The present invention is directed to Y-branch digital optical switching and optical attenuator devices, which enhance the security of optical communications channels in the event of an electrical power loss.

Digital optical spatial switches (DOS) are well known in the art. One class of such switches is the 1×2 digital optical switch known as a "Y-branch digital optical switch" (DOS) wherein light input into the "base" or trunk of the Y is directed through one or the other of the output branches by virtue of changes effected in the refractive index of one or both of the output branches. The switch can also be operated in reverse, whereby one or the other "upper branches" of the Y can be selected as an input channel with the base of the Y being the output channel. Y-branches are a fundamental building block of optical circuitry, and may be employed singly, or in various combinations to form more complex switching and coupling devices.
The Y-branch DOS has received wide commercial acceptance primarily because of its robustness to variations in critical parameters such as electrical power applied, polarization, wavelength, temperature, and to a large extent, even device geometrical variations. Typically a Y-branch DOS is designed such that two waveguide branches intersect to define a Y-shaped structure with a very small angle at the intersection of the branches. The composition of the waveguide structure may include a wide variety of materials such as lithium niobate, semiconductors, silica, or polymers. A Y-branch DOS performs its switching function by adiabatically changing (i.e. slowly varying, as opposed to abruptly altering) the light propagation direction in one of the output waveguides.
Specifically, switching in a Y-branch DOS is achieved by forcing a refractive index change in one waveguide branch with respect to the other. Of particular significance among the characteristics of a Y-branch DOS is its step-like response. When a Y-branch DOS operates above a switching threshold, variations in polarization and wavelength do not impact significantly the switching capacity of the Y-branch DOS.
One persistent problem presented to the designer of optical communications systems is related to the security of the data transmission in the event of an electrical power failure. Numerous optical communications components are electro-optic in nature. When an electrical power failure occurs optical data signals could potentially be misdirected. It is important to provide a fail-safe mechanism by which secure optical transmissions are not inadvertently diverted to the wrong recipient during a power failure. This can be achieved by placing in line a normally dark digital optical switch (ND-DOS), or its variant, a normally dark variable optical attenuator (ND-VOA). The ND feature also helps avoid high optical power, which could destroy photodetectors. The ND feature also permits optical power to be shut off without the expenditure of electrical power.
The ND feature is readily available in optomechanical switches and microelectromechanical system switches/VOA's). The challenge of attaining desired levels of signal attenuation in planar light wave circuits (PLCs) is particularly daunting because of the close proximity of optical circuit elements and the high incidence of cross-talk. Signal attenuation of ≧40 dB is needed for the most critical applications. One approach taught in the art to providing a ND feature in PLCs is to use an interferometric design, such as the well-known Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) as in Jinguji et al, IEEE J Lightwave Technology 14 (10), 2301–2310 (1996). However, available devices exhibit ˜20 dB attenuation with high wavelength dependence. While these devices are suitable for some applications, improvements are needed.
Switching in Y-branches is accomplished by effecting a change in refractive index in one of the branches. Several methods are known in the art for effecting the desired change in refractive index. These include the electro-optic effect, the stress-optic effect and the thermo-optic effect. In a typical Y-branch thermo-optic DOS known in the art, the two upper branches of the "Y" are provided with a heating means, typically a thin layer of metal deposited thereupon, which heating means when activated induces a shift in the refractive index of the corresponding branch, thereby effecting a coupling of power input to the base of the "Y" to one or the other branches. By turning on the heating of one branch and turning off the heating of the other branch, switching of incoming optical signals can be effected. By heating both branches at once a gradual signal attenuation may be effected.
Both polymeric and glass Y-branches are known. Because of the much larger temperature dependence of the refractive index of polymers, polymers are preferred for use in thermo-optic digital optical switches.
Hida et al, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters 5 (7), 782–784 (1997), disclose polymeric 2×2 thermo-optic switches consisting of two coupled Y-branches fabricated from deuterated and fluoro-deuterated methacrylate polymers. The method of fabrication involves spin coating polymer solutions onto a silicon substrate followed by forming the Y-shaped components by conventional photolithography, the core ridges being subsequently formed by reactive ion etching. Chromium thin-film strip heaters were formed on the upper Y-branches by electron beam evaporation and wet etching. Separation of the arms was 250 micrometers. The Cr heater strips were 5 mm long and 50 micrometers wide.
Eldada et al, Proc. SPIE, vol. 3950, pp. 78–89 (2000), discloses 1×2 optical switches fabricated from polymeric materials, which Y-branches exhibit 0.1 dB insertion loss for vertex angles of less than 2°. The direct photolithographic fabrication method using halogenated acrylates as practiced therein is disclosed to enable sharp profiles of the components and the removal of residue even at the vertex of relatively small angle Y-branches.
Lackritz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,774B1, discloses thermo-optic switches employing cross-linked polymeric waveguides operated above Tg. Disclosed are metallic heaters substantially rectangular in shape disposed upon a polymeric optical waveguide surface, the long side of said rectangular heater being positioned at a slight angle to the direction of propagation in the waveguide. Said heaters are positioned to be in uniform thermal contact with waveguide material over the entire area of the heater. It is disclosed that the temperature, and therefore the refractive index, of the polymer waveguide material will depend upon the distance of any point therein from the heater, those regions closest to the heater experiencing greater temperature than those further away.
Lee et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,566, is drawn to thermally induced guides in silicon optical benches. Disclosed in FIG. 2 thereof is the temperature profile through the various optical materials employed therein as a result of localized heating applied thereto.
Moosburger et al, Proc. 21st Eur. Conf. on Opt. Comm, pp. 1063–1067 (1995) disclose Y-branches with "near perfect" vertices having an angle of 0.12° fabricated from silica-clad polymeric waveguides having cores of ca. 9 micrometers. The upper branches of the Y were coated with Ti thin film heaters. 27 dB cross-talk suppression was achieved between output branches with heater power of ca. 180 mW.
Diemeer, Optical Materials 9, 192–200 (1998) provides a thoroughgoing analysis of the thermal transport and physical aspects of thermo-optic switching in polymeric vs. silica thermo-optic digital optical switches. For polymers in general, and polycarbonate and polymethylmethacrylate in particular, it is shown that switching power lies in the range of 50–100 mW, and that a temperature rise of ca. 10° C. in the waveguide core is necessary to achieve a minimum refractive index difference of ca. 0.001.
Lee et al., IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 11 (5), 1999, pp. 590–592 discloses a polymeric tunable optical attenuator fabricated using asymmetric DOS/VOA waveguides integrated with an optical monitoring tap, where the attenuation level is minimal when no electrical power is applied.
Tamir et al., Guided Wave Optoelectronics, Springer-Verlag, 1988 pp. 121–125 discloses asymmetric Y-branch waveguides for use as mode splitters and power dividers.

Normally dark Y-branch digital optical switches and variable optical attentuators


A receptacle to support and retain a plurality of used hypodermic needle and syringe combinations to prevent the accidental pricking of the care giver or patient after use comprising an outer receptacle support including a substantially cylindrical body having a centrally disposed substantially cylindrical canister recess and a plurality of peripherally disposed substantially cylindrical liquid retaining tube recesses formed therein to selectively receive and support an inner disinfectant canister and a plurality of substantially cylindrical liquid retaining tubes respectively wherein the inner disinfectant retaining canister includes a substantially cylindrical tube to operatively house a disinfectant solution therein and a penetrable membrane to receive the used hypodermic needles therethrough to support and retain the used hypodermic needles in the disinfectant solution for subsequent disposal of the used hypodermic needle and syringe combinations.

1. Field of the Invention
A receptacle to support and retain a plurality of used hypodermic needle and syringe combinations to prevent the accidental pricking of the care giver or patient for safe storage and disposal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous means for the disposal of contaminated medical instruments have been developed. Such devices often provide containers to receive contaminated medical instruments deposited for disposal. It is important that such disposal devices reduce the extent reasonably obtainable the likelihood that the contaminated medical instruments will subsequently accidentally puncture someone and that contaminants will escape from the disposal container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,449 discloses a block of styrofoam for penetration by and for frictionally holding, disposable hypodermic needles, scalpels and other sharps, held in a container including a bottom and a sidewall. Pawl-shaped projections are provided adjacent the upper lip of the sidewall. A lid includes complementary pawl-shaped projections adjacent its lower lip for engagement with respective projections on a contaminant neutralizing substance such as BETADINE, or another layer of, for example, wadding, located above or below the styrofoam can be saturated with the contaminant neutralizing substance. The sharps are protected only when the lid is plaCED ON THE CONTAINER. When so assembled, additional sharps cannot be introduced into the block.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,093,537 describes a medical case having a housing and removable cap. The body has a center hole open at the top and two narrower holes at the sides thereof configured to receive respective medical instruments. Sealing plugs are provided to seal the hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 478,081 shows a three cylindrical vessel to retain liquid and syringe. The case then serves as a sealed vessel to carry the medicated solution as well as the syringe. Annular stops are provided which engage the coupling of the needles and prevent their points from coming in contact with the bottoms of inclosing cylinders.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,865 teaches a closed sorbent shock or impact resistant container for shipping and storing hazardous liquid materials or a cryogenic container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,264 describes a medical needle removing and disposing system comprising a box having a plurality of compartments therein, each for removing a needle assembly from injection and/or blood drawing equipment and for disposing of the needle assembly. A compartment comprises first and second containers for defining first and second chambers with a needle gripper positioned therebetween. The first container has a plastic, non-hardening, tacky, substance therein. Injection and/or blood drawing equipment with a medical needle assembly mounted thereon can be manipulated to extend a shaft of the needle assembly into the second chamber until a mounting tube of the medical needle assembly is located at the needle assembly remover which grips the mounting tube so that the injection and/or blood drawing equipment can be rotated for unscrewing the mounting tube from the injection and/or blood drawing equipment. The medical needle assembly is left in the dispenser with the shaft buried in the tacky substance.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,067 describes a collection box having a cover plate provided with a multiplicity of square openings into which a needle is inserted detachably fastened at a one-way-syringe whereby the head of the needle is caught behind the sharp-edged inside border of the opening and the syringe can be pulled off from the needle which is being held in position by a disinfectant filling into which the needle has been pierced.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,285 teaches an injection syringe container comprising a housing having a bottom wall, side walls, first and second end walls and a top wall. The top wall is formed with a longitudinal row of spaced openings, a pair of facing channel tracks secured upon and extending along the top wall and located at opposite sides of the longitudinal row of openings with upstanding tubes within the housing and fixedly mounted on the bottom wall.
Additional examples of the prior art are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,738,872; 3,292,776; 4,015,810; 4,037,814; 4,327,060; 4,380,292; 5,020,665; Des. 229,048 and Des. 259,141.

Receptacle to support and retain a plurality of used hypodermic needle and syringe combinations


A cancer targeting composition, kit, and method for treatment of cancer cells overexpressing somatostatin receptors is disclosed. The composition includes a radioisotope, a chelator, and a targeting moiety. The chelator includes a nitrogen ring structure including a tetraazacyclododecane, a triazacyclononane, and/or a tetraazabicyclo [6.6.2] hexadecane derivative. The targeting moiety includes a somatostatin receptor targeting peptide. The somatostatin receptor targeting peptide includes an octreotide derivative. The targeting moiety is chelated to the radioisotope by the chelator whereby the cancer cells are targeted for elimination.

The present disclosure relates generally to cancer treatment. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to targeted radiotherapy of cancer patients using radiolabeled conjugates.
Various medications have been developed for the treatment of cancer cells. In order to specifically target the cancer cells, targeting compositions have been developed to treat to the cancer cells without affecting healthy cells which may be near the cancer cells. To target the cancer cells, the targeting compositions are provided with chemicals which are designed to bind specifically to portions of the cancer cells. Such compositions may be overexpressed in cancer cells compared to healthy cells. These compositions are also designed to bind to and damage the cancer cells without damaging other cells in the patient.
Examples of conjugates used in cancer treatment are provided in US Patent/Application Nos. 2016/0143926, 2015/0196673, 2014/0228551, 9408928, 9217009, 8858916, 7202330, 6225284, 6683162, 6358491, and WO2014052471, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Examples of tumor targeting compositions are provided in US Patent/Application Nos. US2007/0025910, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,157, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Additional information concerning cancer treatment is provided in Milenic et al., Bench to Bedside: Stability Studies of GMP Produced Trastuzumab-TCMC in Support of a Clinical Trial, Pharmaceuticals, vol. 8, pp. 435-454 (2015); Tan et al., Biodistribution of 212Pb Conjugated Trastuzumab in Mice. J Radioanal Nucl. Chem., Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, April 2012; Boudousq et al., Comparison between Internalizing Anti-HER2 mAbs and Non-Internalizing Anti-CEA mAbs in Alpha-Radioimmunotherapy of Small Volume Peritoneal Carcinomatosis Using 212Pb, July 2013; Dr. Fisher, Development and Testing of a 212Pb/212Bi Peptide for Targeting Metastatic Melanoma, U.S. Department of Energy, October 2012; Meredith et al., Dose Escalation and Dosimetry of First in Human Alpha Radioimmunotherapy with 212Pb-TCMC-trastuzumab, J Nucl Med., 55(10): 1636-1642, October 2014; Elgqvist et al., The Potential and Hurdles of Targeted Alpha Therapy—Clinical Trials and Beyond, Frontiers In Oncology, Jan. 14, 2014; Miao et al., Melanoma Therapy via Peptide-Targeted A-Radiation, Clinical Cancer Research, 11 (15), www.aacrjournals.org, Aug. 1, 2005; Meredith et al., Pharmacokinetics and Imaging of 212Pb-TCMC-Trastuzumab After Intraperitoneal Administration in Ovarian Cancer Patients, Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, Vol. 29, Number 1, (2014); Yong et al., Towards Translation of 212Pb as a Clinical Therapeutic: Getting The Lead In!, National Institute of Health, Dalton Trans., 40(23), Jun. 21, 2011; Milenic et al., Toxicological Studies of 212Pb Intravenously or Intraperitoneally Injected into Mice for a Phase 1 Trial, Pharmaceuticals, vol. 8, pp. 416-434 (2015), the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Despite advances in the treatment of cancer, there remains a need to provide effective and safely targeted radiotherapy for eliminating the cancer cells without damaging the healthy cells in the cancer patient. The present disclosure is directed at meeting such a need.

Treatment of cancer cells overexpressing somatostatin receptors using ocreotide derivatives chelated to radioisotopes


A process for producing a single-crystal semiconductor and an apparatus therefor. A single-crystal semiconductor of large diameter and large weight can be lifted with the use of existing equipment not having any substantial change thereto while not influencing the oxygen concentration of single-crystal semiconductor and the temperature of melt and while not unduly raising the temperature of seed crystal. In particular, the relationship (L1, L2, L3) between the allowable temperature difference (ΔT) and the diameter (D) of seed crystal (14) is preset so that the temperature difference between the seed crystal (14) at the time the seed crystal (14) is immersed in the melt and the melt (5) falls within the allowable temperature difference (ΔT) at which dislocations are not introduced into the seed crystal (14). In accordance with the relationship (L1, L2, L3), the allowable temperature difference (ΔT) corresponding to the diameter (D) of seed crystal (14) to be immersed in the melt is determined. Temperature control is conducted so that at the time the seed crystal (14) is immersed in the melt (5) the temperature difference between the seed crystal (14) and the melt (5) falls within the determined allowable temperature difference (ΔT).

Methods for producing single crystal silicon include the CZ method.
FIG. 1 shows an example structure of a single crystal pulling apparatus 1 using the CZ method.
A quartz crucible 3 of which outside is covered with a graphite crucible 11 is disposed in a single crystal pulling vessel 2 or a CZ furnace 2. Polycrystalline silicon (Si) is heated to melt in the quartz crucible 3. After melting is stabilized, a pulling mechanism 4 operates to pull a single crystal silicon (single crystal silicon ingot) 6 from melt 5. Specifically, a pulling shaft 4a is lowered, and a seed crystal 14 held by a seed chuck 4c at a leading end of the pulling shaft 4a is immersed in the melt 5. After the seed crystal 14 is adapted to the melt 5, the pulling shaft 4a is lifted. The single crystal silicon 6 grows as the seed crystal 14 held by the seed chuck 4c is pulled up. The quartz crucible 3 is rotated by a rotating shaft 10 while pulling up. The pulling shaft 4a of the pulling mechanism 4 rotates in an opposite direction or the same direction to the rotating shaft 10.
Various vaporized materials are produced within the vessel 2 during the single crystal pulling process (1 batch). Then, argon (Ar) gas 7 is supplied to the single crystal pulling vessel 2 and discharged together with the vaporized materials out of the vessel 2 to remove the vaporized materials from and clean the vessel 2. A supply flow rate of the argon gas 7 is determined for each process of the single batch.
A heat shielding plate 8 (gas rectifying column) is disposed above the quartz crucible 3 and around the single crystal silicon 6 to rectify the gas 7 in the single crystal pulling vessel 2, to guide to a surface 5a of the melt 5 and to shield the single crystal silicon 6 from a heat source. A distance (gap) G between the bottom end of the heat shielding plate 8 and the melt surface 5a is determined appropriately.
One of problems unavoidable when the single crystal silicon 6 is grown by the CZ method is a "dislocation" generated in the seed crystal at the time the seed crystal is immersed in the melt. The dislocation is induced because of a thermal stress caused in the seed crystal 14 when the seed crystal 14 is immersed in the melt 5. If the dislocation is continuously propagated through a necking portion formed at a lower portion of the seed crystal 14 and taken into the single crystal silicon 6 which is produced with the necking portion increased, this single crystal silicon 6 cannot be used for a semiconductor device. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the dislocation.
Accordingly, it is general that a necking process for gradually contracting the necking portion to a diameter of about 3 to 5 mm is conducted in the first step of the pulling process in order to remove the dislocation, which is introduced into the seed crystal 14 at the time the seed crystal is immersed in the melt, out of the seed crystal 14 after the seed crystal 14 is immersed in the melt 5.
In recent years, however, the production of a large-diameter silicon wafer having a diameter of 300 mm or more is being demanded, and a large-diameter and heavy single crystal silicon ingot is required to be pulled up without involving any problem. When a diameter of the necking portion is contracted to about 3 to 5 mm by the necking process, the dislocation is eliminated, but the diameter is excessively small, so that the large-diameter and heavy single crystal silicon ingot may not be produced without involving a problem that the crystal drops, or the like.
Here, an auxiliary holding device may be disposed to hold and pull the single crystal silicon 6 to prevent the single crystal silicon ingot from dropping due to breakage of the necking portion.
But, the addition of such an auxiliary holding device to the existing single crystal pulling apparatus 1 involves the increase of the number of parts and increases the apparatus cost. It is also presumed that technical difficulties are involved because a technique of securely holding the single crystal silicon 6 has not been established. Besides, when the mechanical holding device is disposed, a contaminant such as metal powder may be introduced into the CZ furnace 2, and the interior of the CZ furnace 2 might not be assured to have a clean environment.
Therefore, it is not desirable to dispose an auxiliary holding device to pull up the large-diameter and heavy single crystal silicon ingot.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-189488 discloses the following technology that a large-diameter and heavy single crystal silicon ingot can be pulled up without reducing the necking portion.
a) The distance (gap) G between the bottom end of the heat shielding plate 8 and the melt surface 5a is increased to add radiant heat from the heater for heating the melt 5 in the quartz crucible 3 in a large amount to the seed crystal 14 so to raise the temperature of the seed crystal 14, thereby reducing a temperature difference between the seed crystal 14 and the melt 5 and reducing dislocations introduced into seed crystal 14 by a thermal stress.
b) A slit is formed in the graphite crucible 11 to add radiant heat from the heater for heating the melt 5 in the quartz crucible 3 in a large amount to the seed crystal 14 so to raise the temperature of the seed crystal 14, thereby reducing the temperature difference between the seed crystal 14 and the melt 5 and reducing dislocations introduced into the seed crystal 14 by a thermal stress.
c) An auxiliary heating device which is vertically movable by a moving mechanism is disposed, the auxiliary heating device is disposed on the side of the seed crystal 14 in the necking process to heat the seed crystal 14 so to raise its temperature to 1380° C. to 1480° C., thereby reducing the temperature difference between the seed crystal 14 and the melt 5 and reducing dislocations introduced into the seed crystal 14 by a thermal stress. As a test result, the necking portion was not broken when the seed crystal 14 had a diameter of 8 mm or 14 mm.
It is seen from the above a) and b) that it is advisable to raise the temperature of the seed crystal 14, but there is no suggestion about a quantitative value to which the temperature of the seed crystal 14 must be raised.
According to the above-described c), the seed crystal 14 is raised to the temperatures of 1380° C. to 1480° C., but if the seed crystal 14 is raised to such a high temperature, the seed crystal 14 might melt before it is immersed in the melt 5, and the diameter of the seed crystal 14 before it is immersed in the melt might be contracted. There is also a possibility that the leading end of the melted seed crystal drops to the melt 5 to change a dopant concentration in the melt 5, and a target crystal resistivity might be deviated. Besides, when the temperature is raised to such a high level, the quartz crucible may be deformed, and the crystal might be deformed while it is being pulled, and a possibility that dislocations are introduced into the crystal becomes high. In other words, 1380° C. to 1480° C. to which the temperature of the seed crystal 14 is raised are values of over-specification in eliminating the dislocations.
Besides, it is seen from the above-described c) that the necking portion is not broken when the seed crystal 14 having the diameter of 8 mm or 14 mm is raised to the temperatures of 1380° C. to 1480° C., but a critical relationship between the diameter of the seed crystal 14 and the temperature of the seed crystal 14 that the necking portion is not broken is not shown clearly.
According to the above-described a), increase of the gap distance G between the bottom end of the heat shielding plate 8 and the melt surface 5a is effective, however, this distance G is a parameter limiting an amount of oxygen vaporizing from the melt surface 5a, and the oxygen concentration taken into the single crystal silicon 6 is influenced depending on the size of the gap G. Therefore, the dislocations introduced into the single crystal silicon 6 when the gap G is increased in size can be eliminated, but the oxygen concentration in the single crystal silicon 6 is also influenced, possibly affecting significantly on the characteristics of an element or a device. When the size of the gap G is changed, the temperature of the melt 5 is also affected. Therefore, it is not desirable to adopt a technique of adjusting the gap G.
According to the above-described b), when the slit is formed in the graphite crucible 11, the temperature of the melt 5 might be raised. Therefore, it is not desirable to adopt the technique of forming the slit in the graphite crucible 11.
According to the above-described c), the addition of the moving mechanism and the auxiliary heating device to the existing single crystal pulling apparatus 1 increases the number of parts and increases the apparatus cost. Therefore, it is not desirable to adopt the technique of disposing such new moving mechanism and auxiliary heating device to heat merely the seed crystal 14.

Process for producing single-crystal semiconductor and apparatus for producing single-crystal semiconductor


A thin film magnetic head includes a recording and playback element, a lead conductor layer for feeding a power to the recording and playback element, an electrically conductive bump for conductively connecting the lead conductor layer to an electrode pad for external connection, and an insulating protective layer filling between the recording and playback element and the electrically conductive bump. A thermal deformation-preventing layer composed of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient smaller than that of the insulating protective layer is disposed in the insulating protective layer in such a way as to locate between a medium-facing surface and the electrically conductive bump without being exposed at the medium-facing surface. In the resulting thin film magnetic head, protrusion of the recording and playback element toward the recording medium side can be prevented without changing the configuration of the recording and playback element nor the forming material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film magnetic head provided with an electrically conductive bump for conductively connecting a lead conductor layer connected to a recording and playback element and an electrode pad for external connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thin film magnetic head is provided with a recording and playback element that reads magnetic recording information from a recording medium through the use of magnetoresistance effect and records magnetic information by applying a recording magnetic field to the recording medium. The recording and playback element includes a lower shield layer and an upper shield layer opposed to each other with a predetermined distance therebetween on a medium-facing surface. A multilayer film is disposed between the upper and lower shield layers so as to exert a magnetoresistance effect. A pair of magnetic core layers are opposed to each other with a magnetic gap layer therebetween on the medium-facing surface. A recording coil layer induces a recording magnetic field in the magnetic core layer, and the like. The recording and playback operation is performed by energization of the multilayer film and the recording coil layer through the lead conductor layer. Each of the multilayer film and the recording coil layer is provided with one pair of lead conductor layers. One end portion of the lead conductor layer is connected to the multilayer film or the recording coil layer, and the other end portion is extended to the back side in the height direction as compared with the recording and playback element so as to be connected to an external connection electrode pad through an electrically conductive bump. An insulating protective layer is disposed around the electrically conductive bump.
With respect to the above-described thin film magnetic head having the known structure, it is known that the temperature of the recording and playback element and the periphery thereof (in particular, the temperature around the coil layer) is increased during the recording and playback operation, and the recording and playback element is thermally expanded by this temperature increase so as to protrude toward the recording medium side. Furthermore, it is known that a temperature increase in an environment surrounding the thin film magnetic head also affects the protrusion of the recording and playback element toward the recording medium side. In recent years, the recording density has been increased and, thereby, the opposition distance between the recording medium and the thin film magnetic head is reduced. Consequently, a problem exist in that the recording and playback element that protrudes toward the recording medium side comes into contact with the recording medium, and the recording medium is damaged or the recording and playback element itself is damaged. In order to prevent the thermal expansion of the recording and playback element, it may be thought that the recording and playback element is formed by using a material having a small thermal expansion coefficient than ever. However, it is difficult to change the material without changing the element characteristics (see for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,308 B1 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-303320).

Thin film magnetic head including thermal deformation-preventing layer


Systems and methods are disclosed herein to provide radio frequency identification (RFID) test techniques. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an RFID test system includes a transmission system for providing a radio frequency signal to a plurality of RFID devices and a plurality of radio frequency detectors configured to detect a response to the radio frequency signal from the corresponding RFID devices. A circuit is coupled to the radio frequency detectors and adapted to determine whether each of the plurality of RFID devices is operational based on whether the response was detected by the corresponding radio frequency detector. The RFID devices, for example, that fail the test may be provided with an identifying mark or disabled with a kill command.

The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) devices (e.g., RFID tags, RFID labels, RFID chips, RFID straps, or RFID inlays) is growing rapidly, with RFID devices utilized in a wide variety of applications. However, one challenge associated with RFID devices is the manufacture and testing of the RFID devices in a high-volume and cost-effective manner.
For example, a conventional method of testing RFID devices during the manufacturing process involves bi-directional communication with each of the RFID devices at one or more defined frequencies and radio frequency power levels. However, the bi-directional communication technique of activating and reading the complete response from the RFID device is time consuming and requires a specialized RFID reader that is expensive and may not be optimized for rapid testing. Furthermore, because the RFID reader is expensive, the number of RFID readers is typically limited and utilized sparingly to serially test the RFID devices, with each of the RFID devices sequentially positioned into test position or the RFID reader sequentially moved from one RFID device to the next in a designated test area. Thus, the testing process may be limited in terms of the number of RFID devices that can be tested in a cost effective manner.
Another challenge associated with RFID devices is the handling (or classifying) of RFID devices that are tested and found to be defective. For example, the RFID devices may be manufactured or otherwise closely positioned on a roll or sheet of material (e.g., a carrier web or roll format). If the defective RFID device is not identified and/or discarded (e.g., destroyed) in some fashion, a purchaser of the roll of RFID devices may attempt to utilize the defective RFID device (e.g., to associate the RFID device with a product for inventory tracking purposes), with undesirable consequences. As a result, there is a need for improved test techniques for RFID devices and procedures for handling defective RFID devices.

RFID testing and classification systems and methods


In a multiprocessor system wherein a main storage is divided into a plurality of banks and a plurality of common buses are provided, in order to access the main storage. Each processor selects and acquires one of the buses in accordance with the utilization status of the common buses, and releases the bus after transmitting an access request utilizing the acquired bus. After processing the request, the main storage selects and acquires one of the buses in accordance with the utilization status of the common buses at that time independently of the bus which has transmitted the request, and transmits a result of the processing to the processor which has transmitted the access request utilizing the acquired bus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of utilizing common buses in a multiprocessor system in which a main storage is divided into a plurality of banks, and a plurality of common buses are provided.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Common buses in a multiprocessor system have been widely used as information transmission means among units having a high cost performance. In most cases, from an electrical point of view, the bus comprises a lead wire. At a certain time period, a unit trying to transmit information occupies the bus, and at least one unit trying to receive information receives the information. Since variations are present in the transmission of information between units in a system, the high cost performance of the common bus resides in that a single hardware, i.e., the bus, is used for all transmission of information. However, for various reasons, particularly because of reduced instruction set computers (RISCs), the bandwidth of the bus, particularly, a memory bus for connecting a CPU to a main storage, has become incapable of keeping up with the supply of data resulting from increase in speed of the CPU.
In order to solve such a problem, there have been adopted a method wherein a CPU is connected to a main storage by a network having a more complicated structure than a bus, a method wherein a CPU is connected to a main storage via a plurality of buses wherein the main storage is divided into a plurality of banks, and the buses are addressed differently, and a method wherein the data width of a bus is widened, and the like.
The above-described conventional methods, however, have the following problems.
In the method wherein a CPU is connected to a main storage by a network having a complicated structure, the cost is higher than when using a plurality of buses. In the method wherein a main storage is divided into a plurality of banks with different addresses, a dedicated bus can be allocated to each bank. Since buses are fixedly allocated in accordance with their addresses, dispersion of load among buses cannot be obtained. As a result, a situation may arise such that, while a certain bus is busy, the rate of utilization of other buses is low. In the method wherein the data width of a bus is widened, access might be concentrated on a particular memory bank.

Method of utilizing common buses in a multiprocessor system


A method and apparatus for feeding bristle bundle material into a magazine. The magazine is used in the production of brushes in which not all the bristle bundles extend in the same direction from the face of the brush. The feed apparatus for guiding the bristle bundle material from a supply to the magazine includes a number of transition plates having channels machined at an oblique angle to the surface of the plate. The plates each guide the bristle bundle material through a small angle; the assembled plates can guide the material through a large total angle so that the angle at which the bristle bundles enter the magazine is the same as the angle the bristles will have with respect to the brush.

This invention is related to a method of inserting bristles into a brush and, more specifically, to a method for inserting bristles which are not oriented perpendicular to the surface of the brush.
The variety of brands, designs, and styles of toothbrushes available in the United States today is truly staggering. Brushes are available in sizes and styles appropriate for babies, adults, dentures, sensitive gums, and other specialized needs. As consumers become more concerned about oral hygiene, manufacturers have designed brushes whose bristles are optimized to reach and clean the irregular surfaces of the teeth. The bristles of these new brushes are in bundles of different sizes and shapes and are frequently oriented at an angle other than 90xc2x0 with respect to the face of the brush. While these brushes may be more effective at cleaning teeth, the various angles at which the bristles are inserted can make manufacturing difficult. In automated machinery, material is typically fed into an apparatus from a single supply at a singe orientation with respect to the apparatus. A mechanism is necessary which can vary the orientation of the material as it is fed into a machine.
In one aspect, the invention is a method for feeding bristle bundles into a magazine comprising the steps of passing bristle bundle material into a plurality of channels in the feedblock, passing the bristle bundle material from the channels in the feedblock into corresponding adjacent channels in a first transition plate, and passing the bristle bundle material from the channels in the first transition plate into a set of corresponding channels in the magazine. The channels in the feedblock are parallel to one another and at least a portion of the channels in the first transition plate are not parallel to the channels in the feedblock. The method may further comprise passing the bristle bundle material from the channels in the first transition plate into a set of corresponding channels in a second transition plate abutting the first transition plate. At least a portion of the channels in the second transition plate are not parallel to the corresponding channels in the first transition plate. The orientation of at least a portion of the channels in the second transition plate may be offset from an orientation of the channels in the feedblock by a first angle and from an orientation of the channels in the first transition plate by a second angle. The method may further comprise repeating the passing step with at least a subsequent transition plate. A portion of the channels in the magazine may be skewed with respect to one another or lie in intersecting planes. The orientation of a portion of the channels in the first transition plate and the orientation of the channels in the feedblock may be offset by an angle greater than 0xc2x0. The channels of the feedblock and the channels of the first transition plate may have a first and a second end, and the first end of each of the channels, from which the bristle bundle material passes to the second end, may have a chamfer to increase the diameter of a portion of the channel.
In another aspect, the invention is an apparatus for feeding bristle bundles into a magazine from a supply. The apparatus includes a feedblock, parallel channels in the feedblock for receiving bristle bundle material from a supply, a first transition plate abutting the feedblock, corresponding channels in the first transition plate to receive the bristle bundle material from the channels in the feedblock, and corresponding channels in the magazine which receive the bristle bundle material which has been passed through the first transition plate. At least a portion of the channels in the feedblock are not parallel to the corresponding channels in the first transition plate. The apparatus may further comprise an additional transition plate interposed between the feedblock and the magazine, wherein the bristle bundle material can be passed from the channels in the feedblock into the corresponding channels in the magazine via the channels in the transition plates. A portion of the channels in the additional transition plate are not parallel to the corresponding channels in the feedblock or the first transition plate. An orientation of at least a portion of the channels in the additional transition plate are offset from an orientation of the channels in the feedblock by a first angle and from an orientation of the channels in the second transition plate by a second angle. The apparatus may further comprise a plurality of additional transition plates. The channels of the feedblock and the channels of the first transition plate may each have a first and second end. The bristle bundle material passes from the first end of the channels to the second end, and the first end of each of the channels may have a chamfer to increase the diameter of a portion of the channel. The channels in the first transition plate may not all be parallel to one another, and an orientation of a portion of the channels in the first transition plate and an orientation of the corresponding channels in the feedblock may be offset by an angle greater than 0xc2x0. A portion of the channels in the magazine may be skewed with respect to one another or lie in intersecting planes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention is described with reference to the several figures of the drawing, in which,
FIG. 1A is a side view of a bristle feeding apparatus and a magazine;
FIG. 1B is a front view of a portion of the magazine;
FIG. 2 is a top view of a toothbrush head;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views cut from the side of a feedblock and a set of transition plates;
FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view cut from the top of a feedblock and a set of transition plates; .
FIG. 3D is an exploded view of a chamber in a transition plate; and
FIGS. 4A-E are diagrams of a set of transition plates showing the angles of channels in the plates with respect to the plates.

Method of bristle insertion for brush production


A circuit is disclosed for disconnecting electrical power upon the detection of an elevated temperature comprising an electrical plug and an electrical receptacle interconnected by a power cable. An interruption circuit having a disconnect switch is interposed in the power cable. A plug heat sensitive device and a receptacle heat sensitive device monitor the temperature of the electrical plug and the electrical receptacle. An elevated temperature detection circuit opens the disconnect switch upon the detection of an elevated temperature in one of the electrical plug and the electrical receptacle to prevent an overheated condition.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electricity and more particularly to an elevated temperature detection and interrupter circuit for a power cable to disconnect electrical power upon the detection of an elevated temperature in an electrical plug or an electrical receptacle to prevent an over heated condition.
Description of the Related Art
The most common method of connecting an electrical appliance to an electric power source is through the use of an electrical power plug inserted into an electrical power source receptacle. The electrical power plug includes a first and a second electrical blade for insertion within a first and a second slot of the power source receptacle. The first and second electrical blades are retained within the first and second slots of the electrical power source receptacle by a resilient slot connector located within the first and second slots of the electrical power source receptacle. The resilient slot connectors located within the first and second slot provides a mechanical engagement between the resilient slot connectors and the inserted first and second electrical blades to enable a low resistance electrical contact therebetween.
In many cases, the mechanical and/or electrical contact between one of the resilient slot connectors and the inserted first and second electrical blades deteriorates thus raising the electrical resistance of the electrical contact therebetween. This deterioration of the mechanical and/or electrical contact between one of the resilient slot connectors and the inserted first and second electrical blades may be caused by a number of reasons.
The deterioration between one of the resilient slot connectors and the inserted electrical blade may be caused by corrosion of either the resilient slot connector and/or the inserted electrical blade. The corrosion of either the resilient slot connector and/or the inserted electrical blade results in an increase in electrical resistance therebetween. Furthermore, the deterioration between one of the resilient slot connectors and the inserted electrical blade may be caused by a loss of resiliency of the resilient slot connectors. The loss of resiliency of the resilient slot connector reduces the mechanical contact between the resilient slot connector and the inserted electrical blade thus raising the electrical resistance of the electrical contact therebetween. In some instances, the mere aging of the electrical power plug and/or electrical power source receptacle may cause a loss of resiliency of the resilient slot connector as well as the corrosion of either the resilient slot connector and/or the inserted electrical blade.
The increase in resistance between the resilient slot connector and/or the inserted electrical blade results in an increase in heat during current conduction through the electrical contact between the resilient slot connector and the inserted electrical blade. The increase in heat further increases the resistance of the electrical contact between the resilient slot connector and the inserted electrical blade resulting in a progressive increase in heat and a progressive increase in electrical resistance. Ultimately, the progressive increase in heat will result in heat, smoking and possibly ignition of the electrical power source receptacle and/or the electrical power plug. Such an ignition may spread to adjacent areas causing loss of property and possibly the loss of life.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,837 to Kornrumpf et al. discloses a temperature indicating apparatus for sensing overheating at a pair of terminals on an electrical power line comprising a neon gas-filled glow tube and a thermistor electrically coupled in series across the terminals, with a resistor electrically coupled in parallel with the glow tube. The thermistor is thermally coupled to the terminations so that an excessive temperature rise at either terminal decreases the thermistor resistance to a level at which sufficient voltage appears across the glow tube to ignite the glow tube and provide a visual indication of overheating. The circuit readily lends itself to a plug-in type configuration if the terminals to be monitored are in a duplex receptacle, or to employment in a cube tap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,711 to Brzozowski discloses a temperature indicating apparatus for sensing overheating at a pair of terminals on an electrical power line comprising pair of thermocouples, each thermally coupled to and electrically isolated from a different one of the terminals, and a light emitting diode (LED) coupled to the output of the thermocouples through a conditioning circuit. An excessive temperature rise at either terminal causes the output voltage of the thermocouple coupled thereto to increase, thus causing the LED to be lit and to provide a visual indication of overheating. A meter display may be provided to show the actual temperature of the terminals in response to thermocouple voltage output. A method for determining heating at a termination without physical intervention comprises determining the rate of temperature rise of the termination for a known current therethrough and comparing the rate to a predetermined rate threshold.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,010 to Ceola et al. discloses an electric device provided as an interface between a permanent power source (e.g., an electric wall outlet) and an electrical appliance for interrupting electrical power to the appliance in the event the temperature of either the power cord plug of the electrical appliance or permanent power source rises above a predetermined temperature. The electric device detachably couples to the electric power terminals of both the permanent power source and electrical appliance and is sensitive to the temperature of the aforementioned terminals. The electric device includes first and second temperature switching elements which are responsive to interrupt electrical power from the permanent power source to the appliance when either of the terminals is of a temperature which equates with a first predetermined temperature determined by the first temperature switching element or a second predetermined temperature determined by the second temperature switching element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,306 to Ichikawa et al. discloses an electrical receptacle unit including at least one receptacle body internally provided with a pair of slotted terminals for insertion of a pair of blades of a load-side electrical plug. A thermistor is encased in a protective tube outwardly projectable from between the slotted terminals of the receptacle body. A coil spring is provided for projecting the thermistor out from the receptacle body. A relay enables and disables supply of electric power to the slotted terminals. A control circuit operates the relay to cut off supply of electric power to the slotted terminals when the temperature of the thermistor reaches or exceeds a preset temperature. A buzzer is operated by an output signal produced by the control circuit when the temperature of the thermistor reaches or exceeds the preset temperature. When the thermistor rises to or above the preset temperature owing to tracking or the like, supply of power to the load-side plug is cut off and the alarm is activated to produce a warning that the load-side plug has overheated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,030 to Watkins, Jr. et al. discloses an electrical safety device comprising a sensor strip disposed in the insulation of a wire or in the insulation of a sheath enclosing a bundle of insulated electrical conductors. The sensor strip comprises a distributed over temperature sensing portion comprising a conductive polymer having a positive temperature coefficient of resistivity which increases with temperature sufficient to result in a switching temperature. A mechanical damage sensing portion comprises a strip disposed in the sheath in a mechanical damage sensing pattern which becomes damaged or open upon mechanical damage of the sheath before the bundle of conductors are damaged. The over temperature sensing portion and the mechanical damage sensing portion may be the same sensing strip disposed in the sheath and arranged in a helical relationship with a longitudinal axis of the sheath.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,097 to Ceola et al discloses an electric device provided as an interface between a permanent power source (e.g., an electric wall outlet) and an electrical appliance. The device operates to interrupt electrical power to the electrical appliance in response to an increase in temperature of either the power cord plug of the electrical appliance or the terminals of the permanent power source to a predetermined temperature. The electric device detachably couples to the electric power terminals of both the permanent power source and the electrical appliance and is sensitive to the temperature at the terminals. The device includes a thermostat which rests on a thermal barrier member in thermal communication with the terminals, and is responsive to heat generated at the terminals to interrupt electrical power from the permanent power source to the appliance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,903 to Reddy et al discloses a circuit protection device including a pair of terminals to be electrically connected into an electrical circuit, a pair of spaced current-carrying extensions of the terminals, and an initially low resistance current limiting device extending between the current-carrying extensions. The invention includes the feature that the current-limiting element including flexible conductive current-feeding arms having inner and outer end portions, the inner end portions thereof being electrically connected to the current-carrying extensions of the terminals. The outer end portions of the current-feeding arms are cantilevered and flexible relative to the inner end portions. The device further preferably includes a PTC current-limiting element sandwiched between the flexible outer end portions of the current-feeding arms. The PTC element includes a layer of a PTC material having conductive opposite faces sandwiched between the flexible outer end portions of the arms so that the PTC material carries current between the outer end portions of the current carrying arms. The layer of PTC material reaches a given trip level at an elevated current, expanding suddenly and substantially to flex the outer end portions of the current carrying arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,508,642 to Ye discloses a virtual II T trip criterion implemented in an electrical power distribution system to provide current-based tripping for a solid state power switching device. A first-order system model is implemented either by hardware or software to represent a rise in temperature of the electrical wire through which power is supplied. When the simulated temperature exceeds a threshold, the solid state power switching device may be tripped.
U.S. Patent Application 2007/0139842 to De'Longhi discloses a plug adapted to fit in a standard electrical outlet and supply power through a cord to an electrical device provided with a thermostat and bistable resettable switch. When one of the plug's prongs is overheated, indicating an overload or short circuit, the thermostat actuates the switch and cuts off power to the electrical device. When the malfunction is repaired, the switch is reset to restore the circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,325,454 to Brugner et al. discloses an over heating detection circuit and an interrupter circuit for interrupting electrical power upon the detection of an over heating condition of an electrical plug. A heat sensitive device monitors the temperature of the electrical plug. The over heating detection circuit is connected to the heat sensitive device for detecting an over heated condition. The interruption circuit includes a disconnect switch connected to the over heating detection circuit for disconnecting electrical power upon the detection of the over heated condition in the electrical plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,884,773 to Wiesemann et al. discloses a shore power cord including a power supply connector electrically connected to a vehicle connector. In some cases, the vehicle connector includes features to selectively secure the vehicle connector to a vehicle power receptacle inlet. In some cases, the shore power cord includes a test module that evaluates the condition of the cord set and a power supply when the cord set is connected to the power supply.
Although the above prior art has contributed to the advancement of the art, there is a need for an elevated temperature detection and interrupter circuit for disconnecting electrical power in a power cable.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an elevated temperature detection and interrupter circuit for a power cable for disconnecting electrical power upon the detection of the over heated condition in an electrical plug or and electrical receptacle to prevent an over heated condition.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Elevated temperature detection and interrupter circuit for power cable


A method includes receiving a current residual vector. The current residual vector is compared to a plurality of historical residual vectors. Each historical residual vector has an associated fault classification code. At least one of the historical residual vectors is selected responsive to determining that the current residual vector matches at least one of the historical residual vectors. A fault condition is classified based on the fault classification code associated with the selected historical residual vector.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of fault classification in an industrial process and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for fault classification based on residual vectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a constant drive within the semiconductor industry to increase the quality, reliability and throughput of integrated circuit devices, e.g., microprocessors, memory devices, and the like. This drive is fueled by consumer demands for higher quality computers and electronic devices that operate more reliably. These demands have resulted in a continual improvement in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, e.g., transistors, as well as in the manufacture of integrated circuit devices incorporating such transistors. Additionally, reducing the defects in the manufacture of the components of a typical transistor also lowers the overall cost per transistor as well as the cost of integrated circuit devices incorporating such transistors.
The technologies underlying semiconductor processing tools have attracted increased attention over the last several years, resulting in substantial refinements. However, despite the advances made in this area, many of the processing tools that are currently commercially available suffer certain deficiencies. In particular, such tools often lack advanced process data monitoring capabilities, such as the ability to provide historical parametric data in a user-friendly format, as well as event logging, real-time graphical display of both current processing parameters and the processing parameters of the entire run, and remote, i.e., local site and worldwide, monitoring. These deficiencies can engender nonoptimal control of critical processing parameters, such as throughput, accuracy, stability and repeatability, processing temperatures, mechanical tool parameters, and the like. This variability manifests itself as within-run disparities, run-to-run disparities and tool-to-tool disparities that can propagate into deviations in product quality and performance, whereas an ideal monitoring and diagnostics system for such tools would provide a means of monitoring this variability, as well as providing means for optimizing control of critical parameters.
Semiconductor devices are manufactured from wafers of a semiconducting material. Layers of materials are added, removed, and/or treated during fabrication to create the electrical circuits that make up the device. The fabrication essentially comprises four basic operations. Although there are only four basic operations, they can be combined in hundreds of different ways, depending upon the particular fabrication process.
The four operations typically used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices are:                layering, or adding thin layers of various materials to a wafer from which a semiconductor device is produced;        patterning, or removing selected portions of added layers;        doping, or placing specific amounts of dopants in the wafer surface through openings in the added layers; and        heat treatment, or heating and cooling the materials to produce desired effects in the processed wafer.
Occasionally, during the fabrication process, one or more process steps are not performed as expected on a production wafer. Such conditions may be due to an error in the fabrication facility automated work flow system (e.g., a database or control script error), a tool failure, or an operator error. If the abnormal process steps occur early during the fabrication process, it is not uncommon for the faulty wafer to undergo many subsequent steps prior to the faulty fabrication being identified. Once a fault is identified further processing is often necessary to determine the nature or cause of the fault, unless the fault is grossly obvious. This process is typically referred to as fault classification. Fault classification may be time consuming and may require significant human intervention. Improved fault classification increases the response time for correcting defect conditions.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.

Method and apparatus for fault classification based on residual vectors


A system or method for monitoring a status of a member of a vehicle comprises a member of a vehicle. A set of one or more magnets is secured to the member. A magnetic field sensor is mounted on a vehicle, spaced apart from the member. The magnetic field sensor produces a data signal. A data processor receives the data signal from the magnetic field sensor and detects at least one of a deformation or movement of the member with respect to the vehicle.

A machine health monitoring system may monitor wear or the status of one or more components of a vehicle. Some members of a vehicle are ordinarily straight, such as axels and portions of a frame. If such members are bent or twisted from their ordinary straight state, the vehicle may not handle properly or perform reliably. Thus, there is a need for a machine health system or method to detect the movement or deformation (e.g., deflection or twisting) of one or more members of the vehicle.

System and method for monitoring a status of a member of a vehicle


Semiconductor light-emitting structures are shown on engineered substrates having a graded composition. The composition of the substrate may be graded to achieve a lattice constant on which a yellow-green light-emitting semiconductor material may be disposed. In some embodiments, the structure may be substantially free of aluminum.

1. Technical Field
The techniques described herein relate to semiconductor light-emitting structures capable of emitting light in the yellow-green portion of the visible electromagnetic spectrum, substrates on which such structures may be formed, and methods for fabricating such structures.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Currently, light-emitting semiconductor technology lacks a commercially viable materials system for green emission, as no green group III-V semiconductor lasers with pure emission (e.g., not frequency doubled) are known to have been previously demonstrated. (As used herein, "green" emission refers to the yellow-green portion of the visible electromagnetic spectrum). Light-emitting devices including aluminum in their active region, such as (Al)InGaN-based light-emitting devices (LEDs) on small lattice constant substrates (e.g., sapphire) and AlInGaP LEDs on GaAs substrates (e.g., epitaxially grown on GaAs substrates), lack the efficiency of other emitters.
An efficient yellow-green or green emitter with a comparable efficiency to blue and red emitters does not yet exist. Materials that currently dominate the LED market have not demonstrated very good performance in the yellow-green part of the spectrum, as illustrated in FIG. 1. This problem is colloquially known as the "green gap." These wavelengths are significant because displays that emit yellow-green light appear much brighter than other colors for a given power output, because the human eye is most sensitive to the yellow-green portion of the visible light spectrum. As illustrated in FIG. 1, previous devices emitting in the yellow-green wavelength range of about 500-600 nm do not approach the 10%-20% power conversion efficiencies available at longer and shorter wavelengths.
In the GaN material system, green emission can be achieved through the use of InGaN quantum well or quantum dot layers. However, despite the very short minority carrier lifetimes induced by the quantum wells, the high dislocation density present in GaN layers combined with the inability to add enough indium (In) to form deep quantum wells (due to InGaN—GaN lattice-mismatch and thermodynamic constraints) can result in lower efficiency as compared with typical blue emission performance.
Another material system that has been considered for yellow-green emission is AlInGaP. Compositions of AlInGaP with a direct band gap can be used as the active material of a light-emitting device such as a laser diode or light-emitting diode (LED). Previously, compositions of AlInGaP that are lattice matched to GaAs (having a lattice constant of 0.5565325 nm) have been used to produce red to green light emitters. As the emitted wavelength becomes smaller (e.g., greener, rather than redder), larger band gap active regions must be used, reducing the available electronic and optical confinement in the devices and thus making them less efficient.
Green-emitting AlInGaP devices that are lattice-matched to GaAs have poor internal quantum efficiency due to the proximity of the indirect-direct bandgap crossover at the compositions of interest, as well as due to oxygen-related defects. Some of the shorter wavelength AlInGaP devices with at least minimal brightness operate in the range of 500 to 600 nm. These 500-600 nm devices often have very poor color purity, leading to an undersaturated appearance. This is a particular problem in the green region, where a deviation of as little as 2 nm may be discernable to the human eye.
The prediction of the electronic structure of AlInGaP alloys is quite complex. Little agreement exists in the literature regarding electronic parameters such as deformation potentials and band offsets. Even the exact values of Γ and X band gaps and the compositions of alloys at which indirect-direct crossovers occur are contested. Especially with compositions of the alloy far away from the lattice constant of GaAs, it is currently difficult to accurately predict the electronic structure of light-emitting designs.
A need therefore exists for semiconductor light-emitting structures capable of efficiently emitting light in the yellow-green portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Semiconductor light-emitting structure and graded-composition substrate providing yellow-green light emission


A linear feedback shift register includes a plurality of groups of flip-flops operated in synchronization with different clock signals and a condition satisfying circuit, provided in a wiring for connecting the pairs of flip-flops to each other, for satisfying conditions for one of linear feedback and generation of pseudorandom numbers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a linear feedback shift register and, more specifically, to a linear feedback shift register useful for a design for testability of an LSI (large scale integrated circuit), a VLSI (very large scale integrated circuit), and a ULSI (ultra large scale integrated circuit), in particular for a built-in self test of these circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
In accordance with great progress in semiconductor technology, a VLSI chip which is larger, more complicated, with higher performance than an LSI chip, has appeared, and a ULSI chip will make its appearance in the near future. The problem of how these chips are to be tested has become very serious. A conventional LSI chip is generally tested by an LSI tester using its function only for a normal operation. The VLSI and ULSI chips need a great number of test vectors and, accordingly, the efficiency of an LSI tester required to test these chips becomes higher and higher. Since, further, an objective judgement of to what degree the chips are tested by the test vector has to be made separately, a CPU cost is greatly increased.
As is evident from the above, it is actually almost impossible to completely test the VLSI and ULSI chips by the conventional method. To solve the above problem, a design for testability capable of perfectly testing a chip at low cost by incorporating a test circuit in advance into the chip, has lately attracted attention and become popular.
In a built-in self test (referred to as BIST hereinafter) which is one type of the designs for testability, an LSI chip to be tested as a device under test (referred to as DUT hereinafter) incorporates a test data generation circuit and a test result generation circuit to start the test in response to an externally supplied signal and, after the test, output a pass/fail result signal or a test result data. This test hardly requires an LSI tester and is considerably effective in reduction in test cost. Moreover, the chip can be tested under the same condition as in the case of the actual use thereof, as can be the chip incorporated into a system. In view of these advantages, the BIST is expected that it will be remarkably important to the VLSI and ULSI chips.
The most basic technique of the BIST described above is signature analysis using a linear feedback shift register (hereinafter referred to as LFSR).
First the LFSR will be described.
The LFSR (n bit width) can be used as both a test data generation circuit and a test result generation circuit. The LFSR (n=8) serving as the test data generation circuit is, as shown in FIG. 1, a simple register circuit including serial-connected n D-type flip-flops (referred to as F/F hereinafter) and a feedback circuit for generating an exclusive-OR (referred to as XOR hereinafter) signal of outputs Q of predetermined F/F and supplying it to an input terminal D of the first one of the serial-connected F/F.
The initial value other than all-0 is set to the F/F to operate the LFSR (whose initializing circuit is omitted in the figure). 2.sup.n -1 of random data (pseudorandom numbers), which are the maximum numbers obtained from the LFSR, are repeatedly output in predetermined order. The random data can be sequentially taken out by using any one of outputs Out.sub.i (i=0, 1, . . . , 7) of the F/F, or they can be taken out in parallel by using all these outputs.
The latter technique using all the outputs of the F/F is generally-used in and important to the recent VLSI and ULSI of multi-bits for processing data.
The signature analysis is a technique of using the LFSR as a test result generation circuit and, in this case, the LFSR comprises an LFSR for inputting the outputs of the DUT in serial and an LFSR called an MISR (multiple input signature register), for inputting them in parallel. In the VLSI and ULSI, the latter LFSR is overwhelmingly important. The following descriptions are therefore made in connection with the LFSR called MISR.
An example of an n-bit parallel input type LFSR (n=8) is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the input terminal D of bit 0 of the LFSR is supplied with an XOR signal of an output signal FB of the feedback circuit and an external data signal IN0 of the bit 0. The input terminals D of the F/F of bits 1 to 7 are supplied with an XOR signal of a signal output from the output Q of the F/F of the preceding bit and an external data signal IN of the very bit. The output signal FB is an XOR signal of a signal Q.sub.0 output from output terminal Q of the F/F of bit 0, a signal Q.sub.5 output from output terminal Q of the F/F of bit 5, a signal Q.sub.6 output from output terminal Q of the F/F of bit 6, and a signal Q.sub.7 output from output terminal Q of the F/F of bit 7. New data Q'.sub.i (i=0, 1, . . . , 7) are generated inside the LFSR and expressed by the following equations: EQU Q'.sub.0 =INO XOR FB (1) EQU Q'.sub.i+l =INn XOR Q.sub.i (i=0, 1, . . . 6) (2)
where XOR represents an XOR operation.
With the above circuit arrangement of the LFSR, since the signals output from the DUT are supplied in sequence to the LFSR storing a predetermined value, almost random data is generated in the F/F in response to the output signals and finally data of a certain test result is generated therein. The data generated in the LFSR is called a signature, while an operation of generating the signature by supplying the output signals of the DUT to the LFSR is called signature compression or signature analysis. In the signature analysis, the output signals of the DUT are signature-compressed using a series of data, and a test result (signature) finally left in the LFSR is compared with an expected value only once to judge whether the DUT is defect-free or not.
After the signature compression is executed using test data, the probability that the signature is correct, 1-2.sup.-n, which is obtained by subtracting the "aliasing" probability from 1. The "aliasing" is a phenomenon wherein the final signature (test result) becomes equal to that obtained by the correct output sequence of the DUT though some incorrect output are output during the test. Since, in general, the aliasing probability can be ignored when n is increased (n>24), the reliability of signature analysis is extremely high in the VLSI and ULSI which process data of multiple bits (n.gtoreq.32).
The above-described is sometimes provided exclusively for the BIST, however, it can be often constructed from a normal operation type register in order to economize the test circuit.
Since the conventional LFSR described above was regarded as one circuit block, only the circuit operated in response to a single clock signal supplied from outside has been considered to be the LFSR. The BIST using the LFSR was first applied to circuits having a regular structure such as ROM, RAM and PLA. These circuits each correspond to a circuit block closed by a register or F/F, and their outputs are usually stored in an output register. In the BIST wherein an LFSR formed from the output register is used as a signature compression circuit, a delay in AC output of the DUT can be checked at the same time.
Not in the above circuit block having a regular structure but in a so-called random logic, if a DUT having a structure closed by a register or F/F whose system clocks are changed at the edges thereof can be achieved (an unimportant signal can be set to a fixed value during the BIST), the BIST can be effectively implemented. Such a BIST has been employed depending on the situation.
In the I/O (input/output) section of a commonly-used LSI, an output signal of the LSI is delayed by a predetermined period of time based on the edges of system clocks. For this reason, the conventional BIST using an LFSR operated at the edge of system clock is applied to the output terminal of the LSI, a logical value can be checked by the LFSR at the timing when data is sampled (at the edge of the system clock), but a delay in AC output of the DUT cannot be detected.
Basically, the application of the conventional BIST to the I/O terminal of the LSI cannot be achieved, including an important process of checking a delay in AC output.
There is very strong possibility that a method of improving the performance of VLSI or ULSI by mixing circuit blocks operated in synchronization with a plurality of clocks (including the same clocks having different edges) therein will become important. In the BIST using the conventional LFSR, since the LFSR requires a sufficient bit length in order to decrease the Aliasing probability to such a negligible extent, an extra F/F has to be added to each group of registers and F/F, with the result that the LFSR is increased in area.
To avoid such an overhead cost, the application of the BIST was likely to be given up.


A stabilized connector assembly (24) for connecting an instrument manifold (26) to an orifice fitting assembly (16) for a main flow passage (10) comprising a pair of generally identical stabilized connector subassemblies (30, 32). Each subassembly (30, 32) includes an elongate connector body (34) having an externally threaded inner end (38) for threaded engagement with an internally threaded outlet port (24) of the orifice assembly (16) and a flanged outer end (40). Bolts (58), jack nuts (68), and collar (78) form stabilizing components connected between the outer flange (40) and the orifice assembly (16) for resisting radial loads from a manifold (26) thereby minimizing any deflection of connector body (34) and resulting stress at inner threaded end (38).

Heretofore, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,626 dated May 1, 1990, apparatus has been provided for mounting an instrument manifold on a main flow line for transmitting radially directed forces between the instrument manifold and an orifice plate assembly or fitting on the main flow line. The mounting apparatus includes a pair of generally identical stabilized connector subassemblies connected between the instrument manifold and the orifice plate assembly with one connector subassembly being connected to a high pressure fluid port on the upstream side of the orifice plate and the other connector subassembly being connected to a low pressure fluid port on the downstream side of the orifice plate. Each connector subassembly comprises a connector body having an inner externally threaded end for threading within an associated fluid port on the orifice assembly and an outer flange for connection to a mating flange on the instrument manifold. The tapered threads on the inner end of the connector body form a fluid tight metal-to-metal seal with the associated fluid port and leakage may occur if such threads crack or are loosened such as might result from radial forces exerted against the connector body and continuous deflection of the connector body from such radial loads or forces.
The stabilized connector shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,626 transmits radial forces from the manifold to an outer end portion of the connector body, and then from the outer end portion to a tensioning nut for transmitting the radial forces to the surface of the orifice assembly at a position radially spaced from the threaded inner end of the connector body thereby to minimize or prevent radial forces from being transmitted through the threaded inner end of the connector body to the orifice assembly. The weight of the manifold and equipment connected thereto, such as fluid pressure transmitters, exerts a static radial load on the stabilized connector. Dynamic radial loads such as provided by vibrations, seismic activity, or exerted by workmen or the like contacting the manifold or associated equipment, may be exerted by the stabilizer connector. A stress concentration resulting from the bending moment generated by the radial loads occurs in the connector body immediately adjacent the tensioning nut. Under prolonged periods of use, particularly when continuous vibrations occur from fluid flow or thermal cycling in the associated main flow line, fatigue may occur in the connector body at the tensioning nut. Also, loosening of the tensioning nut may occur from such use and possible elongation of the connector body from the compressive force exerted by the tensioning nut against the orifice fitting assembly.
Further, when the stabilized connector shown in the aforesaid patent transmits radial loads from the manifold to an arcuate surface of the orifice plate assembly, the stabilizer member contacts the arcuate surface along a line contact area at a location spaced substantially from the threaded end of the connector body thereby to provide a relatively high unit stress thereat.

Method and apparatus for mounting an instrument assembly on a main flow line


A bar code for a component, wherein the bar code has characteristics of the component encoded therein. The characteristics may have performance indicia for the component, which may be retrieved by a bar code scanner. Accordingly, the bar code may provide ready access to the characteristics for a variety of applications, such as an assembly process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present technique relates generally to assembling a number of components, such as engine components. More specifically, the present technique relates to a system and method for identifying characteristics of an engine component, such as a fuel injector, and configuring a control system for an engine to account for performance characteristics of the component.
2. Description of the Related Art
In fuel injected engines, it is generally considered desirable that each injector deliver approximately the same quantity of fuel in approximately the same timed relationship to the engine for proper operation. It is well known that problems arise when the performance, and more particularly the timing and the quantity of fuel delivered by the injectors, diverge from target values beyond acceptable limits. For example, injector performance deviation or variability will cause different torques to be generated between cylinders due to unequal fuel amounts being injected, or from the relative timing of such fuel injection. Further, knowledge that such variations occur requires engine system designers to account for this variability by designing an engine system to provide an output equal to the maximum theoretical output less an amount due to the worse case fuel injector variability, rather than design a system for peak or maximum cylinder pressures or output.
Various attempts have been made for solving these problems associated with fuel injectors. One straightforward approach is simply to adhere to rigid manufacturing and test procedures to assure each injector meets a rigid desired design specification. This is a common approach for replacement fuel injectors. To simplify the service process, a set of service injector coefficient data may be reprogrammed in an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) memory and all service injectors manufactured under stringent tolerance requirements so as to function with the known service coefficients. In this manner, whenever a fuel injector fails, one of the special service fuel injectors is installed, and the ECU is simply instructed to use the service coefficient data for that particular cylinder. While this approach results in satisfactory operating conditions, it is relatively costly. That is, to manufacture each service injector with such stringent tolerances so that the flow rate satisfies a desired performance dictated by the fixed service injector coefficient data, results in a relatively expensive replacement fuel injector. Therefore, this approach is undesirable for both initial assembly and later servicing due to the increased manufacturing and assembly costs, and the low yield of acceptable units.
Sophisticated electronic equipment and control have made it possible to better control the problem of timing and delivery variations of similar fuel injectors. One such control involves compensating for individual injector variations and includes an electronic control module having a memory for storing compensation signals for each injector. The compensation signals are generally derived from a limited number of operating conditions, because fuel injectors may have relatively predictable, although different, performance characteristics. Therefore, the electronic control module can adjust the base fuel delivery signal for each injector as a function of the compensation data signal for that injector with relatively good results.
Unfortunately, some of the more complex and advanced fuel injectors now being manufactured do not follow readily predictable fuel-flow characteristics with increased pulse-width inputs, as was the case with earlier style injectors. Consequently, unless individual compensation signals are determined for an extremely large number of operating points resulting from different pulse widths, such systems would not operate satisfactorily with those advanced fuel injectors. Also, the amount of memory needed to store a sufficiently large number of compensation signals covering the fall range of fuel injector operation would be excessively large, and the cost involved in the necessary testing to determine such a large number of compensation signals would be unacceptable.
Advanced fuel injectors are very complicated and difficult to manufacture. Therefore, it is very difficult to provide consistent operating characteristics between injectors, even though they are intended to be substantially identical. Furthermore, although varying the pulse width of a control signal may be used to vary the amount of fuel an injector provides to a cylinder (hereinafter referred to as fuel flow or flow rate), a performance curve of these complicated fuel injectors (fuel flow vs. pulse width) cannot be accurately defined by a second-order polynomial as can some older types of fuel injectors. Consequently, determining the pulse width for a desired RPM by extrapolating between sample data points does not provide satisfactory performance.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system and method for optimizing a combustion engine for a production fuel injector having normal or wide tolerances, thereby lowering costs and manufacturing difficulties. Specifically, it would be desirable to have performance characteristics for a particular fuel injector readily available and electronically transferable, such that the particular fuel injector could be readily assembled into a combustion engine for substantially optimal performance therein. Similarly, it would be desirable to have such performance characteristics readily available and electronically transferable for other components of a combustion engine system. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide such a technique that could be used with other engine components and systems, as well as with other types of machines and systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for identifying parameters of an engine component for assembly and programming