Packets of cigarettes are conveyed singly and in succession to a first inlet of a propulsion chamber also having an outlet, connected to a duct, and at least one other inlet through which compressed air is directed into the enclosure; as one packet is carried forward by the force of inertia to the point of occupying the outlet, another packet takes its place at the inlet, the effect of which being to enclose the chamber completely and occasion a rise in pressure sufficient to generate a force by which the packet occupying the outlet is "fired" along the duct.

The present invention relates to a method of feeding packets of cigarettes pneumatically. In particular, the invention relates to a pneumatic feed device for packets of cigarettes such as can be used to advantage in cigarette manufacturing and wrapping systems for the purpose of transferring packets singly and in succession from one machine of the system to another.
The prior art embraces the practice of transferring packets of cigarettes in succession from one point to another by means of overhead pneumatic conveyors extending above the machines of the system, which are connected to the single machine units by rising and descending ducts. Generally speaking, packets are advanced along the ducts in these conventional systems, and in particular along the rising ducts, employing a method whereby the selfsame packets are invested during the course of their progress with successive blasts of compressed air delivered by injectors distributed along the conveying path. When applied to packets of cigarettes, this type of method betrays certain drawbacks deriving mainly from the effect of the successive blasts of air on the packets, which tend to oscillate internally of the ducts and become jammed.

Method and device for feeding packets of cigarettes pneumatically


An integrated semiconductor configuration includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type being connected to a first supply potential, having a first region in which switching stages with signal terminals are disposed, and having at least a second region in which at least one connecting line is disposed for connecting the signal terminals of the switching stages. A multiplicity of doping zones are disposed in the second region and have a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type. The doping zones are connected to a second supply potential, the doping zones have a total surface area, and at least a portion of the total surface area is located under the at least one connecting line. The first and second regions are strip-shaped. The first and second regions have long sides bordering one another. The second region has a width and each of the doping zones of the second region extend over the width of the second region. The semiconductor substrate has a segment of the first conductivity type being located between each two of the doping zones.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an integrated semiconductor configuration having a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type being connected to a first supply potential, having a first region in which switching stages are disposed and having at least a second region in which at least one connecting line is disposed for connecting signal terminals of the switching stages, a number of doping zones being provided in the second region and having a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type, the doping zones being connected to a second supply potential, and at least a portion of a total surface area of the doping zones being located under the connecting line.
One such integrated semiconductor configuration is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,357.
In integrated semiconductor configurations, a parasitic capacitor is active between the signal line that connects the output of one switching stage to the input of a further switching stage and the supply potential with which the semiconductor substrate is contacted. Upon switchover of the switching stage, the level of the signal line changes from H to L or vice versa. Consequently, the charge of the parasitic capacitor is also reversed. At a signal edge at which the capacitor is discharged, the discharge current flows as a short-circuit current across the components connected between the capacitor electrodes. At the signal edge at which the capacitor is charged, the charge current is furnished by the supply voltage source of the semiconductor configuration.
If a number of switching stages switch over synchronously, then such a high current pulse can arise on the connecting lines between the supply voltage source and the integrated switching stages on the semiconductor configuration that the parasitic inductors of the connecting lines become operative, and pulse-like voltages drop there. The supply voltage applied to the switching stages then drops during the switchover process. That lessens the security of the signals against interference. The parasitic inductors counteract the current pulse, so that a lesser current is available for reversing the charge of the parasitic capacitors of the signal lines connected on the output side to the switching stages. That increases the signal transit time.
In an integrated semiconductor configuration known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,357, the influence of the parasitic capacitors that are operative along the signal line is reduced by providing a number of doping zones in the second region that have a second conductivity type which is complementary to the first conductivity type, in which the doping zones are connected to a second supply potential, and in which at least some of the total surface area of the doping zones is located under the connecting line.
However, in the known semiconductor configuration, the first regions are distributed arbitrarily over the substrate, so that for any existing connecting line, a suitably located doping zone must be created, which then necessarily means that the doping zones are also distributed arbitrarily over the substrate. That involves considerable effort and expense in converting the particular circuit provided in the semiconductor configuration into masks for the production process.


A method for improving fuel efficiency and reducing frictional properties while maintaining or improving deposit control, in an engine lubricated with a lubricating oil by using as the lubricating oil a formulated oil. The formulated oil has a composition including from 75 to 95 wt % of lubricating oil base stock including a Group I base stock or a combination of a Group III, Group IV and Group V base stock including from 30 to 35 wt % Group III, 45 to 55 wt % Group IV and 0 to 5 wt % Group V and a friction modifier mixture comprising a polymeric ethoxylated fatty acid ester at from 0.1 to 1.0 wt. % and a mixed glyceride ester at from 0.1 to 1.0 wt. % of the formulated oil. The lubricating engine oils are useful in internal combustion engines including direct injection, gasoline and diesel engines.

Fuel efficiency requirements for passenger vehicles are becoming increasingly more stringent. New legislation in the United States and European Union within the past few years has set fuel economy and emissions targets not readily achievable with today's vehicle and lubricant technology.
To address these increasing standards, automotive original equipment manufacturers are demanding better fuel economy as a lubricant-related performance characteristic, while maintaining deposit control and oxidative stability requirements. One well known way to increase fuel economy is to decrease the viscosity of the lubricating oil. However, this approach is now reaching the limits of current equipment capabilities and specifications. At a given viscosity, it is well known that adding organic or organic metallic friction modifiers reduces the surface friction of the lubricating oil and allows for better fuel economy. However these additives often bring with them detrimental effects such as increased deposit formation, seals impacts, or they out-compete the anti-wear components for limited surface sites, thereby not allowing the formation of an anti-wear film, causing increased wear.
Contemporary lubricants such as engine oils use mixtures of additives such as dispersants, detergents, inhibitors, viscosity index improvers and the like to provide engine cleanliness and durability under a wide range of performance conditions of temperature, pressure, and lubricant service life.
Lubricant-related performance characteristics such as high temperature deposit control and fuel economy are extremely advantageous attributes as measured by a variety of bench and engine tests. As indicated above, it is known that adding organic friction modifiers to a lubricant formulation imparts frictional benefits at low temperatures, consequently improving the lubricant fuel economy performance. At high temperatures, however, adding increased levels of organic friction modifier can invite high temperature performance issues. For example, engine deposits are undesirable consequences of high levels of friction modifier in an engine oil formulation at high temperature engine operation.
A major challenge in engine oil formulation is simultaneously achieving high temperature deposit control while also achieving improved fuel economy.
Despite the advances in lubricant oil formulation technology, there exists a need for an engine oil lubricant that effectively improves fuel economy while maintaining or improving friction reduction properties and deposit control.

Method for improving engine fuel efficiency

EXXONMOBIL RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY


A thermally efficient resistive heater assembly for heating a source substance for generation of gas has a chamber for containing the source substance, a thin resistive heating element suspended across an aperture and disposed for immersion in the source substance, and conductive traces electrically coupled to the thin resistive heating element. The resistive heater assembly may be fabricated by a specially adapted method including providing a first substrate layer, bonding to it a second substrate layer, the second substrate layer bearing the resistive heating element and conductive traces, bonding to that an optional hydrophobic layer if necessary, and bonding to the previous layer a top layer. At least one of the layers may include manifolding for the gas. All or part of the fabrication method may be performed as a reel-to-reel process.

Various portable devices, such as laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDA's), portable digital and video cameras, portable music players, portable electronic games, and cellular phones or other wireless devices, require portable power sources. The weight and inconveniences of single-use batteries and rechargeable batteries have motivated efforts to replace those power sources for portable use. Thus, there is an increasing demand for light-weight, re-usable, efficient, and reliable power sources in such applications and in many other applications as well. In attempts to meet these needs, various portable fuel cells have been developed, such as ceramic-based solid-oxide fuel cells, direct methanol fuel-cell (DMFC) systems, reformed-methanol-to-hydrogen fuel-cell (RMHFC) systems, and other proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) fuel-cell systems. For those fuel cells that use a gas such as hydrogen as their fuel, local generation of the gas is desirable, and may be significantly safer than storing a quantity of gas. Heating of a source substance to evolve gas for the fuel cell's fuel can be an efficient way to generate the gas locally. The efficiency of such an arrangement depends upon minimizing heat loss. There is a continuing need and a large anticipated market for improved practical compact portable fuel cells with rapid startup times and improved efficiency.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A data recording apparatus for recording data on a recording medium includes an acceleration detector configured to detect an acceleration which the apparatus is undergoing; a use mode detector configured to detect which one of fixed and non-fixed modes the apparatus is used in; a fall state determination unit configured to determine a fall state of the apparatus by switching fall detection algorithms for detecting a fall of the apparatus on the basis of an acceleration detected by the acceleration detector and the history of acceleration changes in accordance with the detection result by the use mode detector; and a preventive operation controller configured to cause an operation for preventing damage to the recording medium to be performed in accordance with the determination result of the fall state of the apparatus by the fall state determination unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data recording apparatus for recording data on recording media, such as a digital video camera or a digital still camera for recording image-captured data, to a method for controlling the data recording apparatus, and to a computer program and, in particular, relates to a data recording apparatus for performing an operation of recording data on recording media in a plurality of use modes in such a manner that a user performs image capturing while holding the data recording apparatus in his/her hand or with the main unit thereof being fixed to a tripod, to a method for controlling the data recording apparatus, and to a computer program.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a data recording apparatus for recording data on recording media in such a manner that a read/write head carries out a seeking operation on a recording surface as in the case of, for example, a hard disk, thereby enabling random access, to a method for controlling the data recording apparatus, and to a computer program and, in particular, relates to a data recording apparatus in which the risk of damage to the apparatus is reduced by retracting the head from the recording surface of a disk when the apparatus is dropped on the basis of the detection result of an acceleration sensor or the like, to a method for controlling the data recording apparatus, and to a computer program.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of information technology, such as information processing and information communication, there has arisen a necessity to reuse information that was created and edited in the past. For this reason, information storage technology has become increasingly important.
Until now, information recording apparatuses using various media, such as magnetic tapes and magnetic disks, have been developed and become popular. In disk-type recording media, such as hard disks, basically, random access is possible by performing an operation in which a read/write head carries out a seeking operation in a radial direction on the recording surface of a rotating disk.
Hard disks have already become widely popular. For example, as standard local recording apparatuses for personal computers, in order to install various types of software, such as an operating system (OS) and application programs, which are necessary to start up a computer, and in order to store various kinds of data files that are created or edited, hard disks are used.
Furthermore, also, for information devices that handle data of a large size such as digital video cameras, hard disks have come to be used as local recording apparatuses or externally provided recording apparatuses (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007-208864 and 2007-87469). When a hard disk is used for a recording device of a digital video camera, digital recording of many items of high-quality image data and random access to recorded data are possible. Furthermore, connection can be made to a computer, so that files can be manipulated or images can be edited in the computer. Furthermore, recently, hard disk drives are used for operation devices that are designed under the assumption that they are to be carried by a user on the move as in portable music playback devices and devices installed in mobile bodies such as navigation devices. By using a hard disk for these information devices, it is possible to decrease the weight, the volume, and the cost of the device when compared to the case in which a removable magnetic tape or optical disc is used. In addition, since the device is not limited by the size of the recording medium and the layout of the removable unit, miniaturization of the device is realized and the degree of freedom of design is increased.
For hard disk drives, a technology is used in which an air layer is created between a magnetic disk and a magnetic head as a result of the rotation of the magnetic disk on which a magnetic substance has been applied or deposited, causing the magnetic head to slightly float. That is, when the magnetic disk is stopped, the magnetic head is lightly in contact with the magnetic disk surface. The flow of air that occurs with the rotation of the magnetic disk causes the magnetic head to float, and recording and reproduction are performed. While non-contact between the magnetic disk and the magnetic head is maintained, magnetic recording at a high density is realized by decreasing the distance between the disk and the head.
With such a mechanism, hard disk drives are considered to be recording apparatuses that are vulnerable to impact. In particular, in a case where a hard disk drive is installed in a device that is operated while being held as in a digital camera or a portable device, when a user drops the device by mistake during operation, the risk of damage is high in that the head and the disk are brought into contact with each other due to impact when the device collides with the floor surface.
For this reason, some portable devices installed with a hard disk drive incorporate a scheme in which falling is detected by using an acceleration sensor, and the head is retracted before the device collides with the ground surface, thereby protecting the hard disk drive.
Furthermore, in information devices installed with a hard disk drive, an intermittent recording method is often applied from the viewpoint of lower power consumption. For example, when image capturing is to be performed using a digital camera, the hard disk drive is placed in an idle state, image-captured data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory, and the hard disk drive is set to an active state only during the period in which data stored in the buffer memory is output and recorded in the hard disk. Here, the hard disk drive is vulnerable to changes in the external environment in the active state. However, in the idle state, the rotation of the disk is stopped, and the head is fixed at the retraction position. Therefore, the probability of withstanding an impact is high. Accordingly, an information processing apparatus and an image-capturing apparatus have been proposed in which when it is determined on the basis of the detection result by the acceleration sensor or the like that the apparatus is in a state in which it is difficult to perform safe data recording, the apparatus does not enter an active state, and the idle state of the hard disk drive is maintained (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-208864).
As a processing method for accurately determining whether an apparatus is falling, a method for predicting a state in which the apparatus begins to freely fall by using both an acceleration (gravity state) at the current time, which is detected from an acceleration sensor, and a history of acceleration changes has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-87469). By retracting the head at a predicted timing at which the apparatus begins to freely fall, it is possible to avoid damage to the hard disk.
According to the above-described prediction method, it is possible to suitably predict a state in which the user loses hold of a portable device and the portable device begins to fall. However, modes in which image capturing is performed using a digital camera include a case in which the main body thereof is fixed to a tripod or the like and image capturing is performed in addition to a case in which a user holds a digital camera by hand and image capturing is performed. Between when the digital camera begins to freely fall and when the tripod on which the digital camera is mounted falls over, the acceleration (gravity state) detected by the digital camera and the history of the acceleration changes differ. For this reason, a fall detection algorithm for detecting whether the digital camera is falling has a problem in that it is incapable of performing accurate prediction when a tripod is fixed.

Data recording apparatus and method for protecting hard disk drive and computer program


Disclosed are systems and methods related to matching an impedance of the power amplifier to an impedance of the antenna in a power amplifier module that includes an amplifier circuit residing on a first semiconductor die and an output matching network (OMN) that includes a first partial OMN and a second partial OMN. The first partial OMN resides on the first semiconductor die and matches an output impedance of the amplifier circuit to an input impedance of the second partial OMN. The second partial OMN matches an output impedance of the first partial OMN with an input impedance of the antenna and is not part of the first semiconductor die.

Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to electronic systems, and in particular, to radio frequency (RF) electronics.
Description of the Related Technology
Radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers can be used to boost the power of a RF signal having a relatively low power. Thereafter, the boosted RF signal can be used for a variety of purposes, included driving the antenna of a transmitter.
Power amplifiers can be included in mobile devices to amplify an RF signal for transmission by the antenna. To maximize the power transfer from the amplified RF signal to the antenna, which can also be characterized as minimizing signal reflections from the antenna into the amplified RF signal, RF circuits typically employ impedance matching. The maximum signal power is delivered into the antenna when the impedance of the antenna is equal to the impedance of the power amplifier.
Further, RF circuits typically employ filters to enable the desired frequencies to be passed through the circuit, while rejecting those that are not needed. Thus, power amplifiers, such as those in mobile devices, are often associated with output matching networks (OMNs) that are optimized to match the impedance of the antenna and filters that are optimized to reject signals with frequencies that are not intended to be transmitted or received by the antenna.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Distributed output matching network for a radio frequency power amplifier module


A laminated wall construction for building exteriors in which a facing outer layer provides the exterior surface and is attached to a corrugated layer such that the corrugations form vertical channels extending along the laminated wall construction. A trough is located at the lower end of the corrugated layer with weep holes formed in the trough whereby moisture which seeps through the facing outer layer flows down the corrugation layer of vertical channels into the trough and out of the weep holes.

It has long been conventional in the construction of exterior walls to utilize as a substrate a gypsum sheathing having treated paper adhered to the opposite surfaces thereof. The normal procedure has been to adhere an insulation layer to one of the paper faces of the gypsum substrate, and then an outer finish layer or coat is applied to the insulation layer to complete the assembly. Although this type of wall construction has generally proven to be satisfactory, water penetration may cause deterioration of the treated paper on the gypsum substrate, causing this to separate from the gypsum sheathing, hence adversely affecting wall integrity.
In an effort to improve wall integrity, a fiberglass mat has been adhered to the surface of the gypsum core in lieu of the conventional treated paper. However, it has been found that moisture penetration may still result in deterioration of the bond between the fiberglass and the gypsum core and may result in separation of the same from the gypsum core. The fiberglass has also been found to be subject to alkali attack as a result of the adhesive, resulting in deterioration and separation of the fiberglass from the gypsum core.
Another attempt at improving wall integrity is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,888. This patent discloses the coating of the fiberglass-faced gypsum with a water-based, water-resistant coating, such as water-based acrylic coating, prior to the application of any adhesive thereto, to form a barrier against excessive moisture penetration. This system may serve to limit water penetration but does not prevent deterioration once penetration does eventually occur.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the aforementioned prior art. Another object of the instant invention is to eliminate deterioration of the substrate due to water penetration. An additional object of the present invention is to provide for the removal of water which does penetrate this system. Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings .


A pile is lofted to a vertical position over a driving location. At a distance above its lower end the pile is embraced within a guide on an extensible rack on the crane chasis. Over the upper end of the pile a vertically elongate socket on the lower end of a hammer carriage is fitted, and driving ensues until the pile is self-sustaining, or until the hammer carriage nears the rack. Then the rack is disengaged from the pile and withdrawn, and driving is completed.

Hitherto, most hammer-driving of long piles has entailed the use of leads which are usually mounted on a crane. A pile is engaged in the leads and a hammer, sliding on a trackway in the leads, drives the pile into the ground. Such leads may be as much as 120' or more in height. Not only are they expensive and cumbersome, but there is an element of danger, particularly for the loftsman. Leadless driving with a so-called "wild hammer" is generally unsatisfactory because of difficulties first in locating and holding the lower end of the pile precisely at the spot where it is to be driven, and secondly, in hitting hammer blows squarely onto the top of the pile, and thirdly, in getting the pile to go straight down. While leadless sonic hammer pile driving is useful in some situations, there are earth formations in which hammer-blow driving is superior. Besides the rapidly moving eccentric weights of a sonic hammer cause serious maintenance problems.

Leadless method and apparatus for driving piles


A bearing system for a gear shift lever, which is held in a shift ball and surrounded by an assembly flange. An intermediate layer shaped in the form of a ring, which acts as insulation for vibrations, is arranged between the shift ball and the gear shift lever.

The invention relates generally to a bearing system for a gear shift lever, and more particularly, to one of the type in which a shift ball is surrounded by an intermediate layer shaped in the form of a vibration insulating ring, which in turn is surrounded by an assembly flange.
A bearing system of the general type stated is set forth in DE-OS 24 60 769. The intermediate layer, shaped in the form of a ring for providing insulation from vibrations, is arranged between the ball cage and the assembly flange.
The invention is directed towards the problem of further developing such a bearing system so as to achieve a higher degree of insulation from vibrations of the gear shift lever relative to the assembly flange.


A garden watering system including an elongate flexible tube formed in extendable and contractible helical coils having opposed ends, with a faucet connector attached to one end of the tube, and a spray nozzle or wand connected to the opposite end of the tube. The coiled tube permits a wide range of extension of the watering system during use.

The present invention relates to a garden watering system, and more particularly to a system having an elongate flexible extendable and contractible helically coiled tube permitting a wide range of movement.
In the past, garden watering systems generally have relied on watering cans, permanently mounted sprinkler systems, or hoses of a defined length which had to be physically rolled up or otherwise stored to keep them out of the way when not in use. The permanently mounted systems have been expensive to install and lack the ability to reach new areas.
With prior hoses, a rather large diameter hose (usually having a diameter of 1/2 to 5/8 inch) is used which provides a large volume of water movement, although often such may not be required for plant watering. Such prior hoses have to be of a full length to reach appropriate parts of a garden, or yard, yet are far larger than necessary and are cumbersome to use and difficult to store.
The use of watering cans and full size hoses has been found to be particularly inconvenient for watering elevated plants, such as hanging baskets, due to the weight of the cans of water, the nozzle systems generally used on hoses, and the weight of water-filled hoses. Users often have been subjected to water running down their arms when attempting to water elevated plants with prior watering devices.


The invention relates to tizoxanide phosphate or alkane sulfonate compounds represented by Formula I, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, isomers thereof, hydrates thereof or solvates thereof, and pharmaceutical applications of the compounds.

Nitazoxanide (NTZ), which is a thiazolyl benzamide compound developed by Romark Laboratory, has multiple bioactivities. NTZ has a chemical name of "2-acetoxy-N-(5-nitro-2-thiazolyl)benzamide", a chemical formula of C12H9N3O5S, and a melting point of 202° C., and is a light yellow powder, which is insoluble in water, slightly soluble in ethanol, and soluble in organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF).
Studies have shown that nitazoxanide is effective in combating a variety of parasites in human such as protozoan and helminth, specifically including: Giardia, Amoeba, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Trichomonad, Encephalitozoon intestinalis, Isospora Blastocystis hominis, Balantidium coli, Ascaris lumbricoides, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Tapeworm (including Taenia saginata, Hymenolepis nana), Diplacanthus nanus, Giardia Leishmania, Fasciola hepatica, etc. Nitazoxanide has good therapeutic effect on viral infectious diseases such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), influenza (including canine influenza), and viral enterogastritis caused by Rotavirus or Norovirus. Nitazoxanide is also useful in combating infection caused by bacteria such as Clostridium difficile (CD), Tubercle bacillus (including drug-resistant Tubercle bacillus) and Helicobacter pylori, and also has a good inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation caused by bacteria.
Nitazoxanide is a prodrug which is quickly hydrolyzed to its active metabolite tizoxanide (TIZ) in vivo after administration. The pharmacokinetic studies in human show that after oral administration, nitazoxanide is absorbed by gastrointestinal tract, wherein about ⅓ of the oral dose is excreted by urine, and about ⅔ of the oral dose is excreted by feces. In blood, nitazoxanide is quickly metabolized by plasma esterase (the half-life is about 6 min at 37° C.), and is deacetylated by hydrolysis to produce its active metabolite tizoxanide. Therefore, nitazoxanide is not detectable in plasma, urine, bile and feces. Tizoxanide can be further subjected to glucuronidation in vivo to produce tizoxanide glucuronide having no pharmaceutical activity. Tizoxanide is present in plasma, urine, bile and feces, and tizoxanide glucuronide is also present in plasma, urine and bile.
Nitazoxanide has good pharmaceutical properties such as multiple bioactivities and good safety, but also has some obvious disadvantages, which mainly reside in the following two aspects.
(1) Nitazoxanide has the shortcomings such as low bioavailability, short half life, and low blood concentration. It is found by Pharmacokinetic Laboratory of Institute of pharmacology & Toxicology Academy of Military Medical Sciences that when nitazoxanide suspension was orally administered to rats, the absolute bioavailability was only 7.2%. In addition, it is reported in papers that when nitazoxanide was orally administered to healthy adults, after single administration of 500 mg, the active metabolite tizoxanide had a time to peak (Tmax) of 3-4 h, a AUC value of about 3.9-11.3 μg*h/mL, a maximum concentration (Cmax) of 1.9 μg/mL (in the range of 1.1-2.5), and a short half life of only from 1.03 to 1.6 h.
(2) Nitazoxanide has relatively low activity, for example, nitazoxanide has a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of from 12 to 28 μg/mL (the median value is 16 μg/mL) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis; nitazoxanide and tizoxanide have the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of between 0.25 and 8 μg/mL, the 50% minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC50) of 1 μg/mL, and the 90% minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC90) of 4 μg/mL for 103 strains of Helicobacter pylori; under aerobic or microaerophilic conditions, nitazoxanide and tizoxanide have a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 8˜16 μg/mL for Staphylococcus epidermidis or other Staphylococcus (including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus); nitazoxanide has an EC50 of 1 μg/mL and an EC90 of 7 μg/mL for PR8 influenza virus in MDCK cells.
As can be seen, nitazoxanide has the shortcomings of low bioavailability, short half life, and low blood concentration. When nitazoxanide is used in the treatment of infections by parasites such as intestinal protozoans and helminths, nitazoxanide can work without entering blood. Therefore, the properties of nitazoxanide, i.e., poor oral absorption, low bioavailability, and low blood concentration, would not influence its therapeutic effect on the treatment of infections by parasites such as intestinal protozoans and helminths. However, if nitazoxanide is applied to the treatment of drug-resistant Tubercle bacillus, Helicobacter pylori or methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or the treatment of viral infectious diseases caused by influenza virus, Rotavirus and the like, the blood concentration should be at least higher than the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) or the minimal effective concentration. The shortcomings of nitazoxanide, i.e., poor oral absorption, low bioavailability, and low blood concentration, are necessarily observed and directly influence its pharmaceutical effect.
Therefore, if nitazoxanide agent is applied to the treatment of drug-resistant tubercle bacillus, Helicobacter pylori or methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or the treatment of viral infectious diseases caused by influenza virus, Rotavirus and the like, it will be necessary to enhance the bioavailability, increase the blood concentration, and prolong the half life of nitazoxanide calculated as tizoxanide, so as to have therapeutic effects such as anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects.

Tizoxanide phosphate and alkane sulfonate and pharmaceutical applications thereof

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology Academy of Military Medical Sciences P.L.A. China


A microprocessor 18 in a control device 13 of a data storage device determines that the read request has a sequential access property, when a transfer size of data specified by a read request from a host computer 11 is the same as a preset pre-fetch determination size and sends the data for the read request to the host computer 11. The microprocessor 18 also reads data in succeeding areas continuous to the data designated by the read request from a storage device 12 into a cache memory 20. The data storage device enables to reduce a number of access from the control device 13 to the storage device 12, improving a response time as well as throughput of the data storage device.

The present invention relates to a data storage device and a method having a control function to perform data transmitting/receiving processing between a host computer and a storage device.
As to a storage device, there is, for example, a disk array device using a plurality of hard disk drives (HDDs). Such a data storage device has one or more storage devices, and a control device performing data transmitting/receiving processing between the host computer and the storage devices. Especially, a control device for a disk array device, which controls a plurality of HDDs with a function of redundant array of independent disks (RAID), has a cache memory capable of being accessed faster in compared to the storage device, and has a read cache function to improve access performance from the host computer as well.
In the data storage device with the read cache function, a pre-fetch function of data from the storage device has been widely used as a method for improving the access performance when sequential read requests are issued from the host computer.
The pre-fetch function of data is a function to preliminarily read data in sequential areas (succeeding areas) to be requested in the next step from the storage device into the cache memory, when it is judged that the read requests issued from the host computer has a sequential access property. The sequential access property means the read requests are continuously issued for the succeeding data areas. The control device judges whether or not the read requests issued from the host computer are ones with the sequential access property, and pre-fetch the data in the sequential areas (succeeding areas) of the storage device to the cache memory before it receives the following requests from the host computer.
The pre-fetch processing of the data provides two main advantages. One advantage is reducing a response time for the following command because the data storage device has started the reading from the storage devices before receiving the following command from the host computer. Another advantage is improving total throughput of the data storage device owing to the reduction in access time to the storage devices as well as the reduction in the response time by pre-fetching data in a certain collected size integrally. The pre-fetch processing of the data is thus a function extremely effective for improving the access performance.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a conventional data pre-fetch function. It is presumed that the first command "0" is a request for reading data of a given size (for example, 256 KB) in first continuous address area. It is supposed that the second command "1" is a request for reading data of a given size (for example, 256 KB) in second continuous address area following the first continuous addresses. Further, the third command "2" is a request for reading data of a given size (for example, 256 KB) in third continuous address area following the second continuous address area. As described, in the case of receiving three consecutive data requests of the given size in the continuous addresses, the control device judges that the read requests are ones having sequential access property, and it pre-fetches the data stored in a following data area. That is, as to the determination whether or not the read requests from the host computer are the requests with the sequential access property, when the data storage device continuously receives the read requests from the host computer to the consecutive data areas more than a prescribed number of times (pre-fetch determination times), the control device determines that the read requests are ones respectively having sequential access property.
Now, a disk control device having a function with which redundant information having a predetermined length of block as a unit is added to data to be recorded into a disc drive is known. In the disk control device, a plurality of sequential data are efficiently pre-fetched and are returned to a host computer with high response by effectively using technology for adding redundant information to each sector of the disk for recording data. For instance, refer to Japanese Published Patent Application 2004-355040.
However, the conventional data pre-fetch function needs to receive the read requests from the host computer more than a prescribed number of times (pre-fetch determination times) until it is determined that the read requests from the host computer are ones having sequential access property. Therefore, the read process for the storage devices has to be repeated at every read requests.
Since it is usual to receive two or three times of requests for determining the pre-fetch, it is hard to enjoy substantial effects of the pre-fetch processing when the sequential read requests from the host computer is completed in two or three times. In other words, the disk control device determines that the read requests are ones having the sequential access property when it receives the read request two or three times, thereby performing the pre-fetch processing for the following data. However, when the read requests are completed in two or three times, the pre-fetched data is not used and results in vain, which probably deteriorates the throughput of the data storage device.
In general, a file system or an interface driver (for instance, a driver for SCSI or Fiber Channel) in the host computer does not always issue a read request having a size equal to the data size of the read request from an application software to a control device in order to respond to the read request. The read request to be issued to the control device has an upper limit for the data size depending on specifications of the file system or the driver. The host computer thus divides the read request from the application etc. into a plurality of read requests with the size within the upper limit to issue the read request to the control device.
Therefore, for example, two or three times of consecutive read requests are issued for reading out the files in such a system mostly dealing with files having a size of around 256 KB, and issuing access commands (specifically, SCSI command of "read", etc.) having such a divided size as 128 KB due to the specifications of a file system or the interface driver. In this case, the pre-fetch function does not work at all or is not effective even if it works because the pre-fetched data results in no use, if the pre-fetch determination time Is set to be three or more. In actual systems, such a small number of consecutive read requests having the sequential access property are issued frequently.
Thus, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a data storage device and a method thereof capable of properly determining read requests having sequential access properties, and improving a response time and throughput of the data storage device as well as reducing the number of access times from a control device the storage devices.


A chemical mechanical polishing system is provided having one more polishing stations. The polishing stations include a platen and pad mounted to an upper surface of the platen. The upper surface of the platen is patterned to define a raised area and a recessed area. The raised area provides a rigid mounting surface for the pad and the recessed area provides the pad a desired degree of flexibility and compliance of the pad when brought into contact with a substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for polishing substrates. More particularly, the invention relates to a platen/polishing pad assembly having a compliant surface to improve polishing uniformity of substrates.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the fabrication of integrated circuits and other electronic devices, multiple layers of conducting, semiconducting and dielectric materials are deposited and removed from a substrate during the fabrication process. Often it is necessary to polish a surface of a substrate to remove high topography, surface defects, scratches or embedded particles. The polishing process is often referred to as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and is used to improve the quality and reliability of the electronic devices formed on the substrate.
Typically, the polishing process involves the introduction of a chemical slurry during the polishing process to facilitate higher removal rates and selectivity between films on the substrate surface. In general, the polishing process involves holding a substrate against a polishing pad under controlled pressure, temperature and rotational speed (velocity) of the pad in the presence of the slurry or other fluid medium. One polishing system that is used to perform CMP is the Mirra(copyright) CMP System available from Applied Materials, Inc., and shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,574, entitled,xe2x80x9cContinuous Processing System for Chemical Mechanical Polishing,xe2x80x9d the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
An important goal of CMP is achieving uniform planarity of the substrate surface. Uniform planarity includes the uniform removal of material deposited on the surface of substrates as well as removing non-uniform layers which have been deposited on the substrate. Successful CMP also requires repeatability from one substrate to the next. Thus, uniformity must be achieved not only for a single substrate, but also for a series of substrates processed in a batch.
Substrate planarity is dictated, to a large extent, by the construction of the CMP apparatus and the consumables such as slurry and pads. In particular, a preferred construction allows for a proper balance between rigidity (or stiffness) and compliance (or flexibility) of the polishing device, and in particular to the stiffness and compliance of the polishing pad. In general, stiffness is needed to ensure within-die uniformity while sufficient compliance provides within-substrate uniformity. Within-substrate uniformity refers to the ability of the CMP apparatus to remove features across the diameter of the substrate regardless of substrate shape and/or topography across its surface. Within-die uniformity refers to the ability of the CMP apparatus to remove features within a die, regardless of size and feature density.
Conventional polishing systems include a platen having a polishing pad disposed thereon. Current state of the art strongly suggests the use of more than one polishing pad to provide compliance to the pad for improved results both within-substrate and within-die. For example, two pads are typically assembled together into a stack, which may be termed a xe2x80x9ccomposite polishing pad.xe2x80x9d A typical polishing apparatus 10 comprising a metal platen 12 having a composite polishing pad 14 mounted thereto is shown in FIG. 1. Both the composite polishing pad 14 and the platen 12 are generally disc-shaped and of equal diameters. The top (upper) pad 16, is brought into contact with a substrate to perform the polishing process, while the bottom (lower) pad 18 is secured to a smooth upper mounting surface of the rotatable platen 12 to provide a seating surface for the top pad 16. An adhesive 20, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) is provided on the back face of the pads 16, 18 to bond the pads to one another and to the platen 12. The top pad 16 is typically made of cast polyurethane while the bottom pad 18 is typically made of polyester felt stiffened with polyurethane resin. Other pads having different material composition are also available and known in the industry.
Generally, it is preferable that the top pad 16 be stiffer than the more compliant bottom pad 18 to provide a sufficiently rigid polishing surface. Typically, stiffness provides better within-die uniformity, while some compliance is needed to ensure within-substrate uniformity. The combination of pads having the proper proportions of stiffness and flexibility can achieve good planarity and uniformity over the surface of the substrate. In addition, the polishing profile on a substrate can be changed or modified by changing the thickness of either or both of the upper and lower pads. The change in thickness without a change in composition can change the properties of the composite pad in terms of stiffness and compliance.
However, a number of problems are associated with the conventional composite, or stacked, pad construction. In particular, each additional layer, i.e., pad and adhesive layer, in the stack acts as a source of variation affecting the overall stiffness and/or compliance of the stack. The greater the number of layers or even variations in the thickness of pads, the greater the potential for variation. As a result, a polishing device utilizing a composite polishing pad is often unable to achieve desired polishing results over a number of substrates. Specifically, variations in compressibility, loss of within-substrate uniformity, uncontrolled wetting of the lower pad, and variation from pad to pad result due to multiple process variables. In addition, the planarity changes as the top pad is worn away by a process known as conditioning the pad, and planarity may decrease with increasing number of substrates polished on the pad.
One solution has been to minimize the number of layers in the composite polishing pad. Thus, the goal in CMP would be to remove the bottom pad and secure the top pad directly to the upper surface of the platen. Removal of bottom pad also eliminates the need for one layer of the adhesive. However, it has been discovered that elimination of the bottom pad and mounting the polishing pad directly on the platen results in an overly rigid pad/platen assembly which compromises the compliance of the assembly. The rigidity is a consequence of directly interfacing the top pad with the non-compliant platen surface, typically made of aluminum or other metal.
Therefore, there is a need for a platen/pad assembly which eliminates the need for a sub-pad while providing sufficient compliance during polishing.
The present invention generally provides an apparatus for polishing a substrate which enhances polishing pad compliance and maintains or improves substrate and die uniformity. The apparatus is preferably adapted for incorporation into a chemical mechanical polishing system.
In one aspect of the invention, a platen is provided having a patterned upper surface to define a raised area and a recessed area. The raised area provides a rigid mounting surface for a polishing pad, while the recessed area allows for a desired degree of compliance of the pad.
In another aspect of the invention, a platen is provided having a pad disposed thereon. The upper surface of the platen is patterned to define a raised pad seating area and a recessed area. The raised area provides a rigid mounting surface for the pad and the recessed area provides a desired degree of flexibility and compliance of the pad when brought into contact with a substrate. Preferably, a portion of the recessed area extends to the perimeter of the platen thereby forming pathways between the platen and the pad that communicate with the platen""s environment.
In another aspect of the invention, a patterned surface is provided and is adapted to be disposed on the upper surface of a platen to support a polishing pad thereon. The patterned surface is preferably a hard rubber-like material defining an upper polishing pad supporting surface having channels or other recesses formed therein to provide pad compliance.
In another aspect of the invention, a platen having a patterned upper surface is provided and is coated with a rubber-like or compliant upper surface. The patterned surface includes both an upper pad supporting surface and a lower grooved portion for providing some compliance to the pad.


A communication satellite includes user beam antennas capable of forming user beams and feeder beam antennas capable of forming feeder link beams. The communication satellite includes demultiplexing units that divide a reception signal into up-user-link signals, multiplexing units that multiplex input signals and output the signals to feeder beam antennas, and a switch that duplicates an up-user-link signal on the basis of information determined for each of the up-user link signals and indicating whether the user link signal is duplicated, generates a duplicated signal, and outputs the duplicated signal and the up-user-link signal to the multiplexing units corresponding to second beams respectively allocated to the duplicated signal and the up-user-link signal.

In a satellite communication system, as a method of reducing unavailability of a down feeder link due to the influence of a rainfall or the like, there are technologies disclosed in Non Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 1, and the like. A feeder link is a line between a communication satellite and a ground base station. The down feeder link is a line in a direction of transmission from the communication satellite to the ground base station.
Non Patent Literature 1 discloses a satellite communication system including an auxiliary ground base station and using selective transmission diversity for switching a ground base station, to which a communication satellite is connected, according to a state of a propagation path to thereby reduce unavailability of a down feeder link. Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for realizing site diversity without using a leased line. The site diversity is a technology in which a communication satellite transmits the same signal to a plurality of ground base stations to thereby reduce unavailability of a down feeder link.

Communication satellite, line control device, and satellite communication system


A Braille mouse uses a character-code carrying member such as a disc, belt or drum to selectively raise Braille pins with a single solenoid. The Braille pins are provided with eccentric fingers which interact with a character-code carrying member, so that the character codes can be arranged in straight radial lines to allow all possible six-pin Braille symbols to be provided on a member of minimum size.

Various method have been proposed for translating text on a computer screen into Braille symbols capable of being perceived by visually handicapped persons. Among such methods is the use of a mouse which can be used to move a cursor along text lines on a screen, and which contains a set of raisable pins that spell out in Braille the character at the cursor position. A problem with such mice is that they require a plurality of solenoids (usually six) to operate the Braille pins. As a result, such devices are cumbersome and expensive, consume substantial power, generate considerable heat in prolonged use, and present maintenance problems. Consequently, there is a need for a simple, inexpensive, compact and reliable mechanism for actuating the pins of a Braille mouse.

Braille mouse having character code member actuated by single solenoid


A back-drive speed control system for incorporation into an actuated vehicle seating system includes an actuator having a permanent magnet and a coil that can move relative to each other to create a voltage across a first terminal and a second terminal. The actuator is adapted to move a linkage in an actuated vehicle seating system. A biasing member moves one or both of the permanent magnet and the coil such that the first terminal has a positive potential relative to the second terminal. The back-drive speed control system further includes a first diode and a Zener diode in series connected across the first terminal and the second terminal such that the forward current direction of the first diode is oriented in the opposite direction to the forward current direction of the Zener diode.

Power actuators are motor/gear driven assemblies that pull cables which typically unlock and release locking mechanisms, and thereby allow a portion of a seat system to move/rotate. The actuators are mechanically back-driven to their initial starting positions, typically with a spring. A drawback to this approach is that the back-drive spring makes the motor and gears rotate quickly in reverse direction, producing a whining sound during return and a noticeably loud click when the gears reach their travel stop. More significantly perhaps is that the gear train is subjected to very high impact loading, and the gear teeth are vulnerable to fracture. To protect the gear train and minimize the clicking sound, rubber bumper stops are sometimes used. But the reverse whining sound is still present, and the bumpers are added expense. Return time is typically ½ second. A standard solution which places a diode across the motor terminals eliminates motor whine and gear tooth impact loading results in an undesirably long return time (˜5 seconds).
Accordingly, there is a need for improved vehicle seat actuators with improved sound and time performance.

Speed control for back-drive power actuator


Microwave absorbing composite comprising at least two zones of material capable of absorbing microwave energy, each set of said two zones being separated by one zone of material transparent to or transmissive of microwave energy. The microwave energy absorbing zones are selected such that the composite is incapable of arcing in a microwave oven whereof the maximum power output does not exceed 2000 watts at a frequency of 2.45 GHz.. The composite of this invention can be used for such purposes as crisping, browning, or otherwise heating food products, as a material for packaging, or as a package venting material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to articles that are capable of absorbing microwave energy. These articles are commonly referred to as susceptors.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is well-known that thin metallic coatings borne on a polymeric sheet will generate heat when placed in a standard microwave oven.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,757 discloses a food package composed of a paperboard carton and a lossy microwave energy absorber which becomes hot when exposed to microwave radiation. The absorber is associated in conductive heat transfer relationship with a food product contained in the package and is usually bonded to a structural supporting sheet. The package also includes a shield, e.g., a metal foil sheet adapted to reduce by a controlled amount the direct transmission of microwave energy into the food product. The absorber heats the adjacent surface of the food by conduction to a sufficiently high temperature to provide searing or browning while controlled microwave exposure heats the inside.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,924 discloses a food package including a flexible wrapping sheet of dielectric material, such as polyester or paperboard, capable of conforming to at least a portion of the article of food's shape. The dielectric wrapping sheet has a flexible metallic coating thereon, such as aluminum, in the form of a relatively thin film or relatively thick foil subdivided into a number of individual metallic islands or pads separated by criss-crossing non-metallic gaps provided by exposed dielectric strips on the wrapping sheet. When the food package is placed in a microwave oven, some of the microwave energy passes through the wrapping sheet so as to dielectrically heat the food item, but a lesser amount of the microwave energy is converted into thermal energy by the metallic coating so as to brown or crispen that portion of the food adjacent thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,240 discloses a food package of plastic film or other dielectric substrate having a very thin coating thereon which absorbs the microwave energy when the package is placed within a conventional microwave oven. The plastic film or other substrate and its coating conform to a substantial surface portion of the food item. The coated plastic film or other substrate converts some of the microwave energy into heat which is transmitted directly to the surface portion of the food so that a browning and/or crispening is achieved.
In the case of susceptors employing thin metal coatings on a polymeric substrate, only a certain amount of heating can be achieved with a given metal before it begins to arc and destroy the polymeric sheet as well as the metallic coating itself. Arcing may also adversely affect the oven, and in some circumstances may even result in a fire.
For metallized films, there is a certain metal thickness that results in maximum microwave heating without arcing. This optimum metal thickness depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the metal itself, the uniformity of the metallic coating, the amount of oxygen and other impurities in the coating, and surface characteristics of the film substrate. Due to these factors, arcing may occur at the film thickness required for optimum heating. Thus, the arcing phenomenon may limit the amount of heat capable of being safely generated from a given single layer construction.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A stacked-die assembly and a method of manufacturing a stacked-die assembly having a plurality of microelectronic devices. In one embodiment, a stacked-die assembly can include a first die, a second die juxtaposed to the first die, and an interface substrate coupled to the first and second dies. The first die can have a first integrated circuit and a first terminal array coupled to the first integrated circuit, and the second die can have a second integrated circuit and a second terminal array coupled to the second integrated circuit. The interface substrate can comprise a body, a first contact array on the body that is electrically coupled to the first terminal array of the first die, a second contact array on the body that is electrically coupled to the second terminal array of the second die, and at least one ball-pad array on the body. The interface substrate can also include interconnecting circuitry electrically coupling at least a portion of the first and second contact arrays with at least a portion of the first ball-pad array.

This invention relates to assemblies having a plurality of microelectronic devices stacked on each other, and methods for manufacturing such stacked microelectronic device assemblies.
Microelectronic devices, such as memory devices and microprocessors, typically include a microelectronic die encased in a plastic, ceramic or metal protective covering. The die includes functional features, such as memory cells, processor circuits, and interconnecting circuitry. The die also typically includes an array of very small bond pads electrically coupled to the functional features. The bond pads are coupled to terminals, such as pins, that extend outside of the protective covering for operatively connecting the microelectronic dies to buses, circuits and/or other microelectronic devices.
Conventional microelectronic devices are typically arranged side-by-side on a circuit board or other support device that can be incorporated into a computer, mobile phone or other electronic product. One drawback with this arrangement is that the circuit board may need a large surface area to accommodate a large number of microelectronic devices. Accordingly, it may be difficult to fit the circuit board into a housing of a compact electronic product.
One technique to resolve this problem is to stack one microelectronic die on top of another to reduce the surface area on the printed circuit board occupied by the dies. The microelectronic dies are typically connected to each other with an adhesive layer that is heat cured to form a secure bond between the dies. Stacking dies, however, presents many challenges that are not applicable to single-die packages. For example, when two different types of devices are stacked on each other (e.g., a flash-memory device stacked on an SRAM device), such a stacked-die assembly requires multiple test sockets, different handling devices, and multiple test programs to test the individual types devices. In the case of a stacked-die assembly having a flash-memory device and an SRAM device, the fabricating facility must accordingly have a test socket and a test program for each of the flash-memory device and the SRAM device. Stacked-die assemblies with two types of devices accordingly require a significant capital expenditure for the test equipment and a significant amount of skilled labor to perform the individual testing programs.
Another drawback of conventional techniques for stacking dies is that the wire-bond routing from the dies to the circuit board is complex. Typical stacked-die assemblies connect the terminals on the dies to the printed circuit board (PCB) or an interposer substrate using wire-bond connections and/or ball grid arrays. It is complex to form the wire-bond connections on a conventional stacked assembly because the contacts from both of the dies must be routed to correct locations on the PCB or the interposer substrate. The available space on the PCB or the interposer substrate, however, is generally a small area that cannot accommodate the wire bonding of both devices. It will be appreciated that wire-bonding is also expensive and may not produce robust connections.
Still another drawback of conventional stacked-die assemblies is that it is difficult to stack one two-die assembly to another single or multiple-die assembly. In conventional stacked-die assemblies, each die has a separate assembly of ball-pads for coupling each die to a PCB or an interposer substrate. As such, conventional stacked-die assemblies do not allow more than two dies to be stacked together in a single assembly. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the capacity (e.g., the memory capacity of like memory devices) or the function (e.g., combining a flash-memory device and an SRAM device) beyond the two-die stacked-die assemblies that are currently the state of the art.
The present invention is directed toward stacked-die assemblies, interface substrates for stacked die assemblies, and methods of manufacturing stacked-die assemblies having a plurality of microelectronic devices. In one embodiment, a stacked-die assembly can include a first die, a second die juxtaposed to the first die, and an interface substrate coupled to the first and second dies. The first die can have a first integrated circuit and a first terminal array coupled to the first integrated circuit, and the second die can have a second integrated circuit and a second terminal array coupled to the second integrated circuit. The interface substrate can comprise a body, a first contact array on the body that is electrically coupled to the first terminal array of the first die, a second contact array on the body that is electrically coupled to the second terminal array of the second die, and at least one ball-pad array on the body. The interface substrate can also include interconnecting circuitry electrically coupling at least a portion of the first and second contact arrays with at least a portion of the first ball-pad array.

Stacked-die assemblies with a plurality of microelectronic devices and methods of manufacture


A gene transfer efficiency enhancer of the present invention which contains a histone deacetylase inhibitor (especially compound (A)) as an active ingredient is capable of enhancing gene transfer efficiency in a gene transfer mediated by an adeno-associated virus vector while retaining the advantages of the adeno-associated virus vector.

Gene therapy has been considered effective means for treating intractable diseases, and 600 or more gene therapy protocols have already been proposed in different countries (mainly in Europe and the United States).
As has been known, vectors which are currently employed in gene therapy include adenovirus vectors and retrovirus vectors and so on. However, adenoviruses have been shown to cause severe inflammation in the liver or the brain in clinical studies, whereas retroviruses raise problems including insertion mutation resulting from random integration into chromosomal DNA, and induction of cancer associated therewith.
Meanwhile, adeno-associated virus (hereinafter may be abbreviated as "AAV") vectors have the following characteristics: 1) being nonpathogenic, 2) having low immunoreactivity, 3) capable of transferring a gene into nondividing cells, and 4) enabling long-term transgene expression. Particularly, AAV vectors exhibit excellent safety as compared with, for example, the aforementioned retrovirus vectors or adenovirus vectors. In recent years, vectors based on various AAV serotypes (e.g., AAV serotypes 1 to 5) have been developed. Such AAV serotype vectors enable gene expression in various tissues on the basis of the difference in infection targets between these AAV serotypes. By virtue of the aforementioned characteristics, AAV vectors have been considered promising vectors for gene therapy. For example, conventionally, AAV vectors have generally been employed for protein replacement therapy through intramuscular administration. However, AAV vectors, which have low gene transfer efficiency (particularly in the case of gene transfer into cancer cells), have become of less interest in cancer therapy, which requires that a therapeutic gene be transferred into all the cells.
As has been reported, when an adenovirus vector is employed, expression an adenovirus receptor (integrin or CAR (coxsackievirus adenovirus receptor)) is increased by a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and transgene expression is enhanced. Meanwhile, it has been reported that when an AAV vector is employed, a histone deacetylase inhibitor reactivates transgene expression in cells which have been infected and then subcultured for a long period of time, in which the genome is integrated and is in a non-expression state (see, for example, Chen, et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Vol. 94, pp. 5798-5803 (1997)).
In gene therapy employing an AAV vector, a effective target is not reactivation of cells which are in a non-expression state, but the efficiency of the AAV vector-mediated gene transfer into cells (in an expression state). However, studies on such gene transfer efficiency have not yet been conducted.


Integrated circuit design method and apparatus with user defined constraints for constraining compaction of an integrated circuit layout. Logical boundary constraints allow a user to move layout designs to different process technologies without concern that device size changes will disrupt the layout. Multiple grid constraints allow a user to set grids of different sizes for the same or different circuit layers in a design. And pre-compaction constraints may be imposed by a user to preserve components' relationships in an initial topology throughout the compaction process.

Integrated circuits (ICs) are designed today with computers using a computer program known as an integrated circuit design tool. With this tool, a circuit designer enters symbolic or geometrical shapes representing elements of an integrated circuit design into a computer and manipulates the size and location of the elements to produce a simulated layout of the circuit. The geometrical shapes correspond to circuit elements such as transistors, resistors and capacitors and appear on a computer display screen. These shapes represent a physical layer of material in an integrated circuit such as metal or polysilicon layers, with each material typically shown in a different color. From this simulated layout, the design tool generates data for producing photolithographic masks that are then used for fabricating the integrated circuit.
Layouts may be manually created using an editor, command line or other input means to the design apparatus. Layouts may also be automatically created in certain design apparatus using "generator" technology. This technology strives to capture the steps needed to create a layout in what is called a generator, a user-written computer program defining the layout. A generator can be parameterized to handle different device sizes (such as transistors and via sizes), different number of inputs and outputs, etc. The generator can then be rerun with different parameters to automatically create a new layout. The generator can also be used to generate a layout in a new process technology (technology porting). Generators may be user written or, in newer IC design apparatus, generated by the apparatus from a layout entered graphically by a user.
Some IC design apparatus include a compactor that speeds layout design by automating the task of reducing the design area. A user gives the compactor a preliminary layout. The compactor then moves circuit elements, or components, of the design to optimize for two goals: that the layout be small and that it be design rule correct. The user can therefore have a great deal of control on the layout without performing the tedious work required to turn a sketch of a layout into a correct, space-optimized design.
Compactors are well known in the art and are described in a number of references such as Physical Design Automation of VLSI Systems, Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co., Inc., 1988. Briefly, compactors attempt to reduce the area of an IC design by moving components of the design in one of x or y directions for 1-D compactors, or both x and y simultaneously for 2-D compactors into as close as possible to other layout components without violating design rules. Basic compactors work strictly from separation constraints between layout components, constraints dictated by process design rules and the need to maintain electrical connectivity between connected components. These constraints are met as the design is compacted, first in one direction and then in the other. Consequently, the post compaction configuration, or topology, of the layout may be quite different than the initial topology. More sophisticated compactors allow the user to control the topology of the compacted layout by imposing user defined constraints on the compaction process. These include allowing the user to specify minimum constraints, maximum constraints and equality (alignment) constraints. A minimum constraint limits the closest distance two specified components can be placed apart from each other. A maximum constraint limits the greatest distance two specified components can be placed apart from each other. An equality constraint specifies the exact distance between two layout components. By an appropriate use of these user defined constraints beyond the design rule constraints extracted by the compactor from the layout, a user is better able to control the placement of components in the compacted layout. Compactors may be used with layouts that are manually drawn or layouts that are created with generators.
A physical boundary constraint (PBC) is one form of a user defined equality constraint. However, instead of the constraint being between two layout components, the constraint is specified between a layout component and one of the boundaries of the layout. Physical boundary constraints serve to position a selected edge of a component on a selected boundary of the layout and to prevent the layout component from moving into free space even if the space is available. This constraint is desirable where the position of a component is to be maintained at an area boundary for connectivity or other purposes.
However, physical boundary constraints are not adequate in a generator environment, where a device's size may change because of a change in a generator parameter or because of a change in the process technology. The following example, which refers to FIGS. 1A through 1D, makes this clear. The problem facing the user is to align the centers of these components while placing one or both of them on the left physical boundary of the layout. In FIG. 1A are shown two layout components C0 and C1. The desired result is achieved by placing physical boundary constraints on the left edges of both components so that both edges fall on the left physical boundary constraint. However, if components C0 and C1 were to have different widths, as in FIG. 1B, as a result of changing the generator parameters or porting the design to a different technology, the desired layout would not be achieved. The component centers are no longer aligned in FIG. 1B, although the compaction process still satisfies the specified physical boundary constraints. The user must then intervene to correct the layout.
The problem cannot be conclusively solved by specifying other physical design constraints. The user might specify a physical boundary constraint on component C0 to make its left edge fall on the left physical boundary of the layout and an equality constraint between the centers of C0 and C1. This would appear to achieve the goal, as shown in FIG. 1C. But this pair of constraints works if and only if C0 is wider than C1. If the widths of the two components is reversed, as in FIG. 1D, an impossible layout results. The left edge of C1 extends beyond the left edge of the layout. The problem is said to be overconstrained because the compactor cannot yield a sensible result while satisfying the user defined constraints. If the layout were generator specified, the generation process fails and the designer must intervene manually to correct the problem.
Another constraint of value to users is a gridding constraint. Most compactors allow the user to specify a single x,y grid on which the layout components must fall to meet manufacturing tolerances or routing requirements. When the grid size is specified to the compactor, the layout components are moved during the compaction process to place each component ultimately on the grid. However, prior compactors have only permitted the user to specify a single number for both the x direction and the y direction, or at most one number for the x direction and another number for the y direction. This has been found to be quite limiting because the routing grids are different for routing on different layers of an integrated circuit. For example, in a given fabrication process, the grid for routing a first metal layer might be 5 and the grid for routing a second metal layer might be 6.
None of the constraints discussed above assure that the relative positions of components in an initial topology will be preserved after compaction if device sizes change because of a change in process technology or a change in generator parameters. This can lead to unexpected and undesirable compaction results. For example, FIGS. 2A-2E show what can unexpectedly happen with prior compactors. FIG. 2A shows the initial topology of a layout. It is desired to compact the layout, which the compactor does first in the y (down) direction and then in the x (left) direction. As shown in FIG. 2B, components C0 and C1 move downward until they are separated by design rule constraints, and C3 moves leftward until it is separated from C1 and C2 by such constraints. An equality constraint to align the left edges of C1 and C2 is met prior to compacting. FIG. 2C shows the layout when, due to a generator parameter change of technology port, the size of C1 shrinks. The equality constraint must now be met through the compacting. The compactor compacts the layout first in the down direction, as shown in FIG. 2D, moving C0 to the left of C1. The layout is then compacted in the left direction, as shown in FIG. 2E, moving C0 further to the left to avoid C1 as C1 moves to satisfy the equality constraint. The result is a layout area larger in width than necessary, since there is room for C0 above C1 if C0 had not been moved.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a design apparatus and method that overcomes the limitations of prior compactors. More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide such method and apparatus that permits logical boundary constraints, multiple grid constraints or pre-compaction constraints on compacting to improve the resulting design.

Method and apparatus for constraining the compaction of components of a circuit layout


An infrared photo-detector focal plane array includes detectors with quantum well layers that are spectrally xe2x80x9ctunedxe2x80x9d to impinging radiation by modulating the voltage biases applied across each quantum well layer. Read out circuits, interfaced with each detector of the array, process the photo-currents received from each detector to determine the absolute temperature of the remote infrared source from which the impinging radiation originated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to quantum well infrared photodetector focal plane arrays (QWIP FPA""s) and, more particularly, to QWIP FPAs that are capable of detecting multiple colors for determining the temperature of a remote infared source.
2. Background Information
Multicolor infrared detection capability has wide applicability to a number of different applications including aerospace, medical, surveying, mining, and agriculture. For example, multicolor infrared detection can provide useful information during, geographical surveys. Detection in at least two infrared (IR) spectral bands would permit differentiation between man-made structures and natural landscape in a geographical survey. Additionally, in medical applications, multi-color detection would permit improved thermal imaging of the human body for diagnostic purposes.
Multicolor infrared detection has been conventionally performed using a wide-band IR detector and an associated rotating mechanical multicolor filter wheel. The wide-band IR detector detects a broad range of incident wavelengths. The rotating filter wheel selects the desired wavelength that is to be passed to the wide-band detector. An exemplary mechanical color filter wheel system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,780. Mechanical color wheel systems, however, suffer from a number of deficiencies in multicolor detection. Such systems generally are slow and bulky, require large amounts of power for operation, and have a limited life span. Additionally, color wheel systems tend to have poor photon collection efficiency.
To alleviate some of the known deficiencies of mechanical color filter wheel systems, quantum well photodetectors have been constructed that permit the detection of more than one spectral band. Such detectors are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,384,469 and 4,903,101. These patents generally disclose the use of a varying bias across a multiple quantum well detector so as to xe2x80x9ctunexe2x80x9d the spectral responsivity of the detector. Thus, in these patents, the xe2x80x9ccolorxe2x80x9d or spectral band that is detected by the quantum well detector is a function of the applied bias voltage. These patents, however, do not disclose the use of multi-color detection for determining the absolute temperature of a remote infrared source. The sensing of the absolute temperature of a remote infrared source can be advantageous in many applications.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a quantum well photo-detector focal plane array that has multi-color capability and which can use the multi-color capability to determine the absolute temperature of remote infrared sources.
Determination of the absolute temperature of remote infrared sources using multi-color detection is achieved in the following exemplary embodiments of the invention. An infrared photo-detector focal plane array includes detectors with quantum well layers that are spectrally xe2x80x9ctunedxe2x80x9d to impinging radiation by modulating the voltage biases applied across each quantum well layer. Read out circuits, interfaced with each detector of the array, process the photo-currents received from each detector to determine the absolute temperature of the remote infrared source from which the impinging radiation originated.
One exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method of determining a temperature of a remote radiation source comprising the steps of: receiving radiation from said remote source at a detector structure; applying a plurality of bias voltages to said detector structure; obtaining quantities of moving charges in response to said plurality of applied bias voltages; and determining the temperature of said remote radiation source using said quantities of moving charges.
An additional exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a a photo sensitive device comprising: a photodetector for receiving impinging radiation; a voltage source for applying a plurality of bias voltage levels to said photodetector; and a read out circuit for processing moving charges received from said photodetector in response to said impinging radiation and said plurality of bias voltage levels, wherein said read out circuit processes said moving charges in separate circuit paths and wherein each of said separate circuit paths is associated with one of said plurality of bias voltage levels.
A further exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a photo-detector array comprising: a plurality of detector structures for receiving impinging radiation; one or more voltage sources for applying a plurality of voltage levels to each of said plurality of detector structures; and a plurality of read out circuits, wherein each read out circuit processes moving charges, received from an associated detector structure, in separate circuit paths and wherein each of said separate circuit paths is associated with one of said plurality of voltage levels.
An additional exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method of determining a temperature of a remote radiation source comprising the steps of: receiving radiation from said remote source at a photosensitive device; supplying a first quantity of charges from said photosensitive device to a first charge storage device; supplying a second quantity of charges from said photosensitive device to a second charge storage device; and determining the temperature of said remote radiation source using said first and second quantities of charges.

Remote temperature sensing long wave length modulated focal plane array


Ion-sensitive compounds have the formula A.sup.2+ B.sup.2- wherein A represents a cation capable of forming a receptor-substrate complex with an anion, and B represents one or more counter anions, the cation being an anion receptor of the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are each independently a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group or R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 taken together with the atoms separating them represent the atoms necessary to complete a (2)-cryptand; and,. R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 are each independently H or a lower alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 taken together represent an ethylene bridging group.. The compounds may be used for sensing anions.

Anion receptors comprising a plurality of quaternary amine groups are known. Examples of such compounds may be seen in P.G. Potvin and J-M Lehn, Prog. Macrocyclic Chem., 1987, 3, 214.
L .A. Summers, "The Bipyridinium Herbicides", Academic Press, New York, 1980, describes the use of certain compounds comprising diquaternary 2,2'-bipyridinium moieties in herbicidal applications.
Metal ion centres have also been utilised in systems for the recognition of anions as described in D.N. Reinhoudt, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114, 9671-9673.


A test system for overclocking capability of a central processing unit (CPU) includes a basic input and output system (BIOS), a frequency generator, and a watchdog timer. The BIOS includes an input module, a watchdog control module, and a frequency increasing module. The input module inputs an initial frequency of a CPU to the frequency generator to adjust a real-time frequency of the CPU. The watchdog control module sends a counter signal to the watchdog timer in a preset time interval. The watchdog timer receives the counter signal. If the watchdog timer does not receive the counter signal within the preset time, the watchdog timer outputs a reset signal to restart the computer. The frequency increasing module adds a preset increment to the real-time frequency to obtain a newly adjusted frequency, and provides the newly adjusted frequency to the frequency generator to adjust the real-time frequency.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to systems and methods for testing overclocking capability of a central processing unit (CPU) and, particularly, to a system and a method for testing overclocking capability of a CPU of a computer system.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, users may initially want to know the overclocking capability of a CPU, e.g. the maximum frequency the CPU can achieve prior to implementing overclocking. However, due to different computer configurations, as well as environmental conditions, different computers have different overclocking abilities. Furthermore, the test for the overclocking capability of the CPU is usually done manually, thereby making the test inefficient and inaccurate.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a system and a method for testing overclocking capability of a CPU to overcome the above described shortcomings.

System and method for testing overclocking capability of CPU

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


A hydroformylation process comprising reacting a compound having at least one olefinic carbon-to-carbon bond with hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the presence of a cobalt catalyst, the hydroformylation process being carried out in one or more reactors, at least one of which comprises a gas cap region and a liquid-containing region while in use, characterized in that a sulphur-containing additive is present on the inside walls of the gas cap region of the at least one-reactor which comprises a gas cap region and a liquid-containing region. The sulphur-containing additive suppresses the formation of methane during the hydroformylation process.

Various processes for producing aldehyde and/or alcohol compounds by the reaction of a compound having at least one olefinic carbon-to-carbon bond with carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst are known. Typically, these reactions are performed at elevated temperatures and pressures. The aldehyde and alcohol compounds that are produced generally correspond to compounds obtained by the addition of a carbonyl or carbinol group, respectively, to an olefinically unsaturated carbon atom in the starting material with simultaneous saturation of the olefin bond. Isomerization of the olefin bond may take place to varying degrees under certain conditions with the consequent variation of the products obtained. These processes are typically known as hydroformylation reactions and involve reactions which may be shown in the general case by the following equation:
In the above equation, each group R1 to R4 may independently represent an organic radical, for example a hydrocarbyl group, or a suitable atom such as a hydrogen or halogen atom, or a hydroxyl group. The above reaction may also be applied to a cycloaliphatic ring having an olefinic linkage, for example cyclohexene.
The catalyst employed in a hydroformylation reaction typically comprises a transition metal, such as cobalt, rhodium or ruthenium, in complex combination with carbon monoxide and ligand(s) such as an organophosphine.
Representative of the earlier hydroformylation methods which use transition metal catalysts having organophosphine ligands are U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,898, U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,515, U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,157, U.S. Pat. No. 3,440,291, U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,050 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,158.
In attempts to improve the efficiency of a hydroformylation process, attention has typically focussed on developing novel catalysts and novel processes for recovering and re-using the catalyst. In particular, novel catalysts have been developed which may exhibit improved stability at the required high reaction temperatures. Catalysts have also been developed which may permit the single-stage production of alcohols rather than a two-step procedure involving separate hydrogenation of the intermediate aldehyde. Moreover, homogeneous catalysts have been developed which may permit improved reaction rates whilst providing acceptable yields of the desired products.
Although steps have been taken to develop improved catalysts, we have detected that some of these catalysts suffer from problems. In particular we have detected that cobalt catalysts comprising cobalt in complex combination with carbon monoxide and a ligand may decompose during the reaction to produce cobalt and/or cobalt carbide (a compound of cobalt and carbon, empirical formula CoxC, where x is 2 or 3). Cobalt carbide is catalytically inactive in hydroformylation reactions, thereby resulting in an increased rate of catalyst usage. The cobalt carbide is not only catalytically inactive in hydroformylation reactions but also has a relatively bulky, porous structure and is insoluble in the reaction medium. This represents a significant disadvantage, particularly for homogeneous cobalt catalysts, because the cobalt carbide typically tends to agglomerate and form detrimental deposits on the internal surfaces of the production facility. The deposition of cobalt carbide and cobalt solids impedes the running of a hydroformylation production facility with optimal efficiency. The presence of these cobalt or cobalt carbide solids also increases the rate of catalyst degradation.
Furthermore, cobalt and cobalt carbide solids present in "dry" spots of the reactor section including the pipework, as is the case in reactors which have a "gas cap" (also known as reactors which are not "liquid-full") may catalyze the following methanation reaction:CO+3H2→CH4+H2O
Due to the highly exothermic nature of this reaction, this can lead to an undesirable increase in temperature, which, if left unchecked, can result in a potential safety hazard.
Co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/294,320, filed Nov. 14, 2002, discloses a hydroformylation process comprising reacting a compound having at least one olefinic carbon-to-carbon bond with hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the presence of a cobalt catalyst and a sulfur-containing additive, wherein the additive suppresses the formation of cobalt carbide in the reaction mixture. However there is no disclosure in this application of the problem of cobalt-catalyzed methanation or of any technical solutions to solve the problem of methanation.


An edge detect system, using a torch height control system based on the use of a free floating probe in contact with the workpiece, uses a drop in pressurized air supplied to the probe tip in contact with the workpiece when the probe moves off the plate edge to generate a signal that prevents the torch from following the free floating probe downwardly and thereby prevents the cutting tool from crashing into the workpiece.

The present invention pertains to metal cutting torch control systems and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for detecting the edge of a workpiece being cut with a cutting torch whereby unintended contact of the torch with the workpiece is obviated.
On thermal cutting machines, utilizing non-contact cutting torches, means are typically provided for maintaining the height of the cutting torch above the workpiece, typically a generally flat metal plate. However, because the plate may be warped and not sit flat and level with respect to the overhead cutting tool operating in a horizontal X-Y plane, height adjustment is necessary to prevent damaging contact between the torch or torches and the plate. This need is even more critical when the tools are positioned to provide bevel cutting on the plate.
Mechanical torch height sensing and control systems are known. One such system utilizes a vertically free floating probe that rides on the surface of the plate and whose vertical movement is monitored and used to adjust the height of the cutting torch above the plate in response to plate surface irregularities in order to maintain the desired height of the cutting torch above the plate. In such systems, one or more torches are mounted on a support attached to a motorized servo controlled vertical slide. The plate contact probe is mounted on the same support and positioned as close as possible to the torch or torches without being subject to damage or destruction by the heat of the cutting process. As the probe rests on and slides over the surface of the plate, the vertical position of the probe is measured by a linear transducer and the position information is processed by a CNC/PLC which provides a signal to move the torch slide up or down. By permitting the probe and torch to operate independently of each other, different torch-to-plate gaps may be set for different cutting conditions and workpiece materials. In one prior art method of the control, the plate rider probe assembly is mechanically adjusted up or down in relation to the cutting torch. The control then adjusts the height of the torches so that the voltage across the linear transducer maintains a constant value. In another prior art method, the transducer voltage value is programmed, thereby changing the operating height between the torch and the plate or other workpiece surface.
During normal cutting, without the system of the present invention, the torch may move in a path that closely approaches the edge of a cutout portion or the edge of the plate. In either situation, the height sensing probe will move off and out of contact with the plate and move downwardly. The height sensing system will respond by directing the torch to follow vertically downwardly, resulting in the torch crashing into the plate on which it is cutting.