A sliding bearing having excellent initial conformability and seizure resistance as well as high durability and heat resistance is provided. A sliding bearing comprising a coating layer containing a resin and a solid lubricant formed on a bearing alloy layer, characterized in that the resin of said coating layer is a resin having a glass transition temperature of from 150° C. to 250° C. which has a great elongation at high temperatures.

A sliding bearing for automobile engine is normally made of aluminum alloy or copper-lead alloy with Pb-based overlay. In the art of this kind of a sliding bearing, it has heretofore been practiced to enhance the abrasion resistance, seizure resistance and initial conformability of the sliding bearing by coating the surface of the bearing alloy layer with a coating layer comprising a solid lubricant incorporated in a resin such as polyamide-imide, polyimide and epoxy resin.
For example, Patent Reference 1 (JP-A-4-83914) discloses that the use of a sliding bearing material having a coating layer made of from 55 to 90% by weight of a solid lubricant and from 10 to 45% by weight of a polyimide-based binder formed on the surface of an aluminum bearing alloy makes it possible to enhance the initial conformability of the aluminum alloy bearing and have excellent fatigue resistance and seizure resistance.
Further, Patent Reference 2 (JP-A-7-247493) discloses that the addition of a film forming aid to a solid lubricant film made of from 70 to 97% by weight of a solid lubricant and from 3 to 30% by weight of a resin selected from polyimide resin, epoxy resin and phenolic resin makes it possible to provide firm retention of solid lubricant and good conformability that give excellent seizure resistance which prevents exfoliation and hence enhances abrasion resistance.
On the other hand, Patent Reference 3 (JP-A-2002-61652) discloses a sliding bearing comprising a resin coating layer formed on a bearing alloy layer, which resin coating layer comprises a soft high-temperature extensible thermosetting resin having a tensile strength of from 70 to 110 MPa and an elongation of from 7 to 20% at 25° C. and a tensile strength of 15 MPA or more and an elongation of 20% or more at 200° C. and a solid lubricant in an amount of from 70 to 30 vol-% and from 30 to 70 vol-%, respectively, and has a Vickers hardness Hv of 20 or less. This sliding bearing is excellent in initial conformability and seizure resistance as compared with those of Patent References 1 and 2 but leaves something to be desired in physical properties required for automobile high speed engines.
In recent years, the performance of automobile engines have been remarkably enhanced for higher output and higher rotary speed, and the appearance of sliding bearings excellent in sliding properties, particularly initial conformability and seizure resistance, as well as in durability and heat resistance has been desired.    [Patent Reference 1] JP-A-4-83914    [Patent Reference 2] JP-A-7-247493    [Patent Reference 3] JP-A-2002-61652


A process for fixing an article to a substrate with a mounting set including two receptacles storing an aerobic adhesive and a hydrophilic substance, respectively. The aerobic adhesive and the hydrophilic substance are removed from the two receptacles and then mixed together to prepare the fastening. A layer of the fastening composition is applied to the article. The article is fixed to the substrate by pressing the layer of the fastening composition against the substrate. The aerobic adhesive in the layer hardens because of the moisture contained in the hydrophilic substance.

The invention relates to a fastening composition and a process for fixing an article to a substrate.
A specific area of application for the process in question, respectively the fastening composition in question, is for attaching articles to the walls of buildings and the like. In particular in bathroom and kitchen areas, the walls are provided with coverings such as different types of tiles, as well as stone slabs or marble slabs. The process, however, relates in general to the most varied areas of application, such as the field of aircraft construction, ship construction and steel construction.
Fastening means in the form of screws, in particular, can be used in a manner known per se to attach equipment items such as pieces of furniture, light fixtures and sanitary equipment fixtures such as towel holders or the like. Bore holes must first be inserted into the walls for this, however, wherein dowels are then inserted into these bore holes. These bore holes are generally worked into the joints between the tiles to prevent damage to the expensive wall coverings consisting of tiles and the like, thereby undesirably limiting the locations for installing the fastening means. In cases where the fastening location for an equipment item must be changed again after some time, it is a further disadvantage that the bore holes are visibly exposed at the old location, thus considerably detracting from the total optical impression of the wall, even if the bore holes are subsequently filled with a filler material.
To avoid these disadvantages, attempts have been made to replace fastening means in the form of screws by using adhesive materials.
In the simplest case, adhesive strips can be used for this, wherein a double-sided adhesive tape is used for the simplest case. One disadvantage encountered with fastening means of this type is that they will detach again over time. A further disadvantage is that no heavy equipment pieces can be attached to the walls with these adhesive strips.
Also conceivable in principle is the use of aerobic adhesives as fastening compositions for attaching articles to substrates, such as to the walls of a room in a building. One problem with this type of use is that said aerobic adhesives must harden for several hours and that moisture must be supplied to the aerobic adhesives. However, if a layer of aerobic adhesive is applied to the article and the article is then pressed together with the layer of aerobic adhesive against the substrate, the layer which is located between the substrate and the article is closed off from the ambient air, so that a hardening of the aerobic adhesive is no longer possible.
A mounting system which permits the use of aerobic adhesives of this type is known from the document WO 03/036106.
This mounting system is used for the stationary attachment of items such as towel holders, shelves, light fixtures or similar equipment pieces on a wall, a ceiling or a similar surface, in particular in rooms where the walls are covered with tiles, marble slabs or similar coverings. The mounting system consists of different types of fastening elements, as well as an adhesive and joining agent which can be an aerobic adhesive. The fastening elements consist of sintered metals for which the shape must be adapted in dependence on the application purpose. These types of systems have the disadvantage of very long hardening times for the adhesive which can take up to 12 hours, thereby considerably reducing the ease of installation of these systems.
The fastening element is designed to accommodate a different element for holding in place the item and comprises a basic body, provided with a recess on the back that is facing the wall, as well as a filling opening which empties into the latter and is used to insert an adhesive or joining agent between the fastening element and the wall.
To allow air displaced by the adhesive or joining agent inserted into the recess to escape, the fastening element is provided with at least one liquid-permeable or gas-permeable opening which extends from the recess to a different surface of the fastening element and which can accommodate the surplus adhesive or joining agent.
The basic body back which is facing the wall is permeable to liquid and gas, at least in some parts, such that the gas which develops inside the recess during the hardening of the adhesive and joining agent can escape, respectively the volatile binding agents can vaporize, and ambient air can simultaneously reach this adhesive and joining agent, thereby causing this agent to harden and ensure a stable, load-bearing attachment of the fastening means on the wall.
The disadvantage of this type of embodiment of the basic body is that it requires considerable additional structural expenditure and, in particular, also limits the free design of the fastening means.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process for fixing an article to a substrate


An electric connector to be mounted on a printed circuit board, includes a housing having an inner space into which a second electric connector is inserted in a direction in which a plane of the printed circuit board is extensive, and at least one fixer through which the housing is fixed on the printed circuit board, the fixer including an extending portion extending from a floor portion of the housing towards outside of the housing, and making contact at a lower surface thereof with a surface of the printed circuit board, the extending portion being fixed at a lower surface thereof on the surface of the printed circuit board to cause the electric connector to be fixed on the surface of the printed circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric connector to be mounted on a printed circuit board, and further to a fixer through which an electric connector is fixed on a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the electric connector mounted on a printed circuit board, suggested in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-73304, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the electric connector.
The electric connector 1000 illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15 includes an electrically insulative housing 1001, and a metal fixer 1002 through which the housing 1001 is fixedly soldered on a printed circuit board 1100. The metal fixer 1002 includes a first portion 1003 soldered onto the printed circuit board 1100, a second portion 1004 having a U-shaped cross-section, and a pair of walls 1005 standing at opposite side edges of the second portion 1004, and a third portion 1006 being continuous to the walls 1005, on which the housing 1001 is fixed.
In the electric connector 1000, the second portion 1004 forwardly extends from the first portion 1003, upwardly U-turns by 180 degrees, and rearwardly extends. The first portion 1003 lies below and in parallel with a bottom 1007 of the housing 1001.
Thus, since the first portion 1003 lies below the bottom 1007 of the housing 1001, the housing 1001 cannot avoid being situated higher to a degree of a thickness of the first portion 1003.
An electric connector is generally required to occupy a small area relative to a printed circuit board, and to be as possibly as low, maintaining a high density with which electric connectors are mounted on a printed circuit board.

Electric connector and fixer used therefor


A variable impedance composition according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a high electro-magnetic permeability powder in an amount from 10% to 85% of the weight of the variable impedance composition, and an insulation adhesive in an amount from 10% to 30% of the weight of the variable impedance composition. The incorporation of high electro-magnetic permeability powder including carbonyl metal, such as carbonyl iron or carbonyl nickel, in the variable impedance composition can not only suppress the overstress voltage, but also dampen the transient current. In contrast to the conventional electrostatic discharge (ESD) device, the relatively high electro-magnetic permeability carbonyl metal powder can reduce arcing as well as lower the trigger voltage of the device. The high electro-magnetic permeability characteristics can also absorb the undesirable electro-magnetic radiation that causes corruption of signal and loss of data.

(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable impedance material, and more particularly, to a variable impedance material comprising high electro-magnetic permeability powder to reduce arcing.
(B) Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuits are externally fed with supply potentials and input signals to be processed and have processed output signals received from them. In particular, the input signal terminals are very sensitive, since the conductor tracks that feed the potentials and signals lead directly to a gate terminal of an input switching stage. While the integrated circuit is being manually handled, or during the automated processing to solder the integrated circuit on a circuit board, there is risk that the sensitive input stage or output stage may be destroyed by electrostatic discharge. For instance, the human body may be electrostatically charged and then discharged via the terminals leading to the outside of the semiconductor component containing the integrated circuit.
Tools of automatic component-mounting machines or test equipment may also be electrostatically charged and discharged via the semiconductor component. As technology advances and the scale of pattern lines on the semiconductor body bearing integrated circuits becomes smaller, there is a need for protection against such electrostatic discharges. Integrated circuit devices are often provided with some protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) with high input currents, such as electrical resistors connected in their input paths, thereby limiting the input current.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,297 discloses a composition for providing protection against electrical overstress (EOS) comprising an insulating binder, doped semiconductive particles, and semiconductive particles. The composite materials exhibit a high electrical resistance to normal operating voltage values, but in response to an EOS transient the materials switch to a low electrical resistance and limit the EOS transient voltage to a low level for the duration of the EOS transient.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,358 discloses a transient voltage protection device wherein a gap between a ground conductor and another conductor is formed using a diamond-dicing saw. Substrate material selection includes specific ceramic materials having a density of less than 3.8 gm/cm3 designed to optimize performance and manufacturability. An overlay layer can be provided to minimize burring of the conductors during formation of the gap.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,634 discloses a material and device for electronic circuitry that provides protection from fast transient over-voltage pulses. The electrode device can additionally be tailored to provide electrostatic bleed. Conductive particles are uniformly dispersed in an insulating matrix or binder to provide a material having non-linear resistance characteristics. The non-linear resistance characteristics of the material are determined by the inter-particle spacing within the binder as well as by the electrical properties of the insulating binder. By tailoring the separation between the conductive particles, thereby controlling quantum-mechanical tunneling, the electrical properties of the non-linear material can be varied over a wide range.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,715 discloses a stack up type low capacitance over-voltage protective device comprising a substrate, a conductive low electrode layer formed on the substrate, a voltage sensitive material layer formed on the conductive lower electrode layer, and a conductive upper electrode layer formed on the voltage sensitive material layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,393 discloses a material for transient voltage suppressors composed of at least two kinds of evenly-mixed powders including a powder material with non-linear resistance interfaces and a conductive powder. The conductive powder is distributed within the powder with non-linear resistance interfaces to relatively reduce the total number of non-linear resistance interfaces between two electrodes and, as a result, decrease the breakdown voltage of the components.
In addition to electrostatic discharge, electronic devices are also very susceptible to electro-magnetic radiation, which is particularly acute in the case of digital computing devices. The digital computing device consists of a large number of transistors, which switch and transmit signals at very high speed. Consequentially, considerable electro-magnetic radiation is generated. The stray radiation could cause erroneous state switches, corruption signals, and loss of data.
Various techniques to protect electronic devices from electro-magnetic radiation are known. It is known to use a metal enclosure to shield the device. The electro-magnetic shielding can be achieved by blocking the radiation with highly conductive surface through reflection. However, the metal enclosure is not only very costly, but also the reflective shield to block high frequency radiation often leaks due to lack of radiation dampening capability. European patent EP0550373 disclosed an inner middle layer, which was constructed based on the material with relatively high magnetic permeability and relatively low electrical conductivity. During the electro-magnetic radiation strike, the middle layer absorbs most of the field's energy. The material with high magnetic permeability and low electrical conductivity is more effective at absorbing radiation than the highly conductive material.
The electrostatic and electro-magnetic coupling effect is well known for high frequency receiving and transmitting devices. U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,878 disclosed a loop-shape guard pattern, which is positioned on the sheet of the window glass for intensive electro-magnetic and electrostatic coupling between the guard pattern and an electric conductor disposed around the sheet of the window glass.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,000 disclosed a method of protection from electromagnetic interference and electrostatic discharge. The invention teaches a shielding conductor surface enclosure, an interior shielding conductor plane, a contact conductor from the shielding conductor plane and the shielding conductor surface enclosure, a path for electromagnetic signals to pass through a shielding conductor plane, a filter network, and an electrostatic voltage clamp. Protection is provided by filtering the incoming signals, electrically coupling the signals of an undesired bandwidth to a shield barrier, and electrically coupling signals of an undesired voltage to a shield barrier. The shield surface is physically differentiated from the ground plane surface.
The application of electro-magnetic and electrostatic discharge protection could be found from Patent WO/1996/028951—"Implant Device with Electrostatic Discharge Protection." This patent application showed that a small number of cochlear devices failed and it was found that several of the elements associated with the data receiving function were damaged by a high level electrical shock. A number of experiments were performed in a laboratory to try to induce similar failures in other cochlear devices. More particularly, implants were submersed in a saline solution simulating body fluids and tissues, and subjected to high level electromagnetic fields so as to produce electrostatic discharge (ESD) into the implant. Therefore, one should pay special attention to the device damage problem not only from the angle of electrostatic discharge, but also from the angle of electro-magnetic field.
The SEMTECH Note SI97-01 describes how the TVS diodes were applied to protect devices from the ESD damage. This note mentioned that an electrostatic discharge to the shield of the coaxial connector causes an electromagnetic wave to propagate across the transceiver board interface to the circuit board. The wave travels along the metal traces, which connect the shield to the PC board ground plane. The effects of circuit board trace inductance can result in voltage potentials greater than 1.5 kV at the CDS pin. Voltage overstress of this magnitude can cause dielectric breakdown of the transceiver chip. Also, the current impulse flowing in the conductors will result in electromagnetic coupling of transients to surrounding components on the board. The transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes are designed to shunt the transient current away from the protected Ethernet transceiver. The TVS diodes can both suppress the voltage overstress and shunt the transient current. However, the high cost and the lack of dampening capability are still the main drawback of TVS diodes.


A board-to-board connector assembly consists of a plug and receptacle connector. The receptacle connector has a first dielectric housing having a front wall defining a recess with a flared inlet and a number of first contacts. Each first contact has a contact portion having an arced configuration, a free end resting against a front end of the front wall by a preload to make the contact portion have a tendency moving toward the recess, and a terminal portion extending through a locating block integrally formed at a rear side of the housing. The plug connector has a second dielectric housing defining a projection and a number of second contacts. Each second contact has a contact portion, a free end, a protrusion between the contact portion and the free end and a terminal portion extending through a locating block integrally formed at a rear side of the second housing. When the receptacle and plug connectors are connected, and a vibration is exerted thereto to cause a separation thereof, the protrusions will be blocked by the contact portions of the first contacts to prevent such separation. Furthermore, the contact force between the engaging contacts of the two connected connectors is a sum of the preload and a pushing force of the second contacts acting on the contact portions of the first contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, particularly to a board-to-board connector assembly which includes a plug connector used to be soldered to a first printed circuit board (PCB) and a receptacle connector used to be soldered to a second PCB. The first and second PCBs are electrically interconnected when the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector.
2. The Prior Art
Board-to-board connector assemblies are widely known by those skilled in the art of connector technology and popularly used in laptop computers (portable computers), wherein a board-to-board connector assembly includes a plug and receptacle connector used to be mounted on two separate PCBs, respectively. The two PCBs are electrically interconnected when the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,057,027 and 5,112,235, Taiwan Patent Nos. 80105936, 81216612 and 83209060, and Japan Patent Nos. 3-173337, 3-359550 and 4-212046 show some board-to-board connector assemblies. These prior art connector assemblies have the common disadvantages as set fort below.
First, none of the contacts in the plug and receptacle connectors have means which can effectively prevent a disengagement between the engaging contacts of two connected connectors when a vibration or shock is exerted thereto.
Second, the gap between the opposite contacts in the receptacle connector is not always kept constant, which may cause the contact force (and therefore the electric resistance) between each pair of the engaging contacts to be different from each other, when the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector. Different electric resistance between different engaging contacts means that the transmission of signals between two connected connectors cannot have a good quality. Furthermore, the contacts in the prior art receptacle connectors do not have a preload acting thereon; this way, the contact force between the engaging contacts may not be always large enough to ensure a positive engagement therebetween.
Third, to ensure that the terminal portions of the contacts respectively in the plug and receptacle connectors are spaced from each other a predetermined distance, whereby the terminal portions can be correctly soldered to the PCBS, the prior art connector assemblies need to use spacers in the plug and receptacle connectors to locate the terminal portions of the contacts. Since the spacers are formed individually and then assembled with the housings of the connectors, the spacers additionally increase the cost of the prior art connector assemblies.
Fourth, due to the close fit between an elongated projection in the plug connector and a recess in the receptacle connector for receiving the projection, the projection must be carefully and precisely aligned with the recess to be inserted into the recess so that the two connectors can be connected. Such a precise alignment between the projection and the recess causes the connection of the two connectors to be uneasy and inconvenient. Thus, the connection of the receptacle and plug connectors of the prior art connector assemblies cannot be achieved quickly and efficiently.
Therefore, an objective of the invention is to provide a board-to-board connector assembly including a plug and receptacle connector, wherein a protrusion is formed between the free end and the contact portion of each of the contacts in the plug connector and the contact portion of each of the contacts in the receptacle connector is formed to have an arced configuration. When two connected connectors are going to be separated from each other due to a vibration or shock being exerted thereto, the protrusions will be blocked by the contact portions of the contacts in the receptacle connector to prevent such a separation.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a board-to-board connector assembly including a plug and receptacle connector, wherein the gap of the opposite contacts in the receptacle connector is kept substantially constant, whereby when the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector, the contact force between each pair of the engaging contacts is substantially the same. Furthermore, each of the contacts in the receptacle connector is preloaded, whereby when the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector, a sufficiently large contact force can be generated between the engaging contacts to ensure a positive engagement therebetween.
A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a board-to-board connector assembly including a receptacle and plug connector, wherein each of the housings of the receptacle and plug connectors is integrally formed with a locating means on a rear side thereof. The locating means is sed to locate the terminal portions of the contacts so that hey can be spaced from each other with a predetermined and usually equal distance.
Yet a still further objective of the present invention is to provide a board-to-board connector assembly including a plug and receptacle connector, wherein the recess of the receptacle connector for receiving the projection in the plug connector has a flared inlet, whereby the projection of the plug connector can be easily inserted into the recess of the receptacle connector to achieve the connection of the two connectors.


An image noise reduction method and apparatus to be used to digitize and process an image signal. Level values of peripheral pixels and the level value of a watched pixel are input into eight comparators and the value “1” is output when absolute values of differences between the level values are smaller than the value of a reference level. Signals output from the comparators are supplied to four AND circuits. The signals output from the AND circuits are supplied to eight AND gates in accordance with each combination and level values of corresponding peripheral pixels. Signals output from the AND circuits are supplied to an adder and the value “1” is added to the multiplication value and output to an output port-4. Thereby, the averaging operation is performed by using only pixels which solves the problem that an averaged signal phase is deviated from an original position.

For example, to reduce noise components included in an image signal, various methods have been proposed so far. Particularly, one of the simplest methods having a large noise reduction effect is a method using a low-pass filter (hereafter referred to as LPF). The LPF is a device for transmitting only signals having components lower than a reference frequency. That is, by inputting a signal whose frequencies change to the LPF and observing the amplitude of an output signal, a characteristic is obtained that a component at a higher frequency lowers in level.
However, when viewed from a different point, the LPF uses the average value of a watched pixel and adjacent pixels around the watched pixel as a new value of the watched pixel. That is, in the case of this method, signal levels of watched pixels strongly correlated with peripheral pixels are not greatly changed in their values even if the levels are averaged. However, random noise components having no correlation are averaged with noise components included in peripheral pixels and thereby, the value of the component is approached to "0".
Therefore, when using the above LPF, the noise suppression effect increases as the search area of peripheral pixels is widened. However, in the case of the averaging operation with peripheral pixels by the LPF, image edge information is reduced similarly to noises and resultantly, the whole image becomes blurry though noises are decreased and a disadvantage occurs that the image quality is deteriorated. Therefore, an LPF serving as noise reduction means is not generally used.
To solve the disadvantage of the LPF, the so-called ε-filter is disclosed (refer to Journal of Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers Vol. 77 No. 8, pp. 844–852, April, 1994, Kaoru Arakawa "Nonlinear Digital Filter and Its Application"). That is, in the case of the ε-filter disclosed in this document, when averaging a watched pixel and peripheral pixels, it is first determined whether the peripheral pixels has a correlation with the watched pixel.
Specifically, by setting a certain reference level θ, levels of the peripheral pixels are incorporated into averaging factors when the levels are included in the range of ±θ of the level of the watched pixel but they are not incorporated into averaging factors if they are not included in the range of ±θ. Thus, whether to incorporate all peripheral factors into averaging factors is searched and a new value of the watched pixel is obtained by the averaging operations with the watched pixel and the peripheral pixels which are regarded as operation objects.
Therefore, even if an image edge enters a search area, when the levels of pixels constituting the edge exceeds the range of ±θ of the level of the watched pixel, the edge is not regarded as an operation object, for example, it never happens that an image becomes blurry due to pixels constituting the edge being included in averaging. That is, with the ε-filter, it is possible to suppress only noise components while leaving an image edge as it is by properly selecting the value of he reference level θ.
Moreover, an actual circuit configuration of the ε-filter is described below by using FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the diagram 1 shows a certain one point in an image area and imaged states of a watched pixel o and its peripheral pixels a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. Moreover, when substituting level values of these pixels with the same notation as a to h and o, the level values a to h of these peripheral pixels are supplied to a selection circuit 2. Moreover, the value of the above reference level θ and the level value o of the watched pixel are input to the selection circuit 2.
In the selection circuit 2, the absolute value (|a−o|) of the difference between the level value a of the peripheral pixel a and the level value o of the watched pixel o is first calculated and the absolute value of the difference is compared with the reference level θ. Then, when the absolute value of the above difference is smaller than the value of the reference level θ, the level value a is output to an output port 3. Moreover, when the absolute value of the difference is larger than the value of the reference level θ, the level value a is not output to the output port 3 but the value "0" is output. Furthermore, the same calculations are applied to level values b to h of other peripheral pixels b to h.
Therefore, eight output ports 3 equal to the number of peripheral pixels, for example, are provided for the selection circuit 2, and the level values a to h are output to the output ports 3 when the absolute value of the above difference is smaller than the value of the reference level θ and the value "0" is output to the ports 3 when the absolute value of the difference is larger than the value of the reference level θ. Moreover, an output port 4 is provided for the selection circuit 2 and a value obtained by adding "1" to the number of the output ports 3 to which the above level values a to h are output is output to the output port 4.
That is, level values a to h are output from the output ports 3 of the selection circuit 2 when absolute values differences between a watched pixel and peripheral pixels are all smaller than the value of the reference level θ and the value "9" is output to the output port 4. Moreover, when absolute values of differences between the watched pixel and peripheral pixels are all larger than the value of the reference level θ, the value "0" is output from all output ports 3 and the value "1" is output from the output port 4.
Outputs of the output ports 3 of the selection circuit 2 and the level value o of the watched pixel o are supplied to an adder 5 and a value selected by the output port 6 of the adder 5 is supplied to a divider 7. Moreover, a value outputted from the output port 4 of the selection circuit is supplied to the divider 7. Then, in the divider 7, a value outputted from the output port 6 of the adder 5 is divided by a value outputted from the output port 4 of the selection circuit 2 and the value of the above operation result is output by an output port 8.
A certain reference level θ is set, and levels of the peripheral pixels are incorporated into averaging factors when the levels are included in the range of ±θ of the level of a watched pixel but the levels are not incorporated into averaging factors when they are not included in the range and then, whether to incorporate all peripheral pixels into averaging factors is searched and only peripheral pixels to be incorporated as averaging factors are regarded as operation objects and as a result, a new value of a watched pixel obtained through the averaging operation with the watched pixel is output to the output port 8.
A specific circuit configuration of the selection circuit 2 of the above device is similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 6. That is, in FIG. 6, for example, eight comparators 20 equal to the number of the above peripheral pixels are obtained. Level values a to h of the above peripheral pixels, the level value o of the watched pixel, and the value of the reference level θ are input to the comparators 20. Then, each comparator 20 outputs the value "1" when the absolute value of the difference between a peripheral pixel and the watched pixel is smaller than the value of the reference level θ.
Moreover, a signal output from each of the comparators 20 is supplied to an AND gate 21. Furthermore, level values a to h of peripheral pixels are supplied to the AND gate 21 and corresponding one of the level values a to h of peripheral pixels is output to the output ports 3 through the AND gate 21 when a signal output from each of the above comparators 20 is equal to "1". Furthermore, signals output from the comparators 20 are supplied to an adder 22. Furthermore, an addition output of the adder 22 is supplied to an adder 23 and the value "1" is added and output to the output port 4.
Thereby, in the case of this circuit configuration, level values a to h of peripheral pixels are output through the AND gate 21 when absolute values of differences between level values a to h and the level value o of the watched pixel are smaller than the value of the reference level θ. Moreover, the value "0" is output when absolute values of the differences are larger than the value of the reference level θ. Furthermore, a value obtained by adding "1" to the number of level values a to h output to the output ports 3 through the above AND gate 21 is output to the output port 4.
Thus, the selection circuit 2 outputs level values a to h when absolute values of the above differences are smaller than the value of the reference level θ and a value obtained by adding "1" to the number of output level values a to h. Moreover, the level values a to h and the level value o of the watched pixel are added and the addition value is divided by a value obtained by adding "1" to the number of output level values a to h. Thereby, the averaging operation is applied to only pixels regarded as averaging factors and a new value of the watched pixel is derived.
Thus, the above ε-filter makes it possible to effectively reduce noises while preserving image edges. In this case, however, a phenomenon occurs that an area for averaging watched pixels is moved depending on the position of a pixel regarded as an averaging factor and therefore, a signal phase serving as the center of gravity of a pixel is deviated from the position of a watched pixel. For example, when pixels to be incorporated into averaging factors have an offset, an averaged signal phase is brought to the center of those pixels and thereby, it is deviated from the position of a watched pixel.
That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, when pixels to be incorporated into averaging factors are only pixels b, c, e, g, and h, the averaged pixel signal phase is brought to the center (intermediate point between pixels e and o) of six pixels including the pixel o as shown by symbol ● and thereby deviated from the position of the watched pixel o. Moreover, in the case of FIGS. 7B to 7D, averaged pixel signal phases are respectively shown by symbol ● and deviated from the original position of the watched pixel o.
Furthermore, operations become unstable for image edges including an intermediate level shown in FIG. 8A and therefore, the edges may be disordered. That is, a watched pixel is present at the position of the intermediate level, it is induced to any level closest to the watched pixel. However, when absolute values of differences between the intermediate level and levels of pixels before and after an edge are close to a reference level θ, a direction to be induced is reversed due to a slight fluctuation of the intermediate level and edges may be disordered as shown in FIG. 8B.
That is, in FIG. 8A, it is determined that a watched pixel at the position of the intermediate level is close to black, six pixels including three black pixels are averaged as shown in FIG. 7A and the signal phase is moved to right by 0.5 pixels. However, when it is determined that the watched pixel is close to white, six pixels including three white pixels are averaged on the contrary to the above case and the signal phase is moved to left by 0.5 pixels. Thus, the signal phase is moved to right and left due to a slight fluctuation of the intermediate level.
Moreover, when movement of the signal phase to right and left occurs in a string of optional linear pixels, image edges are disordered as shown in FIG. 8B and appear on a screen as noises different from original edges. The above disorder of image edges occurs not only in the illustrated vertical edges but also horizontal or diagonal edges. In any case, they appear on a screen as noises different from the original edge.


A recipient-specific voice message playback system detects the presence of a message recipient, identifies the recipient, and plays a message addressed to the recipient. The system includes a recorder. The recorder has multiple channels for recording voice messages. Each channel is assigned to a particular message recipient. A controller couples to the recorder and generates a control signal to regulate message recordation and playback on each channel. A switch also couples to the controller and is associated with each channel. Each switch directs the controller to selectively playback or record a message on each associated channel. The playback system includes a sensor and an alarm. The sensor detects the presence of a recipient and causes the alarm to notify the recipient when a message has been recorded. Actuation of a particular switch identifies a particular recipient and accesses the channel assigned to the particular recipient.

Automated message playback systems have been developed which detect the presence of a person and respond by playing an audio message. Such systems have proven useful in a variety of contexts. For example, automated message playback systems may be used by real estate sales people to inform prospective home buyers about particular aspects of the home to be sold. At trade shows, a booth may be equipped with an audio/video message playback system to provide product information. Fire extinguishers and exit signs may be equipped with message playback systems to provide safety instructions in times of emergency. Home and business security systems may be equipped with audible message playback systems to deter crime. Many other applications for automated message playback systems exist.
One common aspect of such automated message playback systems is the ability of the system to detect the presence of a person. Various motion sensor types have been used to detect those in the vicinity of the message playback system.
An example of an automated message playback system which detects the presence of a message recipient is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,457 to Ladd, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The Ladd invention detects message recipients by first establishing a desired detection range. The detection range is dynamically programmable. When a person, for example, enters the detection range, the sensor detects the presence of the person and a message automatically plays.
Removable EPROM message cartridges store the recorded messages. The cartridges have up to four separate recording channels. To record a new message the cartridges are removed and programmed with the new message using known EPROM programming techniques.
Once a cartridge is programmed and in use, a switch selects a channel, or sequence of channels, to play a message. However, the Ladd invention makes no provision for identifying the message recipient or selecting which message to play based on the identity of the recipient.
The feature of multiple message playback is employed by Butler in U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,228, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Butler discloses a fire-extinguisher which relies on a voice synthesizer chip and multiple sensors to play an appropriate message in response to detection of heat, motion, etc. Butler teaches how multiple messages can be played to provide instructions to a fire-extinguisher user. Butler, however, does not teach how to identify a particular recipient to play a particular message to that recipient.
Some message playback systems include an audio and video presentation. The use of a proximity sensor to detect a person initiates the presentation. Such a system is disclosed by Damato in U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,624. Damato uses a personal computer in combination with a sensor to initiate and play the presentation, but does not offer customized presentations which may be addressed to a particular recipient.
What is desired is a system which addresses custom recorded messages to an intended recipient, so that the system can be used in a household, office or other location having multiple identifiable message recipients.

Automated voice message system and method


An apparatus for improving communication between network devices in a cluster. is provided. A filter is used to pre-process packets to determine if they need to be further processed by the processor of the network device. If true, the packets are presented on a bus either in real time or buffered and presented at time intervals. A synch component is used to pre-process packets to determine if they are associated with synchronization information, management information, filter configuration information.

Network devices can be grouped in a variety of ways. One such grouping is a cluster where each network device can be employed to provide fail-over support for one another. For example, if one of the network devices in the cluster became unavailable, another network device in the cluster would continue to process the load that the unavailable network device had been handling. Additionally, a load can be balanced across several network devices in a cluster. Different portions of the load can be balanced across multiple network devices in the cluster based on one or more factors.

Cluster accelerator network interface with filter


The invention relates to a computed tomography apparatus designed for dental use, which includes a first arm part supporting imaging means and arranged turnable by means of an actuator, and a second arm part supporting the first arm part and arranged turnable by means of an actuator. The actuators are arranged controllable such that, during the imaging process, said first arm part does not rotate but remains in its place in relation to said second arm part and said second arm part rotates about its rotation axis.

Medical X-ray imaging has a long history. The earliest techniques were based on transilluminating the object being imaged. In transillumination, all the anatomies of the volume being imaged possibly overlapping in the direction of radiation are imaged on film on top of each other. Concerning layer imaging, i.e. a so-called tomographic imaging, on the other hand, one may get in the image being formed a desired layer of the object to become imaged more clearly by causing blurring of the other layers of the object. Depending on the imaging procedure, blurring is accomplished by changing the relative position of the imaging means and the object in a controlled manner during the imaging event either during irradiation or between individual irradiations. Especially along with advancement of computers and digital imaging, a great number of different tomographic imaging techniques and devices have been developed.
In the field of odontology, in addition to intra-oral and cephalometric imaging which are simpler as far as imaging technology is concerned as they are realized by transillumination imaging one generally uses, among other things, a so-called panoramic imaging in which, typically, a layer comprising the whole dental arch is imaged on a plane. In conventional film-based panoramic imaging, one scans over the dental arch with a narrow beam such that the centre of rotation of a turnable arm part, substantially to the opposite ends of which the imaging means have been positioned, is transferred linearly while the arm part is turned and the film moving together with the arm part is transferred through the narrow beam produced by a radiation source with a speed fulfilling the imaging condition of the imaging procedure in question. In digital panoramic imaging, the frequency at which image data is read from the sensor during an imaging scan corresponds this transfer speed of the film.
One has also begun to apply computer (or computed) tomography (CT), used earlier predominantly in hospital environment, in the field of odontology. As such, one is not able to transfer these massive and expensive CT apparatuses used in hospitals to a typical dental clinic environment, already on account of the size of the apparatuses but especially on account of their price.
Imaging-technically, several different CT technologies are known today. In CT imaging, the volume to be imaged is irradiated from different directions and, from the data thus acquired, a desired two- or three-dimensional image is reconstructed afterwards. In principle, using this kind of technology one is also able to reconstruct, among other things, a two-dimensional image outspread on a plane of a part of the dental arch or, if desired, of the whole dental arch. As far as principles of computed tomography and its different applications are concerned, a reference can be made to the literature on the art, such as to Computed Tomography: Principles, Design, Artifacts and Recent Advantages, Jian Hsich, SPIE PRESS, 2003, Bellingham, Wash., USA.
One form of computed tomography is the so-called cone beam CT (CBCT) in which one uses, as a distinction from the narrow beam used e.g. in panoramic imaging and conventional CT imaging, a beam substantially the size of the dimensions of the volume to be imaged and, respectively, instead of a slot sensor, a detector the size of which corresponds the size of that beam. Compared to several more conventional CT imaging technologies, by CBCT technology one is able to reach significantly smaller radiation doses and shorter imaging times.
A typical starting point in some of the CT solutions outlined and realized for odontology has been arranging the imaging means to a relatively massive, stable support construction in which the patient is positioned in a sitting position on a chair in between the imaging means, and the possible relative motions of the patient location and the imaging means, for positioning the imaging means ready for imaging a desired volume, are realized by moving the chair. On the other hand, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,842 outlines a structure based on a traditional dental panoramic apparatus by which one is able to both turn the imaging means with respect to the centre of rotation and to change the position of the centre of rotation by means of a moving mechanism of the arm part comprising the imaging means. The dimensions of this apparatus and those of the detector used in it enable gathering information for reconstructing a volume of a certain portion of the skull but, in case one desires larger, several or e.g. adjacent volumes to be reconstructed by the apparatus, one has to repeat the imaging by first arranging the relative position of the object and the imaging means according to the new target area to be imaged.
The size of the volume one is able to image by one rotation of the imaging means can be increased with the so-called offset imaging. One known manner to realize such imaging is to arrange the imaging sensor movable before imaging to such a position with respect to the target area in which, when rotating the imaging means, at each moment of time only part of the area desired to be imaged is in the beam but, when the whole rotation has been completed, all of the partial areas of the target area have been covered at an angle range of essentially at least 180 degrees. A corresponding result is also reached by moving the position of centre of rotation of the imaging means, such as in connection with an apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,486,759, which specification is attached hereto for even more comprehensively depicting the principles of offset imaging according to prior art. However, one problem of the apparatus described in the U.S. Pat. No. 7,486,759 is the mechanically complex arrangement by which the position of the centre of rotation is arranged to be moved.
An object of the present invention and its preferable embodiments is to provide novel solutions for imaging a greater volume by one imaging than what is possible when the imaging is realized in a conventional manner by using an arm part, in which are arranged at a distance from each other a source of radiation and a receiver of image information, and when both the centre of rotation of the arm part in question and the central axis of the beam are arranged to travel and remain for the whole duration of the imaging process in the middle of the area desired to be imaged.

Computed tomography apparatus for odontology


In a preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to a Schwannoma cell line derived from a Schwann tumor in a patient with Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and immortalized with HPV E6-E7 genes. The cell line has a unique splice site mutation of the NF2 gene. The immortalized cell line is non-tumorigenic but has altered growth properties such as higher proliferation rate and independence of Schwann cell growth factors. Methods of using this unique cell line for pharmacologic screening are disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
In one aspect, this invention relates to the establishment and characterization of a schwannoma cell line from a patient with neurofibromatosis 2. In another aspect this invention relates to methods of screening therapeutic treatments for neurofibromatosis 2.
2. Description of the Related Art
Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) is a genetic disorder characterized by the formation of multiple benign nervous system tumors, including schwannomas, meningiomas and ependymomas (Martuza, R. L. & tk tk Eldridge, R. 1988 N Engl J Med 318:684-688; Mulvihill, J. J. et al. 1990 Ann Intern Med 113:39-52; Evans, D. G. et al. 1992 Q J Med 84:603-618). These tumors are often benign with slow growth, but their location predominantly within the central nerve system (CNS) may have catastrophic effects on sensitive intracranial and intraspinal structures, thus, causing a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Affected individuals generally develop symptoms of eighth nerve dysfunction, including deafness (often bilateral) and balance disorder (Martuza, R. L. & Eldridge, R. 1988 N Engl J Med 318:684-688; Kanter, W. R. et al. 1980 Neurology 30:851-859). NF2 occurs with an incidence of approximately one in 40,000 live births where about 50% of cases reveal no family history and are likely due to new mutations (Evans, D. G. et al. 1992 J Med Genet 29:841-846).
Clinically, there are two subtypes in NF2 patients (Evans, D. G. et al. 1992 J Med Genet 29:841-846; Ruttledge, M. H. et al. 1996 Am J Hum Genet 59:331-342; Parry, D. M. et al. 1996 Am J Hum Genet 59:529-539; MacCollin, M. et al. 1995 Ann Neurol 38:554-555). Patients with the severe (Wishart) subtype usually have onset by 20 years of age, develop many CNS tumors in addition to bilateral vestibular schwannomas, and exhibit rapid clinical progression that may lead to death by the 3rd or 4th decade (Evans, D. G. et al. 1992 J Med Genet 29:847-852; Parry, D. M. et al. 1994 Am J Med Genet 52:450-461). On the other hand, patients with the mild (Gardner) subtype often do not develop symptoms until the 3rd decade, and have few tumors other than bilateral vestibular schwannomas and have a relatively benign clinical course (Evans, D. G. et al. 1992 J Med Genet 29:841-846; Parry, D. M. et al. 1994 Am J Med Genet 52:450-461).
The NF2 gene is located on chromosome 22q12 (Rouleau, G. A. et al. 1987 Nature 329:246-248). The genetic evidence from NF2 patients with schwannomas (Bijisma, E. K. et al. 1992 Genes Chromosomes Cancer 5:201-205), meningiomas (Dumanski, J. P. et al. 1987 PNAS USA 84:9275-9279), sporadic unilateral vestibular schwannomas (Parry, D. M. et al. 1994 Am J Med Genet 52:450-461) and mutated alleles, together with the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLPs) on chromosome 22q, has suggested that the NF2 gene is a tumor suppressor gene.
Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis revealed that more severe disease (Wishart) tends to harbor NF2 mutations that result in premature protein termination due to frameshift mutations (deletions or insertions) or the presence of premature termination codon. In the patients with milder clinical disease (Gardner), the mutations are either missense mutations or due to not being found by ordinary mutation detection methods. It has been predicted that nonsense NF2 mutations could result in unstable truncated proteins whereas missense mutations might generate full-length proteins incapable of growth suppression (Gutmann, D. H. et al. 1998 Hum Mol Genet 7:335-345). In a recent report, differing growth rate were noted in culture when different sporadic vestibular schwannoma tumor tissues were cultured (Pelton, P. D. et al. 1998 Oncogene 17:2195-2209). Unfortunately, no NF2 gene mutation information was provided.
Currently, several biochemical experiments have also indicated that the NF2 protein directly interacts with plasma membrane molecules such as CD44, EBP50 or hNHE-RF/EBP50 and cytoskeleton molecules such as β II-spectrin (Sainio, M. et al. 1997 J Cell Sci 110:224-940). These findings suggest that the NF2 gene product may, like its homologous proteins ezrin, radixin and moesin (ERM), work as a linker between cell membrane and cytoskeleton. This linkage may block cytoplasmic growth signaling from the cell surface. However, a detailed pathway of how NF2 protein mediates the tumor suppression function is still unclear.
The establishment of an NF2-in vitro model is essential to elucidate the NF2 gene tumor 15 suppression function in Schwann cells and as the first step to test new therapeutic approaches. To date, no single cell line has been developed from NF2 tumor cells, and most studies were conducted either in yeast, mouse schwannoma cells or other non-Schwann human cells. There are three main reasons for this limited progress. First, human Schwann cells are difficult to obtain. Second, because of the lack of knowledge of Schwann cell growth factors, once the Schwann cells are obtained, they do not proliferate in culture. Third, there is the contamination of human fibroblast. Recently, we have developed a method for establishing short-term primary schwannoma cells in culture. These primary cultures can be enriched to greater than 99% pure and could be very useful for the study of genetic alterations and NF2 gene functions at the cellular and molecular level (Hung, G. et al. 1999 Int J Oncology 14:409-15).


A server system (100) for processing a virtual space, the virtual space comprising a plurality of entities (A-E), the server system (100) comprising: one or more back-end servers (108); and one or more front-end servers (114); wherein each back-end server (108) stores a respective subset of the plurality of entities (A-E); each front-end server (114) is communicatively coupled to each back-end server (108); each front-end server (114) is configured to be communicatively coupled to one or more client devices (106); each front-end server (114) stores one or more entity references (RefA-RefE); and each entity reference (RefA-RefE) comprises a first identifier for identifying a respective entity (A-E) and a second identifier for identifying the back-end server (108) on which the entity (A-E) identified by the first identifier is stored.

Graphical programming of computers continues to grow at a rapid pace. Historically, visual programming languages have allowed users to create programs by controlling program elements graphically instead of textually. Supporting large-scale visual programming may have motivated work on virtual reality, including a head-mounted display. However, although the visual programming construct may enable rapid generation of simple programs, it does not efficiently address the issues of organization and complex navigation necessary for the generation of a complex artefact. Component-based programming (e.g., Unix, Objective C, and Smalltalk) sought to address this inefficiency by dividing the software functionality of a large application into smaller communicating units via modularity and encapsulation. Process formalisms for programming early parallel computers, along with graph theoretic approaches, are common in concurrent programming. Eventually, node-based visual content development programs enabled users with limited programming experience to visually "wire" together components from a set of pre-built modules and to perform complex "rigging" for a variety of computer graphics animation tasks.
The development of interactive environments with end-user programming predates the Internet, but such early environments were primarily textual in nature. For example, Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) and LambdaMoo rely on language for developing textual virtual realities. LambdaMoo further uses an object-oriented language in which users can extend the functionality of the world by programming scripted objects in a simple-to-use object-oriented programming language.
Commercial success for recent three-dimensional (3D) multi-user game environments (e.g., World of Warcraft) is driven by massive improvements to a PC's ability to process graphic 3D game content. Encompassing large developments budgets, these environments are typically based on a custom C or C++ coded "client" application, along with a custom coded multicomputer server back-end. At the same time, other multi-user games focus on "world building" and "player created content" (e.g., HighFidelity, SecondLife, Project Sansar, and Minecraft).
One area of graphical programming that continues to grow is the programming and viewing of interactive 3D spaces. It tends to be desirable to, on one hand, maintain the illusion of a 3D viewable shared space in which changes made to an object on one computer are transparently replicated to other computers viewing the same space, while, on the other hand, to maintain concurrency in the execution environment so that a large number of objects can be simulated in concert on a modern multi-core processor. Note that reference to a shared virtual reality space implies that the virtual reality space running on one device (and viewable by a first user wearing suitable virtual reality hardware) appears to the first user to be the same as that running on a second device as viewed by a second user (also wearing suitable virtual reality hardware connected to the second device).
Conventionally, latency for clients may be reduced for a virtual 3D space or world by implementing multiple different servers collaborating on the serving and presentation of the space (e.g. serving different real-world geographical locations). For example, the virtual space may be separated into multiple smaller regions and different, independent servers may be used to simulate users and objects within and near to a respective region. Also, for example, the functionality of the software engine that generates the virtual space may be separated, for example, function, and a different, independent server may be used to implement a respective part of that functionality. For example, players' inventories may be handled by one server, while a combat system between players may be handled by a second server, etc. Also, for example, virtual objects within the virtual space may be grouped into multiple different groups and a different, independent server may be used to simulate a respective group of objects within the virtual space.

Server system for processing a virtual space


A surge protector connector comprises a surge protector having a front plate, a rear plate, and hollow cylindrical body bridging the front and rear plates. A coaxial cable connector interface extends from the front plate, and the connector interface is constructed and arranged to detachably engage with a mating coaxial cable connector at the end of a first coaxial cable. A cable attachment interface extends from the rear plate, and the cable attachment interface is constructed and arranged to attach directly to a prepared end of a second coaxial cable free of another coaxial cable connector interface. The surge protector connector further includes coaxial inner and outer conductors extending through the hollow cylindrical body and extending between the cable attachment interface and the coaxial cable connector interface. The surge protector includes a curvilinear quarter-wavelength shorting stub having a first portion extending in a generally radial direction from the inner conductor through a gap in the outer conductor and a second portion extending in a generally annular direction circumscribing the outer conductor between the outer conductor and the cylindrical body.

A surge protector is a device placed in an electrical circuit to prevent the passage of dangerous surges and spikes that could damage electronic equipment. One particularly useful application of surge protectors is in antenna transmission and receiving systems. In such antenna systems, a surge protector is generally connected in line between a main feeder coaxial cable and a jumper coaxial cable. During normal operation of the antenna system, microwave and radio frequency signals pass through the surge protector without interruption. When a dangerous surge occurs in the antenna system, the surge protector prevents passage of the dangerous surge from one coaxial cable to the other coaxial cable by diverting the surge to ground.
One type of surge protector for antenna systems has a tee configuration including a coaxial through-section and a straight coaxial stub connected perpendicular to a middle portion of the coaxial through-section. One end of the coaxial through-section is adapted to interface with a mating connector at the end of the main feeder coaxial cable, while the other end of the coaxial through-section is adapted to interface with a mating connector at the end of the juniper coaxial cable. Both the coaxial through-section and the straight coaxial stub include inner and outer conductors. At the tee junction between the coaxial stub and the coaxial through-section, the inner and outer conductors of the coaxial stub are connected to the respective inner and outer conductors of the coaxial through-section. At the other end of the straight coaxial stub, the inner and outer conductors of the coaxial stub are connected together creating a short. The short is indirectly connected to a grounding device, such as a grounded buss bar, by some sort of clamp.
The physical length from the junction at one end of the coaxial stub and the short at the other end of the coaxial stub is approximately equal to one-quarter of the center frequency wavelength for a desired narrow band of microwave or radio frequencies. This desired band of operating frequencies travels entirely through the coaxial through-section virtually unaffected by the discontinuities associated with the coaxial stub. Undesired low frequencies which do not meet the wavelength criterium, i.e., surges, do not pass entirely through the coaxial through-section. Instead, these low frequencies travel from the coaxial through-section to the tee junction and through the coaxial stub to the short, where the surge is passed to ground by some sort of grounding device.
A drawback of the above tee-shaped surge protector is that the mating ends of the coaxial through-section necessitate the use of coaxial cable connectors on both the main feeder cable and the jumper cable. As stated above, the ends of the coaxial through-section are designed to mate with coaxial cable connectors of the respective main feeder cable and jumper cable.
Another drawback of the tee-shaped surge protector is that the tee configuration makes the surge protector relatively bulky. This bulkiness, in turn, makes it difficult to mount several such surge protectors side-by-side in an antenna system requiring more than one surge protector. A related drawback of the tee-shaped surge protector is that it is difficult to install the surge protector because the short at the end of the coaxial stub must be indirectly connected to a grounding device by a clamp or the like. The use of a clamp to connect the short to a grounding device increases the amount of equipment required for installation. In addition, when several surge protectors are mounted side-by-side, the respective clamps of these surge protectors tend to physically interfere with one another.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a surge protector connector which overcomes the above-noted drawbacks associated with the tee-shaped surge protector.


A regulatorless oscillating system for a watch includes a spiral balance spring having an inner fastening point attached to a collet which can be connected to a balance staff, an outer fastening point connected to a balance spring stud, and an end region adjacent to the stud. The end region is held so that it can be adjustably positioned in a plane which is perpendicular to the balance staff, thereby decentralizing the balance spring in order to compensate for isochronism errors.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an oscillation system for a watch, having a spiral balance spring, the inner fastening point of which is connected to a balance staff, in particular by means of a collet, the outer fastening point of which is connected to a retaining element, in particular by means of a balance spring stud.
2. Description of the Related Art
An oscillating system for a watch is isochronous if it has the same oscillation period at any amplitude. Amplitude in this case is the oscillation range of the balance. The amplitude varies depending on the state of winding and, among other things, the conditions of friction in the watch. For example, the friction of the balance in flat positions is not the same as in suspended positions. As a result, the watch will usually have a higher amplitude in the flat position than in suspended positions.
One possibility for eliminating the isochronism error involves the use of a regulator. Depending on the distance of the regulator pins, oscillations at small amplitudes can be speeded up or slowed down. This means, however, that the watch without a regulator must run significantly faster at low amplitudes than at high amplitudes. This condition is achievable by the appropriate selection of the fastening points.
The use of a regulator involves expense. Furthermore, additional isochronism errors can be caused by the regulator. In addition, regulator pins can wear and can have a negative influence on the long-term performance of the watch.

Regulatorless oscillating system for a watch


The present invention relates generally to a new scheme of providing a seal band for semi-conductor substrates and chip carriers. More particularly, the invention encompasses a structure and a method that uses a multi-layer metallic seal to provide protection to chips on a chip carrier. This multi-layer metal seal provides both enhanced hermeticity lifetime and environmental protection. For the preferred embodiment the multi-layer metallic seal band is a three layer, solder sandwich structure which is used to create a low cost, high reliability, hermetic seal for the module. This solder sandwich has a high melting temperature thick solder inner core, and lower melting point thin interconnecting solder layers, where the thin interconnecting solder layers may have similar or different melting points.

Semiconductor devices are becoming smaller and more dense with the evolution of new technology. However, increases in chip circuit density produce a corresponding emphasis on overall chip packaging strategies in order to remain competitive. Chip and chip carrier manufacturers are therefore constantly being challenged to improve the quality of their products by identifying and eliminating problems, reducing package size and weight, decreasing package costs, providing improved thermal efficiencies and fabricating better and more advanced chips. Whereas significant improvements are being made to eliminate systematic problems by reducing process variability, process improvements alone are not sufficient to eliminate all the problems which effect both performance and reliability.
One way to provide a high level of environmental protection for a package is to have a hermetic seal. Of course, preserving module reworkability is a cost advantage, especially for multi-chip modules (MCMs).
One method to obtain a reworkable hermetic seal is by using a solder seal. For traditional solder seal packages to be reliable, it is necessary for modules to use expansion matched components, that is, that when the module is powered on, the expansion of the cap at the seal closely matches the expansion of the substrate at the seal. In early solder seal packages, chip powers were low, and the module was fairly isothermal, so expansions were matched by matching the cap's thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE) to the substrate's TCE. This was often done using the same material for both substrate and cap or cover. In this manner, ceramic substrates were often sealed to ceramic caps. The seal was very reliable, but the cap was very expensive.
In some applications, the thermal conductivity of ceramic caps is not sufficient, but most materials that have sufficiently high thermal conductivity also have TCE's that are too high for seal reliability requirements.
As module powers have risen, modules are no longer isothermal, and in some applications, the substrate temperatures during use are significantly higher than the cap temperatures. In order for these modules to have matched amounts of expansion at the solder seal, the components have to have different TCE's. The optimum TCE of the cap is a function of the substrate TCE and the module thermal gradients during use. TCE selection is application specific, and this contributes to a high cap cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,987 (Hascoe) discloses an alloy core having upper and lower thin alloy coatings, which is punched to form a solder preform ring for use in hermetically sealing a container. During reflow all of the solder layers melt and mix together to form a homogeneous seal band.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,815 (Gordon, et al.) discloses a ceramic lid assembly which includes an integral heat fusible layer defining a hermetic sealing area provided around the periphery of the ceramic lid for hermetic sealing of semiconductor chips in a flat pack.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,583 (Falanga) discloses a ceramic combined cover, where a solder layer in the form of a pre-cut gold-tin solder frame is tack welded onto a gold layer. The gold layer is readily wettable by the solder layer and is also extremely corrosion resistant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,709 (Fukuoka) teaches the joining of a cap to a ceramic substrate using a connection conductor pattern, an annular inorganic insulation layer, an annular metallized layer and eutectic solder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,143 (Ference, et al.) assigned to the assignee of the instant patent application and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an apparatus and method for injection molding solder mounds onto electronic devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,160 (Miura) discloses a low-melting brazing metal separated by a gap-creating spacer which is used in joining a cover to a ceramic substrate having sealing metallized portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,027 (Call, et al.), discloses a method for forming a chip carrier with a single protective encapsulant. He specifically teaches the use of a picture-frame type area, which is only on the top surface and away from the edges of the substrate, to seal the cap or cover or heat sink to the substrate using a cap sealant.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/561,571, filed on Nov. 21, 1995 (Braun, et al.), assigned to the assignee of the instant patent application and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an apparatus and method for forming mold for metallic material, where the metallic interconnections in a mold can be used to form structures, such as, for example, solder connections, heat sinks with fins, etc.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/562,079, filed on Nov. 21, 1995 (Covell, et al.), assigned to the assignee of the instant patent application and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a mold transfer apparatus and method, where the metallic connections made in the mold can also be used to form structures, such as, for example, heat sinks with fins, etc.
Therefore, one way to maintain hermetic seal reliability, maintain reworkability, decrease cost and improve package thermal performance, would be to develop a new solder seal that can accommodate greater mismatches in expansions between the cap and the substrate during use.

Multi-layer solder seal band for semiconductor substrates and process

International Business Machines Corporation


A sub word line driver of a semiconductor memory device including a sub word line driver is disclosed. The sub word line driver of a semiconductor memory device comprising: a semiconductor substrate including an active region extended in a first direction; a plurality of gate electrodes extended in a second direction perpendicular to the active region; first and second metal contacts formed over the active region between the gate electrodes; a plurality of metal pads coupled to the first metal contacts; and a plurality of metal signal lines coupled to the second metal contacts, extended in the second direction, and bent at specific parts adjacent to the metal pads.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a semiconductor memory device and, more particularly, to a sub word line driver of a semiconductor memory device with a pitched layout that is repeated.
A semiconductor memory device may write or read data to or from memory cells coupled to a word line and a bit line. Memory cells coupled to a word line may form a single row and operate according to a voltage applied to the word line.
With increasing storage capacity in semiconductor memory devices, a speed delay problem has arisen when a word line voltage is applied to a word line and its memory cells.
In order to address the speed delay problem, an improved scheme has been proposed in which a single word line is divided into sub word lines and each sub word line is driven by a sub word line driver. The sub word line driver array includes multiple sub word line drivers repeatedly arranged between cell regions, and includes a pitched layout in which a plurality of metal signal lines repeat in a regular manner.
The sub word lines include active regions and gate electrodes. Metal contacts are arranged at both sides and the center of the active regions, and metal pads are coupled to the metal contacts.
In addition, other metal contacts not coupled to the metal pads may be coupled to a single metal signal line.
The metal pads may be arranged in the same column at both sides and the center of the active regions. Since the metal pads are arranged in a single line, metal signal lines may also be arranged in a single line with respect to the metal pads.

Sub word line driver of a semiconductor memory device


An outboard motor is mounted on a hull and has an engine disposed in an upright position in a cowling so that a crankshaft thereof extends generally vertically during cruising. An embodiment of the motor includes a first surge tank disposed on the opposite side of a cylinder head of the engine with respect to the crankshaft of the engine; long intake pipes that communicate with the first surge tank and an intake port of the engine; second surge tanks disposed between the long intake pipes and the engine for communicating with the first surge tank; short intake pipes provided in the midway of the long intake pipes on the engine side for communicating with the second surge tanks; and on-off valves for opening and closing the short intake pipes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an outboard motor equipped with an engine having a variable intake pipe length.
2. Description of the Related Art
Outboard motors are typically mounted on a hull of a watercraft and include an engine disposed within a cowling of the motor such that a crankshaft of the engine extends generally vertically when the watercraft is cruising. For some engines, an effective length of each engine air intake conduit can be varied in accordance with an engine speed so as to, for example, obtain the inertia charge effect of air intake.
For example, in prior art document No. JP-A-2002-195118, the intake pipe for drawing the air in low and mid speed ranges is located on the engine side of the surge tank, and such intake pipe has to be bent to conserve space within the motor cowling. Excessive bending of the intake pipe results in the increased resistance of the intake air. Thus, the intake pipe is only moderately bent, resulting in a configuration in which the intake pipe is somewhat spaced from the engine. Consequently, more space is occupied by the intake pipe, resulting in an increase in the overall dimensions of the outboard motor.


Methods and devices for improving the machine-to-machine and temporal (e.g., inter and intra-machine) and database consistency of coronary calcium scoring by applying a filtering algorithm that sharpens and/or smoothes the image so as to return a filtered image having a spatial resolution of a certain reference value.

The present invention generally relates to medical imaging software, methods, and databases. Specifically, the present invention relates to improving machine-to-machine and temporal (e.g., inter and intra-machine) consistency of coronary calcium scoring by using an algorithm that can either sharpen or smooth the image, so as to return the spatial resolution of the processed image to a certain reference value.
Coronary artery calcium quantitation is a major focus in the effort to assess risk for coronary heart disease, to monitor progression of plaque development, and to potentially assess therapies and interventions designed to reduce mortality from coronary heart disease. (See Rumberger J. A. et al, "Electron Beam Computed Tomographic Coronary Calcium Scanning: A Review and Guidelines for Use in Asymptomatic Persons," Mayo Clinic Proc. 1999; 74:243-252 and Schmermund A., et al, "An Algorithm for Noninvasive Identification of Angiographic Three-Vessel and/or left Main Coronary Artery Disease in Symptomatic Patients," J. Am. Coll. Cardiology 1999; 33:444-452, the complete disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference). Although the current orthodoxy is that the rupture of soft plaque and subsequent thrombus formation is the major precursor of acute coronary events, in most individuals it is believed that coronary calcium burden is also a valid surrogate or indicator of total plaque burden, including soft plaque.
The assessment of risk from coronary calcium is generally a two-step process: First, calcium burden is quantitated by a "scoring" algorithm, most commonly with the Agatston scale. (See Agatston A. S. et al, "Quantification of Coronary Artery Calcium Using Ultrafast Computed Tomography," J. Am. Coll. Cardiology 1990; 15:827-832, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference). Second, the measured calcium burden, age, and gender of the individual are used to rank the individual against his or her age-matched cohort.
X-rays in the energy range used for radiography are highly sensitive to the presence of vascular and extra-vascular calcium in the coronary arteries. Computed tomography (CT), with its ability to provide thin sections and three-dimensional slice registration, increases the sensitivity to the presence of small amounts of calcium in the patient's vasculature. Interestingly enough, the voxel volume of CT and digital radiography are not dramatically different. Compared to CT, radiography has much better in-plane resolution but much poorer resolution along the beam. The complexity of structures seen in a plane projection, however, makes the task of quantitating coronary calcium in a radiograph difficult.
Today, thousands of CT scanners perform coronary calcium scoring measurements and thereafter refer the measurements to a database. For example, a database of over 35,000 subjects has been accumulated by the University of Illinois at Chicago. See Hoff J. A. et al., "Age and Gender Distributions of Coronary Artery Calcium Detected by Electron Beam Tomography in 35,246 Adults," Am. J. Cardiology 2001; 87:1335-1339, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Calcium scores (e.g., Agatston Score or volume score) from an individual subject are compared to this database on the basis of age and gender of the patient. Most of the subjects in the existing database are Caucasian and middle to high socio-economic status, as well as asymptomatic, more males than females, and in the age range of 40-70 years of age. Because of the inherent differences in individual CT scanners and operators, there is considerable controversy as to whether calcium scores from different CT units can be compared to the established databases.
The controversy generally focuses on technology issues (e.g., the differences between helical CT scanners and electron beam CT scanners). Much attention was paid to time resolution and scanner calibration. Scanner calibration assures the HU scale and is well handled by the calibration procedures implemented by manufacturers. Blurring and motion artifacts due to heart motion can either increase or decrease the calcium score, depending on the particulars of the lesion and its motion.
Such a controversy, however, fails to account for operational parameters, machine maintenance, population variability, and spatial resolution. For lesions that have a dimension even a few times larger than the full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) of the scanner point spread function (PSF), both peak intensity and the apparent area of the lesion will be affected by the imaging device's spatial resolution. The spatial resolution of a scanner will depend on its x-ray source and detector configuration, as well as on reconstruction kernels and filters. In addition, the spatial resolution will change as the x-ray source ages.
Unfortunately, there is no process today to monitor and correct for temporal differences or changes in CT scanners, differences in scanner operating settings, or design factors, which vary among manufacturers and operators. Therefore, both the usefulness and quality of the databases, and the relationship of a particular individual to the population in the database may be degraded by uncertainties in the spatial resolution with which the database and the individual subject images were acquired.
Consequently, what is needed are methods and software that can improve the coronary calcium scoring consistency between a plurality of imaging machines or during the lifetime of a machine.

Phantom for improving coronary calcium scoring consistency


Architectures for a class of multi-band handsets are described. These architectures separate linearity requirements from isolation requirements and reduce the number of throws on switches requiring linearity through the use of distributed switching, filter structure placement between the switch functions, not sharing a power amplifier between frequency bands that have a Tx to Rx overlap, and simplifying the switching structure using filtering networks or multiple antennas.

Cell phones are being designed to include more bands and more modes than in the past. Under certain circumstances this can give rise to problems that degrade phone operation.
If a signal transmitted by a handset reaches a simultaneously operating receiver in the same handset at a strong enough level, it can saturate ("jam") that receiver, and prevent that receiver from receiving information. Transmitters also produce noise, random low level signals occurring outside the intended band of transmission. If noise produced by a handset transmitter reaches a simultaneously operating receiver in the same handset at a strong enough level and at the frequency of operation of the receiver, it can degrade the signal-to-noise ratio of that receiver ("desense" that receiver), decreasing the ability of that receiver to accurately receive information.
Two common methods of keeping transmitted signals from interfering with received signals are Time Division Duplexing (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD).
In FDD, transmission occurs in different frequency bands than reception. If the system is also full duplex, i.e. transmission and reception occur simultaneously, then a frequency selective device called a duplexer is needed to prevent "jamming" and "desense". Components of the duplexer include a transmit (Tx) filter and a receive (Rx) filter. The Tx filter is placed between the power amplifier (PA) and the antenna. This filter passes the transmitted signal with minimal attenuation, but provides high attenuation to any noise produced in the receive band, to prevent "desense". The Rx filter is placed between the low noise amplifier (LNA) and the antenna. This filter passes the received signal with minimal attenuation, but provides high attenuation to any signal produced in the transmit band, to prevent "jamming".
In TDD, transmission occurs at different times than reception. In this circumstance a transmit/receive (T/R) switch is commonly used to separate the receiver from the transmitter. If a system is both TDD and FDD, then if the transmitter is turned on and producing noise during the receive time slot, noise can "leak" across the T/R switch and "desense" the receiver. In this case a very high isolation switch is needed to avoid "desense". Such a switch is challenging to manufacture and typically has more insertion loss than a switch that provides less isolation. Typically the need for a high isolation switch can be avoided by ensuring the transmitter is off and therefore not producing noise whenever the receiver is operating. Alternately, for a standard that is both TDD and FDD, a duplexer may be used as in the FDD case.
With the inclusion of multiple frequency bands in the same handset, a special circumstance can arise when operation in one of the frequency bands is full duplex FDD and a second required frequency band has the property that the transmit frequencies of the second band overlap the receive frequencies of the full duplex FDD band. In this case signals may pass through components necessary for transmission in the second band, and reach the receiver of the first band, resulting in either "jamming" or "desense" of the receiver of the first band.
An example of such a circumstance occurs in a so-called "Quad-band GSM, Tri-band UMTS" handset. The following bands are incorporated in this handset:
GSM 850 bandTx 824-849 MHzRx 869-894 MHzTDD, FDDGSM E-GSMTx 880-915 MHzRx 925-960 MHzTDD, FDDbandGSM DCSTx 1710-1785 MHzRx 1805-1880 MHzTDD, FDDbandGSM PCSTx 1850-1910 MHzRx 1930-1990 MHzTDD, FDDbandUMTS Band-1Tx 1920-1980 MHzRx 2110-2170 MHzFDD, fullduplexUMTS Band-2Tx 1850-1910 MHzRx 1930-1990 MHzFDD, fullduplexUMTS Band-5Tx 824-849 MHzRx 869-894 MHzFDD, fullduplexNote that UMTS Band-2 is FDD full duplex, and the UMTS Band-1 Tx frequencies overlaps the UMTS Band-2 receive frequencies.
A second significant circumstance is that UMTS systems require very linear front ends. Specifications for UMTS Band-1 called out in 3GPP TS 25.101 V3.13.0, section 7.6 require the ability to withstand a −15 dBm blocking signal (blocker) anywhere 0-2.025 GHz or 2.255-12.750 GHz while transmitting at a power level of +20 dBm. Analysis shows this translates into a Third Order Input Intercept Point (IIP3) requirement of greater than 62 dBm for the network in front of the UMTS Band-1 receiver. This is a far more stringent requirement that what is needed for operation to a GSM standard. Furthermore, this IIP3 reflects the cascade of all elements in front of the receiver, meaning that if multiple elements are required, such as duplexers and switches, each element must have sufficient linearity so that when combined, the resulting network exceeds the required 62 dBm IIP3. Thus the networks that combine the UMTS Band-1 receive path with the networks needed for other bands must be extremely linear.
In general the linearity of a switch decreases as more throws are added. Each additional throw has non-idealities that contribute incremental distortion and lower the intercept point of the switch. High isolation in switches is typically achieved by cascading throws; thus simultaneously achieving both high isolation and high linearity in the same switch is very challenging, with the situation worsening as more throws are added.
To date most handsets have not encountered the special circumstance described above. Common multi-band handsets include "Quad-band GSM" and more recently "Quad-band GSM plus UMTS Band-1".
A "Quad-band GSM" handset includes the first four bands listed above. A typical architecture is shown in FIG. 1. The PAs for the 850 and E-GSM bands are combined into a single element, as are the PAs for the DCS and PCS bands. A single-pole six-throw (SP6T) switch is used to combine the bands to a single antenna, and also serves as the T/R switch for each band. A receive filter is used for each band to prevent jamming from out of band signals. Although the Tx of the PCS band overlaps with the Rx of the DCS band, and also the Tx of the E-GSM band overlaps with the Rx of the 850 band, since operation is TDD, the transmitters and receivers are not operating simultaneously so "desense" and "jamming" are avoided. The T/R switch has only moderate isolation requirements. Since no UMTS signals occur in this system, there is no high linearity requirement on the T/R switch.
A "Quad-band GSM plus UMTS Band-1" handset includes the first 5 bands listed above. A typical architecture is shown in FIG. 2. A SP2T switch is used to combine the UMTS Band-1 circuitry with a Quad-band GSM network such as is described above. The UMTS Band-1 circuitry includes a duplexer, a separate PA, and receive and transmit filters. Although UMTS Band-1 is FDD full duplex and there is overlap between PCS and UMTS Band-1, it is the Tx of the UMTS Band-1 band that overlaps with the Rx of the PCS band. As the UMTS Band-1 transmitter and the PCS receiver are not operated at the same time (so called "compressed mode"), "desense" and "jamming" are avoided. The SP2T switch needs a high intercept point in order to handle the UMTS Band-1 signals, but this requirement is mitigated by minimizing the number of throws needed. As the PA for UMTS Band-1 is separate from the PA for PCS, it can be turned off during PCS operation. This removes the noise source, so eliminates the need for high isolation in the SP2T switch.