An electrode comprises an electrically conductive substrate, a layer of energy accumulating redox polymer deposited onto the substrate, the redox polymer comprising a polymer metal complex with a substituted tetra-dentate Schiff's base selected from the group: poly-[Me(R, R′-Schiff-Y)], wherein Me is a transition metal; Y is a bridge group binding the atoms of Nitrogen in the Schiff's base; R is an electron-donating substituent comprising a functional group (X)O—, —COO(X), where (X) is an alkali metal; R′ is Hydrogen or Halogen; and wherein the polymer metal complex has the following structure:

Secondary sources of current make it possible to accumulate, store and release electric power to an external electric circuit. Among these secondary sources are conventional batteries, conventional capacitors and electrochemical capacitors (also called Supercapacitors or Ultracapacitors).
An electrochemical supercapacitor usually comprises a hermetically sealed housing filled with an electrolyte, a positive electrode (cathode) and a negative electrode (anode) placed inside the housing, a separator, such as a membrane that separates the anode space from the cathode space and special lead terminals coupling the supercapacitor to external electric circuits.
Electrochemical supercapacitors are based on the capacitive (not battery type) or Faradic (battery type) method for storing electrical power. In the first case the capacity of the double electrical layer formed at the electrolyte/electrode boundary is used for energy storage. Typically carbon materials having a large specific surface are used in capacitive devices as electrodes. During the charge/discharge process in a capacitive device no chemical or phase changes take place on the electrode surface or inside the electrode.
In the devices of the second type the charge/discharge process is accompanied by redox reactions on the surfaces of the electrodes. In contrast to batteries, these processes take place inside a thin layer of an electrochemically active compound on the surface of the electrodes. In the most well known supercapacitors of this type the surface of the electrodes is covered with metal oxides
Typically both methods of energy accumulation are implemented in real devices, however, it is always possible to tell which method makes the main contribution to the energy accumulation process and to classify the capacitor by the energy storing method.
Electrochemical supercapacitors exhibit a very high specific power up to as high as 10 kW/kg and a long service life of up to 1 million charge/discharge cycles. These characteristics provide for a wide range of potential applications for such electrochemical supercapacitors.
Nevertheless, known electrochemical supercapacitors have disadvantages, of which the most important is their low specific energy capacity. The value of the specific energy capacity of commercially available products is within the range of 1-10 W·h/kg.
The maximal values of the specific energy capacity of about 30 W·h/kg were claimed for the electrochemical supercapacitors of the Faradic type comprising carbon electrodes with ruthenium oxide on their surface. However, the high cost of ruthenium hinders the wide application of such devices.
The above-described disadvantages are based on objective factors. The maximal values of the specific energy capacity of the known supercapacitors are limited primarily by the nature of the metal oxides—the materials used in electrode manufacture, which also contributes to the high cost of these devices.
In an international application "Polymer-modified electrode for energy storage devices and electrochemical supercapacitor based on said polymer-modified electrode", WO03065536A2, a chemically modified electrode comprises a conducting substrate and a layer of an energy-accumulating redox polymer deposited onto the layer. The redox polymer is a stack-type polymer complex compound of a transition metal having at least two different degrees of oxidation. The redox polymer also comprises monomer fragments of a planar structure with a branched system of conjugated π-bonds and the deviation from the plane of no greater than 0.1 nm.
A polymer metal complex with a substituted tetra-dentate Schiff's base may be used as the polymer complex compound of a transition metal—for example, the compound from the group: poly-[Me(R, R′-Salen)],
where: Me—transition metal;
                Salen—residue of bis-(salicylaldehyde)-ethylenediamine in Schiff's base;        R—H or electron-donating substituent, for example, CH3O—, C2H5O—, HO— or —CH3;        R′—H or Hlg,
may be used as said polymer metal complex.
Energy-accumulating devices with electrodes comprising redox polymers can possess the properties of different types of supercapacitors and of electrochemical batteries, i.e. a high specific power and high specific energy capacity, respectively. The main distinguishing feature of the known electrochemical capacitor is the design of its electrodes—at least one of them is made as a chemically modified electrode.
It should be noted that the examples given in the international application WO03065536A2 don't exhaust the possible ways of using the polymer metal complexes with substituted tetra-dentate Schiff's base.

Electrode for energy storage devices and electrochemical supercapacitor based on said electrode

Abstract: The electrochemical capacitor comprises a case housing the above-described positive electrode and a negative electrode disposed inside the case, and an electrolyte filling the space between the electrodes.


Circuit arrangement and method for dispatching computer instructions. In a processor having a plurality of types of execution units, the computer instructions are grouped in bundles, and each bundle includes a plurality of instructions and an associated index code. Template values are stored in a plurality of template registers, and each template value specifies types of execution units for a bundle of instructions and those instructions in a bundle that are executable in parallel. A dispatch logic circuit is coupled to the template registers and is responsive to an input bundle of instructions and associated index value. The dispatch logic circuit reads a code from a selected one of the plurality of template registers referenced by the index value and issues one or more selected instructions in the bundle to at least one execution unit of a selected type responsive to the code read from the selected one of the plurality of template registers.

The central processing unit of a computer includes instruction processing circuitry for decoding and performing the function(s) specified by a computer instruction. Sophisticated instruction processing circuits often include multiple execution units that are specially adapted to process different types of instructions. Example execution units include a floating point unit, a branch unit, a memory-operation unit, and an integer arithmetic unit. Some processor architectures include multiple execution units of each type of execution unit to further enhance instruction-level parallelism.
Some architectures group instructions into bundles. For example, the IA-64 architecture from Hewlett-Packard forms bundles of three instructions. Based on dependency between instructions, as many as all the instructions in the bundle may be dispatched in parallel to respective execution units. Dependencies between instructions cause instructions to be dispatched individually.
In the IA-64 architecture, the specification of which instructions in a bundle can be dispatched in parallel and the types of execution units to which the instructions are dispatched is made in a template. The template specifies a "stop bit" which indicates that any instructions that follow the stop bit cannot be dispatched until the instruction(s) that precede the stop bit have completed. The particular template which is assigned to a bundle by a compiler, for example, depends on the types of instructions in the bundle and dependencies between instructions in the bundle.
The number of bits in the template limits the number of combinations of instruction types and stop bits that can be defined by templates. Thus, where not enough bits are available for all the possible combinations of types of execution units and stop bit positions, the architecture must support execution of all possible sequences of instructions. Even though the templates could be implemented with additional bits to increase the number of combinations of execution unit types and stop bit positions, the resulting processor architecture would not be backwards compatible with software.
To conform an instruction sequence to the available templates, no-op instructions are sometimes inserted in the sequence. A no-op instruction occupies a slot in a bundle that would ordinarily be occupied by an instruction of the type specified for the slot by the template. No-op instructions are dispatched to the execution unit specified by the template. The extra instructions unnecessarily occupy memory space and negatively impact the system's instruction cache and system performance.
A system and method that address the aforementioned problems, as well as other related problems, are therefore desirable.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A fill material which includes first and second types of polymers which are mixed together to be used for filling frameless furniture or the like as well as the method and apparatus for making the fill material and supplying the fill material to a frameless furniture sheath.

As discussed in the co-pending application identified above, frameless furniture including chairs, futons, bean bags and the like has been known in the art for many years. In the context of this application, all of these terms are used interchangeably. Furthermore, frameless furniture filled with only beads of polystyrene or with only polyester foam has been known in the art.
While such conventional beanbag furniture is quite popular, the shape-ability, among other things, remains a problem. For example, after a conventional beanbag has been occupied by a person, the expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads within the liner of the beanbag remain substantially compressed, resulting in a depression which remains until the beanbag is reshaped by rolling, shaking, fluffing or the like.
Another drawback of beanbags filled solely with beads is that the beads (aka beads or pellets) can be hard, and, in time, may result in the occupant being uncomfortable.
Another deficiency in such frameless (or soft) furniture is that the beads compress fairly quickly such that the furniture becomes "flat" and needs to be refilled with beads. Likewise, the polystyrene beads do not have any inherent ability to return the chair to its original shape after the occupant departs therefrom.
Some solutions to these problems of frameless furniture are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,482 and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,391, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. These patents disclose that conventional inexpensive polystyrene beads are replaced by commercially available polyurethane foam pieces. These patents also disclose that certain species of polyurethane foam are both compressible and resilient having sufficient compressibility to conform to the occupant's shape and sufficient resiliency to fill out the chair when unoccupied.
Similarly, the soft furniture which is filled solely with polyurethane foam pieces thereof also has limitations. For example, the foam pieces do not provide the "fluid feel" of polystyrene beads in beanbag furniture because the foam does not have the ability of the beads to move with respect to each other.
The present invention provides another solution to the above-mentioned problems related to frameless furniture.

Method and apparatus for creating an improved fill for frameless furniture and the like


A method for storing a data block in a storage pool, including receiving a write operation for the data block, writing the data block into the storage pool, determining a first indirect block to store in the storage pool, wherein the first indirect block references the data block, writing the first indirect block to a first location in the storage pool, creating a copy of the first indirect block, and writing the copy of first indirect block to a second location in the storage pool.

A typical operating system includes a file system. In general, the file system provides a mechanism for the storage and retrieval of files and a hierarchical directory structure for the naming of multiple files. More specifically, the file system stores information provided by the user (i.e., data) and information describing the characteristics of the data (i.e., metadata). The file system also provides extensive programming interfaces to enable the creation and deletion of files, reading and writing of files, performing seeks within a file, creating and deleting directories, managing directory contents, etc. In addition, the file system also provides management interfaces to create and delete file systems. File systems are typically controlled and restricted by operating system parameters. For example, most operating systems limit the maximum number of file names that can be handled within their file system. Some operating systems also limit the size of files that can be managed under a file system.
Files in a file system may be replicated using one or more replication schemes. Replication schemes are typically used to recover data in the event of file system failures, data corruption, etc. Data replication ensures continuous availability and protection of files in the file system. Examples of replication schemes include Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID)-5, 2-way mirroring, and 3-way mirroring.


A method for performing deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy may include determining a location of a target area of a brain, forming a burr hole through a skull of a patient based on the location the target area, positioning one or more reference members on or within the brain through the burr hole, and acquiring at least one image of the brain having the one or more reference members with at least one imaging sub-system.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) represents a therapy that may be used to treat and relieve various neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, tremors, dystonia, psychiatric illness, and the like. In general, DBS may include electrically stimulating certain areas of the brain to alter or otherwise affect motor function and behavior to alleviate the effects of a neurological disorder. The motor and behavioral effects of brain stimulation typically depend on a location of a stimulating electrode within the brain. Accordingly, DBS generally requires accurate, precise, and safe targeting of brain structure. In order to locate and target specific areas of the brain, surgeons typically rely on a preoperative plan that includes a pathway to the specific target within the brain.
For example, a desired target for treating Parkinson's disease is located in the dorsolateral portion of the sub-thalamic nucleus (STN) of the brain (the entire STN is approximately 3-4 mm in diameter). Other targets such as the globus pallidus or targets in the thalamus are typically no greater than 4-5 mm in diameter. For such small targets, deviation from the target site by as little as 1 mm may not just reduce the effectiveness of treatment, but may also induce undesired side effects such as weakness, altered sensation, slurred speech, double vision, and/or the like. Thus, DBS typically requires accurate surgical planning and targeting of specific locations within the brain.
In general, a DBS process includes positioning a stereotactic frame on a head of a patient, surgical planning, and placing one or more leads or probes within the brain. A DBS process may start with acquiring an image of the brain. For example, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system may acquire an MRI image of the brain. Next, a stereotactic frame is mounted to the skull of the patient. An additional image, such as acquired with a computed tomography (CT) system, is acquired of the patient with the stereotactic frame secured to the skull. A computer then merges the MRI and CT images. A surgeon then uses the merged images to plan the DBS procedure.
During the planning stage, a target area may be identified and located within the merged images. For example, a surgeon may locate the globus pallidus internus or sub thalamic nucleus. The surgeon may then determine implant coordinates of the stereotactic frame that will direct a microelectrode toward the target area.
After the surgical plan including a path to the target area is determined, a burr hole is formed in the skull of the patient. For example, a surgical drill may be used in conjunction with the stereotactic frame to drill a hole through the skull, thereby exposing the brain cortex. The drill may then be removed from the stereotactic frame.
A driving mechanism in conjunction with the stereotactic frame may then be used to move a microelectrode recording probe through a guide tube that passes into the burr hole and into the brain. The microelectrode recording probe is advanced through the guide tube and into the brain while recording neuronal activity during advancement into the brain towards the target area.
Neurons in the target area in the brain typically generate action potentials in known bursting patterns at different frequencies depending upon the respective location. The surgeon may be familiar with such patterns. Thus, the recordings from the microelectrode recording probe may be used to assist the surgeon in determining the correct path to the target area and in determining whether the target area has been reached. For example, neuronal activity recorded by the microelectrode recording probe may be displayed as waveforms on a monitor. Alternatively, or additionally, the acquired neuronal activity may be amplified and output to a speaker. The generated signal, whether shown as waveforms on the display or output through the speaker, allows the surgeon to determine whether or not the microelectrode is on the correct path to the target area. If the surgeon recognizes the generated signal as consistent with a path toward the target area, the surgeon continues to advance the microelectrode on the pre-planned path. If, however, the surgeon determines that the output signal recorded by the microelectrode recording probe is inconsistent with the path toward the target area, the surgeon may discontinue advancement of the microelectrode recording probe, and advance another microelectrode on a different path toward the target area.
Assuming that the microelectrode recording probe is on the correct path, the surgeon may continue to advance the microelectrode recording probe toward the target area until it is a short distance, such as 1-5 mm, from the target area. The surgeon then removes the microelectrode recording probe from the guide tube, and inserts a stimulation lead into the guide tube. The stimulation lead is then advanced into the target area so that electrical pulses from an electrode of the stimulation lead may be directed into the target area.
The surgical plan including the path to the target area may not, however, be accurate. For example, during the drilling of the burr hole, the brain may shift due to pressure changes when air passes into an interior of the skull. Further, the stereotactic frame may also slightly shift, such as if the patient's head moves within the stereotactic frame. Moreover, image superposition and registration algorithm errors may occur. As such, the path to the target area as determined during the surgical planning stage may deviate from a correct path to the target area.
Such errors may cause the target area to be missed, and/or may cause the surgeon to re-advance the microelectrode recording probe in a different and parallel path to the original path determined by the surgical plan. The surgeon may test multiple parallel paths to the target area. For example, the surgeon may test 1-4 additional paths toward the target area with the microelectrode recording probe until a correct path to the target area is found. However, each time a microelectrode recording probe is advanced into the brain, a risk of brain hemorrhage increases.
Accordingly, current systems and methods that are used to plan and test surgical paths to a target area within a brain may not be entirely accurate, and may pose risks of brain hemorrhage, damage, and the like.

Systems and methods for performing deep brain stimulation


An infrared type gas analyzer is formed of a measuring cell for receiving a gas to be measured; an infrared light source for irradiating the gas in the measuring cell; a correlation filter disposed adjacent to the measuring cell; and a sensor for detecting infrared light ejected from the infrared light source and passing through the correlation filter and the measuring cell to analyze the gas in the measuring cell. A correction filter is disposed on a portion of the correlation filter for correction or calibration of the gas analyzer. Thus, the infrared type gas analyzer has a simple structure and can perform a simplified correction without complicated operation.

The present invention relates to an infrared type gas analyzer, in particular an infrared type gas analyzer with a correlation filter for continuously measuring a concentration of a specific component in a gas or vapor by utilizing an infrared absorption effect which is an inherent characteristic of gas molecules.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram for showing a CO analyzer which is an example of an infrared type gas analyzer provided with a conventional correlation filter. In the infrared type gas analyzer, infrared light from a light source 11 is irradiated to a measuring cell 13 through a gas correlation filter 120 The measuring cell 13 includes an introduction port 13a and a discharge port 13b so that a sample gas can continuously flow. An optical filter 13c disposed on a front face of the measuring cell 13 permits only the infrared light in a CO absorption wavelength range to pass therethrough, so that an interference error by a gas component close to the CO absorption wavelength range, such as CO.sub.2, can be removed.
As shown in FIG. 5, the gas correlation filter 12 includes a CO cell 12a containing a CO gas to be measured, and an N.sub.2 cell 12b containing an N.sub.2 gas, so called zero gas, not absorbing the infrared light, and is appropriately driven by a motor 14 shown in FIG. 4.
A sensor 15 alternately detects the infrared light obtained through the CO cell 12a and the infrared light obtained through the N.sub.2 cell 12b, and a data processing section 16 calculates a CO concentration in the sample gas from the alternately detected data.
More specifically, since the infrared light in the CO absorption wavelength range is completely absorbed from the infrared light passing through the CO cell 12a, a component in the CO absorption wavelength range of the infrared light in the data detected by the sensor 15 becomes zero regardless of a CO concentration in the measuring cell 13. On the other hand, data detected by the sensor 15 of the infrared light transmitted through the N.sub.2 cell 12b becomes a value corresponding to the CO concentration in the measuring cell 13 since the component in the CO absorption wavelength range remains as it is. Therefore, the CO concentration in the sample gas can be obtained by calculating a ratio of both the values at the data processing section 16.
In the infrared type gas analyzer as described above, a zero value and a measuring range, i e. span, are required to be periodically corrected by using a standard for comparisons Heretofore, a zero-point or span-point has been corrected or calibrated by flowing a zero gas or span gas instead of a gas to be measured during the measurement by using electromagnetic valves or the like. Therefore, since the correction gas is released to the atmosphere in succession, consumption of the correction gas is extremely increased in comparison with other gas analyzers to thereby raise a correction cost.
Therefore, it has been practiced that at a time of a span correction, a correction gas is not used, and instead, an amount of the infrared light is adjusted by providing a light regulating plate or douser in a light path of the infrared ray to coincide with an amount of the infrared light reaching the sensor without being absorbed by a gas having a known concentration when the gas is caused to flow. More specifically, in case a zero correction of the gas analyzer is carried out, a zero gas is applied to flow through the measuring cell to perform the zero correction. Then, in case a span correction is carried out, the zero gas is applied to flow through the measuring cell, as in the zero correction, and the span correction is carried out in a state where the light regulating plate is inserted into the infrared light path to precisely coincide therewith. Incidentally, it is necessary that an output value of the light regulating plate is beforehand confirmed by the span gas, because the output value at this time becomes a correction value.
Also, an optical filter or a filter containing a gas therein may be used instead of the light regulating plate.
In the conventional infrared type gas analyzer, the zero and span corrections are carried out as described hereinabove. However, there have been defects such that mechanisms for moving the light regulating plate and optical filter are required to thereby complicate a structure of the infrared type gas analyzer. Also, when the light regulating plate or optical filter is repeatedly moved, it must be placed at a position precisely coinciding with the infrared light path. Thus, a position detector is also required to thereby complicate the structure.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention has been made, and an object of the present invention is to provide an infrared type gas analyzer having a simple structure by which a correction or calibration can be simply carried out without complicated operations.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention


A gas fired reformer includes a plurality of bayonet type reformers, each having a vertical outlet tube posted on a common outlet header. Three outlet header continuation members pass downwardly through the reformer shell to a ground support, at least one of these being a reformer gas outlet line.

Hydrocarbon fuel reformers are used in fuel cell power plants. They take raw hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas, propane, or naphtha and catalytically convert the raw fuel to a hydrogen rich fuel gas suitable for use as an anode fuel. Raw fuel is percolated through catalyst beds which are contained in tubes mounted within the reformer housing.
Catalytic conversion is carried out at elevated temperatures in the range of 800 F. to 1700 F. The reformer includes a pressure vessel as the reformer shell within which a burner is operated to establish these elevated temperatures.
Reactors are in the form of bayonet tubes with an upward flow in the outer portion through the catalyst bed and a downward flow through the inner portion, providing some counterflow heat recovery to the reformed gas from the incoming gas. The flue gas passes in heat exchange relationship with the outer surface of the bayonet tubes. It is maintained in close contact therewith by surrounding sleeves with a baffle or seal plate forcing the flue gas through its allotted area.
In the past the components of the reformer gas flowpath have been supported from the side of the shell. This requires additional structure for the low pressure shell since it must now carry additional load. Furthermore, the shell penetrations for the reformed gas outlet have been expensive because of the differential movement caused by differential expansion during operating conditions.


The present invention relates to a reticle pod having gas guiding apparatus. The gas guiding apparatus communicates with at least an inlet of the reticle pod and comprises a first outlet corresponding to a first gas flowing space of the reticle pod and a second outlet corresponding to a second gas flowing space. When the inlet supplies a high-purity gas to the gas guiding apparatus, the high-purity gas will flows through the gas guiding apparatus, and flow to the first and second gas flowing spaces via the first and second outlets, respectively to distribute uniformly in the first and second gas flowing spaces. In addition, the cleaning efficiency on the reticle is improved; the contact between the reticle and air can be avoided for protecting the reticle. Thereby, the usage of the high-purity gas is reduced, and the filling efficiency of the high-purity gas is enhanced.

Semiconductor technologies are developing rapidly in recent years. Especially, the lithography technology plays an important role in pattern definition. The application of the lithography technology in semiconductor is to fabricate transparent reticles with specific shapes according to the designed circuit. By using the exposure principle, light passes through reticles and projected to silicon wafers. After exposure, specific patterns are formed. Any dust, particle, or organic matter adhered to reticles will deteriorate the quality of the projected images. Thereby, the reticles used for generating patterns need to be kept absolutely clean. Accordingly, in general wafer fabrication processes, the environment of clean room is provided for avoiding pollution of the particles in the air. Nonetheless, current clean rooms cannot achieve the absolutely dust-free condition.
Antipollution reticle pods are generally adopted in modern semiconductor fabrication processes during storage and transportation for maintaining cleanness of reticles. In semiconductor fabrication processes, reticle pods are used for storing reticles for facilitating transit between processing machines; they isolate reticles from air for avoiding changes due to pollution by impurities. Thereby, in an advanced semiconductor fab, the cleanness of reticles is usually required to comply with the Standard Mechanical Interface (SMIF), namely, under Class I. Accordingly, for complying with the cleanness required by the SMIF, reticle boxes are generally filled with high-purity gas.
Presently, there is at least an inlet at the bottom of a reticle box. High-purity gas can be filled into the reticle pod via the inlet and flows naturally therein. The majority of the high-purity gas flows in the space between the reticle and the bottom of the reticle box; the rest of the high-purity gas flows in the space between the reticle and the top of the reticle pod. Thereby, the distribution of the high-purity gas in the reticle pod is nonuniform and hence the cleaning effect of the high-purity gas for the reticle pod is inferior; the high-purity gas has to be filled continuously into the reticle pod until the reticle is completely cleaned. Consequently, the usage of the high-purity has is increased, and the efficiency of filling high-purity gas into reticle pods is inferior.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a reticle pod having gas guiding apparatus, which comprises a gas guiding apparatus guiding the high-purity gas entering the reticle pod via the inlet. Thereby, the high-purity gas can be distributed uniformly in the spaces between the reticle and the top of the reticle pod and between the reticle and the bottom of the reticle pod. The problem described above can be thus solved.

Reticle pod having gas guiding apparatus


A method and apparatus for instruction prefixing selectively reconfigures certain of the instructions in the microprocessor's instruction set so as to alter the nature of the operation performed by the instruction and/or the designation of operand or result locations accessed by the operation. A prefix instruction is inserted ahead of a "using" instruction and an operational parameter of the using instruction is modified in accordance with the contents of the prefix instruction. In one application, the prefix instruction may be used to specify a register location for storage of a result of the using instruction's operation or retrieval of an operand. In other applications, the prefix instruction may be used to modify other aspects of instruction execution.

Microprocessors are widely used to perform all manner of data processing functions. More sophisticated data processing applications involving large quantities of data, for example 3-D graphics processing, place ever increasing demands on the operational speeds of microprocessors. One approach to achieving higher speeds is to minimize the physical path lengths that signals must travel within the processor. Not only is it desirable to construct the entire processor on a single integrated circuit chip, but the critical path lengths on the chip should be minimized as well. Since chip processing techniques place practical limits on circuit dimensions, there is an inherent conflict between providing greater processor versatility (requiring more logic circuitry and hence more on-chip real estate) and providing higher speeds.
Since many data processing tasks involve a relatively few number of operations, but require that they be performed on large arrays of data, the conflict between speed and versatility in such applications is resolved in favor of speed by limiting the number of defined operations the processor can perform and limiting the size (in bits) of operands within the processor. A processor so optimized is commonly referred to as a reduced instruction set computer (RISC).
Although a RISC processor may be optimized to perform certain repetitive data processing tasks, it is desirable that the processor be able to perform an extended range of functions without undue degradation in performance. One approach to overcoming the limitations of a fixed instruction length is to prefix an instruction with another instruction such that operands can be constructed having a greater number of bits than can be specified by a single instruction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,517 issued to May describes a RISC processor in which an operand register concatenates values provided by a prefix instruction and a using instruction to accumulate a value of variable bit length. Separate prefix instructions are provided for positive and negative values. The operand is constructed in the operand register, and thus each occurrence of a using instruction must be immediately preceded by the appropriate prefix instruction(s).

Prefix instruction for modification of a subsequent instruction


A process to analyze fluid entrained in well boreholes. The process includes gathering trap gas samples from return of drilling mud at multiple depths. The process also includes the steps of subjecting the samples to mass spectrometry in order to determine mass to charge ratios data of hydrocarbons and analyzing the mass to charge ratios data in relation to depth or time. Samples from at least one other source may also be gathered and analyzed chosen from the group consisting of mud fluid analysis, cuttings backgrounds analysis and cuttings crush analysis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for real-time analysis of 1) trap gas, 2) mud fluid and/or 3) cuttings for gas content in conjunction with exploring the earth's subsurface for economic, producible hydrocarbons. In another aspect, the present invention relates to mapping the distribution, chemistry and relative and/or absolute abundance of chemical species analyzed by the above apparatus and method.
2. Prior Art.
Petroleum resources are the cumulative result of generation, expulsion, migration and trapping of petroleum in sedimentary basins. Petroleum fluids (both gas and liquid) are retained in the source rocks and along migration pathways as residual petroleum saturation in macro or micropores during movement of these fluids from source to reservoir. Microscopic amounts of migrating or reservoired petroleum fluids are trapped within source rocks, along migration pathways or within petroleum reservoirs within healed fractures or porosity-occluding cements (i.e., fluid inclusions). Leakage or remigration of petroleum-bearing reservoirs can result in retained, non-economic petroleum residue within macro or microporosity in the reservoir sections. Finally, a given pore fluid may be substantially replaced by a subsequent fluid (hydrocarbon or aqueous) leaving little evidence of the prior fluid's presence, with the exception of fluid inclusions that are protected from alteration or displacement because they are completely encapsulated in mineral matter. This latter situation might exist, for instance, when a prior charge of oil is displaced by a later gas charge, due to density differences. In addition to the organic-dominated fluids mentioned above, natural inorganic species, such as CO2, He, Ar, N2, H2S, COS and CS2 are indicative of processes operative in the subsurface that are important to locating, understanding and exploiting petroleum occurrences.
It is known to circulate and analyze drilling fluid. Drilling fluid is generally circulated down a drill string to the bottom of a well. The drilling fluid is recovered from the well via a mud return line.
Current well site mudlogging operations generally include a device that analyzes gases emanating from the mud system circulated through the borehole during drilling. Generally the apparatus consists of a combustible gas detector (also known as a total gas detector or hot-wire detector) and, also, a gas chromatograph (GC) that typically analyzes alkanes with 1 to 5 carbon atoms. The total gas detector provides a more-or-less continuous record, while the GC operates on a cycle of 3-6 minutes. The gases that are detected represent some combination of pore fluids released from the volume of rock comminuted by the drill bit, fluids invading the borehole from formations that are overpressured with respect to the mud column, fluids generated through thermal processes at the drill bit (e.g., some so-called shale gases) and fluids derived from materials added to the mud system for a variety of reasons. Henceforth, these fluids are called borehole volatiles, while loosely or tightly encapsulated fluids within rock material are henceforth called cuttings volatiles regardless of whether they are derived from drill cuttings or drill core.
The systematic and comprehensive analysis of borehole volatiles and cuttings volatiles can be used to evaluate where petroleum fluids are currently, where they have been in the past, the composition and quality of petroleum fluids and other information useful to the oil and gas industry and particularly to well drilling and completion operations. Current methods provide a very incomplete record of above-described subterranean fluid history recorded by borehole and cuttings volatiles, due to the industry-standard choice of instrumentation and methodology. Specifically, the so-called hot-wire or total-gas detector provides only a measure of the total amount of combustible hydrocarbons without any compound specificity. Analysis of a split of these gases with a GC provides a measure of methane, ethane, propane, n-butane and iso-butane. Higher paraffins may be measured, but are not commonly. Limitations of this analysis stem from the fact that these species are all of the same class of hydrocarbon compounds (paraffins), hence, tend to react similarly to subsurface processes. The other two dominant classes of hydrocarbon compounds, naphthenes and aromatics are not explicitly analyzed. The relative distribution of these compounds can vary by several orders of magnitude in response to source rock attributes, migration processes and phenomena operative in the reservoir. While it is true that dry gas can be distinguished from wet gas or oil with well site gas detection equipment, it is difficult to distinguish between wet gas, condensate and oil with current GC based instrumentation. Ratios of low molecular weight paraffins are used in attempts to distinguish oil from gas (e.g., wetness factors), but these are often inadequate for the task.
It is not possible with GC-based methods to distinguish compounds that exist as a free phase in the pore system from those that may be dissolved in an aqueous pore fluid since GC methods generally do not measure a wide range of carbon species. This limitation prevents, for instance, distinguishing petroliferous formations from underlying water legs or water-bearing formations that are charged up dip, based on concentrations of water-soluble compounds such as benzene and acetic acid. Currently fluid contacts are identified solely based on decreases in paraffin gas abundance. The methodology and apparatus recommended herein provides evidence for petroleum-water contacts based on decreases in relatively water-insoluble compounds and concomitant increases in relatively water-soluble compounds.
Another critical element is the speed at which compounds can be collected. Although hot wire analysis is more-or-less continuous, typical GC cycle times are on the order of 3-6 minutes. Under fast drilling rates, this can translate to a sample analysis every 5 feet or more. Hence, thinly bedded pay horizons may be missed, or only recorded by an increase in total gas. The mass spectrometry based technique of this invention allows continuous monitoring of the gas flow, and cycle times as fast as 15 seconds. Even at slower times (up to 6 minutes), monitoring is continuous, so that an increase in borehole gas will be recorded almost instantaneously over the remaining mass range that is being scanned. The scan rate can be selected from the computer interface and implemented more or less instantly to fit the drilling rates anticipated, another feature that is not possible with a GC without extensive instrument modification.
Current art teaches away from using mass spectrometry (MS) on wellsite because of a perceived lack of reliability due to rugged conditions encountered in the field. The present design has been demonstrated to be more reliable than current GC technology, and less prone to operator error.
Prior art methods for analysis of fluid inclusions from a plurality of rock samples and stratigraphically mapping these chemistries are known (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,651), however, that methodology and apparatus has some critical limitations that are improved upon by the current invention. First, previous methods advocate use of multiple mass spectrometers, whereas the preferred embodiment of the present invention can acquire substantially similar information with one mass spectrometer. In addition to cost savings, this obviates the need for inter-mass spectrometer calibration, and prevents analytical artifacts introduced by the unavoidable differences in sensitivity, resolution and the like, among mass spectrometers. Second, prior art teaches the advantage of jump scanning from mass to mass, whereas the current invention has found that continuous scanning allows more accurate peak location and better analytical statistics. Third, multiple scans, and specifically a large number of scans are advocated by prior art, however, it has been learned that the advocated procedure of jump scanning coupled with fast scan rates to get an abundance of scans in the time frame required, produces poor mass resolution due to recovery limitations of the electronics and decreases overall sensitivity because of poor counting statistics. Using few scans, slower scan speeds and continuous scanning mode produces much better precision, resolution and sensitivity. Finally, prior art involves placing multiple samples contained within multiple sample chambers in the same vacuum system and sequentially crushing them allowing the evolved gases from one sample to contact the surfaces of previous samples as well as those not yet analyzed. This procedure has several disadvantages, including potential cross contamination of samples and/or volatiles, development of progressively higher backgrounds during analysis of large sample sets unless unrealistically long pump-down times are employed between each sample, and selective near-instantaneous adsorption of released volatiles onto the surfaces of all samples in the chamber, resulting in fractionated and muted responses. Additionally, trace residual natural organic compounds, if present on grain surfaces, are additively contributed to the background and can create a disproportionately high background, which affects the baseline sensitivity of the analysis. It is advocated in prior art that this surface contamination be removed as much as possible, using vacuum heating and/or solvent extraction procedures. The current invention demonstrates the value of analyzing these trace natural surface organic species before removal and/or crush analysis of the trapped fluids. The resulting information can be used with borehole fluid analysis to distinguish among current charge in reservoirs, breached reservoirs, heavy oil or tar occurrences near oil-water contacts and migration pathways that have never accumulated significant oil saturation.
Other prior art approaches of analysis of gas content may be seen in Crownover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,735, wherein spectrophotometers utilizing a light signal are used for gas analysis.
While attempts have been made to improve some aspects of well site hydrocarbon detection (e.g., Quantitative Fluorescence Technique (QFT), Quantitative Gas Analysis (QGA), membrane technology), there is currently no comprehensive apparatus for analyzing past and present pore fluids in the necessary detail. Much information on current pore fluids at a given depth is lost once the borehole is drilled past that depth; hence, a portable apparatus capable of operating in a well site environment and functional for analyzing these fluids in real time is required. Cuttings volatile analysis can be completed on archived samples, but the surface adsorbed portion of the signal, discussed above, as well as the real-time application to drilling and completion operations are lost.
For discussion purposes, real-time analysis refers to capability of analyzing samples shortly after they emanate from the well bore, generally within minutes to perhaps 1 hour.
In summary, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining the composition of borehole volatiles and cuttings volatiles, which provide an adequate record of most of the natural volatile elements and compounds found in the subsurface, or added to the well bore by drilling personnel during drilling operations.
The invention also relates to compositional mapping of cuttings and borehole volatiles derived from the subsurface, and oil and gas exploration using the results of such analyses.

Method and apparatus for determining gas content of subsurface fluids for oil and gas exploration


A control system for a fuel-fired water heater appliance is provided that includes a control for the appliance that is in communicating with a sensor for sensing a water flow rate through the water heater. The control system is capable of controlling a gas valve to supply fuel to a burner at a maximum rate of fuel flow when the water flow rate is determined to be above a predetermined threshold. The control system is capable of controlling the gas valve to supply fuel to a burner at a reduced rate of fuel flow when the water flow rate is below a predetermined threshold, whereby the control 128 establishes the lower rate of heating operation as long as the temperature of the heated water is below the predetermined maximum temperature.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Gas water heater appliances typically utilize a temperature sensor for sensing when the water in the appliance drops below a minimum desired temperature, at which point the water heater appliance turns on a gas valve to supply fuel to a burner for heating the water. Burner operation is continued until the temperature of the water being heated rises to a predetermined maximum temperature, at which point the water heater appliance turns off the gas valve. Accordingly, the typical water heater appliance only provides heating to maintain an available supply of heated water at a temperature that is between a predetermined maximum temperature and a minimum desired temperature. This can result in a less than desirable hot water temperature when hot water is drawn for use in showers, for example.

Control for a fuel-fired water heating appliance having variable heating rates


A storage system, and a method of data hardening in the storage system, including: a de-glitch module configured for a detection of a power failure event; a write page module, coupled to the de-glitch module, the write page module configured for an execution of a cache write command based on the power failure event to send a cache page from a cache memory to a storage channel controller, wherein the cache memory is a volatile memory; and a signal empty module, coupled to the write page module, the signal empty module configured for a generation of a sleep signal to shut down a host bus adapter, wherein the host bus adapter interfaces with the storage channel controller to write the cache page back to the cache memory upon a power up of the host bus adapter and the storage channel controller.

Various forms of long-term storage in computer systems include, other than electromechanical hard disks, non-volatile storage rooted in semiconductor or other memory technology. NOT-AND (NAND) flash memory is one form of non-volatile memory used in solid-state storage devices. In a common configuration of flash memory, the memory cells are arranged in typical row and column fashion with circuitry for accessing individual cells. The data store elements (e.g., transistors) of those memory cells are configured to hold two logical states in the case of Single Level Cell (SLC) or more than two logical states in the case of Multi Level Cell (MLC).
A flash memory cell is light in weight, occupies very little space, and consumes less power than electromechanical disk drives. Construction of a storage system with this type of memory allows for much higher bandwidths and input/output operations per second (IOPS) than typical electromechanical disk drives. More importantly, it is especially rugged and can operate at a much high temperature range. It will withstand without adverse effects repeated drops, each of which would destroy a typical electromechanical hard disk drive. A problem exhibited by flash memory is data integrity since it does not have adequate data retention to increase data integrity for data hardening.
Thus, a need still remains for better data management devices that can optimize operations and prolong the life of storage devices. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is important to find answers for these problems.
Prior developments have long sought but not found optimal solutions to these problems. Hence, there remains a need that has long eluded those skilled in the art.


A vertical wafer boat for a diffusion process is provided. The vertical wafer boat includes a plurality of wafer racks. Each of the plurality of wafer racks includes a vertical support member and a plurality of wafer support arms. The plurality of wafer support arms extends from a sidewall of the vertical support member. Each of the wafer support arms includes a support body and a ledge. The support body is located between the vertical support member and the ledge. Centers of the support body and the ledge are horizontally aligned. A vertical thickness of the ledge is smaller than a vertical thickness of the support body.

In order to perform a thin film formation process, wafers are loaded on the vertical wafer boat. Subsequently, the vertical wafer boat is vertically placed into a diffusion device such as a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) apparatus for performing a chemical reaction.
The vertical wafer boat has slots for carrying the wafers. Particles or chemicals in the diffusion device may cause erosion to the slots. Replacement of the wafer boat increases the cost of the thin film formation process.

Wafer rack and vertical wafer boat having the same

XIA TAI XIN SEMICONDUCTOR (QING DAO) LTD.


The invention relates to a gamma radiation detector that provides compensation for the parallax effect. The gamma radiation detector includes a plurality of scintillator elements, a planar optical detector array, and a pinhole collimator that includes a pinhole aperture. Each scintillator element has a gamma radiation receiving face and an opposing scintillation light output face. The gamma radiation receiving face of each scintillator element faces the pinhole aperture for generating scintillation light in response to gamma radiation received from the pinhole aperture. The scintillator elements are arranged in groups. Each group has a group axis that is aligned with the pinhole aperture and is perpendicular to the radiation receiving face of each scintillator in that group. The scintillation light output faces of each of the scintillator elements are in optical communication with the planar optical detector array.

In the nuclear medicine field the functioning of various organs is studied by measuring the distribution of a radiotracer in the body. The radiotracer is typically a gamma emitter that is injected into the patient by a physician. The radiotracer has an affinity with various biological molecules and processes which results in the radiotracer being preferentially absorbed in certain regions of interest within the body. After a predetermined uptake time, these regions of interest are monitored or imaged using one or more gamma detectors that detect gamma quanta emitted by the radiotracer during its radioactive decay.
A sub-class of gamma detectors are scintillation-type detectors. In these, a scintillator element generates a light pulse in response to each received gamma quant. Depending on the scintillator material and the energy of the gamma quanta that are to be detected, a scintillator element may be some 3-30 mm in length. An optical detector subsequently detects the light pulse generated within the scintillator element and thereby indicates that a gamma quant has been received. In order to control the directional sensitivity of each gamma detector a collimator is typically disposed on the radiation-receiving side of the scintillator. A collimator for a gamma detector typically takes the form of one or more apertures formed in a dense metal plate of e.g. lead or tungsten. The apertures, or septa, restrict the field of view of the gamma detector by attenuating gamma quanta that originate from outside the field of view. The septa may be some 10-40 mm in length depending on the energy of the gamma quanta. Such a gamma detector that includes a collimator may be arranged to monitor, i.e. determine the total emission from, or indeed to image, a region of interest such as an organ within the body in order to determine a radiotracer distribution as described above.
A sub-class of collimators that find application in a gamma detector are pinhole collimators. In its simplest form a pinhole collimator is defined by a small hole in a gamma-attenuating plate. The size and shape, specifically the aspect ratio, of the hole, together with the distance between hole and detector, can be set in order to provide a tradeoff between spatial resolution and sensitivity. The gamma acceptance angle, i.e. the angle relative to normal incidence on the gamma-attenuating plate, is limited by the aspect ratio of the hole itself, and is determined by the ratio of the width of the hole to its length along the radiation receiving direction. In addition, the gamma acceptance angle can be limited by septa that are arranged to separate the parts of the detector that receive gamma radiation through a specific pinhole from each other. A high aspect ratio of a hole, a wide detector area under each pinhole, or a short distance between pinholes and detector each provide a wide acceptance angle that offers high sensitivity but introduces the problem of parallax.
Parallax in such a gamma detector configuration arises from the statistical nature of absorption of gamma quanta in the scintillator element. Whilst the majority of gamma quanta are absorbed at an absorption depth that is characteristic of the particular scintillator element material, some gamma quanta are absorbed at much shorter depths and some are absorbed at much longer depths. When benefitting from a wide acceptance angle from a pinhole collimator the range of depths over which quanta are absorbed results in a lateral, with respect to the pinhole, distribution in the point at which the gamma quanta are absorbed. This results in a lateral variation, in the scintillator, in the determined origin of the scintillation light pulse and thus an uncertainty in the direction from which the gamma quanta are received. This uncertainty is termed a parallax effect, or a depth of interaction, i.e. DOI, effect. In gamma imaging systems in particular such parallax effects degrade spatial resolution.
Document WO2007089962A1 addresses the above issue of parallax effects by disposing at least one radiation detection head adjacent a field of view to detect radiation from the field of view. The radiation detection head includes a collimator with an opening through which radiation rays emanating from the field of view can pass, and a detection system forming an arcuate surface focused on the collimator opening for detecting radiation so that radiation rays received through the collimator opening strike the arcuate surface substantially perpendicular to an incremental area of the arcuate surface at which the radiation strikes.
A document U.S. Pat. No. 7,692,156 B1 describes radiation detection devices having beam-oriented scintillators. A radiation detection device includes a beam-oriented pixellated scintillator disposed on a substrate, the scintillator having a first pixel having a first pixel axis and a second pixel having a second pixel axis, wherein the first and second axes are at an angle relative to each other, and wherein each axis is substantially parallel to a predetermined beam direction for illuminating the corresponding pixel.
A document by Fares Alhassen et al, entitled "Depth-of-Interaction Compensation Using a Focused-Cut Scintillator for a Pinhole Gamma Camera", IEEE Transactions on nuclear Science, Vol. 58, No. 3, 1 Jun. 2011, describes a preclinical SPECT system. A pixellated, focused-cut (FC) scintillator, with its pixels laser-cut so that they are collinear with incoming rays is disclosed for compensating for parallax errors introduced by a pinhole collimator of the SPECT system.

Gamma radiation detector with parallax compensation


A power supply device includes an output port, a transformer, a power switch, a current sensor, a voltage-dividing controller, a voltage-feedback unit, a voltage comparator, a main controller, and a pulse width modulator. The transformer has two inductances. The power switch is electrically connected to a primary winding of the transformer, the pulse width modulator, and the current sensor coupled to the voltage-dividing controller. The voltage-feedback unit is electrically connected to the voltage-dividing controller, the voltage comparator, and the output port. The main controller is coupled to the pulse width modulator and the voltage comparator.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a power supply device. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a power supply device for varying an output voltage according to a load current variation.
Description of Related Art
Many electronic products in the end-user electronics market are being manufactured so as to be switched between the standby mode and non-standby mode. The electronic product are designed to be switched to the standby mode and thereafter to wake and start up depending on the user's preference or any other external factor without any delay, besides the regular turn on and off functions thereof. In order to meet the powers required for operation of the electronic products under non-standby mode and standby mode, the commercial power supply includes two output ports for respectively provides standby power and non-standby power to the electronic products electrically connected thereto, wherein the potential level of the standby power is usually lower than that of the non-standby power. As such, the volume of the power supply is bulky and expensive.
The commercial power supply only provides the non-standby power via one of the output ports when the electronic products are operated under non-standby mode. Conversely, the commercial supply provides the standby power via the other output port not only when the electronic product are operated under non-standby mode, but also when the electronic products are operated under standby mode. As such, the power consumption of the power supply is increased during the electronic products is operated under non-standby mode.

Power supply device for varying an output voltage


There is provided a storage management system capable of utilizing division management with enhanced flexibility and of enhancing security of the entire system, by providing functions by program products in each division unit of a storage subsystem. The storage management system has a program-product management table stored in a shared memory in the storage subsystem and showing presence or absence of the program products, which provide management functions of respective resources to respective SLPRs. At the time of executing the management functions by the program products in the SLPRs of users in accordance with instructions from the users, the storage management system is referred to and execution of the management function having no program product is restricted.

The present invention relates to a storage management method for a storage subsystem and a storage management system and, particularly, to a technique effectively applied to storage management used when logical resources and physical resources of a single storage subsystem are divided for operation.
With recent advance of large amounts of storage subsystem, as observed in utilizing storage service providers, there has been carried out such utilization that a single storage subsystem is shared by a plurality of customers. In this utilization, individual system administrators independently manage resources allocated for each customer.
To carry out the utilization with security and efficiency, division management is not implemented by a utilizing method or storage management software, but the storage subsystem itself is such that it has resource-dividing management functions.
Conventionally, as a storage management technique for the storage subsystem having such resource-dividing management functions, regarding a service function provided to a user of storage resources from a service provider, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-230189 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique of a service provision system, which can manage and control the number of users available for the individual service functions of the storage subsystem and the total amount of storage resources used by the service users, thereby imposing appropriate licenses on the service function that the service provider provides to the user.
Additionally, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-259214 (Patent Document 2) discloses a technique for controlling access to a storage device, the technique being such that control-system calling access to a data storage device from a host system is controlled by access restriction preset and devices which the access permits to each user and actions which are permitted by the access can be controlled.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Storage management method and storage management system


A microchip analysis device in which the effect of changes in the quantity of light of a discharge lamp of the short arc type can be reduced and measurement results with high reliability can be obtained is achieved in microchip measurement device which has a light source lamp and a lamp operating device, in which the light from the lamp is transmitted by a fill part for the liquid of the microchip to be tested, and in which the quantity of this transmitted light and based on the data obtained the decadic extinction of the liquid to be tested are measured, a device determines the fluctuation of the quantity of light from the light source lamp. Based on data from this device, a control interrupts or stops the detection of the quantity of the light transmitted by the microchip when the fluctuation is outside a preset range.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a microchip measurement device.
2. Description of Related Art
In various fields such as medical treatments, biology and the like, a process has recently been under increasing development which is called μ-TAS (μ-Total Analysis System) or "Lab on a chip" and in which analyses are performed with high precision and high sensitivity using a microchip and substances are synthesized with high efficiency. For example, μ-TAS is a device in which chemical processes such as pumping, mixing, injections, reactions, extractions, analyses and the like are integrated into one microchip. Since this device can carry out chemical reactions which cannot be performed in chemical facilities with ordinary scales, with high efficiency, it has a potential to become an important tool for carrying out everyday health check-ups and injections and therapies with consideration of different individual body compositions.
In a microchip analysis system, to measure the concentration of a component to be detected in a test object liquid (hereinafter also called "liquid to be tested"), generally a process for analysis of decadic extinction [i.e., absorbance] is used.
In an analysis of decadic extinction, based on the obtained decadic extinction, the concentration of the component to be detected in the liquid to be tested is computed. Such a microchip measurement device is described, for example, in Japanese patent disclosure document JP 2004-109099 A.
In the above described microchip analysis system, the wavelength range of the radiated light differs according to the component to be analyzed. Therefore, in the case of a light source which emits a single wavelength, such as a laser, the substance to be analyzed is limited. In order to achieve versatility, it is advantageous to use a light source which can change the wavelength of the light to be emitted according to the substance to be analyzed and which emits light with a wide wavelength range.
Therefore, a lamp can be imagined as the light source which, for example, emits light with a wide emission spectrum. In particular, a short arc lamp is also advantageous with respect to the focusing property since it has high radiance and is a point light source.
FIG. 8 schematically shows the optical system of a microchip analysis system. In the figure, a short arc lamp 10 emits light that is converted via given optical elements 11, 12 into parallel light, moreover, with wavelengths being extracted only in a given range and being incident in a chip holder 20. The light incident in the chip holder 20 passes through an aperture 20A and is incident in the incidence surface 21a of the measurement part 21A of the microchip 21. The light which is transmitted by the liquid which is to be tested and with which the measurement part 21A is filled is incident in a photodiode 31 as a light receiving element. An amplifier 32 is connected to the light receiving element 31. The data, after amplification of the light quantity, are recorded in a recording means, such as a data logger 33 (automatic recording means or the like). After a given measurement interval has passed, in an operation part (not shown), measurement data are analyzed and the decadic extinction is computed. The data of the quantity of light are determined by a control element (not shown) during a given decadic extinction measurement interval, for example, with an interval of 1 second.    (Patent document 1) Japanese patent disclosure document 2004-109099    (Patent document 2) Japanese patent disclosure document 2003-107094    (Patent document 3) Japanese patent disclosure document 2005-040784 corresponding to U.S. Patent Application Publication US2005006372.
In a discharge lamp of the short arc type, there are cases in which the phenomenon of an arc jump occurs towards the end of the lamp service life. When the phenomenon of an arc jump occurs, the position of the arc formed between the electrodes fluctuates. When an arc jump occurs, the flow of thermions which have flowed in the same path region temporarily changes its path region, by which resistances and the voltage shift and the quantity of light are likewise increased or reduced. When arc jump occurs, and the quantity of light emitted from the lamp does not stabilize, even for a small change in the quantity of light major influences are exerted on the measurement of the microchip because the cross-sectional area of the light incidence part which is formed in the microchip is, for example, 1 mm×1 mm, i.e., is extremely small.
As a correction means, it can be imagined that the fluctuation between the quantity of light prior to light incidence in the microchip and the quantity of light after passage (light exit) is monitored. Since control of the optical axis is very difficult in practice and in addition costs are high, implementation is however difficult.


An electrochemical cell is provided having a cathode can that fits over an anode can to define an anode cavity for retaining active anode material. A cathode assembly is disposed proximal the base of the anode can, and is separated from the anode cavity via a separator. A radial seal is provided at the remote region between the outer periphery of the anode side wall and cathode side wall to prevent the leakage of electrolyte material. An insulator is disposed between the anode and cathode to provide electrical insulation therebetween.

The present invention relates generally to button-size electrochemical cells, and in particular relates to button-size metal-air cells of the zinc-air type having an increased internal volume for active material.
Metal-air cells are used for a variety of applications. A large fraction of such cells are used in hearing aids. Newer versions of such hearing aids are placed inside the outer portion of the human ear, whereby any leakage of material from the cell may come into contact with the skin of the wearer, in the wearer's ear. Accordingly, it is critical that such cells do not leak any of the alkaline electrolyte which is routinely used in such cells.
Furthermore, to the extent that such leakage is detected in the manufacturing process, quality control efforts must be expended to reduce or preferably eliminate such leakage wherever practical. Such quality control efforts, of course, bear associated costs. Therefore, any advance in reducing the leakage of electrolyte is significant to the health of the consumer of such cells, as well as to the commercial value of such cells to the manufacturer.
Furthermore, the overall volume of the cell, useful for containing electrochemically reactive materials, is limited to that space not occupied by non-reactive components of the cell. Thus, to the extent use of internal cell volume by non-reactive components can be controlled or reduced, additional electrochemically reactive material may be used in the cell, and the use life of the cell thereby extended. Accordingly, any effort expended in controlling leakage must be accompanied by a sensitivity to any reduction in the space which is available for use in containing electrochemically reactive materials in the anode can.
One potential source of leakage is the interface between the side walls of the anode can and the cathode can. A seal is therefore traditionally used that is in contact with both side walls and associated sealing fluids, or other materials, in order to successfully provide the necessary seal function. Such frictional engagement with the anode can is routinely obtained using a sliding assembly. However, in such conventional assemblies, the (plastic) seal may be damaged by the anode can. Such damage is difficult to detect, and thus such damaged cells may well leave the manufacturing facility undetected.
One cell overcoming the above-mentioned leakage, while providing controlled doming of the cathode assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,230, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in its entirety. In particular, referring to FIG. 1, a button-size metal air cell 10 includes an anode can 11 presenting an annular side wall 12 surrounded by a cathode can 13 to define an enclosure 14 filled with an electrolyte and active anode material. A radially compressed gasket 15 (i.e., where the gasket is compressed to a reduced thickness with respect to its free state by forces acting in the radial direction) provides a seal that electrically isolates the anode material from the cathode can 13. The gasket 15 extends substantially along the side wall 12 of the anode can 11 to prevent leakage of electrolyte. A cathode assembly 16 is disposed between the base of gasket 15 and cathode can 13, and a separator 17 layer 61 is disposed at the interface between the anode cathode assembly 16, and permits electrolyte transfer between the anode and cathode while providing electrical isolation therebetween. One or more of air ports 18 extends through the bottom of cathode can 13, thereby providing avenues for the transport of oxygen into the cell adjacent the cathode assembly 16. While the cell thus described is suitable for its intended purpose, the gasket occupies valuable space within the cell that could otherwise be occupied by active material to increase the life of the cell.
What is therefore needed is a cell having a seal that prevents electrolyte leakage while increasing the volume of active material than presently achieved.

Electrochemical cell having improved radial seal


The genes defining the ABO histo-blood groups are disclosed. Methods for identification of histo-blood group ABO status are provided. The methods include the use of DNA probes or size separation of DNA fragments unique to a blood group status. The present invention also discloses DNA constructs, recombinant methods for providing histo-blood glycosyltransferases, methods for tumor suppression, purified histo-blood group glycosyltransferases, and antibodies produced therefrom which bind to protein epitopes.

The histo-blood group ABH determinants are major allogeneic antigens in both erythrocytes and tissues of humans. They generally constitute peripheral parts of the oligosaccharide chains of glycoconjugates, i.e., linked to lipids (glycosphingolipids) or to proteins (glycoproteins). The structure of the antigen determinants was established in the 1950s by Watkins and Morgan (Nature 180:1038-1040, 1957) and Kabat et al. (Blood Group Substrates: Their Chemistry and Immuno-chemistry, 1956, Academics Press, New York). Subsequently, Watkins and Morgan (Vox Sang. 4:97-119, 1959) proposed that the A and B phenotypes were associated with glycosyltransferases that converted the H substance associated with O phenotype to A and B, respectively, through the addition of .alpha.1.fwdarw.3-N-acetylgalactosamine or .alpha.1.fwdarw.3-galactosyl residues to H antigen, Fuc.alpha.1.fwdarw.2Gal.beta.1.fwdarw.R. Thus the primary products of the histo-blood group A and B genes are the respective glycosyltransferases.
At present, knowledge of the histo-blood group antigens is limited to their chemistry, immunology, biosynthesis and genetic inheritance. DNA sequence information for the ABO genes has not been available, due primarily to the difficulty associated with purifying mammalian glycosyltransferases in sufficient quantities. Nucleotide probes based on amino acid sequence information of the A and B transferase proteins would allow cloning and characterization of the ABO genes, and thereby permit methods for direct DNA blood grouping.
Consequently, there exists a need in the art for purified histo-blood group A or B glycosyltransferase and the primary structure of the genes encoding them. The present invention fills this need, and further provides other related advantages.


A method on a server for providing content to a mobile device is provided. Paired device identity information associated with a device that has been paired to the mobile device is received. Content available from the server based upon the paired device identity information is determined and sent to the mobile device.

The pairing of mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablet devices, with other electronic devices such as in-vehicle infotainment systems can enable hands-free access to data sharing and communication functions provided by the mobile devices. The paired device can act as an extension of the mobile device and provide features and functions either provided from, in addition to, or integrated with the mobile device. During pairing of the mobile device receives a device identifier which provides identification of the paired electronic device, such as an in-vehicle infotainment system, that enables subsequent pairings. Although the mobile device maintains pairing configuration information this information is only utilized to configure the pairing process. When accessing content from a server, the user of the mobile device may be associated with a user identifier or mobile device identifier which enables selection of content to be tailored to the user or the mobile device, however content selection from the server is limited based on the user identifier, mobile device identifier and past content selections.
Accordingly, systems and methods that enable server behavior based paired device identification remain highly desirable.
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.

Server behavior based on paired device identification


A calibration circuit for a semiconductor device and a method of driving the same. The calibration circuit includes a PRBS generator in which a data pattern is generated within an integrated circuit without receiving data from the outside, a PRBS tester that compares output signals of a data latch that strobes and latches an output signal of a data input buffer to determine whether the interlock operation of data and strobe is pass or fail, and a calibration unit that calibrates a delay time using the output signal of the PRBS tester as much as a predetermined unit. Thus, variation in process, voltage, temperature, etc. can be freely calibrated even after package assembly. Accordingly, it is possible to guarantee a set-up/hold value that is necessary for high frequency operation of a system, and to reduce the time and resources necessary for product manufacture and for calibrating these values.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a calibration circuit of a semiconductor device and a method of driving the same, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a calibration circuit for a semiconductor device and a method of driving the same, wherein a set-up/hold value can be secured regardless of variations in process, voltage or temperature in such a manner that data are internally input if the set-up/hold value is not compatible with an operating frequency condition, whether the interlock of data and strobe is pass or fail is checked, and delay times are sequentially controlled depending on the check result.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In the process of fabricating a semiconductor device, after the element is formed on a wafer, a tuning work using a fuse option is implemented in order to control an operating margin and an internal operating voltage of a product depending upon variation in process or device, and is package-assembled to finish a single memory unit. Since it is difficult to replicate the operating frequency at which an actual memory operates before package assembly, a set-up/hold value necessary for the interface, such as data, commands, and address pins being an interface channel with the outside, which is held by a single memory unit of a so-called package character is secured by testing the memory at the operating frequency at which an actual memory device operates after the package assembly. The set-up/hold value is an indispensable condition that must be secured in order to guarantee high speed in an integrated circuit that transmits data or information through a data bus line.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining a calibration circuit of a semiconductor device in the prior art.
A data input buffer 10 compares data DATA and a reference voltage VREF, and outputs output signals Din and Dinb depending upon the comparison result.
A data strobe buffer 20 transfers a data strobe signal WDSQ to a data latch 30.
The data latch 30 latches the signals Din and Dinb from the data input buffer 10 according to a signal WDQSp from the data strobe buffer 20, and outputs output signals WDin and WDinb.
A write driver 40 writes the data WDin and Wdinb output from the data latch 30 into a memory cell 50 through a data bus.
In the conventional calibration circuit of the semiconductor device constructed above, in the case where a set-up/hold value needs to be tuned, it is required that a difference between the data and the strobe signal that are input to the data latch 30 be calibrated by controlling the delay option of the data input buffer 10, and a circuit be calibrated accordingly by performing a frequency test after package assembly. If variation in process or device occurs, however, these processes have to be performed from the start. Accordingly, there is a disadvantage in that a great deal of time and resources are wasted.

Calibration circuit of a semiconductor memory device and method of operating the same


A method of providing secure communication between users of a network using layered security, the method includes providing a communicator to each user of a network, each user having user information including user hardware, user software, and user location stored within the network, providing multiple keys to each communicator and corresponding locks to the network, each key including a plurality of identifiers to confirm identity of the user, verifying that a user seeking to obtain access to the network has a communicator with keys that match all the locks stored on the network, and providing the user access to the network when the keys on the communicator are verified, wherein the plurality of identifiers is a combination of user hardware, user software, and user location.

The present disclosure relates to techniques for managing business activities. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to techniques for capturing business activities, such as meetings, communication, and travel, for clients.
Businesses employ workers, such as managers, support staff, etc., to perform various work to generate revenue. Workers are provided with tools, such as production equipment, communication equipment, and office equipment, to perform their work. Communication equipment may include devices, such as phones, email, text, instant message, etc., and associated software to allow workers to communicate with each other, suppliers, clients, etc. Examples are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,166, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include the IPHONE® available from APPLE® at www.apple.com.
Office equipment may include devices, such as calendars, maps, clocks, task lists, etc., and associated software. Examples are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,213,951 and 8,995,955, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include MICROSOFT OFFICE® and WINDOWS® available from MICROSOFT® at www.microsoft.com.
Security systems may be provided to restrict access to business operations. For example, workers may be provided with restricted access to facilities by using a key card. In another example, access to communication and office equipment, such as cellular phones and/or computers, may be password restricted. Examples of security systems are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,769,643, 8,788,821, 8,984,282, 9,020,853, and 9,021,578, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include MICROSOFT OFFICE® and WINDOWS® available from MICROSOFT® at www.microsoft.com, and IPHONE® available from APPLE® at www.apple.com.
Businesses receive payment from customers for products produced from their work or for services provided to their clients. In order to determine pricing for goods and services, businesses calculate fees for material, time, and other resources used to provide such products and services. For example, businesses may account for raw materials, equipment, and workers used in manufacturing a product. In another example, businesses may account for time and other resources used to perform services for a given client. Records of work done, resources used, and time spent may be manually entered into systems and invoices generated. Examples of invoice systems are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,127,231, 7,634,445, 8,825,537, and 8,929,858, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include QUICKBOOKS® available from INTUIT® at www.quickbooks.intuit.com and ELITE® available from THOMSON REUTERS® at www.elite.com.

Integrated activity management system and method of using same