A pigment with modified properties because of the powder size being below 100 nanometers. Blue, yellow and brown pigments are illustrated. Nanoscale coated, un-coated, whisker inorganic fillers are included. Stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric composition are disclosed. The pigment nanopowders taught comprise one or more elements from the group actinium, aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, calcium, cerium, cesium, cobalt, copper, chalcogenide, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, gallium, gold, hafnium, hydrogen, indium, iridium, iron, lanthanum, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mendelevium, mercury, molybdenum, neodymium, neptunium, nickel niobium, nitrogen, oxygen, osmium, palladium, platinum, potassium, praseodymium, promethium, protactinium, rhenium, rubidium, scandium, silver, sodium, strontium, tantalum, terbium, thallium, thorium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc and zirconium.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to non-stoichiometric substances and more particularly to nanostructured non-stoichiometric substances and products incorporating such substances.
In one aspect, the invention comprises a nanostructured filler, intimately mixed with a matrix to form a nanostructured composite. At least one of the nanostructured filler and the nanostructured composite has a desired material property which differs by at least 20% from the same material property for a micron-scale filler or a micron-scale composite, respectively. The desired material property is selected from the group consisting of refractive index, transparency to light, reflection characteristics, resistivity, permittivity, permeability, coercivity, B—H product, magnetic hysteresis, breakdown voltage, skin depth, curie temperature, dissipation factor, work function, band gap, electromagnetic shielding effectiveness, radiation hardness, chemical reactivity, thermal conductivity, temperature coefficient of an electrical property, voltage coefficient of an electrical property, thermal shock resistance, biocompatibility and wear rate.
The nanostructured filler may comprise one or more elements selected from the s, p, d, and f groups of the periodic table, or it may comprise a compound of one or more such elements with one or more suitable anions, such as aluminum, antimony, boron, bromine, carbon, chlorine, fluorine, germanium, hydrogen, indium, iodine, nickel, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, selenium, silicon, sulfur, or tellurium. The matrix may be a polymer (e.g., poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl alcohol), polycarbonate, polyalkene, or polyaryl), a ceramic (e.g., zinc oxide, indium-tin oxide, hafnium carbide, or ferrite), or a metal (e.g., copper, tin, zinc, or iron). Loadings of the nanofiller may be as high as 95%, although loadings of 80% or less are preferred. The invention also comprises devices which incorporate the nanofiller (e.g., electrical, magnetic, optical, biomedical, and electrochemical devices).
Another aspect of the invention comprises a method of producing a composite, comprising blending a nanoscale filler with a matrix to form a nanostructured composite. Either the nanostructured filler or the composite itself differs substantially in a desired material property from a micron-scale filler or composite, respectively. The desired material property is selected from the group consisting of refractive index, transparency to light, reflection characteristics, resistivity, permittivity, permeability, coercivity, B—H product, magnetic hysteresis, breakdown voltage, skin depth, curie temperature, dissipation factor, work function, band gap, electromagnetic shielding effectiveness, radiation hardness, chemical reactivity, thermal conductivity, temperature coefficient of an electrical property, voltage coefficient of an electrical property, thermal shock resistance, biocompatibility, and wear rate. The loading of the filler does not exceed 95 volume percent, and loadings of 80 volume percent or less are preferred.
The composite may be formed by mixing a precursor of the matrix material with the nanofiller, and then processing the precursor to form a desired matrix material. For example, the nanofiller may be mixed with a monomer, which is then polymerized to form a polymer matrix composite. In another embodiment, the nanofiller may be mixed with a matrix powder composition and compacted to form a solid composite. In yet another embodiment, the matrix composition may be dissolved in a solvent and mixed with the nanofiller, and then the solvent may be removed to form a solid composite. In still another embodiment, the matrix may be a liquid or have liquid like properties.
Many nanofiller compositions are encompassed within the scope of the invention, including nanofillers comprising one or more elements selected from the group consisting of actinium, aluminum, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, calcium, cerium, cesium, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, gallium, gold, hafnium, hydrogen, indium, iridium, iron, lanthanum, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mendelevium, mercury, molybdenum, neodymium, neptunium, nickel, niobium, osmium, palladium, platinum, potassium, praseodymium, promethium, protactinium, rhenium, rubidium, scandium, silver, sodium, strontium, tantalum, terbium, thallium, thorium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium.
"Domain size" as that term is used herein, refers to the minimum dimension of a particular material morphology. In the case of powders, the domain size is the grain size. In the case of whiskers and fibers, the domain size is the diameter. In the case of plates and films, the domain size is the thickness.
As used herein, a "nanostructured powder" is one having a domain size of less than 100 nm, or alternatively, having a domain size sufficiently small that a selected material property is substantially different from that of a micron-scale powder, due to size confinement effects (e.g., the property may differ by 20% or more from the analogous property of the micron-scale material). Nanostructured powders often advantageously have sizes as small as 50 nm, 30 nm, or even smaller. Nanostructured powders may also be referred to as "nanopowders" or "nanofillers." A nanostructured composite is a composite comprising a nanostructured phase dispersed in a matrix.
As it is used herein, the term "agglomerated" describes a powder in which at least some individual particles of the powder adhere to neighboring particles, primarily by electrostatic forces, and "aggregated" describes a powder in which at least some individual particles are chemically bonded to neighboring particles.
2. Relevant Background
Most compounds are prepared as stoichiometric compositions, and numerous methods of preparing substances for commercial use are motivated in objective to create stoichiometric compounds. For example, producers of titania fillers, copper oxide catalysts, titanate dielectrics, ferrite magnetics, carbide tooling products, tin oxide sensors, zinc sulfide phosphors, and gallium nitride electronics all seek stoichiometric compositions (TiO2, CuO, BaTiO3, NiFe2O4, TiC, SnO2, ZnS, and GaN, respectively).
Those skilled in the art will note that conventional powders of oxides and other compounds, when exposed to reducing atmospheres (e.g. hydrogen, forming gas, ammonia, and others) over a period of time, are transformed to non-stoichiometric materials. However, the time and cost of doing this is very high because the inherent diffusion coefficients and gas-solid transport phenomena are slow. This has made it difficult and uneconomical to prepare and commercially apply stable non-stoichiometric forms of materials to useful applications.
Limited benefits of non-stoichiometric materials have been taught by others; for example, Sukovich and Hutcheson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,198 teach a non-stoichiometric ferrite carrier. Similarly, Menu in U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,188 teaches a method of forming a thin film of non-stoichiometric luminescent zinc oxide. The film is a result of a thermodynamically favored defect structure involving non-stoichiometric compositions where the non-stoichiometric deviation is in parts per million.
A very wide variety of pure phase materials such as polymers are now readily available at low cost. However, low cost pure phase materials are somewhat limited in the achievable ranges of a number of properties, including, for example, electrical conductivity, magnetic permeability, dielectric constant, and thermal conductivity. In order to circumvent these limitations, it has become common to form composites, in which a matrix is blended with a filler material with desirable properties. Examples of these types of composites include the carbon black and ferrite mixed polymers that are used in toners, tires, electrical devices, and magnetic tapes.
The number of suitable filler materials for composites is large, but still limited. In particular, difficulties in fabrication of such composites often arise due to issues of interface stability between the filler and the matrix, and because of the difficulty of orienting and homogenizing filler material in the matrix. Some desirable properties of the matrix (e.g., rheology) may also be lost when certain fillers are added, particularly at the high loads required by many applications. The availability of new filler materials, particularly materials with novel properties, would significantly expand the scope of manufacturable composites of this type.

Inorganic colors and related nanotechnology


Systems, methods, and devices for remotely controlling functionalities of vehicles are disclosed herein. Example systems, methods and devices may include determining that a remote control device is located at a position associated with a functionality, establishing a communication connection between the remote control device and the functionality based on a machine readable medium associated with the position, and causing a user interface on the remote control device to present one or more settings associated with the functionality.

A primary interface for vehicle systems and functions include one or more knobs and buttons, and one or more vehicle interior controls for controlling heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HAVC), windows, lighting, music, audio head, climate head, and shifters, etc. Typically, a vehicle interior control only performs one function for a product lifetime. The vehicle interior controls are fixed at respective locations and are accessible only to a driver and/or a front passenger of the vehicle. Thus, the vehicle interior controls are not accessible to the front passenger and/or backseat passengers of the vehicle. Further, packaging restrictions make the vehicle interior control costly and difficult to add new features once a cockpit design of the vehicle is complete.


A dynamic random access memory includes a cell having a circuit between a floating-body transistor and a bit line. Activation of the circuit is controlled to provide isolation between the floating body and bit-line voltage both during write operations and during times when the cell is unselected. The added isolation improves performance, for example, by reducing the need for gate-to-body coupling and the magnitude of voltage swings between the bit lines.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to memory circuits, and more particularly to a memory cells formed from floating-body transistors and their applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrating memory circuits (e.g., caches) on microprocessor dies is a power efficient way of achieving higher performance. In fabricating these dies, a direct correlation exists between memory cell density and performance; that is, performance generally increases with the number of cells in the memory. The degree of integration that can be achieved is not limitless and most often is constrained by memory type, the limited die space available for accommodating the memory circuits, and manufacturing costs as well as other practical considerations.
One memory type that has been proposed for integration onto a microprocessor die is SRAM memory. When implemented in large caches, each SRAM memory cell uses six transistors to read and write the data therein. This six-transistor configuration consumes considerable die space and thus leads to low memory cell density. This, in turn, places a significant limitation on microprocessor system performance, and for at least these reasons using SRAM cells to fabricate on-die caches is considered to be less than optimal.
Another memory type proposed for integration onto a microprocessor die is DRAM memory. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional DRAM cell uses one transistor T and one capacitor C to control the storage of data therein. Switching of the transistor is controlled by the voltage state of a word line WL and data is conveyed along a bit line BL via a sense amplifier. Because fewer components are used, an on-die cache formed from this so-called 1T/1C structure has far greater cell density and data storage capacity than SRAM memory. In fact, DRAM cells can be ten times smaller in area compared with SRAM cells. For this reason, DRAM has been favored by chip designers over other types of memory for forming caches on microprocessor dies.
While they are favored, conventional DRAM caches are not without drawbacks. For example, the switching transistor and storage capacitor in each cell are implemented as separate elements. This necessarily reduces the cell density of the memory, which has an adverse affect on system integration and performance. Also, costly processing steps are required to make a capacitor in each cell that can store enough charge to maintain reasonable refresh times (e.g., typically at least 25 ff is needed).
A need therefore exists for a memory cell which has a higher density than other cells which have been proposed and which therefore may be relied on to improve, for example, the on-die integration of caches in microprocessor systems. A need also exists to construct a memory cell of this type at low cost using existing manufacturing technologies.


A multi-core optical fiber apparatus is disclosed. The multi-core optical fiber apparatus includes a cladding comprising quartz and a plurality of cores embedded in the cladding. Each of the cores has a diameter (D) ranging from 1.3 μm to 2.0 μm, a numerical aperture (NA) from 0.35 to 0.45 and a refractive index profile factor (α) from 2.0 to 4.0. A center of each of the cores has a germanium content of 20 wt % to 30 wt %. An interval between adjacent cores is 3.0 μm or more.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses consistent with the present invention relates to a multi-core optical fiber preferably applied to an imaging method using an optical fiber such as a confocal fluorescent imaging method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many medical fields such as gastroenterology, pulmonary disease, or cardiovascular disease, endoscopes are employed for direct observation of surfaces of tissues or as auxiliary apparatuses for medicine. Further, fluorescence diagnostics carried out in combination with an endoscope attracts great deal of attention.
A tissue irradiated and excited by excitation light emits a fluorescent light having a characteristic spectrum. When the tissue has a lesion such as a tumor or a cancer, the tissue emits a particular fluorescent light having a spectrum different from the normal characteristic spectrum. The fluorescence diagnostics is a diagnostic method utilizing such a characteristic to discern a tissue having a lesion from a normal tissue. As this diagnostic method does not require collection of tissues from a patient's body, patients are released from physical burden. This is one of the many advantages of this method. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H08-224240 discloses a related art.
A confocal fluorescent imaging method utilizing a multi-core optical fiber is often used in combination with the fluorescence diagnostics. In this method, a plurality of excitation light beams having different wavelengths irradiate a tissue through a multi-core optical fiber and then fluorescent lights with the excitation lights from the tissue are collected through the optical fiber. Separation of the fluorescent lights from the excitation lights produces fluorescent spectra. As cores embedded in the multi-core optical fiber have two-dimensional arrangement, such information processing carried out on the cores gives a two-dimensional image. Further, such processing reciprocally carried out with changing a vertical position and filtering information only from each focal point provides a confocal image. Published Japanese translation of International Application No. 2005-532883 discloses a related art.


The present invention provides a highly efficient fuel cell having a fuel reformer which can efficiently recover the exhaust heat from fuel cell stacks and can realize high conversion. In a fuel cell (1), a large number of power generating cells (7) are laminated to constitute a fuel cell stack (3). At least four fuel cell stacks (3) are squarely-arranged in a plane direction in a housing (2). A fuel reformer (30) filled with a reforming catalyst (33) is arranged in a cross shape in between the mutually facing sides of the fuel cell stacks (3).

When a hydrocarbon fuel gas such as town gas is used as a reaction gas to be introduced into a fuel cell, a fuel reformer is required to reform such a hydrocarbon gas (raw fuel gas) into a hydrogen rich gas.
In the fuel reformer, steam is mixed with the raw fuel gas to yield a mixed gas, and thereafter hydrogen is generated, for example, by allowing these two gases to react with each other in a high-temperature environment set at 350° C. or higher.
Specifically, in the reforming reaction (steam reforming), first, methane as the raw fuel gas and steam are allowed to react with each other to yield hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and further, the carbon monoxide thus generated and steam react with each other to yield hydrogen along with carbon dioxide.
These reactions are represented in terms of reaction formulas as follows:CH4+H2O→H2+COCO+H2O→3H2+CO2
The above-described reforming reaction is an endothermic reaction, and for the purpose of performing a reforming reaction with such a satisfactory conversion rate that the residual amount of methane is 1% or less, it is necessary to heat a reforming catalyst in a fuel reformer at least to 640° C., and preferably to 700° C. or higher. Accordingly, an internal reforming fuel cell is designed in such a way that the thermal energy required for the reforming reaction is obtained from the high temperature exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell stack (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Incidentally, for example, in a solid oxide fuel cell, when it is a high-temperature operation type operated at temperatures in the vicinity of 1000° C., it is relatively easy to recover the thermal energy required for fuel reforming; however, when it is a low-temperature operation type operated at temperatures in the vicinity of 700° C., it becomes difficult to sufficiently recover the heat required for the endothermic reaction because the discharged thermal energy is smaller than that in the aforementioned high-temperature operation type. When sufficient energy is not supplied to the fuel reformer, the reforming reaction becomes insufficient, leading to a fear that no hydrogen rich reformed gas is obtained.
When a large amount of methane is contained in the reformed gas due to insufficient reforming, the carbon in the reformed gas is deposited in the power generating cells to drastically degrade the cell performance, and it interferes with efficient power generation.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-19034


A prosthesis for implant in a human patient body has an external envelope, at least one implant filling material, and at least one biologically compatible rupture indicator encapsulated in a sustained release delivery vehicle and disposed in a carrier medium, the rupture indicator capable of leaking out of upon rupture of the external envelope and triggering a signal detectable by the patient as it is released from the delivery vehicle, allowing for detection of a rupture or impending rupture by the patient.

Cosmetic and reconstructive implants are widely used in cosmetic and reconstructive corrections. One of the commonly use substances as the implant filling material is silicone gel. It has been used for various facial implants, such as brow, nose, cheek, chin and lips, and various body implants, such as pectoral and breast, triceps and biceps, genitals, buttocks and calf. Among all types of cosmetic and reconstructive implants, the breast implant is the most prevalent and, hence is addressed with specific emphasis hereinafter.
Over the last four decades, surgical breast augmentation in the United States has been primarily achieved through placement of breast implants. Implants are surgically placed either in front of the pectoralis major muscle, called subglandular or prepectoral implants, or they are placed behind the pectoralis major muscle, called submuscular, retroglandular, retropectoral, or subpectrol implants. The type of the material in the implants and the variations in the shape and supporting shells of the implant may also vary. A silicone gel-filled implant is generally composed of silicone gel contained within a silicone polymer membrane or envelope. A saline implant is generally composed of saline contained within a silicone polymer membrane. A double-lumen implant generally refers to an implant having two shells, typically an inner shell filled with silicone gel surrounded by an outer shell filled with saline. A reverse double-lumen implant generally refers to an inner shell of saline surrounded by silicone. Other variations have been implanted with three or more shells.
Before 1992, the majority of breast augmentation implants in the United States contained silicone gel. This was due to general acceptance by the medical community at the time, surgeons' preference, and the reported better texture and "feel" of a silicone gel-filled implant versus a saline-filled implant by the patients. It has been estimated that over one million women in the United States alone have received silicone gel-filled breast implants. In the 1980s, independent authors questioned a possible association between silicone gel-filled implants and the subsequent development of connective-tissue diseases. Fueled by media hype and class action lawsuits, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was asked to analyze the data and make a decision. In 1992, the FDA announced that breast implants containing silicone gel would only be available in the United States under clinically controlled trials. It has since been primarily restricted in the United States to women undergoing post-mastectomy reconstruction and those requiring secondary surgery after breast augmentation. Saline-filled breast implants have replaced silicone gel-filled implants as the common breast prosthesis in the past decade. However, in comparison to silicone gel-filled implants, saline-filled breast implants are inferior in terms of mimicking elasticity, feel, and movement of the natural breast tissue. Since 1992, there are many studies investigating the safety concerns of the silicone gel-filled implants. In 1999, after reviewing dozens of studies, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded in its landmark 1999 report that silicone gel-filled implants do not cause the autoimmune disorders such as lupus or arthritis. The main safety concern according to the report is the implants' tendency to rupture. The silicone can bleed or leak out of its shell, causing infections, and/or local tissue reactions. The IOM 1999 report became the turning point for the breast implant industry and the plastic surgery profession, opening the door for the return of silicone gel-filled breast implants for cosmetic use.
Silicone gel-filled implant rupture is often locally symptomatic, and continues to be a genuine clinical concern for patients and physicians. In the United States, an estimated one to two million patients, or approximately 1% of the adult female population, have breast implants. Generally, the risk of implant rupture increases with the age of the implant. One recent study revealed that the median lifespan of a silicone gel-filled breast implant is 16.4 years. In that study, 79.1% of implants were intact at 10 years; the percentage decreased to 48.7% at 15 years. Another study revealed that at least 77% of 344 women from Birmingham, Ala. who were not referred for examination had at least one implant that had "ruptured" or had an "indeterminate" finding upon MRI. The reported median implant age at rupture was 10.8 years, and submuscular implants were more likely than subglandular implants to rupture.
In essentially all patients, a fibrous capsule forms around the implant i.e., encapsulation. The capsule may be soft and nonpalpable or hard and resistant. Generally after implantation, two types of silicone gel-filled breast implant ruptures can occur: intracapsular rupture occurs when silicone escapes the elastic membrane shell but is contained in the fibrous capsule. This form of silicone gel-filled breast implant rupture is most common. Extracapsular rupture involves the escape of free silicone gel through the fibrous capsule, with extravasation into the breast tissue. Migration of silicone gel to the axillary lymph nodes also may be present. Furthermore, silicone gel can migrate to the brachial plexus, chest wall, axilla and the wrist.
In attempts of reducing the likelihood of implant rupture, improvements have been made to the structure of the implant envelope or shell. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,455,691 and 4,472,226 disclose a three layer implant wall comprising a middle layer made of a heteropolymer of dimethylpolysiloxane and siloxane elastomer, which substantially impedes the migration of silicone gel. Commercially, breast implants constructed with low diffusion silicone elastomer shells are available from the INAMED Corporation, Santa Barbara, Calif. The low diffusion shell has a barrier coat between two layers of silicone elastomer to minimize silicone diffusion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,844 discloses another three layer implant shell which comprises a hydrophobic thermoplastic elastomer middle layer as a water vapor barrier, which can be used with a broader scope of filling materials and can reduce ruptures due to fold flaw fracture caused by loss of water vapor from the shell.
Furthermore, a new cohesive silicone gel has been developed and is already in use for breast implants in Canada, Europe and other countries. The cohesive silicone gel is expected to be approved for breast implants in the United States in the near future. Different from the silicone gel traditionally used for breast implants, cohesive silicone gel does not leak out from the shell of the implant. However, when the implant shell ruptures, the patient's tissue will be in contact with the cohesive silicone gel, which can potentially cause inflammation and other mal-effects of silicone to the human body.
The diagnosis of silicone gel-filled breast implant rupture is critically useful to both clinicians and patients. It aids in surgical decision-making and helps the patient gain peace of mind. Furthermore, it avoids the risk of any illness to patient, including any potential systemic effects of leaked silicone gel-filled breast implants, if any, which presently remain unclear. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to evaluate silicone gel-filled breast implants, because the findings at clinical examination often are nonspecific. However, MRI is an expensive examination involving complex instrumentation and data processing. Having regular-scheduled MRI's to detect a rupture, preferably sooner than later, is impracticable due to the expense, the complicated nature of the procedure, requirement of multiple parties including medical personnel, and inconvenience to patient.
As of this writing, the current state of the art as recommended by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for women with gel-filled implants is, that should a women and/or her physician suspect a rupture of an implant, the patient is to be referred for immediate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) utilizing a breast coil to either rule out or confirm a compromise of the implant. However, what is troubling about this is, when gel-filled implants rupture, they rarely cause pain or other immediate symptoms, therefore the women doesn't know to seek medical care. It has also been recommended that MRI'S, which are extremely costly, be performed every two years as a screening technique. What of the period of time between screening MRI's when even the smallest rupture of the envelope can result in the silicone gel being in contact for a prolonged period with the patient's tissues?
Thus, there remains a need for improved detection methods available to the patient herself to detect a possible rupture or impending rupture, and be warned or signaled that she needs to seek medical attention. Further, there remains a need for improved implants that prevent leakage of implant filling material and also incorporate technology and warning mechanisms such that the implant warns or signals a patient of rupture or impending rupture and leakage, preferably prior to leakage of implant filling material.

Cosmetic and reconstructive prostheses with a microencapsulated biologically compatible rupture indicator for sustained release and methods of detecting compromise of a prosthesis


A refrigeration compressor seal for inhibiting the loss of refrigerant between a compressor shaft and a compressor housing. The seal includes a face seal comprising a seal nose and a mating ring positioned in opposing relation to the seal nose. The mating ring includes tungsten carbide (e.g., solid tungsten carbide with 6% nickel binder). The seal nose comprises a maximum of about 0.5 weight percent lead (e.g., a low lead tin bronze allow, such as alloy C90300). A lip seal is operatively positioned between the compressor housing and the compressor shaft. The lip seal and the face seal collectively form a seal cavity for retaining fluid adjacent to the face seal. The seal assembly can further include a bypass channel for bypassing fluid around a top portion of the lip seal.

Refrigeration compressors are used to compress refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons ("CFCs"), as part of a standard vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. Typically, the gaseous refrigerant is mixed with a liquid lubricating medium, such as oil, immediately before entering the compressor. The lubricating medium facilitates easy handling of the refrigerant during compression, and further lubricates the compressor components (e.g. bearings, seals, etc.) to reduced component wear. After compression, the lubricating medium and refrigerant are separated.
Refrigeration compressors typically include a compressor shaft positioned within a compressor housing, and a bearing unit for rotatably supporting the compressor shaft within the housing. The lubricating medium and refrigerant enter the compressor through an inlet port on one side of the bearing unit, and pass through the bearing unit to provide lubrication. A compressor shaft seal inhibits leakage of the lubricating medium and/or refrigerant between the compressor housing and the compressor shaft. Compressor shaft seals typically include elastomer members (e.g., a rubber seal formed around a steel spring) for providing a compliant biasing force to maintain other seal components in their proper position. In addition, compressor shaft seals can include a seal nose made from carbon graphite or leaded bearing bronze. The lead in typical bearing bronze is desirable in that it is believed to improve wear resistance of the seal nose.
Elastomer members in shaft seals can degrade due to long term exposure to high temperatures and pressures and/or due to chemical reaction with certain lubricating mediums and refrigerants, such as hydrofluorocarbons ("HFCs"). In addition, carbon graphite and elastomers can include small gaps or voids that provide a place for small gas bubbles to enter. These small bubbles can expand and contract considerably due to the large pressure fluctuations inherent in compressors. Such expansions of gas bubbles can rapidly deteriorate the material. Further, seal noses made from typical seal nose materials can show excessive wear and can fail prematurely, particularly when used in high temperature and high pressure environments, such as in a compressor used to compress HFC refrigerants.


A method and computer program product for associating timing violations with critical structures in an integrated circuit design include steps of: (a) receiving as input an integrated circuit design; (b) identifying a critical structure in the integrated circuit design; and (c) generating as output a script for a static timing analysis tool that includes a timing check for a path having a start point at an input of the critical structure and an end point at an output of the critical structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs. More specifically, but without limitation thereto, the present invention is directed to identifying and correcting timing problems in register transfer level (RTL) code for an integrated circuit design.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previous approaches to correcting design defects in application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs require a significant amount of time analyzing the back-end flow, or layout, of the ASIC design. Attempting to resolve design problems at this stage in the design typically increases turnaround time (TAT) and jeopardizes schedule commitments.
Static timing analysis (STA) and timing closure are used to identify and correct timing violations in an integrated circuit design as quickly as possible to conserve valuable engineering resources and to meet production schedules. Timing violations that are identified in static timing analysis are resolved according to timing closure methods to ensure that the integrated circuit design will work in silicon according to design specifications.

Method of associating timing violations with critical structures in an integrated circuit design


A backlight assembly includes a light supplying part and a light guide plate. The light supplying part includes a white light source and a monochromatic light source that generates a monochromatic light. The white light source generates a white light responsive to an electric power provided from exterior to the backlight assembly. The light guide plate is disposed adjacent to a side of the light supplying part. The light guide plate includes a light guiding region where the white light and the monochromatic light are guided into and a peripheral region that surrounds the light guiding region. Therefore, color reproducibility of an LCD apparatus is increased so that an image display quality of the LCD apparatus is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly and a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus having the backlight assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a backlight assembly capable of improving color reproducibility to improve an image display quality and an LCD apparatus having the backlight assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
An LCD apparatus, in general, includes an LCD panel and a backlight assembly. The backlight assembly supplies the LCD panel with a light. The LCD panel displays an image using the light.
The backlight assembly includes a light source that generates the light. The light source includes a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), a light emitting diode (LED), etc.
A size of the LED is smaller than that of the CCFL. The LED is a point light source. A small LCD apparatus that may be several inches has the LED as the light source.
The small LCD apparatus includes a white LED that generates a white light. In general, a portion of the white light, which corresponds to a predetermined wavelength, has a lower luminance than a remaining portion of the white light. When the portion of the white light, which corresponds to the predetermined wavelength, has the lower luminance than the remaining portion of the white light, a color reproducibility of the small LCD apparatus is decreased so that an image display quality of the small LCD apparatus is deteriorated.

Backlight assembly and liquid crystal display apparatus having the same


Low efficiency in an evaporator for a refrigerant may be increased by providing the evaporator with at least two passes (10, 12) defined by two rows of tubes (20) and four elongated header passages (24, 26, 28, 30) with the header passages (24, 26) being in fluid communication with the tubes (20) in the pass (10) and the header passages (28, 30) being in fluid communication with the tubes (20) in the pass (12). The pass (10) is downstream from the pass (12) and includes an inlet (32) to the header passage (24) intermediate the ends thereof. An outlet (34) is located in the header passage (28) for the pass (12) and intermediate the ends thereof. At least one fluid passage (36) extends between the headers (26, 30) intermediate the ends thereof

Many conventional heat exchangers of the type where ambient air is utilized as one heat transfer fluid include opposed headers interconnected by tubes. In the usual case, fins extend between the tubes. Air is caused to flow between the tubes and through the fins in a direction generally transverse thereto.
One measure of the ability of such a heat exchanger to exchange a given quantity of heat over a unit of time is the effective frontal area of the heat exchanger. This area is equal to the area of the entire heat exchanger normal to the path of airflow less that part of such area occupied by the headers and/or tanks conventionally associated therewith. Typically, this area is the frontal area of the so-called "core" which basically is the fin and tube assembly of the heat exchanger.
In some applications, size constraints may not be present and in such a case, the core may be built of sufficient size so as to provide the desired frontal area without regard for the additional volume occupied by the tanks and/or headers. In others, however, only a given area is available to receive the entire heat exchanger. In these cases, the core size must be maximized to maximize heat transfer ability. At the same time, because of size constraints, the volume of the tanks and/or headers may limit the size of the core and thus limit heat exchange ability.
One typical application in which size constraints are present is in vehicles. Because of increasing concern over the last decade or so for energy efficiency, vehicle manufacturers have sought to produce more aerodynamically designed vehicles with lower drag coefficients and this has produced constraints on the frontal area of the vehicles whereat heat exchangers such as radiators, condensers, evaporators, oil coolers and the like may be located. In addition, vehicle manufacturers have sought to reduce the weight of the various components utilized in the vehicle as a means of improving fuel utilization and heat exchangers have not been immune from the search for ways to reduce weight.
More recently, there has been increasing concern about the escape of chlorofluorocarbons or so-called CFCs or other potentially harmful cases into the atmosphere. One source of escaping CFCs is leaking refrigerant from an air-condition system. Clearly, if the refrigerant charge volume of a vapor compression refrigeration or air conditioning system can be reduced, then the consequences of a leak in any given system in terms of the amount of CFCs released to the atmosphere is lessened because of the lesser volume of CFCs in such a system.
Still another concern unique to air-conditioning or refrigeration systems is the efficiency of the evaporator utilized in a typical vapor compression refrigeration system. All too frequently, the temperature of a fluid stream passing through an evaporator varies widely from one location to another across the rear face of the evaporator. This is indicative of poor efficiency in the heat transfer operation which desirably would result in substantial uniformity of the temperature of the exiting airstream from one location on the evaporator to another. Such uniformity is indicative of a uniform temperature differential and good heat transfer efficiency.
It has long been postulated that these temperature differentials result from poor distribution of the refrigerant within the evaporator. Those parts of the evaporator receiving more refrigerant will run colder than those receiving less. Thus, elaborate distributor schemes have been devised in many attempts to achieve uniform distribution of refrigerant through the many passages of the evaporator. While such distributors work well in a number of instances, their complexity results in an expensive construction which in itself is not conducive to their use. The present invention is directed to solving one or more of the above as well as other problems.


The invention provides a compressor that can reduce occurrence of vibration and noise due to self-induced vibration of an suction valve at the time of a low flow rate surely with an inexpensive structure. In the compressor according to the invention, an opening regulating valve 40 provided in a refrigerant suction channel 13c to a cylinder 11a is formed by an elastically deformable spiral member 41, and intervals of spiral portions 41a of the spiral member 41 are changed according to a flow rate of a refrigerant, whereby an opening of the channel 13c is regulated. Thus, it is possible to reduce occurrence of vibration and noise due to self-induced vibration of an suction valve 14c at the time of a low flow rate surely, and it is possible to simplify a structure of the opening regulating valve 40.

In general, as a compressor of this type, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication 2001-289177, there is known a compressor that includes a cylinder having a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet at one end, a piston reciprocating in the cylinder, and a tabular suction valve and a tabular discharge valve provided in the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet, such that the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet are opened and closed by elastic deformation of the suction valve and the discharge valve, respectively.
Incidentally, in the compressor, there is provided a stopper that locks the one end side (free end side) of the suction valve in a predetermined opening position such that the suction valve opens and closes within a predetermined range. However, when a flow rate is low, the suction valve may open and close in a range in which the suction valve does not come into abutment against the stopper. In such a case, there is a problem in that pulsation occurs in the suction refrigerant due to self-induced vibration of the suction valve, which causes vibration and noise in an evaporator and the like that are set in an external circuit on the refrigerant suction side.
Thus, in the compressor, an opening regulating valve, which regulates an opening of a channel according to a flow rate of a refrigerant, is provided in a refrigerant suction side channel of a cylinder head to reduce the opening of the opening regulating valve when a flow rate is low, whereby pulsation of the suction refrigerant propagating to the evaporator side is attenuated to reduce the vibration and noise of the evaporator and the like.
However, the opening regulating valve has a complicated structure in which a valve body is housed in an exclusive valve case and biased in a predetermined direction by a spring attached in the valve case. Thus, there is a problem in that manufacturing cost increases.
The present invention has been devised in view of the problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide a compressor that can reduce occurrence of vibration and noise due to self-induced vibration of an suction valve at the time of a low flow rate surely with an inexpensive structure.


A trading system such as an anonymous trading system for trading financial and other instruments can vocalize trading data to trader workstations as well as display it on a screen. Where a trader selects to receive vocal announcements, a trading floor identifier unique to his trading floor is also announced at random intervals.

This invention relates to the distribution of financial data. It is particularly concerned with the vocalisation of trading data such as price data as produced, for example, from an electronic trading system.
Electronic trading systems for trading instruments such as financial instruments, commodities and other fungibles are well known. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,055. In this system, available prices in the market are distributed to trader terminals on the basis of the ability of the traders' trading floor to deal those prices. If the trading floor has not extended sufficient credit to a counterparty institution submitting a quote then that quote will not be displayed to traders on that floor. The system is anonymous in that the identity of parties to a trade is not given up until the trade has been completed.
The system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,055 is widely used to trade foreign exchange spot currency (FX Spot). The FX Spot market is very volatile and can move extremely quickly. Traders in major institutions may specialise in a single currency pair. Such as US$:Euro, but many traders will trade several currency pairs simultaneously. This requires the traders to keep track of deals being done by other parties, and the quotes input into the market in each of the currency pairs. This demands extreme concentration on behalf of the trader.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,050 assigned to EBS Dealing Resources, Inc., discloses a system in which key market data is vocalised to the trader. As well as seeing prices and done deals displayed on their screens, traders can hear trading information as it occurs. Thus, the price at which a trade has been dealt is announced to the trader over a loudspeaker at their terminal. Rather than announce the whole price including the big figure, that is the most significant digit or digits, the system follows market practice and just announces the pips, which are usually the two least significant digits and are those which are of interest to the traders. A range of other market related information may also be vocalised to the trader.
The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,050 has met with commercial success as it mimicked the behaviour of voice brokers through whom traders traded before the advent of electronic trading systems. It therefore gave them a degree of comfort with operating in an otherwise unfamiliar environment. It also helped them to keep track of movements across several currency pairs.
The system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,050 assigns a different voice to each currency pair, up to a limit of, say, three or four, although there is no limit to the number of voices that can be used. Each voice selected is distinctive in terms of pitch and accent to assist the trader in following the movement in each currency.
An anonymous trading system operating in a very liquid market can perform tens of thousands of deals a day. These traders generate a vast amount of market data which is extremely valuable as it shows banks and other institutions the true position of the markets. This market data is commonly sold to subscribing institutions and customers and is an important source of income from trading system operators. Use of the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,050 was discontinued when it was found that traders were passing market price data vocalised by the trading system to their clients. Traders would place a telephone handset next to the speaker through which the prices were vocalised. At the other end of the telephone line, the prices would be broadcast over a loudspeaker to the trader's customer. Clearly this resulted in a loss of revenue to the system operator and, as a result, the vocalisation of trading data was discontinued.
It is recognised that the vocalisation of trading data is very useful to traders and it is desirable that it should be continued. However, there exists the problem of how to prevent traders from passing this data to their customers illicitly.

Vocalisation of trading data in trading systems


A bed divider is disclosed that is positionable atop a mattress to extend between two partners in a co-sleeping arrangement. The bed divider includes a support column that acts a support post, two side arms removably securable to opposite sides of the support column, and a divider removably securable to a third side of the support column to extend generally perpendicularly from the side arms. The divider and the side arms can be composed, in part, of an antibacterial and hypoallergenic material, such that the transmission of infectious diseases may be reduced. The divider and the side arms are sized to fit into a pillowcase, thereby providing a protective layer that is removable and machine washable. The divider and side arms are detachable from the support column, such that each may fit easily into a storage bag.

This application relates to the field of sleep support items and more specifically to bed dividers to reduce the transmission of germs or infectious diseases between individuals sharing a bed and to reduce noise (such as from snoring).
When a person is sick with an infectious disease, it is desirable for others to limit the amount of contact with this person so as not to contract the illness. In a sleeping arrangement where two individuals share a bed, limiting contact may be difficult due to proximity. Furthermore, breathing in such close proximity to sick individuals, as is typical in when sharing a bed, increases the likelihood that the infectious disease will be transmitted from one individual to the other. Additionally, noise, such as from a snoring sleeper, can interfere with a partner's sleep. The transmission of germs and the transmission of noise could be reduced by a divider which separates partners in a bed.
Many bed dividers have been proposed which place a removable physical barrier between bed sharing individuals. However, these designs have many drawbacks. Some of the dividers are large and cumbersome, making them difficult to wash or store when not in use. Others are composed of a hard material with hard edges, making them either intrusive or uncomfortable. Others are permanent fixtures. In each of these cases, the bed divider can become an inconvenience to the user.
In view of these considerations, a new design for bed dividers is needed that is easier to use with easy assembly/disassembly, easy to clean, sturdy yet comfortable, and naturally germ resistant.


A method operates a three-dimensional (3D) metal object manufacturing system to compensate for errors that occur during object formation. In the method, thermal image data and dimensional image data of a metal object being formed by the 3D metal object manufacturing system is generated prior to completion of the metal object. Thermal conditions are identified from these data and compared to predetermined ranges corresponding to the identified thermal conditions to identify one or more errors. For identified errors outside a corresponding predetermined difference range, the method performs an error compensation technique. The error compensation includes modification of a surface data model, modification of machine-ready instructions, or operation of a subtractive device.

Three-dimensional object printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object from a digital model of virtually any shape. Many three-dimensional printing technologies use an additive process in which an additive manufacturing device forms successive layers of the part on top of previously deposited layers. Some of these technologies use ejectors that eject thermoplastic materials that are melted materials, such as ABS plastic. The printer typically operates one or more ejectors to form successive layers of the thermoplastic material that form a three-dimensional printed object with a variety of shapes and structures. After each layer of the three-dimensional printed object is formed, the thermoplastic material cools and hardens to bond the layer to an underlying layer of the three-dimensional printed object. This additive manufacturing method is distinguishable from traditional object-forming techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material from a work piece by a subtractive process, such as cutting or drilling.
Recently, some 3D object printers have been developed that eject drops of liquid metal from one or more ejectors to form 3D objects. These printers have a source of solid metal, such as a roll of wire or pellets, that are fed into a heating chamber where they are melted and the liquid metal flows into a chamber of the ejector. The chamber is made of non-conductive material around which an uninsulated electrical wire is wrapped. An electrical current is passed through the conductor to produce an electromagnetic field that causes the meniscus of the liquid metal at a nozzle of the chamber to separate from the liquid metal within the chamber and be propelled from the nozzle. A platform opposite the nozzle of the ejector is moved in a X-Y plane parallel to the plane of the platform by a controller operating actuators to form layers of an object on the platform and another actuator is operated by the controller to alter the position of the ejector or platform in the vertical or Z direction to maintain a constant distance between the ejector and an uppermost layer of the object being formed.
Due to the lack of a leveling device or process to guarantee the flatness or uniform thickness of each layer, vertical errors, that is, errors in the z-axis direction, which is perpendicular to an X-Y plane on which the object is being formed, can accumulate and produce errors sufficient to make the object unfit for its purpose. The causes of these errors include, but not limited to, jetting non-uniformity (drop size, directionality), drop-to-drop interaction, droplet-to-previous layer interaction (flow, thermal cooling, solidification), tool path error (digitization error), motion error, and the like. In addition, the errors are not limited to those that are in a direction parallel to the z-axis. In certain object geometries and build processes, lateral flow of the liquid metal can also produce errors in the X-Y plane of the layers. Additionally, the flow and solidification of the liquid metal drops after contacting the built part is strongly influenced by the thermal state of the existing built part. Thus, the thermal state of the part being built can cause metal flow that can adversely impact the formation and material properties of the part.
During operation of such a printer, the volumes of the drops ejected from the ejector can vary from a nominal expected value. These drop variations can cause all or a portion of a layer's height to be higher or lower than intended and as the layers with these errors are stacked on one another, this height error accumulates. Additionally, the drop spacings can be different under normal printing conditions for different portions of a part, such as, the interior, perimeters, overhangs, and bridges. Consequently, this changing frequency of drop ejection in different areas can cause some part features to be more severely affected than other part features and the errors in these features may be more difficult to correct than the overall part height error previously noted. Inconsistent flow of drops around edges, pillars, thin walls, and tight corners can also cause feature shape errors. Other drop misplacements can come from errors in the relative motion between the drops and the substrate and drop timing inconsistencies arising from control tuning, timing, or drop velocity variations. Another source of errors can come from inconsistent ejection of the drops. This inconsistency includes poor or varying directionality and potentially increasing production of unwanted satellite drops. These errors cause asymmetric height and geometric errors. Detection of the conditions leading to these errors during the manufacturing process and compensating for these conditions would be useful so the halting of the manufacturing process and the scrapping of the part can be avoided.

Method and system for operating a metal drop ejecting three-dimensional (3D) object printer to compensate for geometric variations that occur during an additive manufacturing process


An optical probe system includes a sample plate for holding a target device comprising an integrated circuit, and a rotational stage that includes a plurality of ports configured to receive and hold a plurality of optical objective systems that can collect reflected or emitted light from the integrated circuit. At least one of the ports includes a centering plate mounted on the rotational stage and configured to conduct a translational movement on the rotational stage. The port also includes a gimbal plate mounted on the centering plate and that can be tilted relative to the centering plate. A first optical objective system that is mounted on the gimbal plate can be centered by the center plate and aligned by the gimbal plate.

The present application relates to systems and methods for probing features and functions of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs).
To improve IC functionality and performance, IC manufacturers in the last four decades have been shrinking the sizes of circuit components, and at the same time, increasing the number of circuit components per IC. As electronic devices become more miniaturized and more powerful, IC devices become smaller and more devices are packed onto each chip. The cost of manufacturing has increased and the yield has decreased for these devices. New causes of yield decrease emerge as different materials are utilized and the process variation tolerances shrink.
Probe tools are frequently utilized during the testing and debugging of IC designs, where efforts are focused on defect localization and accurate waveform and timing measurements of signal switching inside silicon-based devices. Both signal measurements and optical analysis with probe tools are performed through the back side of the device. By utilizing the optics in the probe tool, electrical properties of the extremely small individual components (i.e. transistors) on the IC can be measured for proper functionality without interfering with the devices' function.
The decreasing sizes of circuit features in electronic devices create a significant challenge for probe tools. Analytical tools are required to discern increasingly smaller circuit features and to preform timing analysis on single transistor nodes. One requirement for the probing systems is to provide optical measurement at different magnifications, including high resolution measurement by high numerical aperture (N.A.) solid immersion lens (SIL). Another challenge for the probing systems is to suppress measurement errors caused by mechanical disturbances. Moreover, a significant amount of heat can be generated by operating the device at design speeds and voltages during optical measurements, and the light source from the probing tool can also generate heat when focused onto an IC device, both of which can affect the proper function of the integrated circuit. As such another challenge for probing systems is to remove the increasing amount of heat generated during the debug and test procedures.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved optical probe systems that can meet the challenges and requirements presented by the sophisticated and evolving semiconductor industry.

Optical probe system having accurate positional and orientational adjustments for multiple optical objectives


A semiconductor device with an over-current detection feature is disclosed. According to an example of the invention the device includes: a semiconductor chip including a load current path that conducts a load current in response to an input signal activating the load current flow. A current sensor arrangement provides a measurement signal representing the load current. An evaluation circuit is configured to compare the measurement signal with a first threshold and to signal an over-current when the measurement signal exceeds the first threshold after a delay time period starting from the activation of the load current flow has elapsed.

Semiconductor devices, especially power semiconductor devices such as power semiconductor switches often include either a current limitation functionality or an over-current protection (i.e., an over-current switch-off) in order to avoid a thermal destruction of the device due to over-heating. In the first case the load current of the semiconductor device is limited to a predefined maximum value (e.g., 30 amperes) if the load resistance in the load current path is too low whereas in the latter case the semiconductor device (e.g., the power switch) is turned off if a predefined load current threshold (e.g., 60 amperes) is exceeded.
Both of the above mentioned principles (current limiting or over-current switch-off) have some implications and thus it depends on the application which one of the two protection principles is more suitable. If, for example, the load is a lamp, which has a high inrush current during a short start-up period, a current limitation to a predefined maximum current may be suitable. However, in case of a short circuit this predefined maximum current may be too high in order to avoid an over-heating of the device. To resolve this problem some semiconductor devices additionally include temperature sensors for triggering countermeasures in case of over-temperature. Such temperature sensors entail a more complex design of the device thus higher costs. If, instead of current limiting, an over-current protection (i.e., a shut-down in response to an over-current) is employed the current threshold would have to be that low in order to reliably avoid over-heating of the device that, as a consequence, the high inrush current (for example, during the start-up period of a lamp) would also trigger the over-current switch-off.
Summing up, it can be concluded that the protection circuits, irrespective of which one of the above-discussed protection principles is to be used, have to be either designed for a high inrush current or designed for a lower "nominal" current. To cope with both cases (start-up and normal operation) additional temperature sensors are needed. Thus, there is a general need for a semiconductor device including an inexpensive protection mechanism that provides sufficient protection against over-heating and thermal destruction during the start-up period of the device as well as during normal operation.

Semiconductor device with overcurrent protection


A method and an apparatus for supporting a hibernation function in a mobile device are provided. The method includes receiving an input at an electronic device, loading, using one or more processors, a snapshot image for the electronic device in response to the input, comparing at least one portion of the snapshot image with data indicating a state of the electronic device, and updating the snapshot image using the data, based at least in part on a determination that the state of the electronic device has been changed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a booting technology for a mobile device and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for supporting a faster and more stable boot process by using a hibernation function in a mobile device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the remarkable growth of related technologies, many types of mobile devices have recently become popular. Specifically, mobile devices today have outgrown their respective traditional fields and have reached a mobile convergence stage. In the case of a mobile communication device, for example, in addition to traditional communication functions such as a voice call and an Short Message Service (SMS), various essential or optional multimedia functions are widely used such as a portable broadcasting (e.g., Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), a digital music player (such as an e.g., MPEG audio layer-3 (MP3) player), a digital camera, a wireless Internet, a dictionary, and the like.
The use of various functions may cause an increase in the amount of data required to drive a mobile device in a system boot process. This may also increase the time required in a system boot process. Thus, many techniques to reduce the system boot time of a mobile device have been introduced in the art.
One of such techniques is to package data used for a system boot process in a nonvolatile memory (e.g., a flash memory) and then load this package, as it is, into a volatile memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) in a system boot process. This data package for a boot process is often referred to as a snapshot image or a hibernation image. Performing a boot process of a mobile device by using a snapshot image is often referred to as a hibernation function.
However, a hibernation function of a conventional mobile device still has drawbacks, including the following drawbacks. If the data volume of a snapshot image is excessively large, a lot of time is required for loading this snapshot image into volatile memory. Thus, this will cause a serious delay of a system boot process in a conventional mobile device.
Additionally, when turned off using a hibernation function, a conventional mobile device performs a process of storing a snapshot image in a nonvolatile memory. Therefore, if a snapshot image is created in abnormal operations of a mobile device, or if abnormal power-off of a mobile device occurs during creation of a snapshot image, this mobile device may fail in a boot process using a snapshot image. Even in case of a successful boot, there is no guarantee that a mobile device will operate in a normal manner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and an apparatus to update the snapshot image in a nonvolatile memory based on comparing a first data with the second data


This pushpiece (1) for a timepiece includes a movable head (3) slidingly mounted on a tube (4), said head partially enveloping such tube. The head exhibits a central cylindrical core (5) which penetrates into the tube, at least one O ring seal (6) being located between the tube and the core. A return spring (7) urges the head towards the exterior. The core (5) is extended by a stem (8), the diameter of which is greater than the diameter of the core, the spring being arranged between the stem and the tube. In this manner the spring is located in a sealed zone of the pushpiece and the mean diameter of the O ring seal is less than the mean diameter of the spring.

Patent document CH-A-457 291 has already described a sealed pushpiece for a diver's watch comprising an axially movable part, slidingly mounted on a tube fixed to the body of the case, partially enveloping such tube and exhibiting a central core penetrating into the tube, at least one sealing element between the tube and the core and a return spring pushing the movable part back towards the exterior.
The same document indicates that in most sealed pushpieces mounted on diver's watches, it is necessary to use a return spring sufficiently powerful so that the pushpiece is not compressed by the heavy pressures prevailing at great diving depths. Such solution evidently has the disadvantage of requiring an excessively strong manual pressure on the pushpiece when the latter is operated out of the water or at small depth.
To overcome this difficulty, the pushpiece of the cited document proposes means permitting use of weaker springs for like depths or permitting attainment of greater depths with the present springs. The means indicated to arrive at such result consist in having the annular space comprised between the core and the enveloping part of the movable part communicate with the exterior of the pushpiece by a space left between the enveloping part and the tube and at the same time by at least one opening formed in the upper part of the enveloping part. Thus, during the dive, water penetrates easily into such annular space and the pressure of the water at the exterior of such space increases practically at the same time as the pressure of the water at the exterior of the pushpiece, and so relieves the return spring.
The means recommended hereinabove are however still insufficient to reduce the return force of the spring to a suitable value if the pushpiece must resist a very high hydrostatic pressure, for example that prevailing at a depth of 500 meters, which is to say according to ISO standard 6425, 50 bar (1 bar=10.sup.5 Pa=10.sup.5 N/m.sup.2 =0.1 N/mm.sup.2). This results from the fact that the cross-section of the central core of the movable part on which the hydrostatic pressure acts is relatively large, the section to be taken into account being that which is surrounded by the O ring seal. One can calculate the force F to which the spring must resist at pressure P if r is the radius of the core: EQU F(N)=.pi..multidot.r.sup.2 (mm.sup.2).multidot.P(N/mm.sup.2).multidot.s (1)
in which s is a safety factor greater than 1, for example 1.25.
In known pushpieces, such as that of the cited document, the diameter of the core is on the order of 2 mm (from whence r=1 mm). If such pushpiece must resist a pressure of 50 bar, the force of its return spring must be: EQU F(N)=.pi..multidot.1.sup.2 .multidot.5.multidot.1.25=19.6 N
which is the force which it will be necessary to exert on the pushpiece when the timepiece is out of the water. This force is considerable and difficult to accept. From whence the idea of the present invention to diminish the diameter of the core, thus to diminish the average diameter of the seal which surrounds it. This entails as corollary proposal a return spring the average diameter of which is greater than the average diameter of the seal since without such, the spring would not respect the design rule which requires that the average diameter of the spring be equal to or greater than 6 times the diameter of the wire. As here it concerns a diver's watch, one assumes as necessary fact that the return spring be located in a sealed zone of the pushpiece in order to avoid corrosion of such spring.


A CT scanner (10) for obtaining a medical diagnostic image of a subject includes a stationary gantry (12), and a rotating gantry (14) rotatably supported on the stationary gantry (12) for rotation about the subject. A plurality of temporally displaced volume images are gathered, divided into slices, and stored in slice memories (541, 542, . . . 54n). A slice comparitor (58) compares each slice to a selected reference slice. The slices are transformed by a slice transformer (60) to align the slices thereby correcting for movement of the subject over the scan period.

The present invention relates to the art of medical diagnostic imaging. It finds particular application in conjunction with calculating tissue perfusion using computed tomography (CT) scanners, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention is also amenable to other modalities such as MRI, and is not limited to the aforementioned application.
Generally, CT scanners have a defined examination region or scan circle in which a patient, or subject being imaged is disposed on a patient couch. A fan beam of radiation is transmitted across the examination region from an radiation source, such as an x-ray tube, to an oppositely disposed array of radiation detectors. The x-ray tube and associated power supply and cooling components are rotated around the examination region while data is collected from the radiation detectors. Rotation of the radiation source is often achieved by mounting the radiation source to a rotating gantry which is rotated on a stationary gantry. For volume imaging, the patient couch is moved longitudinally. Continuous movement achieves spiral scanning whereas discrete steps achieve a series of parallel slices.
The sampled data is typically manipulated via appropriate reconstruction processors to generate an image representation of the subject which is displayed in a human-viewable form. Various hardware geometries have been utilized in this process. In third generation scanners, both the source and detectors rotate around the subject. In a fourth generation scanner, the x-ray source rotates and the detectors remain stationary. The detector array typically extends 360xc2x0 around the subject in a ring outside of the trajectory of the x-ray tube.
In a perfusion study, blood flow in tissues and vessels of interest is of primary concern. Typically, a contrast agent is injected into the subject and multiple xe2x80x9csnapshotsxe2x80x9d of the region of interest are taken over time. Present CT scanners are capable of taking 1 to 2 snapshots per second of the region, providing a series of images that tracks the contrast agent in near-real time.
One particular application of CT perfusion is helping to diagnose cerebral ischemia in patients who have suffered acute strokes. This type of study requires precise measurements over a period of time. One technique that is used in the calculation of perfusion is the maximum slope method, which calculates the maximum slope of a time vs. density curve and a maximum arterial enhancement. Perfusion is the maximum slope divided by the maximum arterial enhancement. Accuracy of the quantitative data is impacted by noise in the data, which may have several possible sources. These include patient motion, blood recirculation, partial volume effect, and other factors.
One method of reducing patient motion in a head CT scan, and thus improving the quality of the perfusion investigation, is immobilizing the head of the subject in an external restraint. Typically, such a device includes a strap that is connected to the patient couch that traverses the forehead of the subject, effectively eliminating head motion in a vertical direction (given that the subject is laying horizontally). However, the subject is still capable of movement laterally, as well as slight rotation of the head. These movements can seriously degrade the quality of a perfusion study, causing misalignment of the series of images, blurring a resultant image, and having adverse effects on the calculation of blood perfusion. The maximum density enhancement, measured in Hounsfield units (HU) can be reduced by 40% or more by motion that can occur despite the aid of a head restraint. The blurred images, and effects on perfusion measurements significantly impact the accuracy of quantitative measurements used in diagnosis.
Further, background noise is a factor that affects perfusion calculation, as well as the images associated therewith. Regions that exhibit low signal can be overshadowed by noise. In low blood flow regions, the maximum density enhancement and the noise can both be in the 2-4 Hounsfield unit range. Legitimate perfusion signals can be hidden decreasing the efficacy of the study as a whole. Filters meant to eliminate noise may also eliminate low strength perfusion signals effectively getting rid of good information along with useless information.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved method and apparatus which overcome the above-referenced problems and others.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method of compensating for subject motion is provided. A plurality of volume images is gathered and a central slice image is selected. Movement in two dimensions is determined for each central slice image relative to a reference central slice image. The images are corrected in accordance with the determined movement.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a diagnostic imaging device is provided. An imaging region receives a portion of a subject. A reconstruction processor reconstructs a plurality of volume images. A slice comparitor compares the images and a slice transformer adjusts the images in accordance with the comparison.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a computed tomography device is provided. A source of penetrating radiation emits radiation into an imaging region. A detection means detects the radiation after it has passed through a subject. A reconstruction means reconstructs volume images of the subject. A means for tracking tracks movement of the images over time, a means for determining determines a movement correction for the images, and a means for applying applies the movement correction to the images.
One advantage of the present invention is a reduction of the negative effects of patient motion.
Another advantage resides in a reduction of the partial volume effect.
Another advantage resides in the reduction of the negative effects of blood recirculation.
Another advantage resides in the reduction of the effect of low amplitude signals.
Another advantage resides in the increased accuracy of curve fits.
Another advantage resides in reduction of errors caused by noise.
Still further advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Motion correction for perfusion measurements


A recording medium conveyance apparatus includes a feeding unit for accommodating a roll pipe and feeding a recording medium, a conveyance unit for conveying the recording medium fed by the feeding unit, and a determination unit for determining an accommodation state of the recording medium accommodated in the feeding unit. The feeding unit includes a driving unit for rotating the roll pipe and a detection unit for detecting a rotational operation of the roll pipe. The conveyance unit, using at least two rollers, conveys or fixes the recording medium by nipping it with the rollers. The determination unit, based on the rotational operation of the roll pipe detected by the detection unit when the recording medium is fixed by the rollers, determines whether the recording medium is fixed to the roll pipe or not.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein generally relate to a recording medium conveyance apparatus, an image forming apparatus and a recording medium conveyance method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In apparatuses such as image forming apparatuses in which a recording medium is used, a recording medium may be conveyed by rotating two rollers (roller pair) while the recording medium is nipped between the two rollers. Also, in image forming apparatuses, images may be formed on a surface of a long recording medium, the recording medium is cut off after forming the images, and the image formed cut-off part of the recording medium is discharged (ejected).
In Patent Document 1, a technology is disclosed, which is related to a recording apparatus capable of detecting existence or non-existence of slack of a roll of paper, or detecting a remaining amount of the roll of paper in accordance with a conveyance method.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-302313

Recording medium conveyance apparatus, image forming apparatus, recording medium conveyance method and recording medium storing program of recording medium conveyance method


A pipette tip storage and dispensing system has a series of pipette tip holder cards each of which has a plurality of openings for holding a set of pipette tips extending partway through the openings in an upright orientation. The openings in each card match those in the other cards, and cards loaded with pipette tips can be stacked vertically with the pipette tips in one card extending into the open upper ends of the tips in the next adjacent card of the stack, to minimize storage space. An alignment device is arranged to hold the pipette tips in a card in a vertical orientation as the card is removed from the top of the stack and transferred to a pipette tip holder tray so that the pipette tips can be lowered into aligned openings in the holder tray with the card resting on the top wall of the tray.

The present invention relates generally to a packaging system for disposable pipette tips.
Disposable pipette tips for use in syringes and pipetting devices are typically supplied in trays, each tray having openings for receiving 96 pipette tips. Typically, 10 trays are packaged in an outer box, and both the box and the trays are discarded when the tips have been used. Ten loaded pipette trays take up a lot of space and require a relatively large box, and thus a correspondingly large amount of packaging material which must be discarded. Empty trays are sometimes refilled by hand with a new set of pipette tips, but this is a very tedious and time consuming process, so empty trays are often simply discarded, further increasing the waste inherent in the current types of packaging systems.


A wireless light and accessory control system for golf carts (18) and other vehicles having a sender (1) that permits a user to remotely activate various accessories, such as headlights (2), turn signals (4), horns (5) and other accessories, such as radios, dome lights, etc., by sending signals via a wireless transmitter (12) located in the sender to controllers (13) located in each of the accessories. In addition, brake lights (3) may be activated and deactivated by a motion sensing means (10) in addition to being deactivated after a predetermined amount of time by a timer (11).

Currently, many vehicles, particularly, golf carts, trailers, tractors, utility vehicles and all terrain vehicles, do not come equipped with headlights, brake lights, turn signals and/or horns. This lack of such safety equipment is because such vehicles are built for special purposes and uses. For instance, most golf carts are built to be used solely on golf courses where these types of safety accessories are not necessarily needed. However, many people buy golf carts to use not just as a means of transportation on golf courses but also around their neighborhoods and communities. This is especially true of people who live in golf or country club communities and own their own golf carts and drive their golf carts on streets from their homes to the golf course where others are operating automobiles and other vehicles. The lack of safety accessories, such as headlights, brake lights, turn signals and/or horns, on these golf carts pose serious safety risks and is against the law in certain areas of the country. Currently if someone wants to install accessories on a golf cart, the accessories must be hard-wired to controls mounted on the golf cart, thereby making installation difficult and expensive.
Therefore, a need exists for a safety accessory kit that may be easily installed on a vehicle so that the vehicle will be equipped with headlights, turn signals, brake lights, a horn and so forth, thereby being safer to operate on streets and around other vehicles.
The relevant prior art includes the following references:
Pat. No.(U.S. unless stated otherwise)InventorIssue/Publication Date2008/0088423LiuApr. 17, 20082007/0132573Quach et al.Jun. 14, 2007DE10345701BergdoltApr. 21, 20052005/0115761Dinda et al.Jun. 02, 2005DE10358946ElfleinJun. 09, 20052005/0274591KimDec. 15, 20056,548,772LiburdiApr. 15, 2003FR2819223Alves et al.Jul. 12, 2002PCT/DE99/03426Besier et al.Jun. 02, 20005,900,803Politz et al.May 04, 19995,719,555Zeytoonjian et al.Feb. 17, 1998PCT/DE97/02759Peter et al.Jun. 11, 19984,859,982SeaburgAug. 22, 1989PCT/US89/02287AndersonDec. 14, 19894,678,906Rudi et al.Jul. 07, 19874,063,789KreislDec. 20, 19773,876,977LadewigApr. 08, 1975

Wireless light and accessory control system for golf carts and other vehicles


A diamond single crystal composite substrate which are constructed from a plurality of diamond single crystal substrates with uniform plane orientations disposed side by side and integrated overall by growing diamond single crystals thereon by vapor phase synthesis, in which the deviation of the plane orientation of the main plane of each of said plurality of diamond single crystal substrates, excluding one diamond single crystal substrate, from the {100} plane is less than 1 degree, the deviation of the plane orientation of the main plane of the excluded one substrate from the {100} plane is 1 to 8 degrees, said one diamond single crystal substrate is disposed in the outermost circumferential part when the diamond single crystal substrates are disposed side by side, and is disposed so that the <100> direction in the main plane of said one substrate faces in the outer circumferential direction of the disposed substrates, and diamond single crystals are then grown by vapor phase synthesis so that the diamond single crystal grown from said one diamond single substrate is caused to cover the diamond single crystals grown on the other substrates, to achieve an overall integration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diamond single crystal composite substrate and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly relates to a high-quality diamond single crystal composite substrate with a large area that can be used in semiconductor materials, electronic parts, optical parts and the like, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a semiconductor material, diamond has numerous superior characteristics not found in other materials, such as a high thermal conductivity, a high electron/positive hole mobility, a high dielectric breakdown field, a low dielectric loss, a broad band gap and the like. Especially in recent years, ultraviolet light-emitting devices utilizing this broad band gap, field effect transistors with superior high-frequency characteristics and the like have been developed.
As in the case of other semiconductor materials, a high-quality single crystal substrate is needed in order to utilize diamond as a semiconductor. Currently, diamond single crystals that are obtained industrially mainly by high-temperature high-pressure synthesis methods are superior in terms of crystallinity even compared to naturally produced single crystals, and can be utilized as semiconductor substrates from the standpoint of physical properties; however, the size of the single crystals obtained is limited to around 1 cm. In the case of such small substrates, semiconductor wafer processes utilizing steppers, electron beam exposure or the like generally use in the micro-fabrication or the like of Si or the like become a problem. In the case of small substrates, it is difficult to use such working devices that were designed for use with wafers having a diameter of several inches, and even if working devices especially meant for use with small substrates are introduced, the difficulty of peripheral processes such as the photo-resist coating process and the like is not resolved.
Accordingly, for example, a method for obtaining large integrated single crystals by disposing a plurality of high pressure phase substances that have substantially the same crystal orientations, thus forming substrates that act as nuclei for vapor phase growth, and then growing a single crystal on top of these nuclei, has been proposed as a method for obtaining diamond single crystal substrates that have a large area (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-75298 A).
When the method for obtaining large single crystals according to Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-75298 A is used, the single crystal substrates comprising a plurality of substrates that are used as nuclei for vapor phase growth ordinarily do not have growth plane orientations that are completely identical, but instead have plane orientations that are slightly different from each other. When a single crystal is integrated by performing single crystal vapor phase growth from here, the connecting parts have growth boundaries with different angles, i. e., defects in the broad sense, that are called small angle boundaries, and these grain boundaries do not substantially disappear even if crystal growth is continued. Accordingly, the semiconductor physical properties of region straddling such small angle boundaries are inferior to those of a complete single crystal, and if a device or the like is manufactured on top of the integrated single crystal, the performance is lost in the areas that straddle the small angle boundaries.

Diamond single crystal composite substrate and method for manufacturing the same


A device for activating cells over a prolonged period, comprises a stimuli imparting device for imparting stimuli to a human body, and a state changing device for changing the state of the stimuli imparted by the stimuli imparting device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for activating the cells of a human body by imparting stimuli.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous devices have hitherto been proposed for activating cells by imparting stimuli to a human body.
Such devices are, for instance, provided on the one hand with a vibrator which operates in accordance with acoustic signals emitted from an analogue disc player, digital disc player, tape-recorder or similar devices for generating acoustic signals, and on the other hand with headphones, earphones or similar means of generating audible soundwaves, and work in such a way that while the user listens to music, vibrations are imparted to the affected part in synchronism with the music.
Conventional devices of the abovementioned type all impart a continuous uniform level of stimuli to a prescribed body site. In other words, the abovementioned devices for activating cells impart a continuous uniform level of stimuli to the cells of the human body which are in contact with the vibrator.
This means there is a risk that prolonged use of this type of device may lead to acclimatization whereby the cells become insensitive to these stimuli, and it may become difficult to continue activating them.
Moreover, with this kind of cell-activating device the more the consciousness is focused on the affected part, the more it is possible to activate the cells there.
With a device like the abovementioned one where vibrations are imparted to the affected part of the human body while the user listens to music, it is possible to achieve a relaxed psychological state by listening to music while the vibrations are imparted, thus making prolonged use possible without attendant discomfort. However, because the consciousness is focused on listening to the music, which is to say it is always focused on listening to the music irrespective of differences in location of the affected part, there is a risk that the cells of the affected part will not be activated satisfactorily.

Device for activating cells of a human body


A method of controlling NO.sub.x emissions from a glass melting process in which combustion fuel produces exhaust gas in a melting furnace including NO.sub.x compounds is disclosed. Furnace exhaust gas passes from the melting furnace through a regenerator to a zone downstream from the regenerator. Ammonia is injected into the furnace exhaust gas at the downstream zone while the furnace exhaust gas is within a desired temperature range to reduce the amount of NO.sub.x compounds. Additional gas is introduced into the furnace exhaust gas as it moves from the regenerator to the downstream zone whenever the furnace exhaust gas has a temperature which is outside the desired temperature range at the downstream zone so as to modify the furnace exhaust gas temperature such that the furnace exhaust gas is within the desired temperature range when furnace exhaust gas reaches to the downstream zone. In one particular embodiment of the invention, the additional gas is the exhaust from an excess air burner which is injected into the furnace exhaust gas at a temperature such that the furnace exhaust gas and the injected gas have a combined temperature between about 870 to 1090.degree. C. at the downstream zone.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the reduction of NO.sub.x emissions produced in a large-scale glass melting furnace by controlling the furnace exhaust gas temperature.
2. Technical Considerations
Large-scale melting of glass entails the combustion of large amounts of fuel in a melting furnace in order to provide the required melting temperatures by direct heating. The fuel (generally natural gas or fuel oil) is usually mixed with an excess of air beyond that theoretically required for complete combustion in order to assure that complete combustion of the fuel actually occurs within the furnace, and particularly in the case of flat glass melting operations, to assure that oxidizing conditions are maintained within the furnace. This combination of conditions within a glass furnace is conducive to the oxidation of nitrogen in the combustion air to NO.sub.x.
NO.sub.x is a shorthand designation for NO and/or NO.sub.2. In the high temperature conditions of a glass melting furnace, the oxide of nitrogen formed is mostly NO with some small amount of NO.sub.2, but after exhaust gas containing NO is released to the atmosphere, much of the NO is converted to NO.sub.2, which is considered to be an objectionable air pollutant and is believed to be involved in the chemistry of smog formation. Therefore, large volume combustion sources, such as glass melting furnaces, are susceptible to governmental regulations that may severely restrict their operations.
A non-catalytic process for selectively reducing NO to nitrogen and water by injecting ammonia into an exhaust gas stream is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,554 to Lyon. This process may be employed on glass melting furnace exhaust streams as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,020 to Hughes. This patent teaches that effective ammonia reduction of NO.sub.x occurs when the exhaust gas from the furnace is at a temperature in the range of 870 to 1090.degree. C. (700 to 1090.degree. C. when the ammonia is accompanied by hydrogen) and further that such temperature conditions exist or can be created within the flue which connects the primary and secondary regenerator chambers of the furnace's heat recovery system for a substantial portion of each firing cycle in a glass melting furnace. The patent further teaches that ammonia injection is discontinued whenever the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas passing through the flue falls outside this preferred operating range. Although this method is capable of removing a large portion of NO.sub.x from glass furnace exhaust, its overall effectiveness is reduced by the ineffectiveness of the ammonia reduction technique during selected portions of each firing cycle of the melting furnace when the exhaust gas temperatures are unsuitable.
To prolong the effective operating time of an ammonia injection system, U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,770 to Krumwiede et al. discloses a glass melting furnace wherein additional fuel is injected into and burned with excess oxygen in the furnace exhaust gas as it enters the primary regenerators during selected portions of the glass melting process, to increase the furnace exhaust gas temperature so that it is within the desired temperature range for effective NO.sub.x reduction by ammonia injection.
Although these types of systems serve to reduce the NO.sub.x emissions, there are still times during the firing cycle of the glass melting furnace when NO.sub.x emissions are not being reduced by use of the ammonia injection system.
It would be advantageous to have a glass melting furnace arrangement which provides both increased use and more efficient use of the ammonia injection system to further reduce NO.sub.x emissions.

Reduction of NO.sub.x emissions in a glass melting furnace