In a process for the preparation of a low density porous crosslinked polymeric material by polymerizing a water-in-oil high internal phase emulsion, curing time of the monomers in the emulsion can be reduced without adversely affecting polymer properties by first advancing one or more of the monomers. All or a portion of the monomers are advanced in the presence of an advancement initiator or a free-radical-producing radiation source for about 5% to about 95% of the time effective to form a solid. Then, a water-in-oil high internal phase emulsion is formed with the advanced monomers and optionally additional monomers or the advanced monomers are added to a water-in-oil high internal phase emulsion containing other monomers. The emulsions containing the advanced monomers are cured. The process provides an improved method to incorporate volatile monomers in the porous polymeric material. The curing time is further reduced by carrying out the polymerization and crosslinking in the presence of a alkylperoxycarbonate or a alkylperoxycarboxylate polymerization initiator that is branched at the 1-position and/or the .alpha.-position.

Polymeric foams can be generally classified as either closed-cell foams or as open-cell foams. Open-cell foams can be used as a matrix to contain various liquids and gases. They are capable of various industrial applications such as, for example, use in wipes and diapers, as carriers and ion exchange resins. For some of these applications, it is desirable to have porous crosslinked polymer blocks which have a very low density and a high capacity of absorbing and retaining liquids. Such high absorption capacity, low density, porous polymer blocks can be prepared by polymerizing a specific type of water-in-oil emulsion known as high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) having relatively small amounts of a continuous oil phase and relatively greater amounts of an internal water phase.
Such high absorption capacity, low density foams are prepared in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,953 by polymerizing the monomers in the oil phase of a high internal phase water-in-oil emulsion with a water-soluble polymerization initiator such as potassium persulfate. It has been found that in order to obtain foams by this method with high absorption properties and low unreacted monomer content, curing must be conducted for 16 hours or longer at a temperature of 60.degree. C. However, it is desirable to reduce the curing time for a large scale process or a continuous process. Therefore, it will be advantageous to reduce the curing time without significantly affecting the resulting foam properties.
Further, it is desirable to incorporate volatile monomers such as butadiene and isoprene as mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,720. However, it is difficult to incorporate these volatile monomers in a low density crosslinked polymeric material ("foam") produced by the high internal phase water-in-oil emulsion. The monomers are difficult to incorporate and tend to volatilize during the preparation and cure of the water-in-oil emulsion. Thus, extremely poor foams in small quantity or closed-cell foams containing these volatile monomers are formed by the conventional high internal phase water-in-oil emulsion method.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a high internal phase water-in-oil emulsion polymerization process with short curing times. It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method to incorporate volatile monomers in a low density crosslinked polymeric material produced by the high internal phase water-in-oil emulsion process.

Process for preparing low density porous crosslinked polymeric materials


A syringe discharge end having a rotatable tubular connector member for engaging a luer connector on medical tubing. The syringe discharge end and the connector have mating threads which are used to affix the connector to the syringe discharge end. Once affixed, the connector is may freely rotate relative to the syringe, while being prevented from axial movement. On its distal end, the connector includes internal threads for engaging external threads on a standard luer connector of medical tubing. To engage the connector to tubing, the connector is rotated relative to the tubing and the syringe to draw the tubing onto the syringe discharge end.

The present invention generally relates to a syringe having a connector for making a connection between the syringe and medical tubing.
Procedures involving the introduction of fluid into a patient's body often require that a syringe be connected through extension tubing to a catheter leading into a patient. One very specific procedure is angiography. Angiography involves introducing radiopaque substances into the blood stream of a patient to facilitate imaging of conditions within the vessels or arteries of the patient, for example, by X-ray equipment. Generally, a catheter is inserted into an appropriate blood vessel for imaging and the other end of the catheter is attached to extension tubing leading to a syringe containing the radiopaque liquid. A connector is required between the extension tubing and the discharge opening of the syringe. This connector should allow connection and disconnection between the end of the syringe and the end of the extension tubing. Not only must the connector facilitate ready connection and disconnection, but it must also be capable of withstanding the high pressures exerted by angiographic injector when the injector is activated to force the radiopaque liquid into the extension tubing and catheter.
Various configurations of syringe discharge ends, connectors and tubing ends have been used to facilitate the connection between the tubing and the syringe. Often, these connections have involved twisting the tubing end onto the syringe discharge end to thereby tighten the connection between respective male and female luer tapers on the syringe discharge end and on the end of the tubing. Another type of connection system is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,978 (the '978 patent). This system utilizes an intermediate rotatable connector having internal, oppositely facing tabs at one end and an internally threaded section at the opposite end. The connector also includes intermediate windows or sections void of material. The syringe discharge end includes a tapered section and a circumferential track or recess. The connector is attached to the syringe discharge end by pushing the connector onto the discharge end allowing the tabs to ride up and over the tapered section and then snap into place within the track or recess. The windows allow the connector to have the resilience necessary for the tabs to move away from each other and then snap into the recess. The connector is then held rotatably within the recess and a connection between the syringe discharge end and the tubing end may be made by rotating the connector and threading it onto a suitably formed end of the tubing.
The various connection systems employed in the past for syringes and, more specifically, for angiographic injection systems, each have their own set of disadvantages or problems. Most notably, with respect to the systems requiring that the tubing be twisted relative to the syringe to make the connection, the twisting action to make the connection can be bothersome and inconvenient, since the tubing is often already connected to the patient, and thus it is preferable not to twist the tubing, and in addition, the syringe is typically already locked into an injector apparatus, and thus not rotatable, when the tubing is attached.
The connection system disclosed in the '978 patent has disadvantages associated with the spring locking tabs and windows required in the intermediate connector member. Specifically, the necessary deformation of the connector during the assembly process may weaken the connector and make it more likely to fail. Additionally, the resilience or weakening of the connector may make it more likely to be forced off the syringe discharge end under pressure. Finally, snap fit parts, such as the connector member in the '978 patent, may require manufacturing tolerances which unacceptably increase manufacturing costs.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a connection system for connecting a syringe discharge end to tubing which not only is easy to manufacture, but which is also easy to use by the technical personnel in the field and which is reliable when used uses in high pressure systems, such as angiographic injector systems.


Provided are compositions with a citrus juice having a brix-to-acid ratio of less than about 16:1, and a miracle fruit component, as well as processes for making such compositions.

Citrus greening disease, also called huánglóngbìng or HLB, has a negative impact on the citrus industry globally. As of the time of filing this application, there is no known cure for citrus greening disease. Citrus greening disease is known to infect orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, kumquat, and tangerine trees. Citrus greening disease infects citrus trees around the world. In recent years, the concern for citrus greening disease has been increasing in the United States as the number of infected trees has increased. Citrus juice accounts for over half of the juice consumed in the United States with literally billions of gallons of citrus juice consumed in the United States annually.
Trees impacted by citrus greening disease exhibit yellowing of the veins and adjacent tissues in their leaves, which is followed by splotchy mottling of the entire leaf. These trees also exhibit premature defoliation and dieback of twigs. The citrus greening disease also causes decay of feeder rootlets and lateral roots, and decline in overall vigor of the plant. Eventually, the entire plant dies. Trees with citrus greening disease have stunted growth and bear multiple off-season flowers. These trees also typically produce small, irregularly-shaped fruit with a thick, pale peel. The peel often remains green at the bottom and tastes very bitter. These fruits also usually produce juice that is too bitter and too sour for a typical human consumer to find acceptable, and thus these fruits are generally deemed of little value by the citrus juice industry.
A potential solution for juice makers is to add flavor modulators to citrus juice from fruits impacted by disease, including citrus greening disease. Flavor modulators include bitterness blockers. However, most bitterness blockers include, or are made of, compounds that are not natural and may need to be disclosed on product labeling, which often discourage sales given that many consumers prefer all natural products, and thus most bitterness blockers would be unacceptable to those consumers.
Miracle fruit or miracle berry is a plant, Synsepalum dulcificum, found in West Africa. The pulp of the miracle fruit contains a protein known as "miraculin," which has the ability to bind to taste receptors on the human tongue, which causes humans to perceive sour or bitter foods as tasting sweet. Miracle fruit tablets are commercially available as supplements in some regions. Such miracle fruit tablets are chewed by consumers before consuming sour or bitter beverages or foods. The consumer then experiences those sour beverages or foods as tasting sweet. However, when consuming the tablets, changes in sweet perception by a consumer is delayed in onset, and consumers often experience perceiving everything as tasting sweet for several hours after consuming the tablets.
In order for the citrus juice industry to make better use (or any use at all) of citrus fruit impacted by disease, including citrus greening disease, there is a need for a natural modulator that will reduce or eliminate the bitterness and sourness of the juice obtained from citrus impacted by disease without negatively impacting the flavor profile of the juice and without adding artificial components that are often rejected by consumers.

Taste improvement using miracle fruit for juice from disease impacted fruit


A hydraulic rotary percussive hammer drill includes a body containing a reciprocating percussion piston sliding under the effect of a main hydraulic supply circuit, this main circuit also being intended to cause the sliding of a roughly annular abutment piston housed in a cavity of the body, and having, on the one hand, a front face in contact with a shank and intended to place this shank a predetermined distance away from the percussion piston and, on the other hand, a rear face facing a rear wall of the cavity, characterized in that an external hydraulic supply circuit is able, when the main circuit is shut down, to introduce fluid under pressure between the rear face of the abutment piston and the rear wall of the cavity so as to maintain a space between these items.

A drilling rig comprises a hydraulic rotary percussive hammer drill sliding on a drilling jar and driving one or more drill rods, the last of these rods bearing a tool known as a bit which is in contact with the rock. Such a hammer drill generally is intended to bore rather deep holes so that explosive charges can be laid therein. The hammer drill is therefore the main element which, on the one hand, imparts rotation to the bit and imparts percussion via the drill rods so as to penetrate the rock, and, on the other hand, supplies an injection fluid to extract the debris from the bored hole.
A hammer drill comprises a mechanism, driven by one or more flows of hydraulic fluid from a main supply circuit of the percussion mechanism, acting on the drill rods via a shank which is able to pass on, on the one hand, the successive blows brought about by a percussion piston and, on the other hand, the rotation due to a rotary hydraulic motor.
The force with which the hammer drill bears against the drill rods, and therefore, by transmission, with which the bit bears against the rock, is obtained using the hydraulic motor of the drilling jar. More specifically, the bearing force is transmitted from the body of the hammer drill to the shank via an abutment element incorporated into the hammer drill. This abutment element may consist of a fixed rotary friction part, but more generally, in the case of high-power hammer drills, consists of an abutment piston one surface of which is hydraulically supplied so as to transmit the bearing force through a fluid.
European patent applications EP 0 058 650 and EP 0 856 637 disclose abutment piston devices for which the hydraulic supply comes from the main supply circuit of the percussion mechanism. However, when the operator shuts off this main supply circuit and he activates, for example, only the rotary motor, the surface of the abutment piston is no longer hydraulically supplied and the piston can therefore come into direct contact with the body of the hammer drill, something which may give rise to considerable damage.

Hydraulic rotary-percussive hammer drill


A surgical instrument, in particular for endoscopy, having closable jaws comprising jaw parts such as forceps or scissor limbs which are fixed on a pull element, at least one jaw part forming an axis of rotation with the pull element and being arranged rotatably about this axis of rotation and the pull element passing through a shank tube, wherein, formed in at least one jaw part from outside is a recess, the center point (M) of which rotates about the pivot on the pull element, the recess at least partially surrounding, n the use position, an annular piece provided in the wall of the shank tube and the jaw part rotating about this annular piece during its closing or opening movement.

The invention relates to a surgical instrument, in particular for endoscopy, having closable jaws comprising jaw parts such as forceps or scissor limbs which are fixed on a pull element, at least one jaw part forming an axis of rotation with the pull element and being arranged rotatably about this axis of rotation and the pull element passing at least partially through a shank tube.
Surgical instruments of this kind are known in the form of forceps, scissors, clamps or the like in numerous embodiments and are used for a very wide variety of purposes. In general, they comprise two jaw parts which are moved relative to one another, clamping, cutting or shearing then being effected.
Reference is made purely by way of example to German Offenlegungsschrift 3,921,935, which discloses endoscopy forceps. Here, the forceps limbs are connected to one another via a pivot pin. Coupled to the forceps limbs on the other side of this pivot pin is a pull cable, a pull rod or the like. Connected to the pull cable is a guiding element which has at least one guiding channel in which there engages a lever extension which is formed on a forceps limb on the far side of the pivot pin or of a pivot. If a pull is exerted on this guiding element, the jaws formed by the forceps limbs close or open.
A particular disadvantage of these hitherto known forceps is the fact that they can be disassembled, cleaned and sterilized after use only with considerable trouble. Assembly in turn also requires a large amount of time and is associated with touching the parts, which are per se to be kept sterile.
In addition, in the case of many surgical instruments of this kind, the mechanism leaves much to be desired, especially as regards the transmission of force to the jaw parts.
German Utility Models 87 12 328.2 and 88 14 560.3 furthermore disclose endoscopy forceps in which the jaw parts form an axis of rotation with the pull element. These jaw parts are guided in corresponding wall openings in the shank tube, but this is very imprecise. The transmission of force for opening and closing the jaws also leaves much to be desired. In addition, the upper sleeve has to be unscrewed from the spiral for the purpose of cleaning.
The underlying object of the present invention is to provide as perfect a mechanism as possible in combination with optimum transmission of force to the jaw parts, with disassembly of the surgical instrument at the same time being extremely easy and taking little time.


A first device is disclosed, which is located at a first site and in communication with a second device located at a second site geographically separated from the first site. The first device includes a controller configured to automatically control selection of a view defining an area of the second site to be displayed by the first device. The controller automatically selects the view based on a display configuration of the first device. The controller is also configured to automatically control selection of a sound of the second site to be rendered by the first device. The controller automatically selecting the sound based on the selected view. The first device also includes a display configured to display the selected view of the second site based on a video image of the second site captured by the second device. The display has the display configuration. The first device further includes a speaker configured to render the selected sound of the second site based on an audio of the second site captured by the second device.

The disclosure relates generally to videoconferencing, and more particularly to a videoconferencing device and method for providing more engaging, dynamic and immersive video conferencing experiences.
In a typical videoconference, a local video image and audio are captured by a camera and microphone, respectively. In an attempt to capture a better local video image, the camera is often manually manipulated to zoom in or zoom out to capture a wide view showing all participants and as much of their environment as possible, assuming that such the wide view would be the best for the remote participants. However, the optimal local view may drastically differ from one remote device to another. For example, when displayed on a small display device, the wide local view may not display enough detail in a small display. On the other hand, when the camera is zoomed in to capture a narrow local view, certain areas of the local site that could give relevant context may not be captured at all. Accordingly, there still remain significant areas for new and improved ideas for more effective videoconferencing schemes.


A novelty nail trimming tool 10 includes a metal chassis 11 comprising a base 12 a neck section 13 and a head section 14. The head section 14 includes a pair of guards 15 and 16 which are also configured as the eyes or feelers of a snail. The base 12 has a knurled or roughened surface 17 forming a nail file. The head 14 has a v-blade 18, while the neck 13 is set at an angle of about 30 degrees to the base. A handle 19 in the form of a snail shell 20 is attached to the base 12 by a hand insertable clip action into three slots 21, 22 and 23 by reason of upturns 24, 25 and 26 in the base 12.

Hand tools are known which can be used for cutting or trimming nails. These are unusually known as nail clippers or trimmers and are known in a variety of forms. One form uses a scissor action with scissor blades. The blades may be curved. Another form uses a press lever where sprung jaws slide relative to each other on a guide and the lever is used to close the jaws over a nail to be trimmed. Each jaw has a curved blade. In another version a v-blade is used and is slid along a nail to trim an edge of the nail. These all may be made in different sizes with smaller sizes being for smaller nails. Each of these has their different advantages.
Trimming small babies fingernails and toenails can be a very daunting and difficult task. Traditionally nail clippers, or baby scissors have been used for the difficult task of cutting nails. It is very hard to see what is actually being cut, they are very slippery and difficult to hold and maneuver and it can often result in injury to the child's fingers.
It would be desirable to provide a hand tool for trimming infant nails that takes some of the stress and anxiety out of this process for both parent and infant.


An spray head includes a spray engine and a metal shell retained on the spray engine. The spray head is assembled by fitting the shell onto the spray engine and seating the shell against a cushioning ring. A retaining device is attached to the spray engine to secure the shell is position. A surface finish is applied to the outer surface of the shell to achieve a desired appearance.

This invention relates to a spray head having a spray engine and a metal shell retained on the spray engine.
Spray heads for use in homes commonly have hand-held or extending portions allowing the user to manipulate the direction of water spray as desired. Recently, spray heads have been manufactured in separate pieces including a spray engine and a spray cover designed to be placed over the spray engine. The spray covers are formed to include the necessary retaining elements to secure the spray cover to the spray engine.
By separately providing the components of the spray head the user can select among different spray covers providing a desired look. The spray covers are plastic to provide an inexpensive and lightweight device that can be easily manipulated by the user. However, adding surface finishes after forming the spray covers is difficult because many plating materials are not compatible with a plastic base.
However, forming a metal spray cover that includes the necessary retaining elements requires that the spray cover be formed using a casting or forging process. Spray covers manufactured from a casting or forging process result in a heavy difficult to use cover.
It is therefore desirable to provide a spray head having a metal shell which is light weight and simply retained to a spray engine.


A transistor device includes a compound semiconductor body, a drain disposed in the compound semiconductor body and a source disposed in the compound semiconductor body and spaced apart from the drain by a channel region. A gate is provided for controlling the channel region. The transistor device further includes a gate overvoltage protection device connected between the source and the gate, the gate overvoltage protection device including p-type and n-type silicon-containing semiconductor material.

Due to favorable electrical characteristics, especially high breakdown voltage per length, GaN is a promising material for power transistors. The most common realization of GaN based devices is the high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). HEMTs however suffer from inferior reliability compared to their silicon counterparts. Particularly, the gate of an HEMT is vulnerable to overvoltage conditions e.g. caused by bad circuit layout or ESD (electrostatic discharge) damage. Conventional HEMTs do not have a gate protected against overvoltage conditions. Instead, conventional HEMTs must limit the maximum gate voltage to very low values and rely on good circuit design so that the device is not damaged during use, limiting the application of conventional HEMTs.

Gate overvoltage protection for compound semiconductor transistors


Systems and methods for managing congestion in a network are disclosed. One method can comprise establishing a connection between a first network device and a second network device, wherein the first network device has an associated data limiter value such as a congestion window (CWND). The size of the CWND can be modified, for example, at a first rate, when no congestion is detected. In response to the congestion window size exceeding a threshold value associated with the connection, the size of the CWND can be modified based on round trip time (RTT) associated with the connection. If congestion on the connection is detected, the congestion window size can be modified to a value based on at least in part the bandwidth and RTT of the connection between the first network device and the second network device.

Networks can experience problems due to network constraints such as congestion. In some congestion avoidance mechanisms, such as transmission control protocol (TCP), network traffic can be controlled using a congestion window. As an example, the congestion window is a sender-side limit on the amount of data the sender can transmit into the network before receiving an acknowledgment (ACK). The size of the congestion window can be adjusted as network conditions change. However, certain reduction in congestion window leads to a low utilization and results in a large variance in queuing delay. This disclosure addresses these and other shortcomings related to managing network congestion.


An assembly is provided for an implantable medical lead. The assembly includes a first lead body comprising one or more electrical leads, and a hermetic encasement. The encasement comprises a housing having first and second openings and interior walls, an interior space defined by the interior walls, an electronic network housed within the interior space, and a circuit board extending through the first and second openings. The circuit board comprises a plurality of layers into which the electronic network is at least partially integrated, a first set of one or more terminals electrically coupling the electronic network to the first lead body, and a second set of one or more terminals electrically coupled to the electronic network for external electrical engagement.

An implantable medical device (IMD) is an apparatus that during use is placed inside a living body to monitor certain physiological signals and provide therapy to an organ or tissue in response to the physiological signals. An example of an IMD is an implantable cardiac device (ICD) such as a pacemaker that stimulates the heart into a contraction if the sinus node is not properly pacing such contractions. Modem cardiac devices also perform many functions beyond that of pacing. For example, some ICDs perform defibrillation and cardioversion therapies. Other ICDs are able to select among several different pacing therapies depending upon the physiologic condition of a patient's heart.
A pacemaker device, as an example of an ICD, is typically implanted in a convenient location such as beneath a patient's skin and in the vicinity of the one or more major arteries or veins. One or more electrical leads connected to the pacemaker are typically placed on or inside the patient's heart via a convenient artery or vein. The ends of the leads are placed in contact with the inside walls or the surface of one or more chambers of the heart, depending upon the particular therapies deemed appropriate for the patient.
One or more leads are adapted to carry a current from the pacemaker to the heart tissue to stimulate the heart in one of several ways, again depending upon the particular therapy being delivered. The leads are also used for sensing the physiologic signals provided by the heart to determine when to deliver a therapeutic pulse to the heart, and the nature of the pulse, e.g., a pacing pulse or a defibrillation shock. In other types of IMDs or implantable systems, additional leads may be used for applying a pain therapy stimulus to various body areas such as the spinal column. Further, one or more catheters may be connected to the IMD to deliver drugs to various body parts for pain relief, defibrillation threshold reduction, and so forth.
Distributing a variety of leads, catheters, and medical activators about a patient's body from a single IMD is a very complex procedure. Further, many lead conductors and connections to the IMD are required in order for many electrodes to be distributed. Leads and connections are expensive and increase the overall IMD size. Further, as the number of leads extending from a central device increases, the overall system reliability is reduced.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a simple and cost efficient system for distributing leads and associated medical activators from an IMD to one or more body locus. In addition, it is desirable to reduce the number of components associated with an IMD and thereby improve the reliability of the IMD and the associated system. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Electrical lead body including an in-line hermetic electronic package and implantable medical device using the same


A reflection mask for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography and a method of fabricating the same, in which the reflection mask includes a substrate, a lower reflection layer formed in a multi-layer structure on the substrate and including a material reflecting EUV light, an upper reflection layer formed in a multi-layer structure on the lower reflection layer and reflecting EUV light, and a phase reversing layer formed between the lower reflection layer and the upper reflection layer in a certain pattern and causing destructive interference between reflection light from the upper reflection layer and reflection light from the lower reflection layer. An incidence of a shadow effect can be reduced and unnecessary EUV light can be eliminated, so that a pattern on the reflection mask can be projected precisely on a silicon wafer. Since the phase reversing layer includes the same material as the reflection layer and an absorption layer, mask fabrication processes can be handled easily.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a reflection mask for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a reflection mask for EUV photolithography and a method of fabricating the reflection mask, wherein a high resolution pattern can be formed via destructive interference of unnecessary EUV light by forming an additional multi-layer, which can reverse a phase of the EUV light, and wherein the additional multi-layer is formed between a reflection layer and an absorption layer.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, the large integration scale of semiconductor devices has led to an increased use of light of shorter wavelengths in a photolithography device fabrication process. In a conventional photolithography method, EUV light is used to realize a design size of 100 nm or less.
Since most substances have a high light absorptivity at a EUV ray region, photolithography using EUV light requires a reflection mask that is different than a typical mask. A conventional reflection mask for EUV light is obtained by forming a pattern, made of a material that can absorb EUV light, on a reflection surface having a high reflection index to EUV light. The region of the reflection surface where the pattern of the absorption material is formed constitutes an EUV light absorption region, while an exposed region of the reflection surface where the pattern of the absorption material is not formed constitutes an EUV light reflection region. EUV light reflected from the reflection surface is transmitted to a photoresist material on a substrate in order to form a photoresist pattern in the same shape as the pattern of the absorption material. This is typically how the photolithography process for semiconductor fabrication is performed.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a reflection mask 1 for EUV photolithography.
The reflection mask 1 includes a substrate 2, a reflection layer 4 formed on the substrate 2, and an absorption material pattern 6 formed on the reflection layer 4. The substrate 2 is formed of a material such as silicon or glass.
The reflection layer 4 is formed in a multi-reflection layer structure, wherein different types of layers such as molybdenum and silicon (Mo/Si) or Beryllium and silicon (Be/Si) are arranged alternately over each other. The absorption material pattern 6 is formed of tantalum nitride that can absorb EUV light, and a layer of tantalum nitride is applied in a pattern to make an absorption region for EUV light.
The absorption material pattern 6 has a height H1 of approximately 100 nm. Since the height H1 of the absorption material pattern 6 is relatively large, an impinging angle θ1 also becomes large. Thus, quite often, a photoresist layer applied to a thin film 10 on a silicon wafer 8 that is being manufactured cannot be exposed to the EUV light reflected from the reflection layer 4 and, thus, an intended pattern shape cannot be obtained. This event is called "a shadow effect."
Performing an EUV photolithography process using the reflection mask 1 may cause a size D1 of the absorption material pattern 6 and a size D2 of a photoresist pattern 12 formed on the silicon wafer 8 to be different from each other. In this exemplary case, the size D1 of the absorption material pattern 6 is larger than the size D2 of the photoresist pattern 12.
Since the photoresist layer applied on the thin film 10 is overly exposed to EUV light, the height of the photoresist pattern 12 is lowered. Thus, in many cases, the photoresist pattern 12 may not function as a mask in a subsequent etching process. The cause of this limitation is that the absorption material pattern 6 does not absorb EUV light completely and, thus, the photoresist layer formed on thin film 10 applied to the silicon wafer 8 is exposed to EUV light a reflected from the surface of the absorption material pattern 6 and to EUV light b transmitted through the absorption material pattern 6 and then reflected from the surface of the reflection layer 4.
In other words, due to the shadow effect and the unnecessary EUV light beams a and b, the photoresist on the thin film 10 layer results in a photoresist pattern 12 that is formed to have different width or height from the intended ones. Hence, when an etching process is performed using the photoresist pattern 12 as a mask, a pattern is formed on the thin film layer 10 having a different width or height from the intended pattern.

Reflection mask for EUV photolithography and method of fabricating the reflection mask


A zipper head is composed of a head, a pull tab connected with the head, and an elastic piece. The pull tab is provided with an insertion slot, a hooked portion and a cross beam. The elastic piece of a U-shaped construction has a first arm, a second arm, a curved portion connected with the first arm and the second arm, and an urging portion located between the first arm and the second arm. The elastic piece is joined with the pull tab such that the first arm of the elastic piece is retained in the insertion slot of the pull tab, and that the curved portion of the elastic piece is disposed on the cross beam of the pull tab, and further that the second arm of the elastic piece seals off an open end of the hooked portion of the pull tab, and still further that the urging portion of the elastic piece urges the cross beam of the pull tab.

As shown in FIG. 1, a zipper head 10 of the prior art consists of a head 12, a pull tab 13 fastened at one end thereof with the head 12, and a pull member 14 fastened at one end thereof with another end of the pull tab 13 to facilitate the pulling of the head 12. The pull member 14 has a retaining ring 15, whereas the pull tab 13 has a retaining hook 16, which is engaged with the retaining ring 15. Such a prior art zipper head 10 as described above is defective in design in that the retaining hook 16 is relatively small and can not be easily made by a molding tool, thereby resulting in a relatively high rejection rate.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, another prior art zipper head 20 consists of a head 20, and a pull tab 23 having a hooked portion 24. Located between the hooked portion 24 and a cross beam 25 of the pull tab 23 is an insertion slot 26, as shown in FIG. 3. The insertion slot 26 is intended to locate an arm 271 of a U-shaped elastic piece 27 such that the curved portion 273 is connected with the cross beam 25, and that another arm 272 of the elastic piece 27 serves to close the opening of the hooked portion 24. This prior art zipper head 20 is defective in design in that the elastic piece 27 is not located securely and is thus vulnerable to falling out of the slot 26. To overcome such a deficiency as described above, the cross beam 25 is provided with two protruded portions 28, as shown in FIG. 2, for riveting the curved portion 273 of the elastic piece 27. The addition of the two protruded portions 28 is responsible for an increase in the cost of making the zipper head 20 without improving the quality of the zipper head 20. In addition, the elastic piece 27 can not be held securely by riveting in view of the fact that the two protruded portions 28 are relatively small and can not be securely riveted. In other words, the addition of the two protruded portions 28 complicates the process of making the zipper head 20 without resulting in a meaningful improvement in the quality of the zipper head 20.


An integrated field-effect initiator useful for the pyrotechnic initiation or detonation of explosives includes a semiconductor channel of a first conductivity type bounded on opposite ends by semiconductor material of an opposite conductivity type to define two PN junctions in the conduction path. The semiconductor channel is doped to define a conduction path of sufficiently high impedance to prevent unintended initiation. A gate electrode is positioned adjacent the channel and separated therefrom by an insulation layer to affect the conductivity of the channel as a function of a potential applied to the gate. In normal operation, an initiation electrical potential is applied to the opposite ends of the conduction path and a gate potential is applied to the gate to effect field-enhanced conduction in the path sufficient to allow vaporization of the path to cause initiation of an explosive material in contact with the path. In another embodiment, a slapper structure is mounted adjacent the channel and is propelled into the explosive to effect detonation. The initiator can be manufactured by conventional integrated circuit fabrication techniques and provides a normally inhibited device that requires application of a gate potential prior to initiation.

The present invention relates to an integrated field-effect initiator for initiating explosives and, more particularly, to an initiator useful for the ignition or detonation of explosive materials, pyrotechnic materials, propellants, gas generation materials, and the like.
Various devices have been developed for the purpose of initiating explosives; these devices have included exploding conductive wires and foils, spark gaps, and various semiconductor materials. In general, electrical energy is applied to the device and flows through a conductive pathway to generate heat energy that is transferred to a surrounding "first-fire" explosive material. The conductive pathway can be heated to incandescence or vaporized to generate a conductive plasma. In other types of devices, a projectile, known as a "slapper," is positioned immediately adjacent the conductive pathway. The electrical energy conducted through the pathway causes a violent vaporization of the conductive material. Sufficient kinetic energy is transferred to the slapper to ballistically propel the slapper into the "first-fire" material to cause shock waves that start the detonation process.
Historically, a number of disadvantages have been associated with initiators that use a two-terminal, conductive pathway. For example, conductive bridge wires have been susceptible to inadvertent operation from nearby lightening strikes, stray electrical fields from nearby electrical machinery, static electricity, and radio frequency energy from nearby radio transmitters. Semiconductor bridges have been designed to minimize inadvertent discharge and typically include a semiconductor material doped with a selected material to provide desired conduction characteristics, including, for example, a negative temperature coefficient, that provide a measure of immunity from unintended initiation.
Regardless of the type of conductive pathway used, i.e., wires, foils, and semiconductors, initiators are subject to no-fire tests in which the integrity of an initiator is tested by passing an electric current through the conduction pathway at a voltage less than the all-fire value. A typical no-fire test can pass a 500 volt no-fire signal through the initiator in contrast to a 2000 volt all-fire signal. One disadvantage associated with no-fire testing is the heat generated by the conductive pathway as a consequence of the applied no-fire test voltage. The heat, while less than that necessary to effect initiation, is oftentimes sufficient to cause thermal degradation of the "first-fire" material immediately adjacent the conductive pathway. This degradation, which is not easily detectable, can cause a malfunction when the all-fire signal is subsequently applied.


A smart microphone has voice control functions. The smart microphone includes a support plate, a microphone component, at least a sensor, at least an integrated component, a sound pressure conversion component and a plurality of welding pads. The microphone component is arranged on a surface of the support plate. The sensor, the integrated component and the sound pressure conversion component are arranged inside the microphone component. The welding pads are arranged on two sides of the support plate respectively. The sensors with environment volume monitoring, voice control and different functions are integrated into the microphone component to achieve the smart microphone with a small volume and multi-functions.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microphone, and especially relates to a smart microphone with voice control functions.
Description of the Related Art
Currently, electronic apparatuses which need to transmit sounds, such as cellphones, computers, personal digital assistant (PDA), voice over internet protocol (VoIP) apparatuses, MP3 players, game consoles, headphones, portable global position system (GPS) apparatuses or other similar electronic apparatuses, all have microphones which receive sounds and are arranged inside the electronic apparatuses or on circuit boards inside the electronic apparatuses.
After built-in microphones (the capacitor microphones) are arranged in the electronic apparatuses, in order to improve the sound processing efficiency of the microphones, how to effectively suppress noises, eliminate wind sounds, eliminate echo and meet the needs of miniaturization and high power are usually the key items of the technology development. Therefore, related arts comprise the patent numbers I279155, I298984 and M335900 of the Republic of China, and patent numbers 20080167516, 20080166000 and 20080165996 of the United States. In the related arts, the microphones convert the sound waves into electric signals. Namely, the microphones provide only the function of converting the sound waves into the electric signals.
However, the patent number M333740 of the Republic of China discloses a microphone that can light and light diversely. The casing of the microphone is made of light-permeable material. A light source, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), variable optical diodes, tubes, bulbs or lamps, is arranged inside the microphone, to light diversely according to different situations. However, the microphone disclosed in M333740 is a wire microphone or a wireless microphone that is independent from the electronic apparatus (namely, cannot be integrated with the electronic apparatus), and is used and held by the user for transmitting sounds. In another word, the microphone disclosed in M333740 cannot be miniaturized to be directly used as the microphone of the cellphones, computers, personal digital assistant (PDA), voice over internet protocol (VoIP) apparatuses, MP3 players, multimedia players, game consoles, headphones, portable global position system apparatuses or other similar electronic apparatuses.
Therefore, currently the microphone in the electronic apparatus only has the function of transmitting sounds. The other functions of the electronic apparatus are achieved by the other components of the electronic apparatus. Therefore, how to provide a microphone that can integrate different functions in the electronic apparatus is a key point that is worth to research and design in the field.

Smart microphone with voice control functions


Medical, surgical, and/or robotic devices and systems often including offset remote center parallelogram manipulator linkage assemblies which constrains a position of a surgical instrument during minimally invasive robotic surgery are disclosed. The improved remote center manipulator linkage assembly advantageously enhances the range of instrument motion while at the same time reduces the overall complexity, size, and physical weight of the robotic surgical system.

The present invention is generally related to medical, surgical, and/or robotic devices and systems. In an exemplary embodiment, the invention provides offset remote center manipulators which constrain a position of a surgical instrument during minimally invasive robotic surgery.
Minimally invasive medical techniques are intended to reduce the amount of extraneous tissue which is damaged during diagnostic or surgical procedures, thereby reducing patient recovery time, discomfort and deleterious side effects. One effect of minimally invasive surgery, for example, is reduced post-operative hospital recovery times. Because the average hospital stay for a standard surgery is typically significantly longer than the average stay for an analogous minimally invasive surgery, increased use of minimally invasive techniques could save millions of dollars in hospital costs each year. While many of the surgeries performed each year in the United States could potentially be performed in a minimally invasive manner, only a portion of the current surgeries use these advantageous techniques due to limitations in minimally invasive surgical instruments and the additional surgical training involved in mastering them.
Minimally invasive robotic surgical or telesurgical systems have been developed to increase a surgeon's dexterity and avoid some of the limitations on traditional minimally invasive techniques. In telesurgery, the surgeon uses some form of remote control, e.g., a servomechanism or the like, to manipulate surgical instrument movements, rather than directly holding and moving the instruments by hand. In telesurgery systems, the surgeon can be provided with an image of the surgical site at the surgical workstation. While viewing a two or three dimensional image of the surgical site on a display, the surgeon performs the surgical procedures on the patient by manipulating master control devices, which in turn control motion of the servomechanically operated instruments.
The servomechanism used for telesurgery will often accept input from two master controllers (one for each of the surgeon's hands) and may include two or more robotic arms on each of which a surgical instrument is mounted. Operative communication between master controllers and associated robotic arm and instrument assemblies is typically achieved through a control system. The control system typically includes at least one processor which relays input commands from the master controllers to the associated robotic arm and instrument assemblies and back from the instrument and arm assemblies to the associated master controllers in the case of, e.g., force feedback or the like. One example of a robotic surgical system is the DA VINCI® system available from Intuitive Surgical, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.
A variety of structural arrangements can be used to support the surgical instrument at the surgical site during robotic surgery. The driven linkage or "slave" is often called a robotic surgical manipulator, and exemplary linkage arrangements for use as a robotic surgical manipulator during minimally invasive robotic surgery are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,758,843; 6,246,200; and 5,800,423, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. These linkages often make use of a parallelogram arrangement to hold an instrument having a shaft. Such a manipulator structure can constrain movement of the instrument so that the instrument pivots about a center of spherical rotation positioned in space along the length of the rigid shaft. By aligning this center of rotation with the incision point to the internal surgical site (for example, with a trocar or cannula at an abdominal wall during laparoscopic surgery), an end effector of the surgical instrument can be positioned safely by moving the proximal end of the shaft using the manipulator linkage without imposing dangerous forces against the abdominal wall. Alternative manipulator structures are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,702,805; 6,676,669; 5,855,583; 5,808,665; 5,445,166; and 5,184,601, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
While the new telesurgical systems and device have proven highly effective and advantageous, still further improvements would be desirable. In general, it would be desirable to provide improved structures and systems for performing minimally invasive robotic surgery. More specifically, it would be beneficial to enhance the efficiency and ease of use of these systems. For example, it would be particularly beneficial to improve the range of motion provided by the robotic surgical manipulator while at the same time reducing the overall complexity, size, and physical weight of the system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Offset remote center manipulator for robotic surgery


A plate-like connection target is inserted into a connector along a first direction. The connector has a first metal member having a first metal abutment portion, a second metal member having a second metal abutment portion, and an actuator operable to push the second metal abutment portion toward the first metal abutment portion for holding the plate-like connection target between the first metal abutment portion and the second metal abutment portion in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction in a state in which the plate-like connection target has been inserted in the connector.

The present invention relates to a connector used for a plate-like connection target such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC).
For example, this type of connector is disclosed in JP-A 2002-124331, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The connector disclosed in JP-A 2002-124331 is configured such that an FPC or FFC is pressed against metal contacts by part of an actuator formed of an insulating material (pusher).
When an FPC or FFC is pressed against contacts by movement of a pusher along an insertion direction (or removal direction) of the FPC or FFC as in the connector disclosed in JP-A 2002-124331, shearing stress is applied to the FPC or FFC. This shearing stress may cause breakage of the FPC or FFC if connection and disconnection of the FPC or FFC to the connector is repeated. Additionally, if the FPC or FFC is held between a member of metal and a member of an insulating material, stable connection cannot be established by wear of the insulating material.
In contrast to such a connector, JP-A 2006-179267 discloses a connector having metal members to hold an FPC or FFC therebetween. This connector can establish relatively stable connection. Furthermore, according to the connector disclosed in JP-A 2006-179267, no shearing stress that would practically be problematic is applied to the FPC or FFC unlike the connector disclosed in JP-A 2002-124331. Thus, fear of breakage of the FPC or FFC is reduced.
However, the connector disclosed in JP-A 2006-179267 has a structural problem that the size of the connector increases.

Connector having an actuator operable to hold a plate-like connection target between two metal abutment portions

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


A portable near-field measurement system for mapping radio frequency characteristics spherically about a test object is presented. The system includes an anechoic chamber, a rotatable annular platter, a rotatable platter, a stationary platform, and frequency converters. The chamber is an enclosure with an absorber material fastened to the interior thereof. The annular platter is disposed horizontally within the chamber and fastened to an azimuth positioner that rotates the annular platter about an azimuth rotation axis. The rotatable platter is disposed vertically within the chamber and rotatable about an elevation rotation axis via an elevation positioner. Azimuth and elevation axes intersect perpendicularly. A gantry arm with probe is fastened to and extends from the rotatable platter. A vertical arm is fastened between the annular platter and elevation positioner. Platters have front and back surfaces. A stationary platform is centered within the annular platter and attachable to a test column. Front surfaces are oriented toward the test column and covered with an absorber material. At least one frequency converter is fastened to the back surface of the rotatable platter and communicable with the probe. At least one other frequency converter is fastened to the stationary platform and communicable with a target.

The evolution of portable electronic devices has entered a new phase, namely, connectivity via one or more wireless communication means. Laptops, digital pads, and other portable devices must now communicate wirelessly with intranets, internets, and other communication networks in a seamless fashion in order to fully exploit the capabilities of such portable devices and the software therein. Furthermore, the communicability of portable wireless devices is particularly desirable in the unlicensed bands above 60 Gigahertz.
The pursuit of wireless performance in ever smaller forms further complicates design, manufacture, and test of portable electronic devices and communication components used in such devices.
Portable wireless devices, like other electronic devices, are tested during development and manufacture and prior to sale. Testing is often limited to functionality, namely, turn ON verification and signal level measurement. Performance data is not collected, stored, processed, and visualized.
Unfortunately, present measurement systems including an anechoic chamber are neither portable nor capable of the data acquisition and pattern measurements required to verify the wireless communication performance of portable electronic devices, connectorized antennas, and chip/wafer antennas.
Therefore, what is required is a portable spherical near-field antenna measurement system including an anechoic chamber which is capable of data acquisition and pattern measurements so as to allow characterization of the wireless communication parameters of portable electronic devices and miniature antennas.

Portable spherical near-field antenna measurement system


Disclosed is a method for hybrid transmission over a broadcast network and a broadband network, comprising the steps of: providing information on the broadcast content relating to a first content during the viewing the first content of the broadband network; and, if the related broadcast content is selected, providing the related broadcast content to a user over the broadcast network. The user may receive the broadcast content corresponding to relevant specific content over the broadcast network and view the received broadcast content during the viewing of specific VOD content in the broadcast network.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hybrid transmission using a heterogeneous network.
Related Art
After standardization of MPEG-2, new video compression standards (or audio compression standards) such as MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, and scalable video coding (SVC) have been developed for the last 10 years, and these new standards have formed new markets, thereby extending the utilized area of MPEG standards, but the transmission technology such as MPEG-2 transport system (TS) has been widely used in a digital broadcast and a mobile broadcast (T-DMB, DVB-H, etc.) without a significant change for about 20 years and is even being used in IPTV service which is multimedia transmission through Internet.
However, multimedia transmission environments at the time of development of MPEG-2 TS and the today's multimedia transmission environments are quite different. For example, the MPEG-2 TS standard has been developed in consideration of multimedia data through ATM network at the time of establishment, but today this standard is rarely used for this purpose. Further, requirements such as multimedia transmission by using Internet at the time of establishment of MPEG-2 TS standard have not been considered, and thus there are elements which are not efficient in recent multimedia transmission through Internet. Hence, establishment of MPEG media transport (MMT), which is a new multimedia transport standard which considers the multimedia service in Internet and fits a changing multimedia environment, is being recognized as a very important subject.
Likewise, MMT standardization is important because the MPEG2-TS standard, which was made 20 years ago, is not optimized for the today's IPTV broadcast service, Internet environment, etc., and thus there is a need for an international multimedia transmission standard which is optimized for the multimedia transmission environment in various heterogeneous networks.
In particular, various application examples for hybrid transmission through a broadcast network and a broadband network cannot be supported only with the existing MPEG2 TS standards.

Hybrid transmission method through MMT packet format extension


Provided is a fuel oil composition that has a sulfur content of 0.50 mass % or less but yet has a storage stability, long-term storage stability, combustion performance, low-temperature fluidity and kinetic viscosity sufficient for use in ships. A fuel oil composition that has a sulfur content of 0.50 mass % or less, aromatic content of 50.0 to 75.0 mass %, a mass ratio of sum of paraffin and asphaltene to the sum of aromatic and resin is 0.20 to 0.80 wherein the paraffin, the asphaltene, the aromatic and the resin are measured using a TLC/FID method respectively, a CCAI is 860 or less, a kinematic viscosity (50° C.) is 10.00 to 180 0 mm2/s, and a pour point of 25.0° C. or less.

Fuel oil compositions, which are widely used as fuel for ships traveling outside the jurisdictional area, are required to be excellent in ignition performance and combustion performance and not to generate combustion failure, as ship fuel. Therefore, as a technique for satisfying these required performances, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Publication 2014-51591) discloses to set an ignitability index to be 0 or more and less than 15, wherein the index is calculated from a density at 15° C., a kinematic viscosity at 50° C., and temperature by thermal weight-differential thermal analysis at which temperature weight reduces by 10%, 50%, and 90% under a nitrogen atmosphere.
On the other hand, in recent years, there has also been a demand for improvements in the exhaust gas from marine transportation, which had been said to be energy-efficient and relatively low in emissions, and regulations on the sulfur content of marine fuel are advancing mainly to reduce the sulfur oxides (SOx) and black smoke emitted from ships.
Since sulfur oxides and particulate matter are attributed to sulfur contained in fuel, the sulfur content of fuel oil compositions, which are widely used as fuels for ships traveling outside the jurisdictional area, is currently 3.5 mass % or less, but in 2020, it is mandated to be 0.5 mass % or less.
Therefore, there has been proposed a fuel oil composition which satisfies the required property as a fuel while setting the sulfur content of the fuel oil composition to 0.5 mass % or less. For example, Patent Document 2 (Japan Patent Publication 2018-165365) discloses a fuel oil composition containing a direct desulfurized heavy oil and at least one of slurry oil and catalytic cracked gas oil, wherein a ratio of an asphaltene content to a sum of an aromatic content and a resin content relative to a total mass of the composition is 0.090 or less, and a sulfur content is 0.50 mass % or less based on a total mass of the composition.
In addition, Patent Document 3 (Japan Patent Publication 2018-165366) discloses a fuel oil composition containing slurry oil and blend materials for mixing other than the slurry oil comprising 2 or more kinds containing a residual fraction, wherein the content of the residual fraction is 0.3 volume % to 5.0 volume % based on the total volume of the fuel oil composition, and a sulfur content is 0.5 mass % or less.
Further, Patent Document 4 (Japan Patent Publication 2018-165367) proposes a fuel oil composition contains slurry oil and a blend material having a CCAI (Calculated Carbon Aromatic Index) of 850 or less and comprising 1 or 2 or more other than slurry oil, wherein the content of the slurry oil is 20.0 volume % to 85.0 volume % based on the total volume of the fuel oil composition, and the content of the 1 or 2 or more blend materials other than the slurry oil is 15.0 volume % to 80.0 volume % based on the total volume of the fuel oil composition, and the sulfur content is 0.5 mass % or less.


The present invention provides a method and system for helping to improve processing duration and successful position determination in a position-determining system. The position-determining system receives a request to determine position of a mobile station, such as a cellular wireless communication device, and the request includes a timer value indicative of the maximum allowed time for responding to the request. The position-determining system then dynamically determines how long to spend attempting a primary location-determination process, based on the indicated timer value and an expected time necessary to employ a fallback, or secondary, location-determination process. If the position-determining system fails to determine the position within the time allocated to the primary process, it resorts to application of the secondary position-determination process. If either the primary or the secondary tier of location determination determines a position, that position is returned to the requesting entity; otherwise, a default or error message is returned.

Cellular wireless is an increasingly popular means of personal communication in the modern world. To provide cellular wireless communication services, as shown in FIG. 1, a wireless carrier typically operates a number of radio access networks (RANs) 12, each of which is controlled by a switching entity such as a mobile switching center (MSC) 14. The MSC generally includes or connects with one or more base station controllers (BSCs) 16, which in turn connect with one or more base transceiver stations (BTSs) 18. Each BTS conventionally includes a cell tower with one or more antennas that radiate to define an air interface 20 in which mobile stations can operate. With this arrangement, a mobile station 22 that operates in any air interface of the carrier's network can communicate through a RAN with entities on a transport network such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or the Internet.
An important feature of contemporary cellular wireless networks is an ability to locate the geographical position of a mobile station. Such a feature was initially developed to assist emergency services in locating a mobile station. However, the availability of location information to support E911 services has given rise to the development of many other location-based service (LBS) applications as well.
For instance, given the location of a mobile station, an LBS provider (e.g., a wireless cellular carrier or third party) can provide the mobile station user with a weather or traffic report in the user's vicinity. As another example, an LBS provider can report a list of services or establishments (e.g., restaurants, parks, or theatres) in the user's vicinity. As still another example, an LBS provider can provide a mobile station user with a map of the user's location or with directions for travel between the user's location and another location. As yet another example, knowing that a mobile station is operating in a particular location, an LBS provider can send the mobile station a location-based message, such as an advertisement or coupon for a nearby establishment. Other LBS applications exist currently, and more will inevitably be developed in the future.
In practice, when an LBS application wants to determine the location of a mobile station, the application may send a location request message to the wireless carrier that serves the mobile station. In response, the carrier may then send a signaling message through its network to determine where the mobile station is currently located, and the carrier may then generate a response to the location request and send that response to the LBS application.
More particularly, in a common arrangement, a wireless carrier will operate a mobile positioning center (MPC) 24 that is arranged to determine and report mobile station locations to requesting entities. The MPC may include or have access to a position-determining entity (PDE) 26, which may operate to determine the location of a given mobile station based on (i) the centroid of the cell/sector in which the mobile station is currently operating and (ii) satellite-based positioning information provided by the mobile station. Further, the carrier may operate a location server 30 that acts as a front-end for receiving location requests from LBS applications and forwarding those requests to the MPC.
When the location server receives a location request from an LBS application, the location server may send a corresponding location request to the MPC (e.g., via a link 32, which could be a direct packet link or a packet-switched network), and the MPC/PDE may, in turn, determine the location of the mobile station. The MPC may then return the determined location of the mobile station to the location server, and the location server may then return to the LBS application the determined location or data derived from the determined location (such as mapping, routing, or street address information).
A location request to the MPC may seek either a general or a specific indication of the mobile station's location. A general indication of the mobile station's location may be an indication of the location of the cell/sector in which the mobile station is currently operating, such as the geographic location of a centroid of the cell/sector. A specific indication of the mobile station's location, on the other hand, could be a more precise indication of the geographic position of the mobile station itself.
To learn the cell/sector that is currently serving a mobile station, the MPC may send a "low-accuracy" location request to the RAN that is currently serving the mobile station, and the RAN may respond with an indication of the cell/sector in which the mobile station is currently operating. To learn a more specific geographic position of the mobile station, on the other hand, the MPC may send a "high-accuracy" location request to the PDE, and the PDE may then send one or more high accuracy location requests to the serving RAN and receive high accuracy positioning data—such as positioning information that the mobile station receives from one or more satellites—in response from the RAN. The PDE may then use that high accuracy positioning data, typically in combination with the cell/sector centroid determined by the MPC, to identify the mobile station's geographic position. Throughout this specification, the terms "position" and "location" are used interchangeably.
Today, two disparate mechanisms are known for providing communication between a positioning system and a mobile station: (i) "control plane" signaling and (ii) "user plane" signaling. Control plane signaling is the traditional mechanism for communicating position-related data between a positioning system and a mobile station via a switch such as an MSC. User plane signaling has been developed more recently to provide a more streamlined form of communication between a positioning system and a mobile station using 2-way Short Messaging Service (SMS) signaling and/or through IP communication, so that mobile station can pass any desired location data directly to the positioning system without using a switch. Examples are described herein in the context of the control plane, but the invention could just as easily be practiced using the user plane.
In a typical arrangement, the location requests from the MPC/PDE to the RAN will go from the MPC/PDE over a signaling network (e.g., a Signaling System #7 (SS7) network) 34 to the MSC of the RAN. In order to send such a request, the MPC may query a home location register (HLR) 36, also via the signaling network, to determine the point code subsystem number (PC_SSN) of the MSC currently serving the mobile station. For instance, the MPC may send an IS-41 "Location Request" (LOCREQ) message to the HLR, or an IS-637 "SMS Request" (SMSREQ) message to the HLR, also providing the HLR with an identifier of the mobile station, and the HLR would respond (in a LOCREQ return result (locreq_rr) or SMSREQ return result (smsreq_rr)) with the PC_SSN of the currently serving MSC (or a last known serving MSC). The query to the HLR could carry a mobile station identifier (such as a mobile directory number (MDN)) as indicated in the initial location request to the MPC.
Industry standard 3GPP2 X.P0002/TIA PN-4747 (IS-881), in turn, defines many of the location request messages that pass between the MPC, PDE and MSC. For instance, a low-accuracy location request from the MPC to the MSC may take the form of an IS-881 "Inter-System Position Request" (ISPOSREQ) message, and a response to that message may take the form of an IS-881 ISPOSREQ return result (isposreq_rr) message. A high-accuracy location request from the MPC to the PDE may take the form of an IS-881 "Geo Position Request" (GPOSREQ) message, and a response to that message may take the form of an IS-881 GPOSREQ return result (gposreq_rr) message. Normally, a GPOSREQ inhabits the control plane, but the user plane supports an analogous GPOSREQ message that differs from the control plane counterpart only in the transmission media and likely transmission speed. These user plane analogues can be referred to as GPOSREQ′ messages—having corresponding return result gposreq_rr′ messages. Throughout this specification, the terms "GPOSREQ" and "gposreq_rr" refer collectively to both control plane GPOSREQ messages and user plane GPOSREQ′ messages. Additionally, a high-accuracy location request from the PDE to the MSC may take the form of an IS-881 "Short Message Delivery Point to Point" (SMDPP) message, and a response to that message may take the form of an IS-881 SMDPP return result (smdpp_rr) message.
Further, industry standard IS-801 defines position-determination messages that can pass over an air interface between an MSC and a mobile station for the purposes of requesting and receiving high-accuracy location data. For instance, the MSC can send an IS-801 position determination request (PD Request) message over the air to a mobile station, to request that the mobile station provide satellite-based positioning information, and the mobile station can respond with an IS-801 position determination response (PD Response) message over the air to the MSC, providing the requested satellite-based positioning information.
In operation, when the MPC receives a request for a general indication of a mobile station's location, the MPC would first identify the MSC serving the mobile station and would then send an ISPOSREQ message to the MSC, seeking an indication of the cell/sector in which the mobile station is currently operating. If the MSC has the requested cell/sector information, the MSC may then provide an indication of the cell/sector in an isposreq_rr message to the MPC. Otherwise, the MSC may page the mobile station over the air interface so as to receive in a page response from the mobile station an indication of the cell/sector, and the MSC may then send an indication of the cell/sector in an isposreq_rr to the MPC. Once the MPC learns the cell/sector in which the mobile station is currently operating, the MPC may determine (e.g., look up) the geographic centroid of the cell/sector. The MPC may then report that centroid in a response to the location request.
On the other hand, when the MPC receives a request for a specific indication of a mobile station's location, the MPC may invoke the PDE to determine the location. More particularly, the MPC may first identify the MSC serving the mobile station and may send an ISPOSREQ to the MSC to determine the cell/sector in which the mobile station is currently operating, and the MPC may determine the centroid of that cell/sector. The MPC may then send a GPOSREQ to the PDE, providing the PDE with (i) an identifier of the mobile station, (ii) an identifier of the serving MSC, and (iii) the determined cell/sector centroid.
Upon receipt of the GPOSREQ, the PDE may then use the cell/sector identity to determine (e.g., look up) what satellite(s) the mobile station can use to obtain satellite-based positioning information. The PDE may then send an SMDPP message to the MSC, specifying one or more satellites that the mobile station should use to obtain satellite-based positioning information. In response to the SMDPP message, the MSC may then send an IS-801 PD Request message over the air to the mobile station, indicating the satellite(s) from which the mobile station should get positioning information.
(Normally, the MSC will send the IS-801 PD Request over an air interface traffic channel to the mobile station. Thus, if the mobile station is currently engaged in a communication session and thus already has an assigned traffic channel, the MSC may send the PD request over that traffic channel. On the other hand, if the mobile station is idle or dormant and therefore does not have a traffic channel, the MSC may direct the serving BSC to assign a traffic channel to the mobile station, and the MSC may send the PD request over that traffic channel. In a preferred embodiment, the ISPOSREQ that the MPC sends to the MSC in a high-accuracy location determination scenario would include a code that puts the MSC on notice that the MSC will soon receive a high-accuracy location request, so that the MSC can assign the traffic channel in advance if desired.)
In turn, the mobile station would look to the designated satellite(s) to obtain the requested satellite-based positioning information and would provide that information in an IS-801 PD Response message over the air to the MSC. Upon receipt of the PD Response message, the MSC would then generate and send an smdpp_rr to the PDE, providing the PDE with the requested satellite-based positioning information.
If the PDE thereby receives from the mobile station the requested satellite-based positioning information from at least three of the designated satellites, the PDE may then use that information to determine, with a fairly high degree of accuracy, the position of the mobile station using well known "Assisted GPS" (AGPS) computation. On the other hand, if the PDE does not receive at least three satellites-worth of positioning information from the mobile station, then the PDE may ask the mobile station for information from still other satellites. Ultimately, once the PDE receives sufficient satellite-based positioning information from the mobile station, the PDE may determine the mobile station's location and then respond to the MPC with a gposreq_rr, providing the MPC with the determined location. In turn, the MPC may then report that location in a response to the location request that it received.
In some instances, it may happen that the PDE is unable to obtain the necessary satellite-based positioning information from the mobile station to facilitate determination of the mobile station's location using AGPS. When that happens, the PDE may then resort to determining the mobile station's location by one or more other well-known mechanisms. For instance, the PDE may next try to determine the mobile station's location using a hybrid satellite-network fix (e.g., computing location based on some satellite-based positioning information and some base station almanac data, such as serving-one-way-delay data). As another example—perhaps if the hybrid satellite-network fix fails as well—the PDE may next try to determine the mobile station's location using mixed cell advanced forward link trilateration (AFLT) (perhaps using base station almanac data for at least three base stations in communication with the mobile station). As yet another example (perhaps if the AFLT fix fails as well), the PDE may next determine location as the mere cell/sector location.
Understandably, some of these fallback location-determination mechanisms would not provide location with the high level of granularity desired, but they are likely to provide at least some location fix, which may be better than providing no location fix at all. Thus, once the PDE determines the location of the mobile station by one of these fallback mechanisms, the PDE would similarly return that determined location to the MPC in a gposreq_rr message, and the MPC may then report that location in a response to the location request that it received.
In many cases, the PDE will apply a fixed internal timer that indicates a maximum amount of time that the PDE should take to respond to a GPOSREQ from the MPC. If the PDE determines the location of the mobile station within that maximum allowed time, the PDE will then return that determined location to the MPC in a gposreq_rr. On the other hand, if the PDE does not successfully determine the location of the mobile station within the maximum allowed time, then, when the timer expires, the PDE may return an error to the MPC, indicating that the PDE has not determined the mobile station location. For instance, if the PDE first fails with AGPS to determine the mobile station and then proceeds to attempt a hybrid satellite-network fix but the timer expires during that attempt, then the PDE may return an error in a gposreq_rr to the MPC. If the MPC receives such an error response from the PDE, the MPC may then default to returning in its response to the requesting LBS application the mere cell/sector centroid (or a representation of the cell/sector centroid), or a corresponding error message.

Method and system for adjusting processing duration in a position-determining system


A method and apparatus wherein only a partial key is stored in a hashing table is disclosed. By storing a partial key as opposed to storing the entire original key, less data is required to be stored in the hash table. This reduces the attendant memory costs. The reduction in memory requirement does not degrade the hash functionalities whatsoever. Hashing conflicts can be fully resolved by consulting the partial key.

Businesses and individuals rely upon networks (e.g., the Internet) for communications and the exchange of data. Computers coupled to these networks allow users to readily gain access to and exchange data of all types (e.g., sound, text, numerical data, video, graphics, multi-media, etc.) with other computers, databases, websites, etc. This enables users to send and receive electronic mail (e-mail) messages, browse web sites, download files, participate in live discussions in chat rooms, play games in real-time, watch streaming video, listen to music, shop and trade on-line, etc. With increased network bandwidth, video-on-demand, HDTV, IP telephony, video teleconferencing, and other types of bandwidth intensive applications will become prevalent. But in each of these applications, the underlying technology is basically the same. The data is first broken up into several smaller "packets." The data packets are then individually routed through one or more networks via a number of interconnected network devices. The network devices, such as routers, hubs, and/or switches, direct the flow of these data packets through the network to their intended destinations.
To illustrate this process, FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of three computers 101-103 coupled to a network 104. Any of the three computers can transmit and/or receive data over network 104 to any of the other computers coupled to that network. In order to properly route these packets, each packet contains a destination address. The destination address specifies the proper destination for that particular packet. When a packet is received by a network device, the packet's destination address is examined by the network device. Based on the destination address, the network device knows how to properly forward that particular packet. Eventually, the packet will work its way through the network to its intended destination as it is forwarded through one or more network devices.
The manner by which a network device determines how a packet is to be forwarded is shown in FIG. 2 which depicts a generic network device. Network device 201 has a number of input ports 01-04 for accepting packets from numerous sources. The incoming packets are processed by a forwarding engine 202. Forwarding engine 202 determines the destination address embedded in the packet and uses this destination address to access information stored in memory 203. The information contained in memory 203 specifies which of the output ports 01-04 that particular packet is to be routed.
One type of memory commonly used in network devices is referred to as content-addressable memory (CAM). FIG. 3 shows a typical CAM. CAMs are typically fashioned from custom designed application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). CAMs have an advantage in that they have 100 percent utilization. This means that there is no conflict issue between two different keys. Unfortunately, CAMs are very expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, CAMs are relatively small. The biggest configuration today is around 256 k×72 bits. In addition, CAMs are relatively slow; they run approximately at 200 MHz versus fast DRAMs today run at 400 MHz. Yet another drawback to CAMs is there inherently high power consumption.
Another type of memory which can be used is random access memory (RAM). RAM memory is cheaper than CAMs. With advances made in RAM fabrication techniques, they are becoming faster and cheaper. Consequently, RAM memory is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to CAM memory amongst network device designers. Although RAM memory is relatively inexpensive, the amount of data that needs to be stored for ready reference is quite extensive. Consequently, the associated memory costs can still be quite costly. One way to reduce the amount of data to be stored involves using a technique called, "hashing." Hashing is a scheme which provides rapid access to data which is distinguished by a key. Each data item to be stored is associated with a key. A hash function is applied to the key, and the resulting hash value is used as an index to select one of a number of results in a hash table. If, when adding a new item, the hash table already has an entry at that indicated location, then that entry's key must be compared with the given key to see if it is the same. If the two items' keys hash to the same value, a hash "collision" has occurred, and some alternative location is used.
FIG. 4 shows an exemplary hashing scheme. Hash table 401 requires a hash function 402 that takes an input (key) and transforms it to a fixed-size hash value. Next, the hash value is used to access the hash table 401. In the example shown, an input key "A" is 32 bits wide. It is transformed via hash function 402, typically a pre-determined polynomial function. The output from the hash function 402 is a shortened 20 bits. This 20 bit hash value is used as a pointer to access hash table 401. The result in hash table 401 corresponding to that key is then output to the forwarding engine to direct the packet to its proper output port. Unfortunately, there may be instances where two inputs hash to the same key. Due to these potential hash conflicts, whereby multiple inputs generate the same hash value, the original key must be stored in the hash table. In this manner, the stored original key can be compared to the input to ensure a true match. For instance, there are as many as 212 or 4096 32-bit keys which could hash to the same key. To resolve any conflicts between "A" and "B", the original "A" key is stored in hash table 401. Thereby, a simple comparison will resolve the conflict.
Applying hashing techniques to RAM memory has been very powerful and efficient. However, it would be even better, more efficient, and less expensive if one could somehow store even less data in the hash tables without reducing its efficacy. The present invention provides one such novel, unique solution. The present invention enables one to store less data in the hash table(s) without degrading any functionality whatsoever.


A standard cell semiconductor integrated circuit device design provides a standard cell semiconductor device that includes first standard cells and user-defined target standard cells which consume more power or include other operational characteristics that differ from the operational characteristics of the first standard cells. The standard cells are routed to ground and power wires using one power rail and the target cells are routed to the ground and power lines using the first power rail and a second power rail to alleviate electromigration in either of the power rails. The two power rails include an upper power rail and a lower power rail. An intermediate conductive layer may be disposed between the upper and lower power rails to provide for signal routing by lateral interconnection between cells.

Semiconductor integrated circuit devices are designed using various computer aided means to produce a logical circuit in which various functional elements are identified and interconnected to form particular logic functions. Computer-aided design (CAD) or other design tools are typically used to generate lithography data based on the design and the lithography data is used to form a photomask set that is used in the actual fabrication of the semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) devices.
A standard cell type semiconductor IC device is an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) device designed using multiple standard cells. Each standard cell may include a group of transistor and interconnect structures that provide a boolean logic function (e.g., AND, OR, XOR, XNOR, inverters) or a storage function (flipflop or latch, for example). In a standard cell system, the standard cells are advantageously maintained in a library and various integrated circuit devices can be designed by selecting desired standard cells from the library and combining them in various arrangements to form a most suitable cell arrangement pattern that forms part of the layout of the integrated circuit device.
The design process for standard cell semiconductor IC devices includes constructing the integrated circuit design out of the selected standard cells that are connected together electrically, i.e. routed, using wire interconnects which are also used to route the cells to input and output terminals. The standard cells and connections between them may be stored in databases called "netlists" (i.e., lists of symbolic interconnections). The netlist describes the connectivity of the standard cells within the semiconductor IC device design. One or more computer-aided design (CAD) tools may be used to generate the netlist of the selected standard cells and the interconnections between the cells and input/output. The netlist may be used by a floor planner, placement tool, or other design tool, to place the selected cells at particular locations in the layout of a standard cell integrated circuit device.
The design of the standard cell semiconductor IC device may be carried out by an APR (automatic placement and routing) design tool that includes a placer and a router, by selecting standard cells from the library of standard cells and placing and routing the cells according to design instructions provided to the APR tool such as in the netlist. The placer determines the optimum location of each standard cell of the integrated circuit on the semiconductor substrate, and the router optimizes the routing of input/output lines and the connection between standard cells so that the integrated circuit layout does not become overly congested by input/output and other routing lines. Other CAD tools are also available and may be used in the design of standard cell semiconductor IC devices.
In addition to the standard cells that may be selected from a library, the device design may include other standard cells such as user specified target cells with different operational characteristics. When such target cells are used along with the standard cells from the library to form a standard cell semiconductor IC device, additional challenges in the placement and routing of the cells is imposed. Target cells that operate at higher power consumption levels, for example, require the routing wires used to couple the target cells to ground and power sources, to operate at high power levels and carrying high currents. As such, these wires are especially susceptible to electromigration (EM) failure and even complete blowout of the wire, thus representing a significant shortcoming of conventional technology.

Electromigration resistant standard cell device

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


The top of the semiconductor body (1) has a sacrificial layer (4) made of nitride applied to it on a region, which is provided for the actuation circuit. A memory layer (6) provided for the memory cells is applied over the entire area and is removed above the sacrificial layer (4) by dry etching. The nitride in the sacrificial layer (4) can then be removed by wet chemical means without starting to etch the semiconductor material.

In the case of semiconductor memory components, a top of a semiconductor body or substrate made of semiconductor material holds a memory cell array comprising memory cells each of which has a transistor structure and is addressed using word lines and bit lines. Programming, reading and erasing are performed using a logic circuit in an actuation peripheral area. This circuit is normally constructed using CMOS transistors. Although the actuation components and the memory cells have a homogeneous transistor structure in principle, the transistors in the logic circuit need to have a special gate dielectric (gate oxide) provided on the top of the semiconductor body, while the memory cells require a memory layer or memory layer sequence for the programming operation. Such a memory layer may be a floating gate electrode, for example, which is embedded in dielectric material between the gate electrode and the channel region of the transistor in question.
In the case of charge trapping memory cells, the gate dielectric provided is a layer sequence that has a memory layer between limiting layers. The memory layer is dielectric material, but may also be intrinsically conductive (undoped) silicon. Such a cell is programmed by injecting hot, i.e., energy-rich, electrons from the channel region through the bottom-limiting layer of the memory layer sequence into the memory layer. Such memory cells are known as SONOS memory cells, in which the memory layer sequence comprises a nitride layer as memory layer between limiting layers made of oxide.
A limiting layer made of oxide in the memory layer sequence cannot normally be used as gate oxide for the transistors in the actuation peripheral area. It is, therefore, necessary to produce separate oxide layers or other dielectric layers for the transistors in the memory cell array and for the transistors in the actuation circuit.
Fabrication processes customary to date first of all involve the memory layer or memory layer sequence being produced on the top of the semiconductor body over the entire area. Outside the memory cell array, this memory layer is removed. In the case of an oxide/nitride/oxide memory layer sequence, this is preferably done by wet chemical means, because this is the best way of preventing damage to the semiconductor body as a result of etching the surface. In principle, this etching may also be performed using a dry etching process; in this case, however, the problem of possible substrate damage arises.
The memory layer sequence in a charge trapping memory cell can also be produced from other materials. In conjunction with silicon oxide as limiting layers, the memory layer arranged in between may be, by way of example, a material from the group comprising tantalum oxide, hafnium silicate, titanium oxide (TiO2 in the case of stoichiometric composition), zirconium oxide (ZrO2 in the case of stoichiometric composition), alumina (Al2O3 in the case of stoichiometric composition) and intrinsically conductive silicon. The limiting layers used may also be oxynitride instead of oxide.
In future technologies, an oxynitride/Al2O3/oxynitride layer sequence is particularly preferred for the memory layer sequence of the charge trapping memory cells. Al2O3 can be etched other than by wet chemical means using conventional photomasks. It is also difficult to remove oxynitrides by wet chemical means using lacquer masks. The memory layer sequence therefore needs to be removed from the semiconductor body in the region of the actuation peripheral area by means of dry etching.

Method for fabricating memory components