Disclosed herein is a control system for enabling use of wireless telephones. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each one of the wireless telephones are a prepaid wireless telephone associated with one of a plurality of carrier systems having disparate communication protocols. The control system receives a request having transaction information from a client system and processes the request in accordance with stored procedures corresponding with the associated carrier system. The control system sends the request to the carrier system to case usage of the prepaid wireless telephone to be enabled.

Prepaid wireless telephones are typically activated by a carrier of airtime minutes or a reseller thereof, and a user may initiate the activation process by calling the reseller. The caller typically provides the reseller with certain information over the phone relating to the activation process, such as the identity of the caller, the electronic serial number of the prepaid wireless telephone being activated, etc. Each carrier is typically associated with at least two distinct business entities, each of which have their own outdated infrastructures. To activate the prepaid wireless telephone, the reseller must typically undertake a lengthy, burdensome process, whereby a customer service representative places the caller's telephone call on hold, calls a first business to facilitate a provisioning process, and then calls another business to facilitate the process of loading airtime minutes onto an account associated with the prepaid wireless telephone being activated. Compounding these inefficiencies, the various carriers and prepaid wireless telephones utilize disparate communication protocols (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc.), which increases the burden on the reseller.
What is needed in the art is a better system and method for enabling use of the prepaid wireless telephone that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

Control system for enabling use of wireless telephones


An Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS) module time synchronization method and device using system time information in a mobile terminal that perform time synchronization using system frame information and a GPS module operation period in a process of searching for the position of a terminal using the AGPS module in an asynchronous mobile communication system. Accordingly, the GPS module operation period is set to be greater than the system frame period so that GPS system time can be immediately seen when an arbitrary GPS tick interrupt is operated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS) module time synchronization method and device, and more particularly to a method and a device for synchronizing AGPS module time using system time information in a mobile terminal of an asynchronous mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system that is a synchronous mobile communication system performs time synchronization between the system and a mobile terminal using a Pseudo random Noise (PN) sequence where one period is 26.66667 ms to accomplish the time synchronization. The mobile terminal in such a CDMA mobile communication system generates an interrupt signal referred to as a PN roll every period of the PN sequence. Further, such a PN roll interrupt is divided into three phases composed of phases 0, 1 and 2, and the phase of the PN roll is continuously repeated in an order of 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, . . . . The three phases of the PN roll signal currently correspond to 80 ms.
In a case where a GPS module is operated in the asynchronous mobile communication system in which the time synchronization is performed using such a PN sequence, the terminal generates a GPS_sync signal for enabling an AGPS module while tuning it to the phase 0 of the PN roll to produce a GPS tick that is a referential signal of the AGPS module. The GPS tick is a signal that becomes a reference of a GPS module operation and is generated periodically. The GPS tick is synchronized with the PN roll signal of the system through the aforementioned operation. Referring to FIG. 1, a GPS tick period is set as 16 ms. In this case, five GPS ticks correspond to 80 ms, and thus, a GPS tick corresponding to a multiple of five is accorded with the PN roll interrupt.
A process of synchronizing AGPS module time in a synchronous CDMA terminal of the CDMA system that is a synchronous mobile communication system will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1. Hereinafter, AGPS and GPS will not be described since they are distinguished from each other but are described as having the same meaning.
First, CDMA system time can be seen through the synchronous CDMA terminal every PN roll interrupt. Further, when operating the GPS module, the terminal generates a GPS_sync signal to synchronize a GPS tick with the PN roll. Thus, if the GPS module reads time of the previous PN roll to correct offset time of the PN roll and the GPS tick when the GPS tick is generated, the CDMA system time of the current GSP tick can be seen.
Referring to FIG. 1, since there exist two GPS ticks in each of the phases 0 and 1 of a PN roll, it is difficult to correct the offset time. Thus, in a case where the position of the terminal is obtained using the GPS module with two PN roll phases, such as A and B, each of which exists as one GPS tick in the phase while corresponding thereto, the GPS module synchronizes GPS system time.
Accordingly, the GPS module identifies whether the phase of the CDMA PN roll is the phase 2 every periodic GPS tick. The GPS module maintains a standby status until a time point when the CDMA PN roll becomes the phase 2. Thereafter, if the PN roll phase identified in the GPS tick is the phase 2, the GPS module reads the CDMA system time of the previous PN roll to correct an offset between the PN roll and the GPS tick in the time, so the CDMA system time in the correspondent GPS tick can be obtained.
The CDMA system time obtained in such a manner is then used as GPS time information for receiving GPS information from a GPS satellite in the GPS module, and the accuracy of the system time determines the size of GPS search space (code space).
The degree of instability of GPS time that is CDMA system time in a correspondent GPS tick is generally about 10 to 30 microseconds (μs) in the synchronous CDMA system described above. However, if a module for measuring a position is synchronized with GPS time in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) that is an asynchronous system, the accuracy of the time is a few tens of μs or so, which is equal to CDMA. Otherwise, the accuracy may be 10 ms or more. As such, the system time obtained when the accuracy is 10 ms or more cannot determine a search interval.
Meanwhile, after the GPS module has been enabled, time up to the first phase 2 takes about 80 ms. Thus, the GPS module can be synchronized with the CDMA system time after at most 80 ms from when the GPS module has been enabled.
As described above, when the AGPS module is executed in the synchronous mobile system, a time synchronization method has difficulty in applying to the new UMTS system. Further, the GPS module can perform the time synchronization after standing by for the PN roll of the phase 2 from when the GPS tick has been initially generated. As such, the GPS module should stand by for at most 80 ms until a time point of the PN roll of the phase 2 as described above. However, since 80 ms is time close to 10% of general GPS operation time in the terminal, it may influence the performance of the terminal. That is, there is caused a problem in that Time To First Fix (TTFF) of a GPS takes a long time. Accordingly, a new time synchronization method is needed, which is appropriate when the AGPS module is executed in the asynchronous mobile communication system.

AGPS module time synchronization method and device using system time information in mobile terminal


A merchandise hanger includes a coupling member and a support interface member. The coupling member includes a cross component, a latch component, and a flexible strap. The cross component includes an elongated panel and a track section, wherein the elongated panel defines latch-receiving apertures. The latch component includes an elongated plate and opposing hooks extending from the elongated plate. The flexible strap extends from the cross component to the latch component. The coupling member folds about the flexible strap to move the opposing hooks of the latch component into alignment with the latch-receiving apertures of the cross component. The opposing hooks are configured to move through the latch-receiving apertures to couple the cross component to the latch component. The support interface member is slidably received within the track section of the coupling member and is configured to slidably transition between a storage position and a hanging position.

Pictures, picture frames (oftentimes including pictures), artwork, and similar products are generally packaged and transported in cardboard packaging, which allows viewing of the products while at the same time protecting the edges and corners of the products from damage. Whether or not such products are wrapped in cardboard packing, the size and weight of such products has created difficulties in effectively displaying these products in a retail setting. The products are often stacked on the floor or placed on a shelf for viewing by potential consumers.
In other instances, the products are hung from retail supports to be viewed by potential consumers. When the products are hung, hangers or other mechanisms facilitating such hanging often protrude from the edges of the products. These protrusions create awkwardly sized products to pack and ship, which, in turn, increases expenses generally associated with packing and shipping the associated products.

Merchandise hanger, associated assemblies, and methods


A modular article of footwear has a shock absorbing insert placed between the insole and the outsole thereof, for example at the heel. The insert includes a spring carrier having upper and lower portions, each having a plurality seats for receiving a respective ends of respective coil springs. Each of the springs extends between said upper and lower portions and is captured therebetween. A pair of opposed permanent magnets generates a separating force which supplements the supporting force of the mechanical springs. The insert may also contain a device for converting mechanical energy to electrical energy.

This invention relates to shock absorbing footwear.
Numerous footwear inventions have been proposed for absorbing shock and adding lift, particularly in the athletic shoe field. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,304 describes footwear with a cushioning sole structure in which a sealed internal member in the sole is inflated with gas to form a resilient insert in the heel region of the shoe. Various shoe structures have also been proposed in which springs are embedded in the shoe sole in the heel region or over the entire sole. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,502,901, 5,138,776, 4,566,206, and 4,592,153. Some of these structures are bulky and heavy, or cannot effectively be manufactured. My own patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,502,901 and 7,213,350) describe improvements over those prior patents.
One problem with prior shock absorbing footwear, including my own, is that the characteristics of the shock absorber, particularly including the load capacity, cannot be easily adjusted.

Quick change shock mitigation outsole insert with energy harvester


A cable sold device 10 comprises a top portion 14 and a base portion 12 which are connected with each other via a hinge 15 and define a space 18 for accommodating at least one cable C. The movement of the at least one cable C in the space 18 is restricted while the top portion 14 and the base portion 12 are closed with respect to each other. Further, an apparatus 500 for introducing the cables C into a grommet 6 comprises the cable hold device 510, a grommet hold device 510 for holding the grommet 6 substantially in line with the cables C, and an actuation mechanism 520 for causing a relative movement of the grommet hold device 510 with respect to the cable hold device 10.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the assembly of one or more cables with a part such as a connector or a grommet into or through which one or more cables are to be inserted or passed through. In particular, the invention is directed to the assembly of a wiring harness comprising at least one connector, one grommet, one cable and a sleeve or tube surrounding the cable. The invention provides a cable hold device, an apparatus and a method for inserting and/or passing at least one cable into and/or through a part such as a grommet or connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 6-88127 shows a known device with which a plurality of cables can be simultaneously passed through a grommet. This known device comprises a holding tool for holding the grommet, a wire positioning portion comprising a wire pressing portion for restraining the wires on the wire aligning table. The pressing portion is openable and closable. An operating lever is provided so that the grommet holding tool can be pushed towards and away from the wire positioning portion.
One of the problems inherent to this known device is a risk of damaging the cables, in particular the coating which surrounds the conductors making up the cables, in that there is a risk of scratching and/or deforming, in particular, bending the cables during their insertion or passage through the grommet. The grommet is also susceptible to damage.
An object of the invention is to provide a cable hold device which can surely prevent any damage and/or deformation to the held cable and/or grommet.
It is another object of the invention to provide a cable hold device capable of handling a tube, sleeve or sheath surrounding the one or more cables.
It is another object of the invention to provide a cable hold device which allows proper positioning of the one or more held cables.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a cable hold device which allows automation and which enhances the ease of use when one or more cables are to be held.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus for inserting and/or passing at least one cable into and/or through a part such as a grommet or connector having holes for accommodating or for inserting and/or passing at least one cable, which apparatus is able to prevent any damage and/or deformation of the cable and/or grommet.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for inserting and/or passing at least one cable into and/or through a part such as grommet or connector which allows easy handling, automation and/or enhanced reliability.
Further, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of inserting and/or passing at least one cable into and/or through a part such as a grommet or connector which prevents any damage or deformation of the one or more cables.
Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide a method which allows automation, enhanced reliability and/or with which production rate can be enhanced.

Cable hold device, apparatus and method for introducing cables into a part


Methods, devices, and systems for creating a virtual machine are provided. In particular, a mechanism is provided which allows the automated creation of a virtual machine based on attributes of an existing physical machine. This allows for an efficient and user-friendly way of transitioning a physical machine or set of machines to a virtual machine architecture.

Many virtualized platforms use the Open Virtualization Format (OVF) specification, created by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) to control installation of a template. A template is a collection of virtual machine images and a descriptor (an OVF file) that specifies, in machine code, how to create virtual machines. The creation of OVF files has traditionally been a manual process requiring a user to interface with the OVF creator, which has been traditionally deployed as an application operating on a general-purpose computing device. Unfortunately, the manual process requires detailed knowledge of OVF and is error-prone. Particularly, a system administrator having specialized knowledge of both the OVF and the physical systems which are being migrated to virtual machines is required. Even a system administrator with the requisite knowledge to manually create an OVF file may still accidentally enter an incorrect value, resulting in the creation of a potentially flawed virtual machine.
Some solutions have been developed to address this issue. For example, Citrix provides a solution named "Kensho OVF Tool" which is essentially a graphical wizard which guides a user through the OVF-creation process. While this solution does provide a step toward automation of the OVF-creation process, a significant amount of user involvement is still required, thereby exposing the process to user error.
What is needed is a completely automated system for creating virtual machines and transitioning physical machines into virtual representations thereof.

Generation of open virtualization framework package for solution installations and upgrades


A tibial alignment device includes an upper part for coupling with a tibial cutting guide and a lower part coupled to the upper part to be vertically slidable, wherein the upper part includes a cutting guide coupling part configured to mount the tibial cutting guide, and a connection part to connect the upper part and the lower part, and the lower part includes an ankle forceps part, wherein the cutting guide coupling part includes a fastening member for coupling to the tibial cutting guide, and a reception member to slidably receive the fastening member, wherein the fastening member includes a coupling part that protrudes to be coupled to the tibial cutting guide, the reception member includes a coupling part that protrudes to be coupled to the tibial cutting guide, and the coupling part of the fastening member is capable of adjusting a gap with respect to the coupling part of the reception member.

A knee joint is a joint formed by a femur, a tibia, and a patella, which are the three bones surrounding the knee, and corresponds to a key joint related to movements using legs, such as walking or running using joint movements and supporting the weight of a person.
An articular cartilage is present at the end of a femur, and a meniscus is present at the end of a tibia. When the cartilage is damaged due to extreme exercise, aging, or the like, bones may come into direct contact with each other, which may cause severe pain.
Total knee arthroplasty is a surgery in which a part of a femur and a tibia is incised and an artificial knee joint is inserted when a knee joint is damaged. A surgical procedure for an artificial knee joint is performed by connecting a femur joint member to the end of the femur, fixedly inserting a tibia element into the end of the tibia, and installing a bearing member thereon. In such an artificial knee replacement surgery, accurate osteotomy of a damaged knee is very important in order to prevent side effects after surgery and to extend the life of the replaced artificial knee.
Accordingly, during a total knee arthroplasty, before cutting a proximal tibia portion of a subject to be treated, a rod-shaped tibial alignment assembly, the length of which is adjustable, is fixed to an ankle of the subject to be treated at one side thereof and a tibial cutting guide is fixed to the other side of the tibial alignment assembly, and is compared with the proximal tibia of a subject to be treated so as to determine an accurate cutting surface.
The tibia alignment device needs to be configured such that the length thereof is accurately adjustable according to a subject to be treated, which is directly connected to the accuracy and effectiveness of a surgical procedure. In addition, the tibial alignment device should be configured to be easily coupled to and separated from the tibial cutting guide to ensure ease of the surgical procedure and to perform an accurate and safe surgical procedure by preventing collision between surgical instruments so as to maintain aligned positions thereof.
However, the prior art has problems in that it is difficult to assemble or disassemble the tibial alignment device to and from a cutting guide, and in that it is difficult to finely adjust an alignment length. Specifically, in the case of existing instruments, since the radius or path of assembly and disassembly between the tibial cutting guide and the tibial alignment device is limited to a straight line, it is difficult to secure ease of the surgery procedure due to the difficulty in detaching and attaching of devices during surgery. In particular, due to the narrow disassembly radius of the tibial alignment device, collisions occur between other surgical instruments during disassembly, resulting in a problem in that the positions of the surgical instruments aligned to provide information on a cutting surface are disturbed or coupling is released. As a result, surgery is inaccurately performed, the deterioration of the treatment effect and pain of the patient are caused, and in severe cases, reoperation is required, resulting in time and economic loss to a subject to be treated.
In addition, the conventional tibial alignment device uses a bolt or a rachet in a portion for adjusting the length of the alignment rod. However, due to the pitch of the screw or a unit interval of grooves in the rachet, it is difficult to accurately adjust a height, resulting in problems related to accurate procedure, ease of surgery, operation progress, and pain and financial burden of a patient in a total knee arthroplasty.
In addition, cleaning of surgical instruments is important for safety reasons such as infection, and thus the instruments should be designed to have high cleanability. However, the conventional tibia alignment device does not have a separate cleaning groove in an ankle forceps part (ankle clamp) that is directly coupled to an ankle portion of a subject to be treated, and has various components coupled to each other. Thus, cleaning is not easily performed in gaps where washing water has difficulty in reaching, and there is a risk of bacterial infection due to incomplete cleaning.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,758,354 B2 discloses a tibial alignment device illustrated in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the tibial alignment device is a device for providing information on an accurate cutting surface during tibia proximal cutting.
However, as pointed out above, since the conventional tibial alignment device described above is assembled to or disassembled from the tibial cutting guide only in the direction of a straight line, it is difficult to detach or attach the tibial alignment device and to smoothly remove the tibial cutting guide, and the tibial alignment device collides with other instruments during the surgical procedure. In addition, since the part that adjusts the coupling length of an upper rod (proximal rod) and a lower rod (distal rod) is configured in the form of a rachet, it is difficult to accurately adjust the length. In addition, the ankle forceps part (ankle clamp) also does not have structures such as a cleaning groove that facilitates cleaning of the device before and after surgery, so it is not possible to assure a safe procedure free of infection by bacteria or the like.
Therefore, the necessity of introducing a tibial alignment device is increasing, wherein the tibial alignment device is easily assembled to and disassembled from a tibial cutting guide, enables accurate height adjustment, and facilitates cleaning of the ankle forceps part so that an accurate and safe total knee arthroplasty can be performed.

Tibial alignment device and unit thereof


The present invention relates to a light-emitting diode (LED) lighting fixture, which comprises a radiator, a housing and an LED module mounted at the bottom of the radiator, and further comprises a lamp holder being fixed on the top of the radiator and running through the housing, an elastic element clamped between the lamp holder and the housing, and a lamp shade encircling the LED module. The radiator includes a chassis, a body extended upwards from the chassis, and a plurality of radiating fins; one side of the radiator close to the bottom is provided with a recess.

In a lighting fixture in the prior art, a lamp body tends to be fixed on an outer frame by screws or rivets. But the screw fixing means requires a plurality of parts such as screws, nuts and washers and hence has the defects of cumbersome installation, easy falling after repeated assembly and disassembly, and safety hazards. The rivet riveting means requires riveting equipment and larger operating space for stretching and riveting, is hard to disassemble the lighting fixture after riveting, and hence is very inconvenient.

Light-emitting diode (LED) lighting fixture

DONGGUAN JIASHENG LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An electronic circuit with at least one active electronic component (10) and a delay element connected to the component. The delay element comprises an electric conductor (13, 18) which is composed of a conductive material on an insulating layer (14) such that the conductor""s capacitive coupling to the surrounding becomes low. The conductor (13, 18) is drawn such that its inductance is minimized. The electronic component (10) and conductor (13, 18) are integrated in an integrated circuit. The delay element can be used in an oscillator coupling or in an electronically controlled antenna. In the oscillator coupling the electronic component (10) comprises an inverter coupling (11) with an input (11) and an output (12). The conductor (13) is provided to connect input (11) with output (12), thus creating an oscillator. The electronically controlled antenna comprises a receiver (17) and a number of antenna elements (16) connected to the receiver (17). Individual antenna elements (16) are connected to the receiver (17) via automatically selectable delay elements (18) such that electric signals from different antenna elements (16) are differentially delayed dependent on the position of the antenna elements in relation to the impinging electromagnetic wave fronts.

The invention relates to an electronic circuit with at least one active. electronic component and a delay element connected to the component.
In many different types of electronic circuits, components or configurations with a certain time constant or delay are used. In electronic circuits which are realized in integrated form there-are delay components separated from the other components. An example of such an electronic circuit is the oscillator.
A well-known way to set up an oscillator is to feed back a gate circuit with an inverter function, for example a simple inverter, via some form of time delay. The time delay can be implemented in various ways, for example by special delay circuits.
In applications where high working frequencies are used, and particularly when the requirements of a frequency-stable oscillator are high, a crystal oscillator is used instead. An exactly embodied crystal oscillates mechanically at a well-defined and stable frequency, and the mechanical oscillation is converted to an electric oscillation.
A problem with use of crystal oscillators is that they are relatively large. In connection with certain types of integrated circuits this becomes a problem in that a special circuit must be used with the oscillator or a crystal must be connected from outside the integrated circuit.
With known oscillators the delay that arises in RC networks normally is used, i.e., electrical networks with both resistance and capacitance.
Within higher frequency ranges antennas for transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals are used with a special embodiment for exploiting signals for: strong directional effects. The currently most common type of antenna in this connection is the parabolic antenna. So-called electronically controlled antennas or phase array antennas are becoming more common.
A phase array antenna incorporates a group of identical radiation elements. By controlled feeding of the elements by means of a conductor network so that they act in phase, an electromagnetic beam with good directionality can be achieved. The conductor network can also incorporate electronically controlled phase inverters and possibly amplifiers, one for each element, by means of which the direction of the beam can be varied without need of mechanically moveable components.
The electronically controlled phase inverters are complicated and expensive instruments, and for that reason this type of antenna has not enjoyed great commercial success. Another factor which limits the use of this type of antenna is the frequency dependency of the phase inverters. The foremost area of use for the phase array antenna is within the radar area.
One purpose of the invention is to produce an electronic circuit that can be embodied in a simple manner and that can be combined with other circuits in an integrated form. This purpose is achieved by inclusion in the invention of the special features cited in Claim 1.
According to one aspect of the invention an oscillator has been achieved that is realizable in all components in integrated form. According to another aspect of the invention an electronically controlled antenna has been achieved that lacks the disadvantages of the phase inverters. The purpose is achieved by the fact that electronic signals from individual antenna elements are differentially delayed dependent on the position of the antenna elements in relation to the impinging electromagnetic wave fronts. Emanating from one matrix of the antenna elements that are distributed across a surface, the signals can be selectively delayed from individual antenna elements and thus affect the direction in which the antenna will be sensitive. The delay is preferably produced in integrated circuits, which are provided in connection with the antenna elements. According to one embodiment an installation of conductors of different length is provided between the antenna elements and a receiving unit. A conductor of a certain length is switched on by a control unit dependent on the position of the antenna element in relation to an impinging wave front of an electromagnetic wave. The given position affects the detectable characteristics of the electric signals that are received. The installation of conductors and the control unit are joined with other electronic components in a cell unit.
The following description, drawings, and dependent patent claims explicate further advantages and special features of the invention.

Integrated electronic circuit comprising an oscillator with passive circuit elements


A system and method are provided for maximum likelihood estimation in a channel receiving data with inter-symbol interference (ISI). The method receives a serial stream of digital information bits. Decisions are made concerning the received information bit values, which the method accepts as processed information, with soft decisions (SDs) and corresponding initial hard decisions (HDs). The method then identifies a sequence of processed information in a correction matrix, and uses the correction matrix to cross-reference the sequence to a HD look-up value. In response to accessing the HD look-up value, a modified HD is created. The modified HD is decoded, for example, by using forward error correction (FEC), creating a decoded HD. The method compares the decoded HD to the initial HD, and updates the correction matrix HD look-up value in response to the comparison.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to digital communications and, more particularly, to a system and method for minimizing the effects of inter-symbol interference in a data channel of binary coded information, in real-time, using a constantly updated history of corrected bit decisions.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a signal recovered from a binary symmetric, non-dispersive channel in the presence of noise (prior art). Conventionally, the signal is filtered with a transfer function matched to the signaling waveform and thresholded at the voltage level most likely to yield the transmitted bit. To recover the transmitted information, a hard decision must be made on the value of the received bit.
As a function of the filtering process, and sometimes as a result of the transmission process, pulse spreading occurs. That is, the energy associated with a bit spreads to neighboring bits. For small degrees of spreading these effects can be limited to the nearest neighbors with modest degradation in performance.
Three basic types of pulse spreading exist. The first possibility is that both the neighboring bits are a zero (no neighboring bits are a one). The second possibility is that only one of the neighboring bits (either the preceding or subsequent bit) is a one. Alternately stated, only one of the neighboring bits is a zero. The third possibility is that both neighboring bits are one. For each of these cases the likelihood of error in determining a bit value can be minimized if different thresholds are used for different bit combinations.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating received analog waveforms that are part of a serial data stream of digitally encoded data, where the waveforms are distorted in response to the inter-symbol interference resulting from energy dispersion (prior art). The value at the output of the filter varies with each bit, and is essentially a random process, due to the non-deterministic nature of the information, and scrambling that is often used in the transmission of data streams. However, received bits can be characterized with probability density functions (PDFs), as shown. Without knowledge of the neighboring bits, a single probability density function could be extracted that represents the random behavior of the input over all conditions and all sequences. However, conditional probability density functions can be defined for the three cases mentioned above. Namely, probability density functions can be defined for the cases where there are zero neighboring ones, only one neighboring one, and two neighboring ones.
If the bit value decision process could be made using the knowledge of the decision made on the preceding decoded bit, and with a measurement of a subsequent decoded bit, then the corresponding probability density function could be selected to make a more accurate decision on the current bit decision. However, the cost and accuracy of conventional analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion circuits make such a solution impractical.
The degree of dispersion exhibited by a channel, and hence the separation of the conditional probability density functions, varies in response to a number of fixed and variable factors. Effective dispersion mitigation techniques must therefore be easily optimized to the channel and somewhat adaptive to changes in the channel due to aging, temperature changes, reconfiguration, and other possible influences.
There are numerous algorithms and techniques to find the optimum sampling time in a digital communication system. Peak detection with match-filter and early-late gate sampling are two techniques used widely for capturing sampling times. A general early-late gating scheme requires zero-crossing in the waveform. Peak detection match-filter approach is optimum when the channel and the transmitter characteristics are well known. However, early-late gating is difficult to apply if the zero-crossing is unknown. Further, peak detection is not effective without prior knowledge of the transmitter and/or channel characteristics.
It would be advantageous if inter-symbol interference caused by energy dispersion in a received data channel could be minimized.
It would be advantageous if a non-causal channel analysis could be used to minimize the effects of inter-symbol interference, in real-time, based on an analysis history of corrected bit decisions.


A connector which connects an IC card to a corresponding information input/output unit without cable and can be removed as needed has a structure in which a plurality of U-shaped conductive pieces formed of a sheet metal are fixed to a rectangular-rod-like insulating block. Each conductive piece has a central portion fixed to a corresponding notched portion formed in a side surface of the insulating block, a first contact portion extending from the central portion in one direction and bent at an almost right angle along the lower surface of the insulating block, and a second contact portion extending from the central portion in an opposite direction, held to be elastically deformed in a groove formed in the upper surface of the insulating block, and including an end portion projecting from the upper surface. As an embodiment, the following structure is disclosed. A pair of projection portions are formed on both the sides of the central portion of the conductive piece, the projection portions are bent so as to form a U shape having a bottom as the central portion, and the bent projection portions are fitted in the respective holes formed in the corresponding notched portion of the insulating block, so as to fix each conductive piece to the insulating block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector which can connect pairs of electrodes opposite to each other with a predetermined distance to each other without use of a cable and which can be removed from a portion between the electrodes as needed. More particularly, the invention relates to the structure of a connector for connecting an information input/output electrode arranged on a so-called IC card incorporated with an integrated circuit chip to a corresponding electrode arranged on a baseboard exposed inside an apparatus into which the IC card is mounted during an information inputting/outputting operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The technical background of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8B. A connector used to satisfy the above object is called an IC card connector hereinafter.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining an IC card related to a connector to which the present invention is applied and outlines the structure of a reception apparatus into which the IC card is mounted when information is read from and written on the IC card. FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views for explaining the structure of a conventional IC card connector. FIGS. 8A and 8B are perspective views for explaining the structure of another conventional IC card connector.
Referring to FIG. 6, an IC card 11 is inserted into an attachment member (to be referred to as a magazine hereinafter) 122 of a reception apparatus 12 in the direction of arrow C, and the IC card 11 is removed in the reverse direction. A window 111a is formed in the side surface of an end portion of the IC card 11 in the insertion direction. In the window 111a, a plurality of information input/output electrodes 111b are exposed in such a state that the information input/output electrodes 111b are arranged in a matrix of two rows, for example.
The reception apparatus 12 is constituted by a baseboard 121 fixed to a housing 1 of an information input/output equipment for exchanging information with the IC card 11, and the magazine 122. The magazine 122 is supported such that the magazine 122 can be pivoted in the direction of arrow B about an engagement portion 121b at the hinge portion 122a arranged on one end portion of the baseboard 121. When the IC card 11 is inserted into the magazine 122, and the magazine 122 is closed by a vertical wall 121a, i.e., the magazine 122 is pivoted to be in tight contact with the baseboard 121, and the IC card 11 is held in position in the insertion direction by the vertical wall 121a.
In the baseboard 121, an opening 121c corresponding to the window 111a of the IC card 11 inserted into the magazine 122 and positioned by the vertical wall 121a is formed. In the opening 121c, connection electrodes 121d are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11. The connection electrodes 121d are connected to a circuit (not shown) in the housing 1. The magazine 122 has an opening 122b corresponding to the opening 121c of the baseboard 121.
A hook 121e is arranged on the vertical wall 121a of the baseboard 121, so that the magazine 122 to which the IC card 11 is inserted is fixed to be in tight contact with the baseboard 121. When the hook 121e is released, for example, the magazine 122 is pressed upward by a control rod 121f biased by a spring. In this manner, the IC card 11 can be removed.
In the IC card 11, assume that the difference between the level of a surface 111c on which the information input/output electrodes 111b are formed and the level of a surface 111d in which the window 111a is formed is represented by t.sub.1, that the thickness of the bottom plate of the baseboard 121 of the reception apparatus 12 is represented by t.sub.2 ', and that the thickness of the side wall of the magazine 122 is represented by t.sub.2 ". In this case, a gap represented by t.sub.1 +t.sub.2 is present between the information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11 and the connection electrodes 121d formed in the opening 121c of the baseboard 121. Here, t.sub.2 is the sum of t.sub.2 ' and t.sub.2 ". For this purpose, a connector is required to connect the information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11 to the connection electrodes 121d of the baseboard 121. FIGS. 7A and 8B are perspective views for explaining a conventional card connector.
The structure of a conventional IC card connector 2 and connection between the IC card connector 2 and the connection electrodes 121d of the corresponding reception apparatus 12 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. The IC card connector 2 is formed of an insulating rubber material 2a and has a size to fit in the opening 121c formed in the baseboard 121 of the reception apparatus 12 and a thickness a.sub.1 which is slightly larger than the gap t.sub.1 +t.sub.2. A plurality of conductive columns 2b formed of an insulting rubber material are buried in the insulating rubber material 2a and are bored through the insulating rubber material 2a in the direction of the thickness a.sub.1. The conductive columns 2b are arranged in correspondence with the information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11 (FIG. 6) and the connection electrodes 121d of the baseboard 121. Both ends of the conductive columns 2b are exposed from the insulating rubber material 2a.
The IC card connector 2 is inserted into the opening 121c of the baseboard 121 as indicated by arrow D in FIG. 7A, and one exposed end of each conductive column 2b is brought into contact with the corresponding connection electrode 121d. As described above with reference to FIG. 6, the magazine 122 into which the IC card 11 is inserted is brought into contact with the baseboard 121 and locked by the hook 121e. In this state, each information input/output electrode 111b of the IC card 11 is brought into contact with the other exposed end of the corresponding conductive column 2b of the IC card connector 2. In this manner, the information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11 and the connection electrodes 121d of the baseboard 121 of the reception apparatus are connected to each other by the conductive columns 2b, respectively.
The structure of another conventional IC card connector 3 and connection between the IC card connector 3 and the connection electrodes 121d of the corresponding reception apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B. For the same reason as in the prior art, the IC card connector 3 is constituted by an insulating block 31 having a thickness a.sub.2 equal to t.sub.1 +t.sub.2. The insulating block 31 has a notched portion formed in the longitudinal direction of the insulating block 31, and a plurality of contact pieces 32 formed bored through both the side walls of the notched portion. The contact pieces 32 on each of the side walls are arranged at the same pitch as that of the arrangement of the corresponding connection electrodes 121d on the baseboard 121 of the reception apparatus 12 and the arrangement of the information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11. The contact pieces 32 include contacts 32a each having one end portion which is bent into an inverted-U shape and eternal connection terminals 32b each having the other end portion which is offset-bent, and a portion between the contact 32a and the external connection terminal 32b is fixed to the walls. The peak of each contact 32a slightly projects from an upper surface 31b of the insulating block 31. The external connection terminal 32b is on the same plane as that of the lower surface 31a of the insulating block 31.
The IC card connector 3 is inserted into the opening 121c of the baseboard 121 in a direction indicated by arrow E, and the external connection terminals 32b are soldered to the corresponding connection electrodes 121d in the opening 121c, respectively. In this manner, the contact pieces 32 of the IC card connector 3 are electrically connected to the connection electrodes 121d of the baseboard 121. As described above with reference to FIG. 6, the magazine 122 into which the IC card is inserted is brought into tight contact with the baseboard 121, and the IC card is locked by the hook 121e. In this state, the information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11 are brought into contact with the corresponding contact pieces 32 of the IC card connector 3. In this manner, the information input/output electrodes 111b of the IC card 11 are connected to the connection electrodes 121d of the baseboard 121, respectively.


An integrated pharmacy system receives prescription information, creates a substitution reference list identifying the requested medical item and a plurality of equivalent medical items, automatically selects one of the items identified on the substitution reference list, fills the prescription, checks the accuracy of the filled prescription, facilitates the sales exchange, and creates an archive of the transaction, although not all steps need to be performed for every application. The integrated pharmacy system can also prevent unauthorized users from performing improper functions such as, for example, attempting to dispense an item which is not a proper substitute for the requested item. The present invention, by automatically substituting equivalent medical items for a requested medical item and by automatically archiving each prescription transaction, simplifies the prescription filling and record keeping requirements for the pharmacy technician and pharmacist.

The present invention relates generally to an integrated pharmacy system having hardware and software components that totally or partially automate the medical prescription fulfillment process from entry of the prescription to payment and, more particularly, a method for automatically generating dispensing information for a selected medical item.
Integrated pharmacy systems are used to streamline the prescription fulfillment process. An exemplary integrated pharmacy system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,995 to Williams entitled "Automated Medical Prescription Fulfillment System Having Workstations For Imaging, Filling, And Checking The Dispensed Drug Product," issued 28 Jan. 1997 and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The Williams patent discloses a pharmacy system for automating the medical prescription fulfillment process for a customer. It includes an imaging workstation having a host computer for receiving data entry of an original medical prescription for a prescribed drug product and customer information and for producing a prescription transaction data record, and an electronic communication device for communicating the prescription transaction data record from the host computer to a series of computers. A filling workstation includes dispensing apparatus for counting, dispensing, and packaging of the dispensed drug product into the drug vial for the customer. A checking workstation includes a scanner for scanning the bar code label on the drug vial, and a display for displaying the digitized image of the original medical prescription, and for displaying a digitized image of the prescribed drug product to allow a first visual comparison between the digitized image of the prescribed drug product and the dispensed drug product in the drug vial, and a second visual comparison between the digitized image of the original medical prescription and the dispensed drug product in the drug vial before it is given to the customer.
A common drug identifier used by integrated pharmacy systems is a National Drug Code (NDC). An NDC number is issued for each drug in the United States. The NDC is a 10-digit number typically containing three (3) segments or fields: the manufacturer or distributor code field, the product code field, and the package code field. The manufacturer or distributor code is assigned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whereas the product and package codes are assigned by manufacturers or distributors.
The manufacturer or distributor code identifies the entity that manufactured or distributed the drug. The product code represents the drug name and strength. The package code represents the quantity (count, weight, mass or volume) in the stock container as delivered from the manufacturer or distributor. The three field representation may result in numerous NDC numbers being assigned to the same drug. Although numerous NDC numbers assigned to the same drug may be inefficient for drug identification, the NDC numbering scheme facilitates inventory management processes.
The NDC number may be represented in one of three different formats typically denoted as 4-4-2, 5-3-2 and 5-4-1. The first of the three segments represents the manufacturer or distributor code and may be either 4 or 5 digits. When the manufacturer code is 4 digits, the product code field will be 4 digits and the package code field will be 2 digits (i.e., the 4-4-2 format). When the manufacturer code is 5 digits, the manufacturer/distributor has an option of assigning either a 3 or 4 digit product code field followed by a 2 or 1 digit package code field (i.e., the 5-3-2 and 5-4-1 formats, respectively).
The NDC number is typically encoded on the stock container as a bar code using a UPC-A bar code symbology with a data format reserved for NDC numbers as defined by the Uniform Code Counsel (UCC). However, there are exceptions to the use of the UPC-A bar code symbology caused by manufacturer preferences, the dispensing of non-prescription products (i.e., over the counter (OTC) drug products), and delivery of non-pharmaceutical products (i.e., syringes, bandages and other supplies).
In addition to the NDC system used in the United States, foreign countries may use different drug identifiers. For example, Canada uses a Drug Identification Number (DIN) to identify drugs. The DIN is intended to represent a specific drug regardless of the manufacturer or distributor, however, it has been noted that manufacturers have unique DINs assigned to equivalent drugs (same drug name, strength, and therapeutic equivalence).
A Canadian drug package identifier uniquely identifies the quantity or amount of product within the stock container. A typical Canadian stock container uses the UPC-A bar code symbology and data formatting standards as defined by the UCC, however, there is no correlation between the UPC data value, DIN number, and package identifier. Because the UPC data value conforms to the UCC standard, the first 5-digits of the 10-digit UPC data value represents the manufacturer or distributor (as assigned by the UCC). The last 5-digits of the 10-digit UPC data value are assigned by the manufacturer or distributor as a product identifier. The 5-digit product identifier value creates a unique bar code value for each Canadian manufacturer and distributor for every drug and stock container quantity.
In addition to the NDC and DIN identifiers, other identification systems may be assigned (for example, by a manufacturer, supplier, pharmacy, etc.) to identify a medical item. For example, a general product index number (GPI), a general product code (GPC), and/or an internal reference code (IEN) may be assigned to a medical item by a manufacturer.
During a prescription filling transaction, it is common for a substitute drug to be dispensed in place of the specific drug that was requested (i.e., prescribed) by a treating physician. Drug substitution increasingly challenges US pharmacies trying to meet the reporting requirements related to a prescription filling transaction. The reporting requirements are typically established by third-party payors (e.g., an insurance company, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.). Third-party payors increasingly require more specific information on the actual drug dispensed to fill a prescription. Where in the past it may have been sufficient to report the drug and drug number as written by the physician, today the third-party payors may require that the exact drug name, drug number (e.g., NDC, DIN, GPI, etc.), and drug package size as dispensed be reported. In the future, it is anticipated that the third-party payors will require additional information on the actual drug dispensed. This may include the manufacturer's lot number or batch number to identify production specifics and the drug's expiration date from the manufacturer, distributor, labeler, or re-packager.
With prior art integrated pharmacy systems, the host computer's selection of a substitute drug to fill a prescription creates several problems. In a typical dispensing transaction, information (for example, from a physician, provider, pharmacy, customer, etc.) that is entered into the integrated pharmacy system is transmitted to a third-party clearinghouse for adjudication before the integrated pharmacy system activates a dispensing device. Adjudication refers to processing information entered into the integrated pharmacy system to determine whether a drug is approved by a third-party payor (i.e., determining if an insurance carrier will pay for, or reimburse a customer for, a given drug under a given insurance plan).
A problem inherent to prior art integrated pharmacy systems is that a new prescription label is not printed when a substitute drug is dispensed (i.e., the information related to the requested drug, not the substitute drug, is printed on the label). Although the requested and substitute drugs (or products) may be equivalent, they may be manufactured or distributed by different companies. Likewise, each drug may be identified by a unique manufacturer or distributor drug number or stock container indicia. Thus, substitution requires reliance on the pharmacy technician to dispense the proper substitute drug using a label that corresponds to the requested drug, not the drug selected for substitution. Additionally, substitution creates inventory and reporting problems which complicate the pharmacy's auditing procedures.
The multiple identification numbers for substitute drugs within a single identification system (e.g., multiple NDC numbers for the same drug), the multiple identification systems (e.g., the NDC system, the DIN system, etc.), and the increased reporting specificity required by third-party payors create burdens on pharmacy technicians and pharmacists tasked with filling a prescription. Ideally during the prescription fulfillment process, the pharmacy technician and pharmacist are focused on filling each prescription with the correct drug (i.e., name and strength). In reality, however, the pharmacy technician and pharmacist are distracted from this role by the multiple identification numbers for substitute drugs and the requirements established by third-party payors.
Thus, there exists a need for an integrated pharmacy system having hardware and software components that automate the medical prescription fulfillment process from entry of the prescription to payment. More specifically, there exists a need for a method of automatically generating dispensing information that may be used to manually or automatically fill a prescription with a requested drug or an appropriate substitute drug.

Automated drug substitution, verification, and reporting system


The invention provides an integrated circuit of a microphone. In one embodiment, the integrated circuit receives a first signal converted from a sound and receives a reference signal with a digital format for echo cancellation. In one embodiment, the integrated circuit comprises a pre-amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter, a digital signal processor, and a post amplifier. The pre-amplifier amplifies the first signal according to a first gain to obtain a third signal. The analog-to-digital converter converts the third signal from analog to digital to obtain a fourth signal. The digital signal processor cancels an echo component from the fourth signal according to the reference signal to obtain a fifth signal, and determines the first gain and a second gain, wherein a product of the first gain and the second gain is kept constant, and the first gain is determined so that an amplitude of the third signal is kept equal to an amplitude of the reference signal. The post-amplifier amplifies the fifth signal according to the second gain to obtain a second signal as an output of the integrated circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to microphones, and more particularly to echo cancellation for signals generated by microphones.
2. Description of the Related Art
An audio processing device with full-duplex audio processing capability, such as a telephone, processes two signals transmitted in different directions. The audio processing device comprises two channels. One channel transmits a near-end signal comprising near-end voices to a far-end user, and the other channel transmits a far-end signal comprising far-end voices to a near-end user, thus enabling the near-end user and the far-end user to talk to each other.
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a portion of an audio processing device 100 with full-duplex audio processing capability is shown. The audio processing device 100 comprises a digital-to-analog converter 102, a speaker 104, a microphone 112, an analog-to-digital converter 114, and a digital signal processor 116. For a far-end channel, the digital-to-analog converter 102 first converts a far-end signal F1 from digital to analog to obtain a far-end signal F2. The speaker 104 then broadcasts the far-end signal F2 at the near-end side, enabling a near-end user to hear the far-end voices. For a near-end channel, the microphone 112 first converts a near-end sound comprising near-end voices to a near-end signal N1. The analog-to-digital converter 114 then converts the near-end signal N1 from analog to digital to obtain a near-end signal N2.
When the speaker 104 broadcasts the far-end signal F2, the microphone 112 converts a portion of the far-end voices sounded by the speaker 104 in addition to near-end voices to the near-end signal N1. The near-end signals N1 and N2 therefore comprise far-end voice components referred to as echoes. Thus, before the near-end signal N2 is transmitted to a far-end side, an echo component must be removed from the near-end signal N2. The digital signal processor 116 for echo cancellation comprises an adaptive filter 118 and a subtractor 120. The adaptive filter 118 first filters the far-end signal F1 to obtain a filtered far-end signal F3 comprising echo components. The subtractor 120 then subtracts the filtered far-end signal F3 from the near-end signal N2 to obtain a near-end signal N3 without echo components, thus completing echo cancellation.
The audio processing device 100, however, has deficiencies. First, the digital signal processor 116 for echo cancellation and the analog-to-digital converter 114 are separate elements, thus occupying a relatively larger layout area on a printed circuit board and increasing the size of the audio processing device 100. In addition, the audio processing device 100 cannot adjust a gain of the near-end signal N1. When amplitudes of near-end voices are low, a signal-to-noise ratio of the near-end signal N3 increases, degrading the quality of the near-end signal N3. When amplitudes of far-end voices broadcasted by the speaker 104 are high, the near-end signal N1 comprises an echo component with a high amplitude, thus saturating the analog-to-digital converter 114, and degrading the quality of the near-end signal N3. Thus, a microphone without the aforementioned deficiencies is therefore provided.

Microphone and integrated circuit capible of echo cancellation


A process and system for separating solids from concentration soda ash solution is disclosed. In the process, a soda ash solution feed stream containing solids and other impurities is treated with a chemical coagulant to create solid particles having a diameter greater than 5 microns. Treated feed stream is passed through a microfiltration membrane which physically separates the solids from the soda ash solution. Commercially available microfiltration membranes having a pore size from 0.5 micron to 5 microns may be used. Solids are removed from the membrane surface by periodically backflushing the microfiltration membranes and draining the filter vessel within which the membranes are located. The dislodged solid material within the filter vessel is flushed removed from the filter vessel for further processing or disposal.

Soda ash (Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3) is a very high tonnage chemical raw material commonly used in glass making and in the production of sodium chemicals. A large proportion of soda ash is derived from the natural mineral trona, which occurs in great abundance near Green River, Wyo. Chemically, trona is sodium sesquicarbonate Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3.NaHCO.sub.3.2H.sub.2 O. After crushing, the natural ore is dissolved in agitated tanks to form a concentrated solution. Most of the impurities (boron oxides, calcium carbonate silica, sodium silicate, and shale rock) are insoluble in hot H.sub.2 O and separate out upon settling. Upon cooling, the filtered sesquicarbonate solution forms fine needle-like crystals in a vacuum crystallizer. After centrifuging, the sesquicarbonate crystals are heated to about 240.degree. C. in rotary calciners whereupon CO.sub.2 and bound H.sub.2 O are released to form natural soda ash. The crystals have a purity of 99.88% or more and handle easily without abrading or forming dust and thus assisting glassmakers and other users in obtaining uniform and homogeneous mixes.
A critical step in the production of soda ash is the separation of the concentrated soda ash solution from the solid impurities. The current method of separating the soda ash solution from the unwanted solids involves the addition of polymers or natural gums (such as guar gum) to the mixture to help coagulate the solid materials. Very large holding tanks (40 feet high and 110 feet wide) are used to allow the solids to settle over 24-30 hours. The liquid passing over a weir is further processed by filtration in a series of pressure leaf filters packed with diatomaceous earth. Carbon is commonly added to remove additional impurities. The liquid is then evaporated to cause crystallization of the soda ash product.
The solid underflow from the settling tanks is typically reprocessed to recover additional soda ash. Using 2.degree. and 3.degree. reprocessing steps, a typical recovery is from 88% to 93% of the total soda ash.
Current processing steps require high pressure pumps (75 psi) for the pressure leaf filters which consume large amounts of energy to operate. Current processing steps also require large holding tanks. Diatomaceous earth and carbon must be continuously purchased for use in the filtering and purification process.
It would be a significant advancement in the art to provide a process and system which efficiently separates soda ash solution from solid impurities such that 2.degree. and 3.degree. reprocessing is not necessary.
It would be a major advancement in the art to provide a process and system for separating soda ash solution from solid impurities which does not require large holding tanks and related land areas.
It would be a further advancement in the art to provide a process and system for separating soda ash solution from solid impurities which does not require the continual purchase of diatomaceous earth or carbon.
Such processes and systems are disclosed herein.


The present invention provides an organic electroluminescent element including, between an anode and a cathode, at least a luminescent layer and an adjacent layer that is adjacent to the cathode side of the luminescent layer, wherein the luminescent layer contains a phosphorescent material and a host material, the adjacent layer contains an electron transport material and a hole transport material, and the electron affinity Ea (HT) of the hole transport material and the electron affinity Ea (ET) of the electron transport material satisfy the relation of 1 eV≦Ea (ET)−Ea (HT)≦2.8 eV.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescent element capable of emitting light by converting electric energy into light (hereinafter also called organic EL element, luminescent element, or EL element).
2. Description of the Related Art
Various display elements are intensively researched and developed recently, and an organic electroluminescent (EL) element is noticed as a hopeful display element among others because light can be emitted at high luminance at low voltage.
The organic electroluminescent element is composed of counter electrodes having a luminescent layer or a plurality of organic layers including the luminescent layer therebetween, and makes use of luminescence from an exciton generated by rebonding of an electron injected from a cathode and a hole injected from an anode in the luminescent layer, or makes use of luminescence from an exciton of other molecule generated by energy transfer from the generated exciton.
It has been proposed to reduce power consumption or enhance driving durability by containing a hole trap compound in an electron transport layer (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 2004-79413, 2004-79414, and 2002-313583).
It has been also proposed to enhance driving durability and low voltage driving by a method of forming a hole blocking layer containing plural types of electron transport materials between a luminescent layer and an electron transport layer, or by a method of containing an aromatic diamine compound in an electron transport layer (see, for example, JP-A Nos. 2001-237079 and 5-311161).
However, organic electroluminescent elements using phosphorescent materials as luminescent materials (phosphorescent elements) are low in durability particularly in blue and green luminescence, and improvement of durability thereof is demanded.


The device includes two inflatable pontoon members (10, 12) and a frame assembly (24) which extends between and is secured to the two pontoon members (10, 12). The frame assembly (24) includes a horizontal seat section (25) and a back section (33) which is movable between a horizontal position and a vertical position. Two back straps (70, 72) are provided on the frame assembly to facilitate carrying of the device when the back section (33) is in its horizontal position and to support the back section when the back section (33) is in its vertical position. Two stabilizing straps (92, 94) extend between the pontoon members (10, 12) beneath the frame assembly (24) to provide rigidity for the device.

Float tubes are generally well known in the recreational fishing industry as an accessory permitting convenient fishing in a body of water such as a lake at a distance from shore without a boat. Float tubes generally comprise a relatively large, donut-shaped inflatable member, similar to a large inner tube, having a suspended seat in the center area which is designed to support a user, such as a fisherman, in an upright position.
Float tubes have generally proved to be advantageous in lake and river fishing environments because they do not disturb the fish, like a boat does, and yet they provide comfort and support for a user and freedom to move about, while leaving the hands completely free for fishing. Typically, the user is equipped with fins to aid in propelling the float tube through the water.
However, conventional float tubes do have several disadvantages. They are cumbersome to carry, particularly by hand, such as under an arm. Hence, they are inconvenient to use when a substantial amount of walking is required to reach the desired destination. In addition, conventional float tubes are typically circular, which is sometimes disadvantageous in use, as well as being limited in space needed for fishing. Those float tubes which are not circular are often not very stable. Accordingly, there is a need for a float tube device which is conveniently portable yet provides good support for a seated user for fishing.


The composition, free carrier concentrations, and other properties of thin films and graded layers embedded in film stack structures are measured by the method of the invention, which is based upon the application of two novel algorithms to extract the composition of a measured layer independently of the confounding effects of additional layers, and which can be effected even when calibration samples are not available with the same layered structure as the samples to be measured. The method uses sample model-based analysis algorithms to extract the dielectric function of the layer to be measured, combined with model-based analysis to relate the composition of the layer to its dielectric function. Because the dielectric function of a layer is a bulk spectral property of the material, and is inherently independent of the thickness of the layer, the composition of the material can be determined more easily and unambiguously from its dielectric function than from raw spectral quantities such as reflectance, ellipsometry, and transmittance, which spectral data are influenced strongly by the optical properties of the overlayers, the underlayers, and the substrate material. The method enables the measurement of layer composition with significantly fewer calibration samples, it allows product wafer analysis with structures that are significantly more complicated than the calibration samples, and it is intrinsically more reliable for transferring calibrations between tools even when the measurement geometry varies from tool-to-tool.

Many current processes for manufacturing microelectronic devices, and the like, entail the fabrication of stacks of thin films having compositions that must be controlled to satisfy exacting standards and extremely tight tolerances. For example, fluorinated silica glass (FSG) films are used as dielectric layers in semiconductor integrated circuits (IC""s); because the fluorine constituent serves to reduce the dielectric constant of the layer, and thereby to improve circuit speed and reduce cross-talk between wires, it is important to control its concentration so as to optimize the electrical, chemical, and other properties of the layer. Similarly, the dopant concentrations in boron- and phosphorus-doped silica glass (BPSG) films, which are used as intermetal dielectrics, are quite critical and must be monitored and controlled carefully to maintain high yields in production, and the same is true of many of the newer materials that are now being employed as thin films, which materials tend to be compounds with complex chemical compositions and interfaces that must be monitored and controlled.
It is now also common for integrated circuits to include complex submicron geometric structures. For example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices are typically formed with deep, tapered trenches etched into the silicon to thereby provide larger area capacitors without increasing the chip surface area utilized. The sidewall taper angle and depth of such trenches must be controlled carefully to maintain yield; moreover, the formed trenches may themselves be filled subsequently with materials such as dielectrics and polysilicon, giving rise to the need for yet further process monitoring and control capability.
In addition to the foregoing, compositionally graded structures are often employed in thin film manufacturing; dopants are typically diffused or implanted into semiconductor devices to provide diffuse composition profiles; and silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers are commonly fabricated by forming a buried oxide layer with a graded composition profile, which must be sharpened by thermal annealing. Controlling the depth profiles of such structures is of critical importance.
In all of the processes referred to, as well as in others that will be evident to those skilled in the art, it is necessary to measure the properties and characteristics of at least one layer of interest. Typically, and for any of a number of reasons, such measurements cannot presently be performed directly on the product wafers: i.e., product wafers with patterns, and multilayered film stacks, are often too complex for practical data analysis; measurements are often either destructive to the sample or are such that they pose a significant risk of contamination or defect introduction; and current techniques, carried out in the visible and ultraviolet wavelength ranges, are not sufficiently sensitive to enable accurate measurement of crucial layer properties, such as composition and carrier concentration. In any event, nondestructive measurement techniques will usually be preferred, largely because they enable the use of in-line process control methodologies without undue consumption of expensive, non-product test wafers.
Accordingly, broad objects of the present invention are to provide a novel method and apparatus for measuring and controlling the composition and other properties of thin films, in accordance with which at least certain of the limitations and deficiencies of current techniques and procedures, as described herein, are minimized, avoided and/or overcome.
It has now been found that certain of the foregoing and related objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a method for estimating at least one parameter of a sample, determined from the dielectric function of a material of which at least one layer of the sample consists. The method comprises the steps:
(a) providing a sample comprised of at least one layer and having a substantially specular surface;
(b) defining an optical model of the sample along a direction perpendicular to its surface and based upon reflectance values, the xe2x80x9cat least one layerxe2x80x9d being defmed in the model by a thickness value and, for each of a multiplicity of wavelengths in the infrared spectral region, by a dielectric function value;
(c) providing a training set consisting of measured values of the xe2x80x9cat least one parameterxe2x80x9d and an associated dielectric function, the measured values being obtained from a multiplicity of samples selected to represent a range of values of the at least one parameter;
(d) determining from the training set a predictive mathematical relationship between the at least one parameter and the associated dielectric function, so as to enable prediction of the at least one parameter from input values of dielectric function;
(e) irradiating the specular surface of the sample with infrared radiation, including the multiplicity of wavelengths referred to in step (b), and obtaining a measured reflectance spectrum composed of values obtained over the multiplicity of wavelengths;
(f) simulating a reflectance spectrum from the optical model at the multiplicity of wavelengths using various values of the dielectric function calculated from assumed dielectric function descriptors and a value of the thickness of the at least one layer, and computing the various values of the dielectric function descriptors so as to minimize the difference between the simulated reflectance spectrum and the measured reflectance spectrum, thereby determining an optimized dielectric function value for the at least one layer at the multiplicity of wavelengths; and
(g) calculating the value of the at least one parameter using the optimized dielectric function value and the predictive mathematical relationship.
In certain preferred embodiments a pattern of variation derived from the training set is utilized so as to constrain the number of the descriptors required to describe the dielectric function. The values of dielectric function used may be parametrized as weighted linear superpositions of vectors determined to span the space of dielectric functions derived from the training set, with the descriptors being the coefficients of the vectors. At least one of the vectors will desirably be determined through a multivariate statistical regression of the set of dielectric functions measured in creating the training set. The predictive mathematical relationship may for example be determined through a multivariate statistical regression of the training set; it may be determined employing a neural network algorithm calibrated with the training set; or it may be determined by establishing a library of dielectric function values with associated values of the at least one parameter, organized in the form of a look-up table which is accessed to determine the parameter from the optimized values, and access may include the additional step of interpolating between elements thereof. The predictive mathematical relationship may be established between the at least one parameter and spectral features derived from the dielectric function of the training set. The spectral feature may be at least one characteristic of at least one peak observed in the training set dielectric function, such a characteristic typically being the intensity, position, height or width of the at least one peak. In certain instances the thickness value will be varied in step (f) as well as using the computed values of the dielectric function descriptors.
The at least one parameter calculated by the present method may represent the species and/or the concentration of at least one chemical constituent of the material of the at least one layer. In particular, the parameter may be the concentration of fluorine atoms within the material, the concentration of hydroxyl groups within a dielectric matrix, the concentration of water molecules within a dielectric matrix, the concentration of hydrogen atoms within a dielectric matrix, or the concentrations of at least one of boron, phosphorus, and germanium in the at least one layer. When the at least one layer contains barium, strontium and/or titanium atoms, the parameter may be the concentration thereof. Additionally, the parameter value calculated may represent the stress in the at least one layer, the density of crystal defects therein, or a porosity characteristic thereof, which characteristic may describe the pore size distribution or the total fractional pore volume within the layer. Furthermore, the value determined may be characteristic of a lithography process, in instances in which the layer of interest comprises a lithographic resist layer, with the parameter representing the exposure dose of the lithographic resist layer, a critical dimension obtained after completing a lithography process step on the sample, or a measure of the sidewall profile obtained following such a process step. In instances in which the one layer is a compound semiconductor composed of at least three chemical elements, the parameter may be representative of the relative ratios of the elements, such elements generally being selected from the group consisting of Si, Ge, Al, Ga, As, N, P, In, C, Sb, Zn, Hg, Cd, B, and Te. Finally, the at least one parameter may be representative of the electrical dielectric constant of the. analyzed layer.
Other objects of the invention are attained by the provision of apparatus for estimating at least one parameter of a sample, determined from the dielectric function of a material of which at least one layer of the sample consists. The apparatus comprises means for irradiating a surface of a sample with infrared radiation, including each of multiplicity of wavelengths in the infrared spectral region, and for obtaining a measured reflectance spectrum composed of values obtained over the multiplicity of wavelengths; and electronic data processing means. The data processing means of the apparatus is programmed to:
(a) define an optical model of the sample along a direction perpendicular to a surface thereof and based upon reflectance values, the at least one layer of the sample being defined in the model by a thickness value and, for each of a multiplicity of wavelengths in the infrared spectral region, by a dielectric function value;
(b) provide a training set consisting of measured values of the at least one parameter and an associated dielectric function, the measured values being obtained from a multiplicity of samples selected to represent a range of values of the at least one parameter;
(c) determine from the training set a predictive mathematical relationship between the at least one parameter and the associated dielectric function, so as to enable prediction of the at least one parameter from input values of dielectric function;
(d) simulate a reflectance spectrum from the optical model at the multiplicity of wavelengths using values of the dielectric function calculated from various dielectric function descriptors and a value of the thickness of the at least one layer, and to compute the values of the dielectric function descriptors so as to minimize the difference between the simulated reflectance spectrum and the measured reflectance spectrum, thereby determining an optimized dielectric function value for the at least one layer at the multiplicity of wave-lengths; and
(e) calculate the value of the at least one parameter using the optimized dielectric function value and the predictive mathematical relationship.
As a practical matter, the invention relates to the measurement and control of layer and interface properties of thin films fabricated during the manufacture of microelectronic devices, solar conversion devices, magnetic storage devices, and the like, enabling the control of such properties and of such manufacturing operations. It provides a new approach for measuring layers deposited in thin-film structures of both present and also anticipated constructions, and it enables measurements of layers in relatively complex structures, such as multilayered film stacks. The method does not require calibration to be performed on the same measurement system as that which is present in a tool by which the method is to be implemented, and calibration samples can be relatively simple; for example, they may comprise a set of films covering a range of composition, all deposited on inexpensive, unpatterned silicon substrates. As will be appreciated, once the calibration has been performed using the calibration samples, actual measurements can be carried out on metallic substrates, multilayered configurations, or other more complicated structures.
The method and apparatus of the invention exploit a number of unique capabilities associated with infrared measurement techniques. In particular, the optical constants of most materials encode a great deal of chemical composition information that is unavailable in the UV and visible ranges. The longer wavelengths of infrared light also allow specular measurements on many patterned samples, whereas the scattering and diffraction of UV and visible probing beams, caused by patterns and layer roughness, often preclude accurate specular measurements. In addition, the infrared dielectric function is a complex spectral quantity which encodes information about the absorption and index of refraction of a material, as a function of optical frequency, and most materials have characteristic dielectric function signatures, in the infrared, that are related to their composition. The present invention enables the extraction of information indicative of the composition of a given layer, by computing its dielectric function from optical measurements, and at the same time eliminates confounding effects of other layers and substrate materials present in the structure; chemometric compositional analysis of the dielectric function can then be performed effectively.
One advantage of the instant approach resides in the correlation that it provides between the composition of a material and its dielectric function, which correlation does not depend upon details of the measurement geometry employed, e.g., the angle of incidence or the polarization of the probe beam. Optical properties, such as reflectance and transmit-tance, do on the other hand depend strongly upon the characteristics of the probe beam.
It is know that infrared reflectometry can be employed to extract layer composition (see J. E. Franke, T. M. Niemczyk, and D. M. Haaland, xe2x80x9cInfrared spectroscopic techniques for quantitative characterization of dielectric thin films on silicon wafersxe2x80x9d Spectrochimica Acta. Wol. 50A, No. 10. Pp 1687-1723, 1994 Elsevier Science Ltd. U.K.). However, in the methodology described the chemometric compositional analysis algorithm is applied directly to the reflectance, which not only limits the range of allowable sample thicknesses to that which is provided in the calibration sample set, but also requires the training set to constitute a relatively large number of sample thicknesses (as well as compositions) to accommodate measurements over widely varying thicknesses. Thus, the method of Haaland (and other current methods) permits measurements to be made only on samples comprised of a substrate and film stack structure that is essentially identical to that which constitutes the calibration training set. By applying chemometric analysis to the dielectric function (DF), on the other hand, which can be extracted from the reflectance in accordance with the present invention, the foregoing shortcomings are eliminated and calibration of the analysis system is enabled using much simpler, and much smaller, training sets.
More specifically, because the DF deconvolution removes from the chemometric model the influences of other variables, such as are attributable to the substrate and to the thickness of the layers, the training set need not span a wide range of film thicknesses and it can constitute relatively few members. Also, because the deconvolution process eliminates the effects of other layers that may be present thin films deposited in more complicated structures, such as on metal or dielectric underlayers, can be analyzed using an established calibration model; i.e., no new set of training samples is required. And finally, because the DF deconvolution eliminates any influence that the angle of probe beam incidence might have upon the spectral data obtained, measurements can be performed using a measurement geometry that is radically different from that which is employed to generate the calibration data.

Method and apparatus for measuring the composition and other properties of thin films utilizing infrared radiation


A spectral curve acquiring device comprising: a light receiving optical system (6) for irradiating an irradiating light, a light receiving optical system (8) for dispersing and receiving a reflected irradiating light reflected by an object to be measured (7), a distance meter (4) for measuring a distance to the object to be measured, a storage module (25) for storing a plurality of reference spectral curves prepared based on a light receiving intensity for each wavelength at the time of measuring a white reference plate with different distances, and a control arithmetic module (24), wherein the control arithmetic module obtains a light receiving intensity of the dispersed reflected irradiating light for each wavelength based on the reference spectral curve corresponding to a distance to be measured, corrects a measurement spectral curve prepared based on the light receiving intensity, and prepares a spectral reflectance curve.

In an infrastructural structure such as a bridge, a tunnel or the like, a large amount of concrete is used. The concrete deteriorates with time due to, for instance, a salt damage by a splash of a seawater and a diffusion of an anti-freezing agent, a neutralization by carbon dioxide in the air, or the like. Therefore, for a maintenance and an operation of the structure, regularly measuring a salinity concentration in the concrete and a progress of the neutralization and diagnosing a soundness of the concrete has been required in recent years.
Conventionally, in a measurement of an aging deterioration of the concrete, a destructive inspection to cut out a test specimen directly from a structure of an object to be measured, to conduct various types of tests to the test specimen, to measure the salinity concentration, the progress of the neutralization or the like, and to diagnose a degree of a deterioration of the concrete of the object to be measured has been carried out. However, in case of the destructive inspection, since the structure is damaged, it is difficult to repeatedly perform the measurement.
Further, as a method for diagnosing the concrete in a non-destructive manner, there is a non-destructive inspection by which a near-infrared light is irradiated to the concrete, a reflected light from the concrete is spectroscopically measured, and the degree of the deterioration of the concrete is diagnosed.
However, in case of remotely measuring the concrete in the non-contact manner, a waveform shape of a spectrum to be received greatly changes depending on a distance to the concrete. For this reason, in a conventional remote measurement, there was a problem that the salt damage and the neutralization cannot be accurately measured.
It is to be noted that Patent Document 1 discloses a method for diagnosing the concrete by which the reflected light at the time of irradiating near-infrared lights to a concrete surface is spectroscopically analyzed, a concentration of calcium hydroxide is detected from a wavelength region of 900 to 1700 nm, a concentration of chloride ions is detected from a wavelength region of 1700 to 2500 nm using a chemometric method using a PLS regression analysis method, and the deterioration due to the neutralization and the salt damage is diagnosed from the concentration of calcium hydroxide and the concentration of chloride ions. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a distance to the concrete surface and a change in the waveform shape of a spectrum depending on a distance.

Spectral curve acquiring device, concrete measuring instrument, spectral curve acquiring method and concrete measuring method


A system and method for sending notifications of audio tone sequences to users in a push-to-talk over cellular communication system, including: decoding an audio transmission in a PTT (push to talk) server or in a PTT client, identifying audio tone sequences in the audio transmission, and sending from the PTT server or from the PTT client notifications of the identified specific audio tone sequences to users of cellular mobile devices, computers, and two-way radio communication devices. The notification may be a text message to a predefined PTT group, a delayed buffered replay of the audio transmission, the specific audio tone sequences with the audio transmission before and after the specific audio tone sequences; or an emergency alert sent to predefined members of a PTT group, or a combination thereof.

IP based Push-to-Talk (PTT) systems are often referred to as PTT over Cellular (PTToC) systems because a dominant use of these systems is with mobile phones that use a mobile phone app so that a plurality of mobile phones can communicate with each other. In reality, the cellular phone connection serves to provide an IP connection from the mobile phone device to a PTT server, which is often resident in a cloud computing environment, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). Any terminal device, such as a computer and the like, that can run a PTT application and connect via IP to the PTT Server could be used in an IP-based PTT application.
A central tenet of PTT applications is that conversations are half-duplex, which is enforced by the PTT Server employing a floor control function, which determines which user is granted transmit access (i.e. given the floor) to a PTT channel. This makes PTT applications ideal for group communications, ensuring more orderly conversations and eliminating the need for users to address their transmissions to specific users. This half-duplex characteristic arose from the use of two-way radio (LMR) usage, where it was an inherent limitation of the two-way radio technology. Digital radio systems introduced floor control functions, where users pressing the transmit button were given a denial indication if someone else had been granted access to the floor. This indication method is used today in PTToC systems.
PTT systems typically make use of the talk-group concept. A talk group is an administrative entity that is defined by a name and a set of assigned users. When a user transmits on a talk-group, all other assigned users of that talk-group will receive his or her transmission.
A natural extension to PTToC systems has been the ability to integrate two-way radio systems, allowing PTT operation across both radio and IP terminals. This is typically accomplished by employing a gateway function at the PTT server that translates a radio-oriented protocol to one usable by the PTT server. Radio integration also requires an interface at the radio system itself. There are standard digital interfaces available, such as APCO P25 based IS SI or ETSI DMR based AIS, for interfacing to digital radio systems. However, most integrations today use a simple Radio over IP (RoIP) protocol, which requires a simple interface at the radio, usually just to receive audio, to transmit audio, and to provide a push-to-talk signal.
There are no neutral standards for RoIP protocols. Many vendors simply digitize the audio signal with a standard codec (e.g. G.711, OPUS, etc.) and send it, without any signaling or link status messaging. The digitized voice is usually wrapped in RTP packets and transported via UDP/IP. Some vendors, such as JPS, have added a link status keep alive message in their proprietary protocol.
Software Defined Radio (SDR) is a radio system architecture where many radio functions traditionally implemented with specialized and dedicated hardware are instead implemented on a general-purpose computer (e.g. a PC). The general-purpose computer is connected to a small, specialized hardware receiver device, which is typically much smaller and cheaper than an entire traditional radio.
This SDR system provides numerous benefits. The system cost can be reduced because of Moore's Law based costs associated with general purpose computing. The radio application is more configurable, programmable, and manageable, compared to standard radio. The bulk of the radio functionality can be implemented remotely from the receiver hardware itself. Since donor radios have typically played a large role in PTToC architectures, SDR may impact many factors in PTToC applications. Currently, commercially available SDR devices are usually hobbyist or ham radio grade equipment and laboratory-based equipment
There are many SDR software applications available, most of them free and/or open source. SDR receive-only applications are currently more viable than transmit applications, because the hobbyist-oriented market is not sufficiently large to justify manufacturers' expense for certifications required to bring commercial radio transmission equipment to market. An exception to this is SDR products that are exclusively targeted at amateur radio operators.

System and method for push-to-talk over cellular integration with software defined radio