Compositions and methods of manufacture for producing a medicament composition capable of absorption through the mucosal tissues of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus. The present invention relates to such compositions and methods which are useful in administering lipophilic and nonlipophilic drugs in a dose-to-effect manner such that sufficient drug is administered to produce precisely a desired effect. The invention also relates to manufacturing techniques that enable therapeutic agents to be incorporated into nondissolvable drug containment matrixes which are capable of releasing the drug within a patient's mouth. An appliance or holder is preferably attached to the drug containment matrix. Employing the present invention the drug may be introduced into the patient's bloodstream almost as fast as through injection, and much faster than using the oral administration route, while avoiding the negative aspects of both of these methods. The nondissolvable drug containment matrix may include permeation enhancers to increase the drug absorption by the mucosal tissues of the mouth. The matrix composition may also include pH buffering agents to modify the salival pH thereby increasing the absorption of the drug through the mucosal tissues.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions and methods of manufacture of oral nondissolvable matrixes for medicaments used in the buccal, sublingual, pharyngeal, and esophageal transmucosal delivery of the medicaments. More particularly, the present invention is directed to compositions, and methods and apparatus for producing such compositions, for non-invasive administration of dose-to-effect amounts of medicaments through the mucosal tissues of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus.
2. Related Applications
This application is a continuation-in-part application of copending application Ser. No. 07/060,045, filed Jun. 8, 1987, in the names of Theodore H. Stanley, M.D. and Brian Hague, and entitled "COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE OF COMPRESSED POWDER MEDICAMENTS," now U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,737 which issued Sep. 5, 1989, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 06/729,301, filed May 1, 1985, in the names of the inventors hereof, and entitled "METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR NONINVASIVE ADMINISTRATION OF SEDATIVES, ANALGESICS, AND ANESTHETICS," now U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,953 which issued Jun. 9, 1987. That application and patent are incorporated herein by specific reference.
3. The Background of the Invention
Recently, numerous advancements have taken place in the field of pharmacology and pharmaceutics with respect to the administration of drugs to treat various conditions. Despite the tremendous advancements in the field, however, drugs continue to be administered using substantially the same techniques that have been used for many decades. The vast majority of pharmaceutical agents continue to be administered either orally or by injection. Nevertheless, it is frequently found in the art that neither of these administration routes are effective in all cases, and both administration routes suffer from several disadvantages.
Oral administration is probably the most prevalent method of administering pharmacological medicaments. The medicament is generally incorporated into a tablet, capsule, or a liquid base, and then swallowed. The oral administration modality is often preferred because of its convenience. In addition, oral administration is generally nonthreatening, painless, and simple to accomplish for most patients.
Nevertheless, oral administration of drugs suffers from several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that pediatric and geriatric patients frequently have difficulty swallowing pills and other solid dosage forms, and such patients often refuse to cooperate in swallowing a liquid medication in addition, for many medicaments, the act or swallowing the medicament often requires fluids and increases gastric volume and the likelihood of nausea and vomiting.
A further problem with oral administration is that the rate of absorption of the drug into the bloodstream after swallowing varies from patient to patient. The absorption of the drug is dependent upon the movement of the drug from the stomach to the small and large intestines and the effects of to secretions from these organs and on the resulting pH within the stomach and intestines. Anxiety and stress can dramatically reduce these movements and secretions, prevent or reduce the final effects of the drug, and delay onset of the drug's effects.
Most significant is the fact that there is normally a substantial delay between the time of oral administration and the time that the therapeutic effect of the drug begins. As mentioned above, the drug must pass through the gastrointestinal system in order to enter the bloodstream; this typically takes forty-five minutes or longer. As mentioned above, anxiety and stress often increase this delay.
For many applications, such as premedication before surgery or where immediate relief from pain or a serious medical condition or immediate effectiveness of the drug is required, this delay is unacceptable. In modern outpatient units and operating rooms where rapid turnover of patients is essential for cost containment, extensive delays in the action of a drug are simply unacceptable.
An additional disadvantage of oral administration is that many drugs almost immediately experience metabolism or inactivation. The veins from the stomach and the small and large intestines pass directly through the liver. Thus, drugs entering the bloodstream must first pass through the liver before distribution into the general blood circulation. More than sixty percent of most drugs (and essentially one hundred to percent of certain drugs) are removed from the patient's bloodstream during this "first pass" through the liver. The result is that oral administration is impractical for many drugs, particularly many central nervous system and many cardiovascular-acting drugs that are used for rapid onset in critical care situations, as a premedication prior to surgery, or for the induction of anesthesia.
Further, additional stress is placed on the liver as it removes the excess drug from the bloodstream. This is particularly severe if the drug treatment has been occurring over an extended period of time. The liver may become overloaded with the drug's metabolite which then must be excreted. As a result, there is an increased risk of hepatic or renal disorders.
Another difficulty encountered in administering drugs orally is that dosages are prepared or determined for use with an "average" patient. Most drugs have widely varying effects on different patients. These effects depend upon patient habits, subtle genetic differences between patients, blood volumes, age, and numerous other known and unknown factors. Introducing a bolus of drug orally does not provide the ability to control the precise dose needed to obtain the desired effect, rather the dose is estimated in order to produce an average effect in an average patient. The result may be underdosing or overdosing a particular patient.
Underdosing a patient because of a low susceptibility to the drug fails to evoke the response sought by the physician. Overdosing the patient can result in dangerous depression of vital body functions, especially the heart and lungs. This can cause prolonged respiratory depression (necessitating mechanical ventilation after surgery), cardiac depression, and cardiac arrest.
In order to avoid some of the disadvantages of oral administration, injection is frequently used. Injecting a drug (generally intravenously or intramuscularly), results in rapid entry of the drug into the patient's bloodstream. In addition, this type of delivery avoids the removal of large quantities of the drug by the patient's liver. As a result, less total drug is usually needed, compared to orally administered drugs. The drug instead becomes rapidly distributed to various portions of the patient's body before exposure to the liver.
Most patients, particularly children and geriatric adults, have an aversion to injections. In some patients, this aversion may be so pronounced as to make the use of injections a serious concern. Since intense psychological stress can exacerbate a patient's debilitated condition, it sometimes becomes undesirable to use injections where the patient is seriously ill or suffers from a debilitating condition or injury.
In addition, individual variations in susceptibility in the metabolism of various drugs (particularly drugs with central nervous system activity) are even more profound when utilizing the injection route. In many instances, to prevent overdosing, it is the practice to inject a patient with a lower than average dose and then supplement the dose with additional injections as necessary. This "titration" makes necessary the use of repeated injections, which in turn greatly increases stress on the patient. Again, a precise dose cannot be administered to produce a precise effect because the patient's response varies widely depending on the specific characteristics of the specific patient.
One common approach to preparing a patient for surgery is to orally administer a sedative or anxiolytic. Although quick onset of sedation or anxiolysis has not always been a critical factor, it is more so now. Changing practices, including the increased use of outpatient units for day surgery and the pressures for cost containment in modern medicine, dictate rapid onset of action and the use of an absolutely ideal dose in order to avoid increased costs of caring for patients with delayed recovery secondary to slightly overdosing with anesthesia. Effective oral administration of premedication drugs with central nervous system activity (which cause a rapid onset of sedation and anxiolysis without producing excessive sedation) is often difficult to accomplish.
Some investigators have suggested that it may be possible to administer medication through the buccal mucosa of the cheek pouch or by sublingual administration. See, U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,953 entitled "METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR NONINVASIVE ADMINISTRATION OF SEDATIVES, ANALGESICS, AND ANESTHETICS." Such administration through the mucosal tissues of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus of therapeutic drugs possesses a distinct usefulness. Administration of drugs by this route does not expose the drug to the gastric and intestinal digestive juices. In addition, the drugs largely bypass the liver on the first pass through the body, thereby avoiding additional metabolism and/or inactivation of the drug.
Generally the drugs which are administered by any of the methods described above have an unpleasant taste. As a result, in order to allow for buccal or sublingual administration through the oral mucosal tissues, it is also necessary to incorporate the drug into some type of pleasant tasting mass, such as a "candy" matrix.
In the manufacture of medicated candy products by existing methods, the therapeutic agent is added to a molten candy mass. The resultant mixture is then thoroughly mixed to ensure proper distribution of the drug within the molten candy mass. The mixture is then poured into a mold cavity while still molten and allowed to solidify into a solid mass. Alternatively, the hot candy mass may be poured into molds, the size and shape of which may be determined as desired.
For effective application of the drug, the final candy product may contain the drug uniformly distributed throughout in order to ensure uniform levels of medication. Alternatively, for some applications, varying concentrations within known and controlled ranges may be desired to vary the rate of drug administration. Difficulties are encountered in attempting to blend solid drugs in a uniform or otherwise carefully controlled manner. Many drugs are insoluble, or only partially soluble, in one or more of the ingredients of the hard candy base. Thus, the resultant product is often found to be lacking in uniform or controlled distribution of the drug.
In addition, it is often found that when the temperature of the candy mass is increased in order to enable a more uniform distribution (generally to a temperature above approximately 230.degree. C.), considerable decomposition of the drug takes place. While the extent of decomposition may vary, high temperatures are generally undesirable in the handling and processing of medications. Thus, the process of formation of the candy product may itself degrade and/or inactivate the therapeutic agent.
Furthermore, many presently available medicated candy lozenges tend to crumble when placed in the mouth. As a result, uniform release of the drug into the mucosal tissues does not take place. Rather, the crumbled lozenge is mostly chewed, and swallowed, and the drug enters the bloodstream through the stomach and intestines as described above. Thus, it will be appreciated that candy lozenges have very definite limitations for use in the administration of a drug through the oral mucosal tissues. As a result, lozenges have not been used to administer potent, fast-acting drugs, such as drugs that affect the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system, or the renal vascular system.
While the administration of certain drugs through the oral mucosal tissues has shown promise, development of a fully acceptable method for producing a medication in a desirable form and administering the medication has been elusive. It has not been possible to develop an acceptable candy product for use with most drugs without heating the product to the point where degradation will be expected.
It should also be noted that pH conditions within the mouth may tend to adversely affect the administration of certain lipophilic drugs by the mucosal administration route. It has been found in the art that administration of drugs through the mucosal tissues generally occurs best when the drug is in the unionized form. Variations in pH affect the percentage of the drug which is unionized at a particular point in time. As a result, the pH conditions within the mouth often limit the effectiveness of certain drugs administered buccally or sublingually in that those conditions cause the drug to exist in the ionized form which is largely unavailable for transfer across the mucosal tissues.
Other potent drugs are substantially nonlipophilic and do not naturally permeate mucosal tissues. Hence it would be a significant advancement in the art of administering potent, fast-acting drugs, if suitable methods and compositions permitted both lipophilic and nonlipophilic drugs to be administered transmucosally.
It would be another important advancement in the art of administering potent, fast-acting drugs, if suitable methods and compositions provided a precise dosage to a precise effect in every patient. A related advancement in the art would be to provide such methods and compositions that avoid the disadvantages of overdosing, underdosing, and the immediate metabolism encountered in the "first pass effect," yet do not involve injection by needle into the patient.
It would be a further significant advancement in the art to provide methods and compositions for incorporating drugs (including insoluble drugs) into a nondissolvable drug containment matrix which does not require heating the drug to the point that degradation occurs.
Such compositions and methods of manufacture are disclosed and claimed herein.

Non-dissolvable drug-containing dosage-forms for use in the transmucosal delivery of a drug to a patient


A mouth guard is provided for protection from physical injury and for monitoring body temperature of the wearer. The mouth guard comprises an element comprising a color-changing component. The color-changing component changes color to indicate a preselected temperature state of the mouth guard. By visual inspection of the mouth guard, the wearer or a third party is provided with an objective indication that the person wearing the mouth guard is in danger of experiencing heat related illness. Methods of use and of manufacture of such mouth guards are also provided.

The present invention relates to mouth guards. More specifically, the present invention relates to mouth guards having the ability to indicate a preselected temperature state.
People of all ages engage in athletics to maintain their own personal desired level of physical condition, and to participate in enjoyable sports activities both on the recreational and professional level. When engaging in such activities, heat is produced during exercise. This excess heat must be eliminated from the body to maintain appropriate body temperature. Heat is transferred from the muscles first to the body core, which then transfers the heat through the blood to outer surfaces of the body. Heat is then transferred to the environment by convection and radiation, primarily through evaporation of sweat in order maintain the appropriate body temperature. Under certain conditions, such as extreme outdoor temperatures or a lack of sufficient fluid in the body to generate sweat, the core body temperature of an athlete may be quickly elevated to a physically dangerous or even lethal level.
As the body temperature of the person participating in athletic activities increases, the person may first experience heat cramps. While heat cramps may be painful, they are not considered to be a physically dangerous situation. Further increase of the core body temperature may lead to heat exhaustion, which is generally recognized as a situation that occurs when a person""s body temperature increases to over 102xc2x0 F. At this stage, the athlete may feel nausea, extreme fatigue, dizziness, vomiting and fainting. This condition is serious, and should be carefully monitored.
When the body""s heat dissipating systems are overwhelmed, heat stroke may result. This is a life-threatening condition. At advanced stages of heat stroke, even emergency medical care may not be sufficient to save the person""s life. At a body temperature of about 105 degrees or higher, a person may experience a variety of symptoms, possibly including seizures and unconsciousness. Every year a certain number of athletes, including professional athletes, college-level athletes and recreational athletes, die from heat stroke. These deaths are avoidable if steps are taken to avoid heat stroke. Unfortunately, persons suffering from heat related illnesses also often experience confusion. This confusion may lead to a lack of judgment that impairs their ability to make clear and rational decisions about their own health. This dangerous situation is further compounded by situations where a peer pressure environment exists, thereby encouraging or requiring the athlete to continue in the athletic activities rather than take care of their own health. An objective early warning system would be useful in alerting the athlete or those around the athlete that danger of heat related illnesses is imminent.
Mouth guards have been used for many years to protect athletes from physical injury to the teeth, gums, and other tissues of the mouth. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,393 discloses a mouth guard with conformable arch liners. U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,476 discloses an improved mouth guard composition comprising and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and a thermoplastic polycaprolactone having a molecular weight of 10,000-100,000 optionally with polyvinyl acetate, colorants and perfumes.
Temperature responsive color-changing materials have been known in various uses. U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,164 discloses a temperature responsive pacifier assembly, which comprises a liquid crystal material in a liquid that is responsive to a temperature above about 100xc2x0 F. This assembly is designed to indicate an abnormal temperature condition of an individual utilizing the pacifier assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,607 discloses a toy set having at least one section which bears a color memory dye of an electron supplying organic coloring compound, an electron accepting compound and an ester. U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,625 discloses a thermochromatic laminate member and toy utilizing the same.
A mouth guard is provided for insertion into the oral cavity during physical activity for protection from physical injury. The mouth guard comprises an element comprising a color-changing component. The color-changing component changes color to indicate a preselected temperature state of the mouth guard. Methods of use and of manufacture of such mouth guards are also provided.


The present invention stably maintains contact between probe pins and a wafer. Screws are provided at a plurality of positions in an outer circumferential portion of a printed circuit board. On a lower surface side of the outer circumferential portion of the printed circuit board, a retainer plate is provided, and a bottom end surface of each of the screws is held down with the retainer plate. Turning each of the screws in a state where the bottom end surface of the each of the screws is held down with the retainer plate causes the outer circumferential portion of the printed circuit board to be moved up and down. Adjusting a height of the outer circumferential portion of the printed circuit board by turning each of the screws located at the plurality of positions enables parallelism of the entire probe card with respect to the wafer to be adjusted.

Examinations of electrical characteristics of an electronic circuit such as an IC or an LSI formed on a semiconductor wafer have been carried out by the use of a probe card attached to probing apparatus. The probe card typically comprises a contactor supporting a large number of probe pins and a circuit board electrically connected to the contactor. The examinations of the electrical characteristics of the wafer have been carried out in such a way that electrodes of the wafer are brought into contact with the probe pins, and an electrical signal for the examinations from the circuit board is transmitted/received to/from the wafer through the contactor and the probe pins.
Meanwhile, to properly and stably carry out the above-described examinations of the electrical characteristics, it is necessary to stabilize the contacts between the probe pins and the wafer. In order to provide this, interposing a vertically movable connecting ring between the contactor and the circuit board has been proposed, and the proposal includes Japanese published unexamined patent application No. H05-264589.
To stabilize the contacts between the wafer and the probe pins, it is necessary not only to absorb the distortion and inclination that arise at the time of manufacture processing and are inherent in the circuit board and the contactor, but also to accommodate the distortion and inclination of the entire probe card with respect to the wafer that arise when the probe card is attached to the probing apparatus. However, with the use of the above-described connecting ring, the distortion and inclination of the entire probe card have not been able to be accommodated, and therefore the contacts between the wafer and the probe pins have not been able to be sufficiently stabilized.
The present invention has been made in consideration of such a point, and it is therefore an object of the present invention to sufficiently stabilize the contacts between an examination object such as the wafer and the probe pins.

Probing apparatus and method for adjusting probing apparatus


A flash light has a barrel for batteries, a lamp, a switch for opening and closing a circuit a lens, a cap, and a pistol grip handle extending transversely from the barrel. The handle includes a trigger with a magnetic to activate the switch in the barrel. The barrel is watertight between the barrel, the cap and a transparent face mounted with the cap. A reflective parabolic lens surface has multiple protrusions arranged on the reflective surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flashlights, and reflector lenses for flashlights. In particular the invention is concerned with a flashlight configuration which is watertight. More so the inventon is also concerned with a flashlight which can be operated without effecting the integrity of the flashlight electronics and electrics.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Different flash lights are known which a barrel for mounting batteries, a lamp, a switch, a circuit, and the switch being for opening and closing the circuit between the batteries and the lamp. These flash lights also include a lens.
The different flashlights are not appropriately waterproof, ergonomic, and nor do they have the appropriate characteristics to effect a good broad light beam.
The invention is directed to providing a flashlight with advantageous properties over known flashlights.


System for conditioning crops e.g. in a greenhouse, comprising climate control means which are arranged for providing a local microclimate area around the relevant crop, which climate control means comprising first means at a first location close to the crop, which are arranged for local humidification and simultaneous cooling or heating the local microclimate area, as well as second means at a second location close to the crop, which are arranged for dehumidification and simultaneous cooling or heating the local microclimate area.

Greenhouses have been developed and introduced in the Netherlands for three reasons: 1) to be able to cultivate crops that can not be cultivated in the Dutch climate, 2) to give a longer cultivation season to full land crops, 3) to be able to guarantee a more controllable quality. The conditioning of the greenhouse is essential: temperature, atmospheric humidity and CO2 concentration determine, together with the supply of light, the quality and quantity of a crop. Because of the different requirements regarding the indoor climate, per crop considerable differences in the applied fitting techniques are possible.
Basic equipment consists of the central generation of heat and CO2 by means of boilers. The heat is distributed through pipes, which also serve the internal transport system. Moisture is brought in by the crop and provides in summer for the cooling of the greenhouse, combined with the ventilation through the opening of the windows. Ventilators suspended from the greenhouse construction provide here for a better distribution of the conditions. In addition to the use of energy of the ventilators, this has also consequences for the greenhouse construction. The greenhouse construction must be carried out heavier (and thus more expensive), because it also serves as supporting construction for the ventilators and the windows to be opened.
At the moment, it is not possible to operate/control the temperature, atmospheric humidity and CO2 concentration independently from one another. Dehumidification of the greenhouse takes for example place by simply opening windows. The greenhouse is herewith not only de-moisturized, but the CO2 also disappears and the optimal greenhouse temperature gets disturbed. An additional disadvantage is the possible contamination from the surroundings (insects, diseases, etc.).
In modern greenhouse farming the "Innogrow" concept is generally known. In this concept the air is demoisturized by first cooling it and then partially heating it again. The cool, dry air is distributed by large textile hoses under the crop. A direct result is that enormous quantities of air have to be moved by means of ventilators. The length of the production line is furthermore limited, because a larger production line requires the air hose to have a larger diameter. The tendency goes towards production lines that are as long as possible. The generation of cold and heat takes place by means of heat pumps and storage of energy in the soil. It is important that the concept consists of a heat surplus and that it can only be realized by placing a conventional greenhouse adjacent to it.

Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO


Disclosed is a method, system, and program for diagnosing a computer over a network, such as the Internet. A program, such as an applet, is provided that executes on the computer. The program causes the computer to download at least one object from a server over the network. Performance data is determined with respect to downloading the object from the server to the computer over the network in order to diagnose performance problems with the computer. The determined performance data is then transmitted to a diagnostic system over the network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system and program for diagnosing a computer in a network system and, in particular, gathering network and application performance data to use in diagnosing the computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many businesses that sell computer related services and products transact with customers over the Internet, i.e., World Wide Web, or Intranet. One problem with transacting business over the Internet is the delays customers experience to execute transactions to access information. Lengthy delays may frustrate customers and cause them to associate access delays and problems with the business with which they are transacting, even if the business is not at fault for the delays. Many computer related businesses provide technical support to help customers diagnose their computer problems. Providing support technicians to assist customers with computer problems can be a very expensive service because of the labor intensive nature of the technical support function. One of the major determining factors in the effectiveness of live technical support is the ability of the technician to adequately diagnose the problem in a timely manner. Diagnosing problems may depend to some extent on the customer, whose lack of knowledge may hinder the diagnostic process. Any factors that hinder and delay the ability of the technician to diagnoses the problem will increase the businesses technical support costs and further frustrate the customer.
When a technician speaks with a customer over the phone to diagnose the computer problem, the technician may request the customer to perform certain tasks on the computer to assist with the diagnosis. Involving the customer to perform the diagnosis could complicate and delay the diagnostic process if the customer has limited technical knowledge of the computer and needs significant time to perform the requested operations. When information is obtained verbally from a customer, the accuracy of the information is "only as good as" the technical knowledge of the end-user. Moreover, the customer may not perform the operations correctly or lack the technical knowledge to execute the operations requested by the technician. Still further on-line assistance where the customer self-diagnoses problems can also lead to frustration if the customers do not perform the self-diagnosis properly and fix the problem. All these factors can significantly lengthen the diagnostic process, increase the cost of the diagnostic process, increase the inaccuracy of diagnosis, and further erode customer confidence.
For these reasons, there is a need in the art to provide improved systems for diagnosing computer related problems when providing technical support.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method, system, and program for diagnosing a computer in a network system

International Business Machines Corporation


A method, system, and computer program product for providing multi-viewpoint media content services is provided. The method includes receiving a feed of content from at least one communications device that is observing an event from a specified viewpoint and/or relaying the feed of content received from another communications device. The method also includes classifying the content according to a viewpoint identifier and a content identifier. The content identifier specifies a defined portion of the event. The method further includes providing access to user-selectable viewpoints of the content via a corresponding viewpoint identifier and content identifier. Content of selected viewpoints is modifiable for creating customized content.

The present invention relates generally to content management and related services, and more particularly, to methods, systems, and computer program products for providing multi-viewpoint media content services.
When groups of people gather together for an event such as a music concert, they often call friends on their cellular telephones to share the concert experience in real time via the telephone or similar mobile communications device. With the recent proliferation of mobile communications devices, this type of behavior is becoming more prevalent whereby event attendees raise their devices in the direction of the event in order to broadcast the audio and/or video content to the respective calling-receiving parties.
Capturing various viewpoints of an event can provide interesting and unique perspectives of the event that are generally not available to the viewing audience as a whole. Oftentimes, activities occurring during the event, which are not the intended focus of the event, can be more interesting than the actual event itself. A limited population of event-goers in a relatively large event arena are often exposed to interesting 'localized' activities, e.g., exuberant attendees, unintended incidents, etc., that are not visible to many attendees situated a distance from the incidents. Thus, most event-goers are not able to fully appreciate the event experience as a whole. In addition, the general public (non-event goers) may be interested in the event, as well as the points of view captured by the event-goers.
What is needed, therefore, is a way to provide multi-viewpoint media content services that allow individuals to access event-related content taken from multiple points of view via communications devices utilized by event-goers as well as a production system managing the event. What is also needed is a way to manage the receipt and processing of the content from these communications devices that facilitates access to the event-related content.

Methods, systems, and computer program products for providing multi-viewpoint media content services


A ballistic vest having an articulated body armor component and duty gear support component connected together such that the body armor and duty gear support component each support the weight of duty gear items positioned on a duty gear belt. The body armor component includes a rear panel fastened to the duty gear support component and a front panel attached to the duty gear component such that the front component can articulate over the duty gear portion based upon movement of a wearer.

Ballistic vests have been in use for many years and have saved the lives of military personnel and law enforcement officers. As a result, the military and law enforcement agencies have made it mandatory for soldiers and officers to wear a ballistic vest while on duty.
Ballistic vests have been available in recent years as a protective panel having overlying layers of a fabric made from woven high tensile strength fibers. Woven fabrics from an aramid fiber known as Kevlar, for example, have been used successfully in ballistic vests because of the high energy absorption properties of the fabric material. The material is also reasonably light in weight and flexible, which provides improved comfort when compared with previous vests which were made of metal and were therefore heavier and more rigid. The comfort of a ballistic vest is extremely important, especially to soldiers and law enforcement officers, because of the heat build-up that occurs from wearing a heavy and inflexible vest for the long hours in use. Resistance to projectile penetration is a principle factor in designing a ballistic vest; and added protective layers can offer greater protection against projectiles having the higher threat levels, but added protective layers also add undesired weight and inflexibility of the vest.
In addition to woven Kevlar fabric layers, ballistic vests have been made from other high strength fibers and composites to reduce weight and improve flexibility of the vest. However, ballistic vests using the lighter, more flexible materials also must offer the required minimum levels of protection against penetration by different types of projectiles. The more flexible the ballistic fabrics are, the more bunching and backface deformation occurs upon impact from a projectile. A vest must not be too flexible where it cannot protect the wearer.
Concealable ballistic vests are body armor worn by law enforcement personnel close to the body under the uniform. Concealable ballistic vests are worn continuously for the entire time the officer is on duty. These vests, for comfort reasons, are designed to be shorter in the front panel so that they do not bunch or bind when an officer is in a seated position. Consequently, this design exposes vital areas of the lower abdomen to ballistic threats when the officer is standing. Additionally, the front panel of the ballistic vest is designed shorter to not bind with a duty gear belt worn by the officer. Currently available vests provide no protection for the officer on the region of the body occupied by the duty gear belt. In addition, duty gear belts must carry an average of 8 to 10 and sometimes up to 15 pounds of equipment, ranging from flashlights, keys and handcuffs, OC spray, batons and duty weapons such as guns, holsters and ammunition. All of the weight from the duty gear in addition to the ballistic vest can become a health hazard for the officer in the form of fatigue, pinched nerves, sore muscles and bruises.
Consequently, a need exists for an improved vest design which addresses the drawbacks of previous vest designs, namely, to provide a combination body armor/duty gear support system which provides increased protection for the sides and lower abdomen of the wearer, reduces heat build-up, and distributes duty gear weight across the torso.

Articulated body armor/duty gear support vest


An ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine can eliminate connecting leads for electrically connecting between an igniter and a connector can be eliminated or shortened. In the ignition apparatus, individual terminals (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b) in the form of connector side terminals of an igniter (9) are directly connected to individual terminals (10a, 10b, 11a, 11b) in the form of input terminals of a connector (8), and individual terminals (18a, 18b, 19a) in the form of transformer side terminals of the igniter (9) are directly connected to individual terminals (16a, 16b, 17a), respectively, which are winding terminals of a transformer (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine which applies a high voltage for generation of park discharge to a spark plug for each engine cylinder.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, there has been known an ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine which includes a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, an igniter for controlling an excitation current supplied to the primary winding, a connector that sends to the igniter a drive signal for driving the igniter, and a case that receives the transformer and the igniter (see, for example, a first patent document: U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,151).
In this case, the igniter has transformer side terminals that are electrically connected to winding terminals arranged at respective ends of the primary winding and the secondary winding, and a connector side terminal that is electrically connected to an input terminal of the connector.
In the case of such an ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine, the connector side terminal of the igniter is led out in a direction different from that of the input terminal of the connector. As a result, there is the following problem. That is, connecting leads are required for electrically connecting the connector side terminals and the input terminals to each other, so the apparatus as a whole is enlarged in size for securing an installation space for the connecting leads, and the cost of production is accordingly increased.

Ignition apparatus for internal combustion engine


A memory cell, suitable for electrically erasable programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), includes direct write cell capability. The memory cell is fabricated on a substrate and uses an inversion source gate disposed above the substrate to generate a depletion source therein. The depletion source defines a channel region in the substrate with an associated drain. An electrically isolated floating gate is disposed above the substrate so as to overlap at least a portion of the substrate channel region. Further, a program gate is disposed to overlap a portion of the floating gate and an access gate is also provided aligned at least partially over the substrate channel region such that a dual gate device is defined. An array of such memory cells can also be constructed.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to semiconductor memory devices suitable for electrically erasable programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), and more particularly, is directed to MOS floating gate memory cells and memory arrays comprising dense contactless structures with direct write cell capabilities.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Non-volatile floating gate MOS memories are well known in the industry. In such devices, the conductive state of the transistor memory cell is determined by the voltage of the associated floating gate. Typically, a negatively charged floating gate is representative of a binary one state while an uncharged floating gate is representative of a binary zero state.
More particularly, a conventional electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) utilizes a floating (unconnected) conductive gate, in a field effect transistor structure, positioned over but insulated from a channel region in a semiconductor substrate, between source and drain regions. A control gate is then provided over the floating gate, but also insulated therefrom. The threshold voltage (V.sub.T) characteristic of the transistor is controlled by the amount of charge that is retained on the floating gate. That is, the minimum amount of voltage (threshold) that must be applied to the control gate before the transistor is turned "on" to permit conduction between its source and drain regions is controlled by the level of charge on the floating gate. A transistor is programmed to one of two states by accelerating electrons from the substrate channel region, through a thin gate dielectric and onto the floating gate.
The memory cell transistor's state is read by placing an operating voltage across its source and drain and on its control gate, and then detecting the level of current flowing between the source and drain as to whether the device is programmed to be "on" or "off" at the control gate voltage selected. A specific, single cell in a two-dimensional array of EPROM cells is addressed for reading by application of a source-drain voltage to the source and drain lines in a column containing the cell being addressed, and application of a control gate voltage to the control gates in a row containing the cell being addressed.
One example of such a memory cell is a triple polysilicon, split channel electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM). It is termed a "split channel" device since the floating and control gates extend over adjacent portions of the channel. This results in a transistor structure that operates as two transistors in series, one having a varying threshold in response to the charge level on the floating gate, and another that is unaffected by the floating gate charge but rather which operates in response to the voltage on the control gate as in any normal field effect transistor.
Such a memory cell is termed a "triple polysilicon" cell because it contains three conductive layers of polysilicon material. In addition to the floating and control gates, an erase gate is conventionally included. The erase gate passes through each memory cell transistor closely adjacent to a surface of the floating gate but insulated therefrom by a thin tunnel dielectric. Charge is then removed from the floating gate of the cell to the erase gate, when appropriate voltages are applied to all the transistor elements. An array of EEPROM cells are generally referred to as a "Flash" EEPROM array if an entire array of cells, or a significant group of cells, is erased simultaneously (i.e., in a flash).
Conventionally, to write data into a memory cell, the cell must be first erased and then written. Each of these operations takes approximately ten milliseconds, and each requires, for example, a 20 V supply of voltage. Decoder circuits are used to sustain the needed high voltages at the appropriate cells. These high voltage circuits generally do not scale down in size with the decreasing line widths now attainable with ever improving lithographic techniques. (By comparison, to read a device typically requires three to five volts applied and read cycle times are on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds.) Further, the required step of erasing the floating gate prior to writing data for storage thereon obviously adversely effects the operational speed of a semiconductor array of these type memories.

Semiconductor memory cell and memory array with inversion layer

International Business Machines Corporation


Stored digital data is searched for on the basis of an input image, difference information is extracted by comparing the retrieved digital data and the input image, and the difference information is composited to the digital data. Digital data generated by composition is stored. When no digital data is retrieved, the input image is converted into vector data, and the image that has been converted into the vector data is stored as digital data. Obtained region segmentation information and an input image are composited, the composite image is displayed on an operation screen of an MFP, and a rectangular block to be vectorized is designated as a specific region from the displayed region segmentation information. A user designates the specific region by designating rectangular blocks in an image using a pointing device.

In recent years, amid calls for environmental issues, move to paperless offices has been promoted, and various techniques that handle digital documents have been proposed.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-358863 describes a technique for scanning a paper document by a scanner, converting the scanned data into a digital document format (e.g., JPEG, PDF, or the like), and storing the converted data in image storage means.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-147445 discloses a technique for detecting regions of respective properties contained in a document image, and managing the document as contents for respective regions.
Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-063820 discloses a technique for identifying corresponding digital information on the basis of a scanned input image, and further describes an information processing apparatus which extracts a difference between the input image and digital information, and composites the extracted difference to the identified digital information.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-285378 discloses the following technique. That is, in a digital multi-function peripheral (MFP) (comprising a copy function, scan function, print function, and the like), it is confirmed if a scanned image includes a graphic code indicating a page ID, and if the graphic code is found, a database is searched for the corresponding page ID. If the page ID is found in the database, the currently scanned image is discarded, print data associated with that page ID is read out, and a print image is generated and is printed on a paper sheet by a print operation. On the other hand, if no corresponding page ID is found in the database, the scanned image is directly copied onto a paper sheet in a copy mode, or a PDL command is appended to the scanned image to convert the scanned image into a PDL format, and the converted data is transmitted in a facsimile or filing mode. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-285378 also discloses the following technique. That is, a function-extended recording device and MFP (multi-function peripheral) are used, and original data files of text data, images, and the like are stored in an image storage device. Upon recording a paper document by printing original data file, pointer information in the image storage device that stores the original data file is recorded as additional information on a cover sheet of the paper document or print information. With this technique, the original data file can be directly accessed based on the pointer information, and can be re-used (e.g., it can be edited, printed, or the like), thus reducing the quantities of paper documents to be held.
However, with the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-358863, an image scanned by the scanner can be saved as a JPEG file or PDF file with a compact information size. However, this technique cannot search for a saved file based on the printed document. Hence, when print and scan processes are repeated, the saved digital document image gradually deteriorates. Also, the image scanned by the scanner can be saved as a PDF file with a compact information size. However, this technique cannot search for a saved file based on the printed document, and it is difficult to re-use the saved document. Furthermore, during conversion into a PDF file, other processes cannot be done. On the other hand, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-147445 divides an image into a plurality of regions and allows these regions to be re-usable for respective contents. However, the contents are searched on the basis of a user's instruction, and contents to be used are determined from the found contents. Hence, upon generating a document using the stored contents, the user must determine contents to be used, thus taking a lot of trouble.
On the other hand, since the technique in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-063820 extracts difference information by searching for an original digital document corresponding to the output paper document, information additionally written on the paper document can be held as difference image. However, since the difference information directly handles a scanned image, a large storage capacity is required.
In the technique in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-285378, if no original digital document corresponding to a paper document is found, a PDL command is appended to a scanned image to convert that image into a PDL format. However, when the PDL command is merely appended to the scanned image to convert that image into the PDL format, a relatively large file size is required. Also, in case of a document file having no pointer information to an original data file, an original data file cannot be searched for.


The invention relates to the use of an oral bolus for drying-off cattle, preferably daily cattle, as well as methods of improving/facilitating the drying-off of cattle, reducing the milk production in pregnant and/or lactating cattle, decreasing milk accumulation in the udder of cattle, increasing the daily lying time of cattle, inducing a mild and temporary metabolic acidosis in cattle, reducing the dry matter intake (DMI) in cattle and/or reducing urine pH in cattle, preferably dairy cattle, comprising administering to such cattle at least one oral bolus, preferably on the last milking day and/or before dry-off.

Drying-off cows has been widely recognized as a critical period of the production cycle of cows. It has been suggested, that with increasing milk yields over the last decades, the transition from lactating to dry has progressively become more challenging for cows in terms of animal health and welfare. From an animal health perspective, cessation of milking has been associated with increased risk of new intra-mammary infections that may persist onto the following lactation with detrimental consequences on milk production. One of the factors contributing to this increased risk is the continued milk production in the mammary gland in the immediate period following drying-off: the milk is accumulated in the udder and the increased udder pressure may cause milk leakage (ML) from the teats. Milk leakage may allow microorganisms to colonize the udder coinciding with a moment of impaired natural protective activity in the mammary gland due to the involution process. In addition to ML, the increased intra-mammary pressure after cessation of milking has been suggested to potentially cause discomfort to cows, which in turn may alter lying behavior.
The current state of the art is progressive or brutal cessation of milking combined with change in feeding diet. Drugs like cabergoline may be used. However, cabergoline is a synthetic ergot derivative, which is a potent dopamine receptor agonist on D2 receptors. It acts on dopamine receptors of prolactin producing cells in the pituitary gland suppressing the prolactin production and leading to the inhibition of prolactin secretion dependent process. Consequently, cabergoline administration induces a reduction of milk production leading to a reduction in udder engorgement and intramammary pressure. Cabergoline is registered in some countries for use in dairy cows as an aid in the abrupt drying-off by reducing milk production to reduce milk leakage at drying off, reduce the risk of new intramammary infections during the dry period and reduce discomfort. However, the marketing authorizations for cabergoline in the EU were suspended in 2016 due to suspected serious adverse effects. Rérat M and Schlegel P (Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 2013, 98(3): 458-466) describe the effect of dietary potassium and anionic salts on acid base and mineral status in periparturient cows.
Stokes SR (http://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/86766/pdf_1016.pdf?sequence=1) describes anionic salt programs for close-up dry cows.
US 2002/0150633 describes dry dairy cow supplement.
EP 0 943 246 describes a complete fodder for the feeding of cows during the dry period.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,823 describes an anionic salt formulation for milk fever prevention in dairy cows and treatment method.
Oetzel G R and Miller B E (Journal of Dairy Science 2012, 95(12): 7051-7065) describe the effect of oral calcium bolus supplementation on early-lactation health and milk yield in commercial herds.
There is an urgent need for the improvement/facilitation of drying-off of cattle which overcomes the problems of the prior art.

Use of an oral bolus in the drying-off of dairy cattle


A device for detecting fluorescence generated in a sample medium in a cuvette tube irradiated with light for analysis purposes. The device includes a main element comprising a light source, an optical element mounted on the cuvette tube in optical contact therewith, and a photodetector. The light source is placed on the outside of the cuvette tube so as to send light into the tube in a direction essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis of the tube. The refractive index of the optical element is essentially the same as the refractive index of the wall of the cuvette tube. The photodetector functions to detect fluorescence light which falls on the detector after having passed in the cuvette tube via the optical element.

The detection of sample fractions is an important part of chemical analyses based on HPLC analysis (HPLC=High Performance Liquid Chromatography) and CE analysis (CE=Capillary Electrophoresis). Two procedures employed to this end are UV-absorption detection and fluorescence detection. It is known to use in the case of UV-absorption detection a light source which emits both UV light and visible light. In the case of fluorescence detection, the sample is irradiated with exciting light, therewith causing the sample molecules to fluoresce in a known manner. It is desirable to be able to perform the detection process in a measuring cell consisting of a narrow tube (capillary), both with regard to measuring absorption and fluorescence. In many cases, it is desired to effect the measuring process on-line, i.e. directly in the capillary tube, which forms a separation column for fractions of the sample medium flowing therethrough.
It is also known to perform UV-absorption detection by transmitting a light beam of appropriate wavelength through the cuvette tube, transversely to its longitudinal axis, and onto a photodetector placed on the opposite side of the tube, where the light intensity is detected. A decrease in light intensity between light source and photodetector will therewith constitute a measurement of the concentration of absorbent substances in the sample medium contained in the cuvette tube.
Different methods of increasing the optical path in absorbency measuring processes are also known to the art; Swedish Patent Specification No. 8100194-3 can be mentioned as an example in this respect. This publication discloses an arrangement in which mutually parallel light beams are emitted from a light source located at one end of a cuvette tube, and led into said tube through the medium of an optical element. Subsequent to its passage through the sample medium in the tube, the light is led out of the tube and light beams, which are parallel with the cuvette tube, are led into a detection device. The arrangement can also be used for fluorescence-detecting purposes.


An image formation system includes one or more image data output device for outputting images composed of three primary colors for full color imaging, and imaging system including a printer where beam light is used to selectively transfer image data from any of the image data output device in an optical image memory, a connecting device for selectively connecting more than two of the image data output device to the printer, a detecting device for detecting whether each of the image data output device is connected to the printer, an erasing device for erasing images remnant in the optical image memory, and a control device for receiving output from the detecting device to operate the erasing device at each end of a period for which each data output device has been connected to the printer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image formation system in which beam light is employed to store an image data in an optical image memory and the image stored therein is read and printed out.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,999 discloses a display in which laser light selectively irradiates liquid crystal cell to display an image on the liquid crystal array. According to the invention disclosed therein, heat of the laser light is utilized to partially change a phase of the liquid crystal, and an image can be formed depending upon an irradiation pattern of the laser light. The liquid crystal cell employed is, for example, a smectic liquid crystal.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication SHO/64-20773 discloses a device in which a thermal writing liquid crystal cell device is employed to form an image. According to the invention disclosed therein, transmitting light through a liquid crystal cell layer or reflecting light therefrom irradiates photosensitive material to make a latent image on the photosensitive material, and an image can be formed based upon the latent image. There are provided three kinds of liquid crystal cells where respective images of primary colors, red (R), green (G) and blue (B), are to be written, and a full color image is composed of the three types of images.
In such a conventional image formation system, an image formation device (printer) receives image data from a single image data output means (e.g., computer) to form an image, namely, print out the image.
However, in a system architecture where such a single image formation device is connected to two or more computers for carrying out the print out of the image data from each computer sequentially, in a situation that a previous image is still remnant in the liquid crystal cell device after an access of one of the computers to the image formation device has completed, that is, staying of an image in the liquid crystal cell device by the previous image data from another computer, the different images overlap or mix with each other in the liquid crystal cell device. Thus, there is a disadvantage that a normal image cannot be obtained.

Image formation system employing optical memory


A reference station produces correction signals for a differential position-finding device. The station utilizes a position-finding signal receiver for reception of signals from satellites in a position-finding system and an electronic processor, which is connected by a transmission unit to a radio antenna. The electronic processor is designed to receive position signals from the position-finding signal receiver and to derive correction data from these position signals. The correction data can be modulated by the transmission unit onto a radio frequency signal and can be transmitted via the radio antenna. The processor is connected to an inertial sensor to calculate any position change of the reference station, and to produce an error signal when the calculated magnitude of the position change exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

In agriculture, satellite-based position-finding systems are used, inter alia, for automatic steering of agricultural vehicles, for position-specific recording of data, for example yield data, and for position-specific driving of actuators, for example for the spreading of fertilizers or chemicals.
Satellite-based position-finding systems such as GPS, Glonass or the future Galileo use a plurality of satellites which are in orbit around the earth, are equipped with atomic clocks and in each case transmit electromagnetic (radio) waves which contain time and identity and/or position information. The associated receivers each have to receive the signals from at least three satellites in order to allow them to determine their current position in three dimensions. If, in addition, it is also intended to determine the current time, it is necessary to receive signals from four satellites.
It is also normal practice (see EP 0 660 660 B) to improve the accuracy of position-finding systems by reception of radio signals which contain correction data and are transmitted from reference stations at known locations. These systems are referred to as differential position-finding systems (for example, DGPS). The reference stations receive signals from satellites in the position-finding system and use these signals to derive position information, which they convert to correction data and transmit by means of a radio transmitter to the vehicle, which is equipped with a suitable receiver for reception of the correction data. A computer uses the correction data and the signals received from the satellites to determine the position of the vehicle. On the one hand, so-called wide area systems with stationary and networked reference stations, and on the other hand local reference stations are known, which may be mobile and are in general positioned in the vicinity of the respective field to be worked on, or are installed permanently at elevated locations. One advantage of the use of a local reference station for position finding opposed to a wide area system is the considerably greater accuracy which is achieved because network delay times are avoided, and the correction signal is generated in the immediate vicinity of where it is being used. Systems such as these are used for dynamic measures or for steering of moving machines, because of their high accuracy, and are thus also referred to as Real Time Kinematic (RTK) systems.
Mobile reference stations are subject to a certain risk of being moved during operation, for example because they are blocking a track or the like and are therefore moved out of the way by a third party. A reference station installed on a stand can also be blown over by a relatively strong wind. Any movement of the reference station leads to an analogous movement of a vehicle which has been automatically steered on the field, and thus represents a considerable safety risk.
This is because the reference station cannot itself decide whether the position change is caused by movement of the station itself or leads to the supposition of other errors or faults. In fact, it still transmits the correction data to the vehicle, although this is now based on a new position of the reference station. Since the vehicle computer is now presented with different correction data, it also calculates different position information. Since this differs from the nominal position, a vehicle steering system produces correspondingly counteracting steering data which leads to the undesirable steering movement that has been mentioned, in order to guide the vehicle back onto the nominal path. Only if a position change assumes values which lead to the belief that system-imminent errors or faults are improbable will the reference station transmit a warning message to the vehicle, and will switch the correction signal off. However, by this time the vehicle may already be several meters away from the nominal course.

Mobile reference station for production of correction signals for a differential position-finding device


The present invention provides a method of coupling substrates together. The method includes providing first and second substrates and then coupling the first and second substrates together. One of the first and second substrates includes devices with an interconnect region positioned thereon and the other substrate carries a device structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductors and, more particularly, to forming circuitry using wafer bonding.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advances in semiconductor manufacturing technology have provided computer chips with integrated circuits that include many millions of active and passive electronic devices, along with the interconnects to provide the desired circuit connections. As is well-known, most integrated circuits include laterally oriented active and passive electronic devices that are carried on a single major surface of a substrate. Active devices typically include transistors and passive devices typically include resistors, capacitors, and inductors. However, these laterally oriented devices consume significant amounts of chip area.
For example, a typical computer system includes a main computer chip with a processor circuit, a control circuit, and a memory cache that are carried on a single major surface of a substrate. The typical computer system also includes main memory which is positioned on a separate memory chip outside the main computer chip. Since the memory cache is positioned on the same substrate as the processor and control circuits in the main computer chip, it is often referred to as embedded memory.
The memory cache typically includes fast and expensive memory cells, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) cells, and the main memory typically includes slower and less expensive Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) cells. Both SRAM and DRAM cells are larger than the devices included in the processor and control circuits, with SRAM cells being much larger than DRAM cells. As is well-known in the art, cache memory (L1 cache or L2 cache, for example) is used to store information from a slower storage medium or subsystem, such as the main memory or peripherals like hard disks and CD-ROMs, that is accessed frequently to speed up the operation of the main computer chip.
The operation of the main computer chip is increased because its idle time is reduced. For example, when the processor circuit accesses the main memory, it does so in about 60 nanoseconds (ns) because the main memory is external to the main computer chip and it includes slower memory cells. However, a typical processor circuit can have cycle times of about 2 nanoseconds. As a result, the processor circuit is idle for many cycle times while it accesses the main memory. In this example, there are about 30 wasted cycles while the processor circuit accesses the main memory. The processor circuit, however, can access the cache memory in about 10 ns to 30 ns, so the idle time is significantly reduced if the information needed is temporarily stored in the cache memory. The access time of the processor circuit to a hard disk is even slower at about 10 milliseconds (ms) to 12 ms, and the access time to a CD-ROM drive is about 10 times greater than this. Hence, cache memory uses a small amount of fast and expensive memory to allow the processor circuit faster access to information normally stored by a large amount of slower, less-expensive memory.
With this in mind, it seems like the operation of the computer system can be increased even more by embedding the main memory with the main computer chip so it does not take as long for the processor to access it. One way to embed the main memory to the computer chip is to bond it thereto, as in a 3-D package or a 3-D integrated circuit (IC).
Conventional 3-D packages and 3-D ICs both include a substrate with a memory circuit bonded to it by a bonding region positioned therebetween. The memory circuit typically includes lateral memory devices and the processor circuit typically includes lateral active and passive devices. Further, the memory and processor circuits are prefabricated before the bonding takes place. In both the 3-D package and 3-D ICs, the memory and processor devices are connected to large bonding pads included in respective circuits. However, in the 3-D package, the bonding pads are connected together using wire bonds so that the memory and processor circuits can communicate with each other. In the 3-D IC, the bonding pads are connected together using conductive interconnects which extend therebetween. There are several problems, however, with using 3-D packages and 3-D ICs.
One problem is that the use of wire bonds increases the access time between the processor and memory circuits because the impedance of wire bonds and large contact pads is high. The contact pads are large in 3-D packages to make it easier to attach the wire bonds thereto. Similarly, the contact pads in 3-D ICs have correspondingly large capacitances which also increase the access time between the processor and memory circuits. The contact pads are large in 3-D ICs to make the alignment between the lateral memory devices in the memory circuit, the lateral active and passive devices in the processor circuit, and the conductive interconnects extending therebetween easier. These devices need to be properly aligned with each other and the interconnects because they are fabricated before the bonding takes place. Another problem is that the use of wire bonds is less reliable because the wire bonds can break and become detached.
Another problem with using 3-D packages and 3-D ICs is cost. The use of wire bonds is expensive because it is difficult to attach them between the processor and memory circuits and requires expensive equipment. Further, it requires expensive equipment to align the various devices in the 3-D IC. The bonding and alignment is made even more difficult and expensive because of the trend to scale devices to smaller dimensions.
As mentioned above, the SRAM cells are larger and expensive, so increasing the number of them in the memory circuit would increase the cost of the computer chip dramatically. DRAM cells are less expensive and smaller, but to include them in the memory circuit will still increase the cost. One reason the costs increase for both embedded SRAM and DRAM cells is because they both use a number of masks to fabricate them.
One problem with using lateral memory devices in the memory circuit is their size. The size of a conventional SRAM cell is about 70-120 F2 and the size of a conventional DRAM memory cell is about 15 F2. As is known in the art, 1 F is the minimum photolithographic feature size. For example, if the computer chip is being fabricated using 90 nm lithography, then 1 F corresponds to 90 nm and 1 F2 corresponds to an area that is 90 nm by 90 nm in size. If the computer chip is being fabricated using 60 nm lithography, then 1 F corresponds to 60 nm and 1 F2 corresponds to an area that is 60 nm by 60 nm in size. Hence, to increase the number of memory cells in the memory circuit, the DRAM or SRAM cells would have to be scaled to smaller dimensions, but this requires advances in lithography and increasingly expensive manufacturing equipment. Further, the DRAM and SRAM cells become less accurate and reliable when scaled to smaller dimension.
Accordingly, it is highly desirable to provide new structures and methods for fabricating computer chips which operate faster and are cost effective to fabricate.

Semiconductor bonding and layer transfer method


A method for providing an early packet termination such that prior to the complete transmission of the number of cells specified in the first cell of a packet, a crossbar connection is released. The act of releasing the connection is triggered on recognition of an End of Packet bit (EOP) set in any cell of the stream. The feature can be enabled, for example, by a specific act of setting a register bit, connecting a pin to Vcc or ground or some other intentional act. The feature will default to the inactive state upon reset.

Mainframes, supercomputers, mass storage systems, workstations and very high-resolution display subsystems are frequently connected together to facilitate file and print sharing. Common networks and channels used for these types of connections oftentimes introduce communications bottle necking, especially in cases where the data is in a large file format typical of graphically-based applications.
There are two basic types of data communications connections between processors, and between a processor and peripherals. A "channel" provides a direct or switched point-to-point connection between communicating devices. The channel's primary task is merely to transport data at the highest possible data rate with the least amount of delay. Channels typically perform simple error correction in hardware. A "network," by contrast, is an aggregation of distributed nodes (e.g., workstations, mass storage units) with its own protocol that supports interaction among these nodes. Typically, each node contends for the transmission medium, and each node must be capable of recognizing error conditions on the network and must provide the error management required to recover from the error conditions.
One type of communications interconnect that has been developed Fibre Channel (FC). The Fibre Channel protocol was developed and adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). See, e.g., Fibre Channel Physical and Signaling Interface, Revision 4.3, ANSI (1994) for a detailed discussion of Fibre Channel standard. Briefly, Fibre Channel is a switched protocol that allows concurrent communication among workstations, supercomputers and various peripherals. The total network bandwidth provided by Fibre Channel is on the order of a terabit per second. Fibre Channel is capable of full-duplex transmission of frames at rates exceeding 1 gigabit per second. It is also able to transport commands and data according to existing protocols such as Internet protocol (IP), Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), High Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI) and Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI) over both optical fiber and copper cable.
The Fibre Channel industry indicates that the information explosion and the need for high-performance communications for server-to-storage and server-to-server networking have been the focus of much attention during the 90s. Performance improvements in storage, processors, and workstations, along with the move to distributed architectures such as client/server, have spawned increasingly data-intensive and high-speed networking applications. The interconnect between these systems and their input/output devices demands a new level of performance in reliability, speed, and distance. Fibre Channel, a highly-reliable, gigabit interconnect technology allows concurrent communications among workstations, mainframes, servers, data storage systems, and other peripherals using SCSI and IP protocols. It provides interconnect systems for multiple topologies that can scale to a total system bandwidth on the order of a terabit per second. Fibre Channel delivers a new level of reliability and throughput. Switches, hubs, storage systems, storage devices, and adapters are among the products that are on the market today, providing the ability to implement a total system solution.
Information Technology (IT) systems frequently support two or more interfaces, and sharing a port and media makes sense. This reduces hardware costs and the size of the system, since fewer parts are needed. Fibre Channel, a family of ANSI standards, is a common, efficient transport system supporting multiple protocols or raw data using native Fibre Channel guaranteed delivery services. Profiles define interoperable standards for using Fibre Channel for different protocols or applications.
Fibre Channel, a channel/network standard, contains network features that provide the required connectivity, distance, and protocol multiplexing. It also supports traditional channel features for simplicity, repeatable performance, and guaranteed delivery. Fibre Channel also works as a generic transport mechanism.
Fibre Channel architecture represents a true channel/ network integration with an active, intelligent interconnection among devices. A Fibre Channel port provides management of a simple point-to-point connection. The transmission is isolated from the control protocol, so that point-to-point links, arbitrated loops, and switched topologies are used to meet the specific needs of an application. The fabric is self-managing. Nodes do not need station management, which greatly simplifies implementation.
FIG. 1 illustrates a variable-length frame 11 as described by the A Fibre Channel standard. The variable-length frame 11 comprises a 4-byte start-of-frame (SOF) indicator 12, which is a particular binary sequence indicative of the beginning of the frame 11. The SOF indicator 12 is followed by a 24-byte header 14, which generally specifies, among other things, the frame source address and destination address as well as whether the frame 11 is either control information or actual data. A field of variable-length data 16 follows the header 14. The length of the data 16 is 0 to 2112 bytes. The data 16 is followed successively by a 4-byte CRC (cyclical redundancy check) code 17 for error detection, and by a 4 byte end-of-frame (EOF) indicator 18. The frame 11 of FIG. 1 is much more flexible than a fixed frame and provides for higher performance by accommodating the specific needs of specific applications.
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a representative A Fibre Channel architecture in a A Fibre Channel network 100. A workstation 120, a mainframe 122 and a supercomputer 124 are interconnected with various subsystems (e.g., a tape subsystem 126, a disk subsystem 128, and a display subsystem 130) via a Fibre Channel fabric 110 (i.e., Fibre Channel switch). The fabric 110 is an entity that interconnects various node-ports (N-ports) 140 and their associated workstations, mainframes and peripherals attached to the fabric 110 through the F-ports 142. The essential function of the fabric 110 is to receive frames of data from a source N-port and, using a first protocol, route the frames to a destination N-port. In a preferred embodiment, the first protocol is the Fibre Channel protocol.
Essentially, the Fibre Channel is a channel-network hybrid, containing enough network features to provide the needed connectivity, distance and protocol multiplexing, and enough channel features to retain simplicity, repeatable performance and reliable delivery. Fibre Channel allows for an active, intelligent interconnection scheme, known as a "fabric," or Fibre Channel switch to connect devices. The fabric includes a plurality of fabric-ports (F-ports) that provide for interconnection and frame transfer between a plurality of node-ports (N-ports) attached to associated devices that may include workstations, supercomputers and/or peripherals. The fabric has the capability of routing frames based upon information contained within the frames. The N-port manages the simple point-to-point connection between itself and the fabric. The type of N-port and associated device dictates the rate that the N-port transmits and receives data to and from the fabric. Transmission is isolated from the control protocol so that different topologies (e.g., point-to-point links, rings, multidrop buses, cross point switches) can be implemented.
Switch fabrics that support protocols such as Fibre Channel are generally frame-based and of variable length such that data processing and transfer can be conducted as described, for example in FIGS. 1 and 2 described above. However, there are also switch fabrics that are cell-based that include fixed length data "packets" such as that described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,549, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Cell-based fixed length switches are often utilized for WAN and ATM applications due to their adaptability for the same. Cell-based switches often are associated with a high-speed network interface. This may be used for a high-speed port, such as an ATM port or other high-speed protocol connection. The '549 patent describes a packet switch wherein variable length Ethernet frames are segmented into cells for fixed length cell switching. The cells are then reassembled into the original frame before exiting the switch. Once the frame has been segmented into cells, the cells can be sent through the switch to the destination port where the cells are reassembled into the original Ethernet frame format.
For example, the '549 switch provides a certain number of Ethernet ports and a high-speed network interface. The Ethernet ports are grouped into sets of ports, each set being associated with a packet processing unit. The packet processing units are responsible for receiving Ethernet packets, segmenting them into fixed-size cells and conveying them on a backplane cell bus incorporated within the work group switch.
Each packet processing unit in the switch has associated with it a packet buffer memory. Each packet processing unit monitors traffic on the cell bus and collects all the cells transmitted thereon for reassembly into Ethernet packets in the packet buffer memory. The packet buffer memory is a shared memory to the extent that it relates to the group of eight ports associated with a single packet processing unit, however the packet buffer memories are distributed to the extent that there is one dedicated for each of the packet processing units. Each received Ethernet packet is reassembled in each packet buffer memory because the destination port for the received packet may be one or several ports associated with one or several of the packet processing units.
Also coupled to the cell bus is a switch packet routing controller which monitors cell traffic on the cell bus. For each packet that is received, the switch packet routing controller analyzes the packet to determine which ports, if any, the packet is to be output from. The switch packet routing controller propagates a control cell on the cell bus directing each of the packet processing units how to "route" each packet being assembled thereby. The switch packet routing controller also has associated therewith a routing table memory that collects information on received packets for creating a routing table associating each port with addresses to which it is in communication.
While cell-based switches can be used successfully in WAN and ATM type of applications, use of such switch fabrics can be problematic when the same are connected to frame-based protocols such as Fibre Channel or other SAN applications. Namely, in Fibre Channel frames, the header contains routing information, but no length information. Length is determined by the EOF primitive at the end of the frame, and can be, for example, from 36 to 2148 bytes. The switch does not really parse any higher level protocol, so it does not look for lengths that might be embedded in the payload. If an entire FC frame is buffered to determine the frame (i.e., packet) length to insert into the first cell prior to transmission of the frame, the latency would be undesirable (for example ˜20 μs @1 Gbps). Thus, it has been difficult to use cell-based switch fabrics for Fibre Channel and other similar protocols since the entire Ethernet frame must be received and buffered before segmentation may take place. Moreover, Fibre Channel protocol (and other frame based protocols) typically do not include frame length explicitly. In a crossbar based frame switch, connection duration typically must be specified at the time a connection is established. This creates problems when the two fabrics are utilized together.

Method and apparatus for rendering a cell-based switch useful for frame based application protocols


A method for operating an closed-loop control system for injecting fuel into an internal combustion engine, with the control system having an error correcting capability for deviations that occur in the control signal being processed by the control system, and with the control system having a controlling element, which is embodied as a precontrol, PI-controller that are operated in parallel, and a non-volatile memory for storing deviation signals.

Published German Patent Application No. 32 02 614 is representative of prior art relating to closed-loop control systems with error correction that form the background for the present invention. This patent discloses a device for regulating fuel injection when starting a self-igniting internal combustion engine. The regulating device has a PI-controller (proportional/integral controller) with an upstream counter. The PI-controller is connected to a sensor that detects the crankshaft position of the internal combustion engine.
The PI-controller receives a setpoint value derived from a characteristics field. The characteristics field is derived from operating parameters of the internal combustion engine. A second characteristics field, called a control characteristics field, also is provided. The output value of the second characteristics field is added to the output value of the PI-controller. If any error is detected, the output value of the PI-controller is disabled. An error condition exists, for example, when the sensor, the counter, or other components of the regulating device does not operate properly.

Error-corrected closed-loop control system


A method and apparatus for providing a proof of delivery verification for freight transportation systems. A vehicle transmits an indication of arrival at a destination. A remote station receives the indication and validates the arrival of the vehicle. If the arrival is validated, a proof of delivery verification of a delivery associated with the arrival is provided to a shipper, carrier, or other interested party.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the freight transportation industry and more particularly to a method and apparatus for providing proof of delivery verification for use in such freight transportation systems.
II. Description of the Related Art
Throughout much of the world today, the primary transportation system used to move goods from one location to another is by tractor-trailer vehicles. Such vehicles provide trucking companies, or carriers as they are known, with the capability and flexibility to transport large amounts of goods to multiple destinations efficiently.
In a typical transaction, a carrier is called upon to transport goods from one location to another by a customer, otherwise known as a shipper. Examples of shippers might include almost any manufacturer of goods. The shipper provides delivery instructions to the carrier comprising details of the shipment, including, for example, when and where to pick up the goods and where to ship them. Generally, these instructions are provided to the carrier and the carrier dispatches a vehicle to transport the goods. The instructions pertaining to the shipment are provided to vehicle operator in the form of a document commonly referred to as a "bill of lading". The bill of lading may also provide other pertinent information concerning the shipment, such as a description and quantity of the goods being shipped.
The vehicle arrives at the shipper and is loaded with goods in accordance with the bill of lading. After the vehicle has been loaded, the vehicle operator may secure the goods by locking an access door, such as a roll-down door of a trailer. In addition, a seal may be installed proximate to the door to prove that the door was not opened during transit.
When the vehicle arrives at the intended destination, commonly known as a consignee, the trailer door is unlocked and the seal is broken, if these were used by the vehicle operator. The goods are then unloaded and received by the consignee. The consignee will generally sign the bill of lading signifying that the goods were received and also denoting the time and date of the delivery. The signed bill of lading is then generally given to the vehicle operator.
The vehicle operator then departs the consignee. However, instead of returning directly to the carrier, he or she may proceed to another pick-up destination. In many cases, the vehicle operator will be many hundreds of miles away from the carrier or a branch office associated with the carrier, making a direct return impractical. Thus, in many instances, the vehicle operator continues to make other pick-ups and deliveries of goods before returning to the dispatch center. It may take several days or even weeks before the vehicle operator returns to the dispatch center.
The carrier is generally paid for the delivery by submitting an invoice to the shipper after the delivery is made. The invoice typically includes a copy of the signed bill of lading. In most cases, the signed bill of lading is an extremely important document, as it evidences proof of delivery for the accompanying invoice. Many consignees will not pay such an invoice without a copy of the signed bill of lading or similar document evidencing delivery.
Unfortunately, the delay in obtaining signed bills of lading from vehicle operators introduces many problems for carriers. The bills of lading are sometimes lost or destroyed, or they may become unreadable. A complicated accounting process must be used to match invoices to their respective bills of lading. Most importantly, the delay in returning the bill of lading to the carrier by the vehicle operator means a delay of payment from the consignee.
What is needed is an efficient method and apparatus for quickly providing a proof of delivery verification to various parties involved in the transportation of goods to eliminate the just-mentioned problems. Ideally, the method and apparatus should be able to prove that the goods were not accessed during transit without the use of seals, which are generally easily compromised.

Method and apparatus for providing a proof of delivery verification for freight transportation systems


A database language is extended to define constraints on a data model (e.g., entity-relationship model) rather than the concrete database. The constraints can be declarative (e.g., constraints that are defined using expressions of the database language) or programmatic (e.g., constraints that are defined as a stored procedure implemented in a domain specific language). By storing the constraints at a higher level than the database level, the constraints can be performed without changing the persistency of the database. Also disclosed are techniques for handling of constraints on partially loaded entities.

Many database structures rely upon Structured Query Language (SQL) as the standard approach to define, read, and manipulate data within a database. The database can include constraints and triggers used to specify rules for data in a database table. A constraint defines properties that data stored in a database must comply with. The constraint can be applied to a column, table, multiple tables, or an entire database schema.
A database trigger is code that is automatically executed in response to an event for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of data on the database. For example, when a new record is added to an employees' table, a new record should also be added in the salaries table for the new employee. The constraints and triggers belong to a Data Manipulation Language (DML) and are used to add data level validation checks (i.e., checks are added to concrete database tables) that are executed when data is modified on a database table. Modification can include executing insert, update, and delete statements.
Violation of a constraint results in reverting the change in the database and writing out a corresponding error message. By definition these constraints and triggers are only applied when data changes in the database table. Thus, there is a need for techniques for expanding the use of constraints and triggers beyond when data is modified within a database table.

Advanced data models containing declarative and programmatic constraints


A conjugated or partially conjugated polymer including a structural unit of Formula (I); where T is an aryl or heteroaryl group that may be substituted or unsubstituted, or a C1-C24 alkyl group; R1 is alkyl, alkoxy, aryl group, cyano, or F; and a and b are independently selected from 1, 2 or 3. In addition, a composition of Formula (IV); wherein X is a halogen or a boronate group.

Fluorene based conjugated polymers are known to have interesting optoelectronic properties. Several reports have demonstrated blue light emission from fluorene homopolymers e.g., A. W. Grice; D. D. C. Bradley, M. T. Bernius; M. Inbasekaran, W. Wu, E. P. Woo; Appl. Phys. Lett. 1998, 73, Y. Young and Q. Pei; J. Appl. Phys. 81, 3294 (1997). By incorporating different aromatic functional groups into the polymer chain, fluorene-based conjugated polymers have demonstrated different emissive colors with the emissive spectra spanning the entire visible range (400-700 nm) (M. T. Bernius, M. Inbasekaran, J. O'Brien, W. Wu, Adv. Mater. 2000, 12, 1737). Efficient and stable electroluminescence needs efficient injection of holes and electrons into a light-emitting polymer layer from anode and cathode, respectively. Due to the energy mismatch between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of fluorene homopolymers and the work function of the anode (ITO), the hole-injection of fluorene homopolymers is inefficient. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,309,763, 6,353,083 and 5,879,821 teach the incorporation of triarylamines into fluorene-based polymers as hole-transporting moieties to improve the electroluminescent properties of fluorene-based polymers. US 2004127666 further discovered that the inclusion of tricyclic arylamine in the main chain of a fluorene-based optoelectronic polymer provides further improved conductivity at low voltages as well as higher device efficiency compared to polyfluorenes having other charge transporting groups such as acyclic triarylamines as stated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,083.
A need remains for discovering new aromatic amine monomers to develop optoelectronic materials and devices that exhibit improved efficiency and lifetime, and emit light in a variety of colors. Of special interest is a need to discover new aromatic amines that are suitable to be incorporated into fluorene-based polymers to offer deeper blue emission with good hole-injection and hole-transporting properties. It still remains a challenge to design an aromatic amine with wide HOMO-LUMO bandgap (>2.9 eV) to enable a deep blue emission while at the same time to keep the HOMO level to be shallow (close to −5.0 eV) to facilitate hole-injection from anode in a light-emitting device.

Biscarbazol-9-yl-substituted triarylamine-containing polymers and electronic devices


A hydraulic operated tool includes a body (B), a pair of jaws (21) mounted with respect to the body so that at least one of the jaws is movable between an opened jaw position and a closed jaw position so as to engage workpiece (W) between the jaws. A ram assembly (2) is disposed in the body and is operatively associated with the jaws. Spring structure (1) causes the ram assembly to move thereby causing the jaws to initially engage the workpiece with a first force. A pump assembly (7) exerts fluid on the ram assembly to move the ram assembly further, causing the jaws to exert a second force, greater than the first force, on the workpiece.

Conventional locking pliers such as the Vise-Grip® pliers having a mechanical system that once tripped, allows the pliers to stay latched on to the work that it has grasped. However, it takes substantial hand strength to set the conventional locking pliers and even more strength to release its hold on the work.
There is a need to provide a hydraulically powered hand tool that requires a relatively low input force, provides significant output force, and that is easy to disengage from the work.