An economical system and method of migrating legacy applications running on proprietary mainframe computer systems and distributed networks to commodity hardware-based software frameworks, by offloading the batch processing from the legacy systems, and returning the resultant data to the original legacy system to be consumed by the unaltered applications. An open source code tool is used to transfer the software, and rewrite it on a faster and more economical hardware system, while leaving a seamless integration of offloaded processing with existing batch processing flow.

Batch processing has been associated with mainframe computers since the earliest days of electronic computing. Many organizations still rely upon mainframe computers or Unix-based infrastructures for batch processing applications, such as those run at the end of each business day. These applications are known to use a great deal of processing capacity, which is typically more expensive on such proprietary computing systems compared with similar processing capacity on commodity hardware systems. As businesses' reliance upon computer applications increase, there is an ever-increasing demand for server space, requiring companies to invest in additional servers.
As more computing applications are being used by companies, the new applications are increasingly tied to existing programs and business processes. Such interdependence upon a particular structure of computing platforms often makes updating the computing platform, or modernizing the legacy applications, more expensive if not altogether infeasible. A typical structure of legacy applications and their relationship to other computing systems, is shown in FIG. 1 as system 100. In this example, system 100 includes separate computing systems for a user interface 102, data sources 104, batch processing 106, and external systems/data warehouse 108. The user 110 communicates with the system 100 through user interface 102. User interface 102 is in electronic communication with data sources 104. Data sources 104 provides input to, and receives resultant data from, batch processing 106. External systems/data warehouse 108 also receives resultant data from batch processing 106. Using current technology, if a company would like to update their batch processing capability, there is a significant investment in computer re-programming, and frequently all four of these different system components (102, 104, 106, and 108) must be updated with costly rewrites of computer code, to be able to work with the new batch processing program. Furthermore, there is also a risk of missing timelines due to unknown application logic conversion issues with user interfacing systems.
One known solution is exemplified by the system 100′ illustrated in FIG. 2. In this example, when the computer code of batch processing 106′ is changed or updated, the computer code in other parts of system 100′ must also be updated in order to communicate and effectively work with the new computer code of batch processing 106′, including user interface 102′, data sources 104′, and external systems/data warehouse 108′. Such an investment in computer programming cost must be weighed against the benefit of investing in a new batch processing system, in a total cost of ownership ("TCO") analysis. Often the reprogramming cost results in a higher TCO, thus preventing companies from being able to enjoy such higher processing speeds. This problem only grows over time, as more applications come online that are tied to such legacy systems, making switching ever more costly.
Even with these barriers, there are some existing solutions to assist companies in reducing their reliance on costly legacy applications. In addition to rewriting the system as illustrated in FIG. 2, one current known solution offered in the marketplace, or discussed in research, calls for conversion of end-to-end applications and hosting to new software platforms. Most of the methods recommend moving applications to distributed platforms involving the licensed software and hardware such as to distributed platforms involving licensed software and hardware such as Oracle/DB2 running on Unix-based servers.
One such solution is a program called NeoBatch by Alchemy Solutions, a Microsoft gold-certified partner for migrating mainframe computing applications that use the Microsoft Windows platform. NeoBatch utilizes Windows servers for additional computing power, and a SQL server database for data storage. However, the user organization must purchase the proprietary software, and its use may require conversion of code for other applications, including user interface applications, to Windows processing platform .NET. Furthermore, the batch processing system may need to be converted to computing language NeoCOBOL to effectively communicate with Windows servers. The reliance on additional Microsoft compatible software may require a company to purchase additional licenses, which adds to the TCO. Also, the case studies showing it use, have not proven its effectiveness on migration of over 1000 million instructions per second ("MIPS") processing requirements.
Another known solution, as exemplified by the article "Shared Cluster Scheduling: a Fair and Efficient Protocol," by P. Michiardi, A. Barbuzzi, and D. Carra, 2011, teaches a scheduling algorithm for a fair resource allocation and jobs optimization in a shared cluster. However, there are limits to the benefits of optimization and resource allocation within a mainframe computer or Unix-based infrastructure, and it may not be available in all cases, such as when the mainframe is already running at capacity.
Another potential solution to high computer processing requirements is Grid technology. Grid technology is a software framework that uses other computers' processing capacity, which are connected to a network. This technology is exemplified by SETI@home, the search for extraterrestrial life institute, which utilizes thousands of internet-connected computers to process collected data. (See, e.g., "Optimizing Batch Window by Leveraging Grid Workflows," G. Malaiyandisamy, B. Gurna and M. Rani, 2009.) However, such technology requires an investment in additional servers and "middleware," software used to manage workflow among a network of computers. Like other solutions, this also adds cost, and may not have a lower TCO. Unlike SETI, companies may not be able to use the computing capacity of other computers for free.
Commodity hardware systems are often times a lower cost framework for computer processing, and do not rely upon a proprietary mainframe computer or a Unix-based infrastructure. It has long been known that such systems may be capable of performing batch processing at a reduced cost, but the method for doing so remains elusive. (See Gray, J. and Nyberg, C., "Desktop Batch Processing," In Proceedings of COMPCON 94, 1994.) Furthermore, there are known risks in attempting such a feat, including missing software components, and interfaces with other systems. (Id.)
As an alternative to modernizing legacy systems, there is a need for migrating resource intensive batch processing of data currently processed on legacy mainframe systems to lower cost commodity hardware systems, while at the same time maintaining existing user interface, data source, and external systems. Such a system would reduce computer processing costs, while maintaining the complex user interfaces and business logic systems that are used on existing platforms.

System and method for economical migration of legacy applications from mainframe and distributed platforms


A medical electrical lead includes a primary lumen, a hydraulic lumen, and a fixation portion including at least one expandable fixation member. The fixation member communicates with a plunger disposed in the hydraulic lumen, and is actuated from an expanded configuration to a collapsed configuration by the introduction and release of hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic lumen. The hydraulic actuation of the fixation member allows for the delivery, positioning, re-positioning, and/or retrieval of the lead.

Implantable medical devices for treating irregular contractions of the heart with electrical stimuli are known. Exemplary implantable devices are defibrillators and pacemakers. Various types of electrical leads for defibrillators and pacemakers have been suggested, many of which are placed transvenously. Such leads are introduced into the patient's vasculature at a venous access site and travel through veins to the sites where the leads' electrodes will be implanted or otherwise contact target coronary tissue. Electrodes for transvenously-placed leads can be implanted in the endocardium (the tissue lining the inside of the heart) of the right atrium or ventricle, or alternatively, in the branch vessels of the coronary venous system. In particular, lead electrodes can be implanted in the coronary sinus or a branch vessel thereof for sensing and/or stimulation of the left side of the heart (i.e., the left ventricle).
Various techniques have been used to facilitate fixation of the foregoing types of leads at the desired implantation sites. For leads partially implanted within the coronary venous system, fixation techniques should provide sufficient fixation to secure the lead in the desired implanted position, both acutely and chronically, without impeding delivery of the lead to the implantation site.
There is thus a continuing need in the art for a device and method for fixation of cardiac leads within the coronary vasculature which does not interfere with delivery of the lead and which can be deployed after delivery to provide acute and/or chronic fixation.

Hydraulic actuation of lead fixation member


An information presentation system includes a template matching unit which performs template matching between input information and a template group stored, a plurality of associated information search units which search for associated information on the basis of a matching result of the template matching unit, an information processing unit which processes output information in accordance with the input information, the matching result of the template matching unit, and a search result of the associated information search units, an output unit which outputs the information processed by the information processing unit, a template selection unit which causes a user to select a template group, and a template supply unit which transmits, to the template storage unit, the template group selected by the template selection unit from predetermined template groups. The template supply unit is arranged independently of the plurality of associated information search units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information presentation system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent No. 3225882 discloses a method of performing template matching on a terminal side to extract and superpose necessary information in a scene labeling system including a server and an information presentation terminal connected to the server via a communication channel.


Micro- and nano-sized particles, agglomerates and fibers are generated from high molecular weight water-soluble biopolymers applying supercritical fluid technology. A method of producing micro- or nanoparticles from an aqueous solution of a high molecular weight biopolymer includes the step of spraying the aqueous solution together with a mixture of a compressible gas and a water-soluble co-solvent/antisolvent into a pressurized chamber. The method may be adapted to impregnate the micro- or nanoparticles with a bioactive material. A method for microencapsulating a bioactive material with a biopolymer is also provided.

Particle formation using supercritical fluids has been researched for many decades, and has resulted in the development of numerous processes using the supercritical fluid (SCF) either as solvent, such as in the "rapid expansion of supercritical solutions" (RESS) process, as antisolvent in the "gas antisolvent" (GAS) process, or as co-solvent in the "depressurization of an expanded liquid organic solution" (DELOS) process. Numerous variations and further developments of particle formation processes have emerged [1-4]. However, many of these processes require organic solvents to dissolve the solute to be precipitated (US Patent application publication Ser. No. US 2004/0110871 A1 to Perrut et al.).
In International Publication Nos. WO 1995/01221 and WO 1996/00610, methods are described for the formation of particles based on the antisolvent method, in which an aqueous solution of a substance is contacted with a co-solvent (also referred to as modifier) (such as ethanol) and a supercritical fluid in a coaxial nozzle. As stated in WO 1996/00610, the supercritical fluid may optionally contain a low level of a co-solvent (i.e. ethanol), preferably not more than 20%. However, such a low level of co-solvent is not sufficient to precipitate high molecular weight biopolymers such as polysaccharides.
Another approach to form β-carotene nanoparticles was presented by Cocero et al. [5], which is based on the 'supercritical fluid extraction of emulsions' (SFEE) process, related to the GAS process. In the SFEE process, a nanoemulsion of an organic solvent (dichloromethane) carrying the solute is dispersed in water to form an oil-in-water emulsion and dried using supercritical CO2 (SC—CO2). Each droplet resembles a small GAS precipitator, where upon expansion with CO2 and extraction of the organic solvent, ultrasmall particles suspended in water are formed with a final organic solvent concentration of about 1 ppm [5].
In the DELOS process [6], the solute is first dissolved in an organic solvent and a compressed fluid such as CO2 is added to expand the solution at the desired temperature and pressure. Then, the expanded solution is rapidly depressurized to atmospheric conditions, resulting in the formation of sub-micron or micron sized solute crystals due to the very large temperature drop that occurs upon depressurization.
Particle formation processes are known for the treatment of aqueous solutions containing the solute, which are sprayed into a high pressure precipitation chamber together with pressurized CO2 enriched with ethanol. This approach is often referred to as the supercritical fluid drying process, which has been applied to precipitate proteins [7], enzymes [8], lactose, maltose, trehalose, raffinose, cyclodextrin, low-molecular-weight dextrans, mid-molecular-weight dextrans up to about 68,800 g/mol, and inulin [9], forming free-flowing powders. The effect of spraying conditions and nozzle design as well as the influence of various co-solvents added to CO2 on the shape and size distribution of particles obtained with supercritical fluid drying has been studied by Bouchard et al. [10, 11]. It was found that methanol and ethanol used as a co-solvent in the SCF drying process acted as antisolvent in the precipitation of glycine, phenylalanine and lysozyme, besides their role in enhancement of water solubility in SC—CO2 and evaporative water removal, whereas 2-propanol and acetone did not act as an antisolvent and affected mainly the evaporative water removal [11]. Various nozzle configurations were tested as well in the SCF drying process, including a simple T-mixer with small inner diameter or coaxial converging nozzles, with and without mixing chamber, as well as with ultrasonic wave generator [10], which showed that the nozzle design, processing pressure and flow rates had a pronounced effect on particle size, whereas morphology was found to be more likely linked to the precipitation mechanism rather than the atomization process [10]. A mathematical model for the mass transfer from an aqueous drop to SC—CO2+ethanol was developed to study the drying of aqueous solutions of lysozyme with CO2+ethanol mixtures [12].
Another approach was applied using SC—CO2 for drying of aqueous green tea extracts, employing a variation of the 'particles from gas-saturated solutions' (PGSS) process, using only pressurized CO2 as the drying medium in a spray chamber at a mild temperature ranging from 30 to 60° C. and 20 MPa to obtain free-flowing powders, containing the intact active ingredients, such as antioxidant polyphenols. Kluge et al. [13, 14] applied the SFEE process to obtain composite nanoparticles of an anti-inflammatory drug (Ketoprofen™) and amorphous biodegradable polymer poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), finding that the PLGA concentration in the emulsion affected particle size and particle size distribution. A process was described for the encapsulation of lavandin essential oil in a matrix of n-octenyl succinic anhydride (OSAN)-modified starch by spraying an aqueous emulsion of the oil with SC—CO2 applying a PGSS drying technique, where the emulsion was continuously mixed with CO2 at 10 MPa and sprayed into a precipitation chamber at atmospheric pressure [15]. The oil was also encapsulated in polyethylene glycol (PEG) applying a PGSS technique, where the PEG was used in a molten form containing pressurized CO2 forming a gas-saturated solution, which was mixed with the lavandin oil and sprayed into a precipitation chamber at atmospheric pressure [15].
The prior art does not provide any solutions regarding the formation of micro/nano-sized particles, agglomerates or fibers (micro- or nanoparticles) from water-soluble high molecular weight (HMW) biopolymers, such as HMW gums and polysaccharides with molecular weights ranging from about 70,000 g/mol (70 kDa) up to over 1,000,000 g/mol (1,000 kDa), applying a SCF drying (SFD) and/or gas antisolvent (GAS) technique. As known to those skilled in the art HMW biopolymers, in particular polysaccharides, form highly viscous solutions. This is a major challenge, which complicates the spraying and atomization process involved in SFD and GAS. For example, β-glucan (BG) with a MW up to 500 kDa can form solutions having viscosities ranging between 100 to 1,500 mPa·s at concentrations as low as about 1% (w/w) in water. Furthermore, the prior art is also silent when it comes to impregnation of such micro- or nanoparticles with bioactives or encapsulation of bioactives in micro- or nanoparticles made from such HMW biopolymers applying supercritical fluid technology for use in cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agricultural, nutraceutical or food products.

Supercritical fluid treatment of high molecular weight biopolymers

THE GOVERNORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA


A method and apparatus for transferring packets of information with different attributes from a device interface to buffers in a host memory dedicated to particular attribute values or ranges of values. The apparatus consists of multiple shared data structures in the form of receive rings, each associated with memory buffers dedicated to a particular range of values for a particular packet attribute. The device interface determines which receive ring is associated with a buffer dedicated to the proper attribute value range by comparing the value of the attribute of the received packet with the values of attributes associated with the buffers of each ring. A sequencing ring is provided to store the order in which each receive ring must be accessed by the host cpu when retrieving packets. This sequencing ring ensures that the host cpu will retrieve the packets in the order in which they were received.

In computer systems, host computers are connected to a bus or network through I/0 device interfaces. The device interface transfers data packets from a sending host computer to other receiving host computers connected to the bus or network.
In systems where the bandwidth of the device interface demands substantial bandwidth from a busy host computer, buffering of packets received by the host computer becomes important. For example, a burst of packets directed to a specific host computer may be received more rapidly than the host computer can use the packets. Buffers are provided in the host computer in order to provide temporary storage for packets received by the host computer.
The process whereby the device interface determines the location of a host data buffer commonly involves the manipulation of a shared data structure, such as a ring. The ring contains entries which act, among other things, as pointers to memory data buffers. When a packet arrives, the ring is accessed to obtain the address of the next available memory buffer, and the packet is stored in that buffer.
Buffers must be provided for many different types of packets. For instance, packets of many different sizes must be stored. Some operating systems allow allocation of many small buffers which may be "chained" together to store a large packet. However, some operating systems do not allow buffer chaining. For these systems, all buffers for packets must be large enough to store the maximum size packet which may be received. However, in order to accommodate large packets, a significant amount of memory may be wasted by storing small received packets in large buffers.
Also, in a receive ring system, all packets are directed to the same ring buffer area. In a system supporting multiple network users, packets destined for different users are scattered throughout the ring buffer area. The host cpu must then copy the packets for a single user from the ring buffer area to an area allocated to the user. This copying decreases available cpu bandwidth, and throughput to the user.
A problem in device interface design is to provide a way to optimize buffer usage and to minimize usage of cpu memory bandwidth for storage of the variety of packets arriving at the interface.

Attribute based multiple data structures in host for network received traffic


The invention provides for the use of silicone resins obtainable by reacting                a) an alkoxysiloxane of the general formula

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the use of silicone resins as dispersants for solids.
For the dispersing of solids (e.g., fillers or pigments) in liquid media it is regular practice to make use of dispersants in order to achieve effective dispersing of the solids, to reduce the mechanical shear forces required for dispersing, and at the same time to realize very high degrees of filling. The dispersants assist the disruption of agglomerates, as surface-active materials wet and/or cover the surface of the particles to be dispersed, and stabilize said particles against unwanted reagglomeration.
In the production of inks and paints dispersants facilitate the incorporation of solids, such as fillers and pigments, for example, which, as important formulating ingredients, are essential determinants of the optical appearance and of the physicochemical properties of inks and paints. Optimum utilization requires firstly that these solids be distributed uniformly in the formulations and secondly that the state of distribution, once attained is stabilized.
2. Description of the Related Art
A host of different substances are nowadays used as dispersants for solids. In addition to very simple, low molecular mass compounds, such as lecithin, fatty acids and their salts, and alkylphenolethoxylates, for example, more complex structures, too, are used as dispersants. The use particularly of amino-functional and amido-functional systems is widespread here. WO-A-00/24503 describes, for example, dispersants based on polyester-modified polyamines. DE-A-1 97 32 251 describes salification products of polyamines and their use as dispersants for pigments and fillers. Furthermore, for example, WO-A-99/56864, EP-B-0 154 678, EP-A-0 159 678 and EP-A-0 438 836 describe dispersants based on polyurethanes. Additionally amino-functional and/or amido-functional poly-acrylates (EP-B-0 879 860) are used.
There is nevertheless a growing demand for solids dispersants which exhibit properties further improved over those of the prior art. The demand is for dispersants which have a very high stabilizing effect on a multiplicity of different solids. For example with more effective dispersants it is possible to reduce the amount of high-price pigments used without having to accept detractions in terms of color strength.
Moreover, for example the viscosity characteristics of inks and paints comprising solids, such as fillers and/or pigments, are critically codetermined by the dispersant used. The demand here is in particular for dispersants which result in a very low viscosity in the liquid inks and paints and also retain such a viscosity, preference being given to newtonian viscosity behavior.

Abstract: R    a    2                Si                    (                  OR          1                )              b          O                  4        -                  (                      a            +            b                    )                    2      with                b) one or more hydroxyl-containing polyesters,and if desired        c) one or more low molecular weight alcohols,it being possible for the alkoxysilane to be reacted partially and completely, based on the amount of (OR1) groups in a), but the reaction being taken at least to the point where a clear solution is obtained, as dispersants for solids for producing coatings, printing inks and/or print varnishes.


According to at least one example embodiment, a system of monitoring blood leaks during hemodialysis therapy includes a wetness sensing device and a hemodialysis machine. The wetness sensing device is configured to transmit information wirelessly, the information being indicative of an absence of a liquid or a presence of a liquid. The hemodialysis machine includes, or is coupled to, a wireless receiver having two or more antennas. Signals received at the two or more antennas are decoded at the wireless receiver. If decoded signals indicate a detected wetness, the hemodialysis machine is caused to halt blood flow in and out of the machine and generate an alarm.

During hemodialysis treatment, there is a risk that venous access may become dislodged. In the case that such event goes unnoticed, arterial access continues to draw blood from the patient while the dislodged venous access does not return blood to the patient, which may quickly cause the patient to bleed out and even bleed to death. Wetness detector devices present a viable solution for efficiently and timely detecting blood leaks.

System and method of monitoring blood leaks during hemodialysis therapy employing wireless communication


Oxidative degradation may be reduced in a lubricant composition which contains an oil of lubricating viscosity and at least about 1 percent by weight of a C1-C3 alkyl ester of a carboxylic acid of about 12 to about 24 carbon atoms, by including within the lubricant composition a sulfonate detergent in an amount sufficient to provide at least about 0.2 percent by weight sulfonate soap to the lubricant composition, wherein the weight ratio of sulfonate soap to phenate soap in the lubricant composition is at least about 0.35:1.

The disclosed technology relates to lubricants for internal combustion engine, particularly those fueled with biodiesel fuels.
Biodiesel is a general term for fuel-grade materials derived from natural sources such as vegetable oils. They are often fatty acid methyl esters ("FAME") such as rapeseed methyl ester ("RME") or soya methyl ester ("SME"). Biodiesel fuels are becoming more prevalent for fueling of diesel engines. The increased use of diesel passenger vehicles in Europe and elsewhere is in part a cause of this increase. Current European diesel standard (EN 590) allows for 5% biodiesel component to be incorporated into fuels, which will soon rise to 7%, with indications that 10% biodiesel content will be introduced by 2012.
Simultaneously, there is continued pressure for reducing particulate matter emissions from diesel engines. Euro 5 requirements, scheduled for implementation in 2009, require reduction in particulate matter to 0.05 g/km. Such levels can only be attained, practically, by use of a diesel particulate filter. These filters require regeneration once they are full of soot, and this is typically achieved by increasing the filter temperature to burn off the soot. The temperature increase is often achieved by post-injection of fuel into the engine cylinder.
However, post-injection of fuel can have the undesirable effect of fuel-dilution of the engine lubricant, as more cylinder wall wetting by the fuel allows more fuel to migrate to and accumulate in the lubricant sump. Biodiesel components are typically less volatile than conventional mineral diesel fuel, and thus concentration of such components in the sump is exacerbated. In fact, use of biodiesel fuel (B05, i.e., containing 5% ester) along with post-injection may result in 40% fuel dilution of the lubricant, and the biodiesel component may account for 50% of the diluent. These high levels of biodiesel in the oil may lead to increased oxidation and deposit formation associated with the lubricant.
U.S. Patent Publication 2008/0182768, Devlin et al, Jul. 31, 2008, discloses a lubricant composition for biodiesel fuel engine applications, containing an oil of lubricating viscosity and a highly grafted, multi-functional olefin copolymer. The lubricating oil may contain a conventional dispersant/inhibitor package, which may contain a detergent such as oil soluble neutral and overbased sulfonates and phenates, among others.
U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0111720, Boffa, Apr. 30, 2009, discloses lubricating oil compositions contaminated with a biodiesel fuel, comprising a base oil of lubricating viscosity an a diarylamine compound. It further comprises at least one additive which may be (among others) detergents. Suitable metal detergents include phenates and sulfonates, among others. Generally the amount of the detergent is from about 0.001 wt. % to about 5 wt %. In an example, a base-line comparison is prepared containing, among other materials, 0.24 wt. % actives of an overbased magnesium sulfonate and 0.65 wt. % actives of an overbased calcium phenate detergent.
U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0111721, Boffa, Apr. 30, 2009, discloses lubricating oil compositions comprising a base oil, a biodiesel fuel, and a detergent. The detergent can be a metal phenate detergent such as alkaline metal phenates. An additional additive or modifier may also be present, including detergents. Suitable metal detergents include phenates and sulfonates. In an example, a baseline formulation contains 0.18 wt. % actives of a low overbased calcium sulfonate detergent.
PCT Publication WO 2009/013275, Jan. 29, 2009, discloses lubricating composition for use in diesel engines compatible with biofuel, containing certain antioxidants. The lubricant may also contain an additives package containing detergent.
The disclosed technology provides a lubricant composition suitable for sump lubricated engines fueled by a liquid fuel which includes a biodiesel component, which exhibits improved oxidation resistance and/or reduced deposit formation in lubricants which contain a portion of the biodiesel component. This is accomplished by the presence of the described sulfonate material.

Engine oil formulations for biodiesel fuels


A communications device includes a communications circuit, a memory, an identifier generator, and a latency controller. The communications circuit exchanges serial data with a host computer and a downstream device, and includes a first input, a first output, a second input, and a second output. The first input receives data from the host computer. The first output transmits data to the host computer. The second input receives data from the downstream device. The second output transmits data to the downstream device. The memory is accessible through the communications circuit. The identifier generator generates an identifier number unique to the communications device in response to an identifier setup request received at the first input. The latency controller determines, based on the generated identifier number, a period of latency required to access the memory through the communications circuit.

In data communications, multiple communications devices exchange data through a communications interface, such as a parallel bus transmitting bits of data simultaneously along multiple data channels, and a serial bus transmitting data bit by bit sequentially over a single data channel. Modern communications equipment can be wired using both parallel and serial buses in various network architectures such as daisy chain and multi-drop basic topologies, or hybrid topologies combining characteristics of the basic topologies.
In a simple communications system, in which a host computer communicates data with multiple communications devices, serial buses are often used rather than parallel buses. Part of the reason for this is that a serial interface uses a smaller number of input/output terminals, and hence requires less packaging costs than a parallel one, and that in general, a serial bus can transmit data at a higher transfer rate than a parallel bus, thus meeting high-speed requirements for today's broadband network communications.
Currently, communications products with multiple serial data channels per interface are commercially available at relatively low cost. The multi-channel design enables serial data communications at a data transfer rate higher than that possible with a single data channel per interface, with one channel dedicated to reception from a data source and another to transmission to a data destination. Along with such high performance devices coming into common use, a greater need arises for ensuring proper data transfer in serial data communications at even higher data transfer rates, and consequently various methods have been proposed to provide high-speed, reliable serial data communications systems.
For example, one conventional method provides a communications system in which a host device communicates serial data to multiple peripheral devices connected in series to form a daisy chain network. According to this method, each peripheral device incorporates a processor to perform data transfer with upstream and downstream devices individually, enabling two interconnected nodes of the communications system to perform data transmission independently of the other nodes.
Designed to overcome problems encountered when a single host controls a daisy chain of multiple devices by providing short pulse "strobe" signals indicating when to capture data from a data line, this conventional technique eliminates the need for transmitting dedicated strobe signals to the multiple daisy-chained devices, resulting in reduced amounts of time and load required for the host device to access the peripheral devices. Such an effect is significant particularly where the system includes a large number of peripheral devices, requiring a greater number of strobe drivers, and a longer distance over which the host transmits data to the endmost node along the daisy chain.
Another conventional method provides a communications system in which a master device supplies data and clock signals to a daisy chain of multiple slave devices each equipped with a buffer circuit for receiving the supplied signals. According to this method, the buffer circuit captures data and clock signals to output synchronized data into the slave device, so that each slave device can correctly process the incoming data with the external clock signal even at higher data transfer rates.
Besides these conventional methods, several methods provide reliable data communications using a clock or strobe signal embedded in a data signal based on an encoding scheme, such as data strobe encoding, called DS-link, specified in IEEE 1394 or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers high speed serial bus standard, or 8B/10B encoding used by Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe). Using embedded clocking to eliminate problems with skew between data and timing signals, these methods provide good synchronization between multiple communications devices, thereby enabling reliable high-speed data transfer in serial data communications systems.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a conventional serial data communications system 101 having a daisy chain topology.
As shown in FIG. 1, the communications system 101 includes a host computer 100 and multiple devices a1, a2, and a3 connected in series via a serial bus to form a daisy chain network, with the host computer 100 directly wired to the first device a1, the first device a1 to the second device a2, the second device a2 to the third device a3, and the third device a3 attached to a terminator 120 farthest from the host computer 100.
In the communications system 101, the host computer 100 connects to the first device a1 via a pair of data channels TDI0 and RDO0, one for transmission and the other for reception, as well as a clock channel CLK0 for providing a primary clock signal. Similarly, the first device a1 connects to the second device a2 via a pair of data channels TDI1 and RDO1, one for transmission and the other for reception, as well as a clock channel CLK1 for providing a buffered secondary clock signal, and the second device a2 connects to the third device a3 via a pair of data channels TDI21 and RDO21, one for transmission and the other for reception, as well as a clock channel CLK2 for providing a buffered tertiary clock signal. Each device has an internal processor that processes data input from the transmission channel TDI with the accompanying clock signal CLK for storage to an internal memory, and retrieves data from the internal memory for output to the reception line RDO0.
During operation, the host computer 100 submits a request for writing data to the multiple devices on the daisy chain, which travels along the transmission line TDI to propagate from one device to another sequentially throughout the communications system 101. Upon receiving the write request TDI0 from the host 100, the first device a1 retains the incoming data for processing in the internal processor before sending it to the downstream transmission channel TDI1 as well as to the internal memory, resulting in a period of delay longer than one cycle of the clock input CLK0 in executing and forwarding the write request TDI0 at the input stage. Similarly, the second device a2 involves an input delay of some cycles of the clock signal CLK1 in executing and forwarding the input request TDI1, and the third device a3 involves an input delay of some cycles of the clock signal CLK2 before executing and forwarding the input request TDI2.
Also, when the host computer 100 submits a request for reading data from the multiple devices on the daisy chain, each device retains desired data retrieved from the internal memory before sending it to the upstream reception channel RDO. As in the case of the writing operation, the result is that each device causes a period of output delay longer than one cycle of the clock input CLK in executing and forwarding the read request TDI at the output stage.
Naturally, such a processing delay is compounded as the transmitted data passes through an increasing number of interposed devices, resulting in varying amounts of latency (i.e., accumulated delay between when the host 100 submits a request to the transmission line TDI and when each device actually executes a requested service) for the multiple daisy-chained communications devices.
For example, given that each device requires an input delay of one clock cycle, the latency between the host 100 submitting a write request and each device actually writing the transmitted data to the internal memory increases depending on the relative positions of the host 100 and the particular device in the daisy chain network, measuring 1 clock cycle for the first device a1, 2 clock cycles for the second device a2, and 3 clock cycles for the third device a3.
Occasionally, the host computer 100 is required to time the execution of a read/write operation of each communication device to coordinate the overall operation of the communications system 101, for example, when the multiple devices perform a certain task in concert with each other. In such cases, the host computer 100 should transmit a read/write request to each particular device at a different time determined by the amount of latency that is inherent in the target device. However, determining a proper time at which to transmit a read/write request is difficult, since, as noted above, the amount of latency varies among the multiple daisy-chained devices, and each device typically has different amounts of latency for read and write operations.
One approach to cope with such variations in processing latency is to provide a strobe signal indicating to each communications device when to capture transmitted data, whereby the host can calculate the amount of inherent latency and determine the proper timing for request transmission accordingly. However, this approach is impractical considering that adding strobe channels dedicated to multiple devices results in higher costs and reduced data transfer rates of the communications system. Moreover, as for the conventional communications systems described above, unfortunately neither of them provides an effective solution to control the amount of latency for multiple communications devices in a daisy chain network.

System and method for serial data communications between host and communications devices, and communications device employed in the system and method


The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser drive device, and an image recording device whose function includes scanning a predetermined body to be scanned with a laser beam carrying image information in the course of recording an image, and which makes high speed image regeneration while maintaining a high quality of the image, wherein the devices are equipped with a first feedback circuit including a first operational amplifier and a second feedback circuit including a second operational amplifier, so that the double feedback can concurrently be effected to obtain current vs. light output characteristics with a high speed and high accuracy in an analog mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser drive device, and an image recording device whose function includes scanning a predetermined body to be scanned with a laser beam carrying image information in the course of recording an image.
2. Related Prior Art
In an image recording device employing, for example, a xerography process, a semiconductor laser suitable for a high speed modulation has been used as means for generating an optical beam.
In the case where such a semiconductor laser is employed for an image recording device, there is provided an intermittent feedback control comprising actions of obtaining a control voltage at which a desired light quantity is attained by conducting APC (Auto Power Control) wherein feedback is effected with use of a photosensor monitoring a light quantity in timing not to give influence on formation of an actual image, in order to emit an optical beam with a desired light quantity from the semiconductor laser; then stopping the feedback while the control voltage is held in either an analog mode or a digital mode; conducting an open loop control, wherein a current supplied to the semiconductor laser is set according to the control voltage being held, in timing to give an influence on formation of an actual image; and thereafter the feedback is applied. In modulation of a semiconductor laser, there are a pulse width modulation mode and an intensity modulation mode and techniques are provided for the respective modes in order to improve a quality of an image. What is especially problematic in application of the intensity modulation mode is how to produce an optical beam giving a desired light quantity in a open loop.
Current vs. output power characteristics of a semiconductor laser will be described below and techniques having been conventionally employed will be explained.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relation between the current supplied to a semiconductor laser and the emission power of a laser beam output from the semiconductor laser.
As shown in the figure, the optical output characteristics of an semiconductor laser are divided into two regions, one of which is a LED region where a current supplied to the semiconductor laser is less than a predetermined laser oscillation threshold current I.sub.th and the other is a laser oscillation region where a current supplied to the semiconductor laser is the laser oscillation threshold current or more. In the LED region, a laser beam is not emitted from a semiconductor laser and in the laser region, an optical output having a power roughly proportional to a magnitude of a remaining current obtained after a supplied current is subtracted with the laser oscillation threshold current I.sub.th. For this reason, it is necessary to exactly determine the laser oscillation threshold current T.sub.th and an inclination .eta. (laser emission efficiency) in the laser oscillation region. The reason is that it is necessary for a bias current having a magnitude in the vicinity of the laser oscillation threshold current I.sub.th to be made to constantly flow including a time when no laser beam is emitted, in order to secure a high speed exchange between an ON state and off state (see [Hetrostructures lasers] HC CASEY, JR., M. B. PANISH, ACADEMIC PRESS NEW YORK 1978, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 60-18982) and there is another requirement to exactly determine a drive current to overlap the bias current in order to obtain a correct quantity of emission. Since these threshold current and inclination are fluctuated in each semiconductor laser and affected by environmental conditions, too, they are not allowed to be kept at respective values obtained in advance, and it is necessary to frequently refresh the values to new, most suitable ones even during operation.
In Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 63-184773, disclosed is a semiconductor laser drive device, which is equipped with a plurality of weighted current sources and a bias current source and, which is controlled by a microprocessor. In the publication, proposed is a system wherein, in determining the above-mentioned threshold current I.sub.th and inclination .eta., a bias current is first determined by detecting a slight emission from the laser when only the bias current is in an ON state, then a reference voltage for driving the plurality of current sources is set when a predetermined maximum quantity of emission is reached with increase in a drive current till a predetermined maximum quantity of emission under a condition of all the current sources being in ON states, and thereafter an intensity modulation between the light emission quantity by the bias current only and the maximum quantity of emission is effected by controlling a current source switch. When the system is applied to a semiconductor drive device in laser xerography, if the minimum light output is set to be too large like a current I.sub.3 shown in FIG. 7, a latent image is produced even with non-existence of data and on the other hand if it is set to be too small like a current I.sub.4 shown in FIG. 7 and a current is in the LED region, since a differential quantum efficiency is very low, a slight difference in level causes a large change in magnitude of the drive current, so that, in the case where a drive current is set at greatly small value, a current does not reach the laser oscillation region even if data is input and thereby almost no latent image is formed.
In Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 4-122656, disclosed is a technique, in which beams with a plurality of predetermined light quantity levels P.sub.1, P.sub.2 are emitted in a region where a relation between the control current of a semiconductor laser and the optical output of the laser is linear, a plurality of control voltages to output a plurality of currents corresponding to the plurality of predetermined light quantities are stored and a relation between the current and emission power is obtained by a digital computing using a CPU. In Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 4-320384, proposed is a technique in which a predetermined emission power is obtained by increasing the number of set levels of light quantities, even when a relation between the current supplied to a semiconductor laser and the emission power of the semiconductor laser is not linear. Though theses two examples are excellent in regard to accuracy of intensity modulation, a CPU is required because each conducts control in a digital mode. A data width required for obtaining 256 tones demands a data size of at least 8 bits, actually 12 bits due to non-linearity of characteristics of a photoreceptor, which is a cause of cost increase. In addition, a program of a great length has to be executed to process all data in a digital mode. For such reasons, APC consumes an excessively great length of time and as a result, if laser xerography is applied, a time to modulate a laser with a image data is restricted.
As a system implementing the same in an analog mode, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 6-334248 is named. In this publication, a system in which in order to conduct APC (Auto Power Control), the minimum value is first set in a sample hold circuit and then the maximum value is set in another sample circuit by controlling a gain of a D/A converter placed in a feedback loop for setting the maximum value. According to this system, since the setting of a control voltage is all effected in an analog mode, setting of the minimum or maximum value is effected when a signal is converged in a feedback loop, so that the setting is completed in a very short time. In this system, there is no need for a CPU, since no digital computing is performed. There is, however, a problem similar to the one in the technique disclosed in the publication of Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Sho 63-184773, that the minimum light quantity is set too large or too small.
There is a need for employing a region where the light quantity vs. the current is in a linear relation in order to effect intensity modulation with high accuracy. For that purpose, a laser oscillation threshold current I.sub.th which is an intersection point of an extrapolation of the straight line with the x axis (the axis of the current), where the light quantity is zero, should be determined (see [Heterostructures Lasers] HC CASEY, JR., M. B. PANISH, ACADEMIC PRESS NEW YORK 1978). However, since this I.sub.th has conventionally been able to be obtained only in a digital computing, a digital computing has had to be effected at the sacrifice of a speed APC and cost. If an analog computing had been adopted, a way would have been allowed, in which I.sub.th was computed in a simple manner with a very small quantity of light at the sacrifice of control accuracy without extrapolation, so that APC was conducted at a high speed and in a simple manner (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 59-105568).

Semiconductor laser drive device and image recording device


An apparatus and method are provided for facilitating the cooling of engine coolant flowing through a radiator operatively connected to the engine of an engine-driven, electrical generator set. The engine has a crankshaft rotatable about a first axis and a radiator having a first side directed towards the engine and a second side. The apparatus includes a fan positionable on the second side of the radiator that is rotatable about a second axis generally parallel to and vertically spaced from the first axis. The apparatus includes a thermally responsive clutch having a driven portion. The clutch is movable between a first disengaged position wherein the driven portion is isolated from the crankshaft and a second engaged position wherein the driven portion rotates in unison with the crankshaft in response to a predetermined temperature. A fan drive system interconnects the driven portion of the clutch and the fan for translating rotation of the driven portion to the fan.

Engine-driven, electrical generators are used in a wide variety of applications. Typically, such electrical generators utilize a single driving engine directly coupled to a generator or alternator through a common shaft. Upon actuation of the engine, the crankshaft thereof rotates the common shaft so as to drive the alternator which, in turn, generates electricity. It can be appreciated that since the engine and the alternator are housed in a single enclosure, a significant amount of heat is generated within the enclosure during operation of the electrical generator.
Typically, prior electrical generators include radiators operatively connected to corresponding engines such that the engine coolant from the engines circulates through the radiators during operation of the engines. A fan, coupled to the crankshaft of the engine, rotates during operation of the electrical generator and draws air across the plurality of radiator tubes of the radiator so as to effectuate the heat exchange between the engine coolant flowing through the plurality of radiator tubes of the radiator and the air within the enclosure. In such a manner, it is intended that the air passing over the radiator tubes of the radiator having a cooling effect thereon so as to maintain the temperature of the engine coolant, and hence the temperature of the engine, below a safe operating limit.
As is known, operation of an engine driven, electrical generator can produce unwanted noise. The noise generated by the electrical generator during operation is often a result of the rotation of the fan used to cool the engine coolant flowing through the radiator tubes of the radiator of the electrical generator. Consequently, various attempts have been made to limit the time period and the speed at which the fan rotates during operation of the electrical generator to those situations wherein the engine coolant flowing through the radiator must be cooled. By way of example, a sensor may be provided to monitor the temperature of the engine coolant. The fan is operatively connected to the crankshaft of the engine only when the temperature of the engine coolant exceeds a predetermined threshold. Alternatively, in automotive applications, the fan may be connected to the crankshaft by a thermally responsive clutch. The clutch directly connects the fan to the crankshaft of the engine when the air drawn through the radiator by the fan exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold.
While these prior methods of minimizing the time period for rotating a fan of an engine-driven, electrical generator have been somewhat successful, each of these methods has significant limitations. By way of example, the use of a sensor and the associated electronics for selectively connecting the fan to the crankshaft of the engine can be cost prohibitive. Alternatively, by drawing air inward through the radiator as provided in various automotive applications, it has been found that the thermally responsive clutch interconnects the fan to the crankshaft at the engine for a longer period of time than is necessary to cool the engine coolant flowing through the radiator to a safe operating level. Hence, it can be appreciated that these prior art fan systems will generate more noise than necessary and/or desired by an end user.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for reducing the fan noise associated with the operation of an engine driven, electrical generator.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for reducing the fan noise associated with the operation of an engine driven, electrical generator that is simple and inexpensive to implement.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for reducing the fan noise associated with the operation of an engine driven, electrical generator that sufficiently cools the engine coolant flowing through the radiator of the electrical generator with the fan.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for sufficiently cooling the engine coolant flowing through the radiator of an engine for an engine-driven, electrical generator set that is adaptable for use with engines of different sizes.
In accordance with the present invention, a fan assembly is provided. The fan assembly is connectable to the crankshaft of an engine for facilitating the cooling of engine coolant flowing through a radiator. The radiator has a first side directed toward the engine and a second side. The fan assembly includes a rotatable fan positionable on the second side of the radiator. A driven pulley is operatively connected to the fan for rotational movement therewith. The fan assembly further includes a rotatable drive pulley and a fan belt system extending about the drive pulley and the driven pulley. The fan belt system translates rotation of the drive pulley to the fan. A fan clutch is also provided. The fan clutch is movable between a first disengaged position wherein the drive pulley is isolated from the crankshaft and a second engaged position wherein the fan clutch translates rotation of the crankshaft to the drive pulley in response to a predetermined temperature. The fan belt system includes a fan belt having a tension. The fan belt extends about the drive pulley and the driven pulley. The fan belt system also includes a rotatable take-up pulley. The take-up pulley is movable in order to adjust the tension of the fan belt to a user desired level.
The fan is oriented to pull air through the radiator from the first side to the second side thereof in response to rotation of the fan in a first direction. A housing element is positioned on the second side of the radiator. The housing element directs the air pulled through the radiator by the fan towards the fan clutch. The fan clutch includes a bi-metallic element for sensing the temperature of the air directed towards the fan clutch by the housing element.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a device is provided for cooling engine coolant flowing through a radiator of an engine-driven, electrical generator set. The engine has a crankshaft rotatable about a first axis and the radiator has a first side directed towards the engine and a second side. The device includes a fan positionable on the second side of the radiator. The fan is rotatable about a second axis generally parallel to the first axis. A thermally responsive clutch having a driven portion is also provided. The clutch is movable between a first disengaged position wherein the driven portion is isolated from the crankshaft and a second engaged position wherein the driven portion rotates in unison with the crankshaft in response to a predetermined temperature. A fan drive system interconnects and translates rotation of the driven portion of the clutch to the fan.
The fan drive system includes a driven pulley operatively connected to the fan for rotational movement therewith. In addition, the fan drive system includes a rotatable drive pulley and a fan belt. The rotatable drive pulley is operatively connected to the driven portion of the clutch for rotational movement therewith. The fan belt extends about the drive pulley and the driven pulley to translate rotation of the drive pulley to the driven pulley. A rotatable take-up pulley is provided to adjust the tension of the fan belt to a user-desired level.
It is contemplated for the fan to be orientated to pull air through the radiator from the first side to the second side of the radiator in response to rotation of the fan in a first direction. A housing element is positioned on the second side of the radiator to direct the air pulled through the radiator by the fan towards the clutch. The clutch includes a temperature sensing element for sensing the temperature of the air directed towards the clutch by the housing element.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for cooling engine coolant flowing through a radiator of an engine-driven, electrical generator set. The engine has a crankshaft rotatable about a first axis and the radiator has a first side directed towards the engine and a second side. The method includes the steps of positioning the fan on the second side of the radiator and monitoring the temperature on the second side of the radiator. The fan is rotatable about a second axis generally parallel to the first axis for drawing air through the radiator. The fan is operatively connected to the crankshaft in response to the temperature of the air on the second side of the radiator exceeding a threshold.
The fan is supported on a rotatable shaft having a driven pulley attached thereto. The driven pulley includes a groove formed therein. A drive pulley is also provided having a groove formed therein. A fan belt is positioned about the groove in the drive pulley and the groove in the driven pulley such that rotation of the drive pulley is translated to the driven pulley by the fan belt. The drive pulley is interconnected to a thermally responsive clutch. The clutch is movable between a first disengagement position wherein the drive pulley is isolated from the crankshaft and a second engaged position wherein the clutch translates rotation of the crankshaft to the drive pulley in response to the predetermined temperature. It is contemplated to disconnect the fan from the crankshaft in response to the temperature of the air on the second side of the radiator dropping below the threshold.

Apparatus and method for cooling engine coolant flowing through a radiator


This cosmetic composition for treating nails includes from about 0.01 weight percent to about 10.0 weight percent stabilized hydrogen peroxide, a pH adjusting agent in an amount sufficient to maintain the cosmetic composition at a pH of from about 6 to about 9, a buffer, and water.

The cosmetic appearance of fingernails has long been a matter of concern to consumers. Nail polishes and artificial fingernails are among the popular cosmetic treatments applied to the nails (fingernails or toenails, hereinafter collectively called "nails"). However, regular or even occasional use of such products can leave the natural nail yellowed and stained. In addition, coffee, cigarettes, certain medications, and the use of harsh chemicals in the home, may also leave the nail undesirably yellow and uneven in color.
Products are available on the market that coat the nail with a slight purple tint, in the manner of a nail polish, to counteract the yellow coloring of the nail. However, just like nail polish, these products have limited durability, require frequent reapplication, and function only to mask the nail problem, not to correct it. Such products also do not improve the condition of the cuticle.
In addition, home bleaching remedies are also known. These remedies use oxidizing agents, such as hydrogen peroxide, in one of two types of compositions. The first of these is a stable acidic composition, in which the bleaching effectiveness of the hydrogen peroxide is curtailed. In a lower pH solution, the oxidizing activity of the hydrogen peroxide is reduced. Also, the composition does not "wet out" or disperse as effectively on the nail, limiting contact between the hydrogen peroxide and the stain. Alternatively, higher pH compositions are known. However, lower pH compositions typically require the addition of an activator. This activator must be added immediately prior to use, thus necessitating a two-phase composition.
Accordingly, a need exists for a single phase, shelf-stable nail bleaching product that effectively bleaches and removes nail stains and yellowing.


A two stage gas pressure regulator with a body housing having a gas inlet and a gas outlet, and a common interior wall dividing the body housing into two chambers forming two pressure reducing stages. Respective intersecting fluid passageways through the common interior wall communicate the first stage to the second stage and provide a gauge pressure tap on the body housing, the intersecting passageways meeting at an intersection point within the common interior wall. Respective diaphragms are provided for each stage, and a cover has a vent venting the volume defined between the cover and the second stage diaphragm. A small passageway is provided in a common cover wall between the two stages, the small passageway being sized to suitably vent both cover portions above the respective diaphragms through the vent while eliminating overpressurization of the second stage in the event of pressure regulating failure of the first stage. A diaphragm actuated lever arm includes a slotted end with the slot matching a stepped gas flow controlling disc. The disc is stepped to match the lever end slot so as to trap the disc within the lever slotted end. The inlet orifice in one or both of the regulator stages can be formed by casting and without further machining or additional orifice components.

Gas pressure regulators are in increasing demand nowadays to safely regulate and maintain the rate of flow of gas within prescribed limits and to maintain the output gas pressure below a desired maximum level. Generally, such presently available gas regulators have included die cast body and spring case components which are then machined such as by drilling in secondary operations. Typically, an inlet orifice must be machined in the regulator body to reliably cooperate with a pivoting lever actuated by a spring backed diaphragm to control the inlet of gas to a pressure reducing chamber.
In such presently available two stage regulators, two input orifices must be drilled and machined and further machining is required to communicate the first stage output to the second stage input. A gauge pressure tap also must be machined and venting must be provided to each regulator stage.
It is desirable to provide a gas pressure regulator which can be manufactured with most of the components by die casting and with only a small amount of secondary operations required to complete the final device.


A device and a method are described which hermetically seals at least one microstructure within a cavity. Electrical access to the at least one microstructure is provided by through wafer vias formed through a via substrate which supports the at least one microstructure on its front side. The via substrate and a lid wafer may form a hermetic cavity which encloses the at least one microstructure. The through wafer vias are connected to bond pads located outside the cavity by an interconnect structure formed on the back side of the via substrate. Because they are outside the cavity, the bond pads may be placed inside the perimeter of the bond line forming the cavity, thereby greatly reducing the area occupied by the device. The through wafer vias also shorten the circuit length between the microstructure and the interconnect, thus improving heat transfer and signal loss in the device.

This invention relates to interconnect structures and packaging technology for encapsulated devices. In particular, this invention relates to a method and device for providing electrical access to encapsulated MEMS devices which have been hermetically sealed.
Telephone and other communications devices require a large number of switches to form the connections to activate the telephone calls. In general, the switches may be configured to connect any input line to any output line, and may therefore form a "cross connect." In order to miniaturize the component, the individual switches, of which there may be on the order of hundreds or even thousands, may be made using microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS. One common example of a MEMS switch usable for making a cross connect is a bi-metal strip, wherein two dissimilar metals are laminated against each other to form each of two arms of the bimetal switch. By applying a current to the arms of the switch, the bi-metal switch heats up. The different coefficients of thermal expansion of each material cause each arm of the bi-metal switch to bend in a particular direction, establishing or discontinuing contact with the other arm of the bi-metal switch, for example. Therefore, the plurality of switches may be activated by delivering current to each arm of the switch, in order to heat the switch and drive it to its closed (or open) position.
The voltages carried in the telephone connections can exceed 400 V, and because of the large number of lines being connected by the cross connect, the cross connect may be required to carry an ampere or more of current. Because of these current and voltage requirements, many telephone switches are hermetically enclosed in insulating gas environments which inhibit arcing between the high voltage lines. Such insulating gases may include, for example, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) or freons CCl2F2, or C2Cl2F4. The use of such insulating gases may increase the breakdown voltage compared to that of air by about a factor of three.
However, in order to seal the insulating gases in the switch device, the adhesive material which forms the bond between the substrate containing the electrical connections to the switches, and the cap layer which encloses the switch, must be a hermetic, i.e., non-leaking seal.
Furthermore, the electrical leads which provide electrical access to the switch device must be capable of carrying relatively high currents, and relatively high voltages. In order to keep the resistance low, and therefore the generated heat low, the electrical leads must be made relatively thick, and need to be well separated from each other in order to reduce capacitive coupling between the leads. The reduction in capacitive coupling is particularly important for leads carrying high frequency signals, such as telephone signals or radio frequency (rf) signals.
Therefore, for cross connect structures such as telephone switches, a relatively larger number, for example, 96 switches, need to be accessed electrically. As each switch may require a activation lead, a ground lead, and a signal line, a 96 switch device may require 96×2×3 electrical leads, or 576 electrical leads. If the two sides of the switch share a ground lead, this translates into 480 electrical connections. In order to avoid routing all of these electrical connections in a single plane out to bonding pads at the periphery of the device, the connections may be made by an interconnect, a structure with, for example, two or more parallel planes of conductor metallizations, separated by dielectric layers. Interconnections may then be made between the planes to access each of the electrical devices.

Interconnect structure using through wafer vias and method of fabrication


A microscope apparatus that has an electronic image pickup device arranged on an image surface of an imaging optical system, a component for separating light from a light source into two portions, a device for changing a phase difference between the two portions of light, a device for storing information on the images picked up by the image pickup device, and information processor for processing the information of images. The images are picked up by the electronic image pickup device as the phase difference is changed, and the information on the images is multiplied by a periodic function, as a weight function, which is given the phase difference as variable, and a resultant product is integrated so that a differential interference microscope apparatus capable of accurately obtaining a phase distribution of the object or a phase-contrast microscope apparatus capable of effectively enhancing a resolving power without lowering an image contrast is obtained.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microscope apparatus for observing, with high resolving power, a transparent minute object such as bacteria or crystal structure of a metal, and specifically to that using a differential interference microscope or a phase-contrast microscope.
b) Description of the Prior Art
In general, a differential interference microscope is capable of forming an image showing unevenness or inclination of an object to be observed by separating light into ordinary ray and extraordinary ray using a birefringent prism, irradiating the object with these ordinary and extraordinary rays, and causing the rays to interfere as reflected from or transmitted through the object.
These days, attempts are made to measure the phase distribution or minute shape of an object to be observed by applying the conventional technique of two-beam interferometry to differential interference microscopy. In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, specifically, a method for measuring film thickness of a phase shifter of a phase shift mask with high precision is disclosed in Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. Hei 6-229724. "Applications of Interferometry and Automated Inspection in Japan, T. YATAGAI, SPIE. Vol. CR46, 1992" and Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. Hei 5-232384 show examples of the application of the fringe scan method in interferometry to differential interference microscopy.
When the differential interference microscope is used for the measurement of an object, it is regarded as a double-beam interferometer of the Mach-Zehnder type, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. Hei 6-229724. In this approach information on the object with respect to phase etc. is obtained by determining the difference in optical path length between the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray based on the supposition that light diffracted about the object has no affect.
In the conventional differential interference microscopy, the separation width between the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray on the object surface is called "shear", which is set at a value as high as a resolving power of the microscope so that diffracted rays derived from the ordinary ray, and the extraordinary ray respectively, are caused to interfere to form an image. It is known that the shear is an important parameter for determining resolving power of the differential interference microscope and contrast of the image. Therefore, for measuring the phase distribution or minute shape of the object using the differential interference microscope, the shear specific to the differential interference microscope and effect of diffraction about the object should be considered.
However, the above-mentioned "Applications of Interferometry and Automated Inspection in Japan" and Hei 5-232384 suppose that all of the rays diffracted about the object are transmitted to an image surface, disregarding loss of diffracted light dependent on such parameters as numerical aperture of the optical system (response characteristic). Resultantly, accurate phase distribution of the object is difficult to be obtained from the image formed through such a method.
In a conventional phase-contrast microscope, a ring slit and a phase ring are arranged at a pupil position of an illumination system and a pupil position of an objective lens conjugate with the ring slit, respectively, and out of diffracted rays, zero-order rays are changed in phase and intensity to interfere with the remaining diffracted rays so that phase of a specimen (object) is converted into contrast of the image for observation.
As for contrast of phase-contrast image by a phase-contrast microscope, "Some Improvements in the Phase Contrast Microscope, K. YAMAMOTO, A. TAIRA, J. Microscopy, 129 (1983) 49-62", for example, describes a method for improving it. In conventional phase-contrast microscopy, in general, the contrast of the image is improved by arranging diameter of a ring-shaped phase film to be substantially half of a pupil diameter of the objective lens.
Japanese Patent No. Hei 7-60216 discloses a method for determining phase distribution of the object from a phase-contrast image by the phase-contrast microscope. However, as described in "Theoretical Considerations on Phase Contrast Imaging H. OOKI, Optics, Vol.20, No.9, 1991, pp 590-594, imaging by the phase-contrast microscope is disadvantageous in resolving power as compared with an ordinary bright-field microscope because the cutoff frequency is dependent on a ratio of the phase film diameter with the pupil diameter. This disadvantage could be moderated as the ratio approximates 1. However, as described in the above-mentioned document, such solution raises another problem of weakened contrast of the entire image, to obscure the image visually, because contrast of spatial frequency in a low band is weakened.
As a measure for enhancing the contrast without changing the diameter of the phase film, absorption by the phase film would be increased. However, if absorption by the phase film is increased, another problem is raised, as indicated by "Inverse Problem in Microscopy A. TAKAHASHI, I. NEMOTO, Denshi Tsushin Gakkai, Technical Research Report MBE88-58, pp 35-42, 1988, that, for a relatively thick specimen as compared with the wavelength of light, e.g. a biological specimen, an accurate phase-contrast image fails to be reproduced because spatial frequency components not existing in the original specimen (nonlinear terms) have an effect.
As stated above, conventional phase-contrast microscopes do not simultaneously satisfy both the requirements for resolution and image contrast.
Furthermore, according to the method recited in Japanese Patent No. Hei 7-60216, since phase distribution of the object is obtained directly from the phase-contrast image without consideration of the response characteristic of the phase-contrast microscope, the phase distribution obtained varies according to the frequency characteristic of the object. Furthermore, since this method disregards influence of nonlinear components such as halo also, uncertainty of phase distribution attributable to the nonlinear components still remains.
In consideration of the problems in the conventional phase-contrast microscopes, the present inventors have disclosed, in Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. Hei 7-225341, a phase-contrast microscope which is constructed so that resolving power is improved without weakening image contrast, and which is capable of accurately converting phase distribution of the object into contrast information.


Methods of forming a device isolation layer in a semiconductor substrate are disclosed. A disclosed method includes: forming a trench in a field area of a semiconductor substrate, growing a SiON layer on an inside of the trench by annealing in an ambience of NO gas, and filling the trench with a trench-fill material.

Generally, in a semiconductor circuit, various devices such as transistors, diodes, resistors and the like must be electrically isolated from each other. Because of the tendency toward high integration of semiconductor devices and because the channel length and the width of a field oxide layer for device isolation are reduced, micro patterns are needed to accomplish such isolation in device fabrication.
LOCOS (local oxidation of silicon) has been very popular as a device isolation method. The LOCOS method comprises: sequentially forming a pad oxide layer and a nitride layer on a silicon substrate; patterning the nitride layer; and forming a field oxide layer by selectively performing oxidation on the silicon substrate. One shortcoming of LOCOS device isolation is that a bird's beak often occurs at an edge of the field oxide layer because oxygen penetrates into a lateral side of the pad oxide layer from a bottom of the nitride layer used as a mask in the selective oxidation of the silicon substrate. The length of the bird's beak extends the field oxide layer to an active area, thereby shortening the channel length and increasing a threshold voltage to induce the so-called short channel effect. As a result, the electric characteristics of the transistor are degraded. Specifically, in a LOCOS device isolation exhibiting the short channel effect, the punch-through phenomenon takes place. Punch-through is a phenomenon which occurs when the channel length is reduced below 0.3 μm and the field oxide layers defining the active area merge into one. As a result, the field oxide layers are unable to secure an accurate width of the active area. Thus, certain limitations are placed on LOCOS device isolation.
Recently, trench isolation has been employed in semiconductor fabrication performed according to a design rule below 0.25 μm. Trench isolation comprises forming a trench by removing a portion of a semiconductor substrate and filling up the trench with an insulator.
In the latest device isolation techniques, shallow trench isolation is mainly used. Shallow trench isolation comprises: forming a trench by locally removing a portion of a silicon substrate; depositing an insulating layer, (e.g., an oxide layer), on the silicon substrate; and removing the insulating layer on an active area by CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) to leave only a portion of the insulating layer in the trench as a field isolation area. The STI method, which employs a trench depth below 3 μm, is applicable to a design rule below 0.15 μm.
The STI method reduces the size of the device isolation area relative to the substrate. In an STI method a trench provided in a semiconductor substrate is filled up with silicon oxide by CVD (chemical vapor deposition). The STI method prevents the bird's beak problem mentioned above to thereby avoid a loss of an active area that is planarized.
Meanwhile, as the gate length is decreased, the leakage current component occurring in the STI employing the trench device isolation layer is divided into diffusion current and a drift current. The drift current flows through a shortest distance between devices, but the diffusion current flows along an interface of the oxide layer.
As mentioned in the above explanation, the STI method comprises: forming a trench by etching a silicon substrate to a prescribed depth; depositing an insulating layer on the substrate and in the trench; and etching the insulating layer by an etch-back process or CMP to leave the insulating layer within the trench only. Currently, USG (undoped silicate glass), TEOS (tetraethyl orthosilicate), HTO (high temperature oxide), or a combination thereof is used as the oxide layer filling the trench. Such a filing material has a heat budget smaller than that of thermal oxide formed by oxidation, exhibits throughput higher than that of thermal oxide, and has a wet etch rate faster than that of thermal oxide.
A prior art semiconductor device isolation method using STI will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1F. FIGS. 1A to 1F are cross-sectional illustrations of a prior art method of forming a trench type device isolation layer in a semiconductor device.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a pad oxide layer 13 is formed on a silicon substrate 11 by thermal oxidation.
A nitride layer 15 is deposited on the pad oxide layer 13.
Referring to FIG. 1B, a photoresist pattern 17 is formed on the nitride layer 15 to have an opening A that defines a device isolation area of the silicon substrate 11.
Referring to FIG. 1C, the nitride layer 15 and the pad oxide layer 13 are etched using the photoresist pattern 17 as an etch mask to expose a portion of the substrate 11.
The exposed portion of the substrate 11 is etched using the photoresist pattern 17 and the remaining nitride layer pattern 15′ and pad oxide layer pattern 13′ as a mask to form a trench B having a predetermined depth.
Optionally, after the photoresist pattern 17 has been removed, the trench B may be formed using the remaining nitride layer pattern 15′ and pad oxide layer pattern 13′ as an etch mask.
The trench B is formed for shallow trench isolation.
Referring to FIG. 1D, after the photoresist pattern 17 has been removed; a liner oxide layer 19 is formed on an inside of the trench by STI liner oxidation to prevent STI damage. The liner oxide layer 19 is used to solve the problems of stress generated from the expansion of a filled oxide layer that will be formed later by oxidation. Specifically, the liner oxide layer 19 functions as an oxidation barrier suppressing oxidant diffusion into the sidewalls of the trench.
Referring to FIG. 1E, a gap-fill material layer 21 such as a TEOS (tetraethyl orthosilicate) layer or a HDP (high density plasma) CVD layer is deposited over the substrate 11 including the liner oxide layer 19 thereby filling the trench.
Referring to FIG. 1F, the gap-fill material layer 21 is planarized by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) to expose the nitride layer pattern 15′.
Annealing is then performed on the substrate at a prescribed temperature.
Subsequently, the pad oxide layer pattern and the nitride layer pattern are removed by wet etching.
The gap-fill material layer 21 in FIG. 1E remains in the trench and, thus, becomes an STI layer 21′.
A method of forming a trench device isolation layer of a semiconductor device is described in Korean Patent Application No. 1999-45566, filed on Oct. 20, 1999. This method employs a SiN liner oxide layer formed by low pressure CVD.
Specifically, the method described in Korean Patent Application No. 1999-45566 comprises: forming a trench on a field area of a semiconductor substrate; growing a thermal oxide layer on an inside of the trench; forming a silicon oxy nitride (SiON) layer on an interface between the thermal oxide layer and the silicon substrate by annealing in an ambience of N2O; forming an oxidation barrier layer by depositing silicon nitride on an inside of the trench; filling the trench with an oxide layer; and planarizing the oxide layer to form a device isolation layer. This method forms a device isolation layer capable of preventing out-diffusion of boron (B) with less stress.
However, as the width of the trench is decreased due to a reduced design rule or scale, the process/device margin is shortened. The conventional STI is unable to control leakage current and diffusion current despite the excellent device isolation feature.
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Isolation methods in semiconductor devices


A virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) system includes: a display configured to display a user interface to a user; an integrated scrollwheel and fingerprint sensor (FPS) user input apparatus, comprising a scrollwheel configured to detect a rotational navigation input from the user and an FPS configured to detect a biometric input from the user; and a processing system configured to: receive the rotational navigation input via the scrollwheel of the integrated scrollwheel and FPS user input apparatus; update a displayed user interface on the display based on the received rotational navigation input, wherein updating the displayed user interface comprises updating a user selection on a displayed menu; receive an activation input for the updated user selection on the displayed menu via the FPS of the integrated scrollwheel and FPS user input apparatus; and execute an operation corresponding to the updated user selection on the displayed menu.

Input devices, including touch sensors and fingerprint sensors, are widely used in a variety of electronic systems. Touch sensors and fingerprint sensors may include a sensing region, often demarked by a surface, in which the sensor determines the presence, location, motion, and/or features of one or more input objects. Touch sensors and fingerprint sensors may be used to provide interfaces for the electronic system. For example, touch sensors and fingerprint sensors may be used as input devices for larger computing systems (e.g., opaque touchpads and fingerprint sensors integrated in, or peripheral to, notebook or desktop computers). Touch sensors and fingerprint sensors are also often used in smaller computing systems (e.g., touch screens and fingerprint sensors integrated in smartphones).
In recent years, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) systems are becoming increasingly popular, and there may be use cases for touch sensors and fingerprint sensors in AR and VR systems. However, conventional touch sensor and fingerprint sensor devices are often unsuitable for AR and VR environments, particularly where a user may not be able to conveniently look at or see the user input device that the user is interacting with.

AR/VR navigation with authentication using an integrated scrollwheel and fingerprint sensor user input apparatus


A method and apparatus for determining a parameter of interest of an earth formation during drilling of a borehole. A first toroidal coil antenna induces a current along a path that includes a bottomhole assembly and the formation. A second toroidal coil antenna disposed at the drillbit and oriented at a non-zero angle to the longitudinal axis of the bottomhole assembly measures an electrical signal resulting from the current, the electrical signal being a parameter of interest of the formations.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure generally relates to exploration for hydrocarbons involving electrical investigations of a borehole penetrating an earth formation. More specifically, this disclosure relates to tilted toroidal coil near the drillbit conveyed in the borehole for introducing and measuring individual survey currents injected into the wall of the borehole.
2. Background of the Art
Electrical earth borehole logging is well known and various devices and various techniques have been described for this purpose. Broadly speaking, there are two categories of devices used in electrical logging devices. In the first category, called "galvanic" devices, electrodes emit current into the earth formations in order to determine resistivity. One of the simplest forms of galvanic devices is the so-called "normal" device where a current electrode emits a current through the earth formation to a remote return location, and a voltage electrode measures the potential due to that current with respect to the remote reference location. In the second category, inductive measuring tools, an antenna within the measuring instrument induces a current flow within the earth formation. Resistivity can be determined by measuring either the magnitude or the attenuation caused by propagation of this current by means of the same antenna or separate receiver antennas. Various illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure belong to the first category, galvanic devices, as described in more detail below.
Normal type devices have been used extensively in the logging industry to determine formation resistivity when the borehole fluid is either more resistive or is slightly less resistive than the formation. One of the earlier devices was that of Doll wherein a so-called "micronormal" tool was used for measuring resistivity near the borehole wall.
Some galvanic devices are designed to focus the survey current into the formation whose resistivity is to be determined. For example, Birdwell (U.S. Pat. No. 3,365,658) teaches the use of a focused electrode for determination of the resistivity of subsurface formations. A survey current is emitted from a central survey electrode into adjacent earth formations. This survey current is focused into a relatively narrow beam of current outwardly from the borehole by use of a focusing current emitted from nearby focusing electrodes located adjacent the survey electrode and on either side thereof. Other galvanic devices focus the current near the borehole wall. This is useful when the mud resistivity is much lower than the formation resistivity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,068 to Chemali et al., having the same assignee as the present disclosure, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, teaches an apparatus for making measurements of the resistivity of an earth formation during the drilling process. A drill bit is conveyed on a bottom assembly for the purpose of drilling the borehole. At least one measure electrode is carried on an exterior surface of the drillbit and is used to convey a measure current into the formation. A device set in a cavity of the drillbit is responsive to at least one of (i) the current, and, (ii) the voltage of the at least one measure electrode. The response of this device indicates a measurement of resistivity of the formation near the borehole. A source of voltage coupled to the at least one electrode provides a specified voltage to the at least one electrode. The device disclosed in Chemali is an unfocused device. Consequently, there may be variations in the measured resistivity due to changes in standoff of the electrode during rotation of the tool. It may be desirable to reduce the effect of the standoff. Those versed in the art and having benefit of the present disclosure would recognize that standoff at the bit may be caused by bouncing of the bit during drilling.
In many drilling applications it is necessary to stop the drilling process before or shortly after the bit penetrates a new formation. In order to determine the position for stopping, the drilling industry uses resistivity tools which are sensitive at or near the bit. Typically, these tools use a toroidal coil for transmitting a current along the drillstring and a receiver toroidal coil for measuring the current near the bit in direction of the borehole.
The Bit Resistivity Tool offers a service which is known as "geostopping," in which the BHA stops before a specific formation (e.g. reservoir) is penetrated. Geostopping can be useful when a casing has to be placed directly at the beginning of a reservoir, or when the bit has to be exchanged because the new formation is expected to be harder, etc. Therefore, it is important to offer a sensor which is able to measure resistivity values at the bit or ahead of the bit.
A transmitting toroidal coil antenna disposed on an electrically conductive metal body, such as a drill collar on a drill string, has been used in the past. The transmitting antenna is energized to induce a current which travels in a path that includes the body and the formations. An electrode is disposed on the body, and an electrical signal resulting from said current is measured at the electrode to obtain an indication of the resistivity of the formations.
These tools provide a best response if the new formation is penetrated perpendicularly. In this case, there will be a very quick response curve with a very steep slope. If a high inclination of the BHA to the formation is present, the response deteriorates; the curve slope is flat and it is not easy to determine the point of penetration. Unfortunately penetrations in which there is a very small angle between borehole and formation are more frequent in present drilling practices. Therefore, there is a need to recognize the beginning penetration of a new formation in situations where the angle between borehole and formation border is very small. The following invention addresses this need.

Method and apparatus for determining formation boundary near the bit for conductive mud


An integrated thin-film capacitor includes a dielectric disposed between a first electrode and a second electrode. The thin-film capacitor includes a dielectric disposed upon the first electrode, and the dielectric exhibits a substantially uniform heat-altered morphology along a line defined by a characteristic dimension thereof. A computing system is also disclosed that includes the thin-film capacitor.

Power delivery is a significant concern in the design and operation of microelectronic devices. Where the microelectronic device includes a processor die or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) die, an adequate current delivery, a steady voltage, and an acceptable processor transient response are desirable characteristics of the overall microelectronic device package.
A processor die often requires capacitative power sources to respond to transient loads generated during operation. Capacitors are provided to answer the transient load requirements of the die. A thin-film capacitor (TFC) is typically a dielectric disposed between two electrodes, and which was manufactured by etching and laser drilling. Laser drilling is costly, time consuming, and subjects the structures of the TFC to significant uneven heat transients.
During conventional laser-drill processing through a sintered thin-film capacitor (TFC) dielectric layer to form a contact corridor, the extreme heat transient of the laser beam causes a heat-altered region at the cutting edge of the laser drill. The laser-drilled edge is subjected to an extreme heat transient because of the laser-drilling process, but opposite from the cut edge, the sintered TFC dielectric can remain unchanged from the sintering process. The conventional laser-drill process can cause the laser-drilled edge to change physically or chemically compared to the region that is distant from the laser-drilled edge. For example the laser-drilled edge can embrittle in comparison to the region that is distant from the laser-drilled edge. Thus, the heat-altered morphology of the laser-drilled edge can exhibit embrittlement signs caused in a sintered dielectric. The embrittlement can be determined by physical probing among other techniques. The laser-drilled edge can also have changed chemical qualities due to lost or altered materials caused by the extreme heat transient. Thus, the heat-altered morphology of the laser-drilled edge can exhibit chemical depletion signs in a sintered dielectric. The changed chemical qualities can be determined by microscopic techniques such as by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or ionic-coupled plasma (ICP) analysis. And due to the extreme heat transient of the laser-drilling process, the laser-drilled edge can even have incorporated volatilized stray materials into the matrix of the TFC dielectric in comparison to the distant region. Thus, the heat-altered morphology of the laser-drilled edge can exhibit chemical addition signs in a sintered dielectric. The changed chemical qualities can be determined by microscopic techniques such as by SEM or ICP analysis.

Inkjet patterning for thin-film capacitor fabrication, thin-film capacitors fabricated thereby, and systems containing same