A layout structure of a capacitive touch panel including a conductive layer, an insulation layer, and a plurality of electric bridges is provided. The conductive layer disposed on a substrate includes a plurality of first touch units and a plurality of second touch units. The first touch units are electrically connected with each other through a plurality of connecting sections to form a plurality of first touch series extended along a first direction. The insulation layer is disposed on the conductive layer. Each electric bridge includes a compensation portion, a first crossover portion, and a second crossover portion. The compensation portions are respectively disposed on the connecting sections. The first and second crossover portions are disposed on the insulation layer. The second touch units are electrically connected with each other through the first and second crossover portions to form a plurality of second touch series extended along a second direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a touch panel, and more particularly, to a layout structure of a capacitive touch panel and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the development of the touch panel technology, touch panels have been broadly applied as screens of electronic devices, such as cell phones, notebook computers, and tablet PCs. These touch panels allow users to carry out input and other operations conveniently and make the user interfaces more intuitional and convenient.
In a conventional touch panel, two touch series arranged in different directions are usually disposed on the input interface to accomplish the touch control function. However, along with the increase in the size of a touch panel, the length of the touch series also increases. As a result, the impedance of these touch series becomes too large and the touch sensitivity of the touch panel is reduced.

Layout structure of capacitive touch panel and manufacturing method thereof


In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, methods and systems for facilitating data communication are presented. Requests to communicate data are received that include data indicative of a location of a target remote mobile computing device. A location to be searched for a target devices is determined, and location-based data of mobile devices is accessed. Potential target mobile devices are identified and data consistent with the request is sent to one or more potential targets.

Field of Invention
The invention disclosed herein generally relates to methods and systems for initiating data communication. More specifically, the invention disclosed herein relates to methods and systems for communicating data to and with target remote mobile computing devices.
Description of Related Art
Mobile computing devices (MCDs) are becoming ubiquitous. From cell phones to personal digital assistants (PDAs) to tablet and laptop computers, to wearable and embedded MCDs, people fortunate enough to live in developed countries tend to have one or more MCD each. Many MCDs have multiple ways to communicate data, from radio transmissions, such as cellular, including LTE and LTE Advanced, more local networks such as Wi-Fi, Super Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and WiMAX2, and direct communication technologies such as Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), infrared, and other technologies.
In order to communicate data with an MCD, a requesting device, i.e. one that sends a request to communicate data, generally must know something about the target MCD. For example, a phone number is generally required to either call or sent a text, SMS, or MMS message. If the devices have a social relationship, for example their owners are friends, connections, share a circle, or have another such relationships on one or more social networks, and they allow each other to see their locations, the devices may be able to communicate data using that social relationship.
However, many MCDs, particularly MCDs that operate on various networks, transmit data via the network that allows the network to track their location over time. Such activities can create a large amount of location-based data, data that is generally searchable by, among other things, location.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and systems for facilitating data communication


A method for integrating an inductor into a semiconductor substrate is provided. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface and forming at least a first trench and at least two openings in the semiconductor substrate. The first trench and the openings extend from the first surface into the semiconductor substrate, and the first trench has a ring-like shape. A portion of the first trench is arranged between the two openings. The method further includes depositing a magnetically soft material into the first trench to form a ring-like closed magnetisable core structure, depositing a conductive material into the openings to form vias, and forming an electrical cross-connection between the vias.

Inductors and transformers are used for signal processing such as processing of gate signals for power devices. It is desired to have the inductors or transformers integrated into the device.
Inductors and transformers having a magnetisable core structure are commonly manufactured by thin film technology which includes printing and pasting to build-up such inductive devices on a substrate. Such processes employ high temperatures which limit their application.
For these and other reasons there is a need for the present invention.

Integrated inductor and method for manufacturing an integrated inductor


A shank of a milling cutter can be somewhat elastic. As a result, during plunging down into a workpiece the milling cutter will not plunge in a true axially downward direction and will form a slanted wall in the workpiece. A milling cutting insert is provided which is capable of “straightening out” the slanted wall. The cutting insert has a rear cutting edge which removes material when the milling cutter is moved axially upwardly.

When plunge milling along an edge, or along the walls of a pre-existing pocket or cavity of a workpiece, a milling cutter is subjected to unbalanced radial cutting forces which tend to deflect the milling cutter away from the workpiece. This phenomenon is particularly problematic during deep plunging in which the milling cutter has a long shank, or a long extension shank.
Long shanks tend to be somewhat elastic so that during deep plunging the unbalanced radial cutting forces cause the shank to bend. The deeper the plunging, the greater the bending of the shank. As a consequence, the milling cutter will not plunge in a true axially downward direction, and a resulting milled portion of a surface of the workpiece will be slanted. This is a disadvantage if a true vertical surface is required.

Milling cutting insert and milling cutter


The present invention is concerned with a method and computer-based system for configuring, monitoring and/or operating a graphical user interface in two or three dimensions. In particular it is concerned with a graphical user interface used for controlling, monitoring and/or operating equipment in a control system of an industrial process or an installation for oil and gas or for an installation for electrical power generating, transmission and/or distribution.

Working 8 hours per day, 5 days per week in front of a computer screen is challenging both physically and mentally. Physically, it is uncomfortable and hard to sit still all day in almost the same position and stare at a computer screen. As a consequence, many people have strain and muscle problems in necks, shoulders and arms. When all work has to take place on a relatively small computer screen, for instance, in control rooms, the limited space is demanding when working with relatively many applications represented by functional interfaces on the computer screen/display. The applications the operators need information about are both, for instance, an overview of the process and detailed information of the current state for specific sub-processes. Examples of additional information represented by functional interfaces such as Microsoft Word windows or views are tables of data and information, trends, maintenance and repair information, reports, ordering systems and working permissions. These functional interfaces are basically provided by two-dimensional (2D) information presentations. All functional interfaces are layered upon each other in a limited area on the desktop display and the user has to use additional equipment, for instance, a mouse or similar, to move functional interfaces around. It is then easy to get lost in the vast sets of functional interfaces spending time to find the right interface.
A further disadvantage is that each user often needs at least one desktop screen in addition to potential projectors as well as large screens, for instance, in control rooms. This is both expensive and space-demanding. When having more desktop screens, the working space is still limited by the physical dimensions of the screens. The fact that each user needs at least one desktop screen in addition to one or more large screens is costly and inefficient.
Augmented Reality (AR) is a method of overlaying real world representations with computer-generated graphics. Ideally, for vision-based augmented reality, the user will not be able to recognize the difference between the real and the computer-generated graphics, and thereby the user will get an improved perception of the real world environment. Today, augmented reality techniques are used in a number of applications. Examples of use are within media, for example weather reporting, medicine, for example visualization of internal organs, for collaborative environments, for example virtual meeting rooms, and in process industries for maintenance, service and repair.
Handheld and wearable control panels with interaction possibilities already exist and the interest in such devices increases.
The use of mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) as the interface towards systems or devices is known. Also, tablet PCs, which are used, e. g. within hospitals, provide an interface that the user easily carries around and interacts with by touching the screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,532 B1 discloses a control for an automotive service system including a pair of goggles incorporating a head-up display which displays the data from the system controller by virtual display in the technician's forward field of vision without blocking his general forward field of view.
WO 2005/066744 A1 discloses a system that enables a user to interact with a virtual control panel using a user controlled pointing object. The system comprises a portable identification element, a tracking unit adapted to capture data representing the position of the pointing object and the position of the identification element, a storage unit, storing at least one pre-defined graphical interface representing a control panel of a device, a graphics unit, generating a graphical representation of the control panel, a registering unit, registering said graphical representation of the control panel in a fixed relation to said portable identification element to produce a virtual control panel and a display unit, showing the user a view comprising the real world and the virtual control panel.
There is a desire to find a method to improve the accessibility of and to switch between many possible technical information/control applications on a desktop and to find more compact lightweight equipment to enable a more ergonomic work place as well as enable working personnel to access difficult locations where only one person can go in a plant while having access to technical information and handle control applications.


An adapter is for use in cooperation with a post. The adapter includes an upper adapter portion which will be attached to a first part of the post, and a lower adapter portion which will be attached to a second part of the post. The adapter also includes a cylindrically helical spring connecting the upper adapter portion to the lower adapter portion so as to allow relative movement between the upper and lower adapter portions, including either rotational movement in which the post remains upright, or movement in which the first part of the post bends, or both. At least one of the two adapter portions is shaped to receive the helical spring as a screw.

Outdoor mailboxes typically are positioned close to roads. Therefore, such a mailbox is susceptible to being hit by a motor vehicle, or by other objects such as snow plowed by a snowplow, or even by vandals. The mailbox post is then vulnerable to being broken.
It is known to configure a mailbox post so that it has a flexible joint, thereby allowing the mailbox post to bend rather than break. See Dunn (U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,982). Dunn discloses installing a non-circular spring wire between the upper and lower parts of the mailbox post, the spring being positioned vertically, so that the mailbox post will return to a vertical position after being hit.
However, there are several drawbacks to Dunn's configuration. First, Dunn does not disclose that the spring unit is distinct from the post, and thus if any part of Dunn's post becomes damaged then the entire thing (including the joint) either becomes useless or must be repaired. Likewise, the invention of Dunn replaces an existing mailbox post, instead of being adaptable to an existing mailbox post.
Also, Dunn requires a non-circular elastic element in order for the mailbox post to properly align with a horizontal axis, but such a spring is not as strong and durable as a circular spring. This non-circular elastic element also makes assembly and disassembly difficult, while putting great stress on the parts that secure the non-circular spring to the rest of the mailbox post. Moreover, the tension of Dunn's elastic piece is not adjustable.


A digital photographing method and apparatus include determining a motion vector of an object in a preview image, determining whether the motion vector meets a predetermined condition and, when it does, generating an image capturing signal to photograph a scene desired by a user.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to a digital photographing method and apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Taking a series of consecutive photographs is often used to capture a desired scene by a photographer. However, consecutive photographing generally uses predetermined intervals between shots, sometimes making it difficult for the photographer to capture the desired scene.

Method and apparatus for capturing images based on detected motion vectors


A stabilizing assembly includes a fastener having an upper end and a lower end, a head at the upper end, and at least one anchoring element extending between the upper and lower ends. The head includes a center, an underside including a first radial surface and a top side including a second radial surface. The first radial surface of the head defines a first radius from the center of the head and the second radial surface defines a second radius from the center of the head, the first radius being greater than the second radius. The assembly also includes a coupling element having an upper end and a lower end, the coupling element including a rod receiving opening extending from the upper end thereof being adapted to receive a stabilizing rod, a bore extending through the lower end of the coupling element for receiving the fastener, and a conical-shaped seat adjacent the lower end of the coupling element adapted to engage the first radial surface of the head when the fastener is positioned in the bore. A locking element associated with the coupling element is adapted to apply a force upon a stabilizing rod positioned in the rod receiving opening. As a force is applied to a stabilizing rod, the rod in turn, engages the second radial surface at the top side of the head for forcing the underside of the head against the conical-shaped seat of the coupling element so as to prevent further pivotal and rotational movement of the fastener and the coupling element relative to one another. In certain embodiments, the fastener may be a screw fastener having screw threads. In other embodiments, the fastener may include a hook.

The present invention relates generally to spinal fixation devices and more specifically relates to a pedicle screw assembly having a low profile and having an improved screwhead/coupling element interface for locking the assembly.
The spinal column is a highly complex system of bones and connective tissues that provides support for the body and protects the delicate spinal cord and nerves. The spinal column includes a series of vertebrae stacked one atop the other, each vertebral body including an inner or central portion of relatively weak cancellous bone and an outer portion of relatively strong cortical bone. Situated between each vertebral body is an intervertebral disc that cushions and dampens compressive forces experienced by to the spinal column. A vertebral canal containing the spinal cord and nerves is located behind the vertebral bodies.
There are many types of spinal column disorders including scoliosis (abnormal lateral curvature of the spine), kyphosis (abnormal forward curvature of the spine, usually in the thoracic spine), excess lordosis (abnormal backward curvature of the spine, usually in the lumbar spine), spondylolisthesis (forward displacement of one vertebra over another, usually in a lumbar or cervical spine) and other disorders caused by abnormalities, disease or trauma, such as ruptured or slipped discs, degenerative disc disease, fractured vertebra, and the like. Patients that suffer from such conditions usually experience extreme and debilitating pain, as well as diminished nerve function.
The present invention generally involves a technique commonly referred to as spinal fixation whereby surgical implants are used for fusing together and/or mechanically immobilizing vertebrae of the spine. Spinal fixation may also be used to alter the alignment of adjacent vertebrae relative to one another so as to change the overall alignment of the spine. Such techniques have been used effectively to treat the above-described conditions and, in most cases, to relieve pain suffered by the patient. However, as will be set forth in more detail below, there are some disadvantages associated with current fixation devices.
One spinal fixation technique involves immobilizing the spine by using orthopedic rods, commonly referred to as spine rods, that run generally parallel to the spine. This may be accomplished by exposing the spine posteriorly and fastening bone screws to the pedicles of the appropriate vertebrae. The pedicle screws are generally placed two per vertebra and serve as anchor points for the spine rods. Clamping elements adapted for receiving a spine rod therethrough are then used to join the spine rods to the screws. The aligning influence of the rods forces the spine to conform to a more desirable shape. In-certain instances, the spine rods may be bent to achieve the desired curvature of the spinal column.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,388 to Vignaud et al. discloses a spinal fixation device including a pedicle screw having a U-shaped head rigidly connected to an upper end of the screw. The U-shaped head includes two arms forming a U-shaped channel for receiving a spine rod therein. The U-shaped head is internally threaded so that a set screw having external threads may be screwed therein. After the pedicle screw has been inserted into bone and a spine rod positioned in the U-shaped channel, the set screw is threaded into the internal threads of the U-shaped channel for securing the spine rod in the channel and blocking relative movement between the spine rod and the pedicle screw. The fixation device also includes a cap covering an upper portion of the U-shaped head to prevent the arms from spreading upon threading the set screw into the internal threads of U-shaped head.
Surgeons have encountered considerable difficulty when attempting to insert spinal fixation devices such as those disclosed in the above-mentioned ""388 patent. This is because the U-shaped heads of adjacent screws are often out of alignment with one another due to curvature in spines and the different orientations of the pedicles receiving the screws. As a result, spine rods must often be bent in multiple planes in order to pass the rods through adjacent U-shaped channels. These problems weaken the strength of the assembly and result in significantly longer operations, thereby increasing the likelihood of complications associated with surgery.
In response to the above-noted problems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,286 to Errico et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,176 to Biedermann et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,464 to Metz-Stavenhagen disclose polyaxial spinal fixation devices wherein the anchoring element fixed to the bone has a spherically-shaped head. The fixation devices in the above-identified patents also have orthopedic rod capturing assemblies for securing orthopedic rods in the capturing assemblies and connecting the rods with the anchoring elements. The spherically shaped heads of the anchoring elements permit movement of the anchoring elements relative to the orthopedic rod capturing assemblies. However, the above-mentioned patents do not solve all of the deficiencies of fixation devices such as those described in the Vignaud ""388 patent because the respective spinal fixation devices may shift following insertion. This is due primarily to the fact that there is insufficient surface area contact between the spherically-shaped heads of the anchoring elements and the rod capturing assemblies. In addition, the devices are complex, include many parts, and are difficult to manufacture.
In certain preferred embodiments of commonly assigned U.S. patent application 09/414,272, filed Oct. 7, 1999, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, a pedicle screw assembly includes a fastener having a tip end for insertion into bone and an expandable head at the opposite end of the fastener. The expandable head has an outer surface including a convex portion, a recess having an inner surface and defining an inner dimension, and at least one slot extending between the inner and outer surfaces thereof for allowing expansion of the head. The assembly also has an insert which can be positioned at least partially in the recess, the insert having an outer surface and defining an outer dimension that is greater than the inner dimension of the recess. The assembly includes a coupling element having a rod receiving opening, a bore for receiving the fastener, and a seat for receiving the head of the fastener, the seat including a concave portion for receiving the convex underside of the head and allowing the fastener to pivot and rotate relative to the coupling element before being locked therein. After an orthopedic rod has been positioned within the coupling element, a locking element associated with the coupling element locks the orthopedic rod in the rod-receiving opening. The locking element is adapted to be forced against an orthopedic rod arranged in the rod receiving opening, to in turn force the insert into the recess of the expandable head so that the outer dimension of the insert bears against the inner dimension of the head, thereby expanding the outer surface of the head against the concave seat of the coupling element for locking the fastener from further pivotal movement relative to the coupling element. In other preferred embodiments, the head is expandable by virtue of the material of which it is made such as carbon fiber.
In spite of the above-mentioned devices, there remains room for improvement of prior art spinal fixation devices in the manner of locking the screwhead, the complexity of use, difficulty in properly positioning the orthopedic rod and the rod-capturing assemblies, the required manipulation of the many parts associated with some complex devices and post-operative movement of the rod-capturing assemblies relative to the bone anchoring elements due to the weak interfaces between the two.
In accordance with certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, a stabilizing assembly used for stabilizing a spinal column includes a fastener having an upper end and a head at the upper end, and at least one anchoring element between the upper and lower ends thereof. The head of the fastener preferably includes a center, an underside including a first radial surface and a top side including a second radial surface, the first radial surface defining a first radius from the center of the head and the second radial surface defining a second radius from the center of the head, the first radius being greater than the second radius. Although the present invention is not limited by any particular theory of operation, it is believed that utilizing a fastener head having a dual-radius outer surface will provide a stabilizing assembly having a lower overall silhouette, thereby enhancing the compactness of the assembly. The lower silhouette results, in part, from the lower height of the second radial surface at the top of the head.
The pedicle screw assembly also preferably includes a coupling element that couples together the fastener and a stabilizing rod inserted into the coupling element. The coupling element desirably includes an upper end and a lower end, a rod receiving opening adapted to receive a stabilizing rod, a bore extending through the lower end of the coupling element for receiving the fastener, and a seat adjacent the lower end of the coupling element adapted to engage the first radial surface of the head when the fastener is positioned in the bore. In certain preferred embodiments the seat is a conical-shaped seat having side walls that taper inwardly toward the lower end of the coupling element. In certain preferred embodiments, the rod-receiving opening begins at the upper end of the coupling element and extends toward the lower end of the coupling element, the lower end of the rod-receiving opening preferably terminating at U-shaped channels on opposite sides of the coupling element.
The stabilizing assembly also preferably includes a locking element associated with the coupling element, the locking element being adapted to apply a force upon a stabilizing rod positioned in the rod receiving opening, whereby the stabilizing rod in turn applies a force upon the second radial surface of the head for forcing the first radial surface of the head against the conical-shaped seat for preventing further pivotal and rotational movement of the fastener and the coupling element relative to one another. The locking element may include a set screw having external threads for threadably engaging internal threads of the coupling element. However, in other embodiments, the coupling element preferably includes external threads formed on an exterior surface of the coupling element and the locking element includes a nut having internal threads threadable onto the external threads of the coupling element.
In certain preferred embodiments, the fastener is a screw fastener having a longitudinal axis extending between the upper and lower ends thereof, and includes a screwhead having at least one groove extending from the top surface of the screwhead toward the underside of the screwhead, the at least one groove being adapted to receive a driver for inserting the fastener into bone. The at least one groove preferably extends in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fastener. Moreover, the at least one groove desirably includes a plurality of grooves that are equally spaced apart from one another about the head. The fastener also preferably includes a neck portion having a reduced diameter for facilitating pivotal movement of the coupling element and the fastener relative to one another. The neck of the fastener may also have a concave surface so as to broaden the pivotal range of the fastener relative to the coupling element.
The fastener may be inserted into bone using a driver including a shaft having a lower end and a plurality of prongs extending from the lower end of the shaft. The prongs are preferably adapted for being inserted into the grooves of the head. The shaft of the driver may include external threads that adapted for engaging the internal threads of the coupling element.
In operation, the coupling element is anchored in place by anchoring the screw fastener into bone, such as vertebral bone. A pilot hole may be formed in the bone before the fastener is anchored to the bone. After the coupling element is anchored in place, a gap preferably remains between the lower end of the coupling element and the bone so that the coupling element is free to pivot and rotate relative to the fastener and bone. This pivoting and rotary action facilitates the positioning of an orthopedic stabilizing rod within the rod-receiving opening of the coupling element.
After a stabilizing rod has been positioned in the rod-receiving opening of the coupling element, the locking element, i.e., an externally threaded set screw, is threaded into the internal threads of the coupling element. As the set screw is tightened, the underside of the set screw abuts the orthopedic rod to apply a downward force through the rod onto the second radial surface of the head. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cdownward forcexe2x80x9d means a force directed toward the lower end of the coupling element. The downward force applied to the second radial surface of the head forces the first radial surface of the head into the conical-shaped seat of the coupling element. Engagement of the first radial surface of the screwhead with the conical-shaped seat locks the coupling element relative to the screwhead, thereby preventing further pivotal and rotary movement of the coupling element. As a result, the likelihood of post-operative shifting and/or movement of a spine rod or coupling element relative to one or more of the bone fasteners is significantly reduced. Thus, the present invention provides for a more reliable spinal fixation device and overcomes the post-operative shifting problems seen in prior art devices. Moreover, the pedicle screw assembly of the present invention has fewer parts. As a result, implantation operations are greatly simplified and the possibility of a component being dropped inside a patient""s body greatly reduced.
In certain preferred embodiments, the fastener may have one or more holes therein for receiving bone graft material as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,570 to Sutter. Instead of using a screw for securing the screw to bone, in other preferred embodiments the fastener may include a hook-shaped anchoring element as disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,464 to Metz-Stavenhagen. The fastener may also be a structure having barbs on an outer surface thereof, whereby the fastener is forced into bone and the barbs prevent the fastener from being withdrawn from the bone.
In certain preferred embodiments, the top surface of the fastener head may include a socket adapted to receive a driver, such as a screwdriver or a hexagonal wrench. In this embodiment, the fastener is attached to bone by inserting the driver into the socket, and then turning the driver to rotate the fastener in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
The coupling element may also have one or more impressions or grooves formed therein for receiving a controlling device, such as a persuader instrument for seating the rod in the coupling element. In some embodiments, the impressions or grooves generally extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the coupling element. The groove or blind holes may be formed in the exterior surface of the coupling element.
The interior surface of the coupling element at the lower end thereof preferably defines the seat adapted for engaging the first radial surface at the underside of the head and for allowing the head to pivot relative to the coupling element before being locked in place. The seat is preferably provided adjacent the lower end of the coupling element. The seat may define a conical shape or a convex shape. In particular preferred embodiments, the seat is a conical-shaped seat. The walls of the conical-shaped seat preferably taper inwardly toward one another so that the diameter of the walls at the lower end thereof is less than the outer diameter of the head.
During assembly of the above-mentioned stabilizing device, a portion of the fastener is passed through the bore of the coupling element until the underside of head is positioned adjacent the conical-shaped seat of the coupling element. During a spinal fixation operation, after the fastener has been anchored in bone, the coupling element remains free to pivot relative to the fastener. Moreover, a gap preferably exists between the bottom of the coupling element and bone, the presence of the gap facilitating pivoting movement of the coupling element. The neck portion of the fastener, preferably having a concave surface with a diameter less than the diameter of the threaded portion of the fastener, enables the coupling element to pivot through a broader range of angles relative to the fastener. Thus, a spine rod may be more easily positioned within the rod receiving opening of the coupling element. After the rod has been positioned within the rod receiving opening, a locking element is threaded into the threads of the coupling element. As the locking element tightens down upon the rod, the rod, in turn, exerts a downward force onto the second radial surface of the head. The downward force applied to the second radial surface of the head forces the first radial surface of the head into the conical-shaped seat of the coupling element. Engagement of the first radial surface of the head with the conical-shaped seat locks the coupling element relative to the head, thereby preventing further pivotal and rotary movement of the coupling element. As a result, the likelihood of post-operative shifting and/or moving of the pedicle screw assembly is greatly reduced, thereby minimizing the occurrence of post-operative complications for spinal implant patients.
The present invention also preferably includes a tool for securing or anchoring the fastener in bone. The tool is preferably a driver having a rotatable shaft and one or more prongs extending from an end of the shaft for engaging grooves in the head. In preferred embodiments, the driver has one prong for each groove in the head of the fastener. The driver may also have external threads at a lower end of the shaft. The external threads are preferably adapted for engaging the internal threads of the coupling element when a fastener is being anchored to the bone. The engagement of the external threads of the driver and the internal threads of the coupling element generally stabilizes the assembly when the fastener is secured to bone. Specifically, the engagement of the threads prevents the coupling element from moving relative to the fastener when driving the fastener into bone, thereby simplifying installation of the fasteners.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments set forth below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In other preferred embodiments, a coupling element for a stabilizing assembly desirably includes an upper end and a lower end, a rod receiving opening adapted to receive a stabilizing rod, a bore extending through the lower end of the coupling element for receiving a fastener having a head with a first radial surface of a first diameter, and a seat adjacent the lower end of the coupling element adapted to engage an underside of the head of the fastener. The coupling element preferably includes threads extending from the upper end toward the lower end of the coupling element, and an annular lip between the threads and the seat of the coupling element, whereby the annular lip has a second diameter that is less than the first diameter of the first radial surface of the head.
In still other preferred embodiments, a coupling element for a stabilizing assembly includes an upper end and a lower end remote therefrom, and a rod receiving opening adapted to receive a stabilizing rod. The coupling element preferably ahs an exterior surface and an interior surface defining a central bore extending through the lower end of the coupling element. A seat adjacent the lower end of the coupling element is desirably adapted to engage an underside of a head of the fastener, whereby the coupling element includes one or more cuts between the rod-receiving opening and the exterior surface thereof for minimizing the width of the coupling element. Although the present invention is not limited by any particular theory of operation, it is believed that providing cuts at the edge of the rod receiving opening reduces the width of the coupling element so that more coupling elements may be fit onto a given length of a stabilizing rod. The cuts also minimize the sharp edges on the coupling element, thereby reducing the chance that the coupling element will irritate a patient""s tissue and/or cutting a surgeon""s glove.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments set forth below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


In one embodiment of the present invention, a temperature sensitive tip switch comprises a first conductive arm, a second conductive arm disposed in a parallel, spaced apart relation beneath the first conductive arm, a third conductive arm disposed in a parallel relation beneath the second conductive arm, and a temperature sensitive actuator blade disposed in a parallel, spaced apart relation beneath the third conductive arm. The second conductive arm includes a cut-out portion which is capable of downward flexion and the third conductive arm includes a cut-out portion which is capable of downward flexion and which is engaged with the cut-out portion in the second conductive arm. A first pair of normally closed, electrical contacts are mounted on the actuator blade and the third conductive arm. A second pair of normally closed, electrical contacts are mounted on the second conductive arm and the first conductive arm. In use, an adjustable thermostat shaft assembly is disposed to contact and selectively urge the cut-out portion in the second conductive arm in a downward direction so as to open the first pair of electrical contacts in a fast-action manner. In addition, an insulated button is mounted on the actuator blade and is disposed to contact and selectively urge the third conductive arm upwards upon the application of heat so as to open the first pair of electrical contacts in a fast-action manner. Furthermore, a gravity sensitive tip-over device is mounted on the actuator blade and is disposed to selectively urge the first conductive arm away from the second conductive arm upon a change in the orientation of the switch so as to open the second pair of electrical contacts.

The present invention relates generally to switches and, more particularly, to temperature responsive tip-switches.
Switches are well-known electromechanical devices which are commonly used to open and close electrical circuits.
One well-known type of switch is a temperature sensitive switch. Temperature sensitive switches, such as a thermostat, typically comprise a temperature sensor which is used to open or close electrical contacts at specified temperatures. Typically, a bimetal strip of dissimilar metals is used as the sensing element for temperature sensitive switches. The bimetal strip of dissimilar metals tends to curve upon a change in temperature due to the different rates of expansion of the dissimilar metals. The curvature of the bimetal strip is then used to open and close the electrical circuit accordingly.
Temperature sensitive switches are often used for thermal protection purposes. For example, if a device gets too hot, the temperature sensitive switch opens the electrical circuit, thereby eliminating power to the circuit.
Another well-known type of switch is a gravity sensitive, or tip-over, switch. Gravity sensitive switches, such as liquid mercury button tip switches, typically comprise a gravity sensitive element which detects movement and accordingly, opens or closes electrical contacts for the electrical circuit in response to the movement.
Switches having temperature sensitive and gravity sensitive properties, such as temperature responsive tip-switches, are well-known in the art and are commonly used to control alternating current circuits for a variety of applications. For example, temperature responsive tip-switches are particularly useful in connection with electric heaters.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,004 to C. S. Mertler, there is disclosed a combined thermostatic switch and tilt switch is disclosed which is of the stack type with slow make and break contacts. A temperature responsive element such as a bimetal actuates a set of contacts and an attitude responsive means such as a swingable pendulum also actuates a set of contacts. These two responsive means may actuate the same set of contacts or may actuate different sets of contacts in various embodiments of the invention, but a second set of contacts is provided in the switch as a standby set of contacts which may be actuated by one of the responsive means in the event that the first set of contacts fails to be actuated, e.g. by being welded together or some other malfunction.
Temperature responsive tip-switches are highly desirable because a single switch provides both temperature and gravity responsive interruption for an electrical circuit. As a consequence, temperature responsive tip-switches can considerably reduce the overall size and cost to manufacture the device which utilizes the temperature responsive tip-switch.
It should be noted that temperature responsive tip-switches of the type described above often experience a notable drawback. Specifically, temperature responsive tip-switches of the type described above typically comprise a slow-action thermostat which uses slow make and break constructions to open and close its electrical contacts. As a result, the switching process can be relatively slow, which can be undesirable due to the possibility of excessive contact arcing resulting in reduced contact life and radio noise interference.


A CMOS input buffer for semiconductor devices, that is capable of protecting its MOS transistors from gate oxide breakdown due to the application of high voltage greater than a normal power supply voltage.

In general, semiconductor device manufacturers conduct testing for device reliability in the evaluation of new products, design changes, and process changes. Most manufacturers subject their parts to a short period of accelerated stress testing prior to shipment in an effort to eliminate infant mortality failures. There is also a serious effort with many manufacturers to eliminate the infant mortality phenomena by some form of stress testing during wafer sorting. Even after the introduction of a new product or package, on-going monitoring of reliability and quality normally continues throughout the production life cycle. On-going reliability testing is normally performed both in order to monitor device performance and to accumulate statistical information.
As a result of such testing, possible wear-out mechanisms are identified and eliminated, either through modifications in the process or in the design. However, the manufactured devices may continue to exhibit early life failures or infant mortality failures. Examples of such defects includes oxide pinholes, photoresist or etching defects that cause near-opens or shorts, and contamination on the chip or in the package. A number of stress tests have been developed to accelerate the effects of various failure mechanisms. By subjecting a device to extreme operating conditions for a short period of time, such as for example, putting a device into a condition of abnormally high temperature and high voltage (such a test is called "burn-in test"), one can with some specified confidence level predict life and device performance under more normal conditions. In such a burn-in test, a static super voltage (about 7.0 to 8.5 volts) is applied to one or more pins of a device. Integrated semiconductor memory devices such as DRAMs and SRAMs typically include various input buffers for receiving externally provided address signals, data signals, and control signals via their pins (or pads). Each buffer acts as an input stage to circuits within the memory devices.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate examples of the most widely used MOS input buffers for semiconductor devices. Referring first to FIG. 1, the CMOS input buffer 50 includes two serially-connected inverters 6 and 12. The inverter 6 is composed of a p-channel MOS (hereinafter abbreviated as PMOS) transistor 10 and an n-channel MOS (abbreviated as NMOS) transistor 11. The complementary MOS (abbreviated as CMOS) buffer 50 receives an externally applied input signal INE and converts the external signal into a compatible internal signal INI (or INI). The gates of the CMOS transistor pair 10 and 11 are supplied with the input signal INE. At the drain junction of the CMOS transistor pair 10 and 11, the internal signal INI compatible with the external signal INE is produced.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the CMOS input buffer circuit 60 includes a NOR gate 8 and an inverter 17. The NOR gate 8 is formed of PMOS transistors 13 and 14, and NMOS transistors 15 and 16. An input signal INE is externally applied to the gates of the transistors 14 and 15. An external control signal such as chip select signal CS is applied to the gates of the transistors 13 and 16.
Gate oxide is an important element of MOS transistors. This thin dielectric layer can break down, resulting in gate shorts, during a long or very strong application of electric field across the oxide. Oxide breakdown is generally believed to be caused by positive charge buildup. Therefore, in a reliability test mode such as burn-in test, input buffer oxide breakdown of the targeted device may occur due to the high voltage which is applied to the device for reliability evaluation. More specifically, in the input buffer 50 of FIG. 1, the NMOS transistor 11 is turned on when a super voltage input signal is applied to the input terminal of the CMOS inverter 6, but the PMOS transistor 10 is turned off. The drain voltage of the PMOS transistor 10 is then about Vss (i.e., 0 volt) while the source voltage thereof is Vdd. The difference of gate-source and gate-drain voltages of the PMOS transistor 10 may exert stress on its gate oxide and cause gate oxide breakdown. Similarly, in such an input buffer 60 of FIG. 2, there is a high probability that the gate oxide of the PMOS transistor 14 will be broken down by the stress due to the large difference between its gate-drain and gate-source voltages.

Input buffer circuit for semiconductor device


A hydraulic flow sensing apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a manifold; a hole in the manifold in fluid communication with a fluid pathway; a poppet valve in the hole in the manifold configured to move when fluid in the pathway flows; and a proximity switch configured to detect movement of the poppet valve. A method of operating a hydraulic circuit may also be provided.

In several industries such as the construction industry or industries where pipelines are used to transport fluid pressurized fluids, very large nuts and bolts are used to fasten jointed pipe members together. For example, large pipes are connected by large pipe flanges and pipe, structural members may also be tightened by the use of large nuts and bolts as well as other structural members, wind generator tower sections, utility poles and a myriad of other applications may use very large nuts and bolts.
Large nuts and bolts used in these industrial applications require high amounts of torque to be properly tightened. As result, large amounts of torque is also required to loosen these large fasteners. Because of the high torque requirements needed to tighten or loosen these large fasteners it would be impractical to use mechanical torque wrenches. As such, the industry has turned to the use of hydraulic torque wrenches which are capable of generating thousands of foot-pounds of torque. These torque wrenches may be driven by a hydraulic pump capable of delivering about 10,000 PSI to the hydraulic torque wrench. These torque wrenches often incorporate a double acting hydraulic cylinder to push a rotary ratchet to apply the torque.
A commonly encountered problem with many hydraulic pumps used to drive hydraulic torque wrenches is that a hand pendant is used by the operator to extend and retract the hydraulic cylinder with in the torque wrench. An operator must actuate an actuator on the hand pendant to extend and again actuate the actuator to retract the hydraulic cylinder within the torque wrench. This requires many repeated operations of actuating the actuator for each faster. The operator's hand may become quickly fatigued. This may become a problem particularly in instances where there are many fasteners that need to be tightened or loosened. Furthermore, requiring repeated operations of actuating the actuator on the hand pendant is slow and not efficient.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that allows a fastener to have an appropriate amount of torque applied to it while at the same time not requiring an operator to constantly actuate an actuator in order to provide the appropriate amount of torque. Further, it may be useful to have a pump that will automatically cycle the torque wrench through extending and retracting the hydraulic cylinder contained within the torque wrench while the operator merely actuates a button or other actuator a single time for each faster. It may also be desirable for the pump to not only automatically cycle the wrench to completely tighten or loosen the faster but also shut down when a proper torque is achieved.


Described herein is technology for, among other things virus scanning for block-level distributed application management. The technology involves storing blocks of a root image on a first storage unit and storing blocks of leaf images on respective second storage units. The leaf images include additional data blocks not previously contained in the root image and changes made by respective compute nodes to the blocks of the root image. The technology includes receiving a notification from one of the compute nodes that the root image has been scanned for viruses and providing the notification to other compute nodes.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of networked computing. Specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to distributed application environment deployment in a multi-computer system.
2. Background
Over the years, as the internet has expanded and computers have multiplied, the need for clustered computing such as High Performance Computing (HPC) has increased. Clustered computing involves multiple compute nodes, usually a server grid, that work together to achieve a common task. For example, several (typically hundreds of) compute nodes may be clustered together to share the load of serving a high-traffic website. In large-scale systems such as this, a trend in software deployment is to centralize data management on a globally accessible file system with stateless computing nodes. A common example of this is Operating System (OS) software image management, where the compute nodes are activated with the distributed application environment by either diskless booting protocols or remote software installation to local storage. Under this architecture, a boot image is required for each compute node in the cluster. The boot image necessarily contains the kernel; it may additionally contain the application software that is intended to be run on the compute node.
The primary concern in clustered computing is low cluster bring-up time. The software that provides the boot images for the cluster typically stores a master boot image. It may then either pre-create clones of this master image for each such server, or it may create them "on the fly."
Creating a boot image on the fly involves copying the entire contents of the master image, which are typically in the range of 5-15 GB. Even with a significant amount of bandwidth by today's standards, this method will result in a large bring-up time.
Pre-creating a boot image for each server is advantageous from the point of view of cluster bring-up time. However, since one often does not know in advance how many servers will ever be booted, this scheme may result in wasted disk space.
Regardless of which of the preceding methods is used, both suffer from the same major problem—updating the boot image(s) for the cluster is cumbersome, as it means updating a number of copies of the boot image.
Additionally, once some compute nodes have booted, they will often engage in redundant activities with respect to each other. For example, assume that a cluster involves 20 compute nodes is each running the same operating system and using substantially similar hardware. Between the 20 compute nodes, there will be a great deal of commonality between their boot images (e.g., common operating system files, common drivers, common library files, common applications, etc.). Moreover, when each of the 20 compute nodes run virus scans (e.g., weekly) on their images, a large portion of the data scanned will be the same from one compute node to the next. Thus, to the extent that there is redundancy in the operations of the compute nodes (such as virus scanning), CPU resources, disk space, and data bus bandwidth are wasted.
A Branching Store File System, as described in patent application Ser. No. 11/026,622 entitled "BRANCING STORE FILE SYSTEM" filed Dec. 30, 2004, pending, and assigned to the assignee hereof, was developed as a solution to the boot image update problem. In a branching store file system, a read-only base image (or "root" image) of the application environment is created. The root image is accessible by all compute nodes in the cluster. Changes made by a compute node to the root image are stored in a "leaf" image unique to that compute node. A filter operates between the compute nodes and the file system(s), which merges the changes recorded on the leaf images with the root image and delivers the result to the appropriate compute node. From the point of view of the compute node, it is running its own unique and cohesive instance of the application environment. While this system allows for creation of boot images on the fly without severely diminishing bring-up time, a separate version of the system must be created for each unique operating system. Thus, migrating a computing cluster from one operating system to another is much more complicated than simply installing a new root image containing the new OS.

Virus scanning for block-level distributed application management


An infrastructure is provided for improving the safety of autonomous systems. An autonomous vehicle management system (AVMS) controls one or more autonomous functions or operations performed by a vehicle or machine such that the autonomous operations are performed in a safe manner. The AVMS is capable of dynamically controlling the behavior of sensors associated with a vehicle. For example, for a sensor, the AVMS can dynamically change and control what sensor data is captured by the sensor and/or communicated from the sensor to the AVMS (e.g., granularity/resolution, field of view, control zoom), when the data is captured by the sensor and/or communicated by the sensor to the AVMS (e.g., on-demand, according to a schedule), and how the data is captured by the sensor and/or communicated from the sensor to the AVMS (e.g., communication format, communication protocol, rate of data communication).

Recent times have witnessed a significant increase in the use of autonomous driving technologies (e.g., autonomous vehicles). This has, in part, been driven by the large scale adoption and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies to the autonomous driving domain. Autonomous driving applications are currently using AI-based technologies to perform operations such as identifying objects in an autonomous vehicle's environment, making automatic decisions affecting the motion of the vehicle, and the like. Current autonomous driving solutions using AI systems are however not well equipped for ensuring functional safety. This presents a significant hurdle in the use and adoption of these technologies by consumers.


A method for upgrading existing nylon fibers comprising the steps of (a) impregnating the existing nylon fibers with a chemical for obtaining impregnated nylon fibers; (b) drawing the impregnated nylon fibers for obtaining drawn nylon fibers; and (c) drying the drawn nylon fibers for obtaining upgraded nylon fibers. An upgraded nylon fiber, derived from an existing nylon fiber by the method. A nylon fiber reinforced hardened cementitious composite comprising a hardened cementitious matrix, the cementitious matrix including staples of textile or non-textile (technical) upgraded nylon fibers. In both cases the fibers are preferably upgraded using the method. A method for manufacturing a nylon fiber reinforced hardened cementitious composite. The method comprising the steps of (a) preparing a mix including a cementitious material, staples of upgraded nylon fibers and/or textile nylon fibers and an activating material (e.g., water) for activating said cementitious material to form a hardened cementitious matrix; (b) placing the mix; and (c) allowing the mix to harden.

The present invention relates to upgraded nylon fibers and to reinforced cementitious composites including same. More particularly the present invention relates to the use of non-aromatic polyamide (nylon) fibers or filaments (both are referred herein as fibers) in the production of cementitious composites, such as, but not limited to, types of concretes, shotcretes, mortars and the like. Most particularly the present invention relates to a method of upgrading the strength and durability of nylon fibers, such as textile nylon fibers, to render same suitable for use in reinforcing the cementitious matrix of cementitious composites, such as concrete.
As is well known in the art, cementitious composites, such as concrete, are prone to self induced cracking, as such composites are brittle by nature. Self induced cracks readily propagate through concrete under relatively low stresses. Thus, concrete fails in tension by progressive crack development.
The concrete's actual low tensile strength is explained by the presence of flaws (microcracks and cracks) that propagate into bigger cracks under tension. To increase the concrete durability, it is, therefore, important to minimize the presence of microcracks and cracks that are distributed therein, which weakens the concrete and reduces its durability.
When a mix of concrete, or any other mix of a cementitious composite, is placed (e.g., poured, molded, layered, sprayed, etc.), the solids, e.g., aggregates, fines and cement, therein begin to settle downward due to gravity. As the solids sink, water is displaced and forced to the surface as bleedwater. Plastic shrinkage cracking of the concrete occurs when the rate of water evaporation exceeds the rate of water displacement. Shrinkage stresses associated with early volume change account for the majority of all non-structural cracks in concrete. As mentioned above, these cracks, which are formed while the concrete mix settles, affect the strength and durability of the concrete during service. Therefore, in the common practice, concrete products are watered and cooled while hardening. However, as watering concrete products while hardening does not completely eliminate microcracks and cracks formation and calls for special care, the search for concrete additives which reduce cracks formation has begun.
The use of nylon fibers in the reinforcement of concrete is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,961. This patent discloses the use of discrete fibers to form a blast resistance concrete. Other related publications include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,456,752; 5,399,195; 4,693,749; 4,902,347; and U.S. Pat. No. 1479618.
The presence of nylon fibers in a concrete mix alter the process of solids settlement and water bleeding, and therefore reduce the internal tensile stresses that lead to plastic shrinkage cracking during the early volume changes of the concrete while hardening. The stress induced microcracks that do start to form are bridged and intersected by the millions of evenly distributed fibers present in the cementitious matrix, and cracks propagation is therefore halted.
Thus, nylon fibers assist in the prevention of microcracks during settling of concrete, which microcracks form flaws which, long after settling and during service, tend to develop into bigger cracks and fractions, which weaken the concrete and reduce its durability. Nevertheless, it is important to ensure that the fibers, which constitute part of the total volume of the cementitious matrix of the concrete, will not be deteriorated during service, since the loss of internal volume strength and substance will weaken the whole concrete matrix. Thus, the requirements from nylon fibers used in concrete reinforcement are (i) efficiency in reducing microcracks formation during settling and (ii) high durability, i.e., prolonged service before deteriorating.
A substantial growth in the use of technical nylon fibers for concrete and cement reinforcement has taken place since the first trials in using nylon fibers for concrete reinforcement. Both nylon 6.6 (e.g., Du Pont Type 663 and Type 665, both are distributed by Kapejo Inc.) and nylon 6 (e.g., Alliedsignal Caprolan-RC, distributed by Nycon Inc.) prepared having technical nylon properties, are used in the art of concrete production as typical concrete secondary reinforcing fibers, aimed at combating the cracking of the concrete during the early plastic stages of its settling. The term "secondary reinforcement" is commonly used in the art of concrete production to indicate a reinforcement directed at prevention or reducing cracks associated with concrete settling.
Technical nylon fibers were the fibers of choice, as compared to textile nylon fibers, due to their higher modulus and tenacity and lower elongation. These features of technical fibers render them more suitable for concrete reinforcement and, in fact, teach away the use of textile fibers to achieve same.
Further disadvantages of textile fibers include (i) their sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation due to the presence of delustrants, typically in the form of titanium dioxide grains, which are used in textile nylon fibers to provide the fibers with a darker appearance, yet are never used in technical nylon fibers; and (ii) their high surface area to volume ratio, higher permeability due to their open and more amorphous structure and the lack of stabilizers, all increases their hydrolysis rate in the presence of high pH values, as is the case in a wet concrete mix and in a concrete product exposed to even moderate humidity levels. Therefore, textile nylon fibers were never attempted as a concrete additive.
The term "textile nylon fibers" as used in the art of nylon production and herein refers to those fibers which are typically used to form yarns for the textile industry. Such fibers, although made of an identical material differ from technical nylon fibers in many physical properties, especially thickness and strength. This is due to their intended use and the specific manufacturing procedures employed while producing textile and technical nylon fibers.
Table 1 below compares between some physical parameters of textile and technical nylon fibers, wherein the numbers in brackets indicate the typical value.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Technical nylon Parameter Textile nylon fibers fibers ______________________________________ Thickness 1-15 (3) Denier 5-20 (7) Denier Modulus 25-40 (35) gram/Denier 40-70 (55) gram/Denier Bending modulus low high Tenacity 3-5 (4) gram/Denier 7-11 (8) gram/Denier Elongation 35-45 (40) % *10-20 (15)% Crimp present in some fibers absent Draw ratio 3-4 (3.5) X 5-8 (6) X during manufacture Relative Viscosity* 35-45 (35) 60-100 (80) Other additives** delustrant (titanium dioxide) UV stabilizers such as Mn salts; Thermal stabilizers, such as CuI.sub.2, KI and KBr; and Anti oxidants, such as phosphorous, amino and phenolic compounds ______________________________________ *when the fibers are dissolved in 90% formic acid to form a 8.4% solution by weight, which viscosity is indicative to the number averaged molecular weight of the fibers, according to the standard convention. **added to the polymer mix before the formation of fibers during the manufacturing process.
It will, however, be appreciated that should the textile nylon fibers be modified to have higher modulus and tenacity, lower elongation, and UV and high pH resistance, such fibers will become highly suitable as a concrete reinforcement additive, since (i) their high surface area to volume ratio and therefore high specific hydrophilicity will allow them to form tighter chemical interactions with the cementitious matrix of the concrete during settling and, therefore, such fibers will function better in microcracks prevention during the settling stages; (ii) their high surface area to volume ratio and hydrophilicity provides such fibers with better water retention capabilities, which will reduce segregation and water bleeding; (iii) their crimpness (if present) will improve the trixothrophy and flow properties of the wet cementitious matrix, which may find uses in some applications, especially in shotcretes, mortars and grouts; (iv) their low thickness will ensure their higher abundance (number per volume) and will, therefore, bring about better mechanical interactions with the microcracks and, as a result, will provide better cracks prevention performances during settling and therefore better reinforcement during service; and finally (v) due to their lower bending modulus, they will not tend to protrude from the surface of the cementitious composite, as fibers having higher bending modulus such as technical fibers tend to do, and, as such, they will be less prone to harmful environmental conditions (ultraviolet radiation, humidity, heat, etc.) and will bring about better results in some concrete finishing procedures (e.g., Helicopter treatment to smoothen concrete surfaces), wherein the presence of a "beard" is limiting, as the protruding fibers tend to entangle and form small balls.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a method to acquire existing textile nylon fibers the required properties and using same for cementitious composites reinforcement. The present invention improves the stability and durability of nylon fibers when used for concrete reinforcement through chemical and thermo mechanical treatments. The mechanical properties of non technical nylon fibers treated according to the teachings of the present invention are improved, as they are strengthened. The nylon fibers of the present invention are superior to any existing fibers of their type in terms of concrete environmental and service stability. The present invention, therefore, facilitates the upgrading of existing standard and low quality nylon fibers rendering same applicable in cementitious composites secondary reinforcement. Thus, upgraded nylon fibers are provided by the present invention for use as superior fibers for secondary reinforcement of concrete and other cementitious composites. The textile nylon fibers according to the present invention are used in the reinforcement of concrete as an alternative to the prior art wire mesh, polypropylene fibers and technical nylon fibers, and are successful in inhibiting shrinkage cracking, increasing impact capacity, reducing permeability, adding shatter resistance and reducing construction time.

Method of upgrading existing nylon fibers and use of same for reinforcement of cementitious composites


A method of removing photoresist is provided. In the whole process of removing the photoresist, plasma is not used. Instead, a first solution is used in a first removal step to remove a photoresist layer. Then, a second solution is used in a second removal step to completely remove the photoresist layer. The first solution and the second solution have different polarities, and the polarity of the first solution is large than that of the second solution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photolithographic process, and more particularly, to a method of removing photoresist and a photoresist rework method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photoresist is an indispensable material for a photolithographic process and is also one of the most critical factors in semiconductor technology. In a photolithographic process, a pattern on a mask is transferred to a photoresist layer which has different dissolution rates to a chemical solution before and after an exposure process. The mask formed by the photoresist should be removed after a subsequent process, such as a dry etch process, a wet etch process, or an ion implantation process is performed. Accordingly, the following process after the removal process will not be affected. Thus, how to fast clean photoresist without leaving residue and to reduce the manufacturing costs has become an essential research topic in the semiconductor industry.
For the time being, the method of removing photoresist comprises the dry photoresist removal method by using plasma to strip photoresist. In this method, oxygen plasma reacts with photoresist to generate carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and water; then they are pumped out by a vacuum system. The dry photoresist removal method has been widely applied to the present process. In order to completely remove photoresist, a wet photoresist removal method may further be carried out after the dry photoresist removal method to remove ash and other particles left by the plasma reaction. Traditionally, the wet photoresist removal method uses organic solution to destroy the structure of the photoresist so that the photoresist dissolves in the organic solution and is removed.
Most of the traditional photoresist removal methods are performed in areas that are separate from the general photolithography area. The photoresist removal step cannot be immediately performed in such process as wafers should be transferred to the photoresist-removal area for processing. The process to perform these steps in different areas is troublesome and affects the manufacturing throughput.
In another aspect, if defects are found before the photolithographic processes such as photoresist coating, exposure, baking or development, ultraviolet curing or plasma bombardment, rework is required to remove photoresist in order to avoid any impacts of the subsequent processes. However, the present semiconductor process requires transferring the defective wafers to the photoresist-removal areas for reworking process before the photoresist removal process is performed. Since the rework can not be directly carried out in a manufacturing process, the method is very time consuming and costly.

Method of removing photoresist and photoresist rework method


The invention relates to expression profiles of HIV-specific T-cells and their methods of use, including but not limited to treatment of HIV, increasing T-cell function and/or survival in HIV infected subjects, monitoring HIV disease progression and classifying HIV infected subjects as controllers or chronic progressors.

Functional impairment of antigen-specific T cells is a defining characteristic of chronic infections in humans but the molecular mechanisms underlying this T-cell dysfunction are not well understood1. In contrast to the T cell response in acute infections, CD8+ T cells in chronic infection develop a range of functional defects that include the loss of IL2 secretion and proliferative potential2,3. Because cytokine secretion and proliferation are essential for effective control of viral replication, these defects—collectively referred to as T cell exhaustion—play a central role in the immunological failure to clear chronic viral pathogens such as HIV, HCV and HBV1.
HIV infection provides a paradigm of T cell dysfunction in humans. The majority of individuals infected with HIV show elevation of viral load in the absence of anti-viral therapy (hereafter, "chronic progressors") associated with defects in HIV-specific T cell cytokine secretion, proliferation and survival12,13. In contrast, spontaneous control of viral replication has been documented for a small minority of individuals ('controllers')11.
BATF is a highly conserved member of the AP-1/ATF family, a group of transcription factors that regulate many aspects of cellular function in the immune system, including cytokine secretion and proliferation30. BATF antagonizes AP-1 function by dimerizing to Jun, disrupting the active Jun:Fos complex of AP-1, and reducing expression of AP-1 target genes20,24,31. Consistent with this, enforced expression of BATF in T cells inhibited the secretion of IL2, an AP-1 dependent gene, but not IFNγ which is not primarily regulated by AP-1.
Schraml et al. have found BATF to be required for Th17 differentiation in CD4+ T cells33.

Biomarkers to identify HIV-specific T-cell subsets


In one aspect, use of 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-3-acetylglycerol (PLAG) for treating or preventing acute radiation syndrome is provided.

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) is a disease that occurs when a large part of the human body is exposed to radiation; it is a fatal disease that ultimately leads to death by destroying immune, hematopoietic, neurologic and/or gastrointestinal systems. Nuclear explosion and nuclear accident may cause a radiation exposure that can cause the acute radiation syndrome.
A main treatment for patients exposed to radiation is to prevent and manage infection. Clinically, adjuvant therapies such as cytokines, antibiotic administration, and blood transfusions are performed in the early stage after the radiation exposure, and when the duration of neutropenia in patients is prolonged, risk of secondary infection also increases.
It thus would be desirable to have new therapies for acute radiation syndrome.

Compositions for prevention or treatment of acute radiation syndrome and other radiation exposure


Obtains the position of each of points composing the contour of a specific tissue shown in ultrasonic image data having been acquired at each time phase by pattern matching for each time phase. Obtains motion information of each of parts composing the specific tissue based on the position of each of the points composing the contour. For each time phase, obtain the differential value of the motion information of each of the parts by differentiating the motion information of each of the parts by time, and normalizes the differential value of the motion information. Assigns a color corresponding to the magnitude of the normalized differential value of the motion information to each of the parts displays an ultrasonic image at each time phase and furthermore display each of the parts of the specific tissue shown in the ultrasonic image of each time phase in the assign color.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic image processing apparatus configured to obtain the motion state of a subject by using an ultrasonic image of the subject acquired with ultrasonic waves, and a method for processing an ultrasonic image.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is extremely important to objectively and quantitatively evaluate the functions of living body tissues such as the myocardium of a heart, for diagnosis of the living tissues. A quantitative evaluation method based on image data of a heart acquired using an ultrasonic imaging apparatus has been proposed.
For example, a method of obtaining motion information such as displacement and strain of a tissue by tracking the speckle pattern of images has been proposed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-175041). This method, in which pattern matching is performed by using the speckle pattern of images, is referred to as Speckle Tracking (ST). Hereinafter, this method may be referred to as the ST method.
For specific example, in the case of evaluation of the myocardium of a heart, tomographic image data is acquired for each cardiac phase by transmitting ultrasonic waves to the heart. Then, by performing pattern matching by speckle tracking, it is possible to obtain the displacement of the endocardium and the displacement of the epicardium for each cardiac phase.
Then, it is possible to obtain the strain of the myocardium at each time phase based on the displacement of the endocardium and the displacement of the epicardium at each cardiac phase, and furthermore, it is possible to obtain the strain rate indicating the temporal change rate of strain.
This strain rate is a value corresponding to the speed of the heart during expansion. A higher strain rate indicates that a diastolic function is normal. Therefore, the strain rate is used as one index for evaluation of a diastolic function. As described above, evaluation of a heart is performed by obtaining wall-motion information such as displacement, strain and strain rate. Further, it is possible to perform evaluation of a heart by obtaining information such as rotation and twist of the myocardium as wall-motion information.
However, even if the heart is healthy, there may be variations in absolute value of strain depending on cardiac phases. In this case, the variations also affect the strain rate obtained from the strain. Likewise, there may be variations in absolute value of rotation or twist of the myocardium. Therefore, it has been difficult to appropriately evaluate the diastolic function of each part of the myocardium by an evaluation method using the absolute values of wall-motion information such as strain rate.

Ultrasonic image processing apparatus and method for processing ultrasonic image


A displacement measuring instrument (1) has a spindle (25) penetrating a gauge body (11) to be slidably supported relative to the gauge body (11) to be displaced and a lifting lever (20) manipulated from the outside for forcibly shifting the spindle. A lever support (30) supporting an end opposite to a drive end (20A) of the lifting lever (20) that is in contact with the spindle (25) is supported by engaging a dovetail groove thereon with a projection of an engaging member (35) formed on the outer circumference of the gauge body (11).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a displacement measuring instrument, which specifically relates to a displacement measuring instrument having a spindle capable of being manually operated by a lifting lever.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, dial gauges for measuring a thickness of a workpiece by a spindle being manually operated by a lifting lever to measure the displacement thereof have been known (see Japanese Utility Model Publication of Registration No. 3065835, for instance).
As shown in FIG. 6, a dial gauge 40 of the above publication has an upper holder 55A provided on a slidable measurement rod 55 penetrating a center of a display 41. On the other hand, a grip 45 is attached to a side of the display 41 and a lower holder 46 is provided on a holding groove 45A of the grip 45, the lower holder 46 and the upper holder 55A sandwiching a workpiece to measure the thickness of the workpiece.
An end of the measurement rod 55 is in the holding groove 45A and an elastic member 56 is provided between the upper holder 55A and the grip 45 on an end of the measurement rod 55.
A pressing member 50 extending from the display 41 is provided on a side of the display. A part of the pressing member 50 extends from a predetermined opening 41A formed on the side of the display 41 toward the inside of the display to be connected with the measurement rod 55, so that, when the pressing member 50 is pressed, the measurement rod 55 is slid in a direction for the upper holder 55A to move away from the lower holder 46 and, when the pressing member 50 is released, the measurement rod 55 returns to the rest position thereof by the elastic member 56, to press the upper holder 55A onto the surface of the lower holder 46.
In the thickness-measuring dial gauge 40 of the above publication, in order for the pressing member 50 to extend from the side of the display 41 with a part thereof being extended and inserted to the inside of the display 41 and to turn the pressing member 50 within a predetermined range, the opening 41A formed on the side of the display 41 is elongated.
Accordingly, minute dusts and the like enter from the opening 41A into the inside of the display 41, which may undesirably affect on precise measurement. The above problem is caused because the pressing member 50 and the measurement rod 55 are connected inside the display 41.
In order to overcome the above problem, another structure such as a dial gauge 60 shown in FIG. 7 may be proposed. In the dial gauge 60, a measurement rod (spindle) 65 and a pressing member (lifting lever) 70 are connected on the outside of a display (gauge body) 61.
Specifically, a penetrating tap 61A is drilled on a side of the gauge body 61. On the other hand, the lifting lever 70 is swingably supported by a lever support 80 around a pivot axis 81. An attachment hole 70A is formed around the pivot axis 81 of the lifting lever 70 and a penetrating hole 80A corresponding to the attachment hole 70A is formed on the bottom side of the lever support 80. The lever support 80 is attached to the gauge body 61 by inserting a screw 76 from the attachment hole 70A of the lifting lever 70 into the penetrating hole 80A of the lever support 80 and screwing the screw 76 to the penetrating tap 61 A of the gauge body 61.
An elongated groove 70B having an open end is formed on an end of the lifting lever 70. A stopper screw 26 having a head 26A and a rib 26B is attached to a manipulation end 65B of the spindle 65. A circular groove 26C is formed between the head 26A and the rib 26B.
The lifting lever 70 and the spindle 65 are engaged by inserting the elongated groove 70B of the lifting lever 70 into the circular groove 26C of the stopper screw 26 attached to the manipulation end 65B of the spindle 65.
However, when the lifting lever 70 is attached through the penetrating tap 61A drilled on a side of the gauge body 61, minute dust may invade therein before screwing the screw 76 into the penetrating tap 61A or cut powders remaining in the penetrating tap 61A and minute dusts etc. generated when the screw 76 is screwed to the penetrating tap 61A may invade in screwing the screw 76, which may cause trouble in precisely measuring a workpiece. Further, a tool and a lot of work are necessary for fixing the lifting lever 70.


A bump manufacturing method may be provided. The bump manufacturing method may include forming a bump on an electrode pad included in a semiconductor device, and controlling a shape of the bump by reflowing the bump formed on the semiconductor device under an oxygen atmosphere.

The present disclosure relates to a bump manufacturing method, and more particularly, to a bump manufacturing method that provides varied shapes of bumps by adjusting a reflow condition.
Semiconductor devices, particularly semiconductor light emitting devices, may be manufactured as packages or modules. Recently, semiconductor devices are being manufactured more frequently as modules for a chip on board (COB) scheme that contains a module directly on a board, as opposed to being manufactured as packages. Accordingly, semiconductor device modules manufactured for the COB scheme may reduce costs for manufacturing the packages, and may improve heat radiation by reducing a heat transfer path.
A technology has been developed that manufactures the semiconductor device modules as flip chip on module (FCOM) that contains a semiconductor device on a module board in a form of a flip chip. Accordingly, when semiconductor device modules are manufactured for the COB scheme, the semiconductor device modules may be manufactured as FCOM and thus, wire-bonding may not be used to provide an electrical connection between the semiconductor device and the module board. The FCOM may include a semiconductor device based on a flip chip scheme and thus, the semiconductor device may be densely mounted on the module board, and a size of the module may be reduced.
To embody the FCOM, a process that forms a bump on an electrode pad included in the semiconductor device may be used. The bump forming process may be performed, for example, based on a plating scheme or a screen-printing scheme.
The plating scheme may form bumps at fine pitches, and may manufacture varied sizes of bumps. However, as manufacturing costs are high, a price competitiveness of the semiconductor device module may be adversely affected.
Conversely, although the screen-printing scheme has a simple manufacturing process and relatively lower manufacturing costs, the screen-printing scheme may have difficulty in providing fine pitches among the bumps. However, the screen-printing scheme may be appropriate for a light emitting device that does not need the fine pitches among bumps. When bumps are formed based on the screen-printing scheme, a semiconductor device on which the bumps are formed may be reflowed.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional shape of a bump 12 that is reflowed through a reflow process.
Referring to FIG. 1, the bump 12 may be spread over a whole electrode pad 11 included in a semiconductor device 10, through a reflow process, and a surface of the bump becomes curved as a surface energy decreases. For example, a shape of a bonded surface of the bump 12 may be determined based on the electrode pad 11, and the bump 12 may have a convex surface.
A shape of the bump 12 may vary based on a product to which the semiconductor device 10 is to be applied. To change the shape of the bump 12 of FIG. 1 to a globular shape, the electrode 11 may be manufactured in a circular shape. However, in this instance, it is still difficult to manufacture the bump 12 in a complete globular shape.
Therefore, to change the shape of the bump 12 to a globular shape, an additional process or device for modifying the shape of the bump 12 during the reflow process may be needed.

Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do


A suction device (11) for a hammer drill (6) has a first end (12) with a securing device (14) for securing the suction device (11) to the hammer drill (6) and a second end (13) opposite first end (12) and which has a contact area (15) with which the suction device (11) contacts a constructional component, the suction device (11) further having a receiving space (20) which at least partially encloses a working tool (7) of the pick power tool (6), and being provided with a connection device (18) for a vacuum source. A retaining element (21) having a through-opening (22) for the working tool (7) and a plurality of suction openings (23) is provided in an area (19) of the second end (13).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a suction device for a pick power tool including a suction device for a pick power tool, comprising a receiving space which at least partially encloses a working tool of the pick power tool, a securing device provided at a first end of the suction device for securing the suction device to the pick power tool, a contact area provided at a second end of the suction device opposite the first end for contacting a constructional component, a connection device for a vacuum source.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a mineral constructional component such as, for example, a concrete wall or concrete floor is worked by a working tool of a pick power tool such as a drill hammer, combi-hammer or chisel hammer, pieces of the broken material and dust occur. The dust particles, in particular, lead to a contamination of the environment, e.g., of interior spaces of a building, and impede the work of the user.
For this reason, DE 81 19 612 U proposes a suction device for an electric hand-held drilling power tool which has a first end and has a second end which is arranged opposite from the first end. The suction device has a receiving space which at least partially encloses the working tool of the power tool. A securing device for securing the suction device to the power tool is provided at the first end of the suction device. At the second end of the suction device, the suction device has a contact area with which the suction device contacts a constructional component. Further, the suction device has a flexible portion whose longitudinal extension may be reduced parallel to the longitudinal extension of the working tool. In addition, this suction device is provided with a connection device for a vacuum source.
In order to work the constructional component, the contact area of the suction device is brought into contact with the constructional component and the dust brought about by drilling as well as pieces of the drilled material are aspirated by the vacuum source, e.g., in the form of an industrial vacuum cleaner. The flexible portion ensures that the suction device contacts the constructional component even when the working process is underway and the working tool has penetrated into the constructional component.
A drawback in the known solution consists in that larger pieces of the broken material are also aspirated, dependent on the suction flow generated by the vacuum source, and a suction channel created by the connection device and the suction line to the vacuum source can be clogged. In combi-hammers or chisel hammers which have, e.g., a pointed chisel as a working tool, many pieces of the broken material in various sizes also occur in addition to the dust particles to be removed.
It is the object of the invention to provide a suction device which substantially avoids loading the environment with dust during the working of the constructional component and in which the suction lines are not clogged.


An information processing apparatus includes: an information obtaining unit for obtaining information on intellectual property from a user terminal operable by a user where the information is entered through the user terminal; a determining unit for determining a possibility for obtaining a right related to the intellectual property based on the obtained information; a determination providing unit for providing the determined possibility to the user terminal; an amendment information generating unit for generating amendment information for the obtained information based on the determined possibility; an information storing unit for storing the obtained information in a user area associated with the user; and an information providing unit for providing the stored information in a browsable manner.

Apparatuses for evaluating inventions before filing applications have been developed. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-224984 (JP 2010-224984 A) discloses a patent description evaluation/preparation work support apparatus that stores information on intellectual property, and evaluates and supports preparation of an application document before filing an application. The patent description evaluation/preparation work support apparatus disclosed in JP 2010-224984 A stores information on a published patent gazette including a notification of reasons of rejections, and performs a similarity search of an application document before filing the application on the stored information to predict a description of a notification of reasons of rejections expected to be issued.
Further, an engineer (inventor) who has created an invention in research and development may perform a prior art search to check whether the invention created by herself/himself obtains a right on intellectual property such as a patent right. In the prior art search, for example, in a database in which prior art may be searched, a keyword indicating the feature of the invention created by herself/himself is entered and the prior art searched to check whether similar prior art is present. This allows the engineer to check the possibility of obtaining the right with respect to the created invention from the result of the prior art search and consider applicability of the patent application. When the engineer creates a plurality of inventions in daily research and development, the engineer performs a prior art search on the invention each time she/he creates the invention. This allows her/him to check the possibility of obtaining the right for each invention.
However, in projects such as continuing research and development, multiple intellectual property such as related inventions are created, and new intellectual property may be created by adding new creative parts to the related intellectual property created in the past or amending, as a conversion, the related intellectual property created in the past. The prior art searches in which the possibility of obtaining the right in the intellectual property is searched may be similar to each other in the related intellectual property. For example, when documents relating to the intellectual property created in the past or documents in search results of the prior art search are stored, it may take time and effort to search the stored documents. In this case, it may be difficult to determine the possibility of obtaining the right of the newly created intellectual property by referring to the prior art search performed in the past, and create new intellectual property by modifying the intellectual property created in the past.
It could therefore be helpful to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program that easily determines the possibility of obtaining the right of the created intellectual property and facilitating the creation of new intellectual property.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program


Provided is that detection of a start byte of an access unit of media data can be performed fast and easily from a layer of a transmission packet. A transmission stream is transmitted in which a transmission packet is contiguously arranged having a multiplexed transport packet including the media data in an upper layer. Identification information is inserted for identifying whether or not a start byte of an access unit of the media data exists in the transmission packet, into the header of the transmission packet.

In a case in which a service stream is provided on an IP packet, there may be a case in which a capsule layer is provided as an interface between a physical layer for performing modulation of a transmission line and an IP packet layer for packetizing data (see Patent Document 1, for example). Conventionally, as information contained by the capsule layer, data and file download, in which there is no restriction of time management, has been regarded to be adequate.

Transmission device to transmit a transmission stream in which a transmission packet is contiguously arranged