An adhesive comprising (1) 100 parts by weight of a combination of an epoxy resin having a weight average molecular weight of less than 5,000 and a curing agent, (2) 10 to 40 parts by weight of a high-molecular weight component being compatible with the epoxy resin and having a weight average molecular weight of 30,000 or above, (3) 20 to 100 parts by weight of a high-molecular weight component being incompatible with the epoxy resin and having a weight average molecular weight of 30,000 or above, and (4) 0.1 to 5 parts by weight of a cure accelerator. The adhesive is excellent not only in moisture resistance, heat resistance, adhesive strength at high temperature, heat dissipation, reliability of insulation, crack resistance and flexibility but also in circuit filling and tight adhesion, and exhibits suitable flow properties.

Recent advancement of electronic instruments has been accompanied by increasingly strict requirements of wiring boards for packaging semiconductor (hereinafter, will be referred to as semiconductor-packaging wiring boards), such as PGA (pin grid array) or BGA (ball grid array) packages, for high wiring density, moisture resistance and heat resistance. Also, the heat generated per unit area has been increased due to increasing electronic component mounting density and increasing integration of semiconductor devices, requiring efficient heat dissipation from the semiconductor-packaging wiring boards. Common means for accelerating the dissipation of heat generated by electronic components mounted on semiconductor-packaging wiring boards are the use of wiring boards which are composed of a metal plate bonded with copper foil by insulating adhesives, or printed wiring boards bonded to radiation plates of high heat conductivity, such as aluminum plates, copper plates or steel plates.
To meet these requirements, these wiring boards require complicated shape-processing, such as multilayering, formation of cavities or installation of radiation plates.
Bonding materials commonly used to produce semiconductor-packaging multilayer wiring boards or to bond radiation plates are glass cloth-epoxy resin prepregs containing glass fibers base materials, and rubber-epoxy resin adhesives. When radiation plates are bonded with semiconductor-packaging wiring boards by using glass cloth-epoxy resin prepregs, the wiring boards tend to warp or form CAF (Conductive Anodic Filaments), which occur due to migration of copper ion along the interface between glass fibers and resin, and, on moisture absorption, become poor in soldering heat resistance and electrolytic corrosion resistance. Further, the use of glass cloth-epoxy resin prepregs in the production of wiring boards requiring complicated shape-processing, such as formation of cavities or installation of radiation plates, causes the disadvantage that epoxy resin powder is scattered during drilling to coat connecting surfaces, causing connecting error in wire bonding, or the resin flows in large quantities and even into cavities by the heat and pressure applied during lamination, so that the cavities lose necessary spaces.
Rubber-epoxy resin adhesives are mixtures of epoxy resins with various rubbers components, such as acrylic rubbers or acrylonitrile-butadiene rubbers, which are added to improve the adhesives in strength, flexibility and adhesion. Because of their relative excellency in properties, such as electrical properties, heat resistance and solvent resistance, these conventional acrylic rubber-containing adhesives have been used in the production of flexible boards.
Typical examples of acrylic rubber-containing adhesives are adhesive sheets made of mixtures of acrylic rubber with thermosetting resins, such as epoxy resins, which, however, exhibit insufficient properties at high temperatures due to the low epoxy resin content of about 30% by weight. Further, these adhesives composed mainly of acrylic rubbers have the defects that though the loss of adhesion strength after a long term treatment at high temperatures is relatively small, the adhesion strength at high temperatures is poor, and that the properties, such as heat resistance and electric properties, are considerably deteriorated on moisture absorption. Adhesives composed mainly of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubbers have the defect that the loss of adhesion strength after a long term treatment at high temperatures is considerable and they are inferior in electrical corrosion resistance. The deterioration is particularly significant when they are subjected to tests for moisture resistance under today's severe conditions to which electronic instruments are exposed, such as PCT (pressure cooker test) treatments.
As adhesives improved in the soldering resistance after moisture absorption, in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 60-243180 (1985) are disclosed adhesives containing acrylic resins, epoxy resins, polyisocyanates and inorganic fillers, in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 61-138680 are disclosed adhesives containing acrylic resins, epoxy resins, compounds having urethane bonds in molecule and primary amines at both ends. These adhesives, however, are unsatisfactory since they are considerably deteriorated when subjected to tests for moisture resistance under today's severe conditions to which electronic instruments are exposed, such as PCT.
Rubber-epoxy resin adhesives improved in adhesion at high temperatures are mixtures of reactive rubber components, such as reactive acrylic rubbers or reactive acrylonitrile-butadiene rubbers, with epoxy resins. Examples of such reactive rubber-epoxy resin adhesives are adhesive compositions disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 3-181580 (1991), which comprise acrylic rubbers having carboxylic groups, hydroxyl groups or epoxy groups, alkyl phenols, epoxy resins and imidazolium trimellitate as an cure accelerator, and are used to bond base film of flexible printed wiring boards with copper foil. In these adhesive compositions, the carboxyl group-containing acrylic rubbers, the hydroxyl group-containing acrylic rubbers and the epoxy group-containing acrylic rubbers are used individually, and compositions containing two or more of them are not disclosed.
As adhesive compositions improved in adhesion to shiny side of copper foil and in heat resistance, in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 7-76679 (1995) are disclosed adhesive compositions which are used in sheet heaters having resistance circuits and comprise 60 to 80 parts by weight of epoxy group-containing acrylic rubbers, 8 to 20 parts by weight of alkyl phenols, 8 to 20 parts by weight of epoxy resins and 0.2 to 1.0 parts by weight of imidazole curing agents, and in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 7-173449 (1995) are disclosed epoxy group-containing acrylic rubber adhesive compositions composed mainly of epoxy group-containing acrylic rubbers.
The above adhesives disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication Nos. 3-181580, 7-76679 and 7-173449 are not applicable for semiconductor-packaging wiring boards, such as PGA or BGA packages, because they are insufficient in moisture resistance, heat resistance and adhesion strength at high temperatures and, in a moistened state, considerably deteriorated in properties, particularly when subjected to moisture resistance tests under severe conditions, such as PCT treatments.
Additionally, these adhesives need a large ratio of high-molecular weight components contributing flexibility because as the ratio of low-molecular weight components, such as epoxy resins, increases, the degree of cross-linking increases and lowers the flexibility of film made therefrom. The increase of the ratio of the high-molecular weight components, however, inevitably decreases the ratio of the low-molecular weight components having good flowability, to decrease the flowability of the adhesives. These adhesives, even with a low flowability, are applicable without practical troubles in flexible wiring boards, but when used for producing semiconductor-packaging wiring boards, such as PGA or BGA packages, they cannot contribute properties enough for practical uses. That is, the requirements of semiconductor package-mounting wiring boards for flatness of board surfaces, circuit filling and adhesion of adhesives with board surfaces bearing blackened or etched copper foil are too strict for these conventional adhesives of poor flowability to satisfy any one of the requirements for flatness, circuit filling and adhesion.
Further, with the recent increases of the integration and wiring density in IC in PGA and BGA packages, which are more significant than in common wiring boards, heat management has become very important, but there have been no adhesive films designed for heat dissipation.
Among conventional adhesives which are mixtures of acrylic rubber and epoxy resin, those with the greater ratio of acrylic rubbers are defective in moisture resistance, and are revealed to be deteriorated in properties particularly by a PCT moistening treatment at 121.degree. C. due to their low cross-linking density. Adhesive sheets formed from those with the greater ratio of epoxy resins are fragile and tacky due to low strength, low flexibility and high tackiness, and are difficult to handle. Another problem is such a poor cracking resistance that they crack on curing.
In the methods of producing semiconductor-packaging wiring boards, such as PGA or BGA packages, wherein lamination is carried out after adhesive sheets cured to B-stage are drilled to form cavities or IVH (Interstitial Via Hall), it is necessary to reduce the outflow of resins from the drilled edges at the time of lamination with heat and pressure. The resins, however, need some flowability to bury the circuits formed in the wiring boards without leaving voids. Conventional adhesives become more flowable on lamination as the epoxy resin content increases, and cause the troubles of exudation into cavities or IVH, interlaminar connection failure due to the adhesives which cover the circuits formed in the holes, and a decrease of interlaminar insulation distance due to the decreased thickness of insulation layers formed from the adhesives. As the acrylic rubber content increases, circuit filling properties decrease. Therefore, it has been difficult to satisfy both the requirements for the control of exudation due to flowability (control of flowability) and the circuit filling properties (improvement of flowability).
As described above, there have been provided no adhesives satisfying the moisture resistance, heat resistance, adhesive strength at high temperatures, proper flowability and circuit filling that are required of adhesives used in semiconductor-packaging wiring boards, such as PGA or BGA packages.

Adhesive, adhesive film and adhesive-backed metal foil


Apparatus are described herein that provide a circuit breaker handle tie configured to mechanically couple circuit breaker handles of different configurations to one another.

Wiring methods for buildings has evolved as design and construction codes become more complex and stringent in order to reduce energy consumption. One recent energy code standard with a purpose to reduce energy use while still maintaining occupant comfort is American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1. ASHRAE Standard 90.1 has become the standard for design and construction in the United States and has a strong influence on commercial building designs throughout the world. The 2010 revision to this standard includes a new requirement to reduce energy consumption by controlling plug load circuits.


A non-invasive method, system, and computer product for monitoring I/O performance without using the RIO bus. When executing a performance benchmark run in a remote I/O drawer, the system logs into a bulk power controller, wherein the bulk power controller provides a communications path between the data processing system and the I/O drawer, and wherein the communications path allows the data processing system to access chip register information on the I/O drawer without using a RIO link. Using the communications path, the system may monitor I/O performance and obtain chip register information. The system may further increase performance by using software to detect a load imbalance. Through the communications path, the software is able to dynamically balance the load by changing the chip register settings to allow the initialization registers to handle the load more efficiently.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular to a method, system, and computer product for performance monitoring in a data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method, system, and computer product for monitoring input/output (I/O) performance without using the remote input/output (RIO) cables.
2. Description of Related Art
A multiprocessor data processing system is a data processing system that contains multiple central processing units. This type of system allows for logical partitioning in which a single multiprocessor data partitioning in which a single multiprocessor data processing system may run as if the system were two or more independent systems. In such a system, each logical partition represents a division of resources in the system and operates as an independent logical system. Each of these partitions is logical because the division of resources may be physical or virtual. For example, a multiprocessor data processing system may be partitioned into multiple independent servers, in which each partition has its own processors, main storage, and input/output devices.
Many systems include multiple remote input/output (RIO) subsystems in which each subsystem includes a bridge or some other interface to connect the subsystem with other portions of the data processing system through a primary or main input/output hub. Each of these remote I/O subsystems is also referred to as a "RIO drawer". Each of these RIO drawers may include peripheral components, such as, for example, hard disk drives, tape drives, or graphics adapters.
RIO drawers are typically physically separated from the processors and memory components of the computer. The RIO drawers and their components are connected to the main computer using RIO network cables which allow the I/O devices contained within the RIO drawers to function with the remainder of the computer as if they were on the system bus.
Performance monitoring is often used in optimizing the performance of a system. A performance monitor is generally regarded as a facility incorporated into a processor to assist in analyzing selected characteristics of a system by determining a machine's state at a particular point in time. Some systems, such as the IBM eServer pSeries Regatta 690 and the IBM eServer pSeries and iSeries Squadrons systems, products of International Business Machines Corporation in Armonk, N.Y., use RIO links to connect the central electronics complex (CEC) to a host of I/O devices. These systems do not have JTAG access to the RIO drawers, and thus these RIO links provide the only communication paths from the processors in the CEC to the I/O drawers. Consequently, all performance monitoring commands must go through the RIO cables. However, sending performance monitoring commands through the RIO cables adds additional traffic to the RIO cables and can affect system performance.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a non-invasive method for monitoring I/O performance without using the RIO bus.

Method for non-invasive performance monitoring and tuning


A tamping tine (5) for a tamping machine consists of a tine shaft (8) and, positioned at the lower end thereof, a tine pad (9) having a pad bottom edge (10) spaced from the tine shaft (8). The tine pad (9) has pad side surfaces (11), spaced from one another in the direction of the pad bottom edge (10) and extending perpendicularly to the same, each of which connect a pad front side (12) to a pad rear side of the tine pad (9). Hardened metal plates (14) for increasing the abrasion resistance are fastened to the tine pad (9). The hardened metal plates (14) situated side by side along the pad bottom edge (10) form a common boundary line (15) both on the pad front side (12) as well as on the pad rear side. Armoring (17) in the shape of a build-up welding, standing out from a plane (16) of the pad front- or -rear side, is provided adjoining each boundary line (15).

A tamping tine of this type is already known from EP 1 329 554 A1. The entire pad front- and -rear side of the tine pad are covered with hardened metal plates. Provided in the region of the pad side surfaces are cylinder-shaped hardened metal inlays which are positioned in corresponding bores of the tine pad.
It is the object of one embodiment of the present invention to create a tamping tine of the kind mentioned at the beginning which can be fabricated in an efficient manner and at the same time offers high abrasion resistance.
An armoring of this kind leads to optimal protection of the hardened metal plates in the end region thereof. When performing the welding operation, it is possible to use various electrodes, thus enabling the application of different abrasion-resistant materials. Also, it is simple to carry out repairs and touch-ups of the armoring which might become necessary after very long service times of the tamping tines. The operating life of the tamping tine is thus altogether significantly increased. The build-up welding, being less expensive in direct comparison to armoring made of soldered-on hardened metal plates, substantially lowers the total cost of the tamping tine.

Plasser & Theurer, Export von Bahnbaumaschinen, Gesellschaft m.b.H.


A new and distinct cultivar of Gerbera plant named `Teroptima`, characterized by its single type, a unique pink ray floret which fades to white toward the center, a red-purple disc floret the outer petaloids of which fade to white, pink perianth lobe color and 120 mm overall flower diameter is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Gerbera jamesonni, referred to by the cultivar name `Teroptima`. `Teroptima` was originated from a hybridisation program in De Kwakel, The Netherlands in 1988. The female parent was `Terfame` (registration number 7455; Jun. 10, 1986), and the male parent was unnamed seedling 87.241. The female parent `Terfame` has a yellow color without a black center. Production of flowers, vase-life, and diameter of `Terfame` and `Teroptima` are identical. `Terfame` has been available outside Terra Nigra, but has not been patented in the USA. The male parent 87.241 has about the same production of flowers and diameter as `Teroptima`; however, the color pink of 87.241 is more clear and has a dark heart. 87.241 has not been available outside Terra Nigra. The new cultivar was selected by me from the progeny of the stated parentage on or about October 1988. The first asexual reproduction of `Teroptima` was accomplished when vegetative cuttings were taken on April 1989 in De Kwakel. The new cultivar is presently being propagated by cuttings and tissue culture. Horticultural examination of selected units initiated November 1989 has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for `Teroptima` are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in De Kwakel, The Netherlands, under greenhouse conditions which closely approximate those generally used in commercial practice. The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of Teroptima`, which in combination distinguish this Gerbera plant from its parents and all other varieties of which I am aware:
1. Type: Single. PA0 2. Color of ray floret: Very distinct pink. PA0 3. Color of disc floret: Distinct red-purple. PA0 4. Color of perianth lobe: Pink. PA0 5. Diameter of flower head: medium/large 120 mm.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to me, there is no cultivar similar in comparison to `Teroptima`.


A graphical cursor in text mode is generated by replacing the characters on the display at positions under the cursor with new fonts comprising an image of the cursor superimposed on the image of the characters. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: determining the new cursor position; restoring the characters at the old cursor position; saving a plurality of the characters near the new cursor position; building new fonts with the plurality of characters near the new cursor position and the cursor symbol; and replacing the plurality of characters at the new cursor position with the new fonts. The preferred method may further comprise the step of detecting the position and movement of the input device when mouse-type input devices are used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computers and display devices. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for producing a graphical mouse cursor on a display device while operating in text mode.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional computer systems commonly use a display adapter and a display device to present information to the user. The display adapter and display device are coupled to a processing unit to produce the images on the display device. The processing unit is also coupled to an input device such as a keyboard or mouse-type controller to receive data from the user. The processing unit modifies the information shown on the display device in response to user manipulation of the input device.
One method used extensively in the art for producing images on a display device is referred to as text mode operation or a text user interface. FIG. 2 illustrates a screen display of a text user interface. The computer displays information using letters, numbers, and punctuation. The standard IBM set of characters and symbols is illustrated in FIG. 4. The text user interface can use special symbols (e.g. a happy face and lines) to create graphical images to a limited degree. However, because the character set is limited, typically to 256 characters, the capability for producing graphical images is severely restricted.
In text mode operation, the screen is divided into a fixed grid, usually 80 columns by 25 lines. Each position in the grid provides an area for the display of a character or symbol. The display adapter controls the video screen, and in "text mode" is also responsible for converting characters into the actual dots that appear on the screen. For example, the processing unit of the computer provides a signal representing the character to be produced on the display at a given row and column, and the display adapter generates the appropriate pattern of dots on the video screen for the signal from the processing unit. Because only a relatively small amount of information must be processed (only 2000 characters per screen at 80 by 25), text user interfaces are very fast and memory efficient.
Another method used to produce images on a display device is the graphics mode or a Graphical User Interface (GUI). An example of a screen displaying a graphical user interface is shown in FIG. 3. A GUI is produced by controlling each individual screen dot, thereby allowing any type of character or graphic image to be displayed. In graphics mode, the processing unit of the computer system is responsible for managing all of the individual dots. The display adapter provides no assistance in forming characters when in graphics mode. Since GUIs force the processing unit to handle a large volume of data (over 300,000 dots on the average PC screen), they are slower and require more memory than text user interfaces. The memory and processing overhead prevents most older computers from using a GUI, and even on newer computers many users prefer the higher speed and memory efficiency of a text interface.
Another difference between a text user interface and a GUI is the display and movement of the cursor. On a GUI, the cursor usually looks like an arrow, and it moves smoothly across the screen as the user moves the mouse. On a text system, the cursor is a rectangular block displayed in a different color than the rest of the data. Because text systems have a fixed display grid (80 by 25), the movement of the cursor appears "choppy"60 and doesn't always reflect the actual motion of the mouse. This lack of precision detracts for the usefulness of the mouse.
Therefore, there is a need for a method for producing a mouse-type cursor that has smooth movement and improved precision without significantly reducing processing speed and requiring large amounts of memory.


A novel and useful apparatus for and method of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) detection for use in MIMO based communication systems. The mechanism of the invention performs a simplified tree search utilizing a single stage expansion of the most likely first symbol candidates, in the case of a 2×2 MIMO system. The invention also provides a refinement mechanism operative to significantly improve the soft information (i.e. log likelihood ratio) of the list of candidates. To improve the soft information, the mechanism applies one or more refinement rounds to generate additional candidates for both first and second detected symbols.

Multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) communication systems are known in the art. The term MIMO refers to communication systems that employ an array of antennas at both the transmitter and the receiver. A system having a single transmit antenna and two receive antennas is commonly referred to as a receive diversity system. A system having multiple transmit antennas and a single receive antenna is commonly referred to as a transmit diversity system. Transmit diversity systems commonly use space-time codes such as an Alamouti codes. A system having multiple transmit and multiple receive antennas is referred to as a MIMO system.
Space-time block coding is a well known technique used in wireless communication systems to transmit multiple representations of a data stream across a number of antennas and to exploit the various received versions of the data to improve the reliability of data-transfer. Since the transmitted data traverses a potentially difficult environment with scattering, reflection, refraction, etc. in addition to corruption by thermal noise in the receiver, some representations of the received data will be in better shape than others. This redundancy results in a higher chance of being able to use one or more of the received representations of the data to correctly decode the received signal. Space-time coding combines all copies of the received signal in an optimal way so as to extract as much information from each copy as is possible.
There are two basic motivations for using multiple antennas in a wireless communications system. The first motivation is to gain an improvement in diversity, while the second motivation is to gain an improvement in achievable data rate/capacity. Multiple transmit antennas may be used to convey either dependent data streams (to increase immunity to fading or increase coverage) or independent data streams (to increase the capacity or data rate of the system). These two motivations are illustrated using examples of two simple MIMO systems.
The first example refers to a system having a single transmit antenna and two receive antennas, such as system 10 shown in FIG. 1A. It is assumed that the channels or links between the transmit antenna and the receive antennas are independent fading channels, i.e., both links have a certain outage probability, which is defined as the probability of being in a relatively deep fade and may be practically disconnected. If the fade (i.e. outage) events are independent, then the probability that both channels fade together is smaller than the outage probability of an individual channel. Hence, the system with two receive antennas has a smaller outage probability and is therefore more reliable. The reduction in the outage probability is referred to as the diversity gain, and a system having two receive antennas has a larger diversity than the system having a single receive antenna. That is, it utilizes multiple, diverse replication of the transmitted signal.
The second motivation for the use of a multiple antenna system is the improvement in available data rate. Consider a system 12 shown in FIG. 1B where the data is conveyed over two independent channels with no inter-antenna interference. It is assumed that both communication links are identical, i.e. have the same statistical characteristics. It is noted that if each single channel can reliably convey a certain data rate then the aggregate data rate which can reliably be reconstructed at the receiver end using both channels is twice the data rate of one of the channels.
The problem, however, in the construction of feasible MIMO receivers is the fact that there is interference (i.e. cross coupling) between the two transmit/receive chains, as shown in the system 14 of FIG. 1C. Due to this fact, the MIMO receiver does not simply reduce to two independent single input, single output (SISO) receivers, thus entailing twice the computational complexity of a SISO receiver. The capacity of a practical MIMO system, however, grows linearly with the dimension of the MIMO system. The computational complexity of an optimum receiver in this case is not twice that of a SISO receiver, but is the complexity of a SISO receiver squared. As the number of dimensions increases, the detection problem becomes very complex. Assuming M-ary signaling in each dimension (transmit/receive antenna), an N-dimensional signaling vector results in MN possible transmit signals in each channel use (i.e. transmit time in which all of the dimensions are used). The exponential growth of the signaling set with the dimension of the channel model necessitates suboptimum, reduced complexity detectors.
The two advantages of MIMO systems mentioned supra, make MIMO an appealing feature in wideband wireless communication systems. Currently, there is considerable interest in MIMO systems, and a majority of the current state of the art communication standards such as 3GPP LTE, IEEE 802.11n and IEEE Std 802.16e (i.e. WiMAX) incorporate several MIMO features.
Thus, there is a need for a MIMO detection solution that is capable of providing both hard and soft information (i.e. soft value) decisions for use by a channel decoder. It is further desirable that the detection solution provide a capability of improving the quality of the soft information decisions. The MIMO detector should minimize the required computational complexity requirements while maximizing the receiver bit error rate performance.

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) detector incorporating efficient signal point search and soft information refinement


Novel structures for capacitors which are capable of withstanding heat treatments to at least 400.degree. C. while providing low defect densities and low electrical series resistance in its electrodes are disclosed. In one embodiment of the present invention, a capacitor structure includes a bottom capacitor electrode formed of a first sub-layer of aluminum, a second sub-layer of tantalum nitride, and a third sub-layer of tantalum. The capacitor structure further includes a sputtered dielectric layer of tantalum pentoxide over the tantalum sub-layer of the bottom electrode. The resulting structure is anodized such that the underlying tantalum layer is fully anodized, and preferably such that a portion of the tantalum nitride layer is converted to a tantalum oxy-nitride. The tantalum nitride layer was discovered by the inventors to act as a good high temperature diffusion barrier for the aluminum, preventing the aluminum from migrating into the anodized tantalum pentoxide layer under high temperature processing conditions, where it would chemically reduce the tantalum atoms in the tantalum pentoxide layer and introduce conductive paths of tantalum in the dielectric (tantalum pentoxide) layer. The aluminum layer provides good electrical conductivity for the bottom electrode, and is anodized to fill any pinhole defects in the layers formed above it, thereby increasing manufacturing yields.

As the clock rates and the IC density increase in multichip modules (MCMs), power supply noise becomes a more serious problem. It becomes more desirable to position decoupling capacitors closer to the chips and therefore to more effectively isolate the active devices from the switching transients because of the reduced inductance that comes with closer positioning. Approaches to accomplish this include either incorporating a thin film capacitor structure into the multichip module as an integral capacitor or placing the decoupling capacitors between the chip and multichip module, such as on interposer substrates.
One drawback of using decoupling capacitors disposed on interposer substrates is that the amount of chip assembly is doubled. Another drawback is that the chances of solder bump failure can be doubled. A thin film capacitor which is integrated into the body of the multichip module would not have these drawbacks, and therefore is appealing. However, the manufacturing of integrated thin film capacitors faces several technological hurdles before these capacitors can be reliable and economical.
More specifically, an integral capacitor needs to be compatible with the dielectric and metal layers used in the multichip module, and with the processing steps used to form these layers. Therefore, the processing conditions and temperatures used to fabricate the integrated capacitor must not degrade the dielectric and metal layers, and, conversely, the integrated capacitor must have sufficient thermal stability such that its electrical characteristics are not degraded by the formation of the dielectric and metal layers. For example, the formation of a conventional copper-polyimide multichip module requires that each polyimide layer be cured at a high temperature of 300.degree. C. to 450.degree. C. for 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending upon the thickness and chemical composition of the polyimide layer, which would expose an integrated capacitor structure to several extended periods at high temperature.
Additionally, because the integrated capacitor is formed over a large area, defect density of the thin film integrated capacitor is an important characteristic and must be reduced to increase reliability and manufacturing yields. Furthermore, the capacitor should have as high a capacitance value as possible to be the most effective, which requires the use of a high dielectric constant material and/or the use of a very thin dielectric layer. Unfortunately, the use of thin dielectric layers significantly increases defect densities. The use of an anodization material to form the capacitor's dielectric layer offers significant advantages over other formation techniques. Such materials generally provide the highest dielectric constants available for capacitor materials, and the anodization process heals many (but not all) types of defects and enables the dielectric layer to be formed in a controlled and uniform manner. Unfortunately, the base material used to form the anodized oxide dielectric readily diffuses into the dielectric layer when both layers are subjected to high temperatures of 300.degree. C. and above, which is used in the above-described polyimide curing step. The diffusion of the metal creates conductive paths through the dielectric layer, which in turn significantly increases the leakage current of the capacitor. This problem poses a formidable obstacle to successfully manufacturing integrated capacitors.
As an additional consideration, the series resistance in the electrodes of the integrated capacitor needs to be kept low to avoid voltage drops across the capacitor during transient current spikes, and to improve transient response time. This consideration complicates the resolution of the above more serious issues by limiting the available options, and may introduce yet additional problems. As an example of such an additional problem, many researchers have tried to construct a capacitor with aluminum (Al) electrodes for good conductivity and a tantalum pentoxide (Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5) dielectric layer for a high dielectric constant. However, these researchers found that the aluminum chemically reacted with the tantalum pentoxide when the capacitor was heated to 300.degree. C. and significantly increased the leakage current of the capacitor.
Many multichip modules have addressed these challenges by making careful trade-offs between the performance of the module and the performance of the integrated capacitor. For example, thicker dielectric layers in the integrated capacitor have been used to reduce the degradation effects of temperature on the capacitor. However, thicker dielectrics result in lower capacitance, and therefore lower ability to filter out transient current spikes in the power supply. As another trade-off, curing temperatures for the polyimide layers have been reduced. However, the reduced temperature results in a more lossy polyimide dielectric layer, which degrades the performance of the signal lines in the module.
The present invention seeks a way in which these trade-offs can be minimized or avoided so that the electrical performance of the integrated capacitor and the signal lines of the module can be equally maximized.

Sputtered and anodized capacitors capable of withstanding exposure to high temperatures


An x-ray inspection system. The x-ray inspection system includes an x-ray source, an on-axis x-ray sensor, at least one off-axis x-ray sensor, a fixture, and an accumulation circuit. The on-axis x-ray sensor is configured to capture on-axis images of radiation from the x-ray source. The x-ray source is displaced from the on-axis x-ray sensor, and the x-ray source and the on-axis x-ray sensor are positioned on an axis conceptually drawn between the x-ray source and the on-axis x-ray sensor. At least one off-axis x-ray sensor is configured to capture off-axis images of radiation from the x-ray source, wherein each off-axis x-ray sensor is positioned off the axis. The fixture is configured to maintain an article between the x-ray source and the on-axis and off-axis x-ray sensors, and the accumulation circuit is configured to receive and accumulate images captured by the on-axis and off-axis x-ray sensors.

Manufacturers of modern electronic devices, circuits, and systems are able to maintain the quality of their products by the use of inspection steps at a number of stages in the fabrication process. The tools used for such inspections include x-ray inspection systems of various types which are typically classified into two major categories, two-dimensional (2-D) systems and the more recent three-dimensional (3-D) inspection systems. Detailed inspections of areas that are either too small to be seen visually with the unaided eye or are obscured from direct view on printed circuit boards and other electronic articles are often made using such systems. Solder joints on printed circuit boards are of particular interest as these connections often have defects, such as voids, that can negatively impact the reliability of such products.
Two-dimensional systems typically have one area detector that captures and produces a single radiographic image referred to as a 2-D image. An object placed between the x-ray source and the x-ray detector or sensor casts a shadow on the detector and thereby produces an image. Such systems have the advantage of being simple, fast, and relatively inexpensive. However, when more than one objects lies within the x-ray beam, as is often the case with double-sided printed circuit boards, objects on one side of a board and objects on the other side of the board can produce overlapped images. As a result, information important to the inspection can be lost.
Three-dimensional systems use various techniques to capture multiple images of an object and produce images of plane sections through the object referred to as 3-D images. Such techniques are generally referred to as laminagraphic or tomographic techniques. Three-dimensional systems can provide resolution to the problem of overlapping objects. Multiple images of a printed circuit board region are captured at different angles. These multiple images are then processed using tomographic techniques to result in a single image with that single image being an image of a plane section through the object space. Thus, the object imaged may be, for example, from the top, the bottom, or within the printed circuit board.
Laminography is based on the correlated motion of an x-ray source, a detector and an object to be inspected. The x-ray source and the detector are typically moved synchronously in circles 180 degrees out of phase. As a result, the location of the projected images of points within the object moves also. Only points from a particular plane, the so called focal plane, will be projected always at the same location onto the detector and therefore imaged sharply. Object structures above and below the focal plane will be projected at different locations. Because of that, they aren't imaged sharply and will be superimposed as a background intensity to the focal plane.
Digital laminography, or tomosynthesis, is based on the correlated position of the x-ray source and x-ray detector. The source and detector are translated in opposite directions and are positioned at discrete locations when the image is captured. This enables the digital storage of a series of discrete projections which can be subsequently combined.
Linear scan laminography and off axis tomosynthesis is based on the correlated position of the object, the x-ray source, and the x-ray detector. The source and detector are stationary relative one to the other, but move relative to the printed circuit board region. A region is captured at different angles at different times and subsequently combined.

X-ray inspection system having on-axis and off-axis sensors


Processes for mechanically fabricating two and three-dimensional fibrous monolith composites include preparing a fibrous monolith filament from a core composition of a first powder material and a boundary material of a second powder material. The filament includes a first portion of the core composition surrounded by a second portion of the boundary composition. One or more filaments are extruded through a mechanically-controlled deposition nozzle onto a working surface to create a fibrous monolith composite object. The objects may be formed directly from computer models and have complex geometries.

Fibrous monoliths ("FMs") are a unique class of structural ceramics that have mechanical properties similar to continuous fiber reinforced ceramic composites (CFCCs). Such properties include relatively high fracture energies, damage tolerance, and graceful failures. In contrast to CFCCs, FMs can be produced at a significantly lower cost. FMs, which are monolithic ceramics, generally are manufactured by powder processing techniques using inexpensive raw materials. As a result of the high performance characteristics of FMs and the low costs associated with manufacture of FMs, FMs are used in a wider range of applications than heretofore typical for ceramic composites.
In preparing FM composites, starting materials typically are formed into filaments having predetermined lengths. These FM green filaments can be wound around a drum or mandrel as they are prepared to provide a desired object, or prototype, upon removal form the drum or mandrel. Other methods of forming the objects include molding, cutting and machining. Thus, in the fabrication of FM composite materials and objects, the working of the individual filaments is a labor intensive and time-consuming process.
There remains a need for a less labor-intensive process for preparing prototypes from FM composites that permits the fabrication of FM structures having complex geometries. There also remains a need for a process for preparing prototypes from FM composites to increase the production rate, reproducibility and quality of FM composite parts.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for preparation of three-dimensional bodies


Selection of certain attributes as output and input attributes is provided so a decision tree may be created more efficiently. For each possible output attribute an interestingness score is calculated. This interestingness score is based on entropy of the output attribute and a desirable entropy constant. The attributes with the highest interestingness score are used as output attributes in the creation of the decision tree. Score gains for the input attribute over the output attributes are calculated using a conventional scoring algorithm. The sum of the score gains over all output attributes for each input attribute is calculated. The attributes with the highest score gain sums are used as input attributes in the creation of the decision tree.

Data mining is the exploration and analysis of large quantities of data, in order to discover correlations, patterns, and trends in the data. Data mining may also be used to create models that can be used to predict future data or classify existing data.
For example, a business may amass a large collection of information about its customers. This information may include purchasing information and any other information available to the business about the customer. The predictions of a model associated with customer data may be used, for example, to control customer attrition, to perform credit-risk management, to detect fraud, or to make decisions on marketing.
To create and test a data mining model such as a decision tree, available data may be divided into two parts. One part, the training data set, may be used to create models. The rest of the data, the testing data set, may be used to test the model, and thereby determine the performance of the model in making predictions. Data within data sets is grouped into cases. For example, with customer data, each case corresponds to a different customer. All data in the case describes or is otherwise associated with that customer.
One type of predictive model is the decision tree. Decision trees are used to classify cases with specified input attributes in terms of an output attribute. Once a decision tree is created, it can be used predict the output attribute of a given case based on the input attributes of that case.
Decisions trees are composed of nodes and leaves. One node is the root node. Each node has an associated attribute test that splits cases that reach that node to one of the children of the node based on an input attribute. The tree can be used to predict a new case by starting at the root node and tracing a path down the tree to a leaf, using the input attributes of the new case in the attribute tests in each node. The path taken by a case corresponds to a conjunction of attribute tests in the nodes. The leaf contains the decision tree's prediction for the output attribute(s) based on the input attributes.
An exemplary decision tree is shown in FIG. 1. In this decision tree, or example, if a decision tree is being used to predict a customer's credit risk, input attributes may include debt level, employment, and age, and the output attribute is a prediction of what the credit risk for the customer is. As shown in FIG. 1, decision tree 200 consists of root node 210, node 212, and leaves 220, 222 and 224. The input attributes are debt level and type of employment, and the output attribute is credit risk. Each node has associated with it a split constraint based on one of the input attributes. For example, the split constraint of root node 210 is whether debt level is high or low. Cases where the value of the debt input attribute is "high" will be transferred to leaf 224 and all other cases will be transferred to node 212. Because leaf 224 is a leaf, it gives the prediction the decision tree model will give if a case reaches leaf 224. For decision tree 200, all cases with a "high" value for the debt input attribute will have credit risk output attribute assigned to "bad" with a 100% probability. The decision tree 200 in FIG. 1 predicts only one output attribute, however more than one output attribute may be predicted with a single decision tree.
While the decision tree may be displayed and stored in a decision tree data structure, it may also be stored in other ways, for example, as a set of rules, one for each leaf node, containing a conjunction of the attribute tests.
Input attributes and output attributes do not have to be binary attributes, with two possible states. Attributes can have many states. In some decision tree creation contexts, attribute tests must be binary. Binary attribute tests divide data into two groups—one group of data that meets a specific test, and one group of data that does not. Therefore for an attribute with many states (e.g. a color variable with possible states {red, green, blue, violet}) a binary attribute test must be based on the selection of one of the states. Such an attribute test may therefore ask whether, for input attribute color, is the value of that attribute the state "red" and data at the node will be split into data for which the value of the attribute is "red" in one child, and data for which the value of the attribute is not "red" in another child.
In order to create the tree, the nodes, attribute tests, and leaf values must be decided upon. Generally, creating a tree is an inductive process. Given an existing tree, all testing data is processed by the tree, starting with the root node, divided according to the attribute test to nodes below, until a leaf is reached. The data at each leaf is then examined to determine whether and how a split should be performed, creating a node with an attribute test leading to two leaf nodes in place of the leaf node. This is done until the data at each node is sufficiently homogenous. In order to begin the induction the root node is treated as a leaf.
To determine whether a split should be performed, a score gain is calculated for each possible attribute test that might be assigned to the node. This score gain corresponds to the usefulness of using that attribute test to split the data at that node. There are many ways to determine which attribute test to use using the score gain. For example, the decision tree may be built by using the attribute test that reduces the amount of entropy at the node. Entropy is a measure of the homogeneity of the data. The data at the node must be split into two groups of data which each are heterogeneous from each other based on the output attribute for which the tree is being generated.
In order to determine what the usefulness is of splitting the data at the node with a specific attribute test, the resultant split of the data at the node for each output attribute must be computed. This correlation data is used to determine a score which is used to select an attribute test for the node. Where the input attribute being considered is gender, for example, and the output attribute is car color, the data from the following Table 1 must be computed for the testing data that reaches the node being split:
TABLE 1Correlation Count Tablegender = MALEgender ≠ MALEcar color = RED359503car color ≠ RED49033210
As described above, data in a correlation count table such as that shown in Table 1 must be calculated for each combination of a possible input attribute test and output attribute description. Because of the multiplicity of correlation count table calculations required, the more attributes considered, the higher the requirements in memory space and processing time to calculate these correlation count tables. One way of handling this problem is to select certain features to be used for input and output attributes. In the prior art, where this is done at all, it is done by selecting the input attributes with highest entropy for use in the decision tree. However, this yields poor results in terms of quality of prediction. Output attribute selection was only done by use of a user-supplied hierarchy, which yields no definite prediction quality gains and, indeed, often creates a worse prediction quality, since grouping attributes with different behavior negatively affects decision tree quality.
Thus, there is a need for a technique to allow the selection of output attributes and input attributes in such a way as to narrow the number of attributes used in training the decision tree while simultaneously selecting attributes for use which yield efficient and useful decision trees.

System and method for feature selection in decision trees


A storage enterprise comprising multiple storage enterprise components coupled to exchange signals via respective wireless interfaces. The signals exchanged may include power signals and/or information signals. Power signals may be exchanged by an inductive coupling (wireless) between a first component and a second component. Information signals may include command/status and data signals exchanged between a first component and a second component. Any of several hierarchies of the connections in a storage enterprise may utilize such wireless connections. Exemplary wireless connection may include: storage controller to storage device or storage enclosure, storage enclosure to storage device, SAN appliance to storage device or storage enclosure or storage controller, computing node to storage device or storage enclosure or storage controller or SAN appliance.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to storage enterprise interconnections and more specifically relates to structures to provide a wireless connection between components and subsystems of an enterprise storage architecture
2. Discussion of Related Art
It is generally known in the computing arts that large computing storage enterprises utilize a number of storage related components interconnected with one another and connected to related workstations and server computing nodes. The various connections have traditionally utilized various electrical wired connections and/or optical cable connections. Exemplary of such hard-wired or cabled connections are power connections to supply power from a first component to a second component and information signal cables/wires for exchanging command, status and data signals between a first component and a second component.
In large computing/data enterprises, storage components may include individual storage devices, collections of storage devices housed within a common storage enclosure, collections of storage enclosures aggregated into a storage subsystem, storage controllers, collections of storage controllers operating cooperatively with regard to a storage devices or storage enclosures, power supplies for powering other components, environmental components to sense and control the ambient environment (such as cooling devices and temperature sensors), etc. Examples of individual storage devices may include magnetic or optical disk drives, magnetic or optical tape drives, and other semiconductor-based, volatile, and nonvolatile memory components (such as flash memory devices or so-called "RAM-disks"). Collections of these storage devices may be physically housed with a storage enclosure. Where the storage devices are disk drives, such enclosures containing multiple disk drives are often referred to as just a box of disks (or "JBOD"). Examples of devices for controlling other devices may include a host computing system such as a workstation or a server computing node, a host adapter within such a host system, a storage subsystem, a storage controller within such a storage subsystem, storage networking devices and components (i.e., storage area networks or SAN devices such as switches and routers), or any other device coupled to the storage devices or to storage enclosures.
Typically, the signals exchanged include power signals to provide electrical power for operating storage components and information signals (command, status and data signals) used for controlling operation of the storage components and for exchanging data to be stored in and read from the storage components. Typically, an electrical power wiring harness provides a hard-wired connection to apply power signals from an external source or device to the storage component for purposes of supplying power to the storage devices and enclosures. Most frequently, the electrical power signals so applied are direct current ("DC") electrical power signals including one or more DC voltage levels used for operating the storage devices and enclosures. In addition, a second signal cable is typically used for exchanging information signals between an external device and the storage devices and enclosures. This second interface cable may utilize any of several well-known interface signal media and protocol standards including, for example, IDE, SCSI, Fibre Channel, serial attached SCSI ("SAS") and serial AT attachment ("SATA") signaling standards. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a wide variety of other well known signaling media and protocols used for exchanging information signals and power signals between storage devices and external device used to control the storage devices and enclosures.
In a simple, single computing node, hard-wire power and information cable harnesses between the external device (i.e., internal to the computing system but external to the storage device) and the storage device provide a relatively simple, inexpensive design that is easily manipulated by a human user or technician. A first cable harness may be used for providing power to one or more storage devices within such a simple, computing node and a separate cable harness may typically be used for coupling information signals within such a host system. However, in larger, more complex storage subsystems that may include tens, hundreds or even thousands of storage devices within one or more storage enclosures, coupled to one or more computing host systems via one or more redundant paths, such hard-wired cable interface techniques are both complex and costly. Complex wiring harnesses and backplanes for exchange of signals are typically utilized and impose a significant cost in the overall storage subsystem. Distribution of such power and information signals within complex storage enterprises therefore presents problems in complexity and cost. Although serial attach standards including optical serial attachments somewhat simplify these issues. However, even simplified serial attach cabling remain costly and complex where tens, hundreds or even thousands of storage devices are provided housed within multiple storage enclosures and coupled to multiple host systems and/or storage network components.
It is evident from the above discussion that an ongoing problem persists in simplifying and reducing cost associated with distributing power and information signals between various storage enterprise components in large complex computing and storage enterprises.

Wireless storage enterprise connectivity


A method and system for preventing embolism and optimizing flow to downstream organs in a blood flow circuit incident to performance of a treatment at a location in a blood vessel, by: introducing a first filter element into the blood vessel downstream of the location so that the first filter element obturates the blood vessel; performing the treatment; introducing a second filter element into the blood vessel upstream of the location so that the second filter element obturates the blood vessel; and, after the step of performing a treatment, bringing the first and second filter elements close to one another, radially collapsing the first and second filter elements and withdrawing the first and second filter elements from the blood vessel.

The present invention relates to medical procedures performed in blood vessels, particularly in arteries.
This invention relates more specifically to systems and methods involving angioplasty and/or stenting, where protection against loose embolic material is a major concern.
Such procedures are performed to remove obstructions or blockages in arteries and thereby alleviate life-threatening conditions. The procedures currently employed result in a fracturing or disintegration of the obstructing material and if the resulting particles, or debris, were permitted to flow downstream within the circulatory system, they would be likely to cause blockages in smaller arteries, or their microscopic branches termed the microcirculation, downstream of the treatment site. The result can be new life-threatening conditions, including stroke.
Various systems and techniques have already been proposed for removing this debris from the circulatory system in order to prevent the debris from causing any harm. These techniques involve temporarily obstruction the artery, at a location downstream of the obstruction, by means of an element such as a balloon, and then suctioning debris and blood from the treatment site. While such techniques can effectively solve the problem stated above, they require that blood flow through the artery be obstructed, causing complete cessation or at least a substantial reduction in blood flow volume, during a time period which can be significant for organ survival for example, the time limit for the brain is measured in seconds and for the heart, in minutes.
Although filters have been used, they suffer from the limitation of either obstructing flow or allowing micro embolism due to fixed pore size. Furthermore, the collected debris can reflux out of the filter when it is closed and lead to embolism. Upon pulling back of a basket/filter with entrapped particles into a delivery catheter, debris particles may be squeezed out of the device, because the volume is strongly reduced. During this pulling back, the filter no longer covers the full cross-section of the artery, so particles that are squeezed out then can freely flow around the outer edge of the filter and move distally through the artery.
The invention also relates to a combined delivery/post-dilatation device for self-expanding stents.
Normally the delivery of self-expanding stents is done with a separate delivery sheath, which is pulled back to release the compressed stent from this sheath and allow it to deploy. If this stent does not deploy to the full size, because the reaction forces of the artery wall and lesion site are too high, it must be further expanded by an additional post-dilatation procedure. Therefore, a separate post-dilatation catheter is needed, that has to be brought into the stented lesion site and then inflated to the full size. This is an extra, time-consuming step in the procedure.
The present invention provides a method and device that prevent escape of debris from the treatment site in a blood vessel, and more specifically prevent embolism, by installing at least one appropriate filter with millipores specific to its use downstream, and possibly one such filter downstream of the treatment site in a blood vessel and manipulating those filters in a manner to assure that any debris created at the treatment site or refluxing from closure of the filters will be removed from the vascular system by physical withdrawal of the filters and/or suction.
For example, an embodiment of the invention may be a multistage, for example two filter, system composed of a first filter to filter the blood flow and a second filter to entrap debris from the first filter.
The invention further relates to a catheter system for delivery of a self-expanding stent with a combined function of delivery from a central sheath and post-dilatation, the system including a catheter having an inflatable outer section that surrounds the sheath at the distal end section of the catheter. The first step in a procedure using this system is the release of the stent by pushing it out of the sheath and pulling back of the catheter over a distance that is equal to at least the length of the stent. Then the catheter is advanced once more until the inflatable section is lined up with the stent again. For post-dilatation the inflatable section is inflated and the lesion plus stent are further expanded.
In one embodiment of the invention, the central lumen within the delivery sheath, where the stent has been pushed out, is reinforced to prevent it from collapsing by the hydraulic pressure of the post-dilatation balloon that surrounds it. Reinforcement of this sheath can be provided by giving the catheter a suitable rigidity at its distal end, for example by giving the catheter an increased thickness at that end. This may make the delivery sheath too rigid, which can be a disadvantage for use in tortuous arteries.
Therefore, the invention makes use of a more flexible delivery sheath that is prevented from collapsing by the use of a separate reinforcement. A pre-dilatation balloon can be lined up with the delivery sheath and inflated until it fills the lumen of this delivery sheath. In this way a concentric arrangement of two balloons, separately inflatable, gives a strong post-dilatation device that is extremely flexible in the deflated state.
A single common guide wire is used to bring the catheters to the lesion site, and the pre-dilatation catheter acts as a guiding means for the stent delivery sheath/post-dilatation balloon. By removal of the pre-dilatation catheter, leaving the inflated delivery catheter in place, a proximal occlusion system is created with a large working channel (the delivery sheath). In combination with a distal occlusion means, e.g. a distal balloon, a closed chamber is created in the artery and this can be reached with a range of instruments for inspection, treatment and flushing/suction purposes.

Vascular embolism prevention device employing filters


The invention relates to an ammonia elimination reagent for use in an enzymatic assay of a biological substance which produces ammonia as the reaction product. The reagent is an alkaline solution of pH 9 to 11 and contains Sulfolobus-derived thermostable isocitrate dehydrogenase, 2-oxoglutaric acid, a reducing coenzyme, isocitric acid, glutamate dehydrogenase, and a divalent metal salt. The reagent can be stored in solution and has excellent stability under conditions of alkaline pHs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an enzymatic assay method of a biological substance producing ammonia as the reaction product, wherein ammonia present in a sample of the biological substance is preliminarily consumed so as to accurately assay such substance, and also relates to an ammonia elimination reagent for enzymatic assay method using a thermostable isocitrate dehydrogenase as a coupling enzyme, the dehydrogenase being preferred for a reagent in solution and having excellent stability at alkaline pHs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, detection of substances in urine, blood serum and the like, including urea, creatinine, creatine, guanine and adenosine is routinely conducted. Also, the activities of various enzymes in relation with these substances are assayed. For the detection of such substances and the enzymatic reactions thereof, ammonia is initially generated, and the resulting ammonia is then converted into glutamic acid via glutamate dehydrogenase (abbreviated as "GLD" hereinafter) to determine at 340 nm the reduction of NAD(P)H via the coupled reaction: the reduction-type nicotine amide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) NAD(P)H!.fwdarw.nicotine amide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) NAD(P).sup.+ !.
Because ammonia is measured as a reaction product in the reaction system, however, ammonia originally present in a sample is also measured and included in the measured value. Therefore, it has been difficult to accurately assay such substances. Thus, ammonia present in a sample should be pretreated with 2-oxoglutaric acid via GLD to be converted to glutamic acid. Because the reaction system ammonia.fwdarw.glutamic acid involves the change of NAD(P)H.fwdarw.NAD(P).sup.+, the generated NAD(P).sup.+ should be again converted into NAD(P)H through the reverse reaction NAD(P).sup.+ .fwdarw.NAD(P)H. Then, a coupled reaction can be induced by isocitrate dehydrogenase using as the substrate isocitric acid, together with metal ions such as magnesium ion or manganese ion. The reaction scheme is shown in FIG. 1.

Alkaline reagent solution for eliminating ammonia in an assay


A power supply circuit may include at least a first and a second current generator. Each current generator is implemented with an electronic converter comprising a switching stage, a current sensor generating a feedback signal, and a regulator circuit configured to drive the switching stage as a function of the feedback signal. Specifically, each current sensor is a low-side current sensor configured to generate a feedback signal indicative of the current received via the negative terminal of the respective current generator. The power supply circuit may include also include a control circuit configured for various tasks pertaining to the first and second generators.

FIG. 1 shows a typical lighting system. In the example considered, the lighting system comprises a power supply circuit 10 and at least one lighting module 20 comprising one or more light sources, such as at least one LED (Light Emitting Diode) or other solid-state light sources, such as laser diodes.
For example, the power supply circuit 10 may comprise a current generator 12, i.e., the power supply circuit 10 receives at input via two terminals 100a and 100b a voltage Vin (e.g., from the mains or a battery) and provides via a positive terminal 102a and a negative terminal 102b a regulated current iout.
In a complementary manner, the lighting module 20 comprises a positive input terminal 200a and a negative input terminal 200b for connection to the terminals 102a and 102b of the power supply circuit 10. For example, the lighting module 20 may be connected directly or via a cable to the power supply circuit 10. Accordingly, the terminal 200a is connected to the terminal 102a and the terminal 200b is connected to the terminal 102b, and the lighting module 20 receives thus the current iout.
As shown in FIG. 2, the lighting module 20 may be a solid-state lighting module comprising a string of solid-state light sources 22 connected (e.g., directly) in series between the terminals 200a and 200b. For example, in FIG. 2 are shown three LEDs L1, L2, L3 that are connected directly in series between the terminals 200a and 200b. Accordingly, in the example considered, the current iLED flowing through le light sources 22 corresponds to the current iout.
Often, the current generator 12 is implemented with a linear current regulator or a switched-mode electronic converter. For example, FIG. 3 shows a power supply circuit 10, wherein the current generator 12 is implemented with an electronic converter, e.g. a buck converter, i.e. a step-down converter.
Generally, an electronic converter comprises at least:                two terminals for receiving a voltage Vin and two terminals for providing a current;        a switching stage 104 comprising one or more electronic switches and one or more inductors (and possibly one or more capacitors);        a current sensor 106 configured to detect a feedback signal FB indicative of the current provided by the switching stage; and        a regulator circuit 108 configured to generate one or more drive signals DRV for the switching stage 104 as a function of the feedback signal FB.
As described in the foregoing, the power supply circuit 10 receives at input a voltage Vin. In case this voltage is a DC voltage, e.g. provided by a battery, the switching stage 104 may be connected directly to the input terminals 100a and 100b of the power supply circuit 10. Conversely, in case the voltage Vin is an AC voltage, e.g. provided by the mains, the switching stage 104 may be connected to the input terminals 100a and 100b of the power supply circuit 10 through a rectified circuit, e.g. comprising a bridge rectifier, and possibly a filter circuit. Moreover, generally, an additional electronic converter with Power Factor Correction (PFC) may be connected between the switching stage 104 and the input terminals 100a and 100b. In the example considered, the current generator 12, in particular the switching stage 104, receives directly the voltage Vin in FIG. 3.
Similarly, the current IL provided by the switching stage 104 may correspond directly to the output current iout, i.e. the two output terminals of the switching stage may be connected directly to the terminals 102a and 102b of the power supply circuit 10. However, also in this case may be used an additional filter for stabilizing the current iout. In the example considered, the current generator 12, in particular the output of the switching stage 104, is connected directly to the terminals 102a and 102b in FIG. 3.
For example, in the basic structure of a buck converter, the switching stage 104 comprises an electronic switch SW, such as a field-effect transistor (FET), and an inductor L connected (e.g., directly) in series between the terminals 100a and 102a (positive terminals). Conversely, the terminal 102b is connected to the terminal 100b (negative terminals). A buck converter comprises moreover a diode D connected between the terminal 100b and the intermediate point between the electronic switch SW and the inductor L. Accordingly, in the example considered, the current iL flowing through the inductor L represents the current provided by the current generator 12, and thus the current iout provided via the terminals 102a and 102b.
Generally, various types of buck converters are known. For example, the diode D may be replaced also with a second switch. Moreover, also the position of the switch SW may change, e.g. between the anode of the diode D and the terminal 100b, which is usually called reverse buck configuration.
In the example considered, the regulator circuit 108 generates thus a drive signal DRV for the switch SW (and possibly the switch replacing the diode D).
As shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, when the switch SW is closed (e.g., when the drive signal DRV is high), the diode D is reverse-biased and the current flowing through the inductor L increases substantially linearly. Conversely, when the switch SW is opened (e.g., when the drive signal DRV is low), the diode D is forward-biased and the current flowing through the inductor L decreases substantially linearly.
Accordingly, in order to implement a current generator 12, the regulator circuit 108 may control the current provided by the current generator 12. In particular this may be achieved by controlling the switch-on time TON and switch-off time TOFF of the switch SW. For this purpose, the regulator circuit 108 detects via the sensor 106 the current provided by the current generator 12, e.g., the current provided by the switching stage 104. For example, in FIG. 3 is shown a shunt resistor RS connected in series with the output terminals 102a and 102b, e.g., between the terminal 102b and the anode of the diode D (i.e., the terminal 100b in the example considered). Accordingly, the resistor RS corresponds to a current sensor 106 configured to detect the current iout. Generally, also other current sensors may be used, which are able to detect one or more signals indicative of the current iout, e.g., two current sensors configured to detect the currents flowing through the switch SW and the diode D, respectively.
Accordingly, the one or more signals FB indicative of the current provided by the switching stage (i.e. the current provided by the current generator 12) may be provided to the regulator circuit 108, which drives the switch SW with the drive signal DRV.
Generally, the regulator circuit 108 may uses different approaches for generating the drive signal DRV for the switch SW (and possibly the further switch replacing the diode D).
For example, in various solutions the drive signal DRV for the switch SW is a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) signal, i.e., a signal wherein the durations TON and TOFF are variable but the switching interval TSW=TON+TOFF is constant. For this purpose, the regulator circuit 108 may be a PI (Proportional-Integral) or PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) regulator configured to increase or decrease the duty cycle (TON|TOFF) of the PWM signal DRV until the average value of the current corresponds to a reference value REF (see FIG. 4b).
Conversely, in other solutions, the regulator circuit 108 comprises a comparison circuit, wherein the regulator circuit 108 closes the switch SW (by setting the drive signal DRV to a first logic level, e.g., high) when the current reaches/falls below a lower threshold THL and opens the switch SW (by setting the drive signal DRV to a second logic level, e.g., low) when the current reaches/exceeds an upper threshold THH. Such a comparison circuit may be implemented also with a single comparator with hysteresis. Alternatively, the comparison circuit may comprise only a single comparator, wherein:                the switch-on time TON is constant and the comparator detects the lower threshold THL; or        the switch-off time TOFF is constant and the comparator detects the upper threshold THH.
In many applications, it may be required that a plurality of lighting modules 20 have to be powered individually. For example, this may be required when the lighting modules 20 have to switched on or off separately, or generally, when the current provided to a lighting module 20 (or a group of lighting modules 20) has to be controlled individually, e.g. in order to regulate the intensity of the light emitted by the lighting module 20.
According such arrangements are particularly useful when the lighting modules 20 comprise light sources L having different characteristics. In fact, by using a plurality of lighting modules 20 comprising light sources emitting light with different spectral characteristics (i.e., colors), the color of the light emitted by all lighting modules 20 may be controlled. Accordingly, such an individual powering of the lighting modules 20 is often used in tuneable lighting systems comprising, e.g., lighting modules 20 emitting red, green and blue light, respectively, or lighting modules 20 emitting white light with at least two different color temperatures.
FIG. 5 shows in this respect a typical solution. In particular, in the example considered, the power supply circuit 10 comprises a plurality of current generators 12, such as three current generators 121, 122 and 123, wherein each current generator 12 is configured to power at least one lighting module 20, such as a respective lighting module 201, 202 and 203.
Accordingly, in the example considered, the power supply circuit 10 comprises for each current generator 12 respective output terminals 102a and 102b, such as output terminals 102a1 and 102b1 for the current generators 121, etc. According, in the example considered, a single lighting module 20 or a plurality of lighting modules 20 (typically connected in series) may be connected between the output terminals 102a and 102b of the respective current generator 12.
Accordingly, each current generator 12 may control individually the current iout provided to the respective lighting module(s) 20. For example, as mentioned before, each current generator 12 may perform a dimming operation by controlling the current flowing through the respective lighting module(s) 20, e.g., by modulating the amplitude of the current iout and/or switching on and off the respective lighting module(s) 20, e.g., by using a pulse width modulation. Typically, the frequency of such a PWM modulation (e.g., between 100 Hz and 5 kHz) is small with respect to the switching frequency of the electronic converter (e.g., between 10 kHz and 1 MHz).
FIG. 5 shows also that the power supply unit 10 may be connected to the mains M and receive an AC voltage Vin, such as 230 VAC. As mentioned before, in this case, the power supply unit 10 may comprise a rectifier circuit 30 configured to receive at input the voltage Vin and provide at output a rectified voltage Vin,DC. Generally, a single rectifier circuit 30 may be used for all current generators 12.
Moreover, FIG. 5 shows an optional additional electronic converter 32 (e.g., downstream the rectifier circuit 30), such as a PFC converter, configured to receive at input the voltage Vin or the rectified voltage Vin,DC and generate at output a regulated voltage VBUS, which is provided at input to the current generators 12, in particularly the respective switching stages 104. For example, often the electronic converter 32 is based on a boost converter, while the current generators are based on buck converters (see also the description of FIGS. 3 and 4).

Power supply circuit, lighting system, and method of operating a power supply circuit


A belt having a strap and a reversible belt buckle is provided where the strap has a top surface and a rear surface. The buckle includes an inner frame member having a first end having a slot to receive the first end of the strap and a second end having a first hinge section. The buckle further includes a top member having a rear surface having second hinge section disposed at a central axis. The top member has a pin disposed on the second hinge section. The top member is rotatable about a hinge point from a first position wherein the rear surface of the top member at the first edge faces the front side of the inner frame member, to a second position wherein the rear surface of the top member at the second edge faces the rear side of the inner frame member. The top member substantially covers the entire inner frame member when in use.

The present invention is directed to belt buckles. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a reversible belt strap and buckle construction, wherein the belt strap has two sides where each side has a different appearance or character. The buckle provides for use of either side of the belt strap and hides its mechanism for switching sides of the belt strap.
Reversible belts have long been known, where the belt may be worn such that either side of the belt strap may be made visible. A typical construction is where the belt strap is removably connectable to the buckle; to reverse the belt, the belt strap is detached from the belt buckle, turned one hundred eighty degrees, and reattached to the buckle. An alternative construction is where the buckle remains attached to the belt strap, but a mechanism on the belt buckle allows for rotation of the strap such that one side of the strap or the other is visible when worn. This second type of construction is relatively complex and costly.
It would be desirable to provide a belt where its belt buckle provides for easy reversibility of its belt strap, without detachment of the belt strap from the buckle.
It would further be desirable to provide a belt that is quickly and easily reversible with a simple buckle mechanism.
It would further be desirable to provide such a belt that is quickly and easily reversible with a simple buckle mechanism, wherein the buckle mechanism is entirely hidden when worn by a user.
Numerous designs in the prior art have been directed to reversible belts, however, none known has had the combination of extremely simple construction, where the buckle latching and reversing mechanism is entirely hidden during normal use. Some of such designs include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,440 (Britz) is directed to a reversible belt having a buckle where the belt strap is removably connectable to the buckle. To reverse the belt, the belt strap is detached from the belt buckle, turned one hundred eighty degrees, and reattached to the buckle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,743 (Calabro) is also directed to a reversible belt having a buckle where the belt strap is removably connectable to the buckle. To reverse the belt, the belt strap is detached from the belt buckle, turned one hundred eighty degrees, and reattached to the buckle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,855,637 (Luger) is directed to a belt reversing mechanism that includes two clamping sections rotatably connected to each other by a rivet or an eyelet. One clamping section is connected to a belt buckle and the other is connected to a belt strap so that the belt strap may be rotated with respect to the belt buckle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,186,819 (Buchsbaum) is directed to a reversible belt buckle in which a symmetric buckle has a belt strap attachment point at its center. Since the buckle is symmetric, its belt strap attachment point serves as an axis point to allow the buckle to operate with either side of the belt strap facing out.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,197,665 (Kerngood) is directed to a reversible belt buckle of a similar construction to that of U.S. Pat. No. 2,186,819 (Buchsbaum) discussed above.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.


A drag reducing fluid pumped (22) through a heat exchanger (12).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the recovery of the heat transfer in heat exchangers in circulation loops in which drag-reducing surfactant solutions are used for reduction of pumping power expended to pump heat exchanging fluid through the hydronic system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Drag-reducing additives can decrease friction in pipes with all else being equal. This reduced pipe wall friction does result in a decrease in the pumping power necessary to circulate a fluid in a piping system, or alternatively could result in greater flow rate or even in longer system reach than without additives. A decrease in pumping power would save energy in many systems such as recirculating hydronic HVAC systems or other types where water or another fluid are used as thermal transport agent for cooling or heating.
Unfortunately, if the system includes heat exchangers, the heat transfer is also greatly decreased by the additives and the heat exchangers show reduced efficiency. In the case of a cooling system, for example, the chiller has to work with larger refrigerant temperature difference, and the energy savings in the pumps are countered by the additional chiller work, and the total energy savings may be reduced, eliminated, or there could even be a net increase in overall system energy use. A similar effect is seen in heating systems. By introducing a conventional heat transfer enhancement device it is possible to modify the flow and to increase heat transfer as in the case of water, but this is generally not a suitable solution because the losses due to the insert are too high in many cases.
Drag-reducing surfactant solutions have been used for reducing pumping power in circulation systems under turbulent flow conditions. The reduced heat transfer that inevitably accompanies drag reduction in any turbulent pipe flow was accepted as an undesirable by-effect in most applications or uses. Special types of heat exchangers, like plate heat exchangers, which make use of narrow passages instead of pipes, show smaller heat and drag reductions. In general, however, the application of drag-reducing additives in any circulation system that includes heat transfer in most possible applications is inhibited by reduction of heat transfer efficiency in the heat exchangers.
What is needed is an apparatus and method whereby the use of any type of heat exchanger with drag-reducing surfactant additives can be realized without substantial or excessive reduction in heat transfer.

Methods to control heat transfer in fluids containing drag-reducing additives


A garment hanger is comprised of a one-piece body having a hook portion for the receipt of a display rod, a central portion depending from the hook portion and a lower portion for engagement with an article to be displayed. The central portion defines a recess opening into an exterior surface of the central portion, the recess being of dimensions suited for residence of an EAS marker in the hanger. A bar code label or like recess closure member is affixed to the central portion exterior surface in contiguous overlying relation therewith and enclosing the resident EAS member.

For purposes of indicating marketing parameters, e.g. manufacturer, price, size and the like, one current practice is to use a so-called "swift tag" involving a plastic filament which is passed through an opening in a tag bearing the marketing parameters and through a garment or the like and is then secured at filament ends to remain with the garment until the filament is cut apart at checkout.
One of applicant's fields of endeavor has been so-called "folding tail" hangers for the display of belts, ties and the like. Article identification data and logo are typically embossed on a main body portion of folding tail hangers. One such folding tail hanger is discussed and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,741. A characteristic of this type of hanger not found in prior folding tail hangers is that, when the tail is applied to an article and the tail projection inserted into the main body opening for latching the tail to the main body, a conical main body part extending rearwardly of the main body rear surface continues the opening and so retains the tail projection that tail is not separable from the main body without cutting activity. This type of hanger is accordingly referred to as a "security" hanger. A practice of one major retailer is to require all articles adapted to be hung by security hangers be so displayed.
A widespread practice in article security is the use of so-called anti-theft tags which incorporate electronic article surveillance (EAS) markers. Such tags are secured to articles and are removed or rendered inactive at checkout. Where fraudulent avoidance of checkout (shoplifting) occurs, the markers are sensed by EAS systems, e.g., at store exits, and suitable alarm is generated.
One form of RAS marker in widespread use is in the form of a flat, thin, flexible, rectangular member which is applied adhesively to flat or curved exterior surfaces of articles. One shortcoming of such exterior surface application is that, while often covered by a bar code label, the presence of the EAS marker nonetheless is evident since it is visible from the sides of the bar code label. Still further, the EAS marker is accessible to a customer.


A liquid sample storage device which utilizes a liner-holder with a liner which may be disposed of after use, thereby eliminating contamination problems associated with reusable bottles. The liner-holder is a hollow, wedge shaped container with an upwardly extending neck section and vents on the top and bottom, as well as a plurality of vents on each of its sides, to allow adequate displacement of air from within the container as the liner fills with the liquid sample. Two embodiments utilize a liner-holder which may be opened into two sections along a vertical hinge to provide access to the interior for proper positioning and later removal of the liner. The liner is positioned within the liner-holder, secured at the neck, and then suspended within the liner-holder by snap-locks or a support hook to facilitate the input of the sample into the liner.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to liquid sampler devices, and more particularly to an improved liquid sample storage device which utilizes a disposable liner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fluid sampling devices are well known in the art and are generally utilized to obtain samples of wastewater, water from rivers or streams, or liquid effluent from commercial or manufacturing enterprises for subsequent testing in order to determine the levels of various pollutants. These devices generally function with timers and withdraw samples periodically which are then deposited into sample storage devices for subsequent transportation to a testing facility.
Most prior art sample storage devices are either glass or plastic bottles, which must be thoroughly washed after each collection to prevent contamination of subsequently collected samples. Glass containers are, of course, undesirable in that they are susceptible to breakage. On the other hand, plastic containers are much more difficult to clean than are glass containers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,553, issued to Lynn, attempts to resolve some of these difficulties by utilizing a container which holds a plastic bag therein. The container splits into upper and lower sections for insertion of the bag, which is held in position by a retainer ring around the neck section of the container. A single vent hole in the neck of the container is utilized to allow trapped air to escape from the container as the bag fills with liquid sample.
Testing of the Lynn device, however, has demonstrated that its operation is less than satisfactory inasmuch as the single vent hole is insufficient to allow the internal bag or liner to fill properly. As the liner fills, air becomes trapped in areas removed from the vent hole and prevents the bag from filling. Furthermore, the bag of Lynn is simply placed within the container with the neck of the bag folded down over the neck of the container and provides no structure for suspending the bag in an open configuration to facilitate the deposit of fluid samples therein.
Those concerned with these and other problems recognize the need for an improved fluid sample storage device.