A system for displaying a status condition of a smart battery. The system includes: a charging unit for receiving and charging the smart battery; a first data bus, located within the charging unit and coupled to a microprocessor located within the smart battery; a bus interface for coupling the first data bus to a second data bus; a computer having the second data bus therein, the computer further including a central processing unit, coupled to the second data bus, for receiving data from the smart battery, and a display screen, coupled to the central processing unit, for displaying the status condition of the smart battery, wherein the charging unit is external to the computer.

Definitions:
smart battery: A battery equipped with specialized hardware that provides present state, calculated and predicted information to a battery charger or a SM bus Host under software control. As used herein, the term "smart battery" refers to any type of battery which contains circuitry to determine and communicate information/data related to a condition of the battery to an external circuit. PA1 smart battery charger: A battery charger that periodically communicates with a smart battery and alters its charging characteristics in response to information provided by the smart battery. PA1 SM bus: The System Management Bus is a specific implementation of an inter-integrated circuit (I.sup.2 C) bus that describes data protocols, device addresses and additional electrical requirements, designed to physically transport commands and information between the smart battery, SM bus Host, smart battery charger and other smart Devices. PA1 SM bus Host: A piece of portable electronic equipment, such as a lap-top or notebook computer, powered by a smart battery. It is able to communicate with the smart battery and use information provided by the battery. PA1 Status Condition: A condition related to a smart battery which includes, but is not limited to: percentage (%) charge, time remaining to fully charge, maximum current amplitude to charge, maximum voltage amplitude to charge, and the duration of time the battery is able to supply power to a device at a specified power consumption rate. PA1 To allow smart batteries to be charged as rapidly and as safely as possible PA1 To allow new and different battery technologies to be used in existing equipment PA1 To allow access to the "correct" charger algorithm for the battery PA1 To allow the user to know the smart battery's remaining life PA1 To tell the user how long it will take to charge the smart battery PA1 To allow smart batteries to provide accurate information to their user PA1 To determine the laptop computer's real-time power requirements PA1 To enable power management based on "real" information supplied by the battery PA1 To enable battery manufacturers to collect information about a smart battery's usage

System for displaying a status condition of a battery


Methods and systems may include logic to identify a plurality of blocks in image data having one or more top-left dependent pixels, and select the plurality of blocks in a wavefront order for processing. In addition, the logic may process a plurality of pixels in each block in the wavefront order. The system may also include a display device to output a result associated with processing the plurality of pixels.

Computationally intensive aspects of graphics applications may be executed on a graphics processing unit (GPU) of a computing system, wherein the GPU may have significant parallel processing capability in order to enhance performance. Certain graphics applications, however, may have pixel dependency issues that prevent parallel processing under conventional approaches. For example, image data with top-left dependent pixels might be processed sequentially (e.g., by column, then row) in a conventional system, wherein sequential processing may fail to adequately leverage GPU parallel processing capabilities. As a result, performance may be negatively impacted.

Parallel processing image data having top-left dependent pixels


Analysis is made on the DNA methylation of the region (including a promoter region) upstream from the translation initiation point of a rheumatoid arthritis-associated gene DR3 in human genome. As a result, it is found out that an allele-specific methylation occurs in a CpG sequence located about −380 to −180 bp upstream from translation initiation point (ATG) of the gene DR3. It is further found out that the CpG sequences downstream therefrom of the genes DR3 originating in healthy subjects are all in the unmethylated state, while methylated and unmethylated sequences are both observed in the genes DR3 originating in RA patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (hereinafter referred to as "RA") is a systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology, often characterized by frequent occurrence of erosive arthritis and also involving disorders in multiple organs. RA chronically progresses by repeating a cycle of remission and exacerbation, and, if untreated, causes destruction or deformation of joints, which eventually leads to functional disabilities in motor organs and sometimes death. Therefore, RA causes huge physical and psychological pain throughout the life of a patient.
RA develops in a variety of ways, and the guidelines proposed by the American College of Rheumatology are widely used for the diagnosis. However, RA usually develops gradually over the course of several weeks to several months, and the percent positive for the rheumatoid factor, which is used as an objective measure of RA diagnosis according to the foregoing guidelines, is only about 33% within 3 months and does not go beyond 88% even within 12 months or longer (see Non-Patent Document 1: Treatment, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 23-27, 1991). That is, there is inaccuracy in RA diagnosis. In view of this, there have been attempts to diagnosis RA by detecting RA-associated anti-IgM antibody that reacts with a recombinant antigen in the serum of a patient (see Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-513257 (published on Dec. 15, 1998)).
Further, the treatment of RA generally follows different paths depending upon the progress of the pathology. In the early stage of RA where the diagnosis is generally premature, the treatment involves administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). This is followed by additional administration of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD), once the diagnosis becomes definitive. Specifically, in the initial stage of RA development where definitive diagnosis cannot be made easily, the treatment begins with the administration of NSAID, and while carefully monitoring the progress, an evaluation is made to distinguish whether the patient is actually suffering from RA or other rheumatoid disorders including collagenosis. If the symptoms progress, steroid drugs may be administered, and the drug therapy for relieving pain is performed in combination with physical therapy and device therapy, which are intended to maintain and restore the joint functions. Surgery may be performed if daily living activities were disabled by damaged joints.
As described in Patent Document 2 (International Publication WO98/51791 (published on Nov. 19, 1998)), the inventors of the present invention have performed linkage analysis on RA patients and their kin group using micro satellite markers, and specified 3 loci for RA genes. Specifically, the following affected genes have been identified.                (1) RA gene located on human chromosome 1 within ±1 centiMorgan of the DNA sequence that hybridizes with micro satellite marker D1S214 and/or D1S253        (2) RA gene located on human chromosome 8 within ±1 centiMorgan of the DNA sequence that hybridizes with micro satellite marker D8S556        (3) RA gene located on human X chromosome within ±1 centiMorgan of the DNA sequence that hybridizes with micro satellite marker DXS1001, DXS1047, DXS1205, DXS1227, and/or DXS1232
Further, as described in Non-Patent Document 2 (Rheumatism, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 444-445, 1999), the inventors of the present invention, from the RA-associated genes of the prior invention, has identified death receptor 3 ("DR3" or "DR3 gene") as a candidate for the RA-associated gene for markers D1S214 and D1S253 as set out in (1) above. Concerning DR3, the inventors have confirmed restriction fragment length polymorphism between healthy subjects and RA patients, and suggested the possibility that DR3 might be a gene associated with RA.
In Patent Document 3 (International Publication WO02/34912 (published on May 2, 2002)), the inventors of the present invention have suggested that genomic mutation in DR3 gene might be related to onset of RA (chronic RA).
In higher eukaryotes, methylation is known to occur in portions of genomic DNA sequence with 5′-CG-3′ (hereinafter, "CpG" or "CpG sequence"), whereby the cytosine (C) on the 5′ end side of guanosine (G) is methylated. The methylation in CpG is believed to have influence on the gene expression, particularly when CpG-rich regions exist within the promoter region of the gene.
As a rule, many genes on the chromosomes are protected from methylation. However, gene transcription is suppressed if, for some reason, methylation occurs in CpG-rich regions in the promoter region. From this, it can be speculated that the effect of CpG methylation on gene expression can impede proper gene activity and cause disease.
However, the methylation state of CpG needs to be studied further for DR3, a possible candidate for RA-associated gene.

Methods for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis


A method of generating a random uniformly distributed Clifford unitary circuit (C) includes: generating a random Hadamard (H) gate; drawing a plurality of qubits from a probability distribution of qubits; applying the random H gate to the plurality of qubits drawn from the probability distribution; and generating randomly a first Hadamard-free Clifford circuit (F1) and a second Hadamard-free Clifford circuit (F2). The first and second Hadamard-free Clifford circuits is generated by at least randomly generating a uniformly distributed phase (P) gate, and randomly generating a uniformly distributed linear Boolean invertible conditional NOT (CNOT) gate, and combining the P and CNOT gates to form the first and second Hadamard-free Clifford circuits. The method further includes combining the generated first Hadamard-free circuit (F1) and the second Hadamard-free Clifford circuit (F2) with the generated random Hadamard (H) gate to form the random uniformly distributed Clifford unitary circuit (C).

The currently claimed embodiments of the present invention relate to quantum computation, and more specifically, to methods of generating a random uniformly distributed Clifford unitary circuit (C).
Clifford circuits can be used in quantum computing for quantum error correction and in fault-tolerant computations. Optimization of Clifford circuits can be useful within the scope of fault-tolerant computations, as the Clifford overhead can dominate the cost of an implementation, despite the cost of the non-Clifford gates being higher than that of the Clifford gates. Clifford circuits can also be used in the study of entanglement and in the study of noise in quantum computers via randomized benchmarking (RB). Random uniformly distributed Clifford circuits have many applications in quantum computing including in randomized benchmarking protocols, randomized quantum code construction, quantum data hiding, and in compressed classical description of quantum states.

Efficient synthesis of a random uniformly distributed Clifford unitary

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques are described herein for selecting an optimal financial account for a financial transaction. In an embodiment, a multi-account payment card is used to initiate a financial transaction. Transaction information of the financial transaction including a multi-account payment card ID is transmitted to a server for processing. The server determines that the multi-account payment card ID is associated with a plurality of financial accounts, wherein each of the plurality of financial accounts is associated with any one of a credit card, a debit card, an automatic teller machine (ATM) card, a gift card, or a credit line. A financial account of the plurality of financial accounts is selected by the server based on financial account information, such as reward information, associated with the plurality of financial accounts and the transaction information of the financial transaction. The financial transaction is then charged to the selected financial account.

A consumer may use many types of payment cards such as credit cards, debit cards, and gift cards to make purchases. Each card may be associated with financial accounts that have different transaction-based rewards and/or different interest rates. For example, a user may have the following four credit cards:
Card1Card2Card3Card4Credit rate15%15%10%18%Travel-related3000points-per-dollarDining-related0200points-per-dollarIf $1000 is spent00060,000 pointsin first month
Consumers may find carrying and using multiple payment cards inconvenient and burdensome. Additionally, consumers may experience difficulty identifying which card is the best card to use for each transaction to optimize their credit card rewards and interest rates. For example, among the four cards illustrated above, the best choice may be to use Card4 until $1,000 is spent, and then to use Card1 for travel-related expenses, Card2 for dining-related expenses, and Card3 for everything else.
It is unlikely that a user is going to remember the benefit details of each card. Therefore, it is unlikely that a user will make the optimal choice for each transaction. For example, a user may remember that Card3 has the lowest interest rate, and therefore use Card3 for all purchases. Alternatively, the user may remember that it is important to use Card4 to get the introductory bonus points. Under these circumstances, the user may continue to use Card4 long after the $1000 spend requirement has been satisfied, thereby losing the benefits of the other cards. Thus, techniques are desired to automatically select, on a per-financial-transaction basis, an optimal payment card out of a set of payment cards.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Multi-layered credit card with transaction-dependent source selection


In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, a system that automatically generates 32-bit to 64 bit interfaces to 64-bit code is provided. These interfaces provide for the use of optional parameters and, because they are written in 64-bit code, also allow for parameter checking. These interfaces are automatically generated to allow a programmer to maintain compatibility with 64-bit libraries from 32-bit source code.

The physical memory of a computer, i.e., random access memory ("RAM"), consists of a number of cells which store information. These cells are referred to as addresses. Programs access the memory by referring to an address space. If a memory cell consists of N bits, it can hold 2N different bit combinations. Thus, if a memory cell consists of 32 bits, it can hold 232 different bit combinations. A program written for a 32-bit memory addressing scheme may access 232 memory addresses, the equivalent of four gigabytes of RAM.
Most conventional programs follow a 32-bit addressing model. Thus, if a computer has more than four gigabytes of RAM, the processor cannot directly address all of the physical memory without using complicated memory access schemes. The same access problems may occur when accessing files maintained in a secondary storage device, e.g., a database maintained on a hard disk, which is larger than four gigabytes.
Programs originally written according to a 32-bit addressing model are unable to make calls to, or directly address, a larger address space without rewriting the source code, a time consuming and daunting task, or using complex addressing schemes. Rewriting the source code is possible only if the original source code is available.
Accordingly, a need exists for a manner of adapting source code written for a 32-bit addressing model to execute on machines having an address space larger than four gigabytes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automatic conversion of source code from 32-bit to 64-bit


A safety valve for a sealed vessel, for releasing pressurized gas from the sealed vessel in an abnormally heated state defined by a critical temperature. The safety valve includes an end plate for the vessel, the end plate having opposite concave and convex surfaces. A bore perforates the plate at a low point of the concave surface. A central portion of the plate surrounding the bore is bent toward the bore so as to define a cavity which opens toward the concave surface. An alloy material, having a melting point which is lower than the critical temperature, is provided in the cavity and plugs the bore so that if the temperature of the pressurized gas exceeds the critical temperature, the alloy material melts thereby opening the valve and relieving the pressure within the vessel.

When a pressurized, sealed vessel, e.g. an aerosol vessel which contains special liquid with a low boiling point and vapor of the liquid, is overheated to an abnormal extent, the sealed vessel would explode by abnormally high inner pressure. In order to avoid such an accidental explosion, a conventional pressurized, sealed vessel (1) is equipped with a safety valve at a bottom plate (11) as shown by FIG. 1. This safety valve consists of a port (15) bored at the center of the bottom plated (11), a valve body (20) for closing the outside of the port (15) and a spring (21) for pulling the valve body (20) inward. When the sealed vessel (1) is abnormally overheated and the inner pressure increases to over a predetermined critical pressure, the valve body (20) is opened by the action of the highly-pressurized gas. Then the pressurized gas spouts from the part (15), and the inner pressure decreases to below under the critical pressure.
However such a conventional safety valve has structural drawbacks: complexity of structure, inconvenient operation for assembling the bottom plate (11) to a cylinder of the vessel and a high cost of parts. These drawbacks are caused by the fact that the safety valve requires a plurality of parts to be assembled besides the valve body (20). In addition, the safety valve has also a problem from the standpoint of safety. If the valve body and a shaft for sliding through a hole are left unmoved for a long time, the sliding shaft would occasionally adhere to the edge of the hole or the valve body would sometimes adhere to the valve seat for some reasons. Then the valve would not work even when it is overheated.

Safety valve of a sealed vessel and a method for manufacturing the safety valve


A method for forming an isolation member in a trench of a substrate may include the following steps: performing a first deposition process to form a first isolation material set, which is at least partially positioned in the trench; partially removing the first isolation material set, such that a remaining portion of the first isolation material set remains in the trench; after the first isolation material set has been partially removed, performing a fluorine-reduction process on at least the remaining portion of the first isolation material set; after the fluorine-reduction process, performing a second deposition process to form a second isolation material set, which is at least partially positioned in the trench, wherein the second isolation material set includes the remaining portion of the first isolation material set; and processing the second isolation material set for forming the isolation member.

The present invention is related to a method for forming an isolation member in a trench of a semiconductor substrate. The resulted structure may be used for manufacturing a semiconductor device.
In a process for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a dielectric isolation member, e.g., a shallow trench isolation (STI) member, may be formed in a trench of a semiconductor substrate. The isolation member may isolate components and/or prevent electrical current leakage in the semiconductor device. In a process for forming the isolation member, a SICONI™ etching process may be performed to partially remove dielectric material that has been deposited in the trench. As a result of the SICONI™ etching process, a substantial amount of fluorine residues may remain in the trench. The fluorine residues may significantly interfere with subsequent deposition of dielectric material in the trench, such that the deposition rate for the dielectric material in the trench may be substantially low. Since the dielectric material deposition rate in the trench may be substantially lower than the dielectric material deposition rate away from the trench, dielectric material deposited away from the trench may accumulate substantially higher than dielectric material deposited in the trench; therefore, the subsequent planarization (and/or polishing) of the deposited isolation material may be substantially inefficient. As a result, the productivity associated with the isolation member and/or the semiconductor device may be unsatisfactorily.

Method for forming isolation member in trench of semiconductor substrate

SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (SHANGHAI) CORPORATION


A carboxyl group-containing polyurethane is capable of giving cured products excellent in adhesion with substrates, low warpage, flexibility, plating resistance, soldering heat resistance and long-term reliability. The carboxyl group-containing polyurethane includes a structure derived from a polyol compound having 1 to 10 hydroxyl groups and 18 to 72 carbon atoms per molecule. The carboxyl group-containing polyurethane is produced by reacting: (A) a polyisocyanate compound; (B) a polyol compound having 1 to 10 hydroxyl groups and 18 to 72 carbon atoms per molecule; and (C) a carboxyl group-containing dihydroxy compound (other than the compound (B)).

Surface protective films of flexible printed circuits are for example adhesive-bonded polyimide films, called coverlay films, that are punched out with a die conforming to the pattern, and are screen-printed films of UV or heat curable overcoating resins having flexibility, with the latter being more advantageous particularly in workability.
Known such curable overcoating resins include resin compositions based on epoxy resins, acrylic resins or mixtures thereof. These compositions are often based on resins modified by introduction of butadiene, siloxane, polycarbonate diol or long chain aliphatic skeletons, whereby the flexibility is improved and the warpage due to cure shrinkage or heat shrinkage is prevented while minimizing the reduction of heat resistance, chemical resistance and electrical insulating properties inherent to the surface protective films.
With recent weight reduction and miniaturization of electronic equipment, flexible substrates are reduced in weight and thickness and are therefore more significantly susceptible to the flexibility and cure shrinkage of the overcoating resin compositions. Consequently, the curable overcoating resins do not satisfy performance requirements in terms of flexibility and warpage due to cure shrinkage. These problems have been studied.
JP-A-H11-61038 discloses a resin composition including a polybutadiene block isocyanate and a polybutadiene polyol. Cured products of the composition have good flexibility and shrinkage factor, but are insufficient in heat resistance.
JP-A-2004-137370 discloses a polyamideimide resin produced through reaction of a polycarbonate diol and a diisocyanate compound to prepare a polyurethane having two isocyanate groups at both ends, and reaction of the diisocyanate-terminated polyurethane with trimellitic acid. Cured products of the resin have unsatisfactory long-term reliability of electrical characteristics.
JP-A-2004-182792 discloses a polyamideimide resin with an organosiloxane skeleton. Cured products of the resin have bad adhesion to substrates. This prior art uses special solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, which can dissolve emulsifying agents in the screen-printing, often resulting in problems.

Carboxyl group-containing polyurethane and heat-curable polyurethane resin composition


The use of 7-ter-butoxyiminomethylcamptothecin is described in the preparation of a medicament useful for the treatment of uterine neoplasms, particularly cancer of the endometrium and of the neck of the womb.

Anticancer chemotherapy agents are the drugs with the most restrictive therapeutic window. In fact, since their cytotoxic activity is non-selective, they can indiscriminately damage all the cells of the body with which they come into contact.
Over the past twenty years uterine cancers, the term including both cervical and endometrial carcinoma, have become the most frequent pelvic cancers in women. Surgery is the treatment of choice in most patients. The use of chemotherapy is generally confined to the treatment of metastatic or advanced disease. The chemotherapeutic agents commonly prescribed for the treatment of uterine cancers are characterised by a fairly low positive response level, ranging typically from 20% to 35%. There is therefore still a perceived need to identify an anticancer drug capable of yielding a higher positive response rate and at the same time presenting fewer side effects or at least to a more tolerable extent. 7-terbutoxyiminomethylcamptothecin (CPT184 or ST 1481 or gimatecan) is an orally active camptothecin derivative and is described in European Patent EP 1 044 977, where its activity on the non-small-cell lung cancer cell line is specified, and uterine cancers are not mentioned.

Use of 7-t-butoxyiminomethylcamptothecin for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of uterine neoplasms


Stall detection apparatus for an electric motor controller has an input for receiving a drive error flag indicating if the controller is unable to achieve the required motor velocity and an input for receiving a signal in order to measure, directly or indirectly, the actual motor velocity. The actual motor velocity is determined in order to indicate whether the motor is stationary and, only if so, a stall signal is outputted in order to indicate that said motor has stalled.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for stall detection in respect of a motor and, more particularly but not necessarily exclusively, to a method and apparatus for stall detection in respect of a drive motor of a power-driven vehicle such as a motorized wheelchair.
Motorized wheelchairs generally include left and right drive wheels driven by a motor controller via corresponding left and right drive motors. In general, during operation, electric motors generate heat from the current flow through resistive windings. This heat energy, within the enclosed environment of a motor, can quickly raise both the internal general temperature and the spot temperature well above the rated temperature and, therefore, cause damage. This damage can be in the form of shorted or open windings, degradation of the motor assembly or even fire. Thus, the motor controller is required to include a mechanism for limiting the temperature rise to within predetermined operating limits.
In the case of a motor having multiple windings, when the motor is rotating at speed, the heat energy is applied to all windings, thereby spreading the total lost energy over a relatively large area. However, during stall conditions when the motor is stationary, all the heat energy is directed across one or two windings, which causes those individual windings to heat up far more rapidly than they would during normal operating conditions, which in turn makes them much more susceptible to failure. Thus, it is highly desirable for the temperature limiting mechanism of the motor controller to include means for detecting that the motor has stalled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art mechanisms for stall detection use direct measurement of the speed of rotation of the motor. In the event that maximum current and power are being drawn but the motor is determined to be stationary, a stall condition is indicated. Japanese patent application no. JP2004343998 describes a motor controller including a speed detection circuit for generating a signal indicating the rotational speed of the motor. Means are provided for isolating the motor from the power source in the event that a stall condition is determined based on the signal from the speed detection circuit.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a stall detection mechanism for a motor controller that does not require the use of additional, relatively expensive hardware sensors for directly measuring the rotational speed of the motor.

Method and apparatus for stall detection


In an apparatus for classifying objects by sedimentation having a straightening passage, capable of being prevented adhesion of bubbles to the straightening passage, and capable of being prevented a sample supplying error generated caused by a closed sample supplying portion on account of air locking, there is provided a bubble-removing passage for removing the bubbles within fluids at upper stream position of a straightening mesh within a classifying bath for classifying objects based on dropping position caused by a final sinking velocity of said objects falling within fluids after throwing said objects into flowing fluids, the bubble-removing passage which comprises a filter and a filter holder secured within the classifying bath through a protuberance.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for classifying objects by sedimentation, more particularly to an apparatus in which a classifying is performed by using final sedimentation velocity of objects to be classified mixed within fluid and there is provided a bubble-removing passage for removing bubbles within fluid of a classifying bath.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional methods for classifying minute objects of powdery particles, it has been used an apparatus for classifying objects so as to classify the objects to make groups being different in size or density by use of the difference in their sedimentation velocity in fluid.
FIG. 7 shows an example of an apparatus for classifying objects by sedimentation which has been disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application laid-Open No. 6-328002. In the drawing, a first cone-shaped pipe passage 115 is mounted on one side of an opening end of a classifying bath 104 through a flange 105 thereof. The first cone-shaped pipe passage 115 is gradually, widely opened toward the classifying bath 104 in the degree that the fluid does not become turbulence in the case of watching from the pointed end portion.
A second cone-shaped pipe passage 117 a tip 117a of which is opened, is mounted on the other opening end of the classifying bath 104 through the flange 105. The second cone-shaped pipe passage 117 is also gradually, widely opened toward the classifying bath 104 in the degree that the fluid does not become turbulence in the case of watching from the pointed end portion.
A pipe 101 is mounted detachably on the pointed end portion of the first cone-shaped pipe passage 115 and further a pipe 113 is also mounted on the pointed end portion of the second cone-shaped pipe passage 117. A drain 118, a pump 119, an amount of flowing adjusting valve 120, and a flowmeter 121 are arranged in sequence along the line from the pipe 113 to the pipe 101. A straightening lattice 116 is arranged in the neighborhood of the one opening end of the classifying bath 104. The straightening lattice 116 is arranged so as to avoid turbulence by straightening a fluid flowing therein from the first cone-shaped pipe passage 115. A throwing hole 104a is provided to throw objects to be classified therein at the upper part of neighboring said one opening end of the classifying bath 104 and a pipe 127 extending toward the vertical direction is connected to the throwing hole 104a. A boll valve 129 is arranged in the center part of the pipe 127, and a container (not illustrated), in which a suspension including minute objects of lumps of cells to be classified is accommodated, is connected to the upper end thereof.
A plurality of partitioning portions 106 (106a, 106b, . . . ) which narrow downward are provided at the lower part of the classifying bath 104. A respective half union 107 is connected to the lowest part of the partitioning portion 106.
An operation of the apparatus will be described as follows: The inside of the apparatus is filled with the fluid which is circulated within the apparatus by means of the pump 119. In the drawing, the fluid flows from left to right within the classifying bath 104.
In an example, the operation is explained in that the minute objects to be classified are lumps of cells, and fluid is culture. First, lumps of cells fall freely through the pipe 127 and are supplied to the classifying bath 104. At this time, in a relationship between density of culture as a fluid and that of lumps of cells, since density of lumps of cells is a little larger than density of culture accordingly, gravity, buoyancy and frictional resisting power which are subjected to lumps of cells immediately after falling, are in harmony with one another with the result that falling lumps of cells within the fluid promptly fall at the same velocity. This velocity is the final sinking velocity.
The lumps of cells reach the final sinking velocities before falling into the classifying bath 104 while falling through the pipe 127, from this time falling at the same velocity. The lumps of cells within the classifying bath 104 fall with drawing a line of oblique downward direction as shown in the drawing, then entering into the partitioning portion 106 (106a, 106b . . . ) at the lower part of the classifying bath 104, and being classified. At this time, the more lumps of cells have large configuration and have faster final sinking velocity, the more entering into the left partitioning portion 106a, and the more lumps of cells have small configuration and have slower final sinking velocity, the more entering into the right partitioning portion 106b. Thus the lumps of cells are capable of classifying selectively according to size or shape, namely the growing stage. The lumps of cells which enter each of the partitioning portion 106 are moved to the next stage passing through the tube 108 made of silicon.
In FIG. 8, a straightening mesh 136 which is of a mesh less than 5 mm degrees, is used rather than the straightening lattice 116 as the straightening passage of the classifying bath 104. In the drawing, three sheets of straightening meshes 136 are arranged at intervals.
Next, a sample supplying device for the conventional apparatus for classifying by sedimentation will be explained based on FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. In the same drawing, reference numeral 202 designates a classifying bath of the apparatus for classifying by sedimentation which is the same as the classifying bath disclosed in the above-stated Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-328002. Besides, a sample supplying portion 201 is mounted on the upper portion of the classifying bath 202. The sample supplying portion 201 is formed in the shape of cylinder or polygonal cylinder. An outflow pipe 206 is mounted on the upper position of the sample supplying portion 201, an opening portion thereof is opened upside down. The other end of the outflow pipe 206 is reached within the culture fluid of the cultivating tank 203 through the pump 204 and a flow rate variable type pinch cock 207, and both of the outer flow pipe 206 and the sample inflow pipe 205 are filled with the same fluid as the culture fluid of the cultivating tank 203.
In the apparatus having above-described construction, cultivated lumps of cells which are cultivated within the cultivating tank 203, are forwarded with pressurization by means of pump 204 from a pointed end portion 205a to the sample supplying portion through the sample inflow pipe 205 together with the fluids including culture fluid. For this reason, upward flow is created within the sample supplying portion 201. The velocity of a flowing fluid thereof is adjusted by the pointed end portion 205, the inside diameter of the outflow tube 206, the sample supplying portion 201, the flow rate of pump 204 and the flow rate variable type pinch cock 207. The velocity of a flowing fluid thereof is adjusted in such a way that the velocity is a little faster than the sinking velocity of lumps of immature cultivated cells in the fluid.
As shown in FIG. 10, therefore, only the immature samples flow upward in the sample supplying portion 201 to flow out into the outflow pipe 206, while, the sample to be classified may sink against the upward stream to come into the classifying tank 202. The immature samples having flown out from the outflow pipe 206 are returned to, via the pump 204 and the flow-rate variable type pinch cock 207, to the culture tank so as to be cultivated again.
However, in the conventional apparatus for classifying by sedimentation as described above, wherein at least one straigthening mess in which the meshes are less than 5 mm each is installed as the straighthening passage causing the classifying apparatus to operate with a laminar flow within the classifying bath, with air that is left in the classifying bath, the pipe, or the pump, extremely minute bubbles dispersed in the colloidal state within the fluid, and gas dissolved within the fluid becomes a visible mass of air with an elapse of time, and the mass of air is stirred by means of pump so that it becomes minute bubbles which flow into the classifying bath, as shown in FIG. 8. The minute bubbles cause clogging on account of adhesion thereof particularly on the upper portion of the fluid passage. As the result thereof, the velocity of fluid as is indicated by the arrow in the drawing, since the flow rate of the upper portion of the classifying bath becomes slow, and the lower portion thereof becomes fast, it can not keep the laminar flow within the classifying bath, in some cases, the sample becomes incapable of classifying accurately.
Furthermore, the bubbles which have entered into the classifying bath collect at the upper portion thereof, entering into the sample supplying portion arranged at the upper part of the classifying bath as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the pipe of the sample supplying portion is closed by air lock and so forth, in some cases the samples become incapable of feeding therein.

Apparatus for classifying objects by sedimentation


A fixing device and image-forming apparatus, which provide required glossiness and paper adaptability, and, in addition, feature good operability and excellent durability while achieving optimal pressure-applying force for a variety of requirements. The fixing device has a pressure-applying lever; a pressure-releasing lever; a locking member, the one end of which is rotationally attached to the pressure-releasing lever; and an elastic member which pulls the locking member in a locking direction. The configuration is such that the rotation of the pressure-releasing lever displaces the location of the locking member, thereby enabling switching between a pressure-applying position, in which a fixing member presses against another fixing member, and a pressure-releasing position, in which the one fixing member moves away from the other fixing member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing device, which grips a recording medium on which a toner image has been formed between a pair of mutually opposed fixing members, and fixes the toner image to the recording medium by applying heat and/or pressure, and an image-forming apparatus comprising this fixing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image-forming apparatus that utilizes a digital photography system, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum, which is one example of an image carrier, this electrostatic latent image is made into a visible image by using a toner or the like, which is a developer, to develop the electrostatic image on the photosensitive drum, the developed image is transferred to a transfer material by a transfer device, the transfer material carries the image, and a fixing device fixes the toner image onto the transfer material using pressure and heat. This image-fixed transfer material passes through a paper discharge path and is discharged outside the apparatus. The fixing device grips the recording medium between a pair of opposing fixing members, for example, either rotating members such as rollers or belts, or fixed members such as pressure pads, or a combination thereof, and applies heat and/or pressure to fix the toner image onto the recording medium.
For example, a fixing roller equipped with a built in heater, which is heating means, and a pressure-applying lever, such as a pressure roller that makes contact with the fixing roller are arranged as the fixing members. A toner transfer agent-bearing recording medium that has reached the fixing device is introduced into a fixing nip, which constitutes the contact part of the fixing roller and pressure roller. In the process of the recording medium passing through the fixing nip, the transferred toner image is fixed to the surface of the recording medium by being subjected to heat and pressure.
However, when a paper jam creates a state in which the recording medium becomes stuck in the fixing nip of this fixing device and the apparatus stops, jam processing, in which the user removes this recording medium, is extremely difficult due to the fact that the recording medium is stuck in a state in which pressure is being applied to the fixing nip. For this reason, a method in which a manual release lever is provided in the fixing device prior to the user carrying out jam processing to release the pressure at the time of jam processing has been well known for some time now.
The problems with the manual method are the complicated nature of the lever operation and forgetting to operate the lever. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H5-173446 (hereinafter referred to as Prior Art 1) proposes an automatic release device, which uses a cam device to automatically release the contact pressure of the fixing nip.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-318555 (hereinafter referred to as Prior Art 2) proposes a configuration which causes a cam attached to a release lever to act on a direct-pressure-applying lever to release the pressure-applying state of the fixing members.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-214718 (hereafter referred to as Prior Art 3) proposes a configuration in which releasing the pressure-applying state of the fixing members is linked to the opening and closing of a cover.
The above-mentioned Prior Art 1 comprises a cam device for automatically releasing the contact pressure of the fixing nip, but this requires the disposition of a new drive mechanism such as a dedicated motor, increasing the weight and cost of the device. In recent years, it has been desirable to make image-forming apparatuses smaller and faster, and making the fixing rollers and belts smaller in diameter has resulted in shorter nips for holding the recording medium. On the other hand, since the speed at which the paper passes through has become faster, the heat applied to the recording medium at fixing is no longer sufficient, making it difficult to achieve satisfactory fixing performance. For this reason, a stronger pressure-applying force is needed than in conventional devices so as to ensure a bigger nip. The problem with this is that the actuating force on the conventional manual release lever becomes too great, making it difficult for the user to operate.
Further, in the case of a configuration which causes a cam attached to a release lever to act on a direct-pressure-applying lever to release the pressure-applying state of the fixing members as disclosed in the above-mentioned Prior Art 2, the problem is that strengthening the pressure-applying force increases the frictional force between the cam and the direct-pressure-applying lever, thereby lowering the sliding performance of the sliding contact surface, and also increasing the wear on the sliding contact surface.
Even when the release of the pressure-applying state of the fixing members is linked to the opening and closing of a cover as disclosed in the above-mentioned Prior Art 3, the problem is that strengthening the pressure-applying force increases the frictional force of the contact surfaces of the release lever and opening-and-closing cover, lowering the sliding performance of the sliding contact surfaces and increasing the mutual wear on the sliding contact surfaces.
To solve for problems such as those mentioned above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-48005 (hereinafter referred to as Prior Art 4), which discloses a fixing device that features good operability and excellent durability while producing favorable pressure-applying force, is known. In the configuration of this Prior Art 4, a fixing device, which fixes a toner image onto a recording medium by gripping the recording medium between a pair of opposing fixing members and applying heat and/or pressure, has a pressure-applying lever for causing the one fixing member to apply pressure to the other fixing member; a pressure-releasing lever, which is rotatably supported on the pressure-applying lever; a locking member, one end of which is rotatably attached to the pressure-releasing lever; and an elastic member, which is latched to the other end of the locking member, and pulls the locking member in the locking direction, and is characterized in that the rotation of the pressure-releasing lever displaces the location of the locking member, enabling a pressure-applying position, in which the one fixing member presses against the other fixing member via the pressure-applying lever, to switch over to a pressure-releasing position, in which the one fixing member moves away from the other fixing member, and in the pressure-applying position, the pressure-applying lever and the locking member, which are fastened together at a location at the opposite end of the rotating central shaft of the pressure-applying lever, are pulled in the locking direction by the elastic member.
In accordance with this configuration, a pressure-releasing lever is rotatably supported on a pressure-applying lever that causes the one fixing member to apply pressure to the other fixing member, one end of a locking member is rotatably attached to this pressure-releasing lever, and an elastic member, which pulls the locking member in the locking direction, is latched to the other end of the locking member, and when the pressure-releasing lever rotates, the location of the locking member is displaced, and a pressure-applying position, in which the one fixing member presses against the other fixing member via the pressure-applying lever, is switched over to a pressure-releasing position, in which the one fixing member moves away from the other fixing member. Thus, this configuration does not have a cam or driving means for driving the cam as in the past, and can be made lightweight and inexpensive. Since the rotation of the pressure-releasing lever also displaces the location of the locking member to which the elastic member is latched to one end, elastic means extension is minimal and the actuating force at operation is small, making user operation easy. Since the pressure-applying lever and the locking member are fastened together at the furthest location from the rotating central shaft of the pressure-applying lever, and the elastic member pulls thereon, the part that slides over the locking member can be subjected to minimal frictional force, achieving high durability.
However, in recent years, the glossiness required for an output image has come to differ by the application and type of paper of the recording medium, and fixability for a variety of recording media is required.

Fixing device and image-forming apparatus comprising the same


Techniques for using an account in an electronic store are described, where the account is available from a different electronic platform. For example, a computer system receives, based on a user interface, a request for item information associated with one or more items available from a service provider. The computer system determines, based on a user account with the service provider, an association between the user account and a benefit account with a benefit provider. The computer system determines, based on the association, a deadline for a benefit that is available based on the benefit account, and determines, based on an eligibility of an item for the benefit and on the deadline, that the benefit account is usable to order the item. Further, he computer system provides, to the user interface, a description of the item and an option to use the benefit account for ordering the item.

Typically, users have accounts across different electronic service providers, each providing a particular service. For example, a user may have a first account at an electronic store and may use this account to purchase items. The user may also have a second account at an electronic health provider and may use this account for making healthcare purchases under existing health insurance coverage plans (e.g., a health savings account (HSA), a health reimbursement account (HRA), a flexible spending account (FSA), and the like). Because different accounts are used, the capability of using one service to make payment for items and/or services offered via the electronic store can be limited. store

Validating an account available from a benefits provider to make payment for services available from another service provider


When a signal cable is connected between communication nodes 0, 1 which comply with a communication protocol that inhibits loop connection, communication node 0 detecting connection of the signal cable transmits a loop test signal LT having information of a port where connection was detected (e.g., information of a transfer rate between ports). In response to the loop test signal LT, a communication node 2 adds information of its own port that received the loop test signal LT, that is, P(2, 1), to the received loop test signal LT, and repeats the loop test signal LT. Similarly, communication node 1 adds information of its own port that received the loop test signal LT, that is, P(1, 0), to the loop test signal LT. Communication node 0 specifies a suitable disconnection point of a loop (e.g., a port having a low transfer rate between ports) based on the port information thus accumulated. Accordingly, even if a loop is formed accidentally, the disconnection point of the loop can be specified in view of the signal transfer efficiency on the network, and the port corresponding to the disconnection point can be logically disabled.

The present invention generally relates to a communication node forming a computer network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bus optimizing method used on a network connecting ports of a communication node to ports of other communication nodes on a one-to-one basis and having an acyclic directed graph, for logically disconnecting a loop accidentally formed on the network in order to disable the loop.
Conventionally, a tree-type network, a daisy-chain type network and the like are known as a network of the type connecting ports of a communication node to ports of other communication nodes on a one-to-one basis. One of networks using such a connection state of communication nodes is IEEE Standard (1394 Standard for a High Performance Serial Bus) (hereinafter, simply referred to as "1394").
In 1394, the network is initialized so that communication nodes form parent-child relationships according to the positional relation on the network. Therefore, a path to a root node in charge of arbitration is uniquely determined. In other words, the 1394 network has a directed graph. Moreover, in 1394, it is possible to dynamically assign a node number, a unique address, to each communication node based on the parent-child relationships. This method is specifically described in, e.g., International Application No. PCT/US93/12314 titled "Method and Apparatus for Unique Address Assignment, Node Self-Identification and Topology Mapping for a Directed Acyclic Graph".
According to this method, the network must be initialized so that a path to each communication node is uniquely determined. In other words, the entire network or a part of the network must not form a loop. If a loop is formed on the network, it must be disconnected in some way.
In 1394, if there is any loop on the network, initialization of the network will not be completed within a prescribed period. In such a case, a bit indicating the presence of the loop is set in an internal register in order to warn the user of the presence of the loop. Another method is described in International Application No. PCT/US93/12317 titled "Method and Apparatus for Transforming an Arbitrary Topology Collection of Nodes into an Acyclic Directed Graph".
In "P1394b Draft Standard for a High Performance Serial Bus", it is determined whether a loop is formed by connection of a signal cable or not. If a loop is formed, it is disconnected by logically ignoring connection of the signal cable. Hereinafter, this operation will be described with reference to FIG. 7.
Referring to FIG. 7, the routine is started in step 300. If communication nodes detect new connection of a signal cable in step 301 (YES in step 301), they conduct arbitration in step 302. The arbitration result is then determined in step 303. A communication node that won the arbitration becomes a test initiator. However, a communication node that lost the arbitration becomes a test target.
In step 304, the test initiator transmits a loop test packet (hereinafter, referred to as "LTP") to active ports and transmits a loop test signal (hereinafter, referred to as "LTS") to the port where the connection was detected. In step 308, the test target transmits an LTS to the port where the connection was detected. In other words, the test initiator and the test target are each receiving the LTS from the other. Both LTP and LTS have information identifying the communication node that transmits LTP and LTS, respectively.
The test initiator waits until a prescribed time has passed in step 305 or until the content of the LTS transmitted from the test target matches the content of the LTP transmitted from the test initiator in step 306.
When the test target receives the LTP in step 309 (YES in step 309), it changes the content of the LTS that is being transmitted therefrom to the same content as that of the received LTP in step 310. In step 311, the test target determines whether a prescribed time has passed or not. The test target continuously transmits the LTS during the prescribed time.
If the content of the LTS transmitted from the test target matches that of the LTP transmitted from the test initiator in step 306 (YES in step 306), the test initiator determines that a loop is formed. The test initiator then disconnects the loop by disabling the finally detected connection of a signal cable, that is, connection of a signal cable that triggers this loop disconnection process.
As has been described above, a loop that is accidentally formed on a bus by the user is conventionally disconnected by the above methods.
In the conventional methods, however, the loop is disconnected at a port where connection of a signal cable was finally detected. In other words, the loop is disconnected by disabling operation of that port. Since the loop is disconnected at a fixed point, the best signal transfer efficiency can not necessarily be implemented on the network.

Bus optimizing method and communication node

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for fabricating a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure is described. A patterned mask layer is formed on a substrate. An ion implantation is performed to form a doped region in a predetermined depth in the substrate exposed by the mask layer. An etching process is conducted to etch the substrate down to the doped region to form a shallow trench. Thereafter, an isolating material is filled into the shallow trench to form an STI layer. The doped region is located directly under the STI layer, and no doped region is formed in the sidewall of the shallow trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to structures of semiconductor devices and fabricating methods of the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to structures of shallow trench isolation (STI) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and fabricating methods of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With progressively increased functions of current computer, the memory capacity required in any kind of computer is correspondingly getting larger and larger, and DRAM cells therefore need to be miniaturized continuously for further higher integration. In a deep sub-micron semiconductor process or a more advanced process, the lateral area for forming a DRAM cell and the accompanying storage capacitor is very small, and more sophisticated techniques are required to maintain the surface area of the storage capacitor for its storage capability.
Generally, the storage capacitors formed in DRAM can be divided into two categories according to their structures, namely, stacked capacitor and deep-trench capacitor. No matter which kind of capacitor structure is adopted, DRAM fabrication process gets more and more difficult as device dimensions are being decreased progressively.
On the other hand, in a fabrication process of a semiconductor device such as DRAM, an active area (AA) is usually defined and electrically isolated by forming a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure. When device dimensions are being decreased progressively, enhancing the isolation capability of STI structures is also an important issue.
There have been a variety of methods provided in the prior art for enhancing the isolation capability of STI structures. For example, U.S. Publication No. 2002-0179997 discloses a method that forms a doped region, just after the shallow trench is formed, under the bottom of an STI layer to serve as a channel stop layer, thereby preventing a leakage current between two adjacent active areas.
However, when the doped region is formed under the bottom of an STI layer for enhancing the isolation capability of the STI layer, other leakage problems occur. For example, it is inevitable that some P-type ions are implanted into the sidewall of the shallow trench in the channel stop implantation process to form another doped region therein, since a back-scattering effect may let some ions be implanted into the sidewall of the shallow trench. The doped region in the sidewall of the shallow trench will overlap with the source/drain formed later, so that the junction gradient at the boundary of the source/drain is increased to cause a larger electric field, which further induces a junction leakage.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conventional DRAM cell, which includes a trench capacitor 101 disposed in a substrate 100, an STI layer 122, an active device 136, a buried strap 110 coupling the active device 136 to the trench capacitor 101, an N-doped layer 126 and a P-doped layer 130. The trench capacitor 101 includes a lower electrode 102, an inter-electrode dielectric layer 104, an upper electrode 106 and a collar oxide layer 108 surrounding the upper portion of the upper electrode 106.
The N-doped layer 126 is formed to electrically connect the lower electrodes 102 of all trench capacitors 101 in the memory array (not shown). The P-doped layer 130 is formed in the substrate 100 at a depth just under the bottom of the STI layer 122, also traversing the channel region of a vertical parasitic transistor that consists of the buried strap 110, the lower electrode 102, the collar oxide layer 108 and the upper electrode 106. Therefore, the insulating capability of the STI layer 122 is improved, and the threshold voltage of the parasitic transistor is raised. If the threshold voltage of the parasitic transistor were not raised in this manner, the channel thereof would be turned on easily to cause a leakage of the charges on the capacitor and therefore lower the storage capability. The P-doped layer 130 is usually formed with a P-type ion implantation process after the STI layer 122 is formed.
Moreover, since the P-doped region 130 must be formed at a depth just under the bottom of the STI layer 122 to effectively enhance the isolation capability, the P-doped layer 130 is formed close to the buried strap 110. Therefore, similar to the case mentioned above, the P-N junction gradient at the boundary of the buried strap 110 is increased, and a junction leakage is easily caused thereat.

Shallow trench isolation structure and dynamic random access memory, and fabricating methods thereof


A method and system for maintaining a best-case demand redispatch of an instruction to allow for maximizing the time a rejected thread may execute in lookahead execution mode, while maintaining the smallest L1 cache miss penalty supported by the memory subsystem. In response to a demand miss, a load/store unit sends a fetch request to the next level cache. The cache line of the demand miss is examined to identify the critical sector. Once the critical sector is identified, a best-case data return time is determined based on the fastest time the next level cache is able to return the critical sector of the cache line. The load/store unit then sends a speculative warning to the dispatch unit to coincide with the best-case data return, wherein the speculative warning prepares the dispatch unit to resend the instruction for execution as soon as data is available to the processor core.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an improved data processing system, and in particular, the present invention is directed to a system and method in a multi-threaded processor for maintaining a best-case demand redispatch of an instruction.
2. Description of Related Art
Microprocessor chips generally comprises various hardware elements including processing cores and cache memory. A processing core may include multiple sub-elements such as one or more floating point units, load/store units, instruction sequencing units, fixed point execution units, instruction fetch units, instruction dispatch units, branch execution units, and possibly other sub-elements. The terms "processing core" and "processor" are used interchangeably herein to refer to the same device.
A technique used in advanced microprocessors where the microprocessor begins executing a second instruction before the first has been completed is called pipelining. That is, several instructions are in the pipeline simultaneously, each at a different processing stage. The pipeline is divided into segments and each segment can execute its operation concurrently with the other segments. When a segment completes an operation, it passes the result to the next segment in the pipeline and fetches the next operation from the preceding segment. The final results of each instruction emerge at the end of the pipeline in rapid succession. This arrangement allows all the segments to work in parallel thus giving greater throughput than if each input had to pass through the whole pipeline before the next input could enter. The costs are greater latency and complexity due to the need to synchronize the segments in some way so that different inputs do not interfere. The pipeline will only work at full efficiency if it can be filled and emptied at the same rate that it can process.
Cache memory, which is typically comprised of high-speed static RAM (SRAM) devices, is used for holding instructions and/or data that are likely to be accessed in the near term by the processor. Because processors have increased in operating speed at a much faster pace than RAM as technology has progressed, without adequate system design, a processor could waste much of its time waiting to obtain instructions or data from memory, rather than performing calculations. One of the fastest types of RAM, Static RAM (SRAM), is generally too expensive to use for all of system's memory needs. As a compromise, computers generally come with a relatively small amount of SRAM that is used as cache memory. If an instruction or data stored in cache is required again, the computer can access the cache for the instruction/data rather than having to access the relatively slower DRAM. Since the cache memory is organized more efficiently, the time to find and retrieve information is reduced and the CPU is not left waiting for more information.
Many processors have two types of cache memory: level 1 and level 2. Level 1 (L1) cache has a very fast access time, and is typically embedded as part of the processor device itself. Level 2 (L2) is typically situated near, but separate from, the processor and has an interconnecting bus to the processor. Modern processors may also have both L1 and L2 caches integrated into their core or chip. Some systems also have a separate instruction cache and data cache.
Lookahead execution is another technique for improving the overall performance of a data processing system. Lookahead execution offers a solution to the performance problem from long stalls due to cache misses and translation misses. Load/store performance in an in-order machine can be improved by speculatively continuing to execute instructions in a "lookahead mode" during stalled periods in order to generate addresses that will be needed in the L1 cache and translation mechanism. This assures that needed data is available when the stall period ends and normal dispatch resumes, avoiding additional stalls. Lookahead Mode functions somewhat like a very exact prefetch mechanism which allows the load/store unit to make use of processor cycles that would otherwise go unused. For example, if a demand instruction misses the L1 cache, rather than stall the pipeline and wait for the data to return, the processor core will place a mark at the rejected instruction and then continue executing the instruction stream beyond that point while waiting for the data to return for the demand instruction. While this lookahead execution takes place, the caches and prediction arrays may be updated, but the architected facilities cannot. Lookahead execution may thus greatly reduce future penalties resulting from L1 misses and surprise branches.
The L2 cache may also improve performance by sending a speculative data-coming indication to the processor core several cycles before the data for a fetch request is actually available to the core. Existing systems use this data-coming indication to allow the processor core to prepare itself to use the data without further delay of the stalled instruction that caused the fetch and cannot complete until the data is available. However, a problem encountered when the lookahead execution feature is employed is that when a restart is generated from the L2 cache's data-coming warning, the instruction dispatch unit cannot deliver the stalled instruction back to the load/store unit (LSU) quickly enough to use the fetch data as soon as it is available to the processor core. Failure to deliver the stalled instruction quickly enough would result in a performance degrading cycle gap between when fetch data is available in the core, and when the demand instruction actually uses that data. This degradation would be a direct result of implementing the performance increasing lookahead feature.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and system for maintaining a best-case demand redispatch of an instruction to allow for maximizing the time a rejected thread may execute in lookahead execution mode while maintaining the smallest L1 miss penalty supported by the cache hierarchy design.

Mechanism in a multi-threaded microprocessor to maintain best case demand instruction redispatch


An optical sensor element includes: an n-type semiconductor region formed on a substrate; an i-type semiconductor region which is formed on the substrate between the p-type semiconductor region and the n-type semiconductor region and which is lower in impurity concentration than the p-type semiconductor region and the n-type semiconductor region; an anode electrode formed on the insulation film and connected to the p-type semiconductor region; and a cathode electrode formed on the insulation film and connected to the n-type semiconductor region. A reverse bias voltage Vb is applied when detecting the photocurrent, the reverse bias voltage Vb satisfying a following relation.V1<Vb<Vsat

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical sensor element of lateral pin structure diode type, and its drive method.
2. Related Art
In recent years, photodetection elements (such as photodiodes) using polycrystalline silicon or amorphous silicon formed as a film on a substrate by using the CVD method have been developed vigorously. A planar type illuminance detector is implemented by arranging photodiodes on a substrate. These photodiodes can be formed on a glass substrate or the like by diverting the technique of the thin film transistor (TFT) array used in, for example, liquid crystal displays.
In the typical conventional photodiodes, a reverse bias is applied in a vertical pin structure in which the pin structure is disposed perpendicular to the substrate or a lateral pin structure in which the pin structure is disposed in parallel to the substrate, and illuminance of light is detected by measuring a photocurrent that flows when the light is applied (see, for example, JP-A 2005-79438 (KOKAI)).
However, the vertical pin structure has a problem that the number of processes increases because it cannot be formed by using the same process as that of the TFTs for driving the photodiodes.
On the other hand, the lateral pin structure has a problem that the magnitude of the photocurrent becomes small although the structure can be formed in the same process as that of TFTs for driving the photodiodes. Furthermore, if the length of an i-region serving as a light receiving part of a photodiode in a direction sandwiched between a p-region and an n-region is lengthened, the value of the photocurrent varies among photodiodes having the same structure, resulting in another problem.

Optical sensor element and method for driving the same


A method and apparatus is disclosed for generating video signals representative of color images of a scene. An embodiment of the method includes the following steps: deriving a luminance signal representative of the scene at a first frame rate; deriving color component signals representative of the scene at a first line rate; generating, from the luminance signal, a converted luminance signal comprising the high spatial frequency portion of the luminance signal at a second frame rate higher than the first frame rate; generating, from the color component signals, converted color component signals at a second line rate higher than the first line rate; and combining the converted luminance component signal and at least one of the converted color component signals.

Color television camera systems have evolved over the years, but a recent challenge has been to develop a practical high definition television camera with improved performance that can overcome limitations of existing solid state image sensor (e.g. CCD) technology.
It is known that an electronic video signal (television signal) can be encoded at reduced bandwidth by lowering the frame refresh rate of the high spatial frequency components, while maintaining the frame refresh rate of at least a portion of the low spatial frequency components at the standard rate. If done in a particular manner, this will not cause substantial degradation in the ultimately displayed image, since human vision cannot perceive changes in high spatial resolution information at as fast a rate as it can perceive changes in low spatial resolution information. Accordingly, as has been previously set forth, an electronic video encoding and decoding system can be devised which takes advantage of this, and other, characteristics of human vision by encoding higher spatial resolution video components to be at a temporal information rate which approximately corresponds to the highest rate actually perceived by human vision for such components; thereby eliminating the need to encode these components at a higher rate, which inherently wastes bandwidth.
The foregoing principle was used to advantage in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,909, which discloses a video camera system and method with a high definition capability. First and second video imaging devices are provided. Optical means are provided for directing light from the scene to both of the first and second video imaging devices, such that they receive substantially the same optical image. Means are provided for scanning the first video imaging device at a relatively fast scan rate, typically, but not necessarily, a conventional 30 frames per second. Means are also provided for scanning the second video imaging device at a relatively slow scan rate, preferably not greater than 15 frames per second. In this system, as indicated, the top octave (detail) information can be scanned at 15 frames per second and the other (lower spatial frequency) information scanned with a standard television camera at 30 interlaced frames per second.
Another prior art approach of interest is the four tube (or sensor) color camera. In this camera system, a fourth tube is used to derive luminance while the three other tubes in the camera derive the color information. All tubes were scanned interlaced at 30 frames per second.
Interlaced scanning was developed many years ago as a way of displaying images without flicker at a frame rate of 30 frames per second. The 1/60 second integration time on the face of the interlaced camera was short enough to prevent "motion blur" of moving objects. Interlace can be visualized as a form of subband coding compression. It updates low spatial frequency information at 60 fields per second but requires 1/30 second to produce detail. Because of the longer integration time of the human visual system for detail information, this system works reasonably well. However, it has several artifacts resulting from the "compression". One such artifact relates to the fact that the eye frequently scans vertically at the interlace "line crawl" velocity. During this time the field line structure is clearly visible and objects moving at that velocity are displayed with half as many scan lines. A more objectionable artifact is interline flicker. Detail information near the Nyquist limit of resolution produces a "moire" beat at low spatial frequencies that flickers at 30 Hz. The visual system has good temporal response for low spatial frequencies. For this reason, displays that have considerable information near the Nyquist limit of resolution (e.g. some computer displays) use progressive rather than interlaced scanning.
Interlace format has other recognized disadvantages. Interlace has been a difficult signal to process for compression systems and is a nuisance for electronic video post production. It has been a desire for the computer industry, compression researchers, and the post-production houses to have a video system that has square pixels, progressively scanned at a 1920.times.1080 common image format. Displays have long been able to display this format. For example, active-matrix LCD displays are addressed at 60 FPS progressively in order to get good motion rendition and high brightness. It is only the lack of a practical camera and recording device that has limited the transition to progressive scan in the common image format.
Image sensors have become available (e.g. Eastman Kodak KAI-2090 and KAI-2091) that have 1920.times.1080 square pixels, with a 16:9 aspect ratio, that can be scanned (interlaced or progressive) at 30 frames per second at 1080 visible lines per frame, or scanned (interlaced or progressive) at 60 frames per second, two lines at a time, to give 540 visible lines per frame. The problem, however, is that the sensors are not capable of being scanned at 60 frames per second and 1080 lines per frame.
It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for generating color video signals at increased line and/or frame rates, and above the scanning capability of the sensors used, and preferably in progressive scan format, but without introducing artifacts when images are produced from the video signals. It is also among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved color video camera with a minimum of video sensors.

Color video camera system and method for generating color video signals at increased line and/or frame rates


Swirl flow-forming body includes main body, first end face that is formed at main body and faces a member to which suction is applied, hole that opens on first end face, jetting port that is formed on inner periphery of main body, inner periphery facing hole, and fluid passage that allows fluid to be discharged into hole via jetting port so as to form a swirl flow that generates negative pressure for applying suction to the member. Inner periphery is formed so as to guide fluid discharged via jetting port, in a direction away from the member, to be discharged from hole.

In recent years, there has been developed a device for non-contact conveyance of a plate-like member, such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate. For example, in Patent Document 1, a device is proposed for conveying a plate-like member in a non-contact manner, by applying Bernoulli's principle. The device includes a cylindrical chamber that opens on an underside of the device. Fluid is supplied into the chamber to generate a swirl flow having a central negative pressure, which exerts suction on the plate-like member. Fluid flowing out of the cylindrical chamber causes a given distance to be maintained between the device and the plate-like member, thereby enabling non-contact conveyance by the device of the plate-like member.

Swirl flow-forming body and suction device


A method and a mineral wool product include a multiple of lamellae, such as a sandwich panel core. The product includes a plurality of lamellae cut from a mineral wool web, and bonded together by applying an adhesive on the surfaces of two adjacent lamellae to form a web-like product, wherein the adhesive comprises at least one hydrocolloid.

In some mineral wool products, such as sandwich panel products, the mineral wool product is a so-called sandwich panel core. A sandwich panel core may be made by the general method where a cured mineral wool web is cut longitudinally into elements being lamellae and the lamellae thus formed are turned 90° about their longitudinal axis where after the lamellae thus oriented are bonded together with the adhesive to form a web-like product which is then cut into desired lengths to form board elements. Due to the turning of the lamellae the fibres of the finished boards will predominantly be oriented in a plane perpendicular to the surfaces of the boards and as a result thereof boards having a considerable stiffness and strength perpendicularly to the surfaces of the boards are obtained. An example of such assembly of lamellae and the manufacturing process thereof is known from e.g. WO 2005/068574 A1.
In WO 2005/068574 A1 there is disclosed a method of manufacturing a board using a hot melt adhesive to bond the mineral wool fibre elements together. The elements are bonded together by the hot-melt adhesive, which is cured by heating the bonded structure to a temperature of approx. 150-185° C.
An alternative way of forming the lamellae board is known from DE 32 23 246 A1. In this disclosure the lamellae board is formed by gluing batts together on top of each other and subsequently cut a slice.
When using such lamellae product as a sandwich panel core, the core is provided with metal sheets on major surfaces of the panel to provide a sandwich panel product, such as by adhesion with the adhesive.
The lamellae product may also be used for insulation of facades (e.g. Fasrock XL) or flat roof insulation, where compression strength is an important parameter.
Bonding together or laminating elements is utilized for different purposes respectively to achieve improved insulation, strength, stability, appearance or other properties.
Insulating characteristics of ready-made panels depend among other things upon the way in which individual panels are installed and/or bonded together at a construction site. The bigger the number of small panels necessary to form a requested surface, the bigger the number of edges at which panels are in mutual contact. The bigger the number of contact edges between the panels, the bigger the number of thermal bridges will be formed on the insulated surface as a result of inaccurate laying, improper adjustment of individual panels, and also as a result of increased risk of soiling contact surfaces.
In the past, phenol-formaldehyde resins which can be economically produced have been used as adhesive compositions for bonding together mineral wool elements.
However, these adhesives suffer from the disadvantage that they contain formaldehyde and they are therefore potentially harmful to handle and require protective measures when handling them on-site.
Non-phenol-formaldehyde binders which can be used as adhesives are sugar based binders, such as for example the compositions disclosed in EP2990494A1, PCT/EP2015/080758, WO02007/014236, WO02011/138458 and WO2009/080938.
However, all these binders, when used as adhesives for bonding together the surfaces of mineral wool elements, suffer from the disadvantage that they require high temperatures for curing which makes it necessary to apply heat over a prolonged time to the elements to be bonded together. This does not only require additional equipment but can also cause a fire hazard, e.g. when bonding together isolation elements for a roof insulation on-site. Further, the high temperature curing of these known adhesives can cause the emission of harmful or irritating fumes which may require protective measures for the handling of this matter.
Another type of adhesive that has been used for gluing together mineral wool elements with each other or with other elements such as glass fleece or metal sheet is a polyurethane based adhesive. This may be a one- or two-component adhesive. Such adhesives do not necessarily have to be cured at high temperatures. However, these adhesives may also be harmful when handling and are not based on naturally occurring ingredients.
Other adhesives are based on PVA, bitumen, inorganic binders PUR, and/or polyacrylates.

Method of producing a mineral wool product comprising a multiple of lamellae and a product of such kind


A mounting assembly includes a chassis having a wall, a fastener pivotally attached to the wall, and a cover detachably attached to the chassis. The wall forms a support portion for supporting a slot cover of an expansion card thereon. The fastener includes a pressing portion for pressing the slot cover against the support portion when the fastener is pivoted to a locked position. The cover is engagable with the fastener to secure the fastener in the locked position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mounting assemblies, and more particularly to a mounting assembly which readily and firmly secures a plurality of expansion cards in a computer chassis.
2. General Background
Nowadays, most computer systems or other electronic devices employ a plurality of circuit cards, such as expansion cards, adapters, and PC boards. These cards or boards are typically mounted to a computer motherboard in a perpendicular fashion relative to the computer motherboard. In particular, the cards are usually inserted into edge card connectors, which are mounted on the computer motherboard. However, merely inserting a card into an edge card connector is typically insufficient to securely maintain the card within the computer chassis. A card connected in this fashion could easily disconnect from the edge card connector, which may prevent, or significantly inhibit, acceptable operation of the computer. Accordingly, additional structure is normally required to secure a card within a computer chassis. A conventional manner of securing a card within a computer chassis is to provide a card bracket fastened to the computer chassis with a removable screw. Specifically, each mounting bracket is normally disposed across a card slot formed in the computer chassis and may include an aperture through which the fastener screw may pass. However, securing a card-mounting bracket to a computer chassis by using a screw that passes through the bracket and into the computer chassis may present problems. One significant disadvantage of a screw-secured bracket is that the screw is often inadvertently dropped into the computer chassis during installation and removal of the bracket.
A typical mounting assembly for securing expansion cards includes a rear panel and a fixing cover attached to the rear panel. The rear panel defines a plurality of expansion slots for receiving expansion cards. A fixing plate is stamped from the rear panel adjacent to an end of the expansion slots and forms a plurality of protrusions. Each expansion card includes a slot cover forming a bent portion for abutting against the fixing plate. Each bent portion defines a cutout for engaging with the protrusion of the fixing plate thereby positioning the expansion card. The fixing cover forms a plurality of elastic tabs for pressing the bent portion of the slot cover thereby fixing the expansion card. A pair of through holes is defined in the fixing cover and a pair of screw holes is correspondingly defined in the rear panel. A pair of bolts extends through the through holes and threadedly engages in the screw holes thereby fixing the fixing cover to the rear panel. However, the above-described operation of the mounting assembly for securing expansion cards is comparatively complicated.
What is needed, therefore, is a mounting assembly which readily and firmly secures a plurality of expansion cards to a computer chassis.

Bao-an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


Generally, the present invention is directed to the in situ measurement of fluid density and/or flow rate in tubular conduits, wherein such measurement comprises measuring dynamic fluid level and/or load (weight) in a region of the conduit and correlating these measurements of the fluid with a density and/or flow rate. Such measurements are typically directed toward drilling fluids transported within the tubular conduits—particularly the return flow, wherein the fluid comprises extraneous material (e.g., cuttings, etc.) which can alter the density and flow rate of the drilling fluid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to in situ measurement of fluid density and flow rate in pipe; and it relates specifically to methods and apparatus for measuring dynamic fluid level and load (weight) in a region of pipe and correlating these measurements of the fluid with a density and flow rate—with particular applications to return drilling fluid/mud.
2. Background of the Related Art
Drilling fluid, also known as "drilling mud," is used to: (1) remove cuttings from a formation produced by a drill bit at the bottom of a wellbore and carry them to the surface; (2) lubricate and cool the drill bit during operation; and (3) maintain hydrostatic equilibrium so that fluids and gas from the formation do not enter the wellbore in an uncontrolled manner causing the well to flow, kick or blow out. In all such roles, but particularly the latter one, a knowledge of the density and flow rate of the drilling fluid is critical.
Current methods to measure flow rate of a return drilling fluid typically involve inference from the initial pump rate—precluding the ability to monitor the flow rate differential between the initial and return fluid. Moreover, current methods for measuring return drilling fluid density are typically indirect, ex situ techniques. See, e.g., American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practices 13B-1, and 13B-2.
In view of the foregoing, an improved method for accurately and efficiently measuring such above-described fluid flow parameters in situ would be highly beneficial, particularly with regard to return drilling fluid.

Method to measure flow line return fluid density and flow rate


An environmental mechanical test apparatus includes a pressure generation source and an isolation cylinder in fluid communication with the pressure generation source. The test apparatus further includes a pressure containment cell configured to receive a test specimen, an environmental chamber disposed about the pressure containment cell, and a load frame operably associated with the pressure containment cell. The pressure containment cell is in fluid communication with the pressure generation source and the isolation cylinder and includes a viewing window.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for mechanically testing materials in environments of interest, such as harsh environments.
2. Description of Related Art
The development and qualification of materials for service in harsh environments requires testing the mechanical performance of such materials after, and/or during, sustained exposure to the harsh environment. Harsh environments include environments that exhibit extreme pressures and/or temperatures and/or wet environments that include corrosive fluids. Such harsh environments are often found in oilfield operations. Conventionally, materials that are being tested for service in harsh environments are often first subjected to a harsh environment then removed from the harsh environment for mechanical testing. Therefore, the true performance of the material of interest is not measured while the material is being subjected to the harsh environment. This is especially true for polymeric materials for which fluid ingress is usually reversible.
There are many designs of apparatuses for mechanically testing materials that are well known in the art; however, considerable shortcomings remain.


Functional devices for inspecting disks are arranged around a turntable at equal spacings of angle 2n.pi./(n+m) in the order of the operations they perform. The turntable is rotated both in forward direction by angle 2n.pi./(n+m) and in reverse direction by angle 2m.pi./(n+m) such that the total angle of rotations in forward direction is equal to that of rotations in reverse direction when the necessary operations have completed without causing the turntable to rotate fully once.

This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for inspecting disks. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus with which both surfaces of magnetic disks or substrate disks of magnetic disks arranged sequentially on a rotating turntable can be inspected continuously without causing the turntable to rotate fully once.
Magnetic disks for use in information recording, its substrate disks and other disks (which are hereinafter sometimes referred to simply as "disks") are tested with a disk inspector to check to see if they have any surface defects or if they exhibit sufficiently good electrical performance to work as recording media. In the test, a plurality of disks to be inspected are packed in a cassette; from which they are sequentially taken out and mounted on spindles on the inspector; after one surface of the disk is inspected, it is inverted and the other surface is inspected; after both surfaces have been inspected, the respective disks are placed into different cassettes or into a single cassette in different positions according to the result of inspection.
FIG. 8 shows a conventional disk inspector of a type that is capable of efficient inspection of both surfaces of disks as they are arranged on a rotating turntable and which is described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 4-301714. As shown, the turntable generally indicated by 1 has a plurality of spindles 2 arranged at equal angular spacings. In the positions around the turntable 1 which correspond to the respective spindles 2, a disk pickup 3, a first surface inspector 3, an inverter 5, a second surface inspector 6 and a disk recovery 7 are sequentially arranged counterclockwise in the order of I to V.
Disks D (workpieces) are sequentially mounted on the individual spindles 2 by means of the pickup 3 as the turntable rotates through a specified angle. When the turntable 1 rotates through another specified angle, the disks D are transferred to the subsequent functional devices and, after inspection of one surface, inversion and inspection of the other surface that are performed in response to incremental rotations of the turntable 1, the disks D are ejected sequentially by means of the recovery 7.
Shown by 2a is a disk chuck provided on each spindle 2 for chucking the disk.
Using a turntable, the disk inspector described above is capable of inspecting disks continuously. However, in order to drive the individual spindles arranged on the turntable, wire connections are necessary not only for power supply to each spindle but also for control signals. This need cannot be met by direct wiring to the spindles since the turntable used in the prior art apparatus makes more than one rotation to perform the necessary inspecting operations. To deal with this difficulty, the turntable has to be connected to each spindle by means of contacts provided between the turntable and each of the terminals for power supply and control signals However, if this approach is applied to the turntable equipped with many spindles, the number of contacts increases and poor contact is most likely to occur due to rotational contacts. In addition, the apparatus has high possibility of failure.
One may think of dealing with the situation by rotating the turntable fully once and then rotating it in reverse direction to the start position. However, even in this way, the wires will warp around the lower part of the apparatus, potentially causing a failure of the apparatus and breakage of the wires.

Apparatus and method for inspecting disks

Hitachi Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd.


The present invention is directed to ancestral and COT nucleic acid and amino acid sequences, methods for producing such sequences and uses thereof, including prophylactic and diagnostic uses.

HIV-1 has proved to be an extremely difficult target for vaccine development. Immune correlates of protective immunity against HIV-1 infection remain uncertain. The virus persistently replicates in the infected individual, leading inexorably to disease despite the generation of vigorous humoral and cellular immune responses. HIV-1 rapidly mutates during infection, resulting in the generation of viruses that can escape immune recognition. Unlike other highly diverse viruses (e.g., influenza), there does not appear to be a succession of variants where one prototypical strain is replaced by successive uniform strains. Rather, an evolutionary tree of viral sequences sampled from a large number of HIV-infected individuals form a star-burst pattern with most of the variants roughly equidistant from the center of the tree. HIV-1 viruses can also persist indefinitely as latent proviral DNA, capable of replicating in individuals at a later time.
Currently, several HIV-1 vaccine approaches are being developed, each with its own relative strengths and weaknesses. These approaches include the development of live attenuated vaccines, inactivated viruses with adjuvant peptides and subunit vaccines, live vector-based vaccines, and DNA vaccines. Envelope glycoproteins were considered as the prime antigen in the vaccine regimen due to their surface-exposure, until it became evident that they are not ideal immunogens. This is an expected consequence of the immunological selective forces that drive the evolution of these viruses: it appears that the same features of envelope glycoproteins that dictate poor immunogenicity in natural infections have hampered vaccine development. However, modification of the vaccine recipe may overcome these problems. For example, a recent report of successful neutralization (in mice) of primary isolates from infected individuals with a fusion-competent immunogen supports this idea.
Another approach could be to use natural isolates of HIV-1 in a vaccine recipe. Identification of early variants even from stored specimens near the start of the AIDS epidemic is very unlikely, however. Natural isolates are also unlikely to embody features (e.g., epitopes) that are ideal for a vaccine candidate. Furthermore, any given natural virus isolate will have features that reflect adaptations due to specific interactions within that particular human host. These individual-specific features are not expected to be found in all or most strains of the virus, and thus vaccines based on individual isolates are unlikely to be effective against a broad range of circulating virus.
Another approach could be to include as many diverse HIV-1 isolates as possible in the vaccine recipe in an effort to elicit broad protection against HIV-1 challenge. First, one or more strains are chosen from among the many circulating strains of HIV. The advantage of this approach is that such a strain is known to be an infectious form of a viable virus. However, such a strain will be genetically quite dissimilar to other strains in circulation, and thus can fail to elicit broad protection. A related approach is to build a consensus sequence based on circulating strains, or on strains in the database. The consensus sequence is likely to be less distant in a genetic sense from circulating strains, but is not an estimate of any real virus, however, and thus may not provide broad protection.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for new effective methods of identifying candidate sequences for vaccine development to prevent and treat HIV infection. The present invention fulfills this and other needs.

Ancestral and COT viral sequences, proteins and immunogenic compositions