Flip-chip bonding structures using an MCM-D substrate are disclosed. A flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate includes: a silicon substrate, a Si-bump disposed at a predetermined position of the silicon substrate, wherein a material of the Si-bump is the same as the silicon substrate, a dielectric layer disposed on the silicon substrate and a transmission line formed on the Si-bump to connect to a circuit formed on the dielectric layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flip-chip technology; and, more particularly, to sa flip-chip bonding structure incorporating therein an MCM-D (Multi Chip Module-Deposited) substrate.
2. Background of the Related Art
As a consequence of the recent rapid increase in demand for more band-width, mm-wave applications such as a short-range broad-band wireless communication are currently attracting a great interest and a investment. In order, however, for these applications to be commercially viable, a commercial package technology capable of imparting compact and high-performance mm-wave modules with low manufacturing cost is a must. MCM-D technology is one of the best candidates for realizing this objective, because, as well as allowing system-on-package (SOP) approach as it is based on thin-film dielectric layers, it is capable of providing high resolution patterns, an absolute necessity for accommodating mm-wave frequency having very short wavelength. In addition, the flip-chip interconnection has a number of advantages over the wire-bonding interconnection. To mention a few, they include: (1) lower parasitic elements due to the shorter interconnection length; (2) lower assembly cost; and (3) higher reproducibility. Accordingly, by mounting active components such as a monolithic mm-wave integrated circuit (MMIC) or an active device on the MCM-D substrate by means of the flip-chip technology, the objective described above can be achieved.
There are some technical issues which must resolved, however, if the flip-chip technology is to be used as the interconnection between the active components and the MCM-D substrate in mm-wave applications, the issues, mainly relating to the inherent properties of the MCM-D substrate, such as the CTE (Coefficient of the Thermal Expansion), the thermal conductivity, the dielectric constant, and the suppression of package-related parasitic modes, all of which are critical to the over-all performance of the module. The above mentioned properties are critical in that: (1) the CTE of the MCM-D substrate has to be similar to that of the active components mounted on the MCM-D substrate to improve the thermo-mechanical reliability of the flip-chip structure; (2) the MCM-D substrate must have a high thermal conductivity to effectively dissipate the heat generated by the active components; (3) the MCM-D substrate should have a low dielectric constant to reduce the proximity effect between the active components and the MCM-D substrate; and (4) the MCM-D substrate must have a lossy property or support shorting via holes to suppress package-related parasitic modes caused by conducting backside.
Currently, the most widely used flip-chip substrates are based on alumina. The alumina substrate is an insulator substrate, and could be used to make a transmission line having good transmitting characteristics. Also, the CTE of alumina substrate, 6 ppm/° C., similar to that of the chip components, 7 ppm/° C., ensures a reliable flip-chip structure.
However, the high dielectric constant of the alumina substrate, about 9.8, can result in high proximity effects between the active components and the alumina substrate, and the relatively low thermal conductivity of the alumina substrate, 30 W/(m·K), in a poor dissipation of the heat generated by the active components.
To suppress the package-related parasitic modes, silicon substrates have been used as a substitute for the alumina substrates. However, the silicon substrate is saddled with a poor transmissibility. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a prior art flip-chip bonding structure including a Si-substrate 101, a dielectric layer 102, a transmission line 103, a flip-chip bump 104 and an active component 105. In the prior art, to solve the above-described shortcoming of the silicon substrate 101, a dielectric layer 102 having a low dielectric loss and a low dielectric constant, such as BCB (BenzoCyloButene), is coated on the entire surface thereof, making it possible to form a transmission line 103 with good transmitting characteristics. Further, the low dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 102 reduces the proximity effects between the silicon substrate 101 and the active component 105. However, in case of BCB, a relatively high CTE thereof, around 56 ppm/° C., compared to that of the active component 105, causes a mismatch of the CTEs between the silicon substrate 101 and the active component 105, which, in turn, causes cracks to form in the flip-chip bonding bump 104, thereby lowering the reliability of the flip-chip bonding structure. Also, the low thermal conductivity of BCB, around 0.02 W/(m·K), results in a poor dissipation of the heat generated by the active component.

Flip-chip bonding structure using multi chip module-deposited substrate

Seoul National University Industry Foundation


A terminal includes: a first baseband processor, a second baseband processor, a first radio frequency chip, a second radio frequency chip, a first antenna, a second antenna, a third antenna, and a fourth antenna. The first baseband processor is connected to the first antenna and the second antenna by using the first radio frequency chip. The first radio frequency chip is connected to the first antenna to form a first channel, and is connected to the second antenna to form a second channel. The second baseband processor is connected to the third antenna and the fourth antenna by using the second radio frequency chip. The second radio frequency chip is connected to the third antenna to form a third channel, and is connected to the fourth antenna to form a fourth channel.

3G is a third-generation mobile communications technology, and is a cellular mobile communications technology supporting high-speed data transmission. Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE for short) is a new generation mobile communication standard developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP for short). Compared with other communication standards, LTE has a higher transmission rate and better transmission quality, and currently becomes a popular communication standard. An existing fourth-generation mobile communications technology (4G) may include two standards: TD-LTE (Time Division Long Term Evolution, Time Division Long Term Evolution) and FDD-LTE (Frequency Division Duplex Long Term Evolution, Frequency Division Duplex Long Term Evolution).
Two SIM (subscriber identity module, subscriber identity module) cards may be simultaneously inserted in a dual SIM mobile phone, and the two cards are both in standby mode. However, in existing dual SIM mobile phones, only one SIM card can support 3G or 4G services, and the other SIM can only support 2G services. Therefore, in the existing dual SIM mobile phones, the two SIM cards cannot simultaneously support 3G or 4G services.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Terminal and communication method thereof


Methods and systems for providing dynamic dialogs, used with a downloadable toolbar for an Internet browser. In an embodiment of the invention an add-on browser toolbar, which may be implemented as a downloadable toolbar application that adds functionality to a Web browser, receives downloadable toolbar data that comprises dialog display data. In response to an event that calls for the display of a dialog, a dialog object is created and the dialog display data is loaded in the dialog object and then displayed to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to computer interfaces and, more particularly, to a method and system of providing dynamic dialogs for use with a downloadable toolbar.
2. Description of Related Art
When accessing the Internet and the World Wide Web, an Internet user typically executes, via a computer, a browser software program such as, for example, Netscape Navigator™ or Microsoft Internet Explorer™. The browser establishes a link to the Internet (via a modem and an Internet Service Provider (ISP), for example) and also provides a textual and graphical user interface which includes a window for displaying Internet content and toolbars for interfacing with the browser.
In order to add functionality to Web browsers, Internet content providers can offer add-ons such as toolbars, via predetermined Internet sites, which can be downloaded or otherwise obtained by an Internet user and integrated into their Web browser interface. Examples of additional functionality that can be added by a downloadable or add-on toolbar include a search function, bookmarks, a pop-up blocker, etc.
Software applications, such as the downloadable toolbar, use temporary windows called dialogs to give information to and obtain information from the user. For example when the user selects functions such as "open", "save", "print", "preferences" and "about", the application creates a dialog to interface with the user. For example, selecting "about" from the menu bar of an application opens a dialog including the name and version number of the application.
Dialogs can be modal or modeless. A modal dialog does not allow the user to continue to use the application until the dialog is dismissed, while a modeless dialog does not have to be dismissed for a user to continue to utilize the application.
A deficiency with present dialogs, however, is that the information that is displayed in a dialog is limited to the dialog display data that is included in the application data that is initially installed on a user's computer. Therefore, if a software provider wants to support multiple languages, a copy of each dialog in every supported language would have to be included in the initial application data. In addition, the content provider cannot modify the look of a dialog or add options to a dialog without having the user reinstall or upgrade the application. Since it is not preferable to have large installation files that have multiple languages, or to require users to perform frequent reinstallations, a need exists for an improved method and system for providing dynamic dialogs that give the content provider more control over the display and use of dialogs.

Method and system of providing dynamic dialogs


A microstrip antenna having a slot structure is disclosed for providing a sufficient bandwidth so as to meet the antenna requirements. The microstrip antenna is composed of a base board (such as a printed circuit board) and a microstrip patch radiator having the slot structure, wherein the microstrip patch radiator is formed on the base board. The slot structure is composed of a T-shaped slot, an L-shaped slot and a reversed-L-shaped slot, wherein the L-shaped slot and the reversed-L-shaped slot are mirror-reflected to each other.

With the advancement of communication technologies, various communication products and technologies have been continuously appearing in the market. Moreover, with integrated circuit (IC) technologies getting matured, the size of product has been gradually developed toward smallness, thinness, shortness and lightness. With respect to an antenna used for radiating or receiving signals in the communication products, the size of the antenna determines if the objective of smallness, thinness, shortness and lightness can be achieved.
An antenna is an element used for radiating or receiving electromagnetic wave, and generally, the features of antenna can be known by the parameters of operation frequency, radiation patterns, reflected loss, and antenna gain, etc. The antennas used in the present wireless communication products must have the advantages of small size, excellent performance and low cost, so as to be popularly accepted and approved by the market. According to different operation requirements, the functions equipped in the communication products are not all the same, and thus there are many varieties of antenna designs used for radiating or receiving signals, such as a rhombic antenna, a turnstile antenna, a microstrip antenna, and an inverted-F antenna, etc., wherein the microstrip antenna has the advantages of small size, light weight, easy fabrication, flexibly forming on a curved surface and being able to form with other electric elements in the same circuit, etc. The conventional microstrip patch antenna's radiating portion (microstrip patch) is about ½ wavelength (λ) long. Therefore, it is an important issue about how to further shrink the size of the microstrip patch antenna.
On the other hand, due to increasing demands of high-speed wireless communication, many new technologies have been continuously adopted in the actual applications, wherein ultra wideband (UWB) is one of the technologies under vigorous development. UWB is a wireless transmission specification using quite a broad bandwidth. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates that the frequency UWB is ranged in the bandwidth smaller than 1 GHz and the bandwidth between 3.1 GHz and 10.6 GHz, and the bandwidth of UWB can be as large as 500 MHz. However, the bandwidth of the conventional microstrip antenna is too small to meet the requirements of UWB.
Hence, there is an urgent need to develop a microstrip antenna for further reducing the antenna size and providing sufficient bandwidth for overcoming the shortcoming of the conventional technology.

Microstrip antenna having slot structure


A portable board game simulating a street for competitive play by from two to six players. The playing surface includes a series of twelve sequentially numbered landing spaces which must be progressively negotiated by having a playing piece successfully land totally within each numbered space in sequential order to complete the game. The board includes a series of obstacles of the type found on a city street or highway which are positioned to interfere with a game piece as it is moved from one numbered space to a succeeding numbered space. The obstacles include, for example, a raised manhole cover plate, a speed bump, a pair of barrier cones and at least two pot holes which form depressions or recesses in the surface of the board similar to potholes formed in a roadway. The board also includes a centrally positioned "dead box" which serves as a penalty zone, penalizing a player whose game piece lands in the dead box. The game piece is moved by striking with a finger or with a striking object such as a stick.

Board games for moving game pieces along a predetermined path are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,917 to Ferris et al relates to a racing board game using a dual track and blocking pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,246 to Merrill et al relates to a white-water rafting game having a variety of hazards. U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,267 to Trevisan relates to a racing game having bonus points or penalties received depending on the particular space occupied by the player during the course of the game.
The present invention is directed to a portable board game for competitive play by from two to six players. The playing surface includes a series of twelve squares or landing spaces which must be progressively negotiated by having a playing piece successfully land totally within each numbered space in sequential order to complete the game. The board includes a series of obstacles of the type which may be found on a city street or highway which are positioned to interfere with a game piece as it is moved from one numbered space to a succeeding numbered space. The obstacles include, for example, a raised manhole cover plate, a speed bump, a pair of barrier cones and at least two pot holes which form depressions or recesses in the surface of the board similar to potholes formed in a roadway.
The board also includes a centrally positioned "dead box" which serves as a penalty zone, penalizing a player whose game piece lands in the dead box. If a game piece lands in a pot hole it may be removed upon penalty of the loss of one turn. If a piece lands in the dead box, the player receives a penalty of the loss of two or three turns depending upon the penalty agrees upon at the start of the game. Preferably, the sequentially numbered spaces are disposed at opposite locations on the board usually with at least one or more obstacles in between to limit accessibility therebetween. For example, space 1 is located at one corner of the board and space 2 is located at a diagonally opposite corner with two potholes and the dead box directly in line with the two spaces. Spaces 3 and 4 are located at the other two diagonally opposite corners with the dead box and a manhole cover plate in line therewith. Spaces 5, 6, 7, and 8 are centrally located on opposite sides of the board directly in line with the dead box. Spaces 9 and 10 are centrally located on opposite ends of the board with the speed bump and dead box therebetween. Spaces 11 and 12 are located directly adjacent opposite ends of the dead box.
To play a dead box game each player rolls a die with the highest number going first. The first player moves his game piece from the starting point between landing spaces 2 and 4 located on an opposite end of the board, toward a first numbered space 1 by a flick of the players finger or by rapidly pushing the piece in the target direction with an object such as a cue stick used in billiards. If the piece lands totally within the numbered space, the player continues to move the piece toward the space 2. If at any time the piece does not land within the numbered space, either by miscalculation of the movement or by hitting an obstacle, the player's turn ends and the next player repeats the moves with his or her own piece. If a piece lands either partially or wholly within a pothole, that player loses a turn as a penalty. The piece is then removed to a far end of the board surface. If a piece lands within the dead box, the player loses two or three turns, depending upon the number agreed to at the start of the game. If a piece is shot completely off the board, a player may replace the piece at the point it left the board but with a penalty of one lost turn. An opposing player may aim his own piece at an opponent's piece to deflect that piece either into a penalty location or in a direction opposite the intended target landing space. The player can continuously hit his opponents piece to gain another turn and to advance his own piece. There are no limitations as to the direction the piece may be moved as long as the next succeeding landing space is entered. For example, a piece located directly behind an obstacle or in danger of going into the dead box penalty zone, may be aimed in another direction and, for example, may be played off of one of the side or end walls.
The game requires a degree of skill to completely negotiate all of the numbered spaces from 1 to 12. A player must also develop proficiency in avoiding the various obstacles while the piece is moved. The game is considered over when one of the players successfully completes all of the numbered spaces. If a series of games are played, penalty points may be assessed a player depending upon the number of remaining spaces the player has to negotiate. Obviously the player with the least number of points would be declared the winner at the end of a multiple game series.
The object of the game is to move a playing piece from successive numbered spaces in the least number of moves while avoiding the various obstacles on the board which are placed in the way of the game piece.
Another object is to proficiently move a game piece with a player's finger or striking stick to sequentially numbered target landing spaces, while avoiding obstacles in the path.


The present invention provides methods and kits for amplifying target nucleic acids (including whole genomes) using nicking agents. In certain aspects, the amplification does not require the use of any external oligonucleotide primers that are capable of annealing to a portion of the target nucleic acid. This invention is useful in many areas such as genetic disease diagnoses, forensic analyses and palcoarcheological studies.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of molecular biology, more particularly to methods and compositions involving nucleic acids, and still more particularly to methods and compositions for amplifying nucleic acids, e.g., genomic DNA, using nicking agents.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of methods have been developed for whole genome amplification. Most of these methods involve the use of random or partially random primers to amplify the entire genome of an organism in a PCR reaction (see, e.g., Kuukasjarvi et al., Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer 18: 94–101 (1997); Telenius et al., Genomics 13: 718–25, 1992; Zhang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sc. USA 89: 5847–51, 1992; Cheung et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93: 14676–79, 1996; Barrett et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 23: 3488–92; Klein et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 4494–9, 1999; Sun et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 23: 3034–40, 1995; Larsen et al., Cytometry 44: 317–325, 2001; and Barbaux et al., J. Mol. Med. 79: 329–32, 2001). This technique relies on having a sufficient number of primers of random or partially random sequences so that pairs of primers hybridize throughout the genomic DNA at moderate intervals. Extension from the 3′ termini of the primers produces strands to which another primer anneals. By subjecting the genomic DNA to multiple amplification cycles, the genomic sequences are amplified. Since this technique relies on PCR, it has the disadvantage that the amplification reaction must be carried out under cycles of different temperatures to achieve cycles of denaturation and re-annealing. Such cycles of denaturation and re-annealing are disadvantageous for many reasons, e.g., they may cause gene shuffling artifacts.
An alternative method for whole genome amplification is known as whole genome strand displacement amplification. This technique involves hybridization of random or partially random primers to a target genomic DNA and replication of the target sequence primed by the hybridized primers so that replication of the target sequence results in replicated strands complementary to the target sequence (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,120 and 6,280,949). During replication, the growing replicated strands displace other replicated strands from the target sequence (or from another replicated strand) via strand displacement replication. Displacement of replicated strands by other replicated strands allows the amplification of a target sequence or portions thereof. Although this technique may be carried out under an isothermal condition, it requires the use of multiple primers.
There is a long felt need in the art for a simpler and more efficient method to amplify a whole genome. The present invention fulfills this and related needs as described below. In contrast to previously known techniques for whole genome amplification, the present invention provides a method for nucleic acid amplification that does not require the use of an external oligonucleotide primer. In addition, the present invention can be carried out under an isothermal condition, in other words isothermally, thus avoiding the expenses associated with the equipment for providing cycles of different temperatures and potential re-annealing or gene shuffling artifacts.

Nucleic acid amplification using nicking agents


A pixel structure and a display device are provided. The pixel structure is designed and arranged in this way, which is helpful for simplifying a layout design of data lines. In addition, this can reduce dependence on a compensation circuit in a driving circuit. Further, arrangements and shapes of first sub-pixels and second sub-pixels are same. Therefore, a set of masks can be used to make the first sub-pixels and the second sub-pixels together, thereby reducing the mold charge of the masks and saving costs.

Organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays have become mainstream products in the market today. Display panel has a plurality of pixel units arranged in a matrix. Each pixel unit includes a plurality of sub-pixels. For example, each pixel unit includes three sub-pixels such as a red (R) sub-pixel, a green (G) sub-pixel, and a blue (B) sub-pixel. Each pixel unit displays colors through different combinations of the three sub-pixels.
In order to improve visual effect, people have higher and higher requirements for resolution of the display panel. That is, a number of pixels contained in an inch is increasing. This requires that a size of the sub-pixels is getting smaller and smaller, and a distance between the sub-pixels is getting closer. However, due to process limitations of an array substrate and requirements for a luminous lifetime of the device, a sub-pixel size cannot be reduced indefinitely. In order to improve a display performance when a size of the sub-pixels is constant, the prior art proposes an arrangement of common sub-pixels of adjacent pixels to reduce the number of sub-pixels, thereby achieving simulating high resolution with low resolution.
In currently widely used structural designs, whether in a horizontal or vertical direction, the sub-pixels are arranged alternately, which is not conducive to a design of a driving circuit and software rendering.

WUHAN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS SEMICONDUCTOR DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Disclosed are methods of detecting an analyte of interest comprising introducing a sample comprising an analyte of interest to an antibody or antibody fragment; incubating the sample and antibody or antibody fragment under conditions sufficient to allow binding of the analyte of interest to the antibody or antibody fragment; and detecting the binding of the analyte of interest to the antibody or antibody fragment using a label-free second harmonic detection system. Also disclosed are methods of screening and diagnosing using antibodies or antibody fragments and a label-free second harmonic detection system.

A simple cancer biomarker assay can provide early cancer detection and identification so that individualized treatment strategies can be delivered to patients in a timely manner. Such assays also have the potential to track progression, regression, and recurrence of the disease. When considering the multitude of potential cancer biomarkers, one area which has been largely overlooked is the low-molecular weight (LMW) distribution of peptides and protein fragments which are present in blood, saliva and urine. These LMW species (haptens) are either directly secreted or are produced from the degradation of larger protein products of cancer cells. LMW biomarkers have traditionally been excluded from development due to the difficulty in detecting these species in an easy and reliable manner. The standard approaches used to date employ a competitive immunoassay with the hapten immobilized on a solid-support and binding of the primary antibodies to the surface is in competition with the analyte (e.g. free hapten) in solution. Detection is typically achieved using an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) platform. Though this approach is the current "gold standard" in clinical assays, competitive assays suffer from a limited dynamic range and poor detection limits. In addition, the development of appropriate secondary antibodies is also required and the method can also suffer from "antibody interference". The detection and quantification of LMW cancer biomarkers in a label-free fashion using a primary antibody capture assay would circumvent the limitations of current competitive immunoassays and would represent a significant advancement in the ability to rapidly screen patients for potential cancers in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Systems and methods for label-free detection of analytes


An expansion mechanism that includes an elongate instrument and a plurality of struts arranged around the elongate instrument provides radial expansion of a medical device. Each strut has a first end pivotally connected to the elongate instrument and a second strut that expands radially outward. Each strut further carries a flexible line which has a proximal end and a distal end. The distal end of each line passes beyond the second end of the strut which carries it and is attached to the strut immediately adjacent the strut which carries it. Methods of using such an expansion mechanism are also disclosed, particularly to provide deployment of medical devices within a patient""s blood vascular system.

The present invention relates to an expansion mechanism for radial expansion of a medical device. More particularly, the invention relates to a compliant framework which conforms to the interior anatomy of a patients, e.g., interior blood vessel wall, with minimum gap. The framework provides structure for medical devices such as filter meshes, damming or occlusion methods, flow direction devices, and locating and measuring applications.
During open heart surgeries, such as coronary artery bypass graft, valve repair surgeries, thoracic aneurysm repair, removal of atrial myxoma, and septal defect repairs, currently the most common method of temporarily occluding the ascending aorta utilizes a mechanical cross clamp. Aortic occlusion is needed to establish isolation of coronary circulation from the peripheral circulatory system during cardiac arrest, so that peripheral organs would not be paralyzed by cardioplegic solution. An arterial cannula is commonly inserted in a patient""s aorta or femoral artery to provide return of oxygenated blood from a bypass-oxygenator machine, whereas a venous catheter is inserted into the right atrium, superior vena cava, or inferior vena cava to carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to a bypass-oxygenator machine. Other less common means of occluding the aorta include percutaneous balloon catheter occlusion, direct aortic balloon catheter (Foley) occlusion, aortic balloon occluder cannula, and an inflating diaphragm occluder (Hillxe2x80x94occlusion trocar).
Manipulation of ascending aorta during mechanical cross-clamping or other means of aortic occlusion often dislodges atheromatous plagues from the ascending aorta downstream to peripheral organs. Tissue debris, air, or calcium plaques may also arise from cardiac manipulation. Embolization of atheromatous plaques, tissue debris, or calcium plaques may lead to stroke, organ death or ischemia.
Devices for filtering blood have been designed to reduce a patient""s peri-operative risk of peripheral embolization, thereby reducing surgical morbidity and mortality. The vast majority of these devices are designed for permanent placement in veins, in order to trap emboli destined for the lungs, e.g., Kimmell, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,747, Cottenceau et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,612, Gunther et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,942, and Lefebvre, French Patent No. 2,567,405, incorporated herein by reference. Few intravascular devices are designed for arterial use, e.g., Ginsburg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,978, Ing. Walter Hengst GmbH and Co, German Patent DE 34 17 738, da Silva, Brazil Patent Application No. P19301980A, and Barbut et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,816, all incorporated herein by reference, have been developed to entrap arterial emboli during open-heart procedures.
The aforementioned devices all have drawbacks in that a filter or membrane to entrap emboli is deployed by means of an umbrella mechanism, thereby failing to accurately follow the rough non-uniform contour of the internal blood vessel wall. A built-in spring offers the force to bring the frame into contact with the vessel wall. The umbrella frame, however, would segment the contact, thereby only assuring a seal at each discrete arm in contact.
Moreover, in using the current filter devices, an operator has little or no feel for contact between the filter mechanism and the vessel wall. Further, current designs do not permit closure which is sufficiently tight and secure to prevent release of entrapped emboli.
A need exists for devices and methods which provide contact of medical devices and vessel walls with minimum gap, give an operator a feel for the vessel wall during deployment, and permit efficient and secure closure to ensure retention of entrapped debris.
The present invention relates to an expansion mechanism for radial expansion of a medical device. More particularly, the invention provides a compliant framework which conforms to a patient""s interior anatomy (such as a vessel wall) with minimum gap, provides structure for filter meshes, damming or occlusion devices, flow direction devices, locating and measuring applications, and provides a feel for the contour of vessel wall during deployment. The framework may be a metal, plastic, gel or foam.
In one embodiment, the device includes an elongate instrument which may comprise a cannula. A plurality of struts are arranged circumferentially around the elongate instrument. Each strut has two ends. The first end is pivotally connected to the elongate instrument while the second end expands radially outward. Each strut carries a wire or line having a proximal end and a distal end. The distal end of the line passes beyond the second end of the strut which carries it. The distal end of each line is attached to the strut immediately adjacent to the strut which carries it. In one embodiment, the framework has two struts and two lines. In other embodiments, the framework may have three, four, five, or six struts, and an equal number of lines arranged around the elongate instrument.
In another embodiment, the struts are mounted on a distal end of a cannula. Each strut may comprise a tubular member having a lumen and each flexible line is carried by the lumen of each tubular strut. The second end of each strut may curve toward the immediately adjacent strut.
In another embodiment, the expansion framework may be equipped with a filter mesh having two edges. A first edge of the mesh attaches circumferentially and continuously about the elongate instrument and is aligned with the first end of each strut. A second edge of the mesh may attach circumferentially to the second end of each strut and /or to a segment of each line which extends beyond the second end of each strut. The elongate instrument may comprise a blood filtration cannula. When the filter mesh is deployed inside a patient""s blood vessel, as the second end of each strut expands radially outward, and the filter mesh also expands radially outward to contact the vessel wall. After embolic materials are collected from the blood onto the filter mesh, the mesh and struts are collapsed, and the cannula is removed.
In an alternative embodiment, the elongate instrument comprises a percutaneous catheter. The catheter may include a balloon occluder. The balloon occluder may be mounted proximal the struts. This embodiment provides occlusion of the blood vessel, such as aortic occlusion in open heart procedures (e.g., valve repair), in addition to providing an expansion mechanism for a filter or other medical devices. Using this construction the filter is disposed between the occluder and the heart and captures debris (which accumulates in the heart and aortic root during bypass) when the heart resumes beating and the occluder is removed. For an extensive discussion of the use of percutaneous filtration catheters of this type for prevention of stoke following valve repair surgery, the reader is referred to Jang, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/170,359, filed Oct. 13, 1998, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The methods of the present invention include deployment and expanding a portion of a medical device within a patient by using the expansion mechanism as described above. A medical device is inserted into the patient through an incision. The flexible lines are pushed distally by an operator to pay out a portion of each line beyond the end of each strut, to thereby expand the strutted portion of the device radially outward. By manipulating the lines, the operator is able to feel for the contour of an interior vessel wall, thereby minimizing the gap between the medical device and the vessel wall. To remove the medical device, the flexible lines are pulled proximally to contract the strutted portion of the device radially inward, and the device is removed from the patient.
In a preferred method, a cannula is equipped with a filter mesh disposed over the struts, and the filter mesh is expanded by pushing the flexible lines distally. During cardiac surgeries, such as valve repair surgery, the filter mesh captures embolic materials which are released from the heart or aorta. During carotid endarterectomy, the filter mesh entraps calcium and atheromatous debris from the carotid artery. After a surgical procedure is accomplished, the flexible lines are pulled and the filter mesh is contracted tightly against the elongate element. In this method, the trapped emboli are secured by the tight compliant framework during removal.
It will be understood that there are several advantages in using the framework described above. For example, (1) the filter frame and chassis allow for perfusion of fluid or blood through the center of the expansion mechanism; (2) trapped emboli are secured within a filter mesh when the wire frame is drawn closed and tight; (3) the expansion mechanism provides an operator feedback of contact between the devices and vascular wall; (4) a filter expansion mechanism may be combined with a balloon occluder and/or xe2x80x9cdirect stickxe2x80x9d access device; and (5) the framework can adjust to a wide range of blood vessel diameter.


This texture pattern memory circuit is composed of a multi-texture pattern memory, a writing device and a texel selector. The multi-texture pattern memory includes an adder, a subtracter, selectors, 1st to 4th address converting devices, and 1st to 4th memory modules. The texel selector selects only the necessary data from the texel data outputted from the multi-texture pattern memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a texture pattern memory circuit for use in texture mapping.
2. Description of the Related Art
Texture mapping is used as one of typical methods of creating richness of texture in three-dimensional computer graphics. Texture mapping is a technique which represents texture of an article by applying (or mapping) a separately defined texture pattern such as a grainy pattern or marble pattern onto a surface of a three-dimensional shape in order to create richness of texture of the article.
There are several techniques to map a two-dimensional image on a three-dimensional shape. One of the techniques is a `UV mapping`. Referring now to FIG. 1, an example of the UV mapping will be described.
First, suppose that a figure surface onto which a pattern is mapped is represented by a coordinate system specified by U and V (to be referred to hereinafter as UV-coordinate system). It is also assumed that two-dimensional coordinate systems for a texture pattern and a display are designated by ST- and XY-coordinate systems respectively.
The color and brightness of a point (U,V) on the 3-dimensional figure surface displayed on the display coordinate system (X,Y) is determined by effecting calculative (filtering) operation as to the color and brightness at a corresponding point (S,T) and in its peripheral area on the texture pattern coordinate system. When the geometric feature of a figure to be mapped is not very complicated, the relationship between (U,V) and (S,T) is determined by specifying the positions of apexes of polygons with proper U-, V-values or S-, T-values and calculating the inside values of the polygons using linear interpolation. At the time of the texture mapping, the transformation of the coordinate systems is performed in the order of (X,Y).fwdarw.(U,V).fwdarw.(S,T).
Examples of texture patterns include photographs and pictures inputted using an image scanner as well as those patterns generated by programs.
In practice, as shown in FIG. 2, a texture pattern memory 51 that stores a texture pattern determined by the aforementioned method is mapped onto a frame memory 53 that stores data to be displayed on a display, by filtering the texture pattern to produce a drawing pattern in the form of a vector drawing onto the frame memory 53. The drawing onto the frame memory 53 is performed based on the XY-coordinate system and data is read from the texture pattern memory 51 by calculating the ST-coordinate system using linear interpolation.
Specifically, a drawing controller 54 instructs the texture pattern memory 51 to read out information at a memory location specified by coordinates (S,T) and instructs the frame memory 53 to write the information into a memory location specified by coordinates (X,Y). In response to the instructions, the color and brightness at the coordinate point (S,T) and in its peripheral area is read out and filtered through a writing data calculating unit 52. The filtered result is written onto the frame memory 53. The content in the frame memory 53 is displayed on a display 55.
In the filtering process, the data from the texture pattern memory is shaped so that the texture to be displayed on the display may appear as a continuous texture pattern. If color or brightness is determined merely based on the data at individual coordinate points (S,T) without effecting the filtering process, the resultant picture applied in the form of a 3-dimensional figure turns out to be a sporadic or jagged image.
There are several schemes for such filtering. A typical method is that the average values of the color and brightness around a coordinate point (S,T) are used for displaying. Consider this method with reference to FIG. 3. Hereinbelow, it is assumed that a pixel represents a single dot in a display pattern stored in the frame memory and a texel represents a single dot in a texture pattern stored in the texture pattern memory.
As shown in FIG. 3, the color or brightness to be applied to a pixel should be represented by the average value of color or brightness of the hatching centered by the coordinate point (S,T). The size of the hatching is a projected size of an XY-coordinate pixel on the texture pattern and is determined by the transformation of (X,Y).fwdarw.(U,V).fwdarw.(S,T). Therefore, the size may differ depending on the tilt or size of the surface of the 3-dimensional figure to which the pixel is applied. The coordinate point (S,T) is not necessarily positioned at the center of a pixel. It is hardly possible for the coordinates which are determined by the transformation, to be integer values.
The writing data calculating unit 52 of a simple kind selects four texels near a point (S,T) shown in the figure and divides the sum of the brightness values by four to produce an output. In a practical circuit, it is hardly possible to select the nearest four texels to the point (S,T) in response to the readout instructions of the coordinate point (S,T). Therefore, texel data on all the nine texels shown, or all the texel data around the integer pair (S,T) which is produced by rounding the original (S,T) to integer values is adapted to be outputted to the writing data calculating unit 52. In the following description, (S,T) will always designate the integer pair thus rounded to integers.
Examples of the methods of reading out a plurality of texel data from the texture pattern memory are as follows:
(1) Multi-Accessing Scheme
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a texture pattern memory for effecting the method. In this circuit, a counter 56 counts the clock signal. An offset output circuit 57 outputs offset data by sequentially changing its value with reference to the counting value from the counter 56. The offset data outputted is added to the coordinates (S,T) in an adder 58 and the resultant is outputted to an address converting device 59. The address converting device 59 calculates addresses to be accessed in a texture pattern memory 60. In this way, the designated address is successively varied so as to enable a multiple number of accesses in the texture pattern memory 60 to load a plurality of texel data from the memory.
This method, however, must effect a great number of accesses to the memory, thus needing a longer time. For example, in order to obtain nine texel data, nine accesses to the memory are required.
(2) Multi-Memory Scheme
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a texture pattern memory for effecting the method. As shown in the figure, this method requires a plurality of texture pattern memories in which an identical texture pattern is stored in properly shifted memory locations as to the (S,T) system. By this configuration, designation of a single address allows a plurality of accesses to the texture pattern memory modules, whereby texel data at the multiple number of coordinate points can be obtained at the same time.
This technique, however, has to store a plural number of texture patterns having the same content and requires bulky memory, resulting in increased cost. For example, in order to obtain nine texel data, nine memory devices are needed.
(3) Multi-Accessing and Multi-Memory Scheme
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a texture pattern memory for effecting the method. This technique is a combination of the configurations shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and the blocks designated by the same reference numerals have the same functions. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the number of times of accesses to the memory as well as the size of memory. For example, to obtain nine texel data requires three memory modules and three accesses to the memory.
This technique, however, merely offers intermediate effects between the multi-accessing technique and the multi-memory technique. That is, the number of memory modules required is increased as compared to the multi-accessing technique whereas the number of times of accesses to the memory is increased as compared to the multi-memory technique.

Texture pattern memory circuit for providing plural texel data in response to a single access operation


To test a closed container having at least one flexible wall area in order to determine a leakage by an increasing of the inner volume of the container and a measuring of a correspondingly caused changed measured value, at least one outer wall area of the container is exposed to a medium having a pressure which is greater than a pressure produced by the increase of the volume of the container if such has no leakage. The increase of the volume can be made by a pneumatic or mechanical application of a force at a flexible wall area. The arrangement is specifically suitable when the wall of the container or its contents strive to self-seal a leakage spot in a wall area.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,558 discloses a method of leakage testing containers having a wall structure which is flexible at least at some areas. The containers are thereby placed into a vacuum chamber and latter is evacuated and the bulging of the flexible wall areas of the containers is evaluated as measured value or signal and depending from their behaviour the determination of the presence of a leakage or tight state is made.
The disclosure refers also to problems which occur when the containers tested in this way are filled by contents which clog prevailing leakage areas. Apart from the contents the structure of such containers, such as containers having cardboard walls which at the inside have a plastic coating can lead to the fact that leakage areas obtain a valve-like characteristic, i.e. when a pressure differential is applied across the wall directed from the inside towards the outside these leakage areas tend to act in a self-sealing manner. Inspite of such, however, also such leakages cannot be tolerated because they lead to a spoiling of the contents.
Specifically the technique disclosed in mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,558 is detrimental for such containers or containers filled with such contents, because the pressure differential during the testing acts from the inside towards the outside due to the fact that a vacuum is applied around the container.

Method of and apparatus for a leakage testing


A switch for switchably coupling a signal source to a high impedance load. The switch includes a first bipolar transistor and a floating switch driver. The first bipolar transistor is configured to switchably couple the signal source to the high impedance load responsive to a driver signal applied to a base thereof. The floating switch driver has a control input and an output terminal coupled to the base of the first bi-polar transistor to supply the driver signal thereto. The driver signal comprises a limited forward current during the “On” state of the floating switch driver and a voltage “Voff” not less than the reverse breakdown voltage nor greater than the forward voltage drop across a base-emitter connection of the first bipolar transistor during the “Off” state of the floating switch driver.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is generally related to analog electronic circuits, and more particularly to circuits including switchably coupled operational amplifiers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical communication system includes digital signal processing core coupled to an analog stage for driving digital data onto a wired or wireless communication medium. Typically the characteristics of the communication medium vary greatly and the designer must oversize the analog stage to accommodate those communications mediums which require the highest power, gain and other transmission characteristics. An analog stage offers none of the flexibility or adaptability of its digital counterpart.
What is needed are improvements in the flexibility and dynamic configurability of analog stages to accommodate varying power, gain and analog signal processing requirements of a given communication medium.

Method and apparatus including a driver for driving a floating bipolar switch


An apparatus and a method for enhancing diesel engine performance is provided. At low engine load and cold ambient temperatures, an intake air heater increases the engine load via an engine alternator, which in turn, enables the engine to burn more fuel by the process of combustion. The combusted fuel elevates exhaust gas temperatures, which thereby accommodates cold start, controls white smoke, and aids DPF regeneration.

Diesel powered engines are typically ignited by a mixture of injected fuel and hot compressed air. While external ignition devices (e.g., spark plugs) are not required, cold weather conditions pose substantial difficulties with respect to starting diesel engines. That is, as ambient temperatures decrease, the temperature of the internal combustion chamber may not be high enough to effectuate proper ignition of the injected fuel. Accordingly, various starting aids are commonly incorporated within diesel powered vehicles in order generate a sufficient amount of heat to initiate ignition.
One preferred method for facilitating ignition within diesel engines involves the employment of glow plugs. Generally, glow plugs are disposed within each combustion chamber of the diesel engine, and in operation, they effectively heat the combustion chamber.
An additional issue attributed to diesel engines running at low ambient temperature conditions concerns undesirable exhaust emissions, such as "white smoke." White smoke can be attributed to the release of unburned hydrocarbons as a result of misfire or incomplete combustion within the engine. Low temperature ambient air and low engine loads operate to reduce the temperature of the charge mixture within the engine to a degree that the combustion event becomes unstable.
Diesel engines must also be designed to combat unburned soot particles resulting from incomplete combustion. As such, most diesel engines feature a diesel particulate filter (DPF), i.e., a device designed to collect the particulate matter. However, as the quantity of particulate matter increases in the DPF, the DPF must be cleaned to restore its operability. The process of removing accumulated particulate matter from the DPF is most commonly referred to as regeneration. Regeneration involves the process of increasing the temperature of the DPF to about 550 degrees Celsius, such that the particulate matter combusts or burns. Typically, however, such a temperature is only achieved during high load and high engine speed conditions. As a result, when diesel engines operate at low loads, fuel may be injected in small amounts, and the temperature of the exhaust gas falls below regeneration levels.
Manufacturers have proposed various technologies for elevating exhaust gas temperatures to a level suitable for carrying out regeneration. For instance, it is known in the art to include catalysts for oxidizing the unburned components in the exhaust gas in order to elevate the exhaust gas temperature. Additionally, the exhaust gas temperature can be increased by a process known as post-injection. Post-injection refers to the method of providing additional fuel in the combustion chamber or exhaust gas system. The additional fuel does not burn in the engine cylinder, but rather, oxidizes with catalysts disposed in the exhaust pipe in order to increase exhaust gas temperature. Nevertheless, following a cold start, the engine may have to operate for over 100 seconds before a sufficient amount of heat energy is generated in order to initiate catalytic activity. To reduce this time, heating devices may be provided to introduce additional heat in the exhaust path.

Intake air heater for assisting DPF regeneration


A belt includes one or more tension members extending along a length of the belt, and a jacket at least partially enclosing the plurality of tension members. The jacket includes an elastomeric material and a plurality of reinforcing elements located in the elastomeric material to improve fatigue cracking performance of the belt. An elevator system includes a hoistway, an elevator car located in the hoistway, and an elevator belt operably connected to the elevator car to suspend and/or drive the elevator car along the hoistway. The elevator belt includes one or more tension members extending along a length of the belt and a jacket at least partially enclosing the plurality of tension members. The jacket includes an elastomeric material and a plurality of reinforcing elements located in the elastomeric material to improve fatigue cracking performance of the belt.

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to belts for lifting, suspending and/or moving. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to to load bearing members to suspend and/or drive elevator cars of an elevator system.
Elevator systems are useful for carrying passengers, cargo, or both, between various levels in a building. Some elevators are traction based and utilize load bearing members such as belts for supporting the elevator car and achieving the desired movement and positioning of the elevator car.
Referring to where a belt is used as a load bearing member, a plurality of tension members are embedded in a common jacket. The jacket retains the tension members in desired positions and provides a frictional load path. In an exemplary traction elevator system, a machine drives a traction sheave with which the belts interact to drive the elevator car along a hoistway. Belts typically utilize tension members formed from steel elements, but alternatively may utilize tension members formed from synthetic fibers or other materials, such as carbon fiber composites.
The jacket is typically formed from an elastomeric material. Elastomers have been implemented in a variety of applications ranging from dampening materials, to sealants and adhesives, to protective equipment and beyond. Elastomers are also of great use in applications that require significant fatigue and abrasion resistance coupled with tailored friction and traction performance Elevator belts, conveyor belts, and rollers all require high performance in these properties. While high performance engineered elastomers can be very good, in the most demanding applications, unreinforced materials can still fail by fatigue cracking especially if the rate or extent of deformation is high, temperatures during use are low or a combination of these factors occur.


A nose (5) of an air impact driver (1) is mounted with a slidable contact nose (12) and by the contact nose, a contact valve (23) upward therefrom is operated to switch. An AND circuit operated to pilot an air motor controlling pilot valve (39) and a piston controlling pilot valve (41) is constituted by a trigger valve (8) operated by a trigger lever (9) and the contact valve (23). When the contact nose is pressed and the trigger lever is pulled, the air motor controlling pilot valve and the piston controlling pilot valve are switched to starting positions to start the air impact driver.

An air impact driver provided for screwing a building material of a plaster board or the like is mounted with a mechanical type safety apparatus by a contact arm similar to a nail striker. The contact arm is an arm formed in a crank-like shape along outer shapes of a nose and a cylinder housing of the air impact driver which is slidable in parallel with the nose, a front end thereof is projected frontward from the nose and other end reaches a front face of a trigger lever of a main body of the air impact driver.
A trigger lever is attached with a pivotable free arm and when the contact arm is pressed to a side of the main body of the air impact driver, a front end portion of the free arm attached to the trigger lever is pressed by the contact arm to be proximate to a stem of a trigger valve. When the trigger lever is pulled under the state, the free arm is pivoted in a direction of the trigger valve by constituting a fulcrum by the front end portion along with the trigger lever and the stem of the trigger valve is pressed by the free arm to start the air impact driver. Further, even when first, the trigger lever is pulled and thereafter the contact arm is pressed to an object face of screwing, the free arm presses the stem of the trigger arm to start to the air impact driver similar to the above-described operation.
In this way, the trigger lever and the contact arm are constituted to cooperatively make the trigger valve ON, when only the trigger lever is operated, the free arm does not reach a position of the stem of the trigger arm and the air impact driver cannot be started to thereby prevent the air impact driver from being started by erroneously operating the trigger lever.
According to the mechanical type safety mechanism of the above conventional art, the contact arm passes a side face of the cylinder-housing and therefore, a width of a total of the air impact driver is widened and there is a case in which it is difficult to strike a screw to a corner portion or a location having a narrow width. Further, according to the constitution in which the front end of the free arm attached to the trigger lever is pressed up by sliding the contact arm and the total of the free arm is moved by pulling the trigger lever to thereby press the stem of the trigger valve, there poses a problem that the stroke of pressing the contact arm is prolonged and therefore, operability is not excellent, further, operation of one cycle is devoid of swiftness.
Further, as other problem, there is a case in which the contact arm cannot be slid by clogging a plaster powder produced in screwing between a slide guide supporting the long contact arm and the contact arm and when the contact arm is not returned from a pressing position to an initial position, there poses a problem that when the trigger lever is erroneously operated, the air impact driver is started and the safety mechanism does not function.


The present invention includes a table and a plurality of seats that can be coupled together in multiple use configurations and can be easily collapsed into a compact storage unit when not in use. The table includes a table top and a plurality of table legs depending therefrom. In a first use configuration, the table is positioned over the seats with each table leg aligned to engage the seat. Retaining pins extend through apertures formed in the seats and apertures formed in the legs so as to retain the table in position. The retaining pin can be inserted into a second aperture in the leg to retain the table in an extended use configuration. When the pin is withdrawn, the table can be completely removed from the seats for the storage configuration. In the storage configuration, the seats are positioned on the bottom surface of the table top, and the seat legs are aligned to engage recesses formed in the bottom surface of the table top that provide a friction fit. Similarly, when the seat legs are aligned with the recesses in the table top, the table legs are aligned with receiving recesses formed in the bottom of the seat. The engagement of the table legs and seat legs with their respective receiving recesses provides an efficient and effective mechanism for retaining the table in the storage configuration, and advantageously reduces the resultant volume.

Collapsible tables have been known in the art for years. Typically, conventional collapsible tables include a foldable table top that is coupled to a plurality of seats by a hinge mechanism that allows the seats to fold up under the table top. Once the seats are positioned under the table top, the table top is folded in half to enclose the seats in a closed box-like structure. Such tables have been made out of steel, which tended to make the tables heavy and expensive and provided poor weather resistance. Moreover, such tables were difficult to handle, especially while collapsing the table for storage or unfolding it for use. Accordingly, conventional collapsible tables are not suitable for use as children's furniture.
Various manufacturers have produced children's table furniture. These tables are made out of plastic, which renders them light weight and weather resistant, but they are bulky and cumbersome. Moreover, these tables are typically assembled in a fixed configuration which does not change as the children grow and are therefore quickly outgrown. Also, conventional children's tables are assembled using bolts and screws to hold the constituent parts together, and are not easily collapsed into a compact storage unit when not in use. Moreover, once the table has been disassembled, the fasteners (bolts and screws) must be put aside until the table is needed again, which is inconvenient. Even if the fasteners are stored with the table, they must be accounted for to prevent their possible loss.
To overcome the storage problem, some tables include seats that are pivotally attached to the table legs. In the storage mode, the seats swing about the legs to positions under the table top. Unfortunately, this provides only a minimum reduction of the amount of space required.


A pennant display system comprising a cuff positioned on a structure having predetermined height and means connected to the cuff for moving the cuff along the height of the structure. The system further comprises means positioned on each of the cuff and the moving means for releaseably attaching a pennant thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to flagstaffs and, more specifically, to a system for connection to an existing structure such as a light post or the like, and means to raise, and lower a pennant from the structure. A pennant pole is pivotally attached to a slide bracket and allows the slide bracket to move up and down the structure. The pennant pole includes a means, such as washer rings, for releasably attaching a pennant. The system includes a locking means to keep the pennant pole stable while displaying the pennant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other flag and pennant displaying devices. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 2,345,621 issued to R. E. Mothershead on Apr. 4, 1944.
Another patent was issued to R. Ellis on Apr. 27, 1948 as U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,500. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,779 was issued to J. Mader on Mar. 10, 1953 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 16, 1954 to E. L. Martin as U.S. Pat. No. 2,672,118.
Another patent was issued to Judson O. Miller on Jun. 28, 1971 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,520. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,202 was issued to Aniceto R. Visitacion on Jul. 27, 1971. Another was issued to Clifton E. Jones on May 18, 1976 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,116 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 15, 1988 to David U. Hillstrom as U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,803.
Internationally, a patent was issued to Thibault Blandine on Sep. 25, 1987 as France Patent Number FR2596185. A Spain Patent No. ES2020452 was issued to Manuel Gomez Barragan on Jan. 8, 1991. Another German patent was issued to Franz Pracherstorfer on Oct. 2, 2003 as Patent No DE 10311703.

Pennant display with pole mountable collar


A method and system for a fiber compaction device with interdependent segment travel is described. A compaction device structure supports a series of individual interdependent segments including a compaction surface. Each segment also includes an opening in which a presser member can be located. The presser members consist of either an elastomeric bladder filled with an incompressible fluid or individual pistons that are manifolded together with a fixed volume of incompressible fluid. The presser members create an interdependence in segment positions such that if one or more segments are displaced the others move to balance the segment positions. Having a fixed volume of incompressible fluid allows the segments to work interdependently, thus guaranteeing that the average section position will be the nominal position and eliminating the need for a fixed center section. The segments can conform to complexly shaped part surfaces and apply a uniform pressure against the entire surface to better compact material being drawn through the fiber compaction device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to fiber placement technology, and more specifically, to a compaction device with interdependent segments that are movable relative to one another so as to enable conformity with an irregular surface during fiber placement.
2. State of the Art
Fiber placement machines and techniques are well known in the art and enjoy considerable usage in the production of composite parts or structures. Composite structures are particularly useful in high performance applications, such as in the aerospace industry because of their high strength to weight ratio, good corrosion resistance, good impact resistance, and high electrical and thermal resistance exhibited by composite parts. As such, composite components are frequently replacing metallic components in various structures, apparatuses and systems.
In producing composite components, fiber placement machines are capable of individually and selectively feeding and cutting separate fiber bundles or tows so as to form a fiber band on a surface of the part. This selective cutting and feeding of tows advantageously enables the fiber compaction device to put down the tows in an arcuate path on the part surface that prevents buckling, wrinkling or misalignment of fibers. The fiber tows, also known as tow pregs, are generally a bundle of continuous fibers impregnated with a resin (i.e., a polymeric material that may be in a cured, uncured, or partially cured state).
One example of a fiber placement machine includes a compaction device comprising a plurality of roller segments disposed in a side-by-side relationship, each roller being supported for pivotable movement about an eccentrically disposed pivot shaft. The roller segments are movable independent of one another such that the compaction device can conform to surface geometries while attempting to apply a pressure against the individual tows as they are pressed onto the surface of a mandrel or underlying layer of a given part. Such prior art compaction devices commonly employ a fixed centermost roller segment while the other segments are permitted to move in and out, being pushed forward by pneumatic pressure or spring force while being able to slide as an assembly. Such a device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,897 issued to Vaniglia.
Some compaction devices having independently movable segments incorporate the use of pressure bladders (i.e., fluid pressurized elastic chambers), for example one bladder on each side of the fixed center segment, to apply a compaction force to the roller segments. The bladders urge the associated roller segments pivotally in the fore direction, relative to the fixed center segment, in an attempt to conform with the surface geometry of the part and to provide a generally uniform pressure against the surface.
One problem with prior art compaction devices using a fixed centermost roller segment is that the segments must be balanced so that the force exerted by each roller segment is the same. Additionally, with a fixed center segment, the conformability of the roller system to complex geometric surfaces is rather limited. Furthermore, because the segments work independently of one another, there is nothing to keep the average segment position at the nominal position (i.e., the position of a segment when there is no displacement from the center shaft).
In fiber placement compaction devices using inflatable bladders, many additional problems exist. For example, when the bladder pressure is too low, the center segment carries a higher load. This can ultimately result in damage to the center segment, to the part being fabricated (for example, if fiber is being placed over core), or both. This is particularly a problem when the bladders fail to inflate, as such an event could result in irreparable damage to the rollers which are expensive to replace.
On the other hand, if the bladders are over-inflated, the center section may lift completely off the surface of the composite part, thereby resulting in failure to compact one or more tows that are being laid on the surface of the part. Thus, bladders require pressure regulation and continuous inflation. Therefore, the bladders require an opening through which the gas can enter and exit and a sealed system to supply the pressurized gas. These sealed connections have often breached such that they have to be resealed, which is a time consuming operation. In general, bladders require costly maintenance and repair that may include disassembly of the roller.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an enhanced fiber placement compaction device. For example, a need exists for improving the positioning and balancing of segment forces, increasing the conformability of the roller segments, and simplifying the maintenance and control of a compaction device.

Compaction device for fiber placement using interdependent segment travel


In one aspect a transmission system with a transmitter which can be connected to a video source and a receiver linked to the transmitter via at least four circuit pairs, to which receiver a playback device can be connected is provided. Data is usually exchanged digitally between a graphics card in a personal computer and an LCD display module. The personal computer transmits a digital R, G, B video signal to the LCD display module via a special, so-called DVI (Digital Video Interface) cable. This DVI cable is also provided to transmit so-called DDC (Display Data Channel) data, which particularly comprises specification information of the LCD display module. A transmission system is proposed, which simplifies a connection of an LCD display module to a personal computer and with which the DVI cable can be dispensed with.

Data is usually exchanged digitally between a graphics card in a personal computer and an LCD display module. The personal computer transfers digital R, G, B video signals to the LCD display module via a special so-called DVI (Digital Video Interface) cable, which comprises a circuit pair for each R, G and B channel. This DVI cable is also provided with further circuit pairs particularly for transmitting a DVI clock signal and for transmitting so-called DDC (Display Data Channel) data. This DDC circuit pair allows the personal computer and the LCD display module to communicate serially, with particularly specification information of the LCD display module, for instance information about data transmission rates, resolution of the LCD display or synchronization frequency, being transmitted via a data line and a DDC clock signal being transmitted via a clock line.


A modular filter system using replaceable filter cartridges includes a locking arrangement that prevents rotation of the flow control valve spindle in the filter head, but includes an unlocking arrangement on the cartridge that unlocks the locking arrangement if the proper replacement cartridge is used. The locking arrangement may include spring biased locking pins carried on the filter head and matching unlocking pins on the filter cartridge to operate through an intermediate adaptor ring that is set on assembly to match the positions of the locking and unlocking pins.

The present invention pertains to a drinking water purification system and, more particularly, to a modular system for under-counter or under-sink installation using replaceable cartridges and which may be configured in a system utilizing up to four cartridges, including a reverse osmosis (RO) cartridge.
A drinking water filter system adapted for under-counter mounting is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,282. The system is disclosed with three replaceable filter cartridges, one of which is an RO filter cartridge. The three cartridges are connected to a common header, but the dissimilarity between the three cartridges may require the use of a different attachment head within the header for each filter cartridge. Also, the header is designed for three cartridges, whereas it would be desirable to have a modular system utilizing from one to four filter cartridges, depending on the particular application.
It would also be desirable to have a modular system that could utilize from one to four separate filter cartridges, one of which could be an RO cartridge, in which the system could be assembled by the manufacturer or seller using identical filter heads and modularly connected mounting devices. Most cartridges could be provided with mounting arrangements and flow connections using the same head with the heads serially interconnected to form the desired configuration. An RO cartridge requiring a non-standard head could be designed for use in the modular assembly. It would also be desirable to have a modular system in which a proprietary fit could be provided that matches the filter cartridge to the head to assure proper fit.
The modular system described above, lends itself to an under-sink or under-counter system that is easy to install and provides easy cartridge replacement. Applying this modular design to the system of the present invention also provides the ability to utilize common filter heads with identical internal flow valve spindles that are controlled by attachment and removal of the filter cartridge, a simple and effective way of providing a seal between the spindle and the head, customizable key arrangement between the filter cartridge and the head that can be utilized to provide a proprietary feature for a seller and to assure use of the proper replacement cartridge, the ability to easily remove and replace the RO control valve in a special RO cartridge and head, and special assembly techniques that facilitate assembly of filter cartridges, including axially aligned inlet and outlet, color coded end rings and high friction end caps for facilitating cartridge replacement.

Modular drinking water filtration system with locking arrangement to assure filter cartridge compatibility


A system and method of moving a meniscus from a first surface to a second surface includes forming a meniscus between a head and a first surface. The meniscus can be moved from the first surface to an adjacent second surface, the adjacent second surface being parallel to the first surface. The system and method of moving the meniscus can also be used to move the meniscus along an edge of a substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacturing processes, and more particularly, to methods and systems for efficiently moving fluids from one surface to another.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the semiconductor chip fabrication process, it is well known that there is a need to clean and dry a wafer where a fabrication operation has been performed that leaves unwanted residues on the surfaces of wafers. Examples of such a fabrication operation include plasma etching (e.g., tungsten etch back (WEB)) and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). In CMP, a wafer is placed in a holder that pushes a wafer surface against a polishing surface. The polishing surface uses a slurry which consists of chemicals and abrasive materials to cause the polishing. Unfortunately, this process tends to leave an accumulation of slurry particles and residues at the wafer surface. If left on the wafer, the unwanted residual material and particles may cause, among other things, defects such as scratches on the wafer surface and inappropriate interactions between metallization features. In some cases, such defects may cause devices on the wafer to become inoperable. In order to avoid the undue costs of discarding wafers having inoperable devices, it is therefore necessary to clean the wafer adequately yet efficiently after a fabrication operation that leaves unwanted residues.
After a wafer has been wet cleaned, the wafer must be dried effectively to prevent water or cleaning fluid remnants from leaving residues on the wafer. If the cleaning fluid on the wafer surface is allowed to evaporate, as usually happens when droplets form, residues or contaminants previously dissolved in the cleaning fluid will remain on the wafer surface after evaporation (e.g., and form spots). To prevent evaporation from taking place, the cleaning fluid must be removed as quickly as possible without the formation of droplets on the wafer surface. In an attempt to accomplish this, one of several different drying techniques are employed such as spin-drying, IPA, or Marangoni drying. All of these drying techniques utilize some form of a moving liquid/gas interface on a wafer surface, which, if properly maintained, results in drying of a wafer surface without the formation of droplets. Unfortunately, if the moving liquid/gas interface breaks down, as often happens with all of the aforementioned drying methods, droplets form and evaporation occurs resulting in contaminants being left on the wafer surface.
The most prevalent drying technique used today is spin rinse drying (SRD). FIG. 1 illustrates movement of cleaning fluids on a wafer 10 during an SRD drying process. In this drying process, a wet wafer is rotated at a high rate by rotation 14. In SRD, by use of centrifugal force, the water or cleaning fluid used to clean the wafer is pulled from the center of the wafer to the outside of the wafer and finally off of the wafer as shown by fluid directional arrows 16. As the cleaning fluid is being pulled off of the wafer, a moving liquid/gas interface 12 is created at the center of the wafer and moves to the outside of the wafer (i.e., the circle produced by the moving liquid/gas interface 12 gets larger) as the drying process progresses. In the example of FIG. 1, the inside area of the circle formed by the moving liquid/gas interface 12 is free from the fluid and the outside area of the circle formed by the moving liquid/gas interface 12 is the cleaning fluid. Therefore, as the drying process continues, the section inside (the dry area) of the moving liquid/gas interface 12 increases while the. area (the wet area) outside of the moving liquid/gas interface 12 decreases. As stated previously, if the moving liquid/gas interface 12 breaks down, droplets of the cleaning fluid form on the wafer and contamination may occur due to evaporation of the droplets. As such, it is imperative that droplet formation and the subsequent evaporation be limited to keep contaminants off of the wafer surface. Unfortunately, the present drying methods are only partially successful at the prevention of moving liquid interface breakdown.
In addition, the SRD process has difficulties with drying wafer surfaces that are hydrophobic. Hydrophobic wafer surfaces can be difficult to dry because such surfaces repel water and water based (aqueous) cleaning solutions. Therefore, as the drying process continues and the cleaning fluid is pulled away from the wafer surface, the remaining cleaning fluid (if aqueous based) will be repelled by the wafer surface. As a result, the aqueous cleaning fluid will want the least amount of area to be in contact with the hydrophobic wafer surface. Additionally, the aqueous cleaning solution tends cling to itself as a result of surface tension (i.e., as a result of molecular hydrogen bonding). Therefore, because of the hydrophobic interactions and the surface tension, balls (or droplets) of aqueous cleaning fluid forms in an uncontrolled manner on the hydrophobic wafer surface. This formation of droplets results in the harmful evaporation and the contamination discussed previously. The limitations of the SRD are particularly severe at the center of the wafer, where centrifugal force acting on the droplets is the smallest. Consequently, although the SRD process is presently the most common way of wafer drying, this method can have difficulties reducing formation of cleaning fluid droplets on the wafer surface especially when used on hydrophobic wafer surfaces.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and an apparatus that avoids the prior art by allowing quick and efficient cleaning and drying of a semiconductor wafer, but at the same time reducing the formation of numerous water or cleaning fluid droplets that may cause contamination to deposit on the wafer surface. Such deposits as often occurs today reduce the yield of acceptable wafers and increase the cost of manufacturing semiconductor wafers.

System processing a substrate using dynamic liquid meniscus


An input device is provided in the present application. The input device includes a first panel and a second panel, the first panel is provided with multiple grooves; the second panel is located under the first panel or fused to a bottom of the first panel, and includes a sensing unit configured to sense a key. In the input device, each of the grooves is arranged to correspond to one key area, and a key command may be input by performing a touch key operation on a corresponding sensing unit under the groove. Compared with the conventional input device, in the input device of the present application, the input of the key command may be realized without key caps and scissor-shaped structures for supporting the key caps, thereby shortening the key travel and reducing the thickness of the input device.

A keyboard, as one of input devices for a computer, has entered into people's daily life. Generally, an input device includes keys and key caps which are independent from each other. When using this kind of keyboard to input operation commands, different key caps are tapped to input corresponding key commands. However, since the input device including keys and key caps has a longer key travel, the input device generally has a larger thickness, which does not conform to the modern idea for manufacturing ultra-thin electronic devices.

Input device having grooves and corresponding sensing units


A component comprises a coil for the supply by induction of the component and for the inductive bidirectional transfer with the station of a signal representative of data. Means for processing said signal are supplied by the coil and are produced in integrated technology on the substrate of the component. The turns of the coil are produced in flat integrated technology by metallization on the surface of the component. The integral coil occupies at least 50% of the total surface of the component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a micro-electronic component for a passive card without contact, a passive card without contact carrying such a component, a station intended to be electromagnetically coupled to such a passive card without contact and a production process for the micro-electronic component.
The present invention has general application in the uni- or bi-directional transfer of data between a passive card without contact and a remote station.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a card without contact either contains or does not contain an internal energy source. In the first case, it is an active card, whereas in the second case it is a passive card.
A passive card without contact either receives the energy it requires by electromagnetic coupling from the remote station. It is known as a proximity card if its operating distance from the station is generally less than or equal to a few millimeters.
In practice, a passive card without contact carries a micro-electronic component comprising a coil (also known as an antenna or self-inductor) for supplying power to the component by induction and for inductive transfer with the station of a signal representing data, and processing means supplied by the coil and able to process the signal thus transferred or to be transferred.
From a technological point of view, there are two separate categories of passive cards without contact.
In the first category, the electromagnetic coupling is provided by an antenna (or several), formed on a substrate different from that of the micro-electronic component. More precisely, the antenna is engraved on a selected substrate itself placed in the constituent material of the card (PVC, ABS, polycarbonate etc). The micro-electronic component is itself attached to the antenna by soldered wires. This first category is referred to below as a passive card without contact with assembled coil. The production process for this card is complex because of the operations required for assembly by wire.
In the second category, the coil is engraved directly on the micro-electronic component, usually a silicon material. This second category is referred to below as a passive card without contact with integral coil, or "coil on chip". The production process for this integral card is considerably simplified in relation to that of the assembled card as various assembly operations are omitted, in particular connection of the micro-electric component to the antenna.
However, the surface of an integral coil is generally smaller than that of an assembled antenna in so far as the surface of the integral coil is limited by the surface of the component, which is preferably as small as possible to reduce production costs, and by the area necessarily occupied by the processing means of the component, which limits the energy transmitted to the passive card without contact.
Also the three-dimensional configuration of the conductive turns of an integral coil brings about a number of difficulties, in particular the creation of parasitic components, for example, the formation of a capacitor, the capacitance of which may be not insignificant, which leads to a reduction in the electrical power available on said component.
The article ELECTRONIQUE No. 25, February 1993, PARIS, pages 49-51 XP 00334566, MOUGAHED DARWISH, "Choisir sa technologie pour un asic mixte", describes an integrated circuit without an internal power supply comprising processing means for processing a signal representative of data to be transferred to a remote station, and an integral coil on silicon in order to supply the energy to the integrated circuit.
Only a small number of windings is made here using a conventional metallisation process for integrated circuits which prevents induction of sufficient energy to supply the processing means ensuring a bidirectional transfer of data.


A device for independently and controllably amplifying components of the heart sound signals without removing any component of the signal by filtering. With such a device all the signal components that carry information are still available and can be useful to a user. Filtering may however be applied to very high frequency signals, compared to the signal of interest, that are totally unrelated to the heart sounds.

Auscultation forms an important part of clinical examination for screening patients with or suspected to have heart disease. Automatic identification of patterns in heart sounds is useful for assisted diagnosis. The beat to beat duration of the heart cycle varies in every individual and so do the cyclic content, for example, systolic duration and corresponding murmur. Heart sounds are often superimposed by noises including ambient noise and breathing noise, for example. For a more effective auscultation or for automatic analysis of heart sounds, it is important to identify the aperiodic noise and the periodic signals for better diagnosis. The breathing noise itself may be useful in reaching more accurate diagnosis and the presence of adequate amount of ambient noise may enhance signal perception by physicians.
The electronic processing of heart sound signals depends on some form of filtering to reduce the energy of noise in the overall signal. Even though the heart sound signals lie essentially below 200 Hz, for instance, some components lie above this frequency as well. Thus, using a low pass filter to improve the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the heart sounds may not be the ideal way.
The document US 20080273709-A1 describes a device that processes heart sound signals, wherein an analysis tool includes an interaction tuner, a processing tuner and an output tuner. The interaction tuner includes a preset tuning selector and a dynamic range tuning selector. The processing tuner includes a band pass filter and an algorithmic extraction engine which applies extraction algorithms to the electric heart signals, segments them and extracts signals of interest.

Device and method for processing heart sounds for ausculation


Disclosed herein are various embodiments that related to a surgical retractor. In certain embodiments, the retractor may include a blade holder with a single blade tilting mechanism capable of adjusting the angle of a plurality of pivoting blades relative to the blade holder. In certain embodiments, the adjustment occurs from the proximal face or top of the retractor. In other embodiments, blade supports are used to couple the blade holder to a variety of removable blades of different lengths. In certain embodiments, the blades may be a translucent material capable of transmitting light from a proximal portion of the blade to a distal portion. In some embodiments, the distance between the blade holder and the removable blades may be adjusted.

The human spine provides a vast array of functions, many of which are mechanical in nature. The spine is constructed to allow nerves from the brain to pass to various portions of the middle and lower body. These nerves, typically called the spinal cord, are located in a region within the spine called the spinal canal. Various nerve bundles emerge from the spine at different locations along the lateral length of the spine. In a healthy spine, these nerves are protected from damage and/or undue pressure thereon by the structure of the spine itself.
The spine has a complex curvature made up of a plurality of individual vertebrae (typically twenty-four) separated by intervertebral discs. The intervertebral discs hold the vertebrae together in a flexible manner so as to allow relative movement between the vertebrae from front to back and from side to side. This movement allows the body to bend forward and backward, to bend from side to side, and to rotate about a vertical axis. When the spine is operating properly, the nerves are maintained clear of the hard structure of the spine throughout the available ranges of motion.
Over time or because of accidents or disease, the intervertebral discs may lose height or become cracked, dehydrated, or herniated. The result is that the height of one or more discs may be reduced. The reduction in height can lead to compression of the nerve bundles. Such compression may cause pain and, in some cases, damage to the nerves.
Currently, there are many systems and methods at the disposal of a physician for reducing or eliminating the pain by minimizing the stress on the nerve bundles. In some instances, the existing disc is removed and an artificial disc is substituted therefore. In other instances, two or more vertebrae are fused together to prevent relative movement between the fused discs.
In some procedures, minimally invasive surgical procedures have been developed to fuse or otherwise treat vertebrae. Such procedures can reduce pain, post-operative recovery time, and the destruction of healthy tissue. Minimally invasive surgical procedures are particularly desirable for spinal and neurosurgical applications because of the need for access to locations deep within the body and the possible range of damage to vital intervening tissues.
Generally, it is desirable to access the surgical site using minimally invasive techniques or portals, rather than through a significant incision, to aid in preserving the integrity of the intervening tissues. In such procedures, however, it may be necessary to hold the edges of an incision apart to provide a clear operating field within which the surgeon can operate.
What is needed, therefore, is a tool or retractor adapted to work with minimally invasive procedures that allows the surgeon to have a clear path to the operating field, and a method for using such a tool or retractor.

Surgical retractor with removable blades and method of use


Provided are a data processing method and device. The method may include: generating first data, wherein generating the first data comprises one of: performing differential encoding on second data to generate third data, and processing the third data by using a sequence to generate the first data; processing the second data by using a sequence to generate fourth data, and performing differential encoding on the fourth data to generate the first data; and processing the second data by using a sequence to generate the first data.

Application scenarios of 5th-Generation (5G) communication technologies and future communication technologies in the relevant art include an enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), a massive Machine Type communication (mMTC), and an Ultra Reliability Low Latency Communication (URLLC). Among these application scenarios, the eMBB scenario is used to support a mobile broadband, with a main service requirement being large data packet transmission, high data rate and high spectral efficiency. The mMTC scenario is used to support communication of massive devices, with a main service requirement being massive devices and small data packet transmission. At present, a design goal determined by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for a 5G mMTC scenario is to support a connection density of 1,000,000 devices per square kilometer. The URLLC scenario is used to support ultra reliability low latency communication, with a main service requirement being ultra reliability low latency transmission.
For the requirement of the mMTC scenario on the massive devices and the small data packet transmission and the requirement of the URLLC scenario on the ultra reliability low latency transmission, a traditional communication process design based on random access of a terminal, grant control of a base station and the like has been far from satisfactory since the traditional communication process design has limited capacity for system accessing devices, and requires a large signaling overhead and a long time to perform the access and data transmission processes.
In order to meet the requirements of the 5G communication technology and similar requirements of the future communication technology, grant-free transmission (or transmission without grant) may be taken into consideration. A terminal device can conduct data transmission whenever such transmission is needed, so that the long and complex random access process and grant control process are omitted, thereby greatly reducing the transmission latency and the signaling overhead. In order to improve a utilization efficiency of transmission resources, it may further be allowable for multiple users or data streams to share and use the same transmission resources (for example, the same time-frequency resource blocks) to perform non-orthogonal multiplexing, thus implementing a Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA). For the purpose of guaranteeing non-orthogonal access and multiplexing transmission performances for the multiple users or data streams, it is often necessary to use an advanced receiver, such as an interference cancellation receiver.
One defect of the grant-free and non-orthogonal transmission solution in the relevant art lies in that the prevention of collision between transmission resources (for example, time-frequency resources, sequences, reference signals, etc.) of the multiple users or data streams relies on pre-configuration or semi-static configuration provided by the system, which results in that a grant-free transmission mechanism of the system is not flexible enough and can only support a limited number of users. Alternatively, the collision between the transmission resources of the multiple users or data streams may also be allowed, but in order to guarantee the system performance, a very complex receiver needs to be adopted, and a great number of preamble sequences, pilot sequences or reference signals or the like may be adopted to reduce the collision probability and improve the identification detection of the users or data streams or the accuracy of channel estimation; nevertheless, such a method will occupy vast resource overhead and affect a system transmission efficiency.
Concerning the above-mentioned problems in the relevant art, an effective solution has not yet been found.