In an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor package including a semiconductor chip electronically and mechanically mounted on a tape-automated bonding tape, a resin potting unit is adapted to pot thermosetting resin into a gap between the semiconductor chip and the tape-automated bonding tape while the semiconductor chip and the tape-automated bonding tape are heated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for manufacturing a chip on film (COF) type semiconductor package including a semiconductor chip and a tape-automated bonding (TAB) tape.
2. Description of the Related Art
A first prior art method for manufacturing a COF-type semiconductor package is now explained. First, a semiconductor chip is placed face down onto a TAB tape. As a result, the semiconductor chip is electronically and mechanically connected to the TAB film. Then, the semiconductor chip and the TAB tape are mounted on a resin potting stage, so that thermosetting resin is potted from a resin potting nozzle into a gap between the semiconductor chip and the TAB tape by using the capillary phenomenon. Then, the semiconductor package is moved to a baking stage where a pre-baking operation and a post-baking operation are carried out to calcine and harden the resin. After that, an external electrode forming operation and a dicing operation are carried out, to complete the semiconductor package. This will be explained later in detail.
In the above-described first prior art manufacturing method, however, voids may be generated within the resin due to the unevenness of the TAB tape, the fluctuation of viscosity of the resin and the like, which would degrade the reliability such as the humidity resistance characteristics of the semiconductor package.
A second prior art method for manufacturing a COF-type semiconductor package is explained next (see: JP-11-97586-A). First, a semiconductor chip is also placed face down onto a TAB tape. In this case, a penetration hole is perforated in the insulating layer of the TAB tape. Then, the semiconductor chip and the TAB tape are mounted on metal molds, so that resin is potted into a gap between the semiconductor chip and the TAB tape as well as the entire front surface by using a vacuum casting process. In this case, even if voids are generated within the resin, such voids would be leaked from the penetration hole. Then, necessary operations are performed upon the semiconductor package, to complete it. This also will be explained later in detail.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor package capable of potting thermosetting resin while being heated


A terminal fitting (3) has a tubular main portion (6), and a stabilizer (17) embossed to project out from a side wall (6B) of the main portion (6). The stabilizer (17) can be received in a guiding recess (18) in a cavity (2). A resilient tongue (14) is folded back from the front of a bottom wall (6A) of the main portion (6) and into the main portion (6). Preventing pieces (14B) bulge from widthwise edges of the tongue (14). One preventing piece (14B) is engageable with a first preventing portion (16A) made in the side wall (6B) upon forming the stabilizer (17). Accordingly, the stabilizer (17) and the first preventing portion (16A) can be at the same site, which contributes to the miniaturization and increases locations where other parts can be formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a terminal fitting and to a connector provided therewith.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,524 discloses a terminal fitting with a main portion that can be inserted into a cavity of a connector housing. An inner wall of the main portion is embossed to define an outwardly projecting stabilizer that can be inserted into a recess formed in an inner wall of the cavity. The stabilizer must align with the recess, and hence prevents an erroneous insertion of the terminal fitting into the cavity. On the other hand, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0164567 discloses a terminal fitting that has a tongue and preventing pieces that bulge out at the opposite widthwise edges of the tongue. Openings are formed in side surfaces of the main portion and receive the preventing pieces so that the preventing pieces engage the edges of the openings. FIG. 14 shows a hypothetical terminal fitting 103 that simply combines the features of these two references. The front half of the terminal fitting 103 has preventing pieces 114B and preventing portions 116A to prevent excessive deformation and the rear half of the terminal fitting 103 has a stabilizer 117 to prevent erroneous insertion of the terminal fitting 103.
The excessive deformation preventing portions and the erroneous-insertion preventing portion are arranged independently and respectively require spaces. As a result, locations for other functional parts are limited, thereby causing a problem of a reducing design freedom and complicating efforts to miniaturize the terminal fitting 103.
The invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to extend functional parts while improving design freedom.

Terminal fitting and a connector provided therewith


The present disclosure described devices, components, connectors, and cables that connect an audio-visual device to an external antenna. Some embodiments describe a device connector for connecting the audio-visual device to an external cable. The device connector may include a supply port that is configured to receive power, data signals, and/or some combination of power and data from a source external to the audio-visual device. The device connector may also include an antenna port that is configured to connect the audio-visual device to an external antenna that is, for example, part of the same. Additionally, the device connector may include a detection mechanism that detects the presence of an antenna connection in the antenna port. When an antenna connection is detected, the audio-visual device may be configured to use one or more external antennas connected via the antenna connection to send and receive, e.g., WiFi signals.

Recently, some consumers have opted to forego traditional cable television subscriptions in favor of, e.g., internet-based streaming services. That is, rather than having a single cable television subscription, a user may now have subscriptions to several different streaming video services that each provide access to a unique catalog of video. A user may subscribe to individual channels, services, or collections of content from many sources. Examples of these services include but are not limited to Netflix™, Hulu™, Amazon Instant Video™, HBO Go™, Showtime Anytime™, among others. Each of these services provides an end user application for receiving their unique content offerings on an end user audio-visual device such as, for example, streaming media platforms.
Such audio-visual devices may plug directly in to the video and audio inputs of a display device such as a television or computer monitor using, e.g., a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connection. Furthermore, the audio-visual devices may receive content from the internet using, e.g., a wireless connection such as WiFi according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. Accordingly, audio-visual devices may require the use of one or more antennas to receive wireless internet information. Generally, antennas function better the farther away they can be placed from other, potentially interfering, components (e.g., HDMI components) of the audio-visual device. However, because current device standards limit the physical size of audio-visual devices that plug directly into certain kinds of ports, the ability to distance antenna components of the audio-visual device is limited.

Connector device with antenna connection


The monolithic ceramic electronic component includes a first external electrode 5, a second external electrode 6, and a ceramic sintered compact 4 including internal electrodes 2 and 3, the first and second external electrodes 5 and 6 being disposed on both end faces 4a and 4b of the ceramic sintered compact 4. The first and second external electrodes 5 and 6 have a multilayer structure in which sintered electrode layers 5a and 6a, intermediate electroplated layers 5b and 6b, and plated layers 5c and 6c are arranged in that order. Exposed surface regions 7a of insulating oxides 7 are exposed from the outer faces of the sintered electrode layers 5a and 6a, the oxides 7 being derived from a glass frit contained in the sintered electrode layers. Metals 8 are deposited on the exposed surface regions 7a and the intermediate electroplated layers 5b and 6b are then formed by electroplating.

Known monolithic ceramic electronic components such as monolithic ceramic capacitors have a configuration in which a plurality of plated layers are arranged on a sintered electrode layer. In a known technique disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 cited below, an intermediate electroplated layer made of, for example, Ni is disposed on a sintered electrode layer having a certain thickness and a plated layer made of Sn or a Sn alloy is disposed on the intermediate electroplated layer. This is because the plated layer made of Sn or a Sn alloy is enhanced in solderability and the intermediate electroplated layer is useful in preventing the oxidation and solder erosion of the sintered electrode layer.
It is known that various properties of a monolithic ceramic capacitor are deteriorated if a plating solution permeates the sintered electrode layer in a step of forming the intermediate electroplated layer and the outside plated Sn layer.
In high-capacity monolithic ceramic capacitors including a large number of thin ceramic layers disposed between internal electrodes in particular, there is a problem in that after plated Sn layers are formed, the reliability is reduced during a high temperature loading test. This is probably because the sintered electrode layers are not completely covered with the intermediate electroplated layers made of Ni. That is, a plating solution for forming the plated Sn layers probably flows through crevices in the plated Ni layers to dissolve an oxide, such as glass, contained in the sintered electrode layers to permeate the sintered electrode layers to reach ceramic bodies. This causes a decrease in insulation resistance or the like.
In order to enhance solderability by completely covering the sintered electrode layers, which are included in external electrodes, with the plated Ni layers, various attempts have been made. For example, Patent Document 2 cited below discloses that fine particles derived from a glass frit contained in a conductive paste for forming a sintered electrode layer are prevented from adhering to the sintered electrode layer in such a manner that the sintered electrode layer is subjected to barrel-polishing. Since the resulting sintered electrode layer therefore has high surface smoothness, the sintered electrode layer can be satisfactorily covered with an intermediate electroplated layer.
Furthermore, the following technique has been proposed: a glass frit contained in a conductive paste for forming a sintered electrode layer is replaced with a conductive glass frit. A technique in which a plated Ni layer, which is an electroplated layer, is increased in thickness has been also proposed.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-75779    Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-117804
Even if barrel processing is performed as disclosed in Patent Document 2 such that the adhesion of the fine particles derived from the glass frit is prevented and the surface of the sintered electrode layer is smoothed, the insulation resistance is reduced due to the permeation of a plating solution for Sn plating during the deposition of an electroplated Ni layer and then a plated Sn layer on the sintered electrode layer. This is probably because even if the sintered electrode layer surface is smoothed by barrel polishing, bare oxides including the glass frit remain on the sintered electrode layer, the plating solution dissolves the oxides, pinholes are formed in surface portions of the sintered electrode layer from which the glass frit has been removed, and the plating solution flows through the pinholes during Sn plating.
In the technique in which the conductive glass frit is used instead of the above glass frit, although an electroplated Ni layer is deposited over regions exposed from the conductive glass frit, the thickness of the electroplated Ni layer is insufficient because the conductive glass frit is inferior in conductivity as compared to metal. Therefore, the insulation resistance is reduced due to the permeation of a plating solution for Sn plating when a high-temperature loading test is performed.
In the technique in which the electroplated Ni layer is increased in thickness, there is a problem in that the cost is high. Even if only the thickness of the electroplated Ni layer is increased, it is difficult to prevent a reduction in insulation resistance during the high-temperature loading test.

Monolithic ceramic electronic component and method for manufacturing the same


A method, apparatus and system are disclosed herein for wireless transmission from multiple non-collocated base stations. In one embodiment, the system comprises one or more terminals; and at least two base stations wirelessly communicating information-bearing signals from a set of antenna elements dispersed over multiple, non-collocated base stations to the one or more terminals using coding systems.

Future wireless systems require a more effective utilization of the radio frequency spectrum in order to increase the data rate achievable within a given transmission bandwidth. This can be accomplished by employing multiple transmit and receive antennas combined with signal processing. A number of recently developed techniques and emerging standards are based on employing multiple antennas at a base station to improve the reliability of data communication over wireless media without compromising the effective data rate of the wireless systems. So called space-time block-codes (STBCs) are used to this end. Specifically, recent advances in wireless communications have demonstrated that, by jointly encoding symbols over time using multiple transmit antennas at a base station, one can obtain reliability (diversity) benefits as well as increases in the effective data rate from the base station to each cellular user. These multiplexing (throughput) gain and diversity benefits depend on the space-time coding techniques employed at the base station. The multiplexing gains and diversity benefits are also inherently dependent on the number of transmit and receive antennas in the system being deployed, in the sense that they are fundamentally limited by the multiplexing-diversity trade-offs curves that are dictated by the number of transmit and the number of receive antennas in the system.
A complimentary way of increasing the effectiveness/quality of transmission in the case of delivery of media, such as voice, audio, image and video, is to employ unequal error protection (UEP) methods, which are well-known in the art.
For high data rates and wideband transmission, the use of OFDM makes the equalizer unnecessary. With multilevel modems, coded modulation systems can easily be designed by use of an outer binary convolutional code and an interleaver in a so-called bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) system.
A large collection of STBCs have been proposed in recent years as a means of providing diversity and/or multiplexing benefits by exploiting multiple transmit antennas in the forward link of cellular systems. Given the presence of Nt transmit antennas, the typical objective is to design STBCs that provide order-"Nt" transmit-antenna diversity in the system. Typical STBC designs transmit an antenna-specific block of t samples per antenna for each block of k information symbols. Such STBC designs are described by a STBC matrix with t rows and n columns, whereby the (i, j)th entry denotes the sample transmitted by the antenna j at time i. Of interest is the symbol rate of the STBC scheme, R, which is equal to k/t (i.e., the ratio of k over t). Full rate STBCs are STBCs whose rate R equals 1 symbol per channel use. Another important attribute of a STBC is its decoding complexity. Although, the decoding complexity of the optimal decoder for arbitrary STBCs is exponential in the number k of jointly encoded symbols, there exist designs with much lower complexity. One such attractive class of designs, referred to as orthogonal space-time codes (OSTBCs), can provide full diversity while their optimal decoding decouples to (linear processing followed by) symbol-by-symbol decoding. Full rate OSTBCs exist only for a two transmit-antenna system. For three or more antennas the rate cannot exceed ¾ symbols/per channel use. This rate is achievable for Nt=3 and Nt=4 antennas. For more than four antennas the highest-rate OSTBCs are not known in general. In general, a rate equal to ½ symbols/channel use is always achievable, but, often, higher rates may also attainable for specific values of n.
A number of systems deployed for broadcasting common audio/video information from several base stations are exploiting coded OFDM transmission under the umbrella of the single frequency network concept. These systems employ a common coded OFDM-based transmission from each of the broadcasting base-stations. The OFDM based transmission allows asynchronous reception of the multitude of signals and provides increased coverage. However, as all base-stations transmit the same coded version of the information-bearing signal, single frequency network (SFN) systems do not provide in general full transmit base-station diversity with full coding gains (some form of this diversity is available in the form of multi-path diversity, although limited since it is not coordinated).
Another class of schemes are space-time bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) systems with OFDM and can provide spatial (transmit and receive antenna) diversity, frequency diversity and can cope with asynchronous transmission. Furthermore, by modifying the binary convolutional code to a rate compatible punctured convolutional code, a flexible UEP system can be achieved. For some systems, it is assumed that all transmit antennas are collocated at one and the same base station.
One drawback associated with the aforementioned BICM OFDM systems is that the near-optimum receiver can be quite complex (computation intensive). The necessary joint demapper unit (inner MAP decoder) grows in complexity exponentially with the product of the number of transmit antennas and the number of bits per modem constellation point. As an example with 16 QAM (4 bits/symbol) and transmit antennas, the complexity of the calculations in the inner decoder is proportional to 24×4=216 per block of 16 bits. There exist methods that can be used for reducing the decoder complexity without substantial loss in performance.
There exists a class of low complexity designs for narrowband transmission from multiple base stations to one or more receivers. These designs provide full transmit base-station diversity with very low decoding complexity even in the case of asynchronous reception. Although these designs can, in principle, also be employed for wideband transmission, and in fact some of these designs (the OFDM-type ones) still provide all the aforementioned benefits, they do not harvest any of the available frequency diversity available within the transmission bandwidth.

Method and apparatus for wideband transmission from multiple non-collocated base stations over wireless radio networks


Techniques for connecting networks to facilitate distribution of data are described. For example, to distribute multicast data to members of a multicast group that span multiple networks, the techniques may identify a path between networks that each have a member of the multicast group, such as a shortest path between networks. The techniques may inform the networks on the path to establish a connection with an adjacent network. This may allow multicast data for a multicast group to be distributed to members of the multicast group that are located in separate networks.

Nodes are often configured in a tree-like network structure, such as a Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph (DODAG) with parent nodes, child nodes, and a root node. In many instances, a node belongs to one DODAG, and one network (e.g., one Personal Area Network (PAN)) at a given moment in time. The nodes often communicate multicast data to each other through the DODAG. For example, a node will forward multicast data destined for members of a multicast group upwards in the network node-by-node to reach a root node. The root node will then distribute the multicast data back down into the network node-by-node to reach the members of the multicast group. In many instances, nodes of separate networks (and separate DODAGs) belong to the same multicast group. Since the nodes are only configured to communicate within their own networks (e.g., intra-PAN communication), this results in members of a multicast group not receiving multicast data.

Connecting multiple networks for multicast groups


Two or more user applications executing on one or more processors, each controlled by an operating system, share use of a list and subsidiary list structure within a Structured External Storage (SES) facility to which each processor is connected. One of the applications registers interest in particular state transitions affecting one or more subsidiary lists within the list structure, causing a process within the SES to notify the appropriate processor when a list operation causes the particular state transition, without interrupting processing on the processor. The application receives notice of the state transition by periodically polling a vector within the processor, or by receiving control when a test by the operating system of a summary indicator for the vector causes an application exit to be driven.

Queueing or message passing as a general concept is basic to many programming protocols. A list of objects is a convenient means of representing work requests between a client and a server. The server is responsible to remove a work object from the list, service the request, and send a response back to the client indicating that the service has been completed. The response may be presented to the client by placing a response object onto a list which is processed by the client. In such a client-server system, the server accepts and processes requests until all requests have been processed and the list of service requests is exhausted. Typically when the list of service requests is exhausted, the server enters a wait state or performs lower priority work until some form of notification is received indicating that additional requests have been placed on the list for service.
In multiprocessing and coupled systems environments, the lists of work objects and response objects are processed by a multiplicity of processes (programs), which may operate in one or more Central Processor Complexes (CPCs) comprising a multi-system configuration. The lists must be accessible by each of the processes, resulting in problems related to the coordination of activity between the several processes executing on separate CPCs.
These problems grow in environments where two or more CPCs are each remotely coupled to a shared external memory, or facility, containing queues of work and response objects. The delay and overhead involved in accessing the lists put a high premium on minimizing accesses to the external facility, as well as minimizing the direct interprocessor communication (messaging) required for coordination.
Exemplary of these problems is the problem of substantially reducing or eliminating remote requests by a process directed towards list objects which do not exist, that is, attempting to process list entries on a list which is empty. Processes which rely on "polling" techniques, which work well in local queueing environments where the costs of periodic polling are low, will suffer unacceptable performance penalties if polling must instead be done to an external facility for which a substantial likelihood exists that the list being polled is empty.
In order to reduce this overhead, techniques have been developed by which a remote client or server is notified when a queue becomes empty (so that polling can be suspended) or transitions from an empty to not-empty state (so that polling can be resumed). Typically such notification is done in static, or tightly controlled environments, where the association between the queue and the process interacting with the queue is known, so that the determination of which CPC to signal is simple. Additionally, such multi-systems must contend with the overhead within the multi-systems containing the client or server processes of being interrupted when such notifications are received, and handling the notification in an appropriately serialized manner if in fact the notification was broadcast to multiple CPCs to be executed in parallel by processes executing concurrently on those various systems. Such difficulties may severely restrict the operating environments which can accommodate such notification mechanisms.
Frey et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,328) teaches that these difficulties may be overcome using a mechanism in which the client and server processes register to be notified by the SES facility of state transitions (empty to not-empty, or not-empty to empty) involving particular lists in a SES facility list structure. Such notifications are sent by the SES facility to all users who have registered an interest in the particular list which experienced the transition, and only to such interested users, reducing the overhead inherent in undirected "broadcast" notification. Because these notifications do not interrupt the remote CPC to which the notification is directed, they cause little or no disruption to processes executing there; the notification signal changes the state of a particular bit in a "list notification vector" which resides in the Hardware System Area (HSA) of the remote CPC to reflect the empty or not-empty state of the list with which the vector bit has been associated by the remote user. In the case of an empty to not-empty list state transition, the notification signal may also set summary indicators associated with the vector so that the modification of some bit in the vector may be more efficiently observed.

System and method for management of object transitions in an external storage facility accessed by one or more processors

International Business Machines Corporation


An electrical jack system is operable with an electrical plug, such as an RJ-type plug. In one embodiment, the electrical plug is at least partially translucent. The jack system includes a housing bounding a socket. The socket is configured to receive the electrical plug. A light source is coupled with the housing so as to selectively illuminate the socket and/or the translucent electrical plug when the translucent electrical plug is received within the socket of the housing. In one embodiment, the light source is a light emitter, such as an LED, mounted on the housing so as to be at least partially exposed to the socket of the housing. In an alternative embodiment, an opening is formed on the housing in communication with the socket. A light emitter is disposed a distance from the opening on the housing. A conduit extends between the light emitter and the opening. The conduit, such as a light pipe, is configured to channel light from the light emitter to the opening on the housing.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical jacks and, more specifically electrical jacks having an illuminated socket configured to receive an electrical plug.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical apparatus, such as computers, personal information managers, PC cards, and the like, are often formed with one or more of a variety of different types of electrical jacks. One conventional type of jack is the modular jack which is configured to removably receive an RJ-type plug. Electrical jacks enable the electrical apparatus to be connected with communication lines, such as telephone lines or network lines. In turn, the communication lines permit the electrical apparatus to couple with local or global computer networks and/or directly to other identified electrical apparatus so that information can be transmitted to and/or from the electrical apparatus. Electrical jacks can also be used to couple power to the electrical apparatus and to attach other electrical devices to the apparatus.
It can at times be difficult to ascertain whether a jack and/or the electronics coupled therewith is in operation and/or is in proper condition for operation. Likewise, at times it can also be difficult to determine whether a specific operation or program of the electrical apparatus is active or complete. Although some of these determinations can be made by accessing applicable software or testing applicable hardware, such testing can often be time consuming. Furthermore, testing of hardware is typically impractical to the average user.
Accordingly, what is needed is an easy and quick method by which an average user of an electrical apparatus can determine one or more predetermined operating conditions of the electrical apparatus.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a jack system that can be coupled with any type of electrical apparatus and which enables a user to quickly and easily determine one or more predetermined operating conditions of the electrical apparatus. Examples of operating conditions include whether the jack and/or the related plug are properly coupled together or are in some way damaged. Alternatively, the operation condition may be whether the electrical apparatus, select elements thereof, and/or software running thereon are in proper operating condition or are currently in operation. Other operating conditions may be whether the electrical apparatus is fully recharged, is turned on, or is properly coupled with an accessory.
To achieve the forgoing objectives and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly disclosed herein, a jack system is provided. The jack system can be mounted on any type of electrical apparatus such as a computer, PC card, or personal information manager. The jack system includes a housing with a socket or receptacle. The housing can be a discrete element, such as a modular jack, or be an integral portion of the electrical apparatus. The socket is configured to receive an electrical plug. In one embodiment, the electrical plug is an RJ-type plug but any suitable connector may be used. Preferably, the electrical plug is at least partially translucent to allow at least some light to be transmitted through the plug. Alternatively, the electrical plug may be generally opaque to block generally all the light or the plug and socket may be configured to allow the light to pass around the plug.
A light source is coupled with the housing so as to selectively illuminate the socket and/or the translucent electrical plug when the translucent electrical plug is received within the socket of the housing. In one embodiment, the light source is a light emitter, such as an LED, mounted on the housing so as to be at least partially exposed to the socket of the housing. In an alternative embodiment, an opening is formed on the housing in communication with the socket. A light emitter is disposed a distance from the opening on the housing. A conduit extends between the light emitter and the opening. The conduit, such as a light pipe or fiber optic cables, is configured to channel light from the light emitter to the opening on the housing, thereby illuminating the socket of the housing. Where the electrical plug is at least partially translucent, illumination of the socket results in illumination of the electrical plug when the plug is received within the socket.
In yet another embodiment, either all or a portion of the housing bounding the socket is made of a translucent material. The translucent portion of the housing is coupled with or integrally formed to one end of the conduit. The resulting housing provides greater light dispersement within the socket. Furthermore, where the entire housing is made of a translucent material, the illuminated housing can still be see even when an opaque plug is received within the socket.
The light emitter can be programmed or otherwise configured to operate under predetermined operating conditions. For example, the socket can be illuminated when the socket is ready to receive a plug. Alternatively, the plug can be illuminated within the socket when the plug is coupled in proper electrical communication with the socket. The illumination of the socket and/or the plug provides a quick and easy determination for the user as to the predetermined operating condition under which the light emitter is to be turned on.
The modular jack of the present invention advantageously allows communications cards to be connected to standard RJ series plugs without deviating from the Type III PC card size and configuration requirements, even if the plug is inserted into the jack. The modular jack also allows communications cards to be interconnected with various electronic devices and communications systems because it is configured to receive standard RJ series plugs. The modular jack also allows communications cards to be quickly, easily and securely connected and disconnected to desired electronic devices and communications systems. This permits the communications cards to be readily used with portable systems or while traveling. Further, the modular jack requires no changes or modifications to the standard RJ series plugs.
One aspect of the present invention is a modular jack that is mounted to a Type III PC card. Significantly, when the plug is received within the jack, no portion of the plug or modular jack violates the Type III PC card height limitation of 10.5 mm.
Another aspect is a modular jack with a receptacle in the front surface of a modular jack. When the plug is inserted into the receptacle, the plug is contained within receptacle and no portion of the plug, including the biased clip, extends through another surface of the modular jack. Significantly, because no portion of the plug protrudes through the upper or lower surfaces of the modular jack when the plug is inserted into the jack, the modular jack and the received plug satisfy the 10.5 mm height limitation of a Type III PC card. Advantageously, because no portion of the biased clip protrudes through the upper or lower surfaces of the modular jack, the clip is less likely to be broken or damaged.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.


A still picture transmission system has a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter includes a still picture generator for generating video data of a plurality of still pictures, an entry number generator for generating an entry number for each still picture, and a picture information generator for generating a picture information to each still picture. A list data is generated containing the entry numbers and corresponding picture informations. An encoder encodes the video data with the entry number inserted in a predetermined position correspondingly to each still picture. A multiplexer multiplexes and transmits the encoded video signal with the list data. The receiver separates the encoded video signal and list data. The list data is displayed. Looking at the list data, a particular entry number is selected. A still picture with the particular entry number is extracted from the encoded video signal and displayed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the transmission of still pictures in a transmission system that uses signals coded according to the MPEG2 standard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of a still picture transmission system according to the prior art. Shown in FIG. 16 are the still picture requesting device 91 provided in the receiver (i.e., the user), the still picture generator 92 provided in the transmitter and used by the program broadcaster (content provider), the still picture transmission request signal line 93 output from the requesting device 91 to the still picture generator 92, the still picture file 94 stored by the content provider in the still picture generator 92, and the still picture data line 95 output by the still picture generator 92.
A still picture transmission service is currently achieved by content providers by means of the still picture transmission system described above operating as follows.
Specifically, when a user makes an individual programming request, the still picture transmission request signal is transmitted through the ling 93 to the still picture generator 92. The still picture generator 92 then searches the still picture file 94 to find the still picture data corresponding to the content of the request signal, and outputs said still picture data through another line 95 to the end user.
With this conventional method, however, a user-to-transmitter communications line 93 is required to send the still picture transmission request signal to the still picture generator 92. While this communications line (channel) 93 can be reserved with relative ease in cable and similar broadcasting systems, it is a more difficult problem in satellite broadcasting systems. Furthermore, even though the data content of the still picture data is relatively small, specifically because it is a still image, it is still necessary to reserve a dedicated transmission channel 95. As a result, the transmission channels 93 and 95 cannot be effectively utilized.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method is provided for forming a polymeric coating on a stent. The method can comprise applying a prepolymer or a combination of prepolymers to the stent and initiating polymerization to form a polymeric coating on the stent. The coating material can optionally contain a biologically active agent or combination of agents.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for coating stents.
2. Description of the Background
Stents act as scaffoldings, functioning to physically hold open and, if desired, to expand the wall of a passageway. Typically stents are capable of being compressed, so that they can be inserted through small vessels via catheters, and then expanded to a larger diameter once they are at the desired location. Mechanical intervention via stents has reduced the rate of restenosis; restenosis, however, is still a significant clinical problem. Accordingly, stents have been modified not only to perform as a mechanical scaffolding, but also to provide biological therapy.
Biological therapy can be achieved by medicating the stents. Medicated stents provide for the local administration of a therapeutic substance at the diseased site. In order to provide an efficacious concentration to the treated site, systemic administration of such medication often produces adverse or toxic side effects for the patient. Local delivery is a preferred method of treatment in that smaller total levels of medication are administered in comparison to systemic dosages, but are concentrated at a specific site. Local delivery thus produces fewer side effects and achieves more favorable results.
A common method of medicating a stent is by depositing a polymeric coating, impregnated with the therapeutic substance, on the surface of the stent. A polymer dissolved in a solvent is applied to the stent. A therapeutic substance can be dissolved or dispersed in the composition. The solvent is allowed to evaporate to form the coating. The application of the composition can be performed by spraying the composition on the stent or immersing the stent in the composition. A problem associated with the application of a polymeric solution includes coating defect such as "cob webs" and "pool webs." "Cob webs" are defined as the gathering of the polymeric coating between the stent struts once the solvent has been removed. "Pool webs" are clumps or pools of polymer on the struts. "Cob webs" and "pool webs" are caused by high viscosities associated with the composition and the surface tension of the polymer and the solvent. Moreover, increasing the quantity of the polymer applied to the stent, so as to increase the drug loading of the stent, further promulgates the development of such defects. Accordingly, a method is needed to reduce or significantly eliminate coating defects on a stent.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for forming polymeric coatings on stents


A building structure comprising a base and a plurality of spaced support members extending from the base in offset relation. Each support member has an outer edge, side edges and an inner edge and is positioned such that the inner edges of offset support members overlap through a vertical plane in the structure. First and second panels are attached to the outer edges of the support members, the inner edge of each support member being spaced apart from the opposite panel. A plurality of rigid panel members extend between the side edges of any two adjacent support members attached to the same panel and across the inner edge of the intervening offset support member attached to the opposite panel to define a series of three non-communicating chambers between the first and second panels repeated along the length of the structure. The arrangement acts to lessen the transmission of sound through the structure.

In North America, building construction techniques tend to rely on a stud frame interior with covering wall panelling. This arrangement tends to transmit sound through the walls unless special soundproofing material is provided. Modern modular wall panel units that are relatively inexpensive to construct and that can be easily handled and assembled are generally of relatively light construction with the result that sound is also easily transmitted through assembled walls. Understandably, neither of these alternatives is desirable in buildings used for apartments and the like if privacy is to be maintained.
In the past, attempts have been made to address the problem of heat and/or sound transmission through walls. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,651,539 and 1,954,582 disclose stud and panel building constructions that incorporate internal insulation members to limit heat and sound through hollow wall interiors. Both these patents rely on internal studs that extend across the width of the wall to provide a path for transmission of vibration and sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,296 discloses a modular insulated wall panel having staggered studs and a foam insulation block. While the foam insulation is good for preventing heat loss, its solid nature permits transmission of vibrations and sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 249,645 shows a building construction that uses staggered studs, inter-stud partitions and sawdust insulation to create a insulated, sound proof wall or floor construction. U.S. Pat. No. 1,096,773 discloses a building construction arrangement that uses staggered studs and an undulating internal lining extending across the ends of the linings to create a sound and thermal barrier. The interior wall cavity is divided into a plurality of dual chambers. The use of staggered studs avoids the problem of vibration and sound transmission through the walls by way of the studs, however, when cavities are cut in both outside walls to accommodate electrical outlets and the like, the sound proofing ability of the internal dual chambers is compromised. Current building codes often require that electrical and other outlets be caulked or sealed to control such sound transmission.

Building structure with improved soundproofing characteristics


An adjustable hose clip is provided for use with a pool cleaner debris bag, including a first member having a retaining arm and a second member having a retaining arm. The hose clip also includes means for connecting the hose clip to a pool cleaner debris bag and resilient means for resiliently biasing the retaining arms towards each other such that at least a portion of a pool hose can be retained between the retaining arms. In one example, the resilient means is adapted to automatically adjust the distance between the retaining arms to accommodate various pool hoses having various diameters within the range of a minimum diameter to a maximum diameter at least 50% larger than the minimum diameter. In addition or alternatively, an arrangement for cleaning a swimming pool can include an automatic pool cleaner, a debris bag, a hose and an adjustable hose clip.

Automatic swimming pool cleaners for cleaning the floor and sidewalls of a swimming pool are well known. There are many types of pool cleaners in the pool cleaning market, such as pressure or return side cleaners, suction cleaners, electric cleaners, and in-floor cleaners. The pool cleaners can be submerged and can move along the pool floor and sidewalls. Additionally, the pool cleaners must be able to withstand harsh chemicals often found in swimming pool water, such as chlorine, bromine, ozone, or the like.
Some pool cleaners, such as pressure or return side cleaners, can use a debris bag to collect debris in the pool. For example, water from a pump can be fed into the cleaner by a pressure hose to sweep and collect debris into the bag carried by the cleaner. It is known to tether the debris bag to a portion of the pool cleaner, such as the pressure hose, to provide support for the debris bag. For example, the tether can include a hook and loop type fastener adapted to wraparound the pressure hose. However, after repetitive use, especially in a harsh chemical environment, a hook and loop type fastener can degrade and begin to fail. Further, a hook and loop type fastener is susceptible to failure if it is clogged by debris. Accordingly, there is a continuing need for an improved hose clip.


A frequency offset compensation estimation system and method for a wireless local area network. First, a preamble sequence of a frequency package is sent to a frequency offset estimation (FOE) device so that an initial frequency offset signal amount is obtained and sent to the frequency offset compensation (FOE) device for compensation. Then, the compensated signal is sent to a frequency offset residual phase estimation (FOS RPE) device so as to calculate an offset amount of the frequency and send it to the frequency offset residual phase compensation (FOS RPC) device for compensation. The present invention mainly employs a residual frequency offset estimation device (Residual FOE device) to estimate the residual frequency offset signal of each of the frequency signals compensated by the frequency compensation device and feedback it to the frequency compensation device for compensation. Therefore, the operation load of the frequency offset residual phase compensation (FOS RPC) device will be reduced so as to improve the operation efficiency of the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frequency offset compensation estimation system and method for a wireless local area network (WLAN), and particularly to a frequency offset estimation (FOE) device and its compensation method for a wireless local area network which can reduce the operation load of the frequency offset residual phase compensation (FOS RPC) device so as to improve the operation efficiency of the system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, the communication on the wireless local area network (WLAN) is greatly and broadly researched, discussed and applied. In the technology of the WLAN based on the orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM), frequency offset compensation at the wireless receiving end is an important task. Generally, the task is accomplished by sending a preamble sequence of the frequency package to a frequency offset estimation device so as to obtain an initial frequency offset signal amount and send it to the frequency offset compensation device for compensation. Next, the compensated signal is sent to a frequency offset residual phase estimation (FOS REP) device so as to figure out the residual frequency offset and send it to the frequency offset residual phase compensation (FOS RPC) device for performing the phase correction and compensation. However, this method will increase the load of the frequency offset residual phase compensation device so as to reduce the operation efficiency of the whole system.
In order to resolve the mentioned problem of the prior art frequency offset estimation (FOE) device for the wireless local area network, the present invention provides a frequency offset compensation estimation system and its system for a wireless local area network so as to reduce the operation load of the frequency offset residual phase compensation (FOS RPC) device for improving the operation efficiency of the whole system.

Frequency offset compensation estimation system and method for a wireless local area network


Fixed bed bioreactor with natural convection and forced draught to obtain bioactive substances by solid-state fermentation (SEF) using fungi macromycetes. This bioreactor may be from turn drum with pendulum motion and natural and forced convection to a tray bioreactor with natural convection. They are used in the production of bioactive substances as crude extracts of lignocellulosic enzymes and fungal polysaccharides obtained by using mixtures of lignocellulosic materials as substrates and macromycetes fungi as inoculum, controlling pH, humidity and particle size, inoculation rate and environmental conditions during fermentation such as temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide and oxygen concentration.

There is a market for bioreactors and solid-state fermentation processes for the production of lignocellulosic enzymes and polysaccharides testing different fungal and bacterial strains so as to quantify the potential of each biosubstance.
Fungal polysaccharides can de exo-polysaccharides and endo-polysaccharides and are obtained by submerged fermentation and solid-state fermentation (SSF). The exo-polysaccharides, those excreted from the culture medium, have been obtained specially by means of submerged fermentation processes; whereas by using solid state fermentation intra-polysaccharides are specially obtained, which are found inside diverse fruit bodies of the macromycetes fungi and the mycelium.
The fruit bodies of the fungi are obtained by the method of culture in a bag or bed on formulated substrates with different natural organic materials subjected to culturing conditions required for each species so as to obtain competitive yields for the market.
These methods present scaling problems due to the difficulty of controlling variables such as heat transfer (difficult dissipation), mass transfer (heterogeneous interaction between all the molecules and in all directions within the substrate). These processes have shown to be more efficient in the production of enzymes up to a pilot scale.
By using SSF with filamentous fungi it has been possible to obtain better yields in the production of enzymes, lower problems of growth inhibition by substrates and greater stability of the organisms to changes in temperature and pH than when these organisms are cultured in liquid medium, and a lower occurrence of enzyme degradation by the presence of undesirable proteases.
There is a need for technological development around SSF, to explore how to obtain new substances using filamentous fungi, exploring the physiological characteristics presented during the development of the fungal cells in SSF processes, such as the accumulation of glycerol, eritritol and arabinitol which generate gene induction in glycoamylases, perhaps due to the activity of water under these process conditions.
The formation of secondary metabolites of numerous filamentous fungi during SSF is associated to the formation of the aerial hyphase and spores at the beginning of the secondary metabolism phase and is only described in these types of processes and not in submerged fermentation.
One of the strongest reasons stopping the advances in SSF processes are the design and engineering problems for standardization and scaling limiting the reproducibility of the results.
Management of temperature, humidity, and substrate concentration gradients increases during the process, generating adverse conditions in stationary solid bed processes and rolling drum reactors or other equipment with intermittent agitation. The correlation between environmental conditions, such as oxygen concentration, humidity levels and temperature make it hard to regulate these parameters.
Fungal development under aerobic conditions in the bioreactor results in a considerable increase in the production of heat caused by a rapid raise in temperature. This effect is desirable in composting processes, but is totally undesirable in in biotechnological processes in bioreactors since a large part of the enzymes produced during SSF can denaturalize at the end of the process.
Thus, the present invention improves the conditions for controlling temperature, humidity and oxygen concentration achieving optimal conditions for the production of bioactive substances by means of solid-state fermentation.

Bioreactor to obtain bioactive substances through solid-state fermentation using macromycetes fungi


A method of treating damaged human tissues, especially mucosal and epithelial tissues, comprising topically administering to the damaged tissues a composition having an effective amount of misoprostol. The treatment is particularly effective against periodontal disease.

The present invention relates to a method of treating damaged mucosal and epithelial tissues. More specifically, this invention relates to a treatment comprising the use of misoprostol, an analog of prostaglandin E.sub.1.
It is estimated that in the United States alone, there are 140,000,000 adults with periodontal disease in varying forms. Periodontal disease starts as inflammatory lesions because of specific bacteria localizing in the area where the gingiva attaches to the tooth. Usually first to occur is a vascular change in the underlying connective tissue. Inflammation in the connective tissue stimulates the following changes in the epithelial lining of the sulcus and in the epithelial attachment:
1. Increased mitotic activity in the basal epithelial layer. PA1 2. Increased producing of keratin with desquamation. PA1 3. Cellular desquamation adjacent to the tooth surface tends to deepen the pocket. PA1 4. Epithelial cells of the basal layer at the bottom of the sulcus and in the area of attachment proliferate into the connective tissue and break up of the gingival fibers begins to occur. PA1 5. The dissolution of the connective tissue results in the formation of an open lesion.
Proliferation of the epithelial attachment along the root and degeneration of the underlying gingival fibers are primary changes in pocket formation. Proliferation of the epithelial attachment is stimulated by local irritation. Inflammation caused by local irritation producers degeneration of the gingival fibers, periodontal ligament and supporting bone, making it easier for the epithelium to move along the root. The coronal portion of the epithelial attachment detaches from the root as the apical portion migrates. With continued inflammation, the gingiva increases in bulk and the crest of the gingival margin extends toward the crown. The epithelium of the lateral wall migrate along the root and separate from it. The epithelium of the lateral wall of the pocket proliferates to form bulbous and coral-like extensions into the inflamed connective tissue. Leukocytes and edema from the inflamed connective tissue infiltrate the epithelium lining the pocket, resulting in varying degrees of degeneration and necrosis.
Periodontal pockets are chronic inflammatory lesions, and as such are constantly undergoing repair. The condition of the soft tissue wall of the periodontal pocket results from a balance between destructive and constructive tissue changes. The destructive changes consist of the fluid and cellular inflammatory exudate and the associated degenerative changes stimulated by local bacterial infiltrate. The constructive changes consist of the formation of connective tissue cells, collagen fibers and blood vessels in an effort to repair tissue damage caused by inflammation. Healing does not go to completion because of the persistence of local irritants (i.e. bacteria). These irritants stimulate fluid and cellular exudate, which in turn causes degeneration of the new tissue elements formed in the repair process.
Edematous and fibrotic pockets represent opposite extremes of the same pathologic process rather than different disease entities. The outer appearance of a periodontal pocket may be misleading because it is not necessarily a true indication of what is taking place throughout the pocket wall. The severest degenerative changes in periodontal pockets occur along the inner aspect. In some cases inflammation and ulceration on the inside of the pocket are walled off by fibrous tissue on the outer aspect. Outwardly the pocket appears pink and fibrotic despite the degeneration taking place within.
Periodontal pockets contain debris which is principally microorganisms and their products (enzymes, endotoxins and other metabolic products), dental plaque, gingival fluid, food remnants, salivary mucin, desquamated epithelial cells and leukocytes. Plaque-covered calculus usually projects from the tooth surface. If a purulent exudate is present, it consists of living, degenerated and necrotic leukocytes (predominantly polymorphonuclear), living cells and dead bacterial cells, serum and a small amount of fibrin.
The root planing both supra and subgingival with curettage is the basic, most commonly employed procedure for elimination of periodontal pockets and the treatment of periodontal disease. It consists of planing to remove calculus, plaque and other deposits, smoothing the root surface to remove necrotic tooth substances and curetting the inner surface of the gingival wall of the periodontal pockets to separate away diseased soft tissue. The purpose is to accomplish elimination of the pocket by reattachment of connective tissue and epithelium to tooth surface obliterating the pocket or environment for microorganisms to grow. The basic healing processes are the same following all forms of periodontal therapy. They consist of the removal of degenerated tissue debris and the replacement of tissues destroyed by disease. Regeneration is the growth and differentiation of new cells and intercellular substances to form new tissues or parts. It consists of fibroplasia, endothelial proliferation, the deposition of interstitial ground substance and collagen, epithelial hyperplasia and the maturation of connective tissue. Bone and cementum are not replaced by existing bone or cementum, but from connective tissue, which is the precursor of both. Undifferentiated connective tissue cells develop into osteoblasts and cementoblasts which form bone and cementum. Regeneration of the periodontum is a continuous physiologic process. Regeneration is a microscopic activity which differs in degrees from clinically radiographically detectable restoration of destroyed periodontal tissues. Regeneration in most instances restores the continuity of the diseased marginal gingiva and reestablishes a normal gingival sulcus at the same level on the root as the base of the pre-existing periodontal pocket. Reattachment is the re-embedding of new periodontal ligament fibers into new cementum and the attachment of gingival epithelium to tooth surface previously denuded by disease.
The majority of periodontal disease is left untreated primarily because prior to the treatment of the present invention people were subjected to surgical procedures which are painful, alters daily routines for months, is quite expensive and frightens patients away from good therapy. The present misoprostol procedure is very conservative with no surgery. It demonstrates regeneration and reattachment with little discomfort to the patient. The cost is about 25% compared to surgical intervention. The procedure has been shown to improve furcation, establishment of and reattachment and regeneration of tissues between roots of multi-rooted molars, which have always been difficult clinically to maintain and usually cause dentition to be hopeless. Its use as a clinical procedure promises to eliminate a multitude of problems associated with dentition loss, i.e. nutrition, comfort, of a population that ages. Today the statistics are that 43% of the adult population are edentulous by age 55. Because of loss of teeth alveolar bone is also lost in time, meaning loss of the ridge that a denture sets on making a very unstable environment. With the conservative treatment of the present invention the number of edentulous people should be reduced over time plus there should also be a reduction of the amount of money spent on periodontal treatment.
The procedure of the present invention is performed under local anesthesia in a dental office. Curettage and root planing procedures are performed first followed by flushing the wound site with a misoprostol solution. For the following week topical application of misoprostol is applied, typically four times per day. After allowing maturity of the tissue and strict plaque control dramatic changes of pocket depths, inflammation with evidence of regeneration and reattachment of the gum tissue is being found. The procedure of the present invention may also be supplemented with anti-infective coverage using metronidazole 250 mg three times per day for the first week while the clinical disease situation was active and acute.
In summary the method of the present invention provides a new treatment that accelerates healing for the patient, reduces trauma from surgeries that no longer need to be performed, and reduces cost to the patient. Also in necessary surgeries such as gingival grafting it accelerates healing of both the donor site and graft site. Using misoprostol with a local anesthetic such as dyclonine makes the surgical procedures almost painless. Also, a reduction of dry sockets after extractions is being found with the present procedure thus almost eliminating them as a problem in the dental office. The advantage for the periodontal patient is that it eliminates much of the surgery if this process is used on early periodontal cases along with good oral hygiene and maintenance care.
The present treatment has also been found effective to treat oral and paraoral ulcers from radiation and/or chemotherapy. The ulcers commonly develop within days after chemotherapy or radiation therapy. These ulcers usually begin as small, painful irregularly shaped lesions usually covered by a delicate gray necrotic membrane and surrounded by inflammatory tissue. If treatment is not instituted, there many times will be beginning proliferation of tissue around the periphery of the lesion on an inflammatory basis.
This type of ulcer is a non-specific ulcer and microscopically shows loss of continuity of surface epithelium with a fibrinous exudate covering the exposed connective tissue. The epithelium bordering the ulcer usually demonstrates proliferative activity. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes infiltrate in the connective tissue, especially beneath the ulcer. Although if chronic these could be replaced by lymphocytes and plasma cells. Also seen is capillary dilation and its proliferation is evident. Fibroblastic activity may also be prominent with macrophages present in limited numbers.
These lesions because of their size and loss of epithelial integrity lend the body to potential secondary infection. Coupled with the secondary infection, which could eminate from the entire alimentary canal or with chemotherapy ulcers could be widely diverse throughout the alimentary canal, would be loss of weight, potential electrolyte imbalance and dehydration. Routine ingestion of food and water becomes a very painful event and if the ulcers proliferate throughout the alimentary canal diarrhea usually is evident with all its complicating factors.
The therapy disclosed herein using misoprostol both as a troche and as a topical application in an oral adhesive dusted on lesions, has shown dramatic results within 3 to 5 days, allowing a patient to resume good nutrition and proper ingestion of fluids. These same results have occurred with the common canker sore that millions of humans have on a routine basis. Non-specific chronic oral ulcerations may also be treated with this regimen. One patient has had chronic aphthous ulcers without relief for years and was even hospitalized because of them. The misoprostol treatment healed the ulcers completely and for over one year there has been no ulcerative recurrence.
Re-epithelialization occurs rapidly with the use of misoprostol when secondary infection is controlled. The usual course of treatment if signs of secondary infections occurs is to dose with antibiotic and/or antifungals, in addition to misoprostol both as a troche and topically applied with an oral adhesive directly to the lesion. When multiple chemotherapy treatments are administered, the misoprostol is prophylactically used prior to outbreaks of lesions to control them and thus minimize outbreaks or in most cases eliminate lesions.
The effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy are similar. It is based on the ability to non-specifically destroy or retard the division of rapidly proliferating malignant cells with specific drugs or radiation. Normal cells with rapid turnover, such as oral mucosa or the alimentary canal, are also affected and may result in toxicity and complications. Approximately 20% of patients with cancer are treated with chemotherapy at some time during the course of their disease, also there are approximately 250,000 episodes of oral complications each year. This incidence is likely to increase with the use of more potent drugs and multimodality therapy combining radiation and new chemotherapy.
Control of secondary infections using antibiotics and/or antifungal agents in combination with the present misoprostol routine creates re-epithelialization and inflammation reduction within 3 to 5 days, allowing a patient normal nutrition rather than painful stomatitis. The application is directly to the injured ulcerated tissue by troches or dusting with misoprostol preferably 4 to 5 times daily.
Misoprostol is an analog of prostaglandin E.sub.1 and is broken down by most tissues of the body to misoprostol acid, the active metabolyte. Misoprostol has been used in the past on a prescription basis as a gastric mucosa protectant and antiulcer agent. Its primary use is the prevention of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced gastric ulcers, and short term treatment of duodenal ulcers. In contrast, the present method demonstrates a stimulation of re-epithelialization of wounds or damaged mucosal tissues and reduced healing times.
Misoprostol may be administered alone or in combination with other pharmaceutically acceptable agents. Dosages of from not less than about 1 .mu.g per day to no more than about 5 mg per day of the individual compounds per se, or in combinations, are generally effective. In this regard, misoprostol is present in a composition in an amount from about 1 .mu.g to about 1 mg per gram of the composition. Various formulations for the compositions are provided herein. Such formulations may include creams, lotions, ointments, and the like. The compositions and/or formulations may also include additional active ingredients if desired, such as local anesthetics.
The method disclosed herein provides a novel method for the treatment or prevention of a variety of damaged mucosal and epithelial tissues. For example, oral, esophageal, nasal, ocular, aural, anal and genital mucosal tissues may all be treated with misoprostol. It will be evident that the method will find ready application for the prevention or treatment of damaged tissues other than those named, for example dermatological tissues, in which faster wound healing is desired. For example, the treatment of the present invention may also find ready application in severe burn and skin regeneration, skin grafts, pressure sores, diabetic ulcers, fissures, post surgery scar reduction, dry socket, ulcerative colitis, rectal and anal fissures. This treatment also improves healing from dermatological surgery, any surgery involving epithelial tissue, extraction sites or periodontal surgeries.
The present method has the distinct unexpected advantage that it will provide a highly effective treatment for damaged tissues, especially mucosal tissues, and all epithelial tissues, and at the same time this compound advantageously will not produce unwanted systemic or local side effects even if the compound is administered continuously on a daily basis, as long as the appropriate compound dosages are used. It, of course, must be understood that the dosage levels will be adjusted dependent on the response of the subject and the degree of damage to the tissues as monitored by methods known to those skilled in the art.

Method of treating damaged mucosal and epithelial tissues with misoprostol


A method and apparatus in a radio messaging system monitors (304, 404), by a plurality of base receivers (207), an inbound channel for an inbound transmission from a portable subscriber unit (122), and determines (306, 406) a subset of the plurality of base receivers that reliably receive the inbound transmission. The method and apparatus then selects (310, 408) a frequency reuse plan for the radio messaging system, based upon the subset.

Modern two-way messaging systems employ frequency reuse for spectrally efficient communication with portable subscriber units. Correct estimation of how many and which subscriber units can simultaneously receive different messages from different base transmitters without undue interference is difficult. A prior art technique has been for the subscriber unit to measure the quality of a received color code corresponding to a base transmitter. Another prior art technique has been to estimate the location of the subscriber unit from received signal strength at the base receivers.
These prior art techniques have not always provided a reliable estimate of the optimum frequency reuse plan for communication with the subscriber unit. Quality of color code reception and subscriber unit location cannot always determine how many and which base transmitters are within range of the subscriber unit.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus that can dynamically select a frequency reuse plan for communicating with a portable subscriber unit. Preferably, the selected frequency reuse plan should be closely related to how many and/or which transmitters are within range of the subscriber unit.

Method and apparatus for dynamically selecting a frequency reuse plan for a radio messaging system


A mechanism for raising and lowering a windowpane achieves a satisfactory mounting of a guide rail to a drum housing to allow visual checking of the mounted state of the guide rail to the drum housing. Relative movement between the guide rail and the drum housing is restricted in the vehicle widthwise direction after completion of the mounting. An engaging projection formed at the end of the drum housing projects toward the guide rail. An engaging portion of the guide rail restricts relative movement between the guide rail and the drum housing in the vehicle widthwise direction by being engaged with the engaging projection.

For instance, a mechanism for raising and lowering a windowpane of a motor vehicle has a structure such that a slider base fixed to the windowpane is supported to be movable up and down on a guide rail, fixed to a structural member of a door, and that a drive wire(s) extended from the slider base in the vertical direction is wound around a wire guide member and a wind-up drum, respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the guide rail. A motor unit is connected to the wind-up drum, and driving the wind-up drum forward and reverse by the motor unit causes the slider base, together with the windowpane, to move up and down on the guide rail.
The motor unit and the wind-up drum are supported by a drum housing, and the guide rail is mounted and fixed to this drum housing. Japanese Patent Publication No. 4,637,522 describes forming the guide rail so that it includes a flat portion and a raised portion by bending the guide rail to have a predetermined cross sectional shape and forming a fitting groove on the drum housing in which the flat portion and the raised portion are fitted as a technique to mount the guide rail to the drum housing.
However, according to the technique described above, there is a possibility of a fitting failure of the guide rail to the drum housing occurring because the mounted state of the guide rail to the drum housing (the fitting state of the guide rail to the fitting groove) cannot be visually checked.
To visually check the mounted state of the guide rail to the drum housing (the fitting state of the guide rail to the fitting groove) in, e.g., the technique described above, a special solution such as providing the drum housing with an inspection hole is essential, and it is inevitable that the structure of the drum housing becomes complicated and that the cost becomes high. In addition, formation of the inspection hole in the drum housing deteriorates the strength of the fitting portion of the drum housing into the guide rail, so that the drum housing is easily damaged. Additionally, when the guide rail is mounted to the drum housing, how the relative movement between the guide rail and the drum housing is restricted in the vehicle widthwise direction is an important technical problem.

Mechanism for raising and lowering windowpane


A method for manufacturing an LED lamp assembly includes anodizing at least a portion of a surface of an electrically and thermally conductive base, such as an aluminum or aluminum alloy base, so as to form an electrically insulating coating. The base may form a heat sink or be coupled to a heat sink. Circuit traces are formed on the anodized surface of the base, which include LED landings. LEDs are electrically and mechanically attached to the LED landing by a conductive metallic solder such that heat generated from the LED is transferred efficiently through the solder and circuit traces LED landings to the base and heat sink through a metal-to-metal contact pathway.

The present invention generally relates to light emitting diode arrays. More particularly, the present invention relates to a light emitting diode (LED) lamp assembly manufactured in such a manner so as to have an integrated heat sink to avoid degrading temperatures otherwise created by the light emitting diodes.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been available since the early 1960s in various forms, and are now widely applied in a variety of ways, including signs and message boards, vehicle lights, and even interior lights. The relatively high efficiency of LEDs is the primary reason for their popularity. Tremendous power savings are possible when LEDs are used to replace traditional incandescent lamps of similar luminous output.
One aspect of high powered LED technology that has not been satisfactorily resolved is the removal of heat generated by the LED. LED lamps exhibit a substantial light output sensitivity to temperature, and in fact are permanently degraded by excessive temperature. Recently, very high performance LEDs have been commercialized. However, these LEDs emit a substantial amount of heat during their operation, which can permanently degrade the LED over time, resulting in a lower output and operating life. In ideal conditions, the life of the LED is 50,000-100,000 hours, however, this life can be shortened to less than 10% of the designed life due to the heat generated by these new super bright LEDs. Until recently, the higher light output was the trade-off for the shortened life due to the heat it generated.
To maximize the life of LEDs a heat sink coupled to the LEDS has been increasingly used. For example, aluminum or metal core printed circuit boards (PCB) have been used. These PCBs have a dielectric layer on top of the metal surface which acts as an electrical insulator between the circuitry and the metal base. The circuit traces are then formed on top of the dielectric, and the electronic components attached thereto. There are several ways to manufacture a metal core PCB. For example, thin FR4 or fiberglass circuit board that already has the circuitry printed onto it is mounted onto a metal substrate. Another method is to print the circuitry onto the dielectric material after it has already been mounted onto the metal substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,076 to Masamai et al., discloses an LED lamp assembly wherein a heat absorber, in the form of an electrically insulating sheet, is disposed between the circuit board holding the LEDs and the heat sink.
However, these arrangements have several disadvantages. These PCBs still have thermal conductivity problems when used with high output LEDs, and do not perform well due to core thermal conductivity of the dielectric. When the LED is attached to a standard PCB, the heat is trapped under the LED due to the low thermal conductivity of the fiberglass circuit board, insulating sheet, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,767 discloses an LED assembly wherein an insulating coating is disposed over an aluminum heat sink. Circuit traces are printed on the insulating layer and the leads of the LEDs are adhesively secured to the circuit traces to hold the LEDs in position. As disclosed by the '767 patent, the electrically conductive adhesive comprises an organic polymeric material compounded with a metal.
However, the adhesive attachment of the heat sink LEDs to the metallic heat sink in this manner, while an improvement of the other methods, still presents some disadvantages. The organic conductive adhesive does not conduct heat as well as metal. Thus, once again, heat can be trapped under the LED. LEDs typically include a heat sink slug in a central portion thereof immediately below the light emitting chip. Other components surrounding the light emitting chip are typically plastic or silicon and not intended to transmit the heat away from the chip. Attaching the bottom of the LED to the circuit traces with an adhesive serves to trap the heat within the LED.
Another disadvantage is that adhesive attachment systems sometimes exhibit detachment due to repeated temperature cycles. The relatively large differences in thermal expansion coefficients of plastics, epoxies and metals can give rise to substantial stresses of the attachment region. These stresses may exceed the strength of the adhesive and may eventually result in joint failure. This could result in the LED being electrically disconnected from the circuit.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a method of manufacturing LED assemblies in order to achieve the desired heat rejection from the LED. In order to utilize the inherent low temperature resistance that is available in the newer generation of high performance LEDs, special attention must be given to the attachment of these LEDs to the heat dissipater. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.

Process for manufacturing an LED lamp with integrated heat sink


A coupling assembly is provided which allows for a dual pressure release during impaction of an obstruction during insertion of a picking arm into a canopy of a fruit tree. A first yielding occurs when a predetermined first level of resistance is encountered. If the obstruction is cleared and the resistance pressure falls below the first level of resistance the picking arm is returned to the normal deployed position. If the resistance level continues to climb and exceeds a predetermined second level of resistance the coupling assembly releases the arm to reduce the resistance pressure previously obtained while preventing any further resistance pressure from being generated. This acts to significantly reduce the opportunity that damage will occur to either the machinery or to the fruit tree. The possibility of multiple picking members is explained.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the invention relates to providing a release mechanism for a picking arm during a picking cycle. More specifically, the invention relates to such a release mechanism having dual pressure yielding means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mechanical harvesting of fruit from trees has been attempted using various designs of machines. One class of machines provide for picking members to be inserted and withdrawn from a canopy of the tree. A sub-class of these machines employ picking arms which are displaced generally along there longitudinal length during an extension cycle into the canopy of the tree. It has long been recognized that during such extension into the canopy of the tree that the distal end of a respective picking arm may impact a portion of the tree which produces resistance to continued extension. During such an impaction damage may occur either to the tree, to the machine, or a portion thereof, or to both if continued extension occurs. Various attempts have been made to provide for a release or a yielding of the extension pressure produced by the machine.
These attempts may be identified in three main groups. The first group have resulted in a release within a guiding channel wherein some form of elastic member, generally springs, produce increasing resistance as the picking arm is displaced further from a respective deployed position. This group is not desirable primarily due to a tendency of the picking arm to move violently within the guiding channel to the deployed position when resistance is suddenly eliminated, as exampled by slipping off of an impacted branch. The second group have resulted in a complete release of the respective picking arm from a guide member where little pressure is applied to move the picking arm into the canopy. This group is not desirable primarily due to a tendency to eliminate, or significantly reduce, any opportunity of the picking arm to fulfill the primary function which is to penetrate the canopy and move the picking member(s) into position where engagement of fruit may occur. The third group is limited to machines having a plurality of picking arms. This group provides for all deployed picking arms to operate in a synchronized manner. When the totality of arms meet a predetermined level of resistance, extension of the assembly pauses and withdrawal commences regardless of the extent of the point within the extension portion of the cycle.
Various attempts have been made to provide a devices to provide for a yielding of a picking arm during penetration insertion of a picking arm into a canopy of a fruit tree. These attempts have been less efficient than desired. As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a dual pressure yielding assembly which may reset to a deployed position in the event that a resistance level initially exceeds a first level of resistance then falls below the first level of resistance prior to reaching a second level of resistance. The present invention substantially fulfills these needs.

Dual pressure release assembly for a fruit harvesting machine


An electronic component, which is surface-mounted on a wiring board by soldering, and in which the occurrence of cracks in the solder after surface-mounting is suppressed, may include: a member constituting at least part of a container and made of ceramic; and an external terminal provided on the outer surface of the member and used in surface-mounting the electronic component on the wiring board by solder. The film thickness of a layer constituting the external terminal is designed so that when the thermal expansion coefficient of the ceramic constituting the member is α1, combined expansion coefficient αk of the member and the external terminal satisfies a relation of 1.029≦αk/α1≦1.216. The external terminal preferably comprises a nickel layer as an electrode body.

With the miniaturization of electronic equipment, electronic components mounted on printed wiring boards and the like in the electronic equipment have also been miniaturized, and surface-mount type electronic components have been widely used. Examples of the surface-mount type electronic components include various quartz crystal devices in which at least a quartz crystal blank is housed in a container for surface mounting. Such crystal devices include: crystal units in which a crystal blank is hermetically enclosed in a container; and crystal oscillators in which a crystal blank is hermetically enclosed in a container, and an IC chip (integrated circuit chip) in which an electronic circuit, such as an oscillation circuit using the crystal blank, is integrated is housed in the container. The surface-mount type crystal units and crystal oscillators have small size and light weight, so that they are included as frequency and time reference sources, particularly in portable electronic equipment.
In the surface-mount type crystal devices, the crystal blank should be piezoelectrically vibrated in a state cut off from the ambient air, so that a configuration is often used in which using a container made of ceramic, the crystal blank is held and hermetically enclosed in a recess formed in such a container. The crystal device in which the crystal blank is hermetically enclosed in the container made of ceramic in such a manner is surface-mounted on a wiring board by, for example, reflow soldering.
However, with the miniaturization of the surface-mount type crystal devices, the volume of solder in the bonding portion between the crystal device and the wiring board also decreases, and stress due to the difference between the thermal expansion coefficient of the container made of ceramic in the crystal device and the thermal expansion coefficient of the wiring board is concentrated in the solder in the bonding portion, so that cracks may occur in the solder.
FIGS. 1A to 1C show a general surface-mount type crystal unit. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the crystal unit mounted on a wiring board, FIG. 1B is a bottom view of the crystal unit, and FIG. 1C is a partly enlarged cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a mounting terminal in the crystal unit.
In the crystal unit shown in the figures, crystal blank 2 is housed in surface-mount type container body 1, and metal cover 3 is placed over container body 1 to hermetically enclose crystal blank 2 in the container. Container body 1 has a generally rectangular planar contour, that is, a flat, generally rectangular parallelepiped-shaped contour, which is seen as a rectangle as seen from above when container body 1 is mounted on a wiring board. A recess for housing crystal blank 2 is formed on the upper surface of container body 1. Such a container body is constituted of laminated ceramic so as to have generally rectangular bottom wall layer 1a, and frame wall layer 1b that is formed in a frame shape by providing a generally rectangular opening, and is laminated on bottom wall layer 1a. A pair of crystal holding terminals 4 are provided on the inner bottom surface of the recess in the vicinity of positions at both ends of one side of the inner bottom surface respectively. Crystal holding terminals 4 are used for electrically and mechanically holding crystal blank 2 in the recess, as described later.
External terminal 6 as the mounting terminal used in mounting container body 1 on a wiring board is provided in four corner portions on the outer bottom surface of container body 1, that is, the surface that faces the wiring board when container body 1 is mounted on the wiring board. External terminal 6 is formed as a conductive layer having a generally rectangular planar shape. Part of external terminal 6 is provided as a side electrode, extending to a side surface of container body 1. Of these four external terminals 6, a pair of external terminals 6 positioned at both ends of one diagonal in the outer bottom surface of container body 1 are electrically connected to the pair of crystal holding terminals 4 via conductive paths formed on the side surfaces of container body 1 and the lamination plane in the laminated ceramic. The remaining two external terminals 6 are used as ground terminals.
Crystal blank 2 is made of, for example, a generally rectangular AT-cut quartz crystal blank, and excitation electrodes 7 are formed on both major surfaces, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2. Extraction electrodes 8 are extended from the pair of excitation electrodes 7 toward both sides of one end of crystal blank 2. At a position at an end of crystal blank 2, each extraction electrode 8 is formed to fold back between both major surfaces of crystal blank 2. Crystal blank 2 is fixed and held in recess 2 of container body 1 and is electrically and mechanically connected to container body 1 by fixing these extraction electrodes 8 to crystal holding terminals 4 respectively by, for example, conductive adhesive 9 or the like, at positions to which the pair of extraction electrodes 8 are extended.
A metal ring (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of container body 1 to surround the recess, and metal cover 3 is bonded to this metal ring by seam-welding or the like. The metal ring is electrically connected to external terminals 6 used as the ground terminals via through holes formed in container body 1.
External terminal 6 provided on the outer bottom surface of container body 1 is generally formed by laminating layers of tungsten (W), nickel (Ni), and gold (Au), in order, on the ceramic layer of container body 1, as shown in FIG. 1C. Different types of metals are laminated in this manner to constitute external terminal 6 in order to increase the bonding strength between the ceramic layer on container body 1 side and solder 10 used for bonding to wiring board 5. Here, tungsten is selected in terms of bonding strength to ceramic, nickel is selected to obtain properties required as the electrode body, and gold is selected in terms of adhesive strength to solder 10. The tungsten layer and the gold layer in external terminal 6 can be thinly formed as long as bonding strength or adhesive strength can be obtained.
Therefore, the thickness of external terminal 6 depends on the thickness of the nickel layer as the electrode body. In conventional crystal units, for example, the thickness of the nickel layer is about 0.003 to 0.009 mm (that is, 3 to 9 μm), while the thickness of the tungsten layer is about 1 μm, and the thickness of the gold layer is about 0.5 μm. When external terminal 6 is formed, in laminating ceramic green sheets, that is, unfired raw ceramic sheets, to form container body 1, the tungsten layer is provided on the ceramic green sheet forming container body 1 by a printing method and is finally formed by integrally firing with container body 1. Also, the nickel layer and the gold layer are formed by, for example, electrolytically plating the tungsten layer after firing.
The surface-mount type crystal unit configured in this manner is mounted on wiring board 5 of, for example, a glass-epoxy resin material, by reflow soldering. Specifically, circuit terminals 11 of copper (Cu), corresponding to external terminals 6 of the crystal unit, are previously provided on a surface of wiring board 5, and by bonding external terminals 6 to such circuit terminals 11 by reflow soldering, the crystal unit is surface-mounted on wiring board 5. At this time, solder 10 also climbs on the side portions of container body 1 to form the so-called solder fillets. By checking whether the solder fillets are properly formed, whether solder 10 melts during reflow soldering can be checked. When the solder fillets are not formed, it can be determined that reflow soldering is not suitably performed. Circuit terminals 11 are generally formed by patterning a copper (Cu) layer provided on the surface of circuit board 5.

Electronic component for surface mounting


A system and method for returning a sorted result set of information corresponding to files in a file system that have properties which match user query criteria. A view index of files sorted by at least one property common to those files is provided. The view index may be synchronously or asynchronously updated as files are changed. Upon receipt of query requesting a result set of files corresponding to properties in the query criteria, the view index is compared to determine if the properties are maintained in an order that corresponds to the query criteria. If so, the view index is accessed to locate information of files that have the matching properties, and the result set is returned. The view index may be associated with a view description of the identities and order of the properties. The comparison to determine if a view index corresponds with the criteria may then be performed against the view description.

Computer users form queries to determine which documents (i.e., files or objects) maintained in a file system have properties that match one or more properties provided in the query. For expedience, the user typically desires the results of the query to be sorted in some fashion by the query engine, particularly when querying across a large set of documents. If the results of the query comprise a large result set, the sorting process may take a substantial amount of time.
Two conventional types of querying programs may be run. A first type of querying program walks through a set of files by individually opening each file and extracting properties therefrom. If the properties of a given file match the criteria set forth in the query, that file is included in the result set. Although this type of program ultimately locates the matching files, this method is an extremely time consuming process, particularly when dealing with a substantial number of files. If it is desired that the result set be sorted, the process is even lengthier unless the documents are tested in an order that coincidentally matches the sort order (e.g., in alphabetical order).
A second type of querying program runs as a user-level program that accesses a database of properties maintained for a set of documents. Such a database is only updated upon user command, and thus the user must remember to continually update it each time a document is modified otherwise the database will be out of date. Accordingly, this type of querying program works well with a set of documents that is ordinarily static. However, this type of querying program is often unreliable or unworkable with a set of documents that is dynamic, since it is a time consuming, labor intensive and error prone process to continually keep the database current when dealing with changing documents. The problems are particularly evident when multiple users modify the documents, since each such user must be trained to run (and remember to run) the database updating program each time that a user modifies a document. Moreover, like a traditional database, with such conventional database programs the presentation of the result set is limited according to how the database is structured when it is created.


A programmable logic device, in accordance with one embodiment, includes a plurality of configuration memory cells, wherein at least one configuration memory cell is adapted to function as random access memory. Read/write circuitry writes to and reads from a corresponding first port of the configuration memory cells, including reading from the at least one configuration memory cell adapted to function as random access memory. Soft error detection logic checks for an error in data values stored by the plurality of configuration memory cells, including the at least one configuration memory cell adapted to function as random access memory. The soft error detection logic, for example, may thus be tested by changing a data value stored in the at least one configuration memory cell.

A soft error upset (SEU), also known as a single event upset, refers generally to a change of state or a transient induced in one or more signal values in a semiconductor device (e.g., when struck by an ionizing particle, such as a neutron or an alpha particle). For example, a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a complex PLD (CPLD), are configured by data stored in configuration memory cells (e.g., SRAM cells), which are susceptible to SEUs that change the originally programmed data state (e.g., programmed a "1" but SEU changes value to "0"). One or more SEUs within the PLD may be particularly noticeable because the data stored in the configuration memory cells determines the PLD's functionality.
Consequently for example, a conventional PLD typically includes soft error detection (SED) logic (e.g., soft error intellectual property (IP)) that will read the configuration memory cells, such as in the background of a user mode of operation, and calculate a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) value to compare with a pre-calculated CRC value (e.g., CRC checksum). If the CRC values match, then there is no error in the values stored in the configuration memory cells. However, if the CRC values do not match, an error flag may be provided, which may for example trigger a reconfiguration of the PLD.
To test the SED logic's ability to detect a soft error (e.g., SED logic functionality), a typical procedure is to simulate a soft error in the PLD as it is may be difficult to produce a real soft error in the hardware. For example, associated logic may be provided to the SED logic to simulate a soft error from one or more configuration memory cells, such as by changing a data value after it has been read from the configuration memory cell but before the CRC calculation is performed. However, the simulated soft error is not a true soft error condition and thus, may not accurately simulate and properly emulate a real (i.e., true) soft error, such as for example with respect to timing or other considerations.
As a result, there is a need for improved techniques for testing SED logic of programmable logic devices.

Soft error detection logic testing systems and methods