The invention provides a process for depositing fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-F:C) films on IC wafers to provide a low-k interconnect dielectric material. The process, carried out in a PECVD chamber, introduces silane gas (SiH.sub.4) into the mixture of C.sub.4 F.sub.8 and CH.sub.4 gases used to deposit a-F:C films. The silane helps to decrease the fluorine etchants in the deposited film, helping to improve the crosslinks in the deposited product. Film produced in accordance with the present invention has both low-k, generally below 2.4, and high thermal stability, generally above 440.degree. C., allowing for higher thermal anneal temperatures.

The invention relates to a method of forming an interlevel dielectric of the type used in interconnect structures of integrated circuits, and more paticularly to a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method of forming a low-dielectric-constant insulating material.
The designers and makers of large scale integrated circuits continue to make ever-smaller devices which allow for greater speed and increased device packing densities. Sizes of individual features (e.g., the transistor gate length) on ultra-large-scale-integration (ULSI) circuits is shrinking to less than 0.25 microns (.mu.m). The resultant increase in packing densities on a semiconductor chip, and the associated increase in functionality, has greatly increased the number and density of interconnects on each chip.
Smaller on-chip devices, packed closer together, with increased functionality and complexity, require interconnects (lines, vias, etc.) which are smaller, more complex (e.g., more wiring levels), and more closely-spaced. The smaller sizes of the interconnects, which increases resistance, and closer interconnect spacing, leads to RC (resistance-capacitance) coupling problems including propagation delays and cross talk noise between interlevel and intralevel conductors. As interconnect lines, both interlevel and intralevel, become smaller and more closely spaced RC, delays become an increasing part of total signal delays, offsetting any speed advantage derived from smaller device size. RC delays thus limit improvement in device performance. Small conductor size increases the resistivity (R) of metal lines and smaller interline and interlevel spacing increases the capacitance (C) between lines. Use and development of lower-resistivity metals such as copper will continue to reduce the resistivity of interconnect lines. Capacitance can be reduced by employing lower dielectric constant (i.e., lower-k) dielectric materials.
Since capacitance (C) is directly proportional to the dielectric constant (k) of the interconnect dielectric, RC problems presented by ULSI circuits can be reduced if a low-dielectric-constant (low-k) material is used as the insulating material disposed between and around the interlevel and intralevel conductors (the dielectric being referred to herein as the "interconnect dielectric" or "interconnect dielectric material"). What the industry is seeking is a suitable replacement for silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2), which has long been used as a dielectric in integrated circuits. Silicon dioxide has excellent thermal stability and relatively good dielectric properties, having a dielectric constant of around 4.0. But there is now a need for an interconnect dielectric material which is suitable for use in IC circuit interconnects and which has a lower dielectric constant than SiO.sub.2.
After a long search for possible low dielectric constant materials to be used as an interconnect dielectric in ULSI circuits, the candidates have now been narrowed down to a few, depending upon application. One of the promising materials, which has been actively studied recently and received considerable attention, is fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-F:C).
Fluorocarbon polymers have been studied for more than two decades and most of their applications is for the use of coating materials to protect plastics, fibers, and metals. It is known that a-F:C films can be fabricated using plasma enhanced CVD ("PECVD"). Early experience with a-F:C showed that the films deposited at room temperature could be deposited with a dielectric constant as low as 2.1 and a thermal stability <300.degree. C. Further experimentation showed that if the a-F:C films were deposited at higher substrate temperatures, the thermal stability could be improved up to 400.degree. C., but the dielectric constant increased above .about.2.5.
Table I illustrates how the dielectric constants and thermal stabilities of several members of carbon family compare to a-F:C. It shows that the dielectric constant can be lowered if carbon films contain higher fluorine concentrations. In the PECVD process, the fluorine concentration of a-F:C film depends on the fluorine to carbon ratio in the discharge, which is established by the feed gas composition, RF power input, substrate temperature, and total pressure. The thermal stability is closely related to the degree of crosslinking among the polymer chains. The greater the degree of crosslinking, the more tightly bound the structures are, and the higher the thermal stability. In a PECVD process, either raising substrate temperature, enhancing ion bombardment, or applying low frequency plasma energy can increase the crosslinking in a-F:C films. Higher temperature deposition has the disadvantage of inevitably reducing the fluorine concentration, thereby increasing the dielectric constant.
TABLE I ______________________________________ Relevant properties for several members of carbon family Chemical Thermal Material Composition Structure k Stability ______________________________________ Diamond C Crystalline, fully Greater Very high crosslinked than 5 Hydro- C & H Amorphous 2.7-3.8 350- genated H: 30 at. %- polymer, 400.degree. C. Carbon 50 at. % highly crosslinked (a-H:C) or Diamond- like Carbon (DLC) Fluor- C & F Amorphous 2.1-2.8 300- inated F: 40 at. %- polymer, 420.degree. C. Amor- 50 at. % highly crosslinked phous Carbon (a-F:C) PTFE C & F (--CF.sub.2 --) 2.0 <300.degree. C. or Teflon F: 67 at. % polymer, uncrosslinked ______________________________________
Compared with the processes at low deposition temperatures, the disadvantages of high temperature deposition processes are that it not only increases the dielectric constant, but also leads to poor adhesion to SiO.sub.2 and Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 due to increased thermal stress, and also causes higher leakage current in the films. It appears that a lower deposition temperature is desirable.
Fluorinated amorphous carbon has a dielectric constant k below 3.0 and, depending on the proportion of fluorine (F) in the film, can have a k in the range of 2.0 to 2.5. A major problem with a-F:C is its poor thermal stability. It has heretofore not been possible to prepare a-F:C films with suitable low-dielectric-constant properties (k less than 2.5), and a thermal stability above 400.degree. C. Temperatures in the sintering range (450.degree. C.) typical for manufacturing ULSI chips cause excessive shrinkage of the a-F:C film, probably due to fluorine volatilization. Mechanical strength and adhesion problems also are obstacles to the use of a-F:C as an interconnect dielectric in high-density integrated circuits.
It would be advantageous to have a dielectric material for use in interconnect structures of integrated circuits, alternatively referred to herein as an "interconnect dielectric" which has a low dielectric constant (k=3.0 or less) and improved thermal stability up to 450.degree. C., thus providing a suitable lower-k replacement for silicon dioxide dielectric.
It would also be advantageous to have an a-F:C film which has a dielectric constant of 2.5 or less which is thermally stable to 450.degree. C.
It would also be advantageous to have a method of forming a-F:C film on a silicon substrate using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) techniques for depositing low-k a-F:C dielectric material on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the resultant a-F:C is substantially stable up to 450.degree. C.
Accordingly, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process is provided for depositing a dielectric material on a substrate for use in interconnect structures of integrated circuits. The method comprises steps which include positioning the substrate in a PECVD chamber and heating the substrate to a temperature above 200.degree. C. A flow of fluorine containing gas (FCG) and carbon containing gas (CCG) is introduced into the chamber under sufficient applied energy to form a fluorine and carbon gas plasma in the chamber. The ratio of FCG to CCG is selected to deposit fluorinated amorphous carbon on the substrate. And at the same time as the flow of FCG and CCG is introduced into the chamber, a flow of silane (SiH.sub.4) is introduced into the chamber. The silane increases the thermal stability of the fluorinated amorphous carbon deposited on the substrate.
The preferred fluorine containing gas (FCG) used in the process of the present invention is octafluorocyclobutane (C.sub.4 F.sub.8). The preferred carbon containing gas (CCG) used in the process is methane (CH.sub.4). A suitable ratio of FCG to CCG for the deposit of fluorinated amorphous carbon on the substrate is generally in the range of between 1/1 and 30/1 (FCG/CCG) and, more preferably, generally in the range of 5/1 to 15/1. The percentage of silane gas in the mixture of FCG, CCG, and silane gases introduced into the PECVD chamber is preferably generally in the range of 1% to 15%. The ambient pressure maintained in the PECVD chamber during the introduction of FCG, CCG, and silane into the chamber is preferably generally in the range of 0.3 Torr to 2.0 Torr.
During the introduction of FCG, CCG, and silane into the PECVD chamber, plasma energy, in the form of high frequency (HF) plasma energy, is supplied to ionize the gases introduced into the chamber. Simultaneously, low frequency (LF) energy is introduced into the chamber, to enhance the crosslinking in the deposited a-F:C film. The HF energy has a frequency of 13.56 MHz and is preferably applied at an energy level of between 0.5 Watts and 3.0 Watts per square centimeter of substrate surface. Simultaneously, the LF is supplied in a frequency range generally in the range of 100 KHz to 900 KHz, the low frequency energy level preferably being generally in the range of 0.5 Watts and 3.0 Watts per square centimeter of substrate surface.
The above-described process is carried out for a duration sufficient to deposit a selected thickness of fluorinated amorphous carbon on the substrate. A suitable selected thickness for the a-F:C film deposited using the present invention is generally in the range of 1,000 angstroms to 10,000 angstroms, although the invention is not limited to any specific thickness range. Upon completion of the deposition of a selected thickness of fluorinated amorphous carbon on the substrate, the substrate and deposited fluorinated amorphous carbon is annealed. The present invention allows for annealing at a temperature greater than or equal to 440.degree. C., although the process can be used with anneals of between 300.degree. C. and 550.degree. C. The duration of the anneal is a matter of design choice but will generally exceed 20 minutes and can be 2 hours or more, depending on the design and performance specifications of the integrated circuits being fabricated.

Method of making low-k fluorinated amorphous carbon dielectric


A device is provided for aiding a user in transporting a load up and down a ladder assembly. The ladder assembly includes a fly ladder having slidably connected to a base ladder. Each ladder includes first and second spaced rails interconnected by a plurality of spaced rungs. The device has a frame assembly including a first subframe positionable adjacent the first rail of the base ladder and a second subframe positionable adjacent the second rail of the base ladder. First and second base ladder guides are operatively connected to each subframe and define tracks for receiving the rails of the base ladder therebetween. First and second fly ladder guides are operatively connected to the subframes and defines tracks for receiving the rails of the fly ladder therebetween.

Ladders have many uses in the construction industry including framing, house siding, painting, window installation, and roofing. As is known, there are variety of types of ladders designed for the specific project at hand. For example, extension ladders allow a user to research high locations. Typically, an extension ladder incorporates lower and upper telescoping sections. More specifically, the rails of the top or fly ladder are positioned between the rails of the lower or base ladder. Brackets at the upper ends of rails of the base ladder maintain the base and fly ladders together. A ratcheting device engages the rungs of the fixed ladder to prevent the fly ladder from sliding down the base ladder. As described, the sections of the extension ladder can be slid together for storage or slid apart to maximize the length of the ladder.
In order to allow a user the ability to carry loads up and down a ladder, various devices have been developed. By way of example, British Patent No. 2,420,819 discloses a manual hoist for use with a ladder. The hoist includes a slidably displaceable member having a means for supporting a load to be elevated. More specifically, the displaceable member includes a plate assembly which surrounds the ladder and has rollers which bear against the stiles. A selectively releasable locking means is provided for locking the assembly against downward movement during a load lifting operation. The locking means includes a hook-like plate biased toward the rungs and a ring which is attached to a hoisting cable that which passes over an upper pulley and down to a winch fixedly attachable adjacent the base of the ladder. The device may carry the load either on the outside of the ladder or between the ladder and a building against which it leans.
While functional for its intended purpose, the hoist disclosed in the '819 patent is intended to be used with a straight ladder. Hence, the hoist in the '819 patent does not contemplate the various transfer points at the ends of the sections of an extension ladder. As a result, if used on an extension ladder, the hoist disclosed in the '819 patent is usable on only one of the sections thereof. Alternatively, gas-powered hoists are also available. Similar to manual hoists, the gas-powered hoists are intended to be used in connection with straight ladders and cannot be used in connection with extension ladders. Further, the cost of gas-powered hoists is significant.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a ladder accessory that aids a user in the transport of supplies up and down an extension ladder.
It is a further object and future of the present invention to provide a ladder accessory for aiding a user in the transport of supplies up and down an extension ladder that is simple to utilize and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is a further object and future of the present invention to provide a ladder accessory for aiding a user in the transport of supplies up and down an extension ladder that moves through the transition points of the base and fly ladders.
It is a still further object and future of the present invention to provide a ladder accessory for aiding a user in the transport of supplies up and down an extension ladder that allows a user to maintain at least three points of contact on an extension ladder through the ladder accessory at all times.
It is a still further object and future of the present invention to provide a ladder accessory for aiding a user in the transport of supplies up and down an extension ladder that automatically locks to the ladder and prevents unwanted downward movement of the load if the user loses his or her grip of the ladder accessory.
In accordance with the present invention, a device is provided for aiding a user in transporting a load up and down a ladder assembly. The ladder assembly includes a fly ladder slidably connected to a base ladder. Each ladder includes first and second spaced rails interconnected by a plurality of spaced rungs. The device includes a first base leg slideably engageable with a first side of the first rail of the base ladder and a second base leg slideably engageable with a second side of the first rail of the base ladder. A first fly leg is slideably engageable with a first side of the first rail of the fly ladder and a second fly leg is slideably engageable with a second side of the first rail of the fly ladder.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a device is provided for aiding a user in transporting a load up and down a ladder assembly. The ladder assembly includes a fly ladder slidably connected to a base ladder. Each ladder includes first and second spaced rails interconnected by a plurality of spaced rungs. The device includes a frame assembly having a first subframe positionable adjacent the first rail of the base ladder and a second subframe positionable adjacent the second rail of the base ladder. A first base leg and a first base arm are operatively connected to the first subframe and define a first track for receiving the first rail of the base ladder therebetween. A first fly leg and a first fly arm are also operatively connected to the first subframe and define a first track for receiving the first rail of the fly ladder therebetween.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a device is provided for aiding a user in transporting a load up and down a ladder assembly. The ladder assembly includes a fly ladder slidably connected to a base ladder. Each ladder includes first and second spaced rails interconnected by a plurality of spaced rungs. The device includes a frame assembly having a first subframe positionable adjacent the first rail of the base ladder and a second subframe positionable adjacent the second rail of the base ladder. A first base leg and a first base arm are operatively connected to the first subframe and define a first track for receiving the first rail of the base ladder therebetween. A second base leg and a second base arm are operatively connected to the second subframe assembly and define a second track for receiving the second rail of the base ladder therebetween. A first fly leg and a first fly arm are operatively connected to the first subframe and define a first track for receiving the first rail of the fly ladder therebetween. A second fly leg and a second fly arm are operatively connected to the second subframe and define a second track for receiving the second rail of the fly ladder therebetween. A first rung lock mechanism is pivotably connected to the first subframe. The first rung lock mechanism is movable between a first disengaged position and a second engaged position wherein the first rung lock mechanism engages a user selected rung and prevents the frame assembly from sliding in a downward direction along the ladder assembly.


A two piece grip which can be securely attached to a bearing surface. The grip has substantially reduced relative slippage between the grip and the bearing surface. The grip utilizes a two piece construction which comprises a substantially pliable inner sleeve and a substantially rigid outer housing. The outer housing applies force to the inner sleeve to prevent it from rotating on the bearing surface. The pliable inner sleeve absorbs a substantial amount of vibrations and comprises a high tactile material to provide ease of gripping. The two piece invented grip may be repeatedly attached and removed from a bearing surface without causing substantial damage to the grip.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to grips used with recreational vehicles, such as bicycles and the like, and more particularly, to a two piece slip resistant grip.
2. Description of Prior Art
Grips are commonly used for shock absorption and adhesion of a users hands to such recreational vehicles as bicycles and motorcycles. A substantial portion of these grips in use today comprise a basic configuration. This configuration is typically solid rubber, cylindrical in shape, and smaller in diameter than a bearing surface, such as a handlebar of a bicycle, for example. The grip is affixed to the handlebar, by stretching its interior diameter as the grip is slipped over the handlebar.
A multiplicity of grips used on handlebars are designed to be manufactured as a one piece construction. The applications of these grips demand that the grip material must be soft enough to absorb some shock, such as road vibrations, but stiff enough to retain the shape of the grip, so that the user can maintain a positive grasp on the grip. These grips typically have a covered end to enclose an open end of the handlebar.
A problem with these grips is that they do not adhere sufficiently to the handlebar, thus allowing relative slippage between the grip and the handlebar. The grip may even slide outwardly on the handlebar, resulting in the grip eventually falling off the handlebar.
In an attempt to eliminate the problem of relative slippage between the grip and the handlebar, prior art grips have been either glued or wired to the handlebar. If a glued grip is to be removed after being glued to the handlebar, the grip must be cut off the handlebar. This destroys the glued grip and necessitates the use of a new grip to replace the destroyed one.
A problem with a wired grip is that it must be wired tightly to the handlebar. In time, the wire tends to cut through the grip, thus destroying the grip. A further problem with a wired grip, is that the wire may cut the users hands.
A further disadvantage of prior art grips is that their ends are relatively thin. When the grips are affixed to a hollow bearing surface, such as a handlebar of a bicycle, for example, and the handlebar is dropped on a hard surface, an end of the handlebar may push through the thin end of the grip, much like a cookie cutter through cookie dough, thus destroying the grip.
Grips similar to those discussed above are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,972,733; 4,964,192; and 4,380,093.
An alternative grip utilizes a hard, rubber sleeve with foam affixed to its exterior periphery, by gluing, for example. The grip is slip-fitted onto the handlebar and an internal expansion plug inserted through the grip and into a hollow end of the handlebar, which is located at the outer end of the grip. The expansion plug is then tightened and the grip is secured at one end to the handlebar. This alternative grip is only secured on the outer end of the handlebar, leaving an interior portion of the grip somewhat unstable. Users find this type of grip unsatisfactory, firstly because the foam tends to separate from the hard rubber sleeve, and secondly, the interior portion is subject to relative slippage to the handlebar. Motorcycles, with a twist throttle end, cannot utilize this alternative grip affixed to the throttle end, because it may lock the throttle into a single position. A grip similar to the above discussed grip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,649.


The present invention relates to an underwater communication method capable of communicating with a plurality of sensor nodes within a limited frequency band. Underwater information communication of the present invention allocates an appropriate frequency to each sensor node according to the distance between a central node and the plurality of sensor nodes, and then, controls underwater communication between the central node and the plurality of sensor nodes using the allocated frequency. By virtue of such control, the present invention prevents the occurrence of an unusable sensor node which cannot smoothly perform underwater communication when the allocated frequency is unreasonable. Therefore, the present invention has the effect of enabling efficient underwater communication between a plurality of sensor nodes and a central node.

Concomitant with increased interest and importance in marine resources exploration, marine environmental surveillance and underwater military defenses, demand on underwater communication capable of collecting multifarious underwater information from oceans has recently increased. The underwater communication is performed using ultrasonic waves because of physical properties of media. A communication network for underwater information transmission may be implemented by installing a sensor node capable of performing transmission/reception of underwater information under underwater environments, and by obtaining and controlling underwater information from the sensor node.
Because of underwater communication environments using ultrasonic waves, the underwater communication network is relatively smaller in bandwidth of signal that is transmitted than the land communication, and signal attenuation relative to distance is also very large. That is, frequencies used in underwater communication network have to be very limited in order to perform a reliable communication at a distance of several kilo meters to several scores of kilo meters.
Moreover, when the demand on underwater information obtainment using underwater communication network increases, the number of sensor nodes performing communication in the underwater also increases. However, the conventional underwater communication network failed to efficiently control the sensor nodes due to limitation of frequencies useable at the underwater channel environments. That is, when only one frequency is used to perform the communication in the conventional underwater communication network, and when a relevant frequency is allocated to one sensor node, all other sensor nodes cannot transmit or receive a signal.
Furthermore, when communication is performed using a plurality of frequencies in the conventional underwater communication network, and when the number of sensor nodes wanting to perform a communication in the water is greater than the allocated frequency, the underwater sensor nodes as many as the number exceeding the allocated frequency cannot transmit or receive a signal. In addition, in this case, all sensor nodes must continuously inspect what frequency an ambient sensor node uses by being allocated, such that battery consumption greatly increases in the water to greatly decrease an operation period of underwater sensor node.
Thus, the conventional underwater communication network has limited the number of communicable sensor nodes because a plurality of sensor nodes cannot be efficiently managed. On top of that, it has become inevitable to increase the number of sensor nodes due to increases in various demands on marine information, and therefore, the trend is that an efficient control of underwater communication network in various areas is greatly required.

Hoseo University Academic Cooperation Foundation


A delay is introduced into the output path of a synchronous device in response to a rising supply voltage. Specifically, as its supply voltage rises, a synchronous memory device may operate too quickly, particularly data output. To slow the rate at which the memory device outputs data, the clock which controls the data output rate is delayed by an amount correlative to the magnitude of the supply voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to integrated circuits and, more particularly, to a voltage-dependent delay for use in an integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Microprocessor-controlled circuits are used in a wide variety of applications. Such applications include personal computers, control systems, telephone networks, and a host of consumer products. As is well known, microprocessors are essentially generic devices that perform specific functions under the control of a software program. This program is stored in a memory device coupled to the microprocessor. Not only does the microprocessor access a memory device to retrieve the program instructions, it also stores and retrieves data created during execution of the program in one or more memory devices.
There are a wide variety of different memory devices available for use in microprocessor-based systems. The type of memory device chosen for a specific function within a microprocessor-based system depends largely upon what features of the memory are best suited to perform the particular function. One common type of memory device is known as a random access memory (RAM). As the name implies, any memory location in a RAM may be accessed individually to store information or to read information. As a further advantage, the memory cells used in most RAMs are capable of handling millions of write, read, and erase cycles, commonly referred to as programming cycles, without failure.
Traditionally, RAMs, such as dynamic RAMs (DRAM) and static RAMs (SRAM), were asynchronous devices. In other words, unlike synchronous devices, such as microprocessors, which perform operations in synchronism with a system clock, traditional asynchronous RAMs perform operations in a sequential manner independent of the frequency at which the associated microprocessor operates. Thus, in a conventional microprocessor-based system, the microprocessor initiates a read cycle or a write cycle with the associated RAM, and the RAM performs the requested operation in an asynchronous manner.
Recently, new microprocessor technology has pushed the operating rates of microprocessors to 200 MHz and beyond. Such fast microprocessors are typically used in general purpose computer systems, such as personal computers and networkable computers, although other applications do exist. At such elevated operating rates, traditional asynchronous memory devices may operate in a less than efficient manner. Accordingly, synchronous memory devices, such as synchronous DRAMs (SDRAM) and synchronous SRAMs (SSRAM), have been developed. Unlike conventional asynchronous memory devices, synchronous RAMs typically operate off of the same system clock used by the microprocessor. Thus, in synchronized systems of this type, the microprocessor is better able to coordinate read and write cycles with the associated memory devices than in systems which use asynchronous memory devices.
While SDRAMs attempt to optimize the data output path to minimize access times, the access time may be variable. For instance, variations in the supply voltage applied to the SDRAM may affect the access time. Specifically, the access time is typically the slowest at low supply voltages and typically the fastest at higher supply voltages. Although faster access times are generally desirable, it should be understood that SDRAMs must hold the output data for a certain time after the next system clock cycle. At high supply voltages, this output data hold time may not be met or it may be marginal. In a situation such as this, it is possible that data from the next data output cycle will overwrite the previous data and, thus, create an error condition.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems set forth above.


A low cost optical viewing device includes an objective lens section, a relay lens section and an eye piece section. The relay lens section is devoid of glass rods and includes a minimal number of lenses each preferably fabricated from plastic material. The illumination system includes a plurality of optical fibers also preferably fabricated from plastic material.

This invention relates generally to optical viewing devices. More particularly, this invention relates to an optical viewing device for viewing remote locations which are difficult or impossible to directly access.
Optical viewing devices of the type described herein are well known and used in a variety of applications. For example, such devices are configured as borescopes and used to view or inspect the interior of remote cavities such as engine cylinders and the like. Borescopes thus find extensive utility in the automotive and aerospace industries. In the medical field, such optical viewing devices are configured as endoscopes or laparoscopes. Endoscopes (or laparoscopes) are well known medical instruments which are used to visualize the interior of a body cavity or hollow organ. Endoscopes are used in a variety of operative procedures including laparoscopic surgery where endoscopes are used to visually examine the peritoneal cavity.
Typical prior art optical viewing devices (e.g., borescopes and endoscopes) comprise three main sections including an objective lens followed by a relay lens followed by an eye piece. The relay lens section functions to transmit the image rays obtained by the objective lens along a preselected distance to the eye piece. The relay lens may consist of either a coherent fiber optical bundle or a series of lenses. When the relay lens section is comprised of a series of lenses, the lens series traditionally includes repeated units (e.g., three) with each unit comprising a symmetric arrangement of glass rods and lens groupings. Thus, in a prior art device having three relay sections, a total of six glass rods and associated lens groupings were required. These glass rods are used to preclude or lessen divergence of the image rays as they travel through the optical viewing device. Such glass rods must be of a high optical quality and therefore the glass rods lead to a relatively high manufacturing cost for each optical viewing device. Moreover, in certain prior art viewing devices, the objective lens and eye piece sections also contain glass rods leading to even higher manufacturing costs.
Illumination in the remote location to be viewed is required. A preferred method of transmitting illumination light is to use a bundle of optical fibers surrounding the outer circumference of the optical viewing device. These fibers are generally glass. The field of illumination should be of a size no less than the field of view (FOV) of the optical viewing device. Typically, the FOV may range between 30 to 75 degrees.
Presently, there is a need for low cost and/or disposable optical viewing devices such as borescopes and endoscopes. One method of reducing costs would be to remove the relatively expensive glass rods. However, it has been believed by those skilled in the art that removal of the multiple glass rods sacrifices optical performance in several ways. For example, under certain optical conditions, removal of the glass rods reduces the light gathering ability of the optical viewing device which leads to an overall dimmer edge to the image obtained by the optical viewing device. Also, the length of the optical viewing device must be reduced which in some procedures (e.g., surgical), may be highly undesirable. Thus, it has heretofore been believed that removal of the glass rods from the relay lens section was not a practical or desirable method of producing a lower cost optical viewing device.


An advertisement clip and method for supplementing a security hard tag with the advertisement clip for application to a product. The advertisement clip may include indicia on the surface of the clip or may hold or enclose an information element that provides the indicia to the manufacturer, retailer, and/or customer. Indicia may be visible and can include promotional information, pricing, images, customer specific branding, and/or barcodes.

Electronic article surveillance (EAS) includes the tracking and/or detection of items that are warehoused, inventory-controlled, and/or located at a retail establishment. EAS is achieved by applying an EAS element as part of a security tag to the item, or its packaging, and when the security tag is exposed to a predetermined electromagnetic field (e.g. pedestals located at a retail establishment exit), it activates to provide some type of alert and/or to supply data to a receiver or other detector. In the EAS industry, a "hard tag" refers to either a re-usable or disposable tag which is intended to be removed from merchandise at the point of sale, and then to be re-used on other merchandise or simply thrown away. Hard tags typically are constructed to contain an EAS element, which may be, for example, an acousto-magnetic element (AM), a radio frequency element (RF), or an electro-magnetic element (EM). Tags may also be constructed to contain a radio frequency identification (RFID) element, which may respond at low, high, or ultra high frequencies.
An EAS element may include a resonant circuit with a coil coupled to a capacitor. The EAS security element is tuned to a predetermined frequency and if one attempts to remove the hard tag with the security element from a store, an alarm triggers as the tag passes through a surveillance field created by a transmitter and receiver located between pedestals at the store exit, tuned to the same frequency. The alarm goes off as the EAS element resonates, providing an output signal detected by a receiver, also located in the pedestals.
An RFID element typically includes an integrated circuit (IC) and an RF LC circuit (resonant circuit) or antenna (e.g. a dipole antenna), tuned to a predetermined RF frequency. Often, the integrated circuit (IC) comprises memory that has been programmed with information associated with the article (e.g., product ID information such as a serial number, unique identification number, price, etc.). When a transmitter emits a signal at the predetermined RF frequency and threshold value which is received by the tuned antenna, the RFID element emits a signal containing the stored information which is then received by a receiver and the information demodulated from the element-emitted signal. This information can then be used for, among other things, determining whether to set off an alarm or not. The RFID tag may also be used for merchandise visibility and inventory control, to identify where a tag and associated product are located or where they have moved to or from within the store.
In alternative to an EAS element embedded in a hard tag, the hard tag may be equipped as a benefit denial tag. A benefit denial tag typically includes ink releasing elements, such that when an attempt to break the tag from a product is performed, glass vials of ink shatter within the tag, ultimately leaking about the product which devalues the product and likewise provides notification to the retailer that that particular merchandise was tampered with.
Retail stores typically utilize only one of the above security technologies in a hard tag for application to products. The hard tags are typically applied to the external portion of merchandise so that it is visible to both the potential customer and retail employee. The visible hard tag serves as a warning that the merchandise is tagged with a security element. The hard tag is made visible as a reminder to the store employee to detach the hard tag once the customer has paid. The surface of the hard tag is often one color. To many retailers, the hard tags are considered a visual hindrance and distract from the presentation of the merchandise. Since the hard tag must often remain externally attached to the merchandise for the reasons described above, it would be advantageous to provide indicia for inclusion with the hard tag for display to the customer or for utilization by the retail employee.
What is needed is a device and method to supplement a security hard tag with indicia, such as for example promotional advertisements. An advertisement clip may be affixed to a hard tag including visible indicia such as advertisement promotions, pricing, merchandise information, or customer specific branding. The advertisement clip may contain indicia intended for use by the store employee, such as a barcode. The visible indicia may be in the form of an image that may diminish the visual hindrance of the hard tag when attached to merchandise. The advertisement clip may be affixed and removed by the retailer or merchandise manufacturer to update the indicia, as for example for a particular sales event.


A wedge shaped form is mounted on the splash plate of a black liquor nozzle with the sharp edge of the wedge located at the exhaust of the nozzle to split the black liquor from the nozzle into two flat sheets on each side of the wedge with no droplet formation at the center of the nozzle exhaust.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Kraft recovery furnaces and particularly to black liquor spray nozzles for such furnaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
Kraft recovery furnaces are used to recover useful fuel from the paper making process. In this process logs entering the mill are reduced to chips and are cooked under pressure in a steam-heated aqueous digestion solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, known as "white liquor"or "cooking liquor". In the cooking operation, the lignin binder, which holds together the cellulose fibers of the wood, is dissolved.
After cooking, the cellulose fibers, now called "pulp" or "brown stock", are separated from the spent cooking liquor. The pulp may then go through several fiber refining and bleaching processes and finally to the paper machine. The spent cooking liquor containing the lignin dissolved from the wood is called "black liquor". As the diluted or "weak" black liquor (15-18% dissolved solids) comes from the washers, it is first concentrated in a multiple-effect evaporator by the use of steam.
The concentrated or "strong" black liquor then goes to the mix tank where sodium sulfate (salt cake) is mixed with the liquor to make up the chemical losses in the system. Chemical ash recovered from the boiler hoppers and from the fume collector following the direct-contact evaporator is also returned to the liquor cycle. The "heavy" black liquor with its salt-cake burden is heated to lower its viscosity and is then pumped to the recovery furnace. In the furnace, the heavy black liquor is sprayed on the furnace walls for dehydration prior to final combustion of the dried char on the hearth.
The essential function of the recovery unit is the reduction in the furnace of the sodium sulfate content of the black liquor to sodium sulfide.
In the recovery furnace, heat obtained from the combustion of the organic liquor constituents dissolved from the wood is recovered in production of steam, and the inorganic sodium constituents in the liquor are recovered as molten smelt, composed largely of sodium carbonate, Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3, sodium sulfide, Na.sub.2 S.
The spray of the black liquor into the recovery furnace is done by black liquor burners having spray nozzles therein.
There are two designs of liquor burners, the oscillator and the limited vertical sweep (LVS). Both types of burners utilize a nozzle splash plate to produce a sheet spray of coarse droplets.
The oscillator spray controls the black liquor distribution on the furnace walls, where it is dehydrated and falls to the char bed. The oscillator burners typically are located in the center of the furnace wall between the secondary and tertiary air ports, are continuously rotated and oscillated, spraying liquor in a figure eight pattern to cover a wide band of the walls above the hearth.
In the LVS burners shown in FIG. 1, black liquor is sprayed into the furnace for more in-flight drying and devolatization of the combustible gas stream rising from the char bed. The objective of the LVS burner is to minimize the liquor on the wall. The LVS gun is normally used in a fixed position, but can also sweep vertically to burn low solid liquor or those with poor burning characteristics.
The temperature and pressure of atomized liquor directly impacts recovery furnace operations. Lower temperature and pressure generally create a larger particle or droplet of atomized liquor. This minimizes the entrainment of liquor in the combustion gases passing to the heat absorbing surfaces. Where wall drying is carried out, large liquor droplets maximize the liquor sprayed on the wall and minimize in-flight drying.
As the liquor sprayed on the walls builds, it eventually falls to the char hearth. The majority of the char falling from the wall is deposited in front of the primary air ports, requiring 40 to 50% of the primary air to be introduced through the primary ports.
The basic splash plate for these known spray nozzles has been used in recovery boilers. FIG. 1 shows a typical spray nozzle burner with a splash plate nozzle mounted on the burner pipe. FIG. 2 shows a spray gun black liquor distribution pattern from such known burner nozzles.
The concept of splitting the liquor flow in burner spray nozzles is also known. Past, known experimentation used a vertical pin, or cylinder, whose flat end was fastened to the splash plate. Such modified sprayer plates were used on recovery boilers approximately 20 years ago. The embodiment was too erratic in operation and did not provide any benefits and did not receive acceptance in the industry. About the same time, Gotaverken Heat Engineering in Sweden experimented unsuccessfully with a pin mounted on a splash plate.
Thus to date there has not been a successful spray nozzle for black liquor that would split the flow into two opposed flat sheets of black liquor that was controllable without producing splatter and large drop buildup on the walls of the recovery furnace.

Wedge splash plate for kraft recovery furnace black liquor burners


A method and system for ranking Web pages in a Web search engine is described. One illustrative embodiment receives a Web search query from a particular user, the query including at least one keyword; identifies one or more Web pages that contain the at least one keyword; determines, for each of the one or more Web pages, a raw page ranking; adjusts the raw page ranking of each of at least one Web page among the one or more Web pages based on direct evidence of how interesting that Web page is to users to produce an adjusted page ranking, the direct evidence being derived from clickstream data collected from the users; and presents, as search results, the at least one Web page to the particular user in accordance with the adjusted page rankings.

The current state of the art for a basic search engine is to index documents by keywords. When the user searches for those keywords, the documents containing them are found. The results are typically ranked by how frequently the keywords occur in each of the results. In some search engines, other criteria are considered in addition to keyword frequency.
One problem is that keyword frequency alone is not a great indicator of how interesting the document is. For example, if one types, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" thousands of times and puts it on a Web page, it would rank high on a search for "play" or "Jack," but it would not be a very interesting result.
One well-known page rank algorithm is that used by the popular Web search engine Google. Google's page rank algorithm relies on information about how frequently a document is referenced (linked to) from other documents. The rationale is that a document that is "linked to" by lots of other documents must be interesting, so its rank is increased as the number of such external references increases.
A disadvantage of Google's solution is that it uses derivative evidence to determine how interesting a document is. That is, it is not evidence that the person doing the search will find the document interesting. Rather, it is evidence only that a content author or a Web master (i.e. the person who creates the link, not the person who traverses the link) found the document interesting.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for ranking web pages in a search engine based on direct evidence of interest to end users


An air intake structure for a turbojet engine nacelle includes a substantially annular main structure having an internal wall, an external wall and an air intake lip structure connecting the external and internal walls upstream. The air intake structure also includes a first acoustic attenuation structure which has a holed acoustic skin, a cellular core and a solid rear skin with which the internal wall is equipped, and a second acoustic attenuation structure having a similar architecture fitted to a part of the air intake lip substantially near a junction with the internal wall. The rear skin of the first acoustic attenuation structure is aligned with the rear skin of the second acoustic attenuation structure, both of rear skins being structural.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
An aircraft propulsion unit comprises conventionally a turbojet engine housed inside a nacelle.
The nacelle generally has an annular structure comprising an air inlet upstream of the turbojet engine, a median section intended to surround a fan of said turbojet engine and its casing, and a downstream section intended to surround the combustion chamber of the turbojet engine and enclosing thrust reversal means where necessary. It can be ended with an ejection nozzle, the outlet of which is situated downstream of the turbojet engine.
The air intake structure is used to optimize the capture of air required for the supply of the fan of the turbojet engine and to channel it toward this fan.
An air intake structure comprises, particularly upstream, a leading edge structure commonly called air intake "lip".
The air intake lip ensures capture of the air and is fastened to the rest of the air intake structure that ensures the channeling of the air captured toward the turbojet engine.
To this end, the rest of the air intake structure has a substantially annular structure comprising an external panel ensuring the external aerodynamic continuity of the nacelle and an internal panel ensuring the internal aerodynamic continuity of the nacelle, in particular with the fan casing at the median section. The air intake lip ensures the upstream junction between these two walls and can be particularly integrated with the external panel. It also ensures de-icing or anti-icing of the nacelle, by applying heat to melt and evaporate ice that may deposit therein.
All of the air intake structure is fastened upstream of the median section of the nacelle (external panel) and of the fan casing (internal panel). The absorption of forces transiting through the air intake is particularly ensured by a fastening flange to the fan casing.
The internal surface of the air intake structure is exposed to a significant air flow and is situated near the fan blades. It is therefore situated in a significant noise zone.
In order to remedy this situation insofar as possible and in order to reduce the noise pollution generated by the turbojet engine, the internal panel of the air intake section is equipped with an acoustic attenuation structure.
This acoustic attenuation structure is in the form of a sandwich panel with a cellular core having a holed external skin, called acoustic skin, intended to be exposed to noise, and a solid internal skin. The cellular core thus constitutes a resonator adapted to trap sound waves.
As for the air intake lip it is not equipped with an acoustic attenuation structure for structural and thermal reasons, and it is therefore necessary to provide connections at the junction between the internal panel and the air intake lip. Due to the thickness of the acoustic attenuation structure, this connection presents many implementation difficulties.
There are several possibilities to ensure the transition between the internal panel equipped with the acoustic attenuation structure and the air intake lip.
First of all, it is possible to provide connections at the acoustic skin between the internal panel and the air intake lip.
There are also solutions with solid and acoustic operational skins but calculations of force paths and of dimensioning are more complex.
In the conventional solutions, the air intake lip is made from a non-acoustic skin (solid) and the internal panel has a solid skin (also called "backskin" or rear skin) of its acoustic panel, which is structural. The connection is made by means of a structural crank ensuring mechanical connection and the transmission of the forces between said back skin and the air intake lip despite the offset due to the thickness of the acoustic panel. Because of these geometric constraints, the crank is structurally difficult to achieve and thus impacting the mass of the unit. Moreover, it prevents the extension of the acoustic panel and the extension of its performances to the structure of the air intake lip.
There is therefore a need to improve the structural strength of such an air intake structure and to allow the use of at least part of the air intake lip zone in order to improve the acoustic performances by providing it with an acoustic attenuation structure extending the one of the internal wall.

Air intake structure for turbojet engine nacelle


Offset baffles are provided in a speaker for acoustic signal arrival synchronization. The speaker includes an enclosure. The enclosure includes a first side positioned at an angle with respect to a horizontal axis or plane. The first side includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion and the lower portion are offset from one another by a first offset in a first direction and a second offset in a second direction. The first offset in the first direction and the second offset in the second direction define a vent extending across a width of the first side. The vent is positioned above a low-frequency transducer and below a high-frequency transducer. The low-frequency transducer is mounted to the lower portion and generates a first acoustic signal within a first frequency range. The high-frequency transducer is mounted to the upper portion and generates a second acoustic signal within a second frequency range. The low-frequency transducer and the high-frequency transducer are displaced by the first offset in the first direction and the second offset in the second direction to adjust a low-frequency transducer acoustic origin position and a high-frequency transducer acoustic origin position. The upper portion and the lower portion configured such that a first acoustic signal arrival time and a second acoustic signal arrival time are synchronized in a listening area

The present invention relates to audio speakers. A speaker is an electromechanical device that produces acoustic signals across a frequency range depending, at least in part, on one or more types of drivers used in the speaker. The term speaker can refer to a device with a single driver, multiple drivers, or a device that includes one or more drivers, an enclosure, and additional components such as a crossover circuit. It is often desirable for a speaker to produce an acoustic output across the band of frequencies that are audible to a human. Sometimes, a "flat" output from about 20 Hz to about 20 kHz is viewed as an ideal characteristic for a speaker to possess. However, in practice, the acoustic output of a speaker is often attenuated at one or more frequencies or across one or more bands of frequencies.

Offset baffles for acoustic signal arrival synchronization


Reliability of a semiconductor device is improved. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes a step of preparing a lead frame in which a plurality of device forming regions are arranged in a matrix, a die bonding step of mounting a semiconductor chip on each device region, a resin sealing step of individually covering each semiconductor chip with a sealing body, and a lead plating step of plating an outer portion of a lead exposed from the sealing body. Between the resin sealing step and the lead plating step, an inspection step for detecting defective products in the resin sealing step and a defective product removal step for removing a device region of defective products are provided.

The present invention relates to a technique effective for application to, for example, a method of manufacturing a resin-sealed semiconductor device.
In Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-176907, there is discloses a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using a lead frame in which device regions are arranged in a matrix.
The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes steps of lead frame preparation, die bonding, wire bonding, molding, lead cutting (dam bar cutting), marking, plating, lead cutting (gate cutting), lead forming, and lead cutting (corner cutting).
In Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-14867, there is discloses an automatic resin sealing apparatus for a semiconductor device having a recognition apparatus for detecting an unfilled semiconductor device generated in a resin sealing step, a mold for separating an unfilled semiconductor device from a lead frame, a storage box for storing the separated unfilled semiconductor device, and a counter for counting the number of stored unfilled semiconductor devices separated.

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device


The present invention is to provide a modified cellulose regenerated fiber having a practically endurable tenacity, and being excellent in dye-affinity, and having anti-funguses and deodorizing properties. The present invention comprises preliminarily molding chitosan or acetylated chitosan into a fine particle, mixing the fine particle body with cellulose viscose prior to spinning, and spinning the mixture, at the inclusion regenerated fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modified cellulose regenerated fiber having the tenacity practically endurable, being excellent in dye-affinity and having also anti-funguses and deodorizing properties, and is to provide a fiber to be utilized in the field of yarns, textile fabrics, knitted woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics , paper making, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The technique of mixing chitin viscose or chitosan viscose with cellulose viscose for spinning has been investigated traditionally for the purpose of improving dye-affinity, and is described, for example, in "Kobunshikako", Kobunshi Kankokai, Vol. 14, pp. 198-205 (1965), such that chitosan is viscosylated through a sulfide process, and is then mixed with cellulose viscose at an appropriate ratio for spinning to produce chitosan/cellulose fiber, which can be stained with acidic dyes and dyes of metal complex salts. It is also described in "Kobunshi Kagaku", Kobunshi Gakkai, Vol. 30, pp. 320-326 (1973), that chitin/ cellulose fiber can be obtained by mixing and spinning of chitin viscose with cellulose viscose, and that the increase in the chitin content results in the improvement of dye-affinity.
Due to the recent demand for amenity in life space and the social factor of the increase in the number of aged people, there has developed a need for those fiber products having anti-funguses and odor-preventing properties and deodorizing and odor-destroying properties.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 41473/1990 proposes an anti-funguses fiber and the method for producing the same, the fiber being obtained by immersing a fiber having at least one functional group consisting of hydroxyl group, amino group and carboxyl group in an aqueous solution of chitin, chitosan and their derivatives, before drying, and cross-linking the resultant fiber in the presence of an organic solvent such as benzene and the like using a polyisocyanate compound. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 160972/1990 discloses a technique wherein porous ceramic is dissolved in solid into the cotton fiber to provide the fiber itself with water absorbability and water releasability, and an anti-funguses agent of chitosan acetate or of cross-linked chitosan molecule is allowed to immerse into ceramic microspores, to prevent microbial deposition and growth, so as to prevent dermal disorders inducing inflammation on skin surface which generates steamy feeling and an unpleasant odor, and to prevent co-occurrence of other diseases.
Chitin or chitosan/cellulose mixed fiber obtained by preliminarily viscosylate chitin or chitosan which is then mixed with cellulose viscose for spinning, in accordance with the prior art techniques, results in the mixing of essentially two different components, namely, chitin or chitosan viscose and cellulose viscose, and the solidification and regeneration thereof in a solidifying solution of the same composition, so it causes a distinct reduction in the tenacity (dry tenacity, wet tenacity and knot tenacity). Hence, no practically endurable fiber has been obtained up to now in practical meaning.
The method proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 41473/1990 is not only complex in its procedure but also triggers a decrease in the whiteness of fiber and cloth and dramatically damages the hygroscopic property or water releasability inherent to a fiber per se, because the surface of a fiber is basically coated with chitin, chitosan and the derivatives thereof and both of the two are cross-linked with a polyisocyanate compound in order to facilitate their strong bonding with the fiber.
The technique proposed by Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 160972/1990 comprises enlarging the microholes which a fiber inherently has, by preliminarily swelling the fiber with organic solvents or aqueous solvents, subsequently immersing the fiber along with ceramic microparticles in a heated and pressurized processing solution, thereby injecting the ceramics into the microholes, and then impregnating an anti-funguses such as quarternary ammonium salt and chitosan acetate into the ceramic microholes, which is then washed in water and is left to stand in constant atmosphere to block the swelling microholes of the cotton fiber. Hence, the technique has disadvantages such as its complex procedure, the reduction in the tenacity of fiber itself and the difficulty of controlling the exact contents of effective components, due to the charge into the microholes swelled with organic solvents and the like.

Modified cellulose regenerated fiber comprising chitosan particles


Provided is a recording or playback apparatus capable of separating a musical piece from an audio including the musical piece and a speech through a simple arithmetic process. A cut point detector detects, as a cut point, a time point at which an audio signal level or an amount of change in the audio signal level is not lower than a predetermined value. A frequency characteristic amount calculator calculates a characteristic amount in a frequency area of the audio signal only at each cut point and in its proximity. A cut point judging unit judges an attribute of the cut point on a basis of the calculated characteristic amount of the frequency. A music section detector detects a start and end points of each music section on a basis of the attribute and an interval between sampling points.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which detects music (musical piece) sections from an audio including speech sections and music sections in a mixed manner.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, an aired audio often includes sections carrying speeches of an announcer and music sections in a mixed manner. When a listener wishes to record his/her favorite musical piece while listening to the audio, the listener has to manually start recording the musical piece at a timing when the musical piece begins, and to manually stop recording the musical piece at a timing when the musical piece ends. These manual operations are troublesome for the listener. Moreover, if a listener suddenly decides to record a favorite musical piece which is aired, it is usually impossible to thoroughly record the musical piece from its beginning without missing any part. In such case, it is effective to record an entire aired program first, and then extract the favorite musical piece from the recorded program by editing. This editing becomes easier by separating music sections from the aired program beforehand and by playing back only the separated music sections.
To this end, a technology for automatically separating music sections and speech sections from each other by analyzing characteristics of each of the sections. A technology disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-258659 is for separating a musical piece and a speech from each other by using characteristic amounts in terms of frequencies such as mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs). However, the technology disclosed by the Publication No. 2004-258659 has a problem that a process for calculating the characteristic amount in a frequency area of an audio signal becomes vast because the process is so complicated that the workload for the process becomes large.

Recording or playback apparatus and musical piece detecting apparatus


Methods and combinations for making and using one or more thermally conductive cellular foam layers comprising flexible cellular foam and metallic material particulates, and said thermally-conductive cellular foam layers may be located on, under, or in cushioning foams and mattresses or placed between on, under, within, or between other layering substrates to increase the overall cooling capability of the composite. The thermally conductive foam may be used in mattresses, pillows, bedding products, medical cushioning foams, and similar materials used in bedding environments.

Flexible cellular foams such as open-cell polyurethane flexible foams, closed-cell polyurethane flexible foams, latex foams and melamine foams typically have low thermal conductivities in the range of about 0.035 to about 0.060 W/(m K). Materials with low thermal conductivities typically function as insulators, such as rigid polyurethane foam insulation board or expanded polystyrene insulation board.
Heat transfer consists of a combination of the phenomena of conduction, convection and radiation. In a cushion or mattress, heat transfer by radiation is not very large. Instead, heat transfer by conduction and convection are the primary paths for moving heat in and through a cushion or mattress. As a person sleeps on a mattress, the compressed foam underneath the body has reduced air flow paths, and the primary mode of heat transfer in the region below the body is conduction.
Heat is conducted from the body, through the compressed foam and dispersed into cushion or mattress regions where the foam is not compressed as much, which allows natural convection to occur more readily to remove heat from the mattress. Due to the low thermal conductivity of foam, this process is slow and requires a large temperature gradient to drive the conduction of heat at a rate similar to the heat production in a person's body. This results in a large region of hot foam around the body which makes the foam uncomfortable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,128 discloses polyurethane foam compositions containing small particles of metallic aluminum and methods for treating the aluminum particles with phosphoric acid to enhance their usefulness in polyurethane foam. The phosphate aluminum flake was added to insulating polyurethane foam panels to decrease the heat flow through the panels by reducing absorption of heat and radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,951 discloses flameproofed mattresses, pillows and sleeping bags. A metallized heat conductive layer is made by mixing a metal with an aqueous vinyl binder, and the frothed mixture is spread on a polyurethane foam having foam thickness between 0.1 to 1.0 inches and dried around 280° C. The final dried coating is 0.5 to 6 mils in thickness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,825 B2 discloses a support surface for patient comfort and to maintain a cool skin temperature by having a refrigerant bladder with boiling point between 23 and 35 degrees Celsius contained within a bladder, a flexible spacer in the bladder such as polyurethane foam, and thermally-conductive aluminum or copper metal strips and a top metal layer located on the outside of the bladder. The strips of metal are used to transfer heat away from refrigerant gas into the surrounding environment. Metallic material was not added to the polyurethane foam reactants prior to producing the foam substrate.
It is useful and desirable to develop improved heat transfer in a cushion or mattress to provide a cooler and more comfortable sleep.

Enhanced thermally conductive cushioning foams by addition of metal materials


An atomizing device, an electronic cigarette and a control method for the atomizing device are disclosed. The atomizing device includes a liquid storage assembly configured for storing a tobacco liquid, a liquid guiding assembly connected to the liquid storage assembly and configured for guiding the tobacco liquid, and a heating assembly electrically connected to the battery assembly and configured for atomizing the tobacco liquid; and includes a signal transmitter configured for transmitting a detection signal having a first intensity and a signal receiver configured for receiving a detection signal having a second intensity. The electronic cigarette determines the amount of tobacco liquid on a transmission path of the detection signal according to a difference between the first intensity and the second intensity, and controls on/off of the electrical connection between the heating assembly and the battery assembly according to the determined amount of tobacco liquid.

Tobacco cigarette, as a hobby product, is loved by many people. However, the tobacco cigarette contains substances such as tar and carbon monoxide, which are harmful to the health of human bodies; especially the tar contains dozens of carcinogenic ingredients. Therefore, the tobacco cigarette greatly impacts the health of human bodies. At present, national governments have gradually regulated that smoking of traditional cigarettes is forbidden in public occasions. However, for smokers craving for tobacco, it is uncomfortable and miserable not to smoke. Therefore, many substitutes for traditional tobacco cigarettes appear on the market, for example, smoking-quitting lozenges, electronic cigarettes, etc.
At present, electronic cigarettes available on the market all employ the heating method implemented through atomizer's heating wires. A tobacco liquid is guided through a liquid guiding material to the heating wire to be atomized into an aerosol. When the tobacco liquid inside the atomizer is to be used up, the system cannot know that the atomizer needs refill of tobacco liquid, as a result, the user will continue using the electronic cigarette. Consequently, the heating wire of the atomizer will suffer drying-burning. Such dry-burning will burn out the liquid guiding material and generate harmful gases, and the harmful gases will directly impact the health of users.

Atomizing device, smoking article having same, and control method of atomizing device

Shenzhen First Union Technology Co., Ltd.


In a measured-value converting process, a shape-condition converting process and an absolute coordinate system converting process (S16) are performed on a value measured by a sensor. In the shape-condition converting process, when a mobile terminal has a shape 1 and shape 2, the converting process is not performed (S12 and S13). When the mobile terminal has a shape 3, a converting process of rotating through 180° around YS axis is performed (S14). Moreover, when the mobile terminal has a shape 4, a converting process of rotating through 180° around ZS axis (S15) is performed. Therefore, even in an information processing apparatus of which a shape changes, a sensor which detects a movement of the information processing apparatus can be used as an input device, irrespective of the shape.

The present invention relates to a method for information processing, an information processing apparatus, and a computer program for information processing, and more particularly, to a method for information processing in which a sensor which measures a moving condition is used, an information processing apparatus in which the method for information processing is used, and a computer program for executing the method for information processing.

Method for information processing, information processing apparatus, and computer program for information processing


A conductor line is placed at a layer overlying an input protection circuit electrically coupled to a pad such that the conductor line covers at least a part of the input protection circuit. The conductor line having a sufficiently large width disperses and absorbs the heat generated from the input protection circuit. Since the input protection circuit and the conductor line have a region overlapping with each other in the layout of plan view, an area for layout of the input protection circuit on a chip can be reduced effectively, and prevention of a destruction of the protection circuit due to the heat as well as an improvement of a resistance to the surge can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device and particularly to a protection circuit for protecting an internal circuit against an external surge voltage The invention more particularly relates to a layout of an input protection circuit for reducing the chip area and enhancing the resistance to the surge
2. Description of the Background Art
In a semiconductor integrated circuit device (MOS integrated circuit device) having an MOS transistor (insulated gate type field effect transistor) as a component thereof, a gate insulating film of an input transistor receiving an external signal is made relatively thin for implementing its high speed operation (for decreasing an absolute value of the threshold voltage). In the MOS transistor having such a thin gate insulating film, the gate insulating film is broken by discharge of the static electricity For example, since the breakdown voltage of a silicon oxide film is approximately 7.multidot.10.sup.6 V/cm, a gate oxide film (silicon oxide film) having its film thickness of 10 nm suffers the dielectric breakdown when a voltage of 7V is applied thereto. The source of such a high input voltage is the human body, package insertion device, test device, running system operation, lightning, and the like. If the source is the static electricity generated from the human body, for example, the peak value of the current may reach several amperes The input protection circuit is provided in order to prevent transmission of a transient high voltage (surge voltage) due to such static electricity to an internal circuit.
FIG. 14 shows one example of a structure of a conventional input protection circuit. Referring to FIG. 14, an input protection circuit IPC includes: a resistance element R1 connected between a pad PD and a node NA; a resistance element R2 connected between node NA and a node NB; a field transistor FT connected between node NA and a ground node GND and having its gate connected to ground node GND and having a field insulating film as the gate insulation film; and an n channel MOS transistor IF connected between node NB and a ground node GND and having its gate connected to ground node GND. The gate insulating film of MOS transistor IF is similar to that of an ordinary MOS transistor. Pad PD is connected to a frame lead FL constituting an external terminal via a bonding wire BW.
An internal circuit INC which operates responsive to a signal potential applied onto node NB includes at the first input stage, for example, a CMOS inverter constituted by a p channel MOS transistor PQ and an n channel MOS transistor NQ. The source of p channel MOS transistor PQ is connected to a power supply node VCC, and the source of n channel MOS transistor NQ is connected to a ground node GND.
Resistance element R1 limits a surge current flowing into input protection circuit IPC. Field transistor FT is turned on when a voltage level on node NA attains to at least a prescribed voltage because of the avalanche breakdown or the punch-through so that it discharges the surge voltage transmitted to node NA to ground node GND at a high speed.
Resistance element R2 has its resistance value made larger than that of resistance element R1 Resistance element R2 has a function of preventing transmission of the surge voltage on node NA to node NB during discharging of the surge voltage by field transistor FT.
MOS transistor IF has two functions. One is to absorb a small abnormal negative surge voltage transmitted to node NB by turning on to transmit a ground voltage GND on ground node GND (the node and the voltage on the node are represented by the same reference characters) to node NB. The other function is to determine whether pad PD and frame lead FL are connected normally. Specifically, when a negative bias voltage is applied to frame lead FL to set node NB at the negative voltage level, MOS transistor IF is rendered conductive so that a current flows from ground node GND to frame lead FL via internal node NB and pad PD. By externally detecting the current, whether bonding wire BW is correctly connected or not can be determined. MOS transistor IF does not have a large surge voltage applied thereto and has a function of clamping a negative voltage level on node NB at a -Vth level, where Vth represents a threshold voltage of MOS transistor IF.
FIG. 15 schematically shows a cross sectional structure of field transistor FT shown in FIG. 14. Referring to FIG. 15, field transistor FT includes high-concentration N type impurity regions 102 and 104 formed with a space therebetween at a surface of a P type semiconductor substrate region 100, and a field insulating film (LOCOS film) 106 formed between these impurity regions 102 and 104. N type impurity regions 102 and 104 are separated from other elements by field insulating films (LOCOS films) 108a and 108b formed along their outer peripheries.
In the structure of field transistor FT shown in FIG. 15, impurity region 102 is connected to node NA, and impurity region 104 is connected to ground node GND. A gate electrode layer 107 is formed over field insulating film 106 and is electrically connected to N type impurity region 104.
When a transient high voltage surge is applied to node NA, the potential at N type impurity region 102 increases so that N type impurity region 102 and P type semiconductor substrate region 100 reach a highly reverse-biased state. Because of the high voltage applied to the N type impurity region, a depletion layer expands and a lateral parasitic bipolar transistor of an npn structure having impurity region 102, substrate region 100 and impurity region 104 respectively as collector, base and emitter is turned on through the punch-through phenomenon. Accordingly, the high voltage applied to node NA is transmitted to ground node GND via impurity region 102, substrate region 100 and impurity region 104 to be absorbed by the ground voltage supply source.
When the parasitic bipolar transistor is turned on, the breakdown phenomenon (avalanche breakdown) occurs at a junction formed between impurity region 102 and substrate region 100, so that a current flows from impurity region 102 to substrate region 100 and the high voltage surge applied to node NA is absorbed via substrate region 100 (Substrate region 100 is biased at a prescribed potential level such as a normal ground potential or a negative potential.)
The input protection circuit provided for the signal input pad prevents a destruction of the gate oxide films of MOS transistors PQ and NQ in the internal circuit INC, since even if a high voltage surge is applied to pad PD, the high voltage surge is not transmitted to internal circuit INC.
FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view showing a layout of the field transistor in FIGS. 14 and 15. With reference to FIG. 16, the field transistor has N type impurity region 102 formed in a rectangular shape. Field insulating film 106 is formed to surround N type impurity region 102, and N type impurity region 104 is further formed to surround field insulating film 106. In the structure of the field transistor shown in FIG. 16, the width of field insulating film 106 corresponds to the channel length of the field transistor, and the average length of the inner perimeter and the outer perimeter of field insulating film 106 corresponds to the channel width of the field transistor.
A sufficiently large ratio of the channel width W to the channel length L of the field transistor can be obtained by utilizing the layout shown in FIG. 16. As a result, the current driving capability of field transistor FT can be improved to absorb the surge voltage at a high speed.
Various methods are employed for the input protection circuit in order to absorb the high voltage surge at a high speed and to operate the input protection circuit in a stable state.
FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view illustrating a layout of the input protection circuit. Referring to FIG. 17, resistance element R1 constituted by a diffusion resistance or a polysilicon resistance is connected to conductor lines 112 and 114 which are formed at a first level aluminum interconnection layer placed at its upper layer, respectively via contact holes 122 and 124. Conductor lines 112 and 114 are separated at a portion above a region where resistance element R1 is formed. Conductor line 112 is connected to a conductor line 110 formed at a second level aluminum interconnection layer via a through hole 120. Conductor line 110 is connected to pad PD.
Conductor line 114 in a lateral U-shape form is arranged extending across impurity regions 102 and 104 of the field transistor. Conductor line 114 is electrically connected to impurity region 102 via contact holes 128a and 128b. Impurity region 104 is electrically connected via contact hole 126 to a conductor line 116 formed at the first level aluminum layer and placed in parallel with conductor line 114. A conductor line 118 opposite to conductor line 116 with conductor line 114 therebetween is formed at the first level aluminum interconnection layer. Conductor line 118 is electrically connected to impurity region 104 via contact hole 130, and also connected to a ground line (not shown) formed at the second level layer aluminum interconnection layer located at its upper layer via through hole 132. Conductor lines 114 and 118 extend over the field insulating film and act as gate electrodes of the field transistor.
After passing through the field transistor, conductor line 114 has an end portion electrically connected to one end of resistance element R2 formed of a polysilicon or a diffusion layer via contact hole 134. The other end of resistance element R2 is connected to a conductor line 138 formed at the first level layer aluminum interconnection layer via contact hole 136. Conductor line 138 is electrically connected to the gate and drain of MOS transistor IF and the gate of the MOS transistor in the internal circuit (not shown).
FIG. 18 schematically shows a cross sectional structure taken along the line 17A-17A' shown in FIG. 17. Referring to FIG. 18, the field transistor includes impurity regions 102 and 104 formed at semiconductor substrate region 100 having a space therebetween, and field insulating film 106 formed between impurity regions 102 and 104. Impurity region 104 is connected to conductor line 118 via contact hole 130. Conductor line 118 extends over field insulating film 106, and connected to a conductor line formed at the second level aluminum layer (not shown in FIG. 17) via contact hole 132.
Impurity region 102 is electrically connected to conductor line 114 via contact holes 128a and 128b separated from each other. Impurity region 104 is connected to conductor line 116 formed at the first layer aluminum interconnection layer via contact hole 126.
In the structure shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, contact holes 122, 124, 126, 128a, 128b, 130, 134, and 136 have round shaped edges. By forming the edges of the contact holes into rounded shapes, prevention of concentration of an electric field at the edge portion of the contact hole, as well as prevention of occurrence of a high electric field and concentration of a current at the edge portion of the contact hole are possible.
Further, it is possible to prevent a current generated by the high electric field from locally concentrating and being accelerated to break the PN junction. Similarly, through holes 120 and 132 have rounded edges so that it is possible to prevent acceleration of electrons due to the concentration of the high electric field at the edge portion which causes an open-circuit of an interconnection line due to aluminum migration or the like. Further, these contact holes and through holes have sufficiently large areas to allow a current to spread and flow over a wide area. As a result, an interconnection line is not fused off by the heat generated due to the concentration of the power. Further, conductor lines 110, 112 and 114 respectively have sufficiently wide width, and resistance element R1 also has sufficiently large width, so that occurrence of the fusion thereof caused by the heat generation due to the concentration of the current is prevented.
The areas of impurity regions 102 and 104, and the areas of corresponding contact holes 126, 128a and 128b, and 130 are also made sufficiently large, so that the concentration of the power at impurity regions 102 and 104, and those contact hole portions can be prevented. Since impurity region 102 and conductor line 114 are electrically connected via two contact holes 128a and 128b, the areas of the contact holes are equivalently increased to prevent the occurrence of the concentration of the current.
Edge portions of impurity regions 104 and 102 facing field insulating film 106 are formed into rounded shapes. Accordingly, occurrence of the high electric field at the portion adjacent to the field insulating film to cause degradation of the field insulating film is prevented.
In order to prevent the destruction of the input protection circuit itself due to the high voltage surge as described above, some methods such as (i) to prevent local concentration of power consumption, and (ii) to prevent occurrence of the concentration of the electric field are employed. In order to realize high speed response of the input protection circuit to the high voltage surge, the value of the ratio between the channel length and the channel width of the field transistor, the resistance value of resistance element R2, and the like are optimally determined.
FIG. 19 schematically shows a layout of power supply interconnection lines and signal interconnection lines in the input protection circuit portion. With reference to FIG. 19, an interconnection layout for a pad PD arranged in a central region of a semiconductor chip (LOC (lead-on-chip) structure) is shown as one example.
In FIG. 19, at one side of pad PD, wide metal interconnection lines 140a and 140b are placed and narrow metal interconnection lines 142a and 142b are placed between metal interconnection lines 140a and 140b. Metal interconnection 140b is formed at a layer overlying resistance element R2.
At the other side of pad PD, narrow metal interconnection lines 142c-142f for transmitting a signal are placed, and a wide metal interconnection line 140c are further placed. Wide metal interconnection lines 140a, 140b, and 140c are, for example, a power supply line for transmitting the supply voltage or a ground line for transmitting the ground voltage.
When a high voltage surge is applied to pad PD, a large current of a few amperes, for example, flows through resistance element R1 and field transistor FT. As a result, the Joule's heat is generated at the resistance of resistance element R1 and at the contact portion of the field transistor FT (connection portion of the impurity region and the aluminum conductive layer and the PN junction between the impurity region and the substrate region). The large current could cause fusion of the upper layer metal interconnection line because of the generation of the heat. Therefore, the metal interconnection line is not arranged at a layer overlying resistance element R1 and field transistor FT in the input protection circuit. Under metal interconnection line 140b, resistance element R2 is placed. In this case, the large current has been absorbed by resistance element R1 and field transistor FT already, so that the large current does not flow through resistance element R2 and the amount of the generated heat is small. By placing metal interconnection 140b at the layer overlying resistance element R2, an effective area occupied by resistance element R2 on the chip can be reduced
Since an interconnection cannot be made over field transistor FT and resistance element R1, conductor line 114 connecting resistance element R1 and field transistor FT is formed to have an L-shape, and pad PD, resistance element R1 and field transistor FT are arranged in a line in order to reduce the chip area occupied by field transistor FT and resistance element R1 in the input protection circuit. Accordingly, the effective area occupied by the input protection circuit on the chip is reduced. (The area of the interconnection is kept as large as possible.)
In the input protection circuit, the minimum value of the energy of the high voltage surge to be absorbed is absolutely determined (e.g. the high voltage surge is 2000V in the case of the discharging from the human body), making the reduction of the layout area difficult. Especially, in order to avoid concentration of the power consumption in the input protection circuit when the high voltage surge is applied, the minimum values of the line width of resistance element R1, and the areas of the impurity region and the contact portion of the field transistor are determined independently of the chip size of the semiconductor device. Further, since various methods for avoiding concentration of the electric field and the power are employed in the layout of the input protection circuit as describe above, modification of the layout of the input protection circuit is not easy to make.
The ratio of the area of the input protection circuit to the semiconductor chip area is increasing. The area of the input protection circuit occupying the chip area is further increasing with the miniaturization of the interconnection pattern.
In order to make the occupation area of the input protection circuit as small as possible, pad PD, resistance element R1, and field transistor FT are aligned to make the area where the interconnection line can be placed as large as possible as shown in FIG. 19. The pad is arranged aligning along the direction of the alignment thereof since normally the interconnection is not arranged in this region. (A bonding wire is connected to pad PD.)
An efficient layout for reducing the interconnection area cannot be obtained since the metal interconnection line cannot be arranged at a layer overlying the input protection circuit. As a result, it becomes impossible to reduce the area occupied by the interconnection.
FIG. 20 shows an arrangement of the input protection circuits for a plurality of pads. Referring to FIG. 20, pads PDa-PDn are alignedly arranged. Input protection circuits IPCa-IPCn are provided respectively for pads PDa-PDn. Input circuits INCa-INCn are provided respectively corresponding to input protection circuits IPCa-IPCn. Transistors of input circuits INCa-INCn as their components are miniaturized for higher integration. On the other hand, the components of input protection circuits IPCa-IPCn cannot be scaled down according to the miniaturization of input circuit INCa-INCn, and their absolute sizes are predetermined. As the number of pads PDa-PDn increases, the ratio of the area of input protection circuits IPCa-IPCn which occupies the semiconductor chip increases to impede the reduction of the chip size. When the number of such input pads PDa-PDn increases, the number of input protection circuits IPCa-IPCn accordingly increases. As a result, the region where the interconnection cannot be arranged increases to prevent reduction of the interconnection layout area, and efficient reduction of the layout area of the interconnection becomes impossible.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device having stable input protection circuit


A sheet stacking device including a stacking tray, an auxiliary tray, and pivot limiting means. The stacking tray is disposed to be pivotable relative to an apparatus main body. The stacking tray has a stacking surface on which sheets discharged from discharging means are stacked. The auxiliary tray is pivotable between a storage position at which the auxiliary tray is stored in the stacking tray and a pivot position to which the auxiliary tray pivots from the stacking tray. Pivot limiting means limits pivoting of the auxiliary tray from the pivot position when the stacking tray is caused to pivot.

A conventional sheet stacking device for stacking sheets having images formed thereon includes a stacking tray on which sheets are stacked, and an auxiliary tray for extending the stacking surface of the stacking tray.
Patent Literature (PTL) 1 describes a sheet stacking device that includes an auxiliary tray pivotably supported by a stacking tray. As illustrated in FIG. 11, an auxiliary tray 412 described in PTL 1 is disposed to be pivotable about a pivot point O8 between a storage position at which the auxiliary tray 412 is stored in a stacking tray 411 and an extension position at which the auxiliary tray 412 extends the length of a sheet stacking surface of the stacking tray 411 in a sheet discharging direction.

Sheet stacking device and image forming apparatus


At least one hardware processor (111) in a wireless access point (110) in a first local network (120) managed by the wireless access point (110) routes traffic between wireless devices (121, 122) in the first local network (120) and a second network via a first interface (113, 114) configured for communication with wireless devices (121, 122) in the first local network (120) and a second interface (115) configured for communication with the second network and, upon determination that communication via the second interface (115) is impossible, connects (S460) through a third interface (113, 114) to a second wireless access (130) point as a wireless device in a second local network (140) managed by the second wireless access point (130) and routes (S470) traffic between the wireless devices (121, 122) in the first local network (120) and the second network via the first interface (113, 114) and the third interface (113, 114). This way a back-up connection can be provided.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Today's world revolves around being connected to the Internet or other networks at all times. Broadband connectivity is for instance considered a basic right in Finland, France and Spain, and the European Union has issued a directive to the effect that all its citizens have a right to broadband connection. While the broadband infrastructure is constantly improving, the risk for service interruption is still present. An interruption of services is likely to cause even more problems to users in the society in general and in commercial activities in particular in the future for example because of the indispensability of access to the Internet, the Internet providing triple-play services including access to digital television, world wide web, and telephony.
It will thus be appreciated that it is important to find solutions that work towards keeping the downtime of a broadband service to a strict minimum.
A first source of service interruption is due to disruption of the broadband link for reasons of failure of the infrastructure. While service interruptions owing to breaking of a broadband link is problematic, they are typically of a random and infrequent nature. A second source of broadband service interruptions can occur when consumers move to a new address, when the broadband access method is changed (typically upgraded) or when switching from one broadband technology to another. These cases are more common than the infrastructure failure. In some cases it can take days before the broadband services are operational again. For many services, end users rely on a mobile broadband network provided through their smartphones or tablets when the local network cannot use the fix broadband connection. However, this solution works only for the device itself, not for the broad range of services that an end user can enjoy when connected to a broadband access gateway (GW). Services such as remote backup to a Network Access Server (NAS), remote home control and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) typically cannot be used when the end user connects to a mobile network directly through the smartphone or the tablet.
Various solutions have been proposed to overcome this problem. The first solutions consisted of devices having dual xDSL type Wide Area Network (WAN) connection capabilities (e.g. Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)), which enabled switching from one broadband connection to the other in case of connection problems. Being rather expensive, such devices were typically deployed only in non-residential environments. A more recent solution, hybrid gateways, provided a more elegant, yet still expensive, alternative. A hybrid gateway contains a regular broadband WAN interface such as xDSL, Pon or Docsis and an additional mobile broadband interface such as 5G, 4G or 3G/LTE (Long-Term Evolution), for example via a LTE dongle. When the regular WAN connection breaks, a hybrid gateway switches over to the mobile broadband connection.
A problem with these conventional solutions is cost, product cost or network infrastructure cost, which can delay or impede their acceptance.
It will be appreciated that it is desired to have a solution that overcomes at least part of the conventional problems related to interruption of broadband services. The present principles provide such a solution.

Wireless access point and method for providing backup network connections