An ablation apparatus includes a handpiece, an electrode extending from a handpiece distal end, a probe, a thermal sensor and an energy source. The electrode includes a distal end and a lumen, a cooling medium inlet conduit and a cooling medium exit conduit. Both conduits extend through the electrode lumen to an electrode distal end. A sidewall port, isolated from a cooling medium flowing in the inlet and outlet conduits, is formed in the electrode. The probe is at least partially positionable in the electrode lumen and configured to be advanced and retracted in and out of the sidewall aperture. The thermal sensor is supported by the probe. The electrode is coupled to an energy source.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an ablation apparatus with an internally cooled electrode, and more particularly to an electrode with a closed looped cooling device positioned in an electrode lumen, and an electrode sidewall port isolated from a cooling medium flowing through the closed looped cooling device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current open procedures for treatment of tumors are extremely disruptive and cause a great deal of damage to healthy tissue. During the surgical procedure, the physician must exercise care in not cutting the tumor in a manner that creates seeding of the tumor, resulting in metastasis. In recent years, development of products has been directed with an emphasis on minimizing the traumatic nature of traditional surgical procedures.
There has been a relatively significant amount of activity in the area of hyperthermia as a tool for treatment of tumors. It is known that elevating the temperature of tumors is helpful in the treatment and management of cancerous tissues. The mechanisms of selective cancer cell eradication by hyperthermia are not completely understood. However, four cellular effects of hyperthermia on cancerous tissue have been proposed, (i) changes in cell or nuclear membrane permeability or fluidity, (ii) cytoplasmic lysomal disintegration, causing release of digestive enzymes, (iii) protein thermal damage affecting cell respiration and the synthesis of DNA or RNA and (iv) potential excitation of immunologic systems. Treatment methods for applying heat to tumors include the use of direct contact radio-frequency (RF) applicators, microwave radiation, inductively coupled RF fields, ultrasound, and a variety of simple thermal conduction techniques.
Among the problems associated with all of these procedures is the requirement that highly localized heat be produced at depths of several centimeters beneath the surface of the skin.
Attempts to use interstitial local hyperthermia have not proven to be very successful. Results have often produced nonuniform temperatures throughout the tumor. It is believed that tumor mass reduction by hyperthermia is related to thermal dose. Thermal dose is the minimum effective temperature applied throughout the tumor mass for a defined period of time. Because blood flow is the major mechanism of heat loss for tumors being heated, and blood flow varies throughout the tumor, more even heating of tumor tissue is needed to ensure effective treatment.
The same is true for ablation of the tumor itself through the use of RF energy. Different methods have been utilized for the RF ablation of masses such as tumors. Instead of heating the tumor it is ablated through the application of energy. This process has been difficult to achieve due to a variety of factors including, (i) positioning of the RF ablation electrodes to effectively ablate all of the mass, (ii) introduction of the RF ablation electrodes to the tumor site and (iii) controlled delivery and monitoring of RF energy to achieve successful ablation without damage to non-tumor tissue.
RF ablation electrodes tend to impede out when used at higher power levels. The tissue adjacent to the electrode surface tends to char. There have been numerous cooled electrodes. Examples of cooled electrodes are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,290,435; 4,140,130; 4,881,543; 5,334,193; 5,342,357; 5,348,554; 5,423,811; 5,423,807; 5,437,662; and 5,462,521.
There is a need for an ablation apparatus with a closed loop cooling device positioned in an electrode lumen. There is a further need for an ablation apparatus with a closed loop cooling device positioned in an electrode lumen, and an electrode sidewall port isolated from the closed loop cooling device and suitable for the introduction of probes and/or infusion solutions into a selected tissue site.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an ablation apparatus and method with an ablation electrode that does not impede out.
Another object of the invention is to provide an ablation apparatus and method with a cooled ablation electrode.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an ablation apparatus and method with a closed loop cooled ablation electrode.
A further object of the invention is to provide an ablation apparatus and method with a closed loop cooled ablation electrode and an electrode sidewall port that is isolated from a cooling medium flowing through the ablation electrode.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an ablation apparatus and method with a closed loop cooled ablation electrode, an electrode sidewall port isolated from a cooling medium flowing through the ablation electrode and a probe with a sensor that is advanced in and out of the sideport.
Another object of the invention is to provide an ablation apparatus and method with a closed loop cooled ablation electrode, an electrode sidewall port isolated from a cooling medium flowing through the ablation electrode and an infusion medium introduced into a selected tissue site through the sidewall port.
These and other objectives are achieved in an ablation apparatus that has a handpiece, an electrode extending from a handpiece distal end, a probe, a thermal sensor and an energy source. The electrode includes a distal end, a lumen, a cooling medium inlet conduit and a cooling medium exit conduit. Both conduits extend through the electrode lumen to an electrode distal end. A sidewall port, isolated from a cooling medium flowing in the inlet and outlet conduits, is formed in the electrode. The probe is at least partially positionable in the electrode lumen and configured to be advanced and retracted in and out of the sidewall port. The thermal sensor is supported by the probe. The electrode is coupled to an energy source.
The present invention is also a method for creating an ablation volume in a selected tissue mass. An ablation device is provided that has a handpiece, an electrode, a probe and a thermal sensor supported by the probe. The electrode includes a distal end, a lumen, a cooling medium inlet conduit coupled to a cooling medium outlet conduit which both extend through the electrode lumen to the electrode""s distal end. A sidewall port is formed in a sidewall of the electrode and is isolated from a cooling medium flowing through the electrode. The electrode is inserted into the selected tissue mass. At least a portion of the probe is positioned in the electrode after the electrode has been inserted into the selected tissue mass. A distal end of the probe is advanced from the aperture into the selected tissue. At least a portion of an electrode ablation surface is cooled. Electromagnetic energy is delivered from the electrode to the selected tissue mass. Temperature is measured at a site in the selected tissue mass, and an ablation volume is created.
As electromagnetic energy, including but not limited to RF, is delivered to the selected tissue site, the tissue interface adjacent to the electrode can begin to char and conductivity through the tissue decreases. With a cooling medium the tissue interface remains at a temperature suitable for the delivery of electromagnetic energy to the periphery of the desired ablation site. While a cooling medium is flowing through the electrode, one or more probes, with associated sensors, are deployed into the desired ablation site. The ablation is monitored and controlled. Sensors can be positioned not only at the distal ends of the probes but also at intermediate positions. This permits monitoring of the ablation process between the electrode and the periphery of the targeted ablation volume.

Multiple antenna ablation apparatus and method with cooling element


A method and device for discriminating documents by comparing a scanned pattern retrieved from a first side of a test document with one or more stored master patterns retrieved from a first side of one or more genuine documents and comparing a scanned pattern retrieved from a second side of a test document with one or more stored master patterns retrieved from a second side of one or more genuine documents.

Machines that are currently available for simultaneous scanning and counting of documents such as paper currency are relatively complex and costly, and relatively large in size. The complexity of such machines can also lead to excessive service and maintenance requirements. These drawbacks have inhibited more widespread use of such machines, particularly in banks and other financial institutions where space is limited in areas where the machines are most needed, such as teller areas. The above drawbacks are particularly difficult to overcome in machines which offer much-needed features such as the ability to scan bills regardless of their orientation relative to the machine or to each other, and the ability to authenticate genuineness and/or denomination of the bills.

Method and apparatus for discriminting and counting documents


An electrostatic discharge protection system provides electrostatic discharge protection for an integrated circuit having a package and a semiconductor device installed within the package. The package includes a first pin, a second pin and a reference pin. The semiconductor device includes a first conductor that connects with the first pin, a second conductor that connects with the second pin, and a reference conductor that connects with the reference pin. The integrated circuit operates within one of a normal operating mode and a power conservation mode when the first and second pins receive a power supply signal. The electrostatic discharge protection system includes a first protection device that detects and couples electrostatic discharge events from the first conductor to the reference conductor by reference to a voltage potential difference between the second conductor and the reference conductor. The electrostatic discharge protection system further includes a second protection device that detects and couples electrostatic discharge events from the second conductor to the reference conductor by reference to a voltage potential difference between the first conductor and the reference conductor. The first and second protection devices are disabled from detecting and coupling electrostatic discharge events when the first and second pins receive the power supply signal regardless of whether the integrated circuit is operating in the normal operating mode or the power conservation mode.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) represents an on-going threat to electronic systems, especially integrated circuits (IC) in which a semiconductor device is housed within an IC package. When an IC is exposed to an ESD event, an accumulation of static electricity moves from an external surface to the semiconductor device within the IC package, through one or more of its pins. Common metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, which are formed from so called N-type material, P-type material, and insulating material (e.g., thin insulating oxides), are especially vulnerable to ESD. In particular, ESD can cause internal local heating that melts or fractures dielectric silicon oxide that insulates gates from other internal structures, resulting in permanent damage to the IC. Furthermore, ESD can cause drain to source shorts across MOSFET channels (i.e., second breakdown).
After an IC is manufactured and before it is installed on a circuit board, the IC is very susceptible to ESD damage. Conventional procedures for protecting ICs from damage. Conventional procedures for protecting ICs from ESD include making surfaces on shipping containers conductive to prevent or dissipate electrostatic charge buildup, grounding work surfaces, requiring handlers to wear grounded conductive wrist straps and clothing, and maintaining environmental conditions such as humidity and air ionization at levels that reduce the opportunity for electrostatic charge accumulation.
As a further safeguard, the typical IC includes ESD protection circuits that help to insulate more sensitive circuits within the semiconductor device from damage by ESD events. Generally, such ESD protection devices or circuits are located within the semiconductor device itself in close proximity to pads that are used to electrically connect the semiconductor device to the pins of the IC package.
ESD protection diodes and grounded-gate transistors are examples of conventional ESD protection devices. When an electrostatic charge is placed on an input/output (I/O) pin of the IC, i.e., a pin that receives an information bearing I/O signal, the ESD protection diode or grounded-gate transistor shunts the charge from the I/O pin, away from the circuits to be protected, to other areas of the IC such as a power supply pin or a ground pin of the IC.
An ESD protection circuit, which has been used to protect an IC from electrostatic discharge events occurring on an I/O pin, has the ability to disable itself when the IC is powered up. This ESD protection circuit (hereinafter called the "I/O pin protection circuit") has a large N-channel transistor interconnected between the I/O pin and a ground or reference pin, and an inverter (formed by two transistors) having an output that is connected with a gate of the N-channel transistor and an input connected with a power supply pin. If a substantial electrostatic charge is placed on the I/O pin when the IC is not powered up (i.e., when no power supply signal is received by the power supply pin), the large N-channel transistor turns on to provide a pathway between the I/O pin and the reference pin to dissipate the charge. When the IC is powered up (i.e., when a power supply signal is received by the power supply pin), the I/O pin protection circuit is disabled thereby enabling the other circuits of the IC to operate normally.
Another ESD protection circuit (hereinafter called the "power supply pin protection circuit") protects an IC from ESD events occurring on either an I/O power supply pin or a internal power supply pin. The power supply pin protection circuit includes a first ESD protection device interconnected between the I/O power supply pin and a reference pin to direct electrostatic charge away from drive circuits that are powered via the I/O power supply pin through an I/O conductor Vdd.sub.x. The power supply pin protection circuit further includes a second ESD protection device interconnected between the internal power supply pin and the reference pin to direct electrostatic charge away from internal (non-drive) circuits that are powered by the internal power supply pin through an internal power conductor Vdd.sub.i. The capacitance of the conductor Vdd.sub.i is higher than that of the conductor Vdd.sub.x such that, when the IC is powered up, the power supply signal carried through the conductor Vdd.sub.i is more noise filtered than the power supply signal carried through the conductor Vdd.sub.x. Accordingly, the power supply signal received by the internal circuits is less noisy than the power supply signal received by the drive circuits. When the IC is powered up, the first and second ESD protection devices of the power supply pin protection circuit detect the same power supply signal and are both disabled. When the IC is not powered up (i.e., when neither power supply pin receives a power supply signal), the first and second ESD protection devices operate to detect ESD events by reference to voltages between the power supply pins and the reference pin.

Cross-referenced electrostatic discharge protection systems and methods for power supplies


An isolated or purified nucleic acid molecule consisting essentially of a nucleotide sequence encoding a human or a non-human BORIS, or a fragment of either of the foregoing; an isolated or purified nucleic acid molecule consisting essentially of a nucleotide sequence that is complementary to a nucleotide sequence encoding a human or a non-human BORIS, or a fragment of either of the foregoing; a vector comprising such an isolated or purified nucleic acid molecule; a cell comprising such a vector; an isolated or purified polypeptide molecule consisting essentially of an amino acid sequence encoding a human or a non-human BORIS, or a fragment of either of the foregoing; a cell line that produces a monoclonal antibody that is specific for an aforementioned isolated or purified polypeptide molecule; and the monoclonal antibody produced by the cell line; methods of diagnosing a cancer or a predisposition to a cancer in a male or female mammal; a method of prognosticating a cancer in a mammal; a method of assessing the effectiveness of treatment of a cancer in a mammal; a method of treating a mammal prophylactically or therapeutically for a cancer, and a composition comprising a carrier and an inhibitor of BORIS.

The American Cancer Society estimates the lifetime risk that an individual will develop cancer is 1 in 2 for men and 1 in 3 for women. The development of cancer, while still not completely understood, can be enhanced as a result of a variety of risk factors. For example, exposure to environmental factors (e.g., tobacco smoke) might trigger modifications in certain genes, thereby initiating cancer development. Alternatively, these genetic modifications may not require an exposure to environmental factors to become abnormal. Indeed, certain mutations (e.g., insertions, deletions, substitutions; etc.) or abnormally imprinted genes can be inherited from generation to generation, thereby imparting an individual with a genetic predisposition to develop cancer.
Currently, the survival rates for many cancers are on the rise. One reason for this success is improvement in the detection of cancer at a stage at which treatment can be effective. Indeed, it has been noted that one of the most effective means to survive cancer is to detect its presence as early as possible. According to the American Cancer Society, the relative survival rate for many cancers would increase by about 15% if individuals participated in regular cancer screenings. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly useful to develop novel diagnostic tools to detect the cancer either before it develops or at an as early stage of development as possible.
One popular way of detecting cancer early is to analyze the genetic makeup of an individual to detect the presence of or to measure expression levels of a marker gene(s) related to the cancer. For example, there are various diagnostic methods that analyze a certain gene or a pattern of genes to detect cancers of the breast, tongue, mouth, colon, rectum, cervix, prostate, testis, and skin. Recently, analyzing the activity of certain DNA-binding proteins, such as the CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), has been found to be useful in diagnosing a cancer or a predisposition to a cancer (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,643). CTCF and similar DNA-binding proteins can act as transcription factors which regulate gene expression, including genes involved in cell proliferation. Normally, CTCF inhibits cell proliferation; however, a partial loss of CTCF functions caused by abnormal methylation of certain CTCF target sites, or by zinc finger mutations, has been shown to be associated with cancer.
Recent efforts have brought together the fields of genomic imprinting, DNA methylation, gene regulation through transcriptional insulators, and cancer. Genomic imprinting occurs in mammals before or during gamete formation. Certain genes are uniquely imprinted in each of a male and female parent; however, only one of these genes from either the maternal or paternal chromosome is expressed in their offspring; the other of which remains silent. The inheritance of imprinted genes is epigenetic, meaning these genes are regulated the same in the offspring as in the parent from which they derived, even if the nucleotide sequence encoding the gene(s) is not identical to the parental form (e.g., has accrued one or more mutations). As a result of this phenomenon, specific genes either are expressed or remain silent, based on their imprint.
While the molecular mechanism of imprinting is largely unknown, it appears that regions of chromosomes, rather than specific genes, are imprinted. Additionally, it has been determined that DNA methylation may play a role in this process. In vertebrates, methyl groups can be added to the carbon atom at position 5 in cytosine. These methyl groups are typically added when the dinucleotide CpG or groups of CpG (i.e., CpG islands) are present along a DNA sequence. CpG islands have primarily been observed in the 5′ area of expressed genes, and, in particular, the 5′ area of certain housekeeping genes (see, Bird et al., Nature 321:209-213 (1986)). It has been hypothesized that DNA methylation plays a role in gene regulation by increasing or decreasing the affinity of regulatory DNA-binding proteins, such as CTCF (see, Watson et al., Molecular Biology of the Gene, Volume II: 3rd Ed., The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., Menlo, Calif. (1987)).
The process of imprinting and DNA methylation can be understood by analyzing a commonly studied imprinted gene cluster that is regulated by CTCF, which includes the closely linked imprinted genes H19 and Igf2. These genes are oppositely imprinted on each parental chromosome. Indeed, H19 is active on the maternal chromosome with Igf2 remaining silent, while on the paternal chromosome, Igf2 is active and H19 is silent. The two genes share an enhancer region located downstream of H19. Some studies have shown that the imprinting control region (ICR) of H19 is a boundary element controlled by DNA methylation. For example, it is thought that the CTCF protein binds to the unmethylated maternal ICR, which prevents the promoters located in the Igf2 gene from interacting with the enhancers downstream of the H19 gene. This results in transcriptional silencing of Igf2. If the paternal ICR is present and methylated, CTCF is prevented from binding. This allows the enhancers to contact the promoters of the paternal Igf2, allowing the gene to be transcribed.
Recent studies have indicated that abnormal imprinting could result in the activation of certain growth factors or the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, both of which could result in the formation of cancer. Indeed, various epigenetic alterations have been associated with cancers, including global hypomethylation, hypomethylation of individual genes, and hypermethylation of CpG islands (see, Feinberg, PNAS, 98(2):392-394 (2001)). Thus, it would be beneficial to identify genes which, when abnormally imprinted, lead to the development of cancer.
Accordingly, a need remains for the identification of genes and gene products which can be shown to have a strong association with cancer. Such genes and gene products can lead to the development of novel therapeutic applications, as well as to early, sensitive and accurate methods for detecting a cancer or a predisposition to a cancer in a mammal. Moreover, such methods would enable clinicians to monitor the response of a mammal to a particular treatment with greater sensitivity and accuracy. The present invention provides such therapeutic applications and methods. These and other objects and advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.

Brother of the regulator of imprinted sites (BORIS)

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


The present invention discloses a novel transistor structure employing semiconductive metal oxide as the transistor conductive channel. By replacing the silicon conductive channel with a semiconductive metal oxide channel, the transistors can achieve simpler fabrication process and could realize 3D structure to increase circuit density. The disclosed semiconductive metal oxide transistor can have great potential in ferroelectric non volatile memory device with the further advantages of good interfacial properties with the ferroelectric materials, possible lattice matching with the ferroelectric layer, reducing or eliminating the oxygen diffusion problem to improve the reliability of the ferroelectric memory transistor. The semiconductive metal oxide film is preferably a metal oxide exhibiting semiconducting properties at the transistor operating conditions, for example, In2O3 or RuO2. The present invention ferroelectric transistor can be a metal-ferroelectric-semiconductive metal oxide FET having a gate stack of a top metal electrode disposed on a ferroelectric layer disposed on a semiconductive metal oxide channel on a substrate. Using additional layer of bottom electrode and gate dielectric, the present invention ferroelectric transistor can also be a metal-ferroelectric-metal (optional)-gate dielectric (optional)-semiconductive metal oxide FET.

Ferroelectric materials are composed of many randomly-distributed permanently polarized regions. Under the presence of an electric field, the regions with a polarization component in the direction of the electric field grow at the expense of the non-aligned regions so that a net polarization can result. If the electric field decreases, the polarization also decreases but at a slower rate so that even when the electric field becomes zero, a remnant polarization remains. This remnant polarization, existed under zero field condition (i.e., when power is turned off), is the basis of ferroelectric nonvolatile memory devices such as ferroelectric transistors.
The ferroelectric transistor is typically a ferroelectric-gate-controlled semiconductor field-effect transistor (FET), which employs a ferroelectric film in contact with a silicon substrate, and in which a proper polarization of the ferroelectric film can create an inversion layer in the silicon channel of the transistor. The basic ferroelectric-gate controlled field-effect transistor is a metal-ferroelectric silicon (MFS) FET. The term MFS represents the layers in the gate stack of the ferroelectric transistor, consisting a metal (M) gate electrode disposed on a ferroelectric (F) gate dielectric on the silicon (S) channel of the transistor.
However, effective transistor operation of the above MFS transistor is difficult to achieve due to the requirement of the ferroelectric/silicon interface. When a ferroelectric film is deposited directly on the silicon substrate, metals and oxygen from the ferroelectric layer may diffuse into the ferroelectric-silicon interface, creating interface trapped charges which affect the polarization of the ferroelectric film, and overall may make the operation of the ferroelectric transistor unstable. Further, since the thermal expansion coefficient and lattice structure of a ferroelectric film is not compatible with silicon, it is very difficult to form a high-quality ferroelectric film with a clean interface directly on the silicon substrate.
Various designs have been proposed to address the drawbacks posed by the direct ferroelectric/silicon interface such as the addition of an interface layer such as a gate dielectric, a metal layer, a conductive metal oxide or a doped conductive metal oxide between the ferroelectric film and the silicon substrate.
The gate dielectric interface design can overcome the surface interface and surface state issues of a ferroelectric layer in contact with the silicon substrate, but they incorporate other difficulties such as higher operation voltage and trapped charges in the bottom floating gate layer. The operation voltage of these transistors is higher than the ferroelectric layer programming voltage by an amount of the voltage across the gate dielectric. And when there is a voltage applied across the ferroelectric thin film, there will be current flow in the gate stack, and charges would be trapped in this floating electrode. The trapped charges may neutralize the polarization charges at the interface of the bottom electrode and the ferroelectric film and could shorten the memory retention time of this structure.
The metal interface design is based on the formation of a Schottky diode in a metal-ferroelectric-metal silicon (MFMS) device. A Schottky barrier is formed between the bottom metal electrode of the gate unit (or a very shallow junction layer) and the silicon substrate. The Schottky ferroelectric gate memory transistor requires a space between the bottom electrode and the source and drain region and a very shallow n-channel under the gate, therefore the drive current of the Schottky ferroelectric gate memory transistor can be relatively low.
Other novel ferroelectric transistor designs employ a conductive oxide, a conductive metal oxide or a doped conductive metal oxide interfacial layer between the ferroelectric material and the silicon substrate, as disclosed in co-pending application entitled "Conductive metal oxide gate ferroelectric memory transistor", and "In2O3 thin film resistivity control by doping metal oxide insulator for MFMox device applications" of the same first inventors, hereby incorporated by reference. A conductive oxide interface layer does not have the drawbacks of a dielectric interface layer, and may not have the drawbacks of the metal interface layer of a Schottky diode formation. The conductive oxide interfacial layer may improve the quality of the ferroelectric film and the operation of the ferroelectric transistor by possible lattice matching with the ferroelectric layer, reducing or eliminating the oxygen diffusion problem at the ferroelectric interface to improve the reliability of the ferroelectric transistor, and possible etch selectivity improving with other dielectric and metal films.
Despite the obvious advantages of the conductive oxide, prior art ferroelectric transistor designs all employ a silicon conduction channel, leading to relatively complicated device fabrication process, together with the difficulty in 3D integration.

Semiconductive metal oxide thin film ferroelectric memory transistor


The present invention provides multilevel-cell memory structures with multiple memory layer structures where each memory layer structure includes a tungsten oxide region that defines different read current levels for a plurality of logic states. Each memory layer structure can provide two bits of information, which constitutes four logic states, by the use of the tungsten oxide region that provides multilevel-cell function in which the four logic states equate to four different read current levels. A memory structure with two memory layer structures would provide four bits of storage sites and 16 logic states. In one embodiment, each of the first and second memory layer structures includes a tungsten oxide region extending into a principle surface of a tungsten plug member where the outer surface of the tungsten plug is surrounded by a barrier member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high density memory devices based on programmable resistance memory materials, including metal-oxide based materials and other materials, and to methods for manufacturing such devices.
2. Description of Related Art
In the manufacturing of high density memory, the amount of data per unit area on an integrated circuit can be a critical factor. Thus, technologies for stacking multiple planar arrays of memory devices have been proposed. See for example, Johnson et al., "512-Mb PROM With a Three-Dimensional Array of Diode/Anti-fuse Memory Cells" IEEE J. of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 38, no. 11, November 2003. In the design described in Johnson et al., multiple layers of word lines and bit lines are provided, with memory elements at the cross-points. The memory elements comprise a p+ polysilicon anode connected to a word line, and an n− polysilicon cathode connected to a bit line, with the anode and cathode separated by anti-fuse material. Issues that stacked planar arrays need to address include cost and simplicity of manufacturing.
It is desirable to provide high density stacked memory technologies that are readily manufactured and reliable.

Multilevel-cell memory structures employing multi-memory with tungsten oxides and manufacturing method


Disclosure directed to the combination of a beach towel convertible to a bag for transporting items to and from the beach. The combination includes a uniquely constructed, circular mat having an inflatable peripheral bladder member that facilitates set-up of the mat, and ensures a maintenance of the components thereof. The combination further includes a removably detachable towel for the mat, and a security pouch for personal items on the mat underlying the towel.

The invention relates to the combination of a beach towel that is convertible to a carrying bag, for use in transporting personal items to enhance one's visit to the beach. Often times when one wishes to visit a beach it can be a day long venture which, for convenience, requires the transporting of a number of items, such as a radio or similar entertainment system, food, keys, suntan lotion, extra towels, and the possibility of toys to entertain children.
There are a variety of prior art devices to assist the beach goer as reflected in the following U.S. Patents, but none offer the convenience, use and ease of set-up as found in the present invention. Such prior art patents are as follows:
a.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,374, to Buhyoff, discloses a beach towel constructed with a polygonal center panel from which extend separate trapezoidal panels to create a towel with a substantially polygonal perimeter. The panels are sewn together to provide a strong reinforced structure, and a drawstring around the perimeter permits conversion of the towel into a bag-like structure. PA1 b.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,541, to Landon, discloses a portable sand blanket with associated toys including a blanket formed in a flat circular configuration of a durable plastic material, the blanket having six holes therethrough located at essentially equally spaced locations adjacent to the periphery, grommets positioned through the holes of the blanket and a single rope in a circular configuration threaded sequentially through the holes and grommets, where the rope extends on the upper and lower surfaces of the blanket alternatively. The blanket further includes a central container for sand, and associated tools. PA1 c.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,823, to Ferguson et al., discloses an article capable of being configured as a blanket or tote bag. The article is made of a fabric piece having two opposing arcuate fabric channel halves secured to the lower surface thereof, facing each other. The channel halves define a generally circular channel in the center of the fabric piece. Gaps between the opposing ends of the fabric channel halves expose at least one and preferably two separate continuous ropes which pass through the channel. The fabric piece has a generally circular central portion of smaller diameter than the channel, with at least one retaining loop secured near the circumference thereof. A carrying bag may be formed by folding those portions of the fabric piece which are outside the channel upwardly and in towards the center of the fabric piece, thereby exposing the ropes in the gaps, by then pulling the ropes to bunch the fabric channel halves thereon, and by then routing the pulled ropes through at least one retaining loop and tying them to define a carrying loop in the fashion of a shoulder strap. PA1 d.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,978, to Ostrowski, discloses a towel bag combination which in the open position is used for towel or beach-type purposes and in the closed position is an enclosed bag with a carrying strap. The towel bag combination comprises a circular fabric towel element with a reinforced peripheral web with draw holes in the web and a ring near the web, and with the bottom surface having a reinforced section and a loop secured thereto. The towel-bag apparatus also includes an elastic draw cord having a one and an other end and passing through the holes in the web and having the one and other end include a spring loaded clip. PA1 e.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,912, to Damus et al., discloses a beach towel which is selectively convertible to a beach bag wherein the towel has upper and lower surface portions having a generally annularly oriented pull cord substantially confined therebetween but extending outwardly on opposite sides of the towel so that as the outwardly extending portions of the pull cord are raised, the central portion of the towel surrounded by the pull cord will form a carrying pouch having an opening which is closed by the pull cord. PA1 f.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,029, To Tennant et al., discloses a towel convertible to a bag, comprising a circular section of woven terry fabric, with a circular section of woven nylon fabric having precisely one-fourth the area of the circular woven terry fabric attached to the inferior plane of the circular woven terry fabric, which has four sections of woven terry fabric cut on the bias and of equal lengths and widths attached along the perimeter on both the superior and inferior planes to form a casing encompassing a cotton cord or drawstring thereby allowing conversion of the fabrics into a bag. PA1 g.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,545, to Westgor, discloses a combination mat and carry bag unit including a sheet of pliable material defining a mat of a size to accommodate a person thereon for use as an exercise mat, beach mat or the like. The sheet has a drawstring casing extending about its periphery. The casing has two openings therein on opposite sides of the mat and a drawstring is received in the drawstring casing and is of a size to extend continuously about the periphery of the sheet where it defines a mat. The drawstring is slidably received in the drawstring casing so that when portions of the drawstring are pulled out of the drawstring casing through the two openings, the periphery of the sheet forms gathers adjacent the casing to permit the periphery to reduce in size whereby the unit forms a carrying bag.
The present invention includes some features of the prior art, but through the unique incorporation therein of new components or features results in a distinctly different combination that offers advantages not seen nor appreciated in the prior art. The manner by which these new advantages are realized will become apparent from the following description, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A coverage robot docking station includes a base having a robot receiving surface. The base defines a power receptacle for receiving a power supply. The base also defines a beacon receptacle for receiving a beacon. A side wall extends from the base, where the side wall and the receiving surface of the base define a robot holder. At least one charging contact is disposed on the robot receiving surface for charging a received robot.

Manual methods of cleaning floors can be labor intensive and time consuming. Thus, in many large buildings, such as hospitals, large retail stores, cafeterias, and the like, floors are wet cleaned on a daily or nightly basis. Industrial floor cleaning "robots" capable of wet cleaning floors have been developed to implement wet cleaning techniques required in large industrial areas. These robots are typically large, costly, and complex. Because these industrial-sized wet cleaning devices weigh hundreds of pounds, these devices are usually attended by an operator. For example, an operator can turn off the device and, thus, avoid significant damage that can arise in the event of a sensor failure or an unanticipated control variable.
Home floor cleaning robots allow autonomous floor cleaning in a home setting without the need for an industrial machine. Although some home floor cleaning robots may operate autonomously, they may need manual maintenance, such as battery charging.


A process for preparing hydrogen-terminated polyoxyperfluoroalkanes having molecular weight lower than 1800, by decarboxylation of the corresponding polyoxyperfluoroalkanes having one or two end groups selected form --OCF.sub.2 COOZ, --OCF.sub.2 CF.sub.2 COOZ and --OCF(CF.sub.3)COOZ, wherein Z is an alkaline metal or ammonium, carried out in the presence of water at temperatures from 140.degree.-170.degree. C. and under a pressure of at least 4 atmospheres.

The polyoxyperfluoroalkanes with hydrogenated end groups and molecular weight lower than 1800 have such chemical physical characteristics that they can be used as CFC and HCFC substitutes as expanding agents for polyurethanes, as refrigerants, as propellants for aerosol and as solvents.
Such polyoxyperfluoroalkanes are sufficiently free from harmful physiologic effects, have scarce influence on the global warming and as they do not contain chlorine are not damaging for the ozone layer, like CFC and HCFC.

Process for preparing hydrogen-terminated polyoxyperfluoroalkanes


A halogen lamp of illuminance 150,000 lux or greater and wavelength 1129 nm or less is provided in the vicinity of a probe of an electrostatic capacitative flatness measuring instrument, and illuminates the surface of the wafer under measurement. When the light enters into the bulk, it is converted to excitation energy, which converts the valence electrons of the silicon into conduction electrons. Since the free electrons or positive holes generated from the silicon are overwhelmingly more than the dopant or oxygen donors, the wafer exhibits characteristics similar to metal. That is, electrons are uniformly distributed in all parts of the wafer. When, in this state, the upper face and lower face of the wafer are measured, the relative dielectric constant is fixed in all locations, so all the changes in electrical amount can be measured as changes in distance between the wafer and the probe. Thus, the accurate flatness measurement for semiconductor wafers that have not been subjected to donor-killer treatment can be achieved by using an electrostatic capacitative flatness measuring instrument.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for measuring the flatness of wafers that have not been subjected to donor-killer treatment.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the substrates of semiconductor devices, high-purity silicon single crystals are chiefly employed. One method of manufacturing such silicon single crystals is the Czochralski method (hereinbelow called the CZ method). In the CZ method, polycrystalline silicon is packed into a quartz crucible arranged in a chamber of a semiconductor single crystal manufacturing apparatus and the polycrystalline silicon is melted by heating it by means of a heater provided at the circumference of the quartz crucible, to form a molten liquid. A seed crystal mounted on a seed chuck is then dipped into this molten liquid, and the silicon single crystal is grown by raising the seed chuck while rotating the seed chuck and quartz crucible in the same or opposite directions. In this process, oxygen dissolves into the molten liquid due to reaction between the quartz crucible and the molten liquid, so the silicon single crystal that is pulled up contains about 10.sup.18 atm/cm.sup.3 of oxygen. This oxygen is present interstitially, so, on cooling the single crystal, oxygen donors are generated.
The oxygen donors are removed from the silicon single crystalline ingot by heat treatment after the slicing and grinding steps. After passing through these steps, the thickness and flatness of the wafer are measured.
When the flatness of donor-killer untreated wafers, that is, wafers that have not been subjected to donor-killer treatment, is measured using an electrostatic capacitance-type flatness measurement instrument, erroneous measurement, in which good products are identified as rejects, occur in a proportion of a few percent to a few tens of percent per lot. The reason for this is thought to be that, when the flatness is calculated using the detected values of wafer thickness, these detected values are in fact thicker or thinner than the actual wafer thickness, due to the presence of the interstitial oxygen in a donor-killer untreated wafer acting as a donor, the interstitial oxygen being distributed in irregular fashion. When an electrostatic capacitative flatness measurement instrument is employed, if the electrical resistance is different even for wafers of the same thickness, their thickness will be indicated as thicker or thinner than the true thickness. As an example, when two wafers of different electrical resistance but confirmed to be of the same thickness by a measuring instrument such as an electronic micrometer are measured using an electrostatic capacitative flatness measuring instrument, it is found that the wafer with the higher electrical resistance is indicated as being thinner than the wafer with the lower electrical resistance.
FIG. 4 shows a p-type as-grown wafer 4 in which the interstitial oxygen concentration is highly uneven such that the wafer 4 has portions H of higher electrical resistance (electrically neutral) and portions L of lower electrical resistance. In such a wafer, even if the thickness of the wafer is in fact uniform, it will erroneously be measured as thicker or thinner depending on the electrical resistance as shown in FIG. 5. Accordingly, precise flatness data cannot be obtained before the wafer has been subjected to donor-killer treatment. However, if reject products, whose flatness does not meet the required standard, are only picked out after they have been subjected to donor-killer treatment, this donor-killer treatment is a wasted step for the rejected products. Also, if wafers whose product specification does not require them to be subjected to donor-killer treatment still have to be subjected to donor-killer treatment in order to check their flatness, this likewise represents a wasted step.

Method of and apparatus for measuring flatness of semiconductor wafers that have not been subjected to donor-killer treatment


The zoom lens is a retractable bent-type zoom lens capable of providing a high zoom ratio and a reduced thickness, and capable of retracting into a camera body with an easily-configured mechanism. The zoom lens includes in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power, a prism including a reflective surface, and a posterior lens group which includes plural lens units and has as a whole a positive refractive power. The first and second lens units are retractable into a space formed by movement of the prism in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis of the first lens unit, and, during zooming, the second lens unit and the plural lens units in the posterior lens group are moved while the first lens unit and the prism are fixed.

A compact zoom lens having a high zoom ratio is requested for an image pickup optical system with increasing performance of cameras (digital cameras) using a solid-state image pickup element.
In order to decrease the size of the camera and increase the zoom ratio of the zoom lens, a so-called retractable zoom lens is widely used in which lens units are disposed closer to each other in a non-image pickup state than in an image pickup state to be retracted into a camera body.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,823 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-102090 disclose bent-type zoom lenses in which an optical path thereof is bent by 90° using an optical element such as a prism including a reflective surface to reduce a thickness of a camera (hereinafter referred to as "camera thickness").
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 7,426,085 discloses a zoom lens in which a lens unit disposed closer to an object than a reflective unit such as a prism is retracted into a space formed by movement of the reflective unit. Such a zoom lens, which corresponds to a combination of the retractable zoom lens and the bent-type zoom lens, is hereinafter referred to as "retractable bent-type zoom lens".
Although the retractable bent-type zoom lens is capable of significantly decreasing the camera thickness and significantly increasing the zoom ratio, an optical system thereof should be designed with consideration for a mechanism enabling withdrawal of the reflective unit and movement (retraction) of the lens unit disposed closer to the object than the reflective unit (the lens unit is hereinafter referred to as "object-side lens unit"). However, an optical system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,426,085 in which a first lens unit disposed closest to the object is moved in a large movable range during zooming is disadvantageous in such a mechanism, so that the optical system does not has a realistic configuration for achieving decrease of the camera thickness and increase of the zoom ratio.
Specifically, in order to enable the withdrawal of the reflective unit and the retraction of the object-side lens unit, it is necessary to form a large opening on a cam barrel which moves the object-side lens unit. Forming such a large opening on the cam barrel reduces a rotatable angle of the cam barrel, which results in reduction of a movable range of the first lens unit to a range enabling only movement thereof from an image pickup state to a retracted state. In order to enable movement of the first lens unit during zooming, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,426,085, it is necessary to compromise at least one of requirements of a size (thickness), the zoom ratio and image-forming performance of the zoom lens.


A pill counting tray for counting pills. The pill counting tray includes a digital counter with a sensor that can digitally count the pills as they are being moved by a wand on the tray. The pill counting tray also includes a number of small evenly spaced terrain domes on one part of the tray to prevent the pills from clumping or clustering. The pill counting tray also includes a hinged return funnel that inclines upward when the pill counting tray is placed on a counter during counting, such that the hinged funnel creates a backstop to prevent pills from rolling off of the tray. The hinged funnel will rotate downward when the pill counting tray is lifted to ease the return of excess pills to the stock bottle. A portion of the surface of the hinged funnel also includes a number of spaced terrain domes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tray for counting pills or other medication, and more particularly to a modified pill counting tray with means for preventing pill clumping, a means for ease of excess pill return, and a digital pill counter to help prevent miss-counts, and to ensure accurate pill counting and dispensing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pill counting trays are standard equipment in pharmacies and pharmacists' offices. Pharmacists received medication in pill form from medical suppliers in large stock bottles containing hundreds or thousands of pills, and dispense medicine to patients in smaller pill bottles containing a smaller amount of pills as prescribed by the patient's doctor. Typically pills are dispensed to patients in a limited supply, often a one month supply, or for medication like antibiotics, in an amount based on the required course of the medication. It is increasingly common for doctors and other prescribers to provide the patient with a three month supply of medication. Common prescription quantities, therefore, are 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, 360, 540. The pharmacist uses the pill counting tray to transfer the pills from the stock bottle to the patient's pill bottle. The counting of pills on a pill counting tray by a human pharmacist or technician is the most common method for counting pills worldwide. It is likely that every pharmacy in the world uses standard pill counting trays, and likely puts them to use many times during the day to distribute prescribed medicine.
Pill counting trays have been around for years. One of the earliest patents for a pill counting tray was U.S. Pat. No. 2,530,009 to Fields, and issued on Nov. 14, 1950. Standard pill counting trays are still very similar to the Fields invention, and have three major components. The first is a flat pill counting surface, which is in the middle of the tray. On one side of the counting surface is a dispensing chamber, and on the other side of the surface is a return spout. Pills are poured onto the counting surface from the stock bottle. The pharmacist, or pharmacist's technician, pours out what he or she believes is roughly the correct amount of pills, or typically a few more than the correct amount. Then the pharmacist counts the required number of pills into the dispensing chamber. As used herein, the term "count" is used as a verb and refers to the physical sliding of a defined number of pills with the wand from the counting tray to the dispensing chamber. The pharmacist uses a flat tool that looks like a butter knife or small putty knife with a rounded end, and which is called a wand, a spatula, or a counting stick. The term wand will be used herein. The dispensing chamber is half tube with a cover, and often a funnel at the end. Once the correct number of pills are counted into the dispensing chamber, the cover is closed to prevent the pills from spilling. There will be a number of excess pills still on the counting surface. These pills can be poured back into the stock bottle by means of the return spout.
There are a number of problems associated with the standard pill counting tray. Typically the pharmacist pours the pills out of the stock bottle near the return spout. This is to prevent pills from inadvertently going into the dispensing chamber. Unfortunately this means that pills commonly collect and often bunch up or layer one on top of another. Large tablet pills and nearly all capsules clump together and exhibit layering. This makes accurate counting difficult until you evenly spread the pills out into a single layer, which can delay the start of a technician's count and increase the patient's wait time for the medication. There is a need, therefore, for a means for preventing pill clustering and clumping.
Another common problem that occurs is when pouring excess pills back into the stock bottle, they tend to flow out all at once. During the return pour, the fast-flowing pills quickly overwhelm the tiny return spout. This causes the pills to spill onto the countertop and/or floor, and the medication becomes contaminated. Employees touching the pills add to further medication contamination. All this also slows down the dispensing of medicine to the patient, and increases the likelihood that the medication they receive is unsanitary. There is a need, therefore, for an improved return spout to ensure the proper return of pills to the stock bottle.
Another common problem occurs when pouring pills from the stock bottle onto the standard counting trays. If too many pills are poured, or are poured too quickly, it is common for the pills to quickly fill up the available space on the counting surface and run out the return spout and onto the countertop or on to the floor, causing contamination of the medicine. This situation occurs frequently in every pharmacy, especially with newly hired employees. This type of error is not only unsanitary, but it also slows down dispensing time as employees have to address and rectify the spill. This also adds to the cost to the pharmacy as damaged and contaminated pills are discarded. There is a need, therefore, for an improved return spout that prevents the spilling of excess pills.
Another problem is that when returning pills in current model counting trays to the stock bottle, tilting the tray too rapidly or at too steep of an angle will result in some or all of the pills spilling out of the return spout. Or, if the pills are poured too slowly, they will clump and block the return spout. This is because the standard return spout is not made for high volume pill flow. There is a need, therefore, for an improved return spout.
There are two common problems encountered with counting the pills on the standard pill tray. The first is that it is easy to lose count. Technicians waste time and decrease business productivity when they have to recount pill quantities. This can be caused by self-inflicted distractions or thoughts, answering a phone call, addressing a fellow colleague, taking a prescription from a patient at the front counter, or having to disperse clumping pills. These distractions can cause the technician to loose count, and to have to return pills to the counting surface and resume the count. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that it is increasingly common to prescribe some pills in large quantities, some times over 500 pills to a bottle. This makes counting more difficult. Another problem, though less common, is that manual counting can allow someone in the pharmacy to steal medication. Since the count into the patient's pill bottle is only as good as the person doing the counting, and since pills returned to the stock bottle are not precisely or accurately counted, it means that it is easy for a few pills to essentially slip through the cracks. In some instances (particularly with valuable narcotics) these pills can be stolen by unscrupulous employees. A means for accurately counting pills will minimize the possibility of miscounting.
The current system is inefficient and these flaws should be addressed. There are a couple of alternatives currently presented by the market. Dispensing medication from the factory in pre-packaged bottles is one alternative. In this system the correct number of pills are inserted into the medicine bottle at the pill manufacturing facility. However this method has numerous issues and potential risks. The most common drugs come in large 500 or 1,000 count stock bottles, but sometimes they come in 30 and 90 count pill bottles which are ready to be dispensed to patients. Unfortunately it is not uncommon that stock bottles are sealed and shipped with fewer pills than the advertised bottle quantity, which can leave both the pharmacy and patient short on medicine. Stock bottles also commonly contain either crushed or broken pills, because no employees have verified the contents of the bottle before it is shipped. Also it is common for a desiccant, which is used as a preservative and to absorb moisture, to be present in the stock bottle, and it is not uncommon for a desiccant to be inadvertently placed in the prescription sized bottles. The desiccant is a dangerous choking hazards for children and elderly dementia patients once the bottle has been opened. Numerous studies have been reported of dementia patients taking desiccants thinking that they were pills. This type of ingestion can cause severe poisoning. It's clear that the risks and disadvantages associated with dispensing stock bottles outweigh any potential benefits.
There are a number of methods currently available to machine count pills during the dispensing process. The two most common options are weight and laser based counting machines. The weight based machines count by weight, and do not distinguish between a whole or broken pills. There is a similar problem with the laser counters. This significantly degrades the efficiency of machine counting methods. The other problem associated with machine counters is the cost. A standard pill counting tray costs about $20 while a simple laser counter or weight counter costs roughly $1,500 and often more, and more advanced high tech machines can cost upwards of $250,000. Because of the cost and other problems noted, the preferred solution is human counting. It delivers accuracy, safety, and does not require moderate to high expenditures on machinery, service contracts, and scheduled maintenance. There is a need, therefore, for a method of counting pills that incorporates the benefits of human pill counting with the advantages of machine counting.


A process within substrate is provided with vias communicating with surface contacts or bumps. Joining material paste is forced through holes in a screen onto an area array of the contacts on the substrate then the screen is biased against the substrate as the paste is heated and cooled to transfer the joining material onto the contacts. Alternately, joining material paste is forced into the screen and then a substrate is placed onto the screen with an area array of bump contacts of the substrate in contact with the solder paste, and then the paste is heated and cooled to transfer the material onto the bumps. The joining material may be a solder paste, conductive adhesive paste, or transient liquid bond paste. The substrate may be a semiconductor chip substrate, flexible or rigid organic substrate, or a metal substrate coated to form a dielectric surface. Also, the substrate may be a computer chip, chip carrier substrate or a circuit board substrate. The process may be used to produce flip chips, ball grid array modules, column grid array modules, circuit boards, and attachment structures of the preceding components including information handling systems.

Solder bump connections have been used for mounting IC's (integrated computer chips) using the C4 (controlled collapse chip connection) technology since first suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,401,126 and 3,429,040 by Miller. In Packaging Electronic Systems by Dally (McGraw-Hill 1990 p. 113) "Chip bond pads are deployed in an area array over the surface of the chip. . . . These bonding pads are 5 mil in diameter on 10 mil centers. Matching bonding pads are produced on a ceramic substrate so that the pads on the chip and the ceramic coincide. Spheres of solder 5 mil in diameter are placed on the ceramic substrate pads . . . and the chip is positioned and aligned relative to the substrate. The assembly is heated until the solder spheres begin to soften and a controlled collapse of the sphere takes place as the solder simultaneously wets both pads. A myriad of solder structures have been proposed for mounting IC chips as well as for interconnection to other levels of circuitry and electronic packaging."
Reflow transfer of solder from decals has been developed for depositing eutectic solder for attaching flip chips to metal pads on organic substrates. Stainless steel decals are coated with a thin layer of photoresist which is photo-developed to provide windows in the same pattern as C4 connectors on a flip chip. A thick layer of eutectic Pb/Sn solder is electroplated onto the decals at the windows. The decal is positioned on an organic carrier aligned with connection pads and heated to reflow transfer the solder from the decal onto the pads on the carrier. Then a flip chip is placed on the carrier with C4 pads on the solder and reflow heated to connect the chip to the pads.
Use of epoxy encapsulants to enhance fatigue life of flip-chip connection is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,999,699; 5,089,440, and 5,194,930 all to Christie. U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,644 to Beckham suggests materials and structures for encapsulating C4 connections. U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,482 to Itoh and U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,699 of Christie et al. disclose epoxies and provide guidance in selecting epoxies for electronic applications.
"Ball grid arrays: the hot new package" by Terry Costlow and "Solder balls make connections" by Glenda Derman both in Electronic Engineering Times Mar. 15, 1993, suggest using solder balls to connect ceramic or flexible chip carriers to circuit-boards. Ball grid array modules include components with plastic (organic), ceramic, and tape carrier substrates known as PBGA, CBGA, and TBGA molues respectively.
Fabrication of multi-layer ceramic chip carriers is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,518,756; 3,988,405; and 4,202,007 as well as "A Fabrication Technique For Multi-Layer Ceramic Modules" by H. D. Kaiser et al., Solid State Technology, May 1972, pp. 35-40 and "The Third Dimension in Thick-Films Multilayer Technology" by W. L. Clough, Microelectronics, Vol. 13, No. 9 (1970), pp. 23-30. Common ceramic materials for electronic packaging substrates include alumina, beryllia, and aluminum nitride. "Pinless Module Connector" by Stephans in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 20, No. 10, March 1978, suggests a ceramic ball grid array module with copper balls. U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,027 to Braun suggests placing solder balls in an alignment boat, vacuum holding the balls while eutectic solder is deposited on the balls, aligning the boat with conductive pads on a substrate, reflowing in an oven and then removing the boat. EP 0,263,222 A1 to Bitaillou suggest attaching solder balls to vias in a ceramic substrate to form a ball grid array module.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,814 to Behun, suggests casting columns onto pads to form ceramic column grid array modules, a graphite plate is drilled with through-holes corresponding to metal pads on the bottom of a chip carrier substrate, then preforms of 3/97 Sn/Pb solder are placed in the holes. Then the plate and carrier substrate are heated to melt the preforms to connect liquid solder to the pads, then the plate and carrier substrate are cooled and the plate is moved away from the carrier leaving the columns cast to the pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,027 to Gschwend suggests methods of bumping printed circuit boards for attaching modules, including screening solder paste, reflowing the paste to form bumps, and using rollers to flatten the solder bumps. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,812 to Bailey suggests using a vacuum plate to simultaneously deposit an array of solder balls on a substrate.
Fabrication of multi-layer rigid organic circuit-boards is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,554,877; 3,791,858; and 3,554,877. Thin film Techniques are suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,858.
Flexible film chip carriers (known in the art as Area Tape Automated Bonding (ATAB) modules or TBGA modules) are suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,681,654 and 5,159,535 and 4,766,670. In ATAB a flexible circuit-board chip carrier is mounted on a circuit-board using solder ball connect. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,057,969 to Ameen, and 5,133,495, 5,203,075, and 5,261,155 to Angulas suggests using solder balls to connect TBGA modules to circuit boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,593 to Casson suggests providing solder paste on a plurality of contact pads on a flexible printed circuit substrate (polyimide); placing flip-chips on the substrate with solder bumps of the flip-chip in registration with the pads; and heating to reflow the paste to electrically connect the bumps to the pads. According to Casson bumped flip-chips are un-packaged meaning they have no plastic shells nor metallic leads. Casson describes bumping chips (C4) by sputtering titanium/tungsten to promote adhesion to a passivation layer; sputtering copper; applying and developing a photoresist; electroplating copper and then 3/97 to 10/90 Sn/Pb or 63/35/2 Pb/Sn/Ag solder; removing the photoresist; and wet etching the exposed copper and titanium/tungsten to form 9 mil diameter bumps about 4.5 mil high (60 mils.sup.3). He also suggests producing flexible Novaclad.RTM. (polyimide film with sputtered copper by E. I Du Pont de Nuemers) circuit substrates; optical alignment of stencils with substrates; screening 63/37 Sn/Pb solder paste through a 4 mil stencil with 14 mil openings with a round squeegee of 90 durometer at 1.5 inches/second and 22 psi pressure to provide 6E-7 in.sup.3 deposits on pads of flexible substrates; self alignment during reflow heating using vapor phase or in IR or convection ovens; and epoxy chip encapsulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,596 suggests a single layer interconnection structure of metallic conductors on a polyimide film (e.g. KAPTON. by E. I. DuPont de Numers). U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,724 suggests metallic conductors sandwiched between polyimide film, which projects through the film. U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,462 to Swisher suggests producing adhesivless flexible substrates of polyimide film and copper sputtered and then electroplated onto the film.
Floropolymer based films have been proposed for flexible circuit-boards such as PTFE filled with ceramic, or glass particles or fibers such as woven fiberglass, and Kevlare.RTM. (by Chemfab Corporation). Gore Company makes woven PTFE fabrics for impregnating with resins to form flexible dielectric substrates. Also molded thermoplastics have been used for flexible one sided and double sided circuit-boards.
Connecting components directly to one side of a single-layer flexible circuit-board is described by McBride in "Multi-function Plug for IC Package", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol, 21, Feb 1979, pp. 3594-3595. I/O terminals on the bottom of a chip are soldered to pads on top of a thin polyimide flexible decal. Also, a depression in a heat sink cover is bonded onto the top of the chip. Connecting lower power chips to a bottom side of a multi-layer flexible circuit-board and high power chips to the top side of the flexible circuit-board in order to connect the high power chips to the module cap is suggested by McBride, "Multilayer Flexible Film Module", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol 26, May 1984, p 6637. In that article I/O pins connect the flexible film to a metalized ceramic substrate, and smaller pins interconnect the layers of the film. Schrottke, "Removal of Heat from Direct Chip Attach Circuitry" IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol 32, Sept 1989, pp. 346-348 describes a flexible circuit-board with two rows of Direct Chip Attach (DCA) chips attached by controlled collapse chip connections (C4). The flexible circuit-board is folded around a stiff heat spreader of copper-INVAR-copper (INVAR is a trademark of Creusot-Loire for nickel-iron alloys) the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of INVAR can be controlled by varying the ratio of nickel and iron and by varying the thickness of plated metal coatings such as copper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,950 to Legg suggests tinning contact pads with eutectic solder metal and positioning a flip-chip with C4 bumps on the solder on the pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,084 to Behun, suggests using a HMP (high melting point) solder ball in association with a LMP (low melting point) solder. "A part 10 is to be joined to a board 11. Part 10 has internal metallurgy 14 which terminates at the surface at a bonding pads 12. A . . . LMP solder 16 is applied to a bonding pad 12. A . . . HMP solder ball 18 is placed in contact with LMP solder 16 and the assembly is heated to reflow the LMP solder which then wets to the non-molten HMP solder ball. . . . Board 11 is also illustrated with internal metallurgy 15, terminating on the surface bonding pad 17. . . . the assembled part 10 . . . is brought into contact with part 11 having pad 17 and LMP solder 13, and the two are heated to a temperature sufficient to reflow the LMP solder but not sufficient to melt the HMP solder ball. The LMP solder 13 which is attached to the bonding pad 17, on board 11, will wet the HMP ball and connection will be achieved."
Solders have a melting temperature range extending from a solidus temperature to a liquidious temperature in which range they have a pasty consistency that varies with temperature from solid to liquid respectively over the range. Molten refers to heating sufficiently to wet to another material or cure to another material in the case of epoxies and thermoplastics containing solvents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,034 to Auvert suggests a micro-beam laser machine for acting on thin layers of materials especially integrated circuits. Laser cutting and welding machines for making stencils are available from Messerchmitt Bolkow Blohm, Northern Plant, 7312 Kirchheim/Teck Nobern.
"Ball Grid Array Module Solder Stencil Template" by Isaacs et al. in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin vol. 37, No. 06B, June 1994, p. 225, suggests a template or spacer to supporting a stencil to screen solder paste onto distal ends of ball grid array balls and column grid array columns for rework.
"Solder Preform Technique for Fine Pitch Surface Mount Technology components" by Nilsen et al. in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 36, No. 02, February 1993, p. 397, suggests solder carriers the size of an SMT component for depositing solder on substrates. The solder is screened into cavities (blind holes) in the carrier, then the carrier is placed on a PC card.
In one embodiment the carrier consists of three parts including a screen plate with through holes aligned with holes in a carrier plate and a solid back plate. The screen plate is removed, the carrier plate is placed on the card, the back plate is removed, the component is placed on the carrier plate, and the solder paste is reflowed. In a second embodiment using the same three parts, the back plate is removed, the carrier plate is placed on the card, the solder is reflowed, the screening plate is removed, a component is placed on the carrier plate and the solder is reflowed again. In a third embodiment using the same three parts, the solder is reflowed then the back plate is removed, the carrier plate is placed on the card, the solder is reflowed again, the screen plate is removed, a component is placed on the carrier plate and the solder is reflowed for the third time.
In a final embodiment the carrier is one plate with cavities filled with solder paste, which is placed cavity down on the PC card and the solder paste is reflowed to deposite the solder onto the card, then the plate is mechanically removed or dissolved by solvent. Then the component is placed on the site and the solder is reflowed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,726 to Nishiguchi suggests packaging substrates with recesses containing plated electrode terminals (100 .mu.m dia) covered by a vacuum deposited solder with a lower melting temperature than the bumps (e.g. Au/20%Sn or Pb/40%Sn). Bumps of an IC chip (80 .mu.m dia and 30 .mu.m high) fit the recesses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,372 to Altman suggests forming solder bumps by applying at least a 10 mil preferably 15 mil, thick layer of photo definable solder resist to a ceramic, polyimide, or circuit-board substrate; selectively removing resist to form wells over metal pads in a grid array on the substrate; using a squeegee to apply solder paste into the wells; reflowing the paste; and removing the resist. It also suggests connecting a solder bumped member to a substrate by forming the wells filled with a solder paste (having a melting temperature lower than the solder bumps) over pads on the substrate in a pattern corresponding to the solder bumps; positioning the member over the substrate so that the bumps settle into the solder paste; and reflow heating to melt the solder paste but not the solder bumps to wet the metal pads and blend with the solder bumps.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,327 to Trabucco discloses injecting liquid solder into holes formed through a disolvable film carrier onto contact pads of a ball grid array module to form solder balls. The film may be soluble in water, acitone, or in a flux solvent such as CFCs or turpenes.
JP 4-263433 A to Watanabe suggests recessions in a surface which are filled with a metallic paste by a sliding squeegee, and then heating to 230.degree. C. using a heating head to melt the paste and form metallic balls. Then electrode pads of an IC chip are pressure-fixed to the balls in the recessions to form electric connection contacts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,267 to Lim suggests connecting leads (tins) to SIP or DIP packages by: forming interconnected conductive pads on a alumina ceramic substrate (0.5 by 1.0 inches), by thick film techniques and including lead pads (70 by 80 mils) and component pads (70 mils square); clipping leads (10 by 20 mil) to the substrate edge at lead pads; and screening solder paste through a stencil onto the leads, lead pads, and component pads. The citation suggests chemically milling brass stencils from both sides by: coating with photoresist; applying artwork negatives to both sides; exposing to light through the artwork; developing and washing away the unexposed resist; and etching from both sides. Then a 1 mil layer of nickel is plated onto the stencil plate to improve abrasion resistance by increasing surface hardness. The citation suggests several sources of screen printing machines for printing solder paste and describes their operation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,211,764 and 5,346,118 to Degani suggests printing Sn/Pb/Bi 43/43/14 solder through a 21 mil (up to 30 mil) thick stencil with rectangular openings which taper at an angle 5.degree.-10.degree. (less than 45.degree. ) from vertical from a narrow top opening (60 mil) to a wider bottom opening (64 mil) onto a 10 by 10 grid array of about 33 mil pads on 100 mil centers (as low as 30 mil pads on 60 mil centers) to produce bumps (up to 30 mil high have been demonstrated) on an IC circuit on a wafer. The bottom opening area is up to 5 times larger than the pad area and double printing (i.e. print and reflow, then print and reflow again) can be used to increase paste volume. The paste includes a special flux and additives to provide low stickiness and metal loading is increased to as high as 80% by volume by using two different sized powers. Using paste with a high ratio of metal volume minimize slump so that (hole bottom diameter) / (stencil thickness) can be as low as 1.5, but preferably 2.5, and (hole bottom diameter) / (pad spacing) can be as low as 0.75.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,470 to Johary suggests forming an array of two rows of rectangular, non-reentrant cavities in a solid block or plate of titanium (a material non-wetted by solder), in a pattern matching a pattern of J-leads on a PLCC; loading the cavities with solder paste by wiping solder paste on the plate surface with blade or squeegee to force the paste into the cavities; coating all but the end portion of the J-lead with solder resist; aligning the J-leads in registration with the cavities with an exposed portion of each J-lead in contact with the paste; and reflowing the paste to form a mass of molten solder on the end portion of each J-lead. Johary suggests "Lead to lead spacing of 0.050 inch are common, and closer spacing such as 0.025 inch are anticipated"; also "Surface mount techniques are used to secure a wide variety of components or devices" and "the invention is applicable as well to other lead configuration such as outwardly extending gull-wing leads, downwardly extending I leads and other leads or metallizations of various types."
The entire disclosure of the above citations is hereby incorporated by reference.

Process for transferring material to semiconductor chip conductive pads using a transfer substrate

International Business Machines Corporation


A soft, flexible, solar pool heater for floating on water generally comprises independently inflatable outer ring and central portion. When chamber and cavity are inflated, the cavity is with the top and bottom planes of the ring. The ring can be inflated with water for holding the heater in a pool in winds. Holes through the central portion permit egress of air from under the central portion when the heater is placed on water. Valves for chamber and cavity are located near one edge such that the heater may be deflated by rolling from an edge opposite the valves. Magnets on the ring condition water and attach to similar floating heaters to form rafts.

It is desirable to cover pools, such as swimming pools, for various reasons, such as preventing evaporation and heat loss, and providing solar heating. Conventional pool covers have several shortcomings. Heavy covers are expensive. They are large and bulky and not easily used or stored. Pool covers of light material, such as of bubble pack type, typically cover an entire pool and project over the decking for anchoring the cover and preventing the cover from falling into the pool. Such covers are subject to winds that often lift them so as to dislocate or actually move the covers from the pool areas to other areas, e.g. neighbor's yard. Winds can pull such large light pool covers from under sand bags, and/or steel pipes as are commonly used. Further, any large cover can be dangerous for small children or animals, which can be trapped underneath.
Smaller solar pool heaters of the floating type have been proposed, but none appear to be marketed. The ones proposed have several disadvantages. Many have hard or rigid parts that are dangerous should a person fall into the pool and that make them bulky and difficult to store. Some of the larger ones have large air chambers that would encourage convection and heat loss. The lighter ones would tend to fly away in the wind. In general, they are bulky to store, difficult to deploy, and difficult to retrieve and remove.
Therefore, there it is desirable to have an improved floating pool heater that overcomes shortcomings in the prior art.
Magnets and magnetic fields have been known to treat water. Examples of magnetic treatment devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,951,807 and 4,153,559 in the name of Charles H. Sanderson and U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,296 to Mark Sherman. The magnet is said to condition the water by altering various minerals suspended in the water and to reduce the amount of oxidizer, such as chlorine, required
Therefore, it is further desirable that the improved floating pool heater incorporate magnets for conditioning the water,


A surgical tool, consisting of a handle and a flexible insertion tube, having a proximal end coupled to the handle and a distal end configured to be inserted into an orifice of a living subject. The tool has an inner tube, which is bendable without breaking over a range of angles in response to a bending force, and which retains the bent shape after the bending force has been removed. The inner tube is located within the insertion tube. A flexible tubing defines a lumen and is contained within the inner tube. A tool working tip is configured to contact tissue in the subject and to mate with a distal termination of the inner tube. A rigid outer tube grips outer surfaces of the working tip and of the inner tube so as to maintain an opening of the working tip in communication with the flexible tubing lumen.

The nasal sinuses are complicated three-dimensional structures that vary from person to person, so that access to a particular sinus, and to a selected region of the sinus, may require a rigid tool having a very specific shape to achieve such access. Furthermore, an optimal shape of the tool may only be apparent after inspection of a computerized tomography (CT) image of the patient. Surgical tools for a sinus, such as endoscopes, graspers, and/or suction devices, are produced in a variety of shapes which are typically available to the physician. Thus, an operating ENT physician is able to choose the particular shape that is most suited to a specific task within the sinus. However, even though there may be a variety of tool shapes available to the physician, none of these shapes may be optimal. In addition, the provision of multiple rigid tools (having different shapes) to a physician is costly.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,226,800, to Burg, et al., describes a malleable surgical instrument which can be bent from a first configuration to a second bent configuration and can maintain the bent configuration.


A recording disc filing device for storing optical recording discs such as compact discs. The filing device includes a recording disc filing sheet having a plurality of recording disc storing sections for receiving recording discs, respectively. The recording disc storing sections are arranged in a predetermined pattern. The filing device further includes a leaflet filing sheet having leaflet storing sections for receiving leaflets carrying information on recorded contents in the recording discs stored in the recording disc storing sections. The leaflet storing sections correspond in number to the recording disc storing sections. The recording disc filing sheet and the leaflet filing sheet are arranged so that the leaflet storing sections in the leaflet filing sheet are located at positions corresponding to the recording disc storing sections in the recording disc filing sheet. The leaflet filing sheet is connected along one edge portion with the recording disc filing sheet so that the leaflet filing sheet can be laid over the recording disc filing sheet in a manner that the leaflet filing sheet can be turned over to expose the recording disc filing sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a filing device. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a filing device for storing recording discs such as compact discs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A recording disc of an optical recording type such as a compact disc has a very high recording density as compared with conventional recording discs so that the optical recording disc has a lot of contents recorded therein. In this type of recording disc, it is almost impossible to identify on the disc all of the contents recorded therein. It is therefore an usual practice that a leaflet is provided to give the user of the disc with information on the contents and the order of the recorded contents. The leaflet is stored in a case which is made of a hard plastic material for storing the optical recording disc. The storing case is then kept in storing box or a storing shelf.
In the manner of storing such optical recording discs as described above, inconveniencies have been experienced in that it has bee very difficult to identify the recorded contents in the condition where the disc is stored in the box or in the shelf. Speaking more specifically, when the recording discs are in the storing box or in the storing shelf, the only parts which the users can see are the edge portions of the disc storing cases which can have designations of only the titles of the recording discs. Thus, the users cannot get information on the details of the recorded contents unless they take out the discs from the storing box or shelf as the case may be.

Filing device for storing recording discs


Adjustable steps (2) extend between two parallel stingboards (3). Each stringboard (3) includes two locking flanges (4) and each step (2) is supported by four pivotable blocks (7, 8) each securable to a flange (4) by means of a nut (17). Two threaded rods (13, 16) extending through the step and between the stringboards engage two respective nuts (17) combined with two opposite blocks. The height of each step of the staircase may be adjusted by changing the spacing between the blocks (7, 8) along each flange (4). The horizontal position of the steps may be adjusted by changing the vertical distance between the front blocks (7) and rear blocks (8) along the stringboards, regardless of the angle at which the stringboards were fitted. A universal staircase may thus be achieved.

The present invention relates to steps having a variable configuration.
In order to take into account each particular configuration, which determines the slope of the strings and the distance between treads, made-to-measure steps can be manufactured, which are supplied assembled, or which on the other hand can be assembled on site. Such steps are expensive both to manufacture and to install.
Some known steps have an adjustable configuration but their structural components are still expensive. Thus steps are known according to DE-A-1 778 509 in which the treads have on each side two angle-irons pierced by a hole in order to allow locking in an adjustable position in a slide of the strings. These steps are expensive to manufacture with several welded pieces. A stock must be kept of different treads for the different widths of steps. The rigidity of the steps depends on the rigidity of the angle-irons.
The object of the invention is to propose steps having a variable configuration which are particularly simple to make and to install.


This invention relates to a security system aimed at closing and locking a cover of an opening of a tank trailer to avoid any tampering of its content and to prove that the content of the tank has not been tampered. The security system comprises a locking member movable between a lock position to prevent the opening of the cover, and an unlock position to allow the opening of the cover. The invention also comprises an actuating device mounted to the tank trailer operatively connected to the locking member for moving it between the lock and the unlock positions. A sealing mechanism engages the actuating device when the locking member is in the lock position to prevent any movement of the locking member. The sealing mechanism comprises a breakable indicator which is broken upon disengagement from the actuating device, thereby indicating that the openable cover has been tampered with.

Tank trailers are generally used in the transport industry for the transportation of liquid or solid powdered products. They typically include a large stainless steel tank, made out of a single or of plural internal compartments, and an undercarriage such that they may be pulled on the road by a tractor truck. Tank trailers may be used for transportation of liquid products for example in the food industry (such as milk, syrup or liquid sugar), in the chemical industry (peroxide, phenol, dangerous products) or in the petroleum industry (raw oils). They may also be used for transportation of solid powdered products used in different sectors such as cement, salt or plastic pellets.
The typical tank trailer has several openings that may be found in different locations according to its specific use. Usually, the tank trailer will have an opening at one end to allow for the filling of the tank with the transported product, and one or several openings at the bottom to allow the tank to be emptied. Other than these, one will also find at least one vent, provided for air circulation during the filling and the emptying phases, and one or many manholes, the manholes being generally placed on the top of the tank trailer.
In use, the tank trailer is firstly washed and disinfected before it leaves to be filled with the product to be transported. During the washing process, all of the openings are opened, including manholes on the top of the tank trailer to allow personnel into the tank, for example for inspection purposes. The manholes are usually closed by a flap cover hingedly mounted to the manhole ridge. The vent, as well as the filling and the emptying openings, usually provide an external communication with the inside of the tank only when a specially adapted connector is used. Contrary to the manholes, they do not allow enough room for a person to pass through and access the interior of the tank.
Once the tank has been washed, disinfected and inspected, all the openings are tightly closed and the tank trailer is ready to leave for its first destination in order to be filled. At a relevant facility, the tank trailer is filled with the product. The only openings that are opened during this process are the filling opening and a vent, the others remaining closed. Once filled, the tank trailer is then brought to its delivery destination. The tank is then emptied of its content to deliver the product, the only openings being opened then are the emptying openings and the vent, the others remaining closed. The tank trailer is finally returned to its departure point for washing and sanitising in prevision of another run. One will notice that the manholes never need to be opened during the whole process of transportation.
Independently of the specific product transported into such tank trailers, the industry in general, as well as governments, are now more concerned with the potential danger associated with the tampering of the products inside these tank trailers. The poisoning of a batch of milk, either intentional or accidental, is one example among others of the damage that could result from a tampering of a tank trailer.
A common drawback with prior art tank trailers is that these do not allow locking in place the flap covers closing the manholes in order to eliminate any tampering of the product inside the tank trailer during transportation. The flap covers are easily openable from the outside of the tank trailer, simply by unscrewing the latches. Moreover, these do not provide an operator any means to monitor, from the ground, if any tampering of the product has occurred during transportation.
Therefore, there is a need for a tank trailer that would allow for the locking in place of the manholes as well as for the monitoring of any tampering of the products inside during the transportation process.

Tamper detection security for a tank trailer


Methods and apparatus for allowing users in a group, e.g., family members, to share a telephone number while using different devices, e.g., IP devices, are described. The methods and apparatus allow for users in a group to obtain individual presence information for members of the group by making a single request for presence information corresponding to members of the group. In some embodiments, in response to the single request, the requesting device will be supplied with individual presence information for each member of the group to which the request corresponds. The presence information may be received in individual communications, e.g., one individual message providing presence information on a user of the group. Alternatively presence information for the individual members of the group may be included in a single message that is sent to the requesting device.

The use of IP based communications devices for telephone and/or other communications purposes is becoming ever more common. A single user may use multiple IP devices, e.g., mobile handheld devices, home network devices, set top boxes, etc. which support voice and/or video communications and seek to use a single telephone number for the multiple devices. Another common scenario is that a family or group of individuals, e.g., corresponding to a single customer premise, may seek to share a single telephone number but use multiple different IP devices to make and/or receive calls between the devices of the group and/or devices on the public telephone network.
While a number of users corresponding to a group, e.g., household, may seek to share a common telephone number for communicating with devices on the public telephone network or outside the household, it would be desirable if they could interact with one another via their communications devices on an individual rather than group basis. For example, where family members might share a common telephone number, it is desirable that a family member be able to contact another specific family member device as desired. Similarly, while it might be desirable for a group to appear as a single entity to members outside the immediate group or network on which the family group's devices reside, it would be desirable if individual family members could easily obtain status, e.g., presence information, regarding other group/family members and their devices.
In view of the above, it should be appreciated that there is a need for methods and apparatus which would allow members of a group, e.g., family, to share a public telephone number but still communicate with one another on an individual device to individual device basis. There is also a need for methods and/or apparatus which allow for members of a group to see the individual presence status of other members of the group while also making presence information available for the group telephone number shared by the members of the group.

Methods and apparatus for provisioning and using IP clients which can be arranged according to groups and share a common telephone number