An integrated VoIP unified message processing system includes a voice platform that processes data in native VoIP format. There is no use of hardware telephone interface cards (TICs) or software transcoding to transform data to PCM or other formats. Cost reductions are achieved by the elimination of expensive dedicated hardware and scalability is achieved by obviating the need for software transcoding.

The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications application platforms or servers and more specifically to providing a gateway access server that provides telephony services and information retrieval service over a voice over IP (VOIP) network with out using any hardware cards commonly referred to as TICs (Telephony Interface Cards) and which is scalable to handle many users simultaneously.
Telecommunication application servers that provide telephony services and information retrieval service are known, however most of them use traditional PSTN (Public Switch Telephony Network) infrastructure to provide such service using various types of signaling mechanisms like T1, E1, SS7, etc.
Most recently there are some systems that provide similar service over the voice over IP (VOIP) networks. All of these systems use telephony interface cards to connect to either the PSTN or the VOIP network. An overview of a typical system is depicted in FIG. 1.
There are other systems that provide limited functionality like PC to PC and PC to phone communication services using software only model however these systems are not scalable because they perform transcode operation using the software model.
Transcoding is the process of converting one voice data format to another. All of the existing systems interact with the VOIP network using network supported CODEC format like G723.1 or G729 etc., however they a perform transcode operation on the data to convert it into either standard PCM, Mu-LAW and/or A-LAW before the application can handle the data. The cost of a phone call on a PSTN costs about 7 to 10 cents a minute while the cost of a phone call on a VoIP network has been reduced to about 1 cent a minute. Transcoding is computationally intensive operation required to be done by a special hardware device called a TIC (Telephony Interface Cards) for scalability reasons. When transcoding is done in software the system is not scalable because the transcoding operation ties up large amounts of resources. There are also systems that perform transcoding in a batch mode in a non real-time bases, i.e. offline batch processing. However this approach does not provide instant/real-time access to information until the transcode operation is complete. In some of the systems the message store stores multiple formats of the same data, one format for the VOIP/PSTN network and another format for access through the web. However such systems are either storage intensive, CPU intensive, or non-real-real-time oriented and cannot scale to a very large user base nor be used to provide synchronized data between the web and the telephone network.
Web portals, such as Yahoo, the assignee of the present application, receive millions of visits per day. Accordingly standard VoIP interfacing techniques such a TICs or software transcoding add cost and complexity to implementing telephony access to services normally provided by a web browser. As is well-known, revenue generation in e-commerce is often not linked to the services provided so the cost of providing these services must be carefully controlled. On the other hand the mobility and availability of telephones to potential visitees provides a tremendous business opportunity.
Because of the above constraints, a telecommunications application server that can provide functionality's like unified messaging, voice portal access to information and communication services must use specialized hardware such as TICs. Using specialized hardware limits the server to be developed only on a platform running operating system supported by the hardware vendor. Building such an scalable application server on a platform running a operating system like Free BSD UNIX that is not supported by the hardware vendor is not possible. Further, the cost of using TICs makes the cost of implementing such a telecommunications application server prohibitive.
From the above, it is apparent the improved systems for providing telephone access to various services now provided by the internet are needed.


In order to obtain an increased avalanche strength, a trench transistor is proposed in which the breakdown location is defined in a trench bottom region below body contact zones. This is done by means of a modulation of the dopant concentration in a drift zone and an insulation layer thickness modulation in the bottom region of the trenches.

One embodiment of the invention relates to a trench transistor. The development of new generations of DMOS power transistors, in particular of trench transistors, is driven by the reduction of the on resistivity Ron·A. Since controlled breakdown properties and a high avalanche strength are also desirable besides the low Ron·A, it is necessary to optimize the transistor cells but also the chip edge of trench transistors, in particular of dense trench transistors. Dense trench transistors are distinguished by such a narrow mesa zone that the breakdown location lies in the trench bottom region.
DE 102 07 309 describes a dense trench transistor having a breakdown zone at the trench bottom, which extends along the entire trench strip. Charge carriers generated there lead to a voltage drop along the body zone in the case of an electrical breakdown on account of a breakdown current. The body zone constitutes the base of a parasitic bipolar transistor, the emitter of which is formed by the source zones and the collector of which is formed by the drift zones. As the current density increases in breakdown operation, the voltage drop across the body zone reaches the order of magnitude of a diode forward voltage, so that the parasitic bipolar transistor turns on. The positive temperature coefficient of this transistor current leads to the destruction of the component as a result of overheating.
One known possibility for reducing the voltage drop across the body zone and thus counteracting the turning on of the parasitic bipolar transistor is afforded by a locally formed body reinforcement extending into the depth. In this case, the charge carriers generated along the bottom regions of the trench strips are extensively extracted, so that only a small voltage drop builds up along the body zone acting as parasitic base of the bipolar transistor. However, said body reinforcement extending into the depth takes up a large amount of space on account of its lateral variation during implantation and the subsequent lateral outdiffusion, so that this space is lost for the channel width. The capacitances formed in the region of the body reinforcement are likewise maintained, so that the figure of merit FOM (product of Ron·A·QGate/A where Ron is the on resistance, A is the transistor area and QGate/A is the gate charge QGate relative to the oxide transistor area A) assumes disadvantageous values.
A further possibility for improving the avalanche behavior of a dense trench transistor is described in DE 102 23 699. In this case, the trench and mesa width are varied along the trench strips in the dense trench region, so that the breakdown region can be defined at specific locations along the trench strips at the trench bottom. If this definition of the breakdown regions is combined with a corresponding positioning of the body contact zones, then it is possible, in breakdown operation/avalanche operation, for the charge carriers generated at the defined breakdown regions to be extracted without a voltage drop being built up along the body zone. In practice, however, it has been shown that a targeted modulation of the trench width and of the mesa width is difficult to implement since oxidations for rounding purposes are often used in the process sequence in order to avoid corners within the trench. The consequence of such oxidations is that predetermined trench width and mesa width modulations form only to a very small extent at the silicon surface and virtually do not form in the trench bottom region.

Trench transistor with increased avalanche strength


A method of casting an article includes positioning a first portion of the article, formed from a first material, in a rotatable mold. Additionally, the method includes, while rotating the mold, pouring a molten second material into the mold over the first portion to form a second portion of the article that is metallurgically bonded to the first portion of the article.

Compactors such as, for example, landfill compactors and soil compactors typically include steel wheels, which are fitted with teeth that extend radially outward from the wheels to engage and compact material over which the compactors are driven. Over time, the teeth wear down, and they are replaced with newly manufactured teeth.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,632,045 to McCartney ("the '045 patent") discloses an exemplary method of manufacturing a two-part tooth that is adapted to be welded to a steel wheel. The tooth includes a base constructed from a weldable material, and a cap constructed of a harder metal than the metal used for the base. According to the '045 patent, the tooth is manufactured by casting the base in a first mold, moving the base to a second mold, and casting the cap onto the base in the second mold. When casting the cap, molten metal flows into mating formations of the base, ensuring that the cap is firmly keyed to the base when the molten metal solidifies.
While the manufacturing method of the '045 patent may yield a tooth that is appropriate for certain applications, the tooth may not be well-suited for others. For example, the manufacturing method of the '045 patent may yield a tooth that is not well-suited for applications in which the tooth's weight stresses drivetrain components of a compactor without meaningfully improving compaction. In such applications, the tooth might cause premature failure of the drivetrain components, thereby unnecessarily increasing maintenance costs associated with the compactor.
The various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward overcoming one or more deficiencies of the prior art.


A motor control device is provided, wherein an electric power (P) consumed by the brushless DC motor is inferred from three parameters including motor phase currents (I) flowing through at least two phases of three phases of the brushless DC motor, motor phase voltages (V) applied to at least two phases which of the three phases, are the same in phase as the motor phase currents (I) flowing through the two phases, and a motor rotational angle (θ). Then, the value of a power supply current (Ib) supplied to the three-phase inverter is inferred based on the electric power (P) inferred to be consumed by the brushless DC motor and the power supply voltage (Vb) applied to a three-phase inverter. In accordance a flow chart shown in FIG. 3, the consumed electric power (P) is inferred by an expression (1) at step 337, the power supply current (Ib) is inferred by an expression (2) at step 338, and the inferred power supply current (Ib) is output to make it possible to detect the overcurrent supplied to the three-phase inverter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor control device provided with a voltmeter which detects the power supply voltage applied to a three-phase inverter (or bridge circuit), for drivingly controlling a brushless DC motor (or DC motor) by the use of the three-phase inverter (or bridge circuit). In particular, it relates to means for inferring the value of an electric current supplied to the three-phase inverter (or bridge circuit). The present invention further relates to an electric power steering device incorporating the aforementioned motor control device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Heretofore, as shown in FIG. 12, there has been used a motor control device 1000 for drivingly controlling a brushless DC motor (or a DC motor) 107 by the use of a three-phase inverter (or a bridge circuit) 105. In the motor control device 1000, a battery 101, the three-phase inverter (or the bridge circuit) 105 and a power supply current sensor 104 which is provided on a connection line for connection therebetween have generally been used as means for detecting the overcurrent supplied to the three-phase inverter (or the bridge circuit) 105.
However, the prior art as described above necessitates the provision of the power supply current sensor 104 and is unavoidable to be increased in the cost therefor. Further, the omission of the power supply current sensor 104 results in failure to detect the amount of the electric current supplied to the three-phase inverter (or the bridge circuit) 105. This makes it unable to detect the state of overcurrent, whereby an appropriate countermeasure becomes difficult to take upon occurrence on an abnormality.
Japanese unexamined, published patent application No. 2004-32848 (patent document 1) has been proposed to solve the foregoing problems. In the patent document 1, since an expression (4) (described paragraph 0008) takes the assumptions of Id*=0 and Vd*=0, the effective value of the electric power P becomes smaller that an actual value, whereby it is unable to detect the current value accurately. In addition, although a motor as the object to be controlled is limited to brushless DC motors in the patent document 1, DC motors have been in wide use practically and thus, it has been required to derive a calculation method for the DC motors.

Motor control device and electric power steering device


The present invention provides methods for reducing pain in a subject in need thereof by delivering a volatile anesthetic in a solution or an emulsion that can additionally include an extractive solvent in an amount effective to reduce pain without substantially interfering with motor function. Chronic or acute pain may be treated, or the volatile anesthetic may be delivered as a regional anesthetic to a subject to anesthetize a portion of the subject prior to surgery. Dosing regimes including a one-time administration, continuous and/or periodic administration are contemplated.

Millions of people suffer from pain. The pain may be minor, such as headaches, acute lower back pain, and acute muscle pain, or severe, such as chronic pain. Chronic pain may be associated with cancer treatment, HIV, diabetes, or other conditions. Chronic pain can be difficult to treat, with many chronic pain sufferers noting that their pain is not well controlled with current pain medications or that their medications have significant associated adverse effects (for example, nausea and vomiting, dependence, tolerance, etc.).
In an attempt to address the problem of chronic pain management, intrathecal infusion pumps and neurostimulators have been developed. Intrathecal infusion pumps are aimed at continuous, or near continuous delivery of liquid analgesic agents. Many of these infusion pumps are totally implantable, which helps to reduce the risk of infection when compared to the long-term use of external systems. The infusion pump may also be programmable to allow patients or their clinicians to adjust dosing amounts or daily delivery schedule, helping to meet a patient's changing needs.
Neurostimulators are available in various forms and stimulate nerves to relieve pain. Both intrathecal pumps and neurostimulators have drawbacks, including the onset of tolerance, with the treatments becoming less effective over time.
Various approaches for inducing anesthesia or analgesia are known. Systemic delivery of a general anesthetic renders a patient unconscious and unaware of the surgery. In contrast, anesthetics may be applied regionally, for example, to the spine, to the spinal cord (intrathecally or epidurally), or near a nerve in a nerve block to anesthetize only a portion of the patient's body. For general anesthesia, delivery of a general anesthetic to a patient prior to surgery is typically performed using an initial i.v. injection of an induction agent followed by intubation and administration of an inhaled anesthetic gas. It is worthwhile to note that the mechanism of action for general anesthesia is still not completely understood.
Considerable negative side effects may result from administration of general anesthesia. A tube has to be placed into the trachea, necessary to protect against vomiting, which can result in trauma to the upper airway. Many patients report postoperative hoarseness and tenderness of the mouth and throat. In addition, the dose of gases required to reach the targeted neural organs can have an adverse affect on the non-targeted organs, especially the heart, with an increased risk of cardiopulmonary morbidity during general anesthesia. Especially in the elderly, there is substantial evidence for prolonged cognitive dysfunction following general anesthesia (Moller et al., 1988, Lancet., 351:857-861). Additionally, regional anesthetic techniques appear to lead to less overall morbidity and mortality from cardiopulmonary causes as compared to general anesthesia (Rasmussen et al., 2003, Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 47:260-266; Rogers et al., 2000, BMJ, 321:1-12).
Certain risks are also associated with inhalation administration of a volatile anesthetic, for example, during general anesthesia. Volatile anesthetic compositions formulated for inhalation generally have relatively low boiling points and high vapor pressures. Older, volatile anesthetic compositions (including ether and cyclopropane) are often flammable or explosive in both their liquid and vapor states, with newer agents much less see (see Williams and Lemke, 2002, Foye's Principles of Medicinal Chemistry, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, NY). Further, inhalation of vapors by health care personnel in trace amounts have unknown health consequences, and have been the subject of much debate. In the larger amounts used in pediatric operating room's, large amounts of gas can escape during inhalational induction and can cause frank drowsiness or headaches, which is not desirable in an operating room environment. Thus, substantial care must be taken to safely handle volatile anesthetics (including venting of operating rooms) in order to minimize both the risk of inhalation by medical personnel and the risk of fire and care must be taken to try to ensure that there is little or no release of the volatile anesthetic into the atmosphere at all stages of handling.
Clearly, there exists a need for improved methods for pain management and local and regional anesthesia. Further, there exists a need for volatile anesthetic compositions that have reduced risks, as described above, associated with their use. There is also a need for methods for delivering such improved volatile anesthetic compositions for treating pain without substantially interfering with motor function. The current invention fulfills these needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Volatile anesthetic compositions and methods of use

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


Method for establishing and maintaining a person's identity starts at the time the person registers with the system using a mobile device to validate the identity of a person in an inherently anonymous computing environment such as the internet or any other distributed network where face to face communication is not possible. The person will provide information required to establish the person's identity with an authenticator. The authenticator then submits that information to the system administration service to be validated by external databases and services. The external service provides a set of challenge/response questions unique to that person to establish positive identification. Upon successful authentication of the person's identity, the person and their device will be associated with each other and recorded in the system. Each authentication service will define a criterion, labeled as a schema, by which authentication events will be governed.

The proliferation of e-commerce and the simplification of Web site-creation technology have facilitated the escalation of identity theft, a crime that now affects millions of Americans and saps billions of dollars from U.S. businesses annually. Identity theft can affect a business's hard-won reputation and result in expensive litigation.
An effective authentication system is necessary for compliance with requirements to safeguard customer information, to reduce fraud, to inhibit identity theft, and to promote the legal enforceability of their electronic agreements and transactions. The risks of doing business with unauthorized or incorrectly identified persons in an online environment can result in financial loss and reputation damage through fraud, disclosure of customer information, corruption of data, or unenforceable agreements.
Positive authentication of a person's identity in a disconnected environment such as the internet is extremely difficult. Identity theft has been a common problem for several years and has been increasing.
In October 2005, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council agencies issued guidance entitled 'Authentication in an Internet Banking Environment'. Since the issuance of the guidance, Internet-based fraud incidents have increased, particularly with respect to commercial accounts and the use of automated payment mechanisms (e.g., wire transfers and automated clearinghouse payments). The agencies are issuing the attached supplement to the guidance to reinforce the guidance's risk management framework and to update their expectations regarding customer authentication, layered security, and other controls in the increasingly hostile online environment.
Current available solutions all suffer from the same problem. While communication channels are secured, the actual identity of the person conducting the transaction is not known. Moreover, stronger authentication mechanisms such as one time password generators are too expensive for an organization with a large number of members to distribute and maintain.
Electronic agreements and online signature of documents are particularly venerable and potentially have larger consequences if a signature is fraudulent. With the increasing popularity and implementation of such signatures, an effective solution which positively confirms the identity of the signer is crucial.

System and method for human identity validation via a mobile device


A unitary concrete product mold formed from a central member having an array of product-shaping molds bounded by side and end portions. Support rails mounted on the bottom surface of the central member limit deflection of the central portion of the central member, improving product quality and reducing mold wear.

The present invention relates to a mold for forming molded concrete products, and, more particularly, to a unitary mold for forming molded concrete products.
There are several problems that occur with prior art machines for forming concrete products which have previously been disclosed and addressed in earlier filed applications. A novel method and apparatus for forming concrete products was designed for the high speed manufacturing of a wide variety of high quality products was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al., for Apparatus for Forming Concrete Products and is incorporated herein by reference. That invention increased vibration control in a concrete product forming machine, reduced the amount of time required to mold concrete products, increased the homogeneous consistency of concrete products, and reduced the amount of time required to exchange and align molds in a concrete product forming machine.
A novel self-aligning mold box assembly for use in a machine for forming concrete products, such as the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al., is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,510, and which is directed to the mold box depicted in FIG. 1.
Another novel mold box assembly for use in a machine for forming concrete products, such as the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al., is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,837 for Method and Apparatus for Securing Partition Plates in a Mold, and incorporated herein by reference.
While both the machine for forming concrete products disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al. and the two new mold box assemblies disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,510 and my U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,837 have substantial advantages over the prior art, each involves the use of mold box assemblies which in and of themselves impose limitations on product throughput, and which require labor-intensive assembly prior to use.
Turning now to FIG. 1A, included therein is an exploded view of a prior art paver grid assembly 100, which includes a paver grid 110 and a paver grid frame 112. In operative condition, paver grid 100 is secured to and contained within frame 112. The upper surfaces of the paver grid and frame are substantially coplanar when the grid and frame are in operative condition.
Paver grid frame 112 includes a pair of opposed mounting brackets 114, 116. Each of the mounting brackets has a pair of upwardly directed mounting surfaces, like surfaces 118, 120 on bracket 114. Each mounting surface 118, 120 includes a pair of bolt holes therethrough. Mounting bracket 116 includes mounting surfaces and bolt holes that are substantially symmetrical with mounting surfaces 118, 120 and the bolt holes therein.
A head assembly 122 is, in operative condition, mounted on a machine for making concrete products like that shown in FIG. 1B. The head assembly includes plurality of compression shoes, like shoe 124, that are aligned with corresponding cavities in paver grid 110, also mounted on the machine.
When the paver grid assembly 100 and head assembly 122 are mounted on the machine, wet concrete product is poured into the cavities in paver grid 110. After wet product is poured into the paver grid, the machine moves head assembly downwardly and the shoes, like shoes 124, compress the product into the paver grid cavities. After sufficient compression, a pallet 126 lowers concurrently with head assembly 122 thus stripping the molded pavers from the grid and leaving them arranged on the pallet as shown in FIG. 1A.
Turning now to FIG. 1B, indicated generally at 128 is a machine for molding concrete blocks and pavers. Included therein are four blocks, like block 130, arranged on pallet 126. In the view of FIG. 1B, the mold that formed blocks 130 has been removed from the machine. Part of the mounting structure for that mold, as well as for paver grid assembly 100, however, is visible. The visible portion of the mounting structure comprises a die support 130. A pair of bolt heads can be seen extending downwardly from die support 131. Before mounting paver grid assembly 100 on machine 128, the bolts are removed and mounting surface 120 (FIG. 1A) is urged against the lower surface of die support 130. Each of the other mounting surfaces on paver grid assembly 100 are urged against corresponding die supports (not visible). The bolts visible in FIG. 1B are thereafter used to bolt each of the mounting surfaces firmly against the underside of the die support thereby securing paver grid assembly on machine 130.
The mold box is vibrated by a pair of opposed vertical vibrating rods 132, 133. Another die support (not visible) is located adjacent rod 133. As can be see in FIG. 1A, a semicircular notch between mounting surfaces 118, 120 is formed to accommodate vibrating rod 132. Vibrating rod 133 is similarly accommodated by corresponding structure (not visible) on mounting bracket 116.
The vibrating rods, like rod 132, vibrate the mold while the shoes, like shoe 124, compact wet concrete product into the cavities. The vibration during compaction increases density, and therefore strength, of the molded concrete product.
Mold boxes are still used because heretofore, molds have been limited to the equivalent of three "16 inch blocks" per mold. The maximum of three "sixteens" per mold has long been recognized as the practical upper limit to the size of a mold which can withstand the high-speed, low-displacement vibration applied to the mold to compact the green concrete once in the mold. In order to increase the "per cycle" throughput of concrete product molding machines, apparatus and methods have been developed in which multiple individual 3--8".times.8""16.times. molds are inserted into a single "mold box", which in turn is mounted on the forming machine as described generally in the references discussed above. While notable advances have been realized in "mold box" technology, the mounting of multiple molds in mold boxes nonetheless represents a significant limitation in the production of formed concrete products.


An image processing method in which an image signal of frames of pixel data is divided to provide a plurality of blocks and the step of dividing the image signal into blocks is comprised of the steps of dividing one frame of the image signal into at least first and second fields, dividing the first and second fields into at least first and second groups alternately for each pixel forming a block from these four groups, and arranging the positions of the divided groups such that boundaries of the divided blocks are not overlapped between the groups.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to image processing methods and, more particularly, is directed to an image processing method such as a discrete cosine transform (DCT) encoding method in which an image signal is processed in the form of a plurality of divided blocks or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A discrete cosine transform (DCT) encoding method is known as a method for compressing image information, for example. In accordance with the above DCT encoding method, the image is divided into blocks (N.times.N) which are formed of N picture elements (pixels) both in the horizontal and vertical directions and the image of each block is processed in a two-dimensional DCT fashion. Then, a transform coefficient of the two-dimensional DCT is quantized. However, if quantization density is made coarse during the DCT encoding, there is then the risk that a distortion will occur on a boundary between the divided blocks.
FIG. 1 shows the case such that an image is divided into blocks (8.times.8) which are formed of 8 pixels both in the horizontal and vertical directions. In FIG. 1, an open square (.quadrature.) represents a pixel of even field constructing one frame and an open circle (.largecircle.) a pixel of odd field. Accordingly, if these blocks are processed in a two-dimensional DCT fashion, then the pixels are transformed in an unrelated fashion because pixels adjoining, for example, at the boundary of the blocks exist within different blocks. As a result, an image signal processed in a reverse transform manner is fluctuated between the blocks, thus causing a distortion to occur in the image.

c/o Sony Corporation, 7-35, Kitashinagawa 6-chome


In some implementations, a computing device includes an identifier that is embedded into a firmware of the computing device. The identifier uniquely identifies the computing device from other computing devices. The computing device may send a request to a server to provide credentials to enable the computing device to access a secured resource, such as secured data or a secured system. The computing device may provide the server with the identifier to enable the server to determine whether the computing device is authorized to access the secured resource. If the server determines that the computing device is authorized, the server may provide the credentials to the computing device. If the server determines that the computing device is unauthorized, the server may cause the computing device to perform one or more actions to render the computing device inoperable and/or render the resource inaccessible.

Organizations often provide computing devices, such as laptop computers and other types of mobile devices, for use by their employees. These computing devices may include data that the organizations want to protect from industrial espionage. For example, companies may want data associated with new products, sales projections, expansion plans, and the like to be securely stored on the computing devices that are provided to employees to prevent the information from being obtained by non-employees, such as competitors. As another example, government agencies may wish to protect sensitive government data stored on employee computer devices from being obtained by other governments.
A typical solution to protect data on a computing device is to password protect the computing device and/or the storage device used by the computing device. However, such protection schemes may be easily circumvented. For example, the password may be guessed using information about the employee, such as the employee's birthday, mother's maiden name, pet's name, names of the employee's children, etc. As another example, a password generator may be used to generate and test many passwords. As yet another example, because the protection scheme must compare an entered password with the correct password, the correct password may be stored on the storage device, enabling a software program to identify the correct password by scanning the contents of the storage device. As a further example, the employee may be bribed or coerced into providing the correct password. Thus, protection schemes used to protect and/or secure data on a computing device may be circumvented in a variety of ways.


A semiconductor element is provided which does not break down by avalanche current. A surge protection element includes: a semiconductor multi-layer comprising a nitride semiconductor; a first p-type semiconductor and a second p-type semiconductor which are disposed above the semiconductor multi-layer; a first electrode disposed above the first p-type semiconductor; and a second electrode disposed above the second p-type semiconductor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to surge protection elements and semiconductor devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gallium nitride (GaN)-based wide bandgap semiconductor has a dielectric breakdown field strength higher than that of semiconductor such as silicon (Si), and a saturated drift velocity of electrons higher than that of compound semiconductor such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) or Si semiconductor. Accordingly, the GaN-based wide bandgap semiconductor is expected to serve as materials for a power semiconductor device which conducts large current with high breakdown voltage. In particular, in a hetero structure of AlGaN/GaN, electric charges are generated on a (0001) plane of the GaN layer at the interface between the AlGaN layer and the GaN layer by spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric polarization. This provides a sheet carrier concentration of 1×1013 cm−2 or higher and a high mobility of 1000 cm2 V/sec or higher even if the AlGaN layer and the GaN layer are undoped. Accordingly, a hetero-junction field effect transistor which uses two dimensional electron gas at the heterointerface provides a low on-resistance power transistor.
For the purpose of use as a power control device, there is a need for a normally-off GaN-based hetero-junction field effect transistor which interrupts current between source and drain at the gate voltage of 0 V similarly to a conventional Si-based power MOS transistor. Such a normally-off GaN-based hetero-junction field effect transistor can be provided by including a structure in which a p-type semiconductor layer is disposed between a gate electrode and an AlGaN layer, as disclosed in Patent Literature (PTL) 1.
Although the GaN-based hetero-junction field effect transistor has excellent device characteristics as described above, the structure disclosed in PTL 1 has a problem in that the avalanche resistance which is an index indicating the robustness of a power device is extremely low. A transistor having a low avalanche resistance easily breaks down upon application of a surge voltage exceeding the rated breakdown voltage of the transistor.
In order to improve the avalanche resistance of a GaN-based transistor, PTL 2 discloses a technique in which a diode including Si having a high avalanche resistance is integrated on a substrate of the GaN-based transistor. Specifically, PTL 2 discloses a structure in which current is actively conducted through the diode at the time of avalanche current conduction so as to improve avalanche resistance substantially.

Surge protection element and semiconductor device

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A user can click on a spreadsheet cell to enter edit mode and alter the contents of the cell. Edit mode can be exited through a click and drag maneuver. The click and drag maneuver not only exits edit mode, but also selects a range of cells. The click and drag is performed by depressing a mouse button while the mouse indicator is positioned Over the edit cell, moving the mouse while holding the mouse button depressed, and releasing the mouse button when the end of the desired range of cells is reached. The range of selected cells starts with the edit cell and continues to the cell over which the mouse indicator was positioned when the mouse button was released.

Spreadsheet programs are a useful tool in performing computational tasks such as keeping household budgets, work schedules, tracking bank accounts, maintaining inventories, and so on. As the use of personal computers within the home and business environments becomes more common, so too does the use of the spreadsheet program. The versatility of spreadsheet applications and the ease with which they are adapted to various tasks has resulted in their widespread use. With ongoing advances in the speed and capabilities of personal computers, enhanced features have been developed for spreadsheet programs.
In a typical spreadsheet program, the spreadsheet comprises multiple cells containing numbers, text, or formulae. Users require the capability to edit the data in the various cells of the spreadsheet in order to update the spreadsheet as necessary. Further, the editing model must be kept separate from the model used to select cells for formatting, copying, or movement purposes, so as to minimize errors and unwanted results stemming from an overlap between the two models of cell operation.
Editing the contents of a cell has traditionally been performed by selecting a specific cell, then entering an edit mode through one of various provided means. In general, a user enters edit mode through the use of a formula bar, keys on a keyboard, or a double-click from a mouse. Double-clicking a cell in order to edit the cell's contents is rarely discovered by novice users. Indeed, even many seasoned spreadsheet users are unaware that a double-click will allow the editing of a cell's contents, and instead rely solely of the use of the formula bar. Unfortunately, the implementation of a formula bar in a spreadsheet program is not always efficient or possible. Further, many novice users are unaware that the contents of a cell may be edited selectively, rather than being completely replaced, because the previous methods are unintuitive for the first-time user. Because novice users are often unaware of any way to edit the contents of a cell, they often end up retyping everything in order to change a single letter. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method to edit the contents of a cell that is both intuitive and simple to use, and is obvious to a novice user.
The increased speed and capability of computers has led to an increased reliance on them in a business setting. Information that was once routinely transmitted by courier, mail, or telephone now is quickly accessed through the use of the personal computer, minimizing delivery times and costs. Traditionally, remotely accessed spreadsheets were emailed from one user to another, transferred on disk, copied via file transfer protocol (FTP), or even viewed across the World Wide Web by means of a Web browser. However, each of these options has inherent drawbacks. Email or FTP only gives the user a copy of the document, then forcing him to launch a spreadsheet-editing program. Further, many users lack any type of FTP program or knowledge about how to employ one. Web browsing typically does not allow a user to alter a spreadsheet, only to view its contents. Thus, there is a need to provide a method to access and edit a spreadsheet remotely located from a user that is simple and intuitive, and does not require launching multiple programs.

Exiting a spreadsheet edit mode during a mouse drag operation


An ECU executes a program including: a step of detecting a turbine revolution speed, a step of detecting an engine torque TE, a step of detecting a speed change ratio, a step of setting a range an enlarged slip region when a slip region enlargement condition is satisfied, and a step of enlarging the slip region toward a lock-up region side (high-load side).

An automatic transmission that incorporates an electromagnetic valve and adjusts variables relating to a gear shift operation, such as a gear, a hydraulic pressure level, a time constant or timing in the gear shift operation, and the like, by means of an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) by receiving an electrical signal from the outside has been put into use. Such an ECU allows reliable and prompt transition of an operation state of the automatic transmission to various states. In addition, as the ECU incorporates a CPU (Central Processing Unit), control using program can be carried out. Accordingly, if an operation state of the automatic transmission is finely set by modifying a program or various constants, optimal performance of the automatic transmission can be obtained in line with a running state of a vehicle or a state of load onto an engine. Here, the running state of the vehicle refers to a vehicle speed, a steering operation, frequency and a level of acceleration and deceleration, a road surface state, and the like, while the state of load onto the engine refers to an engine speed, a throttle position, an accelerator pedal pressing degree, torque of input and output shafts of an engine or an automatic transmission, and the like.
The above kind of automatic transmission has a multi-gear transmission mechanism having a plurality of power transmission paths or a continuously variable transmission mechanism, e.g., of a belt type, and is configured, for example, such that the power transmission paths are automatically selected or diameters of pulleys carrying a belt is automatically changed based on the accelerator pedal pressing degree and the vehicle speed, and thereby the speed change ratio is automatically changed.
For implementing the above automatic transmission, a mechanism that can keep a vehicle in a stopped state while an engine is operating, and can also transmit a drive power of the engine to a transmission mechanism (i.e., a mechanism allowing slipping between input and output shafts) must be arranged between the engine and the transmission mechanism. Fluid couplings are a kind of such mechanisms, and torque converters having a torque amplifying function are presently used in many cases.
For the torque converters, the following technology has been known. A lockup clutch that can directly couple input and output shafts of the torque converter together is controlled to perform feedback control (slip control) so that a coupling force of the lockup clutch may attain a predetermined state according to a difference between a pump rotation speed on an input side (corresponding to an engine revolution speed) and a turbine rotation speed on an output side. Based on a learned value obtained thereby, feedforward control is appropriately performed on the slip state of the torque converter so that vibrations and noises (NV: Noise & Vibration) are prevented, and a vehicle starting performance is improved.
By the above highly developed electronic control, the power transmission allocation of mechanical power transmission through the lockup clutch and power transmission through the torque converter is finely control according to the driving state, and thereby transmission efficiency is significantly increased.
Thus, this lockup clutch is controlled based on the driving state of the vehicle such as a load, revolution speed and the like. For example, a low-load and high-speed region is set to a lock-up region, a high-load and low-speed region is set to a converter region, and a low-load and a middle-speed region is set to a slip region. In the lock-up region, input and output elements of the hydrodynamic power transmission device are completely coupled together to improve fuel consumption. In the converter region, the input and output elements of the hydrodynamic power transmission device are completely released from each other to increase the torque by a torque amplifying function of the torque converter. In the slip region, the input and output elements of the hydrodynamic power transmission device are partially coupled to improve the fuel consumption and to absorb shocks and vibrations.
When the driving state of the vehicle changes from the converter region to the slip region, the coupling force of the lockup clutch is usually controlled (i.e., the above slip control is performed) so that a slippage between the input and output elements of the hydrodynamic power transmission device may converge to a predetermined target slippage. In this operation, when a long time (long converging time) is required for converging the actual slippage to the target slippage, this lowers an effect of improving the fuel consumption. Conversely, when the converging time is short, the engine revolution speed rapidly lowers to cause deterioration of drivability and drive feeling. Accordingly, it has been known to perform learning correction on a control quantity of the coupling force of the lockup clutch (e.g., a duty ratio applied to a solenoid pipe arranged in a hydraulic circuit) according to individual differences, variations, secular changes and the like of the lockup clutch, the solenoid valve and others so that the converging time may become equal to the predetermined target time keeping the above problem unnoticeable (i.e., the slippage may converge to the predetermined target slippage at a target time).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-150548 has disclosed a slip control device of a lockup clutch that can increase a frequency of learning as far as possible in slip control of a lockup clutch. The slip control device of the lockup clutch includes a determining unit determining whether a driving state of a vehicle belongs to a lock-up region where input and output elements of a hydrodynamic power transmission device are completely coupled together, a slip region where the input and output elements are partially coupled together or a converter region where the input and output elements are completely released, and a slip controller controlling a coupling force of the lockup clutch to converge a slippage between the input and output elements of the hydrodynamic power transmission device to a predetermined target slippage when the determining unit determines that the driving state of the vehicle changed from the converter region to the slip region. This slip control device of the lockup clutch further includes a setting unit setting a target value of the slippage at a predetermined point in time before the slip control by the slip controller converges the slippage between the input and output elements of the hydrodynamic power transmission device to the target slippage, a correcting unit performing correction according to the target value set by the setting unit and an actual value of the slippage at the predetermined point in time, and thereby correcting a control quantity of the coupling force of the lockup clutch to attain the actual value equal to the target value, and a learning unit causing the slip controller to perform next slip control, using the control quantity corrected by the correcting unit.
This slip control device of the lockup clutch sets in advance the target value of the slippage attained between the input and output elements of the hydrodynamic power transmission device at the predetermined point in time before the slip control converges the above slippage to the target slippage, and the learning correction is performed on the control quantity of the coupling force of the lockup clutch according to the target value and the actual value at the above predetermined point in time. Therefore, data for performing the learning correction on the slip control can be collected or the learning correction can be performed before the slippage actually converges to the target slippage, without waiting for the completion of the slip control. Consequently, the frequency of the learning correction increases regardless of the state and progress of subsequent slip control (i.e., without being affected whether the slip control is fully completed or is interrupted before the full completion), and this removes the influence by individual differences, variations, secular changes and the like of the lockup clutch so that improvement of the accuracy of the slip control is promoted.
As described above, there has recently been a strong tendency to enlarge further the lock-up region, and the learning frequency in the lock-up region tends to decrease. In Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-150548 already described, when the slip control does not start, the learning control will be performed before the slippage (i.e., the result of the slip control) converges to the target slippage, i.e., without waiting for the completion of the slip control. However, when the slip region is narrow, the slip learning control starts at a low frequency, and the effect similar to that in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-150548 cannot be expected.


A method for binding albumin by contacting an aqueous liquid containing an albumin with an albumin-binding compound is selected from albumin-binding compounds containing the scaffold --CO--NH--C(.dbd.C--)--CO--, and conjugates that are capable of binding albumin and exhibiting the scaffold --CO--NH--C(.dbd.C--)--CO--.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns the use of a compound that is able to bind to albumin.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Albumin-binding ligands attached to a solid phase have been used for the removal of albumin from liquid samples mainly for two purposes: a) purification of albumin and b) further processing of the liquid samples in the absence of albumin. In order to obtain a sufficient quality of the final albumin preparation, the step involving binding to an albumin ligand has often been combined with other steps including ion exchange and binding based on hydrophobic interaction. Both batch-wise and chromatographic processes have been described.
Albumin-binding ligands in soluble form have been used for desorption of albumin adsorbed to a matrix via an albumin-binding ligand (e.g. regeneration of adsorbents). The soluble ligand then competes with the ligand covalently attached to the matrix for the same binding site on albumin.
Arrays of compounds and single compounds exhibiting scaffold I have been described in WO 9622529, WO 9400509 and WO 9401102. However, the possibility of finding efficient albumin-binding ligands among individual members of these previously described arrays has hitherto not been recognised.

Method for binding albumin and means to be used in the method


An adjustment method includes rotating a pair of magnifying glasses in directions opposite to each other using γ-rotation, and correcting inclination of an image, caused by the γ-rotation, by rotating the pair of magnifying glasses in directions opposite to each other using the β-rotation, given that rotation about each of axes XL and XR, which respectively correspond to visual axes of left and right eyes when an object distance is infinite in a condition of a primary position, is represented by the γ-rotation, and that rotation about each of axis YL and YR, which are respectively perpendicular to the axes XL and XR and are also perpendicular to a z-axis which perpendicularly intersects with the axis XL at a position of a deflector for the left eye and the axis XR at a position of the deflector for the right eye, is represented by the β-rotation.

The present invention relates to binocular magnifying glasses which are worn for examining an object in a magnified manner when performing precision work by hand, etc.
In conventional binocular magnifying glasses of this type, there has been known the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. HEI 7-199083. The binocular magnifying glasses have a pair of magnifying optical systems, each system being provided for each of the right and left eyes. Each magnifying optical system includes an objective lens having a positive power and an eyepiece having a negative power arranged in that order from an object side to an eye side. Optical centers of the objective lens and the eyepiece of each magnifying optical system are positioned outside a line connecting the center of rotation of the eye and the object point as shown in FIG. 1 of the publication.
With this configuration, the binocular magnifying glasses providing a balance between accommodation and convergence of the eyes can be attained. However, there is a problem that the wearer is required to lean his or her head by an angle raging from 30° to 60° with respect to a horizontal direction because an optical path of each of the magnifying optical systems for the right and left eyes is a straight line. Therefore, the wearer is not able to withstand long-term use of the binocular magnifying glasses.
When the optical path in each of the magnifying optical systems for the right and left eyes is bent by an angle range of 30° through 60° so as to reduce the burden on the wearer, an additional problem occurs. That is, when the optical axis of each of the magnifying optical systems is bent, if the magnifying optical system is tilted to adjust the convergence of the eyes, right and left images rotate in directions opposite to each other. In such a case, even if the adjustment of convergence is accomplished, the right and left images do not match with each other.


The disclosure relates to a processing installation for aircraft structural components having a processing station comprising a clamping frame for receiving the structural component, wherein the clamping frame extends along a station longitudinal axis which extends in a longitudinal direction and a processing unit which has an upper tool unit having an upper tool and a lower tool unit, wherein the processing installation has a processing region which is formed by a laterally delimited, first spatial portion in which the clamping frame and the processing unit are arranged during processing, wherein the processing installation has a service region for carrying out service operations, wherein the first spatial portion is separated from the second spatial portion in a transverse direction, wherein a service platform is arranged in the service region and can be positioned in a service plane which is orthogonal to the vertical direction.

The production of missiles and in particular aircraft involves processing large aircraft structural components, such as, for example, the wings and the fuselage or portions thereof in special processing installations. The known processing installation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,505), on which the disclosure is based, has a processing station with a clamping frame for receiving the aircraft structural component which is intended to be processed in each case. The processing station is further provided with a processing unit in the form of a riveting unit, which has an upper tool unit having an upper tool and an associated lower tool unit having a lower tool, wherein, with a coaxial orientation of the tool axis of the upper tool relative to the tool axis of the lower tool, a riveting operation can be carried out on the aircraft structural component.
In the known processing installation, a processing region and a service region are provided. The processing region is a spatial portion of the processing installation in which the correct processing of the aircraft structural component which is arranged on the clamping frame is carried out with the upper tool and lower tool. The service region is a spatial portion of the processing installation in which service operations, for example, maintenance and repair operations or a tool change, can be carried out. To this end, the known processing installation has a service platform which is arranged in a fixed service plane and which can be accessed by service operators. However, the service operators cannot reach all the tools via the service platform of the known processing installation. Thus, only the lower tool unit, that is to say, lower tool and lower tool carrier, is accessible from the service platform in this case. For service operations on the upper tool unit, that is to say, on the upper tool and upper tool carrier, the service operators have to provide an additional service platform because the upper tool unit is inaccessible from the service platform which is arranged in the service region. The additional service platform then has to project at least partially into the processing region in order to reach the upper tool. Service operations are therefore relatively complex and time-intensive.

Machining system for aircraft structural components


The present invention is a raised floor assembly efficiently connecting a pre-fabricated shear wall to a foundation in applications other than slab-on-grade. The raised floor assembly includes an engineered wood material block machined to accept a connecting rod therethrough. The raised floor assembly also includes a connecting rod that is configured to attach at one end to a pre-fabricated shear wall and is coupled at the other end to an anchor bolt. Additionally, a transfer plate may be positioned between the pre-fabricated shear wall and the top of the engineered wood material block. The transfer plate provides a bearing surface for the pre-fabricated shear wall and helps maintain connecting rod alignment. A transfer plate may also be provided underneath the engineered wood material block and above the foundation. Additionally, a variety of spacers may be provided between the bottom of the engineered wood material block and the foundation.

Pre-fabricated shear walls are commonly used in commercial and residential structures as one method of transferring force, typically shear, a structure into the ground. Consequently, by using a pre-fabricated shear wall, the remaining structure does not have to be designed to carry the shear forces, and as such, lighter or less expensive materials may be used for the remaining structure. Thus, the use of relatively small engineered components to carry specific types of loading, such as pre-fabricated shear walls, helps to reduce the overall cost of the structure.
Historically, pre-fabricated shear walls are generally only used with structures that are slab-on-grade applications. This limited application scope prevents the benefits of a pre-fabricated shear walls from being used in applications where the structure is not a slab-on-grade application. A suitable example of one such application is residential housing where flooring structure, such as joists and sheathing, are built upon the concrete foundation The flooring structure simply interferes with standard pre-fabricated shear walls assemblies as they prevent the attachment of the pre-fabricated shear walls to the foundation. Consequently, the pre-fabricated shear wall simply can not transfer the shear load into the foundation. Attempts have been made to build kits that allow a pre-fabricated shear walls to be used in these non slab-on-grade applications, however, they have proved to be either ineffective or overly cumbersome in their use.

Shear wall attachment assembly and method of use


A toilet includes a bowl with a sump and a trapway connecting the sump to an outlet of the toilet. The trapway has a zeta shape and is configured to induce a siphon which provides pressure to suction waste water from the bowl during a flush cycle. A trapway supply conduit is connected to the trapway in a tangential orientation to an upleg region of the trapway. The trapway supply conduit supplies water to the trapway, which follows a contour of the inner surface of the trapway supply conduit and continues in the same direction into the upleg region of the trapway by relying on a fluid flow to follow the curve of a convex surface placed proximate to the flow.

The present application relates generally to toilets. More specifically, the present application relates to tankless toilets that use a siphon effect to produce a flushing action without requiring the use of a pump or pressure vessel. Additionally, the present application relates to toilets having efficient water flow paths and hybrid flush engines, which utilize water supplied to different portions of the toilet from each of a tank and line pressure.
In a conventional toilet, a water inlet passage connects a tank to both a rim and a sump for introducing water to the bowl during a flush sequence. A trapway extends downstream from the sump for evacuating the contents from the bowl. In the conventional toilet, the water inlet passage and the trapway each include a plurality of inflection points. It should be understood that an inflection point in a conduit carrying fluid causes the fluid to change direction, which in turn generates turbulence and increases resistance in the flow. Further, as fluid flows through a conduit such as the inlet passage or the trapway, contact with the surface of the conduit causes skin friction (i.e., boundary layer drag), resulting in energy loss in the fluid. As a result, additional water is required during a flush sequence to overcome the energy loss due to the formation of turbulence and friction losses as water flows through the inlet passage and trapway of a toilet.
A conventional residential toilet also includes a tank, which provides water to both the rim and the sump through the water inlet passage. Water is supplied to the tank from a water supply line to refill the tank. This configuration makes it difficult to design a toilet to ensure that there is sufficient water to cause a siphon to form in the trapway while reserving enough water for effective wash-down of the toilet bowl to remove any remaining residue.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a toilet that reduces the overall length of the inlet passage and trapway as well as the number of turns in each of the inlet passage and trapway in order to reduce the volume of water required to effectively flush the toilet. It would further be advantageous to provide a toilet with a hybrid flush engine, which provides water to each of the rim and the sump with separate structure and supplies, such that one of the rim and the sump is supplied with water from the tank at a pressure different than line pressure, while the other of the rim and the sump is supplied by water at line pressure.


A telephone answering machine (TAS) is preprogrammed to place calls automatically to a service bureau (SB) over a telephone or other suitable communications network. In response to the calls, the SB generates and transmits messages (e.g., compressed digital audio messages) to the TAS for recording and subsequent playback by a user. In this way, users can routinely receive information useful to their daily lives.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to integrated network and consumer device communications systems involving devices with store and playback capability, and, in one embodiment, to telephone answering systems such as consumer telephone answering machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telephone answering systems (TASs) are currently present in over 50% of American households. These answering machines serve the purpose of recording incoming telephone messages received over a telephone network.
Many people routinely gather information useful in their daily lives, including weather forecasts, traffic reports, sports scores, stock market quotes, and lottery numbers. This information is often gathered by tuning in to a radio or television station at an appropriate time or by manually placing a call to a service bureau programmed with prerecorded messages.
The present invention is directed to improvements that enable consumer telephone answering systems to assist people in gathering and accessing information useful in their daily lives.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.


A computed tomography system has a stationary part, a rotatable part mounted for rotation around an object to be examined and an interface between the stationary part and the rotatable part. The rotatable part includes an x-ray source, a sensor array for detecting x-rays passing through the object to produce projection data samples, a compressor that compresses the projection data samples and a storage device that stores the compressed samples. The storage device on the rotatable part can include one or more solid state drives. For image reconstruction, the compressed samples are retrieved from the storage device, transferred across the interface to the stationary part. A decompressor at the stationary part decompresses the received compressed samples and provides decompressed samples to the image reconstruction processor. This abstract does not limit the scope of the invention as described in the claims.

The present invention relates to compression and storage of projection data in the rotatable part of a computed tomography (CT) system for later transfer across the slip ring interface to the stationary part for image reconstruction.
In a CT imaging systems, multiple x-ray radiographic views of an object produce sets of projection data. Each line of projection data represents an integration of density values of internal structures within a plane, or slice, of the object. From the multiple sets of projection data, the CT imaging system produces two-dimensional (2D) cross-sectional images and three-dimensional (3D) images of the internal structures of the object. The images are obtained through application well-known image reconstruction algorithms to the sets of projection data. The techniques that reconstruct cross-sectional images or three-dimensional images from multiple sets of projection data are broadly referred to as "tomography". Performing the image reconstruction using a programmable processor-based device is broadly referred to as computed (computerized or computer-assisted) tomography. In a typical application, a source of x-ray radiation projects x-rays through an object onto an x-ray sensor (or detector) array. The x-ray sensor outputs are digitized to form a set of projection data. The set of projection data can be one-dimensional or two-dimensional depending on the geometry of the detector array. Relative movement between one or more of the object, the x-ray source and the x-ray sensor array provides multiple views having different perspectives. An image of a slice through the object, or a cross-sectional image, can be approximated by the use of mathematical transforms of the multiple views. In certain applications, the cross-sectional images may be combined to form a 3D image of the object that may be otherwise unobservable.
A well-known application of x-ray CT is in medical CT scanners for non-invasive imaging of a human body. In medical CT scanners, multiple views are obtained by rotating the x-ray source and detector array using a gantry and transferring the projection data across the slip ring. Modern CT scanners (as of 2008) typically digitize tens of thousands of x-ray sensor outputs in the range of one to ten kilosamples per second (ksamp/sec) with each digital sample having 16 to 24 bits per sample, resulting in an aggregate data transfer bandwidth of many gigabits per second (Gbps) across the slip ring. The projection data must also be stored or buffered in real time prior to image reconstruction. The image reconstruction process is typically 10 to 20 times slower than the data acquisition process, creating the need for storage. Typical storage subsystems include redundant arrays of independent disk (RAID) drives. As data transfer rates across the slip ring increase, the storage capacity and throughput of the RAID subsystem must also increase. As the industry strives for increased spatial resolution, temporal resolution and dynamic range, the bandwidth demand for data transfer and data storage subsystems have surpassed 10 Gbps. Currently, the cost for the storage subsystem can be a significant portion, up to 40%, of the bill of materials cost of a medical CT system.
Another application of x-ray CT is in automated inspection of industrial products. For example, cross-sectional images reconstructed from x-ray projection data is used in quality control inspection systems for manufactured products including as electronic devices, such as printed circuit boards. Tomography can be used to reconstruct images of one or more planes, or cross-sections, of an object under study in order to evaluate the quality of the object. The x-ray CT system acquires sets of projection data at various locations and views with respect to the object of interest. The system architectures for industrial inspection systems differ from medical CT scanners. However, like medical CT systems, large volumes of projection data require data transfer and storage. For automated inspection systems, higher throughput of the objects under test is desirable because it reduces the cost of the product being tested. A higher throughput increases the bandwidth demands for data transfer and data storage. Another example of automated inspection using CT scanning techniques is automatic baggage screening systems.
The large volumes of projection data acquired by a data acquisition subsystem of a CT system create a burden on system resources for data transfer and data storage. Limitations in data transfer bandwidth delays the availability of projection data for the reconstruction and display of an image of the object being scanned. Compressing the projection data prior to data transfer followed by decompression before image reconstruction processing reduces the burden on system resources for data transfer and storage. The benefits of compression include reducing latency between data acquisition and image display, increasing the volume of data transferred over a communication channel having limited bandwidth, and providing compressed projection data for storage and transmission over a network for later access and image reconstruction. Since compression allows the system resources to accommodate more projection data, the image resolution can be improved and/or a larger region of the object can be scanned. Compression also enables increased view acquisition rates, which is useful for imaging dynamically changing objects such as a beating human heart. The availability of computing resources to implement compression operations is also a constraint in CT systems. It is desirable that the compression operations have low computational complexity and can operate in real time to minimize the impact on computing resources.
In computed tomography, there are two domains of image-related data, the Radon transform domain and the spatial domain. The projection data, or sinogram data, are in the Radon transform domain, also referred to as the projection domain or sinogram domain. The projection data can be 2D in the situation where projection data are obtained for one slice of the object or resulting from a linear array of x-ray sensors. The projection data can be 3D in the situation where projection data are obtained for more than one slice of the object or resulting from a two-dimensional array of x-ray sensors. The 2D cross-sectional images reconstructed from the projection data are in the 2D spatial domain. A three-dimensional image reconstructed from the multiple cross-sectional images is in the 3D spatial domain. The Radon transform is the mathematical transform that underlies the relationship between the projection data in the Radon transform domain and the spatial domain image reconstructed from the projection data. Applying a compression algorithm to the projection data in the Radon transform domain will not produce the same results as applying the same algorithm to the reconstructed image in the spatial domain because of the mathematical relationship between the projection data and the reconstructed image.
Image compression techniques, for example JPEG image compression, based on standards developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), are typically applied to spatial domain image data, for example photographic images. Spatial domain image compression techniques are also applied to reconstructed images in computed tomography for efficient image storage or transmission of the spatial domain image. An approach to achieve additional compression in the spatial domain image is to identify regions of interest in the image and apply lossless compression to the regions of interest and lossy compression to areas outside the region of interest. Examples of this approach are described in the article entitled, "Segmentation-based CT Image Compression" by Thammineni et al. in the Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 5371, pp. 160-169, 2004, and in the conference paper entitled, "CT Image compression with Level of Interest," by Hashimoto et al., IEEE 2004 International Conference on Image Processing, pp. 3185-88.
For the projection, or sinogram, domain, compression and decompression of projection data are applied prior to reconstruction of an image in the spatial domain. Some approaches to compression of projection data apply a JPEG image compression method in the projection domain. An example of this approach is described by Bae et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,327,866 entitled, "Method and Apparatus for Compressing Computed Tomography Raw Projection Data," issued Feb. 5, 2008. This approach applies lossless or lossy compression to the projection data. An approach to compress the projection data that falls within the boundaries of object being scanned is described by Nishide et al. in the Japanese published patent application entitled, "X-Ray CT Apparatus, System and Projection Data Compressing/Restoring Method", Kokai (unexamined) Patent Publication Number 2003-290216 (P2003-290216A), published on Oct. 14, 2003. This approach separates the projection data into air information regions, where the x-rays have traversed an empty region, and subject information regions, where the x-rays have traversed the object or patient. Different compression methods are applied to the air information region and the subject information region or the air information region may be deleted.
An approach for reducing the burden on data transfer resources is to store the projection data on the rotatable part of the CT system prior to transfer across the slip ring interface to the stationary part. An example is described by Shibata et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,415 (the '415 patent) entitled "X-Ray CT Scanner Apparatus," issued Jan. 1, 1991. Shibata describes storing the projection data samples in a buffer on the rotatable part during the rotation for one scan. When the rotatable part is stopped during a rest time, a transmission unit transfers the projection data from the buffer across the slip ring to the stationary part.
Another example is described by Popescu in U.S. Pat. No. 7,254,210 (the '210 patent) entitled "Multi-slice Computer Tomography System with Data Transfer System with Reduced Transfer Bandwidth," issued Aug. 7, 2007. The CT scan protocol described in the '210 patent transfers a portion of the projection data across the slip ring during the scan and stores the remaining portion on the rotatable part. A storage unit on the rotatable part includes a fast buffer storage and permanent storage. A data administration unit determines which portion of the projection data will be transferred in real time across the slip ring and directs the remaining projection data to the storage unit. The remaining projection data are stored during the scan and later transferred during a scan pause.
Another example is described by Kanda in the Japanese Patent Application number 06-246715, Publication number JP 08-084725 (the '725 application), date of publication Feb. 4, 1996. Kanda describes storage of one or more scans in memory on the rotatable part. A controller can order transmission of the projection data from the memory to an image reconstruction processor.
The architectures described in '415 patent, the '210 patent and the '725 application exploit the gaps in projection data acquisition to transfer the projection data across the slip ring at a slower rate. They do not describe compression of the projection prior to storage on the slip ring. The disadvantages of storing uncompressed projection data are the needs for greater storage capacity and the greater access bandwidth for the storage devices. The number of storage devices needed to store uncompressed projection for one or more scans strains the limited space and power available, increasing the cost of storage on the rotatable part of the slip ring. Also, these architectures do not address the storage capacity required to store the projection data after transmission to the stationary part and prior to image reconstruction.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,274,765 (the '765 patent) entitled "Rotating Data Transmission Device for Multiple Channels," issued Sep. 25, 1997, Kirumme et al. describe a transmission controller on the rotatable part that compresses projection data prior to conversion to serial data for transfer across the slip ring interface. A reception controller in the stationary part decompresses the compressed projection data. The '765 patent does not describe a storage device for storing compressed data on the rotatable part for later transmission to the stationary part for image reconstruction.
The commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/949,670 (the '670 application), entitled "Compression and Decompression of Computed Tomography Data", filed on Dec. 3, 2007, describes techniques for compressing projection data prior to transmission across the slip ring and decompressing the compressed projection data prior to image reconstruction. The '670 application teaches classifying the projection data samples into subsets based on their significance. The compression operations applied to the subsets depend on the significance of the projection data samples. The commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application entitled "Adaptive Compression of Computed Tomography Projection Data," application Ser. No. 12/208,839 (the '839 application) filed Sep. 11, 2008, describes compression techniques that adapt the attenuation of the projection data samples to achieve a desired compression ratio so that the compressed data can be transferred across the slip ring interface at a constant rate. The commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application entitled "Edge Detection for Computed Tomography Projection Data Compression," application Ser. No. 12/208,835 filed Sep. 11, 2008, describes determining boundaries in the projection data using derivatives and compressing the data between the boundaries. These applications describe real time, computationally efficient compression algorithms that can reduce the data transfer bandwidth requirements across the slip ring interface.
In the present application, "real time" applied to compression means that a digital signal is compressed a rate that is at least as fast as the sample rate of a digital signal. The attribute "real time" can also describe rates for processing, transfer and storage of the digital signal, as compared to the original signal acquisition rate or sample rate. The sample rate is the rate at which an analog to digital converter (ADC) forms samples of a digital signal during conversion of an analog signal. The bit rate of an uncompressed sampled, or digital, signal is the number of bits per sample multiplied by the sample rate. The compression ratio is the ratio of the bit rate of the original signal samples to the bit rate of the compressed samples. For this application, real time refers to the rate at which the ADC forms the digital samples of projection data from the output signal of the x-ray sensor.
This description refers to lossless and lossy compression. In lossless compression, the decompressed samples have identical values to the original samples. If lossless compression does not give adequate reductions in the bit rate of the compressed samples, then lossy compression may be necessary to provide sufficient reduction of the bit rate. In lossy compression, the decompressed samples are similar, but not identical, to the original samples. Lossy compression creates a tradeoff between the bit rate of the compressed samples and the distortion in the decompressed samples.

Compression and storage of projection data in a computed tomography system


A semiconductor chip testing method includes: (a) testing the electrical characteristics of each of semiconductor chips in the form of wafers or in the form of chips formed on a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers having certain relationship, and determining if the semiconductor chip is non-defective or defective; (b) calculating a percentage of semiconductor chips determined to be defective as a fraction defective for each of wafer addresses based on determination results about the semiconductor chips on the predetermined number of semiconductor wafers, the wafer addresses indicating the respective positions of the semiconductor chips on the semiconductor wafers; and (c) changing a determination result about a semiconductor chip determined to be non-defective to defective, the semiconductor chip being at a wafer address determined to have a fraction defective at a threshold or higher than the threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor chip testing method and a semiconductor chip testing device required to provide high reliability.
2. Description of the Background Art
A conventional semiconductor chip testing device used to test a plurality of semiconductor chips on a semiconductor wafer determines if various electrical characteristics of the semiconductor chips are non-defective or defective according to a range of specifications required in terms of application (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-86833 (1996), for example).
If there is a crystal defect in a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter also called a wafer) or if there is an abnormality in a processing device for manufacturing semiconductor, electrical characteristics are easily determined to be defective in a particular position on the wafer. If a defect generated in such a particular position is a tiny defect and cannot be detected in terms of electrical characteristics of a semiconductor chip, the conventional semiconductor chip testing device determines that this semiconductor chip is non-defective. This results in a problem in that the conventional semiconductor chip testing device in fact has allowed shipment of a semiconductor chip (hereinafter also called a chip) with a defect.

Semiconductor chip testing method and semiconductor chip testing device


A cartridge case having locking notches in both of its side faces is guided by guide rails when it is loaded into an information recording/reproducing apparatus. The cartridge case is locked in its prescribed loaded position by clampers which push the case from both sides thereof. Each clamper has a truncated-cone-shaped roller which is urged by a spring toward the center line of the apparatus and which pushes the insertion-side bottom edge of the locking notch.

The present invention relates to a cartridge loading device and, more particularly, to a cartridge loading device for loading a cartridge, which includes a case having locking notches at the front bottom portions of both of its side faces, an information recording tape wound around a pair of reels, and a drive roller (driven by the drive unit) for rotating the reels, into an information recording/reproducing apparatus having a drive unit.
Apparatuses such as a tape recorder and a data recorder, in which information is written in and read from an information recording tape (magnetic tape, etc.) incorporated in a cartridge, include a cartridge loading device for loading the cartridge into the main body of the apparatus. The cartridge under consideration is constituted as shown in FIGS. 9-11(b). The cartridge, in which the information recording tape is housed, is called a "data cartridge", for example.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the whole appearance of a data cartridge 5. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the front portion of the data cartridge 5. Side faces of a case 4 of the cartridge 5 have guide grooves 41a and 41b, and locking notches 42a and 42b (notch 42b not shown in the figure) formed in the front portions of the bottom walls of the guide grooves 41a and 41b. The case 44 has, on its front side, openings 44c and 44d adjacent to each other, and the opening 44d is provided with a cover 43. The peripheral surface of a drive roller 45 provided in the case 44 is exposed from the opening 44c. The cover 43 is rotatably supported at the front corner of the case 44. The cover 43 is normally closed to prevent dust from entering the case 44. When an end 43a of the cover 43 is pushed to swing the cover 43 open as shown in FIG. 10, the information recording tape (hereinafter simply called "tape") 46 is exposed from the opening 44d.
The interior of the cartridge 5 is constituted as shown in FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b). A pair of reels 47 and 48, the drive roller 45 and a pair of guide rollers 49 and 50 are rotatably supported by respective shafts in the case 44. The tape 46 runs from the reel 47 to reel 48 and vice versa through tension rollers 51 and 52. A drive belt 53 is wound on the drive roller 45 and the guide rollers 49 and 50, and pressed against the respective outermost turns of the tape 46 wound around the reels 47 and 48. When the drive roller 45 is rotated to move the drive belt 53, the drive belt 53 applies tangential forces to respective portions 46a and 46b of the tape 46 around the reels 47 and 48 to rotate the reels 47 and 48 in the same direction, winding the tape 46 from one of the reels 47 and 48 to the other through the tension rollers 51 and 52. It is understood that, in the cartridge 5 of the above type, the tape 46 provided therein is driven by applying torque to the drive roller 45.
FIG. 12 shows the typical appearance of an apparatus such as a data recorder, which has a built-in tape drive unit, and into which the cartridge 5 is loaded. An insertion opening 102 is formed in the front face of the main body 100 of the apparatus, and a cover 104 for the opening 102 is coupled to the apparatus main body 100 with a hinge at its upper portion. When the data cartridge 5 is inserted through the insertion opening 102 the cover 104 is pushed by the case 44 of the cartridge 5 and is thereby opened. When the cartridge 5 is pulled out of the main body 100, the cover 104 is automatically closed.
A cartridge loading device is disposed in the apparatus main body 100 together with the drive unit for driving the tape 46 in the cartridge 5.
The operational principle of a conventional cartridge loading device for the above cartridge 5 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 13(a)-13(c).
As shown in FIG. 13(a), an arm 111 is rotatably supported by a shaft 112 disposed under a loading space 110 into which the cartridge 5 is loaded. A rotatable roller 113 is provided at one end of the arm 111, and a spring 114 for urging the arm 111 downward is connected to the arm 111 at the other end.
The cartridge 5 is inserted through the insertion opening 102 of the apparatus main body 100, and then moves along the loading space 110. When the cartridge 5 has come to the vicinity of its final loaded position, the case 44 of the cartridge 5 advances while pushing down the roller 113, as shown in FIG. 13(b). At that time, the roller 113 is kept in contact with the bottom face of the case 44 by means of the pulling force of the spring 114. When the cartridge 5 has moved to its final loaded position, it is pushed at the edge of the locking notch 42a by the roller 113 due to the pulling force of the spring 114 as shown in FIG. 13(c), so that the cartridge 5 is pushed both upward and forward and locked in the apparatus main body 100.
It is noted that a loading mechanism similar to the one shown in FIG. 13(a) is provided on the opposite side in association with the locking notch 42b.
On the other hand, in the unloading operation, first the bottom face of the case 44 rides onto the roller 113, and then the cartridge 5 retreats along the loading space 110 to be pulled out of the insertion opening 102 of the apparatus main body 100.
However, the conventional cartridge loading device of the above type has a problem that it is difficult to reduce the thickness or height of the apparatus in which the loading device is incorporated. This is because the cartridge-locking mechanism including the arm 111, roller 113 and spring 114 is provided under the loading space 110, and the cartridge 5 is pushed up from its underside by a pushing member such as the roller 113.

Cartridge loading device having side-locking mechanism


An absorber of steering column shock energy includes a plastically deformable part forming a loop, a breakaway link closing this loop on itself, and a first attachment interface and a second attachment interface separate from the breakaway link and arranged on either side of the loop. The part and the fusible link are arranged so that the exertion of forces in opposite directions on the first attachment interface and on the second attachment interface respectively, causes a stress leading to a deformation of the loop, breaking of the breakaway link and further deformation of the loop after this break.

The steering column amongst other things maintains the position of the steering wheel in the vehicle. In an accident, the driver may strike the steering wheel. The steering wheel then needs to move toward the dashboard so as not to injure the driver. This movement needs to occur under a controlled force so as to manage the absorption of energy during the impact.
Present-day motor vehicles are, for the most part, equipped with a system for absorbing energy in the event of an impact, notably of the driver against the steering wheel. Depending on the configuration of the vehicle, the automotive manufacturer sometimes requires this control to comprise first of all a high force to set the steering wheel in motion, followed by a lower force as the steering wheel covers the travel of its movement. The difficulty then is in managing this high force at the start of the crash.
Most known devices involve adding a breakaway element which will then break at the beginning of the impact and thus create a high short-lift force. The disadvantage is that this breakaway element requires a specific operation for assembling the breakaway element on the sliding components of the steering column.
Other known systems work by the interaction between a specific shape of an impact absorber member formed of a plastically deformable strip and of another component of the column in order to create this peak force. One disadvantage is that the peak force is dependent on the tolerances and the fitting-together between the two components; and so the tolerance on the force generated is then difficult to control.
In addition, the fitting-together of various components leads to proximities which may generate noisiness as a result of vibrations in the vehicle.

Steering column impact energy absorber, with loop closed by a breakaway link

Robert Bosch Automotive Steering Vendome


A structure and a manufacturing method providing improved coplanarity accommodation and heat dissipation in a multi-chip module. One of the components in a multi-chip module (MCM) is provided with a recess formed in its respective top surface; and a film is applied so as to cover the top surfaces of the components and so that any excess film can enter into the recess. The recess is preferably a peripheral groove. Then when molding material is injected, it may surround and seal the side surfaces of the components, while not substantially covering the top surfaces that are covered by the film. Since the recess receives any excess film material that may be present, it may prevent such excess film material from covering the respective side surfaces of the corresponding component and creating a void between the component and the molding material. This advantageous effect of the invention is particularly useful when the top component surface in which the recess is formed is higher above the circuit substrate than the respective top surface of another one of the components.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-chip modules and more particularly to a structure providing improved coplanarity accommodation and heat dissipation in a multi-chip module.
2. Background Art
Ser. No. 10/620,029 (IR-2241) and Ser. No. 60/576,766 (IR-2790 PROV) disclose several embodiments of a multi-chip module (MCM), including a conductive element which serves as an electrical connector for electrically connecting respective electrical contacts on at least two power semiconductor devices. In addition to serving as an input or output connector, the conductive element improves heat transfer from the power semiconductor devices through the top of the module. This type of MCM is referred to commercially as a T-PAC™ module by its manufacturer, the International Rectifier Corporation.
One of those embodiments is the T-PAC module 54 shown in FIG. 1. A conductive element 56 bridges over and electrically connects respective contacts on a conventional MOSFET 30 and a flip-chip MOSFET 42 with its web portion 60. The conductive element 56 may be made of copper or another heat-conductive metal such as Au, Ag, Sn, Ti, brass, Ni or Al. A connector 64 connects the web portion 60 to a printed circuit board 40. The connector 64 may optionally be disposed between the two MOSFETS 30, 42 rather than in the position shown.
In more detail, a top surface of the web portion 60 of the conductive element 56 is exposed to the exterior of the T-PAC module 54, which improves heat dissipation from the MOSFETs 30, 42 through the top of the module. The above components are placed in a mold and resin is injected, forming a molded housing 58, disposed around and between the conductive element 56, its connector 64, the conventional MOSFET 30, and the flip-chip MOSFET 42. The resin is not, however, molded over the top of the conductive element 56.
A typical layout of an MCM (multi-chip module) 55 is shown in plan view in FIG. 2. In this example, the MCM 55 contains only the one T-PAC module 54. As shown, additional components C1, C2, C3 and C4 may be disposed on the circuit board along with the T-PAC module 54 and within the molding 58. Additional layouts are shown in Ser. No. 60/576,766 (IR-2790 PROV).
A problem in this technology is that the components within an MCM module, which may include one or more T-PAC module(s), may differ in height. The presence of a tall T-PAC module in the mold may cause resin to flow in the mold over the top of a shorter T-PAC module, which is undesirable since the tops of the T-PAC modules should remain exposed.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the MCM 55 in FIG. 2 as seen during an intermediate manufacturing step. A T-PAC module 54 containing components such as switching components, passive components or MOSFETs as seen for example in FIG. 1 is disposed at the center of the printed circuit board 40, while other components C1 and C4 are disposed on other portions of the printed circuit board 40.
A lead frame or another type of substrate may be substituted for the printed circuit board 40.
Before forming the molding 58, a compliant plastic film 70 is applied over the tops of the module 54, the component C1 and the component C4, thus sealing off the tops of the components while compensating for the height differences between the respective components. The film 70 prevents mold compound from flowing over the top of any component. The film may be any high temperature plastic film, such as Kapton. The resin molding material 58 is applied thereafter, after which the film 70 is removed.
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show the molding process. In this example, three T-PAC modules 54, 54a, 54b are disposed on the board 40. The film 70 is pressed onto the assembly of the modules and the board by tools 62, 64, and more particularly by a spring-loaded plate 66 on the tool 62, while the plastic molding compound is injected around the modules.
This molding arrangement successfully prevents mold compound from flowing over the tops of the components. However, it has been found that if the top surface of the conductive element 56 of a T-PAC 54 is excessively high above the printed circuit board 40, excess film material may spill over and form protrusions 57 at the sides of the conductive element, as shown in FIG. 3. Then, when the molding material 58 is added, these protrusions may prevent the resin material from reaching the conductive element, forming a void between the material and the conductive element which reduces the structural integrity and strength of the MCM and its resistance to environmental hazards.

High power MCM package with improved planarity and heat dissipation