When the user performs input seeking a message that pertains to the status of the device, the message display device of the present invention selects and displays based on the data generated by a data generator comprising a counter and/or a sensor an appropriate message from a group of messages, each of which corresponds to various input contents.

This application is based on application No.Hei10-186207 filed in Japan, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a message display device, and more particularly, to a message display device in which the status of various devices, such as a printer, may be reflected in the contents of the display.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a local area network, peripheral devices such as personal computers and printers are connected to one another through a network. The printer performs printing based on print jobs that it receives from personal computers via the network. Such personal computers often have a function to display on the monitor necessary information when a user is having trouble with the operation (hereinafter xe2x80x98the help functionxe2x80x99). For example, where a problem has occurred with the printer, the user can learn how to eliminate the problem through a dialogue with the display screen using the help function.
However, the contents of the display provided through the help function have conventionally been pre-fixed, and do not reflect the status of the printer, i.e., the number of uses, for example. Therefore, the problem arises that since a number of possible causes of the problem with the device are displayed at the same time, the user cannot easily know which one to select.
The object of the present invention is to resolve the problem described above. More specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide a device that can select a message based on data. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device or a method that can perform message display that assists the user in solving the problem. A third object of the present invention is to provide a device or a method by which the status of the device may be reflected in the help message display. A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a device or a method that can display a help message in accordance with the information input by the user.
These and other objects are attained by means of a message display device comprising:
an input unit that receives input from the user;
a data generator that generates data;
a memory that stores multiple messages;
a display unit that displays the messages stored in the memory;
a selecting means that selects a message from among the multiple messages stored in the memory based on the input received by the input unit and the data generated by the data generator; and
a controller that causes the selected message to be displayed on the display unit.
The objects described above are also attained by means of a message display device described above, wherein the data generator generates data regarding the status of the printer.
The objects described above are also attained by means of the message display device described above, wherein said message display device has multiple data generator elements and, based on the data generated by the first data generator element, the selecting means determines whether or not to refer to the data generated by data generator elements other than the first data generator.
The objects described above are also attained by means of the message display device described above, wherein the data generator comprises at minimum a counter that counts the number of prints made and a sensor that detects the remaining amount of the toner in the printer.
The objects described above are also attained by means of the message display device described above, wherein the messages stored in the memory are help messages.
The invention itself, together with further objects and attendant advantages, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


The present invention provides a composition comprising an effective amount of benfotiamine and an effective amount of pyridoxamine in a suitable vehicle for topical application. The present compositions are useful in improving the appearance of aged skin characterized by wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and hyperpigmentation caused by chronoaging and/or photoaging of skin, by inhibiting particularly skin damage resulting from reactive carbonyl species (RCS), glycation of skin proteins, formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and formation of advanced lipoxidation endproducts (ALEs).

Skin is subject to abuse by many extrinsic (environmental) factors as well as intrinsic factors. A common extrinsic factor is exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Whether extrinsic or intrinsic, the abuse results in skin aging. Skin aging happens in two ways: (1) through the natural aging process which dermatologists call chronological aging (also known as chronoaging); and (2) through UV rays in sunlight accelerating the aging process which dermatologists call photoaging. Chronoaging results in thinning, loss of elasticity and general degradation of skin. As the skin naturally ages, there is a reduction in the cells and blood vessels that supply the skin. There is also a flattening of the dermal-epidermal junction which results in weaker mechanical resistance. As a consequence, older persons are more susceptive to blister formation in cases of mechanical traumas or disease processes (Oikarinen et al., Photodermatal. Photoimmunol. Photomed., 7:3-4 (1990)).
By contrast photoaging, or premature aging, is a process in which the skin changes in appearance as a result of repeated exposure to sunlight. Typically, photoaging occurs in areas of habitual exposure, such as the scalp, face, ears, neck, chest, forearms and hands. The changes associated with photoaging include elastosis, atrophy, wrinkling, vascular changes (diffuse erythema, ecchymoses, and telangiectasias), pigmentary changes (lentigines, freckles, and areas of hypo- and hyper-pigmentation), and the development of seborrheic keratosis, actinic keratosis, comedones and cysts.
Decreased elasticity of the cardiovascular system is one of the hallmarks of the normal aging process of mammals and has been linked to an age-related accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). Glycation is the product of reaction between a sugar and the free amino group of proteins and involves cross-linking. The linking of glycosylation byproducts to proteins results in the development of large, cross-linked molecules that inhibit the ability of the cell to function normally, thereby increasing the aging process. In addition, AGEs in tissues increase the rate of free radical production to 50-times the rate of free-radical production by unglycated proteins, even further increasing the rate of the aging process.
The relationship between sugar and the aging process is well established and is based upon the observation of diabetics, who seem to age rapidly. The irreversible cross-linked proteins of AGEs in vessel collagen also contribute to atherosclerosis, as well as to kidney failure-conditions worsened in diabetes (Diabetes 46(supp2):S19-S25 (1997)). It is also believed AGEs aggravate protein cross-linking in plaques and tangles of Alzheimer's Disease, thereby accelerating neuron death (Brain Research Review 23:134-143 (1997)). When glucose bonds with collagen, many negative effects can result, including thickened arteries, stiff joints, feeble muscles and failing organs. As collagen molecules in the cartilage and skin have a long lifetime (117 years for cartilage and 15 years for skin collagen), they are susceptible to the accumulation of AGEs since the protein turnover is a major determinant in AGE accumulation (Verzijl N., et al., J. Biol. Chem. 275(50):39027-31 (2000)). Reducing glycation within the body to slow the aging process has been recommended to improve lifestyle and foster a youthful appearance. This has been done with food, guiding patients in what they eat, and how they cook. (F. Wilson, Cosmetic Surgery Times, September, 2004).
Currently, scientists believe there are two major ways in which AGEs can form inside the body. One way is through a simple series of chemical reactions known as the "Maillard Pathway," known from food chemistry for more than a century. During glycation, glucose binds to a protein bound nitrogen via a hydroxyl or carbonyl group. This intermediate then chemically rearranges to produce an Amadori product having two ketone groups on the second or third carbon of the glucose ring. This Amadori product goes through other rearrangements through the Maillard reaction. This is the basis for atherosclerosis, cataracts and other problems commonly associated with diabetes.
The second, discovered more recently, is based on a distinctly biological pathway, which only occurs within the cells because of the body's metabolism of carbohydrates or sugars. It is known that glucose and other saccharides are important glycating agents, but the most reactive glycating agents are the α-oxoaldehydes, glyoxal, methylglyoxal and 3-deoxyglucosone. Tissue-specific metabolic characteristics are understood to be involved in the degree of cellular protein modification by Maillard reactions, e.g., by modulation of the concentration of glycolysis intermediates or via specific defensive systems in these organs. (Portero-Otin, M., et al. Biochem. Soc. Trans. (2003) 31, 1403-1405.
AGEs are implicated as a major pathogenesis process in atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease, the normal aging process, and the pathogenesis of the major microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus: nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy. In certain pathophysiological states, one or more of the following changes to glycation-related processes occurs: the rate of glycation is increased, the renal clearance of AGEs is decreased and/or the expression of AGEs receptors is increased leading to AGEs-related membrane thickening, AGEs-mediated cell activation, premature aging, and amyloidosis.
In the skin, glycation forms new AGEs in the extracellular matrix of the dermis and changes fibroblast shape and distribution, alters extracellular matrix molecules and the dermal-epidermal junction zone, increases β and α integrins concentration in the epidermal skin layer, and increases collagenase activity. (Pageon, H., et al., Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005, 1043:529-32.)
The mechanism of action for AGEs inhibitors is understood to include both nucleophilic traps for reactive carbonyl AGE intermediates and antioxidant activity. AGE inhibitors are chelators of copper, and potent inhibitors of ascorbate oxidation. Because of the strong ascorbate oxidization inhibition properties of AGE inhibitors, these properties are believed to be the primary mechanism for the inhibition of AGE formation. (Price D L, et al., J Biol Chem. 2001 Dec. 28; 276(52):48967-72). AGEs are primarily eliminated from the circulation by scavenger receptor-mediated uptake in hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells. (Hansen, B. et al., Diabetologia. 2002 October; 45(10):1379-88).
There are several drugs that inhibit the formation of AGEs; one such candidate is aminoguanidine. Aminoguanidine is structurally very similar to guanidine, the active ingredient in the herb, goat's rue (galega officinalis). It is believed that aminoguanidine acts by enhancing the action of nitric oxide (Brownlee, Diabetes, 2:57-60 (1992)). However, recently aminoguanidine has shown signs of toxicity in human trials (Okada et al., J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 41:43-50 (1995)).
In addition, it has been shown that thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), the active coenzyme form of the B-complex vitamin thiamine, can stop late stage AGEs formation. TPP has also been shown to exert a two-pronged AGEs-inhibiting effect in the body. Boosting TPP in cells stressed by high glucose concentrations results in the opening of a "safety valve" in the normal metabolism of blood sugar through an enzyme known as transketolase. Activating transketolase allows the body to shunt excess triosephosphates, reactive glucose metabolic intermediates, transferring AGEs damage inside the cell into a safe alternative metabolic pathway, preventing their buildup and, concomitantly, preventing the formation of AGEs. Unfortunately, regular thiamine vitamin B is not readily absorbed and metabolized by the body. In addition, taking supplements comprising TPP is equally futile because specific enzymes strip TPP of its phosphate group, rendering the adulterated TPP ineffective to battle AGEs.
Another antiglycation compound, ALT-711, breaks the specific AGE-derived crosslinks between proteins, but does not disrupt the natural enzymatic glycosylation sites or peptide bonds of the collagen chain. ALT-711 has been shown to reduce age-related ventricular stiffness and improve cardiac function (Asif M, et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 97(6):2809-13; erratum:97(10):5679 (2000). ALT-711 also has been used to improve skin hydration of aged rats through oral and topical administration. (Vasan, S, et al., Arch Biochem. Biophys. 419(1):89-96 (2003).
Benfotiamine and B vitamins have previously been used in combination for the oral treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy (Stracke et al. Clin. Endocrinol. Diabetes 1996; 104(4):311-6) and alcoholic polyneuropathy (Woelk H, et al., Alcohol Alcohol. 1998 November-December; 33(6):631-8). However, neither of these references suggest topical applications for treating aging skin.
While AGEs-inhibiting drugs have displayed promise in regard to treating a number of conditions, including the reduction in the signs of aging, there is a clear need for the identification of new, safe AGE-inhibiting, non-prescription topical compositions that can be used to address the signs of skin aging caused by reactive carbonyl species (RCS), glycation of skin proteins, formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and formation of advanced lipoxidation endproducts (ALEs).

Topical compositions comprising benfotiamine and pyridoxamine


Methods of making zirconium basic carbonate are further described which involve titrating an aqueous slurry of sodium zirconium carbonate to a pH of from about 3.5 to about 4.0 with an acidic agent wherein the sodium zirconium carbonate has a moisture content of from about 15% to about 25% LOD in solid form. The process further involves washing the aqueous slurry containing the formed zirconium basic carbonate with water. A novel zirconium basic carbonate is further disclosed which has a minimum adsorption capacity of from about 30 to about 35 mg/PO4-P/gm SCZ; a minimum HCO3- content of from about 2 to about 4 mEq HCO3-gm/SCZ; a leachable Na+ content of from about 1.5 to about 2.0 mEq Na+/gm SCZ; and/or a pH range of titrated sodium zirconium carbonate of from about 6 to about 7.

The present invention relates to sodium zirconium carbonate, zirconium phosphate, and zirconium basic carbonate and methods of making these compounds.
Sodium Zirconium Carbonate (SZC) is an amorphorous zirconium polymeric compound with the structural formula as shown:
The granular form of the material can be obtained by the following two methods:    Method A: Reaction of granular zirconium basic sulfate with a saturated soda ash solution followed by washing the product to remove the sulfate.    Method B: Controlled polymeric particle growth reaction of a metastable sodium zirconium carbonate solution formed by mixing a soluble zirconium salt solution with an excessive amount of soda ash solution.
One industrial application of granular SZC is the conversion of the material to zirconium basic carbonate (ZBC) which is a commercial raw material in making other zirconium chemical products. The conversion can be made by titrating the granular SZC to pH 3.5–4.0 with an acid to remove the excessive sodium carbonate. The granular SZC used for making ZBC is usually produced by Method A. Another important application of SZC is the conversion of the material to the granular zirconium chemical ion exchangers, namely, zirconium phosphate (ZrP) and hydrous zirconium oxide (HZO). These zirconium ion exchange material are used commercially for renal dialysis application. The quality and economic criteria, which dictate the method of their manufacture, constitute the art of making the REDY® sorbent cartridge for hemodialysate regeneration currently used by SORB™ Technology, Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla. A recent study on the design of a sorbent cartridge at SORB™ Technology, Inc. for peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluid regeneration indicates that the granular SZC by itself has unique properties which make it more beneficial than HZO in contributing to the potency of the sorbent PD cartridge. These properties of the material which make the cartridge adaptable to the PD treatment conditions may be summarized as follows:
1. The material has sufficient phosphate adsorption capacity to remove phosphate from the patient fluid for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in renal disease patients.
2. The material supplements bicarbonate to the PD fluid, which can be essential to correct metabolic acidosis in patients.
3. The material prevents the pH of PD fluid from falling, which may cause depletion of bicarbonate from the patient. This allows regenerative PD to be feasible.
In order to manufacture the granular SZC for sorbent PD applications, both quality and economic factors have to be considered. Method A cannot be used because the product has high sulfate content that degrades the quality of the material as a sorbent. Method B has been used in production through the use of acid zirconium sulfate tetrahydrate (AZST) as the zirconium raw material. The process efficiency is less and the manufacture cost is higher for this process, but the ZrP made from granular SZC has higher ammonium adsorption capacity than that made from zirconium basic sulfate (ZBS).
While these processes are useful, there is a need to provide a better quality sodium zirconium carbonate and zirconium basic carbonate with uses especially in the dialysis area and further there is a need to reduce the cost of manufacturing these components.

Zirconium basic carbonate and methods of making the same


A data security system that includes a first memory device to store message data to be secured, a second memory device to store microcode including an instruction set defining a cryptographic algorithm for use in securing the message data, and a processing unit to execute the microcode to implement the cryptographic algorithm.

This specification relates to securing data.
Given the proliferation of computing systems and other electronic devices, the security and authenticity of data and data communications are paramount concerns as such data often contain sensitive information (e.g., financial records, medical records, personal information, etc.). Cryptographic algorithms are commonly used to authenticate, secure, and verify the integrity of data and/or data communications. Some cryptographic algorithms, for example, rely upon the use of hash functions, e.g., SHA-1, SHA-256, MD5, RIPEMD, HMAC, etc. Cryptographic schemes utilizing hash functions are often implemented through the use of general purpose computing devices or dedicated, special-purpose hardware. However, implementations based on general purpose computing devices may not be suitable for applications demanding a small form factor, as the versatility offered by such computing devices tends to make them relatively large. Further, implementations based on dedicated, special-purpose hardware may not be a viable option for applications requiring the flexibility to change from use of one cryptographic algorithm to another, e.g., from a cryptographic algorithm implementing SHA-1 to a cryptographic algorithm implementing SHA-256.


A visceral fat measurement device includes a first electrode pair and a second electrode pair to be arranged in a body axis direction at a back surface of an abdomen of a subject; a current generation unit for flowing current between electrodes of the first electrode pair; a potential difference detection unit for detecting a potential difference between electrodes of the second electrode pair current is flowed between the electrodes of the first electrode pair; and a visceral fat mass calculation part for calculating visceral fat mass of the subject based on the detected potential difference between the electrodes of the second electrode pair.

A visceral fat mass is conventionally measured using an abdomen tomographic image obtained by an X-ray CT (Computed Tomography). Thus, a problem in that the visceral fat mass can only be measured in medical institutions with an X-ray CT facility arises. An abdomen tomographic image similar to that of the X-ray CT can be photographed with MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), but a large facility is still necessary.
In order to solve such a problem, a device for measuring the visceral fat mass without requiring a large facility is proposed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-369806 (Patent Document 1) discloses a first device described below. The first device includes: a first electrode group including one or more electrodes, which position of arrangement on an abdominal surface of a human body is determined with a position of umbilicus of the human body as a reference; a second electrode group including one or more electrodes arranged on a back surface of the human body; a third electrode including two or more electrodes arranged at a position of substantially the middle of the first electrode group and the second electrode group on the surface of the human body; and a controller for flowing current between one electrode selected from the first electrode group and one electrode selected from the second electrode group, measuring the voltage generated between the two electrodes of the third electrode, and calculating the fat mass of the abdomen of the human body based on the measured voltage value.
Furthermore, Patent Document 1 discloses a second device described below. The second device includes: a first electrode group including one or more electrodes, which position of arrangement on the abdominal surface of the body to be measured is determined with the position of umbilicus of the body to be measured as a reference; a second electrode group including three or more electrodes arranged on the back surface of the body to be measured; measurement means for flowing current between two electrodes selected from the second electrode group, and measuring the voltage generated between one electrode selected from the first electrode group and one electrode selected from the second electrode group; and calculating means for calculating the fat mass of the abdomen of the body to be measured based on the voltage value.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-369806


A LED driving semiconductor circuit of the present invention includes a first input terminal connected to a light-emitting diode, a switching device block having a first FET and a first switching device, a reference voltage terminal which is connected to the first FET and outputs the reference voltage, a start/stop circuit which outputs a start signal when the reference voltage is equal to or larger than a predetermined value and outputs a stop signal when the reference voltage is less than the predetermined value, a current detection circuit which detects the current flowing through the first switching device, and a control circuit which controls ON/OFF of the first switching device intermittently at the predetermined frequency based on the output signal of the start/stop circuit and the output signal of the current detection circuit so that the constant current flows through the light-emitting diode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting diode (LED) driving semiconductor circuit and a light-emitting diode (LED) driving apparatus including the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a lighting apparatus using the light-emitting diode.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a LED driving semiconductor circuit and a LED driving apparatus including the same are developed and are put into practical use. A LED driving apparatus of a first prior art is disclosed in JP 2001-313423, (A patent document 1).
In the LED driving apparatus of the first prior art, a voltage boost chopper BUT includes an inductor L, a diode D (a light-emitting diode LED can also serve as the diode D) which is connected to the inductor L in series, and a switching element Q of which one end is connected to a connecting point between the inductor L and the anode of the diode D (in the explanation of the following prior art, reference symbols are those used in the drawings of the patent document 1).
The anode of the light-emitting diode LED is connected to the cathode of the diode D. The light-emitting diode LED is driven by the direct current output of the voltage boost chopper BUT.
The cathode of the light-emitting diode LED is connected to a light-emitting diode current-feedback circuit LFC. The LED driving apparatus of the first prior art controls the control circuit CC of the voltage boost chopper BUT, according to the detected signal of the light-emitting diode current-feedback circuit LFC, so as to average out the current of the light-emitting diode during a time range longer than the period of low-frequency ac current.
The on-control of the switching element Q is done when the inductor L releases energy. The off-control of the switching element Q is done according to the switching current or done when a predetermined time passed after the switching-on.
The other end of the switching element Q is connected to a switching current detection circuit SD. Between the light-emitting diode LED and the ground potential, an inductor current detection circuit LD 2316 is provided.
The above-mentioned circuit configuration provides the LED driving apparatus of the first prior art which achieves the excellent stability of the light-emitting diode current, low power loss, a low input current distortion, and comparatively low cost. However, there is a problem as is described below.
(1) Because of the voltage boost chopper BUT, while the switching device is off, no current flows through the light-emitting diode LED. Therefore, flickering occurs in the brightness of the light emission.
(2) Since a resistor SD and a resistor LD are used for the detection of the current flowing through the switching device Q and the light-emitting diode LED, the power loss by these resistors SD and LD is large. Particularly in the LED lighting apparatus, it is necessary to increase the current applied to the LED. In this case, in such a direct current detection method as in the method using SD and LD, the power loss increases.
(3) Since the input voltage is detected using resistors, the power loss occurs constantly by these resistors for detecting input voltage while the LED driving apparatus is working.
(4) Number of circuit components increases, leaving hindrance to the small-sizing of the LED driving apparatus. Particularly, in case of the bulb type LED lighting apparatus, it is unsuitable.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention purposes to provide a LED driving semiconductor circuit having a simple configuration and a low power-loss, and a LED driving apparatus including the same.
The present invention purposes to provide a LED driving semiconductor circuit, which is capable of controlling the current flowing through the light-emitting diode with a high accuracy responding to the input voltage fluctuation, and an LED driving apparatus including the same.

LED driving semiconductor circuit and LED driving apparatus including the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


In an automatic terminal start/stop verification system, a terminal start/stop simulation unit which simulates a task module of a call processing program for an exchange. The exchange has call processors which process and control calls, terminals, line processors controlled by the call processors to control the terminals, and a terminal management data file which has data on the busy/idle states of the terminals, a start/stop write macro name holding unit which holds the names of macros for the writing of start or stopping to the terminal management data file, and a start/stop order name holding unit which holds the names of orders for start or stop of the line processors. The terminal start/stop simulation unit automatically detects errors in the task module by referring to the start/stop write macro name holding unit and the start/stop order name holding unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic terminal start/stop verification system using an exchange call processor, and more particularly, to a system for automatically detecting an error in a start control and stop control of terminals when supervising a task module of a call processing program.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In an exchange, call processing is executed according to a program, and since this call processing covers a wide range of subjects, the call processing program includes a massive amount of data. Therefore, there is a need to easily determine errors in a start control and/or a stop control of terminals in a subscriber circuit or the like, by the call processing simulator.
An exchange unit generally includes a main processor MPR, a plurality of call processors CPR, and a plurality of line processors LPR having a plurality of subscriber circuits and various kinds of trunks. The respective network paths are controlled by call processors, to form a communication path between subscribers. Each subscriber circuit includes a line processor and receives a plurality of subscriber lines, to each of which a data terminal is connected via a telephone set or a modem. Also, a trunk having a line processor is connected to other exchange units via a repeated repeater, or trunk, line. Namely, a terminal of the exchange unit contains a subscriber circuit having subscriber lines and a trunk having repeated lines, and the unit is provided with a terminal control data file unit BICT for holding data controlling the states of these terminals.
One line processor of the subscriber circuit and the other line processor of the trunk are controlled by a call processor, to control a start/stop operation of terminals, and the terminal control data file unit controls a busy/idle state of the terminal. Therefore, both when the line processors are started and when they are stopped, the call processor writes data in both cases via a main processor MPR.
Since the call processing program performing a control of an exchange unit including a main processor and a plurality of call processors and line processors, executes a very large number of call processing procedures, the above programs include a very large numbered processing procedures. Therefore, the call processing program is conventionally composed of task modules, and a programmer creates and debugs a call processing program by using each task module unit.
As described above, the call processing program is created by using each task module unit. The task module is executed by an exchange unit, to be verified whether or not a terminal such as a subscriber circuit has been normally started or stopped. Various kinds of task modules are created in parallel, and the respective task modules are executed simultaneously therewith by a plurality of exchange units, to thereby promote the development of a call processing program. Nevertheless, since the number of test exchange units is limited, it is practically difficult to simultaneously debug the task modules. Namely, a problem arises in that the progress of the call processing program development depends upon the number of available test exchange units.

Automatic terminal start/stop verification system using call processing simulator


Embodiments of the invention provide a reusable intra-oral device for treating xerostomia. The device having a structure adaptable for oral cavities of multiple users. The hermitically sealed housing comprises of an electronic module having a signal generator configured to generate electrical signals based on one or more values of one or more predefined parameters. Further, the device comprises of electrodes connected to the electronic module. The electrodes are configured to apply the electric signals for stimulating lingual nerves in the oral cavities to induce salivation.

Saliva is a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by various glands and is essential for maintenance of oral function and health and performs various critical functions in the oral cavity. For example, saliva neutralizes the acids that promote dental caries and helps in the re-mineralization of areas of incipient caries development. Further, saliva contains specific antimicrobial agents that assist in reducing the number of bacteria in the oral cavity by several means, such as dilution, aggregating factors, microbicidal enzymes and so forth. Moreover, salivary glycoproteins reduce intraoral friction between different oral structures such as teeth, cheek, tongue and lips by lubricating the hard and soft tissues. Also, saliva aids in swallowing by facilitating bolus formation, and salivary enzymes such as lipase and amylase start the digestion of food. Moreover, perception of taste is facilitated by salivary dilution.
Saliva is produced by the salivary glands. Every normal human has three pairs of major salivary glands: the parotid glands that are located under the skin of the cheeks, the submandibular glands and the sublingual glands, which are located at the bottom of the mouth. In addition, hundreds of minor salivary glands are spread throughout the oral cavity lining. According to C. Dawes in "The contribution of oral minor mucous gland secretions to the volume of whole saliva in man", Archs Oral Biology, 1973, the parotid, submandibular and sublingual salivas comprise more than 90% of the whole saliva present in the mouth. The secretion of saliva is regulated by the salivary reflex that is part of the autonomic nervous system of body. Afferent fibers that are part of cranial nerves carry various signals such as those for tasting, chewing or perceiving a foreign body from the oral cavity to the brain. In response to the signals, efferent fibers that run through the same or others nerves, release stimulatory commands to all salivary glands. This phenomenon is known as 'salivary reflex'. The only nerve exposed to the oral cavity lining that carries both types of fibers (afferent and efferent) is the lingual nerve. The lingual nerve directly stimulates the submandibular glands and the sublingual glands. Further, the lingual nerve indirectly stimulates all salivary glands through the salivary reflex.
Xerostomia or dry mouth symptom is a very common problem. According to estimates, about 10% of the adult population over 25 years of age may complain of it at some time, and it is a serious health and quality of life problem for about 1-2% of the adult population. Typically, xerostomia may be associated with salivary gland dysfunction. However, xerostomia may not always reflect the actual salivary gland performance. See "Xerostomia: evaluation of a symptom with increasing significance", Journal of American Dental Association, 1985, Philip C. Fox et al. According to Wolff A et al, in "Major salivary gland output differs between users and non-users of specific medication categories", Gerodontology, 2008, xerostomia is more closely related to the function of the submandibular and sublingual glands than the parotid glands. Chronic xerostomia can be caused by diseases such as Sjögren's syndrome, nerve damage, certain medications, therapeutic irradiation and or by other chronic diseases. Xerostomia can cause difficulty in eating dry foods, swallowing, speaking and wearing dentures. Moreover, xerostomia increases the number of wake-up episodes during sleeping time in a need to moist the mouth, susceptibility to dental caries, oral pain and frequent infections.
Generally, the treatment of xerostomia is difficult and the currently available treatments are not satisfactory. Symptomatic treatments include mouthwashes, gels and local intra-oral sialogogues (salivation stimulators) such as sugarless hard candies or chewing gum. However, such treatments provide only short-lasting effects that fade after a few minutes of treatment. Further, in case of patients having xerostomia due to a non-pharmacologic cause, ingested systemic sialogogues (if not contraindicated) may be helpful. However, ingested systemic sialogogues have adverse effects such as perspiration, flushing, urinary urgency and lacrimation.
It is well known that stimulation of the autonomic nerves associated with the salivary glands by low power electric stimulation can increase salivation output of the salivary glands. Furthermore, due to the dual type of fibers carried by the lingual nerve (afferent and efferent), stimulating the vicinity of this nerve, i.e. the mucosa behind the lower third molar, results in both, (a) direct impulses to the submandibular glands and the sublingual glands nerve, and (b) indirect stimulus through the salivary reflex to the other major and minor salivary glands in the oral and pharyngeal regions. As a result, the salivation is increased (see, "Electrostimulating device in the management of xerostomia", Oral Diseases, 2007, Strietzel FP et al.). Placing a module, or part of it, inside the intra-oral environment to provide electric stimulation requires unique manufacturing methods in order to guarantee the functionality and durability of the device over time. Generally, any object placed within the oral cavity must withstand constant wetness (of saliva and intake liquids), mastication forces, forces applied by the tongue and other oral muscles, varying pH levels from 1 to 9, ambient temperature of 37° C., and temperature variations ranging between +0° C. and +65° C. due to cold and hot drinks intake.
Existing techniques as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,519,400 and 4,637,405 assigned to Brenman et al., teach a stimulator for inducing salivation by neural stimulation. The stimulator includes a housing that encloses electronic signal generating means and electrodes for applying a signal to neurally sensitive areas of the oral cavity to induce salivation. The stimulator is coupled to the hard palate of a user and is held in place by connecting it to a tooth of the upper jaw. However, this configuration causes discomfort to the user. Further, the user's ability to speak, eat and/or drink are affected severely. Moreover, the signals do not stimulate the lingual nerve.
Another existing technique as disclosed in EP Pat Application No. 278,847 assigned to Jaffreo Albert, teaches the application of an electrical signal to neurally sensitive locations by an apparatus. The apparatus is in the form of a pellet made of a non-conductive material with electrodes on the opposite faces of the apparatus. The apparatus has no means of firm attachment within the oral cavity and is only held freely within the pral cavity. Further, the apparatus can be moved from one place to another in the oral cavity by aid of the tongue. However, there is a risk that the apparatus may be accidentally swallowed into the gastro-intestinal tract or aspirated into the lungs by the user.
Yet another existing technique as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,052 assigned to Wolff et al. teaches an implantable device for inducing salivation by neural stimulation at neurally sensitive location within an oral or perioral tissue of the user. The device includes a housing adapted to be permanently implanted within the oral or perioral tissue. The housing includes an enclosure for engaging an electrical signal generator. Further, the signal generator includes a power source and electrodes. The electrodes form an electrical contact with neurally sensitive location of the oral or perioral tissue, the stimulation of which by electrical energy can induce salivation. However, the device needs to fixed by an invasive procedure, requiring implantation as essential component in the oral cavity. Moreover, the implant is a costly component and requires a surgical procedure involving considerable risk to the user.
Another existing technique as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,477,947 assigned to Pines et al. teaches electrical detection of a lack of saliva in the oral cavity and electrically stimulating the oral cavity to induce the production of saliva from the salivary glands. However, electric detection and measurement of saliva quantity and oral moisture and comparing the obtained measure to a moisture limit value are essential elements needed to deliver the electrical impulses. An additional limitation of this patent is the need of the intraoral device to be configured so as to be fixable to at least one tooth within an oral cavity of an individual.
Yet another existing technique as disclosed in PCT Pat. Application No. WO 2006/100238 to Michel Rochat et al., teaches a salivary stimulation device having an electronic circuit that generates and transmits electric signals by means of stimulation electrodes. The aforementioned device takes the form of a channel that is preferably made of a transparent thermoplastic material. The electronic circuit is embedded at one edge of the channel. According to the invention, only the free ends of the electrodes extend outwardly from the channel in order to be brought into contact with the oral cavity and to stimulate the salivary glands of the user. However, the device may be specially designed for the oral cavity of the user. An existing technique for manufacturing and testing of intra-oral embedded devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Application No. 2009/0210032.
In light of the above discussion, techniques are desired for treating xerostomia devoid of the above limitations.

Device and method for stimulating salivation


A light pattern generating system based on a micromechanical light modulator (50) is disclosed whereby the outputs of two staggered rows of modulator mirrors are optically combined to produce a single line pixel pattern. The preferred embodiment contains birefringent film (28) deposited onto one row (20) of two rows of modulator mirrors (20) so they rotate the incident beam (41) polarization by 90 degrees. The reflections off that row of mirrors (20) and off an unaltered mirror row (25) are then optically combined by a birefringent optical element (36) into a single line pixel pattern. Another embodiment features splitting the linearly polarized incident light beam (41) into two orthogonally polarized beams (45) and (47) by utilizing a berefringent beam splitter (44), illuminating two rows of mirrors (20) and (25) separately, and then optically re-combining their outputs with either conventional mirrors and beam splitters, or a berefringent optical element (36). An additional embodiment shows splitting a dual-wavelength incident light beam (52) into two beams (58 ) and (59) with each having a different wavelength, by utilizing dichroic beamsplitter (56), then illuminating two rows of mirrors (60) and (61) separately, and optically re-combining their outputs with either conventional mirrors and beam splitters, or a dichroic mirror (57).

Micro-mechanical modulators have been known for some time. Generally, a micro-mechanical light modulator consists of a substrate, usually made of silicon and containing active driving circuitry, and an array of miniature cantilevered beams serving as deflecting mirrors.
The entire mirror array is usually illuminated simultaneously by a single light source. When a voltage is applied to a particular beam, it tips down toward the ground electrode located on the substrate, while deflecting the incident light in the process. By applying voltage to selected beams, and causing them to deflect, light modulation is accomplished.
To improve the density and decrease the cost of the modulator, the mirrors are often fabricated in two interdigitated rows. This arrangement generates corresponding staggered output light patterns which necessitate electronic pre-processing of the data prior to printing. Such pre-processing may involve electronic buffering and interlacing of the data which significantly complicates the operation of the overall printing system.
Furthermore, because every printed line consists of two half-lines which are printed at different times by the modulator mirror rows, the quality of printing depends to a large extent on the uniformity of the relative movement of the modulator and the medium being printed.

Micromechanical light modulator with optically interlaced output


A halogen-free extra-high-voltage cable for railway rolling stock includes a stranded conductor, an inner semi-conducting layer covering the stranded conductor, an outer semi-conducting layer provided on an outer periphery of the inner semi-conducting layer via an insulation layer, and a sheath layer on an outer periphery of the outer semi-conducting layer, the sheath layer containing 80 to 200 parts by weight of metal hydroxide and 0.5 to 10 parts by weight of cross-linking agent with respect to 100 parts by weight of olefin-based polymer containing ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer as a main component, the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer having a vinyl acetate content of not less than 40 wt % and less than 50 wt % and a melt flow rate of not more than 2.5 g/10 min and a resin composition is cross-linked.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a halogen-free extra-high-voltage cable for railway rolling stock which is excellent in mechanical characteristics, aging resistance, oil resistance, low-temperature characteristics, flame retardancy and safety.
2. Description of the Related Art
In high-speed railway vehicles which need to take high-voltage power therein from overhead lines via pantographs in order to increase travel speed, extra-high-voltage cables for railway rolling stock have been used.
In more detail, the extra-high-voltage cables for railway rolling stock are categorized into a pull-through cable for connecting a pantograph to a transformer placed under the floor of the vehicle and a vehicle-crossover cable connecting between vehicles to supply power.
This type of extra-high-voltage cable for railway rolling stock is required to have electric characteristics as well as mechanical characteristics against flaws or abrasion, environmental resistance such as aging resistance or oil resistance, and flame retardancy. In addition, excellent low-temperature characteristics are also required because of being used in also cold climates.
Accordingly, chloroprene rubber excellent in such characteristics is conventionally used as a sheath material to put such an extra-high-voltage cable into practical use.
However, the extra-high-voltage cable using chloroprene rubber is configured to produce a large amount of non-flammable halogen gas in the event of a fire so that combustion of the cable is prevented by insulating the cable from oxygen. Halogen gases, etc., produced in such occasion are often toxic even though sufficient flame retardancy is exhibited, which means that it is disadvantageous in that smoke containing poisonous gas is produced in a large amount.
Therefore, a halogen-free extra-high-voltage cable for railway rolling stock emphasizing fire safety has been desired, in which a metal hydroxide such as magnesium hydroxide or aluminum hydroxide is mixed as a flame retardant, in place of chloroprene rubber, with a polyolefin-based resin.
Since it is difficult to achieve a combination of sufficient flame retardancy and excellent mechanical characteristics only by use of metal hydroxide, methods in which a phosphorus-containing flame retardant such as red phosphorus is added as a flame-retardant aid (JP-A 2002-42574, JP-A 2002-42575 and JP-A 2003-113276) and methods in which 1,3,5-triazine derivative such as melamine cyanurate is added to ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) with a high vinyl acetate content as a base polymer (Japanese Patent Nos. 3632735, 4398552 and JP-A 2005-200574) have been disclosed in order to use high flame-retardant halogen-free resin compositions for wires and cables.
However, addition of phosphorus-containing flame retardant or 1,3,5-triazine derivative as a flame-retardant aid is not suitable for halogen-free extra-high-voltage cables for railway rolling stock which are required to have fire safety since toxic phosphine (PH3), nitrogen oxide or hydrogen cyanide are produced at the time of combustion even though sufficient flame retardancy is obtained.

Halogen-free extra-high-voltage cable for railway rolling stock


A method is disclosed by which a user of a roaming mobile station can procure services and goods from a content provider at a visiting site. The content provider establishes contact with a mobile e-commerce server, the visited MeC server. The visited MeC server directs the request to the users home MeC server. The home MeC server performs the authentication of the user. In this way security relevant information is not revealed to the visited MeC server.

Mobile e-Commerce
Mobile e-Commerce is commerce made available to the mobile user through mobile devices such as mobile phones, PDA, etc. The mobile user has the possibility to make a bet, play a game, pay bills, perform a transaction, buy stocks, buy and pay securely using their mobile device.
Due to the physical limitations of the mobile devices such as processing power, memory size, battery lifetime, etc. it is common to have a Mobile e-Commerce (MeC) server to assist in the security and payment processes. FIG. 1 shows an example of a Mobile e-Commerce system, which consists of:                Mobile devices        A Mobile e-Commerce Server        Financial Institutions        Merchant or Content Provider
In general a user browses to a merchant or content provider site using their mobile device. They are presented with options and select goods or services to be purchased. At some stage they will wish to "check out" and pay for these selected items. The content provider diverts the request to the MeC Server. The MeC server maintains relevant user information in order to authenticate, and get payment approval. It then contacts the Financial Institution (e.g. Credit Card Company, bank, etc.) to get payment clearance.
On a positive answer from the Financial Institution, the MeC server will inform the content provider to proceed. Depending on the nature of the merchandise, it could be delivered directly to the user, be picked up by the user or be shipped by post later. The general flow is shown in FIG. 2.
It is important to note that in this scenario, both the user and the content provider are registered in the Mobile e-Commerce server. Obviously the Financial Institution has agreements with the Mobile e-Commerce service provider and the content provider for payment clearance. This environment can be regarded as the Home Service Area. How the user access this service area, is outside the scope of this document.
Related Prior Art
International patent application WO9944165 discloses a system for e-Commerce on the Internet, enabling customers to pay for services and goods from prepaid accounts. The system is based on the use of modular transaction servers (TxS). The TxS includes among other an input device for receiving requests for a service from end-users, a service device rendering the requested service and an account device for keeping track of the users balances.
In a roaming situation, two TxS devices are involved. The first device, identified as a foreign TxS, is the place where the end-user initiates the transaction. The second device, identified as the home TxS, holds the business information for the pre-paid account. The home TxS is requested by the foreign TxS to retrieve the PIN information and update the account.
WO9944165 relates to e-Commerce on the Internet and never discusses the mobile domain or the implications of roaming within this domain. The solution is restricted to prepaid transactions.
A major weakness with this system is the low security level offered, due to the exchange of PIN data. This assumes a trust level between the home TxS and the foreign TxS. It is assumed that a user will automatically trust the foreign TxS, and provide secret information, such as a PIN, to this foreign server. In the mobile world it is very likely that the home operator and the foreign operator have no trust relationship. This makes this solution less feasible in a mobile communication network.
Further, WO9944165 mentions nothing on how to identify the home server, it is assumed that the foreign server knows this server.


Devices, chips and methods are provided which involve the use of either a first modulator path or a second modulator path depending on a level of a signal to be processed.

In various applications, signals are modulated to change the signals in a desired manner. For example, in some applications an analog signal may be converted to a digital signal having a certain bit width, for example an 8 bit signal, a 10 bit signal or a 20 bit signal, and subsequently a modulator may be used to convert the digital signal to a bitstream, i.e. a series of signal values indicating either a logic 1 or a logic 0. For example, digital modulators somewhat resembling a sigma-delta-converter may be used for such a conversion.
For instance, in case an input signal has a high dynamic range, which may be for example the case in some applications where an original analog signal is generated by a microphone, a higher order modulator may be needed to obtain a desired signal to noise ratio than for applications with lower dynamic range. For example, for a standard dynamic range a fourth order modulator may be used, and for a higher dynamic range a fifth or higher order modulator may be used to generate the bitstream mentioned above.
However, in this case also subsequent circuitry utilizing the bitstream, for example a CODEC (coder/decoder), may have to be adapted to the order of the modulator used. In some cases, this is undesirable, and in some environments it would be more desirable to be able to use the same circuitry for processing the modulator output like a bitstream regardless of whether a signal with high dynamic range or a signal with low dynamic range is to be processed.


A lens drive device comprises a base, a lens holder, a piezoelectric actuator having a pair of frictional parts, and a pressing piece. The lens holder has a barrel, a projection projecting from the barrel, a support separated from the barrel, and a joint joining the projection and the support to each other. The pressing piece presses the piezoelectric actuator against the barrel so as to keep such a state that at least one of the pair of frictional parts is in contact with the barrel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens drive device for driving a lens for a camera.
2. Related Background Art
Patent Literature 1 (International Publication No. 2011/132920 pamphlet) discloses a lens drive device comprising a base, a lens holder, a magnet, an electromagnet, and a case. The lens holder has a cylindrical barrel for holding a lens, first and second projections projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the barrel in a direction intersecting the optical axis, a fixed part fixed on the base and arranged on the opposite side of the barrel from the first and second projections while being separated from the barrel, and first and second joints for joining the first and second projections to the fixed part, respectively.
Each of the first and second joints includes a pair of arm members each having a quadrangular prism form. The pair of arm members extend in parallel with each other between the projection and the fixed part. Each of the end parts of the pair of arm members is made thinner in the optical axis direction. Therefore, the pair of arm members are bendable with respect to the fixed part, while the projection and barrel are bendable with respect to the pair of arm members. The barrel unattached to the base can be translated so as to move closer to and away from the base through the arm members of the joints without substantially tilting the optical axis.
The magnet is attached to a side face of the barrel (the surface of the projection on the opposite side of the barrel). The electromagnet is attached to the base so as to oppose the magnet while being separated therefrom. The case is attached to the base so as to construct an accommodation space with the base, whereby the accommodation space contains therein the lens holder, magnet, and electromagnet.
In thus constructed lens drive device described in Patent Literature 1, the electromagnet operates so as to exert an electromagnetic force between the electromagnet and the magnet. This electromagnetic force translates the barrel so as to make it move closer to and away from the base according to the direction of a current while attracting the lens holder toward the electromagnet.


The grinding method of a disk-shaped substrate that grinds a disk-shaped substrate including a portion having a hole at the center thereof while rotating the disk-shaped substrate is provided with: grinding an inner circumference of the disk-shaped substrate while an inner circumference grinding device is fed in a radial direction toward an outer circumference of the disk-shaped substrate and grinding the outer circumference of the disk-shaped substrate while an outer circumference grinding device is fed in the radial direction toward the inner circumference of the disk-shaped substrate; and stopping the feedings of the inner circumference grinding device and the outer circumference grinding device at the same time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grinding method and a grinding apparatus of a disk-shaped substrate such as a glass substrate for a magnetic recording medium, and especially relates to a grinding method and a grinding apparatus for grinding an outer circumference and an inner circumference of a disk-shaped substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the production of disk substrates as disk-shaped substrates has been activated, under increased demands as recording media. As a magnetic disk substrate as one of the disk substrates, an aluminum substrate and a glass substrate are widely used. The aluminum substrate is characterized by its high processability and low cost, meanwhile the glass substrate is characterized by its excellent strength, surface smoothness, and flatness. In particular, requirements for compact size and high density of disk substrates recently have become extremely high, and the glass substrate of which surface roughness is small and that enables high density has attracted a lot of attention.
Various improvements have been made in a manufacturing apparatus of magnetic disk substrates. As the related art described in official gazettes, there is an art of grinding the outer and inner circumferential surfaces of a disk-shaped substrate (a glass substrate, a glass disk) including a portion having a hole at the center (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In the Patent Document 1, in an inner and outer circumferential surface grinding work apparatus of a glass disk, a related art that performs plural processes in parallel at the same time is disclosed. In the art, a grinding stone for working the outer circumferential surface and a grinding stone for working the inner circumferential surface are displaced with respect to a glass disk fixed to a turn table so as to be brought into contact with the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the glass disk for performing the outer circumferential surface work and inner circumferential surface work in parallel at the same time.
In Patent Document 2, an edge face and a slant face of an outer circumferential portion and an inner circumferential portion of a glass substrate for a hard disk are ground at the same time by a metal bond outer surface grinding stone and a metal bond inner surface grinding stone.
Moreover, the metal bond outer surface grinding stone and the metal bond inner surface grinding stone have plural trapezoid grooves (ten grooves) provided on the same axis with a predetermined interval, in which a half of the ten trapezoid grooves are molded for rough working and the remaining trapezoid grooves for finishing. Further, the edge face and the slant face of the outer circumferential portion of the glass substrate are worked at the same time by the metal bond outer surface grinding stone, while the edge face and the slant face of the inner circumference portion on the glass substrate are worked at the same time by the metal bond inner surface grinding stone.
[Patent Document 1]                Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-14176.
[Patent Document 2]                Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-105292.
As mentioned above, there has been known such an art where an inner circumferential surface (inner circumference) and an outer circumferential surface (outer circumference) of a disk-shaped substrate are ground at the same time. However, grinding contents including work rates are different between grinding on the outer circumference and grinding on the inner circumference such that contact by the grinding stone is in the point contact state on the outer circumference as compared with the inner circumference and a distance to be ground (distance in the circumferential direction) is larger on the outer circumference than on the inner circumference, and moreover, there are a difference in a load on a grinding stone shaft, a difference in circumferential velocity between inner and outer circumferences of a disk-shaped substrate and the like. Further, even when the grinding contents are different as above, high dimensional accuracy and high concentricity are in demand both in the inner and outer circumferences after grinding. Thus, when the inner and outer circumferences of a disk-shaped substrate are ground at the same time, favorable grinding results may not be obtained unless more appropriate grinding conditions are determined.
The present invention is made in order to address the above technical problem and has an object to improve the concentricity of the inner and outer circumferences after grinding in outer circumferential grinding and inner circumferential grinding of a disk-shaped substrate.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce time required for work and to maintain high dimensional accuracy of the inner and outer circumferences after grinding in the outer and inner circumferential grinding of a disk-shaped substrate.

Grinding method of a disk-shaped substrate and grinding apparatus


Standard processing techniques for creating a patterned polyimide film from a radiation sensitive polyimide film forming composition are modified to include a post-develop, flood exposure/hardening step which crosslinks precursors of the polyimide film prior to curing. The flood exposure/hardening step prevents pull-back of the wall profile which occurs during the shrinkage of radiation sensitive polyimide film forming composition which occurs during thermal curing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to a method for processing radiation sensitive polyimide film precursors and, more particularly, to a method of processing which allows for better retention of the sidewall profile of trenches and the like created in is a film of the polyimide precursors during imaging and developing subsequent to the shrinkage which occurs during imidization.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Polyimide materials are used in a wide variety of semiconductor and integrated circuit applications. These materials can serve as insulating layers between active devices and conductive lines, as carrier layers in multilayer structures, as well as fulfill a wide variety of other functions. Of particular importance in the electronics industry are polyimides based on 3,3',4,4'-biphenyl tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (BDPA) and p-phenylene diamine (PDA). These polyimides, as well as some others, possess several important properties for integrated circuit and semiconductor manufacturing, including low solvent uptake, low thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE), and high glass transition temperature (Tg) (>325.degree. C.).
The properties that make certain polyimides highly desirable for integrated circuit and semiconductor manufacturing (e.g., high Tg, low TCE, and solvent resistance), also make them difficult to process and pattern. In order to reduce processing steps, efforts have been made to directly pattern radiation sensitive polyimide precursors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,535 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,859 both disclose photopatterning polyimide precursors.
Both positive and negative working radiation sensitive polyimide precursors have been used in prior art semiconductor devices. U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,718 to Moore et al. discloses a positive-working photosensitive polyimide wherein exposure to a pattern of light renders the exposed areas soluble. Moore et al. further discloses that the exposed areas can then be dissolved using a solvent to leave a pattern which can be used directly as an insulator layer in a semiconductor device. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,820,612 and 4,828,967 to Mase et al. both show applying a negative-working photosensitive polyimide precursor layer to a semiconductor substrate followed by exposing, developing, and curing to create an insulative layer which is used on the substrate.
The chief advantage of using radiation sensitive polyimide precursors (polyamic acid derivatives) for polyimide film formation is that a stencil is created from a single expose/develop procedure which defines a permanent dielectric insulator. The stencil is subsequently filled with metallization for the electrical conductor and signal lines that make up the integrated circuit package, and no secondary materials or secondary etching steps are required.
A significant disadvantage of using radiation sensitive polyimide precursors for polymer film formation is that a tremendous amount of uncontrolled shrinkage occurs when the photocomponents (e.g., solvents, photoreactive groups, etc.) are driven out during the final imidization cure. The final imidization step assures that the final film has all the properties of a good non-radiation sensitive polyimide material.
A number of photoresist processing techniques have been developed which include ultraviolet (uv) exposure steps for patterning or otherwise affecting photosensitive polyimides. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,581 to Wu et al. discloses a high resolution photosensitive polyimide wherein deep uv and excimer laser exposure is used to create positive and negative tone images. U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,268 to Bartmann et al. discloses negative photosensitive polyimides which contain 1,2-disulfone moieties as the photoinitiator.
In addition, a number of photoresist processing techniques have been developed which include a post-develop UV exposure step designed to stabilize the photoresist (non-polyimide resists) during subsequent processing. Specifically, Matthews et al., SPIE Conference, Optical Microlithography III, Santa Clara, Calif., Mar. 14-15, 1984, disclose the stabilization of single layer and multilayer resist patterns to aluminum etching environments. In particular, the Matthews article discloses a first LJV exposure step for patterning and a second, post-develop, exposure step to intense UV radiation while increasing the wafer temperature from 100.degree. C. to 200.degree. C. The second or post-develop exposure step with temperature increase is said to enable several common positive photoresists to withstand higher temperatures and planar plasma etching with aluminum. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,039 to Ogah et al. discloses a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices wherein a photoresist layer is exposed, developed, and then exposed to uv again prior to heat treatment. As explained in Ogah et al., the second uv exposure step crosslinks the surface of the photoresist material and provides a "hardening" property that prevents drooping at the bottom of the photoresist pattern.
The UV exposure techniques described for photoresists are not directly translatable to radiation sensitive polyimides, such as photosensitive polyimides, used as carrier or insulative layers. Resists are usually on the order of a few microns, whereas radiation sensitive polyimide materials are typically used to create films on the order of twenty microns. Moreover, the "hardening" step for photoresists described in the prior art is merely limited to the surface regions of the resist, not the bulk of the film. With radiation sensitive polyimide precursors, temperatures of approximately 400.degree. C. are used to imidize the precursors into a polyimide film. Photoresists are generally not designed to withstand these extreme conditions, even if they are "hardened" as suggested by the prior art. Furthermore, during curing, polyimide materials undergo massive shrinkage on the order of 50% or more, whereas photoresists do not shrink to this magnitude upon heating. Therefore, surface hardening is all that is required for photoresist materials, but it would not be adequate for photosensitive polyimides. Lastly, the surface hardening steps performed with photoresist materials is designed to prevent droop of the photoresist. Specifically, the photoresist tends to melt or sag at higher temperatures and under harsh conditions, and this tends to narrow a trench opening in the photoresist at its bottom. Conversely, radiation sensitive polyimide materials do not "flow" like a photoresist, so closing off at the bottom of a trench is not a problem (e.g., the bottom of a trench is relatively fixed with polyimide materials).

Line width control in a radiation sensitive polyimide

International Business Machines Corporation


A float valve is used in a tubular having a through-bore for flow. The tubular can be a casing joint, a casing pup joint, a housing or a shell of a float collar/shoe, or other tubular element. A sleeve of drillable material is expanded inside the tubular. Sealing and/or anchor elements on the exterior of the sleeve can engage inside the tubular. Caps composed of drillable material are disposed on ends of the sleeve and have passages connected to ends of a flow tube. The flow tub is also composed of drillable material and has a bore therethrough for flow. A valve composed of drillable material is disposed in the passage of one of the caps and is configured to control the flow in the tubing through the flow tube.

Cement float equipment is used throughout the completion industry. The float equipment includes float collars and float shoes.
For example, FIG. 8A illustrates a conventional float collar 50A according to the prior art. The collar 50A includes a tubular housing 52 accommodating a fill valve 60 therein. The fill valve 60 has a valve member that is generally mushroom shaped with a head biased upwardly against a valve seat by a spring circumjacent a stem of the valve member. A base in the seat supports the valve member and the spring.
The interior 54 of the housing 52 has an annulus filled with high density cement C therein. The cement C supports the fill valve 60, and the cement C has a passage communicating with the fill valve 60. During use, mud, conditioning fluid, and cement can flow through the passage and the fill valve 60, but fluid from the borehole is not permitted to pass uphole through the valve 60.
The float collar 50A is mounted with its box end 58 at the bottom of casing (not shown). The pin end 56 can attach to another extent of casing or tubular. Alternatively, a shoe (not shown) with box thread can thread to the pin end 56 of the collar 50A to form a float shoe.
In another example, FIG. 8B illustrates a conventional flow shoe according to the prior art. The float shoe 50B includes a tubular housing 52 accommodating a fill valve 60 therein. The interior 54 of the housing 52 has an annulus filled with high density cement C disposed therein to support the fill valve 60. The cement C has a passage in which the fill valve 60 is mounted.
A nose 55 is attached to the end of the housing 52. This nose 55 can be constructed of cement, composite material, fiberglass, aluminum, or the like having wear resistant and drillable characteristics. Typically, the nose 55 can have a conical, eccentric shape to aid in run-in of the assembly by facilitating the passage of the assembly through the borehole.
Typically, the float equipment, such as in FIGS. 8A-8B, has housings configured for use with standard grades of casing and with standard forms of threads. However, conventional cement float equipment cannot be used when an installation requires a unique casing material and/or casing threads. In these situations, special float equipment may be needed, requiring long lead times to provide the particular material and/or threading.
Rather than designing float equipment with special casing material and/or threads, operators have attempted in the past to install a drillable packer in a tubular to hold an inserted float valve therein. An example can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,291. Although such a configuration may be useful, the arrangement of an inserted float valve held by a drillable packer may present an expensive solution to the problem. Inner dimensions of casing varies for different casing weights. To meet the needs for different implementations in the field, operators require a larger amount of inventory of these insert float valves and drillable packers to meet the requirements.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.


A learning device (10) includes a feature extracting unit (11) that extracts features of speech from speech data for training, a probability calculating unit (12) that, on the basis of the features of speech, performs prefix searching using a speech recognition model of which a neural network is representative, and calculates a posterior probability of a recognition character string to obtain a plurality of hypothetical character strings, an error calculating unit (13) that calculates an error by word error rates of the plurality of hypothetical character strings and a correct character string for training, and obtains a parameter for the entire model that minimizes an expected value of summation of loss in the word error rates, and an updating unit (14) that updates a parameter of the model in accordance with the parameter obtained by the error calculating unit (13).

Conventionally, there has been proposed a speech recognition device based on the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) (e.g., see NPL 1). This speech recognition device based on HMM employs a hierarchical structure, and accordingly has not been able to learn a corelative relation between speech features and character strings at the same time.
With regard to this, a speech recognition device that is capable of directly learning a corelative relation between speech and character strings of different lengths on the basis of an encoder-decoder has been proposed as of recent (e.g., see NPL 2). This speech recognition device employs an encoder-decoder, which is a type of neural network (NN), as a model. Thus, according to the speech recognition device, a corelative relation between speech and character strings of different lengths can be learned at the same time, and highly-precise speech recognition can be realized with a simpler configuration.

Learning device and method for updating a parameter of a speech recognition model

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


A method and apparatus for protecting electrical power transmissions systems that may or may not be energized. A two part resin composition acting as a dielectric material is distributed on electrical power systems at a location close to the transmissions systems. The dielectric material has dielectric properties suitable for protecting the desired areas in the solid form and that allow for safe application in the liquid form. The dielectric material can be distributed before installation of the electric lines or can be retrofitted to existing installations.

The invention relates to the field of electrical power transmission and distribution and the need to insulate electrical power lines from short circuits caused by birds and other animals. More particularly, the invention relates to an insulation method and material for coating selected portions of the structures supporting wires such as electrical transmission lines and related components.
Long-distance electricity transmission is typically carried with high voltage conductors. Higher voltages reduce resistance power loss, and line voltage for long distance lines is stepped up with generating stations at selected locations. Transmission lines traverse large regions and require numerous support towers. The conductors in high tension powerlines are typically uninsulated because of the cost and additional weight of insulated versus uninsulated conductors.
Electric poles and towers provide attractive roosts for birds, particularly in treeless regions. If the wings of a bird simultaneously contact a transmission line and another object such as an adjacent wire, support tower or tree, the resulting electrical short-circuit can kill the bird and also damage the power system. The electrical short can further cause electrical system damage resulting in power outages. Because large (and typically protected) birds are more susceptible to such incidental contact, electrocution hazards disproportionately affect large bird species such as raptors.
The variety and number of proposed solutions for repelling birds and other animals from electrocution risks highlights the persistence and magnitude of the problems created by such undesirable intrusion. Many different types of scarecrows and other moving devices have been developed to repel birds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,079 to Rousseau et al. (1978) disclosed a wind operable scarecrow. U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,581 to Tilton (1980) disclosed a weight responsive perch for scaring birds. U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,357 to LeMessurier (1986) disclosed a movable aluminium sheet for scaring birds. U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,660 to Konzak (1986) disclosed an air gun for releasing a gas stream to scare birds. U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,770 to Nuttle (1987) disclosed a tiger cat weathervane. U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,988 to Gratton et al. (1990) disclosed a barrier to birds formed with monofilament line. U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,619 to Chatten (1990) disclosed a coiled wire having movable elongate flaps. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,343,651 (1994) and 5,452,536 (1995) to Chatten disclosed a rotating carriage propelled by wind for repelling birds. U.S. Pat. No. D0359099 to Sugimoto (1995) disclosed a windmill for scaring birds, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,160 to Heron (1998) disclosed a retractable bird deterring device.
In addition to moving devices, various physical structures have been developed to discourage birds from roosting on structures. U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,550 to Shaw et al. (1968) disclosed spikes attached to a mounting structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,008 to Assouline (1981) disclosed optical pyramid structures for generating prisms to scare birds. U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,307 to Cumming et al. (1989) disclosed a high density polyethylene wildlife guard for shielding electrical conductors at the point of attachment to an insulator bushing, and further described prior difficulties in creating an effective physical guard for such conductors. U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,335 to Richter (1991) disclosed flexible plastic fingers attachable to a wire for deterring birds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,088 to Way (1992) disclosed a bird deterring device having retractable wires. U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,444 to Donoho et al. (1993) disclosed a base having spikes for repelling birds, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,029 to Donoho et al. (1995) disclosed a channel member for clamping onto an electrical wire. U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,552 to Negre (1995) disclosed a channel base having multiple spikes for repelling birds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,183 to Antonini et al. (1995) disclosed a resilient base engaged with two wire mesh sections for repelling birds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,032 to Trueblood et al. (1997) disclosed a base having a plurality of bird repelling slots and arms extending from the base. U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,830 to Townsend, Jr. et al. disclosed grid fencing panels for attachment to electric cables or wires. U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,023 to Donoho (2001) disclosed a base having spikes for discouraging birds.
Other bird repelling concepts use electricity or magnetics to discourage bird intrusion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,896 to Letarte et al. (1993) disclosed an electrified fence for repelling birds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,543 to Teraoka (1994) disclosed a rotating magnetic field for repelling birds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,767 to Ohba (1997) disclosed a magnet activated by the weight of a bird to generate a bird discouraging magnetic field. U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,641 to Guthrie (1997) disclosed an electrostatically charged animal barrier. U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,426 to Ishida (1999) disclosed a wind movable magnet for generating a bird discouraging magnetic field. U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,698 to Negre (1999) disclosed electrified rails for generating vibrations for discouraging birds. U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,100 to Boyd et al. (2000) disclosed a device for generating an oscillating ultrasonic animal deterrent signal. U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,255 to Lenhardt et al. (2001) disclosed techniques which pulsated microwaves or sound waves to repel birds.
Shield and cage devices have been specifically designed to restrict birds and other animals from short-circuiting electrical leads. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,307 to Cumming et al. (1989) disclosed a high density polyethylene skirt for covering insulator bushings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,383 to Whited et al. (1992) disclosed a flexible sheet of PVC material attached with VELCRO strips for shielding electrical equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,196 to Spillyards (1999) disclosed a spring biased cage for covering an insulator bushing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,096 to Williams et al. (1999) disclosed a wildlife guard comprising a disk. U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,956 to Cook et al. (2001) disclosed an annular guard for shielding a high voltage insulator.
Materials have been developed to resist animal damage. In one example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,894 to Blum et al. (1999) disclosed a coating composition resistant to animals which comprised a hard, ceramic particle laden material for protecting underground wires and cables from rodents.
Various chemicals have been used to repel birds from an area or structure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,875 to Sekuler (1973) disclosed an aerosol bird repellent. U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,889 to Chirchirillo et al. (1987) disclosed a bird repellent composition formulated to limit stains to the structure treated. U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,451 to Greig-Smith et al. (1993), U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,226 to Askham (1994), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,902 to Preiser et al. (1996) disclosed other bird repellent compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,933 to Nelson et al. disclosed a configurable sheath for protecting structures such as wires wherein the sheath could incorporate passive or active components (such as chemical repellents) for repelling animals such as birds. Nelson et al. disclosed spikes, engaged with a protective sheath, which released a noxious chemical following activation of the spikes by a bird or other animal. Nelson further disclosed that the spikes could be attached to the structure or integrated within a base material attached to the structure.
Another technique using chemical compounds to repel birds was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,082 to Cacioli et al. (1989) wherein a multi-layer coating comprised a brittle, polystyrene protective cover over a tacky, bird repellent layer. The outer layer prevented the accumulation of dust on the inner tacky layer. When the brittle protective cover was disturbed by a bird a noxious, bird repellent composition was released to repel the intruding bird.
The variety and number of these efforts indicate significant problems in the exclusion of birds from undesirable areas, and the inherent difficulties in effectively accomplishing such exclusion. Many of these techniques are expensive to employ and are ineffective in preventing birds from landing in a particular spot. A need exists for an improved method and apparatus capable of resisting electrical wire short circuits deleterious to birds and other animals.


A flip-chip packaging process is proposed, which can help assure reliable electrical bonding between chip-side solder bumps and substrate-side bond pads without being made open-circuited by the electrically-insulative material being used for flip chip underfill. The proposed flip-chip packaging process is of the type utilizing a no-flow underfill technique to prevent short-circuiting between neighboring solder bumps, and is characterized in the fabrication of electrically-conductive sharp-pointed studs over substrate-side bond pads to prevent open-circuiting between chip-side solder bumps and substrate-side bond pads. These electrically-conductive sharp-pointed studs can pierce into the chip-side solder bumps when mounting the flip chip onto the substrate, so that during subsequent solder-reflow process, the piercing of these sharp-pointed studs in the solder bumps can help allow the solder bumps to be reliably wetted to the substrate-side bond pads, thereby establishing reliable electrical bonding between the chip-side solder bumps and the substrate-side bond pads. The finished flip-chip device is therefore more assured in quality and reliability.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flip-chip packaging technology, and more particularly, to a flip-chip packaging process, which utilizes a no-flow underfill technique to help prevent neighboring solder bumps from being short-circuited to each other during solder-reflow, and which is characterized in the provision of sharp-pointed studs over substrate-side bond pads to help assure reliable electrical bonding between chip-side solder bumps and substrate-side bond pads without being made open-circuited by the electrically-insulative material being used for flip chip underfill.
2. Description of Related Art
The flip-chip technology is an advanced semiconductor fabrication technology that allows the overall package size to be made very compact. The flip-chip package configuration differs from conventional ones particularly in that it mounts the semiconductor chip in an upside-down manner over the chip carrier and electrically coupled to the same by means of solder bumps provided on the active surface of the semiconductor chip. Since no bonding wires are required, which would otherwise occupy much layout space, the overall size of the flip-chip package can be made very compact as compared to conventional types of semiconductor device packages.
After the flip chip is readily bonded in position, however, a gap would be undesirably left between the flip chip and the substrate. Since the chip and the substrate are typically different in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), if the gap is not underfilled, it would easily cause the flip chip to suffer from fatigue cracking and electrical failure due to thermal stress while undergoing high-temperature conditions during subsequent processes. As a solution to this problem, it is an essential step in flip-chip package fabrication to perform a flip-chip underfill process so as to fill an electrically-insulative material, such as epoxy resin, into the flip chip gap. The underfilled resin, when hardened, can serve as a mechanical reinforcement to the flip-chip construction to cope against thermal stress.
Conventionally, the flip-chip packaging process is performed in the following successive steps: (1) chip mounting; (2) solder reflow; and (3) dispensing underfill material. In this case, the underfill material is dispensed onto the substrate after the flip chip is readily mounted in position and the solder-reflow process is completed. The dispensed underfill material will then flow through capillary action into the gap under the flip chip.
However, by today""s semiconductor fabrication technology, the pitch between neighboring solder bumps can be made very small; and consequently, the solder bumps during the solder-reflow step would easily come in touch with neighboring ones, making them short-circuited to each other. If any solder bumps are short-circuited, the finished flip-chip device would be regarded as defective. One solution to this problem is to use the so-called no-flow underfill technique, by which the underfill material is dispensed onto the substrate before the flip chip is mounted on the substrate. In this case, the flip-chip packaging process is performed in the following successive steps: (1) dispensing underfill material; (2) chip mounting; and (3) solder reflow. Since the pre-dispensed underfill material can provide an insulative effect to the solder bumps during the solder-reflow process, it can help prevent the solder bumps from being short-circuited to each other.
FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic sectional diagrams used to depict a conventional flip-chip packaging process which utilizes no-flow underfill technique to help prevent neighboring solder bumps from being short-circuited to each other during the solder-reflow process.
Referring to FIG. 1A, in the flip-chip packaging process, the first step is to prepare a semiconductor chip 110 and a substrate 120 for flip-chip application. The semiconductor chip 110 is formed with a plurality of solder bumps 111 over the active surface thereof, while the substrate 120 is formed with a plurality of corresponding bond pads 121 on the top surface thereof (note that FIG. 1A is simplified to show only the parts related to the invention; the actual semiconductor chip and substrate may include a great number of various other components).
The substrate-side bond pads 121 can be either SMD (Solder Mask Define) type, or NSMD (Non-SMD) type, or mixed SMD-NSMD type. These types of bond pads are all well-known in the semiconductor industry, so description thereof will not be further detailed.
Referring further to FIG. 1B, in the next step, an underfill material, such as epoxy resin, is dispensed over the top surface of the substrate 120 so as to form a no-flow underfill layer 130 over the top surface of the substrate 120, which covers all the substrate-side bond pads 121.
Referring further to FIG. 1C, in the next step, the semiconductor chip 110 is mounted in an upside-down (flip chip) manner onto the substrate 120, with the solder bumps 111 thereof being aligned respectively to the substrate-side bond pads 121. The semiconductor chip 110 is then forcibly pressed down so as to allow the solder bumps 111 to come into firm abutment on the substrate-side bond pads 121.
Undesirably, however, due to the existence of the previously formed no-flow underfill layer 130, the solder bumps 111 may not be reliably abutted on the substrate-side bond pads 121. In the case of FIG. 1C, for example, assume one of the solder bumps 111 is unabutted on the corresponding one of the substrate-side bond-pads 121, as the one indicated by the dotted circle 140.
Referring further to FIG. 1D, in the next step, a solder-reflow process is performed to reflow all the solder bumps 111 over the substrate-side bond pads 121. During this process, however, since the solder bump indicated by the dotted circuit 140 has been unabutted on its associated one of the substrate-side bond pads 121, it would be hardly wetted to the associated one of the substrate-side bond pads 121, thus undesirably making the electrical bonding therebetween failed to be reliably established.
Various patented technologies have been proposed for flip-chip applications. A few of these patented technologies are listed in the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,790 entitled xe2x80x9cSEMICONDUCTOR CHIP, PACKAGE AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICExe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,149 entitled xe2x80x9cPROCESS FOR BONDING SEMICONDUCTOR CHIPxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,859 entitled xe2x80x9cFLIP CHIP METALLIZATIONxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,686 entitled xe2x80x9cMETHODS FOR FORMING AN INTERMETALLIC REGION BETWEEN A SOLDER BUMP AND AN UNDER BUMP METALLURGY LAYER AND RELATED STRUCTURESxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,652 entitled xe2x80x9cMANUFACTURE OF FLIP-CHIP DEVICExe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,845 entitled xe2x80x9cMETHOD OF FORMING METAL CONTACT PADS AND TERMINALS ON SEMICONDUCTOR CHIPSxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,359 entitled xe2x80x9cINTERCONNECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD OF FABRICATIONxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,456 entitled xe2x80x9cMETHOD OF FORMING CONDUCTIVE BUMPS ON DIE FOR FLIP CHIP APPLICATIONSxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,505 entitled xe2x80x9cMETALLIZATION SCHEME PROVIDING ADHESION AND BARRIER PROPERTIESxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,058 entitled xe2x80x9cCONDUCTIVE BUMPS ON DIE FOR FLIP CHIP APPLICATIONxe2x80x9d.
However, none of the above-listed patented technologies can help solve the aforementioned problem of unreliable electrical bonding between chip-side solder bumps and substrate-side bond pads when no-flow underfill technique is utilized.
It is therefore an objective of the invention to provide a flip-chip packaging process, which can help assure reliable electrical bonding between chip-side solder bumps and substrate-side bond pads.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the invention proposes an improved flip-chip packaging process.
Broadly recited, the flip-chip packaging process of the invention comprises the following procedural steps: (1) preparing a semiconductor chip and a substrate for flip-chip application; the semiconductor chip being formed with a plurality of solder bumps while the substrate being formed with a plurality of bond pads; (2) providing a plurality of electrically-conductive sharp-pointed studs respectively over the substrate-side bond pads; (3) dispensing an underfill material over the substrate so as to form a no-flow underfill layer which covers the substrate-side bond pads and the electrically-conductive sharp-pointed studs; (4) mounting the semiconductor chip in a flip chip manner onto the substrate, with the solder bumps thereon being aligned respective to the substrate-side bond pads and forcibly pressed down against the electrically-conductive sharp-pointed studs; and (5) performing a solder-reflow process to reflow the solder bumps over the substrate-side bond pads.
The foregoing flip-chip packaging process is characterized in the fabrication of the electrically-conductive sharp-pointed studs over the substrate-side bond pads. These electrically-conductive sharp-pointed studs can pierce into the chip-side solder bumps when mounting the flip chip onto the substrate, so that during subsequent solder-reflow process, the piercing of these sharp-pointed studs in the solder bumps can help allow the solder bumps to be reliably wetted to the substrate-side bond pads, thereby establishing reliable electrical bonding between the chip-side solder bumps and the substrate-side bonds pads. The finished flip-chip device is therefore more assured in quality and reliability.

Flip-chip packaging process utilizing no-flow underfill technique

Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.