A system and method for playing Flash-based media are disclosed in the present invention. The method comprises that: when a Flash conversion server receives a Flash play request sent from a media server, it parsing the request, if the Flash play request is a dynamic Flash request or a real-time Flash request, the Flash conversion server converting the Flash file that is requested to be played into code stream data, and pushing the code stream data to the media server; and the media server playing the received code stream data to the terminal. With the technical solution in the present invention, the Flash animation can be converted and played to a terminal in real time.

Flash is an excellent animation design software released by the Adobe company. It is an interactive animation design tool, and it can integrate music, sound, animation and innovative interface together to produce high-quality vector animation. Flash is the most popular animation work (such as a variety of dynamic web pages, LOGOS, advertisements, MTV, games and high-quality courseware, and so on) design tool on the Internet today, and the Flash animation has become the interactive vector animation standard in fact.
In the traditional intelligent network technology, the customer service system generally is voice-centric. With the advancement of the communication technology, we have now entered into 3G era, with the growing popularity of visual terminals, the video customer service system is an important element to enhance the competitiveness of the operators.
In the existing video customer service system, the video service applications are relative scarce, the traditional video service usually provides and achieves the specified video content, while the video content dynamically generated as desired is generally achieved by using the video overlap or text overlap. Because it is stiff overlay, the perception for the end customer is relatively poor.
In the existing video customer service system, another bottleneck is that the video sources are relatively scarce, and there is not a simple and convenient media server system to provide video services; moreover, even if there is the media server system, there relatively lacks personnel mastering in video production. Therefore, in view of the performance, most national operators' customer video services currently are not launched properly.
The Flash animation design is easy, a considerable number of graphic designers have mastered the Flash animation design; the Flash animation can be dynamically displayed according to the parameters, thus it is relatively good at completing the functions such as displaying the menu and data of a large amount of applications in the video customer service. Therefore, using the Flash animation as the customer service video source is a very good method. However, although in the related art, the Flash animation can be converted to audio and video files, the dynamic Flash and real-time Flash play request cannot be accomplished.

System and method for generating flash-based media stream


An instrument panel system. The instrument panel system provides an aesthetically appealing instrument panel by including a number of concealed switches. The switches are concealed such that an area proximate the switch on the surface of the instrument panel appears to be uninterrupted by the switch. In operation, the position of the switches is revealed by illuminating a switch display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to instrument panel systems having a plurality of switches for use by an occupant in a passenger compartment which are visible to the occupant only when illuminated by an illumination source.
2. Background Art
An instrument panel includes a number of switches. In the automotive industry, and in others, the styling of the instrument panel is important to achieving an aesthetically appealing instrument panel.
The switches play an important role in the aesthetic desirability of the instrument panel's appearance. The switches, however, typically include a relief, a bezel, a bracket, or some other fixture or protrusion which tends to interrupt the smoothness of the instrument panel. The interruption is aesthetically undesirable.
The openings required for the switches in the instrument panel also tend to be aesthetically undesirable. Many instrument panels are manufactured from a common instrument panel architecture which standardizes the openings in the instrument panel used to accommodate the switches. Because some of the openings in such standardized instrument panels are not always used, the openings must be filled with blanks or plugs. This is also aesthetically undesirable.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a more aesthetically appealing instrument panel.

Instrument panel system having concealed switches


Disclosed is a method for identifying a fan type of a fan in an electronic system having a controller. The method includes: setting a fan identification characteristic value, the fan identification characteristic value corresponding to a PWM (pulse width modulation) duty cycle with a substantial maximum difference between the fan speed of a first type of fan and the fan speed a second type of fan; receiving, via the fan, the fan identification characteristic value; initiating the fan with the fan identification characteristic value; reading, via the controller, a stable fan speed value of the fan; identifying, via the controller, the fan type of the fan based on which fan has a predetermined fan speed (RPM) that is the closest to the stable fan speed value (RPM) when operating at the fan identification characteristic value (PWM).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to a method and a system for automatically identifying a fan arrangement.
2. Background of the Related Art
To cope with a variety of market demands and cost concerns, manufacturers of electronic devices (for example, but not limited to, computer systems, etc.) typically offer consumers a wide variety of choices for products. However, the manufacturer typically adopts component parts from different suppliers or sources, which can increase the complexity of production, impair quality and efficiency, and increase production costs.
As technologies advance, there may be an increase in power consumption and operating frequency of components (for example, but not limited to, a processor, memory, etc.) in the electronic device. Consequently, heat generated from these components correspondingly increases. In order to prevent malfunction and damage of the components due to overheating, it is necessary to monitor the temperature of components and, more importantly, to dissipate heat from the components so as to maintain the temperature within a reasonable range.
In order to dissipate heat from the computer system, cooling fins, fans, and other heat management devices can be used. Cooling fins can assist in the transfer of heat from a target component to the ambient cold air. On the other hand, there are all kinds of fans, such as 3-wire DC fans, 4-wire pulse width modulation (PWM) controlled fans, etc., which can be used to dissipate heat from the internal components of the computer system.
In general, the computer system may need multiple fans to prevent malfunction and damage and to improve the reliability of the computer system. In particular, for high capacity products or systems, such as servers, the use of multiple fans is a common solution with regard to a heat dissipation requirement, fan characteristic control, optimum performance, and the like.
For a particular product or system, there are lots of solutions based upon the selection and arrangement of conventional fans. Among others, one solution is to select a specific type of fan only from a single supplier. Although this approach may make the production process relatively simple, the cost reduction is relatively small and it may result in potential issues of supply shortage. Another solution is to select different types of fans having vital product data (VPD) from different suppliers.
Typically, the vital product data, which includes information about manufacture and parts, can be stored in the non-volatile memory (NV memory) of the product. The vital product data generally includes a part number, serial number, product model number, product version, maintenance level, and specific information of other device types. The vital product data can also include user-defined information.
FIG. 1 illustrates the arrangement of NV memory 104 of the fan 100 used in the computer system. The conventional fan 100 at least includes a fan body (not shown), a microprocessor (MCU) 102, and a NV memory 104. Preferably, the NV memory 104 can be, but is not limited to, a flash ROM, a non-volatile EEPROM, etc. Now referring to FIG. 1, the NV memory 104 includes a protected area 108 and a flash area 112. Data stored in the protected area 108 includes non-erasable codes, which can be, but are not limited to, the vital product data associated with the fan 100, such as a part number, serial number, product model number, and other information.
For the vital product data of the fan 100, during the power-on self-test (POST), POST will show the vital product data of the motherboard parts and the system components. POST will also track the vital product data of the system components to determine whether each device stores a correct serial number. If a device is altered or removed, the user is warned via event log and warning messages. Although such a solution has greater flexibility in production, the fan 100 with the vital product data is relatively expensive.
That is, in order to satisfy the strict specification of a fan or the requirements of a product specification, when building a specific computer system, if a single type of fan from a sole supplier is adopted, potential issues, such as less flexibility in arrangement and poor response effect, may occur. On the other hand, if different fans from multiple suppliers are selected, the cost of implementation may be correspondingly increased.

Method, identification system, and electronic system for identifying a fan type of a fan

Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


An image detector has an I/V converter for converting, into a voltage output., a current output as a result of a photoelectric element arranged in a traveling direction of an intermediate transfer belt having received light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt and light reflected from toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt; a peak-hold unit for holding an output voltage into which the light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt has been converted by the I/V converter; and a computation unit for detecting a difference between the output voltage of the peak-hold unit and an output voltage into which the light reflected from the toner images of respective colors has been converted by the I/V converter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multicolor electrophotographic apparatus using an intermediate transfer belt.
2. Description of the Related Art
In association with a recent trend toward colorization and expedition of documents, faster color laser beam printers have been pursued rapidly.
A tandem color electrophotographic apparatus is mentioned as an example of a color printer. In this printer, toner of black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) colors is used, and image forming means of respective colors are provided. Toner images formed on the respective image forming means are transferred to an intermediate transfer belt in a superimposing manner, to thus form a color image.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in the electrophotographic apparatus adopting the tandem mechanism, a plurality of image forming means 102 to 105 independently and sequentially form different toner images on respective photosensitive drums, and the thus-formed toner images are transferred on an intermediate transfer belt 101 in a superimposing manner. Therefore, the electrophotographic apparatus of this type easily addresses a speedup in printing speed. However, a position where the toner image formed by the image forming means is to be transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 101 is easily displaced, and the electrophotographic apparatus involves a problem of occurrence of a phenomenon of registration offset (hereinafter called "registration offset"), that is, a phenomenon of offsets arising among the positions where the toner images of colors are to be superimposed on each other.
Among reasons for the registration offset, an initial reason is manufacturing tolerances of the respective image forming means and mount tolerances of the same; and a time-varying reason is thermal expansion or deformation of members attributable to changes in the internal temperature of the electrophotographic apparatus. When laser is used as exposure means to be provided within the image forming means, the phase of a polygon mirror varies from one image forming means to another, which is in turn responsible for a registration offset.
For instance, as shown in FIG. 2, the following technique has already been put forth as means for preventing occurrence of a registration offset. Specifically, registration patches 201, which are toner images to be used for controlling correction of registration, are formed in respective colors on the intermediate transfer belt 101. The amount of registration offset between toner images of respective colors is detected by means of registration patch detectors 112. On the basis of a detection result, exposure means corrects a write timing of a laser beam for forming a latent image on each image forming device and controls the phase of a polygon mirror.
A technique using photoelectric elements as position detection means has been proposed. This technique uses two photoelectric elements for detecting the position of a light beam; specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, photoelectric elements 401, 402 are arranged. When the light beam has passed so as to cross the photoelectric elements 401, 402, light currents IPD1, IPD2 are output from the photoelectric elements 401, 402 while phases of the currents remain offset, as shown in FIG. 4B. At this time, even when fluctuations have arisen in the quantity of light of the light beam, a cross point between the light currents IPD1, IPD2 does not fluctuate and is held constant. However, when the light beam has not yet entered the photoelectric elements, light current values of the light currents IPD1, IPD2 remain close to each other, which induces faulty operation. As shown in FIG. 4C, when light does not enter the photoelectric elements, an output from one of the photoelectric elements is clamped to a predetermined voltage, whereby a difference arises between this output and an output from the other photoelectric element. As a result, detection of a cross point is performed such that Vo is output at only a point where the outputs from the two photoelectric elements 401, 402 cross each other, as shown in FIG. 4D (Japanese Patent No. 3,068,865).
However, under circumstances where positions are detected by means of the light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt and the light reflected from the registration patches formed thereon, when the photoelectric elements 401, 402 are arranged as shown in FIG. 10A and the patches formed on the intermediate transfer belt have crossed the photoelectric elements 401, 402, the light currents IPD1, IPD2 are output from the photoelectric elements 401, 402 while being out of phase with each other, by means of the light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt and the patches, such as that shown in FIG. 10B1. At this time, even when fluctuations have arisen in the quantity of reflected light, the cross point between the light currents IPD1, IPD2 does not fluctuate and is held constant. However, when the light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt falls on the photoelectric elements, the light current values of the light currents IPD1, IPD2 are close to each other, which is in turn responsible for faulty operation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10C1, when the light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt does not fall on the photoelectric elements, an output from one of the photoelectric elements is clamped to a predetermined voltage, whereby a difference arises between this output and the output from the other photoelectric element. Consequently, detection of a cross point can be performed only at a point where the outputs from the two photoelectric elements cross each other, as shown in FIG. 10D1. However, under circumstances where changes have arisen in the quantity of light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt for reasons of a characteristic of the intermediate transfer belt, fluctuations in the quantity of light of the light source, or the like and where the quantity of reflected light has increased as shown in FIG. 10B2, when the output is clamped to the predetermined voltage as shown in FIG. 10C2, the cross point between the light currents IPD1, IPD2 exists in a voltage range higher than the clamp voltage. As a result, a cross point is detected at a point differing from the cross point between the light currents IPD1, IPD2, as shown in FIG. 10D2. When the quantity of reflected light has decreased as a result of changes having arisen in the quantity of light reflected from the intermediate transfer belt for reasons of the characteristic of the intermediate transfer belt or fluctuations in the quantity of light of the light source, as shown in FIG. 10B3, and when the output is clamped at the predetermined voltage as shown in FIG. 10C3, the cross point between the light currents IPDI, IPD2 exists in a voltage range equal to or lower than the clamp voltage, and hence the light currents IPD1, IPD2 come close to each other, which is in turn responsible for faulty operation. Detection of a cross point is performed at the cross point between the light currents IPDI, IPD2 and at the intermediate transfer belt section, as shown in FIG. 10D2, which raises a problem of a failure to detect the cross point between the outputs of the two photoelectric elements.
There has also been put forward a technique for detecting the amount of offset by means of a CCD sensor employed as another means for detecting the amount of offset. This technique is to take toner images having different reflection characteristics as base materials at the time of formation of registration patches and to detect black patches which have no reflection areas and are formed on the base materials. However, patches of different colors are formed as base materials for detecting the black patches, which raises another problem of an increase in the quantity of toner consumption (see Japanese Patent No. 2,761,287).


A safe and fun exercise and walking-training apparatus and method that is ideal for infants in the approximate age range of 10 months to 18 months is disclosed. The apparatus is lightweight, very sturdy, very simple, consisting of only six unique elements, and may be assembled and disassembled by hand without tools. A system of attachable play features is also disclosed.

This invention relates to providing a system for an improved walking training system for infants. More particularly, this invention relates to providing a system, for infant exercise and entertainment, which provides opportunities for walking training of infants learning to walk.
Frequently, children learn to walk by "furniture surfing" (e.g., infants who are just starting to stand, holding onto sofas and coffee tables as they navigate their way around a living room). At least in part, this may be due to the lack of an alternative method. Obviously, "furniture surfing" represents a risk to the infant, e.g., in the event the infant should fall against a sharp corner or edge.
A primary alternative to "furniture surfing" is "parent surfing", which involves the active participation of the adult in holding the infant's hands while the infant attempts to walk. This method is often short-lived due to adult fatigue.
Today, there are few readily available alternatives which provide the functional combination of walking training, exercise and entertainment. Generally, the currently readily available alternatives fail to provide at least one of the desired functions and often have significant safety limitations, even with parental supervision.
Heretofore, other solutions have tended to be heavy, expensive, complicated, difficult to set up, difficult to manufacture, and costly to manufacture. Additionally, safety-related features have been limited.
Therefore, a need exists for a system which is safe, inexpensive and easily manufactured, and which provides infant walking training in combination with other functions.


A lubricating oil filter assembly is provided for an internal combustion engine that includes, but is not limited to a body provided with: an oil inlet, an oil outlet, a conduit connecting the oil inlet to the oil outlet, and a chamber suitable for accommodating a filter element, the chamber being in communication with the oil inlet and with the oil outlet. The lubricating oil filter assembly further includes, but is not limited to a valve assembly arranged within the conduit to enable a flow of lubricating oil in dependence of the pressure of the lubricating oil at the oil inlet.

It is known that the internal combustion engines comprise a lubrication circuit suitable for lubricating the rotating or sliding components of the engine. This lubrication circuit generally comprises an oil pump driven by the engine, which draws lubricating oil from a sump and delivers it under pressure through a main oil gallery that is realized in the cylinder block. The main oil gallery is connected via respective pipes to a plurality of exit holes for lubricating crankshaft bearings (main bearings and big-end bearings), camshaft bearings operating the valves, tappets, and the like.
The lubrication circuit of the turbocharged internal combustion engines further comprises a feeding pipe connecting the main oil gallery to the turbocharger, so as to lubricate the bearings of the rotating shaft connecting the compressor and the turbine of the turbocharger. Due to the very small clearances between the rotating shaft and its bearings, the lubricating oil fed to the turbocharger should be substantially devoid of contaminants, in order to prevent any bearing seizure. For this reason, it is known to locate an additional lubricating oil filter in the feeding pipe connecting the main oil gallery to the turbocharger.
A lubricating oil filter of this kind is realized by integrating a small filter element directly inside a banjo-bolt that is employed for joining the turbocharger feeding pipe to the main oil gallery of the cylinder block. This filter element is currently designed to be effective for the entire life of the internal combustion engine, in order to realize a "for-life filter". Nonetheless, a clogging of the filter element may occur anyway, due for example to unusually big contaminant particles coming from the lubrication circuit. A clogging of the filter element is very dangerous because it reduces the flow rate of the lubricating oil fed to the turbocharger, thereby increasing the probability of a bearing seizure. The above mentioned "banjo-bolt solution" is unable to handle a clogging of the filter element, so that the turbocharger can be heavily damaged.
In view of the above, it is at least on object to solve this drawback, with a simple, rational and rather inexpensive solution. In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device. A semiconductor substrate with a patterned conductive layer on a top surface of the substrate is first provided. A dielectric layer is then formed to cover the substrate. Thereafter, an electron beam irradiation procedure is performed to anneal the patterned conductive layer and reduce resistance of the patterned conductive layer.

The invention relates to a semiconductor technology, and more particularly, to a method of fabricating a semiconductor device by electron beam annealing.
In semiconductor fabrication, interconnect structures are typically formed in the back end of line (BEOL) to connect a plurality of electric devices. As integrated circuits (ICs) are scaled down to deep submicron regime, RC delay becomes increasingly dominant over intrinsic gate delay. To solve this issue, two realistic methods are popularly accepted. One is the use of copper as the conductor for multilevel interconnects to decrease the resistance parts of RC delay. Another is the use of a low dielectric constant material to reduce coupling capacitance between metal lines.
In a conventional semiconductor device fabrication process, the interconnect structure is annealed by a thermal process to reduce a resistance of the interconnect structure. Normally, the thermal annealing process must be carried out at relatively high temperatures, such as 800 to 1200° C., leading to a serious impact on other portions of the semiconductor devices. For example, some dopants may diffuse because of a concentration gradient during the high temperature annealing process, seriously deteriorating electric performance of the semiconductor devices. In addition, the interconnect structure may not be well annealed, particularly tinny conductive lines. Additionally, the annealing efficiency varies with different dimensions.
Thus, a method of fabricating a semiconductor device with a reduced thermal process is desirable.

Method of fabricating semiconductor device

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A system for controlling drilling mud density at a location either at the seabed (or just above the seabed) or alternatively below the seabed of wells in offshore and land-based drilling applications is disclosed. The present invention combines a base fluid of lesser/greater density than the drilling fluid required at the drill bit to drill the well to produce a combination return mud in the riser. By combining the appropriate quantities of drilling mud with a light fluid, a riser mud density at or near the density of seawater may be achieved to facilitate transporting the return mud to the surface. Alternatively, by injecting the appropriate quantities of heavy fluid into a light return mud, the column of return mud may be sufficiently weighted to protect the wellhead. At the surface, the combination return mud is passed through a treatment system to cleanse the mud of drill cuttings and to separate the drilling fluid from the base fluid. The present invention further includes a control unit for manipulating drilling fluid systems and displaying drilling and drilling fluid data.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is generally related to systems for delivering drilling fluid (or "drilling mud") for oil and gas drilling applications. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system for controlling the density and flow of drilling mud in offshore (deep and shallow water) and land-based oil and gas drilling applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known to use drilling mud to provide hydraulic horse power for operating drill bits, to maintain hydrostatic pressure, to cool the wellbore during drilling operations, and to carry away particulate matter when drilling for oil and gas in subterranean wells. In basic operations, drilling mud is pumped down the drill pipe to provide the hydraulic horsepower necessary to operate the drill bit, and then it flows back up from the drill bit along the periphery of the drill pipe and inside the open borehole and casing. The returning mud carries the particles loosed by the drill bit (i.e., "drill cuttings") to the surface. At the surface, the return mud is cleaned to remove the particles and then is recycled down into the hole.
The density of the drilling mud is monitored and controlled in order to maximize the efficiency of the drilling operation and to maintain hydrostatic pressure. In a typical application, a well is drilled using a drill bit mounted on the end of a drill string. The drilling mud is pumped down the drill pipe and through a series of jets in the drill bit to provide a hydraulic horsepower at the cutting bit face. The mud passes through the drill bit and flows upwardly along the drill string inside the annulus formed between the open hole or cased hole and the drill string, carrying the loosened particles to the surface.
Besides the density, the velocity or rate of the return mud flow must also be monitored and controlled. The rate at which the return mud flows upward through the annulus between the open/cased hole and the drill string is referred to as the "annular velocity." The annular velocity of the return mud is commonly expressed in units of feet per minute (FPM) and is a function of the cross-sectional area of the annular space between the hole and the drill string. If this cross-sectional area is reduced, then the annular velocity of the return mud flowing through that area will naturally increase. Typically, this is problematic where the hole diameter is large—such as the surface casing hole. Typically the first borehole(s) drilled below the surface casing use tubing diameters ranging between 12″ and 18″. Since conventional drill strings are composed of drill pipes having an outer diameter ranging from 2⅞″ to 6⅝″, the annular space between the drill pipe and the wellbore is relatively large. This results in a slower annular velocity for return mud flowing through these zones.
The annular velocity of the return mud must be monitored for at least two important reasons. First, the annular velocity of the return mud must be maintained to be greater than the rate at which the cuttings and debris being carried by the mud slip downward due to the effects of gravity. This is referred to as "critical velocity." If the annular velocity of the return mud falls below the critical rate, then there will be a risk that the cuttings and debris particles will slip and settle thus forming bridges that may obstruct the wellbore. Furthermore, the annular velocity of the return mud must be maintained at a laminar level to avoid turbulent flow which could be damaging to the formation itself, and also increase the equivalent circulating density unnecessarily.
One example of a mud control system is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,420, entitled "Air and Mud Control System for Underbalanced Drilling", issued on Feb. 23, 1999 to Marvin Gearhart. The system shown and described in the Gearhart patent provides for a gas flow in the tubing for mixing the gas with the mud in a desired ratio so that the mud density is reduced to permit enhanced drilling rates by maintaining the well in an underbalanced condition.
It is known that there is a preexistent pressure on the formations of the earth, which, in general, increases as a function of depth due to the weight of the overburden on particular strata. This weight increases with depth so the prevailing or quiescent bottom hole pressure is increased in a generally linear curve with respect to depth. As the well depth is doubled in a normal-pressured formation, the pressure is likewise doubled. This is further complicated when drilling in deep water or ultra deep water because of the pressure on the sea floor by the water above it. Thus, high pressure conditions exist at the beginning of the hole and increase as the well is drilled. It is important to maintain a balance between the mud density and pressure and the hole pressure. Otherwise, the pressure in the formation will force material back into the wellbore and cause what is commonly known as a "kick." In basic terms, a kick occurs when the gases or fluids in the wellbore flow out of the formation into the wellbore and migrate upward. When the standing column of drilling fluid is equal to or greater than the pressure at the depth of the borehole, the conditions leading to a kick are minimized. When the mud density is insufficient, the gases or fluids in the borehole can cause the mud to decrease in density and become so light that a kick occurs.
Kicks are a threat to drilling operations and a significant risk to both drilling personnel and the environment. Typically blowout preventers (or "BOP's") are installed at the ocean floor or at the surface to contain the wellbore and to prevent a kick from becoming a "blowout" where the gases or fluids in the wellbore overcome the BOP and flow upward creating an out-of-balance well condition. However, the primary method for minimizing the risk of a blowout condition is the proper balancing of the drilling mud density to maintain the well in an overbalanced condition at all times. While BOP's can contain a kick and prevent a blowout from occurring thereby minimizing the damage to personnel and the environment, the well is usually lost once a kick occurs, even if contained. It is far more efficient and desirable to use proper mud weight control techniques in order to reduce the risk of a kick than it is to contain a kick once it occurs.
In order to maintain a safe margin, the column of drilling mud in the annular space around the drill stem is of sufficient weight and density to produce a high enough pressure to limit risk to near-zero in normal drilling conditions. This is referred to as "overbalanced" drilling. In an overbalanced state, the hydrostatic pressure induced by the weight of the drilling fluid is greater than the actual pore pressure of the formation. However, during overbalanced drilling, the drilling mud may penetrate the formation from the wellbore. Moreover, too much overbalanced drilling slows down the drilling process.
Alternatively, in some cases, underbalanced drilling has been attempted in order to increase the drilling rate and to reduce drilling mud penetration into the formation. In an underbalanced state, the hydrostatic pressure induced by the weight of the drilling fluid in the well is less than the actual formation pressure within the pore spaces of the formation. Accordingly, during underbalanced drilling, the fluids within the pore spaces of the reservoir formation actually flow into the wellbore. As such, underbalanced drilling presents significant benefits: (1) the rate of penetration or speed of well construction is increased, (2) the incidence of drill pipe sticking is decreased, and (3) the risk of losing expensive drilling into the formation is practically eliminated.
Furthermore, deep water and ultra deep water drilling has its own set of problems coupled with the need to provide a high density drilling mud in a wellbore that starts several thousand feet below sea level. The pressure at the beginning of the hole is equal to the hydrostatic pressure of the seawater above it, but the mud must travel from the sea surface to the sea floor before its density is useful. It is well recognized that it would be desirable to maintain mud density at or near seawater density (or 8.6 PPG) when above the borehole and at a heavier density from the seabed down into the well. In the past, pumps have been employed near the seabed for pumping out the returning mud and cuttings from the seabed above the BOP's and to the surface using a return line that is separate from the riser. This system is expensive to install, as it requires separate lines, expensive to maintain, and very expensive to run. Another experimental method employs the injection of low density particles—such—as glass beads into the returning fluid in the riser above the sea floor to reduce the density of the returning mud as it is brought to the surface. Typically, the BOP stack is on the sea floor and the glass beads are injected above the BOP stack.
While it has been proven desirable to control drilling mud density and flow in a wellbore, during the drilling of oil and gas wells there are no prior art systems that effectively accomplish this objective. The present invention provides such a system.

System for drilling oil and gas wells using a concentric drill string to deliver a dual density mud


A visualization system for a computer system includes a modeling portion configured to specify the virtual geographic location in response to a three-dimensional model of the virtual geographic location and in response to the position of the viewer with respect to the virtual geographic location, a satellite data portion configured to specify a representation of satellite status data in response to the position of the viewer with respect to the virtual geographic location and in response to the satellite status data, and a three-dimensional output portion configured to provide at least two images of the virtual geographic location and the representation of the satellite status data to the viewer.

The present invention relates to augmented reality systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to augmented reality for space-based phenomena.
In the present system, space phenomena includes satellite orbits, satellite coverage area, satellite trajectory (both historical and projected), satellite positioning, and the like. In the present application, the term satellite is used broadly to encompass any item of interest that travels in space, e.g. orbiting satellites, the ISS, natural or man-made space debris, ICBMs, interceptors, laser communications beams, outbound satellites (e.g. Galileo, Pioneer, etc.), or the like.
In the past, users typically used traditional display technologies and a variety of indirect pointing and/or selection tools to interact with satellite data. Current "three-dimensional" (3D) visualization of space systems modeling is accomplished by presenting graphical representations of models on a two-dimensional (2D) display. Traditional displays included CRTs, LCDs, and the like for displaying the two-dimensional representations of space, satellites, and the like, and, conventional pointing devices included mice, joysticks, trackballs, "space orbs", roller wheels, and the like. These devices allowed users to interact with items in interest in the view presented to the user.
The space phenomena data is fundamentally three-dimensional (3D) in nature, and thus not suited for two-dimensional display and manipulation. Accordingly, current satellite visualization systems do not provide a natural or intuitive means to view and comprehend images. Further, current systems do not provide the user with intuitive methods to interact with such images.
Another drawback is that, collaboration of different systems using current satellite visualizations systems is difficult. For example, presently, users sit in front of their own terminals, and may discuss issues with other users who are all glued to their own terminals. Accordingly, it is very difficult for users to interact with each other, and to refer to the same data, as though they were in the same room.
In light of the above, what is needed are systems that provide the capability described above with fewer drawbacks.

Visualizing space systems modeling using augmented reality


A film comprises a phthalimidine copolycarbonate comprising first repeating units and second repeating units different from the first repeating units, wherein the first repeating units are phthalimidine carbonate units

This disclosure relates to polymer films, and in particular to polymer films useful for the manufacture of capacitors.
Electrostatic film capacitors with high volumetric energy density, high operating temperature, and long lifetime are critical components for pulse-power, automotive, and industrial electronics. Capacitors are essentially energy-storing devices having two parallel conductive plates separated by a thin layer of an insulating (dielectric) film. When a voltage is applied across the plates, the electric field in the dielectric displaces electric charges, and thus stores energy. The amount of energy stored by a capacitor depends on the dielectric constant and breakdown voltage of the insulating material, and the dimensions (total area and thickness) of the film, such that in order to maximize the total amount of energy that a capacitor can accumulate, the dielectric constant and breakdown voltage of the film are maximized, and the thickness of the film minimized. Because the physical characteristics of the dielectric material in the capacitor are the primary determining factors for the performance of a capacitor, improvements in one or more of the physical properties of the dielectric material in a capacitor can result in corresponding performance improvements in the capacitor component, usually resulting in performance and lifetime enhancements of the electronics system or product in which it is embedded.
Electrostatic film capacitors made from biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) have been used in applications requiring a low dissipation factor, high insulation resistance and low dielectric absorption, such as in electrical appliances, electronic equipment, oven and furnaces, refrigerators, automobiles, and home appliances. However, the low dielectric constant (DK), which is about 2.2, and the maximum service temperature of about 100° C., limit the use of these capacitors in applications requiring high operating temperatures and/or high energy densities.
There accordingly remains a need in the art for new films and methods for their manufacture that can produce films of excellent electrical properties, in particular high breakdown strength. It would be a further advantage if such films could operate at higher temperature than BOPP films.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Polycarbonate films for capacitors, methods of manufacture, and articles manufactured therefrom

Abstract: andthe second repeating units comprise bisphenol carbonate units that are not the same as the first repeating phthalimidine carbonate units; and a second polycarbonate that is not a phthalimidine copolycarbonate; wherein the film has: a glass transmission temperature of greater than 170° C.; a dielectric constant at 1 kHz, 23° C. and 50% relative humidity of at least 3.0; a dissipation factor at 1 kHz, 23° C. and 50% relative humidity of 1% or less; and a breakdown strength of at least 800 Volt/micrometer.


The chip package comprising a package substrate, a circuit layer, a chip and at least one conductive wire is provided. The circuit layer is disposed on a first surface of the substrate, and extends from the first surface to a second surface of the substrate via the inner surface of a slot of the substrate. The chip is disposed on the second surface of the substrate to cover the slot and a portion of the circuit layer. The chip has at least one signal pad and at least one non-signal pad. The non-signal pad is electrically connected to the circuit layer on the second surface. The slot in the substrate exposes the signal pad. One end of the conductive wire passing through the slot is connected to the signal pad while the other end thereof is connected to the circuit layer on the first surface of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip package. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wire-through-slot type of chip package.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the rapid development in semiconductor manufacturing techniques in recent years, various high-performance electronic products are introduced, and integrated circuits (IC) with a higher level of integration are produced. Concurrent with the advance in operating speed and function of IC components, the heat generated by the IC units must be rapidly dissipated through proper channels. Otherwise, overheating may cause a temporary or permanent breakdown of the IC devices. Therefore, IC packaging plays a vital role in the IC fabrication process. Because IC devices are generally fabricated on a semiconductor chip before enclosing the semiconductor chip to form a package, this part of the packaging process is often called chip packaging.
In the past, the technique for packaging a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) includes wire bonding. First, the contact points of a chip disposed on a module board are electrically connected to a plurality of contact points (so called gold fingers) on the module board through a plurality of conductive wires. Thereafter, an encapsulant is used to encapsulate the chip and the conductive wires. However, with the increase of the operating speed of the DRAM, the amount of heat generated by the DRAM in operation also increases. To increase the heat-dissipating rate of the DRAM, a micro-ball grid array package (micro-BGA package) has been developed.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional micro-ball grid array package. As shown in FIG. 1, the micro-ball grid array package 100 comprises a package substrate 110, a circuit layer 120, a chip 130, a plurality of conductive wires 140, an encapsulant 150, and a plurality of solder balls 160. The package substrate 110 has a first surface 110a, a second surface 110b on the other side of the first surface 110a and a slot 112. The circuit layer 120 is disposed on the first surface 110a and around the slot 112. The chip 130 is disposed on the first surface 110b to cover the slot 112. The chip 130 has a plurality of signal pads 132 and a plurality of non-signal pads 134. The non-signal pads 134 are ground pads or power pads, for example. The slot 112 exposes the signal pads 132 and the non-signal pads 134. Furthermore, the two ends of some of the conductive wires 140 connect the signal pads 132 with the circuit layer 120 while the two ends of other conductive wires 140 connect the non-signal pads 134 with the circuit layer 120.
The encapsulant 150 encapsulates the chip 130, the conductive wires 140 and a portion of the circuit layer 120. The solder balls 160 are disposed on the circuit layer 120 for electrical connection with an external device. It should be noted that the signals from the chip 130 are transmitted to the external device via the signal pads 132, corresponding conductive wires 140, the circuit layer 120 and the solder balls 160. In addition, return current is inputted to the chip 130 via other solder balls 160, the circuit layer 120, corresponding conductive wires 140 and the non-signal pads 134.
Since the return current must travel through the conductive wires 140 of the micro-ball grid array package 100 before returning to the chip, the return loop of the returning current is longer. Furthermore, the conductive wires 140 and the circuit layer 120 of the micro-BGA package 100 are a source of impedance mismatch. Hence, the conventional micro-BGA package 100 has a higher insertion loss and return loss. In addition, the loop inductance also increases when the chip 130 outputs high-frequency signals.


Methods of forming a semiconductor device include forming a protective layer on a semiconductor layer, implanting ions having a first conductivity type through the protective layer into the semiconductor layer to form an implanted region of the semiconductor layer, and annealing the semiconductor layer and the protective layer to activate the implanted ions. An opening is formed in the protective layer to expose the implanted region of the semiconductor layer, and an electrode is formed in the opening. A semiconductor structure includes a Group III-nitride semiconductor layer, a protective layer on the semiconductor layer, a distribution of implanted dopants within the semiconductor layer, and an ohmic contact extending through the protective layer to the semiconductor layer.

There is a high level of interest in wide bandgap semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide (2.996 eV for alpha SiC at room temperature) and the Group III nitrides (e.g., 3.36 eV for GaN at room temperature) for high power, high temperature and/or high frequency applications. These materials, typically, have higher electric field breakdown strengths and higher electron saturation velocities as compared to gallium arsenide and silicon.
A device of particular interest for high power and/or high frequency applications is the High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT), which is also known as a modulation doped field effect transistor (MODFET). These devices may offer operational advantages under a number of circumstances because a two-dimensional electron gas (2 DEG) is formed at the heterojunction of two semiconductor materials with different bandgap energies, and where the smaller bandgap material has a higher electron affinity. The 2 DEG is an accumulation layer in the undoped ("unintentionally doped"), smaller bandgap material and can contain a very high sheet electron concentration in excess of, for example, 1013 carriers/cm2. Additionally, electrons that originate in the wider-bandgap semiconductor transfer to the 2 DEG, allowing a high electron mobility due to reduced ionized impurity scattering.
This combination of high carrier concentration and high carrier mobility can give the HEMT a very large transconductance and may provide a strong performance advantage over metal-semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) for high-frequency applications.
High electron mobility transistors fabricated in the gallium nitride/aluminum gallium nitride (GaN/AlGaN) material system have the potential to generate large amounts of RF power because of the combination of material characteristics that includes the aforementioned high breakdown fields, their wide bandgaps, large conduction band offset, and/or high saturated electron drift velocity. In addition, a major portion of the electrons in the 2 DEG is attributed to polarization in the AlGaN.
HEMTs in the GaN/AlGaN system have already been demonstrated. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,987 and 5,296,395 describe AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures and methods of manufacture. U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,793, to Sheppard et al., which is commonly assigned and is incorporated herein by reference, describes a HEMT device having a semi-insulating silicon carbide substrate, an aluminum nitride buffer layer on the substrate, an insulating gallium nitride layer on the buffer layer, an aluminum gallium nitride barrier layer on the gallium nitride layer, and a passivation layer on the aluminum gallium nitride active structure.
In order to provide desired semiconductor properties, it is frequently desirable to dope a semiconductor layer with impurity atoms (i.e. dopants). Doping of semiconductor materials may be performed during and/or after material growth. Impurity atoms may be categorized as n-type or p-type depending on whether the implanted ions act as donors (which increase the number of electrons) or acceptors (which increase the number of holes), respectively, in the doped material. The resulting material may be characterized as n-type or p-type depending on the predominant type of dopants in the material.
Ion implantation is a well-known method of doping a semiconductor layer with impurities. In an ion implantation process, ionized impurity atoms are accelerated under high vacuum through an electric field towards a target layer, where they become implanted. The number of ions directed at a target layer is referred to as the dose, which is typically expressed in ions/cm2. The ions are accelerated at an energy level, typically expressed in electron-volts (eV). The distribution of ions in the implanted layer depends on the dose and energy of the implant, sometimes referred to as the implant conditions, as well as the type of ions implanted, the type of material the ions are implanted into, the angle of the implants, and other factors. The implanted ions typically form a concentration distribution that has a peak concentration at a particular depth (i.e., the "implant range").
Ion implantation is useful for selective doping of crystalline material in order to form desired regions in the material, such as p-n junctions, highly conductive contact regions, field spreading regions, etc. Typically, after impurities are implanted into a semiconductor layer, it is desirable to anneal the implanted impurities at a high temperature, i.e. a so-called activation anneal. An activation anneal may repair damage caused by the implantation of high-energy ions into the semiconductor lattice. Implant damage may include, for example, broken and/or rearranged chemical bonds within the semiconductor lattice. The activation anneal may also assist implanted impurity ions in finding a suitable site in the crystal lattice at which the ions may appropriately act as acceptors and/or donors.
For some semiconductor materials, the temperature at which appreciable lattice damage repair may occur is above the temperature at which the material will dissociate at normal ambient pressures. For that reason, it is known to provide a stable capping layer on an implanted semiconductor layer during the activation anneal. The material of the capping layer is therefore preferably stable at high temperatures. Removal of such a capping layer may be problematic after the implanted layer is annealed, however.

Semiconductor devices including implanted regions and protective layers and methods of forming the same


An active matrix type display device includes inter-pad short-circuiting lines which are connected with signal lines, terminal portions which transmit signals from an IC chip to the signal lines, and a plurality of short-circuiting lines which are arranged outside the terminal portions and inside an end surface of a substrate and are connected with a plurality of inter-pad short-circuiting lines, wherein cut regions of the inter-pad short-circuiting lines are arranged outside the terminal portions and inside the short-circuiting lines. Since repair lines and signal-line lead line do not cross each other, it is possible to perform the highly reliable repair in respective manufacturing steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active matrix type display device, and more particularly to an active matrix type display device and a manufacturing method thereof in which, in forming pixels having thin film transistors (TFT) in a matrix array on an insulation substrate which is constituted of a bendable substrate such as a substrate which forms an insulation film on a glass substrate, a plastic sheet (a PES (Polyethersulfone) film or the like) or a steel foil, the display device exhibits the sufficient resistance against electrostatic stress, enables sufficient repair with high reliability using repair lines even when a signal line is disconnected, and realizes light-weighted and compact mounting in combination with chip-on-glass (COG) mounting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hereinafter, as a display panel which constitutes an active matrix type display device, the explanation is made using a liquid crystal panel as an example. FIG. 24 is a schematic plan view of a TFT substrate of the liquid crystal panel. On the TFT substrate 1, gate signal lines 30 and drain signal lines 40 are formed. On an upper side of the drawing shown in FIG. 24, extension lines 41 which extend from the drain signal lines 40 cross a repair line 43 by way of an insulation film. On a lower side of the drawing shown in FIG. 24, conventional repair lines 400 cross lead lines 402 which extend from the drain signal lines 40 by way of an insulation film. On a peripheral portion of the substrate 1, tape carrier packages (TCP) 410 on which drive ICs are mounted are electrically connected with the gate signal lines 30 and the drain signal lines 40. Further, a vertical scanning circuit, a video signal drive circuit, a power source circuit and a signal conversion circuit which are usually constituted of a printed circuit board 430 convert various signals from a host computer and supply the signals to the above-mentioned substrate.
Conventionally, when a disconnection defective portion 22 occurs in the midst of the signal line, lines arranged on different layers are electrically connected with each other using laser beams. In the drawing, laser beams are radiated once or several times to two portions indicated as portions 26 arranged on an upper side and a lower side of the substrate thus ensuring the electrical connection between the repair line and the signal line.
A signal supply path 91 after repairing allows a drive signal from the TCP 410 to turn around a connection terminal (not shown in the drawing) with the TCP line, the lead line 402 of the signal line, the portion 26 at which the lines arranged on different layers are electrically connected with each other by laser beams, the repair line 400, a connection terminal portion (not shown in the drawing) of the repair line, the repair line 401 in the inside of the TCP, a repair line 401 in the inside of the video signal drive circuit, a flexible printed circuit board (FPC board) 420 for line connection, a repair line 401 in the inside of the vertical scanning circuit line, a FPC 420 for line connection, the repair line 43, the portion 26, and the line 41 which extends from the drain signal line on the substrate and hence, the drive signal is supplied to the upper-side signal lines 40 from the disconnection defective portion 22.
Further, short-circuiting lines for static electricity which are provided for short-circuiting the plurality of gate signal lines 30 and the plurality of drain signal lines 40 with each other are cut and removed from the substrate in the course of manufacturing steps.
Further, FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing the cutting of the substrate of the conventional liquid crystal panel. As shown in FIG. 25, in the conventional liquid crystal panel, to electrically separate the short-circuiting line 7 for static electricity from the gate signal lines 30 and the drain signal lines 40, scribe lines 8 are formed at many portions and, thereafter, an outer peripheral portion of the substrate (a substrate discarding portion) 600 is cut and removed after passing through a large number of steps such as reversing and transfer of the substrate, cutting of the substrate, horizontal parallel transfer, formation of the scribe lines, reversing and transfer, and cutting of the substrate. Here, numeral 500 indicates a TFT array portion (pixel matrix portion, a display region). As documents which disclose this type of related art, Japanese Patent No. 3167633, Japanese Patent No. 3315834 and JP-A-9-244048 are named.

Active matrix type display device having antistatic lines used as repair lines


The present invention refers to a crystalline material of zeolitic nature named ITQ-3 characterized by its characteristic X-ray diffraction pattern and its microporous properties, to the process of preparation thereof characterized by the use of one or several organic additives in a reaction mixture that is made to crystallize by heating and to the use thereof in processes of separation and transformation of organic compounds, which material has the empirical formula x(M1/nXO2):yYO2:SiO2 where x has a value lower than 0.15 and may be equal to zero; and y has a value lower than 0.1 and may be equal to zero; M is H+ or an inorganic cation of charge +n, X is a chemical element with oxidation state (Al, Ge, B and Cr), Y is a chemical element with oxidation state (Ti, Ge and V), and when x=0 and y=0 can be described as a new polymorphous of silica of microporous nature.

Microporous Crystalline Materials
Zeolites are microporous crystalline materials of variable composition characterized by a TO4 tetrahydra crystalline lattice (wherein T represents atoms in the formal oxidation state of +3 or +4, such as for example Si, Ti, Al, Ge, B, Ga which all share their vertexes giving rise to a three-dimensional structure containing channels and/or cavities of molecular dimensions. When some of the atoms T have an oxidation state lower than +4, the crystalline lattice formed has negative charges which are compensated by the presence of organic or inorganic cations in the channels or cavities. Organic molecules and H2O can also be located in these channels and cavities, so in general, the chemical composition of zeolites can be represented by the following empirical formula:
X(M1/nXO2):yYO2:SiO2
wherein M is one or several organic or inorganic cations with charge +n; X is one or several trivalent elements; Y is one or several tetravalent elements, generally Si; and R is one or several organic substances. Although the nature of M, X, Y and R and the values of x, y, z and w can, in general, be varied by means of post-synthesis treatments, the chemical composition of a zeolite (just as it is synthesized or after calcination thereof) has a range characteristic of each zeolite and its preparation method.
On the other hand, a zeolite is also characterized by its crystalline structure, which defines a system of channels and cavities and gives rise to a specific X-ray diffraction pattern. In this way, zeolites are differentiated from each other by their range of chemical composition plus their X-ray diffraction pattern. Both characteristics (crystalline structure and chemical composition) also determine the physicochemical properties of each zeolite and the applicability thereof in different industrial processes.
The present invention refers to a microporous crystalline material of zeolitic nature named ITQ-3, 5to its method of obtainment and to its applications.
The material is characterized by its chemical composition and its X-ray diffraction pattern. In its anhydrous and calcined formed, the chemical composition of ITQ-3 may be represented by the empirical formula:
X(M1/nXO2):yYO2:SiO2
wherein x has a value lower than 0.15; it may be equal to zero; and y has a value lower than 0, 1; it may be equal to zero; M is H+ or an inorganic cation of charge +n; X is a chemical element with oxidation state (Al, Ge, B, Cr) and Y is a chemical element with oxidation state +4 (Ti, Ge, V), when x=0 and y=0 the material can be described as a new polymorphous of silica of microporous nature. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, ITQ-3 has the composition, in a calcined and anhydrous state
x(HXO2):SiO2
wherein X is a trivalent element and x has a value lower than 0.1 and may be equal to zero, in which case the material may be described by means of the formula SiO2. However, it is possible, in terms of the synthesis method and the calcination or subsequent treatments, the existence of defects in the crystalline lattice, manifested by the presence of Sixe2x80x94OH groups (silanols). These defects have not been included in the above empirical formulae. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, ITQ-3 has a very low concentration of this type of defect (silanol concentration lower than 15% with respect to the total Si atoms, preferably lower than 6%, measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of 29Si in spinning angle).
The X-ray diffraction pattern of ITQ-3 just as it is synthesized as obtained by the powder method using a variable divergence slit and the Cu Kxcex1 radiation, is characterized by the following values of 2xcex8 angles and relative intensities (I/IO):
The positions and relative intensities of the peaks depend to a certain degree on the chemical composition of the material (the pattern represented in Table I refers to the material whose lattice is exclusively comprised of silicon oxide, SiO2 and synthesized using a quaternary ammonium cation as a structure-directing agent). The relative intensities may also be affected by phenomena of preferred orientation of the crystals, produced during preparation of the sample, while the precision in the interplanar spacing measurement depends on the quality of alignment of the goniometer. Moreover, calcination can yield significant changes in the X-ray diffraction pattern, due to the removal of organic compounds retained during synthesis in the zeolite pores, so that Table II represents the X-ray diffraction pattern of ITQ-3 of calcined ITQ-3 of composition SiO2 is represented:
The present invention also refers to the method of preparation of ITQ-3. This comprises thermal treatment at temperatures between 80 and 200xc2x0 C., preferably between 130 and 180xc2x0 C., of a reaction mixture that contains a source of SiO2 (such as, for example, tetraethylorthosilicate, colloidal silica, amorphous silica), an organic cation in hydroxide form, preferably N,N-dimethyl-6-azonium-1,3,3-trimethylbicyclo(3.2.1)octane (I) hydroxide, hydrofluoric acid and water. Alternatively, it is possible to use the organic cation as a salt (for example, a halide, preferably chloride) and to substitute hydrofluoric acid by a fluoride salt, preferably NH4F. The reaction mixture is characterized by its relatively low ph less than 12, preferably less than 11, and which may also be neutral or slightly acidic.
Optionally, it is possible to add a source of another tetravalent element Y and/or trivalent element X, preferably Ti or Al. The addition of this element may be done before heating the reaction mixture or in an intermediate time during said heating. Occasionally, it may be convenient to add also in a certain time during the preparation of ITQ-3 crystals (up to 15% by weight with respect to the total inorganic oxides, preferably up to 10% by weight) as cryst6allizer promoters (seeding). The composition of the reaction mixture in oxide form responds to the general formula
RR2O:aHF:xHXO2:yYO2:SiO2:wH2O
wherein X is one or several trivalent elements, preferably Al; Y is one or several tetravalent elements; R is an organic cation, preferably N,N-dimethyl-6-azonium-1,3,-trimethyl-6-bicyclo(3.2.1.)octane, and the values of r,a,x,y and w are in the ranges
R=0.05-1.0, preferably 0.1-0-75
A=0-1.5, preferably 0.1-1.5
X=0-0.15
Y=0-0.1
W=3-100, preferably 5-50, more preferably 7-50
The thermal treatment of the reaction mixture may be done in static or with stirring of the mixture. Once the crystallization is finished the solid product is separated and dried. Subsequent calcination at temperatures between 400 and 650xc2x0 C., preferably between 450 and 600xc2x0 C., produces the decomposition of the organic residue occluded in the zeolite and renders the free zeolitic channels.
This method of synthesis of ITQ-3 zeolite has the peculiarity that it does not require introduction of alkali cations in the reaction medium. As a consequence the organic cation R is the only cation that balances the lattice charges when the zeolite contains a trivalent element in its crystalline lattice. Therefore, simple calcination to decompose the organic cation leaves the zeolite in acid form, without the need to resort to cation exchange processes. Besides, the absence of alkali cations in the reaction mixture allows synthesis of the material containing elements such as Ti(IV), which would not be possible to introduced in the lattice in the presence of these cations (see, for example, M. A. Camblor, A. Corma, J. Pxc3xa9rez-Pariente, Zeolites, vol. 13, 82-87, 1993). Thus, once calcined the material has the general formula
X(HXO2):yYO2:SiO2
wherein x is lower than 0.15, and may be equal to 0; y is lower than 0.1, and may also be zero; X is a chemical element with oxidation state of +3 and Y is a chemical element with an oxidation state of +4.
The crystalline material of the present invention may be used in several applications, such as, for example, in processes for the separation of linear and branched paraffin compounds. Hence, a mixture of isobutane and n-butane or isopentane and n-pentane may be enriched in the more branched isomer by selective adsorption of the linear paraffin by the microporous material of the present invention. Said material is particularly suitable for use in this type of process due to its high adsorption capacity (micropore volume determined by adsorption of N2=0.23 cm3/g) and its small pore size (maximum opening xe2x89xa65.5 xc3x85, determined by adsorption of Ar, using the Horvath-Kawazoe formalism).
Likewise and preferably using the pure silica polymorph, it is possible to separate by selective adsorption the n-olefins of mixtures containing normal and isoolefins, enriching the final stream in isoolefins. In general, this material would allow the separation of organic compounds, which may or may not contain heteroatoms, with sizes smaller than 5-5.5 xc3x85 present in mixtures also containing organic compounds of larger sizes. Due to the hydrophobic characteristics of the silica polymorph, ITQ-3 would permit selective adsorption of organic compounds with kinetic diameter smaller than 5-5.5 xc3x85 present in polar media, such as, for example, in aqueous media.
From the view point of its use as a catalyst, this material, when prepared in the acid form and which may or may not contain supported transition metals such as Pt, Pd or Ni, allows the selective cracking and hydrocracking of linear alkanes with respect to the branched ones or to larger hydrocarbons, thus being adequate as a catalyst or catalytic cracking additive and as a catalyst in the xe2x80x9cselectoformingxe2x80x9d type process that involves hydrocracking of the stream coming from the reformed unit for the purpose of removing n-paraffins.
Likewise, ITQ-3 gives good results as an alkane and alkene catalyst for the purpose of producing high yields of ethylene, propylene and butene, thus being suitable as a catalyst for production processes of short olefins by catalytic steam cracking. Moreover, its possibilities of selectively cracking linear paraffins makes it a good catalyst for dewaxing processes. Finally, this material is a good catalyst in processes of transformation of methanol into olefins.

Consejo Superior de Investigacones Cientificas


A method of performing knee surgery and retractors and a femoral distractor for use in performing such method are provided, said retractors including a PCL tibial retractor, lateral patellar retractor, collateral ligament retractor, posterior cruciate ligament retractor and unicompartmental retractor designed to cooperate with one another in performing such method.

In performing knee surgery it is of the utmost importance to avoid or at least minimize damage to ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves and other portions of the soft tissue while gaining access to and performing surgical procedures on various portions of bone structure of the knee. Heretofore, the retractors utilized in performing knee surgery have not been specifically tailored to permit maximum access to the bone structure intended for osteotomy procedures while at the same time providing maximum protection for various soft tissue members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,797 discloses a collateral ligament retractor for use in knee surgery. Such retractor includes a member having a cupped arcuate finger for insertion into the knee joint along and partly around the tibial plateau and a curved portion extending from the finger outwardly around the ligament, then extending back substantially in the same direction as the finger and including a downwardly extending pivoted elongated arm extending to a position behind the knee above the calf. A second member of similar design but larger to accommodate the everted patella is positioned around the opposite ligament and a tension member such as a coil spring is connected to the outer end of the arms of the members for biasing them toward one another to hold the ligaments in a retracted position.
Patentschrift No. DD-215-468-A of the Duetsche Demokratische Republic discloses a wound retractor for knee surgery which has a holder having a hook-shaped convex blade at the distal end.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,607 discloses a surgical retractor intended to hold back flesh and muscles from a bone on which surgical treatment is to be performed.
Zimmer Company, Warsaw, Ind., Catalog for 1966 discloses on page 117 a Blount Knee Retractor having a handle with a tip disposed at an angle of more than 90.degree. which is intended to be inserted into the knee joint just proximal to the cartilage so as to expose the line of disection while broadening out to retract the superficial soft tissue without use of an additional retractor.
None of the retractors disclosed in the above referenced prior art or any other retractors known to the applicant have the capability of providing the degree of protection as those of the present invention and no prior art surgical procedures for knee surgery are as effective in permitting access to the bone structure upon which osteotomy procedures are to be performed while providing protection to the critical soft tissue.

Method for performing knee surgery and retractors for use therein


Provided is a fastener that can be recycled as paper. The fastener includes a tape member and an engaging element attached to the tape member, and the total weight of the cellulose fibers included in the tape member and the engaging element is 51 to 100 wt % of the total weight of the tape member and the engaging element.

In response to recent worldwide rising of environmental awareness, eco-friendly products have been demanded in a field of accessories such as clothes and bags. For example, growing needs are observed for products that are free of petroleum resins. From past, paper existing in our living environments has been an appropriate material for recycling, and recently paper made clothes and paper made bags have been available in a market.
On the other hand, almost no paper fastener has existed in the world so far. Research conducted by the subject inventors has merely revealed Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 59-21208 (Patent document 1) which discloses a fastener using paper as an ingredient component.
This document discloses a slide fastener where fastener elements are sewn to a paper or nonwoven tape where a film of a thermoplastic synthetic resin is adhered to one surface of that tape. No explanation is given to a material of the elements.

Fastener and article provided with fastener


The invention provides a rotatable bearing base for fixing a peripheral electronic unit. The rotatable bearing base of the invention includes a pivot and a bearing portion. The pivot has two end surfaces and a lateral surface. A first connecting portion is disposed on one of the end surfaces for electrically connecting an electronic apparatus. At least a second connecting portion is disposed on the lateral surface for electrically connecting the peripheral electronic unit. Additionally, the bearing portion is elongated from the lateral surface. The peripheral electronic unit leans against the bearing portion when it is electrically connected to the second connecting portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotatable bearing base; and more particularly, the rotatable bearing base can assist a peripheral electronic unit to electrically connect with an electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the vigorous development of the electronic information related industry, many electronic and information products are designed to be multi-function and thin products, and therefore facilitate a user to carry and use anytime and anywhere. Taking notebooks as an example, products with lightness and thinness, high capacity batteries and complete functionality have already been on the market. These advantages make the user able to operate these products for a long time at any desired place and bring enormous convenience.
Additionally, taking a Universal Serial Bus (USB) peripheral electronic unit (such as a keychain drive, a television box, a fan, a lighting unit, etc.) as an example, it is popular for computer users because it is easy to operate by connecting it with the USB port of the computer only.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating that a USB peripheral electronic unit 72 is connected to a notebook 7 according to prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the USB peripheral electronic unit 72 is usually plugged into a USB connection port 70 which is at one side of the notebook 7, thus connects electrically to a processing module (not shown in the figure) of the notebook 7 to carry on an action such as information processing or transmitting.
For example, when the USB peripheral electronic unit 72 is a keychain drive, it can communicate and store the data inside itself or inside the notebook 7. Moreover, when the USB peripheral electronic unit 72 is a television box, it can receive a television signal via an antenna and transmit the television signal to the notebook 7. After processing, the television signal is broadcasted on the notebook 7 to allow the user to watch TV.
Most of the USB peripheral electronic units are connected to computers or other electronic apparatuses by the plugging method shown in FIG. 1. This connection method is simple and convenient; however, the USB peripheral electronic units may naturally droop because of their weight, and even cause bad contact and unstable electrical connection problems. Additionally, this type of connection method is also easy to make the USB peripheral electronic units fall off from their connecting electronic apparatuses because of external force collision, and then cause accidental conditions such as the transmission interruption, the data damage, the electronic apparatus breakdown, etc. These problems are also easily happened on other connection ports (for example, Mini USB connection port, IEEE 1394 connection port or other connection ports) and their corresponding peripheral electronic units.


A charge holding insulating film in a memory cell is constituted by a laminated film composed of a bottom insulating film, a charge storage film, and a top insulating film on a semiconductor substrate. Further, by performing a plasma nitriding treatment to the bottom insulating film, a nitride region whose nitrogen concentration has a peak value and is 1 atom % or more is formed on the upper surface side in the bottom insulating film. The thickness of the nitride region is set to 0.5 nm or more and 1.5 nm or less, and the peak value of nitrogen concentration is set to 5 atom % or more and 40 atom % or less, and a position of the peak value of nitrogen concentration is set within 2 nm from the upper surface of the bottom insulating film, thereby suppressing an interaction between the bottom insulating film and the charge storage film.

An EEPROM (Electrical Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) has been widely used as an electrically writable and erasable nonvolatile semiconductor storage device. A memory unit of such a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device represented by a flash memory is composed of a plurality of nonvolatile memory cells, and for example, a field-effect transistor that has a conductive floating gate electrode or a trap insulating film surrounded by oxide films below a gate electrode and stores information by holding electric charge in the floating gate electrode or the trap insulating film is used in this nonvolatile memory cell. A memory holding state of the floating gate electrode or the trap insulating film can be read out by the change of a threshold voltage of the field-effect transistor.
The trap insulating film is referred to as an insulating film capable of holding electric charge, and for example, a silicon nitride film can be cited as an example. The nonvolatile memory cell using a silicon nitride film as a charge storage film is referred to as a MONOS memory cell, and since it discretely stores the electric charge, the reliability of holding information is excellent as compared with the nonvolatile memory cell that stores the electric charge in the floating gate electrode. Also, in the MONOS memory cell, it is necessary to form an oxide film above and below the silicon nitride film in order to suppress the leakage of held electric charge. However, since the reliability of holding information is excellent, the oxide films can be made thin. For example, a thin oxide film of 8 nm or less can be applied, so that low voltage writing and erasing operations can be achieved.
However, in the MONOS memory cell using a silicon nitride film for the charge storage film, it is difficult to say that both of a charge capture characteristic and a charge holding characteristic are sufficient, and for example, the MONOS memory cell using a metal oxide film such as alumina instead of a silicon nitride film for the charge storage film has been proposed.
For example, the nonvolatile semiconductor memory cell in which the metal oxide film such as alumina is applied to the charge storage film in order to improve the charge holding characteristic is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-158810 (Patent Document 1). Also, a technology of improving a dielectric constant of a metal oxide film by applying heat treatment to the film immediately after the metal oxide film is formed is disclosed in the specification of US Patent application publication No. 2006/0022252 (Patent Document 2). This heat treatment is generally performed after the metal oxide film is formed. Further, a technology in which a laminated film of a silicon oxide film and a silicon nitride film (a laminated structure in which a silicon nitride film is stacked on a silicon oxide film) is formed between a substrate and a metal oxide film in order to speed up the erasing operation is proposed (see Technical Digest of IEDM, 2006, p. 971 (Non-Patent Document 1)). Furthermore, a technology in which a device operation window is expanded by using a laminated structure of an alumina film and silicon nitride films (bottom silicon nitride film/alumina film/top silicon nitride film) for a charge storage film is proposed (see VLSI Technology Digest, 2007, p. 138 (Non-Patent Document 2)).

Nonvolatile semiconductor storage device and manufacturing method thereof


Provided is an apparatus and method for a secondary scroll bar that yields increased granularity in scrolling through a viewable object, such as a document displayed within a window of a graphical user interface of a computer system. Initially, an icon is displayed within the graphical user interface which, when activated by a user, provides this secondary scroll bar. Next, the secondary scroll bar is displayed within the window in response to a selection of the icon by a user, wherein the secondary scroll bar allows a user to scroll through a narrowly defined region of the viewable object, in response to activation of the icon. Delimiter marks are also displayed within a primary scroll bar upon which the secondary scroll bar is dependent, in response to the selection by the user of the secondary scroll bar. The delimiter marks indicate a searchable range of the viewable object by the secondary scroll bar. Thereafter, the user can scroll through the narrowly defined region of the viewable object by utilizing the secondary scroll bar. Additionally, multiple additional scroll bars can be activated by the user to provide increased granularity on multiple levels when scrolling through the viewable object.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved graphical user interface apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved graphical user interface apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A graphical user interface is a type of display format which enables a user to choose commands, start programs, and see lists of files and other options by pointing to pictorial representations and lists of menu items on a computer display screen. Choices can generally be activated by either a keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse. A mouse is a commonly utilized pointing device, containing one or more buttons, that allows a user to interact with a product or operating environment such as a graphical user interface.
Some conventional graphical user interfaces provide a cursor and scroll bar for scrolling through portions of a viewable object. A viewable object can contain multiple components such as spreadsheets, text, hotlinks, pictures, sound, and video object. However, a viewable object is not limited to these components. In many types of graphical user interfaces, a vertical or horizontal bar at the side of bottom of a graphical user interface window can be utilized in conjunction with a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, or stylus to move about in a viewable object. Scrolling permits viewing of any desired portion of a viewable object and is so named because it is the electronic equivalent of reading through a rolled (i.e., scrolled) viewable object rather than flipping through pages of a book. A vertical scroll bar is usually utilized to control up and down movement (e.g., through lines and pages of a viewable object), while a horizontal scroll bar controls movement across a viewable object.
Conventional scroll bar systems commonly include two arrows and a slider. Each arrow controls which direction a user desires to scroll through a viewable object. An arrow conventionally controls movement through a viewable object in small increments or small blocks of information, such as individual lines or a page of a viewable object, for example. Moreover, if an arrow points in the upward direction, the viewable object can be scrolled from its present position toward the first page of the viewable object. If an arrow points in the downward position, the viewable object can be scrolled from its present position toward the last page of the viewable object.
A slider is typically utilized to control movement through a viewable object in larger increments than when the arrows are utilized. Instead of incrementing by small blocks of information, the slider typically controls movement through a viewable object in larger blocks, increments, or groups of information, such as two or more pages, for example. Therefore, when a user desires to go from the first page to the fiftieth page, the slider is usually selected and moved until page fifty is selected. The term "elevator" is particularly used sometimes to describe a slider that operates on a vertical scroll bar. The term "puck" is also used to describe a slider that operates on the horizontal scroll bar.
When a very large viewable object, such as a large list of items, is accessed by a user via a graphical user interface, the scroll bar slider often represents only a very small portion of the viewable object. When the slider is grabbed and moved by the user utilizing a pointing device such as a mouse, the viewable object scrolls too quickly, even for small movements of the slider, making it difficult for the user to locate a desired section of the viewable object. Even expert mouse users, for instance, can become frustrated when attempting to utilize today's sliders on large viewable objects. The problem is even more acute for less-adept users.
An additional problem faced by users attempting to access large viewable objects in this manner is the difficulty encountered when utilizing markers positioned within the scroll bar. As their name suggests, markers are positioned within the scroll bar to identify a particular location. When a user utilizes a pointing device at one of these markers, the viewable object shifts to a particular region within the viewable object associated with the marker. Such markers, however, do present problems. For example, in a large viewable object, these markers are often positioned so close to one another, that a user may not realize that there are, in fact, multiple markers available. Also, if these markers are proportional to the size of the region, they can be too small to provide any useful information to the user.
Current solutions to the problems associated accessing large viewable objects typically provide an index bar from which the user may select an area of the viewable object to search. However, such solutions do not provide fluid scanning of the viewable object. An index bar, for example, merely allows a user to jump to a particular region of the viewable object without reference to a previous region. Index bars do not allow a user to scroll to a desired region of a viewable object and thereafter focus a search at multiple levels within the desired region.
With respect to the foregoing needs, the inventors are aware of no attempts to date which have been directed toward satisfying the foregoing identified needs. A need also exists for an apparatus and method that allows a user to tailor a search toward particular region of the viewable object, while providing for fluid scanning of the viewable object. Thus, it is apparent that a need exists for an apparatus and method that provides access to a particular region of a viewable object.

Scroll bar amplification apparatus and method

International Business Machines Corporation


To analyze the cause if an event occurred to a plurality of monitoring targets. A monitoring computer 101 includes a general rule storing part 136 configured to store a general rule, wherein the general rule previously associates a first event which can occur in any of the plurality of monitoring targets and a second event which can cause the first event, an correlation rule generating part 129 configured to generate an correlation rule, wherein the correlation rule is created based on the general rule and configuration information, and in the case where a predetermined number or more of events corresponding to the second events are detected, the correlation rule indicates that an event corresponding to the first event will occur, and an analyzing part 125 configured to analyze a cause of an event indicated by the event information based on received event information and the correlation rule.

As various IT (an abbreviation for information technology) apparatuses are connected to one another via networks, IT systems have complicated and scaled up. A fault occurred in an IT system affects the various IT apparatuses over the networks.
As a root cause analyzing technology for identifying the cause place and the cause event of each of these faults, Patent Literature 1 discloses a fault analyzing technology for analyzing fault descriptions received from the IT apparatuses for the root cause place and the cause event of the fault. When an IT apparatus has a fault, it notifies the computer of the fault as event information.
In a conventional fault analyzing technology, a control program configured to analyze a fault accumulates various status information (particularly fault information) of controlled apparatuses in an event DB (database) as events.
The control program has an correlation rule. The correlation rule describes the cause event which may occur in a component and a group of related events which may be triggered by the cause event in an IF-THEN statement.
The control program estimates a cause event of a plurality of faults which exist in the controlled apparatuses based on a plurality of events and correlation rules acquired from the controlled apparatus. Depending on IT systems to be controlled, system topologies may be substantially different. Here, the system topology means relationship among managed components and, hereinafter, may be referred to as "topology" for short.
Since the system topologies may be largely different, the control program has a fault propagation model (hereinafter, referred to as "general rule") which is described in an independent manner from the topology. Further, the control program has configuration information including the topology of the IT system to be controlled, and generates an correlation rule according to the environment of the controlling target based on the fault propagation model and the configuration information.

Computer program and monitoring apparatus


Exemplary methods and devices herein receive the images of a previously printed document (through scanning, raster image processing, etc.), a second document to be printed, and instructions to use print settings of the previously printed document to print the second document. These methods and devices automatically detect page boundaries, detect page orientation, and detect page sequencing within the images of the previously printed document to identify previous layout parameters used to print the previously printed document. With this, these methods and devices automatically prepare a print job ticket for the second document that has job ticket layout parameters that match the previous layout parameters. After this, these methods and devices output (e.g., print or transmit for additional revisions/processing) the second document using the newly created print job ticket to cause the second document to match the previous layout parameters of the previously printed document.

Systems and methods herein generally relate to print job settings and more particularly to methods and devices that prepare print job ticket settings.
Printing system users sometimes find themselves in the situation of having a document that has been printed or rasterized using various imposition settings (imposition settings are job settings that cause page images to be placed on print media at specific locations, orientations, and scalings) without access to such imposition settings, or with access only to the imposition settings in a format not consumable by currently available printing equipment. For example, the user may not be able to locate the job ticket of the previously printed document, or may not have access to the print queue that provided the previous imposition settings. Alternatively, the user may wish to utilize different printing equipment that cannot interpret the imposition settings used to print the previous document.
Therefore, the user may be in possession of a printed document (or the sheet images of a previously rasterized document) that has a desirable imposition layout; however, the user may have no way of obtaining the settings utilized to print the document according to this layout. In such a situation, the user will undertake the laborious and error-prone process of establishing various settings in order to arrive at the same imposition layout used in the previous document. This process can be frustrating and wasteful for the user, which can result in user dissatisfaction.
Exemplary methods herein receive, into a computerized device, the already-imposed sheet images of a previously printed document (created through scanning, raster image processing, etc.), a second document to be printed, and instructions to use the imposition settings of the previously printed document to print the second document. These methods automatically (using the computerized device) detect page boundaries, detect page orientation, and detect page sequencing within the sheet images of the previously printed document in order to identify the imposition parameters used to print the previously printed document. With this, these methods (again using the computerized device) automatically prepare a print job ticket for the second document that has imposition parameters that match the previous imposition parameters. After this, these methods output (e.g., print or transmit from the computerized device) the second document using the print job ticket to cause the imposition layout of the second document to match that of the previously printed document.
Additional methods herein similarly receive, into a computerized device, an image of a previously printed document (created through scanning, raster image processing, etc.), a second document to be printed, and instructions to use the imposition settings of the previously printed document to print the second document. These methods again automatically (using the computerized device) detect page boundaries, detect page orientation, and detect page sequencing within the sheet images of the previously printed document in order to identify the imposition parameters used to print the previously printed document. With this, these methods (again using the computerized device) automatically prepare a print job ticket for the second document that has imposition parameters that match the previous imposition parameters (to potentially allow such an automatically created job ticket to be manually edited by the user).
Other methods herein receive the sheet images of a document previously ripped according to certain imposition settings, and a different, alternative set of imposition settings, and these methods automatically produce a print job containing the same logical page images, but now imposed according to the alternative imposition settings instead of the previous imposition settings. These methods produce an imposition job ticket that can be used to perform the same imposition transformation on similarly-imposed jobs in the future.
The process of detecting page boundaries can be, for example, based on: finisher alignment marks in the images of the previously printed document; bounding boxes of non-white content in the images of the previously printed document; margin consistency in the images of the previously printed document; spacing of pages in the images of the previously printed document; page height and width in the images of the previously printed document; page size consistency in the images of the previously printed document; size of imposed sheet in the images of the previously printed document; and/or comparison of inferred page size within tolerances to commonly-used sizes in the images of the previously printed document; etc.
The process of detecting page orientation can be, for example, based on: recognizing text, text lines, and blocks in the images of the previously printed document; placement and orientation of page numbers in the images of the previously printed document; and/or inferences from overall layout geometry of the images of the previously printed document; etc.
The process of detecting page sequencing can be, for example, based on: identifying sequential page numbers at repeatable standard locations in the images of the previously printed document; and/or performing sentence-level grammatical analysis, when sentences break across adjacent pages in the images of the previously printed document; etc.
These and other features are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description.

Automatic print job ticket settings based on raster images of previously printed document