisfactory in stability; on the other hand, polyoxymethylene copolymers obtained by copolymerization of formaldehyde or trioxane with a cyclic ether or cyclic formal are excellent in stability but are poor in mechanical properties. With respect to long term resistance to heat or resistance to hot water, furthermore, even polyoxymethylene copolymers are not satisfactory.
Polyoxymethylene copolymers are usually obtained by copolymerizing formaldehyde or trioxane with a cyclic ether. U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,352 describes a copolymer obtained by cationically copolymerizing trioxane with ethylene oxide or 1,4-dioxolane.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,503 discloses the use of methylal as a molecular weight controlling agent in the polymerization of trioxane. When methylal is used as the molecular weight controlling agent, the terminal group of the resulting polymer becomes the methoxy group.
In the polymerization of formaldehyde or trioxane or the copolymerization thereof with a comonomer using cationic catalyst, hydride shift (i.e., hydrogen abstraction) takes place, which results in scission of the main chain of the polymer and makes it impossible to obtain a high molecular weight polymer. Moreover, it is known that the terminals formed by the scission become the methoxy group and the formate group.
Further, when compounds having hydroxyl groups, such as water, methanol, formic acid, etc., are present in polymerization, they function as a chain transfer agent and form unstable terminal structures. A usually adopted remedial method is to decompose these unstable structures and stabilize the terminal groups as hydroxyethoxy groups, by application of post-treatment after polymerization. In the case of formic acid, however, terminal formate groups are formed simultaneously.
As described above, in the previous polyoxymethylene copolymers, terminal formate groups are formed during polymerization by chain transfer reaction caused by formic acid, which is an impurity in trioxane, and by hydride shift reaction, which is a side reaction caused by cationic catalyst, so that it has been difficult to reduce terminal formate groups.
The present invention relates to a polyoxymethylene copolymer which has both excellent stability and excellent mechanical property. In more particular, the invention relates to a polyoxymethylene copolymer which is excellent in stability and mechanical property and further in long term resistance to heat and resistance to hot water, and to the process for producing the same.

Polyoxymethylene copolymer and process for producing the copolymer


The present invention is an electroluminescent device which proves a means for illuminating push-button devices such as television remote controllers, keypads for security systems, computer keyboards, beepers, night lights, telephones, portable emergency lighting, calculators, and like devices. The invention comprises a power supply which includes an electrical voltage inverter and a power source, and which is connected to a thin and flexible electroluminescent planar sheet containing embedded circuitry and powered by alternating current. The individual components are connected together by electrical leads. The thin electroluminescent lamp portion of the invention provides an even area of template illumination when it is placed over push buttons of an underlying device, and that device can then be used under low-level illumination, or even in complete darkness. Additionally, the present invention allows augmentation of existing illumination. The invention can be added during the manufacturing process, or it can be retrofitted by the end-user to upgrade devices already in use. The planar sheet can be manufactured to glow in one or more of several colors, to suit the needs of the manufacturer or end-user.

Many devices operated by push buttons are used in low light, such as that available to home users during evening hours. Many such commercially available devices are not easily readable under subdued lighting or illumination, like that light emitted by a television screen. To read such devices under low light, one must usually turn on a light or take the device to adequate lighting to read the device.
Illumination added directly to such push-button devices typically involves an incandescent lamp. Incandescent illumination is often overdone or under-done. Further, unevenness in the area of illumination of the device may be harsh to the eye and distracting when the use of the device is merely ancillary to other activities. In situations in which safety and security are primary, turning on an incandescent lamp may expose the user to danger, and may result in a momentary loss of night vision. Exposing the controls in harsh, uneven light makes the use of the remote control device more difficult for the elderly or the visually impaired.
Thus, there remains a need for an apparatus and a method for illuminating such push-button devices that is not under or over done, is not harsh or uneven in illumination for the user or others in the vicinity, and is not distracting to the main activity for which the push-button controller is being used. Such a method of illumination should not unduly expose the user to harm by drawing attention to the use of the device, should not cause a momentary loss of night vision, or make the device more difficult to use. It should allow the user to turn on the light only momentarily. Also, the process of illuminating the device should not cause a change in the normal pattern of using the device, such as by requiring different fingering to turn on other functions.

Electroluminescent lamp for illuminating push-button devices


A therapeutic pad for relief of headache-associated head, temple, neck and upper back pain includes a lower portion substantially defining, in surface geometry, a rectangle having major and a minor bases and, further, having an axis of symmetry co-parallel to the minor bases. The therapeutic pad also includes an upper portion substantially defining, in surface geometry, an elongate wing-like shape having a major axis of about double the length of the major bases of the rectangle of the lower portion, and having a minor axis which is an axis of symmetry co-linear to the axis of symmetry of the lower portion. The upper portion includes elements for selectably securing to each other portions of lateral ends of the wing-like shape. The therapeutic pad also includes a connecting portion defining an isthmus between the lower and upper portions, the geometry of the connecting portion having an axis of symmetry co-linear with the axes of symmetry of the upper and lower portions, the connecting portion also having a major axis trans-verse to its axis of symmetry, said major axis having a length of about one-half of the major bases of the rectangle of the lower portion. The therapeutic pad is provided with elements for providing therapeutic inputs, which are embedded within each of the portions of the pad.

The present invention relates to therapeutic pads and, more particularly, pads in the nature of heating or cooling pads particularly configured for relief of pain of the head, neck, and upper back.
In the prior art of therapeutic pads it is known to provide devices in the nature of a heating pad which completely or substantially envelop the head. Such devices are effectively a hood which is pulled over the entire head in the use thereof. This prior art is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,891 (1964) to Hyer, entitled Neck and Face Dry Heat Applicator; U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,898 (1977) entitled Heat Cap; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,391 (1992) entitled Thermal Packs.
Other prior art of the instant type provides heating to the back, shoulders, and upper chest, but not to any part of the head. Such art is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,585 (1955) to Hariu, entitled Heating Pads and U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,621 (1974), also to Harui, entitled Body Heating Device.
It is also known to configure heating pads and the like for the purpose of providing heat or cold to the shoulders and adjacent tissues only. Such art is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,827 (1988) to Lipton, entitled Heating Pad.
There, as well, exist various and sundry other efforts in the art to provide heating directed to one or another particular portion of the human anatomy. However, there does not, to the knowledge of the within inventor, exist any heating, cooling, or vibratory pad configured and structured to address those particular anatomical factors, namely, those particular combinations of neural, arterial and muscle groups which play a primary role in the cause of headaches, including migraine headaches.
The present invention therefore constitutes an effort to address the long-felt need for a therapeutic pad, the configuration and function of which is particularly adapted to provide relief to sufferers of headaches by affording targeted therapeutic inputs to anatomic factors in the head, neck, and upper back that are associated with the cause of headache pain.

Therapeutic pad for relief of headache-related head, temple, neck and back pain


Example embodiments of the present invention include a socket for testing a semiconductor package. The socket comprises a body having a through hole. A lower magnet is disposed in a lower region of the through hole, and a first type magnetic pole of the lower magnet is directed upward. An upper magnet is disposed in an upper region of the through hole, wherein the first type magnetic pole of the upper magnet is directed toward the lower magnet. The upper and lower magnets are structured to absorb a shock wave which is generated when the semiconductor package is arranged for testing. A conductive medium is disposed between the lower magnet and the upper magnet to electrically couple contactors of the semiconductor package to a base substrate of the socket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket, and more particularly, to a socket for testing a semiconductor package.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, semiconductor packages are subjected to a final electrical testing procedure after being manufactured and prior to shipment. In this testing procedure, the semiconductor package is mounted on a test circuit substrate, which is coupled to testing equipment. In this context, a device for electrically coupling the semiconductor package to the test circuit substrate is referred to as a "socket."
Recently, in order to make the semiconductor package light-weight, thin, short, and miniaturized, and to improve an electrical characteristic of the semiconductor package, use of a solder ball package, such as a ball grid array (BGA) package (e.g., a solder ball as mounting means for the semiconductor package), has increased.
The socket which is used to electrically couple such a BGA package to the test circuit substrate may employ one of two connection methods. One is a pogo pin method, which uses a pin in which a spring is embedded as a contactor. The other is a conductive rubber method which uses a conductive rubber as a conductive contactor. However, the pogo pin method is disadvantageous in that the solder ball is damaged when the pogo pin is coupled to the solder ball. And the conductive rubber method is disadvantageous in that the time in which the conductive rubber loses its elasticity and becomes deformed, is short.

Socket for testing semiconductor package


A probe storage device includes an array of memory storage locations, an array of probes proximate to the array of memory storage locations, and a data density controller coupled to the array of probes. Each probe of the array of probes has a distal tip that is positioned within close proximity to a memory storage location. The probes are movable relative to the array of memory storage locations. The data density controller optionally groups the probes into at least one subset of probes. Each probe of a subset interacts identically and contemporaneously with a corresponding subset of memory storage locations.

Increasing demand for higher capacity, lower cost data storage has pushed the technologies of silicon-based semiconductor memory chips and magnetic hard disk drives (HDDs) towards their theoretical limits. HDDs have dominated the data storage market, and have increased storage densities at a rate of 60–100% per year. However, the area density that may be achieved by current magnetic recording technology will eventually reach a limit, imposed by a known superparamagnetic effect believed to be in the order of 250 Gbit/in2 for longitudinal recording.
Atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopes use nanometer sized tips for imaging and investigating the structure of materials down to atomic levels. These devices have led to the development of ultrahigh density storage devices that utilize micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) based arrays of tips that write, read and erase data on a recording medium using magnetic, optical, electric and/or thermal processes. For example, these tips may utilize a magnetic or physical method of marking or otherwise changing the recording medium to write or erase a data element. Retrieval of the data element at a later time is accomplished using the same or similar tips to detect the mark or change in the recording medium.
As appreciated, a thermal probe storage device has a plurality of probes that may contemporaneously write to, and contemporaneously read from, storage locations of a polymer substrate.
FIG. 1 is a graph 50 showing an exemplary temperature signal 52 of the thermal probe storage device. More specifically, the graph 50 of temperature signal 52 represents the temperature of a distal tip during a read process of memory storage locations located on a polymer substrate. Signal 52 includes random noise, and is typical of a signal resulting from the distal tip moving across the polymer substrate at a speed S1. An ideal signal 54 is shown for reference.
A time period 60, between lines 56 and 58, represents a deflection in temperature signal 52 caused by increased heat energy transfer when the distal tip is within a pit in the polymer substrate that represents a bit of data (e.g., a pit may represent a '1' value and no pit may represent a '0' value). Two exemplary threshold levels 62 and 64 indicate detection levels (including hysteresis) that may be used to determine if the distal tip is reading a '1' value (e.g., the distal tip is within a pit), or if the distal tip is reading a '0' value (e.g., the distal tip is not within a pit).
FIG. 2 is a graph 70 illustrating an exemplary temperature signal 72, representing the temperature of the distal tip passing across memory storage locations of the polymer substrate at an increased speed S2. An ideal signal 74 is shown for reference. Signal 72 includes random noise and is typical of a signal resulting from the distal tip moving across the polymer substrate at speed S2. A time period 80, between lines 76 and 78, represents a deflection in temperature signal 72 caused by increased heat transfer from the distal tip to the polymer substrate when the distal tip is within a pit.
As the distal tip travels across the polymer substrate at the increased speed S2, an amount of time (indicated by period 80 between lines 76 and 78) that the distal tip remains within a pit is reduced, as compared to period 60, FIG. 1. The amount of heat loss to the polymer substrate while the distal tip is within the pit is reduced, and hence the change in temperature of the distal tip is also reduced.
Two exemplary threshold levels 82 and 84 indicate detection levels that may be used to determine if the distal tip is within a pit. As seen in graph 70, the deflection in temperature signal 72 is reduced to a level that is less than the noise level on temperature signal 72. In other words, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of temperature signal 72 is insufficient to allow consistent detection of data during reading of memory storage locations of the polymer substrate at the increased speed S2.
As appreciated, there is a maximum read speed (e.g., speed S1) at which the thermal probe storage device will correctly operate. This maximum read speed is significantly slower than bit read rates for current hard disk drives. However, data transfer read (and write) rates for the probe storage device are increased due to the parallelism of design. In one example, a probe storage device includes 1024 probes and thereby each bit read operation (e.g., period 60, FIG. 1) returns 1024 bits of information. In comparison, a hard disk drive may, for example, have 16 read heads and therefore return 16 bits of information per hard disk drive read period.
To improve performance of probe storage devices it is desirable to increase read speeds. Hence, there is a need for a probe storage device that overcomes one or more of the drawbacks identified above.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A cable pair shifting system (12) for shifting a cable pair (20) from an old cable pair location to a new cable pair location and method for the same are provided including a quick shift jack panel (64). The quick shift jack panel (64) contains an old pair of connection locations and a new pair of connection locations. A first test cord (70) has a first old end for electrically coupling to the old pair of connections and a second old end for electrically coupling to the old cable pair location. A second test cord (76) has a first new end for electrically coupling to the new pair of connections and a second new end for electrically coupling to the new cable pair location. The quick shift jack panel (64) in combination with the first test cord (70) and the second test cord (76), shift the cable pair from the old cable pair location to the new cable pair location.

In order to redirect communication signals and/or services from a first terminal to a second terminal within a telephone circuit, a cable pair shift is required. Typically, using existing techniques, in order to perform a cable pair shift, a pair of wires that terminate on one cable pair location are disconnected at that location and reconnected at a new location. Both the old cable pair location and the new cable pair location are located within a main distribution frame (MDF). Often, the shift of a cable pair includes hard wiring a new jumper from a central office equipment location on a horizontal side of the MDF to a new protector head location on a vertical side of the MDF. In so doing, a technician shifts service equipment for a customer from the original cable pair to the new cable pair. Frequently, the technician must wait for access to the MDF in order to perform the cable pair shift and verify that the circuit is operating properly.
The cable pair shift is typically performed by an internal service provider technician and an external technician. The internal service provider technician has access to both the horizontal side and the vertical side of the MDF, and the external technician has access only to the vertical side of the MDF. In any event, frequently the external technicians do not have access to special tools, which are required to perform the transfer. Some of the special tools include: wire wrap guns, pushdown tools, and soldering irons among others. Often, such tools are stored in a locked location where access is difficult. Also, contractual obligations may prohibit the external technician from performing any work on the horizontal side of the MDF. As is evident, considerable time can be wasted in performing the cable pair shift. As a result, customer service is delayed, and customer satisfaction is effected.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and apparatus for shifting a cable pair to decrease downtime and costs involved in shifting a cable pair and increase customer satisfaction.


A broadband antenna comprising a connector which is adapted to be connected to a source RF energy having a frequency of 136-174 MH.sub.z or 300-500 MH.sub.z. The connector is secured to one end of a hollow housing which encloses a transformer. One end of transformer is connected to the connector while the other end of the transformer is connected to a radiator. The assembly is enclosed in a sheath with cap.

Hand-held two-way radios normally broadcast in frequency ranges of 136-174 MH.sub.z (VHF) and 400-500 MH.sub.z (UHF). The present helical antennas employed with the radios are too narrow in band pass to cover the wide frequency range of 136-174 MH.sub.z which requires several different antennas to be manufactured to cover the frequency range. The same is also true for the 400-500 MH.sub.z frequency range. If an antenna is tuned off its resonant frequency in an effort to modify the antenna for a different frequency than that for which it was designed, the impedance thereof rises abruptly. VSWR also rises and radiation efficiency drops.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a broadband antenna.
A further object of the invention is to provide the broadband antenna capable of being utilized on a two-way radio having a frequency of 136-174 MH.sub.z.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an antenna which may be used with two-way radios having a frequency of 400-500 MH.sub.z.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an antenna which may be used with two-way radios having a frequency range of 300-500 MH.sub.z.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an antenna including a connector, an inductor, and a radiator with sheath and cap.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in art.


A fluid tank comprising can include an outer housing comprising a housing volume, a first fluid bladder positioned within the housing volume, and a second fluid bladder positioned within the housing volume. The first fluid bladder can comprise a first conduit and the second fluid bladder can comprise a second conduit. The first fluid bladder can be configured to release fluid through the first conduit in response to introduction of fluid into the second fluid bladder via the second conduit. The housing volume can be maintained at a substantially constant pressure when fluid is released from the first fluid bladder through the first conduit and fluid is introduced into the second fluid bladder through the second conduit.

There are several systems in use today for fuel storage in both stationary and mobile applications. Most involve a rigid container that is strong enough to hold back the pressure from the liquid. Some flexible single bladders are used for transporting certain fluids or slurries. Single bladder fuel tanks are used in high reliability environments, such as marine fuel storage, high performance racing, remote fuel sources, in aircraft and military applications. In some applications, bladders will line the inside of a tank to prevent leaks.


The patent claims concern a method for a more efficient "wet combustion! oxidation" of COD-containing effluents from industrial processes and municipal plants and for a more efficient COD-reduction by enzymes in aerobic and anaerobic biological cleaning processes and for same sorts of effluents. The method implies a strong increase of the reaction speed between added oxygen and the elements in the liquid to be oxidized through so-called "Turbo Oxidation", which implies that the liquid is submitted to strong movements nd turbulence during several circulations within one or more liquid circuits during continuous addition of oxygen. By the same method, COD reduction by enzymes can also be made more effective. The single circuit is placed in connection to and communicates liquid-wise with a pressurized reaction tank, from where the developed reaction gases are continuously let out. Into the circuits and the attached reaction tank is continuously fed controlled quantities of the liquid to be oxidized together with proportionate quantities of oxygen or enzymes. Concurrently, the outlets of respectively oxidized liquid and evolved gases are controlled automatically. Out-going, oxidized liquid can be heat exchanged against in-going liquid, and the hot gases from the reaction tank can be used for external, heating purposes.

1. Field of Invention
The invention concerns an apparatus for improved wet oxidation of COD-containing effluents from industry and other activities containing chemical compounds which can be oxidized, especially oxidation of dissolved hydrocarbons, and is based on production experiences from the two above-mentioned inventions.
The apparatus is however also applicable for wet oxidation of other, COD-containing liquids in other connections, hereunder also biological, aerobic COD-reduction with activated sludge.
The apparatus is also applicable for anaerobic, biological COD-reduction with activated sludge, but then with shut off supply of oxygen and/or air.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wet oxidation of oxidable compounds in aqueous solutions is well known as chemical reaction.
By 1960, descriptions of fullscale, technical plants for process industry and municipal installations were published. During the last 20-30 years more plants have been built, especially in USA and Europe.
The experience however from these plants is that they are expensive both in buying and operation. The wet oxidation process has therefore not found a widespread application appropriate to the demand, especially after the escalated environmental demands of the last few years.
This fact is based on the following 4 conditions:
1. The effluents to be oxidized are frequently very diluted, having a low COD-content, substantially below 20 g COD/1.
A very diluted effluent requires large heat quantities for heating to the required reaction temperature, in most cases exceeding 150.degree. C. A prerequisite for an economical wet oxidation is that the liquid preferably contains from 20 to 50 g COD/1 liquid.
2. Wet oxidation of industrial and municipal effluents requires frequently large quantities of oxygen, a fact which implies relatively high operational costs, regardless if the oxygen is added in a pure form or in a form of compressed air.
In order to become economically acceptable, the process must be able to maintain itself by its own heat generation, and preferably be able to deliver excess heat for other applications.
3. When using compressed air, the oxygen constitutes only ca 20% of the added air.
Today's wet oxidation plants operate with long reaction times, usually between 30 and 60 minutes. Such long retention time for a liquid-air-mixture in the system requires large volume within a big and closed reaction system.
Such a system becomes especially expensive due to the high pressures applied in order to "get into place" all the oxygen or the air, which quantity-wise must be adjusted to the COD-content to be oxidized.
The traditional plants of today frequently apply pressures in the order of 200 and 300 bars, a fact which besides making the plants expensive due to the pressure dimensioning also implies operational problems of technical and mechanical kind.
4. Today's plants for so-called biological COD-reduction with aerobic or anaerobic enzymatic processes operate very slowly with long reaction times which require voluminous and expensive plants.

Turbo oxidation system,--TOS, for wet combustion of COD-containing liquids and for COD-reduction by enzymes


In a surface acoustic wave device, a plurality of surface acoustic wave elements include piezoelectric bodies having the same cut-angle. A propagation azimuth of a surface acoustic wave in at least one of surface acoustic wave elements is different from a propagation azimuth of a surface acoustic wave in at least another one of the surface acoustic wave elements. In each of the surface acoustic wave elements, a confinement layer configured to confine the surface acoustic wave inside the piezoelectric body is disposed on the piezoelectric body at the side opposite to the side where an electrode is located.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface acoustic wave device including a plurality of surface acoustic wave elements each of which includes a piezoelectric body, and more particularly, to a surface acoustic wave device utilizing, as a surface acoustic wave, a surface acoustic wave having a higher acoustic velocity than a bulk wave that propagates in the piezoelectric body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surface acoustic wave devices have widely been used in a resonator and a band pass filter. The surface acoustic wave device can constitute resonators and filters in various frequency ranges depending on the types of surface acoustic waves utilized.
WO2003/088483 discloses a surface acoustic wave device utilizing a leaky surface acoustic wave among the plural types of surface acoustic waves.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-65089 discloses a ladder filter using a surface acoustic wave resonator. In the disclosed ladder filter, an electric capacity is added to the surface acoustic wave resonator in series or in parallel. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-65089 states that a pass band width can be narrowed, for example, by adding the capacity.
On the other hand, WO2005/060094 discloses a boundary acoustic wave device utilizing a non-leaky propagation boundary acoustic wave. In WO2005/060094, a plurality of interdigital transducers (IDTs) are disposed on one piezoelectric single-crystal, and a propagation azimuth of an IDT is set to be different from that of at least another one IDT. As a result, according to WO2005/060094, a band width can be adjusted.
In the surface acoustic wave device utilizing the leaky surface acoustic wave, disclosed in WO2003/088483, it is also necessary to adjust the band width and resonance characteristics.
On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-65089 states that, in the disclosed ladder filter, the band width can be adjusted by adding the capacity to the surface acoustic wave element in series or in parallel. However, such an arrangement has the problem that, because of the necessity of adding the capacity, the size of the surface acoustic wave device is increased and the cost is increased.
According to WO2005/060094, in the structure including a plurality of IDTs formed on one piezoelectric substrate, the propagation azimuth of at least one boundary acoustic wave element is set to be different from that of other boundary acoustic wave elements. The disclosed structure enables the band width to be adjusted without connecting an additional capacity.
However, the surface acoustic wave device utilizing the leaky surface acoustic wave, disclosed in WO2003/088483, has the problem that a propagation loss increases when propagation azimuths of plural surface acoustic wave elements are set to be different. The reason is that because the acoustic velocity of a leaky surface acoustic wave is higher than that of a slow transversal wave in the piezoelectric substrate, energy of the leaky surface acoustic wave leaks toward the piezoelectric substrate. In the surface acoustic wave device utilizing the leaky surface acoustic wave, therefore, sufficient or satisfactory filter characteristics and resonance characteristics cannot be obtained with the method of setting the propagation azimuths of plural surface acoustic wave elements to be different.

Surface acoustic wave device including a confinement layer


A dishwasher includes an outer housing, a drawer having front, rear, bottom and opposing side walls that collectively define a washing tub, a lid for selectively closing the washing tub and an operating mechanism that raises and lowers the lid as the drawer is shifted into and out of the outer housing. The operating mechanism includes a lifting slider slidably mounted in the outer housing operatively coupled to a lifting spring and a compression slider, also slidably mounted in the outer housing coupled to a compression spring. The lifting slider and compression slider are provided with corresponding lifting rollers and compression rollers that engage the lid. As the drawer is withdrawn from the outer housing, the lifting spring urges the lifting slider upward raising the lid and, as the drawer is inserted into the outer housing, the compression slider forces the lid downward onto the washing tub.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of dishwashers and, more particularly, to a mechanism for shifting a lid of a drawer-type dishwasher between open and closed positions.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In general, dishwashers having pull-out drawers are known in the art. In some cases, the dishwasher will include an upper, pull-out drawer forming an upper washing chamber for washing smaller objects such as glassware, utensils, small plates and the like, and a lower conventional-type dishwasher. In other cases, the dishwasher will include upper and lower pull-out drawers, or just simply include a single, pull-out drawer. In any event, the washing chamber of the pull-out drawer must be provided with a lid having a water-tight seal that prevents washing fluid from leaking out or otherwise escaping from the dishwasher during a washing operation.
Typically, the lid is pivotally mounted to a frame or housing of the dishwasher above the washing chamber. With this arrangement, when the drawer is withdrawn from the dishwasher, a mechanism elevates the lid relative to the washing chamber and, when the drawer is inserted back into the dishwasher, the mechanism lowers the lid onto the washing chamber. The mechanisms employed in the prior art take on many forms. For example, many mechanisms utilize a system of springs and linkages, while other systems employ motors, solenoids or linear actuators to raise and lower a lid. Still other mechanisms employ a system of cams and springs to operate the lid.
Despite the existence of lid operating mechanisms in the prior art, there still exists a need for a lid operating mechanism that effectively and efficiently shifts a lid of a drawer-type dishwasher between open and closed positions. More specifically, there exists a need for a simple, cost-effective lid operating mechanism that is easy to install and provides a consumer with reliable operation.

Lid operating mechanism for a drawer-type dishwasher


Secure authentication protocols, particularly well-suited for use in authenticating mobile communications devices having limited computational resources, are disclosed. In an illustrative embodiment, a network-based communication system includes a client device and at least two servers. First and second shares are generated from a first password associated with the client device, and stored in respective first and second servers. The client device submits additional information associated therewith to at least one of the first and second servers. Each of the first and second shares has the property that it is infeasible to determine solely therefrom correspondence of the additional information with the first password. The first and second servers then utilize the respective first and second shares to collectively determine said correspondence of the additional information with the first password.

The increasing mobility of users and growing use of a variety of computing devices has motivated widespread interest in secure roaming. Of particular importance is the ability of users to leverage short keys or other "weak" passwords to achieve secure functionality in conjunction with trusted servers. A very common aim of the roaming user is to download credentials from a trusted server onto a "lightweight" device, i.e., a device having limited processing power, memory or other computational resources. Such devices include, by way of example, mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), game consoles, etc. Users of such devices may alternatively seek to delegate to the trusted server any cryptographic operations requiring intensive computing or careful key storage, such as digital signing and public-key-based decryption. Another important need for roaming users is that of password recovery or reset.
The roaming user may employ any of a number of different devices, not all of which necessarily possess the same software or configuration. While smart cards and similar key-storage devices offer a harmonized approach to security for the mobile user, they lack an adequately developed supporting infrastructure. At present, for example, very few computing devices contain smart card readers, particularly in the United States. Furthermore, many users find physical authentication tokens inconvenient. It also may be necessary to authenticate roaming users who have lost or forgotten their tokens. Today, this is commonly achieved by asking users to provide answers to a set of "life questions," i.e., questions regarding personal or private information. These observations stress the need to enable roaming users to employ short pieces of memorable information or other weak passwords as a form of authentication.
In many basic roaming protocols, passwords are stored in a central database, and consequently are vulnerable to theft en bloc in the event of server compromise. Such protocols are often based on secure password-authenticated key agreement (SPAKA). In a typical SPAKA protocol implementation, a client and server share a password, which is used to achieve mutual assurance that a cryptographically strong session key is shared privately by the two parties. To address the problem of weak passwords, SPAKA protocols are constructed so as to leak no password information, even in the presence of an active attacker. When used as a means of authentication to obtain credentials from a trusted server, a SPAKA protocol is typically supplemented with a throttling or lockout mechanism to prevent on-line guessing attacks. Many roaming-credentials proposals involve use of a SPAKA protocol as a leverage point for obtaining credentials, or as a freestanding authentication protocol.
As indicated above, however, the design of most SPAKA protocols overlooks the fundamental problem that the server itself represents a serious vulnerability. As SPAKA protocols require the verifying server to have plaintext access to user passwords or to derivative material, compromise of the server leads potentially to exposure of the full database of passwords. While many SPAKA protocols store passwords in combination with so-called "salt" or in an exponentiated form, an attacker still has the possibility of mounting off-line dictionary attacks. Additionally, these systems offer no resistance to server corruption. An attacker that gains control of the authenticating server can spoof successful login attempts.
To address the above-noted problems with conventional SPAKA-based techniques, Ford and Kaliski have proposed a collection of password "hardening" schemes involving multiple servers, with password privacy assured in the case that at least some servers remain uncompromised. See W. Ford and B. S. Kaliski Jr., "Server-Assisted Generation of a Strong Secret from a Password," Proceedings of the IEEE 9th International Workshop on Enabling Technologies (WETICE), NIST, Gaithersburg Md., June 2000, which is incorporated by reference herein. In their system, a client parlays a weak password into a strong one through interaction with one or multiple hardening servers, each one of which blindly transforms the password using a server secret.
As a more particular example, the client in one version of the Ford and Kaliski system obtains what may be regarded as a blind function evaluation σi or "share" on its password P from each hardening server Si. The function in question is based on a secret unique to each server and user account. The client combines the set of shares {σi} into a single secret σ, which serves as a strong key that the user may then use in secure authentication applications, e.g., to decrypt credentials, to authenticate himself or herself, etc. Given an appropriate choice of blind function evaluation scheme, servers in this protocol may learn no information, in an information-theoretic sense, about the password P.
The Ford and Kaliski system has been extended to a threshold setting, leading to more complex protocols, but with rigorous security assurances in a broadly inclusive attack model, in P. Mackenzie et al., "Threshold Password-Authenticated Key Exchange," Research Papers on Strong Password Authentication, http://www.integritysciences.com/links.html, 2002, which is incorporated by reference herein. In particular, P. Mackenzie et al. demonstrate a protocol such that a client communicating with any k out of n servers can establish session keys with each of the k servers by means of password-based authentication, such that even if k−1 servers conspire, the password of the client remains private. Their system can be straightforwardly leveraged to achieve secure downloadable credentials.
The Mackenzie et al. system, however, imposes considerable overhead of several types. First, servers must possess a shared global key and local keys as well, for a total of 4n+1 public keys. The client, additionally, must store n+1 certified public keys. The client must perform several modular exponentiations per server for each session initiation, while the computational load on the servers is high as well. Finally, the Mackenzie et al. protocol is rather complex, both conceptually and in terms of implementation. On the other hand, the Mackenzie et al. protocol is apparently the first such protocol provided with a rigorous proof of security under the Decision Diffie-Hellman assumption in the random oracle model.
Despite their advantages, the known techniques described above have not fully satisfied the security needs of roaming users, particularly with regard to permitting those users to authenticate themselves in a secure and efficient manner using weak passwords communicated via lightweight devices.

Cryptographic methods and apparatus for secure authentication


A process for producing electrically conductive surfaces on infrared emitting military targets, wherein the electrically conductive surfaces, when electrified, heat up and produce an infrared image on the face of the target, where the process accommodates imperfections inherent in the structural components of the target, said target being substantially constructed of relatively inexpensive coarse materials, such as strand board; wherein the process consists of building up pattern designs of multiple thin layers of an arc-sprayed zinc having an unusually high resistivity, until the pattern designs attain a resistance and wattage that will have a uniform desired surface temperature throughout the pattern design, said design producing a realistic signature infrared image.

The invention is generally related to the art of electrically resistive heating elements, and more particularly to the process art of creating an electrically resistive heating element on a structural element, such that the surface of the structural element heats and radiates infrared energy.
The invention employs the use of an arc-sprayer, in a series of steps, to create a resistive electrical component, wherein the resistive component is generally supported by a structural element, such that when the resistive component is carrying an electric current, it heats producing a thermally radiant surface. Arc-sprayers are commonly used in the manufacture of casting molds to line the inner walls of the casting mold with a metal, which greatly improves the durability of the mold. An arc-sprayer produces an atomized metal spray by liquefying a continuously fed metal wire in an electric arc and then atomizing the molten metal with a pressurized stream of gas, which throttles out into a prescribed spray pattern. Arc-sprayers are reported to be the method of choice for applying a purely metal coating to plastic materials such as ABS, vinyl, polypropylene and urethanes; because an arc-sprayer, in comparison to a torch-sprayer, produces a relatively cooler spray. In general, the metals that are used with an arc-sprayer are selected for the properties they impart to the casting mold. In decorative applications, such as bronzing a statue, color can predominate. In order to be suitable for application via an arc-sprayer the metal must be conductive, however, the conductivity of the applied coating is usually not a consideration in selecting a preferred metal, as durability or color requisites dominate. Zinc, and alloys of zinc such as Kirksite, and copper are often the metals of choice. Arc-spayed zinc has been reported to be suitable for producing EMI shields for co-axial cable, and computer and video cabinets. Copper, which of course is a very common conductor, is only about 3.6 times more conductive than zinc. Copper forms a hotter spray than zinc, and has been used less frequently on plastics for EMI shields. Zinc at 5.92.times.10.sup.-6 ohm cm has a volume resistivity that is about 20 times that of nichrome, which is commonly used for wire heating elements, while zinc is generally considered too conductive to be used for heating elements.
In the instant invention, arc-sprayed zinc, applied in a series of process steps, has been found to be suitable for producing large dimensioned, low voltage heating elements. Further, the volume resistivity for the zinc in these heating elements is about one hundred times higher than is expected, which has unanticipated benefits. The heating elements are formed as an integral functional component of the targets. The targets are used in combination with infrared detectors, to practice detection, recognition and destruction of military targets, which are usually equipment and personnel. The heating elements are designed to simulate the thermal image signatory of the real-life versions. Infrared emitting targets must meet a number of criteria to optimize their utility, and the instant invention is amenable to creating thermal images on widely differing target sizes, shapes and performance characteristics.
The surface of the target must emit a quantity of heat that imitates real life equipment and personnel. A temperature 15-50 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient is usually sought. The surface must attain this temperature in a matter of seconds after the target is activated. The size, shape and distribution of the irradiating thermal image must mimic the real life counterpart. The cost of construction of the total target must be relatively inexpensive, as destruction is the ultimate goal. The target must have good weatherability as it will be used outdoors. In is very important that the target be capable of withstanding several hits and still maintain its thermal image. The target should be safe to operate with respect to the auxiliary equipment (generators and batteries) as well as the supporting personnel.
In Prosser's co-pending patent application entitled "Thermal Integrated Targets" filed Sep. 10, 1990, Ser. No. 579,619, a method is disclosed for making thermally radiant targets using metal filled coatings to create a heating element or resistive coating as it is referred to in the application. The instant invention contains features that would be applicable to the same method, albeit with an arc-sprayed metal resistive coating.

Process for making a thermally radiant surface


The relation relates to a method and a radiological imaging device. A subject (4) is illuminated by a luminous flux (1) generated by an X-ray source (2). This luminous flux (1) is a pulse having a duration tp shorter than 1 ms. The signals S derived from the interaction of the luminous flux (1) with the subject (4) are then detected by means of an X-ray detector (5) having a response time tr shorter than 0.1 ms.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and a radiological imaging device.
Since its first use at the beginning of the 20th century, radiography has vastly transformed and simplified the diagnostic of numerous diseases. This technique is based upon the absorption, by the organ examined, of a portion of the X-rays emited by a source and the impression of the complementary X-rays having traversed the organ in question, on a screen sensitive to the latter. A negative image of the organ examined is thus obtained. Although other imaging techniques (nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Echography, . . . ) have appeared more recently, this conventional radiology still represents a very large number of imaging acts (diagnostic and prevention) practised currently (dental care, fractures, mammographies, pulmonary, etc . . . ). The evolution of the technologies and especially of the detectors, has increased significantly the analysis accuracy and the frequency of radiological tests. Preventive radiological tests (as for example, for the detection of breast cancers at an early step) are part of this global increase in the number of exposures to X-rays to which an individual is liable to be subjected in his lifetime.
It is therefore of paramount importance to reduce the dose of X-ray radiation received by a patient during each test, since the X-rays are mutagen agents. However, this dose of exposure is connected directly to the performances of the X-rays detectors.
2. Description of Related Art
There exist two categories of X-ray photon detectors enabling direct acquisition of the image in digital form, on top of the photographic plate. The first category implements a photosensitive layer (for instance phosphor) which transforms the X-ray photons into visible photons, which are then detected by the techniques applicable to the latter. The second category uses semi-conductive materials which transform directly the X-ray photons into electrons. The latter detectors have numerous advantages with respect to the photosensitive layers. They enable in principle the acquisition of images at faster rate and exhibit greater performances (collection or sensitivity efficiency, noise, dynamics, acquisition speed).
Currently, the only semi-conductive material having suitable electronic properties and the necessary thickness (a few 100 μm to absorb the X-photons efficiently) is CdTe. But because of the small size of the crystals available and the absence of microelectronic technology, the implementation of this material to perform X-ray imaging is not possible at industrial level.
Currently a new generation of large-area electronic detectors for medical imaging is breaking through. These make use of a scintillator, transforming the X-ray photons into visible photons, which are then detected by a matrix of photoconductive pixels performed on a layer of amorphous Si (General Electric, Canon, Trixell). Their global output is however not optimum. They only enable typical reduction by a factor 5 from the radiation dose in comparison with the photographic plate. These detectors still have an image acquisition speed which is slow (of the order of several seconds due to the response time of the scintillator).
Each pixel of a sensor integrates for a time Te (exposure time for a standard radiological test and with the current detectors, Te varies between 10 ms and a few seconds) the instant signal S generated, which is, after first approximation, proportional to the flux F of X-ray photons, to provide a response R (an electric load, for instance) proportional to the integrated signal. This response R is therefore proportional to the dose received by the patient D=F×Te where F and Te depend on the conditions of use, on the type of test practised, on the nature of the X-ray source and on the type of detector implemented. The instant signal S being low level, therefore difficult to be extracted from the noise, it should be integrated over a time Te sufficient for the response R to be processable.

Abstract: Applications possible in medical imaging (mammography, dental care, . . . ).


A decoration lamp netting has a net, a serial decoration lamp assembly disposed on the net, the serial decoration lamp assembly having a plurality of decoration lamps and an electric plug, a plurality of retainer members retaining the respective decoration lamps on the net, and two opposite rods disposed on two laterals of the net. The decoration lamp netting is disposed on a plate.

This invention relates to a decoration lamp netting, and more particularly, this invention relates to a decoration lamp netting which contains a plurality of decoration lamps.
A conventional lamp netting for a Christmas tree has a serial decoration lamp assembly disposed on a fabric. However, the fabric has a plurality of holes to receive the respective clamps. Furthermore, the fabric will fall down under a strong wind while the fabric is placed outdoors.


Provided is a connector having excellent vibration resistance. The invention applies to a connector including a terminal portion and a connector housing in which the terminal portion is accommodated and electrically connecting a first object to be connected and a second object to be connected via the terminal portion. A main body-side male contact is connected to the first object to be connected. A main body-side female contact is connected to the second object to be connected. The terminal portion has a connector-side male contact that is inserted into the main body-side female contact, a connector-side female contact into which the main body-side male contact is inserted, and an elastically deformable joint portion that joins the connector-side male contact and the connector-side female contact to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector that electrically connects two objects to be connected, and an electrical connection device including this connector.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, JP 2014-010949A discloses a connector such as that shown in FIG. 1 as a connector that electrically connects two objects to be connected. This connector has two female terminals (a first female terminal and a second female terminal). The first female terminal comes into contact with a first male terminal provided in one object to be connected, while the second female terminal comes into contact with a second male terminal provided in the other object to be connected.
In the above-described connector, the first female terminal and the second female terminal are joined to each other by an elastic joint piece so as to have vibration resistance. This elastic joint piece is configured to allow the first female terminal and the second female terminal to be independently displaced relative to each other in a direction in which the male terminals are to be inserted and removed. Thus, vibration resistance of the female terminals that are brought into contact with the male terminals respectively connected to the two objects to be connected having different vibration patterns can be improved.
However, even when a connector such as that described above is employed, there are cases where vibration resistance is insufficient.

Connector and electrical connection device