The present invention relates to a method for testing a chip, particularly to a method for testing chip configuration settings, essentially installing the chip on a main board after the chip fabrication is finished. The test comprises starting power first of all, a power on self test being performed by the system; loading a BIOS program, wherein the BIOS program includes a configuration test process; testing the configuration settings of the chip by the configuration test process; inputting test data in turn; then enabling registers corresponding to the chip configuration space depending on the test data, for starting the chip operation; obtaining the data, produced by the chip operation, to be compared with an expected result, in order for performing the verification of chip configuration settings at the final stage before the actual chip operation is started, so as to speed the development and modification for the chip.

Recently, the high development in information related industry and the trend in pursuit of speed, a variety of electronic and information products have been presented, and the existing products have also been reconditioned or renewed, for dazzling men. For the industry, it is unavoidable to perform various tests on samples with different specifications to verify whether the operation of the design is correct or not. Therefore, the quality control and test for several products has become a significant issue in industry.
In the past, the development process, from design, through manufacture, and up to verification, for a new type of product performed by chip designers and manufactures is essentially shown as FIG. 1. First, the design for the chip is completed 101. The completed chip design is then tested under the simulation environment to check whether the chip design will react properly on various commands 103. Only after having been confirmed, is engineering sample production for the chip 105 allowed. After fabrication of the chip, for the purpose of performance testing, it is then necessary to prepare a corresponding main board for supporting the chip 107, to assemble a computer including the chip therein 109, install the operating system of the computer and software used for testing 111, and finally to perform an on-board test and analysis for the chip 113. The chip may be put into market formally in the event of passing the test; otherwise, a modification to the chip design is necessary.
In general, most errors in the logical circuit of the product design may be found and then corrected after the simulation verification process and a series of tests in the process 101, have been completed. However, with the chip installed on the main board, there are possibly still some potential errors that may occur at the regular operation, such as a wrong setting with respect to the configuration space, and the like, etc.
In the conventional art, the completed chip is first installed on the main board and the power on self test (POST) runs. Subsequently, the basic input/output system (BIOS) is loaded and then the chip is initialized. After the data and initial values of the chip setting in the chip configuration space have been read, the operating system is loaded for normal start.
During the aforementioned start process, the chip is initialized without verifying its configuration settings. At this moment, the operation of the chip may be different from the presetting target, resulting in abnormal operation, in the event of that wrong configuration setting of the chip occurs.
Moreover, the initial values may be set under the assumption that the configuration space settings of the chip are correct. It is hard to trace the source problem once the chip experiences problem due to the wrong configuration setting. As a result, repeated and complex precision testing is necessary for finding out where the key problem is. Therefore, a waste of time and labor, increased manufacturing cost, reduced product competition, and resistance for the development of new generation products may be encountered.
Thus, what is desired by users and intended to be solved by the present invention for a long time is proposing a novel solution, designing a test method with high efficiency for not only testing the configuration setting of the chip, but also testing before the chip is placed on the main board for operating actually, in order to examine the actual operation of the chip, aiming at the disadvantages in the manufacture and test process for the aforementioned conventional chip. Actual experiences, in related research, development, and sale, in the information industry are the basis of the present invention for the improvement. With several designs, studies, samples, and improvements, a method for testing chip configuration settings is thus invented for solving above problems.

Method for testing chip configuration settings


A terahertz scanning reflectometer is described herein. A high sensitivity terahertz scanning reflectometer is used to measure dynamic surface deformation and delamination characteristics in real-time. A number of crucial parameters can be extracted from the reflectance measurements such as dynamic deformation, propagation velocity, and final relaxation position. A terahertz reflectometer and spectrometer are used to determine the permeation kinetics and concentration profile of active ingredients in stratum corneum.

The recently accessible terahertz (THz) portion of the electromagnetic spectra, also known as T-ray spectra, has a wide potential to be employed in materials, medical, biomedical, and biological studies and characterization.
Ballistic characterization of improved materials for Soldier personal protective equipment is an ever challenging task, requiring precise measurement of materials during ballistic impact. Current dynamic deformation technologies, such as high speed digital image correlation (DIC), and laser velocimetry and vibrometry, are only able to provide surface measurements. However, there is a need to measure the dynamic delamination and mass loss of composite material, allowing calculation of available kinetic energy contributing to the trauma in non-lethal cases. Further, characterization of diffusion kinetics and depth profiling of permeating analytes is also important for basic studies of transdermal drug delivery and diagnostics.
Terahertz spectrometry is an emerging novel technique that has great potential in diagnosis of certain disease conditions as well as in the analysis of actives in certain biological tissues. Broadband terahertz technology utilizes frequencies from ˜100 GHz to over 30 THz that can be used to obtain tomographic information on the tissue surface and its interior, as well as interaction of the actives with tissue.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Method and apparatus for transcutaneously pacing the heart with background stimuli occurring in the intervals between pacing stimuli to reduce patient discomfort during pacing, and including electrodes therefor.

This invention relates to electrically pacing the heart transcutaneously.
During transcutaneous, or external, electrical pacing of a patient's heart, electrical stimuli travel from the pacing apparatus' electrodes to the heart through the patient's skin and skeletal thorax muscles to stimulate the heart. Depending on the magnitude of the stimuli and the characteristics of a particular patient's skeletal muscles, the skeletal muscles may contract in response to the passage of the electrical stimuli through them. Similarly, the passage of the electrical pacing stimuli through the patient's skin may stimulate cutaneous nerves and muscles located near to the skin. This nerve stimulation and skeletal muscle contraction may feel uncomfortable to the patient, or even become painful enough to result in the patient's intolerance of extended transcutaneous heart pacing.
It has been shown (U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,030) that the skeletal muscle contractions and cutaneous nerve stimulation associated with conventional transcutaneous heart pacing may be reduced by lengthening the duration of electrical pacing stimuli to greater than five milliseconds.

Electrodes and method for transcutaneous cardiac pacing


The present disclosure generally relates to exploring a geographic region that is displayed in computer user interfaces. In some embodiments, a method includes at an electronic device with a display and one or more input devices, displaying a map of a geographic region on the display and detecting a first user input to select a starting location on the map. After detecting the first user input, the method includes detecting a second user input to select a first direction of navigation from the starting location. In response to detecting the second user input, the method includes determining a path on the map that traverses in the first direction of navigation and connects the starting location to an ending location, and providing audio that includes traversal information about traversing along the path in the geographic region in the first direction of navigation and from the starting location to the ending location.

Certain applications that run on electronic devices provide user interfaces that display digital maps or other types of representations of cities, states, countries, or other geographic regions. For example, a user will, in some circumstances, interact with user interfaces of a map-based application to view digital maps of a geographic region. The user will, in some circumstances, search for a location of the geographic region, directions from a starting location to an ending location, or a point of interest in the geographic region.
Exemplary user interface hierarchies include groups of related user interfaces used for: organizing files and applications; storing and/or displaying digital images, editable documents (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation documents), and/or non-editable documents (e.g., secured files and/or .pdf documents); recording and/or playing video and/or music; text-based communication (e.g., e-mail, texts, tweets, and social networking); voice and/or video communication (e.g., phone calls and video conferencing); and web browsing. A user will, in some circumstances, need to perform such user interface navigations within or between a file management program (e.g., Finder from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), an image management application (e.g., Photos from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a digital content (e.g., videos and music) management application (e.g., iTunes from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a drawing application, a presentation application (e.g., Keynote from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a word processing application (e.g., Pages from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), or a spreadsheet application (e.g., Numbers from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.).
But methods for performing these navigations and animating the transition between related user interfaces in a user interface hierarchy are cumbersome and inefficient. In addition, these methods take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.
Additionally, abrupt transitions between different user interfaces can be distracting and jarring for users, reducing the efficiency and enjoyment of the user when using the device.
As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of data available from specific and legitimate sources to improve exploration of an area by visually impaired users. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to identify a specific person. Such personal information data can include demographic data, location-based data, online identifiers, telephone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, data or records relating to a user's health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other personal information.
The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information data can be used to deliver targeted content that may be of greater interest to the user in accordance with their preferences. Accordingly, use of such personal information data enables users to have greater control of the delivered content. Further, other uses for personal information data that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. For instance, data of the user's previous routes data be used, in accordance with the user's preferences to plan current and future routes.
The present disclosure contemplates that those entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities would be expected to implement and consistently apply privacy practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. Such information regarding the use of personal data should be prominent and easily accessible by users, and should be updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate uses only. Further, such collection/sharing should occur only after receiving the consent of the users or other legitimate basis specified in applicable law. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted for the particular types of personal information data being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations that may serve to impose a higher standard. For instance, in the US, collection of or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly.
Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, such as in the case of exploring a geographic region, the present technology can be configured to allow users to select to "opt in" or "opt out" of participation in the collection of personal information data while the user is exploring a geographic region or anytime thereafter. In another example, users can select not to provide data associated with the user's current location, route, or traveling preferences. In yet another example, users can select to limit the amount of shared data, such as only sharing the user's current location, only sharing the user's current route, as well as other limiting features that limit the amount of information shared by the user. In addition to providing "opt in" and "opt out" options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notified upon downloading an app that their personal information data will be accessed and then reminded again just before personal information data is accessed by the app.
Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect a user's privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing identifiers, controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location data at city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or other methods such as differential privacy.
Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use of personal information data to implement one or more various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing such personal information data. That is, the various embodiments of the present technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. For example, content can be selected and delivered to users based on aggregated non-personal information data or a bare minimum amount of personal information, such as the content being handled only on the user's device or other non-personal information available to the content delivery services.

Systems and methods for exploring a geographic region


The invention relates to the identification and selection of novel biomarkers and the identification and selection of novel biomarker combinations which are differentially expressed in blood and useful in diagnosing schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder as well as monitoring therapeutic efficacy of treatment for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The measurement of expression levels of the products of the biomarkers and combinations of biomarkers of the invention can be used to diagnose schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder. Measurement of the expression level of products of biomarkers of the invention using polynucleotides and proteins which specifically and/or selectively hybridize to the products of the biomarkers of the invention are also encompassed within the scope of the invention as are compositions and kits containing said polynucleotides and proteins. Further encompassed by the invention is the use of the polynucleotides and proteins to monitor the efficacy of therapeutic regimens. The invention also provides for the identification of methods of using the products of the biomarkers of the invention in the identification of novel therapeutic targets of schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder and a method of screening the genes of said biomarkers for additional markers of disease.

Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder characterized primarily by psychotic symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, thought and behaviour, and difficulty expressing emotion. The lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia is about 1% of the population worldwide, with some countries slightly lower and others slightly higher. In the United States, roughly 2,500,000 people are affected by it.
Diagnosis of Schizophrenia
Currently diagnosis of schizophrenia relies solely on the analysis of a person's symptoms. Diagnosis is made from information obtained from physical examination, taking a person's family history and emotional history, as well as a medical evaluation, and a mental status examination. Relying on symptomatic history makes diagnosis of schizophrenia difficult, particularly since no single symptom is definitive for diagnosis. Rather, the diagnosis encompasses a pattern of signs and symptoms, in conjunction with impaired occupational or social functioning. Currently diagnosis includes looking for delusions (false beliefs strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence); visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory or gustatory hallucinations; disorganized speech; disorganized thinking; grossly disorganized thinking and/or catatonic behaviour; negative symptoms, such as emotional deficit, avolition (inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities) and alogia (poverty of speech) are also symptoms of schizophrenia. Continuous signs of the disturbance must persist for at least 6 months. This 6-month period must include at least 1 month of active-phase symptoms (listed above) (or less if successfully treated) and may include periods of prodromal or residual symptoms. During these prodromal or residual periods, the signs of the disturbance may be manifested by only negative symptoms or two or more active-phase symptoms in an attenuated form (e.g., odd beliefs, unusual perceptual experiences).
Diagnosis of schizophrenia is made even harder because it is often difficult to differentiate schizophrenia from other mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and brief psychotic disorder. In addition, diagnosis of schizophrenia is often confused with other organic medical conditions (e.g. encephalitis) or substance conditions (drugs of abuse, such as amphetamines and phencyclidine, or other medications). Although recently brain imaging techniques have been utilized as a tool towards diagnosis, this is costly, is inconvenient to patients, and is not considered very reliable.
Bipolar Disorder:
Bipolar disorder, (also termed manic-depressive disorder), is a mood disorder in which people experience alternating episodes of mania and major depression. Mania is characterized by elation, irritability, excitability, racing thought and speech, and hyperactivity. Major depression is characterized by sadness, withdrawal, despair, and suicidal thoughts. Bipolar disorder affects approximately 3% of people in the United States. The age of onset is usually the late teens or early 20s and there is usually a history of depression. Generally, early treatment means better prognosis.
Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder
Traditional medical diagnostic techniques for diagnosing bipolar disorder include: physical exam and history and mental status exam for presence of bipolar disorder symptoms which include a combination of at least one major depressive episode (a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities consistently for at least a 2 week period which represents a change from the person's normal mood; social, occupational, educational or other important functioning must also be negatively impaired by the change in mood) and one manic episode (a distinct period of persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting throughout at least 4 days, that is clearly different from the usual nondepressed mood). Diagnosis can be difficult because the first episode of mania may go undetected, and an episode of depression does not necessarily predict a subsequent manic episode. Most people are symptom free for months or even years between episodes of depression and mania. In brief, both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are difficult to diagnose due to the complexity of each condition. Moreover, it can be challenging to clinically distinguish these two conditions because of their common clinical characteristics. It often requires a long period of observation of a patient before the definitive diagnosis can be made. Although there are brain-imaging tests available, they are not specific enough. Recently there has been some advancement in analyzing gene expression in brain tissue to identify biomarkers of mental disorders, but one cannot translate this into a simple non invasive diagnostic tool. Blood-based tests for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder would help speed up the diagnostic process and ensure an early administration of the correct therapy. This is particularly important since there are effective therapies available to manage both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and early treatment in many cases means better prognosis and decreases chances of recurrence of future acute episodes.
Thus there is a need for a simple non-invasive diagnostic test for diagnosing an individual as having either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Biomarkers for diagnosing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder


The disclosure is directed to a method of manufacturing a shorting bar insert for placement in a modular jack assembly to provide for the selective shorting of predetermined contacts during periods of nonelectrical engagement, with a modular plug, such as for an 8 position miniature modular jack in accordance with USOC STYLE RJ48X, for example. The method comprises the steps of preparing a strip of stamped contacts from a planar sheet metal blank joined together by a removable carrier strip having a front face and a back face, where the contacts are formed in pairs in parallel relationship and joined together at their ends remote from the carrier strip, the carrier strip including registration means, such as holes, offset from the centerline of each respective pair of contacts. Thereafter, placing a pair of contact containing carrier strips in back-to-back relationship with the registration means aligned, whereby the contacts are realigned in overlapping relationship, and insert molding a dielectric material about the joined ends of the overlapping sets of contacts. Finally, removal of the carrier strips will reveal a modular jack assembly insert having projecting parallel contacts matching the modular jack contact slot spacing.

This invention is directed to a method for the manufacture of a contact shorting bar insert for placement in a modular jack assembly to provide for the selective shorting of predetermined electrical contacts therewithin, i.e. maintain line continuity when no plug is present in the modular jack assembly. A preferred embodiment thereof is in accordance with USOC STYLE DESIGNATION RJ48X, for an 8 position miniature modular jack, which requires shorting between contacts 1 & 4 and 2 & 5. Means to effect shorting of selected contacts in a modular jack assembly are exemplified by the following references.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,393 to Ward et al. teaches the use of a bridging card, inserted within a modular jack housing, to effect selected shorting of predetermined contacts. The card may be a conventional printed circuit board with essentially U-shaped conductors deposited on each major surface thereof, where the ends are aligned with the contacts to be shorted or bridged.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,443 to Goodrich et al. includes a pair of cantilevered switch contact spring members which are activated in response to the insertion of a plug into a modular jack housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,691 to Abernethy et al. is directed to the use of a generally U-shaped metal component that is mounted in the rear wall of the housing with the arms or prongs thereof projecting into the housing cavity into which the plug is inserted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,423 to Swengel, Jr. relates to a programmable shunting strip stamped and formed from sheet metal. The shunting strip comprises a web from which a series of contact fingers stamped to extend transversely of the web substantially in its plane. Selected contact fingers may be bent to extend transversely of the plane of the web for receipt in an electrical connector socket to common selected terminals in the socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,241 to Bertini et al. teaches a system which includes a make/break switching arrangement with the housing, whereupon the plug, insertable therein, includes a camming member which breaks the shorting circuit between selected contacts within the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,854 to Peterson et al. is directed to a shunting system for a modular jack type connector. The system includes a pair of programmable shunts substantially identically stamped and differently formed from sheet metal material for engagement with the contact portions when the two shunts are mounted in different positions in the housing. Selected different ones of the contact fingers of each shunt are removed so that the remaining contact fingers engage only selected ones of the contact portions.
The present invention provides for a simple, yet unique method of manufacturing a shorting bar insert to satisfy the requirement for the selective shorting of contacts within a modular jack assembly. The unique method according to this invention will become apparent from the description which follows, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method for producing contact shorting bar insert for modular jack assembly


An image forming apparatus which eliminates the necessity of carrying out wasteful operations such as retry of a job and therefore improves work efficiency. A print job is carried out to thereby form an image on a recording sheet. When an image abnormality formed on the recording sheet is detected, a controller temporarily suspends the print job. An operating unit displays a screen for prompting a user to input an instruction as to whether to continue the print job. The controller determines whether to continue the print job based on the instruction input by the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that detect an image abnormality formed on a recording sheet, a method of controlling the same and a program for implementing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been image forming apparatuses that have an image abnormality detecting function of detecting the presence or absence of an image abnormality formed on a sheet and automatically stopping the apparatus according to the detection result (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-136818, for example).
With the image abnormality detecting function, an image printed on a sheet by a printing section of a printer apparatus is photoelectrically read by am image reader provided on a sheet conveying path, and the resulting image is expanded in an image memory. A form frame image of a part common to all the pages, which is included in the image expanded in the image memory, is compared with a form frame image as a reference which is stored in advance in a storage device. Based upon the comparison result, an image quality abnormality detecting section detects the presence or absence of an image abnormality in the image quality printed on the sheet. When an image abnormality is detected, printing is stopped.
Thus, with the conventional image abnormality detecting function, the apparatus is automatically stopped when an image abnormality such as skewing of a sheet or density trouble of an image formed is detected. Reference values for use in determining whether or not there is an image abnormality such as skewing of a sheet or density trouble are usually set to values corresponding to a high-quality image. Thus, the possibility that even an image that is not required to have a high quality is determined as being abnormal is increased. In other words, there is the possibility that even an image that can be allowed by a user is determined as being abnormal, and therefore the number of times the apparatus is stopped is increased. As a result, wasteful operations such as retry of a job are required, considerably reducing work efficiency.

Image forming apparatus including image abnormality detection, method of controlling the same, and program for implementing the method


An optical inspection probe, used on a coordinate measuring machine, includes a sensing module having a CCD array and an imaging module releasably mountable thereon. The position of a feature on the surface is measured using the probe by calculating the instant of time at which an image of the feature will pass across a predesignated pixel Q.sub.c of the array. The calculation is performed on the basis of the relative velocity of the probe and the surface as determined from two consecutively scanned image frames of the CCD array. The probe may be used to determine, for example, the position of an edge of a surface by moving the probe laterally with respect to the surface or, may be used to measure the position of a predetermined height of a surface by projecting a light beam onto the surface at an angle to the optical axis and measuring the position of the resulting spot on the surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical probe which in use is mounted on the movable arm of a coordinate positioning machine to enable the machine to determine the position of a surface. More particularly, the invention relates to a non-contact probe which, upon detection of a surface, emits a trigger signal which is sent to the machine control to cause it to record the position of the movable arm at the instant of trigger, thereby to determine the position of the surface.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known to provide a non-contact trigger probe in the form of a video camera which projects an image of a workpiece to be measured onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) array. The CCD array consists of a large number of pixels each of which outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the intensity of light incident thereon. The known video trigger probe emits a trigger signal indicating detection of the edge of a surface when the value of the output signal of a predesignated pixel passes above or below a threshold level. The problem with such a known probe is that the image processing circuitry in the probe sequentially scans each pixel in the CCD array; the time period for a single scan of the entire array being of the order of 20ms. There is therefore a possible time band of 20ms during which the output of the predesignated pixel may have passed the threshold level. The accuracy of a measurement made with this known probe is therefore limited to the speed at which the image processing circuitry may scan the entire CCD array.


A multiple-wavelength laser diode array is described. A wavelength span of several tens of nanometers is achieved through band-filling of a quantum well active region. A multiple-wavelength array is formed by selectively introducing different amounts of optical loss into the array elements, to affect the threshold current density. With minimum losses, the laser oscillates at a long wavelength, while an element with high loss will undergo more bandfilling and be forced to emit at a shorter wavelength. To illustrate the structures which incorporate these additional, selective losses, a 2-red-wavelength AlGaInP laser array is described. In preferred embodiments, increased optical loss is achieved in an SBR type laser by narrowing the ridge region, or by reducing its thickness. In another type of laser, increased optical loss is achieved by a very thin upper cladding layer causing increased optical absorption in a close overlying cap or metal layer.

This invention relates to multiple-wavelength laser diode arrays having quantum well (QW) active regions.
For a laser diode with a quantum well (QW) active region, the wavelength (.lambda.) is dependent upon the threshold current density (.sigma.), as shown in FIG. 1. See for example, Chinn et al., IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, 24, 2191 (1988) whose contents are herein incorporated by reference. Basically, as the threshold gain increases, the threshold carrier density (and therefore the threshold current) must also increase corresponding to greater filling of the states in the conduction band and the valence band. Therefore, at higher carrier densities, the spectral range over which the gain is positive extends out to higher energies. And due to the gain's spectral broadening (associated with intraband carrier scattering), the gain peak shifts with the QW carrier density to higher energy (shorter wavelength). Furthermore, when the bands fill enough so that the n=2 state begins to deliver gain, the gain at the n=2 transition wavelength can be greater than that at the n=1 (ground state) transition wavelength. This is so because the n=1 state provides gain at the (shorter) n=2 transition wavelength, which adds to the gain provided by the n=2 transition.
This bandfilling up to the n=2 state, can then lead to interesting behavior. As the gain peak blue-shifts continuously with higher carrier densities, it can additionally undergo a large and discontinuous blue-shift. Such a large shift is associated with a shift from the n=1 transition to the n=2 transition.
There is an important need in the art for a multiple wavelength laser diode array providing closely-spaced laser-emitting spots but of different wavelengths that can be optically separated, as in the optical system of certain printers. Multiple-element laser diode arrays are being developed for color and highlight-color xerography. For these applications, the emission from individual elements of the array must be easily and entirely separable, for instance through cross-polarizations or different wavelengths. Different schemes have been proposed to achieve such a structure. One such scheme using band-filling is described in Appl. Phys. Lett, 51 (21), Nov. 23, 1987, 1664-1666. In the scheme described in this publication, a graded-index waveguide separate-confinement heterostructure (GRIN SCH) comprises active regions of a single quantum well (QW) of GaAs divided into twin stripes by waveguide sections formed by Zn impurity-induced disordering. The stripes have different widths, and the generated photons spread into the Zn-disordered regions to different degrees. The high concentration of the Zn acceptors and free holes scatters the photons and thus subjects the lasing stripes of different width to different degrees of losses. As explained in the publication, one stripe can thus be caused to lase at the n=1 transition, and due to band filling, the other (narrower) stripe can be caused to lase at the n=2 transition at a shorter wavelength.
Certain disadvantages are experienced with the scheme described in the publication. One disadvantage is that it is not applicable to other kinds of diode laser geometries, such as a selectively buried ridge (SBR) waveguide laser. Secondly, the loss mechanism described for the effect desired is excessive. As noted in the publication, the threshold current for both lasers was excessive. Thirdly, no explanation is given in the publication how to apply the described scheme to a different material system, specifically the AlGaInP system which lases at wavelengths that are particularly desirable for certain printing applications.

Multiple-wavelength laser diode array using quantum well band filling


A method for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) includes performing an echo planar imaging acquisition using inverted up/down phase encoding directions and reconstructing acquired images having geometric distortions along the phase encoding directions due to off-resonant spins; feed-forward estimating by a convolutional neural network (CNN) a phase distortion map from the acquired images; where the CNN is trained to minimize a similarity metric between un-warped up/down image pairs; and performing geometric distortion correction of the acquired images using the phase distortion map to unwarp the acquired images.

In echo planar imaging (EPI), geometric distortions are deviations from rectilinear mapping caused by a combination of local off-resonances, i.e., shim imperfections combined with the relatively low readout bandwidth of an EPI train along the phase encode direction which results in a spatial shift of the reconstructed voxel along that direction. Geometric distortions can lead to errors when registering functional or diffusion-weighted imaging data to an undistorted anatomical scan and limit the applications of EPI (Mansfield, 1977) since they generally require some sort of correction (Jezzard, 2012).
State-of-the-art EPI post-processing software packages typically provide some sort of distortion correction functionality. The widely used topup method (Andersson et al., 2003) is based on the observation that by inverting the phase encoding direction, the direction of the distortions is also inverted. Regions stretched in one direction will be compressed in the other and vice versa. This blip up/down approach estimates the underlying distortion field from a pair of images with inverted phase encoding direction. Employing a series of optimizations with descending spatial resolutions, the method iteratively finds the distortion map that best maps both images onto each other. Processing time and user dependent optimization parameters are the main drawbacks of iterative approaches. More details on the blip up/down approach can be found in (Bowtell et al., 1994; Chang and Fitzpatrick, 1992; Holland et al., 2010; Irfanoglu et al., 2015; Morgan et al., 2004). The main limitation of iterative methods is processing speed. The speed is especially critical if a blip up/down pattern were to be played out for every diffusion direction as required for the joint blip up/down reconstruction suggested in (Zahneisen et al., 2017).

Un-supervised convolutional neural network for distortion map estimation and correction in MRI

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


Catheters, assemblies, and methods for delivering and recovering embolic protection devices. Catheters are provided that can be advanced over single length guide wires and which can be retracted over single length wire shafts of distal embolic protection devices. One catheter is a two-port catheter having two sidewall ports, a distal end port, and a proximal end port. The two-port catheter can be advanced over a guide wire threaded between the distal end port and the distal sidewall port. An embolic protection device wire shaft can be back loaded into the distal end port and out the proximal sidewall port. A three-port catheter includes a distal end port, and distal, intermediate, and proximal sidewall ports. The distal sidewall port can be dimensioned to accept passage of a filter body through the port. The distal end port can be dimensioned to accept only a guide wire to provide a smooth transition from the guide wire to the small profile distal end. The guide wire can extend between the distal end port and the intermediate port while the filter body shaft can extend through the proximal port, to be distally urged through the distal sidewall port. Another catheter embodiment is a slotted catheter, including a biased, normally open slot over most of its length. The slot can be sufficiently small to resist unwanted transverse movement of a wire through the slot. The slotted catheter can be retracted over a wire by forcing the wire through the resilient slot.

Coronary vessels, partially occluded by plaque, may become totally occluded by a thrombus or blood clot causing myocardial infarction, angina and other conditions. A number of medical procedures have been developed to allow for the removal of plaque from vessel walls or to clear a channel through the thrombus or clot to restore blood flow and minimize the risk of myocardial infarction. Carotid, renal, peripheral, and other blood vessels can also be blocked and require treatment. For example, atherectomy or thrombectomy devices can be used to remove atheroma or thrombus. Alternatively, in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), a guide wire and guide catheter are inserted into the femoral artery of a patient near the groin, advanced through the artery, over the aorta, and into a coronary artery. An inflatable balloon is then advanced into the coronary artery, across a stenosis or blockage, and the balloon inflated to dilate the blockage and open a flow channel through the partially blocked vessel region. One or more stents may also be placed across the dilated region or regions. While some stenoses remain in place once dilated and/or stented, others are more brittle, and may partially crack and fragment after the dilation or stent placement, allowing the fragments to flow downstream where they may block more distal and smaller coronary vessels, possibly causing myocardial infarction, from that site. Consequences of embolization include stroke, diminished renal function, and impairment of peripheral circulation possibly leading to pain and amputation.
Saphenous vein grafts are often used to bypass occluded coronary vessels in coronary artery bypass surgery. With time, the grafts can become occluded with grumous. The grumous can also be dilated with balloons or removed in other ways. The grumous can present an even more difficult material to remove than thrombus, as the material is very friable, and likely to break into smaller fragments during the removal procedure.
Distal embolic protection devices have been developed to prevent the downstream travel of materials such as thrombi, grumous, emboli, and plaque fragments. Devices include occlusive devices and filters. Occlusive devices, for example distal inflatable balloon devices, can totally block fluid flow through the vessel. The material trapped by the inflatable devices can remain in place until removed using a method such as aspiration. However, aspiration cannot remove large particles because they won't fit through the aspiration lumen. Also, aspiration is a weak acting force and won't remove a particle unless the tip of the aspirating catheter is very close to the particle to be removed. During the occlusion, the lack of fluid flow can be deleterious. In coronary applications, the lack of perfusing blood flow can cause angina. In carotids, seizure can result from transient blockage of blood flow. In both coronaries and carotids it is not possible to predict who will suffer from angina or seizure due to vessel occlusion. If a procedure is started with an occlusive device, it may be necessary to remove it and start over with a filter device.
Some distal embolic protection devices include filters. Filters can allow perfusing blood flow during the emboli capture process. The filters can be advanced downstream of a site to be treated and expanded to increase the filter area. Emboli, such as grumous or atheroma fragments, can be captured in the filter until the procedure is complete or the filter is occluded. When the capacity of the filter is reached, the filter may then be retracted and replaced.
Distal embolic protection devices can be delivered over guide wires and within guide catheters. The distal embolic protection methods are normally practiced ancillary to another medical procedure, for example PTCA with stenting or atherectomy. The distal embolic protection procedure typically protects downstream regions from emboli resulting from practicing the therapeutic interventional procedure. In the example of PTCA, the treating physician must advance a guide wire over the aorta and into a coronary ostium. Advancing the guide wire through tortuous vessels from a femoral artery approach can be difficult, and vary with both the patient and the vessel site to be treated. Guide wires are typically selected by the treating physician, based on facts specific to the patient and therapeutic situation, and also on the training, experiences, and preferences of the physician. In particular, a physician may have become very efficient in using a specific guide wire to identify the left coronary ostium and then advance a balloon catheter over the positioned guide wire. The efficacy of the procedure may depend on the physician being able to use their favored guide wire.
The distal embolic protection device is preferably delivered using the same, favored guide wire. The phrases "distal embolic protection device" or "embolic protection device" are used herein to refer to embolic protection devices that are occlusive and/or filtering. The terms "distal embolic protection device" and "embolic protection device" are used interchangeably, as either may be used to protect a target site located either proximal to or distal to another treatment site. The term "embolic protection element" may be used generally to include both occlusive and filtering elements disposed near the distal region of a distal protection device shaft.
In the example PTCA procedure, a guide catheter extends proximally from the patient's groin area, and may be about 100 centimeters long, later having a 140 centimeter long guide wire proximal region extending from the guide catheter. The distal embolic protection device delivery catheter, nominally about 130 centimeters in length, can be advanced over the guide wire and within the guide catheter, until a short length of guide wire extends from both the guide catheter and delivery catheter. The guide wire can then be retracted and removed from the patient. In some methods, the distal protection device is then advanced through and out of the positioned delivery catheter, to the target site to be protected or filtered. In other methods, delivery is accomplished by disposing the distal embolic protection filter device within the delivery catheter distal region, and advancing the delivery catheter and embolic protection device together over the guide wire, and deploying the filter by retracting the delivery catheter while maintaining the position of the filter, thus forcing the filter distally out of the delivery catheter.
Advancement of the delivery catheter over a single length, nominally 130 centimeter long guide wire presents a problem. The treating physician can only advance the filter delivery catheter about 20 centimeters over the guide wire until the delivery catheter advances into the patient and the guide wire is inaccessible within the delivery catheter. The guide wire position should be controlled at all times so as to not be dislodged by the advancing delivery catheter from the hard acquired guide wire position within the patient.
One solution to this problem is to use a guide wire at least double the length of the delivery catheter. A 320 or 340 centimeter long guide wire can extend at least about 120 centimeters from the patient's groin, having an accessible region exposed at all phases of delivery catheter placement. However, the added length makes manipulating and rotating the guide wire very difficult for the treating physician. The extra length of the guide wire can be held by additional personnel to prevent the added wire length from falling to the floor, where it would become contaminated. However, not all cardiac catheter laboratories have personnel available to maintain control of the long guide wire. In many labs, the physician is working alone in the sterile field. Advancing a distal embolic protection device delivery catheter over a positioned, favored guide wire would be inherently more efficacious than requiring use of an unfamiliar, disfavored, or double length guide wire to position the delivery catheter.
With the distal filter in place, removal of the delivery catheter over the wire shaft of the distal filter device is ultimately desirable. If a single length, nominally 140 centimeter long, distal filter device shaft is extending about 20 centimeters proximally from the delivery catheter, a problem is presented. Once the delivery catheter is retracted about 20 centimeters, the proximal end of the wire would disappear into the proximal end of the retracting delivery catheter, and control of the distal filter device wire position lost. If the delivery catheter were further retracted, the retraction of the delivery catheter over the wire shaft may pull the distal filter device from its position. Again, a distal protection device having a double length wire shaft can be used. The double length wire shaft allows the delivery catheter to be retracted over the distal filter device shaft while presenting an exposed portion of the wire shaft at all times. As discussed with respect to the double length guide wire, the added length presents problems.
What would be desirable are distal embolic protection device delivery catheters that can be delivered over the single length guide wire favored by the treating physician and retracted over single length wire shafts of distal embolic devices.

Rapid exchange catheters usable with embolic protection devices


A hair care product carrying case is provided including a housing having a base and a pair of side portions each hingably coupled to opposite sides of the base. Also included is a plurality of hair care accessories releasably mounted within the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hair care product organizers and more particularly pertains to a new hair care product organizing and storage system for storing and organizing a plurality of hair care accessories.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of hair care product organizers is known in the prior art. More specifically, hair care product organizers heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art hair care product organizers include U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,532; U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,393; U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,371; U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,931; U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,309; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,038,319.
In these respects, the hair care product organizing and storage system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of storing and organizing a plurality of hair care accessories.

Hair care product organizing and storage system


Racemic norketotifen, racemic 10-hydroxy-ketotifen, racemic 10-hydroxy-nor-ketotifen and optically active isomers of ketotifen, norketotifen, 10-hydroxy-ketotifen and 10-hydroxy-norketotifen were found to have antiallergic and anti-inflammatory effects while being devoid of the severe dose-limiting sedative side effects of ketotifen.

This invention relates specifically to anti-inflammatory and antiallergic compounds, having therapeutic use in various diseases, most importantly for patients suffering from pulmonary diseases, including asthma and bronchitis, from dermal diseases, including urticaria and atopic dermatitis and from gastro-intestinal disorders including gastric irritation and enteritis.
The compounds described in this invention are metabolites of ketotifen (4-(1-methyl-4-piperidyline)-4H-benzo(4,5) cyclohepta-(1,2-b)thiophene-10-one). Due to serious sedative side effects that are related to ketotifen, that compound has limited therapeutic usefulness.
Ketotifen is metabolized in the body along various pathways:
The metabolite norketotifen (also called nor-ketotifen) is formed by demethylation of ketotifen:
The metabolites 10-hydroxy-ketotifen and 10-hydroxy-norketotifen are formed by reduction of the ketotifen and norketotifen molecules, respectively.

Other metabolites of ketotifen are also formed in the body after administration of ketotifen. Thus, the ketotifen molecule can undergo N-glucuronidation and be converted into N-oxide ketotifen. The hydroxylated isomers can be further metabolized to 10-hydroxy-glucuronidates. Other metabolites may be formed as well and the metabolic pathways are different in various species and may also be different between infants and adults.No published pharmacological studies of the racemates or the isomers of norketotifen, 10-hydroxy-ketotifen or 10-hydroxy-norketotifen are known to us. Pharmacological properties of the isomers of ketotifen have been described by Polivka et al.: 4H-benzo(4,5)cyclohepta(1,2-b)thiophenes and 9,10-dihydro derivatives-sulfonium analogues of pizotifen and ketotifen; chirality of ketotifen; synthesis of the 2-bromo derivative of ketotifen. Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun. 1989, 54, 2443-2469.

Optically active isomers of ketotifen and therapeutically active metabolites thereof


A combination dispenser-applicator and stand with the dispenser having a hollow interior and at one end means to fill the hollow interior with a topical solution such as lotion and the stand acting in one mode as a stand and cover for the sponge portion of the applicator head but also allowing the sponge cover to be removed from the stand to enable the user to transport the-applicator in a covered manner without taking the applicator stand.

Many attempts have been made in the past, to provide a liquid applicator which is used with lotions or the like. Some examples include U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,757 which provides a lotion dispenser applicator including an elongate handle member having on one end a ball applicator assembly, oppositely-faced sponge applicator assembly and a reservoir for storage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,636 provides an elongate tubular member having a cavity extending through its entire length for liquid input and includes an end cap. On its distal end, a spherical structure cooperates with a socket, a dispensing head, a flat application surface and a porous pad to deliver solution to the persons skin surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. D297,467, D313,553 and 4,869,612 all of which teach an elongate handle having at their distal end an applicator means such as a porous pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,380 provides a lotion applicator being of a compact design but does not provide the objects and advantages as does the present invention.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,612 provides a liquid applicator of a different structure however, this device has inherent problems which the present invention addresses.
It is therefore obvious that there is a need for an improved lotion applicator. The present prior art have inherent problems, such as continual dyinq out or stiffening of the sponge, lack of economy in the usage of lotion and may include undesirable contamination.
The present invention provides a handle member having a cavity extending through its entire length for input of solution and includes a cap for containment thereof, and being of a unique hand friendly and ergonomic design, which cooperates with a stand to hold and capture the applicator and sponge. Also included for convenience to the user, is a cup like cap removably affixed to the stand and/or sponge, whereby providing a dual purpose, that of which allows the user to choose either positioning the applicator within the cup like cap on the stand when not in use, or remove the applicator and cup like cap from the stand for easy portability.


A semiconductor chip scale package formed with through-vias, which can be either isolated or electrically connected to a substrate, and a method of producing the semiconductor chip scale package with through-vias, which can be isolated or electrically connected to the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the provision of a semiconductor chip scale package with through-vias which can be either isolated or electrically connected to a substrate. Moreover, the invention also relates to a method of producing a semiconductor chip scale package with through-vias which can be isolated or electrically connected to a substrate.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In the present state-of-the-art technology, semiconductor chip scale packages are installed in ever increasing numbers in diverse applications into portable devices, for example, such as cell phones, PDAs and cameras, among others. Generally, semiconductor chip scale packages for CMOS image sensors are adapted to be in electrical contact from the backside of a wafer in order to prevent any damage being encountered by a microlens, which is normally arranged on the frontside of the wafer. Provision is made for the presence of through-vias, which are employed in order to be able to facilitate the making of electrical contact with bond pads, generally also employing a dielectric in order to isolate the through-vias from the substrate. However, to an increasing extent, in various physical and commercial applications and installations, it is desirable to have some of the vias in electrical contact with the substrate. Thus, for instance, pursuant to specific example, a method which is employed in order to minimize electrical cross-talk in CMOS imager arrays resides in the utilization of an n-type silicon substrate; in effect, a doped silicon material, while forming the photodiode in a p-type epi layer. Hereby, the n-type silicon layer must be biased in order to capture deep photo-carriers, whereby it is necessary to provide for a contact thereof with a substrate. However, currently the technology does not permit for the formation of through-vias which are isolated from the substrate in some regions and which are electrically connected to the substrate in other regions.
At this time, the prior art is represented and described in connection with semiconductor chip scale packages in an article by Jürgen Leib and Michael Töpper, entitled "New Wafer-Level-Packaging Technology Using Silicon-Via-Contacts for Optical and Other Sensor Applications"; 2004 Electronic Components and Technology Conference of the IEEE; Pages 843-847. In that instance, although basic consideration is given to the provision of silicon via contacts, which are employed for optical and other sensor applications, there is no disclosure provided for having various though-vias electrically contacting a substrate or, alternatively, other vias being isolated from the substrate within the same semiconductor chip scale package.

Semiconductor chip scale package incorporating through-vias electrically connected to a substrate and other vias that are isolated from the substrate, and method of forming the package

International Business Machines Corporation


A system and method of efficiently transferring a cache line of data between a cache memory to a processor. A first group of M words is transferred between the cache memory and the processor in a first cache transfer cycle, where the first group of M words includes a tag word and M-1 words from the plurality of data words in the cache line. A second group of M words is transferred between the cache memory and the processor in a second cache transfer cycle, where the second group of M words includes M additional words from the plurality of data words. The process continues until the entire cache line has been transferred between the cache memory and the processor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to memory architectures and in particular to a cache memory architecture.
2. Background Information
The speed with which a processor can access data is critical to its performance. At the same time, providing uniformly fast memory access can be cost prohibitive. To get around this problem, computer architectures have relied on a mix of fast, less dense, memory and slower bulk memory. In fact, many computer architectures have a multilevel memory architecture in which an attempt is made to find information in the fastest memory. If the information is not in that memory, a check is made at the next fastest memory. This process continues down through the memory hierarchy until the information sought is found. One critical component in such a memory hierarchy is a cache memory.
Cache memories rely on the principle of locality to attempt to increase the likelihood that a processor will find the information it is looking for in the cache memory. To do this, cache memories typically store contiguous blocks of data. In addition, the cache memory stores a tag which is compared to an address to determine whether the information the processor is seeking is present in the cache memory. Finally, the cache memory may contain status or error correcting codes (ECC). Cache memories are usually constructed from higher speed memory devices such as static random access memory (SRAM).
In the case where the processor operates on longwords (i.e. four 16-bit words), processor-cache interfaces described to date use a 64-bit bus for data and an additional bus for tag. The tag bus width varies, but has nominally been 16-bit for a total of 80 bits. The problem with such an approach is that if the cache block (also called line) size is four times the data bus width, then no useful information appears on the tag bus for three out of every four bus cycles. This is a waste of bus bandwidth which can adversely affect processor performance.
In addition, the typical cache memory transfers a cache line as a contiguous block of data, starting at the first word in the cache line and proceeding through to the last. This method of transferring cache lines does not take into account the fact that the processor may have no need for the first word in the cache line and that, therefore, it must wait a number of cycles until the word it is looking for is transferred.
What is needed is a system and method for storing and retrieving cache data which increases utilization of the bandwidth available at the processor-cache interface. In addition, what is needed is a new SRAM architecture which not only increases processor-cache interface bandwidth utilization but which also can be used for a number of different data bus widths. In addition, what is needed is a method of ordering the data transferred from cache memory to the processor which increases the likelihood that useful data is transferred in the first transfer cycle.

Variable bit width cache memory architecture


In a multibeam-type image printing apparatus, a process of adjusting a beam scanning position at which a photosensitive body is scanned is simplified. More specifically, consumption of a developing agent such as toner or the like is suppressed, and the time required for the adjustment process is shortened. A test pattern is formed on the photosensitive body using the first beam out of a plurality of beams, thereby detecting the irradiation position of the first beam with respect to the photosensitive body. Correction data for all the beams are generated on the basis of adjustment data as the detection result and predetermined beam information (information indicating a relative positional relationship between the plurality of beams on the photosensitive body). Image transfer clocks and scanning start positions are set on the basis of the correction data.

There is available an image printing apparatus which forms a latent image on a photosensitive body while scanning the photosensitive body using a beam, develops the latent image using toner, and transfers the image onto a recording medium. Examples of such image printing apparatus include a multibeam image printing apparatus which forms a latent image using a plurality of beams.
Assume that in a general multibeam image printing apparatus, all beams have the same image transfer clock and same synchronous detection signal. In this case, since the beams have different optical path lengths, an image as schematically shown in FIG. 13 is obtained as a latent image to be formed or an image developed and transferred onto a recording medium. This means that a plurality of beams have different main scanning widths.
To adjust a difference in main scanning width between beams, there is available a method of forming test patterns on a photosensitive body by the beams, detecting the positions of the patterns by a sensor, and adjusting the image transfer clocks and scanning start positions on the basis of the positions. The test pattern formation, position detection, and position-based beam scanning position (irradiation position) adjustment are executed for each of the plurality of beams.
As prior-art references that pertain to an image printing apparatus using a plurality of beams, there are Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2001-013430 and 2001-071554. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-013430 discloses an arrangement which executes four-line scanning. In the arrangement, a time period between a synchronous detection signal for each line detected by a photodetector and a synchronous detection signal at a trailing edge of each line detected by the photodetector is counted, the image transfer clocks for the four lines are controlled on the basis of the count values such that the magnifications of the respective beams on the photosensitive body are constant and equal.
In a method of forming test patterns for all of a plurality of beams and adjusting beam scanning positions, the amount of toner used increases in proportion to the number of beams, and test pattern formation and test pattern position detection need to be repeated a number of times equal in number to the beams. For example, a four-beam, four-color multibeam printer needs scanning position adjustment for 16 beams in total. This printer requires toner enough to develop test patterns for the 16 beams. Since test pattern formation and test pattern position detection are executed for each of the 16 beams, the calibration time becomes longer.

Image printing apparatus and image printing method


A convertible sofa/end table/bed structure having a sofa frame having a first and second pair of sofa legs, the sofa frame being adjacent to one side of an end table having a top member and an upright bed having an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion of which is attached to the opposite side of the end table from the sofa. The end table is pivotally attached to pivot support members which are, in turn, attached to the first pair of sofa frame legs adjacent to the end table. The structure is convertible into its bed mode by the top member of the end table being lifted upwards and attached to the rear side of the bed and the bed being rotated downward to a horizontal position above the sofa and end table with the top end of the upper portion of the bed resting on the top of the second pair of sofa legs.

1. Field of the Invention
The device of this invention resides in the area of convertible furniture and more particularly relates to a sofa/end table/bed member structure that converts into a bed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Convertible furniture is well known in the prior art. Particularly popular are sofas that can be converted into beds. Some sofas have their seat portions open outward to form a bed. Other convertible sofas have cushions that can be removed, enabling the sofa seat to be directly used as a bed. Another convertible sofa, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,737 to Reppas et al, incorporates a mattress positioned to the rear of the sofa which mattress can be manipulated down over the sofa for use as a bed.


Described herein are N-substituted monomers and polymers, methods of making such monomers and polymers, and methods of using them in various applications, such as medical devices. In preferred embodiments, the medical device is a stent.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to N-substituted monomers and polymers, methods of making such monomers and polymers, and methods of using them in various applications, such as medical devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vascular stents are used widely in a variety of applications, including, especially, in the treatment of heart disease. It has been reported that in 1998, about 61 million Americans had some form of heart disease, which since about 1990 has been the single leading cause of death in the United States.
One type of heart disease, coronary artery disease (CAD), is characterized, at least in part, by the inhibition of blood flow through the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle due to the buildup of plaque (arteriosclerosis) in the arteries. CAD is suspected to account for 1 out of every 5 deaths that occur in the U.S.A. In 2001, about 1.1 million people had a new or recurrent myocardial infarction (heart attack due to coronary arterial disease). See, for example, Report by the American Heart Association, "Heart and Stroke Statistical Update," 2001, American Heart Association, Dallas, Tex. Currently more than 500,000 Americans are treated annually for blocked coronary arteries. This number is expected to double over the next 10 years in light of the aging population.
Vascular stents generally comprise a mesh tube, which is inserted into an artery to keep the artery open after it has been stretched with a balloon during the course of an angioplasty procedure. Typically, the vascular stent is mounted on a balloon catheter that is inserted via the femoral artery and pushed to the desired location in the coronary artery. There, the balloon is inflated, thus expanding the stent and pressing it against the vessel wall to lock it in place.
Most stents are constructed from metal, including, for example, stainless steel or nitinol. While such metal stents possess certain desirable characteristics, such as sufficient radial strength to hold open a subject artery and radio-opacity (allowing an implanted stent to be seen and monitored by X-ray radiography/fluoroscopy), metal stents also exhibit a number of significant disadvantages. For example, the insertion and expansion of a metal stent in an artery tends to further injure the diseased vessel, potentially leading to the development of intimal hyperplasia and further occlusion of the vessel by the resulting in-growth of smooth muscle cells and matrix proteins through the stent struts.
Another disadvantage associated with use of metal stents is that once deployed, they become permanent residents within the vessel walls—long after their usefulness has passed. Indeed, the useful lifespan of a stent is estimated to be in the range of about 6 to 9 months. After this time, the chronic stresses and strains imposed on the vessel architecture by the permanent metal implants are believed to promote in-stent restenosis.
Another disadvantage associated with the use of metal stents is that the placement of multiple permanent metal stents within a vessel may be a barrier to subsequent surgical bypass. Further, the deployment of a first metal stent may become a physical hurdle to the later delivery of a second stent at a distal site within the same vessel. In contrast to a metal stent, a bioresorbable stent may not outlive its usefulness within the vessel. Moreover, a bioresorbable stent may be used to deliver a greater dose of a therapeutic, as a drug and/or biological agent could be coated on the stent as well as embedded in the device itself. Further, such a stent could deliver multiple drugs and/or biological agents, at the same time or at various times of its life cycle, to treat specific aspects or events of vascular disease. Additionally, a bioresorbable stent may also allow for repeat treatment of the same approximate region of the blood vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,477 ("the '477 patent") discloses medical devices formed from radiopaque biocompatible polymers with hydrolytically unstable polymer backbones and pendant free carboxylic acid groups that promote polymer degradation and resorption; incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Not only are many of the disclosed polymers less than ideal for use in stents, various polymers with free carboxylic acid groups are prepared from monomers with benzyl-protected free acid moieties that are selectively removed from the polymer via hydrogenolysis in the presence of a palladium catalyst and hydrogen. While such a method is effective for removing the benzyl protecting groups with little or no cleaving of the polymer backbone, the palladium catalyst used therein is relatively expensive, and traces of palladium are difficult to remove from the polymer product.
Some of the aforementioned deficiencies of the '477 patent have been addressed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0106119, entitled "Inherently Radiopaque Polymeric Products for Embolotherapy," the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. A wide variety of other amide-containing monomers and polymers are known, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,099,060; 5,198,507; 5,587,507; RE 37,160; 5,670,602; RE 37,795; 5,658,995; 6,048,521; 6,319,492; 6,120,491; 6,475,477; 6,602,497; 6,852,308; 7,056,493; 6,284,862; 4,980,449; 5,140,094; 5,264,537; 5,194,570; and 5,242,997; U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2006-0204440; 2006-0034769; 2005-0106119; 2005-0123481; 2005-0165203; 2004-0191175; 2004-0086462; and 2004-0086458; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/350,423, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
However, there remains a need for additional polymeric formulations that provide advantageous physicochemical properties adapted for use in fabricating a variety of implantable medical devices.


In video on demand (VOD) problems may be caused by potential transmission, queuing and processing delays in the network which can lead to erratic and erroneous operation of VOD systems when responding to viewer commands. This problem is overcome by employing a video frame reference number in the return signalling channel to the video server so that the command is related to the correct frame. At the same time the viewers display is halted until the revised frame is re-received so that the display is re-enabled at the correct point in the program.

Interactive video systems are being developed in which a master station can be accessed by a subscriber, using either a telephone line or a return channel in a duplex fibre optic video transmission link, whereby the subscriber can in the course of transmission of video material from the master station transmit back to the master station signals which will modify subsequently transmitted video material. British patent application GB 2120507A describes a video game system in which the head end of a cable TV system transmits on request an interactive video game programme. At various times during the course of the programme the subscriber may transmit instructions back to the head end to alter the subsequent playing of the game. Further descriptions of interactive video systems are given by Deloddere et al. in IEEE Communications Magazine vol. 32 No. 5 pp 82 to 88, and by Calvert et al. in Electrical Communication No. 3 September 94 pp 281 to 289.
With the development of ever more sophisticated video games requiring greater skill and speedier reflexes on the part of the subscriber a problem can arise whereby the propagation delays in both the transmission from the head end of the video game material and the transmission back to the head end of the subscriber's instructions can lead to incorrect modification of the subsequently transmitted video game material. Take for example a game in which the subscriber `player` is required to `shoot` a gun at a swiftly moving target. Such an action can require split-second timing. If the transmission propagation times are comparatively long the player's `shoot` instruction will be received at the head end some time after the target has effectively moved out of the `line-of-fire`. Of course, if for a particular subscriber the round trip propagation time is known then a pre-calculated adjustment factor can be built into the system. However, with modern cable TV systems a single head end can serve a large subscriber area with differing propagation times for all the subscribers.

Interactive video system with frame reference number


A magnetoresistive memory array which has a row of active sense lines with each sense line including magnetoresistive bits and word lines extending over the bits. Each active sense line ending in a termination bit having a configuration selected to cause an adjacent bit to experience a magnetic field similar to that experienced by the remaining bits in the sense line. An inactive sense line located at each end of the row of active sense lines.

The present invention relates to ferromagnetic thin film memories and more particularly to the fabrication of a thin film magnetoresistive memory device. The process for manufacturing the magnetoresistive bit lines involves depositing one or more layers of magnetic material over an underlying layer or surface, and etching the deposited material to a desired configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,757 dated Mar. 15, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,848 dated Oct. 25, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,193 dated Oct. 22, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,759 which are assigned to Honeywell Inc. include background material on magnetoresistive memories and are hereby incorporated by reference.
The process for forming a magnetoresistive memory device provides first and second layers of thin film ferromagnetic materials separated by a layer of non ferromagnetic material and formed into an elongated shape having tapered ends to provide a magnetic storage element or a magnetic bit. In use, information is kept as a binary bit having one of two alternative logic levels stored in the two layers or films by having the magnetization point in one direction or the other(but opposite in each of these layers to the direction in the other), generally along the easy axis of magnetization. If the direction of magnetization is caused to rotate from such a direction by external magnetic fields, the electrical resistance of the layers will change with this magnetization direction rotation because of the magnetoresistive properties of the films. Measurement of the resistance allows the state of the memory to be determined. It has been observed that some number of bits will fail after a number of repeated memory storage and retrieval operations, or read/write cycles. The failure mechanism is believed to be bit edge reversal which is sometimes called edge spin reversal. The elongated shape of the bit structure causes large demagnetization fields along the edge of the layers. In such large demagnetization fields, electron spins at the edge of the films are constrained to lie nearly parallel to these edges and the direction of elongation of these films. During read or write operations it is intended that bit edge reversal does not occur.
In the past, proposed methods to prevent bit edge reversal have included using a magnetic spacer at the bit edge, applying an external magnetic field, using antiferromagnetic film on the edge of the bit and magnetic hardening of the bit edge.
The geometric configuration of a storage element has a great influence on its ability to provide failure free operation with wide operating margins. Wide operating margins are necessary for the production of high reliability memory devices.
Thus, a need exists for an improved understanding of storage element geometric configurations which will provide a magnetoresistive memory bit which allows an unlimited number of read/write cycles without bit edge reversal.

MRAM design to reduce dissimilar nearest neighbor effects


A passive electric generator system that does not require solar energy or fossil fuels to operate. The system comprises of a copper housing, a first rubber plug that is attached to a first open end of the copper housing, at least one metal wire that has a length that has a length that is at least two inches greater than the copper housing, at least one perforated plastic wire cover that covers the at least one metal wire, an ionic liquid is housed within the copper housing, a second rubber plug that attaches to a second open end of the copper housing so that the at least one metal wire and the at least one plastic wire cover are in the copper housing and the at least one metal wire pierces through the second rubber plug so that an end of the at least one metal wire rests outwardly from a top side of the second rubber plug, and at least one electrical conductive wire that is fixedly attached to an outer surface of the copper housing. The at least one metal wire and the at least one electric conductive wire number the same in the electric generator.

The present invention is an electric generator that does not require solar power or fossil fuels.
The present invention is made as an alternative form of creating energy that does not require solar cells or wind to generate energy.
The EPA states, "Solar panels provide clean, renewable energy from the sun, and their prevalence as an energy source has been growing. In 2020, solar panels provided about 40 percent of new U.S. electric generation capacity, compared to just four percent in 2010. Overall, 3.3 percent of electricity in the United States was produced using solar technologies in 2020."1 1 Available at https://www.epa.gov/hw/end-life-solar-panels-regulations-and-management, titled END-OF LIFE SOLAR PANELS: REGULATIONS AND MANAGEMENT, captured on May 5, 2022.
However, the EPA also states, "like any source of energy, there are associated wastes that need to be properly recycled or disposed of when solar panels reach their end of life Hazardous waste testing on solar panels in the marketplace has indicated that different varieties of solar panels have different metals present in the semiconductor and solder. Some of these metals, like lead and cadmium, are harmful to human health and the environment at high levels. If these metals are present in high enough quantities in the solar panels, solar panel waste could be a hazardous waste."2 The present invention provides a clean energy source that minimizes the hazardous waste that can be released into the environment. 2 Id.
A Study by Stanford university states, "The advantages of wind energy are more apparent than the disadvantages. The main advantages include an unlimited, free, renewable resource (the wind itself), economic value, maintenance cost, and placement of wind harvesting facilities. First and foremost, wind is an unlimited, free, renewable resource. Wind is a natural occurrence and harvesting the kinetic energy of wind doesn't affect currents or wind cycles in any way. Next, harvesting wind power is a clean, non-polluting way to generate electricity. Unlike other types of power plants, it emits no air pollutants or greenhouse gases."3 3 Available at http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph240/lloyd2/, Titled Wind Energy: Advantages and Disadvantages, by Dallas Lloyd, Dec. 11, 2014, captured on May 26, 2022.
However, the same study states, "The two major disadvantages of wind power include initial cost and technology immaturity. Firstly, constructing turbines and wind facilities is extremely expensive. The second disadvantage is technology immaturity. High cost of energy can, in part, be addressed directly with technology innovations that, increase reliability and energy output and lower system capital expenses."4 The present invention is a low cost alternative to wind powered energy that is cost efficient to produce. 4Id.
The present invention is a passive electric generator that can easily be recycled and that is of a low cost to produce.


A subsea wellhead assembly comprises a subsea wellhead, a spool body assembly, a helix, and a tubular bore protector. The spool body assembly is mounted to the wellhead and has an inside surface defining a vertical bore. The spool body assembly has an upper end, a lower end, and a lateral production fluid outlet port. The helix is formed from a tubular member and is positioned in a lower portion of the spool body assembly. The helix has a generally cylindrical outer surface defining an outer diameter and a generally cylindrical inner surface defining an inner diameter, an upper end and a lower end. The tubular member has an organ pipe-shaped cut in the upper end so that the upper end is generally elliptically shaped and forms a pair of arcuate ramps to orient a tubing hanger. The tubular bore protector body has an upper end, a lower end, and a longitudinal axis. The tubular bore protector is mounted in the spool body assembly with the upper end of the tubular bore protector body being positioned adjacent to the upper end of the spool body assembly. The lower end of the tubular bore protector body is positioned adjacent to the lower end of the spool body assembly. The tubular bore protector body extends inside of the helix, to protect the vertical bore through the spool body assembly and the helix from mechanical damage while the well is being completed.

This invention relates to completing subsea wellheads.
After a subsea well is drilled, but prior to the installation of what is commonly referred to as a horizontal or side valve tree type completion system, it is necessary to make the well safe before recovering the drilling Blowout Prevention Subsea Stack (BOP). In order to make the well safe, cement plugs or mechanical sealing plugs must be installed in the bore of the last casing string (production casing) of the wellhead, in order to prevent the possibility of hydrocarbons escaping to the subsea environment after removal of the BOP. After successful installation of the horizontal/side valve tree onto the wellhead, it is necessary to remove the downhole casing cement plug/s or mechanically set casing sealing plug/s. Cements plugs are removed by drilling out with standard downhole drill bits. Of course, these plug recovery operations require passing drill bits or special plug recovery tools through the side valve tree and could expose critical internal through bore profile features in the side valve tree to the following ramifications:
a. Mechanical damage as drill bit or special mechanical plug recovery tools pass through the side valve tree. PA1 b. Mechanical damage due to drill pipe rotation during drilling. PA1 c. Exposure of annulus, production, and control line side outlet penetrations to drilling muds and drilling returns which could clog up and impair the operation of the side valve tree critical side outlet valve and control functions. Additionally, drilling muds and returns might accumulate on the surface of the through bore profile and be very difficult to remove, which would in turn potentially prevent the successful installation of internal tubing hanger and/or tree cap. PA1 d. Finally, it is desirable not to expose the side valve tree side outlet valve and control line bores to any hydraulic pressures resulting from the drilling operation which could result in pumping undesirable fluids into valve or control line porting.
One of the key benefits ascribed to horizontal/side valve tree type completions is the ability to recover or recomplete the well without having first to recover the horizontal/side valve tree. This provides the ability to recover the tubing hanger and downhole completion through the tree. This also provides the ability to perform additional drilling operations through the tree such as side-tracking into a different hydrocarbon formation which allows the same wellhead and tree to be used for recompleting the well from that different geological hydrocarbon formation. Side tracking requires even more extensive drilling through the horizontal/side valve tree with thus even greater potential for detrimental ramifications to the side valve tree internals as described above for drilling out cement plugs, should no type of protection be provided for the tree through bore.
All of the detrimental ramifications to the side valve tree internals described above during downhole/drilling operations can be prevented if a pressure containing tree bore protector is installed in the horizontal/side valve tree prior to performing any of the described downhole drilling operations. Such a bore protector would lockdown to the internal profile in the side valve tree while sealing off above and below critical internal profile features in the side valve tree such as: Annulus side outlets, Production bore side outlets, Control line side outlets, Tubing hanger and tree cap critical internal profile landing, lockdown, and orientation features.
Additionally, the bore protector should be designed to withstand and isolate the tree features from any expected formation or drilling pressures which might be encountered or applied as part of downhole drilling operations, while allowing passage of a drill bit through same. The internal bore diameter of the bore protector would be of a size equal to or greater than the inside diameter of the last casing string/production casing.


A female connector that is easy to be engaged with a male connector includes a connector insulator and a plurality of terminal modules inserted into the connector insulator. The terminal module includes grounding pins and fork-shaped signal pins. The signal pin has twisted pin arms and a raised arm portion. The connector insulator includes grounding terminal openings and signal terminal openings. The signal terminal opening includes a raised opening bottom, which has a slope portion and a raised portion. The twisted pin arms provide smooth surfaces to allow a signal terminal of a male connector being smoothly inserted between the pin arms. The raised arm portion, the slope portion and the raised portion allow the two pin arms keeping a distance away from each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and in particular to a female connector that is easy to be engaged with a male connector.
2. The Prior Arts
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional connector includes a male conductor 14 and a female conductor. The female connector includes a connector insulator 10 and a plurality of terminal modules 12 inserted into the connector insulator 10. The connector insulator 10 has a plurality of L-shaped grounding terminal openings 10a and signal terminal openings 10b adjacent to the L-shaped grounding terminal openings 10a. The male connector 14 includes a plurality of L-shaped grounding terminal 14a corresponding to the grounding terminal openings 10a and a plurality of post-shaped signal terminals 14b corresponding to the signal terminal openings 10b. When the male connector 14 is engaged with the female connector, the grounding terminals 14a and the signal terminals 14b are inserted into the grounding terminal openings 10a and the signal terminal openings 10b, respectively. Therefore, the grounding terminals 14a and the signal terminals 14b are electrically connected with grounding pins 12c and signal pins 12b of the terminal modules 12, respectively.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic views showing a process for manufacturing the conventional signal pins 12b. As shown in FIG. 3A, the signal pins 12b are cut off from a metal sheet 1 along dashed lines. The space 3d between the dashed lines 3a and 3b is the space of the fork-shaped signal pin 12b to receive the signal terminal 14b. However, when the metal sheet 1 is cut along the dashed lines 3a and 3b, the cut edges of the signal pins 12b are rough. The rough cut edges results in friction when the signal terminals 14b glides in the space 3d of the signal pins 12b. It makes the male connector 14 can not be smoothly engaged with the female connector. FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of area 5 in FIG. 3A. Another aspect of the problem is that the signal pin 12b has curved contact portions 3c at ends thereof to clip the signal terminals 14b. Although cutting the metal sheet 1 does not need a high precision manufacturing process, cutting the signal pins 12b with the curved contact portions 3c still needs improvement.