Provided is an image display apparatus which includes a display unit that displays a series of images obtained by imaging an inside of a subject in time sequence, and displays a specific area with a predetermined size; and an input unit having an input button group for performing a display operation of the images. The apparatus also includes a control unit that performs a control so that an operation mode is set to a button operation mode for performing the display operation of the images with a button operation of the input unit when a cursor on a display screen is in the specific area, and the operation mode is set to a cursor operation mode for performing the display operation of the images corresponding to at least a position on the display screen and a position of the cursor when the cursor is out of the specific area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus that displays a series of images obtained by imaging a subject in time sequence.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a swallowable capsule endoscope provided with an imaging function and a radio communication function has been proposed in an endoscope field, and a capsule endoscope system for acquiring an image in a subject with the use of the capsule endoscope has been developed. The capsule endoscope moves in a body cavity, for example, inside of internal organs such as stomach, small intestine, etc., due to peristaltic movement, and functions to capture an image inside the subject at an interval of 0.5 second, during the period from when it is swallowed from a mouth of the subject for observation (examination) to when it is naturally discharged.
While the capsule endoscope moves in the subject, the image captured by the capsule endoscope is transmitted sequentially to an external receiving apparatus via radio communication. The receiving apparatus has a radio communication function and a memory function. It sequentially stores the image of the inside of the subject received from the capsule endoscope into a memory. By carrying the receiving apparatus, the subject can freely move during the period from when he/she swallows the capsule endoscope to when it is naturally discharged. After the capsule endoscope is naturally discharged from the subject, a doctor or nurse causes an image display apparatus to read the image accumulated in the memory for displaying the image of the internal organs in the subject by the image display apparatus, whereby the doctor or nurse can perform diagnosis of the subject (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-19111).
The image display apparatus described above generally displays each image contained in a series of images of the inside of the subject as a still image, or displays each image consecutively to display a pseudo-moving image of the inside of the subject. There is one of such image display apparatuses having a moving image display function described above in which, in order to perform a display operation of a moving image on a screen, a slider that is a rectangle display area and a knob moving in the slider are displayed on a screen, and the knob is moved by a drag operation with the use of a mouse to carry out a display operation of a moving image (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-32304). In the image display apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-32304, an origin is provided in the vicinity of the center of the slider on the screen, and when the knob is moved so as to be apart from the origin, the moving image is displayed with a reproduction speed according to the position of the knob. On the other hand, there is an image display apparatus that displays icon formed with plural button sections for operating a moving direction and moving speed of an image, and has a function of moving the image on a screen in a desired direction by selecting any one of button sections of the icon with the movement of the mouse and performing a click operation (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-346172).
However, whenever a desired image group, e.g., a series of images in the subject, is displayed with its play speed and play direction (specifically, forward direction or reverse direction in the time sequence) changed to the desired play speed and play direction, a display operation for moving the mouse should be performed, i.e., a cursor on the screen should be moved to the icon, etc., to perform a click operation or drag operation in the conventional image display apparatus. Therefore, there has been a problem that it is in many cases difficult to perform the display operation of the image while observing a series of images in the subject.


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for obtaining liquid samples from a system which is under pressure or vacuum.

In industrial plants such as refineries and chemical plants, there are large amounts of fluids flowing through process pipelines. In order to run these plants effectively, it is necessary to know the composition of these fluids. Despite advances in automatic sampling/analysis systems, the prevalent method is to remove a fluid sample and perform lab analysis to determine its composition.
Conventionally, the pipeline is tapped and the fluid is regulated by a throttling valve and poured into a sample bottle. The conventional method is adequate if the fluid pressure is constant and low (less than 15 psig), the fluid is noncorrosive, or the throttling valve performs perfectly. Unfortunately, in refineries and chemical plants the fluid streams are frequently of higher pressures, and the fluids are highly corrosive. These same fluids tend to corrode, erode, or plug the throttling valves, rendering them ineffective. Specialty valves are frequently unavailable, expensive, or unreliable due to their complexity. If the fluid to be sampled is hazardous or produces toxic fumes, the sampling system is usually surrounded by an enclosure to protect the operator from being splashed by the fluid. Despite such precautions, many operators are injured each year when drawing a sample of hazardous fluids (such as acid) because no safe and effective sampling system is readily available.
If the process line is under vacuum rather than positive pressure, the conventional method involves attaching an eductor to draw the fluid. Alternate methods include temporarily shutting down the vacuum source. It is often unfeasible to shut down the vacuum source, and use of an eductor can contaminate the sample or add expense depending on the cost of the driving fluid. It is desirable to have a single sampling system that can obtain samples from a pipeline which is either under vacuum or positive pressure.

Method and apparatus for obtaining liquid samples


A tape cartridge having a tape supply reel contained within the cartridge housing. A tape passes through a tape guideway in the cartridge housing and is attached to the tape supply reel on one end and a tape connector on the other end. The cartridge housing contains a single interlock arm pivotally mounted for rotational movement, one end of the arm which is movable into and out of the tape path, while the other end of the arm is movable through a slot in the cartridge housing. The withdrawal of the tape connector from the guideway releases the arm so that a spring can actuate the other end of the arm outwardly into locking engagement within a notch in an external housing.

Videocassette players and recorders (VCRs) have been quite popular and their popularity is expected to continue increasing. One of the reasons for this popularity is the wide variety of programming which is available, either by direct recording for playback and personal use later, or by purchase or rental of prerecorded videocassettes. Such videocassettes are generally available in standardized formats, with the VHS format currently being the most popular. The videocassette itself generally consists of a closed housing. Typically a length of tape connected between two reels is located in the housing and is wound or unwound during play. The tape is generally guided between the reels along a tape path extending along the front edge of the cassette. A pivotal door is usually provided on that edge for protecting the tape. This door is open once the videocassette has been inserted into the VCR.
Conventional videocassettes are not particularly bulky. However, the available storage space is usually limited and so their storage can become a problem as one's collection of videocassettes increases. This problem is expected to worsen with increasing popularity of VCRs and the consequential increasing size of videocassette libraries used with them. As this occurs, we expect that the available space for storage of the videocassettes will at some point have the practical effect of limiting the number of videocassettes which can be kept and used.
Videocassette adapters are available for adapting relatively small cassettes for use with standard formats. Such adapters generally consist of a housing into which the small cassette can be inserted, for example, through a releasable top door. After insertion, a mechanism in the adapter is manually activated to pull the tape out from the supply and take-up reels in the cassette to which it is connected, and guide the tape along the proper path or playback or recording upon insertion of the adapter into the VCR. Such adapters are typically used with small cassettes used in camcorders, but have limited tape capacity and playing time. For example, the small cassettes used with such adapters typically have a maximum playing time of only about twenty minutes versus up to about 2-6 hours (depending upon speed) available with a standard size videocassette. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,677,494 to Protas, 4,432,510 to Ogata, 4,504,876 to Nagaoka, and 4,567,536 to Tsuchiya are representative of the prior art in this regard. Such adapters do not address the problem of achieving more efficient tape storage without sacrificing capacity and playing time.
The need has thus arisen for a compact tape cartridge which provides the same or better capacity when inserted into a carrier in order to form a standard a videocassette, but which makes for better use of available storage when removed from the carrier.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


The magnetoresistive element has a first ferromagnetic element, a nonmagnetic layer element, and a second ferromagnetic layer element arranged in such a way that the nonmagnetic layer element is disposed between the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element. The first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element are formed of substantially the same material, but they differ in their extent parallel to the interface to the nonmagnetic layer element in that they have different measurements in at least one dimension. The magnetoresistive element is suitable both as a sensor element and as a memory element in a memory cell configuration.

Magnetoresistive elements are increasingly used as sensor elements or as memory elements for memory cell configurations, so-called MRAMs (see S. Mengel, xe2x80x9cTechnologieanalyse Magnetismus Band 2, XMR-Technologienxe2x80x9d, published by VDI Technologiezentrum Physikalische Technologien, August 1997). In the art, the term xe2x80x9cmagnetoresistive elementxe2x80x9d refers to a structure which comprises at least two ferromagnetic layers and a nonmagnetic layer disposed in between these. Depending on the design of the layer structure, a distinction is made between GMR element, TMR element, and CMR element.
The term xe2x80x9cGMR elementxe2x80x9d is used in the art for layer structures which comprise at least two ferromagnetic layers and a nonmagnetic, conductive layer disposed between these and which exhibit the so-called GMR (giant magnetoresistance) effect. The GMR effect refers to the fact that the electrical resistance of the GMR element depends on whether the magnetizations in the two ferromagnetic layers are oriented parallel or antiparallel. The GMR effect is large compared with the so-called AMR (anisotropic magnetoresistance) effect. The AMR effect refers to the fact that the resistance in magnetized conductors parallel and perpendicular to the direction of magnetization differs. The AMR effect is a bulk effect which occurs in ferromagnetic single layers.
The term xe2x80x9cTMR elementxe2x80x9d is used in the art for tunneling magnetoresistance structures which comprise at least two ferromagnetic layers and an insulating, nonmagnetic layer disposed between these. The insulating layer is so thin as to give rise to a tunneling current between the two ferromagnetic layers. These layer structures likewise exhibit a magnetoresistive effect which is caused by a spin-polarized tunneling current through the insulating, nonmagnetic layer disposed between the two ferromagnetic layers. In this case, too, the electrical resistance of the TMR element depends on whether the magnetizations in the two ferromagnetic layers are oriented parallel or antiparallel. The relative change in resistance here is from about 6 percent to about 30 percent.
The term xe2x80x9cCMR effectxe2x80x9d describes a further magnetoresistive effect. Because of its measurement (relative change in resistance by from 100 to 400 percent at room temperature) it is referred to as colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) effect. It requires a high magnetic field, because of the high coercitivities it involves, to switch between the magnetization states.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,482 proposed an annular configuration of the ferromagnetic layers and the nonmagnetic layer of a CMR element, the rings being stacked on top of one another or being nested concentrically.
It has been proposed (see for example S. Tehrani et al., IEDM 96-193 and D. D. Tang et al., IEDM 95-997) to use GMR elements or TMR elements as memory elements in a memory cell configuration. The memory elements are connected in series via read lines. Running transversely to these are word lines which are insulated both with respect to the read lines and with respect to the memory elements. Signals applied to the word lines give rise to a magnetic field which is a consequence of the current flowing within the word line and which, if sufficiently strong, affects the memory elements located underneath. The memory cell configuration exploits the fact that the resistance of the memory elements differs, depending on whether the magnetizations in the two ferromagnetic layers are oriented parallel or antiparallel to one another. To write information, the direction of magnetization of the one ferromagnetic layer is therefore pinned, while that of the other ferromagnetic layer is switched. To this end, crossing lines, which are also referred to as xy lines and which cross at the memory cell to be written to, are fed with signals in such a way that a magnetic field sufficient for remagnetization is produced at the crossing point.
Pinning the direction of magnetization in the one ferromagnetic layer is achieved by an adjacent antiferromagnetic layer which pins the magnetization (see D. D. Tang et al., IEDM 95-997) or by differing layer thicknesses of the ferromagnetic layers (see S. Tehrani et al., IEDM 95-193). Here, the antiferromagnetic layer differs in material composition from the adjacent ferromagnetic layer whose magnetization state is pinned.
As a result of the different layer thicknesses of the two ferromagnetic layers, a higher magnetic field is required in the one ferromagnetic layer to affect the direction of magnetization than in the other one. To write information, the magnetic field is assigned such a level that it is able to affect only the direction of magnetization in the one of the two ferromagnetic layers. The direction of magnetization in the other ferromagnetic layer, which can only be switched over by means of an increased magnetic field, therefore remains unaffected thereby.
As the layer thickness of the ferromagnetic layer cannot, on the one hand, drop below a minimum layer thickness of about 5 nm owing to fabrication constraints, and on the other hand the maximum layer thickness of the ferroelectric layer in a GMR or TMR element is also limitedxe2x80x94by the fact that a defined direction of magnetization parallel to the layer plane must be presentxe2x80x94it is necessary in this case for the switching magnetic field to be set precisely.
The object of the present invention is to provide a magnetoresistive element which overcomes the above-noted deficiencies and disadvantages of the prior art devices and methods of this general kind, and which can be fabricated in good yields within the context of semiconductor process technology and which is insensitive in terms of setting the switching magnetic field.
With the above and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, which can be used advantageously, inter alia, as a memory element in a memory cell configuration or as a sensor element.
In a first embodiment, the magnetoresistive element comprises the following features:
a plurality of planar layer elements, including a first ferromagnetic layer element, a nonmagnetic layer element on the first ferromagnetic layer element and forming an interface therewith, and a second ferromagnetic layer element on the nonmagnetic layer element and forming an interface therewith, the planar layer elements defining a stack with a layer sequence;
the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element comprising essentially the same material and having respective measurements in a dimension perpendicular to the layer sequence differing by at least percent relative to one another, and preferably by 30%.
In other words, the magnetoresistive element comprises a first ferromagnetic layer element, a nonmagnetic layer element, and a second ferromagnetic layer element which are arranged in such a way that the nonmagnetic layer element is disposed between the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element. In this arrangement, the nonmagnetic layer element has one interface each both with the first ferromagnetic layer element and with the second ferromagnetic layer element. The first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element comprise essentially the same material. The first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element have different measurements in at least one dimension parallel to the interface with the nonmagnetic layer element.
As a result of this different shape of the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element, the magnetic fields required to switch over the directions of magnetization in the ferromagnetic layer elements differ. This effect is referred to as shape anisotropy. Since in each layer element the measurements perpendicular to the layer thickness are distinctly larger than the layer thickness, larger differences in this measurement are possible in the present magnetoresistive element than is possible regarding the layer thickness in the element proposed in S. Tehrani et al., IEDM 96-193. These larger differences in measurement result in distinctly different magnetic field strengths required to switch over the direction of magnetization in the respective layer. Thus the magnetoresistive element is less sensitive with respect to the precise setting of the switching magnetic field.
As the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element consist of essentially the same material, the magnetoresistive element can be fabricated using semiconductor process technology, especially silicon process technology with the thermal loads of about 450xc2x0 C. occurring there. In this temperature range, diffusion is to be expected, given the diffusion mobility of elements present in magnetoresistive layer systems, especially Fe, Co, Ni, Cu etc., the diffusion modifying the characteristics of the ferromagnetic layer elements. The feared diffusion results in a change in the material composition in the interface zones, which adversely affects the spin-dependent electron transport on which the magnetoresistive effects in these elements are based. Even minor diffusion-caused migrations of material over a distance in the range from 1 to 5 nm beyond these interfaces are therefore expected to lead to considerable changes in the magnetic and electrical characteristics. The use of an antiferromagnetic layer to pin the direction of magnetization in one of the ferromagnetic layers therefore likewise appears to be problematic, since the antiferromagnetic layer must differ, in terms of material composition, from the ferromagnetic layer, and these diffusion processes between the adjacent layers are expected to result in a change in the material composition.
This problem is overcome in the magnetoresistive element according to the invention in that the two ferromagnetic layer elements consist of essentially the same material, so that no concentration gradient arises between the two ferromagnetic layer elements. The absence of a concentration gradient between the two ferromagnetic layer elements causes the driving force for a diffusion-caused material transport beyond the nonmagnetic layer element to disappear.
Parallel to the interface with the nonmagnetic layer element, the ferromagnetic layer elements can have any cross section.
In the first embodiment of the invention, the first ferromagnetic layer element, the nonmagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element are configured as planar layer elements which are joined together to form a layer stack. In this case, the measurements of the first ferromagnetic layer element and of the second ferromagnetic layer element differ in at least one dimension which is perpendicular to the direction of the layer sequence. At the same time, it is within the scope of the invention for the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer to have essentially identical measurements in a dimension perpendicular to the layer sequence.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the thicknesses of the ferromagnetic layer elements are between 2 nm and 20 nm. Perpendicular to the layer thickness, the measurement of the first ferromagnetic layer element is from 50 nmxc3x9780 nm to 250 nmxc3x97400 nm and that of the second layer element from 65 nmxc3x9780 nm to 350 nmxc3x97400 nm, a difference of from at least 20 percent to 30 percent existing in one dimension. The cross section of the first ferromagnetic layer element and of the second ferromagnetic layer element here is preferably essentially rectangular. Alternatively, however, it can be round, oval or polygonal.
There is also provided, in a further embodiment of the invention, a magnetoresistive element, comprising:
a plurality of layer elements having a hollow cylindrical shape with a principal cylinder axis, the layer elements including a first ferromagnetic layer element, a nonmagnetic layer element on the first ferromagnetic layer element and forming an interface therewith, and a second ferromagnetic layer element on the nonmagnetic layer element and forming an interface therewith;
the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element comprising substantially the same material; and
each of the layer elements having a respective inner diameter and a respective outer diameter, wherein one of the inner and outer diameters of the first ferromagnetic layer element differs from a respective inner or outer diameter of the second ferromagnetic layer element, and wherein the first ferromagnetic layer element, the nonmagnetic layer element, and the second ferromagnetic layer element are stacked in a direction of the principal axes of the hollow cylinders.
In other words, the first ferromagnetic layer element, the nonmagnetic layer element, and the second ferromagnetic layer element are each of annular shape, the ring widths of the first ferromagnetic layer element and of the second ferromagnetic layer element differing from one another. The first ferromagnetic layer element, the nonmagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element have the shape of a hollow cylinder and are stacked in the direction of the principal axes of the hollow cylinders. The shape anisotropy of the magnetic switching field is implemented in this embodiment by the differing ring widths, i.e. half the difference of outer diameter and inner diameter of each hollow cylinder, of the first ferromagnetic layer element and of the second ferromagnetic layer element. The thicknesses of the first ferromagnetic layer element and of the second ferromagnetic layer element are each from 2 nm to 20 nm. The outer diameter of the first ferromagnetic layer element and of the second ferromagnetic layer element are in the range of between 50 nm and 400 nm, the outer diameters and/or inner diameters of the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element differing by from 20 percent to 50 percent. In one embodiment, the outer diameter of the first ferromagnetic layer element is from 75 nm to 300 nm and the outer diameter of the second ferromagnetic layer element is from 100 nm to 400 nm.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention,
the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element each has a thickness of between 2 nm and 20 nm and the outer diameters of the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element are in a range from 50 to 400 nm; and
at least one of the outer diameters and the inner diameters of the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element differ from 20 percent to 50 percent.
In accordance with another feature of the invention,
the outer diameter of the first ferromagnetic layer element is from 75 nm to 300 nm and a thickness of the first ferromagnetic layer element parallel to the principal axis is from 2 nm to 20 nm; and
the outer diameter of the second ferromagnetic layer element is from 100 nm to 400 nm and a thickness of the second ferromagnetic layer element parallel to the principal axis of the cylinder is from 2 nm to 20 nm.
With the above and other objects in view there is also provided, in yet a further embodiment of the invention, a magnetoresistive element, comprising:
a plurality of layer elements each having a hollow cylindrical shape and being disposed concentrically with one another along a principal cylinder axis, the layer elements including a first ferromagnetic layer element, a nonmagnetic layer element on the first ferromagnetic layer element and forming an interface therewith, and a second ferromagnetic layer element on the nonmagnetic layer element and forming an interface therewith;
the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element comprising substantially the same material;
the nonmagnetic layer element being disposed, in a radial direction with respect to the hollow cylindrical shapes, between the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element; and
the first ferromagnetic layer element having a height in a direction parallel to the principal axis of the cylindrical shapes different from a height of the second ferromagnetic layer element.
In this third embodiment of the invention, the first ferromagnetic layer element, the nonmagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element are each in the form of a hollow cylinder and are arranged concentrically relative to one another, the nonmagnetic layer element being disposed between the first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element. The first ferromagnetic layer element and the second ferromagnetic layer element in this case differ in terms of their height parallel to the cylinder axis.
The height of the first ferromagnetic layer element is preferably between 50 nm and 250 nm, the height of the second ferromagnetic layer element is between 80 nm and 400 nm, the difference in height being between 30 nm and 150 nm and usefully being at least from 20 to 30 percent. In another embodiment, the first ferromagnetic layer element has an outer diameter of between 70 nm and 400 nm, an inner diameter of between 60 nm and 390 nm and a height, parallel to the principal axis of the cylinder, of between 35 nm and 180 nm, and the second ferromagnetic layer element ha s an outer diameter of between 60 nm and 390 nm, an inner diameter of between 50 nm and 380 nm and a height, parallel to the principal axis of the cylinder, of between 50 nm and 400 nm.
Preferably, the ferromagnetic layer elements each comprise at least one of the elements Fe, Ni, Co, Cr, Mn, Gd, Dy. The nonmagnetic layer element can be either conductive or nonconductive. Preferably, the nonmagnetic layer element provided is nonconductive and includes at least one of the materials Al2O3, NiO, HfO2, TiO2, NbO and/or SiO2 and has a measurement, perpendicular to the interface with the ferromagnetic layer elements, in the range of between 1 and 4 nm. In this case, the magnetoresistive element is a TMR element which, compared with a GMR element, has a high electrical resistance perpendicular to the tunneling layer.
Alternatively, the nonmagnetic layer element can be implemented in a conductive material, e.g. Cu, Au or Ag, and have a measurement, perpendicular to the interface with the ferromagnetic layer elements, of from 2 nm to 4 nm.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a magnetoresistive element and use thereof as a memory element in a memory cell configuration, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Magnetoresistive element and the use thereof as storage element in a storage cell array


A computer terminal includes a cabinet having a front portal, and computer hardware mounted therein. A monitor covers the portal and is operatively joined to the hardware by an electrical cable. The monitor is mounted to the portal as a door which may be tilted open for providing convenient access to the computer hardware found therein.

The present invention relates generally to digital computers, and, more specifically, to integrated computer terminals.
The continuing development of personal computers (PCs) has led to a substantial reduction in size thereof and increase in computational power. A typical PC includes a self-contained computer cabinet containing all the hardware therein which is joined by electrical cables to a separate monitor and keyboard, as well as to a printer and the internet through a cooperating modem.
The typical laptop or notebook computer integrates into one cabinet the computer hardware, monitor, and keyboard, for example, which may be attached to a separate printer and the internet if desired.
PCs are commonly found in homes, businesses, and public arenas like airports, colleges, and libraries for various personal and business uses. And, such computers are typically joined to the internet for the wide availability of services provided thereby.
In public arenas and business applications for computer terminals, high usage thereof is expected, along with security thereof. And, limited space is available for each computer terminal when used in specific public and business applications.
The resulting high usage of the computer terminals requires periodic maintenance of the various operating components thereof. Access to the interior of the computer terminal is therefore required, but is typically made difficult when computer terminals are located in confined spaces typically found in business and public arenas.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved integrated computer terminal which is readily accessible for service maintenance thereof.
A computer terminal includes a cabinet having a front portal, and computer hardware mounted therein. A monitor covers the portal and is operatively joined to the hardware by an electrical cable. The monitor is mounted to the portal as a door which may be tilted open for providing convenient access to the computer hardware found therein.


An array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The method has steps of: forming a buffer layer, a light-shading layer, and a whole semiconductor layer on a substrate; simultaneously patterning the semiconductor layer and the light-shading layer; and forming a first insulation layer, a first metal layer, a second insulation layer, a second metal layer, a flat layer, and a first transparent conductive layer on the patterned semiconductor layer.

Low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) has a high electron mobility ratio, and thereby it can effectively reduce the area of thin film transistor (TFT) elements, increase the aperture ratio of pixels, and enhance the display lightness of panels, but simultaneously lowers the entire power consumption, so that the manufacturing cost of panels is substantially reduced, so now LTPS has become a research hot point in a field of liquid crystal displays.
In a conventional design of LTPS, mask processes of an array substrate are more complex, generally about ten mask processes are required, so that the production capacity of the products is substantially lowered. Furthermore, since the processes are more complex, the yield rate thereof is also lower, so that LTPS is difficult to promote, and is only applied in small size products.
Refer now to FIG. 1 which is a structural schematic view of an array substrate according to a conventional technology. As shown in FIG. 1, a manufacturing method of a conventional array substrate comprises the following steps of: forming a light-shading layer 11 on a substrate 10; forming a buffer layer 12 on the light-shading layer 11; forming a semiconductor layer 13 on the buffer layer 12, wherein the semiconductor layer 13 has to be treated with a heavy doped and a light doped by exposing and developing methods; forming a first insulation layer 14 on the semiconductor layer 13; forming a first metal layer 15 on the first insulation layer 14; forming a second insulation layer 16 on the first metal layer 15; forming a second metal layer 17 on the second insulation layer 16; forming a flat layer 18 on the second metal layer 17; forming a first transparent conductive layer 101 on a portion of the flat layer 18 which does not correspond to an area of source electrodes and drain electrodes, wherein through a via, the first transparent conductive layer 101 is connected with a portion of the second metal layer which is not of the source electrodes and the drain electrodes; forming a second transparent conductive layer 102 on a portion of the flat layer 18 which corresponds to the area of the source electrodes and the drain electrodes, wherein the second transparent conductive layer 102 is connected with the source electrodes and the drain electrodes; and forming a third second insulation layer 19 between the first transparent conductive layer 101 and the second transparent conductive layer 102.
In the above processes, the manufacturing processes of the light-shading layer, the semiconductor layer, the heavy doping and the light doping, the flat layer, the source electrodes and the drain electrodes, the second insulation layer, the first transparent conductive layer, the third insulation layer, and the second transparent conductive layer all need masks for processing exposing, so that the processes are more complex, and the processing requirement is higher, causing the manufacturing cost to also be higher.
Hence, it is necessary to provide an array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof which solves the problems existing in the conventional technologies.

Array substrate and manufacturing method thereof

SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A bit with a fiber cutter for a rosser head debarking machine. The bit has a base for mounting the bit onto the rosser head. The striking edge of the bit is connected to the base and comes into contact with bark and removes the bark as the rosser head spins. The bit has at least one replaceable fiber cutter that includes a cutting edge that cuts through the bark or fiber within the bark as the rosser head spins. Preferably, the fiber cutter is disk-shaped and tapered away from the striking edge and cuts through the fiber in the bark in a perpendicular direction to the fiber. The cutter can be connected to the bit by a threaded bolt that is positioned through a hole in the middle of the cutter and into a threaded hole in the bit. The bit can have threaded holes on both sides to allow two cutters to be installed or for the bit to be rotated.

In the field of sawmill operation it is necessary, as one of the steps for preparing a log, the bark of the log is separated from the log. While the technology appears to draw from the field of wood chippers and adzes, it is distinct in that while it is necessary to remove the bark by abrading, it is deleterious to the log to cut significantly into the wood. Thus a cutting head or adz which is equally adapted to chipping wood as well as bark is unsatisfactory for the use.
Two major forms of debarkers are in common use. Typically each depends upon the fact that the shear strength of the bark is weakest in the cambium layer between the wood and the bark.
Once such form of machine is known as the hollow rotor type in which a plurality of arms, swing mounted to a rotary collar extend inward scraping tangentially in a spiral around the exterior of the log which is fed through the center of the collar. Typical such cutters are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,406 to Jonsson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,737 to Jonsson.
A more commonly used form of debarker is the so-called rosser-head debarker in which a log is spun while a rotating cylindrical cutter head passes along and rotates against the log, parallel to the axis of the log. As the log is rotated against the head various forms of cutters upon the rosser-head are depended upon to tangentially shear the bark from the log. Typical such prior constructure shown in the Salem rosser-head debarker and the debarkers manufactured by Fulghum Industries and HMC Corp.
Rosser-head debarkers are all characterized in comprising a substantially strong metal cylinder affixed to a powered rotating axis which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of a log to be debarked with periodically extending cutter teeth on the cylindrical outer surface of the debarker head. The impacts upon these cutter teeth are such that they require frequent resetting or replacement and it is difficult to get even two to three months use from a typical debarker head in full industrial usage.
The rosser-head debarkers have difficulty in efficiently debarking species of wood that have fibrous bark such as basswood. The fibers in the bark do not always get cut by the debarker head and can become tangled and cause the operation to be discontinued until the tangles of fiber can be removed. This makes the process of debarking these types of log very costly and inefficient.
One prior attempt was made to construct a bit that could cut wood fiber while debarking. The bit included wings welded unto each side of the bit and then a built-up alloy edge protruded above the top of the bit. There were two major problems with this bit. First, the protrusions became dull within hours of use and eventually wore down completely within a day or two. There was no way to replace the wings because they were welded to the bits. Even if there was a way to replace the wings the fact that they dulled so quickly would mean that the debarker head would need to be serviced every few hours.


A vehicle frame straightening system includes a rigid vertical post secured to a rigid base and a circumferential post sleeve slidably mounted about an upper segment of the post. The system further includes an elongate pulling member including a frame engagement element at one end and a circumferential sleeve slidably mounted about a central segment of the pulling member, the sleeve having a frame-opposing end and a fame-distal end. An axle is transversely mounted upon the post sleeve to which is pivotally secured the pulling sleeve member. The system also includes first and second linear position actuation elements, the first of which is pivotally mounted to the first sleeve above the axle. Selectable actuation of the second linear position actuation element effects incremental linear pulling of the pulling member inclusive of the frame engagement elements of the system.

1. Subject Area
This invention relates to improvements in the straightening of rigid frames and sheet metal surfaces, such as frames, bodies and doors of a vehicle and, more particularly, apparatus for the straightening thereof by the simultaneous application of multi-directional forces exerted by power devices.
2. Prior Art
The straightening of vehicle frames and sheet metal products by mechanical means is well known and has been practiced for many years as, for example, is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,855 (1970) to Wylie; U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,084 (1974) to Jarman; U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,777 (1975) to Dickens; U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,255 (1981) to Sanchez; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,629 (1987) to Grace. A typical prior art structure is shown in FIG. 1.
Generally, frame-straightening systems are extremely bulky, require considerable space to operate, and represent a high capital cost to a body shop or other establishment. Also, the precision of operation of such machines, particularly when multi-directional forces would be useful in addressing a given straightening job, is lacking because it is difficult to control the forces applied by such machines, and it is also difficult to apply multi-directional components of pulling force to the workpiece.
In view of the above limitations of such conventional, heavy, large and imprecise frame and sheet metal straightening systems, it has been difficult to repair automobiles of the past which, typically, made use of a semi-rigid body or shell segments placed over a rigid frame. Nonetheless, the prior art is more suitable to the repair of such automobiles because vehicle manufacturers then employed large tolerances between body panels. However, with the advent of modern manufacturing techniques, most vehicles now produced are of a uni-body type construction, in which the frame component is largely eliminated by a tight integration, at low tolerance, of several smaller semi-rigid sub-assemblies. This low tolerance integration causes an entire vehicle, not simply the impacted area, to distort upon a collision, thereby magnifying the damage and cost of repair in the event of an accident. Furthermore, the strength and rigidity of uni-body vehicles are highly dependent on the above referenced close tolerances between the constituent sub-assemblies. Therein, body shop professionals are now aware that prior art straightening machines lack the ability to apply and regulate small movements, as well as to control the directionality thereof, required to repair the body of such modern vehicles.
Responsive thereto, the within inventor has developed a system capable of effecting small controlled movements of a powerful apparatus that, when physically anchored to a vehicle to be repaired, permits the operator to controllably restore the normal dimension and curvature of damaged uni-body segments. Such small controlled movements are made possible through the elimination of the use of chains, as are common in the prior art (see for example Grace, U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,628 above). Furthermore, the elimination of the chain in a straightening apparatus, as is further set forth below, renders it possible to impart pulling forces in multiple directions, that is, not simply to apply a linear pulling force. Because of this, an operator of the present system can combine multiple prior art movements into a single movement that would otherwise have required multiple operations.
In addition to the particular application of the present invention to present day small tolerance uni-body vehicles, the time of repair of vehicles, regardless of vintage, is substantially decreased.
The present invention relates to a vehicle frame straightening system including a rigid vertical post secured to rigid base; a circumferential post sleeve slidably mounted about an upper segment of said post; and an elongate pulling member including frame engagement means at one end thereof. The system also includes a circumferential sleeve slidably mounted about a central segment of said pulling member, said sleeve having a frame-opposing end and a frame-distal end. An axle is transverely mounted upon said post sleeve to which is pivotally secured said pulling member sleeve. Further included in the system is first linear position actuation means (LPPAM) pivotally mounted to said first sleeve above said axle, said first LPPAM having a drive end and a driven end, said driven end pivotally spool-coupled to said frame-opposing end of said pulling member sleeve. First and second scissors arms are pivotally coupled to each other at opposing ends thereof in which said first arm is also pivotally secured to said distal end of pulling member and said second arm is pivotally secured to said frame-distal end of said pulling member sleeve. Finally, there is provided a second LPPAM having a drive end and a drive end which is secured transversely between said scissors arms. Said drive end is spool-coupled to said first arm and said driven end is coupled in a linear incremental advance relationship to said second arm. Resultantly, selected actuation of said first LPPAM rotatably calibrates the angle of action of said elongate pulling member on the vehicle frame. Selectable actuation of said second LPPAM effects incremental linear pulling of said pulling member inclusive of said frame engagement means thereof. Each of said LPPAM preferably comprises a screw and worm gear assembly, although hydraulic means may also be used.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved vehicle body and frame-straightening apparatus particularly adapted for use with low tolerance uni-frame body type vehicles.
It is another object to provide an apparatus of the above type capable of efficiently imparting fine increments of multi-directional forces within a single pulling operation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus of the above type that will provide for more efficient, less time consuming vehicle repair.
It is a yet further object to provide a vehicle straightening apparatus of the above type having reduced size, cost and weight as opposed to vehicle frame straightening apparatus that are known in the prior art.
The above and yet other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description of the Invention, and claims appended herewith.

Multi-directional vehicle frame straightening system


Large work machines typically include an automatic lubrication system for lubricating critical areas during operation. In such systems it is advantageous to provide an efficient and flexible controller having substantial diagnostic capabilities. The subject inventions provides a sensor for determining the level of an operational parameter, a device for calculating a time interval being dependent on a previous lubrication event and the operational parameter, a device for producing a lubrication signal in response to the time interval reaching a predetermined interval constant, and a lubrication control for activating a lubrication system.

Many large work machines, such as off-highway mining trucks, front shovels, and hydraulic excavators, include numerous moving parts that require proper lubrication to prevent premature failure. Critical areas such as wheel bearings and linkage joints are advantageously lubricated during operation to eliminate the need for stopping the machine for lubrication. To prevent premature failure, these critical areas must be frequently lubricated, e.g. it may be advantageous in some environments to lubricate the critical areas as frequently as every 5-10 minutes. Since many of these machines have enormous operating capacities, time in which the machine is not operating represents a substantial loss of capacity to the owner. Obviously, if the machine must be lubricated every 5 minutes, the machine would be stopped for lubrication as much as it was operating.
To address these needs, various systems have been developed to provide lubrication during machine operation. Generally, such lubrication systems include an air system supply line, a solenoid air valve operated in response to a control, an air-powered lubrication pump, and an injector bank located at each of the critical areas of the machine. The lubrication control typically provides a timer designed to inject lubricant into the critical areas at preset time intervals during machine operation. While such systems provide adequate lubrication, they also tend to lubricate more often than necessary since it reacts solely to time and not to the actual use of the bearings or joints. For example, if a truck is standing still, there is no need to lubricate the wheel bearings during each time interval. It is only after the truck has been moving for the predetermined time interval that lubrication is required. Thus energy and lubricant could be conserved if the lubrication system is controlled in response to the length of time the bearings are actually being used rather than in response to time alone.
Another problem arises if there is a fault condition in the lubrication system. For example, if a lubrication line is broken or has become unattached,lubricant will not reach the desired location. To address this problem, prior art systems have provided pressure switches to be activated in response to the pressure in the lubrication lines reaching a predetermined level. If the pressure does not reach that level when the lubrication system is activated, an alarm is energized to indicate that a fault condition exists. However, merely indicating that the desired pressure was not reached is insufficient information for service personnel to efficiently diagnose and repair all types of problems. It may also be important to indicate whether the lubrication system pressure has exceeded a high pressure level. For example, if a lubrication line is obstructed or if the air pressure system is operating at too high of a pressure, the lubrication system pressure will exceed the predetermined level but there will nonetheless be a fault condition. Similarly, there may be a fault within the pressure sensor itself or the wire carrying the electrical signal from the pressure sensor may be shorted to ground or to the positive supply voltage. Information regarding which of the numerous possible fault conditions in the lubrication system and pressure sensor would be extremely useful to service personnel and would reduce downtime considerably.
Some prior art lubrication systems have provided adaptability to the system by using set-screws on the timer to adjust the time between lubrication and on the pressure switch to adjust the predetermined pressure level. Such adjustments, while helpful, inadequately address the full range of adaptability and precision desired for proper lubrication control. For example, it is beneficial to provide a more precise method of setting these parameters and to provide a means for adjusting the duration of each lubrication event.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.


A semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same are provided in the present invention. The semiconductor device includes a substrate, a gate structure on the substrate and two spacers on both sidewalls of the gate structure. Each spacer comprises an inner first spacer portion made of SiCN and an outer second spacer portion made of SiOCN.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present disclosure relates to the manufacture of sophisticated semiconductor devices, and more specifically, to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device with low-k spacers composed of multilayer and the semiconductor devices incorporating such low-k spacers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The manufacture of advanced integrated circuits, such as CPUs, storage devices, ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) and the like, requires the formation of a large number of circuit elements in a given chip area according to a specified circuit layout. Field effect transistors (NMOS and PMOS transistors) represent one important type of circuit element that substantially determines performance of such integrated circuits. During the fabrication of complex integrated circuits using, for instance, MOS technology, millions of transistors, e.g., NFET transistors and/or PFET transistors, are formed on a substrate including a crystalline semiconductor layer. A field effect transistor, whether an NFET or a PFET device, is a planar device that typically includes a source region, a drain region, a channel region that is positioned between the source region and the drain region, a gate insulating layer and a gate electrode positioned above the gate insulating layer over the channel region. By applying an appropriate voltage to the gate electrode, the channel region becomes conductive and current is allowed to flow from the source region to the drain region.
For many early device technology generations, the gate structures of most transistor elements has been comprised of a plurality of silicon-based materials, such as a silicon dioxide and/or silicon oxynitride gate insulating layer, in combination with a polysilicon gate electrode. However, as the channel length of aggressively scaled transistor elements has become increasingly smaller, many newer generation devices employ gate structures that contain alternative materials in an effort to avoid the short channel effects which may be associated with the use of traditional silicon-based materials in reduced channel length transistors. Gate structures that include a so-called high-k dielectric gate insulating layer and one or more metal layers that function as the gate electrode (HK/MG) have been implemented. Such alternative gate structures have been shown to provide significantly enhanced operational characteristics over the heretofore more traditional silicon dioxide/poly-silicon gate structure configurations. One well-known processing method that has been used for forming a transistor with a high-k/metal gate structure is the so-called "gate last" or "replacement metal gate" (RMG) technique.
In a conventional RMG process, spacers at both sides of the dummy poly-silicon gate are vulnerable to the etching process for removing the sacrificial gate insulating layer after the poly-silicon gate electrode is removed. The consumption of the spacers may cause CD (critical dimension) bias on the resulting metal gate structure. Additionally, with the reduction of the width of the spacers due to the consumption, the parasitic capacitance of the semiconductor device would be increased and affects its electrical performance. Therefore, it is necessary for those skilled in the art to develop an effective structure or method to solve this issue.

Method for manufacturing transistor with SiCN/SiOCN multilayer spacer


Systems and methods are disclosed for lookup-based convolutional neural networks. For example, methods may include applying a convolutional neural network to image data based on an image to obtain an output, in which a layer of the convolutional network includes filters with weights that are stored as a dictionary (D) of channel weight vectors, a respective lookup index tensor (I) that indexes the dictionary, and a respective lookup coefficient tensor (C), and in which applying the convolutional neural network includes: convolving the channel weight vectors of the dictionary (D) with an input tensor based on the image to obtain an input dictionary (S), and combining entries of the input dictionary (S) that are indexed with indices from the respective lookup index tensor (I) and multiplied with corresponding coefficients from the respective lookup coefficient tensor (C); and storing, displaying, or transmitting data based on the output of the convolutional neural network.

In recent years convolutional neural networks (CNN) have played major roles in improving the state of the art across a wide range of problems in computer vision, including image classification, object detection, segmentation, etc. These models are very expensive in terms of computation and memory. For example, AlexNet has 61 million parameters and performs 1.5 billion high precision operations to classify a single image. These numbers are even higher for deeper networks (e.g., the Visual Geometry Group (VGG) networks). The computational burden of learning and inference for these models is significantly higher than what many computing platforms can afford.

Lookup-based convolutional neural network


A wireless circuit includes a housing, such as a hermetic housing, and at least one antenna coil wound about a coil axis within the housing. The coil axis may be substantially parallel to at least one wall of the housing, wherein the wall parallel to the coil axis is substantially thinner than other walls of the housing.

Implantable wireless sensors are useful in assisting diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. Examples of wireless sensor readers are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/737,306 entitled Wireless Sensor Reader, which is incorporated by reference herein. Delivery systems for wireless sensors are disclosed in PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2011/45583 entitled Pressure Sensor, Centering Anchor, Delivery System and Method, which is also incorporated herein by reference. In particular, there are many applications where measuring pressure from within a blood vessel deep in a patient's body is clinically important. For example, measuring the pressure in the heart's pulmonary artery is helpful in optimizing treatment of congestive heart failure. In this type of application, a sensor may need to be implanted 10 to 20 cm beneath the surface of the skin.
Wireless sensors that use radiofrequency (RF) energy for communication and/or power have been found to be particularly useful in medical applications. However, a key challenge in successful commercialization of these implantable wireless sensors is the design tradeoff between implant size and the "link distance", which is the physical distance between the implant and the external device communicating with the implant. From a medical standpoint, it is desirable for an implant to be as small as possible to allow catheter based delivery from a small incision, implantation at a desired location, and a low risk of thrombosis following implant. However, from a wireless communication standpoint, the smaller the implant, the shorter the link distance. This distance limitation is driven primarily by the size of the antenna that can be realized for a given overall implant size. A larger antenna is better able to absorb RF energy and transmit RF energy than a smaller antenna. For example, in the case of wireless communication via inductive coupling, a typical implant antenna has the form of a coil of wire. The coil's "axis" is the line that extends normal to the plane of the windings, i.e. the axis is perpendicular to the wire's length. As the area encircled by the coil increases, the amount of magnetic flux that passes through it generally increases and more RF energy is delivered to/received from the implant. This increase in flux through the implant antenna can result in an increase in link distance. Thus to achieve maximum link distance for a given implant size, the implant antenna should be of maximal size.
While antenna size is important, other implant architectures may benefit from maximizing the size of other internal components. An implant containing an energy storage device such as a battery, for example, would enjoy longer battery lifetime with a larger battery. In another example, a drug-eluting implant could hold a larger quantity of the drug. Other examples will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Another challenge in commercialization of implantable wireless sensors is the need to protect the sensitive sensor electronics from potentially corrosive or damaging fluids of the body. For many implant applications, the sensor may need to record accurate measurements for a period of time exceeding 7 to 10 years. Small changes in electrical, chemical, or mechanical properties of the implant over this time period can result in inaccurate measurements. To prevent inaccurate measurements, a hermetic enclosure may be required to protect the sensitive electronics of the sensor from the transfer of liquids and gases from the bodily environment.
Hermetic enclosures for implants are typically constructed of metals, glasses, or other ceramics. Metals are malleable and machineable, capable of being constructed into thin walled hermetic enclosures such as the titanium enclosures of pacemakers. Unfortunately, the use of metals in hermetic enclosures may negatively impact the ability of the sensor to communicate wirelessly with an external device, especially when communication at low radiofrequencies is desired. While ceramics and glasses are compatible with wireless RF communication, it is difficult to machine ceramics to a thin walled hermetic enclosure. The brittleness of ceramics prevents the construction of thin wall hermetic enclosures from ceramic materials.
State of the art ceramic machining can produce walls of approximately 0.5-0.7 mm thickness. For implants whose length, width, and height dimensions are typically ones of millimeters, this can represent a significant reduction in available internal volume for components such as antennas.
Hermetic enclosures known in the art, particularly those made of ceramic and/or glass materials, do not lend themselves to efficient use of limited space. Non-metal hermetic enclosures known in the art are typically manufactured via planar processing technology, such as low temperature cofired ceramic processes, laser machining, ultrasonic machining, Electronic Discharge Machining (EDM), or Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication techniques. These techniques are capable of processing ceramics and glasses with tight control of feature resolution. However, sidewalls of an implant package made with these techniques often require use of a dicing saw or laser to separate the implant package from the remaining substrate. Due to manufacturing constraints and the need for mechanical strength, implant package sidewalls made by these methods are typically 0.3 mm-0.5 mm thick. Alternative manufacturing approaches, such as the molding or machining of ceramic, are typically limited to minimum sidewalls of 0.5-0.7 mm thick.
An example of a prior art hermetic implant package 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The implant package 10 includes thick sidewalls 12 that limit the space available for the internal components, in this case implant antenna 14. For example, an implant package of width 4 mm that has sidewalls 0.5 mm thick only has a maximum of 3 mm of width available for an implant antenna. FIG. 1 shows an antenna 14 that is placed into the implant package from an opening at the top of the package. To complete the implant package, a top layer 16 is connected or bonded to the implant package and sealed as shown in FIG. 2A. For pressure-sensing implant packages known in the art, the top layer is typically either a capacitive pressure sensor itself, a thin membrane that is directly part of a sensing electronic circuit, or a thin membrane that communicates pressure from the environment to the inside of the implant package via an incompressible liquid or gel. Manufacturing techniques known in the art are capable of routinely processing membranes to thicknesses of 0.025-0.1 mm. Many variations of the FIG. 1-2 architecture exist in the prior art, including the method of etching a cavity in half of a housing to create the thin wall on top of the coil, and then bonding the two housing halves vertically. This is depicted in the sketch of FIG. 2B, where the upper housing half 999 has a cavity etched into it to create the thin membrane.
Other prior art exemplifies wireless implant architectures of the type shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, where the thin pressure sensitive membrane is in a plane that is perpendicular to the coil's axis. U.S. Pat. No. 7,574,792 (O'Brien), U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,299 (Petersen), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,276 (Chubbuck) all teach implantable pressure sensors with coil antennas, and hermetic housings with at least one deformable pressure-sensitive wall. In all these cases, the pressure-sensitive walls of the housings are perpendicular to the coil axis, and the walls located outside the coil perimeter are rigid, structural, and relatively thick. In these architectures, total coil area is limited by the need for a relatively thick structural wall outside the coil perimeter.
To improve implantable wireless sensors, it is desirable to have a hermetic enclosure with thin walls outside the coil antenna perimeter, thus maximizing the internal dimension that most constrains antenna size.

Implantable sensor enclosure with thin sidewalls


The present invention employs hierarchical modulation to simultaneously transmit data over different modulation layers using a carrier RF signal. Each modulation layer may be of a higher or lower order than the other modulation layers. Certain embodiments of the present invention may transmit different information on the different modulation layers. Other embodiments of the present invention may use the different layers for processing different information streams.

With each successive generation of RF communications systems, modulation techniques, access schemes, and communications protocols become more sophisticated and demanding. One universal goal is to increase the amount of information transmitted in a given communications band, and to accommodate different types of information that must be communicated. For example, first generation cellular networks were designed to provide only voice services; however, these networks have evolved to provide a number of simultaneous services, including internet traffic, such as emails, and provide multi-media services, such as broadcast and on demand services in specific geographic areas. Each of these services may have its own specific requirements for bandwidth, latency, acceptable error rate, and locations of availability. As a result, different processing methods have been developed, including orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM), single frequency networks (SFN), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), and multi-hop and relayed transmissions. OFDM and SC-FDM can distribute a high bandwidth signal onto multiple sub-carriers of lower bandwidth. SFNs improve signal coverage of broadcast data by transmitting the same information at the same time from multiple antennas. MIMO adds antennas to a system to provide spatial multiplexing, diversity, or both. Multi-hop and relayed transmissions provide broadcast data to multiple base stations. Therefore, as communications systems evolve, there is a need to increase the number and diversity of services by improving how bandwidth is utilized.

Content differentiated hierarchical modulation used in radio frequency communications


An application performance management system is disclosed. Operational elements are dynamically discovered and extended when changes occur. Programmatic knowledge is captured. Particular instances of operational elements are recognized after changes have been made using a fingerprint/signature process. Metrics and metadata associated with a monitored operational element are sent in a compressed form to a backend for analysis. Metrics and metadata from multiple similar systems may be used to adjust/create expert rules to be used in the analysis of the state of an operational element. A 3-D user interface with both physical and logical representations may be used to display the results of the performance management system.

As computer systems get larger and larger, as do their applications, the difficulty in monitoring all of the various applications on a system also increases. In particular, some systems may be distributed geographically (for example, in cloud computing), and multiple applications may run on multiple processors within a single computer system.
Further, these computer systems may be dynamically configured, with applications moving between processors as necessary. Additionally, the physical computer system may be dynamically configured with additional processors brought online as needed by the various applications. Monitoring such systems is extremely complex and it is difficult to configure monitoring systems such that they sufficiently monitor all of the various applications, provide a user sufficient and easily understandable alerts, and possibly to automatically repair some application problems.
Overview
In an embodiment, an application performance management system including a communication interface and a processing system is provided. The communication interface is configured to communicate with an agent deployed within a target computing system.
The processing system is coupled with the communication interface, and is configured to receive first metrics associated with a first operational element executing within a first target computing system from a first agent, and to receive second metrics associated with a second operational element executing within a second target computing system from a second agent, wherein the second operational element is in a class of operational elements including the first operational element.
The processing system is also configured to process the first and second metrics to determine a performance relevant pattern related to the class of operational elements including the first and second operational elements, and to modify an algorithm for detecting performance issues within the class of operational elements based on the performance relevant pattern. The processing system is further configured to receive third metrics associated with the first operational element, and to apply the modified algorithm for detecting performance issues to the third metrics to detect performance issues for the first operational element.
In another embodiment, a method of managing operational elements executing within a target computing system is provided. The method includes receiving first metrics associated with a first operational element executing within a first target computing system from a first agent, and receiving second metrics associated with a second operational element executing within a second target computing system from a second agent, wherein the second operational element is in a class of operational elements including the first operational element.
The method also includes processing the first and second metrics to determine a performance relevant pattern related to the class of operational elements including the first and second operational elements, and modifying an algorithm for detecting performance issues within the class of operational elements based on the performance relevant pattern. The method further includes receiving third metrics associated with the first operational element, and applying the modified algorithm for detecting performance issues to the third metrics to detect performance issues for the first operational element.
In a further embodiment, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having stored thereon program instructions to operate an application performance management system is provided. The program instructions, when executed by processing circuitry, direct the processing circuitry to at least receive first metrics associated with a first operational element executing within a first target computing system from a first agent, and to receive second metrics associated with a second operational element executing within a second target computing system from a second agent, wherein the second operational element is in a class of operational elements including the first operational element.
The program instructions also direct the processing circuitry to at least process the first and second metrics to determine a performance relevant pattern related to the class of operational elements including the first and second operational elements, and to modify an algorithm for detecting performance issues within the class of operational elements based on the performance relevant pattern. The program instructions further direct the processing circuitry to at least receive third metrics associated with the first operational element, and to apply the modified algorithm for detecting performance issues to the third metrics to detect performance issues for the first operational element.
In another embodiment, a method of identifying a status for an operational element, includes collecting a first plurality of metrics associated with a first operational element running on a first host. A second plurality of metrics associated with a second operational element running on a second host is also collected. An expert rule is modified based on the first plurality of metrics and the second plurality of metrics. The modified expert rule is applied to determine a selected status for the first operational element.

Application performance management system with collective learning


A light-scattering disc collector member useable in converting a classical (coherence-dependent) microdensitometer to a linear (mode) microdensitometer that is coherence-independent. The member is made of material that is transmissive, non-absorbing, and high scattering as to light, and it preferably comprises a right circular cylinder which is made opaque (such as with black paint), except for a light-transmissive entrance aperture which is located on one base of the cylinder and which is shaped as an inwardly formed hemispherical dome, and a light-transmissive exit aperture which is located on the other base of the cylinder in geometric alignment with the entrance aperture. When used to convert a classical microdensitometer to a linear microdensitometer, the light-scattering disc collector member replaces the objective of the microscope in the sensor optics assembly of the classical microdensitometer.

This invention relates generally to microdensitometers and, more particularly, to a unique light-scattering disc collector member (and assembly) which has many applications, including: use as a constituent of a sensor optics assembly of a microdensitometer; and, more importantly, use as a replacement of pertinent structural members of a sensor optics assembly of a classical microdensitometer, whereby the classical microdensitometer is converted to a linear microdensitometer.
As will be shown later, a classical microdensitometer is, essentially, two opposing microscopes: one to irradiate the target or object sample (i.e., "source optics"); and, the other to sample target (or object sample) radiance (i.e., "sensor optics") as a function of position.
It is well known in the microdensitometer art that the use of a classical microdensitometer inherently results in significantly misleading information at the output end of the classical microdensitometer system, because of coherent diffraction at the site of the target (or object sample), coupled with the imaging function of the sensor optics. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done about the increasingly felt effects of coherence as one moves toward greater system resolution, as long as a classical microdensitometer is used.
Therefore, what is needed in the art, and is not presently available, is (for reasons that will be explained later herein) a means for (and/or a method of) converting a classical microdensitometer to a linear (mode) microdensitometer, easily and economically.
My invention fulfills this existing need and, thereby, constitutes a significant advance in the state-of-the-art.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A clamping mechanism for a hot-runner manifold (1) used for injection molding is provided. Screws (11) are used to hold the manifold (1) to a mold plate (7). The screws (11) are attached to clamping members (17) which, in turn, are connected to the manifold. The clamping members (17) include socket portions (21) which are positioned in circular recesses (13) in the manifold. The clamping members (17) can undergo limited pivotal movement due to thermal expansion of the manifold during use.

The invention concerns a unique and advantageous clamping mechanism for a hot-runner manifold system used for injection molding. A fastener connection is provided between the hot-runner manifold block and the mold plate of the product mold for the injection-molding system. A sprue bushing is situated in the mold plate in tight fluid communication with the hot-runner manifold. Clamping members located on both sides of the hot-runner manifold are screwed into the mold plate and secure the manifold to the mold plate.
Hot-runner manifold systems are well known and are used to convey the synthetic-material melt, plastified by heating, into a plurality of individual sprue bushings positioned in mold plates of the injection-molding system. The manifolds keep the plastic material in a fluid condition while the material flows from the injection machine nozzle through the sprue bushings and into the mold cavity. Hot-runner manifold systems provide for use of a plurality of sprue bushings and multi-cavity molds and thus allow increased manufacture of more products.
The sprue bushings are inserted into recesses or bores in the mold plate. The top or inlet ends of the sprue bushings are positioned and sealed against the lower surface of the hot-runner manifold block. (The lower surface is also called the "underside" of the manifold block. In addition, the "top side" of the hot-runner manifold means the external side of the hot-runner manifold block, which lies opposite the lower surface and the sprue bushings.)
Known hot-runner manifolds commonly contain pairs of lugs which protrude on opposite sides of the block and which accommodate clamping screws. In order to produce such hot-runner manifold blocks, the external contours, including the externally protruding lugs, are machined from a larger block of metal material. This requires considerable expenditure of labor and waste of material.
Since the hot-runner manifolds are heated, they undergo thermal expansion when in operation, while the sprue bushings inserted into the injection-molding mold plate typically maintain their position. Such thermal expansion, depending on the dimensions of the hot-runner manifold block, may be relatively large, for example on the order of 3 mm. This causes twisting and distortion of the clamping screws inserted in the lateral lugs. Furthermore, the thermal expansion causes an increase in the surface pressure between the hot-runner manifold and the sprue bushings. This may cause the bushing to be forced into the bottom surface (under side) of the hot-runner manifold and cause surface damage (erosion) on the sealing surface.
Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a clamping mechanism for hot-runner manifold systems which is an improvement over known fastening mechanisms. It is another object of the present invention to provide a clamping mechanism for hot-runner manifold systems which permits thermal expansion of the manifolds without adverse effects on the clamping screws and/or the sprue bushings.


A special purpose processor and method of computation for performing an N-length real-number discrete cosine transform (DCT). The algorithm is called the split-radix discrete cosine transform because an Nth order DCT consists of an (N/2)th order DCT and two (N/4)th order inverse DCT (IDCT), where N is an integer power of 2 and larger than 4. In the embodiments of the invention, signal flow-graphs for both the forward and inverse scaled DCT have been implemented based on fused multiply and add operations in pipeline architectures. In the two-dimensional cases, over 20% arithmetic operations are saved compared to other known fast two-dimensional DCT algorithms. In addition, the split-radix DCT method offers flexibility of processing different input sizes under software control.

1. Field of the Invention
The discrete cosine transform (DCT), a special kind of orthonormal transform, has been widely accepted as the preferred method for compressing and decompressing gray-scaled images. A DCT compressor comprises mainly two parts: The first part transforms highly correlated image data into weakly correlated coefficients using a DCT transform and the second part performs adaptive quantization on coefficients to reduce the bit rate for transmission or storage. However, the computational burden in performing a DCT is demanding. For example, to process a one-dimensional DCT of length 8 pixels requires 11 multiplications and 29 additions in currently known fast algorithms. In practice, the image is divided into square blocks of size 8 by 8 pixels, 16 by 16 pixels or 32 by 32 pixels. Each block is often processed by the one-dimensional DCT in row-by-row fashion followed by column-by-column. On the other hand, different image block sizes are selected for compression due to different types of input images and different quality requirements on the decompressed image. A radix-2 DCT algorithm has been described in the article, "A Fast Recursive Algorithm for Computing the Discrete Cosine Transform," IEEE Trans. on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Vol. ASSP-35, No. 10, pp. 1455-1461, by H. S. Hou in October 1987. The purpose is to reduce the number of multiplications as well as to offer design flexibility of processing different sizes of DCT blocks. The references in the above article list the prior arts of the DCT algorithms.
In the article, "A Fast DCT-SQ Scheme for Images," Trans. IEICE, Vol. E-71, No. 11, pp. 1095-1097, Nov. 1988, Y. Arai, T. Agui, and M. Nakajima have proposed that many of the DCT multiplications can be formulated as scaling multipliers to the DCT coefficients. The DCT after the multipliers are factored out is called the scaled DCT. Evidently, the scaled DCT is still orthogonal but no longer normalized, whereas the scaling factors may be restored in the following quantization process. Arai, et al. have demonstrated in their article that only 5 multiplications and 29 additions are required in processing an 8-point scaled DCT. Then E. Feig has mathematically described the scaled DCT, in particular the 8 by 8 scaled DCT, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,434 issued on Mar. 8, 1994 and the article, "A Fast Scaled-DCT Algorithm," presented at the 1990 SPIE/SPSE Symposium of Electronic Imaging Science and Technology, Feb. 12, 1990, Santa Clara, Calif. However, the recursive properties of the scaled DCT have not been mentioned in the previous publications. Subsequently, H. S. Hou described the recursive properties of the scaled DCT in radix-2 formulations in the article, "Recursive Scaled-DCT," presented at the 1991 SPIE International Symposium, conference 1567, Jul. 22, 1991, San Diego, Calif.
The goal of previous DCT algorithms with the scaled DCT included is to reduce the number of multiplications in the processor. But the fastest processors today are based on the fused multiply and add operations in pipeline architectures. In the fused multiply and add operations, a multiplication and an addition in the form of a+bc can be performed in one instruction cycle. For example, according to the current specification of the microprocessor i860 from Intel, a 32-bit fused multiply and add operation takes 20 nsec, whereas a single 32-bit multiply or a single 32-bit add also takes 20 nsec. Hence, there is a net gain in processing speed if we can take advantage of these architectures for implementation of the scaled DCT. E. Feig and E. Linzer have described the result of using the fused multiply and add architecture in performing an 8-point scaled DCT in their article, "Scaled DCT Algorithms for JPEG and MPEG Implementations on Fused Multiply/Add Architectures," presented in SPIE conferences, 1991. Again the recursive nature of the scaled DCT has not been considered for the selection of different sizes of image blocks under program control.
All the recursive DCT algorithms published today are in radix-2 forms, i.e., splitting an Nth order DCT into two (N/2)th order DCT. Yet, it is known in fast Fourier transforms and fast Hartley transforms that split-radix algorithms give the fastest operations. But no corresponding split-radix DCT has been known to exist in the state-of-the-art. This invention discloses the split-radix algorithm and the implementation schemes for processing the regular DCT and the scaled DCT.
Due to the fact that the number of arithmetic operations in performing a DCT grows faster than linearly proportional to the number of input, from both the speed performance and the design flexibility viewpoints, it is desirable to use the recursive algorithms for both the DCT and the scaled DCT. In so doing, one can process a combination of lower order DCT instead of a higher order DCT by itself. In the radix-2 recursive DCT algorithm, an Nth order DCT contains two (N/2)th order DCT; whereas in the radix-2 recursive scaled DCT algorithm, an Nth order scaled DCT contains one (N/2)th order scaled DCT and one (N/2)th order scaled IDCT. The disclosed split-radix DCT and the split-radix scaled DCT algorithms are further improvements of the radix-2 algorithms, because in the split-radix DCT algorithm an Nth order DCT contains an (N/2)th order DCT and two (N/4)th order IDCT, whereas in the split-radix scaled DCT algorithms an Nth order scaled DCT contains an (N/2)th order scaled DCT and two (N/4)th order modified scaled IDCT.