A self-contained transportable life support system for resuscitation, stabilization, and transport of a patient has an environmentally controlled housing for receiving and supporting a patient and a plurality of medical devices disposed within the housing. A control circuit attached to the housing has at least a portion thereof extending to an external surface of the housing for regulating operation of the medical devices and environmental conditions of within the housing in response to monitored life support conditions of the patient.

The need to transport medical patients and persons suffering from various medical emergency conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, etc. is well-known. Medical personnel speak of a "golden hour" within which such a medical patient must be transported to a medical facility so that proper medical care can be provided therefor. The survival rate for such medical patients is greatly enhanced if they are transported to the medical facility within the golden hour.
However, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, it is often difficult to transport a patient to a remotely located medical facility in a timely manner, particularly within the golden hour. Frequently accidents occur at remote locations and thus require a substantial amount of time to transport the medical patient to a distant hospital. Also, in battlefield situations, it is frequently impossible to transport a casualty immediately. In either instance, a hospital may be located hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from a hospital, thus necessitating several hours of transport time. As such, it is frequently beneficial to perform various emergency medical procedures at the site of the medical problem, and then to attempt to provide ongoing medical care during transport. By providing such early emergency medical care and by continuing medical treatment during transport to a remote hospital, the mortality rate of such transported medical patients is substantially reduced.
It is well-known to use various different medical devices in the field, i.e., at locations remote from a medical facility, so as to enhance a medical patient's chance of survival. For example, it is well-known to use an ECG and a defibrillator upon heart attack victims, so as to monitor the condition thereof and so as to provide medical treatment therefor in the field.
Typically, the medical patient is placed upon a stretcher and then various different medical devices are used thereupon, as necessary. During transport the medical devices may either be temporarily disconnected from the patient or, alternatively, may be hand carried along therewith by additional personnel. However, disconnection of the medical devices from the patient results in the undesirable disruption of medical monitoring or treatment therefor. Hand carrying the medical devices along with the patient requires extra personnel, which may not be available, or for which there may not be adequate room within the transport vehicle.
As such, it is desirable to provide a system for transporting a medical patient wherein the medical devices are carried along with the stretcher. In an attempt to provide such a system for transporting a medical patient while facilitating the continuous use of medical devices thereupon, the Mobile Intensive Care Rescue Facility (MIRF) was developed by the Royal Australian Army Medical Corp. The MIRF is intended to provide sufficient medical equipment to have the capabilities of an intensive care hospital ward. The MIRF is designed so as to facilitate the removal and replacement of the various pieces of medical equipment therefrom for maintenance. The MIRF is specifically designed to accommodate two major roles: the transfer of critically ill people from one point to another, such as from a ward to an x-ray room or from one hospital to another; and the bringing of life support systems quickly to the scene of an accident or other medical emergency.
The MIRF can be configured to include a blood pressure cuff, an invasive blood pressure monitor, a body temperature sensor, a heart rate sensor (finger clip sensor), an oxygen saturation sensor, an exhaled air carbon dioxide sensor, and an electrocardiograph, so as to facilitate medical monitoring of a patient. Further, the MIRF can include a ventilation system, a volumetric infusion pump, a syringe pump, a suction unit, and a defibrillator so at to facilitate medical treatment.
However, since the various medical devices of the MIRF are not integrated with the housing thereof, the inclusion of all of the medical devices results in a system having substantial weight. Further, since the various medical devices of the MIRF are not integrated with the housing thereof, the volume occupied thereby and the electrical power consumption of the medical devices thereof are not optimal.
As such, it would be desirable to provide an integrated system which utilizes a single power supply and which eliminates redundant components, so as to achieve a substantial reduction in weight, volume, and power consumption.
Another contemporary system is the MOBI described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,121, issued to Icenogle et al. on Sep. 18, 1990. The MOBI is similar to the MIRF in concept. That is, like the MIRF, the MOBI utilizes off-the-shelf medical devices which are contained attached to housing thereof, so as to be transportable therewith, thus eliminating disruptions in the medical care provided thereby during transport.
However, also like the MIRF, the MOBI is not an integrated system and thus possesses substantially greater weight, volume, and power consumption than desirable.
Further examples of such contemporary life support systems include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,584,989; 4,352,991; 4,691,397; 3,304,116; and 3,341,246.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,989 discloses a life support stretcher bed adapted to accommodate patients in intensive or cardiac care units in hospitals. The life support stretcher bed is broadly adapted for electrical medical devices, medical supplies and features an under carriage including a support structural, wheels, a patient housing with a mattress, an electrical power source and supports for mounting the medical equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,991 teaches a life support system adapted for field use in a vehicle with available power and includes electrically operable life support units, means for supporting the life support units, a patient stretcher, and a dc power source adapted for battery or remote power source.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,397 teaches a device for carrying the life supporting devices of a bedridden patient including a table like means for supporting the devices, an IV holder, wheeled transport means and a hospital bed footboard securing means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,116 teaches a multiple purpose wheeled carriage capable of supporting a stretcher carrying a patient, adapted with four castered wheels, a fifth wheel, a rectangular frame, a fluid pressure actuated means for vertical adjustment, operating and control means and patient support means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,246 teaches a hospital stretcher adapted broadly with a litter structure having telescopic post elements and other means for manipulating the patient to various positions.
It is frequently desirable to isolate a medical patient from the environment during transport thereof to a medical facility. It is also frequently desirable to isolate the medical patient from care givers and other personnel. Isolating the medical patient from care givers and other personnel may be desirable when the medical patient has a suppressed immune system, open wound, or when the presence of a contagion is suspected among the care givers and/or other personnel. It is desirable to isolate the patient from the environment when the environment contains substances which may be detrimental to the medical patient. For example, if the patient has suffered severe blood loss or is experiencing difficulty breathing, then it is desirable to prevent the patient from breathing dust, engine exhaust, smoke, etc. It is also desirable to isolate the medical patient from the environment when bacteriological, chemical and/or radiological hazards are present, as may occur during battlefield conditions.
It may be desirable to isolate the care givers from the medical patient in instances where the medical patient is suspected of having a contagious disease, or has been exposed to bacteriological, chemical or radiological contamination. As such, it is desirable to provide a means for isolating the patient from the environment and care givers, as well as isolating the care givers from the patient.
As discussed above, increased transit times make the initial preparation of the medical patient substantially more crucial. This may include resuscitation, and in any event must be sufficient to avoid causing further injury to the medical patient during transport. It is generally also necessary to provide continuous care, i.e., stabilization, for the patient during transit.
Proper care during transit frequently includes ventilation, suction, fluid infusion and possibly defibrillation. Further, it is highly desirable to monitor blood pressure, temperature and respiration. It may also be desirable to monitor ventilation gases for pO.sub.2 and pCO.sub.2, and also to monitor O.sub.2 saturation, cardiac output and local blood flow. By providing such care and monitoring, the probability of survival for the medical patient is greatly enhanced. Variations in the monitored parameters may signal the need for an immediate change in the medical care being provided.
Further, such longer transit times make environmental protection for the medical patient even more desirable. For example, increased transit time makes loss of body heat a much greater concern. Thus, protection from cold and rain is desirable.
Although, as discussed above, various different mobile intensive care systems have been proposed, such contemporary mobile intensive care systems are not suitable for transport via military vehicles having standard NATO stretcher holders. Such military vehicles require that the stretcher or other housing upon which the medical patient rests, along with the medical patient, fit within a well defined and rigid envelope so as not to interfere with adjacent vehicle structures and/or other patients and stretchers. No contemporary mobile intensive care system is known which fits with this envelope. Thus, such prior art mobile intensive care systems cannot be efficiently carried via such military vehicles. This means that fewer such battlefield casualties can be transported via a particular military vehicle when such contemporary mobile intensive care systems are utilized, thus inherently causing undesirable delays in transport and also undesirably increasing the risk of mortality.
The UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, the UH-1 Huey helicopter, the HumVee ambulance, the C-130 Fixed Wing aircraft, and the C-141 Fixed Wing aircraft all utilize standard NATO stretcher holders such that a plurality of such NATO stretchers, having battlefield casualties laying thereupon, can be efficiently carried thereby. For example, in the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, such stretchers are mounted to a vertical bulkhead carousel in a stacked configuration, such that the number of battlefield casualties so carried is maximized.
In order to facilitate evacuation of a medical patient from the battlefield to a remote hospital, a number of such military vehicles are commonly used. For example, a HumVee may be utilized to transport the medical patient to a helipad where the medical patient is then transported via a UH-60 Blackhawk or UH-1 Huey helicopter to an airfield. From the airfield the medical patient is then transported, typically, via C-130 or C-141 fixed wing aircraft to an airport near the remote hospital. As mentioned above, all of these military vehicles presently have stretcher holders which are specifically configured to hold the NATO standard stretcher.
In order to be carried via such military vehicles, a life support system must fit within the standard stretcher holders of such vehicles and still leave enough room for the medical patient resting thereon. of course, the support system must not interfere with adjacent, e.g., stacked, medical patients and/or life support systems. However, to date, no such life support systems are known which are specifically configured to be compatible with such standard stretcher holders.
Since contemporary mobile intensive care systems are not configured for transport via military vehicles utilizing standard NATO stretcher mounts, it is frequently necessary to remove the medical patient therefrom, so as to facilitate such transport. Such removal of the medical patient from a contemporary mobile intensive care system may require disconnection from or disruption of desirable medical treatment, thus increasing the risk of mortality. Further, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, removing a medical patient from a mobile intensive care system, such that the medical patient can be placed upon a stretcher for transport aboard a military vehicle utilizing standard NATO stretcher mounts, tends to exacerbate existing injuries and thus tends to further increase the rate of mortality for such battlefield casualties.
As such, it is desirable to provide a single mobile intensive care system upon which the medical patient is placed at the battlefield and upon which the medical patient remains throughout the entire trip to the remote hospital.
Further, such contemporary mobile intensive care systems require skilled operators having extensive training to assure that proper care is provided to the medical patient. Although mobile intensive care systems requiring such extensive training are generally suitable for use in civilian applications, it is highly desirable to minimize the amount of skill and training required for use in battlefield situations. This allows medics or medical care givers to be trained in a minimum amount of time. It also facilitates use of the life support system when trained personnel are not available (as is often the case in battlefield situations). Thus, it is desirable to provide a mobile intensive care system which requires minimal skill and training for such battlefield applications.
Further, since the individual medical devices of contemporary mobile intensive care systems are not integrated with one another, the medical care provided thereby is not optimized. This lack of integration further enhances the requirement for trained personnel. Additionally, such lack of integration necessitates constant monitoring of the medical patient during transport. Constant monitoring of the medical patient is often either difficult or impossible, since skilled medical personnel are generally either not available or are highly taxed during such evacuation procedures.
As such, it is desirable to provide means for preparing a medical patient for a lengthy transport, i.e., stabilizing the medical patient, and for providing the necessary medical care during such transport. It is also desirable to provide medical devices which are integrated so as to mitigate the skill and training required for the proper operation thereof, and so as to facilitate automated operation thereof such that minimal attention of a care giver is required during transport. It is also desirable to provide a mobile intensive care system wherein the medical devices thereof cooperate with one another so as to optimize medical care provided thereby. Further, it is desirable to provide a mobile intensive care system which protects the medical patient from the environment, so as to mitigate the detrimental effects thereof.

Self-contained transportable life support system


A metal-insulator-metal capacitor structure includes a lower electrode, a buffer layer, a barrier layer, a dielectric layer and an upper electrode. The lower electrode is disposed in the buffer layer. The barrier layer covers part of the lower electrode and is disposed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode. The buffer layer serves as an etching stop layer to define the dielectric layer. The dielectric layer in the metal-insulator-metal capacitor structure has a uniform and ideal thickness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure and a method for making the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure and a method for making the same with a better dielectric layer thickness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structures made of metal layer/insulator layer/metal layer composite structure have been widely used in the design of the ultra large scale integration (ULSI) because such metal capacitors have lower electrical resistance, smaller parasitic capacitance and no induced voltage shift, so most metal capacitors are made of the metal-insulator-metal structure.
Structurally speaking, the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor includes a capacitance insulator layer, such as a dielectric layer, disposed between the lower electrode plate and the upper electrode plate. Generally, the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor occupies a great deal of space on the chip. In order to increase the capacitance integration and to lower the cost, the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor is supposed to move toward higher capacitance density to enhance the circuit density. One of the possible fashions to increase the capacitance density of the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor is to decrease the thickness of the dielectric layer. Nevertheless, such solution may likely trigger another problem, such as unacceptably high leak current.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,749 discloses a method for making a metal-insulator-metal capacitor. The dielectric layer serving as the capacitance insulator layer may be also used as the etching-stop layer to define the upper electrode plate during the process. The dielectric layer must be thick enough because the dielectric layer serving as the etching-stop layer will be inevitably damaged by the etching and the thickness of the dielectric layer decreases. This scenario obviously goes against what is originally needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,573 also discloses a method for making a metal-insulator-metal capacitor. A copper layer is used as the etching-stop layer, and all the copper layers which include the metal electrodes and the metal wires for use in the MIM capacitor structure are exposed after etching is completed. Afterwards, a thin barrier layer is disposed on all the exposed copper layers. The material of the barrier layer is selected from Ta, Al, W, TaN and TiN. Because a barrier layer is disposed on all the copper regions, the copper regions serving as conductive wires would have much higher electrical resistance and have adverse effect on the circuit performance.
Therefore, a novel metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure and a method for making the same are needed. Such novel metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure should have better dielectric layer thickness and maintain a lower electric resistance of the circuits.


A water pressure power-generating system includes a hydroelectric generator, a rotatable feeder, and at least two drain units all provided underwater. The drain units are disposed around the hydroelectric generator. Each drain unit includes a water catchment and a compression cylinder. The distance between the catchment and water surface is less than the distance between the compression cylinder and the water surface. The system further includes a gas compressor which can be connected with the compression cylinder through a pipeline. The rotatable feeder is provided with a first connection port for connection with the water outlet of the hydroelectric generator, and a second connection port for connection with the water inlet pipe of the water catchment. The first connection port is connected with the second connection port. When the system is provided in deep water, water pressure can be utilized to generate electricity.

With the growing energy demand of the world and the increasing enhancement of environmental protection, promotion of the use of clean energy has become an inevitable trend. Nowadays, many clean power generation technologies, such as hydro power generation, wind power generation, solar power generation, have been developed and put into commercial applications. One direction of the development of clean water power generation, such as tidal power generation, ocean current power generation and wave power generation, has been developed for a long time, and has made certain achievement. However, water power generation has more limitation than power generation on land. Special conditions need to be met to generate more power. For example, tidal power generation requires the building of a dam in a bay area for interception, and the difference in tide levels needs to reach a certain height to store a certain amount of water for power generation. Wave power generation requires big wave as the driving force. It is necessary to have sustained wave to produce steady electricity. Ocean current power generation needs water currents to drive propeller blades to generate power and special water current conditions are required to generate electricity. Overall, although there are some experimental devices in operation for the above various power generations, they are not widely developed because they rely on a number of specific conditions in order to implement. In most countries and regions, it is not easy to find suitable locations for power generation, and this hinders the above-mentioned water power generation development and promotion.


The present disclosure provides a wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device comprises: a main body; a fixing member movably connected to the main body and configured to fix the main body on a supporting member; a connecting member configured to connect the main body and the fixing member; at least one antenna arranged in the fixing member, connected to a radio frequency unit in the main body via the connecting member, and configured to transmit signals.

With the evolution of science and technology, electronic technology has been rapidly developed. Wearable smart devices, such as smart watches, smart glasses and so on, have come into reality.
Currently, there are some wearable smart devices provided with antennas for communicating with other devices. Typically, the antennas are arranged in a main body of a wearable smart device. For example, a kind of wearable smart devices are smart watches, wherein the antennas are typically integrated inside the watch dials.
However, because it may be required to integrate some other components, such as a processor and etc., in the main body of the wearable smart device, those components may cause electromagnetic interference with the antennas, thus adversely affecting transmitting/receiving performance of the antennas.
It can be seen that the antennas in the conventional wearable smart devices have poor performance.


A clamping mechanism of a molding machine, including a bed; a stationary platen mounted on the bed, and carrying a stationary mold; a guide bar arranged fixedly relative to the stationary platen, and defining a longitudinal guiding axis; a first movable platen arranged movably relative to the stationary platen along the guiding axis, and carrying a movable mold; a support structure interposed between the guide bar and the first movable platen, and movably supporting the first movable platen on the guide bar along the guiding axis; a second movable platen separate from the first movable platen, and arranged movably relative to the stationary platen along the guiding axis; a connecting member connecting the first movable platen and the second movable platen to each other; and a drive section for applying a drive force to the second movable platen, to move the first movable platen and the second movable platen along the guiding axis. The support structure includes a spline engaging surface provided on the guide bar and a ball spline nut provided in the first movable platen, the ball spline nut being operatively engagable with the spline engaging surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamping mechanism of a molding machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional clamping mechanism of a molding machine (e.g., an injection molding machine) generally includes a stationary platen and an end frame (also referred to as a rear platen), both mounted upright on a bed of the molding machine, a plurality (normally, four) of tie bars bridging between the stationary platen and the end frame, a movable platen having through-holes individually receiving the tie bars and arranged movably along the tie bars between the stationary platen and the end frame, and a drive unit (e.g., a toggle unit) for driving the movable platen. A movable mold is attached to the movable platen, and a stationary mold is attached to the stationary platen. The drive unit including a drive source, such as an electric motor or a hydraulic cylinder, moves the movable platen, guided by the tie bars, whereby the molds are clamped. In general, a pair of sliding bearing bushes is disposed in each through-hole formed in the movable platen, and each tie bar slidably penetrates through the bushes.
In the conventional clamping mechanism as described above, the sliding bearing structure, used in a mutually sliding portion between the movable platen and each tie bar, inevitably creates a clearance between the inner circumferential surface of the bearing bush and the outer circumferential surface of the tie bar, which results in a play in the sliding bearing. Therefore, the movable platen is liable to tilt on the tie bars during a moving operation. As a result, there is a tendency that a predetermined degree of parallelism between the movable mold attached to the movable platen and the stationary mold attached to the stationary platen is deteriorated due to the moving operation of the movable paten. For example, in a mold opening process, if the parallelism between the molds is deteriorated at the instant when a mold release is caused by the separation of the movable mold from the stationary mold, the mold release timing of a molded article becomes irregular at certain points in the molding surface of the stationary or movable mold. In a case where a high-precision molded article, such as a lens, is to be molded, an irregularity in the mold release timing may result in a strain in the molded article, due to tensile stress, etc., and thus may produce a defective molded article.
In order to solve the above problem, a solution has been known, wherein a linear guide (an LM guide (trade name)) is arranged on the bed of the molding machine for guiding the travel of the movable platen, so that the movable platen is prevented from tilting and the parallelism between the movable platen and the stationary platen is maintained. In the solution using the linear guide, the movable platen is supported at the bottom end thereof by the linear guide, so that the tilting in the lower portion of the movable platen is suppressed, but it is difficult to suppress the tilting in the upper portion of the movable platen. Further, the linear guide can prevent the movable platen from turning about an axis in a moving direction of the movable platen (or an axial direction of the tie bar), but it is difficult for the linear guide to prevent the movable platen from turning about another axis perpendicular to the above axis and parallel with the mold attaching surface of the platen.
On the other hand, in a mold clamping process, the stationary platen and/or the movable platen may be deformed or strained due to a mutual pressing force applied to the stationary and movable molds. If the stationary platen and/or the movable platen is subjected to a strain, the mold-attaching surface of the platen may be deformed, which may also result in a deterioration of the parallelism between the stationary and movable molds and, thus, in a deterioration of a molding accuracy.
As a solution to prevent such a strain or deformation in the platen, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2587035 (JP2587035Y2) discloses a clamping mechanism of an injection molding machine, wherein at least one of a stationary platen and a movable platen is provided, at an intermediate location as seen in a platen-thickness direction in the regions of tie-bar insertion holes formed at four corners of the platen, with a notch extending from the outer circumference of the platen to the tie-bar insertion holes. According to this arrangement, a pressing load applied to the molds is absorbed by a deformation in the notched region of the platen, and thus a deformation in the mold-attaching surface of the platen is prevented.
Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-258103 (JP8-258103A) discloses a clamping mechanism of an injection molding machine, wherein a support structure of the stationary platen is formed into a tapered shape, such as a rectangular pyramid or a truncated cone. According to this arrangement, a pressing load generated during a mold clamping is prevented from acting as a bending moment on the support structure, due to the tapered shape of the latter, so that a deflection or deformation in the support structure and the stationary platen is prevented.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-170322 (JP11-170322A) discloses a clamping mechanism of an injection molding machine, wherein a strain-preventing portion (such as a lateral edge channel) is provided, on the movable platen, between the pivot of the arm of a toggle mechanism and the mold-attaching surface. According to this arrangement, a pressing load generated during a mold clamping is absorbed by a deformation in the strain-preventing portion of the movable platen, and thus a deformation in the mold-attaching surface is prevented.
In the above conventional arts, a structure absorbing a pressing load generated during a mold clamping process is provided in the platen or the support structure thereof to prevent the platen from being strained during, especially, the mold clamping. In contrast, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3330578 (JP3330578B2) discloses a clamping mechanism of a molding machine, such as an injection molding machine, wherein a ball spline structure is adopted, in place of a sliding-bearing structure, to a guiding portion for the movable platen on the tie bar. According to this arrangement, a guide having the ball spline structure makes it possible for the movable platen to be always accurately translated (or perform a parallel displacement) relative to the stationary platen, so that a parallelism between the stationary mold and the movable mold during a mold opening process can be stably maintained. In this arrangement, it is required that the life of the ball spline structure is long even under the influence of a platen stress due to the pressing load during the mold clamping.


A shock absorber includes a projection that projects toward an optical disk and projects out of a surface of an objective lens facing the optical disk to prevent collision of the objective lens and the optical disk. The shock absorber has a surface resistivity of not more than 1010 Ω at least for the projection. In this way, the shock absorber (projection) will not be electrified when the optical disk and the shock absorber (projection) collide with each other, and accordingly the shock absorber (projection, in particular) does not attract dust or particles. As a result, the dust or particles do not damage the optical disk even when the optical disk and the shock absorber (projection) collide again.

In the field of information recording, there has been ongoing research on optical information recording. The optical information recording has a number of advantages, including the ability to record and reproduce information non-contact, and compatibility to different memory formats, including read-only, write-once, and rewritable memories, in addition to inexpensively realizing large storage media. Thus, the optical information recording is expected to have a wide variety of applications, including industrial and consumer applications.
A recent research trend for optical disk devices using optical information recording has been to increase the information recording capacity per unit area of the de facto standard optical disks (for example, optical disks with a 120 mm diameter, including CD and DVD), and to realize smaller optical disks and optical disk devices.
The information recording capacity per unit area can be increased by reducing the wavelength of a light source, or by increasing the numerical aperture (NA) of an objective lens.
The recent development of a blue laser has made a great contribution in reducing the wavelength of a light source. However, a further reduction has been impeded by the absorption of light by the optical components. Common materials of the optical components are glass and plastic. As a general rule, materials with good workability (low melting point) have a longer wavelength of absorption limit. For example, plastics, which have a lower melting point than common glass and provide better workability, have a wavelength of absorption limit in a range of 300 nm to 400 nm, which is longer than that of common glass ranging from 200 nm to 300 nm. Thus, in mass-produced optical components using plastic (or glass with good workability), the light source is limited to a particular range of wavelength that can be absorbed.
As to increasing the NA of a lens, the NA can be increased by designing. However, in a lens with a high NA, the distance between the objective lens and the optical disk ("working distance" hereinafter) is as short as about 0.1 mm, and at most about 0.5 mm, which is shorter than that in conventional lenses of CDs and DVDs.
Thus, the objective lens and the optical disk collide when vibrations or other disturbances caused when the device is used in mobile applications move the objective lens out of the proper position determined by the focusing servo control. As a result, the surface of the objective lens is damaged, impairing optical characteristics, such as transmittance of the objective lens or aberration characteristics.
Japanese Publication for Unexamined Patent Application No. 67700/2001 (Tokukai 2001-67700) (published on Mar. 16, 2001) ("Publication 1" hereinafter) discloses a technique for solving such a problem. As illustrated in FIG. 8, this publication proposes a structure including an objective lens 66 composed of a first lens 61 and a second lens 62, and a lens holder 63 holding the first lens 61 opposite an optical disk (not shown), wherein the lens holder 63 has a shock absorber 63a that projects out of the surface of the first lens 61 toward the optical disk. Note that, indicated by the reference numeral 64 is the holder for a second lens 62.
With this structure, even when external vibrations or other disturbances move the objective lens 66 out of the proper position determined by the focusing servo control (not shown), only the shock absorber 63a is in contact with the optical disk and the first lens 61 does not directly collide with the optical disk. As a result, damage to the first lens 61 is prevented, thereby preventing deterioration of optical characteristics, such as transmittance of the objective lens 60 or aberration characteristics, caused when the objective lens 60 is damaged.
Japanese Publication for Unexamined Patent Application No. 258336/1993 (Tokukaihei 5-258336) (published on Oct. 8, 1993) ("Publication 2" hereinafter) discloses a technique for protecting the surface of the objective lens from dirt such as dust.
FIG. 9 illustrates a structure disclosed in this publication. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the publication provides an antistatic, oil-repellent, and lubricative protective-coating 71 on the surface of an objective lens 69 facing an optical disk 77. Such an antistatic coating is generally provided by ITO, for example.
With this structure, dust does not contaminate the objective lens 69, thereby preventing deterioration of optical characteristics, such as transmittance of the objective lens 69 or aberration characteristics.
Another problem of the collision of the objective lens and the optical disk is that the surface of the objective lens is electrified by the static charge generated by the collision. This is even more problematic than physically damaging the objective lens and/or the optical disk.
The charge on the surface of the objective lens attracts dust, and the dust or other particles adhered on the surface of the objective lens impairs the optical characteristics of the objective lens. Further, when the objective lens collides again with the optical disk, the dust or particles damage the objective lens and the optical disk. This causes a secondary problem that error is caused in recording or reading signals (information) in and from the optical disk.
The problem is not solved by the technique disclosed in Publication 1. In fact, Publication 1 does not even consider that the shock absorber 63a (see FIG. 8) becomes electrified by the generated charge of the collision with the optical disk, or that the generated charge attracts dust, nor does it consider the adverse effect of dust on the optical pickup. This is clear from the fact that Publication 1 does not even indicate that the shock absorber 63a serves to prevent charge, even though it does disclose examples of a material for the shock absorber 63a, including elastic materials such as rubber and felt, and resin.
That is, the collision of the shock absorber and the optical disk does not damage the objective lens 66 (first lens 61 in particular) but the shock absorber 63a is statically charged when it collides with the optical disk rotating at a high speed, thereby charging the surface of the shock absorber 63a. The charged surface of the shock absorber 63a attracts dust, and the dust or particles adhered to the surface of the shock absorber 63a are likely to damage the optical disk when the shock absorber 63a and the optical disk collide again. The problem becomes particularly serious when an objective lens 66 with a high NA is used, because in this case the damaged surface of the optical disk causes noise and generates errors in recording or reading information in and from the optical disk.
This is expected to become even more problematic in the future when the information recording density of the optical disk is increased and the working distance is reduced to cause the optical disk and the shock absorber 63a to collide more frequently.
In the optical system disclosed in Publication 2, the provision of the protective coating 71 having an antistatic property on the surface of the objective lens 69 facing the optical disk 77 prevents dust or particles from contaminating the objective lens 69. However, this system assumes that the objective lens 69 and the optical disk 77 are distanced from each other, and does not even consider the possibility that the optical disk 77 collides with the protective coating 71.
Thus, when the optical disk 77 frequently collides with the protective coating 71 as in the case where the objective lens 69 has a high NA, it is highly likely that the protective coating 71 is detached, with the result that the effect of the protective coating 71 as a protective film, protecting the objective lens 69 from dust, is quickly lost. The protective coating 71, when it is completely detached or even partly detached and remains on the surface of the objective lens 69, influences the focusing characteristics of the objective lens 69 with a high NA. That is, a sufficiently small focusing spot cannot be obtained.
Publication 1 and Publication 2 may be combined to obtain a structure in which the shock absorber is provided in the vicinity of the objective lens with the protective coating. However, even in this structure, the shock absorber is still charged when the optical disk and the shock absorber collide with each other, and the generated charge attracts dust or particles to the shock absorber. As a result, the optical disk is damaged when the shock absorber collides with the optical disk again. When the objective lens has a NA of 0.8 or greater, even a small scratch on the optical disk causes errors in recording and reading information.
That is, damage to the optical disk and the shock absorber still occurs in a structure combining the conventional techniques disclosed in Publication 1 and Publication 2.


A process for forming polymer films through electrochemical techniques utilizing electrolytes which include conductive polymer. The resulting polymer films are electrically conductive and corrosion and wear resistant. Poyamino-benzene (polyaniline), for example, undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition upon doping with protonic acids in an acid/base-type reaction. Composite polymer-aluminum oxide films may be formed by modifying the anodizing electrolyte, resulting in the codeposition of polyaniline during aluminum anodization. A nonprotonated, ring-sulfonated aluminum salt of polyaniline was determined to be the reaction product within the aluminum oxide phase of the codeposited films. A second process, which incorporates electrochemical sealing of the anodic layer with polyaniline, was also developed.. The formation of these composite films is documented through experimental processing, and characterized through scientific analysis and engineering tests. Scientific characterization determined the codeposition process yields chemically and metallurgically bound composite films. Engineering testing determined the films, obtained through a single step, exhibit superior wear and comparable corrosion resistance to conventionally anodized and sealed films processed through two steps, demonstrating the increased manufacturing efficiency that can be realized using the processes of the present invention.

This invention relates to the use and formation of composite films through electrodeposition and anodization techniques. More specifically, the invention relates to the electrochemical formation of polymer-metal oxide composite films utilizing an electrolyte which incorporates a conductive polymer.
A common anodizing process employs aluminum as a substrate. The aluminum anodizing process is most often used to produce decorative finishes, to increase the corrosion or wear resistance of the aluminum substrate, or to provide an adherent interface for subsequent coatings. In most cases, the anodic film requires supplementary processing after film formation to achieve these characteristics. Supplementary coating is carried out through various sealing processes and conversion coatings, which seal the porous structure of the as-anodized film to offer corrosion resistance, pigmentation, and/or to provide lubricity to enhance wear resistance.
When the anodic film is used as an adherent interface for subsequent coatings, its purpose is usually to join dissimilar metals. There has long been a need for a reliable means to chemically join dissimilar materials whose atomic structures and compositions render them chemically immiscible, such as metals, ceramics and polymers.
Coatings used to enable a ceramic-to-metal joinder typically possess constituents which are miscible with their deposant substrates. For ceramic-to-metal joining, these constituents are metal oxides and glass formers which wet and bond to the ceramic surface. These coatings also include additional immiscible constituents which, by virtue of their immiscibility, create a new surface on which the joining process can be performed. Known methods to provide these coatings, such as thick and thin film metallization techniques, form a composite interface between the faying surfaces which permits complete chemical bonding of dissimilar metals and materials. However, these methods have not permitted polymer-to-metal joinder employing a chemical bond.
Some of the most common polymer-metal bonds use adhesives. These bonds require neither miscibility nor the formation of intermediate phases. The strength of the resulting polymer-metal bond employing an adhesive normally hinges on the quality of the substrate surface preparation. This is because the adhesive, while uncured, will flow to fill the features of the surface morphology. In this fashion, a mechanical bond between the adhesive and the substrate surface has been formed. While some of the bond strength is derived from polar forces between the adhesive and the surface, these forces are relatively minor and do not contribute in any meaningful fashion to the overall integrity of the bond.
"Adhesiveless" polymer--metal bonds have also been developed in the electronics industry. These bonds provide the advantage of size reduction, as well as enabling increased flexibility of electrical connectors and circuits. Adhesiveless bonds may be achieved by "seeding" a chemically prepared polymer surface. The nature of the adhesiveless bond involves the binding of a noble metal salt to a functional ligand on the polymer surface, followed by reduction of the noble metal to a zero valence state. The surface becomes slightly conductive, which enables electroless metal deposition. The resulting metal surface can then be coated by way of electrodeposition. However, the seeded film is insufficiently conductive for direct use for electroplating. Thus, without the enhanced surface preparation necessary to enable electrodeposition, the adhesiveless bond forces are weak and peel strengths are low.
The typical failure mode for both adhesive and adhesiveless polymer-metal bonds is delamination or "peeling" of the adhesive or one of the faying surfaces from the mating interface. Failures occur due to insufficient or inadequate surface preparation, surface contamination, or the use of a misapplied, worn, outdated or otherwise deficient adhesive.
Surface preparation for polymer--metal bonding ranges from simple surface cleaning to the development of a supplementary conversion coating on the metal surface. For steel bases, phosphate-type conversion coatings are most commonly utilized. For aluminum bases, the surface is often anodized. If properly deposited, the nature of the conversion coating or anodic film is that of a metal phosphate layer or a metal oxide layer chemically bound to the metal substrate. However, such coatings act only as a surface enhancer to promote adhesion for the polymer attachment. In other words, the conversion coating/anodic film acts as a primer and, while chemically bound to the metal substrate, it is not chemically bound to the subsequent polymer coating.
Anodic coatings used as "stand-alone" films, deposited for corrosion and wear resistance or for decorative purposes, but not to provide a dissimilar material joinder, have been created using a two-step process in which a polymer or other material is applied to the anodic film surface after anodizing has occurred. With polymer-based supplementary coatings, the polymer is not chemically bound to the oxide film and is of a thickness limited by the following factors: the effective mechanical adhesion properties of the film to the oxide; the diameter of the pores in the oxide film; surface wetting characteristics of the oxide; and the viscosity of the polymer coating. Because the supplementary coating is of a finite thickness that does not fully intrude the porous structure, it can chip and wear away from the substrate surface during service and, therefore, has a limited useful life. In another process, known as the "Metalast" process and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,003 to Mitani, an acrylate polymer is electropolymerized following hard coat anodizing. However, in this process, the acrylate polymer does not actively participate in the anodizing reaction, and requires a subsequent treatment from a second electrolyte bath which incorporates a metal salt, forming a finished composite coating in three steps. Other supplementary coatings, placed to impart corrosion resistance, involve conversion of the oxide into a metal complex, the most common being chromate conversion coating. As deposited, these coatings are gelatinous and therefore fragile. With dehydration, the supplementary coating becomes more durable but the useful life of the coating is limited by the coating thickness and by the amount of abrasion the component experiences during service.
In two publications, Huang, W. S. et. al., Polyaniline, A Novel Conducting Polymer--Morphology and Chemistry of its Oxidation and Reduction in Aqueous Electrolytes, Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions I, 92: 2385-2400 (1986), and Chiang J. C. et. al., `Polyaniline`: Protonic Acid Doping of the Emeraldine Form to the Metallic Regime, Synthetic Metals, 13: 193-205 (1986), it is described how polyaniline can be transformed from the insulative to the conductive regime by doping the polymer with protonic acids. In this fashion, an already-polymerized film of polyaniline can be electrochemically or chemically doped to yield a conductive surface for subsequent processing. The reaction is reversible; therefore, by changing the external exposure parameters, one can dope to make the polyaniline conductive and "de-dope" to make it insulating. The doping processes involve an oxidative polymerization reaction where the protonic acid is bound to the polymer backbone through ring sulfonation, "de-doping" is a reduction reaction, as shown in FIG. 1.
The use of electropolymerized polyaniline as a surface conductive layer has been studied. Electropolymerization has been shown to occur on already-formed polyaniline films as well as in an electrodeposition reaction from electrolytes which contain aniline monomers in solution with protonic acids.
V. P. Parkhutik et. al., "Deposition of Polyaniline Films onto Porous Silicon Layers", Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol. 140, No. 6 (June, 1993), describe a process by which thin layers of conductive polyaniline are electrodeposited from sulfuric acid solutions onto already anodized porous silicon layers, developed at 2.0 A/dm.sup.2 with pore diameters of about 4 nm. This publication indicates that the films developed on the anodized silicon cathodes exhibited good adhesion, acid resistance and infrared structures typical for the conductive emeraldine oxidation state of polyaniline. A polymerization potential of +0.6 to +1.0 v. SCE is also described. However, no actual silicon-polyaniline bond is documented. Also, the Parkhutik et. al. study, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,892 to Tsuchiya, for example, disclose a 2-step (anodization, followed by electropolymerization) process. In these references, electropolymerization is carried out by dipping the already anodized workpiece into a solution containing the appropriate concentration of protonic acid and aniline monomer and initiating the polymerization reaction at the workpiece surface by applying the characteristic voltage for the desired oxidation state of polyaniline, or by cycling the workpiece, as prepared for electropolymerization, through a series of voltages characteristic for the various phases of polyaniline. In these studies, the resultant polymer film, as deposited, exhibited the characteristics of the conductive emeraldine phase of polyaniline. Additional United States patents which describe this or a similar process with various applications are: U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,115 (Masaharu); U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,194 (Masaharu); U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,518 (Kinlen); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,209 (Kobayashi).
Researchers would have been dissuaded by the use of an aluminum-polyaniline reaction to form an anodized coating because the standard aluminum anodizing potentials exceed the published polymerization potentials for polyaniline. This raises the concern that the polyaniline molecule will degrade during anodization. Degradation is thought to occur by way of cleaving the carbon-nitrogen or carbon-hydrogen bonds of the monomer within the electrolyte during anodizing. More specifically, there is a concern that polyaniline can degrade to hydroquinone at potentials above 0.8 volts and, therefore, might have no impact or meaningful interaction with the anodic film.
Thus, electropolymerization and utilization of the polymer film as a surface conductive layer has been studied. Other publications describe utilizing the conductive layer as a precursor for subsequent metal electrodeposition. See, e.g., Angelopoulos, et. al., Conducting Polyanilines: Applications in Computer Manufacturing, Proceedings of the SPE 49.sup.th Annual Technical Conference & Exhibits, 765-769 (1991), incorporated by reference. However, none describe the formation of a composite metal oxide-polymer film through anodization of the metal with the polymer deposited simultaneously from a polymer solution within the electrolyte.
It would, therefore, be advantageous to provide an anodized coating which essentially eliminates the use of an adhesive attachment for subsequent polymer coatings. It would also be desirable to provide a self-sealing, stand-alone, chemically-bound polymer-to-metal coating in a single step, which would yield substantial time and material savings while providing an industrially viable process. Particular utility would also be found in the use of a stand-alone polymer-metal oxide composite coating chemically bound to a metallic substrate achieved through a standard anodization process; since the polymer phase would be completely and homogeneously integrated within the metal oxide, such a coating would provide superior wear and corrosion resistance.

Electrochemical deposition of a composite polymer metal oxide


A method for synchronizing radio frequency carrier correction of dynamic radio frequency carriers is provided. The method includes receiving a carrier configuration from a carrier controller to modulate a carrier signal based on the carrier configuration and receiving a time reference and timestamped carrier configuration information from the carrier controller. The timestamped carrier configuration information includes a correlation between a plurality of timestamps and a plurality of carrier attributes. The method also includes synchronizing an internal clock of a RF correction preprocessor to the time reference, and receiving a modulated carrier signal from the RF modem. The method further includes generating a radio frequency correction set including a correction solution for each of a plurality of timeslots based on the timestamped carrier configuration information, and generating a corrected carrier signal based on applying the RF correction set to the modulated carrier signal at a coincident timeslot.

Radio-frequency (RF) signals are transmitted by modulating a carrier wave to encode information into the carrier wave. Radio-frequency (RF) transmitters typically use a single carrier wave having specific carrier attributes, for example, bandwidth, frequency, power level, and the like. RF signals include noise that causes a disturbance in the modulation of the carrier wave and that may interfere with the information being coded into the carrier wave. To remove this noise, RF transmitters include a radio-frequency (RF) correction preprocessor that receives the modulated signal and applies a correction (sometimes referred to as a "correction solution" to reduce or remove the noise in the modulated signal. The RF correction preprocessors are adaptive and have a delay in applying the solution to produce an acceptable amount of correction in the RF signal.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Method for synchronizing radio frequency carrier correction of dynamic radio frequency carriers


Provided is a microcomputer having the improved flexibility in changing correspondences between exception causes and exception vectors. The microcomputer includes: a vector candidate output section capable of outputting a plurality of vector candidates; an address selecting section selecting, as an exception vector, one of the vector candidates according to an exception cause; an instruction execution section starting an exception processing routine by accessing a memory area specified by the exception vector; and a correspondence changing section changing the number of exception causes associated with at least one of address candidates included in the vector candidates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microcomputer configured to switch between programs in response to an occurrence of an interrupt or exception.
2. Description of Related Art
A microcomputer is designed to stop the execution of a running program and to branch to another program for executing interrupt or exception processing, in response to an occurrence of an interrupt or exception.
In this specification, "an exception" is a general term indicating exceptions in a narrow sense such as: a hardware interrupt requested by peripheral hardware incorporated in the microcomputer or in an external device connected to the microcomputer; a software interrupt caused by a system call instruction or a trap instruction written in an application program; a division by zero caused during the execution of a program; and a suspension of the processing of a running program due to an occurrence of an abnormality such as an overflow or address error.
In this specification, a term of "an exception handler" denotes a program that has an exception processing routine written therein, and be executed in the occurrence of an exception while suspending a program running before the occurrence. Moreover, a term of "an exception handler address" indicates a start address of the exception handler.
In this specification, a term of "an exception vector" denotes information indicating a location to which the processing should branch when an exception occurs. A start address (an exception handler address) of an exception handler is used as an exception vector in some cases. In other cases, a start address in a branch instruction to branch to an exception handler is used instead of a direct exception vector, and thus the exception handler itself is located at an address to which a jump is made according to the branch instruction.
In this specification, a term of "an exception handler address table" denotes a table in which exception handler addresses are arranged, or a table in which branch instructions to jump to exception handler addresses are arranged. An exception vector is used to specify each of array elements, i.e., exception handler addresses or branch instructions to jump to exception handler addresses, in the exception handler address table.
Incidentally, there are other cases where a table formed of an array of exception handler addresses is called "an exception table" or "a vector table," and where a table formed of an array of branch instructions to jump to the respective exception handlers is called "a jump table." In this specification, however, the two tables are collectively called "the exception handler address table."
Furthermore, in this specification, a term of "an exception vector corresponding address" indicates the content of an exception vector. In other words, the exception vector corresponding address is an address specifying an array element in the exception handler address table.
As described above, as the exception handler address table to be referenced to at a start time of exception processing, some of conventional microcomputers use a table directly formed of an array of exception handler addresses, and other some use a table formed of an array of branch instructions to jump to the respective exception handlers.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,015 discloses a technique of relocating memory maps between a first memory map (exception table) and a second memory map (jump table). More precisely, the first memory map directly stores exception handlers ("exception routines" in U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,015) in memory areas each predetermined corresponding to an exception cause. In contrast, the second memory map stores branch instructions to jump to the respective exception handlers (exception routines) in memory areas each predetermined corresponding to an exception cause. Here, the memory area used by the second memory map is smaller than that of the first memory map.
There is a demand for changing the size of the exception handler address table according to an operation mode of the microcomputer. This demand is particularly strong for a built-in type microcomputer for a system under severe constraints on an available memory size. For example, at a time of starting the microcomputer, a time of rewriting a flash ROM included in the microcomputer, or another time, a limitation is imposed on the available memory size while only limited kinds of exceptions (exception causes) may occur. Accordingly, when the microcomputer operates in a reduced operation mode such as an operation mode for the start-up processing or an operation mode for maintenance work like the flash ROM rewriting processing, it is desirable to reduce the exception handler address table by decreasing the number of exception vectors from that used by the microcomputer in a normal operation mode.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-267864 discloses a technique of enhancing efficiency of memory use by reducing a memory area used as the exception handler address table ("an interrupt vector table" in JP-A No. 2000-267864) as a result of releasing a part of the memory area that is out of use as the exception handler address table. The technique disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-267864, however, is based on an idea that there is no need to prepare exception vectors ("interrupt vectors" in JP-A No. 2000-267864) corresponding to out-of-use exception causes ("interrupt factors" in JP-A No. 2000-267864), that is, an idea that there is no need to hold exception handler addresses ("interrupt program start address" in JP-A No. 2000-267864) corresponding to out-of-use exception causes. Based on this idea, the exception handler address table is reduced in size without holding the exception handler addresses corresponding to the out-of-use exception causes. In other words, the technique disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-267864 allows the size of the exception handler address table to be reduced, but does not make a change in correspondences between exception causes and exception vector on a one-to-one basis.
Even though possible exception causes are limited in the foregoing example such as a case of starting the microcomputer, or rewriting the flash ROM, the microcomputer needs to deal with an unanticipated contingency that an instruction to request unexpected exception processing is inputted. To this end, the microcomputer in the reduced operation mode must be ready to provide at least some of exception handlers corresponding to exception causes generally considered to occur only in the normal operation mode. Thus, the technique disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-267864 has a limitation on the number of reducible exception vectors. That is to say, the conventional microcomputer lacks the flexibility in changing correspondences between exception causes and exception vectors, and thereby is incapable of reducing the exception handler address table sufficiently when such reduction is required.

Microcomputer and method of setting operation of microcomputer


Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are described for performing revision control for a System Under Test (SUT) such as a body of source code. Prior to committing code changes, a collection of breakpoints associated with the portion(s) of source code being changed are determined. Stored fingerprints corresponding to regression test cases are evaluated to identify a set of stored fingerprints that are cumulatively indicative of the collection of breakpoints. Attributes respectively stored in association with the set of stored fingerprints are determined and a corresponding group of regression test cases are determined. The code changes are committed responsive to successful execution of the selected group of regression test cases.

The present invention relates generally to revision control for changes to a System Under Test (SUT) such as a body of source code, and more particularly, to performing automated regression testing by mapping regression tests to the changes via breakpoint values.
Breakpoints are intentional stopping or pausing points in a program, typically inserted for the purposes of debugging. More generally, a breakpoint is a means of acquiring knowledge about a program's execution. When a breakpoint is reached during execution, a test environment (e.g., general purpose registers, memory, logs, files, etc.) can be inspected to attempt to determine whether the program is functioning as expected. Breakpoints are commonly used to interrupt a running program immediately before execution of particular program instructions, in which case, they may be referred to as instruction breakpoints.
Combinatorial Test Design (CTD) is a testing methodology that seeks to increase test space coverage for a SUT through the use of automated algorithms. These algorithms identify input patterns that are most likely to locate problems in the SUT, thereby reducing the amount of time required for a tester to build test cases and an automation framework. CTD is well-adapted for projects that require numerous variations on static input vectors to properly test various system states and logic pathways, which would otherwise be extremely cumbersome for a human tester.
CTD provides enhanced testing efficiency over manual testing through the use of automated algorithms. CTD methodologies, however, still suffer from a number of technical drawbacks, technical solutions to which are described herein.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A method and apparatus for a prosthesis. At least a portion of the prosthesis is made from a ceramic that is treated with ion implantation, which causes a controllable, bilateral compressive stress of the ceramic. A diamond-like-coating (DLC) can be coated on the ceramic and in the same chamber as the ion implantation. After treating by ion implantation and coating with DLC, the ceramic will be strengthened and have a low coefficient of friction and thereby be made much less likely to fracture under load.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to ceramics. More specifically, a method of improvement of ceramics in replacement components, such as components in hip and knee replacements.
2. Description of the Related Art
It's inevitable that all living things age overtime, so do the many components that make up the living things. Human beings are also living things and we have the ability to regenerate some of our components when they wear out or some of the components are just naturally replaced. For example, our skin cells are continuously replaced on a daily basis, hair cells are continuously added so that hair can grow, and calcium is continuously absorbed and reabsorbed in bone components. The absorption of calcium in the bones helps to strengthen them. However, because of aging, degenerative diseases, such as osteoporosis, or other causes, the bones can become fragile and break causing excruciating pain. In other cases, as in osteoarthritis, the cartilage becomes worn away and bone deformities develop. The load-bearing situation on bone-on-bone is very painful. In addition, primarily in younger patients, sports-related injuries can lead to severe damage to hips or knees, necessitating surgery.
For many years, man-made devices have been developed in order to help replace components that cannot be regenerated and are no longer functioning properly. Such man-made devices include biocompatible devices and materials. The devices include heart valves, pace makers, spinal, dental, or breast implants, collagen for soft tissue augmentation, and orthopedic devices, such as total knee and hip joint replacements.
Artificial joints can include a plastic-cup made of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) that is placed in a joint socket, a metal (titanium alloy or cobalt chromium alloy) or ceramic (aluminum oxide or zirconium oxide) ball that is complementary to the cup and is affixed to a metal stem. These artificial joints are used to replace hip, knee, shoulder, and other joints in order to restore function after degeneration, car and construction accidents, and sport injuries.
However, these artificial joints typically do not last, as long as needed, especially when the patient is young and can typically live longer due to medical advancements. Conventional artificial joints last about 10 years and need to be replaced due to wear and loosening. Additionally, due to localized stress from the interaction of the ball and socket, small particles can break off from the surface and contaminate the surrounding synovial fluid. The body's immune system will attempt to degrade the particles by secreting enzymes, which can kill the adjacent bone cells or cause osteolysis and lead to mechanical loosening and failure of the artificial joints. Further, despite the best efforts and techniques (including polishing), the surfaces of the balls can have protuberances, which through use can cause scratches that lead to microcracks in the balls and ultimately to catastrophic fracture of the ball and joint. These fractures can be extremely painful to the patients and require expensive replacements and surgery. The more expensive ceramic joint replacements are normally fitted in younger, more active patients, in the expectation that the life of the joint replacement will be longer than that of metallic components. This has too often not been the case, principally due to fracture of the more brittle ceramic.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and means to decrease particles in the synovial fluids caused by friction on the ceramics. There is also a need to prevent microcracks from starting or prevent the microcracks from increasing in size, thereby increasing the life of the ceramic prosthesis.


The present disclosure generally relates to a fluid mixer, a system for mixing fluids utilizing the fluid mixer, and a method of mixing fluids using the fluid mixer or the system for mixing fluids, and more specifically, to a compact static mixing device with no moving parts and capable of mixing any fluid, such as air, nitrogen gas, water, oil, polluted water, and the like. A first pressurized, incoming fluid is accelerated locally by a section reduction, is split into streams, and then is released into a second fluid found in a closed volume or an open volume after a period of stabilization. The directed and controlled first fluid slides along an insert up to directional and angled fins at a vortex creator where suction forces from a self-initiating vortex in an internal cavity draws in at least part of the first fluid to fuel the vortex. The compactness and simplicity of the fluid mixer with internal vortex can be used alone within a closed volume in a conduit, in a sprayer, or within a fixed geometry to direct the mixing vortex to specific dimensions. One or more fluid mixers can also be used in an open volume such as a reservoir, a tank, a pool, or any other fluid body to conduct mixing. The technology alone, as part of a multimixer system, or as a method of mixing using the fluid mixer with internal vortex is contemplated to be used in any field where mixing occurs.

Simple things are often the hardest to master. Oil and vinegar are two liquids with divergent properties that do not mix under most conditions. Fish use air dissolved in water to breathe but tiny air bubbles are difficult to mix in large quantities in water. One way to mix fluids is to create dynamic mixing systems that require external energy, such as the use of a pump or a propeller to force fluids to mix. In many instances the use of a dynamic mixing system needing external energy is not the optimal solution for a mixing process. In most cases, use of external energy results in heating the fluids, deterioration of the mixing device, maintaining the external system, etc. Many industrial applications benefit from static mixing, which is mixing that uses only static or kinetic energy from the fluids themselves.
Many material processes and technologies require mixing. Air and fuel are mixed in the pistons of an automotive engine, fertilizer and water are mixed during the irrigation of land, medication is mixed with serum in hospitals, turbulent air bubbles are mixed with polluted water in water purification systems, hot water is mixed with cold water in cooking devices, fuel and oxidants are mixed in rocket reactors, recycled air and fresh, incoming air is mixed in aeration systems, chemicals are mixed in tanks during chemical processes, nitrogen gas is mixed into fertilizer to improve the output of plant food, water is given new properties via gasification to prevent seeping into soil by oxygenation of water, oil is separated from water via turbulent mixing processes, foam is created via high-intensity gasification of a fluid, emulsion results from unique conditions of mixing, and washing is based on dispersion of a liquid in air, to name only a few. The current technology relates to mixing technology in general and applies more specifically to any process or system where mixing of fluids is found.
Mixing processes, like other processes within systems, are now being scrutinized and redesigned to enable energy and cost savings. Improved static or dynamic mixing helps reduce the energy consumption of a device or process using the improved mixing. A static device that relies on the pressure level of pressurized incoming fluid, when made more efficient, results in less pressure to operate or creates a mixed fluid with a greater output pressure. The same improved static mixer may create less friction and may limit molecular disruption within the fluid. What is needed is a simple, energy- and cost-efficient, compact static mixer capable of improved mixing of fluids.
Energy is consumed when a static mixer includes revolving or moving parts. Energy is also consumed when a static mixer shuffles and directs fluids away from their primary flows into baffles or other deviations. What is needed is a static mixer with no moving parts capable of enhanced mixing without requiring major alterations to the flows of liquids.
Mixing of fluids and mixing in the industrial and chemical industries, because of the nature and properties of these fluids, may be directed to a simply controlled, single-stage process where fluid properties are largely kept unchanged or fluids are mixed over several stages using different levels and types of mixing. For example, to purify water, several stages of cleaning may be required. In a first stage, mixing uses large air bubbles to segregate large particles from water, and in a subsequent stage, smaller bubbles are used to activate and aerate water. What is needed is a mixer, a system of mixing, and a method of mixing capable of easy adaptation to mix fluids in a single- or multistage mixing process and to mix fluids at different velocities with bubbles or laminar flow of different sizes and thicknesses.
This disclosure incorporates fully herein by reference International Application No. PCT/US2009/033005, entitled Dynamic Mixing of Fluids, and International Application No. PCT/US2009/033000, entitled Method of Dynamic Mixing Fluids. This first family of mixing technologies and devices teaches how two or more fluids, each traveling in different and often opposite directions in conduits, are mixed using reflector-based technology in a quasi-boiling expansion volume. Mixing results from the merging of two fluids in a phase change at the mixing point.
This disclosure also incorporates fully herein by reference International Application No. PCT/US2008/075378, entitled Foaming of Liquids. This second family of devices teaches how gas bubbles are created and released into an open volume of fluid. Compressed air is split into small flows and is directed sideways into a cavity where liquid is drawn in via forced convection to mix or where radial fins under the flow of incoming bubbles impart a rapid rotational movement and create a vortex in the open volume of fluid.
What is needed is an improved mixing device capable of creating an auto-initiating vortex and self-sustaining vortex without using moving parts in the mixing device. What is also needed is a device capable of creating a multilayered vortex with stratified portions where fluid and layers of bubbles hash for better mixing under conditions of high turbulence.