A device for printing information at multiple predetermined positions of a flat object including a registration wall, a print module including print nozzles and a print plate and displaceable along an horizontal axis perpendicular to the registration wall, fixed upper drive members for moving the flat object in a direction of transport along the registration wall, the print plate and the fixed upper drive members together forming an upper reference in a vertical direction, and lower pressing members for pressing the flat object against the upper reference, the device further comprises at least one mobile upper drive member and, for avoiding contact with the flat object immediately after printing, the at least one mobile upper drive member is vertically mobile and configured to be moved from a lower to an upper position above the upper reference when the displaceable print module is positioned along the horizontal axis ahead of the at least one mobile upper drive member in the direction of transport.

Despite a noticeable decrease in printed correspondence since the advent of Internet, physical mail remains a preferred and efficient communication channel for many customer segments. Letters have undoubtedly more substance than emails and a higher propensity to capture and retain customer attention. Modern output management technology allows the generation of highly personalized documents, and various messages may be printed at multiple positions on envelopes where these documents have been inserted, in addition to the sender or delivery address.
Inserters can be operated in several modes. In the simplest one, job parameters are fixed and the same tasks are performed on all mailpieces of a same batch. In a more elaborated mode, corresponding to an open loop production system, each mailpiece bears control codes that are read and interpreted by the inserter (e.g. for adding more pages or inserts). In the most sophisticated (data driven) mode, corresponding to a close loop production system, the mailpiece bears a unique identifier that points to a database where the finishing instructions for that particular mailpiece are recorded.
In a close loop production system, the production software generates a job file that contains finishing instructions about each mailpiece that are (to be) printed. As mailpieces enter a processing equipment such as a folder/inserter, their identifiers are scanned, finishing instructions are looked-up in the job file and executed. Finishing instructions are typically related to inserts to be added into envelopes, and addresses or messages to be printed thereon, thus avoiding the use of window envelopes.
Printing of recipient addresses requires an address printer, otherwise known as an envelope printer, to be located at the exit of the inserter. An envelope printer may also be operated independently, with addresses taken from a mailing list. This is the case notably when the content of mailpieces is not personalized. However, in many applications, the content of mailpieces will be personalized. Synchronisation and real-time communication between the inserter and the envelope printer is required to ensure a perfect match between documents, inserts and envelopes to form the complete mailpieces that are sent to customers.
Personalized mailpiece content means that envelope thickness may vary from one mailpiece to another, and moreover between successive batches of mail, whereas the position at which the address is to be printed onto the envelope, may vary as well. The position of addresses are notably defined by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) S19 standards, along with reserved areas for encoding of ID-tags and routing information, for applying postmarks, indicia and service endorsements, and for printing addresses, advertising or other information.
Franking machines are designed for printing in the area M1 located at the top right corner of mailpieces, according to UPU requirements. For large batches of typically tens of thousands of mailpieces, a permit mark may be printed instead of a franking mark. A franking machine may also be used to print sender/return addresses, slogan and/or promotional messages, in the area M1W including the area M1 and extending across the whole width of the mailpiece.
Other devices, such as the RENA XPS-80 or XPS-90, are designed specifically to print addresses, text and graphical elements onto individual or mass-mailed items in professional applications requiring high throughput. These devices include two print units, each one having three ink jet cartridges, which can be adjusted manually (on XPS-80) or automatically (on XPS-90) to print at multiple positions on envelopes of different sizes. The mailpieces are horizontally driven by transport belts and the print spacing must be adjusted manually. It is indeed necessary to ensure a fixed distance between the nozzle plate of the ink jet print cartridges and the upper surface of the envelopes for optimal print quality. Pinwheels are disposed to prevent this upper surface from touching the nozzle plates and avoid ink smearing. These devices are designed for printing on mailpieces of consistent thickness within a batch, and the print spacing must be adjusted for each batch.
More sophisticated devices are designed to print over a larger portion of mailpieces. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 8,123,023 describes a conveyance system for printing on mailpieces, while being registered against a registration plate. The system comprises a vacuum belt to transport mailpieces along the feed path, and a spring biasing device operative to bias the conveyor belt toward the contact surface of the registration plate. The system operates with a bank of printheads arranged in a staggered or stepped array. The registration plate includes runners which define channels within registration plate openings. The runners contact the surface of mailpieces at a position between nozzles and do not interfere with ink deposited in linear zones to each side of a runner. Such zones may correspond to the white space between printed lines of a destination or return address.
Though the system of U.S. Pat. No. 8,123,023 is relatively complex, it only accommodates up to about one-half ½ inches of envelope thickness, and it doesn't allow to print at positions where the runners contact the mailpieces. Moreover, it is usually not required to print over a large portion of a mailpiece, but rather in the area M1W and, for addresses, in a portion of about two inches, that may be located anywhere in the address area defined by UPU standards. The sender may also wish to print pictures, advertising and/or other messages at any position outside these areas, provided that they do not interfere with the various marks applied for postal distribution.
It is therefore a need to provide an envelope printer of relatively simple construction, capable of transporting mailpieces of variable thickness and printing at multiple positions thereon. Such envelope printer shall ensure an accurate registration of mailpieces while operating at high speed and shall avoid ink smearing on freshly printed envelopes.


An injection molding machine including an ejector unit configured to eject a molding product from a mold, wherein the ejector unit includes a slide base freely movable relative to a toggle support disposed at a platen supporting the mold, a toggle mechanism configured to connect the toggle support and the slide base, disposed between the toggle support and the slide base, a driving source configured to operate the toggle mechanism in such a way that a distance between the toggle support and the slide base is changed, and an ejection member movable in conjunction with the slide base.

1. Technical Field
The disclosures herein generally relate to an injection molding machine.
2. Description of Related Art
An injection molding machine produces a molding product by filling melted resin into a cavity space of a molding unit, then solidifying the resin. The molding unit is configured with a stationary mold and a movable mold, between which the cavity space is formed when the molding unit is clamped. An article molded in the cavity space is ejected from the movable mold after opening the molding unit. An ejector unit is used for ejection (see, for example, WO 2005/068155). The molding product ejected from the movable mold is taken out from the injection molding machine by a take-out robot.


The use of surfactants A, the 1% by weight aqueous solutions of which exhibit a static surface tension <25 mN/m, the said surfactants A containing at least three short-chain perfluorinated groups Rf selected from the group consisting of trifluoromethyl, pentafluoroethyl, 1-heptafluoropropyl, 2-heptafluoropropyl, heptafluoroisopropyl, and pentafluorosulfanyl; for manufacturing integrated circuits comprising patterns having line-space dimensions below 50 nm and aspect ratios >3; and a photolithographic process making use of the surfactants A in immersion photoresist layers, photoresist layers exposed to actinic radiation, developer solutions for the exposed photoresist layers and/or in chemical rinse solutions for developed patterned photoresists comprising patterns having line-space dimensions below 50 nm and aspect ratios >3. By way of the surfactants A, pattern collapse is prevented, line edge roughness is reduced, watermark defects are prevented and removed and defects are reduced by removing particles.

In the process of manufacturing ICs with LSI, VLSI and ULSI, patterned material layers like patterned photoresist layers, patterned barrier material layers containing or consisting of titanium nitride, tantalum or tantalum nitride, patterned multi-stack material layers containing or consisting of stacks e.g. of alternating polysilicon and silicon dioxide layers, and patterned dielectric material layers containing or consisting of silicon dioxide or low-k or ultra-low-k dielectric materials are produced by photolithographic techniques. Nowadays, such patterned material layers comprise structures of dimensions even below 20 nm with high aspect ratios.
Photolithography is a method in which a pattern on a mask is projected onto a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. Semiconductor photolithography typically includes the step of applying a layer of a photoresist on a top surface of the semiconductor substrate and exposing the photoresist to actinic radiation, in particular UV radiation of a wavelength of, for example, 193 nm, through the mask. In order to extend the 193 nm photolithography to the 20 nm and the 15 nm node, immersion photolithography has been developed as a resolution enhancement technique. In this technique, the air gap between the final lens of the optical system and the photoresist surface is replaced by a liquid medium that has a refractive index greater than one, e.g., ultra pure water with a refractive index of 1.44 for the wavelength of 193 nm. However, in order to avoid leaching, water-uptake and pattern degradation, a barrier coating or a water resistant photoresist must be used. These measures however add to the complexity of the manufacturing process and are therefore disadvantageous.
A post-exposure bake (PEB) is often performed to allow the exposed photoresist polymers to cleave. The substrate including the cleaved polymer photoresist is then transferred to a developing chamber to remove the exposed photoresist, which is soluble in aqueous developer solutions. Typically, a developer solution such as a tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is applied to the resist surface in the form of a puddle to develop the exposed photoresist. A deionized water rinse is then applied to the substrate to remove the dissolved polymers of the photoresists. The substrate is then sent to a spin drying process. Thereafter, the substrate can be transferred to the next process step, which may include a hard bake process to remove any moisture from the photoresist surface.
This conventional process however involves a plurality of problems. As technologies advance and dimension requirements become stricter and stricter, photoresist patterns are required to include relatively thin and tall structures or features of photoresists, i.e., features having a high aspect ratio, on the substrate. These structures may suffer from bending and/or collapsing, in particular, during the spin dry process, due to excessive capillary forces of the deionized water remaining from the chemical rinse and spin dry processes and being disposed between adjacent photoresist features. The maximum stress σ between small features caused by the capillary forces can be defined as follows:σ=6·γ·cos θ/D·(H·W)2,wherein γ=surface tension of the fluid, θ=contact angle of the fluid on the feature material surface, D=distance between the features, H=height of the features, and W width of the features. Consequently, the surface tension of the chemical rinse solutions must be significantly lowered.
Another solution for immersion lithography may include using a photoresists with modified polymers to make it more hydrophobic. However, this solution may decrease the wettability of the developing solution.
Another problem of the conventional photolithographic process is line edge roughness (LER) due to resist and optical resolution limits. LER includes horizontal and vertical deviations from the feature's ideal form. Especially as critical dimensions shrink, the LER becomes more problematic and may cause yield loss in the manufacturing process of IC devices.
Due to the shrinkage of the dimensions, the removal of particles in order to achieve a defect reduction becomes also a critical factor. This does not only applied to photoresist patterns but also to other patterned material layers.
An additional problem of the conventional photolithographic process is the presence of watermark defects. Watermarks may form on the photoresist as the deionized water from the deionized water rinse cannot be spun off from the hydrophobic surface of the photoresist. The photoresist may be hydrophobic particularly in areas of isolated, or non-dense, patterning. The watermarks have a harmful effect on yield and IC device performance.
The American patent application US 2008/0280230 A1 discloses a chemical rinse solution containing an alcohol, in particular, isobutyl alcohol. Moreover, the chemical rinse solution may contain fluorosurfactants such as 3M Novec™ fluid HFE-711PA, -7000, -7100, -7200, and 7500, 3M Fluorinert™ FC-72, -84, -77, -3255, -3283, -40, -43, -70, -4432, 4430, and -4434, or 3M Novec™ 4200 and 4300.
For instance, 3M Novec™ 4200 is a perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide, 3M Novec™ 4300 is a perfluoroalkyl sulfonate, HFE-7000 is heptafluoro-3-methoxypropane, HFE-7100 is nonafluoro-4-methoxybutane, HFE-7200 is 1-ethoxy-nonafluorobutane, HFE-7500 is 3-methoxy-dodecafluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)-hexane, and HFE-711PA is an azeotrope of 1-methoxy-nonafluorobutane and isopropanol. The 3M Fluorinert™ series surfactants are customarily used as inert perfluorinated heat transfer media.
The American patent application US 2008/0299487 A1 teaches the use of the above mentioned fluorosurfactants as additives to developer and chemical rinse solutions as well as to the immersion photoresist material. Moreover, 3M L-18691, an aqueous solution of perfluoroalkyl sulfonimide, can also be used. Additionally, the use of the following fluorosurfactants is suggested:                Rf—SO3−M+, wherein Rf is a C1-C12 perfluoroalkyl group and M+ is a cation, a proton or an ammonium group;        Rf—SO2N−—R1M+, wherein Rf and M+ have the above-mentioned meaning and R1 is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a hydroxyalkyl group, an alkylamine oxide group, an alkylcarboxylate group or an aminoalkyl group, the alkyl, hydroxyalkyl, alkylamine oxide, alkylcarboxylate and aminoalkyl groups having preferably 1-6 carbon atoms and the hydroxyalkyl having preferably the formula —(CH2)x—OH, wherein x=1-6; and        Rf-Q-R1SO3−M+, wherein Rf and M+ have the above-mentioned meaning and R1 is an alkylene of the formula —CnH2n(CHOH)oCmH2m—, wherein n and m are independently of each other 1-6 and o is 0-1, and is optionally substituted by catenary oxygen or nitrogen group, Q is —O— or —SO2NR2—, wherein R2 is a hydrogen atom, or an alkyl, aryl, hydroxyalkyl, aminoalkyl, or a sulfonatoalkyl group having 1-6 carbon atoms, optionally containing one or more catenary oxygen or nitrogen heteroatoms; the hydroxyalkyl group may be of the formula —CpH2p—OH, wherein p is 1-6; the aminoalkyl group may be of the formula —CpH2p—NR3R4, wherein p is 1-6 and R3 and R4 are independently of each other hydrogen atoms or alkyl groups of 1-6 carbon atoms.
Although the prior art chemical rinse solutions containing such fluorosurfactants constitute an improvement over the conventional aqueous chemical rinse solutions, there is still room for improvements to meet the ever increasing demands of the IC manufacturing industry, in particular with regard to pattern collapse in the sub-20 nm technology nodes. Moreover, many of these prior art fluorosurfactants are not easily biodegradable and are therefore prone to bioaccumulation.
The international patent applications WO 2008/003443 A1, WO 2008/003445 A1, WO 2008/003446 A2 and WO 2009/149807 A1 and the American patent application US 2009/0264525 A1 disclose inter alia fluorosurfactants containing at least 3 short-chain perfluorinated groups Rf and/or pentafluorosulfanyl groups. These known fluorosurfactants find numerous applications, for example, in textile, paper, glass, building, coating, cleaner, cosmetic, herbicide, pesticide, fungicide, adhesive, metal, or mineral oil technologies as well as in special coatings for semiconductor photolithography (photoresist, top antireflective coatings, bottom antireflective coatings) [cf., for example WO 2008/003446 A2, page 14, line 29 to page 20, line 20]. The use of the fluorosurfactants for manufacturing ICs for nodes below 50 nm, in particular for 32 nm nodes and lower, are not disclosed.

Use of surfactants having at least three short-chain perfluorinated groups RF for manufacturing integrated circuits having patterns with line-space dimensions below 50 NM


A circuit board and a method for fabricating the same are provided. The circuit board includes a core board, a first bonding layer disposed on the core board, and a first wiring layer disposed on the first bonding layer. The first bonding layer enables the first wiring layer to be bonded to the core layer better, thereby preventing delamination and forming a fine-pitch wiring layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to circuit boards and methods for fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a circuit board with a wiring layer bonded to a surface of the circuit board by a material with high bonding strength.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To enhance precision of the circuit layout of circuit boards for use in semiconductor chip packaging, a build-up technique has been developed, which involves stacking a plurality of dielectric layers and wiring layers on a core circuit board, and forming a plurality of plated through holes (PTHs) in the core circuit board, wherein the PTHs are conductive to circuits on upper and lower surfaces of the core circuit board. FIGS. 1A to IN show a conventional method for fabricating the core circuit board.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a core board 10 in the form of a copper coated laminate (CCL) is provided. A first metal layer 11a, which is made of copper and has good electrical conductivity, is formed on at least one surface of the core board 10.
Referring to FIG. 1B, a thinning step is performed on the first metal layer 11a by a chemical or physical technique as appropriate, so as to form a first thinned metal layer 11a′.
Referring to FIG. 1C, a first conductive layer 12a is formed on the thinned metal layer 11′.
Referring to FIG. 1D, a first plated metal layer 11b is plated to and formed on the first conductive layer 12a.
Referring to FIG. 1E, a first resist layer 13a is formed on the first plated metal layer 11b, and a plurality of first openings 131a are formed in the first resist layer 13a to expose a portion of the first plated metal layer 11b.
Referring to FIG. 1F, portions of the first plated metal layer 11b, the first conductive layer 12a, and the first thinned metal layer 11a′, which are not covered by the first resist layer 13a, are removed, so as to form a first wiring layer 14a on the core board 10.
Referring to FIG. 1G, the first resist layer 13a is removed, so as to expose the first wiring layer 14a.
Referring to FIG. 1H, a second metal layer 11c with a lower surface thereof being covered by a dielectric layer 141 is formed on the core board 10 and the first wiring layer 14a, wherein the dielectric layer 141 is a prepreg.
Referring to FIG. 1I, the second metal layer 11c is thinned so as to form a second thinned metal layer 11c′.
Referring to FIG. 1J, a plurality of openings 1410 are formed in the second thinned metal layer 11c′ and the dielectric layer 141 so as to expose a portion of the first wiring layer 14a.
Referring to FIG. 1K, a second conductive layer 12b is formed on the second thinned metal layer 11c′, the surface of the openings 1410, and the exposed portion of the first wiring layer 14a. Then, a second resist layer 13b is formed on the second conductive layer 12b, wherein a plurality of second openings 132b are formed in the second resist layer 13b such that the second openings 132b correspond in position to and expose the openings 1410 of the dielectric layer 141 and a portion of the second conductive layer 12b.
Referring to FIG. 1L, a second wiring layer 14b is plated into the second openings 132b of the second resist layer 13b via the second conductive layer 12b, and a plurality of conductive vias 142 are plated into the openings 1410 of the dielectric layer 141 such that the conductive vias 142 are electrically connected to the first wiring layer 14a.
Referring to FIG. 1M, the second resist layer 13b and the second conductive layer 12b thereunder are removed so as to expose the second wiring layer 14b.
Referring to FIG. 1N, the steps depicted in FIGS. 1H to 1M can be repeated, so as to form a circuit build-up structure 14. The circuit build-up structure 14 comprises the dielectric layer 141, the second wiring layer 14b superimposed on the dielectric layer 141, and the conductive vias 142 formed in the dielectric layer 141 and electrically connected to the second wiring layer 14b. The circuit build-up structure 14 further comprises a plurality of electrically connecting pads 143 conductive to the second wiring layer 14b. An insulated protection layer 15A, such as a solder mask, is formed on the circuit build-up structure 14. A plurality of openings 150 is formed in the insulated protection layer 15. The openings 150 correspond in position to and expose the electrically connecting pads 143.
The core board 10 and the dielectric layer 141 are made of insulating material. The first, second and third metal layers 11a, 11b, 11c are made of metallic material. Metallic material can be bonded to non-metal material but hardly firmly. Hence, the core board 10 is unlikely to be bonded to the first wiring layer 14a firmly, and the dielectric layer 141 is unlikely to be bonded to the second wiring layer 14b firmly, thereby leading to peel or delamination in a subsequent process readily.
In the event of a fine-pitch circuit, the circuit pitch of the first and second wiring layers 14a, 14b is much less, which further deteriorates the bonding between the first wiring layer 14a and the core board 10 or the bonding between the second wiring layer 14b and the dielectric layer 141, thereby increasing the likelihood of peeling or delamination of the first and second wiring layers 14a, 14b in a subsequent process.
Therefore, the problem to be solved here is to provide a technique for fabricating a circuit board, which can enhance the bonding between a wiring layer made of metallic material and a dielectric layer or core board made of non-metallic material so as to prevent peeling or delamination, reduce the thickness of the metal layer, and facilitate formation of a fine-pitch wiring layer.

Circuit board and method for fabricating the same


A catalyst layer containing a catalyst material, the catalyst layer having a porosity of 20 to 90% by vol and satisfying a relation: R1≧R0×1.2, wherein R1 is an alignment ratio of the catalyst layer; and R0 is an alignment ratio of the catalyst material in powder form having a random crystalline plane distribution, and each of the alignment ratios is calculated from a X-ray diffraction spectrum having a diffraction angle 2θ range from 10 to 90 degree measured using Cu-Kα-rays.

Studies of electrochemical cells have been enthusiastically made in recent years. For example, a fuel cell among electrochemical cells includes a system configured to electrochemically react with the fuel such as hydrogen with an oxidizer such as oxygen to generate electric power. Among these fuel cells, a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC) is operable at a lower temperature than other fuel cells and produces water as a reaction product so that it is clean to environment and has been therefore put to practical use as power sources for household stationary use and for vehicles.
In a catalyst layer contained in each electrode of PEFC, a carbon-supported catalyst obtained by supporting a catalyst material on a carbon black support is generally used.
When PEFC is used, for example, as a power source for vehicles, the carbon support contained in the catalyst layer is corroded by start and stop operations, and also, the catalyst supported on the carbon support is itself also dissolved. It is reported that this promotes the deterioration of the catalyst layer and the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) including the catalyst layer. For this, it is desired to improve the durability of the catalyst layer.
In light of this, the adoption of a carbonless catalyst layer formed by sputtering or vapor deposition of catalyst material is examined. For example, there is a catalyst layer obtained by sputtering a whisker substrate with platinum. There is also a catalyst layer including a void layer obtained by stacking a catalyst material layer and a pore-forming material layer alternately on each other and then, by dissolving/removing the pore-forming material layer. The deterioration of the catalyst support caused by corrosion can be avoided by the use of the carbonless catalyst layer like this. However, the resistance of these catalysts to dissolution is still insufficient and therefore needs to be further improved.

Catalyst layer, membrane electrode assembly, and electrochemical cell


A method for mutual authentication between a subscriber and a communications network, in which a random number is generated at the subscriber's terminal. The random number is sent to the authentication sub-system managing the authentication of the subscriber for the access to the network, e.g., together with a subscriber's identifier. At the authentication sub-system, the identifier is used for checking the credentials of the subscriber. During the authentication process, parameters related to the subscriber's identifier are generated at the authentication sub-system, and the random number is encrypted using a session key formed using such parameters. The encrypted random number is then sent back to the subscriber's terminal, together with information needed to terminal in order to reconstruct the session key. After having reconstructed the session key, the subscriber's terminal decrypts the random number and checks matching with its generated random number. The matching between the two numbers allows the verification, by the subscriber, that the access point to which he/she is connecting is not a fake access point.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for authentication in a communications network, especially a packet, e.g. IP (Internet Protocol), network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The strong growth in number of Internet users has been one of the most remarkable phenomena in communications in recent years. The Internet has born and has developed as an "open network", being adapted to share information between users. Applications, such as the e-mail, the browsing of web pages, the download of files, based on Internet communications protocols such as the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), the FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or the HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) are now of common knowledge and used by a continuously growing number of users. The Internet technology is being used also in contexts not open to the public, such as within corporate local area networks, for sharing information between employees, in a so-called Intranet environment. Recently, the W-LAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) technology is also born and is being developed, allowing Internet or Intranet users to connect to the network without the need of a cable, by exploiting wireless network terminal adapters and access points.
In order to connect to the network, a well known technique provides that the user gives its credentials in the form of a user-ID and a related password to an authentication server, possibly belonging to a service provider. For example, RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) is a known server for remote user authentication based on a user-ID/password scheme.
Another proposed method for authentication to be performed for accessing a network, especially an IP network, is disclosed in the PCT patent application no. 00/02406, in the name of Nokia Networks OY. To allow authentication of users of IP networks in a geographically large area, the IP network's terminal uses a subscriber identity module (SIM) as used in a separate mobile communications system, whereby a response may be determined from a challenge given to the identity module as input. The IP network includes a special security server to which a message about a new user is transmitted when a subscriber attaches to the IP network. The subscriber's authentication information containing at least a challenge and a response is fetched from the said mobile communications system to the IP network and authentication is carried out based on the authentication information obtained from said mobile communications system by transmitting the said challenge through the IP network to the terminal, by generating a response from the challenge in the terminal's identity module and by comparing the response with the response received from the mobile communications system. Practically, as disclosed in the same PCT patent application, the authentication method of an existing mobile communications network, especially a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network, is used in an IP network.
Without entering in specific details, a typical authentication procedure used in a mobile communication network, such as a GSM network, provides that when a mobile terminal requires to join the mobile network it first sends the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identifier), stored on the SIM associated to the mobile terminal, to the network. An Authentication Center (AuC) receives the IMSI number and generates a random number RAND that is inputted to an algorithm dedicated to the authentication (the so-called A3 algorithm). The algorithm is parameterized with an encryption key ki uniquely associated to the IMSI number and, applied to the random number RAND, gives as a result a so-called Signed Response SRES1. The random number RAND is also sent to the mobile terminal, specifically to the SIM associated to the mobile terminal, in order to challenge thereof the generation of a Signed Response SRES2, which is rendered possible from the fact that the SIM stores the same encryption key ki and algorithm A3. SRES2 is then sent to the AuC, that checks a matching between SRES1 and SRES2 in order to grant access in the mobile network to the mobile terminal. If the matching between SRES1 and SRES2 is not verified, the access to the mobile network is denied.
The use of the above mentioned authentication procedure for connection to a communications network different from a mobile network, such as the Internet or a corporate Intranet, improves security with respect to a procedure only requiring the provision of a user-ID and a password. For example, a service provider can be substantially assured that the credentials given from the user requiring the connection are genuine, i.e. that the user is truly one of its subscribers.
However, the Applicant observes that the use of the above mentioned authentication procedure does not guarantee the user in the same way with respect to the service provider, i.e. it does not guarantee the user that he/she is not giving his/her confidential data to a "fake" network, through a fake access point, provided by a malicious entity pretending to be the user's service provider. In particular, the Applicant observes that since the match between the Signed Response SRES1 generated at the AuC and the Signed Response SRES2 generated at the user's SIM is only made at the network side, the user has no way to verify that he/she is actually accessing its trusted network.
The Applicant further observes that such problem is of particular importance accessing networks by exploiting W-LAN technology, in that W-LAN fake access points are relatively easy to be implemented.
The Applicant has faced the problem of implementing an authentication method, particularly adapted for accessing a communications network, more particularly a packet-based (e.g. IP) network, in which a mutual identification can be guaranteed between a subscriber and a service provider in both directions.

Method and software program product for mutual authentication in a communications network


Proteins containing one or more disulfide bonds or monosulfides are labeled with medically useful metal ions for use in diagnosis and treatment of a variety of pathologic conditions. Labeling is accomplished with a variety of metals, including radiometals, by using a reducing agent to reduce the disulfide bonds to thiolate groups; excess reducing agent, reaction by-products and any impurities are removed; and, a source of Sn (II) agent is added to the thiolate-containing protein. The resulting product may be stored frozen or lyophilized, with labeling accomplished by the addition of the medically useful metal ions.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field):
This invention relates to a method and composition for labeling proteins, peptides and amino acids, including antibodies, with a variety of metals ions, including radioisotopes of a variety of radiometals.
2. Background Art:
The use of radioisotopes to label proteins is well known. These compositions can be used in in vitro assays; can be administered to the human body to visualize or monitor functioning of various parts of the body or to determine the presence and location of particular antigens, antibodies, hormones or the like; and can be used in the treatment of various disease states. A variety of radioisotopes, including isotopes of technetium, indium, copper, rhenium, gold and arsenic have been used to label proteins.
Antibodies and antibody fragments have been labeled with a number of radionuclides for use in clinical diagnosis. These radionuclides include .sup.131 I, .sup.125 I, .sup.123 I, .sup.99m Tc, .sup.67 Ga, and .sup.111 In. So far, only .sup.99m Tc and .sup.111 In-labeled antibody preparations are widely used in clinical settings. For diagnostic imaging, both isotopes should be ideal; however, clinical limitations, including affinities for liver and kidneys that limit detection of abdominal diseases, have prompted searches for other imaging radionuclides.
Antibodies have also been labeled with a variety of radionuclides for potential use in targeted immunotherapy (Pietersz G A, Kannellos J, Smyth M J, et al. The use of monoclonal antibody conjugates for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Immunol Cell Biol 65:111-125, 1987). These radionuclides include .sup.90 Y, .sup.188 Re, and .sup.186 Re, and to a lesser extent .sup.199 Au and .sup.67 Cu. .sup.131 I has also been used. With the exception of .sup.131 I, all the methods currently used to conjugate these radiometals to antibodies involve the use of chelating groups chemically attached to the antibody. .sup.67 Cu is one radionuclide that has been specifically recommended for use as a therapeutic radionuclide when bound to antibodies (DeNardo G L, Raventos A, Hines H H, et al. Requirements for a treatment planning system for radioimmunotherapy. Int J Radiol Oncology Biol Phys 11:335-348, 1985). .sup.199 Au-conjugated monoclonal antibodies have also been suggested for potential use as cancer therapeutic agents.
.sup.67 Cu has been attached to monoclonal antibodies through chelates, e.g., a macrocycle chelate (6-para-nitrobenzyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-N,N',N",N"') (Deshpande S V, DeNardo S J, Meares C F, et al. Copper-67-labeled monoclonal antibody Lym-1, A potential radiopharmaceutical for cancer therapy: labeling and biodistribution in RAJI tumored mice, J Nucl Med 29:217-225, 1988), and porphyrins (Roberts J C, Figard S D, Mercer-Smith J A, et al. Preparation and characterization of copper-67 porphyrin-antibody conjugates. J Immunol Meth 105:153-164, 1987). The macrocycle chelate, but not the porphyrin conjugate, was evaluated in an animal model system. Both .sup.64 Cu and .sup.67 Cu, have been conjugated by the porphyrin method to antibodies and autoantigenic peptides (Roberts J C, Newmyer S L, Mercer-Smith J A, Schrerer and Lavallee D K. Labelling antibodies with copper radionuclides using N-4-nitrobenzyl-5-(4-carboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-tris(4-sulfophenyl) porphine. Appl Radiat Isot 40:775-781, 1989). Biodistribution studies of radiocopper-labeled antibodies have shown that blood clearance is rapid and uptake to the bone is low (Mercer-Smith J A, Cole D A, Roberts J C, et al. The biodistribution of radiocopper-labeled compounds. In: C Kies (ed), Copper Bioavailability and Metabolism, pp 103-121, 1990).
Antibodies have been labeled with .sup.199 Au, in the form of gold clusters (Hainseld J F, Foley C J, Srivastava S C, et al. Radioactive gold cluster immunoconjugates: Potential agents for cancer therapy. Nucl Med Biol 17:287-294, 1990), and with .sup.199 Au and .sup.195 Au, as complex ions in citrate buffered saline (Anderson P, Vaugan A T M, and Varley N R. Antibodies labeled with .sup.199 Au: Potential use of .sup.199 Au for radioimmunotherapy. Nucl Med Biol 15:293-297, 1988).
Antibodies and other proteins have been directly labeled. Although several direct methods have been reported, the first direct method capable of providing a sufficiently strong bond between the protein and technetium-99m for In vivo applications was the direct or pretinning method described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,200, entitled Method for Radiolabeling Proteins with Technetium-99m, to Crockford, D. R., and Rhodes, B. A. In this method, a single reduction compound, consisting of stannous Sn(II)! chloride and other salts which serves both to reduce the protein, thereby exposing the disulfide bonds, and to reduce the sodium pertechnetate, is used. With this method, many proteins can be successfully radiolabeled with .sup.99m Tc. Several investigators have reported on the use of this method (Rhodes, B. A., et al, "Technetium-99m labeling of murine monoclonal antibody fragments," J Nucl Med 27:685-693, 1986; Som, P., et al, "Radioimmunoimaging of experimental thrombi in dogs using technetium-99m-labeled monoclonal antibody fragments reactive with human platelets," J Nucl Med 27:1315-1320, 1987).
Equivalent methods for direct labeling have been reported (Schwarz, A., and Steinstruaber, A., "A novel approach to Tc-99m-labeled monoclonal antibodies," J Nucl Med 28:721, 1987; Pak, K. Y., et al, "A rapid and efficient method for labeling IgG antibodies with Tc-99m and comparison to Tc-99m Fab'". J Nucl Med 30:793, 1989; Granowska, M., et al, "A Tc-99m-labeled monoclonal antibody, PR1A3, for radioimmunoscintigraphy," J Nucl Med 30:748, 1989). In the equivalent methods disulfide reducing agents other than stannous salts were used. Pak et al used dithiothreitol to reduce the disulfide bonds of the antibody; Swartz and Steinstrauber, and Granowska et al used 2-mercaptoethanol. Also some of these investigators (Swartz and Steinsbruaber, and Granowska et al) reduced the Tc-99m prior to adding it to the reduced antibody, which adds steps to the original procedure.
Reno, J. W., et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,868, Radionuclide Antibody Coupling, uses dithiothreitol (DTT) to reduce the disulfide groups of the protein, then protects the reactive sulfides with Zn (II) or other sulfhydryl group derivatizing reagents. Tartrate salts are used to complex and transfer the reduced radionuclide. This method uses potentially toxic chemicals, such as dithiothreitol, to reduce the antibody. It also requires multiple steps to radiolabel the protein.
Thakur, M. L., U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,676, Method to Directly Radiolabel Antibodies for Diagnostic Imaging and Therapy, used sodium ascorbate to reduce the disulfide groups of antibodies. However, this method cannot be adapted to single-step, direct labeling; it is required to reduce the radionuclide prior to adding the radionuclide to the sodium ascorbate reduced protein. In a preferred embodiment of the Thakur method, a separate vial is utilized, in which sodium dithionite is used to reduce the radionuclide, producing dithionite reduced radionuclide.
There are useful metals for magnetic resonance imaging, including gadolinium, manganese, copper, iron, gold and europium, which are not radioisotopes. Examples also include ions of a lanthinide element of atomic numbers 57-70 or ions of transition metals of atomic numbers 21-29 and 42-44. Examples of metals which would be expected to be of potential utility in magnetic resonance imaging with proteins labeled by the methods described in the present invention include copper, iron and gold, as well as colloidal preparations of iron or gold.
So far, antibodies do not appear to have been labeled with positron-emitting radiometals, although other types of proteins (transferrin and human serum albumin) have been labeled with .sup.68 Ga (Green M A, and Welch M J. Gallium radiopharmaceutical chemistry. Nucl Med Biol 16:435-448, 1989). The short half-life associated with .sup.68 Ga, i.e., 68 minutes, suggests that it often may not be a suitable label for targeting antibodies, which tend to have prolonged biological half-lives.

Direct labeling of peptides with metal ions


Packaging for an electronics assembly. A base card has a row of elongated slots. A number of individually insertable subassemblies have standoff feet and a pair of offset hooks at their sides. The hooks snap into the slots in such a way that each slot can hold the hooks for four different subassemblies, which are positioned adjacent each other and on both sides of the base card.

The present invention relates to the physical packaging of electronic circuits and similar items, and more particularly concerns a system for mounting multiple subassemblies at high density on a single base card.
Electronic and optoelectronic circuits seem to decrease in physical size almost without limit. This usually does not result in a decrease in the size of the overall system, but rather the inclusion of ever increasing numbers of circuits within a single system. In many systems, such as switching systems, communications systems, and the like, the demand is to package larger numbers of a common subassembly within the same frame. For example, a system for interconnecting multiple optical fibers may require dozens of "link cards" which each convert a serial optical signal at gigabit frequencies into a parallel electrical signal and vice versa. In such systems, the high signal frequencies also make small physical size and dense packaging very desirable.
Previous advances in electronics packaging at the card or subassembly level have required large spacing between adjacent subassemblies for insertion and removal, have been difficult to insert and remove, have been fragile or expensive, or have interfered with heat dissipation from the system.

High-density packaging for multiple removable electronics subassemblies

International Business Machines Corporation


A multiple-orifice co-extrusion manifold is disclosed for use in high-volume, cost-efficient extrusion of multi-layered products, such as center-filled food products. A flow path is provided for each substance to be extruded. For each extrudable substance, the flow path between its extruder and each of a plurality of extrusion orifices is sufficiently equal to the other flow paths for that substance, that a substantially uniform distribution and volumetric flow is obtained at each orifice without the need for individual adjustment apparatus. Within the manifold, the flow paths preferably comprise a generally symmetrical chamber for flowing a first extrudate and a plurality of tubes, for flowing a second substance. The tubes extend through the chamber in a generally symmetrical relationship to each other and to the chamber. Each flow path is thus generally equal and symmetrical to the other flow paths. The two substances are co-extruded as continuous, radially-layered products and are subsequently divided into pre-determined lengths by a series of blades mounted on an extrudate inlet pipe and rotating about the manifold.

There are numerous desirable products made by extruding two or more substances together so that the substances become generally radially-layered. The process for making such products is generally referred to as coextrusion. In other words, a product is formed by extruding a first substance which circumferentially surrounds a second substance and, where desired, the second surrounds a third, and so on. Others have proposed methods and apparatus for making such products. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,402,898 and 4,208,175 disclose methods and apparatus for extruding radially-layered plastic tubing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,124,161; 5,120,554; 5,110,276; 4,900,572; 4,882,185; and, 4,648,821 disclose methods and apparatus for extruding center-filled food products.
Generally coextrusion involves a separate extruder for each substance to be combined into the multi-layered extrusion product. Each of these extruders flows the extrudable substance or "extrudate" into an apparatus such as a manifold. This apparatus presents flow paths to the various substances to direct them ultimately to a means which combines them and extrudes them as a multi-layered (usually radially-layered) product through an extrusion orifice. While not disclosed by some, others in the art cited above recognize a need for the apparatus or manifold to have multiple-extrusion orifices for higher production output.
However, problems arise in connection with producing radially-layered products, especially when multiple orifices are employed. For example, it can be difficult to achieve a product which is uniform from orifice to orifice. A primary reason for this is that the extrudable substance flowing from any given extruder must be divided in some manner to distribute the substance along a flow path to each extrusion orifice. With conventional apparatus, achieving uniform distribution to each orifice, requires separate adjustment to vary the flow path or flow rate leading to each given orifice. Such adjustments must be checked, and perhaps repeated whenever a new batch of extrudate is supplied from the extruder. Adjustments may also be required upon conditions changing, such as temperature or flow rate from the extruder. These adjustments are not desirable as they require the purchase, installation and maintenance of the flow varying apparatus. Also, valuable production time is consumed in making the adjustments and scrap may be generated until the adjustments are complete. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,120,554 and 5,110,276 teach the use of valves interposed in the flow path of the extrudates to vary and adjust volumetric flow.
Uniform distribution of extrudate is also impeded by the inherent necessity of introducing the flow path of inner extrudable substances within the flow path of the outer extrudable substances. To address this problem, others have proposed complex manifold structures employing spider plates and the like which attempt to uniformly divide outer substance by flowing into additional flow paths temporarily while the flow path of the inner substance can be interposed and brought into coaxial alignment, with the outer substance flow path. In these embodiments, the outer substance is generally then recombined before it proceeds to the extrusion orifice. The apparatus proposed for this dividing and recombining flow is complex and further impedes uniform distribution. The complexity also increases equipment capital and maintenance costs. Examples of these structures are disclosed in the above-cited patents.
While presenting an improvement over the above discussed approaches and while enjoying significant commercial success, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,572 to Repholz nonetheless discloses, among other things, the need for adjustment of flow and distribution of extrusion. For example, in Repholz, the extrudate flow and uniformity are adjusted by separately turning individual eccentric sleeves in each of the extrusion orifices.
Generally uniform distribution of extrudable substance is also frustrated by non-symmetrical and non-equal flow paths presented by conventional apparatus from the extruders to each of the multiple extrusion orifices.


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support chained sidelink transmissions. A transmitting user equipment (UE) may send, to a receiving UE, sidelink control information (SCI) that reserves resources for transmission from the transmitting UE as well as reserves resources for a response transmission from the receiving UE. The receiving UE may respond with a transmission using the resources that were reserved in the SCI and without sending its own SCI to reserve resources for the response. The latency between the transmitting UE sending the first transmission and receiving a response from the receiving UE may be reduced, because the transmitting UE reserved the resources for itself and the receiving UE with the same SCI.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
A wireless device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) may communicate with other UEs over a sidelink. In some cases, a transmitting UE communicates over a sidelink with a receiving UE by sending sidelink control information (SCI) to reserve resources for the transmission and once the resources are reserved, sending a transmission. Additionally, the receiving UE may also perform the reservation process before transmitting a response. The resulting latency from both UEs performing the reservation process during communications may introduce latency and other inefficiencies into wireless communications systems.


A method and apparatus is used to interchange certain seating areas within a sports stadium or arena with an entertainment stage on a temporary basis to support an alternate use of the facility such as for a religious event, civic gathering, or musical concert. Loss of revenue producing seats for a concert due to poor viewing access is minimized, since none of the remaining seats are blocked from viewing the entertainment stage. The seating sections are provided in self-supporting modules or risers of approximately one hundred seats (or equivalent bench seating area). The seating sections are moved with the aid of a mobile crane and specially designed trailers. These seating sections are stored on elevated landing racks located outside of the stadium. Entertainment stage sections with equivalent “footprint” configurations are stored on these same landing racks when they are not in use in the stadium.

Often sports stadiums are used for entertainment stages for music concerts or other live entertainment events. In such a case, a temporary entertainment stage is erected directly on the playing field of the sports stadium. However, a significant portion of the seating revenue is lost, because the stage stands in front of a number of seats of the stadium.
For example, in a football type of stadium, generally in an oval configuration, most of the seats in one of the end zones behind the goal posts are lost, since they face the rear of the entertainment stage. Likewise, in a generally diamond-shaped baseball stadium, if the entertainment stage is positioned between the pitcher's mound and the home plate area, all of the seats in what is considered "foul territory" behind home plate are unusable, since they also face the rear of the temporary entertainment stage. Furthermore, in an indoor basketball arena, such as Madison Square Garden in New York City, the temporary stage is set up in front of one of the end zones of seating sections behind one of the baskets.
This results in a significant loss of revenue to the concert promoters or the stadium management, since they cannot sell tickets in areas of the stadium seating where a view of the entertainment stage is blocked.
The positioning of the stage on a portion of a conventional athletic playing field is unavoidable, since the stadium seats cannot be moved.
This temporary positioning of the entertainment stage in a sports stadium is in contrast to permanent entertainment stages in indoor theaters, where the stage is recessed into one wall, and the viewing takes place along the entire perimeter of the inside of the theater, even including "side orchestra level" or "side balcony seats" with an angled, but viewable, view of the stage from the side.
Attempts have been made to rearrange whole sections of seats within a sports stadium, but not to accommodate the temporary replacement of the seats with an entertainment stage in their place.
For example, among prior art efforts in movable stadium seating modules include U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,406 of Staelin which describes in-fill stadium seating sections which can be temporarily moved back to accommodate handicap wheelchairs in place thereof.
The seating sections of Staelin '406 may remain unconnected to a stadium wall. However, the seats of Staelin '406 replace a small module of a small number of seats, with a couple of wheel chairs as desired. Such a small number of seats is not an efficient size for removing large numbers of seats. The extra effort of folding down the seats of Staelin '406 grants no advantage to moving large number of seats. To attempt to move the limited number of seats as in Staelin '406 as a rigid module in the open position would probably cause early wear and failure due to the foldable construction described in Staelin '406.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,357 of Deaton describes a stadium with movable modules of seats to change the playing field from a square baseball diamond shape to an oblong football field and vice versa. The seating modules are moved on rubber bladder pads. However, the seating section of Deaton '357 is a very large module of about 10,000 seat capacity. It is much too large to handle with a crane and trailer. To store off site, one would need a flat smooth hard floor and direct open access to a parking lot, to use the leaky rubber bladder pads of Deaton '357.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,921,032 and 5,7494,383, both of Labinski, describe connectable stadium seating systems. Both of the Labinski '032 and '383 patents are heavily into structure, stadium design, and sub-structure definition and are very light on details of how to move seating sections. In Labinski '383, it is obvious that sections are to be moved within the stadium, sometimes transversing the playing field. The lift or jack means mentioned are not incorporated into a mobile trailer.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 2,668,331 of Horn and U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,776 of Burkinshaw describe collapsible entertainment stages in general. Moreover, Applicants Scott Suprina and Tony English have a pending application Ser. No. 09/710,470 filed Nov. 9, 2000 for "Demountable Indoor/Outdoor Seating Systems Components" which describes fasteners for stadium seating seats and floor board decks, as well as guard rails and hand rails for stadium seating modules. That application including its text and drawing is incorporated by reference herein.
None of the prior art details methods of interchangeable movement of stadium seat sections or stage sections to and from a portable storage area outside, and in the vicinity of, an arena or stadium.

Interchangeable stadium seating and entertainment stage


A multi-feed horn includes a first feed horn, a second feed horn and a third feed horn which are connected to a first waveguide, a second waveguide and a third waveguide, respectively. The first feed horn is provided with a first proximal end opening and a first tip opening which are rectangular in shape, the second feed horn is provided with a second proximal end opening and a second tip opening which are rectangular in shape, and the third feed horn is provided with a third proximal end opening and a third tip opening which are rectangular in shape. Consequently, a multi-feed horn, a low noise block downconverter and an antenna apparatus which allow a further improvement in the reception characteristic and in the manufacturing accuracy can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-feed horn, a low noise block downconverter provided with the same and an antenna apparatus, and particularly to a multi-feed horn used for receiving communication with a plurality of satellites, a low noise block downconverter provided with the same and an antenna apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
The communication using an artificial satellite is assigned with a frequency band depending on the intended use. Mainly, the satellite for satellite television broadcasting or the like is assigned with a Ku band (frequency band: 12-18 GHz) and the communication satellite is assigned with a Ka band (frequency band: 26-46 GHz). The broadcasting satellite and the communication satellite are in geostationary orbit around the Earth. In recent years, a plurality of communication satellites which are located close to each other are in geostationary orbit. An antenna provided with a multi-feed horn is used to receive the radio waves from these plurality of communication satellites and the like.
With regard to a multi-feed horn of such an antenna, the multi-feed horn disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-324964 will be hereinafter described. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in a multi-feed horn 101, in order to receive the radio wave from each of three communication satellites, three feed horns 111, 121 and 131 are disposed such that their respective central axes (not shown) are arranged parallel to each other. Feed horns 111, 121 and 131 are provided with proximal end openings 112, 122 and 132, and tip openings 113, 123 and 133, respectively. The conventional multi-feed horn 101 is configured as described above.

Multi-feed horn, low noise block downconverter provided with the same and antenna apparatus


An improved imaging device having a pixel arrangement featuring a multilayer light shield. The multilayer light shield includes stacked layers of light-shielding and light-transparent material. The light-transparent material, such as a dielectric, is selected to have a stress, such as a tensile stress, that offsets the stress, such as a compressive stress, of the light shielding material. Without the stress offset, the high compressive stress of the refractory metal could damage the integrity of the nearby silicon. The refractory metal is capable of withstanding the high temperatures associated with front end CMOS processing. The laminate structure allows the light shield to be placed close to the pixel surface. The light-transparent material has a thickness equal to about one-quarter wavelength of the light to be blocked, to act as an anti-reflective coating. An aperture in the light shield exposes the active region of the pixel's photoconversion device.

A semiconductor photoimaging device includes a focal plane array of pixel cells supported by a substrate. Each of the pixel cells includes a photoconversion device, for example, a photogate, a photoconductor, or a photodiode, for generating and accumulating photo-generated charge in a portion of the substrate. A readout circuit is connected to each pixel cell and typically includes at least an output transistor, which receives photogenerated charges from a doped diffusion region and produces an output signal that is periodically read-out through a pixel access transistor. The imager may optionally include a transistor for transferring charge from the photoconversion device to the diffusion region or the diffusion region may be directly connected to, or be part of, the photoconversion device. A transistor is also typically provided for resetting the diffusion region to a predetermined charge level before it receives the photo-converted charges. A CMOS imager circuit is often associated with a color filter, such as a Bayer filter, for discerning various wavelengths of light.
One typical CMOS imager pixel circuit, the three-transistor (3T) pixel, contains a photodiode for supplying photo-generated charge to a diffusion region; a reset transistor for resetting the diffusion region; a source follower transistor having a gate connected to the diffusion region, for producing an output signal; and a row select transistor for selectively connecting the source follower transistor to a column line of a pixel array. Another typical CMOS imager pixel employs a four-transistor (4T) configuration, which is similar to the 3T configuration, but utilizes a transfer transistor to gate charges from the photodiode to the diffusion region and the source follower transistor for output.
Exemplary CMOS imaging circuits, processing steps thereof, and detailed descriptions of the functions of various CMOS elements of an imaging circuit are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,630, U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,868, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,366, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,652, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,524, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,205, each of which is assigned to Micron Technology, Inc., the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Typical imaging devices have a light shield providing apertures exposing at least a portion of the photoconversion devices to incoming light while shielding the remainder of the pixel circuit and neighboring pixels from the light. Light shields separate received light signals of adjacent pixels, known as crosstalk, and prevent photocurrent from being generated in undesirable locations in the pixel. As a result, the imaging device can achieve higher spatial resolution and color affinity with less blooming, blurring, and other detrimental effects. Light shields can also serve to protect the circuitry associated with the pixels from radiation damage, for example.
In the prior art, light shields have typically been formed in the metal interconnect layering (e.g., the Metal 1 (M1), Metal 2 (M2), or, if utilized, Metal 3 (M3) layers) of the integrated circuit. Metallization layer light shield structures have some drawbacks, such as limiting use of the metal layer to the light shield rather than for its normal conductive interconnect purpose. Additionally, having the light shield in upper metallization (conductive interconnect) layers, spaced some 18,000 Å from the photo-sensitive area, can increase crosstalk, light piping, and light shadowing in the pixels, which can cause errors.
To satisfy optical performance specifications, light masks need to exhibit good light absorption, low reflectivity (higher reflectivity might induce light back scattering) and be as close as possible to the pixel surface to minimize light scattering to vicinal pixels. Metal layers in CMOS imaging devices normally provide this function. Metal layers also serve as conductors. An example of a metal light shield formed on an insulator above the pixel surface is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,013, assigned to Micron Technology, Inc., and U.S. application Ser. No. 10/410,191 filed Apr. 10, 2003 in the name of Rhodes, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Performance objectives become more difficult to satisfy as device sizes become smaller. Widths of metal lines used as light masks also become smaller, down to equal to or less than the wavelength of the light being detected. Additionally, objects at sub-wavelength sizes exhibit a great deal of scattering. Consequently, the need to locate the light shield closer to the pixel surface increases with advancing miniaturization. As light shields are located closer to the pixel surface, however, the light shield layers are exposed to more manufacturing steps and hence are subjected to greater temperatures.
Light shields that can be located close to the pixel surface are needed. The light shields must have good thermal stability, be able to withstand the rigors of "front end" CMOS processing, and be compatible with adjacent structures in the pixel.

CMOS front end process compatible low stress light shield


A thermal actuator includes a thermal detector, an actuator unit and a connecting circuit for electrically connecting the thermal detector and the actuator unit. When a second contact member is normally remained uncontact with a first contact member of the thermal detector, the thermal actuator is an open circuit and not function. However, when the second contact member bends to contact with the first contact member due to an overheated or over-cold temperature around the thermal detector, the thermal actuator is in a close circuit and the electric current flows to an actuator unit thereof. A heat wire wrapped around an actuating piece of the actuator unit generates heat to increase the temperature around the actuating piece. When the temperature around the actuating piece increases to a predetermined extent, the actuating piece bends so as to provide an actuating action. If the actuator unit is installed close to a switch or a breaker, the actuating action of the actuating piece can activate the switch to turn off or the jumper of the breaker to cut the electric supply.

Most electrical appliances break down because of overheating. Overheating of an appliance or a circuit frequently causes fire or electrical shock. In order to provide a kind of protection, most houseware appliances install a fuse to prevent the overheating of the electrical wires. For the building circuitry, the bi-metal type breaker is the most common device installed in the control panel to prevent the overheating of the electrical wiring.
In the other words, those conventional thermal protectors are substantially the electrical current protection for preventing overheating of the electrical wiring. However, the surroundings around the electrical appliance has nothing for protecting against overheating or over-cold. For example, a pot of a coffee maker may also be overheated if there is no more coffee therein. It will also create danger of fire or breaking down situation. A halogen floor lamp would generate a great amount of heat therearound that has a high risk of burning stuff like the curtain around. Moreover, it is well known that the CPU of a computer generates heat during operation. If the heat accumulates around the CPU to a certain extent, the CPU will be malfunctioned. Also, a heater is an appliance for generating heat. However, the user can only control the heat by setting the power output or the timer control. It is relatively expensive and difficult to control the heater according to the actual temperature around the heater.
In fact, every electrical appliance that generates heat needs a thermal guard to prevent the surrounding being overheated or over-cold. It would be a remarkable matter if there is an inexpensive device that can cut the circuit or switch off the appliance if the surrounding thereof is too hot. It not only can prolong the service life of the appliance, but also can help the user to avoid unreasonable hazard or damages.


A transceiver capable of handling both UWB and narrowband calls includes a mechanism for detecting when a signal from one of the narrowband systems will interfere the UWB communication and switching the UWB data connection link to the alternative data path.

Ultra wide band UWB communication systems refer to communication systems where the radio spectrum of the communication system is spread over a very wide frequency range compared to communication data speed. The technology is approaching commercial application, with various governments specifying permitted frequency ranges for the technology. The IEEE, specification body is in the process of establishing the standard IEEE 802.15.3. There are currently two proposals for the standard: one based on pulse radio technology and one based on OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Method). The purpose of the UWB communication system standard is to increase the data throughput rate much higher than current wireless local area network (WLAN) data rates. The WLAN is standardized in the IEEE 802.11 and different versions of it.
Pulse radio ultra Wide Band (UWB) communications systems employ signals that are simply a very short pulse of RF frequency; a technology that has been explored since its origins in the 1960's.
Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a simplified sketch of a prior art transceiver. In the past, the classical transceiver contains a reference oscillator (synth) 34 which, as a rule, is stabilized with some reference crystal element 32 (Ref Osc). During reception, this frequency is subtracted from the received signal, and during transmission it is added to the data transferred (in up-down converter 20). Element 20 includes a channel filter which selects the operational RF channel. The RF signals pass through RF switch 15 to and from antenna 10. The RF switch 15 selects whether the transmission path or receiver path is connected to antenna 10. Band pass filter 12 filters out unwanted signals outside of the spectrum band of the system. The input and output signals are amplified by amplifiers 17 and 18.
Element 20 may include multiple down conversion, which is not shown in the figure in order to make figure simple. The filtered down converted RF signal is amplified with IF filters or baseband filters. The amplified signal is demodulated with module 35. Example 1A shows demodulation for an analog signal. The demodulation module 35 may include an analog-to-digital (AD) converter. Demodulation can be done also with digital signal processing (DSP). The information from demodulation circuitry is fed to baseband unit 50 that processes the detected information. In the case of digital data, the bits are converted to and from standard pulse levels and sent to or received from the relevant source or receiving units.
For UWB, the transmitter can be relatively simple compared with a narrow-band (NB) transmitter—the transmitter forms a pulse of a required shape and sends it to the antenna. FIG. 1B shows a pulse generator 42 connecting directly to RF switch 15. In case of reception, we amplify the signal in the same amplifier 17 as the narrow-band transceiver. The next module includes matched filter and correlator circuitry. The matched filter is optimally designed for the transmitted signal so that it optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal. The correlator circuitry performs the detection of the received signal. The detected received signal is fed to baseband processor, denoted generally with numeral 50, which e.g. shows a received video signal to the display.
It is technically more difficult to detect a single pulse than a series of oscillations of the carrier frequency. Extensive work has been done in developing appropriate hardware, which is not a limit to the practical application of the invention described herein.
It is an advantageous feature of the invention that the UWB hardware is much simpler than NB transceivers and can be entirely assembled on a chip. An important advantage is that a UWB transmitter needs no analog part—a signal can be sent to the air right from the chip, and in case of reception this analog part is much simpler and can be realized within the frames of not only hybrid technologies but also base ones, i.e. CMOS and the like.
FIG. 2 illustrates graphs comparing the behavior of an UWB signal and a conventional narrow-band signal. On the upper left of the Figure, graph 220 shows a series of pulses, nominally one half cycle of an RF frequency, with a positive signal taken to represent a logic one and a negative signal representing a logic zero. On the lower left, a corresponding graph 210 shows a frequency shift as the distinguishing element, with a lower frequency compared with a nominal reference indicating a logic zero and a higher frequency indicating a logic one. A requirement for such a system is that the time duration of each bit is long enough that the receiver can reliably distinguish the logic states.
On the upper right, the frequency spectrum corresponding to the time signal is shown. Curve 225 shows a broad band covering the range from 3 GHz to 10 GHz (hence the name "ultra-wideband"). Typically, this very wide operational band is divided into smaller RF channels; having a channel bandwidth of around 528 MHz.
On the lower right, the time domain signal in graph 215 is confined within a relatively narrow band. In current communication systems: GSM bandwidth (BW) 273 kHz, IS-95 (=American CDMA) BW 1.25 MHz, WCDMA BW 3.84 MHz, WLAN 11 MHz. In the claims, the term "narrowband" will refer to a width of the communication system spectrum of the order of 10 MHz.
FIG. 3 shows a portion of the spectrum near the UWB band (3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz). Bar 322 indicates the GPS band at 1.6 GHz, bar 324 indicates the PCS band at 1.9 GHz and bar 326 indicates the lower WLAN band (802.11b) at 2.4 GHz. There are several other systems working in the same 2.4 GHz band such as Bluetooth and cordless phones. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that harmonics of the foregoing bands will fall within the UWB range.
Further, the upper band for WLANs (band 802.11a) falls within the UWB range, denoted by bar 328. The frequency range is from 5.15 GHz up to 5.725 GHz.
Curve 310, representing UWB radiation, is shown as having a magnitude below the "Part 15 Limit", referring to FCC regulation CFR-47 part 15. The UWB signal is required to be less than −41 dBm/MHz (a strength indicated by dotted line 330) in the specified signal range. There is not a formal requirement of signal strength below 3.1 GHz, but workers in the field assume that a limit of −61 dBm/MH is appropriate, in view of the sensitivity of GPS receivers to interference.
In the commercial marketplace, UWB applications include:
High Speed (20+ Mb/s) LAN/WANs
Altimeter/Obstacle Avoidance Radars (commercial aviation)
Collision Avoidance Sensors
Tags (Intelligent Transportation Systems, Electronic Signs, Smart Appliances)
Intrusion Detection Radars
Precision Geolocation Systems
Industrial RF Monitoring Systems
The second alternative UWB standard proposal is based on OFDM, which is shown in the FIG. 9. The UWB proposal based on OFDM has been proposed by the multiband OFDM consortium (http://www.multibandofdm.org/). The OFDM technology is well established, having been invented more than 40 years ago. OFDM has been adopted by several standards: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) services, VDSL, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcast: DVB in Europe and ISDB in Japan. The WLAN standards IEEE 802.11a/g, 802.16a are based on OFDM.
Because OFDM is suitable for high data-rate systems, it is also currently being considered for the following standards: Fourth generation (4G) wireless services and IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.20.
The OFDM is a sub carrier modulation in which the original data has been divided into several smaller data streams. In the proposed UWB specification the 528 MHz radio channel is divided to 128 sub-carriers.
The same radiation power specifications apply to both UWB standard proposals.
Since frequency approval for UWB operation has yet to be acted upon by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), there are currently no "approved" applications within the United States.

Mobile terminal having UWB and cellular capability


A zoom lens comprises a plurality of lens elements arranged into three zooming lens units. These zooming lens units are spaced from one another by axial distances that vary during zooming. The lens units are a negative power front lens unit, a positive power middle lens unit and a negative power rear lens unit. At least one of the lens units continually moves away from the image plane, as the zoom lens zooms from a wide angle position toward a telephoto position so that the distance from this lens unit to the image plane varies in sigmoidal relation with respect to the focal length of the zoom lens.

Compact zoom lenses having a small number of lens elements and providing large zoom ratios are highly desirable.
Zoom lenses with a negative power front lens unit, a positive power middle lens unit and a negative power rear lens unit (i.e., "-+-" configuration) that provide 2.times. to 3.times. zoom ratios are known. Some of the zoom lenses of the "-+-" configuration are relatively compact and have relatively few lens elements (seven). U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,582 discloses such zoom lenses. However, these zoom lenses do not provide large enough zoom ratios and their structures can not be easily modified to provide larger zoom ratios.
Zoom lenses of the "-+-" configuration providing larger zoom ratios are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,776 discloses zoom lenses with eleven lens elements providing zoom ratios of 3.6.times.. U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,317 discloses zoom lenses with ten and eleven lens elements. Some of these zoom lenses provide zoom ratios of 3.6.times. and 4.6.times.. All of these zoom lenses are large, complex, have many lens elements and, therefore, are expensive to produce.


Isolation plugs may be installed in a wellbore flow control device to temporarily close a flow path therethrough. The isolation plugs may be installed in threaded openings often provided to for access to nozzles or other flow restrictors in the flow control devices. The isolation plugs may initially be locked in a closed configuration while being run in hole and may be unlocked in response to the application of a predetermined activation pressure. Once unlocked, the isolation plug may not immediately move to an open configuration but may continue holding pressure to permit circulation and washdown operations to be conducted. The activation pressure may be reduced to a second predetermined threshold to lock the isolation plug in the open configuration wherein flow is permitted through the flow control device.

The present disclosure relates generally to well completion systems and associated operations for use in a subterranean wellbore. Example embodiments described herein include flow control devices with mechanical mechanisms that selectively open a flow path through the control devices while deployed in the wellbore.
In hydrocarbon production operations, well completions have been employed that have down-hole flow control devices therein. The flow control devices facilitate balancing inflow into the wellbore or injection from the wellbore along a length of the completion. The flow control devices may also assist in the delay gas and water breakthrough, increase a lifespan of the wellbore and improve overall hydrocarbon recovery. Some completions use a wash pipe to act as a conduit for fluid returns as well to carry a shifting mechanism to open or close a flow path through the flow control devices. However, the use of a wash pipe, especially in long horizontal wells, may be associated with a loss of valuable rig time due to make-up and break-up of the wash pipe, or the time allocated for recovery operations if the wash pipe becomes stuck. Thus, by constructing wellbore completions with flow control devices that do not require the use of a wash pipe may reduce operation time, costs and associated risks.

Mechanical isolation plugs for inflow control devices


The specification discloses a loose-fill packing material comprising a plurality of individual packing elements, and a method of making such packing elements. Each packing element comprises at least two paper rings which are connected to each other at their outer surfaces. Each ring comprises a strip of paper which is rolled lengthwise upon itself. The rolls are fabricated by rolling sheets of paper to form elongated paper rolls having cylindrical outer surfaces and by then attaching pairs of elongated paper rolls together at their outer surfaces along their lengths. Individual packing elements are then cut from the pairs of elongated paper rolls.

Conventional methods of packing often include surrounding an object within a packing container by a quantity of loose-fill packing material. Loose-fill packing material is generally a pourable material which is stored in a large overhead container or hopper and directed into packing containers by a flexible chute. Once in place around an object, the material provides sufficient support to resist migration of the object within the packing container. Probably the most important characteristic of a loose-fill packing material is its ability to repeatedly absorb impact energy without being permanently deformed or crushed. Loose-fill packing material must also be relatively light to minimize shipping costs.
The most convenient and commonly used loose-fill packing material has been expanded polystyrene, often referred to as synthetic "popcorn." Expanded polystyrene and other such foam-type materials are light, provide a high degree of impact energy absorption, and are easily and conveniently formed in a variety of shapes.
However, expanded polystyrene and many polystyrene substitutes also have a significant disadvantage in that they are not biodegradable. As concern has increased over waste disposal and its impact on the environment, this disadvantage has gained considerable social and economic importance.
A number of alternative, biodegradable packing materials have been suggested. One of the most interesting of these alternatives is actual popped corn kernels. Unfortunately, the biodegradable alternatives have generally been unacceptable. The primary shortcoming of many such packing materials is their lack of sufficient impact energy absorption. Many packing materials also fail to prevent migration of objects within a packing container or to provide sufficient support for the objects. Such materials are also often costly, relatively heavy, and are difficult or inconvenient to work with.

Biodegradable loose-fill packing material


A filter and filtering cartridge with a removable center tube, for the filtering of fluids. The invention relates to a filter for circulating fluid of the type consisting of a filtering cartridge inserted in an outer shell, with the outer shell being intended to be removably connected to a base. The outer shell cooperates with an independent and removable center tube. A filtering cartridge is mounted in the outer shell around the independent and removable center tube which extends longitudinally inside said outer shell over at least a substantial part of the length of the outer shell. The filtering cartridge is longitudinally restrained inside said outer shell in part by the removable center tube.

Conventionally, the filtering cartridge is held or restrained in terms of longitudinal movement inside the outer shell at the one end with the filter head and at the other end by an end wall of the outer shell.
This type of filter operates in the following manner: The fluid to be filtered (for example, oil) is introduced through an intake opening of the filter head, to an annular chamber in the outer shell, flows along the internal wall of the outer shell, and passes radially inward through the filtering cartridge, which retains the contaminants (particularly particles of heavy metals) found in suspension in the fluid. The filtered fluid then passes through the central axis of the outer shell and leaves through an outlet opening of the head.
When the filtering cartridge placed in the outer shell reaches the end of its useable life, that is to say when the filtering cartridge no longer satisfactorily fulfills its role of filtration, an operator separates the outer shell from the filter head, removes the worn out filtering cartridge, replaces it with a new filtering cartridge, and reattaches the outer shell to the filter head. Used filtering cartridges are subsequently incinerated so as to destroy the organic polluting materials and to concentrate the inorganic polluting materials (particularly the heavy metals, such as lead).
This type of filter, however, offers several disadvantages. A first disadvantage lies in the fact that the used filtering cartridge cannot be completely incinerated because it generally contain certain metallic elements, particularly end plates and a central perforated interior tube. The elimination of this remaining waste is made more complicated at the expense of the environment.
Another disadvantage is connected with the longitudinal restraining of the filtering cartridge inside the outer shell. In effect, this restraining requires one to take into account precisely the relative positioning of the outer shell with respect to the filter head since the outer shell serves as a lower stop for one end of the filtering cartridge. In other words, the longitudinal play of the filtering cartridge in the outer shell depends on the dimensioning of the outer shell.
Finally, the shape of this type of filter is such that it has a certain number of interfaces or joints where fluid leakage could occur. It therefore requires the use of several seals.

Fiber with reusable shell and center tube


A vehicle occupant knee protection apparatus for protecting the knees of an occupant when collision energy acts on a vehicle. The occupant knee protection apparatus comprises a knee protection member, a contact force detector, a controller, and a drive unit. The knee protection member is disposed in an opposable position to knees of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat. The contact force detector detects the contact force of the knees on the knee protection member. The controller performs control that reduces the contact force to a force control target value and that maintains the reduced value. The drive unit moves the knee protection member in the front/rear direction of the vehicle on the basis of an output signal from the controller.

In recent years, progress has been made in the development of occupant protection apparatuses for protecting occupants when collision energy acts on a vehicle. As a part of this type of occupant protection, efforts are being made to develop an occupant knee protection apparatus for a vehicle whereby knees are protected by mitigating collision energy that acts on the knees of an occupant.
For example, efforts are being made to develop occupant knee protection apparatuses for a vehicle provided with a passive energy-absorbing structure that has a knee protection member in the front area of the vehicle interior. When collision energy acts on the vehicle from the front direction, the knees of the occupant move forward due to inertia and make contact with the knee protection member. The contact force can be absorbed and the knees protected when the knee protection member is elastically deformed by the impact force (contact force).
There are also many techniques for more actively protecting knees such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-122061. A general overview of the conventional occupant knee protection apparatus for a vehicle described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-122061 is described with reference to FIG. 10 hereof, schematically illustrating the conventional occupant knee protection apparatus.
The conventional occupant knee protection apparatus for a vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 10 has a knee protection member 103 that is movable in the front/rear direction of the vehicle body and is mounted on the instrument panel 102 of a vehicle 101.
In accordance with the occupant knee protection apparatus for a vehicle 100, when the ignition switch is switched on, the distance from the knee protection member 103 to the knees 106 of the occupant 105 seated in a seat 104 is detected by using a position detector 107, and the knee protection member 103 is moved toward the knees 106 by using an electric motor so that the distance is brought to a prescribed fixed value.
In other words, the movement distance of the knees 106 during a collision can be reduced by reducing the gap between the knee protection member 103 and the knees 106.
When collision energy acts on the vehicle 101 from the forward direction, the knees 106 of the occupant 105 move forward a distance equal to the above-described fixed value, and strike the knee protection member 103. The knee protection member 103 absorbs the collision energy that acts on the knees 106 by being displaced in the forward direction of the vehicle body in accordance with the impact force (collision energy) of the knees 106. As a result, the knees 106 can be protected.
In the conventional occupant knee protection apparatus for a vehicle 100 described above, however, there is no change in the fact that the structure is a passive energy-absorbing structure in which the knee protection member 103 is displaced in the forward direction of the vehicle in accordance with the impact force of the knees 106 on the knee protection member 103.
In an actual collision, the deceleration of the vehicle 101 after collision energy has acted on the vehicle is not necessarily fixed and often varies in a complicated manner. Even if the gap between the knee protection member 103 and the knees 106 is set in advance to be a fixed value, the effect of the inertia of the knees 106 varies in the course of events after a collision. However, such a passive energy-absorbing structure still has room for improvement so that the desired energy-absorbing characteristics can always be stably assured even if the initial collision velocity and deceleration of the vehicle 101 at the point of collision has varied.
If the force at which the knee protection member 103 starts to be displaced in the forward direction of the car, i.e., the displacement start force, is set to a low level, the load on the knees 106 and thighs can be reduced. When the displacement start force is low, however, the distance the occupant 105 moves forward while seated increases, i.e., the forward movement distance increases.
There is, therefore, also a need for a technique whereby the forward movement distance of the occupant can be reduced.

Vehicle occupant knee protection apparatus


A computer for storing computer infrastructure inventory data includes a processor and a memory device coupled to the processor. The computer also includes a database system stored on the memory device. The database system includes computer-executable instructions allowing the computer to manage stored records. The computer is configured to receive an inventory file associated with a scan of a host device. The computer is also configured to receive a mapping schema associated with the inventory file. The mapping schema comprises a structured relationship description between the inventory file and an inventory record. The computer is further configured to translate the inventory file to the inventory record using the mapping schema and to update the database system with the inventory record.

The field of the invention relates generally to management of computer devices and, more particularly, to network-based systems and methods for scanning computer devices to collect inventory data including hardware and software objects associated with the computer devices.
At least some known computing infrastructures for medium to large business entities include hundreds or thousands of computer devices, from mission-critical servers hosting production applications to personal computers (PCs) used by support personnel. Managing such computing infrastructures requires knowledge of the types of hardware and software objects deployed across the environment. Asset managers oftentimes need to maintain inventory information on the computing devices in service, and need to track devices as they enter and exit service. System administrators may need to track operating system versions and patch levels for the computing devices, as well as which applications and versions are installed on each computing device.
One known method of maintaining such inventory information is the manual tracking and recording of information in a spreadsheet or a database. Tracking asset information manually can be significantly time consuming, and is subject to human error. Further, changes in the infrastructure lead to stale data that may not be immediately corrected, and may go unrealized for long periods of time. Other known methods of maintaining inventory information utilize inventory management applications. Such approaches often require purchasing a management product, and installing a pre-compiled agent on each computing device in the infrastructure. These agents may not be available for all operating systems present in an infrastructure. When these agents are installed, these known agents are oftentimes not customizable enough for certain tasks, and typically impact the computational capacity of the hosts on which they run.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a tool set that can be deployed onto each computing device such that each computing device can then execute a common scan program to collect similar inventory data, with minimal computational overhead on the executing host.

Systems and methods for storing computer infrastructure inventory data


A compensating receptacle connector and for terminating a cable assembly of a cabling category and comprising a plug mating zone, a cable mating zone and an intermediate zone. Each of the zones is such that Near End Cross Talk (NEXT) resulting from transmission of the high frequency signal across each zone is below a specified amount chosen such that NEXT introduced by a high frequency signal transmission between via all the zones is below a level as specified for the cabling category.

The prior art discloses assemblies and methods for terminating cables which compensate for Near End Cross Talk (NEXT) introduced by their interconnection with other devices, cables and the like. These assemblies compensate for NEXT using coupling networks. One drawback of these prior art assemblies is that their interconnection is not independently compensated for NEXT introduced at a number of different locations.


An injection mold includes two mold halves, each of the mold halves including a mold cavity coupled with a plastic material inlet to make a plastic part within the mold cavity, a solid metal material housing the mold cavity, a conformal cooling channel positioned around the solid metal material, a plurality of mesh-containing cavities containing metallic mesh material and positioned around the solid metal material, wherein the metallic mesh material of any of the plurality of mesh-containing cavities is of a constant size.

A key issue in the injection molding of a plastic part in a mold is cycle time. The goal is the ability to mold the largest number of parts in the shortest time. Cycle time is partially controlled by the quickness in which the mold and the part can be cooled. In certain conventional injection molds, two mold halves come together to form a central cavity shaped for the part to be molded. A hot plastic stream is injected into the cavity and allowed to cool. Most basically, the cooling was controlled by channels, usually located at the periphery of the mold, which are provided with a cooling liquid or the like to cool the mold and the part being cured. Once cured, the mold halves are separated, the part can be removed, and the cycle can be repeated.
Because the cooling channels were inefficiently located at the periphery of the mold and thus were distanced from the part, the cooling process could be time consuming and thus detrimental to the cycle time of the mold. As a result, some injection molds have been provided conformal cooling channels. That is, the channels for the coolant are located near and around the mold cavity. Such conformal cooling channels cool the part more quickly, thereby efficiently decreasing the cycle time of the mold. Although such conformal cooling channels are difficult to provide when constructing the mold, with the advent of 3-D printing technologies, molds with conformal cooling can be more economically produced.
U.S. Publication No. 2019/0111590 discloses medium-encoded computer program products for designing and manufacturing conformal cooling molds with lattice structures. The conformal cooling mold includes a cavity and a core that mates with the cavity. The design and manufacturing steps include replacing solid regions of the mold cavity and the mold core with the lattice. The design and manufacturing steps further include adjusting a number of lattice unit cells for the lattice structure and adjusting thicknesses of the beams forming the lattice structure.
These various steps of the '590 Publication, particularly the adjustment steps, add increased complexity to the overall process of making the injection mold and to the injection mold itself. There remains a need in the art for an improved injection mold which provides even greater manufacturing efficiency.