A method for ensuring that a memory array such as a ferroelectric memory array is properly electrically connected. The method may be performed, for example, prior to a read or write cycle, during functional testing of the memory array, etc. In one implementation, the memory array is read and the data set including a data bit from each cell is stored in a register. A solid logic 0's pattern is written into the memory array, and each cell is read. If no cell returns a logic 1, it is determined that the memory array is properly connected and the register data values are written to the memory array. If one or more cells returns a logic 1, it is determined that the memory array is improperly connected, the register data values are written to the memory array, and the memory array is removed and reinstalled.

Electronic components including memory are used in electronic devices such as computers, printers, copiers, etc. Modular designs of electronic devices allow for replacement of the electronic components by the manufacturer and/or end user. Particular forms of these electronic components may be referred to as "customer-replaceable unit monitors" (CRUMs), and may include ink and toner cartridges, xerographic modules, fuser assemblies, memory components, as well as other electronic device subsystems. While end-user replacement of components is convenient and cost effective for the consumer, components that are not produced by the original equipment manufacturer (i.e., non-OEM components) or licensed suppliers may be of low quality, have problems with compatibility, and can create warranty issues with results that are unsatisfactory to a consumer.
In particular, substandard counterfeit components may, illegally, include manufacturer markings and trademarks that lead the consumer to believe the component is produced by an OEM. In addition to diverting sales revenues away from the OEM, early failure of the counterfeit component may result in decreased brand loyalty.
While a replaceable component may be manufactured by the OEM to include anti-counterfeiting measures, the revenue potential of counterfeit components is high and black market suppliers are increasingly sophisticated and well funded. Holographic markings and seals may be accurately recreated and encrypted electronic signatures can be broken, and thus have limited success in preventing copying of components. Security measures must be continually improved to ensure that customer-replaceable products remain protected from counterfeiting.
Additionally, stand-alone memory devices and other replaceable components are often inserted by the manufacturer or end user into an electronic device. These replaceable components must be properly inserted to ensure correct functionality of the component. If inserted incorrectly, the component may fail. In some cases, an error message may be provided, for example, on a display. In other cases, no error message is provided but an inoperable or malfunctioning device provides an operator or user with an indication that the component is incorrectly inserted. In either case, the operator or user may remove and correctly reinstall the component.


An organic light-emitting display includes a first substrate which includes a pixel region, and an encapsulation region which surrounds the pixel region, an organic light-emitting device which is located in the pixel region, a sealant which is located in the encapsulation region, and a dummy metal which is interposed between the first substrate and the sealant, where the encapsulation region includes a first encapsulation region and a second encapsulation region which is adjacent to the first encapsulation region, and the dummy metal is located in the first encapsulation region.

1. Field
The invention relates to an organic light-emitting display.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light-emitting display ("OLED") is a display device that can display information such as images, text, etc. by using light generated when holes and electrons supplied respectively from an anode and a cathode combine in an organic layer interposed between the anode and the cathode.
Display properties of the OLED change sensitively to penetration of oxygen and moisture. Thus, encapsulation technology that can effectively prevent penetration of oxygen and moisture is required. One example of the encapsulation technology is to encapsulate edges of the OLED by interposing a sealant, such as glass frit, between an upper substrate and a lower substrate. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent the penetration of oxygen and moisture into an organic light-emitting device and a thin-film transistor ("TFT") inside the OLED.
However, when the sealant, such as glass frit, alone is interposed between the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the OLED, there may be limitations on a mechanical strength of the OLED.
Therefore, a dummy metal may additionally be interposed between the sealant and the lower substrate to improve the mechanical strength of the OLED.


A wire guide system is provided for use during a endoscopic surgical procedures. The wire guide system includes a cylindrical shaft having a hollow chamber along a longitudinal axis of the cylindrical shaft, a flange fit disposed around the cylindrical shaft and a seal disposed around the cylindrical shaft and abutting the flange. The system may also include an anchor affixed to the cylindrical shaft and having an aperture from which at least one of a sensor, a light, a camera, tissue and/or organs may be suspended therefrom and at least one cable extending from one end of the cylindrical shaft to another end of the cylindrical shaft through the hollow chamber.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of endoscopic surgery. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to apparatuses for providing power, data, illumination, and other wires and electrical connections into a body cavity.
2. Background of Related Art
Laparoscopy, also called minimally invasive surgery (MIS), is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions as compared to larger incisions needed in traditional surgical procedures. Laparoscopy provides a number of advantages versus open procedures that include reduced pain from infection and hemorrhaging and shorter recovery time.
The key element in laparoscopic surgery is the use of a laparoscope of which there are several types, for example: (1) a telescopic rod lens system, that is usually connected to a video camera (single chip or three chip), or (2) a digital laparoscope where the charge-coupled device is placed at the end of the laparoscope, eliminating the rod lens system or (3) a fiber optic bundle. A fiber optic cable system connected to a 'cold' light source (halogen or xenon) may also be attached to illuminate the operative field. The fiber optic cable system may be inserted through a 5 mm or 10 mm cannula to view the operative field. The abdomen is usually insufflated, or essentially blown up like a balloon, with carbon dioxide gas (CO2). This elevates the abdominal wall above the internal organs like a dome to create a working and viewing space. CO2 is used because it is common to the human body and can be absorbed by tissue and removed by the respiratory system. It is also non-flammable, which is important because electrosurgical devices are commonly used in laparoscopic procedures.
Known laparoscopy technologies are limited in scope and complexity due in part to 1) mobility restrictions resulting from using rigid tools inserted through access ports, and 2) limited visual feedback. That is, long rigid laparoscopic tools inserted through small incisions in the abdomen wall limit the surgeon's range of motion and therefore the complexity of the surgical procedures being performed. Similarly, using a 2-D image from a typically rigid laparoscope inserted through a small incision limits the overall understanding of the surgical environment. Further, current technology requires a third port to accommodate a laparoscope (camera), and each new viewpoint requires an additional incision.
In order to reduce the number of shafts and openings necessary for the surgery, instruments or sensors are placed in the body cavity and the shaft used for placement is removed. However, removing the shaft also removes an obvious channel for wires, optical fibers or the like.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method is disclosed for growing a nitrogen-containing III-V alloy semiconductor on a semiconductor substrate such as GaAs, which is formed by MOCVD method using nitrogen containing organic compounds having relatively low dissociation temperatures. The alloy semiconductor has a high nitrogen content which exceeds the contents previously achieved, and has a high photoluminescence intensity.. There are also disclosed fabrications of semiconductor devices comprising the alloy semiconductors, such as heterostructure and homo-junction light emitting devices.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to semiconductors and semiconductor devices and more particularly, to methods for growing nitrogen-containing alloy semiconductors and semiconductor devices such as semiconductor lasers and light emitting diodes comprising the alloy semiconductors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Compound semiconductors in general and nitrogen-containing III-V alloy semiconductors in particular have recently received considerable attention as a group of new semiconductor materials.
As an example of methods for growing a III-V alloy semiconductor, there has been disclosed an epitaxial growth of a nitrogen-containing III-V alloy semiconductor on a silicon substrate (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H6-334168). In the disclosure, a nitrogen-containing alloy semiconductor is epitaxially grown without dislocations by the lattice misfit, thereby leading to feasibility of fabricating III-V compound semiconductor devices on silicon.
There are also disclosed nitrogen-containing alloy semiconductors such as GaInNAs, AlGaNAs, and GaNAs, which can be lattice matched to substrates such as GaAs, InP, and GaP (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H6-037355). Although it has been previously considered that no known III-V alloy semiconductor is grown, which had a smaller bandgap energy than that of GaAs and lattice matched to GaAs, recent results of the alloy semiconductor growths indicate that the above-mentioned GaInNAs alloy semiconductor, for example, can be grown as a material lattice matched to the GaAs substrate.
Since the GaInNAs compound semiconductor has a smaller bandgap energy than that of GaAs, above growth results of GaInNAs alloy semiconductor may lead to the feasibility of light emitting devices, of which wavelength of the light emission is in the range of about 1.5 micron, longer than that from GaAs. As aforementioned, that has been previously conceived not feasible by the devices fabricated on GaAs substrates.
In the growth of the above-mentioned nitrogen-containing III-V alloy semiconductors, a group V element such as arsenic, for example, is desorbed from the surface of a substrate with ease even at relatively low temperatures. Therefore, the alloy semiconductors are preferably grown at temperatures as low as possible.
As a source material for nitrogen, NH.sub.3 has been used conventionally. However, the use of NH.sub.3 is not completely satisfactory, since temperatures for alloy semiconductor growth have to be relatively high because of a relatively high dissociation temperature of NH.sub.3 and an unduly desorption of arsenic results at such temperatures. Therefore, NH.sub.3 is not preferred as a source material for the growth of alloy semiconductors which simultaneously contain both nitrogen and arsenic.
Accordingly, in place of the use of NH.sub.3 as is in conventional growths, active species which are generated by a high frequency plasma excitation of nitrogen, have been used as the source material for nitrogen. These species are used for a growth of nitrogen-containing III-V alloy semiconductors by, for example, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) which is carried out under very low pressures, or low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) which is performed at pressures of about 0.1 Torr(13.3 Pa).
As another source material for nitrogen, an organic material such as dimethylhydrazine (DMHy) has been reported for a growth of a GaNAs alloy semiconductor by conventional MOCVD at a reduced pressure of 60 Torr (as described by N. Ohkouchi and others, Proceedings of 12th Symposium on Alloy Semiconductor Physics and Electronics, 1993, pages 337-340)
As aforementioned, nitrogen is desorbed from crystal surfaces with relative ease during the growth. This causes difficulties in obtaining nitrogen-containing III-V alloy semiconductors with a large concentration of nitrogen. In conventional growths of the alloy semiconductors, therefore, previous attention is primarily directed to an increase of the nitrogen content during the crystal growth.
In the above-mentioned method using activated nitrogen species, a partial pressure of nitrogen during the growth had to be relatively low to avoid deactivation of the nitrogen species previously activated. Therefore, for the growth of nitrogen-containing alloy semiconductor such as GaNAs, for example, the low partial pressure of nitrogen necessarily leads to low pressures of another group V element such as arsenic. This results in an undesirable increase in concentrations of arsenic vacancies and makes it difficult to grow nitrogen-containing III-V alloy semiconductor of satisfying quality.
For example, in order to obtain the nitrogen content of about 1%, a crystal growth is carried out under the conditions such as a reactor pressure of 25 Pa, N.sub.2 flow rate of 50 sccm, and AsH.sub.3 flow rate of 10 sccm (as described by M. Sato, Proceedings of 13th Symposium on Alloy Semiconductor Physics and Electronics, 1994, pages 101-101). Although the reactor pressure is once increased to 300 Pa to initiate the plasma discharge in the reactor, a plasma activation of nitrogen is subsequently carried out at 25 Pa, as indicated above. Under the conditions, a partial pressure of AsH.sub.3 of as low as approximately 0.9 Pa results. In addition, other gaseous materials such as triethylgallium (TEG) as a source material for group III element and H.sub.2 as a carrier gas, have to be additionally supplied into the reactor. As a result, the partial pressure of AsH.sub.3 further decreases.
In order to further increase the nitrogen content, it is necessary either to reduce the reactor pressure, increasing the amount of nitrogen source materials, or decreasing the flow rate of AsH.sub.3. The partial pressure of AsH.sub.3 further decreases.
As exemplified as above, previous growth attempts to increase the nitrogen content had led to an increase in the concentration of arsenic(group V element) vacancies, and this gives rise to, in turn, metal (group III element)-rich alloy semiconductors. As a result, these methods are not able to provide nitrogen-containing alloy semiconductors of excellent quality.
As another example of the nitrogen source material, the aforementioned dimethylhydrazine (DMHy) is also used for a growth of a GaNAs alloy semiconductor by conventional low pressure MOCVD operated at a pressure of 60 Torr, resulting in the nitrogen content of about 0.5% or less. This GaNAs growth has been carried out also under conditions of an increased flow rate of DMHy and a decreased flow rate of AsH.sub.3. Because of a decreased AsH.sub.3 partial pressure, a metal-rich alloy semiconductor is obtained similarly to the above example and even under the condition of an increased nitrogen flow rate, it is difficult to increase the nitrogen content and this method also is not be able to provide nitrogen-containing alloy semiconductors of excellent quality.

Methods for growing semiconductors and devices thereof from the alloy semiconductor GaInNAs


Aspects of the invention are directed towards a system and method for saving power of a battery associated with item/s. One or more embodiments of the invention describe the method comprising steps of receiving a location and a charged status of a battery associated with each of one or more items placed inside a container. The method further describes steps of assigning a cluster to a group of items from the one or more items based on the location of each of the one or more items and identifying a master item from the group of items based on the charged status of each item in the cluster. The method also describes steps of transmitting a message to the master item for sensing a parameter for the group of items in the cluster and receiving a sensed parameter from the master item for the group of items.

Electronic circuits are generally mounted on items for providing various functionalities to the items. An electronic circuit comprises one or more sensors, communication modules, location modules and other components. An electronic circuit is powered by a battery and as it operates, till the battery gets drained. For instance, an electronic circuit may consume power from the battery while performing data transmission or while processing data. Hence a battery associated with an electronic circuit has a limited life span and can only be used until it is not depleted. After the battery gets consumed or exhausted, items cannot perform any operation, thus making them non-operational.
Currently, there are solutions available to save power of a battery and to prevent an item from becoming non-operational due to lack of power in a battery. However, such solutions fail to provide an effective approach to preserve power of a battery or to prevent electronic circuits with items from becoming non-operational.
In view of the afore-mentioned problems in the existing solutions, there is a need of an efficient and effective system and a method for preserving power of a battery associated with an item. There is also a need to extend life of a battery by saving power. There is also a requirement for preventing electronic circuits associated with an item from becoming non-operational due to lack of power in a battery. In order to solve problems in the existing solutions, a system and a method are disclosed.

Method and system for saving power of a battery associated with item/s


A portable electric wallpaper steamer has a generator (G) including a base (1) and lid (2), both injection molded of plastic material. An elastomeric sealing ring (29) is seated in a recess in a circumferential interengagement zone between the lid and base and is held compressed by the interengagement of engagement members (24) on the lid with cooperating engagement members (39) on the base. The lid-engagement members (24) and base-engagement members (39) comprise integrally molded parts of the lid and base and one or both are resiliently deformable so that they can be brought into snap-fit engagement with each other by downward movement of the lid relative to the base to form a steam pressure tight seal. An electric heating element (6) is mounted in the base for heating water therein to generate steam. The lid includes a handle (9), filling port (10), safety valve (13) and a steam outlet port (21) connected to a wall paper steaming plate (W) by a pipe.

Wallpaper steamers are known for moistening old wallpaper so that it can be readily removed from walls prior to redecorating.
In a steam generator for a prior wallpaper steamer, we attach the lid to the base of the steamer by means of C-section metal strips slid onto abutting flanges of the lid and base--which are of moulded plastics material. This means of attachment of the lid is restrictive on the design of the generator--i.e. requiring straight runs of the strip along the joints, making the generator rectangular. The strips add expense and assembly cost.
The present steam generator has been developed as a simpler, cheaper product.
Plastics material containers are known in which the lid resiliently engages the base and seals sufficiently tightly for storage of food for instance at ambient pressure. The lid has a circumferential groove into which an upstanding rim of the base extends. This arrangement is inadequately pressure tight for a steam generator. In particular a separate sealing element appears to be necessary.

Electric steam generator having molded plastic lid and base secured together by a snap-fit connection arrangement


An electrical vehicle recharging device includes an electric vehicle connector. The electric vehicle connector complies with the SAE J1772 standard and includes a first end configured to be coupled to a receptacle on an electric vehicle to recharge the batteries of that vehicle and a second end that includes a handle. The device also include a charger housing that is positioned immediately next to and coupled to the electric vehicle connector and includes an electric vehicle charging circuit positioned within the charger housing. The device further includes a power cable having a first end and a distal second end. The first end of the power cable is coupled to the electric vehicle charging circuit and the second end is coupled to an electrical plug configured to be removably coupled to a surface-mounted electrical receptacle to provide a source of power to the device for recharging the electric vehicle.

All-electric and hybrid-electric vehicles store electrical power in a storage device, such as a battery for example. The electrical power is then drawn upon by the vehicle to be converted into useful work, such as by powering motors that are connected to the vehicle's wheels. In some vehicles, such as hybrid-electric vehicles for example, the energy stored in the battery is generated by a gasoline fueled engine. The engine rotates an electrical generator that produces electrical power. The electrical power may also be generated using other means such as regenerative braking, which converts the energy dissipated during the braking and slowing down of the vehicle into electrical energy for example.
The all-electric vehicle, which lacks an independently fueled engine, relies on an external power source to provide the energy stored in the battery. The all-electric vehicle includes a receptacle that allows the operator to couple the vehicle to a utility-grid connected electrical circuit. Electrical power is transferred from the grid connected electrical circuit to the vehicle for recharging the batteries. Some all-electric vehicles may also incorporate regenerative braking features as well. A third type of vehicle, the plug-in hybrid electric ("PHEV") includes an engine for generating power during operation, but also incorporates a receptacle to allow the operator to recharge the battery when the vehicle is not in use.
For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical arrangement for a conventional electric vehicle charging stand 100 for providing electricity to an electric vehicle. The conventional electric vehicle (EV) charging stand 100 includes an upright housing or stand 105 that is mounted to the ground or some other surface. The EV charging stand 100 is hard-wired to an electrical grid to receive a source of electricity to be provided to the electric vehicle. The EV charging stand 100 provides electricity to an electric vehicle through a cord 110 and a plug connector 115 that plugs into a corresponding plug receptacle on the electric vehicle.
FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative conventional arrangement for charging electric vehicles by providing a wall-mounted EV charger 200. The wall-mounted EV charger 200 is mounted to a wall or other similar surface and is typically hard wired to an electrical grid. Alternatively, the wall-mounted EV charger 200 may include a plug along the back side of the housing 205 to electrically couple the charger 200 to a source of electricity through a receptacle. The wall mounted EV charger 200 includes a housing 205 that includes electrical components for providing electricity to the electric vehicle.
In addition, similar to the EV charging stand 100, the wall-mounted EV charger 200 also includes a cord 110 electrically coupled to a plug connector 115 that plugs into a corresponding plug receptacle on the electric vehicle to provide electricity to the vehicle.
In an effort to promote standardization and interoperability, standards have been proposed, such as the J1772 standard promoted by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for example, that establish defined receptacle parameters and protocols. The J1772 standard provides three different levels of charging. The charging level depends on the capability of the vehicle to receive electrical power and the ability of the electrical circuit to deliver the power.
Level 1 charging allows the vehicle to receive electrical power from a 110 volt, 15-ampere circuit, such as that found in a common residential circuit. Level 1 charging provides an advantage in allowing the operator to connect in many locations using standard circuits, such as those commonly found in a residential garage. However, due to the low power capacity of these electrical circuits, an electric vehicle requires 24-26 hours to fully charge. A Level 2 designated charge allows the vehicle to receive electrical power from a 220V, 30 ampere circuit for example. The Level 2 charge will typically recharge a vehicle battery in three to six hours. These 220V circuits are found in some residences and may be used for certain existing appliances, such as a clothes dryer for example.
A third charging protocol, known as a Level 3 charge, provides for charging the vehicle using a 440V circuit. The charging of the vehicle on a Level 3 circuit allows the charging of the vehicle battery in two to three hours. Residences with circuits capable of Level 3 charging are not yet common and are typically only available at commercial establishments.

Portable electric vehicle recharging device


An optical polarizer includes a supporting member and a polarizing film supported by the supporting member. The polarizing film includes at least one layer of a carbon nanotube film, and the carbon nanotubes in a given carbon nanotube film are aligned in the same direction therein. A method for fabricating the optical polarizer includes the steps of: (a) providing a supporting member; (b) providing at least one layer of a carbon nanotube film, the carbon nanotubes in a given carbon nanotube film aligned along the same direction; and (c) adhering a given carbon nanotube film to the supporting member to form the optical polarizer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical components and methods for fabricating the same and, particularly, to an optical polarizer and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The optical polarizing film is widely used for glare reduction and for increasing optical contrast in such products as sunglasses and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). One of the most common polarizers is a dichroic/dichromatic polarizer. The dichroic polarizer absorbs light beams of one polarization and transmits light beams of the other polarization. One typical type of dichroic polarizers is made by incorporating a dye into a polymer matrix, which is stretched in at least one direction. The diebroic polarizers can also be made by uniaxially stretching a polymer matrix and staining the matrix with a dichroic dye. Alternatively, a polymer matrix can be stained with an oriented dichroic dye. The dichroic dyes generally include anthraquinone and azo dyes, as well as iodine. Many commercial dichroic polarizers use polyvinyl alcohol as the polymer matrix for the dye.
However, the degree of polarization of an optical polarizing film made of the polymer material decreases when the optical polarizing film works at a temperature of or above about 50° C., or in a relatively moist environment.
Besides, the conventional optical polarizers can achieve good polarization property in a certain region of wavelength (e.g. microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, etc.), but can't have a uniform polarization property in the entire electromagnetic wavelength region.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide an optical polarizer and a method for fabricating the same, in which the above problems are eliminated or at least alleviated.

Optical polarizer and method for fabricating the same


A method includes forming a first implantation mask comprising a first opening, implanting a first portion of a semiconductor substrate through the first opening to form a first doped region, forming a second implantation mask comprising a second opening, and implanting a second portion of the semiconductor substrate to form a second doped region. The first portion of the semiconductor substrate is encircled by the second portion of the semiconductor substrate. A surface layer of the semiconductor substrate is implanted to form a third doped region of an opposite conductivity type than the first and the second doped regions. The third doped region forms a diode with the first and the second doped regions.

Image sensor chips, which include front side image sensor chips and Backside Illumination (BSI) image sensor chips, are widely used in applications such as cameras. In the formation of image sensor chips, image sensors (such as photo diodes) and logic circuits are formed on a silicon substrate of a wafer, followed by the formation of an interconnect structure on a front side of the wafer. In the front side image sensor chips, color filters and micro-lenses are formed over the interconnector structure. In the formation of the BSI image sensor chips, after the formation of the interconnect structure, the wafer is thinned, and backside structures such as color filters and micro-lenses are formed on the backside of the silicon substrate. When the image sensor chips are used, light is projected on the image sensors, in which the light is converted into electrical signals.
The image sensors in the image sensor chips generate electrical signals in response to the stimulation of photons. The full well capacity and the signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensors are preferably high. To increase the full well capacity and the signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensors such as photo diodes, the impurity concentrations of the p-type and/or n-type regions of the photo diodes may be increased. Such increase, however, results in the degradation of some other performance of the image sensors. For example, the dark current and white pixel performance may be adversely increased due to the increase in the impurity concentrations. Furthermore, the leakage currents of the photo diodes may be increased due to higher impurity concentrations, wherein the leakage currents occur between the photo diodes and the adjacent isolation regions.

CMOS image sensors and methods for forming the same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A driving circuit for driving a liquid crystal display device having a plurality of gate lines, data lines and switch elements connected to the gate and data lines includes a data driver for applying a plurality of data signals to the date lines, a gate driver for applying a plurality of gate signals to the gate lines, a timing controller for providing a plurality of control signals to the data and gate drivers, a power supply for generating a power voltage, and a discharging circuit for applying a first signal and a second signal to the gate driver in accordance with the power voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device and a method of driving the same. Although embodiments of the invention are suitable for a wide scope of applications, they are particularly suitable for obtaining a liquid crystal display device including a discharging circuit and the method of driving the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Liquid crystal display (LCD) devices use the optical anisotropy and polarization properties of liquid crystal molecules to produce an image. The liquid crystal molecules have long and thin shapes, and have the optical anisotropy property, such that the liquid crystal molecules can be aligned along an alignment direction. The liquid crystal molecules also have the polarization property, such that the alignment direction can be changed according to an intensity of an applied electric field. In particular, the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules can be changed by varying the intensity of the electric field. Consequently, light transmittance of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled by the electric field, and the LCD device displays images due to the changes in light transmittance.
In general, an LCD device includes a liquid crystal panel and a driving circuit. The liquid crystal panel includes first and second substrates spaced apart from each other and a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates. The first substrate, which is commonly referred to as an array substrate, has a thin film transistor and a pixel electrode, and the second substrate, which is commonly referred to as a color filter substrate, has a color filter layer and a common electrode. The driving circuit electrically drives the liquid crystal panel. Since the LCD device is a non-emissive type device, the LCD device includes a light source, such as a backlight unit, under the liquid crystal panel.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an LCD device according to the related art. In FIG. 1, an LCD device includes a liquid crystal panel 10 and a driving circuit 60. The liquid crystal panel 10 includes a plurality of gate lines GL1 to GLn and a plurality of data lines DL1 to DLm. The plurality of gate lines GL1 to GLn cross the plurality of data lines DL1 to DLm to define a plurality of pixel regions, and each pixel region includes a thin film transistor (TFT) T, a liquid crystal capacitor Clc and a storage capacitor Cst to display images.
The driving circuit 60 includes a timing controller 20, a gate driver 30, a data driver 40 and a power supply 50. The timing controller 20 generates data control signals for the data driver 40 including a plurality of data integrated circuits (ICs) and gate control signals for the gate driver 30 including a plurality of gate ICs using a plurality of external signals from an external system. Moreover, the timing controller 20 outputs data signals to the data driver 40.
The gate driver 30 controls ON/OFF operation of the thin film transistors (TFTs) in the liquid crystal panel 10 according to the gate control signals from the timing controller 20. On-level gate voltages are sequentially applied to the gate lines GL1 to GLn by a single horizontal synchronization time (1H) to enable the gate lines GL1 to GLn and the TFTs connected to the gate lines GL1 to GLn. When the TFTs corresponding to a single gate line are turned on, the data signals are applied to pixels in the pixel regions of the liquid crystal panel 10 through the data lines DL1 to DLm.
The data driver 40 selects reference voltages of the data signals according to the data control signals from the timing controller 20, and supplies the selected reference voltages to the liquid crystal panel 10 to adjust a rotation angle of liquid crystal molecules. The power supply 50 generates and supplies source voltages to the timing controller 20, the gate driver 30 and the data driver 40. In addition, the power supply 50 generates and supplies a common voltage to the liquid crystal panel 10.
When a power of the LCD device is off, the TFTs are also turned off. As a result, the data signals stored in the liquid crystal capacitor Clc and the storage capacitor Cst remain and are not discharged. Since the remaining data signals abnormally drives the liquid crystal panel for a short time, the liquid crystal panel displays undesired residual images or abnormal images.

Liquid crystal display device and method of driving the same


A method and system for channelizing a Passive Optical Network (PON) Media Access Controller (MAC) includes increasing a clock rate of each of one or more PON MAC(s) to create communication lanes each comprising a plurality of N channels. The PONs are channelized according to NX, where N equals a number of ports supported by the MAC and X equals a designated operating PON MAC clocking rate allowing for leveraging of existing Passive Optical Network (PON) infrastructures to provide a more power efficient and physically smaller MAC layer for OLTs.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The technology described herein relates generally to high-capacity communication networks. More specifically, the technology relates to optical networks.
2. Description of Related Art
Increasing network traffic in communication backbone networks has recently resulted in the need to upgrade the current infrastructure. Tremendous growth in network traffic requirements has increased the need for a high-capacity network backbone between service providers and subscribers. One solution to the increased traffic requirements is provided by Passive Optical Networks (PONs). PONs support an inexpensive, simple, scalable system that leverages the existing, low-cost Ethernet technology with optic network architecture.
A PON is a single, shared optical fiber that uses optical splitters to divide the single fiber into separate fibers feeding individual subscribers. Each subscriber has a dedicated fiber that converges together with other subscriber fibers at a common site where they share an Optical Distribution Network (ODN) trunk fiber back to a central location. By incorporating optical splitters, the need for electrical equipment is eliminated. Additionally, the amount of fiber required for PON configurations is less than that of traditional point-to-point topological networks.
Standard PON configurations involve a passive connection between an optical line terminal (OLT) coupled to a network and a plurality of optical network units (ONU). Data is transferred from the OLT to ONU through a single, shared fiber. Passive optical splitters (POS) located downstream of the OLT feed the data to a plurality of ONUs that are coupled to individual subscribers.
A PON apparatus typically consists of an upstream network media access control (MAC) port at the OLT adapted to transmit/receive data to/from the upstream network. The upstream MAC port provides MAC and physical coding sublayer (PCS) functions. Compatibility of the transmitted frames between the OLT and the ONU is achieved through a Logical Link Identification (LLID). The LLID identifies a flow to an ONU using an 8 byte preamble of the Ethernet frame that is attached during transmission of the data from the OLT. A second MAC port is provided at the ONU connected to the physical interface and configured to process frames transmitted from the OLT.
Media Access Control elements are required at both ends of the network. A PON MAC provides data processing capabilities, management features and quality of service (QOS) functions. They are typically instantiated on a per port basis such that an octal port device has 8 instances of the MAC. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an Ethernet PON (EPON) OLT 100 featuring a quad 10 Gbps/1 Gbps port having switch 101 in connection with lanes 102-1-102-N. Each lane consists of at least a 1 Gbps MAC 103, a 10 Gbps MAC 104 and scheduler (SCH) 105 connected to dynamic bandwidth allocator (DBA) 106. Each lane also contains the necessary PCS components 107 (e.g., line interface modules, advance encryption standard chip(s) (e.g., China Telecom Triple Churning Encryption), forward error correction (FEC) such as 1G, 10G and physical coding sublayer (XPCS) for encoding and processing individual data streams. Inputs/Outputs (I/O) from the EPON lanes are transferred using, for example, using serializer/deserializer (SERDES) 108.
A serializer/deserializer (SERDES) converts data between serial data and parallel interfaces in each direction. The term "SERDES" generically refers to interfaces used in various technologies and applications. The basic SERDES function is made up of two functional blocks: a Parallel In, Serial Out (PISO) block (aka Parallel-to-Serial converter) and a Serial In, Parallel Out (SIPO) block (aka Serial-to-Parallel converter).
The PISO (Parallel Input, Serial Output) block typically has a parallel clock input, a set of data input lines, and input data latches. It may use an internal or external Phase-locked loop (PLL) to multiply the incoming parallel clock up to the serial frequency. The simplest form of the PISO has a single shift register that receives the parallel data once per parallel clock, and shifts it out at the higher serial clock rate. Implementations may also have a double-buffered register.
The SIPO (Serial Input, Parallel Output) block typically has a receive clock output, a set of data output lines and output data latches. The receive clock may have been recovered from the data by the serial clock recovery technique. However, SERDES which do not transmit a clock use reference clock to lock the PLL to the correct Tx frequency, avoiding low harmonic frequencies present in the data stream. The SIPO block then divides the incoming clock down to the parallel rate. Implementations typically have two registers connected as a double buffer. One register is used to clock in the serial stream, and the other is used to hold the data for the slower, parallel side. Such serializer encoder and deserializer decoder blocks are generally defined in the Gigabit Ethernet specification.
Although effective, the EPON OLT described above occupies a large physical space and consumes a relatively large amount of power. The technology described herein provides for a channelized MAC that can support 4 ports while substantially reducing the area of the EPON MAC.
The following IEEE standards/draft standards, as well as any additional standards described herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and are made part of the present U.S. Utility patent application for all purposes:                1. IEEE Stds 802.3##™ (generically), "IEEE Standard for Information technology—IEEE 802.3 is a working group and a collection of IEEE standards produced by the working group defining the physical layer and data link layer's media access control (MAC) of wired Ethernet. This is generally a local area network technology with some wide area network applications. Physical connections are made between nodes and/or infrastructure devices (hubs, switches, routers) by various types of copper or fiber cable. 802.3 is a technology that supports the IEEE 802.1 network architecture. 802.3 also defines LAN access method using CSMA/CD.        2. IEEE Std 802.3ah™, "IEEE Standard for Information Technology—IEEE 802.3ah defines Multi-Point Control Protocol (MPCP), Point-to-Point Emulation (P2PE), and two 1490/1310 nm PMDs for 10 and 20 km, required to build an EPON system.        3. IEEE Std 802.3av™, "IEEE Standard for Information Technology—IEEE 802.3av defines 10 Gbit/s Ethernet Passive Optical Network. The standard supports two configurations: symmetric, operating at 10 Gbit/s data rate in both directions, and asymmetric, operating at 10 Gbit/s in the downstream direction and 1 Gbit/s in the upstream direction.
Disadvantages of conventional approaches will be evident to one skilled in the art when presented in the disclosure that follows.

Multi-port channelized optical line terminal


A process for the removal of thermally-stable contaminants from stack gas scrubbing amines using a continuous countercurrent ion exchange column. Amines contaminated after use in stack gas scrubbing are fed into the column containing an anion exchanger resin where the contaminants are sorbed on the resin. The amine is washed from the resin with hot water and is removed from the column. The resin is then pulsed to move the resin with the sorbed contaminants into a elution section of the column. The contaminants are removed using an eluant of sodium hydroxide solution, preferably containing chlorine to enhance elution of thiocyanate ion. A water wash removes traces of the hydroxide solution and any reaction products, and then the resin is again pulsed so as to be moved for reuse. The amines are regenerated with only the single type resin (preferably Type I) and with significantly reduced quantity of reagents.

Stack gases from many facilities, such as those of enhanced oil recovery processes, refinery hydrosulferization recycle, Claus sulfur recovery, etc., conventionally contain significant amounts of H.sub.2 S and CO.sub.2. These impurities act as very weakly ionized acids. It is conventional practice to use certain high boiling-point amines, which act as a mild alkali, to scrub these materials from the stack gases. Typically the amine is an alkanolamine such as ethanolamine, diethanolamine, methyl diethanolamine, diisopropanol amine and triethanol amine. In this scrubbing of the gases, the amines remove the H.sub.2 S and CO.sub.2. While these substances can be removed from the amines quite readily by conventional thermal recycling, other impurities are present in the amines after the scrubbing process either from the stack gas or from various chemical reactions. These other impurities form stronger acids that are sorbed by the amine irreversibly, at least by thermal regeneration. These are therefore called thermally stable anions and, in approximate decreasing order of concentration, are formate, acetate, thiocyanate, chloride, and sulfate. As referred to hereinafter, these are designated as Fo, Ac, CNS, Cl and SO.sub.4.
Ion exchange methods have been found to be generally effective for removing residual anions from amine stack scrubbers. Two typical ion exchange methods are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,795,565 issued to T. Y. Yan on Jan. 3, 1989, and 4,970,344 issued to A. E. Keller on Nov. 13, 1990. Both of these methods utilize fixed bed ion exchangers. However, this fixed bed practice represents heavy ion exchange loading and involve high consumption of regenerants. For example, about one volume of feed completely loads one volume of resin. This demands very frequent regeneration or very large ion exchange beds. Thiocyanate anions are especially aggravating because of their very high affinity for the ion exchange resin. As a result, both of the above-cited references disclose two different anion resins, Type I and Type II, used in combination in order to counteract the effects of different resin affinities and different regenerant consumptions. Even with the use of two types of ion exchange resins, significant quantities of sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid are required for the removal of the heat-stable anions including thiocyanate.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a process for the regeneration of amines used for stack gas scrubbing that utilizes a single type of ion exchange resin which overcomes problems of resin loading and excessive regeneration reagent consumption.
It is another object of the present invention to utilize continuous countercurrent ion exchange, in contrast to fixed bed ion exchange, to overcome problems of resin loading during the regeneration of amines used in the scrubbing of stack gases.
A further object of the present invention is to utilize continuous countercurrent ion exchange, together with a selected chemical reaction to destroy thiocyanate, to overcome problems of resin loading and thiocyanate affinity during the regeneration of amines used in the scrubbing of stack gases.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the continuous countercurrent ion exchange method.

Extraction of thermally stable contaminants from stack gas scrubbing amines


In a device for providing a substituate to a device for removing toxic substances from the blood which employs volumetric balancing of the fluid, an equalization chamber (11, 20) communicates with first and second inlet lines (9, 18) respectively, of a balancing chamber (14). Moreover, a buffer chamber (23) communicates with the first and/or second outlet line (15, 22) of the balancing chamber (14). The volume prevailing in the buffer chamber (23) that communicates with the first or second outlet line (15 or 22) can be so varied that the volume expands when the second or first equalization chamber (20 or 11) is emptied, and is reduced when the second or first equalization chamber is filled. As a result, the discontinuous pulse is smoothed on the outlet side of the balancing chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a device for removing toxic substances from the blood.
2. Description of Related Art
When faced with chronic renal failure, different blood-purification or blood-treatment methods are applied, in which apparatuses are employed to remove those substances which are usually eliminated with the urine, and to withdraw fluids. The predominant method used in hemodialysis (HD) is the diffusive transfer of substances; in hemofiltration (HF), it is the convective transfer of substances across a membrane. A combination of the two methods is called hemodiafiltration (HDF). In peritoneal dialysis (PD), no extracorporeal circuit is needed, and the peritoneum is used as the contact membrane.
Because of the large exchange volumes entailed in the named methods, as well as in continuous arteriovenous HF, continuous veno-venous HF, and in plasma-filtration (PF), there must be a precise balancing of the withdrawn fluid, on the one hand, and of the supplied fluid, on the other hand, and of the volume to be ultrafiltrated over the entire treatment time. Gravimetric and volumetric balancing systems are known from the related art.
German Patent 41 16 178 C1 describes a device for purifying blood, in which a volumetric fluid balancing is performed for HF, HDF, and PF systems. The known hemotherapeutic device has a balancing chamber, which is partitioned by a flexible wall into a first and a second balancing-chamber half, the first chamber half communicating with a filtrate line, and the second chamber half with a substituate line. A filtrate outlet line branches off from the first chamber half to an outlet, while a substituate line, which communicates with the circulatory system, branches off from the second chamber half. The filtrate and the substituate are alternately supplied, as the case may be, to the balancing chamber from an equalization chamber which communicates with the filtrate or substituate line by means of a pressure device. When working with the known filtration device, the equalization chambers are filled by a filtrate pump or a substituate pump and, after the cut-off clamps are opened, are emptied by means of the pressure device into one of the balancing chamber halves. The cutoff clamps are inserted in such a way that when the filtrate flows in, the substituate flows out, whereas when the substituate flows in the filtrate flows out. Accordingly, two pairs of clamps are alternately switched over into the other respective operating position. The drawback is that when only one balancing volume is used, a discontinuous flow occurs, which leads to pulsation.
When the disposable balancing unit is used in PD, the principle applies accordingly. In this case, however, substituate is not continuously balanced with the filtrate, but rather, using additional clamps and connections, fresh dialysate is first supplied via both balancing chamber halves and, after being retained in the abdominal cavity, the consumed dialysate is conveyed in the same manner into the outflow, i.e., there is no direct displacement of substituate through the filtrate, and vice versa. The volumes quantities! are balanced by adding the individual volumes which are carried away removed! or supplied per chamber filling.
German Patent 39 18 078 C2 describes a device for single-needle dialysis, in which a stream of untreated blood flows from the patient to the arterial line during an arterial suction phase, and a stream of treated blood flows back to the patient through the venous line during a venous return phase. It is proposed that an expansion chamber be provided upstream and downstream from the dialyzer and that the device for the single-needle dialysis be operated in four consecutive phases, namely the suction phase, a first transition phase, the return phase and a second transition phase. The chambers arranged upstream and downstream from the dialyzer are simultaneously filled during the suction phase and simultaneously emptied during the return phase.


The present invention relates to novel phosphoramidites, including positive and neutrally charged compounds. The present invention also provides charge tags for attachment to materials including solid supports and nucleic acids, wherein the charge tags increase or decrease the net charge of the material. The present invention further provides methods for separating and characterizing molecules based on the charge differentials between modified and unmodified materials.

Methods for the detection and characterization of specific nucleic acid sequences and sequence variations have been used to detect the presence of viral or bacterial nucleic acid sequences indicative of an infection and to detect the presence of variants or alleles of genes associated with disease and cancers. These methods also find application in the identification of sources of nucleic acids, as for forensic analysis or for paternity determinations. Various methods are known to the art that may be used to detect and characterize specific nucleic acid sequences and sequence variants. Nonetheless, with the completion of the nucleic acid sequencing of the human genome, as well as the genomes of numerous other organisms such as pathogenic organisms, the demand for fast, reliable, cost-effective and user-friendly tests for the detection of specific nucleic acid sequences continues to grow. Importantly, these tests must be able to create a detectable signal from samples that contain very few copies of the sequence of interest.
There are a number of techniques that have been developed for characterizing specific nucleic acid sequences. Examples of detection techniques include the "TaqMan" or nick-translation PCR assay described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,015 to Gelfand et al. (the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference), the assays described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,775,619 and 5,118,605 to Urdea (the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference), the catalytic hybridization amplification assay described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,711 to Walder and Walder (the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference), the cycling probe assay described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,876,187 and 5,011,769 to Duck et al., the target-catalyzed oligonucleotide modification assay described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,110,677 and 6,121,001 to Western et al. (the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference), the SNP detection methods of Orchid Bioscience in U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,174 (the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference), the methods of U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,867 to Ullman et al. (the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference) the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195, 4,683,202, and 4,965,188 to Mullis and Mullis et al. (the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference) and the ligase chain reaction (LCR) described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,427,930 and 5,494,810 to Birkenmeyer et al. and Barany et al. (the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference). The above examples are intended to be illustrative of nucleic acid-based detection assays and do not provide an exhaustive list. Each of these techniques requires a detection step for detecting a reaction product that is indicative of a desired target nucleic acid (e.g., detection of cleavage products, extension products, etc.). While a number of advances have been made in the assay methods and detection instrumentation to improve the sensitively, speed, and cost of detection methods the art is still in need of further improved methods, compositions, and systems to make the assays more sensitive and efficient.

Charge tags and the separation of nucleic acid molecules


A unit and method for feeding containers, whereby the containers, arranged in two superimposed rows, are fed along a horizontal path and through a reject station; upstream from the reject station, two superimposed containers are parted, by translation in a vertical direction, so as to travel, separately and facing each other, along the next portion of the path; immediately downstream from the reject station, two facing containers are brought back into contact with each other so as to travel, superimposed, along the next portion of the path; and the reject station has a first reject device for expelling only one container in a bottom row from the path, and a second reject device for expelling only one container in a top row from the path.

A cigarette packing line normally comprises a manufacturing machine for producing the cigarettes; a filter assembly machine for applying filters to the cigarettes; a packing machine for producing soft or rigid packets of cigarettes; a cellophaning machine for applying an overwrapping of transparent plastic material to the packets of cigarettes; and a cartoning machine for producing cartons of packets of cigarettes.
A feed unit is interposed between the cellophaning machine and the cartoning machine to receive a succession of packets of cigarettes from an output of the cellophaning machine and transfer the succession of packets of cigarettes to an input of the cartoning machine. The feed unit often has a reject station located along the path of the packets of cigarettes to remove from the path any faulty packets of cigarettes detected by control stations on the cellophaning machine. Location of the reject station at the feed unit is usually advantageous on account of the considerable size of the reject station, which must also collect the rejected packets of cigarettes and is difficult to accommodate on the cellophaning machine.
Some known packing lines of the type described above are designed to transfer from the output of the cellophaning machine to the input of the cartoning machine a succession of packets of cigarettes arranged in two or more superimposed rows, so as to reduce the average travelling speed, and hence mechanical stress, of the packets of cigarettes.
When feeding packets of cigarettes arranged in two or more superimposed rows, rejection of a faulty packet of cigarettes travelling through the reject station calls for also rejecting the good packet/s stacked with it. This is due to the way in which known reject stations are built and operate, which does not permit removal from the stream of a single packet stacked with another.
The feed unit may also comprise a heat-shrink station for heat treating each packet of cigarettes. For each row of packets of cigarettes, the heat-shrink station comprises a respective channel, along which the row of packets of cigarettes travels in use, and which is bounded at the top and bottom by two slide surfaces equipped with electric heating elements. When a packet of cigarettes is pushed along the respective channel at the heat-shrink station, the major lateral walls of the packet of cigarettes inevitably slide along the heated slide surfaces, thus generating friction on the packet of cigarettes, which is a function of the pressure exerted on the packet by the slide surfaces. To avoid subjecting the packet of cigarettes to severe friction which might damage or even tear the sheet of overwrapping material, the slide surfaces are spaced far apart. Such a solution, however, reduces the effectiveness of the heat treatment and calls for using very long heat-shrink stations.

Unit and method of feeding containers arranged in a number of superimposed rows


An improved structure for golf-ball bag, which mainly comprises a stop flap, a bag body and a bag lug; the stop flap and the bag body are made of a resilient material; the inner side of the stop flap is sewed with at least a bag lug; both ends of the bag body not connected with the stop flap are furnished with piping edges respectively; the other two ends of the bag body are sewed together with both ends of the stop flap respectively; the edge of the stop flap is furnished with piping edge; the ball bag has two openings, of which one opening has a higher flap panel extended from the stop flap; the ball bag can be attached to the belt of a user by means of bag lug; when a ball is loading into the bag, the flap panel is used as a guide surface for the ball; since the opening is resilient, the ball loaded in the bag would drop out unintentionally; to pick up the ball out of the ball bag, a user may simply squeeze the bag and push the ball out of the ball-output end.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf ball, and particularly to a bag body structure for golf ball.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the golf balls bought from a store usually have three balls packed in an elongate paper box with an opening at one end thereof, and then the paper box is covered with a resilient film. The user usually has the balls unpacked and loaded in a rigid container to facilitate carrying; the rigid container is an elongate box, in which several ball sockets are furnished for storing balls separately. The user may open the box to pick up one ball at a time for normal use. There is also another type of container, which is a cylindrical container for loading several balls; the container has an opening with a lid. The user may, in use, open the lid to pick up a ball.
Still another conventional ball container as shown in FIG. 11 is usually attached to a golf-club bag by means of a hook on one side thereof.


Process an equipment for the production of an expanded honeycomb core from strips (10) coated at uniform intervals with strips of adhesive (6), in which the strips (10) with their adhesive strips (6) parallel and in staggered positions are stacked on top of one another and adhesively bonded together under pressure and if necessary at an elevated temperature, the stack (40) so formed being subsequently expanded, consists in the following: a strip (10) passes over a position detector (24), which from the adhesive strips (6) determines its position relative to a first end (P) of a stack (40), and which controls a positioning drive (25) and a cutting device (26). The positioning drive (25) positions the strip (10) relative to the stack (40) at its end (P), and the strip (10) is held fast. Beginning from end (P), the strip (10) is progressively bonded in the direction of the other end (Q) to the previously stacked and underlying strip (10') in such a way that the adhesive strips (6) on strip (10) lie in-between those on the underlying strip (10'). Shortly before being bonded at the other end (Q), the strip (10) is cut by the cutting device (26) to a predetermined length limited by the ends (P. Q), which determines the desired width of the honeycomb core to be produced. The process is then repeated.

The invention concerns a process for the production of an expanded honeycomb core from foil band unwound from a band roll, coated with uniformly spaced strips of adhesive, and cut into strips in the direction of unrolling; the strips are piled on top of one another with their adhesive strips in a staggered arrangement, and are then adhesively bonded together under pressure. Subsequently the stack is expanded. The invention also concerns equipment for carrying out the process, and the use of the honeycomb core for the continuous production of a composite plate.
In the process conforming to GB-A-1 602 778 for the production of a honeycomb core, the foil is coated with strips of adhesive after unwinding from the band roll and longitudinally, i.e. in the direction of its unwinding. Then, a second foil treated in the same way is unwound from a second band roll and bonded to the first foil under pressure. Subsequently, from this intermittently produced, now two-layered foil band, strips of equal width are cut transversely to the unwinding direction, the width corresponding to the desired height of the honeycomb core. The strips are stacked with their adhesive strips staggered, bonded under pressure, and finally expanded.
In a similarly known process sheets are cut from the foil after unrolling from the band roll by cutting transversely to the unrolling direction. These are stacked with the adhesive strips applied in the unrolling direction in a staggered arrangement, and adhesively bonded under pressure. From the stacks so formed, strips of a width corresponding to the desired honeycomb core height are once again cut in the direction transverse to the direction of unwinding from the band roll, and these are further processed in the same way as in the previously described process.
To obtain accurate final dimensions of the honeycomb core, in both processes finishing machining by milling or similar is needed.
The honeycomb cores produced by these known processes have a honeycomb core width predetermined by the width of the foil bands and a honeycomb core length limited by the restricted number of strips or sheets to be stacked together. The band width amounts at most to about 180 cm, since wider foil bands are not obtainable, so that honeycomb core widths of only less than about 150 cm can be made. Moreover, particularly because of the need to ensure accuracy of the honeycomb core height by a separate machining operation such as milling or similar, the production is expensive and uneconomical because the above-mentioned cutting of the strips is not sufficiently accurate, since at the places where the adhesive is situated, the width of the strip packs is always narrower than at other points. In addition, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,475 a honeycomb core production process of the same general type is known, in which the foil width amounts to something more than twice the height of the eventual honeycomb core. The foil is coated on one side with evenly spaced adhesive strips transverse to the longitudinal direction, but with the outer zones and the middle of the foil free from adhesive. The adhesive strips are so arranged that there are strips over one-half of the foil width, while over the other half there are also strips, but in staggered positions with respect to those on the first half. The edge zones and the middle of the foil are free from adhesive strips. At one edge of the foil and close to the middle, but on the side opposite the edge in question, local precisely arranged perforations are made in the direction of unwinding and at the same height. The foil is then cut in the middle. The two resultant foil strips are then passed through an arrangement of rollers in such a way that they come to be positioned over one another with their adhesive strips in the same orientation, i.e. the front side of one foil strip lies against the back side of the other. To do this, the perforations are used to position the two strips so that the adhesive strips on one lie accurately half-way between those of the other. The pairs of strips are then stacked, bonded under pressure, and released by trimming off the adhesive-free edges.
Though, in contrast to the previously described processes, this procedure has the advantage of producing honeycomb cores of any desired width in principle, it suffers from the essential disadvantage that the trimming operation results inhigher wastage of foil material. Moreover, as in the previous cases, this additional machining makes it impossible to produce accurate final dimensions, for reasons already explained.
It is also known for honeycomb cores of the described type in the expanded condition to be joined together with covering layers on both sides, to form a composite material characterized by light weight and comparatively high strength. However, hitherto it has only been possible to produce such composites one piece at a time. Yet, there is a need to have stocks of a cheap honeycomb core with accurate final dimensions in a form that will allow the continuous production of composite plates. This necessitates at least a one-piece honeycomb core of practically any desired length.

Process for the production of a honeycomb core from foil strip utilizing a position detector


An apparatus, system, and method relating to a modular water treatment apparatus that utilizes sidestream injection coupled to static mixing are described. The apparatus, system, and method utilizes ozone, with or without hydrogen peroxide, for effective disinfection and/or decontamination of contaminants present in waste water. The disinfected, decontaminated water is suitable for reuse.

One way to reduce the demand for fresh water is to reclaim waste water for human and animal consumption and other uses. However, public concerns about residual contaminants, such as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), pharmaceutically active compounds (PhaCs), pathogens, and other contaminants, have limited the acceptance of reclaimed water slowed the adoption of water treatment technologies. Of notable concern among organic compound contaminants are ethynyl estradiol, triclosan, DEET, surfactants, nonylphenol (NP), triclosan (TCS), and Bisphenol-A (BPA). Of particular concerns among biological contaminants are pathogens such as coliforms, poliovirus, and Cryptosporidium.
Concerns over residual biological and chemical contaminants has prompted the adoption of various laws, regulations, and standards concerning public water supplies, such as California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 22. Among other criteria, Title 22 requires waste water to be treated by a chlorine disinfection process following filtration that provides a product of total chlorine residual and modal contact time measured at the same point of not less than 450 milligram minutes per liter (mg-min/L) at all times with a modal contact time of at least 90 minutes, based on peak dry weather design flow; or a disinfection process that, when combined with the filtration process, has been demonstrated to inactivate and/or remove 99.999 percent of the plaque-forming units (pfus) of F-specific bacteriophage MS2, or polio virus in the waste water. A virus that is at least as resistant to disinfection as poliovirus may be used for purposes of the demonstration. Title 22 requires also requires that the (a) median concentration of total coliform does not exceed 2.2 MPN/100 mL, (b) no more than 23 MPN/100 mL coliforms are present in any one sample in a 30-day period, and (c) that no sample shall contain a exceed 240 MPN/100 mL coliforms. Title 22 further requires at least a 5-log reduction in the levels of poliovirus, or an equivalent reduction in a suitable representative water-borne virus. Many states have similar regulations and standards.
The thorough removal of coliforms, viruses, and other biological contaminants, generally referred to as "disinfection," increases the cost of reclaiming waste water, particularly using convention water treatment methods, such as reverse osmosis (RO), ultrafiltration (UF), and advanced oxidative procedures (AOP), where the cost of setting up a 1-million gallon-per-day (1 meg gpd) treatment facility is on the order of $10 meg USD.
Ozone alone (or in combination with oxygen or air) can be used in an "ozone dissolution" process for oxidizing many waterborne contaminants. The process is relatively inexpensive, particularly when ozone is generated on site. Ozone in combination with hydrogen peroxide can be used in an "advanced oxidation" process, which produces hydroxyl radicals (see Equation 1, below), which are even more effective in removing some contaminants.2O3+H2O2→2OH.+3O2  (Eq. 1)
Water treatment technologies that use ozone (O3), or ozone in combination with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), to destroy organic compounds present in contaminated water can be effective, but the cost and complexity of the equipment necessary to perform the process preclude its widespread adoption.
The need exists for more efficient and easier to install, operate, and optimize ozone dissolution and advanced oxidation apparatus for water contaminant removal, that can be incorporated into the design of new facilities and adapted to existing treatment facilities.

Apparatus, systems, and methods for water treatment


An inside diameter measuring tool includes: a main body; an axially moving spindle having a male screw to be screwed to the main body; a plurality of contact pieces provided on the main body, the measuring pieces moving in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the spindle; and a conical member interposed between the contact pieces and the spindle, the conical member advancing and retracting the contact pieces in the direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the spindle. The lead of the male screw of the spindle is 1.0 mm or more and the cone angle of the conical member is less than 53 degrees. Preferably, the lead of the male screw is 2.0 mm and the cone angle of the conical member is approximately 28 degrees.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inside diameter measuring tool.
2. Description of Related Art
An inside diameter measuring tool called as a Holtest has been known as a device for measuring an inner diameter of an object to be measured. The inside diameter measuring tool includes: a body; an axially moving spindle having a screw to be screwed to the body; a plurality of contact pieces provided on the body, the contact pieces advancing and retracting in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the spindle; and a conical member interposed between the contact pieces and the spindle, the conical member moving the contact pieces in the direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the spindle in accordance with the axial movement of the spindle (see, for instance, Document 1: JP-U-60-41811).
Typical inside diameter measuring tools are configured so that the lead of the screw provided on the spindle is 0.5 mm and the cone angle α of the conical member is approximately 53 degrees in order to equalize the displacement of the contact pieces and the displacement of the spindle. Specifically, displacement of one of the contact pieces is represented by (displacement of the spindle)×(tan(α×½). Since tan(53×½) is approximately equal to 0.5, the displacement of the contact pieces (total displacement of two contact pieces among the plurality of contact pieces) and the displacement of the spindle can be equalized.
However, since the lead of the screw of the spindle of the inside diameter measuring tool is 0.5 mm, when an operator measures objects of various size, he has to undergo a number of rotation of the screw of the spindle in order to advance and retract the contact pieces, resulting in deteriorated operability and operation efficiency.
One solution for the above problem is to enlarge the cone angle of the conical member. When, for instance, the cone angle is 90 degrees, the contact pieces can be advanced/retracted by approximately double distance even with the same number of rotation(s) of the spindle as that of the typical tool.
However, in accordance with the increase in the cone angle, the load on the slide surface of the contact pieces applied when the contact pieces slide on the conical surface of the conical member increases. Consequently, the frictional force caused on the portion on which the contact pieces slide on the conical member increases as compared with the typical arrangement, which is likely to deteriorate the durability of the contact pieces and the conical member. Further, the displacement of the spindle is transmitted to the contact pieces at the same ratio in the typical arrangement. However, when the cone angle of the conical member is increased, the displacement of the spindle is magnified when being transmitted to the contact pieces. In other words, the contact pieces is greatly displaced for a relatively small amount of displacement of the spindle, which lowers the measurement accuracy.


A system and method are provided for simple yet reliable replacement and sealing of existing vent pipe penetrations through an external surface of a structure such as a building's roof. The system and method replace a portion of an existing vent pipe with a sealed replacement pipe extension. The replacement pipe extension and remaining portion of the existing vent pipe are preferably combined with a pipe flashing structure to provide a sealed replacement pipe solution capable of withstanding torsional and side loads encountered in rooftop applications. The system and method enable replacement and sealing tasks quickly and at low cost.

Various structures are provided with pipe systems, such as vent pipe systems, which lead from inside the structure to terminate at point outside an external surface of the structure for venting purposes. For example, every home with indoor plumbing has a vent component that allows atmospheric air to enter the plumbing drain system. Today, this vent is most commonly made of standard Schedule 40 DWV PVC pipe and is established in a vertical manner penetrating through the roof of the home. However, historically the vent pipe was formed by a mixture of differing pipe materials, some were of cast iron, some were of iron pipe material and some were of copper pipe material. Hence, a given home built within the last twenty years or so will most likely have a schedule 40 PVC vent pipe, although copper may have been used on some architecturally specified higher-end homes; while homes older than this may have a vent pipe of cast iron, iron, or copper. In addition, the number and size(s) of the vent pipe(s) is/are typically determined during construction by the plumber or other professional in accordance with applicable national, state, and local regulatory requirements like building/plumbing codes. These vent pipes may typically be as small as 1¼″ pipe or as large as 4″ pipe depending on the particular plumbing system within the home. Common vent pipe sizes for example include 1¼″, 1½″, 2″, 3″ and 4″ Schedule 40 PVC DWV.
Since this vent pipe component penetrates the roof structure and the water shedding covering (such as roof shingles), a flashing seal must be used to insure the water-tight integrity of the roof system. Roof covering installers are typically tasked with the installation of these flashing seal components during the installation of the roof covering materials. Since the vent pipe element may be made from one of several materials and may be one of several sizes for any particular home, a roof contractor will need to be ready to address the flashing seal to any one of these vent pipe situations (for example, 4 materials and 5 potential pipe sizes=20 different combinations that may be present on any given roof system).
Roof penetrations are sealed with flashings to prevent the ingress of moisture into the attic spaces of a residence or commercial building. Often, these penetrations are provided to accommodate pipes for venting plumbing systems within the building or structure. These pipes are vertically oriented and are often of standard Schedule 40 PVC DWV pipe material which is commonly a white color. As noted, prior to the use of PVC for plumbing pipe applications, other materials were used to manufacture the pipe. Cast iron and copper were the two main materials used for vent pipe manufacture prior to the introduction of PVC; as such there remains a multitude of buildings with existing plumbing infrastructure of cast iron and copper. The cast iron pipes will most often have a surface which is pitted and rough; and, many times, previous flashing seals were applied with various caulks, mastics, or tar; which leaves remnant material that becomes hardened to the exterior of the pipe. A copper pipe tends to oxidize and thin-out due to acid rain and other long-term weathering effects. A copper pipe will also be found with remnants of mastic, caulk and sealants hardened to the exterior.
Since these cast iron and copper vent pipes have been in-use for many years, they may have seen several roof covering replacement events. With each roof covering replacement the vent pipe is once again sealed in an effort to prevent moisture intrusion. In most instances of these older vent pipe installations the flashing seal has been covered with roof cement, sealant of one form or another or just plain tar; leaving the exterior surfaces covered with an array of old hardened adhesives as well as years of accumulated debris. These old crusty coated surfaces are difficult to work with and cause much frustration when trying to clean so as to provide an adequate sealing surface for a new flashing.
Attaining a water-tight seal to the oxidized, rough, pitted, and irregular surface of an existing pipe, other than PVC is difficult at best and sometimes practically impossible. Current remedies for this situation include accessing the pipe within the attic space under the roof and splicing a new piece of pipe into the existing system. This operation is expensive, time consuming and often extremely difficult, as the vent pipes are located in an inaccessible portion of the attic space.
Hence, there exists a need to assist the contractor with a means to repair the old crusty vent pipe penetrations and allow a flashing to be installed to provide adequate sealing for protection against the intrusion of moisture into the building or residence.

System and method for in-place vent pipe restoration


A child-resistant package includes a multilayered polymeric tray having a basin and a brim. The tray has a plastic structural layer and a bonding layer. A multilayered polymeric cover has a cross-oriented, tear-resistant layer, a bonding layer, and a moisture-barrier layer between the tear-resistant layer and the bonding layer of the cover. The bonding layer of the cover is sealed to the bonding layer of the brim of the tray to form a closed cavity between the tray and the cover.

With many liquid or granular products, it is convenient or desirable to provide single-use quantities in disposable containers. These containers take many shapes and forms, depending upon the nature and use of the product contained. Such containers can be tailored for easy opening, or to facilitate dispensing of the product once opened, or both.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,894, to Hsiao, discloses a breakable packet in which medicinal pellets are vacuum sealed. The packet has a synthetic plastic cover and a flexible backing sheet. A frangible zone extends across a neck of the packet, at which the packet is bent and broken to allow the pellets to be dispensed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,805, to Ward, discloses a dispensing packet, formed from a sheet of synthetic resin material, which includes recessed pockets interconnected by a recessed neck. A sheet of covering material is sealed to a peripheral flange of the resin material to seal the packet. The packet is folded between the pockets, causing the packet to rupture at the neck to allow the contents to be dispensed.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,705,579, to Mason, discloses a packet having compartments formed by the sealing of one flexible sheet to another. In this case, separate compartments are provided to hold, for example, salt and pepper, and each is provided with a spout extending from a corner of the packet. The packets are opened by tearing across a corner, through one of the spouts, at a scored or perforated tear-line.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,325, to Leeds, et al., shows a similar dispensing package having a molded blister sealed at its peripheral flange. Within the periphery of the blister, near a corner, an inward protuberance is formed by edges. The edges combine with the walls of the blister to define a pair of channels near the corner. The blister is scored or otherwise weakened near the protuberance. The blister is folded at the score to break open the package, so the contents can be poured or shaken out through the channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,732, to Sullivan, et al., shows a pouch, formed of molecularly-orientable polymeric film such as polypropylene, polyethylene, or polystyrene, sealed along a peripheral edge. The pouch defines a containment cavity and a discharge spout extending from the cavity. A seam is disposed between the cavity and the spout. The film at the discharge end of the spout is molecularly-oriented in a specific direction. This, combined with a slit and a tear-initiating notch on either side of the spout, permits the pouch to be torn open across the spout in a controlled manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,360, to Collie, discloses a container closed by heat sealing. A score line or notch allows the container to be cut or torn open. The container is constructed of a foamed polymer. This allows the container to be readily opened without deforming the material around the cut or tear.
Some products include reactive components that are best kept separate prior to use. Therefore, disposable containers are sometimes provided with separate compartments, often with parallel spouts through which the various components can be simultaneously dispensed upon opening.
Published International Application WO 96/12660, to Josephsen, et al., discloses a package for at least two mutually reactive photographic chemicals. An outer membrane delimits a chamber, which is divided into compartments by at least one partition wall. The partition wall extends into a neck, which is designed to be opened by a single cut along a cutting line, opening both compartments.
With certain corrosive products, it is important that the container be resistant to the corrosive action of the product itself. In addition, with hazardous products, it is important that the container be resistant to such external corrosive influences as air, light or moisture, as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,824, to Itaya, et al., discloses a press-through package composed of a three-layer composite sheet, provided with a pocket, in which a layer of high density polyethylene (HDPE) is sandwiched between outer layers of a propylene polymer. A metal foil is bonded to the sheet to cover the pocket and enclose a tablet or capsule. The HDPE layer, provided for strength, transparency, moisture resistance, and rigidity, is 120-800 micrometers thick. Each of the outer layers, provided to aid in adhesion with the foil, contributes to the strength, makes up for the low vacuum and pressure formability and stretchability of the HDPE, while not affecting the transparency, and is 15-80 micrometers thick. The inner layer is at least 2.5 times as thick as each outer layer. To open the package, the tablet or capsule is pressed through the foil.
While many approaches have been taken to provide disposable containers for various products, some of which, as described above, satisfy a few of the needs in the art, but none are wholly satisfactory in all of these respects. Further, in contrast to many of the packages described above, which are designed to facilitate opening, it is also often paramount that the container contents not be easily accessible to children, for example, without being unduly burdensome for an adult to open.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a disposable dispenser package for containing and dispensing materials such as hazardous, corrosive or caustic powders. There is also a need for such a container in which the material composition of the package contributes to the tear- and puncture-resistant nature thereof, as well as resisting degradation due to internal and external corrosive influences. There is a further need for a package with a preformed channel for dispensing the contained material from the package. There also is a need for a package with multiple compartments which separates hazardous, corrosive or caustic material, but allows simultaneous dispensing of these materials.


An inventive method and computer system convert known or unknown input file formats to a common file format with a reduced amount of human intervention and greater speed, in comparison to prior-art methods and products. The conversion involves the viewing, by an operator, of a given input file; the determination as to whether or not the format of the input file matches a known format; the specification of data coordinates within each record in the input file; and the conversion of the input file to the common file format. Newly created file formats may be stored and used as existing file formats. A xe2x80x9cgarbage collectionxe2x80x9d module automatically removes extraneous unprintable characters and helps to standardize the control character formats, prior to matching.

The present invention relates to a method, computer program product and computer system for adapting file formats. In particular, it is directed to the acceptance of files formatted in one file format and converting the files into a common file format. This has particular application in the electronic processing of insurance claims.
In such industries as the electronic insurance claims processing industry, numerous different claim file formats are used, depending upon the source of the files. In the insurance industry, for example, such formats include HCFA-1500 print images, a standardized format developed by the U.S. Healthcare Financing Administration, UB92 print images and others. Additionally, even within a given format, different generators of files may use the formats differently.
This proliferation of different file formats and variations on file formats has led to difficulties in the electronic processing of such files. In the past, a company that performed such processing would have to receive a test file from each new client, and a (human) programmer would have to develop software specific to the particular client""s file format. Each of such pieces of software was called a xe2x80x9cscrubber program,xe2x80x9d and each scrubber program would generally need to be developed anew for each client (on occasion, a common scrubber program could be used for more than one client). This process was very expensive, requiring large amounts of manpower, and was, thus, also slow.
While some format translation programs do exist, such programs have tended to be very slow, capable of processing approximately one claim per minute. In a high volume business, such translation rates are unacceptable, requiring too much time to process the claims.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a claim formatting method and computer program product capable of accepting files in numerous formats, which may be initially unknown, and formatting them into a common format for processing.
It is a further object of the present invention to do so with a reduced amount of human labor, in comparison with prior-art methods.
It is a further object of the present invention to do so in such a way that the method/computer program can learn input formats that it has not processed before.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to do such formatting at a high rate of speed.
These and other objects are achieved by the inventive method and system.
The method of the present invention comprises steps of: (1) viewing information about the client or office submitting a file containing data records (e.g., claims); (2) examining the submitted client data file; (3) finding a known data format that most closely matches the format of the client data file, known data formats being stored in a format database; (4) aligning the data contained in a given record, thus, creating a format corresponding to the client""s data format; and (5) if the resulting format is different from all formats in the format database, saving the newly-created client format as a new known format. As a step between steps (4) and (5), the method may also allow the testing of the newly-created format on the client""s data file by a xe2x80x9crunning claim editsxe2x80x9d function; this function serves to mass convert the client""s data records into a common data format and permits testing of the conversion. The method may further comprise a step of writing a scrubber program, should the above steps fail.
The step of examining the submitted client data file includes an optional step of xe2x80x9ccollecting garbage.xe2x80x9d This step involves such functions as removing extraneous control characters and correcting for non-standard formatting conventions. For example, standard control characters may be added to each record to standardize the format.
The system of the present invention comprises a computer having software embodied on a computer-readable medium, the software implementing the above method and comprising: (1) a View Office Information module, providing an operator with the ability to view information about a client/office submitting a file containing data records (e.g., claims); (2) an Examine Test Claim File module, allowing the operator to view data from the file submitted by the client; (3) a Find Closest Match module, automatically searching a known format database for a format that most closely matches the format of the data records in the client data file; (4) an Align Claim Data module, providing the operator with the capability of modifying the closest matching data format to create a new format matching the specific client""s data record format; and (5) a Save Office Format module, allowing the operator to save the newly-created data format in the known format database. The software may further include a Run Claim Edits module that allows the operator to test the newly-created format on the client""s data file; Run Claim Edits performs format conversion into a common data format using the newly-created format and permits the observer to ascertain whether or not the conversion was successful. The software may further comprise at least one scrubber program written separately to account for file formats for which the program modules above fail to produce acceptable results.
The Examine Test Claim File module includes an optional Garbage Collection module. This module involves such functions as removing extraneous control characters and correcting for non-standard formatting conventions. For example, standard control characters may be added to each record to standardize the format.
A xe2x80x9ccomputerxe2x80x9d refers to any apparatus that is capable of accepting a structured input, processing the structured input according to prescribed rules, and producing results of the processing as output. Examples of a computer include: a computer; a general purpose computer; a supercomputer; a mainframe; a super mini-computer; a mini-computer; a workstation; a micro-computer; a server; an interactive television; and a hybrid combination of a computer and an interactive television. A computer also refers to two or more computers connected together via a network for transmitting or receiving information between the computers. An example of such a computer includes a distributed computer system for processing information via computers linked by a network.
A xe2x80x9ccomputer-readable mediumxe2x80x9d refers to any storage device used for storing data accessible by a computer. Examples of a computer-readable medium include: a magnetic hard disk; a floppy disk; an optical disk, like a CD-ROM or a DVD; a magnetic tape; a memory chip; and a carrier wave used to carry computer-readable electronic data, like those used in transmitting and receiving e-mail or in accessing a network.
xe2x80x9cSoftwarexe2x80x9d refers to prescribed rules to operate a computer. Examples of software include: software; code segments; instructions; computer programs; program modules; and programmed logic.
A xe2x80x9ccomputer systemxe2x80x9d refers to a system having a computer, where the computer includes a computer-readable medium embodying software to operate the computer.


A yaw rate sensor includes a drive mass element which is situated above a surface of a substrate and is drivable to vibrate by a drive device along a first axis extending along the surface, having a detection mass element, which is deflectable under the influence of a Coriolis force along a second axis perpendicular to the surface, and having a detection device by which the deflection of the detection mass element along the second axis is detectable. Due to the arrangement of the second axis perpendicular to the surface, the yaw rate sensor may be integrated into a chip together with additional yaw rate sensors suitable for detection of rotations about axes of rotation in other directions.

Such a yaw rate sensor, which is described in DE 102 03 515, has a drive mass element situated above a surface of a substrate and drivable to vibrate by a drive device along a first axis extending parallel to the surface, a detection mass element deflectable along a second axis extending perpendicular to the first axis under the influence of a Coriolis force and a detection device by which the deflection of the detection mass element along the second axis is detectable.
The Coriolis force is transmitted by springs from the drive mass element to the detection mass element and the second axis also extends along the surface of the substrate. The yaw rate sensor is thus suitable for detection of a Coriolis force, which occurs due to rotation about an axis perpendicular to the surface of the substrate. For detection of the Coriolis force, several fingers which engage in corresponding fingers formed on the substrate are designed as electrodes on the detection mass element. The change in capacitance between the fingers is used to determine the Coriolis force.