Neural tissue edema is treated by circulating a hyperoncotic artificial cerebrospinal fluid in the cerebrospinal fluid pathway in the vicinity of edematous tissue to cause the edematous tissue to be dehydrated due to an oncotic gradient between the hypertonic artificial cerebrospinal fluid and intracellular fluid and withdrawing the fluid from the pathway after it has been so circulated.

This invention is in the field of neurosurgery. More particularly, it relates to hyperoncotic artificial cerebrospinal fluid and a method of treating neural tissue edema by circulating such fluid into contact with neural tissue via the cerebrospinal fluid pathway.
The brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves are composed of neural tissue. However, only the brain and spinal cord are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The most significant function of CSF is to cushion these organs against external traumatic forces applied to the head or body. Of similar importance is the contribution the cerebrospinal fluid pathway has made to the advancement of medical therapy by serving as a delivery system for drugs such as antibiotics, chemotherapy and anesthetic agents.
Cerebral edema is defined as an increase in the extravascular tissue water content of the brain. See Hariri, R. J., Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, October 1994, 5(4):687-706 and Williams, M. A. and Razumosky, A. Y., Current Opinions in Neurology, December 1993, 6(6):847-53. The main clinical significance of cerebral edema is raised intracranial pressure (ICP). Sustained and substantial elevation of ICP can cause brainstem herniation into the foramen magnum. Subsequent compression of the respiratory center in the brainstem leads to respiratory arrest and immediate death. Cerebral edema may be focal, as occurs in tumors, strokes, and abscesses or diffuse, as is often seen in hypoxic-ischemic injury (such as occurs from cardio-respiratory arrest and near drowning), and cranio-cerebral injuries. Cerebral edema can be diagnosed symptomatically in most instances, or by computed tomography (CT) brain scans which show hypodense areas of edema, small ventricles, obliteration of basal cisterns, and midline shift. Methods for monitoring ICP are also known. See Cordoba, J. and Blei, A. T., Liver Transplantation and Surgery, 1995 May, 1(3):187-94.
Once significant intracranial hypertension is identified, therapy must be prompt to prevent secondary cerebral ischemia. Treatments that have been used previously to treat elevated ICP include: hyperventilation; fluid restriction; osmotic diuresis; removal of cerebrospinal fluid; blood pressure control; and drug therapy (e.g., corticosteroids and barbiturates). In general, these therapeutic efforts are directed to: (1) control or manipulation of hydrostatic influences on the cerebrovascular system; (2) maintenance of the cerebrovascular permeability barrier, or (3) control or manipulation of osmotic and oncotic influences on transvascular fluid flux. However, these treatment modalities have not proved to be consistently effective and often create further metabolic and other systemic physiological problems.
Similar to cerebral edema, spinal cord edema results from increased fluid in the spinal tissue extravascular space. Spinal cord edema is a significant problem because it leads to spinal ischemia which can cause or potentiate a neurological deficit. Spinal cord edema may result from distortional forces or extrinsic compression. Distortional forces include traumatic flexion, extension, or rotation which shears neural and vascular elements. Extrinsic compression may be secondary to bony fragments (displaced fractures), hematoma, or tumor.
The spinal cord exists in a closed space environment where there is minimal room to expand. The cord is enclosed within the bony spine but is also directly covered by a relatively inelastic pial membrane. Due to this closed space environment, expansion of spinal cord tissue secondary to edema compresses spinal vessels. This limitation in blood flow causes the cord to become ischemic (secondary ischemia), initiating a cascade of events that creates more tissue edema (FIG. 1). Cerebral edema secondary to an ischemic episode or trauma is also affected by this process. Spinal cord edema can be diagnosed by clinical signs and symptoms and identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans as high signal areas on T1- and T2-weighted images.
Many drugs have been investigated for the treatment of spinal cord injury, but results have been disappointing and their effect on spinal cord edema has not been widely studied. For example, methylprednisolone, a corticosteroid, has been advocated to improve functional (motor) recovery in traumatic spinal cord injury. However, after long-term follow-up, these clinical improvements are minimal, and patients are not found to significantly benefit from treatment when compared to control subjects. Morbid side effects such as GI bleeding and increased rates of wound infection have also been demonstrated in some studies.
The present invention concerns using oncotic influences variously to treat cerebral and spinal cord edema. Our artificial cerebrospinal fluid is used to counteract edema of any etiology and breaks the cycle of increasing neural tissue ischemia and edema. In the case of spinal cord edema, this treatment affords a wider therapeutic window.
Oncotic pressure is a manifestation of the difference in the colloid concentrations in fluids separated by a biological membrane. In the cerebral vasculature, the capillary walls act as a barrier between the plasma and interstitial fluid. The plasma contains significant amounts of proteins and other colloids that are too large to pass through the walls. The colloid osmotic pressure due to the presence of the colloids in the plasma (and relative lack thereof in extravascular fluid) is called the oncotic pressure and typically measures about 17-25 mm Hg. Oncotic pressure is one of the mechanisms the body uses to control fluid exchanges across biological membranes such as the capillary wall. Fluid is transported to the region of higher colloid concentration. Thus, in the brain and spinal cord, water is normally drawn into the capillaries from the surrounding interstitial fluid and tissue.
The effects of bolus infusions of hyperoncotic-hypertonic saline solution into the cerebral vasculature on ICP are reviewed by Hariri, R. J., supra. Such solutions (typically containing dextran as the oncotic agent) are reported to have reduced ICP in a rabbit model of cryogenic brain injury. In corresponding tests on human patients with severe head injury, the survival rates of patients in the group receiving hyperoncotic-hypertonic saline solution were greater than that for the control group. The investigators speculated that dehydration of brain tissue by the infused solution attenuated increased ICP.
Introduction of artificial cerebrospinal fluids in the CSF pathway to treat hypoxic and ischemic disorders in neurological tissue is known. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,840,617; 4,686,085; 4,393,863; 4,378,797 and 4,981,691 describe using oxygenated aqueous emulsions of fluorocarbons containing electrolytes and nutrients in such a manner. U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,691 describes such an emulsion containing 1.8% by weight albumin (an oncotic agent). These patents do not, however, suggest circulating such fluids through the cerebrospinal fluid pathway to treat neural tissue edema.
Thus, as described above, osmotic-oncotic influences on neural tissue edema are well understood. Currently, no method has been devised for treating spinal cord edema. Further, various techniques, including the injection of hyperoncotic fluids into the cerebral vasculature, have been proposed for treating cerebral edema. Notwithstanding these prior techniques, new procedures for treating neural tissue edema are needed.
One aspect of the invention is a method for treating neural tissue edema, whether in intracranial or spinal disease, in a patient comprising:
a) introducing an artificial cerebrospinal fluid into the cerebrospinal fluid pathway at a first site; and
b) withdrawing the fluid from the cerebrospinal fluid pathway at a second site selected to create circulation of said fluid in the vicinity of edematous neural tissue,
said fluid containing a sufficient amount of an oncotic agent to cause the edematous neural tissue to be at least partially dehydrated.
Another aspect of the invention is an artificial cerebrospinal fluid for treating neural tissue edema, said fluid containing a sufficient amount of an oncotic agent to cause dehydration of edematous neural tissue contacted by the fluid.

Hyperoncotic artificial cerebrospinal fluid and method of treating neural tissue edema therewith


An apparatus for stabilizing liquid includes first and second filters, intermediate storage that stores a regenerable stabilizing agent, an inlet line supplying unstabilized liquid and connected to both filters and to the intermediate storage, and a switchable interconnection configured for, immediately after regeneration and cleaning of the first or second filter, selectively causing the one of the first filter unit and the second filter unit to be upstream of an other of the first filter unit and the second filter unit. The first filter unit and the second filter unit are configured to run in different operational phases that are offset in time from one another.

For consumers, cloudiness of beer is unacceptable although in most cases this does not affect its shelf life. The cloudiness is triggered by a chemical reaction of substances contained in the beer, in particular polyphenolic compounds and/or particular protein fractions. To remove polyphenolic compounds from beer, various multi-stage processes are known from the prior art. To do so, before the actual removal of the polyphenolic compounds, first yeasts and turbidity-causing matter are removed from the beer by filtration. The process of the removal of polyphenolic compounds and/or certain protein fractions from the beer is also described as stabilization of the beer.
In the context of the actual stabilization process, the beer is first brought into contact with a stabilization agent that represents a preferred reaction partner for the polyphenolic compounds and/or certain protein fractions. In this connection, basically a distinction is drawn between processes with lost stabilization agents and processes with the possibility of regeneration of the stabilization agent. In practice, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone is frequently used as a stabilization agent. Due to the chemical reaction occurring, the polyphenols are bound to the polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and thus removed from the beer, which almost completely prevents cloudiness, but in any event greatly reduces it, even when the beer is stored for a prolonged period.
The degree of removal of polyphenols from the beer or the beer stabilzsation is dependent on a number of factors; of particular importance are the quantity of stabilization agent added, the number of free adsorption points of the stabilization agent and the length of the contact time of the beer with the stabilization agent. It is known here that by appropriate choice and design of the components of a stabilization apparatus for example with regard to tank volume, flow speeds etc., the entire stabilization apparatus can be designed so that sufficient contact times between the stabilization agent, for example polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and the beer components to be removed and thus adequate stabilization levels can be achieved.
It is also to be taken into account that the stabilizing effect of the stabilization agent polyvinylpolypyrrolidone or other suitable stabilization agent falls with increasing contact or reaction time. This is due to the existing adsorption places of the stabilisation agent being increasingly saturated. In this connection, the addition of fresh stabilization agent is also known during the supply of beer to be stabilized and at approximately the same time, so that a sufficient number of unoccupied adsorption places is always present. The stabilization agent polyvinylpolypyrrolidone is preferably regenerated, this being preferably with sodium hydroxide solution for example.
If the beer now has reached the desired stabilization level, the stabilization agent and the beer are separated from each other again, to avoid over-stabilization and the increased costs associated with this over-stabilization. To separate the stabilization agent from the beer, in practice filter units, so-called pre-coat filters, are used. Here, the stabilization agent added to the liquid to be filtered or the previously pre-coated stabilization agent is used, which is pre-coated on the filter surface. When the liquid to be filtered penetrates through the pre-coated stabilization agent layer, the liquid is filtered. For pre-coat filtration, horizontal filters and so-called cartridge filters are used.
Horizontal filtering has a number of filter plates arranged one on top of the other on a carrier in a filter vessel, the top face of the filter plates being coated with the layer of filter aid. When the fluid penetrates the filter layer, typically a layer of kieselguhr, the filtration occurs. The liquid filtered through it reaches the inside of the plates and is drained from inside the plates through a central pipe.
With so-called cartridge filters, there is a dividing wall in a filter vessel which divides the filter vessel into an unfiltrate and a filtrate chamber. Perpendicular to the plane of the dividing wall, filter cartridges that extend into the unfiltrate chamber are arranged. The filter cartridges have a surface with openings. The structure and functioning of pre-coat filter units of this kind can be found for example in EP 1 380 332 A1. However, the cleaning of this kind of filter cartridge is disadvantageous, and in particular where a poor-quality stabilization agent is used, it is extremely difficult, and the entire filter unit can be damaged during cleaning due to the increased mechanical stresses.
In practice, stabilization systems of this kind are frequently part of a larger production installation. The production installations are made for example for the filtering, stabilization, filling and packing of liquid products, for example beer, whereby all installation components are preferably connected in series, i.e. the outage of an installation component due to operating conditions or faults, leads to the outage of the entire production installation. It has been shown that in installations of this kind, with regard to the installation components, the stabilization, and in particular the regeneration of the stabilization agent frequently represents the reason for the unwanted outages or production interruptions of the entire installation. Thus, in addition to a big loss of time, enormous additional operating and maintenance costs arise.
To resolve this problem, arranging two or more stabilization installations parallel to each other has already been suggested so as to allow a continuous stabilization. These solutions are however not satisfactory due to the high installation costs.
Likewise, from EP 1 949 948 A1, a stabilization installation for the continuous treatment of liquids is known in which polyvinylpolypyrrolidone is used as the stabilization agent, the regular regeneration of which is essential. For regeneration, the use of at least three similarly constructed filter units is proposed, whereby each individual one of these filter units serves as filter, regeneration container and also as a collector vessel in the course of a production cycle. This approach requires a lot of installation input, and is relatively complicated in terms of the management of the entire installation.

Apparatus and process for stabilizing a liquid, in particular beer


A system and method are provided for designing RF pulses which have improved magnetization profiles. By utilizing an optimal control approach as an alternative to, or in combination with, non-iterative approximations, RF pulses generated by the system and method described herein will exhibit less deviation from that of “ideal” Bloch solutions. Consequently, the magnetization profiles produced by the RF pulses generated by the system and method described herein will be closer to the desired profiles. In addition, limitations of non-iterative approximations, such as maximum tip angle limits and linearity constraints, can be avoided.

The present invention relates generally to magnetic resonance imaging, and more specifically, to a system and method for designing multi-dimensional spatially-selective RF pulse profiles using an optimal control approach. By defining an RF pulse profile using optimal control, the resulting magnetization therefrom can be rendered more accurately, especially for larger tip angles. Embodiments of the present invention find particular utility in parallel transmission applications such as localized magnetization manipulations, and in B1 inhomogeneity correction at high main magnetic field strengths. However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that improved RF pulse profiles will benefit any MR imaging process.
MR imaging in general is based upon the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance. When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B0), the individual magnetic moments of the spins in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. If the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field, such as a B1 excitation field, which is in the x-y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, or "longitudinal magnetization", Mz, may be rotated, or "tipped", into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment Mt. A signal is emitted by the excited spins after the excitation signal B1 is terminated and this signal may be received and processed to form an image.
When utilizing these signals to produce images, magnetic field gradients (Gx, Gy, and Gz) are employed. Typically, the region to be imaged is scanned by a sequence of measurement cycles in which these gradients vary according to the particular localization method being used. The resulting set of received NMR signals is digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques.
For systems using multiple coils or multi-channel RF pulses, as well as for sequences which utilize multidimensional spatially-selective RF pulses, it is beneficial for the RF pulses transmitted by the coils to produce accurate changes in magnetization. In conventional single channel transmission, multidimensional pulses to achieve multidimensional spatial selectivity can have much longer durations than the single dimensional slice-selective pulses. The performance of the single channel transmission pulses can also be rather limited. Thus, parallel transmission of independently-controlled multidimensional RF waveforms has been used to shorten the transmission times and improve the performance of spatial selectivity. However, to date, parallel transmission has only been used for certain types of RF pulses, since most design methods for parallel transmission pulses are based upon mere approximations of the Bloch equations, and therefore are accurate only when certain limitations are met.
One common RF pulse design approach is known as the small tip angle (STA) approximation, which is generally accurate for RF pulse profiles having tip angles of less than 90 degrees. Another approach is known as the linear class large tip angle approximation (LCLTA). These approaches are limited in that they are mere linear approximation of the Bloch equations, and thus have inherent errors in their results. These errors can be translated into ripples and rounded edges in the magnetization profiles when the assumptions of STA/LCLTA are approximately met, or into large distortions from the ideal magnetization profiles when the assumptions are violated. As such, it has been thought that these types of pulses should be derived directly from the Bloch equations.
However, direct derivation of RF pulse shapes from the Bloch equations has so far been limited in practice to single dimensional, single channel (i.e. non-parallel) RF pulses. Some of the more common approaches to directly solving the Bloch equations for 1D single channel pulses are the well-known Shinnar-LeRoux method, the utilization of neural networks, evolutionary methods, simulated annealing, perturbation response methods, iterative correction for hardware non-linearity, optimal control, inverse scattering transforms, and others. Unfortunately, none of these methods have so far been generalized to accommodate RF pulse design for multi-channel pulse waveforms and/or multi-dimensional spatially-selective pulse waveforms.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method capable of producing accurate multidimensional and/or multichannel RF pulse waveforms. It would be further desirable to have embodiments of such a system and method which could account for arbitrary desired flip angles and arbitrary initial magnetization.

System and method for designing improved RF pulse profiles

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign


A broadcasting signal detecting circuit of a SECAM system can easily determine whether the received broadcasting is from a PAL or SECAM system in accordance with the existence of a color burst at the position of a delayed burst gate pulse, using the fact that within the back porch of the horizontal sync signal, the color burst loading period is different.

The present invention relates to a broadcasting signal detecting circuit in a broadcasting receiver, and particularly to a circuit for detecting the broadcasting signals of a SECAM system in accordance with the existence or absence of a color burst signal within a predetermined period in video cassette recorders or television receivers for PAL system.
European countries adopt either the phase-alternating line (PAL) system or the sequentielle a memoire (SECAM) system as their standard television broadcasting system.
Accordingly, television broadcasting receivers, e.g., a TV receiver, a video tape recorder, and a camcoder now on the market, have circuitry which enables the receiver to receive signals of both the above-mentioned systems. In such a double-broadcasting receiver, a circuit is required to distinguish whether the received TV signal is of the PAL system or the SECAM system.
A circuit for detecting SECAM signals is illustrated in FIG. 1. The circuit can be used, for example, in a PAL video tape recorder which can also record SECAM signals.
Referring to FIG. 1, a first amplifier 10 amplifies only a color burst signal from input color signals entered from an unshown signal input source by gating in accordance with a burst gate pulse BGP. That is, the BGP is input to the first amplifier 10 as a control input. The amplifier 10 only outputs the input color signal when the BGP at the control input is high.
Here, the gating is carried out because the signal entered from the signal input source, i.e., the SECAM or PAL signal, has a sub-modulated subcarrier at the burst flag.
The first amplifier 10 has a 4.5 MHz cut-off frequency. Filter 20 passes only those signals output from amplifier 10 that are within the cut-off frequency.
At this time, when the received signal is of a SECAM system, since the color burst frequency is alternately converted into 4.40625 MHz and 4.2 MHz every horizontal period, the output from filter 20 is amplitude-modulated as shown in FIG. 2A. Then, the amplitude-modulated signal is detected and flattened by a first detector 30, as illustrated in FIG. 2B.
Since the amplitude of the output from first detector 30 differs for each horizontal period, a 7.8 KHz signal corresponding to half of the horizontal frequency (1/2H) is amplified by a second amplifier 40. Then, when the amplified signal is again detected and flattened in a second detector 50, a DC voltage as shown in FIG. 2C can be obtained.
A comparator 60 outputs a logic "high" which results from comparing the output signal of second detector 50 shown in FIG. 2C with a reference voltage Vref.
On the other hand, in case of a PAL signal, since the subcarrier is constantly 4.4 MHz, and the amplitude is not modulated, a signal such as shown in FIG. 2D is output from filter 20.
The output signal (FIG. 2E) of first detector 30 which receives the output signal (FIG. 2D) of filter 20 has no 7.8 MHz component, but does have a horizontal frequency component.
Since the output signal of second amplifier 40 is small, the detected and flattened output from second detector 50 shown in FIG. 2F is also small. Thus, the final DC output voltage becomes a logic "low".
Therefore, comparator 60 outputs a logic "high" for SECAM signals, and a logic "low" for PAL signals. Thus, it is possible to determine whether a SECAM or a PAL signal has been received.
Also, Japanese patent publication No. sho 63-27187 discloses a signal discriminating circuit which determines whether a signal is of the PAL or SECAM systems. Here, using the difference between voltage levels which correspond to the burst signal frequency of each broadcasting system, the output voltage is fixed to be an identical DC voltage during the burst period, and to be a predetermined different voltage during periods besides the burst period.
However, the above-described conventional broadcasting signal detecting circuits have problems in that malfunctions may occur according to peculiarities the broadcasting area or component variations in the applied circuitry.

Broadcasting signal detecting circuit for SECAM and PAL signal formats


A method of backlighting a flat panel display over an expanded dimming range includes providing a backlight including multiple cold cathode fluorescent lamps positionable directly behind a diffuser. Each of multiple drive circuits is adapted to independently adjust arc current of at least one of the multiple cold cathode fluorescent lamps in order to change the luminance output of the at least one of the cold cathode fluorescent lamps. Control signals are provided to each of the multiple drive circuits to separately control luminance output of different cold cathode fluorescent lamps such that at the same instant the different cold cathode fluorescent lamps are driven to substantially different luminance intensities, thereby allowing a reduction of an overall minimum luminance provided by the backlight and expanding the dimmable range of the backlight. A backlight implementing the methods of the invention is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to display backlighting systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cold cathode fluorescent lamp backlighting system providing an expanded dimming range.
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are frequently used as display devices in aircraft. To accommodate low level night operation and high ambient sunlight conditions, an extremely large backlight dimming range is typically necessary. A desired dynamic luminance range ratio of 3000:1 (the ratio of the highest luminance output to the lowest possible luminance output) or more is highly desirable.
Cold cathode fluorescent lamp technology has long been a source of lighting for the laptop personal computer (PC) industry which requires long life, efficient operation, an inexpensive cost structure, but only limited dimability. The fact that these lamps are difficult to dim over more than a range of 500:1 has precluded their usage in most aviation electronics (avionics) applications which require significantly more dynamic luminance range. While some avionics manufacturers have been successful in putting cold cathode lamps in flight deck applications, the dimming performance (typically no greater than 1000:1) has precluded their application to a primary flight display on which critical pilot information is provided.
A method of backlighting a flat panel display over an expanded dimming range includes providing a backlight including multiple cold cathode fluorescent lamps positionable directly behind a diffuser. Each of multiple drive circuits is adapted to independently adjust arc current of at least one of the multiple cold cathode fluorescent lamps in order to change the luminance output of the at least one of the cold cathode fluorescent lamps. Control signals are provided to each of the multiple drive circuits to separately control luminance output of different cold cathode fluorescent lamps such that at the same instant the different cold cathode fluorescent lamps are driven to substantially different luminance intensities, thereby allowing a reduction of an overall minimum luminance provided by the backlight and expanding the dimmable range of the backlight. A backlight implementing the methods of the invention is also disclosed.

Cold cathode backlight for avionics applications with strobe expanded dimming range


The invention provides a rotation-type changer of torches and nozzles for a laser beam machine having a movable table. The automatic tool changer 100 of a laser beam machine is equipped with a plurality of torch holders 160 and a nozzle changer 170 disposed on the magazine 150. The working head 40 moves in a Y-axis direction perpendicular to the paper plane and in a Z-axis direction. The torch holder 160 storing the torch to be exchanged is rotated along the Y-axis path line and the working head 40 is lowered to exchange the torch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic tool changer of torches and nozzles of a laser beam machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A laser beam machine having an apparatus for automatically changing tools such as torches and nozzles are disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2005-334920 (patent document 1) and 2005-334921 (patent document 2) filed by the present applicant.
The laser beam machines disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2 are structured so that the laser beam head moves along path lines of X, Y and Z axes.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 7-185865 (patent document 3) discloses a nozzle changer of a laser beam machine in which a table moves in the X-axis direction and a working head moves in Y-axis and Z-axis directions.

Automatic tool changer of laser beam machine


The invention includes method and apparatus for updating a configuration of a client computer coupled by means of a network to a server computer. The updating process begins with a change in the status of a server computer. This change can be necessitated by addition of hardware such as an additional hard drive or the addition of an additional service such as shared Internet access. A status message is transmitted by means of the network between the server computer and the client computer regarding the changed status of the server computer. This message can be either an alert message from the server to all connected client computer nodes or can be accomplished by client polling for an updated status of the server. A message is displayed at the client computer to apprise a user that a status of the server computer has changed. Additionally, a communications between the client computer and the server computer takes place over the network to inform the client computer regarding details of the change of status in the server computer. This updated status allows a computer setup wizard running on the client computer to upgrade the status of the client.

Local area computer networks, often referred to as LANs provide a popular means of interconnecting multiple computers so that they can communicate with each other. A simple network could be used to interconnect the personal computers in a small business. It would include a small number of computers (sometimes referred to as nodes) coupled together by means of network hardware to allow the computers to share files and peripherals such as printers, modems, scanners and the like. A network of this size can be simply run as a so called peer to peer network where all computers on the network are equal at least in terms of their relationship to each other on the network.
More sophisticated local area network configurations can increase the number of computers that are connected to a network and also can require different networking software. Certain of the computer nodes on such a network have special status on the network. These so called server computers (or servers) run software for managing network communications. Often a server computer or server node will have special peripherals such as faster modems or direct Internet connections. They may also have larger, faster access memories and larger, faster hard drives than the so called client nodes on the network. One example of server software that runs a local area network's server computers is Microsoft Windows NT Server.
Server components running on a server computer offer a number of services that can change depending on how the network administrator configures the network. Server computers are typically configured in a way to meet the network administrators perceived notion of what the client nodes on the network require. In the prior art, when a server configuration changed, the client nodes had to be changed and this was accomplished by a user accessing a configuration screen on the client and making software configuration changes for each of the client nodes on the network. Not all changes to a server software configuration need client side reconfiguration. In a small business network where relatively inexperienced administrators manage the network, it is difficult for the user to tell what updates to the server software require client nodes to be reconfigured and which of those server updates need no client reconfiguration.
More sophisticated networks have multiple servers coupled to different sets of client nodes. In a typical small business network of less than 50 computers coupled to the network there is only one server that services the needs of all client nodes. The present invention concerns efficient updating of network components including a means of updating the client software in response to a change of the status of a server computer.

Client computer configuration based on server computer update


A personal security alarm device includes a flashlight having a main housing with a bulb and reflector, a battery compartment and an actuation switch. A sub-housing is pivotally mounted in an L-shaped cut out portion at the lower front end of the main housing. An audible alarm is mounted in the main housing and is energized by pulling a handle to extract a contact pin from the housing and close a pair of electrical contacts.

Flashlights are widely used in situations where there is insufficient ambient light to perform a required activity. However with some activities, particularly walking, it is desirable to see not only forwards to ensure that there is no obstruction to be collided with but also downwards so that it can be ensured that there are no low level obstructions to trip over. Providing both forward and downward illumination can be done with a wide angle reflector flashlight but this can dissipate the brilliance of the illumination such that it is ineffective in any direction.
Personal alarms have been proposed to be tripped by the user if the user considers there is a risk of assault, however such alarms must either be concealed in which case there may be difficulty in readily actuating the alarm if the assault occurs unexpectedly or if carried openly, the assailant may target the personal alarm initially and remove it from the user before the alarm can be tripped.

Personal security alarm with twin lights


An environmentally safe underground piping system for liquid fuels and chemicals which interconnects an underground liquid storage tank to one or more above ground liquid dispensing units, that provides a complete secondary containment system for the entire primary liquid supply piping system. The piping systems employs one tank access chamber interconnected to one or more dispenser access chambers by a double walled pipe. The double wall pipe provides an interstitial space for gravity flow of any leaking liquids, from any point in the primary liquid supply piping system, to an access chamber, which also serves as a liquid collection sump, for purposes of leak detection.

In recent years there has been an increased awareness that the underground storage and distribution systems of hazardous fluids, such as, hydrocarbon fuels and a diversity of chemicals, need to be improved to prevent any leaking product from these systems from escaping into the environment and potentially contaminating the underground drinking water. Both public health and fire safety regulatory bodies have imposed strict guidelines and regulations on such systems to insure public safety.
Leaking underground storage tanks and their associated underground piping systems became the focus of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to initiate federal and state legislation that would require an improved means of storage, distribution, leak detection and accounting of all stored fluids which are deemed to be hazardous. The EPA conducted studies which showed that underground piping failures were caused by poor installation practices, corrosion and structural failure were responsible for most of the leaks reported.
In response to this public awareness and concern, equipment specifiers and manufacturers have developed improved piping systems in recent years to provide a greater degree of protection for the environment. Most of these improved piping systems provide a second barrier of protection around the primary fluid supply piping, commonly referred to as "secondary containment".
In addition to the regulatory bodies mentioned above, facility owners and their insurance companies have become very concerned with the type of materials used and the design specifications of existing, new and proposed fuel storage, transmission and dispensing equipment. An important area of concern is the chemical compatibility of the materials used in the construction of both the primary and secondary containment systems. As a result, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), a nationally recognized and accepted independent testing laboratory, has already established and proposed new standards for both the primary and secondary containment underground storage, transmission and dispensing equipment. Acceptable materials for use in this application generally relate to the materials stability when exposed to conditions and chemicals found naturally in a subterranean environment and the exposure to the fuels and their chemical additives, as well as other chemicals being stored and dispensed. In addition, another area of concern is ability of a material to provide an acceptable containment barrier for the product to be stored. The product permeability rating of a material is generally accepted by regulators and UL as being more stringent for the primary storage vessel than the secondary containment vessel, which only provides a means of temporary storage of leaking product until detected and corrected.
For example, UL has established and proposed new standards which include acceptable permeability levels for the primary containment and secondary containment storage and dispensing systems. These standards require that a typical primary wall section should not be able to permeate more than 1% of its stored product weight over a period of 270 days, whereas, a typical secondary containment wall section should not be able to permeate more than 1% of its stored product over a period of 30 days. Keeping these standards in mind, UL listed products for storage of hazardous liquids and fuels must be constructed of the proper materials at the acceptable thickness to provide a satisfactory level of environmental protection and fire safety.
For purpose of this description, "underground piping systems" is defined as the means of transferring hazardous liquids from a buried underground storage "tank", by the tanks electrically powered dispensing "pump" to a generally metered dispensing unit or "dispenser", generally located above ground. An underground piping system which is secondarily contained by a larger diameter piping system is generally referred to as a "double-wall piping system". The primary distribution pipe which is contained is commonly referred to as the "supply pipe" and the larger outer secondary containment pipe is commonly referred to as the "containment pipe". Other secondary containment components, such as, surface access chambers, which are installed around the tanks pump and underneath a dispenser, are commonly referred to as "access sumps". These storage, transferring and dispensing systems, are typically found at service stations which market gasoline and diesel fuel.
Equipment manufacturers have in recent years introduced both patented and non-patented supply piping systems and/or secondary containment systems for these supply piping systems of various designs and material selections. The following double wall piping systems which are considered to be prior art of this invention, are disclosed as follows:
(1). A secondarily contained underground piping system which features a non-flexible fiberglass supply pipe system fully contained by a larger non-flexible fiberglass containment piping system. One such system also includes the feature of telescoping containment pipe, whereby two non-flexible containment pipes are offered, one with a slightly larger inside diameter than the outside diameter than the other. This permits larger pipe to be installed over the smaller pipe therefore exposing more of the supply pipe contained within both. The containment pipe and fittings are of a larger inside diameter than the outside diameter of the supply pipe and fittings contained within. The short bend radius containment fittings and couplings are of a clamshell design (two piece) to permit assembly of the the short bend radius supply fittings prior to assembly of the containment piping system. Both the supply and containment piping components are joined together by heat activated resins to insure a liquid tight joint. These systems are generally difficult to install due to the nature of their design and joining system. Both the supply and containment piping system are made of fiberglass which provides excellent chemical compatibility and impermeability.
(2). A secondarily contained underground piping system which features a non-flexible fiberglass or steel supply pipe fully contained by a combination of both a larger flexible and non-flexible polyethylene telescoping containment pipe. The telescoping containment pipe design that permits the complete inspection of the supply pipe line during assembly and integrity testing. This containment piping system includes a flexible containment pipe which is sufficiently flexible to go around and contain short bend radius supply elbow fittings. An oversized short bend radius containment tee fitting is provided for insertion, assembly and inspection of the smaller short bend radius supply tee fittings before the containment system is assembled. The containment components of this system are joined by means of metal fasteners and flexible seals. The flexible polyethylene containment pipe is not of sufficient wall thickness and density to offer the level of impermeability necessary to meet the UL standard. The non-flexible polyethylene containment pipe is of sufficient wall thickness and density to meet the UL standard. Both the contained fiberglass or steel supply pipe will meet the UL standard. Note: The metal fastener use to make a compression will not meet the UL standard for corrosion resistance.
(3). A secondarily contained underground piping system which features a non-flexible fiberglass or steel supply pipe fully contained by a larger non-flexible polyethylene telescoping containment pipe. The telescoping containment pipe design permits the complete inspection of the supply pipe line during assembly and integrity testing. This containment piping system includes short bend radius clamshell (split) containment fittings that permits assembly and inspection of the smaller short bend radius supply fittings before the clamshell containment are assembled over them. The containment components of these systems are generally joined by means of metal fasteners and flexible seals. Both the non-flexible polyethylene containment pipe and contained fiberglass or steel pipe will meet the UL standard.
(4). A secondarily contained underground piping system which features a fiberglass or steel non-flexible supply pipe partially contained by a flexible membrane piping trench liner. This type of secondary containment system provides a single containment system for a multitude of supply pipe lines contained within. These piping trench lining systems are generally custom fabricated at the jobsite and are typically joined by mechanical means using metal fasteners and flexible seals. These piping containment systems are often difficult to install, damage prone, directionally limiting and do not provide a full measure of secondary containment. The material composition of these liners do not offer sufficient wall thickness or density to meet the UL standards. Note: The metal fastener use to make a compression will not meet the UL standard for corrosion resistance.
(5). A secondarily contained underground piping system which features a fiberglass or steel non-flexible supply pipe partially contained by a non-flexible fiberglass trench liner. This type of secondary containment system provides a single containment system for a multitude of supply pipe lines contained within. These piping trench lining systems are generally factory fabricated and shipped in large sections for assembly at the jobsite and are joined by heat activated resins in combination with glass fiber reinforcement. The material composition of these liners is sufficient to meet the UL standards.
(6). A secondarily contained underground piping system which features a flexible nylon composite supply pipe fully contained by a larger flexible polyethylene containment pipe. The flexible supply pipe has internal corrugations for added flexibility and requires metallic couplings installed on each end of a pipe section for attachment to a metallic short bend radius tee or elbow supply fitting. The flexible containment pipe is a thin wall corrugated tube which provides added flexibility and structural strength. This type of secondarily contained piping system requires the use of access sumps which are interconnected by continuous runs of both flexible supply and containment pipe sections. These access sumps provide a means of containment for the metallic supply couplings and fittings as well as the containment pipe connections. Both the supply and containment components are joined by mechanical means using rubber gaskets and washers for seals. The material composition of the flexible supply pipe will not the UL standard for primary containment of alcohol and alcohol blended fuels. The material composition of the the flexible containment pipe is not of sufficient thickness or density to meet the UL standards for secondary containment.
(7). A secondarily contained underground piping system which features a flexible rubber composite supply pipe fully contained by a larger flexible polyurethane composite containment pipe. The flexible supply pipe is made a rubber elastomeric material for flexibility and requires metallic couplings installed on each end of a pipe section for attachment to a metallic short bend radius tee or elbow supply fitting. The flexible containment pipe is a thick wall tube which provides structural strength but limited flexibility. This type of secondarily contained piping system requires the use of access sumps which are interconnected by continuous runs of both flexible supply and containment pipe sections. These access sumps provide a means of containment for the metallic supply couplings and various adapters. Both the supply and containment components are joined by mechanical means using rubber gaskets and washers for seals. The material composition of the flexible supply pipe will not meet the UL standard for primary containment.
In addition to the secondarily contained underground piping systems, described above, a number of fiberglass and steel tank manufactures, as well as piping and specialty containment manufacturers have introduced access sumps to the market. These access sumps originated from a product called a backfill retainer which was simply a round cylinder, open at the top and bottom, which was installed around the tanks pump and under the street access manhole to keep the backfill materials away from the pump and various plumbing connections. Often a short section of corrugated metallic culvert was used for this purpose. In the early-1980's, fiberglass tank manufacturers began to offer an improved backfill retainer, called a riser and riser extension which connected to the tank and was made made of non-corrodible fiberglass material. Steel tank manufactures soon followed with there own version of a riser made of coated steel. When the industry became aware that underground tanks and piping needed to be secondarily contained, they also turned their attention to the tanks pump and miscellaneous plumbing connections. Soon thereafter, pump access chambers appeared on the market as a means of secondarily containing the tanks pump and associated plumbing connections. With the introduction of these watertight chambers it was quickly recognized that they could also be used as a fluid collection and detection sump for the attached secondarily contained piping systems described above. Because these chambers were located at the low end of a sloped secondarily contained piping line, they were logical choice for the collection point for any leaking product which was contained inside the containment pipe. From this point on they were considered to be a multi-purpose chamber and were commonly referred to as pump access sumps.
As the full scope of secondary containment requirements began to unfold, attention was turned to the causes of product leaks from within and under the above ground dispenser such as leaking plumbing joints and spillage from required fuel filter changes. The solution seemed to be a shallow collection sump installed directly under the dispenser. The first dispenser collection sumps were shallow and were commonly referred to as dispenser pans. Soon thereafter it was recognized that a deeper dispenser pan was required to contain the entire metallic flexible connector which was installed directly under the dispenser. These deeper dispenser pans became commonly known dispenser access sumps. These dispenser sumps were not developed as an extension of the secondarily contained piping systems but rather were adapted to accommodate these piping systems.
Manufacturers of these access sumps began to offer a means of attaching and sealing various pipe and conduit entries into these access sumps. One approach was to pre-install cuffed openings at various locations in the side wall of the access sump. Manufactures of fiberglass access sumps laminated in fiberglass couplings into the side wall of the access sump for attachment of fiberglass pipe by means of fiberglass lamination or by means of a common rubber reducer seal used in the plumbing industry. Manufacturers of steel access sumps provided welded on couplings which served a similar purpose. Later, as molded polyethylene access sumps began to be introduced to the market, a variety of pipe entry seals were employed to accommodate all the available types of piping systems. Listed in order of their introduction are descriptions of these pipe and conduit sealing means. (a) A plastic molded cuff which was installed over an opening in the side wall which was attached by means of plastic welding in the field. This plastic cuff, was similar in design and purpose to those provided with the fiberglass and steel access sumps for sealing pipe entries. (b) A conventional plastic bulkhead fitting was used for conduit entries. (c) A commercially available rubber grommet was offered to replace the plastic cuffs and bulkhead fittings for sealing both pipe and conduit entries. The rubber grommet was installed into an opening in the side wall of the access sump. (d) A rubber flanged boot was offered as a solution to the leaking rubber grommets. This rubber boot is inserted inside an opening in the side wall of the access sump and mechanically attached to the side wall by means of bolt fasteners. The significant advantage of this type of sealing device was that it provided a watertight seal for both conduit and pipe entries that could be installed in any desired location in the side wall of the access sump. These various sealing devices evolved over time to accommodate most of the secondarily contained piping systems described above. Only two types of conduit sealing means were developed for a specific application which are described as follows: (a) A plastic internal facing cuff was molded in at specific locations into the side wall of the polyethylene access sumps to seal flexible corrugated polyethylene containment pipe entries. These sumps were a required component of a secondarily contained underground piping system which features a flexible nylon composite supply pipe fully contained by a larger flexible polyethylene containment pipe. (b) A plastic external facing cuff was integrally molded at specific locations into the side wall of the polyethylene access sumps to seal thick walled smooth flexible containment pipe entries. These sumps were required components of a secondarily contained underground piping system which features a flexible rubber composite supply pipe fully contained by a larger flexible polyurethane composite containment pipe.
The introduction of continuous flexible supply pipe, a number of years ago, was a means of reducing the amount of connection joints in the supply pipe compared to the commonly used steel and fiberglass non-flexible supply piping systems. The first flexible supply pipe which was introduced was a non-contained thin walled flexible copper tubing which was directionally bent to accommodate the routing required to connect the tanks pump to the various dispenser. The second flexible supply piping system was introduced in Europe, which was a direct burial or non-contained flexible polyethylene tubing which had thick wall and offered only a limited amount of flexibility. Both of these flexible supply piping systems did not require the use of access sumps. The third flexible supply piping was introduced several years ago and was secondarily contained inside a flexible containment pipe and did require the use of access sumps. Two versions of this type flexible piping system were introduced approximately at the same time and are briefly described above.
Some notable advantages of these flexible double wall piping systems include considerably fewer piping joints than conventional double wall piping systems and also provide the unique feature of removing the supply pipe, in the event of a problem, without the need for excavation. These systems feature continuous lengths of both flexible supply pipe and flexible containment pipe which are made available in rolls of very long lengths. From these long lengths, pipe sections may be custom cut to length for installation between two or more surface access sumps. This feature eliminates the need for any directional fittings in the flexible containment pipe line, thus eliminating the need of any piping joints between the interconnected access sumps. The flexible primary piping does require the use of directional fittings but these fittings are located within the surface access sumps where they are surface accessible for inspection and maintenance. This piping design permits complete access to and observation of all the primary and secondary piping joints from the ground surface without the need for excavation.
Some notable disadvantages of both of these flexible double wall piping systems are as follows: (a) Thin walled corrugated flexible containment pipe is easy to damage and difficult to repair. The inner corrugations restrict fluid migration from the source of the leak to the collection sump. The thin polyethylene material will not meet the UL standard for secondary containment. (b) Thick walled non-corrugated flexible containment pipe requires the use of a soft elastomeric material in order to achieve limited flexibility. It is questionable as to whether or not this material will meet the UL standard for secondary containment. (c) Inner corrugated flexible supply pipe provides good flexibility but poor hydraulic flow efficiency and a low maximum operating pressure. The internal corrugations cause to pipe to be pressure expandable, which can produce faulty readings for in-line leak detection devices and make it difficult to connect internally expanded coupling devices, which could result in a leak. (d) Thick walled flexible rubber supply pipe is heavy and has a highly resistive outer surface which makes it difficult to install into the flexible containment pipe. Rubber material is an unsatisfactory material to use as a supply pipe and will not likely meet the UL standard for primary containment.
All of the secondarily contained piping systems and access sumps discussed above have developed over a relatively short period of time in response to the continuously changing environmental and safety regulations. The design criteria used by various manufacturers for the development of their products was dependent on what the considered to be important and what they felt they had the capability to produce. As a result none of the assembled systems described above is the absolute solution to a secondarily contained underground piping system. Certain component parts and design concepts of these discussed containment systems provide only partial solutions in developing an ideal piping containment system which meets the most important design criteria.

Environmentally safe underground piping system


An adjusting system for a rear view element of a rear view device for a vehicle, preferably a motor vehicle, comprises a drive housing with an electrical interface, a socket and a mounting plate for the rear view element. The socket is in particular in the form of a jack socket, having a first end attached to the drive housing and an opening accessible at a second end of the socket, which is located opposite the first end of the socket. The mounting plate for the rear view element comprises a pin, in particular in form of a jack plug, wherein at least part of the pin is suited to be inserted into the opening of the socket, and the pin is adapted to mechanically and electrically connect the mounting plate to the drive housing via the socket. Also, the adjusting system relates to a rear view device and to a method for manufacturing the rear view device.

This invention relates in general to rear view devices. In particular, this invention relates to an adjusting system for a rear view element of a rear view device for a vehicle, preferably a motor vehicle. The invention also relates to a rear view device for a vehicle, preferably for a motor vehicle comprising such an adjusting system and to a method for manufacturing such a rear view device.
In modern day vehicles, rear view elements such as the reflective elements that are employed in rear view devices for helping the driver see areas behind and to the sides of the vehicle, may comprise several electronic devices such as, for example, a heating element to prohibit condensation from forming on the rear view element, or a display of a blind sport indicator, etc. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,244,912 B1 describes a reflective element having a plurality of functional elements associated with the reflective element. Since these elements are all separately provided, they are also wired separately by means of a power supply harness extending through a slot in the plate carrying the reflective element.
EP 0 989 027 A2 describes a mechanism for adjusting the rear view element of a rear view device, where the rear view element comprises a heating element that is electrically connected to the battery of the vehicle. Here, the wiring extends to a joint socket on a drive housing which engages a joint head that is provided on a plate like adjusting disk to which the reflective element is attached to.
However, the adjusting systems that are known in the prior art employ a large amount of wirings and plugs to connect all the different electronic devices to their respective power supplies. Due to the amount of separate wiring and corresponding connections, the solutions known in the prior art are expensive, less durable, difficult to automate, and less safe to operate.
Therefore, the invention aims at providing an adjusting system for a rear view element that overcomes the above mentioned problems.

Adjusting system for a rear view element of a rear view device for a vehicle


An in situ method for removal of contaminants from soil imposes a vacuum on the soil through perforated heater wells that are positioned in the soil. The heater wells heat the soil to elevated temperatures by thermal conduction. The heater wells are permeable to vapors which emanate from the soil when heated and which are drawn towards the heater wells by the imposed vacuum. An impermeable flexible sheeting on the soil surface reduces the amount of air that is being pulled into the heater well from the atmosphere. A thermal insulator covers the soil surface and reduces heat losses from the soil surface. The heater wells are connected to a vacuum manifold for collection of vapors. A heat front moves away from the heater wells through the soil by thermal conduction, and the superposition of heat from a plurality of heater wells results in a more uniform temperature rise throughout the well pattern. Soil contaminants are removed by vaporization, in situ thermal decomposition, oxidation, combustion, and by steam distillation. Both the presence of water vapor and the low pressure results in vaporization of the contaminants at temperatures well below their normal boiling points. Moreover, the heater wells and the nearby soil are extremely hot and most contaminants drawn into the wells will decompose with a residence time of the order of seconds. The heater well can also be packed with a catalyst that accelerates high temperature decomposition into simpler molecules. Water vapor and remaining contaminants may be incinerated in line or may be collected in a cold trap upstream from the vacuum pump.

The contamination of surface and near-surface soils has become a matter of great concern in many locations in the United States and other countries. Increasingly, the public has become aware of spills and landfills of toxic and carcinogenic or radioactive materials in the soil. If left in place, many of these contaminants will find their way into aquifers, air, or into the food supply, and could become public health hazards.
There are many proposed methods for removal of surface contaminants, such as excavation followed by incineration, in situ vitrification, biological treatment, chemical additives for deactivation, radiofrequency heating, etc. Although successful in some applications, these methods can be very expensive (hundreds of dollars per ton) and are not practical if many tons of soil must be treated.
Hazardous waste materials have been improperly deposited in thousands of sites all over the United States and, indeed, all over the world. Uncontrolled landfills have been used as convenient, but inadequate, disposal sites for industrially generated wastes while other sites have been contaminated by accidental spills of hazardous materials. There are many sites where hazardous materials found at these sites are stable, do not undergo environmental degradation at reasonably fast rates, have high boiling, points, are considered toxic at very low concentration levels, and bio-accumulate in various species of the food chain at concentrations higher than that found in the environment.
Complete reclamation or isolation of such sites is preferred but the cost associated with site remediation by available methods has been considered prohibitive. The treatment of contaminated soil from such sites in an incinerator has not been a practical solution for several reasons including the high cost of excavation and incineration, shortage of incineration capacity, inadequate methods and capacity for ash disposal from the incinerators, and the hazards and risks associated with site disturbance and transportation. The treatment of uncontrolled landfills and spills would benefit from an in situ process that eliminates or alleviates these disadvantages and risks.
In situ heating of earth formations by high-frequency displacement currents (dielectric heating) is well known, particularly in the production of petroleum products such as shale oil. Alternatively, heating by conduction currents at relatively low frequencies is also possible, but such heating is limited to earth that remains conductive, generally requiring the presence of water and, hence, operating at relatively low temperatures below the boiling point of water or requiring maintenance of pressure. Conduction heating at very high temperatures for the immobilization of radioactive components in soil is shown in Brouns et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,598, where conductive material was added to the soil to assure conduction, and the soil was heated to vitrification at temperatures as high as 1500.degree. C., whereat radioactive contaminants are fused with the silicates in the soil to form a glass or similar product which, upon cooling, forms a stable mass.
In situ heating of earth formations with RF energy for hydrocarbon production is shown in Bridges et al, U.S. Pat. No. RE 30,738 and Kasevich et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,179. The former discloses the use of RF energy from a "tri-plate" line buried in the earth to heat a block of earth formations uniformly by displacement currents, leading to dielectric heating. The latter discloses radiating RF energy into the earth. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,634 a portion of the earth near the surface is decontaminated by selective heating with RF energy from a transmission line array to which the RF energy is bound. That is, there is substantially no radiation from the bound-wave fringing-field transmission line excitor.
Assignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 444,574 filed Nov. 20, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,811 (T-2247) utilizes a different coupling scheme, called "eddy current" or "inductive" coupling which makes use of the magnetic field established rather than the electric fields as disclosed in the prior art RF systems above-described. A current generator is used to drive a transmission line which is shorted at the opposite ends. This method is much better suited to heating highly conductive soils than the fringe field method.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,448 issued to Robert M. Koerner et al on Jun. 27, 1989 discloses a method and apparatus for in situ removal of contaminants from soil comprising a barrier having a permeable inner layer and an impermeable outer layer overlying the contaminated soil and a vacuum system for reducing pressure under the barrier and withdrawing contaminants from the contaminated soil.
Assignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 427,418 filed Oct. 27, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,594 (T-8395) discloses an in situ method for remediation and decontamination of surface and near-surface soils by evacuating the soil under a flexible sheet, which is impermeable to gases, and heating the soil surface with a relatively flat electric surface heater, which is permeable to gases.
In assignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 427,427 (T-8383) filed Oct. 27, 1989, an in situ method is disclosed for remediation and decontamination of surface and near-surface soils by electrically heating the soil through electrodes operated at power line frequencies of about 60 Hz. The electrodes are implanted substantially vertically in the soil in a line pattern which allows substantially uniform electrical heating in the region between rows of electrodes. The depth of electrode insertion is substantially equal to the depth of the contamination, but could be deeper or shallower. The process is particularly applicable to soils contaminated at depths of up to about 30 meters. The electrodes are hollow and perforated below the surface to allow application of a vacuum to the soil through the electrodes. The electrodes are also equipped with provision for electrical connection and vacuum line connection, and also with the capability to be sealed to a barrier that is impermeable to gases, such as a flexible sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,292 discloses a portable system which can be installed at an area where a contaminating spill has occurred. After the area of the contamination has been determined, perforated pipes are inserted into the ground. Some of the wells are pressurized and others are evacuated simultaneously so as to increase the transfer of a flushing fluid through the soil thereby accelerating the decontamination process and preventing migration of the contaminant into other areas. Since the system is a closed system, the contaminated liquid taken off in the evacuation side of the circulating system is bypassed in whole or in part to a portable processing plant wherein the contaminants are removed.
And finally, in Assignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 07/559,771 filed Jul. 30, 1990 (T-2245), moist warm air from a vapor treatment system is injected into wells which are screened (perforated) only at the contaminated depth forcing vapor flow only through the contaminated region. Between the injection wells is an extraction well which is also screened only at the contaminated depth. A vacuum is drawn on the extraction well through the contaminated soil, thereby entraining some of the contaminants. The contaminated, flushing vapor is then treated and recycled. A microwave/radio frequency (MW/RF) heating system heats the earth's surface and the contaminated soil, thereby enhancing volatilization of the contaminants and their removal via the vapor flushing system. By screening the wells only through the contaminated zone and maintaining the contaminated soil zone in a moist state, the entire energy of the system is focussed on the contaminated region.
Most of the existing methods for decontamination are cost effective only for the near surface soil, of the order of several feet. For deeper contamination, particularly in localized regions, the costs of soil removal rise dramatically.
What is desired, therefore, is a method for effectively removing contamination which avoids the excavation of large quantities of soil; which can be utilized at considerable depths up to many tens or hundreds of feet; which can remove contaminants with boiling points substantially greater than water (up to hundreds of degrees C.); which is generally applicable to a wide range of contaminants (even those with low vapor pressure at room temperature); which can reduce the level of contamination down to extremely low levels of the order of parts per billion; and which is rapid and inexpensive to operate in a wide variety of soils and surface conditions. These and other advantages of this invention are disclosed below.

Vacuum method for removing soil contaminants utilizing thermal conduction heating


A method of fabricating a superconductive flexible conductor having a high critical temperature in which method a deposit of superconductive ceramic is applied to a metal tape of thickness lying in the range 0.1 mm to 1 mm, wherein:. the deposit of thickness lying in the range 50 .mu.m to 300 .mu.m and of concentration by volume of not less than 70% runs through an infrared beam at a speed of not less than 5 cm per minute, the zone treated by the the beam having a width of less than 10 mm relative to the travel direction and a surface temperature of not less than 1200.degree. C., thereby imparting a surface superconductive layer to the deposit which is of concentration by volume close to 100%, which is textured in the travel direction, and which is of thickness lying in the range 10 .mu.m to 100 .mu.m; and PA0 annealing is then performed under oxygen.

Methods of making high critical temperature superconductors are known that comprise: starting from the superconductive oxide in powder form, making compacted sintered pellets therefrom, melting the surface of such pellets by means of a laser beam, rapidly cooling the molten layer, and then subjecting it to annealing. Such methods are described in the following articles:
"Concentration of current to the surface and modification by CO.sub.2 laser for oxide superconductor", by H. Nomura et al.; 2nd International Symposium on Superconductivity, November 1989, Taukuba (pp. 423-426);
"The microstructure of superconductivity of YBa.sub.2 CuO.sub.7-x rapidly solidified by a pulse laser" by J. C. Huang et al.; Supercond. Sci. Technol. 1, 1988 (pp. 110-112); and
"Laser zone melting of Bi.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 CaCuO.sub.x superconductors" by K. Ishige et al.; 2nd International Symposium on Superconductivity, November, 1989, Taukuba (pp. 321-324).
The experimental parameters disclosed in those documents do not make it possible to obtain texturing with grains that are elongate in the same direction. In addition, all of the treatments described are performed on pellets having a thickness of greater than one millimeter; this is totally incompatible with making a flexible superconductor.
The essential difficulty is that a superconductive ceramic is a fragile material whose mechanical properties make it very difficult to fabricate in the form of a flexible conductor, particularly in long lengths.
To mitigate these problems of brittleness, attempts have been made to associate the ceramic with a metal support.
For example, metal-clad wires are made in monofilament or multifilament form. That method suffers from the drawback of requiring numerous mechanical forming steps, in particular wire-drawing steps, and intermediate annealing steps. Furthermore, there is a high risk of reaction between the ceramic and the cladding, and this can damage superconductivity given the very small diameter of the ceramic wire.
In another embodiment described in patent application JP-A-2 257 527, the ceramic is deposited as a very thin layer around a metal wire, by wetting the wire as it passes through a bath of Y-Ba-Cu-O type molten oxide. In order to ensure that the superconductive phase is formed on the wire on leaving the bath, the displacement speed must be very low, thereby giving rise to unacceptable reaction between the bath and the material of the wire.
A much more promising technique consists in depositing the ceramic in the form of a thick layer (several hundreds of microns thick) on a flexible metal tape.
Various methods have already been proposed for obtaining thick layers of superconductive ceramic: strip casting; silk-screen printing; calendering; electric arc spraying; and flame spraying. The resulting layers are porous to a greater or lesser extent, and they are crystallized to a greater or lesser extent depending on the method used. Thereafter they are annealed. Methods of that type and implementing plasmas are described in the following documents:
"High Tc superconducting films of YBaCu oxides prepared by low pressure plasma spraying" by K. Tachikawa et al.; Appl. Phys. Lett., 52 (12), 1988; and
"Formation of YBaCuO thick films by plasma spraying" by Y. Wadayama et al.; 2nd International Symposium on Superconductivity, November, 1989, Tsukuba.
The maximum current densities obtained using those two methods are no more than 690 A/cm.sup.2 and 1120 A/cm.sup.2 respectively, and that is not enough.
Finally, proposals have been made in patent application JP-A-63 292530 and in French patent FR-A-2 647 266 for a method in which a precursor of superconductive material is placed in powder form on a substrate, and is then heated by a laser beam so as to make a layer that adheres to the substrate. Bonding can occur only if the laser beam acts throughout the thickness of the precursor powder, thereby likewise acting on the substrate, and this is particularly troublesome when the substrate is a flexible material that is a few tenths of a millimeter thick. In another variant, the powder is sprayed onto the substrate through the laser beam.
That technique does not achieve texturing of the superconductive layer, either. Furthermore, since the concentration by volume of the powder material as deposited on the substrate cannot exceed 30%, the densification that results from the laser treatment gives rise to very large stresses in said material, which stresses are released by cracking, thereby opposing the flow of current.
An object of the present invention is to implement a method of making a flexible superconductor, which method gives rise to a textured material capable of transporting current densities that are much greater than those of known flexible conductors.

Method of fabricating a superconductive flexible ceramic conductor having a high critical temperature


A chip mounting method is proposed which considers facilitating the testing of semiconductor chips when a plurality of semiconductor chips are sealed in a single resin sealing body. This method also considers its application to a variety of MCPs and system LSIs. In a single package, one signal output terminal of the first semiconductor chip and a first external terminal of the semiconductor device are internally connected independently. One signal input terminal of the second semiconductor chip and a second external terminal of the semiconductor device are internally connected independently. The first and second external terminals of the semiconductor device are connected outside of the semiconductor device to complete the connection between the signal output terminal and the signal input terminal.

The present invention relates to an MCP (Multi-Chip Package) type semiconductor disk device capable of expanding memory and to a semiconductor device with provisions to facilitate testing a plurality of chips accommodated in an MCP (Multi-Chip Package).
As demands are growing for higher integration density of semiconductor devices mounted on a printed circuit board, the packages of semiconductor devices are getting smaller. In recent years, a variety of kinds of CSPs (chip size packages), a general reference to packages equal to or slightly larger than the chip size, have been developed. (The CSP package type is classified as a derivative of the existing packages.) They are making large contributions to reducing size and weight of portable terminals.
At the same time, since the speed at which the memory capacity required by the system devices increases is higher than the speed at which the memory integration improves, a three-dimensional mounting of a memory has been proposed as a means to increase the memory capacity while minimizing an increase in the memory mounting area. The application of this invention developed a technology of DDP (Double Density Package) in which an LOC (Lead On Chip) structure is formed in layers to double the memory capacity of a package with the same external size as the 1-mm-thick surface mount package TSOP (see JP-A-11-163255, laid open on Jun. 18, 1999, corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/161,725 filed on Sep. 29, 1998). This publication discloses a 128 MDRAM-DDP, in which LOC structure (64 MDRAM) lead frames are stacked in layers and sealed with a mold, with the leads bonded.
Unlike a conventional magnetic disk device, a semiconductor disk device using a flash memory has no mechanical moving parts, and thus is unlikely to have erroneous operations and failures due to physical impacts. It has the advantages of being smaller in device size and able to make a faster read/write access to data than in the conventional magnetic disk device. The semiconductor disk device has conventionally been realized as a memory board or memory card having a plurality of flash memories and a controller that controls the flash memories. In this case, the plurality of flash memories are realized as discrete LSIs and the controller is also realized as one LSI.
To deal with the aforementioned problem that a large number of parts in the semiconductor disk device makes the size reduction difficult, JP-A-6-250799, laid open on Sep. 9, 1994, discloses a semiconductor disk device in which a flash memory unit, an interface with external devices, and a controller unit are integrated in a single LSI. The semiconductor disk device of a one-semiconductor-chip configuration has an expansion memory interface which, when the user wishes to expand the flash memory built into the chip, allows the storage capacity of the semiconductor disk device to be increased, as required, by the user externally connecting a flash memory one chip at a time.
JP-A-11-86546, laid open on Mar. 30, 1999, discloses a technology whereby a logic chip and a memory chip, fabricated separately, are mounted parallelly and sealed in one package. Further, JP-A-11-19370 (corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/450,676, filed on Nov. 30, 1999) shows an example structure of MCP.
The inventors of this invention studied a semiconductor disk device suited for incorporation into various portable information terminals (palm size PC, handy terminal, etc.) and digital cameras as main products to which the invention can be applied. The specifications require the semiconductor disk device to have the smallest possible mounting area, weight and power consumption. A controller is available in a variety of kinds for various applications. For security reasons, the controller is expected to have its specification updated frequently, so that it is important to shorten the development period of new package products to reduce costxe2x80x94the common priority among the commercial products.
When a semiconductor disk device disclosed in JP-A-6-250799 is to be manufactured in a single semiconductor chip configuration, i.e., in the form of a system LSI, the following problems may arise: (1) there is a need to develop a new process, which in turn increases the number of processes, leading to an increase in cost; (2) when all the constitutional units are manufactured by the same process, the performances of the individual units may become worse than when the individual units are fabricated in the dedicated processes; (3) redesigning the entire chip as a result of changes in the specifications of the controller unit is not advantageous in terms of reducing the development cost and shortening the development TAT; and (4) because the constitutional units are arranged two-dimensionally, the size becomes large for a single chip.
In the LSI incorporated into a single package by arranging a plurality of chips parallelly as described in JP-A-11-86546, the reduction in the mounting area remains small to an extent that the mounting area is not smaller than the sum of the areas of the individual chips.
(1) A first object of the present invention is to propose a package configuration for the semiconductor disk device, which has a small mounting area to facilitate its incorporation into small portable information terminals, and which can cope quickly with type changes of the controller due to specification changes, reduce the development TAT (Turn Around Time: time spent from the material processing to the delivery of a product; or number of days from the start of development to the completion of development) and keep the development cost low.
Further, in a proposal to construct a semiconductor disk device in the MCP configuration, the inventors of this invention studied the problems experienced when conducting tests on a product incorporating a memory chip and a controller chip in a single package. The existing memory and controller (logic) are individually packaged and subjected to tests individually before being mounted on the printed circuit board. When combining two chips and forming them as a single package product, it is natural to conceive also bringing into the package the xe2x80x9cwiringxe2x80x9d that is on the printed circuit board between the memory and the controller. This, however, poses a problem in the testing that is conducted before shipping of the product. When the existing memory and controller are tested as individual single packages, the memory is tested by a memory tester and the controller is tested by a logic tester. These existing test environments, however, cannot be used under the same conditions as in the conventional tests if the memory and the controller are incorporated into one package and internally interconnected as described above. When for example the memory is tested by the memory tester, the influence (leakage current) due to internally connecting the controller cannot be precluded entirely, so that the identical test cannot be conducted under the conventional memory testing environment. The same can be said of the testing of the controller. That is, even if the influences of the internal connection is reduced as much as possible and an analysis considering these influences is performed, the equality of the test is expected to deteriorate.
Further, the memory tester and the logic tester have different characteristics. As the memory capacity increases, the test time also increases. To deal with this situation the memory tester enhances the test productivity by testing a large number of memories simultaneously. As for the logic tester, on the other hand, although it uses many signal terminals for applying a very large test pattern to the LSI being tested, the test time is generally about two orders of magnitude smaller than the memory test time. Because of this characteristic, the logic tester enhances the test productivity by increasing the rate at which the LSIs are mounted and tested. If a mixed tester having both of these test functions with different characteristics is developed, the MCP packages mounted on the mixed tester may be able to be subjected to both of these test functions. However, there is a drawback that until the memory test is completed after the logic test has been finished, the logic test terminals become idle without being utilized, eventually degrading the test productivity.
Hence, in view of the test productivity, i.e., efficient utilization of the expensive test system, it is considered promising to test the memory chip and the logic chip in the MCP two times individually. To realize this, it may be necessary to add to the memory tester and the test packages a function of isolating the influences due to connecting the controller and to add to the logic tester and the test packages a function of isolating the influences due to connecting the memory.
Therefore,
(2) it is the second object of this invention to propose an MCP mounting configuration which can efficiently utilize the expensive test system originally constructed to deal with individual separate chips in a conventional manner, keep low the cost and the number of processes for the development of new test environments, and shorten the product development TAT.
(3) Further, it is checked whether the solution described above (2) that considers the efficiency of the development of test environment can be applied generally to a wide range of MCPs if the types of chips to be combined, the functions to be incorporated, and the package configuration should change.
(4) Further, it is also checked whether the present invention can similarly be applied to the system LSIs considering the problems accompanying the development of the test environment for a plurality of LSI cores.
When the mounting configurations suited for the semiconductor disk device for incorporation into a variety of portable information terminals and digital cameras are evaluated in terms of (1) small mounting area and (2) low manufacturing cost, if the chip area is 40 mm2 or greater, it is considered better to mount the memory chip and the controller chip in a stacked package (three-dimensional mounting) rather than integrating them into a one-chip system LSI (see Nikkei Microdevices, August 1999, pp. 40-45). Hence, let us consider a case where a plurality of different kinds of chips (e.g., a combination of a memory chip and a controller chip) are three-dimensionally mounted in one package. Normally, these chips have different shapes and different electrode pad arrangements and thus the package configuration in this case differs from the one in which a plurality of chips of the same shape and the same specifications are stacked as in the DDP and stack memory. Among the package types currently in wide use, the following two types may be selected considering the ability to reduce the manufacturing cost by using the existing facilities and realize a significant mounting area reduction effect.
(1) TQFP (Thin Quad Flat Package) type of four-directional lead arrangement structure in which a second semiconductor chip is stacked on a semiconductor chip of LOC (Lead On Chip) structure.
(2) Stacked chip CSP (Chip Size Package) type based on a small BGA (Ball Grid Array).
The CSP type has a better mounting area reduction effect but, in terms of the short development period for product design and the low manufacturing cost, the TQFP type using the low-cost lead frame is superior.
Among the package configurations for the semiconductor disk device suited for incorporation into various portable information terminals and digital cameras, the first proposed solution is a TQFP type which has a short development period for product design achieved by combining the existing chips and packaging them and which has the lowest manufacturing cost realized by stacking a plurality of chips on a single lead frame. The TQFP type will be disclosed in the first embodiment. As for the expansion of the memory in the semiconductor disk device, the package is provided with a memory expansion terminal. This embodiment has specifications that allow the controller to access the externally connected expansion memory in the same way as accessing the built-in memory.
Facilitating the testing of a plurality of chips incorporated in the MCP, which is the second object of the present invention, is proposed as follows.
In the embodiment 1, the controller and the flash memory in the package constituting the semiconductor disk device are basically not internally connected. The electrode pads of the controller chip and the flash memory chip are independently connected to the external terminals. The power supply or ground may be connected to a common external terminal of the two chips. When the semiconductor disk device described above is in use, it is mounted on the board and its external terminals are interconnected by wires on the board. The controller accesses the flash memory via the external terminals and the wires on the board.
With this arrangement, the flash memory and the controller in the package of this invention, when viewed from outside the package, operate independently of each other through the external terminals. Hence, by mounting the packages of this invention in the test environment that was originally developed for testing the conventional discrete chips, the memory test and logic test can be executed successively in the same way as with the individual discrete chips. With the method of this invention, reliable tests identical with the conventional ones can be performed without adding to the memory and logic test environments a function of isolating the influences of other chips.
The MCP configuration of this invention that enables independent tests is not limited to the MCP of the embodiment 1 having a combination of the flash memory and the controller (ASIC) but can be applied, with the similar effects, to any MCPs in any form of package with any number of combined chips.
As a variation of this invention, it is possible to provide a selector on the internal wires between a plurality of chips in the MCP and to supply a test mode signal from the external terminal to the selector to select between two modes, a mode in which the plurality of chips are disconnected from each other and can be independently tested from the external terminals and a mode in which the plurality of chips are internally interconnected to allow inter-chip accesses inside the package. In this case, a selector with a function of connection switching according to the mode signal is installed on the internal wires in the package or in the controller chip.
A package is provided which incorporates into a flash memory a system program conforming to the combination of a flash memory and a controller and which guarantees that the system program operates normally.


A method, apparatus and computer program having instructions for storing information in an oscilloscope is provided. The method comprises the steps of storing a screen display in a predetermined format, storing one or more configuration settings associated with the screen display, and storing in memory channel acquisition data associated with the stored screen display. The screen display may also be annotated, the annotation information being stored as well. The stored screen display, one or more associated configuration settings, and stored channel acquisition data, and annotation data, if applicable, may be loaded into the oscilloscope, thereby placing the oscilloscope in the state it was in when the stored data was originally generated.

Since the first CRT-based oscilloscope (as well as other real-time test and measurement equipment) was invented users have been generating and annotating hardcopies of screen images as part of a reporting feature. Often a user not only wanted to memorialize a displayed waveform, but also wanted to make various notes to point out portions of the waveform, or to record other information with the waveform, perhaps for a laboratory notebook or the like. In the early days of true analog oscilloscopes, an instant camera (e.g. Polaroid Instamatic) was commonly used to merely take a picture of the oscilloscope display. The images produced by these cameras would then typically be glued into a lab-notebook, along with annotation, both around, and sometimes on the image. While this allowed for a user to have a record of the waveform and various notes related thereto, this tedious method has many obvious drawbacks. First, the image clarity is dependent on the camera used. Additionally, the need to paste the image, and then write on and around the image in undesirable, perhaps producing noted that are imprecise or difficult to read. Furthermore, it was difficult to share the recorded information with others. Finally, if an error was made, or a change to the annotation was desired, a new picture had to be taken. If the waveform was one that could not easily be reproduced, taking another picture may have been impossible.
With the advent of Digital Storage Oscilloscopes (DSOs) the Polaroid camera was generally discarded in favor of electronic means of image capture. Early DSOs were equipped with GPIB or RS232 ports. Data could be output via these ports to a host computer, which would in turn capture an image of the display. Some later oscilloscope models included built-in Mass-Storage devices, including the Floppy Drive, hard drives, and more recently USB-based 'flash drives'. The later could then be used via 'Sneaker-Net' to transfer the screen image to another electronic device by physically moving the USB drive.
In each of these situations, once the image information was captured on the oscilloscope, a common workflow involved transferring the image into a host computer for storage and display using one of the above methods, and then loading the image into a picture editor type of software package so that various annotations could be added to the image before pasting the annotated image into a word-processor file in order to generate a report, or to be saved as part of an electronic lab notebook or other historical record.
One attempt at allowing a user to return an oscilloscope to a prior state was the LeCroy LS-140 oscilloscope. In a snapshot mode, acquisition data is stored to a storage device, and returned to channel acquisition memory as desired. The oscilloscope would therefore be in the same state as when it acquired the data. However, no graphical data is stored. Rather, any graphics is regenerated based upon the returned acquisition data.