A reference pH sensor, the preparation and application thereof. The reference pH sensor is an extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET) structure and comprises a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) on a semiconductor substrate, a sensing unit comprising a substrate, a solid-state conductive sensing layer on the substrate, and a polypyrrole layer on the solid-state conductive sensing layer, and a metal wire connecting the MOSFET and the sensing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pH sensor, and in particular to a planar solid-state reference electrode of a pH sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since there are many drawbacks to the practical application of the conventional organic quantitative analysis, such as complicated operation, long analysis time, expensive equipments, inapplicability for the detection of a continuous process and the like. [J. U. Chen, Biological Industry, Vol. 4(3), 1993, pp. 205-212; D. G. Huang, W. S. Chen, and R. C. Hsu, Biological Industry, Vol. 7(4), 1996, pp. 291-298; S. Zhang, G. Wright, and Y. Yang, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Vol. 15, 2000, pp. 273-282] Studies to discover a solution that can overcome disadvantages associated with the conventional quantitative analysis have been carried out. As a result, a biosensor is designed by combining the theories of biochemistry, electrical circuit, material science, and optics to meet the requirements of various fields.
The ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) was first disclosed by P. Bergveld in 1970 [P. Bergveld, IEEE Tran. on Biomed. Eng., Vol. BME-17, 1970, pp. 710-714]. The device is a product of applied electrochemistry and microelectronics, and has an ion selection function and FET properties. The ion-sensitive device is strictly different from the conventional ion selection electrode. The ISFET is a semiconductor pH sensor in which the metal on the gate of the metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is removed to expose the silicon dioxide layer. When the ISFET is placed into an aqueous solution, the exposed silicon dioxide layer detects the Zeta potential produced from the aqueous solution such that the purpose of sensing the ion concentration in the aqueous solution can be achieved. The related studies on ISFET, such as material improvement [Manuela Adami et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 24-25, 1995, pp. 889-893; A. S. Poghossian et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 7, 1992, pp. 367-370; T. Katsube et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 2, 1982, pp. 399-410], the study and miniaturization of reference electrodes [S. D. Collins et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 10, 1993, pp. 169-178; Yuri G. Vlasov, Andrey V. Bratov, Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 10, 1992, pp. 1-6; C. Diekmann et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 24-25, 1995, pp. 276-278], the improvement of structures [C. Cane et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 35-36, 1996, pp. 136-140; Pavel Neuzil et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 24-25, 1995, pp. 232-235] and the like have been discussed.
An extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET) is an element developed from ISFET, provided firstly by J. Spiegel [J. Van Der Spiegel et al., Sensors and Actuators, Vol. 4, 1983, pp. 291-298], and unlike ISFET, the EGFET preserves the original gate in the MOSFET and has a sensing membrane plated on the other end extended from the metal gate. Compared with ISFET, the EGFET has the following advantages: (1) electrostatic protection is provided by the conductive wire on the element; (2) elimination of direct contact between the transistor of the element and the aqueous solution; (3) the effect of light on the element being reduced [P. Bergveld and A. Sibbald, "Analytical and Biomedical Application of Ion-Sensitive Field Effect Transistor", published by Elsevier science, New York, 1988, pp. 2-60].
A reference electrode is a type of electrochemical sensing device, which is an electrode used to establish a standard reference potential corresponding to the different standard potential of the solution to be detected. The feature of the reference electrode is that the surface potential of the reference electrode remains stable in different solutions and avoids deviation of the sensitivity of the sensing device caused by different detected solutions. A reference electrode commonly used on an ordinary electrochemical sensing device is a calomel electrode or a silver/silver chloride electrode, but most reference electrodes are wet reference electrodes, and therefore, those reference electrodes cannot be miniaturized, and must be immersed into an associated buffer solution for a long period, which is inconvenient both for its use and storage. Hence, in order to achieve the objects of miniaturized fabrication and dry storage, the reference electrode design is an important subject of study and there are many related articles having discussions regarding this aspect. Referring to articles on pH ISFET, it is found that the miniaturization of a reference electrode is a present tendency of the sensing device development, while current methods of fabrication include: micro-electromechanical processing, silver/silver chloride membrane deposition, differential pair circuit design [Huixian Zhu et al., Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 46, 1998, pp. 155-159; Joseph J. Pancrazio et al., Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Vol. 13, 1998, pp. 971-979; N. Zine et al., "Multisensor Silicon Needle for Cardiac Applications", Proceedings of The 1st Annual International Conference on Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology, 2000, pp. 216-219 R. J. Reay et al., "An Integrated CMOS Potentiostat for Miniaturized Electroanalytical Instrumentation", Proceedings of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 1994, pp. 162-163].
Patents disclosing conventional techniques include: U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,246 to Andy D. C. Chan discloses a material for establishing solid-state contact for ion selective electrodes which is a polymeric material forming a stable, reproducible interface between the ionic and electronic domains of an ion selective sensor, or an ion selective field effect transistor, or the like. When employed in an ion selective sensor, the polymeric material provides a solid internal reference electrode and an ion selective material. U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,208 to the inventors discloses fabrication of a multi-structure ion sensitive field effect transistor with a pH sensing layer of a tin oxide thin film. The multi-structure ISFET has high performances such as a linear pH sensitivity of approximately about 56-58 mV/pH in a concentration range between pH 2 and pH 10, a low drift value of approximately 5 mV/day, and response time of less than 0.1 seconds. This device has other advantages, such as the inexpensive fabrication system, low cost, and mass production.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,085 to Byung Ki Sohn discloses a measuring circuit with a biosensor utilizing ion sensitive field effect transistors. The circuit has advantages of being a simple structure and easy to integrate, which comprises two ISFETs as inputs, one is an enzyme field effect transistor (enzyme EFT), and the other is the reference FET. The circuit has various amplification functions to amplify the sensed output of the sensing device. The voltage variation of ISFET was raised through using an unsteady semi-reference electrode that could be affected by the change of the temperature, so that the working characteristic of the device could be adjusted by changing the gain of read-out circuit. The ISFET biosensor can be provided on a single chip in combination with a measuring circuit to achieve the miniaturization of the sensing device. U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,122 to Teruaki Katsube, Shuichiro Yamaguchi, Naoto Uchida, and Takeshi discloses an apparatus for forming thin film which is a hydrophobic membrane to be used as the reference electrode of an ISFET. The hydrophobic membrane is grown on a substrate by neutral plasma deposition or by sputtering. The apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, an atom beam generator, a target base, and a shield for growth controlling. The thin membrane was suitable for an ion sensor, such as an ISFET, and an enzyme sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,084 to Satsuki Komatsu discloses an apparatus for measuring ion concentration of a specific ion contained in a test liquid. The measurement is performed with the aid of a reference electrode and an ion sensitive field effect transistor having a gate portion selectively sensitive to the specific ion, including a series circuit of a reference resistor and a constant voltage supply source connected across drain and source of the ion sensitive field effect transistor, a potential control circuit having inputs connected across the reference resistor to detect a potential difference across the reference resistor for controlling a source or drain potential of the ion sensitive field effect transistor, in such a manner that the potential difference remains at a predetermined value, and a voltmeter for measuring the source or drain potential as a measure of the ion concentration. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,467 to Mathias Krauss, Beate Hildebrandt, Christian Kunath, and Eberhard Kurth discloses a circuit for measuring ion concentrations in solutions. A framework for measuring the ion concentration in the solution by using an ISFET circuit layout is provided. The circuit layout could expose the gate voltage difference of the FET and the parameter/environmental deviation caused by operation factors. The circuit layout comprises two measurement/test amplifiers, two ISFETs, and two identical FETs. The two ISFETs are connected to the two FET respectively, and the output from the first amplifier displays the gate voltage change between two ISFETs and FETs, and the second amplifier displays the output difference of two ISFET. The output of the first amplifier is the ground reference electrode that connected to 4 reference electrodes. Thus, the framework is capable of detecting the ion concentration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,292 to Ernst J., and Maria D. discloses a process for manufacturing a REFET or a CHEMFET. The process for manufacturing a REFET and/or CHEMFET comprises (a) covalent bonding of a hydrophilic polymer layer to an isolator layer applied to a semiconductor material; (b) the absorption of water or an aqueous solution into said hydrophilic polymer layer; and (c) the binding of a hydrophobic polymer layer to the water holding hydrophilic polymer layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,619 to Shabrang Mani, Babinec Susan J., and Varjian Richard D. discloses an improved electrochromic device. The improved electrochromic device has an electrochromic electrode in contact with an ion conductor, and the ion conductor in turn being in contact with a layer of gold. The improvement is to interpose a layer of ruthenium oxide between the ion conductor and the layer of gold. The layer of ruthenium oxide is not an electrochromic material.
From these disclosures, it can be seen that the conventional techniques still have many drawbacks and are not designed well, and the improvement for a solid-state dry reference electrode and a planar sensing device framework is still required.

Reference pH sensor, preparation and application thereof

National Yunlin University of Science and Technology


A text-compression technique utilizes a plurality of word-number mappers ("WNMs") in a frequency-ordered hierarchical structure. The particular structure of the set of WNMs depends on the specific encoding regime, but can be summarized as follows. Each WNM in the set is characterized by an ordinal WNM number and a WNM size (maximum number of tokens) that is in general a non-decreasing function of the WNM number. A given token is assigned a number pair, the first being one of the WNM numbers, and the second being the token's position or number in that WNM. Typically, the most frequently occurring tokens are mapped with a smaller-numbered WNM. The set of WNMs is generated on a first pass through the database to be compressed. The database is parsed into tokens, and a rank-order list based on the frequency of occurrence is generated. This list is partitioned in a manner to define the set of WNMs. Actual compression of the data base occurs on a second pass, using the set of WNMs generated on the first pass. The database is parsed into tokens, and for each token, the set of WNMs is searched to find the token. Once the token is found, it is assigned the appropriate number pair and is encoded. This proceeds until the entire database has been compressed.

The present invention relates generally to data compression techniques, and more specifically to a text compression technique that is suitable for compressing text databases having a large number of different words.
Computer users are coming to expect large text databases at their fingertips, and this trend will continue as portable and hand-held computerized devices become more common. Compression ratio is a major issue, since many of the reference works that are candidates for being made available are rather long. A separate issue is whether the text has to be decompressed in order to search for particular strings. Many techniques are efficient in terms of compression ratio, but are context sensitive (i.e., searching the text requires decompression and decompressing one part requires decompressing other unrelated parts). This extra decompression step may slow down the search process to an unacceptable degree, thereby necessitating the use of faster (more expensive) hardware components.
One technique that has shown considerable promise and that has found its way into a number of commercial products in the last few years uses a data structure referred to as a word-number mapper ("WNM"). The WNM can be regarded conceptually as a table wherein each distinct word and punctuation mark, referred to as a token, in the database has an associated unique number. The table thus provides a unique bidirectional word-number mapping. The actual WNM is implemented as a highly compressed data structure.
Compression of the database occurs generally as follows. First the text is parsed into a sequence of alternating word and punctuation mark tokens, which are accumulated to build up the table. The table only includes one entry for each token type, no matter how often that type occurs in the text database. In a second pass, the text is again parsed into tokens, and each token is encoded by its unique number in the table. In one regime, most of the tokens are encoded as a two-byte number, but some are encoded as a single byte. By way of specific example, the Bible was found to have approximately 13,000 different token types while the Physician's Desk Reference was found to have approximately 25,000 different token types.
Decompression is the inverse process to compression. The numerical codes in the compressed string are converted to the corresponding uncompressed tokens using the same WNM that was used to compress the text in the first place. Account must be taken of the manner that the string of numerical codes was stored in the compression process.

Text-compression technique using frequency-ordered array of word-number mappers


A clock timer having a face comprising a mouth, eyes, a nose, and an arm secured to the nose. Rotation of the nose turns a shaft which, via a camming mechanism, forces a plate housed within the clock upward. As the plate moves upward, a rack formed in the plate drives a gear mechanism which rotates the mouth and eyes from a smiling orientation to a frowning orientation. Rotation of the shaft also rotates a timer housed within the clock. Upon expiration of the timer the shaft is rotated in the opposite direction, thereby lowering the plate, driving the gear mechanism, and rotating the mouth and eyes from their frowning orientation to their smiling orientation, and activating a bell housed in the timer.

It is very common today, when disciplining children, to use what is known as a "time out" when the child has misbehaved. The time out is a period of time where the child is removed from a situation and required to sit quietly. Timing mechanisms, or clock timers, can be used to measure the length of the time out period.
Timers are well known in the art. Such timers, upon expiration of a desired length of time, typically actuate a bell, buzzer or other audible signal in order to communicate to an individual the expiration of the time period.
These timers are not visually oriented and are not designed with children in mind.

Clock timer with clock face transforming from a frowning orientation to a smiling orientation


A front end hood for an endoscope allows an observation image of a portion which is transmitted through the transparent front end hood to be less distorted, and produces an excellent observation image even in a periphery of a wide visual field. An optically transparent front end hood projects from a front end insertion portion of an endoscope so that an observation port located in the front end face of the front end insertion portion is positioned inside the front end hood. A portion of the front end hood may be formed into a spherical shape, the diameter of which decreases toward the opening end of the front end hood.

The present invention relates to a front end hood fixedly secured to or detachably attached to a front end portion of an endoscope.
The front end hood is widely used to carry out various endoscopic treatments efficiently with safety since the front end hood provided on the front end portion of an endoscope can ensure a sufficient distance between the endoscope and an object to be subjected to the required treatment. Even if the object exists in a narrow space where the endoscope cannot be separated from the object, the front end hood ensures such a distance to enable the endoscopic observation.
For example, Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. 9-66091 discloses an endoscope equipped with a front end hood or cap 92 in combination with a high-frequency snaring treatment tool 97 as shown in FIG. 23. The mucosa of a diseased part is previously pulled into the front end hood 92 by means of suction, and the root portion of the diseased part is then tightened and snared with the high-frequency snaring treatment tool 97.
To enable the endoscopic observation in a wide visual field, the front end hood 92 is made of an optically transparent material so that the object can be observed through the front end hood 92 in the peripheral portion of the visual field.
However, the light beam from the object to be observed is inevitably passed in an inclined manner through the front end hood 92 in the peripheral portion of the visual field as shown by an arrow in FIG. 23, and therefore, the observed image of the object in the peripheral portion of the visual field is distorted.


A buffer memory continues storing AV data having time code added thereto, which data is supplied from a time code adding unit. A drive reads the AV data stored in the buffer memory and records the AV data onto an optical disc. When an instruction to pause recording is inputted, the drive stops recording the AV data onto the optical disc, while the buffer memory continues storing newest AV data. When an instruction to resume recording is inputted within a predetermined time, the drive reads the AV data after the time of input of the pause instruction from the buffer memory, and records the AV data onto the optical disc. Thus the AV data picked up during the pause period is recorded on the optical disc. Consequently, the possibility of missing taking desired video (audio) can be reduced.

The present invention relates to data processing, and particularly to data processing that ensures more the recording of video (audio) desired by a user.
Conventionally, a video recording apparatus such as a camcorder (trademark), for example, starts recording video and audio onto a recording medium when an operation for giving an instruction to start recording is inputted from a user, and ends the recording of video and audio onto the recording medium when an operation for giving an instruction to end recording is inputted from the user. When an operation for giving an instruction to pause recording is inputted during the recording of video and audio, the video recording apparatus stops recording the video and audio onto the recording medium, and when an operation for canceling the pause is thereafter inputted, the video recording apparatus resumes recording the video and audio onto the recording medium.
However, the conventional video recording apparatus has a problem in that when a scene occurs which the user desires to take immediately after the video recording apparatus stops recording video and audio according to a pause instruction, the video recording apparatus may be unable to record the video desired by the user. The user often misses taking a desired scene especially when taking a subject such as a child, a pet or the like, whose movement is difficult to predict. Also, a video recording apparatus for professional use as used for news, for example, may be unable to record video desired by a cameraperson when an event or an accident occurs immediately after the cameraperson pauses video recording by the video recoding apparatus.


A method for reducing areas of friction within a forming die that includes identifying at least one region of interest in the forming die, wherein the at least one region of interest further includes a problematic aspect of a predetermined nature; designing a die segment corresponding to the at least one region of interest, wherein the die segment further includes at least one ultrasonic transducer embedded therein; modifying the forming die to receive the die segment; installing the die segment in the forming die and acoustically isolating the die segment from the remainder of the forming die; and energizing the ultrasonic transducer to provide ultrasonic energy to the die segment, wherein providing ultrasonic energy to the die segment addresses the problematic aspect of the at least one region of interest in the forming die.

The described invention relates in general to manufacturing systems and methods and more specifically to a system and method for applying ultrasonic excitation to segmented dies used in manufacturing processes such as those used in the automotive industry.
The potential of using ultrasonic vibrations to reduce friction during sheet metal forming processes, e.g. in deep drawing, has been recognized and investigated over the years, with favorable results having been reported, both in forming processes, and in the fundamental mechanics of friction reduction. One sheet metal forming area where ultrasonic friction reduction would presumably have a major benefit is in the forming/stamping of auto body parts. In this field, new challenges are continually emerging as efforts are made to form higher strength steel and aluminum alloys having complex shapes. However, in forming and stamping of auto body parts and the like, large steel dies, blank holders and punches are used, not uncommonly having weights in excess of several thousand kilograms and lateral dimensions on orders of meters and of significant thicknesses. Unfortunately, achieving ultrasonic excitation of such large masses is beyond the current capabilities of high power ultrasonic systems and would seemingly rule out this field of application. Furthermore, current industry methods for friction alleviation typically involve the application of coatings to a die surface, which has the disadvantages of (i) requiring renewal as it wears away with repeated stampings; (ii) leaving residues on the stamped sheet metal surfaces which must be later removed; and (iii) the subsequent disposal of those residues.
However, three primary factors suggest that there are significant applications for high power ultrasonics (HPU) in the forming of auto body parts and the like. First, in the stamping of auto parts, it has been observed that only certain critical areas of a die are unusually challenging to the forming operation. Thus, while a die may indeed be of large size and mass, only a comparatively small region might have a form or shape factor that may compromise die performance. Accordingly, the amount of die volume/mass associated with a problem region could be within a range that could be feasibly vibrated by ultrasonic vibrations, provided that region could be acoustically isolated from the remaining die mass. Secondly, it is current practice to segment portions of a die for various purposes, but most notably to permit repair or replacement of high wear regions. Although it would seem that the boundaries of the segmented regions would be susceptible to causing marking of the stamped parts, the stamping process is actually fairly tolerant of die surface details insofar as part markings Thirdly, through prior work on ultrasonic friction reduction, processes have been developed for acoustically isolating and securing ultrasonically excited blocks that are believed able to find application to the present issue of both ultrasonically vibrating a die segment and securing it within an overall die structure. Thus, there is an ongoing need for a system for applying ultrasonic excitation to segmented dies.


A method of virtually tuning an audio system that incorporates an acoustic compensation system, where the audio system is adapted to play audio signals in a listening environment over one or more sound transducers. The acoustic compensation system has an audio sensor located at a sensor location in the listening environment. The transfer functions from each sound transducer to the audio sensor location are inherent. The method contemplates recording noise at the sensor location, and creating virtual transfer functions from each sound transducer to the sensor location based on the inherent transfer functions from each sound transducer to the sensor location. Audio signals are processed through the virtual sound transducer to sensor location transfer functions. A virtual sensor signal is created by combining the audio signals processed through the virtual sound transducer to sensor location transfer functions with the noise recorded at the sensor location.

Audio systems can include the capability to change one or more parameters of the audio signals to cause a desired effect in the sound perceived by a listener in the listening environment. The effects caused are typically variation of the signal level and/or the equalization of the sound in the listening environment. Audio system designers developing systems for use in noisy environments, such as motor vehicle cabins, airports, restaurants, etc., desire to use the systems in the actual environment while retaining the capacity to tune the system's dynamic parameters, with the aim of developing a system that performs well under different conditions of the listening environment. This effort requires repeated and extensive use of the listening environment under actual use conditions, which can be difficult and expensive.
Some audio systems for listening environments in which noise in the listening environment can change are dynamically adjusted in an attempt to account for the changes in noise. One example of such an environment is the cabin of a motor vehicle. Engine sounds, road noise, and noise from other conditions of the listening environment such as wind noise associated with the state of the vehicle windows (up, partially open or fully open) affect the perception of sounds being played over the audio system. One acoustic compensation system senses the sound in a motor vehicle interior, extracts the noise from the sensed sound, and adjusts the audio signals in a predetermined manner to account for the noise. For example, the reproduction level, dynamic range, and frequency response can be varied based on an analysis of the noise.
It can also be desirable to alter the perception of engine sounds in a vehicle cabin, for example by canceling or enhancing them. Audio systems incorporating acoustic compensation systems can accomplish this by creating audio signals based on the engine harmonics.
Systems that allow virtual evaluation of certain aspects of audio systems are known. For example, virtual listening via headphones can be used for subjective evaluation. Such virtual listening systems can include the addition of pre-recorded noise to the audio output, to mimic the actual environment.


In an integrated circuit carrier having a large number of power pins allocated to an internal power plane, the current flowing through the power pins may divide very unevenly, and result in current flow through some of the power pins which exceeds the maximum specification for either the package pin or for the socket into which the package may be inserted. In such a package, the magnitude of the current flowing through the highest current power pin may be reduced by configuring the resistance of the power plane(s) and vias to provide approximately the same total resistance to every power pin location. Slots may be cut in a package power plane to alter the current path and raise the impedance of the conduction path between some of the package power pins and the internal contact pads otherwise having the lowest impedance. If the package, such as a pin-grid-array package, includes more than one row of pins along an edge of the package, the internal package vias may be arranged to provide an impedance from die footprint to the outer row of pins which is not substantially higher than that of the inner row of pins. In this fashion the aggregate current carrying capacity of the carrier may be increased by reducing the difference in current flow between power pins having the highest current flow and power pins having the lowest current flow. The current flow through all the power pins may then be operated nearer to the design maximum of the particular connector used, or the design maximum of the carrier itself.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to conductive planes within an integrated circuit carrier, such as a pin grid array package, for conveying power/ground to an integrated circuit attached to the carrier, and particularly relates to improving uniformity in current flowing through each of a plurality of external electrodes of the carrier connected to such a conductive plane.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuit carriers are well known in the art, and a wide variety of such integrated circuit carriers are readily available. Each type of carrier provides a physical body to which an integrated circuit die is attached, and usually affords a moderate to great deal of physical protection for the integrated circuit die. Frequently such integrated circuit carriers provide an enclosure having a cavity within which the die is attached and which is then covered by a protective lid. Other integrated circuit carriers protect an attached die using a molded plastic resin which surrounds the die. Typically, such carriers provide an electrical connection to the integrated circuit attached to the carrier by way of a number of external electrodes. For certain types of xe2x80x9cleadedxe2x80x9d carriers, such as a pin-grid-array (PGA) package, the external electrodes are package pins which extend from the body of the package. An example of such a package is shown in FIG. 1, which shows an integrated circuit carrier 100 having a body 102 and a number of external pins (one of which is labeled 104) extending from the bottom surface of the body 102. Other types of carriers provide external electrodes which are accessible on the surface of the carrier body, as with many xe2x80x9cleadlessxe2x80x9d chip carriers (LCCs). Another type of package is shown in FIG. 2, which shows a ball-grid-array package 110, having a ceramic body 112 and a number of external compressible xe2x80x9cballsxe2x80x9d (one of which is labeled 114) extending from the bottom surface of the body 112.
PGA packages are readily available in both ceramic and plastic versions. While these package types are well known in the art, for clarity an orthogonal view of a ceramic PGA package is illustrated in FIG. 3, while an orthogonal view of a plastic PGA package is illustrated in FIG. 4.
As is well known in the art, integrated circuit carriers frequently include multiple wiring layers for making electrical interconnections within the carrier. Some of these layers may be arranged to provide a number of respective interconnections between a respective external electrode and a respective internal contact pad, and are typically used to route signals to or from the integrated circuit. The internal contact pads of the carrier may be arranged to provide for wire bond connections between the internal contact pads of the carrier and the bond pads within the integrated circuit die. Alternatively, the internal contact pads may be arranged to provide for solder bump connections to the die. Other layers may be arranged to provide one or more large planar conductive areas within the layer. Frequently such a conductive plane occupies an entire layer, and is often used to convey a power supply voltage (or a xe2x80x9cgroundxe2x80x9d reference voltage) received on one or more external electrodes to one or more internal contact pads, which then are connected to the die by way of wire bonds, solder bumps, or other structures. In its simplest form, an integrated circuit carrier need only include one wiring layer, but most high performance carriers usually include several wiring layers. Vias are used within the carrier to couple a trace on one layer to a trace on another layer (or to a conductive plane).
Conductive planes are also frequently incorporated into portions of one or more wiring layers within an integrated circuit carrier. Such conductive planes provide an effective way to convey power supply voltages (as well as a xe2x80x9cgroundxe2x80x9d reference voltage) to integrated circuit in a manner that has both low impedance and low inductance. These conductive planes are frequently called xe2x80x9cpower planesxe2x80x9d irrespective of whether an actual xe2x80x9cpower supplyxe2x80x9d voltage, a xe2x80x9cgroundxe2x80x9d reference voltage, an analog reference voltage, or some other voltage is actually conveyed on the conductive plane. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cpower planexe2x80x9d should not be viewed as suggesting that a xe2x80x9cpower supplyxe2x80x9d voltage need be conveyed on such a power plane. In some cases, an entire wiring layer is utilized to provide a conductive plane for a particular power supply voltage or ground potential. In other cases, a portion of a wiring layer is used to provide a conductive plane in a region of the carrier.
The power consumption of many integrated circuit devices has increased as a result of ever higher levels of integration, and ever increasing speeds achievable. As a result, devices are commonly available having power dissipations that previously would have been unprecedented. For example, high performance processor devices today dissipate tens of watts and require packages having hundreds of pins. Even with dozens of package pins allocated to each major power supply voltage (e.g., internal VSS (source voltage from external power supply), I/O buffer VSS, internal VDD (drain voltage from external power supply), etc.) the magnitude of the current flowing through each of the power pins of the carrier must not exceed the maximum current specified for either the package or for the connector into which the package is inserted. Most connectors, by design, specify an upper limit for the magnitude of current flowing through each such pin. In some cases, modern connectors are limited to no more than one ampere (i.e., 1 A) of current per connector pin. Even with a large number of pins within the package allocated as power pins for a given power supply or ground connection to a power plane within a printed wiring board, the design of both the integrated circuit die and the package (and at times, the printed wiring board) must ensure that each such power pin conducts a current no higher than the design limit for the particular package and/or connector utilized.
While such maximum current flow limits may be problematic for many kinds of integrated circuits, the problems are particularly worrisome in the case of modern CPU devices, where the amount of current consumed is typically so much greater than with other kinds of devices. Previously, the current limitations per power pin were rarely exceeded, even when scant attention was paid to the amount of current flowing through each power pin. However, as devices conducting far higher currents than in the past are more widely utilized, additional care is needed to ensure that the maximum current per connector pin is not exceeded.
As an example, high performance microprocessor integrated circuits are frequently assembled into pin grid array packages (PGAs) and inserted into a pin grid array socket on a motherboard. The current demanded by such a microprocessor flows from a regulator (or regulator connection) on the motherboard, through the socket, through the pins of the PGA, through one or more power planes within the PGA, then through solder bump connections to xe2x80x9cbonding padsxe2x80x9d of the integrated circuit die itself. Similarly, the ground return current flows from the integrated circuit die, through the solder bumps, power planes, and connector pins, and then to the motherboard. When using motherboards and packages with high conductivity power planes ( less than 1 milliOhm per square), the resistance of the PGA pin sockets (usually about 10 milliOhms) will dominate and the current flow will be relatively well distributed among the various PGA pins allocated to the power plane. However, ceramic PGA packages have significantly higher power plane resistance (e.g., 10 milliOhm per square) which significantly affects the pattern of current flow in the package power planes.
Thicker power planes within the package reduce the effective resistance per square of the power plane, and help distribute the current more evenly to a greater number of power pins of the package. Similarly, the use of multiple power planes in parallel also achieves a lower effective resistance. But such options are not always available when designing packages.
In spite of the long history of package designs that accommodate high pin-count and relatively high-current devices, the particular problems of high current flow through package and/or connector power pins become more difficult with each new generation of microprocessors. Consequently, there is a continuing need for improvements in package design.
Even though an integrated circuit package has a large number of power pins allocated to an internal power plane, the current flowing through the power pins may divide very unevenly, and result in current flow through some of the power pins which exceeds the maximum specification for either the package pin or for the socket into which the package may be inserted. Current flow is much higher through those package pins having a conductive path to one or more of the internal contact pads whose impedance is lower than most of the others. Because the power plane in a printed wiring board to which the package is frequently connected is typically so much lower in impedance than that of the power planes within the package, current flowing from the internal contact pads to the package pins tends to xe2x80x9cdivexe2x80x9d down to the motherboard along the path of least resistance, which path xe2x80x9chogsxe2x80x9d more than the particular package pin""s proportionate share of the total current. The min-to-max current ratio may easily be as high as 1:4, with the highest current package pins well above 1 ampere in current.
The magnitude of the current flowing through the highest current package pins is reduced by configuring the resistance of the pins, the power plane, and vias to provide approximately the same total resistance to every power pin location. Slots may be cut in one of the power planes to alter the current path and raise the impedance of the conduction path between some of the package pins and the internal contact pads otherwise having the lowest impedance. If the package includes more than one row of pins along an edge of the package, the internal package vias may be arranged to provide an impedance from die location to the outer row of pins which is not substantially higher than that of the inner row of pins.
In this fashion the aggregate current carrying capacity of a PGA package may be increased by reducing the difference in current flow between power pins having the highest current flow and power pins having the lowest current flow. The current flow through all the power pins may then be operated nearer to the design maximum of the particular connector used, or the design maximum of the package itself.
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous features and advantages made even more apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the detailed description and accompanying drawings of the embodiments described below. These and other embodiments of the present invention are defined by the claims appended hereto.

Integrated circuit carrier arrangement for reducing non-uniformity in current flow through power pins


An electronic device includes a mold package which encapsulates a portion of the electronic device and does not encapsulate another portion of the electronic device to enable a sensing portion of the electronic device to be exposed to a condition to be sensed. In an electronic sensing device having a sensor formed by a substrate such as silicon, a sensor area is not encapsulated, but areas surrounding the sensor area are encapsulated. The area surrounding the sensor area includes one or more trenches or interlock structures formed in the surrounding substrate which receives the mold material to provide an interlock feature. The interlock feature reduces or substantially prevents the mold from delaminating at an interface of the mold and the substrate.

Mold packages are used to encapsulate electronic devices, including semiconductor chips, to protect from undesirable environmental conditions. Such undesirable conditions include light, heat, humidity, dust, and physical shock. In particular, mold packages are widely used in sensor applications and application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and integrated circuit (IC) packaging since the mold packages provide a low cost package suited for high volume applications. Most packaging includes the use of a black plastic material, typically including epoxy molding compounds. While many electronic components are completely covered by the mold, except for the contacts extending from the component itself, sensors of many types require a mold package that does not completely cover the device.
Many sensors directly interact with the environment being sensed and therefore require direct access to the sensed environment. Such sensors include gas-sensors, pressure sensors, bio-sensors, finger-print sensors, and humidity sensors. For these types of sensors, an "exposed-die package" is used which provides a mold which does not cover a predetermined area of the sensor which includes the structure of the sensor providing the sensing function. The drawback of such packages, however, is that since the entire device is not covered by the mold, there is a high probability of mold-delamination at an interface of the mold and the sensor device. Where devices are formed of silicon, the mold-silicon interface (or whatever top-most material is used on the sensor) near the exposed sensor-area can delaminate from the silicon.
Consequently, there is a need for a mold package that reduces or substantially prevents the occurrence of delamination between the mold and the sensor.

Electronic device with an interlocking mold package


In the case where an original document is edited, tints may be different at the time of printing because the attributes of drawings are different although they resemble each other. A specifying unit configured to specify contents of editing for an original document and a determination unit configured to determine a form of representation of the specified contents of editing so as to conform with the form of representation of an object in the original document are provided.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
It is often that an original document (e.g., a PDF document) is edited to add information (e.g., an annotation of a character string, such as "Confidential"). Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-10841 has disclosed a technique in which after an original document created in the PDF format is converted into another format and then edited, the edited portion is converted again into the PDF command and only the edited portion is merged with the original PDF document.
In the case where such editing to add information as described above is performed, a preferable way to add information depends on the situation. For example, in the case where an annotation of the character string "Confidential" is newly added, it is sometimes preferable to add the annotation as text, it is sometimes preferable to add the annotation as a graphics, and it is sometimes preferable to add the annotation as an image.
For example, in the case where the character string included in the original document is represented in text, a character string to be added newly should be added similarly as text. On the other hand, in the case where the character string included in the original document is represented in a graphics, a character string to be added newly should be added similarly as a graphics. Further, in the case where the character string included in the original document is represented in an image, a character string to be added newly should be added similarly as an image. The reason is that in the case where the above is not obeyed, the tint or the like is different between objects of the same type and a sense of incongruity occurs at the time of printing the document after editing (i.e., the document after information is added). The above occurs because image processing in accordance with the attribute of the object is performed in a general printing apparatus. For example, while image processing dedicated to text (e.g., processing to sharpen an edge) is performed in the case where text is printed and image processing dedicated to a photo (e.g., blurring processing) is performed in the case where an image is printed, such image processing is not performed in the case where a graphics is printed.
Consequently, in the case where a character string is newly added as an image to the original document in which the character string is represented in text, and then the original document is printed, the appearance of the character string that originally exists within the original document differs from that of the character string having been newly added in the printing results, and therefore, a sense of incongruity will result.

Information processing apparatus, method and a storage medium for original document editing


A drive arrangement for adjusting a front hood of a motor vehicle including a first drivetrain for producing a first drive movement between a flap-side drive connection and a body-side drive connection and when the first drivetrain is in a normal state the first drive movement opens the flap from a closed position to an open position. A second drivetrain for producing a second drive movement between a flap-side drive connection and a body-side drive connection to open the flap from the closed position to a collision position so that by means of the second drive movement of the second drive the first drivetrain changes from a normal state to a bypass state, in which a first strand component of the first drivetrain moves relative to a second strand component of the first drivetrain.

A drive arrangement may be used in the context of the external force adjustment of any flap of a motor vehicle. Such a flap is in particular a front hood, for example an engine hood or trunk hood, which is arranged at the front of the vehicle. However, such a flap may also be a tailgate, a rear cover, a luggage compartment floor or even a door of a motor vehicle. To this extent, the term 'flap' is to be understood broadly in the present case.

Drive arrangement for a flap of a motor vehicle


A method of manufacturing a magnetic head device includes forming a thin film magnetic head element over a substrate, the thin film magnetic head element including a magnetoresistance (MR) element. The substrate is cut such that the MR element is exposed on a side surface of the substrate. The side surface is then polished. Afterward, a magnetically degenerated layer is removed from the thin film magnetic head element along the side surface. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a magnetic head device provided with a magnetoresistance effect-type thin film magnetic head element for reproduction, and the method for its manufacture.
2. Background Information
The magnetic head devices present in hard disk devices and other equipment are provided with a thin film magnetic head element on the trailing-side surface of a slider mounted on a suspension. The magnetic gap of the magnetic head element is exposed on a surface of the slider facing the media (called the air bearing surface or "ABS") opposing the magnetic recording media. The magnetic head devices are used to perform magnetic recording of information onto and reproduction from magnetic disks or other magnetic recording media.
Trends toward higher recording densities in recent years have been accompanied by the widespread adoption of thin film magnetic head elements. Thin film magnetic head elements are integrated by layering a magnetoresistance head. A magnetoresistance effect element is used as a magnetic reproduction element part for readout of information recorded onto magnetic recording media and an induction-type magnetic head (inductive head) is used for recording.
The construction of the aforementioned magnetic head device has conventionally relied on the following processes. First, numerous thin film magnetic head elements, comprised of multiple layers fabricated using vacuum thin film fabrication techniques, are formed in a lattice array on top of a disc-shaped wafer comprised of an AlTiC substrate (Al2O3-TiC substrate). Next, the wafer is cut to separate each head block. Then, by performing the desired machining and other processing for a head block, a slider is constructed.
In the aforementioned magnetic head device, the aforementioned cut surface becomes the ABS (air bearing surface) of the slider. Because high precision is required in the machining of this ABS in order to improve the contact start-stop ("CSS") durability and other characteristics, a polishing jig is used for polishing after the aforementioned cutting, in order to flatten the ABS, and in order that the stripe height (SH) of the magnetoresistance effect element is the desired value.
Because the aforementioned polishing process consists of mechanical surface polishing, a large stress acts on the surface layer part of the polished ABS, and because of machining strain induced by the stresses and similar causes, the magnetic properties of the surface layer part are changed, and a magnetically degenerated layer is formed.
The magnetically degenerated layer is an extremely thin layer, of thickness approximately 1000 Å. However, due to the narrowing of the stripe heights of magnetoresistance effect elements with still greater increases in areal recording densities in recent years, the degradation of the output characteristic resulting from the existence of a the magnetically degenerated layer is becoming too great to be ignored.
Hence an objective of this invention is to alleviate the degradation of the output characteristics arising from mechanical polishing of the ABS of the slider in magnetoresistance effect-type magnetic head devices.

Method of manufacturing a magnetic head device


A cooling unit constructed in accordance with one example of the present disclosure includes an outer shell that defines an interior volume. A cooling system cools the interior volume. A temperature sensor senses a temperature within the interior volume. A heating element is disposed within the interior volume. A controller communicates with the temperature sensor and the heating element and activates the heating element based on the temperature satisfying a threshold.

This section merely provides background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Vehicles, including but not limited to, recreational vehicles ("RVs", in the United States and "Caravans" or "Mobile Homes" in Europe), tractor trailers, airplanes, boats, trains and the like, often incorporate refrigerators for the comfort and convenience of the occupants. For example, recreational vehicle campers often find it convenient, or even necessary, to refrigerate food, drinks, and medicine during their journey and while at their campsites. While many prepared camp sites in parks and commercial campgrounds provide for electrical outlets, many do not. Moreover, many highly desirable camping locations exist outside of these prepared sites. Thus, a popular solution has been to equip the recreational vehicle with an absorption refrigerator.
Absorption refrigerators typically employ heat to vaporize a coolant-water mixture (typically ammonia-water) thereby driving the refrigeration loop in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Popular heat sources include electrical heaters and fuel burners. The fuel burners typically employ propane which is readily available at camping supply stores, barbeque supply stores, and numerous gas stations. Though, any liquid or gaseous fuel would work well and be controllable through simple, automated control systems.
Some absorption refrigerators incorporate temperature regulation control. Typically, a temperature within the refrigerator is monitored. The cooling system can be activated when a cut-in temperature is reached and de-activated when a cut-out temperature is reached. Some refrigerators may also incorporate passive defrost regulation that turns off the cooling system when an internal temperature reaches a predetermined low temperature threshold and turns on the cooling system when an internal temperature reaches a predetermined high temperature threshold. In some instances, such temperature and passive defrost regulation can inadvertently cause undesirable high internal temperatures in the refrigerator.

Absorption refrigerator with temperature control


A method and apparatus for providing hardware-assisted CPU access to a forwarding database is described. According to one aspect of the present invention, a switch fabric provides access to a forwarding database on behalf of a processor. The switch fabric includes a memory access interface configured to arbitrate access to a forwarding database memory. The switch fabric also includes a search engine coupled to the memory access interface and to multiple input ports. The search engine is configured to schedule and perform accesses to the forwarding database memory and to transfer forwarding decisions retrieved therefrom to the input ports. The switch fabric further includes command execution logic that is configured to interface with the processor for performing forwarding database accesses requested by the processor. According to another aspect of the invention one or more commands are provided to implement the following functions: (1) learning a supplied address; (2) reading associated data corresponding to a supplied search key; (3) aging forwarding database entries; (4) invalidating entries; (5) accessing mask data, such as mask data that may be stored in a mask per bit (MPB) content addressable memory (CAM), corresponding to a particular search key; (6) replacing forwarding database entries; and (7) accessing entries in the forwarding database.

One of the critical aspects for achieving a cost-effective high-performance switch implementation is the architecture of the forwarding database search engine, which is the centerpiece of every switch design. Optimal partitioning of functions between hardware and software and efficient interaction between the search engine and its "clients" (e.g., switch input ports and the central processing unit) play a crucial role in the overall performance of the switching fabric.
Typically, assistance from a central processing unit (CPU) is necessary for maintaining a switch's forwarding database. For example, the CPU may remove or invalidate aged Layer 3 flows in the forwarding database. Also, the CPU may be used to update entries in the forwarding database or reorder the entries. If the CPU is to assist the search engine in maintaining the forwarding database, there must be a mechanism for the CPU to read, update, and otherwise manipulate entries in the forwarding database.
One approach is to provide the CPU with direct access to the forwarding database. Using this approach, the CPU updates the forwarding database using programmed input/output (PIO) instructions. Since, the direct access to the forwarding database will typically include glue logic of some sort, such as an arbiter or the like, with this approach both cost and complexity are increased. Further, the search engine may be forced to wait for an indeterminate amount of time for the CPU PIO accesses to complete before its accesses will be serviced. Therefore, the relatively slow speed of PIOs may cause inefficient utilization of the search engine's bandwidth.
This approach is further complicated in view of the fact that the memories typically employed for forwarding databases may provide tens or hundreds of low-level instructions for data manipulation. In this situation, a great deal of software must be developed for performing these low-level calls. While a forwarding database memory driver may be written to provide a layer of abstraction between the CPU 161 and these low-level calls, at some level the software must always know each and every raw instruction that is to be utilized.
Further, even with this layer of abstraction, the CPU will ultimately have to execute the raw instructions to gain access to the forwarding database. Since the relative amount of time required for forwarding database maintenance is dependent in part upon the number of instructions the CPU must execute during the maintenance, it should be apparent that this direct access approach is inefficient. Moreover, in the context of a distributed switching device in which multiple forwarding databases may be maintained, the above inefficiencies are multiplied by the number of distributed forwarding databases.
Based on the foregoing, it is desirable to centralize the forwarding database access mechanism. More specifically, it is desirable to provide the switch's CPU with hardware-assisted efficient access to the forwarding database to more efficiently utilize the switch fabric bandwidth and reduce the amount of time required for forwarding database maintenance. It would also be advantageous to make use of the switch fabric's knowledge of the low-level instructions for accessing the forwarding database to avoid duplicating interface logic to the forwarding database. Further, it is desirable to provide a relatively small set of independent forwarding database commands to assure bounded service time and reduced overall PIOs.

Hardware-assisted central processing unit access to a forwarding database


A digital circuit tolerant of a race condition problem circuit includes a sense amplifier receiving first and second input data and generating first and second sense amplification signals in response to an enable clock signal generated using a clock signal and an enable signal, and a cascode signal latch receiving the first and second sense amplification signals and generating first and second cascode signals. The first and second sense amplification signals or the first and second cascode signals are selectively transmitted by a switch unit as first and second output control signals, respectively, and then output as first and second multiplexer output signals, respectively, by a dynamic multiplexer in response to a predetermined selection signal.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-5311, filed on Jan. 28, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital circuit technology, and more particularly, to a digital circuit that is tolerant of a race condition problem.
2. Description of the Related Art
A race condition is a problem that is caused in a digital circuit when there is a difference between a speed at which a signal input to a digital circuit is transmitted and a speed at which a signal enabling the digital circuit is transmitted. A dynamic multiplexer (MUX) is an example of a simple circuit for explaining the race condition problem.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional dynamic MUX. Referring to FIG. 5, a conventional dynamic MUX 100 includes a flip-flop (F/F) 110 operating in response to a clock signal CLK, a buffer 120 buffering the clock signal CLK, a MUX 130 transmitting an output data DATA of the F/F 110 in response to an output of the buffer 120, and a driver 140 outputting an output of the MUX 130 as an output signal OUT. The operation of the dynamic MUX 100 is determined by the MUX 130. A node signal E, i.e., the output of the buffer 120, enables the MUX 130 so that the output data DATA of the F/F 110 is transmitted to the driver 140.
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram that illustrates the operation of the dynamic MUX 100. The buffer 120 outputs the node signal E following a time delay in response to the clock signal CLK. The output data DATA of the F/F 110 is set to, for example, a logic "low" level. Taking into account the operation of the MUX 130, the output data DATA of the F/F 110 should be applied to the MUX 130 prior to the an enable signal, i.e., the node signal E.
However, as shown in FIG. 2, it may occur that the node signal E at a logic "high" level is generated prior to the output data DATA at the logic "low" level. In this case, the output signal OUT of the dynamic MUX 100 is at the logic "low" level when the node signal E is activated and then becomes the desirable logic "high" level in response to the output data DATA of the F/F 110. In other words, when the output data DATA of the F/F 110 is applied at a time that is later than the node signal E, the dynamic MUX 100 does not output a desired signal when the node signal E, the enable signal, is activated. A difference between a time when the output data DATA of the F/F 110 is applied to the MUX 130 and a time when the node signal E is applied to the MUX 130 becomes a racing condition problem, which causes the dynamic MUX 100 to operate unreliably.

Digital circuit tolerant of race condition problem


A method of creating a remarkable region in a digital image encoded at a plurality of resolution levels, the encoding data being organized in packets, each packet comprising a field of encoded data, the method including the steps of: selecting at least one remarkable region in at least one resolution level of the image, selecting data packets corresponding to the selected region, constructing an encoded form comprising the selected packets and modified packets, the modified packets corresponding respectively to the packets not selected and comprising an empty data field defining an inaccessible region.

A remarkable region in an image is a portion of that image in which it is permitted to perform a zoom operation. That region of the image is thus accessible at a higher resolution than the rest of the image.
Techniques exist for navigating in an image stored on a server, from a client terminal connected to that server. For example, the Quicktime VR technique makes it possible among other things to zoom within an image in JPEG format. This technique is implemented in a software application available via the Internet at the address http://www.apple.com/quicktime. A description of the software is given in the work entitled "The Quicktime VR Book: Creating immersive imaging on your desktop " by Susan A. Kitchens from Paperback editions.
Thus, by virtue of this technique, it is possible, from the client terminal, to perform zoom and translation operations in the image stored on the server. A viewing window displays the result of the navigation at the client terminal.
For this, the image is stored at a plurality of predetermined resolutions on the server. Passing from a resolution to a higher resolution is by oversampling.
In this technique, there is strictly speaking no navigation or remarkable region in the image, since it is possible to navigate in the entire image.
Furthermore, image compression techniques exist which make it possible to define regions of interest. For example, image compression according to the JPEG2000 standard makes it possible to create one or more regions of interest in the image. The encoding data of a region of interest are situated at the beginning of the compressed file. It is however not possible to limit access to certain regions.

Creation of remarkable regions in a digital image


An imaging device of the present invention includes a normal operation period and a focusing operation period; a CCD (102) able to mix image signals of a plurality of pixels and read the mixed image signals; an AFE (103) that converts the image signals to image data; a signal processing unit (104b) that converts the image data to display data; an LCD (107) that displays the display data; and a pixel mixing control unit (104c) that changes a read frame rate and pixel mixing number of the CCD (102). The pixel mixing control unit (104c) performs control so that in the focusing operation period, the image signals are read from the CCD (102) at a higher read frame rate than in the normal operation period, and performs control so that in the focusing operation period, the image signals are read from the CCD (102) at a larger pixel mixing number than in the normal operation period. This structure enables providing an imaging device in which a high-speed focusing operation can be performed even if an imaging subject is dark.

In recent years, the prevalence of digital cameras has been significant. With a compact digital camera for beginners to photography, it is desirable to be able to take photos of roughly a certain quality regardless of the user's skill. Therefore, focusing is normally performed automatically, and there is a need to shorten the focusing operation period as much as possible so that a photo opportunity is not missed.
Many compact digital cameras do not have an optical viewfinder, and in the focusing operation period as well, an imaging subject continues to be viewed on a liquid crystal display unit arranged on the back face of the digital camera body. Therefore, in the focusing operation period as well, it is necessary to display an image of the imaging subject on the display unit without causing a sense of unpleasantness.
There are mainly two automatic focusing operation methods, namely an active method and a passive method. An active method is a method in which the distance to an imaging subject is measured by irradiating an imaging subject with infrared radiation or ultrasonic waves and receiving infrared radiation or ultrasonic waves that have reflected off of the imaging subject. Active methods often are employed in compact silver salt cameras.
On the other hand, a passive method is a method in which the distance to an imaging subject is measured based on images captured by an optical system. Passive methods further can be divided into phase difference detection methods and contrast detection methods. A phase difference detection method often is employed in single lens reflexive cameras, regardless of whether the camera is a silver salt camera or digital camera. On the other hand, a contrast detection method often is employed in compact digital cameras.
In a contrast detection method, images are obtained from an imaging element while gradually moving a focus lens in an optical system in the optical axis direction, and the focal position is set to the position of the focus lens where the contrast of the obtained image is maximal. Contrast generally is evaluated based on a high frequency component in an image obtained from an imaging element.
Since the evaluation of the high frequency component is performed on a frame-by-frame basis, shortening the focusing operation period requires raising the read frame rate of the imaging element. However, if the read frame rate of the imaging element is raised, the exposure time becomes shorter. If the exposure time in the imaging element becomes shorter, the image displayed on the display unit becomes darker, and also an automatic focusing operation by the contrast detection method becomes unstable, which is a problem.
A digital camera has been proposed in relation to the above problem (see Patent Document 1). In the digital camera according to Patent Document 1, the read frame rate of an imaging element is increased if the luminance of an imaging subject is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the read frame rate of the imaging element is decreased if the luminance of the imaging subject is less than or equal to a second threshold.
According to this structure, a high-speed focusing operation is performed with use of a high read frame rate when the imaging subject is bright, and the exposure time is lengthened with use of a low read frame rate when the imaging subject is dark.    Patent Document 1: JP 2003-262788A


An apparatus and method for processing a synthetic yarn includes at least a one sensor for generating a signal representative of the actual velocity of the yarn at a point intermediate an upstream and the downstream rolls. The temperature of the upstream roll in accordance with the variation between the actual velocity of the yarn at the measurement point and a predetermined reference velocity. A second sensor may be provided to generate a signal representative of the actual velocity of the yarn at a second point intermediate the rolls. The controller may regulate the temperature of the upstream roll in accordance with the variation between the actual velocity at each measurement point and a predetermined reference velocity for that measurement point. Alternatively, the controller may regulate the temperature of the upstream roll in accordance with a relationship (e.g., the ratio) between the actual velocities as compared to a predetermined reference relationship (as, the ratio) representative of the relationship of the velocities of the upstream and downstream rolls, and the variation between the actual and reference velocities at at least one of the measurement points.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward an apparatus and method for controlling the draw point of a synthetic yarn.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Drawing is the process of stretching a partially oriented, or as-spun, yarn in order to develop the structure and properties required for commercial use. When compared to the undrawn yarn the desired properties include higher strength, lower elongation, higher modulus, and better recovery. Drawing is an irreversible elongation of the filaments of the yarn to as much as six times the original length for nylon, and even more for other yarns.
In the usual commercial environment drawing is usually accomplished in a continuous manner. Two rolls are required for continuous drawing, with the second (upstream) roll running at a faster speed than the first (downstream) roll. The "draw ratio" is the ratio between the surface speed of the second roll divided by the surface speed of the first roll.
The draw point is the location at which the necking, or narrowing, of the yarn occurs. Upstream of the draw point the undrawn yarn travels at a first velocity and exhibits a first predetermined cross-sectional area. However, the drawn yarn downstream of the draw point exhibits a second, narrower, cross-sectional area and travels at a commensurately higher velocity.
It is known that both operability of the yarn manufacturing processing and the uniformity of the drawn yarn can be improved by localizing the draw point. One common method of doing this is to locally heat the yarn to lower its yield point. This may be accomplished by heating one or more of the feed rolls that are upstream of the draw point. In addition, it is also a common practice to heat the downstream roll so that the drawn yarn may be bulked.
In the ideal case, it is desirable for all of the draw to occur in the clearance space between the two rolls. This condition is referred to as "space draw". Care must be exercised to insure that drawing of the yarn occurs away from the heated surface of either the upstream and/or the downstream roll. If drawing of the yarn is attempted on a heated surface, the possibility of yarn breakage is increased.
In view of the foregoing it is believed to be advantageous to provide an apparatus to control the location of the draw point so that the draw point is caused to occur in space intermediate the upstream and downstream rolls.


A differential pressure regulating device is provided for controlling in-vivo pressure in a body, and in particularly in a heart. The device may include a shunt being positioned between two or more lumens in a body, to enable fluids to flow between the lumens, and an adjustable flow regulation mechanism being configured to selectively cover an opening of the shunt, to regulate the flow of fluid through the shunt in relation to a pressure difference between the body lumens. In some embodiments a control mechanism coupled to the adjustable flow regulation mechanism may be provided, to remotely activate the adjustable flow regulation mechanism.

CHF is recognized as one of the most common causes of hospitalization and mortality in Western society, and has a great impact on the quality of life. CHF is a disorder characterized by low systemic perfusion and inefficient cardiac function. CHF causes may include myocardial insult due to ischemia, cardiomyopathy and other processes. Pathophysiologic mechanisms that are directly associated with CHF include reduced cardiac output, increase in cardiac filling pressures, and fluid accumulation, which may lead to, for example, pulmonar congestion and dyspnea. Impairment of systolic function may result in poor left ventricular contraction and reduced cardiac output, which may generate clinical symptoms including effort intolerance, dyspnea, reduced longevity, edema (lung or peripheral) and pain. A patient with systolic dysfunction may usually have a larger left ventricle because of phenomena called cardiac remodeling aimed to maintain adequate stroke-volume. This pathophisiologic mechanism is associated with increased atrial pressure and left ventricular filling pressure. With abnormal diastolic function, the left ventricle may be stiff and markedly less compliant partly because of abnormal relaxation leading to inadequate cardiac filling at normal pressures. Maintenance of adequate cardiac filling at higher filling pressures may be needed to maintain cardiac output. This mandatory rise of filling pressure to maintain cardiac filling and output may lead to pulmonary venous hypertension and lung edema.
Presently available treatments for CHF fall into three generally categories: (1) pharmacological, e.g., diuretics; (2) assist systems, e.g., pumps; and (3) surgical treatments. With respect to pharmacological treatments, vasodilators have been used to reduce the workload of the heart by reducing systemic vascular resistance and diuretics to prevent fluid accumulation and edema formation, and reduce cardiac filling pressure.
Assist devices used to treat CHF may include, for example, mechanical pumps. Mechanical pumps reduce the load on the heart by performing all or part of the pumping function normally done by the heart. Currently, mechanical pumps are used, for example, to sustain the patient while a donor heart for transplantation becomes available for the patient. There are also a number of pacing devices used to treat CHF. Resysnchronization pacemakers have also been used to treat CHF. Finally, there are at least three extremely invasive and complex surgical procedures for treatment of heart failure: 1) heart transplant; 2) dynamic cardiomyoplasty; and 3) the Batista partial left ventriculectomy.
In extreme acute situations, temporary assist devices and intraaortic balloons may be helpful. Cardiac transplantation and chronic left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implants may often be used as last resort. However, all the assist devices currently used are intended to improve pumping capacity of the heart and increase cardiac output to levels compatible with normal life, reducing filling pressures and/or preventing edema formation. Finally, cardiac transplantation may be used to treat extreme cardiac dysfunction cases, however this procedure is highly invasive and is limited by the availability of donor hearts. The mechanical devices may allow propulsion of significant amount of blood (liters/min) and this is also their main limitation. The need for power supply, relatively large pumps and possibility of hemolysis and infection are all of concern.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

Device and method for controlling in-vivo pressure


A passive remote garage door operator system including a magnetic field sensor which detects a magnet having a flux density and a transmitter that sends a coded security signal to activate a garage door. A controller determines whether the magnet field sensor detects the magnet from a first direction or a second direction and activates the position of the garage door. The magnetic field sensor is preferably affixed to the underside of a vehicle and the magnets are embedded in a driveway leading to the garage. The system thereby automatically opens a garage door based upon the approach of a vehicle and closes automatically based upon the exit of the vehicle without any intervention by the human vehicle operator.

The present invention relates to a wireless transmitter system for a vehicle, and more particularly to the passive remote operation of a garage door without active human intervention.
Transmitter-receiver controller systems are widely used for the remote actuation of devices such as garage doors, gates, security systems and the like. Most conventional garage door opening systems use a transmitter-receiver combination to selectively activate the drive source for opening or closing the garage door. The receiver is usually mounted adjacent to the drive source and receives a signal from a hand held transmitter. The transmitter is normally carried in the vehicle and selectively activated by a user to send the signal to open or close the garage door.
The majority of homes are currently being constructed with garage door openers having remote controllers using RF wireless technology. Further, many existing homes have been upgraded with garage door openers having this remote function. An associated trend in the automotive market is to provide new vehicles with factory installed universal transmitters which communicate with the various garage door openers. However, such systems must still be activated by a user to obtain the desired function of the garage door.


The present invention relates to a process for converting a tertiary OH group of an organic compound into a tertiary Cl group of the organic compound by using a solvent selected from the group comprising toluene, o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene and mixtures thereof, and thionyl chloride as the chlorinating agent.

As is known from EP 0 753 506 A1, the compound of formula (I) (below) has an analgesic effect and is also used as an intermediate product to produce further analgesic substances. EP 0 753 506 A1 discloses a process for producing the compound of formula (I) starting from a compound of general formula (II),
the production of which is known from the literature (K. Flick et al., Arzneim.-Forsch./Drug Res. 28 (1), issue 1a (1978)), wherein, to convert the tertiary alcohol function on the cyclohexyl radical into a C-substitution with retention on the carbon atom marked by *, thionyl chloride is used as the chlorination reagent and as the solvent. This process therefore requires large quantities of thionyl chloride. The subsequent working up while expelling the excess thionyl chloride with a stream of nitrogen gas or by distillation is stressful for humans, the environment and operating equipment. Furthermore, only poor yields (maximum of 55% of theoretical) are achieved.

Process for chlorinating tertiary alcohols


The invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprised of a chemical moiety attached to an active agent in a manner that substantially decreases the potential of the active agent to cause overdose or to be abused. When delivered at the proper dosage the pharmaceutical composition provides therapeutic activity similar to that of the parent active agent.

Drug overdose is a significant and growing problem. It can occur accidentally, as when a child swallows pills without understanding the consequences, or intentionally as with suicide attempts. In addition, accidental overdose due to an unusually potent batch of a street drug in illicit drug users is quite common. Common examples of drugs that are seen in overdose cases include the ubiquitous over-the-counter analgesics acetaminophen (paracetamol) and aspirin. While the former is the preferred drug among adolescents in cases of deliberate self poisonings (Lifshitz et al., Isr. Med. Assoc. J., 4(4): 252-4 (2002), aspirin is perhaps more dangerous because there is no antidote (Jones, Am. J. Ther. 9(3):245-57 (2002).
In the elderly population, drugs most often implicated in poisonings include psychotherapeutic drugs, cardiovascular drugs, analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, oral hypoglycemics and theophylline (Klein-Schwartz et al., Drugs Aging 1(1):67-89 (1991). It is important-to realize that in many cases where death due to overdose is averted, there appears to be extensive morbidity associated with overdoses (Warner-Smith et al., Addition 97(8):963-7 (2002).
The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reported in June 2003 on the most recent trends in emergency department (ED) visits related to drug abuse. Data was presented for 8-year trends from 1994 to 2001. The following summaries were provided:                In 2001, there were over 638,000 ED visits related to drug abuse in the conterminous U.S. This translates to 252 visits per 100,000 populations or 0.6 percent of all ED visits.        Seven categories of drugs accounted for 85% of the ED mentions in 2001. The ED visits related to drug abuse most frequently involved alcohol, (34% of mentions), marijuana (17%), benzodiazepines (16%), narcotic analgesic combinations (16%), heroin (15%), other analgesics/combinations (12%), and antidepressants (10%).        ED mentions of benzodiazepines increased 14 percent from 2000 to 2001 (from 91,078 to 103,972), as did the top 2 benzodiazapines, alprazolam (up 16%) and benzodiazepines-NOS (up 35%). The latter includes benzodiazepines not identified by name.        ED mentions of narcotic analgesics/combinations rose 21 percent (from 82,373 to 99,317) from 2000 to 2001.        Narcotic analgesics not identified by name were mentioned most frequently (narcotic analgesics-NOS, 32,196 mentions, up 24% from 2000 to 2001), followed by those containing hydrocodone (21,567), oxycodone (18,409, up 70%), and methadone (10,725, up 37%). Narcotic analgesics/combinations containing propoxyphene (5,361), codeine (3,720, down 30%), and morphine (3,403) were much less frequent and not increasing.
Emergency department reporting for a number of drugs rose substantially from 1994 to 2000. These include: amphetamines (10,118 to 18,555, up 83.4%), anticonvulsants, including carbamazepine (9,358 to 14,642, up 56.5%), muscle relaxants, including carisoprodol (12,223 to 19,001, up 55.5%), psychotherapeutic drugs, including SSRI antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants, and other antidepressants (190,467 to 220,289, up 15.7%). Anxiolytics, sedatives, and hypnotics, including benzodiazepines (74,637 to 103,972, up 27.7%) and narcotic analgesics including codeine, hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone, propoxyphene and others (44,518 to 99,317, up 123.1%).
Other drugs for which the number of ED mentions did not rise but were still responsible for over 10,000 visits include respiratory agents, including antihistamines (12,238), antipsychotics including risperidone (20,182), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, including ibuprofen and naproxen (22,663) and acetaminophen (42,044). Aspirin and salicylates-NOS accounted for 8,499 ED visits in 2001.
The commercial drugs benzodiazapines (16%), narcotic analgesics other than heroin (16%), non-narcotic analgesics (12%), and antidepressants (10%) accounted for 54% of ED visits in 2001.
Amphetamine is commonly administered as the sulfate salt in single oral doses of 5-15 mg. When abused amphetamine is typically either orally or intravenously used in amounts up to 2000 mg per day by addicts. A normal dosage of amphetamine typically provides blood concentrations which peak at 35 ng/mL, 2 hours following a single oral dose of 10 mg (half-life 11-13 hours). Following the oral administration of 30 mg of amphetamine, an average peak plasma level of about 111 ng/mL may be observed at 2.5 hours. After 4.5 hours, the level may drop to about 84 ng/mL. After oral ingestion of amphetamine, absorption is complete in 4-6 hours. Concentration in blood or plasma following a therapeutic dose is low because of the large volume of distribution. Contrarily, a steady-state blood level of 2000-3000 ng/mL has been observed in addicts who orally consume an average of 1000 mg per day of amphetamine. While peripheral effects such as increased heart rate start at blood levels of 20 ng/mL, rapid tolerance from intravenous use develops.
Similarly, methamphetamine used in the treatment of obesity in single oral doses of 2.5-15 mg. After the administration of a single dose of 10 mg of methamphetamine, a maximum blood concentration of 30 ng/mL may be observed at one hour. A 12.5 mg dose may produced an average peak blood level of about 20 ng/mL at 2.5 hours, about 16 ng/mL at 6 hours, and about 10 ng/mL at 24 hours. Methamphetamine urine concentrations after the administration of 10 mg are typically 500-4,000 ng/mL during the first 24 hours. It has been reported that the methamphetamine concentration of methamphetamine abusers is 2,400-33,300 ng/mL (average 14,200 ng/mL) and amphetamine concentrations of 1,000-9,000 ng/mL. (average 1,800 ng/mL). The estimated lethal dose is 100 mg in children and 1 g in adults.
Oxycodone is an ingredient of Percodan, Percocet, Roxicet, and Tylox. It is a semisynthetic narcotic analgesic that is derived from thebaine. Available in oral formulations often in combination with aspirin, phenacetin and caffeine. Typical adult dose is 2.5-5 mg as the hydrochloride or terephthalate salt every 6 hours. Although it is typically used for the relief of moderate to moderately severe pain, it can also produce drug dependence of the morphine type. Therapeutic plasma concentration is 10-100 ng/mL and the toxic plasma concentration is greater than 200 ng/mL.
Hydrocodone is an opioid analgesic and antitussive and occurs as fine, white crystals or as crystalline powder. Hydrocodone is a semisynthetic narcotic analgesic prepared from codeine with multiple actions qualitatively similar to those of codeine. It is mainly used as an antitussive in cough syrups and tablets in sub-analgesic doses (2.5-5 mg). Additionally, it is used for the relief of moderate to moderately severe pain. Hydromorphone is administered orally in 5-10 mg doses four times daily. Therapeutic plasma concentration is 1-30 ng/mL and the toxic plasma concentration is greater than 100 ng/mL.
Others have sought to prevent the potential harmful effects of overdose through various formulations. For example, opioids have been combined with antagonists in particular formulations designed to counteract the opioid if the formulation is disrupted before oral administration or is given parenterally. Extended release Concerta (methylphenidate) has been formulated in a paste to preclude administration by snorting or injection. Compositions have been coated with emetics in a quantity that if administered in moderation as intended no emesis occurs, however, if excessive amounts are consumed emesis is induced therefore preventing overdose. These methods, as well as conventional control release formulations, are insufficient and can be easily circumvented. Consequently, improved methods are needed to make drugs with reduced potential for overdose that are resistant to manipulation.

Pharmaceutical compositions for prevention of overdose or abuse


Disclosed is an objective lens position detecting system which comprises an optical head for holding an objective lens for focusing a light beam on a storage disk having tracks formed thereon, a first detector having a first light-emitting element and a first light-receiving element and provided in a vicinity of the objective lens, unconnected thereto, for detecting the position of the objective lens, a second detector having a second light-emitting element and a second light-receiving element and provided in a vicinity of the objective lens, unconnected thereto, and apart by a predetermined distance from the first detector, for detecting the position of the objective lens, a plate, connected to the objective lens, for reflecting light from the first light-emitting element to the first light-receiving element and reflecting light from the second light-emitting element to the second light-receiving element, whereby the first detector and the second detector detect the position of the objective lens from values of the reflected light, a circuit for outputting a difference between detection signals received from the first detector and the second detector, and a circuit for receiving the detection signals from the first and second detectors and adjusting the amounts of radiation from the first light-emitting element and the second light-emitting element so as to cause the sum of the detection signals to approach a predetermined target value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an objective lens position detecting system which detects the position of an objective lens shifting in an optical head for use in, for example, a disk apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various disk apparatuses have been developed which cause a semiconductor laser oscillator (light source) in an optical head to irradiate a laser beam on an optical disk to record data on the optical disk, or convert data recorded on the optical disk into an electric signal by means of a detector provided in the optical head and then convert the signal into a video signal before reading it out.
Such optical disk apparatuses have a coarse access mode to roughly access an optical disk by moving the whole optical head and a fine access mode for finer access by moving an objective lens in the optical head.
When the whole optical head is moved in coarse access mode, the objective lens in the optical head vibrates. To prevent or suppress this vibration, the moving position of the objective lens is detected and the objective lens is held at a predetermined position based on a detection-reflecting signal in fine access mode.
A circuit for detecting the moving position of the objective lens outputs a detection signal corresponding to the amount of movement (moved distance) to a reflector that moves together with the objective lens, in accordance with the amount of light from the light source reflected or shielded by the reflector.
This detection circuit cannot however acquire an accurate detection signal when the amount of radiation from the light source (light-emitting element) varies due to dust or the ambient temperature.

Objective lens position detecting system capable of adjusting amounts of radiation


Methods and systems to determine consumer locations based on navigational voice cues are disclosed. An example method includes identifying, with a processor, a route point designated by a navigational voice cue output by a navigation system providing directions to an operator of a vehicle. The example method also includes determining, with the processor, at least one of a location or an anticipated location of an occupant of the vehicle based on the route point.

With the development of the global positioning system (GPS), many individuals rely on navigation systems to direct them while driving. Such navigation systems may be built directly into a vehicle, may be manufactured as a standalone device, or may be incorporated into a multifunction device (e.g., a smartphone). Some navigation systems provide voiceover instructions or verbal cues to guide individuals on when and where to turn, and on what roads, to arrive at a pre-selected destination.


Disclosed is an automatic adjustment system for a steering wheel provided in a process line to support wheel alignment operation of a vehicle mounted with an OBD, includes a scanner for recognizing a vehicle identification number entered into the process line; an antenna that connects the OBD of the vehicle with the wireless diagnosis communication to transmit and receive data; a robot moves a vision sensor mounted on the front end portion thereof to the shooting position of the steering wheel in the vehicle through the attitude control, when the vehicle is seated in a centering position; and a control apparatus that analyzes the shooting image of the vision sensor to calculate the current distorted angle of the steering wheel and initialize by inputting the current distorted angle of the steering wheel to the steering angle sensor via the diagnosis communication connected with the OBD of the vehicle.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Generally, a wheel alignment operation is carried out at the vehicle assembled at the factory. To do this, a steering wheel leveling operation is first performed, which adjusts the steering angle of the steering wheel to zero degree to align the center of the steering wheel.
For example, FIG. 1 shows the process flow for a conventional wheel alignment work.
Referring to FIG. 1, conventional wheel alignment works perform the steering leveling works including the steps of entering the vehicle into the process line at step S1, installing a wheel leveler for an angle measure on a steering wheel of a vehicle at step S2, manually adjusting the steering wheel to center-align at zero degree and fixing it at step S3, and initializing the steering angle sensor in the center alignment state S4. Thereafter, in a state of fixing the wheel leveler, the steps of adjusting toe and camber angle of each wheel S5, and removing the wheel leveler to get the vehicle out S6 may be further included.
However, since the conventional wheel alignment operation requires a process of mounting and removing the wheel leveler on the steering wheel for each vehicle in order to measure the current steering angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle, there is a drawback that increases working time, workload and cost.
Furthermore, since worker should manually align the steering wheel at 0 degree while looking at the angle display screen connected with the wheel leveler and the initialization operation of inputting the reference (0 degree) of the steering angle sensor also depends on the worker, there is a problem that the wheel alignment quality of the vehicle is deteriorated due to human error.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

System and method for automatic adjustment of steering wheel


One embodiment relates to a method of acquiring three-dimensional structure of an object using a flatbed scanner. The object is placed with a surface to be scanned facing down on a scanner platen. At least three images are obtained under differing lighting directions. The images are processed to generate the three-dimensional structure. Other features and embodiments are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to apparatus and methods of image scanning.
2. Description of the Background Art
Scanner devices, such as a flatbed scanner, produce machine-readable image data signals that are representative of a scanned two-dimensional object, typically a photograph or a page of printed text. In a typical scanner application, the image data signals produced by a flat bed scanner may be used by a computer system to reproduce an image of the scanned two-dimensional object on a suitable display device, such as a cathode ray tube ("CRT") or liquid crystal display ("LCD"). The computer system may also print an image of the two-dimensional object on a printer connected to the computer system.
It is highly desirable to improve capabilities of scanner devices and image scanning systems.

Acquiring three-dimensional structure using two-dimensional scanner

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.