System and methods for tracking events in a sports game using one or more event input devices. Each event input device tracks a subset of the game events and the devices work together to provide a simplified input experience by sharing input and context from other event input devices. Since the user is only responsible for capturing a subset of the events, and because each device simplifies the input requirements of the other event input devices, the end user is still able to enjoy watching the game while also opening up the input task to users who would not have typically done so. The combined results of the devices provides a complete picture of the game in the form of a game play-by-play for the fans and statistics for the coaches. Integration with the scoreboard, communication system and player devices provide further event input simplification, rich content for viewers and simplification for traditional scorekeepers and sound controllers.

During sports games (typically minor sports), spectators (typically parents) record game events and statistics during the game. Such events keep parents at home updated with important game information (time, score, etc.). Such statistics are used by coaches after the game to assist in practices and future games. Tracking of statistics has typically been a tedious and stressful task for one person, especially in a fast paced game such as ice hockey, or a very manual process for a group of people. In order to accurately gather a large number of game events in a very short period of time and relay those game events to a large number of fans, spread out around the world in near real time, a system and method is required using multiple devices. It is desirable to automate and simplify the gathering and distribution of statistics and generation of game events.

System and methods of tracking game events


An injection device having a housing, a dose setting member being operable to set a desired dose, a piston rod adapted to cooperate with a piston to cause a set dose to be expelled, and a mode locking member. The mode locking member is adapted to be in a first extreme position and in a second extreme position. When the mode locking member is in the first extreme position the piston rod is prevented from cooperating with the piston, and when the mode locking member is in the second extreme position the dose setting member is prevented from being operated to set a dose. The mode locking member is adapted to be in the first extreme position during dose setting and the second extreme position during injection of a set dose.

When using injection devices as defined above, a desired dose is normally set by means of a dose setting mechanism. When the dose has been set, an injection needle is positioned at a desired injection position, and the set dose is injected by means of an injection mechanism, normally including a manually operable injection button and a piston rod cooperating with a piston of a cartridge containing the drug to be injected.
If it is possible for the piston rod to move in a distal direction during setting of a dose, there is a risk that liquid drug is accidentally spilled during dose setting. Furthermore, if it is possible for the piston rod to move in a proximal direction during dose setting, the pressure applied to the piston from the piston rod may decrease, possibly even forming a gap between the piston and the piston rod, and thereby there is a risk that blood is sucked into the cartridge when the injection needle of the device is subsequently inserted at the injection site. Furthermore, if it is possible for the dose setting mechanism to move during injection of an initially set dose, the set dose may accidentally be increased or decreased during the injection, and the actually injected dose may thereby be unknown. This is very undesirable. It is therefore desirable to be able to prevent such undesired movements of the piston rod and the dose setting mechanism, respectively.
Attempts have been made to solve the problem described above in injection devices of the kind having a cylindrical scale drum with a helical spiral of numbers written thereon. When a dose is set in such an injection device the cylindrical scale drum is dialled outwards, and a number corresponding to the set dose will show in a window on the injection device. US 2004/0059299 discloses an injection device of this kind. The injection device is provided with a dose setting element which, during dose setting, is coupled rotationally as well as axially to the scale drum. During injection the dose setting member is prevented from rotating. At the same time the dose setting element is coupled to a dose rod which can be rotated along a piston rod via a gearwheel providing a gearing corresponding to the pitch of the scale drum. Since the dose setting element and the scale drum are axially coupled during dose setting, the dose rod is rotated in a controlled manner, thereby preventing the piston rod from moving during dose setting. Since the dose setting element is prevented from rotating during injection, the dose rod is pushed back without performing a rotational movement, thereby causing an advancing movement of the piston rod.
EP 1 304 129 discloses a medication dispensing device including a lockout mechanism that prevents the dial from being depressed during dosing. The apparatus includes a drive assembly mounted to the housing and manually advanceable in the housing between a dose setting position and an injection position for manually moving the drive stem to drive the piston within a container. The drive assembly is locked from movement with respect to the housing along the axis of ejection while in the dose setting position. A disengaging device is secured to at least one of the drive assembly and the housing to unlock the drive assembly from the housing to enable the drive assembly to be axially advanceable with respect to the housing to move the drive assembly from the dose setting position to the injection position.
The injection device disclosed in EP 1 304 129 is also of the kind having a cylindrical scale drum, and the mechanism described above is connected to the scale drum.
It is a disadvantage that the mechanism which prevents undesired movements of the piston rod during dose setting is connected to the scale drum, since the mechanism therefore can not readily be applied to injection devices which are not provided with a cylindrical scale drum. Furthermore, it is sometimes desirable to design an injection device without such a cylindrical scale drum, e.g. in order to use the space occupied by a scale drum for other purposes, e.g. additional electronics for controlling the injection device, or simply because a different counter mechanism is desired. However, it is still desirable to be able to overcome the problems outlined above in such an injection device.

Injection device with mode locking means


A flywheel includes a hub portion concentrically defined around a center of the flywheel. A body portion located peripherally around the hub portion has a driver-side face and a driven-side face. A plurality of passageways in the body portion extend through the flywheel and fluidly connect the driver-side face with the driven-side face. Each of the plurality of passageways is adapted to receive a flow of lubricant spilling onto the driver-side of the body portion when the flywheel is rotating, and to expel lubricant out of the driven-side face of the body portion.

Systems for transmitting mechanical power that include flywheels and clutches are known. These systems typically include a driver portion that generates power, for example, an internal combustion engine or electric motor, and a driven portion, for example, a vehicle transmission or a generator. Such systems often operate under severe temperature conditions, and individual components included in these systems, such as clutches, may require lubrication that both reduces unwanted friction and provides cooling.
Providing lubrication for clutches has typically been accomplished by incorporating fluid conduits that receive lubricant from the driver portion and which deliver the lubricant to the clutch by extending around other intermediary components, such as flywheels. Even though such designs have proven effective in the past, incorporating fluid conduits into a transmission in this manner can be costly and complex. These fluid conduits are typically made of steel tubing that is bent into a shape that follows a usually narrow and tortuous path connecting a source of lubricant from the driver portion to the clutch.

Flywheel having lubrication-flow passageway


An information handling system transporting apparatus includes a housing container, and a plurality of information handling system containers which are positionable in the housing container, each information handling system container including a padding member for receiving a plurality of information handling systems. A plurality of information handling systems may be positioned in the information handling system containers and transported at a lower cost relative to conventional methods.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to transporting a plurality of information handling systems.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Some customers may have the need for large quantities of information handling systems. For customers who order large quantities of information handling systems, a number of issues arise with respect to the transporting of those information handling systems to the customer. The information handling systems may be transported with each information handling system individually packaged. However, this method is costly and results in a large amount of leftover transporting material. In addition, some customers require reusable transportation methods that reduce or eliminate these leftover transporting materials before they will purchase the information handling systems. Furthermore, such ecological concerns and customer requirements for ecologically friendly delivery are expected to increase in the future.
Conventional reusable methods for transporting large quantities of information handling systems utilize large shipping containers which are fabricated from metal, plastic, and wood and can cost thousands of dollars. These containers are large, heavy, expensive to build and ship, difficult to load and unload, present problems with scaling, and provide little flexibility with respect to transporting different sized information handling systems.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide for transporting a plurality of information handling systems absent the disadvantages found in the prior methods discussed above.

Housing container and method for transporting a plurality of information handling systems


An apparatus and method for handling and/or pre-processing microelectronic workpieces. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes an input/output station configured to removably receive a plurality of microelectronic workpieces at an input/output location, a transfer station, and a first transfer device that moves the microelectronic workpieces directly between the input/output location and the transfer station. A second transfer device moves the microelectronic workpieces directly from the transfer station to at least one process station. The transfer station can include a pre-process station configured to identify and/or align the microelectronic workpieces. The apparatus can further include a storage station configured to support a plurality of microelectronic workpieces and can be positioned to at least partially overlap the pre-process station.

Microelectronic devices, such as semiconductor devices and field emission displays, are generally fabricated on and/or in microelectronic workpieces using several different types of machines ("tools"). Many such machines have a single processing station that performs one or more procedures on the workpieces. Other processing machines have a plurality of processing stations that perform a series of different procedures on individual workpieces or batches of workpieces. In a typical fabrication process, one or more layers of conductive material are formed on the workpieces during the deposition stages. The workpieces are then typically subjected to etching and/or polishing procedures (i.e., planarization) to remove a portion of the deposited conductive layers for forming electrically isolated contacts and/or conductive lines.
Plating tools that plate metal or other materials on the workpieces are becoming an increasingly useful type of processing machine. Electroplating and electroless plating techniques can be used to deposit nickel, copper, solder, permalloy, gold, silver, platinum and other metals onto workpieces for forming blanket layers or patterned layers. A typical metal plating process involves depositing a seed layer onto the surface of the workpiece using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), electroless plating processes or other suitable methods. After forming the seed layer, a blanket layer or patterned layer of metal is plated on the workpiece by applying an appropriate electrical potential between the seed layer and an electrode in the presence of an electrolytic solution. Alternatively, the blanket layer can be applied to the workpiece using electroless processing techniques. In either process, the workpiece is then cleaned, etched and/or annealed in subsequent procedures before transferring the workpiece to another processing machine.
The foregoing operations are typically conducted within a single enclosed clean or "mini" environment in a processing tool. In a typical arrangement, a plurality of individual workpieces are brought to the tool in a portable container which defines another clean mini environment. A door of the container is placed flush against a door of the tool, and both doors are opened together to reduce the likelihood for introducing contaminants into the enclosure surrounding the tool. The workpieces are then moved into the enclosure.
Prior to processing the workpieces within the enclosure, the workpieces are identified by scanning a code or other identifying characteristic on the workpieces, for example with a bar code reader or other optical character recognition (OCR) system. The workpieces can also be aligned, for example, when the scan code or other identifying characteristic is positioned at a predetermined position relative to a recognizable feature of the workpiece, such as a notch or flat edge. This prealignment technique can also be used to precisely position the workpiece for subsequent processes that require the workpiece to have a specific orientation.
One existing arrangement for carrying out the prealigning and identification functions described above is to have a single robot retrieve workpieces one by one from the portable workpiece container, place the workpieces in a prealigner device, and then move the workpieces to downstream process chambers. Another existing approach is to have one robot remove the workpieces one by one from the container, deliver the workpieces one by one to a prealigner, then move the workpieces one by one to a transfer station. A second robot retrieves the workpieces from the transfer station, moves the workpieces among the appropriate processing stations, and returns the workpieces to the transfer station when the processes are complete. The first robot then moves the processed workpieces one by one to the original container or another container.
One drawback with the foregoing multi-robot approach is that the first robot may not operate efficiently because it must move each workpiece twice (once to the prealigner and once to the transfer station) before the workpiece is handed off to the second robot. Another drawback with this approach is that the first robot cannot operate entirely independently of the second robot because once the transfer station is occupied by a workpiece, the first robot cannot deliver another workpiece to the transfer station until the first workpiece is removed by the second robot.

Apparatuses and method for transferring and/or pre-processing microelectronic workpieces


An apparatus is provided for closing a perforation in a wall of a patient's blood vessel or other organs, and a method of introducing the apparatus and causing the closure are described. The apparatus includes an elongated support member having a distal end supporting one or more tissue engaging hooks configured to engage fibrous vessel tissue when moved in a first direction and to disengage the tissue when moved in a second direction, and a proximal end for applying rotational torque to the support member to cause the hooks to engage collagen fibrous tissue in the adventitia of the blood vessel or fibrous tissue in other body organs. The hooks engaging the collagen fiber causes the blood vessel tissue surrounding the perforation to be drawn into close proximity such that the perforation can be closed. The apparatus can be removed by applying reverse rotation of the support member, whereby the hooks are disengaged. The apparatus is deployed in an outer sheath with the hooks encased until a selected engaging location has been achieved. When positioned in the aperture to be closed, the hooks are exposed to allow interaction with the adventitia. Puncture closure can be accomplished by various techniques, including stasis, cauterizing, or by clamping. Various embodiments of the apparatus are described.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improved apparatus and methods for closing perforations in body organs or blood vessels, which are alternatives to suturing; and, more particularly, relates to closure apparatus having application for closure of openings in body organs or blood vessel walls after invasive procedures in a patient's system have been performed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are several surgical procedures where it is necessary to puncture a blood vessel or other body organs in order to insert a catheter or other structures therein. The punctures are utilized for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, diagnostic procedures, radiological procedures, application of medication or therapeutic devices, coronary and peripheral angioplasties, thorascopic, laparoscopic, or endoscopic surgery, and the like. These procedures all involve making a puncture in body organs or in the wall of a blood vessel to be treated or used in treatment of the patient's system. The size of the puncture will vary depending on the procedure. It is common to utilize the femoral artery as the point of entry to the patient's body in many such procedures.
One type of procedure involves percutaneous puncture of the wall of a blood vessel, such as an artery, by insertion of catheter through which a guidewire is inserted. When the guidewire is positioned, a treatment device such as an inflatable balloon, is advanced coaxially along the guidewire to the point of the treatment. Often a sheath (cannula) is advanced with the treatment device. The proximal end of the sheath is retained outside of the skin of the patient, and can be utilized with a hemostatic valve to prevent blood flow from the artery through the sheath.
Sheaths generally are flexible tubes having thin walls and diameters in the range of up to about 21 F or more. Other procedures, such as may be encountered with use of endoscopes or other instruments, may utilize trocars for insertion. Typical trocar punctures can range from 2 mm to more than 15 mm in diameter, or from about 6 F to more than 45 F. Closure is typically accomplished using multiple levels of sutures. Once a procedure is completed and the sheath or other instrument is to be removed, the resulting wound aperture can be significant. Frequently, after conventional diagnostic or treatment procedures, whether of the peripheral circulation or coronary circulation systems, excessive bleeding occurs upon removal of the catheter or arterial sheath. In addition to bleeding, hematoma formation can be significant in many post-interventional procedures.
While excessive bleeding can be a problem with persons having a normal blood clotting response, there are patients who are at even higher risk of excessive blood loss. These would include patients who are utilizing anticoagulation medications which inhibit clotting, suffer from obesity, hypertension, or bleeding disorders, all of which raise the risk of excessive bleeding following removal of the sheath or other instruments.
Various procedures and devices have been developed to address the minimization of blood loss upon completion of the diagnostic or treatment procedure. A common practice has been to simply apply pressure to the location of the perforation. Pressure may be required for a relatively long time, such as one-half hour, followed by the patient being substantially immobilized for many hours. This treatment essentially relies on the self-healing characteristics of the patient and relies on normal clotting. Pressure treatment can suffer, however, from the excessive loss of blood and thrombosis formation. Further, the development of hematoma can be a significant problem.
Another post-intervention process to close off the puncture aperture has been to apply a collagen plug. This procedure does not avoid all of the blood loss and the placement of such material adds to the risk of thrombosis formation and development of an inflammatory auto-immune reaction.
Various devices have been developed to close or repair punctures or perforation openings in a patient's body. One relatively straight forward method and apparatus for closing wounds is the use of clips. One form of hemostatic clip is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,902 to March et al., and requires sufficient accessibility of the wound to allow operation of a clamping mechanism. The self-attaching hemostatic clip has wound flap-engaging teeth for holding the flaps of the wound together when activated. This device does not, however, deal directly with closing an aperture in the wall of a vascular vessel and would allow the subcutaneous formation of thrombosis. Another type of clip is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,354 to Tovey et al., which describes a clip fastener that is placed over a wound with its legs embedded in tissue about the wound. This clip also requires an external tool for closing the clip legs, and when used externally, suffers from a similar concern of allowing blood to gather below the surface of the skin. An alternative embodiment involves surgical fasteners that are inserted through the wound and for attachment under the wound. These clipping devices present the potential problems involving the increase in thrombosis.
Another device for closing or connecting blood vessels is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,448 to Wholey et al., wherein a plurality of microminiature barbs mounted on a support member are utilized to pierce the wall of a blood vessel to anchor the device in place. In a related patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,897 to Wholey, a similar patch utilizing a plurality of small barbs to adhere to the wall of the artery is described. When used internally to the blood vessel, it appears that such a patch arrangement can present a situs for clot formation.
Various suturing systems have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,304,184 to Hathaway et al.; 5,364,408 to Gordon; and 5,462,561 to Voda, illustrate various forms of suturing devices that can place suture material in a body cavity to join the tissue surrounding an opening or wound made during a medical procedure. The deep suturing procedures are relatively complex, require dexterity and care in placing the needles, and generally are time consuming in the completion of the suturing procedure. The amount of time required to complete the suturing function can result in substantial blood loss, especially when dealing with arterial punctures. There is the further concern of accuracy of placement of the suture needles to provide an adequate engagement of tissue such that the completed suture will hold. Finally, the introduction of a suture material within the blood vessel may support the formation of clots.
In procedures such as thorascopic, laparoscopic or endoscopic surgeries, it is common to make entry to the patient's body with a trocar of suitable size to form an aperture large enough to insert the applicable instrumentation. Closure of such incisions quickly and efficiently cannot be accomplished with prior art clamping or suturing processes or equipment.


Alkoxylated esters of dicarboxylic or tricarboxylic acids have an anti-irritating activity measured as a reduction in intracellular leakage of sodium fluorescein of 15% or more at 1:50 dilution or 40% or more at 1:100 dilution from a test composition containing 5% of the alkoxylated ester. These alkoxylated esters are useful in cosmetic and personal care products, especially in products such as baby shampoos, hand dishwashing liquids and bubble bath preparations. A method of reducing irritation provides for application of an irritant with the alkoxylated esters to the subject in a personal care or cosmetic product.

Formulation and production of personal care products, such as shampoos, conditioners, depilatories, sunscreens and the like, presents a number of challenges. Some ingredients used in such products may contribute to skin and eye irritation. For example, shampoos usually include various surface-active compounds or surfactants, depilatories are formulated with organic or inorganic bases, and certain skin care preparations contain hydroxy acids, all of which may cause irritation. Additionally, certain products (e.g., soaps, detergents, cleansers, shaving creams, etc.) may remove some of the skin's protective lipids and thus increase skin's sensitivity to other formulation components, which might otherwise not produce irritation.
Whatever the cause of the irritation, many attempts have been made to reduce the irritation potential of personal care and cosmetic products by identifying ingredients that cause irritation, and reducing the concentration(s) of such ingredients or eliminating them entirely. However, in many cases, it may not be practical or desirable to reduce or eliminate the irritating ingredient, which is often the active ingredient of the formulation. For example, surfactants, bases, and hydroxy acids are included in shampoos, depilatories, and certain skin care products, respectively, to achieve the primary purpose of the product formulation. Therefore, instead of removing the irritants, it may be desirable to include anti-irritating compounds in the cosmetic and personal care formulations.
The use of anti-irritants in cosmetics had been suggested, for example, in articles by R. L. Goldemberg, Use of Anti-Irritants in Cosmetic Formulating, J. Soc. Cosmetic Chemists, 6: 317–340 (1965), and Anti-irritants, J. Soc. Cosmetic Chemists, 30:415–427 (1979), which are incorporated herein by reference. Goldemberg defined an anti-irritant as any agent "which when used in conjunction with skin or eye irritants, reduces their irritation sufficiently to be tolerated when applied to the body." A broader definition would consider a compound anti-irritating if it reduces irritation of the human body to any degree when used in combination with an irritant relative to the use of the same irritant, under the same conditions, without the anti-irritant.
In other words, a compound is generally considered anti-irritating if it reduces irritation when applied in a formulation with an irritant. Under this definition, any material that is applied separately from the irritating components of a product, e.g., before the product is applied, is generally not considered an anti-irritant. For example, there exists a known practice of applying a layer of petrolatum to the scalp before using a high-pH relaxer. Even though petrolatum does reduce scalp irritation by the relaxer, it would not be an anti-irritant because it is applied separately, unless petrolatum also reduces irritation when applied in a formulation with the relaxer.
Several mechanisms of anti-irritation activity had been suggested. One proposed mechanism involves a reduction in the irritating ability of the irritant by a complexation of the irritant with the anti-irritating compound. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), which is known to reduce the irritating ability of iodine, is an example of anti-irritants that are believed to operate via this mechanism. When PVP is added to a solution of iodine, the latter no longer irritates mucousal tissue while retaining its germicidal activity.
Another suggested mechanism is blocking of chemically reactive sites of skin keratin by the anti-irritant, which thus prevents the irritant from accessing the reactive sites. For example, polyquaternium-10 and stearyl dimethylamine oxide are thought to operate by this mechanism.
Yet another suggested mechanism is a reduction in the degree of physical contact between the irritant and the skin. Good examples of raw materials that operate via this mechanism are thickeners that retard the rate at which irritants are be replenished at the skin/formulation interface.
Several methods have been used in measuring the irritation values. The examples of in vivo methods of measuring irritation and anti-irritating effects include Repeated Insult Patch Testing (RIPT) and Draize methods, both known to those skilled in the art. The examples of in vitro methods are Eyetex™ by InVitro International, and EpiDerm™ and EpiOcular™ by MatTek Corporation. Another method of measuring irritation was described by R. Goldemberg in Reduction of Topical Irritation, J. Soc. Cosmetic Chemists, 28, 667–679 (1977), which is incorporated by reference herein.
The art of reducing irritation has not been perfected and the need still exists for effective anti-irritants. For example, there exists a need for ingredients that reduce the irritation produced by surfactant-based cosmetic and/or personal care formulations. Anti-irritants which are easily compatible with the personal care formulations and/or which are able to contribute other advantageous properties such as such as stabilization, wetability, spreadability, viscosity, etc., are particularly desirable. It is especially desirable to find anti-irritants that are also able to contribute to a superior after-feel of the product and/or allow the formulation of a clear product.


A novel and improved method and apparatus for switching the radio interface layer of a wireless telephone call from code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular to GSM time division multiple access (TDMA) cellular during the course of that telephone call or other communication is described. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a set of base stations operating in accordance with the GSM standard generate pilot beacons signals in accordance with CDMA technology. During a phone call, a subscriber unit detects CDMA pilot signals, and notifies a base station controller when CDMA pilot signals are detected and the strength at which they are received. The base station controller identifies CDMA pilot signals from CDMA pilot beacon, and initiates a CDMA to GSM handover via the generation of a set of signaling messages which instruct the subscriber unit and receiving GSM infrastructure equipment to prepare for the switching of the radio interface layer. The subscriber unit responds by acquiring the GSM synchronization information and establishing a RF interface with the GSM base station without interrupting the telephone call being conducted.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method for providing both code division multiple access and time division multiple access wireless telecommunications service in an area having a Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications network.
II. Description of the Related Art
Code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless telecommunications is the next generation of digital wireless telecommunications. CDMA allows wireless telecommunications systems such as cellular telephone systems to provide higher quality wireless telephone service at a reduced cost by more efficiently using the radio frequency (RF) bandwidth available to conduct telephone calls. Additionally, CDMA provides a more reliable, fade-free, RF signal interface than previously existing wireless communication systems and methods. The leading standard for CDMA wireless telecommunications is the IS-95 over-the-air CDMA interface standard, promulgated by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). In addition to the general advantages provided by CDMA noted above, IS-95 CDMA provides soft handoff capability by allowing a subscriber unit (usually a cellular telephone) to engage in multiple RF interfaces simultaneously. Soft handoff increases the likelihood that a subscriber unit will remain connected as the set of base stations with which it interfaces changes in response to changing location.
To allow the widest possible availability of CDMA wireless telecommunication service, it is desirable to reduce the cost associated with the implementation of a CDMA wireless telecommunications system. One such method and system is described in copending U.S. patent application disclosure no. 08/575,413 entitled "WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM UTILIZING CDMA RADIO FREQUENCY SIGNAL MODULATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GSM A-INTERFACE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK PROTOCOL" filed Dec. 20, 1995 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. (CDMA-GSM network application) In the CDMA-GSM network application a wireless telecommunications system using an IS-95, or IS-95 like, over-the-air interface in conjunction with a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) telecommunications network is described. GSM telecommunications systems represent the previous generation of digital wireless telecommunication systems and utilize a time division multiple access technology over the air interface (GSM-TDMA). Such a wireless telecommunications system allows CDMA telecommunications service to be introduced at a reduced cost in areas having already existing GSM base telecommunication service, because a substantial portion of the previously existing infrastructure can be used to provide the CDMA wireless telecommunication service.
Allowing a CDMA based wireless telecommunications system to be built using preexisting telecommunications infrastructure also raises the possibility of CDMA and GSM-TDMA, or CDMA and other prior art wireless telecommunication communication systems, being simultaneously implemented within the same region or area. Having both CDMA wireless telecommunications service and the preexisting telecommunication service available in the same area has various advantages. These include including the ability to incrementally introduce CDMA service within a service area thereby spreading out the cost of introducing CDMA service over time, as well as the ability to perform limited introductions of CDMA service only in areas where demand for wireless telecommunication service has outstripped the supply provided using the prior art technology. In order to provide total mobility to CDMA service subscribers located in a areas where CDMA and prior art systems coexist, however, a system and method for allowing the subscriber unit to switch between the two types of service during a telephone call is necessary. Since mobility is one of the substantial benefits provided by wireless telecommunications service, such a system and method allowing a subscriber unit to switch between CDMA and another type of cellular telephone service would be highly desirable.

Coexisting GSM and CDMA wireless telecommunications networks


Embodiments of the present invention provide methods for etching a material layer using synchronized RF pulses. In one embodiment, a method includes providing a gas mixture into a processing chamber, applying a first RF source power at a first time point to the processing chamber to form a plasma in the gas mixture, applying a first RF bias power at a second time point to the processing chamber to perform an etching process on the substrate, turning off the first RF bias power at a third time point while continuously maintaining the first RF source power on from the first time point through the second and the third time points, and turning off the first RF source power at a fourth time point while continuously providing the gas mixture to the processing chamber from the first time point through the second, third and fourth time points.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods for etching a material layer using synchronized RF pulses, and more particularly to methods etching a material layer using synchronized RF pulses in the semiconductor applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reliably producing sub-half micron and smaller features is one of the key technology challenges for next generation very large scale integration (VLSI) and ultra large-scale integration (ULSI) of semiconductor devices. However, as the limits of circuit technology are pushed, the shrinking dimensions of VLSI and ULSI interconnect technology have placed additional demands on processing capabilities. Reliable formation of gate structures on the substrate is important to VLSI and ULSI success and to the continued effort to increase circuit density and quality of individual substrates and die.
A patterned mask, such as a photoresist layer, is commonly used in forming structures, such as gate structure, shallow trench isolation (STI), bite lines and the like, on a substrate by etching process. The patterned mask is conventionally fabricated by using a lithographic process to optically transfer a pattern having the desired critical dimensions to a layer of photoresist. The photoresist layer is then developed to remove undesired portion of the photoresist, thereby creating openings in the remaining photoresist.
In order to enable fabrication of next generation devices and structures, three dimensional (3D) stacking of semiconductor chips is often utilized to improve performance of the transistors. By arranging transistors in three dimensions instead of conventional two dimensions, multiple transistors may be placed in the integrated circuits (ICs) very close to each other. Three dimensional (3D) stacking of semiconductor chips reduces wire lengths and keeps wiring delay low. However, designs of the three dimensional (3D) stacking of semiconductor chips often further pushes the geometry limits of the structures against technology limits, the need for accurate process control for the manufacture of small critical dimensional structures with high aspect ratio has become increasingly important. Poor process control during etching process will result in irregular structure profiles and line edge roughness, thereby resulting poor line integrity of the formed structures. Additionally, irregular profiles and growth of the etching by-products formed during etching may gradually block the small openings used to fabricate the small critical dimension structures, thereby resulting in bowed, distorted, toppled, or twisted profiles of the etched structures.
Thus, there is a need for improved methods and apparatus that may etch a material layer with high aspect ratio, particularly for three dimensional (3D) stacking of semiconductor chips or other semiconductor devices with accurate process and profile control.

Methods for etching materials using synchronized RF pulses


A module and apparatus for measuring temperature related properties of an SRAM IC includes circuitry for controlling writing of data to and reading of data from a pair of SRAM ICs, one of which is a control and the other of which is the SRAM IC being tested. The circuitry includes an address counter, a logic controller, two input buffers, two output data latches, and a data comparator, the effect of temperature on data input through the input buffers under control of the logic controller and address counter being analyzed by comparing data output through the data latches. In addition, the apparatus includes two separate seats for the respective SRAM ICs, one of which is subjected to a constantly controlled temperature and the other of which is subjected to a varying ambient temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a measuring module and apparatus for measuring temperature property of a static random access memory integrated circuit (SRAM IC) without the necessity for preparing any large measuring board or writing a measurement program.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In response to the current need for processing large amounts of data by personal computer, high quality SRAM ICs must be able to withstand variations in temperature, but without sacrificing their function and stability. In order to achieve this object, an SRAM IC has to be tested in the manufacturer's workshop for variations in its properties with variations in temperature. The conventional equipment for measuring properties of an SRAM IC against temperature includes a measuring board and a constant temperature controller. However, the method of measurement carried out by such equipment has the following disadvantages:
1. It is quite difficult for a designer to have skill in operating both of the above mentioned instruments in order to obtain a characteristic curve for a SRMC IC as described above. PA1 2. Both the measuring board and constant temperature controller are not only very expensive but also have to be carefully installed in a place where the ambient temperature is kept constant. This is disadvantageous to a manufacturer since he has to prepare such costly equipment in advance at the engineering test stage for SRAM ICs, whether or not he is successful in producing the SRAM ICs and can justify the cost of the equipment.
In order to rectify the disadvantages of the measuring method concerning how the temperature affects a SRAM IC in the conventional art, through a long term study and numerous experiments, the applicant has successfully developed a novel module and apparatus for measuring temperature properties of an SRAM IC to be disclosed hereinafter.

Module and apparatus for measuring temperature properties of an SRAM IC


The resin composition for a platable substrate of the present invention comprises 100 parts by weight of a resin composition (C) comprising 10 to 60% by weight of a graft copolymer (A) prepared by graft polymerization of a rubbery polymer (A1) and a monomer component (A2) containing an aromatic alkenyl compound monomer unit (a) and a vinyl cyanide compound monomer unit (b) and 40 to 90% by weight of the other polymer (B) (provided that the total amount of the components (A) and (B) is 100% by weight), and 5 to 40 parts by weight of a phosphate ester flame retardant (D) having a molecular weight of more than 326 or 2 to 40 parts by weight of a red phosphorus flame retardant (D′). The resin composition for a platable substrate of the present invention is excellent in production stability such as moldability, dimensional stability, mechanical strength and plating properties, and is also environmentally friendly. Excellent plated parts having good thermal conductivity can be provided by forming a metal plating layer on a resin molded article obtained by molding the resin composition for a platable substrate using a plating treatment. The resulting plated parts are suitable for use as housings for laptop PC and portable devices.

As materials for housings for laptop PCs and portable devices, unreinforced or fiber-reinforced flame retardant ABS and flame retardant PC-ABS have been exclusively used heretofore.
Recently, weight reduction and thickness reduction of devices have been strongly demanded and it has also been required for it to endure impacts and loads when carried in a bag. Therefore, it has become necessary to reduce the thickness and weight of the housing and to impart high impact resistance thereto. Thus, high rigidity and impact properties are required from a resin used as the material of the housing.
Also, the housing for these devices require electromagnetic wave shielding properties (hereinafter referred to as EMI shieldability). The method of imparting EMI shieldability includes, for example, a method of using a resin containing about 30% by weight or more of carbon fibers, a method of inserting a metal foil or a metal plate upon in-molding or assembly of a product, and a method of subjecting to electroless plating or conductive coating.
Among conventionally used materials, unreinforced flame retardant ABS and flame retardant PC-ABS cannot cope with recent thickness reduction because of poor rigidity. A glass fiber-reinforced material is insufficient in balance between rigidity and weight. In a carbon fiber-reinforced material, when using a resin containing about 30% by weight or more of carbon fibers, EMI shieldability can be obtained. However, there arises a problem in that carbon fibers are expensive and the material containing carbon fibers in an amount of less than 30% by weight must be subjected to another treatment so as to impart sufficient EMI shieldability. Large content of carbon fibers causes a problem in that the appearance of a resin molded article made of the material becomes poor.
Although laptop PCs and portable devices contain sources of heat, such as CPUs, a calorific value tends to increase because of the high density thereof. Also, because of thickness reduction of the housing, heat removal is considered to be an important problem.
A material having high thermal conductivity is preferably used. as the material of the housing to remove heat. Since a resin material generally has low thermal conductivity, other measures must be adopted to remove heat in order to use a housing made of the resin.
From an environmental point of view, it has been recently required to use a flame retardant material free from halogens such as chlorine or bromine, which copes with the trend toward German and Swedish Ecolabeling.
Under these circumstances, housings for laptop PC and portable devices are required to be light weight, have thin walls, high rigidity, high impact resistance, high thermal conductivity, EMI shieldability, and be mass productible, and also require the use of an environmentally friendly material.
As a method of obtaining a device housing which is light weight, and has high rigidity, good thermal conductivity, and low cost, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-349486 proposes a housing wherein the surface of a resin molded article obtained by molding of a thermoplastic resin is subjected to metal plating.
However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-349486 is considered to be insufficient from the following point of view with respect to the production of a housing which meets all performance requirements described above.
For example, in Example 5 of the publication, a halogen-free phosphate ester flame retardant is used as a flame retardant, but it has low molecular weight. Therefore, the flame retardant has a low melting point and is liable to vaporize (gasify) at high temperatures, and thus large amounts of gas are evolved during molding. Consequently, there arise problems in that evolved gas contaminates the mold surface and is deposited on the mold parting plane (mold deposit), resulting in poor productivity, and problems such as poor formation of a plating layer of plated parts, and poor appearance.

Resin composition for plating substrate and resin molding using the same, and metal plated parts


A connector assembly includes at least two connectors arranged substantially adjacent to each other for allowing a cover to detachably engage the connectors. The cover is configured so that an external vacuum suction nozzle or the like can apply a suction force on the cover together with the connectors in order to mount the connectors simultaneously on a printed circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector assembly and particularly to a connector assembly with an auxiliary device for aiding a jig or other fixing mechanism to install the connector assembly onto an electrical device such as a printed circuit board.
2. The Prior Art
With the continuing trend toward compact electronic apparatus, the demand for miniaturized interconnection systems between electronic components of the apparatus is continuously increasing along with the demand to reduce thickness and height parameters of the electronic components.
To reduce the size of electronic components, relatively thin connectors are required for locating and terminating tail portions of terminals related to circuit traces on the printed circuit board. The tails may be soldered to the circuit traces on the board or in holes defined therein, and a complementary connector assembly may be mounted directly to a connector block or interconnected therewith by terminal pins extending through the holes of the printed circuit board.
In an advanced assembling procedure, a connector assembly is usually mounted on a surface of an electrical apparatus such as a printed circuit board by means of a vacuum suction nozzle or the like. However, during installation of the connector assembly onto the printed circuit board, complications always occur such as misalignment of the connector assembly with trace pads on the printed circuit board or improper timing release of the connector assembly from the vacuum-suction nozzle, always occur due to improper cooperation between the vacuum-suction nozzle and the assembly connector.
More specifically, a connector assembly is secured by the vacuum suction nozzle and then brought to a selected position on the printed circuit board. The connector assembly is then released from the vacuum suction nozzle by removing the negative pressure acting thereon. Thereafter, gas is released inside the soldering reflow solder vessel or infrared rays are radiated therein until the solder applied to selected conductors on the printed circuit board has been melted, thereby soldering the selected conductors to solder tails of the electrical connector. The connector assembly should have a smooth or flat top surface for effective use of the vacuum suction nozzle. The connector assembly often has an entire top surface occupied by closely spaced terminal receiving openings which do not provide a level surface, thus hindering the performance of the vacuum suction nozzle.
A detachable cover for the connector assembly has recently been proposed to provide a smooth top surface for engagement and cooperation with the vacuum suction nozzle. Once the connector assembly is positioned on the predetermined mounting surface of the printed circuit board by the vacuum suction nozzle and after the solder reflow process, the cover is removed and the connector assembly is retained on the printed circuit board by the soldering of the solder tails to the selected circuit traces on the printed circuit board.
The prior art related to the above examples have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,396,245; 4,645,278; 5,026,295; 5,055,971; 5,242,311; 5,249,977; 5,277,601; and 5,383,797. However, the prior art does not include a structure by which more than one connector assembly can be simultaneously mounted on a printed circuit board.
It is therefore requisite to invent a new structure by which the simultaneous mounting of several connector assemblies can be facilitated for promoting manufacturing efficiency.


Embodiments detect differences between software systems by comparing statements collected therefrom in an order of execution. Highlighting point(s) of divergence between the executed statements allows rapid localization of differences between the software systems, which may be minor and otherwise difficult to discern within large volumes of underlying code. In some embodiments a highlighted departure in statement order may be attributable to slight code differences between the two software systems. In other embodiments the software systems may have identical code but reference different configuration data (e.g. as configuration files), a subtle distinction also revealed by comparing an order of executed statements. Certain embodiments may perform tracing/comparison between an order of execution of only selected statement types (e.g., SQL operations, database access, kernel events) based upon their specificity and ability to reveal significant functional differences. This can reduce processing and/or memory burden(s) when comparing lengthy volumes of executed statements between complex systems.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Embodiments relate to software testing, and in particular, to detecting defects in software by identifying location of diverging paths of execution.
Over its lifetime, a software program may be present in a number of different versions. For example, an early version of software comprising a development system may be used for purposes of initial development. Later, another version of the software may be utilized for testing and/or evaluation.
Often, the structure of various software versions (e.g., development system, test system) may differ from each other in subtle ways. In particular, even minor differences in code can substantially impact performance of the software in important ways.
For example, a developer may realize that while a certain software feature works well in one version (e.g., a development system), that same feature may operate differently in a different version (e.g. test system). Unfortunately the task of precisely manually identifying subtle differences in code giving rise to deviation in software performance, can be laborious and expensive.
Moreover, this issue can be exacerbated as software programs become ever more complex. For example, programs for deployment on the cloud may be configured to work with a variety of different client types. Such cloud-based software may thus utilize the combination of different code modules with different versions. Subtle differences in code between those modules can lead to unwanted deviations in performance between versions.

Software defect detection identifying location of diverging paths


Content items found in a designated folder within an e-mail system are obtained by a separate computing system. The content items are converted into entities within the separate computing system, and associated with one or more other entities within the separate computing system, based on a set of mapping rules. The content items can then be surfaced, in context, in the separate computing system.

Computing systems are currently in wide use. Some such computing systems are communication systems, such as electronic mail systems. These types of systems can be run on local computers or on cloud-based systems where the system is offered as a service.
Other types of computing systems are deployed at organizations. They can implement a wide variety of different types of applications that enable users to perform tasks and processes in order to conduct the operations of the organization. End users at such an organization interact with the computing systems (or applications) in a wide variety of different ways. It is not uncommon for such users to use a communication system (such as an electronic mail system) to engage in communications about the organization, about the tasks or processes they perform within the organization, or about other things.
However, it can be difficult to track electronic mail messages, that are related to certain aspects or components of the computing system deployed by the organization. It can also be difficult to correlate email messages received to items within the computing system deployed by the organization.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Tracking electronic mail messages in a separate computing system


Towards recovering thermal energy, an accumulator buffers a working fluid over an energy recovery cycle that includes two processes: one in which working fluid is accumulated in the accumulator at increasing pressure and the other that draws working fluid from the accumulator at decreasing pressure. Heat storage fluid is displaced in a storage fluid conduit towards a heat storage region in response to increasing pressure in the accumulator and towards a reservoir region in response to decreasing pressure in the accumulator. One or more heat exchange conduits traverse the storage fluid conduit to come in thermal contact with the heat storage fluid where they transfer heat to the heat storage fluid during the first process of the energy recovery cycle and transfer heat from the heat storage fluid during the other process.

Energy recovery, as used herein, encompasses a variety of techniques by which energy is transferred from one subsystem of a larger system to another in order to minimize the amount of energy that must be input to the system for it to perform its function. Energy recovery systems are being developed to counter increasing energy costs and to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gasses. Certain of these energy recovery techniques are referred to as "regenerative," meaning that energy is stored and then reapplied to do work. The most widespread example of this technology can be found in braking regeneration systems. These systems produce energy during braking in a way that can be readily stored, e.g., as electrical energy or hydraulic compression, as opposed to employing friction to brake, which generates heat that is usually just released into the brake's surroundings. The stored energy can be used to later supplement engine power, thereby effecting an improvement in overall fuel efficiency.
Recent advances in high pressure (6000-8000 psi), ruggedized, safe pneumatic components and subsystems have made pneumatic energy recovery a practical option, in many cases compressed air is used both as the energy storage medium and the working medium. Pneumatic energy recovery systems are generally smaller, lighter, and simpler than either of their electric or hydraulic counterparts.
A pneumatic energy recovery system, in its purest sense, has an optimized air compressor to store energy in the form of compressed air and a complementary air motor that operates on the expansion of air so as to utilize the stored energy in the compressed air to do work. The optimal configuration is a unified compressor and motor that can run in both directions, i.e., as a compressor and a motor, to implement thermodynamically reversible processes to the fullest extent practicable.
To ensure longevity, high performance and structural integrity of a combined compressor/motor, expanding and compressing gas must not exceed temperatures that cause component breakdown and the ability to shed heat is key to performance. While shedding heat in a compressor is one thing, increasing the temperature to expand air more efficiently in an air motor is typically overlooked, since such requires an additional energy source from which heat can be transferred. The development of thermal energy recovery techniques in a broader energy recovery context, such as in pneumatic regeneration systems must clearly be advanced.


This anti-theft device applies a security strip directly onto the frame of an audio or video cassette. The location of the strip could be anywhere on the shell or frame. For example, one could locate it next to the UPC code on the underside of the shell, on the spine, or anywhere under the label or paperboard sheath. While the hidden strip is useful with a standard cassette and label, it is especially useful with a composite cassette having a paperboard sheath. The hidden security strip makes detection and removal virtually impossible.

The video and music industry has long suffered a major problem with theft at the retail and commercial sales level. A common solution to the theft problem is the hand application of magnetic strips to the cassettes in the stores which will trigger a scanner alarm if they are not deactivated by the cashier. These magnetic security strips will cause an audible signal when passed through a sensing field, usually magnetic, radio frequency or acustomagnetic, if the device is not removed or deactivated where the sales transaction occurs. The use of such strips, while common, is not overly popular because application is time-consuming and the strips are often ineffective because the strips are visible which provides the thief an opportunity to peel the strips off. Thus, the industry is continually searching for anti-theft methods and devices that are more efficient and effective.


Processes to polymerize or oligomerize olefins by contacting olefins with α-diimine metal complexes. In particular, alpha olefins can be produced in high selectivity by contacting ethylene with selected α-diimine metal complexes. In some cases an activator such as an alkylaluminum compound is also contacted with ethylene and the α-diimine metal complexes.

Olefins, also commonly known as alkenes, are important items of commerce. Their many applications include employment as intermediates in the manufacture of detergents, as more environmentally friendly replacements where refined oils might otherwise be used, as monomers, and as intermediates for many other types of products. An important subset of olefins are olefin oligomers, and one method of making olefin oligomers is via oligomerization of ethylene, which is a catalytic reaction involving various types of catalysts. Examples of catalysts used commercially in polymerization and oligomerization of olefins include alkylaluminum compounds, certain nickel-phosphine complexes, and a titanium halide with a Lewis acid, such as diethyl aluminum chloride.
Another group of olefin polymerization catalysts is derived from pyridine bis-imines. With catalysts of this type, a nitrogen-based ligand engages in a coordination reaction with a transition metal salt. The coordination reaction forms a metal complex, which is a catalyst precursor. The metal complex further reacts with another precursor or activator to generate a metal alkyl or metal hydride species. The catalyst resulting from the generation of the metal alkyl or metal hydride species polymerizes olefins.
Applications and demand for olefin polymers and oligomers continue to multiply, and competition to supply them correspondingly intensifies. Thus, additional novel and improved catalysts and methods for olefin polymerization and oligomerization are desirable.

Dimine metal complexes, methods of synthesis, and methods of using in oligomerization and polymerization


The present invention provides a signal processing in applying HARQ to an MIMO system, by which error-detecting information enabling to decide whether a received signal is erroneous is appended for transmission. The present invention appends CRC to the data block transported from a higher layer so that HARQ can be efficiently applied to the MIMO system. The present invention segments the CRC-appended data block and then transmits the segmented data blocks via a plurality of antennas. Data streams generated from the segmented data blocks are independent from each other in coding scheme and modulation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile communication system, and in particular, to a signal processing apparatus for segmenting data blocks appended with error checking information in a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system for transmitting/receiving using a plurality of antennas.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Request), which is applicable to the V-BLAST (Vertical Bell Laboratories Layered Space Time) system as one of the MIMO (multi-input multi-output) systems and the HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access) system, according to a related art is explained as follows.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the V-BLAST system utilizing the MIMO antenna processing. Referring to FIG. 1, transport data 11 is inputted to a vector encoder 12 in a transmitting side. The vector encoder 12 is provided with a serial-to-parallel circuit for transferring the transport data in parallel via N-antennas 13. A modulation system and a channelization code number of the data transferred via the N-antennas 13 can be setup differently. Such a code having orthogonality as OVSF (orthogonal variable spreading factor) code is used as the channelization code.
When performing the channelization coding using the code having the orthogonality, a separate signal processing or space-time code is not used in spite of using a plurality of the transmitting antennas 13. Namely, the inputted data are independently transmitted via a plurality of the antennas.
When transmitting a signal via the N-antennas, the modulation scheme and the channelization code number can be differentiated for each antenna. Namely, if a transmitting end is provided with the information for a channel status transmitted via each antenna, QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) is used for the antenna having a good channel status and more multi-codes are allocated to transmissions. On the other hand, QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) is used for the antenna in poor channel status and less multi-codes are allocated to the transmissions.
In the transmitting end, such as a base station, each signal differing in the modulation scheme and multi-code number is independently transmitted via each antenna and a separate signal processing using interoperability between antennas is not carried out for transmission quality enhancement. Thus, the transmitting end uses a plurality of the antennas 13 and the respective antennas transmit signals independently. Meanwhile, a receiving end receives signals using a plurality of receiving antennas 14 that receive the signals transmitted from a plurality of the transmitting antennas, respectively. A V-BLAST signal processing unit 15 of the receiving end detects the signals that are independently transmitted via the respective transmitting antennas to be received via the respective receiving antennas 14.
In the receiving end, such as a mobile terminal, in order to detect the signal transmitted from a specific one of the transmitting antennas, other signals transmitted from other transmitting antenna are regarded as interference signals. A weight vector of a receiving array antenna is computed for each signal transmitted from the corresponding one of the transmitting antennas and the influence for the previously detected signal in the receiving end is removed. Meanwhile, a method of detecting the signals transmitted from the respective transmitting antennas in order of a size of a signal to interference noise ratio can be used as well.
The V-BLAST is disclosed in P. W. Wolniansky, G. J. Foschini, G. D. Golden and R. A. Valenzuela, "V-BLAST: An Architecture for Realizing Very High Data Rates Over the Rich-Scattering Wireless Channel", IEE Electronics Letters, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 14˜16, January, 1999.
In the HSDPA system, AMC (Adaptive Modulation and Coding) and HARQ are adopted for downlink high data rate packet transmission. In AMC, data can be transferred at an optimal data rate according to a current channel status in a manner of changing modulation or coding rate variably in accordance with a channel status.
HARQ combines channel coding and ARQ (automatic repeat request). The ARQ checks a presence or non-presence of error of a transferred packet in a receiving end and feeds back the corresponding result to a transmitting end, whereby the packet having the packet transmission error is retransmitted. In case of feeding back the presence or non-presence of the packet transmission error to the transmitting end, ACK (acknowledgement) for reception success or NACK (negative acknowledgment) for reception failure is transmitted. Even if there exists an error in the already received packet, HARQ does not discard the erroneous packet but combines it with the retransmitted packet to decode. Hence, HARQ increases a diversity or coding gain.
In case of applying HARQ to the V-BLAST system, an error check method for deciding the transmission success or failure is needed.
However, the related art method fails to propose how the error check bit is appended to the data block, how the data block is segmented to be transmitted via the respective antennas. Hence, HARQ is not applicable to the V-BLAST system.

Signal processing apparatus and method using multi-output mobile communication system


A reinforcing bar binding machine is provided with: a main sleeve having a tip end on which a hook is pivotally mounted; a tip end shaft fitted in an inside of the main sleeve; a spiral screw groove formed on the tip end shaft; a fitting opening that penetrates from an outside to the inside of the main sleeve; a key fitted in the fitting opening and brought in mash engagement with the screw groove; a short sleeve provided on an outer periphery of the main sleeve and covering the key; and an engaging means formed on the short sleeve and controlling a rotation of the main sleeve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reinforcing bar binding machine including a binding device which binds arranged reinforcing bars by twisting a wire looped and wound around the reinforcing bars.
2. Background Art
In a reinforcing bar arrangement process of a reinforced concrete construction work, as a tool for binding reinforcing bars at a crossing point, etc., of reinforcing bars, a reinforcing bar binding machine is known. This reinforcing bar binding machine is provided with a binding device for binding reinforcing bars. As shown in JP-B2-3496463, this binding device includes a sleeve which is provided inside the binding machine body and has reinforcing bar binding hooks pivotally mounted to the tip end, a tip end shaft which is fitted to the inside of the sleeve and generates a load for advancing and retreating and rotating the sleeve, and engaging means (fins) for controlling the rotation of the sleeve in cooperation with rotation stoppers provided on the binding machine body, and advances the sleeve by rotating the tip end shaft by a motor, and accordingly, closing and actuating the hooks to make the hooks grasp the reinforcing bar binding wire, and further rotates the hooks together with the sleeve to twist the wire and bind the reinforcing bars.
In the binding mechanism described above, the sleeve has a double structure including an outer sleeve and an inner sleeve, and the front portion of the outer sleeve holds the hooks rotatably and the rear portion of the outer sleeve prevents the key engaging with a screw groove of the tip end shaft from coming out, and to the front portion of the inner sleeve, a shaft for holding a guide pin for opening and closing the hooks is attached, and the rear portion holds the key in a fitting manner. The outer sleeve and the inner sleeve are actuated integrally, so that for integrating these sleeves, as shown in FIG. 11, a set screw 53 is screwed into the inner sleeve 52 from the outer sleeve 51.
However, according to the configuration described above, between the tip end shaft and the hooks which actually grasp and twist the wire, four components such as the tip end shaft 54, the key 55, the inner sleeve 52, the set screw 53, the outer sleeve 51, and the hooks 56 are interposed, and this makes the structure complicated.
A load is transmitted from the inner sleeve to the outer sleeve via the set screw 53, however, downsizing takes precedence, so that a large-sized fixing tool cannot be used, and the set screw 53 easily loosens during repeated use.
A pair of hooks 56 (one is not shown) are attached to the front end of the outer sleeve 51, and the rear portion of the outer sleeve covers the key 55 and prevents it from coming out toward the outer periphery, so that the outer sleeve is inevitably formed to be long in the front-rear direction outside the inner sleeve 52, and this double structure cannot be avoided, so that the diameter inevitably becomes large and the weight is also heavy.
In addition, a compression spring 57 is installed between the inner sleeve 52 and the tip end shaft 54 so that the hooks 56 come to predetermined opening positions in an initial state, and between these components, resistance is generated to some degree so that the inner sleeve 52 easily rotates together with the tip end shaft 54, however, the compression spring 57 is disposed inside the inner sleeve, so that the spring load cannot be increased.
Further, in the wire twisting mechanism, the tip end shaft is fitted to the inside of the sleeve, and the rotation of the tip end shaft is converted to advancing and retreating and rotation of the sleeve, and in particular, when the sleeve retreats to a standby position after finishing a twisting operation, the two hooks must be positioned at predetermined angles, that is, at both sides of the wire at the advancing end of the sleeve. Therefore, in the latter half of retreating movement of the sleeve, one fin of the sleeve and rotation stoppers of the binding machine body are disengaged and the sleeve retreats while rotating, and when the other fin engages with the rotation stoppers and the hooks come to the predetermined angles, the standby state is obtained. In rotation after the disengagement, a spring collar and a compression spring are provided between a jutting part provided on the base portion of the tip end shaft and the sleeve, the spring collar is pressed against the sleeve by a compression load of the compression spring along with the retreating movement of the sleeve, and due to a frictional force between these, the tip end shaft and the sleeve are rotated together.
However, the sleeve is supported rotatably on a support member provided on the reinforcing bar binding machine main body and engaged with other members. Normally, between the sleeve and these members, grease is applied, so that the frictional force is maintained small, however, the grease becomes insufficient in some cases. In the operation environment of the reinforcing bar binding machine, fine debris and fugitive dust float, so that the grease may absorb fine debris and fugitive dust. In these cases, the lubricating function is deteriorated and the frictional force between the sleeve and the members increase, and a phenomenon easily occurs in which the sleeve cannot rotate together with the tip end shaft and the hooks cannot completely return to the standby positions. If the hooks cannot return to the standby positions, due to the incorrect orientations of the hooks, the wire cannot be grasped during the twisting operation, and a twisting failure may occur. To prevent this phenomenon, it is necessary to use a thick compression spring with a great spring load and increase the frictional force between the sleeve and the tip end shaft by adding components, and this makes the structure large in size and complicated, and results in a cost increase.


A method of reducing a critical dimension (“CD”) bias between a dense pattern and an isolation pattern is disclosed. The method includes a first step of providing a mask having a dense pattern, an isolation pattern and the other area of the mask is transparent, in which mask the dense pattern has a first opaque pattern and the isolation pattern has a second opaque pattern. The second step of the method is forming a virtual pattern around the isolation pattern, in which a distance between the virtual pattern and the isolation pattern is y, and the virtual pattern has a pattern line width x. By forming the virtual pattern around the isolation pattern, the flare effect of the isolation pattern is close to that of the dense pattern, thus the CD bias between a dense pattern, and an isolation pattern is reduced, and the process window does not shrink.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a photolithography process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of reducing a critical dimension ("CD") bias between a dense pattern and an isolation pattern on a chip.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the design of a semiconductor device, the integration of a circuit device grows up rapidly and the dimension of the whole circuit device reduces rapidly. The most important process of confining the dimension of the whole semiconductor process is the photolithography process. For example, in a device structure related to a metal oxide semiconductor ("MOS"), such as a pattern of film layer or an area having dopants, the dimension is confined by the photolithography process. In addition, whether the line width of the device, and so integration of the whole semiconductor process, may or may not be less than 0.18 μm, is dependent on the development of the photolithography process.
In general, the area of a mask may be separated into at least a portion of isolated pattern, and another portion of dense pattern. For example, in a system on a chip ("SOC") process of manufacturing a logic circuit and a memory cell, such as a read only memory, a static random access memory, a flash memory or a dynamic random access memory on the same chip, the logic circuit relates to an isolation pattern and the memory cell relates to a dense pattern in general. However, when an exposure process is used for transferring the isolation pattern and the dense pattern to a photoresist layer, a CD bias between a dense pattern and an isolation pattern is produced by a flare effect, and the efficiency of the manufactured device is reduced.
A conventional method of resolving the flare effect is an optical proximity correction ("OPC") method, which method relates to decrease or increase of the line width of the original pattern, in order to have the same line width in the transferred isolation pattern and the transferred dense pattern. However, because of the flare effects produced by different exposure apparatus are different from each other, each original pattern may have different correction parameters on different exposure apparatus. Moreover, the process windows between an isolated pattern and a dense pattern for a corrected pattern are different, and the flare effect is also dependent on the pattern density. Thus the OPC method can not resolve the CD bias and the difference of the process window produced by the flare effect.

Method of reducing critical dimension bias of dense pattern and isolation pattern


With analog output stages of digital systems, the relationship between a digital data value, which is assigned to an analog output stage and to an actually generated output voltage, often does not correspond to a desired characteristic curve. A switching unit is provided to generate an output voltage as a function of a digital data value, the characteristic curve of which is adjusted by a calibration voltage. A method for calibrating a corresponding switching unit is also provided. The switching unit and the method are used in controllers.

Switching units for generating an output voltage as a function of a digital data value are used in regulators for instance. In such cases a digital data value of an actuating variable is calculated at regular intervals by means of an algorithm for regulating a process. This calculated data value is then converted into an output voltage in order therewith to control an actuating element. The actuating element thus controlled reduces a control error in the process. The switching unit for generating the output voltage as a function of the digital data value is also referred to as an analog output stage of a (digital) regulator.
The relationship between the digital data value, which is assigned to a switching unit on the one hand and the output voltage actually generated herefor on the other hand is referred to as the characteristic curve of the switching unit. This characteristic curve generally deviates from a theoretical and/or desired characteristic curve. This arises as a result of tolerances which have to be accepted in components of the switching unit and during manufacture of the switching unit.
The deviation of the characteristic curve of a switching unit from the theoretical characteristic curve has the unwanted result, in the case of regulators for instance, of a new control error being generated in the process when controlling the actuating element by means of the switching unit.
To this end, it is known from the prior art for today's regulators not to assign the digital data value directly to the switching unit but instead firstly to calculate a modified data value by means of a mapping function. With this modified data value, the deviation of the characteristic curve of the analog output stage from a desired characteristic curve is then taken into account. The disadvantage of this method is that additional calculating steps are needed to calculate the modified data value. This requires additional calculating capacity and additional calculation time. As a result, the maximum possible rate of change of the output voltage is limited as a function of regularly generated, digital data values and thus the possibility of regulating rapidly changing processes.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,983 describes a dynamically calibratable digital-to-analog converter, which comprises a conventional, digitally controllable current source and an additional current source. The conventional, digitally controllable current source has a fixed predetermined characteristic curve, which has non-uniform quantization stages. Overlaying an output current of the digitally controllable current source and a current of the additional current source produces, in a summing point, a characteristic curve of the dynamically calibratable digital-to-analog converter with a uniform level of quantization stages.
The document US 2005/0001747 A1 describes a system in which an analog output voltage is generated from a digital input value by means of a digital-to-analog converter. A correction voltage is generated with the aid of a calibration circuit, said correction voltage being overlayed via a summing unit on the output voltage of the digital-to-analog converter. The behavior of the digital-to-analog converter itself is not calibratable here. The correction voltage is generated within the calibration circuit by means of a second digital-to-analog-converter.
The article "Electronic interfaces" by Falconi et al. (Falconi et al.: "Electronic interfaces", ELSEVIER SEQUOIA S.A., LOUSANNE, CH, Vol. 121, No. 1, Jan. 23, 2007, pages 295-329) describes a circuit for measuring a resistance of a sensor, with the circuit enabling the resistance to be digitally measured across a large range of possible resistance values. To enable an accurate measurement of the resistance value across the large range, a supply current from the sensor can be varied by adjusting a series resistance of a digital-to-analog converter. The series resistance is adjusted by selecting one of a number of series resistances. Similarly, a supply voltage of the sensor can be varied across a further digital-to-analog converter. The digital-to-analog converter and the series resistances cannot be changed in terms of their characteristic curves and do not need to have been calibrated prior to commissioning the circuit.

Switching unit for generating an output voltage as a function of a digital data value and method for calibrating the switching unit


An integrated photonic device having a vertical optical connection between vertically oriented waveguides and a process for making the same is disclosed. A first waveguide is patterned and etched onto an underlying substrate. A cladding layer is placed over the waveguide and substrate. The cladding layer is coated with a photoresist, and then patterned with holes that are slightly offset from the underlying waveguide. The holes are implanted with nitrogen doses at an angle. The nitrogen doses form an angled implantation of SiON. The material change and accompanying index of refraction change due to the angled implantation optically couples the underlying waveguide with an outside surface of the cladding layer. A second waveguide or circuit can then be patterned on the outer surface of the cladding and connected to the angled implantation and underlying waveguide. Multiple layers of waveguides or circuitry can be connected to each other in this manner.

Photonic circuitry is often etched onto integrated circuits that are used in communication networks. The waveguides and other components of such circuits transmit and modify optical data pulses. Unlike communication networks that use conventional conductors and the transmission of electrical pulses that can navigate the turns and bends of the conductor, optical pulses in a waveguide cannot make such tight turns and bends without unacceptable losses via attenuation and escape. Because of this inability of optical pulses to make tight turns and bends in a waveguide, it is problematic to design and manufacture photonic multi-layer integrated circuits. While it has been postulated that micro-mirrors be used to change the direction of a light path in a photonic circuit, the use of mirrors in integrated circuits poses several manufacturing and application problems.
Photonic circuitry and communication networks would benefit if optical pulses could be routed in directions that would allow multiple vertically disposed layers of integrated circuitry to be reliably connected. Such connections would require bends in the path of the light pulses, which cannot take place unaided in a typical waveguide.

Integrated photonic circuits with vertical connections

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


A system is provided for permitting movement of a vehicle having brakes while an auxiliary component of the vehicle is operated by the vehicle. The system includes a pressurized fluid source. A control device is coupled to the pressurized fluid source and the brakes of the vehicle to release the brakes in response to a first signal and to at least partially apply the brakes in response to a second signal. A controller applies the first signal to the control device when at least one of a first set of conditions exist and applies the second signal to the control device when a second set of conditions exist.

It is generally known to provide emergency response vehicles such as fire fighting vehicles for responding to fires on equipment, such as moving equipment (e.g. aircraft or the like, etc.). The vehicles are typically equipped with pumps that are driven at a predetermined speed (e.g. 2300 rpm, etc.) by the drive train or system of the vehicle for delivering a fire fighting agent or suppressant to the aircraft. Conventional fire fighting vehicles that use a pump operated by the vehicle drive train tend to have limited mobility because the drive train output (power) is directed away from the wheels of the vehicle for operation of the pump. The limited mobility of conventional fire fighting vehicles tends to reduce their effectiveness in fighting certain fires because the vehicle is usually inhibited from "following" a moving target or repositioning about a stationary target to continuously deliver a fire suppression agent from various advantageous angles of attack.
Certain systems have been developed to permit limited movement of a fire fighting vehicle during operation of the pump (e.g. slow rolling or "creeping" movement of the vehicle in a "pump and roll" mode of operation). However, such systems tend to have certain disadvantages. For example, such known pump and roll systems typically use a component of the vehicle's drive system (such as a transmission) to redirect a portion of the drive train output from the pump to the wheels of the vehicle, however, when an operator desires to stop the vehicle during operation of the pump, the operator usually has to manually apply the brakes, resulting in an additional operation by the operator and a potential distraction from the operator's attention on fighting the fire.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system for movement of a fire fighting vehicle during operation of a fire suppression pump. It would also be desirable to provide a system to permit movement of the vehicle while the vehicle drive train is used to operate auxiliary equipment (such as a pump for a fire suppression agent). It would also be desirable to provide a system for pump and roll operation of the vehicle that does not significantly reduce the speed of the pump. It would be further desirable to provide a system that permits operation of the vehicle in a pump and roll mode of operation through use of the braking system of the vehicle. It would be further desirable to provide a system that permits the vehicle to move slowly during a pump and roll mode when the vehicle's accelerator is actuated (e.g. "depressed") and that stops movement of the vehicle when the accelerator is released without the operator having to separately apply the brakes of the vehicle.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a pump and roll system for a vehicle having any one or more of these or other desirable features.


An improved liquid sprayer assembly for connection to a container (which preferably includes two liquid storage compartments) has a housing that includes a container mount having an underside with at least one structure that is operably interposed with corresponding structure on a neck portion of the container such that the container mount is fixed in a predetermined orientation relative to the container. A cap locks the container mount to the neck portion of the container. Preferably, the at least one structure of the container mount comprises a pair of wedge-shaped wall structures together with a plurality of wall structures that extend in a directional substantially parallel to the central axis of the mount/neck. The wedge-shaped wall structures are radially disposed opposite one another about the central axis of the container mount/neck and fit within wedge-shaped voids defined by the neck portion of the container. The plurality of wall structures are operably disposed adjacent corresponding surfaces defined by the neck portion of the container. Preferably, the sprayer employs a hose end connector as well as a venturi tube for aspirating liquid from the container. Preferably, a diverter mechanism, which is mounted within the housing, selectively couples the liquid storage compartment(s) of the container to the inlet port of the venturi tube, and a flow control valve controls the flow of pressurized liquid supplied from the hose end into the venturi tube.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to liquid sprayers. More particularly, this invention relates to liquid sprayers for dispensing a product by aspiration into the flow of a carrier liquid on connection of the sprayer to a pressurized source of the carrier liquid, such as to the end of a hose.
2. State of the Art
A number of hose-end sprayer assemblies have been developed for siphoning of liquid product from an attached container and discharging the siphoned liquid product in diluted form by a carrier liquid delivered by the hose. U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,785, commonly owned by assignee of the present invention, discloses an exemplary hose-end sprayer assembly that has a single valve for regulating between off, rinse and spray operational modes.
While such a sprayer represents a marked improvement over prior siphoning-type hose-end sprayers for garden, lawn and hard-surface applications, the sprayer is capable of siphoning from one liquid container at a time. Thus, for applications that require multiple products, the user must change out containers. In other applications that require mixing of two products, the two products must be mixed in a container before attachment to the hose-end sprayer. These operations are cumbersome and awkward and limit the commercial success of the sprayer in such applications.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for a siphoning-type hose-end sprayer that is readily adapted for siphoning one or more liquid products selectively and possibly mixing liquid products to fit various needs and uses.