This invention relates to assays for a Plasmodium analyte in a liquid sample such as a body fluid. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for the detection of a ligand in a body fluid such as urine or blood, which can diagnose malarial infection.

Malaria kills over 2.7 million people annually amongst the 300-500 million clinical cases worldwide. Malaria is increasingly imported into countries where it is non-endemic and there is an increase in the emergence of drug resistant strains. Malaria predominantly occurs in resource-poor tropical populations where diagnostic capabilities are inadequate. The gold standard blood film malaria diagnostic assay relies on phlebotomy and technical expertise. However, in impoverished populations, the lack of resources to safely draw blood increases the risk of transmitting diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV. Thus, simple assays are much needed in the art to improve the availability of malaria diagnosis to obviate the occupational hazards involved in phlebotomy, to provide better treatment options to those in need, and to differentiate between symptomatic and asymptomatic disease.
It is an object of this invention to provide a rapid, sensitive method for detecting Plasmodium analytes in body fluids. Another object is to provide an assay that has high sensitivity.


This invention is directed to passenger car engine oil compositions comprising in admixture 60 wt % to 90 wt % of a first base oil component, based on the total weight of the composition, the first base oil component consisting of a polyalphaolefin base stock or combination of polyalphaolefin base stocks, each having a kinematic viscosity at 100° C. of from 3.2 cSt to 3.8 cSt; 0.1 wt % to 20 wt % of a second base oil component, based on the total weight of the composition, the second base oil component consisting of a Group II, Group III or Group V base stock, or any combination thereof; and at least 0.75 wt % viscosity index improver, on a solid polymer basis.

There is currently a trend towards maximizing the fuel economy benefits provided by passenger car engine oils (PCEOs). In an attempt to address this need, others have formulated PCEOs with low viscosity polyaphaolefins (PAOs), such as metallocene-catalyzed PAOs (mPAOs).
US 2009/0181872 discloses lubricating oil compositions for internal combustion engines. The examples include compositions containing low viscosity metallocene catalyzed PAO (mPAO). These compositions have kinematic viscosities at 100° C. of from 8.109 cSt to 9.053 cSt, but contain low viscosity mPAO only in amounts of up to 40 wt % of the composition. Additionally, the compositions include a viscosity index improver additive component in the amount of 4.0 mass %.
US 2011/0039743 discloses lubricating oils using a 3.9 cSt "INVENTION" fluid. For example, it discloses 0W-30 and 0W-40 passenger car motor oils, and 5W-40 heavy duty diesel engine oils, using the 3.9 cSt "INVENTION" fluid. These compositions have kinematic viscosities at 100° C. of from 10.8 cSt to 13.3 cSt, but contain the 3.9 cSt "INVENTION" fluid only in amounts of up to 48.5 wt % of the composition. Additionally, the compositions include viscosity modifier additive solution in the amount of 4.0 wt % and 9.0 wt %, depending on the viscosity grade.
WO2011125879, WO2011125880 and WO2011125881 disclose lubricant compositions for an internal combustion engine comprising; (A) a polyalphaolefin that has a kinetic viscosity at 100° C. of at most 5.5 mm2/s, a CCS viscosity at −35° C. of at most 3,000 mPa·s, and a NOACK of at most 12 mass %; and (B) a mineral oil with a viscosity index of at least 120. WO2011125879 and WO2011125881 disclose that Component (A) constitutes at least 25% of the entire composition by mass. WO2011125880 discloses that Component (A) constitutes at least 10% of the entire composition by mass. WO2011125881 also discloses that the lubricant composition comprises a polyisobutylene with a mass-average molecular weight of at least 500,000. The Tables of WO2011125879, WO2011125880 and WO2011125881 do not indicate the overall kinematic viscosities at 100° C. (KV100) of the compositions, but the compositions contain the 3.458 mm2/s mPAO only in amounts of up to 30% of the composition. Additionally, each of the compositions contain combined amounts of viscosity index improver solution and polyisobutylene solution of 7.0 mass %, including diluent.
Attempts have also been made to use conventional low viscosity polyalphaolefin base stocks (PAOs) (e.g., PAO 4 cSt, KV100) to formulate engine oil compositions. Such conventional PAOs, such as conventional PAO 4 cSt, KV100, can be produced by the use of Friedel-Craft catalysts, such as aluminum trichloride or boron trifluoride, and a protic promoter.
There remains a need, however, to provide further improvements in the fuel economy benefits of PCEOs. In order to achieve such fuel economy benefits, high quality, low viscosity PAOs can be used as the primary base stock, constituting from 60 wt % to 90 wt % of the composition, along with increased amounts of VI improvers.
In order to achieve higher efficiency PCEO formulations, high quality, low viscosity PAOs are needed. This demand for high quality PAOs has been increasing for several years, driving research in alternatives to the Friedel-Craft process. Metallocene catalyst systems are one such alternative. In the past, most of the metallocene-based focus has been on high-viscosity-index-PAOs (HVI-PAOs) and higher viscosity oils for industrial and commercial applications. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 6,706,828, which discloses a process for producing PAOs from meso-forms of certain metallocene catalysts with methylalumoxane (MAO). Others have made various PAOs, such as polydecene, using various metallocene catalysts not typically known to produce polymers or oligomers with any specific tacticity. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,887, U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,401, WO 03/020856, U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,788, U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,090, U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,091, U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,491, U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,209, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,713,438. ExxonMobil Chemical Company has been active in the field and has several pending patent applications on processes using various bridged and unbridged metallocene catalysts. Examples include published applications WO 2007/011832, WO 2008/010865, WO 2009/017953, and WO 2009/123800.
Recent research, however, has looked at producing low viscosity PAOs for automotive applications. A current trend in the automotive industry is toward extending oil drain intervals and improving fuel economy. This trend is driving increasingly stringent performance requirements for lubricants. New PAOs with improved properties such as high viscosity index, low pour point, high shear stability, improved wear performance, increased thermal and oxidative stability, and/or wider viscosity ranges are needed to meet these new performance requirements. New methods to produce such PAOs are also needed, US 2007/0043248 discloses a process using a metallocene catalyst for the production of low viscosity (4 to 10 cSt) PAO basestocks. This technology is attractive because the metallocene-based low viscosity PAD has excellent lubricant properties.
While low viscosity metallocene-catalyzed PAOs possess excellent properties, one disadvantage of the low viscosity metallocene-catalyzed process is that a significant amount of dimer is formed. This dimer is not useful as a lubricant basestock because it has very poor low temperature and volatility properties. Recent industry research has looked at recycling the dimer portion formed in the metallocene-catalyzed process into a subsequent oligomerization process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,724 discloses a multistep process for the production of a PAO in which the first step involves polymerization of a feedstock in the presence of a bulky ligand transition metal catalyst and a subsequent step involves the oligomerization of some portion of the product of the first step in the presence of an acid catalyst. The dimer product formed by the first step of U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,724 exhibits at least 50%, and preferably more than 80%, of terminal vinylidene content. The product of the subsequent step in U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,724 is a mixture of dimers, trimers, and higher oligomers, and yield of the trimer product is at least 65%.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,988 discloses a multistep process for the production of a PAO in which a vinylidene dimer is first isomerized to form a tri-substituted dimer. The tri-substituted dimer is then reacted with a vinyl olefin in the presence of an acid catalyst to form a co-dimer of said tri-substituted dimer and said vinyl olefin. U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,988 shows that using the tri-substituted dimer, instead of the vinylidene dimer, as a feedstock in the subsequent oligomerization step results in a higher selectivity of said co-dimer and less formation of product having carbon numbers greater than or less than the sum of the carbon members of the vinylidene and alpha-olefin. As a result, the lubricant may be tailored to a specific viscosity at high yields, which is highly desirable due to lubricant industry trends and demands. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,988 process, however, requires the additional step of isomerization to get the tri-substituted dimer. Additionally, the reaction rates disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,988 are very slow, requiring 2-20 days to prepare the initial vinylidene dimer.
An additional example of a process involving the recycle of a dimer product is provided in US 2008/0146469 which discloses an intermediate comprised primarily of vinylidene.

EXXONMOBIL RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY


An inrush current control circuit includes a first and second control units connected in series, wherein the first and second control units all have a current limiting resistor and switch connected in parallel. The current limiting resistor of the first control unit is used to prevent an inrush current generated at the moment an alternative current is supplied. The switch of the first control unit turns on based on the voltage of the capacitor, and current bypasses the first current limiting resistor. The current limiting resistor of the second control unit is used to prevent an inrush current generated at the moment an alternative current shifts from a high voltage level to a low voltage level or from a low voltage level to a high voltage level. The switch of the second control unit turns on based on the alternative current and current bypasses the second current limiting resistor.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates a power supply control circuit, and more particularly to an inrush current control circuit.
2. Related Art
Inrush current is a common problem with power supply circuits. It usually occurs at the moment a power supply is turned on, producing an immediate surge current, which may produce signal noise, damage power devices and connected equipment. To prevent inrush current, several circuit structures have been developed.
Conventionally, a current limiting resistor is used in inrush current control circuit to connect with the input circuit in series to limit the inrush current within a specified value. However, the series resistor requires a high resistance, which may lead to the waste of power and the generation of unnecessary heat when the system is in normal operation.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional inrush current control circuit includes a rectifying circuit BR, a capacitor C, and the main body of the system, wherein a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor RT is placed on a side of the alternating current (AC) power to control any possible inrush current. The idea is to make use of the characteristic of the NTC thermistor RT that the resistance value of the NTC thermistor is higher at low temperatures and lower at high temperatures. At the moment an electronic device is turned on or an alternative current (AC) power is supplied, the NTC thermistor is at low a temperature and thus has a high resistance, limiting the inrush current of the AC power. As the temperature of NTC thermistor goes up, its resistance begins to drop, and thus the whole system enters to the normal operation condition. However, this type of circuit structure still has problems such as high power consumption and being ineffective under warm boot.
FIG. 2 illustrates another type of conventional inrush current control circuit, in which a current limiting resistor R and a switch SW are placed at a side of the alternative current to limit the inrush current. When the power is supplied, the current limiting resistor R starts to limit current and the capacitor has not been charged yet. The current value at this time is high and may therefore cause damages to other elements. Then, after the capacitor C has been fully charged, the current value begins to drop. However, the current is still relatively high. As a result, the current limiting resistor R continues releasing large amount of heat. Finally, the switch SW, such as a relay, is turned on, and thus the current bypasses the current limiting resistor R to thereby prevent the efficiency of the whole system from being decreased due to the heat released from the current limiting resistor R. However, if the relay is constantly in an "on" state, it is likely to be damaged.
FIG. 3 illustrates still another type of conventional inrush current control circuit, wherein two switches SW1 and SW2 are used to control potential inrush current. The switches SW1 and SW2 are placed at the positive poles of the rectifying circuit BR and the capacitor C, and are controlled by voltage signals from the high voltage terminal of the system. In addition, the elements used in this type of circuit must be able to resist high voltage; therefore, the control circuit has complicated circuit and high cost for elements problems.
Moreover, there has another inrush current control circuit using a timing switch to control inrush current. When an AC power is supplied, a current limiting resistor provides the function to limit current. After the power becomes stable, the current will bypass the current limiting resistor. When the AC power is cut off, the timing switch will also turn off. Specifically, the voltage of the internal direct current (DC) supply rail will decrease; thereby the timing switch will turn off. This type of inrush current control circuit also has the same problems as the inrush current control circuits using NTC thermistors, that is, the timing switch needs a certain period of time to return to the "off" state. Thus, the timing switch should not be connected immediately after the AC power is cut off; otherwise if the current limiting resistor is bypassed, limiting the inrush current may not be realized.
As described above, there is more room for improving the design of inrush current control circuits.


A door latching mechanism of a vehicle door lock engages with a striker fixed to a vehicle body to close a door. An outside handle on the door is operated. Operating force is transmitted via a rod to an intermediate lever below a windowpane in the door and transmitted via a Bowden cable to an operating mechanism. The force is transmitted from the operating mechanism to the door latching mechanism to release the engagement from the latching mechanism to allow the door to open.

The present invention relates to a vehicle door lock and particularly to a vehicle door lock enabling operating force from an outside handle on a door to be transmitted to a latching mechanism keeping the door closed via an operating mechanism inside the windowpane of the door.
As disclosed in JP63-47480A and US2005/0236847A1, in a vehicle door lock, it is necessary to transmit operating force from an outside handle disposed outside a windowpane in a door to an operating mechanism disposed inside the windowpane in the door. So, the outside handle and operating mechanism are connected to each other via an operating force transmitting member such as a rod or a cable and an intermediate lever which goes around the lower or front end of the windowpane.
However, in the door lock disclosed in JP63-47480A, the intermediate lever for allowing operating force of the door to go around the lower end of the windowpane is pivotally mounted to the bottom of the door to increase the number of parts and accessories and the number of steps for assembling it to the door, which is disadvantageous.
In US2005/0236847A1, a cable for transmitting operating force from the outside handle is curved from an outer position of the windowpane to an inner position and coupled to the intermediate lever pivotally mounted to a casing for a latching mechanism to decrease operating-force transmitting efficiency of the curved cable and to increase the number of steps for arranging the cable within the door, which is disadvantageous.


Disclosed is a substrate processing apparatus that includes an interference member for minimizing a collision between a descending flow of gas supplied by a fan unit and a gas flow directed toward a transfer space from the inside of a container.

Embodiments of the inventive concept described herein relate to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method.
In general, semiconductor manufacturing processes include various processes such as deposition, photolithography, etching, ashing, cleaning, and the like. Semiconductor manufacturing facilities for the semiconductor manufacturing processes include a wafer transfer module, also referred to as an equipment front end module (EFEM).
Recently, with the high integration of a semiconductor device or the scaling-down of the critical dimension (CD) of a pattern formed on a substrate, it is required to maintain surroundings of the substrate at a high-cleanliness level to prevent particles or water marks on the substrate. Furthermore, a method of supplying an inert gas around the substrate or creating a vacuum in a space in which the substrate is processed is widely used to prevent a change in the property and state of the substrate surface, such as oxidation of the substrate surface. To appropriately maintain the atmosphere around the substrate, the substrate is managed in a hermetic storage pod called a front-opening unified pod (FOUP). The FOUP is filled with an inert gas. A transfer robot in the aforementioned equipment front end module transfers the substrate between the FOUP and a process module.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an equipment front end module 1 in the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, the equipment front end module 1 in the related art includes a fan 2, a FOUP 4, a transfer robot 6, and an exhaust line 9. The fan 2 supplies an inert gas into a transfer space 3 to which a substrate is transferred. The inert gas supplied into the transfer space 3 is discharged through the exhaust line 9.
When the substrate is transferred in the equipment front end module 1, a door 8 is opened, and an inert gas is continually supplied into the FOUP 4 to prevent the gas flow in the transfer space 3 from being introduced into the FOUP 4. However, this method uses a vast amount of inert gas, increasing substrate processing cost.
Maintaining the transfer space 3 in an inert gas atmosphere may be considered as another way of transferring the substrate in the equipment front end module 1. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the fan 2 supplies the inert gas into the transfer space 3 to maintain the transfer space 3 in the inert gas atmosphere. However, the inert gas is required to be consistently supplied to maintain the transfer space 3 in the inert gas atmosphere. Even in this case, a vast amount of inert gas is used. Therefore, this method is not appropriate as a solution to the increase in the processing cost.
Furthermore, when the fan 2 supplies the inert gas, the inert gas supplied by the fan 2 and the inert gas released from the FOUP 4 collide with each other to cause a vortex in the transfer space 3. The vortex collides with components in the transfer space 3 to cause particles.

Substrate processing apparatus and method


In an electronic part inserting apparatus with a checking function for a clinched state, a database for clinch-checking is generated by extracting information for clinch-checking having coordinates of holes of each part to be inserted and a size and a shape of a corresponding land to the part from BOM data and CAD data. One part is selected from the database for clinch-checking. X, Y coordinates and a size of a land of the holes of the part are extracted. A corresponding hole position on a printed circuit board to the X, Y coordinates extracted from the database is found. A line length of the clinched lead is compared with the size of the land. If the line length of the clinched lead is larger than the size of the land, the clinched state of the hole is judged to be bad, but if not larger, the clinched state of the hole is judged to be good. A judged result is displayed on a monitor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic part inserting apparatus with a checking function for a clinched state, and checking method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic part inserting apparatus with a checking function for a clinched state of lead line of the inserted part during automatically inserting the electronic part on a printed circuit board (PCB), and checking method thereof.
2. Prior Art
A technique of inserting electronic parts on the PCB was automatized a long time ago and has generally has been used ever since.
An operation of the automatic inserting apparatus is as follows.
1) An initial electrical circuitry diagram is produced. PA1 2) A pattern of a printed board is manufactured on the basis of the circuitry diagram. PA1 3) The printed board is manufactured by using the pattern of a printed board. PA1 4) A part list database with respect to respective parts to be inserted on the printed board is prepared. PA1 5) The information with respect to inserting positions and inserting orientations is read out by using the pattern of the printed board, and the information is then transformed into numerical control (NC) data corresponding to equipment for inserting the corresponding parts. PA1 6) The NC data are inputted to the automatic inserting device, and desired parts are supplied and lead lines of the parts are inserted into the appropriate holes on the printed board. PA1 7) A clinching process that the lead line after the inserting process is cut off to have an appropriate length to be bent and thereby the part is fixed is carried out. PA1 8) An automatic soldering apparatus solders the respective parts at the printed board on which the inserting process and the clinching process are carried out so that a printed circuit board is completed. PA1 a scanner for reading an image of a printed circuit board to transform the image to digital imaging data; PA1 an inputting section for inputting data or the commands; PA1 a database for clinch-checking formed by extracting information having coordinates of holes of a respective part to be inserted and a size and a shape of a corresponding land to the part from BOM (bill of materials) data and CAD data; PA1 clinch-checking means for checking clinch states of holes of the part on the printed circuit board, and for judging whether the clinched state is good or bad; and PA1 a monitor for displaying a part arrangement plan formed using the CAD data, and for displaying judged results for the clinched state of the holes of the respective parts. PA1 1) generating a database for clinch-checking by extracting information for clinch-checking having coordinates of holes of each part to be inserted and a size and a shape of a corresponding land to the part from BOM data and CAD data; PA1 2) selecting one part from the database for clinch-checking, and finding a part number of the part; PA1 3) searching the database for the selected part, extracting X, Y coordinates of the holes into which the part is to be inserted, and extracting a size of a corresponding land to the part; PA1 4) finding a corresponding hole position on a printed circuit board to the X, Y coordinates of the hole extracted from the database; PA1 5) comparing a line length of the clinched lead in the hole on the printed circuit board with the size of the land of the hole extracted from the database; PA1 6) if the line length of the clinched lead is larger than the size of the land, then judging the clinched state of the hole to be bad, but if the line length of the clinched lead is not larger than the size of the land, then judging the clinched state of the hole to be good; and PA1 7) displaying a judged result on a monitor, and storing it in a memory.
In steps 7) and 8), when there is something wrong in--clinching process for fixing the part by cutting and bending the lead line which is inserted into the appropriate hole on the printed circuit board--, the respective parts can not be electrically connected as desired in layout. For example, when a line length of the clinched lead is larger than a range of a predetermined land of the hole, a short circuit with the neighboring lead line in the brazing process tends to occur. Also, when the inserted lead is imperfectly bent, imperfect brazing tends to occur. Therefore, productivity deteriorates due to bad PCBs with non-desired electrical connections.

Electronic part inserting apparatus with checking function for clinched state, and checking method thereof


A method for making a field emission cathode includes the steps of: (a) providing a substrate having a first substrate surface and a second substrate surface opposite to the first substrate surface; (b) forming a conductive film on the first substrate surface; (c) forming a catalyst film on the conductive film, the catalyst film including carbonaceous material; (d) flowing a mixture of a carrier gas and a carbon source gas over the catalyst film; (e) focusing a laser beam on the catalyst film and/or on the second substrate surface to locally heat the catalyst to a predetermined reaction temperature; and (f) growing an array of the carbon nanotubes via the catalyst film to form a field emission cathode.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to methods for making a field emission cathode and, particularly, to a laser-based method for making a carbon nanotube-based field emission cathode.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Carbon nanotubes are a novel carbonaceous material discovered and reported in an article by Sumio Iijima, entitled "Helical Microtubules of Graphitic Carbon" (Nature, Vol. 354, Nov. 7, 1991, pp. 56-58). Carbon nanotubes can transmit an extreme high electrical current and emit electrons at a very low voltage of less than 100 volts, which make it a very promising potential material for field emission applications.
Generally, the carbon nanotubes used for field emission are produced by arc discharge method or chemical vapor deposition method. The method for applying carbon nanotubes in field emission includes the steps of: printing a patterned layer of conductive grease on a conductive base with a predetermined quantity of carbon nanotubes dispersed therein and treating the layer of grease by peeling parts of the grease to expose ends of the carbon nanotubes to emit electrons. However, the step of peeling quite often destroys the carbon nanotubes. Moreover, the carbon nanotubes for emitting electrons, generally, lie on the conductive base. Thus, the field emission efficiency thereof is relatively low, and the stability thereof is less than desired.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a laser-based method for making a carbon nanotube-based field emission cathode in which the above problems are eliminated or at least alleviated.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Laser-based method for making field emission cathode


A medical device includes a first elongate member defining an interior region and configured to be coupled to a first anatomical structure within a body and a second elongate member configured to be coupled to a second anatomical structure within the body. A portion of the second elongate member is configured to be disposed within the interior region. The first and second elongate members collectively have a first configuration in which they collectively have a first length when the portion of the second elongate member is disposed within the interior region of the first elongate member. When coupled to the first and second anatomical structures, the first and second elongate members can be moved to a second configuration in which they collectively have a second length different than the first length.

A variety of medical devices and medical device systems are implanted within a body of a patient to provide support or stabilization to a portion or portions of the patient's body. For example, some medical device systems are implanted and coupled to backbones or spines of patients and are configured to provide support to the spinal bone structure of the patient. Some medical device systems that are configured to provide support to the spinal bone structure of a patient include support members or rods that extend between various portions of the medical device system to help maintain a specific distance between such portions of the medical device system. For example, the support members or rods may extend between portions of the medical device system that are coupled to adjacent vertebra to maintain a specific distance between the portions of the medical device system (and the vertebra to which the portions of the medical device system are coupled).
In some cases, after implantation, the portion of the patient's body being supported or stabilized by the support members or rods of the medical devices or medical device systems may grow, for example, in the case of a young patient. It then may be necessary to perform an additional medical procedure to replace a portion of the medical device (e.g., the support members or rods) or the entire implanted medical device or medical device system
Accordingly, there is a need for a support or rod device of an implantable medical device or medical device system that may be adjusted after implantation to accommodate changes in the size of the portion of the body being supported or stabilized.

Adjustable rod devices and methods of using the same


A system and associated method for compensating for thermal deformation of a spaced-based structure having a spacecraft payload. The system including a beacon source coupled to a first spacecraft for transmitting a first signal and a beacon sensor coupled to a second spacecraft for receiving the first signal and providing measurement data derived from the first signal. At least one attitude sensing device is coupled to the second spacecraft for determining estimated spacecraft attitude data for the second spacecraft. A processor on the second spacecraft is configured to process ephemeris data of the first and second spacecraft, beacon measurement data, estimated spacecraft attitude data, and gimbal angular position data to estimate spacecraft structural deformation.

Inaccurate pointing of a spacecraft payload can significantly reduce spacecraft effectiveness. For example, inaccurate pointing of a communication antenna can significantly reduce spacecraft communication throughput as well as reduce the communication coverage.
Structural thermal deformation is always a major error contributor to spacecraft payload pointing. Accordingly, to achieve high pointing accuracy, the amount of spacecraft structural thermal deformation needs to be accurately determined and compensated.
As a result, there is a need for achieving high pointing accuracy of a spacecraft by accurately accounting for spacecraft structural thermal deformation.

Thermal deformation determination for payload pointing using space-based beacon


Grain growth inhibitors including vanadium carbide, chromium carbide, tantalum carbide, and niobium carbide are incorporated into a cobalt/tungsten carbide matrix during the formation of the cobalt/tungsten carbide matrix. A precursor powder is formed by combining in solution a cobalt composition, a tungsten composition and a grain growth inhibiting metal composition, which is then spray dried. The precursor compound is then carburized in carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide to form cobalt/tungsten carbide matrix. This is then further carburized in a hydrocarbon hydrogen gas at an elevated temperature to cause the grain growth inhibiting metal present to form the carbide. The second carburizing step is conducted with a carburizing gas having a carbon activity greater than about 2 for a relatively short period of time at 900.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C.

Cemented carbide articles such as cutting tools, mining tools, and wear parts are routinely manufactured from carbide powders and metal powders by the powder metallurgy techniques of liquid phase sintering or hot pressing. Cemented carbides are made by "cementing" hard tungsten carbide (WC) grains in a softer fully-dense metal matrix such as cobalt (Co) or nickel (Ni).
The requisite composite powder can be made in two ways. Traditionally, WC powder is physically mixed with Co powder in a ball mill to form composite powder in which WC particles are coated with Co metal. A newer way is to use spray conversion processing, in which composite powder particles are produced directly by chemical means. In this case, a precursor salt in which W and Co have been mixed at the atomic level, is reduced and carbonized to form the composite powder. This method produces powder particles in which many WC grains are imbedded in a cobalt matrix. Each individual powder particle with a diameter of 50 micrometers contains WC grains a thousand times smaller.
The next step in making a cemented carbide article is to form a green part. This is accomplished by pressing or extruding WC-Co powder. The pressed or extruded part is soft and full of porosity. Sometimes further shaping is needed, which can be conveniently done at this stage by machining. Once the desired shape is achieved, the green part is liquid phase sintered to produce a fully dense part. Alternatively, a fully-dense part is sometimes produced directly by hot pressing the powder. In a final manufacturing step, the part is finished to required tolerances by diamond grinding.
Cemented carbides enjoy wide applicability because the process described above allows one to control the hardness and strength of a tool or part. High hardness is needed to achieve high wear resistance. High strength is needed if the part is to be subjected to high stresses without breaking. Generally, cemented carbide grades with low binder levels possess high hardness, but have lower strength than higher binder grades. High binder levels produce stronger parts with lower hardness. Hardness and strength are also related to carbide grain size, the contiguity of the carbide grains and the binder distribution. At a given binder level, smaller grained carbide has a higher hardness. Trade-off tactics are often adopted to tailor properties to a particular application. Thus, the performance of a tool or part may be optimized by controlling amount, size and distribution of both binder and WC.
The average WC grain size in a sintered article will not, generally, be smaller than the average WC grain size in the powder from which the article was made. Usually, however, it is larger because of grain growth that takes place, primarily, during liquid phase sintering of the powder compact or extrudate. For example, one can start with 50 nanometer WC grains in a green part and end up with WC grains larger than 1 micrometer.
A major technical challenge in the art of sintering is to limit such grain growth so that finer microstructures can be attained. Thus, it is typical to add a grain growth inhibitor to WC-Co powder before it is compacted or extruded. The two most commonly used grain growth inhibitors are vanadium carbide (VC) and chromium carbide (Cr.sub.3 C.sub.2) with TaC and NbC used less frequently. However, the use of these additives presents some problems. First, both are particularly oxygen sensitive, and when combined with WC and binder metal in a mill, both tend to take up oxygen, forming surface oxides. Later, during the liquid phase sintering step, these oxides react with carbon in the mixture to form carbon monoxide (CO) gas. If extra carbon has not been added to the powder to allow for this consumption of carbon, then this results in the WC and Co forming brittle .eta.-phases, which ruins the article. If too much carbon has been added, so-called carbon porosity results, again ruining the article. Even if just the right amount of carbon has been added, the evolution of CO gas itself can lead to unacceptable levels of porosity. High oxygen levels in powder compacts or extrudates lead to major problems during their sintering.
The present invention is premised on the realization that grain growth inhibitors, including vanadium carbide, chromium carbide, niobium carbide and tantalum carbide can be incorporated into a cobalt/tungsten cobalt carbide matrix during the formation of the cobalt/tungsten cobalt carbide matrix. More specifically, the present invention is premised on the realization that suitable salts of vanadium, chromium, tantalum, niobium or mixtures thereof can be combined with cobalt and tungsten compounds, dissolved into solution, and spray dried to form precursor compounds. In turn, the precursor compounds can be carburized using a two-step process to form tungsten carbide embedded in cobalt matrix, along with the carbides of vanadium, chromium, tantalum and/or niobium, while retaining the fine grain structure in the powder.
The carburization process requires a two-step process. In the initial process a relatively low carbon activity gas formed from carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are used at relatively low temperatures --about 750.degree. C. to 850.degree. C. This is continued until the tungsten is completely reacted to form tungsten carbide. This will leave the grain growth inhibitor composition as an oxide. The carburization is then continued using a gas having a higher carbon activity, specifically a combination of hydrogen and a hydrocarbon at a higher temperature, about 850.degree. C. to 950.degree. C., for no more than one hour. This will quickly cause the grain growth inhibiting composition to change from an oxide to a carbide without adversely affecting the previously-formed tungsten carbide/cobalt matrix. This allows the grain growth inhibitor to be directly formed with the cobalt/tungsten carbide matrix providing for more uniform distribution, less oxide formation, less oxygen sensitivity, and retention of fine grain size. This also reduces processing steps.
The objects and advantages of the present invention will be further appreciated in light of the following detailed description.

Multi-step process to incorporate grain growth inhibitors in WC-Co composite


An apparatus (30) and method for ultrasonically energized slitting of a slab of confectionary material wherein a slitting tool (33a) incorporates a plurality of slitting knives (37a) spaced apart in accordance with the desired width of the product, which strips are further processed by transverse cutting and/or molding or other processing steps such as chocolate enrobing to provide improved confectionary products.

The present invention relates generally to the confectionery processing, and more particularly, to the use of ultrasonically energized apparatus for slitting extended, continuous lengths of confectionery stock.
In one of its more preferred forms, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for longitudinally slitting a continuously moving slab of a composite confectionery product such as, for example, a composite slab having layers of nougat and caramel superimposed to form a wide slab. According to the process, the slab is formed by successively depositing a mass of a first confectionery product component, such as nougat, from a chill roll onto a conveyor, advancing the first confectionery product component formation thus created toward a station adjacent a second chill roll, at which a top layer of a second confectionery product component, such as caramel, is added to form the composite slab. The conveyor continues to advance the slab toward a cutting station at which a properly arranged, suitably adjusted array of ultrasonically energized slitters continuously slit the slab to provide a continuously moving array of spaced apart strips of confectionery product. These strips are subsequently formed into individual confectionery product segments by transverse cutting (ultrasonic or otherwise) and/or molding (ultrasonic or otherwise).
Depending on the intentions of the producer and the intended destination of the product, the cut individual shapes can be enrobed with a coating of chocolate. Thereafter, the individual finished products may be wrapped and boxed for sale and shipment.
An important aspect of the present invention is the design, construction and arrangement of a slitting tool of a desired configuration. Another aspect of the process relates to the manner of positioning the cutting edges of the slitting tool in arrays and the method of advancing the slabs so as to continuously slit the slab into a plurality of product strips.
Recently, it has been discovered that ultrasonically energized forming tools may be utilized to cut individual pieces of confectionery stock by transverse motion, wherein the stock is compressed between a support surface and a descending knife. In addition, ultrasonically energized product forming tools having a cavity shaped in accordance with the configuration of the product to be formed therewith have been found to be effective in simultaneously cutting and shaping an individual piece of confectionery stock from a leading edge of a strip of stock. This again involves compression and reforming of a piece of stock which is substantially captured or surrounded by the active surfaces of the tool.
The concept of slitting a continuous slab into plural strips, however, has presented problems and difficulties which, heretofore, have not been overcome by prior art slitters which commonly are in the form of rotary blades. For example, use of these rotary blade slitters have resulted in the build-up of product (particularly with soft and tacky confectionery products such as nougat and caramel layered slabs) which has necessitated frequent shutdown and washing, resulting in costly downtime. Efforts to solve this product build-up have involved the use of scrapers which require otherwise unnecessary personnel to monitor and remove the scraped product. Other efforts to solve this product build-up have involved the application of lubricants to the rotary blades which impart an undesirable slickness to the product that interferes which further processing such as chocolate enrobing and can produce a product of relatively short shelf life. Also, the performance of rotary blade slitters is particularly sensitive to product formulations and conditions, variations therein from narrow parameters can cause product jams. Additionally, rotary blade slitters can cause crunching of inclusions such as nuts and the like, leaving voids in the slab which, among other things, also interferes with chocolate enrobing. Accordingly, these prior art rotary blade slitter systems used in the production of confectionery products have created excessive scrap, produced reduced product yields and also suffered from related cleanliness or sanitation problems.
The present invention succeeds in overcoming these shortcomings by providing a high quality, effective cutting action having a number of significant advantages and beneficial characteristics, including reliability, low cost operation and high production speeds.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus and process for slitting extended, continuous lengths of confectionery stock.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and process which utilizes an ultrasonically energized slitting tool for forming strips from a slab of confectionery material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and process for rapidly slitting a continuous slab of confectionery material into a plurality of adjacent strips of a desired width utilizing an ultrasonically energized slitting knives which do not suffer from excessive product build-up characteristic of prior art rotary blade slitters.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method which utilize an ultrasonically energized slitting tool for forming a plurality of strips from a slab of confectionery stock which method and apparatus minimize the crunching and fragmentation of inclusions such as nuts and the like and produce product strips which are essentially free of voids.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method of slitting a slab of confectionery stock which accommodate a wide variation in product formulations, enabling such slitting to be efficiently accomplished with highly viscous and/or tacky ingredients such as are associated with lower calorie confectionery products.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for continuously slitting a slab of confectionery material into a plurality of strips which apparatus and method are more robust in that they provide greater flexibility in processing parameters and product formulations and conditions than are available with conventional rotary blade slitters.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages are achieved by providing an ultrasonically energized slitting tool which contacts a slab of confectionery material wherein slitting tool incorporates a plurality of slitting knives spaced apart in accordance with the desired width of the product steps which strips are further processed by transverse cutting and/or molding and other processing steps such as chocolate enrobing to provide improved confectionery products.
The manner in which the foregoing and other objects and advantages are achieved in practice will become more apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention set forth by way of example and shown in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout.

Ultrasonically activated continuous slitter apparatus and method


The present invention provides a digital signal processing apparatus which can perform batch processing of mixing and gain controlling, etc., one time while the frequency characteristics of different filters are being mixed to a plurality of input signals in case of the re-quantization only once. The present invention provides a digital signal processing apparatus for outputting a 1-bit digital signal by performing a delta sigma modulation process on a plurality of input signals, which includes a plurality of integrating unit, a plurality of feedforward arithmetic units that supply an arithmetic result calculated based on an independent feedforward coefficient to each input signal, to each of the plurality of the integrating units, a quantizing unit that quantizes the integrated output outputted from one of the plurality of the integrating unit, a plurality of feedback arithmetic units that supply an arithmetic result obtained by calculating quantized data outputted from the quantizing unit based on the independent feedback coefficient, to each of the plurality of the integrating units, and a mixing unit that mixes the output of the integrating unit of the front stage, the output of the feedforward arithmetic unit and the output of the feedback arithmetic unit and supplies the mixed result to the integrating unit of the rear stage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a digital signal processing apparatus and a digital signal processing method, and more particularly, to a digital signal processing apparatus and a digital signal processing method which inputs a delta sigma (ΔΣ) modulated digital audio signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A ΔΣ modulated high speed 1-bit audio signal has a form having a very high sampling frequency and a short data word length (for example, a sampling frequency is 64 times as large as 44.1 kHz and a data word length is 1 bit) as compared with the format (for example, a sampling frequency is 44.1 kHz, and a data word length is 16 bits) of the data used for a conventional digital audio, and has a feature of wide transmission frequency band. Moreover, in the audio band of a low frequency as compared with an over sampling frequency of 64 times of the 1-bit signal by the ΔΣ modulation, a high dynamic range can be ensured. This feature can be applied to a recorder of high tone quality or a data transmission.
A ΔΣ modulation circuit itself is not particularly new technology, but since a circuit configuration is suitable for integrated circuiting and the accuracy of an AD conversion can be relatively simply obtained, this is a circuit frequently used heretofore for the interior or the like of an AD converter. Furthermore, the ΔΣ modulated signal can be returned to an analog audio signal by passing the signal through a simple analog pass filter.
Incidentally, in order to realize the reproduction suitable for various audition environment or audition equipment and materials when the multichannel of a super audio CD is reproduced, a digital signal processing (Digital Signal Processor: DSP) or a digital surround processing (Digital Surround Processor: DSP) becomes indispensable. For example, in the combination of a small size speaker and a subwoofer which cannot achieve a low frequency tone quality, a signal from which low frequency components are removed, is outputted to the small size speaker, and only the low frequency components are outputted by mixing the respective channels to the subwoofer. Therefore, a signal process using a filter, a mixer, etc., is required.
Heretofore, in order to subject the 1-bit audio signal obtained by, for example, the ΔΣ modulation to a digital signal processing (DSP), as it is, the DSP processing is performed for each function. Accordingly, a re-quantization noise is generated each time, and its tone quality is deteriorated.
Furthermore, in a digital signal processor 120 shown in FIG. 1A, in the case where an input signal X1 of 1-bit audio signal obtained by the ΔΣ modulation, and an input signal X0 of the 1-bit audio signal which the low frequency components have passed through an LPF 121 are mixed by a mixer 122, a time delay to the input signal X0 by the passage through the LPF 121.
It is needless to say that the low frequency components taken out by the LPF 121 are re-quantized by a quintic re-ΔΣ modulator 124 of the structure shown, for example, in FIG. 2. Also, the audio signal mixed by the mixer 122 is re-quantized by a tertiary re-ΔΣ modulator 125 shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, the output after a gain is controlled for attenuation processing by an attenuator 126 after the mixing, is also re-quantized by the tertiary re-ΔΣ modulator 125 shown in FIG. 2.
Therefore, when the quantized noise level of FIG. 1B is observed, a re-quantization noise by the re-ΔΣ modulation at a filtering time by the LPF 121, a re-quantization noise by the re-ΔΣ modulation at a mixing time by the mixer 122, and a re-quantization noise by the re-ΔΣ modulation at a gain controlling time by the attenuator 123 are applied to the original quantization noise level which the input signal X1 and the input signal X0 have, and the re-quantization noise is increased.
Furthermore, in a digital signal processor 130 shown in FIG. 3A, even when the input signal X1 which high frequency components have passed through an HPF 132 and the input signal X0 which low frequency components have passed through an LPF 131 are mixed by a mixer 133, the high frequency components taken out by the HPF 132 are re-quantized by the re-ΔΣ modulator shown in FIG. 2. The low frequency components taken out by the LPF 131 are also re-quantized by the re-ΔΣ modulator shown in FIG. 2. Moreover, the audio signal mixed by the mixer 133 is also re-quantized by the re-ΔΣ modulator. The output after the gain is controlled for attenuation processing by an attenuator 134 after the mixing is re-quantized by the re-ΔΣ modulator.
Therefore, when the quantization noise level of FIG. 3A is observed, a re-quantization noise by the re-ΔΣ modulation at the filtering time by the LPF 131 and the HPF 132, a re-quantization noise by the re-ΔΣ modulation at the mixing time by the mixer 133, and a re-quantization noise by the re-ΔΣ modulation at a gain controlling time by the attenuator 134 are applied to the original quantization noise level which the input signal X1 and the input signal X0 have, and the quantization noise is increased.
To solve this problem, for example, it is most ideal to perform all the processes to be performed as DSP processing in case of the re-quantization only once by one delta sigma modulator. A method of regulating and mixing the gains by the one delta sigma modulation was very easy. The following Non-patent Documents 1 and 2 each describes a 1-bit digital filter.
Non-patent document 1: Casey, N. M. and Angus, J. A. S., "One Bit Digital Processing of Audio Signals," Proc. Audio Eng. Soc., 95th AES Convention 1993, New York.
Non-patent document 2: Casey, N. M., "One Bit Digital Processing of Audio Signals," MSc Thesis, Department of Electronics, University of York, October 1933.

Digital signal processing apparatus and digital signal processing method


A disposable, inflatable, matrix (tooth dam) used to form a temporary, removeable side wall for the placement of a tooth filling material. It establishes the original dental anatomy of the tooth, and maintains the correct contact between adjacent teeth for flossing purposes and gingival health. It accomplishes this by inflating a pair of self-sealing air chambers that extend from the back face of a planar panel that they are formed on, such that these chambers contact and press against the adjacent tooth and exert enough force to elastically secure the planar panel without wedges and clamps. It prevents the tooth filling material from leaving the prepared tooth and entering the space between the teeth to enhance flossing and proper dental hygiene. This device will greatly enhance patient comfort, procedural efficiency and consistency.

Tooth decay is a way of life for many people. Standard dental restorations involve the removal of decay from a tooth. After the decay has been removed and the resultant hole sterilized and dried, it is a relatively straight forward process to place restorative materials and contour to recreate normal tooth anatomy.
When the decay has penetrated the side of the tooth (marginal ridge) this side has to be partially removed. Here the job complexity goes up. With the side or marginal ridge penetrated, two things occur. First, there is no side boundary to retain the filling material and second, any filling material that does spill over between teeth, will cause complications down the road.
Currently, this situation is addressed by ensuring that there is adequate clearance between adjacent teeth by filing the space accordingly, and by placing a Toffelmire™ matrix steel band and clamp around all four sides of the tooth being repaired. These band clamps are uncomfortable and often require wedges to ensure the seal around the tooth is above the gum line, or to separate the teeth enough such that the band may be placed between them. Additionally, they can cause gum irritation. Other matrix and clamp devices are available but all use wedges for forcing the teeth apart.
Hence, an economical, disposable tooth isolating device (dam or matrix) would fulfill a long felt need in the restorative dental treatment industry. This new invention utilizes and combines known and new technologies in a unique and novel configuration to overcome the aforementioned problems and accomplish this.


The present invention provides an apparatus and method for cooking French fries without cooking oil. The apparatus relies on high pressure inert gas at high temperature as the cooking medium. The inert gas acts both as a heat transfer medium to cook the potatoes, and as a protective atmosphere to prevent charring and oxidation of the potatoes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of cooking. More particularly, the invention pertains to an apparatus and method for cooking foodstuff such as French fries in the absence of cooking oil.
2. Description of Related Art
The present invention is concerned primarily with the preparation of the side dish commonly known in the US as "French fries", or "fries" and in British English as "chips". Fries are distinguished from "potato chips" (or British potato crisps) by their shape, and by their method of production, distribution, and consumption. Fries are typically made from sections of raw or blanched potato that are larger than the thin slices from which potato chips are produced. Furthermore, fries are produced in small batches for hot consumption within minutes of preparation while potato chips are produced in much larger batches, or in a continuous process, and are packaged and distributed for later consumption at room temperature. The present invention is concerned with the production of French fries (hereafter referred to simply as "fries") rather than potato chips.
Fries are typically produced from prism shaped potato pieces. Normally, the prisms have cross sections of about ⅓ inch by ⅓ inch, but may range from about ⅙ inch by ⅙ inch to about 9/16 inch by 9/16 inch, their lengths normally range from about 1 inch to about 6 inches. Commonly, the fries are partially cooked, then frozen, transported, and stored, and final frying is performed shortly before consumption by immersing them for several minutes in cooking oil heated to 175° C. to 200° C.
Fries produced by this method absorb a significant quantity of the oil in which they are cooked and consequently have a high fat content that makes them a relatively unhealthy food. For reasons of improved health and nutrition it would be desirable to lower the fat content of French fries.
Previous attempts have been made to reduce the fat content of French fries. Approaches that have been tried include precooking of the potato pieces prior to frying. Precooking can include blanching, microwaving or baking. Precooking reduces the amount of time the pieces must be submerged in cooking oil, and can therefore lower the fat content of the finished product. Various coatings have also been devised to try to limit the amount of oil absorbed onto the potato surface. Another approach involves cooking the potato pieces by microwave radiation, followed by spraying the surface of the pieces with hot oil (U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,542). All of these approaches still rely on oil to complete at least a portion of the cooking, and therefore still yield a product containing a substantial amount of fat.
There remains a need for a method suitable for the production of fat-free or low fat versions of French fries.

Method and apparatus for cooking low fat French fries


A user-to-entity communication channel is established for providing increased information regarding entities to the general population. Ambassadors for a entity are identified and selected based on location history of devices for which location reporting is authorized. The ambassadors may provide information regarding the entity to the public through the communication channel. Communications between the users and ambassadors may be reported to the entity owner for analysis by the entity owner.

If a person is looking for a product or local service, they typically start by looking for it online, such as by entering a search in a search engine. However, some local stores or other entities do not have websites, or their websites may not contain the information being sought by the person. Currently, the person would need to identify a entity potentially providing the product or service, find contact information for the entity, call the entity, and hope someone is available at the entity to answer the person's question. In many instances, the person would need to repeat the entire process for a second entity, such as if the first entity did not have what the person sought, or if the person wanted to compare products or services available at multiple entities. This is time consuming and inconvenient.

Creating a communication channel between user devices and local stores


A reversible SOFC monolithic stack is provided which comprises: 1) a first component which comprises at least one porous metal containing layer (1) with a combined electrolyte and sealing layer on the porous metal containing layer (1); wherein the at least one porous metal containing layer (1) hosts an electrode; 2) a second component comprising at least one porous metal containing layer (1) with a combined interconnect and sealing layer on the porous metal containing layer; wherein the at least one porous metal containing layers hosts an electrode. Further provided is a method for preparing a reversible solid oxide fuel cell stack. The obtained solid oxide fuel cell stack has improved mechanical stability and high electrical performance, while the process for obtaining same is cost effective.

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC's) are well known in the art and come in various designs. Typical configurations include a flat plate design and a tubular design, wherein an electrolyte layer is sandwiched between two electrodes. During operation, usually at a temperature from 500° C. to 1100° C., one electrode is in contact with oxygen or air and the other electrode is in contact with a fuel gas.
Several properties are required for the SOFC's, such as high conductivity, a large area of electrochemically active sites at the electrode/electrolyte interface, chemical and physical stability over a wide range of fuel atmospheres, and minimal microstructural changes with operating time, since such changes are often accompanied by deterioration of electrical performance.
Under typical operating conditions, a single cell produces less than 1 volt. To obtain high voltage and power from the SOFC's, it is therefore necessary to stack many cells together.
The most common manufacturing method for SOFC planar stacks comprises the manufacture of single cells. The cells are subsequently stacked together with interconnects, current collectors, contact layers and seals. After assembly the stacks are consolidated/sealed by heat treatment under a vertical load, to ensure sealing as well as electrical contact between the components. The mechanical/electrical coherence of the stack during operation is ensured by applying a constant vertical load (using, e.g., a yoke).
The cells are most commonly manufactured by the use of wet powder processing techniques which comprise tape-casting of the support component (typically the electrolyte or anode). The cell support component is normally made by tape casting of a powder suspension and the active layers (cathode, electrolyte and anode) are subsequently deposited onto the support by spray painting or screen printing, with intermediate sintering steps for the different layers.
Alternatively SOFC's are for instance manufactured by electrochemical vapour deposition (CVD) method or plasma spraying. However, said processes are very expensive, and thus there has been a desire to lower the fabrication costs.
Consequently, when a planar SOFC is designed, one emphasis is to minimize sealing and sealing surfaces because the seal requirements are very stringent. Suitable high-temperature sealants being used include cements, glasses and glass-ceramics. A sealant selected for planar SOFC's must have sufficient stability in oxidizing and reducing environments, chemical compatibility with cell-stack components, and proper sealing and insulating properties. Examples of glass and glass-ceramic sealants being developed for planar SOFC's are modified borosilicate and aluminosilicate glasses.
US-A-200400115503 discloses an electrochemical device assembly, comprising a porous electrically conductive support layer; a prefabricated electrochemical device layer; and a bonding layer between said support layer and said electrochemical device layer. Also disclosed is a method of fabricating said assembly, said method comprising: providing a porous electrically conductive support layer; providing a prefabricated electrochemical device layer; and bonding said support layer and said electrochemical device layer with a bonding layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,170 relates to a method for fabricating a bilayer structure consisting of a porous substrate with a bonded dense film, comprising the steps of: forming a homogeneous porous substrate layer and curing it to a predetermined green density, applying by means of an aerosol spray a uniform suspension of a film material in a volatile carrier onto the surface of said substrate to form a thin green film layer of a predetermined thickness, volatilizing said carrier, and firing the bilayer formed by said green film layer and said substrate layer to sinter thin green film layer and substrate, said substrate having a predetermined green density selected such that the total shrinkage of the fired green film layer and fired substrate layer is such that the film shrinkage is equal to or less than that of the fired substrate.
Y. Matus et al., "Metal-supported solid oxide fuel cell membranes for rapid thermal cycling", Solid State Ionics, 176 (2005), 443-449, relates to SOFC membranes, in which zirconia-based electrolyte thin films are supported by a porous composite metal/ceramic current collector and are subjected to rapid thermal cycling between 200° C. and 800° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,960 discloses a method of making metal or metal alloy plates, comprising the steps of: obtaining a powder of a predefined composition, adding solvents, dispersants, a plasticizer and an organic binder to said powder to form a slip; forming said slip into a layer on a substrate; forming an additional layer directly on said layer and forming a plurality of additional layers directly on previous layers to provide a multiple layer graded stack in a defined order; heating said multiple layer graded stack to a predefined temperature for burning out said binder; and sintering said layer in a reducing atmosphere at a set temperature for a predetermined duration.
US-A-20030232230 relates to a SOFC repeat unit comprising a multilayer laminate, said multilayer laminate including a metallic air flow field; a metallic interconnect disposed on said metallic air flow field; a metallic fuel flow field disposed on said metallic interconnect; an anode disposed on said metallic fuel flow field, and an oxide electrolyte disposed on said anode. The obtained sintered repeating units are stacked in order to form a SOFC, and the stack is afterwards sintered and sealed.
WO 03/075382 teaches a solid oxide fuel cell of the type including repetitively stacked anode, electrolyte, cathode and interconnect layers including a plurality of gasket elements which space apart the interconnect, electrolyte, and gasket elements also defining integral manifolds for the fuel and oxidant inlet and exhaust flow streams.
GB-A-2400723 discloses an intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell, comprising a ferritic stainless steel substrate including a coarsely porous support and a non-porous frame housing said porous support, a first electrode layer located in the non-porous frame and supported internally by the coarsely porous support, an electrolyte layer located over the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer located over the electrolyte layer.
US-A-20020048699 relates to a SOFC, comprising a ferritic stainless steel substrate including a porous region and a non-porous region bounding the porous region; a ferritic stainless steel bi-polar plate located under one surface of the porous region of the substrate and being sealingly attached to the non-porous region of the substrate about the porous region thereof; a first electrode layer located over the other surface of the porous region of the substrate; an electrolyte layer located over the first electrode layer; and a second electrode layer located over the electrolyte layer.
WO 02/09116 discloses a SOFC of the type including repetitively stacked anode, electrolyte, cathode and interconnect layers including a plurality of gasket elements which space apart the interconnect and electrolyte elements and bound to the anode and cathode elements. The interconnect, electrolyte and gasket elements also define integral manifolds for the fuel and oxidant inlet and exhaust flow streams.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,468 describes a process for obtaining a fuel cell, including the steps of providing a pre-sintered nickel-zirconia fuel electrode, and an air electrode with a ceramic electrolyte disposed between the electrodes. The fuel electrode is sintered to provide an active solid oxide fuel cell.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,713 relates to a method of forming a fuel electrode on an electrolyte of a SOFC by a sintering process, the method comprising the provision of an underlayer to which an electrolyte is applied in the form of a slurry, which is then dried. An overlayer is thereafter applied to the underlayer and then dried. The dried underlayer and overlayer are then sintered to form the fuel electrode.
However, there are a number of disadvantages with the designs and manufacturing procedures of SOFC stacks hitherto known:    1. True monolithic planar stacks are not obtained since the mechanical integrity of the stacks requires a permanent mechanical load to maintain sealing and electrical contact during operation.    2. The manufacturing processes are complicated and comprise numerous sintering steps or expensive chemical or physical deposition techniques.    3. In the case of sintering of the electrodes, there are two drawbacks:            a. Due to the required sintering temperatures, performance limiting interface reactions are often observed between the electrodes and the electrolyte and/or interconnect;        b. During sintering it is not possible to maintain sufficient fine microstructures in the electrode and in the electrode/electrolyte interface due to excessive grain growth.

Reversible solid oxide fuel cell stack and method for preparing same


Pacemaker for the stimulation of the human heart having three electrodes or two electrodes, with the first electrode connected to the right atrium, the second electrode connected to the right ventricle and the third electrode connected to the said right ventricle. The pacemaker is programmed so that there is first stimulation of the right atrium by means of the first electrode, then there is second stimulation of the right ventricle by means of the second electrode with an interval function of the programmed AV delay (50-400 msec) and with a voltage not exceeding 80-90% of the threshold potential, and finally there is third stimulation, again of the right ventricle by means of the third electrode with a voltage that conforms with Safety Margin rules and at a second stimulation time interval comprised between 50 msec and 300 msec.

The first pacemakers were provided with a single electrode, which was implanted on one or two ventricles of the heart of the sick patient, and epicardial stimulation was only performed on the ventricle to which said electrode was connected in those pathological cases in which the heart did not contract on its own or did not adequately contract. The implants were performed with a thoracotomy or subxiphoid approach. In 1967, pacemaker implantation became endocardial, i.e. the stimulating electrode was inserted transvenously into the right ventricle; the intervention is considerably less invasive.
In a subsequent development phase, greater clinical knowledge, improved implantation techniques, significant evolution of the pacemakers both from a stoichiometric and circuital point of view, and significant improvement of the stimulating electrodes, it was also proposed to place only one electrode in the atrium, as an alternative to connecting the electrode to the ventricle alone, a much more physiological solution in the case of particular clinical pictures.
In a subsequent phase pacemakers 1, which had two electrodes 3 and 4, were also developed and in this case an electrode 4 was positioned in the right ventricle and the other electrode 3 was positioned in the right atrium, cf. FIG. 1. The surgical operation for implantation of these pacemakers, known as dual-chamber or sequential pacemakers, was more complicated given the presence of two electrodes, thus they were only preferred in those heart conditions that justified the increased risk. Subsequently, with the progress of implantation techniques and the progress of the electrode technology, there was an increasing choice of dual-chamber pacemakers; since 1995, implanting a pacemaker means implanting a dual-chamber pacemaker unless there are clinical contraindications.
Given their clinical conditions, some patients require particular, more complex stimulations than the sequential, right atrium-ventricle stimulation. Such patients have serious conditions, i.e. they have an ejection fraction of less than 35% and are in NYHA class III or IV. So as to improve the clinical picture, i.e. to improve stroke volume and cardiac output, in addition to the atrial electrode 5 in the right atrium RA and the right ventricular electrode 6 in the right ventricle RV, in these patients there is also inserted a third electrode 7 in the left ventricle LV to also stimulate this part of the heart 20 with programmed times compared to the stimulation of the right ventricle, cf. FIG. 2. In such patients, depending on the clinical picture, there can be implanted a defibrillator 2 instead of a pacemaker; it should be borne in mind that a defibrillator also performs the functions of a pacemaker and that such functions are suitably controlled by the control programme of the pacemaker-defibrillator device.
For these patients, for whom it is necessary to implant a third electrode in the left ventricle in addition to the two electrodes in the right ventricle and atrium, there is nevertheless envisaged an implantation surgical operation that is often particularly lengthy and therefore very dangerous due to the very fact that it is performed on patients whose heart is particularly weakened, with risk to their life in the course of the operation. The difficulty of such an operation results from the need to make the third electrode cross the coronary sinus to reach the affixing position above the left ventricle inside the great cardiac vein. There are sometimes particular difficulties that advise against implanting the third electrode adapted to stimulate the left ventricle, and that are generally linked to the clinical conditions of the patient.

Heart stimulation device and respective control system

P.A. & M. PARTECIPAZIONI AZIONARIE & MANAGEMENT S.R.L.


An adjustable cervical pillow, with beautification properties, for supporting the head and neck of a person. The cervical pillow includes a resilient pillow body with a resilient upper portion that includes a plurality of depressions on a top face of the resilient upper portion for receiving a person's ear during use. The pillow body further includes a central depression and at least one head adjusting shim. The top face includes a raised cervical support region for supporting the neck of a user during use.

Standard solid-bodied pillows in common use for many years have a number of limitations. The downward force caused by the weight of a person's head on tissue and facial skin in contact with solid bodied pillows is considerable, causing local stretching and deformation of the skin. Over a period of many years this deformation accelerates wrinkling of the skin, contributing to the visible effects of ageing.
Similarly, the outer surfaces of the ears are crushed by the weight of the head when a person using a pillow lies to the side, contributing to the incidence of bacterial and fungal ear infections, morning wax deafness, ear ache and gradual deformation and wrinkling of the pinna.
In addition, standard pillows provide uneven support to the head and neck, causing muscular strain of the neck and back, and causing general night unrest. Sleepers adopt a side or face down position during sleep in an effort to conform to the support points of a pillow, spending disproportionately little time sleeping in a supine position. This can accelerate degeneration of the spine associated with ageing, particularly in the neck region. Indeed, neck injury commonly results from improper support while sleeping. Similarly, in an attempt to match personal anatomy to a pillow, many people adopt unnatural sleeping positions with arms and hands used to provide head support, which leads to discomfort and joint degeneration, and even arthritis, in the hands, elbows and shoulders.
Finally, although a variety of pillow sizes and shapes are available, they can not be specifically customized to match an individual's anatomy and natural sleep habits.
In an attempt to address some of these deficiencies, various pillow designs have been proposed. Wang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,231 describes a pillow with a neck support and groves to reduce ear compression when lying to the side. However, the groves of the Wang design poorly distribute weight away from the ear, because the head and face is supported only above and below the ear. Indeed, this general lack of facial support increases the pressure on the face of the user at the few points which contact the pillow, potentially causing discomfort, skin damage and the like. In addition, the entire pillow is of a single piece, which prevents customization of the pillow by a user. Furthermore, nothing in the pillow design addresses the general formation of facial wrinkles or pressure creases from facial compression. Indeed, it seems likely that morning wrinkles would form on a sleeper's face along the lines of the grooves.
Lake, U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,728 describe a pillow with a shaped central depression. Like Wang, when sleeping with one's face to the side, this pillow redistributes weight to only a few regions of the face, potentially damaging these regions and causing morning wrinkling and discomfort. Furthermore, the pillow is not customizable.
The present invention solves these and other problems.

Adjustable cervical pillow with depressions for a user's ear


The TSV technology has been popular as one of stacking technologies of a plurality of semiconductor chips. It has however been revealed by the present inventors that when TSV is formed using a so-called first via process, via middle process, front-via via last process, or the like, there is a possibility of defects such as gate breakdown occurring due to electrostatic breakdown in the subsequent process. In order to overcome the above problem, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device, in which a through via electrode is formed by forming a hole in a semiconductor substrate, forming an insulating member in the hole, and burying a conductive member in the resulting hole while covering a portion of the hole except for the bottom portion with the insulating member.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device (or a semiconductor device), in particularly, to a technology effective when applied to a through via technology, that is, TSV (Through Silicon Via) technology.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-43779 (Patent Document 1) or U.S. Pat. No. 7,932,602 (Patent Document 2) corresponding thereto discloses a technology of forming a tungsten-based through electrode penetrating through a buried silicon oxide film, which has been buried in advance in a surface region of a silicon substrate, and a premetal insulating film on the buried silicon oxide film and reaching the lower surface thereof. The TSV technology disclosed in this document belongs to a via first process, that is, a process of forming a through via after formation of a premetal insulating film.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-186870 (Patent Document 3) discloses a technology of forming a through electrode penetrating through a silicon substrate from the back surface side thereof and reaching the lower surface of a metal pad. The TSV technology disclosed in this document belongs to a so-called "back via type via last" process.
[Patent Documents]
    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-43779    [Patent Document 2] U.S. Pat. No. 7,932,602    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-186870

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device


A gas mixture method and apparatus of prolonging lifetime of an ion source for generating an ion beam particularly an ion beam containing carbon is proposed here. By mixing the dopant gas and the minor gas together to generate an ion beam, undesired reaction between the gas species and the ion source can be mitigated and thus lifetime of the ion source can be prolonged. Accordingly, quality of ion beam can be maintained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas mixture method and apparatus for generating ion beam, and more particularly to a method and apparatus of prolonging lifetime of an ion source for generating an ion beam.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronic products bring convenience to humans' life and all these products rely on controller chips for operation. Semiconductors have desired electrical properties and thus are widely used for manufacturing chips. Generally, semiconductor wafers need to be doped with chemical elements to reach different electrical properties for different uses. For example, n-type semiconductors can be doped with electron donors (e.g. Group V elements) to increase concentration of free electrons and it affords rise in conductivity.
Currently, ion implanting process is mainly adopted by industry for doping because it can deposit ions onto wafer surface homogeneously. An ion implanter system comprises gas source, a reaction chamber, magnets, and extraction electrodes. While the dopant gas is injected into the chamber, electrons emitted from the hot cathode collide with gas molecules to generate ions. Then magnets establish a magnet field to confine those electrons to prevent them from striking the reaction chamber before colliding with gas molecules, thus to increase electron density and the plasma density. Extraction electrode placed adjacent to the aperture of the reaction chamber extracts the ions out of the plasma to form an ion beam outside the chamber along a desired trajectory. Species of dopant gas contribute to electrical presence of doped wafers such as n-type semiconductors or p-type semiconductors and may comprise AsH3, GeF4, BF3, CO2, PH3 etc. The reaction chamber which accommodates the anode, cathode, reactant gases is called ion source. Stable and uniform ion beam generated from the ion source is required. However, quality of the ion beam may degrade after operating in a period of time; the interval between operation failures is called mean time between failures (MTBF) or lifetime and is considered a critical factor regarding doping process.
Operation failure may result from several reasons. First, there are probably impure particles accumulated on the cathode so to effect thermal emission of electron flow density, which can render reduced density or stability of ion beam. The situation especially occurs when fluorine is contained in dopant gas (e.g. GeF4, BF3). As we know, fluorine ion has strong oxidation ability and can oxidize metal atoms or other molecules. After undergoing doping process, excessive fluorine continue to exist in the reaction chamber and may erodes chamber wall. Materials of the chamber such as metal ions are then released and sputtered on the cathode under reacting atmosphere. Thus, thermal emission of electrons from the cathode is impeded, which results in unstable ion beam.
Besides, since plasma (ionized gas) is formed in the chamber, positive ions also can possibly accelerate to bombard the cathode to dissociate metal materials of the cathode, such as W or Mo, etch away the cathode material to shorten cathode lifetime; and dissociated materials may be attached to the chamber wall. However, if we add some fluorine containing gas, such as CF4, the halogen effect caused by fluorine molecules can move W or Mo materials from the cooler chamber wall back to the cathode surface to prolong cathode's lifetime. The competing processes of oxidation on W or Mo cathode surfaces versus W or Mo re-deposition on W or Mo cathode surface make the ratio between dopant gas and fluorine containing minor gas critical for the best ion source performance.
Other factors degenerating quality of ion beam relate to the aforementioned phenomenon. While the cathode or chamber wall are etched or attached with impure particles thereon, which means inner surface of the chamber becomes rough, electric field may be disturbed. For example, a tiny protrusion may discharge or arc under the electric field. Consequently, plasma distribution may shift or be distorted to cause undesired results for generating the ion beam.
The above-mentioned problems cause damages to the ion source, which not only affect quality of the ion beam, but also decrease lifetime of the ion source. To solve these problems, regular maintenance such as cleaning or polishing is necessary to prolong lifetime of the ion source. Unfortunately, these actions are time-wasted and complicated steps because it requires entire dissemblance of the ion source head; maintenance cannot be performed frequently in practice otherwise the productivity of an ion implanter would be greatly impacted. Therefore, to enhance ion implanter productivity and reduce maintenance cost through prolonging lifetime of ion source, an alternative step of simple maintenance allows in-situ cleaning during generating ion beam needs to be developed.

Gas mixture method and apparatus for generating ion beam


Method of manufacturing a thin film device substrate wherein no trench fabrication is required to be applied onto the substrate surface, and a material which is impervious to light can be used, and the substrate can be peeled off quickly. Firstly, a peeling-off film, a silicon oxide film and an amorphous silicon film are formed in succession on a glass substrate, and the amorphous silicon film is irradiated from above to obtain a polycrystalline silicon film. Subsequently, using the polycrystalline silicon film as an active layer, a TFT is formed, and then a plastic substrate is bonded thereon, and finally the glass substrate is peeled off with the peeling-off film, to complete transfer of the TFT. Because the peeling-off film has a gap space, its etching rate is high. Therefore, it is unnecessary to form a trench for supplying an etchant on the surface of the glass substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a thin film device substrate which comprising the step of transferring a thin film device formed on one substrate onto another substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the switching element in the pixel section of the liquid crystal display unit, the thin film transistor (referred to as the "TFT" hereinafter) has been being widely used. In recent years, with the object of achieving the liquid crystal display unit of higher precision as well as producing the system on glass (referred to as the "SOG" hereinafter) successfully, there have been growing demands for higher operation speeds. The SOG herein is a technique to integrate, along with the TFT for driving the liquid crystal, the TFTs in adjacent circuits such as the driver circuit, the memory and the CPU (Central Processing Unit) onto one glass substrate.
When, for example, the liquid crystal display device making use of the TFT is fabricated, the glass substrate is generally utilized. The glass substrate is, however, not necessarily the best material. The glass substrate is disadvantageously heavy, fragile and inflexible. As against this, as the substrate which is lighter, less fragile and more flexible, there can be given the plastic substrate. Nevertheless, the TFT formed on the plastic substrate has the disadvantage of poorer performance than that of the TFT formed on the glass substrate, since the processing temperature for the TFT formed on the plastic substrate is limited to 150° C. or so. Accordingly, there have been brought forward several methods wherein, after a plastic substrate is bonded onto a TFT formed on a glass substrate, the glass substrate is peeled off therefrom and thereby the TFT is transferred onto the plastic substrate. They are further described below.
In a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.288522/1996, by forming numerous trenches in a glass substrate and then forming a silicon oxide film on the glass substrate by means of spin-coat, formation of gaps in the trenches is made, and following the TFT formation, an etching solution is permeated into these gaps, and thereby the glass substrate is peeled off. In a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 26733/1999, an isolation layer made of amorphous silicon or the like is laid on a glass substrate that can transmit a laser light, and thereon a TFT is formed. After another substrate is adhered onto this TFT, backside irradiation with the laser light is applied thereto, whereby the bonding force of the isolation layer is weakened so as to separate the glass substrate therefrom. In a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 212116/1999, a glass substrate is characteristically removed by chemical polishing.
In the conventional techniques, however, the following problems are known. In the method of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 288522/1996, the step of forming trenches in a glass substrate is comprised so that the glass substrate surface becomes rough, which lowers the pattern accuracy of the thin film device formed on the glass substrate. In the method of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 26733/1999, because the peeling-off is made with a laser, a material such as a glass having a low transmittance for the laser light or a silicon impervious to laser light cannot be employed for the substrate. In the method of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 212116/1999, the use of the polishing method lengthens its processing tome period.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a thin film device substrate wherein trench fabrication is not required on the substrate surface, wherein a material which is impervious to light can be used, and wherein the substrate can be peeled off in a short period of time.

Manufacturing method of thin film device substrate