A vehicular circuit body includes a trunk line that extends in a front-and-rear direction of a vehicle, a plurality of control boxes that are provided on the trunk line, and a branch line that connects the control box to an accessory. The trunk line and the branch line each includes a power line having a predetermined current capacity and a communication line having a predetermined communication capacity. The vehicle is divided into a plurality of regions. At least two control boxes are disposed in the regions which are different from each other, each of which includes a gateway conversing communication methods for the communication line of the branch line and the communication line of the trunk line. A plurality of the gateways are able to communicate with each other via the communication line of the trunk line.

In a vehicle, for example, source power is required to be appropriately supplied to a large number of various electric components from an alternator (generator) or a battery which is a main power source. A system used to supply such source power is also required to have a function of switching between ON and OFF of the supply of power as necessary, or a function of cutting off a current for each system in a case where an excessive current flows through an electric component.
In a general vehicle, a wire harness which is an aggregate of a plurality of electric wires is routed on the vehicle, and a main power source is connected to electric components at each location via the wire harness so that power is supplied thereto. Generally, a junction block is used to distribute source power to a plurality of systems, a relay box is used to control ON and OFF of the supply of power for each system, or a fuse box is used to protect each electric wire or a load of the wire harness.
The vehicle is provided with a plurality of control units for controlling the electric components, and the control units and the electric components are communicably connected to each other via the wire harness.
For example, a wire harness disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a network transmission path and a circuit for providing power, GND and other signals. The wire harness includes a wire harness trunk line, a sub-wire harness, an optional sub-wire harness, and a network hub device.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2005-78962
In recent years, vehicle systems including such a power source system or communication system have become advanced due to an increase in the number of mounted electric components, complexity of control, or the like. An automatic driving technology is rapidly evolving, and safety requirements for various functions are also increasing in order to cope with this automatic driving.
Along with this, a structure of a wire harness routed on a vehicle body tends to be complicated. Therefore, for example, as in Patent Document 1, the wire harness having a complex shape as a whole is formed by combining the wire harness trunk line, the sub-wire harness, and the optional sub-wire harness, and thus connection to various electric components disposed at various locations on a vehicle body can be performed.
Since a diameter of each electric wire forming the wire harness or the number of electric wires increases due to an increase in the number of electric components mounted on a vehicle, there is a tendency that a size of the entire wire harness increases or a weight thereof increases. The types and the number of components of wire harness to be manufactured increase due to a difference between vehicle models mounted with a wire harness or increases in types of optional electric components mounted on a vehicle, and thus it is difficult to standardize components forming the wire harness, and component cost or manufacturing cost increases.
In a work process of manufacturing a wire harness, in order to finish the wire harness in a predetermined routing shape, a bundle of a plurality of electric wires forming the wire harness is pulled around over a long distance along a path which is designated in advance, and thus a lot of work time is required. Since almost all of electric wires are collected at a trunk line portion of the wire harness, the number of bundled electric wires increases, and thus a weight thereof increases.
For example, in a case where a new electric component which is not expected at initial design is mounted on a vehicle, a new electric wire is required to be added to a wire harness in order to secure a path along which a special signal is transmitted between the electric component and another electric component or to supply source power thereto. However, a wire harness has a complex structure or shape, and it is very difficult to add other electric wires to the existing wire harness in the future. Therefore, a new wire harness having differing type or component number is required to be designed so as to be manufactured as a separate product.
Also, regarding communication on a vehicle, an interface based on a plurality of standards such as CAN, CXPI, and Ethernet (registered trademark) may be used. The connected electric components may employ different communication standards for each kind of vehicle, for each grade of a vehicle, or for each area on a vehicle body. Since a device such as a special communication cable, connector, or communication interface is separately prepared in order to connect communication apparatuses based on different standards to each other, a configuration of a wire harness may be complicated and connection work may be troublesome.


A bus structure for interconnecting the modules of an industrial automation controller includes DATA lines and associated control lines that enable interface circuits on each module to transfer frames of data. The interface circuit includes a flow control circuit for managing resources within the receiving module, and thus controlling the flow of data over the backplane bus. As soon as a message begins to be received, the flow control circuit makes a determination as to the availability of resources within the module to successfully receive the data frame. If sufficient resources are not available, a busy indication is returned to the transmitting module, and the transmitting module then aborts the transmission. The factors evaluated by the interface circuit in forming the determination as to the availability of resources includes the factors of: (a) availability of a control block when the frame begins a new complete message, (b) completion of processing for a frame from a particular source module before accepting another frame from that module, and (c) availability of a buffer for receiving the frame.

Automation controllers are typically connected to industrial equipment such as assembly lines, machine tools and processing equipment to operate the equipment in accordance with a stored program. In controllers such as those disclosed in the above cited patents, for example, the control program is stored in a memory and includes instructions which are read out in rapid sequence and executed to examine the condition of selected sensing devices on the controlled equipment, or to energize or de-energize selected operating devices on the controlled equipment contingent upon the status of one or more of the examined sensing devices.
Large controllers consist of a number of modules with different functions assigned to each module. For example, one module may execute the user control program, another may interface the controller to the remote sensing and operating devices, and yet another module may control communications with a host computer via a local area network. The modules are typically housed in a rack and are interconnected by a bus structure on the backplane of the rack.
Since the backplane buses are needed by all the modules, it is necessary to establish procedures for sharing the common buses. In one approach described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,691,296 and 5,038,317, for example, one of the modules serves as a "master" of the backplane buses and it scans, or polls, all of the other "slave" modules on the backplane to determine if they have data to exchange. In a variation of this technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,099, the master module may be interrupted by requests from slave modules that require prompt access to the backplane buses. The master module has a circuit for receiving the interrupt requests and granting access to requesting modules based on a priority scheme. Such interrupt schemes enable occasional high priority data exchanges to occur promptly while the scanning, or polling, process is conducted in the background on a continuous basis. This approach works well when there is a single module that dominates the backplane buses, but it is less appropriate when more than one module needs control of a substantial portion of the bus bandwidth.
Another approach exemplified by the controllers described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,442,504 and 4,876,664 enables any module connected to the backplane bus to become master for the purpose of exchanging data with another module. In these controllers one of the modules contains an arbitration circuit that grants access to requesting modules according to a fixed priority scheme. In one method, priority of access is granted to the modules according to the physical location of requesting modules in the backplane rack and this preference does not change from one arbitration period to the next. In the other method, priority is determined by position in the backplane rack, but the order is rotated in a methodical manner during successive arbitration periods such that all modules are guaranteed priority access on a regular basis.
Prior bus arbitration methods have a number of limitations when employed in industrial applications. In some systems arbitration for access to the backplane bus is performed by one module, and if that module is removed or fails, the entire backplane rack is rendered inoperable. More importantly, however, the single phase arbitration methods used in most prior systems do not recognize differences in the priority of the data to be exchanged. That is, priority is granted simply on the basis of the module requesting bus access during that arbitration period, and no consideration is given to the type of data to be exchanged. As a result, standard bus architectures such as VMEbus, MULTIBUS I and MULTIBUS II are severely limited in industrial applications. For example, an analog input module may produce normal data on a relatively infrequent basis (e.g. seconds), and as a result, that module may be given a low priority under one of the prior arbitration schemes. However, that module may also report alarm conditions which should be given high priority. Conversely, a module which connects the backplane to a serial I/O network will be given high priority under prior arbitration schemes because it conveys I/O data that must be reported within milliseconds of events. However, such modules may also convey large blocks of data from I/O devices that report infrequently, and will monopolize the bus during those infrequent intervals if given the same high priority level. In other words, many modules connected to an industrial backplane will transfer data that is highly time critical and should, therefore, be given a high priority, and such modules may also transfer large amounts of data that is not time critical and should be given a low priority.
Another limitation of standard buses such as Futurebus+ is the high cost to implement their protocols. This is due to the large number of backplane lines required to convey the various control and status signals between modules (see e.g. IEEE standard 896.1, 1991, page 48 and FIG. 15). These many backplane lines must be driven by each module and the signals on them must be received by circuitry in each module. With highly functional, expensive modules, such as processor modules, the cost of extensive backplane interface circuitry for arbitration is not burdensome. However, with low cost input and output modules, complex backplane interface circuitry cannot be cost justified and therefore a need exists to reduce the number backplane lines required for arbitration.
Also, the mix of modules in an industrial automation controller typically have different performance and communication requirements. For example, high cost/complexity modules may have wide (i.e. 32 or 64 bit) internal architectures and communication interfaces to achieve a high throughput, while inexpensive, low complexity modules require far less capability. However, since all of the modules must interoperate on a backplane bus within the industrial controller, all of the modules in the past had to be designed to the same standards, i.e. the highest capability demanded by the most complex modules. Consequently, even the lowest complexity modules had to support wide communications interfaces to the bus, which required far more line receivers, line drivers, buffers, etc. than were necessary, and thus increased their cost substantially. Therefore, a need exists for a capability to permit interoperability of modules with a wide range of different operational requirements on a single, common bus structure.
Another consideration in current industrial control systems is the flow of message traffic between modules. Often, a module may be overwhelmed when messages are received faster than they can be processed. When a message can not be accepted, some form of negative acknowledgement (NACK) is sent back to the transmitting module, but not until most or all of the message has already been sent. Further, in order to prevent such overflow situations, the modules had to be designed with additional resources in terms of memory for control blocks, buffers, etc. to better accommodate peak message traffic. Of course, this also increases the cost of the modules, particularly in otherwise low cost/complexity modules. Thus, a need also exists for a means to control the flow of messages between modules, so that modules may effectively use a limited amount of resources while at the same time reducing the time spent transmitting and retransmitting rejected messages.

System having a plurality of frame bytes capable of identifying addressed recipients and assert a busy signal onto the backplane bus to forthrightly abort the message transfer


Embodiments related to methods for forming a film stack on a substrate are provided. One example method comprises exposing the substrate to an activated oxygen species and converting an exposed surface of the substrate into a continuous monolayer of a first dielectric material. The example method also includes forming a second dielectric material on the continuous monolayer of the first dielectric material without exposing the substrate to an air break.

Some semiconductor devices employ a high-K dielectric material (relative to SiO2) as a gate dielectric to achieve a desired equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) for the device. The high-K dielectric material may provide a film that is sufficiently thick to avoid undesirable leakage while providing other desirable electrical properties. However, forming a high-K dielectric material directly on some substrates may lead to interactions between the substrate and the high-K dielectric material that may undesirably alter device performance.

Semiconductor device dielectric interface layer


A phase interpolator is provided. The phase interpolator includes a plurality of first interpolation cells each configured to supply a first current to a common node of the phase interpolator. Further, the phase interpolator includes a plurality of second interpolation cells each configured to supply a second current to the common node. The second current is lower than the first current, wherein a sum of the plurality of second currents supplied to the common node by the plurality of second interpolation cells is substantially equal to the first current.

A Digital-to-Time Converter (DTC) is in general a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), wherein the analog domain is phase (i.e. time). It is commonly built in a segmented architecture, where a coarse tuning stage provides a coarse tuning of the signals' phase, and a subsequent fine tuning applies a high resolution phase tuning. For example, the fine tuning may be implemented using a phase interpolator which may provide a defined interpolation range, low power consumption, and low jitter. Phase interpolators are commonly implemented as an array of identical unit interpolation cells.
However, if the resolution of a phase interpolator needs to be increased by one bit, the number of unit cells has to be doubled. This leads to an almost doubling of the phase interpolator's power consumption for each bit of additional resolution. Also the area of the circuit increases by almost a factor of 2.
Hence, there may be a desire for an improved phase interpolation technique.

Phase interpolator, apparatus for phase interpolation, digital-to-time converter, and methods for phase interpolation


A beacon frame (5) for transmission during a beacon period for a wireless device to maintain synchronization with other wireless devices of a community in a wireless communications network, the frame (5) comprising: a header (8) containing routing information for the frame (5); beacon parameters (9) to indicate signaling methods in use by the wireless devices; at least one information element (7) comprising at least one identifier to identify the wireless device; wherein the at least one identifier comprises a signature identifier (104) for the frame (5), an interface version, and a name and unique identifier for the device.

Portable media player shipments are expected to increase from less than 500,000 units in 2004 to more than 9 million units in 2009, according to a study by Semico Research Corp.
Audio, video and picture files may be played either on computers or digital entertainment systems. Music and media download services are easily available from websites such as, for example, Yahoo, Rhapsody, Soundbuzz and Napster. Portable media players extend the digital home by allowing consumers to play these media files while away from the home or office.
To share content wirelessly with multiple devices including portable media players, notebook and desktop computers and other electronic devices, MultiBand OFDM technology is used. This technology is currently undergoing standardization through the WiMedia Alliance.
There is a desire to reduce the power consumption of portable media players in order to extend the operational time of portable media players between battery recharges. In a wireless networking environment, there is also a desire to improve the response of a device when other devices are discovering its capabilities and the content it is willing to share with the other devices.


The invention provides an in vivo imaging device, the device comprising a first support having thereon a first battery contact, a second support having thereon a second battery contact, a battery disposed between the first support and the second support such that the battery is in contact with the first battery contact and with the second battery contact, wherein the first battery contact is a spring and the second battery contact comprises a pin to contact the battery and a housing for the pin and a battery stopper placed between the battery and the first or second support.

Known devices may be helpful in providing in-vivo imaging. Autonomous in-vivo imaging devices, for example in-vivo imaging devices, such as swallowable or ingestible capsules or other devices may move through a body lumen, imaging as they move along. Some of these devices are battery operated and use a wireless connection to transmit image data.
In some in vivo devices, such as ingestible imaging capsules, the components within the capsule, such as a battery contact(s), may be arranged on a board or on several boards, for example on a printed circuit board (PCB). In some cases the boards are aligned along an axis of the capsule and are electrically connected by one or more wires.
During the movement of the in-vivo imaging device within and outside a human body, the in-vivo imaging device may endure conditions such as turbulence, vibrations and temperature changes. Such occurrences may cause disconnection between contacts, such as battery contacts, battery and/or electrical circuits or electrical components of the in-vivo imaging device.
There is a need for a battery contact(s) that will be able to withstand turbulence and acute conditions and will enable continuous and constant contact between the battery and electric components of the imaging device in the course of the device movement both within and outside a human body.

Battery contacts for an in-vivo imaging device


An apparatus is provided for indicating the presence of pressure within a collection chamber of a device such as a chest drainage device. The apparatus includes a bladder configured to be positioned within the collection chamber or within another chamber in fluid flow communication with the collection chamber. The bladder has a concavity formed therein and configured to contract or expand in response to pressure in the collection chamber. The apparatus also includes surfaces associated with the bladder that are configured to move with respect to one another upon contraction or expansion of the concavity of the bladder, thereby indicating pressure within the collection chamber.

Chest drains are often used in connection with cardiac and thoracic surgical procedures in order to remove fluids from the chest cavity of a patient. Suction is typically used to draw fluid into the chest drain. Various devices have been proposed for chest drainage over the years, including for example those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,342; U.S. Pat. No. Re. 35,225; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,401,262; 5,807,358; 6,210,383; and 6,358,218, each of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Such devices may operate within a relatively small magnitude of suction and may include a suction regulator mechanism. For example, in some such devices, operation may occur in a range of −10 to −40 cm H2O. Because they often apply suction directly to a patient's chest cavity, chest drainage devices ideally provide a low and consistent suction level that is compatible with human physiology.
Accordingly, it is desirable for chest drainage devices to include a suction monitor so that a medical professional can monitor the suction potential applied to the chest drainage device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,358 discloses a passively-operated bellows in the form of a pleated polymer tube which has one end closed and another end opened and sealably affixed to an opening in a side wall of the chest drainage device. The outside of the bellows experiences the prevailing suction, and the bellows extends along a substantially horizontal line behind a face plate of the chest drainage device with its extension increasing as a greater degree of suction is applied. An elbow-shaped clear space can be provided in the face plate of the chest drainage device to improve the readability of the bellows.
It may also be desirable in chest drainage devices to monitor the level of suction that may be prevailing in the chamber in which fluids are collected from a patient's chest cavity. For example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,358, a float ball may be provided to ride up and down in a narrow column of water to indicate the level of excess suction prevailing in the collection chamber. If in the event that suction in the collection chamber exceeds the level of suction desired, the water level in the column rises and the position of the float ball thus warns the user of excessive negativity.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,715,855 and 4,889,531 disclose a fluid drainage system including a suction chamber and a fluid collection chamber. The system further includes diaphragm assemblies wherein flexing of a diaphragm operates a pressure measuring means. Specifically, a patient negativity diaphragm extends over an opening in a wall of a chamber, a push rod is attached to a diaphragm, and a dial is mounted on a pivot movable by the push rod for cooperating with a scale. When the atmospheric pressure outside of the chamber exceeds that in the chamber, the diaphragm flexes inwardly, rotating the dial to indicate the extent of patient negativity.
Also, the '855 and '531 patents disclose a gauge, provided to measure pressure in a suction chamber, that includes a diaphragm which covers an opening in a wall between an upper chamber (at atmospheric pressure) and the gauge (located in the suction chamber). The diaphragm flexes according to the pressure differential between the pressure in the chamber and atmospheric pressure, and such flexure is reflected in linear movement of a push rod, which in turn pivots a dial to reflect negative pressure on a scale.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,843 discloses a system pressure indicator connected to a chamber of a thoracic drainage device. The indicator provides, via sign means, a visual indication of whether the pressure in the collection container is negative or positive. A tubular elastomeric membrane is closed at its distal end and sealed by an O-ring at its proximal end. The sign means bears the letters "YES" to indicate negative pressure, and a magnifying lens is mounted in a cover panel so that the elastomeric membrane is visible through the lens. An aperture in the cover panel permits atmospheric air to enter the recess within which the indicator is positioned. When gases within the collection chamber are at negative pressure, the to elastomeric membrane collapses due to the higher atmospheric pressure on the outside of the membrane. In the collapsed state, the sign bearing the term "YES" is visible through the membrane, which indicates to the attending medical personnel that the collection container is under negative pressure. If the pressure in the collection container is positive, the membrane will expand and the word "YES" will not be visible, which indicates to the attending medical personnel that the pressure in the collection container is positive.
A visual indication of the level of applied suction is provided in the '843 patent by a transparent suction indicator flow tube and a flow ball. An aperture in the bottom of the flow tube allows atmospheric air to enter the bottom of the tube and the difference in pressure between the gas in a chamber and atmospheric pressure causes the ball to rise in the tube an amount proportional to the pressure difference, which may be indicated by a calibrated scale on the flow tube. The flow tube is positioned adjacent a front wall of the device for visualization.
Nevertheless, improvements to such chest drainage devices are continuously sought in order to improve performance, reduce cost, or improve the ease with which the devices are used by medical professionals.

Method and apparatus for indicating pressure in chest drainage devices


A method and apparatus wherein a material or object to be tested is placed on a base support. A stopper assembly having a stopper tip on one end in contact with the test material or object, and a washer on the opposite end attached to a rod. A projectile is propelled with a selected level of force along the rod and impacts the washer, which transmits the force of impact through the stopper tip to the test material or object. The level of propelling force, the mass of the projectile, the construction of the stopper assembly and the location of impact on the test material or object may be precisely adjusted to simulate real-life impacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for dynamic impact testing of materials or objects and more particularly to a method and apparatus for dynamic impact testing of materials or objects when force is applied to the materials or objects by impact with an accelerated projectile. The present invention has particular application in testing materials and objects related to integrated circuit (IC) production.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dynamic impact testing is a load displacement test method in which a material or object is subjected to an impact force. The purpose of the dynamic impact test is to determine the resilience of a material or object under rough handling. Dynamic impact testing is often performed to ascertain the level of force required to cause the structure of a material or object to fail. Dynamic impact testing typically involves dropping a projectile from a height onto a test specimen and performing a subsequent inspection of the specimen.
Materials and objects used in the manufacture of semiconductor ICs are measured in inches or fractions of inches and dynamic impact testing of such materials and objects has, in the prior art, often been considered impractical because of the small size of the materials and objects.

Method and apparatus for dynamic impact testing


A new distinct variety of grapevine named ‘ARRAEIGHTEEN’ abundantly forms attractive large berries having deep blue/black skin coloration in medium clusters. The fruit displays a naturally sweet flavor and is juicy and meaty in texture. The fruit commonly is ready for harvesting during July in San Joaquin Valley of Central California, U.S.A, and displays good eating qualities as a table grape. The fruit firmness renders the fruit well amenable for handling, shipping, and storage.

A breeding program was initiated during the late 90's near Bakersfield in San Joaquin Valley of Central California. In 2004, during this breeding program, a new variety of Vitis vinifera was created by deliberate cross breeding of two parent plants by emasculation of the pollen bearing organ of the female and introducing pollen from another male origin. The female parent of the new variety was the GRZ 4 which is a large meaty black and fertile seedless grape variety (non-patented in the United States). The male parent (i.e. the pollen parent) of the new variety was GAW 6 which is a large black fleshy, grape variety with a very small seed trace and medium to high fertility (non-patented in the United States).
Comparison of 'ARRAEIGHTEEN' with its parents:
TABLE 1Autumn RoyalGRZ 4GAW 6(ComparisonARRAEIGHTEEN(Mother)(Father)Variety)Seed traceSmallSmallSmallProminentseed traceBerry shapeBroad ellipsoidRoundRoundOvoidBunches323632-3630-35per vineBerry ColorBlue blackBlackBlackDark purple
The parentage of the new variety can be summarized as follows:GRZ 4×GAW 6
An artificial pollination was created, and the result was an embryo which possessed unique genetic qualities. The rudiments resulting from the above pollination were embryo rescued.
In 2005 the plant was transplanted to Bakersfield in San Joaquin Valley of Central California.
It was found that the new grapevine of the present invention possesses the following combination of the characteristics:                (a) Forms attractive large berries having a small and soft seed trace and with a blue-black skin coloration in medium clusters which display a natural flavor,        (b) Commonly bears fruit during the month of July in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California, U.S.A., and        (c) Bears fruit that is firm and is well amenable for storage, handling, and shipping.
The new variety during observation to date has displayed no visible disease, and has displayed an ability to well resist cold, drought, heat; but sensitive to direct exposure to sun and wind. The fruit of the new variety has been found to display excellent handling and shipping qualities combined with desirable dessert eating qualities.
The new variety of the present invention has been found to undergo asexual propagation beginning in 2007 near Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California, U.S.A. by grafting on mature Thompson rootstock (non-patented in the United States). Such asexual propagation has been conducted thereafter in successive years through 2008, and has shown that the characteristics of the new variety are strictly transmissible from one generation to another. Accordingly, the new variety undergoes asexual propagation in a true to type manner.

Agricultural Research and Development Limited Liability Company


Monolithic devices that include an acoustic resonator vertically integrated with electronic circuitry are described. In one aspect, a monolithic integrated device includes a substrate, electronic circuitry supported by the substrate, an acoustic isolator over the electronic circuitry, and an acoustic resonator on the acoustic isolator. A method of fabricating the monolithic device also is described.

Many different acoustic resonator devices have been developed. Known Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) resonators include one or more piezoelectric layers disposed between two electrodes. For example, thin Film Bulk Acoustic wave Resonators (FBARs) typically include a single piezoelectric layer between two electrodes. Stacked thin film Bulk Acoustic wave Resonators (SBARs), on the other hand, typically include two piezoelectric layers disposed between top and bottom electrode layers and separated from each other by a middle electrode, which typically is used as a grounding electrode. Some acoustic resonator devices include multiple acoustic resonator devices that are isolated from one another by one or more isolation layers.
A BAW resonator has a resonant frequency that is determined primarily by is the thickness of the piezoelectric layer and secondarily by the thicknesses and the materials used for the other layers. A BAW resonator typically is acoustically isolated from the supporting substrate by an isolation structure, such as a cavity formed under a membrane supporting a BAW resonator or an acoustic mirror consisting of a stack of layers alternately formed of high and low acoustic impedance materials and having respective thicknesses of approximately one-quarter of the wavelength corresponding to the target resonant frequency of the device. A BAW resonator that is disposed on an acoustic mirror often is referred to as a solidly mounted resonator (SMR).
BAW resonators and the electronic circuitry that is used to sense or drive the BAW resonators typically are formed as separate components that are interconnected by an interconnection substrate, such as a printed circuit board. In one proposed approach, however, a thin film piezoelectric resonator and electronic circuitry are integrated laterally across the surface of the substrate. In general, any proposal for integrating such disparate components should give due consideration to the isolation (e.g., thermal isolation and contaminant isolation) of these components from incompatible processes. The proposal for laterally integrating the thin film piezoelectric resonator and electronic circuitry, however, does not describe how the processes that are used to fabricate the BAW resonator are isolated from the processes that are used to fabricate the electronic circuitry. Lateral integration may also require a larger die size which may result in increased device cost.

Monolithic vertical integration of an acoustic resonator and electronic circuitry

Avago Technologies Wireless IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A barrier layer (AlAs) is formed on a source layer (n-GaAs), and a drain layer (n-GaAs) and a gate layer (p-GaAs) adjacent to the drain layer are formed on the barrier layer. If the drain layer is biased to a plus voltage with the source layer, then a tunneling current will flow by way of the barrier layer. By applying a voltage to the gate layer so that the p-n junction is biased in the reverse direction, the potential on the gate side of the channel rises and the tunneling current decreases. Also, the channel width decreases due to the spread of the depletion layer to the channel side, and consequently, the current of the drain layer decreases. Thus, based on the voltage applied to the gate layer, the drain current can be controlled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device to which a new principle of operation is applied employing the tunneling effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
As tunnel transistors employing the tunneling effect, an MIMIM structure (M: metal; I: insulator) was first proposed by Mead (Proc. IRE 48 (1960) 359). Thereafter, an MIMS structure (S: semiconductor) (Phys. Rev. Lett 6 (1961) 341) was proposed by Spratt et al. and an MIS structure (Proc. IEEE 61 (1973) 1053) by Kisaki et al. These structures have been provided as semiconductor devices in which hot electrons are employed to achieve high-speed operation and are now generally referred to as hot electron transistors (HETs).
The principles of operation of the HET comprised of the semiconductor heterojunction will hereinafter be described. HET has a semiconductor heterojunction such as the one shown in FIG. 6 and is based on the operational principle which, if a ratio of the base current and the collector current is .beta. and the base-collector voltage can be increased to more than 1/.beta. of the emitter-base voltage, an electrical power can be amplified.
To obtain a practical HET device, there are a large number of problems to be solved, as follows:
(1) Since the reflection at the collector barrier is great, there is a loss due to the base current.
(2) In some transistors (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 6-21435), the potential shape has been improved in order to reduce reflection at the collector barrier, but the epitaxial process is complicated.
(3) Manufacture of a very thin base and of a contact with respect to the base is difficult.
Because of the problems as described above, the amplification factor, which can be obtained with the currently reported HET, is very low. There is a THETA (Appl. Phys. Lett 64 (1994) 1138) as a HET device of the semiconductor heterojunction having a single barrier on an emitter for improvement of an amplification factor, but the aforementioned base-contact problem remains. In addition, an RHET (Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 24 (1985) L 825) using the heterojunction double-barrier resonance tunneling effect is satisfactory in a limited use such as a switching element, but it is unsuited to a wide application such as signal amplification.


An apparatus for improving the dynamic response of a golf club by selectively weighting the grip end of the club. One embodiment comprises a cylindrical member having a lower base portion and an upper housing portion. The base is sized to be inserted into the grip end of a golf club shaft with the upper housing extending wholly or partially from the end of the shaft. The housing has a hollow, open chamber in which a weighted insert is inserted and removably secured. Another embodiment comprises upper and lower complimentary cylindrical wedges, each with a bore along its longitudinal axis, sized to be inserted into the grip end of a golf club shaft and secured by a screw extending through the longitudinal bores and threaded into a threaded insert located in a cavity in the lower wedge.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for improving the dynamic response or feel of a golf club as it strikes a golf ball during play. The golf swing can be divided into six major components: initial alignment coupled with alignment stability; the back swing; the forward swing; ball impact; dynamic response of the club; swing follow through. These swing components are applicable both to full swing clubs and putters.
Although there are many products and prior patents relating to adjusting the swing weight, feel, or balance of a golf club, few if any of these devices are directed towards improving the dynamic response, or feedback, of the club to the golfer at ball impact. Most prior art devices are aimed more specifically at the static or quasi-static feel of the club in the golfer's hand at the initial alignment, or during the back and forward swings. Such devices usually focus on the feel of the club itself, not the feel of the shot through the club. The importance of impact and dynamic response to the golfer's game are often overlooked.
Impact is momentary, but it is at and immediately following this critical moment that the golfer feels his shot through the dynamic response of the club. As many golfers will confess, after impact one often knows where the ball is heading without having to actually see its trajectory. The golfer has only one tactile interface to the club, and that is through his hands which grasp the club's shaft on the grip. It is thus through the golfer's hands gripping the shaft that the dynamic response of the club to the golfer's stroke is communicated. This dynamic response is a result of the vibration characteristics of the club, and the golfer often perceives it simply as feel. Thus it follows that if the club's dynamic response can be increased in this specific gripping area, the golfer will have a better feel for his shot.
The dynamic response of the club may be quantified in terms of finite element analysis and empirical modal analysis. As used herein, the term "grip end" refers to the end of the shaft to which the grip is affixed, and the term "head end" refers to the end of the shaft to which the club head is attached. Although some mathematical models of the golf club treat the grip end as a fixed boundary, the golfer's hands are coupled only viscously to the golf club. Thus the additional boundary stiffness at the grip-hand interface is negligible, and a fixed boundary condition does not apply. On the head end of the club, however, the mass of the club head relative to the shaft dominates the vibration characteristic. As a result, for finite element analysis, the club is best modeled by a beam with free-pinned boundary conditions. The pinned end corresponds to the head end while the grip end of the club represents the free end.
Mathematically, the impact of the club head against the ball is most analogous to an impulse. In response to such an input excitation, the golf club exhibits a certain modeshape, which comprises the fundamental mode and harmonics of the fundamental extending into higher frequencies. In any dynamic system, the lowest frequency mode, in this case the fundamental, has the greatest amplitude and thus exhibits the largest displacement characteristics when responding to an input excitation such as the ball-head impact. Consequently, the large-displacement, low-frequency dynamic response of the fundamental mode has the potential to provide maximum feedback to the golfer. By definition, the fundamental mode has two nodes, one near each end of the club, at which (again, by definition) the amplitude of the waveform is zero.
Finite element analysis of a pinned-free beam predicts, and empirical testing of actual golf clubs confirms, that the node of the fundamental mode near the grip end of the club (hereinafter the "grip-end node") is located at a point that is approximately 26% of the length of the club from the grip end. This location happens to fall where most golfers grip the club. As a result, the amplitude of the fundamental mode is at a minimum at the interface of the golfer and golf club, and thus the golfer's ability to feel the dynamic response of the club is muted.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for improving the dynamic response of the golf club by moving the grip-end node of the fundamental mode further up the shaft towards the grip end and thereby increases the amplitude of the fundamental at the golfer's interface with the club. This action in turn enhances the feel of the club to the golfer.

Method and apparatus for improving dynamic response of golf club


In another example, a bioresorbable implant for use in a nasal region includes one or more bioresorbable polymers, and a pharmaceutical composition coupled to the one or more bioresorbable polymers. A release rate of the pharmaceutical composition is related to a degradation rate of the one or more bioresorbable polymers.

According to the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) 2016 guidelines, allergic rhinitis is one of the most common diseases globally and usually persists throughout life. Typical symptoms of allergic rhinitis are nasal itching, sneezing, rhinorrhea, and nasal congestion. Ocular symptoms include itching and redness of the eyes and tearing. Other symptoms include itching of the palate, postnasal drip, and cough. The burden and costs associated with allergic rhinitis are substantial. For example, allergic rhinitis reduces the quality of life of many patients, impairing sleep quality and cognitive function and causing irritability and fatigue. Additionally, it is a frequent reason for general practice office visits.
The World Allergy Organization (WAO) states that allergic rhinitis affects between 10% and 30% of adults and is the most common form of non-infectious rhinitis. In addition, the prevalence of allergic diseases is rising dramatically in both developed and developing countries. The World Health Organization has estimated that 400 million people in the world suffer from allergic rhinitis. In the United States, it affects 30 to 60 million individuals annually. Unfortunately, the care of patients with allergic diseases is fragmented and far from ideal. The WAO also highlights the need for better treatment adherence. Adherence to current treatment protocols is less than 50%, and the cost of non-adherence highly impacts the burden of chronic diseases worldwide.
Pharmacotherapy is the current mainstay of treatment for allergic diseases because it not only controls symptoms, but also improves the quality of life. Intranasal glucocorticosteroids are the most efficacious anti-inflammatory medication available for the treatment of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis. The rationale for using intranasal glucocorticosteroids in the treatment of allergic rhinitis is that high drug concentrations can be achieved at receptor sites in the nasal mucosa with a minimal risk of systemic adverse effects. Due to their mechanism of action, efficacy appears after 7-8 hours of dosing, but maximum efficacy may require up to 2 weeks to develop. They are effective for all nasal symptoms, ocular symptoms, polyposis and sinusitis.
Multiple intranasal steroids have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, and many are available over-the-counter. Such steroids include beclomethasone, budesonide, ciclesonide, flunisolide, fluticasone furoate, fluticasone propionate, mometasone furoate and triamcinolone acetonide. Despite the range of topical potency, lipid solubility, and binding affinity, there are no significant differences in efficacy between the available agents. The continuous use of intranasal steroids is recommended and more efficacious than intermittent use, but studies of as-needed use of intranasal fluticasone have shown that intermittent use is still better than placebo. These steroids may also be useful in the treatment of some forms of nonallergic rhinitis.
Intranasal steroid sprays like Nasonex (mometasone furoate) and Flonase (fluticasone propionate) are aqueous suspensions delivered using a spray pump into the nasal passages. Each spray delivers 50 micrograms of steroid and a standard dose is 2 sprays in each nostril once daily. This provides a total daily dose of 200 micrograms of drug. However, a large amount of the administered drug is swallowed and undergoes first-pass metabolism, and only a small fraction crosses the nasal mucosa.
A short course of oral corticosteroids may be appropriate for the treatment of very severe or intractable nasal symptoms or to treat significant nasal polyposis. However, single administration of parenteral corticosteroids is discouraged, and recurrent administration of parenteral corticosteroids is contraindicated, because of greater potential for long-term corticosteroid side effects. Additionally, short courses of systemic corticosteroids have not been shown to be superior to intranasal steroids.
When oral therapy is not feasible, an intramuscular injection can be given. The suggested initial dose is 60 mg triamcinolone acetonide injected deeply into the gluteal muscle. An injection of a steroid suspension, such as Kenalog-40, can be administered directly into the inferior turbinate. The total dose used is commonly 40 mg. Half of the dose is administered into each inferior turbinate. A total dose of 20 mg has also been described. Intraturbinal steroid injections are thought to have the efficacy of oral steroids, while lacking their side effect profile. There is some evidence that intraturbinal injections are more effective than intramuscular injections.
Currently available therapies are summarized in Table 1. Each of these therapies has significant disadvantages that limit patient satisfaction.
TABLE 1Current Allergic RhinitisTherapyDisadvantagesOral steroidsNon-compliance, systemic side effects,dose taperingDepot injection steroidsSystemic side effectsIntranasal steroidsNon-compliance, nose bleedsLeukotriene receptorLess effective than steroids, non-complianceantagonistsOral antihistaminesLess effective than steroids, systemic sideeffectsIntranasal antihistaminesNon-compliance, systemic side effects, nosebleedsDecongestantsNon-compliance, systemic side effects,symptom reboundImmunotherapyNon-compliance, lengthy treatment regimen,expensive
U.S. Pat. No. 9,480,828 by Reif, et al. described a drug eluting implant that is implanted into an inferior turbinate. The method includes creation of a pocket in the inferior turbinate to place one or more implants containing a therapeutic compound.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0056602 by Medina, et al. describe implants that are placed in turbinate mucosal tissue. The implants may be biodegradable and delivered via a needle. Medina describes a device and method for inserting a needle submucosally into turbinate tissue, one or more drug eluting solid implants disposed within the hollow needle which contain a mucosal engaging feature, activating the actuator to deliver one or more implants from the needle into the soft tissue and bury at least one tissue engaging feature within the tissue.
What is needed, therefore, is a locally delivered, sustained drug release implant for the nasal passages that safely relieves the symptoms of allergic rhinitis.


A portable battery-operated tool has a frame on which there are a working component, a drive, and a battery assembly. The battery assembly consists of a battery with at least a first electrical connector and housing with at least a second electrical connector. The battery is movable guidingly between first and second positions. With the battery in the first position the at least first electrical connector is electrically engaged with the at least second electrical connector. With the battery in the second position the at least first electrical connector is electrically disengaged from the at least second electrical connector so that the battery is not powering the drive to allow the drive to be operated. The battery assembly further has a locking assembly through which the battery is selectively releasably fixed in the second position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable tools, such as those used in the landscaping industry and, more particularly, to a portable tool with a removable/rechargeable battery.
2. Background Art
Portable tools, such as those in the landscaping industry used to trim trees and bushes, cut and edge lawns, etc., have commonly used gas powered engines. Gas powered engine technology has evolved over the decades to the point that these engines can be made compact and lightweight yet with high power output capacity. They have thus been preferred by commercial industries that put significant demands on this type of equipment.
Regardless of how efficient these engines are, noise generation and emissions are unavoidable. Many states and local municipalities have placed regulations upon both noise and emissions that have severely impacted how this type of equipment must be designed and restricted how it may be utilized publicly by landscaping crews and homeowners alike.
These restrictions have in part prompted a movement towards battery powered equipment. Since no fuels are combusted with this type of equipment, emissions issues are avoided. Further, electric motors can be operated with limited noise generation.
The industry contends with different challenges with battery-operated equipment; notably, developing battery technology that is practical from the standpoints of cost, manufacture and use.
Battery-operated technology is currently being incorporated into lines of landscaping equipment that has operating components built around an elongate pole. For example, line trimmers, edgers, pruning saws, hedge clippers, etc. are commonly built upon an elongate pole foundation.
In one exemplary line trimmer, a motor is incorporated at a distal pole end where the trimmer head is placed. At the proximal end, a battery is removably mounted. Electrical wiring is tunneled through the pole between the motor and battery. Between the motor and battery, handles and operating controls are placed. This type of design strategically locates the components to produce a balanced device that can be comfortably lifted, held and repositioned by a user. The primary balancing masses are: a) the motor and trimmer head, at the distal end of the pole; and b) the battery at the proximal end. The fulcrum location is approximately mid-way between these components.
The development of pole-type battery-powered landscaping tools has also created a challenge for those that display the same at point of sale. Both light and commercial grade line trimmers are offered in many different types of hardware and home improvement stores wherein a wide range of landscaping products is available. Heretofore, these pole-type tools have generally been either displayed in boxes or compactly displayed by hanging them without any box or other significant packaging with the pole lengths vertically oriented. The optimal manner of display involves having the tools in a state, without using any boxes or other packaging, wherein a potential purchaser can simply separate the tool from the supporting display structure and manipulate it as he/she would in use. There are problems associated with displaying battery-operated tools in this manner.
Because the batteries for such tools are relatively heavy, and critical to achieving proper balance, for the actual feel of the product to be sensed, it is important that the product be displayed with the battery in place. However, if the battery is in place and operatively installed, there is a danger that a user might inadvertently operate the equipment, which could result in personal injury and/or damage to the display area or objects therearound.
To avoid this potential problem, the battery can be separated from the rest of the tool, and either: a) incorporated into the product packaging without being operatively positioned; or b) offered as a separate item. If the battery is included with the packaging for the tool and not installed, the potential consumer is precluded from holding the tool and sensing actual feel. This ultimately may discourage sales.
If the battery is sold as a separate unit, the tool by itself is significantly out of balance, and again a potential consumer will not be able to get a realistic feel for weight and balance characteristics for the tool, thus potentially affecting a purchasing decision.
The industry also contends with a theft problem. As battery technology advances, batteries for tools of the type described above are becoming increasingly smaller in size, yet more expensive to manufacture. The batteries, as they are currently associated with displayed tools, are vulnerable to theft. No practical way exists to secure these batteries against theft, particularly when they are operatively connected to a conventionally displayed tool.
The industry continues to seek out ways to securely display battery-operated tools in a manner that will encourage their purchase without compromising the safety of persons at or in the vicinity of a display.

Staging system for battery on a portable tool


When writing user data D, the user data D is stored in a register 46, and using both the user data D and the sector information (ID) of the user data D, an error correction code ECC is generated by an ECC generation algorithm Ar. A stored information Rw made up of the user data D and the generated ECC is written on a disk. In the reading, the user data Dr of a read record Rr is temporarily stored in the register 46, and an ECC check algorithm is executed. This ECC check is executed for combined data of the user data Dr and its position information. When any error is found in the position information portion in the combined data, the user data is determined that the read user data is wrongly addressed. When an error is found in the user data Dr portion, the user data is corrected by ECC and the corrected user data is output.

Recently, as a data recording medium for storing information, a hard disk drive unit (hereinafter referred to as a HDD unit) is being commonly used. In the HDD unit, a plurality of magnetic recording disks (hereinafter referred to as a disk) is provided, and a read/write head is positioned on a desired track defined on the disk for recording or reading information on/from the disk. A plurality of tracks is provided on the disk of the HDD unit, and each track is divided into data sectors (hereinafter referred to as sectors) of 128,256,512 (bytes), etc., with each sector given an identifier (so-called sector ID) representing itself.
In a conventional HDD unit, to improve the reliability of recorded data, a sector ID is recorded for every sector. This sector ID is used for an identification of the position on the disk. When reading or writing from/on a disk, this sector ID is referred to for identifying the data position. Since the sector ID must be referred to in each sector, the ID must be written in each sector. For this ID region, the user data region is reduced.
Recently, for increasing the user data region, an ID-less or headerless architecture for a disk was proposed. The headerless disk has a new sector format. In this new format, the ID region is not provided for each sector and no ID region is needed for recording information. A headerless disk architecture is described in IBM's U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,559.
In a headerless disk, the physical position (ABA: Absolute block Address) and the logical position (LBA: Logical Block Address) on the disk are previously made to correspond to each other and stored in a memory, and from this correspondence relationship, the read/write head is positioned on a desired track of the disk to perform the information recording on the disk or the information reading from the disk. However, in the conventional HDD unit provided with the NO.sub.-- ID disk, the read/write head is positioned by using the above mentioned physical positions (ABA) which correspond to a logical position (LBA) on one-to-one basis. This address conversion procedure for retrieving the physical position from the logical position is executed independently from the data reading or writing operation, so the data write or read operation can be started without recognizing that the head is accurately positioned or not. Such an error can happen when an external factor such as a HDD vibration occurs.
In view of the above fact, it is the object of the present invention to provide a data processing method and a system which can improve the reliability of the data stored on a disk without reducing the capacity.

Data processing method and data storage system

International Business Machines Corporation


A vertical blind cut down apparatus has a head rail holding plate with a head rail opening for receiving the head rail. The vertical blind cut down apparatus also has a cutting die to receive the head rail. The cutting die is movable relative to the holding plate for cutting one end of the head rail. The vertical blind cut down apparatus further has a blind holder with a blind material opening. The blind holder receives the blind materials. A blind cutting device is movable relative to the blind holder and cuts the blind material extending through the blind holder. The vertical blind cut down apparatus also has a first movement transmission for moving the head rail cutting die and a second movement transmission for moving the blind cutting device whereby both the blind materials and the head rail are cut.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a machine for trimming the ends of components of vertical blinds having a horizontal head rail and vertical strips or louvers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past various apparatus has been designed for cutting down widths of specific designs, usually horizontal Venetian blinds. However, in general terms, these machines have not been totally suitable for cutting down both horizontal and vertical blinds, especially those being made from a variety of different materials. In addition, they have been somewhat more complex and costly than is required. In vertical blinds, the trolleys and the blind slats may be drawn along the head rail to one side or other of the window opening, or in some cases to both sides, and may be rotated between open and closed position, by a mechanism located in the head rail. These slats may be of aluminium, or may be formed of other materials such as thermo plastic, or of fabric.
Such blinds must be fitted to the width and to the height, of the window or other opening for which they are intended. In the past such vertical blinds have been made in a factory, on a custom basis to a particular width and height specified by the purchaser. A salesperson would usually have had to call on the customer to take measurements and take an order. However, it is more convenient to manufacture blinds in certain standard widths and heights and stock these standard blinds in a retail store. A customer may then simply come into the store and buy a blind slightly wider and higher than the desired width and height, and have it trimmed. The head rail is cut to the desired width and in the case of vertical blinds the vertical slats are cut at their lower ends to the desired height. This is both more economical, and thus more readily saleable, and at the same time provides the customer with an opportunity to purchase blinds in a retail establishment and walk out of the store with them in his possession, rather than meeting a salesperson at home, and waiting a few weeks for them to be fabricated in a factory.
As mentioned above, in the past various apparatus has been designed for cutting down widths of horizontal Venetian blinds. However, in general terms, these machines have not been totally suitable for cutting down vertical blinds, especially those made of a variety of different materials. In addition they have been somewhat more complex and costly than is required. In vertical blinds, the trolleys and the blind slats may be drawn along the head rail to one side or the other of the window opening, or in some cases to both sides, and may be rotated between open and closed positions, by a mechanism located in the head rail.
Advantageously, these vertical blinds too would be provided in standard widths and heights, in a retail store and it would be desirable to provide an apparatus in the store for cutting down the width of the head rail and the height of the slats.
Preferably, in order to economize in-store installations of cut-down equipment and also to simplify instruction of staff, a single cut-down machine will be provided which enables both the head rails and the blind slats of vertical blinds to be cut down to the desired width and height.
One of the considerations in designing such a cut-down machine is the manual effort that is required to operate the machine to cut through the various different materials.
Clearly, metal such as steel used in the horizontal head rails, is relatively hard to cut. On the other hand, since the sections used in this type of product are relatively thin, the die for cutting the steel components of the blind may only be required to move a short distance.
Consequently, so long as adequate leverage is provided to move the metal cutting die a relatively short distance, this problem can be addressed.
On the other hand, the cutting of the vertical blind slats themselves presents entirely different problems. The slats are usually made of relatively soft material that is easy to cut, and requires less manual effort. On the other hand, the thickness of all of the blind slats when bundled together for cutting is considerable. Consequently, the means for cutting the blind slats must move a considerable distance.
While it is relatively easy to provide for the manual operation of such a cutting means moving a considerable distance for cutting bundles of blind slats, the problem becomes more complex when it is understood that it is desirable to cut all of the components in a single machine.
It is not desirable to provide two machines one that cuts only the head rail, usually made of steel, and a second machine for an entirely separate cut for cutting the blind slats. The cost of two machines may not be justified. Personnel must be trained on two machines.
The moving of the blind from one machine would be cumbersome and undesirable and the end result would not be satisfactory.
For these reasons therefore the design of a vertical blind cut down machine meeting all of these objectives, i.e. being capable of cutting through both the thicker bundle of blind slats, and the thinner harder head rail in a single manual cutting machine presents a complex problem.
When trimming the blind it is necessary to provide for cutting the complete bundle of blind slat or along their lower ends, by cutting all the slat ends along a common plane.
It is also desirable to provide end stops for controlling the length of cut both from the blind slats and from the head rail, respectively. The lengths will usually be different from one another, in the case of a vertical blind, so that the end stops should be settable to two different lengths, while enabling the machine to cut both the blind slats and the head rail in a single manual operation.
It is also desirable to provide a form of ends stop which is both adjustable to adjust the length of trim cut being cut off the blind components, and which is also moveable during the cutting stroke. This last requirement moves the end stops away from contact with the components, so that as they are cut the trim portions are free to fall away without obstruction from the end stops.


An image processing apparatus capable of enhancing the sharpness of characters and lines. A unidimensional color scanner has a plurality of kinds of photoelectric transducer elements for different colors which are arranged regularly in a unidimensional direction. The scanner outputs, when the center of a pixel of interest to be processed is coincident with a first color transducer element, a color signal associated with the pixel of interest as a first color signal. When the center of the pixel of interest is not coincident with the first color, the scanner outputs the sums of values inversely proportional to the distances of the outputs of the transducer element of desired wavelength bands which have centers thereof located at both sides of the pixel of interest as a second and a third color signal. A correcting section corrects the first color signal such that the MTF characteristics of color signals from the scanner coincide. An image processing section processes an image by the first color signal corrected by the correcting section as second and third color signals. A deciding section may be provided for determining the characteristic of an image signal area by area. Then, the image processing section will process color signals from the scanner on the basis of the area-by-area characteristic.

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus applicable to a copier or similar recording equipment and capable of enhancing the sharpness of characters and lines.
An image processing apparatus for the above application generally has color separation filters arranged regularly in association with CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or similar photoelectric transducer elements and processes R, G and B signals separated by such filters. It has been customary with this type of image processing apparatus to use a group of photoelectric transducer elements each being capable of converting light of particular wavelength band. Specifically, a plurality of groups of such transducer elements are arranged regularly in a unidimensional direction. When the center of a pixel to be processed is coincident with the center of a transducer element of desired wavelength (e.g. blue (B)), the output signal of such a transducer element is selected; if the former is not coincident with the latter, there is selected the sum of values inversely proportional to the intercenter distances of the outputs of transducer elements of other desired wavelength bands (e.g. red (R) and green (G)) which have the centers thereof located at both sides of the above-mentioned transducer element. This kind of scheme is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication (Kokai) No. 50261/1988 and can read the position of an image with accuracy by linearly interpolating the positional deviation of dot among R, G and B by use of two pixels neighboring a pixel of interest.
However, the problem with the above-described image processing apparatus is that a weighting and averaging procedure is indispensable to implement the linear interpolation. The weighting and averaging procedure needs a digital filter having a low pass characteristic. Such a digital filter suppresses the high frequency components of an image to thereby lower the sharpness of characters and lines. For example, assuming that the center of a pixel of interest is B and positioned between R and G, R and G images are blurred. To eliminate this problem ascribable to linear interpolation, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 126076/1989 discloses a method which interpolates by referencing data of a plurality of pixels the image data in which two colors other than a reference color have been shifted relative to the reference color by, for example, a.+-.(1/3) dot. This method, however, does not read an image located on the same position of a document and, therefore, cannot execute color correction or undercolor removal essential to, for example, a digital color copier with accuracy.


The present invention relates to a pulling control device for growing a single crystal ingot capable of controlling an eccentricity of a single crystal ingot by varying a seed rotation number in real time, and a pulling control method applied thereto.

In general, a single crystal ingot which is used as a material for producing an electronic component such as a semiconductor is fabricated by a Czochralski (hereinafter referred to as CZ) method.
In a method of fabricating a single crystal ingot by using the CZ method, a solid raw material such as polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) is filled in a quartz crucible and heated to be melted by a heater to form a silicon melt, and air bubbles in the silicon melt are removed via a stabilization process, and then a seed is dipped into the silicon melt, and the seed is slowly pulled up above the melt while forming a necking, so that a necking process, a shouldering process, a body growing process, and a tailing process are sequentially performed.
However, while growing a single crystal ingot from a silicon melt in the crucible, it has been found that the cause of fluctuation of the silicon melt is due to resonance.
In addition, a resonance phenomenon of a melt becomes larger as a single crystal melt decreases, and a liquid surface wave tends to occur markedly when it is close to an integral multiple of rotation number of a seed. However, as a single crystal ingot growth progresses, an amount of the melt further decreases and the wave of the melt sinks gradually.
Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-0035940 discloses a method for manufacturing a single crystal that controls one of a crucible rotation number and a seed rotation number such that a frequency of driving a melt determined by a rotation number of a crucible and a rotation number of a crystal is not within a range of 95% to 105% of a resonance frequency of the melt.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent fluctuation of the liquid surface in the crucible during the crystal growth, and to prevent crystal dislocation and poly crystallization.
In general, while a single crystal ingot growth process is proceeded once, a seed rotation number is set constant or decreases to a constant gradient, and the seed rotation number affects not only oxygen concentration in a radial direction (radial Oi) but also oxygen concentration in an axial direction (axial Oi) in the single crystal ingot, and also changes a range of a defect-free region in a crystal region.
Of course, the axial Oi of the single crystal ingot may also be controlled by the rotation number of the crucible, but the radial Oi of the single crystal ingot and the defect-free region range of the crystal region may be controlled by only a seed rotation number.
However, in specific process development conditions, a resonance phenomenon of a silicon melt occurs more frequently by setting a seed rotation number (f) to a specific rotation number (fo), fluctuation of a liquid surface occurs due to the resonance phenomenon of the silicon melt, and an eccentricity (orbit) phenomenon occurs in which a crystal grows in an eccentric state due to rotation of a seed cable at the eccentric position of the crucible, and the single crystal ingot is biased to one side by the eccentricity phenomenon and made into a zigzag form.
Accordingly, the surface of the single crystal ingot is subjected to a process of grinding the surface, and since it is necessary to grind a portion in which eccentricity occurs in the single crystal ingot, it is difficult to process the diameter of the single crystal ingot uniformly. When the eccentricity is intense, since the grinding process should be proceeded after cutting the single crystal ingot in the axial direction, there is a problem that a lot of working time is required.
In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to guarantee quality in the oxygen concentration in the radial direction of the single crystal ingot and the defect-free region of the crystal region.

Pulling control device for single crystal ingot growth and pulling control method applied thereto

Abstract: According to the present invention, a pulling control device for growing a single crystal ingot and a pulling control method applied thereto may minimize that a seed rotation number (f) is set to a specific rotation number (fo) causing a resonance phenomenon of a melt by providing a target seed output rotation number (T_fout) that varies in real time so as to match a rotation form for each length of an ingot according to inputting a target seed input rotation number (T_fin) and controlling a rotation number (f) of a seed cable, and it is possible to prevent fluctuation of the melt and an eccentricity phenomenon of the ingot.


An integrated circuit for decoding an analog audio signal includes a tuner that receives the analog audio signal and provides a sound intercarrier frequency signal. A digital demodulator receives and digitizes the sound intercarrier frequency signal to provide a digitized sound intercarrier frequency signal, and digitally demodulates the digitized sound intercarrier frequency signal to provide a digitized multichannel television sound (MTS) demodulated signal. A digital broadcast television system committee (BTSC) compatible decoder receives and decodes the digitized multichannel television sound (MTS) demodulated signal, and provides a summed (L+R) audio output signal and a difference (Lxe2x88x92R) audio output signal.

The invention relates to a method and a circuit for decoding a sound intercarrier frequency (SIF) signal using the BTSC standard.
In the United States, stereo sound in television and video is transmitted and processed using the BTSC standard established by the Broadcast Television System Committee (BTSC). This standard is also known as multichannel television sound, Multichannel Television Sound (MTS).
According to the BTSC standard, the sum R+L and the difference Lxe2x88x92R of the signal R of the right stereo channel and the signal L of the left stereo channel are formed at the transmitter. The sum signal and the difference signal are further processed and encoded into separate branches so that an encoded sum signal and an encoded difference signal are formed that are decoded again at the receiver in order to obtain a stereo audio signal.
The sum signal R+L, the amplitude-modulated difference signal Lxe2x88x92R, a pilot signal, the frequency-modulated Second Audio Program (SAP), and the frequency-modulated professional channel are combined into the MTS signal.
At the transmitter, a BTSC encoder encodes a multiplex signal that has been compressed using the DBX noise suppression described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,526.
According to the BTSC standard, the difference signal Lxe2x88x92R is amplitude-modulated with twice the video line frequency. Because of the parabolic noise distribution in the transmission of frequency-modulated signals, the noise level in the transmission channel on which the difference signal Lxe2x88x92R is transmitted is approximately 15 dB higher than in the transmission channel on which the sum signal L+R is transmitted, although the difference signal Lxe2x88x92R is modulated by 6 dB more than the sum signal. For this reason, a dynamic noise suppression system is provided for the channel to transmit the difference signal Lxe2x88x92R (e.g., the abovementioned DBX noise suppression system). However, because a DBX noise suppression system is provided in only one channel, (i.e. the channel for transmission of the difference signal), it must meet strict requirements regarding accuracy and scaling. Even small inaccuracies result in a deteriorated separation of the stereo sound. In order to avoid these disadvantages, a noise suppression system of this kind would be required in both channels, because the errors in dematricization are compensated and therefore act only on the frequency response. Because of the high expense, however, a second noise suppression system is not used.
The basic principle of the DBX noise suppression system is the so-called masking. If a signal level in one spectral range is much greater than the noise level in this range, a listener will not notice the noise in this range. In order to make the noise inaudible, the DBX noise suppression system encodes the signal so that the signal level of the transmitted signal is much greater than the noise level of the transmission channel. In the DBX noise suppression system, the audio signal to be transmitted in various spectral ranges is compressed so that the level of the transmitted signal is sufficiently high relative to the noise level and the signal energy is distributed as uniformly as possible over the entire frequency range of the signal.
In order to be able to meet both requirements, a DBX encoder described in the abovementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,526 is equipped with first and second compression stages.
In the first compression stage, a variable pre-emphasis filter amplifies the high-frequency signal component as a function of the energy in this spectrum in order thus to achieve a distribution of the signal energy over the entire frequency spectrum that is as uniform as possible. The variable pre-emphasis filter is controlled by a control variable obtained by feeding its output signal back through a high-pass.
In the second stage, the level of the signal is raised or lowered as a function of the total energy by a compressor, which includes a controllable amplifier whose control signal is derived from the output signal of the variable pre-emphasis filter by a bandpass.
The control signal for the variable pre-emphasis filter is derived from the high-frequency components, while the control signal for the controllable amplifier is derived from the entire spectrum.
According to the BTSC standard, at the transmitter, a carrier with a frequency of 4.5 MHz is frequency-modulated with the MTS signal, which must be adjusted precisely to a specific level that always relates to a certain frequency modulation deviation. The modulated MTS signal is the Sound Intercarrier Frequency (SIF) signal. Thus for example it is defined that the bandpass of the encoder has an amplification of 0 dB when a signal with a frequency of 300 Hz is applied at the input which has modulated the carrier with a deviation of 4.495 kHz. Known analog frequency modulation demodulators supply an output voltage that is proportional to the frequency of the frequency-modulated input signal. However, the voltage of the frequency modulation demodulator is also proportionally dependent on an unknown factor which varies as a result of internal component tolerances and is subject to drift as a result of temperature changes and component aging. Since no known relationship exists for this reason between the frequency modulation deviation and the output voltage of the frequency modulation demodulator, the input level for each module must be very accurately adjusted by a potentiometer for example. As a result of the abovementioned drift caused by component aging, an adjustment must be made after a few years in order to achieve good stereo reproduction once again.
Hence the goal of the invention is to design a method and a circuit for decoding an analog audio signal according to the BTSC standard in such fashion that all the adjustments, both adjustment during manufacture and also subsequent adjustment caused by drift due to component aging, become superfluous.
The invention achieves this goal according to the method by the fact that initially a digital SIF signal is provided in a first step, is demodulated in a second step to produce the digital MTS signal, and that the digital MTS signal is decoded in a third step using a digital BTSC decoder.
The invention achieves this goal devicewise by the fact that a digital SIF signal is applied at the input of a digital frequency modulation demodulator whose output is connected with the input of a digital BTSC decoder, at whose outputs the sum signal R+L and the difference signal Lxe2x88x92R can be obtained.

Method and circuit for decoding an analog audio signal using the BTSC standard


In a method of manufacturing spectacles of the type which does not have a lens-holding frame and which has a single, wrap-around front lens structure that can extend laterally beyond the main visual regions, and which also has respective arms for the lateral support of the spectacles, predominant portions of the respective lateral arms of the spectacles are produced integrally with the front lens structure by a process for the forming of plastics material with which a semi-finished lens is produced, so that the spectacles are consequently produced in a single piece.

The invention relates particularly to the specific field of protective spectacles such as those that are designed for protection against sunlight and are commonly known by the term "goggles", that is, spectacles having lenses with a marked degree of front and side wrap-around. More particularly, these spectacles are distinguished by the fact that they do not have a front lens-holding frame but have a single lens structure with a high degree of wrap-around, extending from the main visual regions to beyond the opposed and respective side regions. Today, spectacles of these types, which are generally designed and intended for sports activities, have taken on a strong stylistic character and have become widely used amongst the public even as fashion accessories with a high degree of aesthetic impact. In this field, it is known to manufacture goggles by the preliminary production of the wrap-around lens structure which is then intended to be articulated to the lateral supporting arms which are produced separately and distinctly from the lens.

Method of manufacturing spectacles of the single-lens, wrap-around type and spectacles produced by the method

SAFILO Societa Azionaria Fabbrica Lavorazione Occhiali S.p.A.


A microelectromechanical (MEMS) nanoindenter transducer including a body, a probe coupled to and moveable relative to the body, the probe holding a removeable indenter tip, a first micromachined comb drive and a second micromachined comb drive. The first micromachined comb drive includes an actuator comprising a plurality of electrostatic capacitive actuators configured to drive the probe along a first axis, including in an indentation direction, in response to an applied bias voltage, and a displacement sensor comprising a plurality of differential capacitive sensors having capacitance levels which together are representative of a position of the probe relative to the first axis. The second micromachined comb drive includes an actuator comprising a plurality of electrostatic capacitive actuators configured to drive the probe along a second axis, which is perpendicular to the first axis, in response to an applied bias voltage, and a displacement sensor comprising a plurality of differential capacitive sensors having capacitance levels which together are representative of a position of the probe relative to the second axis. Each of the electrostatic capacitive actuators and the differential capacitive sensors comprises an electrode comb pair, each electrode comb pair including a fixed electrode comb coupled to the body and a moveable electrode comb coupled to the probe.

Nanoindentation is a method to quantitatively measure the mechanical properties of a test sample, such as elastic modulus and hardness, for example, using a small force and a high resolution displacement sensor. Typically, a force employed in nanoindentation is less than 10 mN, with a typical displacement range being smaller than 10 μm, and with a noise level typically being better than 1 nm rms. In nanoindentation, a nanoindenter capable of determining the loading force and displacement is used. The force and displacement data are used to determine a sample's mechanical properties. For this sample property estimation, a nanoindenter has to be integrated with a characterized tip which has known geometry and known mechanical properties. A nanoindenter with two dimensional force and displacement sensing can be used as a nano-tribometer for tribological applications for measuring additional mechanical properties such as friction and wear.
One of the key components in nanoindentation instrumentation is a transducer which converts an electrical input into a mechanical force and a mechanical displacement into an electrical signal. A well designed nanoindenter transducer can improve many aspects of the nanoindenter performance such as increasing the range of forces, including increasing the maximum force, improving force resolution and system bandwidth, and reducing system noise.
One of the emerging nanoindentation applications is quantitative in-situ nanomechanical testing within a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This testing method enables monitoring of the deformation of a sample in real time while measuring the quantitative mechanical data. To achieve such testing capabilities, a quantitative transducer capable of applying force and measuring displacement should be integrated with a TEM holder. The physical size of the transducer is limited by the size of the TEM holder, which depends on the pole gap of the TEM. For example, TEM holders manufactured by FEI have a maximum allowable outer diameter of 4 mm, and some TEMs having smaller holder diameters, require a small transducer in order to be compatible with FEI and Hitachi TEMs.
In view of the above, the physical size of the tribometer must be reduced. The importance of making smaller tribometers is evident from TEM market data which shows FEI and JEOL each have a 40% market share, with various others having the remaining 20%. Making a smaller tribometer will enable expansion of in-situ nano-tribology testing capabilities to FEI and some other TEMs. MEMS technology is one technology which enables miniaturization the nano-tribometer without detracting from performance requirements.
A 1-Dimensional (1-D) MEMS transducer has been developed, as described by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/497,834, filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present disclosure, and which is incorporated by reference herein. However, such MEMS transducer provides actuation and sensing along a single axis (i.e. 1-dimensional), that being along an axis of indentation.


Methods and apparatus for kinematic studies of the movable joints of the body using magnetic resonance imaging. The apparatus controls the position of movable joints at a multiplicity of predetermined positions, enabling the controlled movement of the joints to each of the predetermined positions. It also includes a device which automatically sequences the movement of a movable joint to each position among the multiplicity of predetermined positions, and the acquisition of magnetic resonance imaging data at each of these positions. These features enhance the clinical utility of kinematic studies of movable joint functionality by magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, has gained widespread utility for diagnosis as related to the various movable joints of the body, including as examples, the knee, cervical spine and the shoulder. In most instances magnetic resonance images of the movable joints are made using standard multi-slice pulse sequences. The joint of interest to a particular MRI study is immobilized in a single position, with the various cross-sectional views taken of the joint in one position.
However, important functional information regarding a joint is contained in the "operation" of the joint when it moves through its natural range of motion. In order to make the kinematic study of movable joints practical and of clinical utility, fixtures which interface between the movable joints of a patient and the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus are necessary.
Such fixtures should incorporate a number of important features. For example, fixtures should enable a sufficient range of motion of the joint to provide a complete view of joint functionality. In addition, the fixtures should provide for numerous incremental joint positions over the range of motion, with precise control, to enable a kinematic representation of the joint motion. Furthermore, the movement of the joint among the different positions, and the acquisition of magnetic resonance imaging data at each of these positions should be automated to enhance the practical implementation of multipositional joint imaging. Finally, to provide a high level of clinical utility, the fixtures should accommodate most of the major movable joints of the body.
At the present time only limited studies have been conducted with respect to some of the movable joints of the body, but all these studies are limited by a lack of apparatuses and methods which make the capability of kinematic study of movable joints of the body a common feature of magnetic resonance imaging apparatuses. Thus useful diagnostic information obtained in a standard clinical setting has not been achieved.
Current techniques for kinematic joint studies are generally characterized by a small number of positions of the joint; a small range of motion of the joint; manual operation of the apparatus in a cumbersome fashion; and failure to address comprehensively the various joints of the body, and the different directions of motion any given joint may be capable of.
The object of the invention described herein is to provide a new and useful dimension to the clinical utility of magnetic resonance imaging as related to multipositional studies of the movable joints of the body.

Multipositional MRI for kinematic studies of movable joints


In a receiver of quadraphase modulation signals, a receiver of quadraphase modulation signals which is provided with two kinds of equalizers being different in each sine and cosine phases, together with an equalizer extracting a clock signal.

1. Field of The Invention
The subject invention relates to a recorder or a signal transmission apparatus, and especially to a system of transmission and reception which is excellent in a signal-to-noise ratio.
2. Description of The Related Art
A system called a quadraphase modulation system has been proposed for transmission of digital signals. A signal subjected to quadraphase modulation has few low-frequency components, and therefore, it is suitable for the signal transmission in a system, such as a magnetic recording system and a communication system using metal wires, which does not allow low-frequency signals to pass through. This system will be summarized by using a functional block diagram of FIG. 2 and a waveform diagram of FIG. 3. It is assumed that data ..., a.sub.2n, a.sub.2n+1, ... are given from a signal source to an input end of a quadraphase modulation transmitter. These data are converted into parallel data of an even-number series and an odd-number series by a serial-parallel converter and modulated simultaneously by a sine modulator and a cosine modulator. When the data after modulation are denoted by ..., b.sub.4n, b.sub.4n+1, b.sub.4n+2, b.sub.4n+3, ..., the following relationships are established: EQU b.sub.4n =a.sub.2n EQU b.sub.4n+1 =a.sub.2n+1 EQU b.sub.4n+2 =-a.sub.2n EQU b.sub.4n+3 =-a.sub.2n+1 ( 1)
As is seen from these relationships, the series of even orders of b.sub.4n, b.sub.4n+2 are made to correspond to the series of an even order of a.sub.2n, while the series of odd orders of b.sub.4n+1, b.sub.4n+3 are made to correspond to the series of an odd order of a.sub.2n+1 independently of the above according to this quadraphase modulation system. When the series of the even and odd numbers of a.sub.n are modulated independently as shown in FIGS. 3b and 3c and then added up, accordingly, a waveform after being subjected to quadraphase modulation as shown in FIG. 3d is obtained. In this case, 0, +1, 0 and -1 covering a period of 2T together is a fundamental waveform as shown in FIG. 4a. According to this modulation system, in other words, every two bits of input data are put in a block and coded, and therefore, one period is composed of two bits. The series of FIGS. 3b and 3c have a phase difference of just 90 degrees from each other in relation to this period. Therefore, the former series is called sine modulation and the latter cosine modulation.
In a receiver of quadraphase modulation, first the deterioration in a frequency characteristic caused in the course of transmission is compensated by an equalizer of FIG. 2. Then, the data are binary-coded and the waveform in FIG. 3d is restored. Next, this binary-coded waveform is discriminated and regenerated at points of ..., S.sub.4n, S.sub.(4n+1), S.sub.(4n+2), ... and ..., S.sub.(4n+1), S.sub.(4n+2)+1, S.sub.(4n+1)+2, ... shown in FIG. 3e, and thereby data shown in FIG. 3f are obtained. These data are further passed through a parallel-serial converter, and thereby the original data shown in FIG. 3g are regenerated. The above is the gist of the quadraphase modulation system, and further details thereof are described in IEEE Trans. on Magnetics, Vol. MAG-15, No. 6, 1465-1467, by J. A. Bixby, etc.
The fundamental waveform for cosine modulation according to the quadraphase modulation system is 0, +1, 0 and -1 covering together the period of 2T shown in FIG. 4a. This fundamental waveform needs to be subjected to waveform equalization so as not to cause an intersymbol interference to a code series which is sine-modulated and shifted by T/2 therefrom. According to the prior art, the equalization is conducted so that an impulse response of the above-mentioned fundamental waveform has such a waveform as shown in FIG. 4b. When this impulse response is denoted by Ir(t), in other words, it is given as: EQU Ir(O)=+1 EQU Ir(-T)=-1 EQU Ir(-nT/2)=0 (2)
where n.noteq.0 and n.noteq.1.
An equalized waveform of sine modulation in relation to a fundamental wave is obtained likewise by shifting an equalized waveform of cosine modulation by T/2 as indicated by a dotted line. By the equalization stated above, the original pulse series can be discriminated and regenerated without any intersymbol interference at any points of ..., S.sub.4n, S.sub.(4n+1), S.sub.(4n+2), S.sub.(4n+3), ... as shown in FIG. 4c. For this purpose, accordingly, it is only required to select sampling points in series of (S.sub.4n, S.sub.(4n+1)), (S.sub.(4n+1), S.sub.(4n+1)+1) and others or sampling points in series of (S.sub.(4n+2), S.sub.(4n+3)), (S.sub.(4n+1)+2, S.sub.(4n+1)+3) by the procedures of FIG. 3e, 3f and 3g, for instance, and to discriminate and regenerate the data of each phase.
A frequency band necessary for realizing the waveform of FIG. 3b is determined by a pulse width of a fundamental waveform. Now, since the value of the width of the fundamental waveform is T/2 as shown in FIG. 4a, a Nyquist rate is 1/T. Since the pulse width of the original signal is T, on the other hand, the Nyquist rate in this case is 1/(2T). In other words, the quadraphase modulation system necessitates a transmission band twice as wide as NRZ. Noise increases as a required band widens, and this causes a disadvantage that the number of bit errors also increases.

Receiver for quadraphase modulation signals