A fully automated raffle assembly (15) comprising a data collection device (16) adapted to read information, a printer (18) communicating with the data collection device and adapted to print a raffle ticket (19), the printer and the data collection device so configured and arranged that the information read by the data collection device is communicated to the printer and printed on the ticket, a collection bin (20), the printer and collection bin so configured and arranged that the ticket is automatically fed into the collection bin after it is printed by the printer. The data collection device may be selected from a group consisting of a bar code scanner and a magnetic code scanner. The raffle assembly may further comprise a ticket guide (21) between the printer and the collection bin, the ticket guide configured to direct the ticket from the printer into the collection bin. The raffle assembly may further comprise a processor (22) with the data collection device and the printer communicating through the processor.

It is known in the prior art that visitors to trade shows can fill out an information card before entering a show hall, and that once in the hall exhibitors at the show can scan or swipe a visitor's card to enter that visitor's information into the exhibitor's lead retrieval system. Exhibitors also sometimes have a label printer that enables them to print a hard copy of such visitor information. It is also known that visitors to certain exhibitor's booths can be provided with an opportunity to enter raffles for various prizes. To enter the raffle, the visitor either provides a business card or manually fills out a raffle slip and the business card or slip is manually deposited in a raffle bin by the visitor or the exhibitor.
However, devices known in the prior art do not provide a fully automated raffle system. Raffle assemblies known in the prior art require that the visitor or potential customer manually fill out a raffle ticket or that the ticket be manually placed in a collection bin. Hence, it would be useful to provide a raffle gathering and deposit system which is fully automated.


A slide door apparatus for a vehicle includes a driving device mounted to a slide door and a guide pulley unit mounted to the slide door. The guide pulley unit includes a plurality of guide pulleys each having first and second guide grooves. The guide pulley unit further includes first and second housing members for housing the plurality of guide pulleys, and a separating member provided between the first and second housing members for separating the first and second guide grooves of each of the plurality of guide pulleys. The slide door apparatus further includes a cable connected to the driving device and to a vehicle body. A first portion of the cable is disposed into the first groove of each of the plurality of guide pulleys. A second portion of the cable is disposed into the second groove of each of the plurality of guide pulleys.

One of slide door apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed in JP2003-82927A (hereinafter, referred to as reference 1), for example. The slide door apparatus for the vehicle disclosed in the reference 1 includes a guiding rail, which is provided at a vehicle body, and a slide door, which is movably supported to the guiding rail and with which a door opening formed at a side portion of the vehicle body is opened and closed. The slide door incorporates therein a driving device including an electric motor, a drum, for example. Further, one end of a first cable and one end of a second cable are connected to the driving device. Still further, the first cable is provided from the slide door to the vehicle body via one of intermediate pulleys provided in the slide door and plural guide pulleys of a guide pulley unit, and the second cable is provided from the slide door to the vehicle body via another of the intermediate pulleys and the plural guide pulleys. Then, another end of the first cable is connected to the vehicle body at a front side of the guiding rail and another end of the second cable is connected to the vehicle body at a rear side of the guiding rail. Each of the guide pulleys of the guide pulley unit includes two groove portions, which are arranged in parallel in an axial direction and at which the first and second cables are separately disposed, respectively. Thus, a path of the first cable and a path of the second cable do not overlap each other.
So configured, the slide door is moved in a backward direction, i.e., in a direction where the door opening is opened, by unwinding the first cable and winding the second cable, for example, by means of the driving device. Further, on the contrary, the slide door is moved in a forward direction, i.e., in a direction where the door opening is closed, by winding the first cable and unwinding the second cable by the driving device.
The guide pulley unit includes a first housing member and a second housing member for accommodating the plural guide pulleys. The plural guide pulleys are supported by pins, respectively, and one end of each pin is secured to the first housing member and another end of each of pin is secured to the second housing member.
In such a state, when assembling the first and second cables to the guide pulley unit, the plurality of guide pulleys are disposed at corresponding predetermined positions on the first housing member, for example. Then, the second cable is disposed in one of the groove portions of each guide pulley, which is adjacent to the first housing member, so as to correspond to the path of the second cable.
Next, the first cable is disposed in the other one of the groove portions of each guide pulley, which is away from the first housing member (i.e., which is adjacent to the second housing member), so as to correspond to the path of the first cable. Then, the first housing member is covered with the second housing member. The first and second housing members are secured by means of the pins, which are inserted through the corresponding guide pulleys and of which ends are secured to the first and second housing members. Thus, the guide pulleys, at which the first and second cables are disposed, are accommodated in a space defined by the first and second housing members so as to be rotatable about the corresponding pins.
When assembling the first and second cables, the second cable may be disposed in the grove portion where the first cable is to be disposed, and/or the first cable may be disposed in the groove portion where the second cable is to be disposed. Thus, a process for assembling the first and second cables may not be properly executed. Further, a process for preventing such assembling mistake of the first and second cables may be complicated.
A need thus exists for a slide door apparatus for a vehicle which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.


A bone anchoring device for securement to a bone. The device includes an anchor, a receiver, a retainer and an insert. The receiver includes a seating surface defining a cavity communicating with the exterior of the receiver through a first opening configured to receive the connection head of the anchor therethrough. The retainer includes at least two discrete retaining members configured to engage with the receiver seating surface when they are captured between the connection head and the seating surface. The insert is disposed within the receiver and configured to frictionally engage the connection head. The insert includes a main body and at least one pin protruding from the main body, for circumferential insertion between two adjacent retaining members of the retainer.

One field of application for the disclosed bone anchoring device is holding together a bone, e.g. a vertebra, and a support member, e.g. a rod, in a desired relative position, while allowing in some cases a limited amount of relative movement, for example to aid in healing of breaks or to correct bony structure deficiencies and abnormalities. In particular, sufferers of abnormal spine curvature or other spine deficiencies may benefit from the disclosed bone anchoring device.
When the spine of a person has abnormal curvature or other deficiencies, e.g. a damaged intervertebral disc, vertebrae usually need to be stabilized in a correct position relative to one another.
A common technique for providing vertebral stabilization is to fix bone anchors, such as pedicle screws or hooks, to certain vertebrae, the bone anchors being then, in turn, fixed to a support member, usually an elongate structure such as a rod. The rod connects the anchors together, thereby providing stabilization between the vertebrae.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,562 discloses a bone screw having a threaded shank to be anchored into the bone and a fixed head formed integrally with the shank, the fixed head having a U-shaped slot for receiving a rod. This so-called monoaxial bone screw has a high resistance to loads. However, the screw head cannot be moved relative to the shank and the rod or the bone screw must be favorably positioned in order for the rod to be placed within the U-shaped slot. This may be sometimes very difficult to do.
For this reason, polyaxial bone screws may be preferred. Polyaxial bone screws allow rotation of the head, or receiver, about the threaded shank until a desired rotational position of the receiver is achieved relative to the shank. Thereafter, a rod can be inserted into the receiver and eventually the receiver is locked or fixed in a particular position relative to the threaded shank.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,875,065 discloses an example of a polyaxial bone screw. This screw comprises a shank having a threaded portion topped by a shank head, a receiver for receiving the shank head and a retainer structure comprising two discrete pieces. The retainer pieces totally circumferentially surround the shank head and are captured between the receiver and the shank head. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 7,875,065, for assembling the bone screw, the retainer pieces are first top-loaded into the receiver, passed therethrough and placed in the bottom thereof. Then, the shank head is bottom-loaded into the receiver, between the two retainer pieces. However, placing the retainer pieces in their right position may present practical difficulties and take time. Moreover, misplacement of the retainer pieces may make the shank head difficult to insert between them. Furthermore, in the disclosed embodiments, the shank head is non-spherical and articulation occurs between the retainer pieces and the receiver.
While polyaxial bone anchoring devices and, in particular, polyaxial bone screws have proven effective, further improvements, especially regarding their assembly and handling, would be beneficial.


An electrical connector 2, especially intended for automotive applications includes a receptacle connector housing 4 and a mating plug connector housing 6. A movable alignment plate 10 is located between the two connector housings and locking plates 12 are insertable into each housing to provide for additional retention of terminals 100 also held in terminal cavities 34 by resilient latches 50. The connector 2 also includes a cover 8 that is attached to the receptacle connector housing 4 by molded cantilever cover latches 20. Backup beams 28 are movable into engagement with the cover latches 20 for support. Each locking plate 12 is insertable into a locking plate slot 30 on the end of one of the housings and includes recesses 70 into which the molded resilient terminal latches 50, which span the locking plate slot 38, are received when the locking plate 12 is fully inserted. Locking tabs 72, 74, 76, engage the terminals 100 beside the resilient latches 50 provide additional retention of the terminals 100.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to electrical connectors and especially to electrical connectors used to connect a plurality of wires, such as wires in an automotive harness or harnesses. This invention is more particularly related to the use of secondary or auxiliary locking members to prevent terminals from being dislodged from molded connector housings and to prevent disengagement of mating terminals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although it is important for electrical connectors in all applications to establish a reliable electrical termination that will not be disengaged under normal operating conditions, automotive applications tend to have more problems with failed terminations than many other applications. The failure of electrical connectors in automotive applications is not only due to the environment in which the connectors are used, but many problems have been traced to errors in assembling the electrical connectors and the harness in which they are employed. With the increased use of electronics in automotive applications these problems can be compounded simply because of the additional circuits and wires that must be joined by electrical connectors.
To overcome these problems, electrical connectors used in automotive applications have used secondary or redundant locking to prevent terminals from being disengaged from the molded housings in which multiple terminals are mounted. Terminal position assurance, which means that the electrical connector assemblies cannot be assembled if terminals are improperly positioned, has been used, and in many prior art connectors, secondary or redundant locks cannot be assembled unless the terminals are properly seated in the housings.
One inherent problem with secondary or redundant locking schemes is that they inevitably take up space. With the increasing number of wires and circuits that must be connected, space often becomes critical. Many connectors have a large number of terminals densely packed in a small space. It is also common to house terminals of different size in the same connector. For example, terminals for supplying electrical power to components in an automobile are commonly housed in the same connector with a large number of terminals connecting signal wires. Each terminal in connectors of this type must be held in position by a molded resilient latch engaging the terminal in its terminal cavity and a secondary or redundant locking member is used either to ensure that the resilient latch does not become disengaged or to independently hold the terminals in the connector. When other common problems, such as the tendency of mating terminals to stub during mating, the tendency of terminals and connector covers to become disengaged when the wires are jerked, and the need to insure that connectors can be assembled and mated in only one orientation must be solved by connector design, it becomes difficult to meet all of these requirements within a given space.

Electrical connector with secondary locking plates


There is provided a novel failure prediction system, a failure prediction program, a failure prediction method, a device, a printer and a device management server capable of accurately predicting a failure of a device connected on a network. A failure prediction system is provided with multiple devices and a device management server for managing the multiple devices via a network. Each of the devices is provided with a device diagnosis section for diagnosing the state of the device to notify diagnosis results; and the device management server is provided with a failure prediction section for predicting a device with a failure tendency based on the diagnosis results sent by each of the device diagnosis sections. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately predict not only a failure due to an expected factor but also a failure due to an unexpected factor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a failure prediction system for managing and monitoring multiple devices connected on a network, with a device management server, to predict a failure of the devices, a failure prediction program, a failure prediction method, a device, a printer and a device management server.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a device, such as a printer and a copying machine, itself has increasingly been able to notify its condition by providing an application execution environment for the device.
In such an environment, it has been possible to perform various maintenance services as a business by collecting information of failures and errors of each device to one location via a network.
For example, there is conceived a service in which, by collecting diagnosis results of a failure condition and a usage for each of a large number of printers connected to a network, such as the Internet and an intranet, and predicting a printer that is likely to fail based on the diagnosis results, suitable maintenance services are provided for the printer before a failure occurs or a warning is given to the effect that a failure is predicted for the printer.
However, the method of predicting a printer that is likely to fail based on diagnosis results related to a failure condition, a usage and the like of a lot of printers, however, has a problem that it is impossible to cope with a failure caused due to an unexpected factor and, therefore, accurate prediction is difficult to make.
The present invention has been made in consideration of this unsolved problem of the prior-art techniques, and its object is to provide a novel failure prediction system enabling accurate prediction of a failure of a device connected on a network, a failure prediction program, a failure prediction method, a device, a printer and a device management server.

Failure prediction system, failure prediction program, failure prediction method, device printer and device management server


The liner packer assembly and method includes a liner packer having a tubular body with an aperture for the flow of wellbore fluids. A packing element is movably disposed on the tubular body between an open position on one side of the aperture for allowing wellbore fluids to flow through the aperture to a closed position on the other side of the aperture for closing flow through the aperture and for packing off the annulus between the packer and outer casing. During the cementing operation, drilling fluids and cement are allowed to flow through the annular area formed by the packer and outer casing and also flow through the aperture in the tubular body of the packer and up the inside diameter or inner annular area formed by the packer and inner tubular string. The inner and outer annular areas around packer approximately the flow area below the packer between the inner tubular string and the outer casing.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cementing and packing off a liner within a well, and more particularly to a one trip liner packer, and still more particularly to a liner packer for packing off a liner within the well.
Typically, in the drilling of a well, a borehole is drilled from the earth's surface to a selected depth and a string of casing is suspended and then cemented in place within the borehole. A drill bit is then passed through the initial cased borehole and is used to drill a smaller diameter borehole to an even greater depth. A smaller diameter casing is then suspended and cemented in place within the new borehole. Generally, this is repeated until a plurality of concentric casings are suspended and cemented within the well to a depth which causes the well to extend through one or more hydrocarbon producing formations.
Oftentimes, rather than suspending a concentric casing from the bottom of the borehole to the surface, a liner is suspended either adjacent the lower end of a previously suspended and cemented casing or from a previously suspended and cemented liner. The liner extends from the previously set casing or liner to the bottom of the new borehole. A liner is casing which is not run to the surface. A liner hanger is used to suspend the liner within the lower end of the previously set casing or liner. Typically, the liner hanger has the ability to receive a tie back tool for connecting the liner with a string of casing which extends from the liner hanger back to the surface. Liners may be used for both land and offshore wells.
A setting tool disposed on the lower end of a work string is releasably connected to the liner hanger which is attached to the top of the liner. The work string lowers the liner hanger and liner into the open borehole extending below the lower end of the previously set casing or liner. The borehole is filled with fluids such as drilling mud which flows around the liner and liner hanger as the liner is run into the borehole. The assembly is run into the well until the liner hanger is adjacent the lower end of the previously set casing or liner and the lower end of the liner is above the bottom of the open borehole. As can be appreciated, it is desirable to have the inside diameter of the liner be as large as possible to allow more space for additional liners to be disposed within the well.
When the liner reaches the desired location relative to the bottom of the open borehole and the previously set casing or liner, the setting tool is actuated to move slips on the liner hanger from a retracted position to an expanded position and into engagement with the previously set casing or liner. Thereafter, when weight is applied to the hanger slips, the slips are set to support the liner.
The liner hanger setting tool may be actuated either hydraulically or mechanically. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,614. The setting tool can have a hydraulically operated setting mechanism for the hanger slips or can have a mechanically operated setting mechanism for the setting slips. A hydraulically operated setting mechanism typically employs a hydraulic cylinder which is actuated by pressure in the bore of the work string. In mechanically setting the liner hanger, it is usually necessary to obtain a relative downhole rotation of parts between the setting tool and liner hanger to release the hanger slips. The hanger slips are then one-way acting in that the hanger and liner can be raised or lifted upwardly but a downward motion of the liner sets the slips to support the hanger and liner within the well.
Then to release the hanger, the setting tool is lowered with respect to the liner hanger and rotated to release a running nut on the setting tool from the liner hanger. Cement is then pumped down the flowbore of the work string and liner and up the annulus formed by the liner and open borehole. Before the cement sets, the liner hanger setting tool and work string are removed from the borehole. In the event of a bad cement job, a liner packer and liner packer setting tool are then attached to the work string and lowered back into the borehole. The packer is set utilizing the liner packer setting tool.
Packers for liners are often called liner isolation packers. A typical liner top isolation packer system includes a packer element mounted on a mandrel. A seal nipple is disposed below the mandrel which stings into a tie back receptacle on top of or below the liner hanger. A liner isolation packer is used to seal the liner in the event of a bad cement job. Typically, the liner isolation packer is set down on top of the hanger and the packer is set by a setting tool to form a seal of the annulus between the liner and the previously set casing or liner.
Generally, the deeper a well is drilled, the higher the temperature and pressure which is encountered. Thus, it is desirable to have liners with liner packers which will ensure quality cementing of the liner so as to provide a high safety factor in preventing gas from the formation from migrating up the annulus between the liner and outer casing.
During the cementing operation, drilling mud or fluid in the annulus between the liner and outer casing is displaced by cement as the cement is pumped down the flowbore of the work string. First the drilling mud and then the cement flows around the lower end of the liner and up the annulus. If there is a restriction to flow in the annulus, the flow of the cement slows and a good cementing is not achieved. Any slowing of the cementing in the annulus allows time for the gas in the formation to migrate up the annulus and through the cement to prevent a good cementing job.
Prior art liner top packers restrict the bypass in the annulus at the point of the liner packer. The diameter of the liner packer is just below the drift of the outer casing that the liner is being run through. The increased diameter allows for sufficient back-up for the liner packer to seal properly. However, this also restricts the bypass flow area around the packer causing higher fluid velocities and lower pressures that will either fluid cut the packing element or swab it off entirely. The reduced bypass area also tends to be a stopping location for any solids that may be washed up the well. These solids can packoff at the liner so as to set the liner packer prematurely.
In the cementing operation, the drilling mud is first pumped through the well at a high rate of speed to "clean the well" of any deleterious material. If there is a restriction at the liner packer, the fluid flow may cause the liner packer to set prematurely. If the liner packer sets prematurely, it seals the annulus to fluid flow and the cement can no longer be pumped down hole.
Conventionally, the liner packer has all of its setting mechanism disposed on a mandrel that is located on the outside diameter of the liner, i.e. is located in the annulus formed by the liner and outer casing. The by-pass area around the liner packer for the cement, is formed by the annulus or annular space between the outer casing and liner. Thus, locating the setting mechanism for the liner packer on the outside of the mandrel limits and restricts the annular space for allowing the cement to by-pass the liner packer. Once the by-pass area is set, only a certain volume of drilling mud and cement is allowed to pass around the liner packer at any given time. If the flow rate of the drilling mud and cement is such that the drilling mud and cement cannot bypass the liner packer fast enough, the liner packer becomes a restriction to flow providing a back pressure on the drilling mud and cement.
As an example of the above, if a liner has a diameter of 113/4 inches and the outer casing has a diameter of 133/8 inches, the annular space around the liner packer provides approximately 12.2 square inches of bypass. When the flow of cement encounters the liner packer, the bypass area is reduced to approximately one-half thereby causing the velocity of the fluid flow over the packoff elements of the packer to increase dramatically. This causes the fluid to cut the packing elements and may cause the packing elements to be eroded away. As the fluid flow over the packing elements increases, a low pressure area is created causing the packing elements to expand and get sucked up into the fluid flow. Further, as indicated above, this restriction to flow causes surge pressures downhole because the pumps at the surface are forcing fluids into a fluid filled annular column and the fluid flow is restricted at the liner packer causing the pressure to increase. If this pressure becomes great enough, the drilling fluids or cement may be forced into the formation causing formation damage.
Further, the packing elements of prior art liner packers have not been sufficiently rigid to allow the packing elements to stroke over a port in the packer mandrel since it is necessary for the prior art packing element to fit tightly around the mandrel to ensure sealing engagement. Thus, in prior art packers, any attempt to stroke the packing element over a port causes the edges of the port to tear or damage the interior sealing surface of the packing elements thus preventing them from attaining an adequate sealing engagement upon setting the liner packer.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.


A process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus transports a transport subject between corresponding two of process lines. A first transport vehicle transports the transport subject in a first process line, and a second transport vehicle transports the transport subject in a second process line. A relay stocking apparatus is placed in a corresponding location, at which the relay stocking apparatus receives the transport subject from one of the first transport vehicle and the second transport vehicle and passes the received transport subject to the other one of the first transport vehicle and the second transport vehicle.

For instance, JP2004-221277A teaches a transport system, which includes a process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus and is operated in a manufacturing facility. The process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus is an apparatus that transports a transport subject between each corresponding two of a plurality of process lines, each of which includes a plurality of corresponding manufacturing apparatuses. In the case of the manufacturing facility disclosed in JP2004-221277A, three semiconductor manufacturing process lines, the process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus and a host computer are provided. In this manufacturing facility, the process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus transports a transport subject (specifically, silicon wafers received in a cassette), which is processed in one of the process lines, to another one of the process lines, and so on, and the host computer controls each of the process lines and the process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus. Furthermore, each process line has a stocking apparatus (also referred to as a stocker) and a transport vehicle. The stocking apparatus stocks the transport subject that is transported by the process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus, and the transport vehicle transports the transport subject between the stocking apparatus and a corresponding one of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. When a predetermined time period elapses after the completion of the transportation of the transport subject, the transport vehicle is moved to a waiting location unless a next transporting command is received. In this way, influences of, for example, dust, which is discharged from the transport vehicle, on the manufacturing apparatuses is reduced or limited.
The manufacturing apparatuses of each process line are arranged in a manner that reduces or minimizes a transport loss even in a case where various types of transport subjects are transported in order to meet a need for small lot production of many products.
For instance, in the transport system, in which the transport subject is transferred from one process line to the other process line after completion of the processes of the transport subject by the manufacturing apparatuses of the one process line, even in a case where one or more of the manufacturing apparatuses is stopped in the one process line due to a failure or maintenance work thereof, it may be demanded to process the transport subject by using the other manufacturing apparatus(es). In order to meet such a demand, it is conceivable to use one or more of the manufacturing apparatuses of the other process line (the process line located adjacent to the one process line), which have the same functions as those of the manufacturing apparatuses of the one process line, to continue the processing of the transport subject. In general, the manufacturing apparatuses, which have the same functions, are gathered together to meet the requirements of the manufacturing facility even if the manufacturing apparatuses are provided in the different process lines.
In such a case, when the transport subject, which is processed in the manufacturing apparatus before stopping of the manufacturing apparatus in the one process line, is transported to the manufacturing apparatus of the other process line, the transport subject needs to be transported through the following transport path. That is, the transport subject, which has been processed in the manufacturing apparatus of the one process line, is transported to the stocking apparatus of the one process line by the transport vehicle of the one process line. Thereafter, the transport subject, which is placed on the stocking apparatus of the one process line, is transported to the stocking apparatus of the other process line by the process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus. Then, the transport subject, which is placed on the stocking apparatus of the other process line, is transported to the corresponding manufacturing apparatus of the other process line by the transport vehicle of the other process line.
Here, when the transport subject is transported from the one process line to the other process line by using the process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus and the two stocking apparatuses, the transport path is lengthened even in the case of the one process line and the other process line, which are placed adjacent to each other. Furthermore, the process-line-to-process-line transport apparatus, which is not normally required, is used. Therefore, it will have an influence on the process-line-to-process-line transportation at the remaining process lines. Thus, the transport time of the entire transport system is disadvantageously increased.


A system controls and manages administration of a therapeutic gas, such as NO, O2, or the like, to a patient. The system includes an equalizing valve and a reservoir.

As discussed in the referenced and incorporated disclosure, the use of therapeutic gases to treat a human or animal patient has been known in the art for many years. A number of different gases may be added to a respiratory gas that is inhaled by a patient. It is noted that this application merely refers to a "patient" because it is intended to encompass within its scope the is following situations: a spontaneously breathing, non-ventilated patient, as well as a spontaneously breathing, mechanically-ventilated patient, as well as a non-spontaneously breathing, mechanically-ventilated patient. Accordingly, the term "patient" is intended to cover all of these situations and/or combinations thereof. These gases may be used to achieve some therapeutic effect, service a diagnostic function or have some other desirable purpose. Such gases will be referred to herein as therapeutic gases. One skilled in the delivery of therapeutic gas will understand that the disclosure can be used to teach either human or animal patients. Accordingly, no limitation to human is intended by references to patient in this disclosure.
One therapeutic gas is nitric oxide (NO), which is administered by inhalation in low concentrations to treat primary or secondary pulmonary hypertension or other diseases. In many cases, nitric oxide or other therapeutic gases come from a high concentration source such as a high concentration compressed gas cylinder. The gas source may be pure or may contain some concentration of therapeutic gas in a carrier gas. There may also be cases where more than one therapeutic gas is used, with or without a carrier gas or gases. It is often necessary to dilute therapeutic gas to a lower concentration and mix it with air and/or oxygen prior to delivery to the patient. This dilution may be necessary to achieve a desired dosage concentration and/or to avoid or reduce adverse bioeffects that may occur if high concentration gas is delivered to the patient. If the therapeutic/carrier gas is not sufficiently oxygenated, it is necessary to mix it with air prior to delivery to the patient. In some cases, it is necessary to add supplemental oxygen to the mixture to avoid a hypoxic respiratory mixture or to enrich the oxygen content of the respiratory gas above twenty-one percent. In the latter case, the oxygen will also be considered as a therapeutic gas.
NO is one of a number of therapeutic gases that are administered to a patient and require dilution from a high concentration form to a lower, safer concentration before administration to a patient. NO will be the primary focus of this disclosure; however, one skilled in the surgical arts will understand that the disclosure can be used to teach other gases as well. Accordingly, no limitation to NO is intended by the references to NO in this description.
The art contains several devices and systems to deliver therapeutic gas to a patient.
The referenced disclosure discusses several systems for administering therapeutic gas to a patient.
Many systems that are used to administer therapeutic gas to a patient include primary gas sources in the form of pressurized cylinders. Some of these systems include a flow direction check valve downstream of the inlet to seal the downstream portions of the system when the supply pressure is removed. However, a check valve isolation system may have drawbacks if used in certain circumstances.
When a pressurized gas source is exchanged, there exists the possibility that air will be trapped within the inlet volume of the system plumbing that is exposed to air during the source exchange. Specifically, in a check valve system, this volume includes the volume upstream of the sealing mechanism of the check valve. It is desirable to keep that exposed volume of plumbing as small as possible so the resulting trapped air volume is reduced. Any trapped air will normally degrade the quality of the high purity gases contained within the remainder of the system when intervening valves are opened. This degradation is proportional to the volume of trapped air.
Therefore, it is desirable to maintain this dead volume to a minimum. Note that the concept of dead volume should also be read to include dead surface area within the scope of this discussion. The trapped air volume will also be referred to as the dead volume in this disclosure. Surface area plays an important role in gas plumbing quality since contaminants often preferentially adhere to surfaces and can be extremely difficult to remove.
Furthermore, it is advantageous to provide a system sealing action as close to the supply inlet as possible to further minimize the dead space volume upstream of the sealing surfaces.
Typically, a flow direction check valve is not able to achieve all of these goals.
It is noted that it is possible to flush or purge the system to remove contaminated gas from dead space regions. However, for purging to be effective, the dead space must be substantially swept out and internal surfaces scrubbed by periods of high gas flow. If there are poorly swept regions within the dead space, purging will have to be extended to allow for diffusion and other gas exchange mechanisms to remove or dilute the contamination. Therefore, there is a need for a means for ensuring proper purging of a system used to administer therapeutic gas to a patient.
Furthermore, purging requirements are strongly dependent on the relative size and geometry of the contaminated volumes and surfaces. Purging is often complicated in many situations due to possible toxic effects of the therapeutic gases on bystanders and the high cost of medical grade gases.
The incorporated disclosure notes that there is a further need for a valve that will make purging most efficient and effective.
Furthermore, the referenced disclosure notes that an autonomous gas delivery system should be able to detect the supply pressure so when a pressurized cylinder has been attached and the supply valve opened, a control system is signaled.
The referenced disclosure further notes that in order to maintain low inlet dead space, a supply pressure sensor must be located on the downstream side of an inlet sealing mechanism. In the prior art, a simple back flow prevention check valve has provided this function. A check valve will seal when there is a lower supply pressure on the upstream side of the check valve than in the downstream plumbing (thus checking the backward flow of gas). If the check valve seals, the pressure sensor, which is located further downstream in the system than the check valve, will continue to show the last supply pressure when the check valve closes. The pressure sensor may not indicate the actual supply pressure, which typically drops to atmospheric pressure when the supply is disconnected. If, subsequent to this, a supply is attached that is at a lower pressure than the checked pressure, the system will not be able to detect the connection until the pressure downstream of the check valve has been bled off as well as not at all.
Accordingly, as discussed in the referenced disclosure, there is a need for a means for sealing a system such as disclosed herein which will be able to fully detect pressure and control the flow of the system during changing of gas sources.
The referenced disclosure observes that in general, it is desirable to close off the inlet of a system such as disclosed herein when a supply is detached and to maintain the inside of the high purity system at a slight positive pressure with respect to atmospheric pressure.
The advantages of this isolated input but slight remaining positive pressure situation include: the chance of contamination is reduced; minor leaks that may be present will tend to leak in an outward fashion; the limited maximum internal to inlet side pressure allows the downstream pressure sensor to detect a disconnection of a supply with any significant pressure; and allows the system to detect the connection of another supply with a pressure significantly above atmospheric.
As discussed in the referenced disclosure, there is a need for a means for connecting the system of the present invention to a source of gas that will reduce the possibility of contamination of the system. Therefore, there is a need for a mechanism that can minimize dead space volume.
The referenced disclosure discusses an equalizing valve that simultaneously satisfies a number of objectives and overcomes many problems associated with prior therapeutic gas delivery systems.
Still further, there are situations in which the main supply source for a system must be removed from the system. For example, the main source must often be removed to be replaced with an alternate source. Replacement may be required if: the primary source is depleted; if a portable gas source is being replaced by a stationary source (or vise versa); or if the gas source is being exchanged for an alternate therapeutic gas composition. Other situations that may require the removal of the gas source include but are not limited to preparation for temporary storage or shipment, periodic maintenance and transport between use locations.
As discussed in the referenced disclosure, contamination of the therapeutic gases, such as mixing therein atmospheric gases, is undesirable.
In many therapeutic gas delivery situations, gas delivery to the patient must be temporarily disrupted in order to change supply source, or the like. Such disruption is undesirable. In order to obviate such disruption, some gas delivery systems include either a second large source or an external back-up source of therapeutic gas. Either of these solutions can be costly and cumbersome.
Still further, if, for some reason, the primary gas source ceases supplying gas to the system and an operator does not immediately replace the gas source, delivery of gas to the patient may be interrupted, or even contaminated. Neither of these situations is desirable.
Therefore, there is a need for a therapeutic gas delivery system in which continuous gas delivery to a patient is ensured, even if the main gas source ceases delivering gas for a short period of time.

System for use in administrating therapeutic gas to a patient


The invention relates generally to data communication networks and more particularly to a method of bandwidth management in a multiservice connection-oriented network which uses one or more overlooking factors and one or more overbooking models. The method allows an edge node which has received a connection request to accurately determine the bandwidth available on a given link in the network, by ensuring that different overlooking models and different overbooking factors are normalized at the edge node. The method of the present invention comprise: receiving at a selected one of the edge nodes updates from each of the core detailing a bandwidth management model, one or more overbooking factors and the link capacity associated with each of the core nodes; receiving at the selected one of the edge nodes a connection request; determining at the selected one of the edge nodes a preferred route through the network by accounting for a variation in overbooking factors or bandwidth management models between the selected one of said the nodes and each of the core nodes.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to data communication networks and more particularly to a method of bandwidth management within such a network.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
FIG. 1 depicts a connection-oriented multiservice network 8. The network 8 is used to establish a call between a source customer premise equipment (CPE) 10 and a destination CPE 12. The source CPE 10 originates a connection with the network 8 at an ingress edge node 14, which propagates the network 8 through a series of intermediate or core nodes 16 to an egress edge node 18 to establish a call to the destination CPE 12. As will be appreciated by those in the art, ingress or egress nodes 14, 18 and intermediate nodes 16 may be routers or switches. These terms will be used interchangeably herein to denote a physical network device that forwards data. The network 8 may consist of an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network running Private Network to Node Interface (PNNI) routing protocol, an Internet Protocol (IP) network running Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) and either the Open Shortest Path First—Traffic Engineering (OSPF-TE) routing protocol or the Intermediate System—Intermediate System Traffic Engineering (IS-IS-TE) routing protocol, or the like. Data traffic through network 8 travels over a series of links 20. Each link 20 is basically a communications channel or path. Each node 14, 16, 18 includes a connection admission control (CAC) component 22.
FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of the components and the operational concepts behind CAC 22. CAC 22 includes a processor 24 that is in communication with a memory 26 and an application module 28. CAC 22 receives a number of inputs, managed and processed by the various CAC elements 24, 26, 28, to process a connection request made by CPE 10. CAC 22 ultimately determines whether a connection request (made by the CPE 12) can be accepted 30 or rejected 32. The inputs include: (a) allocated capacity 34 which represents the total reserved bandwidth by all connections using a given link 20; (b) link capacity 36 which represents the total bandwidth on a given link 20; (c) Quality of Service (QoS) requirements 38 required by the connection; and (d) traffic descriptors 40 which characterize the requirements of the incoming request.
As indicated above, CAC is a function that determines whether an incoming connection request will be accepted or denied and ensures that existing connections are not affected when a new one is established. Using the inputs described above, a CAC algorithm determines whether a new connection setup request can be accepted or should be rejected. This decision is based on the constraint to meet the negotiated QoS requirements of all existing connections as well as of the new connection. Beside this basic function of CAC there is the secondary goal to maximize the system utilization by allowing for a statistical multiplexing gain, i.e. an efficient CAC method should accept as many connections as possible without violating any QoS guarantees. CAC is performed as part of the connection setup process and generally runs as a software module on processor 24. There are a variety of algorithms available to perform admission control.
With respect to an Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, CAC can be defined as the set of actions taken by the network during the call set-up phase to establish whether a virtual channel/virtual path (VC/VP) can be made. With traffic control in ATM networks, there are two classes of QoS parameters which are considered for connection admission control:                (a) Traffic Descriptors—A set of parameters that characterize the source traffic i.e. Peak cell rate, Average cell rate, burstiness and peak duration etc.; and        (b) QoS Requirements—A set of parameters to denote the required quality of service class expressed in terms of cell transfer delay, delay jitter, cell loss ratio and burst cell loss etc.
Often assumptions are made about the traffic carried in the network. However, CAC can only rely on the traffic parameters negotiated in the service level agreement (SLA) entered into between a client and service provider. In an ATM environment, a typical SLA stipulates QoS objectives and traffic characteristics for the following service categories:                (a) Constant Bit Rate (CBR);        (b) Real Time Variable Bit Rate (rt-VBR);        (c) Non-Real Time Variable Bit Rate (nrt-VBR);        (d) Available Bit Rate (ABR); and        (e) Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR).
With respect to the PNNI routing protocol, it will be understood by those in the art that this protocol is a virtual circuit routing protocol which is used to route a signaling request through an ATM network. This is also the route on which the ATM connection is set up, and along which the data will flow. The PNNI routing protocol allows for the distribution and updating of a topology database resident at each node in network 8. PNNI supports link state routing in which each node sends information to every other node in the network regarding the state of all of its links (i.e. QoS and reachability information). The PNNI topology state packets (PTSP) containing this information are "flooded" or advertised to the routing database maintained in each node in the network. As will be appreciated by those in the art, topology state information includes the following two parameters:                (a) Non-additive link attributes used to determine whether a given network link or node can meet a requested QoS. Examples of such attributes include available cell rate (ACR), cell rate margin (CRM), variation factor (VF), etc.; and        (b) Additive link metrics that are used to determine whether a given path, consisting of concatenated links and nodes (with summed link metrics) can meet the requested QoS. Examples of such metrics include maximum cell transfer delay (MCTD); maximum cell delay variation (MCDV); maximum cell loss ratio (MCLR); etc.
There are two kinds of CAC:                (a) Generic CAC (GCAC)—This utilizes a quick and not so accurate algorithm which is used for route selection i.e. it allows a source node to calculate the equivalent bandwidth (EBW) for source routing determination; and        (b) Actual CAC (ACAC)—This utilizes a more accurate algorithm at each node along the path determined using GCAC. The algorithm verifies in real-time the bandwidth availability on a link-by-link basis using an EBW calculation i.e. it is used to guarantee QoS.
It will be understood by those in the art that the EBW calculation attempts to predict, based on source traffic descriptors, the required bandwidth for a given connection request, while building in a safety of margin to avoid circuit overloading (i.e. the calculation typically determines a suitable bit rate which falls between the average bit rate and the peak rate). The goal in calculating the EBW is to ensure that the sum of the EBW values of the accepted connections does not exceed the capacity of the designated link.
The GCAC algorithm makes use of standardized link parameters that any node can use to calculate the expected CAC behavior of another node, given that node's advertised link parameters and the requested QoS of the new connection request. Referring again to FIG. 1, using the GCAC algorithm, a node presented with a connection request processes the requests as follows:                (a) all links that cannot provide the requested ACR and those whose CLR exceeds that of the requested connection, are "pruned" from the set of possible paths;        (b) from the reduced set of paths, along with the advertised reachability information, a shortest path computation is performed to determine a set of one or more possible paths to the destination;        (c) the possible paths are further pruned by using the additive link metrics, such as delay. One of the acceptable paths would then be chosen; and        (d) the request is then forwarded along the chosen path.
Using ACAC, each node in the path still performs its own CAC on the routed request because its own state may have changed since it last advertised its state. If the link associated with the node is unacceptable, which is quite possible especially in large networks, to avoid excessive connection failures and retries, PNNI also supports crankback. Crankback is where a connection, which is blocked along a selected path, is rolled back to an intermediate node, earlier in the path. The intermediate node attempts to discover another path to the final destination, using the same procedure as the original node, but uses newer, and hopefully more accurate, network state information.
One technique used in CAC is known as overbooking or oversubscription. Overbooking, which allows the total EBW used by the admitted connections to exceed permissible traffic limits, assumes that some or all active connections are not using the maximum available resources. More specifically, overbooking refers to the exploitation of statistical bandwidth sharing between applications and connections, and uncertainty about the bandwidth demands of various applications. For example, not all connections or applications are active at the same time. Overbooking looks at the bandwidth on a given link which has been reserved, against the actual utilization at a given point in time, and allocates the spare capacity to other connection requests.
Under the classic link bandwidth management model, link bandwidth can be partitioned into multiple pools or shared in a single pool. Each pool can support one or more applications or QoS classes. Three sub-models are available:                (a) Full sharing—uses a single pool which supports all QoS classes. This model offers maximum link efficiency and simplified provisioning and operations;        (b) Full partitioning—each service class (e.g. CBR, VBR-rt, UBR, etc.) is put into its own pool. This model guarantees a defined amount of bandwidth on the link to each service class; and        (c) Hybrid model—some service classes are combined in one pool (e.g. CBR and rt-VBR), while others service classes are in separate pools.In either (a), (b) or (c), link overbooking is achieved by applying an overbooking factor to each pool.
The example in FIG. 3 represents a full sharing model. Link 41 extending between nodes 42, 44 has an actual capacity of 100 Mbit/sec. A single pool 46 is used to accommodate all service categories from CBR to UBR. Based on historical data detailing the usage of the link an overbooking factor is determined e.g. 3. In the example of FIG. 3, the link capacity of 100 Mbit/sec is multiplied by the overbooking factor of 3 to give a virtual bandwidth availability of 300 Mbit/sec. Multiplying the link capacity by the overbooking factor is a "Classical" approach to overbooking. Edge node 47 making a connection request looks at its topology database, which has received advertised information regarding the available bandwidth of link 41. Because the advertised bandwidth of each node accounts for overbooking, edge node 47 appears to see a link with 300 Mbit/sec less any capacity assigned to calls in progress. GCAC is performed at edge node 47 which does not need to account for overbooking (already accounted for in the inflated pool). ACAC at each node is then performed. The EBW calculated by ACAC at each node also does not account for overbooking. If sufficient capacity is available to meet the QoS requirements of all existing connections as well as of the new connection, the call is admitted. The full sharing model can be problematic in that it treats all classes of data equally by using the same overbooking factor. Further there is no minimum guarantee for any service class.
FIG. 4 depicts the hybrid model in which multiple pools are used. Link 48 has an actual capacity of 10 Mbit/sec. In this case, two bandwidth pools 50, 52 are assigned different service categories, as well as a portion of the link capacity (e.g. pool 50 services CBR and rt-VBR traffic and is assigned 30% of the link capacity, while pool 52 services nrtVBR, ABR and UBR traffic and is assigned 70% of the link capacity). Based on historical data, each pool 50, 52 is assigned a separate overbooking factor (e.g. 3, 4). The allotted portion of the actual link capacity (e.g. 30%×10 Mbit/sec) is multiplied by the assigned overbooking factor (e.g. 3) to give a virtual available bandwidth for each pool (e.g. pool 50 has BW=9 Mbit/sec). The available bandwidth based on the inflated pools is advertised and used by GCAC and ACAC to determine which calls should be admitted. Typically, lower class pools are overbooked more than higher class pools. This ensures that real time data (e.g. video) associated with a higher class pool has a greater probability of being admitted when a connection request is made. The hybrid model is advantageous in that there is a minimum bandwidth guarantee for each pool of classes.
In either a single or multiple pool model, there are problems with an approach in which the actual link capacity is multiplied by an overbooking factor. This methodology is counter-intuitive in that users normally think of bandwidth reservation as it relates to the actual amount of bandwidth used or required for each connection, not in terms of pool sizes. In addition, advertised available link capacity can exceed actual link capacity. Finally, this approach limits the ability to tune the network traffic scheduler to suit the needs of different applications and connections.
In order to overcome the above deficiencies, an "Enhanced" overbooking model was created which incorporated a user-configurable application specific and/or QoS specific overbooking factor which could be applied on a class-by-class basis. The same overbooking factor is used per application/QoS, independent of the number of pools used. The pool size is not enlarged for overbooking purposes i.e. the reservation factor results in a pool size typically equaling the link capacity. As will be explained below, the reserved bandwidth for a given service category is determined by dividing the EBW by an overbooking factor associated with each service category.
An example of the enhanced overbooking model is depicted in FIG. 5. A full sharing model is depicted in which pool 54 handles CBR, rt-VBR, nrt-VBR and UBR traffic. The available bandwidth for the pool (broken down by service/QoS category for ATM PNNI) is advertised to every other node. A connection request requiring a specified service category is received at an edge node. The request is then processed using a GCAC algorithm, resulting in an optimal route through the network that satisfies the bandwidth requirement. ACAC is then applied against each link 56 in the selected route to validate bandwidth availability.
After applying the CAC algorithms, the edge node applies an appropriate overbooking factor to the calculated EBW. The calculated EBW is divided by the per service category overbooking factors to give the actual bandwidth reserved for the application i.e.CBR Reserved Bandwidth=CAC EBW÷CBR Overbooking Factorrt-VBR Reserved Bandwidth=CAC EBW÷rt-VBR Overbooking Factornrt-VBR Reserved Bandwidth=CAC EBW÷nrt-VBR Overbooking FactorUBR Reserved Bandwidth=CAC EBW÷UBR Overbooking Factor
Based on the above calculations, it is determined if the connection for the service category requested can be supported by comparing the available bandwidth for the link/pool with the calculated reserved bandwidth.
The advertised bandwidth does not account for overbooking as in the classic model. It should be noted that different overbooking factors can be used for different service categories, but they should be uniform throughout the network. The use of different overbooking parameters at different nodes/links is not possible, unless the overbooking parameters are propagated throughout the network through network/policy management configuration, signaling during initialization, or advertised available bandwidth flooding.
A problem arises when the nodes operating using the classical bandwidth management model (i.e. multiplying the overbooking factor by the actual link capacity assigned to a pool or pools) must communicate with nodes operating using the enhanced bandwidth management model (i.e. where the edge node GCAC & ACAC EBW is divided by a service category overbooking factor). This may arise where the equipment of different vendors is present in the network. For the purposes of explanation, a network in which respective nodes use the same bandwidth management model will be defined as a homogenous network, while a network in which respective nodes use a different bandwidth management model will be defined as a heterogeneous network. A problem arises because the advertised information from each node results in the storing of inconsistent information in the topology database regarding the available capacity per service category. For example, if a node uses the classical overbooking model, the advertised available bandwidth for the link would equal the actual available bandwidth multiplied by the overbooking factor, whereas a node using the enhanced model would advertise the available bandwidth for the link as the actual available capacity. As a result, the GCAC calculation at a given ingress node could make wrong decisions either by: (a) admitting too many calls resulting in network crankbacks, which would cause connection setup/rerouting delays and waste network resources; or (b) rejecting calls which would otherwise be accepted. Additionally, sub-optimal routing and load balancing could result because of inconsistent information in the topology database.
FIG. 6 highlights the possible outcome of a connection admission request depending on the overbooking model used by the core and edge nodes. In the specific example of FIG. 7, the edge node 58 uses a classic bandwidth management model, while core node 60 uses an enhanced bandwidth management model. The EBW calculated by edge node 58 would not account for overbooking. As well, advertised bandwidth by core node 60 does not account for overbooking. As a result, GCAC performed by edge node 58 may reject calls which would be accepted by core node 60 because the advertised bandwidth appears to be very limited.
It should also be noted that the examples outlined in the above examples assumed that the overbooking factors were uniform throughout the network. This is not always true and can further complicate the connection admission process if the process is unable to account for the different overbooking factors associated with a given link in the network. There therefore exists a need for a solution which will allow nodes in a heterogeneous network, which may also include different overbooking methods and factors, to overcome the connection admission problems outlined above.

Resource management in heterogenous QoS-based packet Networks


A method of producing component data for use with an electronic component mounting apparatus includes imaging a component whose component data is to be produced and displaying a component image on a display, the component image on the display having an outline having at least one side edge with two corners, inputting the corners as reference points so that a first reference line passing the reference points is produced, producing second and third reference lines passing the reference points respectively so as to be perpendicular to the first reference line, inputting a point on another side edge of the outline of the component image and producing a fourth reference line passing the point on the side edge so as to be parallel to the first reference line, and producing component data by measuring a size of the component image outline on the basis of the first to fourth reference lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for producing component data used with an electronic component mounting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
JP-A-H08-236990 discloses a conventional technique for producing component data used with electronic component mounting apparatus. In the disclosed technique, a component whose component data is to be produced is photographed by a camera. An image of the component obtained is displayed on a display. A first measuring position pointer is set at any point of an edge of the component image on a screen. Subsequently, a second measuring position pointer is set at any point of another edge of the component image on the screen. A spacing between the first and second pointers (a length on the screen) is automatically computed so that the length of the component is measured. Component data is produced from the results of computation.
Generally, a component image picked up by a camera is not necessarily positioned with respect to horizontal and vertical directions (XY direction) and accordingly is sometimes inclined. However, the above-noted conventional technique has no function of automatically determining whether the component image is inclined. Accordingly, even when a component image is inclined, component data is produced on the basis of the inclined component image. As a result, precise component data cannot be produced.
In view of the problem, it is proposed to add to the above-noted technique a function of manually correcting an inclination of the component image while the operator is viewing a screen of the display. However, it is troublesome for the operator to manually correct the inclination of the component image correctly while he or she is viewing the screen, whereupon the working efficiency is low.

Method and device for producing component data


A portable computer and docking station combination, comprising first and second batteries and first and second battery charging circuit portions, with automatic sequencing of charging between the batteries. The system includes means for charging a first battery based on an amount of current flowing into the computer circuitry, and means for charging a second battery based on an amount of current flowing into the first battery and into the computer circuitry.

Portable computers have afforded their users great flexibility by allowing them to be used away from a power source. Such computers generally include a rechargeable battery and a detachable charger. Many manufacturers provide for an extra battery that can be substituted for the computer's battery to permit enhanced autonomy. It is known to charge this separate battery with a charger while the charger is not being used to charge the battery in the computer, and then to swap the batteries.

Charging system for computer with docking station


A semiconductor package with reduced warpage problem is provided, including: a circuit board, having opposing first and second surfaces; a semiconductor chip, formed over a center portion of the first surface of the circuit board, having a first cross sectional dimension; a spacer, formed over a center portion of the semiconductor chip, having a second cross sectional dimension less than that of the first cross sectional dimension; an encapsulant layer, formed over the circuit board, covering the semiconductor chip and surrounding the spacer; a heat spreading layer, formed over the encapsulant layer and the spacer; and a plurality of solder balls, formed over the second surface of the circuit board, wherein a ratio between the first cross sectional dimension and the second cross sectional dimension is about 1:2-1:6.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to integrated circuit (IC) devices, and particularly to a semiconductor package with reduced warpage problem and improved thermal enhancement.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical ball grid array (BGA) semiconductor package includes a semiconductor chip mounted on an upper surface of an insulating printed circuit board substrate. The substrate may be made of a glass fiber filled organic laminate, such as FR4 board, FR5 board, or BT board, and have interconnected conductive circuit patterns on upper and lower surfaces thereof. A hardened encapsulating material covers the chip, the upper surface of the substrate, and electrical conductors, such as bond wires, that extend between the chip and the circuit patterns on the upper surface of the substrate. Conductive balls or other input/output terminals are formed on the circuit patterns of the lower surface of the substrate.
Consistent with the trend toward smaller and thinner packages, one difficulty with such a BGA semiconductor package, however, is warpage of the semiconductor package due in part to temperature cycling during the manufacturing process and differences in the thermal expansion properties of the various materials of the package, e.g., differences in the thermal expansion properties of the substrate and encapsulating material. Where the package substrate is warped, the conductive balls or other input/output terminals on the lower surface of the substrate are uneven. This causes difficulty when mounting the package onto a motherboard. The magnitude of the warpage tends to increase as package size increases, and thus tends to impose an upper limit to the size of the package. Another emerging desire is to increase the thermal performance of package as power density is getter higher along the shrinkage of advanced wafer process node. In order to keep IC's functionality and reliability, IC's power consumption is required to be compliant with power limit of the package utilized, and thus restrict the function complexity of IC due to power limitation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A drive circuit of an active matrix type organic EL display panel includes a plurality of current drive circuits provided correspondingly to data lines or column pins of the display panel, a plurality of pixel circuits, each of which includes a capacitor and an organic EL element, and a write control circuit. The current drive circuit includes an output pin connected to the data line or the column pin and generates a current for charging the capacitor to a predetermined voltage through the data line or the column pin and a current for initially charging the organic EL element. The write control circuit performs a write control for storing the voltage in the capacitor and a resetting control for of the capacitor written with the voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active matrix type organic EL drive circuit and an organic EL display device and, in particular, the present invention relates to an active matrix type organic EL display device of a portable telephone set or a PHS, etc., which is capable of performing an initial charging (charging at light emission start time for emitting light earlier) of organic EL elements of an active matrix type organic EL panel, reducing a time required to write a drive current value to a capacitor of a pixel circuit and improving luminance of the organic EL elements and which is suitable for a high luminance color display.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known that an organic EL display device, which realizes a high luminance display by spontaneous light emission, is suitable for a display on a small display screen and the organic EL display device has been attracting public attention as the next generation display device to be mounted on a portable telephone set, a PHS, a DVD player or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), etc. Known problems of such organic EL display device are that, since, when it is driven by voltage as in a liquid crystal display device, luminance variation thereof becomes substantial and that, since there is difference in sensitivity of organic EL element between R (red), G (green) and B (blue), a control of luminance of a color display becomes difficult.
In view of these problems, an organic EL display device using current drive circuits has been proposed recently. For example, JPH10-112391A discloses a technique in which the luminance variation problem is solved by employing a current drive system.
An organic EL display panel of an organic EL display device for a portable telephone set, a PHS, etc., having 396(=132×3) terminal pins for column lines and 162 terminal pins for row lines has been proposed. However, there is a tendency that the number of column lines as well as row lines is further increased.
An output stage of a current drive circuit of such organic EL display panel of either the active matrix type or the passive matrix type includes a current source drive circuit, such as an output circuit constructed with a current mirror circuit, for each of the terminal pins.
In the active matrix type organic EL display panel, a pixel circuit composed of a capacitor and a transistor is provided for each display cell (pixel). An organic EL element (referred to as "OEL element", hereinafter) is current-driven through the transistor, which is driven correspondingly to a voltage stored in the capacitor. The drive system is either a digital drive system in which the drive current of the OEL element is binary-controlled and an analog control in which the drive current is controlled by an analog input data. In the case of the digital drive system, a display area is controlled by providing a sub pixel in the pixel or the tone of the display element is controlled according to a drive time by a time-division of a light emitting time. In the case of the analog drive system, there are a voltage setting type (voltage program system) and a current setting type (current program system). In the voltage setting type system, a terminal voltage of the capacitor of each pixel circuit is set according to a voltage signal and, in the current setting type system, the terminal voltage of the capacitor is set according to a current signal.
In such active matrix type OEL panel, an unevenness of luminance tends to occur due to variation of an operating threshold value of the drive transistor of each pixel circuit. Since it is difficult to unify the operating threshold value of the drive transistor of each display element in a manufacturing process, it has been considered to restrict the luminance variation by controlling the voltage of the capacitor of each pixel circuit. In order to realize this, a threshold compensation circuit is provided in the pixel circuit. As an example of the compensation circuit, there are a circuit of the above mention voltage program system and a circuit of the current program system.
The voltage program system uses four transistors and two capacitors in each pixel circuit and includes two lines for compensating for variation of the operating threshold value of the drive transistor in addition to a data line and a selection line. A current drive, which is not influenced by the threshold value of the drive transistor is performed by charging the two capacitors with a predetermined timing by applying a control signal to the two lines of the voltage program system.
The current program system is constructed with three transistors including a drive transistor and a switch transistor for setting a specific voltage. In addition to a data line and two selection lines, a power source line of the specific voltage Vdd. First, the drive transistor is disconnected by the switch transistor to charge the capacitor. Thereafter, the drive transistor is connected to the capacitor by the switch transistor to supply power from the source line to thereby current-drive the OEL element.
Incidentally, a current drive circuit of a passive matrix type organic EL display panel uses current having a peak current, for restricting luminance variation by emitting light earlier by charging the OEL element having a capacitive load characteristics. On the other hand, the active matrix type organic EL display panel temporarily writes a voltage corresponding to a drive current in the capacitor of the pixel circuit and then generates the drive current corresponding to the written voltage of the capacitor. Therefore, the OEL element of the active matrix type organic EL panel is not driven by a peak current. As a result, it is impossible to emit light earlier as in the passive matrix type organic EL panel and the write time for writing the drive current is necessary. Therefore, it has a problem that a light emitting period is reduced.
The writing of the drive current is usually performed by charging the capacitor of the pixel circuit, which is usually several hundreds pF, with a current of about 0.1 μA to 10 μA and the time required to write the drive current is as long as about 10% or more of the scan period. The light emitting time is reduced correspondingly, resulting in reduction of display luminance. Particularly, when the number of display pixels is increased as in VGA, XGA, etc., in which the time control must be performed within a limited time, the previously mentioned defect becomes serious.

Active matrix type organic EL panel drive circuit and organic EL display device


A rear-wheel steering apparatus for a wheeled vehicle has a linkage mechanism for steering a set of dirigible rear road wheels. The steering apparatus includes a planetary gear unit, the carrier of which is adapted as an output element drivingly connected to an input member of the linkage mechanism, a first electric motor, the output shaft of which is drivingly connected to a sun gear of the planetary gear unit, a first electromagnetic brake mechanism arranged to be activated only when the vehicle is travelling at a higher speed than a predetermined speed for restricting rotation of the sun gear, a second electric motor, the output shaft of which is drivingly connected to a ring gear of the planetary gear unit, and a second electromagnetic brake mechanism arranged to be activated only when the vehicle is travelling at a lower speed than the predetermined speed for restricting rotation of the ring gear.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rear-wheel steering apparatus in a four-wheel steering system of wheeled vehicles, and more particularly to a rear-wheel steering apparatus of the type which includes an electric motor drivingly connected through a speed reduction gear train to an input member of a linkage mechanism for steering a set of dirigible rear road wheels and arranged to be activated under control of an electric control device for controlling a turn-angle of the rear road wheels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 1-301465 is a rear-wheel steering apparatus of this kind which includes a single electric motor arranged to drive a linkage mechanism for steering a set of dirigible rear-road wheels. In the rear-wheel steering apparatus, it is required that the single electric motor has a high performance capable of steering the rear road wheels under a heavy load in stationary steering operation and steering the same at a high speed during high speed travel of the vehicle. To provide such a high performance, the electric motor becomes large in size, and a large electric current is required for control of the electric motor. It is, therefore, required to provide an electric control device for control of the large electric current, resulting in increase of the manufacturing cost.

Rear-wheel steering apparatus for wheeled vehicle


A displacement sensor and an acceleration sensor are mounted to a common support member. The displacement sensor comprises a first circular flexural disk having a natural frequency less than the frequency range of the acoustic waves of interest. Spiral-wound optical fiber coils are mounted to opposite sides of the first flexural disk. The acceleration sensor comprises a second flexural disk having a natural frequency greater than the frequency range of the acoustic waves. Spiral-wound optical fiber coils are mounted to opposite sides of the second flexural disk. A fiber optic interferometer provides an output signal that is a combination of signals output from the displacement sensor and the acceleration sensor. The displacement sensor includes an inertia ring mounted to an edge of the first flexural disk to keep it nearly stationary when an acoustic wave in the selected frequency range is incident upon the housing. The flexural disks include upper and lower rings spaced apart from the support post with portions of the disks between the rings and the support post defining hinges at which the flexural disk flex in response to acceleration of the support member along its longitudinal axis. The surfaces of the first and second flexural disks preferably include grooves extending between the upper rings and the outer edges of the flexural disks. The grooves are arranged to allow lengths of optical fiber adjacent the rings to pass under the optical fiber coils that are formed on the surfaces of the flexural disks.

This invention relates generally to fiber optic particle motion sensors used for detecting acoustic signals. In particular, this invention relates to a single fiber optic acoustic sensor that combines the low frequency response characteristics of a displacement sensor with the high frequency response characteristics of an accelerometer.
Prior fiber optic particle motion sensor art used for acoustic sensing can be classified in two categories: flexural disk accelerometers and flexural disk displacement sensors, each with significant problems. The flexural disk fiber optic accelerometers suffer from a gain-bandwidth limitation that trades off scale factor sensitivity for wider frequency response, dependent on sensor design. Center supported sensors typically have higher gain but lower resonance frequencies, whereas edge supported sensors have the opposite problem. This could be overcome, somewhat by utilizing a fiber optic displacement sensor (seismic sensor), which operates above its resonance. However, these sensors suffer from a weight penalty. To achieve high gain and acceptable bandwidth, displacement sensors need to be large and highly massive.
This invention is a very broad band fiber optic acoustic sensor system. It combines the low frequency response of a displacement sensor and the high frequency response of an accelerometer in a single sensor system. This approach yields a high gain-bandwidth product sensor system without the need for large, massive sensors.
An acoustic sensor system according to the present invention for measuring parameters of acoustic waves in a selected frequency range comprises a displacement sensor and an acceleration sensor mounted to a common support member. The displacement sensor comprises a first circular flexural disk assembly having a first natural frequency that is below the frequency range of the acoustic waves of interest. The first flexural disk assembly comprises a first set of upper and lower spiral-wound optical fiber coils that are attached to opposite sides of a first flexural disk. The acceleration sensor comprises a second circular flexural disk assembly having a second natural frequency that is greater than the frequency range of the acoustic waves of interest. The second flexural disk assembly comprises a second set of upper and lower spiral-wound optical fiber coils that are attached to opposite sides of a second flexural disk. A fiber optic interferometer system is arranged to provide an optical output signal that is a combination of signals outputted from the displacement sensor and the acceleration sensor.
The displacement sensor preferably further includes an inertia ring mounted to an edge of the first flexural disk to enhance the sensitivity by maintaining the edge of the first flexural disk nearly stationary when an acoustic wave in the selected frequency range is incident upon the housing. The second advantage of the inertia ring is to further reduce the natural frequency of the displacement flexural disk, which effectively extends the low frequency range, and hence, the bandwidth of the sensor.
The support member preferably includes a base and a bolt extending from the base. Central passages are formed in the first and second flexural disks such that they may be mounted on the bolt. A nut and washer are engaged with the bolt to secure the first and second flexural disks to the base with the aid of an intervening cylindrical spacer.
Mass-spring systems of the type represented by both types of flexural disks exhibit common resonant characteristics. At frequencies far below resonance, the mechanical response is in phase with the forced excitation; i.e., in phase with the acoustic signal acting on the case. At frequencies near resonance, the phase response begins to lag the acoustic signal. At resonance, this lag angle is 90xc2x0, and at frequencies much greater than the resonant frequency, the phase response approaches 180xc2x0 with respect to the acoustic signal. The sensor system""s operational band spans frequencies above resonance for the displacement portion of the device (with approximately 180xc2x0 phase shift) and below resonance for the accelerometer portion (near 0xc2x0 phase shift). Therefore, the phase response of the two separate sensing elements are therefore approximately 180xc2x0 apart in the operating region between the two resonant peaks. To allow the individual sensor outputs to be additive for increased scale factor, it is necessary to connect the output of the top coil of the displacement flexural disk to the bottom coil of the accelerometer flexural disk and vice-versa. In a practical sense, this allows the changes in the optical path length of the respective coil windings of both flexural disks to be summed together when both are subjected to a common shortened path length compressive load and conversely, the changes in the optical path length of the opposite coil windings are summed together when subjected to a common elongated path length tensile load. The difference between these two composite path lengths provides the interferometric function that is sensed by the photodetector at the output of the 2xc3x972 coupler.
The interferometer system may alternatively comprise a two-wavelength optical signal source and an optical coupler arranged to receive optical signals outputted from the optical signal source and provide the optical signals into each of the first and second upper optical fiber coils and the first and second lower optical fiber coils. The optical coupler also is arranged to combine optical signals from the first and second upper optical fiber coils and the first and second lower optical fiber coils such that interference between optical signals of a first one of the two wavelengths indicates displacement and interference between optical signals of the other wavelength indicate acceleration. Information from the accelerometer and displacement sensors can be combined electronically, as needed, following demodulation.
Each of the first and second flexural disks preferably includes integrally machined upper and lower rings spaced apart from the support post. The presence of these rings provides a winding hub surface upon which the fiber coil can be directly wound.
The surfaces of the first and second flexural disks preferably include curved grooves extending between the upper or lower rings and the outer edges of the flexural disks. The grooves are arranged to allow lengths of optical fiber adjacent the rings to pass under the optical fiber coils that are formed on the surfaces of the flexural disks, thereby preventing microbend stresses on the fiber while permitting the buried fiber lead to exit the coil tangent to the outer edge of the flexural disk.
An appreciation of the objectives of the present invention and a more complete understanding of its structure and method of operation may be had by studying the following description of the preferred embodiment and by referring to the accompanying drawings.

Fiber optic acoustic sensor with specifically selected flexural disks


Polyester staple fibers with high resistance to pilling contain (1) a polyester component consisting of at least 90 mol % polyethylene terephthalate, after its polycondensation, and (2) 1 to 7% by weight, relative to the polyester component, of a polyalkylene glycol block polymer with the formula ##STR1## in which the polyoxypropylene core has a mean molecular weight of 3000 to 4000 and a, b and c are integers such that the polyoxyethylene groups form 20 to 60% by weight of the block polymer, which has a mean molecular weight of 3750 to 10000. The staple fibers are prepared by admixing the polyester component and the block copolymer evenly in a separate phase and spinning the two together in the usual manner. The polyester component preferably is polyethylene terephthalate homopolyester, to which 2-4% by weight of the block copolymer is admixed.

The invention relates to polyester staple fibers or filaments with high resistance to pilling and a process for manufacturing them.
One of the most unpleasant phenomena brought about by the use of polyethylene terephthalate fibers in the textile industry, at first quite unexpected and confronting manufacturers of synthetic fibers with problems that are not even fully solved today, is pilling. Pilling is understood to mean the formation of small balls of fiber which arise on the textile by the fiber ends wandering out of the fabric structure and which are very detrimental to the appearance of the garments. The fibers holding the pills to the basic fabric do not break off because the polyester fibers have a far higher flexing abrasion resistance than the natural fibers so that the small balls of fiber or naps remain clinging to the fabric.
A known measure to counter pilling is the manufacture of polyesters with a low molecular weight or a low solution viscosity, which decreases the strength of the fiber to such an extent that the fiber ends and pills which have emerged break off rapidly as in the case of natural fibers. However, the reduction of about 40% in the fiber's strength makes it very susceptible to damage during the further processing of such fibers, so that this type of anti-pilling fiber can no longer be processed in the three-roller and rotor spinning mills at the same speeds and with the same efficiency as normal types of cotton.
From DE-OS 17 19 213, the process is known of admixing a combination of defined polyalkylene glycols and alkaline or alkaline earth salts of organic sulfonic acids to the polyethylene terephthalate after its polycondensation to deal with the problem of pilling. It is noted here that adding only polyalkylene ether of the type defined therein has practically no effect, but that serious faults occur during spinning and weaving processes.
To solve the problem of pilling, DE-OS 21 13 859 discloses the procedure of adding defined polyalkylene glycols to the initial components which form the polyester either before or after the transesterification reaction. Since these glycols are condensed into the polyester, a not inconsiderable number of the desired properties of the polyethylene terephthalate are altered, not to mention the fact that in this type of polyester it is sometimes very difficult to avoid producing an undesired three-dimensional structure.
To avoid the problem of pilling, JP-OS 54-120 732 suggests the admixture of 0.5 to 15% by weight, preferably 2-10% by weight, polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 300-4000 to the polyethylene terephthalate after its polycondensation. Studies have shown that the flexing abrasion resistance of fibers manufactured from this mixture is still far too high to produce a satisfactory pilling-resistant polyester fiber (see Comparative Example 2).

Polyester staple fibers of filaments with high resistance to pilling